Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

'Life for Dabi, as he would say, is a complete shit show. He was twenty-one and a villain, living between an old run-down bar with his childhood friend, who was trying to start up a ‘Villain League’ in Tomura’s words and his boyfriend’s shabby apartment, who was trying to become a pro hero.

So yes, his life was completely shit.

He was walking down the dark and rundown streets that his boyfriend called home, when he heard the small jingle of a bell, which he assumed was just one of the dead beat parents that lived around the area child with a toy that had a bell attached as an accessory, he wouldn’t be surprised if it were a child, these parents never care about their child until they have no child, and the thought of that got his blood boiling. But he seemed to calm his boiling blood when he felt a small furry thing curl around his leg and a small vibration coming from it.

Dabi looked down and saw a black and white cat rubbing itself against his right leg, purring and making mewing noises, allowing the burnt man to know that it was pleased with his warmth. He nudged the cat way gently with the side of his foot and tried to continue his walk to Keigo’s apartment, but the cat seemed to want more of his warmth and followed the man, slipping between his legs as it tried to capture more of his body heat.

He sighed as he stopped walking and picked up the cat gently by the scruff of its neck, seeing that it was a female, and then held her in his arms as he looked at her completely and saw the belled collar on her neck and the name tag beside it, he gently picked up the name tag, seeing that the cats name was ‘Oreo’. Dabi looked over the cat, black fur covered the bottoms of the legs and the top half of the cat’s body, with white covering the rest.

‘Fitting,’ Dabi thought to himself as she meowed and snuggled up against his jaws skin grafts. He gave her a few gentle scratches under her chin, hearing thunder and saw a few specks of lightning light up the nights sky. Looking up at the coloured sky, he saw Ignis Avis, the Phoenix Flame constellation, appears once every 17 years.

Transformation. Reflection. New beginning.

Dabi scoffed, where was that for him when he was 4?

The cat in his hand noticed that Dabi wasn’t paying attention to her anymore and meowed, demanding attention. He scratched her chin more and pet her head, looked around the alleyways and saw a few cardboard boxes, walking over and made her a makeshift shelter as best he could with one arm before setting her down in the boxes and walking away, but she followed him like he was her new owner.

Dabi sighed and was about to pick up the cat again when a voice from above called out her name. Dabi looked up towards the voice and saw a dark figure crouched on the rooftop of a nearby building. The figure jumped down and started to walk towards Dabi and Oreo, who was sprinting straight to the figure and jumped into their arms.

The person, now close enough for Dabi to tell that it was a male, gently pet the black and white cat and made sure she wasn’t hurt. When he deemed her unharmed, he looked up towards Dabi who was just standing there awkwardly and inclined his head in a thanks before walking away with the happy cat.

Dabi watched until the man and cat walked around the corner before heading back on his normal route to Keigo’s. He kept his head down and hands in his pockets as he made his way into the barely surviving building and up the rickety and decomposing stairs to Keigo’s apartment.

And that’s when he smelt smoke.

Chapter Text

When Izuku was deemed quirkless, his whole world stopped and shattered.

His dreams of becoming a hero and fighting along side Katsuki were ruined. Unable to become a symbol like All Might, fighting with his best friend and hero partner, fighting crime and capturing villains was his only ultimate goal for as long as he could remember (since he was two and a half).

He and his mom had just gotten home from the doctors, both mother and son didn’t speak a word to each other in the car ride home, Izuku lost the light in his eyes at the exact moment that they were told he was a quirkless child. His face turned to fear and despair as they pulled up into their neighbourhood, realising he would have to tell Katsuki about the absence of his quirk.

Inko looked in the rear-view mirror to her son in the booster seat behind her, seeing her sons broken-hearted look broke something in her. She pulled into their assigned car park in their apartment building car park and got Izuku out of his car seat and held his hand as they walked up to their apartment.

When they entered their apartment and Inko closed the door, she collapsed against it and started to cry. Izuku turned around to his mother and ran to her when he saw that she was crying against the door.

“Izuku, I’m so sorry.” She cried, “mommy is so sorry.”

“M-mom? Why are you apologising?” he asked worried.

“Mommy has a very..weak quirk, and you took after me in almost everything. My quirk was too weak..for you to be born with one.” She answered with small pauses, trying to control her wavering voice.

Izuku tried to say something to his mom, but all that came out of his mouth was incoherent noises, along with tears falling down his eyes. Inko pulled her son into her arms and held him as they both cried.

After a while, Inko collected herself and wiped her wet face, sniffling as she spoke. “Izuku, why don’t you go to the park to play with Katsuki and your friends? We can invite Aunty Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru for dinner and we can have Katsudon.”

Izuku looked up into his mothers’ eyes and smiled as he nodded his head and went to make his way around her and opened the door, walking down the stairs carefully and out the apartment building, making his way to the park.

Izuku walked along the path and crossed the roads carefully, making his way across the road from the park and started to walk in between the bushes towards the path.

It was mid-day, the sun was high up in the sky and there was a soft wind, the path Izuku was taking was hidden away from the park and road for a short distance. He was happily walking along the path, humming to himself and avoiding the sharp branches sticking out of the bushes when he felt a hand grip at his shoulder.

Izuku jumped and turned around, making the hand in his shoulder let go of him, revealing a man with shaggy blue hair falling out of his hood atop of his head. “Uh..um,” Izuku stuttered, “can I help you, mister?”

The man smirked, showing off his yellow brown teeth, “you can indeed, Izuku, I’m lost and would love it if you could help me.”

Izuku looked up in fear at the man, “I’m..I’m not allowed to talk to strangers,” he tried to walk away but the man gripped Izuku’s shoulder again, and now Izuku was on the verge of tears.

“I know your name, Izuku, and my name is Shi–”

A deep and croaky voice cut the man off, “I think the boy said he wasn’t allowed to talk to strangers.”

The mans grip tightened on Izuku’s shoulder, no doubt bruising the skin, and Izuku’s tears had started to fall down his cheeks, making his face all shiny and blotchy.

The person behind the voice revealed themself to the two, a young man with red eyes and white hair, “this boy clearly doesn’t know you, so get your hand off of him and walk away before something bad happens.”

“I don’t know who you think you are, but if you think–”

“Take you hand off him and walk away.” The man spoke slowly, intimidatingly.

“If you think you can intimidate me–”

The white-haired man never let the blue haired man finish his sentences, “take..your hand off the boy..and walk away.”

Izuku looked up between the men but couldn’t see the white haired mans face, but it must’ve been really scary since the man who was gripping him let go and walked away with a huff. Izuku looked at the man with teary eyes, afraid of what he was going to do now that it was just them.

The man suddenly looked down towards Izuku, scaring him once more. “It’s okay now, Izuku, that scum of a man is gone.”

“Uh..uh thank you, mister.” Izuku spoke quietly, wincing as his shoulder started to ache from the harsh gripping.

The man noticed Izuku’s wince and gently dropped down to his knees, “that shoulder must be bruising, would you like me to help you heal it?”

Izuku looked unsure, but this man had helped him from that other man, so he nodded his head.

“Okay Izuku, I’m going to lift up your sleeve and use my quirk to heal you, okay?” The man asked, allowing Izuku to nod his head before he did anything.

The man placed his hand on Izuku’s shoulder after he rolled up the sleeve, making Izuku wince and tears started to fall down his cheeks again. “Now now, brat, there’s no need for tears,” the man spoke as a dim light appeared from his hand, and Izuku felt his shoulder go warm.

He sniffled, “I’m not a crying,” he muttered, and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

“Yes, you are.”

Izuku quickly wiped his tears to show the man that he wasn’t crying. “I’m not crying, see?”

The man smiled gently, “yes, I see that now.”

“Thank you, mister, for saving and helping me.” Izuku beamed up at the man.

“My name is Tenko, Izuku, I’m your..imaginary friend.”

“But aren’t imaginary friends meant to be invisible to others?” Izuku pouted as he went deep into thought, “why could that man see you?”

Tenko paused for a moment, “I’m a powerful imaginary friend, Izuku. Only those who are very weak can see me, while you can call upon me anytime and I’ll be there.” Tenko ran a finger from the top of Izuku’s nose to the bottom, making the boy giggle.

The wind brushed past them making the bushes and leaves flutter along with it, carrying the cheers and laughter of children.

“Ah..Kacchan.” Izuku mumbled, suddenly remembering why he was going to the park.

Tenko looked over Izuku’s face, “what’s wrong, Izuku?”

“Ah..I’m quirkless, and I’m scared to tell Kacchan.” Izuku played with his hands as he looked down to the ground.

Tenko made a face, “why would you be scared to tell him? Does he have something against quirkless people?”

“No, at least I don’t think he does.” Izuku pouted, “Kacchan’s strong, he’s going to be the number one hero like All Might one day! And I was going to be his sidekick..ah..but now I can’t.”

“Izuku, if your Kacchan doesn’t want to be friends with you anymore because you’re quirkless, then he is the weakest of them all.” Tenko got up from the ground and dusted off his knees, “come, Izuku, I’ll take you to Kacchan and your friends.”

The two started to walk towards the playground where the laughter of the children could be heard louder as they grew closer. Just as they were about to round the corner to the playground, Tenko spoke. “This is where I leave you, Izuku.”

Izuku looked up to the man, “ah..okay. Thank you for helping me today, Tenko.” He smiled brightly.

“Anytime, little brat. If you ever need me, I’m just a call away. And remember Izuku, you’re going to be the greatest hero ever known, I’ll make sure of it.” Tenko placed a finger on the top of Izuku’s nose and ran it to the tip of his nose, making Izuku’s flutter shut as a soft breeze came, and when Izuku opened his eyes Tenko was gone. Izuku stood frozen for a moment and then the voice of a young boy calling out his name brought his attention to him.

“Izuku!” Katsuki called, running over to his best friend, “how was the doctors? Did you find out what quirk you have?” He asked excitedly.

Izuku froze, “uh..um.” He tried to figure out how to tell his best friend his absence of a quirk, “Kacchan..I’m quirkless, I’ll never have a quirk.” Izuku rushed, closing his eyes as he feared the worse.

Katsuki’s face turned worried as he saw his best friend close his eyes, did Izuku think he’d retaliate in a bad way?

That thought hurt little Katsuki.

“Izuku..why are your eyes closed? Do..do you think I’d hurt you?” Katsuki asked quietly, his tiny heart breaking.

Izuku’s eyes shot open, “no! Of course not, Kacchan. I just..didn’t know what to expect. We can’t become hero’s anymore, Kacchan, our dream is ruined because of me.” Izuku trailed off as he looked away and played with his fingers.

Katsuki stormed up close to Izuku and held the boy’s hands, making green eyes look into red, “Zuku, you being quirkless won’t mean our dream is ruined. You will be my sidekick at Agency Bakugo, and no one can stop me since I will be the number one hero!”

Tears had started to fall down Izuku’s face, but this time happy tears. “Okay, Kacchan! Together we will be the Wonder Duo!”

Katsuki’s smiled turned into a viscous grin, “and always will be.”

“And forever will be.” Izuku finished, the two sharing a matching grin.

“Come on, lets go play in the river.” Katsuki held Izuku’s hand as he dragged them towards the steady stream of water. Together they played in the water with their other friends, splashing each other while they’re laughter echoed around the trees.

That night, the Bakugo’s came over for dinner, eating katsudon like his mother promised. Katsuki stayed the night, sleeping in Izuku’s bed with the boy.

Inko and Mitsuki quietly opened Izuku’s door, chuckling to each other as they saw the two boys cuddled up against each other, breathing gently. The two mothers took photos of the children and walked out of the room.

“Did you hear that they call themselves the ‘Wonder Duo’?” Mitsuki asked as they walked down the stairs, seeing Masaru sitting at the kitchen table watching the news.

“Yes, I had heard that. My gosh are they cute.” Inko gushed, closing her eyes as she cupped her cheek.

“Those two are inseparable.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

At 14, Izuku made it through elementary school with minimal bullying from his classmates thanks to Katsuki and their teachers, but as they entered middle school the bullying got worse. Izuku was pushed and shoved, called names and was neglected by the teachers.

It was the one day, one singular day Katsuki’s immune system had decided not to go after the virus that Katsuki somehow got and had gotten so bad that his mother made him stay home.

The bullying was worse that day than it ever had been. Their teacher had assumed that everyone was going to join the hero course, and Izuku had put his hand up while the rest of his class started to cheer “UA High!” over and over.

Until their teacher looked at the paper in his hand, “ah..Midoriya..you also want to go to UA.”

The entire class stopped cheering to look at the now shrunken boy in his seat and started to laugh at him, now chanting “dumbass Deku!”

Deku, a portmanteau of ‘defenceless’ and ‘Izuku’ that his class had decided to give him, which soon became a school wide nickname for the boy. Katsuki had tried to get them to stop, but after being with him for years, his scariness dies down until you’re immune to his screams and threats.

Izuku covered his head with his arms, trying to hide himself from the cries of his classmates, and, of course, his teacher did nothing about the name calling except telling the class to quiet down and finished the lesson.

When the bell rang for the end of the day, Tsubasa, who had deemed himself Katsuki’s best friend regardless of the blond boy repeatedly telling him that he wasn’t and never will be, walked to Izuku’s desk and grabbed the notebook he was writing in.

“‘Hero Analysis Book number thirteen, for the future’,” the boy scoffed, “like you could ever become a hero, quirkless Deku.”

“You know, no matter what you say or do, you’ll never be Kacchan.” Izuku spoke openly to the fat boy with wings.

Maybe in some other universe he gave into the bullying, let himself be pushed around, but not in this life. Katsuki had made sure Izuku could stick up for himself, to make sure that nothing that anyone said could ever get to him.

Tsubasa grew angry as his friends snickered in the background. He ripped Izuku’s book in half and threw it out the window, making the pages that weren’t attached to the spine flutter around in the sky.

Izuku sighed as he watched his hard work flutter in the sky, “that was uncalled for.” He muttered as he grabbed his bag and stood up from his desk, making his way to the door so that he could leave, but Tsubasa and his large red wings stood in his way.

“Listen, Tsubasa, even though we have known each other since we were kids and your Kacchan’s ‘friend’ I have no respect for you, and this cool ‘bullying’ thing you think your doing to impress Kacchan and the rest of the class is a pitiful cry for attention.”

The snickering behind them stopped, Izuku briefly glanced behind him and saw the shocked faces of Tsubasa’s friends. He tried to move around the boy, but a strong grip on his arm stopped him, spun him around and suddenly his cheek burned, while his ears started to ring.

Izuku held his cheek as he stared at Tsubasa in shock, along with the rest of his friends. “You do not ever talk to me like that, quirkless fucker. When I enter UA with Katsuki and we become the best hero’s to ever walk Japan, I will make your life a living hell.” The boy threatened.

“Your quirk is weak compared to Kacchan’s, and to be a hero you must care for the people.” Izuku retaliated.

“You of all people cannot talk about quirks, at least I have one that makes Katsuki acknowledge me.” The boy spat, literally, getting tiny bits of spit on Izuku’s face.

Izuku grimaced, “no, I do not have a quirk, but I don’t use extravagant ways to try to gain someone’s attention.” He mumbled the last part, but it was loud enough for Tsubasa to hear, which made him angrier.

The grip on his arm tightened and suddenly he was let go, falling to the ground with his cheek aching. Tsubasa started to kick Izuku’s chest and stomach, smirking at the way he curled up and held his stomach as a way to protect it, though it didn’t do much.

Tsubasa’s goons stood behind the winged boy with slight shock written on their faces.

“Tsubasa, you should stop, what’s gonna happen when Bakugo finds out what you’ve done?” One of them asked, slowly stepping back from the enraged boy.

“Katsuki won’t do anything to me, I’m his best friend and he’d want me to do this for him!” He answered as he started to kick Izuku’s face, grinning maniacally as blood started to drip from Izuku’s mouth and nose.

“Tsubasa, we should go now! The teachers are gonna come and see us in here with Deku.” The other one spoke, already halfway out the door.

“Ugh, fine. Just one last thing.” Tsubasa brought his boot up and stomped on Izuku’s face, satisfied from the sound of Izuku’s pained grunt and crack from his now broken nose. He walked out of the classroom with his goons following close behind him, a smug smirk on his face as a euphoric sensation filled his body.

Izuku heard the door slam close, and he gave a painful sigh of relief as he sat up, ignoring his chest and stomach screaming at him not to. He could taste metal in his mouth which made him spit his blood out, but he never regretted what he said. He tried to stand up, using the nearby tables and chairs as support but his legs and the rest of his body was shaking immensely from the pain, causing him to fall back down to the ground.

He refused to cry, but that didn’t stop the tears from forming. He covered his mouth with his hands and tried to hold in the whimpers his body was trying to force out. Izuku closed his eyes and tried to get rid of the tears, but they started to drop down his cheeks and onto the ground next to his cheek. He tried to be strong, tried to be like Katsuki but he just couldn’t.

He whispered out a name he hadn’t called out for a long time, unsure on whether he would come or not, whether he really was just a figment of his childhood imagination. He felt his eyes closing and the pain had started to fade away when he felt a soft hand stroke his hair. Izuku shot his eyes wide open, fearing that for some reason Tsubasa had come back to finish the job but instead he saw the same face he saw 10 years ago.

“Tenko, you came.” Izuku sent him a weak smile, glad his childhood imaginary friend showed up.

Tenko looked over the boy with worry. “Izuku what happened?”

“Ah, just some playing around with some friends,” Izuku replied, grunting when he felt Tenko’s hands brush over his ribs.

“Izuku, this is not playing. What the fuck happened?”

Izuku was hesitant to answer his imaginary friend, “I..was beaten up by a boy who thinks he’s Kacchan’s friend.”

Tenko looked at Izuku’s face and saw how bloody and bruised it was, ‘one boy can do all this?’

“Hold still,” Tenko hovered his hands over Izuku’s body, the warm yellowish gleam glowing from his hands, slowly warming Izuku’s body and healing it. The white-haired man watched as the cuts and bruises close in and disappear from the boy’s body, a powerful emotion overcoming his mind the more he looked at the teenager lying in pain. Tenko ran his fingers through Izuku’s hair as the boy sighed in relief and his body stopped shaking and relaxed.

“Thank you, Tenko.” Izuku thanked his imaginary friend, slowly getting up from the ground. Tenko helped the boy stand, catching him when his feet gave out and helped him walk out of the classroom and down the hall towards the exit of the school.

Izuku turned to the man and thanked him once again, “thank you, Tenko, but I’ve got it from here.” He sent the white-haired man a beaming smile though it never reached his eyes.

“Okay, Izuku. You know I’m just a call away.” Tenko smiled at the boy and disappeared in the wind. Izuku found comfort in the gentle breeze that occurred every time Tenko disappeared and often found himself missing it.

The boy had started to walk home, mumbling to himself about Katsuki’s immune system and all the homework he had to give to him. Izuku was so deep in thought, he didn’t realise that he had taken the wrong turn and was completely unaware until he kicked a can, and it talked?

The voice was deep and sent shivers down Izuku’s spine, making the boy freeze. A dark figure stood behind him, making a large shadow cast over him and something slimy touched his shoulder.

“That’s not very nice..” the demonic voice behind him suddenly spoke scaring the life out of the poor boy. He turned around, hoping the giant shadow behind him was a figure of his imagination, like Tenko, but instead there was a giant pile of sludge that morphed around until it had arms and a face that looked at him with much hunger, and that sent violent shivers down Izuku’s spine. “Mmm, you look like a perfect host.” It spoke again as it licked its sludgy lips, watching Izuku back up into a wall until the boy couldn’t go any further from the wall behind him.

The sludge villain made his move towards the boy, trying to absorb Izuku into his brown-green sludge but Izuku’s willpower was strong, resisting and fighting back from the slippery sludge. But then the sludge monster wrapped a tendril around Izuku’s face and covered his nose, the lack of oxygen making his body weak and unable to struggle against the tendrils making their way up his body.

He refused to give up, but the longer he was entrapped within the sludge, the easier it was for the villain to take advantage of the boy.

It was hard for Izuku, his mind was taking him back to his best memories with Katsuki. At the park, the river, sleepovers, anything and everything his mind could remember of the blond boy was shown to Izuku. He could still hear the screams and cheers of Katsuki’s, the caramel smell that lingered after the boy had used his quirk to show Izuku anything new he could do.

He was only 14, he still had a whole life to live. And this sludge villain was going to take it away.

He clawed and scratched at the slime that was covering his mouth and nose, trying to get just a small amount of air in him, but the sludge was too dense to allow anything in. His arms grew weak, as did the rest of his body, but as much as he refused to, his body caved in and went limp. And then there was a low rustling from the gutter below. The noise had seemed to distract Izuku’s captive, the tendrils loosening from his mouth and nose, and he took this advantage to take some deep breaths, allowing oxygen to enter his brain and think of a rational decision.

He opened his mouth, ready to mumble the name he had called out not even 10 minutes ago, when the rustling noise from below got louder, and the ground had started to vibrate. The gutter lid had flown off, catching both Izuku and the sludge villain off guard as a buff man with blond hair came flying out.

It was All Might, standing there in all his fame and glory. Izuku was relived and in awestruck as his childhood hero had come to save him.

It was a dream come true.

The sludge villain was stunned and became even more angry. All he wanted was a host to take over and All Might was ruining his plans.

“Have no fear, young man,” All Might boomed “for I am here!” He did his signature pose while smiling brightly, then it turned into a frown as he saw the encased boy. All Might hummed to himself as he assessed the situation, but realised he had no time to decide on how to fix this from the way Izuku’s face was turning a purplish blue. All Might threw his arm back as he cried “Texas Smash!”, and that was the last thing Izuku remembered before he blacked out from the lack of oxygen.

When he woke up, he was on the ground and could breathe, the sludge villain was gone but Izuku still felt shaken up. He sat up, rubbing his head as he tried to register what had just happened when he saw All Might standing in front of him, a clear bottle filled with brownish green sludge held in his hand.

“All..All Might?!” Izuku cried when his brain finally caught up with him.

The buff man turned around at the sudden cry of his name and was surprised to see the green haired boy awake. “Ah, young man! You’re awake at last!” He beamed a bright smile towards Izuku, “thank you for helping me catch that villain, you would become an excellent hero!”

A smile grew wide on Izuku’s face, and his eyes shinned in the sunlight. “Really? A quirkless person like me can become as great a hero as you?”

All Might’s smile faded, which confused and scared Izuku. “You’re..” All Might cleared his throat, “you’re quirkless?”

Izuku shrunk, now afraid of answering his childhood hero. “Um..yeah?”

All Might’s face turned stern, “no quirkless person could ever become a hero. To be a hero, you must have a strong quirk. To win against fire, you must fight with fire.” All Might turned around, ignoring the way Izuku was looking at him, “good day young man.” He spoke before jumping high in the air, leaving Izuku behind, horrified at the words that were spoken to him.

His face felt wet, now realising he was crying. He tried to be strong, like how Katsuki had taught him be, but his whole world, his dreams were shattered once again by the words of his hero.

Izuku got off the ground, wiping the dirt off of his pants and wiping the tears off of his face, he picked his bag up and started to walk home, thinking hard and long about what All Might had said.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Katsuki was walking home from the pharmacy, a mask over his mouth and a small plastic bag filled with medicine in his hand. He was pissed at himself, not being at school meant those wannabe ‘friends’ of his would’ve bugged Izuku all day, but he was confident that Izuku would’ve stuck up for himself.

He turned into the familiar alleyway, walking in the middle of the path when he felt stuck. Katsuki looked down to what was making him stick when he saw a brownish green sludge hold onto his ankles, slowly inching up his legs.

He created some small explosions to try and scare whatever was holding onto him off, but it just got stronger and larger until two eyes and a mouth formed in front of him. Katsuki stood frozen, his mouth agape as he looked up at the giant villain in front of him.

“Such a strong quirk, so powerful, so delicious.” The villain licked its lips and held on tighter to Katsuki as the more he struggled to get away.

People had started to crowd around them, standing in horror at the scene as some called the police and heroes as Katsuki continued to struggle to get out of the sludge villain’s grip.

When the heroes and police arrived, all they did was board off the area and command that the villain let Katsuki go, making him glare at the police and so-called heroes.

He could see people covering their mouths and crying, which he hated more than anything. Why would they cry when they don’t even know him? He hated pity.

The sludge covering his face was constricting his airway, making his eyes burn with tears. He looked around towards all the police officers and heroes, remembering all their faces so he knows who to torture in hell.

And then Katsuki saw a familiar tuft of green hair and his heart stopped.

No..this couldn’t be happening. Izuku shouldn’t be here. He couldn’t let his best friend see him like this. He was meant to protect Izuku until their dying days. He was meant to be Izuku’s number one hero, he was meant to protect him forever, to be there for him forever.

Their eyes met, red and green widening in unison. One screaming to stay away while the other screamed in fear.

He saw Izuku cover his mouth as tears fell down his face, and then he was coming closer towards the barricades, jumping over them and throwing his bag at the villain, which allowed Katsuki to breathe.

“What are you doing, Izuku?!” Katsuki gasped out, “get back, you’re going to get yourself killed!”

“I can’t!” Izuku cried, “my legs just started moving on their own!” Tears had started to fall faster down Izuku’s face, who ignored the several amounts of shouts and demands from the heroes and police.

When the villain had tried to absorb Izuku, and there was a loud commotion behind them, but none of them seemed to care. And then all three of them had heard the familiar catchphrase.

“I am here!” The deep voice behind them cried out, and suddenly the ground was vibrating, and Katsuki was free. The crowd was cheering for All Might and the hero’s scrambled to get Katsuki and Izuku away from the flattened villain.

The heroes had praised Katsuki for his bravery while they scolded Izuku for ‘putting himself in danger’. After the scolding and praising, they were checked for injuries and when none were found they were let go.

The news outlets had heard about the story almost immediately and swarmed the area. When they saw Katsuki and Izuku walking away, they ran to the two trying to get an insight to what happened.

Katsuki saw from the corner of his eye all of the reporters who wanted to get the story first and glared at them. He had previously heard civilians and heroes give their take on what happened and all the bullshit they were spouting. Some had the gall to start crying for how traumatic it was for them to witness.

“Hey kids!” Someone from the hoard called out, “would you mind doing an interview?”

Izuku has started to stammer to try and get a response out, and Katsuki had glared at them, ready to say no but a camera was shoved in his face.

“How do you feel after experiencing a villain attack?” One asked, shoving their microphone in Katsuki’s face.

“I feel fine,” he barked, “I’m not going to cry like those losers, those who are need to stop. I don’t need your pity or empathy. Some of the interviews I heard being given are pure bullshit, they’re just looking for their Fifteen Minutes of Fame and I refuse to be used for.” He glared towards the camera and around him, leaving some of the reporters speechless at his rudeness.

“What is it like to be saved by All Might?” One asked after a few seconds of silence.

“Completely unnecessary. If the heroes had done their jobs, then I never would’ve needed saving. Some of the heroes interviewed today said they did everything they could, which was a complete fucking lie.” Katsuki scoffed and Izuku was looking up at home with wide eyes that pleaded to go. “The only person who did anything before All Might arrived was Izuku. He ran to me and allowed me to breathe for a few seconds while the heroes with actual fucking quirks just stood there with a megaphone shouting demands.”

“But shouldn’t you be grateful for having heroes there?” Another reporter asked.

Katsuki scoffed and looked directly at the reporter who asked the question. “Did you not just hear what I fucking said?” He rolled his eyes, “listen up you fucks, I’m Bakugo Katsuki and I’m going to be the next number one hero and get rid of all these fuckers who call themselves heroes.” He then grabbed Izuku and walked away from the flock of reporters.

The two took a longer and more complicated way home in case any of the reporters had followed them home. They walked in silence, both thinking about what had happened, and Izuku thinking about how to tell Katsuki what had happened at school.

He opened his mouth to try and explain what happened, but a cloud of dust formed in front of them and got in their mouths, making them splutter. When the cloud of dust died down, they both had got a clear view of the thing that caused it and they both saw..All Might??

The best friends looked at each other, expressions asking if they were seeing the same thing in front of them.

“My, giving them the slip was tricky!” The man spoke. He turned towards the two boys and and opened his mouth, but blood came running out of it and a cloud of steam covered him, and when it settled, a skinny man was revealed.

Katsuki and Izuku looked at the man in front of them with their jaws dropped, then realising the man in front of them was their childhood hero, just..skinnier.

“Ah! The two young men from before!” All Might boasted, “the green haired boy, what’s your name?” All Might pointed towards Izuku.

“Midoriya Izuku.” He replied.

“Young Midoriya, I apologise for what I said earlier today. That was not very hero like of me, but you running towards your friend, even without a quirk, was. I see now that you have potential to be a great symbol to look up to.” All Might smiled at the boy.

“Midoriya Izuku, you too can become a hero!”

The two had their jaws dropped once again, and Izuku had started to bawl.

“I believe you are worthy of inheriting my power!”

“Huh??” Izuku and Katsuki looked at All Might with confusion.

“Yes, inheriting my power. Midoriya, will you accept my request of inheritance?”

Izuku looked towards Katsuki who was already looking at him. “Well, don’t say no!”

Izuku loved the way the shimmering sunset highlighted and sparkled in Katsuki’s eyes.

He nodded at Katsuki before turning to face All Might. “Okay. I accept.”

All Might smirked. “Wonderful. Meet me at Takoba Municipal Beach Park tomorrow morning at six A.M. we begin training then.”

Chapter Text

The next day at 6 A.M Izuku and Katsuki met All Might at the beach park and were shocked to see how trashed the beach was.

“Ah! Young Midoriya, young Midoriya’s friend! Welcome to Takoba Municipal Beach Park!” All Might smiled.

“This place is trashed.” Katsuki stated.

“Yes! Indeed, it is. Young Midoriya is to allow the beautiful ocean to be seen before he can inherit my quirk.”

Izuku’s jaw dropped, “I have to clean this whole beach?”

All Might nodded, “if you had my quirk as you are right now, all skin and bones, then you would be torn to pieces.”

Izuku looked sceptical now, he wasn’t sure if he wanted this quirk anymore. Moving all the rubbish and heavy containers by himself has to be impossible.

All Might had seemed to know what Izuku was thinking, “you need to work your body up, gain muscle and strength. This quirk isn’t your everyday run of the mill quirk, I was too quirkless until my mentor, Shimura Nana gave me this quirk and told me to be the hero everyone needed. After some time, the villain All For One had tried to kill me and take my quirk, which caused this,” All Might lifted up his shirt to show them the indent in his ribs, “since then, I’ve been having less and less time to be in my ‘All Might’ form.”

Izuku and Katsuki had a look of shock on their faces and now Izuku was determined to get stronger and to prove to All Might that he has the willpower to handle his quirk.

They had eventually started to move the smaller and lighter weighted objects and got rid of them, slowly moving onto the larger and heavier objects.

Over the course of 10 months through rain, heat and heavy winds, All Might met both Izuku and Katsuki at the beach at 6 A.M every day, watching over Izuku clean the beach while training Katsuki in hand-to-hand combat.

One morning, Katsuki and All Might walked to the beach together and were surprised to see it all clean with the rising sun shimmering on the ocean’s horizon.

Izuku stood on top of a broken truck and cried, his scream louder than the morning birds, making All Might stand in pride while Katsuki stood in awe.

All Might turned into his hero form and walked over to the boy, catching him when he fell from exhaustion. “I..did it, All Might..I cleaned the whole beach.” He wheezed.

“You sure did, young Midoriya! And as a teenager no less!” All might smiled down at the boy in his arms before gently putting him down and pulling out his phone from his pocket. “Here, take a look,” All Might shoved his phone in Izuku’s face, showing a photo of himself 10 months ago.

“Woah! When did you take that?” Izuku cried, embarrassed.

“When we first started training, of course!” The hero beamed, “you have done well, Izuku, and now you have proven your worth!”

Izuku started to cry uncontrollably, the words of his childhood hero had struck something within him. “I feel like I’ve cheated..receiving all this help from you..I feel so blessed.”

All Might patted Izuku’s back, “it is now time for the award ceremony! But first you need to stop crying.” The man chuckled awkwardly.

“Ah, yes!” Izuku wiped his tears away.

All Might plucked a hair strand from his head and held it in front of Izuku. “Eat this!”

The two teenagers looked at each other before looking at the hero confusedly. “Eat..what?”

“This piece of hair, of course!” All Might beamed, “to inherit my power you must consume my DNA.”

“Uh..” Izuku took the strand of hair from his hero and looked at it. ‘This isn’t exactly how I expected to receive this quirk, but beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.’ Izuku thought as he swallowed the hair, making a face as he felt it struggle to slide down his throat.

“How do you feel?” All Might asked.

“I feel..fine. I don’t feel any different than–oh nope never mind, there it is.” Izuku shivered as he felt like what was electricity shoot throughout his body.

“Yes, that would be my quirk coursing through your veins. Now the only thing you must remember is to always take it easy when using this quirk. If you use too much power in the stage you’re in right now, you would put yourself through a world full of pain.” The hero warned. “Now go get some breakfast and get dressed, your entrance exam is in three hours.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

8:55 A.M was when Izuku and Katsuki walked through the UA entrance exam site, Izuku marvelling at the grounds while Katsuki glared at anyone who walked past them.

Izuku was so caught up in marvelling at the giant school school that he lost his footing and tripped, except he didn’t hit the ground and just floated in air, then he was flipped around and back on his feet.

“Sorry about that, but are you okay?” A girl standing next to him with a brown bob asked him with a sheepish smile, “that was my quirk that saved you from a broken nose.”

Izuku nodded and bowed, “thank you for saving me! I’m Midoriya Izuku.” He introduced himself.

“I’m Uraraka Ochaco!” She gleamed, “ah, well it seems like it’s starting soon, good luck to the both of us!” She waved at Izuku before walking into the school.

“I..talked to a girl!” Izuku blushed and covered his face with his hands.

“Oh yes, a great achievement Izuku. Now hurry up so we don’t miss the introduction.” Katsuki grumbled as he started to walk away from Izuku, who cried and stumbled to catch up to his best friend.

They had gotten their examinee numbers and made their way to the great hall where Present Mic was to give the introduction. Izuku and Katsuki sat next to each other as others found their seats and waited for the introduction to begin.

Present Mic made a loud entrance, making everyone cover their ears before their eardrums burst. “Hellooooooo listeners!” the man had shouted, “we have just a little under ten thousand of you here today, but only forty of you will make it into one of the two hero course classes we offer here at UA. Only one in just about two hundred and fifty make in into the hero course, but we are the best of the best here.”

Izuku started to mumble, fanboying over the voice of Present Mic, only shutting up when Katsuki slapped a hand over Izuku’s mouth.

“After this presentation, you’ll each head to your assigned testing location. Bring along whatever you want! You’ll be experiencing ten-minute-long mock cityscape manoeuvres.” Present Mic explained. “Of course, playing the antihero and attacking other examinees is prohibited! Use your quirks to disable these faux villains…each site is filled with three kinds of faux villains. What’s your goal, listeners? To earn points! Points are awarded for defeating each according to their respective difficulty levels!”

A boy with dark blue hair and glasses stood up with his arm raised, “may I ask a question?” But before Present Mic could answer the boy, he spoke again. “There appear to be no fewer than four varieties of faux villain on this handout! Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for UA, Japan’s top academy! We’re all here today in the hopes of being moulded into model heroes!” Then he turned and pointed towards Izuku, “and you, with the curly hair! You’ve been muttering this whole time. It’s distracting! If this is some sort of game to you, then please leave immediately!”

Izuku covered his mouth as the people around them snickered at his embarrassment, only stopping when they caught Katsuki’s fiery glare.

“Examinee 7111, nice catch, thanks! But the fourth faux villain variety gets you zero points! He’s more of an obstacle!” Present Mic explained.

“So, it’s like a stage gimmick to be avoided. Got it..” Izuku mumbled to himself.

“Thank you, sir. I apologise for the interruption!” the boy bowed and sat back down.

“Now! Without further ado, let the UA Physical Entrance Exam begin!” Present Mic cried, the cheers of the examinees falling in place with his.

They students had made their way to their respective testing site and had gotten changed in their changing rooms. When Izuku came out of his change room wearing his turquoise and grey jumpsuit, he realised he was with Katsuki and that girl who had saved him before..and that boy who called out his muttering.

He had started to make his way to over to Katsuki who was just his typical tank top and sweatpants doing some stretches when the boy who called him out earlier grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

“Why are you over here? Hoping to interfere with her meditation?” he had asked, confusing Izuku. He looked over to where Katsuki was and saw the brown-haired girl doing some sort of meditation behind him.

“Do you have no manners? If this is the type of games you wish to play, then please leave immediately.” The boy commanded.

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows, “um..excuse me? You are no more equal to me when it comes to this place, so who are you to tell me what to do, twice? I was going over to my friend, not her. Please stop assuming what I am doing, it is not your business.” Izuku gave him a once over before walking off to Katsuki, who had watched the interaction carefully.

“Come on, Izuku. Let’s beat all these extras!” Katsuki smirked and held out a fist, which Izuku fist bumped back.

“Okay, start!” Present Mic called out from the observation building. Everyone looked up towards the building dumbfounded. “What are you waiting for? There aren’t any countdowns in real fights!”

Everyone came back to their senses and ran. Katsuki and Izuku stuck together as the group split up, going for the 3 pointer faux villains.

“Kacchan, give me a boost.” Izuku said as they ran side by side, looking into Katsuki’s eyes before looking up at the building they were coming up on, hoping he would get the hint.

Katsuki nodded and they came to a skidding halt. “Okay. You’re going to hold onto me and then I’m going to spin you and let you go as fast as I can, alright? Don’t get hurt.”

Izuku nodded and latched onto Katsuki, feeling the breeze in his hair as Katsuki allowed his explosions to lift them high off the ground, then felt Katsuki spinning them and Izuku slowly started to let go off of Katsuki’s body and clasped their hands together, allowing Katsuki to spin them around a few more times before letting go of Izuku, sending him shooting through the air and towards the building.

Izuku saw the oncoming building and braced himself, preparing his body for an impact in case he couldn’t grab at the outside window ledges. Thankfully Katsuki was smart and had calculated how fast and how hard he needed to be and to let go so that Izuku didn’t get hurt when colliding with the building.

Izuku dangled on the ledge for a few seconds to catch his breath when he heard loud thumps coming from behind him. He turned around and saw a three-pointer coming his way, with examinees trying to use their quirks to stop it, but it just blasted them out of the way.

Izuku climbed his way up the window ledges as fast as he could, his life flashing before his eyes when his foot slipped multiple times, but he managed to make it towards the top of the building, finding the view breathtaking. He looked towards where Katsuki had last been and saw he wasn’t there, which slightly annoyed him.

Then he felt the building rumble rhythmically and he carefully looked down and saw the same three-pointer robot climbing up the building. He started at it in shock, ‘there was nothing in the handout saying they could climb!’

Izuku tried to connect with his new quirk but felt nothing arise which scared him. How was he meant to defeat this three-pointer with no quirk? Izuku looked around on the rooftop and found a long piece of metal pipe that had been somehow ripped off, he picked it up and looked over the edge of the building once more and saw that the robot was almost finished climbing.

He took a deep breath and jumped, turning his body around so that his front was facing the building and held the pole high until he was behind the robot and then stabbed the pole throughout the back of the robot and held it firmly as he dug it in and slid down the back and watched it start to explode in on itself as he plummeted down the large robot, using its leg as a leverage to jump away from the explosion, effectively destroying the robot and earning him 3 points.

He grabbed onto another windows ledge and climbed down to the ground, hearing Present Mic announce that there was only 4 minutes and 10 seconds left so he started to run around the training site, trying to find a villain that wasn’t destroyed. He came to a stop when he entered an open street where multiple robots were destroyed, and people were fighting over them.

Two explosions in front and behind him lowered his chances of any more points, with the brown-haired girl from before reminding herself that she had 28 points, and the blue-haired glasses boy had 45.

Izuku continued to run around, trying to find at least a one-pointer to destroy but the more he ran the more robots he found destroyed. And then the rumbling started. Everyone stood still, unable to find the source of it until the ground split open and a giant robot came crawling out of the ground, its electronic wheels making it move slow, though that didn’t make it any less terrifying. The robot was taller than the buildings, casting a dark shadow over the area, and had 8 beaming red lights that had the illusion of eyes, and its hands broke the rooftops of the buildings within an instant of touching them.

It made a fist and punched the ground, making it shake violently and sent dust and rubble everywhere. Izuku stared up in shock at the robot as everyone came running out of the dust in fear, knowing what he had to do but his legs felt like they were stuck to the ground.

“Two minutes, little listeners!”

The robot was getting closer and closer until it was just about to squash Izuku, and that was when his legs decided to unlock and booked it out of there. He had almost made it up to the group he was with when an explosion knocked him down from behind. Izuku turned around, hands against the road and looked at the robot now also fallen.

Explosions had started to form one after another continuously until the robot has stopped moving and its eyes went dim. Then with one final explosion, the robot was blown to bits, flying off in every direction. In the mitts of it all stood Katsuki, chest heaving and his skin glistening with sweat.

The group, seeming to forget they had a timer still going, ran up to Katsuki and started marvelling at him.

And no one seemed to notice the giant piece of robot that was plummeting down.

No one except Izuku.

He watched in horror as everyone seemed so ignorant of their surroundings and allowed the giant piece of metal fall. He tried to think of what to do, like warn the others, but this piece of metal was huge and bulky, ‘the brown haired girl could float it away, but it seemed she needed to touch the object and she had a weight limit she could handle before throwing up, and that glasses know-it-all boy with the speed quirk couldn’t get them all out on time.’

“Katsuki, look out!” he cried, making them all look at Izuku then to the sky above them which showed the plummeting piece of robot that was headed right for them.

And suddenly Izuku was in the air and flying fast towards the piece of metal.

His mind took him to a memory of him and All Might.

‘“All Might, what should I do when I first use this quirk against one of the villains in the entrance exam?” he had asked his mentor.

“Well, what I was told by my mentor, was to squeeze your buttocks and yell ‘smash!’ from deep inside your heart.” The man had answered, looking towards the sea fondly as he remembered the heartfelt moment. “It might sound silly, young Midoriya, but in the moment, it is everything.”’

Izuku followed his mentors’ words and squeezed his buttocks and screamed in his heart, his arm coming back and formed a fist, feeling his new quirk generate in his body. He punched the metal debris and for a second everything froze, then the metal chunk flew back into a building, then into multiple buildings behind it.

Izuku floated in the air for a few seconds before plummeting down, realising he didn’t have anything to catch onto or jump from, and that his legs and arm was now somehow broken.

Katsuki watched as Izuku fell from the sky, his eyes slowly shutting the faster he fell, and no one did a thing. He scoffed to himself, ‘some future heroes.’

He created some explosions and flew up to Izuku, catching him with one arm and used small explosions to gently bring both of them to the ground, holding him bridal style and walking away from the group just as Present Mic announced that their time was up, glaring at the people he walked past.

Walking with a broken boned Izuku in his arms felt unreal, the boy twitched in his arms and groaned but showed no signs of waking up.

A short older woman with a syringe-like walking stick was walking towards Katsuki and used it to point at Izuku. “Bring him down.” Was all she said.

Katsuki did what she said and knelt, bringing Izuku down to her height and she puckered up her lips and kissed Izuku, shocking those around them. A green light appeared over Izuku’s broken legs and arm and they made a gut curdling crack as his bones popped and moved back into place.

“Who is she?” Someone muttered to another behind them.

“She’s..she’s UA’s licensed nurse..Recovery Girl,” came from Katsuki’s arms, where Izuku’s eyes were blinking open.

“You’re awake.” Katsuki smiled down at Izuku, who smiled back up at him.

“He’ll be alright, take it easy for a few hours.” Recovery Girl smiled at the boys, “now, is there anyone else injured?”

Katsuki walked away once more from the group with Izuku still in his arms.

“Kacchan, I can walk.” Izuku stated.

“Grandma said to take it easy, and from here to the train station is about a twenty-minute walk.” Katsuki explained, ignoring Izuku’s pout.

“We still need to grab our clothes from the changing rooms.” Izuku reminded him, which made Katsuki roll his eyes with a soft smile on his face and walked to the change rooms.

He put Izuku down on the bench and grabbed both of their duffle bags and put them over his shoulders and looked at Izuku.

“I can walk from here, Kacchan. It’ll be embarrassing if you have to keep carrying me.” Izuku smiled up at his best friend.

Katsuki nodded and waited for Izuku to stand up and walk as best he could, which was better than Katsuki expected from just having two of his legs broken and healed. They walked together for the 20 minutes to the train station, Izuku sitting down while Katsuki stood with both bags, though the train was filled.

After about an hour train ride they arrived at Shizuoka train station and started to head to Izuku’s, Katsuki watching him carefully in case his body decided to crumble beneath him.

Which it didn’t, thankfully, and they made the walk to Izuku’s house, but when it came to the stairs of the building, Izuku’s legs gave out which scared the ever-living shit out of Katsuki.

Ignoring Izuku’s demands to put him down, Katsuki picked him up bridal style and went towards the elevator, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for the doors to open, and let Izuku press the button to his level like the child he was.

When they got to the right level, Katsuki made his way to his home away from home and gently kicked the door rhythmically to grab Inko’s attention. When she opened the door, Katsuki stood sheepishly as Inko brought a hand up to her mouth and tears started to form in her eyes.

“My baby..” She mumbled shakily, reaching out a hand to cup Izuku’s face.

“Hi, mama.” Izuku gave her a weak grin.

Inko came to her senses within a few seconds and moved out of the way so that Katsuki could walk into the apartment. He walked in and carefully shooed off his shoes before walking over to the couch and placed Izuku on it.

When Katsuki stepped back, Inko immediately rushed over to Izuku and gushed over him, making sure he had no injuries on him. “My baby, what happened?” She asked frantically.

“He overused his quirk..saving me.” Katsuki replied for Izuku, knowing he was going to make up some lie.

“Izuku! This quirk just awakened, you can’t go overusing it!” she scolded the boy.

“I know, mom. I’m sorry.” Izuku gave her a weak grin as she sighed.“What am I going to do with you?” She shook her head.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

A week later and they still heard no word from UA which had terrified Izuku. Based on his own scoring, he had just passed the written exam, but with the only 3 points he scored on the practical, he was basically already rejected from the prestigious school.

He was sitting on the couch, squeezing his hand grip while staring off into space, scaring his mother who tried to get his attention who was unsuccessful until she stood in front of him and took the hand grip away from him.

“I’m going down to grab the mail, please stop staring off into space so much, it’s getting creepy.” His mother sighed and walked out the door, leaving Izuku alone to his thoughts.

He picked up one of his weights and started to do some arm workouts with them, getting lost into thought. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he heard distant explosions and two sets of feet running up the stairs and getting closer towards the door.

The door opened and two bodies fell through it, both of them screaming “Izuku!” as he realised it was his mother and best friend, both holding an envelope with the signature UA wax stamp.

Izuku rushed over to his mom and took the envelope off of her before grabbing Katsuki’s hand and dragging him to his room.

He sat at his desk and opened the letter, showing a metal disk and letter. He placed it on his desk, and it turned on, a projection of All Might staring right at him.

“Is this on? Yes? Okay!” he smiled at someone behind the projector, confusing both Izuku and Katsuki. “Hello, young Midoriya! I am here! To give you this message,” All Might smiled at the camera, “I came to this town to work at UA to find a successor and found I have! Now for your results, while you have passed your written exam, your practical exam points only add up to three, of course that means you didn’t pass.”

Izuku’s world stopped for the second time in his life, and he gripped his pants and bit his lip, stopping himself from crying. Katsuki looked at the hologram in shock and anger, ‘after all Izuku’s been through, this is how All Might treats him?’

"If that was the only score you got.” All Might started after a long pause. “The hero course is not only awarded on hero points, but rescue points as well!” All Might moved out of the screen to show a list of the top 10 participants who made it into the hero course."

“You, my boy, placed fifth overall. The teachers, principal and I have decided that your save was heroic, saving those around you at the cost of injuring yourself. You are a true hero, Midoriya Izuku, so will you join me to experience UA High together?”

Izuku had started to cry from All Might’s words before rubbing them away and looking up at Katsuki who held his metal disk in his hand.

Izuku took his disk off the desk and allowed Katsuki to play his which was much more different than his. When the message ended, they both read the letter attached to their envelopes, stating when classes start officially and other types of information they needed before studying at UA.

Izuku stood up from his chair and hugged Katsuki tightly, who stood shocked for a second before hugging Izuku back.

“Thank you, Kacchan.” Izuku had mumbled into Katsuki’s chest.

Katsuki just hummed and Izuku’s head came back from his chest, and they both just looked into each other’s eyes and everything else disappeared.

Tension filled the air with unsaid words that got stuck in their throats, his ruby gaze met the other boy’s emerald. Katsuki couldn’t stop looking in the forest green eyes that stayed connected to his, entwined with tenderness, and it made his heart race.

“Ah..I guess I should tell mom,” Izuku slowly let go of Katsuki and walked to his door, opening it and revealing his mother mid pace.

She looked at him with worry but when he smiled at her she broke down. Her baby was finally able to live his dream. She ran to him and hugged him tightly, her tears soaking his shoulder but none of them cared.

“I got in, mama.”

Chapter Text

It was the start April meaning it was orientation day for the new UA students.

Izuku sat at his door as he put his shoes on, his mother badgering behind him making sure he had everything he needed.

“Mom,” he sighed and looked up at her, “please stop worrying, I have everything I need.” He smiled gently.

“Oh, my baby. I’m so proud of you, Izuku.” She looked him with so much love it almost made Izuku tear up as he stood. “Your father would also be very proud of you.” She walked up to him and fixed his tie, her words making Izuku’s expression drop.

His father was always a touchy subject. Sure, Izuku knew of him, met him even on some occasions, but that man would never actually be his father.

He gave his mom a weak smile and picked up his bag, giving her a kiss on the cheek before walking out the door to which Katsuki was waiting for him.

The two walked to UA together, chatting about whatever interested them, (which was mainly Izuku fanboying over UA and Katsuki just listening.)

They made it to the entrance of the UA and Izuku paused for a moment to marvel at the giant buildings in front of him. Katsuki looked at the boys’ face and smiled gently before nudging him and walking into the building.

They both walked up the stairs to the 1^st year floor, trying to find their classroom. They walked across the buildings bridge that overlooked Tokyo Bay and Katsuki stopped for a moment to witness the ocean waves shimmer along the sunlight, then he caught up to Izuku who was standing in front of an overly tall wood door that had ‘1A’ painted in red.

They looked at each other before Izuku opened the giant door, seeing that everyone was already in the room, having chosen their seats already. They stood in the doorway as they saw the blue-haired boy with glasses try to reprimand another boy with shaggy purple hair to wear his uniform properly.

“You need to wear your uniform correctly! It is a disgrace towards those who have worn this before us, and to those who made it!” the boy started making robot arms, which made Izuku and Katsuki look at each other with cringed faces. “And those shoelaces! What junior high school did you go to not teach you the proper way to wear your uniform?!”

“I went to Nabu Middle School, not that it’s any of your business.” The purple haired boy replied, looking up at the one scolding him, “who even are you to tell me what to do?”

“Ah!” the boy made more robot-like movements before pushing his glasses up his nose and answering him. “I am Iida Tenya, I went to Somei Private Academy.” He bowed in greeting, “and you?”

“Shinso Hitoshi, once again not that it’s any of your business.” Shinso rolled his eyes.

“You speak to your new classmates like–”

“Well, you all sound like a bunch of extras who’ll stand in my way.” Katsuki cut Iida off, making Izuku sigh and put his hand on his forehead, and their new classmates to look at them.

“Ah, it’s you two.” Iida announced, looking at them both with slight amazement before walking over to them.

“I’m Iida Ten–” he went to introduce himself, but Izuku stopped him.

“We heard your introduction before, I’m Midoriya Izuku.” He bowed in greeting.

They heard Katsuki scoff beside Izuku, which made them both look at the blond boy.

“Kacchan don’t be rude.” Izuku elbowed Katsuki’s arm which made the boy glare at Izuku.

“Whatever nerd. I’m Bakugo Katsuki, the next number one hero.” He rolled his eyes as he introduced himself.

“Hey, wait a minute,” a spiky red-haired boy called out, “you’re those kids from that sludge villain attack!”

The class had started to chatter amongst themselves while Izuku looked uncomfortable, and Katsuki glared at the boy who spoke out. Katsuki opened his mouth to speak but a voice behind them stopped him.

“Oh, it’s the curly haired boy from the exam.” They turned around and saw the brown-haired girl that saved Izuku when he tripped. “You’re Midoriya Izuku, right?” She asked.

Izuku slightly blushed and nodded towards the girl.

“Not sure if you remember, but I’m Uraraka Ochaco.” She smiled at him, “I hope we can become good friends!”

“If you’re here to socialise and make friends, then leave now.” A voice from the ground made them freeze.

They slowly turned around and saw a giant yellow worm with a mans face. An arm came out with a yoghurt packet which the man slurped, and then he stood up and took off the worm costume, which was just a sleeping bag.

Izuku did a quick analysis of him but couldn’t figure out what hero or who he was.

“Time is of the essence when it comes to the hero world, you must always be prepared, in which you as a class, are not,” mummers of offence rang around the classroom. “Hello, I’m Aizawa Shota, your homeroom teacher,” he introduced himself.

The class looked shocked at his introduction. Ignoring them, Aizawa dug into his yellow sleeping bag and pulled out a UA p.e uniform.

“Okay, to start off with, put your p.e uniforms on and meet outside.” He showed them the uniform before putting it back in the bag.

The class looked around confused but followed their teacher, leaving their bags at their chosen desk. Aizawa showed them their designated lockers which had a pair of UA uniforms ready for them.

They had met him on the p.e grounds and looked around, marvelling at how massive UA actually is. A massive p.e grounds, Grounds Beta, Gamma, and Omega, Gym Gamma, Forested Area, Sports Festival Stadium, and the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. Along with over 100 rooms within the building itself, the students knew they were bound to get lost within a few minutes.

“Today, I’ll be conducting a quirk assessment test on each and everyone of you.” Aizawa announced once everyone had changed.

“But what about orientation?” Uraraka pouted.

“Orientation does not matter in the real world. It is a complete waste of time when it comes to the hero course. UA is known for not following traditions when it comes to teaching, so I run my class however I see fit, meaning I can and will expel anyone who I deem unworthy of this school.”

The class looked at the man shocked, not believing he was being serious.

“All your lives, you’ve been standardised tests that wouldn’t allow you to use your quirks, am I right?” He asked, receiving nods from his students. “Well today you will be using your quirks. I have organised eight physical tests for you all to do, and the person who comes last..will be expelled.”

Multiple gasps were heard around the group. “But you can’t do that!” Uraraka called out, “we haven’t even been here for a full day, that’s not fair!”

“Life isn’t fair.” Aizawa stated, “that’s what you signed up for when you joined UA, if that’s not what you want then leave now. The country’s still trying to make us believe that we were all created equal by not letting those with powerful quirks excel, it’s not idealistic. One day this government will realise this.”

He then turned to Katsuki. “Bakugo, you scored the highest points when it came to the entrance exam, what was your furthest distance throw with a softball in junior high?”

Katsuki looked a little stunned as he was put on the spot, “uh, sixty-seven meters, I think.” He looked at Izuku for confirmation, who nodded.

“Great, now try it with your quirk.” Aizawa handed him a soft ball and got out of the way. “Anything goes, as long as you stay inside the circle.”

Katsuki nodded and grounded his feet, moving his arm back and launched the softball with his explosions. The class stood in shock at the power behind the explosions shown and were amazed.

“During this year, you will be learning how to control your quirks, how to use it to your minimum and maximum, I will not stand for any excuses. At the end of this year, we will retake these tests, and I will be expecting higher results.” He spoke as he tuned the phones screen towards the class, which had ‘705.2m’ shown in blue bold numbers.

“Woah, seven hundred and five meters? How are we meant to beat that?” A blond boy with a black zigzag in his hair, whose name was Kaminari, asked rhetorically.

“Alright, get into a line and we’ll start the first round of the testing.”

The class did as told, and one by one they threw the softball given to them with their quirks, some getting further than Katsuki’s initial score, some getting less.

Then it was Izuku’s turn. Aizawa handed him the ball with suspicious eyes, and Izuku got into position to throw the ball.

He reached into his mind and activated his new quirk, feeling it in his right arm as he threw the ball and then he felt nothing. The phone called out “sixty-two meters!” and Izuku never felt more confused. The sound of his new classmates’ whispers and gasps made him turn around to see his teachers’ hair and scarf floating, and his once black eyes now glowing red.

“Midoriya Izuku. I watched your performance in the entrance exam, and putting it simply, you don’t belong here.” Aizawa glared at the boy. “People like you don’t belong in this school.”

Izuku’s jaw dropped at the words from his teacher, and then he saw the yellow goggles. “Hey, wait a minute, I know you! You’re the underground hero Eraserhead!”

His classmates had started to discuss amongst themselves about their knowledge of their hero teacher, not seeming to know much since he’s on the down low and avoids the media.

“It’s obvious you don’t have control over your quirk. Do you intended to break more bones and rely on someone to save you every time?” He asked, glaring down at the boy.

“N-no! Of course that’s not my intention!” Izuku tried to defend himself.

The scarf came flying towards him and brought him close towards his teacher. “Regardless of what your true intentions are, you will be nothing more than a liability on the battlefield. You’re worthless and useless if you can only save one person after throwing a single punch. With this quirk, there is no possible way you can become a hero.”

Aizawa called off his scarf, “I’ve returned your quirk, take your final throw.” He walked away from the boy, who just stood in shock and anger at the hero’s words.

He walked back to the circle and picked up a new softball and just stood there for a little while. He looked at the ball in his hand and thought of those who believed in him, actually believed in him.

‘Mom..Tenko..Kacchan.’ He thought of those three and he threw his arm back, though held onto the ball for the longest that he could, and activating his quirk on his index finger, sending the ball flying.

The class stood in shock as the ball kept on flying and wouldn’t be surprised if it went out of the schools’ grounds, like Uraraka’s did with her ball flying into infinity.

‘Ah..it hurts. But not as much as it did in the entrance exam!’ He clenched his fist and looked towards Aizawa, who looked impressed.

The phone called out his final distance, “753.1 meters!”

The class stood amazed at Izuku, who looked proud of himself. He turned to face Katsuki and gave him the biggest smiled Katsuki’s ever seen on his face, and that made his stomach flutter violently.

“Alright, time for the next round of tests.” Aizawa called out, “fifty-meter sprint, get into a line like before and the first two will race against each other.”

Iida and a frog looking girl, who Izuku found out her name was Asui Tsuyu, went first, with Iida’s score being 3.04 seconds and Asui’s 5.58 seconds.

Next was Uraraka’s and a tailed boy named Ojiro Mashirao, who’s scores ended up being 7.15 and 5.49 seconds.

A sparkly boy named Aoyama Yuga got 5.51 seconds.

And pink girl named Ashido Mina scored 4.79 seconds.

Then it was Katsuki’s and Izuku’s turn, Katsuki scoring 4.13 seconds while Izuku scored 5.21 seconds.

Aizawa scored the rest of the class while they caught their breaths. While Izuku was still fast and strong, he was bound to come last compared to his classmates, and the broken finger was not helping him in the slightest.

After a torturous few hours, Aizawa had declared it the end of the quirk assessment test and had gathered his students around.

“It is now time to present the results of this assessment test.” He started, “instead of reading this out one by one, which would take up another hour or two, I’ll disclose them all at once.” He pressed a button on the phone and a hologram appeared.

They all looked at the hologram in front of them and sighed in relief when they saw where they ranked.

All except Izuku.

Who came dead last, to no one’s surprise.

Katsuki came up behind Izuku and put a hand on his shoulder. Izuku looked up at his best friend, then down to his clenched fist which hid his broken finger.

Aizawa pressed a button on the phone and the hologram went away. “Oh, and I was lying about the expulsion.” The whole class stared at him in shock, especially Izuku. “That was just a little white lie to make sure you all gave it your best.”

Izuku almost collapsed to the ground in relief, but Katsuki’s hand on his shoulder acted like a rock in the moment.

“That was so easily seen, I don’t see how the rest of you didn’t figure it out.” Shinso spoke from beside Izuku and Katsuki, with Katsuki glaring at the purple-haired boy.

“Alright, that’s it for today,” Aizawa announced. “Go get changed and grab a syllabus in the classroom and make sure to read it before tomorrow morning.”

He walked over to Izuku and handed the boy a slip, “go see grandma in the nurse’s office and get that healed. Make sure you’re healed and prepared for tomorrow, that’s when your actual training begins.”

Izuku took the slip from his teacher and walked to the boy’s locker rooms with Katsuki.

Katsuki was the first to finish changing, of course, he had to be the first in anything.

Izuku was going more slower than usual, by the time he had his pants on, the rest of the boys had left, except Katsuki.

Izuku only had his pants on when Katsuki came over to him. “You can go on without me, Kacchan. I’ll be a little while.” Izuku said as he struggled to get the button done up for his pants.

Katsuki sighed and rolled his eyes, putting down his bag as he walked over to Izuku and swatted his hands away from the button of his pants, doing it up for him. “Pass me your belt.” He ordered.

“Kacchan, you really don’t have to..” Izuku worried, but from one glare from Katsuki he sighed and handed him his brown belt.

Katsuki slipped the brown leather through the loops of Izuku’s pants and put the belt through the gold buckle, tightening it until he couldn’t anymore.

“Shirt.” Was all he said, putting his hand out for Izuku, who put the shirt in the palm of his hand.

Katsuki put the shirt on over Izuku’s arms and shoulders and straightened it out so that the buttons matched the holes.

He started to do them up, starting from the top, very slowly making his way down. He had stopped about halfway down, just staring at Izuku’s stomach which had started to show the outline of abs and a slight v-line.

He could see the way Izuku’s breathing had started to slow, and a row of goosebumps had started to rise on his stomach from the draught. Izuku’s movement snapped him out off whatever trance he was in and did the rest of the buttons up, helping Izuku put on his jacket.

“Thank you, Kacchan.” Izuku smiled up to his best friend, who just grunted in response.

They walked together to the nurse’s office and gave Recovery Girl the slip of paper that Aizawa had given him. He sat on the bed while she read over the note before puckering up her lips.

Izuku screamed in horror as the wrinkly lips came towards him but when they touched him, his finger didn’t ache anymore, and he suddenly felt extremely tired.

“Woah, I feel so tired now.” Izuku spoke through a yawn.

“Yes, that’s the way the body heals. My quirk just speeds it up.” She told him as she reached over her desk and grabbed a Kamui Woods themed PEZ dispenser and gave Katsuki and Izuku a PEZ candy. “Go on now, I hear you have a big day tomorrow.” She shooed them away.

The two walked out of the nurse’s office and walked to their classroom to grab their bags and a syllabus book. When they picked up what they needed, they walked out of the classroom and saw All Might waiting for them outside the room.

“All Might!” Izuku exclaimed.

“Young Midoriya, young Bakugo! Did you have fun today?” He asked the two.

Izuku went into a whole ramble about his day, making Katsuki smile softly. All Might had looked like he regretted asking Izuku the question almost immediately after he had started rambling.

“Ah yes!” All Might said awkwardly, having no idea what Izuku was talking about. “Have a good afternoon you two!” He waved to them before running off to God knows where in the school.

Izuku looked confused but shrugged it off and walked out of the school with Katsuki, rambling about anything and everything.

‘This is how life should be.’ Katsuki thought as he listened to every word that came out of his best friend’s mouth.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next day they had their normal classes, as per the normal schooling curriculum. English was first and second, which they all found so extremely boring. And then it was a double lesson of Japanese. After it was lunch, where they all made their way to Lunch Rush’s cafeteria and grabbed some of his famous white rice, which they all enjoyed tremendously.

And now it was time for hero lessons, the only class of the day they were excited for. They sat in their seats as they waited for Aizawa to walk into the classroom and give them their instructions.

The door flew open, and All Might held onto the doors frame as he stood on his toes. “I am here!” He cried his catchphrase, “coming through the door like a hero!”

The class had started to get excited and chattered amongst themselves about All Might being a teacher at UA while the man himself started to walk to Aizawa’s desk.

“Today, we will be doing combat training!” He announced, which set off cheers from the students. “But in order to compete in this battle, you should all look your best!” He motioned towards the wall next to him, which had started to slide out of the wall.

The students had started to gasp and mummer to each other as the rows of numbered cases emerged from the walls, excited to see their hero costumes.

“Your hero costumes have been based off your quirk registry, body specifications and brief design you had sent in prior to your enrolment to UA!” All Might explained with a wide toothy smile, “now go get changed and meet me at Ground Beta!”

“Yes sir!” The class cheered back and grabbed their assigned number cases, walking towards their locker rooms.

When they got to the locker rooms, they had started to change. Izuku opened his case and pulled out the costume that was in it, smiling at the memory of seeing it for the first time.

Izuku was going through some paperwork he still needed to fill out for enrolling at UA when he came across a sheet about his hero costume. He scrambled to find a pen, only just realising the costume paperwork was due almost a week ago.

Inko came walking through the door with a bag in her hands, a happy and content smile on her face, only to drop it in confusion as she found her son turning over everything in their living room frantically.

“Izuku, what’s wrong?” She asked, worried.

“Oh! Mom! I need a pen, I need to create a hero costume and the paperwork for it was due to be sent out last week!” He cried, tipping out a small box and sorting out the contents in it, unable to find a pen.

“Oh, about that,” she put down the bag she was holding and walked over to Izuku to calm him down. “I have a present for you, for getting into UA.” She smiled at him and went back to the bag she was holding and pulled out what was in it.

“I’m so proud of you, my baby,” she held a hero costume in front of him, a dark turquoise jumpsuit with black padding at the elbows and knees to lower legs, a white padding over his collarbone, a metal mask that would cover the lower half of his face, a hood, white gloves, and a red combat utility belt.

“Mom..” Izuku looked at her shocked, analysing the costume in her hands.

It was a perfect match for the design he had in mind, but he wondered how his mother could possibly know what and how he wanted his first hero costume to look like.

“I saw your notebook open one day and took a quick picture of it. I went to Mitsuki and Masaru and showed them, and they decided they wanted to make this design work for you, since they know your measurements and what types of materials you like and can work with. They are also making Katsuki’s costume as well. ‘Our sons must always have the best of the best’ is what Mitsuki said.”

Izuku could’ve started to cry at that moment. “Mom..you really didn’t have to.” He walked up to her and felt the fabric and materials of the costume.

“Anything for my son.” She looked at him with so much love, the tears in Izuku’s eyes just fell.

He ran to her and embraced her in a tight hug. “Thank you..mama,” he mumbled into her shoulder.

Izuku changed out of his uniform into the costume, feeling how it fit him perfectly and was loose in the most needed areas.

“Woah, Midoriya, your costume is such high quality!” Kirishima called out, gaining the attention of the guys in the locker room who looked at Izuku.

“Ah! Yeah, I guess so. I didn’t get this made by the UA designers.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“Wow, who did you get it done by? It looks so manly!” He had asked, getting closer towards Izuku.

Katsuki stepped in front of Izuku to block out the redhead boy. “He got it designed by my parents, dimwit. Can’t you see the Bakugo’s trademark on the belt?”

The boys looked at the two of them in shock, mainly at Katsuki.

“You’re the son of Bakugo Mitsuki and Masaru?!” Kaminari asked, jaw dropped to the floor.

“No shit Sherlock. Do you know any other Bakugo’s in the area?” Katsuki gruffer, rolling his eyes at the stupidity of his classmate.

“Such vulgar language–” Iida started, throwing his arms around like he was a robot.

But Katsuki had cut him off, “can it, Glasses.”

“Just how close are you two? The Bakugo’s designer brand goes up to hundreds of thousands of Yen.” Kaminari had asked again.

“Born and raised together.” Katsuki gave them a passive aggressive grin and wrapped an arm around Izuku, pulling him close.

“My mom works as an editor for the Bakugo’s magazine, but auntie said that she’d take care of it without any payment.” Izuku shrugged as best he could with Katsuki’s arms over his shoulders.

He looked up to Katsuki, “are you finished changing?”

Katsuki looked down to his best friend and nodded, walking over to his locker and closing it and grabbed two gauntlets that sat on the ground in front of his locker. They walked out to the observation room where All Might was waiting for them with two boxes in front of him.

“Today, you will all be doing combat training! Here in front of me are two boxes, one ‘hero’ one ‘villain’, with pairs put together. For the heroes to win, they must find and capture a bomb the villains have hidden before the time runs out. For the villains to win, they must hide and defend the bomb at all costs before the time runs out, got it?”

The class nodded towards the hero, and he put a hand in each box. “For our first round, the heroes: Midoriya and Shinso! The villains: Bakugo and Todoroki!”

The class started to mutter amongst themselves, they haven’t known each other long, but this was going to be an interesting battle.

Todoroki and Katsuki made their way into the training field, finding their building while Izuku and Shinso stayed back and came up with a plan.

The timer went off, Shinso and Izuku ran towards the building they knew Katsuki and Todoroki were in. They each searched a floor level, being diligent with the corners and open areas of the floors.

They suddenly felt the whole building drop in temperature and their feet slipped beneath them. They tumbled about but never fully slipped, saving them the embarrassment of being caught on camera.

“Midoriya.” Shinso called out quietly, not knowing whose ears were around. “We need to find Bakugo, if he talks, I get can him to tell us where they’ve hidden the bomb.”

“Kacchan? Why not Todoroki?”

“Todoroki..isn’t much of a talker, I highly doubt he’d speak a word, to me especially.”

Izuku nodded and regained his footing on the ice, he’d have to get Hatsume to make him some spiked ice shoes. He took a step and experimentally slid across the ice towards the next corner, seeing a flash of blond hair and explosion-like hair accessories walk into the next room. Izuku quickly grabbed Shinso’s attention and motioned towards the next room and who it was, mimicking explosions with his hands, making Shinso lightly chuckle.

Izuku whistled a short and quick tune, gaining Katsuki’s attention as Shinso hid behind a corner.

Katsuki came out of the room, a deadly smirk on his face when he saw Izuku standing alone. “That’s not a smart place to be, nerd.”

Izuku returned the smirk. “We’ll see about that.”

Katsuki lifted his arm, his fingers moving slightly as his other hand reaches for the pin on his gauntlets. “Where’s the mindfucker? Icy-Hot and the bomb won’t be found by you, or him. I’ve made sure of that.”

“Are you sure about that, Bakugo?” Shinso asked as he came around the corner, “knowing you, you and Todoroki do not get along, regardless of the situation, so I highly doubt you two would be able to cooperate on something as huge as hiding a bomb, together of all things.”

“Hah? What the fuck do you–” Katsuki stopped mid sentence as his body froze and his eyes went dull to the point they were white.

“Take us to where the bomb is.” He commanded of the explosion boy.

Katsuki, as much against his will, took them to where Todoroki and the bomb hid. In his mind, he tried everything to gain control back of his body to twitch his finger, to blink, anything, but he was helpless.

Izuku and Shinso walked carefully behind Katsuki. They thought it was too easy, it was, in truth. Katsuki just so happens to find them and talk to them when he knew Shinso was antagonising him? Katsuki was smarter than that, given his brash and fast paced tactics, but it was an all-out easy plan to ambush them.

Katsuki stopped in front of a closed door, 5 floors from where they originally were. Shinso and Izuku looked at each other and nodded to each other. “Bakugo, walk back down to where you found us and–”

The floor froze underneath them which caught them off guard, making them all slip about which resulted in Katsuki snapping out of Shinso’s control.

Katsuki smirked and dread filled Izuku, they had just fallen into their trap.

Katsuki sent explosions towards the two, breaking them apart as they flew to different sides to escape the firebomb.

Izuku, closer to the bomb and Todoroki, hidden by fallen debris and pillars, made his way over to them. He slowly crawled closer until he was just a few inches away from the bomb, his hand reaching out just barely able to touch it when a shadow overcame him and the area he was in felt like it was about to be a moment frozen in time.

He turned around and saw Todoroki standing behind him, ice forming on his hand and arm. Izuku rolled away as quick as he could just as ice had formed where he was a second ago. He looked over to where Katsuki and Shinso were, seeing them in a hand-to-hand combat battle. He couldn’t use his quirk, it was too early and too destructive for that type of training, so he just kept dodging Todoroki’s attacks.

Izuku used the icy ground to his advantage, sliding across the room with ease as he dodged and manoeuvred around Todoroki’s ice attacks, which resulted him creating ice walls between him, Izuku, and the bomb.

Izuku smirked, sliding once more on the ice away from the dual boy who created the last piece of the ice wall that Izuku needed. Todoroki’s gasp was audible and Izuku could see the dim orange glow of fire trying to melt it. He bolted for the bomb, the ice on the ground still making it slippery and hard for him to get to it.

He finally, finally, got to the bomb and had just grazed his fingers on it when All Might’s booming voice came over the speaker. “The hero team wins! Well done Shinso and Mid..Midoriya look out!”

Izuku looked up to the camera confused when he caught sight of fire coming from a melted hole in the ice shield. He didn’t have time to dodge or hide behind the bomb.

‘Oh god,’ he thought, ‘this is where I die..’

The fire engulfed his vision, he put his hands to his head and turned around, feeling the glazing heat from the fire, except..it didn’t burn, he didn’t feel any excruciating pain from the flames.

That scared him.

He could hear the screams from his classmates over the speaker and from the boys in the room with him. “Midoriya!” He heard Shinso and Todoroki cry out, their footsteps rushing towards him as the fire dimmed out.

“Guys..I’m..okay?” He spoke out, confused on the situation.

Katsuki came rushing with Shinso and Todoroki, kneeling down in front of Izuku while looking over his body for any burns. “How are you..are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, Kacchan, I’m fine. Don’t know how, but I’m not hurt.” Izuku smiled at his best friend, taking his hand when he stood up and offered.

“You should go get checked out by Recovery Girl, Midoriya. I apologise for putting you in harms way.” Todoroki bowed, his voice monotonous.

“You’ve got no reason to apologise, Todoroki. Its what being a hero is.” He smiled at the dual boy.

Katsuki hummed and started to guide Izuku out of the building, despite Izuku’s objection. They met All Might, Aizawa, and the rest of the class when they exited the building, their classmates worried about his non-existent injuries and their teachers confused and slightly concerned.

When Aizawa looked him over and deemed him unharmed, he sat them out as the next group of heroes and villains went.

They chatted quietly amongst themselves, though it was mainly Izuku and Todoroki talking to each other.

Aizawa came over to them and cleared his throat. “Midoriya, I need to ask you a few questions about what happened.”

Izuku stopped talking to Todoroki and looked up at his teacher and smiled. “Of course, Aizawa-sensei.”

“So, you still stand by with your previous statement that you have no idea of what happened? All of you?” They nodded to their teacher, who sighed in exhaustion. “Is it possible, Todoroki, that you can control your flames to not harm others?”

Todoroki shook his head, “it is not possible, sensei. I have rarely ever used my fire side, so I would not have the knowledge or control to do that.”

“Hm. Is it possible that you dodge the flames before they could come in contact with you?”

Midoriya mimicked Todoroki’s prior action. “I froze. I could feel the heat from the flames.”

“Okay. Midoriya, you need to be completely honest with me. Do you have an unregistered quirk that the school does not know about?”

“No, sensei. But my father has a fire breathing quirk, it could be possible that I’m immune to fire from him.”

Aizawa sighed once again. “Alright. You’re certain you’re not hurt?”

“Yes sensei.”

Aizawa nodded and left the four boys alone.

Todoroki and Shinso returned to their conversation though it was limited. Katsuki and Izuku sat in silence, listening to Shinso and Todoroki’s conversation until it came to an end.

It took an hour or two for the class to have their turn of the exercise, then the went back to their locker rooms and got changed out of their hero suits.

“Woah, hey, Midoriya..you’ve got something funky on your back.” Kaminari’s voice echoed through the locker room, making everyone turn to Izuku.

Katsuki made his way over to Izuku, whose hero costume undone and draped off his arms, and carefully looked at what Kaminari had pointed out. “What the fuck..is this?”

“What, Kacchan?” Izuku asked worriedly, “guys what’s wrong?” He tried to look at his back, but was unsuccessful, along with Katsuki’s strong hands keeping him in place.

“Stay still, I’ll take a photo.” Katsuki spoke, his hands leaving Izuku’s body as the other boys came to crowd around them.

“It’s so cool, Midoriya! Like fire burned onto your back!” Kaminari commented as he got closer.

“Fire burnt into my back? Kaminari that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Best way to describe it.” The blond shrugged as others agreed with his description.

Katsuki came back to him and showed him the photo that he took of his back, and Izuku had to agree that it did look like fire was burnt into his back.

A portion of his skin looked like it had been burnt black, with red fading into orange flames flickered around the smoke above, spread out like it was burning in the moment.

“Oh, wow..” Izuku mumbled, taking Katsuki’s phone and zooming in on the photo.

“It doesn’t hurt?” Katsuki asked.

Izuku shook his head slowly, still entranced with the photo of his back.

“Come on, Izuku, we need to head to class.” Katsuki nudged Izuku which got him out of his trance state and handed Katsuki his phone back, quickly getting changed into his uniform and walking to his next class.

Chapter Text

“From your..outstanding results from last weeks training exercise, I have decided to move your USJ training field trip to today. So, go get your hero costumes on and meet me in front of the school.” Aizawa spoke as he pressed a button on a remote, he had in his hand which made their costumes come out from the wall.

The class got excited as they made their way down to their locker rooms and got changed, then made their way to the front of the school where Aizawa was waiting for them in front of a bus. “USJ is a bit of a ways walk, so get on the bus.” The class got on the bus and sat next to their friends chatting quietly.

“Hey, Midoriya?” Kirishima got Izuku’s attention, “what kind of quirk do you have?” That question gained the attention of everyone on the bus, immediately seizing all conversation.

“Uh..” Izuku froze, being put on the spot was something he always hated. “It’s a power-up quirk.”

“It kind of reminds me of All Might’s.” Asui commented, other agreeing with her. “Though All Might doesn’t hurt himself with his.”

“Um..yeah, I guess. I actually haven’t had this quirk for long. I got it the morning before the entrance exam.” He explained carefully.

“Wait, what? The morning of the entrance exam? How did you manage that pain?” Uraraka asked surprised.

“I’ve always had a high pain tolerance, so it didn’t really affect me.”

“But that has to be so cool, Midoriya!” Kirishima gushed, “having a quirk like All Might has to be everyone’s dream!”

“Yeah, I guess.” Izuku shrugged.

“Alright, we’re here. Get off and wait for instructions.” Aizawa spoke to his students when the bus stopped a few minutes later.

Everyone got off the bus as a person in an astronaut suit came walking towards them and greeted Aizawa when the man got off the bus.

“This is Thirteen. She’s the owner of this exercise building.” He briefly explained.

“That’s right, I am. I built this facility so that future generations of UA heroes can be trained in search and rescue, battle, and adaption in any and all grounds. Every natural and unavoidable disasters you can imagine are in this facility. This is the Unforeseen Simulation Joint.”

The students marvelled at the different areas of the simulation. Everything they could think of, volcanic eruptions, landslides, tsunamis, was in this gigantic dome. This was their dream exercise practice.

“Now, I will send you all into a different variety of quirk groups so that each of you-”

“Thirteen, get them out of here!” Aizawa interrupted her, getting into a defensive position as his class crowd around him trying to find out the reason behind his order.

“Hey, woah, you guys have fake villains too?” Kirishima pointed out the black portal in the middle of the the general area.

“Thirteen.” Aizawa said sternly.

“On it.” She spoke and created a black hole but another portal with gleaming yellow eyes formed in front and below them all, separating all of them to different parts of the USJ.

Izuku braced himself as the purple mist encased him. And then he was falling. He looked around and saw that he was put into the flood zone. He plummeted into the water below and tried to swim up, but there was something pulling him down. When Izuku looked down, he saw a man with a shark face and goggles, mouth and teeth wrapped around his upper thigh.

He screamed when the pain finally caught up to him, but it came out nothing but gurgles in which resulted in his mouth filling with water. He tried to kick the man off and swim away, but he had a tight hold on Izuku’s leg and ended up dragging him down. Izuku thrashed around in the water, trying to get the man off of his leg but the lack of oxygen he was getting made him weak.

Something long and squishy wrapped around his body and pulled him out of the water, a trail of blood travelling down into the abyss. He gasped for air when he was brought to the surface, coughing and hacking out the water that had managed to get into his lungs.

He looked up to his saviour and saw Asui looking at her damaged hero suit. “Thank you, Asui.”

The frog girl looked over to him and smiled, though it dropped after a second. “I heard one of them talking. They’re after All Might and aren’t happy that some schedule isn’t right and that he’s not here.”

“They’re also after someone.” A voice came from behind them, scaring them when they Shinso.

“How do you know?” Midoriya asked him, blood seeping out from his leg onto the wooden deck of the boat that Asui put him on.

“The one with hands on his face and body was reminding them all. I couldn’t hear who it was, but it was a male.”

“Do you guys know how to drive a boat?” Izuku asked as he looked back down at the water, now seeing at least 10 more villains waiting for them in the water. Asui and Shinso shook at their heads, Izuku sighed. “Guess this isn’t a bad time to learn.”

He stood up slowly, feeling more blood gush down his leg as he walked. Izuku found the control area and walked towards the control board, looking over all the different buttons. He pressed the button that said ‘engine’ and felt the boat vibrate underneath him, indicating the boats start, then pushed down the long handle that was in the middle of the board and felt the boat rush towards, catching him and his classmates off guard.

After a few seconds, the boat crashed into land, and they went flying towards the window, crashing into it and tumbling down the nose of the boat. Shinso and Asui groaned behind him as they slowly stood up and looked around, helping Izuku up when he was unable to.

“Are you guys–” Izuku got cut off by an explosion from the land which then sent them all back into the water, dunking them and forcing them to stay under. When the swam up towards the surface, they gained control of their breathing and floated in the area they were in. They looked around for the villains that were after them and saw them on land, all knocked out from the sheer force of the explosion.

“Midoriya, Asui, we need to swim to land and..oh fuck..” Shinso trailed off when he looked directly in front of them, directing their line of sight to Aizawa, who laid bloody and beat with some sort of beaked monster holding his body and head down. His elbow looked broken, shattered almost, blood gushing from the open wound onto the ground and the rest of his lower arm.

“Sensei..” Izuku mumbled as he lifted his hand to his mouth. If this monster thing put anymore of its weight onto their teacher, he would.. No, that couldn’t happen. Izuku wouldn’t let that happen. Izuku lifted himself up onto the land, crouching as water dripped from his body.

Within a blink of an eye, a shadow formed over Izuku and made its way to Asui, a hand reaching for her face. They all froze as the hand touched her face, horror filling their expressions as they realised who it was.

Shigaraki smirked as all five fingertips touched the girls face, waiting for all the blood, destruction, and horror from the girl he was awaiting to kill. But it had been 5 seconds since his fingers had touched the girl and yet she was still alive. He sighed and then smirked, taking his hand off the girls face as he turned towards the man behind him.

“Ah, Eraserhead..you always were so cool.” He spoke to their teacher, whose hair was gripped between the monsters thick and large hand, blood dripping from his forehead and his eyes glowing red as he stared at Shigaraki.

“Do you like my Nomu? I hope you do, I had it made just for you.” He smiled creepily at the man, “feel how big its hand is? All it takes is one small squeeze and your head will be putty.”

Blood pooled beneath him, his goggles cracking under the relentless assault. Yet even as his vision blurred, Aizawa’s hand reached out, desperately trying to move. His determination to protect his students burned brighter than the pain.

Shigaraki’s voice cut through the air, amused and taunting. “See? It’s pointless. This is what happens when you try to play hero.”

The Nomu lifted Aizawa by the arm, its grip tightening until a sickening snap echoed through the room. Aizawa’s arm dangled limply, but his bloodshot eyes never closed. Even as his body was broken, he kept fighting.

The three in the water stood shocked, their sensei was going to be killed if the man gave the single order.

Izuku was then suddenly out of the water, his arm pulled back as One For All powered in his fist, ready to attack Shigaraki when he punched something firm and not Shigaraki-like.

His arm didn’t break, so that’s a plus!

A shadow came over him. Looking up he saw the monstrous creature looking down at him, drool dripping down its beaked mouth as it just stood there.

Izuku stood in shock and horror of the creature in front of him. When had it let go of Aizawa and came to Shigaraki’s aid?

“That was a neat trick, kid. You must be a fan of All Might to pull of that move.” A raspy voice spoke to him from behind the nomu. “Too bad you won’t grow up to become like him.” The smirk in his voice was evident as the Nomu suddenly went to swipe him, but a slimy tongue wrapped around his torso and sent him flying away from the man and his creature.

Asui, the wonderful girl that she was, grabbed hold of both Izuku and Shinso and sent them towards where Katsuki and Kirishima were.

A loud explosion gained all their attention. As far as they all knew, Shigaraki and the misty man were the only villains left, and the UA students were still separated but safe.

“Have no fear, for I am here!” A voice boomed from the now destroyed wall near the entrance, and for a second, Izuku could’ve sworn that he heard heroic music.

‘Geez, how annoying.’ Izuku thought as he rolled his eyes, then froze and was shocked at himself for what he had just thought.

The air in the USJ felt heavy, a mixture of dust, dread, and the sheer power radiating from the battlefield. All Might stood tall, his larger-than-life presence unshaken despite the overwhelming odds. His piercing blue eyes were fixed on the monstrous Nomu, the ultimate weapon engineered by the League of Villains to counter him.

“You’ve done enough damage,” All Might said, his deep voice calm yet firm. “I won’t let you harm my students any further.”

Shigaraki laughed maniacally, his pale hand twitching with excitement. “Oh, don’t be so full of yourself, Symbol of Peace. The Nomu was designed specifically to kill you.”

The Nomu roared, its inhuman body flexing as it prepared to strike. Its muscular frame was riddled with scars, its brain exposed, pulsing grotesquely. Shigaraki’s words echoed in the background: “It’s got shock absorption and regeneration. No matter how much you hit it, it won’t go down.”

All Might cracked his knuckles, his trademark grin never faltering. “Then I’ll just have to hit it harder than it can take.”

The Nomu charged first, its massive frame hurtling forward with terrifying speed. The ground shook with each step, and before anyone could blink, it slammed its fist toward All Might. But All Might sidestepped, his movements impossibly fast for a man of his size.

“Is that all you’ve got?” All Might taunted, throwing a punch of his own.

His fist connected with the Nomu’s torso, the impact sending shockwaves rippling through the air. The Nomu barely budged, its shock absorption soaking up the blow. It retaliated immediately, slamming both fists down toward All Might, who crossed his arms to block. The ground beneath them cracked and crumbled from the force of the strike.

The two exchanged blows at breakneck speed, their movements a blur of power. Each punch from All Might was like a thunderclap, shattering the air and sending gusts of wind across the room. But the Nomu refused to fall, regenerating any damage almost instantly.

All Might grimaced, sweat dripping down his face. ‘So, this is the League’s trump card..’

“You’re slowing down, All Might!” Shigaraki sneered. “What’s the matter? Is the Symbol of Peace starting to crack?”

All Might didn’t respond. Instead, he took a deep breath, his resolve steeling. He glanced at his students, huddled together in fear, watching their teacher fight to protect them. He couldn’t falter..not here, not now.

The Nomu lunged again, its claws swiping inches from All Might’s face. With a deafening roar, All Might grabbed the Nomu by its arm and hurled it into the ground. The earth shattered beneath its weight, but the monster immediately regenerated, rising once more.

“Shock absorption, huh?” All Might muttered. “Let’s see if it can handle this!”

He launched himself at the Nomu, his fists flying in rapid succession. Each punch carried the full weight of his power, creating shockwaves that rocked the entire USJ. The Nomu stumbled under the relentless assault, its body regenerating as fast as All Might could damage it. But All Might didn’t stop. His punches grew faster, harder, until they became a blur of pure force.

“Plus..” All Might roared, pulling back his arm for a final, devastating blow, “ULTRA!”

His fist connected with the Nomu’s chest, and the impact was cataclysmic. A massive shockwave erupted, tearing through the battlefield and sending the Nomu hurtling through the air. It crashed through the walls of the USJ, disappearing into the distance.

Silence fell, save for the sound of rubble settling and All Might’s heavy breathing. He stood tall, his cape billowing in the aftermath, his smile still intact.

Shigaraki seethed with frustration, his plan crumbling before his eyes. “No..no! You cheated!” he yelled, scratching at his neck in rage.

All Might turned to his students, his voice steady despite his exhaustion. “Don’t worry, everyone. Why? Because I am here.”

His words echoed in their hearts, a reassurance that even in the face of overwhelming darkness, the light of a hero would never fade.

The air was still thick with dust from the aftermath of All Might’s final punch. The massive hole in the USJ’s wall, left by the Nomu’s flight, let sunlight stream into the battered arena. All Might stood tall, but those with sharp eyes, especially Izuku, noticed the slight tremble in his body and the beads of sweat rolling down his face.

He wasn’t just tired. He was reaching his limit.

Shigaraki’s unsettling giggle broke the silence. “You think you’ve won, huh? You might have beaten the Nomu, but you’re not invincible, All Might.” He stepped forward, his hand twitching with the urge to destroy. Kurogiri floated beside him, his dark, misty form shifting ominously.

All Might’s smile didn’t falter, though his body was screaming in protest. He stood his ground, shielding the terrified students behind him. His voice was steady but carried an undertone of urgency. “Stay back, everyone. I’ll protect you.”

But Izuku couldn’t look away. His heart pounded in his chest as he realised the truth. ‘All Might..he’s not as invincible as he seems. He’s reaching his limit..but he’s still standing there, putting himself in danger for us.’

“Do you even understand what you’re up against, All Might?” Shigaraki sneered. “You’re already running out of steam, aren’t you? How long can you keep pretending to be the Symbol of Peace when you’re this weak?”

Kurogiri’s mist swirled ominously, preparing to strike. “Shall we end this, Shigaraki?”

All Might clenched his fists, his body tightening as he prepared for one last stand. He knew he was at his limit. If they attacked now, he wouldn’t be able to defend both himself and his students. His time was running out.

But before Shigaraki and Kurogiri could make their move, a thunderous crash echoed through the USJ, cutting them off.

“Step away from my students!”

The powerful, commanding voice belonged to none other than Cementoss, one of U.A.’s pro-hero teachers, followed closely by Ectoplasm and Snipe. They charged into the fray, their presence a sudden beacon of hope. Cementoss slammed his hands into the ground, creating massive concrete walls to separate the villains from the students.

Shigaraki’s grin twisted into frustration. “Tch. More pests.”

Snipe wasted no time, pulling out his revolvers and firing precise shots toward Shigaraki and Kurogiri. The bullets grazed Kurogiri’s misty form, forcing him to retreat slightly.

“All Might!” Cementoss called, his voice urgent. “Fall back! You’ve done enough, we’ll handle the rest.”

All Might hesitated for a moment, his instincts screaming at him to stay. But as he turned to look at his students, terrified but alive, he knew the other heroes were right. If he pushed himself any further, he’d expose his greatest secret.

Shigaraki growled in irritation, scratching at his neck furiously. “This isn’t over. We’ll be back, and next time, we’ll finish what we started. You can’t save them forever, All Might.”

Kurogiri’s mist began to swirl and expand, enveloping Shigaraki. “We should retreat for now.”

“Fine,” Shigaraki hissed. “But don’t think you’ve won anything.” His piercing red eyes locked onto Izuku for a moment, his lip curling into a sinister grin. “Especially you, kid. You’re next.”

And with that, the villains disappeared into the mist, leaving the USJ in ruins but the students alive.

As soon as they were gone, All Might’s legs wavered, and he fell to one knee, his larger-than-life form suddenly looking fragile. Izuku and the others rushed to his side, panic etched on their faces.

“All Might! Are you okay?” Izuku cried, his voice cracking.

All Might looked up at his young apprentice, his smile still in place despite the exhaustion in his eyes. “I’m fine, young Midoriya. Just..a little tired. But don’t worry, everything’s okay now.”

The other teachers quickly gathered the students, ushering them to safety while keeping a wary eye on the wreckage. All Might, though weakened, stood up again, his towering figure a reminder of the hero he was.

But for Izuku, the cracks in his mentor’s invincible image were clearer than ever. And for the first time, he truly understood the weight All Might carried as the Symbol of Peace.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The villains were detained, those who were injured were immediately brought back to the school to get looked over by Recovery Girl.

Aizawa was..well he wasn’t looking the best, and that scared his students. All Might disappeared when the heroes were looking for stray villains. Thirteen was unresponsive as she got medical attention, the gaping hole in her hero suit and back made them all think for the worst.

The class were sent back to the school to change out of their hero costumes. They were quiet. Not a joke or word was spoke, only the sound of rustling clothes and closing lockers.

No sound was made. No words spoken. No happy, cheery smiles.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next day, they were sat in their seats as they waited for a substitute teacher to start off their homeroom, Iida barking orders at everyone to sit down, though he was the only one standing.

The door slid open, and Iida dashed to his seat. They sat up straight, expecting Midnight or Present Mic, but were all surprised and shocked to see Aizawa walking, with bandages covering every bit of skin he allowed the world to see.

“Aizawa-sensei..you’re back!” Uraraka cried, as did the rest of the class.

“Yes. Don’t worry yourselves over me, they’re just a few scratches that Recovery Girl could heal. I’m sure you all are worried about Thirteen and All Might.” He looked over them all, seeing the worry in them. “Thirteen’s back and upper arms have sustained serious lacerations, though she is expected to make a full recovery. All Might is fine as well.”

“What about Midoriya?” Uraraka asked, “Asui and Shinso said that one of the villains bit his leg and there was blood everywhere!”

“I was unaware Midoriya was injured..” though they couldn’t see his face, they could tell by Aizawa’s voice that his face was annoyed and confused. “Bakugo, what do you know?”

All eyes were on Katsuki, “he was fine when we were walking home. Nerd didn’t have a limp or nothing. It was the same in the locker rooms, I guess. He was walking fine.”

The door slid open once again and in walked Izuku, his face surprised as he saw Aizawa. “Sensei, you’re back!”

“I am, Midoriya. Thank you. Now how about you? I hear you were severely injured.” The man raised an eyebrow at his green haired student.

“Severely injured? I don’t remember being severely injur–ohh, with that shark villain. It was just a little scratch when I tendered to it.” He smiled sheepishly.

“It was not, Midoriya.” Shinso spoke up, “Asui and I both saw your injury. He bit you on your upper thigh. There was blood everywhere.”

“No seriously, it was a scratch by the end of it.” Izuku answered. He was starting to feel overwhelmed; he could tell that they didn’t believe him, Shinso and Aizawa especially.

“Right..Midoriya, go see Recovery Girl for a checkup. The rest of you, do some homework quietly until your first period with Mic.” Aizawa instructed as he got into his yellow sleeping bag. “No objections, Midoriya.” He spoke without opening his eyes to see Izuku’s mouth opening to object.

Izuku sighed and walked back out of the classroom, making his way down to the nurse’s office, waving to the old lady who sat in her chair doing some work on the computer.

“You’re back again, eh? What is it this time, Midoriya? Broken arm? Bruised spleen?” She asked as he sat on the bed, spinning around in her chair to face the boy.

“No, actually. Aizawa-sensei sent me here for a checkup.” He took off his bag and placed it on his lap, wrapping his arms around it and resting his chin on the top, swing his feet slightly.

“A checkup? What for?” She asked as she walked over to her draw and grabbed the standard medical supplies.

“Well, yesterday when the villains attacked, one of them with a shark head bit my upper thigh and it bled..a lot. But when it was all over, I could walk completely fine and when I got home it was just a scratch.”

Recovery Girl stopped what she was doing and slowly looked towards the boy on her medical bed. “So, you’re saying it..almost completely healed on its own?”

“Uh, yeah. I guess so.” He shrugged.

“How on Earth..are you able to do that? Toshinori can’t self heal.”

“That’s exactly what I would like to know.” Aizawa’s voice came from the entrance, scaring both of them. “You told me last week that you do not have a second quirk, and you gave me a reason for that. But this. You’re lying to us, aren’t you Midoriya?”

“No! Sensei, I swear I’m not!” Izuku cried.

“Then how do you explain this sudden fast-healing ability you’re able to have?” the man rose an eyebrow at his student.

“I..I don’t know, Aizawa-sensei..” Izuku looked down to his lap and played with his fingers.

“Hm, right. Chiyo-san, could you please grab a DNA sample and put it through?”

Recovery Girl nodded and grabbed out a long cotton swab and walked over to Izuku. “Mouth open please, dearie.” Izuku opened his mouth and allowed the old lady to swab the insides of his cheek before taking it out and walking over to a machine that sat near her desk.

“What is that?” Izuku asked as Recovery Girl opened a small compartment and placed the cotton swab tip into it.

“It’s a quirk analyser. It’s not uncommon for a student to develop a new quirk if their parents’ quirks are different from each other. This is to determine what the quirk officially is.” Aizawa explained as the machine beeped and paper had started to print out of an open compartment.

Recovery Girl grabbed the sheet of paper and read it over, her eyebrows furrowing when she handed it over to Aizawa, who also furrowed his eyebrows. “It says..One For All? What does that mean?”

“Is the name of my quirk, Aizawa-sensei. According to my doctor, my quirk is unique, so a unique quirk deserves a unique name.” Izuku lied through his teeth, hoping that Aizawa believed his lies.

“That still doesn’t explain this sudden ability to heal quickly.” Aizawa crossed his arms as he gave a stern look to Izuku.

“I know, Aizawa-sensei. But you have to believe me when I say I don’t know how I healed so quickly.”

“Right. Well, at this time it seems like you’re telling the truth, this will be investigated.” Aizawa lifted his sleeve and looked at his watch, “you’ve missed the first fifteen or so minutes of English, go on.”

Izuku nodded and hopped off the bed, putting his bag back on his back as he walked back to his classroom.

He slowly slid open the gigantic door which caught the attention of everyone in the room. He froze when he saw all eyes were on him and he bowed to Mic in apology. “Sorry, Mic-sensei. Aizawa sent me to Recovery Girl during homeroom.”

“That’s fine, Midoriya. Tell me, how do you pronounce this English word and what is its meaning?” Mic pointed to the word that was typed up on the board.

Izuku looked at the word as he made his way to his seat. “Apo..apotelesma. Late Latin. The effect or influence of the stars on human destiny.”

“Very good. Now, does anyone else know any late Latin words?” He asked the class.

Yaoyorozu raised her hand and started to talk when she was called upon. “Nexilis. Woven together, intertwined if you will.”

“Well done, Yaoyorozu. Does anyone know why we are learning Latin words today?”

“Kaminari!” Mic called out when the boy put up his hand.

“Because it sounds cool?”

Mic chuckled, “not quite, little listener! Anyone else?” He looked around the room, looking at those who had their hands up, but called upon Katsuki instead. “Bakugo! Do you know the reason why we are studying Latin?”

“Because most English words come from the Latin language, from the Middle Ages when Latin was still the language of scholars and educated people.” Katsuki answered with an eye roll.

“Excellent!” Mic praised, “now does anyone..”

Izuku looked out of the window and went into his own little world, Mic’s words trailing off in his ears.

The day went by in a blur for Izuku, the only thing on his mind was one question.

How did his leg heal so fast?

The bell rang for the end of the day, Izuku waved to his friends as they went their own ways, Katsuki walking next to Izuku as they exited the school grounds. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, picking it up he saw a text from his mother, asking him to grab a few items from the convenience store on the way home.

He bid Katsuki goodbye and walked into the convenience store, grabbing the items his mother had requested and walked the back way home, away from prying ears and eyes. Izuku looked around to make sure that he was completely alone before calling out.

“Tenko..”

A shine of light came from his left and footstep fell in-line with his. “Hello, little brat.”

“Hi, Tenko.” Izuku looked over to his left and smiled at the white-haired man.

“How is UA?” Tenko asked as they walked together.

“It’s been good..we got attacked yesterday.”

“Oh?” Tenko’s face turned worried as Izuku continued on.

“Yeah, some dude with hands all over his body attacked my class when we were at the USJ. Some shark head villain bit my leg, but some how it healed by itself.” Izuku paused, “you’ve known me my whole life, Tenko. Do you know why my body healed on its own?”

Tenko looked down at Izuku with furrowed eyebrows. “No. No I don’t, Izuku. Are you sure it wasn’t just a graze?”

Izuku shook his head. “No. It was a deep bite. I thought he was going to take my whole leg off..did you heal me?”

“No, Izuku. I only appear when you call upon me or you’re in a dire situation.”

“Tenko..” Izuku stopped walking and looked up at the man, his eyes fearful.

“What is happening to me?”

Chapter Text

3 months later*

Aizawa’s Favourite Students

6:30 AM

Ashido: Let’s go out today!

6:30 AM

Iida: It is not ethical to go on an outing after healing serious wounds.

6:30 AM

Ashido: Way to kill the mood, Iida. But no one was seriously injured, plus if they were Recovery Girl would’ve healed them.

6:30 AM

Kaminari: why are you guys up so early? lmao. anyways, yeah im down to hang

6:31 AM

Iida: Kaminari, please use proper punctuation and capitalisation in your messages. I still do not believe in going on an outing after a tremendous day.

6:31 AM

Ashido: Lighten up, Iida! You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I was just asking the others if they’d like to join me

6:31 AM

Kirishima: Hell yeah, Ashido! I’m down to hang today!

6:31 AM

Uraraka: So am I!

6:31 AM

Jiro: Me too

6:31 AM

Tokoyami: I believe it would be a fun experience to know one another better.

6:32 AM

Ashido: That’s the spirit Tokoyami!

6:32 AM

Yaoyorozu: Yes! I would also be delighted to accompany you!

6:32 AM

Aoyama: I would also like to bless you with my sparkling presence, mon ami!

6:32 AM

Sero: sorry guys. think I’m gonna sit this one out. peace

6:32 AM

Ashido: Well, that’s to be expected, lol.

6:32 AM

Todoroki: I do believe I owe him an apology. I would be grateful if I could be able to join.

6:32 AM

Ashido: Of course, Todoroki!

6:33 AM

Hagakure: Yes! Imagine all the clothes shops we could look at!

6:33 AM

Ashido: My girl!

6:33 AM

Mezo: I would also be accompanying. I cannot let my fellow classmates go alone.

6:33 AM

Ashido: Aw, Mezo, you’re too sweet!

6:33 AM

Iida: Mezo makes a good point. I cannot let my classmates get possibly injured on this outing. I will also be joining!

6:33 AM

Mezo: Please call me Shoji.

6:33 AM

Shinso: I guess I’ll come.

6:33 AM

Koda: I think I’ll sit this one out.

6:33 AM

Ojiro: Me too, sorry guys.

6:33 AM

Asui: I told my younger siblings I’d stay with them today.

6:34 AM

Sato: Same with me too guys.

6:34 AM

Ashido: That’s okay guys!

6:34 AM

Midoriya: Kacchan and I would be happy to come along! Where are we meeting up?

6:34 AM

Ashido: The mall? But what are you and Bakugo doing together at 6:30 in the morning? ;)

6:34 AM

Midoriya: Nothing like that, Ashido! Kacchan and I train at Takoba Municipal Beach Park every morning!

6:34 AM

Ashido: Wow, really? Are you even okay with what happened at the festival?

6:34 AM

Midoriya: Yes, I am! Thank you for asking. Recovery Girl healed me!

6:34 AM

Kaminari: when do you want us to meet up?

6:34 AM

Ashido: 8AM sound good to you guys? At the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall?

Those who had agreed to join agreed on the time and place, meeting out front of the mall at the designated time.

“Ah, it seems like everyone’s here..except for Bakugo and Midoriya.” Mina looked around at the crowd of her classmates.

They stood out the front of the mall for a few more minutes, chatting amongst themselves when Uraraka pointed them out. “Hey! Bakugo and Midoriya are here!”

Izuku and Katsuki walked towards their classmates, one with a happy smile and one looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“Sorry we’re late! The train lines were held up.” Izuku gave them an apologetic smile when they reached their classmates.

“That’s okay, Midoriya! Now, where should we go first?” She asked everyone.

“Clothes!” Uraraka and Hagakure cried together, making the boys groan.

“You boys don’t have to come with us.” Mina commented, her hands on her hips. “How ‘bout we do our owns things, then meet up for lunch?” She negotiated.

Everyone nodded towards each other then to Mina, who huffed in affirmation.

“Well, see you all soon.” She grinned before walking off with Hagakure and Uraraka.

The rest of the class went off to where they wanted to, leaving only Izuku, Katsuki and Todoroki standing in front of the massive building.

“Bakugo, Midoriya, would you mind if I joined you?” He asked politely, asking mostly Izuku.

“Of course you can, Todoroki!” Izuku beamed at the boy and started to walk into the mall, leaving the two boys to catch up to him.

Katsuki and Todoroki followed behind the beaming boy, quite literally stopping at every and all shops that had anything All Might related. After looking at every store, Izuku had his bag full of All Might merch, making Katsuki sigh.

Izuku turned to face the two boys with a bright smile. “Kacchan, Todoroki, is there any place you guys would like to go?”

Katsuki shook his head, already looking bored, but Todoroki spoke up. “I’d like to go to a flower shop.”

Izuku looked confused, but smiled and directed them to a flower shop, getting the feeling Todoroki hadn’t been to many malls before.

“Any particular flower you’re looking for?” Izuku asked as they arrived at the flower shop.

“I don’t know the name of it. They’re a purplish-blue and bunched together. My mothers favourite.” Todoroki answered as he looked around the store, eyes stopping when he found the flowers he was looking for.

He grabbed a bouquet and brought it up to the counter, grabbing out his wallet as the cashier scanned the flowers.

“Purple rindou’s huh?” The cashier asked, making small talk.

“Yes.” Todoroki started, looking awkward, “they’re my mothers’ favourite.”

“Your mother must be a very confident woman. The purple rindou flowers typically mean ‘full confidence’.” The cashier explained, “that’ll be..ten thousand yen.”

Todoroki pulled out a credit card and payed for the flowers, thanking the cashier before grabbing the flowers and walking out of the store with Katsuki and Izuku.

“Did you want to look at anything, Bakugo?” Todoroki asked as they walked around.

Katsuki hummed, “not particularly, only came cause the nerd dragged me along.”

Izuku glared at the taller boy before checking his phone. “Well, it’s almost eleven. Do you guys wanna start heading over to the food court and see if the others are there as well?”

Katsuki and Todoroki looked at each other before shrugging at Izuku. “Oh jeez, you two really aren’t that different.” He mumbled to himself, thanking his luck stars that neither of them heard him.

They all walked towards the food court, seeing Kaminari, Kirishima and Mina sitting down talking, with bags upon bags sitting near Mina. Izuku smiled and was about to call out to the sitting trio when a voice from behind them made him freeze.

“Hey Katsuki! Long time no see!”

Katsuki spun around while Izuku slowly turned around, leaving Todoroki confused.

“Tsubasa. I told you not to call me that.” Katsuki growled as Tsubasa and the two idiots he called friends trailed after him.

Tsubasa placed a hand on Katsuki’s shoulder who immediately brushed him off. “Don’t be like that Katsuki! Heard you got into UA, knew you could do it buddy!” He gave him a toothy smile, but all that Katsuki saw was a bunch of yellow teeth with food in them, making him cringe.

Tsubasa then looked to Izuku. “Oh, Deku, I heard about your quirk awakening. Let’s leave past in the past, eh?” He walked over to Izuku and put a hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly.

Izuku didn’t answer and Tsubasa turned his attention to Todoroki. “And who are you?” He asked snobbishly, his hand still not leaving Izuku’s shoulder.

“Todoroki Shoto.” He answered plainly.

“Oh, you’re Endeavour’s kid. Say can I borrow five thousand yen?”

“Quit it, extra!” Katsuki demanded, but Tsubasa just brushed him off.

“It’s pocket money for this dude, plus any friend of Katsuki’s is a friend of mine.”

“Except me apparently, thank god.” Izuku mumbled, making the hand on his shoulder dig into his skin.

“What was that, Deku?” Tsubasa turned to ask him with a fake smile.

“Nothing. I didn’t say anything for you to hear.” Izuku rolled his eyes and rolled his shoulders, trying to get the hand off of him, but it had an iron grip on him.

Tsubasa came down to Izuku’s ear, “how ‘bout you shut your pretty little mouth, or I’ll shut it for you like I did last year.” He whispered into Izuku’s ear, his hot and foul-smelling breath making Izuku uncomfortable.

Izuku ignored him, focusing on the two boys who stood back. Suzuki Kenta and Kobayashi Daisuke, Tsubasa’s little underlings.

“Hey listen, Midoriya..” Suzuki started, “the day of that sludge villain attack, we wanted to apologise for what happened.” They bowed, making everyone around them confused.

Tsubasa’s grip tightened even more, whispering in his ear once more. “But I’m not. I should’ve finished you off then.”

Izuku had had enough, he grabbed Tsubasa’s fat hand that was on his shoulder and turned it around, then putting himself behind the boy and kicked his legs out, resulting in Tsubasa to be on his knees while Izuku was behind him twisting his arm.

Izuku leaned down, ignoring the crowd that was around them, watching and recording the incident, and lowly spoke into Tsubasa’s ear.

“You can’t hurt me anymore.”

He let go of the arm and grabbed both Katsuki’s and Todoroki’s, storming walking out of the mall while everyone looked at them. When they got out of the mall, Izuku let go of Katsuki and Todoroki and walked away from them for a minute, needed to calm himself.

“Izuku, what the fuck was that about?!” Katsuki demanded, “‘you can’t hurt me anymore’? What the fuck?!”

“It’s nothing, Kacchan! Todoroki, I’m sorry you had to see that, and sorry I dragged you out.” Izuku gave him an apologetic smile as the rest of the class came out of the mall, in seek of the trio.

“Yo, Midoriya!” Kaminari called, running towards the three with the rest of the students, “what was that about back there?”

“It was nothing, Kaminari! I’m sorry you guys had to witness that!”

“Like hell it was!” Katsuki growled.

“Katsuki, enough.” Izuku glared at his best friend before looking at his classmates, “I’m sorry guys, but I think I’m going to go home. Thanks for the day out!” Izuku smiled brightly before waving to his class goodbye and walking away, Katsuki on his tail.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Two days later they were back at school. Aizawa had entered the room, making it dead silent, though they did notice his bandages had come off, which pleased them.

“Today will be one of your most important hero classes of your years of UA.” Aizawa announced, making them fear the worst, like a pop quiz or test to determine their future. “You’ll all be coming up with your hero names.”

The class erupted in a roar of excitement and cheer, which had irritated their teacher and activated his quirk, making them all silent within a second.

“These names will not be permanent until the end of the term. So, you may change it appropriately if you wish. But first, regarding the Pro Hero choice of internship. We have had a handful of students in this class handpicked by Japans heroes, this might ensure a position for you if you wish to join their agency throughout your years of UA High, but they can and will revoke their offer whenever, this is more often then thought.” Aizawa picked up the remotes and pressed a button towards board behind him, seeming to create a diagram.

“This is a short graph of the heroes offers for the nine chosen students, seeming that the top two stole the spotlight.” He moved out of the way, making the students jaws drop at the amount of offers Katsuki and Todoroki were offered.

Todoroki Shoto- 4123

Bakugo Katsuki- 3456

Tokoyami Fumikage- 360

Iida Tenya- 301

Kaminari Denki- 372

Yaoyorozu Momo- 108

Kirishima Eijiro- 68

Uraraka Ochaco- 20

Sero Hanta- 14

“Now for those who weren’t chosen,” Aizawa spoke over the top of those who spoke, “you still have a chance to do an internship with a pro. There are about forty hero agencies that will take an intern or two, there will be an official document handed out to you all to choose your agencies, with the option of two reserves in the event of which you are rejected.” He explained as the door opened, and the clicking of heels caught their attention.

“Now, Midnight will be conducting the rest of this lesson to make sure your hero names are appropriate. Do not wake me up.” He glared at all of his students before getting into his yellow sleeping bag and falling asleep behind the desk.

“Hello, dear students!” She smirked at them all, a trademark look for the lewd hero. “As Aizawa stated, I’m here to make sure all your chosen hero names are sensible and appropriate. Now, I’ll allow fifteen minutes to think and write down your names on the whiteboards provided. You may start.”

Everyone went into their own little bubble as they thought hard about their hero names.

Eventually, 15 minutes was up. Midnight clapped her hands to grab their attention, “times up kids, who wants to go first?” She scanned the room, watching their faces turn horrified as they realised they had to present their names.

Aoyama got up out of his seat and walked confidently up to the front of the room, proudly presenting his whiteboard to his fellow classmates showing ‘I Cannot Stop Twinkling’ in fancy handwriting as he stated his hero name.

Midnight walked up to him and gave him some pointers about making his hero name shorter, instead of having basically a whole sentence for a hero name.

Next was Mina, who proudly showed her whiteboard to the class, “I took the nickname Bakugo had given me and made it my hero name, it seems fitting.” She explained as Midnight approved ‘Pinky’ as her hero name.

One by one the rest of the class went, Midnight approving all names, while also giving them tips if they had wished to change their names in the future.

Kirishima: Sturdy Hero: Red Riot

Jiro: Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack

Shoji: Tentacle Hero: Tentacole

Koda: Petting Hero: Anima

Tokoyami: Jet Black Hero: Tsukuyomi

Yaoyorozu: Everything Hero: Creati

Uraraka: Uravity

Kaminari: Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt

Sero: Taping Hero: Cellophane

Asui: Rainy Season Hero: Froppy

Ojiro: Martial Arts Hero: Tailman

Sato: Sweets Hero: Sugarman

Hagakure: Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl

Todoroki: Shoto

Shinso: Hypnosis Hero: Nighthide

All that was left was Izuku, Katsuki and Iida. Everyone could see Iida was having doubts about his hero name, continuously rubbing out the name he had previously written down to write a new one. Eventually, he got one written down and walked up to the class.

“Another first name?” Midnight asked, sighing, “it’s your name, I guess.”

When Iida sat back down, Izuku stood up and walked up to the front, showing his board to the class who looked surprised at his chosen name.

“Midoriya..isn’t that the name that fat bully called you the other day at the mall?” Mina asked, shocked and worried at the name choice.

“Yes. It is a portmanteau of ‘defenceless and ‘Izuku’ while also meaning ‘useless’ as itself. It annoyed me to a certain point, but now that I’m stronger, I am no longer the ‘useless’ person I used to be. That’s why I’ve chosen ‘Deku’ as my hero name, to inspire those who think they are worthless and nothing that they are something.” He explained, shocking the class and Midnight.

“Spoken like a true hero, Midoriya. I approve the name.” Midnight smirked at the boy, watching him walk back to his desk, then immediately training her eyes onto Katsuki.

“Bakugo, have you decided on a name?” She asked him, staring at him while he glared back at her, but standing up and walked up to the front of the room, showing his whiteboard to the class. “‘Explosion Hero: Dynamight’ how cute and very fitting, a powerful name for an aspiring hero.”

Katsuki hummed as he walked back to his desk, Aizawa waking and standing up from his Power Nap to address the class. “For those who were not chosen by a hero agency, in a moment I will hand out a list of the forty agencies willing to take one or two of you for an internship. Each hero has a different speciality and region, so be mindful of who you choose. Make sure your final choices are in by this weekend. Midoriya, stay back, the rest of you, dismissed.” Aizawa spoke as he gave a stack of papers to Midnight, who handed them out to those who didn’t get drafted.

Izuku stayed in his seat until it was just him and Aizawa in the room. “Aizawa-sensei..have I done something?” He asked quietly.

Aizawa sighed and walked over to Izuku, grabbing Katsuki’s chair and turning it around to sit on the other end of Izuku’s desk. “You haven’t done anything. Tell me about your middle school. Aldera Junior High, right?”

Izuku felt terrified, and it clearly showed on his face since Aizawa sighed and put his hair up, trying to look less intimidating. “Well?” He asked as he finished tying his hair up.

“It..it was normal, y’know, normal junior high.” Izuku replied, refusing to meet Aizawa’s gaze.

“Did you have any troubles with other students? Bullies?”

Izuku froze, immediately knowing what the interrogation was about. “As I said, Aizawa-sensei, junior high was as normal as it could be.”

“Midoriya, don’t lie to me. I’ve seen the video.” Aizawa stated, putting on his teacher voice.

Izuku got the courage to look the man in the eye, “he was just some wanna be hero who thought he was friends with Kacchan and saw me as competition.”

“And the ‘you can’t hurt me anymore’ part?”

“Nothing more than a little roughhousing.” He spoke quietly, now back to not looking Aizawa in the eye.

“Show me your shoulder, and don’t play with me kid.”

Izuku sighed, knowing there was no way to get out of it. He undid his tie, took off his jacket and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, moving it out of the way and showed his teacher.

“Your shoulder is bruised, I bet his grip on you was tight.” Aizawa spoke as he examined the bruise. “What would your old teachers say if I went down to Aldera High and spoke to them about this ‘roughhousing’?”

“Nothing, they never did anything to stop it.” Izuku shrugged as he did his shirt and tie back up.

“They saw you were being bullied..and didn’t do anything about it? Why? Where was Bakugo?”

“Kacchan did his best to stop it, and it worked for a while when he would yell and flash his quirk, but after a while they called his actions a bluff and ignored him when he would scream at them. They didn’t do anything because they didn’t believe that sweet little chubby Tsubasa could harm a fly, let alone a quirkless person.” Izuku spat, feeling anger as he spoke.

“Quirkless?” Aizawa asked, surprised.

“Shit..” Izuku mumbled, knowing now there was no way to get out of that conversation. “Aizawa-sensei, you have to promise me that you must not tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, not even Nezu.” Izuku looked directly into Aizawa’s black eyes.

“Kid, I have the best kept secret in the school, you can trust me.” Aizawa admitted.

Izuku took a breath before explaining. “This quirk..is not some power up quirk, I inherited this quirk from All Might. ‘One For All’ it’s called. He gave it to me the morning of the entrance exam. That’s why I break my bones when I use my quirk, my body still isn’t prepared for it.”

Aizawa sat back in the chair at the new information, these kids were going to give him greys too soon. “Who else knows about this?”

“Kacchan and Recovery Girl. My mom would take me out of UA if she found out I inherited the quirk.”

“Right. Okay. What you did..wasn’t a heroic thing to do, especially in public, but it was the right thing to do, Midoriya, I’m proud of you for sticking up for yourself.” He gave the boy a soft smile, “now hurry along to your study period, I’ll explain to Nezu about the bullying.”

Izuku nodded to his teacher, grabbed his bag, and walked out of the classroom, bumping into All Might almost immediately.

“Oh, All Might! What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Looking for you, young Midoriya! Someone has drafted you!”

Izuku looked shocked, “o..oh! Really? Who?”

“His name is Gran Torino. He was my homeroom teacher and instructor for a year when I was in UA. He knows about One For All and I’m assuming that’s the reason for drafting you. He was my mentor for many years after Shiruma Nana died, he is a harsh and enduring teacher, but his lessons are life changing. He retired many years ago, so you may not have heard of him but give him a think over.” All Might smiled before running off somewhere, leaving Izuku alone.

Izuku shook his head at the weirdness of his mentor and continued to make his way to the library where they all went to study.

He opened the door and waved to the librarian, walking over to where his class was and paused. They were all huddled together, Katsuki in the middle, looking at his laptop horrified.

“Hey guys..what’s got you all looking like that?” Izuku asked carefully, scaring them with his sudden appearance.

The girls looked at him with some of their hands covering their mouths and tears in their eyes while the others looked at him shocked.

“Midoriya..you were beaten half to death?”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The class had piled out of the room, leaving their teacher and classmate alone, chatting to each other what Aizawa could need to talk to Izuku about.

They made their way to the library for their study period, sitting down around the couches and tables together as a class and got out what they needed to study.

Katsuki sat in the middle of the couches and opened his laptop, everyone seeming to study in silence before Mina spoke.

“Bakugo..” she started, gaining Katsuki’s, and the rest of the class’s attention, “what was that boy with the long fingers talking about? The day of the sludge villain attack..he apologised to Midoriya for something.”

Katsuki opened his mouth to answer, but he closed it, unable to come up with a response. “I was sick that day, the hag didn’t allow me to go to school. Izuku didn’t tell me anything about that day.”

“Aren’t you curious?” She asked him, putting down her pen and climbing up next to him.

“If Izuku doesn’t wanna talk about it, what business is it of mine?” He asked her, side eyeing her as she came closer to him.

“But don’t you wanna know what that dude meant? And then that fat boy whispered something into Midoriya after he apologised.”

“He whispered ‘but I’m not. I should’ve finished you off then’.” Shoji commented, shocking them all.

“Midoriya is our classmate, your best friend, we look out for one another and protect each other. If these boys did something to Midoriya, we need to do something about it. But to do something, we need to know what happened.” Mina spoke, the class nodding their heads in agreement with her mini speech.

Katsuki looked conflicted. He did want to know what Tsubasa and Suzuki meant, but this was something Izuku didn’t tell him, meaning he didn’t want to talk about it, something Katsuki respected.

“Alright fine. How are we going to figure it out?” He sighed.

“Well, you all went to the same junior high school, yeah? Does your classrooms have security cameras?”

“I assume so, everywhere else in the god damn school did.” Katsuki replied.

“Great! Off to a start. Do you know how to access the cameras?”

Katsuki started to type away on his laptop. “The schools security system is so shit, easily hackable. I was able to control the mainframe twice and no one ever noticed.”

“Bakugo! That is not an honourable thing to do! Especially as a future hero!” Iida reprimand the blond.

“Shut it, Glasses. Do you want to know what happened to Izuku or not?” He asked, not bothered to look at the class president as he typed his way into his old school’s data system.

“Okay I’m in.”

“Go back to the day of the sludge villain attack.” Kaminari spoke from the other side of Katsuki.

“I know, dunceface.” Katsuki rolled his eyes as he went into the security camera section and typed in the date of the sludge villain attack.

“What time would’ve it occurred?” Mina asked, and by then the class had made their way either next to Katsuki or behind him.

“End of the day. There’s only one class that Izuku, me, Tsubasa, Suzuki, and Kobayashi have together.” He explained as he skipped the footage until the end of the day. “Okay, here.” He pressed play and let the footage run.

They heard the bell ring for the end of the school day and watched everyone, including the teacher, walk out of the room, leaving Tsubasa, his goons and Izuku alone in the classroom.

“‘Hero Analysis Book number thirteen, for the future’,” the boy scoffed, “like you could ever become a hero, quirkless Deku.”

“You know, no matter what you say or do, you’ll never be Kacchan.” Izuku spoke openly to the fat boy with wings.

The audio was chopping, but it was the best they could get. They watched as Tsubasa grow angry and his friends in the background snickering.

He ripped Izuku’s book in half and threw it out the window, making the pages that weren’t attached to the spine flutter around in the sky.

Izuku sighed as he watched his book flutter in the sky, “that was uncalled for.” He muttered as he grabbed his bag and stood up from his desk, making his way to the door so that he could leave, but Tsubasa and his large red wings stood in his way.

“Listen, Tsubasa, even though we have known each other since we were kids and your Kacchan’s ‘friend’ I have no respect for you, and this cool ‘bullying’ thing you think your doing to impress Kacchan and the rest of the class is a pitiful cry for attention.”

The snickering behind them stopped, Izuku briefly glanced behind him and saw the shocked faces of Tsubasa’s friends.

They watched as Izuku tried to walk away from the three, but Tsubasa stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder, and then he backhanded Izuku’s face.

Izuku held his cheek as he stared at Tsubasa in shock, along with the rest of his friends. “You do not ever talk to me like that, quirkless fucker. When I enter UA with Katsuki and we become the best hero’s to ever walk Japan, I will make your life a living hell.” The boy threatened.

“Your quirk is weak compared to Kacchan’s, and to be a hero you must care for the people.” Izuku retaliated.

“You of all people cannot talk about quirks, at least I have one that makes Katsuki acknowledge me.” The boy spat.

Izuku grimaced, “no, I do not have a quirk, but I don’t use extravagant ways to try to gain someone’s attention.” He mumbled the last part.

Having Izuku mumble was harder to hear, but they concluded that Izuku must’ve said something that pissed the boy off.

The grip on the arm tightened and suddenly he was let go and fell to the ground. Tsubasa started to kick Izuku’s chest and stomach, smirking at the way he curled up and held his stomach as a way to protect it.

They all watched in shock and horror as Tsubasa beat their classmate black and blue.

Tsubasa’s goons stood behind the winged boy with slight shock written on their faces.

“Tsubasa, you should stop, what’s gonna happen when Bakugo finds out what you’ve done?” One of them asked, slowly stepping back from the enraged boy.

“Katsuki won’t do anything to me, I’m his best friend and he’d want me to do this for him!” He answered as he started to kick Izuku’s face, grinning maniacally as blood started to drip from Izuku’s mouth and nose.

“Tsubasa, we should go now! The teachers are gonna come and see us in here with Deku.” The other one spoke, already halfway out the door.

“Ugh, fine. Just one last thing.” Tsubasa brought his boot up and stomped on Izuku’s face, hearing Izuku’s pained grunt and crack from his now broken nose. He walked out of the classroom with his goons following close behind him, with a smug smirk on his face.

They heard the door slam shut, and then Izuku’s attempts to not cry out in pain, some almost crying when they did hear him. They watched as tears fell down his face and he collapsed back to the ground, curling up in pain and whimpering.

They watched as his mouth moved, obviously mumbling something but it was too quiet for the camera to pick up. The camera’s sound suddenly went out, which confused them, but they continued to watch the footage.

Izuku’s hair moved, most assuming it was from his constant shaking, and then his eyes shot open, and his mouth started to move, seeming he was talking to someone, but no one was there.

The weirdest thing they had witnessed was a strange yellowish glow that formed over Izuku, healing his wounds and cleaning him up from all the blood.

Izuku had started to get up off of the ground, holding onto someone or something when his legs gave out, and when he exited the classroom, the sound returned to the footage.

No one spoke, too shocked and horrified to form any coherent words.

“W..wait..” Mina started quietly, her face pale, “Midoriya was quirkless?”

Katsuki nodded slowly, still in shock at what he just watched, “his quirk came late..the morning of the entrance exam..”

“Hey guys..what’s got you all looking like that?” Izuku’s voice came from nowhere, scaring them half to death.

While the others stared at him in shock, some of the girls covered their mouths and had tears in their eyes.

“Midoriya..you were beaten half to death?”

Izuku stared at them all with shock and disbelief. “How did you..” he made eye contact with Katsuki and the open laptop, connecting the dots.

Katsuki suddenly stood and walked over to Izuku, bracing him with a tight hug and putting his face into his green curls, “why..didn’t you tell me, Zuku?”

Izuku hugged Katsuki back, “honestly..after everything that happened with that villain, I forgot about it.” He answered, allowing Katsuki to pull back from the hug.

“Midoriya..what was that yellow light? We saw it and then it looked like someone was helping you, but no one was there.” Uraraka asked quietly, small tears running down her cheeks.

“I don’t know, I was in so much pain I can’t remember anything that happened until I got out of the school.” He replied, lying through his teeth.

“We need to do something,” Mina commented, “after what he did to you..” she shook her head in anger.

“That’s what Aizawa-sensei needed to talk to me about, he saw a video of what happened the other day at the mall. He said he’s going to deal with it.”

“Yes, we must allow the teachers to deal with this type of incident, any involvement of us will only cause further problems.” Iida spoke, clearly not agreeing with his logical thought.

“But he hurt Midoriya, when you hurt one of us, you hurt all of us.” Mina huffed, some of the other agreeing with her.

“Guys, really, it’s okay now. Past is in the past and they’ll be dealt with, I trust Aizawa-sensei.” Izuku gave them a smile, Katsuki’s arms still around him. “Let’s get back to studying.”

The rest of the day went by in a worrisome silence among the class, with their teachers picking up on it, but not commenting about it, assuming their main homeroom teacher knew what it was about and was dealing with it.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The end of the week and weekend came and went, and now it was the morning of their first day of their internships. Aizawa had instructed them to be at the train station no later than 6 AM so that he could do a quick headcount before allowing them to board their trains.

“Do you all have your hero costumes? Clothes, toiletries and futons?” He asked, pleased that they all had their things. “Now, your hero costumes are prohibited to be worn unless your pro hero has allowed to you wear it, i.e when you’re doing patrol with them. I cannot stress enough not to get hurt. This is an internship, not hero work, listen to your heroes and don’t do anything irrational.” He gave a pointed look towards Katsuki, who grumbled and looked away.

“Now go board your trains, you all have my number if you need me. Be safe, good luck.” He waved them off, watching them all get onto their trains before leaving the station.

Chapter Text

Izuku had spent 45 minutes on the bullet train to Yamanashi Prefecture, marvelling at the scenery on the train before getting off at the station and walking just under a kilometre to Gran Torino’s apartment.

Being All Might’s teacher, Izuku expected that he would’ve lived in the nice part of Yamanashi Prefecture, to live in a nice house with photos and relics of his children and grandchildren. When he did his research on the man, he found nothing. No article, no news thread, not even an old video in the data base. Izuku found it odd, All Might had said that Gran Torino was a teacher at UA and had done some hero work for about a year, but nothing was documented.

Was All Might playing an elaborate trick on him?

Izuku made it to the address he had put in his phone and was severely confused. This was an old rundown building that looked like it was half decayed.

Izuku paused, unsure on if he should go back to Musutafu and intern under a hero there, but he gave the old building the benefit of the doubt and walked into it, slowly walking up the rotting stairs and to the apartment number door. It didn’t seem like anyone else lived in the rundown building, which made Izuku even more suspicious.

He knocked on the door, having no answer but it looked unlocked. Izuku slowly opened the door and called out for the man. “Gran Torino? I’m Midoriya Izuku, your UA intern.” He walked into the apartment and looked around. He came to the living room and saw a man lying flat on his face with what looked like blood underneath him.

Izuku cried, horrified that he had found a dead man. His scream startled the man, and he hopped up, grumbling about falling with an open bottle of ketchup. He looked over to Izuku and furrowed his eyebrows, “who’re you?” He looked at the boy suspiciously.

“I’m Midoriya Izuku, you drafted me for the UA internship with a pro hero. I’m All Might’s successor.” Izuku bowed after explaining.

“All Might’s successor, eh? Let’s see how good you are.” Gran Torino got into a fighting position and Izuku scrambled to place his bags down before he was attacked.

Gran Torino came at him like a bullet, seeming to ricochet off the walls of the apartment, it left Izuku in awe at the speed, but unable to defend himself from the man.

“Come on boy, if you’re All Might’s successor than you should be fighting back.” The man spoke as he bounced off the walls, hitting and kicking the unsuspecting boy.

Izuku looked around trying his best to predict Gran Torino’s moves and defend himself from the man’s attacks. He closed his eyes and activated his quirk to his hand, equalising it throughout it. He predicted Gran Torino to attack from behind, so he turned around and tried to strike the man with his quirk powered hand, but Gran Torino dodged the hand and noticed he had only activated the quirk in his one body part.

Gran Torino stopped his attacks when he pinned Izuku to the ground, shocking the boy. “Toshinori hasn’t taught you how to equalise your quirk throughout your body?” He asked, a little shocked.

“Yes. He said my body isn’t fully prepared to use the quirk yet.” Izuku explained, warily eyeing the older man from over his shoulder.

“Oh damn, what has that kid gone to?” Gran Torino asked himself and shook his head. “I’ll give you some advice, kid. You’re thinking One For All is something ‘special’ and ‘delicate, when all it is, is a quirk that needs to be tamed. Listen, you’re good at analysing and predicting, so start analysing yourself.”

“So, you’re saying that I should–”

“I’m stepping out for a moment, get some food, think it over.” Gran Torino hobbled with his walking stick out the door, leaving Izuku to his thoughts.

The man reminded Izuku of Katsuki, in a way, the way he pushed Izuku to think for himself, to come up with the right answer.

Izuku grabbed his notebook and pen and started to write down anything that came to mind about controlling OFA.

When Gran Torino came back, he held some grocery bags in his hand and was welcomed by the sight of Izuku mumbling to himself and writing down faster than the human mind could comprehend.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

And for the rest of the day, all the man did was watch Izuku closely, cooked them some dinner and went to sleep straight after, like a typical old man.

Izuku sighed as he rolled out his futon, getting his blanket and pillow ready when he had a thought.

He slowly crept out of the apartment and out the building, looking around for any by-passers, and walked to the dark alley that was next to the building.

“I’ve been thinking about this all wrong.” He spoke quietly to himself, “I’ve been thinking like Kacchan and the others, their quirk comes natural for them, they were born with it. So, all I have to do is get used to my quirk.”

He looked around the alleyway, deeming it narrow enough to use his quirk at 5%. He felt giddy, if he could control his quirk fully, Katsuki and he would destroy the world together.

He activated his quirk in his legs and hips, jumping up to the next building and face planting into the wall, falling down into the bags of rubbish below.

He growled to himself and stood back up, doing the same thing again and getting the same result.

He did this again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And the next time he blinked, it was morning.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

He felt exhausted, his body ached, his eyes burnt.

He entered the apartment when Gran Torino was walking down the stairs with his cane. He looked the boy over, “what happened to you?”

“I was training my body to get used to my quirk. I didn’t even realise I trained all night.” He yawned, covering his mouth with his hand, “do you have a shower I could use?”

Gran Torino hummed and pointed to the hallway, “down the hallway to the left. Hope you brought your own soap and towel, you’re not using mine, kid.”

Izuku smiled tiredly at the man and thanked him before walking to his bag further in the house and grabbed his towels, toiletries and change of clothes, along with his phone. He went to the bathroom and locked the door, placing his things on the counter near the sink before walking over to the shower and turning it on.

While he waited for the water to heat, he looked around at the nice bathroom that was in the rundown. The shower was a big enough squared shower, with 4x4 windows on each side, with the bottom two windows being a privacy glass, it had a wooden bench low the the ground, with the shower head off to the side of the bench. The toilet was in the spacious room, but had its own mini room, and there was a long cabinet next to the sink, presumably holding spare towels, toilet paper and other toiletries.

He put his hand into the shower under the water and felt the temperature, dialling the cold-water handle until he found the right temperature. He stripped of his clothes and grabbed some soap, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, and stepped into the shower, sighing in relief as the hot water soothed his aching muscles.

Izuku grabbed his soap and spread it along his body, getting off all the grim and dirt he got on him when he fell into the garbage. He scrubbed every inch of his body until he felt clean. Then he moved on to shampooing his hair, gathering a thick coat of shampoo in his thick hair, spreading it around until he washed it out, closing his eyes.

He got his toothbrush, layered some toothpaste on it and brushed his teeth, leaning his head back under the water to feel its warmth on his aching back muscles. When he was done, he spit the toothpaste out and rinsed his mouth. He turned the dials which turned the water off, and grabbed his towel, placing it around his waist and stepped out of the shower.

He grabbed his phone and turned it on, seeing the time and realised he took a half an hour shower. He looked at himself in the mirror and got a decent look at all the muscle he had gain over the time that he had never really noticed.

He opened the camera app, turned around and flexed his shoulders, defining his biceps and back muscles. He took a picture and opened his message app, tapping Katsuki’s contact and sending the photo to him.

Katsuki

8:30 AM

Izuku: [image attached]

8:30 AM

Izuku: I didn’t realise how much muscle I’ve gained. What do you think, Kacchan?

Izuku didn’t get a response back, so he dried his hair and body, and put his clothes back on. He picked up his dirty clothes and put them in the laundry basket that Gran Torino had put aside for him, then he grabbed his toiletries that he brought with him, along with his phone, and walked back out to the room where his bag and temporary bed was, placing his things in the right pocket. He checked his phone again and saw that Katsuki had responded to him.

Katsuki

8:42 AM

Katsuki: [image attached]

8:42 AM

Katsuki: [image attached]

8:43 AM

Katsuki: Can’t compare to me, nerd. Catch up if you can.

Izuku looked at the photos that Katsuki had sent him and blushed. The first one was of his back, similar to the one Izuku had sent, but was bulkier and more defined on the biceps and back. The second one was of Katsuki’s stomach, his face barely in the camera, but a smirk could be seen, his abs were in the middle of bulky and flat, which was the perfect combination for Katsuki.

He left Katsuki on read and closed his phone, walking back out to Gran Torino, who was waiting for him. “So, you were out all-night training, huh? Let’s see how much you’ve improved.” He got into a fighting stance, and jumped, doing the same routine of moves that he did the day before.

Izuku was unprepared for the mans fast moves once again and was kicked to the ground. He groaned and tried to crawl away from the fast man, but he kept attacking Izuku. Izuku crawled underneath the coffee table and hid there, hearing Gran Torino chuckle, thinking he had him.

Izuku could see the mans shadow coming down closer to the table, so he activated his quirk on his torso and lifted the table with his back, sending it flying towards his opponent, who made a noise of shock but dodged the flying table.

Izuku scrambled to stand up and get ready to defend himself from Gran Torino’s attacks when the buzzer rang. The noise stopped the two from fighting and made Izuku wonder who was at the door.

“Ah! That must be my package!” Gran Torino walked to the door and a large box was placed in front of the door. “My new microwave!” He exclaimed.

Izuku walked in front of the short man and grabbed the box, placing it on the counter in the kitchen. He opened the box and pulled out the heavy microwave, replacing the destroyed one and setting it up.

“Let’s have some of the frozen Taiyaki I bought yesterday!”

Izuku looked complex, “Taiyaki for breakfast? That isn’t really a breakfast food, Gran Torino.”

“Live a little, kid! Go heat them up for me!” He sat at the table, fidgeting with his hands.

Izuku sighed and found a plate, placing four Taiyaki on a plate and heating it in the new microwave. While he waited for the timer to go off, he glanced over at the old man, who looked like an impatient kid waiting for a present and smiled. The timer eventually went off and Izuku grabbed the plate with a tea towel and placed it on the table near Gran Torino, he grabbed two smaller plates and some forks and placed them on the table as well.

“Ah, time to enjoy some piping hot Taiya–” Gran Torino stopped mid sentence as he bit down into the pastry, “it’s cold!” He cried, spluttering out the piece of Taiyaki in his mouth.

“H-huh?! I swear I pressed ‘defrost’!” Izuku cried, not knowing what happened.

“Ah you idiot, you placed it on a small plate! The Taiyaki can’t evenly cook if you place them all together on a small plate! They need to be spaced out and be able spin in the microwave!” He tutted the boy.

The boy bowed deeply apologetically before rising and walking over to find a smaller plate. “I just put it on a plate that I found, sorry Gran Tori..” Izuku trailed off, his eyes widening in realisation.

“What’s up kid?” The old man asked Izuku, confused.

“I get it now. Before, I was activating my quirk where and when I needed it to be, like an on and off switch. From the beginning, I should’ve been turning all the switches on!” Izuku activated his quirk all throughout his body, feeling it even out. “Even though my body has a five percent limit, I can fight back without any drawbacks!”

Gran Torino smirked, ‘Toshinori, you chose the right protege.’

“Come on, Midoriya, lets test how far you can go.” Gran Torino got into a fighting stance

once again, and this time, Izuku felt confident.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Day 3 of the internship with Gran Torino was tiring for Izuku. The past day, all they had done was train, which Izuku was grateful for, but his muscles screamed something different.

Izuku had been woken up around 6:30 AM by Gran Torino, who looked too awake for the time.

“Gran Torino? What’s wrong?” Izuku asked sleepily.

“We’re going to Hosu today! It’s a seven-hour train ride. Now hurry up and get your hero costume on, the train leaves at nine!” He nudged Izuku with his foot and walked away.

Izuku sighed and rubbed his eyes. ‘Old people and their ungodly time sense,’ he thought to himself as he sat up, stretching before standing up and cracking his back. He found his hero costume and put it on, grabbing his bag and packing some clothes for the night and walked out to Gran Torino, who was waiting for him.

The two walked out of the house and walked to the train station, waiting two hours for the train to arrive, Izuku pouted like a child but didn’t say anything to the older man.

When they finally boarded the train, they sat in silence for the next seven hours, Izuku sitting next to Gran Torino, none of them wanting to break it.

When the sun had started to set, the intercoms above them started up. “We apologise for this delay, but we are undergoing an emergency stop.” A male’s voice came from the speakers, leaving everyone confused.

Izuku looked out the window and saw an explosion deeper into the city, and then something crashed into the walls of the train, making everyone go ballistic.

A human-like creature with wings and its brain exposed that had two eyes on each side stood up from the edge of the train, gripping the head of a hero that it had thrown into the train, effectively destroying the hero’s head.

It looked over the passengers with dead eyes, making them scream with pure terror as the creature started to walk towards them.

“Midoriya, stay put!” The man yelled over the commotion.

“Gran Torino! It’s a Nomu!” Izuku cried out just as loud. The man nodded and went shooting towards the Nomu, using his feet to send it back.

Izuku ran to the gap in the train walls and looked out at the city, seeing multiple faint smoke clouds forming all around the place. He jumped out of the train and ran, using his quirk to jump high into the air and from building to building until he was in the main part of the attack, seeing a whole bunch of Nomu’s and heroes fighting.

Izuku ran into the streets of the city, making sure that no civilian was in immediate danger within the radius of the Nomu’s. He came across an alleyway, hearing someone yell. He recognised the voice of Iida.

He ran towards the alleyway and punched a man that was standing above Iida, ready to put a katana through him.

“Mid..Midoriya?!” Iida cried from his position on the ground.

“I’m here to save you, Iida! There are those Nomu things all around the city!” He stood in between the man and his classmate, glaring at the man in front of him.

“How..did you know that I was here?” Iida asked from the ground.

“I read about it, all of the recent hero deaths, from the dubbed ‘Hero Killer: Stain,’ have been found in deserted alleyways!”

“Hm, ‘I here to save you,’ that’s a nice line.” Stain started to speak, “you two are aspiring heroes, yes? Well, I have a duty to fulfil with killing those who call themselves heroes, and fortunately, you two fall into that category.” He smirked.

Izuku held his stance, a hand behind his back with his phone, typing out a message with his location and mass sending it to everyone in his contacts.

“If you choose to butt in, then I have no other choice but to align your fate with the rest of the heroes passed.” Stain held his katana in front of him, licking his tongue along it.

“Butting your nose in, is a quality a hero must have!” Izuku put his fists up and prepared himself to fight Stain.

“Have it your way.” Stain came at him, diving his katanas at the boy who jumped, disappearing from sight, making Stain confused and furious. He looked above him just as Izuku came barrelling down, his body powered up with One For All and his leg ready to attack Stain.

The man dodged at the last second, sliding away from the powerful teenager. Izuku jumped again, landing on the wall behind Stain and attacking him from above and behind. He threw back his fist and punched Stain’s face, which he could feel break a couple of his teeth.

Stain was brought to the ground and Izuku came to a crouch. When Stain stood up, he smirked and licked his katana, which confused Izuku, and then he froze. He couldn’t move, his body tried to fight against it, but it felt like a concrete slab was on top of him, making hum unable to move.

“H-hey, why can’t I move?” Izuku panicked, trying his best to figure out a way out of the situation.

Stain started to walk towards Izuku. “I studied your moves, you intended to dodge my line of sight and take me down with your ultimate move, right? Hm. Maybe there is some worth to you, these two over here, not so much.” He walked towards Iida and the bare conscious hero.

“No! Stop! Damn it!” Izuku cried out, unable to do nothing but watch as Stain walked over to Iida and place his foot on Iida’s head.

Iida made a grunting noise as Stain held up his katana, ready to spear it into Iida, but a large ice wall encased him and trapped him high in the air.

“Todoroki!” Izuku cried in relief when he saw his friend.

“Your message confused me, but you’re not the type of person to randomly send your location to anyone, so I figured you were in trouble.”

“Don’t let his blade pierce you! If he tastes your blood, then you’ll be immobilised!” Izuku explained.

“That’ll be easy enough.” Todoroki spoke before sending an ice wall towards Izuku, Iida and the pro that was down and sent them behind him, melting it so that they were free.

Stain cut his way through the ice that encased him and went for Todoroki, throwing his katana at the boy who just dodged it, watching it speed by his shoulder, missing it by a few centimetres.

He came straight towards Todoroki and dodged every fire and ice attack the boy threw at him, cutting through ice like it was nothing. Todoroki was getting annoyed, all this proclaimed ‘Hero Killer’ did was dodge his attacks and failing to strike him time and time again. Stain had been able to manage to be face to face with Todoroki at one point, and in the blink of an eye he was gone.

The boy looked around, then realised Stain had jumped up high, kicking off the building and plummeting down, his knees up to his hips and his sword facing down, ready to pierce Todoroki.

And then he was taken out of the sky by a flash of green lightning.

“Midoriya!” Todoroki cried as he looked up to his saviour.

“I don’t know how..but I can move again!” Izuku cried, watching Stain warily.

“A timed quirk?” Todoroki asked.

“Nm..no..I was the first to..go down..” the hero lying next to Iida answered.

“So, it must have to do something with the persons blood type…ahh!” Izuku cried as Stain nudged his hip with his elbow harshly, making Izuku fly back.

“You two pests are annoying, now its time to get rid of you.” Stain started to run towards the two, and then he was immediately thrown back into the back of the alley, his back and head colliding with the brick wall, effectively knocking him out cold.

“Huh?! Gran Torino?” Izuku cried, watching the short man dust off his hands.

“Kid? What are you doing here? I told you to stay put! Disrespectful kids these days, hmph!” Gran Torino muttered to himself, shaking his head and typing up Stain with a piece of rope he found at the end of the alleyway.

During the commotion, Iida and Native regained their mobility and walked over to the three males. Native thanked the three teenagers profusely, bowing over and over again.

Eventually, pro heroes from around the area that saw Todoroki’s ice wall and flames came to their aid, surprised to see Todoroki holding a rope tied, knocked out Stain, dragging him along the concrete without a care.

“Hey watch out!” Gran Torino cried as the Nomu with wings came flying down to them, ignoring them all as it’s talon like feet grabbed onto Izuku’s back, flying off with him and leaving them all in shock, even as far as flying too high so that Gran Torino couldn’t use his quirk to jump up to them.

Some of the blood that was gushing out of the wound on its chest dripped onto the ground like rain, getting on one of the heroes faces. They all stood in worry and confusion.

Why only go after Izuku?

The hero that had blood drip onto her face suddenly shrieked, they all looked at her and saw that Stain had somehow got out of his bondage and licked her face where the blood was, effectively freezing the Nomu mid air and dropping Izuku.

When the Nomu dropped at a certain height, Stain jumped up high and stabbed a folding knife through the Nomu’s brain, killing it immediately. They both dropped to the ground and Stain started to laugh maniacally, sending cold shivers down their spines.

“This society..is filled with a bunch of fakes..to think I did this..for a better society!” Stain stood up and stepped over Izuku and started to walk towards the group of heroes behind Iida and Todoroki. “You are all..a bunch of fakes! The only true hero who can kill me..is All Might!” He cried, and the ways that his face was contorting to would give them all nightmares.

Stain stopped mid step, a gurgled sound came out of his mouth, and he fell face forward to the ground.

They all stood in a shocked silence for a few moments before Endeavour came from a street connected and asked what they were all doing. When he got no answer, he walked over to them and saw Stain lying on the ground.

“What happened here? Has the Hero Killer been killed?” He turned on his hero voice, once again receiving no answer. He sighed at the state of the lower-level pros and students, walking over to the unconscious man and put his fingers to his neck, receiving no pulse.

“One of you, call for ambulances. This man is dead, and we have two injured minors.” He spoke, finally getting them out of whatever states they were in. One of them got on their earpieces and called for medical, while the three teenagers comforted each other.

“Shoto,” Endeavour’s booming voice interrupted their conversation, “are you and your classmates alright?”

Todoroki looked towards his father and nodded, “we’re all fine, father. Though Iida needs the most medical attention. Midoriya and I are fine except for some minor bruising and scratches.”

Endeavour looked sceptical but nodded, “I still want you both looked over and a night stayed in the hospital.”

“Endeavour, the paramedics are here but there’s too much blockage around these streets, we need to find our way to them.” One of the heroes informed the man, making him sigh but nod.

“Are you three good to walk?”

The three teenagers nodded and started to move towards the undestroyed streets in silence.

Just before they got out to the main streets where the ambulances were, Izuku caught eye of a familiar green hair and pink cardigan walking away from the massive crowd.

Izuku was confused and scared. What was his mother doing in Hosu? And why was she walking away from all the heroes?

“Mom?” he called out, his voice cracking as he sprinted through the ruined streets of Hosu City. The battle against the Hero Killer had left chaos in its wake, buildings toppled, streets torn apart, and fires casting an eerie glow over the scene. Izuku’s heart pounded in his chest, a sickening rhythm that matched the rising panic in his veins.

She was supposed to be safe. Home. Away from all of this.

But when he’d called her during the chaos, she hadn’t answered. Not once. She didn’t even turn around.

“Mom!” he yelled again, his voice raw now, desperation clawing at his throat. His legs burned as he pushed himself harder, dodging rubble and collapsed walls. His own words bouncing around in his mind: A hero always saves the people they care about.

But what if he was too late? Why was she in the middle of falling buildings and debris? Why wasn’t she going to the safe area?

He rounded a corner and froze, his breath catching in his throat.

There, in the middle of a collapsed building, was a pile of debris, shards of concrete and twisted metal framing a scene that shattered him to his core. Midoriya Inko, his own mother, lay motionless beneath it, her small frame crushed beneath the weight of the destruction. A jagged metal pole pierced through her chest, its sharp end glinting crimson in the light of nearby fires. Her lifeless eyes stared blankly toward the sky, as if frozen in the middle of a scream.

“No..” The word escaped his lips as a whisper, weak and trembling.

His legs moved on instinct, carrying him forward even as his mind screamed at him to stop. He dropped to his knees beside her, his hands hovering over her broken body as if afraid to touch her.

“Mom,” he choked out, his voice trembling. “No, no, no..this can’t be real.”

He grasped the metal pole, his hands slick with her blood, and tried to pull it free, but it wouldn’t budge. The reality of her death hit him like a freight train, and he let out a broken sob, collapsing onto her.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his tears soaking into her cardigan, the same one she wears all the time, the last gift he had given her. He could almost hear her voice, soft and warm, telling him to stay safe, to take care of himself. She’d always worried so much about him. Always.

And he hadn’t been there to protect her.

The world blurred around him as grief consumed him, his body wracked with uncontrollable sobs. He clutched at her lifeless form, the coldness of her skin a cruel contrast to the warmth he remembered.

“I promised..I promised I’d keep you safe,” he cried. His voice rose, raw and broken, into the night. “I was supposed to be a hero! I was supposed to save you!”

He slammed his fist into the ground, the force cracking the concrete beneath him. One For All surged through his body, wild and unstable, but he didn’t care. He wanted to scream, to destroy, to do anything to drown out the unbearable pain in his chest.

He didn’t even notice when Todoroki and Iida appeared behind him, their faces pale with shock.

“Midoriya..” Todoroki’s voice was soft, hesitant, but Izuku didn’t respond.

Iida stepped forward, his hand trembling as he placed it on Izuku’s shoulder. “We need to-”

“DON’T!” Izuku roared, the sheer force of his quirk sending a shockwave through the air. “Don’t touch me!”

He turned to them, his eyes wild and filled with a rage they’d never seen before. “They did this,” he spat, his voice venomous. “The heroes..the villains..they did this. And I’ll make them pay.

Todoroki and Iida exchanged a worried glance but said nothing. They knew there was nothing they could say to pull Izuku back from the edge of his despair.

Izuku turned back to his mother, his tears falling silently now. He brushed a strand of hair from her face, his hand shaking. “I’m sorry, Mom,” he whispered. “I couldn’t save you. But I swear..I’ll make this right.”

He stood slowly, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. One For All crackled around him, an unstable aura of raw power and grief.

The boy who had once dreamed of saving everyone now carried the weight of a loss that would haunt him forever.And in the distance, the faint sound of sirens grew louder, too late to save what mattered most.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku didn’t sleep.

He stayed awake in the uncomfortable hospital bed in the itchy hospital gowns they were forced to wear, thinking about his mom and only his mom.

When the sun rose, and Todoroki and Iida woke up, the door slid open and multiple pairs of shoes came into the room. Izuku didn’t turn over, even when he heard Gran Torino start to talk.

“This is the Hosu Chief of Police, Tsuragamae Kenji. He’s come to talk to you about last nights incident.”

“So, you three are the ones who fought the Hero Killer: Stain. Unfortunately, Akaguro Chizome passed away last night, a broken rib had punctured his lung, and medical experts were unable to save him,” he explained.

“Authorising the use of such power, which could easily kill, was a heavily criticised decision at first, but it eventually gained public support, all because your predecessors acted morally and complied with the laws, woof, but those who acted without permission, causing harm without direct orders from the police or authorities. even if they confronted someone like the hero killer, taking action would be a clear violation of the law, woof.”

“Now, wait a minute,” Izuku started, turning around and glaring at the Chief of Police, seeing a hero he’s never met before, and Gran Torino. “Native would have been slaughtered if Iida hadn’t taken action, and nobody in this godforsaken city knew the Hero Killer was in town. If I didn’t find Iida and Stain, a pro hero and the brother of a pro, a U.A first year student, would’ve died. Should we have allowed people to die under your ‘law’? Isn’t saving lives the role of a hero?”

“You three clearly have much to learn.” The dog-man shook his head, “goes to show the education UA allows their students to bask in.” He mumbled to himself.

“What was that, mutt?” Izuku spat at the man, Todoroki and Iida looking at their friend in shock at his choice of words. “My mother died because your heroes lack any hero sense to them, so what does that say about Shiketsu?”

The man-dog sighed, ignoring the choice of insult the teenager had used. “I understand your anger, Midoriya, but I am not in charge the heroes, therefore, they are not my responsibility. As the Chief of Police, I have a duty to inform all of you, the decision of whether or not to address this matter in public is the real question, woof. If we share the nature of the incident, the public will praise you all, but you will be held accountable for your actions of using your quirks unlicensed and without permission.”

“The Hero Killer’s burns, however, will reinforce the incident that the Endeavour was the one who killed him, if we keep all this unpleasant stuff to ourselves, he’ll get the praise. Thankfully, the number of eyewitnesses was low enough to allow us to silence the entire situation before it becomes problematic.” The Chief of Police suddenly bowed towards the three. I must thank you three for taking down the Hero Killer. Our heroes will sleep safely and worry-free tonight. But you cannot claim any credit for Stain’s death.”

“But we didn’t kill him,” Todoroki spoke, “Gran Torino threw him with his feet into the alley, that would’ve broken his ribs.”

“Alas, the retired pro hero Gran Torino has no desire to be in the media’s attention and has chosen to take no claim to the death of the villain.” The man bowed to them again and left the room.

Izuku turned back around and stared out the window, like was a few minutes ago.

The door slid open, and two pairs of feet entered the room.

“Kids.”

“Izuku!”

“Bakugo? Sensei?”

Izuku felt someone run up to him and touch him gently. He turned over slightly and saw Katsuki standing over him with worried eyes.

“What are you guys doing here?” Iida asked.

“Bakugo and I got a message from Midoriya, all it was was his location.” Aizawa explained, looking over the three with careful eyes. “Are you guys alright? Do we need to go back to UA and get grandma to fix you?”

Todoroki and Iida shook their heads, explaining they all got the right medical attention.

“Zuku,” Katsuki mumbled, touching Izuku’s shoulder gently, “we know..about auntie. Gran Torino and the Chief of Police informed us.”

Izuku sat up slowly, then pushing his face into Katsuki’s chest and let it all out, breaking down in sobs. “What..what was she eve..even doing in Hosu? She was me..meant to be at home!” His voice cracked as he heaved through sobs, gripping onto Katsuki’s shirt tightly.

Katsuki didn’t say anything, just letting the boy grieve on him.

Aizawa, Todoroki, and Iida talked about what happened, giving their side of the incident while Izuku continued to sob.

After a few minutes, Izuku calmed down and went back to his sleepless-like self. He pulled away from Katsuki and wiped his eyes. “Excuse me, Kacchan, Iida, Todoroki, sensei, I have to make a phone call.” He slowly got out of the hospital bed and walked past Katsuki and his teacher, no one stopping him.

He walked down the hallway and found a secluded area of the hospital. He pulled out his phone and pressed a contact he rarely ever touched. He put his phone to his ear and heard it ring.

“Hello? Izuku? How nice of you to call, son.”

“Are you in Japan, father?” Izuku asked, his voice emotionless.

“No, I’m still in America, I won’t be back for another few months. How’s UA son? I heard from your mother that you got in, I’m so proud–”

“Mama’s dead.” Izuku cut him off, listening to the other end of the call go silent, nothing but the sound of what seemed to be glass shattering.

“..how? What happened? Are you okay?” His father’s rushed voice asked.

“I’m okay. There was a major incident in Hosu, a building collapsed, and she got pierced with a metal pole, going through her lung and heart. She died painlessly and fast.”

“I’ll be there tomorrow morning, I’ll catch the earliest flight I can tonight and meet you in Hosu. What hospital are you–”

“Don’t bother,” Izuku cut his father off once again, “you were barely here for our lives, don’t pretend like you care now. I’ll send you the funeral information and you can visit her without me there.”

“Wait, Izuku–”

“Goodbye, father.” Izuku hung up the phone and put his head against the wall behind him and sighed, letting a few tears drop down his cheeks.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

All For One went silent as the call ended, making his protege and subordinates worried.

“Sensei, what’s wrong?” Tomura asked, a slight crease of worry on his forehead, only a certain amount of bad news would cause his sensei to break a glass with his bare hand.

“..that was Izuku. Inko has died.” The league went silent at the news, “those Nomu’s we sent off with Stain..the heroes and the Nomu’s fight destroyed a building, I assume, and debris hit and killed her instantly. Excuse me.” He cleared his throat and left.

All For One teleported to his home in Musutafu and walked to his and Inko’s room. On her bedside table, there was a portrait photo sitting in a standing frame, the photo taken was of Inko, himself, and young Izuku. One of the only family portraits they had ever gotten taken.

He picked it up and sat on their her bed, holding the frame close to him, mourning the death of his wife.

His wife.

Chapter Text

The rest of the week had passed, all of them healing in the hospital and Izuku planning his mother’s funeral.

The hospital staff was supportive and helpful, giving him all the help he needed and directed him towards the best of the best funeral homes and directors.

They had the funeral on the Saturday back at Musutafu, the Bakugo’s, Aizawa and some of his mothers’ friends joining him to lay her in eternal peace. Katsuki comforted Izuku as small tears fell down his face when they lowered her coffin to the ground.

Izuku thank everyone for coming to the service, receiving short hugs from his mothers’ friends, and long and sentimental ones from both of the Bakugo adults, even receiving a kiss on the forehead from Mitsuki.

Aizawa accompanied Izuku and Katsuki to Izuku’s apartment. Izuku walked in first, not bothering to take off his shoes and sat on the crouch, placing his head in his hands.

“Midoriya,” Aizawa spoke, walking towards Izuku and crouching down in front of him, “I know this is hard and very unexpected, Bakugo and I will be here for you if you need to talk.” He placed a gentle hand on Izuku’s arm, bringing his hands away from his face, “Nezu has had dorms built into UA, one for every class. They weren’t going to be officially opened until Monday, but for your situation, you can be moved in tonight. Do you have a suitcase or large bag?”

Izuku hummed, wiping his eyes and standing up. He walked to his room and grabbed his suitcase that was in the back of his closet, grabbing whatever clothes, toiletries, electronics and books he could find and fit into the suitcase, not even batting an eye at the All Might merch around his room.

Then he made his way to his mom’s room, walking to her bedside table and grabbed one of the framed photo’s and ran his finger over it gently. It was a photo taken of him and his mom when he was four, Izuku in his mom’s arms in an All Might onesie, with Inko kissing his cheek. Tears started to run down his face and droplets landed on the glass.

He walked out of his moms’ room and went back to his, gently placing the framed photo, zipping up the suitcase and walked out to Aizawa and Katsuki.

“I’ll drive you to UA. Bakugo, you head back home and get everything you need ready for Monday.”

Katsuki nodded and walked with them out of the apartment and went home, leaving Aizawa and Izuku alone.

The car ride between Izuku and Aizawa was silent. They got to UA and Aizawa walked him to his new home.

“This is class 1A's Heights Alliance Dormitories. Your room is on the second floor, your name will be on the door. Your relative teachers know about your situation and measures have been placed so that you are the only one able to access, besides myself and some other pro’s, to enter this building for the next day. The lifts are to the right of the end of the hallway.” Aizawa explained, pointing to the hallway. He looked down to Izuku and saw his blank face.

“Kid, if you ever need someone to talk or go to, my room is at the very end of the first floors hallway, I’ll always be here for you kids, Present Mic and Midnight too. We’ve all experienced a grief that changed the perspective of life for us, we know how you feel and what to do in these times. Even if you seek comfort, we are here fore you.”

Izuku looked up at his teacher and gave him a weak smile, his lips turning wobbly and his eyes glassy. He let go of his suitcase and hugged Aizawa’s waist tightly, leaving the man stunned for a second before hugging the boy back.

“Go get settled in, I’ll be back for dinner.” He gave a squeeze to Izuku and walked out of the dorm.

Izuku walked his way to the elevator and pressed the button for his floor, getting there in less then 3 seconds. He walked down the hallway of the second floor and found his room, he opened the door and was a little happy at how bland it was. He put his suitcase near the bed and sat on the bare bed, thinking about all of that has happened within the past week.

With that, what worse could happen?

A knock on the door broke his thoughts. He got off the bed and opened the door, seeing All Might and an older boy he had never seen before.

“Oh..All Might, what are you doing here?” Izuku asked.

“Young Midoriya, what had happened in Hosu was a traumatic and tragic incident for you, I’m sure, and with that you have all our deepest sympathies.” All Might spoke grimly. Izuku could feel something else coming from his mentor, he stepped back into his room slightly, feeling uncomfortable talking to the Greatest Hero of All Time.

“But,”

Izuku knew it.

“With what had happened, you used One For All without permission, effectively killing a man.”

Izuku tried to interject, explaining that it was Gran Torino that had the final blow to Stain that broke his ribs and punctured a lung, but All Might didn’t let him speak.

“For that, I believe you are not responsible enough to hold the power of One For All.”

Izuku stared up at the man in front of him in shock, not believing a word coming out of his mouth.

“This is Togata Mirio, a third year UA student and one of the big three, as of this moment, he will be my successor and the ninth holder of One For All. Please give him a strand of your hair and pass on the quirk onto him.” All Might stared at him with demanding eyes.

Izuku didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. All his dreams, everything he had sacrificed was all for nothing. He felt so much anger towards All Might, and this boy that was standing in front of him with nothing but an overly happy smile plastered on his face. He could feel the heat of One For All coursing through his veins, ready to make an appearance and get rid of the two males in front of him.

“Midoriya!” All Might’s booming voice surprised down the heat in his veins. Izuku looked him dead in the eye, then to Mirio.

“Fine.” He spoke, plucking a hair from his head, transferring One For All with it and handed it to the older boy. “Please leave the dormitory, or I’ll call Aizawa-sensei to come and remove you.” Izuku spoke, his voice monotonous.

All Might and Mirio walked away from Izuku’s room, who slammed the door shut and slid down the door, fat tears falling from his cheeks onto the ground.

Out of all things that could’ve possibly happened.

Izuku sat on the ground in front of his door for the rest of the afternoon, thinking about his mom, Katsuki, his future at UA now that he’s back to square one, and surprisingly, his father.

Would his father except him once again now that he’s quirkless again? Would he live with him in America? Go to an American school? Or stay in Japan as the quirkless boy he was once before? So many thoughts ran through his head that it gave him a headache.

Dinner with Aizawa went by quickly, nothing but silence between the two, which made Aizawa glad but worried.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Monday came too fast for Izuku’s liking. He did his normal getting ready for school routine, except slower, and walked to the school. He was the last to walk into the classroom, everyone already either sat in their seats or standing with their friends at theirs.

He walked through the opened door and the chatter fell. Katsuki was the first out of his seat and almost ran to Izuku, standing in front of him with worried eyes, behind him, Todoroki and Shinso had the same look in their eyes.

“I’m fine, Kacchan.” He spoke with a raw, scratchy voice, “good morning, everyone.” He spoke before walking past Katsuki, Todoroki and Shinso to his seat, ignoring the burning looks of worry everyone was giving him. He walked to his seat and sat down, still feeling his eyes of his classmates on him.

Aizawa entered the room, and everyone shot to their seats, listening intently to their teacher. “Today you’ll be doing a training exercise with All Might at Ground Gamma, so in a moment I’ll get you all to go to your locker rooms and get changed into your hero costumes. But first, UA has built dormitories all around the campus for all classes, including our own. This weekend you are allowed to come in and decorate your rooms to your hearts content. Now go get your costumes on.”

The class shuffled out of the room and to their lockers, getting dressed as fast as they could. They walked out to Ground Gamma where All Might stood in front of the doors to the grounds.

His eyes scanned the group, giving a small grimace when he saw Izuku, but covered it up with his hero smile. “Hello, dear students! As Aizawa explained, you’ll all be doing a training exercise. Now based on recent events, we’ll be doing a rescue mission! This mission is a race, I will be hidden somewhere in Ground Gamma, and whoever gets to me first wins!” All Might beamed at his students as they all got excited, “now I would like to ask to keep the destruction to a minimum.” He pointedly looked towards Katsuki, who rolled his eyes.

All Might called out the first team: Mina, Sero, Izuku, Shinso, and Kirishima.

The man went into the grounds after giving them their instructions. After a few minutes, a flare went off and the five went off into the direction.

Izuku was at a major disadvantage. Having no quirk would surely bring his grades down and lead him to get kicked out of UA.

He ran to the pipes that were near the ground and started to climb them, reaching the top within a matter of seconds. He jumped the roofs of the buildings, thanking himself for training his legs for rock climbing, long run and long jump.

Except, his foot slipped on the edge of one of the higher buildings. He started to fall, and his classmates were too far away for them to catch him in time. He closed his eyes, prepared for a crucial impact on his back, but the longer he fell, the more confused he got.

He opened his eyes and saw that he had black tendrils with a dark turquoise outline spurting out of his hands. He panicked, thinking someone has some sort of quirk possessing him, making the tendrils duplicate and fly about everywhere, destroying anything in its path.

The sudden destruction of the grounds caught the attention of his classmates competing against him, they had ditched the training exercise and went straight to Izuku, being caught off guard and black tendrils came at them, wrapped around them and flung them away.

Izuku’s confusion and panic blinded him from the destruction going on around him. He heard explosions in the distance, immediately knowing that they were Katsuki’s.

Katsuki set off his explosions as fast as he could, each blast allowing him a different and faster airtime, which got him to Izuku within a matter of seconds. Katsuki set off his explosions faster

“Bakugo! Watch out from the tendrils! They’ll attack you if you get too close!” Kirishima shouted at the blond as he dodged a tendril flying towards him. Katsuki took his warning a strayed away from the flying tendrils, doing his best to get close to Izuku.

The closer Katsuki got to Izuku, he realised that none of the tendrils are attacking him like they are his classmates, so he took that to his advantage and set off small explosions to float himself to Izuku’s height, calling out his name to try and calm him down, but Izuku was too deep in something that took him away from the rest of the world.

When Izuku’s vision cleared, he saw that he wasn’t in UA anymore, or the world for that matter. He was in another world. The ground was dirt, and they sky looked like he was travelling through space distortedly. There was this black glowing muck that was covering his mouth, making him unable to talk.

He felt naked.

He was naked.

Izuku looked in front of him, seeing a small council of seven chairs facing him with seven people he had never seen before sitting in them. He tried to move but whatever was covering his mouth had a strong hold on his body.

When collective voices spoke, Izuku’s body went cold in fear. It was deep. Powerful. Controlling. Every instinctual nerve in his body told him to run, to wake up from this nightmarish hellhole but he was frozen.

“Do not fear us, Midoriya Izuku. You are us and we are you. This quirk relies heavily on your emotions, harness it as we have before. You are safe. We will see you again.”

The voices went as quick as they came, and he was back at Ground Gamma, Katsuki’s face up in his, his gleaming red eyes filled with concern and confusion.

“Izuku!” He screamed in Izuku’s face, “snap out of it! Control yourself!”

Izuku came to his senses, his arm and fingers were burning in pain. He watched in horror as the black tendrils attacked his classmates as they only tried to help him. “Kacchan! I can’t! It won’t stop. W-where’s Shinso? Or Aizawa?!” Izuku looked around for them which only made him panic more.

“Izuku! You need to breathe! Aizawa is on his way, he wasn’t that far behind me!” He screamed again, grabbing ahold of Izuku’s arms, trying to stop them from flailing everywhere.

“Let me go! You’re going to get hurt!” Izuku cried, tears of pain spouting from his eyes.

Katsuki tightened his grip on the boy and looked him in the eye, “I will never let you go.”

“Bakugo! Back away from Midoriya!” Aizawa warned as he got close to them.

Katsuki set off a small explosion that moved him behind Izuku, using the boy as a safeguard so that his quirk wouldn’t be affected when Aizawa used his, but never letting Izuku go.

When their teachers’ eyes went red, the black tendrils stilled and eventually sucked themselves back into Izuku’s hand.

Izuku felt himself fall, but Katsuki’s hand on his arm stopped him. He hoisted Izuku into his hold and brought them both to the ground. His classmates and teacher came running to him, overbearing him with questions.

“Bakugo, take Midoriya to the old lady. Midoriya, you and I will have a talk later. Everyone else continue as normal.” Aizawa instructed.

Katsuki took Izuku to Recovery Girl, who looked him over and deemed him perfectly fine and sent them back to Ground Gamma. On their walk back, Katsuki broke the silent tension between them.

“Izuku, what the hell was that back there? A new quirk on top of One For All?” Katsuki looked at him, but Izuku turned his head from Katsuki’s gaze. “Izuku. What happened?” He asked once more, this time more demanding.

“All Might..he told me to give One For All to this third year. Apparently, it was my fault that Stain died, so I was unfit to have such a powerful quirk.” Izuku explained, looking up at Katsuki who looked like he was debating to be shocked or to go off and kill someone. “And this new quirk..I have no idea. I was so scared I was going to break my back from the fall, and it just came out of me. I think it links to my emotions somehow.” He explained more, not telling Katsuki the full truth.

“I’m gonna kill the fucker!” Katsuki stormed off in a violent rage, but Izuku quickly caught up to him and grabbed his arm, dragging him to a stop.

“Kacchan! It’s fine!” Izuku tried to calm his best friend down, but Katsuki was seething.

“No, Izuku, it’s not fine!” He shouted at the boy, “you worked so hard for this quirk, just for him to take it back for not getting all the facts?!”

Izuku didn’t have a comeback for that statement, but he still tried his best to calm Katsuki down. “Kacchan! I still have a quirk, just not my original one! Please, just let it go.”

Katsuki stopped walking and looked down at Izuku, his eyes locking with pleading ones. “Zuku..you don’t deserve to go through all this bullshit.” He let his face go soft, cupping Izuku’s cheek with a gloved hand.

“I know, Kacchan. But this is the life I signed up for.” Izuku smiled up the blond boy, who gave him a small one in return. “We gotta get back, Aizawa needs to talk to me.”

“Actually, I just heard everything.” Aizawa’s voice came from in front of them, making Izuku scream and Katsuki step back. “Midoriya, I will talk to All Might about what he–”

“No, please don’t!” Izuku cut his teacher off, “Aizawa-sensei, I apologise, but what’s done is done. Talking to All Might about this will only make more conflict. He has chosen a new successor and there’s nothing anyone can do about that.”

Aizawa stared at Izuku with a blank look and sighed. “Fine, I’ll let it be. But don’t think I’ll allow you to slack off.”

“Of course not, Aizawa-sensei.” Izuku gave his teacher a determined look.

“Good, now go back to your classmates.” He instructed, watching Izuku and Katsuki walk back to Ground Gamma.

Those kids were like his own, and his own he would protect.

The amount of anger and disbelief Aizawa had for the number one hero could not be put into words. To put a child through months of harsh training all just to take it away? That was a villainous move.

He shook his head and sighed, walking back to his class at Ground Gamma.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

When the heroics lesson was over, they all changed out of their costumes and were sat in their seats as their teacher walked through the classroom door.

“Congratulations, you all passed the physical exam.” Aizawa announced when he got to his desk, smirking when he heard his students exclaim in shock and outrage, “yes, this was an exam, get over it. Your written one will be at the end of the week, I will allow some class time to study for this, but you should all be studying with the free time you have. Now, those who pass the written exam will be allowed to go to a three-day training camp in the woods and train under the Wild Wild Pussycats, those who fail the written exam will still be allowed to go but will be doing special supplementary classes..with me.” He sent them his wide toothy grin which sent shivers down their spines.

“I’ll allow this lesson as a study, so head on down to the library and be back up here in time for your double English lessons.” Aizawa instructed as he got into his yellow sleeping bag and the class got out of their seat and went down to the library.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Over the next four days, the class studied together whenever they could, forming small groups for different subjects.

Friday came along and most of them were feeling confident. Aizawa had them sat in their assigned test seats and started the timer for the exam, watching them all closely to make sure Kaminari certain people weren’t cheating. He called time after three hours, collecting their papers and letting them off to lunch.

The class sat together for their lunch, all discussing their estimated results.

When lunch was over, they all made their way to their classroom and saw that their papers were already marked and put back on their original desks.

“Oh, Aizawa-sensei! You marked these fast!” Mina exclaimed as she almost ran to her desk, as did others who were keen to see their results.

“Of course. There’s no point in making you all wait. Now out of you all, only three failed, though all very close to passing.” Aizawa explained, letting the three who failed out themselves by heaving out a large sigh. “Ashido, Kaminari, and Sato, you three will be staying with me during the training camp, away from your classmates.”

Ectoplasm walked through the door as Aizawa finished talking, nodding to the tired hero as he took his leave.

“Good afternoon, class 1A. Today we will be learning about using Cosine to find an unknown angle!” He smiled at their groans of misery, turning to the board behind him and drawing out a triangle.

“Now, if DE equals 4.9 meters, EF 3.4 meters, and DF 2.8 meters, what is F to the nearest minute?” He asked as he drew the triangle and the sides.

Izuku zoned out as Ectoplasm explained the working and what to do, thinking about all that had happened throughout the last week and a bit. To think that his hero, the number one ‘Greatest Hero of All Time’ hero would take something back without having all the information. Then he thought about Katsuki, how no matter what had happened in his life, he was always there for him. The sweet moments they shared together. The expression on his face he would get when he was with Izuku and Izuku alone.

The thought made Izuku feel warm and fuzzy.

He wondered if Katsuki felt the same warm and fuzzy feeling when he was with Izuku.

He hoped so.

Being with Katsuki made Izuku feel like he was home, like he mattered. His whole world is stopped when he was with Katsuki, like nothing and no one else mattered.

“Midoriya!” A distant voice called out, making Izuku confused, why would somebody be calling out to him?

“Midoriya!” It called again, this time closer.

“Midoriya! Stop daydreaming!” The voice became clearer, allowing Izuku to identify it as Ectoplasm's.

Izuku snapped out of his thoughts and brought his attention to his maths teacher, “sorry sensei! What was the question?”

Ectoplasm frowned for a moment before pointing to the board behind him, “what is the equation and answer to the question?”

Izuku looked over the question, “F equals inverse Cosine 2.8 squared plus 3.4 squared minus 4.9 squared over 2 times 2.8 times 3.4, which equals..” Izuku went quiet as he did the math in his head, “104 degrees and zero minutes.”

Ectoplasm smiled, “correct. Please refrain from zoning off in the future, Midoriya.”

Izuku nodded and the man went back to teaching.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by for Izuku, which he didn’t mind, none of the things being taught was something he didn’t know, so he just zoned out for most of his classes.

At the end of the day when Aizawa had dismissed them all and had given them their very long list of supplies they needed for camp, Hagakure had the idea of going out to the mall to by the supplies.

“We can go tomorrow! And we can buy things for our new dorms!” She spoke excitedly, making the girls in the class join in.

“So, it’s settled!” Mina exclaimed, “tomorrow we’ll all meet at the mall and buy the things we need! Just like two weeks ago!”

The class all nodded and left the classroom, walking out of the school and to their homes.

Izuku went back to the dorms and studied, ate dinner with Aizawa silently and went to bed.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next morning, he was woken up before his alarm from the class 1A group chat, all spamming it about the things they wanted to do when they get to the mall. Izuku got up out of bed and got ready for the day.

He grabbed a small bag and packed it with the things he needed before leaving his room and the dorms, walking out of the school and to the train station. The train ride was short, and he got off at the platform, walking towards the mall where he saw many of his classmates.

They all had entered the mall and went off into pairs or groups, leaving Izuku alone. He looked around the mall and grabbed some of the supplies he needed for the camp, already having some in his dorm room from previous camping trips.

Suddenly it felt like everything was trying to suffocate him. He couldn’t breathe. The mall was too loud. Voices crashed together in a messy hum, shoes scuffing against tile, advertisements blaring over distant speakers, the rhythmic beeping of cash registers. Izuku wasn’t paying attention. He just needed to clear his head, maybe grab something to drink before finding more supplies

Then, the air changed.

The mall’s noise seemed to pull away from him, like he had stepped into a bubble where sound barely reached. A thin pressure curled around the edges of his mind, a featherlight touch against his thoughts. His vision blurred for half a second, colours deepened, the bright overhead lights seeming too sharp, the movements around him too slow.

A whisper without words. Something creeping.

“Are you lost, sweetheart?”

The voice sank into him, smooth, slow, syrupy. It curled around his ears, dripping with something too warm, too intentional.

Izuku turned.

A woman stood too close behind him.

His brain struggled to place her, to categorise the wrongness of her appearance. She was trying too hard to look young, pastel hoodie, pleated skirt, braided hair that didn’t suit her face. Her makeup was thick, just slightly uneven, lipstick bleeding into the corners of her mouth. Something was off.

And she was smiling too wide.

“I..uh, no. I’m fine,” Izuku muttered, stepping back.

His body lagged.

The movement felt delayed, like he was wading through something thick. The air pressed against his limbs, slowing him down, dulling his thoughts.

The woman tilted her head, the motion unsettlingly smooth. “You sure? You seem a little..out of it.”

His brain felt like it was slipping, like something warm and heavy was wrapping around it, sinking him down, down, down.

Her fingers lifted, brushing the fabric of his jacket sleeve. Her nails were chewed, pale pink polish chipped at the edges. He could see the faint indentations of teeth marks.

“You don’t have to be so nervous,” she murmured. “You have time, don’t you?”

Her voice was sinking into him, wrapping around his thoughts. The mall felt far away, like the people had faded into the background, just blurry shadows moving in the distance.

He felt himself sway forward.

His body wasn’t listening to him. His pulse was still there, too slow, too thick, too wrong.

The scent of strawberries clung to the air.

He clenched his fists. Hard.

His nails dug into his palms. A spike of pain shot up his arms, sharp and real.

The fog broke.

Izuku staggered back, breath ripping from his lungs. The mall snapped into focus the dull roar of people, the too-bright lights, the ground suddenly solid beneath his feet again.

The woman’s expression twitched.

Just for a moment. A flicker of something hungry beneath the mask.

“Oh,” she murmured. Her fingers twitched mid-air before she slowly lowered them. “That’s..disappointing.”

Izuku’s breath was shaky, his fists still clenched so tightly that his nails had left red crescents in his skin.

She tilted her head again, slower this time. A small, absent motion. Like she was studying him.

Then, she giggled.

It was wrong.

Not forced. Not nervous. Just empty.

“You’re a strong one, huh?” she mused, brushing imaginary dust from her sleeve. “I like that.”

And then, just like that, she turned.

Her pastel skirt swished unnaturally, the movement just a little too smooth. She walked into the crowd without looking back, melting into the sea of people.

Izuku didn’t move.

The mall felt too big, too bright, too distant. His hands trembled at his sides. His mind still felt wrong, like something had brushed against it and left fingerprints behind.

The woman was gone.

But the feeling wasn’t.

And the scent of strawberries still clung to the air.

The scent made his body crawl with unease. He needed to leave.

He grabbed his phone and sent out a quick text to their group chat.

Aizawa’s favourite students

10:47AM

Midoriya: hey guys, sorry but something has come up and I need to go, just sending this so you don’t all come looking for me!

He turned off his phone, ignoring the vibrations from the chat and all most ran out of the mall, hoping to whoever that he didn’t run into that lady once more.

On Monday, everyone had met Aizawa at the front of the school, where there was already a bus waiting for them.

“Everyone hop on, put your luggage under the bus.” Aizawa’s bored voice called out, Iida repeating his words.

They all loaded their bags into the bus and sat in their seats, sitting next to their friends. Katsuki and Izuku sat together to no one’s surprise. Katsuki put in his earbuds in and leaned his head against the window of the bus while Izuku leaned against Katsuki’s arm and started to sketch whatever was brought to his mind.

When Katsuki gained interest in what Izuku was sketching, he looked over and saw majority of the sketch book page filled with model sketches and clothing. “You should put leg belts around the pant legs and add tights underneath the cargo pants.”

Izuku rubbed out some of the design and added in Katsuki’s input, making a pleased noise when he liked what he drew.

“Those are some good designs, Zuku.” Katsuki complimented, “old hag would go crazy for them if she saw them.”

Izuku smiled at the older boy, “I was actually planning on showing auntie some of my designs. Do you really think she’d like them?”

“Yeah, nerd. As I said, she’d go crazy for them.”

Izuku made a pleased noise as he sat up straight and worked more on his designs, adding Katsuki’s input when he looked over Izuku’s shoulder.

The bus stopped and Aizawa called them out of the bus for a rest stop, all unaware of how much time had passed.

Everyone stepped out of the bus and were confused on their choice of rest stop. It was a barren lookout, overlooking a forest that went out for miles, and not a bathroom in sight, or class 1B's bus.

They all looked around to each other confused, some groaning when they realised this was another elaborate trick of their sensei.

“Ah, Eraser! It’s been a while!” A female voice came from the side of them, making Aizawa’s sigh.

“Hello, young heroes! We are the Wild Wild Pussycats!” They all shouted, posing together.

“You are all in our domain to train, get better at your survival skills and to overall have fun!” A woman in a burgundy costume and a dark red bob-cut explained with a wide smile. “Your camp is way over there,” she pointed to the forest covered mountain, smiling wider when they all groaned.

“I am Mandalay,” the woman introduced herself, “this is Pixie-Bob,” she pointed to the blond in the blue costume, “Ragdoll,” she pointed to the woman wearing yellow and green hair, “and Tiger,” she pointed to the man in the brown.

“We have a nice lunch prepared for you all! It’s half past nine now, so if you all put in your best effort, you should finish your journey by around twelve to eat some yummy lunch!”

The class drooled at the thought of a nice warm meal.

“Of course it won’t be an easy task!” Mandalay smirked as Pixie-Bob placed her hands on the ground, manipulating it until the trenches where high and the mountains were low.

“Anyone who doesn’t make it to the camp by twelve-thirty, doesn’t eat for the rest of the day! You may use your quirks to your hearts content, your time starts now!”

They all started to run to the distorted forest, hearing the chuckles of the Wild Wild Pussycats as they screamed when they saw Pixie-Bob’s Forest Monsters.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

They had all made it out of the forest, destroying the monsters and terrain to see their freedom.

Eight hours later.

They were all exhausted, hungry, and angered at both their teachers and the Pussycats.

All bruised and battered, they made their way to the camp, where there were picnic tables filled with rice and warm food. They all ran to the tables like rabid animals and immediately dug into the provided food.

Izuku was the first done, still sticking to All Might’s diet plan, when he overheard his teacher and the Pussycats talking.

“Your kids are strong for their age, Eraser. Lot of experience?” Mandalay asked.

“Too much for first years..”

“U..uh, speaking about ages, are one of you that kid’s mother?” Izuku spoke up, pointing to the boy that was standing off to the side, looking annoyed.

“Oh, that’s Kota, my nephew.” Mandalay explained, waving Kota over, “Kota, come say hi!” But the boy just stood in place, glaring at the class of aspiring heroes.

“Oh dear, he is a stubborn one.” Mandalay sighed.

“Why would I want to say hi to people with death sentences? Waste of their fucking lives.” The boy spoke, shocking the class within earshot of his vulgar language.

Aizawa hummed, “that’s enough chit chat, finish up your food and get your luggage off the bus, then head to the bath areas to wash up, you all stink.”

“Yes, sensei!” They all replied as they finished their food quickly.

When they had all got their luggage from the bus and into their rooms, they made their way to their respected gender bath areas, divided by a wall. When some of the boys had gotten undressed and into the warm water, they had noticed that class 1B boys were joining them.

“Oh, hey Tetsutetsu!” Kirishima called out from his spot at the baths.

“Kirishima, hey!” The steel boy called out.

“We didn’t see you at the training exercise, did you guys get it somewhere else?”

“Eh? What training exercise?” The boy looked at Kirishima confused as he got into the water next to him.

“What, class 1A is so weak they need to have a training exercise before the camp?” Monoma's voice called out, making the boys sigh.

“Please shut up, Monoma.” Kaminari’s voice came from the other side of the baths, his arms spread over the edge of the bath and his head thrown back with his eyes closed, “it was meant to be a peaceful night before dreadful training tomorrow.”

“Who cares about that when there’s naked girls on the other side of the wall?!” Mineta's voice called out from beneath them, running towards the wood wall and climbing it with his sticky balls.

“It is not becoming of a future hero to be a debauchee!” Iida cried, moving his arms in a robot way as he walked up to the wall and tried to get Mineta down.

“Who cares about that when there bouncy..plumptious..naked girls..” Mineta started to froth at the mouth the more he talked, making everyone disgusted.

When he made it to the top of the wall, he almost got a glimpse at the girls on the other side, but a small body appeared in front of him and blocked his view.

“You should learn how to be a righteous person in society before ever thinking of becoming a hero.” Kota’s voice spat at the teenager, using his foot to kick Mineta's face, effectively pushing him away the wall.

“You’ll pay for that you brat!” Mineta cried as he fell, grabbing a ball from his head and throwing it at the boy.

“Mineta!” A lot of the boys cried, horror showing on their face from the amount of hostility he had at the young boy.

Kota had intersected the ball with his water quirk, though the pressure of his water guns made him unbalanced. He started to wobble around before falling face first towards the ground

The boys watched in horror as the boy fell, no body seemed to move, and it reminded Katsuki of the entrance exam. He was prepared to use his explosions to propel himself to Kota, but black tendrils bulleted their way through the air and grabbed the boy, pulling its owner towards the boy.

“Kota! Are you okay? Wake up!” Izuku spoke urgently to the boy in his arms, but the boy was out cold. Izuku looked at him worriedly, before making the decision to leave the baths and find Mandalay.

He ran around the building looking for the woman, calling out her name when he found her.

“Oh my, what happened?” She asked as she took him out of Izuku’s arms and to a nearby couch.

“He stopped Mineta from class 1B from perving on the girls, Mineta retaliated and threw one of his balls at Kota, but he used his quirk to send it away, but the pressure from the use must’ve left him unstable.” Izuku summarised.

“Oh dear, he doesn’t seem hurt, he didn’t hit his head?” She asked as she assessed over him.

“No, I caught him with my quirk before he was anywhere near the ground.”

“Hm, it seems he’s just passed out from the shock of falling. Eraser and Vlad had explained that there was an ‘incarnation of human lust’ amongst class 1B and we sent Kota up to be on the lookout for that boy.”

Izuku looked over the boy, “he doesn’t like heroes, does he?”

Mandalay sighed, “Kota’s parents, my cousins, were the Water Hose heroes and they died on the field two years ago protecting civilians from villains. He’s been in my care ever since and he’s hated the thought of heroes. They were everything to him and they were taken away from him at such a young age. I’m pretty sure he’s not fond of us, especially living here, but he knows that he has no other relatives and he feels obligated to follow us. For him, all that heroes are are disgusting incomprehensive living beings.”

The floorboard underneath them creaked behind them, turning around they saw Katsuki dressed with some clothes in hand.

“You left in a hurry, nerd. I brought you some underwear and my shirt.” He held out the clothes to Izuku, who took them with a thanking smile.

“He gonna be okay?” Katsuki asked as Izuku dressed himself.

“Yes, he just passed out from the shock of falling. I’ll put him to bed. Thank you Midoriya.” Mandalay gave the boy a smile and picked Kota up, walking out of the room and down the hallway.

“Uh, Kacchan? You only gave me a pair of underwear and a shirt, what about pants?” Izuku asked as he fiddled around with the shirt, being too baggy on him it looked like Izuku was drowning in it.

“None of my pants woulda fit you, Izuku. So, I just picked out a random pair of underwear and a shirt.” Katsuki shrugged, “plus my shirt is baggy on you, so you can’t even tell you’re not wearing any shorts.”

“But..Kacchan..” Izuku mumbled as he continued to fiddle with the hem of the shirt, but whatever he as going to say was shut down when Katsuki sent him a glare, “thank you..Kacchan.”

“It’s whatever, nerd. Let’s go to bed.”

Izuku smiled and followed Katsuki to the dorm rooms, looking at the taller boy with so much admiration.

This was the boy he was going to spend the rest of his life with.

Chapter Text

The next morning at 5:30 AM Aizawa had woken them all up and instructed them to meet him outside in the training area after they had gotten dressed. They all groggily walked out of the building and met Aizawa outside.

“Today you will all be under some rigorous training, this camp is to build and allow you to adapt your quirks in areas they may be weak or or unknown to, building your strength to defend yourself against the enemy. And you may all gain your temporary licence. With that being said, there are multiple quirk strengthening practicing equipment designed specifically for each of you, so don’t back down, don’t give up, don’t let me down.” Aizawa nodded them off to the area where the equipment was, smiling slightly when his students had already started.

10 minutes later, class 1B had made their appearance with their teacher, faces turning to horror when they saw what class 1A was putting themselves through.

“This is what you should all be achieving regardless of what rank you think my class is,” Aizawa narrowed his eyes at Monoma, “do not presume to laze around, class 1B, this is the real world.”

Clapping was heard from beside them, “well said, Eraser. This camp was not for you all to have fun, but to train all of you to become fine heroes. Now let us introduce ourselves! I’m Mandalay, my quirk is Telepath.” Mandalay smiled at them all.

“I’m Pixie-Bob! My quirk is Flowstone!”

“I’m Ragdoll! My quirk is Search!”

“And I’m Tiger, I’m good at punching you all.” He glared at them before going back to training with Izuku.

The class watched in complete shock as Tiger dodged and destroyed Izuku all within a few seconds. Tiger went on to some ‘motivational’ speech about gaining and training your muscles but none of class 1B was listening to the man prattle on, only focusing their attention on their rival class’s torturous methods.

Hours upon hours of endless torture training finally came to an end around 4PM. They were tired, exhausted, and all they wanted to do was eat and relax. When they all came to the outdoor eating area, they were confused at the pile of potato’s, rice, chives, onions, carrots, and meat.

“Now, you are all expected to create your own dinner from scratch with no help from us adults! Now get cooking!” Pixie-Bob smiled at them.

The kids all got to work on their cooking skills, using each other’s quirks to their advantage and actually following Katsuki’s baring orders to cook the food properly.

When it was all done, they ate like barbarians until nothing was left on their plates, or in the bowls that was filled with curry sauce and rice, no matter how bad it tasted.

Izuku had noticed that Kota hadn’t come and ate with them, which made him worried. He saved a plate for the boy and went off walking around the forest, noticing it was getting darker by the second.

He found a path that looked like it had been regularly in use that led up to a large rock over cliff. He walked up the steepish path and found Kota sitting on the edge of the cliff.

“Be careful, Kota. Don’t wanna fall.” Izuku spoke as he came to a stop.

“I’m not stupid, I know to be careful.” Kota spat, refusing to look at the older boy.

“I bought you something to eat, I didn’t see you at dinner.”

“I don’t need your god damn pity, or food!” Kota turned around to glare at him, “leave now, this is my secret base!”

“You need to eat, Kota.”

“I’m not hungry.” The boy huffed.

“You’re a growing boy, you must be starving.” Izuku reasoned.

Kota scoffed, “you all have screws loose in your heads. You call yourselves heroes and villains in this world, and all you do is kill each other. It’s a whole fucked up game that goes around and around. You all need to get your head out of your asses and realise the only people you ‘save’ is yourself.”

Izuku didn’t know what to say to the boy, “alright. I’ll leave your food here, its rice and curry, come down when you’re ready to.” He placed the plate on the ground and turned around to walk back to the dorms.

Izuku quietly walked into the room and noticed that some were asleep, while others were chatting quietly. He walked to where Katsuki’s makeshift bed was and sat down next to him. “Where’s Kaminari, Sato, and Ashido?”

“Some training thing Aizawa made them do after hours. Their punishment I guess.” Katsuki answered, “hey, where did you go after dinner?”

“Oh, I found Kota’s ‘secret hideout’ and brought him some food since I didn’t see him at dinner.” Izuku answered, putting his head on Katsuki’s shoulder, yawning loudly.

“Go have a shower and get some sleep, nerd. You did good today.” Katsuki ruffled Izuku’s hair and sent him off.

Izuku grabbed his pyjamas, toiletries and his towel, heading for the shower rooms. He turned on the shower, got undressed and stepped into the showers, relaxing as he felt the hot water massage his back. He grabbed his shampoo and scrubbed it through his hair, then grabbing his soap and cleaning his body with it.

When he was done, he turned the water off and stepped out, grabbing his towel and drying himself. He put on his change of clothes and put the towel around his neck so that the water droplets from his hair won’t dampen his shirt.

Izuku walked into the dorm rooms and saw that it was complete chaos. Positioning his body so that he was prepared for any attack, he slowly made his way over to Katsuki who was barking orders louder than Iida.

“Kacchan, what’s happening?”

“Kaminari came barging into the dorms saying we were under attack, now everyone’s going ballistic!” He shouted over the shouts of their classmates.

“Well then what are we waiting for?” Izuku quickly put on his shoes and ran out of the building, Katsuki following suit.

Class 1A and B had been split into small groups around the forest. Katsuki and Izuku had almost entered the pathway into the forest when Momo stopped them.

“There’s some sort of sleeping gas flowing about in the forest, take these gas masks.” She made them a gas mask each and handed them to the boys.

“Thank you, Yaomomo!” Izuku spoke as he quickly put on the mask and went into the forest.

The further he ran into the forest, the more people he saw running out to safety. When they got to an opening in the forest, they were horrified to see the League of Villains attacking Pixie-Bob and Tiger, with the woman severely injured underneath a lizard villain and the man protecting the students around him.

Suddenly they saw smoke flowing through the trees and rising above into the air. They all stood on edge and prepared themselves for an attack.

“Mandalay, where is Kota?” Tiger asked as he shielded the kids from an attack from a boy wearing a gas mask.

“I don’t know!” She cried.

“I do!” Izuku answered, his voiced muffled from the thick mask, running off from the group and to where he last saw Kota.

He ran as fast as he could to where he last saw the boy and hoped that none of the villains knew where he was.

He came to a halt when he reached the top of the cliff, seeing Kota on the ground with bits of his face covered in blood and a large muscular man that looked scarily like Katsuki standing over the top of him.

“Get away from him!” Izuku cried as he took off the mask, activating Black Whip which wrapped around the muscular man and flung him into the cliff behind them, making large chunks of the cliff fall onto the man

Kota ran behind Izuku as the man struggled to get the rocks off of him. “Kota, go find Kacchan or Aizawa-sensei! We don’t know this man or what his intentions are! Go!” Izuku spoke to the boy behind him, not taking his eyes off of the buried man.

“He’s the one who killed my parents!” Kota cried as fat tears dropped down his his face.

Izuku froze and slowly turned around to face the boy behind him, suddenly remembering a news report he had watched years ago about the Water Hose heroes and a mugshot of the villain, looking like the exact same man he had just thrown into the cliff.

‘Oh fuck.’

“Kota, you need to go and find someone. Now! My quirk isn’t designed to fight someone like this!”

“But-but then you shouldn’t be here alone fighting him!” Kota exclaimed as a chunk of rock was flown at them.

“Kota, please! Put on the mask and go someone fast! I’ll hold him as much as I can!” Izuku cried as he covered Kota.

Kota seemed conflicted but ran down the cliff hill when another chunk of rock was thrown at them, quickly picking up the discarded gas mask and putting it on. Tears started to form in his eyes which made his vision, and the darkness amongst the trees made him anxious on every turn.

Everywhere he went, the shadows crept upon him which made him fearful of everything around him. He could see a purple mist low on the ground, knowing this is why Izuku told him to take the mask.

He heard commotions all around him, unable to tell if they were the future heroes or villains. He climbed up a tree and carefully manoeuvred from one tree to the other, taking off the mask when he was up in a higher vicinity then the gas on the ground. While jumping and climbing from tree to tree, he kept the look out for UA students and their teachers, the two in particular that Izuku had told him about.

Kota saw an ice wall form in front of his eyes, then heard familiar explosions. He climbed and jumped from tree to tree to get closer to who he knew was Katsuki making the explosions. When he found the teenager, he was with the ice and fire boy and a passed-out boy on his back, in the ice wall was a man in black with his mouth exposed leaving blades of teeth to form and expand. The teeth-blades were flying everywhere and cut its owner out of the ice and launched him into the sky and then disappeared.

“Kacchan!” Kota cried out, not knowing the actual name the explosion boy had.

The name caught Katsuki’s attention and saw the young boy standing in the trees above them.

“Kota! Where’s Izuku?” Katsuki asked, catching the boy when he jumped from the trees.

“H-he’s on the cliff! With the villain who k-killed my parents! Please help him!” Kota cried as fat tears ran down his face.

Katsuki looked towards Todoroki who was looking at them with worry but nodded towards his classmate. Katsuki nodded back and found his discarded gas mask and gave it to the boy. “Put this on and go with IcyHot, do not leave his side until you find Aizawa-sensei. Do you understand?”

Kota nodded and put the mask on and walked over to Todoroki and took his hand, then they quickly walked away from the area.

Katsuki used his quirk to blast him into the sky and launched him towards the cliff where he could see dust and rubble fly around. He put more power into his explosions and got to the cliff just in time to protect Izuku from an attack he was unable to escape.

“Kacchan! You came!” Izuku cried as the attack Katsuki used sent the muscular man into the cliff.

“Of course I did, nerd. Who is this pathetic waste of air?” He sneered at the man who was arising from the cliff wall.

“His name is Muscular, he was the one who killed Kota’s parents. And now he’s here after something.” Izuku explained quickly as the man sent them both another punch.

Katsuki counterattacked the punch with a larger explosion then the one he had previously sent, the shockwave sending them all back a few paces.

“You brats just don’t give up do ya?!” Muscular screamed as he got back up and tried to attack them again, but they dodged, and the more they dodged the angrier he got. “Shigaraki wants you in pristine condition, but with the way you’re acting you’ll be dangling from your tendons!”

Izuku and Katsuki froze for a second, the man was talking about one of them, meaning this was an abduction attack.

‘Students of class 1A and B,’ a voice went though their heads, ‘your teachers have given you all permission to use your quirks. Do not lose.’

Katsuki and Izuku looked at each other, then smirked.

Izuku activated Black Whip and grabbed hold of Katsuki with it swinging him around Muscular while Katsuki fired explosions at the man from all directions, not allowing him to get an attack in. They continued to do this until Muscular was unable to attack back and stand, ultimately leading him to crumble beneath his own muscles and lay unconscious and unmoving on the ground.

Izuku called Black Whip back which made Katsuki fly towards him. Katsuki latched onto Izuku when he came in too fast and stumbled around to find his footing. Izuku held tightly onto Katsuki’s hips until Katsuki stood stable, making the two be in each others personal space.

Katsuki suddenly stepped back from Izuku and looked around. “Thanks, Zuku. We need to find the others and figure out a game plan.”

Izuku nodded towards the boy and they both walked down the cliff, noticing that the gas that was surrounding the area was gone. They carefully made their way around the forest, avoiding the thick trees and vast plain fields.

A fire wall was made in front of their eyes and a large shadow vanished with an anguishing scream. Katsuki and Izuku ran towards where the fire came from and saw Todoroki, Tokoyami, and Shinso.

“Are you guys okay?” Izuku asked when they were in a close distance of each other.

“We’re fine, Midoriya. What about you two?” Tokoyami asked.

“We’re all good. This is an abduction attack for either Kacchan or I. We need to regroup with everyone.”

“The league is behind this. Those blue flames are caused by Dabi.” Todoroki explained.

“Then they’re after Kacchan.” Izuku concluded, making them all look at him horrified, “it makes sense, Kacchan’s power, his strength, stamina. If I was a powerful villain, he’s the one I’d want under me.”

“Then we must protect Bakugo.” Todoroki stated, making the others nod in agreement.

“I don’t need your pity protection!” Katsuki screamed, pissed that they thought he was that weak to be unable to protect himself.

“Kacchan, we don’t think you’re weak. The league is strong, stronger than you, stronger than all of us. We need to protect each other.” Izuku stated, staring hard at Katsuki, daring him to object.

“Fine, whatever. Let these bastards come to us.” Katsuki rolled his eyes and started to walk away, making the boys behind him sigh and catch up.

They walked with their guard up, always watching their own and each others backs. They heard rustling in front of them and they all stopped, quirks activating ready for an attack. They saw brown and green hair emerge from the bushes, clearly in the middle of fighting someone.

A girl with blond hair and needles on her person came forward from the bushes that Uraraka and Asui had come through, clearly ready to attack the girls once more when she caught sight of the four boys behind the girls.

“Ah, there’s too many people here. Tsuyu, Ochaco, till we meet again.” The blond hair girl sent them both a kiss before walking into the forest.

“Uraraka, Asui, are you guys okay? Uraraka, your arm is injured.” Tokoyami asked and pointed out.

“We’re fine, Tokoyami. That was one crazy girl.” Uraraka sighed, holding her arm tightly.

“We shouldn’t be standing around, the league is after Bakugo, and we need to all regroup to protect him.” Shinso spoke, making the boys around him nod.

“‘Protect Bakugo’? Then where is he?” Asui asked, her finger to her mouth with her tongue stuck out.

The boys immediately turned around, there was no way they had been so careless that they didn’t hear Katsuki walk away.

Izuku panicked, he looked around everywhere in a rush that he didn’t see the masked man standing in the trees until he spoke.

“Looking for something? Or should I say someone?” He spoke, scaring them all at the unexpectedness. “He’s in here,” the man showed them a blue marble that was placed in between his fingers. “This boy deserves to be on the right side of society! And we have a special place for him in our organisation!”

“What are you talking about?!” Izuku cried, “give him back!”

“‘Give him back’? My what an odd thing to say. Bakugo is his own person you egoist, he doesn’t belong to anyone. What could influence a boy like you to say something so egoistical. Could it be..love?” The smirk in the man’s tone was condescending.

Izuku made a noise in the back of his throat, and lunged at the man in the tree, using Black Whip to leverage himself onto the tree and towards the masked man. “Enough!” Izuku screamed as he chased after the jumping man, “give him back to me!”

“The correct term would be ‘them’. See, I was just so enchanted by the immense power and capability of your friend, I took him too.” The man giggled.

Shinso, Todoroki, and Izuku all turned around behind them and saw that Tokoyami was also gone.

They sneered at him. He was playing a game with them. Mocking them.

The man took advantage of their confused and angered state ad booked it out of there, making his way to where he could see the bright blue flames eating at the trees.

He could hear the kids running on the ground behind him, but they were eating his dust at this point. He smirked, their plan was coming to an end.

He had just landed on a tree above Dabi and Twice when a heavy weight came plundering down on his back which made him lose his balance and fall to the ground.

“Hey! Those are the UA brats! Who are they?” The man in the full body suit asked.

Izuku, Shinso, and Todoroki all held the man with the mask down, trying to pry his hands open for the two marble balls.

“Hey, Compress, dodge.” Dabi spoke, lifting his hand towards them.

“Roger.” The man, Compress, answered, managing to get the three teenagers off of him and dodge Dabi’s attack.

Todoroki sent up an ice wall as quick as he could to protect his friends but struggled to keep the ice wall up, Dabi’s fire was hotter than his own, and to keep the ice wall up and thick enough took a lot of stamina.

“Todoroki, Midoriya, I got the marbles!” Shinso called out, his hands clenched into a fist as he stood his ground away from the flames.

Dabi’s flames stop as soon as Shinso spoke, and they saw him look towards the masked man.

“You’re sneaky, that’s good in a hero, in a villain as well. I also like to be sneaky,” Compress unclipped his mask and moved it to show half of his face, smirking as he stuck out his tongue, shocking the teenagers when they saw two marbles on his tongue.

A large purple void made an appearance behind Dabi, Toga, and the other villains they didn’t know were around, all jumping into the void while glowing yellow eyes stared at all of them while a voice spoke from an invisible mouth.

“Dabi, Mr. Compress. It has been five minutes since the signal, is the target secured?”

Dabi smirked, and it was heard in his voice. “Yes, target is secured with one extra.”

“I bid you all adieu, thank you all for being apart of my show tonight.” Compress bowed, his mask in his hand as he walked backwards into the void behind him.

“No!” Izuku cried, his arm raised to send out Black Whip, but Dabi sent them a rush of flames before they could even blink, blocking them off.

Todoroki sent an ice attack towards Compress which ultimately hit his stomach, which made him gag and allow the marbles to escape from his mouth.

Everyone went flying towards the two marble balls that were descending from Compress’s mouth. It was like a game of ‘who can get the marbles and effectively Katsuki and Tokoyami first?’

Shinso and Todoroki were the closest to the balls, hands out ready to grab the balls. Shinso felt a marble in his palm and closed his fist as quick as he could and tumbled away from the villains.

Todoroki was just about to close his fist around his marble, but a purple scarred hand reached out in front of him and snatched the marble away from him.

“Poor little Todoroki Shoto. Maybe next time you’ll be faster.” Dabi smirked as he held his and out in front of him. “Release them now, Compress.”

“They ruined my show, how rude.” He mumbled, but nether the less snapped his fingers and the boys were released from their enclosures.

Tokoyami came tumbling out next to Shinso while Katsuki was held in place by Dabi’s hand.

“Goodbye forever.” Dabi laughed as the void overcame him, making him slowly disappear with only the hand holding Katsuki being seen.

They all stood in shock and horror as the void kept moving forward until it almost engulfed Katsuki.

Izuku didn’t know what was happening, one minute he was watching Katsuki getting taken by the league and the next he was watching Katsuki, Todoroki, and Tokoyami look at him in horror. He looked down slightly and saw that Black Whip was returning to his body and his body felt tingly.

He put the dots together and realised that Black Whip activated itself and replaced Katsuki with its owner, but why was his body tingling?

Sending his friends a reassuring but uneasy smile, Izuku accepted his fate and allowed the mystic void to engulf him, anxious to see what awaits him on the other side.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Katsuki stood frozen as the scarred hand gripped the back of his neck tightly, the immense heat radiating off of the burnt mans hand and body made the hairs on the back of his neck rise.

“Goodbye forever.” Dabi had cackled, the smirk in his voice evident. Katsuki could feel the void come over him, like a freezing blanket.

His fight or flight kicked in and his body chose freeze.

Katsuki looked at each of them, his gaze lingering on Izuku and the look on his face was something he never wanted to see on that face again.

Pure anguish.

Katsuki would never admit it, but it broke his heart to see that look on Izuku’s face, Todoroki’s and Shinso’s as well.

These people. His friends. His best friend. The people he would never see again.

He saw the darkness engulf him through his peripheral vision and Dabi’s grip tightened, no doubtedly leaving a bruise on the back of his neck.

And then he was being ripped away. Tendrils wrapped around his waist and yanked him from Dabi’s grip. Time went slow to the point where Katsuki felt he was in some shitty American action movie.

Katsuki and Izuku passed each other as it seemed the time slowed even more. Their faces so close that he thought they might collide. He felt and saw a yellow spark form between them, and then time went back to normal, and he was thrown to the ground in front of Todoroki and Shinso, both who helped him back up.

They all watched as Izuku sent them all a smile, reassuring but uneasy, and then he disappeared, along with the voids around them.

They all stood as still as they could, nothing but the sharp heavy breathing of all of them could be heard.

Branches and bush broke under multiple pairs of feet was heard behind them in the forest, but no one still dared to move.

“Kids, are you okay?” Aizawa voice made the girls and Tokoyami turn around, but Todoroki and Shinso kept their eyes on Katsuki.

“Shinso, Todoroki, Bakugo.” Aizawa tried again, this time using more authority in his voice, but the worry was still evident.

“Shinso, Todoroki, Bakugo. If I have to ask you three once more to look at..” Aizawa froze mid sentence as the three boys turned around to face their teacher. Shinso and Todoroki looked t their teacher with anguish and anger while Katsuki looked at him with an emotionally empty gaze and a blank face, which was what scared Aizawa the most.

“What happened here?” He asked, his eyes darting around to find the unknown problem.

“They..took him.” Katsuki whispered, not even believing the words that came out of his mouth.

“They what?” Aizawa’s voice toned disbelief.

Small explosions set off in Katsuki’s hands. “They fucking..took Izuku.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The class piled into their classmates shared hospital room, all silently watching the news that was put on the TV.

“According to our sources and Vlad King’s official report of this incident, emergency services arrived fifteen minutes just after the violent attack on the UA first year students. Out of the forty first year students attending, fifteen had lost consciousness and were left in a critical state due to the gas of a villain’s quirk. Eleven had injuries ranging from minor to severe, and thirteen were left uninjured. One had gone missing. Out of the six professional heroes supervising, one hero suffered a head injuring and was in a critical condition, and one that had left a heavy trail of blood has gone missing, presumably dead.”

“Three villains known as Muscular, Moonfish, and Mustard, have been apprehended and were immediately taken to Tartarus awaiting trial. Those who brought them have left without a trace. UA students remain healing at Musutafu Hospital while riots continue to spread around UA High and other hero schools in the surrounding area. The question remains, how does the Hero Commission and Principle Nezu proceed to keep us and our aspiring heroes safe?”

Someone turned off the TV and the room fell silent.

“We’re glad to see you guys are okay.” Uraraka started, smiling softly at Momo, Hagakure, and Jirou.

“Yes, we’ve been well taken care of.” Momo put her hair behind her ear, smiling softly back at Uraraka.

“We all wish you good health, I’m sure. But we need to get down to business.” Shinso spoke, making his classmates look at him confusedly.

“‘Get down to business’? What does that mean exactly?” Iida pushed his glasses up, his face blank.

“I mean to save Midoriya.”

“You can’t possibly! That puts yours and his life in danger! And we don’t even know where he is!” Iida interjected.

Shinso glared at their class president, “that’s what heroes do, isn’t it? You of all people should know that. Todoroki and I happen to of stumbled upon a conversation between Yaoyorozu, All Might and a detective yesterday while we were visiting Bakugo. It seems that Yaoyorozu and a class 1B student had planted a tracking device on a Nomu that attacked them last night and had given them the transmitter.”

All eyes turned to the girl who flushed under the attention. “Yes, I did that. It was all I could do last night..”

“This is something we should leave to the professionals! We are not licensed heroes!” Iida argued.

“You don’t think we’ve thought of that?! Midoriya is our friend! We protect each other, like Ashido said! We can’t just stand around and do nothing!” Shinso retaliated, “if we don’t do anything now, how can we possibly call ourselves heroes when we can’t even save one of us?”

That shut Iida up, knowing Shinso was right.

“Yaoyorozu, we’re leaving tonight. Join us if you wish, if not, don’t get in our way.” Shinso looked at all of them with bored eyes, then left the room with Katsuki and Todoroki.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

“I spoke to Yaoyorozu before, she said she’d think about it.” Todoroki informed Katsuki and Shinso as they stood outside the building.

“Todoroki-kun..” a soft woman’s voice came from in front of them. Momo was walking towards them in a knee length dress and a small bag in her hand.

“Yaoyorozu, you came.” He smiled at her.

“Yes, though I do regret to inform you that I do not wish to participate in this rescue mission. This is the tracking device, the red ping will get faster the closer you are to the target, the grey ping is you. Good luck.” She handed the dual boy the bag and walked away.

Todoroki took the device out of the bag and turned it on, seeing the radius is within 100KM, with the red dot being right in the middle of the radius.

“We got them.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

When Izuku regained consciousness, all he heard was yelling, and it was making his headache worse. He couldn’t even register who was arguing, the voices seemed unknown to him.

That immediately made him bolt up and alert. He couldn’t move, but he was sitting. He looked around and saw that he was in an old bar, with seven other people standing around him.

“You were meant to grab the Sports Festival winner! Not this kid!” One went on with a raspy voice.

“This again? How many times do I have to explain to you that they switched when I was already back?!” The other went on.

“Boss, Dabi, he’s awake. Aw I hoped he was dead!”

All eyes turned to Izuku, and it went quiet.

“Ah, you’re awake.” Shigaraki, he figured, due to the creepy pale hand on his face, spoke, walking slowly towards him and stopping just in front of him. “Now, we were hoping for your explosion friend, but you’ll do just fine. I’ve done my research on you, Midoriya Izuku, and the world was cruel to you for something you couldn’t control.”

“You know nothing about me.” Izuku barked, glaring at the man in front of him.

“Ohh, puppy has fangs.” Dabi mocked, snickering when Izuku turned his glare to him.

“I know everything about you, Midoriya.” The singular red eye gleamed under the orange bar light, making Izuku creepedout. “From your creation to now, nothing that happens in your life I do not know about. This world has treated you cruelly and I can offer you vengeance.”

Izuku stayed quiet as he studied everyone in the room, what he knows about their weaknesses and strengths.

“Dabi, unlock his restraints.” Shigaraki commanded.

“You do realise this kid can kill us all with once flick of his finger?” Dabi asked his leader.

“No, no he can’t.” Shigaraki laughed, confusing his underlings but Dabi did as told.

Dabi walked behind the chair Izuku was in and undid the restraints from the back of the chair, then walked in front of him and took off the small metal box that held his hands. They fell to the ground with a low clink and Izuku rubbed his wrists to ease the ache.

“All these people are here under different circumstances, people, society, rules, heroes..” Shigaraki spoke as he stood closer to Izuku. “We’re all shackled by them and some of us just want to be free from the shackles that bind us to the societal norms. Surely you underst-”

Shigaraki’s speech got cut off when Izuku lunged forward and activated Black Whip, curling it around Shigaraki’s neck and lifting him off the ground.

“Boss!” The league cried out and lunged at Izuku, but Izuku sent out more tendrils and pushed them away.

“You know nothing of my life, or how the world reflects around others. You and your so-called group are so blinded by hatred that you don’t see the good that’s in this world.” The angrier Izuku got, the tighter the tendril around Shigaraki’s neck got.

“Let Shigaraki down, kid.” Dabi threatened, his palm lit with fiery blue flames.

Shigaraki clawed at nothing, the tendrils around his neck fading through his fingers. He took off the hand off his face and dropped it to the ground, trying to get more air into his burning lungs.

Izuku got a good look at the villain’s face. The red eye that gleamed in the bar light was now duplicated and looking down at him with no emotion as his face got bluer.

There was something in those eyes that was so familiar to Izuku. Small flashes of memories went through his mind, unable to grasp where he knew those eyes from. And then Shigaraki’s eyes softened, as did the rest of his body.

And that’s when it hit Izuku.

Those red eyes. Pale skin. White hair.

This man was Tenko.

Oh god

Izuku stumbled back, Black Whip retreating back into his hands while Shigaraki fell the ground, being caught by Dabi.

And then those blue eyes that looked at him with so much hatred. He’s seen those eyes before.

In Todoroki? No.

His blue eyes were dimmed by his mother’s grey.

He’s seen those eyes once before, but where? Flashes kept playing in his mind, those eyes, he’s seen them but where?

Where?

Those eyes.

Red eyes.

Blue eyes.

Red.

Blue.

Eyes.

Blue.

Red.

Hatred.

Eyes.

Where?

Katsuki.

Tenko Shigaraki.

Katsuki.

Shigaraki.

Tenko.

Blue.

Eyes.

Dad.

Dad?

Izuku stumbled back and tripped over the restraints on the ground and felt the ache in his eyes as they buzzed around from Shigaraki to Dabi, his mind unable to comprehend what was going on.

“Midoriya!” Compress got in front of him.

“Midoriya, wake up!”

“Midoriya, stop daydreaming!” Compress’ voice got deeper, which made Izuku confused but was still unable to calm down.

“Midoriya, this is important!” His voice got deeper, and his vision was fading.

“Midoriya Izuku, pay attention!” Izuku snapped his head back at the loudness of the voice and his vision cleared once more, seeing that he was back in front of All Might and the third year.

“Wh..what?” Izuku asked.

This was weird. Why was he back with All Might? Did he pass out from the villains?

“You are not worthy of One For All anymore, please hand my quirk over to Togata Mirio.” All Might demanded, trying to seem nice.

Izuku was still confused as to what was happening. He already gave his answer to All Might, he gave up his quirk and gained a new one, then got kidnap–

Oh

That’s what was happening.

He was given a second chance. He had done something wrong. And life had given him a chance to make the right decision starting from the start.

“No.” Izuku answered, watching as All Might’s face turned sour and Togata’s smile turned into a frown.

“‘No’? Midoriya, my boy, I am not asking. You must see for yourself that you are not worthy anymore. Your mother..think if you never had this quirk, your mother would still be–”

“Do not use my mother to manipulate me!” Izuku spat, glaring at All Might and the boy next to him, “I will not be giving this quirk up. I worked damn hard for this, and I will not be giving it up that easily. You all can go to hell!”

“Young Midoriya, that is no way to speak to your elders. I am not asking one more–”

“He said no, Toshinori. You’d think the number one hero would know what the word ‘no’ means.” Aizawa’s voice cut off the man, making All Might and Togata turn around in surprise.

“Aizawa..please talk some sense into your student.”

Aizawa glared at the hero, before walking towards Izuku and standing in front of him. “He said no. It was your choice to give your quirk to him, now it is his choice to say no to give it back. You can and will not manipulate him into giving it to Togata. Now leave this building before I call security.”

“Aizawa–”

“Aizawa-sensei–”

The two blonds tried to reason with the man, but he glared at them, his eyes flashing red.

“Leave. Now.”

The two males left the hallway with a huff, slamming the front door when they left the building.

“Midoriya, are you alright?” Aizawa asked, turning to his student who had a blank face and stood still.

“I’m fine, Aizawa-sensei. I think I just need to lie down.” He answered, foregaining tiredness.

Aizawa hummed, “be awake for dinner.” And then left the hallway.

Izuku closed his door and lied on his bed, thinking about what had just happened.

He already lived through this. He needed to figure out what he had done wrong. Was it his new quirk activating? Getting taken instead of Katsuki? Figuring out who Tenko was.

Tenko.

Izuku sat up straight, realising he had been giving in to the enemy.

He wanted to throw up.

After everything he’s gone through with Tenko Shigaraki, to think he’d be the one wanting to kill them all.

This kind of betrayal was something he never wanted to feel again. Tenko was like a big brother to him, someone he could call upon and confined in, and to think after all this time.

Izuku’s heart clenched. Tenko was one of few people he allowed to feel something for. And now that his mother is gone, he’s only got Katsuki left.

But what if Katsuki left him too?

That sent him down in a spiral of corrupt thoughts.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Dinner with Aizawa went as well as it did before, and as did the rest of the night, and next morning.

All Might had explained what was expected of them, giving Katsuki a look when he explained he wanted minimal destruction, then pulled out the teams.

Izuku was back with Mina, Sero, and Shinso, but instead of Kirishima was Katsuki.

Izuku didn’t know how to feel about that. But Katsuki seemed to the be only person that could calm him down when his new quirk.

The flare went off and the five went directly to it. Izuku kept up with Sero, something he wasn’t able to do before.

The two flew as fast as they could, both having a competitive smirk on their faces.

Familiar blasts were heard from behind them. Katsuki was coming up fast, to the point where Izuku could feel the heat from his explosions.

Shinso was lower than them, using his mechanical scarf to do his best to try and catch up with the three up in the air, as well as Mina.

Izuku was using 5% of OFA, jumping high and long and yet only being able to keep the same pace as Sero.

Purple hair came into his peripheral vision which then became in front of him. Shinso was gaining speed with his scarf, latching itself onto whatever it could reach to.

They were getting closer to where they saw the flare activate when they had overcome an open area of the training grounds. The three in the air gracefully dropped to the ground and continued to run towards All Might, meeting Mina on the ground who was using her acid as a slide.

Izuku heard someone curse up in the air. He looked back and saw Shinso far up in the air, struggling to control his scarf or to find somewhere to latch it to.

Izuku stopped running, this would affect him in the long run for this training exercise, but Shinso was his friend.

Shinso was too high in the air for Izuku to reach him, even if he did use 5% OFA, but he still jumped anyways, focusing and using all his power into his legs and knees to jump into the air towards Shinso.

He reached just under Shinso’s height, and then he was above him. Shinso’s equipment made him heavier than normal, which made his plummet to the ground faster.

“Shinso!” Izuku cried, gaining his attention, “use your scarf to latch onto me!”

“I can’t!” Shinso replied, “it’s malfunctioning! It does the opposite of what I need it to do!”

Izuku cursed mentally, he was now too high above Shinso. He made himself lying flat in the air, his arms reaching out for Shinso. “Try to take my hands!”

Shinso reached out for Izuku’s hands, but they were too far elevated from each other. They were plummeting down to the ground faster than they would’ve liked.

Izuku was unsure of what to do. They were going to die if they didn’t do something fast.

His hands were still reaching out to Shinso, doing his best to reach him, but Shinso was dropping fast then Izuku was.

An electric zap went through his arm, and then he saw those familiar black tendrils with the turquoise outline. He almost cried in relief.

They wrapped around Shinso’s wrists and Izuku pulled him towards him, wrapping his arms around Shinso’s waist as they now fall faster together.

They were getting too close to the ground, and at the velocity they were going, Izuku would break his legs if he tried to land, even with One For All activated.

Black and turquoise encased their vision as they landed on the ground, dust and rubble flying around as they braced.

The tendrils protected Izuku and Shinso from the bracing impact, leaving them both unharmed.

They heard the cries of their classmates come closer to them as the tendrils were called back to Izuku.

“Midoriya, Shinso!” They heard Aizawa’s voice over the cries of their classmates.

The man made his way around his students and to the two that gave him greys at thirty. He looked over them carefully, looking for any signs of injury.

“Are you both okay?” He asked when he backed away from them, clearing them from any injuries.

“Yes, sensei.” Both of them replied.

“Now what happened? Midoriya, what was that?”

Shinso started to explain first, “when we got to that opened area, I latched the scarf onto a nearby pole to put me down, but instead it flung me high into the air.”

“I heard Shinso yell, so I stopped running and I saw him in the air, I jumped to him, and he said the scarf malfunctioned.” Izuku then explained.

“And those black tendrils?”

“I have no idea, sensei.” Izuku gave Aizawa a look, which the man immediately understood.

“Hm, alright. Go stand with your classmates.”

The two nodded and went to their friends, watching the rest of the training session.

Déjà vu hit Izuku likes waves as he watched the next group, there was so much about to happen that he couldn’t stop, and it made him sick to his stomach.

Aizawa had announced that there would be another training exercise at a different training area, and to calm down, grab some water and to head over there within the next half an hour.

When the students entered the enclosed gymnasium, it became an echoed hum of anticipation and excitement, the reinforced battle chamber typically reserved for high-intensity sparring. The lights buzzed faintly above, casting a sterile glow across the polished, reinforced flooring.

Aizawa called Izuku and Katsuki as their first battle, watching them with interest in his eyes.

Aizawa stood on the sidelines, arms crossed, red eyes watching every twitch, every breath. The man looked exhausted as usual, but even he couldn’t deny the electric tension sparking between the two.

“All right,” he said, dryly. “No holding back. No killing each other. And don’t break the floor again. Begin when the buzzer sounds.”

The buzzer blared.

Katsuki moved like a bullet, blasting forward in a streak of sweat and combustion. His palms cracked with force as explosions echoed through the chamber, shockwaves rippling through the walls.

Izuku was ready. He ducked, weaved, and countered, smiling, of all things, like the rhythm of battle was music he’d been waiting to dance to.

Their blows connected like drumbeats.

Explosion. Dodge. Smash. Dodge.

BOOM. CRACK.

And then the heat sensors screamed.

A blaring red warning blinked on the control board behind Aizawa. Sirens activated. Data streamed in jagged spikes across the monitoring system.

“Heat spike detected: Zone 3,” the computer voice reported. “Core temperature exceeding protocol limits. Emergency cooling recommended.”

Everyone flinched.

“I-Is that Bakugo’s quirk output?!” Kaminari asked, eyes wide.

“No way,” Jirou said. “His explosions aren’t that hot, right?”

“They’re not,” Todoroki muttered, already narrowing his eyes.

In the ring, neither Izuku nor Katsuki seemed to notice the alarms. They were locked in a fierce clash, Katsuki’s palm gripping Izuku’s forearm, Izuku countering with a twist and a blast of kinetic energy that sent them both skidding backward in opposite directions.

Katsuki wiped his mouth, panting. “The hell was that, nerd?”

Izuku blinked, startled. “What?”

“That heat. That wasn’t me.”

Izuku looked genuinely confused. “It wasn’t me either..”

The sensors blared again.

Aizawa stepped forward, voice calm but clipped. “Training pause. Midoriya. Bakugo. Step back.”

The two hesitated, exchanging a look, then obeyed.

As they did, Recovery Girl and Power Loader came running in from the side entrance.

“Sir!” Power Loader waved a tablet. “We’re getting ridiculous heat readings..core temps exceeding 1,400°C in bursts!”

“That’s impossible,” Aizawa replied flatly. “Check for sensor faults.”

Power Loader shook his head. “Already did. No errors. Unless the entire system glitched at once, someone in that ring just generated enough heat to melt reinforced steel.”

All eyes turned to Katsuki.

He crossed his arms. “My max is around 1,000. And that’s when I’m pissed.”

A beat of silence.

Aizawa sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Alright,” he said, voice heavy. “Sensors might be malfunctioning. Power Loader, shut off emergency cooling before the whole system overloads.”

“But–”

“Do it.”

The alarm cut off abruptly.

The room was silent now, save for the faint crackling of scorched rubber beneath their feet.

Note Logged in UA System – Filed by Aizawa Shouta

Training Session anomaly. Heat spike remains unexplained. Possible quirk evolution? Sensor glitch unconfirmed. Midoriya under observation. Recommending future sparring matches be monitored with failsafes and cooling protocols.

Note to self: He didn’t blink when the temperature rose. He didn’t notice at all.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Dinner time came around and Aizawa had cooked them both some ramen for a fast and quick dinner.

“So,” the man started as he grabbed some ramen with his chopsticks, “what was that at training?”

“You’d think I’m crazy, Aizawa-sensei.” Izuku started, looking at his ramen.

“Hit me, kid.”

Izuku looked up at his teacher, then sighed. “It started this morning..or something like that. All Might and that third year, they wanted One For All, and I gave it to them and so many bad things happened. But I was snapped out of it and was facing All Might again and it’s..making me feel crazy. This quirk is called Black Whip, it is a quirk from one of the old users of One For All.”

Aizawa sat silent for a minute. “What kind of bad things?”

“This camp..the League of Villains come and infiltrate it. One of the Pussycats is killed. I’m taken..though it was meant be Kacchan..”

“Right. Why do you think you were..brought back?” Aizawa asked, slurping at his ramen.

“Because it was meant to be Kacchan who was taken, not me.”

“But how do you know that you weren’t hit with an illusion quirk?”

“I..” Izuku paused, “because I found out something personal that no one knows. I’m confident it wasn’t a quirk.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to Nezu about cancelling this camp and we’ll–”

“No, sensei!” Izuku cut off Aizawa, “this camp needs to happen. Kacchan needs to be..taken. A crazy as it sounds, we need to continue on with this, and we’ll be prepared.”

“Midoriya, I can’t possibly allow one of my students to get kidnapped. This camp isn’t happening, end of.” Aizawa concluded.

“Sensei, this needs to happen. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been brought back!” He snapped, shocking both him and is teacher.

“Bed. Now.”

Izuku noisily got out of his chair and went to his room, closing his door so harshly that it seemed like the whole building had vibrated.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next two days went by as he remembered, it seemed like Aizawa had come around to Izuku’s convincing.

Now it was the night everything happened.

He was up in the mountain, fighting Muscular, protecting Kota.

Except this time, he had One for All.

He won once again but his arms were broken, and Kota didn’t run away. Muscular was deep within his own mind, passed out as Izuku got Kota on his back and ran for it.

“Kota, please hold on tightly. My arms are broken, and I can only run so fast.” Izuku asked of the boy, feeling his little arms and legs tighten around him as he ran blind through the thick brush.

He could feel a sharp electric shock of pain pulsate every time he moved. He bit his tongue to ease the pain, he couldn’t give in to it, Kota was counting on him.

He saw Aizawa running in front of him, he looked worried and had a grey sludge on him. “Aizawa-sensei!”

Aizawa stopped running when he saw Izuku, then his jaw tightened when he saw the injuries adorning on Izuku’s bare chest, waist, arms, and face.

“Midoriya..what on earth..” he trailed off when he saw Kota on his back.

“You need to take him, Aizawa-sensei! I know where the others are! They’re after Kacchan.” He gave his teacher a look as Kota got off his back and went to the man.

Aizawa picked Kota up and held him tightly. “Midoriya,” he started, pausing Izuku from running off, “give this message to Mandalay: Students of class 1A and B, your teachers have given you all permission to use your quirks. Do not lose.”

Izuku smirked at the words, then ran back into the forest to find Katsuki. A million thoughts ran through his head, he wanted to prevent this badly, but it had to happen, otherwise..Izuku didn’t know, and he didn’t particularly want to find out.

He came into an opening in the forest, seeing Mandalay fighting a lizard man and buff woman by herself.

“Mandalay!” He called out his he powered One For All through his legs and kicked the man and woman away from the Pussycats leader, effectively knocking them out. “Kota is safe, he’s with Aizawa-sensei.” He explained when he walked up to her.

She sighed in relief, “thank you, Midoriya. Where are they now?”

“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully, “I gave Kota to sensei and ran off. But he gave me a message for you to get out to the students.”

The lizard man and the buff woman were starting to gain consciousness, and Tiger had just made his appearance.

“Please get this message out to everyone: Students of class 1A and B, your teachers have given you all permission to use your quirks. Do not lose.”

Mandalay nodded and used her quirk as Izuku ran off.

He ran as fast as he could to where he knew Katsuki was, along with Shoji, Tokoyami, Todoroki, Uraraka, and Asui. He heard explosions and saw a wall of ice and fire along with a large shadow with beaming yellow eyes retract to nothing.

He ran to it with as much speed as he could gather with worn legs and broken arms. “Guys!” He called out when he saw his classmates standing around, spinning towards him when they heard his voice.

“Deku! You’re hurt..” Uraraka pointed out when she saw him. Ripping off her tank top that was underneath her shirt, she ripped it up, found some sturdy sticks on the ground, and ran over to Izuku and made makeshift splints for his arms.

“Thank you, Uraraka.” He smiled at the girl, “we need to be careful,” he spoke to the people in front of him, “they’re after Kacchan, the League. We need to group up and protect each other.”

“Hah? I don’t think so, lets just go to them and–”

“Do not fight me on this, Katsuki.” Izuku cut his best friend off, glaring at the older boy. Katsuki returned Izuku’s glare but didn’t say anything.

“Um..guys..” Uraraka spoke up in between their glare off, “where did Tokoyami go?”

They all froze. Izuku looked up in the trees, finding the man on a thick branch, standing against the trunk of the tree.

“Compress.” Izuku growled, gaining the attention of his classmates who looked towards the man, perched on a thick tree branch, spinning two glowing blue marbles between his fingers.

Izuku’s blood turned to ice.

Katsuki.

Tokoyami.

Both trapped inside.

A rush of panic flooded his veins, but he forced it down, down, down, no time. He needed to act, now.

His feet slammed against the dirt as he launched forward, muscles screaming as he closed the distance, eyes locked onto the villain above. “Kacchan! Tokoyami!”

Mr. Compress chuckled, his voice light, theatrical. “Oh? Such a dramatic entrance! And what do we have here? The bright-eyed hero-to-be?”

Izuku didn’t answer. His mind was already racing, calculations firing at full speed.

He’s up high..if I jump now-

Then, movement.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Shoji sprinting forward, his face tense with panic. He had seen it too.

“We have to stop him!” Shoji shouted.

Izuku’s heart slammed against his ribs as his muscles coiled.

Jump.

Wind roared past his ears as he launched himself upward, the impact of his leap splitting the earth beneath him. The force rattled his bones, but he ignored it. Eyes locked. Goal in sight.

Mr. Compress didn’t move.

Didn’t flinch.

Didn’t even try to escape.

Instead, he smiled.

And with a flourish, he tossed the marbles into the air.

Izuku’s stomach dropped.

No, no, no, no—

A shadow streaked through the air—Dabi.

And Todoroki.

A wall of blue flames erupted in front of him, the heat licking at his skin, forcing him to twist mid-air, barely avoiding a direct hit.

The marbles..they were gone.

Dabi had them.

Izuku’s breath hitched—he missed them.

He failed.

“Midoriya! I got one of them!’

His heart hammered in his chest as he crashed back to the ground, rolling through dirt and ash. He looked up to Todoroki in hope as he saw the small blue marble in his hand.

He was hoping.

He hoped.

Mr. Compress chuckled, stretching his arms theatrically.

“Oh, my apologies! You were hoping to catch them both?” He grinned, tipping his hat. “Too bad. That was just the opening act!”

“Enough, Compress. Release them.”

Compress looked towards Dabi and sighed, clicking his fingers as the boys released from their confinements.

Oh god.

Todoroki had grabbed Tokoyami’s marble.

Dabi now had Katsuki gripped by the back of the neck, a purple portal forming behind them. The man smirked, his grip visibly tightening and Katsuki winced.

“Too slow, Todoroki Shoto.” He mocked the dual-coloured boy, his smirk widening, pulling at his staples and skin.

Izuku so badly wanted to release Black Whip, but this had to happen. He had to let his..he had to let Katsuki be taken. And it was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do.

Dabi was now fully encased by the portal, only his hand and Katsuki were seen.

Katsuki looked directly at Izuku, his eyes softened the slightest as he spoke.

“Izuku..don’t.”

And then he was gone. All the villains were gone, leaving nothing but crackling blue flames everywhere.

Izuku screamed.

Those around him had to cover their ears, the cry was so heart wrenching that they almost teared up at the pure emotion that was behind it.

Aizawa came running towards the group the second he heard the scream. He saw the small group of his students standing around in horror, watching Izuku as he fell to the ground, crying and screaming.

“What..happened here?” He asked everyone, fearing he already knew the answer.

“They took Bakugo..” Uraraka spoke in a quiet voice.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next morning played out how he expected it to. Everyone comforting him, reassuring him.

But he knew.

Katsuki would be fine, he was strong, and smart enough to not join the idiotic league.

Izuku sat in his hospital bed, looking out the window seeing all who leave and enter, deep in thought.

He knew he had to let this happen, otherwise it’d repeated itself, but it didn’t stop the immense heartbreak he had felt. He wondered what Katsuki would do, what he would say, if he ever told him about all of this. That he knew he was going to be kidnapped. He’s never kept a secret from Katsuki, but this was..that alone could end their friendship.

He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to cry, so very badly. But he couldn’t, he had no right to.

The door to his room slid open, but he didn’t turn around. Three sets of footsteps walked in, stopping a few feet from the bed he was sitting in.

“Midoriya,” Shinso’s voice started, “are you feeling okay?”

“You try having your best friend stripped away from you.” He spat, then sighed. “Sorry..I’m sorry. Yes, I’m feeling better, Recovery Girl came by and healed my arms.” He turned around and saw Shinso, Todoroki, and Kirishima.

“We want to rescue Bakugo.” Kirishima suddenly spoke.

Izuku looked at Kirishima like he had grown two heads. Save Katsuki? He hadn’t even thought about that.

“But..how? We don’t know where he is.” Izuku asked.

“I guess..we can follow the heroes. I overheard Aizawa and All Might talking about how the police might have the villain’s location. It’s happening tonight.” Kirishima explained.

“It’s a risky plan, Midoriya, but Shinso and I agree with Kirishima.”

Izuku looked at the three. Todoroki was right, it was risky. They could possibly lose their place in UA and every other hero school in Tokyo if they got caught.

“If we do this, and we get caught..we’d lose our place at UA, and we’d get rejected by every other hero school in Tokyo.” Midoriya reasoned.

“But we have to! I’m Bakugo’s best friend–” he either ignored or didn’t see the vicious glare Izuku sent his way, “what kind of best friend would I be if I didn’t at least try and save him?”

“Midoriya, think about this. If you want to join us, we’ll meet you outside the hospital at seven tonight.” Shinso spoke, giving his friend a small smile before walking out of the room, Kirishima and Todoroki following, though Todoroki stopped just as he reached the doorway.

“Midoriya, Bakugo would want to be saved by you, not Kirishima. You and he have some sort of bond that no one can break, think about that.” He nodded towards the boy and left the room.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

7 PM rolled around, and Izuku met the three boys outside the hospital.

“So, where are we going?” He asked, mainly towards Kirishima.

“Kamino Ward. It’s about two hours by train, so we should get there by nine o’clock.” Kirishima replied.

The boys nodded towards him and made their way to the train station that was near the hospital.

They boarded the train, got some food, and made some small talk as they waited for the train to arrive in Kamino.

The train dinged and came to a stop. They were finally there. They got off the train and looked around, seeing so many people out.

“Where do we go from here? There’s so many abandoned buildings in Kamino.” Izuku stated.

“I planted a tracker on my father.” Todoroki responded, “he’s the number two hero, and fighting amongst All Might, of course he had to be in this rescue.” The boy rolled his eyes.

He pulled out his phone and went into an app, showing a pinging dot that wasn’t that far away from them. “They’re about two blocks away from us, we should get going.”

The three nodded towards the dual-coloured boy, before making their way towards the area. It was silent between them as they walked towards the abandoned block before Izuku suddenly stopped.

The others noticed and stopped with him, looking around for any danger Izuku could’ve spotted.

“Midoriya, what’s wrong?” Todoroki asked as he assessed the area.

“This is all too easy, when you think about it. Remember when we were at the USJ, they came and left from a portal? What if this is the same thing?”

The boys looked at Midoriya and realised he did have a point.

“Then where could they go?” Kirishima asked, “is there anything around here that they can escape to?”

“There’s an abandoned area where all the buildings have been demolished. It’s all just flat land over there, and its pretty close to where they are now.” Shinso explained.

“But we can’t be too sure! What if they don’t move to there?” Kirishima argued.

“We’ll split up then. You and Shinso can go to where they are, Todoroki and I can go to the abandoned land.” Izuku offered.

Kirishima hesitantly nodded, not seeing the look Shinso gave Izuku. The two went to where the ping was, while Izuku and Todoroki ran to the abandoned land.

The boys found somewhere to hide as they waited. It was quiet, eerie. A sudden feeling of unease went through their bodies.

“Do you..do you think this was a bad idea, Todoroki?” Izuku asked quietly.

“I don’t know how to answer that, Midoriya. I do believe the heroes are capable of rescuing Bakugo, but knowing him, he would argue that he does not believe he is not in need of saving. But with you there, it would significantly calm him down, in a sense.”

Izuku hummed but didn’t respond. They stayed in silence for at least 20 minutes, which both were completely fine with, it was nice, relaxing if you will, before they heard any sort of commotion.

Behind their hiding place, they heard someone hacking their stomachs out, than multiple people.

“Ugh, that is disgusting.” A deep voice hacked, spitting on the ground.

“That tastes like absolute shit!” A familiar voice, Katsuki’s voice, growled.

“Apologises, Bakugo.” Another voice spoke, deeper, coarser, creepier.

Izuku and Todoroki froze. That voice, the power behind it was..horrifying.

“Tomura,” the voice, assuming All For One, “I am severely disappointed in you. You come up with this plan, and it backfires.” There was an edge to his tone. “You should be thanking me. I brought back your little friends, and this brat who is, apparently, an important piece to your victory in taking down All Might.”

There was a slapping sound and multiple soft gasps. “There is a reason why I do this to you, Tomura. That reason is for the sake of your victory.”

Izuku made a move to attack, but Todoroki’s arm stopped him, his face terrified. “Not yet,” he whispered harshly, “not by ourselves.”

Then his eyes moved down next to him, his eyes full of pure terror. Izuku looked to where he was looking as almost screamed in horror, a pale blueish-grey hand had landed next to him. He wanted to throw up, this whole situation was the definition of death.

“Ah, I see we have a guest.”

The boys froze in their place, dread flowing through their body as they thought they had been recognised.

“All Might,” the man spoke as a shockwave flew throughout the area, dust and debris flying everywhere, “it took you thirty seconds to arrive here, its two blocks over. You’re getting weak.”

“So are you, it seems. What is that you’re wearing? Breathing machine?” All Might mocked.

All For One hummed as he looked around, which was a little confusing since he had no eyes. “Your little hero friends have come to play, All Might.” He spoke as the heroes surrounded them.

“All For One, Shigaraki, your reign has ended.” Endeavours stern voice echoed.

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you, Endeavour? Oh, and I see you brought Aizawa Shota.” He locked eyes, not really, with Aizawa, who Izuku and Todoroki were surprised to see. “And two UA brats.” Izuku and Todoroki were then lifted off the ground by an invisible force and shown to the heroes around.

“Shoto!”

“Father!”

“What do you think you’re doing here of all places?!” He cried as he saw his son being dragged through the air.

“Isn’t this sweet, a nice family reunion.” One For All smirked, confusing the two Todoroki’s. “Now, there’s people here who I don’t want, goodbye.” With a flick of his wrist, all the heroes and the two students were flung in the air away from the area, while the villains were teleported away by that black muck.

Izuku activated Black Whip and sent it to the ground, embedding itself into the dirt like it was a tree with roots. He grunted as the strong wind like force fought against his new quirk, but he pushed through and started to move forward, while also successfully grabbing onto Katsuki and Aizawa, but failing to grab the others.

Now only One For All, Shigaraki, and All Might stood on the ground, while Izuku, Aizawa, and Katsuki stayed in the air.

One For All looked at Izuku and smirked, “you have a strong successor, All Might. Too bad for you, and your society, that I am back.”

“I will not make the same mistake I did five years ago.” All Might glared at the man before unleashing Texas Smash, which did nothing to the villain. So he kept attacking the man which led him to use one of his multiple quirks on him, smashing the ground sending a shockwave through the air which divided them all.

Izuku was sent flying back, no matter how much Black Whip embedded itself into the ground. It isolated Izuku and Tomura, leaving Aizawa and Katsuki with One For All and All Might.

When Izuku realised he was alone with Tomura, he grew angry, remembering everything that the older man had done.

“Ah..Midoriya..you have great power, and this world has wronged you.” Tomura’s scratchy voice spoke. “You would be a viable ally to my leag–”

“Don’t you dare speak to me like that! I know who you are, Tenko!” Izuku seethed, seeing Tenko’s Tomura’s red eyes widen in surprise. “You think you can fool me into thinking you care for me my whole life? I trusted you!” Izuku’s voice cracked as he went to attack Tenko Tomura, ultimately making them both fall to the ground.

“I thought you were my friend! The older brother I never had! The father I wished for!” Angry tears sprung in his eyes as he punched Tomura’s body, getting pissed when he wasn’t fighting back. “Why aren’t you fighting back?! You’re powerful! Fight back!” The tears started to fall as his punches got weaker.

“Say something! Why won’t you answer me?” Izuku weakly punched his chest one more time before giving up. “You cared for me! You healed me! Why?” He cried, the tears wetting the villains shirt, “why would you do this..to me?”

And yet with all the questions, Tomura remained silent.

“Answer me..Tenko, please..” Izuku whispered, his head was bent on Tomura’s chest, his hands in fists clutching Tomura’s black shirt.

“Brat..Izuku..I can’t. Not now. It’s all too much to explain.” Tomura lifted a slow hand and placed it gently on Izuku’s head, Izuku’s face turning from terrified to confused when he realised he wasn’t disintegrating.

“I thought..besides Kacchan and mom..I finally had someone there for me.” Izuku whispered as he slowly got up from the ground, Tomura’s hand falling to his side. The boy looked at Tomura like he was nothing more than a speak of dirt before activating One For All and jumping back to were they were originally.

When Izuku returned, the battlefield is chaos. Smoke chokes the ruined cityscape, buildings reduced to skeletal remains. The air crackles with the weight of something monumental.

All Might staggers to his feet, his muscles trembling—not from exhaustion, but from something far worse. His power is gone. Aizawa’s eyes were wide and red, instigating he was using his quirk, except it hit the wrong target and erased One For All from All Might’s veins.

All For One spoke, towering in the smoke, his voice smooth, almost amused. “How does it feel, Yagi? To finally be nothing?”

Panting, All might clenched his fists, but his body betrays him. “You always..talk too much.”

All For One smirked before he powered up one of his arms and punched All Might in the stomach where he did five years ago, sending him flying back to the point where he became nothing but a dot.

Izuku, Aizawa, and Katsuki stand in shock at the sheer force of the villain.

And then, a blur of movement.

Izuku charged forward, his body was a streak of emerald and gold. His arms crackle with energy, but not from One For All. No–something else surged within him, something new, ancient, furious, powerful.

His skin glows, veins pulsing with molten heat.

Izuku spoke, his voice raw, burning with something deeper than rage. “You shouldn’t have touched him.”

And then he exploded.

Literally.

Flames bursted from his body, golden and red, scorching the air itself. His body flickered like a mirage, shifting between form and fire. His hair burned like an open flame, his eyes molten gold. Feathers of pure energy bursted from his back, massive, radiant, white wings that stretch wide enough to cast shadows over the ruins.

Aizawa and Katsuki stared at the green haired boy, shock rendering them speechless. The heat was suffocating, the sheer force of Izuku’s presence warping the air itself.

All For One paused, intrigued, his expression unreadable behind his mask. “Fascinating..So this is your true nature?”

Izuku didn’t answer. He moved, faster than before, faster than anyone has ever seen. He’s on All For One in an instant, his fist connected with a thunderous impact that shattered the villain’s mask. The force sent tremors through the city, wind blasting outward as buildings collapsed from the sheer shockwave.

All For One staggered, but he doesn’t fall. Instead, his hand whipped forward, grasping. Tendrils of darkness lashed toward Deku, aiming to rip this new power from him.

Izuku doesn’t dodge. He lets the tendrils wrap around him, lets All For One try, and then, he burns.

Flames consume the villain’s arm, racing up his body like a living thing, devouring everything in its path. All For One winces at the start, the pain of burning is something he had never felt fr decades, them the screaming, the first real sound of pain he has made since he was a child. He tries to retaliate, tries to fight back, but Izuku’s hand had already climbed to his throat.

His electric blue eyes lock onto the villain. “You’ve taken enough from this world.” He spoke, almost soft, mournful, but then his face changed to rage, hatred. “But you need to pay.”

Izuku pushed his hand into the villains heart, pulled it out, crushed it, then placed it back, all within the span of 2 seconds. “You will die painfully.” He spat before throwing him to the ground, Tomura running towards his sensei as a purple portal formed beneath them.

Aizawa, Katsuki, and Izuku remained silent, both looking at Izuku horrified.

“Izuku, what the fuck was that?!” Katsuki screamed as he ran towards his best friend.

“Huh?” Izuku asked, the flames on his body dying out as the wings retracted back into his body.

And then, he fainted.

Chapter Text

When Izuku woke up, he was in the familiar surroundings of a hospital. He felt a warmth on his hand and he looked down, he saw a hand holding his, with a familiar head of blonde spiky hair laying near his waist, his face soft with closed eyes.

Izuku took a moment to bask in the moment. It was rare to see Katsuki so soft and quiet. Even while he slept, his face was always rough and on edge. He so desperately wanted to take a photo, but his phone was no where to be seen..

Until he turned around and saw it charging on the table next to his bed. He grinned and slowly moved, his arm reaching out to the table to grab the device and opened his camera, and clicked the shutter button a few times, getting as much as he could.

Then, through the screen, he saw glowing red eyes glare at him from below. He snapped one last photo before putting it down and smiled sheepishly at his best friend. “Hi, Kacchan.”

“I see you’ve been awake long enough to take pictures of me.” Katsuki glared harsher at the boy.

“Can you blame me, Kacchan? You’re..beautiful.”

Katsuki blushed, though if asked, he will deny everything. His cheeks and ears turned red and he looked away embarrassed.

“How is Aizawa-sensei? Todoroki, Shinso?” Izuku asked.

“They’re fine. They’ve been in and out visiting you, same with my old man and hag. Izuku..what the fuck was that before you passed out? You grew wings for fucks sake!”

“I don’t know, Kacchan, really. I was just so..angry. All For One must’ve transferred me a quirk by accident..or..I don’t know.” Izuku played with his fingers, not daring to look Katsuki in the eye.

“Icy-hot and Mindfuck told me that you were all there to save me, and that it was Shitty Hair’s idea.” Katsuki started.

“Yeah..it was, what about it Kacchan?” Izuku still refused to look Katsuki in the eye.

“They told me the idiot proclaimed himself as..my best friend.”

“Mhm..I’m not getting your point, Kacchan.”

“And that you sent him a pretty deadly glare.”

Izuku paused, and a flush crawled up his neck to his cheeks and ears. “So what if I did, Kacchan?”

Katsuki gave Izuku one of his very rarely seen soft smiles, “Izuku, you know I’ll never let anyone try and get close to me.”

Katsuki started to lean forward, as did Izuku, and now Katsuki could see Izuku’s eyes in pristine detail. How there were tiny specks of gold around the iris’ that sparkled in the morning light that was peaking through the hospital window.

Their faces were so close that their noses touched, their lips to close that they had just slightly brushed before they both felt a burning sensation on their right forearm. They pulled away from each other and gripped their arm, watching in sight horror at the dots that appear burningly.

It only lasted 5 seconds, and they looked at each other confused as they realised they had the same burn.

The Ignis Avis constellation was now burnt into their arms, looking nothing more than freckles. Except there was a certain golden shine when they moved their arms.

“What the fuck is going on?” Katsuki asked as he stared at his arm.

“I don’t know, Kacchan.” Izuku paused. “There is..uh..something I need to tell you. It’s pretty big and..I don’t blame you if you don’t want to..be with me anymore.”

Katsuki looked up from his arm to Izuku with a confused face. “What have you done, Izuku?”

“Well..its not so much what I have done..more like what I didn’t do..? You see–”

Izuku got interrupted by the door slamming open and his teacher and classmates walked in.

“Oh, hi guys!” He smiled at them.

“Midoriya, it’s good to see you’re in good..ish health.” Aizawa spoke, “I’m sure you’ve heard what’s happened with All Might.”

Izuku looked at his teacher confused, “no? I just had just woken up before you came in.”

Aizawa’s expression softened the slightest. “All Might has severely weakened due to the battle with All For One. He has..ultimately retired from heroics.”

“Oh..” Izuku looked at Katsuki for confirmation, who slowly nodded his head.

“I understand this must be hard for you, but that does not mean that you are allowed to slack off. All Might will still continue to teach heroics at UA High.”

The door opened once more, and a doctor walked in, looking at the clipboard his hand, eyes widening in surprise he saw all the people in the room. “Oh..hello everyone. I’m Midoriya Izuku’s doctor.” He made eye contact with Izuku, “Mr Midoriya, though you are in good health, your arms are a different story. Your quirk takes a lot of strain on your muscles, especially your arms. I must say, if you continue to over do it on your arms, you will lose them. You are an aspiring hero, take care of your body, and you might out live us all. From your six-month coma, your muscles will be severely weak, by my orders you are not to perform any hard straining movements or activating your quirk for at least a week. You can be discharged today.” He bowed and walked out of the room.

“Alright, out of the room. Midoriya, get dressed and meet us out front so we all can head back to UA.” Aizawa spoke as he ushered the class out of the room.

Izuku looked towards Katsuki in shock, “I’ve been comatose for six months?!”

Katsuki looked at him softly. “Yeah, Four Eyes and I have been writing down notes for you to catch up on.” He picked up a bag off the floor, “these are your clothes that I took from your dorm, get changed, Zuku.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next day came too fast for Izuku. They had all sat in their seats, waiting for their teacher to enter.

The door slid open with a bang, scaring everyone at the suddenness of the noise. “When I open my eyes, you lot better be seated.” Aizawa spoke with his eyes closed, then less than a second later they were open. “Good.” He walked into the room, with a woman they had never seen trailing after him.

“Now, as a new class that Principal Nezu has required, a mandatory dance class with be reinstated within your timetables. Nezu has reason to believe that this could benefit those who decide to go undercover. This is your new dance teacher, Everlyn Kristine.” He motioned to the woman next to him, who waved to the class with a soft smile.

“Now UA has built new dance studios located near the gyms. Follow your new teacher and listen to her instructions. If you need me, no you don’t.” Aizawa got into his sleeping bag and fell asleep in the corner of the room.

The woman smiled, “alright class, if you all get up and follow me, I’ll take you to your new dance rooms.” Her voice was light and airy, sounding soft and sweet. “Now on the way, if you all wouldn’t mind getting into partners, doesn’t matter with who, it just saves us time when we get there.” She smiled.

The class went into some small chatter as they walked to the new dance rooms. When they arrived, they saw multiple large buildings that looked exactly like their gyms.

Everlyn opened the doors and let the class walk in in front of her, hearing the soft marvelling of the students from the space it had. “This dance studio is for your class up until you graduate. Please pick up after yourselves and keep the destroying to the bare minimum.” She looked around the students, “it seems you have placed yourselves in partners, wonderful. Now, to test your standings on different dance styles, I will ask you all to do some small dance routines. First off, partner dancing.”

She walked over to where a stereo was and stood by it. “There is no set dance choreography for this lesson, just let your bodies feel the music.” She pressed play on the stereo and watched as her new students scrambled to start.

Everlyn made note of who was good at what, walking gracefully around the moving students. She looked towards the corner where she saw a pair of blonde and green heads dancing ever-so gracefully in their corner. She kept an on the two as the rest of the class moved around her.

She walked back over to the stereo and pressed pause, watching her students come to an abrupt stop. “That was wonderful! Some of you have some flaws, but that is nothing we can’t work on! Now, you two,” she turned towards Izuku and Katsuki, “you two must be Bakugo and Midoriya. I’ve heard a lot about the both of you.”

Katsuki gave her a glare while Izuku blushed from the attention.

Everlyn have them a soft smile and went back with the lesson, starting and stopping the stereo when she changed the dancing style, giving some tips and tricks to those she could see needed some help and to those who asked.

Katsuki and Izuku stood back, going to their corner where they did their own thing, feeling the burning eyes of their new teacher, and their classmates following their every move.

Their new class went on for the next few hours before the bell rang for lunch. When the class went to look and ask the duo about their hidden dancing skills, but they were no where to be seen.

For the rest of the day, during their art, math, and hero lessons, Mina a few of them had tried to ask either of the pair for answers of their dance knowledge, but they were either ignored or had no chance from their teacher interrupting them.

When classes ended, they returned to the dorms, the TV playing in the background as white noise as some studies, some hung out, and Katsuki making them dinner. Izuku sat at the island counter and watched his best friend make their dinner, completely entranced with Katsuki’s cooking skills that he didn’t see Mina and the rest of their classmates sneak up behind him, which scared One For All out of him.

“So, Midoriya, Bakugo,” she started as the boys crowded around the kitchen area so that the duo couldn’t escape, “how do you two know how do dance so..gracefully?”

“What’s it to you?” He asked gruffly as he mixed around the food, picking some of it up with a spoon and carefully walking over to Izuku, raising the spoon to his mouth as it open and closed around the first half of the metal object, grinning when his taste buds were filled with a delicious delight. Katsuki then put the rest of the food left on the spoon into his mouth and made a face, “it needs way more spice. You have walk and flavourless tastebuds, punk.” He spoke as he portioned the food into a separate bowl and adding a concerning about of chilli flakes into it.

Their classmates watched the interaction with great surprise.

“You can’t blame us for being curious, Bakugo.” She argued, crossing her arms.

“Kacchan and I did dancing lessons together when we were younger,” Izuku explained, “Kacchan’s parents are fashion designers, we used to model with them as well as our dancing lessons. After years of doing that, we just adapted to the grace of dancing.”

Izuku watched Mina’s face carefully as she comprehended what Izuku had just said. “You guys..did modelling?!” She shrieked.

Katsuki sighed as he dished up their dinner, Izuku giggling. “Yeah, we did. What about it, Pinky?”

“That’s just..how have we not heard about you before? I mean, everyone knows the Bakugo’s are the fashion designers in Japan, but none of us knew their child, and his best friend modelled for them!” Mina exaggerated as she grabbed a bowl, saying a quick ‘thank you’ to Katsuki as she continued to speak to them.

“We’re big in America and other foreign countries. Hag didn’t want us to do it for Japan since it would’ve brought too much attention onto us.” Katsuki explained as he sat next to Izuku with his spicy katsudon, “now sit down and shut up about it.”

Their classmates, surprisingly, did as told, only speaking when they were thanking Katsuki for their dinner and sitting next to their friends.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next day was Saturday, a nice day to just relax and spend time with friends. Though they still woke up early, so Katsuki made some pancakes and eggs for his classmates.

7:30 AM was when everyone was down from their rooms and eating some of the delicious food Katsuki had made for them.

The doors for the dormitory opened quite loudly, in which indicated someone had come in. They looked towards the common area and saw Aizawa with two people behind them, everyone recognising them a Bakugo Mitsuki and Masaru.

“Auntie?” Izuku smiled as he walked to hear and gave her a hug.

“Hello, little bug. Hello, devil spawn.” She greeted Izuku and her son.

“What are you doing here, hag?” Katsuki asked as he grabbed Izuku’s plate and put them into the sink.

“You and Izuku-kun have a modelling show in Los Angeles on America’s Saturday.” She explained to her son before looking at all of his jaw-dropped classmates, “you all are free to watch on the American channels. For Japan, the show should start around 8:30 AM, which for America would be 3:30 PM, Sunday.”

“You didn’t think to ask us first, hag?” Katsuki sneered.

“Katsuki, be respectful.” His father warned with a soft face, “this is going to be yours and Izuku’s biggest show you’ve done. These clothes designs have been made for you and Izuku, no other model.”

Katsuki glared at his father but didn’t say anything.

“We have cleared it with your teacher and principal. You will only be gone for the weekend and should be back early Monday morning, so you won’t be missing out on any classes or work.” Mitsuki explained.

“Now we should leave, the plane leaves in two hours and it’s a nine hour flight, so we should get to America by 6 PM.” Masaru spoke after his wife, “go and get changed, Katsuki, Izuku-kun. You won’t be needing anything so don’t worry about packing anything, we have clothes ready for you.” The man smiled.

“We’ll be waiting outside,” Mitsuki spoke before looking at their classmates again, “it was nice meeting you all.” She smiled before she grabbed her husband and walked back out of the dorms.

The class waved goodbye to them as Katsuki and Izuku made their way to their dorms, getting changed into casual clothes and walking back out to their classmates.

“Good luck guys!” Mina called out, a large smile on her face as she waved.

“Thanks, Ashido!” Izuku smiled, “but we’re the best.” He winked at her and walked out of the room, catching up to Katsuki.

The class were sent into a stunned silence at the sheer confidence of their friend.

“Surely they can’t be that famous..” Kaminari whispered.

“I’m already on it.” Mina spoke, her phone in her hands as her fingers were furiously tapping across the screen. “Oh wow..they’re like, majorly famous in the states! Every modelling company wants them to model their clothes and collaborate with the Bakugo’s! ‘Until they turned thirteen, Izuku and Katsuki have been seen on the screen twice a year, modelling Katsuki’s parents clothes!’ They haven’t been in America for three-ish years, so the Americans are ecstatic that they’re coming back.”

“Oh wow..” some of them trailed off, surprised that Izuku and Katsuki could be so famous and hide it under them was mind blowing.

“Can you find any of their old modelling videos, Mina?” Someone asked, but Mina was already on it.

“Found all of them!” She cheered after less than a minute, “someone grab some popcorn, there’s a lot of catching up to do!”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

By nothing less than expected, Mitsuki and Masaru had gotten them first class tickets. Nothing they weren’t used to of course, but it was always nice and relaxing.

They made it to Los Angeles at the expected time arrival, being greeted with their own security and chauffeur.

Which was amazing because the moment they stepped out of the airport, paparazzi and fans crowded around them, trying to touch them and get their autographs, their phones and cameras shoved in their faces as they walked to the black limo provided.

When they all got into the car and it started to drive, Izuku spoke. “I forgot how much of a pain American paparazzi was.”

“Yes. Well, we are only here for until tomorrow, and then we leave back for Japan straight after the show.” Masaru explained as he turned on the in car screen to the news.

“And in other news, popular designers Mitsuki and Masaru Bakugo, along with famous models, their son, Katsuki, and his best friend, Izuku Midoriya, have been sighted coming out of Los Angeles International Airport getting into their private limo for tomorrows fashion show featuring the Bakugo’s newest designs, and Katsuki and Izuku’s model re-appearance for the first time in three years. All of Los Angeles are ecstatic for the return of the beloved models and we wish them all a safe and happy show. This is Amelia Alexandra reporting for for the ABC News, goodnight.”

The news channel went for their ad break and Katsuki scoffed. “These Americans and their disrespect.”

“Ignore them, brat. They’re the paparazzi and news, they don’t respect anyone.” Mitsuki shook her head as the car came to a stop, their hotel building coming into view. Their doors opened with butlers and bus boys waiting for them and their luggage.

“Welcome, Mrs and Mr Bakugo, young masters Bakugo and Midoriya.” The head butler greeted them in English, and bowed to them as they all stepped out out of the limo, walking them into the building. “We hope you all had a safe flight. Your rooms have been prepared and ready for your arrival, we have dinner awaiting for you. Our security has tripled since your last stay, in precaution of young masters Bakugo and Midoriya’s appearance in a long while.”

The butler took them to the top floor and showed them their rooms, “we hope you enjoy your stay here.” He bowed to them before walking away.

“Have some dinner and get to sleep boys, you have a big day tomorrow.” Mitsuki ushered the boys into their room.

Izuku and Katsuki looked around their room, feeling nostalgic. That room held so many memories.

They grabbed what they wanted from the trolly that had piles of food and sat down at the table to start eating, watching whatever was on the American channels.

“Kacchan..what exactly did I miss while I was..in a coma?” Izuku asked when they both had finished their food.

“There was this major villain attack a few months ago. A dickhead who called himself ‘Overhaul’ was experimenting on a child, six years old. There was an operation for an attack and rescue, some of us were involved, Shitty Hair, Round Face, Four Eyes, we were sent into groups to track down the child while the heroes went for Overhaul and his lackeys. We found her, the child, strapped down to a bed with needles in every inch of showing skin. We took her out and the heroes had defeated his lackeys..but the fucker escaped.”

Izuku looked at his best friend in horror. That poor girl and what she had to go through..

“Her name is Eri. She lives with sensei. She likes to visit us often and show us her new outfits and drawings she’s done.” Izuku saw the smallest smile on Katsuki’s face.

“You like her, don’t you Kacchan?”

Katsuki hummed, “you’ll have to see when we get back to school, nerd.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next morning, Mitsuki had woken them up by banging furiously on their door, screaming at them to be dressed within 5 minutes or their door would be broken down.

They met her and Masaru in the lobby where they had security around them. When she saw her boys she smiled and started to walk towards the door, where the cries and cheers of paparazzi and fans could be heard. The doors opened and the four were in the middle of a tight circle of bodyguards that kept the swarm of cameras and flying hands away. It was deafening and blinding, all the shouts and flashes from everyone and their cameras was overwhelming.

“Katsuki! Izuku!”

“Boys, over here!”

“Katsuki, Izuku, how do you feel about modelling after a three year absence?!”

“Do you have anything to say to your fans?!”

“Your fans deserve to know what is going on!”

Katsuki sneered at the paparazzi’s questions, but Izuku’s hand on his arm stopped him from doing anything too..rash. They got into the limo and the doors closed around them, muffling the screams of the paparazzi.

Katsuki sat in his seat and crossed his arms, huffing as cameras were clinking at the tinted windows, trying to get a photo of the inside. The driver drove off, leaving the paparazzi behind and went on route to their scheduled venue. The drive was silent, nothing but the sound of the radio Masaru had put on as background noise

They got to the venue within 15 minutes, swarmed with paparazzi once again. The show didn’t even start until 3:30 PM and it was only 9 AM.

Security surrounded them once again as they got out of the limo and escorted them into the building, being blinded and deafened by the flashes of cameras and shouts of paparazzi.

The teenagers were taken away from Mitsuki and Masaru, and were placed in makeup chairs while 2-3 makeup artists surrounded them each, along with hair dressers, costume designers, and people with headsets on their heads.

Time past, too quickly for Katsuki’s liking. They were being ushered to the dressing rooms to dress in their first designs and were then pushed to backstage where Mitsuki and Masaru were waiting for them.

“It’s a full house, my boys.” She looked at them softly, “I’m so proud of you both, you’ve come so far.” She placed a hand on Izuku’s cheek and the other on Katsuki’s hair.

“Shut it, hag.” Katsuki huffed and looked away, though the blush on his cheeks make her chuckle. She patted them gently before walking off to her husband.

The blinding white lights of the runway cast long shadows behind Izuku and Katsuki as they waited to be called. The rhythmic thump of bass-heavy music shook the floor, and the distant chatter of an eager audience buzzed through the air.

Izuku shifted nervously, adjusting the cuffs of his deep emerald-green suit. The tailored blazer had a structured silhouette with exaggerated shoulders, the fabric shimmering under the shifting lights with an almost iridescent sheen. The jacket was cropped slightly at the waist, revealing a layered black harness over a silky, high-collared turtleneck. His pants were slim-fit but flared subtly at the ankles, complementing the sleek black boots with silver buckles. The final touch, a pair of emerald gemstone cufflinks, glistened as he fidgeted with his sleeves.

Katsuki, on the other hand, stood with his arms crossed, jaw tight. His outfit was a stark contrast to Izuku’s refined elegance. A long, asymmetrical black coat trailed behind him, lined with deep red silk that flared as he moved. The front was left open, revealing a sleeveless, high-neck mesh top beneath a leather harness adorned with silver buckles. His fitted pants had a distressed, deconstructed look, stitched together with metallic threading that caught the light. Heavy black combat boots with orange flame detailing completed the ensemble.

“Tch. Can’t believe I let those damn designers talk me into this,” Katsuki muttered, rolling his shoulders.

Izuku chuckled, though he still looked nervous. “You look great, Kacchan. The audience is going to love it.”

“Damn right they will.” Katsuki clicked his tongue. “You better not trip out there, nerd.”

“And now, for their first appearance in three years..Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo!” The announcer announced, making the cheers and cries of the audience deafening.

Their first walk down the runway was intense–the crowd roaring at their presence, cameras flashing in rapid bursts. Izuku’s softer elegance and Katsuki’s striking ferocity made for an irresistible contrast, and their chemistry was undeniable.

Backstage, they barely had time to breathe before the stylists swarmed them, preparing for the second look. Izuku’s next outfit was a masterpiece of futuristic fashion. A sleek, white high-collared coat with neon green circuit-like embroidery lined the edges, giving off a faint glow. Beneath it, a form-fitting charcoal-grey bodysuit clung to his frame, layered with transparent, iridescent fabric that shimmered like stardust under the lights. His boots, now a glossy white with geometric heels, completed the cyberpunk aesthetic.

Katsuki, meanwhile, had been given something even bolder. His second look consisted of a cropped black bomber jacket with oversized, fiery orange faux-fur shoulders, giving him the look of a wildfire in motion. Underneath, a metallic silver vest clung to his torso, the fabric shifting shades between steel grey and lava red depending on the light. His pants were jet black with slashes of orange streaks running down the sides like lightning bolts, and his boots–thick-soled, lace-up military-style–gave his walk a thunderous presence.

Katsuki scoffed as he examined himself in the mirror. “Seriously? Fur?”

“You look amazing,” Izuku assured him, though his voice was muffled by the stylists making last-minute fixes to his sleeves.

“Hmph. Whatever.” Katsuki cracked his knuckles, smirking. “I make anything look good anyway.”

Their third set of outfits screamed power and prestige. Izuku was dressed in a long, deep emerald robe that split at the sides, revealing a form-fitting black jumpsuit underneath. The fabric of the robe shimmered like liquid silk, its hem embroidered with delicate silver filigree that mimicked ancient runes. A thick, obsidian belt cinched his waist, giving him the look of a warrior prince. His boots were knee-high, sleek black with silver laces crisscrossing up the front. The final touch was a pair of black gloves, adorned with silver chains draping elegantly across his wrists.

Katsuki, on the other hand, looked like a warlord. His outfit consisted of a blood-red vest made of textured fabric that looked almost like dragon scales, fastened with thick, black leather straps across his chest. Over it, he wore a sleeveless, high-collared black coat that trailed behind him, billowing like a cape. His pants were rugged black, fastened with a wide belt that had silver plating shaped like claw marks. His boots, heavy with steel-tipped toes, gave him an imposing presence.

Izuku glanced at him and smiled. “You look like a villain.”

Katsuki snorted. “And you look like some royal pain in the ass.”

They stepped onto the runway, their movements perfectly in sync, one exuding controlled grace, the other brimming with raw intensity.

For their next ensemble, the designers took a more modern approach, blending high fashion with streetwear influences. Izuku wore a loose, oversized cream hoodie with golden embroidery along the sleeves, paired with fitted black cargo pants that had metallic gold zippers. A thick chain belt hung off his waist, and a sheer, long-line trench coat trailed behind him, translucent and glistening under the lights. His sneakers, high-top black and gold with intricate lacework, gave him a relaxed but stylish look.

Katsuki, in contrast, looked ready to stomp across the city in a bold, tactical streetwear set. A cropped, orange puffer jacket with jagged black accents lined his shoulders, the sleeves slightly oversized. Underneath, he wore a skintight black compression shirt with a high collar, tucked into dark grey, heavily strapped cargo pants. His combat boots were chunky and reinforced with metal plating, adding to his signature aggressive aesthetic.

Izuku smirked at him as they prepped for the runway. “You actually look comfortable in this one.”

“Damn right,” Katsuki said, rolling his shoulders. “Might steal this outfit after the show.”

By the time their final outfits were ready, the anticipation backstage was electric. Izuku now wore a deep navy-blue velvet suit with silver embroidery that mimicked constellations, the design trailing from the cuffs to the hem of his coat. A sheer, star-patterned cape flowed behind him, fastened at the shoulders with delicate silver chains. His boots, a dark blue with silver laces, completed the celestial theme.

Katsuki’s final ensemble was a sharp contrast, embodying the essence of raw power. His deep crimson trench coat had jagged black streaks slashing through the fabric, its hem ragged as if singed by fire. Underneath, he wore a fitted black turtleneck with an almost armour-like texture, and his gloves, fingerless, with metallic plating over the knuckles, added to the battle-hardened aesthetic. His pants were a deep charcoal grey, accentuated by a blood-red belt, and his boots had steel-tipped toes that gleamed under the light.

The stage director signalled them forward. The moment they stepped onto the runway, the noise from the audience faded into the background, replaced by the pulse of the music. Katsuki took the lead, his movements sharp and commanding, every step exuding raw confidence. Izuku followed with a composed stride, his expression soft but captivating, the poise of a natural.

The flashes of cameras, the gasps from the crowd, the electricity In the air–it was nothing like a battle, yet the adrenaline felt the same. And for once, under the blinding spotlight, they weren’t students or heroes.

They were stars.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

They got back to their hotel to grab their thing before they left on a private jet that Katsuki’s parents had rented for the trip.

“Izuku.” Katsuki started, gaining Izuku’s attention, “what was that thing you needed to tell me?”

Izuku froze. “O-oh..I..um..uh..” Izuku walked towards Katsuki and took his hands, surprising the blond slightly. “Kacchan..you have to promise me you won’t leave me when I tell you this.”

Katsuki looked confused, but his grip tightened on Izuku’s hands. “I told you, Izuku, I’ll never let you go.”

Izuku looked into Katsuki’s eyes, trying to find any sort of dishonesty in them, finding none.

“When you got–” Izuku paused, and took a deep breath, “when they took you..I knew.”

“Knew what?” Katsuki asked, still confused.

“I knew you were going to be..” Izuku looked away, his eyes clenched shut as he feared Katsuki’s reaction.

“You..knew..” Katsuki’s shaking voice spoke quietly. Izuku opened his eyes and looked towards his best friend, seeing the immense shock and betrayal in his eyes. “And you didn’t do a fucking thing..” Katsuki’s hands shook as he slowly let go of Izuku’s.

“No–Kacc–Katsuki, I couldn’t do anything! I–”

“Don’t. Just..pack up your things and never fucking talk to me again.” Katsuki walked away from Izuku, grabbed his thing and slammed the door as he walked out of it.

Izuku stood in the room, tears falling down his face as he watched Katsuki walk out of the room.

Oh God.

Why did he tell him?

What had he done?

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The flight back was quiet, tense. Mitsuki and Masaru didn’t know what happened, but they didn’t comment on it.

Katsuki slept with his head against the window with his hand supporting his chin, his earphones in his ears for majority of the flight.

Izuku stayed awake the whole flight. Anxious and fearful. His best friend, his everything was ripped away from him because of his stupid, stupid words.

He looked out his window and saw that they were coming over the farm plains of Choshi.

‘Ten more minutes and we’re home.’ Izuku thought as he sat back in his seat, and put on his seat belt as the seat belt sign started to flash.

Then the plane started to shake. He thought nothing of it, just some mild turbulence as they prepared to land. The air masks fell down in front of them as the pilots voice came over the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, we apologise for this turbulence. The plane is going into a nose dive, please do not pa–” The pilot got cut off.

The plane exploded.

They plummeted to the ground, their seat belts stuck around their waists tightly. Izuku activated One For All and tried to pull himself out of his seat, hearing Katsuki’s explosions around him, racing to his mother and father. And just as he got himself out of the seat belt, a large piece of debris hit him from behind and knocked him out, bringing him to the sweet serenity of peace.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Katsuki, for the third time in his life, was terrified. The plane exploded, his parents were passed out in their seats from the speed they were plummeting at. He blasted his chair away and used his explosions to move towards them, ripping them out of their chairs and trying to use his explosions to lessen the fall.

They hit the ground. Hard. But not hard enough to kill them. The nearby farmers had already come out of their homes and called the ambulance, along with themselves helping the three.

Within minutes, police, the fire brigade, ambulances, and half the news reporters in Tokyo were on the scene. They tended to the three, proclaiming the pilots and cabin crew deceased.

Deceased.

‘Oh fuck.’ Katsuki thought, panic raising in his body, “IZUKU?!” He left the ambulances were his parents were and ran back to the crash site, pushing away the police and firefighters who tried to stop him.

“Zuku?!” He called out, “Izuku, answer me!” He rummaged through the crash trying to look everywhere for his best friend.

“Sir! You need to back away and let us-” one of the firefighters placed a hand on Katsuki’s shoulder, trying to pull him away.

“No!” Katsuki cried as he shook the hand off of his shoulder, “I’m a hero in training! I cannot let my..I need to find him!” He didn’t wait for approval from the man before continuing to search for Izuku.

He flipped over everything, looking for a pile too big, too unnatural, too..

No he couldn’t think about that.

Katsuki wanted to blow something, everything, up. He needed to. But he knew he couldn’t, if he blew up the wrong thing..then he’d never find Izuku. He wouldn’t know what do to if he lost Izuku and his last words to him, Katsuki would never forgive himself.

The metal scratched him, light and deep, but he didn’t feel a thing, the adrenaline was drumming through his heart, his veins, his soul. He wouldn’t leave until he found–

Blood.

That was blood he saw.

It was just a glimpse. It could’ve been anyone’s.

But the piece of green curly hair with black roots sticking in the blood puddle confirmed it for Katsuki. He wanted to throw up.

He slowly moved towards the blood puddle, his body shaking beneath him as he grew closer. He wanted to so badly believe it wasn’t his best friend, but he was an upcoming hero, he needed to think realistically.

But thinking realistically would mean he needed to accept that Izuku was dead, and he did not want to accept that.

A part of the planes wing was covering half of the blood puddle, so Katsuki shakily lifted up the heavy piece of metal, some of the firefighters coming to help him lift it up, and when they got it flipped over, Katsuki almost vomited.

Blood and dirt covered majority of the wing area, dripping down to the pile of blood beneath it. The sight alone was all Katsuki needed to confirm that Izuku was..gone.

It felt like life went in slow motion for Katsuki, hot wet tears slowly fell down his face, and he could hear the firefighters call out to each other. Eventually he could hear nothing but his harsh breathing and the high pitched ringing in his ear.

Everything suddenly registered in his mind and he started to hyperventilate. Katsuki lost everything, his best friend, his soulmate, his..light. Someone came up behind him and hugged him. The familiar scent of his mothers perfume and a hint of salty sweat made him relax into the hold.

Katsuki started to sob, his face now blotchy and red as more tears fell down his face. “Izuku, no! He..he can’t be dead!” He cried into his mothers arms, his legs going weak which caused him to crumble in her arms.

“Katsuki..I’m sorry..he’s with his mother now.” She whispered into his ear as he sobbed.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Katsuki was cleared by the paramedics on scene, he was numb. Physically, emotionally. He was silent. They sent him back to UA after he refused to go back to his home with his parents.

Aizawa and..All Might were there waiting for him at the front of the school. They spoke to him, reassuring him and offering their condolences, but their voices were just creating more buzzing in his head. He ignored them, which got them to stop talking but the buzzing never stopped. It would probably never stop.

They got to the dorms entry and Katsuki stopped, his hand gripping the handle. He’s never hesitated before, then again he’s never lost Izuku. Izuku was the only person who pushed him, believed in him..loved him. There was never a day he was without his best friend.

And now..

There was a warm hand on his shoulder which got him out of his mind, he looked over and saw Aizawa’s grim face. “You don’t have to do this today. You can go back home and take some time off.”

Katsuki shook his head, “only way I’ll ever become the number one hero is to push through..everything.” He opened the door and walked in, leaving his two teachers behind. He walked into the common room where everyone was sitting in front of the television watching the news report that had just come out.

“Good evening. We begin tonight with tragic news from today’s catastrophic airline incident that has left the nation in shock. A commercial flight en route to Musutafu suffered a severe mid-air malfunction, resulting in the loss of multiple lives, including members of the cabin crew. According to preliminary reports, the aircraft experienced unexpected turbulence followed by a critical mechanical failure. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, several members of the cabin crew lost their lives during the ordeal, reportedly due to severe impact injuries sustained when the plane was forced into an emergency descent.”

“Among the survivors is the Bakugo family, including aspiring future pro hero Dynamight, Bakugo Katsuki. Sources confirm that his mother and father sustained non-life-threatening injuries and are receiving medical attention. Bakugo himself, known for his quick reflexes and unyielding resilience, is reported to have assisted his parents before impact. However, the incident has claimed another devastating loss. Though we do not have confirmed information, it is likely that Midoriya Izuku, widely recognised as the aspiring future pro hero Deku, tragically lost his life in the disaster. Eyewitness accounts and forensic analysis confirm that Midoriya was struck by a detached section of the plane’s wing during the aircraft’s descent. Despite immediate rescue efforts, he succumbed to his injuries before reaching emergency personnel.”

The screen moved from the reporter to footage from the scene, showing the destruction of the plane, along with a bawling Katsuki in his mothers arms, blood covering his hands from the cuts he got from digging around along with the blood that was on the plane wing. Then the camera panned to the wing where the blood puddle was under, along with the dripping blood, blurred of course, but non the less nauseating.

“Authorities, along with aviation experts, are conducting a full investigation into the mechanical failure that led to this catastrophe. The airline has yet to issue an official statement, but government officials have assured the public that all necessary precautions are being taken to prevent such an incident from occurring again. We will continue to follow this story and provide updates as more information becomes available. This has been your evening report. Stay safe, and hold your loved ones close.”

The class sat in horror, not believing a word the reporter said. Katsuki must’ve made a noise since his classmates turned to look at him, their eyes glistening with unshed, and shed, tears. Shinso and Todoroki stood up the second they saw Katsuki, but didn’t move.

“Bakugo..tell us it’s not true.” Tokoyami spoke up, the only one to find his voice.

Katsuki didn’t speak, he looked into the eyes of everyone single one of his classmates. He thought he could stay strong, emotionless, numb, but his body betrayed him, tears swelled in his eyes as his lip trembled. Shinso and Todoroki were by him within seconds stabilising him before he fell to the ground.

“Izuku..” his rough voice spoke, “we couldn’t find him, but..it all points to him.” He gripped Shinso’s and Todoroki’s shirts tightly, his blood stained hands staining their clothes.

The class broke down into screams and cries. That was their friend. The only person who truly believed in them for the first time, who never judged them, studied them, saved them. Katsuki could feel the tremors coming from the boys that held him, he gripped them tighter, a small sign of comfort from him that lessened their shaking.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next week went by slowly, by then the whole school had found out about Izuku, offering their condolences towards class 1A. Aizawa gave them some slack, unusual for him, but that boy had an impact on him that he’d never get from another student.

They sat in the common room, picking at their food as some show played in the background as white noise. No one spoke, just silence between them.

The dorm doors opened which gained their attention. Aizawa walked in with Tsukauchi, some officers, and All Might.

“Hello, class 1A.” Tsukauchi greeted them, but it was grim, dull. “I will keep this short to let you grieve. We have gotten DNA results from the blood at the crash sight, and we have confirmed that..it is Midoriya Izuku’s blood. We are so very sorry for your loss.” He bowed in respect, as did the officers behind him.

The class broke down, hyperventilating and crying to the point where some vomited up the food they had just ate. Katsuki stayed composed, but it was getting hard for the boy.

“Why did the plane crash?” He asked quietly.

He saw Tsukauchi give Aizawa a look, who gave him a look back, but before the man could explain anything, All Might started talking. “We believe that it was a villain attack. We are lost on who, but we firmly believe it was the League. You and Midoriya were their top targets, and this was an abduction gone wrong.”

Aizawa looked at the older hero weirdly but continued on with what he was saying. “Yes, we do believe that the League was behind this, but we do not have grounding evidence of this. From this, we will be restricting visitations, day outs, excursions, until we can confirm that no one..that this incident will not happen again. His funeral will be held tomorrow, if you wish to go, there will every pro hero available to protect you all.”

Aizawa put a warm hand on Katsuki’s shoulder, giving it a small squeeze before walking out of the dorms with the officers and All Might behind him.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

In the mists of the abandoned buildings in the rough parts of Musutafu, a box tv plays in the background of a rusty bar, noise drowned out by the cheers and complaints of a young girl and an older man playing blackjack.

“Hey, can you guys shut the fuck up? I’m tryna watch here.” A rough voice spoke from his spot on the couch in front of the box tv.

“Oh, shut it Dabi, since when did you watch the news?” The girls voice asked.

“Shut it, both of you.” A scratchy voice said from the couch next to Dabi.

“..Though we do not have confirmed information, it is likely that Midoriya Izuku, widely recognised as the hero aspiring future pro hero Deku, tragically lost his life in the disaster.”

The news reporter’s words stopped every movement in the bar, all eyes turning to the screen. “Eyewitness accounts and forensic analysis confirm that Midoriya was struck by a detached section of the plane’s wing during the aircraft’s descent. Despite immediate rescue efforts, he succumbed to his injuries before reaching emergency personnel.”

“Oh no! My poor Izuku!” Toga cried, a hand up to her mouth in shock, “Ochaco must be devastated!”

“This is a rerun. This happened about a week ago.” Dabi explained with an eye roll, “our friend at UA has told me that they’re holding a funeral for him tomorrow morning, out where the brat’s mother was buried.”

Tomura stood up from the couch and stormed to his room, slamming his bedroom door closed. He went to his computer at his desk and immediately searched up articles about the news had just heard, refusing to believe it was true. He read the headlines, every single one of them, with his eyes filling up with salty tears.

Tragic Plane Disaster: Aspiring Pro Hero Deku Among the Dead
Heroic Efforts in Mid-Air Crisis—Bakugo Family Survives
Flight Malfunction Turns Fatal: Cabin Crew and Deku Lost in Disaster
Nation Mourns as Aspiring Pro Hero Midoriya Izuku Dies in Plane Tragedy
Breaking: Plane Wing Strike Claims Life of Aspiring Pro Hero Deku
Survivors Speak Out After Deadly Flight Incident
Mechanical Failure Leads to Mid-Air Chaos—Aspiring Heroes Caught in the Tragedy
Dynamight Survives Devastating Plane Crash—Deku Tragically Lost
Aviation Disaster Shakes the Hero Community—Investigation Underway
Final Flight: Midoriya Izuku’s Tragic End in Airborne Catastrophe

Every single headline made his heart shatter. There was no way he died. He could’ve called out for him, but what did Tomura expect? Especially not after what Izuku found out.

He read every article that he could find before his eyes started to burn from the screen. Every article made a point to blame them, the League. It made sense in a way, he rolled his eyes at the easiness to blame every incident on them.

The tears that swelled up in his eyes rolled down his cheeks continuously, getting in his mouth, nose, dropping onto his keyboard and desk.

Everything blurred, his eyes burnt, his nose blocked.

He couldn’t breathe.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next morning, he found himself in all black, standing near every single pro hero he had grew to despise. He wanted to scratch everywhere and anywhere, but his cover would be blown, and he wouldn’t be able to say goodbye to Izuku.

Tomura stood back as Izuku’s friends said some words about the boy. He watched them shed tears over him, and for the first time ever he felt sorry for the brats he hated.

The service ended, some of the hero’s leaving to go on their scheduled patrols. The class stayed back and mourned together, hugging and comforting those who needed it. Then Jiro spotted Tomura.

“Uh, guys. Who’s that over there?” She asked, pointing over to where Tomura stood. The class looked towards and him Tomura sighed, annoyed that he had gotten spotted by the brats. They had all started to walk towards him and he knew there was no getting out of the interrogation coming.

“Who the fuck are you, and why are you here?” Katsuki asked aggressively, his hands popping with small explosions.

Tomura looked at him unimpressed. “My name is..Tenko. I am..was an old friend of Izuku’s.”

The class looked at him suspiciously then to Katsuki, who looked confused and agitated. “You mean Izuku’s old imaginary friend, hah?”

“Yes. Though I am not that imaginary.” Tomura rolled his eyes at the attitude coming from the explosive boy.

Katsuki suddenly grew rageful. “Izuku said that you could help him, that you can heal him when he needed it! Why weren’t you there?!” He went to attack Tomura, his quirk popping loudly in his hands as Kirishima and Shoji. Tomura stepped back a few paces and made an annoyed face at the blond teenager.

“I do not keep track of Izuku’s every move. I can only appear to him when I am called upon. He must’ve thought..that he didn’t need to call for me.” Tomura’s face dropped slightly and he looked away from the teenagers, tears forming in his eyes, burning for release. “Izuku spoke highly of you all, he saw a lot of potential in all of you.” Those words made his stomach churn, wanting so badly to scratch the itch of killing these kids then and there, so he left, walking away from the funeral and lowly scratching at neck.

He hated them all, he felt the need to kill them all, but to do it over Izuku’s grave would be unethical..but since when did he care about ethics?

He turned around, ready to storm back to kill them all, only to be faced with no one.

‘What the fuck?’

Did he imagine it? Was this some sort of attack tactic? An ambush?

“Boss.” He heard Dabi’s voice from behind him. Directly behind him.

Tomura jumped in surprise, something he has rarely ever done. He turned around and found himself face to face with Dabi.

“What are you doing here? How did you know I was here?” Tomura got defensive, no one was supposed to know he was there.

“I wanted to know what got my boss so angry last night.” Dabi placed his hand on Tomura’s arm, who tried to fling it off but Dabi had a death grip on it. He then brought a hand to the back of Tomura’s neck and brought him in close, their noses barely touching. “Close your eyes, Tomura..give yourself to me.” He whispered before he closed the distance between them gently kissed Tomura’s lips.

Tomura felt like he was hypnotised as he kissed his subordinate back, the feeling of human skin and skin graft between his lips felt odd, but comforting in a sort. And he had expected Dabi to smell like burnt and rotting skin, and cigarettes like he had always did, but this time he smelt of sweet strawberry.

Tomura breathed in deeply, trying to figure out if it was just something in the wind but the scent stayed, and grew stronger. He was falling in love with it, it made him feel dizzy, or maybe it was the lack of oxygen he wasn’t getting from Dabi’s continuous kissing.

The strawberry scent suddenly disappeared and the lips he was kissing felt..like they were both human lips. He opened his eyes and pulled back in shock.

Dabi had white hair, and there was no sign of his purple skin grafts that adorned his face. He looked healthy and his eyes held light that Tomura hadn’t seen since..

He staggered back from the man in front of him. That wasn’t Dabi..that was Touya.

“Touya? How..what is this?” Tomura asked confused, he looked around at his surroundings, he was in a nice home, slightly traditionally Japanese, but more modernised. They were in a living room, standing in front of a table and couch, a television standing on a wide cupboard with photos of a happy family together.

“It’s us, Tenko. Me and you,” Dabi..no Touya smiled at him and wrapped his arms around Tomura’s waist and spun his around, lifting him into the air. “We’re a family, all of us.”

“All of us?” Tomura asked confused as Touya put him down on the ground again.

“Daddy! You’re awake!” A tiny voice called out from the hallway and small thundering steps could be heard running towards him before his legs were tackled by a small body.

Tomura looked down and saw a mop of white hair, a face looking up at him with piercing blue eyes, freckles, and triangular black specks in both corners of the boys eyes.

“..Izuku?” He felt himself saying, not believing this moment.

“Yes, daddy! It’s me!” The child giggled as Tomura picked him up and held him in front of him.

Tomura saw himself in the windows reflection, taking a moment to look at himself, seeing himself as younger with white hair, and healthy skin.

This was the life he always wanted.

Izuku started to grab at his cheeks when he wasn’t getting the attention he wanted. “Daddy, pay attention to me!” The boy huffed, then turned to Touya. “You too, dada!”

Touya smiled and got closer to Tomura and Izuku, trapping them both into a tight embrace, kissing Izuku’s chubby cheek.

Tomura felt himself smile freely for the first time in a long time, it was the happiest he’d ever been, like a dream come true.

Dream.

He smelt strawberries again, which got his focus away from Touya and Izuku. He leaned back from the two and looked around..the lamp on the table.

It was distorting, swirling and withering within itself.

And coming closer.

He tried to walk away, Izuku close in his arms but he was stuck to the ground. Everything was going black but the lamp stayed, continuing to swirl around until it was within inches of him.

Then he was back at his computer, his eyes burning from the suddenness of the light it emitted.

Tomura gasped and stood up, his chair flying back from the force which knocked over a shelf in his room.

Strawberries.

All he smelt was strawberries.

He tried to find the source, which inevitably ended up with him destroying half of his room.

Tomura’s breath was ragged, his chest rising and falling unevenly as he tried to shake off the dream..or hallucination, or whatever the hell that had been. His fingers twitched, curling and uncurling as he stood among the wreckage of his room, heart hammering against his ribs.

It had felt real. Too real. The warmth of Touya’s arms, the weight of Izuku in his grasp, the scent of strawberries lingering in the air like an intoxicating drug. His mind reeled, the image of their happy life burning itself into his thoughts.

No. No, no, no.

His eyes darted around, desperate to find proof that it had just been his imagination. But the scent clung to him, teasing him like a cruel joke. His hands trembled as he dragged them through his hair, gripping tight as though he could rip the feeling away.

A sharp knock at the door made him jolt.

“Oi, the hell’s going on in there?” Dabi’s voice cut through the chaos. “You having a meltdown or something?”

Tomura froze. His breath hitched. That voice..it was him, it was Dabi. The rasp he knew, not the lighter, happier tone that had called him ‘Tenko’ just moments ago.

For a second, he couldn’t bring himself to answer. His throat felt tight, the weight of loss hitting him harder than it should have. He had never had that life. It had never been his. And yet, it felt like something had been stolen from him.

“Tomura,” Dabi called again, this time more insistent. “Open up.”

Tomura hesitated, then willed his legs to move. He stepped over the broken shelf, the scattered papers and debris, and wrenched the door open.

Dabi stood there, arms crossed, his usual smirk absent. His blue eyes flickered with something Tomura couldn’t place..concern, maybe.

And then it hit him again.

Strawberries.

It was faint, but it was there. The same scent that had wrapped around him in that dream, the one that had made him feel so impossibly warm.

His hands clenched at his sides. “Where were you?” His voice was hoarse, demanding, desperate.

Dabi raised a brow. “Took a shower. Not that it’s any of your damn business.” He sniffed the air slightly, then smirked. “You smell it too, huh? Toga got a new shampoo. Keeps throwing it at me, saying I stink like a bonfire. Thought I’d humour her.”

Tomura barely heard him. His head was spinning, the lines between reality and fantasy blurring at the edges. He wanted to shake Dabi, ask him if he remembered. If he had seen it too. If somewhere, in some twisted way, it had been real.

Instead, he swallowed hard and stepped back.

“Whatever,” he muttered. “Forget it.”

Dabi watched him for a long moment before shrugging. “Suit yourself,” he said, stepping into the room and kicking a fallen book out of his way. “But you’re cleaning this shit up.”

Tomura barely reacted. His mind was elsewhere.

His fingers twitched again.

The scent of strawberries still lingered.

Chapter Text

The halls of U.A. weren’t as loud as they used to be.

Laughter still echoed, conversations still filled the space between classes, but there was an undeniable gap. An absence that pressed against their hearts like a phantom limb.

It had been months since they lost Izuku.

Class 1-A, were officially second years, and they carried his memory with them in everything they did. His desk remained in the classroom, untouched. His name still appeared on seating charts, even if no one would ever answer to it again. Some days, it was easier to move forward, to pretend they were just busy with their training, their new responsibilities. Other days, the grief was suffocating.

Katsuki sat at his desk, arms crossed, eyes staring at the scratched wood beneath his fingers. He hadn’t exploded at anyone since Izuku, not because he was calm, but because his energy felt drained. He should’ve been over this by now. He knew that. He knew Izuku wouldn’t want him, or anyone, moping around. But knowing and doing were two different things.

“Hey.” A voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Kirishima stood beside him, hands in his pockets, offering a small, sad smile. “Aizawa-sensei says we can go train before lunch if we want.”

Katsuki exhaled sharply through his nose. “Yeah. Whatever.”

It was all too much for him, his best friend, his soulmate was taken away from him and he was unable to do anything about it. A small shrine had been made by the class, the objects and photos being the contents from his room, while Katsuki has the rest of his things in his room.

It was all too much for everyone.

Across the room, Uraraka stared at her phone. A new pro-hero article had just come out, one about them, the rising second-years of UA, the future generation of heroes. She wondered what Izuku would think if he saw them now. Would he be proud? Would he still be scribbling notes about everyone’s progress, even his own?

She set her phone down and turned to Iida, who was watching Todoroki from across the room. The dual-haired boy had been quieter than usual, if that was even possible. He still trained, still fought harder than anyone, but there was something distant in his eyes. Like he wasn’t fully present.

“Hey,” she called softly. “You okay?”

Todoroki blinked, as if shaking off a thought. He nodded. “Yeah. Just thinking.”

They all were. Thinking about what could’ve been. About the future Izuku never got to have. About how unfair it all was.

The door opened, and Aizawa entered, his usual tired eyes scanning the room. He didn’t say anything at first. He just looked at them, the students who had grown so much, but still carried wounds that hadn’t quite healed.

“It’s okay to move forward,” he finally said, voice steady. “It doesn’t mean you’re forgetting him.”

A heavy silence followed, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was understanding.

Katsuki pushed himself up, stretching his arms over his head. “Tch. Enough standing around. Let’s go train.”

Kirishima grinned and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “That’s more like it.”

The others followed, one by one, standing, stretching, gathering their things. It wasn’t the same without Izuku. It never would be.
But they were still here. And they would keep going.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Night came fast, and Katsuki struggled to sleep as he had from the nights after Izuku death. Usually blowing off some steam in the gym room would help him, though only for a few hours before the nightmares started.

He grabbed his gym kit and made his way to the gym rooms, ignoring those who tried to talk to him on the way. When he got there, there was a sign and construction tape around the entrance.

‘We apologise for this inconvenience. All UA gym rooms are being upgraded over night and will be finished within the morning.’

His eyebrow twitched, this was going to end up a sleepless night for him, once again. He looked around, any flat surface was fine for him, when the sight of the dance rooms came to his vision.

It wasn’t gym, but it could still blow off some steam.

The UA dance studio was dimly lit, the only light coming from the soft glow of the overhead bulbs reflecting against the polished wooden floor. The air smelled faintly of resin and sweat, but Katsuki hardly noticed. He took off his shoes and put in a CD that their dance teacher had left in case they ever wanted to come back and practice and his body was already moving before he even fully registered the first few piano notes of the song.

Barefoot, clad in dark form-fitting athletic wear, he stepped into position in front of the mirror. He avoided his own reflection. The moment he looked, he would see the ghost of Izuku standing beside him, like he always had when they were kids, chasing, competing, pushing each other forward.

But Izuku wasn’t here anymore.

The music swelled, and Katsuki lifted onto the balls of his feet, his arms extending gracefully as he fell into the movements, his body carrying the weight of grief in every step.

He stepped forward into a développé, stretching one leg high before sweeping into a controlled turn, his arms wrapping around himself as if to hold something, someone, close.

His fingers trembled, reaching out into the empty air.
He could almost hear Izuku’s voice, rambling about quirk physics, hero rankings, or just mumbling to himself as he wrote in his notebook. Katsuki’s throat burned as he pushed off into a pirouette, spinning tightly, trying to lose himself in the motion.

A jeté, a leap across the floor, his legs extending, as if he could reach something just out of grasp. But when he landed, the weight of reality hit him again. He wasn’t chasing after Izuku anymore.

Izuku was gone.

He stepped into an arabesque, back leg lifted behind him, his arms open as if waiting for a hand that would never reach for his.

The chorus rose, and Katsuki danced harder, his movements becoming more desperate, more raw. His breaths came sharp and quick, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. This was the only way he could scream without making a sound.

His body curved forward, hands clenched. The last time he had touched Izuku, his hands had been slick with blood.

He pushed forward into a turn, into another leap, forcing himself to move, to feel something other than the crushing ache in his chest.
He imagined Izuku beside him, bright green eyes, stubborn grin, feet never quite planted on the ground because he was always running ahead, always reaching for something greater. Katsuki had spent years chasing him, admiring him. And now there was nothing left to chase.

Katsuki let himself fall into the next step, collapsing to one knee, his hand catching him against the floor. His breathing was ragged, his chest heaving, his heart pounding against his ribs.

The song was ending.

His shoulders shook. His head lowered. His fingers pressed into the floor, curling like they wanted to grab onto something.

But there was nothing.

Slowly, Katsuki unfolded himself, rising with the final notes. His feet carried him to the mirror at the back of the room. For the first time, he dared to look.

His reflection stared back, alone, exhausted, eyes burning with unshed tears.

And for a fleeting second, he imagined another figure beside him. A boy with wild green hair, a stupid, determined smile, and the same scars on his hands.

Then the song ended.

And Izuku was gone.

Katsuki stood there in silence. His whole body ached, but it wasn’t from the dance.

He exhaled shakily, reaching up to wipe at his face.

“Damn nerd..” he muttered. His voice broke.

A slow clapping made him flinch violently. He spun around and glared at the purple haired intruder.
“You dance well, Bakugo.” He praised Katsuki huffed but didn’t say anything. “‘Ombres de Toi’ a couples dance..”

Katsuki rolled his eyes and wiped the sweat away from his forehead with his towel, squirting water from his water bottle into his mouth.

“You know..you don’t have to go at this alone. Midoriya’s was..our best friend as well.” Shinso looked at Katsuki sombrely, then his eyebrows furrowed. “Hey, I get it, you’re his best friend, no need to blast me for it.”

Katsuki looked up at him “hah? The fuck do you mean? I ain’t gonna blast you for shit.”

“Are you playing dumb right now? Your hand.” Shinso pointed to Katsuki’s arm.

Katsuki looked down and saw that his arm was in a bright orange, similar to his explosions. “The fuck?” He mumbled to himself, his arm was lit where the Ignis Avis constellation had marked itself.

“Is this some freaky voodoo shit? Are you a witch?” Shinso stepped back from Katsuki, who glared at him and scoffed at his questions.

“Don’t be a dumbass.” He didn’t look at Shinso and gently rubbed his arm, watching the orange light dim slowly. A flash of a memory went through his mind which allowed a noise out of him.

“Bakugo?” Shinso asked slowly, watching the boy.

Katsuki didn’t answer, his mind flashing images of the plane crash. He tried to focus of the scene.

It was when he caught his parents and the rest of the plane crashed around the rest of the field. He had barely focused on it, his parents were his top priority at that moment, but there was a flash, then something flying up into the sky. But it was so fast that it didn’t register at the time.

Could it be that Izuku survived? No. He wasn’t able to move that fast, even at 100%. And if so, Izuku would’ve came back.
Katsuki did something he vowed he’d never do in front of anyone, rarely in front of Izuku.

He dropped his mask.

His lips wobbled and his eyes burnt from the forming tears. Shinso stood shocked at the display of emotion.

“H-hey, Bakugo!” He stuttered as the boy walked towards him, but instead of blasting him, Katsuki put his head on Shinso’s shoulder and sobbed.

Shinso stood frozen, comfort was something he was never good at. He hesitantly placed his arms around Katsuki’s back and hugged him awkwardly.

“It’s going to be okay, y’know? Death is hard to overcome, and you know Izuku wouldn’t want you to cry over him.” Shinso spoke, slowly growing more comfortable with the fact that Katsuki was going to him for comfort, his arms becoming looser and let Katsuki be more comfortable in his arms.

“..I loved him.” Katsuki mumbled through his tears, his head now in the crook of Shinso’s shoulder.

“We know.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next day, Shinso and Katsuki acted like normal, like nothing had happened that night, but anyone could tell you that they were relatively closer than they had been before. Though no one said anything, in fear as getting blasted by the explosive boy.

Todoroki, Shinso, and Katsuki stayed together within their trio, all mourning the loss of their dear friend within their own terms.

Todoroki had barely spoke any words to anyone who wasn’t the two boys, and Shinso and Katsuki just ignored everyone else.
Classes went by fast for everyone which was a blessing in disguise for some. The others dreaded it. Katsuki always hates being alone when class ends, it makes his mind think of Izuku at every given moment.

He cooked the class dinner to get his mind off of him, but all he could think about was how Izuku sat on the counter and talked to him about his hero analysis books.

After his shower, he went to his room and locked himself in, he never did like any visitors. He pulled out a box from his closet and opened it, a wave of nostalgia and grief overcoming him.

Izuku’s hero analysis books. All..13 of them. Oh god did that boy have time on his hands.

He sat on the floor next to the box and started at the first book, a whole book dedicated to him.

It took him hours, but he went through every little detail. And now he was up to the last book.

He ran his fingers over the worn edges of a notebook, its cover nearly falling apart from overuse. Hero Analysis #13.

He had flipped through so many of them already, reading Izuku’s frantic notes on heroes, quirks, weaknesses, and strategies. Each page was filled with his relentless drive, his obsession with improvement. Katsuki could almost hear his nerdy muttering as he scribbled down ideas.

But then he found one that stood out.

Phoenix Theory

Katsuki frowned. He didn’t remember Izuku ever mentioning this before. He turned the page, eyes scanning over the notes in confusion. The handwriting was just as messy, but there was something different here, less of a strategic analysis, more of..speculation?

‘A phoenix is a mythical creature that rises from its own ashes, reborn again and again. Immortality, in a sense. But what if it wasn’t just a myth? What if some quirks worked similarly? What if..I worked similarly?’

Katsuki’s breath caught in his throat. The hell was this?

He flipped through more pages, scanning hastily written theories. Izuku had been obsessing over the idea, making comparisons between his own recovery rate, his ability to push past the impossible, the way his body seemed to endure things that should have broken him completely.

‘There’s something inside me. Something that doesn’t let me give up, even when I should. Even when I’ve been at the edge of death, something keeps pulling me back. I don’t know if it’s just stubbornness..or something else.’

Katsuki swallowed hard, fingers tightening on the notebook. Izuku had been thinking about this for a while. He had been wondering if he was something more than just a boy with a borrowed power.

Then, Katsuki turned another page and his stomach twisted.

‘If I am one, then that means there must be another.’

Katsuki’s vision blurred as he stared at those words. He wanted to scoff, to call Izuku a damn idiot for thinking he wasn’t just some stubborn nerd with a death wish. But instead, he felt the weight of the words sink deep into his chest.
Izuku had died.
But had he really stayed dead?
Katsuki’s hands trembled as he gripped the pages. He felt something burn deep inside him..anger, sorrow, something else entirely.

‘It explains why I was able to not be burnt by Todoroki’s flames..or my outburst when we saved Kacchan. But if that’s true, then I have to look for answers.’

Katsuki slammed the notebook shut, his heart pounding. He didn’t know what Izuku had meant. Didn’t know what he had felt when he wrote those words. The words clawed at his mind, looping over and over, refusing to let him go.

Katsuki squeezed his eyes shut, gripping the notebook tighter. Dumbass. You were always such a dumbass.

He had gone through so many of these journals that night, reliving memories of Izuku in every page, his theories, his over-analytical ramblings, his stupid little doodles in the margins. It was like Izuku had never really left, like he was still here, whispering excitedly about whatever insane thought had popped into his head.

But he wasn’t here.

Katsuki’s hands curled into fists, creasing the delicate pages beneath them. His jaw tightened. He didn’t know why he kept doing this to himself. Why he kept coming back to this goddamn room, to these stupid books filled with things he never got to tell Izuku in person.

Why had he written this? Why had he believed in something so ridiculous?

Katsuki’s breath came out sharp and uneven.

Phoenixes. Rebirth. Fire and ash and coming back from nothing.

Izuku had always pushed past limits that should have broken him. Always stood back up when he had no right to.

Katsuki flipped back a few pages, his eyes scanning through more notes.

‘It’s not about the power. It’s something deeper than that. I feel it. Every time I push too far, every time my body should stop working, something keeps me going. It’s not just One for All. It’s me.’

‘And if I’m right, then..there has to be someone else.’

A chill crawled up Katsuki’s spine. His heartbeat pounded in his ears.

What the hell had Izuku known?

His mind was racing. He wanted to scream, to punch something, to do anything that could stop this feeling of unease and hope and rage from consuming him whole.

Because if Izuku was right, if there really was something else..then maybe that wasn’t the end.

The notebook slipped from Katsuki’s fingers, landing softly on the floor. He sat there, staring at it, his breath heavy, his body tense.

There was a chance that Izuku was alive.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next few weeks, whenever Katsuki had a study period or whenever he wanted to, he was in the library, researching and researching. He found out quite a lot on phoenixes, but majority of the websites and books he read just seemed like they came out of children’s books from the 21st century..900 years ago. He was looking for books in the library of UA, nothing different than what he had been doing for the past few weeks, when a book dropped on his head from above him.

He hissed and looked up and around, trying to find out whatever dumbass thought It was funny to throw things at him, but he found no one. Besides the librarian, he was the only person in that part of the library.

He picked up the book and was about to put it back in a random place, but the title caught his attention.

The Phoenix Codex

It was a frail and dusty book, some thing that looked like it hadn’t been touched in years. He looked around once more before opening it.

‘Phoenixes and everything you need to know about then. Written in 1845 by a mother who birthed a phoenix.’

The first page didn’t give much information, but Katsuki was confused, all he read on every website and book was phoenixes were birthed from pure luck or in very peculiar conditions..involving a human sacrifice and fire.

He flipped through the pages, this book seemed to be legit. He stopped at the weaknesses and ability page, finding more information than he’d found before.

Abilities and weaknesses of the Phoenix
‘A true phoenix is a being of immortality and endless rebirth, never truly dying, but instead burning to ashes and rising anew. The cycle of resurrection can take mere seconds or up to three days, depending on the myth. With mastery over fire, a phoenix can generate, control, and absorb flames, often using them to heal rather than destroy. Their tears possess powerful healing properties, capable of curing wounds, illnesses, and even breaking curses, while some legends say they can regenerate injuries instantly. Beyond their own revival, phoenixes hold the power to resurrect others through their ashes, blood, or tears, and consuming their flesh is rumoured to grant eternal life. These majestic beings possess supernatural strength and endurance, able to withstand immense damage and continue fighting without ever experiencing true exhaustion. In the sky, they soar faster than any bird, sometimes even vanishing in flames or teleporting at will. Their feathers are fireproof and indestructible, often used in magical artefacts, while their ashes are revered for their healing and wisdom-granting abilities. Deeply connected to the sun, Phoenixes draw strength from sunlight, shining brightest during the day, though some tales speak of their vulnerability at night.

Despite their immense power, phoenixes are not invincible. Their greatest strength, the cycle of death and rebirth, can also be their greatest vulnerability. To be reborn, a phoenix must first die, leaving them exposed during this fragile transformation. If their ashes are scattered or destroyed before regeneration, they may never rise again. Water and ice are natural adversaries; some myths say that water can extinguish their flames, while extreme cold slows their healing or halts rebirth entirely. Dark magic poses another threat, curses or anti-magic can bind them in a liminal state where resurrection is impossible, and some wounds defy even their legendary healing abilities. In rare cases, a powerful poison or disease can delay or permanently stop their regeneration. Perhaps most dangerous of all are emotional wounds: Phoenixes are intrinsically tied to hope and willpower, and overwhelming grief or despair can weaken them to the point of failure. If they are physically bound or magically imprisoned, they cannot complete the death-rebirth cycle; and if trapped too long, they may fade into nothing without ever turning to ash.’

Katsuki gaped at the book in front of him, it was more information than he had ever found anywhere else. He flipped through the book and stopped at a page where he found a newer passage.

‘I was a fool to think he could resist the hunger. Immortality does that to a man, it rots him from the inside out, even as his flesh refuses to decay. I’ve seen it in his eyes, that deep, endless abyss where time should have taken its toll but didn’t. All For One wasn’t searching for eternity. He was drowning in it.

And he thought I was the answer. I don’t know how he found out what I was. Maybe it was the way I never truly fell in battle, the way wounds sealed without stitches, the way fire never left scars on my skin. Maybe it was just his nature, to seek out things that weren’t meant to be controlled.

He took my arm in that fight. Not in a single clean strike, not in the way a man kills another in war. No, he wanted to see if I would regrow it. He cut it away slowly. Piece by piece. Watching. Waiting. I didn’t give him the satisfaction. I let the fire take me before he could take more.

And I should have burned completely. That was the plan, to reduce myself to cinders, to let the cycle take me, to be reborn far away from him. But something went wrong. He did something.

When I woke up, there were no ashes, only pain. My arm was gone, but I had not been reborn. It was like he had stolen something from me, not my limb, but the process itself.

I am not whole. I am not dead. I am something in between. I have not burned since that day. I fear what will happen when I do.

Would I come back as myself? Or as something else, something he tainted? Something he owns? I cannot risk it. So I hide. The flames inside me are quiet now, but they are not gone. One day, I will have no choice but to set myself alight again.

And when I do, I pray that I return as the phoenix I once was. Not as the monster he tried to make me.’

The person who wrote the passage dated it from the 21st century, and from that page was all blank pages.
Katsuki’s hands shook, he had no idea what kind of information he had just absorbed.al do this meant that Izuku could be alive..but why hasn’t he come back?

And that passage, it sent shivers down his spine. All For One immortal? That could explain why the heroes could never defeat him.
Katsuki shoved the book into his bag and walked out of the library. This whole thing was messing with his head, there were too many questions flying around in his mind, so he needed to relax, take his mind off of everything he just read.
And so he walked to Shinso’s room.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Shinso didn’t say anything when Katsuki burst into his room and sat down on his bed, he merely raised an eyebrow at the explosive boy and turned back to his desk to work on his homework.

Katsuki pulled out his laptop from his bag and started to search more for phoenixes. He searched and searched, and all he found was what he already knew. Questions were circling in his mind, but it all came back to one.

If Izuku was one, why hadn’t he come back?

He was a peace before he found that notebook, he had accepted that Izuku was gone, and now that his mind believes otherwise, it was nothing but non-stop questions that he could find the answers to.

Katsuki took the book out of his bag and manoeuvred himself so that he sat stiffly on the edge of Shinso’s bed, gripping the worn leather book in his hands like it might burst into flames at any second. The room smelled faintly of lavender, something Katsuki never would’ve expected from the insomniac-looking bastard, but it helped drown out the scent of dust from the old pages.

He didn’t know why he had come here.

No..that was a lie.

He came because he knew Shinso was the only one who wouldn’t treat him like he was losing his goddamn mind.

“..So are you gonna sit there all night, or are you actually gonna tell me why you broke into my room?” Shinso muttered from his desk, spinning lazily in his chair, he could feel Katsuki’s eye bore into his back and it brought too much tension to his tension-less room. Shinso crossed his eyes arms, and his half-lidded eyes weren’t even looking at him, but Katsuki could tell he was paying attention. Shinso always had a way of knowing when someone was keeping secrets.

Katsuki exhaled sharply through his nose. This was stupid. He was wasting his time. But..the words were already in his throat, clawing their way out.

“This book,” he muttered, tapping the cover with a finger, “was..thrown..at me in the library.”

Shinso blinked at him. “And?”

Katsuki’s fingers twitched, his voice was lower than usual, uncertain in a way he hated. “It’s got details on abilities, weaknesses, what happens if one is injured and doesn’t regenerate right.” He met Shinso’s gaze then, his stomach twisting. “If a phoenix loses a limb, does it grow back when it burns again?”

Shinso frowned, clearly thrown by the question. “What?”
Katsuki licked his lips, hating how dry his mouth felt. “That’s what it says in here. That some phoenixes get stuck..like if someone fucks with their rebirth cycle, they don’t regenerate right. They get stuck between life and death, can’t use their flames right anymore.” His grip on the book tightened. “Like something’s missing.”

Shinso stared at him, silent for a long beat. Then, slowly, he turned his chair toward him fully. “Alright. I’ll bite.” His voice was still casual, but there was an edge of curiosity now. “Why the sudden interest in fairytales?”

Katsuki didn’t answer right away. He swallowed, looking down at the book like it might tell him what the hell he was supposed to say.

‘Because I found something in Deku’s notebook. Because I think he knew. Because maybe he wasn’t crazy?'

‘Because maybe I’m not crazy either?'

Instead, he settled on: “I found something.”

Shinso raised a brow. “Something?”

Katsuki forced himself to just say it. “In one of Izuku’s old notebooks.” He hesitated, heart pounding faster than it should’ve been.

“He wrote about phoenixes.”

Something shifted in Shinso’s expression. He wasn’t brushing it off. Not yet. “Okay..?”

Katsuki took a slow breath. “It wasn’t just some random fanboy notes either. He wasn’t writing about ‘oh wow wouldn’t it be cool if I had fire wings.’ He was tracking something.” He flipped open the book, running a finger over the old ink. “He wrote about their abilities..rebirth, fire manipulation, healing tears..but the way he wrote it..he sounded like he was looking for answers. Like he thought he was one.”

Shinso didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then, “Bakugo..” His voice was careful now. Like he thought Katsuki might explode if he said the wrong thing. “I know you’re still grieving–”

“Don’t.” Katsuki snapped, slamming the book shut. The sound echoed through the quiet room, and he clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stay calm. “Don’t fucking pull the grief card. That’s not what this is.”

Shinso sighed, rubbing his temples. “Look, man, I get that this is personal, but phoenixes? That’s a myth. Stories for kids.”

Katsuki’s gut twisted. He knew Shinso was going to say that. He knew..

But it still pissed him off.

He let out a sharp, humourless laugh, shaking his head. “Yeah? And what the hell are quirks, then?”

Shinso blinked. “What?”

Katsuki’s head snapped up, eyes burning. “We live in a world where people can shoot fire outta their hands, control gravity, and turn their skin into fucking steel. And you’re telling me a phoenix is where you draw the line?” His voice grew louder, sharper. “We have people who can rewind time! People who can see the future! A guy who literally steals other people’s fucking souls! But you think it’s impossible that maybe, just maybe there’s something out there that doesn’t fit in the little science textbook you love so goddamn much?!”

Shinso didn’t answer right away. His expression had changed again, no longer dismissive. He wasn’t convinced, but he wasn’t brushing it off either.

Katsuki took a deep breath, shoving his hands through his hair. His voice was quieter when he spoke again. “I don’t know what’s real anymore, alright?” His throat felt tight. “I don’t. But I know Izuku wasn’t a fucking idiot. And if he was looking into this, if he thought there was something to find..” His hands curled into fists.

“Then I’m gonna find it.”

Silence stretched between them.

Finally, Shinso let out a slow breath, dragging a hand down his face. “You really think..Izuku might’ve been one?”

Katsuki didn’t answer immediately. His eyes drifted to the book again, to the pages filled with stories of fire and rebirth. His mind replayed the way Izuku had fought–how he had pushed himself past his limits, breaking and healing like it was nothing. The way he had burned too bright, too fast, and then was gone.

Like a flame snuffed out before it had the chance to burn again.
He swallowed hard.

“I think,” he said slowly, voice steady, “that Izuku believed he was.”

And if Izuku believed it, if he was right..

Then maybe he wasn’t really gone.

Chapter Text

Katsuki hadn’t slept.

Not really.

He had passed out in Shinso’s bed as the boy studied, his body had shut down for maybe an hour. Stretched across Shinso’s desk while the old phoenix book lay open beneath his arms. But it wasn’t rest, it was the kind of blackout exhaustion that left his muscles aching and his thoughts even more tangled than before.

Now, as he sat on the dorm rooftop, staring up at the sky that was too dark, too empty, he felt it again. That gnawing, restless feeling deep in his chest. Like something had been left unfinished.

Like something was missing.

His fingers tapped against his knee, still buzzing with the last conversation he’d had with Shinso. The disbelief in his voice. The way he’d hesitated, like he almost believed him.
Katsuki exhaled sharply through his nose. He needed answers. More than what a dusty book and some half-faded notebook pages could give him.

If Izuku had been looking for something, if he had been chasing a truth that no one else could see.

Then Katsuki was going to finish what he started.

He clenched his fists, staring down at his palms. At the faint scars littering his skin, reminders of battles fought and won.

He had always been fire. Explosive, destructive, impossible to contain.

But now, he needed to be something else.

Something that could bring a flame back to life.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The sun had barely started to rise when Katsuki came off the roof top and slipped out of dorms, the hallways of Heights Alliance quiet except for the occasional creak of shifting wood. Most of Class 1-A was still asleep, the exhaustion of second-year coursework hitting harder than ever.

But Katsuki had never been good at staying still.

His first stop was the library.

Aizawa had given them all extra hero studies work after a brutal combat assessment the day before, so it wasn’t weird for him to be up early, pushing through assignments. What was weird was the section of books he was browsing; Mythology, Folklore, and Lost Histories.

The phoenix book that was thrown at him wasn’t the only one, but it was the most detailed. He wanted to see if there were any connections.

If there were stories that had details Izuku might have followed.

His fingers traced over the spines of the books, scanning the titles.

‘The Immortal Creatures of Legend’

‘Lost Beasts and Ancient Myths’

‘Firebirds and the Eternal Cycle’

He yanked the last one off the shelf, flipping through the pages with a sharp focus.

Most of it was what he expected, stories from different cultures, variations of phoenix lore that all sounded like fairy tales. But then, about halfway through, he found something that made his breath catch.

A passage about humanoid phoenixes.

People who weren’t just birds that burned and were reborn, but who lived as humans, unknowing, unaware, until something triggered their cycle. Until something made them remember.

Katsuki’s grip on the book tightened.

Izuku had written about his suspicions, but what if he had been onto something real? What if quirks weren’t the only thing that separated them from the normal world?

What if there were things even more powerful, hidden in plain sight?

His mind flashed back to the fights he’d had with Izuku, the way he had pushed his body to the brink, breaking bones and healing too fast, too unnaturally. The way he had fought like something was driving him forward, like something stronger than instinct was pulling
him toward destruction.

And the way he had..

Katsuki slammed the book shut.

No. He wasn’t going there.

Not yet.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Classes felt like a goddamn blur.

Even through the weight of his research, Katsuki was still himself, still the top of the class, still charging ahead like nothing had changed. But his focus had shifted.

He caught himself looking at his teachers differently. Wondering if any of them knew something.

Aizawa always looked exhausted, but what if it wasn’t just because of them?

What if Midnight’s knowledge of myths and legends wasn’t just for her aesthetic?

What if there were people in U.A. who had known something all along?

His thoughts were interrupted by Kirishima elbowing him in the ribs.

“Dude, you good? You’re spacing out.”

Katsuki scowled, shoving him off. “I’m fine.”

“You sure? ‘Cause you’ve been acting all broody and mysterious since, like, last week.”

“That’s just my face, dumbass.”

Kirishima snorted but didn’t push further. He was good like that..sometimes..knowing when to back off.

Still, it made something twist in Katsuki’s chest.

He should’ve told someone else. Maybe Kirishima. Maybe Todoroki.

But he couldn’t.

Not yet.

Not when he didn’t know what was real and what was just hope disguised as insanity.

So he swallowed it down, pushing through the rest of the day with a weight in his chest that felt heavier than it had before.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Night came fast.

Katsuki was back in his dorm, surrounded by books and papers, his lamp the only source of light. The phoenix book from Shinso’s pile was still there, but now it was open to the weaknesses page.

He needed to know.

If Izuku had been one..if he was something more, then what had killed him?

Because phoenixes didn’t die. Not permanently.

And yet, Izuku had.

Unless..

Katsuki clenched his jaw, staring at the words on the page.

“A phoenix cannot die naturally, but they can be forced into permanent stillness if their rebirth cycle is interrupted.”

“A phoenix’s body turns to ashes when they fall. But if something prevents the fire from reigniting..”

“..they do not return.”

Katsuki’s pulse pounded in his ears.

Izuku’s body couldn’t have bee recovered, he was..crushed to death.

Was that what stopped him from coming back? Did he need a physical body to regenerate and be reborn?

His breath came sharp and uneven as he grabbed his phone, his fingers hovering over Shinso’s contact.

He didn’t know what he was going to say, only that he needed to talk to someone who wouldn’t call him crazy.

The phone rang twice before Shinso picked up, voice rough from sleep.

“..Bakugo?”

Katsuki swallowed hard, staring at the open book in front of him.

“I need to know what happens to a phoenix if there’s no body to be reborn from.”

There was silence. Then, a slow, tired sigh.

“..Meet me outside.”

Katsuki hung up without another word, shoving on his hoodie as he grabbed the book and headed for the door.

Because if there was even a chance that Izuku was still out there..

He was going to find him.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The night air was sharp and cold when Katsuki stepped outside, the weight of the book heavy in his grip. Shinso was already there,
leaning against the wall near the dorms, arms crossed, hood pulled up over his head. He looked half-asleep but alert enough to tell

Katsuki wasn’t just dragging him outside for nothing.

Katsuki walked up, stopping a few feet away, his jaw tight.

Shinso eyed the book in his hands, then the tension in his shoulders. “..Alright,” he sighed. “Talk.”

Katsuki exhaled sharply through his nose, clenching his fingers against the worn cover. He’d thought about this moment, about what he would say, but now that it was here, the words felt like glass in his throat.

Katsuki opened the book, flipping to the page he had been staring at for hours. “This says that a phoenix can’t really die, right? Not unless something fucks up its rebirth cycle.” He jabbed a finger at the passage. “Says that if they don’t get burned right, if something keeps ‘em from regenerating, they stay dead.”

Shinso rubbed the back of his neck. “Right. We talked about that.”

Katsuki swallowed hard. The words felt heavy in his throat. “But Izuku wasn’t buried.”

Shinso blinked. “What?”

Katsuki’s jaw clenched. “He wasn’t fucking buried,” he repeated, voice rough. “He was crushed.”

A pause. Then, slowly, Shinso straightened. “Crushed?”

Katsuki’s fists tightened. “You remember the news.”

Shinso’s face darkened. He didn’t need to say anything. Of course, he remembered. They all did. The image had been burned into their heads, the footage playing over and over, the reporters talking about it like it was just another tragedy in a world full of them.

A plane crash.

The wreckage, the bodies, there was so many of them unrecognisable. And then–

Izuku.

His body nothing but matter, blood and his hair the only recognisable thing about him.

There had been so much blood. More than any of them had ever seen.

Shinso exhaled sharply, running a hand down his face. “Shit.”

Katsuki stared at the ground, his nails digging into his palms. “If he was a phoenix, if he was supposed to burn and come back..” He forced himself to say it. “Then getting crushed like that..that would’ve stopped it, wouldn’t it?”

Shinso was quiet for a long time.

Then, carefully: “You really believe this.”

Katsuki snapped his head up, eyes burning. “You fucking saw him, Shinso. You saw the way he fought. The way he healed too fast, the way he never fucking stopped, even when he should’ve.” His breath hitched. “And you saw what happened to him. You saw what that goddamn plane did. If he was a phoenix-”

“If.”

Katsuki flinched.

Shinso sighed, shaking his head. “Bakugo, listen. I get it. I do. You want to believe this because if it’s true, it means Izuku isn’t..” He stopped himself, lips pressing into a thin line.

Dead.

He didn’t say it, but Katsuki heard it anyway.

His hands curled into fists.

“I don’t want to believe it,” Katsuki muttered, voice thick. “I don’t. But I have to. Because if there’s even a chance that he’s still out there..”

Shinso watched him carefully. “Then what?”

Katsuki lifted his gaze, determination burning in his eyes.

“Then I’m gonna find him.”

Shinso looked at him conflicted, and he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. There was no talking Katsuki out of anything he had his heart set on.

“Then I’ll help you.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next morning, Katsuki felt like he was running on fumes.

Between the restless night, the conversation with Shinso, and the whirlwind of thoughts about Izuku, sleep had barely been a passing concept. But none of that changed the fact that he still had to go through the motions of being a student.

Which meant dragging himself to homeroom.

The air in the classroom was the same as always, loud, chaotic, full of people who had their own problems to deal with. Kaminari was half-asleep at his desk, Kirishima was shoving rice balls into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in days, and Todoroki was sitting quietly, flipping through a book that Katsuki couldn’t be bothered to read the title of.

All normal.

At least, until Aizawa walked in.

The room immediately fell silent.

Not because their homeroom teacher had entered, but because of how he entered.

Aizawa, dressed in his usual black attire, goggles pulled down over his tired eyes, a lit cigarette dangling from his fingers. He strode in like a man heading to his own execution, shoulders heavy with a bone-deep exhaustion that not even sleep could cure.

Katsuki blinked. Well, that’s new.

The rest of the class, however, was not so nonchalant.

Iida, ever the righteous bastard, was the first to react. He shot up from his seat so fast his chair nearly toppled over.

“Sir! That is a vile and hazardous action to partake in within a classroom setting!”

Aizawa barely even looked at him.

“Sit down, Iida.”

“But sir!–”

“Sit. Down.”

Iida, for all his stubbornness, hesitated. Aizawa’s tone was sharp, not angry, but laced with the kind of deep, profound suffering that made even the most rebellious student think twice.

Slowly, Iida sat.

Aizawa took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaling the smoke directly into the air like he wanted the fire alarm to go off just to get out of whatever was about to happen.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes.

Something was wrong.

Before anyone could question it, Aizawa flicked the ash into a small tray he had apparently brought with him, then crossed his arms.

“I regret this day every year,” he muttered, voice heavy with lifelong exhaustion.

The class exchanged glances.

“..What day?” Kaminari asked hesitantly.

Aizawa let out a slow, suffering sigh, taking another drag before finally dropping the cigarette into the tray and snuffing it out. He lifted
his goggles just enough to glare at all of them.

“Sex ed.”

Silence.

Then–

“WHAT?!”

Katsuki barely stopped himself from slamming his forehead onto his desk.
Of course.

Aizawa ignored the collective horror rippling through the room, rubbing his temples like he was already nursing a migraine.

“It’s a mandatory course,” he continued, voice flat. “We do it every year, and every year, I regret the fact that I’m the one stuck teaching it.” He lowered his hand, eyes dead inside. “But if I have to suffer, then so do all of you.”

Mina, who looked far too excited about this, leaned forward with a grin. “So what are we learning today, Sensei?”

Aizawa gave her a look that could’ve wilted a flower.

“We are going to go over everything,” he said, “in harsh detail.”

Half the class immediately looked ready to bolt.

Aoyama visibly paled. Shoji’s arms tensed. Sero looked like he was already regretting coming to class.

Iida cleared his throat, attempting to regain some dignity. “Sir, I understand the importance of a proper education in reproductive health, but surely we don’t need to–”

“You do.” Aizawa cut him off. “Because I refuse to let any of you enter adulthood with the same level of stupidity I’ve seen from past generations.” He reached into his desk and pulled out a thick binder, slamming it down with a force that made the room jump.

The label on the cover?

HORMONES, STUPID DECISIONS, AND HOW NOT TO RUIN YOUR LIFE.

Katsuki had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing.

Aizawa flipped it open, his expression blank. “Alright. Let’s start with the basics.”

Kaminari groaned. “Oh, come on, do we really need this? Most of us already know–”

“Do you?” Aizawa cut in, levelling a look at him. “Because last year, I had a group of second-years ask me if it was possible to get pregnant from kissing too much.”

Dead silence.

Jirou snorted. Sato looked horrified.

Kaminari turned red. “Okay, but–”

“And,” Aizawa continued, flipping a page, “I once had a student tell me they thought wearing three condoms at once was an effective strategy.”

Mina choked on air.

“WHAT?!”

Aizawa sighed. “So, yes. You need this lesson.”

Todoroki, who had been silent this entire time, raised his hand.

Aizawa glanced at him. “What.”

“If phoenixes exist,” he said, completely serious, “would they have different reproductive cycles than humans?”

Katsuki’s head snapped up so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash.

Aizawa froze.

The room stared.

Shinso, who had just walked in late with a cup of coffee, immediately turned around and left.

Aizawa dragged a hand down his face. “I’m getting too old for this.”

Katsuki did not breathe.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

Todoroki had just–

He didn’t even know. Didn’t know about the book, the conversation, the possibility that everything Katsuki had been researching wasn’t
just a myth.

Aizawa exhaled deeply, flipping a page. “We are not discussing phoenix reproductive cycles.”

Todoroki nodded. “Understood.”

A pause. Then–

“But hypothetically–”

He levelled Todoroki with a look that screamed I am too tired to deal with your bullshit today. “And we are not discussing hypothetical phoenix anatomy.”

Todoroki blinked. “Oh. Alright.”

Katsuki let out a breath he didn’t even realise he was holding.

Aizawa exhaled sharply. “Now, moving on.” He opened the binder again, flipping through the first few pages before slamming a diagram onto the screen at the front of the room.

Katsuki almost choked.

It was a detailed anatomical breakdown of the male and female reproductive systems.

Iida straightened his back, expression serious. “Ah, excellent. A thorough educational approach.”

Kaminari groaned. “Oh, come on, Sensei, do we really have to–”

“Shut up.” Aizawa didn’t even look up. “We’re going to go through this like mature adults, and if any of you so much as snicker, I’m doubling your homework for the week.”

Mina immediately bit her tongue to keep from giggling. Sero had to cover his mouth. Kirishima’s face was already red.

Aizawa ignored all of it.

“Alright,” he continued, tapping the screen with his pen. “Let’s get the basics out of the way.”

What followed was the most excruciatingly detailed, monotone explanation of human reproduction any of them had ever heard.

No jokes. No awkward pauses. Just straight facts delivered in a dead, tired voice that made it sound like Aizawa was explaining a mission briefing rather than the process of making a baby.

And it was horrifying.

“Contrary to what some people believe,” Aizawa droned, flipping a page, “the withdrawal method is not an effective form of birth control. Neither is praying. Or, as I’ve heard from one unfortunate student in my first year of teaching, ‘just trusting that it’ll work out.’”

Jirou coughed. “Who the hell told you that?”

Aizawa didn’t even blink. “Not saying names, but they are now a single parent.”

The room went dead silent.

Katsuki’s stomach turned. Holy shit.

Mina grimaced. “Okay, that’s actually kind of depressing.”

Aizawa flipped another page, completely unbothered. “Next, let’s discuss STDs, since I refuse to deal with any of you coming to me in a panic later in life asking why your genitals are on fire.”

Kaminari lost it.

Aizawa ignored him and continued.

“For starters, STDs don’t just come from unprotected sex. Some can be transmitted through skin contact, oral contact, and even improperly cleaned surfaces. So, yes, idiots, you can still get them without actually having sex.”

Shoji, who had been silent the entire time, nodded seriously.

“Now,” Aizawa went on, flipping to a particularly gruesome set of images, “these are what untreated STDs can do to the human body.”

Mina shrieked.

Sero gagged. “Oh my god, why would you show that?!”

Aizawa didn’t even blink. “Because fear is the greatest deterrent.”

Katsuki stole a glance at the screen and immediately regretted it.

Shit was nasty.

Even Todoroki looked mildly disturbed. “That seems..excessive.”

Aizawa closed the binder. “It’s not.”

Todoroki paused. “Fair enough.”

Aizawa let out a slow breath, like he was mentally preparing himself for the last part of the lesson. “Alright. Final topic: consent.”

The room sobered up instantly.

For the first time since the lesson started, Aizawa’s voice lost some of its detached monotony. He glanced over them, eyes sharp.

“This is non-negotiable,” he said, tone dead serious. “I don’t care if you forget every other part of this lesson, but this? This, you remember.”

The class was silent.

Aizawa exhaled, tapping his pen against the desk.

“Consent is not just about sex,” he started. “It’s about respect. It’s about understanding boundaries and not crossing them.” He leaned forward. “If someone says no? It means no. If someone seems uncomfortable but doesn’t say anything? You back the hell off anyway. If someone is drunk, unconscious, or otherwise unable to properly respond? It is not consent.”

No one made a sound.

Aizawa’s expression hardened. “If I ever find out that any of you disregard this, I will personally make sure you never graduate.”

It wasn’t an empty threat.

Katsuki believed it. They all did.

Aizawa sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Alright. That’s it. Lesson over.”

Everyone slumped in relief.

Aizawa stretched his arms over his head, yawning. “Your homework is to never be stupid about this stuff.” He grabbed the cigarette tray, tossing it in the trash. “Now get out of my classroom.”

No one hesitated.

Katsuki bolted before anyone could try and process what the hell just happened.

Because, honestly?

He needed some goddamn air.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The cold air outside UA’s main building hit Katsuki like a slap to the face, but it was welcome. Anything to scrub the last hour of his life from his brain. His skin still crawled from the visual aids, and Aizawa’s voice rang in his ears like a warning siren.

Never be stupid about this stuff.

He wasn’t.

Not now.

Not after Izuku.

Katsuki leaned back against the stone wall just past the exit, letting his head thunk against it softly. His fingers gripped the straps of his backpack, knuckles white. He stared up at the overcast sky, grey clouds crawling lazily overhead like they were in no rush to rain.
Everything felt suspended in that same dull limbo he’d lived in since Izuku died.

Correction.

Since Izuku was taken.

He hadn’t forgotten. Not for a second. Not since that goddamn notebook, tucked deep in his room like a live wire he was scared to touch again.

The page with the phoenix theory haunted him like a whisper. Like Deku had written it not out of wonder but warning. Like he knew something.

And Katsuki couldn’t shake it.

He pulled out his phone, scrolling past old photos, stupid group selfies, pictures Mina had snuck during meals, blurry shots of Izuku mid-spar with Iida. All frozen moments of something that had looked like peace. Like life. He stopped on one.

It was Izuku standing in front of a bookshop, notebook clutched tight in his arms. He was smiling like he always did when he found something new to obsess over. Katsuki could practically hear his voice explaining something weird and overly detailed.

He pressed a thumb against the screen. “Dumb nerd.”

“Still talkin’ to ghosts?”

Katsuki flinched, eyes snapping to the side to see Shinso standing there, a drink in hand, same tired look on his face as always.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

Shinso just shrugged and leaned against the wall beside him. “Didn’t say it was a bad thing.”

For a few beats, they stood in silence. The kind of silence that wasn’t comfortable, but wasn’t hostile either. It was the kind you only got after someone saw through you, peeled something open, and didn’t walk away.

“You still digging into that phoenix thing?” Shinso asked, voice low.

Katsuki nodded. “Yeah.”

“You find anything else?”

Katsuki hesitated.

He had. A few obscure mentions in old texts he’d printed from the school’s restricted archive. Mostly metaphorical crap, but there were
patterns. Talk of people burning to ash, vanishing, being seen again years later with no memory or a different face. Too many stories to be coincidence.

But no facts. No evidence he could grab with his hands and shake the truth out of.

“Not yet,” he muttered. “But I will.”

Shinso glanced at him. “You sound like you’re hoping for something that’ll break you.”

Katsuki snorted. “Don’t sound so concerned.”

Shinso didn’t respond right away. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet.

“You know..you’re not crazy for wanting him to come back.”

Katsuki stared straight ahead. “I don’t want him to come back.” Not after what Izuku knew and didn’t tell him.

“Bullshit.”

“I want proof,” he said, jaw tight. “I want a reason for why the smartest, most obsessed-with-saving-people idiot I’ve ever known, my best friend, got crushed under a goddamn airplane wing and no one found a body.”

Shinso was quiet again. Katsuki’s voice dropped.

“I want to believe he got out. That he burned up and left something else behind. Something alive.”

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a worn sheet of paper. Izuku’s handwriting danced across it in tight, enthusiastic scrawl.

“Phoenixes aren’t just firebirds. They’re rebirth incarnate. Immortal not in the sense that they never die, but because they always come back. Always. From ashes. From ruin. They change. Sometimes, they don’t even remember who they were. But if even a feather survives, there’s a chance.”

Katsuki folded the page slowly and put it back into his pocket.

“I can’t let go unless I know,” he said, voice cracking. “And right now, I don’t.”

Shinso finally pushed off the wall and took a sip from his can. “Then let’s find out.”

Katsuki blinked. “What?”

“I said let’s find out.” Shinso looked at him, eyes firm but unreadable. “I told you I’d help you. We’ll research. Dig. You can’t keep skipping sleep and slamming through this like it’s a villain fight. You’ll burn out before you get anywhere.”

Katsuki stared at him, and for a second, something hot built behind his eyes.

He blinked it away.

“You sure?”

Shinso nodded once. “Yeah. You’re not the only one who misses him.”

Katsuki looked down at his shoes, teeth clenched, then gave a sharp nod.

“Alright.”

And just like that, something in him shifted.

Hope spread throughout his body.

They were going to find Izuku no matter what. Dead or alive..Katsuki had to know.

But first there was someone he needed to find.

Todoroki.

Why did he ask Aizawa about phoenix anatomy? Had he over heard he and Shinso? Does he know something?

Katsuki walked away from Shinso, determined to find the dual-coloured boy.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Katsuki found Todoroki exactly where he expected to: on the roof of UA, feet tucked against the ledge, eyes locked on the setting sun
like he was waiting for it to blink first.

Katsuki hated when people sat on ledges like that. He hated the dramatics. Hated how calm Todoroki always looked, like he’d mastered the art of pretending not to feel anything. Katsuki used to envy it. Now it just pissed him off.

He slammed the door open behind him, hard enough to make the metal clang.

Todoroki didn’t turn. “You could’ve knocked.”

“I’m not here to be polite.”

Now Todoroki glanced back. “Noted.”

Katsuki strode forward, hands jammed deep into his pockets, teeth clenched.

“You asked Aizawa about phoenixes.”

Todoroki blinked once. Slowly. “Yeah.”

“Why?”

“..Why do you care?”

Katsuki stopped a few feet behind him, the air between them suddenly tight.

“Because I am looking into phoenixes,” he said flatly. “And I didn’t say shit about it to anyone but Shinso. Not until you said something in class.”

Todoroki turned to face him fully now, pushing himself up off the ledge with that same calm grace Katsuki always wanted to punch off his face. “I didn’t know you were researching them.”

“Yeah, well.” Katsuki crossed his arms. “Now you do. So tell me why you brought it up.”

Todoroki hesitated, expression unreadable. “You first. Why are you interested?”

Katsuki’s jaw twitched. He didn’t like being cornered, especially not by Todoroki. But something about the way the question was asked, soft, almost cautious, it made him pause.

“..Izuku left notes,” he finally muttered. “About phoenixes. Said he had a theory. That maybe he was one.”

He watched Todoroki’s eyes widen slightly.

“You think he was right?” Todoroki asked.

“I don’t know,” Katsuki snapped. “But I want to. I have to.”

The wind picked up, tossing Todoroki’s bangs across his forehead. The air smelled like coming rain.

“I asked Aizawa because I’ve been hearing stories,” Todoroki said slowly. “Weird ones. From my dad’s old agency files.”

Katsuki straightened, interest sharpening. “What kind of stories?”

“People showing up alive after being declared dead,” Todoroki replied. “Sometimes years later. With scars. With memory loss.
Sometimes..with fire-related quirks that don’t register on scanners. Like they don’t come from a quirk at all.”

Katsuki’s breath caught.

“I thought it was just old urban legends,” Todoroki said. “Until the plane crash. Until Izuku.”

Katsuki looked down, heart hammering.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Would you have believed me?” Todoroki said simply.

Katsuki’s mouth snapped shut.

“Did Izuku mention anything else? In the notebook?”

Katsuki nodded. “Said he had dreams. Burning dreams. Woke up feeling like ash. Said he started noticing heat around him reacting weird. Thought it was part of his quirk adapting, until he realised it wasn’t some covered up quirk from his fathers side.”
Todoroki stared at him, something shifting in his expression. Like all the puzzle pieces were rearranging behind his eyes.

“You think he survived.”

Katsuki’s throat was dry. “I think he burned up. And something else might’ve crawled out of the ashes.”

For a long, long moment, they just stared at each other.

Then Todoroki nodded, voice quiet. “Then we need to find out what phoenixes really are.”
Katsuki exhaled, his pulse racing.

“I’m in,” Todoroki said.

Katsuki huffed. “Good. Because if I find out you’re keeping something from me, I’ll throw you off this roof.”

Todoroki actually smirked. “I’d fly back up.”

“Try me, IcyHot.”

And for the first time in weeks, Katsuki felt something sharp and focused settle into his chest.

Determination.

Izuku had left them clues.

They just had to follow them.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

It was long past curfew when Katsuki and Todoroki slipped into the UA archives—the off-limits section buried beneath the eastern wing of the school, where classified hero records and Quirk anomalies were sealed away behind biometric locks and layers of bureaucratic red tape.

Which, fortunately, Todoroki had overridden with his father’s old clearance codes.

Katsuki wasn’t about to ask how he still had access to Endeavour’s files. He figured if Todoroki was breaking rules, it had to be serious.

And this was serious.

They descended into the belly of the archive in silence, the sound of their footsteps echoing off the narrow, steel-lined corridors. The temperature dropped the further they went. The lights flickered overhead, faint and aged, like they hadn’t been changed since All Might had two working arms.

Katsuki’s hand hovered over the heavy door before them.

“You sure this is where you saw the phoenix files listed?”

Todoroki nodded. “Yeah. Section N7. Mythological Quirk-Type Phenomena.”

Katsuki gave a scoff. “Hell of a name.”

“UA takes superstition more seriously than you’d think,” Todoroki said. “They just hide it behind red tape and outdated terminology.”

The door groaned open.

The room beyond was cold, still, and heavy with dust. Rows of sealed containers and digital file cabinets lined the space, most labelled in faded black ink. Katsuki stepped inside first, eyes narrowing, senses sharp. If this was it, if there was anything in here that proved phoenixes weren’t just stories..

He had to see it.

They moved wordlessly between shelves, scanning labels. “Volatile Regenerative’s.” “Quirk-Origin Myths.” “Confirmed Anomaly Cases.”

Then finally:

N7 – Mythological-Type Quirks / Phoenix Manifestations.

“There.” Todoroki’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Katsuki reached out and cracked open the metal drawer. Inside were old, neatly organised manila folders and thin digital chips. The first file had a name scribbled in messy handwriting:

Case File 347 – Subject: Kazuo Kitsu | Alleged Phoenix-Type

Katsuki opened it carefully, eyes scanning the typed document:

Subject reportedly “rose” from their own cremation after being presumed dead in an explosion. Reappeared with accelerated healing, memory gaps, and an unregistered heat-based energy emission not linked to their original Quirk.

Subject claims identity and full consciousness post-death, but psychological evaluations suggest partial dissociation.

Subject referred to self as “reborn.”

Katsuki passed it to Todoroki. “That sound like urban legend to you?”

Todoroki read it slowly, lips pressed thin. “No. It sounds like Izuku.”

They moved through a few more files, each eerily similar. Individuals presumed dead. Rebirth. Unregistered abilities. Heat signatures.

All classified, buried, hidden.

And then, another file.

Case File 431 – Status: CONFIDENTIAL – Access Restricted

Keywords: All For One | Immortality Pursuit | Phoenix Mutation Attempt

Katsuki swore under his breath. “That bastard..he was trying to recreate phoenixes?”

Todoroki’s eyes darkened. “Looks like it.”

They scanned the file, which was mostly redacted. But a few lines stood out:

Subject 0-A deemed failure. Quirk rejection initiated total cellular collapse.

Subject 0-B: unknown status. Last seen in critical condition post-incident with All For One.

Note: Regeneration exceeded natural limits. Theoretical immortality achieved? Phoenix-type confirmed?

Katsuki’s hand was trembling. His throat dry. “You think Izuku was..Subject 0-B?”

Todoroki didn’t answer immediately. He just stared at the page, eyes heavy. “We need to get this out of here.”

Katsuki closed the file, slipping it under his jacket.

“This is proof,” he said. “This is something.”

“Assuming no one catches us,” Todoroki muttered.

“Let them try.”

They turned to leave, but stopped.

Because someone was standing in the doorway.

Tall. Slender. Cloaked in shadow.

“Didn’t expect to see you two digging around down here.”

It was Shinso.

Katsuki tensed, hand instinctively ready to blast. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Shinso said calmly, stepping into the dim light. “But I figured it out the second I saw you sneaking toward the eastern wing.”

He paused, looking between them.

“So. It’s real, huh?” His voice was low. Serious.

“You knew something,” Katsuki accused. “Didn’t you?”

Shinso looked down, then back up, eyes sharper than usual.

“I didn’t want to believe it. But now I do.”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

Shinso didn’t flinch under the weight of Katsuki’s glare. Instead, he dug into the inside of his jacket and pulled out a neatly folded stack of worn papers, but clearly handled with care.

“Because I found this in my old foster home.”

That shut Katsuki up.

Shinso glanced at Todoroki, then back at Katsuki, before slowly offering the stack over.

Katsuki snatched it from his hand with an irritated huff, but the second his eyes scanned the top page, his breath hitched.

Document #7 – Witness Report, Year Unknown

Subject exhibited spontaneous combustion during fatal impact with pavement, witness believed him dead until the flames condensed into a humanoid shape three hours later. The figure stood, confused but unburned, and walked away. Flames were white-hot. No body left behind. No Quirk registered on any known scanner.

He flipped to the next.

Document #12 – Incident Report: ‘The Ashfield Phenomenon’

Thirteen civilians claimed to see a “bird made of fire” rise out of a collapsed building after a villain attack. Fire suppression systems failed. The heat left no casualties, only melted stone and vitrified concrete. No evidence of explosives or residual fuel. No cause identified. No Quirk signature detected. Area remains under investigation.

Todoroki moved in closer, his brow furrowed. “Where did you get these?”

Shinso leaned against one of the cold steel shelves. “The woman who raised me..briefly, used to work in quirk law enforcement before her mind started slipping. I didn’t know she kept anything from those days. After she passed, I inherited the house, what was left of it. Found a box in the attic labelled ‘Myths That Weren’t.’”

He crossed his arms, voice lower. “Most of it was crap. Old folklore, secondhand accounts. But these?” He nodded toward the pages in Katsuki’s hands. “These were real case files. Same paper the Hero Commission used. Same structure. And most of them ended in black marks and red stamps, confiscated, classified, closed.”

Katsuki’s grip on the pages tightened.

“There are reports from all over the world,” Shinso continued. “Not just Japan. People being declared dead, then sightings of firebirds. Heat signatures with no source. Bodies that were supposed to be gone suddenly seen again, but younger. Or changed.”

Todoroki took one of the pages from Katsuki and read silently, then looked up with something cold in his expression.

“The world’s been covering them up.”

“Yeah,” Shinso said. “Because if phoenixes are real, if they’re not quirks but something else entirely, then everything we know about evolution, about power, about control, gets flipped.”

Katsuki felt like the floor was shifting under him.

His hands were trembling now.

“And Izuku..” he whispered.

Shinso nodded solemnly. “He fits the pattern. The dreams. The exhaustion. The sudden spike in core heat, there was a note from one of your sparring matches,” he said, looking at Katsuki. “Where the heat readings were so high they shorted the sensors, even though Izuku wasn’t using a fire-based quirk.”

“I remember that,” Todoroki muttered. “I thought the system glitched.”

“It didn’t,” Shinso said.

Katsuki finally looked up from the documents. His voice was rough, raw.

“So..you believe now?”

Shinso nodded once. “I do.”

Katsuki exhaled slowly, staring at the floor. His heart thudded like war drums in his chest.

“Then we find more,” he said. “All of it. Every last goddamn scrap. If someone out there knows what phoenixes really are, if Izuku’s alive somewhere and doesn’t remember who he is..”

“We bring him back,” Todoroki said quietly.

Katsuki clenched his fists. “No matter what it takes.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, the sky over U.A. was a dull, steel grey, too quiet, too still. Clouds hung low and heavy, pressing against the windows like they wanted to crawl inside.

Katsuki sat stiffly in his desk chair, his mind a million miles away from whatever Nezu was explaining over the loudspeakers about inter-school training programs and post-graduation work-study requirements.

It all felt pointless. Everything did.

Izuku’s notebook, Shinso’s files, those damn incident reports, they echoed in his mind like a funeral bell refusing to stop ringing.

He glanced sideways across the classroom. Todoroki looked the same way he always did. Calm. Steady. Cold. But Katsuki had seen the shift now. He knew the other boy was thinking about fire too.

Shinso, across the room near the windows, caught Katsuki’s glance and gave a short nod. They were on the same page now. No turning back.

“..And, as you’re all aware, the second-year curriculum begins the transition into Hero Field Ethics and Real-World Crisis Handling,” Nezu continued through the intercom, cheerful despite the tension in the air.

Katsuki let his gaze drift. Most of the class was still mourning in their own quiet ways.

Uraraka hadn’t touched her lunchbox in days.

Asui had gone radio silent except in battle training.

Iida was pretending harder than anyone, hyper-fixated on being perfect again, but he flinched every time someone said Izuku’s name.

The news had never stopped airing it.

“Midoriya Izuku: young hero candidate, crushed by debris after the UA-bound rescue plane malfunctioned mid-air. No remains were recovered.”

They had seen it on every screen.

The wing.

The fire.

The impact.

The silence.

Katsuki remembered watching it in the dorm common room, frozen in place while the video looped again and again. A sick part of him had wanted to tear the screen apart with his bare hands. The rest of him had already gone numb.

Now, after what they’d found, that numbness was cracking.

He wasn’t just watching anymore.

He was hunting.

The bell rang. Katsuki jolted upright, barely registering it.

As the students started filtering out for lunch, Katsuki stayed seated.

Todoroki waited beside the door. Shinso lingered near the windows.

Katsuki stood, grabbed his bag, and wordlessly followed them out.

They didn’t talk until they were far from the cafeteria, on the upper walkway that overlooked the courtyard, where no one else ever went.

“Where next?” Todoroki asked.

“I’m going back to the crash site,” Katsuki muttered. “The plane. The debris. They never found his body. If there’s anything left, anything at all, it’s there.”

“They moved the plane, and the farmlands is private property, even then that site’s off-limits,” Shinso warned. “Hero Commission closed it to the public. Only licensed officials can get in.”

Katsuki looked up, eyes burning.

“Then we become the kind of people who get in.”

Todoroki gave the faintest smirk. “I assume you have a plan?”

“Sort of,” Katsuki admitted. “I know someone who works clean-up and extraction. They owe me a favour.”

“And if they say no?”

“They won’t.”

A heavy silence passed between them, charged with something electric. Determined.

Then Shinso held up the last of the documents he hadn’t shown before, folded tight in his back pocket. “I think I found another name.”

Katsuki stilled. “Who?”

Shinso passed the page to him.

“Subject: Takiharo Chumya. Known alias: Ember.”

 

Last seen in 2002. Reported to display phoenix-like regenerative ability. Vanished from public record after ‘voluntary detainment’ by the Hero Commission. Location unknown. Suspected escapee.

Underneath was a blurry, scanned photo. A man, maybe in his thirties, with soot-smudged skin and eyes that glowed faintly in the camera flash.

Katsuki’s heart skipped.

“You think he’s still alive?” Todoroki asked.

“Dunno,” Shinso replied. “But if anyone knows what Izuku’s becoming, it’s him.”

Katsuki folded the paper and tucked it inside his jacket. “Then we find him too.”

The clouds overhead broke just slightly, letting in a brief sliver of light.

Like the sun was watching them.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Night fell fast over Musutafu, the city drowned in amber streetlights and the whisper of passing trains. The wind carried a faint scent of rain, threatening a storm that hadn’t yet arrived.

Katsuki walked briskly down the cracked sidewalk of the old industrial district, his hood up, a scarf drawn around his neck, and a dark duffel slung over his shoulder. Todoroki moved quietly beside him, all calm elegance, as though he wasn’t breaking at least three U.A. codes just by being here. Shinso followed a pace behind, tapping something out on his phone.

They reached the rusted iron gate of a long-abandoned hangar, Hangar 17, once part of a private hero response airfield. This is where they hid the scattered planes’ remains.

Katsuki stopped in front of the lock bolted to the gate. His hand sparked instinctively.

“Let me,” Todoroki said calmly, placing two fingers on the thick iron chain. A faint hiss filled the air as frost crept across the metal before a single pulse of flame shattered the frozen links in a clean break.

Katsuki pushed the gate open. It creaked like a dying animal.

Inside, the hangar smelled of scorched oil and dust. Chunks of the plane still rested like bones across the floor. Broken fuselage, snapped wing fragments, shredded seating.

But there was no caution tape. No guards.

And a sharp, cloying scent Katsuki couldn’t ignore.

He stepped inside first, scanning the debris. His boots crunched over broken glass and warped rivets. He stopped at the place where the plane wing came into his vision

It looked wrong.

Too clean.

“They..cleaned it,” Katsuki said slowly. “They scrubbed it.”

Shinso crouched beside the plane wing, brushing away soot and grime with his sleeve. “No blood. No burn marks. No ash.”

Todoroki frowned. “But there should be. They said Izuku was crushed.”

“He was,” Katsuki muttered, teeth gritted. “I fucking saw everything.”

He turned away, kicking a piece of scorched metal with a sharp clang that echoed through the hangar. Sparks lit briefly under his soles.

“We should go.” Shinso spoke, “this place isn’t guarded but I’m pretty sure we tripped some hidden sensors.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

U.A. was quieter than usual the next morning.

Rain still clung to the windows like condensation on a glass, casting long, warbled shadows over the desks in Class 2-A. The storm from the night before hadn’t quite passed; it lingered in the air and in the moods of the students filing into homeroom. Most dragged themselves through the door with heads bowed and eyes dulled, their conversations sparse and low, like anything louder might break something delicate in the room.

The seat at the front, second row from the left, his seat, remained empty, untouched. A few weeks ago, Iida had tried to pack Izuku’s things into a neat box, thinking it would help. Uraraka had stopped him, quietly placing the pencil case and water bottle back in their place, her hands trembling. Since then, no one else had dared move anything.

Katsuki sat at his own desk, jaw tight, hands balled into fists under the table. He stared forward, not really seeing the board, just keeping his eyes somewhere safe.

Beside him, Todoroki sat with his usual stillness, arms crossed, face neutral. But Katsuki noticed the faint crease between his brows, the stiffness in his shoulders. It was the same tension that had been there the night before. He was thinking about the plane, too.

Shinso had taken a seat two rows behind, close enough to be near, far enough not to draw attention. He had barely said a word when they’d returned to the dorms last night. Just handed off his portion of the documents and muttered, “We’ll talk when it’s safer.”

And now..here they were. The day after, pretending they were just students again. Pretending nothing had changed.

Only everything had.

Katsuki wasn’t just grieving anymore.

He was searching.

The loudspeaker crackled overhead, followed by the familiar chipper voice of Principal Nezu echoing through the classroom. “Good morning, Class 2-A! A reminder that applications for international training programs open this week, and Hero Certification Practice Exams begin next month! Be sure to check the updated schedule on your tablets.”

The voice was too bright for the room. Too enthusiastic for a group of seventeen-year-olds still mourning someone they had loved like family.

No one responded. Even Kirishima, usually the first to throw out an optimistic ‘Alright!’ or ‘Let’s do our best!’ was silent. His face was drawn, eyes down.

Uraraka hadn’t touched her lunchbox in days.

Asui sat by the window and just stared out at the clouds.

And Iida, ever the model student, had turned robotic, his gestures sharp, his words stiff, like he was clinging to structure just to stay upright.

Katsuki glanced down at his desk. The grain of the wood blurred for a moment, then sharpened again. He clenched his fists tighter.

The classroom door creaked open.

Aizawa entered, scarf dragging behind him like a lazy shadow, a steaming coffee in one hand and a digital tablet in the other. His goggles were already pulled down low, obscuring his tired eyes. The smell of cigarettes clung to him like always, familiar, bitter, grounding.

He paused just a moment in the doorway, gaze scanning the room.

“You all look like you got hit by a train,” he said flatly.

No one answered.

“I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. I know this isn’t easy. It’s not supposed to be. But you don’t get to crumble now.” He walked slowly to the front of the room, sipping his coffee as he went. “You made it this far. You’ve already endured more than most heroes do in their first five years. So here’s your reward, today, we train. Hard.”

Katsuki let out a slow breath. That, at least, was something familiar. Something solid.

“You’re going to be running rotation drills,” Aizawa continued, tapping his tablet. “Basic rescue formations, natural disaster strategy, and crowd control. You’ll rotate leaders every fifteen minutes. I want to see who’s still thinking, and who’s just going through the motions.”

The projector lit up behind him, displaying a rough simulation map: mountains, rivers, fallen bridges. Forested terrain based loosely on the slopes of Mount Nabari.

Some of the class groaned softly. Others just stared.

Aizawa gave no sympathy.

He set his tablet down and crossed his arms. “You don’t stop for the fire,” he said, voice low. “You walk through it.”

The words hit Katsuki like a punch to the ribs.

He’d walked through it.

And he wasn’t stopping now.

The bell rang. Students began moving in slow waves, collecting tablets and gear bags, some mumbling about team-ups. Katsuki stood last, still as stone until the classroom began to empty.

Todoroki rose beside him, silent.

“You okay?” he asked quietly, not looking over.

Katsuki didn’t answer right away. His fingers brushed against the hidden feather through his jacket lining.

“No,” he muttered, voice raw. “But I’m close.”

Todoroki paused, then nodded once. “Good. Stay that way.”

Katsuki didn’t smile. But something burned steadier in his chest.

And whatever this was, whatever Izuku had become, Katsuki would find the truth.

Even if he had to burn through everything to get it.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The training facility was alive with simulated chaos, sirens blaring through distant speakers, gusts of artificial wind rattling the metal scaffolding overhead, and flickering lights mimicking electrical failure. The mountainous terrain built into the floor sprawled outward with alarming realism, trees, cliffs, rubble, and the sharp curve of a cracked bridge cutting across a dry ravine.

Katsuki stood on the edge of the practice field, arms crossed, watching the first rotation begin. The scent of damp earth, scorched metal, and ozone swirled around him. His hero suit was partially unzipped at the collar, sweat already sticking his shirt to his back. The feather was still tucked in his inner pocket, wrapped tightly, close to his heart.

He hadn’t let it go since they found it.

Not once.

Todoroki approached from the left, stepping up beside him with his usual quiet grace. His red-and-white hair ruffled in the artificial wind, one hand resting on his utility belt.

“They’re pairing me with Jirou,” he said.

Katsuki didn’t look away from the field. “Good. She knows how to listen.”

A pause.

Then, “And you?”

“Asui and Kaminari.”

Todoroki blinked. “Interesting mix.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

He didn’t need the challenge of coordinating with someone as erratic as Kaminari right now. But maybe that was the point, Aizawa never assigned teams at random. He wanted to see how Katsuki held it together under pressure. Not just as a fighter, but as a leader.

The whistle blew from across the field. The next team ran out into the simulation zone. Concrete cracked beneath their feet as the platform shifted, simulating an aftershock.

Katsuki turned, grabbing his gloves from the bin near the gate.

Another whistle. Shinso’s voice crackled over the intercom, calling Katsuki’s team to the start gate.

He jogged over to the others, Kaminari already bouncing on his toes, and Asui crouched low in her ready stance, eyes narrowed.

“You’re team leader,” Asui said without question.

“Damn right I am,” Katsuki muttered.

The lights flickered again as the simulation reset. Debris rained from a crumbling structure above. Red emergency lights painted the landscape like blood.

“Three trapped civilians reported,” Shinso’s voice said. “Structural instability. Minor flooding. You have ten minutes.”

Katsuki breathed out through his nose. Control. Focus. Fire in your chest. Ash in your lungs. Don’t stop.

He raised one hand. “We split. Asui, take the high ground, spot the civvies. Kaminari, stick with me and don’t fry yourself unless I tell you to. Got it?”

Kaminari gave a quick thumbs-up. “You got it, boss.”

Asui just nodded. “Ribbit.”

The horn blasted.

They moved.

Katsuki launched himself forward, boots blasting the loose gravel aside as he leapt toward the nearest broken structure. He could already hear the creak of metal overhead, the subtle hum of artificial quakes in the floor. It was all fake, he knew, but the danger still felt real. That was the point.

As they moved through the wreckage, Kaminari scrambled to keep pace.

“So, uh,” he panted, “not to make small talk, but, man, you’ve been intense lately. Like, even more than usual.”

Katsuki didn’t respond.

“Seriously,” Kaminari added. “You’re always a walking explosion, but now it’s like you’re hunting something.”

“I am,” Katsuki said flatly.

“Oh.”

They reached a split in the path, one stairwell buried in rubble, the other leading to an open balcony. A synthetic scream echoed from above.

Katsuki glanced back. “Balcony. Now.”

Kaminari nodded and followed him without question.

They reached the balcony. A holographic civilian was trapped under a steel beam, flickering with programmed panic. Katsuki didn’t hesitate, he crouched low, pressed his palm to the base of the beam, and let out a short, concentrated blast.

The beam snapped upward just long enough for Kaminari to pull the hologram free.

One down. Two to go.

The simulation shifted. The floor cracked beneath them.

Katsuki grabbed Kaminari by the collar and yanked him back as the balcony gave way, tumbling into the digital void below.

Too close.

“Holy crap!” Kaminari gasped, breathing hard. “You’ve got scary good instincts.”

Katsuki wasn’t listening.

His mind was already racing ahead, calculating where the next civilian might be. He could almost feel the fire rising again, that same presence that had been with him in the hangar.

They finished the drill with seconds to spare. Asui had found the other civilians. Katsuki’s timing was sharp, his commands efficient. Even Aizawa, watching from the control tower, narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t find anything to criticise.

But none of that mattered to Katsuki.

Not really.

Nothing else mattered until they found Izuku.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next few hours were brutal, they were non-stop training, fighting each other, hero missions, the worlds. Katsuki and Todoroki sat on a bench together, sipping on their water bottles as they watched Shinso fight against Kirishima.

Their classmates, scattered around the benches, groaned, panted, and stretched out sore limbs. Uraraka was lying on her back, towel over her face. Iida sat upright with perfect posture, but his arms trembled slightly as he reached for his water. Kaminari was still talking, though mostly to himself.

“Your right hook is still sloppy,” Katsuki muttered without looking over.

Todoroki blinked at him. “And your footwork’s still overcompensating.”

Katsuki snorted. “Like hell it is.”

A burst of sparks from the arena drew both their gazes. Jiro landed a solid hit on Sero, using her jacks as anchors to launch herself forward. Murmured cheers went up from the sidelines.

It was the closest they’d all felt too normal in weeks. After Izuku’s death, there had been a hole none of them could name, only tiptoe around. But training grounded them—blood, sweat, bruises. Things they could understand.

“Still weird, huh?” Kaminari suddenly said from the bench beside them, his voice quieter than usual. “Watching stuff like this without him.”

Katsuki didn’t answer, but the silence he offered was agreement enough.

Todoroki’s brows lowered faintly. “He would’ve liked today.”

The wind shifted.

A heavy presence fell across the courtyard.

The students turned one by one as Endeavour walked onto the field, the red glow of his shoulders dimmed but never extinguished. Beside him, walking with perfect ease despite the difference in stature, was Principal Nezu, hands folded behind his back, eyes gleaming with unreadable intent.

Murmurs rose.

“Endeavour?”

“Is that Principal Nezu?”

“What’s going on?”

Endeavour’s voice cut through the noise like an open flame.

“Bakugo. Todoroki.”

Both boys immediately stood, the buzz around them fading.

Nezu stepped forward, tail flicking lightly behind him. “Sorry to interrupt the rhythm of things, everyone, but this visit isn’t just to check on your progress.”

He gestured toward Endeavour, who crossed his arms and regarded the class with his usual towering silence.

“I’ve been reviewing field performance reports from your internships,” Nezu continued, “and given the recent rise in smaller villain syndicates following the vacuum All For One left behind..”

Endeavour’s voice rumbled like thunder. “I’ve received intel on one such group, nothing major on the surface. But too organised for comfort. I’m moving in tonight.”

Katsuki’s fists tightened. “And?”

Endeavour looked directly at the two students.

“I want both of you on this.”

Todoroki’s expression flickered, not quite surprise, not quite dread.

“I thought this was agency work,” he said slowly.

“It is,” Endeavour answered. “And you’re both part of my agency now. You want real-world experience? This is it.”

Katsuki stepped forward a little, tone guarded. “What’s the target?”

Nezu shook his head. “That’s classified for now. You’ll be briefed properly in Endeavour’s office. You leave in two hours.”

The air shifted again. Every eye in Class 1-A was suddenly locked on them.

Some were proud. Some nervous.

But there was no jealousy. Not anymore. Not when they all understood the cost.

Todoroki nodded. “We’ll be ready.”

Katsuki gave a short grunt that meant the same.

As Endeavour turned and strode off, Nezu lingered a moment longer, smiling slightly.

“Oh, and class,” he said brightly. “Training resumes as usual tomorrow. But do try not to get outshined by your classmates on the frontlines, yes?”

With that, he padded off after Endeavour.

The courtyard was silent.

Then–

“You guys better come back in one piece,” Mina called out, her voice half-teasing, half-sincere.

“Kick their butts!” Kirishima added, punching the air.

“We’ll hold down the fort,” Asui said calmly.

As the noise returned in full force, Katsuki stood still in the middle of it all. Watching the sky burn orange with the sun’s last light. His hands flexed once, then fell to his sides.

Todoroki moved to stand next to him.

“Think it’s something big?” he asked quietly.

Katsuki didn’t answer for a second. “Doesn’t matter. If it is, we end it.”

They both turned back toward the locker rooms in sync, silent agreement passed between them.

They had two hours to prepare.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The door to Endeavour’s office slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a high-ceilinged space flooded with amber light from the tall windows. The heat in the room was subtle but ever-present, like the walls themselves still remembered fire.

Katsuki stepped in first, eyes already scanning the room for threat or detail. His jaw was tight, posture straight, eyes burning with impatience. Behind him, Todoroki entered with quiet calm, his breath even despite the tension pressing down on the room.

Endeavour stood behind his massive desk, arms crossed, shoulders squared like a wall of smoke and flame. Three monitors glowed behind him, each filled with blurry stills, maps, and names.

“Sit,” he ordered.

The boys didn’t hesitate. Katsuki dropped into the chair like a coiled spring. Todoroki sat more carefully, his mismatched eyes taking in every screen.

Two pro heroes were already in the room, Burnin, with her flame-like hair pulled into a sharp ponytail, and Kido, one of Endeavour’s seasoned tactical analysts. Both stood near the screens, nodding in silent acknowledgment as the boys entered.

“This isn’t just a random bust,” Burnin said without preamble. “The villains we’re targeting call themselves the Ember Fangs. They’re a small, scattered group, but coordinated, too coordinated. Their last few hits have been tactical, swift, and strictly focused on equipment, not money or destruction.”

Kido tapped the screen, enlarging a satellite image of a warehouse in the industrial district.

“They’ve hit four support-tech facilities in the last two weeks. Only high-end stuff, signal jammers, stealth armour, modified combat gear. No civilian casualties, but always in and out before heroes can respond.”

Endeavour finally spoke, voice like molten gravel.

“We tracked them to a facility in the Naruhata Industrial Zone. Quiet. Out of the way. Perfect for a base of operations. They’ve dug in.”

Todoroki leaned forward slightly. “If you’ve already found them, why bring us in?”

Katsuki crossed his arms. “Yeah, you’ve got your whole agency. Why call in students for a real op?”

Burnin shot Endeavour a look, then addressed the question herself.

“Because it’s not just about numbers–it’s about adaptability. Every time they’ve encountered resistance, they’ve morphed tactics on the fly. They think like a newer generation. Not the old-school villain monologue types.”

Kido added, “We’ve had a few encounters where these guys anticipated flame-based quirks. Which means they’ve studied Endeavour, and most of his team.”

“They haven’t studied you,” Endeavour said gruffly, nodding toward the boys. “You’re a wildcard to them.”

Todoroki frowned. “So, we’re being used as an unknown variable.”

“You’re being used because you’re capable,” Endeavour snapped. “This isn’t a school lesson. It’s an assignment. Your recommendation didn’t come lightly.”

Katsuki’s eyes flicked to the largest monitor. It displayed a pixelated shot of five individuals in villain gear. Only one was clearly visible, tall, wearing tech goggles and a gauntlet crackling with modified electricity.

“Who’s that?” he asked.

“Leader, far as we know,” Kido answered. “Alias: Surge Coil. Ex-support tech engineer turned black-market supplier. Quirk: Voltage Conduction. The gauntlet enhances and directs his power.”

Burnin nodded. “He’s the one orchestrating the jobs, coordinating the tech. Smart. Dangerous.”

Todoroki’s gaze moved to the other silhouettes, shadowy figures with incomplete data. “The rest?”

“A woman with elastic limbs, enhanced through cybernetic surgery. A speed-type who uses short-range teleportation to escape. And at least two more we haven’t identified,” Kido explained. “We suspect one has a quirk that dampens detection. Stealth is how they’ve stayed ahead of pro patrols.”

Endeavour’s hand dropped onto the desk, fingers tapping once.

“We move in thirty minutes. Quiet insertion, no fanfare. We isolate, strike hard, and contain. Burnin leads recon. Kido handles comms.”

He looked directly at Katsuki. “Bakugo, your job is disruption. Hit fast, draw them out of formation. You keep their speedster off-balance.”

Then to Todoroki. “You’re support and control. Lock down the exits. Don’t let the teleport user get clear. The moment they scatter, the mission’s compromised.”

Todoroki nodded once. “Understood.”

Katsuki gave a single short nod. “Tch. I’ll take care of the runner.”

Endeavour’s eyes lingered on them both. Not with doubt, but with calculation. “You’re not here to prove anything. You’re here to execute.”

Burnin stepped forward, voice lighter, though the tension in her shoulders never left. “You’ve both done well under fire. We wouldn’t bring you in if we didn’t believe you could handle it.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then Katsuki stood. “Just point me in the right direction.”

Todoroki rose beside him. “We’ll be ready.”

As the two boys turned to leave, Endeavour’s voice stopped them.

“One more thing.”

They looked back.

“This isn’t a simulation. You screw up, people die. But if you do your job..people walk away.”

Katsuki’s stare was fire. Todoroki’s was steel.

“Then we’ll do it right,” Katsuki said.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The wind howled through the alleyway, whipping dust and ash across cracked pavement. A red glow pulsed in the distance, the flames of a warehouse already half-engulfed in fire.

Katsuki stood crouched on the rooftop of a nearby building, the sunset casting jagged shadows over his hero gear. Beside him, Todoroki adjusted the gauntlet on his left arm, his breath calm and visible in the cooling air around his body.

“Five of them inside,” Todoroki said, his voice low. “Two near the front entrance. One patrolling the side wall. Two more deeper in. I saw one with some sort of tech enhancement.”

Katsuki scoffed, eyes narrowing at the layout below. “Doesn’t matter. We move fast, hit harder.”

Todoroki gave a quiet nod. “Endeavour will circle the back. We take point.”

Katsuki grinned sharply. “About time.”

With a sudden BOOM, Katsuki launched off the rooftop, explosions roaring from his palms. Todoroki followed moments later, a trail of ice forming beneath his feet to guide his descent.

They hit the ground hard, Katsuki crashing through a metal barricade, and Todoroki sending out a wave of frost that swept over the cracked concrete like a glacier.

Inside the warehouse, alarms blared.

“Heroes!” one of the villains shouted. “Move!”

The villain at the front, a bulky figure with mechanical gauntlets, charged forward. Katsuki met him head-on, ducking low and unleashing a detonation that blasted the enemy backward, sending sparks flying as metal scraped concrete.

Before the villain could recover, Katsuki surged forward and drove a knee into his gut, then blasted him upward into a pile of scrap with a shout. “Stay down, you piece of junk!”

From the side, another villain, a lithe woman with snake-like appendages for arms, lashed toward him. He raised his gauntlets, deflecting one strike, but a second appendage whipped toward his head–

CRACK

It froze mid-swing.

Todoroki stepped in, palm glowing with ice. The appendage shattered in a shower of frost.

“You’re welcome,” Todoroki muttered, sweeping his hand to coat the floor in a sheet of ice. Another villain lost his balance, skidding across the floor straight into a column of rising flames, Endeavour’s doing, closing in from the back.

“You’re slow today, Icy-Hot!” Katsuki barked, already vaulting over a shipping crate toward the next threat.

“I’m being tactical,” Todoroki replied flatly, sending a jet of fire across the high beams to drive a rooftop sniper from cover.

The villain dropped down, only to be caught midair by Katsuki’s outstretched palm. One massive BLAST knocked the attacker clean into a steel container.

Three down. Two to go.

From the upper level, a final enemy emerged, tall, masked, and cloaked in shadows, holding a stolen support weapon sparking with electricity.

“This one’s mine!” Katsuki snarled.

He rushed forward, dodging bolts of charged energy as the villain fired erratically. Sparks seared the air inches from his face. Katsuki spun sideways, launched himself up with a well-timed explosion, and–

BOOM

He collided with the villain in midair.

They slammed into the metal scaffolding. Katsuki delivered a punch to the jaw, then planted an explosive blast into the villain’s chest, sending him crashing to the ground.

Dust and smoke settled.

Todoroki stepped beside him, flames still flickering at his shoulder. “Where’s the last one?”

Katsuki’s face fell. He turned sharply.

Gone.

“Shit!” he growled. “There was one more, the Cloaker!”

A distant sound, faint footsteps, sprinting away.

Katsuki bolted toward the sound, skidding around a corner to find only flickering shadows and the last echo of a villain disappearing into the cityscape.

He stood there, teeth clenched, fists sparking with anger. Todoroki caught up a moment later.

“We’ll find them,” Todoroki said quietly.

Katsuki didn’t answer at first. His jaw twitched.

“He was fast. Too fast,” he finally muttered. “Almost like..”

Todoroki glanced at him. “Like he knew we were coming.”

Bakugo’s eyes narrowed.

This isn’t over.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The smoke was still curling in the air when the last villain was hauled into a police van, cuffed and bruised.

The warehouse looked like a storm had passed through it. Walls scorched black, the floor torn by ice and explosion. Twisted pieces of tech and shattered concrete littered the ground like discarded bones. The sharp scent of ozone and burnt metal lingered in the air.

Katsuki leaned against a broken crate, one hand pressed to his ribs. His gauntlets were scorched, the armour on his right forearm cracked. Blood ran in thin rivulets down the side of his temple, but his breathing was steady. Controlled.

Nearby, Todoroki stood amid a patch of melting frost, his uniform singed and one glove completely gone. Steam hissed from his left side where ice and fire had clashed too close to his body. He stared into the wreckage quietly, lips slightly parted, eyes clouded with thought.

Endeavour stood at the centre of it all, speaking low to Burnin and the police liaison. He hadn’t looked at the boys yet, not since the last explosion rocked the building and they lost one of the villains.

One of them had gotten away.

Again.

Katsuki let out a long breath, sucking through his teeth at the sharp jab in his side. Probably cracked ribs. Nothing he hadn’t dealt with before.

“We almost had him,” he muttered, just loud enough for Todoroki to hear. “I had him right there.”

After a second, “tch. Coward.”

“They’re building something,” Todoroki said. “Every piece of equipment was precise. Measured. They’re not just trying to stay hidden. They’re preparing.”

Katsuki turned his head, blood still trickling behind his ear.

“Then we’ll be ready next time.”

There was no bravado in his voice. Just certainty. Cold and iron-hard.

A few feet away, Burnin approached them, her pace quick, expression serious.

“You two alright?” she asked, looking them over.

Katsuki scoffed. “Still breathing, aren’t I?”

Todoroki nodded silently.

“Good. Because Endeavour’s about to chew someone out, and I’m betting it’s not either of you.” She looked back toward the fire hero, who was now glaring at a detective waving a folder. “You did well. The capture rate’s high. You worked as a unit. He won’t say it, but this op would’ve gone sideways without you.”

Katsuki didn’t respond. He wasn’t in it for the praise.

Burnin gave them a short nod and turned away to join the debrief team.

A wind passed through the broken warehouse walls, carrying with it ash and memory.

Todoroki broke the silence. “You’re injured.”

Katsuki grunted. “So are you.”

They didn’t push the conversation further. That was the extent of concern they ever really gave each other. Honest, simple. Uncomplicated.

Finally, Endeavour made his way over, footsteps loud on the cracked cement.

“You both held your ground.”

Katsuki looked up. “We let one get away.”

“Only one,” Endeavour countered. “Against a team of six, with tech support and environmental advantage.”

He paused, gaze flicking to the far corner where ice had frozen the floor solid, trapping one of the villains mid-escape.

“Your instincts were right. You cut off the leader from escape long enough to isolate their medic. That slowed them.”

Todoroki inclined his head slightly. “But not enough.”

“No,” Endeavour said. “Not yet.”

He glanced between them.

“This isn’t over. The Cloaker will resurface. And when he does, I want you both there.”

Katsuki’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not benching us.”

“That wasn’t the plan,” Endeavour said simply. “You’re not students out there. You’re assets.”

The way he said it, it was both respect and responsibility. A weight placed firmly on their shoulders.

“You’ll be debriefed in twenty,” Endeavour continued. “Patch up. Rest. Then return to U.A. in the morning.”

He turned and walked off without waiting for acknowledgement.

The moment passed, replaced by the low groan of metal cooling and sirens echoing in the distance.

Todoroki turned to Katsuki. “You think Surge Coil’s building something bigger?”

Katsuki stared out at the horizon, where smoke still climbed into the dark sky.

“I think he already has.”

Todoroki nodded once. “Then we need to be ready.”

Katsuki gave a small, bitter laugh. “I’ve been ready since day one.”

Chapter Text

The sun had barely risen over the U.A. campus when the gates buzzed open and two figures walked through, their steps slow, deliberate, quiet.

Katsuki kept his head down beneath the hood of his uniform jacket, the bruises on his jaw fresh and stiff. He hadn’t bothered to hide the scrape over his cheekbone or the faint limp in his left step. Todoroki walked beside him, as composed as always, but his left arm was tightly wrapped in bandages and his right glove was missing again, burnt through, likely from the last blast.

The campus grounds were empty, dew clinging to the grass like the night hadn’t quite let go yet. It was too early for the usual noise of students gathering, too still for the sounds of training. In this quiet, their arrival felt like ghosts returning to a battlefield.

They didn’t speak until they reached the dorm entrance.

“You should’ve iced that leg,” Todoroki said, glancing sideways at Katsuki’s slow step.

Katsuki gave a half-shrug. “Did. Just didn’t stick.”

He scanned the building with tired eyes. The lights were on inside. The common room was awake.

They walked in together.

Mina was the first to look up from the couch where she sat cross-legged with Sero and Kaminari, a bowl of cereal in her lap.

“Whoa–” she shot to her feet. “You’re back already?! What the hell happened to your faces?!”

That broke the quiet. The others turned, Sato, Jirou, Iida, even Asui by the kitchen counter with a mug of tea.

Katsuki winced as Kaminari leaned in, wide-eyed. “Bro. That’s a shiner if I’ve ever seen one, did you headbutt a truck?”

Katsuki shoved him back lightly with one hand. “Something like that.”

“Was it a villain op?” Sero asked, half a grin forming. “Come on, give us something, Endeavour’s team doesn’t just borrow students for fun.”

“We were assisting in a containment mission,” Todoroki said calmly, eyes glancing around the room. “It was coordinated and controlled. Most of the group was captured. One escaped.”

That killed some of the lightness.

Iida stepped forward, his brow tight with concern. “Why were the two of you involved in something so high-level? That should have fallen under the jurisdiction of senior pros–”

“It was sanctioned,” Todoroki said. “We weren’t just ‘involved.’ We were chosen.”

Katsuki dropped onto the couch beside Kirishima, his breath hissing between his teeth as his side flared up. He didn’t speak for a moment, watching the way everyone looked at him now.

Not with fear.

Not even with awe.

Just..understanding.

Kirishima gave him a look. Quiet. Solid. Then passed him the water bottle he was holding.

Katsuki took it without a word.

“You both did good,” Asui said softly from the kitchen. “You came back.”

Todoroki gave a slow nod, and that was enough.

Momo stood up from where she’d been reviewing flashcards, walking over with a concerned expression. “Recovery Girl would want to check those injuries–”

“We’re fine,” Katsuki muttered, rubbing at his temple.

But his eyes weren’t on her. They had drifted to a corner shelf where an old photo rested, a class picture taken during their first year. Everyone was there. Wide smiles. Youth. Hope.

Izuku in the centre. Bright-eyed. Hand half raised like he’d been mid-wave.

Katsuki stared at it for a long moment.

Then he stood again.

“Going to my room.”

“Wait–” Kirishima said. “You sure you’re okay, man?”

Katsuki paused in the doorway. His fingers curled around the edge of the frame.

“Still breathing,” he muttered.

That was all he said before heading down the hall.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The door to his room clicked shut behind him, muffling the hum of voices from the common area. Katsuki stood there for a moment, the silence sinking into his skin. The world felt different on this side of the door, quieter, heavier. Like the echo after a blast.

His room wasn’t a mess. Not like it used to be. The bed was made, the desk cluttered only with school books and a few half-drunk bottles of water. A pile of laundry sat in the corner, still clean. Still folded. Just never put away.

He kicked his shoes off with a tired grunt and peeled off the hoodie that stuck to his shoulder where dried blood had crusted over a gash. The motion made him wince.

Ribs. Definitely cracked. Maybe broken. He hadn’t let Recovery Girl poke around too long before brushing her off.

He didn’t want her poking at more than his injuries.

With a hiss, he sat down on the edge of his bed. The mattress gave under his weight, familiar and firm. He let his arms rest on his thighs and stared down at his hands, bruised knuckles, dried blood under the nails, a faint burn where his gauntlet had overloaded. He flexed them slowly.

Still worked.

Still his.

The weight of everything settled across his shoulders like lead. The mission. The missed capture. The way Endeavour’s eyes had flickered, not in disappointment, but something worse: recognition. Recognition that they were no longer kids playing at hero work.

They were in it now. Neck-deep.

And Katsuki had been fine with that. He’d wanted it. Demanded it. Still did.

But in the quiet of his room, without flames or shouting or impact, his mind drifted to moments he didn’t want to revisit.

The warehouse, screams, smoke, Todoroki’s back as he took a hit meant for Katsuki, the realisation that he let one of them get away.

Failure.

He clenched his fists, resting them against his knees, shoulders curled slightly inward. His breath came slow, deliberate.

Then he closed his eyes.

A moment passed.

Another.

And in that stillness, it wasn’t the villain’s face he saw.

It was green eyes. Messy hair. A crooked smile that still made his chest twist in ways he couldn’t explain.

“Damn nerd,” he muttered to no one, the words barely making it past his lips.

He stood up, suddenly restless.

Crossed the room and opened the window a crack. The morning air drifted in, cool and damp. It smelled like soil, concrete, a hint of distant fire. Maybe from a training course below. Maybe just in his head.

He let the breeze hit his face for a few seconds, grounding him. Then turned back toward his desk and dropped into the chair with a grunt.

There was a photo tucked between two textbooks. One from the sports festival last year. The whole class was in it. Faces sweaty, arms thrown around each other in clumsy poses.

Katsuki wasn’t smiling in it.

But Izuku had been.

He turned it over. Couldn’t look at it right now.

His fingers traced over a crack in the edge of the desk.

Burn marks.

He remembered the night those got there. A training session that went sideways. Not with Izuku, no. Just him. Alone. Angry. Pushing himself too far. He’d burned through the wood without noticing until the room filled with smoke.

He hadn’t apologised to anyone about it.

Not even himself.

A knock rattled against his door.

He didn’t answer.

Another knock. Then silence.

A shadow passed underneath, someone waiting. Then retreating.

Katsuki waited a beat. Two. Got up and opened the door.

No one was there.

Just a small can of energy drink on the ground with a sticky note slapped to the side:

‘Don’t die. We’re out of bandages. – Kiri’

Katsuki snorted softly. Picked up the can.

His ribs ached as he leaned against the doorframe and cracked it open. The hiss was satisfying. The sugar stung his tongue.

The sun was a little higher now.

He looked toward it and took another long drink.

The world was still spinning. The fights hadn’t stopped. That Cloaker was still out there.

But for now, he could breathe.

For now, he could rest.

Just for a little while.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Katsuki had nearly finished the energy drink when another knock came, softer this time.

He considered ignoring it.

But something told him not to.

“Yeah?” he called out, voice rougher than he meant.

The door creaked open a second later, and Shinso stood there, hair tousled from sleep and a half-suspicious scowl on his face. He held up a small plastic box of bandages and medical tape, a dry look in his eyes.

“You always ignore the nurse, or is that just a part-time thing?”

Katsuki grunted, then jerked his chin toward the room in silent permission.

Shinso stepped in, closing the door behind him with a quiet click. He didn’t say anything else at first, just crouched by Katsuki’s desk chair and set the box down with a small thud.

“I know Recovery Girl looked you over, but from the way you were moving in the lounge, either she missed something, or you were being stubborn. Probably both.”

Katsuki didn’t argue. He just sat back down in the chair with a wince and started pulling up his shirt.

Shinso raised a brow at the dark bruising spreading across Katsuki’s ribs. Angry red marks carved along his side, some already starting to purple.

“Damn. That bad?” Katsuki muttered, trying to look down at his side.

“You’re lucky it’s not worse,” Shinso replied, already digging into the kit. “Sit still.”

Katsuki didn’t flinch when Shinso pressed a cool cloth to his skin. Not even when the antiseptic stung.

But he didn’t talk, either.

The silence stretched. Not awkward. Just..present.

“Villain apprehension mission?” Shinso asked.

Katsuki tensed slightly as Shinso began wrapping his ribs, securing the gauze tight. “Yeah. Group of villains. Most of ’em taken down. One slipped.”

“Who?”

Katsuki’s jaw ticked. “Not your problem.”

Shinso didn’t push.

He just kept working, his fingers quick and practiced as he secured the ends of the bandage with tape. Then he leaned back and looked toward Katsuki’s leg.

“Trouble there too?”

Katsuki huffed and peeled back the loose fabric around his thigh. A deep scrape trailed from his hip to just above the knee. Not deep enough for stitches, but enough to sting like hell.

Shinso said nothing, just grabbed a fresh bandage and moved in again.

“You didn’t have to do this,” Katsuki muttered, not quite looking at him.

“I know.”

Shinso didn’t sound bothered. Just steady.

He pressed a cold pack to the scrape first, cleaning it before wrapping it tight. His fingers were surprisingly careful, no unnecessary pressure, no jabs to make a point. He didn’t seem like he wanted to make one.

They stayed like that for a while. No words. Just hands and breath and quiet.

Then Shinso leaned back, finished. He sat cross-legged on the floor, arms resting on his knees, studying Katsuki for a beat.

“You’re pushing too hard.”

Katsuki didn’t respond.

“You’re not the only one who lost him.”

That landed like a weight in the room. Katsuki’s throat tightened. His fingers curled on the edge of the chair.

But Shinso didn’t sound accusing. Just tired. Understanding.

“He meant a lot to all of us,” Shinso added. “But I know you carry it different.”

Katsuki swallowed. Didn’t look at him. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to be.”

Another beat of silence. The ticking of the wall clock. The soft rustle of wind through the open window.

“I’m not saying stop,” Shinso continued. “Just..don’t lose yourself chasing shadows.”

Katsuki finally looked at him. His voice came quiet this time.

“What if it’s not a shadow?”

Shinso met his gaze. Thoughtful. Not dismissive. But not yet convinced.

“If it’s not,” he said, “we’ll find it. Together.”

Katsuki held his stare for a moment longer, then finally nodded once.

It was enough.

Shinso stood, brushing off his pants. “I left more bandages in the box. Use them. Or don’t. I’ll know either way.”

Katsuki smirked faintly. “Yeah, yeah.”

Shinso turned to the door, paused.

“And Bakugo?”

“What.”

“Next time..let someone carry some of the weight.”

The door shut gently behind him.

Katsuki stayed seated, the quiet returning like a heavy coat. But his chest felt just a little less tight. A little less alone.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Katsuki didn’t move for a while after Shinso left.

The silence was almost warm now, not suffocating like before, but dense. Heavy. Like sitting in the smoke after a battle, when the explosions had quieted and all that was left was your own breathing and the ringing in your ears.

He didn’t mind the ringing.

What he minded was the ache.

His ribs were bound tight, thanks to Shinso. His leg stung beneath the fresh wrap. He could still taste iron in the back of his throat, but his hands weren’t shaking anymore.

He stood up, slowly.

He didn’t bother with the lights, the dim blue glow of his laptop screen was enough. His desk was still cluttered with stacks of books, his own notes, and a small mountain of unopened energy drink cans. Among them was a single green notebook, old and worn, the edges frayed.

Izuku’s.

He didn’t reach for it.

Not yet.

Instead, Katsuki sat down, elbows on the desk, eyes scanning the mess he’d made over the past week. There were hand-scrawled timelines. Quirk theory diagrams. Sketches he wasn’t proud of, not because they were bad, but because they looked too much like hope.

A fool’s hope.

But he couldn’t stop.

He exhaled slowly and reached for one of the journals he’d been using. He flipped past pages filled with objective notes and bullet points until he hit the ones written later at night, when the lines got sloppier and the thoughts bled more.

He hated how they read.

Like someone chasing ghosts.

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand down his face. The bandage tugged slightly at his ribs. It grounded him.

Izuku had believed something. Something about himself. About phoenixes. Katsuki had found the notes, the ones filled with questions, wild connections, and cautious paranoia. He still remembered the way the words had looked on the page: ‘There’s something in me. Something more.’

He hadn’t stopped thinking about that line since.

He hadn’t told anyone else. Not even Shinso.

Not yet.

Katsuki looked up at the ceiling. His voice came quiet, barely a breath.

“Where the hell did you go, Izuku?”

The question lingered like smoke.

No one had answered it. Not the news, not the heroes who combed through the wreckage, not the analysts who reviewed the crash on a thousand different angles. They said it was quick. That a plane wing crushed him instantly. That there was nothing left to recover.

But Katsuki hadn’t seen a body.

None of them had.

Only the footage. Only the aftermath.

Only absence.

His fist curled tightly.

He stood abruptly and walked to his closet, shoving aside a mess of clothes and pulling out the shoebox from behind the old uniforms. Inside, there were scraps of things, a broken pencil Izuku had lent him once and never asked back for. A dried-up four-leaf clover Izuku had pressed into his palm after a close call during their training before the entrance exam, saying, “For luck, even if you don’t believe in it.”

He hadn’t believed.

Not then.

He ran his fingers along the edge of the clover now, brittle and brown, but still holding together. Just barely.

“I don’t know what you were, Izuku,” he muttered. “But I don’t think you’re gone.”

His voice trembled for a second. He covered it with a breath.

“I just don’t know where you are.”

The room was still again.

But the silence didn’t feel like an ending.

It felt like a breath held between chapters.

He placed the clover carefully back into the box and pushed it back where it had come from. He didn’t need to stare at memories tonight. Not when something was still calling him forward.

Katsuki sat back down and turned to the green notebook.

He opened it.

Not because he expected new answers.

But because this was where it had started, not the beginning of Izuku’s death, but maybe the beginning of something else. A truth he hadn’t understood yet. A fire still smouldering beneath the ashes.

He traced the ink with his fingers. A thought took shape in his mind, not fully formed, but sparking, restless.

Izuku had known something. Had felt something. Had written these entries not just for research, but maybe..for him.

Maybe he hadn’t been chasing ghosts after all.

Maybe the truth had always been just out of reach, and now, it was up to Katsuki to get close enough not to burn.

He set the notebook down and opened a blank page in his own.

And he began to write.

April 14

I don’t know what I’m doing. This isn’t some nerd journal or science report, so don’t get any ideas. I’m just writing things down because if I don’t, they’ll keep circling in my head like vultures, and I’m tired of it.

It’s been 98 days.

I still don’t believe you’re gone.

The pencil paused. Katsuki closed his eyes and rubbed at them roughly with the heel of his hand. His ribs ached in protest, but he forced himself to stay focused.

They said you got crushed instantly. No time to scream. No time to run.

But you weren’t that easy to kill.

You never were.

He glanced over at the green notebook on the side of the desk. It lay half-opened, like it was reading over his shoulder.

You wrote about phoenixes. Not just as a myth, but like you were trying to prove something to yourself. Like you thought you might be one.

I thought it was a stretch at first. Maybe you were just spiralling, like before. But I kept reading. And now I’m not so sure.

If anyone was going to burn down and come back even stronger, it’d be you, wouldn’t it?

Katsuki stopped again. He flipped his pencil over and started shading in the margin without thinking, tight spirals at first, then jagged lines that carved into the page.

I keep thinking about the crash.

We all watched it. On the news. The wing falling. The silence afterwards.

It didn’t look real. It didn’t feel real.

And maybe that’s because it wasn’t the end.

He gritted his teeth, tapping the pencil against the desk harder now.

They didn’t bury you. There was nothing to bury. They held a memorial and left a picture in your place. And everyone cried, and everyone moved on like they were supposed to.

But I can’t.

I can’t stop thinking about that fire you used to carry. That look in your eyes when you had an idea that you couldn’t wait to chase down. The kind of look someone doesn’t just lose.

I think that’s still out there. Somewhere.

He dropped the pencil and stared down at the page. His handwriting was a little messy. Crooked in some places. The kind of thing he would’ve thrown out and rewritten in middle school.

He didn’t care.

Katsuki pushed the notebook aside and leaned back, exhaling sharply through his nose. The ache in his leg pulsed in time with his heart. His body was tired, but his mind was sharp. Focused. On fire.

If Izuku had survived somehow, if what he believed about himself was true, then the world was bigger and stranger than any of them had ever imagined. And Katsuki wasn’t about to let that fact sit untouched.

Not if there was even the smallest chance of finding the truth.

He pulled a second notebook forward, this one his most organised. Lined with tabs and keywords and things he’d collected from the edges of Izuku’s own research. He flipped to the page marked abilities and then to the one marked anomalies.

Then he turned to a blank page at the very back.

At the top, he scrawled one word:

THEORY.

And underneath it:

If Izuku is a phoenix, then his death wasn’t the end. It was the beginning. If he burned, then he’s still somewhere, healing, hiding, or changing. Which means he might not remember. He might not even know who he is.

But he’s alive.

Katsuki paused, the words like a spark in his chest.

He’d never written something that made him feel scared before.

But this did.

Because hope was terrifying.

He slammed the notebook shut and stood up, pacing toward the window and looking out at the dark grounds of U.A. The moon was low. The wind was quiet.

Somewhere out there, Izuku could be breathing. Sleeping. Waiting.

And he was going to find him.

Even if he had to burn through the whole damn world to do it.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

U.A. had always been quiet in the mornings.

Before the students filled the halls and the noise of chatter, training gear, and clashing personalities spilled into the corridors, there was a stillness to the place. A kind of sacred hush. But today, that stillness felt heavy.

Like a held breath.

Katsuki felt it the second he stepped into the common area.

The TV was on low, not the usual morning talk shows or training recaps, but the news. Again. Always the news, lately.

He didn’t mean to look, but his eyes caught the headline as he passed.

“Rogue Villain Activity Increases Across Outskirts. Multiple Evac Zones Declared.”

Below it, grainy footage showed a burning street, a shattered storefront, and silhouettes too far away to make out. But one of them had wings. Another left black smoke behind them as they moved.

He didn’t need to guess who or what they were.

“They’re getting bolder,” came a voice behind him.

Katsuki turned slightly. Todoroki stood there with a steaming mug in his hands, his eyes glued to the screen. His hair was still damp from a shower, and he hadn’t put on his jacket yet. But the look on his face was alert. Serious.

“They’re not even trying to hide anymore,” he added.

Katsuki grunted in agreement. “They want us to know.”

Todoroki took a slow sip of his drink. “It’s working.”

The rest of Class 3-A trickled in one by one, sleepy-eyed, murmuring greetings, or ignoring each other entirely. Iida moved straight to the kitchen and began organising plates unnecessarily. Mina collapsed into a bean bag chair and muttered something about needing three more hours of sleep.

But even as normalcy resumed, that tension remained.

Sero glanced at the TV, then away again. “Same headline for the third day in a row.”

Jirou frowned. “Feels like they’re gearing up for something.”

“They are,” Shinso said quietly from the couch. He hadn’t even looked up from the files in his lap, printed articles Katsuki had passed him earlier that week. “They’ve been moving in groups now. Coordinated attacks. Pulling forces back in some areas and focusing on city outskirts.”

“Sounds like a strategy,” Kaminari said, rubbing at his eyes. “Like..a prelude to something.”

“An invasion,” Todoroki said flatly.

Katsuki crossed his arms. “Or a war.”

The word silenced the room.

Even the TV felt quieter in the seconds after it was said.

They all looked at each other then, classmates who had grown up under fire, under pressure, under the weight of the word hero being sharpened into a weapon. They had seen villains rise and fall. They’d seen friends hurt. They’d lost more than they said aloud.

But this felt different.

Not a skirmish.

Not another incident.

It felt like the air itself was waiting for something to snap.

“Do you think the Commission knows?” Uraraka asked suddenly. “About all of this?”

“They know,” Aoyama said from the window, his voice uncharacteristically low. “They always know. They just won’t tell us until it’s too late.”

Shinso nodded. “They’ll use the word containment until the day containment fails. Then they’ll tell us it’s war.”

Katsuki didn’t respond. His jaw tensed. He turned from the common room and made his way toward the hallway, needing space, needing to move.

He didn’t get far.

He ran straight into Aizawa.

The man looked exhausted. Dark circles under his eyes deeper than usual, goggles slung low, hair tied back in a loose knot. His scarf was draped around his shoulders like a noose.

“You’re up early,” Aizawa said, voice gravelly.

“I’m always up early,” Katsuki muttered.

Aizawa didn’t smile. He never did when the sky looked like it did today, a dull, clouded gray, like smoke that hadn’t cleared.

“You and Todoroki, I want you both in my office before third period.”

Katsuki’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“There’s movement in the north,” Aizawa said. “Underground sources. Pro hero patrols haven’t been enough. Endeavour’s pulling together a new field team for remote tracking and support. He’s requested you two personally.”

Katsuki blinked. “This isn’t a drill, is it?”

“No,” Aizawa said. “It’s the first chess move.”

He turned to leave, but paused, glancing over his shoulder.

“And Bakugo, keep your ears open. The villains aren’t just rallying for chaos this time. They’re looking for something. Or someone.”

Katsuki’s heart skipped once.

But he nodded.

Back in the common room, the others had gone quiet again, watching the news. Another report. Another region.

War was coming. Whether they liked it or not, this was something they all knew it would involve them. They would be ‘recruited’ to fight by their hero agencies.

Somehow always forgetting they’re just children.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The halls of U.A. felt too quiet again.

Not the kind of quiet that came from morning classes or focused study, but the kind that came before a storm, like the school itself was holding its breath. Katsuki could feel the hum of pressure in the walls, the kind he usually only felt during combat drills or before rescue exams.

He didn’t say a word as he walked beside Todoroki.

Neither of them did.

They didn’t need to.

Aizawa’s office was tucked in the back corner of the faculty wing, sparse and dim, the blinds always half-closed like sunlight was an intrusion. There was a faint smell of ink and cloth, and always something faintly burnt, the remnants of whatever stress Eraser Head couldn’t smoke away.

Todoroki knocked once, and Aizawa’s voice answered with its usual sleep-deprived rasp.

“Come in.”

The door opened with a soft click, and they stepped inside.

Aizawa was already seated at his desk, a tablet in his hand and several files laid out in front of him. He looked up with that heavy, unreadable stare he always wore during briefings, the kind that didn’t hide fatigue or care for sugarcoating.

Standing behind him, arms crossed, was Endeavour.

Todoroki froze, just a breath. Katsuki felt the tension rise in him too, but not enough to stop his pace.

“Sit,” Aizawa said. “Both of you.”

They obeyed.

Katsuki folded his arms instead of placing them on the desk. Todoroki’s eyes flicked once toward his father, then away again.

Endeavour didn’t look at his son.

Aizawa set the tablet down and clicked the screen to life. A map appeared, bright and blinking, central Honshu. Several points were marked in red, all in a tight radius in a stretch of mountainous forest near the outskirts of a town called Karasuoka.

“We’ve had a string of coordinated villain sightings here,” Aizawa said. “Five different confirmed individuals, all with known records, theft, arson, minor assaults. Nothing headline-worthy. But their patterns are what’s catching attention.”

He tapped a point. “Each incident lasts under five minutes. Each time, the villain retreats to the trees. Never caught. No hostages. No ransom demands. They aren’t looking to draw attention.”

“They’re gathering,” Todoroki said.

“Exactly,” Endeavour replied, his voice like gravel dragged over firewood. “And they’re doing it under the radar. Strategically. Which means someone’s organising them.”

Aizawa leaned forward.

“We believe this is a new cell. Not part of the League, not tied to any of the fractured organisations left behind after Shigaraki’s disappearance.”

Katsuki tensed. He hadn’t heard that name in a long time.

Not aloud.

“But whoever is leading them is careful,” Aizawa continued. “They’ve stayed off the radar for months. Until now. They’ve started branching into old League territory.”

“And that means they’re not just hiding anymore,” Katsuki muttered.

“No,” Endeavour said. “They’re preparing.”

Katsuki’s jaw locked. “For war.”

Todoroki’s voice was colder than the ice he conjured. “And you want us to find out what for.”

“You two know how to fight,” Aizawa said. “But more than that, you know how to read a battlefield. We need your instincts. This isn’t just about muscle.”

“It’s about learning the enemy,” Endeavour added. “Before they show us their full hand.”

Katsuki leaned forward slightly. “You’re expecting more than five.”

“Many more,” Aizawa said. “We believe they’re looking to rebuild something, a new order. Not just chaos. Structure. Belief.”

Todoroki frowned. “A cause.”

“Maybe even a symbol,” Endeavour said.

Katsuki didn’t know why, but Izuku’s face flashed in his mind.

Bright. Unshakable.

Hopeful in a way no hero ever should’ve had to be.

He clenched his fists. “When do we go?”

“Three days,” Aizawa said. “We’ll finalise intel. You’ll be briefed by pro surveillance teams. Covert extraction and tracking, not open combat unless absolutely necessary.”

“And if it becomes necessary?” Todoroki asked.

Endeavour’s eyes met his for the first time since they’d entered. “Then you’ll do what we’ve trained you to do.”

The silence that followed was loud.

Aizawa slid a manila folder across the desk to each of them. “Everything we have so far. Names. Quirks. Maps. Don’t share it with your class. Not until the mission’s over.”

“Are we working alone?” Katsuki asked.

“You’ll have a small team,” Aizawa said. “Two other pros. Low-profile. You’ll meet them during the final prep.”

Katsuki nodded once.

Then Todoroki stood, holding his folder tightly in his hand.

“We’ll do it,” he said.

Katsuki followed, gripping the file like it was an extension of his own arm. His fingers itched with anticipation.

Not for the fight.

But for the truth.

As they turned to leave, Aizawa’s voice stopped them.

“One last thing.”

They looked back.

Aizawa’s expression had changed slightly, not softer, but heavier.

“There’s something happening out there. Something bigger than a rogue cell. We’ve seen signs, in whispers, in old contacts resurfacing. Villains who haven’t shown their faces in years are moving again. And they’re moving toward something.”

“Or someone,” Katsuki murmured.

Aizawa didn’t confirm it.

He didn’t have to.

Katsuki’s heart thudded in his chest, and he caught Todoroki glancing at him for just a second.

They both knew this wasn’t going to end with one mission.

This was the start of something much larger.

Something that would reshape everything they thought they knew.

As the door closed behind them and the hallway swallowed them again, Katsuki stared down at the folder in his hands.

He wasn’t sure what burned hotter now, his fists, or the dread rising in his chest.

But either way, he was ready.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Three days later, Katsuki was crouched behind a thick cluster of brush, his fingers twitching in anticipation, palms warming with a restrained crackle of heat. Beside him, Todoroki knelt low, half-shadowed by the rising fog curling through the pines. His breath was slow, even. Focused.

Everything was quiet except for the low hum of comms in Katsuki’s ear.

Far ahead, down the steep slope of the forest hill, four blinking red dots marked their targets on the HUD display Katsuki wore over his left eye. Villains. Confirmed and moving.

“They’re circling,” came the voice of Hound Dog through the comms. “Southwest approach. We’re flanking. Maintain cover.”

Katsuki exhaled slowly. “Copy.”

He glanced to Todoroki, who gave him a small nod. They moved as one.

Slipping through the undergrowth, silent and trained. They weren’t here to fight. Not unless they had to. Surveillance, containment, ID. Then extraction. That was the plan.

But plans never lasted long.

They reached the outer edge of the ridge just as the villains came into view, five of them now, hunched figures draped in mismatched gear. Masks, goggles, ragged cloaks stitched with strange sigils. Their movements were sharp, coordinated. One held a scanning device. Another carried a long, jagged staff sparking with electricity.

These weren’t low-level thugs. They were trained.

And then, Katsuki noticed something else.

Movement at the edges of the clearing, flickers of distortion, like heat mirages. There, then gone again. And again.

“Shit,” he muttered. “That damn Cloaker is here.”

Todoroki tensed beside him. “Covering all of them?”

Katsuki nodded once, eyes narrowing.

A new voice cracked through the comm line. One of the pros on overwatch, a sharp, alarmed tone:

“They’re fading! Visual contact lost, I repeat, cloaking tech is active!”

Before Katsuki could respond, the first explosion went off.

Not from him.

The hillside shook with impact. Smoke billowed. Trees snapped like twigs.

“AMBUSH!”

Voices screamed through the comms.

Katsuki surged forward, instincts overriding training. “Move!”

He vaulted down the ridge, fire bursting from his palms as he launched himself through the smoke. Todoroki followed, ice crashing through the clearing ahead to slow the enemies’ retreat.

But they were already gone.

Shadows slipped between trees. Cloaked bodies shimmered in and out of existence. Only flashes of movement gave them away, the reflection of a boot, the ripple of light bending wrong.

Katsuki blasted toward one of the retreating figures, heat roaring from his gauntlets. He barely caught the edge of the figure’s cloaked body, the way it sparked, shimmered, then vanished.

Not an illusion. Real.

And they were escaping.

“Todoroki!” he shouted.

“I know!”

More smoke grenades dropped into the clearing. Thick, black. Heavy with scent-disrupting chemicals. Even with heat vision, visibility dropped to nearly zero.

Katsuki activated his infrared.

Nothing.

A full team, possibly more, had just ghosted out of a trap like it was child’s play.

He clenched his fists as Todoroki slid to his side, breathing hard, his face streaked with soot and frustration.

“They’re gone,” Todoroki said. “All of them.”

“No,” Katsuki growled, eyes scanning the tree line. “They were ready.”

A beat of silence.

Then the comm line crackled again, Aizawa’s voice this time.

“Regroup. Immediate exfil. We’ve lost visual on all targets. The mission’s compromised.”

Katsuki turned slowly, his mind already racing through the possibilities. They’d been watching. Monitoring. They knew U.A. would send someone. And they hadn’t just slipped away, they’d made sure to show they could.

A warning.

No bodies. No captures. No leads.

Just smoke and forest and silence.

“They wanted us to know they’re organised,” Todoroki said softly.

Katsuki nodded, jaw tight.

“And that next time,” he muttered, “they won’t run.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Three days had passed since the failed mission in the pines. The forest still haunted Katsuki Bakugo’s dreams, villains cloaked in a shimmering quirk, slipping through their fingers like smoke. The memory of their escape gnawed at him, a constant reminder of their growing boldness.

The sun crept gently over the treetops outside UA, golden light spilling through the windows of the Class 3-A dorms. It was quiet upstairs, but downstairs, the kitchen and common area buzzed with quiet excitement, hushed whispers, the occasional clatter of pans, and the smell of something vaguely edible wafting through the air.

“Flip it now, Kaminari!” Yaoyorozu whispered urgently.

“I am flipping it–ow! Hot!” Kaminari winced as batter sizzled over the edge of the pan. “We are so close to greatness!”

“I give it a fifty-fifty chance of being cooked through,” Sero muttered, stacking the salvageable pancakes onto a plate while nudging the burned ones behind a bowl of fruit.

Ojiro was focused on bacon duty. “Let’s just make sure Bakugo doesn’t see the rejects. You know how he gets.”

“Exploding pancakes sounds like a sick band name,” Jirou murmured from the corner, tuning her earpiece.

Mina grinned, twirling a streamer between her fingers. “It’s gonna be worth it. He’ll act all pissed, but deep down? He totally loves this stuff.”

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t kill us before the actual battle today,” Uraraka whispered, taping a small “Happy Birthday, Blasty” card onto the gift pile.

Shinso stood off to the side of the kitchen, leaning against the wall with a cup of tea in one hand, quietly watching the chaos unfold. He wasn’t much of a party guy, but he didn’t need to be. Being part of this was enough.

“You’re unusually quiet this morning,” Kirishima said as he passed by, placing a small camera on the counter aimed at the entrance. “Nervous about the blast zone?”

Shinso shrugged, lips curving just slightly. “Just taking bets on how loud he’ll yell.”

“Oh, that’s a pool I want in on,” Sero called from across the room.

The final touch was the banner, hand-painted by Hagakure and Jirou, reading: “Happy Birthday, Bakugo!” in bold, explosive letters with faint scorch marks for style. Even Todoroki had helped hang it, carefully measuring the exact centerof the doorway before giving a nod of approval.

“Okay,” Uraraka said, checking her mental list. “Gifts are stacked, breakfast is..like, 70% cooked, decorations are up–”

“And I hear the stompy footsteps of an angry birthday boy,” Jirou added, tilting her head toward the stairs.

Everyone went silent.

Footsteps. Heavy. Loud. Predictably aggressive.

Katsuki appeared in the stairwell, still in a black tank top and sweatpants, hair messier than usual, rubbing sleep from his face with a scowl already forming. He looked around suspiciously.

“Why the hell is it so quiet down–”

“SURPRISE!”

Confetti poppers burst. The banner unfurled. Mina hit play on a short remix of “Happy Birthday” that Jirou had whipped up, complete with a too-loud bass drop that rattled the glassware.

Katsuki stopped dead at the bottom of the stairs, staring like someone had just dumped a bucket of glitter on his head. Which they had. Kaminari had a glitter cannon. It went off late. Classic.

“You idiots,” Katsuki growled.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Kirishima yelled with both arms raised.

“I told you not to do this dumb crap!” Katsuki barked.

“You said that last year,” Kaminari grinned. “And then you ate four stacks of pancakes, and Mina hugged you, and you tried not to smile but totally did.”

Mina immediately launched herself into a hug. “Birthday squeeze!”

“Get off me, Pinky, I swear to–”

“Happy birthday, Bakugo,” Todoroki said, standing deadpan by the counter. “I supervised the toast.”

“God,” Katsuki muttered, rubbing his temples. But he didn’t leave. He didn’t blow anything up. He stomped over to the kitchen and stared at the plate of pancakes like they personally insulted him.

“Which of you extras made that?”

“Me and Kaminari!” Sero announced proudly.

“These look half-edible,” Katsuki grumbled.

“I consider that a win,” Kaminari whispered to Shinso.

“Low bar,” Shinso replied dryly, sipping his tea.

The class burst into casual chatter again as Katsuki, resigned to his fate, took a fork and stabbed into a pancake. After a long chew and an approving grunt, he pointed at Kaminari without looking.

“You got lucky.”

Kaminari shot a silent thumbs up to the sky like he’d just survived war.

Then came the gifts.

Kirishima handed over a neatly wrapped box. “Boom-proof training gloves! Red and gold, extra weight for you, bro.”

Katsuki grunted and pulled them on, flexing. “Nice.”

Yaoyorozu gave him a high-tech, insulated water bottle with a discreet filtration system. “For long patrols. And it won’t melt.”

“Practical. Thanks.”

Jirou presented a playlist chip synced to his gauntlets. “Combat bangers. Custom tempo for your movement style. It’s got, like, three full hours of yelling.”

“You know me too well.”

Kaminari and Sero gave him a novelty apron that read: “This Kitchen is About to EXPLODE!”

He held it up, stared at it, turned red, and dropped it silently onto the floor.

“I’m framing that,” Kirishima whispered.

Todoroki offered a sturdy box with new combat boots. “You’ve been melting through your last pair.”

Katsuki raised an eyebrow. “How’d you know my size?”

“You leave them everywhere,” Todoroki said plainly.

Then Shinso stepped forward. No flashy wrapping. Just a black box with a small tag attached that read, “Don’t die.”

Katsuki opened it, inside was a custom-made support item: a mouthguard moulded to reduce internal jaw damage when shouting mid-blast, engraved faintly with a stylised explosion.

Shinso shrugged. “Figured it might keep your teeth intact.”

Katsuki stared at it, then at him. “This is actually..really good.”

Shinso smirked. “Try not to scream so hard you bite your tongue off. It’d be embarrassing.”

“Hah.” Katsuki almost cracked a smile.

Mina, last as always, gave him a small, hand-painted frame holding a photo of the entire class, all of them..including Izuku. Sparring gear, messy hair, mid-laugh. A candid shot from a training day. He stared at it for a while.

“You’re welcome,” Mina whispered softly, smile gentle.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “Whatever.”

The rest of the morning passed with an easy comfort. Laughter, loud voices, Katsuki threatening to set Kaminari on fire when he tried to give him a second hug. Even Shinso stayed at the table longer than usual, sipping tea while he listened to the banter, the noise, the warmth.

For a little while, it was just peace.

No missions.

No alarms.

No missing friends.

Just pancakes and fireproof presents and people who cared, even the ones too stubborn to say it out loud.

Katsuki didn’t say “thank you.”

But he didn’t have to.

He stayed. He ate everything. He wore the gloves.

He looked around at his classmates, and then at Shinso across the table.

“Not the worst birthday.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Now, under the clear morning sky, Class 3-A was back to routine, training on UA’s expansive outdoor grounds. The sun cast long shadows, and the air buzzed with the energy of students honing their Quirks. Katsuki stood at the edge, arms crossed, eyes scanning the field. Nearby, Todoroki practiced his precision ice techniques, sculpting intricate patterns with a flick of his wrist.

Suddenly, the tranquillity shattered.

A deafening alarm blared across the campus, its urgent wail slicing through the morning air. Students froze mid-action, eyes darting toward the source of the disturbance.

From the main building, a voice crackled over the intercom: “All students and faculty, this is not a drill. We are under attack. All available heroes report to the southern perimeter immediately.”

Panic rippled through the group, but their training kicked in. Aizawa, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, barked orders. “Class 3-A, form up! We’re moving to intercept. Stay together and follow my lead.”

As they raced toward the southern edge of the campus, the ground trembled beneath their feet. In the distance, plumes of smoke rose, and the unmistakable sounds of battle echoed.

Upon arrival, chaos greeted them. A horde of villains, more organised and numerous than ever before, had breached U.A.’s defences. Among them were cloaked figures, their forms flickering as they utilised advanced cloaking technology to sow confusion.

Endeavour, already engaged in combat, shouted over the din, “They’re targeting the students! Protect them at all costs!”

Katsuki’s eyes narrowed, adrenaline surging. “Todoroki, flank left. I’ll take the right. We need to cut off their advance.”

Todoroki nodded, launching a barrage of ice to impede the villains’ progress. Katsuki, with a roar, propelled himself into the fray, explosions erupting from his palms.

The battlefield was a maelstrom of Quirks and chaos. Class 3-A fought valiantly, their teamwork honed from countless hours of training. Uraraka used her gravity manipulation to disarm enemies, while Iida’s speed allowed him to evacuate injured students swiftly.

Despite their efforts, the villains pressed on, their numbers seemingly endless. A massive figure emerged from the smoke, a new Nomu, larger and more formidable than any before. Its eyes locked onto the students, and with a guttural growl, it charged.

Aizawa stepped forward, his gaze erasing the Nomu’s Quirk momentarily. “Now!” he shouted.

Seizing the opportunity, Katsuki and Todoroki launched a combined assault. Fire and ice converged, engulfing the Nomu in a tempest of elements. The creature roared in pain but continued its advance, undeterred.

Suddenly, a series of explosions rocked the campus. The villains had planted charges, aiming to destroy UA’s infrastructure. Buildings crumbled, and fires erupted, adding to the pandemonium.

Amidst the destruction, a cloaked villain approached Aizawa, a sinister grin on his face. “Your time is up, Eraser Head.”

Before he could strike, a blur intercepted him, All Might, his presence commanding. “Not while I still stand.”

The two clashed, their battle sending shockwaves through the area. All Might’s strength was formidable, but it was evident he was pushing his limits.

Back on the field, Class 3-A regrouped, their numbers dwindling. Injuries were mounting, and exhaustion was setting in. Yet, their resolve remained unbroken.

“We can’t let them win,” Katsuki growled, blood trickling from a cut above his eye. “This is our school, our home.” His voice cracked like a whip, the explosion of his quirk punctuating his words. The moment echoed in the smoke-heavy air, drawing every eye in Class 3-A toward him. His palms lit up, burning gold and deadly.

Then he launched himself skyward.

Todoroki surged forward in his wake, frost snaking across the ground beneath his boots. Pillars of ice burst from the earth, catching enemy fire midair and shielding the advancing students.

The villains had come with stealth. Smoke bombs, instant communication scramblers, even a cloaking quirk, someone who could erase whole bodies from view like wiping chalk off a board. They weren’t amateurs. They knew exactly when to strike, right in the middle of a multi-class training exercise, with the bulk of the faculty off-campus.

The field was a war zone. Training bots lay in smoking heaps. Craters pocked the ground. Civilians, actors in the drill, had scattered, and the emergency protocol alarms wailed, but help would take time. The students were alone, and the villains were not holding back.

Katsuki blasted forward, dodging a wave of electrified shrapnel from the villain known as Volt Viper, a gaunt man whose body seemed wired into his own tech. Bakugo grinned viciously as he barrelled in, twisting midair to avoid a blast before hurling an explosion straight at the villain’s chest.

Viper screeched as he flew backward, skidding across the field.

“Spread out!” Katsuki barked. “They’re using the Cloaker to shift positions. Don’t trust what you see, or what you don’t see!”

He slammed into the ground, sending shockwaves across the cracked pavement.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Elsewhere, Jirou and Tokoyami moved together near the remains of a demolished simulation house. Her heartbeat echoed through her Earphone Jacks as she listened, not for movement, but for silence. An unnatural bubble of it. That’s where the Cloaker was hiding their allies.

“Got something, ten meters to the right,” she murmured. “Nothing. Too clean.”

“Then they are there,” Tokoyami answered, shadows billowing from beneath his cloak. “Dark Shadow..strike!”

The beast shot out, claws extended, slamming into open air, and met resistance.

A villain shimmered into view as they were thrown backward, blood spraying from their mouth.

“Nice hit!” Jirou said, already turning toward the next void of silence.

Suddenly, behind them.

Another shimmer. Not one, but two villains appeared, their forms unravelling into visibility as the Cloaker adjusted their focus. The Cloaker could only hide a limited number at once, it seemed. Not infinite. But more than enough to sow chaos.

Tokoyami swung around, shielding Jirou with his cape.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Meanwhile, the south ridge was holding, barely. Yaoyorozu knelt in the cover of a broken wall, fabric fluttering as she pulled metallic arrowheads from her shoulder. Beside her, Kaminari was half-conscious, blood trickling down the side of his head.

She gritted her teeth and placed a hand to her chest.

A net launcher. Heavy-grade steel. Designed for immobilisation. She hadn’t made one since her licensing exam, but now wasn’t the time for restraint. The villain Cloaker was her target. If they took them out, the field would even again.

From behind her, a blur of movement.

Shoji slammed into the space, four arms up to block the descending blade of a villain with ink-black skin and six arms. Their grin was jagged, manic. Shoji grunted, then twisted, throwing the villain bodily into a chunk of ruined wall.

“Cover me!” Yaoyorozu shouted.

He did. She worked.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Todoroki fought like a storm. Ice sliced through the smoke, carving out corridors. Fire raged in concentric bursts as he rotated, his face expressionless. He counted, eight, no, ten confirmed villains. Three vanished mid-attack. The Cloaker again.

He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll find you.”

He swept his hand out and unleashed a wave of frigid mist, blanketing the entire east side of the field. Frost attached to moving bodies, to invisible figures. Shimmering footprints began to appear, frozen outlines giving shape to ghosts.

There.

One shimmered midair caught climbing a nearby tower structure. A sniper. They froze, literally, as Todoroki surged upward, fist blazing. He drove fire into their chest, sending them plummeting in a spiral of flame and smoke.

Below him, Kirishima roared, red scales glinting through the ash.

“They’re trying to flank us! They want the support class shelters!”

Todoroki gritted his teeth. “Not happening.”

He dropped.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

A deafening boom cracked through the sky as Katsuki exploded through a line of villains trying to cut through the center. Smoke swallowed him for a heartbeat, then spat him back out.

He landed, one knee to the ground, fingers sizzling.

“You idiots think we’re just gonna roll over?” he growled. “Wrong damn school.”

The ground shook. Three more villains, all masked, all cloaked seconds ago, emerged in formation. One charged. Katsuki ducked, then exploded the man’s leg at the knee. The next raised a crystalline shield, it shattered under a blast of fire from behind.

Todoroki again. They nodded at each other in passing, neither needing to speak.

“You got eyes on the Cloaker?” Katsuki called.

“No,” Todoroki said, wiping blood from his cheek. “But they’re shifting targets. Coordinated. Tactical. They’re not trying to kill us. They’re trying to extract something.”

“What?” Katsuki snapped.

A new scream ripped across the field.

Shinso..

He was pinned beneath rubble, two villains closing in with stun batons. Sero swung in like a pendulum, tape shooting from both arms, catching one villain around the neck and yanking hard. Hagakure followed, barely visible herself, dropping one with a solid kick.

“They’re going after the injured!” she shouted.

“Extraction,” Todoroki repeated, low. “Or abduction.”

Katsuki’s blood chilled.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Yaoyorozu launched the net.

It soared overhead in a blur of steel. A strange flicker occurred in the air where it landed, a soft, static crackle, like a bad signal clearing.

Then came the scream.

A man appeared midair, flailing, tangled in the net. Short, wiry, with tech built into a headpiece that buzzed angrily as the net grounded it. The Cloaker. His quirk faltered. All across the battlefield, shimmered bodies flashed into view.

The illusion dropped.

“There!” Yaoyorozu shouted. “Now!”

Katsuki didn’t hesitate. Neither did Todoroki.

They shot toward the downed villain like twin missiles.

But others had seen it too.

A hulking brute, eight feet tall, wearing a helmet bolted into his skull, roared and leapt to intercept. Behind him, a teleporter raised her hand.

“No!” Tokoyami roared, sending Dark Shadow streaking toward the Cloaker. “Do not let them escape!”

The battlefield dissolved into a dozen duels at once. The Cloaker writhed in the net, trying to activate his quirk again, but the net was dampening his control. Todoroki froze the ground around him, pinning his limbs in a sheath of ice.

“Secure him!” he shouted.

Katsuki raised a palm, and blasted the approaching brute in the chest so hard he lifted off the ground and slammed into a wall, embedded three feet deep.

For one fragile second, they had the upper hand.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The teleporter raised her hand.

Jirou’s warning shout rang out too late. The villain’s quirk hummed, a low buzz of displaced air, and in an instant, the Cloaker, the brute, and the others were gone. A burst of blue light signalled their escape, and the field fell into a heavy silence, punctuated only by the crackling of dying fires and the heavy breathing of the students.

Katsuki’s fists tightened. “Damn it. We lost them. Again.” Then, his arm started to burn. Exactly where he and Izuku had that matching mark. At first he ignored it, trying to look for the invisible villains, but then it became too much. He winced and made a face, which got Todoroki’s attention.

“Not yet,” Todoroki said, eyes scanning Katsuki, then the battlefield. His breath was steady, but his body was a taut coil, ready for the next fight. “They’re still close. We–”

But before he could finish, a sudden roar of heat tore through the air.

A ring of fire erupted around the remaining villains, scorching the earth beneath them. The flames spiralled upward like a dragon’s breath, encircling them in a ring so tight there was no room to escape. The temperature surged, hotter than any fire they had seen before. It wasn’t a typical explosion, not Katsuki’s kind, it was something primal, like the fury of a storm unleashed.

The villains froze, eyes wide with shock. The teleporter, her hand still raised, flinched back as the fire surged higher, licking the air.

“What the–” the teleporter gasped, but she didn’t have time to finish.

From the center of the blaze, there was a sudden gust of wind, a sound like thunder rolling across the sky, followed by a slow, deliberate flap of wings. The villains turned, and their eyes went wide. The air shimmered as the heat distorted their view, but the shadow cast overhead made it impossible to ignore.

And then they saw it.

Chapter Text

When the piece of debris hit his and effectively knocked him out, it ripped a chunk of his fringe out of his head. He felt at peace, he made his peace. He was going to die, and he was okay with that.

He felt hot, hotter than he had ever felt before. He hated it.

His eyes blinked open, the blinding light of something made him squint.

This wasn’t the afterlife, this was a bed, a blanket, a room. He sat up out of the bed and winced, his head was killing him with a migraine. He looked down at his body and noticed that he wasn’t in the clothes he was originally wearing.

The door rattled open and his body felt electrified, his fight or flight gave him an adrenaline rush, ready to jump out of the window and leave. But what he was was an elderly man, reminding him of someone he thinks he knows.

“Oh, you’re awake. How are you feeling, young man?” He asked.

He rubbed the back of his head, but was still weary of the man. “I feel fine, thank you. Um..where exactly am I? And who are you? And um..who am I?”

“Your name is Midoriya Izuku, it’s what I found in your wallet. You’re in my house in the western parts of Tokyo, and my name is Takiharo Chumya, I am a phoenix, like you.”

“A..phoenix? How is that possible? Why don’t I remember anything? And..where is my hair?”

“You were hit in the head pretty hard with a piece of falling debris, temporary amnesia is a common side effect. A part of your fringe was ripped out from the debris. What is the last thing you can remember?”

“Uh..coming to peace, feeling peace.” Izuku answered.

Chumya hummed and walked closer to Izuku. “I won’t explain everything today, you still need to rest. I’m no doctor, but you’ve been out for some while and your amnesia should lift within the next few hours.”

Izuku wanted to get more answers out of this man, but the migraine was pounding in his head, so he lied back down onto the bed and closed his eyes, the sweet bliss of sleep calling for him.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

When Izuku woke up, the smell of bacon blessed his nostrils, putting him through a trance as he made his way out of bed and to the source of the smell.

“Ah, I see you’re awake. Do you remember anything new?” Chumya asked as he moved around the bacon on the pan.

“Yeah, I do now. Thank you for saving me..but uh, why?” Izuku asked as he sat at the table when Chumya motioned towards it.

“Why what?” The older man asked as he finished off the bacon and put it on the table, along with eggs, juice, and toast.

“Why did you save me?” Izuku asked as he hastily grabbed some toast, he was starving.

“I felt you looking for me. I know a great deal about you. You have been looking for answers that you yourself cannot explain about your body, your quirk, your life.” He explained as he grabbed some toast and put some egg and a piece of bacon onto it, taking a bite.

“So..you’re a phoenix? An actual one? I mean I had speculations that I was one too, but I could never prove anything, and besides, my father has a fire type quirk so I could’ve inherited that late, but I would’ve shown signs earlier. And I’ve only starting to delve into this theory because it’s the only thing that logically makes sense, though phoenixes themselves don’t logically make sense, no offence or anything, but this is all so unreal to think about. And with my research, I could only find theories and explanations about phoenixes and their powers, never any actual living phoenixes, plus everything that I could find was dated in the 21^st century, which was 900 years ago, so I guess that doesn’t really make it valid and–”

“Okay, young man, I’m getting old, I can only handle so much.” The man cut off Izuku and gave a light chuckle as he continued to eat his breakfast.

“Sorry, Takiharo-san.” Izuku looked down sheepishly and continued to eat his breakfast.

They ate their breakfast in silence, and Izuku helped him wash the dishes when they were finished.

“Help an old man look after his animals won’t you, youngin’?” Chumya asked as he grabbed his walking stick and walked slowly outside.

“Of course, Takiharo-san.” Izuku agreed, smiling softly as the man reminded him of Gran Torino.

Izuku lifted up some haystacks like they were nothing and heft them over his shoulder as Chumya grabbed some apples and a bucket filled with water. The man brought them both over to a grazing ground where it went on for kilometres, he whistled lightly and the sound of two different hooves stamping the ground was heard.

Izuku put down the haystacks and marvelled at the beauty of the two different horses in front of him, a white Camarillo, and a black Friesian, who both came to a trot, then a stop in front of the haystack and bucket of water.

“Oh, they’re absolutely gorgeous, Takiharo-san.” Izuku complimented as he watched the horses drink and eat.

“Yes, they are aren’t they?” Chumya smiled and pet the eating horses. “This one,” he started as he pet the black horse, “is Katana. He has been with me for generations, and she,” he pointed to the white horse, “is Fubuki, she’s been with me for a few years now. Both of them are my pride and joys.”

“Do you own this whole land?” Izuku asked as he looked around, seeing nothing but acres and acres of pure land and hills, no other buildings.

“I do, I own over four hundred hectares of land around here. No one for miles.” The man smiled as he gave the horses one final pet before walking away from them to let them be.

He went over to a table that had two chairs lying about, and sat on one, inviting Izuku to sit down with him. “I know you have a lot of questions, Izuku. So, ask away.”

Izuku sat in the other chair and looked at Chumya hesitantly. “Am I..a phoenix?”

Chumya looked at Izuku with a small smile, “you are, dear child, as I am.”

“But..how? My mom has..had a weak levitation quirk, and my father..he can breathe fire. And I thought you had to be killed to become one.”

Chumya didn’t anything for a few seconds. “Contrary to belief, a phoenix isn’t born..more created..or summoned.”

“Huh?” Izuku looked at the older man dumbfounded.

“Yes. To create or summon a phoenix, there are extreme conditions someone must follow. There must be a..sacrifice..human, and the conditions of the area must be that of literal hell. The area must be ablaze with continuous flames, and there must be another person in the area.”

“Wait, wait.” Izuku interrupted, “you’re telling me that my mom and father aren’t my mom and father? That I’m not their actual child? And a human sacrifice? As in death of the person?” Oh god, he was going to be sick.

“Unfortunately, that is the only way a phoenix is born. No phoenix can be naturally birthed, the mother would die from the heat and pain, causing either a miscarriage or stillborn.” Chumya explained with a sorrow look as Izuku’s face went white.

“But..how? And I look just like my..her..I just..its not possible..”

“You have a glamour on you, young Izuku. It is very strong, and I can see it breaking, the white on your fringe is starting to show.”

Izuku gave the older man a confused look, “what do you mean white? My hair is green and black.”

Chumya pulled out a small mirror he had in his pocket and gave it to the boy, who took it eagerly and looked at himself, his eyes going wide as he saw white sprouts growing from where his hair was ripped out.

“What the..is this a glamour? How can I get rid of it?” Izuku asked as he gave the mirror back to the man.

“I would assume you come into your full power which would take some time and done in small bits. Gaining it all at once would overload your body and it could potentially make your body..well, explode.”

Izuku passed out.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Over the course of a few weeks, Izuku and Chumya trained Izuku’s newfound power.

Now Izuku found himself at walking along a path he had found, the wind carried the scent of pine and damp earth across the grass plains, rustling golden waves that rolled gently toward the foothills like some ancient lullaby. Izuku stood at the edge of the main trail, his bare feet cool against the dew-kissed stone. Behind him, the sun was just beginning to rise, painting the horizon with a smear of molten orange. The land stretched endlessly, fields, wildflowers, and mountains breathing in the mist.

He wasn’t sure what time it was. Out here, time felt slower. Less like a ticking clock and more like a rhythm you were supposed to move with instead of against.

Chumya had told him to walk the land every morning before breakfast. No training, no powers. Just walk.

“The fire in you is loud,” Chumya had said the day before. “But the land? It whispers. Learn to listen.”

At first, Izuku thought it was strange. What could walking in the dirt teach him that fighting villains hadn’t? But something about this place made it hard to resist. There was a kind of peace here he hadn’t felt in years. Not since childhood. Not since U.A. Not since..everything.

The farmhouse, if it could even be called that, was tucked into the hill behind him, an old, sprawling structure of dark wood and worn stone, ivy creeping up its sides like it was being reclaimed by the mountain. Chumya had built it himself, or so he said, over seventy years ago.

Izuku hadn’t asked his age. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

As he reached the edge of the hill, he sat down, stretching his legs over the slope. Below him, the world opened up in every direction. Hawks circled the sky lazily, riding the wind currents. Somewhere in the distance, he heard the rushing sound of the river that split the land in two.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, long enough for the mist to lift and for the heat of the sun to warm his skin.

“You’re breathing better today.”

Izuku turned to find Chumya behind him, silent as always, a folded cloak over one arm and a clay cup in the other. He handed it over. Warm tea, bitter and dark.

“Thanks,” Izuku mumbled, taking it.

Chumya settled beside him without ceremony. He was tall, taller than most men Izuku had ever known, and lean, though built like the old trees that peppered the hills, gnarled and rooted deep in time. His silver-streaked hair was pulled into a rough knot, and his eyes were like storm-worn embers, always watching.

“You’re starting to let the land speak to you,” Chumya said, sipping his own cup. “I can feel it in your fire. Quieter today.”

Izuku glanced down at his hands. There were no sparks, no glowing veins, no trembling inner storm.

“It’s hard,” he admitted. “The fire doesn’t stop. Even when I’m calm, it’s still..there.”

“It always will be.” Chumya didn’t flinch at the honesty. “But the more you push against it, the louder it roars. You don’t win by fighting it. You guide it. Like a river.”

There was a long silence. Chumya sipped, then sighed, stretching his legs with a soft grunt. His joints cracked audibly.

Izuku hesitated, then asked, “You were like this once too, weren’t you? New to the flame.”

Chumya laughed, deep and rough. “I nearly burned down half of Hokkaido. Thought I could fly before I could even control my heartbeat.”

“You can’t fly now,” Izuku said before he could stop himself. The words left his mouth a little too bluntly. “I mean..I haven’t seen you try.”

Chumya’s expression shifted, but not with anger. More like something ancient moved behind his eyes. He set his cup down carefully.

“No,” he said quietly. “I can’t.”

A wind rolled over the hilltop, catching the edge of his cloak. Chumya let it fall, exposing his back, and Izuku sucked in a breath.

Where his wings should have been were only the gnarled, puckered stumps of scar tissue. Deep, brutal, healed with time but never forgotten.

“I haven’t flown in almost nine hundred years,” Chumya said. His voice was steady, but low. “All For One saw to that.”

Izuku’s throat tightened. “He did that to you?”

Chumya nodded. “The last time I tried to stop him. I fought too long. Got reckless. Took too many hits.” His voice turned bitter. “I was younger then. Thought the flame was enough.”

Izuku said nothing. There were no words to give. All he could do was sit there beside the man, this immortal being who had fought and bled and lost, just like any hero.

“Does it..come back?” he asked. “The wings?”

Chumya shook his head slowly. “Not these. The body regenerates, yes, but only what the soul allows. When a phoenix loses its will, the fire knows. My soul won’t grow new wings. Not anymore.”

Silence again. Even the birds were quiet.

“But I can still burn,” Chumya added after a long moment, turning his palm upward. A flicker of golden flame rose from it, dancing like a bird with no sky. “Still fight. Still teach.”

He looked over at Izuku, and the corner of his mouth tugged into a small, weathered smile.

“You have your wings, boy. Use them while you can. But don’t let them define you.”

Izuku stared at him, the fire in his chest stirring, not the kind that consumed, but the kind that warmed.

“I won’t,” he said, voice hoarse. “I’ll make sure they stay strong. I’ll fly for both of us.”

Chumya chuckled, low and quiet. “Then listen to the land and walk slower. Phoenixes don’t race to the sky. They rise when the world needs them.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The southern field had been cleared out years ago, a wide-open stretch of dry grass and flat stones surrounded by tall pines that walled the land like silent sentries. This was where Chumya trained. No buildings, no markers. Just sky, dirt, and open space.

Izuku stood in the middle of it, arms slightly out, legs braced. His chest rose and fell fast, sweat sliding down his back. Around him, the scorched remnants of earlier attempts smouldered, patches of grass reduced to blackened rings, one unfortunate boulder still glowing faintly red from the inside.

Chumya circled him slowly, barefoot and quiet, hands clasped behind his back. His long robes fluttered in the wind, the hem just brushing the earth. The old phoenix’s eyes flicked toward the sky, then back to Izuku.

“Again,” he said.

Izuku gritted his teeth and nodded.

He focused.

The fire didn’t start in his chest anymore. It lived everywhere now, in his lungs, in his blood, in his bones. All he had to do was reach for it. It came like breath, like instinct.

A soft flicker of heat surged up his spine. He felt it curl along his shoulders, wrapping around him like wings made of light and flame. His fingers sparked gold.

He extended his hands, palms open to the air, and–

FWOOOM

A burst of fire exploded outward, wide and fast, catching the wind with a sound like thunder cracking across the plains. The force nearly knocked Izuku backward, but he he was ground that time, sliding just an inch in the dirt. His hair fluttered, embers caught in the strands.

Chumya raised an eyebrow. “Better. Not controlled, but better.”

Izuku huffed, exhausted but energised. “I was trying to make a directional arc, like you showed me. Did it go too wide?”

“It went everywhere,” Chumya said flatly, gesturing at the blackened half-circle behind Izuku. “You’re trying to mould flame with muscles. That’s not how it works.”

Izuku blinked. “It’s not?”

“Fire doesn’t follow your arms, boy. It follows your will. Intent. Feelings.” Chumya stepped closer and tapped Izuku’s chest twice, hard. “It burns with your conviction.”

Izuku’s brow furrowed. “So, what..I’m supposed to just feel the fire into shape?”

Chumya gave a soft, rasping laugh. “You shaped One For All with your limbs. You shape this with your soul.”

The name, a ghost from another life, tightened Izuku’s jaw. He looked down at his hands, golden cracks glowing faintly along his skin. The fire was there. It always was. Waiting. Watching.

“I’ll try again,” he said quietly.

Chumya stepped back. “This time, make it a spiral. Start small. Let it spin outward like a storm.”

Izuku nodded. He exhaled slow, let the heat rise again. This time, he didn’t push with his arms. He thought of movement, of the way storms curled over the ocean, how fire dances in the wind. He imagined his flame rising not to consume, but to circle.

The first flicker was faint.

Then it spun.

A thin coil of flame twisted around him like a ribbon, spiralling upward from his feet, winding around his body in a soft golden spiral. It shimmered in the air, warm but not destructive, crackling like distant campfire wood.

It was beautiful.

And then, it snapped.

The flame flared too wide, the spiral broke, and a burst of heat surged in every direction again, knocking Izuku backward with a grunt.

He landed on his back, coughing, smoke curling up from his jacket.

Chumya sighed and approached. “You lost focus.”

“I was focused,” Izuku groaned.

“No, you were trying to control it again. You’re still afraid of it.” Chumya knelt down beside him. “You can’t master fire through fear. That’s how it consumes you.”

Izuku sat up, brushing ash from his sleeves. His heart still pounded, not from effort, but from that gnawing doubt. What if he never got it right? What if he wasn’t supposed to have this power?

Chumya watched him carefully, as if sensing the storm inside.

“I nearly destroyed a village when I first learned to fly,” he said quietly. “Set half the forest ablaze because I let guilt take the wheel.”

Izuku blinked. “You..messed up?”

Chumya smiled faintly. “Messing up is how you learn. But the moment you start thinking you shouldn’t have this power? That’s when you’ll lose control.”

Izuku’s breath caught. The guilt. The pain. The loss. It had clung to him since the day he was pulled from the wing of that downed plane, bones broken, flame blooming in his chest, the world burning around him. He’d died that day. And something new had risen.

But he hadn’t forgiven himself for surviving.

Chumya stood and offered a hand. Izuku took it and rose slowly.

“Again,” Chumya said.

Izuku nodded.

This time, when the fire rose, it came like breath. A slow inhale, a steady exhale. The spiral formed again, brighter now, cleaner, and it didn’t break. It danced.

And for the first time, Izuku danced with it.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The sun blazed high above the ridges of western Tokyo, its heat rolling across the mountaintop in visible waves. The northern ridge was steeper than the southern fields, jagged with stone ledges and tall cliff faces that overlooked the vast plains below. It was here that the wind moved freely, strong and unbroken, a place for wings.

Izuku wiped sweat from his brow and glanced down the cliff’s edge. The drop was at least two hundred feet. His chest fluttered, not from fear, but from something heavier. Something excited and terrified all at once.

“You said we’d do more control work,” he muttered, side-eyeing Chumya.

The older phoenix smirked slightly, his cloak fluttering behind him in the high mountain wind. “This is control work.”

“This is a cliff.”

“A phoenix’s first flight must be honest.” He knelt near the edge, resting one hand on the stone. “And nothing is more honest than gravity.”

Izuku groaned quietly and paced away from the edge. His fire had stabilised over the last two weeks, he could form shapes now, manage spirals, and even hold a flame in the palm of his hand without it burning wild. But flying? That felt like leaping into the sky and praying not to fall.

“You’re not ready to fly,” Chumya said, standing again. “Not yet. But you are ready to learn how to let the flame lift you.”

Izuku frowned. “What’s the difference?”

“Flying is mastery. Lifting is surrender.” Chumya walked toward him and tapped his chest. “The flame will catch you, but only if you let it. You can’t fight it mid-air. You can’t hesitate. The moment you do, it hesitates too. And you fall.”

Izuku crossed his arms. “That’s a lot of trust to put into something that burned my eyebrows off last week.”

Chumya grinned. “So don’t let it burn you.”

He turned and walked back toward the cliff’s edge, motioning for Izuku to follow.

“Start with your fire,” Chumya said. “Focus it behind you, not in your hands, not in your chest. In your back, where your wings would rise. Can you feel it?”

Izuku stepped forward slowly and closed his eyes. The fire responded immediately, warm and familiar. He shifted its focus mentally, drawing the energy away from his palms, away from his chest, back, back, until he felt it press against the blades of his shoulders.

It tingled. Not hot. Not cold. Just..there.

“I feel it,” he said softly.

“Good,” Chumya said. “Now spread it. Let it flow outward, like wings unfurling in slow motion.”

Izuku drew in a breath and did as he was told. The flame surged, gentle and slow, flaring behind him in glowing arcs of light. He couldn’t see them, but he felt them, like muscle memory from a body he didn’t remember having.

“They’re forming,” Chumya said. “You’re doing it.”

Izuku opened his eyes.

Golden wings stretched wide from his back, not solid feathers, but brilliant flame, curved and alive, flickering at the edges. They moved with his breath, shifting slightly in the wind.

“I..I did it,” he whispered.

“You’re going to lift off soon,” Chumya said. “Not fly. Not yet. But your body will rise if you let it. Just a few feet off the ground.”

Izuku swallowed hard. “What if I fall?”

Chumya looked him in the eye. “Then you fall. And you get back up again.”

The old phoenix stepped back and gave him space.

“Don’t try to rise,” he said. “Let the fire rise for you. You only need to let it happen.”

Izuku nodded once, his heart pounding. The flame pulsed through him, golden and warm, steady as his heartbeat. He stepped closer to the cliff’s edge, not too close, and braced himself.

Then he let go.

The flame surged behind him, curling around his legs, his shoulders, his spine. It didn’t push or pull, it lifted, gentle and effortless.

And then, his feet left the ground.

Only by a few inches, but Izuku was floating. Carried by fire and instinct.

His eyes went wide. He didn’t dare move.

“You’re doing it,” Chumya said, arms crossed proudly. “Feel how it holds you?”

“It’s, light. It’s so light.”

“Don’t get excited. The fire mirrors your emotions. Get carried away, and you’ll crash.”

Izuku nodded carefully. He remained still, letting the fire hold him in place, marvelling at the feeling of freedom without movement.

He drifted back to the ground after a few seconds, landing softly. His legs trembled slightly.

Chumya approached and placed a hand on his shoulder. “That’s your foundation. We’ll build from that.”

Izuku looked up at him, eyes glowing faintly gold. “You said a phoenix’s flame mirrors their emotions. So, if I’m scared?”

“The fire will tremble,” Chumya said. “And if you’re calm, it will hold you. If you’re enraged, it will burn everything.”

Izuku swallowed. “And grief?”

Chumya paused, his hand tightening slightly.

“Grief can extinguish it,” he said. “Or it can fuel it. That depends on you.”

The wind picked up again. Embers lifted from the edges of Izuku’s wings and drifted into the sky.

“You will fly one day,” Chumya said. “And not just to escape gravity. But to stand above what tried to break you.”

Izuku’s throat tightened. He looked out over the plains, golden and wide, glowing under the noonday sun.

“Do you miss it?” he asked quietly. “Flying?”

Chumya was silent for a long moment.

“Every day,” he said.

Izuku turned toward him. “Do you resent me for still having wings?”

Chumya blinked slowly, then gave a small smile.

“No,” he said. “I look at you and remember what it felt like to rise.”

He turned, cloak billowing behind him as he walked back toward the mountain trail.

“Rest,” he said over his shoulder. “Tomorrow, we train for balance in mid-air. If you can stay up for longer than a minute, I’ll let you dive.”

Izuku grinned and looked back at the edge of the ridge.

He could still feel the fire in his back, lingering like a heartbeat. The wings weren’t just flame. They were him. A part of something ancient and new all at once.

He spread his arms wide and closed his eyes, face to the sun.

He was learning to rise.

And someday, he’d fly.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The sun hung low in the early morning sky, casting long golden rays across the Chumya estate. The winds had picked up, carrying with them the scent of scorched earth and summer grass. At the edge of the western cliff, where the world seemed to end and the sky began, Izuku stood, chest heaving with frustration, his fingers still faintly smouldering with residual fire.

“I don’t get it!” he shouted, pacing in the loose gravel near the drop. “I can fly now, I can move the fire! Why can’t I control it all the way?”

“You’re trying to bend it with your will, not your truth,” Chumya’s voice rumbled behind him, low and weathered like the wind cutting through stone.

Izuku turned on him, wings flaring wide. “That doesn’t even mean anything!”

Chumya remained still. His robes rustled in the wind, and his hands were braced on his cane, face unreadable under the long shadows of his eyebrows.

“I’ve given everything I have to this training,” Izuku growled, fire licking along his arms. “I’ve burned myself raw, flown until my wings felt like they’d rip off, and for what? You keep saying I need to find my truth, like it’s a riddle! Just tell me what it is!”

Chumya stepped closer, closing the gap between them.

“Izuku,” he said, voice stern now. “You wield the power of rebirth. That fire in your bones, it is not just destruction. It is memory. Lineage. Soul.”

“I know that!” Izuku snapped, fists clenched. “I’ve heard your speeches a dozen times. I’m done with riddles, Chumya. Just say it. Just tell me who I am.”

Chumya stared at him for a long, breathless moment. Then, he shook his head slowly.

“No.”

Izuku blinked, stunned. “What?”

“I will not tell you,” Chumya said, voice sharp now. “Because you will not believe it if you do not see it for yourself. You are afraid. Still clinging to what you think you are. A hero student. A vessel of One For All. A martyr. A mistake.”

Izuku’s breath caught.

“You don’t know anything about–”

“I know your eyes burn with questions you’re too scared to answer,” Chumya said, pointing a long finger at him. “You fly, but only with one wing. You wield fire, but never surrender to it. You fear what it might say about you. What you really are.”

Izuku’s fire surged suddenly, crackling up his arms. “If you won’t help me, then I’ll figure it out myself!”

He turned his back and walked toward the edge, fury pushing him forward, but Chumya’s voice stopped him again.

“I am helping you.”

And then Chumya moved.

Faster than a man with clipped wings and an old cane should have.

He thrust out his hand, and shoved Izuku hard in the chest.

Izuku stumbled backward, arms flailing, off the edge.

“WHAT THE HELL!”

The scream was torn from him as he plummeted.

The wind whipped past his face like knives. His wings snapped open on instinct, but the fire around them sputtered, unbalanced by his panic. He tumbled, spiralling, his stomach lurching into his throat.

“Find the truth, Izuku!” Chumya’s voice thundered from above. “Or be consumed by the lies!”

Izuku’s wings caught air, barely. He tried to flare them again, but the fire wouldn’t obey him. His mind raced, he wasn’t afraid of the fall, he’d done worse. But why couldn’t he control it now?

Something deep in his chest shifted, something primal. He stopped trying to control the fire and instead listened.

He listened to the burn in his lungs. The hum in his spine. The ache in his heart.

What was he trying to control?

What was he running from?

And that’s when it hit him.

The truth isn’t in what I can do. It’s in what I’ve lost. In who I was before I even had a choice.

The fire exploded around him, not in destruction, but clarity. Wings of pure flame bloomed from his back, balanced and weightless, no longer resisting the air but slicing through it like he was born for it.

The first thing Izuku felt was heat.

Not the comforting kind that wrapped around his chest when he conjured fire, but suffocating, swallowing. Smoke clogged his nose. Wood cracked and moaned around him. He heard shouting.

The vision stabilised, and Izuku saw through someone else’s eyes..Dabi’s.

He stood in a dim hallway of an old apartment complex. Smoke bled from the bottom of a nearby door.

“Keigo!” Dabi’s voice cracked with alarm. “Keigo, where are you?!”

“Touya!” The reply was faint, muffled by the wood and the roar of fire beyond.

Dabi shouldered the door, gritting his teeth as the metal handle seared his palm. With a final grunt, the door crashed inward, revealing a room bathed in smoke and flame. Through the thick heat shimmer, he saw wings–scarlet and trembling.

“Keigo!” Dabi stumbled toward the fallen figure, dropping to his knees. Hawks, Keigo, was crouched low, coughing violently, his wings twitching in agony.

A ball of flame ignited near the center of the room.

Izuku’s vision honed in on it, inexplicably drawn to that flame. It swirled, forming a shape, pulsing with life. It expanded, not outward, but upward, until it blazed like a miniature sun in the room.

Keigo clung to Dabi, wheezing. “Touya..what is that?”

“I don’t know,” Dabi murmured, shielding his eyes. “But it’s not..normal. It’s not us.”

The fire flickered, then died down.

The silence after was thick.

Then, a sound. Soft. Cooing.

Dabi slowly approached what was left behind.

A baby.

A baby lay at the center of the burn mark, untouched, unharmed. Small fists tucked against a bare chest, soft tufts of white-blonde hair curled against an unblemished forehead. His breathing was slow. Peaceful.

Izuku’s heart stopped.

That–

“Keigo!” Dabi’s voice pulled the vision back. His panic flared. He turned just in time to see fire surge from the floor, no..from Keigo’s wings. They ignited, bright and consuming, spreading rapidly across his back and body.

“No, no..no, no. Keigo!” Dabi shouted, scrambling, trying to smother the fire with his jacket, bare hands, anything.

The baby remained untouched.

Izuku felt the fire licking at Dabi’s body. He felt Dabi’s panic, his heartbreak, as he held Keigo, screaming and begging and failing.

The fire didn’t come from the house.

It came from within.

And then it was gone. The flames vanished. The room dimmed, the air thick with smoke and ash and silence.

Dabi stood, trembling, the child pressed to his chest. His blue eyes were wide and empty, rimmed with tears and blood. He turned away from Keigo’s still, blackened body, clutching the child as if it was the only thing tethering him to reality.

The vision shifted.

Darkness.

Then light, a swirling portal.

Dabi stepped through it, entering a dimly lit bar where Tomura Shigaraki and Kurogiri waited. He said nothing. His knees gave out, and Kurogiri caught the child before Dabi collapsed completely.

Tomura stood, stiff. “Dabi..why do you have a child?”

“Keigo’s gone,” Dabi whispered, voice hollow. “There was a fire. The baby..just appeared.”

“Appeared?” Shigaraki frowned. “You mean was born?”

Dabi shook his head. “No. He was made. From the fire. Like..”

He didn’t finish.

But Izuku understood.

Shigaraki approached the baby. Held him. Studied him.

And then, cold. Calculating.

“Erase Dabi’s memories. Contact Sensei,” Tomura ordered. “Do what you wish with the child after.”

Izuku gasped.

He wanted to scream. To run. To tear the memory flame from his head.

Because that child, that baby, was him.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The vision broke.

Izuku collapsed onto the grass at the edge of the cliff, his wings trembling behind him. The ember in his hand was now dull, spent.

Chumya knelt beside him silently.

“It was me,” Izuku rasped. His voice was barely there. “That baby. That fire. I killed–”

“You didn’t kill anyone,” Chumya said firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You were born. That is not a crime.”

Izuku shook his head, tears building in his eyes.

“They were saving me. And one of them died. And the other..he’s a villain but he..he lost everything.”

Chumya’s voice softened but remained steady.

“The truth burns, Izuku. But it does not lie. You needed to see. Now, you must decide what to do with what you’ve learned.”

Izuku looked to the horizon, where smoke from a distant village rose lazily into the sky.

His past had found him.

Now he had to choose whether to run from it..or face it.

This whole thing was so much to take in. He needed to vent, to get everything off of his chest. But the only person he wanted to talk to was Katsuki, and he..

No, he didn’t want to think about their last encounter.

But god did he miss him.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku sat on the cliffs edge, not moving a muscle since he came out of the memory. He just looked up at the sky, thinking. It was Katsuki’s birthday, he was dancing queen 17, of course Katsuki would kill him if he ever heard Izuku call him that. He would never forgive himself for not going straight to Katsuki when he found out he lived. He was a hero in training, he was meant to report at all times. But now he was just a coward.

His knuckles were white where they gripped the hem of his shirt. He hadn’t said a word since he emerged from the vision flame hours ago. Not to Chumya. Not to the birds that came to rest on the rocks nearby. Not even to himself.

He couldn’t.

Not after what he saw.

Dabi.

Todoroki Touya.

His father.

“No,” Izuku whispered aloud, the word barely making it past his lips. “No. That can’t be true.”

But it was.

The memory hadn’t lied. The fire hadn’t lied. The wings. The baby. Him.

A child born from flame. Blood of two broken-winged creatures. A phoenix born from love and loss and death.

He curled forward, pressing his forehead into his knees, letting out a ragged, shaking breath.

“I’m not like him,” he murmured. “I’m not like them.”

But deep down, he wasn’t sure if that was true either.

The memory had shown it all. The fire in Keigo’s apartment. The moment he, the baby, had emerged from the flames unscathed, as if born from them. Keigo’s scream. Dabi’s panic. The confusion, the grief, the guilt. The trembling hand that reached for the child as Keigo burned in front of him.

Izuku hadn’t cried during the vision.

He couldn’t.

But now, sitting alone on the ridge with nothing but the wind and the sound of his own breathing, the tears welled hot behind his eyes.

“I was right there,” he whispered, voice hoarse. “I was in his arms. I saw them.”

He wiped his face roughly with the back of his hand, frustrated.

“They’re villains. Dabi burned cities to the ground. How could they..how could I–”

He couldn’t even finish the thought. It tasted like ash in his mouth.

And yet, despite every rational part of him screaming to reject it, a piece of him knew.

The fire. The resilience. The wings that had always felt too natural once they emerged. The way his flames bent not toward rage, but sorrow.

He had always felt like something was missing.

Now he knew what.

He thought of Dabi breaking down in Shigaraki’s arms. He thought of the way Kurogiri held the baby so gently, the way Tomura stared at him and didn’t kill him. He thought of how quickly that child, he, was taken away. Hidden. Forgotten.

No, not forgotten.

Erased.

“I’m a secret even they didn’t know how to carry,” he muttered.

He heard the gravel crunch behind him and didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

Chumya’s steps were always deliberate. Always heavy with years of pain and knowing.

“Have you processed what you saw?” Chumya asked, standing at his side but not sitting.

Izuku didn’t answer immediately. He kept his gaze fixed on the horizon.

“I don’t know how to,” he said. “I didn’t..I didn’t expect that.”

Silence.

Then Chumya said, “No one ever does.”

Izuku shook his head, his breath catching. “But Dabi? The most wanted man in Japan? He’s my..and Keigo..I’ve heard that name before..but he was with Dabi?? ”

Chumya’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Be mindful Izuku, Keigo died for you, and this was before Dabi became a villain.”

Izuku stared.

Chumya spoke softly, “you think your origin is shameful because they were pre-villains. But perhaps that is what makes you powerful, Izuku. That you were born of the ashes of war and made something else.”

“I’m not a weapon,” Izuku said, a little too quickly.

“No,” Chumya agreed. “You are a flame. You can burn what made you. Or you can transform it.”

Izuku didn’t know how to respond to that.

The wind shifted, and he looked back out at the mountains. He felt different now. Not just physically. Not just from the wings or the power or the training. Something deeper had shifted, like a door inside his chest had been blown wide open.

He felt old. Not in age, but in weight.

A weight that came with knowing his own beginning.

“Was it mercy?” Izuku asked finally. “Was that why Dabi didn’t keep me?”

Chumya closed his eyes. “It was fear. And maybe love.”

Izuku’s throat tightened. “That’s not enough.”

“It never is,” Chumya replied.

They stood in silence together for a long time after that. The sky gradually turned from gold to pale blue. Birds wheeled overhead in spirals. Somewhere in the far fields, the wind stirred the tall grass like a sea.

“Will you seek him?” Chumya asked at last.

Izuku didn’t answer right away.

“I don’t know,” he said. Izuku took a deep breath and rose to his feet. His wings unfolded slowly behind him, their flames calmer now, steadier. They felt like a part of him, not tools, not weapons, but limbs. “I need to talk to them,” Izuku said quietly. “The League. Dabi. Maybe even Shigaraki. I need to know..”

Chumya nodded once. “That is a good place to begin.”

“But that name..Keigo..it sounds so familiar.” Izuku racked his brain trying to figure out where he had heard that name. “Oh..” he spoke suddenly.

“Keigo was a child prodigy for the Hero Commission..he died before his final exam to become a hero. His name was going to be Hawks. After he died, they erased everything about him.” He explained to Chumya randomly.

Chumya looked at Izuku surprised. “You sure know a lot, Izuku.”

“I do my research on those I’m fascinated with, like you, Takiharo-san.” Izuku looked up at the man. “Not much. But I know you were the last phoenix to be recorded in history from 900 years ago, that you got into a life-ending fight with All For One.”

“We’ll, yes, Izuku. But that is common knowledge when you go researching–”

“And I know that you are Subject 0-B.”

Chumya’s eyes went wide, “how on earth did you find that out..I made sure all the documents were..” he couldn’t even finish his sentence he was so surprised.

“You’re the second of two phoenixes that were captured by the Japanese secret government program but in the 2000’s. Subject 0-A died during harsh experimentation, and you survived the countless testing trials of immortality, regeneration, and rebirth. You escaped when All For One ‘saved you’ but ended up clipping your wings and almost killed you when you fought him. After that you dropped of the face of the earth.” Izuku spoke almost robotically, “oh, and you didn’t burn all the documents. Someone made copies of the copies.”

“I really thought..but you’re sure no one else knows about me?”

Izuku nodded his head, “they’re hidden in an old archived folder in Endeavours agency, no one uses folders anymore. You can’t find them unless you know where and what you’re looking for.”

“Right. Okay.” Chumya let out a breath in relief.

“When I go back, I’ll burn the copies for you, Takiharo-san.” Izuku sent him a bright smile.

“Thank you, Izuku. There is something I must tell you,” he spoke dimly.

“What is it?”

“I’m afraid..my time is up, young boy. I can feel the ashes taking over my body.” He sent Izuku a weak smile to calm the boy down. “I thank you for keeping an old man company these past few months.”

Izuku looked at the man with shaking eyes, trying to find some lie in his words. “Takiharo-san, you can’t be serious..”

“I am, dear boy,” he coughed harshly, “I fear the time has come now.”

Izuku’s eyes turned watery just as his arm started to burn. He hissed and looked down at it, gripping the top of his fore arm to try and ease the burning sensations but to no avail. It was the matching mark that he and Katsuki had. Something was wrong, he could feel it. He needed to go, go to Katsuki, but he couldn’t leave Chumya all by himself.

Chumya looked down at Izuku’s arm and noticed how hard he gripped at it. “You are being called, your partner needs you.”

“He’s not my..I can’t just leave you, Takiharo-san! You’re..” He didn’t want to say it, but they both knew.

“My dear Izuku, I have been alone for the past 900 years, I have been planning to die alone for a long time.”

“But..” Izuku wanted to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. His arm pulsed again with burning pain, making him wince again.

“Go, Izuku.” Chumya spoke as a hoarse voice, ashes already starting to take over his body.

“I can’t..” his voice cracked as more ashes came to life.

“Go!” Chumya cried as the ashes came up to his neck, his body already crumbling to the ground.

Izuku stayed conflicted, but as Chumya’s body crumbled into nothing, his arm pulsed with more heat. So he let a few tears fall down his cheeks to mourn the man who had mentored him for the past 3 months and let out his wings, jumping into the air and flying off as faster than light, with nothing but the ashes of Chumya flying around him for his final flight.

When Izuku made it to Musutafu, the grounds of UA specifically, he let out a cry at the destruction that the villains have caused. Then he saw Katsuki with Todoroki in front of escaping villains. He had no idea what he was doing, he hadn’t had much time to control his new fire powers, but he erupted a ring of fire around the escaping villains and landed.

Chapter Text

Katsuki stared. At the figure that landed in front of them in a blaze. Literally.

He couldn’t believe it. He refused to. “You’re..you’re supposed to be–”

“Dead?” Izuku gave a small, almost apologetic grin. “Yeah. That’s what I thought too.”

Katsuki’s eyes narrowed, voice low. “You asshole.”

Izuku smiled wider. “Missed you too.”

Before either could say more, the ground quaked beneath them. The villains weren’t waiting for a reunion. A blast of wind and shadow erupted between them, hurling Izuku backward and Katsuki in the opposite direction.

A voice, distorted and amused, the woman who was trapped in the ring of fire, now free, rippled through the chaos. “Touching. But no reunions today.”

Smoke enveloped the field again, but this time it was mixed with a quirk. Shadow-Walk, one of the Cloaker’s lieutenants, used his power to split the battlefield into sectors, walls of thick, murky darkness that separated each fighter, turning the once-wide terrain into a maze.

The teleporter woman was gone with he rest of the small group she was trapped with.

Katsuki skidded across the dirt, catching himself with a growl. “Cowardly bastards!”

Izuku landed hard on the other side of a thick veil of shadow, sliding to a stop with a grunt. He coughed once, adjusted, then stood. His wings flared, illuminating the fog around him like a lighthouse beacon.

“Guess we’re doing this separately,” he muttered.

From the mist emerged a figure, tall, clad in obsidian armour with glowing red eyes. A villain named Gravemind, known for controlling bone and ash. He cracked his knuckles as he stepped forward.

“You’re a phoenix, huh?” he sneered. “Very rare, your head could make me a very very wealthy man.”

Izuku didn’t flinch. “You’ll have to earn it.”

Gravemind launched bone shards at him like spears, each one spinning with deadly force.

Izuku flared his wings and the air shimmered. A burst of flame engulfed the shards, reducing them to ash before they could touch him. He surged forward, fire rippling across his skin like armour, fists glowing.

He slammed into Gravemind with enough force to crater the ground, sending the villain flying. But Gravemind wasn’t down. He twisted midair, landing with a crunch and swinging a massive spiked chain of bone from the earth toward Izuku’s back.

Izuku spun, catching it with a palm lit in golden fire. The chain hissed and melted like wax.

The villain stumbled. “What the hell are you?”

Izuku’s eyes burned like the sun. “Death.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Meanwhile, behind one of the shadowed walls, Katsuki tore through his own opponent. Flames exploded from his palms as he launched himself into the air, dodging a barrage of razors from a villain with a cutting-field quirk.

Katsuki was running hot, fuelled by more than just battle.

He’d seen Izuku. Alive. And burning with power. And the bastard had smiled at him like nothing had changed.

But everything had changed.

He growled and blasted forward, catching the blade user across the jaw with a concussive blast. The villain hit the ground hard and didn’t get back up.

“Izuku..” Katsuki whispered, panting. “Where the hell’ve you been?”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Back in his section, Izuku and Gravemind continued their brutal exchange. Fire collided with bone, the air thick with heat and dust. Izuku dipped, weaved, and soared with precision, his movements now sharp and confident.

Each time Gravemind tried to regenerate, Izuku’s fire prevented it, consuming the ashes before they could reform.

The villain stumbled, burning, choking on smoke. “You..you’re just a kid!”

Izuku walked toward him, eyes soft with false pity. “I was. Not anymore.”

He raised one hand, and a circle of fire rose beneath the villain. In seconds, Gravemind vanished in a column of light and flame, reduced to dust.

Izuku turned, wings flaring.

“Time to break these walls.”

He raised both arms, and golden fire surged out of him in a burst so massive it rippled across the battlefield, cracking the shadows. The Cloaker’s veil trembled.

When he finally broke through, the battlefield was too quiet.

Izuku moved through the smoke with urgency, fire flickering at his heels, his wings trailing embers. The golden light that once wrapped around him like armour was dimming.

Something was wrong.

He couldn’t feel him.

He couldn’t feel Katsuki.

The walls of shadow had finally collapsed thanks to his earlier burst, the battlefield revealing itself again like a peeled wound, but he couldn’t find him in the sea of injured students, scattered villains, and smouldering debris. Izuku’s breathing was shaky. His eyes scanned desperately through the rubble.

“Kacchan?” he called, voice tight. “Kacchan?!”

Nothing.

Only the whisper of dying flames.

He pushed faster, flying low now, darting through overturned walls, cracked earth, and twisted steel. His mind raced. He had seen him just before the last wave of enemies struck. They’d fought back to back. They’d been fine.

Then that bastard with the warping quirk, Flux, showed up and scattered everyone again.

“Kacchan!” he shouted louder, the panic rising, strangling him.

Then, past a split pillar and some collapsed scaffolding, he saw it.

A body.

Face-down. Blonde hair matted in blood. One arm bent beneath him at an impossible angle.

“No,” Izuku whispered, voice hollow. “No, no–”

He landed hard, stumbling as he ran to him, flame extinguished by sheer terror. His knees hit the ground with a crack as he slid beside him.

“Kacchan..Kacchan, I’m here,” he gasped, rolling him over. “You’re okay. I’m here now. You’re okay–”

But Katsuki didn’t move.

His skin was pale. His chest still. His eyes half-lidded, open, but vacant.

There was so much blood.

A jagged wound had been torn through his abdomen, as if something had speared straight through and ripped out the light that had once burned inside him.

Izuku stared.

Then shook him.

“Wake up!” he cried, grabbing his shoulders. “Come on, this isn’t–this isn’t it!”

His voice cracked, broke into something hoarse and helpless.

He slammed a hand to Katsuki’s chest, his fire flaring golden around his fingers. “I can fix this, I can burn it clean! Please, no! I just got you back!”

The fire sparked uselessly.

Katsuki didn’t rise.

And Izuku..

He shattered.

“No..no!” he screamed, pulling him closer, holding his head to his chest. “You promised me! You said we’d do this together! You said you’d be there, you were just, you were just here–”

The ground beneath him cracked as a surge of phoenix energy burst outward. His wings flared wide, wild, unstable, shedding flame and smoke like a storm. The sky itself darkened as the fire in him spiralled out of control.

His tears were fire.

They fell on Katsuki’s chest, leaving glowing trails in their wake, but they did nothing to bring him back.

All his power.

All his rebirth.

All the strength Takiharo had taught him to wield.

None of it could save him.

The boy he had loved since they were children, the boy who always pulled him forward, who screamed and fought and stood at the edge of the impossible with him..was gone.

Izuku’s scream ripped through the sky, a sound of pure agony, raw and guttural, like a phoenix burning alive mid-flight.

His fire lashed out around him in a violent cyclone, scorching the earth in a wide radius, creating a crater of light and sorrow.

No one approached.

No one dared.

The villains that hadn’t yet retreated felt the shift, felt it in their bones, and many turned and fled, terrified.

Izuku stayed cradling him for what felt like hours, though the battle still roared around them. He didn’t care. Couldn’t care. His heart had already stopped once in this lifetime, when he died, and now it stopped again, for good, crushed beneath the weight of loss no rebirth could undo.

The golden flame around him flickered uncertainly.

Unstable.

Uncontrolled.

Just like the grief.

He could still see the wound, where Katsuki had been speared, torn open by the enemy’s quirk. The bastard who’d separated them, who watched from the shadows, and laughed when Katsuki fought alone.

He would pay.

Izuku burst from the ground with a thunderous crack, the air behind him folding from the force. Rubble lifted and burned in his wake. He cut through the sky like a comet, scanning, scenting the battlefield like a predator.

And then..there.

That flicker of energy. That quirk signature. That laugh.

Izuku turned sharply, wind screaming around him, and descended like a blade.

The villain, masked and cocky, was in the middle of taunting one of the side heroes when the air ignited behind him.

A golden blur smashed into the ground just feet away, cratering the earth, sending out a shockwave of heat that knocked everyone off their feet.

The villain turned, blinking through the smoke.

Izuku rose from the crater.

Silent.

Burning.

Terrifying.

The villain took a step back. “Well, look who finally showed up. The broken bird himself.”

Izuku said nothing. He tilted his head, eyes white-hot and unreadable.

The villain continued, trying to bait him. “You’re too late, you know. Boy Wonder went out crying. Couldn’t even scream when I drove it through. Guess the explosion brats aren’t so tough without backup–”

BOOM

The villain flew back, caught mid-sentence by a flaming strike to the gut. Izuku didn’t even move his feet, his fire dragged the villain across the battlefield like he was nothing but paper in a storm.

He crashed into a wall of rubble and bounced, coughing blood.

Izuku appeared in front of him in a blink. No teleportation. Just speed.

“You killed him,” Izuku finally said, voice low, so low it didn’t sound like him. It sounded like fire speaking through a boy’s throat.

The villain laughed weakly. “That’s war, isn’t it?”

Izuku’s fist connected with his jaw, shattering bone. “You didn’t kill him in war,” he snarled. “You waited until we were separated. You watched. You chose him.”

He pummelled the villain again, this time with a flame-wrapped punch that cracked the ground behind his spine. The villain screamed.

“You enjoyed it,” Izuku whispered.

A firestorm ignited around them, golden, holy, righteous.

The villain’s mask cracked. “Y-you think you’re the only one who’s lost someone?! I–”

“You don’t get to speak his name,” Izuku snapped. “You don’t get to compare.”

The villain tried to fight back. A burst of shadow energy lashed toward him, a writhing spear of darkness, but it evaporated mid-air, swallowed by the golden inferno rising from Izuku’s core.

He advanced again, fire trailing in every step, wings stretching outward like a god of vengeance. “You took everything from me,” he said.

“Good,” the villain hissed, spitting blood. “Then you’ll feel it. That hollow pain. That–”

Izuku’s flames exploded outward, an eruption of light and heat that blinded everyone nearby. The villain screamed, consumed by fire that burned straight through armour, shadow, and bone.

There was no mercy in Izuku now.

He was wrath incarnate.

He grabbed the villain by the collar, dragging him up through the ash and smoke. “My tears can heal,” he growled, “but my flames..”

He shoved a palm against the villain’s chest. The fire coiled, then struck through him like a lance of molten gold.

“My flames erase.”

The scream that followed didn’t echo.

It was silenced by the sheer force of heat.

When Izuku stepped back, all that remained was charred, empty armour, caved in from the inside out.

The villain was gone.

Reduced to nothing.

There was no applause.

Only silence.

Izuku stood over the remains, chest heaving, blood and flame dripping from his fingertips. His wings sagged slightly behind him, dimming at the edges, his fire settling like cooling magma.

The wind screamed as Izuku soared above the buildings, his wings trailing golden embers that flickered like dying stars. Smoke from the earlier part of the battle still curled across the ruined battlefield below, casting long shadows over cracked ground and shattered walls. His heart beat frantically in his chest, not from exertion, but from dread. He couldn’t feel Katsuki anymore. Couldn’t sense that raw, familiar energy that always crackled like lightning just out of reach.

He landed with a crash, cratering the earth where his feet touched down. Debris shot outward, and the wind of his wings blew back the smoke.

And for the first time since the flames ignited..

He fell to his knees.

The adrenaline left him.

And all that remained..was grief.

He stared at his trembling hands.

I did it, he thought. But he’s still gone.

The victory was ash on his tongue.

Then he heard footsteps. Familiar ones.

Someone skidded to a stop behind him.

“Midoriya!” It was Yaoyorozu, dusty, limping. “We saw the explosion, what–”

She stopped when she saw the broken look on his face. The fire that still clung to his skin, dancing and flickering like it wasn’t ready to leave.

He didn’t say anything.

His fingers just dug into Katsuki’s jacket as he sobbed openly, forehead pressed to Katsuki’s. His wings drooped and curled around them like a shelter. He couldn’t hear the battle anymore. Couldn’t feel the enemy anymore. His power had turned inward.

“He’s gone,” he said quietly after a few seconds of sobbing.

Yaoyorozu stepped closer. “No..”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

She dropped to her knees beside him, and the weight of everything, the battle, the loss, the rage, settled around them like the smoke.

Izuku’s fists clenched.

But inside, he felt a shift.

And then something changed.

The tears that slipped from his cheeks landed on Katsuki’s chest, splotching into a soft golden glow. One drop. Two. Three.

They began to form a shape, like stars aligning. A pattern Izuku had seen only once before, burned into the inside of his forearm and echoed in a matching mark on Katsuki’s.

The Ignis Avis.

A constellation.

A birthright.

The air around them shivered as the mark pulsed. Then glowed. Then ignited.

Izuku’s eyes stayed solely on the the forming constellation, Yaoyorozu watched carefully, but eventually it got too bright for her and has to step back.

A ring of white-hot flame surrounded them, not burning, not consuming, only illuminating. The shape of the mark grew, spreading like a map across Katsuki’s chest, like a memory written in starlight. The sky above them darkened unnaturally, and from within the black, the same constellation began to shine.

Stars blinked into life above, seemingly impossible in the middle of the day. A wind stirred. Everyone still standing looked towards them, the villains apprehended, and they stared in awe.

He cradled Katsuki closer, pressing his hand to the mark. “Come back to me,” he whispered. “Please.”

And then the light consumed them.

Katsuki’s body began to glow, golden light spiralling along his arms, up his neck. The mark on his forearm burned bright with the Ignis Avis constellation, pulsing with each beat of Izuku’s own heart.

And then..a breath.

Izuku froze.

Then another.

Katsuki’s fingers twitched. His eyes fluttered, and the moment they opened, they were wide with confusion, horror, and relief.

“Izu..ku?” he rasped.

Izuku laughed, sobbing as he held Katsuki tightly, wings curling around them both like a cocoon. “Yeah,” he whispered. “It’s me.”

Katsuki looked at Izuku for a moment that seemed like forever, then he hugged him. Their hug was unlike any they’d shared before, slow, desperate, and full of unspoken things. Katsuki’s arms wrapped tightly around Izuku’s waist, trembling slightly, like if he let go for even a second, Izuku might vanish. Izuku buried his face into Katsuki’s shoulder, his hands fisting into the fabric of his shirt, clinging as if if he let go, Izuku would leave once more.

They held each other in complete stillness, hearts pressed together, matching rhythms, one solid, the other frantic. The mark pulsed once more, then slowly faded back into their skin. The constellation in the sky above them dimmed, and the flames surrounding them vanished, leaving only warmth.

They sat in the silence, the devastation of the battlefield around them, but in that moment, it felt like the world had stopped just for them.

“I thought you were dead,” Katsuki murmured after a long pause.

Izuku gave a small, broken smile. “I thought you were. Guess neither of us knows how to stay gone.”

“Idiots,” Katsuki muttered, but he reached up, weakly, and brushed his fingers along Izuku’s cheek. “You cried for me?”

“Like a waterfall.”

“Gross.”

“Shut up.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

When the villains were accounted for and the school was cleared, they all made their way back to their dorms, which was thankfully at the western end of UA, far away from the attack. When they all got to the dorms, they sat in the common room, still in their hero gear, not caring about getting the furniture dirty from their blood, dust, and sweat. They all looked towards Izuku, who stood next to Katsuki.

“You’re..alive, Midoriya.” Someone started.

“I am.” He answered.

“Why didn’t you come straight back, Deku?” Uraraka asked, which made even Katsuki look at him expectantly.

“I had things to sort out, a new..power to control.”

“Sooo, you’re a phoenix, is that why your hair is white?” Kaminari asked, pointing to Izuku’s fringe.

“Yeah, you could say that. There’s a lot of things that has changed.” Izuku gave them a small smile. “I’m sorry guys, but I think I need to go lay down before I pass out.” He gave them a quick wave goodbye, squeezing Katsuki’s arm slightly and walked to his room.

When he got to his room, he locked the door behind him and went to his bed, realising the room was vacant of..well, everything. He sighed, Katsuki must have his things in his room. He didn’t really have control over his new found speed, but he decided to just go for it and made his way in and out of Katsuki’s room within the blink of an eye, grabbing only his laptop.

When he got back, he sat cross-legged on his bed, his back hunched as his fingers flew across the keyboard. His eyes scanned article after article, police reports, grainy videos from anonymous sources, old forum threads, all centred around one thing: the League of Villains.

His breath was quiet, measured, but his body was tense. Every time the name ‘Shigaraki’ or ‘Dabi’ appeared on screen, his jaw clenched tighter.

He clicked open an old video, pixelated and shaky. It showed a chaotic scene, a gas station erupting into flames. But what caught his attention wasn’t the destruction, it was the flash of a cloaked figure vanishing through a shadowy wall, followed by a trail of ash and flickering embers. His heart skipped. He paused the video, zoomed in, sharpened the frame.

There. In the background, half-hidden in smoke, a large shape, concrete walls and rusted pipes, a stack of shipping containers behind what looked like a busted train yard fence. His fingers moved to the keyboard again.

“Where was this filmed?” he muttered, opening the source data. “Sendai outskirts..near the old freight depot..”

He cross-referenced maps, dug through archived land usage records, and found what he was looking for: a decommissioned industrial site, labelled ‘Hazard Zone C’. The area had supposedly been cleared and locked up after a major quirk-related incident over a decade ago. But Izuku knew that didn’t mean it was truly empty.

His eyes flicked to the date of the last inspection: never of neverary.

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the location blinking on the map, isolated, overgrown, and far from patrolling hero routes. It was perfect for people who wanted to disappear.

The cursor on the screen hovered over the coordinates. He wrote them down in his phone maps and saved the location in his phone..and went to sleep.

God he needed to sleep.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

He slept.

And slept.

And slept.

And did a little bit of sleeping.

Did I mention he slept?

Izuku slept for so long, that when he woke up it was almost midnight, and he fell asleep around midday.

He got up and changed out of his clothes, grabbing his phone and looking at the coordinates he had saved and jumped out the window, spreading his wings and flying towards Sendai, getting there within less than a second. Izuku slowed down his wing speed and looked over the buildings, trying to find where his phone said it was.

He spotted the old rundown building and landed on the road in front of it, redacting his wings. No lights were on, but Izuku knew that they were in there. He walked to the front door and twisted the doorknob, finding it unlocked. He didn’t care if they tried to attack him, he could overpower them all within seconds.

He opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him and walking into the common area where he heard some small chatter and a TV on.

“Oh, Twice, you’re back. I hope you bought my cig-” Dabi’s voice come from the couch where he was fully lying on, then turned around, fully expecting to see Twice but saw Izuku instead.

“UA brat!” He jumped off the couch and activated his hand with his blue flames.

Tomura spun around from his seat at the bar, wondering which student was dumb enough to sneak into their hideout, alone, when he saw Izuku.

“How did you find this place?” Tomura asked, signalling Dabi to stand down.

“You’re smart enough to figure that out, Tenko.” Izuku gave him a look, then sat down next to Tomura like he owned the place. “I want the truth, Shigaraki. Dabi deserves the truth too.”

Dabi looked at him like he was crazy, then looked towards Tomura confused. “Shig, what’s he on about?”

Tomura sighed and looked towards Dabi. “17 years ago, there was an apartment fire from an unknown cause. The owner of the apartment perished in the fire, it was all over the news, but the body was so burnt that they could never confirm that it was the person living there, and after that there was no investigation. The person who was burnt was Tamaki Keigo, he..was going to be the prodigy for the Hero Commission, and become a high ranking hero following his completion of his final exams and missions. He was..your partner, Dabi.”

Dabi’s face when blank, “are you fucking with me, Tomura? I’d never fucking get with anyone who isn’t–”

“We erased your memories of him.” Tomura interrupted. “You would’ve been no use to me if you were mourning him.”

“What the fuck. We’re talking about this later, why the fuck is the kid here?” Dabi glared towards Izuku.

“You found him, Keigo, in the apartment. Everything was on fire and you tried to save him, but something distracted you. That was..Izuku. Izuku appeared out of nowhere, and you went to save him from the flames, which made you leave Keigo and the flames caught on to his wings, which led to his demise. You asked me to send a portal to you, after that you were in a state of depression, so Kurogiri contacted Sensei and your memory was erased. Izuku went with Sensei who gave him to his wife to care for.”

“So what you’re fucking saying is–”

“I’m your son.” Izuku cut through Dabi.

“You look nothing like me.” Dabi deadpanned.

“I have a glamour, apparently.” Izuku explained.

“That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”

Izuku didn’t say anything for a moment, only stared at Dabi, then moved to Tomura. “I’m here to kill him.”

Dabi looked confused, but Tomura just looked, well, defeated. “He’s at your home, he’s been there for a while now. He’s dead to me, do what you wish with him.”

Izuku nodded and stood up from the stool, side glancing at Dabi as he walked past him and stopped when he got to the door. His wings came out and hugged close to him, he turned to look over his shoulder, giving Tomura a soft smile, “thank you, Tenko.”

Izuku opened the door without waiting for a response, and flew out of the building, making his way back to Tokyo to his home apartment.

When he got there, he opened one of the windows and let himself in. The house was pristine. Untouched by time.

He stepped inside. The air was wrong. It didn’t feel like home. It felt like a stage dressed up in old memories.

In the centre of the living room, standing beside a worn photo of Inko Midoriya, was All For One.

He was old now. Much older. The armour was gone, the tubes, the tech, all stripped away. Just a man with tired eyes, looking at the woman he could never control, only lose.

“So,” he said, without turning around, “the little bird found his flame.”

Izuku’s voice was cold. “Hello, father.”

“I see you know the truth,” All For One spoke. “You were always such a smart boy, Izuku.”

He turned.

His face was worn, skin cracked like old stone. But his eyes..they still gleamed with the same power consuming hunger.

“You’re here to kill me?”

Izuku’s flames flickered around his feet. “I’m here to end you.”

“Then do it,” All For One said. “But know this, dear son, I shaped the world you live in. Every war. Every loss. Every death. Even your precious Katsuki. All mine.”

Izuku’s body shook, wings trembling with fury. He raised his hand, a fireball forming. “You’re going to burn.”

All For One’s smirk twisted. “Do you really think you’re stronger than me?”

“No,” Izuku said quietly, stepping forward. “I’m not stronger than you. I am something you never understood. I’m rebirth. I am the end of you.”

His fire surged, brighter than the sun, wrapping around the walls, the ceiling, the furniture, and then around All For One.

All For One tried to move, to call upon some last flicker of power. But the fire rejected him. It wasn’t destruction. It was judgement. His flesh cracked, peeled, screamed in the language of death.

Izuku didn’t scream. He didn’t cry.

He simply watched.

When it was done, there were no ashes. No bones. Just a hollow mark on the floor where evil had finally met its end.

Izuku stood in silence, the warmth of the flames fading into the cool twilight that bled through the shattered window.

Inko’s photo still sat on the table, untouched.

He stepped over and gently turned it down.

“I’m free, mom.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Later on in the villains hideout, hours after Izuku left, Dabi sat on the hideouts rooftop, listening to the low hum of the city below, a lit cigarette between his lips, glowing a faint orange.

Tomura stood at the rooftops doorway, hands in his pockets. “You remember.”

Dabi didn’t look at him, just stayed focus on the city in front of him. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Sensei is dead. We don’t have to be so tense now.” Tomura spoke as he sat next to Dabi, taking the cigarette from him and taking a puff.

“So, the brat is my son, but he was born from thin air.” Dabi took the cigarette back and put it back between his lips, but not taking a puff.

“Izuku was born under particular circumstances, but biologically, he is yours and Keigo’s son.” Tomura told Dabi parts of the truth, explaining it all would take too long.

“Why did you make me forget him?”

Tomura didn’t answer for a moment, “I told you already, you were no use to me if you were depressed all the time.”

For a long while, neither spoke.

Then Dabi said, voice low, “It still smells like him, sometimes.”

“Keigo,” he continued, his tone hollow. “Always left traces of that cinnamon crap he used to eat. Candied garbage. Used to drive me insane.”

A faint twitch pulled at the corner of Tomura’s mouth. “He used to sneak it into my pockets. Thought it was funny.”

Dabi chuckled once. It didn’t sound like a laugh. More like a dry breath cut short.

“He was always laughing,” Tomura added quietly. “Even when things were going to hell.”

Dabi turned to face him, the cigarette now in his fingers. “I loved him, you know.”

“I know,” Tomura said, looking down at the dead roads. “So did I. Just..different.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Then Dabi said, more to himself, “I never figured out what did it. What started the fire.”

Tomura tensed, his shoulders drawing tighter beneath his jacket.

Dabi glanced over, brow furrowing. “You okay?”

Tomura didn’t answer right away, just stared at the glow of the city.

Then finally, he spoke, so softly it was almost a breath.

“It broke my heart to kill Keigo.”

Dabi sat up straighter, the cigarette slipping from his fingers and falling down to the pathway below.

“What?” he rasped.

Tomura turned, slowly. His face unreadable, eyes shadowed, voice steady, but barely.

“I never meant for it to happen. But I did it. I was the one who lit the fire.”

Dabi was still.

Frozen.

“I didn’t know he was home,” Tomura went on, words tight and deliberate. “He was getting too close. Digging where he shouldn’t. Asking questions about All For One..about you. If he’d found what he was looking for, he would’ve been a target. Worse than a target. They would’ve torn him apart, Dabi. Ripped through his mind until they got what they wanted.”

“So you–” Dabi’s voice broke. “You killed him to protect him?”

Shigaraki nodded once. “I wanted to scare him off. Burn the evidence. Make it look like a warning. I thought he’d gone out. I didn’t know he was still inside until it was too late.”

Dabi stood slowly, hands clenched into fists at his sides. He looked like a man coming undone. Not from rage, from heartbreak.

“You could’ve told me.”

“I couldn’t,” Tomura said, a raw edge in his voice. “Because the second I saw you holding Izuku..I knew I couldn’t take you losing both of us in the same breath.”

“You didn’t have to protect me from the truth,” he muttered, turning away from his leader.

Tomura looked towards him. “I did.”

“Why?”

Tomura opened his mouth. Closed it.

His hand twitched, like he wanted to reach out but didn’t trust himself to.

Instead, he said, softly, “Because you mean more to me than anyone else left alive.”

Dabi’s breath hitched. He didn’t turn around. Didn’t move.

But his voice was quieter now.

“Then why do I feel like you died with him?”

Tomura didn’t answer. Just sat there, aching in a silence that spoke volumes.

And Dabi, he finally turned, his expression unreadable, but his eyes..his eyes looked straight into Tomura like he could see every single thing his mind was thinking about.

“Don’t lie to me again,” he said, voice hoarse. “Not about him. Not about anything.”

“I won’t.”

Their eyes held for a moment too long.

Dabi’s chest rose and fell like he was trying to breathe through something thicker than air.

Then he dropped his gaze and stood up, Tomura following suite, and he walked past Tomura, brushing his shoulder just barely, not quite a touch, but something lingered.

Something always did.

And Tomura stood there in the dark, watching him go, wondering how love could feel like this.

And that’s it. That the end of the story.

Chapter Text

Continuous knocking woke Izuku up, he groaned and rolled over, folding his pillow over his head to block out the noise.

“Oi, Izuku! You better not be asleep in there! You’ve been sleeping for nearly 24 hours! Get your ass up!” Katsuki’s booming voice came through the door.

Izuku opened his eyes and looked at his phone and saw that it was 8:20 AM.

‘Ah shit.’ He slept through his alarm.

“Go to homeroom, Kacchan! I’ll be out in a bit.” He called out, getting out of bed and got his uniform from his closet. He heard Katsuki grumble and his angry stomps leaving the hallway. Izuku put on his uniform and noticed it seemed too tight and short, he shrugged it off.

He grabbed his bag from where he left it that night when he got back and stole his things from Katsuki’s room, and rushed out the door, using his new speed to get to the classroom in the nick of time.

Izuku opened the sliding door to his classroom and quickly walked in, bowing in apology. “Aizawa-sensei, I apologise for being late. I also think I need a new uniform, this one seems to be a bit tight now.”

He straightened up and looked at his teacher, who just gave him a blank stare. “Aizawa-sensei?” He asked, then looked towards his classmates, who all had their jaws dropped. “Guys, what’s wrong?” He asked, worried.

“Deku?” Came Uraraka’s voice, “is that you?”

“Yeah, of course it is, Uraraka. What’s going on? Why are you guys looking at me like that?”

“You’re not Izuku.” Katsuki growled out, his hands starting to pop with small explosions.

“Kacchan? Of course I’m me. Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” He asked, now stressed.

“Dude, have you looked at yourself?” Kaminari asked.

Izuku looked at him weirdly, “no, I was in a rush to get dressed this morning.”

Yaoyorozu, the blessing she is, created a small handheld mirror and gave it to Izuku. Izuku looked at himself in the mirror and stepped back, wide eyed.

His hair was fully white, around the corners of his inner eyes had black triangular eyeliner-like markings, and his eyes..oh his eyes were the same electric blue as Dabi’s. And by the way his uniform didn’t fit him anymore, he’s assuming he had grown a few inches. The glamour that All For One had put on him must’ve released when Izuku had killed him.

“Oh, um..” he didn’t know what to say, he didn’t really want to explain everything to his classmates. “I went through a lot of change these last few months, I guess this change is apart of it.” Was all he gave them before walking to his seat, his classmates eyes on him every second, making him feel like an animal in a zoo.

For his next few periods, he felt vulnerable. Everyone he walked past looked at him with surprise, attraction..and lust. It made him sick to his stomach, and stayed close to Katsuki, Todoroki, and Shinso.

Lunch finally came around and Izuku beelined for somewhere he knew no one would be, the rooftop.

He sat near the edge, his food next to him as he unleashed his wings, letting the soft breeze through them. He pulled up his knees to his chest and places his cheek on his knee, looking towards the distance in front of him

He missed Chumya and his mom. He had learnt so much from them, and they’re both gone from his world.

He started to hum a short tune that his mother had used to sing to him. “Hmm-mm, hmm-mm, mm-mm mm-mm-mm..you are gonna grow..wings.” Tears threatened to fall form his eyes, had his mother known what he was?

Who he was?

His wings cocooned around him, blocking everything in the world out. He wanted everything to go back to the way it was, he wanted Tenko back, to never figure out who he was, to have his mom alive, to be with..Katsuki.

The door to the rooftop opened with a creak, and three sets of footsteps were heard. Izuku didn’t look, he knew who they were.

“Izuku,” came Katsuki’s voice, blank.

Izuku didn’t let down his cocooned wings, frankly he didn’t want to talk to anyone, especially Katsuki. After the initial shock and excitement from his return, he remembered what he had previously done to his best friend.

If he could still call him that.

Izuku’s heart thudded in his chest like it was knocking on his ribs to be let out. He couldn’t face him. Not yet. Not after everything. Not after that fight, their fight. Before the plane. Before his death.

Katsuki had said things. They’d both said things.

Words that haunted Izuku more than fire or ash ever could.

“You gonna say something?” Katsuki’s voice broke through the silence, sharp and tired.

Izuku flinched. He hadn’t heard that voice in months, and now, hearing it felt like reopening a wound still bleeding under scar tissue.

“I wasn’t expecting..visitors,” Izuku said quietly, not turning around, his wings still encasing him. His voice was deeper now, quieter.

“We figured you’d come up here,” Todoroki said gently, stepping forward. “You used to.”

“You were always here when things felt too loud,” Shinso added, his tone thoughtful, understanding in a way only he could be.

Izuku smiled, faint and bitter. “Some things never change, huh?”

A long silence followed. The wind tugged again at his wings.

“You look different,” Todoroki said, eyes tracing the white to yellow-to-red ombré glow of his wings.

Izuku nodded slowly. “I’m not who I was.”

Katsuki stepped forward then, boots hard against concrete. “No, you’re not.”

Izuku flinched again. The way Katsuki said it wasn’t cruel, wasn’t even cold, but it cut all the same.

He finally let down his wings and turned his head towards Katsuki, and Izuku’s eyes met his, the breath left his lungs.

There was something raw in those red eyes. Not anger, not disappointment, just pain. Pain that mirrored his own.

“Before the plane..we fought,” Izuku said, voice rough. “And I–I thought maybe..when I died, that was the last thing we’d ever say to each other.”

Katsuki stared at him, unmoving. “It was.”

That knocked the air from Izuku more than any punch ever could.

Shinso and Todoroki stepped back slightly, sensing this wasn’t theirs to interrupt.

Izuku stood up from the ground, his wings flowing around him as he turned around to face katsuki. “I wanted to tell you, Kacchan! I did, really. But it was hard, and I was scared! I knew if I told you, you’d–”

“I’d what? Leave you? Hit you? Hate you?” Katsuki cut him off, stepping closer to him. “I would never hate you, Izuku.”

Izuku’s eyes widened.

Katsuki’s voice cracked. “I wasn’t mad at you, Izuku. I was mad because you didn’t tell me straight away!”

“I didn’t want to hurt you!”

“You dying hurt more!”

Silence. Not even the wind stirred now.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” Katsuki whispered, teeth clenched. “I thought I lost the one person who understood me.”

Izuku’s wings sagged slightly, as though the weight of his guilt had finally landed on his back.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and his voice cracked so painfully soft that it hurt to hear, he tilted his head down, he didn’t deserve to look at Katsuki. “I was trying to protect you. I thought it’d be better if you hated me.”

“You think it’s that easy to make me hate you? Izuku, I just told you I never would.”

Izuku looked up slowly, his eyes burning. Katsuki repeated himself, Katsuki never repeated himself.

Katsuki stepped forward, and for a moment, just stood before him. Their heights had evened out now, both of them older, different, but somehow still the same. He reached out, just slightly, letting his hand brush the edge of Izuku’s wing. The feathers were warm.

“You look like hell,” he muttered.

Izuku laughed, choked. “You should see what it feels like inside.”

Katsuki smiled, barely. “Then maybe next time, stop trying to carry it all alone.”

Behind them, Todoroki leaned toward Shinso and whispered, “Are they always like this?”

Shinso nodded. “Tragically.”

Izuku exhaled shakily, and then, gently, he stepped forward. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Katsuki looked at him, expression unreadable.

“For coming up here,” Izuku continued. “For not looking at me like I’m something else.”

“You are something else,” Katsuki said. “But you’ve always been.”

He didn’t say more, didn’t have to. The way he looked at him said enough.

Izuku finally let himself breathe. And he did the one things that probably would’ve gotten an explosion to the face for; he pulled Katsuki into a hug.

He dragged Katsuki forward, and now that he had the glamour taken off him, he towered a few inches taller than Katsuki. He wrapped one arm behind Katsuki’s lower back, and one resting on the back of his neck, his wings covered Shinso’s and Todoroki’s view of them. He pulled him in close, and tightened his hold, and Katsuki just let it all happen, wrapping his own arms around Izuku.

Their arms had started to warm up, where they had the matching constellation mark, then the heat moved towards their heart and eventually spread throughout their bodies. Light overcame their vision and the once soft breeze came stronger around them. It lasted for a few seconds before the light disappeared and the wind came lighter.

Izuku dropped his wings and stepped back from Katsuki, which he didn’t want to do, he was warm, always so warm, and smelt like a fresh batch of homemade caramel.

Shinso and Todoroki looked at them dumbfounded, though Todoroki more blank.

“What was..that?” Shinso asked, his jaw slightly opened as his eyes stayed wide in surprise.

Izuku and Katsuki looked at them, then to each other. “I don’t know,” Izuku answered, “I’ve never read or been told about anything like this.”

Katsuki shrugged and sat down near Izuku’s food, watching the skyline. Shinso and Todoroki followed and sat down, leaving Izuku the only one standing.

He smiled as he watched the three start a small conversation, happy that Katsuki has others that he has grown comfortable with people who don’t push him. He sent his wings back into his body and sat down with them, offering some of the food he had in his lunch box to the boys.

It was peaceful, Izuku never wanted it to end.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The morning of Izuku’s 18th birthday began not with confetti or song, but with silence.

Golden light crept through the curtains of his dorm room, brushing against the edge of his desk where news clippings and scattered sketches still sat. His laptop, long since closed from another late night of quiet research, blinked with a low battery warning. Izuku stirred in bed, white hair disheveled.

He woke slowly, eyes blinking open to the sound of birds chirping just outside the window. His breath fogged briefly in the cool spring air. The warmth of his room, the softness of his sheets, it was all real. Not a vision. Not a fever dream. This was life. His life. Again.

And it was his birthday.

His 18th.

Alive.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, unsure of what he should be feeling. Gratitude? Hope? Fear that it could all be taken again?

His wings shifted behind him as he stood and padded toward the window. He opened it just enough to let in the morning breeze, the smell of dew-soaked grass and sakura petals filling the room. Far below, he saw the campus stirring, students heading to breakfast, others stretching for a morning jog. Nothing looked out of place. Except him.

He caught his reflection in the glass, white hair tousled, sea-glass blue eyes dulled with sleep, and those enormous wings behind him that he had let out. He looked more phoenix than human these days. More Dabi than Izuku. More memory than boy. But even so..he was here.

Eighteen.

He turned from the window and quietly got dressed. No costume, no jacket, just a green sweater, and black pants. He combed his hair, brushed his teeth, and didn’t dare check his phone yet. He didn’t want to see the messages. Not yet.

Instead, he went to the rooftop.

It had become a habit, morning solitude above the world, away from questions and careful stares. He perched on the ledge, wings spread lightly for balance, eyes scanning the horizon. The sun was still low, brushing the buildings of UA in gold. Somewhere down there, he knew they were planning something. A surprise, maybe. A party. Or at least a cake. Uraraka was terrible at keeping secrets.

He sighed.

“Happy birthday,” he muttered to himself, staring into the distance. “You made it.”

And for a while, that was enough.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

By midday, he couldn’t escape it.

People kept trying to play it cool, but the slip-ups were everywhere, Kirishima clumsily blocking the common room when Izuku walked by, Sero nervously deflecting with way too much enthusiasm about lunch options, and even Todoroki had let something slip about ‘later tonight’ before pretending he hadn’t said anything at all.

Still, it was kind of sweet.

Izuku spent most of the afternoon pretending not to know. He helped Iida organise some study notes, trained briefly with Aizawa on rooftop wind-control flight landings, and spent a solid hour helping Shoji clean up a torn-up training field.

All the while, little gifts appeared on his bed back in the dorm. A phoenix-feather embroidered scarf from Yaoyorozu. A box of spicy soba from Todoroki, somehow still warm. A hand-drawn comic from Kaminari and Sero featuring “Fire Boy and Blast Man” fighting crime in ridiculously cool leather jackets.

But it was the note from Shinso that made him pause:

‘It’s weird seeing you around again. But I’m glad I get to. We all are. Welcome back. Don’t waste your second shot.’

It hit harder than he expected.

He held the note for a long time, then carefully tucked it into the sketchbook on his nightstand, right next to a photograph of the whole class, before things got heavy, back when they were all wide-eyed and full of impossible dreams.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

By sunset, he could smell the cake.

And hear Kaminari yelling, “NO, NO! DON’T LIGHT THE CANDLES YET–”

Izuku laughed under his breath and finally made his way down to the common area.

And that’s when the celebration truly began.

Uraraka dragged him in by the arm. The lights dimmed. And then–

“SURPRISE!”

Streamers. Confetti. A glittering ‘18’ balloon suspended from the ceiling. Even Aizawa was in the back corner, begrudgingly sipping tea while Eri waved a sparkler dangerously close to the curtains.

There were hugs, gifts, jokes, and laughter. Food covered the kitchen counter. Someone put on music. At one point, Mina and Kaminari started a dance-off that ended with Sato gently picking both of them up like squabbling cats and setting them on opposite couches.

But Izuku was glowing, with something warm, more human. He belonged here. He felt it again.

His eyes found Katsuki across the room, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, expression unreadable but gaze soft when it landed on Izuku.

Izuku held it for a moment. Then gave a small nod.

Katsuki nodded back.

Later, when most of the class was distracted with sugar and karaoke, they’d slip away.

But for now, Izuku let the night wrap around him like wings of light and memory.

He was 18.

He was alive.

And he was finally ready to live like he meant it.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The lights in the common area of Class 3-A’s dorms blinked in time with the music thudding softly from speakers near the couch. Streamers hung crookedly from the ceiling, most of them green, white, or red, colours of fire and hope, chosen intentionally, even if no one admitted it out loud. A birthday cake sat on the kitchen counter half-devoured, the icing slightly melted, and there were more soda cans than there were students.

Izuku was laughing. Genuinely laughing. And that in itself had been enough to keep the party alive.

He’d spent the night surrounded by the people who had carried his memory like a wound for months, Uraraka had cried when she hugged him, Iida had given a heartfelt speech, Kaminari had tried to sneak Phoenix-themed puns into every conversation until Sero stuffed a cupcake in his mouth. Aizawa even dropped by for five minutes, grumbled about curfew, and then disappeared with the faintest trace of a smirk.

But as the night wore on and the others got caught in games, music, and midnight sugar highs, Izuku glanced at Katsuki across the room. The flickering lights caught the edge of Katsuki’s sharp jaw, his hair messier than usual, his eyes tracking Izuku like a magnet he couldn’t help but lean toward.

Izuku gave a nod toward the door.

Katsuki, of course, was already on his feet.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The cool summer night wrapped around them as they stepped outside. The stars glittered above, clear and bright, the moon low and golden on the horizon. They walked in silence down toward the quiet side of campus, past the sports field, the dorms disappearing behind them like the rest of the world.

Izuku’s wings rustled faintly with each step as he let them out, folded tight, but still catching wind and starlight. His hair, still that snowy white, glowed faintly in the moon’s silver wash. Katsuki kept glancing at him, subtle, as though unsure if what he was seeing was still his Izuku or some dream made real.

They reached a low stone wall near the garden behind the teacher’s building. Izuku climbed up first, sitting comfortably, wings resting like folded arms behind his back. Katsuki joined, slumping next to him, shoulder brushing shoulder.

“I still hate parties,” Katsuki muttered.

Izuku snorted. “You say that, but you showed up with sparklers.”

“Those were for you.”

“I know. I liked them.”

They sat like that for a while, letting the silence stretch between them, calm and warm. The only sounds were the soft hum of insects and the occasional burst of laughter carried from the dorms.

“I’ve been thinking,” Izuku said, voice quieter now. “A lot.”

“You? No way.”

Izuku elbowed him, but he didn’t deny it.

Katsuki turned his head slightly. “About what?”

Izuku hesitated. Then looked at him fully.

“About life. And death. And the space in between. About what I want now that I’ve had the chance to come back.”

Katsuki was still. His fingers curled slightly against the stone. “And?”

“I don’t want to wait anymore,” Izuku said. His voice was gentle, but firm. “I don’t want to live like I’m running out of time. Because I did. And it was awful. And the only thing I could think of when I was gone was you.”

Katsuki swallowed, jaw clenching.

“You’re everything good that stayed constant,” Izuku continued, heart pounding. “Even when I couldn’t see or hear you, I kept feeling you. Like gravity.”

Katsuki opened his mouth, then closed it again, eyes wide with something raw.

“I want to get married,” Izuku said suddenly.

Katsuki blinked. “You..what?”

“I want to marry you. Right now. Tonight.” Izuku’s voice was shaky but sincere, his cheeks flushed pink from either the night or the nerves. “No fancy suits, no huge crowd. Just us. Just a promise. I know we’re still young, and I know it’s probably insane, but Kacchan–”

“Shut up,” Katsuki breathed. He was staring at him like Izuku had set fire to the stars.

Izuku’s heart sank. “I–sorry. That was stupid, I–”

Katsuki grabbed his hand. Tight. Calloused fingers laced with his.

“Shut up,” Katsuki said again, softer this time. “You don’t say that kind of thing and apologise for it.”

Izuku blinked. “So..?”

Katsuki stared at him, gaze intense, vulnerable. “I thought about it too, y’know. Losing you..it destroyed me. I didn’t say anything cause I didn’t want to pressure you. Didn’t want you to think I was scared you’d disappear again.”

Izuku leaned in, forehead pressing against Katsuki’s as tears formed in his eyes. “I want you, Kacchan. Forever, if we’ve got it.”

Katsuki suddenly kissed him.

It wasn’t fiery or rushed, just slow, steady, deep, aching with the weight of everything they’d survived.

When they pulled back, Katsuki grinned, crooked and fierce. “You got a ring or something, or are we winging it?”

Izuku laughed through the tears in his eyes. “I’m literally part bird, we can definitely wing it.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku and Katsuki walked side by side down an empty street in a quiet district on the outskirts of Tokyo. Their fingers brushed once. Then again. Eventually, Katsuki took Izuku’s hand without a word.

The convenience store bags rustled in Izuku’s other hand, two cheap silver bands in a small box, and a pair of canned coffees they hadn’t opened yet.

Neither of them had planned this when they snuck out of the dorms. Not really.

But the weight of everything, of the years they’d wasted, of near-deaths and resurrections, of unspoken love finally spoken, had tilted something in their world. They didn’t want to wait anymore.

And so they found him: a sleepy old man with a wrinkled shirt and a missing button, posted outside a 24-hour photo studio with a cardboard sign that read: LICENSED MARRIAGE OFFICIANT — NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

He looked up at them from his chair, blinked behind foggy glasses, and asked, “You got rings?”

Izuku lifted the plastic bag.

The man squinted, then nodded. “Alright. Step inside. Let’s get you boys married.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Inside, the lights buzzed softly, casting a pale hum over the faded wallpaper and fake flower arrangements. The room smelled like dust and decades-old cologne. There was a plastic arch pressed against the back wall and a pair of plastic chairs someone had pushed aside.

They stood under the arch together, hands clasped, shoulders just barely touching.

The officiant cleared his throat and opened a beat-up booklet. “State your names.”

“Midoriya Izuku,” Izuku said softly, glancing sideways at Katsuki, heart thudding. His voice shook, but his hands didn’t.

“Bakugo Katsuki,” Katsuki muttered, voice low but steady as granite.

The man looked up at them. “Do you both willingly and freely enter into this union?”

Katsuki scoffed, the edge of a smirk twitching at his mouth. “Hell yeah.”

Izuku laughed under his breath. “Yes.”

“Rings,” the officiant prompted, holding out a hand.

Izuku fumbled in the bag and passed them over.

The man looked at the plain silver bands, nodded once in approval, and handed them back. “Then by the power granted to me by the Tokyo Municipal Civil Registry and whatever gods are watching over this dusty little chapel, I now pronounce you..husband and husband.”

Izuku blinked. That was it?

“You may exchange rings,” the officiant added, already reaching for a cup of vending machine coffee.

Katsuki took Izuku’s hand first, sliding the thin silver ring onto his finger without a word. Then, Izuku did the same. His hand trembled only a little.

Their fingers lingered, holding tight.

They didn’t kiss, not here. Not yet.

But they looked at each other, really looked. Years of friendship. Years of heartbreak. Of fighting, dying, reviving, surviving. Of knowing each other deeper than anyone else ever would.

“Bakugo Izuku,” Katsuki muttered after a second, tilting his head. “Still sounds weird.”

Izuku flushed. “You took my last name?”

Katsuki shrugged, eyes sharp and warm. “You were the one who died and came back with wings. Makes you harder to argue with.”

Izuku laughed, then pressed their foreheads together.

Two souls. One vow. No questions asked.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku brought them to his house, barren, cold, empty. The burn mark from All For One’s death was long gone.

Izuku pulled Katsuki into him by the waist, kissing him deeply. The kind of kiss that said ‘I’m still here, and you’re mine now.’ Izuku leaned into him, hands threading through Katsuki’s hair, pulling him closer. It was warm and grounding, like finding oxygen after holding your breath too long.

They moved together through the quiet house, shedding layers like memories. Shirts discarded. Boots kicked aside. A trail of laughter and heat left in their wake until they reached Izuku’s old bedroom.

It hadn’t changed. Not really.

The All Might posters still clung to the walls. His old notebooks were stacked neatly on the shelf. The bed, though, looked smaller than he remembered.

Katsuki looked around and snorted. “You used to sleep in this?”

“I grew since then, okay?” Izuku laughed, nudging him.

Katsuki caught his wrist and tugged him closer, lips brushing Izuku’s ear. “Yeah, I can tell.”

A flush crept up Izuku’s neck, but before he could reply, Katsuki pulled him in again, and this time their kiss deepened, more urgent. Less teasing. Katsuki’s hands slid against Izuku’s chest, palms warm on bare skin. Izuku gasped into the kiss, his fingers tightening around Katsuki’s shoulders, steadying himself against the dizzying pull of it.

Their bodies remembered each other like gravity. Every touch was familiar, every breath shared. They moved to the bed, careful but hungry, fingers exploring in reverence. The mattress squeaked as they collapsed onto it, Izuku on his back with Katsuki leaning over him, eyes dark and full of emotion.

“I still can’t believe we actually did it,” Izuku murmured, smiling as Katsuki brushed hair from his face.

“Married you?” Katsuki smirked. “Yeah. Me neither. Thought we’d end up throwing punches at the altar.”

They both laughed, and then it faded into quiet again. Just the rustle of sheets. The beat of two hearts trying to sync up after years of being out of rhythm.

Izuku reached up, cupping Katsuki’s cheek. “I’ve waited a long time to feel like this.”

Katsuki leaned into the touch, eyes fluttering shut. “Safe?”

“Home.”

The word hung in the air between them, heavy with history. Katsuki leaned down and kissed him again, slower this time. More deliberate. Each press of lips was a promise. Each sigh was a vow.

They didn’t rush it.

Katsuki’s hands mapped every scar, every freckle, while his mouth trailed kisses down Izuku’s collarbone, across his chest, pausing where an old wound had long since faded. “I hated seeing you hurt,” he whispered.

Izuku ran a hand through his hair. “I hated not knowing if you’d still want me. After I came back. After what I became.”

Katsuki looked up at him. “You think any of that matters? You’re still you, Izuku. Fire, wings, all of it. You’re still the guy who drives me crazy, who makes me want to be better. Who I’d follow to hell and back.”

Izuku’s throat tightened. “You did follow me to hell. More than once.”

“Then let’s call tonight heaven.”

They kissed again, slow and searing. No rush. No fear. Just two souls, baring everything, pressing together like they could forget where one ended and the other began. It wasn’t about lust. It was about need. About finding warmth in a world that had gone cold too many times.

Katsuki’s breath hitched, just the slightest tremor, but it was enough to fuel the fire burning in Izuku’s chest. He pressed closer, his body heat radiating against Katsuki’s, their heights matching perfectly. “Claim me?” Katsuki repeated, his voice laced with challenge. “You think you can handle me?”

Izuku’s lips curved into a dominant smile. “Try me.”

Without another word, Izuku captured Katsuki’s lips in a fierce kiss, his hands gripping at Katsuki’s hips and pulling him flush against his body. Katsuki responded eagerly, his arms wrapping around Izuku’s neck as he deepened the kiss, their tongues tangling in a dance of passion and possession. Izuku’s heart raced, the thrill of dominance coursing through him as he took control, guiding the kiss with a confidence that left no doubt who was in charge.

Breaking the kiss, Izuku trailed kisses along Katsuki’s jawline, down his neck, savouring the taste of his skin. “You’re mine, Katsuki,” he whispered against the sensitive spot where Katsuki’s pulse throbbed. “Every inch of you.”

Katsuki shivered, his breath coming in short gasps. “Prove it,” he challenged, his voice rough with desire.

Izuku’s hands moved purposefully, removing Katsuki’s pants and underwear, leaving Katsuki to lay before him, naked and unashamed, his body a testament to years of hard work and dedication. Izuku’s gaze lingered, taking in every detail, the defined abs, the lean hips, the way Katsuki’s breath quickened under his scrutiny.

“Turn around,” Izuku commanded, his voice firm but laced with tenderness.

Katsuki obeyed without hesitation, his movements fluid as he pivoted to face the pillow. The fading light illuminated his body, casting a soft glow over his skin. Izuku sat up on his knees, his hands resting on Katsuki’s shoulders, kneading the tension from his muscles. “Relax,” he murmured, leaning down, his lips brushing against Katsuki’s ear. “Let me take care of you.”

Katsuki’s shoulders sagged slightly, as if the weight of the day had finally caught up with him. “I’m all yours,” he admitted, his voice softer than Izuku had ever heard it.

Izuku smiled, a possessive warmth spreading through his chest. He trailed his hands down Katsuki’s arms, over his chest, and finally to his hips, where he paused, his fingers brushing the sensitive skin at the small of his back. Katsuki shivered again, his body responding instinctively to Izuku’s touch.

“You’re so beautiful,” Izuku whispered, his breath ghosting across Katsuki’s skin. He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the curve of Katsuki’s spine, then another, and another, each one deliberate and reverent. Katsuki’s skin was warm and smooth beneath his lips, and Izuku took his time, savouring the feel of him.

Katsuki’s hands clenched into fists, his body trembling with anticipation. “Izuku..” he groaned, his voice a plea for more.

Izuku chuckled softly, the sound vibrating against Katsuki’s skin. “Impatient, as always,” he teased, his hands moving lower, cupping Katsuki’s ass possessively. “But I’m in no rush. Tonight, I’m going to take my time with you.”

Katsuki’s breath caught, his body arching slightly into Izuku’s touch. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he muttered, his voice tinged with a mix of frustration and desire.

“Every second,” Izuku admitted, his lips curving into a smug smile. He pressed a firm kiss to the centre of Katsuki’s back, then began to trail kisses down, his hands squeezing and massaging Katsuki’s ass as he went. Katsuki’s skin was flushed, his body responding eagerly to Izuku’s touch, and Izuku felt a surge of pride and possessiveness at the sight.

By the time Izuku reached the backs of Katsuki’s thighs, Katsuki was trembling, his breath coming in short, uneven gasps. “Izuku..please,” he begged, his voice raw with need.

Izuku straightened, his hands resting on Katsuki’s hips as he stepped closer, pressing his body against Katsuki’s from behind. “Please what?” he murmured, his lips brushing against Katsuki’s ear. “Tell me what you want.”

Katsuki’s head fell forward, his blonde hair cascading over his shoulders. “You,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “I want you. Now.”

Izuku’s heart swelled with a mix of love and desire. He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the side of Katsuki’s neck. “As you wish,” he said, his voice firm and commanding.

Izuku stood, his gaze raking over Katsuki’s body with a hunger that left no doubt of his intentions. He reached out, tracing the lines of Katsuki’s muscles, his fingers brushing the sensitive skin of his inner thighs. Katsuki shivered, his body arching slightly into the touch, and Izuku smirked, the sight fuelling his desire.

“You’re so responsive,” Izuku murmured, his voice low and appreciative. “It’s beautiful.”

Katsuki’s cheeks flushed, but he made no move to cover himself. “Shut up and touch me,” he muttered, his voice laced with embarrassment and desire.

Izuku laughed softly, the sound warm and affectionate. He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Katsuki’s shoulder blade, then another to the curve of his spine. “As you wish,” he repeated, his hands moving purposefully as he began to explore every inch of Katsuki’s body, his touch firm yet tender, leaving no doubt of his dominance and devotion.

The room was filled with the sounds of their breathing, heavy and ragged, as Izuku’s hands and lips mapped every inch of Katsuki’s skin. The twilight had given way to darkness, the city lights twinkling outside the window, but neither of them noticed. Their world had shrunk to this moment, this connection, this passionate exploration of each other’s bodies.

Katsuki’s skin was flushed, his body trembling with anticipation, as Izuku’s lips trailed lower, his hands squeezing and massaging Katsuki’s ass possessively. “Izuku..” Katsuki groaned, his voice a plea for more.

Izuku chuckled softly, the sound vibrating against Katsuki’s skin. “Not yet,” he teased, his hands moving lower, his fingers brushing the sensitive skin behind Katsuki’s knees. “I’m not done with you yet.”

Katsuki’s breath caught, his body arching slightly into Izuku’s touch. “You’re enjoying this too much,” he muttered, his voice tinged with a mix of frustration and desire.

“I want to ravish you,” Izuku admitted, his lips curving into a smug smile. He pressed a firm kiss to the back of Katsuki’s thigh, then began to trail kisses up, his hands squeezing and massaging Katsuki’s ass as he went. Katsuki’s skin was flushed, his body responding eagerly to Izuku’s touch, and Izuku felt a surge of pride and possessiveness at the sight.

By the time Izuku reached the small of Katsuki’s back, Katsuki was trembling, his breath coming in short, uneven gasps. “Izuku..please,” he begged, his voice raw with need.

Izuku straightened, his hands resting on Katsuki’s hips as he stepped closer, pressing his body against Katsuki’s from behind. His erection, hard and insistent, nestled against Katsuki’s ass, and Katsuki moaned, his body arching into the contact.

“Turn over,” Izuku commanded, his voice firm but laced with tenderness.

Katsuki obeyed without hesitation, his movements fluid as he rolled onto his back, his eyes locking onto Izuku’s. The desire burning in Izuku’s gaze sent a shiver down Katsuki’s spine, and he licked his lips, his breath coming in short gasps.

Izuku’s eyes darkened with hunger as he took in the sight of Katsuki spread out before him, his body flushed and eager. He reached out, tracing the lines of Katsuki’s chest, his fingers brushing the sensitive peaks of his nipples. Katsuki shivered, his body responding instinctively to Izuku’s touch, and Izuku smirked, the sight fuelling his desire.

“You’re so beautiful,” Izuku whispered, his voice hoarse with need. He leaned down, capturing Katsuki’s lips in a fierce kiss, his hands moving to grip Katsuki’s hips possessively. Katsuki responded eagerly, his arms wrapping around Izuku’s neck as he deepened the kiss, their tongues tangling in a dance of passion and possession.

Breaking the kiss, Izuku trailed kisses along Katsuki’s jawline, down his neck, savouring the taste of his skin. “You’re mine, Katsuki,” he whispered again, against the sensitive spot where Katsuki’s pulse throbbed. “Every inch of you.”

Katsuki’s breath hitched, his body trembling with anticipation. “Then prove it,” he challenged, his voice rough with desire.

Izuku’s lips curved into a smug smile. “With pleasure.”

He reached down, his fingers brushing the head of his erection, then trailed lower, teasing the sensitive skin of Katsuki’s inner thighs. Katsuki’s breath caught, his body arching slightly into the touch, and Izuku smirked, the sight fuelling his desire.

Izuku nipped at Katsuki’s shoulder, his hands roaming lower, cupping the firm curves of his ass.

“Tell me what you want,” Izuku whispered, his lips brushing Katsuki’s ear.

Katsuki’s head fell back, his eyes closing as he fought for control. “You,” he admitted, the word barely audible. “I want you. Now.”

Izuku’s lips curved into a satisfied smile. “Greedy,” he murmured, but he didn’t hesitate.

The room was dim, the city lights outside casting long shadows across the walls. Izuku’s hands moved slowly, reverently, as if he were worshipping Katsuki’s body. He kissed his way down, pausing to lick and bite at Katsuki’s nipples, relishing the way his husband arched and moaned beneath him. Katsuki’s hands fisted in the sheets, his breath coming in sharp gasps as Izuku’s mouth trailed lower, teasing the sensitive skin of his stomach.

“Izuku,” Katsuki whined, his voice strained. “Stop playing around.”

Izuku looked up, his eyes dark with desire. “I’m not playing,” he promised, his voice thick with intent. He dipped lower still, his breath ghosting over Katsuki’s cock, making him twitch and groan. Izuku smirked, taking his time, kissing the insides of Katsuki’s thighs, his tongue tracing patterns that made him squirm.

Finally, Izuku took Katsuki’s cock in hand, stroking it slowly, his thumb brushing over the tip. Katsuki’s hips bucked, a desperate sound escaping his lips. “Please,” he begged, his pride crumbling under the weight of his need. Izuku’s smirk widened as he leaned in, his lips wrapping around the head of Katsuki’s cock, sucking gently. Katsuki’s back arched, his hands tangling in Izuku’s hair, holding him close.

Izuku took his time, his mouth moving slowly, his tongue swirling and teasing, driving Katsuki wild. He hummed, the vibration sending jolts of pleasure through Katsuki’s body. “Fuck, Zuku, I’m–” Katsuki’s words were cut off by a sharp cry as Izuku deepened the suction, his hand pumping in rhythm. Katsuki’s body tensed, his orgasm building, but Izuku pulled away, leaving him gasping and cursing.

“Not yet,” Izuku said, his voice steady despite the desire burning in his veins. He kissed Katsuki’s thigh, then moved back up, their lips meeting in a desperate kiss. Katsuki tasted himself on Izuku’s tongue, the sensation sending a fresh wave of need crashing over him.

“Tease,” he muttered, but his hands were already reaching for Izuku’s pants, pulling them off urgently.

Izuku kicked them aside, his cock throbbing, pre-come glistening at the tip. Katsuki’s eyes darkened as he reached out, wrapping his hand around Izuku’s length, stroking firmly. Izuku groaned, his head falling back as pleasure washed over him. “Kacchan,” he breathed, his voice thick with want.

Katsuki smirked, his grip tightening. “Your turn to beg,” he challenged, his thumb brushing over the sensitive head.

Izuku’s eyes fluttered closed as Katsuki’s hand moved in slow, deliberate strokes, his touch both firm and gentle. “Kacchan,” Izuku repeated, his voice a plea.

Katsuki leaned in, kissing Izuku’s neck, his teeth grazing the skin. “Say it,” he demanded, his voice low and commanding. Izuku’s breath hitched, his pride warring with his desire.

“Please,” he whispered, the word barely audible.

Katsuki’s smirk softened, replaced by a look of raw affection. He kissed Izuku deeply, their tongues tangling, their hearts pounding in unison. “I love you, always,” he murmured against Izuku’s lips, his hand stroking slower, teasingly.

Izuku groaned, his hips thrusting into Katsuki’s touch, his control slipping. “Katsuki, I–”

Katsuki cut him off, reaching for the lube on the nightstand. He squeezed a generous amount onto his hand, then onto Izuku’s cock, stroking firmly, his touch slick and sure.

Izuku’s breath quickened, his body tensing as pleasure built. “Kacchan,” he gasped, his voice breaking.

Katsuki leaned in, kissing him softly. “Let go,” he whispered, his voice gentle.

Izuku’s eyes closed, his head falling back as he surrendered to the sensation. His body shook, his orgasm crashing over him like a wave, his come spilling onto Katsuki’s hand and chest. Katsuki kissed his way up Izuku’s body, wiping his hand on the sheets before wrapping his arms around him, holding him close. Izuku’s heart raced, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he came down from the high.

“Fuck,” Izuku muttered, his voice hoarse. Katsuki chuckled, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“Not done yet,” he promised, his voice laced with mischief. Izuku’s eyes widened as Katsuki rolled them over, straddling his waist, his eyes dark with desire. “My turn,” Katsuki said, his voice steady, his hands reaching for the lube once more.

Izuku’s breath caught as Katsuki grabbed his own fingers and started to prep himself, Izuku’s fingers sliding inside, stretching him open. “Kacchan,” he gasped, his fingers curling in his body, eager to touch everything in Katsuki.

Katsuki smirked, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. “Ready?” he asked, his voice low, breathless, as he took Izuku’s fingers out of him. Izuku nodded, his heart pounding, his cock aching to get inside the heat his fingers had just been in.

Katsuki positioned himself, Izuku’s cock pressing against his entrance. Izuku thrusted in slowly, their eyes locked, their breaths mingling. Izuku’s hands gripped Katsuki’s hips, his cock adjusting to the warmth that caved around. “Move,” Katsuki urged, his voice desperate, hips wriggling around slowly.

Izuku smirked, pulling back before thrusting in again, setting a slow, deliberate pace.

The room was filled with the sounds of their laboured breaths, the slick slide of their bodies, and the soft creak of the bed. Izuku’s eyes never left Katsuki’s, his thrusts growing deeper, more urgent. Katsuki’s head fell back, his hands tangling in the sheets as pleasure built once more. “Izu..ku,” he moaned, his voice a plea.

Izuku leaned up slowly, kissing Katsuki’s body with every inch he leaned up before kissing Katsuki deeply, their tongues tangling as he thrust harder, faster. Katsuki’s body shook, his orgasm building, his come spilling between them. Izuku’s thrusts faltered, his own release crashing over him, his cock pulsing inside Katsuki. They cried out together, their voices mingling in a symphony of pleasure.

Katsuki collapsed onto Izuku’s chest, their hearts pounding in sync, their breaths slowly evening out. Izuku wrapped his arms around Katsuki, holding him close, their bodies still joined. “Love you,” Izuku murmured, his voice soft.

Katsuki smirked, pressing a kiss to Izuku’s neck. “Shut up, nerd,” he replied, but his tone was gentle, his body relaxed in Izuku’s embrace.

The city lights outside glowed softly, casting a warm light over the room. Izuku’s fingers traced patterns on Katsuki’s back, their bodies still tangled, their hearts still racing. The day had been long, emotional, and perfect, but this moment, this was everything. Izuku pressed a kiss to Katsuki’s hair, his heart full, his soul at peace. “Mine,” he whispered, his voice a promise.

Katsuki chuckled, his body heavy with satisfaction. “Always,” he replied, his voice steady, his heart forever Izuku’s.

And as the city outside began to quiet, the newlyweds drifted off to sleep, their bodies entwined, their love a beacon in the darkness.

The night was theirs, and so was forever.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up to the blaring sun and chirping birds. He breathed in and stretched out his body, being restricted to his stretch by a heavy body in his chest.

Katsuki.

Memories of last night came back to his mind. He grinned, he finally married the man he had loved his whole life. His body felt sticky and he had just remembered they didn’t clean up, Katsuki’s ass was going to kill him and Izuku didn’t feel an ounce of pity.

He gently kissed Katsuki’s forehead before going for his cheeks, chin, then lips, waking the love of his life.

“Good morning, husband.” He whispered, looking into Katsuki’s eyes.

“Mm, morning.” Katsuki replied sleepily before rubbing his eyes, getting the sleep out of them.

“You should probably go have a shower now, Kacchan. We didn’t clean up last night.” Izuku rolled over to his side and held his head up with his hand, admiring Katsuki.

Katsuki hummed but didn’t say anything, just stared down at his hand with his ring. “We’re soul bound now,” he said, “if you ever leave me again, I will hunt you down and kill you myself.”

Izuku smiled, “I wouldn’t expect anything else from you, Midoriya Katsuki.”

“No more lies either,” he looked over to Izuku, his red eyes gleaming in the golden light of the morning sun.

Izuku leaned in and kissed Katsuki deeply, rolling on top of him. “I’ll never lie to you.”

Katsuki looked up at him with those eyes that Izuku would go crazy for, he could already feel his cock get hard. “No,” he spoke with a smile, “go have a shower, Kacchan, otherwise your body will kill you later.”

Katsuki gave him a few more kisses before getting off the bed and making his way out of Izuku’s room and down the hallway towards the shower.

Izuku rolled back over on the bed and smiled up at the ceiling, holding his arm up and stuck out his hand, admiring the cheap ring that laid on his ring finger.

He was finally happy and free. But he could feel something was coming. Nothing in his life was ever at peace.

He was so wrapped up in his mind that he didn’t notice the drop in temperature, hear the air shift unnaturally, or see the shadow stretch unnaturally from the far wall until it warped into a form.

A sudden pressure crackled the silence, and in a blink, someone stood at the foot of the bed.

Izuku’s heart jumped into his throat as he shot upright, his wings came out, flaring wide and defensive across the bed. His eyes burned golden and ready.

Shigaraki Tomura stood in the doorway, hunched, ragged, and very much real.

His white hair was slightly longer than before, tangled from sleepless nights. His hoodie clung to his frame like it had been worn for weeks, and the dark circles under his eyes deepened the usual sharpness of his glare.

Izuku’s flame dimmed just a bit, confusion and instinct wrestling in his chest. “Tenko?”

Tomura didn’t immediately answer. His eyes scanned the room, quick and hollow, as if he expected to find someone else.

“I’m not here to fight,” he rasped, his voice hoarse like he hadn’t spoken in days. “I just need to ask..have you seen or head anything about Dabi?”

The name landed like a thunderclap. Izuku’s wings twitched slightly, feathers rattling.

“Dabi?” Izuku repeated, sitting further upright but still under the covers. “No. Not since..before all this.” His eyes narrowed. “What’s going on?”

Tomura stepped further into the room, disregarding the intrusion. His hands were trembling slightly at his sides. “He’s gone. Disappeared.”

Izuku’s brows drew together, confused. “Gone how?”

“Just..vanished. No note. No blood. No fire. Nothing.”

Behind them, the sound of the shower turned off.

Tomura’s eyes flicked toward the hallway door, but he didn’t react otherwise. “I’ve been searching for months. Traced old hideouts. Questioned brokers. Called in debts from people who owe me lives. But there’s not even smoke where he used to be.”

The tension thickened like a storm cloud. Izuku shifted his legs beneath the sheets, wrapping the blanket around his waist as he stood from the bed. His wings retracted back into his back, but was still cautious.

The door opened just as he stood, revealing Katsuki, drying a towel over his hair. He was shirtless, loose pants riding low on his hips, a look of pleasant ease on his face that immediately turned to one of alarm.

His crimson eyes locked on Tomura.

“The hell is this?” Katsuki barked, muscles tensing instantly.

Izuku turned quickly. “Wait, Kacchan, it’s okay. He’s not here to fight.”

Katsuki stared between them, guarded. “Why is he here?”

Izuku raised a hand. “He’s asking about Dabi.”

Katsuki froze. “Dabi? What the hell does he care?”

Tomura spoke softly, as if too tired to pretend anymore. “Because I care, Bakugo.” His voice cracked faintly.

Katsuki squinted at him. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

Shigaraki gave a breath that almost resembled a bitter laugh. “I don’t expect either of you to believe me. But Dabi..he matters.”

Izuku studied him carefully. Something about Tomura had shifted. He didn’t look like the Symbol of Fear anymore. Not entirely. He looked like a man lost. Broken. Fractured in the places no battle could touch.

“Why now?” Izuku asked gently. “Why come here?”

“Because you’re the only one left who might still care,” Tomura said, quietly. “Because I thought, maybe, if anyone knew where he’d go, it would be the one person I know who keeps tabs on everyone.”

Katsuki’s eyes flicked to Izuku.

Izuku looked at the floor, a strange ache crawling into his chest. “I didn’t know he was missing.”

“No one does,” Tomura whispered. “Not the media. Not the heroes. They all stopped looking when he laid low. But I know him. This isn’t low. This is gone.”

Katsuki took a cautious step forward. “You think someone got him?”

“I don’t know,” Tomura said, swallowing. “Or maybe he just..didn’t want to be found.”

A silence fell, thick and grim.

Katsuki was the one to break it. “So what do you want us to do?”

Tomura looked up, raw and weary. “I want help.”

Izuku’s breath caught.

“You want our help?” he asked slowly.

Tomura nodded once, stiffly. “I don’t have anyone else I trust.”

Katsuki crossed his arms. “And why would we trust you?”

Tomura didn’t flinch. “You don’t have to.”

And that honesty hung there, unvarnished. Izuku and Katsuki exchanged a glance.

Finally, Izuku moved, stepping closer to Tomura. “If we find him, what then?”

Tomura’s voice cracked. “Then I’ll know he’s alive.”

Katsuki watched him closely. “What’s between you two?”

The older man paused. “I love him.” He whispered.

The confession knocked the breath out of the room.

Izuku’s heart clenched. He could feel the storm of emotions swirling beneath Tomura’s skin, same as the pulse of fire in his own blood.

“I’ll help you,” Izuku said softly.

Katsuki stiffened beside him, then slowly exhaled. “We’ll help you.”

Tomura didn’t move. Didn’t thank them. Just nodded once, like the weight of the world had become a fraction lighter on his back.

“You look..so much like him.” Tomura spoke, his eyes never leaving Izuku. “I wish the best for your marriage.” He smiled at him before disappearing.

Katsuki and Izuku were silent for a moment before Katsuki broke it. “What the fuck was that?”

Izuku didn’t answer, his mind bouncing off one theory to another. Dabi, his..father, was missing, and no one knew. And for Tomura to come to him risking Katsuki seeing him, allowing Katsuki to see him..desperation, love. Izuku could see it in the two of them, it was heartwarming, in a villainous, dark kind of way.

“Izuku!” Katsuki’s voice got him out of his mind.

“Huh?” Izuku looked up at him, his face full of confusion.

“What was that? Why the fuck was Shigaraki Tomura in your fucking room? And don’t fucking lie to me, you promised no more lies.” He asked gruffly, his arms crossed around his chest.

“Shigaraki Tomura..well he’s like my older brother, the father I wished for, I guess. He’s been with me since I was a child, when I found out I was quirkless. He said he was my imaginary friend. Turns out he was watching over me as a child because I was his best friends child.” Izuku explained, looking at Katsuki.

Katsuki unfolded his arms and furrowed his eyebrows, “the fuck do you mean ‘best friends child’?”

Izuku looked at him grimly, “I am the son of Dabi and deceased future pro hero, Hawks.”

Katsuki’s jaw dropped slightly. “No fucking way.”

Izuku grimaced, “I am, Kacchan. ‘No more lies’.”

The two looked at each other in silence before Katsuki let out a breath and smiled at his husband. “What am I going to do with you?”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next day at school was as if nothing had ever happened between them, though if you looked closely at Katsuki, you could see that he was limping slightly. Izuku smirked as he walked next to his husband, knowing that all Katsuki could feel, could think about, was last night.

Katsuki glared at his husband but tried to walk as normally as he could.

When they got into the classroom, they realised they were being waited on, all eyes went straight to them as the door opened.

Shinso glanced up as they walked in. “You two look like you didn’t sleep at all.”

“Shut it,” Katsuki muttered without any heat, collapsing into his seat.

Izuku smirked slightly as he sat in his seat. “You could say that.”

Todoroki peered at them thoughtfully, tilting his head. “Did you change your hair again, Midoriya?”

Izuku blinked. “Huh? Oh, no, just didn’t tame it this morning.”

Class started quickly. Aizawa arrived a few minutes later, tired as ever, scarf dragging behind him. He did his usual homeroom updates, then let them loose into first period with Cementoss.

Katsuki and Izuku sat near the middle. Katsuki passed Izuku a note once class began, written with his usual all-caps scribble.

Can’t believe were married, dork. Didn’t even punch anyone.

Izuku grinned and scribbled back.

I’m still in shock too, Kacchan. I’m glad we did.

He was about to pass it back when–

BZZZZT

His phone lit up in the corner of his desk, buzzing with a soft vibration. He jumped slightly and quickly reached for it.

Cementoss barely paused in his explanation about reinforced hero-grade concrete.

Izuku glanced at the screen, ready to hit the decline button when his breath caught.

Incoming Call: Mom

His blood ran cold.

Midoriya Inko.

But that was impossible. His mother had been gone, dead, for two years.

He didn’t answer.

He couldn’t.

He stared in stunned silence, pulse pounding in his ears, sweat prickling along the back of his neck. Katsuki leaned in, sensing something wrong.

But before Izuku could silence the call, the phone glitched.

The screen blinked, then answered itself.

The class barely noticed, most eyes were on the board.

Then came a voice.

Soft.

Shaking.

“Hello? Izuku? This is your mother.”

Izuku’s body locked up. His lungs felt like they’d stopped working.

“Are you there?”

Katsuki’s eyes widened as he heard the voice. “What the hell?”

The phone wasn’t on speaker. But they both heard it.

“Are you coming home?”

Izuku stood up, chair scraping loudly against the tile. Everyone turned.

Cementoss paused mid-sentence.

“Midoriya?” he asked.

Izuku didn’t answer. He turned and ran out of the room, clutching the phone.

Izuku stood in the hallway, breath short and ragged, his phone still in his hand like a weapon. His heart pounded in his ears, louder than the soft echo of the lesson continuing behind the door he’d just left.

‘Hello, Izuku? This is your mother. Are you there?’

That voice. That voice was hers. Midoriya Inko.

His legs gave out. He stumbled down the hallway, half-running, half-collapsing until he reached the far stairwell. Cold air leaked through a cracked window. He pressed his back to the wall, hands trembling as he stared at the phone.

No number. No call log. The call had disappeared.

But the voice, so clear, like she had whispered it right into his ear. The warmth, the pitch, even the tiny break in her words when she was nervous, it was unmistakable.

Izuku’s eyes went wide. A thought, dark and awful, sank its teeth into his mind.

What if it wasn’t her?

What if it was someone pretending?

What if they were using her voice?

He forced himself to stand, still shaking. His wings twitched under his jacket. Fear, disbelief, and an ember of something colder, resolve, burned in his chest.

He had to go to someone.

He had to go to Aizawa-sensei.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Aizawa glanced up from his tablet, one eyebrow raising. “Midoriya? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

Izuku all but burst into the room, his chest heaving.

“I–I need to speak with you. It’s important. Urgent.”

Aizawa’s eyes sharpened. “Talk.”

Izuku closed the door behind him. He tried to start calmly, but the words tumbled out of him.

“I got a phone call. During class. It–It answered on its own, and I heard–” his voice cracked. “I heard my mom’s voice.”

Aizawa sat up straighter. “Midoriya–”

“She said my name. She said, ‘this is your mother. Are you coming home?’ It was her, sensei. It was her.”

“She’s been dead for two years,” Aizawa said slowly. “You know that.”

Izuku nodded, voice raw. “I buried her. But I know her voice. I know how she speaks. How she breathes when she’s nervous. It wasn’t some hallucination. It was her. Or someone trying to sound like her. But it wasn’t just in my head.”

Aizawa’s expression darkened. He stood from his desk, immediately professional. “Show me your phone.”

Izuku handed it over. “The call’s not in the log. It disappeared the second I looked at the screen. But it was real, I swear.”

Aizawa plugged it into the console in the corner, connecting to the school’s trace software.

“If this was a quirk, we might be able to pick up residue. Or trace the last data pulse that hit your signal.”

For a long few seconds, the screen was blank.

Then, a ping.

The screen displayed a flicker of data. Aizawa zoomed in, his eyes narrowing.

“This number pinged a signal to your phone, but it’s been masked. Deep masking. Civilian-level tech couldn’t do this.”

Izuku swallowed. “Masked? As in hidden?”

“Correct. It’s a synthetic bounce, cloaking origin. Whoever made this call didn’t want it tracked. But they didn’t expect us to have this.” He pointed to an encryption window.

A faint geographical coordinate began to surface. Aizawa’s jaw tightened.

“These coordinates lead to the outskirts of Musutafu. Near the edge of the old Hero Commission headquarters.”

Izuku’s stomach dropped. “But that place was shut down..”

“It was shut down publicly,” Aizawa said, voice clipped. “But some parts of the facility were too deep, too buried to fully decommission. Rumours said they were used for villain containment, and later, experiments.”

Izuku went cold. His voice came out hollow. “What do you think this means, Aizawa-sensei?”

“I don’t jump to conclusions,” Aizawa said, but his face betrayed a deep unease. “But I think this is too deliberate to ignore. And too personal.”

Izuku looked up, eyes blazing with emotion. “I’m going.”

“No, you’re not.”

Aizawa turned, hands already tapping into his comm. “Not alone. Not like this. I’m assembling a team.”

“But–”

“Midoriya, I understand how you feel. But if someone is using your mother’s voice to lure you, it means they know you. Intimately. This could be a trap. Or worse.”

Izuku took a shaking breath. His heart wanted to run ahead, to tear the building apart with his bare hands, but his mind, trained through years of battle and heartbreak, knew Aizawa was right.

Still, his hands balled into fists.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Aizawa, Present Mic, Hatsume, and two intel pros from Nezu’s internal security stood around a large holographic map of the city. Izuku, Katsuki, Todoroki, and Shinso stood nearby.

“This was the last signal point,” Aizawa said, pointing to the hollow shell of the Hero Commission.

“Reinforced and rebuilt underground after All Might retired,” Shinso said, eyes scanning the files. “They said it was condemned.”

“More like rebranded,” Present Mic muttered. “You don’t hide this much encryption just to let rats nest in the walls.”

Izuku stood still, his wings had emerged from his back in a rage when they had gained some more intel on the situation, now they were half-flared.

Katsuki glanced at him. He hadn’t spoken since they arrived.

“You okay?” he asked, quietly.

Izuku didn’t answer him, he didn’t have to. Katsuki took one look at him and didn’t ask him anymore questions. The fire, anger, anything and everything that Izuku had bottled up over this whole situation could be seen in those burning blue eyes.

Nothing that anyone had said came to Izuku’s ears, he only blindly followed them when they stood up and walked out of the room.

He swore that whoever was behind this would pay.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The abandoned building loomed like a monument to forgotten sins. The rusted scaffolding curled like dead vines, windows were blackened by time, and what little remained of the old Hero Commission’s signage was flaking and obscured by dust and vines. Izuku stood near the entrance, his heart thudding so loud he could hear it echoing in his ears. Behind him, Aizawa, Katsuki, Todoroki, Shinso, and the heroes that we’re in the meeting surveyed the perimeter, their expressions tense.

“No life signs,” Shinso said, lowering a tablet. “Just…destruction.”

But then it hit them all.

The scent.

It wasn’t the sterile, musty air of a long-abandoned structure. No. It was sweet. Pungent. Overwhelming.

Strawberries.

A sickly-sweet perfume of strawberries that invaded every corner of their lungs, sharp and unnatural, like someone had drowned the place in artificial syrup.

Izuku’s blood ran cold.

It was the same smell, the exact same, that he’d encountered during that surreal moment when he had met that woman back in the mall in his first year.

Aizawa turned his head slightly, eyes narrowing. “Something isn’t right.”

Katsuki was already pacing. “Who the hell would–this place hasn’t been touched in years, right?”

“I can’t track this smell,” Todoroki added, his nose scrunched in discomfort. “It’s like it’s…everywhere and nowhere.”

But Izuku wasn’t listening anymore.

The scent was clouding his thoughts, twisting his insides. He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. Why strawberries? Why now? Why had his dead mother’s voice returned, through a call that answered itself?

They searched the entire structure. Room after room. Office after office. Not a single soul. Not even dust unsettled from movement. Just that oppressive, cloying scent hanging in the air.

Izuku didn’t speak on the way back to U.A.

Even when Katsuki gently tugged his hand, brows furrowed with concern, Izuku didn’t meet his gaze. He excused himself as soon as they returned, mumbling something about needing rest.

But he didn’t go to his dorm.

He flew.

The wind tore at his wings as they beat fiercely through the evening sky. The warmth of the sunset did nothing to thaw the frost crawling up his spine.

He didn’t care that he didn’t have clearance. He didn’t care that he was supposed to report to Aizawa before making any moves.

This was personal.

When Izuku landed just outside the League of Villains’ older hideout, a ruined gallery in the shadows of Tokyo’s industrial edge, his boots cracked the pavement.

The moment he stepped forward, a warp gate shimmered in front of him.

“Kurogiri,” Izuku said, not even flinching. “Tell Shigaraki I need to speak to him. Now.”

Kurogiri stared at him, calculating. Then he opened the portal without a word.

Izuku stepped inside, he could tell he was in a new location now.

The hideout was dim, lit only by a flickering oil lamp in the centre of the floor. Shigaraki was sitting cross-legged on a stained couch, his posture more relaxed than usual. Around him sat Spinner, Toga, and Mr. Compress. But Izuku’s eyes were locked only on him.

Shigaraki Tomura.

Dabi wasn’t there. Still missing.

Izuku marched straight to the centre of the room.

“I need to ask you something.”

Spinner stood up. “The hell’s he doing here?”

Tomura raised a hand, silencing them all. “Speak.”

“There’s a scent,” Izuku said, his voice edged with steel. “Strawberries. It was at the old Hero Commission ruins. Exactly the same smell I encountered the day I met a woman who was a so called ‘fan’.”

Toga blinked, her head tilting. “Oooh, strawberry body wash? That’s my favourite!”

Izuku turned to her sharply. “It wasn’t that. This was..something else. I need to know, Tomura, have you ever smelt something like that? Or know anything about a quirk like that?”

Tomura’s fingers twitched in his lap.

The room fell silent.

The lamp flickered again, shadows dancing across the scarred walls.

“Once, ever,” he muttered after a pause.

Izuku’s breath caught.

“When I had found out you died. I went into a vision, a dream, it messed with my head, made me see some alternate universe. All I smelt was that sickening artificial strawberry scent. Dabi said that it was Toga’s body wash but there was something else about it that made me think it was something else.”

His subordinates looked at him like he was crazy, and could see the amount of questions they had for him, but still he ignored them, and looked past Izuku, into some memory long buried in the ashes of war. “It’s not just a body wash, or perfume. It’s not just a scent. That smell..it’s them. It’s whoever’s pulling strings behind the curtains. Whoever’s kept Dabi off the map for months.”

Izuku’s wings bristled, feathers trembling like leaves in a storm.

“Why strawberries?” he whispered.

“It’s a side effect of a quirk, I’m assuming,” Tomura said. “It has to be.”

Izuku looked down at the floor, heart thudding, mind racing.

He’d followed leads before. He’d fought the League. Faced monsters bred in labs and raised by evil. But this?

This was something else.

“I’ll find him.”

Izuku didn’t name anyone, but Tomura knew who he was talking about. He looked up at him, his red eyes tired and exhausted, and something else that Izuku could see, regret?

“I believe you will,” he said.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

When Izuku returned back to UA, his whole class was waiting for him in the common room, the tv on a low volume, acting as background noise.

“Izuku.” Katsuki started, standing up from his place next to Shinso on the couch. “We need to talk.”

“We can talk in private, Kacchan.” He gave Katsuki a fake smile and went to walk away.

“I told them,” Katsuki started, “about you.”

That made Izuku pause, “what about me?”

“What they needed to know.”

Izuku turned around, his white hair following his movement, and his burning blue eyes glared harshly at Katsuki. “You had no right.”

“They needed to know Izuku, we’re family.” Two words Katsuki had spoken had shocked the class. Never in a million years would they think to hear Katsuki admit that their class is a family.

“I don’t care, Katsuki. You had no right telling them, I would’ve told them in my own time, or not at all.” Izuku spat out.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Tokoyami asked from the corner. “We could’ve helped.”

“I didn’t ask for help,” Izuku muttered, voice low and clipped.

The silence that followed was thick.

“We’re not just your classmates anymore,” Jiro said quietly. “We’re your friends. We’ve seen you dead, Midoriya. Then alive again. We deserve something.”

That’s when Izuku’s eyes flared, glowing faintly, not from his phoenix fire, but something more human. Raw emotion.

“Oh, you deserve something?” he repeated, voice rising.

The class stilled.

“You want the truth?” he snapped. “The real truth? You think it’s that simple?”

He turned his glare on Katsuki, who stood slightly behind the group, face unreadable, fists clenched loosely by his sides.

“You told them,” Izuku said bitterly. “You told them everything. So why even bother.”

Katsuki didn’t look away from him.“You were spiralling, Izuku. They deserved to know why.”

“I wasn’t spiralling,” Izuku growled. “I was searching. Searching for someone who might be the only person who knows what the hell is going on with me. And you..you broke my trust.”

“You married me,” Katsuki said calmly. “I’m not going to stand by while you tear yourself apart.”

Izuku’s wings twitched again, spreading a little before folding in sharply. His breath shook.

“I never wanted them to know,” he whispered. “I didn’t want anyone else to carry this.”

The room fell into a tense quiet. Uraraka took a careful step forward. “Then let us help carry it now.”

Izuku’s expression crumbled for a moment. “You don’t get it. None of you do. I’m not just a phoenix hybrid. I was made. A child from fire and death. My mother’s gone. My father..” He looked at the floor for a moment, and when he lifted his head, his eyes were focussed and glassy.

“Dabi’s missing,” he said, voice cracking. “And I need to find him.”

The air shifted. No one spoke at first.

“Wait,” Kaminari said slowly. “You mean Dabi? That Dabi?”

Izuku nodded.

“You’re trying to find him?” Mina asked, bewildered. “Why?”

“Because he means something to someone I care about. He disappeared months ago, and the League hasn’t seen him either. Something’s wrong. And I think–no, I know, that whoever made that call pretending to be my mom is connected to it.”

“But how do we help with that?” Asui asked. “This sounds like something even the Pro Heroes don’t have a full handle on.”

“I don’t trust the Pro Heroes with this,” Izuku said flatly. “They’re compromised. I can do this, but even I can’t go through every feed, every satellite, every field report.”

“So..what are you saying?” Sero asked.

Izuku took a deep breath.

“I’m saying I need you. All of you.”

He gestured to the desk at the front of the classroom, where a thick folder of notes, coordinates, and photos sat beside his open laptop where he had left it a few nights before and had forgotten about it.

“I’ve already traced his last known location to a collapsed safe house near Mt. Ura. But there’s nothing else in the public record. I need everything, school feeds, news articles, hero agency reports, even whispers on villain message boards. He doesn’t just vanish. Not someone like Dabi.”

Todoroki, who had been silent until now, stepped forward. “I’ll get in touch with my father’s agency,” he said. “They have archives going back decades. I’ll say it’s for personal reasons, he’ll believe it.”

Hagakure perked up. “I can cross-reference with what’s left of the Paranormal Liberation Front’s routes from back then! I saved some copies!”

“I can tap into the surveillance grid UA uses for field tracking,” Yaoyorozu offered. “We might be able to cross-check with unusual heat signatures. His fire is different.”

“News databases are my thing,” Jiro added. “I can trace any mention of sudden blue-flame sightings.”

“I’ll check in with Hound Dog,” Ojiro said. “He tracks behaviour patterns. Might have seen something off.”

“Don’t forget Mirko,” Mina said. “She was on that investigation squad that ran into one of Dabi’s old bases. I’ll try to get her notes.”

Izuku stared at them, each offering something, each jumping into action.

“What you’re asking of us..” Katsuki said, his voice low as he stepped closer to Izuku, “is to risk our own reputations. Our licenses. And some of us will. For you.”

“I don’t want anyone to risk anything,” Izuku said, softer now. “I just..can’t do this alone anymore.”

Katsuki reached out and took his hand.

“You’re not alone.”

Izuku blinked rapidly, but nodded.

“I’m scared,” he said quietly, barely audible. “Not of Dabi, or Tenko. I’m scared of what I might do if I lose everythingagain. If I let this slip through my fingers.”

Katsuki squeezed his hand. “Then we don’t let it.”

The class stood together now, the tension dissolved into purpose.

“Let’s start with the old press,” Jiro said, heading for the computer. “Kaminari, you’re with me.”

“Security feeds are mine,” Yaoyorozu said, pulling out her tablet.

Todoroki nodded. “I’ll speak with Endeavour before lunch.”

As the classroom buzzed to life with collaboration, Izuku stood in the middle of it all, overwhelmed, grateful, terrified, but grounded.

For the first time in a long while, he didn’t feel like he was chasing ghosts alone.

And for the first time, Class 3-A wasn’t just a team.

They were his family.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Laptops, phones, and whatever was electrical glowed across the common room, turning the it into a makeshift command centre. Cords trailed from laptops and tablets, tables were rearranged to form a collaborative workspace, and the walls bore printed stills and scrawled notes. The steady tap of keys and low murmurs of conversation filled the room. The usual school air had been replaced by something heavier: focused, determined, electric.

Izuku stood at the centre, arms crossed, eyes trained on the projection screen where Todoroki was fast-forwarding through weeks-old footage from a security feed outside Hosu Station.

“There,” Jiro said suddenly, pointing. “Back it up a second.”

Todoroki paused, rewound a few seconds, then let it play.

The blurry footage showed a flickering blue flame in the distance near a train platform. Even through the grain, it was unmistakable. Dabi’s fire. A silhouette, tall, narrow, wrapped in a long coat, stood briefly in the alley before vanishing down a staircase into the underground.

“That was three months ago,” Yaoyorozu said. “A week after the attack on the outskirts of Musutafu. This might’ve been his escape route.”

“But we’ve seen nothing since then,” Kirishima muttered, leaning forward. “Like he just dropped off the face of the Earth.”

Shinso, hunched over his tablet, froze.

“Midoriya,” he said slowly, “look at this.”

He turned the screen toward them. A different camera angle from the same day. Same alley. A woman stood where Dabi had just disappeared, maybe two minutes later. Black hair, braided. A flowing pastel dress. Her face turned up slightly toward the camera. Smiling. Too calmly.

Izuku’s heart dropped.

“That’s her,” he breathed. “From the mall. First year. She tried to put me under some..spell. She smelled like strawberries.”

“Wait,” Kaminari said, confused. “You never said anything about this.”

“I didn’t think it mattered,” Izuku said, voice low. “But after that phone call..after the scent at the old Commission building, I–I’m starting to think she’s not just anyone.”

“Let’s cross-check more city cameras,” Yaoyorozu said, already typing. “If she’s been following Dabi, or appearing after he vanishes, we may have a pattern.”

The team split up again. Hours passed, light fading from the windows, replaced by warm lamps and the soft glow of screens.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

“Got another hit,” Iida said, adjusting his glasses. “Three days after the Hosu footage, near Naberius Tunnel.”

They pulled up the video.

Dabi again. Walking with a limp this time, ducking into an abandoned convenience store. Thirty seconds later, she appeared.

This time, her face was clearer. Her eyes were bright, unsettlingly so. Her gaze followed Dabi, but she didn’t chase him. She just stood there. Watching. Then turned and walked the opposite direction.

Jiro leaned back, unnerved. “She’s not following him. She’s tracking him.”

“She could be a handler,” Shinso said. “Or someone with a connection to whoever called Midoriya.”

“Or worse,” Todoroki murmured, “she could be the one who made Dabi disappear.”

“That’s a big leap,” Kirishima said.

“No,” Izuku said sharply. “It’s not.”

He pulled a thumb drive from his pocket and inserted it into the laptop. A still image appeared on the screen, low resolution, dusty with age, pulled from the mall’s old interior camera archives. There she was. The same woman. Standing in front of Izuku when he was just fifteen.

“I don’t know her name. I don’t know what she is,” Izuku said, staring at the image. “But that day, I remember everything. Her voice. The way she said my name like she already knew me. That same strawberry scent was everywhere. It wasn’t just perfume. It was soaked into the air.”

Mina wrapped her arms around herself. “What does that mean?”

“I think she’s tied to whoever’s been pulling the strings behind the curtain. Someone who doesn’t want Dabi found.”

Todoroki narrowed his eyes. “What if she’s not working against Dabi? What if she’s working with him?”

Izuku hesitated. “I..don’t think so. Not willingly. Dabi is a loyal man, he wouldn’t just leave..without warning.”

“Pull all city surveillance archives from the week before his last appearance,” Yaoyorozu said. “Every public camera, every entrance log to known villain safe houses.”

They got to work.

An hour later, Kirishima found it.

“This was just two days before Dabi was seen in Hosu.”

He played the clip. Dabi stood outside an abandoned apartment building, speaking heatedly with someone just off-camera. Then she entered the frame, the woman. He recoiled slightly. Then turned and fled.

She didn’t follow. Again, she just watched.

“Okay, this is getting too weird,” Mina said. “Why is she always there? And why doesn’t she ever do anything?”

“She doesn’t need to,” Shinso said, voice grim. “She’s a trigger. A presence. She appears, he runs. Or disappears.”

Izuku’s mind spun.

What did she want? Why now? Why had she appeared two years ago, disappeared again, and now resurfaced in the aftermath of so much death?

And most of all, what did she want with him?

Izuku sat on his bed, laptop in his lap, the room dim around him. Everyone else had gone to sleep or returned to their dorms. Only Katsuki remained in the doorway, arms crossed.

“You okay?” he asked.

“No.”

Katsuki walked in and sat at the foot of the bed.

“I keep thinking,” Izuku whispered, “that this all started before UA. Before Dabi. Before even All Might.”

Katsuki stayed quiet.

“There’s something bigger, Kacchan. Something I haven’t put together. And that woman, she’s the centre of it. I can feel it.”

“We’ll find her,” Katsuki said simply. “And when we do, we’ll get answers. We always do.”

Chapter Text

The room was dim when the footage finally finished buffering. Kaminari paused it just before the timestamp hit the two-minute mark. There she was again, long coat, head tilted as if listening to something only she could hear, and that same blank, haunting smile. She passed by the camera for the fourth time in different footage, spanning three locations, two months apart. Always alone. Always near where Dabi had last been spotted.

“She’s not even trying to hide,” Iida said quietly, standing behind the others in their makeshift war room, tucked away in the upper levels of the dorms.

“No,” Izuku muttered, arms crossed, gaze locked on the grainy screen. “She wants us to see her.”

“Look at the timestamp,” Yaoyorozu said, pointing. “She was seen the same day Dabi vanished. And again a week later. But only for a moment.”

Hatsume, who had been asked to come in to help analyse the footage, zoomed in on the footage. “Enhancing only does so much, but, wait, she has a mark. Left wrist.”

The class leaned in. It was faint, but a scar, shaped like a small triangle or perhaps a stylised flame, stood out on her pale skin.

“I haven’t seen that before,” Izuku said slowly. “Back at the mall in our first year. She reached for my hand, yeah, but I never saw that. And she smiled like she knew me.”

“You didn’t think to mention that earlier?” Kaminari asked before a sharp glance from Jiro shut him down.

Izuku’s face hardened. “At first I thought she was just a fan, then she started to talk to me weirdly. I didn’t want to think about it anymore, so I didn’t connect anything until now.”

He turned towards his class. “I need to go.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The wind screamed as Izuku soared through the sky. His wings caught every current, every shift in temperature, guiding him like instinct alone. He didn’t stop flying until he reached the League’s hideout, a jagged structure built into the crumbling edge of an old industrial zone, abandoned even before the war.

He landed in a thud, sending dust swirling around his boots. Tomura stepped out from the doorway like he had been expecting him.

“Oh, hello little brat.” Tomura greeted.

“Tenko, I need to know if you recognise this woman.” Izuku tossed a tablet at him, not even bothered to greet him back. It lit up with the paused frame, her half-smile and strawberry-coloured lips haunting the screen.

Tomura’s expression didn’t change, but his hand trembled slightly as he held the device.

“Her name?” Izuku asked, eyes narrowed at his trembling hands.

Tomura exhaled, there was no point in trying to lie or deny anything. “She didn’t have one we remembered. Just ‘Mira.’ That’s what she liked to be called.” He paused, a faraway look darkening his gaze. “We were kids. Me, Touya, her. Strays. She was quiet. Always watching. She followed Touya like a shadow.”

Izuku leaned forward. “Did she have a quirk?”

Tomura shook his head. “Not then. She envied us. Especially Touya. He hated it. Said she was obsessed. We all split ways when everything fell apart. When I became Tomura and Touya became Dabi.”

“And now she’s back. We’ve been looking into her while we were looking for any signs of Dabi, and every time we find him, she rights there. ”

“We knew she was crazy obsessed, but we thought that it had ended when she disappeared. I have never heard of sensei having a strawberry scented quirk, but I’ll do some digging and see what I can find.”

“Thank you, Tenko.”

Tomura offered a dim smile. “I suppose I should be the one thanking you, Izuku. I feel..weak asking you to help me find my second in command.”

“Everyone needs help once in a while, Tenko. You helped me all my life. It’s what a hero does.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Back at UA, Izuku returned to the common room, the class was already reviewing a map laid out over a table, lines of string, push pins, and footage clips scattered in a chaotic spiderweb.

“She has to be hiding him,” Jiro said.

“The last confirmed sighting of either of them was over three months ago,” Yaoyorozu added. “Everything since then is speculation.”

“She might not even be in Japan anymore,” Tokoyami murmured.

“She is,” Izuku interrupted. “She’s nearby. And she’s dangerous.”

Everyone turned to him. He shared everything what they needed to know. Her name, her past, what Tomura had told him.

“She didn’t have a quirk before,” he said, pacing. “But my contact is looking into it for me. He thinks she was given a quirk, and he isn’t sure what the true extent of her quirk is.”

The room was silent.

Katsuki stepped forward. “So we find her.”

“Let’s track every confirmed visual of Mira,” Yaoyorozu said. “We’ll cross-reference it with reports of erratic behaviour, disappearances, unexplained criminal activity. She seems to be targeting specific people, so this might be a bit of a challenge.”

Kaminari nodded. “I can loop in some old support tech friends. They’ll help trace movement data from known camera zones.”

Izuku looked around at his class, his family, and finally felt the knot in his chest loosen.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

They had been scanning footage for hours, before and after school, eyes aching, minds fogged. But something in the latest sequence snapped everyone upright.

“Pause it!” Iida barked, standing from his crouch in front of the screen.

The image froze on the timestamp. Mira, her silhouette unmistakable now, tall, slender, with a coat that always swayed too softly, almost as if it were underwater, stepped out of a flower shop in northern Tokyo. The camera glitched slightly, then resumed. She vanished into a crowd. But the date, the time..

“Ten minutes ago,” Yaoyorozu whispered, her voice thin with tension. “She’s still in the district.”

Izuku stood, heart thudding like a war drum. “Suit up,” he said without hesitation. “We’re going after her.”

The group was small, strategic. Todoroki, Shinso, Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Izuku himself. Katsuki had been sent on a mission with Best Jeanist, or he would’ve insisted on leading the charge. Izuku didn’t know whether to be relieved or anxious.

By the time they reached the shop, the streets were quieter, sunset staining the sky in orange and lavender. The air was thick. The scent hit them all at once.

Strawberries.

Overpowering, sickly sweet, almost cloaking its intensity.

“Careful,” Shinso murmured, a hand drifting toward his capture weapon. “It could already be working on us.”

Izuku flexed his fingers. His wings flicked open slightly, instinctively defensive. “No. It’s not like before. It’s not in my head yet.”

Todoroki pressed forward, frost starting to spread subtly from his boots, forming a cautious trail. “There’s no crowd. No camera glitches. She wants us to see her.”

The alley behind the shop twisted into a narrow street lined with dim apartment complexes and one barely lit community centre. The scent grew stronger the deeper they went.

Then Mira appeared.

She stood at the far end, as though she’d been waiting. Her hair was tied up, sleek and dark, with an unsettlingly calm expression on her face. She smiled, too softly.

“I was hoping you’d come,” she said, eyes locked on Izuku.

Everyone tensed.

“What did you do to Dabi?” Izuku’s voice was low, barely containing the crack of fire beneath it.

Her smile widened, as if he’d said exactly what she wanted. “He’s safe. As safe as he’s ever been in my care. I helped him see clearly. He was always so angry..confused. Now he listens.”

Izuku’s hand flared with fire.

“Where is he?!”

That’s when the scent shifted, spreading like a wave.

Too late, Izuku realised the vent above them had been modified. Yaoyorozu had just begun to shout before mist billowed out, thick, invisible gas spiked with her scent. It wasn’t just smell now, it had a chemical payload.

“Move!” Iida yelled.

But Izuku staggered. His phoenix senses buzzed in alarm. His wings flared as he tried to lift himself, but his balance tilted, reality bending like a mirage. He could still hear Mira’s voice, distant now, like it came from under water.

“I didn’t want to do this in front of your friends, but you’ve left me no choice.”

Todoroki unleashed a stream of ice that cracked across the pavement, but it didn’t reach her. Between them and her, a group of five emerged. Unfamiliar, but clearly under her control, each of them wore dull, passive expressions, and their movements were too synchronised to be natural.

“Controlled villains,” Shinso said, grim. “She’s playing puppet master.”

They launched into battle, Todoroki freezing one attacker’s legs, Yaoyorozu pulling a staff from her forearm, Shinso trying to trigger one into speaking so he could seize control. The clash echoed against the buildings.

But Izuku’s legs gave out.

He fell to one knee, eyes burning, not from fire, but from some invisible weight pressing behind them. The scent clawed at his thoughts, digging into the corners of his brain. His mother’s voice echoed for a second.

“Are you coming home?”

And then faded.

“Deku!” Iida shouted.

“I-I..can’t..move,” Izuku gritted out.

He raised a flaming hand and fired a burst blindly, incinerating the mist. It helped for a moment, but Mira had already moved.

She was suddenly behind him.

A hand on his shoulder, gentle, like a mother calming a child.

“It’s all right now. You’re safe.”

“No–” Izuku growled, trying to rise. His wings flapped wildly, but they felt heavier, dulled.

“You don’t need to fight anymore,” she whispered in his ear. “He’s already with me. Why not join him?”

Fire burst around him in a sudden blast, phoenix flames, golden-red and furious, but Mira didn’t scream or flinch. She stepped back before the heat could touch her.

“You are so strong, Midoriya Izuku. You will be a perfect asset to my final plans.” She smirked and held up a hand, pointing it towards Izuku, which made him freeze.

The group tried to rush in, but more backup appeared, low-level, but enough to slow them. Smoke bombs detonated. The strawberry scent was everywhere. Izuku yelled, struggling, but his limbs betrayed him.

“No! Let me go! I’m not going with you!” He spoke, trying to break free from the hold that she had over his body, but his body wasn’t listening to him.

Mira crouched beside him as they pinned him. “You were born of a phoenix’s flame,” she said softly. “But you still carry human weakness. You still want love, and family, and truth. I can give you all of it.”

“I already have everything I need!” he shouted, but his voice was weakening.

She gave him a bland smile and slapped his face.

And Izuku’s vision went white.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The path to the dorms through the school buildings was quiet, eerily so. The faint hum of vending machines and the low hiss of air vents were the only sounds that accompanied Iida, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Shinso as they stepped through the front doors, still dressed in their hero costumes. Their faces were ashen, their bodies sluggish. Every step they took echoed guilt, especially Iida, whose normally firm stride faltered with every movement.

They had failed. They had let Izuku get taken.

Yaoyorozu’s gauntlets were scratched and half-melted, black soot streaking across her cheek. Shinso’s mask hung loose around his neck, dangling from a single clasp, and Todoroki’s ice-covered arm was still steaming from a recent blast of heat he hadn’t meant to release. But none of them said a word as they entered through the main doors and crossed the courtyard and into the dorms. Not until they saw the familiar ash-blonde hair walking toward them from the kitchen.

“Where the hell have you guys been?” Katsuki barked. He was in civilian clothes still, a black hoodie slung loosely over one shoulder, eyes squinting as he noticed the state they were in. “Why are you in costume?”

He got closer. Closer still.

Then he stopped walking.

His crimson eyes narrowed at the four of them, scanning their faces. All of them avoided his gaze, except for Todoroki, who locked eyes for only a second before flicking his gaze away.

Katsuki looked at them, the rest of the class now coming in around them. “Izuku isn’t here, and these fuckers refuse to tell me where he is.” He gave them all a look. “Where is he?” His voice dropped. “Where the hell is Izuku?”

Silence.

Shinso swallowed. “Bakugo–”

“Where the hell is he!?” Katsuki roared, stepping forward, his palms already lighting up with a threatening spark.

“We tried,” Yaoyorozu said, her voice cracking. “We thought we could stop her. But it was a trap.”

A new voice joined the conversation, calm, but heavy.

“What trap?” Aizawa’s low, worn tone drifted from behind Katsuki as he stepped through the automatic doors into the dorms. His scarf was loosely coiled around his neck, tired eyes sharpening as they scanned the group. “Why are you in your costumes?”

A moment passed.

And then everything came tumbling out.

“We were tracking Mira,” Todoroki began. “Midoriya had pieced together her patterns. The last footage showed her only minutes before near the a flower shop in northern Tokyo. We thought–”

“He thought we could intercept her before she moved again,” Shinso cut in. “But she was waiting for us. She brought a group of low-level villains. She must have known we were coming.”

“She knew Izuku would be there,” Yaoyorozu whispered.

Aizawa’s eyes narrowed, though his voice remained low. “How did she know?”

“We don’t know,” Iida admitted, shame burning red across his cheeks. “But she, her quirk, she’s stronger than before. She used the strawberry scent to trap him again. He tried to resist it, to fight. We were all fighting, but she was focused only on him.”

“She did something to him, he wasn’t able to move, and then she slapped him and he passed out.” Todoroki muttered.

Katsuki looked like he’d been punched. His mouth parted slightly, as though he were trying to say something, but no sound came out.

“You’re telling me,” Aizawa said slowly, his voice deathly quiet, “that one of my students was taken in a villain ambush you acted on without authorisation?”

There was no defence. No one dared to speak.

Shinso finally stepped forward, the only one willing to look Aizawa in the eyes. “We couldn’t risk waiting. The lead was fresh. We thought we could handle it.”

“You thought wrong,” Aizawa snapped, all tiredness vanished now. “You didn’t report it. You didn’t alert me. You acted independently and you lost Midoriya.”

Katsuki clenched his fists so tightly they trembled. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“You were with Best Jeanist,” Todoroki said gently, but Katsuki was already shaking his head.

“I should’ve been here,” he growled, his voice low and full of guilt. “I should’ve known something was wrong.”

Yaoyorozu said softly. “You were out on mission. This isn’t your fault.”

Katsuki turned, storming away from the group toward the east corridor, fists still clenched at his sides.

“Bakugo!” Iida called after him, but Katsuki didn’t look back.

Aizawa rubbed the bridge of his nose and muttered, “Damn it, Midoriya..”

Shinso turned back toward the others. “We need a plan.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Aizawa said firmly. “Not until I understand every detail of what happened. And then we bring this to Nezu.”

“But we can’t wait,” Yaoyorozu said. “If she’s manipulating his mind again..”

“We don’t know what she’s done to him yet,” Aizawa cut in. “But we’ll find him. I promise you that.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Katsuki stood alone in the training gym, the lights flickering overhead as his breath came in short bursts. He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch something. But all he could do was think about the look on Izuku’s face the night before, the soft smile, the way his hands had trembled slightly as he’d slipped the ring on Katsuki’s finger.

Katsuki grabbed a nearby training dummy and blasted it with a wild explosion, sending sparks and smoke into the air. Another. Then another.

“You stupid nerd,” he whispered hoarsely. “You never know how to stay still.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Meanwhile, in Aizawa’s office, the others sat as Nezu’s voice came through the call, patchy and buzzed with static.

“We’ll scan all street and traffic cameras for visual confirmation. We’ll flag every appearance of Mira and her group. If she’s got him, she won’t keep him in one place for long.”

Aizawa leaned over the desk, arms folded. “He’s been resisting her. That’s likely why she wanted to isolate him. But if she’s stronger now, if she’s fused her quirk with someone else’s tech or enhancements..”

“She might have found a way to keep him under longer,” Shinso finished grimly. “Or break him completely.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Yaoyorozu’s voice was soft but resolute. “Then we have to be faster.”

“We will,” Aizawa said. “We will find him.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Deep underground, far from the flashing lights of Tokyo, a pair of glowing green eyes fluttered open in the dark. The world was muffled. Thick. Sweet. The air smelled like–

Strawberries.

Izuku’s heart rate spiked.

No. He recognised it. Not again.

But his limbs wouldn’t move. His wings were limp and draped across the cold stone floor. He could feel the sticky residue of something holding him down, some kind of tar or scent-triggered glue locking his senses.

“Hello again,” a soft voice murmured.

A figure stepped from the shadows, Mira.

Her hair was neatly combed, her smile too wide, too calm.

“I told you we’d meet again,” she said. “You just couldn’t stay away.”

Izuku tried to scream, but nothing came out. Not yet.

But the fire was still burning in his chest.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The months stretched on with a punishing weight, each day draped in grey like a curtain that refused to lift. The disappearance of Midoriya Izuku and Dabi had left an open wound in their class, one that refused to scab over no matter how many times they met, trained, investigated, or whispered desperate plans behind closed doors. But no one was more relentless, more unyielding in his pursuit, than Bakugo Katsuki.

Every morning, Katsuki was the first to rise, staring at the same investigation board he’d dragged into the corner of their common area, now cluttered with maps, photos, sticky notes, and red string that webbed across like arteries. Izuku’s name was circled in the centre. So was Dabi’s. Mira’s picture, blurry and cold, was pinned right above them.

He barely spoke anymore unless it was about the case. He refused rest. He scoured security footage like it held breath itself. But every lead fizzled into nothing.

The others tried to keep up. Iida and Yaoyorozu worked closely with their hero mentors to trace any sighting of Mira. Todoroki spent nights writing reports, manually matching scent traces from villain activity sites. Even Shinso was pulling every mental thread he could, trying to map the possibility of who Mira had controlled and where she could be hiding.

But it always ended the same.

Another dead end.

Another long, painful night with no Izuku.

That Saturday morning, a storm rattled the school. Heavy, impatient rain streaked the windows of their dorm. Shinso, Todoroki, and Katsuki gathered early they couldn’t sleep anymore.

Katsuki stood near the window, shirtless and still damp from the rain, eyes locked on a pinned photo of Mira taken from mall security months ago.

“She has to be underground,” Todoroki murmured, pacing. “Somewhere shielded, isolated. That’s the only way someone like her could hide this long.”

“Then let’s go underground,” Katsuki growled. “Now.”

“You’ll be stopped again,” Shinso reminded him, his voice quiet. “Going rogue isn’t the answer. You’re not alone.”

Katsuki didn’t respond. His fists trembled. His throat hurt from the scream he kept swallowing.

Then the door opened.

They turned.

It was Tomura.

No cloak. No posturing. No League. Just him, in a soaked hoodie and a tired expression, arms raised in surrender.

Katsuki was on him instantly, exploding across the room and grabbing Tomura by the collar. “You’ve got ten seconds to say something useful before I end you.”

“I’m here to help you find him.” Tomura didn’t flinch as Katsuki held him, and continued. “I’ve been investigating her myself.”

“Her? Mira?” Todoroki asked cautiously.

Tomura nodded. “You don’t know the full story. I didn’t either. But I’ve been digging.”

Katsuki let go slowly. “Talk. Now.”

Tomura stepped inside fully, shaking rainwater from his hair.

“Mira,” he said, voice low, “her name used to be Natsume Mira. She lived in the same district Dabi and I grew up in. I knew her as a kid. Quiet, strange, but always..watching. She didn’t have a quirk then. Was always jealous of Dabi, but obsessed with him. Followed him everywhere when we were little.”

Katsuki’s eyes narrowed. “You said she didn’t have a quirk?”

“She didn’t,” Tomura confirmed. “That’s where All For One came in.”

There was a stillness. Then Todoroki stepped forward. “You’re saying she’s one of his?”

Tomura nodded again. “A volunteer. Or maybe not. All For One found her, maybe years later, and gave her something he couldn’t fully control. Her quirk is incredibly invasive. We thought Toga was dangerous, but Mira’s power isn’t just physical manipulation, it’s mental.”

Yaoyorozu leaned forward. “What exactly can she do?”

Tomura paused. “She spreads a scent, strawberries. Overwhelmingly strong. Once inhaled, the victim becomes open to suggestion. In minor doses, it’s like hypnosis. But with prolonged exposure, she can rewrite behaviour temporarily. Force loyalty. Suppress memories. Install commands. Mind control shit like that.”

Katsuki’s jaw clenched. “And you think she used that on Izuku?”

“And Dabi,” Tomura said. “But they’re different. They were too strong for her to fully control… at first. That’s why she had to isolate them.”

Katsuki shook his head. “You don’t know that.”

Tomura looked him in the eye. “Yes, I do.”

A silence fell over the room.

“She’s keeping them just conscious enough,” Tomura added. “Any more and she risks burning them out. But if she suppresses them too much, their quirks might revolt. It’s a tight line she’s walking.”

“And All For One?” Shinso asked quietly.

Tomura’s expression darkened. “He’s dead, Izuku killed him. She has no master now. Just obsession. She thinks Dabi belongs to her.”

Katsuki stepped forward again, fists clenched. “How do we beat her?”

“There are weaknesses,” Tomura said. “The scent is heavy, but it lingers longer on synthetic materials. She uses misting diffusers, tiny ones, woven into her clothes and surroundings. Destroy the source, and she can’t manipulate. And if you wear tight-sealed filtration masks… you’ll have a few minutes of resistance. But the moment you inhale it? You’re compromised.”

“Why are you helping us?” Katsuki asked, voice low.

Tomura met his gaze, eyes tired and fierce. “I don’t owe you an explanation. I do what has gain to me.”

Katsuki growled but walked back over to the map. Back to the pinned threads.

Tomura stood behind him. “She’s dangerous. More than you know.”

“I don’t care,” Katsuki said without turning. “She took him. I’m bringing him back.”

He reached down and rubbed his ring, their vows ringing in his head like an endless echo. Without Izuku, he was nothing.

“We end this,” Katsuki said. “And we bring him home.”

Chapter Text

The small, dark room reeked of antiseptic and burnt feathers. Flickering fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a pale glow over the two forms bound to opposite sides of the room. Izuku sat slumped in the corner, his once-brilliant wings ragged and stained. Across from him, Dabi leaned against the wall, his body bruised and scarred more than usual, dried blood cracking over the staples holding parts of his skin together.

They had lost track of time. Days bled into weeks, weeks into months.

Mira, the once just a strange memory from a mall encounter, had shown her true face; a twisted, obsessive scientist driven by an incomprehensible goal to create what she called a ‘pure phoenix’. Her mind-control quirk, gifted by All For One for reasons unknown, allowed her to manipulate those who inhaled her sickeningly sweet strawberry scent. But the control wasn’t perfect. Izuku had resisted at first. So had Dabi. And now, instead of controlling them, she experimented on them, pushed them to their physical and mental limits, trying to ignite something ‘new’ within them.

“You still breathing, hero?” Dabi rasped, breaking the silence. His voice was hoarse, but held a flicker of humour. Scarth humour, but humour nonetheless.

Izuku looked up slowly, eyes dull from exhaustion but still burning. “Barely. She hit me with another serum this morning. Said it was going to trigger a ‘higher ascension.’ All it did was make my insides feel like lava.”

Dabi scoffed. “Sounds about right. She’s been trying to make me burn hotter. Said my blue flames are ‘only the beginning.’ Last time she nearly killed me.”

They’d both been strapped to machines, drained, injected, submerged, tested. Mira recorded everything, noting results with an eerie calmness. She spoke about legacy, rebirth, and perfection like a cult leader, not a scientist. She believed that phoenixes were evolution incarnate, and she wanted to create one herself.

She had deduced, incorrectly, that Dabi and Izuku’s combined bloodlines held the key. She didn’t understand that the phoenix spirit didn’t work that way. It wasn’t something to manufacture. It was rare, ancient, and deeply tied to the soul.

Dabi had resisted Mira’s efforts with venomous sarcasm and indifference, but even he was starting to fray at the edges. The shackles were enchanted. The room had no ventilation. Their powers were muted, their bodies stretched. But something else was happening, too. In this hell, they found unlikely companionship.

Late at night, when Mira wasn’t watching, they would talk.

“You always talk about dying, y’know,” Izuku said once. “Like it’s inevitable. Like it’s all you have.”

Dabi had chuckled darkly. “Because it is. For guys like me, death’s the only promise. I’ve always been a broken clock ticking down.”

Izuku had frowned, then whispered, “Then I guess I’ll just have to fix you.”

At first, Dabi had thought his the kid was insane. Then he realised the truth, Izuku didn’t say it because he believed he could. He said it because he refused to stop trying.

More weeks passed. Mira grew more erratic. Her notes became increasingly unhinged. She’d scream at the machines when they didn’t work, pace for hours whispering to herself. She kept them alive, but barely. Each new experiment was worse than the last.

Izuku’s feathers began to regrow with a strange intensity. Some came in darker, deep crimson with streaks of gold. He started having visions again, like those with Chumya. But this time they weren’t of history, they were of futures. Scattered, burning, distorted futures. He never told Mira. But he did tell Dabi.

Dabi had taken to sitting close when they could move. Despite their exhaustion, their shared warmth helped, Izuku’s body radiated a strange phoenix heat that reminded Dabi of bonfires. “You’re not going to let her win,” Dabi said once, as they sat side by side on the floor. “You can’t.”

Izuku clenched his jaw. “I won’t. And neither will you.”

Then came the worst day.

Mira brought in another subject. A clone. It looked like a child, barely older than ten. “My prototype,” she had whispered. “It’s not right yet. But I’ll get there. With your help.”

Izuku had screamed. Dabi had raged. Mira didn’t care. She was consumed by her delusion.

That night, Izuku collapsed against Dabi. His mind was fraying. His wings trembled, his breathing shallow.

Dabi wrapped an arm around him awkwardly. “Hey. Look at me.”

Izuku did.

“We’re getting out of here. I don’t know how yet. But we are. And when we do, she’ll burn.”

Izuku nodded, tears burning down his cheeks. “We can’t let her do this to anyone else.”

They held each other, barely able to sit upright, but they shared one thing stronger than Mira’s madness.

Hope.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The air was stale, laced with metallic bitterness and something sweeter, sickly so. Burnt sugar, Dabi called it. Like the remnants of something once beautiful, now scorched and unrecognisable. The underground lab Mira had built beneath the ruins of a pre-quirk age cityscape was more a tomb than a prison. Time dripped instead of ticked, each second a weight they carried.

Izuku was strapped to a steel gurney again.

The straps weren’t designed for average strength. They were built for him, reinforced alloys, constantly adapting to his shifting temperature. Even now, they hissed as they held him down, his sweat sizzling as it met the surface. She had upgraded her restraints after the first time he’d nearly broken free, calling it a “precaution.”

This time, Mira wasn’t even in the room. Not physically. A camera stared at him from the corner, a dull red glow tracking the subtle trembling of his frame. He didn’t know what she was watching for anymore, anomalies in his pulse, maybe, or a flicker in his fire.

“Phoenixes don’t burn out,” Mira had said once, voice calm and cruel like a scalpel. “They just change shape. I’m just helping you evolve.”

Izuku turned his head with effort. Across the room, Dabi sat on the floor of his containment cell, back against the cold wall, arms wrapped around his knees. There were fresh burns on his neck, purple bleeding into raw red. Not his doing. Mira’s latest trial had involved injecting them both with extracted quirk samples, old DNA from dead subjects she’d harvested from All For One’s forgotten vaults.

It hadn’t worked.

Instead, Dabi’s regeneration flickered like a dying bulb, and Izuku’s flames had started to mimic not just phoenix fire, but blue, the unmistakable shade of Dabi’s own. It terrified him.

“You awake?” Dabi’s voice was a rasp. Throat raw, probably from screaming. Probably during one of the “resonance sessions.” Mira’s twisted idea of bonding, forcing their flames into sync, looking for the right moment, the right reaction. Izuku hated how sometimes it felt like their power did respond. Like something ancient in him was trying to reach out to Dabi.

“Barely,” Izuku whispered.

Dabi scoffed, a short exhale of bitter amusement. “Figures. You still glowing?”

Izuku didn’t answer. The veins under his skin were pulsing golden again, like veins of lava beneath his surface. It didn’t hurt anymore. It was just..there. Always.

Dabi rolled his neck. “She’s getting impatient.”

“I know.”

There was silence for a while. The kind that filled your lungs with more tension than air.

“She’s trying to make one,” Dabi said finally. “A phoenix. Out of us.”

“I know.”

“She thinks it’ll work. She keeps mumbling about ‘compatibility,’ about fire legacy, and inherited evolution. Like we’re ingredients.”

“She’s wrong,” Izuku said. But even now, he wasn’t sure. His memories flickered with visions he didn’t fully understand, visions of flame-born infants, winged shadows in ash. Of someone like him..and like Dabi.

“She’s insane,” Dabi said.

Izuku nodded. “That too.”

Another pause.

The door clicked.

They froze.

The sound of sterilised boots on concrete echoed through the room. A hiss of the containment seal breaking. Mira entered, dressed in a clinical white coat now splashed with soot. Her black hair was tied up tightly, revealing eyes that glowed with an unnatural glint. Something had changed.

She was holding a device in her hands sleek, unfamiliar, humming softly.

“Good morning, my angels,” she said, cheerful and dead-eyed. “You’ve both survived another night. That’s promising.”

“Wish I hadn’t,” Dabi growled.

She ignored him. Walked over to Izuku’s side and placed the device on his chest. “This is a prototype. Just arrived. Salvaged from the ruins of Tartarus, believe it or not. Still functions. I’m impressed.”

“What does it do?” Izuku asked.

“Oh, you’ll see.”

He cried out.

It was like every cell in his body tried to ignite at once, his fire roaring beneath his skin, trying to claw out of him. His back arched violently against the straps, wings bursting from his shoulder blades in an uncontrolled flare. He could hear Dabi shouting, slamming against his cell, but all he could feel was fire, wild, bright, unshaped.

She was measuring his threshold. Triggering phoenix rebirth on command. Looking for the cusp of death.

“Stop!” Dabi bellowed, fire pooling under his feet, incinerating the floor in wild bursts.

She did. The device beeped and went silent.

Izuku fell back, gasping. His wings, now charred at the edges, trembled as they slowly drew back into his body.

“Good progress,” Mira said. “We’re close. I can feel it. Soon, you’ll either give me what I need, or burn out entirely.”

She turned and left without another word.

The door slammed shut.

Izuku lay still for a long time, trying to remember who he was.

“You good?” Dabi asked eventually.

“No,” Izuku croaked. “You?”

“Nope.”

And somehow, they both laughed.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku was free from the gurney, barely able to walk. He sat beside Dabi now, sharing the same corner of the cell she let them use between “tests.” Their wounds ached. Their fires were quiet, for now.

“She’s going to try again tomorrow,” Izuku murmured.

“Let her,” Dabi said. “Eventually, she’ll make a mistake.”

Izuku tilted his head, watching him. “You’re not scared?”

“Terrified,” Dabi replied. “But I can’t let it show. You’d fold if I did.”

Izuku smiled weakly. “You’re stronger than you look.”

“Yeah, don’t spread that around.”

They sat in silence.

“I used to think you hated me,” Izuku said quietly.

“I did,” Dabi admitted. “Back when I thought you were just another symbol of the system. Clean, shiny, hopeful.”

“And now?”

Dabi shrugged. “Now you’re here, burned, broken, and pissed off. I can relate.”

Izuku leaned back against the wall. “I’m not giving her anything. Even if it kills me.”

“I know.”

“You either?”

“She wants to create a phoenix child? Let her try.” Dabi smirked. “But the fire doesn’t answer to her. It never has.”

Izuku nodded. “It answers to us.”

And in the darkness, two wounded phoenixes stared into the void, wings broken but not destroyed, hearts battered but still burning, waiting for a chance to rise again.

There was no clock in their cell.

Just the soft whir of the overhead vents, the electric hum of containment fields, and the occasional shriek of pain, sometimes Izuku’s, sometimes Dabi’s, sometimes both.

Today it was Izuku.

He lay on his side, curled in on himself on the cold metal floor, skin shimmering faintly with heat lines. Mira had pushed him too far again. The chemical exposure was getting more brutal, her voice increasingly frantic during sessions.

“I need a phoenix child,” she had said last time. “Not ashes. Not cinders. Not hope. Flame. Legacy. You two are the start of something divine.”

She spoke of gods and rebirth like she was building her own religion.

She spoke of their suffering like it was a gift.

Now, Izuku couldn’t move. His body trembled from the inside out, his fire threatening to either erupt or extinguish at any moment. He was slipping again.

And yet he wasn’t alone.

Dabi crouched near him, one hand resting loosely on Izuku’s shoulder. His touch was strange, rough, unfamiliar, but it didn’t hurt. It grounded him.

“You still with me, kid?” Dabi asked, voice low and dry. He’d taken to calling him that lately.

Izuku blinked, eyes glassy. “Trying.”

“She overloaded your core again,” Dabi muttered, rubbing his temple with a sigh. “Stupid, twisted, what the hell does she think she’s doing?”

“Thinks..I’ll burn through,” Izuku rasped. “Start over. Hatch something better.”

“That’s not how it works,” Dabi muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Izuku flinched as his fire pulsed again, pain crackling through his ribs.

Dabi reacted quickly, shifting to support him. He lifted Izuku’s head into his lap, easing the tremors. “Breathe. Slowly. Don’t let it eat you.”

Izuku obeyed, focusing on Dabi’s voice. On the steadiness of his arms. On the way his chest moved with each breath. He wasn’t a warm person, literally or figuratively, but there was something steady in him. Familiar. Safe.

“Thanks,” Izuku whispered eventually.

Dabi grunted. “You’re lucky. Anyone else, I’d have let them melt.”

Izuku almost smiled. “You care.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Still, he didn’t move his hand from Izuku’s back. It stayed there, palm firm between his shoulder blades, like he was trying to hold the fire in.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The cell had gone quiet again. Mira hadn’t returned in a day and a half, which meant she was building something new. That was always worse than the waiting.

Izuku had healed a little. Enough to sit up on his own. Dabi sat beside him, arms folded over his knees, watching the static camera light in the corner.

“She always watching?” Izuku asked.

“Probably. But she doesn’t care about this part. Just the fire.”

Izuku nodded, then he spoke, looking away, “you’re..good at this.”

“What?”

“This. The waiting. Keeping me grounded.”

Dabi chuckled dryly. “Not the first time I’ve watched over a brat.”

“I’m not a brat.”

“You complain like one.”

Izuku narrowed his eyes, but the tension faded from his chest. “You remind me of someone.”

“Don’t.”

“No, really.” Izuku shifted slightly, pressing his back to the wall. “It’s weird. You’re intense. Blunt. Kinda terrifying. But you’re always there. When it counts.”

Dabi’s mouth twitched. “You’re not about to say I’m like that explosion kid, are you?”

Izuku looked down at his hands, chuckling a little. “No. God no. You remind me of Tenko. He was like a father to me, but had more of a big brother vibe. He was the one who looked after me.”

Dabi gave him a small smile at the mention of Tomura. He didn’t speak for a long moment.

“I’m not your father, Izuku,” he said eventually, voice low.

“I know.”

“I’m not a hero.”

“I know.”

“I’m barely human some days.”

“I still know.”

Izuku turned to him, eyes burning softly. “But you’re here. You’re real. And you haven’t given up on me. That matters.”

Dabi stared at him, jaw clenched. Then, slowly, he exhaled.

“You’re such a pain.”

“You’re still holding me up.”

“I’ll drop you if you keep getting sentimental.”

Izuku smiled faintly. “Deal.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

It was worse this time.

Mira strapped them into twin circles, etched with glowing sigils she said were drawn from phoenix mythology. They weren’t just machines anymore, they were conduits. Symbols carved into the metal itself. She’d found something ancient. Something buried in the old myths.

“You’re both fire-born,” she said, eyes wide. “But you’re still separate. I want to see what happens when the flame unites.”

Neither of them liked the sound of that.

“Try it,” Dabi snarled. “You’ll get ash.”

“Oh, I want ash,” Mira whispered. “But only the kind that leaves something behind.”

She activated the circle.

Heat surged, unnatural, volatile, alive.

Izuku screamed.

His wings burst free again, fire cascading outward in golden arcs, clashing against Dabi’s blue inferno across the room. The flames collided, not clashing, but folding inward. Wrapping. Embracing.

Mira gasped.

“It’s working!”

Izuku felt it.

For a second, something called to him. Not Mira. Not the pain. But Dabi. The flames weren’t fighting. They were reaching.

A memory, no, a vision, flashed in his head. A crying baby in a field of fire. A hand lifting it. Not Mira’s. Not All For One’s. A third. A fourth. The past owners of One For All. Guiding him. Leading the way.

And Dabi, standing among them, face half-lit by his own blue glow, watching the baby cry with something like recognition.

Izuku collapsed.

Mira screamed in frustration as the flames died.

Dabi pulled against his restraints, arms blistered, eyes wide. “Izuku!”

He was unconscious.

But his fire still burned.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku woke slowly, his head in Dabi’s lap again.

“You scared the hell out of me,” Dabi muttered.

“Sorry,” Izuku whispered.

Dabi didn’t respond.

“I saw something,” Izuku murmured. “Visions. A child.”

“Not real.”

“Maybe it is. Maybe it was.”

Silence.

Izuku turned his head. “Why haven’t you given up yet?”

Dabi looked down at him. “Because you haven’t.”

That silence hung heavier than anything Mira could have built.

“Thanks,” Izuku said.

Dabi shrugged. “I’m not your father, kid.”

“I know,” Izuku said again. “But you’re something.”

Dabi didn’t argue.

“You’re too hopeful, kid.”

He didn’t say anything after that.

But when Izuku finally drifted off again, the hand that rested on his back stayed firm, steady, and warm.

And for the first time in months, he didn’t feel so lonely.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Time in captivity didn’t move in hours or days anymore, it moved in tremors, in scars, in how many breaths Izuku could take before the pain caught up. It moved in how long it took for the burn on Dabi’s arm to clot, or how many times Mira came in raving, dragging in new machines that hummed with cruel promise.

But tonight, the cell was silent.

The lights above buzzed faintly. No alarms. No heat coils. Just the aftertaste of suffering.

Izuku sat cross-legged on the floor, his back pressed to the cool wall, wings curled faintly behind him. They’d burst out during the last experiment and hadn’t retreated since. Small feathers of flame occasionally flickered off their ends, malting without burning.

Across from him, Dabi sat with his knees drawn up and arms folded across them. He watched Izuku, chin resting on one arm, eyes dark with thought.

“You’re quieter than usual,” Izuku said, voice hoarse.

“I’m thinking.”

“Dangerous habit.”

Dabi gave a faint huff of amusement. “You’re starting to sound like me.”

Izuku looked down. “You’ve been..rubbing off on me.”

Dabi shrugged. “Could be worse.”

“Could be better.”

They sat in that gentle quiet for a while. Just breathing. Just existing.

Then Izuku spoke again, his voice low. “You were right, you know. About what you said earlier. I’m too hopeful.”

Dabi raised a brow. “And here I thought that was your greatest flaw and greatest strength.”

“It doesn’t feel like a strength in here.”

“Hope doesn’t work in cages,” Dabi muttered. “It suffocates.”

Izuku nodded, staring at the metal floor. “But it’s still in me. Even after everything she’s done. I can’t kill it. Even when I want to.”

“That’s because you’re not like me.”

Izuku looked up. “That’s not true.”

Dabi met his gaze. “Yeah, it is. You’re still burning for something pure. You want to save people. Be better. All of that shiny, untainted garbage.”

“It’s not garbage.”

“It gets people killed.”

Izuku leaned forward slightly. “It’s gotten me this far.”

“And almost cost you your life.”

“I’m still here.”

They stared at each other.

Neither of them flinched.

Then Dabi looked away. “I used to want to be a hero too, you know.”

“I know.”

He blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

“I read everything I could on Endeavour’s family once. Before I even knew you were Touya. There was a line in one article about a firstborn son. ‘Potentially stronger than Shoto.’ But he died in a fire, supposedly, before Todoroki was born.”

Dabi looked bitter. “He did.”

“You didn’t.”

“No,” he said slowly, “but I wanted to. For a long time.”

The air turned heavier.

Izuku shifted. “Why didn’t you?”

Dabi stared at the ceiling for a long moment before answering. “Because anger burns longer than grief. And revenge needs oxygen.”

Izuku absorbed that. Then, “is that what’s keeping you going now?”

Dabi didn’t answer right away. Then he said, “Not entirely.”

Izuku tilted his head. “Then what else?”

“I want be free. To be dead or to live.”

“Oh,” Izuku muttered, unsure of what else to say. “Anything else?”

“You.”

The word dropped like a stone between them.

Izuku’s mouth parted slightly. “Me?”

“You don’t shut up. You don’t stop trying to fly free even when your wings are bleeding. It’s pathetic. And exhausting. And..impossible to ignore.”

Izuku swallowed hard.

Dabi continued. “You believe in things that no one else does. That I don’t. But being next to you all this time, hearing you talk in your sleep about saving people, about Bakugo, about your class..it’s like listening to the ghost of the kid I used to be.”

Izuku’s eyes burned, not from fire, but from something older. “I see him, you know.”

“Who?”

“The kid you used to be.”

Dabi laughed bitterly. “You don’t want to.”

“I do,” Izuku said firmly. “I see someone who was thrown away and still managed to survive. Someone who wasn’t saved, but kept fighting anyway.”

“You think too much of me.”

“You don’t think enough of yourself.”

They sat there in silence again.

Then Dabi moved.

He crossed the space between them slowly, lowering himself to sit beside Izuku. Not across. Not distant. Just..beside. Their shoulders brushed faintly.

Izuku didn’t move away.

“You’re weird,” Dabi muttered.

“You’re worse.”

Dabi chuckled. “You still calling me your dad?”

Izuku shrugged. “I don’t know what to call you.”

“Call me Dabi.”

“But that’s not who you were.”

“I’m not Touya anymore either.”

“Maybe you’re something in between,” Izuku said softly. “Someone new. Someone who gets to choose.”

Dabi closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall. “That’s a dangerous idea.”

“So’s flying. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.”

“God, you’re exhausting.”

“You’re still sitting next to me.”

A small, reluctant smile crept across Dabi’s face.

“You’re not half bad, kid.”

“You’re starting to care.”

“Don’t push it.”

Izuku smiled back.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku couldn’t sleep. His back ached, and the wings were still too heavy. He shifted, trying to stretch without flaring the flames. Dabi stirred beside him.

“Still awake?”

“Yeah.”

“Nightmares?”

“No. Just..thinking.”

Dabi grunted. “Dangerous habit.”

Izuku chuckled softly, then turned toward him. “Would you ever come back? With me? To maybe try as a family?”

“That’s a hell of a thing to ask a wanted man.”

“You’re more than what the world says you are.”

Dabi didn’t respond.

“I want you to see it,” Izuku said. “Not just the people. The sky. The trees. The sunrise. I want you to fly with me someday.”

Dabi looked at him, tired but thoughtful. “You’re asking a lot.”

“I know.”

“Maybe.”

That single word was the most hopeful thing he’d ever heard from him.

Izuku leaned against him gently, the warmth between them no longer a curse, but a shared shield.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The room was white, unnaturally white, sterile, humming with wires and vents that pumped in chilled air. Izuku hated this room the most. Not because it was where Mira ran her most advanced experiments, but because it never smelled like smoke. Not until after.

This time, they were both strapped upright. Metallic bands bound their wrists and ankles, and electrodes shimmered faintly along their necks and temples. A semicircle of machines blinked in front of them, feeding data to Mira as she circled like a surgeon with no conscience.

“I’ve recalibrated the thresholds,” she said lightly, almost cheerfully. “You’re both stronger than the last trials, but the trick isn’t just about fire, is it?”

Dabi didn’t answer. He was glaring at her with an expression that could’ve melted titanium.

Izuku tried to slow his breathing.

“It’s about harmony,” she continued, examining a tablet. “Balance. Your heart rates, your temperatures. The phoenix phenomenon is not just about power, it’s about resonance. Synchronisation. You’re out of sync. So today, we test that.”

The lights dimmed. A heat pulse began.

Izuku flinched as fire surged beneath his skin. His wings, already tense, flared involuntarily as the sensors forced his body to react. It was like being forced to breathe flame, and drown in it at the same time.

Dabi grunted beside him, his restraints groaning under the strain of his Quirk activating. Blue fire licked at the floor around him but was immediately siphoned off by the dampening fields Mira had installed.

She wasn’t trying to test their abilities. She was trying to merge them.

“This is insane,” Dabi hissed, sweat beading down his scarred temples.

Mira glanced at him with a smile. “Isn’t it? But so was Prometheus. So was Icarus. And look what they taught us.”

Izuku’s breath hitched. His veins felt like they were boiling. The fire wasn’t just external anymore, it had gotten inside. Phoenix fire. It reacted to memory, to spirit. To emotion.

And right now, it was overloaded.

“Kid,” Dabi’s voice cut through the haze. “Focus on me.”

He turned his head, barely managing to keep his eyes open.

“We’re not gonna let her win. Not like this.”

Izuku coughed. “I–I can’t slow it down!”

“Yes, you can. Look at me. Focus.”

Their eyes locked.

“I’ve burned for hate my whole life,” Dabi said, straining against his restraints. “But you, you burn for something else. Use it. Find your centre. I’ll follow.”

Mira tilted her head curiously. “Fascinating..shared synchronisation is increasing.”

Izuku didn’t hear her.

His mind was spinning, his body aching, but Dabi’s voice anchored him.

“Don’t fight the fire. Feel it. Let it move through you like breath. You’re not alone in it.”

Izuku’s breath steadied, just a little. The fire didn’t vanish, but it shaped itself. Wings spread wider, fuller. Controlled.

A moment later, Dabi’s fire followed suit. Instead of wild blue flames, his aura settled into a concentrated aroma, steady and burning like a lighthouse against a storm.

The machines around them beeped erratically.

“What?” Mira stepped back, frowning. “No, no, no. They’re not meant to stabilise. They’re meant to–”

The dampeners shorted. Sparks danced through the room as something unprecedented happened.

Their flames, red-gold and electric blue, spiralled around each other in mid air, not colliding, but moving like twin currents. Separate. Connected.

For the first time in any experiment, there was harmony.

And it was not Mira’s doing.

She hissed and slammed the emergency shutoff. Energy pulsed through the collars on their necks, jolting them with raw electricity. The flames vanished. They slumped in their restraints, both gasping, chests heaving.

Izuku saw black spots dance across his vision. But before it all went dark, he felt something brush his hand.

Dabi’s fingers, just barely managing to reach his, curled around his own.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

They didn’t speak again until later, hours, maybe, when they were dumped back into the cell like broken puppets.

Izuku laid flat on his back, the hard floor beneath him the only thing keeping him grounded. His wings were still partially out, flickering dimly.

Dabi sat beside him, arms braced over his knees. Silent. Watching.

“She’s getting desperate,” he said finally.

“She’s trying to turn us into something we’re not,” Izuku murmured.

Dabi gave a short laugh. “You say that like you don’t have wings made of fire.”

Izuku turned his head. “That doesn’t mean she gets to choose what I do with them.”

There was a pause.

Then Dabi said, “When I told you to focus on me..why did you listen?”

Izuku thought for a long moment. “Because..I trust you.”

Dabi’s expression flickered, like a crack had formed in a wall built over years.

“I’ve only had one person say that to me and mean it.”

“Well, I do,” Izuku said softly.

Dabi looked away, as if the honesty physically hurt.

“I’m not your father, kid,” he muttered.

Izuku nodded. “I know.”

“But..”

Izuku’s eyes found his.

“If things were different,” Dabi said, “if this world hadn’t eaten us both alive before we knew what living meant, maybe I could’ve been.”

“You’re already becoming someone,” Izuku said. “I don’t need blood to feel it. You protect me. You get me. That matters more than a name.”

Silence. Heavy. But no longer hollow.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Dabi had waited for this moment for a long time. Mira had pushed this building too far. The hallway was lit by flickering lights and choked with the smell of burning chemicals and steel. The distant hum of the generator had finally sputtered out, leaving the underground laboratory in partial darkness, only red emergency lights cast their ominous glow on the concrete walls. The air was thick, heavy, and tense.

Izuku leaned heavily against the cold wall, his breathing ragged. His wings hung limply behind him, feathers dirtied, singed, and trembling. Months of torture, experimentation, and confinement had worn his body down, but not his spirit. Beside him, Dabi stood tall, though his steps were uneven, his burned skin cracking with each movement.

“We don’t have long,” Dabi rasped, blood painting the corner of his mouth. “She’s going to come back. We need to move.”

Izuku’s blue eyes, glowing faintly gold at the edges, met Dabi’s with concern. “You’re hurt.”

Dabi gave a humourless smile. “We’re both hurt. Doesn’t matter. You’re getting out of here.”

The walls groaned as another part of the facility collapsed in the distance. Mira’s desperation to birth a phoenix child had turned the place into a maze of ruined experiments and shattered morality. She had tested their limits, burning, freezing, starving, isolating, yet they had survived. Together.

The building was starting to collapse, and with that the security system for the cage they were in short circuited, leaving the door to be opened manually by the two.

Izuku reached out, gripping Dabi’s hand. “We go together.”

Dabi looked at him, his mismatched blue eyes dim but determined. “We will. Come on.”

They navigated through the dim corridor, knowing the exit was close. Izuku could sense the open air, feel it calling to his feathers like a long-lost promise. As they reached the stairwell that would lead to the surface, alarms suddenly screeched.

“She found us,” Dabi growled.

From the far hallway, a crashing sound echoed, followed by a familiar, maddening voice.

“Izuku! Dabi! Come back! You’re not ready to leave me yet!”

Mira.

She appeared in the broken corridor ahead like a ghost of perfume and obsession. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot, and glowing with her quirk’s cruel intensity. The strawberry scent hit them like a wave, sickly sweet and cloying.

Izuku’s steps faltered as the trance threatened to pull him back. Mira’s quirk, her ability to manipulate minds through that scent, had taken its toll on him before. He clenched his fists, forcing himself to remember Dabi’s voice, the pain, the reality.

Dabi moved in front of him, shielding him.

“No more games, Mira,” he snarled. “You’ve taken enough.”

She laughed, a sound like glass shattering. “But I’ve given so much too. Look what you’ve become. Look at what Izuku is now. You’re perfect, both of you! Why would you want to leave that behind?”

“You’re insane,” Izuku spat, his wings flaring. “You’re not creating anything. You’re destroying us.”

Mira’s eyes narrowed, and suddenly, the air turned razor sharp with a psychic pulse. Her power had grown. She’d been injecting herself with captured quirk serums, refining the manipulation, expanding its reach. Dabi was the first to react, lunging forward with a ferocious flame punch, his blue fire clashing violently with Mira’s psychic barrier.

“Go!” he barked at Izuku. “Now!”

Izuku hesitated. He couldn’t just leave him.

“I said go!”

With a tortured cry, Izuku turned and sprinted toward the stairwell. Behind him, Dabi’s flames exploded in the corridor, illuminating everything in searing blue.

The stairs were cracked but climbable. Izuku leapt upward, pain coursing through his legs with each movement. At the top of the staircase, a rusted door blocked the final escape. He slammed into it, shoulder first, coughing on smoke and shaking from exhaustion.

A hand touched his back.

He whirled,Dabi stood there, covered in burns, his body barely holding together.

“You–”

Dabi shoved the door open and flung Izuku through it into the open night. Cold wind struck Izuku’s face, and he gasped at the sensation of air that didn’t taste like death.

Dabi stood in the doorway, smiling with tired pride.

“Fly, Izuku. You made it.”

“But you–”

“I’m not making it, kid.” His voice cracked. “This body’s had enough. She hit something vital. Can’t feel my legs anymore. But you–you have wings. You’ve always had wings.”

“No!” Izuku reached for him. “I can carry you. I can–”

“Don’t waste it. Don’t waste what we survived for.” Dabi took a shaky breath. “She’s still in there. She’ll kill us both if you stay.”

Tears blurred Izuku’s vision. “Dad..”

“For what it’s worth,” Dabi whispered, his voice barely audible over the wind, “you’re the best thing I ever helped create.”

And then the fire behind Dabi ignited again.

Mira screamed in rage as she charged up the hallway. Dabi turned and, with the last of his strength, unleashed a wall of searing blue fire that engulfed the tunnel, sealing it behind him.

The explosion rocked the earth, flinging Izuku backward. Dust, ash, and smoke filled the air.

When it cleared, there was no door. No Dabi.

Just a burned crater and a smell of scorched stone and strawberries that would haunt Izuku forever.

He stood on the grass, barefoot, staring at what he had just come out of not even a moment ago, chest heaving.

Dabi was gone.

But Izuku was free.

And Mira, Mira had most likely escaped, knowing her.

Izuku collapsed to his knees. His hands hit the earth hard, scrabbling through the ash, the dust, the broken stones. He dug without reason, without hope. His fingers bled. His wings dragged in the dirt. He dug until he couldn’t feel his arms, until he couldn’t breathe past the weight in his chest.

Somewhere, far off, a bird called out. It sounded like mourning.

And then he just..stopped.

The weight of it hit him all at once, crushing, suffocating. He bent forward, curling into himself, forehead pressed to the blackened soil. His shoulders shook. Tears dripped silently into the ash.

Dabi had died so he could live.

He had given him everything.

Izuku remembered the way Dabi had shielded him from Mira’s flames. The quiet nights in their cells when Dabi would lean his head back and talk about the sky. The dry, worn-out rasp of his voice. The way he’d finally started looking at him like something precious. Like a son.

A child he never asked for, but chose anyway.

Izuku had never had a father.

He hadn’t realised how much he’d needed one until he saw Dabi step in front of death for him without hesitation. Not as a villain. Not as a broken man.

But as someone who loved him.

A father.

Something inside Izuku cracked, deep and silent. A rupture in the foundation of who he was. Not loud, not explosive, just a slow unravelling of everything he’d built to hold himself together.

He couldn’t scream.

He couldn’t move.

The grief was too large to give sound.

He sat in the ruins of the escape, ash dusting his skin, the glow of dawn beginning to warm the horizon behind him. His breath came in sharp little gasps as he stared at the ground, vision blurred by tears he couldn’t stop.

There were no words. Just ache.

Just silence.

Just the shape of absence left in the world where someone once stood.

Izuku didn’t know how long he sat there.

The sun was up by the time he finally moved. His face streaked with dirt and salt. His wings trembled as he stood, heavy and unbalanced. But he stood anyway.

He left the ruins behind without looking back.

Because Dabi was gone.

And the only thing Izuku could do now..was to find and kill Mira.

To be someone Dabi could have been proud to call his son.

Chapter Text

The morning sun was just beginning to climb over the horizon, casting a soft golden hue across the UA campus. Inside the dorms, the atmosphere was tense, heavy with worry, sleepless nights, and too many unanswered questions. Class 3-A was gathered in the common area, everyone dressed in their gear, bags slung over shoulders, grim determination on every face.

Katsuki stood at the edge of the group, his hands clenched into trembling fists. His hair was still damp from a too-early shower, and his crimson eyes were bloodshot. He hadn’t slept. Again. No one had.

Iida was adjusting his gloves for the third time in as many minutes, trying to organise the group’s approach routes and contact plans, but his voice trembled beneath the formality. Yaoyorozu stood nearby, quietly flipping through a worn notepad of recent sightings, her expression drawn. Todoroki leaned against the wall, eyes narrowed, the scar on his face almost burning in the rising sun. Shinso was quiet beside him, his hands tucked into the pockets of his uniform.

They were ready. One more mission. One more desperate search. And this time, they would not come back empty-handed.

Katsuki turned toward the door. “We’re wasting time.”

No one argued.

Just as Iida opened his mouth to issue the departure command, the sound of the front door creaked, barely audible, a shift of hinges and breath.

Everyone froze.

The door didn’t swing open with force. It nudged open gently, as if moved by a breeze, or a ghost.

And then a figure stepped through.

His steps were dragging. His clothes, what was left of them, hung from his frame like tattered banners. His wings, grand and majestic once, now drooped behind him, feathers burned and frayed. His face was gaunt, his cheeks hollowed, and the white in his hair had grown brighter, now streaked with soot. The ombré tips of his wings shimmered faintly in the morning light, but dulled by exhaustion, by pain.

“Izuku..?” Mina’s voice cracked the silence.

Izuku stumbled forward, barely catching himself on the wall. His eyes were glazed, lashes wet with unshed tears and crusted sleep. His skin was scraped and bruised. His lips trembled.

The class exploded into motion.

Katsuki was the first to reach him.

“Izuku!” he shouted, and his voice wasn’t angry, it was desperate. His hands came up like he didn’t know whether to grab him or cradle him. “Where the hell–why didn’t you–how–”

Izuku crumpled forward.

Katsuki caught him.

The class swarmed, voices overlapping, panic rising. Iida called for medical help. Yaoyorozu was already unzipping a first aid kit. Todoroki pressed his cool palm to Izuku’s forehead, looking for signs of fever or shock. Uraraka was crying openly, hand to her mouth.

But Izuku didn’t say a word.

He buried his face in Katsuki’s chest, trembling. Katsuki lowered with him slowly, guiding him to the floor, arms locked around his shoulders like a vice.

He was shaking. Not from cold. Not entirely. His whole body looked like it had been fighting itself just to move. But he was here. He was here.

Kirishima dropped beside them, eyes wide with disbelief. “We–we were just about to go find you.”

Izuku didn’t answer.

Katsuki turned, shielding him from the overwhelming crowd. “Give him space!” His voice cracked as he shouted it. “He just got back!”

Everyone backed up, some reluctantly. Iida hovered behind Yaoyorozu, torn between helping and obeying Katsuki’s command. Shinso lingered near the wall, his expression unreadable but eyes locked on Izuku, like he was watching a miracle.

Recovery Girl was already on her way, and Aizawa followed close behind. His tired eyes locked immediately on Izuku, the faintest gasp catching in his throat.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to.

Aizawa crossed the room with long strides, crouched beside Katsuki, and gently touched Izuku’s arm. “Can you hear me?”

Izuku blinked slowly. His lips parted, then closed. The movement took everything he had.

Aizawa lowered his voice. “You’re safe. You’re back. Don’t talk right now.”

Izuku nodded once, and it was the smallest, weakest movement, but it was something.

Katsuki kept his arms wrapped tight around him, like he was afraid that if he let go, Izuku would vanish again.

And maybe he would.

It wasn’t long before the med team arrived and began their assessment. Izuku was lifted onto a stretcher, and Katsuki didn’t leave his side for a second. The class stayed behind as the adults took over, but the silence that followed wasn’t from relief.

It was from shock.

And grief.

And too many unspoken questions.

Because Izuku might have come back, but the look in his eyes said something else hadn’t.

Not yet.

Not ever.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku woke to the soft hum of machines and the faint smell of antiseptic.

Sunlight filtered in through the small window above his bed, warm and golden, but it didn’t reach his bones. He felt heavy. Like his body was anchored to the mattress by more than just exhaustion.

There were wires on his chest. Bandages on his arms. Something tight wrapped around his ribs. His wings, sore and raw, were bandaged too.

The room was quiet.

Until he turned his head.

Katsuki sat in a chair beside the bed, arms crossed over his chest, legs jittering beneath him. His eyes were locked on the floor.

“Katsuki,” Izuku whispered.

Katsuki looked up so fast it hurt.

“Izuku.” He surged forward. “You’re..God, you’re awake.”

Izuku tried to sit up, winced, and collapsed back into the pillow.

“Don’t move.” Katsuki’s hand was on his shoulder instantly. “You’re okay. You’re here.”

Izuku’s eyes welled up with tears. He tried to say something, but the words didn’t come. They stuck somewhere in his throat, buried beneath grief, beneath everything he couldn’t say.

Katsuki didn’t push. He just sat there, eyes shining. “You don’t have to say anything yet.”

Izuku nodded. A small breath left his lips, trembling.

Then the door opened, and Aizawa stepped inside, flanked by Recovery Girl and Principal Nezu.

“We’re keeping this quiet for now,” Aizawa said. “You’ll recover here, under surveillance. You’re not to be questioned yet.”

Izuku nodded again, slowly.

“We’re glad you’re back, Midoriya,” Nezu said gently. “Take your time.”

Recovery Girl checked his vitals, murmuring reassurances, and then the three of them left, giving him privacy.

Katsuki didn’t move from the bedside.

After a long silence, Izuku finally found his voice.

“I couldn’t save him,” he whispered.

Katsuki’s face broke, but he didn’t press.

“We’ll talk about it when you’re ready,” he said, his hand closing gently over Izuku’s.

And they sat there in silence, while the sun rose higher in the sky, and the weight of the past few months settled over them like dust.

Izuku had made it home.

But home didn’t feel the same anymore.

And the real fight was just beginning.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The days following Izuku’s return were a blur of sterile white walls, aching limbs, and restless sleep. At first, the medical wing of UA became his world. Recovery Girl checked on him hourly, her frown deeper with every bruise and burn she uncovered. His wings had taken the worst of it, shredded feathers, scorched tips, raw tendons pulled too far during the last escape. His left one wouldn’t fully extend.

He didn’t ask if it would again.

Katsuki remained the only constant. Though he pretended to have better things to do, he never strayed far from Izuku’s bedside. Sometimes he read quietly, sometimes he dozed off in the chair. Other times he stared blankly ahead, jaw clenched so tight Izuku feared it would crack.

Neither spoke much. They didn’t need to. Words felt too small for what had happened.

Izuku’s nightmares were a different story. In the dark, when silence fell like a shroud, the screams came back. The smell of fire and smoke. The buzzing of machines. Mira’s voice, calm and clinical as she outlined each experiment.

Sometimes he screamed himself awake. Other times he just wept.

On the fourth day, the authorities came.

They were careful. Soft-spoken. Gentle.

Izuku hated them.

He didn’t hate them as people, but as symbols. They were the ones who hadn’t found him. The ones who let it happen. And now they came with notepads and calm expressions, asking him to recount the horror like it was a movie they hadn’t seen.

He gave them what he could.

Mira’s facility. Underground. Remote. A twisted hybrid of lab and prison.

Her obsession with phoenixes. Her theories about rebirth. Her need to “perfect the formula” for creating one from scratch.

She never succeeded. But that didn’t stop her from trying.

They asked about Dabi.

Izuku swallowed hard and shook his head. “We were just subjects to her. Nothing more.”

He never mentioned how Dabi shielded him from the worst of it. How his once-blazing rage cooled into something protective. How he had held Izuku upright when he could no longer stand.

They didn’t need to know that.

Some truths were too sacred.

The questioning lasted hours. Spaced across days. They asked about the escape, about Mira’s final words, her strength, the villains she commanded. Izuku answered everything with as much clarity as he could muster.

But each session drained him.

His body healed faster than his mind. Bruises faded. Burns scabbed. His feathers regrew, albeit slowly. But the hollow ache inside his chest, that yawning void where Dabi had once stood, grew wider each day.

He spent more time staring at the ceiling, tracing cracks that didn’t exist. Every time he blinked, he saw fire.

One morning, Aizawa visited alone. He stood beside the bed, silent for a long while before speaking.

“You did everything you could.”

Izuku didn’t answer.

“You’re not alone anymore.”

Izuku turned his head. His eyes were dull. “Then why does it feel like I am?”

Aizawa sat in the chair Katsuki usually occupied. “Because grief isolates. It wraps around you, cuts you off. You’re not broken, Midoriya. You’re mourning.”

The tears came then. Hot, silent. They streamed down Izuku’s cheeks as he closed his eyes.

“He didn’t deserve it,” he choked. “He saved me. I didn’t want him to.”

Aizawa reached out, rested a hand on his shoulder. “And he did it anyway. That was his choice. Not yours.”

It didn’t make the pain easier. But it made it bearable.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

By the second week, Izuku was strong enough to move on his own. He walked the halls late at night when everyone slept, trying to clear the fog from his head. He often found himself outside, sitting on the dorm steps with a blanket draped around his shoulders, staring at the stars.

Sometimes Katsuki joined him. Sometimes Todoroki. Occasionally, even Iida would sit beside him in silence.

They never pressed him. Never asked.

They just let him be.

One night, Yaoyorozu left a sketchbook outside his door. Inside were designs, safe suits, wing supports, flame-resistant boots. All ideas she had drawn in his absence.

A note was tucked between the pages.

When you’re ready, we want to help.

He cried again.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Eventually, Principal Nezu scheduled a formal debriefing.

It was held in one of the secure rooms near the faculty wing. Aizawa stood at his side, arms crossed, face unreadable. Across the table sat a group of top officials, including Tsukauchi, their expressions mixed with guilt and urgency.

“Midoriya, this won’t be easy,” Tsukauchi said softly. “But your insights are the only lead we have.”

Izuku nodded. His shoulders were square, wings folded tightly behind him. His eyes were still tired, but steadier now.

“I understand.”

The questions were pointed. Focused. Mira’s organisation, her resources, the experiments. Izuku detailed what he could recall, the tools she used, the guards she manipulated, the way she tested their cells for regenerative properties. Her rants about flame and rebirth. The way she documented everything.

He explained her quirk, the strawberry scent, how it bypassed conscious control, how it could deepen obedience the longer it lingered. How she would use it subtly. Lingering. Constant. Until you didn’t know what thoughts were yours anymore.

He watched the officials pale at that.

Tsukauchi leaned forward. “Was she working alone?”

Izuku hesitated. Then he shook his head. “She had help. A small group of villains. But they weren’t loyal. They were controlled.”

“Anyone we would recognise?”

“No. No one with strong quirks. They were disposable to her.”

“And her final escape?”

Izuku’s jaw clenched. “I’m assuming she ran when Dabi..helped me escape. I can’t be certain though.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

“We’ll keep searching,” Tsukauchi said. “We have to stop her.”

Izuku nodded. “Before she tries again.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

After the debriefing, Izuku was granted supervised freedom around UA. He still wasn’t cleared for missions or off-campus activity, but he could train, attend classes, rebuild his strength.

The first day he stepped into the training room, the class froze.

He didn’t speak. He just nodded.

And everyone understood.

He trained gently at first. Recovery Girl insisted. But each week, he pushed harder. His flames, once golden and wild, now flared with flickers of blue. A remnant. A reminder.

His wings, though scarred, held him aloft again. Not as high. Not as long. But they worked.

Katsuki began joining his sessions. Not to fight, but to spot. To watch. To guard.

They never mentioned Dabi.

They didn’t need to.

But in the quiet spaces, when Izuku found himself staring into a campfire or the crackling edge of a training dummy, he saw a ghost.

White hair. Burned skin. A half-smile, laced with bitterness.

You better not die before me, bird boy.

Izuku would smile sadly.

“I didn’t.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

One evening, as he packed away his gear, Aizawa approached him.

“They want you on the next strategy briefing,” he said. “Not for combat. Just intel.”

Izuku nodded. “I want to help.”

A pause.

“You already have. More than you know.”

Izuku closed his locker and looked up. For the first time in weeks, his eyes were clear.

“Then I’m not done yet.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The sky outside was a soft steel blue, heavy with clouds that threatened rain. Inside the quiet dorm room, the air was still, broken only by the slow, rhythmic ticking of a wall clock and the occasional creak of the wood beneath Katsuki’s pacing boots.

Izuku sat propped up in bed, a thick quilt folded over his legs. His arms, still wrapped in gauze and burn salve, rested atop the blankets, trembling slightly with effort whenever he moved. His once-bright eyes were dulled now, sunken beneath dark circles, but they flicked up toward Katsuki with a quiet awareness whenever he passed near.

Katsuki hadn’t left the room in hours. Days, maybe, not really, not for long, anyway.

There were days Izuku didn’t speak at all.

Sometimes, he screamed in his sleep. Sometimes, he jolted awake with fists clenched in silent panic, sweat soaking through his shirt and his voice a hoarse whisper on a name he wouldn’t say. Mira. Or Dabi. Or his own. Katsuki never asked.

Instead, he waited. He fetched water. He made soup, even if Izuku barely ate more than a few spoonfuls. He adjusted the blinds when the sunlight got too bright for Izuku’s sensitive skin. He pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat in silence, watching Izuku breathe.

“You’re not broken,” Katsuki said one night, his voice low, raw, and reverent like a prayer. “You’re still you.”

Izuku had flinched at the words. Not from pain. But as if he didn’t believe him.

Today, it was raining.

Raindrops streaked the glass like tears that refused to stop falling, and the patter made Izuku’s breathing hitch every now and then, just enough for Katsuki to notice.

He was curled up a little tighter than usual, arms clutched around his middle, head pressed into the pillow. The wings, their white feathers now singed and molting at the tips, twitched occasionally with ghost pain from the last experiment. Katsuki didn’t know what Mira had done, but the wounds beneath those feathers still hadn’t healed.

And neither had Izuku.

“I got you this,” Katsuki said quietly, stepping over with a bundle wrapped in a towel. He knelt beside the bed, carefully unwrapping it.

It was a glass orb. Inside, soft golden light shimmered like fireflies trapped in honey. It was small, warm. Handmade from a specialty shop that enchanted comfort lights for children afraid of the dark.

“I figured..” Katsuki didn’t finish. He looked down at his hands instead. “You used to like stars.”

Izuku’s hands trembled as he reached for it. When his fingers touched the orb, his breath caught. It was warm. Familiar.

Safe.

“Thanks,” Izuku murmured, voice barely audible. He stared at the orb for a long moment, clutching it close to his chest like a heart he thought he’d lost.

Katsuki sat down beside him, not asking questions, not rushing him. His eyes stayed on Izuku’s face, mapping every flicker of pain, every shift in his expression. He didn’t look away even when Izuku began to cry quietly, soundless, steady tears that rolled down his cheeks and soaked into the quilt.

Katsuki didn’t speak.

He just pulled Izuku into his arms, slowly, gently, like cradling glass, and wrapped both of them in the blanket.

For the first time since he’d returned, Izuku didn’t pull away.

His body was stiff at first, still tense with trauma, but as Katsuki held him, arms wound securely around his frame, Izuku began to tremble and then collapse into the embrace, shuddering with broken sobs. His hands clutched Katsuki’s shirt like a lifeline, and Katsuki didn’t move an inch, anchoring him, steady and solid as stone.

“I couldn’t save him,” Izuku whispered into Katsuki’s shoulder. “I couldn’t save Dabi.”

Katsuki’s heart twisted. He knew. Izuku hadn’t said a word about what happened. No one had. But Katsuki knew that look in his eyes, the pain of a final goodbye, the weight of survivor’s guilt pressing down like ash.

“You survived,” Katsuki murmured back. “That’s what he wanted.”

Izuku clung tighter.

The rain kept falling.

Later, Katsuki helped Izuku to the bathroom, guiding him with a hand on his back as they walked slowly. He didn’t look at the scarring. He didn’t wince at the bruises or the welts or the way Izuku’s knees threatened to give out halfway there.

When Izuku sank to the floor midway through the hall, exhausted, Katsuki knelt beside him. He didn’t urge him to get up. He didn’t get frustrated. He just waited.

“I feel like I’m still there,” Izuku whispered, staring at the floor. “Like if I blink too long, I’ll wake up in that room again.”

“You’re not,” Katsuki said quietly. “You’re here. With me. With us.”

He reached out, placing a hand over Izuku’s.

“Every time you breathe, that’s proof she didn’t win.”

Izuku’s lips parted, but no words came out. Only breath.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The room was quiet, too quiet for someone like Izuku.

His eyes flitted to the window, catching the amber hues of a setting sun. The world outside still turned, birds still flew, clouds still passed, but none of it felt real. Not when Dabi’s last scream still echoed in his skull. Not when Mira’s voice, laced with that sickly strawberry scent, still curled in the corners of his thoughts like barbed wire.

He sat on the hospital bed in Recovery Ward 3 at UA, knees drawn up to his chest, arms wrapped tight around them. A machine beeped quietly behind him. The bandages on his arms were fresh, but the wounds underneath had already begun to close, physically, at least.

Knocks came, gentle. Not the kind of knock meant to be polite. This one was hesitant. Afraid.

“Izu.” Katsuki’s voice broke the silence, hoarse, raw. “Can I come in?”

Izuku blinked once. Then nodded.

The door creaked open, and Katsuki stepped inside, the light from the hallway cutting across his frame like a blade. He closed the door behind him, locking them both in shadow and silence. Izuku didn’t lift his head.

For a while, neither of them spoke. Katsuki sat on the chair beside the bed, arms draped across his thighs, hands clasped like he was praying. Or maybe holding himself back from touching Izuku.

“You’re safe,” Katsuki murmured, voice low and certain. “You’re here. She’s not. You got out.”

Izuku’s fingers twitched. “He didn’t.”

Katsuki’s jaw clenched. “I know.”

“I–I saw him die, Kacchan.” His voice cracked, shaking like the rest of him. “He saved me. Dabi–my dad..he saved me.”

Katsuki exhaled slowly, pain carved into every corner of his face. “You don’t have to say it now if you can’t.”

“I have to. Because if I don’t–if I let it sit inside me..I think it’ll rot me from the inside out.”

Izuku finally lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot, rimmed red from too many nights waking in cold sweat. But there was something else, too, something hollow.

“I think she’s still in my head.”

Katsuki’s gaze sharpened. “You mean..her quirk?”

“No.” Izuku’s voice lowered, almost a whisper. “I mean her. The way she spoke. The way she made us feel like we were nothing but parts, just ingredients for her phoenix. I still hear her laughing. I still feel her hand on my face, like I’m not real unless she says I am.”

Katsuki’s hands curled into fists, the veins on his arms bulging.

“She twisted everything. She made me doubt myself. I kept thinking, maybe I deserve this. Maybe this is what happens to people like me. Heroes who fail. Phoenixes who fall.”

Katsuki stood suddenly, dragging his chair closer to the bed. He knelt down in front of Izuku and took his hands, trembling as they were.

“Stop. Stop saying that. That’s not who you are. You didn’t fall. You were pushed into hell, and you clawed your way back.”

“I didn’t bring him back.”

“No,” Katsuki said softly. “But he brought you back. That has to mean something.”

Izuku’s eyes brimmed with tears, but he didn’t let them fall. He was tired of crying. It felt like crying made it worse, like every tear gave her more ground inside his head.

Katsuki moved forward slowly, wrapping his arms around Izuku with a gentleness that made the younger boy shatter. Not physically, his body had already been broken and stitched back together. But something deeper. Something Mira hadn’t reached.

“Kacchan..” His voice broke as his arms clutched the back of Katsuki’s shirt. “I think I’m still in there.”

“You’re not. You’re here. Right here with me.”

“She made me want to die.” The confession fell between them like a stone dropped in still water. “Not because I wanted it. But because I wanted her to stop.”

Katsuki swallowed hard. His breath was shaking now, too. “She’s not going to hurt you anymore.”

“But the part of me that let her in, that part’s still here, isn’t it?” Izuku pulled back just enough to look Katsuki in the eye. “How do I stop her from winning when I’m still scared to close my eyes?”

Katsuki didn’t try to answer right away. He leaned back just slightly, hands still cradling Izuku’s.

“I don’t have all the answers. But I do know one thing, if you survived her, you can survive this. The part in your head, the fear, the shame, that’s not weakness. That’s the proof you still care. That you’re still human.”

Izuku blinked rapidly, like that truth was something he hadn’t let himself believe until now.

“I want to get better,” he whispered. “But I don’t know how.”

“You don’t have to know. You just have to let yourself start.” Katsuki let his forehead rest against Izuku’s. “You let her make you feel small. But you’re not. You never were. You’re the strongest damn person I know.”

“But I feel like a broken thing.”

“Good,” Katsuki said fiercely. “Because broken things still exist. And you can rebuild something broken. But you can’t fix something if you pretend it’s fine.”

Izuku’s shoulders began to shake again, and this time, Katsuki let him sob. He didn’t rush him. Didn’t try to stop the flood. Instead, he held him steady as the tears finally came, hot and unrelenting.

Minutes passed, maybe hours. The sun dipped low and the stars blinked into place above them. But in the room, it was only the two of them and the shared sound of healing in progress.

When Izuku’s breathing finally evened out, he wiped his face with trembling hands.

“I want to talk about it,” he said softly. “Maybe not all at once. But I need to talk about it.”

“I’ll be here every time you’re ready.”

“I’m scared that if I let go of the pain, I’ll forget Dabi’s face.”

“You won’t,” Katsuki said. “You’ll remember it better. Clearer. Without her poison clouding it.”

Izuku closed his eyes. He tried to summon the image. Not of Dabi screaming or bleeding. Not of Dabi in a cage. But Dabi standing in front of him, flames alight behind his back, one hand held out. He was smiling. He looked happier. Healthier

“Fly Izuku, you’ll make it.”

“I remember,” Izuku said, voice steadier now. “He told me to fly.”

“And you did.”

“I flew all the way back here,” Izuku murmured. Then looked up, eyes flicking to Katsuki. “I flew back to you.”

A silence passed between them. Not empty, full. The kind that stretches between people who have known each other too long, who’ve seen each other shattered and still chosen to stay.

“You’re not alone in this,” Katsuki said. “You never were. And you’re not going to fight her shadow by yourself. If she left a mark in your mind, then we’re burning it out together. One day at a time.”

Izuku nodded slowly.

“Then tomorrow,” he whispered, “will be the first day.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku sat by the window, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The breeze was cool. The moon hung high.

He held a notebook in his lap. His hand trembled over the paper. For a long moment, he didn’t know what to write.

“Dabi died to save me. Mira tried to unmake me. But I’m still here. I’m not the same, but I’m still me. I think that’s enough for today.”

He closed the book.

Behind him, Katsuki slept on the nearby couch, curled into himself, one hand hanging off the side like he’d fallen asleep mid-sentence.

Izuku smiled, faint but real. Not the smile of someone who had healed. But of someone beginning to.

Tomorrow would bring more questions, more scars to untangle, more nights where Mira’s voice crept in.

But tomorrow could wait.

Tonight, Izuku was home.

And that, for now, was enough.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The morning light slipped in quiet and unassuming, like it didn’t want to wake him too fast.

Izuku sat with his knees drawn up on the edge of the hospital bed, a cold cup of tea beside him and his notebook clutched in his lap. He hadn’t slept. Not really. The weight of sleep was still foreign, his mind twitching too often, yanking him back from dreams where strawberry-scented hands gripped his throat and Dabi burned away to ash over and over again.

But he hadn’t screamed.

That felt like progress.

Katsuki stirred on the small couch tucked in the corner. He blinked himself awake, blond hair crushed flat on one side. His eyes found Izuku immediately.

“You good?” he rasped, stretching.

Izuku gave a small nod. “Better. I think.”

Katsuki stared at him for a second longer, like he didn’t quite believe it, but didn’t want to push. Instead, he sat up, ran a hand through his hair, and said, “Aizawa’s coming by later. Just so you know.”

Izuku flinched. “Am I in trouble?”

“What? No.” Katsuki frowned. “Dude. You were kidnapped. Tortured. Not grounded.”

Izuku gave a faint, embarrassed chuckle. “Sorry. Old habit.”

Katsuki didn’t smile back. “Don’t..apologise for being scared. Just means you’ve still got something worth protecting.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The door opened with a soft creak. Aizawa stood in the doorway, looking like he hadn’t slept either.

“Midoriya,” he said. “You up for company?”

Izuku nodded and sat up straighter, trying not to look like a kid caught doing something wrong.

Aizawa entered the room and closed the door behind him. He didn’t approach right away, just stood quietly, watching him, like he was gauging whether Izuku might bolt.

“You remember what I told you about being a hero?” Aizawa asked eventually. “About what it really means?”

Izuku nodded slowly. “It’s not about strength. It’s about choosing to stand. Even when it’s hard.”

“Good.” Aizawa stepped closer, pulling the chair Katsuki had used earlier. “Then let me tell you something else. What happened to you wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t because you failed. It wasn’t punishment. It was cruelty. And cruelty is never something we earn.”

Izuku stared down at his hands.

“I know that in my head,” he murmured. “But sometimes my heart doesn’t believe it.”

“That’ll take time.” Aizawa’s voice softened, which was rare. “But you’re not doing this alone.”

Izuku swallowed. “I think she wanted to make me forget who I was. And some days..it almost worked.”

“But it didn’t.” Aizawa leaned forward slightly. “And that’s why you’re here.”

Izuku nodded, but the tension in his shoulders didn’t fade.

Aizawa stood again and walked over to the window, pulling it open slightly.

“You’ve always been the type to carry weight that isn’t yours. It’s time to let some of that go. You don’t have to hold onto Dabi’s death like it’s your punishment.”

“I should’ve saved him,” Izuku whispered. “If I had fought harder–”

“You did fight,” Aizawa interrupted. “You fought to survive. That’s the hardest kind of fight there is. And don’t twist his sacrifice into a failure. He didn’t die because you were weak. He died because he made a choice.”

Izuku looked up, eyes stinging. “You believe that?”

“I do. And I think deep down, so do you.”

Katsuki, silent until now, added, “Dabi would hate it if you made his death about guilt instead of freedom. Or not, who knows with him.”

Izuku’s breath hitched.

Freedom.

Yeah. That’s what it had looked like in the end. Dabi burning a path through the compound, screaming for him to run, not because he wanted to be a martyr, but because for one second, they were both free.

“I want to remember him like that,” Izuku said. “Not broken. Not angry. But..alive.”

Aizawa gave a small nod. “Then that’s where we’ll start.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku sat in Recovery Girl’s courtyard, wrapped in a hoodie Katsuki had brought him, sipping water through a straw. He could still feel the rawness in his throat from the times he’d screamed until it gave out.

“I want to talk to the others,” he said suddenly.

Katsuki, seated beside him with his hands deep in his jacket pockets, turned his head. “You sure?”

Izuku nodded. “I don’t want to hide. Not from them. Not from myself.”

“You don’t owe anyone anything.”

“I know. But this..this is for me. I need to say it. Even if my voice shakes.”

Katsuki looked at him for a long moment before standing up. “Alright. I’ll get them.”

They didn’t come all at once. Maybe that was Katsuki’s doing. Maybe it was Aizawa’s instruction. But one by one, familiar faces filtered into the courtyard.

Iida. Shinso. Uraraka. Todoroki. Kirishima. Jiro.

No one said anything at first.

Not until Iida, eyes damp and red-rimmed, stepped forward and offered a small bow. “I’m so sorry, Midoriya. That we weren’t fast enough. That we couldn’t protect you.”

Izuku stood slowly. His legs trembled a little, but he stayed standing.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said softly. “You did save me. You all did. You never stopped looking. And that gave me hope when I thought it was gone.”

Todoroki stepped forward next, hands clenched at his sides. “We found the facility after you escaped. It was..it was worse than anything we imagined.”

Izuku’s breath hitched, but he nodded. “I know. I was there.”

Jiro reached for his hand. “We missed you. We missed you so much, Izuku.”

“I missed you too.” His voice shook now. “And I was so scared I wouldn’t see any of you again. That I’d die in that place, and no one would ever know.”

“But you didn’t.” Uraraka wiped her eyes. “You came home.”

He nodded. “Because of Dabi.”

He looked around at all of them, the people who had trained beside him, fought beside him, cried for him.

“I’m not okay,” he admitted, and the words felt like a wound opening. “But I want to be. I’m trying.”

Kirishima smiled softly. “That’s enough, man. That’s more than enough.”

The group drew in closer. Some touched his shoulders. Some just stood near him like an unspoken promise.

Izuku let himself breathe.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Katsuki sat beside him in the dark, both of them watching the stars through the open skylight in the room they now shared.

“Do you think the stars remember?” Izuku asked suddenly.

“Huh?”

“All the people who used to look up at them. Do you think they hold onto memories, like constellations made of stories?”

Katsuki let the silence stretch before replying.

“Maybe. Or maybe they don’t care. Maybe they’re just up there, burning bright, and it’s us who gives them meaning.”

Izuku hummed softly. “Then maybe we can give this meaning too.”

“What, the trauma?”

“No. The survival.”

Katsuki turned to look at him. “You’ve changed.”

“I had to.” Izuku leaned back against the wall. “But the part of me that believes in people, that still wants to be a hero, that part’s still here.”

“Good.” Katsuki leaned his head back too. “Because I didn’t come this far to lose you.”

Izuku smiled faintly. Then, after a moment: “Kacchan..thank you. For staying. For holding me through the worst.”

Katsuki shrugged, but his voice was thick when he said, “You’d do the same.”

“I did do the same. When you died.”

Katsuki’s breath caught.

“Guess we’re even now,” Katsuki said quietly.

“No,” Izuku replied, softer. “You still win. You pulled me out of a place even I thought I couldn’t come back from.”

Katsuki didn’t argue. He just reached out and took Izuku’s hand, and they sat like that, bathed in starlight.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Izuku stood before the mirror. He wore his uniform again, slightly oversized from the weight he’d lost, but familiar. Grounding.

He smoothed it over, adjusted his collar.

He would return to class next week, slowly. One lesson at a time. He wasn’t being rushed. Aizawa had made that clear. But Izuku wanted to try.

Scars still lined his arms. The burns on his back would never fade completely. But he was here. He was present. And when he looked in the mirror now, he didn’t just see Mira’s victim.

He saw himself.

Tired. Healing. But still Midoriya Izuku.

Still someone who wanted to save.

He reached for his notebook, an old one, worn from before the war, and flipped to a blank page.

New Entry:

Healing Log – Day One

I survived. I came home. I’ll never forget what happened. I’ll never forget him. But I’m going to live for both of us now. I’m going to heal. Because that’s what heroes do.

He closed the book, drew in a deep breath, and stepped out into the hallway where Katsuki waited.

Chapter Text

The League hideout was quieter than usual when Izuku stepped inside.

The stale air, thick with dust and old smoke, wrapped around him like a heavy cloak, but it was familiarity that settled in his bones more than fear. The walls seemed to lean closer, waiting to hear what he carried with him.

Tomura sat alone in the dim corner of the main room, fingers loosely laced together, his gaze fixed somewhere beyond the peeling paint on the wall. The red veins on his hands throbbed faintly, but there was no tension in his shoulders. Just emptiness. A hollow stillness.

Izuku cleared his throat softly.

“Tenko.”

The name broke the silence like a tentative whisper.

Tomura didn’t move right away. When he finally turned, his pale eyes met Izuku’s, but there was none of the usual sharpness. Just a dull, tired glaze, like someone watching a faded memory play out in slow motion.

“Izuku,” he said quietly. “You’re here.”

Izuku took a deep breath, stepping closer. “I need to tell you..everything. About what happened while I was in captivity.”

Tomura’s lips twitched in something that might have been the ghost of a smile. “You always tell me everything. You’re not new to this.”

Izuku swallowed hard. “It’s different this time.”

Tomura gestured vaguely, inviting him to sit opposite. The worn sofa groaned under Izuku’s weight.

“I’m listening.”

Izuku settled, clutching his notebook. He glanced once at the scattered shadows on the floor, then began, looking down at his hands. “There were days I didn’t want to survive. Days I thought..maybe it was better to disappear. To stop hurting everyone around me.”

Tomura’s eyes flickered. “But you didn’t. You fought through it.”

Izuku exhaled slowly. “I had to. Because Dabi was there too. And..he saved me.”

Tomura’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

Izuku’s voice cracked. “He died protecting me, Tenko. He wanted me to live. To be free.”

Silence stretched between them.

Tomura’s fingers tapped lightly against his knee, a rhythm almost lost in the quiet.

“I always wondered,” Izuku continued, “what it felt like for you. To lose someone. To watch them burn away.”

Tomura blinked slowly, as if forcing his mind back from somewhere dark. “I don’t cry. Not anymore.”

Izuku’s heart ached for him.

“Will you ever regret it? Losing him?”

Tomura’s gaze dropped. “Regret’s a luxury.”

“But–”

“No buts,” Tomura interrupted gently. “I don’t have the space for it. Not while there’s still so much broken around me.”

Izuku swallowed the words on his tongue. “You’ve been looking out for me.”

Tomura’s eyes narrowed for a moment. “You think ‘Tenko’ is just your imagination?”

Izuku smiled faintly. “I know better. You’ve been there in the dark, in ways I couldn’t always see. When I was alone, broken, Tenko kept me grounded.”

Tomura’s smile was ghostlike, bittersweet. He reached out, briefly touching Izuku’s hand. “I don’t do things for thanks.”

“But it means something,” Izuku said softly. “It kept me alive.”

Tomura looked away. “Good.”

The room grew quieter again.

Izuku wanted to say more. To unravel the threads of the silence hanging between them.

Instead, he asked, “Do you think..we’ll ever stop fighting each other? As heroes and villains?”

Tomura’s laugh was low and dry. “I don’t think it’s ever about fighting. Not really.”

Izuku tilted his head. “Then what is it?”

“Finding a reason to keep going,” Tomura said quietly. “Even when the world wants to burn.”

Izuku’s throat tightened. “That sounds like hope.”

“Maybe it is,” Tomura said, “or maybe it’s just stubbornness.”

They sat in the weight of those words, two broken souls tethered by memories and unspoken truths.

Izuku’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I miss him.”

Tomura’s hand tightened around Izuku’s briefly. “Me too.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The dorm hallway was dim, the hour late. Most of Class 3-A had long since gone to bed, the last whispers and footsteps replaced by the soft hum of overhead lights and the occasional creak of aging floorboards.

Izuku sat on his bed, legs crossed, notebook open but blank. He hadn’t written a word since returning from the League hideout. Not because he didn’t want to, because he couldn’t.

His mind was a jumble of echoes. Dabi’s eyes before the building crumpled. Tomura’s stillness. The scent of strawberries that still lingered, phantom-like, at the edge of every breath.

A knock broke the quiet.

It wasn’t tentative.

He looked up. “Come in.”

The door opened, and Katsuki stepped inside without hesitation, barefoot, wearing his black tank and flannel pyjama pants. His hair was still damp from a shower, spiking at odd angles. He didn’t speak right away, just shut the door behind him and leaned against it.

“You saw Shigaraki,” he said flatly.

Izuku nodded. “Yeah.”

Katsuki’s arms crossed, but there was no bite in his posture, only fatigue. “You could’ve told me.”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

“You’re always worrying me.”

The admission was quiet, half a growl, half a confession. Katsuki pushed off the door and walked toward him.

Izuku looked down at the page again. “He didn’t cry. Didn’t yell. He just..shut down.”

Katsuki didn’t sit, not yet. He stood beside the bed, watching Izuku with unreadable eyes.

“Would you have preferred if he fell apart?” he asked eventually.

Izuku closed the notebook. “No. I think it would’ve been easier, though.”

Katsuki finally sat, shoulders curving slightly forward. “He cared about him. Even if he wouldn’t admit it.”

“I know.”

Silence stretched. Soft and dense like fog. They didn’t need to fill it with words. They never had.

Katsuki tilted his head slightly, watching Izuku’s hands, how they trembled faintly in his lap.

“You’ve been holding it together all day,” he said.

Izuku let out a shaky breath. “Yeah.”

“Why?”

Izuku’s lips curled into a broken smile. “Because if I don’t, everything falls apart.”

“Let it.”

Izuku blinked, startled by the gentle insistence.

Katsuki leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “I’m here. Let it fall apart, Izuku.”

“He smiled at the end. Like he was relieved.”

Katsuki looked down. “That bastard always acted like he had nothing left to live for. Until you.”

Izuku’s shoulders shook. “It’s not fair. He was trying. He was really trying.”

Katsuki shifted onto the bed, reaching out, slowly, like approaching a wounded animal. His hand landed on Izuku’s back, warm and steady.

“He mattered,” he said. “Even if no one else saw it, he mattered to you. To Shigaraki.”

“I should’ve saved him.”

“You were half-dead yourself.”

Izuku pressed his face into his hands. “I keep seeing it. Over and over. The fire. The way he looked at me.”

Katsuki’s hand moved in slow circles across his back, grounding. “You survived. Because he wanted you to.”

Izuku finally let himself cry.

No dramatic sobs. Just silent tears spilling down his cheeks, soaking his palms. His body trembled as the grief crawled out of the corners where he’d hidden it.

Katsuki didn’t try to stop it. He didn’t shush him or tell him it would be okay.

He just stayed.

When Izuku leaned into him, Katsuki pulled him close, arms wrapping around him protectively. Their foreheads touched.

“I’m so tired,” Izuku whispered.

“I know.”

“I don’t want to be strong tonight.”

“You don’t have to be.”

They stayed like that for a long time.

Eventually, the tears slowed. Izuku’s breathing evened. But he didn’t pull away.

Katsuki brushed his fingers through the curls at Izuku’s temple. “You’re not alone. Not now. Not ever again.”

Izuku closed his eyes. “Stay?”

“As long as you need.”

Katsuki didn’t move. He simply held him, the same way he had when they were kids, when Izuku had cried over scraped knees and lost notebooks and Katsuki had pretended not to care, even as he hovered nearby.

Now, there was no pretending.

Just warmth.

Just them.

And in the quiet between them, Izuku began, slowly, to breathe again.

“Hey, Kacchan?” Izuku asked quietly, his chin in the crook of Katsuki’s shoulder.

“Hm?”

“You hungry?” Izuku asked, moving his head away from his shoulder to look Katsuki in the eye, his voice was casual, but there was an underlying tension in the way he moved, a restlessness that Katsuki had grown accustomed to.

Katsuki shrugged, his gaze meeting Izuku’s. “Not really,” he smirked, he knew what was coming next, could feel the shift in the air between them, the electric charge that always seemed to build when they were alone together.

Izuku smirked, his lips curling into a predatory grin. “Good,” he said, closing the distance between them. “Because I’ve got something else in mind.”

Izuku manoeuvred them around so that Katsuki was pinned underneath him, his hand slid up Katsuki’s arm, his fingers tracing the line of his jaw before tilting his chin up, forcing him to meet his gaze.

Katsuki’s eyes widened as Izuku’s lips crashed down on his, the kiss rough and demanding. There was no tenderness here, no softness. This was raw, primal, a clash of lips and teeth that left Katsuki gasping for air. Izuku’s hands moved swiftly, pushing Katsuki’s shirt up and over his head, tossing it aside without a second thought. His fingers dug into Katsuki’s waist, pulling him closer, their bodies pressing together in a way that left no doubt about Izuku’s intentions.

Katsuki moaned softly into the kiss, his hands coming up to grip Izuku’s shoulders, his nails digging into the fabric of his shirt. He was helpless against Izuku’s touch, his body responding instinctively, his skin flushing with heat. Izuku’s dominance was intoxicating, a force that Katsuki couldn’t resist, didn’t want to resist.

Izuku broke the kiss, his lips trailing down Katsuki’s neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses and nips in their wake. “You’re mine, Katsuki,” he growled, his voice thick with desire. “Don’t you ever forget that.”

Katsuki shivered, his head falling back against the wall as Izuku’s lips continued their downward path. “S-shut up,” he stammered, his voice barely coherent. “Yours.”

Izuku’s hands moved lower, slipping beneath the waistband of Katsuki’s jeans, his fingers brushing against the soft skin of his hips. He smirked against Katsuki’s skin, his lips curling into a satisfied grin. “Good boy,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble that sent a jolt of pleasure through Katsuki’s body.

With swift, practised movements, Izuku untied the drawstrings of Katsuki’s sweatpants, pushing them down his legs until they pooled at his feet. Katsuki kicked out of them, his breath coming in short, shallow gasps as Izuku’s gaze raked over his body, taking in every inch of exposed skin. He felt vulnerable, exposed, but there was a thrill in that vulnerability, a heady rush that only Izuku could give him.

Izuku’s hands gripped Katsuki’s hips, pulling him closer, their bodies flush against each other. Katsuki could feel Izuku’s hardness pressing against his thigh, a reminder of just how much he wanted him. He reached down, his fingers brushing against the bulge in Izuku’s jeans, a silent plea for more.

Izuku’s eyes darkened, his grip tightening on Katsuki’s hips. “Impatient, aren’t we?” he teased, his voice laced with amusement. But he didn’t hesitate, his hands moving to unbuckle his belt, his jeans sliding down his legs in one smooth motion.

Katsuki’s breath caught in his throat as Izuku’s erection sprang free, thick and throbbing, a sight that never failed to make his mouth water. He reached out, his fingers wrapping around the base, his touch hesitant, unsure. But Izuku’s hand closed over his, guiding him, his grip firm and commanding.

“Suck it,” Izuku ordered, his voice a low growl that sent a shiver down Katsuki’s spine. He didn’t need to be told twice. He flipped them so that now Izuku was under him, his lips parting as he lowered his body further down Izuku’s, his mouth closing over the head of Izuku’s cock.

Izuku hissed, his head falling back as Katsuki’s lips wrapped around him, his tongue swirling and stroking in a rhythm that was both teasing and torturous. Katsuki moaned around the thickness in his mouth, the sound vibrating against Izuku’s skin, driving him wild. He gripped Katsuki’s hair, his fingers tangling in the strands as he thrust forward, his hips snapping with a force that bordered on rough.

“Fuck, Kacchan,” Izuku groaned, his voice hoarse with need. “You’re so good at this. So fucking good.”

Katsuki hummed his agreement, his eyes fluttering closed as he deepened the suction, his throat relaxing to take Izuku in as far as he could. He loved this, loved the way Izuku’s hands tightened in his hair, the way his breath hitched and his body trembled with pleasure. It was a power he held, a power he wielded with care, knowing just how much Izuku craved his touch.

But Izuku wasn’t one to stay on the defensive for long. With a sharp tug on Katsuki’s hair, he pulled him back, and pulled him up, his lips brushing against Katsuki’s as he spoke. “Enough,” he said, his voice firm. “I want to fuck you. Now.”

Katsuki’s heart raced as Izuku flipped them again, his body trembling slightly as Izuku pressed him back against the bed. He reached for the drawer in the nearby table, pulling out a small bottle of lube and tossing it to Izuku. “Hurry,” he whispered, his voice laced with anticipation.

Izuku smirked, his fingers slicking with lube as he pressed a kiss to Katsuki’s lips. “As you wish,” he murmured, his hand reaching between them to prepare Katsuki, his fingers sliding inside with a slow, deliberate motion.

Katsuki gasped, his head falling back against the wall as Izuku’s fingers stretched him, his body arching into the touch. “Izuku,” he moaned, his voice a plea for more. “Please.”

Izuku’s eyes darkened with desire, his grip on Katsuki’s hip tightening as he positioned himself at Katsuki’s entrance. “Ready?” he asked, his voice a low rumble that sent a jolt of anticipation through Katsuki’s body.

Katsuki nodded, his breath coming in short, shallow gasps. “Yes,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “Fuck me, Izuku. Please.”

Izuku didn’t need to be told twice, his hips snapping forward as he thrust into Katsuki, his cock sinking deep with a force that left them both breathless. Katsuki cried out, his nails digging into Izuku’s shoulders as he adjusted to the stretch, his body trembling with the intensity of the sensation.

Izuku held still for a moment, his forehead pressing against Katsuki’s, their breaths mingling in the space between them. “You okay?” he asked, his voice soft, a rare moment of tenderness in the midst of their passion.

Katsuki nodded, his eyes fluttering open to meet Izuku’s gaze. “Yeah,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with need. “Don’t stop.”

Izuku smirked, his lips brushing against Katsuki’s as he pulled back, his hips snapping forward in a rhythm that was both relentless and intoxicating. Katsuki moaned, his body moving in time with Izuku’s, their breaths coming in short, ragged gasps as the pleasure built, spiralling out of control.

The sound of their bodies colliding filled the room, a primal rhythm that echoed off the walls. Izuku’s thrusts were deep and relentless, his hands gripping Katsuki’s hips with a bruising force that only added to the intensity of the moment. Katsuki’s cries grew louder, his body arching into each thrust, his nails digging into Izuku’s skin as he sought purchase, something to hold onto as the world around him dissolved into a haze of pleasure.

“Izuku,” Katsuki gasped, his voice a broken whisper. “I’m–I’m close.”

Izuku’s eyes darkened, his thrusts becoming more urgent, more desperate. “Cum for me, Kacchan,” he growled, his voice a low rumble that sent Katsuki over the edge.

Katsuki cried out, his body shaking as his orgasm ripped through him, his cum spilling over his stomach in hot, sticky streaks. Izuku followed soon after, his hips snapping forward one last time as he buried himself deep, his release spilling into Katsuki with a force that left them both trembling.

For a long moment, they stayed like that, their bodies pressed together, their breaths coming in short, shallow gasps. Izuku’s forehead rested against Katsuki’s, his arms wrapped tightly around him as if afraid to let go.

“You okay?” Izuku asked again, his voice soft, his thumb brushing against Katsuki’s cheek.

Katsuki nodded, his eyes fluttering open to meet Izuku’s gaze. “Yeah,” he whispered, his voice still hoarse with the aftermath of his orgasm. “More than okay.”

Izuku smirked, his lips brushing against Katsuki’s in a soft, tender kiss. “Good,” he murmured, his voice satisfied. “Because we’re not done yet.”

Katsuki’s eyes widened, a mix of surprise and anticipation flashing across his face.

“It’s a good thing I had my walls soundproof when I came back.” Izuku smirked as he leaned down to catch Katsuki into another kiss.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The sun crept in through the tall glass windows of UA’s common room, brushing soft gold across the floor and catching in the steam rising from mugs of morning tea and coffee. Light laughter drifted between the halls like drifting pollen, caught in the spring air that carried the scent of dew-wet grass and blooming sakura trees.

Izuku sat at the table near the window, a pencil in hand and a workbook open before him. His other hand cradled a warm cup of sweet milk tea. It was quiet here, especially in the early hours before hero training started, only the hum of distant conversation and the occasional bark of a laugh from Kaminari or Kirishima in the kitchen.

He exhaled through his nose and underlined a sentence on his page. The ink wobbled a little. His fingers still trembled sometimes, not always. Just enough to notice.

But it was better. It was getting better.

The chair across from him scraped back slightly. He glanced up to see Uraraka settling in, cheeks slightly pink from the walk across campus.

“You’re up early,” she said, smiling gently. “Didn’t think anyone beat Iida this morning.”

Izuku smiled back. “I like it when it’s quiet.”

She nodded. “Me too.”

A comfortable silence stretched between them. She took out her own notebook and leaned forward, tapping her pen rhythmically against the table as they both sank into routine.

Normal.

It was strange how much weight that word held now. How something as simple as doing math problems beside a friend felt like relearning how to breathe.

Eventually, more of their classmates filtered in.

Iida entered briskly, winded from a morning jog, towel draped around his neck and glasses already beginning to fog. Todoroki followed at a slower pace, a small white thermos in hand, his homemade tea, Izuku guessed, from the faint scent of mint and ginger.

“Training in block A starts in thirty minutes,” Iida declared, voice echoing through the room. “Please be punctual, especially if you’re in recovery or conditioning rotation.”

Katsuki wandered in behind them, wearing his gym shirt with one sleeve bunched up. His hair was still damp from a shower, and he looked about as enthusiastic as a cat thrown into a bathtub.

“Morning,” he grumbled, tossing a small protein bar toward Izuku.

Izuku caught it with both hands. He smiled. “Thanks.”

“No skipping meals,” Katsuki muttered, and moved to steal a piece of toast from Kirishima, who had just sat down at the kitchen island.

Izuku unwrapped the bar slowly. It wasn’t his favourite flavour, Katsuki’s choices always leaned more ‘function over taste’, but he bit into it anyway. The solid texture grounded him.

“You coming to training today?” Sero asked, sliding into a seat next to Kaminari and flinging a rubber band across the room at Aoyama, who batted it away with dramatic flair.

“Yeah,” Izuku said. “Just agility drills. Nothing too heavy.”

“Good,” Kirishima chimed in, mouth full. “You’re way better at balancing than I am, Hound Dog sensei’s making us do rope runs and I nearly face planted last week.”

“Twice,” Kaminari added.

“Twice is practically improvement,” Mina said, flopping into a seat beside them. “You’re gonna do great today, Midoriya. Don’t push yourself too hard, though, okay?”

“I won’t,” Izuku promised.

He meant it, too. For the first time in weeks, he wasn’t trying to overcompensate. He didn’t need to prove anything, not to them. The air around his classmates was warm, even in their chaos. It filled the room like sunlight, reaching the quiet corners of him that still remembered cold floors and stone walls.

When the bell chimed to signal the training period, they all moved together. A small herd of matching uniforms and worn sneakers, jostling and joking as they made their way across campus to the gym facilities.

The agility course had been set up with minimal obstacles. Just balance beams, low ropes, and curved wall climbs. Simple stuff. Izuku stood beside Iida at the start, tightening the laces on his shoes and taking a breath that filled his chest instead of catching in his throat.

Aizawa watched from the corner of the gym, arms crossed, scarf loose around his shoulders. He didn’t say much, he never did unless necessary, but his gaze lingered on Izuku longer than the others, quiet and thoughtful.

“Go easy,” he said simply as Izuku stepped up.

Izuku nodded.

He started slow.

The first rope was taut beneath his palms, and the familiar strain in his shoulders made him wince, but it faded quickly, replaced by the rhythm of motion. Across the beam. Down the slope. A short leap, tuck, roll.

Katsuki shouted something rude but vaguely encouraging from the sidelines. Izuku laughed mid-sprint.

By the time he reached the final stretch, sweat clung to his brow, and his legs ached, but his chest didn’t hurt from fear anymore. His muscles burned for the right reasons.

He slowed to a stop and leaned on one knee, panting lightly.

“Nice job,” Jiro said, passing him a towel as she jogged past. “You’re getting your speed back.”

“Thanks,” Izuku said, wiping his face.

By midday, the entire class was sprawled in the field near the dorms, lunch boxes open and sun overhead. Yaoyorozu had created a set of extra cushions for people to sit on, and Mina had made iced lemonade with floating fruit slices that melted slowly in the heat.

They shared jokes and swapped snacks, bickered about who got last pick for next week’s group assignment, and listened to Kaminari’s absolutely terrible impressions of pro heroes.

Todoroki even cracked a smile at one point. A real one.

Izuku lay back against the grass, arms folded beneath his head. The warmth soaked into his skin, and a light breeze brushed over his face like fingers. His heart didn’t thrum with adrenaline. His breath wasn’t shallow.

He felt..here.

Present.

He tilted his head to look at Katsuki, who was sitting beside him with a rice ball in one hand and a book in the other.

“You think I’ll be ready to spar again soon?” Izuku asked quietly.

Katsuki didn’t look up. “You’ll know when you’re ready. I’m not gonna tell you.”

“I miss it.”

“You’ll get it back.”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah. I will.”

And for once, he believed it.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Later that evening, as the sun began to dip and shadows grew long across the pavement, Izuku returned to the training room alone. He didn’t go there to work himself to exhaustion like he used to. This time, he just walked.

The empty space felt sacred in a way, echoing with footsteps, lit by dim ceiling lights and the soft click of a locker closing somewhere far off.

He stood in the middle of the mat and breathed in.

Out.

Then again.

His body was still healing. But more than that, his mind was settling. The storm had not passed completely, but the sky was clearing.

One breath at a time.

The doors opened behind him softly. Aizawa stepped in, eyes half-lidded.

“You didn’t overdo it today,” he said.

Izuku smiled. “I’m learning.”

“Good.”

They stood in silence for a few moments.

Then Aizawa said, “You’re doing better, Midoriya.”

“I’m trying.”

“You don’t have to try alone.”

Izuku looked down, then nodded. “I know.”

He meant it.

And the weight of it, not fear, not shame, not pain, was light.

Like the air itself.

Like healing.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The morning sun cast a pale gold over the U.A. campus, spilling across rooftops and sidewalks like a fresh start. It was the kind of crisp spring day that begged to be believed in, cool air, blue skies, and the distant sound of birds returning to nest in the trees that had begun to bloom again.

For once, Class 3-A’s morning wasn’t shattered by explosions or surprise villain drills. It was normal, almost suspiciously so.

Izuku sat beside Yaoyorozu in homeroom, half-listening as Iida read off the announcements with his usual gusto. There was a student council meeting at lunch. Permission slips due for the city training rotation next week. A clean-up event scheduled near Kamino.

All so normal.

Too normal.

Katsuki slouched at his desk behind Izuku, one booted foot tapping restlessly against the floor. He didn’t say much, which was his version of saying everything. His eyes flicked occasionally toward Izuku’s back, where the threads of healing trauma still clung beneath his uniform shirt.

Ten seats away, Todoroki stared out the window, his expression unreadable. His hands sat calmly on his desk, but his fingers curled slightly whenever someone passed by the door.

After homeroom, the class dispersed for hero training rotations. Sero and Kirishima challenged Kaminari to a relay race. Uraraka joined in with a laugh, her face brighter than it had been in weeks. Even Aoyama twirled dramatically before launching himself into a sequence of flips that earned loud applause and one sarcastic clap from Jiro.

Izuku joined them. He moved slower than usual but participated. Smiled where it mattered. Talked when it counted. He could almost fool himself into believing he felt fine.

Almost.

It was after their drills, sweaty, tired, and stretching on the grass, that Yaoyorozu approached him quietly.

“Midoriya,” she said, voice hushed but urgent. “Come with me. You too, Bakugo.”

Katsuki, who was mid-crunch, looked up. “What now?”

“Principal Nezu requested we keep this discreet,” Yaoyorozu said as she led them inside toward the staff wing, “but a civilian reported something last night.”

Izuku’s stomach knotted. “What kind of something?”

Yaoyorozu glanced around before speaking. “An abandoned workshop in the lower suburbs of Tokyo, Ota Ward. Burn marks. Scorch patterns matching a quirk like Dabi’s. And..”

She hesitated.

“And?” Katsuki pressed.

“A lingering scent. Strawberries.”

Izuku stopped walking.

The hallway was silent, except for the distant buzz of classroom lights and the faint echo of student laughter outside.

“Is it confirmed?” he asked, barely above a whisper.

“Not yet,” Yaoyorozu said. “The report is being verified, but the marks were… fresh. Within the last week.”

Katsuki folded his arms. “So what, we sit here and wait?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “Nezu doesn’t want us to act on it yet. Too many civilians in the area. Too many unknowns.”

Izuku closed his eyes. “She’s watching us.”

“She wants you to know she’s still out there,” Katsuki said. “She’s playing with us.”

Yaoyorozu nodded. “But we can’t move unless we’re sure. And we’re not.”

Izuku clenched his fists. He could feel it again, like thin threads tugging at the edges of his mind. Not the scent, not the quirk, but the presence. Like she was hovering on the edge of his awareness, watching. Waiting.

Katsuki must’ve noticed. He touched Izuku’s wrist. “We don’t rush. We’re smarter than that.”

“I know,” Izuku whispered. “I just hate waiting.”

They didn’t say anything more. Yaoyorozu led them to Recovery Girl’s old office, where Nezu now kept sensitive intel out of reach from even pro-heroes unaffiliated with the Phoenix case.

He wasn’t there, only a sealed file on the table, labelled ‘MIRA: Ota Ward, 3 AM. Recovered Evidence’

Photos inside showed half-melted steel, burn marks warped in a wide arc, like someone had lost control of a massive flame burst. Izuku could tell by the pattern, this wasn’t Dabi’s fire.

It was his.

Izuku’s own.

But why?

“She was trying to recreate the same condition,” Katsuki murmured beside him. “Like she’s trying again. Without you this time.”

Izuku’s chest tightened. “Or she’s baiting me.”

“She doesn’t get to do that,” Katsuki snapped. “We’re not falling for her shit again.”

Izuku looked at him. “I don’t think we have a choice. She’s going to make us.”

Yaoyorozu carefully sealed the file again. “We’ll keep it monitored. Nothing else unless she resurfaces directly.”

They returned to class before anyone noticed they were gone.

By afternoon, the rhythm resumed.

Kirishima was debating the moral implications of villain rehabilitation with Tokoyami and Shoji. Kaminari was napping in a sunbeam. Aizawa, somewhere unseen, was undoubtedly grading essays with one eye open.

But beneath the surface, it spread.

The unease.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Later, as the sun dipped and the class began filtering out for the day, Izuku lingered by the window in the common room. He watched the skyline in the distance, the faintest thread of city haze rising far to the south.

Ota Ward was somewhere in that direction.

Somewhere between the old shadows and the quiet new ones.

Katsuki came to stand beside him, chewing on a protein bar.

“She’s trying to scare us,” he said simply.

“She’s succeeding,” Izuku admitted.

Katsuki bumped his shoulder. “Only a little.”

Izuku chuckled weakly. “Thanks.”

They stood like that for a while, two silhouettes framed in fading sunlight.

Waiting.

Watching.

Knowing the peace wouldn’t last.

Chapter Text

The morning sunlight slanted over the front courtyard of UA, painting golden streaks across the wide pavement. Cherry blossoms had started to bloom, petals drifting gently on the breeze as if the world itself was trying to lull the students into a soft, false sense of peace.

And it worked, at least, for now.

“Yo, Midoriya!” Kaminari’s voice echoed from across the courtyard, slinging an arm around Izuku’s shoulder. “You spacing out again, or just pre-planning how to kick my ass later during the exercise?”

Izuku blinked up at him, then gave a faint smile. He still looked thinner than before, still tired behind the eyes, but the green in his gaze had returned. Sharpened. Alive.

“I was just..thinking about formation strategy,” Izuku replied honestly. “You know, if they run a split-team ambush again like last time, we’ll need to anchor the back lines better–”

“Dude,” Kaminari groaned, “you gotta save at least 20% of your brain for breakfast.”

Sero jogged up beside them, balancing a warm triangle of onigiri on one finger. “He’s right. You’ll short-circuit like Kaminari if you overthink it.”

“I do not short-circuit!”

“You totally do,” Jiro cut in, smirking as she walked past, her headphone jacks swinging against her thighs.

The lightness of their teasing set the tone.

Today was supposed to be normal. A joint-class combat drill. Team A against Team B in randomised terrain conditions. Competitive, but not dangerous. Structured. Controlled. Just another day to train, test, and keep moving forward.

Izuku’s fingers twitched at his sides.

He exhaled.

His scarf shifted slightly as the morning wind picked up, Katsuki had insisted he wear it again, even though it was summer soon. “You look like hell when your neck’s all exposed,” he’d muttered, shoving the fabric at Izuku with a frown that didn’t reach his eyes.

The truth was, Katsuki is still worried.

They all did.

But for now, no one spoke it aloud.

Izuku adjusted the scarf absently as the others moved into formation near the entrance.

“Bakugo!” Iida called from the far side of the field, his engine-calf exhausts flaring softly as he jogged up. “You’ve been assigned Squad Alpha for today’s drill. You’ll be co-leading with Todoroki.”

“Obviously,” Katsuki muttered, arms crossed. “I’m not gonna let Ice Prince screw up the flank this time.”

Todoroki raised a brow at that but didn’t argue. He stood beside Katsuki, placid as ever, until he glanced toward Izuku, and something flickered in his gaze.

Concern. A touch of restraint.

“Midoriya,” he said quietly, “you’re Squad Bravo today. You and Yaoyorozu are spearheading containment routes.”

Izuku nodded. “Got it.”

“And..” Todoroki hesitated, then softened his voice. “Don’t overexert. Aizawa-sensei said if your pulse surges too far too fast–”

“I know,” Izuku cut in gently. “I’m pacing it.”

Behind them, Aizawa emerged from the main building with Present Mic in tow. His tired eyes scanned the gathered students, scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. He looked like he hadn’t slept, he probably hadn’t.

“All right,” Aizawa called out. “Ten-minute warm-up. Squad Alpha to the north grounds, Squad Bravo to the south. Maps are uploaded to your tablets. Simulated debris zones and ‘villain’ stand-ins have been placed.”

“Go all out,” Present Mic added with a grin. “But keep it clean, kids!”

As the students began to scatter into their squads, Yaoyorozu joined Izuku’s side, her clipboard in hand and hair neatly tied.

“Shall we run a short strategy sync before we start?” she asked.

Izuku nodded. “Let’s pair Kaminari with Jiro to cover aerial acoustics. I’ll reinforce the rear with Ojiro. You take the central corridor.”

“Perfect,” she said, tapping her stylus to mark their shifts. “This is shaping up well. Honestly, it’s kind of refreshing to have a day without..you know.”

“Villains. Blood. Doom,” Jiro deadpanned as she passed by again.

Yaoyorozu gave a polite laugh. Izuku’s smile was smaller.

“Yeah,” he said. “Refreshing.”

But even as he said it, a quiet unease prickled at the back of his mind.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The simulation field was filled with makeshift terrain: broken concrete slabs, faux gas line markers, tall synthetic buildings meant to mimic city blocks. The air buzzed faintly from the field’s electrical grid.

“Bravo Team, go in 3..2..”

Izuku launched forward on the countdown, body moving with careful rhythm. His limbs still ached if he strained too fast, and his scars burned when the heat around him fluctuated, but he was getting better at controlling that.

He could feel the flames within him, muted, dormant.

Waiting.

Not today, he thought. Not unless we need them.

He ducked behind a slab of fake concrete, signalled to Jiro and Ojiro, and waited for the first “enemy” to trigger their ambush.

Smoke pellets. Tripwire sound blasts.

Izuku deflected, twisted, redirected.

Calm.

Clear.

Alive.

“Midoriya,” Yaoyorozu’s voice buzzed through his comm. “We’ve got a cluster breaching the east line. You’ll need to intercept or it’ll break the exercise sim.”

“Copy that,” he said.

He moved, fast and clean, no wasted motion.

It felt almost good, this control. Like everything that had once been fractured inside him was starting to fit back together again.

At least, until a high-pitched shriek of comms static made him freeze.

Then..silence.

Just for a second.

Then static again, quickly resolved.

“Sorry!” Kaminari’s voice buzzed in. “Dropped my gear for a second.”

Jiro scolded him.

They laughed.

The tension passed.

But Izuku’s heart had spiked in that moment, just briefly.

A muscle memory. A trauma reaction. His whole body had gone tight.

What if it hadn’t been static?

What if it had been her voice?

What off it had been a scream again?

He forced himself to breathe. Just once. Then again.

Ojiro landed beside him. “You good?”

Izuku blinked.

Then nodded.

“Yeah. Let’s keep moving.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Aizawa stood beside Cementoss, watching the data feed scroll across the monitor as Bravo and Alpha closed in on their respective final objectives. Nothing unusual. A clean run.

“They’re improving,” Cementoss said, arms folded. “Midoriya’s coordination is nearly back to standard.”

“He’s not pushing himself yet,” Aizawa murmured. “That’s intentional.”

“You think he’s holding back?”

“I know he is.”

Cementoss glanced at him. “Smart. Better than the alternative.”

Aizawa didn’t reply.

His eyes shifted toward the corner of the monitor showing perimeter surveillance.

A blinking yellow alert hovered quietly in the corner.

Unmarked movement. Lower suburbs of Tokyo. Too far to be immediate. But not far enough to ignore.

Not today.

The AI ignored it, categorised as “insignificant deviation.”

But Aizawa didn’t.

Not after what they’d been through.

He tapped a key, silently flagging it.

Then turned back to the feed as if nothing had changed.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

It started with thunder.

Not from the sky, but from deep underground. A muffled rumble shuddered through the reinforced walls of UA, sending tremors through the soles of every student’s feet as they trained, studied, or laughed.

“Earthquake?” Kirishima asked, halfway through a sparring match with Sero.

“No.” Todoroki narrowed his eyes toward the east wing. “That was too controlled.”

A sharp crack echoed next, a blast that shook the windows. Then came the alarm; high-pitched, deafening, and unmistakable.

Red alert. Intrusion.

Izuku’s blood ran cold.

The students burst into motion, instinct overtaking confusion. Instructors shouted orders over the intercom while security panels slammed into place. Aizawa’s voice cut through the chaos.

“Breach in Sub-sector Four. Class 3-A, hold formation in evacuation grid. Wait for further instruction.”

But Izuku wasn’t listening.

He felt it in the air, a wrongness, a scent like rotting sugar and ash. It pricked under his skin like barbed wire.

Katsuki was already strapping on his gauntlets, teeth bared. “We’re not waiting around.”

“Kacchan–”

“Izuku, you know damn well she’s here.”

And she was.

Mira.

She didn’t crawl in under the cover of night or strike from the shadows.

She marched through the outer courtyard like a goddess of ruin, flanked by controlled villains with eyes like hollow glass. Her red coat fluttered in the breeze, and with each step, strawberry scent drifted like perfume into the bloodied wind.

Behind her, the world burned.

The first wave of defence bots collapsed in seconds, sliced apart by her precision forces. Teachers engaged instantly, Cementoss reshaping terrain, Present Mic sending sonic bursts, Hound Dog already in beast form. But Mira didn’t even blink.

And then–

The second front collapsed.

Explosions echoed from the west wing, Katsuki’s wing.

Izuku had been deployed to Arm Five with Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, guarding younger classes and redirecting students to the bunkers. He’d barely sealed a hallway behind them when a call crackled through his comm.

“Bakugo’s down–bleeding out–can’t move him–Mira breached the central courtyard–”

His body went cold.

And then something snapped.

Izuku didn’t ask for permission. He tore through the armoury’s reinforced exit, wings igniting in green-gold flame, feet leaving scorch marks as he launched into the sky.

Smoke blanketed the horizon.

UA was burning.

By the time he reached the courtyard, the grass was scorched black, and rubble littered the lawn. And in the centre of it–

Katsuki.

Collapsed, blood leaking down his side, breathing shallow. One gauntlet shattered. His other hand clenched in a tight fist.

“Kacchan–”

Izuku landed so hard the earth split beneath him.

His hands trembled as he reached for Katsuki’s face. “I’m here. I’m right here.”

Katsuki’s lashes fluttered, then he winced. “Dumbass.. too slow..”

Then his eyes rolled back, and he slumped unconscious.

A scream built in Izuku’s throat but never escaped. Instead, his breath hitched–and flames erupted from his skin like wildfire.

Not red.

Not orange.

Blue.

Phoenix fire.

His wings spread wide, casting an enormous silhouette over the battlefield. The air warped, twisted with heat. Stone melted beneath his feet.

Across the courtyard, Mira turned toward him.

She smiled.

Izuku roared.

The first blast sheared straight through a slab of concrete, leaving a trail of blue fire in its wake. He didn’t hold back, not this time. He launched flame after flame, wings spiralling around him, the very earth igniting under the sheer force of his fury.

But Mira, she was smirking, untouched, slipped through each attack like smoke.

Twisting. Dodging.

He couldn’t land a hit.

And then–

Out of nowhere, another blast of blue fire lit up the opposite sky.

Hotter. Wilder.

It crashed down beside Izuku’s, colliding with Mira’s path, and for the first time, she had to leap away with effort.

Izuku spun.

A silhouette stood in the flames.

Scarred skin. White hair.

Eyes like smouldering ice.

Dabi.

Alive.

“You took long enough,” Dabi rasped, voice low.

Izuku’s breath caught. “You’re–”

“Later.”

Another blast ignited from Dabi’s palm, catching the hem of Mira’s coat and forcing her back.

She still didn’t speak, but her smile faltered.

Dabi turned toward Izuku, jaw clenched. “Watch your footing. She’ll use your flames against you if you lose control.”

“She hurt him.”

“I know.”

They stood side by side, twin pyres of vengeance.

When Mira lunged again, both responded in unison, Izuku with wide arcs of phoenix fire, Dabi with concentrated infernos that turned the air to glass. The battlefield became a dance of blue, of rage, of grief.

Izuku wasn’t alone anymore.

But still, Mira didn’t fall.

She dodged, weaved, manipulated the terrain itself.

“She’s using scent again,” Dabi growled. “Short bursts, disorienting nearby fighters.”

Izuku clenched his fists. “She’s not leaving here alive.”

As the next wave of fire burst forward, Mira raised one hand, and a signal echoed through the ruins.

More of her mind controlled villains came from a portal. Izuku’s eyes widened, at this rate, UA would crumble and they would..

No, he didn’t want to think about what would happen.

He closed his eyes and called out to him. And then, a chime.

Soft. Ringing.

Like a call.

Izuku’s skin prickled. He didn’t understand it, until the sky cracked open.

From above, black-cloaked figures descended, villains, yes, but not mind-controlled.

The League.

And leading them, cloak billowing, hands half-raised, was Shigaraki Tomura.

His eyes met Izuku’s.

And he nodded.

Izuku’s face broke out into a smile, with Tomura, they’d defeat Mira.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Smoke writhed across the battlefield like a living thing, curling around the broken remains of U.A.’s once-pristine courtyard. Shattered stone, twisted steel, the scent of scorched earth and faintly, still, strawberries.

Izuku didn’t take his eyes off Mira, but from the corner of his vision, he saw Tomura land silently on a broken ledge. The others followed, Toga flipping through the air like a shadow, Spinner vaulting into position beside Dabi. Mr. Compress reappeared in a flash of striped cloth. Even Twice’s legacy lived on, his last few clones, now stabilised and furious, charged behind the League with vengeance.

Mira tilted her head. “You brought the dead to your side?”

Tomura didn’t answer.

His expression was unreadable. Eyes narrowed, posture loose, but watchful. And though no one spoke it aloud, everyone felt it.

The balance of power had just shifted.

Izuku barely registered himself stepping back beside Tomura as Dabi remained ahead, fire lacing his fingertips.

“Are you with us?” Izuku asked quietly, wings twitching.

Tomura didn’t look at him. “She’s taken too much from all of us.”

“Then let’s take it back.”

No further words were needed.

The League moved, sharp, practiced, terrifying.

Toga blurred past two mind-controlled soldiers, disabling them with precise jabs. Spinner spun his blade and drove it into the ground, releasing a shockwave of stored kinetic energy. Compress launched orbs across the field, catching weapons, chunks of terrain, anything Mira could use.

And Tomura..

He simply touched.

The moment his fingers brushed the ground, a fault line of decay erupted outward, spiralling through Mira’s backup forces like a death sentence. Machines rusted in seconds. Walls crumbled. The air filled with dust and screams.

But Mira..Mira didn’t flinch.

She advanced through the destruction, eyes sharp, skirt trailing flame and ash. She moved with purpose, a predator in no rush.

She wasn’t just here to kill.

She was here to prove something.

Izuku narrowed his eyes, wings outstretched. He darted into the air, raining blue flame from above, pushing her away from where medics scrambled to reach Katsuki.