Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Aizawa Shota felt himself thrown onto the shore, gasping for breath.

Once he had regained control of his senses though, he realized that this didn’t make sense. He didn’t remember going into any water. For that matter, he didn’t even feel wet. So what had just happened to him? He looked behind himself, and saw the pool that he had come out of. However, it was unlike any water he had seen before, reflecting a black, starry sky. His attention immediately snapped to what was next to him.

Standing on the shore next to Shota was a dragon, with a long, serpentine body. Its scales were colored black and white like an orca, though it also had prominent white antlers on its head, as well as deep green eyes, a green horse-like mane than extended from its head down to its tail, and a goatee. The dragon did not seem surprised to see Shota, simply observing him.

“My condolences.” The dragon said in a male voice.

“What? What do you mean…” Shota spoke, and remembered what happened; his front door getting kicked open, his cats hissing at intruders, his attempts to fight back only to be overwhelmed by his attacker’s numbers and weapons…

Shota froze, the reality of his situation hitting him.

“Is this…”

“No, it’s not heaven or hell, and I’m not an angel or demon. I just wanted to borrow you for a moment before you move on.” The dragon responded.

Shota blinked, glaring at the dragon suspiciously.

“Who are you and why am I here?”

The dragon started to hover in the air, coiling into a more comfortable position.

“My name is Isle. And you are here, Aizawa Shota, because I don’t get you.”

Shota blinked, but glared at Isle again. The dragon seemed unbothered.

“Excuse me?”

Isle leaned towards Shota.

“You’ve done a lot of good Aizawa, and have helped a lot of people. But you have also hurt a lot of people.”

Shota scoffed. Really? Some kind of celestial being pulled his soul from the afterlife so he could harp on him for what happened with his former students? Isle seemed unbothered by Shota’s behavior.

“Here’s the problem though;”

Isle pointed towards the pool. It rippled, an image rising from the water. With a grimace, Shota saw Bakugou’s vigilante spree, culminating in his act of mass murder.

“Normally, when I wanted to get a measure of a man, I would just follow his perspective in whatever world I’m observing.” Isle cocked his head towards Shota. “Your perspective however is rather…limited. I don’t think that we could really understand just what kind of an impact you’ve had just by following your life alone.”

Shota frowned, recognizing the barb Isle made at him for what he probably saw as stubbornness. It almost made him ignore the revelation that Isle could apparently view “his world” from this pool; did that mean that there were other worlds? A multiverse? Isle though lifted a finger, not letting Shota dwell on this thought.

“There is however, one time that I’ve found where you can truly grasp the effect a man has had on the world around him.”

Isle waved his hand, and the image above the pool changed to a cemetery, where a crowd of mourners had gathered. Suddenly, the image expanded, enveloping Shota and Isle. Shota looked around, and saw the coffin and tombstone that the mourners had stood in front of.

HERE LIES AIZAWA SHOTA

R.I.P.

Looking around, none of the mourners gathered had reacted to his presence or that of the dragon with him. Either this was all just a projected image, or Shota and Isle existed as no more than wraiths here.

“You brought me to my own funeral?” Shota asked Isle as the dragon landed back on the ground, offended that he was treating a part of his life as something to spectate on.

“Uncomfortable though this may be, it’s worth pointing out that this is the last chance you’ll get to see your family and friends, and the last time that anyone will have a chance to say anything to you.” Isle pointed out.

Shota considered Isle’s words for a moment, and sighed. He was not looking forward to seeing people cry over his body, though a part of him was curious as to what the people he had known would have to say to him. He sighed and simply stood next to Isle, watching as mourners came up to pay their respects.

Surprisingly, the first to come up was Eri, guided by Midoriya Izuku. Shota closed his eyes and frowned. He didn’t want to see the little girl he had been taking care of cry. In a way though, he felt that he owed this to her, to hear what she had to say, no matter what it was.

“M…Mr. Aizawa?” Eri’s whimpered, making Shota’s heart break a bit. “I…I just wanted to thank you for helping to save me…and for taking care of me when I first came to UA and I couldn’t control my Quirk yet…”

Tears were flowing from Eri’s eyes in earnest, and Shota wished so much that he could put a hand on her shoulder to know that it was okay.

“And…I want you to know that all of your cats are okay too…Mr. Yamada is letting me take care of Milo…and I promise that I’ll take good care of him…”

Even as Shota’s heart ached, it was warmed by this small consideration for something that was important to him. When Eri had visited his apartment, Milo, his youngest cat, had sought out Eri and had immediately cozied up to the little girl. He seemed to be good at noticing when people needed help. The thought that Eri would be taking care of Milo was a great comfort to Shota.

“I…I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry that this all happened to you…you were so nice to me…” Eri sobbed, putting her head in her hands.

“None of this is your fault, Eri.” Shota said, wishing that Eri would hear. Thankfully, Midoriya stood behind Eri and gave her a small hug, which she returned, letting him lead her away.

“We’re going to take care of her, Mr. Aizawa.” Midoriya whispered, though Shota could hear the young Gen Ed student just fine. “You don’t need to worry about her.”

Shota gave a small smile at this.

“Thanks, kid.”

Shota watched as Midoriya led Eri towards his mother.

“He’s a good kid. It’s probably better that he and his mother are taking care of her than me.”

“Hm.” Isle nodded. “Would you mind if I asked you something?”

Shota felt a little mollified towards Isle, grateful that he got to see Eri one last time.

“What is it?”

“If Midoriya got into the Hero Course, would you have accepted him?”

Shota looked at Isle quizzically.

“Look, like I said, he’s a good kid, but a Quirkless hero would have been a liability on the field. Besides,” he pointed towards Midoriya, giving Yamada a supportive smile from his seat, “he’s happy where he is. Why would you ask that?”

Isle shrugged.

“That question’s a bit of a coin toss when it comes to the different versions of you throughout the multiverse. I was just curious.”

Shota cocked an eyebrow. There were versions of him that accepted a Quirkless student in the hero course? He was about to ask about that when Shinso Hitoshi came up.

“…Hey, sensei.”

Shinso didn’t look good. Normally it was obvious that he had a bad case of insomnia (fueling a bit of a joke amongst UA’s staff that he was Shota’s secret lovechild), but now his eyes looked red, either from lack of sleep or simply irritation. Over the past year, he had managed to pack on a decent amount of lean muscle, but now he was stooped over, staring at his teacher’s coffin.

“Shinso…” Shota groaned at the state one of his favorite students was in.

“…You gave me a chance, sensei. You told me I could be a hero when everyone else joked that I’d be better suited as a villain. And you also got me to take my dream seriously when I hadn’t put any actual work into it.” Shinso admitted.

Shota remembered when Shinso first became a part of 1-A. He had managed an impressive showing, defeating Kendo of class B in the first round of the Tournament in the Sports Festival, but it had been obvious to Shota that Shinso was relying too much on his Quirk and hadn’t put in any actual effort into his physical training. As such, Shota knew that Shinso was going to need personal training to be brought up to the appropriate level for the hero course. He had run Shinso hard, making him push himself, as well as having him learn the finicky techniques of how to use his own capture weapon. It had been a tough fight for him, even tougher than Uraraka, who had transferred in from the same class, but Shinso had stuck it out and had made Shota proud to be his teacher. He just wished he had let Shinso know that.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you…” Shinso grumbled, his hands balled into fists and digging his nails into his palms. “You were the best teacher I ever had…but everyone keeps on talking about how the students you expelled killed themselves, or became villains, or did something stupid like that!”

Shota wished he could put a hand on Shinso’s shoulder.

“Now you see why I hate the press, kid. They’re just vultures, they don’t know what they’re talking about. I told you, didn’t I? The world is unfair. It’s just something we have to deal with as heroes.” He huffed in frustration. “I’d like to think that won’t be a problem for you anymore, but it wouldn’t be rational to expect the media not to jump on you.”

“But they’re wrong…you were a great teacher…even though I hadn’t trained or done anything before I came to UA, you made me who I am. I promise, I’m going to show everyone that they’re wrong…”

Shota closed his eyes, sad to see his student so upset, but touched that he thought so highly of him.

“You did a good job with him.” Isle commented, getting Shota’s attention. “Even with all of his problems, he’s become a quite skilled and competent young man.”

“Hm. I suppose he has.” Shota said, nodding.

Isle curled his head towards Shinso as he walked away, following Shota’s gaze before looking back at the former hero.

“Tell me, what was Shinso like when you first met him?”

Shota inclined an eyebrow towards Isle.

“Wouldn’t you know already? Haven’t you been watching this world?”

“I’m not omniscient, Aizawa.” Isle explained as he shook his head. “Usually, I can only focus on one person’s perspective whenever I look at a world.”

Shota rolled his eyes at the absurdity of his current situation.

“He was a scrawny kid with a chip on his shoulder. Despite being so cynical about how people saw heroes, he had naïve expectations about how the course was going to go, and didn’t realize that there was a standard of character and effort that he had to put in. It was clear that despite wanting to get into the hero course at the start of his first year that he hadn’t properly trained or even exercised. His Brainwashing was a powerful Quirk certainly, but even with that he had a problem with lacking creativity in how he’d apply it and relied on it too much. He'd always approach problems with the same tactics; insult his opponents to get a reaction. Once his opponents realized how his Quirk worked, he floundered. I think he must have internalized things that people said to him when he was younger that discouraged him from really working at his goals.”

Despite voicing the frustrations he had with Shinso from last year, Shota smiled.

“Once Shinso had someone willing to put the work in for him though, he was able to put the work in for himself. He just needed someone to be in his corner. After he had actually gotten into the hero program, he began to understand how serious this job was. It’s not as if anyone could expect him to understand immediately after all, even after the USJ; he hadn’t been there, he hadn’t experienced that kind of danger. It just took some time for the responsibility to sink in. He was cowed at first by what was expected of him, but all he needed to get himself to put in the effort was a little encouragement. Shinso applied himself, he pushed his limits and got stronger, he learned to get more creative with his Quirk, and when the techniques he knew weren’t enough, he found Support Gear that let him compensate, or he found some other way to adapt. It took some time, but I think he turned out well.”

Shota turned away from Shinso, ready to see who would come next, only for his attention to be caught by a particularly bizarre image. Isle was standing there, but next to him, it seemed as if an invisible window had opened up in space, showing another Isle, both copies of the dragon giving Shota a flat look. Standing next to the second Isle though was another Shota, albeit one that looked embarrassed and angry. Shota looked at his doppelganger in bewilderment. The other Shota looked as if he was going to shout something, only for the Isle in the window to speak to the version standing next to Shota.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Isle responded to his copy, and the other Isle closed whatever window he had opened in space. Shota blinked, confused.

“What was that?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Isle answered dismissively. Shota wanted to get a real answer out of the dragon, but sighed when the next mourner came up to his grave, Fukukado Emi.

In all the years Shota had known Emi, he had never seen her like this. Even outside of her hero costume, she’d wear bright, loud colors. Here though, like everyone else, she was wearing black. It didn’t look right on her.

“…Hey, Sho. I’d ask how you’re doing but…that would be in bad taste, I guess.”

Emi attempted a weak chuckle, but it came out more as a sob before she could get herself under control again.

“…I had fun with you Sho. You were a grump, but you were my kind of grump. And you were a good man. When we went out on patrols at the same time, I always knew you had my back. What was it…ten times you saved me and ten times I saved you?” Emi asked with a weak smile, which wobbled as she went on. “…I wish that I had been there for the tiebreaker. I’m so sorry Sho…you didn’t deserve this.”

Emi sighed, looking up at the sky with a pained expression before looking back at Shota’s grave.

“I know that you were never really interested in getting married, that was kind of the joke for me, but I can’t help but wonder if maybe I had actually taken it more seriously, I could have helped you to lighten up a bit. Maybe things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did.”

Emi wiped some tears from her eyes.

“I’m…I’m sorry Sho…I just…this…this isn’t funny…”

She became too choked up to say any more and walked away. Shota stared after her, a sick feeling in his stomach. For the first time in his life, he wished that Emi had told him a joke.

Several of Shota’s old hero or teacher colleagues came to pay their respects; the staff of UA, Sir Nighteye and the heroes from the Eight Precepts raid, Detective Tsukauchi, even Sky Crawler came over from the U.S. Eventually, his students from the previous year came to pay their respects. Most were pretty short, simply thanking him for protecting them at the USJ. It was a shame; he had hoped that he had made more of an impression as a teacher on them, but it was nice that they had come at all. The last of his students to speak was Yaoyorozu, who had waited to give a chance to her classmates first.

Shota had to admit it, he was proud of Yaoyorozu’s progress. He had noticed her lack of confidence after the first Sports Festival and her internship, and had specifically chosen her to go against him in her Final Exam to test her meddle, even going as far as to have her take the Final on her own. To his pleasure, she had persevered as he had intended, and since then, had grown by leaps and bounds as one of the most talented of his students. She had pestered him with petty concerns as the Representative of the class, but she would learn to streamline things with time.

“…Hello, sensei.” Yaoyorozu said. “There are…quite a few things I want to say here…some of which I’m not certain would be deemed appropriate at a funeral.”

Yaoyorozu chewed on her lip for a moment.

“I suppose I should start with thanking you for all of the times you fought to protect us. I don’t like to think of how many more of us would have died at the USJ or the Summer Camp were it not for you…”

“It’s what heroes are supposed to do, Yaoyorozu.” Shota answered as Yaoyorozu paused for another moment to collect her thoughts. She looked over at where Shinso was sitting, exhausted, before looking back at Shota’s grave, frowning.

“Again…I don’t know how much I should say of what I am thinking about…”

Shota simply stood and waited. It was like Isle pointed out, this was the last chance for anyone to really say anything to him. Eventually, Yaoyorozu sighed.

“Going into UA, I think I was naïve about how the world worked. I saw a lot of terrible things happen, and some of the people that I’ve known have gone to do terrible things. It’s made me think about our time with you as our teacher, and seeing how Tsuragamae-sensei does things differently. With everything that I’ve seen, I just have to say…”

Yaoyorozu hesitated, and Shota unconsciously leaned closer.

“You were a terrible teacher.” Yaoyorozu said, frowning. Shota's eyes widened at her sudden change of tone.

“At the beginning of our first year, you got upset at Mina for saying that the Quirk Assessment test was going to be fun, and threatened to expel whoever finished last, only to tell us that it was a ‘logical ruse’ at the end. I thought that it would be obvious that you weren’t serious. No teacher in their right mind would expel a student on the first day, without getting any chance to train or improve themselves, no one could be that cruel or senseless. Since then though, I’ve learned about your previous classes, and apparently you are.”

Shota frowned in response.

“You admitted you were naïve. I told you that life isn’t fair. I was simply giving you a taste of what it’s really like. If you couldn’t handle that, you had no place in my class.” He said.

Yaoyorozu went on, deaf to Shota’s words.

“I have learned about all of the students you have expelled, the black marks you put on their permanent records, and the damage that this did to them after they graduated.” Yaoyorozu frowned at Shota’s grave, a hurt and confused look on her face. “How…how could you do something like that? How could you be so callous?”

Yaoyorozu sighed.

“I was content living in ignorance for a while, trusting that as long as we worked hard and put in the effort to improve, you would teach as what we needed. Looking back though, I sadly can’t remember a single thing you ever taught us. You put us through training to improve the strength of our Quirks at the Summer Camp, but it was always up to us to learn how to actually apply our Quirks in a practical manner. You didn’t give us advice on how to improve our work-out regimes, you didn’t teach us hand-to-hand combat, anything. You didn’t explain any of our exercises, you just threw us into them and expected us to figure them out on our own, some of which could have been potentially lethal; recall the Survival Training?”

Yaoyorozu titled her head towards Shinso, who was with the rest of her class. Shota scowled, not believing that she of all people would have the gall to speak to him this way at his own funeral.

“What’s made worse is the fact that I know you could have taught us these things, because you taught them to Shinso. Don’t get me wrong, I’m quite happy for him, but you had nineteen other students who could have benefitted from this care, and I just don’t understand why you didn’t help the rest of us. Any time that we wanted to learn a new skill, we either had to learn it on our own, wait for an internship, or hope that Midoriya could help us.” Yaoyorozu shook her head in frustration. “Midoriya was a great resource certainly, but I can’t help but feel that it is shameful that we were taught more, and could talk about our problems more to a General Education student than our own homeroom teacher.”

Shota scowled at his former student.

“Three of your former students from my year are in prison now. Bakugou, Kirishima, and Mineta. Barring Kirishima, if there’s one criticism that I’ve heard towards the school that’s fair, it’s that we should have seen it coming. First, there was the cheerleader outfit trick they pulled on me, in an internationally televised event, no less.” Yaoyorozu scowled before shaking her head in frustration. “At least Kaminari apologized later on, but that was just one of the many disgusting things Mineta did towards myself and the other girls in our year. He stared at us, made inappropriate comments towards us, attempted to grope us, and even tried to peep on us while we were dressing! And you did nothing. It should have been obvious that as soon as he got out from your protection, he got arrested for sexual assault.” Yaoyorozu frowned at the grave in disgust, an expression that Shota returned. He couldn’t believe that she was still bothered by something so petty.

“And then there’s Bakugou. The fact of the matter is, UA failed in how it handled him. You failed in particular as his teacher. Bakugou was constantly aggressive with us, using force far in excess for what a situation warranted, both in and out of exercises. His behavior just got worse throughout the year; I caught him outright trying to assault Mina and Kaminari several times after the Summer Camp attack. I can only be thankful that Midoriya helped me to get stronger, if only for the fact that it helped me stand up to him. But Bakugou has shamed us; our school, and our class. He had been shaming us throughout the year. He’d insult everyone around him, refusing to give anyone the respect of their own name, he belittled his classmates and especially those in the other courses. I can hardly blame any of the other courses for thinking so poorly of us with the vitriol Bakugou was spewing. And yet the most I ever heard from you reprimanding Bakugou was telling him to ‘grow up’ after he had nearly sent three of our classmates to the hospital. You went as far as to saddle our class and our school’s reputation to one of the most abhorrent people that I have ever met. I’m still struggling to make everyone realize that we aren’t like Bakugou because of the way you represented him.” Yaoyorozu spoke morosely.

“There are more important things than your comfort, Yaoyorozu.” Shota spat. “We rely on our reputation; getting rid of Bakugou would have simply made those trying to tear down our school feel justified.”

“Are you saying that they weren’t justified, though?” Isle pointed out, though Shota tried to ignore him.

Exhausted, Yaoyorozu put her hand on her face.

“Why? Why didn’t you do anything? You’re our teacher and a hero, so why didn’t you stop either of them?”

Eventually, the girl sighed.

“Perhaps this isn’t what you wanted to hear, sensei, but I have felt a need to say this for some time now. I told you about what Bakugou and Mineta did, I brought up the struggles that the other students were having, and yet you dismissed me. I know I’m young and inexperienced, but I would have thought these to be serious issues.”

Yaoyorozu shook her head dejectedly.

“Tsuragamae might not be a hero, but he has been teaching us, he has been working with us, and I feel as if I can trust him. I wish I could say that I felt the same with you by the time you left UA.”

Shota glowered at the retreating figure of his former student, angry that someone he had thought so highly of would treat him with such scorn.

“I have another question.” Isle said. Shota didn’t look at him and tried not to acknowledge him, but Isle apparently wasn’t asking permission. “With your reputation of expelling so many students, why didn’t you expel Bakugou and Mineta?”

Shota tried not to look at Isle, clenching his fists. However, enough reporters and angry protesters had tracked him down to ask these questions enough times that he had enough.

“I admit, had I known what was going to happen, I would have been harder on them both. However, I’ve dealt students like them before. Students who had powerful Quirks and thought that gave them a license to act however they wanted. However, it was always something that they would grow out of. I had assumed that Bakugou and Mineta would have been the same. Had I been allowed to teach unmolested, I’m certain that they would have become good heroes.”

“How though do you think that this affected your other students though?” Isle asked, pointing at Yaoyorozu.

Shota rolled his eyes.

“Heroes need to be able to handle difficult circumstances, whether that be combating dangerous villains, or working with belligerent coworkers. This was just something that the students had to learn to deal with. They would have grown stronger from the experience.” Shota gestured towards Yaoyorozu himself. “Yaoyorozu even admitted that Bakugou’s presence motivated her to become stronger. It’s all part of how we drive our students to push themselves.”

Isle just stared blankly at him. Shota didn’t care to defend himself any further, instead watching as the next mourner approached, this one the light pink-haired Fuwa Mawata from the year prior to Yaoyorozu’s.

“Hey…sensei…” Fuwa said.

Shota sighed. Fuwa was amongst the students in his previous class that he had expelled two years ago, but once she had gotten “a taste of death” as he would say, she had applied herself, and had worked to earn her spot back in the hero course.

Fuwa hesitated, seeming unsure of what to say.

“You know…when I started my second year, I appreciated the reality check you gave me. I wasn’t taking heroics as seriously as I should have, and needed to make myself get stronger. Or…at least that’s what I used to think.”

Fuwa’s hands trembled, while Shota watched in confusion at her change in tone.

“At the beginning of this year, when the Ministry of Education talked to us, I found out what a black mark would have done to me and my classmates if it hadn’t been removed.” Fuwa stared at Shota’s grave, though somehow, it felt to him as if she was staring directly at him. “You gave black marks to so many of your other students…and it was a death sentence for them.”

Shota glowered. Could he not escape this even in death?

“I…I told my classmates that we should have been thankful to you…thankful!” Fuwa yelled, regardless of whatever scene she might be making before she lowered her voice again. “I wanted them to be thankful for an action that would have left us without a future, to go through years of back-breaking effort only to be rejected wherever we went to try to apply to an agency, to be made homeless, to become so desperate that our best options would have been to either commit suicide or join a group of terrorists trying to tear this whole rotten system down!”

Fuwa started breathe harder, crying in a panic.

“Hell, forget about waiting until we graduated, I found out that two of my classmates were kicked out of their homes when they got expelled! One of them had to live with relatives from across the precinct, and the other’s been living in a homeless shelter!”

Fuwa clenched her fists and shook her head.

“We got ‘a taste of death,’ sensei. And I don’t care what you think, There were other ways you could have made us take the class seriously. But you just dumped us without giving us a chance, even though we had earned our spot. I don’t care what you think, we did earn our spots, we were ready to take the class seriously, and even if we weren’t, nothing we did was worth putting our futures at risk so you could prove a point. The fact that I stood up for you is something that I am going to be ashamed of for the rest of my life. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I can be grateful that our society collapsed, because if it hadn’t we would have been doomed, and it would have been your fault.”

Fuwa panted from her rant, fighting to regain control of herself. Once she had calmed down, she deflated, giving Shota’s grave a blank look.

“Goodbye, sensei.”

Shota frowned at the departing figure of Fuwa. If he was honest, he could understand her frustration towards him. Admittedly, he had never anticipated that a black mark could be so damaging to one’s career, though he had always seen it as simply one other obstacle that his students would need to work to overcome. It was upsetting of course that so many had failed to do so.

“Another question;” Isle spoke, making Shota groan. “If you didn’t expel Bakugou and Mineta, what exactly did Fuwa’s class do that made you expel them?”

Shota turned around, getting in Isle’s face, though the dragon didn’t flinch or change his impassive expression.

“When I had Fuwa’s class take the Quirk Assessment Test, they showed no potential. None of them were taking their work seriously; they weren’t putting in real effort, they expected to coast by on their Quirks alone. Bakugou and Mineta at least demonstrated a firm handle on their Quirks. But there wasn’t anyone in that class that was really pushing themselves, none of them were showing any kind of creativity with their Quirks. If I had sent them out into the field, they would have gotten themselves, and everyone else around them killed.”

“Probably.” Isle agreed. “If you had sent them out then. But isn’t that why they were in a school in the first place? They had three years to train to become heroes. Despite the talent and resilience that Yaoyorozu’s class demonstrated, it’s hardly reasonable to expect students to have the kind of mentality or the talent required of a hero.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Aizawa asserted. “I’m not a babysitter. If those students weren’t going to make themselves stronger off of their own initiative, me holding their hand wasn’t going to change anything. They were scrawny, untrained, unmotivated, uncreative, or relied on brute-forcing problems with their Quirks, or expected that they could rely on Support Gear that could fail in the field. They couldn’t adapt to problems. If they didn’t understand how serious hero work was, I knew that they never would, not unless I gave them a taste of death, and apparently for some of them even that wasn’t enough.”

Shota glared at Isle, convinced he had made his point. Isle though stared back before reaching out to the side of Shota. He grabbed at the air, and it seemed to bend around his grasp, before he pulled it towards him. In the space where the air had been, Shota could see himself speaking to another Isle, albeit with a happier tone. The other Isle glanced once at Shota and the Isle with him before standing next to the window that had been opened, watching the other Shota speak, staring in the direction that the mourners had walked off to.

“Once Shinso had someone willing to put the work in for him though, he was able to put the work in for himself. He just needed someone to be in his corner. After he had actually gotten into the hero program, he began to understand how serious this job was. It’s not as if anyone could expect him to understand immediately after all, even after the USJ; he hadn’t been there, he hadn’t experienced that kind of danger. It just took some time for the responsibility to sink in. He was cowed at first by what was expected of him, but all he needed to get himself to put in the effort was a little encouragement. Shinso applied himself, he pushed his limits and got stronger, he learned to get more creative with his Quirk, and when the techniques he knew weren’t enough, he found Support Gear that let him compensate. And when his Quirk couldn’t work in a situation, he learned to adapt without it. It took some time, but I think he turned out well.”

The other Shota turned to his Isle with a smile on his face, only to frown with a confused expression as he saw Shota and his Isle. Shota felt his eye twitch in anger as he realized what his Isle had just done. Before he could shout though, Isle looked to his past self.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The Isle of the past said before Isle closed the window, turning back to Shota.

Isle looked at Shota, waiting for a response.

“Shinso had potential.”

“What makes you so certain that your other students didn’t, when they started off just as Shinso did? Your other students had actually demonstrated talent and skill from managing to get in through the Entrance Exam.” Shota was about to snap at Isle, but the dragon gave a sharp growl to cut off Shota’s rant before it started. “Yes, the Entrance Exam is biased towards powerful, destructive Quirks. That does not mean that it is incapable of being used as a metric for potential of at least some form. It shows the ability to remain calm in frenetic combat, to demonstrate power for practical purposes, to be able to move quickly through difficult terrain, to adapt when one’s Quirk isn’t exactly suited for a situation, and also has a hidden test for measuring an applicant’s willingness to put themselves in harm’s way to protect others.”

Shota tried to think of a counter to Isle, but could think of nothing that he hadn’t repeated before already. After giving him a moment to think of an argument, Isle continued.

“I would appreciate it if you could correct me, but if you can’t, this is what I am going to believe: You didn’t expel Shinso because he reminded you of yourself, having a Quirk that people didn’t like, that wasn’t ‘flashy,’ and so you gave him a chance. That is commendable. However, these other students managed to get into the Hero course through the Entrance Exam, having Quirks that were able to more easily handle physical threats, a test which you have often derided as biased. They got in, but were not at the level of proficiency or power as Bakugou or Mineta, and you realized that they needed more work to get to the point that they could be heroes.” Isle glared at Shota. “Shinso had the exact same problem, and yet you put the work in to train him.”

Shota couldn’t speak at first, but he was not going to back down so easily.

“Perhaps I did show some favor to Shinso, to someone who hadn’t gotten a chance before. That was my choice, though. I still maintain that it isn’t my responsibility to hold anyone’s hand, especially when they don’t show initiative.”

Isle’s gaze honed in to Shota that he had still ended up repeating an argument. However, Shota wasn’t going to surrender his pride as a teacher.

“What’s in your pocket?” Isle suddenly asked.

Shota blinked, caught off-guard by the question.

“What? Why do you want to know what’s in my pocket?”

“Humor me.”

Shota scowled, but reached into his pocket, pulling out two scraps of paper. He was surprised to see them, as they weren’t there when he died, though they did at one point belong to him. Isle plucked one of the papers and held it out to him.

“What is this?”

Shota frowned. It was just one of his paychecks.

“It’s one of my checks from UA. I already cashed it.”

Isle nodded in response.

“And why were you given this?”

“As payment for my job at UA.”

“That job, being?”

“…To teach students how to be heroes.” Shota grumbled.

Isle nodded again, and took the other scrap of paper from Shota, holding it in front of him, allowing him to recognize it as his heroics teaching license.

“What is this?”

Shota glared at Isle, unconsciously using his Quirk on the dragon, but Isle was unaffected and unbothered.

“…My teaching license.” He growled.

“What does your teaching license do?”

“It grants me legal permission to train students in the use of their Quirks.”

“Hm.” Isle looked at the license. “Why didn’t any of your students have one of these?”

“They weren’t legally qualified.” Shota answered, despite growing irritated at this exchange.

“Would any of their parents, teachers, coaches, or other friends have one of these?”

“…Not unless they were themselves, a hero.”

“So, to reiterate;” Isle held up the paycheck and the license, “Not only were you paid to teach these students, but you were one of the few people who legally could teach those students. Prior to meeting you, unless they were related somehow to another hero, or were using their Quirks illegally, they would not have the capability to train their Quirks, or really practice heroics in any context.”

Suddenly, the license and the paycheck caught fire, burning away to ash in Isle’s grasp, the dragon seemingly unbothered by the flames.

“You did a good job teaching Shinso, and possibly a few other select students, but as for all the others, who, by the way, all passed your school’s test to be part of the hero course, it seems that your quality as a teacher was rather poor, if not outright toxic.” The dragon said, looking down on Shota.

Shota had enough of this. Somehow even being dead, he could feel his eyes burning and his head throbbing as he stood his ground against Isle.

“I had the right to teach as I saw fit. You might have some tricks, but you are in no place to judge my capabilities.”

Isle maintained his glare.

“Perhaps I’m not,”

Before looking to the side.

“But he is.”

Shota looked, and saw the next mourner.

“Hello, Aizawa.” Nezu said, staring at Shota’s grave, his usual smile absent. Shota’s former boss had certainly seen better days. Despite keeping the black suit he wore for Shota’s funeral as pristine and crisp as anything else he wore, Nezu was showing fatigue for the first time Shota had remembered; wrinkles were showing up in the creases around his eyes, and some of his furs were turning grey.

“I wish I was here to recount the good times that we had; watching the students grow under your care until they were released into a dog-eat-dog world of heroics, working with you on missions, watching you and all of the other teachers run around like chickens with their heads cut off while I dropped some new element of chaos on all of you to push your capabilities as teachers.”

Nezu chuckled, but looked at the ground.

“The past year though has made me realize the folly of how I handled you and my school. Many former students washed up, dead, or driven to villainy, one of whom will forever be seen as the embodiment of why our system of heroics failed. It has been all I could do to prevent UA from getting shut down.”

Shota clenched his fists and felt his stomach roll at the reminder of his perceived failures and how they reflected on UA.

“Truly though, I am to blame for this. I hired you, I gave you permission to act as you saw fit without oversight, I allowed you to expel students based off of your own discernment despite the sheer quantity, and I trusted you to handle students like Bakugou. I was your supervisor, I should have not granted you so many freedoms when it was apparent that you were abusing them. You were not the only staff member who performed ignominious actions, but you were the one that I feel the most guilt about.”

Shota wanted to shout, to defend himself, but even if he could think of anything to say, no one but Isle would have heard him.

“This was an obvious failing on my part. I deemed the long term benefit of having access to your Quirk as worth what I saw as the short term issues of your expulsions.”

Nezu bowed and shook his head.

“I am intelligent, but perhaps not so wise. I trusted you to discipline Bakugou, rather than simply expel him myself when I noticed his abhorrent actions. I knew your expulsions were cruel, I even reveled in them. I simply told myself that as long as the students were able to graduate as heroes in the end, whatever mental scarring you inflicted would be irrelevant.”

Nezu pinched his brow.

“I admit it, I was caught up in my sadism. I found the struggles of the students amusing, and deemed their frustrations as insignificant hiccups as long as they could grow from them. I should have realized that the damage of your teaching style and your expulsions was far more caustic and left much more long-lasting harm than I had considered. Truly, by allowing you to act as you did, I not only failed as a principal, but doomed countless potential heroes to ignobility.”

Nezu sighed, giving a sad smile.

“Most of the public seems to think so as well. It’s actually a wonder that I have held out for as long as I have, but I wanted to try to keep the school afloat during these tumultuous times. I decided to resign while I still have some dignity left. It is apparent with my failings that I am not fit to lead UA.” Nezu lowered his head, a frown visible on his face. “…It’s quite depressing, I had been feeling quite invested lately in my sessions with young Midoriya.” Nezu lifted his head and sighed. “I shouldn’t feel too sorry for myself though. It’s not as tragic as if I will never see him again; we still stay in touch over video call and the school board still allows me to visit him when he’s available. Perhaps I can at least be a good teacher to him. Thankfully also, the police still wish to make use of me. Hopefully, I can atone for my sins.”

Nezu stared one last time at Shota’s grave, while Shota stared at his boss. This was how he was seen now? This was how Nezu would perceive his work as a teacher from now on?

“I have much to answer for. I wish that I had something better to say Aizawa, but for what I allowed you to do, what I did not incite you to do, and for what I highly suspect has led to your death, I regret hiring you as a teacher, and I am deeply sorry both for the people you hurt, and for yourself. I hope that you will at least finally get some rest.”

Nezu walked away, leaving Shota dumbfounded and humiliated. Isle made no comment on this, but Shota could feel the dragon’s judgement. It was almost a relief when the next two mourners came up, or it would have been, had Shota not recognized who they were.

“You can’t be serious…” he growled, glaring at the man and the woman. “These two…they were two of the people who killed me!”

Shota whipped around, about to shout out, only to remember that no one could hear him. He turned to Isle.

“Is this some kind of sick joke to you? Watching as my murderers come to spit on my grave?”

Isle glanced at Shota.

“As I said, this is everyone’s last chance to speak to you. I never said that it was just your friends.”

Shota groaned, glaring at the two, daring them to speak. The man came forward first. He was slightly on the chubby side, having hair that looked like the dappled coat of a corgi, of all things. The man glared down at Aizawa’s grave.

“I noticed that little girl paying her respects to you. She was someone you saved, right?”

Shota scowled back, vowing that he would find a way to come back from the dead if this man threatened Eri in any way. That was not the man’s intent, however.

“Let me tell you about another kid. His name was Imai Kouki. Do you remember him?”

Shota frowned, realizing that he could vaguely recognize the name. Imai…he was one of his old students; he had a dog Quirk similar to Inui’s. He was also one of the students that he had expelled and reenrolled in previous years. Shota had a sick feeling in his stomach as this, and the realization of why this man was here, hit.

“He was my little brother. He loved playing heroes, like everyone else. I loved playing heroes with him, even after I lost interest in becoming one myself. I was a little disappointed, to be honest; my Quirk just gives me an enhanced sense of smell, but Kouki could do a lot more. But he was always encouraging to me. Sometimes I felt jealous of him, but he was such a little ball of sunshine it was impossible to get upset with him, he was just that positive and friendly. He could tell when I was upset, and always did whatever he could to fix that. Eventually, I got into UA, in the General Education course. Became a cook. The year after I graduated, Kouki applied to the UA Hero Course. Got a great score on the Entrance Exam. And then he had you.” The man growled. “Orientation, you expelled him, saying he wasn’t taking things seriously.”

Shota remembered. That year, Imai was the only student he had expelled. None of the students were perfect, but Imai particularly grated him; he was like an even more hyper version of Ashido, getting excited about the friends he thought he was going to make there, clearly having no idea what he was getting into. Shota knew that he needed to put a stop to that kind of naivety quickly.

“See…that’s a thing about Kouki. He was a bit like a cartoon character sometimes. He was so cheerful and positive that sometimes he could come off as annoying, but the moment you felt like that, it would make you feel guilty because he was such a good kid. But that never meant he wasn’t taking things seriously. He worked hard preparing for UA, spent all of his time at the gym or studying. I could get you thinking that he wasn’t taking things seriously, but how the hell could you justify expelling a kid for something like that? Just because he acted positive and wanted to make friends? Do you know how devastating it was for him at home? It was the first time he ever really looked sad, acting like he let me down or something. The next day though, he talked to Yamada, who told him that he’d probably get reenrolled the next year. He was still down on himself for a bit after that, but he kept at it anyway. He did pretty well at the Sports Festival, but he couldn’t exactly make up for even the few weeks of training the students still in the hero course got with actual instructors, and couldn’t get to the Third Round. That was hard for him to deal with, even though it wasn’t his fault. You let him back in the next year, though everyone else judged him for getting expelled in the first place, for being a year behind everyone else. Still, he worked hard, busting his ass to get on the same level as everyone else.”

Shota maintained his belief that he had done the right thing. It was worth upsetting someone in order to get them to face a harsh reality, and regardless of what opportunities Imai lost out on because of his foolishness, Shota had seen it as another necessary challenge for him to overcome. However, his blood froze at the sheer venom in the elder Imai’s voice as he scowled at Shota’s grave.

“But you know, hero students really rely on those internships they get from the Sports Festival. The fact that he missed out on one alone made it hard for heroes to take him seriously, and that was without the black mark. Even though he ended his time at UA with good grades, he just couldn’t make up for how that missing year made him look. I saw how hard Kouki worked. You saw how hard Kouki worked. You must have, by the time he had graduated from UA, he was at the top of his class. He worked himself to the bone, to the point that he was a hard and cold shell of his former self, just to prove that he was worth it. I had thought that once he had a license though, he’d be alright, that he’d go back to the cheerful little brother I had. But that black mark…Kouki spent years applying to different hero agencies, trying to make a break, to find someone who’d give him a chance to be the hero I knew he could be. But it didn’t matter how good his grades were or how hard he had worked; that black mark was the only thing they saw, and everywhere he applied, they laughed him out. He even tried to go solo, but it didn’t matter, because no one would call on him, not the police, and not the HPSC. To them, he was some washed-up nobody who hadn’t managed to get a decent internship to his name. Eventually, it got to be too much for him. He couldn’t support himself, couldn’t make rent, couldn’t feed himself, and no one gave him a chance, because you stole it from him without a second thought. Throughout his time at UA, you saw how much he was struggling, and you never gave him any help that could have corrected for what you did. And the worst part about it all? I knew what was coming. I saw him, desperate, crying to himself, only to stop feeling anything at all, until one day when I tried to check up on him, I found his body dangling from the ceiling.”

Despite his self-assurances, Shota felt his blood run cold as he recounted what had happened to Imai. He had indeed improved by the end of his time at UA…though Shota had assumed that what had happened to him later had shown that Imai truly wasn’t ready for the duties of hero work. He had told himself that if he wasn’t strong enough to handle the pressure, he would have inevitably gotten killed in the field regardless. He kept telling himself that.

The elder Imai pulled a worn teddy bear out.

“I got this for Kouki when he was four. I was only eight, I didn’t know to put more thought into it, but he loved it. He said it helped him sleep. Sometimes, for years afterwards when he thought he was alone, I saw him holding it when he was upset.”

He put the bear next to Shota’s tombstone.

“If there is any justice in the world, I hope you can see this. I hope you can see something of the little brother I knew that you destroyed for inane reasons. I hope that you have to take this with you wherever you go. Burn in hell, you bastard.”

The man walked away, leaving without speaking to anyone else. Suddenly though, Shota felt something on his hand. He looked down, and saw that he was holding the same teddy bear. He yelped, dropping it. The bear’s button eyes stared up at him.

“Should I take it you don’t want it, then?” Isle asked.

Shota glared at the dragon in response, and Isle sighed.

“Well,” Isle lifted his hand, and the teddy bear was enveloped in a bubble before vanishing. “I suppose that I can at least try to make sure it gets back to that poor boy.”

The woman came up next. However, seeing her more closely, Shota realized that he knew her.

“Wait…” Shota looked closer at the young woman. “I recognize her…Sudou Kiyomi. But why would she be here? Why would she have been a part of this?” From what Shota could remember, Sudou had managed a decent career as the heroine ‘Matter Mask’ using her ‘Absorb’ Quirk, which allowed her to turn her body into any substance that she touched. She was a generally quiet girl though, in fact, the only time Shota remembered having any issues with her was with this one boy named…

“Ogawa Kippei.” Sudou said, unknowingly finishing Shota’s line of thought. “Do you remember him?”

Shota scowled. Sudou had complained to him about Ogawa acting inappropriately towards her in their first year. He had dismissed it as normal, inane high school banter. Sudou had been quite insistent towards him that Ogawa had been acting in ways around her that made Sudou feel threatened. Granted, Ogawa had been wasting time flirting with her, and Shota did have to tell him to focus on his work at times, but beyond that, Shota told Sudou that if she had issues dealing with something so simple, it put her capability to operate as a hero into question. Sudou hadn’t brought the matter up much after that. Shota remembered teaming the two together during some of the exercises to force them to deal with the problem. He rolled his eyes, remembering Kayama mentioning a rumor from a tabloid that the two were in a relationship after they had graduated.

“When I first started off in your class, Ogawa harassed me. It started off small, making comments about my costume, getting in my personal space, putting his hand on my shoulder even though he knew I didn’t like him. It was small at first, so I didn’t think much of it, but it still bothered me. And you saw it. I always hoped you would do something about it. As time went on, it got worse. He wouldn’t leave me alone. The things he said got cruder, the places he’d touch me got more private. He’d always seem to find me when I was alone. No matter how many times I told him to leave me alone, he’d just laugh and come back later. At that point, he was starting to scare me, and I told you about it. The most you’d ever do though was to tell him to focus on his work. Once he saw that was all you’d do, he got more aggressive. He’d wait for me outside the locker rooms or the bathrooms. He’d corner me against a wall and lean over me, making it look like he wasn’t going to let me go. He’d grope me in full view of the class and laugh it off like an accident. His friends laughed about it. You saw all of this, and did nothing. And when I tried talking to you about it again? Not only did you tell me to stop complaining, you put us together more often, as if it was my problem. You kept forcing me in close proximity with the boy that was becoming my abuser! But I knew that I couldn’t say anything to you by that point; you’d made it clear that at best, you’d just stick me around with Ogawa longer, at worst, you’d expel me. Sometimes I wish I had just transferred, but by that point, I had heard rumors about your expulsion record. I already knew what a black mark could do to someone; I had a cousin who was kicked out of his home for one. So I tried to ignore it. I tried to act like he didn’t bother me, or I’d try to hang out with my friends as much as possible. But it just got worse. At one point, he outright forced a kiss on me, and I used my Quirk to punch him. You gave us both detention, but you gave me twice the amount you gave to Ogawa! You said that I had overreacted and hitting someone with my Quirk was going too far for ‘just a kiss!’ That was sexual assault! I’d have thought that as a hero you’d know the difference! I tried to go to the other teachers, and while they were better than you, they just told me that I was your student.”

Sudou shuddered. Despite himself, Shota shuddered with her.

“So I tried to deal with it, not to let it bother me. But I wanted to be at UA, I wanted to be a hero, and when everyone was telling me that I was overreacting, I started to believe it. It just made things worse, because it let Ogawa know that he could go further, and I wouldn’t do anything!”

Sudou looked pale even as she glared at Shota’s grave.

“Things got worse when we did internships and work studies. He’d always take the same ones as me. The thing is, the heroes we worked with were bothered by what he was doing, but because of how he set things up, I’d always get blamed with him! They said that we were flirting, and Ogawa would laugh it off, making it look like I was the one who started it! The heroes took me less seriously because of what he would do. But we just kept getting paired together. It was just you at first, but when the heroes looked at our exercises, they followed your lead.”

“Then we graduated. I thought I was free of him. But he followed me, set his own agency up in my district. He didn’t fondle me in public like he would when we were at UA, but when he got me alone, and at that point I had forgotten how to fight back…”

Sudou started to shiver, tears trickling down her face.

“Despite everything that they did, I can’t help but be grateful to the League, because at least when Gigantomachia went on a rampage, he finally freed me of Ogawa. I hope it hurt.”

Sudou leaned closer to the gravestone with a disgusted look on her face.

“It’s only now that I’m free of him, and this whole disgusting system that you profited from that I really started to come to terms with what happened to me. It’s not as if therapists are easy to come by in this country at the best of times. I hope I can find someone and talk about what happened to me, but at least now I can hope that you’re here to listen to what you did. You were supposed to be a hero and my teacher. I should have been able to rely on you. But when I was getting hurt by another of your students, you just dismissed my concerns. No, you made things worse. I hope I get to talk to a reporter some day so I can let everyone know that Bakugou and Mineta were far from the only bastards you trapped your other students with. I hope you burn in hell, you son of a bitch.”

Shota was silent, absorbing the information that he had been given. He almost wished Isle would say something, ask another question, to mock him, anything to give himself a chance to defend himself, to try to justify his actions. All too soon though, the grave cleared out, except for one more person.

Though he had given the eulogy, Hizashi had waited for everyone else to say their peace before taking his turn. In fact, he had vanished at some point during the funeral while everyone else paid their respects, and had only shown up again around the end. He came up to Shota’s grave.

“…Hey Sho, sorry I’m late. I had to wait for everyone else to say their peace first. I…uh…I got to bring someone!” Hizashi said with an attempt at a smile before he gestured behind him.

Shota’s breath stopped in his throat. Approaching his grave, accompanied by several police officers, was the black-misted figure of Kurogiri. It was only over the past year though that Shota had learned the man’s real name.

“Oboro…” Shota whispered.

Shirakumo Oboro was not quite the excitable young man he once was, but he also wasn’t the cold, almost robotic Kurogiri that Dr. Garaki had turned him into. While still wreathed in black mist, Oboro’s facial features could be seen in the cloud that made up his head.

“…Hey, Shota.”

Shota could scarcely believe it. His friend that had been killed in a villain attack when they and Hizashi were still students was standing in front of him, and now Shota could recognize him and his voice. He knew from when they had interrogated Kurogiri after he had been caught the previous year that he was made from the body of Oboro, but Shota had all but lost hope that his friend could be recovered.

“You’re probably confused about why I’m here, right? Well…I guess a bit of me has been coming back ever since Shigaraki died at Jaku. All For One had linked himself to Shigaraki, he meant to take control of him, but when Lemillion killed him, there was some kind of backlash against All For One. He’s still alive…kind of, but he’s basically brain dead. I guess he tried to put too much of himself into the Quirk he gave to Shigaraki. But good news for me, I guess, because ever since All For One went catatonic and Shigaraki died, Kurogiri or whatever they made me to be has been dying with them.”

Oboro shuddered, and despite the stern expressions of the police guarding him, Hizashi put his hand on his friend’s shoulder to steady him. Oboro took a breath.

“These past years…it’s like I was sleepwalking …but…I was still there. I…I remember what I did. What I helped Shigaraki and All For One do…I…I…”

Oboro put his head in his hands and fell to his knees.

“Shota, I’m sorry…I’m so, so sorry…the USJ, I helped Shigaraki kill those two girls, your students…and I helped kidnap that boy from the Summer Camp, and all of those horrible things…it was such a relief when I finally got caught…”

Hizashi put his arm around Oboro’s shoulders and helped him back up, holding onto him until he could get ahold of himself.

“I…still don’t feel quite myself, but whatever Kurogiri was feels like he’s fading away. I’m not sure what I’m going to do from here…maybe I’ll try to see if I can help out with whatever this new system has turned into, it’s not necessarily that different from hero work, and I still want to help people.” Oboro looked at his stern-faced guards. “I hope I’ll get a chance, anyway.” He sighed, before looking back at Shota’s grave. “Sho…I’m sorry…I wish that you were still here, that I had started to regain my self sooner…I guess I can understand how you felt when I died.”

Shota couldn’t speak, he couldn’t even look at Oboro in the eye.

“Hizashi told me about how you became a teacher, and the things that have been happening lately.”

Shota’s attention became completely focused on Oboro. His friend’s death was why he had become a teacher in the first place, to try to prevent what had happened to him from repeating. With everything that had been said about him, Oboro’s opinion was the one he most wanted to hear. He wanted to hear him say that he was proud of Shota, that he had made the right calls.

“I’m sorry that you got hurt so badly by my death, that it made you so closed off, that it made you do the things you did. I wish that things hadn’t turned out this way.”

Shota felt his heart in his throat. Was that all Oboro could say about him? Words of pity and regret? Was he really that bad of a teacher that even his friend, his reason for becoming a teacher in the first place, though that he had done poorly?

Oboro sighed, closing his eyes.

“…I wish you were here.”

Oboro couldn’t say anything else, and backed away from Shota’s grave towards his waiting guards, who escorted him away. Hizashi was the only person left in the cemetery, looking down on Shota’s grave. He didn’t speak immediately, just standing in silence with Shota’s ghost. For his part, Shota was torn between wanting to hear his friend say something, anything at all, and the fear of being left alone once Hizashi had said his peace.

“This wasn’t how I expected things would go for us, you know?” Hizashi eventually said. “I know I always made myself sound like a ‘loud idiot,’ but part of why I did that was because we both know how quickly life can end, and I wanted to try to enjoy it as well as I could.”

Shota grimaced at the reminder of the insult he’d sometimes casually make to Hizashi, despite his friend never seeming bothered by it.

“It’s just…I always thought we’d have gone the way that we thought Oboro did, you know? Out in the field, trying to save lives, ready to have each other’s back.”

Hizashi grimaced, taking his glasses off and wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t there when you needed me, Sho. Not when you were killed, and not when you were hurting, not in the way that I should have. I wasn’t a good friend Sho. I should have confronted you about this stuff. Even if it meant losing you as a friend, I would have at least done something…”

Hizashi took in a deep breath to steady himself and let it out before looking at Shota’s grave again.

“We weren’t good teachers, Sho. I tried to be, but I let a lot of bad stuff happen to our students that I just ignored, thinking that it was just part of life, of being a hero. But a lot of it came from decisions you made. I should have done more, talked you down when I first saw what you were doing, making you realize that this wasn’t how to honor Oboro’s legacy. You explained why, and I get it, but hurting our students like that, taking away their chances, that was wrong, Sho. But I thought that I needed to trust you, that things weren’t as bad as I thought they were.”

Hizashi looked down at the ground.

“But they were Sho, they were so bad. Bad enough that some of our students got killed. Bad enough that some of the students you had ended up going and hurting people. I didn’t realize how bad it was, but I saw enough, I saw how so many of your students ended up missing a year of training, or ended up becoming depressed, or hurting each other without consequences, and I should have stepped in, told you that what you were doing was wrong.”

Hizashi looked back at Shota’s grave.

“…I’ve visited a lot of graves over the past year, when I got the chance. Some of our old students. I…tried to apologize…but it’s just too late, there wasn’t anything I could do to make it better for them, and I can’t get away from that. I tried to find whoever was still alive, but…well…none of the students from UA that you expelled wanted to talk to me or anyone from our school. I can’t exactly blame them. But I had to try to apologize. I hope you took the time to visit some of those graves, Sho. I know it would be hard to accept what you did, but…I hope you visited them.”

Hizashi shook his head morosely.

“Maybe things won’t be as bad for the ones who are still alive and aren’t in prison, since the Ministry of Education removed all of the black marks you’ve given in your career. Maybe they’ll be able to get into this new system. I hope some will, anyway. Some of the people that I talked to seem pretty bitter, both towards you and towards society in general, and they might not really want to do anything to help it. I can hope though that with time they’ll get better, that they’ll find some way to be happy now. Maybe they might be willing to let me apologize to them some time in the future.”

Hizashi stared at Shota’s grave for what felt like an eternity.

“I’m sorry. I wish I had something cheerier to say.” The man grimaced, turning to the side in thought before looking back at the tombstone. “I’m going to do the best I can to look after your students, Sho. I’ll keep an eye out for Eri, though I think she’s doing alright for herself. I ended up splitting your cats between her, Fukukado, and me, so don’t worry about them.”

Hizashi forced a hesitant smile on his face.

“For what it’s worth, I had some good times with you. Joking with you, being announcers for the Sports Festival, talking about our students. We had some good times too…” Hizashi’s smile fell away. “There’s…just a lot of things I wish I had done differently, though.”

Hizashi paused again before speaking once more.

“There’s so much that I feel like I should have said to you. Maybe it’s too late, but I feel that if there’s anything I should say, it’s this: Sho…you’re my best friend. Also…”

Shota was silent, not hearing anything else around him, just the last words of his best fri…

“…you’re the biggest asshole I know.”

Shota was left dumbstruck as Hizashi left on that note. Now, he was stuck in an empty graveyard as a ghost, with no one around but Isle.

“…I tried to do my best.” Shota said. “I was trying to help them. I was trying to make them ready for a career where men and women died young. I wanted to get rid of the things that would have killed them faster. Carelessness, indecisiveness, lack of creativity and effort. I was trying to keep them from dying.”

Shota finally looked at Isle. The dragon’s expression though was unreadable.

“I hear what you say, Aizawa Shota, and I want to believe that you’re a good man, but what I have seen is the consequences of your actions.”

“No…” Shota spoke in a hollow voice. “No…I was trying to protect them…I was trying…”

Shota mumbled, his voice slowly turning quiet as he ran out of things to say. Isle didn’t interrupt him, and didn’t speak until Shota looked at him again. He spoke once more.

“A tree is judged as good or bad by the fruit that it bears.”

The world around the two began to melt and fade away, and Shota faded with it. Eventually, Isle found himself back in front of the pool. He closed his eyes, and let out a breath from his nose, before looking back into the pool.

Chapter Text

“This is your Hero Academia!” Vlad King shouted with a grin, proudly displaying Itsuka’s fifth place position in the exam, triggering a cheer from her and her gathered family. Itsuka leapt with her fists in the air, just as her little brother and sister glomped her.

“You did it, Big Sis!” Shoko and Yuki shouted, laughing as Itsuka used her Big Fist Quirk to envelope them in a hug.

She had done it. Itsuka had been confident that she was going to get in, but to get in fifth place in the Entrance Exam for the most prestigious hero school in the country, if not the world? She felt like she was on cloud nine, and was already imagining how much stronger she could get through the school.

Once most of the family had congratulated her, Itsuka’s grandfather and karate sensei called her aside to speak to her privately.

“Well done, Itsuka, well done.” He said, bowing to her respectfully.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, oji-san.” Itsuka replied.

“Hm.” The old man nodded. “With the kind of training that you’ll be going through, it wouldn’t surprise me if you could become my superior in a manner of years.”

Itsuka grinned bashfully, waving her grandfather’s words away, though she allowed herself a brief fantasy of engaging in epic battle with her formidable sensei, finally victorious.

“However, Itsuka, there is something that you will need to do when you start your training at UA.” He cautioned, getting Itsuka’s full attention. “You will need to get a rival.”

“A rival?” Itsuka repeated, and his grandfather nodded.

“You need to find someone who can push you to become stronger. I can help you as your martial arts sensei, but I cannot aid you in pushing your Quirk past its limits, or in whatever other skills you will need as a hero. Your teachers will be able to instruct you in these matters,” he grinned at her, “but I know that to be truly motivated, you need someone to compete against.”

Itsuka thought to herself, imagining herself squaring off against an unknown opponent of equal skill.

“Whoever you choose for your rival, it needs to be someone who has a mutual respect with you. Don’t simply pick whoever might be the strongest person is in the school without getting a measure of their character.”

Itsuka nodded as even the thought of a rival fueled her to want to get stronger. She was fifth now, but just like she had pushed herself to the top of her year in her family’s dojo, she was going to push herself the same way at UA!

The first exercise of the year had been Battle Training with All Might. Itsuka had gotten paired up with a girl named Yanagi Reiko as the “villain team” defending a faux explosive device, while two boys named Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Shishida Jurota were the hero team trying to tag the device to deactivate it. Yanagi’s Quirk “Poltergeist” allowed her to attack her opponents from a distance with telekinetically-thrown objects, but she was not able to contend with the durability of Tetsutetsu’s “Steel” Quirk or Shishida’s transformed Beast mode, resulting in her capture, and leaving Itsuka to handle the two on her own. Both boys tried to rush her at once as opposed to going for the easier target of the bomb (which was surprising considering what she had seen of Shishida’s intelligence before that point, but it seemed that “Beast” made him more feral the longer it was active.) Both were strong, with powerful Quirks…but Itsuka could see that they were fighting like brawlers more than anything else, and was able to dodge and parry their blows as well as counter with her own Big Fists.

In the end, Itsuka pulled a victory by trapping Tetsutetsu within her enlarged fist, and then using him batter Shishida until the timer ran out. When the buzzer blared through the arena, Itsuka dropped Tetsutetsu from her hand, the Steel Quirked boy staggering from being used like a roll of quarters.

“Tetsutetsu? Are you okay?” Itsuka asked. In her experience, exuberant boys like her could sometimes be sore losers, so she was tentative in her approach, but she wanted to be a good sport regardless.

To her surprise though, once Tetsutetsu had regained his balance, he shouted enthusiastically.

“That was incredible, Kendo! You took both of us on at the same time all by yourself! You’re super manly!”

“Uh…thanks?” Itsuka replied, a little weirded out by the comment, but recognizing it as a compliment nonetheless. She received a similar welcome from the rest of her class once she had rejoined them, with everyone impressed with her prowess. Tetsutetsu practically begged to spar with her later on, making her grin at his exuberance.

It wasn’t a big surprise to Itsuka when she was elected as her class’s Representative the next day. She had often found herself in a leadership position throughout her life, whether it was in tutoring other students at the dojo, or as her Junior High School’s class Representative. Her Vice Representative, Shoda Nirengeki was a good choice, he seemed like an amicable and reliable sort, and probably a bit less chaotic than some of their other classmates. Itsuka had already taken account of a few students; Tsunotori Pony was an exchange student from America who seemed to struggle with Japanese, though thankfully a few students were already seeming to help her. A few of the students such as Awase Yosetsu and Kamakiri Togaru seemed to have foul mouths, and Itsuka was making sure to keep an eye on Kamakiri considering how aggressive the boy was. Tokage Setsuna was already establishing herself as something of the class joker, though she was also possibly one of their most intelligent and Itsuka found herself liking her. Monoma Neito though was already giving Itsuka a headache with the high-jinks and their supposed rivalry with class 1-A he was trying to get them into (yes, she was looking for a rival herself, but the way he was going about it felt more like he wanted to cause problems than anything else,) though it didn’t seem to bother their homeroom teacher Kan Sekijiro, aka the Blood Hero: Vlad King, who actually seemed pleased at Monoma’s competitiveness even before they had gotten a chance to meet the other hero class. It seemed that competition was a major part of the curriculum at UA. Thankfully, it had been that way at the Kendo dojo as well. Perhaps that was part of the reason why Itsuka had been elected in the first place.

One of her first duties as Class Representative was to meet the Representative of 1-B’s sister class, 1-A. There, she met Yaoyorozu Momo and Iida Tenya, the Representative and Vice Representative of 1-A respectively. The meeting itself was quite simple; they merely introduced themselves, established a means of communication between the courses, etc. One aspect of the meeting that was a little unsettling was the warning Itsuka got from Yaoyorozu about a student from her class named Mineta, who apparently was already earning a reputation for being a pervert. It was all quite normal, but what stuck out from the meeting to Itsuka was Yaoyorozu herself.

Speaking to Yaoyorozu, it was clear that she was quite intelligent. She would have had to have been for her to have gotten into UA through the notoriously difficult Recommendation Exam, after all, which Itsuka later found out from talking to Honenuki and Tokage. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to be one of the few students amongst the hero course professionally trained in some kind of martial art, intriguing Itsuka even more. Her Quirk, Creation, allowed her to create any non-living structure that she could think of, granting her a potentially unheard range of power and variability, to which her entry through the Recommendation Exam additionally established her skill in its use. Intelligent, skilled, powerful, and able to gain the respect of her peers after only a few days…perhaps Itsuka had found the rival that she was looking for.

Itsuka could hardly believe what was going on. Villains had invaded UA, the top hero school in the country, and had murdered two of the students in 1-A. After the funeral had concluded, Itsuka went up to meet Yaoyorozu.

“Yaoyorozu, I’m so sorry.” Itsuka offered in an attempt at condolences.

It was quite clear that Yaoyorozu was shaken from the experience, barely having managed to pry herself away from the other girls in her class. She was still teary-eyed, barely managing better than the majority of her classmates, who still looked shellshocked or were openly sobbing.

“I just…I can’t believe it…UA is supposed to be one of the safest and most secure places in the country, and villains simply broke in and murdered two of my classmates…”

Itsuka put her hand on Yaoyorozu’s shoulder to try to steady her.

“Asui and Mongoose seemed like such good people…and now we’re never going to get to know them…”

As Yaoyorozu broke out into tears, Itsuka gave her a hug, holding her until she had calmed down. Thankfully, no one seemed to be noticing them, giving Yaoyorozu a chance to let it out without anyone bothering her.

Perhaps Itsuka should put her plans for a rivalry to the side for the time being.

It seemed though that not everyone in her class felt the same way.

“The entire class if filled with braggarts convinced at their own superiority. That loud-mouthed ruffian openly expressed his contempt for everyone there and his classmates hardly said a word to him!”

Itsuka felt her blood run cold as she happened to overhear what Monoma was saying while she was walking into the classroom.

“Pardon me, Monoma, what are you talking about?” she asked. A few of the smarter students were able to pick up on how Itsuka was feeling at the time and backed away. Monoma however seemed to lack this survival instinct.

“Kendo! Our esteemed leader! I wanted to see the so-called ‘survivors of 1-A’ for myself, to see if the stories of their supposed greatness was anything like reality.” The blond-haired boy scoffed. “Turns out that they’re nothing but a bunch of arrogant snobs who believe themselves above everyone else.”

“I’d like to see if that loudmouth could back up his ego.” Kamakiri, a boy with mantis-like features said, leaning against the wall as he listened to Monoma’s rant. “See if he talks so tough when I carve him up.”

“I see.” Itsuka said, hiding her headache behind a calm façade. “Was anyone else there?” Itsuka asked the rest of the class, her eyes scanning over each face to see if there was anyone with a guilty conscience or otherwise dumb enough to admit this like Monoma.

“I mean…I admit I was curious…” Tetsutetsu awkwardly spoke up getting Itsuka and Monoma’s attention, “but 1-A just went through something really awful, feels like it would be kind of unmanly to try to pick a fight with them after that…”

Itsuka gave Tetsutetsu a small smile, happy that a boy that she had originally seen as literally hard-headed as having at least that kind of sense. She was a little surprised to see a slight blush on the silver-haired boy’s face, but put that aside for the time being.

“Agreed.” The vine-haired Shiozaki commented. “Regardless of however one of their students acted, it is incredibly cruel and unloving to show that kind of disregard for our fellow students. We should be showing kindness and compassion, not antagonism.” Again, someone whose respect was rising in Itsuka’s eyes. Shiozaki could be a little zealous with her religion, but it was clear that she was legitimately kind and considerate.

“Nonsense!” Monoma loudly proclaimed. “I fail to see how I was being unkind, I simply wanted to set the stage for our upcoming victory!”

Itzuka had enough. Before Monoma could say something else embarrassing, she interrupted him.

“Monoma? Could you please copy Tetsutetsu’s Quirk?”

Monoma was caught off guard by the interruption, but went along with it.

“With pleasure, if you don’t mind Tetsutetsu?” Monoma offered his hand to Tetsutetsu, who looked warily at Itsuka, not realizing what she was about to do quickly enough before letting Monoma copy his Quirk. Monoma touched Tetsutetsu’s hand, and activated his copy of Steel.

“Now then, how may I…?”

Sekijiro-san wasn’t happy with Itsuka for the hole that she had made through one of the class walls, or by her sending Monoma to Recovery Girl’s office, but he was quite understanding given the circumstances afterwards.

Itsuka still had no idea how she had let Monoma talk her and the rest of the class into his plan to avoid getting anyone’s attention in the first round. In hindsight, intentionally underplaying their abilities in an event meant to show them off for the sake of prospective internship offers felt like they were shooting themselves in the foot. Thankfully, she and a few of her classmates managed to get to the Third Round of the Sports Festival. To her luck, the event was declared to be a fighting tournament!

This was perfect for her; she had actual combat training that lent itself perfectly to the rules of these matches and a powerful, direct Quirk that didn’t require that she have an opportunity for set-up.

This was unfortunately not the case for Yaoyorozu, as Itsuka observed that 1-A’s Representative was struggling when matched against someone with more pure power like Tokoyami Fumikage, as his Dark Shadow was pressuring her too much for her to get the opportunity to make a weapon that she could use to fight back. In a matter of seconds, Yaoyorozu was knocked out of bounds, and she walked off the field dejected.

Itsuka shook her head in pity. She could only guess how upset her counterpart from 1-A must be feeling at the time. It was a shame, as she had been hoping to get a chance to test her skills against Yaoyorozu in one of the next rounds of fights. Unfortunately, Itsuka didn’t have the time to try to comfort her as she had her own match to prepare for. Admittedly though, Itsuka wasn’t expecting much, as her opponent was a General Education student who had somehow managed to make it to the Third Round. Shinso Hitoshi clearly had never exercised a day in his life, looking like a scarecrow more than anything else. Even the way that he was standing was off; legs bunched together instead of spreading his center of gravity out, this honestly felt like a waste of Itsuka’s time before she could make it to the next match.

“So, are you going to go down as pathetically as the class A Rep?” Shinso taunted lazily, striking Itsuka’s nerve. “Or since you’re a B, should I not set my expectations as high?”

There was a time and a place to talk smack, but Itsuka wasn’t going to let an insult like that slide.

“Listen you, string-bean…”

“Aaaannnndddd, start!” The referee, Ms. Midnight shouted, and suddenly Itsuka felt as if all of her senses had been numbed.

“Turn around and walk outside of bounds.” Shinso said.

Itsuka felt herself turn around and walk towards the edge of the ring.

“No…” Itsuka frantically tried to fight whatever was going on, but she was completely disconnected from her body. “No…no, not like this!”

“Kendo Itsuka is out of bounds! Shinso Hitoshi advances to the next round!”

Itsuka felt herself regain her senses, only to realize that she was now standing in the grass outside of the ring. She turned around frantically, only to see Shinso lazily walking back into the gate on his side of the stadium.

“…Damn it…”

Itsuka and Yaoyorozu both surprisingly took an internship with the same hero, Uwabami. This was the only good thing about the internship. After her embarrassing loss in the Sports Festival, Itsuka had been hoping that this would be a way to make up for it, to learn something new, to grow in her skills, but when she and Yaoyorozu asked why Uwabami had taken them on, the heroine’s answer was “Because you’re both so cute!”

Cute. Itsuka had been called attractive quite a few times. If she was honest with herself, she found it flattering, but it was the last aspect of herself that she really cared about. She was disgusted by girls that were obsessed with their looks. She wanted to be known for her skill, her intelligence, or her character. And yet here she was, spending her internship helping to film a shampoo commercial.

After the filming was done, Itsuka and Yaoyorozu both went to their dressing room to collapse, both from having the hold a pose for so long (she had to admit, acting was physically straining in its own unique way,) but also the emotional exhaustion of being duped into doing something like this in the first place.

“I suppose that heroes do need to be able to advertise themselves….” Yaoyorozu offered hopefully.

“It’s what I’m trying to tell myself…” Itsuka groaned.

The two sighed. They really had wound up in the same situation; both had promising starts to the Festival, both were expected to give good showings for their respective classes, only to lose embarrassingly and wind up in an internship focusing on a field that neither was interested in. Knowing that Yaoyorozu was probably feeling the same frustration that she was got Itsuka to try to do something about it.

“We both lost. It was embarrassing. But that just means we try to learn from our defeats and get stronger for the next fight.”

Yaoyorozu managed a small smile at this.

“You’re right, Kendo. Feeling sorry for ourselves isn’t going to make things any better.”

The two were called up for another shoot. Before they left the dressing room though, Yaoyorozu turned to Itsuka.

“By the way, just call me Yaomomo, it’s what my friends in 1-A have been doing.”

Itsuka grinned back. She and Yaoyorozu would both get stronger, and Itsuka would be ready for when they finally clashed.

Itsuka couldn’t tell whether Iida’s funeral was worse than Asui and Mongoose’s.

The experience probably wasn’t as traumatic for 1-A, considering most of them weren’t present at Hosu the way that they were roped into the attack at the USJ, but Asui and Mongoose’s deaths didn’t carry the same scandal that Iida’s did. When Asui and Mongoose died, the school was mostly sympathetic towards 1-A. Now though, with the fact that Iida had intentionally sought out Stain in an effort to avenge his brother, his death was not treated with as much sympathy; many outright stating that what he was doing was stupid. Unfortunately, some were carrying this scorn over to 1-A. Monoma was amongst that number, murmuring to the rest of his class how arrogant Iida must have been to try to chase after the Hero Killer, questioning whether the rest of the class was going to pull a similar stunt. Normally, Itsuka would chop him on the back of the head to shut him up, but considering this was a funeral, she satisfied herself by twisting his ear to make it clear that he needed to be more respectful.

As before, Itsuka went up to Yaoyorozu after the funeral was done to check up on her friend and rival.

“…Yaomomo?”

Yaoyorozu was not as teary as she was last time, but rather just…shocked, staring out into space, unblinking.

“I…I just can’t believe what Iida did…I tried to talk to him when I had heard about what happened to his brother, but he just brushed me off and told me not to worry about it. He seemed okay…he just seemed quieter than usual. I thought that it would be best for me to give him space…”

“Yaomomo.” Itsuka interrupted, putting her hands on Yaoyorozu’s shoulders and making the girl look at her. “This isn’t your fault. No matter what anyone says, you’re not responsible for what happened to Iida, understand?”

Yaoyorozu blinked at Itsuka for a moment, until she sighed.

“…Thank you, Kendo.”

Yaoyorozu wasn’t smiling at all, but at the very least the dazed look had gone out of her eyes. Now she just looked…tired. In the short time that Itsuka had come to know her, Itsuka realized that Yaoyorozu wasn’t the most confident girl, and she didn’t like to think about how the nasty things people were saying about her class was going to affect Yaoyorozu. Itsuka could only hope that she’d be able to get a break from all of this.

As much as she had disliked the experience, it seemed that quite a few people had seen Uwabami’s shampoo commercial. To Tokage Setsuna’s glee, the Lizard Tail Splitter girl informed Itsuka that she had accrued something of a fanclub already amongst the students. Annoying perhaps, though Itsuka had to admit that she was somewhat flattered. She wondered if Yaoyorozu was experiencing something similar. She hoped so anyway, if only to lift the girl’s spirits.

Not too long after the internships, Itsuka and Shoda were called aside at the end of homeroom by Kan.

“Principal Nezu apparently has taken on an…apprentice of sorts.”

Itsuka couldn’t help but be concerned at the shudder that went through her homeroom teacher at that statement, though he grinned once he had gotten ahold of himself.

“His name is Midoriya Izuku, and he seems to have a good eye for Quirks and on improving how they can be utilized. Nezu assigned him to analyze footage of the hero courses training and come up with ideas that could help you out. He’s going to be giving advice to 1-A as well, so I want you and Shoda to take what he says seriously so we can stay competitive. If he’s smart enough that Nezu of all people will take notice of him, he’s clearly got some things to say.”

Itsuka approached the meeting with caution, both wanting to take this seriously, but also at her unease at Kan’s possible fear of what an apprentice of Nezu would be like. When she met Midoriya Izuku though, she couldn’t help but think that with his fluffy green hair, big eyes, stutter, and hyperactive mumbling he reminded her of an adorable puppy.

While some of what Midoriya said could get a little overwhelming, Itsuka had to admit that he did indeed know his stuff, managing to intrigue Shoda with the possible applications of his “Twin Impact” Quirk, such as adding a slingshot with different kinds of ammunition ranging from rubber pellets to steel ball bearings to his loadout; each ammo type being a different hardness to allow him to apply appropriate forces of impact. So, when he turned to her, Itsuka was cautiously optimistic. He started off giving some general observations of Big Fist, but even that was bringing up some interesting ideas.

“One of the things that I’ve noticed about Big Fist is that there’s a bit more to it than just your hands growing in size. The most interesting point that I can see here is the fact that while the rest of your body isn’t enhanced in any obvious way, when your hands grow, you aren’t noticeably affected in a way one would assume from an increase in weight in those parts of your body; you seem to be able to handle them as easily as you do with your hands at normal size, is that correct?”

“Mostly.” Itsuka agreed, lifting a hand up and growing it to the size of a bowling ball. “When I was younger and I was still getting a handle on my Quirk, I had issues with fumbling or accidentally knocking them into things because I didn’t realize how big they were, but I’ve never actually felt an increase in weight from them.”

“Despite this though,” Midoriya nodded, bringing up some pictures of Itsuka carrying a trapped Kodai Yui inside of her enlarged hand, “you are likewise not affected by any weight that you add to your hands, at least nothing beyond the weight of something that would fit in your hands while at a normal size. The only explanation that I can give for this is that your Quirk must incorporate some kind of gravity alteration to it; perhaps it has its own personal gravitational field that’s free from the force of the planet? It could be a good idea to bring in Uraraka Ochako from 1-A to see how your Quirks might interact. If it turns out that I’m correct, that could introduce another facet of your Quirk we could explore.”

Midoriya’s rambling could be a bit overwhelming, but at the very least Itsuka was interested in what he was talking about. Eventually though, he managed to calm down to talk about more immediate improvements.

“Now Kendo, I understand that you are a martial artist, correct?”

“Yep. Shotokan karate.”

Midoriya nodded in response.

“It’s quite clear that you’ve put a lot of work into it.” He commented in admiration. “And you’ve done a good job applying your Quirk to your style of fighting. However, I’ve noticed a potential issue with this: Most martial arts aren’t designed to incorporate Quirks into their regimes due to how unique they are.”

Itsuka grimly nodded. It was a problem she was already aware of: martial arts were all focused on training with a basic human form. Even if Quirks were ever allowed in martial arts competitions, the extra abilities that Quirks provided were oftentimes too unique to the individual to be easily replicated by someone else with a different Quirk. Now that Itsuka was on the path to being able to legally use her Quirk, she would have to essentially design her own form of fighting unique to her abilities. Had Midoriya already have some ideas on how to do this, though?

Midoriya flipped open the notebook he used to break down the Quirks he was analyzing.

“I found that Ojiro from 1-A had a similar issue, with there not being any existing martial arts that can easily incorporate his Tail Quirk. So, I suggested that he try to mimic the movements of animals in the wild that do have powerful tails such as crocodiles. I’m wondering if we might be able to do the same thing for you.”

Midoriya flipped to a page dedicated to Itsuka, which was covered with…drawing of crustaceans and insects?

“Crustaceans and insects are the closest real-life example to how your Quirk works, having extremely large appendages. While it might not be a perfect analogy, it might be worth your time to watch some nature documentaries on these animals; it might give you some ideas that I haven’t thought of yet.”

“Do you already have some ideas, though?” Itsuka asked, looking through some of the analysis that Midoriya had made on her.

“A few.” Midoriya responded before flipping a page, focusing on two animals; an ant with big jaws, and a shrimp with one oversized claw.

“I noticed that one of your super moves, ‘Double Jumbo Fist,’ involves you striking an opponent, expanding your hands just as they are about to impact to maximize damage. This gave me a few ideas.” Midoriya pointed to the drawing of the ant. “Trap-jaw ants have a similar ability to hit with a lot of force in a small space, exerting force up to 300 times their own body weight, creating a similar effect to your Quirk. Besides using this to attack enemies or prey though, Trap-jaw ants can apply this force in an interesting way; they can turn around, and hit the ground with the force of their bite. This actually creates so much recoil that it blasts the ants backwards into the air, a bit like All Might’s New Hampshire Smash.”

“So, you think that I could do something similar with my Quirk? Create a big impact against the ground and launch myself into the air?” Itsuka summarized, intrigued.

“That’s the idea.” Midoriya nodded in response, only to raise a hand. “That being said, I would recommend only testing this while you have teachers around; it might take you a while to figure out how to properly aim where you want to go with this technique, and you’ll want to be sure that you have a way to land safely.” Midoriya blinked, looking through his notes. “In fact, don’t try out any of these ideas until you’ve tested them in a controlled environment; you are working with a lot of kinetic energy, and if it’s not done in a safe way, you could end up hurting yourself or someone else unintentionally.”

Itsuka’s daydream of her blasting herself into the air with a Reverse Double Jumbo Fist was cut short by the image of her realizing that she was several stories above the ground with no way to direct herself. Hopefully she would be able to still cushion the impact of her fall with her hands, but she agreed that it wouldn’t be a good idea to bank her survival on that theory. Midoriya moved onto the picture of the shrimp with the oversized claw.

“This is a pistol shrimp. It’s capable of snapping its claw shut with enough force that it generates heat up to 5000 Kelvin and creates a shockwave powerful enough to kill small animals. I’m wondering if it might be possible for you to create a similar effect with your Quirk.” Seeing Itsuka’s face turn green, Midoriya backpedaled. “I don’t mean to use to kill anyone of course! But if you could learn to regulate the size of your hands and your power output, it could be a good potential ranged attack for you.”

Itsuka took a breath to steady herself, trying to consider the option.

“Okay, but how exactly would I do that?”

“I have a few ideas.” Midoriya said, flipping to another page with drawings of human hands in different positions. “You might be able to generate a shockwave simply by flicking your fingers against your thumbs. Actually,” Midoriya paused, looking at Itsuka, “Have you ever snapped your fingers when your Quirk was active?”

Itsuka shook her head.

“I’m worried about the possibility of damaging someone’s ears if I did that. I avoid clapping for the same reason.”

Midoriya nodded.

“That’s probably for the best. However, it might be worth testing how loud of a noise you can make with your hands at different sizes; we could figure out a safer range for you to operate at. There is however the issue of how to direct an attack like that, but I talked to the Support Department, and one of the students came up with an idea:”

Midoriya flipped to another page, this one showing a picture of a glove with strange grooves on its fingers.

“When I told them about my idea of you mimicking a pistol shrimp, they helped me work out this design for an alteration to your costume.” Midoriya raised his hand, cutting Itsuka off before she could point something out. “The design would use DNA-infused fabrics, so it would grow with your hands the same way that Mt. Lady’s costume grows with her.” Seeing Itsuka mollified, Midoriya pointed back to the grooves on the glove. “I’m not entirely sure how this works, but the idea would be that these grooves would allow you to channel sound in a specific direction, creating an effect similar to a pistol shrimp.” Midoriya looked back up at Itsuka. “Again though, this is something that you should only do once you’ve properly tested it. Majima-sensei told me that he wouldn’t let you keep this alteration to your costume until you’ve shown you can use it safely. That is, if you’re interested, of course.”

Itsuka was caught off guard by the possibility that she could have such destructive power, but the more she thought about Midoriya’s analysis, the more appealing it sounded. This was the kind of edge that she was hoping for from her internship!

“I’m definitely interested.”

Midoriya Izuku quickly became a popular figure amongst Itsuka’s classmates. Tetsutetsu was extremely grateful for the ideas of how he could take advantage of the specific properties of his Steel Quirk in a way that set him more apart from Kirishima’s Hardening Quirk, such as how he could magnetize his skin to climb up metal surfaces. Tsunotori appreciated the idea of attaching cameras to her horns so she could direct them even after they had left her line of sight (as well as having someone else who could understand English.) It was quite impressive to hear Awase praise Midoriya, even with his usual swears mixed in, calling Midoriya a f___ genius for pointing out that he could use his Weld Quirk to walk through walls. Even the normally taciturn Kamakiri respected Midoriya for giving him the idea to alter the angle of the blades he made from Razor Sharp to form armor or to act as makeshift spades to dig underground. Monoma was particularly exuberant whenever he saw Midoriya, seeing him as class 1-B’s ‘secret weapon’ (ignoring Midoriya point out that he was helping 1-A out as well.) Itsuka had to admit that for all of Monoma’s personal issues, he could be quite empathetic and supportive towards people he similarly identified as a “background character,” the Quirkless Midoriya fitting the bill in his mind.

This support, coupled with the news that Itsuka had heard that the Final Exams were simply going to set the students up against robots from the Entrance Exam (a rumor that Itsuka made sure to share with Yaoyorozu much to Monoma’s chagrin, who wanted to keep that bit of information away from their rivals,) allowed 1-B to head towards their testing grounds with confidence.

Itsuka should have paid more attention to her instincts when she felt that the smile Midoriya gave her class as they set off to the testing grounds seemed a little too…Nezu-esque.

She would have felt much more guilty for accidentally giving Yaoyorozu false information were she not caught off guard by the reveal that the hero classes were going to be tested against the teachers; actual, experienced pro-heroes. Oh, and she was teamed up with Monoma. Also, they were facing off against All Might.

To his credit, Monoma was actually handling the situation quite cleverly at first, pointing out that they needed to focus on escaping rather than confronting the No. 1 hero. As much as he put himself down about it in his more open moments, there were times when you needed to use tactics deemed unheroic, such as retreat, stealth, and subterfuge, none of which Itsuka was skilled in. Unfortunately, having managed to sneak their way to the street through which they could see the exit gate with just enough time, Monoma just had to break into one of his rants.

“Ha! Just wait until those 1-A braggarts hear about how we managed to get one over on All Might! Why, they’ll probably just try to bullrush him with their mediocre talent and…”

“TEXAS SMASH!”

Itsuka and Monoma found themselves both blown, swirling around in the air by a tornado.

“DAMN IT, MONOMA!” Itsuka shouted, barely managing to steady herself as she enlarged her hands to create wind resistance and break her fall. She landed without breaking her tailbone, but the sensation of being thrown onto the world’s most violent carousel was throwing off her balance too much, making her collapsed to her hands and knees and resisting the urge to vomit. Nearby, she heard All Might tisking in disappointment.

“Young Monoma, 1-A isn’t here. You should be focusing on your own test, not anyone else’s.”

All Might was chastising the unconscious blonde, suspended in the air by one arm. Just as All Might turned to Itsuka though, Monoma reached out and slapped All Might in the face, laughing like a maniac.

“HA! YOU FOOL! YOU FELL FOR THE OLDEST TRICK IN THE BOOK! NOW TO FINALLY SEE WHAT YOUR…why do I have a blank?”

Monoma’s face was stuck in his maniacal laugh, albeit twitching as he looked at All Might, right before the hero slammed him into the ground and knocked him out for real.

“Well, young Kendo, I’m sorry to say that I can’t simply let you run to the exit with so little time left, though it was a good effort…”

All Might was standing there, knowing that Itsuka had no chance of running the several blocks distance needed to make it to the exit behind her.

She had only one play left.

“TRAPJAW FIST!” Itsuka shouted, slamming her fists into the ground, just as she expanded them to their maximum size. The recoil blasted her into the air like a rocket. At the top of her arc, she could just see the exit. She only had a few seconds left, but she was going to make it!

“Impressive!” Itsuka’s blood ran cold as she heard All Might, having leapt into the air after her. “But you have no options in the air, Young Itsuka!”

Itsuka registered All Might’s hand inches away from swiping her out of the air. Not thinking at all, she pointed her right hand at the left side of his abdomen, grew her fist to its maximum size, and snapped her fingers.

Itsuka had only just managed to satisfy Majima with her capability to use the Pistol Gloves in time for the Final. She could feel the grooves on the inside of her the gloves snap against each other, funneling the shockwave into a blast directly into the left side of All Might’s sternum. It was only thanks to the fact that ear plugs were a required part of her costume with the gloves that she didn’t blast her hearing out, as the resultant snap shattered every window in the vicinity, knocking All Might out of the air and blasting Itsuka towards the exit even faster. It was also only by reflexively sticking her hands out behind her and activating her Quirk that she was able to cushion her impact when she hit the ground. A bell rang out.

“Kendo Itsuka has made it to the exit gate!”

“That was the manliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”

“I’m grateful that the Lord has granted you victory, Kendo.”

“You literally snapped All Might out of the air!”

Itsuka gave a slight chuckle, probably still in shock as she made it back to the classroom to the applause of her classmates. It was almost a relief when Kan called for the students’ attention.

“Well done. There’s still a lot of areas you all have to work out, but that is what the Summer Camp will be for. I’ve got to say, it makes me proud to be the teacher of a class in which nineteen of my students managed to pass in an exam against pro heroes…as opposed to twelve…” Kan added with a smirk.

Monoma, catching what Kan said and snapping himself out of his stupor for being the only fail in his class, cackled out loud.

“Twelve? Only twelve of 1-A passed? Hahaha! What…”

“Monoma, I swear I will pistol shrimp strike you from over here.” Itsuka said, managing to regain control of her sense and irritated by the blonde’s arrogant cackling. This shut Monoma up, eliciting a chuckle from the rest of the class for the two’s antics. Kan simply smiled fondly.

“Yes, yes, let’s not be too harsh. You’re all free to go to lunch, you’ve earned it.”

The class cheered and filed out of the room, everyone congratulating each other and still praising Itsuka for managing to get one over on All Might of all people. Now that she wasn’t in a hyper adrenaline-fueled state, Itsuka’s victory started to hit her. Sure, it wasn’t the kind of win she was used to, but this was something she had a right to feel proud of.

That being said, as Itsuka filled up her plate (she was really hungry,) she spied Midoriya sitting at a table with his classmates from 1-C, blushing as he was being talked to by 1-A’s newer students Uraraka and Shinso, followed by Yaoyorozu, Shoji, and several of the other 1-A members.

Itsuka was no fool. She knew that in a straight fight, she’d have never been able to handle All Might. She had passed her Final because of Midoriya’s analysis, and he deserved her gratitude.

Once 1-A had said their piece, Itsuka came to the 1-C table to say hers. Itsuka’s presence though, followed by many of her classmates, seemed to reignite Midoriya’s blush. In hindsight, maybe it would have been better to do this when Midoriya wasn’t already surrounded by people; for all of his intelligence, it was clear that Midoriya suffered from confidence and anxiety issues, so having the attention of so many people at once was probably overwhelming. It was too late to do anything about that now though, so Itsuka resolved to try to make this fast.

“Midoriya?” she said. The green-haired boy looked at Itsuka despite blushing like a strawberry from all of the attention he had been getting. At least he wasn’t completely overwhelmed. “I know you’ve been hearing a lot of this, but I wanted to thank you for the analysis you did for my class and me. I know that I wouldn’t have passed my Final were it not for you.”

Before Midoriya could get a chance to say anything, Tokage, who had come up behind Itsuka (maybe to thank Midoriya herself, followed by practically everyone else in their class,) spoke out loud.

“Oh, were those tricks you pulled at the end were Greenie’s idea?”

Itsuka grimaced as Midoriya looked like he was about to pass out. However, he managed to pull himself together to speak up for himself.

“Well…I mean, I gave her the idea for the ‘Trapjaw Fist’, but I don’t know what she did to dodge All Might in the air.”

Itsuka blinked, confused.

“Wait, weren’t you watching the footage of the exams?”

“I was…” Midoriya admitted, “but whatever happened in midair wasn’t caught by any cameras. What exactly happened up there?”

Itsuka smiled, hoping that she could make Midoriya a bit prouder of himself.

“All Might jumped after me and was about to smack me out of the air, so I used the Pistol Gloves to blast him in the stomach, knocking him off course.”

Midoriya blinked, for some reason looking worried.

“His stomach?”

“Well…” Itsuka was confused why Midoriya looked worried, but went on. “The left side of his abdomen, anyway.”

“Was…was he okay?” Midoriya asked.

Itsuka and her friends stared at the serious look of concern on Midoriya’s face for a second before they burst out laughing. It seemed to startle him even more, but Itsuka just couldn’t help it; Midoriya was just too nice.

“Midoriya…he’s All Might! Of course I didn’t actually hurt him!”

Shiozaki gave Midoriya a kind smile.

“You really are too kind for this world, Midoriya.”

Seeing how everyone was reacting, Midoriya gave a small, nervous smile.

“Yeah…yeah…I…uh…I guess I’m just being silly…”

Itsuka smiled, feeling that she had embarrassed Midoriya too much already and decided to leave him alone. As she was about to find a table though, she noticed Yaoyorozu sitting with her new Vice Representative, Shoji Mezo, and walked over to her.

“Yaomomo?” she said, getting Yaoyorozu’s attention. Itsuka felt guilty about what she was going to say, but went on. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that I had heard the wrong information about the Finals and might have made your class think that it was robots…”

Thankfully, Yaoyorozu smiled and waved her hand dismissively in response.

“It’s alright, Kendo, you were trying to help us, and I appreciate that.”

Considering how happy Yaoyorozu was, and the fact that she was one of the 1-A students Itsuka had seen thank Midoriya, she could at least be confident that Yaoyorozu had passed herself. Looking over at one of the tables though, Itsuka could guess at who hadn’t passed, considering how glum Kaminari, Ashido, Sato, Kirishima, and Sero looked, as well as how Bakugou somehow looked even angrier than usual. The occasional death glares he sent in Midoriya’s direction made Itsuka’s hands twitch. She didn’t know what problem Bakugou could have with someone as nice as Midoriya, but she’d be more than willing to try out another of his ideas on 1-A’s own blonde loudmouth; she had been itching to try out an idea she had gotten from watching a documentary on mantis shrimp…

“So…I take it the Finals went well for you?” Itsuka said, snapping herself out of it. Yaoyorozu gave a slight chuckle in relief.

“It did for me, at least. I ended up drawing the short straw and had to take my exam on my own against Aizawa!”

“And you got away from him?” Itsuka asked, impressed.

Yaoyorozu put her hand against her mouth to stifle a chuckle.

“One of Midoriya’s suggestions to me was to have equipment prepared ahead of time; Aizawa had me cornered in an alleyway, but I must have surprised him when I blinded him with a flashlight and clubbed him over the head with it.”

Itsuka snorted at the simplicity of it.

“So, I take it that your class got some good ideas from Midoriya as well?”

Yaoyorozu’s smile fell somewhat and she sighed.

“Most of us.”

Itsuka blinked, concerned.

“Did some of his ideas not pan out?”

“No…well…” Yaoyorozu thought for a moment, perhaps considering whether she should say anything, when Shoji spoke up.

“Ashido and Kaminari got paired off against Nezu.”

“Ooohhh…” Itsuka winced in sympathy. “Yeah…I guess there’s not much Midoriya could have done to help them there.”

Yaoyorozu shrugged.

“Midoriya was mostly just helping everyone with their Quirks and some strategies. The big problem was from the students who didn’t take his advice.”

Neither Itsuka nor Yaoyorozu looked at anyone in particular, but Itsuka could make a guess as to who one or two of those students might be.

“Hopefully this will be a learning experience regardless. Aizawa made it clear that he was going to be harder on the students at the Summer Camp that didn’t pass the exam…though he had actually told everyone that anyone who didn’t pass wasn’t going to go. Another one of his ‘logical ruses.’”

Itsuka couldn’t help but notice a slight tone of irritation and bitterness at that last point. Kan could be a bit much with how he sometimes pushed the class rivalry, but Itsuka found herself grateful that she had him as a homeroom teacher.

Part of Itsuka questioned why she was here. It wasn’t as if there was anything that she could actually do for her unconscious classmates, let alone her homeroom teacher in the ICU, but she at least wanted to be there if she could when her classmates woke up from Mustard’s gas. From what she had been told by Monoma when he was able to snap out of his shock enough to speak, Muscular had twisted Vlad King’s arms out of their sockets. Itsuka could only pray that her teacher was going to be okay.

So, this was what Yaoyorozu and 1-A had felt like after the USJ. Itsuka kept on reflexively clenching her fists, jumping at any loud noise that reminded her of a gunshot or the hiss of seeping gas.

This had been her first fight against a real villain, her first real brush with death. Mustard had knocked most of the hero students out of commission, using his Quirk to send out a whirling cloud of toxic gas. Thankfully, Itsuka and Tetsutetsu had come across Yaoyorozu, who had been able to give the two of them gas masks to contend with the threat. Despite this protection though, Mustard was still a dangerous threat, as his gas allowed him to sense any movement from within its vicinity, and he had a gun that he used with deadly accuracy.

As a rule, Itsuka hated guns; they chaffed against her sensibilities as a martial artist and seemed like a coward’s way of dealing with opponents rather than facing them with their own skill. She and Tetsutetsu were more disciplined and trained than the psychopathic middle schooler, and yet just with a simple pistol, Mustard was able to keep the two at his mercy.

But she had come out on top. She and Tetsutetsu had managed to figure out Mustard’s tricks and beat him; Tetsutetsu drawing Mustard’s fire while Itsuka blew the gas cloud away with her enlarged hands, giving Tetsutetsu an opening to smash Mustard’s ridiculous helmet in with a steel-covered fist.

Despite winning that battle though, it was a net loss for the hero courses as a whole to Itsuka. Besides her, Tetsutetsu, Monoma (who had been in the Remedial Lessons cabin during the attack), and Awase (who had helped an injured Yaoyorozu escape from one of the Nomu used in the attack,) the entirety of 1-B had been caught in Mustard’s gas attack and were being treated for overexposure, along with several of the 1-A students. Uraraka and Shoji were in the ICU with Kan, and Bakugou had been battered by Muscular and kidnapped by the League of Villains.

Tetsutetsu was sitting with Itsuka. While she was able to keep a straight face (it was a skill that she had learned through her experience at her family’s dojo; you had to learn to keep your head in a fight, after all,) he looked about how she felt. He was glaring at the floor with his jaw clenched, his leg tapping as he worried for his teacher and his friends.

Their school had been attacked again, and this time, their class had been caught in the middle of it. Like before though, they weren’t sure if they were going to get everyone back alive.

They should be stronger than this. They were heroes, they held the line against villains and kept them from hurting people, and yet here they were, just as vulnerable as anyone else, only just managing to survive by the skin of their teeth, if that. Itsuka just didn’t know how to handle this.

Their musing was cut short though when a familiar voice spoke up in front of them.

“Hey, Kendo? Tetsubro?”

The two looked up, and saw the spiky red-haired Kirishima of 1-A standing in front of them. Unlike his usual exuberant manner though, he seemed uncomfortable, his smile somewhat forced and noticeably sweating from nerves for some reason.

“Kiribro, what’s up?” Tetsutetsu asked, grateful to see the rival he had made for himself ever since their match in the Third Round of the Sports Festival.

“Actually…” Kirishima rubbed the back of his head, his eyes darting around as if he was on the lookout for someone. “I wanted to talk to you about something, Kendo.”

Itsuka stood up.

“What is it, Kirishima?”

“…I was…wondering if you could talk to Yaoyorozu about something.”

Itsuka blinked.

“Why do you need me to talk to her? Can’t you?”

“It’s just…you talked with Awase right, about what he and Yaoyorozu did during the attack?” Kirishima asked in a hushed tone.

Itsuka frowned at Kirishima. Something about this didn’t feel right to her.

“No…what are you talking about?”

The waiting room doors opened, and Itsuka saw Yaoyorozu enter. She smiled briefly when she saw that she had Itsuka’s attention, only to frown when she saw Kirishima, approaching behind him without him realizing.

“Well, I heard Yaoyorozu talking to the police about when they were attacked by that Nomu, and she…”

Yaoyorozu glared as she overheard what Kirishima was saying and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Kirishima!” she hissed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Kirishima was caught off guard by Yaoyorozu’s presence, but frantically tried to defend himself;

“Oh, come on, Yaoyorozu! They’re in our class, we can tell…”

“No.” Yaoyorozu said, cutting Kirishima off. “What you were about to do was outright illegal, Kirishima. What you wanted to do in the first place was bad enough, but I swear if I hear you talking about what I was saying to the police in confidence or your idea to anyone else, I will personally bring this up with Principal Nezu and have you expelled for endangering an investigation.”

Kirishima looked back at Ituska for a moment, perhaps about to try to talk to her again, but winced at Yaoyorozu’s rebuke.

“Go home. Now.”

Kirishima uncharacteristically glared at Yaoyorozu, but the heiress didn’t flinch, and the boy eventually cowered under her gaze before walking away.

“Yaomomo…what was that about?” Itsuka asked, concerned by the interaction. Yaoyorozu turned to Itsuka grimly and sighed.

“It’s nothing to worry about. Kirishima just happened to overhear something Awase and I did during the attack and was asking for something foolish. My guess is that he was about to try to ask for your help in convincing me to go along with his idea.”

Tetsutetsu looked after his friend in concern.

“Are you sure you need to be so harsh on him, Yaoyorozu? Kirishima’s a good guy, he didn’t deserve to be chewed out like that…”

It was impressive how quickly Yaoyorozu was able to get Tetsutetsu to cow under the same glare she gave to Kirishima.

“He did, Tetsutetsu. What Kirishima wanted to do was foolish, dangerous, and extremely callous to suggest to his class, who are all still recovering from a villain attack.”

Tetsutetsu didn’t push the matter any further.

“Are they…are all of you alright?”

Yaoyorozu withered somewhat at the question.

“A few of them are still in shock for one reason or another. Everyone who wasn’t seriously injured got sent home, hopefully they’ll be alright.” She managed a small smile nonetheless. “Thankfully, I found out a while ago that Shoji and Uraraka were both taken out of the ICU, and so I wanted to see if I could check up on them.”

Itsuka felt relief, but then realized something and stopped Yaoyorozu.

“Yaomomo, I hate to ask you this, but I’m worried about Kan-sensei, and I’ve got to know. I wasn’t able to get that much out of Monoma, do you know what happened with Muscular? Did he hurt anyone else?”

Yaoyorozu looked at Itsuka, surprised. A brief look of…pride(?) came across her face though despite her clear concern about everything.

“Thankfully, no. It seems that Ashido and Kaminari were able to defeat him so the police could take him in later.”

“Wait, Kaminari and Ashido?” Tetsutetsu repeated in surprise. Yaoyorozu nodded in response.

“They used one of the techniques suggested by Midoriya. They’re still both shaken up by what happened…” she added uneasily, “but I’m just glad that they’re okay.” She took a deep breath, steadying herself some more. “I’ll need to check up on them later. How about you two?” Yaoyorozu asked with a look of concern. “Do you have any news on your classmates?”

Itsuka and Tetsutetsu’s moods dropped.

“It sounds like everyone’s going to recover, but Kan is still in the ICU.” Itsuka responded.

“ARGH!” Tetsutetsu suddenly growled out. “I just can’t believe it! A bunch of villains got the drop on us, and most of us couldn’t do a thing to stop them! I just feel so powerless!”

Itsuka sighed. She was trying to keep a strong front, but honestly Tetsutetsu had a tendency to say what she was thinking. Despite this though, Yaoyorozu smiled to them encouragingly.

“It’s going to be alright. The heroes are going to handle this. They’re going to find the villains responsible and bring them to justice.”

“How are you so confident in this?” Tetsutetsu asked, still frustrated.

Yaoyorozu just smiled.

“Just trust me on this. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Yaoyorozu dismissed herself, walking up to the visitor’s desk.

Yaoyorozu had been one of the students injured during the attack, and yet she had gotten back up and was watching out for her class. For someone who had been through all of that, she looked as if she was handling the stress a lot better than Itsuka was. Itsuka steeled her nerves, resolving to not let what happened bog her down.

Monoma had done quite a few things that angered Itsuka, his constant antagonism towards 1-A being at the top of that list, but this almost earned him another Big Fist chop with him copying Steel. She would have thought her frustrations at having been duped into Uwabami’s internship would have made it clear that she didn’t like this sort of stuff, but Monoma had gone behind her back and signed Ituska up for the U.A. Beauty Contest during the Cultural Festival. It was particularly frustrating as this meant that she wasn’t able to help in her class presentation (granted, she thought that their idea for the fantasy play “Romeo, Juliet, and the Prisoner of Azkaban: The Return of the Kings”, was completely ridiculous, but she wanted to support her class.) Monoma’s reasoning for this was that the commercial had earned Itsuka popularity, which if used for the Beauty Pageant could boost 1-B’s prestige, but she was pretty sure that he just wanted her out of his hair so he could mock 1-A without the threat of getting chopped in the back of the head. Thankfully, Awase volunteered to take her place for this (unsettling important) duty, though by the time Itsuka realized what Monoma had done, it was too late for her to drop out.

As much as she hated to admit it though, she did find herself getting excited, admiring the dress that Yanagi Reiko had designed for her. She was grateful that Reiko (Itsuka had gotten to know her classmates well enough that by this point she was comfortable referring to a few by their personal names) was the one helping, considering the fact that they had gone on the same work study together just a few weeks prior.

When Itsuka gave her performance, she was glad to realize that it was a different experience than her internship with Uwamabi, as besides simply looking pretty, she also got to give some practical demonstrations of her martial arts skills. She didn’t end up winning, but it was fun to do.

This was where things fell apart though, as just as 1-A was about to give their performance, the Festival was crashed by another villain appearing, this one Gentle Criminal. The teachers’ attempts to catch him, coupled with the upperclassmen Togata Mirio’s Quirk suddenly mutating and going wild, caused an abrupt and violent end to the Cultural Festival.

After Gentle Criminal and La Brava had been taken away and the police performed an investigation to ensure that there were no more villains in the area, the only thing that could be done was to clean up the wreckage. It was a particularly disheartening experience for the students to be forced to clean up the smashed remains of the sets, props, and costumes that they had spent so much time working on, only to have it all go to waste with no one to admire them because of some narcissistic internet celebrity.

As Itsuka was clearing up the wreckage with her enlarged hands, she overheard some of her classmates talking.

“Man…we worked so hard on this…”

“Everything’s ruined. I don’t think that any of the classes got to do anything.”

“Damn it…they didn’t even let us get a crack at that fancy asshole. I’d have sliced right through those stupid barriers…”

“I can’t believe class A…”

At Tsuburaba’s comment, Itsuka sharply turned her head towards the conversation and glared. He paled, immediately putting his head down and kept working with the other three boys. Itsuka sighed. It seemed that 1-A was getting blamed for this attack again. This might end up even worse for their standing within the school than before, considering how it affected everyone else. Once the class had salvaged what they could and threw away everything they couldn’t, Itsuka resolved to check up on 1-A.

Walking through the ruins of the Festival, Itsuka overheard more grumblings against 1-A, some muttered, some shouted.

“Wasn’t what that Iida kid did bad enough?”

“Why the hell are they even still here!”

“Shouldn’t they be able to handle this kind of stuff?”

Itsuka shook her head in disgust. It was boggling how selfish and petty people could be. When she arrived at where 1-A had set up, they were almost finished cleaning up the wreckage of their stage, sealing up what instruments and outfits that hadn’t been destroyed by the Black Whips or the panicking crowds. Each of the students had dark looks of anger or sorrow, many doing the best they could to avoid the gazes of any passerby. Itsuka found Yaoyorozu putting instruments and microphones back into cases.

“Hey Yaomomo.”

Yaoyorozu stood up from her work with an attempt at a smile.

“Hello, Kendo.”

Itsuka looked around.

“Do you need any help?”

Yaoyorozu shook her head.

“No thank you, we’re almost done.”

“…How are you feeling?”

Yaoyorozu sighed, frowning with her eyes closed.

“…Upset. I am quite upset. I had hoped that this song might be able to cheer people up and garner us some goodwill, but it seems that’s not going to happen.”

“If it makes you feel any better, if Monoma or anyone from my class says anything nasty or blames you all for this, they’ll answer to me.” Itsuka offered. Yaoyorozu gave a grim smile in response.

“Thank you, Kendo.” The heiress coiled up one of the cables as she spoke. “However, I’ve come to accept that some people simply aren’t going to show us sympathy. That’s just something that we’re going to have to deal with.”

“It…it just feels like your class keeps getting hit by stuff, you know? And this just seems like one more thing on top of everything else.”

Yaoyorozu stared blankly at where their stage had once been. Her attention was drawn to Bakugou shouting something at Kaminari and Kirishima, creating explosions in his hands; Kaminari simply trying to back away from the boy while Kirishima held Bakugou back, only to get an elbow in the stomach. At the same time, Mineta was causing a commotion, sounding as if he was trying to sneak a look beneath the girl’s dresses before they would have to get rid of them, only getting driven off by the girls yelling at him.

“HEY!” Yaoyorozu shouted, making the rest of her class jerk towards her, though she was only glaring at the two boys causing problems. “Bakugou and Mineta! If you’re not going to actually help us clear this up, just go back to the dorms and stop causing more problems!”

Mineta paled and scampered off, much to the relief of the girls he was harassing. Bakugou bared his teeth at Yaoyorozu, though the heiress met his glare without an ounce of fear. Eventually, the boy backed down with a snarl, walking away with his hands in his pockets. Kirishima looked as if he wanted to argue with Yaoyorozu, though the heiress turned her glare onto him and he shrunk in on himself before following after Bakugou. Yaoyorozu sighed in exhaustion before turning back to Itsuka.

“It is. But I’ve had to realize that crying about these problems won’t solve them or keep more problems from happening in the future. It’s like you said at our internship,” Yaoyorozu turned to roll up a cable, “we can only learn from our defeats and try to do better, even if it’s not a physical fight that we’re dealing with. We just have to keep moving forward.”

“Well, at least our teachers have our backs.” Itsuka pointed out. “I know it’s nice knowing that I can rely on our homeroom teacher whenever things get bad.”

Yaoyorozu didn’t respond to that at first, simply putting the coiled cable away.

“…That’s nice. But right now, the best thing I can do is finish cleaning this all up, hope that we might be able to use it next year, and be there for my class.” Yaoyorozu finished putting everything away, giving Itsuka a more sincere smile. “I appreciate your kindness nonetheless, Kendo. Hopefully the next time our classes get together for an event, it will be under better circumstances.”

As Itsuka watched Yaoyorozu head back to her classmates, managing to stop some tears and even elicit a few smiles, she marveled at the difference between how she was acting now and how she handled the aftermath of the USJ. Despite everything that she had gone through, she had become far more resilient than Itsuka would have expected. She grinned to herself. Neither had really gotten to compete against each other throughout their experience at UA, but Itsuka was excited for when she could finally test her mettle against someone as strong as Yaoyorozu.

Finally.

This was what Itsuka had been hoping for the entire year.

At the end of their second term, class 1-A and 1-B were put into a Joint Training Exercise, in which the respective classes would split into teams of four and be pitted against an opposing team from the opposite class, with the goal to capture all of the opposing team members. Of course, Monoma had to freak everyone out with his usual proclamations of 1-B’s inevitable victory, but privately, Itsuka felt just as excited, even more so when she realized that the team that she was assigned to lead was being matched against a team led by Yaoyorozu.

Finally. Itsuka had come to see Yaoyorozu as her ideal rival; intelligent, charismatic, strong, skilled, and tough enough to handle everything that her class had been hit with throughout the year. While the way that Itsuka saw her rivalry wasn’t like the toxic vision that Monoma had, she nonetheless was ecstatic to finally have a chance to test her mettle against someone she respected so much.

The first match had Shishida leading a team against one led by Shoji, though this ended in Class A’s favor, surprisingly with a clever move pulled by Kaminari, who had electrified the metal arena to the point that almost all of Shishida’s team got taken out at once.

The second match, Monoma managed to earn some of Itsuka’s praise against a team led by Uraraka. It was a close match though, as while Yui was able to gain an early advantage with the surprise addition of a shrunken, Sentai-esque battle armor from the Support Department, Ashido was able to disable it with her acid; Yanagi just barely managing to take the Acid girl out with a direct hit. Monoma was of course insufferable after his win, which almost made Itsuka grateful that 1-A shut him up by pulling another victory, this time with Shoji leading again due to his class’ uneven number. Actually, it was supposed to be Todoroki leading, but he was taken out quite quickly when he ran ahead of his team, only to lose to a combo-move between Honenuki and Tetsutetsu. However, none of them were able to handle Shoji’s overwhelming firepower that he brought to bear, reeling Honenuki out of the softened ground like a fish with a grappling hook, entangling Sen with a net gun, and even sharpshooting Tsunotori out of the air. Tetsutetsu did his best, but ultimately while steel skin granted him a defense against bullet attacks, it didn’t make it easier for him to escape a bola shot.

Itsuka felt pretty bad for the 1-A students in the fourth round that had gotten teamed up with Bakugou, as she couldn’t help but feel as if even a decent number of their own classmates didn’t want that team to win. Monoma could be a huge pain, but at the very least he was a team player. Bakugou on the other hand blasted directly at Setsuna’s team with barely an attempt to strategize with his teammates, making him easy pickings for Setsuna’s trap. Despite Jiro, Sato, and Sero managing to rescue Bakugou once, Setsuna was able to adapt her plan and overwhelm him with her own firepower that she had been adding to her costume, using her split pieces to fire capture weapons from the Support Department from multiple angles all at once. Itsuka noticed Midoriya, who was also viewing the exercise, grinning at the results; she wondered if that was completely in praise at Setsuna’s victory or if there was a bit of vindictiveness in him towards Bakugou for clearly not taking any advice from him.

Finally, it was Itsuka’s team of her, Komori Kinoko, Kuroiro Shihai, and Fukidashi Manga against Yaoyorozu’s team of her, Hagakure Toru, Tokoyami Fumikage, and Aoyama Yuga. The fact that this was the last match and a tiebreaker at that simply made Itsuka more pumped. She was confused and honestly, a little offended though from seeing Yaoyorozu spend so much time in the other matches on her smartphone. She would have thought that Yaoyorozu would be more interested in supporting her teammates, but Itsuka had a match to focus on.

Her team approved of her strategy of having a plan A and a plan B: she knew that Yaoyorozu would use Dark Shadow to scout ahead, so she’d send Kuroiro to use his Quirk “Black”, which allowed him to possess anything colored black, to possess Dark Shadow and use it against his own team. If that occurred, they would likely use Aoyama’s Navel Laser to counterattack, which would in turn inevitably give away their location in the industrial area that the exercise was being held in, triggering the rest of Itsuka’s team to initiate plan B; hone in on them and attack with Komori and Fukidashi’s long range Quirks; Mushroom and Onomatopoeia. Kuroiro cackled when Itsuka explained the plan and set out through the shadows.

Two minutes later though:

“Kuroiro Shihai has been captured!”

Itsuka was dumbfounded. Kuroiro was the stealthiest member of their class! It was almost impossible to catch him, especially in a zone like this that had so many shaded areas!

“Shitake!” Komori swore in her own unique way. “What happened to Kuroiro?” she asked, concerned for her friend.

“This is bad, Kendo. Both of your plans hinged on Kuroiro!” Fukidashi commented, the bubble that formed his head displaying ‘!!!’.

“We need to rethink the plan…” Itsuka, quickly trying to salvage their situation. After a few seconds of deliberation, she settled on something.

“Okay, we can’t play defensively here; Hagakure could sneak through any ambush we try to make. We still need to locate them. Fukidashi, do you think you can find them with that radar trick you’ve been working on?”

“I can give it a shot, but it’ll be tricky with all of these pipes and everything here…” Fukidashi gestured to the fixtures of their industrial battleground.

“It’ll have to do. We need to hit them before Yaoyorozu has too much time to plan.”

“Got it, boss!” Fukidashi answered before turning towards the direction Kuroiro had headed.

“PING!” he said, creating a speech bubble with the word inside, which burst, sending out a noticeable ripple in the air.

“PING! PING! PING!” Fukidashi repeated over and over, sending the radar ripples out, until the last one sent a ripple back to them.

“Move!” Itsuka ordered, with Komori and Fukidashi hurrying along behind her. “We need to hurry, they’ll know we’re coming and I don’t want to give them any time to prepare!”

Within a minute, the two teams made contact within an expanse of industrial pipes. In the brief moment that the two teams ran into each other, Itsuka noticed that for some reason, Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow Quirk was colored blue. However, she knew that Yaoyorozu could make better use of any time they had, so she immediately used her Pistol Gloves to blast shockwaves at the team, forcing them to scatter or be blown away.

“Komori, Fukidashi, do your thing!”

“DAMP!” Fukidashi shouted, the speech bubble floating in the air before the vicinity suddenly became covered with moisture, making it the perfect environment for Komori’s Mushroom Quirk, which she took advantage of to spread spores everywhere. Itsuka couldn’t spot Hagakure in the brief moments she had, but she knew that the spores spreading throughout the air would neutralize her invisibility. As the 1-A team was scattering for cover from the onslaught, Itsuka picked out Yaoyorozu, just a bit away from her teammates.

“Fukidashi, over there!”

Seeing Yaoyorozu, Fukidashi created a long string of kakatana to block Yaoyorozu off from her teammates, allowing Itsuka to jump after her in an isolated area.

This was the crux of Itsuka’s plan; she knew that Yaoyorozu was smarter than her and would act as the brain of her team. If they were cut off from her, they would be vulnerable. And if she was fighting Itsuka directly, it would be exactly like the fight against Tokoyami in the Sports Festival.

“It’s just you and me, Yaomomo! Let’s see what you can…”

As Itsuka rushed at Yaoyorozu, ready to overwhelm her with a Double Jumbo Fist, Yaoyorozu revealed that she already had a weapon in hand; one of her staffs, which she pointed at Itsuka. The end suddenly illuminated with a flashing strobe effect, disorientating Itsuka. Thinking quickly, Itsuka clapped her enlarged hands together, not wanting to give Yaoyorozu a chance to capitalize on her disorientation. She heard a thump and a groan, but before her eyesight could clear, she heard a sizzling noise. Blinking, she saw that Yaoyorozu had her arm cannon equipped, and was spraying acid that resembled Ashido’s to dissolve a hole through one of the walls of the enclosure. Itsuka chased after her, frustrated. She needed to keep Yaoyorozu on her toes, not give her any chance to make any new items that she could use to fight back. Thankfully, it seemed that with Itsuka standing between her and Yaoyorozu’s team, the heiress had panicked and was running in the direction away from where she could more easily regroup.

Itsuka leapt through the hole after Yaoyorozu, who tried to force her to retreat by firing a glue bomb, which splattered on the sleeve of Itsuka’s qipao similarly to her classmate Bondo’s Quirk. Itsuka tore her arm free from the sleeve still glued to the wall and responded with another shot from her Pistol Glove, forcing Yaoyorozu to retreat. The two continued to trade shots, Itsuka working to herd Yaoyorozu into a corner.

Finally, Itsuka managed to clip Yaoyorozu with one of her shockwaves, eliciting a shout from the girl. She’d have to apologize later; hopefully she didn’t cause too much damage, but it slowed Yaoyorozu down to the point that she was forced into an area more crowded with pipes, where the heiress staggered for breath.

“I’ve got you, Yaomomo!” Itsuka shouted. “You’re going to have to fight me head-on now!”

Itsuka leapt after Yaoyorozu with her hands wide and ready to capture the girl, only to hear a giant screeching noise like a car scrapping up against a metal railing.

“What?” Itsuka gasped, realizing that she hadn’t properly judged how much space she had in this narrow alleyway. Also, Yaoyorozu had a cattle prod ready, which she jabbed at the pipe that Itsuka’s hand was touching.

BZZZZTTT!

Itsuka yelped, the jolt travelling through her body. In that brief moment, Yaoyorozu pointed her arm canon at Ituska and fired another shot with a hiss of gas. Having her muscles seized up by the shock, Itsuka then felt her arms pinned to her side by the elastic bola Yaoyorzu had blasted from her cannon.

Itsuka gritted her teeth. She could get out of this, she just needed to…

“Komori Kinoko has been captured!”

“Fukidashi Manga has been captured!”

The brief moment of horror was all the distraction Yaoyorozu needed to distract Itsuka before jabbing her with the cattle prod and knocking her unconscious.

“Kendo, are you alright?”

Itsuka blinked herself awake and sat up, realizing that she was back in the viewing room with the hero courses and Midoriya. The only one not present was Bakugou, who was probably still in the nurses’ office after going against Kamakiri in his part of Setsuna’s plan. She looked around, and saw the rest of her teammates, looking dejected, along with the looks of frustration on the faces of the rest of her class and on Vlad-sensei.

“What…what happened?” she asked, turning to her teammates.

“We got curbstomped.” Fukidashi responded bluntly, his voice sounding raspy as if he had overused his Quirk. The effort to speak proved to be too much for him, sending him into a fit of coughing.

“It was a disaster!” Komori wailed. “They were all inoculated against my mushrooms from the start!”

“They had counters to all of us.” Kuroiro explained.

Itsuka turned to Yaoyorozu, who was looking at her apologetically. She didn’t like that, it felt too much like pity.

“How? How were you so prepared? Our training is kept separate, and most of my class didn’t get to do much in the Sports Festival, so you couldn’t have known enough about our Quirks to know from that!”

Yaoyorozu held up her phone.

“In all seriousness Kendo, we all need to be careful about what we post online. Most of your classmates had information about their Quirks on social media. It just took a bit of time to research.”

Itsuka and her teammates went pale, Fukidashi’s speech bubble displaying a ‘D:’ emoticon to display his shock.

“But…how…”

Yaoyorozu helped Itsuka stand up as she explained, pulling out some equipment that she had given to her teammates.

“Spray cans to neutralize Black…” she pointed to the particularly smug-looking blue colored Dark Shadow. “Fungicide and gas masks to protect us from Mushroom, and tear gas grenades to prevent Fukidashi from using Onomatopoeia. Even if I wasn’t there with my team, I was able to make sure that they were prepared for the threats that your team posed.”

“…You were intentionally leading me away from the teams…” Itsuka realized in horror.

“I guessed that you were going to try to fight me in a one-on-one fight, you are a martial artist after all.” Yaoyorozu explained. “But I knew that I couldn’t handle you in a straight fight, so I moved the battlefield to one in my favor, where the cramped spaces would make it harder for you to use your Quirk.”

The two classes stared at Yaoyorozu in amazement.

“Yaomomo pulled a Midoriya…” Setsuna said.

“What?” Midoriya looked at the girl in confusion.

“Of course class A would resort to dirty tricks!” Monoma proclaimed with an attempt at his usual smug demeanor despite how clearly angry he was at his class being denied the final victory. “Clearly the only way to defeat their superiors rather than going along with the spirit of the exercise!”

“Were they though?” Midoriya spoke up in defense of Yaoyorozu, getting everyone’s attention. “Heroes oftentimes have access to information on villains that they are trying to apprehend ahead of time, Yaoyorozu was just taking advantage of the time that she had.”

“Whatever the case,” Aizawa said, cutting off Monoma from making more of a scene, “Yayorozu’s team has secured a victory, making the Exercise 3-2 in class A’s favor.”

Class A cheered at the announcement, rushing to congratulate the flustered Yaoyorozu for securing the win, leaving Itsuka dumbfounded, Kan glowering in frustration, and the rest of the Class B students disheartened. Itsuka and the rest of Class B made their way back to their dorm rooms, where she collapsed on the sofa, numb.

“…Yaomomo played me…” she muttered out loud. “She played me from the start. She was a step ahead of me throughout the entire match…”

It was apparent that Itsuka had seriously underestimated her rival. Thinking about it, Itsuka wondered if she had been holding onto the image of Yaoyorozu struggling throughout the year, feeling pity for her, but not truly realizing how much stronger her rival had gotten throughout the experience. Itsuka turned to her three team members, bowing in remorse.

“I’m sorry guys. You failed because my plan didn’t work, and I let my ego get the better of me.”

“Hey…don’t be too down on yourself, Itsuka!” Komori said, patting her Class Rep on the shoulder. “I thought your plan was shroomtastic!”

“It’s not like any of us could have come up with anything better.” Kuroiro added.

“Class A’s Rep is scary…” Fukidashi said, a scared emoticon showing up in his speech bubble, “she’d probably have a plan to beat anyone…”

“Nonsense!” Monoma bombastically proclaimed. “You’re our Class Representative Kendo! You’re better than that smug heiress in every conceivable way!”

He was about to go on another rant when Setsuna detached her fist and made her own chop on the back of Monoma’s head in lieu of Itsuka, and sat down next to her.

“Like what Monoma was trying to say, don’t be too down on yourself, Itsuka. We know you’re going to pull yourself together and give ‘em a run for their money the next time you go against 1-A.”

Itsuka sighed.

“I just wish that I had a better showing…we were tied and I ended up giving Yaoyorozu a 4-0 victory!”

“Hey, I got to carve up that exploding asshole, so I’m happy with how my day went.” Kamakiri said smugly as he leaned against the dorm wall.

“I just wish Shoda had given me a chance to give that purple midget a nightmare…” Yanagi grumbled while Shoda chuckled awkwardly.

“Seriously Itsuka, it’s not the end of the world.” Setsuna said, her arm over Itsuka’s shoulders. “You win some, you lose some. Besides, regardless of whatever Monoma’s shouting at the time, a lot of the 1-A people are cool. Mina’s lots of fun, she even invited us to a party to ring in the end of the term!”

The class continued to give Itsuka reassurances, by this point over their overall loss to 1-A and more interested in hanging out with their sister class. Itsuka grinned back at her classmates, grateful to have their support. She just needed to do better next time. She’d work hard, get stronger, get smarter, and get another chance to test her meddle against her rival!

Itsuka turned the taps of the bathroom sink on, frantically splashing water into her face, but her heart was still beating too fast. She gripped the edges of the sink, willing herself to stay calm, but she could still hear it; Explosions. The sound of Gigantomachia’s footsteps as he rushed towards their desperate attempt to stop him. The maniacal laughter and shouting of villains as they threatened to overwhelm the heroes. People screaming as they were burned alive, drained of blood, crushed under the rubble of their own homes.

She fell to her knees, her hands clapped over her ears, pleading for the noises to stop.

“No…no…no…please…I don’t want to die…I don’t want to die…I don’t want to die…”

“Itsuka?”

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I…”

“Itsuka!”

Ibara’s shout snapped Itsuka out of it, bringing her back to reality. Her vine-haired friend was looking at her in fear and concern.

“It’s alright Itsuka, it’s over.” She said, kneeling on the floor next to her.

Itsuka couldn’t help it. She was already crying, and Ibara wasn’t going to judge her. She threw her arms around Ibara, clinging to her like a buoy in the middle of the ocean and sobbed.

“We were going to die…there were so many…I couldn’t do anything…”

Ibara hugged Itsuka back, holding her and rubbing her back to soothe her.

“It’s okay…it’s okay…it’s over, Itsuka, it’s over.”

Jaku had been nothing like Itsuka had imagined heroism to be. It wasn’t a single villain or a small gang set off against a hero whose skills far surpassed those of their opponents, destined to always prevail. It was an army of lunatics and monsters, driven by the ideologies of despots and a monster that wanted to tear the world apart. They were relentless, unforgiving, tearing apart anything that got in their way. The fights that Itsuka had watched on television growing up were nothing like this; the PLF were zealots ready to die for their cause of the complete and total destruction of everything that Itsuka held dear.

She had seen so many people die; heroes unprepared for the oncoming mass of violence, heroes doing their best to stand their ground and protect the people around them, or heroes fleeing for their lives, pushing each other out of the way in the vain hope that they could survive.

Somehow though, they had won. Togata Mirio, who people had already been touting as the next coming of All Might, had somehow managed to defeat Shigaraki and his pet monster Gigantomachia, albeit at the cost of his life. Though the PLF had been defeated, the damage that they had inflicted was severe. Itsuka and her class had taken days to sift through the rubble of the battle, hoping desperately to save whoever had been caught in the collapsing buildings. So many though hadn’t made it. Itsuka was going to be seeing bodies covered in black sheets in her nightmares for the rest of her life.

Ibara let Itsuka stay like this until she had cried herself out. When she pulled away, Itsuka saw that Ibara’s eyes were red and teary as well. She felt awful, realizing that she had probably made Ibara relive her own trauma from Jaku.

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright.” Ibara answered, rubbing the tears from her eyes. “Perhaps we both needed that.”

Itsuka scooted back, sitting against the bathroom wall, scared to let the rest of the class see her like this. Ibara sat down next to her.

“…What do you think is going to happen?” Ituka asked once she had managed to get ahold of herself.

“…I don’t know.” Ibara answered. “I can only pray for strength for whatever does.”

“…What do you think should happen?”

Ibara sighed, leaning against the wall and staring up at the ceiling.

“…I don’t know. The Bible says not to put your trust in man, in princes or generals, but those verses never really resonated with me the way that they have over the past week. I truly don’t know, Itsuka. I would have never thought that the ones who ran the system I was working to be a part of, to be a light to others, would be so corrupt.” She turned to Itsuka giving her a grim smile and shrugging. “My faith is in the Lord. I just hope everyone else can have peace of some kind.”

Itsuka looked back at her knees before sighing herself and standing, dusting herself off.

“Ibara, could you keep this between us?”

“If you want me to.” Ibara answered. “But I don’t think anyone would judge you for having a moment of weakness.”

“Just…please…” Itsuka repeated. She was still Class B’s Representative. She needed to be strong. They couldn’t know that she had fallen to pieces like this. She needed to be someone that they could rely on.

“I won’t tell anyone.” Ibara answered, raising her hand in promise. “But please, consider talking to Hound Dog about this, or if even not him, at least be willing to talk to one of us.”

Itsuka grimaced, but nodded.

The two left the bathroom and made their way to the kitchen. A few of their classmates were already there, waiting for the announcement, or perhaps just not wanting to be alone, as opposed to others still in their rooms, who didn’t want anyone to see them. Most were still dressed in their mourning clothes from the memorial service just an hour earlier. Itsuka saw Pony pacing around outside, talking on her phone in English.

“Please…they’re my friends…I don’t know what the Ministry of Education was doing here, but I’m sure it’s nothing…”

Itsuka tried to block it out, not wanting to eavesdrop.

More of the students funneled into the common room as the time for the Prime Minister’s announcement came closer. Monoma was the last to come in, for once not able to speak at all. The Prime Minister gave his announcement:

“Though the UN investigation is still ongoing, the findings it has brought to light so far have been deemed requiring immediate response. Due to the decision of the WHA to withdraw membership from Japan, and the reveal of how badly our hero system has failed to uphold justice and order, it is the decision of myself and of Parliament to dissolve the HPSC, and to integrate our pro heroes into Japan’s police force and emergency services.”

All of the air left Itsuka’s lungs at once.

“What…?” She wasn’t sure if she was the first person to speak, but it was quickly drowned out by the comments from everyone else.

“The HPSC’s getting dissolved? What does that mean?”

“Wait, so…does this mean that there’s no more heroes?”

“What the hell are we supposed to do then!? This is the hero course, we worked hard to get here, does all that mean nothing now?”

“He said that heroes were going to be integrated into the police force though,” Shoda hopefully pointed out in an effort to diffuse the tension. “It’s not like they’re not going to be there, they’re just going to be police now. That’s just…what we’re going to be, I guess…”

More people though kept on speaking up, getting louder and more frantic.

“But what does that mean for us? UA is a hero school after all, are they just telling us to go join the police academy? Is UA even going to exist as a school now?”

“What about all the other departments? I mean, I guess the Gen Ed course should be fine, but what about Support and Management? Heck, if they just close down UA, even Gen Ed won’t survive!”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Itsuka shouted, realizing that tempers were rising and people were getting more scared. “We’re all really freaked out about this, but panicking isn’t going to help anything. There’s a lot of what’s happening here that we still don’t understand, so I think that our best option is to just wait to ask Kan-sensei about this, and hope that he’ll be able to give us a clearer picture.”

Everyone was still confused, scared, or angry, it was clear, but they had at least stopped shouting. Eventually everyone filled back to their rooms, or to go outside to get some air. Ibara gave Itsuka a small smile in support before leaving back to her room, probably to pray. Itsuka wondered if she should join her.

The next day Kan called everyone to the common room, looking particularly grim. What worried Itsuka more though was that Tsunotori Pony was standing next to him, with her bags packed. Tears were pouring down her eyes, and it seemed like all she could do to keep it together.

“I have quite a bit to say, but I believe that it would be best if I let Tsunotori talk first.” Kan said, patting Pony’s shoulder. She stepped forward, her voice wavering.

“…My family is moving back to the U.S., and they want me to come with them…”

“What!? Why?” Komori shouted, starting to cry herself.

“They…they don’t think that Japan’s safe…and…” she sniffled, looking up at Kan, who gave her a kind smile, showing that whatever she had to say, it was no hard feelings, “they don’t think that UA’s a good school for me to go to anymore.” She picked her head up, forcing her to look at her friends, making her big blue eyes waver even more, “I don’t want to go…but UA requires my parents’ permission! I’m so sorry!” she burst into tears, unable to look at them, only to be immediately enveloped by the entire class in a hug. Many broke out into their own tears at the prospect of their friend leaving them, especially after what they had been through together, a few were offering what reassurances that they could; Itsuka was part of both groups despite her efforts to not make Pony feel worse. As the group broke up to let Pony say her individual goodbyes, she surprisingly started with Monoma.

“Monoma…” Pony hugged him, making the usually bombastic Copy user oddly flustered and quiet. “That’s for helping me to learn Japanese.”

This was followed though by a kick to his groin, eliciting a sympathetic wince from the other boys in the class while Monoma crumpled up on the floor, holds his goods.

“And that’s for all of the horrible stuff you tricked me into saying to class A!” she shouted angrily.

Some of the boys carried the scrunched-up form of Monoma out of the way while the rest of the class said their goodbyes. Itsuka was the last one Pony talked to. The poor girl was a mess by that point, openly sobbing as she hugged the taller Itsuka, who hugged her back just as strongly, unable to prevent her own tears from falling.

“You were so nice to me…I’m so sorry I’m leaving…I don’t want to leave you guys…”

“It’s okay Pony…” Itsuka said, rubbing the girl’s back, heartbroken that she was being forced to say goodbye to one of her friends. “We’ll be sure to keep in touch, and you can come back whenever you want…” she offered as hollow assurances, though this just made Pony hug her tighter and cry even more. Eventually, she let go, the UA bots helping her move her belongings to a waiting van outside.

Kan wasn’t able to give them much time to mourn the loss of their friend before he made his next announcement to the class.

“Now, I imagine that you are all wondering what is going to happen because of the government’s announcement yesterday.”

Itsuka and the rest of the class were silent, paying attention to their homeroom teacher as if their lives depended on it.

“The hero system is being dissolved, meaning that pro heroes are essentially being stripped of their professional identities.” He raised a hand to silence the class, sensing that many of them were about to yell and protest. “We’re still trying to figure out how this is going to work. However, the good news is that UA is still going to be operating as a school, it just means that the curriculum for this course is going to change a lot.”

Itsuka was already trying to figure out what kinds of changes this would entail, but Kan continued.

“Nezu has hired a new teacher who was part of the police force to help us determine this curriculum change. Right now, I don’t think that I could explain the details of all of this justice, but there are a few things that I need you all to understand.”

Kan fixed his students with a stern glare, making each of them pay attention, realizing how serious this was going to be.

“The new system that the government is trying to create is not going to be like the old hero system. There will be no ranks, no endorsements, no publicity stunts. I’m sorry to say that quite a bit of what we have been teaching you will no longer be relevant. What I am going to be trying to teach you all to become is something that you might not want to do. It would be best for you to try to understand this now and decide whether or not you want to continue in this course, because make no mistake, this is no longer the ‘Hero’ course.”

Several of the class B students became introspective, mulling over Kan’s words. There was still a lot that Itsuka knew she didn’t understand yet. She was likely going to have to talk more with this new teacher that was going to be joining UA. For now though, it sounded as if they were going to be doing the same kind of work, just in a different form, and as far as Itsuka could understand at the time, it was still what she wanted to do.

“…This brings me to another announcement.” He said with an almost angry expression, though his anger wasn’t directed at anyone obvious, but rather more himself. “Aizawa, the homeroom teacher of class A, is going to be…retiring from his position…as a result of the injuries that he sustained from Jaku.”

Itsuka knew that she was not the only one who caught onto how their teacher stumbled on those words. She knew that Kan had a rivalry with Aizawa, but the way he spoke about him now felt more hostile for some reason. Kan however didn’t mull over this, and continued speaking.

“Lastly, I need to apologize to you all for my failings as a teacher.” He said, bowing to all of them.

Failings? Itsuka thought to herself.

“I have failed you all in two ways. First and foremost, while I and the rest of the staff at UA had intended to keep you out of direct combat as much as possible at Jaku, you all nonetheless got forced into a conflict that none of us were prepared for. The HPSC had no idea that the PLF was that powerful. Had we known that your lives would have been put in jeopardy to that extent, I swear that I would have never made you go out there. Don’t get me wrong, you all made me proud with your conduct, holding your ground against overwhelming odds and gave it your all to defend others. That being said, you were all still children, and it is horrendous that you were expected to put your lives on the line with so little training.” Kan clenched his eyes in pain, a faint tear falling from his eyes. “I’m…I’m just so relieved that you all came out of that alive.”

Itsuka felt her heart warm at her teacher’s praise, healing some of the ache that she had carried from Jaku.

“Secondly…” Kan said with a more shame-faced expression, “after some investigation from the Ministry of Education, it has been brought to my attention that I have been fostering an unhealthy mindset in my methods of teaching.”

Itsuka, amongst several of her classmates, recoiled at this proclamation, but Kan continued before any of them could protest.

“One of the biggest issues that the WHA found in their investigations of Japan’s hero system was the particularly toxic attitude towards rankings and rivalries. Many heroes were discouraged from cooperating with each other or even went as far as to sabotage each other in order to get a better rank. This may have been one of the biggest issues the WHA and UN found with our hero system.” Kan closed his eyes and sighed. “It has come to my attention though that I have been encouraging a similar mindset in our rivalry with class A, which makes me fear has encouraged likewise toxic attitudes amongst some of you…”

“Sensei, you can’t be serious!” Monoma shouted out. “Our rivalry against those braggarts is fated, it…!”

“Monoma…stop.” Kan ordered with a tired expression, shutting Monoma up. “You are the student that I have failed the most in this regard, and we need to understand that we can’t act the way we have anymore. This…the way I’ve been acting, the way that I’ve encouraged you to act, is wrong, and we need to stop.” Kan sighed, glaring at the ground. Itsuka could just barely hear him mumble something: “Aizawa…wasn’t someone I should have been seeking a rivalry with in the first place.”

Itsuka stared down at the gun in front of her in distaste. It was a Glock 22, modified to fire multiple kinds of ammunition, including regular bullets, rubber rounds, and taser bullets. And she was expected to learn to use it.

Her dislike of guns went far back before her encounter with Mustard. She still saw them as ugly, cowardly weapons, a sign that one was not confident enough in their own abilities to fight their opponents directly. Thankfully, they were not being tasked to fire the weapons yet, but instructed by Tsuneyoshi Sugitani (formerly known as Snipe) to instead learn how to disassemble, clean, and maintain them. In a way though this felt worse, as if it was a tacit admission that Itsuka was going to be relying on this weapon from now on. Looking at her classmates, she could tell that she was not the only one, either. Kamakiri was scowling at the weapon in front of him, comparing it to one of his own blades, and Tetsutetsu didn’t look any happier. Komori looked outright afraid of the gun she was handling. Setsuna for her part was completely comfortable, which made sense as she had been working with similar gear ever since Midoriya made the suggestion to incorporate similar equipment into her loadout and strategy. Yaoyorozu and Shoji from Class A, who were joining the exercise with Class B, were likewise handling the weapons with experience. Strangely though, Itsuka noticed that Class A was absent quite a few members; Rin, Aoyama, Kirishima, and Bakugou were all absent, leaving the class with only fourteen students. Itsuka would have to ask Yaoyorozu about this later, focusing again on her own classmates. Ibara frowned at the gun with a similar aversion to Itsuka’s, but eventually sighed and started to take hers apart. Itsuka frowned, worried that Ibara was being forced to do something contrary to her personal convictions. She raised her hand, getting the attention of the teacher who was supervising the class along with Tsuneyoshi, Class A’s new homeroom teacher, Tsuragamae Kenji.

“Sir…is this really necessary? Why are we being made to learn how to use firearms when our Quirks are so much more effective?” Ituksa asked. Quite a few of her classmates gave approving nods at this sentiment.

“Are they, now?” Tsuragamae responded, the exchange getting the attention of the rest of the two classes, though Tsuragamae did not seem in any way bothered or even surprised by the halt to the lesson.

Itsuka refused to be cowed by the challenge Tsuragamae was issuing to her.

“I don’t mean to be disrespectful sir,” Itsuka said in an attempt at deference, “but Quirks are just more powerful.” Itsuka explained. “A gun like this is going to require maintenance, and even then it could still get damaged and jam. People don’t use guns anymore for a reason, don’t they?”

A few of Itsuka’s classmates grinned at what she said, though a few surprisingly winced. Tsuragamae though still did not seem offended in any way.

“Do you assume that power is what you are always going to need?” Tsuragamae pointed out. “Oftentimes, situations only need a small amount of force to quell. And do not your own Quirks require maintenance and care? Don’t your Pistol Gloves require that kind of maintenance? I can’t imagine that you can all keep your Quirks active for an entire day, while these guns could be ready whenever needed, as long as, yes, they are properly maintained.” Tsuragamae picked up one of the cleaned Glocks. “I can understand how some of you are uncomfortable with these weapons. That is not in of itself a bad thing; guns are dangerous and can hurt people very easily. However, you are all being taught how to properly use these as they have been shown to have proven effectiveness in situations where such force is necessary, particularly for those who lack reliable ranged options.”

Itsuka though couldn’t get over her distaste for the weapon in Tsuragamae’s hands; it went against everything she had come to believe in as a martial artist and a prospective hero.

“With all due respect sir, it just feels to me that some of my classmates might be uncomfortable using guns, and I question the point of using them when we’re already used to using our Quirks for the same purpose.”

Itsuka worried that she might have been pushing it, particularly as a few more of her classmates paled the more she challenged Tsuragamae, but again, the new teacher did not seem bothered. “Is that a sentiment that you are willing to test?”

Tsuragamae’s tone was polite, and he was maintaining a respectful distance from Itsuka, but still, she felt cowed by the authority he was bringing to bear. Despite this though, Itsuka was ready to stand up to her principles.

“I am, sir.”

“So, if I were to challenge you to fight me with your Quirk against my pistol, equipped with taser rounds, you would accept it to prove your point?”

“I would, sir.” Itsuka nodded.

“Very well. Please see me in the gym in five minutes.” Tsuragamae turned to the rest of the class. “For the time being, please put away your work, so we can all see this.”

Five minutes later, Itsuka was dressed in her hero outfit, standing off against Tsuragamae, still dressed in his suit, in one of UA’s fighting rings. Tsuneyoshi was acting as referee, while the rest of 2-B and 2-A were watching in anticipation.

“Um…sir? Is this legal?” Shoda asked Tsuragamae.

“Part of police training is having cadets experience what a taser feels like, so yes.” Tsuragamae responded.

For her part, Itsuka was starting to feel a little concerned about what she was doing. Tsuragamae had told them that he had retired; she didn’t want to hurt him just to prove a point. She decided that she would rush him as quickly as possible and simply use her Quirk to restrain him.

“And…start!” Tsuneyoshi shouted.

Itsuka’s body was tensed, ready to leap to the side to zigzag out of Tsuragamae’s aim, only to immediately feel an impact on her torso and her body seizing up before collapsing. As she convulsed for a few seconds on the ground, she saw that Tsuragamae had shot her from the hip, and her classmates were all watching with expressions of shock.

The school taser bullets weren’t meant to last for very long, so Itsuka was able get up rather quickly without any noticeable side effects.

“Would you perhaps like another chance?” Tsuragamae offered. “Just to prove that it wasn’t a fluke or to take me seriously?”

Itsuka winced as the teacher had predicted exactly what she had been thinking. However, that did not negate the truth of what she had been thinking.

“Yes sir, if you’re alright with that.”

“Certainly.” Tsuragamae responded.

The two set up again at their opposing sides of the ring. This time, Itsuka decided that she would use her Pistol Gloves the same time she started to dodge, negating Tsuragamae’s ranged advantage; she’d just have to be sure that she keep her hands somewhat smaller to limit the power of the shockwave.

“Start!” Tsuneyoshi shouted again.

Itsuka was able to dodge to the side, her hands growing and getting into position to snap, when she felt a bullet impact her right hand, seizing it up and preventing it from moving, along with the rest of her body. Once she had stopped convulsing again, Tsuragamae spoke up.

“I’m willing to give you one more chance, if that is what you want.”

Itsuka stood up. No more mister nice guy. Tsuneyoshi gave them the signal to start again, and she leapt into action, growing her hand to its maximum size to act as a shield; she felt a bullet impact her palm, but the thicker skin made it feel like a slight static shock.

In the next instant though, Itsuka realized that she had unfortunately blocked off her line of sight to Tsuragamae, which he used to step to the side and fire another bullet past her defense, hitting her torso and knocking her over. Setsuna and Ibara rushed to help Itsuka up this time while Tsuragamae spoke to the class.

“Out of fairness, I am much more trained than what could be expected of an average criminal.” He conceded. “However, the main reason why I retired from the police was because my age was making me slow down. That is the advantage of these weapons though;” he said, holding up his Glock. “Many of you are used to fighting head-on, but in contrast, this gives me distance, and therefore time to better respond to threats.” Tsuragamae looked over to Itsuka, who had been helped back to the rest of her class by this point. “Not to mention, this allows me to use attacks more precise than the shockwaves your Pistol Gloves can produce.”

Itsuka looked at the ground, embarrassed by the experience, but Tsuragamae continued on with a graver tone of voice.

“I have been in an unfortunate position to see the old system’s tendency to make heroes be seen as invincible, including by themselves by virtue of their power, but ask yourself; how many of you would actually be able to handle getting shot like this?” he asked the class. Most turned green, looking at how messed up Itsuka had gotten, though Tetsutetsu raised his hand.

“My Quirk makes me bullet proof!” He declared, probably remembering his encounter with Mustard.

“Does it?” Tsuragamae challenged Tetsutetsu. “Are you really able to handle consistent impact from multiple bullet shots?”

The Steel-Quirk boy paled, perhaps remembering the encounter with Mustard more clearly; while he had been able to sustain his Quirk, it had been extremely difficult to keep it active while he was getting shot. Not to mention, as Itsuka remembered, the firearm Mustard had been using at the time was a simple pistol; hardly the most powerful gun available.

“And even assuming that you could resist multiple shots, there would be nothing stopping me from simply keeping my distance while you chased after me. Again, I can keep my distance, while you have to get in close.” Tsuragamae turned to the rest of the class. “Even those of you whose Quirks do allow them to fight at a distance have their limits; Fukidashi, Komori, Shiozaki, would you be able to reliably fight with your Quirks while surrounded by fire and smoke, for example?” The three students questioned recoiled at this proposed scenario. Tsuragame holstered his weapon. “I understand that what I am asking you all to adjust to is difficult, but I am trying to help you all, I am trying to teach you how to work in the field in ways that will keep you and others around you safe.”

Later as the newly dubbed “Emergency Courses” headed to lunch, Itsuka began to suspect that Tsuragamae expected someone to challenge him the way she did, considering how calm and prepared he had been; she had simply become an object lesson for the class. Still, the guns chaffed at her in a way that made her uncomfortable, despite Tsuragamae’s points.

“Ibara…” she said while in line. “Thanks for helping me up back there.”

Ibara nodded with a small smile.

“Are…how are you handling this?” Itsuka hazarded to ask as they sat at their table. Ibara paused, about to do her prayers but instead putting her hands on the table.

“…I think that Tsuragamae is right.”

Itsuka blinked in surprise.

“Really? It’s just that you seemed kind of uncomfortable earlier, that’s why I was saying what I did to Tsuragamae.”

Ibara sighed.

“Honestly Itsuka…I wish that you hadn’t.” She lifted a hand just as Itsuka felt offended, “I appreciate your concern for me, but Tsuragamae was right. I hadn’t even considered fire, but I know that there are plenty of circumstances where my vines would prove to be ineffective; if I was fighting against someone who could cut through them, if I was fighting against someone with a Quirk like Komori’s…” she shook her head, sighing. “I understand why you wouldn’t want to use a weapon like that, and I certainly hope that I never fight with the intent to kill, but if I find myself in a situation like Jaku…” she shuddered, but went on, “I don’t want to take the risk that my vines will fail me for some reason.” Ibara looked at Itsuka in the eye. “I hate to say this, but I have to question whether my pride or my personal reservations are worth the prospect of not being prepared for the kinds of situations that Tsuragamae brought up.”

Itsuka was surprised to see someone so normally dedicated to peaceful approaches to have changed their mind so much, as well as bothered by how much Ibara’s comments about pride made her question her own reservations about the lesson. She was so frustrated that she forgot to ask Yaoyorozu about her missing classmates until she remembered that Tetsutetsu had left for a quick phone call, only to come back to the cafeteria looking haunted and concerned. Worried for her friend, Itsuka went up to him.

“Tetsutetsu, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“…I called Kiribro, asking if he was okay, and he said that he dropped out.” He admitted with a morose look on his face.

“What!?” Itsuka exclaimed. She didn’t know much about Kirishima, but she hung out with Tetsutetsu quite often, and knew that he had a mutual respect for Kirishima ever since their match in the Sports Festival and their internship together. It was hard to believe that someone she understood to be so exuberant and determined would drop out of their studies. “Why would he do that?”

Tetsutetsu shook his head.

“He said that he wants to work to bring back the old hero system. It sounds like he’s going vigilante.”

Itsuka got worried at this. What Kirishima was doing was illegal and could get him in deep trouble if he wasn’t careful. That being said, she had heard that quite a few former pro heroes were doing essentially the same thing.

“So…what, is he trying to meet up with All Might and Nighteye or something?”

“Kendo…he’s teaming up with Bakugou.” Tetsutetu said contritely.

Itsuka winced at this. If there was one thing that Tetsutetsu didn’t like about Kirishima, it was his friendship with class A’s arrogant bully. Any time class B had been forced to interact with Bakugou, he had always been rude, aggressive, and dismissive towards them. This sheer lack of respect was a sore sticking point for Tetsutetsu’s friendship with Kirishima, who for some reason still hung around the boy. And now, he was operating as a vigilante with Bakugou; a boy who had been dragging down UA’s reputation ever since the Sports Festival with his abrasiveness, abusive behavior towards his classmates, and his blatant disregard for his teachers’ instructions. There was no way that this was going to end well.

As they were speaking though, Itsuka noticed Kamakiri watching them from the corner of his eyes. When he realized Itsuka had noticed him, Kamakiri looked away. She did not like the look of interest and excitement in Kamakiri’s eyes though. There was a limit to what she could do, but Kamakiri sometimes showed himself to be just as aggressive as Bakugou, and she didn’t want him to get any ideas.

A few days later though, Itsuka was taking note of Kamakiri in the cafeteria for another reason. Lately, he had been talking back to the teachers more than usual, being even more argumentative, and having to get reigned in more during their exercises as he went off and did his own thing. Now though, Kamakiri was looking at his phone, and he looked shellshocked.

“Kamakiri?” Itsuka asked, approaching the boy.

Kamakiri looked up at Itsuka, pale.

“Is something wrong?”

Kamakiri looked back at his phone, and without a word, turned it to face Itsuka. She read the headline:

“YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME, I’M A HERO!”

FORMER UA STUDENT KILLS 16

“…Oh my God…” Itsuka paled as she read the article. Her heart plummeted even more as she saw that Kirishima had been arrested with Bakugou as an accomplice.

“Tetsu…” she breathed, imagining how this must be impacting him.

“…I think he went to the bathroom…” Kamakiri numbly mentioned. “He looked sick…”

All throughout the cafeteria, everyone was looking at their phones, and Itsuka could hear them all talking about the same thing; their former classmate who had gone and done what so many of them joked that he would do one day. Yaoyorozu’s class was sitting at their table, looking as if they didn’t want to draw attention to themselves, though Yaoyorozu herself was talking to a few of her classmates who looked like they were on the verge of tears, offering them a hug or whatever comfort she could. Uraraka wasn’t sitting with 2-A, instead sitting at Midoriya’s table with 2-C. Just as Itsuka noticed her though, she ran out of the cafeteria with her hands over her mouth, with Midoriya following in concern.

“Well, Well!” the annoyingly familiar arrogant voice of Monoma cut through the din of the cafeteria as he sauntered over to Yaoyorozu’s table.

“No…damn it, Monoma, not now!” Itsuka grumbled, knowing what was coming and trying to go after Monoma before he said too much.

“It seems your Gold Medalist has shown his true colors! Though I’d imagine you’d have already known, seeing how much your class propped him up. ‘Worked harder than anyone else,' was it?’”

Yaoyorozu, for her part, merely looked flatly at Monoma as she dialed something into her phone and put it down as Monoma ranted.

“How does it feel knowing that one amongst your number was a worthless murder waiting to happen? Anyone else amongst you want to…”

“God damn it, Monoma, shut up!” Itsuka chopped Monoma harder than ever.

“Really Kendo?” Monoma grumbled on the ground, trying to pull himself up. “Even now, you still choose to defend them? Even after they’ve shown what rotten apples they all…”

“Stop blaming them for something one student has done! How do you think you make our class look when you’re constantly picking a fight with people who have done nothing to you!”

Itsuka grabbed Monoma by his collar to drag him away. She was about to apologize to Yaoyorozu, but the heiress was looking over Itsuka’s shoulder, frightened. Itsuka looked behind her, and saw Tsuragamae standing over her.

“Let him go, now.” He growled.

Itsuka let Monoma go, who looked as if he was about to scamper away before Tsuragamae fixed him with a glare.

“Both of you, follow me.”

Itsuka felt her heart sink into her stomach, conscious of all of the eyes in the cafeteria now on her and Monoma as they followed Tsuragamae out and into the teacher’s lounge. He went and spoke to Kan; “Yaoyorozu texted me that Monoma was harassing her class. When I arrived, Kendo here had just hit Monoma on the back of his head.”

Itsuka’s homeroom teacher looked grim and ashamed, sending Itsuka an almost apologetic expression, before Tsuragamae considered her and Monoma for a moment.

“One week’s detention, both of you.”

Monoma paled, but not as much as Itsuka.

“What…why me?”

“Did I not just see you assault your classmate in the middle of the cafeteria?”

Itsuka stammered.

“Wha…well…it’s the only way…I’ve…”

Itsuka’s instincts yelled at her to clam up. The more she thought about this situation, the more she realized how bad it looked. Sure, Monoma was antagonizing Class A, but assault would probably get her into more trouble than anything Monoma had done. If she tried to defend herself, Tsuragamae would probably be angrier at the fact that she had done this many times in the past. The former police chief stared down at Itsuka, and despite having shut her mouth, she was fairly certain that he knew that this wasn’t the first time that this happened. He then focused on Monoma again, who despite his efforts to appear confident and smug, quickly melted under the gaze of a man with experience in breaking down people’s defenses. “Monoma, harassing your fellow students, especially in such an awful way, is a clear violation of the student code of conduct. As such, both of you will be assigned a week of detention.”

“But…” Itsuka stammered even worse. She had never gotten a detention before. She had always been modeled as the perfect student. Was this going to go on her record?

“Frankly, with what I’m guessing about your prior behavior,” Tsuragamae said to the two students, “one week of detention is being extremely merciful. I am being lenient for now, as I assume that this behavior has not been addressed before now, but if I see you, Monoma harassing anyone else, or if I see you, Kendo assaulting anyone again, your next punishment will be far more severe.”

Itsuka felt her skin turn clammy. Despite her instincts telling her to shut up, she opened her mouth to protest at the same time Monoma was about to, only to be cut off by Kan.

“Monoma, Kendo…” Kan spoke up. “This is one of the ways that I have failed you and your classmates. I never addressed Monoma’s treatment of class 1-A, and my conduct even encouraged it. I had…” he looked nervously at Tsuragamae before continuing, “allowed you Kendo to handle the students misbehavior so that it didn’t go too far. However, I should have never allowed you to handle situations the way that you did. There are standards of punishment for this sort of thing. These standards were neglected before, but they will be addressed from now on.” He focused on Monoma. “Monoma, Tsuragamae is not exaggerating when he is warning you about harassing other students. If I hear about this again, I will be dropping your grade by a letter.”

This revelation left Monoma gaping like a fish, while Itsuka felt a mild temper brewing. She admittedly hadn’t told Kan about Monoma’s behavior that often in the past…generally handling the matter herself. However, part of her reason for this was because she guessed that if she had, Kan wouldn’t have taken her complaints seriously, considering how he had seen how Monoma had acted himself and hadn’t done anything about it, and neither had he done anything about her chopping Monoma on the back of the head before now.

Perhaps sensing what Itsuka was thinking, Kan turned to her next.

“Kendo, I should have addressed Monoma’s behavior myself, it is my responsibility to punish him, not yours. You should consider from now on though that it is my responsibility. You can chastise him, you can tell a staff member about it if another student is misbehaving, but you do not have the authority to administer punishments yourself, especially not using physical force.”

Itsuka let her head drop in shame, fighting the urge to cry from frustration.

“I will be seeing you both after school for the next week. You two may go back to the cafeteria now.” Tsuragamae said, dismissing the two.

One of the changes to the new curriculum was that the two emergency courses often performed their exercise at the same time. Perhaps this was to encourage more cooperation, or perhaps they had decided that it was expedient to do so with so many of the students having dropped out by this point. In fact, only one student had actively sought to join the new courses; Kagaya Taiyo, who filled one of the seven open slots in 2-A.

At first, this excited Itsuka with the prospect of interacting more with Yaoyorozu and the others from her class, but this had been turning to shame as of late.

They were going through a police-style obstacle course, filled with hostile and civilian targets. The goal was of course to take out the hostile targets while leaving the civilians unharmed within a certain timeframe, with the expectation that they would use their firearms. However, they were allowed to use their Quirks or whatever methods they had available to complete the objective.

Itsuka watched as Yaoyorozu blitzed through the course with blinding speed, achieving a perfect score and already acting like a professional SWAT officer, making good use of the training she had been developing using her equipment. When it was Itsuka’s turn, she had been pumped to meet or surpass Yaoyorozu’s time, which she did…but now she was facing Tsuragamae as he pointed out all of the pressure targets she had unintentionally triggered on some of the civilian targets that were too close to the hostiles.

“Kendo, this is why we want you to use your firearm. While you may be more used to your Pistol Gloves, I told you before that the shockwaves that they create are too imprecise for this kind of operation.”

Itsuka still found it distasteful to use a gun, so when she had been told that they could use their Quirks to complete the exercise, she had forgone it completely in favor of the techniques that she had been used to. She had been quick to blitz through the exercise, but even before her total had been tallied at the end, she had begun to realize another issue; using her Big Fist in the enclosed space of the exercise obstructed her view and made navigating difficult. A few of the pressure sensors had been set off not by her firing a shockwave too close to a target, but by her simply waving her hands around without seeing where she was going. It was a humiliating mistake, one that she had thought she had accounted for long ago when her Quirk was first coming in.

Kamakiri was next, and despite having a slower time, he had managed to only hit one civilian target, and he still seemed upset, albeit not in the snarling, angsty way he usually expressed frustration. He had still been off ever since Bakugou and Kirishima’s arrest.

“While you made a mistake and need to work on your time, I would say that this is an improvement over previous attempts, Kamakiri.” Tsuragamae critiqued. “Good effort.”

Kamakiri frowned for a minute, only to stop before he could say anything and sighed.

“Thank you, sir.”

He took a seat next to Tetsutetsu, who had a similar experience from his attempt at the exercise. The two had been seen together quite often over the past week.

Itsuka didn’t get the worst score, but in the end, she had been one of the worst, while Yaoyorozu was at the top of the rankings.

This wasn’t right. How could she be doing so badly? How could she call herself Yaoyorozu’s rival when she was performing this badly? In the midst of everything that had happened, this had always been what she had clung to in order to push herself forward; the knowledge that there was someone else pushing her to be better, and who might rely on her to push her in return. But if Yaoyorozu were to associate with her now, Itsuka would be more than likely to drag her down.

She went back to the dorms in a slump. Her second year had been nothing like her first. Granted, the Sports Festival had gone a lot more in her favor, though she had still lost against Yaoyorozu in the end, but hardly anyone even watched that event, and what victory she had achieved had felt hollow, particularly coming so soon after Jaku and the dissolution of the hero system. Ranking high lost a lot of the reward when there were no internships to earn from the achievement. That silver medal however had been Itsuka’s last real achievement. Ever since then, she felt like she just kept losing. The Emergency course curriculum felt almost as if it was skewed against her. In her first year, Itsuka had been praised for holding her own against Tetsutetsu and Shishida at the same time, for always facing the enemy without fear, for her simple, direct plans. Now though, the kinds of tactics she had used got her reprimanded, brought her into her opponent’s line of fire, or led to her constantly being outmaneuvered by opponents who took the time to plan out their attacks more. It was like the Joint Training Exercise at the end of their first year, and yet somehow she had never learned from it!

Itsuka went into her room and collapsed on her bed, not wanting anyone to see her having a pity party. However, she heard a knock at the door.

“Itsuka?” Setsuna’s voice came through. “It’s me, mind if I come in?”

Itsuka weighed the option of pretending that she wasn’t there, but knew that would just make her feel more pathetic, so she got up and let Setsuna in.

“Hey Setsuna, what is it?” Itsuka asked, forcing a smile on her face.

“You doing alright?” Setsuna asked with a worried expression.

Itsuka resisted the urge to grimace. Setsuna had finished second behind Yaoyorozu. Usually, Itsuka was up there in the rankings with her. Of course she’d be worried.

“I’m…alright. I don’t quite have my head in the game, I guess.” She admitted.

“Well…” Setsuna leaned against Itsuka’s wall, probably realizing that Itsuka wasn’t being as open with how upset she really was, but knowing enough to not push it. “I was thinking that maybe you might want to talk to someone to help you out with what happened.”

Itsuka forced a smile on her face again.

“Thanks, but I’ve got to deal with my own problems. I’m not sure if anyone could…”

“Look, you were at the top of the class a while ago, and you’ve been falling behind. I know that’s bothering you.” Setsuna said bluntly.

“Setsuna, please. I don’t want to talk about this” Itsuka replied even more harshly. She didn’t want to talk about her weakness to someone that she was supposed to be a leader for. Setsuna gave her a flat look and threw up her hands.

“Okay, sorry if I bothered you.”

Immediately, Itsuka felt guilty. However, Setsuna stopped at the door.

“But…seriously, talk to someone, even if it’s not one of us, okay?”

Setsuna left Itsuka alone with her thoughts.

She had to admit it, she didn’t want anyone to see her as weak. She felt that she owed it to her classmates to be strong. She didn’t want to talk to the teachers either and make them think that she wasn’t cut out for the new coursework, especially Tsuragamae. Sure, he’d probably give some good advice, but Itsuka just kept feeling awkward around him ever since her detention and her continuous failures in his class, though he kept on trying to push her towards the right direction. Besides him though, there was the additional problem that most of the staff were likely struggling with the new system just as much as her and might not be much help.

Itsuka didn’t want to talk to any of her classmates; she needed to be someone they could rely on, especially nowadays. She didn’t want to talk to any of the teachers for fear of looking weak either. But who else could she talk to? It wasn’t like any of the students from outside the Emergency course would really get what was going on…

Itsuka blinked, an idea coming to her. She pulled out her phone and looked up Midoriya’s contact information. She still hesitated for a moment; it felt weird to think about talking to a Gen Ed student about these kinds of problems, but if there was anyone who she didn’t mind looking weak in front of, it was Midoriya. He had helped her to become stronger, but she didn’t feel as much as if she had to be strong for him. He worked with them all the time and probably understood what the new curriculum of the Emergency course entailed. Setsuna and Yaoyorozu had mentioned in the past that a lot of the students already saw him as something of a therapist. Itsuka wasn’t sure still, but talking to Midoriya felt less intimidating than going to a teacher, so she gave him a text asking to meet, and he agreed within five minutes.

They met in the empty 2-C classroom like last time. Midoriya had his notebook out just like then as well. Seeing what she could, Itsuka realized that Midoriya had been expanding his analysis, taking into account different strategies, how the students could coordinate with each other, etc. Perhaps it would be worth picking his brain on how to better handle herself in addition to…whatever she was going to talk about.

“So Kendo, what can I do to help you?” he asked brightly. It was impressive; out of everyone Itsuka knew, Midoriya seemed to be the least bothered by everything that had gone on in the past year. It made sense, she supposed; since he was a Gen Ed student, he hadn’t been as rocked by the dissolution of the hero system as everyone else. That, and from what she had heard, Midoriya and his mother had sort-of adopted the little girl that Togata had rescued from the Eight Precepts the previous year. It was nice for him; Itsuka didn’t think that there were many other people who deserved nice things to happen to them as much as Midoriya. His positive demeanor and disarming presence made Itsuka feel a lot more comfortable talking to him. She steeled herself and took a breath.

“…You’ve probably seen how I’ve been doing with the Emergency course lessons, right?”

Midoriya nodded.

“I thought that you might be able to help me…and…well…not just with my Quirk.”

Midoriya blinked.

“Okay…what with, though?”

Itsuka grimaced. Before she could stop herself, she let out a torrent of frustration.

“It’s just…it feels like last year, I was doing great! I was at the top of the class, people respected me, I was able to handle all of the exercises just fine, I even survived an encounter with All Might! But now…with all of the changes that the new system has brought…how we do our work, how we’re supposed to treat each other, it feels like I’m always on the backfoot! It’s like all of the instincts that I had the previous year are holding me back now! Even my Quirk doesn’t feel as useful anymore, and there’s so many times when I try to use it, it backfires! How am I supposed to represent my class this way?” Itsukda groaned into her hands. Perhaps she had been allowing her frustrations to build up too much before now, but there wasn’t any point in stopping now. “And it feels like Yaoyorozu is just handling everything so much better…she’s still at the top of the class, she aces the exercises with no problem, and all of this despite everything that her and her class have gone through?” Istuka looked at the floor dejectedly. “We’re each other’s rivals, and I just feel like I can’t measure up.”

Midoriya stared at Itsuka before putting his hands together, thinking.

“Okay. First of all Itsuka, I understand why you’re so upset, but you shouldn’t be so down on yourself because you’re not doing as well as you’d like. A lot of students aren’t doing as well with the change to the curriculum, it’s to be expected with something like this, you’re not alone.”

Itsuka frowned, crossing her arms as she had to concede to this.

“I think that it’s particularly frustrating for you though, in part because your Quirk, abilities, and the way you thought suited the old system so well.”

Itsuka looked up at Midoriya, confused, but he simply went on;

“You’re a martial artist, and much of the philosophies of martial arts were the same as the old system: A focus on personal improvement, hand-to-hand combat, competition, and overall having a sense of honor in how you worked.” Midoriya ticked off the traits on his fingers. “However, with the new system, making yourself stronger is tangential to completing the mission, there’s more of a focus on long-range combat, following protocol, preplanning, and competition really has no place in it.”

Itsuka frowned. “And my Quirk?”

“While we’ve come up with ideas to apply it in different ways, it’s still primarily a close-combat focused Quirk.” Midoriya shrugged. “That being said, there’s still a lot of scenarios where Big Fist is still helpful with the new protocol; breaking down barricades, digging through rubble, restraining criminals, carrying civilians or equipment, and just because there’s more of a focus on long-range combat doesn’t mean that your close-combat skills aren’t important, they just shouldn’t be seen as your go-to solution anymore.”

“But we spent so much time perfecting my Quirk!” Itsuka burst out, pointing at Midoriya’s analysis. “You showed me so many different ways to apply it to different situations!”

Midoriya winced putting his hands up in apology.

“Yes, there’s a lot of different ways that your Quirk and others can be applied, but that doesn’t mean that it should be the end-all-be-all solution to every problem, not when there might be other tools that you can use that are a better fit for the job.”

Itsuka frowned, frustrated as she thought about lessons from the last year.

“It feels weird that we’re being expected to learn how to use so many different kinds of equipment, not just guns. We were always taught that it was better to rely on your own power, that was why we worked so hard to make our Quirks stronger…”

Midoriya frowned, looking downcast for a moment.

“I’m glad that I was able to help you in this way, but in retrospect, doing that, and the way that the teachers here put so much emphasis on Quirks, might have actually been stunting your growth.”

Itsuka blinked at Midoriya in surprise. He looked back up at Itsuka to explain.

“Don’t get me wrong, I still think Quirks are really cool and unique, but with the kinds of things Tsuragamae has been talking to me about, and looking at the mistakes that pro-heroes made in the past, I’m starting to think that it’s better to see them simply as tools. Powerful and unique tools for sure, but it’s become clear to me that our society kind of…idolized them.”

“ ‘Idolized’ them?” Itsuka repeated. “Have you been hanging around with Ibara, too?”

Midoriya chuckled, but tried to explain.

“Quirks have been how heroes oftentimes identified themselves, how they would always create a solution to their problems, to the point of neglecting all other options. However, there was a focus on certain kinds of Quirks, usually ones that are more physically powerful. This made problems though when pure power wasn’t the right solution for a situation.”

“How so?” Itsuka asked.

Midoriya shuddered as he thought of something.

“Okay…this is uncomfortable to me for many reasons…but do you remember the Sludge Villain incident?”

Itsuka grimaced.

“Yeah…Bakugou’s first public appearance…”

Midoriya took a breath through his teeth.

“Yes…however, that’s not what interests me here. People remember that because of Bakugou and Mt. Lady, but do you know why it ended up becoming so tense in the first place? Why it took so long to resolve?”

Itsuka shook her head.

“There were several heroes at the scene of the incident, but before Mt. Lady finally jumped in to save Bakugou, apparently the heroes were ‘waiting for someone with the right Quirk to come.’” Midoriya quoted with distaste. “They claimed that the fires were making it too dangerous to approach, or that the Sludge Villain’s body made him too difficult to handle. That event was touted as a success after the fact, but really, if Mt. Lady had rushed in just a few seconds later, Bakugou would have probably suffocated.”

Itsuka frowned, realizing the point that Midoriya was making.

“Heroes were trained to rely on their Quirks, practically to the detriment of everything else. A lot of them lacked the kinds of basic training that emergency responders required like first aid, hostage negotiation, or even the use of simple equipment. It’s like everyone was relying on a single tool, and too often that tool was a sledgehammer.”

Itsuka looked at her hands, upset at the comparison.

“But like I said,” Midoriya said, realizing Itsuka’s discomfort, “your Quirk is still really useful; you just need to learn which situations are better suited for it and which situations you’re better off using something else.”

Itsuka sighed, realizing that Midoriya was right, as she thought about all of the scenarios that Tsuragamae put her through that showed the limitations of her Quirk. When she looked up again, she saw that Midoriya was smiling at her encouragingly.

“Just because you’re struggling now doesn’t mean that you can’t adapt to the new curriculum; like I said, a lot of people are having a hard time dealing with the change, you just need to be patient with yourself.”

Itsuka though still felt downcast.

“…I can’t help but feel that I’m taking things harder than everyone else, though.” She explained. “I can see that I’m not the only one with problems, but everyone else seems to be handling those problems better. Tetsutetsu lost one of his best friends just a week ago, and he’s still handling the changes better than I am!”

Midoriya frowned, thinking to himself for a moment, before looking back at Itsuka.

“Part of this might go back to your background…like I said, the mentality that you were raised with as a martial artist was suited very well to that of the old hero system. But there’s something else about this that I’ve been wondering.” Midoriya looked at Itsuka with a bit of trepidation. “Kendo…maybe I’m projecting here, but when you were growing up, were you ever told that you couldn’t do something?”

Itsuka thought about the question. There were times where she had lost a match or otherwise an exercise, but there was always the promise of growth, of being encouraged to try again after the fact. Itsuka considered the way Midoriya phrased the question though. He was Quirkless, and had admitted to others that he had wanted to be a hero growing up. She winced at the thought of what that must have been like. With her, people had always praised her strength, intelligence, and charisma. But with Midoriya, not having a Quirk probably meant that if he ever had tried, people would immediately discourage him. It would be as if instead of being told to try again to break a board, he would have been kicked out of the dojo before he even got a chance to try. The thought of what that might have been like for Midoriya made Itsuka’s stomach turn.

“You clearly worked hard to achieve your skills, don’t get me wrong,” Midoriya explained. “but with your intelligence, charisma, skill, popularity, and your Quirk, I’d imagine that you were always encouraged in your pursuits, always told that you were ‘the ideal hero.’”

Itsuka’s mind slowly went to Bakugou, and recoiled at the comparison.

“Frankly, I imagine that a lot of the students here were treated the same. But with you, because you were encouraged so much, I imagine that it’s difficult for you to deal with what you see as a failing as much as you have.”

Itsuka tensed at what Midoriya said. In truth, she had felt this way before, when she lost against Shinso, and later again when she had lost to Yaoyorozu in their first year, but this, what she had been experiencing over the last few weeks, was like a consistent weight on her shoulder that she simply couldn’t throw off. After those defeats, there was always the promise that she could work harder, get stronger, and try again. Here though, the defeats just kept on coming, and as a result, Itsuka could feel herself crumbling. Again though, Midoriya smiled at her.

“Kendo, you are really strong, and I’m not just talking about your Quirk. I think you’re going to get through this, you just need to be patient with yourself. Think of it as if you’re learning a new style and starting off as a white belt; it’s discouraging because you see others who look like they’re doing better, but you just need to work at it, to learn these new skills.”

Itsuka sighed, trying to keep the weight of her frustrations from pulling her down too much.

“Which brings me to your concerns about your rivalry with Yaoyorozu.” Midoriya said, getting Itsuka’s attention again.

“Yaoyorozu has a lot of advantages in this new system.” Midoriya pointed out. “Her Quirk is adaptable, encourages pre-planning, and grants a lot of options for long-ranged combat when applied in the right way. In fact,” Midoriya looked at one of his other notebooks, “a lot of the suggestions that I made to Yaoyorozu with my analysis even in the previous year has still been applicable to the new system, so it shouldn’t surprise you that she feels as if she’s ahead of you; she essentially was able to start a term earlier than most using the kinds of doctrines Tsuragamae has been teaching you all.”

Itsuka frowned at this fact. It just seemed to highlight how far ahead Yaoyorozu was from her.

“But really, I don’t think that you should be concerned about a rivalry the way you are.”

Itsuka stood up at that.

“But my rivalry with Yaoyorozu is what’s pushed me so much throughout the past year! She’s always so intelligent and strong, and pitting myself against her has made me so much better!”

Midoriya raised his hands placatingly.

“I can appreciate that. If your rivalry is pushing you to be better, that’s great, but here, it also seems to be bothering you, because you keep on comparing yourself to her.”

Itsuka sat back down gingerly. Midoriya had a point. In the previous year, Itsuka’s rivalry with Yaoyorozu had felt great; she felt encouraged to be stronger, and she liked to think that she did the same for Yaoyorozu. Nowadays though, every time she thought about Yaoyorozu, she felt jealous towards her rival and upset at herself for not measuring up.

“Yaoyorozu has a lot of things that she does well. However, so do you.” Midoriya insisted. “She is intelligent, probably more so than anyone in her year, if not the school besides Nezu, and this with her Quirk lends her a lot of advantages. However, she doesn’t have the same instincts as you, and doesn’t do as well in the heat of the moment still.”

“She seemed to do pretty well the last two times we fought.” Itsuka sarcastically pointed out.

“Because she worked on those weaknesses.” Midoriya pointed out. “And honestly, she probably felt as if she had to push herself a lot more than was healthy in those regards in order to handle the stresses of what’s happened to her class.”

Itsuka sighed, upset at herself for not taking this into account.

“Trial by fire, huh?”

Midoriya nodded.

“You on the other hand are more naturally inclined towards the kind of mindset that Yaoyorozu is working towards. You’re a lot more adaptable in chaotic situations, and frankly, you have a lot more natural charisma; you’re good at encouraging your classmates. It could make you a really good strike team leader.”

Itsuka looked back at Midoriya, encouraged by his positivity, and that he still thought so highly of him.

“I’m glad that your rivalry has encouraged you, but I think that it would be better if you put your friendship with Yaoyorozu first. She probably wants to see you succeed as much as you do.”

Itsuka weighed Midoriya’s words even after she had left their meeting. She had a free period, and tried to start making some changes.

She went to the firing range, but found that she wasn’t the only one there; Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri were both practicing, their expressions morose, but focused. Neither of them looked like they were interested in talking at the moment, so Itsuka simply picked a booth next to them. She looked at the Glock in her hands and sighed, but went through everything she had been taught to make sure it was prepared to fire, and gave the signal that she was ready.

Itsuka, Kamakiri, and Tetsutetsu all remained silent, focusing on firing their rounds down range. When they had emptied their clips, the targets were pulled towards them, showing their progress. Most of Itsuka’s shots had clipped the outside, but she supposed that it was improvement. It was clear that she was going to need to practice some more. The three put their guns away, but stood in silence.

“…I’m not sure what to think, you know?” Tetsutetsu eventually said, breaking the silence. “Kirishima and I were so alike, it was practically a joke. At first I was annoyed by that, but then I started to think he was a really cool guy, and I liked hanging out with him. But then he goes and does this. What does that say about me? Would I do the same thing?”

“…I don’t know. You didn’t hang out with me until last week even though I was an asshole like Bakugou, so you’re not completely like him.” Kamakiri answered.

Itsuka wasn’t sure if she was supposed to laugh at that, but nothing really felt funny right then.

“But, yeah, I get it. I was basically here for the same reason as Bakugou. I wanted to fight, I wanted to be the best. I didn’t care what anyone else thought about me. I did the same thing as Bakugou, and even though I didn’t like him or want to hang out with him, he was basically what I wanted to be, what I thought was cool. Hell, I was ready to follow in his footsteps. But then he went and killed 16 people…What does that say about me?”

There was more of an uncomfortable silence as Kamakiri’s tone was more dejected than earlier.

“You’re not completely like Bakugou either.” Itsuka eventually said. She heard a scoff, but went on, “I think that Bakugou did care what people thought about him. He wanted acknowledgement, he wanted everyone to see him as better…you’re not like that, Kamakiri. I don’t think that you’re that insecure. You’ve got problems…but so do we all.”

Again, echoing silence throughout the firing range. Tsuneyoshi was probably still there, he had to be for safety purposes, but he was either not paying attention or was letting them have their moment. Maybe he had felt the same way after firing a few rounds.

“…We’re all still here.” Itsuka said. “We’re all still trying to do something that will let us help people. That’s got to count for something, right?”

There was a brief chuckle from the two, and by some unspoken agreement, they stepped out of their booths and left. Kamakiri said goodbye as he went back to his room to catch up on his homework, but Tetsutetsu hung behind to talk to Itsuka.

“Kendo…” he said once Kamakiri was out of sight. “I still think you’re manly…cool…I think you’re cool…” he stammered, blushing. Itsuka laughed, patting him on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I get it. I think you’re manly and cool, too, Tetsutetsu.”

Yaoyorozu was at her table. Itsuka still felt uncomfortable about this, but she swallowed her pride and went up to her.

“Kendo, can I help you?” Yaoyorozu asked.

“…I was wondering if you could help me out with some of the work for the emergency classes, I’m not quite sure if I’m getting it, especially the strategic doctrines.”

Yaoyorozu’s face lit up.

“Why certainly, I’d love to help you!”

Itsuka smiled gratefully and pulled out her book to start studying. This wasn’t what she had been hoping for two years ago, but this was still nice. She’d make this work.

Chapter Text

“All of you are fakes! The only hero worthy of killing me is All Might!”

Stain spat his vitriol at the fake heroes that had managed to corner him in the chaos of Hosu. His katana was still red with the blood of Native and that Ingenium pretender, but the chaos that Shigaraki’s pet nomus were causing had by coincidence forced him into the path of the Number 2 Hero, Endeavor, as well as a dozen other heroes he had been working with to destroy the nomus. With his back up against the wall and some nearby camera crews filming, Stain decided that he would make his last stand here, speak his ideals and then go down taking as many fakes with him as he possibly could. As he had spoken, his bloodlust had kept the heroes paralyzed. However, once he had finished, the fake Endeavor spoke up.

“What utter nonsense.” The Flame hero spat in disgust, returning Stain’s glare with his own. “There are monsters and villains everywhere putting civilian’s lives in danger, and yet you’ve forced us to waste time hunting you and listening to your tripe that we could have spent dealing with more significant problems.” As Endeavor saw Native and the hero student’s blood dripping from his sword, the already hot environment was raised by several degrees as his fire became hotter. “Even with all of your self-righteousness, you still see fit to murder heroes when they are most needed. I am ending this now, Hero Killer. Surrender peacefully, or face judgement here.”

Stain gave Endeavor one look of contempt before moving faster than the eye could track, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his expression of mad fervor, ready to remove the greatest fake in the world. He ducked low, ready to cut Endeavor’s stomach open, only to feel two flaming hands trap his own. Endeavor stared Stain down in disgust, his hands clamped over Stain’s hands as he held his sword. Without flinching though, Stain flipped forward, thrusting his spiked metal cleats towards Endeavor’s neck…

And suddenly Stain felt searing pain throughout his body. He tried to force his way through the agony, only to realize that he couldn’t feel his hands or his feet any more. His body had stopped responding, and he felt himself drop on the ground, completely paralyzed as Endeavor’s flames burned through his skin. The last thing Stain saw was Endeavor glaring down on him in scorn while his sidekicks put him out with fire extinguishers.

Stain had received third degree burns over his entire body. His hands and feet though had received fourth degree burns; Endeavor’s flames having melted his sword and his cleats, the slag having scalded him all the way to his bone, requiring that they be amputated. Almost all of his skin had been burnt off, and even if his extremities hadn’t been surgically removed, the rest of his body had been damaged so badly that he would have been rendered paraplegic no matter what. Every waking moment was in unimaginable pain, but what disgusted Stain was that he had been brought low by such an abominable disgrace for a hero. Still, he had done his work, and spread his message, despite Shigaraki’s efforts to get in his way.

Once he was cleared enough to stand trial, his lawyer wasted a good deal of his time; trying to convince him to try for an insanity defense, to show remorse for his actions, but Stain could care less. He knew what he did. He had stuck to his conviction. That put him above all these corrupt bureaucrats and their disgusting system. His actions would inspire true change, true heroes. He didn’t care when the woman brought up what she saw as the ‘good’ that the heroes he had judged had done, the supposed ‘innocence’ and ‘naivety’ of that brat he had killed. None of them could face the fact that he worked for true justice, to spark reformation that would allow true heroes to rise from the ashes of this contemptible, decadent society. Despite making it clear that he would not denounce his conviction, Stain did eventually settle on making one request for the terms of his imprisonment, that he be allowed access to a television in his room. It was almost an afterthought for him, he didn’t think that such concessions would be allowed in a prison like Tartarus, which was granted to criminals who deserved worse than death, where villains were entombed from the outside world with no idea of anything beyond their own deteriorating minds. Despite Stain’s doubts though, his lawyer managed to secure this concession.

So, here he was, locked inside an impenetrable room and restrained to a bed; no arms, no legs, his skin burnt away, unable to move, to eat solid foods, or even relieve himself on his own. Locked within a metal tomb for forty-two life sentences, all while what parts of his body were still capable of feeling blared with agony. But despite all this, Stain grinned, both with satisfaction for his actions, and the means by which to see how society would change for the better.

Of course that convictionless brat would take advantage of his message, Stain thought to himself as he watched reporters share rumors that he had been allied with the League during the attack on Hosu. More likely than not, Shigaraki had simply sent his nomus out in an effort to either kill him, or to take attention away from him. This idea of pretending that Stain had been allied with the League was probably an idea brought up by whoever Shigaraki’s mentor was.

Still, Stain wasn’t too bothered. If League was going to claim to have been allied with him, they would have to adhere to his ideals in order to attract whoever had been inspired by Stain. Shigaraki saw him as a tool, but in reality, he was a tool for Stain in instigating the change that he desired in society.

The idea that there were villains inspired by Stain was something he felt repulsed by; his message was meant to make change to heroes, not to be some figurehead for disgusting villains who cared for nothing but destruction. However, bringing out more serious villains would still serve for Stain’s purposes; exposing the rot that pervaded society and allowing true heroes to arise from the contention that the League would cause. True heroes would hold the line against any threat. This conflict would only serve to weed out the fakes.

As Stain expected, Shigaraki had managed to recruit a group of criminals to his side. From what Stain could see of them, they were contemptible wretches more inclined towards mindless destruction than any true creed. That they would pretend to represent Stain was repulsive to him. Still, these villains were more competent than the riffraff that Shigaraki had recruited for his attack on the USJ, apparently having managed to ambush UA’s first year hero courses and the heroes guarding them while training at a Summer Camp held by the Wild, Wild, Pussycats.

Stain sneered as the reporter expounded on the injuries that the Pussycats had received during the attack, each of them either in the hospital or in the case of Ragdoll, kidnapped along with the Gold medalist from UA’s First Year Sports Festival. The reporter further talked about the Pussycats’ reputation for rescue work, the lives that they had saved. This changed nothing in Stain’s eyes. Had he not been more comfortable in urban areas, those four would have certainly been on his list; shamelessly catering to the commercialization of the corrupt hero system, not giving the title of heroism the respect and dignity that it deserved. The fact that they had been so easily felled by such a ragtag group simply proved their weakness and unworthiness.

As for the boy that the League had kidnapped, Bakugou; Stain remembered him from the Sports Festival. He had seen him as the embodiment of everything that was wrong with the system; arrogant, selfish, drunk on his own power. The fact that he had been allowed into UA in the first place simply showed how far the once prestigious academy had fallen. Perhaps that was why the League had kidnapped him in the first place. Supposedly, they were inspired by his ideals after all, and it didn’t take much to see how clearly unheroic the boy was. Targeting him could be their way of making a statement of how someone like him was unworthy to be allowed to pursue the noble position of hero. And yet All Might had been the one to hand Bakugou the Gold Medal at the Sports Festival. The pinnacle of heroism saw fit to reward someone like him? Was this his way of saying that anyone could be a hero? Stain shook his head. All Might was a true paragon to have faith even in someone like Bakugou, albeit naïve.

UA was still attempting to defend Bakugou though. When one of the reporters brought up the idea that the League may have kidnapped him with the intent of bringing him over to their side, the 1-A homeroom teacher claimed that there was no way that Bakugou would become a villain, as he ‘worked harder than anyone else to become a hero.’ Had Stain been able, he would have loved to have put that supposed conviction to the test.

However, the news switched over to a fight between All Might and an unknown villain. The presence that the villain exuded however, even through the television set, reminded Stain of the same presence that he had felt when he had heard Shigaraki’s sensei speak at the League’s headquarters. The fact that the League was there with Bakugou confirmed it.

And All Might was struggling. It was clear that he was worried about Bakugou and couldn’t afford to use the full extent of his strength. However, another hero appeared, knocking down the League members and pulling Bakugou out of the fight. Stain recognized him as the Provisional Hero Lemillion, who had won the Third Year Sports Festival and had fought alongside the Symbol of Peace to fight off an attack on I-Island. With Bakugou out of the way, All Might could unleash his full strength upon his foe.

All Might defeated the villain Stain recognized as the Symbol of Evil, but left in the crater the two had formed, the man standing over the villain was not the All Might Stain knew. It was an emaciated figure, basically a skeleton with skin hanging over him. And yet, he was wearing the tattered remains of All Might’s costume, raising his fist into the air and staring intently at the camera with the same conviction as the Symbol of Peace.

Stain understood now. This was All Might’s true form. This man had fought as the Symbol of Peace to the point that he had worn himself out completely. With this realization, Stain began to cackle in his bed.

“Yes…yes! Truly, this is what a hero is! You know what the true price of heroism is, All Might! You understand it! This is what should be expected of all who make the claim to be a hero! Any who fall short of this standard is a fake deserving to be culled!”

As sad as All Might’s retirement was, Stain accepted that it was necessary for society to change. While the system had focused the masses’ attention on All Might’s implacable image, it had allowed the rest of society to rot. The growing confidence of villains seeking to take advantage of All Might’s absence would further cull the fakes from society and allow the true heroes to arise.

Perhaps All Might’s disciple Lemillion could be such an example, as Stain observed the photograph the news station was showing of him defeating the monstrous villain Overhaul in defense of a little girl. The image showed Lemillion in a position of victory, his fist raised high over the villain, his smile reminiscent of the Symbol of Peace reborn. Stain had grown more invested in Lemillion with his growing appearances, wishing more and more for a chance to observe him outside of the lens of mass media and properly test him as a true hero.

Despite the media’s attempts to hail Lemillion as the new coming of All Might, the growing rot of society was nonetheless becoming more obvious in the wake of All Might’s retirement. Weeks earlier, news of the most recent Provisional License Exam results had been leaked, showing that Bakugou had failed, along with the spawn of Endeavour.

“Of course. The boy that forced All Might into retirement because of his own weakness and ego would never pass true muster.” Stain contemptuously said out loud. “And Endeavor’s spawn; he must share his father’s arrogance. Both of them, believing power to be absolute and understanding nothing of true heroism.”

Later, UA gained further notoriety from being invaded by the villain Gentle Criminal. He was an arrogant, frivolous fool obsessed with his own ego. And yet he had managed to break into UA during their Cultural Festival.

“So weak…” Stain growled. “Has All Might’s alumni fell so much that someone so pathetic can challenge them?”

There was at least one point that Stain agreed with Gentle on; prospective heroes must always be ready. They had no time to waste on such trivialities as a School Festival. Such a waste of time served no true purpose and helped no one.

Shortly later, the cracks in hero society grew larger in the midst of Endeavor’s fight against the nomu Hood. The fake destroyed the nomu, but could not summon the strength to stand after the fight.

“And that is why you fail. A true hero pushes through his pain and shows people that he is still there.” Stain hissed at the man that reduced him to this state.

It seemed that Stain was correct in allowing Shigaraki to live. As aimless and selfish as the brat was, the spark of conviction he had seen in the young man’s eyes in their confrontation had grown, and had allowed him to amass an army with which to challenge the heroes. Here, he was finally forcing the change to society Stain knew needed to happen. The news showed villains fighting against an army of fakes that the HPSC had amassed in an effort to put an end to the League, only to be confronted by forces they weren’t prepared for. The MLA had finally reared their ugly heads and become servile to Shigaraki, along with a monster called Gigantomachia that was easily able to topple skyscrapers. Shigaraki himself had undergone some kind of experimentation that had granted him the same powers as the Symbol of Evil, allowing him to easily bat aside the Top 10 heroes. It was only when Lemillion fought against Shigaraki that the villain stopped his rampage. His body battered, Shigaraki attempted to retreat with his High-End Nomus on the back of Gigantomachia, who was about to tear his way through another city, when Lemillion performed one final attack which destroyed the monsters, sacrificing himself in the process.

“Yes! Yes! You are worthy, Lemillion!” Stain roared at the broadcast. “To sacrifice yourself without a second thought, that is the essence of a true hero! That is what should have been expected of all those that take the title!”

The Battle of Jaku ended. Dozens of fakes died. Cities were left in rubble. Thousands of civilians had perished in the rampages of the League, the MLA, and Gigantomachia.

And it was all necessary. Barring the only true hero Lemillion, the others that had called themselves heroes had proven themselves to be weak fakes unable to hold the line when it really mattered. Any civilian that had died was a necessary sacrifice for a better world. It was only this way that society could be forced to wake up from its complacency.

But the aftermath…the aftermath was so much sweeter. The WHA and the UN had gotten involved, investigating the HPSC for scandals revealed during the battle, along with the fact that the HPSC had technically used child soldiers to bolster their ranks.

This last point was of no concern to Stain. As far as he was concerned, the moment someone, regardless of age, put on a hero costume, they took on a sacred mantle and should be expected to handle all of the responsibilities thereof. He had almost shown mercy to the brother of Ingenium despite this, but the boy’s persistence in his selfish pursuit of revenge showed Stain how futile that concept was. No, what was of greater interest to Stain was the revelations of how the HPSC had used the former hero Lady Nagant as their personal assassin. She had been made to assassinate villains too troublesome to simply arrest, or heroes too corrupt for even the HPSC to ignore, opting to make them into martyrs or nonpersons rather than come clean as to how deep the rot of their society really lay. This, on top of the revelation that Endeavor had forced his wife into a Quirk marriage, producing a child that turned out to be the mass murdering arsonist Dabi, various cover-ups of blackmail, sexual assault, institutionalized bigotry against heteromorphs, Quirkless, and other stigmatized groups…it was marvelous. Finally, finally, the rot of society had been revealed for all to see. There was no ignoring this now. Stain smiled serenely, even as his body screamed in pain, knowing that his actions, his conviction, had put all of this into motion.

The Prime Minister was holding a press conference. Stain wondered how he was going to try to wriggle his way out of this one, to pretend that nothing was wrong. It didn’t matter. Soon, the people would tear down the system, allowing them to start from scratch, where only the true heroes could persist.

“Though the UN investigation is still ongoing, the findings it has brought to light so far have been deemed requiring immediate response. Due to the decision of the WHA to withdraw membership from Japan, and the reveal of how badly our hero system has failed to uphold justice and order, it is the decision of myself and of Parliament to dissolve the HPSC, and to integrate our pro heroes into Japan’s police force and emergency services.”

“…What?”

Stain stared aghast at the television. Had he heard that correct?

The HPSC was being dissolved…along with the hero system in its entirety.

No more pro heroes.

No more heroes.

No heroes.

“No…no! NO!” This was not how it was supposed to be! There was supposed to be a purge of the fakes from the system, so only the true heroes remained! They weren’t supposed to remove the very foundations of heroism itself!

How could they just remove heroes? They were pure, they were the lights to society! They were what had pulled the country out of the dark ages! They were what All Might stood for! This was not supposed to happen! How could true heroes be allowed to arise when the country had outright banned them?

Stain writhed in his bed, yelling his lungs out to no avail. He was powerless to do anything, to stop this atrocity from occurring.

This…he didn’t want to see this.

“Guard! Guard!” He yelled, despite his voice going raw. Eventually, his guard, a man with orca-like coloration and white antlers opened the grate to his door.

“Saw the news, did you?” the man asked through the grate.

“Turn this off.” Stain said, laying his back on his bed in despair. “Or better yet, just get rid of it.”

“No.”

Stain looked up at the guard, who was watching him with a flat expression.

“I give up my right to this thing. Give it to some other prisoner, take it for yourself, I don’t care, just get it out of here!”

The guard cocked an eye at Stain with a disgusted look.

“I’m sorry, were you under the impression that this was given to you as a concession? This is part of your sentence.”

Stain felt his eyes bug out of his head.

“…What?”

“The judge knew that nothing good was going to come from what you did, and wanted to make sure that you knew it, so he ensured that your room would have a television set to an active news channel at all waking hours so that you could see the consequences of your actions. Granted, none of us expected something this drastic,” he said, looking over where the TV was, “but we knew that the only change you would inspire would come from other murderers and lunatics. Forty-two life sentences, and your legacy on display. I hope you’re comfortable.”

Stain had spent every last drop of sweat and blood he had in instigating the change he knew needed to happen on this world, and the result was something completely contrary to what he had intended. And he could do nothing to fix it. Stain glared at his imprisoner, the only representation of this corrupt system he could find, and turned all of his bloodlust upon the man. Even here, his extremities missing, his skin melted and molded like scarred clay, he still had his conviction. Someone would know his conviction for his ideals.

“Everything…everything that I did…was to bring about a better society…to remove the rot and corruption within a system that poisoned the meaning of heroism.” Stain hissed at the guard. “Look at what has been revealed and tell me that I am not right! That the system was not corrupt and the heroes not pathetic fakes!”

The guard again, just looked unimpressed at Stain, despite the bloodlust coming off of the Hero Killer, as if he had seen this time and time again.

“You are in no place to claim that what you did was noble.” The man spoke with contempt. “Sure, the system was corrupt. Maybe it produced heroes that were more interested in fame and fortune than helping anyone. But what good, exactly, did you think was going to come from murdering people? Some of the heroes you went after weren’t the best, but they were still people who tried to help others.”

“They were fakes! Filth that corrupted the name of heroism!”

“Like Ingenium?” The guard pointed out. “A hero that had been working for years, who had kept Hosu safe, who had managed to amass a team of sidekicks that people knew they could rely on?”

“He was a pathetic fake.” Stain growled. “If he weren’t, he wouldn’t have been felled.”

The guard rolled his eyes.

“Sure. And I’m certain that any hero that didn’t know exactly how your Quirk worked and how to counter it deserved to be mangled. Like that kid you killed.”

“I killed him because of his selfish pursuit of vengeance. He was never going to become a hero.”

“He was angry like any kid, like any human being would be after his family was crippled. What he did was dumb, but that’s how teenagers are as a rule, and when they get caught, they get punished for being dumb. Maybe he would have gotten expelled, but he would have been alive, and his family wouldn’t be in an even worse state because of you.” The guard leaned closer to the window, completely unbothered by Stain’s bloodlust. “How many heroes did you kill simply because they were human?”

“Heroes are supposed to be beyond human!” Stain shouted. “They put aside selfish concerns for the greater good!”

“Like being able to feed themselves? To care for their families? To be…I don’t know…compensated and recognized for performing a job where their lives are on the line?”

“True heroes work without reward!” Stain spoke his creed from the depths of his heart, but the guard looked at him not as some inspiring figure, but as the man whose bedpan he was paid to clean out.

“Why should they? Sure, I do this because I want to keep dangerous criminals from the rest of society, but if I wasn’t paid for it, I’d starve, and most people agree that it’s important for someone in my position to be healthy and alert.”

“All Might worked selflessly. Lemillion worked selflessly!” Stain spoke the names of the only true heroes he knew.

“They did. And now one’s dead, and the other is a walking skeleton.” The guard glared. “I’m glad for what they and all of the other heroes did to save people, but no one should be expected to destroy their own bodies. No one should be asked to face what that boy did on his own. And even if that were the case, what kind of ungrateful people wouldn’t show appreciation to someone who was working to save them?” The guard looked again at the TV in disgust. “Our people, apparently. But that just goes to show that the problem was a lot more complicated than just ‘down with the system!’.”

“Don’t speak to me as if I am some aimless child. I know more of this contemptible system than you could even comprehend! I know what heroes are! I know what inspires true heroes!”

The guard just stared at Stain. It was as if he was thinking about laughing, but found Stain to be too disgusting to bother.

“I don’t know about any heroes you inspired…” the guard turned again to the TV, which was airing more information about the ongoing recovery efforts in Jaku and on the captured members of the PLF. “But you certainly inspired a lot of people to follow in your footsteps.”

“Those people made their own decisions.” Stain growled.

“Maybe they did.” The guard agreed. “But who gave them the idea? Who made sure that the mangled bodies of heroes were the first things that people saw on the news, framed as if their murders were done as part of some kind of high ideal? The League outright took inspiration from you, and set out to perform even more depraved acts. Your message made the oppressed believe that violence was the only way that they could get noticed. And for anyone else who you duped into thinking that you had something important to say, all you did was make people more judgmental of heroes, despite so many of them wanting to do good. You inspired a legion of monsters, and turned the public against the heroes you supposedly idealize.”

“And what do you expect me to have done?” Stain spat. “Simply let things stay the way they were like the mindless sheep of society? Stay within the system, slowly letting my ideals fall away until the point that I became another fame-hungry leech pretending to be a hero?”

“There were plenty of other ways that you could have tried to address those problems.”

“I tried those!” Stain yelled, recalling his life after he had left hero school when he realized how corrupt heroism had become. He had made speeches on a street corner, trying to make people see the rot in the world around them, but no one listened.

“You stood unwashed on a soap box in the street like an insane man declaring the apocalypse.” The guard responded in contempt, knowing full-well about Akaguro’s past. “Did you actually think that anyone would listen to someone like that? Did you ever consider, I don’t know…taking your campaign online? Going into investigative journalism? Maybe even trying politics to try to change the system yourself?”

“And be a part of the problem?” Stain scoffed.

“Or at least try to make a change that didn’t involve murdering people?” the guard countered.

“Blood is the only thing anyone understands. It is the only message everyone hears.”

“Did anyone hear what you thought you were saying though?” the guard pointed to the TV. “You might have had the argument that ‘the end justifies the means’, but you seemed rather disappointed in the end regardless. And in the process, look how many have died that had nothing to do your gripes against the world. Elderly, children, the sick. Another gathering of helpless innocents forced into the grave. Do tell me how their deaths could ever serve this supposedly noble purpose you aspire to?”

Stain would not be spoken to like this. He had dedicated his life to this purpose. Years of training, fighting to become the blade needed to cut the tumor of corruption out of this uncaring society. He would be heard!

“This society…has become without conviction. No one believes in the true ideals of heroism anymore. The only way to instill this conviction…to force it onto this disgusting world…is to show my own!”

Stain shouted his beliefs, his creed, to the only person left to hear him. Looking at the guard though, it was apparent that he cared nothing for his ideals, simply looking down at Stain in disgust.

“‘Conviction.’ You throw that word around as if it’s the ultimate good. Those villains and terrorists certainly had a lot of conviction. The Nazis sure had a lot of conviction. I can tell that ‘conviction’ for you is just another excuse for your spite and bloodlust. You think that believing in your cause puts you on the same level as someone trying to stop these things from happening? Even if they’re scared, or they’re doing it as a means to support themselves or their families? Maybe the heroes that came from this system weren’t ideal, but they still did some good, as opposed to the staggering amount of harm you have caused.”

Stain’s body had almost given out by this point. He wanted to shout, to drag himself out of this bed and force the metal door down, to force this man to see, but the guard simply stepped away from the door, bored by the conversation.

“Whatever justifications you have, this is the result; thousands dead, countless lives ruined, dozens by your own hand, your image used as the standard by which psychopaths justify their depravity, and you, sealed inside a metal tomb, left to watch your world fall apart, unable to move, unable to eat anything that can’t fit through a straw, unable to even use the bathroom on your own. The idol you created for heroes torn down by your own hands. Regardless of your intent or ideals, that is the legacy you’ve created. This is the world you have to live in now. This is how your story ends, Akaguro Chizome.”

“No…no…you’re wrong! You’re wrong! You’re…!”

The guard shut the window, not caring to hear whatever rant Akaguro had for him, and continued his patrol.

Chapter Text

“Where’s the Springer Hero Agency?”

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“Why won’t you tell me…?”

The man…monster…villain…cracked the wall above the girls with nothing but his fingertips, the implicit threat that the same would happen to the girls soon.

“Go…! I said, go!” A boy with black hair and sharp teeth yelled desperately to himself in his mind, and yet his body was paralyzed with fear.

Before the situation could escalate though, a pink-skinned, pink-haired girl with horns saw the predicament that her friends were in, rushing between them and the cloaked villain, pointing down the street.

“Turn that corner and then make a left at the big street! The agency’s about two kilometers down that street!”

“Thanks.” The monster replied, walking away, leaving Mina to collapse to her knees as her nerves caught up with her.

“That was so scary!” Mina wept.

“Mina, thank you!”

“Why…didn’t I go…?”

Mina was so excited to be at UA! Sure, their homeroom teacher was a grump, but no matter what he said, she wasn’t going to stop trying to make this a good time and make friends!

She had already convinced all the girls to share contact info; Yaomomo was so prim and proper and smart, but she wasn’t stuck up or anything like that, so Mina thought she was cool. Hagakure was basically a girl after Mina’s own heart, and she could already feel that they were going to become besties. Jirou acted all aloof, but she gave off major tsundere vibes and Mina was so going to tease her when she found her crush. Asui was hard to read, but she seemed nice and friendly in her own way, so she was cool too. She was really close to Mongoose (wasn’t that confusing…she looked like a snake but her family name was Mongoose? Didn’t mongooses eat snakes? Wasn’t that in that one book Mina read that one time with the weird name? Mina was going to see if she’d be okay with her just calling her Habuko faster than she planned with everyone else’s personal names), which was nice because she seemed so shy. Mina was going to make sure to be extra nice to her so they could all be great friends! Habuko even had fluffy hair like hers! They could start a Fluffy Hair Club! She was already getting a read on some of the guys. Kaminari looked like he was trying too hard to be cool, but he was also a goof like Mina, so they’d probably get along. Mineta…Mina didn’t like Mineta. Tokoyami gave off super emo vibes…but didn’t she see a girl with telekinesis at the Entrance Exam that gave off ghosty vibes too? Just file that in her shipping projects for later. Shoji was big, but seemed nice too, and heteromorphs have got to look out for each other, right? Oh, and Kiri got in too! That was the best! He’d always seemed so shy and unsure of himself, but lately, he had been getting super into self-improvement, even dying his hair to make himself look more like his personal idol, Crimson Riot! Mina was looking forward to what he was going to become! And then there was Bakugou…who just gave off “major asshole” vibes. Granted, Mina had dealt with bullies in the past, she’d even managed to get them to make up with some of the other students that they had picked on, but Bakugou…he just treated everyone like garbage and Mina wondered if he liked the idea of hurting people. Maybe she was wrong though, maybe he was just a little intense. Heck, that kind of guy could be fun to tease just to show what a big softie they were underneath!

Only, that wasn’t how Mina was feeling about Bakugou at the moment, as she watched as All Might chastised Bakugou for his actions in the Battle Trial. He didn’t seem that concerned, only giving the Explosion boy a talking to and taking his gauntlets, so her classmates probably weren’t hurt too badly…at least she hoped so. Still, the fact that Bakugou had gone and done something like that in the first place, releasing an explosion right at Rin and collapsing the entire building, and the fact that he seemed more angry at All Might than guilty for what he did, didn’t paint a good picture.

“Man, what a jerk!” Mina said out loud, though even that felt like she was underplaying it.

“It’s probably not that bad.” Kiri pointed out. “I mean, All Might doesn’t seem to be that upset, so maybe this kind of thing just happens? But man, that’s some serious power Bakugou has packing!”

Mina reluctantly shrugged in agreement, though she also noticed Kiri’s eyes were still as wide as they were when the class had first seen the explosion. She thought it was kind of weird that he was focusing more on Bakugou’s power than what he had actually done with it, but maybe that was just a guy thing.

Mina had felt numb walking out of the USJ. It was like that time she had tricked that giant villain into leaving her friends alone, only so much worse. There had been villains everywhere, that Kurogiri villain warped so many of them all over the place, and they had been trying to kill them. It was only because of Sato’s quick thinking that she hadn’t been warped too.

But it was done, it was over, All Might beat the villain like he always did.

It was supposed to be over.

But then Mina saw the police carrying two stretchers, covered with black sheets out of the building.

Every night afterwards, Mina saw those stretchers in her dreams, imagining Habuko and Tsuyu crumbling away or getting crushed by the monster the League of Villains brought with them. She’d wake up, screaming, sobbing, and only able to get ahold of herself when her Mom and Dad came in to give her a hug. Then she’d spend the rest of her night flipping through her phone, hoping to find someone to talk to. Sometimes she’d chat with Kiri if he was awake. Apparently, he had been warped with Bakugou somewhere and had tried to confront the villains on their own. Kiri would talk about how ‘manly’ Bakugou had been, charging at the villains without fear. Mina still thought he was a bully, but maybe she wasn’t being fair.

She questioned that idea though when Bakugou made them all look like huge jerks when the other classes came to confront them after the USJ, issuing a challenge to them (though admittedly, Mina was so mad that she wanted to slap the two boys who had made that challenge. Tsuyu and Habuko were dead, you stupid assholes! They got murdered, we had almost been murdered, and you’re coming to rub that in our faces! Go straight to hell!) and then again when the Sports Festival actually started, showing how he still thought that he was better than everyone else.

Mina herself managed to do pretty well in the Obstacle Race, but then they got to the Second Round of the Sports Festival, which turned out to be a Calvary Battle. At first, Mina was super excited about this! She thought fast, and got Sero Hanta to agree to team up with her, knowing that his Tape Quirk would be useful in slowing down the other teams. She then moved on to Kirishima; sure, it was mostly because they were friends, but that meant that they knew each other and would work together more easily! (Suck on that, Aizawa!) But it turned out Kirishima had also found someone to team up with…

“Oh, hey Mina! Serobro! Come team up with Bakubro and me!”

Mina did not like the idea of teaming up with a guy who would spend the match screaming abuse at them, and tried to pull her friend aside.

“Kiri, do you really want to team up with him?” she said jerking her head towards Bakugou. She’d worry about being subtle, but all his attention was focused on Todoroki, whom he was glaring daggers at for beating him in the Obstacle Course. Another reason not to team up with him; a grudge like that was just going to make things harder for the rest of them. Kirishima though just looked confused at Mina’s reluctance.

“Well, yeah, sure! Bakubro’s really strong, I bet we’d do really well!”

“He’s also a huge jerk.” Mina answered. “If we team up with him, he’s just going to spend the whole thing screaming at us.”

“Aw, c’mon, Mina!” Kirishima said with a pained frown. “I know Bakubro’s rough around the edges, but he’s actually a super manly guy if you give him a chance!”

Mina sometimes wondered what her friend thought the word “manly” meant. However, by that point, Ms. Midnight warned everyone that they only had one minute left to make their teams, and Mina accepted that she didn’t have any choice but to go along with Kirishima.

To Kirishima’s credit, being on Bakugou’s team did get them through to the Third Round of the Sports Festival considering how aggressive he was in taking other people’s headbands, but it was still a miserable time for them. Bakugou treated them all like idiots, ignoring anything that they said, and his tendency to not even use their real names, calling Mina “Racoon Eyes,” really grated on her. She didn’t try to talk with Kirishima about this any further since she was grateful to move on to the Fighting Tournament, but part of her couldn’t help but wonder why he was so insistent on hanging out with Bakugou. If Mina was being honest with herself, Bakugou acted more like the kinds of guys that would bully Kirishima in junior high, only he’d be even meaner about it. And yet Kirishima didn’t seem to care! It wasn’t that it didn’t seem to bother him being called “Shitty Hair”, but rather he didn’t seem to see anything wrong with it in the first place. That just…didn’t sit well with Mina, and it made her worry for her friend.

Mina’s internship was fun, even if she ended up sharing it with a bunch of other students since she had to choose from the 40 workplaces that had contracts with UA rather than get an offer for herself (heck, she had technically ranked 7th place overall. Maybe people found it hard to take her seriously, maybe people were being judgy to her for being a heteromorph, but whatever.) Unfortunately, it got cut short pretty quickly.

Mina wasn’t super friendly with Iida, him being a little too stuffy for her liking, but she thought he was a good guy. If she thought about it, he had probably saved all of their lives when he had run out of the USJ and had alerted the teachers to what was going on. It turned out though that he had tried to use his internship as a way to track down Stain and get revenge for crippling his brother, only to get murdered himself.

Why? Why did he do that? He seemed so much smarter than that! And why did everyone keep on blaming them for what he did?

Aizawa hadn’t taught them much (in fact, while Mina accepted that she wasn’t the best student, could barely remember her sensei really teaching her anything; he usually just dumped them in their exercises and told them to figure it out on their own), but she had to admit that he was right about the world being unfair. She knew three dead people her age, and they had all been killed in the last month.

Could that happen to her? Could that happen to one of her other friends? They kept on running into villains, so what were they supposed to do?

Mina’s Mom and Dad had sat her down after Iida’s death and talked to her, asking if she was sure if she wanted to do this, to keep being a hero. She had answered immediately ‘Yes!’, but it was something that she was still thinking about. Being a hero was dangerous. She needed to be prepared if something like this happened again.

Unfortunately, Finals were still coming, and if Mina wanted to stay in the Hero Course, she needed to score well. There were two parts to the Final that Mina needed to prepare for; a Practical, and a written exam. Mina had been doing pretty well physically; she did well in the Sports Festival and she was probably the most athletic girl in 1-A (dancing really paid off!) In most cases, she wouldn’t be too worried about the Practical, especially with the rumor that it was just going to be them fighting against robots. So yeah, it wasn’t as much the practical that she was worried about, but just…life, and whatever might hit them next.

Thankfully, Yaomomo announced that she and Shoji (their Class Rep and…new…Vice Rep) had been meeting with someone from Gen Ed who had been helping to analyze their Quirks. Apparently, whoever this Midoriya guy was, he was smart enough that Principle Nezu took him on as his personal student, which meant he must be super smart! So, when Mina got a packet with ideas about her Quirk, she made sure to read it carefully.

It was…kind of complicated stuff, and Mina had to reread it several times to make heads and tails of it, but a lot of the stuff Midoriya had written about sounded really cool! Like the idea of using a hose to spray her acid over long distances, or to store it in capsules for later use as grenades (there was a note there that Power Loader would only add those to her costume once she had proven that she could use them safely.) Some of it sounded kind of…ordinary, like the idea of using her acid as an antiseptic, but hey, she would have never thought to use it that way! It was kind of boggling to have someone point out all the different ways acids could be used; making fertilizers, making medicines, removing rust…honestly a lot of it went over her head, like how acids act as “reagents,” making Mina think that she should ask Yaomomo for help explaining all this stuff.

Which brought her to dealing with the second (actually the first) part of the Final, the written exam. Mina hadn’t been studying as much as she should have, considering everything that had been going on lately, so she knew that she wasn’t ready for this. However, once she and Kaminari (both at the bottom of the class) moaned about this, Yaomomo came in and offered to tutor them! Mina was right, Yaomomo was so cool! And when Mina asked her to help explain some of Midoriya’s notes, she made things so much easier! For once, Mina felt excited about studying!

It turned out though that it wasn’t just going to be her and Kaminari either. Ojiro and Jiro (ship?...Ojirojiro?...nah, no chemistry) had also asked to come along, much to Yaomomo’s delight. This gave Mina an idea, and she zeroed in on Kirishima walking up to Bakugou, who had followed Yaoyorozu back into the classroom. She paused for a moment, realizing that neither Yaomomo or Bakugou looked particularly happy. Of course, Bakugou normally didn’t look happy, but here he looked outright pissed, and Mina was wondering whether it was a good idea for Kirishima, let alone anyone else to talk to him. As for Yaoyorozu, though she still looked calm and composed, it was almost scary to see her of all people angry.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT, SHITTY HAIR!?”

Bakugou’s shout jolted Mina. She was about to go and pull her friend away from the jerk, but Kirishima just kept talking to him as if nothing bad had happened. He didn’t seem bothered, so Mina kept her distance as Kirishima continued to talk to Bakugou, eventually walking away happy, though Bakugou had barely looked at him beyond first shouting at and insulting him. Mina felt uneasy about this for a moment before she shook her head and sought her friend out.

“Hey, Kiri! Some of us are going to be studying with Yaomomo, you should come!”

“Thanks Mina,” Kirishima answered, albeit awkwardly rubbing the back of his head, “but I already asked if Bakubro could help me study.”

Mina winced, and she was pretty sure that Kirishima noticed, as he frowned at her reaction. She needed to try to do some damage control; she really didn’t want her friend to be around Bakugou, not when he was like this.

“Are you sure? Yaomomo would probably love to help you, she seemed really excited to set a study session up for everyone. And she’s also the highest scorer and the Class Rep, so if there’s anyone who could help us with studying, it would be her. I was also thinking that she might be able to give me some advice on how to work with Midoriya’s analysis, you know, learn about different acids, how to use them, that kind of stuff. I bet she’d be able to help you a lot with your Quirk and the stuff that Midoriya has in his analysis for you, too!”

Kirishima didn’t look convinced.

“And…well…” Mina looked awkwardly at Bakugou and Yaoyorozu for a moment, “Yaomomo is just really nice. It might be better if you studied with her instead of Bakugou, you know, someone who isn’t as intense?”

“I want to study with Bakubro because he’s intense!” Kirishima answered. “I think he’d really get me to focus, you know?”

“Okay…it’s just…Yaomomo could probably help you to focus too, and she’d probably be nicer about it…”

“Mina.” Kirishima interrupted. “He’s my friend. I want to hang out with him. Actually,” Kirishima’s eyes widened in excitement, “how about you study with us! You could get to know him better and clear things up between you two!”

Mina backed off with her hands in the air. She seriously doubted that studying with Bakugou would actually help her, and she didn’t want to put her grade at risk just because Kirishima wasn’t listening to her.

“I’ll just stick with Yaomomo.” She answered in defeat. Kirishima actually deflated at this somewhat. Mina just couldn’t get it. Just looking at Bakugou now, he looked and acted like the slightest noise would get him to literally explode. He acted like a huge abusive jerk to Kirishima, and yet Kiri kept on acting as if he was cool. Kirishima kept on insisting that Mina just needed to give Bakugou a chance, but there was nothing to indicate that he was anything but a self-absorbed, abusive asshole. Mina knew that the way Bakugou was treating her friend was wrong, but she didn’t know how to get him to realize that.

“Just…if Bakugou does something that’s mean while your studying, don’t be afraid to call, okay?”

“He’s not going to do anything mean…” Kirishima answered with a frustrated exasperation. “I’m going to be fine! We’ll probably have a really great time!”

“…If you say so.” Mina said, turning around and sighing once she was away from her friend. She hoped that he was going to be okay.

Yaomomo was a great tutor…but there was soooo much material to go over, and Yaoyorozu just seemed to get it so much easier than anyone else. Mina felt like her brain was a wrung-out sponge…actually, that would be after a test. Mina felt like her brain was a sopping wet sponge…filled with glue. Thankfully, Yaomomo, bless her heart, was patient enough to repeat herself as many times as Mina and the others needed.

Oh, also apparently Yaomomo was rich. Like, super rich. Mansion and servants rich. Like, premium tea and French snacks during their breaks rich. For anyone else, Mina would think that they were flexing their wealth, but Yaomomo just seemed so happy to have them over that it was clear that she really didn’t know how overwhelming this could come off to anyone else, and Mina wasn’t going to do anything to damage her Class Rep’s innocent smile. Also, caviar was actually pretty tasty!

In addition to their study period for the written exams, Yaoyorozu set aside an hour to go over anything that had to do with Midoriya’s analysis. The way that her focus became so much more intense at this though made Mina wonder if she wasn’t the only one scared by what had been going on, and looking for any opportunity to get stronger. She gave Mina a crash course on everything that she knew about acids and how they were used. Surprisingly though, she asked Mina for a sample of her acid to analyze herself, as Midoriya had suggested that she might be able to replicate it. This was one of the few times that Mina ever felt serious about something, as she made it clear to Yaoyorozu that she needed to be careful; she didn’t want to create acid that she lacked a resistance to. While Mina was looking through some chemistry books that Yaomomo let her borrow, she was interrupted by Kaminari.

“Hey Ashido, can I ask you for help with something?”

Mina liked hanging out with Kaminari. He was a funny guy, and that felt important to have around in times like this. It was nice knowing that there was another goofball in the class.

“Sure, what is it?”

Kaminari brought out his own packet of analysis, along with his own science textbook.

“One of the big things that Midoriya’s analysis says is that I need to learn how to channel my electricity in ways that it’s not just blasting everywhere through the air, so I’ve been trying to learn about conductors. One of the things he mentioned was that acids are good at conducting electricity, and his notes say that I should talk with you about it.”

Mina chuckled awkwardly.

“Sorry…I’m still trying to figure all that stuff out myself…I always just used my acid to dissolve stuff and skate around, Midoriya was the first person to ever point out all the other stuff I could do with it…” Mina laughed, but she was actually a little embarrassed. Almost everyone else seemed to have a much better understanding of the ways that their Quirks worked. Jiro knew a lot about sound, Uraraka (one of the new students who had joined after the Sports Festival; she was bubbly and fun to be around) knew a lot about gravity, but she hadn’t actually bothered to learn that much about acid itself until now. She was trying to fix that, but she kind of felt dumb and a bit guilty that she couldn’t help Kaminari much. However, hearing this, he laughed himself.

“Yeah, I know what you mean…I always just blasted my electricity everywhere even though it always overloaded me and made me go ‘derp mode.’ I feel kind of dumb for needing someone to point out how electricity actually works.”

Mina grinned. For all the times that Kaminari worked hard to be cool, especially towards girls, it was refreshing to see someone else admit that they didn’t quite have it all together. Again, nice to know that she wasn’t the only goof in the class. Still, it would be best if they tried to help each other out.

“Well, hey! Let’s figure this out together!” she said, flipping to one of Midoriya’s pages of analysis, finding notes that she hadn’t quite gotten to yet.

“Acids are used as conductors in batteries; when they ionize water, they produce charged particles (ions.) The stronger an acid is, the more ions there are, and the more electricity they conduct. NOTE: Possible combo move with Kaminari? Create trail of acid towards target, force current through trail to electrocute. WARNING: Test in controlled environment first. Obviously, Kaminari should not directly touch acid; he should instead stick something into the acid that he can conduct it through, such as a bar of metal.”

“Oh yeah,” Kaminari commented, “Midoriya said that I need to include something that I can use to conduct electricity more easily in my costume; the Support Department got me these cool designs for a collapsible staff or a whip!” He showed off pictures of some of the equipment ideas Midoriya drew. “Do you think I should ask Yaoyorozu to give me staff fighting lessons?”

“Oh, totally!” Mina answered. “We’ll turn you into some electric ninja!” She opened up her own folder to show off. “He gave me ideas for hoses to spray my acid farther, and acid grenades!”

The two ended up spending a lot of time simply talking like this. It felt a bit like goofing off, but while they were talking about their studies, it actually felt a bit easier to understand stuff, simply by filling in the gaps that each other didn’t get, or encouraging themselves to look up the answers, like what kind of acid was best at conducting electricity, if it could be conducted through an acid mist (that was a bit of a mean idea that Midoriya had come up with, suggesting that Mina could create a cloud of acid mist to act as pepper spray,) or the kinds of foods that would be best for their Quirks. Apparently Midoriya recommended that both of them eat a lot more foods with electrolytes in them like avocados, bananas, citrus fruits, and milk. There was actually a weird amount of overlap between their Quirks that was fun to get into.

It was funny; if Mina said that she was going to study with Kaminari with all people, she would have thought that meant they were going to end up goofing off, but they ended up working well together, so much so that Yaoyorozu was really happy with their progress and praised them for their work. The whole thing ended up being so much more fun that Mina had expected, and she was so ready for the Finals!

Mina was so not ready for the Finals!

First off, they were not fighting robots, they were fighting their teachers!

Secondly, she and Kaminari were matched against Nezu!

Mina could still hear the principal cackling while all the buildings in the zone they were being tested in were crumbling like dominos.

She couldn’t tell whether it was better or worse that besides her and Kaminari, five other students had failed the Practical. It might have been depressing if it was just her but…no it was still depressing. Super depressing. It was a surprise to her though that out of everyone who was taking the exam, Todoroki and Bakugou, the two strongest students in the class, had failed. Sure, they were up against All Might, but…actually never mind, that kind of explained it. It was just weird; Mina didn’t like Bakugou, but she could see that he was a good student; he was strong, had a powerful Quirk, he worked hard, but he failed just as badly as she did. That was just…that actually made Mina feel a bit of petty pleasure, but it was still weird!

Bakugou was definitely still angry about failing though. His teeth were gritted, his fists were clenched, though he kept on making small “pops” with his explosions like they were a nervous tic; he just looked like an angry guard dog. Even Kirishima was keeping his distance from him.

Still, it was so depressing that she had failed…Aizawa had warned them that anyone who failed wouldn’t get to go to the Summer Camp! Everyone was going to have so much fun, making smores, looking at the stars, playing games…though it might be depressing for them to be missing almost half the class…and now Mina felt guilty on top of depressed.

Aizawa was giving his announcements on the results of the Final. Mina and Kaminari still finished the written exam at the bottom of the class, but they had passed along with everyone else! In fact, Mina had actually moved up a slot…but that was because Kirishima finished at 19th. Maybe she should have worked harder to get him to study with Yaomomo; it didn’t seem that working with Bakugou had been worth it.

“I told you all that anyone who doesn’t pass the Final Exam will not be allowed to go to the Summer Camp…” Aizawa was saying, before giving one of his shit-eating grins. “That was a logical ruse.”

Mina, along with Kaminari, Kirishima, Sato, and Sero all somehow groaned and cheered at this. They really should have seen this coming.

“If anything, the students that failed will be needing this training even more. However, to make up for your performances, you will be taking Remedial Lessons with Vlad King and me.”

Everyone who cheered just groaned at that, but something kept Mina from doing the same. She instead raised her hand.

“Do we need to bring anything extra for these lessons?”

Aizawa stared at Mina for a moment, and she wondered if he was surprised.

“No. That is all. You’re dismissed for lunch.”

Lunch was a bit depressing for Mina, as she sat with the other 1-A students that had failed the practical (except for Todoroki, who had gone off to eat on his own because he was edgy like that,) made worse when she saw her classmates who did pass go and thank Midoriya (who, if Mina was in a more cheerful state of mind, she would have definitely drafted into the Fluffy Hair Club.)

“We…really should have paid closer attention to what Midoriya wrote, Kirishima…” Sato said as he watched this.

“How can he expect us to run away though?” Kirishima gripped back. “A man faces his problems head on!”

Mina would have sighed, thinking that was an attitude that they all needed to get out of, when she noticed Bakugou staring daggers at Midoriya. Thankfully, the little Green Bean didn’t notice, but it put Mina on edge that Bakugou was glaring at Midoriya as if he wanted to run across the cafeteria and jump him. She tensed up as she saw Bakugou start to stand, only to freeze, this time looking at Yaomomo, who was glaring at Bakugou herself, almost as if she was saying, “try it, bitch.” Bakugou glared at her, and then at one of the security cameras, and scoffed, going back to digging at his food. Mina shuddered; she had never seen Yaoyorozu look so ready to throw down with someone, but it was nice to know that even if Kirishima and Aizawa weren’t taking Bakugou’s attitude seriously, someone was.

“So…Ashido?” Mina snapped out of it when Kaminari got her attention.

“Yeah, Kaminari?”

“I just noticed…you didn’t seem that upset when Aizawa said we were going to be getting Remedial Lessons. You know he’s gonna run us ragged, right?” he asked, studying Mina. She frowned for a minute.

“I don’t know…I guess I feel like I kind of deserve it…”

“Wait, really?” Sero asked, saying what everyone was thinking out loud. “I mean, good for you for not whining about this like we are, but you two were up against Nezu of all people. I could have handled Ms. Midnight a lot better, but honestly, I think it was kind of unfair for you two to have to go up against someone like him.”

“What, do you think we could have beat him?” Kaminari asked hopefully. “I can’t think of anything…”

“Well…no, I can’t think of anything right now…” Mina admitted, “but we didn’t exactly do anything helpful during the test either, did we? We kind of just ran around screaming like chickens with our heads cut off.” She said, making Kaminari deflate a bit as she realized her point. Everyone else was still looking at her as if they couldn’t believe what she was saying, so Mina tried to explain more;

“It’s just…” Mina looked at everyone awkwardly before looking down at the table. “You remember what Nezu said before the Exam, when he was explaining why we were fighting the teachers instead of robots? There’s a lot more villains now, and we need to be ready if we face them again. I guess I just feel like I need to get better, faster. Yeah, it sucks that we’re going to miss out at the Summer Camp…but I kind of want to make sure that I don’t do what we did when we fought Nezu again.”

The others stared at her. Mina knew that it didn’t make sense coming from her, after all; it wasn’t as if she ever acted like she was taking their lessons all that seriously the way Yaomomo or Todoroki did.

“That’s manly!”

The outburst made everyone flinch, but Kirishima stared at Mina with stars in his eyes nonetheless.

“You’re right, Mina! This is just an opportunity for us to make ourselves better! We can’t get stuck on this!”

If there was one thing Mina had to admit about Kiri, it was that he was a great hype man, as his exuberance managed to perk everyone up as they decided not to let their bad performances get them down.

“All students…the camp is under attack…Eraserhead has given permission to students to use their Quirks to defend themselves…”

Mandalay’s Telepathy came through to Mina and the other students at the Remedial Lesson cabin just a minute after the heroine’s nephew Kota had run in, claiming to have seen fire and heard loud noises off in the forest. Something seemed off about the message though, coming in and out. It sounded almost as if Mandalay was struggling to stay conscious.

“Aunt Shino…” Kota gasped, his eyes wide and frightened. Throughout Mina’s time at the Summer Camp, the young boy had treated everyone at the camp with anger and indifference, and had only barely tolerated his aunt, the Pro Hero Mandalay. Mina didn’t know what made him hate heroes so much, but whatever the case, what he was hearing now scared him. So much so that he would have darted out of the cabin were it not for Vlad King stopping him.

“Stop! I can’t let you go out there with villains on the loose!”

“Shino’s hurt! Something’s making it hard for her to use her Telepathy!” Kota yelled back, startling the students there with the confirmation of their fears.

“Kid, she sent us a message from Eraserhead, so he must be with her, she’ll be safe!” Vlad King attempted to reassure the young boy, putting his hands on his shoulders.

Kota glared at Vlad King, tears threatening to prick his eyes in fear, only just managing to keep himself from kicking the hero in the balls by the logic he had pointed out. All of a sudden though, a bright, hot, blue light blared through the windows of the cabin.

“What is it!?” Monoma yelped. Sero, who was closest to the window, looked, only to recoil.

“The woods…they’re on fire!”

Mina felt her heart beating in her chest. They were under attack. Bakugou bared his teeth and would have rushed out the cabin door were it not for Vlad King blocking the way. Todoroki also stood up.

“What do you two think you’re doing? I’m not sending you out there!”

“And what, wait for the shitty villains to fry us?” Bakugou snarled.

“I can put the fires out.” Todoroki pointed out. “We need to deal with them before they spread too…”

Todoroki’s point was cut off though, as the wall next to the door suddenly exploded. Mina felt herself flying through the air only to hit the ground in a tumble, barely able to make heads or tails of the situation. She had a brief moment to register that the cabin had been completely demolished in some impact, and the other students had been scattered. Todoroki lay nearby, unconscious with a gash on his head. The others, like Mina, were trying to pick themselves up from hopefully less-serious wounds. All around them were splintered pieces of wood and metal pipes from the cabin. Vlad King was the only one on his feet, having shielded Kota from the impact, recalling several tendrils of blood that he had used in his attempt to keep the students from being too injured.

“Muscular…” Mina heard Vlad King growl. Mina felt her heart stop as she saw the villain that had destroyed the cabin. Muscular was a tall, hulking figure, muscles literally rippling out of his body like worms. He had a savage grin on his face that relished the destruction and violence he was going to inflict, and his one prosthetic eye completed the image of a monster in human flesh. To Mina, it was like seeing that giant villain from years ago again, but unlike that time, Mina knew full well that this villain outright wanted to kill them all.

There was a brief halt though as Muscular took in everyone around him.

“Huh…is the brat we’re supposed to grab here? Where is he…?”

Vlad King used the lapse to shove Kota over to Sero, who was closest to him, the lanky teenager wrapping his arms around the boy, before Vlad used the brief period of distraction to generate a blade of blood from his gauntlet, aimed directly at Muscular’s good eye. Before Vlad King could hit the villain though…

“DIE!!!”

The shout and following explosions from Bakugou drew the attention of Muscular to the hero in front of him, as Bakugou blasted in between the villain and Vlad, who only just yanked his blade out of the way before he could skewer Bakugou. Just as Bakugou had thrown his hands in Muscular’s face though, the villain smacked him away with the back of his hand, launching him through one of the trees nearby, bending it at the impact.

“Bakugou!” Vlad King shouted, worried for the student, before feeling two hands grab him by the shoulders.

“SHOW ME YOUR BLOOD!” Muscular screamed.

The villain pulled, and Vlad King screamed as his arms were yanked out of their sockets. Mina almost vomited seeing his shoulder bones sticking out of the mess of writhing blood tendrils that the hero had only just managed to generate to prevent his arms from being ripped off completely.

“Oh, yeah!” Muscular grinned at the sight of gore. “You’re that Vlad King guy, right! I’d always wanted to fight someone who could do shit like that with their blood! Too bad you’re so weak, though.” The villain kicked Vlad King in the head, sending him sliding away.

“B…Bakubro…”

Mina looked over at Kirishima, who saw where Bakugou had been smacked into. He was trembling, unable to move. Everything felt like a nightmare; fire burning all around them, searing like they were in a furnace. The only adult there batted away like a fly, and a grinning, horrible monster that wanted nothing more than to hurt him.

“Wait…” Muscular stopped, distracted by Kirishima and looking over at Bakugou. “Was that the kid I was supposed to grab? Nah, couldn’t be, he was too weak.” He turned his gaze over all the remaining students. “How about all of you though, huh? How about you give me a good time!”

Mina took in everything in a second. She was standing a few feet away from Kaminari. Kirishima was trembling and staring at Muscular. Sero had his arms wrapped around Kota, the two just as unresponsive. Sato was crouched over Vlad King, but looked just as scared as anyone else. Monoma was blubbering to himself on his knees, a few feet away from the knocked-out Todoroki. Mina felt a pipe by her foot…

“Obviously, Kaminari should not directly touch acid; he should instead stick something into the acid that he can conduct it through, such as a bar of metal.”

Thinking quickly, Mina grabbed the pipe.

“Kaminari!” she shouted, throwing him the pipe, praying that he got the message. She had a brief instant of his eyes widening in realization before she turned to Muscular. The villain saw Kaminari holding the pipe and snorted, thinking that Mina had handed him a weapon to fight.

“Alright kid, looks like your girlfriend…”

Muscular’s words were drowned out by Mina, pumping more into her Quirk than she had ever tried before, to the point that she could feel the burn herself on her skin, spraying a line of acid directly at the villain’s face and around his feet.

“MY EYES!!! YOU BITCH, I’LL FUCKING…!!!”

Mina ignored the scream and sprayed the line of acid over to Kaminari and away from the trail of blood Vlad King had left. He lifted the pipe into the air and shouted:

“Everyone get down!”

Mina tackled Kirishima to the ground, hoping that Kaminari could focus his Quirk enough to not hit any of them. Kaminari jammed the pipe into the acid, which gave off a violent hiss before he exerted himself just as much as Mina. There was a loud cracking sound and a smell like burning fish.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”

Muscular’s grin was gone as he screamed, his flesh smoking and spasming like a mesh of snakes. Kaminari though didn’t let up, continuing to pour electricity into the pipe in his hands. Muscular seized up and collapsed, his body still spasming and screaming in horrific agony, making Mina clamp her hands over her ears to block out the sound.

Finally, it stopped, and over the sound of burning forest and her own whimpering, Mina heard the sound of a pipe hitting the ground. She looked up and saw Kaminari standing in the same position, slightly hunched over as he had jammed the pipe into the acid, though he was trembling. Mina crept over to him, her eyes glued to the still-smoking body of Muscular,

Oh God I killed him I made Kaminari kill him but what if he’s still alive we can’t do that again he’ll kill us he’ll kill us all oh God what do we do?

“…Kaminari?”

Kaminari didn’t answer, though she could hear a faint giggling coming from him. It wasn’t like the other times he had overcharged himself though, where he would mumble dumbly and stick his thumbs in the air. Here, he was giggling, but he was still staring at Muscular’s body, a faint trail of tears coming out of his eyes, his body shivering.

“Kaminari…” Mina felt her own body shake. “I’m…I’m going to help you over to Sero…okay?”

Mina put her hands on Kaminari’s shoulders as gently as possible. He let her guide him over to Sero where she sat him down. Sero was still staring at Muscular’s body, his eyes almost bugging out of his head, but seeing Kaminari and Mina, he blinked, managing to help Kaminari sit. Kota was also staring at Muscular. Thankfully, he didn’t seem as scared.

Next issue. Keep active. Don’t panic. There are still things to do.

The fire was threatening to spread further. They should be getting away from it, but that would be hard even if they didn’t have to carry Vlad King and Todoroki. Todoroki. He could put out the flames. But he was knocked out. Mina gaze fell on Monoma, who was gaping at Muscular in shock.

“Monoma…can…can you copy Todoroki’s Quirk and put out the fire?”

Monoma blinked at Mina for a moment before snapping out of it enough to speak.

“Yes…yes…I can do that…put out the fire, I can do that…” He crawled over to the unconscious form of Todoroki and tapped his neck. He put his right hand down and created a mass of ice that collided with the blue flames in a rush of hissing mist, but thankfully it was enough to put everything out.

Fires out. Immediate dangers done unless Muscular wakes up is he dead did they kill him should they hit him again…Mina shook her head, forcing herself back in the moment.

People are hurt. Do what you can for them.

She looked down at Todoroki. He was breathing, the only obvious wound a bruise and a small gash on his head. It didn’t look bad. Mina could only hope that it wasn’t bad, she didn’t know what else to do.

Vlad King was gritting his teeth and growling in pain, gasping through clenched teeth. Sato was supporting his head, but didn’t look like he knew what else to do. Mina wasn’t sure she knew much herself. She wasn’t sure that they could do much.

Set the bones. Right. They’ve got to set the bones so they don’t move around too much.

“S…Sato?” Mina whimpered. “D…do you think you can set his arms?”

Sato gulped, probably realizing how much this was going to hurt their sensei, but nodded.

“Yeah…yeah…I bake…I can keep my hands steady…I can do that…”

While Sato set about grabbing splints, Mina noticed a plastic cup on the ground that someone had been drinking from during the lessons.

Right. This was something else she could do. She picked up the cup and walked over the Kota, not seeing a cooler or anything else nearby.

“Kota? Could you fill this with water?”

Kota blinked, looking at the cup confused, but nodded and did what she asked without arguing. Mina held the cup in both hands as she made her way back over the Vlad King, scared to spill it.

“Okay…Midoriya said that just a drop or two of acid at the level of vinegar…”

Mina held her still-stinging finger over the cup, making sure she got the pH as close as possible to acetic acid before dropping one bead of it in, swirling it around to mix. Sato had managed to splint Vlad King’s arms as best as he could. Mina carried her concoction over, picking up a small stick.

“Vlad King…? Sensei…?”

She could see Vlad King’s eyes open just a bit.

“I…I’m going to disinfect your wounds…it’s going to hurt…so…just bite down on this…”

Vlad King opened his mouth, letting Mina place the stick between his teeth. As gently as possible, she poured a small splash onto his shoulders, anywhere he was bleeding. The hero growled like a bull dog, crushing the wood in his mouth, but held still long enough for Mina to treat him and for her and Sato to cover his wounds the best that they could.

What if I got the mix wrong what if I just made things worse is he going to be able to keep his arms is he even going to survive how far away is the hospital how are we going to get him help does anyone even know what’s going on?

Out of the corner of her eye, Mina saw movement in the woods. She prepared her acid again…only to stop as she saw Aizawa running towards them with Mandalay over his shoulder. He looked once at Muscular, but ignored him, for some reason going up to Mina.

Oh, right, she was the only person standing right now besides Kirishima.

“What happened?”

“…Villains…someone set a fire around the cabin…Muscular crashed through it…knocked out Todoroki, Bakugou, and Vlad King…Tried to disinfect Vlad King’s arms…”

Aizawa looked at the cup still in Mina’s hands, to Vlad King, and then to all of the students…

“Where’s Bakugou?”

“Muscular hit him into that tree…” Mina pointed, only to swallow her heart when she saw that Bakugou wasn’t there anymore. When this was pointed out, Kirishima looked at the tree, and then frantically looked around the woods.

“Bakubro? Bakubro?”

“Damn.” Aizawa cursed, placing Mandalay on the ground. Mina felt her stomach turn as she saw that something had hit her that had left long, jagged scars from her face down her torso; Aizawa had bandaged her face to the best of his ability with torn pieces of his costume.

“Bakugou! We’ve got to look for him!” Kirishima shouted, about to run into the woods himself before Aizawa snagged his arm to hold him back.

“I will find him. Stay here, keep out of sight as much as possible.”

“What!?” Kirishima yelped. “We can’t just…”

“There are still villains out there, and someone needs to look after the wounded. I am ordering you to stay here and only fight if you are attacked.”

Aizawa took the cup of makeshift disinfectant from Mina’s hands and smelled it, before sticking the tip of his finger in it.

“This will do. I need you to try to disinfect Mandalay’s wounds the best you can, but keep it out of her eyes.” He announced before running into the woods, following a trail that none of them would have been able to see.

“Aunt Shino…” Kota whimpered, walking up to Mandalay. He got on his knees, taking her by the shoulder, crying.

“Kota…let me treat her, okay?”

Mina knelt down, trying to block Kota’s view of Mandalay’s face the best she could before pulling off the makeshift bandages. She wanted the throw up; it was like Mandalay had been hit by multiple knives at once, almost peeling the skin from the right side of her face. The hero was breathing at least.

“Mandalay…I’m going to try to disinfect your wounds, alright?” Mina said, hoping that the hero could hear her as she gently poured small splashes of antiseptic over her wounds before replacing the bandages. Eventually, her cup was empty, and she had done all that she could.

“We…we’ve got to go after him…” Kirishima said, this time stopped by Sero.

“Not here, dude. Not like this. We don’t know what other villains are out there.”

Kirishima looked like he wanted to fight and argue, but Sero’s expression made it clear that he would use his Quirk to keep Kiri there if it came to that. With the two staring each other down, Monoma standing over Todoroki, either to protect him or to have access to the strongest Quirk possible, Sato watching over Vlad King, and Kota watching over his aunt in a panicked worry, Mina was left with nothing to do but pray that they weren’t going to get attacked again. Slowly, she sat down, hugging her knees to her chest, exhausted and terrified, but unable to calm for even a second for fear that someone else was going to come attack them. She felt movement next to her, and saw that Kaminari had picked up the pipe again. He seemed lucid enough, albeit terrified as her, but he stood next to her, giving her a glance as if to reassure himself that she was alright before looking back over the woods. Mina felt as if Kaminari was giving her a break, and finally, she allowed herself to start to cry.

They took him I let them sneak past he’s gone he might have been a jerk but they took him are they going to kill him are they still here how many others died where is everyone…

A few minutes after he left, Aizawa came back to let Mina and the other students outside of the wreckage of the Remedial Lessons cabin know that the League had escaped with Bakugou. It took hours for the police and paramedics to arrive, or at least that’s what it felt like to Mina. During that time, most of Mina’s classmates made their way back to the cabins. Aoyama brought back Hagakure and Jiro, both unconscious from the gas. Awase, a boy from 1-B brought back Yaoyorozu, who had been hurt by a Nomu. Aizawa came back, carrying Uraraka, who was covered in blood and so pale and she was hardly breathing, and all Aizawa could tell them to do was to keep her as warm as possible and keep her elevated and oh God was she going to die what happened to her? He came back later, carrying Shoji, but he was beaten up almost as bad as Vlad King, his arms and legs broken and he had trouble breathing. Tokoyami was with him, hurt by a bad burn that he had to keep a wet cloth on. He was conscious, but was hunched over, staring off into the distance, and didn’t want to be around anyone else. Despite wanting to just go home, to curl up under a blanket and cry, Mina busied herself making more antiseptic, treating whoever she could. By the time that Aizawa brought back Tiger and Pixie-Bob, both unconscious with bad head injuries, rescue workers had finally arrived and could start bringing in all the other students who had been knocked unconscious by one of the villains’ gas attack.

One of the rescue workers put a blanket over Mina’s shoulders while she sat, waiting for a car to take her out of there, the wounded taking priority. She saw them airlift Uraraka and Shoji away with Mandalay and Vlad King, wondering if that was going to be the last time that she’d see them alive.

Kirishima was fretting, unable to sit still, tapping his foot or pacing as he muttered to himself, trying to talk to any police officer or hero he could about what they knew about what happened to Bakugou. Kaminari had sat down next to her at some point, covered in his own blanket. She wished Kirishima would sit down with them and calm down, she just wanted everything to stop…

Eventually, Mina was taken aside to be interviewed by one of the police; actually the chief of police apparently, a man with a Beagle-like head named Tsuragamae. Mina told him what happened to her and the others at the Remedial Cabin. She wondered if she was going to get in trouble for what she did to Muscular, or for what she tried to do for Vlad King and Mandalay and the others; that wasn’t self-defense, after all. But she was too numb to really consider that, and just answered the man’s questions. He wrote everything down on a little notepad, which he closed once she had finished, Mina faced the ground, too tired and scared to lift her head.

“Ms. Ashido, there’s something you should know about how you acted tonight…”

Was what she did amount to a crime? Did she deserve to be expelled?

“You did everything right.”

Mina picked her head up. Tsuragamae’s expression was hard to read, but he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“You were faced with an extreme situation, and handled yourself to the same standard that I would expect of a pro.”

“But…Muscular…” Mina whimpered, still remembering the man’s screams, the smell of burning flesh.

“You were given explicit permission to use your Quirk in self-defense, and considering the options you had available to you at the time, you neutralized an extremely dangerous villain in one of the few ways possible. As for you using your Quirk for first aid purposes,” Tsuragamae closed his eyes grimly before giving Mina as close to an encouraging smile as possible, “I can make no promises about what will to happen to those you treated, but your actions have given them the best chance possible. As far as I can tell, you did nothing wrong, and you did everything that you possibly could to protect yourself and others. I know that this had been an overwhelming experience for you, but I for one am proud of how you have handled yourself.”

Mina felt her throat tighten up. She didn’t want to cry in front of the chief of police, but everything had been so overwhelming, with the threat to her life and to her friends, that she couldn’t help it and sobbed into Tsuragamae’s coat. The man hugged her gently, allowing her to cry herself out a bit longer before he had to move on to another student.

Mina’s parents hugged her tighter than anything she had felt before when she got home, crying in relief that she was okay. She spent the first night clinging to her mother, wanting to stay where it was safe, where people’s lives weren’t depending on her after just a term’s worth of training.

Eventually, she was able to pull herself away, albeit wrapped in a blanket in her room. Her mom and dad were watching the news in the living room, but Mina didn’t want to listen to it; to hear her class and her school raked over the coals again for being attacked by villains. From the little she could make out, the news wasn’t talking about anything that she didn’t already know, though a lot of it was about Bakugou, as reporters theorized why he had been taken by the League. The information that she most wanted to hear about; how her friends were recovering, she could get from the Class A group chat. Yaoyorozu and Todoroki were cleared pretty quickly. Hagakure, Jiro, and the others that had gotten caught in the villain Mustard’s toxic gas cloud were still in the hospital, though it sounded like they were going to be okay eventually. Uraraka, Shoji, Vlad King, and Mandalay though were still in intensive treatment. Tokoyami’s life wasn’t in danger, but apparently he had to receive skin grafts for a burn that he had received from one of the villains that had attacked. Eventually, she got a message saying that Tokoyami was going to be cleared, and Kirishima suggested that they all visit him at the hospital.

Mina still felt sick, but she wanted to get out, and to see her friends for herself to make sure that they were okay, so she asked her parents to drive her to the hospital where everyone was being treated. She met with the other twelve of her classmates that were still able to move around in the waiting area, where her eyes locked with Kaminari. He sent her a nod, and she managed to smile back to him.

“Awesome, it looks like everyone’s here!” Kirishima exclaimed as Mina arrived. Immediately, Mina could tell that something was off about her friend. He seemed glad to see them all, but he felt shifty in a way that she couldn’t immediately identify. His eyes shifted to Yaoyorozu every now and then for some reason, which the heiress seemed to pick up on herself, looking back at Kiri with a worried and suspicious glance. Kirishima however didn’t explain until they had all gotten into Tokoyami’s room.

The crow-headed boy was sitting in a bed at the far end of the room away from the door, staring out the window, only sparing his class a glance. Mina could see a large portion of his torso bandaged over, but he was well enough to be sitting upright. He still seemed scared though.

“Tokoyami, how are you feeling?” Yaoyorozu asked gently.

“…My doctor says that I’ll be released in an hour.” He answered.

“That’s good.” Yayorozu smiled. “We were worried about you.”

Tokoyami winced for some reason.

“Is something wrong?” Yaoyorozu asked.

“…I hurt Shoji.”

“What do you mean?” Ojiro asked.

Eventually, Tokoyami sighed, closing his eyes.

“…I lost control of Dark Shadow. I saw that villain Moonfish attack Shoji…and I was angered…it…combined with the darkness of the forest and overpowered Shadow…he overwhelmed me, and I lost control. I couldn’t get Dark Shadow to stop destroying everything…and Shoji was hit.”

Mina put her hand over her mouth in shock. She had been worried about hurting her friends with her Quirk when she was trying to disinfect their wounds…but Tokoyami had something just like that happen to him. She noticed also for the first time that Dark Shadow himself wasn’t out, occasionally popping out from Tokoyami to cackle or comment on something. She wondered how the Quirk felt from all of this.

“I…I don’t even know if I can be a hero after what I’ve done.”

“Tokoyami…” Yaoyorozu sat down on the bed and put a gentle hand on Tokoyami’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. You were overwhelmed.”

Tokoyami didn’t look any more convinced. Everyone settled into an uncomfortable silence, until Kirishima spoke up.

“Okay…so…there’s something that I wanted to talk about.”

Everyone in the room apart from Tokoyami looked to Kirishima.

“What is it, Kirishima?” Yaoyorozu asked.

Kirishima looked around, making sure that only his classmates were in the room. “I want to try to rescue Bakugou.”

Everyone in the room flinched. Kirishima looked at all of them expectantly, only for Sero to break the silence.

“…Kirishima…I get that you’re upset…” Sero tried to speak, “but I don’t think that this is something we can really do anything about.”

“But we can!” Kirishima insisted. “We managed to get through the Camp attack, didn’t we?”

Mina started to feel sick. She remembered the Camp attack. She didn’t even want to think about the Camp attack, but Kiri wanted them to go through something like that again?

“Kirishima, even if we could do something about Bakugou, we’d have no idea where to look first.” Ojiro pointed out. Him saying this calmed Mina down a bit, and she hoped that Kirishima wouldn’t talk about it anymore, but he kept going.

“But we do!” Kirishima proclaimed, turning to Yaoyorozu. The heiress’ eyes suddenly widened in fear at some realization she had made. “Yaoyorozu attached a tracker to one of the Nomu that attacked us, so we can use that to find out where the League’s hideout is!”

The class turned to Yaoyorozu in shock, but none of them looked as surprised as her. This surprise though was slowly turning to anger.

“Kirishima…what are you talking about?” she asked in an undertone, as if trying to keep the conversation from the rest of the class. Kirishima though didn’t seem to realize this and proclaimed even louder;

“I heard you talking to All Might and one of the detectives; you gave them a receiver to find the League’s hideout! You could do the same for us!”

Yaoyorozu was pale, but stood up and got in Kirishima’s face.

“Kirishima, that is sensitive information! You can’t just blab about that!”

“But we’re training to be heroes!” Kirishima argued, his hands out and pleading to Yaoyorozu. “Isn’t this our job?”

“We are not heroes!” Yaoyorozu hissed in response. “We are students who do not have license to use our Quirks, let alone interfere in an extremely sensitive and dangerous operation!”

“Guys, back me up here!” Kirishima said, turning to the others, making Yaoyorozu even angrier. “We can’t just leave Bakugou with those villains, who knows what they’re doing to him right now?”

“Kirishima…” Sato spoke, obviously disturbed at what Kirishima was suggesting, “Yaoyorozu gave the tracker to the heroes, what do you think we could do that they can’t?”

“I…” Kirishima stammered before shouting, “Look, I can’t just stay here and do nothing! We can’t just sit here!”

“What else can we do?” Sero asked. “Yaoyorozu’s right, if we do this, we’ll just be getting in the way of the actual heroes.”

“If we were lucky, we’d just get arrested for vigilantism.” Rin pointed out. “More likely than not, we’d end up getting ourselves killed.”

“But we’ve fought them already!” Kirishima said, pointing at Mina, making her flinch. “Mina and Kaminari took down Muscular! I saw them! He was one of the most dangerous villains there and they beat him! We could do the same!”

Mina felt her skin crawl as the others all stared at her. Their attention didn’t make her feel good though. They made her feel like she was back at the Remedial Cabin…

“Mina, please, back me up here!” Kirishima said, getting in front of Mina. “Bakugou’s my friend…won’t you help me?”

Bleeding screaming smoking burning I got acid in his eyes he’s going to kill us he’s going to kill us I don’t know what to do I don’t know what to do I don’t know what to do…

Suddenly, Kirishima was shoved away from Mina, letting her gasp for air. When she got control of herself, she saw Kirishima staring in shock at Kaminari, who despite his usual dorky-trying-to-be-cool demeanor, was absolutely furious.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, dude?!”

“Wha…I’m just…” Kirishima stammered.

“Can’t you see how she feels about this?” Kaminari shouted, pointing at Mina. Yaoyorozu went to her and wrapped her in her arms, letting Mina crumple into her and sob as the memories came back. Kaminari just kept tearing into Kirishima.

“We only just managed to beat Muscular! And we almost killed him! We almost got killed! How could you ask us to go through something like that again?”

“But this is what heroes do!” Kirishima tried to argue.

“We’re not fucking heroes!” Kaminari shouted back. “We’re a bunch of kids who barely know what we’re doing half the time! Three of us have been killed this year alone! Two more…” For the first time, Kaminari stammered, noticing Tokoyami cringing, before he focused back on Kirishima.

“What do you expect me to do, then!?” Kirishima shouted.

“I expect you to let the heroes deal with it!” Yaoyorozu interrupted the argument, standing up and stepping between Kirishima and Kaminari. Kaminari backed away from Kirishima, still glaring at him, crouching down next to Mina, flinching for just a moment when Mina started clinging to him, though he hugged her back. She could feel him shaking, either from shouting at Kirishima, or remembering the cabin himself.

“Kirishima, did you invite all of us here so you could try to get people to convince me to make you a receiver?” Yaoyorozu accused Kirishima. The fact that he looked at the floor simply sealed his guilt. “Let me make something clear to you, Kirishima: I will not be doing that. Even if you do convince anyone else to back you up on this incredibly foolish idea, I will not help you. I am not going to send anyone out to do something so blatantly illegal and dangerous. Not after what has happened to us already.”

Kirishima opened his mouth to shout, but was stopped by Yaoyorozu pointing her finger at him.

“I hear one more word out of you, I swear I will bring this up with Aizawa.”

Kirishima gulped, looking once more to the rest of his classmates. Before they were simply unsure. Now however, seeing how what he had suggested had upset Mina so much, quite a few were scowling at him. No one was moving to defend him. He glared back at them and walked out of the room.

Yaoyorozu turned back and bowed to Tokoyami, who was likewise staring at Kirishima in shock.

“Tokoyami, I am so sorry that your injury was used as a justification for this. Truly, I hope that you will get better soon. I promise that I’ll keep you and everyone else up to date on any notices I get of Shoji and Uraraka’s conditions.”

Yaoyorozu and Kaminari helped Mina to stand back up, but she kept on clinging to Kaminari. He didn’t seem to mind anyway. Her parents were worried about why she was so upset when she finally left the hospital, but she didn’t want to tell them.

The next night, Mina still couldn’t sleep, and was trying to distract herself on her phone when she got a message on the chat. When she read it, she collapsed to the floor, sobbing in relief.

Yaoyorozu: I just got confirmation that Uraraka and Shoji have been taken out of the ICU; they’re going to be fine.

About an hour later, another notification, this one specifically sent to her:

Yaoyorozu: Mina, Vlad King and Mandalay are both out of the ICU. The doctors said that they probably survived because of how you treated them.

Mina’s parents heard her crying, and cried in relief themselves when she gave them the news. Her mom made her a mug of hot cocoa, letting her feel like a weight had been finally taken off of her shoulders. When she went to bed, she was ready to finally get some sleep when she got a call from Kaminari.

“Ashido? I just got the news from Yaoyozoru. How are you doing?”

Mina paused for a moment to get her thoughts together so she wouldn’t break down sobbing again.

“I’m better. It’s just…a weight off of my shoulders, you know?

“Yeah…it’s a relief…I was…I was pretty scared for everyone.”

Mina sighed. Even with everything that they had been through, in the end, this wasn’t as bad as the USJ, if only for the fact that no one died. She grimaced though as she reminded herself of Bakugou. He was still out there, still with the League. She tried to distract herself by talking to Kaminari.

“How…how are you doing?”

“…Okay…okay, I guess…” Mina heard something like drumming fingers in the background. “I’m…I’m really glad to hear that…that I didn’t kill him. I know he did a lot of bad stuff…but…”

“I know…” Mina said. “I know.”

“…We really need to thank Midoriya, don’t we?”

“Yeah…we do.”

The two were quiet for a moment. Mina felt so tired, but she was glad to have this distraction.

“You really stepped up, you know?” Kaminari said. “You came up with the plan to beat Muscular, you got Monoma to put out the fires, and you helped Vlad King and Mandalay. I just…after I hit Muscular, I was kind of useless for a while…”

“Hey, that’s not true.” Mina chided Kaminari, “You gave me a break after I helped Mandalay…I…don’t you remember getting the pipe back and standing next to me?”

“Kind of? I just kind of remember thinking that you looked like you needed help.”

Mina managed a small smile at this.

“Well…it was getting to be a bit much for me, so thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome, Ashido.”

Mina grimaced.

“Hey…just call me Mina, alright? It feels weird to be formal with each other after what we’ve been through.”

“…Okay…I…I guess it does. If you want, you can call me Denki, too.”

“Thanks, Denki.”

“Actually…I’ve also been meaning to apologize to you. I think that I might have gone a bit too far when I was yelling at Kirishima…”

“No.” Mina replied, cutting Denki off. “No…you didn’t.”

“…He really got to you, didn’t he?”

“Of course he got to me!” Mina burst out loud. “He was there! He saw what happened, what Muscular and those other villains did to our teachers! But we were the ones who actually had to use our Quirks in a way that could have killed someone!”

Mina had to take a breath, realizing that she had just shouted in Denki’s ear.

“…Sorry.”

“It’s okay…I get it.”

Mina had to take a moment to calm down after being reminded of how her best friend had acted.

“You two were friends, right? You went to the same middle school?”

“Yeah…yeah, we did. He was a little different back then. He was really shy and unsure of himself. He got picked on a lot. But in the year before we went to UA, he got really into self-improvement, making himself stronger. It was a good change. But lately…it just feels like he keeps making bad decisions. I still think he’s a good guy, but…”

“He hangs out with Bakugou.” Denki finished for her.

“Yes! And I just don’t get why!” she said, frustrated. “…Okay, I mean, I kind of get it. Bakugou’s strong and tough, so I guess that would appeal to Kirishima, but he’s also a huge jerk and a bully. He keeps giving everyone mean nicknames, he treats everyone like dirt, and the way he acts in our hero classes makes me think he likes to hurt people. And I just don’t get why Kiri doesn’t see that! I’m not saying that it’s good that Bakugou got kidnapped or anything like that, but I don’t get why Kiri is so fixated on him!”

Denki was quiet for a moment.

“…Well…if I’m being honest with myself, I’m probably not much better, with how I hang out with Mineta.”

“Hm.” Mina agreed wordlessly.

“I uh…I never apologized for the cheerleader thing, did I?”

“No…maybe you should do that.”

“Yeah…I think I will…once Jiro and Hagakure get out of the hospital, I’ll make sure I apologize to all of you. I mean…I’m sorry to you now, if that helps.”

Mina had to fight off a snort at how uncomfortable Kaminari sounded. Somehow, this boy had almost made her laugh even in the midst of everything that had happened to them. He was a good guy.

“It does, a little.”

“…Hey…I know I called to check up on you…but thanks for talking to me, Mina.”

“…Thanks for talking to me, Denki.”

The two hung up. Mina was tired, she didn’t want to go back to the USJ, or find that Muscular was there too. She was worried about what was happening with Bakugou, and what had happened with Kirishima.

Aizawa really was right. Life isn’t fair. But as Mina put her phone on her bedstand, thinking about Denki, she was glad that she had someone else who knew what she had gone through.

Bakugou got rescued, but All Might was forced to retire. Aizawa showed up at the Ashido house, and convinced Mina’s parents to let her live at the UA dorms. She didn’t want to, but she also didn’t want to give up her dream either.

She tried to look on the bright side of things, glad that she got to live with all of her friends, even if things were uncomfortable when they all arrived. Tokoyami was still shut off from everyone else, even more so than usual. Mina had been ready to talk to Kirishima. She thought that seeing that the heroes had the situation with Bakugou under control would have made him realize how crazy his idea was, but he glowered at the rest of the class when he showed up himself. As for Bakugou…for some reason, he was glaring specifically at Mina and Kaminari over most of the other students, which made Mina just want to keep her distance even more than usual. Uraraka acted happy…but Mina learned pretty quickly that whatever happened to Uraraka at the Summer Camp had left her jumpy, so Mina knew that she needed to be gentle with her. Shoji seemed fine once he had left the hospital, which was a huge relief. The worst that Jiro and Hagakure experienced was confusion as to what had happened to shake things up in the class so much. Eventually, Hagakure, or rather Toru at this point, sat down with Mina to ask what had happened. Mina had meant to try to give a bare-bones explanation, but Toru was someone that she had grown to trust, and after a few minutes, she was sobbing again as she recounted everything, though at least this time Toru was there to hug her.

After the Summer Camp, Mina had time to think. Her parents had seriously made her wonder about whether or not she wanted to be a hero. She still did, even if a lot of the glamor had been taken out of it for her, but it was really hitting her how dangerous being a hero was. Midoriya had given her good advice on how to better use her Quirk, but Mina knew that she needed to step up her game, fast. She had only just managed to survive the last encounter with villains, and she knew that it wouldn’t take long for something else to happen. At the same time though, she didn’t want to let all of this wear her down to the point that she couldn’t be happy at all. Denki called and talked to her even though he was probably feeling just as bad, so she needed to do her part too!

Mina managed to cheer everyone up a bit by suggesting they do a Room Showcasing competition. She got to show off her super cool, super pink room, she got to get to know her classmates a little better (who would have thought that Sero was so into the Asian aesthetic?), see Toru’s super-cute room, Aoyama’s super-sparkly room, Kaminari’s…well it was a room, play with Koda’s super-cute, super-soft pet bunny (which also made Uraraka a lot happier, making Koda one of Mina’s favorite people from then on, though he kind of already was,) and got to eat some of Sato’s chiffon cake! (Sato won the competition, even though Mina wondered if that might have been cheating, but she had sprung it on everyone, so he was probably planning on giving cake to everyone anyway; he was just literally sweet like that.)

Tokoyami stayed out of the competition, but thankfully a day later after talking to Midoriya, he seemed a lot happier. Interestingly, from that point on, he had Dark Shadow out almost all the time, so Mina got to get to know him more too. It was kind of weird how later on, she was one of the people that he had opened up to the quickest, but considering what she and Denki had gone through, it actually felt kind of nice to talk about. Looking back on her and Denki’s own meeting with Midoriya, she felt kind of embarrassed that she had basically spent half of their meeting crying on the green-haired boy, but she felt a lot better afterwards.

The next four days, Mina and the others spent their time training, perfecting new super moves. Ectoplasm helped Mina come up with a way to spray her acid farther, and she started working on some of the ideas that Midoriya had brought up, such as using her acid to fill special gas grenades. She still thought the idea of an acid mist was mean, but she wasn’t playing around anymore. She found herself working with Denki a lot too; apparently her acid mist was a lot easier to conduct acid through, so she helped make a few grenades for himself just in case he needed the extra conductor.

Kirishima, Bakugou, and Todoroki were off on their own throughout the training. Part of Mina really wanted to talk to her friend, but it didn’t feel right for her to be the one to make that effort when she hadn’t done anything wrong. She hoped that she’d be able to make up with Kirishima eventually though; she didn’t want to make it so that Bakugou was his only friend.

After their training, they went and took the Provisional License Exam, which was brutal. All the other schools ganged up on them at once, and it took everything Mina had to keep from getting tagged out during the first round. Despite this, and the fact that they were still only first years, Mina got through with the rest of her class…all except for Bakugou and Todoroki. Again, for some reason, he seemed to be specifically angry at her and Denki about this. This was especially weird because according to Denki, he had helped save Bakugou and Kirishima from getting taken out by a student from Shiketsu.

Mina got to find out a bit more of why Bakugou was acting this way the night after they came back from the exam. She and the girls were relaxing in the common room, congratulating themselves on passing, some of the boys including Denki were holding a video game tournament. Bakugou came into the common room and stood in front of Mina, startling her. When he got her attention, Bakugou turned and stared at Denki until he looked up, before looking back at Mina.

“Outside, we need to talk.” He growled before walking away.

Mina looked at the others, a little freaked out by what just happened. Yaoyorozu was glaring after Bakugou, Kirishima was looking at the situation unnerved himself. Denki looked after Bakugou too, since it looked like Bakugou was calling him out as well. Bakugou stopped by the door, glaring after Mina and Denki.

“Well?” he growled impatiently.

Mina responded with as much tact as she could muster.

“Um…no?”

“Yeah…no.” Denki added.

Bakugou rounded on them, though the girls rallied around Mina. Sero and Sato stood up for Denki.

“Raccoon Eyes, Dunce Face, outside, now!” Bakugou yelled.

“I said no, Bakugou.” Mina answered, her sass giving her a bit more confidence. “If you’ve got something to say, you can say it here. Though I might not pay attention, anyway.”

Mina heard Sero snort at this, though the girls grew more tense the harder Bakugou glared at them. Kirishima, speaking for the first time since the hospital, tried to diffuse the situation.

“Mina…I’m pretty sure he just wants to talk…” Mina frowned at her friend. Even if that was true, which she doubted, it was frustrating that he expected her to just go with him when he treated her like that.

“He looks like he wants to beat us up.” Denki spoke up. Kirishima frowned at him.

“Dude, not cool. Bakubro doesn’t want…”

“Shut the hell up, Shitty Hair!” Bakugou growled. Mina noticed that he didn’t say anything to suggest that Denki was wrong. She frowned at him, crossing her arms over her chest. With what she’d been through, Bakugou didn’t scare her. If he wanted a fight, she’d be ready, but she wasn’t going to let him push her around either. Denki went and stood next to Mina, glaring at Bakugou. Before Bakugou could shout at them again though, Yaoyorozu stood up.

“They said no, Bakugou. They’re under no obligation to talk to you if they don’t want to.”

“I said stay out of this, Ponytail! This is between me and these two idiots!” the Explosion teen shouted.

“I don’t think I will.” Yaoyorozu answered, standing between Bakugou and Mina & Denki. “If you try to make a problem with Mina, Kaminari, or anyone else here, you will either be dealing with me, or dealing with Principal Nezu.”

“Yaoyorozu, that’s a bit much…” Kirishima said, trying to step up to her, only for Yaoyorozu to give him a glare from the side of her eyes. Bakugou glared past Yaoyorozu and Kirishima as if they weren’t there to Mina and Denki. Mina just looked unimpressively back.

“You two think you’re so great, don’t you?”

“Well, we did get our Provisional Licenses today, I feel pretty good.” Mina smirked back, her sass just making Bakugou angrier.

“What, you think that just because you took out that shitty villain and pleased a bunch of extras at the License Exam that means you fucking matter? You think you’re better than me?”

“No, but us not calling people ‘extras’ probably helps.” Mina answered with a frown, annoyed to be reminded of Muscular again, but not wanting to give Bakugou the pleasure of knowing that it bothered her.

Bakugou’s temper started to show, popping sparks in his hands as he approached Mina and Denki.

“Listen here, you pink bitch, that stupid test means nothing. I’m going to be Number One, and the rest of you will be nothing but stepping stones.”

Mina rolled her eyes.

“Sure. That all you wanted to say? You really needed us to go outside for me to go through all the trouble of ignoring your temper tantrum?”

Bakugou didn’t take the sarcasm well though, as he stomped closer to Mina and Denki, shoving his way past Kirishima, only for Yaoyorozu to step in his way. Only then did he acknowledge anyone else in the room, glaring at the Class Rep, small pops coming from his hands. Yaoyorozu though was completely unfazed, glaring down at him. The two stared each other down.

“Well, Bakugou? What was it you were going to do?”

Bakugou gnashed his teeth at Yaoyorozu. The Class Rep showed no fear whatsoever, simply staring Bakugou down until he stomped his way back to his room. Kirishima looked overwhelmed, looking at Yaoyorozu, who was frowning in disappointment at him, to Mina and Denki, before running after Bakugou.

Mina sighed, deflating in her seat. She had been outright threatened, and Kirishima was still running after Bakugou.

Once the new semester started up, Aizawa brought in three upperclassmen that were called “The Big Three” to talk about Work Studies, which sounded like internships, just longer and more intense. One of the three was a blue-haired girl named Hado Nejire who was hyper even for Mina. Another was a boy with elf-ears named Amajiki Tamaki shyer than Koda. And the last was Togata Mirio, whom everyone knew at this point, even before he had rescued Bakugou (that last point being something that made Bakugou practically froth at the mouth at seeing Togata, especially when Togata tried to wave good-naturedly at him. It was pretty depressing seeing the sunny faced boy slowly wilt as he realized that Bakugou wasn’t happy to see him.) Togata took point in explaining what work studies were, claiming that they were what made the three of them the powerhouses that they were then. Some of the class questioned this in comparison to the internships, so Togata had all of them fight him at once. The one thing Mina could remember from the fight was Bakugou rushing at Togata, only to see the familiar sight of him getting backhanded away into the wall, and then three seconds of Togata slaughtering them.

Once everyone had woken up, disentangled themselves from each other, and pried themselves off of the floor, wall, and ceiling, Togata explained that in addition to a surprise Quirk Evolution he had experienced before his third year started, most of his talent had come from training through his Work Studies with Sir Nighteye.

Seeing Togata’s power and skill, this finally got Mina’s attention. This was how she could get stronger. It sounded hard, especially on top of all of the work that they had to do already, but when Mina had made the resolution to get stronger and smarter, she meant it!

The tricky part to this though was that in order to get a Work Study, you had to apply for one with a pro hero, specifically one that had made big accomplishments, meaning no one from the list of 40 heroes that UA did their internships would do. This certainly came off as unfair to Mina; if you couldn’t impress anyone in the Sports Festival enough to get a good internship, how could you get a Work Study? (Again, she had made it to the Second Round in the Fighting Tournament, why didn’t she get any internship offers then?) Hearing this, Mina was pretty sure that meant that she was out of luck. Still, she made sure to make an effort to at least try for a Work Study, sending out a few applications, thinking that was going to be the last she’d hear of it and that she’d be better off focusing on improving herself in school.

Which made it a huge surprise for her when both she and Denki found themselves in the office of the No. 8 Pro Hero Wash.

Wash had the most ridiculous costume that Mina had ever seen; he was literally wearing a washing machine. And yet the man was one of the Top 10 heroes of the country, above both Ryukyu and Gang Orca. And he had accepted both Mina and Denki’s applications to work with him. She couldn’t help it, she wanted to be sure that this wasn’t a joke:

“So…Wash…sir? I got to ask…why did you agree to take us on for a Work Study?”

“Well, you’ve both shown to be quite capable when you need to be. You’ve both got a lot of potential and have been working hard. I think that I could make some good heroes out of you!” The walking washing machine answered.

“…Really?” Denki asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m really grateful for this…” he said, waving his hands. “But everyone kind of says that we’re goofs.”

“Yeah? I dress up as a washing machine.” Wash replied. Mina couldn’t really argue with him on that. “But seriously, you’re both underselling yourself.” Wash moved the computer monitor around on his desk to face Mina and Denki, showing them footage from their hero exercises. “Sure, some of your work has been a bit…lacking…”

Mina and Denki winced at the footage of them running around screaming in their Final Exam.

“But it’s clear that you’re both working hard to improve.”

Wash changed the footage to the Provisional License Exam, showing Mina destroying several attacking balls with her Acid Veil technique, and Denki taking out the Shiketsu student holding Bakugou and Kirishima hostage with his weird “Meatball” Quirk.

“However, what really got me convinced to take you two on was how you handled yourself at the Summer Camp.”

Mina and Denki both tensed up and paled, remembering Muscular, the fire, Mandalay and Vlad King half-dead…

Wash stood up and put his hands on the two’s shoulders, bringing them back to the present. He was favoring them with a sympathetic look.

“I know that it was a traumatic experience, but when it really mattered, you both acted as heroes should. You followed instructions to the best of your ability, but when your instructors were incapacitated, you took charge, defeated an extremely dangerous villain, dealt with each of the dangers and threats you faced, established a safe zone for the other students to return to, and treated the wounded in a way that saved their lives. Goofballs though we may be, you two know when to take things seriously when the situation calls for it. So, you ready to work?”

Mina grinned. Yeah. She was ready to work.

Even if Mina hadn’t thought that someone as high-ranking as Wash would have taken her on, she had really been hoping for it. Wash had a reputation as someone who was a bit of a clown, but could be serious when he needed to be, which was exactly the kind of hero that Mina wanted to become. She didn’t want to get bogged down by everything that had been happening to her, and it was so nice to be around someone who had been a hero for a long time, who had seen the world at its worse, but could still find the fun in life. Wash’s Quirk “Clean Bubbler” gave him a knowledge of how to use different chemicals that was a lot of help to Mina’s own Acid Quirk, as well as just being a good crowd-control Quirk, which was one of the reasons why Denki had applied for Wash as well.

The fact that Denki was there too felt great for Mina as well. She appreciated all the times that he had stood up for her (he said the same thing for her) whenever Bakugou tried to get aggressive with them again. He had been going back to his dorky-and-cool self the same as her, and even if they worked hard, he made their Work Studies fun. It was particularly nice since Mina still hadn’t really spoken with Kirishima since the hospital. He had gone off on his own hero studies with Fat Gum, and Mina could only hope that he’d find a better role model with the hero than what he seemed to be trying to turn Bakugou into.

A few weeks into the Work Studies though, Mina got a distressing message about Kirishima from Uraraka, who was working with the Dragoon Hero Rykyu:

Uraraka: Kirishima got hurt during a raid we were doing. He’s alright, but he’s in the hospital.

Mina took the next opportunity she had to visit.

Kirishima was conscious, but wrapped up in bandages like a mummy with both of his arms broken. It almost looked funny, but considering what they had been through, how often their classmates had been hurt, and the fact that three of them had died, Mina didn’t feel like laughing.

Kirishima though seemed more surprised than anything to see Mina in his hospital room.

“…Mina?”

“Kiri? Are you okay?”

Kirishima blinked, shifting around as much as his bandages would allow him.

“Uh…yeah…I just got in a fight with this crazy guy named The Rappa…had to bust out ‘Unbreakable,’ but Fat Gum and me were able to take him down…How about you?”

Mina walked up to Kirishima’s bed, taking in how beat up he really was. Her concerned look made Kirishima wince.

“It’s…it’s been good with Wash…Denki and I took down a giant Snapping Turtle villain with him…”

For some reason, Kirishima frowned and looked away at that.

“That’s…that’s cool…sounds manly…”

Mina took a seat next to Kirishima’s bed, the two staying in an awkward silence, until Kirishima finally broke it.

“Mina…I’m…I’m sorry for what I did at hospital when Bakugou was kidnapped…it was really not manly of me.”

Mina sighed in relief. Better late than never, she supposed.

“It’s alright. Let’s just put it behind us.”

Kirishima nodded.

“Okay…thanks, Mina.”

There was more silence, and Kirishima coughed, breaking it again.

“Also…sorry that Bakugou’s been bothering you. I’ll…I’ll try to talk to him.”

Mina doubted that Bakugou was actually going to listen to Kirishima, but she appreciated the thought. Eventually, Kirishima spoke again, but Mina was shocked to see that as he stumbled over his words, there was a frustrated tear in his eye.

“Mina…also…I’m…I’m sorry I didn’t do anything…back when Muscular attacked.”

Mina blinked, trying to understand what Kiri was saying to her.

“What do you mean?”

Kirishima looked away from Mina, jaw clenched in shame.

“I just…when he attacked…I just stood there…he was going to kill us…and I just stood there, and you and Kaminari did all the work…you put your lives on the line…and I did nothing!” Kirishima shouted out loud, and his tears became more noticeable. As gently as possible, Mina put her arm over Kirishima’s shoulder.

“Kiri…I don’t blame you for that…what Denki and I did, that was just kind of a reflex, just something Midoriya’s notes mentioned that we happened to remember, we were just as scared…”

“But you moved! You did something, and you saved everyone!” Kirishima shouted, breathing hard. “You saved everyone…just like with that giant villain back when we were in middle school…”

Mina remembered that. The villain was dangerous, she was certain that he was about to kill her friends; she had just done the first thing she could think of and gave him wrong directions.

“Kiri…is that why you wanted to rescue Bakugou so much?”

Kirishima winced.

“Yeah…kind of…I just felt like I owed it to him…he’s kind of the man I’m trying to turn myself into.”

Mina winced at that.

“…Excuse me?”

“Whenever we’re in trouble, Bakugou never freezes up; he faces down any threat that comes his way without fear!” Kirishima grinned to himself, unaware of the look of shock and disgust on Mina’s face. “He says what’s on his mind, he sticks to his principles, and he pushes through to victory!”

Mina felt sick hearing this. She had beaten around the bush long enough.

“Kiri…I’ve been dancing around this for a while…but Bakugou’s not a good person.”

Kirishima looked at Mina in shock.

“What? How could you say that? Bakubro’s trying to become a hero just like all of us!”

“Kiri…” Mina buried her face in her hands before frowning at her friend. “I don’t know what kind of hero Bakugou is trying to be, but I don’t think that it’s the kind that you should be. Bakugou treats everyone like garbage, he threatens people all the time, and he keeps on running into situations the teachers tell him not to just to get into fights!”

“But that’s why he’s so manly!” Kirishima argued. “Look, Bakubro’s rough around the edges, and he could tone it down, but that’s just how he is! He’s never afraid of anything, he rushes in to fight threats head-on, like a real man!”

“Kiri, that’s exactly what got him kidnapped!” Mina said, making Kirishima wilt. “Heck, what do you think would have happened if you or me had tried to pick a fight with that giant villain? Do you think that I was being ‘unmanly’ by tricking him, or working with Denki to take down Muscular?”

“No! Not at all!” Kirishima tried to protest, wincing as he moved his arms around and making Mina calm down a bit out of concern for her friend. “It’s just that both of you faced your opponents without flinching, and that’s the kind of man I want to be! Someone who won’t back down, who’ll stand between villains and the people they want to hurt…and I’ve been trying to become that!” He looked at his bandaged arms. “I took Rappa’s punishment…I faced down a Blade Villain high on Trigger…I’m becoming more of a man…I can’t back down now!”

Mina inwardly groaned, realizing that arguing with Kiri was just going to upset him more. This was more than they had talked for weeks, and she didn’t want to make Kirishima isolate himself again.

“Just…Kiri…please…make sure you’re thinking about what you’re doing. If it’s not smart to run into something when there’s a better way to handle it, or when someone, even someone you think is ‘manly’ is doing something wrong…just…think about it…okay?”

Kirishima saw how upset Mina was and calmed down. Neither ended up happy, but at least they were talking again.

Midoriya might have been one of the nicest, coolest people Mina knew, but there were times where she had a bone to pick with him.

Namely, when they had combat exercises, and she was paired off against Yaoyorozu. Mina got a lot of good ideas from Midoriya, but ever since Yaoyorozu had met him, she had been basically kicking everyone’s ass in these fights, because she always had a plan to beat anyone in the class. The Sports Festival was the last time that Tokoyami and Dark Shadow had beaten her, as every other time they fought, she’d just create a flare, or flash her light at them, and Dark Shadow would have to retreat, leaving Tokoyami open for attack. Toru? Create a smoke screen and thermal goggles. Shinso? Create ear plugs and then shoot him with a bean-bag shotgun. Now Mina was fighting against her, and she was covered in some kind of powder that neutralized her acid, making her tap out.

Yaoyorozu apologized and gave Mina something to rub the powder off, while the two of them watched the other matches, leading to Denki get paired off against Todoroki. The Ice user wasn’t really popular in the class considering how closed off and dismissive he was towards everyone, but most of the class (especially Sero, considering what had happened when he had fought against Todoroki in the First Round of the Sports Festival’s Fighting Tournament) were looking at Denki in sympathy, thinking that the Electric-Quirk user didn’t stand a chance against someone with so much raw power. Mina though grinned, guessing what Denki had planned from his smirk and a wink he sent towards her.

“And…go!” All Might shouted.

Todoroki released a massive torrent of ice to envelope Denki as everyone expected. What people weren’t expecting was the surprise addition Denki had made to his costume; a small bit of filament on his shoulders facing outwards. They looked like Denki was just trying to look cool, but the shoulder pads were designed the same way as a high-powered camera bulb. All Denki had to do was pour a bit of electricity into them,

And suddenly Todoroki’s aim was thrown off by the flash of light Denki sent his way. Denki frantically sidestepped the oncoming ice, and threw out one of Mina's gas grenades, making Todoroki flinch again and giving Kaminari a chance to electrify him through the conductive cloud, making Todoroki seize up and collapse. All Might ran over to look at Todoroki before shouting.

“Todoroki is out, match goes to Kaminari!”

“Way to go, Denki!” Mina cried, running up to him as he left the ring, followed by a few of their friends, impressed at their class clown managing to beat the class powerhouse. Denki laughed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Yeah…Midoriya’s been working with that Hatsume girl from the Support Department to overhaul my costume. When she found out that I can act like a living battery she filled it up with so much stuff I’m not sure I can even remember it all…”

Mina chuckled, having a bit of a similar experience with her costume. Behind her though, she could feel a malevolent presence, one she bet others sometimes felt when she was around them. She knew Toru was smirking as she was talking to Denki, and Mina had to fight off a blush as she talked to her friend.

“Ashido, you and Bakugou are up!” All Might announced.

Well. That was a mood killer. Mina took her spot in the ring, while Bakugou was grinning like a maniac at her, popping explosions in his hands on the other side of the ring. The class all stopped what they were doing, watching the match in trepidation. Mina saw Kirishima watching her and Bakugou with a look of concern, making her sigh. If he knew Bakugou enough to be scared about what he might do in a match like this, why did he keep defending him?

“No running from me this time, Racoon Eyes…” Bakugou growled.

All Might frowned at Bakugou, making sure he was ready to end the fight the moment things went too far, but Mina wasn’t backing down from this. It was time to try out her own trick.

“And…start!”

Bakugou rushed at Mina full speed like a rocket. Mina though released a cloud of her acid mist, thick enough that Bakugou had to fall back, blinking his eyes in irritation. Mina skated across the floor on her acid, spraying another cloud of mist at Bakugou. The blond asshole blasted overhead, firing explosions at Mina and forcing her to continually skate away to dodge. He was faster and stronger than her, there wasn’t any question about that, but Mina had a plan. The mist was meant to do a bit more than hurt Bakugou’s eyes after all…

After a minute, Mina’s plan started to play out, as Bakugou was slowing down, his explosions getting weaker for some reason he couldn’t understand. This was a bit of a weird trick that Mina had worked out between Wash’s training and Midoriya’s analysis; she had altered her acid cloud to make the droplets congeal on solid surfaces. They were at a more neutral pH, not meant to seriously hurt anyone, just collect on someone’s skin like a greasy slime, which had been mixing with and diluting Bakugou’s sweat the more she sprayed out. Eventually, Bakugou couldn’t keep it up any longer and fell to the floor.

“What!? What the hell?”

Mina took her chance and used the momentum from her skating to punch Bakugou in the face.

“You bitch!”

Bakugou wasn’t a pushover without his Quirk, but he couldn’t keep up with Mina’s speed with her Quirk combined with her dancing, and the next minute was her breakdancing over Bakugou’s face, swinging her legs in wide loops that eventually kicked Bakugou out of the ring.

“Bakugou has been knocked out of the ring, match goes to Ashido!” All Might declared happily.

Mina’s friends rushed her the same way they did for Denki, congratulating the other class clown for beating the other class powerhouse.

“Well done, Mina! That’s quite the ingenious use of your Quirk!” Yaomomo praised her.

“Thanks! It’s something I picked up from Wash!”

Yaoyorozu smiled.

“The Work Studies certainly have been boon, haven’t they? Yoroi Musha has certainly been a big help for me.”

Denki laughed.

“You should really see her with Wash, he freaking loves her!”

“Aww, Denki, he loves you too!” Mina joked back, slinging her hand over Denki’s shoulder, again trying to ignore that smug look she knew was coming from Tooru, and the murderous look coming from Bakugou.

“That was a manly match!” Kirishima shouted out grinning at Mina. “You both were so intense!” Kirishima tried to give Bakugou the same grin, but the Explosion boy had already stomped off to rub Mina’s slime off his skin.

Unfortunately, while Tooru had to go up against Kirishima, Bakugou stomped up to Mina, shoving Denki aside and grabbing her arm.

“I’m not falling for some stupid trick like that again, Racoon Eyes! You owe me a rematch!”

“What the hell!?” Mina almost winced at the pressure Bakugou was putting on her arm. “Get off me!”

“Dude, what the hell is your problem!” Denki shouted, trying to grab Bakugou by the shoulder and pull him away, only for Bakugou to shove him off.

“I’ll deal with you later, Dunce Face!”

“Bakugou! Unhand Ashido at once!” All Might shouted out, just noticing what Bakugou was doing as he finished refereeing for the fight between Kirishima and Tooru, both who had frozen at the altercation, Kirishima watching with a concerned panic.

Bakugou let Mina go, but continued to gnash his teeth at her.

“Well, Racoon Eyes? I want my damn rematch!”

“Bakugou.”

Yaoyorozu’s voice cut through the gym, drawing the attention of everyone. She glared at Bakugou, the only person that he would tear his attention away from Mina for, just to glare at her harder. Yaoyorozu stepped up to the ring that Kirishima and Toru had just come off from.

“If you want a fight, I’ll give you one.”

Bakugou gave Yaoyorozu a murderous grin and blasted onto the ring.

“With pleasure, Ponytail. I’ve been wanting to do this for months.”

“As have I.” Yaoyorozu answered.

“Yaoyorozu…are you sure about this?” All Might asked in concern. Yaoyorozu gave him a glance and nodded before looking back to Bakugou with her arms folded. All Might looked between the two, Yaoyorozu completely impassive while the sight of the Class Rep completely unafraid seemed to just make Bakugou angrier. The former No. 1 sighed and stepped away from the ring.

“…Start!”

“DIE!!!” As before, Bakugou blasted towards Yaoyorozu, though the heiress stayed completely still, watching Bakugou with disinterest. Bakugou snarled and at the last minute readjusted his flight so that he was in the air behind Yaoyorozu, his hands priming a massive explosion at the back of her head. “TAKE THIS, YOU STUCK-UP…!”

FFFWWWIIIISSSHHH!!!

Bakugou’s cursing was drowned out by the sound of fire extinguisher fluid spraying out the back of Yaoyorozu’s head. With his explosions cut off, Bakugou dropped to the ground in a heap. As he scrambled up, Yaoyorozu created something on her leg, turned around, grabbed Bakugou by the collar, and drove a steel-padded knee into his crotch.

Asshole though he was, the sight of Bakugou getting a hit like that, crumpling to the ground with his hands over his goods, mouth open as if he was trying to scream but was in too much pain to do so, earned him a sympathetic “ooohhhh…” from the boys of the class.

“Bakugou!” All Might shouted in concern, coming over to the boy’s side, wincing at his state. “I’d…better get some ice from the first-aid…”

“No need All Might.” Yaoyorozu said, creating a large bag of ice in her hands, which satisfied the former hero enough to back away. Bakugou though was trying to reach out towards Yaoyorozu as if he wanted to strangle her.

“You…bi….”

His voice was cut off though as Yaoyorozu dropped the bag of ice directly on his crotch, making him recoil even worse.

“If you attack our classmates like that again, the next knee pad I make will have spikes on it.” Yaoyorozu warned before walking off the ring, a few of the boys edging away from her in fear.

Kirishima meanwhile helped Bakugou stand up, while the blond boy had the ice bag clenched over his groin. Mina would have been fine with this; she accepted that Kirishima had chosen to be friends with Bakugou, and helping him after he had gotten his balls busted was something that a friend would do. Still, it hurt her to see Bakugou immediately shove Kirishima away as a thanks for helping him.

Denki noticed how Mina was clenching her arm and called out to Yaoyorozu:

“Hey, Yaomomo? Could you get Mina some ice?”

Yaoyorozu’s demeanor switched from “Mama Bear” to “Mother Hen” mode as she noticed Mina’s arm, making a cold compress for her. Mina managed a smile towards Denki before he had to run off for another match. Once he had gone, Kirishima went up to Mina.

“Hey Mina, are you alright?” Kirishima asked in concern.

Mina frowned and pulled her ice bag off, showing five finger-shaped bruises where Bakugou had grabbed her. Kirishima recoiled at the sight.

“Oh…did…did Bakugou do that?”

“Yes, Kiri, Bakugou did that.” Mina snapped. Kirishima stammered in response.

“Oh…well…I’m…I’m sorry…I guess he just got a little passionate there…”

Mina was already angry, and here she started to lose her temper.

“Passionate? Kiri, is that what this looks like to you?” Mina asked, pointing at the bruises on her arm. “This is not okay, Kiri! This isn’t him being ‘passionate,’ this is abuse and bullying! This is him being a sore loser and hurting me because of it!”

“Mina…” Kirishima’s voice warbled as he looked at Mina’s arm, “I’m…I’m sure he didn’t mean to…”

Mina had enough, groaning out loud.

“That’s it! I’ve had it! I am sick of you making excuses for him, Kirishima!” she shouted, leaving Kirishima standing alone to sit next to Toru. Quite a few of their classmates heard this exchange and favored him with similar glares. Eventually, he cringed away from them all and sat on the same bench as Bakugou, only for him to snap at Kirishima again and make him scoot further away.

Smug jerk though he was, Mina had to admit that Monoma did pull off a good plan with his team in their Joint Training Exercise. Mineta had been taken out by Shoda (Mina kind of wanted to give him a high-five for that), and Rin and Uraraka had been captured as well, leaving Mina the last member of her team standing. A big part of that though was the freaking Megazord Kodai had somehow managed to grow out of an action figure, smashing through their test site, easily weathering Rin’s scales and being too heavy for Uraraka’s Quirk to affect directly. Even Uraraka’s new tungsten weights had failed, considering how difficult it was for her to pilot the drones carrying them to drop on Kodai’s giant armor in the midst of battle, particularly with Monoma, Yanagi, and Shoda still active. Mina had been forced to hide while the four 1-B students were on the lookout for her.

This reminded her too much of her Final Exam the previous term. Mina was not going to have a repeat of that. For the time being, she had managed to find a place to hide amidst some crates while Kodai’s giant armor was searching for her. She didn’t know where everyone else was.

“What a joke! I would have expected more from the infamous Class 1-A, but it seems that their boasting is all hot air!”

“Monoma…keep your voice down…”

Well, that helped things out a bit.

Mina pulled out one of her gas grenades, pulled the pin, and flung it over the crate she was hiding behind. The next second, she heard Shoda and Monoma coughed and retching on her makeshift tear gas, giving her the opening she needed. She threw herself over the edge of the crate, noticing Monoma’s back was turned to her, and dropkicked him in the head, knocking him out. Shoda was only just able to open his eyes in time for Mina to swing a hook into his temple, taking him out. Quickly, she used capture tape to restrain them.

“Monoma Neito and Shoda Nirengeki have been captured.” The intercom announced. Mina though didn’t have time to celebrate, as she spied Yanagi flinging pipes and industrial equipment at her with her Poltergeist Quirk, making enough noise to get Kodai’s attention; the giant, red, head-finned armor turning towards the two and stomping over to them.

Thinking fast, Mina started skating to avoid Yanagi’s projectiles, pulling the pin on another gas grenade and flinging it at Yanagi, only for the grenade to freeze in midair and burst out a cloud of mist in the next second. However, it provided Mina enough cover to get out of Yanagi’s line of sight. Kodai though was still heading towards her. Mina’s instincts told her to run away, but she knew that she was running out of time and refused to go down the same way she did to Nezu. She pumped more acid out of her feet, skating through the wreckage and hoping she’d be able to dodge anything Yanagi could throw at her. Kodai’s armor reached forward, trying to grab Mina. She used one of her hoses to spray the most caustic acid she had available to dissolve through one of the fingers of the mech before it could close on her, giving her an opening to jump through.

Mina moved too fast for Kodai to grab, and she skated right between the legs of the giant armor, spraying more acid on one of the ankles of the mech.

“Timber!” Mina cried out as her acid ate through the metal of the leg, forcing it to crumple to the ground. Not wanting to give Kodai any chance to get back up, Mina tossed more acid globs all over the armor, which started to burn holes through the suit. Eventually, a panel on the armor’s back opened up, revealing Kodai…an uncharacteristically angry Kodai. Huh. Mina knew though that she couldn’t give Kodai a chance to recover though, and used the momentum she had built up to swing around and throw herself onto the armor’s back. Kodai’s eyes widened, and she desperately reached for her belt for something else to grow with her Quirk. Mina knew she needed to be a bit mean here, and tossed a glob of acid as Kodai’s hands, making her wince. The acid wasn’t strong, but it was strong enough to sting and make it too hard for Kodai to use her Quirk on anything, which gave Mina an opening to kick Kodai in the head and knock her out. She only just managed to tie Kodai’s hands together and get a capture announcement when Yanagi showed up, finally finding Mina through the maze of the testing area. Both frowned at each other. Their two teams were tied with three captures by this point, which meant if the timer ran out, it would be a draw. Neither was willing to accept that.

Mina made the first move, skating towards Yanagi. The ghosty girl was better at range, but Mina was confident that she was physically stronger, and could take Yanagi down if she got in close. Yanagi opened a pouch on her costume and sent a massive net towards Mina, which she cut through with a swing of her arm. Yanagi tried to send more junk at Mina, but she simply skated around it or burnt through it with her acid. She grinned, confident. Yanagi might have a spooky Quirk, but her acid could deal with anything she threw at her!

The 1-B girl threw open another pouch, revealing a handful of ball bearings which she sent towards like shotgun pellets. Mina threw up an Acid Veil, dissolving them all. She made it to Yanagi, whose eyes were wide at the sight of the more athletic girl about to punch her out…though for some reason one of her fingers was pointed behind Mina, only to flick towards herself just before Mina could reach her. Mina felt a harsh, painful impact on the back of her head, knocking her to the ground in a daze, and realized that Yanagi had sent one of her ball bearings out behind Mina when she had blocked her sight of the girl with the last Acid Veil. Stunned, Mina felt capture tape around her wrists, and heard the last announcement;

“Ashido Mina has been captured. Team Monoma wins.”

“Ugh…you got me.” Mina groaned. Yanagi was apparently a good sport though and helped take the capture tape off of Mina’s wrists.

“Perhaps, but you were quite the challenge. I was only just able to stun you at the end.”

Mina pouted, frustrated that she hadn’t won.

“Well…good game anyway.” She said, offering her hand for Yanagi to shake.

“Indeed.” The ghosty girl answered. “Though…I should warn you…you have probably earned Yui’s eternal ire…” Yanagi said, looking over at the fallen giant armor. “She’s quite enamored with Sentai shows, and was very fond of her ‘Megazord.’”

Oh. So that was what that was about. Mina was more caught off guard by Yanagi’s way of speaking, which reminded her of something incredibly important.

“Hey…have you met my classmate, Tokoyami?”

Yanagi looked at Mina quizzically.

“No?”

“I’ll need to introduce you two after the exercise is done.” Mina answered, hiding a smirk as one of her shipping projects was about to come to fruition. It allowed her to distract herself from her loss, until she got to the viewing room with everyone else, where her class suddenly mobbed her.

“Mina, that was incredible!” Tooru squealed, bouncing.

“You took down three of those guys all by yourself!” Sero said with a wide grin.

“And one of them had a friggin’ Megazord!” Denki shouted. “That was seriously the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”

Mina blinked at the praise, but decided to roll with it. Sure, it was a loss, but it was still better than the Finals. Everyone seemed happy, so Mina decided to be happy. Even as Yaoyorozu left with Tokoyami, Tooru, and Aoyama, Denki was still chattering about her fight and how cool he thought it was. Mina couldn’t help but grin, remembering Denki’s match, and how he had managed to use one of the gas grenades she had lent him to fight against Shiozaki’s vines, as well as set up a trap that made it easier for him to use his electricity to take down Shishida’s team.

As Mina was talking to Denki though, she noticed Kirishima watching her out of the corner of her eye, looking as if he wanted to talk to. Seeing him though reminded Mina too much of their last talk, and she intentionally looked away. Doing this made her feel like a jerk, but it still frustrated her so much that he was still hanging out with Bakugou even though the bully never called him or anyone else by their real name, would push him around so often, and yet Kirishima kept on making excuses for him. It was just something that Mina didn’t want to have to deal with.

Mina kept up Acidman, the Super Move she had based off of Kirishima’s Unbreakable form, powering through Dabi’s flames as she was leapt in the air towards Gigantomachia’s head. Just as Acidman gave out, she had made it through the flames. Mt. Lady had pried the monster’s mouth open, ready for Mina to throw the jar of sedative into his mouth.

“Wasting my time on these insects is worse than taking a detour.” The monster spoke. “I must do this for Master.”

Mina’s eyes went wide.

“That voice…” she thought.

Mina remembered that day.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“Why won’t you tell me…?”

She flinched, letting go of the jar just a moment too soon before she could build up any momentum. Gigantomachia grabbed Mt. Lady by the head and flung her off. The jar was suspended in the air above Mina, just out of reach, just below Gigantomachia’s quickly descending hand. She was going to die. She was going to die. She had failed everyone, and she was going to…

Mina felt herself being batted out of the path of Gigantomachia’s strike. She saw Kirishima in his Unbreakable form, braced against the monster’s hand as he was slammed into the ground. She felt herself flung away, rolling on the ground. When she stood up, it was just Gigantomachia’s hand, flattened against the earth.

“KIRISHIMA!!!”

Mina tried to reach for Kiri, the friend that she had abandoned, but was held back by Tetsutetsu. She had failed. She had to be saved by Kirishima. He was dead. It was her fault. She choked up, everyone was going to die, she let everyone down and Kirishima died thinking that she hated him…

“My name is…Red Riot!!!”

Mina’s eyes went wide at the shout.

“I won’t let anyone behind me get hurt!”

Kirishima was climbing up Gigantomachia’s arm, challenging the monster that had scared him so long ago, another jar of sedative in hand. His jar was destroyed, but he caught Mina’s, and threw it into the monster’s mouth.

“…You did it…you did it, Kiri…” Mina thought to herself.

It was probably the most heroic thing Mina had ever seen. Whatever her issues with Kirishima, Mina knew that he was a hero.

Sadly though…it wouldn’t be the happy ending Mina had hoped for.

Mina had gone through the past few weeks in a haze; trying to rescue and treat the heroes caught in Gigantomachia’s rampage, finding Ms. Midnight’s body, hearing about Todoroki’s death amongst so many others, hearing about all of the corruption revealed by the UN and WHA investigations, the funerals, the announcement of the dissolution of the hero system; it all seemed to build on itself, a new tragedy every minute, hour, and day. The USJ, the Summer Camp? Those were nothing compared to the horrors that Mina saw at Jaku. And yet, there was always something else added on top of it. There was no rest, no opportunity to go into a corner and cry, because there was always another horrible thing being revealed. When the Prime Minister announced the dissolution of the hero system, Mina almost felt a perverse pleasure, because it felt to her that at least things couldn’t get any worse.

It was only when Tsuragamae announced that they really weren’t going to become heroes that Mina felt as if she could breathe again. It was like being shaken awake from a nightmare to face a world that was just as tough. At least here, it felt like she had some control over her life, that she had the choice to just go home to her parents, curl up on her bed, and never leave again.

“These are transfer papers to the other courses of UA. If you decide that this course isn’t for you, there is absolutely no shame in transferring to something that would make you feel happier and safer. If you have doubts about whether this is the right path for you, I would encourage you to talk to me as soon as possible.” Tsuragamae said. Mina tried to think about it, and realized that she couldn’t. She had been through so much to try to become a hero, and now that it wasn’t an option any more, was there any point to staying? The thing was, the heroes were still there, still trying to protect and help people, but what did all of that mean with these changes? Mina knew that she wasn’t going to be able to understand all of this in one day, and left the class, thinking that her best option would be to just try to get some sleep, hoping that she’d be able to think more clearly later. She’d talk to Tsuragame, she’d talk to her friends, she’d talk to her parents, and hopefully someone would be able to explain to her what this all meant now. Maybe for the time being she was only staying because she didn’t know what else to do, but she didn’t think she wanted to leave just yet, not with how unsure she was now.

As she was about to head to her room though, Mina noticed Kirishima walking by, carrying a stuffed duffel bag with an excited grin on his face.

“Kiri?” Mina asked, getting her friend’s attention. The fact that they had made up was the only good thing that had come out of the past few weeks. Mina stayed away when Bakugou was around, but she didn’t want to leave Kiri’s life completely. “What’s going on?”

Kiri looked sheepish for a moment, looking at his duffel bag before putting his big grin back on.

“Well…I’m leaving UA.”

Mina’s eyes widened.

“You’re…leaving UA? After everything?”

“Yeah…I mean, Tsuragamae said that we’re not going to be heroes anymore…” he said with a frown, before glaring again with renewed fervor. “But Bakubro and I are going to change that! We’re going to bring back heroes!”

Mina felt her heart drop into her stomach.

“Kiri…what…what does that mean? What are you and Bakugou doing?”

“We’re going to go out and be heroes, even if the HPSC’s gone!” Kirishima shouted excitedly. “We’re going to go out and help people, and stop the villains that have been showing up!”

In some circumstances, Mina might have seen the appeal in this; heading out and fighting against all of the chaos outside rather than just staying behind the walls of UA, but if Kirishima was going out with Bakugou…nothing good was going to come out of that.

“Kiri…I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

Kirishima just shook his head in response.

“I can’t just stay here, Mina. I’ve got to do something!”

Mina felt her heartbeat race, and she tried to keep herself from panicking.

“Kiri…why not just stay here? Why not work with Tsuragamae? I know it’s probably going to be different…but if you want to help people, I’m pretty sure we can still do that. But if you go out like this, you could get in trouble…especially if you’re going with Bakugou…”

Kirishima grimaced, hanging his head before speaking again.

“Mina…don’t get me wrong, the police are manly, but I don’t think that they can do the kinds of things heroes can.” He put a grin back on his face and walked away, shouting over his shoulder. “Don’t worry though! I bet Bakubro and I will be back before you know it! Once we show everyone how manly heroes are, UA will be back to normal and we can all be heroes together again!”

“Kiri…Kiri…don’t do this!” Mina panicked, running after Kirishima, but he had already jumped into a moving van, waving goodbye to Mina out of the window.

“I’ll keep in touch!”

“Kiri!!!” Mina yelled, but the van had already gone away, taking Mina’s friend with her. She was left shaking on the sidewalk, before collapsing to her knees. She heard some footsteps behind her, staring after the moving vans that were taking Bakugou and Kirishima away.

“They’re…actually leaving?” she heard Denki say.

“…I hope they know what they’re doing…” Yaoyorozu said.

Mina doubted that. She seriously doubted it.

Bakugou and Kirishima were not the only ones to leave the Hero Course. Aoyama and Rin’s families both pulled the two and moved back to their home countries, with Mineta soon following. About a week after Kirishima had left, Uraraka tearfully announced to the class that she was transferring back to General Education.

That left just twelve students still in 2-A. They had lost so many; Tsuyu, Habuko, Iida, and Todoroki had all been murdered, Kirishima, Bakugou, Rin, Mineta, and Aoyama had all left. Uraraka and Shinso had joined up early the previous year to fill the class up again, only for Uraraka to be dropping out now. The dorm room and the 2-A classroom felt so empty; it was a relief to Mina that they were spending so much time as a class combined with 2-B. Sitting in a half-empty classroom just didn’t feel right. Sometimes she wanted to just be with everyone, to just hold them together so none of them would leave or die, and there were other times where she just wanted to sit in her room alone. It made it hard for her to focus on the lessons Tsuragamae was trying to teach them.

For the week after Kirishima left, Mina was worried sick. She called Kirishima, begging him to rethink what he was doing, but he’d always shut down after a certain point, reassuring her that he was fine before hanging up to go on some other vigilante spree with Bakugou. She ended up getting more information out of his parents, where he and Bakugou were staying at the time, but everything that she heard from them just made her feel worse. Frankly, they were scared of Bakugou, and tried to talk to Kirishima to make him see sense, but he’d feed them the same lines that he had fed Mina and everyone else, insisting that Bakugou was “manly” and that he was dedicated to bringing the hero system back. However, Kirishima’s mother would tell Mina in conversations that eventually devolved into panicked crying about how Kirishima would often come back bruised or with burns on him, as if he had been taking some of Bakugou’s explosions. Every day he came home, he’d come back a little more scared. He insisted that it was because of how rough society was getting, but his parents noticed that over time he had become more timid around Bakugou and on edge, as if he was picking up on his temper more. Eventually the police started dropping by to try to talk to the Kirishimas. According to the police, Bakugou and Kirishima had been getting into fights far more brutal than anything Mina knew Kirishima would bring himself to do, with some of the victims of these attacks wanting to press charges against the Kirishimas for harboring two people so dangerous. It got to be too much, and Mrs. Kirishima sobbed to Mina that her husband had enough of the two and had one last argument with his son, telling him that he had to either break off his partnership with Bakugou or get out of the house and not come back.

About half a day after that call, on the same day that Uraraka announced that she was going back to General Education, a notification came up on Mina’s phone while she was eating dinner with the class. She looked at what had come up on her feed, and felt her heart stop.

“Mina? What’s wrong?” Tooru asked.

“Mina?”

“Mina? What is it?”

People were talking to her, but Mina couldn’t hear them. She just put her hand over her mouth to stifle the sobs, collapsing to the floor as she saw the image of Kirishima being pushed into a police car.

“…Why?” Mina asked weakly.

Kirishima was sitting on the opposite side of some plexiglass in a prison uniform. He couldn’t look at her in the eye.

“…I thought he was manly…” he mumbled. “He was…he was the opposite of who I was in middle school…” Kirishima picked his head up, his face pale and his eyes hollow as the realization of what he had done was hitting him. “You…you were always so tough…stopping bullies that I couldn’t…stopping Gigantomachia…and I couldn’t do anything…I wanted to be someone equal to you…But…” Kirishima’s eyes filled with frustrated tears. “I…I just wasn’t good enough! I had thought I had gotten better…but when Muscular attacked, I was just as spineless as I was before UA!” Kirishima bent over, his hands over his head, moaning. “I thought…if there was anyone who could make me…change me from the weak coward that I was…it was him…"

“Kiri…” Mina whimpered, “You were a good person…you might not have been that brave…but you knew a bully when you saw one…you tried to stand up to them…why couldn’t you recognize Bakugou as one?”

Kirishima could barely pick his head up.

“I thought…he was training to be a hero…”

That was it, wasn’t it? Heroes were just good. It didn’t matter what they did, as long as they were a hero. It was only in the past year that they had begun to realize how wrong that was.

“Mina…I’m sorry…”

Mina couldn’t take it anymore, and she ran away sobbing. She could barely see anything as she walked out of the prison and rode on the train back to UA. She tried running to her room, but was caught by several pairs of arms hugging her. Somehow, this just made her cry even harder.

“Just let it out, Mina." Toru sniffled.

“We’re here for you.” Yaoyorozu said.

“I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HIS FRIEND!” Mina wailed. “HOW COULD I JUST LET HIM HANG OUT WITH BAKUGOU LIKE THAT!? HOW COULD I JUST LET HIM GO!? ”

“Mina…” Denki spoke softly into her ear, surprisingly being the first one to hug her, “it’s not your fault…you tried to talk to him so many times, you tried and did everything you could…it’s not your fault.”

Mina fell to her knees wailing, still feeling the warm presence of her friends hugging her, letting her cry again, like so many times before.

Chapter Text

After Tsuyu and Habuko’s deaths, it was hard for Mina to pull herself out of bed. At this point though, having to discipline herself so much to keep up with the hero course, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and getting ready for the day just felt like an automatic process for her. It was hard, there were times where she would find herself in a daze, requiring that someone get her attention to snap out of it, but that happened less often as time went on. Tsuragamae was pretty understanding to her about it, though he had to keep reminding her not to lose her focus. There were a few times that he noticed Mina spacing out, and had her sit out their firearms training. After the period ended, he’d send her to Inui, or he’d talk to her himself. The fact that Mina had met Tsuragamae before he had started working as the teacher made her a bit more comfortable around him, more willing to open up…even to the point that she’d break out crying randomly again.

Tsuragamae was certainly an interesting teacher. In some ways, he was actually stricter than Aizawa was. While Aizawa would clamp down on anyone being too loud or joking too much in class, Mina came to find that he usually didn’t care what his students were doing as long as they performed well enough (which might have explained why Bakugou and Mineta had gotten away with so much.) Tsuragamae though expected the students to be professional whenever they had their uniforms on. If they were joking around or misbehaving in his class, especially when firearms were involved, they’d get an immediate detention and made to sit out the class. The exercises were intense, and while Tsuragame copied some of what the heroics teachers did as far as getting the students to use their Quirks, he put a lot more focus on physical fitness, including without the use of Quirks. Unlike Aizawa though, Tsuragamae at least made his exercises clear. There were no “logical ruses” with him; every exercise had a set objective and a way that they were expected to handle the situation. In fact, before anyone would go through an exercise whether it was target training, running through an obstacle course, or a simulated rescue, he’d usually spend a period, sometimes several, explaining the protocol on how to handle the exercises. These involved tests, which if you couldn’t complete on paper, you weren’t allowed to perform the actual exercise.

There was also the fact that they were being trained to handle guns, which Mina didn’t like, but Tsuragamae had made a good point when Kendo had protested. That was hardly the last time Tsuragamae honed into them how they couldn’t see their Quirks as the catch-all answer to any problem. Some of their assignments were to detail scenarios where their Quirks either wouldn’t work or could be hazardous. Thankfully, this was something that Midoriya had detailed in his notes on Mina a while ago; water could dilute her acid, so she was less effective in the rain, she needed to be careful around electrical hazards, and there were certain chemicals that she could either explode or create toxic gas if she let her acid get in contact with them.

That wasn’t to say that they were told not to use their Quirks at all, but they had to consider whether they were really the best options depending on the situation. Sure, Mina could throw or spray her acid with the right support gear, but compared to the guns that they were being trained with, she couldn’t make her acid move as fast or as accurately as a bullet. Not to mention, while even nonlethal rounds still hurt, they didn’t leave the targets with potentially nasty burns.

Compared to a lot of her classmates, Mina had a bit of an advantage considering how versatile Acid could be; it gave her mobility, range, could be dispersed in different ways, the pH could be altered to fit a situation, could eat through most obstacles, and even had medical uses. Others had to focus more on learning how to handle situations in the same way that they did before the Dawn of Quirks. However, this did not give her a way out of the same exercises as everyone else, which meant a lot of weight training, calisthenics, obstacle courses, and so, so, much running, which was how Mina and Denki found themselves collapsed on the sofas in the common room after one session.

“…Ugh…” Denki moaned with his face buried in a cushion.

“…Ugh…” Mina answered.

Mina was exhausted, but she was actually a bit better off than most of the other students; she was already pretty physically fit because of her dancing, but it was still brutal. The two ended up lounging on the couches while everyone else left to do their own thing. Pretty soon, Mina knew that she and Denki would have to get up and handle their homework. A few minutes after they were the last ones in the common room though, Denki spoke up.

“Mina, could I ask you a question?” Denki asked.

“Sure, Denki, what is it?”

Denki sat up, looking at Mina in the eye, unsure for a moment.

“Why did you want to become a hero?”

Mina stared at Denki, but she wasn’t really looking at him. Maybe she wasn’t the smartest person in her class, but Mina knew that there were certain answers people expected from that question. “I want to help people,” “I want to protect people,” “I want to make the world a better place.” A lot of people probably really did think this, at least partly. Mina did at least. However, she didn’t want to say that. Maybe it was because Uraraka had been so open with all of them, and the fact that she had gotten so down on herself for wanting to become a hero to make money for her family, even though her reason was still really sweet, especially in comparison to what Mina was thinking. Or maybe it was because it was Denki and Mina knew that he wouldn’t judge her, since she wouldn’t judge him.

“I thought it would be fun.”

Denki gave a relieved laugh, rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah…huh…I just thought it would be cool. I mean, sure, I do still want to help people, but I know that if Stain had ever met me…”

“Fuck Stain.” Mina said out loud, making Denki stare at her in surprise. “Fuck him, and Spinner, and anyone else who judges someone who helps people when they won’t lift a finger themselves, or goes out and kills people and acts like that makes them better.”

Denki stared at Mina for a moment before frowning and nodding his head.

“Yeah. Fuck Stain.”

The two sat across from each other, though Mina knew that they were probably thinking the same thing. Denki was the one brave enough to ask it out loud.

“…Do you think that this is still fun or cool?”

Mina had to think about that. Growing up, she had thought heroes were cool, and she thought that it would be cool to be a hero; to go and fight bad guys, wear a cool costume, use incredible powers, all to the cheers and praise of everyone around. Thinking about it gave her the same rush as she got from dancing to a really good tune, maybe even more. She did want to help people, of course, but the idea of doing it in such an exciting way? The fact was from what Tsuragamae had gotten them to understand, what they were training to do now wasn’t the same.

Part of Mina wanted to cry when she realized that she wasn’t going to get to wear her costume anymore. She couldn’t even get it recolored, everything was being remade. Mina had seen her costume as a way to express herself, but now, she was wearing essentially the same dark blue uniform as everyone else; hers was just acid-resistant to let her use her Quirk freely.

If they kept going on this, people weren’t going to cheer them. With the way Tsuragamae talked, there was a good chance that people were going to be as judgmental as ever to them, to see each of them as a cog in the machine. It might be even worse since they’d be carrying the stigma that had attached itself to UA and a lot of the heroes still working with the reveal of the HPSC’s corruption.

Did she really want this? To work what sounded like a thankless job, throwing her life in harm’s way just as much as she had before, to just be seen with the same respect people gave a janitor? Was Mina selfish for questioning whether she wanted to do this?

“…No. I don’t.”

Denki wilted, looking at the coffee table between them.

“…Yeah. I don’t either.”

So…did this mean that Mina wanted to leave? Maybe go to Gen Ed with Uraraka and Midoriya and find something else? Maybe Mina could open up a dance studio, that could be fun. Or maybe she’d learn a new language and just get out of Japan entirely, to put all of this behind her.

Thinking about that though made Mina feel sick.

Uraraka had left, but she had a good reason, and no one in the hero course felt like they could blame her. Them, on the other hand? They didn’t have that. Apart from the fact that this had all just been dropped on them all of a sudden, they had all nearly been killed themselves, had seen people die, had people constantly criticize them both in and out of the school, and yet people were still asking them to put their lives on the line. This wasn’t just going to not be fun, it was going to be harsh and dangerous and unforgiving. But why couldn’t she say she wanted to leave?

“So…what do you want to do?” Denki asked.

Mina leaned back in her seat on the sofa. She thought about what she wanted.

“I want to be able to have fun. But…that’s the thing…” Mina leaned forward again, looking at the table. “I don’t think that I could have fun. I don’t think that anyone can really have fun the way things are.”

Mina and Denki looked out the window towards the UA wall. When they had started their previous year, the wall was just a fixture of the campus, something that was just there. Now though, it was a constant reminder of what was outside, their first defense against what everyone else, including their friends and family, were dealing with.

“…I don’t think that anyone is going to be able to have fun for a while. And the longer we don’t fix things, the longer it’s going to take before we can have fun again.”

Mina glared at the wood. This wasn’t fair. They were a bunch of kids, and all of this had gotten dropped on them. It wasn’t even the ‘unfair’ that Aizawa had talked about at their QAT. At least then, they could just walk away. Now? Unless they were willing to leave the country, they were stuck with this.

“I think…I want to try to make it so we can have fun again.” Mina said, looking up at Denki. He stared at her, and slowly a small, tired smile came to his face.

“Yeah…that sounds like a good idea.”

The two leaned back on the sofa, taking just a single moment more to relax before Denki broke the quiet again.

“Do you want to get work on our math assignment?”

Mina blew out a loud raspberry.

“I guess…” she said with an overdramatic exaggeration. As she stood up to get her books though, Denki stopped her again.

“Mina?”

Mina turned to look at him. Denki was rubbing the back of his head again.

“I’m just…” Denki blushed a bit before smiling at Mina, and for some reason, this made her blush. “I’m…really glad that you’re still here.”

Mina smiled, almost feeling a tear in her eye.

“I’m glad you’re here too, Denki.”

Settling on her decision of what she was going to do helped clear Mina’s mind a lot. There was something that she had been putting off. Once she had finished her homework with Denki, she pulled out a sheet of paper and started to write:

Dear Kirishima,

I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now, but I want you to know that I’m still here for you.

I decided to stick with the Emergency Course; someone’s got to, right? Maybe we’re not going to be heroes, but we’re going to do what heroes do.

I think Tsuragamae’s a good teacher. He’s just as strict as Aizawa, but doesn’t pull any of those ‘logical ruses.’ Kind of nice knowing exactly what we’re supposed to do before we get thrown into an exercise. We’re being taught a bunch of different stuff, not just how to use our Quirks, but how to use guns and things like that. I know you probably wouldn’t have liked that, but you’d have done really well with all the physical conditioning that we have to do. It’s one of the few times where I got a higher score than Yaomomo!

I hope that this letter helps you feel a bit better. For what it’s worth, even if you made some bad choices, I think that you’re still a good guy. I’ll try to make sure to visit you when I can.

Don’t give up, Kiri.

Love,

Mina

Dear Mina,

You’re a better friend than I deserve. I’m glad that you’re sticking with UA. I wish I had. Tsuragamae sounds manly. I know a lot of people left the class after me, but I hope you’re all doing alright.

Mom and Dad visited me yesterday. I made them cry a lot. I feel like shit.

I’m not really sure what I can do anymore. Don’t worry about me though. I think I deserve what I’m getting right now.

Love,

Kiri

Mina sighed reading the letter. She guessed that this was better than Kiri not writing back at all, but it made her feel bad that he was thinking of himself this way. She’d have to make sure that she continued writing, trying to keep his spirits up.

The bell rang and Mina put Kirishima’s letter away, knowing to start paying attention. Today though, Tsuragamae was standing in front of the class with a student that looked kind of familiar; he was tan and blond…wasn’t he from Gen Ed?

“Everyone, this is Kagaya Taiyo. He’ll be part of our class from now on, so I expect you to make him feel welcome.” Tsuragamae turned to Kagaya. “Would you like to introduce yourself?”

Kagaya grinned, bowing to the class.

“Hey! Some of you might recognize me from 2-C. Midoriya’s talked about you all a lot, so I’m excited to get to work with you! So, my Quirk is Sunshine, which lets me create sunlight,” Kagaya lifted his hand up, which glowed yellow (Dark Shadow winced a bit.) “It’s not a really strong Quirk, but I’ve been finding out a lot of different ways I can use it lately with Support Gear. I’m a little behind you guys, but I promise I’ll work hard!”

Mina smiled at Kagaya, glad to have a literal ball of sunshine joining them.

“He’s cute…” Mina heard Toru said, which probably made her really happy when Kagaya took a seat next to her. Mina grinned, noticing the bright smile Kagaya gave Toru when she introduced herself and her friend’s excited motions. Another shipping project? Depends on if Toru reacted if she teased her.

Kagaya got to know more of the class at lunch, where Yaoyorozu took the lead talking to him.

“Kagaya, if you don’t mind me asking, how exactly does the transfer process into the Emergency Course work?”

Kagaya leaned back in his seat.

“Well…to be perfectly honest, it wasn’t that hard.” A few of the others lifted their eyebrows at him, but he went on. “That’s not boasting, by the way. I think that it would be pretty hard for me to get into the Hero Course through the Sports Festival like Shinso and Uraraka did. Tsuragamae just had me take a test and run through an obstacle course, and that was it.”

“That’s it?” Denki asked.

Kagaya shrugged.

“I don’t think I had the best score, but I kind of got the sense that as long as you can meet the cutoff, you can get into the course now.”

Mina grimaced. Tsuragamae wasn’t kidding when he explained how much less popular the course was compared to the old Hero course. Honestly, the fact that Kagaya had even wanted to get in at all made him seem like a pretty good guy.

As the year went on, Mina got to know a few more people besides Kagaya. Midoriya’s mother moved in to the school, working as a nurse, and she was just as sweet as her son was. The Midoriyas took in Eri, the little girl that Uraraka had helped rescue from the Eight Precepts, and Mina was glad to get another chance to get to know the adorable little unicorn girl after the mess that the Cultural Festival ended up as (especially without Mineta around.)

Perhaps the most exciting thing to happen during this time though was when she visited the library with the rest of 2-A to meet the new librarian. Yaoyorozu and Shoji had apparently helped the Midoriyas move Ms. Ippan Josei into her new apartment, and had suggested that the rest of the class introduce themselves to make her feel welcome.

When they arrived, they were met with the sight of a very tall, blue-green furred fox heteromorph woman talking to Midoriya.

“Oh, Yaoyorozu, Shoji!” the woman greeted the two as they came in with the rest of the class. “It’s good to see you! Is there something I can help you with?”

Yaoyorozu was introducing everyone, but Mina’s attention zeroed in on a few key details of the scene in front of her.

Midoriya’s light blush. The stammer and fidgeting even worse than usual before they had arrived. Ippan’s perked ears and playing with her hair in a way that she didn’t seem to notice while she had been talking to him. The higher pitch to her voice as soon as she had noticed someone approaching. All small details, but there. That, and the tiny green statue of a bunny on her desk.

“Interesting…” Mina drummed her fingers together.

“Um…Mina?” Denki asked in a murmur as Yaoyorozu was talking with Ippan. “Why are you smiling like that? You look like you’ve thought of a plan to steal Christmas.”

Mina turned to Denki, realizing the grin that had shown up on her face.

“Oh… it’s nothing…”

Mina hung back as everyone dispersed after greeting Ippan. Before Midoriya could run away though, Mina spoke up to the two.

“Soooo…how did you two meet?”

Midoriya’s blush grew even brighter.

“Oh…well…” Ippan answered, her own cheeks blushing a bit, looking to the floor bashfully, but with a smile on her face. “Midoriya actually saved me from some thugs…”

“Oh…I…all I did was distract them while my Mom got the soldiers…” Midoriya tried to deflect, not looking at anyone in the eye, perhaps aware of the dark aura emanating off of Mina as she smelled romance.

“You still saved me, Midoriya.” Ippan said fondly, smiling towards Midoriya and making him fidget even more. She turned back to Mina. “After that, Midoriya and his mother…” Ippan blinked before sighing and smiling, “Midoriya and Inko befriended me, and eventually convinced me to apply to this job.”

“Really?” Mina said, taking a step closer to Midoriya and savoring his panic. “That’s such a great thing for you to do, Midoriya! I bet Ippan here really appreciated that!”

Ippan chuckled nervously. Mina decided to back off for the time being.

“Well, you two looked like you were talking before we walked in on you, so I’ll just let you get back to it.” She said, walking away towards a table where she could just so happen to observe the two from a distance. Even after she had left, the two stayed together, talking for several minutes.

“So…” Toru said, sitting down next to Mina with Kagaya and Denki. “We ship?”

“Oh…” Mina drummed her fingers together, savoring the plans she had, “We ship, Toru, we ship.”

Kagaya and Denki were left staring at this scene, unconsciously scooting away from the two girls and the malevolent aura emanating from them.

“…Should I be worried for Midoriya?” Kagaya asked.

“Shshshush…let us have this…” Toru said, waving her hand to the boy.

Eventually, Mina and Toru got to actually studying, but Mina had a content smile on her face. This was nice. She missed this sort of thing.

Hey Kiri,

Things have been pretty normal for us at UA, and I mean actually normal, not normal for the Hell Class. It feels weird to just do regular schoolwork with what we’ve been through; we’re not going on internships or work studies, and UA is still the safest place in the country right now, but it doesn’t feel like it’s really sinking in that we don’t have to expect to fight villains while we’re here.

Midoriya’s mom (Mamadoriya) is working with Recovery Girl as a nurse; she’s really nice. And you know something else? Do you remember Eri? That little girl that got rescued from the Eight Precepts raid? The Midoriyas have adopted her! (Sort of. I think she’s still ‘Aizawa Eri’, but she’s living with the Midoriyas.) She’s a lot happier nowadays, and she’s got such a cute smile! (I just got to remember to never watch a movie with her again…I mean, technically what she’s watching is for kids, but I’m still having nightmares of being turned into a mouse and chased around by witches.) She started going to school and made friends with Tsuyu’s little sister Satsuki. We got to meet her last week. It was kind of awkward, but Eri seems to be good for her, and Yaomomo made sure that it was a good visit for her.

We got a new student who transferred into the Emergency Course from Gen Ed; his name is Kagaya Taiyo. I think you’d like him, he’s a really nice and cool guy. Toru sure thought so. I heard her say she thought he was cute and made the mistake of teasing her about it. Once. I got to tease her ONCE. She just huffed at me, marched over to Kagaya, and got him to agree to go on a date! The traitor! (They’re actually really cute together though.)

Something really cool happened while they were training together; turns out that if Toru absorbs enough light, she turns visible! She’s so pretty! She was crying happy tears for a week. She found out how to keep visible without Kagaya, but they’ve been all over each other anyway. Seriously, Denki and I feel like third wheels whenever we’re around them.

UA has a new librarian named Ippan Josei. She’s really nice and super cute. Apparently, she and the Midoriyas became friends a few weeks ago before she started working at UA, so she visits him and his Mom a lot. Toru and I are pretty sure Midoriya has a crush on her.

The Cultural Festival is coming up soon; we’re thinking of trying the concert we were going to do last year. Fingers crossed!

You mentioned you’re still trying to keep up your studies, how’s that going? I know that it’s probably rough in there, but is there anyone you can hang out with or talk to? I hope you’re careful, but I hope that you’re doing alright.

Love,

Mina

Dear Mina

I’m glad you’re safe. What we went through was pretty messed up, so it’s good to know that you’re all not going through that again.

I’m really glad to hear Eri’s got people taking care of her; she was a mess when Togata rescued her from Overhaul. Midoriya’s a real man for taking her in. I wish I had hung out with him more. I hope things work out well for him. It’s pretty cool that you guys were able to make Asui’s little sister happy. Even if you’re not pro heroes, you kind of are still heroes.

Kagaya sounds cool. I’m glad that Hagakure’s doing so well, too.

Studies are okay. Sometimes it’s hard for me to push myself the way I used to. It’s weird; it’s not as hard as the stuff at UA, but sometimes I just fall behind. I’m trying to keep at it, anyway.

I’m mostly keeping to myself. There are a few guys here that I feel safe around.

I hope the concert goes well.

Love,

Kirishima

Preparing for the concert was hard, much harder than it was in their first year. They had half of the students that the song originally called for, they didn’t have the special effects that Uraraka, Todoroki, and Aoyama could provide, and they didn’t even have Bakugou to be the drummer.

And they still killed it!

Jirou had been so anxious about singing after what had happened last time, but she was incredible! Denki and Tokoyami were great on the guitars! Yaomomo was great with the piano! Dark Shadow really stepped up replacing Bakugou on the drums! Kagaya and Toru made some really pretty special effects with the light show that they put on! And Mina had so much fun herself directing the dance team and performing for everyone. Maybe the best part of it of all for her though was seeing Eri and Satsuki cheering on Ippan’s shoulders.

Ever since the previous year’s Sports Festival, Class A had been the target of so much mean gossip, since everyone had been blaming them for what had been happening. The Cultural Festival that year had been meant as a way to get people to treat the class fairly, only for that stuck-up Gentle Criminal to ruin everything. They had to live with the same awful looks and whispers behind their backs for an entire year, but now, as Mina saw everyone cheering for them, it felt like they were finally being given a fair chance.

Mina and her friends went through the rest of that day happier than they had been in a long time. They got to eat carnival food, watch 2-B’s hilarious play, but best of all, they got to go to 2-C’s cat café! So fluffy! So cute! One of the kittens ended up sleeping in Mina’s hair!

Clean-up was so different from the previous year. Back then, they just wanted to get everything done and go hide in their dorm. Here, they couldn’t get any work done because people kept coming up to congratulate them! When they finally got everything packed and returned to the dorm rooms, Mina of course threw another party and invited Uraraka, Midoriya, and 2-B. They may have gotten chewed out for making noise and were completely spent by the end of the day, but it was worth it.

By the end of it, Mina found herself spread out on the couch. Denki was in basically the same position on the opposite couch.

“Ugh…” Denki said.

“Ugh…” Mina eloquently responded. Still, she picked her head up and grinned over at Denki. “We did it.”

“Yeah.” Denki picked his head up and returned the smile. “I guess we did.”

The two stayed like this the same way that they were at the beginning of the year, and like then, everyone had gone back to their rooms. And just like that time, Denki broke the silence.

“…Mina?” he asked, pulling himself together so he was sitting upright, for some reason sounding nervous.

“Yeah?” Mina sat up herself.

“…You did a great job directing the dancing.”

“Thanks, Denki. You were great on the guitar.”

Still, for some reason, Denki seemed nervous.

“You were…really great out there.”

Mina blinked, catching on that something was up.

“I just thought I should say…you’re really cool.”

“…Thanks, Denki.” Mina said with a smile even though she felt a weird sense of anticipation. “You’re really cool too.”

“And…” Denki stammered, blushing but unable to stop whatever it was he was doing, “And you’re really fun, and brave, and strong…”

Mina felt her cheeks flush.

“You’re really smart, and really pretty…”

Was…was this actually happening? Mina prayed that Toru wasn’t in the room.

“And…hero, police officer, whatever…I think you’re going to be really good at it.” Denki went on, the blush in his face rising, but not stopping him. “You’re really nice, and I…” Denki closed his eyes and took a breath. “Do you want to get some bubble tea sometime?”

Mina stared at Denki for just a second. The boy that she had first started out seeing as a fun friend to be around, to someone who had always and would always have her back. He’d been with her against people as tough as Nezu and Muscular, had been with her against things as simple as studying for their Finals, and had even jumped in when her best friend was pressuring her. He’d stuck with her, and the fact was, she had come to love him for that. So, she jumped at him and kissed him on the lips.

Yeah, she felt Denki was the guy she wanted to be with.

Hey Kiri!

The concert turned out great! Even with just thirteen people (fourteen counting Dark Shadow, and we really should since he was the drummer), everyone loved it! There’s even a recording on Youtube! Eri and Satsuki loved it and were smiling so much! It was so awesome!

It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to go to an actual School Cultural Festival, I forgot how much fun they could be! Midoriya’s class did a cat café, and that was loads of fun too! They were so cute! Apparently kittens like playing with fluffy hair like ours. I wanted to steal them for myself!

Something else really big happened afterwards. Denki talked to me and invited me on a date to get bubble tea, and now I guess we’re a couple! Thinking about it, I kind of wonder why we didn’t get together sooner. There was all the life-and-death stuff that we’ve gotten into and the Work Studies with Wash, and the fact that we’re kind of the two goofballs of the class. We kept on ending up working together on stuff, and I guess at a certain point we both got the idea that we wanted to be a bit more. I feel like he’s the kind of guy I can rely on, and I just feel really happy about this.

There isn’t that much we can do since it’s tricky to get permission to go outside UA, but that’s not as much of a problem with the UN soldiers around nowadays. There’s a lot of people still angry about them, but we couldn’t go outside the UA walls before, and now we can, so honestly, I think people should stop complaining. I guess in a few years we’ll be doing their job anyway, so we might as well make the most of the time we’ve got before that happens!

How are things with you? How are your studies going? Your Mom and Dad seemed better when I last called them.

Love,

Mina

Things still weren’t really not crazy in the country, but at least with the UN soldiers, it was easier to go outside UA, which was why Mina and Denki were taking advantage of whatever time they had off to have a double date with Toru and Kagaya.

“Okay, I’ve had taro bubble tea, raspberry bubble tea, but I haven’t had the matcha green tea bubble tea, so I’ll have that!” Mina decided.

“I didn’t like the black milk bubble tea that much, so I’ll go with honey dew.” Denki said his order.

“Ooh, that’s a good one.” Kagaya said. “It’s sweet, but not too sweet. I’ll go with thai flavor.”

“Peach for me!” Toru squealed.

The four picked a table outside. Summer had come and gone, but it wasn’t too cold yet, so they wanted to enjoy being outside as much as possible. Mina sipped on her tea before swirling it around to let the tapioca pearls mix in more.

Hmm… “Green tea.” It was almost too bad that Mina was set on her Midoriya x Ippan ship (though it was frustrating that she couldn’t actually push anything until Midoriya turned 18 so it wouldn’t be creepy and get Ippan in trouble,) since she could have seen Midoriya and Uraraka getting together too. Another world, maybe…

“Hey, Mina?” Denki asked.

“Yeah, Denks?”

“You sent Kirishima a letter a few days ago, right? Have you heard from him?”

Mina sighed.

“Not yet, but usually I get something from him around now.”

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence that made Mina stop sipping on her tea.

“Is…this an uncomfortable topic for you?” Kagaya asked.

Mina blinked, realizing how that came off.

“No, no! It’s fine, I’m glad that I can keep in touch with Kiri, it’s just…I’m not always sure if I’m writing the right thing…” Mina looked down at the table. “I can’t usually think of what else to write about other than my life, but I sometimes wonder if that’s kind of insensitive; talking about the things that I’m getting to do while he’s…there.” Mina shrugged in frustration. “But he’s said he wants to know how my life it going, so I tell him.”

“Huh…” Kagaya commented. “I can get why that would be frustrating.”

“Don’t get too down about it, Mina.” Toru said. “There’s not much else you could really talk about, and Kiri might not want to talk too much about jail anyway.”

“Yeah…” Mina sighed.

“Sorry.” Denki apologized with a wince. “It was dumb of me to ask.”

Mina shook her head.

“Denki, sweety, it’s fine. Look, things with Kiri were rough, but he was still our classmate and he’s still my friend. You guys probably saw him that way too, at least at one point.”

Denki and Toru frowned, but nodded. Before anyone could say anything else though, Mina got a call. Looking at the ID, she smiled.

“Oh hey, it’s Kiri’s Mom! Maybe you guys can talk to her yourself!”

Mina answered the phone and put it to her ear, ready to put it on speaker.

“Hey Mrs. Kirishima, how…”

Mina’s face suddenly froze and paled, startling the other three students present.

“What did you say he tried to do?” she whispered.

The guards guided Mina into the prison hospital, where Kirishima was under surveillance. Since he was a non-violent prisoner, they allowed her to be there without much more supervision. His parents had already visited him, and from what Mina could see of them, they were a mess. They practically begged Mina to talk to him, but seeing him lying on the bed with a line of dark bruises around his neck, unable to look at her in the eye, Mina was at a loss for what to say. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to go Kirishima a hug, and she wanted to slap him. She settled on standing by his bedside and glaring at him.

“…Why?”

Kirishima didn’t answer or look at Mina, making her even more scared and angry.

“Kiri, I know that this is tough, but you still have a chance to get out on parole, why would you throw that away? I know you’re not happy, but if you were feeling this upset, why didn’t you say something in your letters?”

Still, Kirishima couldn’t look at her.

“I…I just don’t understand, Kiri! Did I say something in my last letter? Was it that I wrote that made you do this? Are you upset that you weren’t at the Festival? Should I not have talked about what was going on at school? You never said that you were bothered by any of that before.”

“…No. It wasn’t that.” Kirishima admitted, barely loud enough for Mina to hear. She lowered her voice, not wanting to shout at her friend after what he had gone through.

“What was it then? The only thing other thing I talked about in the letter besides the concert at the Festival was Denki and I…”

Suddenly, Mina’s eyes went wide. Kiri couldn’t look at her.

“…Denki and I?”

Kirishima didn’t respond, but he shuddered.

Mina took a step back, looking at her friend in a new light, realizing how he saw her.

“Kiri…you…had a crush on me?”

Kirishima couldn’t look at her, but he spoke, tears dripping from his eyes onto his lap.

“…You were brave…you were strong and jumped in when I didn’t…you were…you were everything that I wanted to be…I just…I wanted to be worthy enough to stand with you…” Kirishima mumbled, sounding as if he was choking on his tears.

Mina closed her eyes and sighed. She wondered, if Kirishima actually looked at her like that, why did he hardly ever seem to take what she said about Bakugou seriously? She doubted that his desire to be ‘manly’ was just because of his apparent feelings for her, but it could make sense if it fueled his sense of desperation, if he saw how she had been progressing throughout the previous year and felt as if he was being left behind.

She didn’t know what to say though that wouldn’t make Kirishima feel worse. In a way, Mina did love him, but as a friend, maybe even like a little brother. There were things about him that she loved; his desire to improve himself, the courage that he had grown over time, but there was also a lot about him that Mina knew she wouldn’t have been able to live with. How Kiri wanted Mina to love him was something that she felt reserved for Denki, and the man that he had grown to be.

“I know that I was being selfish and dumb for thinking about you that way, especially while I was in here…I…” Kirishima looked at Mina and winced, “I know that you…wouldn’t have seen me that way…it’s just…when I read your letter…that’s when it really hit me…there’s nothing left for me out there. Even if I get my GED in here and get out on parole…what can I even do?”

“Kiri, there’s plenty you can do…”

“Mina…” Kirishima interrupted, “One of Aizawa’s former students is my cell mate.” Mina paled, realizing where this was going. “He told me once that getting a black mark in Japan is like having a prison record in another country; he couldn’t find any work, and had to resort to robbery in order to survive.” Kirishima picked his head up to look at Mina, an absolutely miserable expression on his face. “What hope do you think there is for me with something like this on my record? Let alone the fact that I was an accessory to murder? I’ve ruined everything for myself. If I somehow get out, I’ll just be stuck living homeless until I die. No one is going to give me a chance. I’ve cut myself off from all of my friends…”

“No. Not all of them.” Mina glared. “I’m still here, Kiri.”

Kiri winced again, looking at Mina before turning away. She took a breath and sighed again.

“…You’ve wrecked a lot of options that you could have had if you hadn’t done this. But there are options.” Kirishima was about to interrupt, but Mina continued. “I don’t know what all of your options are, but you do have them. You’re alive, you were smart enough to get into UA, and even with what you’ve done, I think you are a good man.”

“I’m not a man…” Kirishima muttered.

“Yes, you are.” Mina said over Kirishima’s protests. She sat down next to Kirishima and took him by the shoulders. “You saved my life, Kiri. You put yourself on the line for others even against someone as dangerous as Gigantomachia. You’ve made some bad choices and followed the wrong person, but I know that you have always wanted to do the right thing even if you didn’t know what it was.”

“I…I…” Kirishima sobbed. “But I’m still a coward…I saw everything Bakugou was doing, and I did nothing…hell, I supported him…”

“…You were a coward.” Mina said. “But you don’t have to stay the way you were. You worked to change yourself once, and you can do it again. I know that you can be a good man, Kirishima.” Mina gently hugged Kirishima, resting her head against his. “Please…give yourself another chance. Please, try to make yourself someone better.”

“I…I already tried though…” Kirishima whimpered.

“Then try again. But listen to your friends this time. Think about what you’re doing. Please Kiri…you are my friend…please…”

Tentatively, Kirishima hugged Mina back, sobbing into her shoulder.

Mina got in touch with anyone that she thought would care about Kirishima to suggest that they add a letter to her own. Thankfully, despite isolating himself from his classmates through his association with Bakugou and how he had tried to convince his class to go on an illegal rescue mission, there were quite a few people who still cared about him. Tetsutetsu kicked himself for not thinking to write his old friend and rival more often when Mina brought it up and promised to not lose touch with him again. Sato and Shoji, who had worked out with Kirishima quite often, along with Sero and Jiro, who had hung out with Kirishima a few times if only to hang out with Mina added their letters. Even Denki and Yaoyorozu, who had been bothered the most by what Kirishima had done, added their own letters, not wanting to abandon someone that they had once seen as a friend, and wanting to try to rebuild what bridges they could.

About a week after Mina and her friends had sent the bundle along with what gifts and mementos they could, she got a letter back from Kirishima:

Mina

Thank you for talking some sense into me. I’m sorry that I did something so selfish and unmanly. I’m scared about what I’m going to do in the future, but I promise that I’m not going to let it overwhelm me again. I’m not sure if I really have a right to say what “manliness” means, but I do think that if I am going to try to be a man, then I need to try to make something of myself.

Thank you so much for being my friend,

Kirishima

FORMER PRO HERO MIRKO HOSPITALIZED

Mina read the report on her phone, upset at the story. Mirko was one of her inspirations, she was an inspiration to practically every girl in the country that wanted to be a hero. She had always seemed so tough, even after the Battle of Jaku where she had lost an arm and a leg and had them replaced with prosthetics, she kept fighting as a vigilante. But based off of what this report was saying, it sounded as if she was never going to walk again.

Mina looked down at her legs and shuddered. She couldn’t imagine a life like that, being unable to run and dance. If someone as strong and experienced as Mirko could go down like this, Mina knew that she was no different.

The bell rang and Mina put her phone away, though the article stayed with her. As Tsuragamae began his lesson, Mina resolved to try to make sure that what happened to Mirko didn’t happen to her.

“Sensei?” Mina asked once the class had been dismissed.

“Yes, Ashido?” Tsuragamae said. Mina held up the article on her phone for him, making him grunt in familiarity.

“Do you know anything about what happened?”

Tsuragamae sat and gave a tired sigh.

“I don’t know many details, just that Mirko pushed herself too far and was badly hurt in a fight.”

“How though?” Mina asked. “Mirko’s handled stuff like this before and she was fine.”

Tsuragamae shook his head.

“No one’s invincible, Ashido. Mirko had a reputation for being a lone wolf, but the fact is, she relied on others whether she knew it or not. All heroes had the support of doctors, police intel, support gear maintenance, and as much as she claimed that she didn’t need anyone’s help, simply the existence of other heroes to take the load off probably helped Mirko far more than she would have ever admitted. With the HPSC dissolved though, all of that support is gone.” Tsuragamae shook his head. “I hate to say it, but this was probably inevitable. The police had tried to get Mirko to work with them, but she was too stubborn about how she did things, and it seems that it has come back to bite her.”

Mina looked at her phone sadly.

“This is why we’re trying to teach you a new curriculum.” Tsuragamae explained. “Mirko was certainly skilled, but she also in a way represented many of the problems with the old system: An insistence on diving head-first into fights without a plan, dismissing the concept of teamwork and coordination in favor of relying on one’s own strength, and perhaps a degree of blood hunger. Even talented heroes like Mirko would give out eventually, just to fuel a flux of more people that fed into the same ideology.”

Mina absorbed the words of her teacher.

“…Would that have happened to us?”

Tsuragamae considered Mina for a moment in silence.

“…There’s a reason why so many heroes are forced to quit in their first year, Ashido. The fact that heroism was so popular ensured that there would always be replacements, but it was rare that someone would stay in the fight for even as long as Mirko did. I think that most of you would have the talent to stick it out for a while, but there are very few heroes that are active after they turn thirty. I think many of us simply accepted these statistics as part of life without ever really considering them. It makes me very glad that I am getting a chance to rectify these issues that I have noticed.”

Mina swallowed nervously, but bowed in respect. It put a lot of the lessons that they had been learning in context; taking down threats as quickly and efficiently as possible, coordinating with other officers; almost all of their exercises were done in teams. Mirko was one of Mina’s idols, but she certainly didn’t want to end up like her.

“Thank you, sensei. I’m glad that you’re teaching us.”

Dear Kirishima

I wish I had something better to write about, but I thought you should know before this gets on the news. Aizawa-sensei was killed yesterday. The police don’t know much more than that it seemed like it was a bunch of people.

We’re going to have a funeral for him next week. Is this the kind of thing that they might let you visit for?

I’m not entirely sure how to feel about this. I mean, I’m sad, because I feel like we owe Aizawa for saving us…but I also know about what happened to the students of his that got black marks, and I can’t help but think that I would have been his biggest target if he ever felt like expelling any of us. It’s scary to think about.

Love,

Mina

Dear Mina,

Sorry, but I won’t be able to go. You can only get a furlough if you’ve served a sixth of your sentence. Maybe I can try to send roses or something like that.

I know what you mean though. Remember that I told you that my cell mate was one of Aizawa’s former students? I never told you about anything that he told me, but it’s seriously messed up. I thought that Aizawa was manly, protecting us the way he did, running in to face all those villains at the USJ (though maybe that wasn’t as manly or smart as I thought; Bakugou and I did the same thing and turned out really bad…,) but…let’s just say that it’s not that much of a surprise that something like this has happened. I think that he was good for us for the most part, but there are a lot of people like my cell mate who ended up like us because of him.

I’m not sure if I should be writing this about Aizawa since he just died, but I’m not sure if he was a good teacher. I have to take responsibility for my own actions, I mean, basically everyone else saw Bakugou for what he was, but honestly, one of the things that I thought whenever you or someone else pointed out that what Bakugou was doing was wrong was that “Hey, our sensei doesn’t have a problem with this, maybe everyone’s just overreacting!”

I’m really glad that you have Tsuragamae. He sounds like a good teacher. If I can get parole, one of the things that I want to do is apologize to him; maybe if I had given him a chance and stuck around, I would have realized how manly he was and wouldn’t have wrecked my life like this.

Love,

Kiri

Mina finished her second year with the rest of the class, though at the end of the term, Sato announced that he was going to be transferring to Gen Ed as well, having come to the conclusion that his Quirk made him more of a liability on the field than anything else, and wanting to pursue a career in baking instead. She and the rest of the class could tell that Sato felt guilty about this, but when he made this announcement, they congratulated him and were only upset that he wasn’t going to be part of their class any more. That being said, the class realized by this point from all the time that they still got to hang out with Uraraka that this wasn’t as huge a separation as they would have thought. (Mina at least was hoping that; she really loved Sato’s chiffon cakes, she couldn’t go back to store-bought stuff!)

Mina noticed something weird though, it wasn’t something that she could easily put into words in her letters to Kirishima as it happened over time, but it felt as if the walls between the classes had been fading. Maybe it was because they liked to hang out with Midoriya and Uraraka, and Kagaya had friends with the other Gen Ed students, and Tsuragamae had the two emergency courses working together more often. Perhaps the big reason for this though was that there was not as much of a sense that the former hero courses were to be considered the upper echelons of the school, the people that everyone wanted to be but only a few could. Now, they were just going to be public servants on the same level as anyone else.

It was only once the year had concluded that it really hit Mina, along with basically everyone else in her class; there had been no villain attacks. They were not called in to deal with a disaster, to fight against a massive army or cult, they had just finished a year of high school. Part of Mina was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the fact was, their only responsibility had been dealing with their schoolwork. There was almost a sense of numbness to this that made them feel surreal.

Which meant that Mina and Denki had to throw a party to give everyone a chance to let their feelings out. People seemed to appreciate that, even if Mina got a little blood-hungry with the DDR tournament. Wimps.

Dear Kiri

Eri is finally “Midoriya Eri!” She is so happy now! I think she smiles a bit more every time people call her “Midoriya.” I’m so jealous of Midori, getting such a cute little sister.

This brings me to something else. Apparently, Amajiki and Neijire are getting married. Who would have known? It’s not like Amajiki isn’t in contact with you, RIGHT? I mean, he must have been lying to me about how he’s been writing to you too, because I know you wouldn’t have kept this tea from me, RIGHT?

Love,

Mina

Dear Mina

That’s so great to hear! I remember when we first saw Eri, and she couldn’t even remember to smile. I’m so glad that she’s got a good family after everything she’d been through.

I’ve passed my subjects for my second year of class, so I’m on track to technically graduate at the same time as you guys. It’s all thanks to you, giving me the encouragement that I need to keep working hard. The Sports Festival is coming up, right? Any idea what you’re going to be doing? It’s not going to be televised like it was in the past, and you’re not doing internships, so I’m guessing the events are going to be really different. I wonder if this is going to change anything for the other classes? Since the Festival isn’t going to be about getting heroes to notice the hero students or giving the other courses a chance to transfer in, maybe it will be more fun for them? Maybe it’ll just be like those extra activities they had for the students that didn’t move on to the Tournament?

…

…

…

Amajiki might have mentioned he was going to propose. Please don’t hurt me.

Love,

Kirishima

Mina and Denki clashed their giant swords together in an epic duel, neither able to get an edge over the other. To increase her speed, Mina sprayed acid out of her feet, using it to skate around the platform the two were on, landing blow after blow. Denki however, saw an opening. He held his hand over the stream of acid and unleashed his Quirk, electrifying the trail Mina had made to herself, making her muscles seize up and fall on the edge of the platform.

“POWER!!! UNLLLIMMMITTTED POOOOWWEEER!!!!” Denki yelled as he zapped Mina. She writhed around on the ground, barely keeping hold of her sword.

Denki held his sword to Mina’s neck.

“Now, join me Mina, and we will rule the galaxy together!” Denki clenched the fist not holding his sword and held it into the air.

“I’ll never join you!” Mina yelled in defiance.

“Don’t be a fool! Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your boyfriend…” Denki said in a murderous voice.

“He told me enough! He told me you killed him!”

“No Mina, I am your boyfriend!” Denki dramatically declared.

“No…that’s not true…that’s impossible!” Mina denied. It had to be a lie! It had to!

“Search your feelings, you know it to be true!”

“Noooooo!!!!!” Mina clung her sword to her body, wailing in agony!

“Okay guys, I’m glad you’re having fun, but seriously, we need to get the next match rolling.” Awata said as she refereed.

“Oh, okay!” Mina cheerfully replied before kicking out one of Denki’s legs with a breakdancing spin, landing on her feet behind him while he was off balance and smacking him in the head with a soft ‘pomf’ sound from the foam sword she was using, knocking him to the floor below.

“AAAAAAaaaaaaahhhhhhh…”

Mina sighed, looking at the card that she had gotten. There wasn’t any new hero merchandise being produced nowadays, but that still left a bunch of stuff that had been made, but not sold yet. Unfortunately, the market had dried up with the dissolution of the hero system, with so many heroes’ reputations being destroyed in the aftermath. There were a few stores that had outright thrown the merchandise away. Thankfully, Midoriya was able to get Mina in touch with a store that still sold a few items, such as the Crimson Riot birthday card in her hands. She had brought it into the common room with the intention of asking for anyone interested in signing it, but had gotten bogged down by her thoughts.

“Are you alright, Mina?”

Mina looked up and saw Yaomomo standing over her with a worried expression.

“I was just thinking about Kirishima’s birthday coming up. It’s on October 16th.” She explained.

“Oh, would you like me to sign that card?” Yaoyorozu asked, noticing the birthday card in her hands.

“Yeah…I was thinking I could get people to sign it and write something for him before I sent it.”

Yaoyorozu paused, noticing Mina’s tone.

“Why is this making you upset though? Are you worried that people won’t want to sign it?”

Mina looked up at Yaoyorozu with a frown.

“He’s turning 18, Yaomomo. And it’s going to be while he is in prison.”

Yaoyorozu’s eyes widened and she frowned sadly as these words sank in. Most of the class had turned 18 already; of those remaining, only Tokoyami, Koda, and Shoji hadn’t made that turn yet. Yaoyorozu had only turned 18 roughly about a week ago. For each of them, the day had been a huge milestone, the day where they would become legal adults. It was something that their lives had been building up to; all of their successes and failures, their joys and traumas, it had all led to turning them into the men and women that society now saw them as. And for all of them, no matter how hard the work was that they had to handle, how exhausting the or challenging the exercises Tsuragamae put them through, they made sure to make time to celebrate it, whether it was going out clubbing for Mina’s birthday, going to an arcade for Denki’s, or going to a classical concert and renting out a fancy restaurant for Yaoyorozu (Mina felt kind of guilty that Yaomomo had been the one to pay for everyone else to go, rather than them paying for her, but she had just been so happy either way.) After that day, everyone looked at them differently, gave them a respect that they didn’t have before. It was one of the few times that Tsuragamae would specifically call out a student to congratulate them on something personal.

Kirishima though? He was going to spend his birthday the same way he had spent the last year and a half, waking up to a concrete ceiling, eating the same slop, stuck in the same building with people who were not predisposed to be kind to him. And even if he could get parole, he was still going to have to spend the next few years of his life the same way. Mina couldn’t even send him a cake; just this card and a CD for a band that they liked.

Mina felt Yaoyorozu sitting next to her and hugging her, and it was only then that Mina realized that she was crying. Eventually, she felt Denki and Toru join them. She calmed down enough so that she didn’t need the entire class supporting her again. Each of them took turns signing the card or sitting with Mina in case she needed the support again.

Dear Yaoyorozu

I’ve got a lot of letters that I should have sent out before now, but yours’ is one that I have owed you for a while.

I’m sorry for what I did after the Summer Camp; trying to guilt you into helping me with my stupid idea to rescue Bakugou. I was so dumb and careless; you were right, it was illegal, it would have gotten us all in huge trouble no matter what happened, and would have put anyone who joined in huge danger. When you chewed me out for that, you were looking out for our friends more than I was, and I want to thank you for that, especially when I tried to push Mina into it.

There’s a lot of other things that I need to apologize for, mostly from how I kept on defending Bakugou. He hurt our classmates, he made us all look bad in front of the school, but I kept on supporting him, even when doing that made it more difficult for you to deal with him.

You held us all together and brought us through some of the worst times in our lives. If there was ever someone who was manly, it’s you Yaoyorozu.

From,

Kirishima

Dear Tetsubro

Happy Birthday, bro!

Congratulations on becoming a man today! You were already super-manly before today, but now the whole world gets to see you that way.

It’s so crazy, people always joke about how similar we are, but we even share the same birthday! I wish I could be there, and that we could celebrate this together.

You really are a manly guy, you stand up for your friends, you’re willing to put yourself in danger for their sakes, and you’re willing to call people out when they do something wrong. You were, and still are, a really manly friend to me. Though this is something I need to apologize to you for; I should have given you more of my respect and my time than I did. I should have seen you as my best friend, a guy that I can admire, that made me better and that I wanted to make better too. Instead, I went with Bakugou; a guy that insulted you and everyone else to their face, that always put himself first, that fought because he liked to hurt others instead of wanting to protect anyone. I had so many people in my life who would have been better role models; Fat Gum, Amajiki, Mina, but especially you. I’m sorry that I wasn’t a better friend to you, but I’m also glad that it sounds like you’re trying to make yourself better than I was.

Congratulations on getting together with Kendo, by the way. I know you keep on doubting yourself around her, but trust me, you are a manly guy and I bet she’s happy to have you as her boyfriend.

Your friend,

Kirishima

Dear Kaminari

I know that it’s weird that I’m sending you a letter, but this is something that I should have done a while ago.

I’m glad that Mina’s got a guy like you as a boyfriend. You stood up for her against villains, and you even stood up for her against me. I was supposed to be her friend, but you saw what I was ignoring and were a real man.

I don’t have a right to ask for a lot, but please, take care of her.

From,

Kirishima

It was Christmas, and Class A was holding their party together with Class B, along with whoever wanted to show up, including of course, Midoriya.

Mina knew that he suspected something with all of the suspicious glances he sent her way, but she just smiled and waved. Eventually, he left, probably thinking that he had imagined everything. Setsuna walked in after him, sending her a clandestine thumbs up to show that she had accomplished her part of the plan.

All of the pieces were in place, and now it was only a matter of letting them fall where they may. Mina went out of earshot of everyone else and made a phone call to the mastermind of the operation.

“Setsuna and I have done our part, so Izuku and Ippan should be heading to the spot right now.”

“Excellent. I’m glad I could rely on you, Mina.”

Mina couldn’t help it, she had to say something.

“Listen, I’m all for this plan, but I’m surprised about how gung-ho you were about it…”

“Izuku and Ms. Ippan keep making sparkly eyes at each other whenever they see each other, and I’m sick of nothing happening! This needed to be done Mina, for my big brother’s sake!”

“If you say so, chief.”

Mina hung up, looking over at the library where they had manipulated Izuku and Ippan to go. She wished she could see the magic happen, but she had to settle on not being there and making sure that there were no cameras to protect their privacy; she respected the two too much not to. And that was the thing, the mistletoe that they had hung up was in an out-of-the-way place, and Izuku and Ippan didn’t have to kiss. They were both consenting adults, whatever happened was their own choice. At least that’s what Mina would say if anyone found out what she had been doing.

It was the Final Exam, and they had to protect the “Prime Minister” from a terrorist attack. As a robotic mannequin gave his speech, the terrorists launched an all-out assault with what seemed like over a hundred robots against a little over thirty Emergency Course students. Yaoyorozu and Setsuna were acting as commanders, Tetsutetsu and Kendo were transporting the Prime Minister, and Mina and Denki were chasing down a group of terrorists.

“Shoji, Denki and I are chasing our group down the alley from Second Street, do you copy?”

“Copy. There’s only two ways into that street. Shoda and I have the other end covered. Over.”

“Let’s go.” Mina said to Denki, the two continuing to run after the group with their weapons drawn. They followed them past a giant sewer line, and heard gunfire up ahead.

“They must have come across Shoji and Shoda.” Denki pointed out.

“Then we’ve got them!”

The two rounded a corner and saw that the terrorists were out in the open, and got to cover, only to freeze. One of the robots had another in a repairman’s uniform in its grip, holding a gun to its head.

“Drop your weapons or he gets it!”

The two exchanged a quick glance, and nodded. With the terrorists keeping their own weapons on them, Mina and Denki slowly lowered their own to the ground. However, acting as if he was just bracing himself against the pipe he was next to, Denki activated a function of his glove, using his Quirk to discharge a current through the metal and magnetizing it. Before the terrorists could realize what was happening, their weapons were ripped from their grasp and clung to the metal. Denki and Mina each drew second, non-magnetic weapons and shot out the terrorists, saving the hostage.

“We’ve got our group down.” Mina called over the radio after confirming that the hostage was safe (and not a terrorist in disguise.) Just as Shoji was about to move on, they received a call over the radio from Yaoyorozu.

“Squad Beta, I have a Level A threat targeting the extraction team. Conventional weapons do not seem to be affecting it, we need assistance!”

Mina and Denki ran off to the extraction point, finding the robot acting as the Level A threat.

Whatever the robot was, it was big. About the size of a monster truck, and it was approaching the armored vehicle that Kendo and Tetsutetsu had put the P.M. in. Its size and the power it showed as it easily pushed aside cars in pursuit of the armored vehicle Kendo and Tetsutetsu had loaded the Prime Minister into.

“Show me your blood!” the robot shouted in a recording of a familiar voice.

Mina and Denki both felt a familiar jolt, but they turned to each other and nodded.

“I’ll get his attention.” Denki said, and Mina started to skate towards the robot. As Mina was getting in close, Denki opened fire with his gun, splattering the head of the robot with paint rounds. Normally, this would count as a takedown, but the heavy armor on the robot made such an attack ineffective. The robot turned towards Denki and started to stomp towards him.

However, it did not get far, as Mina had used Denki’s distraction to get in close enough to spray some of her most caustic acid at the legs of the robot, making it stumble to its knees.

“Clear!” Mina shouted at Denki, which he used as a signal to electrify the trail of acid Mina had left, electrocuting the robot and making it crumble completely, its eyes turning black to indicate a defeat. There were no more terrorists active, no disasters or fires to contend with, and the Prime Minister was safely extracted.

“Mission clear: All hostiles neutralized, all civilians accounted for. The Final Exam has concluded.” Tsuragamae announced over the intercom.

“Yes!” Mina and Denki shouted, giving each other a high five.

It was actually happening. All those years of work, panicking about tests and wondering if she was even smart enough to be in this school, let alone the trauma of everything that had happened in her first year, and Mina was graduating. She went up to the podium, took her diploma from Tsuragamae, gave the biggest smile she could for the camera, and took in the cheers of the crowd along with her mother’s crying. Granted, it was nothing compared to what Mamadoriya was doing, but Mina appreciated the sentiment.

Yaoyorozu gave her speech, and she gave her final words;

“It is my greatest pride to be able to stand with all of you today, and to face whatever it is outside of these walls, in the hope that we will make this a better society. Thank you all.”

And it was done. Mina cheered, jumping into Denki’s waiting arms, letting him spin her around as the two laughed in joy.

“We did it! We did it!”

“Mina, Denki!”

Toru joined in on the hug, followed by Kagaya, the two of them literally glowing in joy.

Mina looked at them, and all around them. They had made it. Through the tragedies of their first year, and all the trials of an elite high school education. Her joy was tempered though as she looked at the portraits of Tsuyu, Habuko, Iida, and Todoroki, and she thought also of her dear friend Kirishima, who couldn’t be there. He had completed his own high school education online, and Mina had praised him for that, but when she had come to UA, she had been hoping to leave it with her friend.

She sighed, not wanting to let this mar her happiness now. As she looked at her friends though, she happened to spy a certain couple in the back.

“Guys…look!”

Toru turned, and barely held in a squeal with Mina. Denki and Kagaya, though not as adamant about this as their girlfriends, nonetheless grinned, gripping their fists together as they watched Midoriya stumbling over his words.

“C’mon…c’mon, Midoriya…” Kagaya said under his breath.

“You can do it, dude…you can do it…” Denki said.

They all held their breathes when they saw Ippan’s ears perk up at something Midoriya asked. For a second, Midoriya backpedaled, only for Ippan to kneel down to Izuku’s level, give him a kiss on the lips, and say something that made Izuku hug her with joy.

“THE SHIP HAS SAILED!!!” Mina shouted with glee.

Dear Mina

Congratulations on graduating! I wish I could be there with you guys.

How has your first week on the job been going? How’s everyone handling the change? How are things with Kaminari? I hear a bit about this kind of stuff from Amajiki and Mom and Dad, but there’s only so much I know about how average people are doing nowadays.

I’ve been splitting my time between trying to figure out how to get parole and what I could do to support myself if I can get parole. It’s going to take a while before I can actually think about parole, but mostly it comes down to behaving and showing that I’m trying to learn from my mistakes. I think a few of the guards feel bad for me, so I think that as long as I don’t do something stupid in here, I might have a chance. Finding work is going to be a bit harder, but I think that my next best step is to try to build up as many skills as I can, learning things like carpentry and welding.

Try to take care of yourself, alright?

Love,

Kirishima

Dear Kiri

Congratulations to you too! I’m proud of you for sticking it out.

I’m not sure how different things are for us compared to what they were like for Amajiki, but I can definitely tell that the police are changing all the time. I think that for Amajiki, Nejire, and anyone else that was about to graduate before the hero system was dissolved, they weren’t expected to act that differently from before; there was only so much that they could be expected to change, after all. I think that as long as you followed orders, the brass didn’t get too upset with former heroes if they did things that broke protocol. I think that there’s a bit more expected of us. Our chief is this guy named Gori, who knew Tsuragamae, so he knows that we’ve been trained on police protocol that the heroes before us didn’t, so he expects us to follow it the same as any of the other police. We are a bit different I guess; more like SWAT officers than regular beat cops, but we still do a lot of the same work. Most of us got started off with handing out parking tickets, though I did get called in to help deal with a riot (don’t worry, it was just a few dozen people, and all I had to do was spray a bit of acid mist at them and they dispersed pretty quickly.) Things are probably just going to keep changing, since they’re still trying to figure out what to do with us.

…Okay, I admit, it’s not as simple as I’m making it out to be. I was told afterwards that the riot was a small one, but if that was what the other officers considered small, I don’t want to know what it was like right after the system fell. They just don’t prepare you for how angry people get; I don’t even remember exactly what they were complaining about, and I’m not sure if they even knew. Someone just threw a brick, and suddenly what started as a protest turned into all of them rushing us at once. No one got really hurt and it was over pretty quickly, but I guess it’s still kind of affecting me. It wasn’t as bad as the PLF War or Muscular, but it’s still scary seeing people lose control like that. I think this is why Tsuragamae drilled us so much; when you’re scared like that, you do the first thing that comes to your mind. Since we had been drilled in these kinds of situations so often, it wasn’t as much that I knew what to do as much as I just…did it. You switch to your training and keep going. Chief Gori talked to me afterwards and told me that I did a good job, at least.

Denki and I haven’t gotten to do that much together, but we do our best to hang out when we can; have lunch or coffee together, that sort of thing. Our schedules can get kind of hectic, so we’re still trying to figure out how to make that work, but I’m glad that he’s still there.

I’m proud of you for how hard you’re working. I promise you, I’ll do whatever I can to help you to get parole, and to help you afterwards. Just keep working, Kiri.

Love,

Mina

P.S.-Midoriya and Ippan got together. They’re soooo cuuuutttee!!!

The next few years were difficult. Mina realized that it was pretty normal for new officers to be assigned to parking duty; it was a way to help get used to wherever they were stationed. The fact that she and others had been called in to help with matters as big as a riot in their first week showed how badly stretched thin they were.

There was still an issue of the lack of public interest in emergency services. Oddly enough, Mina’s year had managed to inject a decent number of new officers into the system. After them though, the numbers seriously floundered. Thinking about it, it made sense; a lot of them wouldn’t have gone into UA and other hero schools had they known that things were going to turn out this way. Most of them had simply chosen to stick with it. Now though, there was the issue of finding people willing to start the Advanced Emergency Course training again.

The presence of the UN soldiers helped; they were hugely popular with a lot of the police, realizing how sunk they’d be without them. There was only so much extra manpower could do though when trying to police a population that had become so distrustful of the people in power, so convinced that they were being manipulated the same way that the HPSC had manipulated them, but also so unwilling to actually do anything to help protect others themselves. It wasn’t as simple as the police dealt with problems whenever they came up; they had to work to get people to trust that things were different, that they could be safe and trust the men and women working to keep them safe. The government had to focus a great deal of their resources into campaigning for enlistment support, and it looked like it was going to take a while before their efforts would bear fruit.

Mina though did everything she could to keep positive. If there was anything she had learned from Aizawa, it was that while life was unfair, she didn’t want to end up with the same attitude that he did. So, as long as it didn’t interfere with her duties, she set out to be as much of a social butterfly as she ever was. She made connections with the other officers, she made a list of everyone’s birthdays and made sure that they were celebrated, she kept track of office romances (she was thinking about setting Yaomomo up with one of the UN soldiers,) and she made sure to keep in touch with all of her friends from UA.

Sato ended up working in his family’s bakery, so Mina made sure to bring everyone she could to visit, making it something of a new hotspot for police officers. Uraraka had moved back to Mie with her parents, but because of the advantages that her Quirk offered as well as having connections to the Yaoyorozu conglomerate, her family’s business became successful enough to start taking contracts in Mustafu, which made it a lot easier for her old classmates to visit her. Kagaya, Ojiro, Shinso, Jiro, and Toru got assigned to a different precinct, but they made sure to hang out whenever they could. Midoriya was working in the intelligence department, and Mina liked to keep track of how his new relationship with Ippan was going. Koda had gotten assigned to a rescue division in the country, but on the rare occasions that Mina and whoever else she could wrangle could head out there, he was able to point them to good camping spots and nature trails.

Mina stared up at the stars with Denki lying on the picnic blanket next to her.

“…We missed out a lot when we had those Remedial Lessons, didn’t we?” Denki said, taking in the sky above them.

“Yeah…” Mina said. She was glad Uraraka was there to see this with them; she was fun to talk about space with.

The camping trip was probably more difficult to arrange than it had to be, but when Koda brought up the idea of camping together, Mina thought back to her experience with the Summer Camp attack. When it occurred to her that this could be a good way for her and Denki to confront their fears and what had happened to them, she got the idea to invite other people for the same reason.

Practically everyone in the two hero courses had a bad time during the attack, but there were a few people that Mina knew she had to give the chance to come if they wanted to. So, in addition to Denki, her, Koda, Midoriya, and Ippan (the last two had a more open schedule than most of the other people Mina had talked to,) Sero, Sato, Uraraka, and Tokoyami had also come along as well; Tokoyami even managed to bring Yanagi along, whom he was dating (yes, Mina took credit for that one.) A camping trip with ten people (eleven counting Dark Shadow) was tricky, but Mina was determined to make it work.

Almost absentmindedly, Mina felt Denki place his hand on hers, and she took it, appreciating his warmth. Everyone was having a moment of quiet, enjoying the starry sky. It felt cathartic, to be able to reclaim a bit of their piece of mind that they had lost from the Summer Camp attack all those years ago.

Eventually, Mina and Denki started to feel antsy, and walked back over to the camp. They were quiet, realizing that some of their friends might want to just enjoy the silence a bit longer. Midoriya and Ippan, who were enjoying the sight themselves, but did not have the same experience from the Summer Camp, noticed the two and helped them set up the movie projector they had brought along.

The group stayed quiet until the end credits for Alien: Romulus started rolling, and let out a collective breath.

“Revelry in the dark.” Tokoyami and Yanagi said at the same time, their eyes wide and shuddering from the experience.

“That was…a surprisingly profound movie.” Ippan said, looking impressively to Mina, who had brought the movie. “It’s not something that I would have expected from this franchise.”

“I know, right! I love all the movies in the series, but Romulus was the only one to be as good as the original two!” Mina squealed. “This might be the scariest one since the first movie!”

“I liked how they went a lot more into how space would affect moving around.” Uraraka said. “All the scenes where they had to deal with gravity and how it would affect them, and the fact that the main characters were all just working-class people trying to find a way to make a better life for themselves…”

“It really leaned into the symbolism…” Midoriya observed. “All the recurring imagery of the she-wolf that mothered Romulus and Remus, the themes of rebirth, but also of the competition between the brothers…”

“And the overarching conflict of what aspects of humanity we value.” Ippan added onto her boyfriend’s line of thought, “What parts of humanity, either in which individual humans we value, or what parts about our own identities we see as things we should either keep or abandon.”

Mina smirked at how the two complemented their conversations. She was about to tease them and call them lovebirds when Denki spoke up.

“I liked the call-back to the second movie Andy made.” Denki said. “That, and his jokes. He was a funny guy.”

“You know dad jokes are supposed to be bad, right?” Mina said to her boyfriend. He gave her a smirk back.

“Well, who knows? I might need some dad jokes someday.”

Mina blushed at the implication, purposefully avoiding the smirking faces of Midoriya and Ippan, along with everyone else (Don’t give him a thumbs up, Sero!) Darn it, she was supposed to be teasing them, not the other way around!

Whatever the case, they all had their fun, went to sleep, and left the next morning. Mina felt her phone buzz with a notification once they were back in an area with service.

“Oh, hey, it’s Toru!” she exclaimed to the others. She paled though when she saw the message.

Toru: Ojiro was killed. I’m sorry. Call me when you can.

Dear Kirishima,

I have some bad news. Ojiro died in the field yesterday.

From what I can tell, he ended up in a fight against some criminals that had him cornered. It sounds like he didn’t pull his gun. I think what happened was that he ended up in a stressful situation, and fell back on his training, just not the right training. He was able to take them all down, but one of them got a lucky hit in.

I don’t know what to say. Ojiro was tough. He was a good guy and he deserved better than this, but there are still a lot of bad people who’re taking advantage of all of the problems we have right now. Toru and Kagaya are taking it pretty hard; they were close to him.

Love,

Mina

Dear Mina

Shit. I’m sorry to hear that. Ojiro was manly.

I know that it’s tough out there, and your job means you have to put yourself on the line, but please take care of yourself. Stick with your partner, and don’t do something like I would that would put yourself in a situation where you’re going to get hurt.

Love,

Kirishima

Ojiro’s death stayed with all of the UA alumni for a long time. He was the first of them to die in the field after they had graduated. It just showed them that despite the League of Villains being defeated, there was still a lot of danger in what they did.

There was a reminder of the importance of following protocols; don’t leave your partner behind, practice proper combat doctrine, etc. This was something that had unfortunately happened before, especially in the early years of the new system where the former heroes that had joined the police force unfortunately tended to revert to their old styles of handling emergencies. It was tricky, even (perhaps especially) for the more experienced heroes such as those from the Top 10 that had joined the force. So, the lessons were pounded into them with every meeting the police had. Many of the former pro heroes started cycling back into training in an attempt to fix this issue.

Mina mourned with her friends, and they did their best to move on. Ojiro’s death showed Mina how important it was to hold onto her loved ones as much as possible, to make the most of every opportunity that they had.

One day, Denki pulled Mina aside where no one could hear them.

“Okay, Mina,” Denki said with an attempt at a serious face, “I need you to not freak out about this, alright?”

“What is it?” Mina whispered.

“…Midoriya is going to propose to Ippan.”

A block away, several dogs winced at the high-pitched squeal that assaulted their ears.

“FINALLYFINALLYFINALLYFINALLY!!!” Mina hopped up and down. Denki realized how pointless it was to interrupt her and let her get it out of her system.

“…You good?”

“Yes, I’m good.” Mina said with as much poise and dignity as she could muster.

“So, the reason why I know is that he’s actually asking for my help with this; he wants to set it up as a double date so Ippan is surprised when he springs it on her.”

“Oooohhhh!!!” Mina squealed again. “I like that! That’s good! I’m all for it!”

They arranged to meet with Midoriya and Ippan on the next day off that they all had. It was going to be a simple date; they eat at a decent restaurant with outside seating, visit a bookstore, and then go to the park where Ippan would get to read a book Midoriya had been planning to gift her.

The restaurant was pretty nice, a bit fancier than what Mina and Denki would usually go to, but not at the level of something that Yaoyorozu would invite everyone to, so the four of them were dressed in clothes that were kind-of nicer than normal, but again, not super fancy.

“So…Ippan,” Mina began, wanting to keep the conversation seeming as natural as possible while they ate, as well as trying to keep her excitement in check. “How are things at UA?”

“Pretty good.” Ippan answered, taking a bite of her salmon. “Satsuki’s big brother Samidare has started his first year in the Emergency Course.”

“Oh, good for him!” Denki said proudly. Considering how unpopular the emergency course had become, the fact that Samidare had gone out of his way to apply for it showed a lot of character on his part.

“What’s the Entrance Exam for the Emergency Course like nowadays, anyway?” Mina asked.

Ippan leaned back a bit in thought.

“Well…the school has a bit of an issue with that course, in that they can’t make it as competitive as it used to be since there aren’t as many people applying for it anymore, but they also don’t want to make it so easy that just anyone can get in. It’s mostly just a physical exam and an aptitude test, along with the same test the General Education students take.”

“That’s it?” Mina asked, feeling a bit miffed at having to go through something so much harder.

“Part of the reason why the Entrance Exam for the hero course was so difficult was because there were so many applicants. Heroism really was a competitive field from the very start.” Midoriya pointed out, eating his own salmon.

“Right.” Ippan nodded. “Now it’s more a matter of determining if people are physically and mentally capable of handling the stresses for the job. Even then, students can still take the exam throughout the year if they want to try to transfer in. That’s not to say that the test is easy, though. You still need to be very fit to get through it.”

“Do Quirks play into it at all?” Denki asked, eating a bite of sashimi.

“Some can.” Ippan answered with a shrug. “But it’s not really a competition like the old exam; getting the best score could really be the same as the lowest score as long as they pass the threshold. Samidare’s Quirk gave him a good score since it made him so much more mobile, but there were a few students who got in with mental Quirks or emitter Quirks that didn’t give them any kind of physical boost.”

Kaminari looked at his hand, letting off a few sparks. He and Mina remembered his experience in Aizawa’s Quirk Assessment Test; Electrification was a powerful Quirk, but it didn’t help Denki at all with those tests (at least back then; he had since learned how to use his Quirk to stimulate his muscles for short bursts of energy), and he had to rely on what physical ability he possessed at the time.

“Do you think Shinso would have gotten in if he had taken this exam?” Mina asked with a smirk, remembering how scrawny Shinso was when they first met, despite being cocky enough to challenge 1-A before the Sports Festival (and after the USJ; it had taken the class a while to forgive Shinso for that.)

“Not with how he was at the start of his first year.” Midoriya admitted. “But even if you can’t get into the Emergency course, that doesn’t mean that you can’t become a police officer, you just go in through the same program that any of the regular cops do. The Emergency Course is more like specialized training for elite units like you two.”

“The school’s also changing that test all the time; trying to figure out how to incorporate different Quirks that could be useful for emergency work.” Ippan explained. “The focus right now is on police and rescue work, but they also want to get some programs specialized for healing purposes or mental Quirks like Tsukauchi’s.”

“That’s good.” Mina said, nodding. As melodramatic as Shinso had been at the start, he wasn’t wrong that the old system favored certain Quirks. She had to wonder how someone with a healing Quirk like Recovery Girl had even gotten her hero license in the first place considering how much focus was on combat in the old system.

“Honestly, with what Josei and my mom have told me about the exam, it’s completely possible for a Quirkless person to get into the program.” Midoriya pointed out.

Ippan looked down at Midoriya for a moment before smiling.

“ ‘Detective Midoriya.’ I could see it. You could have become Tsukauchi’s apprentice.”

Midoriya laughed, rubbing the back of his head. Ippan though was still looking at him.

“Izuku, is something wrong?”

Midoriya blinked.

“What? What do you mean?”

“Your scent has been off since we met this morning.”

“Oh…I’m…I’m fine…” Midoriya took a long drink from his water to avoid talking again. Ippan’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, but was startled by Mina slapping her hand on the table.

“Hey, how about we get our check? We don’t want to be late for the book store!”

“I’m…pretty sure that it’s going to be open for six more hours…” Ippan said.

“Right! And we want to be sure we have plenty of time!” Mina said, doing what she could to get Ippan’s suspicions off of her soon-to-be fiancé. Thankfully, Ippan was distracted as soon as she got into the store, giving Midoriya a bit of breathing room. Mina found an aisle on alien books, where she could keep an eye on the couple, but still talk to Denki.

“Hey Denki, I was wondering, why did Midoriya ask for your help with this?” Mina asked, curious.

Denki blushed for just a minute before he laughed it off awkwardly.

“Well, it’s weird, because it kind of started off with me asking him for help first, since I was trying to think of something nice to do for you for a date, and I know you like our double dates. That led to him telling me about his plan, and we kind of worked things out from there.”

“Really? Why did you go to him in the first place?”

Denki chewed his tongue for a moment before answering, giving Mina a small smile.

“Well…I know that Midoriya’s not my best best friend, but I feel like I owe him with you, since he’s kind of why we got together in the first place. I don’t just mean with the ‘saving our lives’ bit, it was just that those notes that he wrote about the two of us, and how it got us studying together…I guess it was kind of when I first started thinking about you like this.”

Mina put her hands over her mouth and felt tears gather in her eyes.

“Denki, that’s so sweet! I hadn’t really thought of it that way before!”

“Yeah, so, I just thought that it would be a good idea to ask for Midoriya’s help with this date. And another thing, the whole point of going on dates is to have fun, and I know that you always love it when you get to watch other people’s love lives. I knew this wasn’t something you wanted to miss, and I thought that it would be special for you.”

“Oh, Denki…” Mina took her boyfriend’s hands in her own, touched that he was being so considerate for her. “I promise, I’ll make this up to you later…”

Suddenly, Mina noticed Ippan coming towards them.

“Hey, Izuku’s buying our books. Do you want us to wait for you?”

“Nope! I think we’re good!” Mina said, excitement building up in her for what was coming next. Thankfully, Ippan was wearing her ear muffs, so she shouldn’t have heard anything that Mina and Denki were talking about, but it was clear that she realized something was going on with the way that she looked at Mina.

“…Are you planning something?”

Mina just laughed. She had years playing off people’s suspicions on this sort of thing.

“No, why would you say that?”

Ippan still didn’t seem convinced.

“Hey, let’s not keep Midoriya waiting!” Denki said, taking Mina by the hand and walking around Ippan, eventually getting her to follow after. Mina and Denki hanged back from Ippan and Midoriya as they headed to the park, though Midoriya was deflecting a lot of Ippan’s questions the closer that they got. Eventually, they settled onto a park bench while Mina and Denki found a spot close enough to watch, but far enough away to be out of mind. Bursting with excitement, Mina pulled out a camera and started recording for prosperity.

“…Okay, what are you doing?” Ippan asked, her eyes narrowing at Midoriya.

“What are you talking about?” Midoriya asked innocently.

“Don’t play coy with me, Izuku.” Ippan said, folding her arms over her chest. “I know you’re up to something. I can smell it on your sweat. You’re planning something.”

To his credit, Midoriya actually managed a decent poker face, and just shrugged in response.

“Maybe I am. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Hmph.” Ippan huffed, sticking her nose in the air. “Alright, be that way. Just remember, I’ve got my eye on you, mister!”

“Josei…” Midoriya shook his head in bemusement. “Don’t worry yourself so much. It’s a beautiful day! Let’s just enjoy the moment.”

Ippan squinted at Midoriya, even as she opened the book Midoriya just bought for her. Midoriya opened up his own book, seemingly unbothered by Ippan’s expression. The moment she relaxed enough to look down at her book though, she gasped, her eyes going wide. Her eyes started going teary, and she put a hand over her mouth, stifling her happy whimpering as she picked up the diamond ring Midoriya had placed inside of her book.

“Ippan Josei,” Izuku said, getting down on one knee in front of her, “will you marry me?”

“Oh…Izuku!!!” Still holding the ring, Ippan knelt down next to Midoriya and hugged him. “Yes! I would love to!”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Mina chanted under her breath, feeling her face about to split with her grin. When Ippan, soon to be ‘Mrs. Midoriya’ placed the ring on her finger, still crying in joy, Mina couldn’t take it anymore.

“Congratulations, you two!” she shouted.

Midoriya and Josei turned smiling to Mina. When she looked at Mina though, Josei smirked, folding her arms over her chest. Mina blinked in confusion.

“Huh? Why is she looking at us like that?”

Probably hearing her, Josei jerked her head to gesture to something behind Mina.

“Denki? Is something wroooooAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

Mina had made the mistake of recording everything, even up to that point. Which meant that when she turned around, she pointed the camera at Denki, who was down on one knee, holding up his own box with an engagement ring. It got to be too much for Mina, and the camera tumbled out of her hands, rolling into just the right position that it caught both the flustered Denki and the sobbing Mina who had fallen to her knees in front of him.

“W…wait…is that a no?” Denki asked in a panic.

“It’s a yes! Of course, it’s a yes, you jerk!” Mina shouted, unable to do anything but cry from being overwhelmed.

“Mina, are you going to be okay?” Denki asked.

Midoriya and Josei both came into view, with Josei still smirking down on Mina even as she was still recovering from the joy at her own engagement.

“Well, look who can dish it out, but can’t take it.”

“WAAAAAHHHH!!! YOU GUYS ARE MEAN!!!”

Dear Kiri

I hope you’re doing alright.

All my girl friends at the station that had babies warned me that maternity leave wasn’t going to be a break, and they weren’t lying. I can’t believe how fast Daia learned how to walk! Seriously, this has to be her Quirk manifesting early or something, because there is no other way she could move so fast!

Part of the reason why I’m writing to you thought is because I wanted to admit that something has been bothering me lately:

On one hand, I love being around Daia, even with how crazy she gets. Denki and I should really have known that our baby would be a little ball of energy, but I love that about her. I love playing with her, cuddling with her, reading to her, being with her. On the other hand, I know that the police still need help. If they didn’t, the UN soldiers wouldn’t still be here. I keep thinking about Ojiro and the others that died in the line of duty. Denki is smarter and stronger than anyone realizes, but I keep worrying that he won’t come home one day. How would I explain that to Daia? I want to be out there, but then I think, what if that happens to me? What if Denki has to explain that to Daia? What if it’s both of us?

I’m sorry to be unloading this on you, but the thought’s been hanging with me for a while. I’ve talked about it with Denki though, and he gets it, even if he doesn’t have an easy answer either. The most that we can say for ourselves is that if something did happen to us, I know that our friends would be there for Daia. Writing about it makes me think of something else though; how exactly did heroes ever have kids? I know that there were plenty that did like the Ingenium family and Rock Lock, but it’s just hard for me to imagine how they would have delt with the idea that they might not come home to their kids, and their babies would be left alone. Sure, they might have had other heroes for friends, but…well…I can’t help but wonder if heroes could really trust each other with that sort of thing. With the way things are now, we’re all in this together. When one of us gets hurt, we all get hurt. We all serve the same purpose, and we all know better than to try to do things to get the spotlight. With heroes though? They needed the spotlight. They actually needed it; it was how they made their living. Remember the Sports Festival? One of the first real things that they taught us was that we are all in competition with each other; for rank, for sponsors, for everything. So how could a hero ever trust another to take care of their babies if they died? They would just be something that the heroes would have to split their attention on, and I bet a lot of them felt as if they couldn’t afford that. There were exceptions of course, like Kota and Mandalay (even though she was still family,) but I can’t help but feel like a lot of heroes couldn’t trust each other like we do.

Maybe I’m just being overemotional since I’m taking care of Daia and getting stir-crazy. I’d like to think that I would be there for my friends and their kids no matter what. I think I could have trusted you too.

Anyway, thanks for reading my rant.

Love,

Mina

P.S.-Daia said “Hi, Unkie Kiri!” (Squeals!!!)

Dear Mina

Hearing (reading) what Daia said made my day. Let her know that Unkie Kiri said “Hi!” back! She sounds adorable and I hope I get to meet her in person one day.

As for your what you were writing about…that’s pretty heavy stuff. It wasn’t really something I had ever thought about when I was still at UA. I get what you mean though about dealing with someone you know dying; it makes you think. I think that in your case, even if it scared you, and I wish it didn’t, you didn’t let it paralyze you and you made yourself strong enough to face it. Maybe that’s just what you need to do again? Writing that though, I’m not sure. Maybe you’ve got the better idea; make sure you rely on your friends. I know you’ll protect them, and they’ll protect you.

The bit about heroes having kids and being able to trust each other is pretty heavy too…I don’t think that it was even first at the Sports Festival that you had to worry about competition; it was right at the beginning before we even got into the school. At the Entrance Exams, we were competing with hundreds of other teenagers for 36 spots. We had team exercises where we had to rely on each other, but there was always the matches, the class rankings, the internships and work studies we had to fight over. It’s like even though a few heroes like All Might told us not to worry about rankings, the fact was they were also kind of telling us from the start to look out for number one. There were a lot of heroes who still had kids like you pointed out, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as you thought? Or maybe most of them never thought that they would die. Sometimes when I was using “Unbreakable,” I felt like nothing could hurt me, and I think that a lot of our classmates and other heroes thought the same way; we kind of just told ourselves that we were invincible.

You’re right though; you’ve got your friends to rely on. We both know them, and we know that they have your back. I’m glad that you trust that I would to. If I can get parole, I promise that I will.

Love,

Kiri

Mina was in the midst of epic battle with her daughter, as the two fought over her high score for DDR. Denki had been spent a while ago, and was sprawled out on the couch in exhaustion, but neither mother nor daughter would surrender to the other just yet. In the end though, experience won out, and Mina kept her rank.

“Aww…” Daia pouted, making Mina giggle. Daia had inherited her mother’s pink skin and yellow eyes with black sclera, but her father’s spiky blonde and black-streaked hair, which she wore in a ponytail. Her Quirk “Electric Slime” allowed her to create an electrified slime which could electrocute objects, or drain their electricity on contact.

“Better luck next time, sweetie!” Mina rubbed her daughter’s head.

“Can we have a rematch?” Daia asked, staring up at her mother, almost managing to get her with her adorableness. It was a look that Mina had to develop a bit of resistance to over time to avoid spoiling Daia.

“Sorry sweetie, but you’ve got homework to do.”

“Aww…” Daia pouted again, but cheered up a bit from a hug from Mina.

Raising a child as two emergency officers had been difficult, but Mina and Denki loved being parents. They were talking about potentially having another baby now that the country had settled down a bit. The UN soldiers had left a few months ago, and things seemed to have settled down in the country since then. All around their home were pictures of their friends and the couples that had formed from them; Itsuka and Tetsutetsu, Tokoyami and Reiko (What can I say except, You’re Welcome!), Kagaya and Toru, Midoriya and Josei being a few. They had their kids, they hung out with each other, and it had delighted Mina that Daia said that she “liked” Issho.

As Daia started off on her homework, Mina put together a fruit salad for dinner (they all had similar dietary requirements for their Quirks), while Denki went to get the mail.

“Hey Mina, you got something from Kirishima!” Denki announced, handing the letter to Mina.

“Ooh!” Mina said, tearing it open. When she read it though, her eyes went wide.

“Mina?” Denki asked, scared. Mina though grabbed Denki by his shoulders.

“Denki, Kiri’s eligible for parole! He’s going to have a meeting in a month!”

Denki stared at Mina for a moment before nodding.

“Alright. Let’s start getting ahold of people.”

Normally, a parole meeting was done in a smaller room, just in front of a board of people that sat behind a long desk to judge the possible parole, including the prison warden. In this case though, due to the number of people speaking, it was held in a more standard courtroom.

Kirishima was not the same man he once was. His hair had gone back to its usual black, lank style. While he had done his best to stay in shape while in prison, his body wasn’t as strong as it was when he was a hero student. Personality wise, he had reverted to his more timid, reserved self from junior high, only just managing to keep himself looking the parole officers in the eyes, who viewed him with a sort of bureaucratic detachment. This put his case in a tricky spot; being associated with such a publicly infamous crime, giving parole to him had the potential to be an extremely unpopular move, and the board could very easily deem it more expedient for their careers to deny his request.

Thankfully, Mina had done her best to bring as many character witnesses as she could to support her friend. Besides her, Tetsutetsu, Toyomitsu Taishiro (formerly known as Fat Gum), Amajiki, Midoriya, and a few other officers that were former classmates of Kirishima’s had shown up. She hoped that having the word of so many members of the emergency services would help balance out the negative stigma Kirishima had.

Kirishima also had a decent lawyer, pointing out that despite being party to Bakugou’s actions, Kirishima had never directly participated in his crimes during the week-long rampage, and had actually gone as far as to call for an ambulance on certain occasions, preventing Bakugou’s victims from receiving permanent damage. The woman further pointed out that Kirishima was only a teenager at the time of the crimes, and considering how he was still in the process of maturing at the time, it was unfair to saddle him with a punishment so heavy.

Some of the parole officers still seemed unconvinced, making Kirishima noticeably sweat. Thankfully, Mina had a secret weapon. She nodded towards Midoriya, who spoke to the lawyer.

“My client has another witness that would like to speak in his favor.” She announced, calling them in.

Mina had to repress a smirk as the parole officers gasped as the lanky, emaciated, but still famous figure of All Might hobbled into the room. Despite all of the scandal that the hero system had gone through, the name of All Might was still held with reverence, particularly with the older generation (such as the parole officers.)

“A…All Might?” the warden stammered. The former hero simply raised his hand.

“It’s just Yagi right now; Yagi Toshinori, though I would like to speak in young Kirishima’s stead from my experience as a hero and his teacher.”

“Well…” the warden did his best to pull himself together, gesturing towards the front of the courtroom. “If you would like to give testimony to the prisoner’s character, you may certainly do so.”

Yagi took his spot, giving Kirishima a tired, albeit encouraging smile. Kirishima for his part was staring at the former Number One hero aghast, looking back once to Mina for answers. Mina just grinned and pointed her thumb behind her towards Midoriya who smiled and waved. Both knew that didn’t really answer anything, but hopefully, they would be able to talk to him later.

“When I was young Kirishima’s teacher, I was struck by his zeal and drive to become a hero.” Yagi began. “He was always dedicated to improving himself as a person and a hero, and was always ready to put himself in harm’s way for the sake of others. I believed that he had the spirit of a true hero.”

Yagi sighed.

“He was not perfect, of course. He had a tendency to jump into situations without thinking, and his zeal could drive him to take actions that were foolish.”

Kirishima cringed somewhat at the criticism.

“He was also loyal to a fault.” Yagi went on. “He stuck with Bakugou despite all of the criticism the boy received. At the time, I admired that; heroes are critiqued all the time, and I thought that it was refreshing to see someone who would stand up for their fellow heroes rather than jump at a chance to belittle a rival. However, it was only after Bakugou was arrested that I realized that the criticism Bakugou received was well-deserved, and a warning to what was to come. Bakugou never relented of his behavior, and because of how his teachers, including myself, never properly reprimanded him, but rather outright stood with him, it sent the wrong message. Kirishima’s association with Bakugou, while foolish, is something that I, and his other teachers, should have taken responsibility for. Had we properly disciplined Bakugou, we could have prevented the atrocity he committed, as well as kept him from making his class such a hostile learning environment. Even if Bakugou wouldn’t have listened, it would have at least set a precedent for Kirishima and the other students; it would have made it clear that what Bakugou was doing in how he was so quick to resort to violence and consider others beneath him was wrong. By standing by and doing nothing, we not only gave Bakugou license to continue his abhorrent behavior, we also set a very dangerous precedent to Kirishima and the other students that such behavior was acceptable, if not encouraged, considering how often we allowed Bakugou privileges, such as granting him the right to give the First Year’s student pledge and giving him the Gold Medal in the Sports Festival, despite his behavior clearly indicating that he did not deserve these privileges.”

Yagi turned to Kirishima.

“Young Kirishima, I should have spoken to you a long time ago. I should have told you that the way Bakugou behaved and the way he treated others, especially you, was not how a hero should act. My complacence set the wrong example to you, and I am sorry for my failures to you as a hero and as your teacher.”

Yagi completed his testimony by bowing in apology to Kirishima, leaving both him and the parole board stunned. Mina grinned; if there was anything that could help Kirishima here, it was that. It almost made her part seem unnecessary, but she had a few things that she wanted to say herself. Once Yagi had moved to a seat next to Midoriya, Mina stood up in his place. Once the warden had regained his composure, he motioned for Mina to give her testimony.

“Officer Kaminari, you may give your testimony.”

Mina turned to Kirishima and smiled. The young man seemed to perk up somewhat at the sight of his friend being there for him, and Mina turned to the parole board.

“Back in middle school, Kirishima wasn’t very confident. He had issues with his Quirk, and he got picked on a lot. However, I could tell that he still wanted to do the right thing. Even if he got hurt, he’d stand up for people that got picked on by bullies. Sometimes, it was because of him that I’d be driven to stand up to bullies myself.”

Kirishima grimaced at the reminder of his embarrassing past in middle school.

“Around the end of middle school, he started working to improve himself, to try to become more of the man he wanted to be. He worked so hard that he was able to get into UA despite thousands of other kids applying to the hero program. I admired that; I thought it showed that he was growing up.” Mina frowned and sighed. “But then he met Bakugou.”

Kirishima shrunk in on himself at the reminder of the far more shameful part of his past.

“I didn’t understand why Kirishima would hang out with Bakugou; he was already a huge bully back then, and he just seemed to get worse throughout the year. However, when I was finally able to get Kirishima to realize the kind of person Bakugou was, he admitted that he was a lot more ashamed of his past than I had realized. He wanted to get stronger, to be braver, to not back down from threats. I guess that shame, along with all of the horrible things that happened to our class throughout the year, made him cling more to Bakugou, seeing him as the opposite of who he used to be.”

Mina hung her head.

“I wish that I had talked to him more about it, that I had convinced him to talk to someone like our school guidance counselor.” She shook her head. “Kirishima should have known better. We can’t escape that. But it’s hard to know what to do when there’s so much confusing and scary stuff that we had to deal with."

Mina looked back to the board.

“Despite hanging out with Bakugou though, I know that Kirishima was still a good man, even back then. He’d still put himself in harm’s way to protect others; he did that working for Fat Gum, fighting at the Eight Precepts raid, and went as far as to face down Gigantomachia at the Battle of Jaku. If he hadn’t done that, I would have died.”

Mina looked again to Kirishima.

“Kirishima made some bad decisions and took the wrong path. However, he is a good man, and I think that he can do good things if he’s given the chance, even if he has to take a few steps back to remember the kind of person that he wants to be.”

Kirishima’s eyes started to fill with tears as Mina completed her testimony and sat back down. The parole board spoke to each other for a few minutes, and then had Kirishima stand.

“Kirishima Eijiro, you were given a life sentence for being party to an act of mass murder. Bakugou’s conduct should have been obvious to you as a hero student long before he went as far as he did. Despite not directly participating in his acts of murder and brutal assault, you were still party to them.”

Kirishima gulped, and Mina along with all of the others that had spoken in her friend’s stead started to panic.

“However,” the warden continued, “in the light of the mitigating circumstances; your young and impressionable age at the time of the crimes, the neglect of your teachers,” the warden looked nervously towards Yagi for a moment, who simply nodded in response, “and the stress and untreated trauma from the previous year, we are considering leniency. We have heard testimony from several witnesses of surprising standing from within the Ministry of Law Enforcement as to your character, and this coupled with your good behavior and your desire to make amends for your actions throughout your sentence, it is the decision of this board to grant you parole.” The warden slammed his gavel down, eliciting cheers from the witnesses and tears from Kirishima.

A bit later, Kirishima was finally out of his prison fatigues, back in normal clothing, being embraced by his mother and father, the small family sobbing in joy at finally being reunited. With them were an assortment of Kirishima’s former friends, classmates, and heroes that he had worked with before his arrest.

“Mina…” Kirishima bowed in a dogeza to her, “thank you…thank you…” he whimpered. Mina pulled him upright and pulled him into a hug.

“I’m so glad that you’re out, Kiri…”

The people gathered let the two friends have their moment. Eventually, Kiri pulled himself away.

“…Thank you…all of you…”

Kirishima sighed, looking up at the sky.

“Well…now I just need to figure out what to do next…” He said this with the pleasure of finally being freed, but the resignation of knowing that he was going to be facing an uphill battle. In his letters to Mina, Kirishima had admitted that he still wasn’t sure how he’d be able to get a decent job, if there was anyone who would give him a chance at all. As far as he knew, he’d be lucky to get a job washing dishes, if that, considering the unfortunate infamy he had gained. He didn’t want to mooch off of his parents, but he wasn’t sure what else he could do for a next step.

“About that…” Mina said with a grin. She had been in contact with quite a few people in the time leading up to the parole meeting. Most of them she had contacted to get character witnesses, but there was one that she had a long talk with for this purpose.

Someone handed Kirishima a tool belt. He took the equipment, confused, before seeing Uraraka Ochako standing in front of him.

“I want you on site in three days. Do you think that’s enough time to get settled in?”

“Uraraka…you…you’re offering me a job?” Kirishima asked, his voice wavering.

Uraraka shrugged.

“You’re not the only person who’s had a tough break that my family has helped out. I talked to my parents, and I convinced them that you’re a good guy. So, do you want the job?”

Kirishima couldn’t answer. He fell to his knees, crying quietly.

“Kiri? Are you alright?” Mina said, kneeling next to him.

“…I…you all…you keep talking about me as if I’m a good guy…that I’m manly…but…I went along with Bakugou…I went with him even though I knew he was hurting people…I hurt you guys…I don’t…I don’t think that I’m the man you’re acting like I am…”

Mina rubbed Kirishima’s back.

“Kiri…the man that you were when you left UA upset me. But I remember the boy I used to know…he was scared, but he realized he needed to change, and he dedicated himself to becoming a better man. I think you can be like him again, and start over again.”

Kirishima picked his head up, tears flowing from his eyes, staring at Mina.

“…I’ll try.”

Chapter Text

This was not how Yu had hoped her first day as the Pro Hero “Mt. Lady” to go. It had started off great, with her beating the giant villain with her “Canyon Cannon” attack, which the crowd ate up, especially when she started flaunting her assets for the reporters taking pictures. Sure, Kamui Woods was sulking that she had stolen his win, but Yu had to take what opportunities she could get!

Now though, she was stuck. A villain with a Sludge Quirk had taken a boy with an Explosion Quirk hostage in an alleyway and was threatening to kill him if the heroes didn’t back off. The kid was thrashing around madly, sending explosions everywhere, making an even bigger hazard for all of the bystanders.

If she could reach the villain, she could help the kid, but the alley was too narrow for her to fit through with her Gigantification Quirk. The explosions that the kid was sending off wildly with his Quirk had set a fire that kept Kamui Woods from getting too close. The villain’s liquid body was too amorphous for Death Arms to do anything, either.

“It’s no good! We have to wait for a hero with the right Quirk to come! C’mon kid, just hang in a bit longer…”

Death Arms said this, but the thing was, as far as Yu could see, they were the only heroes there, and the blond kid that the Sludge Villain was holding hostage was being suffocated NOW. Hell, forget how this made them look, a kid was dying in front of them!

For years afterwards, Yu would question why she did what she did. All she knew was that she had to do something or the kid was going to suffocate to death. She shrunk down, forced her way through the crowd, and ran at the villain.

“What are you doing, newbie! He might kill the hostage if we get too close!” Death Arms yelled after Yu, as if the villain wasn’t in the process of killing the hostage right then and there.

“Stay back, hero!” the Sludge Villain swung a tendril at Yu from the side. She wasn’t used to fighting at this size, but for some reason, at that moment she thought back to times in her youth when she played baseball. She slid beneath the tendril, and just managed to reach the hostage. Yu wrapped and arm around the kid, trying to pull him away from the villain.

“Fine, I’ll take you too!” the villain cackled, reaching for Yu’s face. The sight of sludge about to shove itself into her mouth and nose made Yu react by instinct, immediately activating her Quirk. She had enough foresight to scrunch her body up as much as possible and to bring the arm holding the kid closer to her body as her Quirk took effect and the space between her arm and body naturally shrunk.

Yu felt her shoulders bang into the rooftops of the surrounding buildings, as the stone and brick were blasted away. However, she could just barely feel the squirming form of the kid in her hands.

“She did it!” one of the onlookers cried.

Yu looked down and saw the kid retching as if he were going to vomit, clearing his airway of whatever sludge the villain had forced down his mouth. The villain meanwhile had been blasted away in a massive splatter that the other heroes were working to contain. Not understanding what happened immediately, Yu handed the coughing kid off to the policemen watching over the crowds.

“Is he alright?” she asked in concern.

Eventually, the boy got himself under control, taking deep breaths. For some reason, he looked angry at her.

“I…had that…shitty villain…under control!”

He seemed fine. Yu looked back at what was left of the Sludge Villain, hearing him groan as the heroes worked to scoop him up into air-tight containers. It took a minute for it to click, but Yu realized that when she used her Quirk, the force of her growth must have been enough to blast the villain away, almost like an airbag.

Yu was just able to repress a hiss as she saw what she had done to the surrounding buildings, having created giant cracks and destroyed entire portions of the walls. That was going to cost her. However, seeing that the villain had been defeated and the hostage rescued, the crowds suddenly broke into cheers, chanting her name.

“Mt. Lady! Mt. Lady! Mt. Lady!”

Yu heard the familiar sound of camera shutters clicking, and by an instinct perhaps more impulsive than whatever had driven her crazy idea to run straight into the midst of a dangerous villain and explosions, she smiled, placing her hands on her hips and flicking her hair over her shoulder.

“Thank you! Thank you! That’s another win for Mt. Lady!”

The crowds ate it up. Yu could only hope that the publicity that she’d garner from this would cover the costs of the damages that she had made.

Before Yu could shrink down to better interact with the gathered reporters though, she saw what was behind the adoring public; the boy that she had rescued was being put into an ambulance. He was alive, but the paramedics still seemed concerned for him, eventually driving away without anyone besides her noticing.

It was only through the self-control that she had developed in keeping a straight face to the public that Yu was able to keep herself from dropping her smile. She was sure that if the kid was able to walk and talk, he’d be fine, but still, if he had been hurt enough that he still needed to go to the hospital, how bad would he have been if Yu hadn’t moved when she did? Would he have died because she was too worried about the limitations of her Quirk? Yu remembered the smell of that villain’s sludge; would that have been how that kid would have died? She kept her smile and poses up for the public, but she couldn’t help but think about what could have happened throughout the entire time she was milking the event.

Death Arms was giving her a stink eye after he and the other heroes had finished cleaning up the villain, but Yu knew that he wasn’t dumb enough to try chewing her out for ignoring what he said in front of the cameras. Kamui Woods though was standing by, watching her as she talked with the reporters. She hoped that he wasn’t going to start critiquing her for the damages she caused or for stealing his win that morning, she just wasn’t in the mood. At this point, she just wanted to go home and collapse in her bed. As she feared though, the Arbor Hero walked up to her as soon as the crowds had dispersed. She sighed, bracing herself for a lecture, but to her surprise, the hero was bowing to her.

“I apologize for not helping you there. My hesitation almost cost that boy his life, but you acted as a hero should and rescued the hostage.”

Yu was ready to just walk away and ignore whatever Kamui Woods was going to say, but being legitimately praised threw her off-guard.

“Oh…well…” she couldn’t exactly admit that she was operating by the seat of her pants without any real idea of what she was doing, but answered as best she could. “It’s alright. The fires made it too difficult for you to use your Quirk, anyway.”

“The confined space made it too difficult for you to use your Quirk, but you still acted.”

Yu winced, seeing the construction workers that had arrived assessing the damage Yu had caused with her stunt. Yeah. This was going to cost her.

“That damage can be repaired.” Kamui Woods noted, observing the construction. “But if we had been even a second slower, that boy could have died. I am grateful that you were there.”

Okay, now Yu just felt bad. Kamui was a bit uptight for her liking, but the way he was putting himself down just felt wrong.

“Hey, it’s fine.” She said, patting the man on the shoulder. “We did what we had to do. Hey, how about we start over? I’m Takeyama Yu, also known as Mt. Lady.” She said holding her hand out to Kamui. The man looked at her for a moment before regaining his composure.

“Nishiya Shinji, Kamui Woods.” He replied, shaking Yu’s hand, but at the same time his back was twitching as if he wanted to bow again in reflex. Yu had to repress a laugh at how formal he was acting, noticing that a few bystanders were noticing the interaction and filming it. She might have stolen his win from earlier, but Yu didn’t want Kamui to embarrass himself.

“Well, Nishiya, I hope we work together again some time.” Actually feeling guilty for what she did to such a forthright guy, she added in an undertone that the bystanders couldn’t hear; “Uh…sorry about taking your win earlier.”

This at least managed to get the guy to chuckle.

“It’s alright…but…um…perhaps we can make the next one a team effort?”

Yu laughed. Nishiya seemed like a decent guy to be around.

“Sure thing.”

Yu stood, unable to look at her chief in the eye.

“Five million yen. That is what the repairs on that roof will cost.” Gori said bluntly.

“I’m sorry sir.” Yu answered, wincing at the realization that the police insurance wasn’t going to cover nearly as much as her old insurance did.

Chief Gori sighed, the stress of the times clearly getting to him, not made any better by what Yu had done.

“Takeyama, I’ve told you several times, we can’t just brush off these expenses the way that you used to. If it were a matter of life and death, I could understand, but if you couldn’t handle that mugger with your firearm, you’d have been better off calling for backup.”

Yu repressed the urge to groan. She had been trying to chase down a mugger with a rhinoceros Quirk for assault when she had cornered him in an empty warehouse. She had tried to force him to surrender, but he had chosen to instead fight back. Unfortunately, Yu still fumbled whenever she tried to use her sidearm, missing five shots, and a sixth only managing to graze the mugger. Left with no other option, Yu had resorted to using her Quirk. She was able to easily beat the mugger, but in the process had punched a giant hole through the roof of the warehouse. Five million yen in damages, to take down a mugger that had stolen a wallet with seven thousand yen in it.

Gori continued with his lecture, both of them having heard this before and both sick of it.

“Takeyama, you were a good hero, but the police have to operate off of a different system. There are protocols in place that need to be followed. Your Quirk is powerful, but it is not practical for the kind of work that we do. I appreciate the effort you’ve put in, but this is not something that I can ignore. You need to figure out a way to handle this.” Gori slid a sheet of paper towards Yu. “I’m putting you on administrative leave for a week. If you cause damage like this again, I will have no other choice but to dismiss you.”

Yu put her badge and sidearm down, managing to keep a straight face, and bowed respectfully, walking out of the office.

A few of the other officers saw Yu as she was leaving Gori’s office, but didn’t bother her. Most had probably guessed what had happened anyway. She didn’t know what was worse; the sneers of people who thought that she was a mindless bimbo and were glad to see her cut down a notch, or those that looked genuinely sympathetic towards her, having grown to respect her from her conduct as a hero from the past year. Either way, this was particularly humiliating for Yu, as she was essentially the only officer who had to be reprimanded this way. Even with the arrival of the UN soldiers, the police needed whoever they could get. So, the fact that Yu was being told not to go to work was just shameful.

Yu ended up heading home to Shinji’s apartment; they had started living together the previous year. Getting into a relationship with Shinji wasn’t something Yu would have expected when they first met. She had first seen the idea of partnering up with Kamui Woods as a means of avoiding stepping on each other’s toes like she did with her debut. However, the more Yu worked with Shinji, whether it was in acting as additional security for the UA Sports Festival, joining the Kamino Raid against the League of Villains, or even in their final true acts as pro heroes in the Battle of Jaku, she had found him to just be a good, reliable hero that she had grown to love. He said that he had come to see her the same way. On days like this Yu hoped that he meant it.

Yu turned on the television to try to distract herself, and immediately regretted it. Sasaki Mirai, the former hero “Sir Nighteye,” was speaking at a press conference, with an image of the warehouse she had busted on display in the background.

“This is the state of our current law enforcement.” Sasaki claimed. “It should be quite obvious that the police are not up to the task if this is what we have come to expect from them…”

Yu shut the report off after only a few seconds, not wanting to hear what the former sidekick was saying, not wanting to be reminded of how her mistake was making things harder for everyone else on the force when they needed public support the most. She just shoved her face against a pillow and groaned to herself.

Shinji came home earlier than normal. Yu didn’t know whether to feel touched or guilty that he must have asked to leave early for her sake.

“…Hey Yu. How are you doing?” he asked, sitting on the couch next to where she had sprawled herself out.

“…Five million yen.” Yu said, her voice muffled as her head was against the pillow. “Five million yen, and a week’s suspension. Gori said that if I cause damages like that again, he’ll have to kick me off of the force.”

Shinji winced.

“Well…it’s just for a week. Just brush up on protocol, maybe take some time practicing shooting, and you’ll be back in no time.”

Yu sighed, sitting up.

“I’ve done all of this though, Shinji. I’ve read the manual, I’ve gone through training, but none of it sticks. I keep on resorting to my Quirk, and something like this keeps happening.” Yu threw up her hands. “It was what I was trained to do! It’s what we were all trained to do. Heck, our Quirks were always supposed to be the go-to answer for any of our problems, even if using them made more problems than they solved.” She added bitterly. “Let’s face it, the only way that I would be able handle this would be if I went all the way back to basic training and learned everything from scratch. That would mean taking time off while you and everyone else is trying to hold it all together.”

Yu couldn’t help it; she was jealous of Shinji and how easily he had integrated into the police force. His by-the-book nature and the range and mobility his Quirk offered gave him a leg up over her and many other heroes in this new system. When he dealt with threats, he took them down quickly and efficiently, and did so without causing large amounts of collateral damage. Her though? Yu had learned a long time ago that she couldn’t use her Quirk without the threat of causing damage. Her size simply prevented her from operating in certain areas. Shinji didn’t have that kind of limitation.

However, Yu couldn’t find it in herself to be resentful to Shinji as he put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

“Yu, it’s going to be okay. We’re going to find a way to deal with this. You are a great hero. You were the one to stop the Sludge Villain, you came up with the idea to beat Habit Headgear and save the family he was holding hostage, and you were one of the heroes chosen for the Kamino raid after only being active for a year and a half!”

Despite Shinji’s efforts, Yu didn’t exactly feel encouraged by those points. While the Sludge Villain had convinced her to take her job more seriously, the incident was unfortunately marred by the fact that the hostage she had rescued later murdered 16 people and tanked the pro hero movement. At the Kamino raid, the most she had managed to do was bust open a warehouse before getting smacked aside by some supervillain, and from there all she could do was try to protect the bystanders from the shockwaves sent out from the fight between him and All Might. Habit Headgear, a villain she and Shinji had taken down on the same day as the USJ attack, essentially boiled down to her distracting the villain long enough to give Shinji an opening to pull the family away from him. At least that had given her a brief thumbs up from All Might though, who had shown up just as they had delt with the villain. (She and Shinji had been the subject of a meme for months afterward: “ALL MIGHT APPROVED!”) Still, she had at least helped a few people. She just wished that she could keep doing that now.

Yu sighed, forcing herself to stop her pity party and hugging Shinji. Maybe she could try to clean out the apartment while she was on leave, if only to do something for him.

“Hey,” Shinji said, getting an idea, “I was actually planning on meeting with Ibara tomorrow for lunch, do you want to come with us? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

Yu frowned at Shinji for a moment. Shinji’s cousin Shiozaki didn’t have the best opinion of Yu when they first met, her religious views making her not approve of them living together without marrying, as well as disliking Yu’s showboating. However, the vine-haired girl had mellowed out a lot over the past year, and even had a friendly conversation with Yu when she had volunteered to give interview experience to the students at UA.

It wasn’t as if she had anything better to do.

Thankfully, Shiozaki didn’t seem bothered at all by Yu’s presence, and welcomed her warmly when they met up.

The three met at a new restaurant that had come into business with the repeal against the ban of public Quirk use. The owner had a plant Quirk that allowed them to accelerate the growth of Ivy, creating a luxurious, but still naturalistic outside eating area that Shinji and Shiozaki seemed to appreciate.

“So, how are you and your classmates handling the change, Ibara?” Shinji asked. Despite not feeling the best, Yu’s attention was caught by the question; she was curious how the curriculum for the former hero courses had changed.

Shiozaki sighed.

“It is…challenging.” She admitted. Yu felt pity for this girl. Like so many girls her age, she had gone into this job full of idealism. Unlike others though, whose idealism had most likely been stripped away by the realization that they would need to compromise their images in order to be able to support themselves in this field, her idealism had been violently smashed to pieces.

“Oddly enough, it is not as much the new curriculum that I find trying, but rather the constant reminder of how so much of what I was taught and thought was for our betterment was truly detrimental. I admit that I have been guilty of pride, believing myself outside of the sins that pervaded our society…but it feels as if every day I find how hypocritical I was in my attitudes. I had seen heroism as a way to express my faith, to be a light to the darkness, but many of the behaviors I had adopted have been shown to me as something that would have gotten myself or others killed.”

Yu tried to unpack what exactly Shiozaki was saying, even if she felt she was getting the gist of it.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” she asked. Shiozaki sighed.

“I was reprimanded for praying during one of the exercises.”

“Wait…that doesn’t sound right…” Shinji said, alarmed. “Are you saying that Tsuragamae said you couldn’t pray?”

“He didn’t take issue with me praying, but rather, kneeling and closing my eyes during active combat.” Shiozaki responded, looking away awkwardly. “He pointed out that while I was doing this, one of the civilian bots was hit…it was a rather sobering and humbling experience.”

“…Ah…yes…that’s probably something you should stop…” Shinji said just as awkwardly.

“What was strange though was that I was not the only one with that issue during the exercise.”

“Your classmates were praying too?” Yu asked. She knew Shiozaki was working to convert everyone, but this sounded impressive. Shiozaki shook her head though.

“As much as I would love that, no. Most of my classmates were reprimanded for similar dangerous behavior; posing after what they saw as a victory, gloating, laughing, the end results were the same.” Shiozaki bowed her head contritely. “I fear that I as much as I have judged others for displays of pride and vanity, I had fallen into the same trap; using my praise of the Lord as an expression of hubris.” Shiozaki bowed towards Yu at this. “I must apologize to you for judging you for this in the past, Takeyama, I’ve come to realize how hypocritical I have been.”

Yu waved her hands awkwardly.

“It’s alright, Shiozaki, I probably should have toned it down...”

She said this, but thinking back, Yu questioned whether she could have afforded to tone it down. She had to pose, she had to gloat and say innuendos, she had to flaunt her body; it was the only way she could get the press and coverage that she needed to stay in the black, even though Yu had found herself far too close to the exact kind of scenario that Shiozaki had described in her class exercises.

“Is it hard for you to learn how to use guns? I’ve been worried how you’d handle that.” Shinji asked. Shiozaki shuddered in response, but nodded.

“That has been uncomfortable, but Tsuragamae made the necessity of learning how to use guns quite clear.”

“Wait…” Yu interrupted. “I know that there’s a lot of pressure to learn how to use guns, but do you really need that? Shinji hasn’t been pressured that much, and your Quirk works pretty similarly to his.”

“It is true that in most exercises, my Quirk still suffices.” Shiozaki agreed. “However, Tsuragamae made a very compelling case on why we all need to be prepared in case we need to use more…extreme force.” Shiozaki wilted, her hands folded together as if in prayer, but her eyes open, albeit tired. “The apostle Paul warned that those in authority do not carry the sword for no reason. I had always taken that as a warning to obey those that Lord had put into power…it has only recently occurred to me the responsibility of being the one holding the sword.”

Yu frowned. Even if she had initially found Shiozaki a bit judgmental when they had first met, it hurt to see a girl so innocent having to carry such a heavy burden. Shiozaki sighed and recollected herself, turning to Yu and Shinji again.

“How are the two of you handling this burden?” Shiozaki asked.

“We’re in a bit of an intermediary stage, Ibara. Most of us don’t need to learn the entire book of police protocol…” Shinji started to explain.

“You did.” Yu pointed out wryly, making Shinji blush.

“…True, but the police understand that they can’t expect heroes to immediately be able to adapt to the system. For the most part, as long as a hero is able to remain effective, we’re given more leeway in how we operate. Quite a few of us still use our hero costumes to let us use our Quirks like Yu here. In my case, I still haven’t quite learned how to use a firearm, but our superiors aren’t pushing me as much as others to learn how to use one, as my Quirk allows me to handle apprehending criminals with just as much efficiency.” Shinji flipped his hand up, shrugging. “Eventually, I will have to get that license, but for now, they want me to focus more on working out in the field.”

Shiozaki nodded.

“I see. I suppose that is expedient of your superiors. How about you, Takeyama?” Shiozaki asked, turning to Yu, who grimaced.

“Well…I’m one of the people that have had to learn how to handle a gun, since my Quirk’s not really…practical for a lot of what we do…”

Shiozaki blinked, looking at Yu in concern.

“Are you alright, Takeyama? You seem a bit distressed.”

Yu looked at Shiozaki. Despite their differences, she really was a good girl. Shinji looked like he wanted to step in and change the conversation, but Yu didn’t want to have to rely on him defending her. “I’ve been having problems with the transition, if I’m being honest with you. Same sort of stuff…” Yu admitted, “but the biggest problem is that I can’t just brush collateral damage under the table anymore. Before, I could handle accidentally stepping on a car as long as I got enough attention and sponsorships, but those are gone now. I’ve been trying to do things more by the book, but it’s hard when so much of what I was taught to do is the opposite of what I’m expected to do now.” Frustrated, Yu rested her elbow on the table with her head in her hand. “I’ve caused so much damage that I’ve been put on administrative leave for a week. If I mess up again, they’ll have to kick me off the force.”

Yu felt Shinji’s hand hold hers under the table, trying to comfort her however he could. Shiozaki though looked thoughtful for some reason.

“…I might know someone who could help you, Takeyama.” Shiozaki said, getting Yu’s attention.

“Really? Who?”

“There’s a General Education student named Midoriya Izuku who has been helping the emergency courses with their Quirks. Many of my classmates have vastly improved thanks to his help.”

Yu’s enthusiasm dampened somewhat. She appreciated the sentiment, but she doubted that a kid still in high school would be that much help to her.

“Ibara, do you really think someone still in high school would be cut out to help with something like this?” Shinji pointed out.

“Perhaps I should mention that Midoriya is Nezu’s personal student.” Shiozaki responded flatly.

Well, that certainly shut Yu and Shinji up.

“Midoriya has been blessed with an incredible ability to analyze Quirks and find different ways that they can be applied. His analysis has made many of us far stronger and given us different ways to apply our Quirks.”

To demonstrate, Shiozaki wrapped her vines around her arm in a way that mimicked human muscles.

“Wait…your ‘Arm of Sampson’ move?” Shinji realized. “That was Midoriya’s idea?”

“Indeed.” Shiozaki answered with a smile, retracting her vines again. “Though for a better example, do you two remember what Yaoyorozu was like at last year’s Sports Festival?”

Yu grimaced. She remembered that girl’s performance, just not for the nicest reasons. She, along with a lot of the other heroes, felt disappointed that someone touted as a Recommendation student went down so easily in the first fight of the Tournament. Somehow though, she had gained a lot of confidence in the year since, being one of the leaders to come up with a plan to try to defeat Gigantomachia; though unfortunately the plan had failed, and Yu hadn’t been much help herself.

“She started meeting with Midoriya, and ever since then, she became so powerful and skilled that by the end of the term, only three students in our year would ever intentionally seek out a match against her in our lessons.” Shiozaki raised three fingers in turn; “My Class Representative Itsuka, who saw Yaoyorozu as an iron with which to sharpen her own iron, Monoma, who is the embodiment of the sin of Envy…and Bakugou.” Shiozaki finished with a grimace that matched Yu and Shinji’s.

“So…Midoriya is really as good as you say?” Yu asked, wanting to refocus herself. Shiozaki smiled serenely

“The Lord did not bless Midoriya with a Quirk, but the blessing of his profound mind has proven to be just as, if not more valuable. From what I have heard, he has been helping Tsuragamae to design the curriculum which my classmates and I have been learning. Would you like for me to see if he’d be able to meet with you, Takeyama?”

Yu sat in her office, or rather in front of the desk covered with bills she needed to pay where she kept her computer, considering her options for interns. She had known that as a new hero, she needed to build up her reputation quickly, and realized that being a mentor to one of the UA students could gain her some acclaim both with the school and the public that had just watched the Sports Festival. So, she volunteered to be on the list of 40 agencies that UA students who didn’t receive an internship offer could pick from. This did not mean that she didn’t have some control over who she got as an intern, as there could still be multiple students applying for the same agency. In this case, she had two options, both of which appealed to her for different reasons.

The first, Minoru Mineta; had a decent Quirk good for mobility and capture. However, his behavior during the Festival, particularly when he used his Quirk to hang off of Yaoyorozu Momo during the Obstacle Course, had likely sealed his image as an unrepentant lech for the rest of his life. Yu knew that a kid like this would only pick her because of her sex appeal. Which for her, would be perfectly fine, because she intended to show Mineta very quickly who the boss was. Her apartment was a pigsty, after all.

The second option though was Kodai Yui, Quirk: Size, which allowed her to alter the size of any inanimate object she touched. Kodai had likely picked her as an option with the belief that Yu’s Gigantification might give her a better understanding of how to use her own Quirk. Yu wondered how much she could really teach Kodai. Sure, having someone like her around could help Yu out a lot, having someone who could provide her equipment that she otherwise wouldn’t normally have access to, but from what Yu could tell from Size, it was applied in a completely different manner. Yu almost chose against Kodai, thinking that it might be better for her to go with someone more experienced, but when she was about to select Mineta as her option, she paused. Who else could Kodai turn to for help with her Quirk? Yes, the application would be different, but Yu was the only hero whose Quirk related at all to size alteration.

So, Yu had to make a choice. She could go with her sense of spite and accept Mineta, knowing that she would just use him to clean up her apartment and handle random chores and paperwork, or she could do something that would actually help a student grow and pick Kodai. The greedy part of Yu kept on pushing her to go with Mineta and get the advantage of free labor, but the part of Yu that had pushed her to save Bakugou, to approach Habit Headgear more carefully when he had taken that family hostage to allow Kamui an opening to rescue them, told her to go with Kodai. She grumbled to herself, realizing that this was likely going to give her more work, but in the end, Yu realized she couldn’t ignore this, and selected Kodai.

IN MEMORY OF KAYAMA NEMURI: MS. MIDNIGHT. BELOVED HERO AND TEACHER

Yu sighed, looking at the plaque set up on the wall of UA, commemorating the woman that she had come to see as a rival.

“I wonder how you would have handled all of this, Kayama. I doubt you could have gotten away with the dominatrix persona, but you were good at what you did. I bet you would have done well. Or do you think that old habits would have died hard?” Yu asked wistfully.

“…Mt. Lady?” a quiet voice spoke behind Yu. She turned, recognizing the voice, and saw a girl with straight, shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes.

“Kodai?” Yu smiled. “Hey kid, how are you…oof!”

Yu felt the wind knocked out of her when Kodai locked her in a hug.

“Kid…this is real nice and all but…”

Yu was about to ask Kodai to let her go when she realized that the girl was shaking, and she could feel wet spots against her chest.

“Kodai…Are you okay?” Yu asked. Kodai didn’t answer; she wasn’t much for conversation anyway, but Yu got the message, and let Kodai hold onto her for a bit longer. Thinking about it, Yu realized she should have tried to contact Kodai sooner; the last time she had seen her intern, both from the post-Sports Festival internships and the Work Studies, Yu had nearly gotten her neck snapped fighting against Gigantomachia. Kodai had been helping her, providing her with weapons to fight, but ultimately, they couldn’t stop the monster from barreling past them towards Jaku. The poor kid had probably blamed herself for her mentor getting hurt, maybe wondering if Yu was even going to survive her injuries. This girl, who was barely approaching her seventeenth birthday, had to be put in a fight for her life and the life of so many people. It was really sick the more Yu thought about it. Kodai might not talk much, but it didn’t take much imagination for Yu to think about how her old intern must be feeling right now.

“Kodai…it’s alright…I’m alright…” Yu gently rubbed the girl’s back. “I’m sorry. I should have tried to get in touch with you sooner.”

From the corner of her eye though, Yu realized that they weren’t alone, and saw a boy with a curly head of green hair standing surprised at the sight of the two. He held his hand up and gestured with his thumb into the room Yu was supposed to meet Midoriya in. Yu smiled, realizing Midoriya was giving her and Kodai a bit more time. She wondered how often he must have seen the former hero course students break down like this.

It took a bit for Kodai to calm down and to pull away from Yu. While Kodai’s face was usually rather blank, Yu had gotten to know her well enough to know that the girl was still upset.

“You feel better?”

“Mm.”

“Alright. Hey, I’ve got something I’ve got to do now, but give me a text later if you want to hang out, okay? I’m on leave right now, so I’ve got a lot of time.”

“Hm.” Kodai responded, walking away. Yu sighed and went into the room for her meeting, seeing the curly green-haired kid from earlier.

“Sorry about that, Kodai was my intern last year, and I guess she needed to let some things out.”

Midoriya just smiled and waved his hand.

“Don’t worry, I understand, Ms. Takeyama.” Once Yu had taken a seat in front of Midoriya, she saw that he had an open notebook in front of him, displaying a drawing of her in her old costume, dated to the day of her debut.

“Now then, my name is Midoriya Izuku.” Midoriya introduced himself more formally. “Shiozaki told me that you needed some help?”

“Yeah.” Yu answered, deciding to not beat around the bush. “I’ve been having trouble using my Quirk for work now that the hero system doesn’t exist anymore. Before, I had my issues, but I could still use it to fight villains. Now though, it’s not as forgiving when I accidentally damage public property. Honestly, most of the time I’m trying not to use my Quirk at all, but since I don’t have the training the even the lowest ranked cops do, I’m behind everyone else. And when I do snap and use my Quirk…well…” Yu threw her hands up, “the chief has to give me a lecture. Some of the other former heroes are having an easier time, but the way I’ve always done things doesn’t fit with the new system at all.”

Midoriya nodded his head.

“A few of the emergency course students here have been having the same problems. Everyone’s been taught to do things a certain way, but now you’re all expected to switch to a new system that operates off of principles that are counter to what you’ve been taught in the past.”

“Yeah. That’s the idea.” Yu agreed. “So, do you think you can help me?”

“Well, I’m definitely going to try!” Midoriya said brightly. “You did a lot of good as a hero, and I’d love to help you handle the switch if I can!”

Oh gosh, he was adorable.

The first thing that Midoriya and Yu did was to test Gigantification in a controlled setting, that being one of the school’s training grounds.

“Okay, starting out, we need to understand the limitations of your Quirk.” Midoriya said, writing in a new notebook a safe distance away from Yu. “First of all, have you ever grown to an intermediary stage between your normal size and your expanded size? I’ve only ever seen you use the two.”

Yu shook her head.

“I can only grow to my maximum; I can’t do anything in between. I was able to make myself grow bigger through school by pushing my Quirk, but I’ve never been able to do anything else.”

Midoriya frowned at this.

“I see…that is a bit of a problem.” He tapped his pencil against his chin in thought. “Have you ever tried deactivating your Quirk before you reached your maximum size?”

“You mean, stop my Quirk mid-growth? Yes, but when that happens, I just immediately shrink back down.” Yu explained. “It’s how I found out that I couldn’t grow to anything in between; it’s either all the way, or nothing at all.”

“Do you think you could show me?” Midoriya asked in interest.

Yu shrugged and did what he asked. She activated her Quirk, letting herself grow for just a fraction of a second, only to cut off the command just as she was at half her size. Just as she did this, she felt the familiar, unpleasant feeling of air being let out of a balloon, and felt herself snap back to her regular size.

“How does that feel?” Midoriya asked.

“It’s like when you stop yourself taking a breath when you’ve just run a long way; my body just wants to complete the breath and forces itself back.”

“Are you able to stop your Quirk, and then activate it again?”

Yu did what he asked, growing to half her size, letting her Quirk deactivate, only to restart it before she was back to normal. When she finished though, she felt exhausted.

“It’s like I said…” she explained, panting. “Stopping and restarting my Quirk is like stopping my breathing after a marathon. My body just wants to be one way or the other.”

Midoriya nodded, writing some extra notes down.

“Okay, I understand that this might be difficult, but have you ever tried doing this while you were moving?”

Yu grimaced, realizing that this wasn’t going to be pleasant. Once she was well enough, Midoriya had her run laps and do jumping jacks in an empty area of the testing ground, but while she was trying to keep herself in an intermediate stage of her growth. Besides being exhausting, it led to her tripping herself up a lot; trying to change your size midstride was a lot like trying to climb an extra step on a fleet of stairs after you had reached the top or forgetting a step in the middle of a flight, and Midoriya was having her do this constantly, alternating between sizes. It was good that the school still had Cementoss to fix damages, as the testing grounds now carried the impression of Yu’s face on multiple spots along the track.

“Okay…I think that’s enough!” Midoriya called out in concern for Yu after faceplanting for the sixth time. He ran up to her to try to help her up. “I’m sorry, do you need me to take you to the nurse?”

“I’m fine…” Yu grumbled, trying to pull herself together. “I get better durability at a bigger size. But why were you having me do that in the first place?”

Midoriya gripped his notebook anxiously.

“One of the emergency course students has what could be considered a pseudo-growth Quirk, just centered on her hands. One of the ways that we’ve been working with that is by taking advantage of the force of the expansion itself to create stronger impacts.” Midoriya looked over the damage to the area in trepidation. “Unfortunately, I don’t know how practical this would be for you, as no matter what, you’re still working with a large amount of mass, and trying to change your size in the middle of movement seems like it would be just as likely to hurt you as it would anybody else.”

Yu looked down and sighed in disappointment.

“But don’t worry!” Midoriya said anxiously. “That just shows that I was looking at your Quirk the wrong way! I just need a bit of time to go over the data you let me gather, and I’m sure I could find ways to apply your Quirk in a way that works better for the new protocols!”

They ended the session there, with the promise of another meeting the next day to discuss more. Yu however had nothing else she could do and decided to check up on her old intern and the other emergency course students; Tsuragamae had allowed her permission when she had asked to come to UA, after all. Part of it was out of a desire to see how Kodai and the other students that Yu had worked with in the PLF War were faring, but she also wanted to see more of how the students were being trained. Maybe she could get some ideas herself.

Tsuragamae greeted her with a nod as she came into one of the viewing rooms. It seemed that she had come in at a good time, as Kodai was participating in a group rescue exercise, working to dig people out of a collapsed building. Kodai helped her group by providing them with equipment that would have otherwise been too heavy to easily carry; handing a girl with a brown bob-cut a miniature set of the Jaws of Life to pry open a car that had been buried beneath the rubble, while she worked to shrink the rubble around survivors to make it easier for her classmates to pull them out. Yu smiled, happy to see how well Kodai was doing, though she still looked shaken up.

She wished she could say that she had taught Kodai some of this.

Yu realized pretty quickly that the Sports Festival wasn’t a good showcase of Kodai Yui, or rather “Rule’s” abilities. The Festival was held in an empty arena void of any rubble, vehicles, or objects that heroes would have naturally found on the field, and didn’t allow for students to bring their own equipment. Once she was actually out working though, Yu found that Kodai’s Quirk was extremely useful. On their first day on the job, the two had come across a collapsed bridge. Yu had managed to arrive and pull up the section that had fallen on the road beneath the bridge and anyone that happened to be beneath it, but from there Kodai had actually been the most effective hero. Her Quirk let her shrink pieces of rubble, making it much easier to dig survivors out, and in one case where a woman was trapped inside of her car and the doors had jammed shut, Kodai had come up with a makeshift jaws of life; jamming a pebble in the crack between the door and the car and making it grow, popping it open and allowing her and Yu to pull the woman out. Though there were a lot of injuries, miraculously, no one died, and the press were eating it up.

A meaner part of Yu felt threatened by the fact that an intern had done so much of the work, but she also remembered the insecurity of starting out, realizing how important it was to make a good image for herself quickly or risk going into debt and obscurity, so she decided to help give Kodai a bit of a boost.

“Everyone, let’s hear it for my intern, Rule!” she said, gesturing towards Kodai as she was just noticing the oncoming reporters.

This move both worked and didn’t work; while Yu managed to get some attention on Kodai, the girl didn’t seem to know what to do with it, standing there like a deer in the headlights as the reporters snapped pictures of her (or maybe she was fine and just didn’t realize that’s how it could look to everyone.) Either way, Yu realized that she needed to jump in again, or the reporters were going to make their own story for Kodai, one which the girl might come to regret later. Yu could see a few of them that tended to follow her around with lecherous looks in their eyes, starting to get a little too close to Yu for comfort. Looking at Rule’s costume and the obvious “Ultraman” inspiration she had drawn from, Yu got an idea. She went up to Kodai’s side and whispered in her ear, making the girl’s eyes widen in excitement.

“Ready?”

Kodai nodded, and the two stood on opposite legs, sticking their arms out in a classic “Sentai” pose. The photographers went crazy with the image, while a few small kids started cheering. Yu personally thought she looked ridiculous, but Kodai seemed to be enjoying herself as they continued to pose, essentially replacing Yu’s usual flaunting of her assets. Yu would have to work to regain her own image, but she thought it would be worth it to help Kodai establish an image on her own terms. Yu even went as far as to activate her Quirk and let Kodai pose on her shoulder as if she were some kind of Megazord the girl was about to pilot before the two had to head back out on patrol.

“…Thank you.” Kodai said as they managed to walk away from the bridge collapse.

“No problem.” Yu grinned at the memory of her pretending to be a giant robot. “You don’t get a Quirk like mine without learning a bit about the classics, after all.”

Kodai nodded with a small smile, helping to brighten up Yu’s day a bit more.

“…Do heroes have to deal with photographers a lot?”

Yu almost did a double-take, as she had assumed that the answer to that question would have been obvious; heroes and photographers went hand-in-hand! Though, she took just a second to think about it, wondering if Kodai might have been referring to some of the photographers who might have been getting too close before Yu stepped in.

“Yes.” Yu answered simply. “If you want to be a hero, you’re going to need to get used to getting your picture taken, and you’re going to need to learn how to project the image that you want early on.” Yu slowed down for a moment to mutter to Kodai.

“Mm.”

Yu was still getting the hang of what ‘Mm’ meant when speaking to Kodai, but she assumed that it was just her thinking.

“Here’s the thing;” Yu explained, “Pro-heroes have a reputation for being rich and famous, but it’s not as simple as that. We do get paid by the government, but that pay on its own is really just as much as an average office worker makes, and it varies a lot depending on how well you do; how many captures you make, rescues you do, incidents you solve, you get the idea.”

Kodai blinked at this, and Yu nodded grimly.

“Yeah. It’s enough to live off of, supposedly, anyway. At least if you work hard enough.” She added bitterly. “The problem though is when you factor in all of the other expenses;” Yu started counting down on her fingers, “Costume repairs, support gear maintenance, injuries…” Yu gave Kodai a look at that point, wanting to make sure she started to understand the dangers of the job, “That’s a big one, since they can add up so quickly. For me, the big expense is in property damage. Even if you have a Quirk that doesn’t cause a lot of damage, a lot of heroes find themselves in situations where their fights still wreck someone’s car. If I didn’t have Villain Insurance, I wouldn’t be able to be a pro hero. That being said, you really don’t want those premiums to build up, trust me.” Yu said as she shook her head. “Being an office worker doesn’t let you make a lot of money, but at least it doesn’t cost a lot of money. Being a hero though does. That is where those photographers and the advertisements come in.”

Yu stopped and pointed to a television displaying one of Uwabami’s shampoo commercials, featuring two of the girls from the Sports Festival.

“This might not always be fun, but the fact is, heroes DO need to be popular. Our image is how we pay for all of these expenses. So, you either work to make the kind of image that you want to portray,”

The camera zoomed in on the faces of Yaoyozozu and Kendo, both smiling as they held up bottles of Uwabami’s shampoo. They both looked cute, but Yu could only hope that she was one of the few people watching who could pick up on how uncomfortable those two looked.

“Or the media makes that image for you, and you hope that it’s something that you can use to support yourself.”

Kodai was staring at the television screens and her Class Representative. Though her expression was blank, her posture had become stiff. Yu patted her on the shoulder to snap her back to reality.

“I think you’re going to be okay. You might have not gotten to do that much at the Sports Festival, but you made a good impression today. If you just keep building on that and are as good of a hero as you were today, you’ll have sponsors lining up for you.”

Kodai nodded, managing to tear herself away from the television sets. Yu smiled at her intern, glad that she had made the right pick. Kodai was going to be a great hero.

Yu stared at the field while Kodai worked, performing much like she did on her first internship. The difference here was that there were no photographers, no reporters, and no sponsors to worry about. She could just focus on helping people.

“…Did I even teach you anything worthwhile?”

Yu came back the next day, only to see Midoriya looking like he hadn’t slept the night before; his hair was even messier than normal, his eyes looked bloodshot, and he was slumped over in his seat. The way he looked at Yu when she came in though was most concerning to her; he looked like a guilty puppy.

“Midoriya, are you okay?”

Midoriya grimaced, pushing his notebook forward.

“I…had some problems with your analysis. I think that there are a lot of things that you could do to help the new system, I mean your Quirk is really powerful and offers some unique utility and you’re a great hero, I’m sure that you’d be able to get the hang of this all with enough time, I’m sorry that I didn’t do as much as I should have with your analysis, maybe if you come in tomorrow I’ll…”

“Midoriya!” Yu shouted, making the green-haired boy stop his panicked word vomit. “Please…just give it to me straight.”

Midoriya looked at Yu nervously.

“…Your Quirk is extremely strong and useful…but as it is now, it’s situational.” Midoriya admitted, opening up his analysis. “There are circumstances where your Quirk would be advantageous; working with operations on tall buildings…as long as you don’t have to go into the building itself, working in deep aquatic environments, working in the wild away from populated areas…but…there are a lot of situations where your size could prove to be hazardous to current police protocol.”

Yu stared at Midoriya, feeling her stomach sink at having the facts laid out to her like this. Midoriya couldn’t look at her, probably thinking that he had failed her.

“But…I…I don’t think you should give up.” Midoriya said with a degree of fervor, handing Yu the analysis he had done so far. “Please, take what I’ve got so far, and I’ll keep working on this.”

Maybe it was just her leftover instincts from being a hero, but Yu could barely look at what Midoriya had handed her out of concern for the boy.

“Midoriya…I appreciate what you’re doing…but I think you should get some rest…”

Midoriya recoiled, and looked down.

“I know…it’s just that…this is how I’ve found I can help people…I can’t just leave you alone when you need help…”

Yu sighed. Midoriya was a good kid, but it was good that he wasn’t a hero; Yu had a feeling he’d burn himself out in a week.

“So…would it be better for us to meet later when you’ve had more time, or…?”

“No, I’m sure we can…” Midoriya moved to get up, only for his legs to accidentally hook into his chair, making him trip and fall on his face, directly onto another desk.

“Midoriya!” Yu shouted in alarm, helping to pick the kid up from the ground. He was wincing, holding his hands over his nose, which was bleeding from him hitting his face on the desk falling down.

“Midoriya, watch my finger.” Yu held a finger up and waved it in front of his face. His eyes followed fine, so she was able to breath a sigh of relief that he hadn’t given himself a concussion at least. “C’mon, let’s go to the nurse’s office to get you patched up.”

“Oh…I’m fine! I’m fine!” Midoriya said, pulling his hands away from his face, only for a bigger torrent of blood to pour out.

“No, you’re not.” Yu answered simply, putting an arm over Midoriya’s shoulder and helping to guide him towards where he knew the nurse’s office was. Oddly enough, he seemed more anxious the closer he got. When they arrived, Yu realized why, as one of the nurses was a shorter woman who looked very similar to Midoriya.

“Izuku!” the woman cried out, taking him from Yu’s arms. “What happened!?”

“Just an accident, I just slipped and hit my nose on a desk, I’ll be fine, Mom.” He said in a way that was clearly meant to deflect his mother’s concern, though it didn’t seem to work, as Mrs. Midoriya’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Are you Midoriya’s mother?” Yu asked.

“Yes, I am Midoriya Inko.” The woman replied.

“I think your son might have overworked himself last night trying to do analysis. He seemed a bit tired when I met him today.”

Midoriya tensed up as Yu realized she had ratted him out to his mom, while Mrs. Midoriya looked angrily at her son.

“Izuku, I told you, no writing in your notebooks after midnight!”

Midoriya winced and curled up on himself while his mother looked him over. After giving him some tissues and a hug, she walked off to do some paperwork.

“Um…sorry about that…” Yu said, remembering how unpleasant it could be to get the ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’ talk.

“No…it’s alright…I might have deserved that.”

The two sat in an awkward silence. Yu could probably leave now that she knew that Midoriya was okay, but she thought of something that she wanted to ask.

“Again, I appreciate what you’re doing, but why did you work yourself so hard for my sake? It’s not as if you’re being graded for this.”

“You looked like you needed help.” Midoriya answered with a shrug. “Also, I think you were a good hero, and I want to help you so you can keep helping others.”

Yu looked at the analysis Midoriya had given him. Though there was a lot of detail, there wasn’t more than what Midoriya had already explained to her.

“Do you think I can, though? Do you think that it’s really possible for me to help in this new system?”

“I do!” Midoriya said, pulling the tissues away from his nose with fervor. “I think that if you want to help people like this, you should!”

The way that Midoriya said this, coupled with having such detailed analysis, made Yu pretty sure that he was a hero nerd. His attitude was endearing, though Yu privately wondered if she would really want to keep doing this work if she kept having these problems.

“How does a kid like you get so much into analysis, anyway?” Yu asked, fishing for a conversation topic.

“Well, growing up, I wanted to be a hero.” Midoriya answered. “I always thought that heroes were cool, and the idea of making people smile was something that I had always wanted to do.” He shrugged. “But then I found out that I was Quirkless. I spent a lot of my life fantasizing about becoming a hero anyway, even though everyone told me that it was impossible.”

Yu winced.

“Geez…that sounds rough. But what does that have to do with this?” she asked, holding up the notebook.

“Just because I didn’t have a Quirk didn’t mean that I didn’t think that they were cool.” Midoriya said, smiling as he looked at his work. “I liked breaking down the different ways that heroes used their Quirks and thinking about how they could be improved.” He shrugged. “Maybe it was escapism at first, but after I put my old dream behind me and came here, my teachers pointed out how my analysis could be useful to heroes, so I started working with the hero courses to help improve their Quirks.”

Yu smiled.

“Well, from what I’ve heard about you and what I’ve seen of how those kids have grown, I’d say you did a good job. Kodai was already pretty good when I took her as an intern, but she was something else when I took her on for a work study.”

Midoriya suddenly brightened up.

“Oh, yeah! Kodai’s Quirk is really impressive! It offers a lot of utility, especially when you add in Support Gear!”

“Hey, was the whole ‘Megazord’ Battle Armor your idea?” Yu asked with a wry smile. Midoriya rubbed the back of his head, awkwardly chuckling.

“Well, I just thought that it made sense; Kodai could carry heavy equipment onto the field without it weighing her down, and it fit into her ‘Super Sentai’ theme.”

“Yeah, she was really excited to test it out in the field with me. I think she got a bit of a fan club going for her for a bit.” Yu chuckled, remembering the outing that the two of them had, followed by their poses after a particularly tricky battle against a giant Rose villain. She smiled to herself, remembering how proud she was of her student.

Yu stood up with Midoriya’s analysis, satisfied that he was alright.

“How about we pick this up tomorrow after you’ve gotten some sleep, alright?”

Midoriya gave a nervous smile but nodded.

“Alright.”

Once she got back to Shinji’s apartment, Yu began to read over Midoriya’s analysis. There were some interesting ideas; using the force of her growth like a spring to propel herself or as a method of attack, including references to the girl that Midoriya was talking about, whom Yu recognized as Kendo Itsuka. There were ideas about using her taller size to get a better lay of the land (nice idea, but one of the issues that Yu had with Gigantification was how easy it was to lose track of normal-sized objects and people.) Midoriya had written about Yu’s enhanced durability, noting how she was one of the few heroes at the Battle of Jaku able to take direct hits from Gigantomachia, who was able to punch holes through mountains. (Yu thought that might be high-balling things a bit, but it was an impressive idea…albeit one she wasn’t interested in testing.)

However, Yu frowned at a note that kept on popping up in the analysis:

“Possible danger for collateral damage:”

Yu working to apprehend a suspect on a high rise? She’d need to watch her feet even as she was trying to focus on what was going on at her eye level. Working around collapsed buildings to try to dig out survivors? Yes, she could dig out a lot more rubble than most, but shifting so much material ran the risk of hurting whoever she was trying to rescue in the first place. Even working away from populated areas, Midoriya had included notes of potential ways that she might destabilize the landscape or damage ecosystems.

Considering how encouraging Midoriya had been to her earlier, Yu was pretty sure that he had forgotten that he had even included so many notes, probably getting so caught up in the analysis that he wasn’t thinking about how Yu might take it, and simply spitting out logical facts. What bothered Yu though was that this analysis went back a lot further than the few days that she had been talking with Midoriya, all the way back to her debut. He had brought up a lot of positive points about her; great power, talent in showmanship, fanservice (Yu smirked at this; again a note that Midoriya had probably forgotten that he had put in there), but the concerns about collateral damage kept coming up.

Yu closed the notebook. She knew that she needed to be careful with Gigantification; learning to always make sure her area was clear of civilians was something that she had engrained into her thinking long before she had even gone to hero school, and there was of course her ongoing Villain Insurance expenses she had to pay for the damages she had caused to property. On a whim, Yu went to a filing cabinet she had brought from her old apartment and started to flip through her files. While she was messy, her finances were one of the things that she knew to keep organized.

May 10 22__: 1.5 million yen expense for crushed car

October 30 22__: 500,000 yen expense for cracked brick wall

January 23 22__: 4 million yen expense for damaged semi, storefront, etc.

These expenses always hurt, but they were something that Yu hadn’t put that much thought into because of her insurance (if she had allowed herself to stress about it too much, it would have given her a heart attack.) Even with as much she had to pay her insurance, it was ultimately a small number compared to what the actual damages cost. Thinking about it though, Yu realized that this was a lot of money the HPSC was funneling specifically into her. Sure, she managed to earn back a decent amount with her sponsorships, but Yu had to wonder how much her work might have negatively affected the average citizen. Not to mention the fact that this was just her, not taking into account all the other heroes who might have similarly destructive Quirks. This kind of put what a lot of the eggheads on the news were talking about with how the HPSC had been driving the country towards an economic collapse even before its dissolution into context. No matter what, villain fights cost money. More specifically, they cost taxpayers money.

While Yu was looking through her old paperwork, Shinji arrived.

“Hey Yu, what are you looking at?”

“Some of my old bills.”

“Oh…did you miss a payment?” Shinji asked tentatively, knowing that Yu still had her current expenses to deal with.

“Not as far as I know.”

“What are you worried about then?” He asked, sitting next to Yu. She was quiet for a moment as she though about what she was going to say.

“It’s just starting to hit me how much damage I did as a hero.”

“Hey…” Shinji scooted closer and put an arm around Yu’s shoulder. “I was there a lot of those times; you did your best to avoid causing collateral, and when you did cause damage, someone’s life was usually on the line.”

“Sure, for a few of these…” Yu admitted. “But even then, with the way we’re operating now, it keeps getting honed into me how a lot of those times the damages would have been unnecessary if we did things then the way we do now.”

Shinji tensed up a bit. Yu idly read over Midoriya’s analysis and her old bills, the same message reading over and over for her.

“You know…it feels strange for me to say this, but I think that you understood a lot more about being a hero than I did.” Shinji said. Yu rolled her eyes in disbelief at him, but he kept on speaking. “I’m serious. Besides all the times you were willing to face down threats we weren’t always prepared for, there were a lot of things you understood about the hero system that I was naïve about. You realized how much of our success was tied to our popularity. When we first met, I thought that you were a show-off, but the fact was, you were just doing what you had to do in order to be a hero. It took me a while to really appreciate that.”

“I know I had to be a show-off.” Yu agreed. “A lot of heroes did. But we don’t do that anymore, and this just makes me wonder if there’s really a place for me in the new system.”

Shinji held Yu’s hand in his.

“Yu, you are a wonderful woman. I’m sure you’re going to figure this out, and I will be there for you.”

Yu sighed and leaned into Shinji, glad that there was someone who could still make her feel like a hero.

The next meeting unfortunately didn’t work out any better. Midoriya had ideas for how her Quirk could be used, and ideas for exercises that they could do, but he ended up devolving into nervous mumbling to the point that Yu realized that he didn’t think that he had anything really helpful, which she pointed out to him.

“…I’m sorry.” He said dejectedly. “I didn’t think to call you ahead of time to let you know that I didn’t have anything really good.”

Yu sighed.

“It’s alright, kid.” It wasn’t as if she had anything better to do at the time, anyway. “Just…do you think that you’ll be able to think of anything at all, or would it be better if we just stopped this? I don’t want to keep you focused on something that’s not going to pan out.”

“No, no…There’s…there’s got to be something we can do…” Midoriya said. “I just…I just keep on coming across the same problem; your size makes it hard to avoid collateral damage, and there’s not really an easy way to counter that.” He admitted.

Yu frowned, but did her best to avoid looking too upset so as to not make Midoriya feel worse.

“How about you just call me if you come up with anything, alright? Don’t worry so much about me.”

This didn’t seem to cheer Midoriya up that much, and he left in a slump. Yu shook her head sadly. Midoriya had worked with a lot of people, but it seemed as if she was the first person he couldn’t help. With the meeting coming to a bust, Yu couldn’t do anything else but sit in the middle of the hallway, trying to think of what to do next. Try as he might, Yu didn’t think that this was something that Midoriya could help her with. She could try to go back to work with the police once her leave of absence was done, but she could only see one of two options for that: she’d either eventually slip up and use her Quirk again when it wasn’t safe and get fired, or she’d keep a lid on it, but flounder around trying to do a job she wasn’t properly trained for until she got killed in the line of duty. Maybe she could just try to go back to basic training, but the idea of taking so much time for something so basic chaffed at Yu, not to mention the fact that she would still be in massive debt. Maybe she was being selfish and stubborn, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that this just wasn’t going to work.

“Mt. Lady?”

Kodai had come upon Yu again without her noticing. Yu tried to give her a smile.

“Hey kid, how’s training going for you?”

Kodai didn’t answer, and was still staring at her.

“You’re upset.” She said.

Yu thought about denying it, but sighed. Trying to hide how she felt wasn’t going to get anywhere, especially if she was going to just drop out of the police one way or another. Might as well let Kodai know now.

“I’m thinking about quitting the force. My Quirk causes too much damage, and even if I don’t leave on my own, sooner or later they’re going to have to dismiss me anyway. I just…I’m sorry, Kodai.” Yu closed her eyes in frustration. She had such high hopes for herself starting out. She had dreamed of the fame and fortune of a celebrity lifestyle. But she knew now that she had taken for granted just how dangerous, as well as how important being a hero was. People relied on her to keep them safe. The weight of that responsibility hadn’t left her even after the system had been dissolved, and she had stayed with the police to try to continue carrying it. Now though, she was throwing that responsibility away, in front of a girl that she had in turn had high hopes for, that might one day have become her sidekick, and maybe become an even greater hero…

“Oh. That’s a relief. I was thinking about quitting the Emergency Course. I was worried that you’d be upset with me.”

Yu jerked up in shock, not believing her ears. Kodai however was giving her a small, relieved smile.

“Wait…Kodai…you want to quit? What’s wrong?”

Kodai shrugged.

“I wanted to become a hero because I thought that it would be a fun way to help people. The change in the system took out a lot of the charm, unfortunately. I know that being a police officer, especially now, is really helpful, but one of my classmates left because he realized that his Quirk could be more useful in science. That made me wonder if I might be able to help more people outside of police work. With the economy doing so badly, maybe my Quirk could be helpful in transportation? Moving more material around more easily? I’ve just been wondering if I might find that work more fulfilling and helpful.”

Yu blinked, amazed both at hearing Kodai say so much, and that she was so blasé about it. She didn’t want to make Kodai think that she was disappointed in any way though considering how much this decision must have worried her, so she fumbled out a response.

“Well…I’m happy for you Kodai. If this isn’t what you want to do, you should do what makes you happy.”

“Thanks Takeyama. Do you know what you want to do?”

Again, Yu blinked. What did she want to do?

“…I’m not sure yet.”

Kodai shrugged.

“I’m sure you’ll find something. Let me know if you need help, though.”

Yu nodded her head numbly.

“…Okay. Thanks Kodai.”

Kodai nodded and walked off, leaving Yu to her thoughts alone.

Back at Shinji’s apartment, Yu was laying on the couch, still thinking about what Kodai had talked to her about. What did she want to do?

Growing up, becoming a hero was all that Yu wanted to do. She hadn’t considered much else. Most kids her age probably hadn’t until they determined whether or not becoming a pro hero was an option for them.

Of course, now becoming a hero wasn’t an option for anyone. So, what other dreams did people want to pursue? Police and rescue work were the closest fields to heroism, but Yu could definitely see now how it wasn’t for everyone. That being said, part of her still hurt at the idea that she was planning to leave the force. When she had first started the course in her own hero school, Yu was simply drawn in by the spectacle. However, over time, she began to realize how serious her work was, how so many people relied on her. It was hard, dangerous work, but the main reason why Yu was one of the heroes that had integrated with the police was because she didn’t feel as if she could abandon people in need at that time.

Kodai pointed out though that there were other ways of helping people other than being a hero or working in the police. If neither of those was an option for Yu, what could she do that would still help people?

She looked over Midoriya’s most recent packet of analysis: Gigantification was mainly useful for exerting a lot of force when there was a lot of space available. Midoriya mentioned that it could be useful for working in the wild, in deep water, or around tall buildings (as long as Yu could make sure she didn’t push them over.) Maybe she could go into construction work? Work at a dock? In a wildlife park? Yu shot out the ideas, but none of them felt right for her.

Yu groaned to herself, frowning at the analysis. Midoriya really put the problem into words: Gigantification was too situational to be practical for most jobs. It worked well for the old system because it was powerful and good at getting people’s attention, but it could only be profitable in a society that was conditioned to ignore collateral damage.

Suddenly, Yu blinked, looking at the analysis. Why was she so fixated on her Quirk? Midoriya was helping people, and he didn’t have a Quirk. Maybe she needed to think about this from a different direction.

When Shinji came home, Yu asked him a question.

“Shinji, how do you think I’ve helped people?”

Shinji blinked, caught off by the question.

“Well, there were all the people you rescued.” Shinji pointed out. “You stopped quite a few villains, and even when circumstances were beyond you, you still did what you could to protect people.” He took a seat next to Yu. “Why do you ask?”

“…I’m starting to think that I’m not really cut out for police work, and I’m trying to think of what else I could do.” Yu admitted. Part of her was worried that her boyfriend would be upset with her for just giving up. Shinji however put his arm around Yu and hugged her.

“You’ve helped a lot of people, Yu. I wish that you could stay with the police, but I also understand where you’re coming from. I’ll do what I can to help you.”

Yu smiled and kissed Shinji, thinking some more.

“…Maybe the question I should be asking then is how I helped people outside of being a hero. Just…what kinds of things do you think I’m good at?”

“Hmm…” Shinji thought for a moment. “That’s tricky, since most of what I’ve seen you is as a hero.” Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. “Oh! One thing Shiozaki told me was how good you were at teaching her and her classmates how to do interviews!”

Yu cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Really? Shinji, I’m trying to think of something outside of commercialism…”

“Why though?” Shinji asked. “Even if it’s something heroes have been judged for, being able to talk to the press is really useful. Gori and Kamihara are always talking about how the force’s biggest problem right now isn’t that we don’t have enough officers, it’s that there aren’t enough new people who want to join. We need people who can use the press to our advantage!”

Yu blinked, realizing the point Shinji was making.

“You think I should go into PR work?”

“You’d be good at it!” he said.

Yu sat back, thinking about the interview lesson she had given at UA:

“Alright everyone, I’ve talked to Kodai a bit about this already, but learning how to talk to the press and how to use the media is one of the most important lessons you can learn as a hero. This is how we project our image to the public, and how we support ourselves with sponsors. Some of you might think that you’ll never be in this position, that you’ll never talk to a reporter, and that’s fine, but you’d better be ready then to be living off of minimum wage and for any civilian you talk to not recognize you or take you seriously. So, show me what you got!” Yu said to the two gathered first year hero courses.

Most of the lesson wasn’t that difficult, just teaching the kids to focus and to be careful about what they say and how to make the image that they want. Yu thought that the majority of the kids would be fine; they seemed positive and confident, and for the most part, that would be enough to carry them through their first interviews. There were however a few that would have problems.

The first were any of the students with heteromorphic traits. It wasn’t fair, but heteromorphs were often treated more critically by the public, being quicker to judge a fight as being too aggressive or to see them as lacking intelligence. That made this lesson all the more important for them.

Shoji could get grilled pretty hard, but Yu was happy to see how respectful and open he was. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d get angry or flustered easily.

Ashido had the right idea, leaning into her “Alien Queen” persona. Some bigots would judge her no matter what, but her cute aesthetic would win over a lot of people. She’d just have to be careful to take things seriously when she needed to, or people might assume that she wasn’t that bright. She did well with her mock interview with Yu though; she was engaging, friendly, and when Yu asked her questions about her Quirk, she showed she was a lot smarter than her bubbly appearance would seem to suggest with the knowledge of how she used it.

Koda was tricky considering how shy he was, and Yu had to work harder with him. Thankfully, Yu was able to get him to open up by talking to him about the animals that he worked with, making him a bit braver. She told him to try to focus on his interests and what motivated him, and use that as a way to connect with whoever he was talking to.

Bondo would likely have similar problems to Shoji, though he seemed a bit easier to fluster. Yu had him do a few breathing exercises before they started, reminding him to stay calm. Panicking would never be a good idea in an interview.

Tsunotori would need to work a bit more on her Japanese, but if she could find a similar niche the way Ashido did, she’d be alright.

Kamakiri was tough, and his physical traits, foul mouth, and generally rude demeanor would turn a lot of people off, but fortunately some heroes could pull off the ‘edgy’ persona.

The tougher students were the ones with attitude or behavioral problems. The first, and perhaps most obvious, was Mineta, who spent the whole interview slobbering over Yu’s bodysuit. Any time he was coherent enough to answer a question, he’d say something that would ensure he’d get cancelled on any decent media platform. Yu’s advice to him was to never show up in front of a camera in the first place. (Granted, this ensured that he would be forced to quit hero work without sponsors, but Yu saw this as multitasking on her part.)

Todoroki showed little interest in the exercise, answering any questions in a curt monotone, making it clear that he saw this as superfluous. In his case, Yu thought that going with the cold, curt, detached image might work for him, considering how well his father pulled it off. For some reason though, when Yu brought this up to Todoroki, it angered him.

Shinso Hitoshi acted as if he didn’t need to do the exercise as he was working to become an Underground hero, clearly modeling himself after Eraserhead and having the same dismissive attitude towards the exercise. Thankfully, Ms. Midnight and Nezu were both there to point out to Shinso how this attitude ended up coming back to bite Eraserhead when his inexperience had led to him being torn up during the interview after the Summer Camp attack.

Then there was Monoma.

“Kid, I’ve got no problem with this grandiose persona you’re making for yourself, it’ll certainly get people’s attention. What you can’t do is constantly insult other heroes and try to make them look bad because you’re jealous.”

“Oh, come now. I’ve seen your interviews with Ms. Midnight!” Monoma tried to argue.

“True, and maybe it’s hypocritical for me to say this stuff to you, but I can get away with that because it fits into my persona. When I or Midnight make jabs at each other, people just say we’re being ‘catty.’ If anything, it gives us more press because it feeds into the images we’ve been making for ourselves. The thing is, we never try to make anyone doubt each other’s effectiveness as a hero, because we know that is a huge faux pas. In your case, people are going to see that you’re just being petty and disrespectful, and it’s going to turn them off. Not to mention, it will make yourself a big target for criticism for both other heroes, and the press, which I guarantee you, will take anything you say about other heroes, and turn it back on you when you make the same mistake.”

And finally, there was Bakugou.

Yu had gone into this practice interview with mixed expectations. On one hand, she wasn’t ignorant of all of the bad press that Bakugou had been gaining for himself lately, whether it was for his conduct in the Sports Festival, or in getting kidnapped by the League of Villains, which admittedly wasn’t fair to blame him for. On the other hand, Bakugou was the first person Yu had rescued as a hero. That was part of the reason why she joined the Kamino raid. For whatever his issues, Yu felt a connection to him.

The feeling it seemed, was not mutual.

Bakugou was rude, insulting, and abusive. He dismissed any attempt Yu made at connecting with him, or any suggestion that she made for him to connect with other people, and yet the moment he thought that the attention was off of him, he’d explode in affronted anger. By the end, Yu had enough.

“Bakugou,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration while her other arm holding the microphone was dangling at her side, “Heroes can be a lot of things. They can be abrasive like Mirko, they can be intimidating and cold like Endeavor, they can even be shameless exhibitionists like Midnight and me.”

Watching the mock interview from the side, Ms. Midnight didn’t even seem insulted by the slight towards her, as frustrated as she was by Bakugou’s behavior. Yu glared at Bakugou, who wasn’t even looking at her, acting as if he was bored and wanted to get this done.

“What they can’t be though is someone who treats others like garbage. You'll destroy any trust from civilians you're trying to help, and alienate yourself from any potential sponsors. So, as a hero, my advice to you Bakugou, is that you shouldn’t become a hero.”

“WHAT!?” the boy shouted, popping explosions in his hands. Yu didn’t know if he was throwing a temper tantrum or if he was trying to threaten her, she didn’t care.

“Heroes need to show at least some level of respect towards other people, Bakugou. We need to at least be able to acknowledge that we need the support of others in order to do our jobs. You though don’t seem to get that.”

“Screw you, you damn hag! I don’t care what some useless extras think about me! I don’t need them to show I’m the Number One hero!”

“You do, actually. But I’ve had enough.” Yu nodded towards Ms. Midnight, who dragged Bakugou off the stage before walking up next to her.

“Sorry about that…”

Yu shrugged.

“If he doesn’t learn now, he’ll have to learn in front of real cameras. All the power in the world isn’t going to help him if he scares off any sponsor that might give him a chance.” Frustrated as she was though, Yu smiled as she looked at the other students that she had gotten to work with.

“It wasn’t all bad though.”

Kodai had opened up over the past year, and had managed to deal with a lot of her communication issues. Tokoyami and Dark Shadow had a surprisingly endearing relationship that Yu encouraged the two to work off of. Despite having a poor showing early in the year, Yaoyorozu had come off as confident and reliable in her interview. Hagakure was engaging and bubbly, and despite not being visible, she had a great energy that would serve her well in interviews in the future. Shiozaki was learning to express her faith in a way that didn’t alienate people from her. There were some good kids here.

“I can see why you like this job.”

Yu remembered how that had felt, the satisfaction that she had managed to pass on something to those kids that she knew would be helpful to them in the future, to prepare them for the harsh world of mass media in a way that they’d come out on top.

It had been especially gratifying to Yu considering she knew how harsh things had been for them over that year. They had been exposed to the cruel reality of villains, but also the cruel reality of opportunistic media, ready to tear apart any perceived mistake they made, no matter how new to the game they were. But despite the system being gone, the stigma still remained. People were still judging them, even though they were just trying to help.

“…You’re right…” Yu realized, staring off into the distance. “We really do need help…I…I think I could do that!”

Shinji smiled.

“We might not be pros anymore Yu, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find ways to be heroes.”

Yu made one last meeting with Midoriya to thank him for his help. When they met, he had his notebook out and looked antsy, as if he wanted to try again to help her with his analysis, but Yu though stopped him before he had a chance.

“Midoriya, you’ve been really great to me, but I decided to do something else. I’ve decided I’m going to leave the police force.”

Midoriya looked at if he was going to protest, before Yu stopped him again.

“Don’t be upset, alright? I just realized that where I am isn’t going to work, and there’s something that I can do that would let me help more people.”

Midoriya closed his mouth and looked down at the table dejectedly for a moment. Thankfully, he smiled easily enough.

“I understand. I’m sorry that I wasn’t more help.”

“You were plenty of help, trust me.” Yu said.

“So…what are you going to do now?” Midoriya asked.

“Well…I am probably going to have to go back to school or college for this, but I was thinking that I’d like to do PR work.”

Midoriya’s eyes brightened at this.

“That’s actually a really good idea! You were really talented at working with the media, and I bet you could help a lot of people that way!”

“That’s the idea.” Yu said with a smile, though it was a bit limited.

“Is something wrong?” Midoriya asked.

“Well…” Yu grimaced to herself, “You shouldn’t worry about this, it’s just something that I’m going to have to deal with. I still have a lot of fees that I need to pay for, along with whatever schooling is going to cost.”

“Actually,” Midoriya said, flipping to the front of his notebook where he pulled out a business card to hand to Yu. “There was one other thing that I wanted to talk to you about as a favor to one of my classmates…”

“You wanted to talk to me, Takeyama?” Gori asked once Yu closed the door to his office.

“Yes sir. I’ve decided that it would be best for me to leave the force.” Yu answered, wanting to just get the awkwardness over with.

Gori considered Yu for a moment before nodding.

“I understand. I’m sorry that we couldn’t make this work for you Takeyama. For what it’s worth, even if you had trouble with the protocol as a police officer, we appreciate the work you did as a hero.”

“Thank you, chief.” Yu answered, bowing in respect. “Oh, by the way, this should cover the warehouse expense.” Yu handed Gori a check. The numbers on it made him raise his eyebrows.

“Where did you get this money so quickly?” He looked closer at the check, shocking him again. “The Yaoyorozu Conglomerate?”

“They bought out the company that used to make my costume.” Yu explained. “They’re converting it to make clothes for people with transformation Quirks like mine that could damage normal stuff. Turns out they needed a model, and they gave me a down payment once I signed the contract.” She said with a smile. “This is just going to be a part-time thing for me right now while I study for a degree in PR work, but it’ll keep me afloat. There’s also one more thing that I would like to do before I leave though.” Yu held a finger up.

“That being?”

“The police need to do a statement on that warehouse I destroyed, right?”

Yu stood behind the podium in front of the police station in front of the crowds of reporters. It was a strange feeling; this would be her last time speaking to the press as a member of law enforcement, but she planned to speak to reporters as part of her career from now on. The fact that she felt so calm in the face of so many cameras made her feel more at peace with her decision.

“I would like to apologize for the damage to property that I have caused in my time as a member of the police force. I have taken efforts to compensate those who owned the property. Furthermore, after some reflection on my conduct in the force, I have decided that it would be best for me to resign from the police force.”

There were a myriad of shouted questions and camera flashes from the reporters, but Yu raised her hand to calm them and continued speaking.

“I would like to address some comments made by Sasaki in the pro hero movement in regards to the damage that I have caused. First of all, I am not leaving the police out of any sense of frustration with the force, but rather my own inabilities to perform the duties I’ve been asked to do. I am grateful for the time that I’ve gotten to spend with my fellow former heroes and the men and women who work to uphold our law, and I want to make it clear that I believe that they deserve our respect.”

“Ms. Takeyama,” one of the reporters with a dolphin mutation spoke up, “The former hero Sir Nighteye has repeatedly made the claim that the police are unfit to handle the responsibilities of law enforcement alone. How do you think the damages that you admit to reflects on the police?”

Yu fought the urge to scowl. She really should have spoken with the media about this beforehand. Perhaps it was good though that she was doing this now that she had a clearer head.

“It is true that I caused the damage to that warehouse, along with other damages to public and private property while working as a member of the police force, but that damage was a result of my own decisions and training received as a former hero, not because of any failings of the police.”

“Ms. Takeyama,” another reporter with green skin spoke up. “Are you blaming the hero system for your damages even though it has been dissolved?”

“As I have said, the damages are a result of my decisions.” Yu repeated. “However, looking back on my time as a member of the police and as a pro hero, it’s made me realize that a lot of the practices that myself and other pro heroes were trained or encouraged to perform caused more harm than good. I was primarily trained to use my Quirk to handle problems, even if it wasn’t the best answer for the job. Our Quirks were how we marketed ourselves, how we made our living, and how we attracted sponsors. Most of us haven’t received training in the more mundane, but still vitally important practices used by the police; hostage negotiation, medical training, quite a few of us hadn’t even received real combat training. While I’ve been attempting to acclimate to this protocol, my instincts have unfortunately led me to repeatedly use Gigantification, even in circumstances where it would cause more harm than damage.”

“Ms. Takeyama, why do you claim that you’re having so many issues using your Quirk now compared to when you were a hero?” Another reporter asked.

“I would argue that I have been having the same number of issues.” Yu answered. “Looking at my record as a pro hero, despite my best efforts, quite a few of my patrols resulted in collateral damage. The only difference is that now, we do not have Villain Insurance to pay for these damages. Even that though in hindsight wasn’t a good practice, because ultimately it still came down to taxpayers paying for the damages that I caused.”

“Ms. Takeyama,” a reporter with white antlers spoke up, “considering your claims, and the arguments made by Sir Nighteye in the pro hero movement, are you saying that the movement is misguided in their efforts?”

“I am.” Yu answered bluntly. “The fact is, the hero system failed, because it didn’t work. It encouraged practices that I’ve come to see were needlessly dangerous both to heroes and to civilians, caused a drain to our economy that we’re only realizing now due to the absence of the HPSC’s attempts to cover up, and turned law enforcement into a popularity contest that doomed a lot of prospective heroes to fight over exposure. The men and women in emergency services should not be made to worry about their image when we have to do so much dangerous and unglamorous work. I am grateful for my time working as a pro hero; the people that I helped, the friends that I made amongst my colleagues, and even the people that I apparently inspired as a hero. However, the system itself was not a good one.” Yu gestured to the precinct behind her. “These are the people working to put our country back together, and they deserve our support. While I am not going to be a member of law enforcement any more, I still intend to support them however I can.”

By the time that Yu finished answering the reporters’ questions, it was the end of the shift, and Shinji was waiting for her on the sidewalk. The two hugged, and walked home in each other’s arms.

Chapter Text

The hoodie-clad figure sat in a dark corner in the back of the church. Outside, the sun had long ago set, and there were few parishioners remaining. The figure kept his head down, but was paying attention to whoever else happened to be there. It was only after the last parishioner left, and the church was close to closing, that he finally moved, going up to the confession booth and sealing himself inside. Only once the door to the booth was closed did the figure lower his hood, revealing a young man with a somewhat feminine face, blue eyes, and well-styled blond hair.

“…Is someone still there?” he asked the other side of the confessional.

“I am still here, my son.” The priest answered.

The young man, Aoyama Yuga, hung his head in exhaustion.

“…I’m…not actually Catholic…”

“That does not mean that I do not want to help you.” The priest replied. “While I cannot grant you absolution, I can at least hear what you have to say and pray for you. Do you still want to give a confession, or at least talk?”

For just a moment, Yuga hesitated.

“…Is it true that you can’t talk about anything I tell you here?” he eventually asked.

“Yes.” The priest answered. “Even in cases of grave criminality, I am required to keep absolute secrecy.”

Still, Yuga hesitated. What he was going to say could get him and his family killed, but he had held this in for years, the guilt weighing him down day by day despite how much he tried to deny it. It had gotten to the point that it was too much. He had to tell someone.

“…Have you heard of the Quirk Thief?” Yuga spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, still fearing the villain as his personal boogeyman since he was a child.

“Are you talking about All For One?” the priest replied, almost making Yuga recoil in shock at how nonchalant the man sounded. “The last villain that All Might defeated? Yes, I am familiar.” The priest replied. There was absolutely no fear in the man’s voice. He may as well have been talking about a bit of bad weather. Yuga stared at the priest’s side of the confessional before hanging his head.

“…When I was young…” Yuga spoke in a hollow voice. “My parents…made a deal with him.”

Yuga paused, his courage failing him for a moment, and he leaned back towards the screen.

“Are you certain that you will not tell anyone what I say to you?”

“What you say will not leave this confessional.” The priest answered.

Yuga didn’t want to talk of this. But he had nothing else to do.

“In exchange for granting me a Quirk…I would act as his spy…I would spy on UA.”

That alone would normally explain all of why Yuga was here, the priest could likely guess as to what this had led to, but now that he started, Yuga couldn’t stop. Not to mention, there were details that led Yuga to coming here that he needed to explain.

“I got in…but the day that I arrived…I met a young man in my year.”

He got in. It was going to be fine. He had used Navel Laser to pass the Entrance Exam, and had secured a spot in the Hero Course. He had even managed a decent position in the Quirk Assessment Test (Yuga did not trust Yaoyorozu’s assertions that Aizawa was lying about expelling whoever finished last; he would need to watch himself there. He couldn’t afford to get expelled. The demon had made it clear what would happen if he didn’t get into the Hero Course.)

But it was fine though. What exactly could Yuga tell All For One, anyway? He was just a student, after all.

Really, despite the threats All For One had made, the deal favored Yuga, if he thought about it. He got a powerful Quirk. He got into UA. He could pursue his dream of becoming a hero, all in exchange for some piddling information. It was fine.

The classes were admittedly more than what Yuga had expected though. Three students needed medical care on the first day of classes. Granted, Bakugou seemed abnormally savage, but considering the fact that he hadn’t received much more than a slap on the wrist, perhaps that kind of behavior was more common than Yuga would have thought.

Yuga was heading towards lunch when he heard crumpling paper beneath his foot.

“Wait!...Oh…”

Yuga looked down and realized that he had stepped on a sheet of paper that had spilled out of a notebook that a boy his age was trying to pick up.

“Oh! My apologies, mon ami!” Yuga carefully pealed the paper from his shoe, realizing that it was a drawing of the newer hero, Mt. Lady. For some reason though, the page looked somewhat burnt, along with the rest of the students’ notebook. Whatever the reason, the student looked distressed. Yuga put on the best smile he could, even subtly releasing a bit of glitter to brighten up his image.

“My! You are quite the artist, it seems! Perhaps one day you will be drawing a picture of moi!” he said, handing the sheet back to the student, who seemed flustered, but took it gratefully.

“Oh…uh…thank you!” he stammered. “Are…are you part of the hero course?”

“Oui! You are looking at Aoyama Yuga, the future hero, ‘I can not stop twinkling!’” Yuga declared in a pose.

The student stared, blinking at Yuga for a moment, clutching his tattered notebook closer to his chest.

“Oh! Um…congratulations on getting into the Hero Course! You’re one of only forty, right! That’s pretty impressive!”

“Merci. And what is your name, if I might ask? I don’t remember seeing you at the Entrance Exam.”

“Oh…I…” the student rubbed the back of his head nervously. “My name is Midoriya Izuku…I…didn’t actually apply to the Hero Course…I just went into General Education.”

“Oh. Did the Hero Course not intrigue your fancy?” Yuga asked.

“Well…it used to.” Midoriya said. “I always wanted to become a hero…but…” Midoriya grimaced. Something about the way that he acted felt familiar to Yuga; hunching in on himself, being unsure of his words as if afraid to say something that could attract aggression…

“Well…I’m Quirkless…” Midoriya admitted.

Yuga felt his stomach sink as if he had overused Navel Laser. He realized now that looking at Midoriya reminded him of looking at himself in a mirror long ago when he was young, before his parents had made their deal with All For One to rescue him from a lifetime of discrimination.

“I guess I’m…still trying to figure out what to do with myself.”

What exactly could Yuga say to Midoriya? He had gotten into UA, sure, but Yuga guessed that this was partly done by the school to make it seem as if they were progressive. Most likely, Midoriya was going to find himself struggling along while he became the new scapegoat of whatever pecking order existed here. If he could make it to graduation, he’d probably find himself in a society that would be drawn in by his degree from a top school, only to be immediately dismissed as soon as they saw his Quirk status. They’d make an argument that he was overqualified, or lacked experience, despite him having to apply to beginner level jobs or unpaid internships just to get that experience, and forced to work a menial job if he was lucky. Sooner or later, he’d be the victim of a hate crime, or society’s collective dismissal of Midoriya would eventually drive him to put himself out of his misery.

Yuga grimaced at these thoughts; on nights where he felt particularly overwhelmed, he would make the mistake of feeding into his anxiety and going down the rabbit hole that was statistics on Quirkless in society, reading stories about the nightmare he could have faced. Maybe it was just a perverse, masochistic fascination, or Yuga’s way of reminding himself why he had to take the deal that his parents had made for him.

“Ah. Well, regardless, I hope that your experience here is a good one. Au revoir!” Yuga said, leaving Midoriya behind. He sincerely hoped that the young Quirkless boy was going to be okay, but he also tried not to think about him harder than he had to. He didn’t want to be reminded of his past, of what could have been.

Yuga stared at the wood floor of his booth.

“Back then…I pitied Midoriya. I saw him as a scared, bullied boy that had only just managed to get into UA through a stroke of luck. I was happy that he had gotten in, that he had managed to achieve as much as he did, but I believed that would be the high point of his life.”

“God gives each of us talents.” The priest explained. “They’re not all Quirks. We all have a role to play, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”

Yuga had to repress a snort, not just because he doubted the words of the priest, but because what Midoriya had accomplished since Yuga had first met him hardly seemed insignificant. He grimaced though. What he would say next would probably be the hardest part of his confession. He could only steel himself and go on:

“The next day…I was told to take a picture of the teacher’s schedule during a distraction. I didn’t think anything of it…but it…” Yuga choked out a sob. “…It…it ended up the worst thing that I have ever done…”

This…this was too much for Yuga. He couldn’t keep his composure. At least he was already at a funeral, and no one would suspect him for burying his face in his hands. He spent the entire memorial like this, not wanting to look at anyone; not the teachers, not his classmates, and especially not the families of Mongoose and Asui.

All he had done was send a picture of the class schedule to All For One. How could he have known that this was going to happen?

(What else could he had wanted the schedule for, you fool? You know what kind of man, what kind of demon he is. You let a monster know where a bunch of children were going to be when they were too far away for the school to protect them. Those crying parents? Those crying children? That is your fault. Your fault. Your fault.)

NO! No, Yuga couldn’t have known this was going to happen!

What could he have done, anyway? All For One would have killed his parents in front of him and then killed him himself if he hadn’t done what he had been ordered.

All Yuga could do was remind himself of this, over and over, blocking out all other sound, whether it was All Might and Nezu’s apology to Asui and Mongoose’s families, the students for failing them, or the sound of crying all around him.

Yuga stayed like this for what felt like hours, every passing minute another reminder of the blood he now had on his hands. When the funeral finally ended and Yuga was exiting the auditorium, he happened to see Midoriya leaving just ahead.

That’s right. Remember what would have happened to you if you hadn’t done this. You would have been made society’s scapegoat, doomed to be misused and thrown away at their convenience. Whatever the cost, it was worth it.

Yuga told himself this, but it was hard to believe when he knew that Midoriya, even if he was Quirkless, didn’t carry the weight of murder on his shoulders.

“…I don’t know if the other people from 1-A still see those two girls. I still dream about them. I still see them in dark corners.”

The priest didn’t say anything. Yuga wasn’t sure if he was too disgusted to, or if he was just waiting for Yuga to go on. He did say that he wouldn’t say anything even if what he heard was criminal, so maybe he had heard from other murderers.

“I suppose that I just kept going after that. Even though I kept seeing those two in my dreams, and I was scared of what All For One would get me to do next, I kept on going. Somehow, I got decently far in the Sports Festival, even if I didn’t do a good job. I just barely passed the Obstacle Course, finishing below even a student from Gen Ed who could create sunlight. I don’t even remember what had happened in the Calvary Battle because I was mind controlled by another student from Gen Ed along with two other hero students. They dropped out afterwards under the pretenses of honor. I didn’t have that. I knew that if I wanted any chance of being a popular hero, I needed to take whatever opportunity I could get. I probably should have dropped out anyway…I lost in a pretty humiliating manner in the first round.”

Yuga realized that he had already given this priest enough information that if he wanted to, he could look up Yuga’s name from past Sports Festivals. He figured he might as well drop the pretense.

“…I was in the same class as Bakugou Katsuki. The things he did and said, coupled with what Iida did to get himself killed…it made us rather unpopular with the rest of the school. I suppose that was just one more thing I had to carry; putting a target on my class like that, on top of everything else that I had already done.”

Yuga sighed, ashamed at himself.

“I tried to justify it to myself. I thought of everyone as privileged, and this was just things evening out for people like me. I would tell myself that I did what I had to do to survive in this world. Something happened though that made it so I couldn’t as easily justify that mindset:”

Despite Yuga not being contacted by All For One since the USJ, it did not prevent more people from dying. While many of Yuga’s classmates were still crying at Iida’s funeral for his death, there was also a sense of nervousness as more of the school’s attention was focused on Class A. Being at the center of a second villain attack, coupled with Bakugou’s antagonism towards the rest of the school, did not make things easier for the class to be accepted by others, and it did not make things easier for Yuga, as he constantly felt as if he had to be on guard against his suspicious schoolmates.

This of course was on top of handling the coursework for the most grueling heroics program in the world. Most days, Yuga went home feeling as if someone had hit him in the stomach with a sledgehammer due to how much he had to overexert a Quirk that his body wasn’t designed for. Even at his best, Yuga could only ever manage to rank in the middle of the class, if that.

Everyone else had grown up with their Quirks. They knew how they worked, they had bodies that were suited for them. They had been praised, told that they were shoo-ins for hero work. It was easy for them to handle the exercises. Yuga though didn’t have that advantage. He had been ridiculed, told that he was worthless by everyone except his mother and father. There were days when Yuga’s inner thoughts were particularly bad, reminding him of his murders, forcing him to see Mongoose and Asui’s bodies. When those days came, he’d fix his soppy, fake glimmering smile on his face, while internally imagining how his classmates would see him if they knew he was once Quirkless as a reminder of why he had to take the deal that he had. All of them would look at him like some sort of mistake that didn’t belong in polite society. All of them would…

“Everyone, I have some good news!”

Yaoyorozu was making an announcement to the class during their study period, cutting off Yuga’s inner thoughts. Her and the new Vice Representative Shoji were holding a stack of folders.

“Principal Nezu had us meet with a student from the General Education course who analyzed footage of us in our training and at the Sports Festival, and he’s given us some advice on how to improve our Quirks that I believe would be very helpful!”

The two began to pass out folders to each of the students.

“Merci.” He said to Yaoyorozu. In his mind though, he continued to think about how Yaoyorozu would see a Quirkless person. She always acted courteous, but Yuga knew that someone with her wealth, her position, and her powerful Quirk would treat someone like him like dirt if she knew how he had been born.

Yuga was seated in the front row, which meant that he overheard what the newer student Uraraka was saying as she read the analysis given to her.

“Take up swimming to get used to operating in zero gravity and take ginger to counteract motion sickness…” Uraraka read out loud, “wait a minute…this handwriting looks familiar…you said that a student from Gen Ed wrote this?” she asked Yaoyorozou, who nodded.

“Yes, actually. I forgot that Midoriya is from the same class you were in.”

Yuga blinked. Midoriya? He had written this? Yuga looked at his folder and remembered the notebook Midoriya had been carrying with him when they had first met. That was impressive enough that Principal Nezu had taken him on as a student? There was no way that Nezu hadn’t known that Midoriya was Quirkless, and yet he was given that kind of respect?

When Yuga opened up his folder, he had to admit that he was impressed at the extent of Midoriya’s work. He had calculated the heat that Navel Laser could generate, as well as the physical force of impact, and the duration of time that Yuga could keep his Quirk active. There were a variety of suggestions on potential Support Gear, varying from deployable mirrors and prisms to redirect or amplify Navel Laser, or a scoped version of Yuga’s glasses that could be aligned with the angle of his laser to increase his range. Intrigued, Yuga read more, but stopped at a particular note:

‘Aoyama’s struggle with Navel Laser seems odd for a Quirk for this generation. While others do require support gear in order to use their Quirks, the backlash he experiences seems particularly severe, especially considering how the energy from Navel Laser leaks out without his belt. When did it manifest? It almost seems as if it is incompatible with his body considering how much it hurts him.’

Yuga felt his heart freeze in his chest. Midoriya’s questions seemed far too specific. Did he suspect something? No, impossible! Most people had never even heard of All For One, and the majority that had saw him as an urban legend. But still, the way that he was dissecting Yuga’s Quirk and its drawbacks…what if he was on to something? Looking around the room, Yuga overheard many of his classmates absorbed in the analysis that Midoriya had made of them; he was clearly much smarter than Yuga had given him credit for. How smart was he though? Could he figure out that Yuga hadn’t been born with this Quirk, but was rather given it?

Yuga needed to know how much Midoriya knew. If he suspected something, or even went as far as to make an innocuous statement to Nezu about what he saw as the incompatibility of his Quirk, the chimera could get suspicious.

Thankfully, Yaoyorozu told everyone that if they wanted more in-depth analysis, they could schedule a meeting with Midoriya. This gave Yuga an excuse to meet with him.

A few days later, Yuga met with Midoriya for the first time since the beginning of the year in the empty 1-C classroom. The way that the Quirkless student appeared compared to their first meeting was vastly different. He wasn’t averting his gaze from Yuga, he was sitting up straight, and rather than clenching his notebook close to his chest so as to protect it from damage that others would want to inflict on it, he was putting it on proud display, giving Yuga a bright smile.

“It’s good to see you again, Aoyama! What can I do to help you?”

Yuga weighed his words carefully.

“Bonjour, Midoriya. You’ve brought up some intriguing ideas on how to make my Navel Laser even more dazzling, though I noticed some of the things that you wrote about its drawbacks. Would you care to explain?”

“Oh…um…” Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well…I noticed that you get stomach cramps when you use your Quirk for too long. I could understand having difficulty keeping Navel Laser active, but it seems to cause you rather severe pain. I apologize if what I wrote came off as insensitive, if that is what you are asking about…”

Midoriya didn’t seem to be fishing for information, as far as Yuga could tell. Still, he needed to head off his line of thinking before he came across any ideas too close to the truth. Yuga waved his hand dismissively.

“Think nothing of it, mon ami.” Yuga answered. “It’s nothing more than a simple tummy ache. I just thought that it would be best for me to dissuade your concerns. In case you were curious though, I was a late bloomer; my Quirk only came in when I was eight.”

This certainly got Midoriya’s attention, as his eyes stopped moving a mile a minute over his analysis or bugging out in fear of offending Yuga.

“Oh…wow…so…for quite a bit of your life…you thought you were Quirkless?”

Yuga could tell that Midoriya was fishing at this point, but not necessarily for information. There was a familiar sense of…connection Yuga could see in Midoriya’s eyes, of understanding how someone felt and what they had been through.

“…Yes.” Yuga admitted. “But I wasn’t. I just needed to wait a bit.”

“R…right…” Midoriya immediately backtracked, seeing how uncomfortable Yuga was with the topic and likely understanding why. Yuga realized that he might have come off as too terse.

“I…apologize if me saying that comes off as inconsiderate considering your own Quirk status…”

Midoriya blinked in surprise, only to smile contently.

“It’s alright. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

Yuga looked back up, surprised at how calm Midoriya seemed.

“I spent a lot of my life hoping for the same sort of thing that happened to you; that one day, I would wake up, and I would have a Quirk! That I could go and become a hero, that the kids at school would stop bullying me."

Yuga remembered that same dream. Waking up, hoping against hope that he’d get some kind of miracle. He held onto the childish practice of wishing on stars or four-leaf clovers far longer than he would have liked to admit, praying that he’d get something that would put him on the same level as everyone else, that he wouldn’t be mocked and excluded from all the other children for lacking something that they saw as so fundamental.

Midoriya smiled, perhaps realizing what Yuga was feeling and wanting to connect with him. Yuga though did not want that. He didn’t want to be reminded of those desperate, hopeless days. He didn’t want to be connected to Midoriya this way. It took all his effort to keep his vapid expression up. Midoriya looked down at his notebook, still smiling.

“Ever since I started coming here though, I’ve found that even if I couldn’t become a hero, I didn’t need a Quirk to have a good life. Most of the people here are actually pretty nice and don’t judge me for being Quirkless. I’ve gotten to work with Principal Nezu, and he’s helped me to hone talents that no one had ever given me credit for before. For what it’s worth, I’m glad that you got a Quirk and that you get to pursue your dream of becoming a hero, but…I’m starting to feel happy just where I am.”

Yuga kept his mask on, pretending to praise Midoriya for his achievement. He did not think that Midoriya suspected anything unusual with him, but inwardly Yuga tasted bile on his mouth.

“I couldn’t believe it. It had only been about a month since I had last seen Midoriya, and he was happy. He had the same dream as I did growing up, one that he couldn’t chase anymore, and he was happy. People respected him. I couldn’t understand it. I didn’t want to understand it. I didn’t want to know why I was the one forced into a Faustian bargain in order to have that same chance at happiness.”

Yuga buried his head in his hands.

“I didn’t have long to think about that though, because All For One called me again, and made me tell him where our Summer Camp was going to be.”

Yuga let his hands fall to his knees.

“This…this wasn’t like the USJ. I knew what the League did now. I knew that we were going to be vulnerable, and that All Might wasn’t going to be there to protect us.”

When the attack started, Yuga was with Yaoyorozu during a test of courage. She realized that they were being hit by a gas attack and started handing masks out to whoever she could, leaving Yuga behind to watch over the unconscious Jiro and Hagakure, who had been hit first by the attack. As soon as she left, Yuga curled up, wrapping his arms around his knees, and tried to block out the noise of screaming, gunfire, explosions, and his own whimpering. He told himself that he wasn’t going to be attacked; the villains knew where Bakugou was, and once they got him, they would leave. He told himself that Bakugou was a horrible person and that if he was going to sacrifice anyone, it might as well be him. He tried to ignore the fact that there were seven other students at the Remedial Cabins, along with Vlad King and a child.

Later, Yuga would realize that the attack was actually quite short: the League knew where to find Bakugou, kidnapped him, and left. To Yuga though, it felt like it would never end. Once he was sure that the villains had left, he carried Hagakure and Jiro back to what remained of the Remedial Cabin. Every passing hour revealed some new horror though.

Vlad King nearly had his arms ripped off. Mandalay had been slashed across the head. One of the villains had nearly exsanguinated Uraraka. Shoji had been nearly crushed. Many of Yuga’s classmates were still out in the woods, unconscious from the gas attack by the time that the police arrived and got the wounded out.

How many were going to die? How much more blood was on Yuga’s hands? What were the League going to do with Bakugou?

The police questioned everyone. Their questions were simple. Yuga only needed to say what had happened at the time of the attack, not anything before. They brought him back to the city where his parents picked him up, hugging him tightly and crying about how worried they were for him.

The ride home was quiet. Once they arrived, Yuga’s mother sat him down on the couch so she could heat up some hot chocolate for him.

“It’s over Yuga.” She tried to say soothingly, placing a blanket over his shoulders. “It’s over, and you don’t need to worry about anything else.”

But it wasn’t over, was it? This was only the second time All For One had enlisted Yuga’s help, and the Aoyamas knew it would hardly be the last. Yuga wasn’t even sure how badly everyone had gotten hurt, or who would even be going back to UA after this.

“…My friends got hurt.” Yuga said, making his mother freeze as she was walking away. “Some of them might die…”

“…I’m sorry to hear that.” Yuga’s mother said without turning around. Yuga stared after her, disturbed that she was so dismissive.

“Mama…how…how are you okay with this?” Yuga asked, for once allowing some of the desperation to leak into his voice.

Yuga’s mother turned to him, her expression cold.

“Yuga, have you ever heard of a book called ‘Those Who Walk Away from Omelas’?”

“No?”

Yuga’s mother walked over to him, standing between the couch and the window.

“It’s a short story about a utopia called Omelas, where everything seems perfect every day. It’s a city of great culture and sophistication, so ordered that it has no kings, soldiers, priests, or slaves.”

Yuga’s mother looked out the window, glaring out at the city. The Aoyamas were quite wealthy, giving them a beautiful view of the landscape; its majestic skyscrapers, its architecture merely a year behind that of I-Island. When this was all one saw, it was easy to imagine that this was all that there was in the world; just prosperity and safety.

“However, for some unexplained reason, all of Omelas’ prosperity is dependent on the misery of a single child, locked away in a dark, filthy room, where he is only fed enough to survive, where no one speaks a kind word to him. He is denied light, love, or any kind of comfort, and his life is nothing but misery, pain, and loneliness.” Her gaze turned to Yuga and became sad, giving him a chill. She turned her gaze back towards the advanced, gleaming city with a glower.

“There is always one child. When he or she dies, another takes their place, and is made to be the sacrifice for Omelas’ happiness. Sooner or later all of the citizens of Omelas learn of this child. Some walk away from the city, never to return. Most though…” Yuga’s mother practically growled, “simply accept this child’s misery as necessary to their own happiness.”

Yuga felt sick, immediately realizing the parallel that his mother was making, imagining himself in that dark, filthy room.

“When I read that story, I was disgusted by the city of Omelas. To live in utopia at the cost of an innocent child? Such a city would deserve to be razed to the ground! But Omelas exists, doesn’t it?” she asked, turning back to Yuga, her body framed by the image of the gleaming city. “Our society projects the image of perfection, of everyone always being safe and happy, to the point that we laugh at any kind of danger and it becomes a spectacle. But our society also has its sacrificial children, doesn’t it Yuga?”

Yuga curled in on himself, not wanting to answer his mother’s challenge, but she merely went on.

“People like you are treated as if they are less than human in this society. Hardly anyone talks about it, but they know it and accept it. Unlike Omelas though, there is no reason why people like you should be treated that way. There’s no reason why someone without a Quirk shouldn’t be allowed the same chances as anyone else.”

Yuga looked at his mother, but at this point, she was scaring him. There was a manic look in her eyes as her voice became louder.

“When I found out that you were Quirkless, I thought about ‘Those Who Walk Away from Omelas’. I thought to myself, ‘What mother would ever let their child live like that?’ I swore that I would not let you face that kind of fate, even if I had to make a deal with the devil to do it. With what you would have gone through if you had been made to grow up Quirkless, I believe we are justified in doing whatever we have to do to prevent that, and if it comes at the cost of such a rotten society, I say all the better! If a world like this would treat an innocent child as its sacrificial lamb for no reason, then I think it would be better off being burnt to ashes, and I will gladly dance among its ruins!”

Yuga’s mother finished her rant, panting in anger, only now realizing that Yuga was staring up at her with tears in his eyes.

“I’m…I’m sorry Yuga…I’m sorry…”

Gingerly, she pulled Yuga into a hug, letting him weep on his shoulder.

“It’s going to be alright Yuga. It’s going to be alright.”

“A few days later though, All Might defeated All For One.” Yuga recounted, feeling the faintest glimmer of satisfaction as he remembered weeping in joy with his parents as he saw All Might finally put an end to the demon on television. “I thought that I was free, that my family was free, that the demon couldn’t hurt us anymore. I thought I could life the rest of my life in peace. I thought that it was over.”

The flicker of joy was smothered though as Yuga thought of what happened a few days later, and he realized the consequences of the Summer Camp.

“But it wasn’t as simple as that.”

A few days after All For One’s defeat, Yaoyorozu called up the class, letting them know that Uraraka, Shoji, Vlad King, and Mandalay were going to be released from the hospital. They were going to be fine. It was going to be fine. There were going to be no more deaths on Yuga’s conscience. Yuga gladly agreed to visit them. For the first time, he could talk to his classmates without the knowledge that he may be responsible for their deaths in the future. He could just live and pursue his dreams of becoming a hero with them.

Everyone was far more excited to visit the hospital this time than what had happened previously. Yuga nearly had a heart attack when Kirishima had suggested that they try to rescue Bakugou themselves, knowing personally how much of a suicide mission that would be. Kirishima himself still seemed angry towards the rest of the class for this, but Yuga was sure he would get over it. They had the future now; they had two and a half years to make up with each other. It didn’t feel as if anything could ruin Yuga’s mood.

This sentiment was soured though once Yuga saw Shoji and Uraraka. Shoji himself seemed alright, and was happy to see everyone visiting him, though it was clear that Tokoyami still felt uncomfortable, barely able to look at, let alone talk to the boy that he had injured. Uraraka’s condition was far more worrisome. She was no longer pale and corpse-like now that she had a blood transfusion, but she was quiet, stiff, a far cry from the cheerful, bubbly girl that had transferred in from 1-C.

“Hey guys.” Uraraka said with an attempt at a smile.

“Uraraka…” Ashido whimpered. “We’re so glad that you’re alright!” she shouted before throwing herself at Uraraka, or rather, she would have, had Yaoyorozu not noticed Uraraka’s eyes widening in fear and reflexively flinch away, causing Yaoyorozu to grab Ashido by the shoulder before she could reach Uraraka.

“…Sorry…” Uraraka said as she noticed her classmates’ alarm at her behavior, as well as the look of horror and regret on Ashido’s face at seeing how scared she had made Uraraka. “Just…kind of sudden…” she mumbled.

“Uraraka…” Yaoyorozu gently said. “May I sit next to you?”

“Oh, sure! Sure!” Uraraka answered, perhaps trying to overcompensate for her earlier panic. Yuga couldn’t help but notice her slight tensing as Yaoyorozu sat down.

“We’re here for you, Uraraka. If you need anyone to talk to, we’re here for you.”

For a second, Uraraka looked as if she was going to cry.

“…Thank you, Yaomomo. I’ll be fine.”

Yuga tasted bile in his throat again. This girl’s pain, her fear, her trauma, her near-death experience, it was all his fault. All of this was his fault.

“Um…would it be better if I came back later?” a familiar voice spoke from the door. “I wouldn’t want to crowd Uraraka…”

Yuga turned, and felt his stomach turn at seeing Midoriya. His classmates though all seemed to brighten up at seeing the Quirkless boy.

“Oh, Midoriya!” Uraraka said with a forced cheer. “Please, come in!”

Yuga and the others back up to give Midoriya space as he came into the room, carrying a small box.

“Hey Uraraka, I’m glad to see you’re better. I got something as a get-well present!”

Midoriya handed the noticeably frosty box to Uraraka. She opened it, and gave a far more sincere smile.

“Mochi!” she cried. “Thank you, Midoriya, I’ve been dying for some mochi!”

Midoriya chuckled.

“I wasn’t sure if you had any restrictions on what you could eat, but I figure since you’re going to be leaving today anyway…”

Midoriya’s mumbling trailed off as Uraraka took a bite into one of the mochi, hospital rules be damned, while practically crying tears of joy. For a moment, it seemed as if Uraraka had forgotten her trauma, giving everyone in the room an appreciated relief from the tension they had originally been carrying. Each of Yuga’s classmates were smiling gratefully at Midoriya, as one that they had since unofficially welcomed into their world.

Midoriya wasn’t even one of the hero course students, and yet he had achieved this kind of acceptance. He didn’t need a Quirk. He didn’t need to be training to become a hero. He didn’t need to have secretly gambled their lives and betrayed their trust to a monster.

Yuga needed to get out of here. He made an excuse to Rin, who was standing next to him, that he needed to excuse himself to the bathroom and left. Once he was a far enough distance away from Uraraka’s room, he leaned against a wall, trying to take deep breathes, trying to tell himself that it was going to be okay. Uraraka and Shoji were going to be okay. They survived, they’d get better, they’d be okay.

Again though, Yuga heard crying. He opened his eyes and realized that he was standing next to a door that hadn’t been properly closed. Yuga thought he recognized some of the voices coming from inside of the room. His morbid curiosity got the better of him, and he peeked through the window.

The Pussycats, including a heavily bandaged Mandalay, were crowded around the bed of Ragdoll, who was sobbing into her hands while her friends were embracing her.

“Tomoko…it’s going to be okay…it’s going to be okay, we’re here for you…”

“It’s gone…he took Search…he took my Quirk…” Ragdoll sobbed. “I…I can’t be a hero anymore without my Quirk…”

Yuga recoiled from the door, running away to find a trash can to vomit into.

The League had kidnapped Ragdoll with Bakugou. All For One had stolen her Quirk.

Yuga had doomed Ragdoll. The same fate that he had escaped from, he had inflicted upon an innocent woman who had been nothing but kind to him. No matter what her friends said, Ragdoll was going to live a miserable life from now on; looked at with scorn and pity, treated as less than human.

As a price for his Quirk, on top of everything else, Yuga had inflicted his own fate onto someone else.

He had made someone else the sacrifice of Omelas.

“After that…I started to see Ragdoll, or as she would have to be known from then on, Shiretoko Tomoko in my dreams. She’d be clothed in rags, starving and locked inside of a lightless room, scratching her fingernails off at the door. Sometimes I didn’t even need to be asleep to see her or Asui or Mongoose. When the Pussycats visited my class to check up on us, I thought that I was having a hallucination of Shiretoko.”

Yuga felt his stomach ache as if he had overused his Quirk. The story that his mother had given him as a way to justify themselves had ended up becoming the framework of his nightmares. He shook his head, partly to expel these thoughts, partly out of exhaustion.

“It should have been easier by that point. All For One had been defeated, the League was on the run and cut off from their resources. No one had died. Any injury that my classmates had received at the Summer Camp had been treated and healed. I got my Provisional License and was able to pursue my dream of becoming a hero. I should have been able to take my mask off and been able to actually talk with his classmates, to get to know them and make real friends. However, we did not account for what All Might’s absence meant. Villains started to get bolder. When Gentle Criminal invaded the Cultural Festival, it started to hit us how dangerous things could get.”

Yuga scowled, angered at how his class had been treated for being victims of villain attacks. His temper was quelled though at the knowledge of why they had been victims in the first place. “When the Festival got cancelled, everyone blamed our class for attracting villains. I suppose they were right though; I was the one who had attracted the worst villains. Not to mention, I was the one who forced All Might into fights that drained his health to the point that he had to retire, and gave Gentle Criminal the boldness he needed to attack UA. I tried to ignore it, to convince myself that it was going to be okay. I went to classes, I got a good work study, I was pushing through the fear like everyone else.”

(“Aoyama…”

Yuga was hiding in the bushes at the USJ. He would not look. He would not lifted his head. That did not stop him from feeling hands on his ankles, clinging desperately to him like a life raft.

“Aoyama!”

Yuga’s eyes snapped open. Asui’s face was decaying in a clump of bloody dust in front of him, while Mongoose was crawling, her spine snapped and her legs dangling uselessly behind her as blood poured out of her mouth and nose…)

Yuga snapped awake, panting and drenched in sweat. Perhaps reflexively, he hadn’t screamed out. He buried his head in his hands.

Why?

Why did he still see them in his dreams every night?

Yuga should have been happy. He had a work study with Yoroi Musha lined up (Yaoyorozu had apparently decided to work with Majestic rather than continue her own study with the hero,) and his team had done well in the Joint Training Exercise against 1-B, arguably having the best showing of all the teams in his class.

Ever since Endeavor’s fight against Hood though, the specters of Yuga’s past had been coming back to haunt him. The League had proven themselves to still be a threat, somehow having access to All For One’s resources despite the villain himself being in Tartarus. His nightmares hadn’t stopped. Everything just coalesced in horrific imagery; Mongoose, Asui, Uraraka, Shiretoko, all bleeding, crumbling, broken, starving, under the shadow of a grinning demon reaching out to Yuga to impart a curse on him.

Sometimes, he’d be stuck in a spiral like this and would excuse himself from the common room to take a walk throughout campus in an attempt to clear his head; “attempt” being the operating word. Being alone, along with the judgmental looks of the other students as they recognized a student from the cursed class 1-A did not help Yuga’s mood. He probably would have continued spiraling had his attention not been abruptly snatched.

“Hello, Aoyama!”

Yuga froze in the middle of the hallway, taking in the bizarre sight in front of him: Midoriya Izuku was dressed in a frilly green neko outfit in the middle of the afternoon, waving and grinning cheerfully at Yuga.

“Um…Bonjour, Midoriya…that is quite a daring fashion statement…” Yuga managed to get out.

Midoriya just chuckled, rubbing the back of his head with an oversized cat mitten.

“Yeah, my class held a cat café for Eri to help cheer her up, and I’m just heading back to my dorm after walking with Togata-senpai to drop her off at her room.”

“Oh.” Yuga vaguely remembered the little girl Eri from the Eight Precepts raid that Kirishima and Uraraka had participated in. She seemed like such a timid girl back when the two had introduced her to the rest of the class. “How did that go?”

Midoriya’s eyes lit up.

“Really well! Eri had a lot of fun, and we got her to smile!”

Yuga smiled and nodded, because that was what he was supposed to do in this kind of circumstance.

“Merveillex. I am glad to hear that you were able to cheer her up after the Cultural Festival. I will not distract you any longer though, as I would imagine that you would want to get changed, am I correct?”

“Yeah, probably.” Midoriya chuckled some more, though he was so happy that he did not seem as anxious as Yuga would have expected from such a shy person in this circumstance. “It was nice to see you, Aoyama!”

Yuga nodded and walked away, only to hear more people accosting Midoriya.

“Okay Midoriya, I’ve got to ask…”

Yuga looked behind him and saw that Midoriya had been stopped by Kendo Itsuka, Tetsutetu Tetsutetsu, Shiozaki Ibara, and Tokage Setsuna of 1-B. Midoriya just smiled and shook his head.

“Cat café.” He answered, perhaps not wanting to go into too much detail that he had only just explained earlier.

“Oh…and you’re still wearing this because…” Tokage asked, looking as if she was trying to stifle her giggles.

“My class kind of held it for Eri, and I was walking her back to her room with Togata-senpai.”

“Wait…that little girl from the Eight Precepts raid?” Tetsutetsu asked. “You held that for her? How’d it go?”

“How about I just show you;” Midoriya responded, pulling out his phone and showing it to the four 1-B students. Their expressions immediately melted at the image; the three girls cooing at whatever he was showing them.

“Oh my gosh, Greenie! That is so sweet!” Tokage squealed, any thought of teasing Midoriya for his outfit completely gone.

“To show such kindness to an innocent lamb…” Shiozaki wiped tears from her eyes. “You are truly a saint, Midoriya.”

“Midoribro…somehow you made dressing up in a Neko outfit one of the manliest things I’ve ever seen…” Tetsutetsu said. “Kiribro told me how worried he was that Eri hadn’t smiled, and you did what all of us hero students couldn’t do!”

“I can’t take all the credit, my entire class got together for this…” Midoriya held his hand up to quell some of the praise.

“You’re the one in the picture, Greenie.” Tokage pointed out.

“Midoriya…” Kendo said, shaking her head. “You might not be part of the hero course, but you certainly know how to make people smile like a hero.”

Yuga ducked behind a corner, not wanting anyone to see him.

Hero. People saw Midoriya as a hero. He was helping people smile like a hero.

What had Yuga done? He was middling in his class, at best. He had the blood of two of their classmates on his hands. He had participated in an attack that had traumatized his classmates and had rendered a kind woman crippled.

Who was he kidding?

“You speak of this Midoriya quite a bit.” The priest pointed out. “It seems that despite not interacting with him that often, he made quite the impression on you.”

Yuga stared at the floor of the confessional.

“…I think I hate him. But I hate that I hate him, because he is a good man, who has never done anything to hurt me, or as far as I know, anyone else. I kept trying to ignore him, to forget about him, but he kept coming back up. A constant reminder of what I could have been.” Yuga took a breath to steady himself. “There’s more though.”

“I understand. My apologies for interrupting.”

Yuga had to take a moment to collect himself. The next memories were ones that he did his best to block out, but they came back to him unbidden; an army of lunatics, a giant that crushed entire cities, and the demon reborn as an omnicidal maniac.

“At Jaku…it was the first time I ever truly admitted to myself that it wasn’t worth getting a Quirk. Maybe I’m a coward for saying this, but I would have given it up, had I never had to see what I saw there…”

Yuga shook his head, his heart beating furiously, his brow drenched in sweat.

“I had always wanted to be a hero…I romanticized it like every boy my age; riding out to battle as a knight in shining armor, prevailing against a horrible dragon, rescuing the princess locked in the tower. I always saw myself as the one wielding Excalibur, triumphant in the end, just like everyone else believed about themselves. I didn’t think about how much blood a knight would have to deal with…or how terrible and unstoppable a dragon could really be. My Navel Laser…it could do nothing against something that terrible…”

Yuga felt the urge to throw up in panic, the feeling of the walls of the confessional closing in on him, the sounds of Gigantomachia roaring and stomping towards him…

“My son…breathe.” The priest said in a calm voice. “You are safe here. Whatever you went through, it’s over. Just breathe.”

Yuga did what the priest said, taking in gasps of air. Eventually, he felt his heart settle, and he was back in the quiet of the wooden booth of the confessional.

“Are you alright? Do you need to take a break to get some water?” the priest offered.

Yuga shook his head, even though the priest couldn’t see him.

“…No.”

“If you say so. Please continue when you are ready.”

Yuga took a moment to let the quiet seep in.

“…By the end of the battle…a lot of people were dead, including one of my teachers, and another of my classmates. We did our best to help whoever was left…but there was so much…” Yuga grimaced, pushing the memories aside. “Eventually, we went back to our school…but then we started finding out what was revealed during the Battle.” Yuga turned his head towards the priest. “…You probably remember what happened when the UN and the WHA investigated the Japanese HPSC...and what that led to the prime minister doing.” Yuga paused, letting the priest remember. He had probably seen where Yuga’s story was heading in the first place. “The day that the hero system was dissolved, my parents came to UA…”

“Yuga…there are two things that we need to tell you.”

Yuga stood in front of his mother and father in a private room. He was still reeling from the events of the day; both the funeral for Togata, Kayama, and Todoroki, and the prime minister’s announcement that the Japanese hero system was being dissolved.

Everything he had done. All the effort he had put in; fighting for a spot in the top hero school in the world, the betrayals, the deaths, the lives he had ruined…all of it was for naught. He couldn’t be a hero. No one in the country could.

“First,” Yuga’s father explained when he was confident enough that his son was paying attention, “our sources in Tartarus have confirmed that when Shigaraki was killed at Jaku, All For One’s brain shut down.”

Yuga blinked, a single hope flickering in him.

“Do you mean he’s…?”

“Technically, he’s still alive.” His father explained with a grim smile. “However, he is effectively brain dead. He is completely unresponsive to all stimulus. Apparently, his body is already in the process of shutting down. It will be slow, but the doctors believe that his body will eventually just crumple away in a few years.” He put his hands on Yuga’s shoulders and bent to look at him in the eye. “He’s gone, Yuga. He’s actually gone this time.”

Yuga choked out a sob, and his parents hugged him.

“He’s gone, Yuga. He can’t hurt us anymore.”

The three stood there like that for some time; a family that had made a deal with the devil that had come at a terrible cost, finally free. Eventually, Yuga’s mother and father pulled away from him, their expressions more stern.

“However, we have decided that we need to move back to France.”

Yuga felt himself go pale.

“We’re…leaving?”

“Essentially the entire League has been captured, Yuga.” Yuga’s mother explained. “The government has access to Dr. Garaki’s computers and whatever information that demon gave to the League. That means that they might know about our connection to him!”

Yuga had no response to this. He was speechless, the realization of what this meant hitting him.

“We’ve managed to use our connections to secure you a spot in Miraculous Academy in Paris, so you’ll still be able to become a hero like you wanted. You need to pack your things back at UA, Yuga.” His mother said. “Say goodbye to your classmates if you must, but our flight leaves tonight.”

Back at the dorm, Yaoyorozu and Shoji managed to corral the remaining members of 1-A when Nezu told them that they needed to meet in the common room. Nezu nodded to Yuga, a sad, regretful look visible even on his rodent-like face. Yuga looked at Nezu for just a moment. How could things have been different if he had told Nezu the truth from the beginning? Could it have been possible that the chimera, touted as one of the world’s smartest beings would have sympathy for him, that he could have worked out a plan to rescue Yuga, his parents, and prevent all of this from happening?

It was pointless to think about that now. No good would come of confessing by this point.

“I…” Yuga stammered, staring at the seventeen students gathered in front of him, taking in their shellshocked faces; staring off into the distance, perhaps reliving a moment from the Battle of Jaku, or still taking in the realization of the prime minister’s announcement. “My parents have decided…to move back to our home country. I will be pulling out of UA and transferring to a hero school in France.”

How? How was it that even with everything that Yuga had done, everything that his classmates had been through already, how was it that baring Bakugou, Yuga’s announcement still seemed to shock and pain them? Why were they reacting with such horror? Why were they suddenly crying even more? Yuga wasn’t their friend. He was a traitor. Surely they could have realized that on some level? No one acted the way Yuga did, there had to be something that they realized was off about them?

No. They did not notice. They simply ran up to Yuga and hugged him, sobbing.

“Aoyama…why?” Mina moaned.

“I’m sorry…I wish I had hung out with you more…” Uraraka cried.

“I’m going to miss baking with you…” Sato groaned.

“You were so helpful to me figuring out how to make my Quirk and Light Refraction work!” Hagakure whimpered.

“We’re going to miss you, pal…” Dark Shadow said while Tokoyami could only clench his eyes in sadness.

No…this wasn’t right. Why were they making this so hard? Why couldn’t they be horrible people that Yuga could justify betraying? Why did they have to be like this? Why did they have to treat him like one of their own?

Eventually, they pulled away. The only one left was Yaoyorozu, standing with a solemn grace despite everything that had happened on top of Yuga’s announcement. Yuga remembered what she was like at the beginning of the year; prim, proper, naïve to the truly ugly side of the world, but still respectful and courteous towards others, with a truly great mind. Over time, she had hardened from her experiences, becoming wiser to the world, but showed herself to be so incredibly strong, capable of holding them all together in the midst of so much pain. A queen in the making.

“Well…at least you’ll still have a chance to become a hero.” Yaoyorozu pointed out with a tearful smile.

Yuga felt his heart break. This was not worth it. He had taken so much from everyone already, but now he was stealing their dreams, while he was the only one who could chase a fantasy he never deserved in the first place.

“Yeah, you’re going to be great!” Kaminari shouted.

“You’ll never Stop Twinkling!” Kirishima added.

(Stop…)

“Can’t Stop Twinkling!” the class started to chant, some with tears in their eyes, but all smiling proudly towards Yuga, not knowing that every word they said was another knife in his heart.

“Can’t Stop Twinkling!”

(Stop…)

“Can’t Stop Twinkling!”

(Please…)

“Can’t Stop Twinkling!”

(I don’t deserve this…)

Yuga was trembling, unable to look at anyone in the eye, but he could still hear their chanting, praising him even though he never deserved to be in their presence in the first place, let alone their admiration.

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Yuga…” his mother said. “It’s time to go.”

She did not give Yuga any more time. She and Yuga’s father turned him around, away from the people he now knew were his friends, truer than any friends that he could ever make. And he had betrayed them all, leaving them to a crumbling nation.

“…It feels like everything that happened that year served to give me a new nightmare. I remember my classmates cheering for me as often as I see Asui, Mongoose, Shiretoko, or Todoroki. They…they were good people…they were the closest thing that I had to friends in my life…I don’t even think that they would have cared if they found out if I was Quirkless…They were kids like I was…each of them chasing the same dream as me…but I was the only one who got to pursue it…instead, they got left behind to deal with a country going to ruin.”

Despite feeling so empty, Yuga felt tears trickling down his face.

“I made them deal with so much; I killed their friends, I stole their dreams, I put them in situations that they’ll have nightmares about for the rest of their lives…”

Yuga sighed.

“My parents were able to get comfortable jobs with the government, and keep their wealth and the lifestyle that we were used to. I got to go to a hero school here and keep chasing my dream. However…I kept on hearing about what was going on in Japan, the investigations, the scandals, the riots…I got to see how the rest of the world saw Japan, and it was not a good impression. Most wouldn’t say anything when I was in earshot since they knew I was half-Japanese, but I heard. The derision, the contempt; all the heroes that I used to admire were seen as corrupt or incompetent from the fallout of the Battle of Jaku. This extended to the rest of Japan as a whole the more people heard; the country was seen as selfish, vain, prejudiced, and cowardly.”

Yuga scowled for a moment, thinking about the anger he had felt at how he would hear people talk so derisively about the country of his classmates, people that he knew to be good and noble…only for his scowl to break as he remembered how he had responded to what people said.

“To protect myself…and to try to make my guilt go away…I did everything I could to forget about my old classmates. I wouldn’t talk about them. I wouldn’t think about them. When they tried to send me messages or letters, I ignored them. Even when they were fighting to do something about everything that had happened to their country, they made the time to check up on me, to try to stay in touch…and I ignored them. I couldn’t take the guilt…so I tried to forget about them…about it all…everything that had happened in Japan.”

Yuga’s hands clenched at his knees.

“But I kept on hearing about them.”

“Did you hear? That insane student from UA who won the Sports Festival murdered over a dozen people!” Claudette, one of Yuga’s classmates whispered.

Yuga could just overhear the sound of his classmates gossiping about the latest news from Japan. It seemed that they did not notice that he was there, or perhaps they did and wanted to see his reaction.

“Can you honestly say you’re surprised?” another girl, Dahlia scoffed. “He acted like a rabid dog. They literally had to chain and muzzle him! Of course, he was going to go and do something like this!”

Gavroche, one of Yuga’s friendlier classmates, looked uncomfortably towards him.

“Yuga…maybe I’m presuming here, but you would have known that Bakugou kid better than we do…was he someone you were close to?”

“No.” Yuga answered abruptly with a painted-on smile. Gavroche blinked once before sitting back down.

“Ah. I see.” He said, shutting up and not pushing the subject any further.

Was Yuga being a coward for denying or belittling any connection with Bakugou? He didn’t think so; he was willing to bet that most of his classmates were doing the same thing. UA would likely be doing the same thing had they not already gambled so much of their reputation on the hope that Bakugou would become a successful hero. Maybe the school simply deserved this.

Then, weeks later:

“Japan’s prime minister is calling for UN assistance. It seems things have gotten so bad in that country that they can’t even police themselves.”

“Are you kidding me?” a boy named Jondrette scoffed, looking at the article. “Why are we wasting resources on a lost cause? They did this to themselves, let them handle their own problems.”

“It doesn’t look like they want to.” Another boy named Grantaire pointed out, gesturing to images of Japanese civilians protesting the soldiers. “They don’t want help, but they’re not willing to put the work in to police their own country. It says here that they are still criticizing the heroes that quit.”

“It’s hard to blame them for quitting if this is the thanks that they get for the work that they did do.” Jondrette growled. “Such ungrateful wretches. And look at this!” he said, bringing up another article of Sir Nighteye critiquing heroes that were joining the police. “They even criticize the heroes that are staying! This feels like the definition of a ‘failed state.’”

Yuga was eating lunch at a table nearby and did his best to act natural, as if the news had no effect on him whatsoever. It wasn’t his fault that people were acting this way. All he had done was give All For One news on UA; he had no control over what the entire country did. He simply shoveled his ash-flavored lunch into his mouth.

At the end of his second year, Yuga heard another bit of news.

“Yuga…” Gavroche asked, “wasn’t this man your teacher?”

Yuga saw the new headline:

FORMER UA TEACHER FOUND MURDERED IN HOME

He swallowed, unable to keep the unease out of his face.

“Sorry, were you close?” Gavroche asked, realizing Yuga’s unease.

“…He was just my teacher for a year.” Yuga explained, attempting to dismiss the question, all the while remembering Aizawa after the USJ attack; so battered that he had to be bandaged like a mummy.

“I heard it was some of his former students who did the deed.” Dahlia said snidely, not looking at Yuga, but clearly fishing for a reaction. “It seems he had expelled over a hundred students and gave them black marks that ruined their lives.”

“Okay, that’s a bit much…” Gavroche frowned, trying to get Dahlia to shut up. “No school in their right mind would keep a teacher that insane…”

“No, it’s true!” Claudette squealed, waving her own phone at Gavroche, “There’s official data and everything!”

Gavroche read Claudette’s phone, his eyes widening before looking back at Yuga.

“Like I said, he was just my teacher for a year.” Yuga said, shrugging.

“…Right…sorry…” Gavroche said, clamming up, though the conversation that Claudette and Dahlia started could still be heard.

“Geez, if they hired teachers like that, no wonder that country went to the dogs.”

“Did you see what happened to those kids he expelled? Half of them committed suicide because no one would hire them afterwards even though they graduated from what’s supposed to be the ‘top school in the world!’ What a load!”

“Heck, I can’t blame whoever killed that man, sounds like he earned it…”

This didn’t concern Yuga. Like he said, he had only been at UA for a year. He had no real connections with anyone there. His classmates were acquaintances at most. It didn’t matter that he kept getting letters from them, messages on his social media. Yuga had decided that they were not a part of his life anymore.

(“Can’t Stop Twinkling! Can’t Stop Twinkling! Can’t Stop Twinkling!”)

It was the only way he could live with himself. He simply moved on. He went to his classes, mingled with his classmates, and made new connections.

He didn’t make friends. He made connections. He had worn a mask for too long to be truly open with anyone. The showy persona he had made for himself in UA as a cover to his guilt…he simply couldn’t drop it anymore.

This was fine though. Heroes had personas like Yuga’s. This was normal. He could live with this.

He just wished he could sleep again.

“Eventually, I graduated. I became a professional hero, just like I always wanted. I assume my old classmates went and joined the emergency services. I don’t know what the change was like for them, but I heard enough about the state of the country to know that things were going to be very difficult for them. In fact…that was about the last time that I heard about any of them.”

Dubbed the “Hell Class” by the media, Yuga’s old classmates were never able to truly shake the reputation that had attached itself to them ever since the USJ, at least while they were at school. Perhaps thankfully though, once they entered the police force, their presence in the media simply vanished, as they became just another face in a uniform. It made it easier for Yuga to try to forget about them.

“After that, I did everything I could to forget about them, to forget about what I did. I threw myself into my work, indulging in all of the luxuries of the business. I used my parents’ connections to get valuable sponsorships, and was able to artificially inflate my rank by putting my image everywhere. I became associated with glitz, glamor, everything that the hero system is being criticized for.” Yuga gave a small, humorless chuckle. Ever since the Japanese hero system fell, many other countries had begun investigating their own hero systems for similar corruption. Most was not made public, but Yuga knew that they found something, as subtle changes began to happen in countries across the world in how they handled their heroes. It was possible that Yuga would eventually lose his sponsorships as several countries were changing their hero systems to something more state-run, with overseeing agencies to monitor heroes for their conduct.

“If I’m being honest, I’ve just indulged in my fantasy as much as possible, using the glamor of my profession as a way to ignore my past.”

Yuga shook his head.

“It doesn’t work though. I still dream about my classmates, both alive and dead. It’s them that I hear chanting behind every cheer I get. But…I suppose I’ve just learned to live with it. I got my dream. I told myself that counted for something.”

Yuga closed his eyes.

“This morning though...I got a letter.”

Yuga was in a building he felt was familiar. Unsure of what to do, he went to the nearest door, which opened up to a flight of stairs leading down into darkness. He couldn’t see a light switch anywhere. For some reason, he decided to go down the stairs, using his cell phone to light the way. The stairs went down what felt like several flights, leading to somewhere deep underground.

Finally, his feet found level ground. His light shined onto another door at the end of the room he had found himself in. The door had a small grate, which Yuga opened and shined his light into.

With a gasp, he recoiled, as his light shined upon the body of Shiretoko, sprawled out on the floor, her body emaciated and starving, her eyes faded white. As soon as the light hit her, she threw herself at the door trying to reach through the grate for the only source of light she had seen for years. She tried to speak, but her throat was too dry from disuse and she could only gasp feebly.

Desperately, even as Shiretoko’s flailing threatened to claw his eyes out, Yuga tried to open the door, but it was locked, and no amount of pulling or kicking would loosen it. He heard several other grates slam open all around him, and as he shined his light around in a panic, he saw that there were several other doors, all holding his former classmates. They were moaning in pain, gasping for breath and desperately trying to claw their way out of the miserable holes that they had been left in.

Ashido’s skin had turned from pink to gray, her hair falling out. Kaminari was biting at the bars of his door like a rabid animal. Shoji was trying to stretch his arms through the grate of his door, but was so feeble that he could barely stick his fingers through. Yaoyorozu, once so tall and beautiful, had been reduced to barely a skeleton as if she had been made to use her Quirk until it had started eating away at her muscles.

Unable to help them, unable to scream, Yuga ran out of the room, trying to shut out the sound of his former friends banging on their doors, begging to be let out, to be able to see just a bit of the light of the city he had come from. Yuga needed to leave. He needed to get out of this city and never come back. But at the top of the stairs, the demon was waiting for him, grinning. He reached his hand out to Yuga;

“There’s no walking away from Omelas for you.”

Yuga snapped awake with a shout, gasping for air and desperately fumbling for the light switch to his room.

Being jolted from his sleep so suddenly, Yuga was almost blinded by the usual glimmer that came from all of his crystal fixtures throughout his room as the lights turned on. It was essentially an expanded version of his room back in UA; complete with suits of armor, disco balls, mirrors, and whatever sparkling knickknack that caught Yuga’s fancy.

Yuga took a moment to catch his breath before getting dressed with as much flair as he could manage. He stood in front of one of his mirrors, staring at his reflection.

He was the hero “Can’t Stop Twinkling!” He couldn’t let himself be bogged down by some fantasy in his dreams, he had an image to keep up. He was a hero. He had achieved his dream by his own efforts. He dazzled crowds, he struck down villains, he had endorsements from several high-end clothes lines and jewelry outlets. He was the subject of multiple stories of interest in regards to his rendezvous with female heroines or socialites. He was a hero.

“I am a hero. I am a hero. I am a hero.”

Leaving the room, Yuga did his best to ignore the sight of Asui and Mongoose staring out at him from the shadows as soon as he turned off the lights.

As Yuga had his morning coffee, his maid got his attention.

“Monsieur Aoyama, here is your mail.”

“Thank you, Fantine.” Yuga replied, beginning to sort through the letters. Most of it was junk, there were a few sponsorship offers, a magazine subscription, but at the bottom of the pile was a letter with a name that made Yuga’s blood run cold.

‘To: Yuga Aoyama’

‘From: Izuku Midoriya’

Yuga knew he should just destroy it. He had put Japan behind him. He had put Midoriya behind him. He threw away any letter he had gotten from his old classmates, after all. But whether out of morbid curiosity, or the lingering fear that Midoriya had found out about his secret, Yuga tore open the envelope. Inside was a picture of an older Midoriya, being embraced by a very tall heteromorph woman with teal fox traits, Midoriya hugging the woman’s arms as they wrapped around him, the two laughing joyfully at the camera.

‘You are cordially invited to the wedding of Midoriya Izuku and Ippan Josei’

Yuga stared at the invitation, his coffee forgotten.

Midoriya looked so happy. He even looked a bit stronger since Yuga had last seen him. And he was getting married? There was a true joy in the eyes of Midoriya and his fiancé, a kind that Yuga had never gotten in any of the liaisons with vapid heroines or supermodels that he took as status symbols more than any companionship that they offered.

What had happened to Midoriya in the last few years? How had he managed to look so happy in a country that seemed as if it was falling apart?

Yuga should have left the matter there. He should have sent an RSVP saying no, that he was too busy. He had only known Midoriya for a year after all, if that. They weren’t even in the same class. He just happened to work with them sometimes, that’s all.

But he couldn’t. The same morbid curiosity that had driven him to open the letter led him to go back to his room and open his laptop, searching through social media until he found one of Midoriya’s social media accounts. The first thing to show up on Midoriya’s feed was an announcement of his engagement to Ippan Josei.

Yuga knew that he would find nothing that would make him happy, not wanting to revisit what had happened to the classmates that he had betrayed and abandoned, but he decided to look back from the point at which he had left Japan. It seemed that Midoriya had met Ippan about halfway through his second year. Even before they had started dating, it was clear to Yuga that Midoriya had an attraction to Ippan, considering how often she showed up in his feed; chatting with her, sharing stories with her, and displaying pictures of Ippan having meals or watching movies with the Midoriyas, which at some point started to include the little girl Eri from the Eight Precepts raid.

Starting in Midoriya’s third year, Eri was officially adopted into the family, commemorated with a picture of a beaming Eri being hugged by Midoriya and his mother while the little girl held an ID with the name “Midoriya Eri” on it. Midoriya included pictures of Eri celebrating her birthday, going on hikes, events at school, and showing Eri with the new friends that she had made.

Yuga felt his heart stop as he saw that one of Eri’s friends was Asui Satsuki; the younger sister of Asui Tsuyu. He had forgotten about her, but the memories of that little girl sobbing her eyes out with her broken father, mother, and brother at Asui’s funeral hit him like a truck. Yuga did his best to ignore any more links that showed Eri, but she kept coming up; it seemed that Midoriya was as happy and proud to have Eri as a sister as she was to have him as a brother.

There was another picture of Midoriya at a Halloween party held by Class A with Eri, Satsuki, and Ippan. The fact that everyone was dressed up as heroes merely drove the point home to Yuga that they could only use those costumes at these points in the year, and that Asui was dressed in the same outfit as her older sister highlighted how she would never wear that costume again. The girls of the class dressed up as the Wild Wild Pussycats, reminding Yuga even more of the state that he had left them all in.

Yuga scrolled frantically until he got to a video posted by Midoriya’s mother showing his salutatorian address at the graduation.

“When I was younger, it was my dream to go to UA. Of course, like everyone else, it was my dream to become a hero. Eventually, I had to give that dream up. For a while, I was at a loss for what to do with myself. You don’t spend fourteen years chasing a dream only to lose it and come out fine. However, I did my best, and tried to put myself back together. I wanted to help people however I could. Thanks to the support I got from my teachers and friends here, I found a way that I could do just that.”

Midoriya acted as if losing a dream was hard for him, but the way he talked, the happiness and pride Yuga could see in him, it hardly seemed to faze him.

“In a way, I’m very fortunate. Even if it was hard to give it up, the change in my life was simple and without much drama. Not long after this happened though, it seemed that the rest of the country went through a similar end to their dreams, and the results were far more tragic.”

Yuga shoved his fist into his mouth to stifle a moan of regret.

“UA has been hurt. Heroics, the field that had originally given UA its reputation, no longer exists as a career. It’s painful, because becoming a hero was such an amazing dream. To keep people safe, to be someone that inspires others and makes them smile. For many, UA was a fulfillment of that dream. It was certainly how I saw this school before I came here. So, I know what it can feel like for some of us for that dream to end.”

Yuga bit down on his hand hard enough to draw blood. He had destroyed those dreams. He had stolen their smiles. He didn’t bother listening to the rest of the video, instead scrolling on. There were more pictures of Midoriya, most with Ippan as they became an official couple and grew closer; holding hands, dancing, kissing. There were other birthdays, other holidays, festivals where they dressed in yukatas and admired fireworks, days where they worked to cook together, even laughing over the burnt remains of their attempt at a souffle.

Those weren’t the only pictures though; there was more with his new little sister Eri, each following picture showing her having grown a bit bigger. There were perhaps as many pictures of Eri as there were of Ippan. There were pictures of several of the former students of Class A, all welcoming Midoriya into their world; going to office parties, celebrations, inviting him to double dates with Ippan. Besides pictures and stories of Midoriya’s life with his family and friends, there were a few snippets of his analysis, which had quote streams pages long as others discussed his work with him. Yuga even recognized a few names from other French heroes, all of whom he realized had become far more successful and effective after their communications with Midoriya.

There were a few other posts on Midoriya’s page that Yuga took notice of, as they referenced him; his work as a hero. Midoriya had kept up to date on Yuga, as well as Rin and Tsunotori after they had made their debuts as heroes. Midoriya was praising him, analyzing him still, even making notes on advertisements that Yuga had been involved in; Midoriya had bought a diamond necklace that Yuga had endorsed for Ippan on the anniversary of their hooking up. Midoriya had nothing but praise for him.

Him. A coward, a liar, a traitor, a murderer, a thief. Midoriya praised a man that was responsible for the murders of at least two people, the theft of a Quirk of a beloved heroine, and the destruction of the dreams of an entire country, much less those of people who had seen themselves as Yuga’s friends. All of this, for a faulty Quirk given by the hand of a demon. All to live a life of vanity, indulgence, and hedonism fueled by his desire to drown out his guilt. All of it, empty and unfulfilling.

And what had Midoriya accomplished in comparison? A career where he appeared to be one of the leaders in the field before he’d even turned twenty-five, the continued respect of his peers, a loving and adoring family, and a beautiful fiancé who seemed to truly love and cherish him. All without a Quirk.

Yuga had pitied Midoriya when they had first met, had used him as a visual justification for his deal with the devil, someone that he had believed would fall to ruin just as Yuga would if he had remained Quirkless. And yet Quirkless, Midoriya had achieved so much more, had become so much happier.

Despite Yuga’s efforts to put his past behind him, it all hit him; these images, these stories of the past, of a life that he could have had, or had at least strived for. Could he have had a life like this? He didn’t have Midoriya’s intelligence certainly, but he still had his parents’ connections and their wealth. Could he have not used that somehow? Work in investments and live a comfortable life? Become a fashion designer? Or perhaps even use his family’s resources to go into politics and try to actually make things better for other Quirkless people like himself? Wouldn’t that be a more noble goal that indulging in his ego and his stolen Quirk for the masses? Look at how many people Izuku helped as an analyst over the average hero! Look at how happy he was! Look at how much good he had done! It made a dream of becoming a hero so paltry in comparison, and what good was a dream of becoming a hero when the price was that Yuga turn himself into a villain?

All of this, a vapid, pointless waste on a coward like him, for a price that he had forced everyone else to pay.

He did not deserve to be a hero.

He did not deserve this Quirk.

He did not deserve this praise.

He did not deserve this life.

And that was it. Yuga had said all that he could. He didn’t know how to feel now.

“…You poor young man…” the priest eventually said, breaking the silence. “I am so sorry that you went through this…”

Yuga couldn’t bring himself to react. He supposed that sympathy was better than condemnation.

“I can’t deny that by doing what All For One told you to do, many horrible things happened, and you should have tried to talk to someone sooner. However, considering the threats you faced it would have taken an exceptionally brave man to do this, far braver than a boy your age should have had to be.”

That was just it, wasn’t it? Yuga thought to himself. How exactly could he have said no? His life and those of his parents were on the line.

But there was also the fact that Yuga had access to All Might. He had one of the few people who could have helped him interacting with him on a regular basis, and he had done nothing, still paralyzed with fear over the belief that no one could help him.

“That being said, I can also see how much your guilt has hurt you, and my advice to you is the same as I would give anyone else here; you must confess your sins and ask for forgiveness before man and Christ, especially towards those who were most directly hurt by your actions.”

“What good would confessing now do?” Yuga asked in defeat. “All For One is dead, and it’s not as if I can bring back the people that I killed. It’s been years since I’ve last seen any of them. All I would do is destroy my life, destroy my parents’ lives, and open up old wounds.”

“From what you’ve been telling me, your life is in the process of being destroyed because of your guilt.” The priest pointed out. “As for your parents, they made their own choices. While I understand that you love them, bringing a child into a deal with a man so blatantly evil is abhorrent. As bad as they might have believed it would have been for you to live without a Quirk, you have seen for yourself how much more pain it ultimately caused you. They should have known what they were doing and what it could have meant for you. They should have realized how much more pain you were in than you could have been otherwise and done something to help you. It is not your job to protect them from the consequences of their actions, particularly when you have been bearing the brunt of those consequences. And what good you ask would confessing do now? You’re already confessing to me. Why not to the people that you actually wronged? Do you not think that you owe them this? Even after, or perhaps especially after so long?”

Yuga couldn’t answer. He wouldn’t answer. The priest was quiet for a moment, and spoke up again.

“It seems that the story your mother told you has had a significant impact on your thinking, with how often you relate your circumstances to it and how often it comes up in your dreams. Perhaps it might be helpful if I frame your circumstances through that lens:”

Yuga looked quizzically through the screen, but the priest went on;

“Now…I believe that Those Who Walk Away from Omelas was meant as an analogy for how societies are often built off of the suffering of others, but in your case I believe we can take the metaphor Omelas presents a bit further. The ones that walk away from Omelas are meant to be seen as the more moral of the characters, but are they really? Even if they are not an active part of Omelas, they have still abandoned the child to their suffering. The fact is, if they lived in Omelas at all, they have caused this child’s pain. Do you not think that they owe it to this child to do something about it? To rescue them if it is within their power? Your own mother pointed out how unjust the society of Omelas was. I believe that it is clear that the child’s suffering should be stopped, even if it would mean an end to that utopia…or perhaps in your case, to the comfortable life that you live.”

Yuga leaned back from the screen and hung his head.

“That being said, even if a former citizen were to rescue the child of Omelas, the child would have still spent most of their lives in misery because of them. That citizen cannot make up for what they have done, they cannot give the child back the years that were stolen from them or truly answer for the torment inflicted on them. All they can do is to beg for forgiveness for their horrible sin, and to offer what penance that they can to the child and to God. It is difficult and requires a great deal of courage, strength, and humility, but this is what is owed.”

Yuga was silent, understanding what the priest was pointing out to him.

“Like an ignorant citizen of Omelas, you were granted the ability to live in luxury. However, you know now that you should have walked away when you saw what this luxury required of you, that you should have tried to find some way to prevent the horrors that happened to your class. You did not though. You remained in Omelas. I admit that it would have been hard for you to leave, but you still allowed people to be sacrificed. Worse, when All For One was defeated, you still did not say anything. You did not acknowledge those that had been hurt. They were owed your apology. They still are.”

Yuga was hollow, the priest having detailed everything that he had been feeling. Still though, what he was being asked to do felt both pointless and insurmountable.

“It is true there is no taking back what you have done. You can’t restore those two girls back to life, you cannot give that woman back her Quirk, and you cannot remove the trauma from the lives of your friends. That is something that they, and their families, will have to live with from now on. However, they are owed your repentance, your acknowledgement of your part in the pain that they have experienced. I cannot guarantee that your guilt will leave you, but if you do not confess to what you have done, your guilt will only grow.”

Yuga stared at the wooden floor of the confessional. He had heard what the priest had said. He even acknowledged that there was a truth to their words. However, in his heart, he felt nothing.

“…It’s like you said though; it takes a far braver man than me to do this.” He eventually replied.

Yuga opened the door of the confessional and walked out. Before he could make more than a step though, he felt a hand grasp him around his forearm, holding him back. He looked, and saw a black-scaled and white-clawed hand reached out from the priest’s side of the confessional stopping him.

“Wait…please…” the priest begged, loosening his grip on Yuga’s arm enough so that he could pull himself free if he wanted, but still firmly enough to hold him in place.

“I cannot force you to join the Faith, to confess to God or anyone else. But I can see how much your guilt weighs on you, I believe I know what you intend to do…and I beg you, don’t do it. It is not the right way to deal with your guilt; it is just another feeble attempt at running away. You know that it is wrong. You know that doing this would hurt those who care about you. Please.”

“…I fear, father…” Yuga stammered, “that running away is all I can do.”

Yuga pulled away, walking out of the church. He knew he was a coward. The fact was, he had only wanted to tell someone his story before he ended it.

Chapter Text

“Momo, I want to show you something.” Momo’s father called to her. She came up to him, and he picked her up in his arms, pointing to some buildings in the distance.

“Do you see those buildings there? Those are called slums. People live there.”

Momo frowned at the sight, confused. The buildings her father was pointing at were short, dirty, and crowded; nothing like the mansion that she lived in.

“People live there? Why?”

“People live there because they can’t afford anything better. They don’t have as much money as we do. In fact, most places that people live in aren’t much bigger.”

Momo looked at her father in shock. He smiled before putting her back down on the ground and looking at her.

“Momo, let me ask you something; before I inherited the conglomerate from my father, what do you think I did to earn it?”

Momo blinked. ‘Inherited’ to her understanding implied that it had been given to him.

“I don’t know, father, what did you do?”

“To be honest?” he shrugged. “Not that much.”

Momo’s father smiled at her expression.

“Don’t get me wrong, I did have to go to college and work hard to show that I could handle my father’s businesses, but there were a lot of people who work just as hard, if not harder than me, and don’t get as much.”

Momo frowned at this statement. Something about that didn’t feel right to her. Her father seemed to notice and went on.

“Let me ask you another question, Momo. What did you do to earn the right to live in a mansion, when other people have to live in those slums?” he asked, pointing over to the dirty buildings.

Momo felt nervous being put on the spot, despite her father’s kind, patient expression.

“I…I don’t think that I did anything, father…”

“One more question then; did you do anything to earn your Quirk?”

A matryoshka doll popped out of Momo’s head in a nervous reflex, making Momo’s father chuckle, much to her embarrassment.

“I…I don’t know?”

Momo’s father patted her on the head calmly.

“It’s alright, Momo. The answer is really the same as it was for me; We didn’t really earn most of what we have. We have to work hard to be better at handling our businesses, our wealth, and our Quirks, but for you, your mother, and I, we happened to be in a position in life where we got things that others don’t.”

Momo’s father kneeled down to her level.

“I’m telling you this because I want you to understand that you have a lot of luxuries that most people don’t have, Momo. Most people aren’t going to get the advantages that we have because of circumstances outside of their control.”

Momo looked over the slums again, frowning.

“How does that make you feel, Momo?”

“It…it makes me feel sad.” She said. “It doesn’t feel fair. I have a lot of stuff that I could give that I don’t need.” She looked up at her father. “Couldn’t we help those people?”

In response, Momo’s father hugged her warmly.

“I’m so proud of you.”

Momo was confused, but enjoyed the hug before her father patted her on the head again.

“We could help those people, and we generally try to when we can.” He pointed to a building being constructed behind them that said ‘Community Center.’ “Your mother and I are trying to make it easier for the people in this neighborhood to live by setting up jobs and opportunities that could help them to make their homes nicer.”

Momo’s father looked down on her again.

“Call it fate, call it God, we were given wealth and opportunities that others don’t have. And like you, I believe that we have an obligation to use what we have to help others.” He put his hands on Momo’s shoulders and frowned. “Not everyone thinks this way though, Momo. A lot of people just want to keep what they have to themselves without using it to make anything better. I want you to do your best to make sure you don’t turn out that way, alright, Momo?”

Momo nodded fervently. Seeing the difference between the way she lived and how others lived made her want to help those that weren’t as happy as she was.

She wondered though how she wanted to help people. Looking up at what her father was building, she supposed that she could just help him and her mother with their businesses, but that didn’t feel quite right to her. Something made her want to help people more by her own hands and talents. She picked up the matryoshka doll that she had created by accident, thinking.

Suddenly, she heard a cheer break out from the front of the community center, and saw something that made her heart soar.

“I AM HERE!”

“It’s All Might!” someone shouted out, followed by a chorus of others running towards the giant, muscled, caped Number One hero. Momo’s father brought her up to meet him. Ultimately, the man didn’t stay very long; just long enough to give his own endorsement for the Yaoyorozu conglomerate’s work on the community center. However, it struck Momo the sheer difference in how people looked and acted when All Might arrived. Everyone was smiling and excited, it felt for a moment that the problems around them weren’t even there; as if All Might’s presence simply made everything better.

Still excited to have gotten to meet All Might, Momo got an idea as she looked at the doll.

TEN YEARS LATER; THE WEEK AFTER THE HOSU INCIDENT

Momo had gotten the chance to pursue her dream. She had gotten into UA, and after the first day, her classmates had recognized her skill and intelligence and made her the Class Representative with Iida Tenya as her Vice. Despite the pressure of these responsibilities, Momo felt confident that she could handle them. Besides, she knew she could rely on her teachers if there were problems, they were heroes, after all.

That was before three of her classmates were injured in the first day of classes overseen by All Might. Before she realized she had a sexual predator in the making in the form of their classmates Mineta. Before Tsuyu and Habuko were murdered at the USJ. Before losing in a matter of seconds against Tokoyami at the Sports Festival. And before she was used as a prop by Uwabami in an internship Momo had hoped to learn something valuable from in response to all of their struggles.

So many terrible things had been happening despite the presence of her teachers, the reassurances of heroes, and her own talents that she had been spending years honing. It was overwhelming, and it felt as if horrible things kept hitting Momo and her class that they weren’t equipped for. When Aizawa asked to talk to Momo before class could start, she was about to try to open up to him about this, to try to get some assurance that things could get better, that they would be safe and that she would be able to pick herself back up…

“Yaoyorozu, you’re going to need to select a new Vice Representative.” Aizawa said to Momo.

“Oh…how…?”

“It just needs to be done by the end of the day.” Aizawa answered bluntly. “You can pick one yourself, or hold another election, it doesn’t matter.” The man sealed himself back inside his sleeping bag, leaving Momo with nothing else.

This was not a good time to hoist such an important task on Momo. This was the first day that 1-A had come back to UA since Iida’s death, and that was without taking into account how poorly Momo did in the Sports Festival and her utterly worthless internship with Uwabami. In truth, she was questioning whether she should be the Class Representative at all, and she was expected to make a decision like this?

Still, it made sense to handle the issue as soon as possible; they did need a Vice Representative after all, so Momo didn’t try to argue and simply took her seat in the back of the class.

Momo tried to consider her options as each of her classmates filed into the room. It felt jilting for her to not see Iida being one of the habitually early students alongside her and Todoroki. However, Momo’s mind kept wandering to a conversation that she had overheard after Iida’s funeral. She was going to the bathroom to wash her face off when she opened the door and heard some students talking.

“I swear, her parents must have bought her way into the school. How else did someone who lost in just a few seconds get a Recommendation?”

“I know right? She must see being a hero as some sort of publicity grab. Why else would she intern with Uwabami of all people!”

“I don’t care what her Quirk is, if that’s why she’s here, she’d be better off just becoming an empty-headed model. Hell, it’s people like her that got Stain going crazy in the first place!”

Momo felt her throat close up. This wasn’t something that she wanted to hear after losing one of her friends, and she walked away, trying not to focus on it. However, those words, and similar conversations she had heard kept repeating in her head.

Was this how people saw her? She had worked so hard to get her Recommendation, had fought against dozens of applicants with incredible skill, and everything she was doing was being dismissed?

Should it? She still felt personally humiliated by her loss to Tokoyami, and far more so at being made to model for Uwabami when she had hoped to have gained something of value from the heroine. It seemed as if her decisions kept digging her into a deeper hole, so how could she expect to make decisions for others?

“Yaomomo?” Momo heard a whisper and saw a floating uniform.

“Hagakure?”

“Could I ask you a question?”

Right, she was still the Class Representative. It was a miracle that they hadn’t voted her out by this point.

“Certainly, what is it?”

“Do you know how to get to Hound Dog’s office?” she whispered.

For a moment, Momo looked quizzically at Hagakure, until she realized that information wasn’t something that the class would automatically know about unless they were like her and had memorized the layout of the building. In hindsight it was an extremely bad idea for Aizawa to not have them attend orientation in favor of his Quirk Assessment Test; this was the kind of important information that they had missed.

“I believe that Inui-san’s office is room 103, three rooms down from the cafeteria.” She explained. “But may I ask why you are whispering?”

By the faint movement of Hagakure’s uniform, Momo believed she was tilting her head towards Aizawa’s sleeping bag.

“…I’m not sure how Aizawa would react if he knew that I wanted to talk to Hound Dog…”

Momo wanted to chastise Hagakure for thinking so little of their teacher…but when she had brought up her frustrations about Mineta and Kaminari tricking her and the other girls of the class into dressing up as cheerleaders, he hadn’t exactly been sympathetic, and was more critical towards her for falling for that trick in the first place. Perhaps it wasn’t inaccurate to doubt their teacher’s concern for their emotional well-being.

Speaking of which, Kaminari came up to Momo next, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

“Hey…Yaomomo…”

Momo was admittedly still angry at Kaminari, but he seemed anxious.

“What is it, Kaminari?”

“I was wondering if you knew anything about how we can reserve gym time…I was thinking that I might want to try to increase how much voltage I can put out…”

Behind Hagakure and Kaminari though, Rin came up next. He looked pale, as if he hadn’t been sleeping properly.

“Yaomomo…my parents were wondering if UA’s going to be doing anything to improve its security with what happened to Iida...”

Then Ojiro,

“Yaoyorozu, I’ve been kind of nervous…”

Then Sero, then Sato, then Jiro.

Everyone was scared, coming to her. They were bringing their usual concerns to her, but Momo could see panic in their eyes. It felt as if they were talking to her not just to ask questions, but to assure themselves that there was still some sense of normalcy to their lives, that there was someone that they could rely on when things were going so bad. They were afraid, but were coming to her for some sense of hope.

Why?

Why would they come to her, of all people?

Why did they expect her to be able to fix everything?

Couldn’t they just go to…

Oh. Right. Aizawa was sleeping.

But still, there had to be…

…

…

Was…

Was it really just her?

Was there no one else?

True, she was the Class Representative…but surely there was someone else who could help everyone with their concerns…

Who though?

Aizawa wasn’t going to help. Iida was dead. The more powerful students in the class who would normally be the ones people would flock to, Bakugou and Todoroki, didn’t seem to actually care about others.

So that just left her.

Could she lead though?

…

Did she have a choice?

Was she really going to leave everyone when they were asking for help? Maybe Momo wasn’t as put-together as she thought she was at the start of the year, but there were still people looking to her to act as the leader here.

Momo still thought about what people were saying about her, the ways that she had humiliated herself, but she needed to put that aside for now. Crying wasn’t going to solve anything. She answered everyone’s questions and tried to calm them down the best she could before going back to her own task, trying to figure out how to pick a new Vice Representative. She could simply hold another election, but noticing how nervous several of her classmates were, Momo thought that it might be more prudent to ask people if they wanted the position first, rather than have everyone hoist the position on them. The exceptions being people like Bakugou or Mineta, who would either misuse the position or were otherwise unfit. She began to look over her classmates again. Eventually, she came to a decision, and walked to the middle of the classroom.

“Excuse me, Shoji?”

The Dupli-Arms student turned to her.

“Yaoyorozu?”

“Would you be interested in being the Vice Representative?”

Shoji blinked in surprise.

“Me? Why do you pick me?”

“I’m just asking if you are interested in the position,” Momo answered, holding up a hand to placate Shoji and to let him know that this was his choice, “but I feel out of everyone, you seem the calmest about what has been happening, and likely one of the most mature and patient of our classmates. I think that you would be good for the position.”

Shoji leaned back, blinking again in thought.

“I know I’m asking a lot…” Momo admitted, “and if you’re not interested in the position, that’s fine, but I just feel that out of our classmates, you would be one of the most reliable.”

Shoji looked at Momo, considering what she was saying, before nodding.

“Well…if you think so, I could be your Vice Rep.”

Momo smiled gratefully.

“Thank you, Shoji. If you want, I can talk to you during lunch about what the duties entail before I confirm this with Aizawa.”

Later that day, when Momo told Aizawa about her choice for the new vice representative, he gave them an assignment to talk to a student from 1-C that Nezu had been working with.

PRESENT DAY:

“I’ve lost sight of the target!”

“Cordon off the area, now!” Gori’s voice called over the radio.

Momo used a grappling hook to swing to the top of a nearby roof. Thankfully, the police had mapped off the area that Giran and Toga were meeting in ahead of time, and were able to get officers and UN soldiers in position to head off anywhere that Toga could escape from. The problem though was that the area was a small, but busy market with plenty of people that Toga could grab as hostages or more likely use her Transform Quirk to hide amongst and escape, a trick that she had used in the past few years since the Battle of Jaku in the rare occasions that the police encountered her. It wasn’t an ideal place to confront Toga, but it had been sprung on them and they needed to act fast or risk giving the last remaining free League of Villains member a chance to escape and kill again. They had managed to catch Giran, but Momo knew that they had a matter of minutes, if not seconds, to catch Toga before she was in the wind.

“Alpha Four, I’m in position, over.” Tsutsumi’s voice called over the intercom.

Momo quickly set up her own sniper rifle overlooking the market.

“Alpha Five, I’m in position, over.” Momo announced.

“Alpha Five, be warned, I do not have visual on you, over.” Tsutsumi warned.

“Copy, Alpha Four, over.” Momo responded. She and Tsutsumi were on their own where they were while the other officers began canvassing the crowd. Momo began to scan over the area. She knew where Toga had escaped from, but at this point she could be anywhere.

The police had been hunting Toga for years ever since Jaku. Being the country’s most wanted criminal, a good deal of the police’s scant resources were devoted to tracking her down and apprehending her. Ever since Momo had started to make a name for herself in the police and had begun training under Tsutsumi, the former “Lady Nagant”, she had devoted herself to studying Toga’s psychological profile; her strategies, her behaviors, her tics. Toga was perhaps the greatest actor in the world, but even she had behaviors that Momo had trained herself to seek out.

Shaving cut on the man eating a burger. No unusual behavior around him.

Toy vender selling red teddy bears for Valentine’s Day. No one is veering off to observe.

The woman sitting on the park bench just got a paper cut. No one has noticed.

Momo scanned through the entire area in less than a minute. In that time, she realized that Toga wasn’t there. She saw a faint red light in her visor.

“Squad, I think I see something.” Momo shifted her rifle, her eye focused down the scope. “Position six.”

The instant Momo said this, she sprayed a cloud of knockout gas from the back of her neck, eliciting a small gasp behind her. In the instant the officer behind her flinched from the sedative before she could back away or strike back with the knife in her hand, Momo slammed the butt of her rifle into the woman’s solar plexus, forcing her to gasp and breathe in more of the gas. The woman choked, her eyes narrowed onto Momo like pinpricks, fumbling one more time with her knife before Momo slammed her rifle into her mouth, breaking several of her teeth and finally knocking her out, her disguise melting away to reveal a naked woman with blond hair in messy buns.

“Alpha Five, what is your status?” Tsutsumi frantically called over the radio.

Keeping her rifle trained on Toga, Momo answered the radio.

“This is Alpha Five, Toga is neutralized. Request assistance with restraints on my position. Code: White. Over.” She added, confirming that it was really her and not Toga managing to steal one of their radios.

Momo could almost hear the sigh of relief over the radio.

“Good job, Alpha Five.” Gori said.

It wasn’t ideal, but Momo managed to drag Toga (now clothed) towards an armored vehicle bound in a straightjacket and mouth guard. In most cases, Momo would be disgusted treating someone like this, but Toga was a danger that warranted the caution. Her Quirk had evolved before the Battle of Jaku to allow her to use the Quirks of those that she transformed into, requiring that she be restrained in a Quirk-resistant straightjacket. Besides preventing her from being able to ingest more blood that she could use to fuel her Quirk, the mouth guard also prevented Toga from sinking her remaining fangs into anyone, which she had used to kill people in the past. It gave Toga the indignity of looking like an animal, but in Momo’s opinion, Toga had shown herself to have the mentality of a rabid animal regardless.

“You heroes killed my friend! I should kill you too! I just wanted to live my life the way I wanted! I wanted to love the way I wanted!” Toga ranted, spitting blood through her mouth guard and writhing around badly enough that a weaker woman than Momo would have had difficulty controlling her. Momo did not respond to Toga. They had made the mistake of trying to reason with Toga in the past, and that had allowed her the opportunity to escape during the Battle of Jaku.

Some of the civilians managed to see who Momo was dragging, and by the time that Momo had gotten Toga to the armored car, there was already a crowd cheering for the capture of the country’s most wanted villain. Momo did not stop to show off though, as the soldiers held back the crowds while she shoved Toga into the car where other officers locked her in. Toga was still writhing around in a manner similar to Bakugou at the Reward Ceremony at Momo’s First Sports Festival. Along with blood from Momo breaking some of her teeth, there were a few tears trickling down Toga’s eyes at the realization that she had been finally caught.

Momo wondered if something was wrong with her for feeling nothing at this. But then she remembered all the people Toga had killed and what she had done to Uraraka. Momo remembered Toga’s twisted way of showing “love” to people by cutting them open, and the sob story she gave at the Battle of Jaku over Hawks killing her friend Twice, an action that most realized by this point had prevented thousands more deaths. Truly, any pity Momo had for Toga was spent by this point, and she only glared at Toga as she slammed the doors shut, letting the car take Toga away to Tartarus.

There were people still cheering, shouting questions at Momo, trying to take her picture, but she kept her helmet on and went to her squad car without stopping. The police would be holding a press conference later to announce what had happened and answer any questions people had. While communicating with the public was still important for Momo as a member of the police, it didn’t have the same celebrity-like carousing of heroics. As Momo was leaving though, she frowned as she noticed a familiar figure amongst the crowd watching her, wearing a white suit, triangular glasses, smoothed down dark green hair, and bright yellow eyes. Sasaki Mirai was still unpopular with the police for how he had opposed them through his pro hero campaign, though he had been oddly silent about his attacks for the past few months. Still, she thought it was too much of a coincidence for him to show up now of all times. It would be best to warn Gori just in case.

Momo held the phone to her ear, waiting for it to pick up.

“Hey, Yaomomo!” Uraraka’s cheerful voice cried out from the other side of the line. “How are you doing?”

“Uraraka…” Momo decided not to dance around why she called. Uraraka was probably too busy at the time to have noticed the stories that were already circling online before they could give the press conference. “We got her. We got Toga.”

There was silence on the other end of the line.

“It’s over, Uraraka.” Momo told her friend calmly. “I just got confirmation that she’s been locked up in Tartarus pending her trial, and there is absolutely no way that she isn’t going to be spending life in prison. She’s not going to hurt you or anyone else.”

Momo heard a faint choked sob from Uraraka.

“…You got her?”

“We did.” She answered, smiling. “We’re about to give a press conference announcing this, but I convinced Gori to let me tell you now.”

“…Thank you, Yaomomo.”

“You’re welcome, Uraraka. Would you perhaps like to meet up with us some time? It might be nice to see you in person.”

“…I think that would be nice.” Uraraka answered, still sounding like she was sniffling. “I’ll make sure to make time for you all. Thank you, Yaomomo…just…thank you.”

Uraraka hung up, and Momo sighed in exhaustion. She still remembered coming to at the Summer Camp, only to see Aizawa carrying Uraraka’s nearly bloodless body to the cabins after getting attacked by Toga. Toga’s attack was something that Uraraka saw in her nightmares for the rest of her life, giving her a fear of blood that she was still struggling with to Momo’s knowledge. She hoped that Toga’s arrest would give Uraraka the closure that she needed.

“Officer Yaoyorozu?”

Momo turned from the stairwell that she had been calling Uraraka from to see her boss, Chief Gori.

“I need to talk to you in my office, please.”

Momo nodded and followed. As they walked through the station, her fellow officers grinned at her, a few even applauding. Momo blushed and gave a small smile, but kept focus on following Gori. The two entered his office with Gori closing the door, when Momo recognized a third person waiting in the room.

“Mrs. Nishiya! What are you doing here?” Momo asked the former Ms. Takeyama, aka the former Mt. Lady, who pushed herself up from her chair to shake Momo’s hand. Honestly Momo wished that Nishiya hadn’t; she was supposed to be on maternity leave right now, with her swollen belly obviously straining her.

“Something came up that I needed to come over for, Yaomomo.” Nishiya answered. “Gori will explain it.”

“Is something wrong?” Momo asked Gori in concern as they all sat down.

“Not necessarily…” Gori said, turning his computer screen towards Momo. “But it’s something that we’re going to have to deal with.”

FORMER HERO STUDENT YAOYOROZU MOMO ARRESTS TOGA HIMIKO; LAST MEMBER OF LEAGUE OF VILLAINS BEHIND BARS!

Momo’s eyes narrowed at the headline. Arrests were supposed to be anonymous to protect the identities of the arresting officer, one of the differences between the current system and the old.

“Someone recognized me at the market…” Momo theorized, before an idea occurred to her. “Could Sasaki…?”

“Maybe.” Nishiya answered. “Though this would be a bit weird for him; bringing positive attention to something the police did. It could be this is why he’s been quiet for so long; trying some kind of new strategy.” Nishiya remarked about the man currently seen as her personal nemesis as the PR specialist of the police force. “That’s why I’m here; we want to be prepared if anything comes up that could blindside us.”

“Whatever the case,” Gori explained, “Your name is now associated with this arrest, and the public is going to want answers specifically from you.” The chief leaned forward. “Now understand, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, but it could be helpful if you are the one to be answering the questions during our announcement.”

Momo frowned.

“I dislike the idea of taking credit for an arrest that required all of us working together…but if my name is already in the public conscience, they might not be satisfied unless they hear from me. Besides, if I’m the one acknowledging the forces’ work, it might be best.”

Gori nodded.

“Thank you, Officer Yaoyorozu. Nishiya will run you through everything you need to know before the press conference this afternoon.”

Momo vaguely remembered her lessons on interviewing with Nishiya back when she was still “Mt. Lady,” though what she was doing now was admittedly more stressful. She was not just representing herself, but the entire police force. It should be a simple announcement; explain what happened during the arrest and that would be it, but Momo knew from experience how one’s words could get twisted.

Not to mention, while Toga was generally reviled across the country for her crimes and for her association with the League of Villains, there were many who still harbored sympathy for the woman. As a girl, Toga developed a blood-based Quirk that gave her a fixation on blood. Her parents though were horrified, seeing Toga as a monster and forcing her to repress her urges, which eventually boiled over and lead her to attack a classmate and drink his blood with a straw. Toga’s parents attempted to deflect blame onto their daughter, though this backfired on them when her past was revealed and showed how abhorrent their behavior was, leading to them being sued by the families of several of Toga’s victims. (Thankfully Toga’s siblings were put into foster care with their association with their parents and with Toga being erased, so hopefully they would have a chance at a normal life.)

“Remember, stay calm, stick to the facts.” Mrs. Nishiya coached Momo. “Some of them might try to bring up Toga’s parents, but make sure you control the narrative. Don’t get emotional and make this about you or your old classmates.”

Momo took a breath nodded, realizing that Nishiya probably knew she was thinking about Uraraka.

Gori approached the two.

“Are you ready?” he asked. Momo nodded, and Gori led her and Nishiya out in front of the station, where a crowd of reporters were waiting. Gori allowed Momo to take the podium where the microphones were while he and Nishiya sat behind her. The moment Momo stepped up to the stand, she was deluged by camera flashes. She took a breath and spoke:

“I would like to thank you all for coming. I am Special Officer Yaoyorozu Momo of the Mustafu Police Department. At approximately 9:00 AM this morning, we received confirmation from one of our sources that the broker Okuta Kagero, better known as ‘Giran’ would be meeting in the Utapu market area with Toga Himiko. The MPD attempted to ambush the two in a sting, managing to arrest Okuta immediately. While Toga Himiko escaped the initial ambush, the MPD, in cooperation with UN soldiers managed to cordon off the area and arrest Toga as well. As has been rumored online, I was the arresting officer. I would like to emphasize though that the hunt for Toga was a combined effort requiring the cooperation of various officers, forensic and psychological profilers, and the assistance of the UN soldiers.” Momo recited what facts about the arrest she was cleared for before moving on to Toga herself: “Toga Himiko first committed assault was seven years ago, after which she murdered 19 people before joining with the League of Villains. In the year that the League was active, Toga murdered dozens more and was a major leader of the Paranormal Liberation Front, which was responsible for the deaths of thousands of lives. Though the PLF was defeated, Toga escaped for five years and continued to attack and kill people. While we are still investigating crimes she is suspected to have committed, we can confirm that Toga Himiko murdered at least 76 people. It is with great relief though that I can say that Toga has finally been brought to justice, and I hope that this news will comfort the family and friends of her victims.”

Most of the reporters were busy writing down what Momo said, though she noticed a few eagerly watching her still, recognizing the kind of reporter looking for blood in the water.

“I can now take questions from the press.” She announced, undaunted.

A man with vibrant blue skin stood up.

“Officer Yaoyorozu, why are you the one giving this announcement?”

“An unknown source identified me as I was escorting Toga to one of our vehicles to transport her to Tartarus and posted my involvement. I was told that reporters wanted to get my perspective on the events, and I agreed to do so.” Momo turned from the man to the crowd at large. “I would like to say though that whoever posted this information was not acting in my best interests or that of my fellow officers. While I understand that this is not the practice that we are used to, with pro heroes often being given accolades for their arrests, personal information about the police should be kept confidential as much as possible, and we must request that the public do not practice this.”

A woman with green, slime-like hair stood up next.

“Officer Yaoyorozu, Toga was seen being dragged by you to an armored vehicle restrained with a muzzle and straightjacket. Do you believe this kind of treatment appropriate, even for a criminal like Toga?”

“That straightjacket was designed with Quirk-resistant fibers.” Momo explained. “Considering Toga’s Quirk allows her to use the Quirks of those that she transforms into, it was deemed necessary to prevent her from escaping. A facemask was applied for the same reason, along with the fact that Toga has attacked people with her teeth in the past.”

“Pictures taken from the incident show that she was bleeding from the mouth during her arrest.” The woman went on. “How exactly did the confrontation between you and Toga go? Do you believe that the amount of force you used in your confrontation was appropriate?”

“I was monitoring the market from one of the rooftops, as we had assumed that she had escaped into there and was using her Quirk to blend in. However, I had a motion tracker set up behind me that alerted me to Toga’s presence. She was disguised as an officer, but prior to the sting, we had code words and protocols set up to counter her usual strategies. I did not hear a call sign, so I used my Quirk to release knockout gas behind me and hit her in the solar plexus while she was caught off guard, and again in the face when she tried to attack me again. As for whether I used the appropriate force; I only had seconds to react when Toga attacked me and did what I needed to do to defend myself and neutralize Toga. Had I could, I would have simply shot her with a tranquilizer dart.”

A blond man stood up next.

“Wasn’t your class the one primarily targeted by Toga and the other members of the League? Was this a personal matter for you?”

“Toga did attack my class, so I did feel personally motivated to catch her.” Momo admitted, before adding, “However, every member of the team formed to capture Toga was psychologically evaluated on a regular basis, including myself, and I was cleared as fit for this mission. I was on this team as I was deemed one of the most capable officers to catch her.”

A woman with a jaguar mutation spoke up.

“Can the police guarantee that Toga will not escape this time?”

“Toga is currently being held in a maximum-security cell in Tartarus at the same level as All For One. Every available contingency is in place to ensure that she will not escape and will face trial for her crimes.”

A reporter with technicolor eyes stood.

“Do you feel any pity for Toga?”

Momo had considered this question long before this conference. In the aftermath of the Battle of Jaku, when Dabi revealed his motivations, there were several investigations done into the background of the other members of the League of Villains. Spinner had been a victim of heteromorph discrimination, Twice suffered from severe mental illness and had been unjustly fired from his job, but Toga’s history was subject of particular scrutiny, perhaps because it gave the public specific targets to vent at in the form of her parents. It was difficult for Momo to feel sorry for Toga admittedly considering the trauma and pain that she had inflicted on Uraraka, but in her calmer moments, Momo recognized that Toga was victimized in her own way. That being said, Toga’s stated goal was to live “how she wanted”, which meant committing acts of wanton murder. Even if Momo could sympathize with Toga and the other members of the League, it was inconsequential in the light of their crimes.

“What happened to Toga as a child was abhorrent and cruel, and I can’t imagine what it must have been like for her growing up being told that she was a monster by her parents and being denied a supplement she needed. However, since her first attack, she showed no effort to stop her crimes or seek help. In that time, she had murdered dozens of innocent people who had nothing to do with the abuse inflicted on her, all for the purpose of satiating her own desires or out of spite. As bad as things were for her, there is no justification for her crimes and she must now face the consequences of her actions.”

The reporters asked a few more questions, but this was as close as it got to anything getting under Momo’s skin. Thankfully the conference only lasted about a half an hour before it concluded, and finally Momo was able to go back into the station to her desk and breathe.

“Good job, Yaoyorozu.”

Momo looked up and saw Sakamata and Shoji standing next to her desk. She smiled at her senior, but especially at Shoji when she saw that he had brought a paper plate with a French cruller on it.

“I thought you might want this and made sure to save it for you.”

“Thanks, Shoji, you’re a lifesaver.” Momo said gratefully, enjoying the sweet softness of a police station doughnut, giving her lipid reserves a tiny boost after the day she had just gone through.

“In all seriousness though, well done on your first press conference.” Sakamata said. “I’m willing to bet that you’ll be giving quite a few more of those in the future.”

Momo gave Sakamata a quizzical look.

“You make it sound like you expect me to become the new chief in the next ten years or so.”

Sakamata shrugged.

“Don’t doubt it, you’re well on your way already.” He leaned towards Momo conspiratorially, “And between the three of us, Gori’s told me that he wouldn’t mind retiring either.”

“What about you?” Momo suggested.

“UA’s actually approached Sakamata about becoming a teacher.” Shoji said. “I think they’re fishing for someone that could become the new principal in a few years.”

“Hm.” Momo smiled at Sakamata. “I could see it.”

Sakamata chuckled before giving Momo a warmer smile.

“You did good work today, Yaoyorozu. We all worked to track Toga down, but not a lot of us could have handled ourselves as well to Toga’s ambush. You stopped a very dangerous person today, and you should be proud of yourself.”

Momo smiled at her senior. It had been a long time since they had first met, but she was glad to have made such an impression on him early on;

Momo threw herself behind some rubble to take cover from the shots of Gang Orca’s sidekicks. Shoji was next to her.

“How many?” she asked.

Shoji grew an eye stalk that allowed him to peak over the rubble without giving away their position.

“Six. Three bunched up 30 meters, sixty degrees. The other three are spread out in a triangle in front of them.”

Momo nodded, creating a foam grenade from her hand. Shoji pulled out two net guns to show he was ready. Momo lobbed the grenade over to the group’s position. The instant it set off, she and Shoji stood up while the other three sidekicks were distracted and took them out with their own weapons. With the immediate threat of the group attempting to flank their medical tents dealt with, Momo called into the main base.

“Lizardy, this is Creati. Tentacole and I have taken out the group to the east.”

“That’s great Creati, but we’ve still got the big guy heading towards us, and we haven’t heard from Glacier or that wind guy from Shiketsu.”

Momo repressed the urge to groan.

“Right, Tentacole and I will check on them.”

Momo and Shoji moved to a higher position above where the Number 10 Hero Gang Orca was acting as a surprise villain for the Rescue portion of the Provisional License Exam. When he had revealed himself, Todoroki and a student from Shiketsu with a powerful wind Quirk named Yoarashi Inasa had gone off to confront him. However, from Momo and Shoji’s position, they could see that the two weren’t doing very well, their attacks interfering with each other or even putting themselves and other test-takers in harm’s way, making them easy for Gang Orca to defeat with his hypersonic waves.

“Darn…we’re too late…” Shoji leaned against some cover with his weapons ready as Gang Orca and his sidekicks began to work their way towards them. If they couldn’t stop Gang Orca here, he was going to destroy the camp that the students had set up to protect the actors they were supposed to rescue for the exam.

Shoji was looking at her, expecting a plan. Momo took a breath and calmed herself. Quirks had weaknesses; she understood that by this point. What was a weakness of Orcinus that she could use?

She remembered a time in her youth when her parents took her to an aquarium, where dolphins were swimming around in a pool. There was a sign warning not to bang on the glass...

“Cetaceans don’t like loud sounds…” Momo said out loud. She turned to Shoji and handed him a flashbang. “I’m not sure if this will be enough to knock out someone as tough as Gang Orca, but it might be enough to buy us some time…” Momo muttered as she began to create some equipment, mentally reminding herself to thank Jiro and Hatsume for helping her to learn so much about acoustic technology.

“What’s the plan?” Shoji asked, managing to stay calm despite the oncoming rush of faux villains on their location.

“I need you to cover me,” Momo explained as she finished creating an acoustic foam panel with a handle on the back. “I can shield you from Gang Orca’s sonic attack, but if he comes in close, use the flashbang on him.” Momo said, unable to explain anymore as the faux villains were upon them, but Shoji nodded, trusting Momo as they leapt out from their cover and started to head towards Gang Orca’s team. The sidekicks noticed them and were about to fire on them with their cement guns, but they were not prepared for the overwhelming firepower Shoji was packing, stretching his arms and eyestalks around Momo’s shield and firing dozens of nets and taser bullets in a second.

Gang Orca furrowed his brow at the oncoming first years.

“It seems that this year’s full of overconfident students!” He remarked as he unleashed a hypersonic wave at the two. Momo braced herself against her acoustic panel, feeling her bones shake, but the foam did its job, allowing her to protect Shoji while he continued to take down Gang Orca’s sidekicks, and while Momo held a small recorder outside of the shield…

“Hmph.”

That was the only warning the two got before Gang Orca stopped his sonic attack and rushed them. Shoji was quick enough to lob his flashbang at the hero, making him recoil for just a moment before fighting through the pain and attempting to rush the two. The suddenness of the hero’s attack and his imposing size looming over them actually made Shoji flinch, but Momo had already dropped her shield. In her hands was a directional megaphone attached to the recorder, which blasted Gang Orca’s own hypersonic waves back at the hero. Gang Orca recoiled and shouted in pain, so overwhelmed that he collapsed on the ground, writhing around as Momo continued to blast his own sound waves back at him. Shoji recollected himself and continued to fire on any of the sidekicks that tried to reach their boss. Gang Orca was left cringing on the ground, covering his head, which Momo used as an opportunity to secure his wrists behind his back with a pair of sturdy titanium cuffs.

Finally, an alarm blared, announcing the end of the Rescue portion of the Provisional License Exam. Up to this point, Momo had been staring down Gang Orca, ready to blast him with sound waves if he tried to get up, but as soon as the exam ended, she realized that she was giving a death glare to a pro hero that looked as if he had been hit by a truck.

“Oh…um…I can…take those cuffs off, Gang Orca…” Momo stammered as she made a key and unlocked the hero’s shackles. Despite getting hit by an amplified version of his own sound waves, the man was able to get up without any real issue, though he was frowning at Momo and Shoji.

“Gang Orca, I apologize if I went too far…” Momo began, only for the hero to interrupt her.

“No. You have nothing to apologize for.” Momo looked up, only to see the hero bowing respectfully to her.

“I should be the one to apologize. I obviously underestimated you.”

“Oh…well…” Momo turned awkwardly to Shoji. “I couldn’t have beaten you on my own, not without Shoji covering me…”

“It was your plan, Yaoyorozu.” Shoji said, perhaps a bit starstruck in the presence of his personal favorite hero.

Momo felt Gang Orca’s attention focused on her at Shoji’s comment, and she forced herself not to twitch nervously.

“You two should be proud of yourselves, managing to take down a top 10 hero. I must admit though,” he said, looking at Momo, “how is it that you went from fumbling in your fight in the Sports Festival to what you’ve done here? How did you get so strong in a matter of months?”

Momo’s awkwardness left her, and she was left with an almost resigned sense of numbness.

“We haven’t had any other choice, sir.”

Gang Orca blinked and frowned contritely.

“I suppose that was insensitive for me to ask. I apologize.” He said, bowing again. “Still, you almost make me regret that I volunteered to teach the Remedial lessons after this; I would have loved to have taken you two on for a Work Study.”

Momo and Shoji both blushed at the praise, and Momo felt pride as some of the doubt that she had been carrying since the Sports Festival fell away.

“I suppose though that I can drop a good word for you with some of my coworkers.” He said, though he added with a grimace; “Shishido’s never going to let me hear the end of this…” He shook his head ruefully before smiling at the two of them. “You two are going to be great heroes someday.”

Finally, Momo finished her paperwork for Toga’s arrest and headed out. She wondered for a moment where Tsutsumi was, having not seen her since the arrest, but she wasn’t too concerned. Tsutsumi preferred to usually stay out of sight anyway. Momo walked down the steps of the station, only to stop when she realized someone was watching her and turned towards him.

“Well done, Creati.” Sasaki Mirai congratulated Momo formally.

“…I haven’t been called Creati in a very long time, and only for a year, at that.” Momo answered, ignoring the brief sense of joy she had felt at being called her old hero name. “Should I take it that you were the one who leaked my involvement with Toga’s arrest, Mr. Sasaki?”

“Should people not receive credit for their accomplishments?” Sasaki responded, tactfully not directly answering the question. “You’ve finally put an end to the League of Villains. As Lemillion’s former mentor, I just wanted to express my gratitude to you.”

Momo considered grilling Sasaki for more information, but doubted that she would get anything out of the man that he did not want to give.

“May I ask what you wanted to talk to me about?”

Sasaki considered Momo for a moment before responding.

“Why did you want to become a hero in the first place?”

Momo was caught off guard by the question, but kept her expression neutral as she thought back to her youth.

“…I suppose my parents made me realize how many more advantages I had over most other people. I was born into wealth, I had easy access to basically anything I wanted, and I had a powerful and versatile Quirk. It made me feel as if I had an obligation to give back, to use my gifts to help others who didn’t have the same advantages I did.”

Sasaki nodded.

“That’s quite noble. You certainly do have a number of advantages, but you also have worked to hone your skills and your talent at leadership. To my understanding, you’ve already established yourself as quite the inspiring figure amongst your fellow officers. One has to wonder how that would have translated over to heroics.”

Momo continued to look at Sasaki, trying to understand what he wanted.

“…What are you actually here for?”

Sasaki took a step closer to Momo, looking her more firmly in the eyes. For a moment, Momo thought that he might try to use his Quirk on her, though that would have earned him a quick baton strike to the temple; public Quirk use was allowed, but only when consensual.

“I believe you can restore the hero system.”

“You want me to join your pro hero movement?” Momo reiterated. Was this why Sasaki hadn’t made any attacks on the police recently? Was this just a means of gaining access to the Yaoyorozu conglomerate’s resources?

“I want you to lead the pro hero movement.” Sasaki replied. At Momo’s surprised look, he continued; “Simply put, Creati, I believe you have the potential to be the Symbol that this country needs. Rather than being a faceless cog in the machine, you could be someone that people look to, recognize, and feel safe.”

“…You want me to become the next All Might.” Momo responded flatly. For just a moment, Saskai frowned.

“…I do not believe that anyone could truly replace All Might. Not anymore, at least. However, I believe that we need a Symbol that we can rally around, the way that Lemillion was working to become before his death.” Sasaki gestured towards the police station. “It took the police five years to capture Toga, and there is still so much tumult in the country, so much so that we require the assistance of foreign troops simply to police ourselves. It reminds me of when I was a child, before All Might’s debut. No assurance of safety, not knowing who could be trusted, just chaos, day after day.” Sasaki closed his eyes, lost in thought before turning back to Momo. “I believe that it is only with the help of another Symbol, someone that represents the essence of heroism, that people can rally around and put their faith in, will hope be restored to this country.”

Momo was not inclined to trust Sasaki, not with his record against the police, and not with her suspicions about what had happened between him and her old teacher Awata. However, she could not deny that her job as a member of the police force was exhausting, oftentimes stressing her physical and mental limits, only to continually contend with what felt like insurmountable obstacles, particularly with how uncooperative the public could be. She wondered if there was some merit to what Sasaki was saying, if it would be helpful if people had a figure that they could look to and instinctively trust.

“Yes, the previous system was stained by the corruption and incompetence of those in power.” Sasaki admitted. “We made mistakes. However, that’s no reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater. By abandoning the hero system, we’ve abandoned what made our country great, what gave you that dream.”

Momo kept her face impassive, not wanting to risk Sasaki being insincere in some convoluted plan to undermine the police. However, he was right that this was not the dream that she had as a child. The fact was, despite what Sasaki had been doing, many of the police would often wistfully talk about the good old days of heroes. Granted, the police weren’t highly respected back then, but they weren’t exactly respected right now either. Momo would get as hooked as anyone else listening to the stories of her older coworkers of the interactions they had with heroes on arrests or patrols, and the sense of being starstruck and grateful that they got to work with them. It was the life that Momo had imagined for herself and her friends.

“Maybe you wouldn’t be the same as All Might. But your intelligence, the power and versatility of your Quirk, and the charisma you have developed could make you into the kind of Symbol we need to restore this country.” Sasaki pulled out one of his business cards and handed it to Momo. “If you are willing, I could help you become that Symbol.”

Despite this image Sasaki was painting, Momo did not completely trust his sincerity. He had gone to working closely with the police in his investigations to publicly maligning them in an effort to restore, what Momo believed, his idealistic view of heroes. However, if he was indeed offering Momo an opportunity to act as a leading figure, perhaps she could use that; make changes more quickly than she could in her current position. Perhaps she could use that position to help build a system that wasn’t corrupt, that had proper oversight, where the police were given more respect, and where heroes used tactics that wouldn’t cause the same harm that they did in the previous system.

Momo took Sasaki’s card without saying anything, and the former hero walked away similarly silent. Before Momo could think more about Sasaki’s offer though, she flinched at the sound of a finger snapping in her ear.

“Bang.”

Momo’s hand immediately went to her sidearm, only to stop as she saw the Tsutsumi standing behind her with a frown. Contrary to her usual indigo and pink-striped hair, Tsutsumi instead had her hair died black and covered with a police cap. Technically, it was public knowledge that Tsutsumi, the former Lady Nagant, had been released from her sentence in Tartarus due to her offering valuable information to the UN and WHA investigations regarding the HPSC’s corruption (along with being incarcerated for a crime she didn’t commit without trial,) but her assassination work had also been made public knowledge, and Tsutsumi usually only went out in public in disguise.

“I would have thought that being able to catch Toga sneaking up on you meant that you’d be better prepared for that. Looks like you need to keep working on your situational awareness, Yaomomo.”

“R…right…” Momo replied with an embarrassed blush, realizing that Tsutsumi had probably overheard her conversation with Sasaki.

“Lost in your thoughts, maybe?” Tsustumi suggested, looking at the card in Momo’s hands. Momo twitched, almost thinking of hiding the card away, but it was just a business card, she shouldn’t have to hide something like this.

“I was just having a conversation with Sasaki.”

“Hmph.” Tsutsumi responded, staring Momo down before jerking her head to the side. “Let’s get a burger.”

“What?” Momo asked after her mentor as she began to lead her down the street.

“I’m hungry.” Tsutsumi responded blithely. “My treat.”

“Uh…you don’t have to, I could pay for us…”

“Yeah, well, I still have a bunch of reimbursement money to eat through and there’s only so much mahou shojo merchandise I can fit into my apartment.” Tsutsumi responded without a hint of shame, walking Momo down five blocks until they arrived at their destination.

The restaurant Tsutsumi took Momo to resembled the sort of “greasy spoon” diner that was prevalent in the U.S. in the 1950s, with the name…

“Burger…Queen?” Momo repeated.

“The owner must have been lazy in avoiding copyright.” Tsutsumi said with a shrug, though her mouth practically watered as she opened the door. “The burgers though are to die for.”

There was a decent selection of options on the Burger Queen menu, though Tsutsumi simply called out two orders of burgers and fries to the chef (Momo was curious about one option called a “NotBurgerQueen”, which was apparently a veggie burger.) The two took a booth, and Tsutsumi leaned back in her seat before fixing Momo with a look.

“So. What did Mean and Green want to talk to you about?”

Momo was pretty sure that Tsutsumi heard, or at least guessed what Sasaki wanted to talk to her about, but she figured she might as well play along.

“He wanted to recruit me for his pro hero movement.” She responded. “He was impressed with my work.”

“Huh.” Tsutsumi took a sip from her soda. “Anything else he talk to you about? Offers he might have given?”

“…He…suggested that I could be a new Symbol…” Momo mumbled, the idea sounding farcical even as she said it, knowing that Tsutsumi would point out how Sasaki was probably using that as a hook. Tsutsumi didn’t say anything, but the look she gave Momo while she was idly sipping on her soda said it all.

“Look,” Momo said in an attempt to defend herself, “I know that you don’t like the old hero system…” Momo shuddered as Tsutsumi’s look got closer to a glare; ‘don’t like’ hardly covered how Tsutsumi felt, “But I do have to wonder if Sasaki has a point. The old system didn’t work,” she admitted fully, remembering the HPSC’s corruption and all of the ways Tsuragamae pointed out how dangerous the old hero protocol was, “but did we really have to end the system entirely? Couldn’t we just…apply the protocol we use now so heroes would be operating more safely, have an agency that acted as oversight for whatever could replace the HPSC?”

Tsutsumi still didn’t look impressed, continuing to drink her soda without further acknowledging Momo’s arguments. She certainly had a talent for communicating without words.

“I admit, part of my thinking is just…this isn’t what I had planned to do with my life. This isn’t what any of my classmates had planned. I’m proud of my work, I’m glad that I’m helping people still…but there are still times where I wish I could be Creati. Sasaki did have a point; heroes did help people feel safe, they inspired people to be better! They inspired me, at least. Tsutsumi, you inspired me!”

Momo realized she had crossed a line again when her mentor glared at her. It probably wasn’t wise for her to say that she was inspired by Tsutsumi when she was essentially acting as the HPSC’s personal assassin. Thankfully, the waiter brought their food and the two were able to distract themselves with eating. Eventually Tsutsumi sighed, looking up at the ceiling and putting her burger down.

“Yaomomo, heroes, by their nature, have to be popular. They’re made to be popular. They can’t just be another uniform like we are now; they have to stand out. They get treated differently. Paid differently. Seen differently. They’re a class that gets advantages over everyone else, and whoever would be in charge of them would be motivated to keep it that way. Think about it; what exactly would the difference be between this system you imagined and what you do now, other than the fact that the heroes are still given more credit and more money for doing the same work compared to those wearing a blue uniform? That wealth and fame would just be a way that heroes could be manipulated. Made more popular, and therefore, more profitable. Maybe it would be by the agency that they work for, maybe it would be through their sponsors, but do you really think heroes could remain impartial when they’ve got a leash like that on them?”

Tsutsumi gave Momo a look that was half critical, half pitying.

“The system wasn’t going to change. Even if you tried to bring it back, it would have devolved back into the state that it was before Jaku. No matter what good intentions anyone would have in trying to change things, the core of heroics would ultimately stay the same; law enforcement and rescue work based off of popularity, and you know that’s not a good idea, not with the kinds of things we have to do. A lot of times, our work is boring. Sifting through data, checking licenses, doing paperwork; it’s boring, but it’s also necessary. Sometimes our work is ugly. But we still have to do it. We wouldn’t be able to do our work if we had to worry about whether we look good.”

Momo frowned, thinking to herself as she ate. Tsutsumi leaned back in her seat and sighed.

“I can tell you’re not quite convinced, so let me paint a scenario for you; imagine for a minute that you are in an alternate timeline where the hero system didn’t fall. The UN and the WHA don’t come to Japan and investigate the HPSC, no one points out that they used child soldiers against an army counted in the thousands. There are still some scandals that get revealed; Endeavor abusing his family, Hawks working as an agent of the HPSC, and people are still angry at heroes for how things went so badly at Jaku,”

Momo stopped eating as she remembered the way people criticized the heroes, outright rioting over what they saw as their perceived incompetence, the wave of resignations that followed, and the criticisms towards the heroes that then resigned.

“But for whatever reason, there’s no real international response to any of this, at least nothing of substance. Maybe there was still a shake-up of HPSC, maybe some people were still arrested or fired,” Tsutsumi leaned towards Momo, “though you should probably know that they had plans in place for something like this; employees whose express purpose was to be scapegoats who knew just enough to get them in trouble, but lacked any real authority, that the president and all her executives could point fingers at and send to jail in their place. Heck, we’d be lucky if the government did any real investigation. Anything that they uncovered would have revealed another scandal that would make the country look bad at best, or implicate them as complicit at worst.” The former hero shrugged. “Maybe not. Maybe I’m just being paranoid after all. Maybe we came up with a new organization, maybe even with a new name. Most likely, it ends up getting staffed by people from the old HPSC, because who else would be qualified? We’ve got to have some organization providing oversight for the heroes, after all. In this world, you and your friends all went back to UA and you stayed in the same hero course.” Tsutsumi’s eyes narrowed on Momo, almost making her squirm in her seat. “Here’s something to think about though; how exactly would people see you at this point? Sure, you’ve worked with some pretty prestigious heroes, but how exactly did the general public see you before Jaku?”

Momo paused for a moment. She had done some work with Majestic and Yoroi Musha, but her most prominent public appearances…were still the Sports Festival and her internship with Uwabami.

“A shampoo commercial and an early loss in a gladiatorial contest that UA used as a metric to show students’ potential, even though that kind of combat hardly ever occurs in the field.” Tsutsumi illustrated. “And that’s just before Jaku. Afterwards, what do you think the difference would be? Heroes were already scrambling to salvage their reputations, but how did people look at what you and your classmates did? From what you’ve told me, things had gotten so desperate that they had to rely on you, a teenager with only a year’s worth of education, to try to come up with a plan to beat a monster that required someone with the power of All Might hitting with a suicide attack to stop.”

Momo grimaced, fighting the urge to curl up in herself. She remembered hearing new whispers directed towards her on top of everything else about her supposed failure in stopping Gigantomachia with her concentrated sedative. She had not anticipated just how long it would take for the sedative to take effect, or how much damage the monster could inflict before it reached Shigaraki.

“It was ridiculous that anyone would expect that of you, but they did, and results are what matter to the public. You, an heiress of one of the wealthiest families in the country, one that had their own finger on the heroics industry, who had gotten a Recommendation to the top Hero school in the world, and what would the public have known you for?”

Momo frowned in shame at herself and anger at Tsutsumi for opening up old wounds. Her mentor simply watched her with an impassive expression.

“I know I wasn’t the most popular.” Momo answered. “I had the entire school reminding me of this quite often in my first year, criticizing me for my failures, blaming my class, and especially me as their representative for all of the villain attacks and for Bakugou’s behavior. I had accepted that. But I wasn’t going to stop fighting then, and I wouldn’t have stopped fighting in your imaginary scenario.”

“Well, good for you!” Tsutsumi gave Momo a thumbs up and a toothy, All Might-esque grin. “Such incredible resolve in the face of adversity! What stick-to-itness! No matter what comes your way, if you work hard, you’ll persevere, right?” Tsutsumi’s exaggerated grin dropped into a flat look. “Except, that’s not how the hero system actually worked.”

Momo returned Tsutsumi’s flat look in response to her sarcasm, but Tsutsumi simply took another bite of her burger and went on.

“So, you come back to UA, you and your friends lick your wounds and try to go back to normal. Then, you have another Sports Festival. One of two things happens:” Tsutsumi held up one finger, “You get into the final round, which is always a combat tournament of some kind, and you lose to someone like Tokoyami again.”

“Hold on,” Momo held up her own finger. “I won my second Sports Festival. I even managed to beat Kendo at the end, and she has a powerful Quirk just like Dark Shadow.”

Tsutsumi shrugged and held up a second finger.

“That’s the second option. Both of those lead to you getting no internship offers though, at least nothing of value.”

Momo blinked a few times.

“…Excuse me?”

“Your Quirk is powerful. It might be one of the strongest and most useful Quirks imaginable. However, do you remember how well that worked for you in your first Sports Festival?”

Momo frowned, annoyed at being constantly reminded of that.

“Here’s the problem; your Quirk works best when you have time to prepare, time that any opponent you came across in that kind of fight wouldn’t give you. It’s like I said though, hardly any fight in the field is like that. Usually, you have time to prepare, and you’re not stuck in some open arena with set rules about things like ring outs. But that’s how the public and heroes judged your potential, so you’d always be at a disadvantage. Even if your school didn’t realize it, and I’ve got to question how they couldn’t after so long, the way that heroics was presented favored certain kinds of Quirks; big, flashy, and powerful. Heck, if Nishiya had ever gone to UA, she’d have slaughtered the competition there, but we all realize by this point how impractical Gigantification is in the field.”

“Except, again, I did do well in the Second Sports Festival.” Momo countered.

“A festival that no one was watching, and there were no internship offers at stake.”

“Maybe, but doesn’t that prove I could have done well in this scenario of yours?” Momo asked.

“Do you remember how you won that festival?” Tsutsumi asked in response.

“I distracted Kendo with a flashbang and shot her with a taser bullet while I was outside the effective range of her Big Fists.” Momo replied simply.

“A good, simple, effective way to handle a close-range threat.” Tsutsumi said, nodding her head as she ate. “Also, a way that would have made the public revile you.”

Momo simply stared at Tsutsumi with an annoyed frown.

“Why? What problem would people have with that?”

“First of all,” Tsutsumi started counting down on her fingers again, “Japanese people don’t like guns.”

This, Momo had to agree with. She and Shoji had agreed to learn how to use firearms early in their careers at UA at Izuku’s suggestion out of practicality, but she was surprised at how obstinate a lot of her other classmates were in their reluctance, if not outright refusal to handle guns. It was a culture that had existed since before the dawn of Quirks, and it was only with the dissolution of the hero system that people were starting to come to terms with the fact that guns were simply one of the most effective ways of neutralizing a target, particularly when they had an unknowable superpower.

“In fact, that culture has kind of extended over to a lot of support gear.” Tsutsumi added. “I don’t think that All Might was trying to dismiss their use entirely, but he went on record saying that he didn’t like to use support gear, saying that it was ‘unreliable’, and that’s an attitude that was reflected and reinforced by the hero system at large.”

Again, Momo recalled similar statements being made by Aizawa, and her discomfort at having to ignore such attitudes when she was working with Midoriya and Hatsume so much to learn how to produce her “Buster Cannon” and the other equipment she used to mimic her classmates’ Quirks.

“Not to mention, long-range combat in general, which your Quirk favors, was something that was looked down on in the old system. You know from Tsuragamae that the old system emphasized close-combat because it put on a better show for the public. The students that did the best in the Sports Festival were often the ones with those kinds of Quirks and attitudes; the nature of the competition was reinforcing those attitudes. The tactics that work best are often the ones that bore people the most.”

“Now hold on,” Momo interrupted, pointing at Tsutsumi, “You’re a long-range specialist, and you had a good rank…”

“Because it was artificially inflated by the HPSC.” Tsutsumi said, cutting Momo off. “They put my face everywhere, convinced companies to give me sponsorships, and made sure that media outlets were always talking about my accomplishments. That was one of the ways that they were able to manipulate me early on; it was hard for me to question what I was doing when everyone everywhere was singing my praises.”

Tsutsumi finished her burger while Momo was processing what her mentor was saying to her.

“Basically, if that were a normal Sports Festival, people would malign you for bringing support equipment into a match, even if you made it with your Quirk, and their previous bad impression of you would make them say that you were cheating, that you were using cheap tactics, and that it would show that you weren’t strong or noble enough to do heroics the ‘right’ way.”

Momo didn’t want to believe it, but that didn’t sound too far off from how she had seen the public act in the past; using an unrealistic standard to judge someone for something that they didn’t understand themselves. It wasn’t that different from how Hawks had been maligned for killing Twice. People had the belief that heroes didn’t kill, but Tsutsumi had taught Momo that was not the case.

“From the start, hero students end up in a rigged system that favors certain kinds of Quirks. Sure, they could get stronger with experience from internships and work studies after the Sports Festival, but most of the time UA students could only get those from performing well. The students that do well, get the internships, get more experience, and do better in the next Festival, and get better internships. You see the problem?”

“Wait…” Momo thought of something else to counter Tsutsumi’s arguments: “But people did acknowledge me! In my first year, I got a work studies offer from Yoroi Musha, and he was in the top 10!”

“Oh, Yoroi Musha?” Tsutsumi repeated. “You mean one of the highest ranked heroes to publicly retire and admit that he was motivated by fame and fortune? Yeah, I’m sure that was a great hero for you to be associated with.”

Momo paled again, imagining how people jeered Yoroi Musha at his announcement and how his actions may have reflected on her. She had also gotten to work with Majestic…but he had died in the Battle of Jaku, meaning that the people who had the best knowledge of her capabilities would have been gone.

“Still…I managed to get people’s attention once, why couldn’t I do it again even if I had to work from scratch?” Momo asked.

Again, Tsutsumi nodded.

“You did. But that was before Jaku. Afterwards, with everything else that would have piled up; what people perceived as your failure, an association with a disgraced hero, your association with your family…”

“Excuse me? What does my family have to do with this?” Momo asked, incredulous.

“Let me show you something;” Tsutsumi pulled her phone out and selected a social media app, flipping to roughly five years prior, after the Battle of Jaku. “Read some of these posts.”

Reluctantly, Momo looked at Tsutsumi’s phone.

“Why the hell hasn’t the government gone after the Yaoyorozus? They’re got just as much a hand in the HPSC as anyone else!”

“They’ve probably bribed everyone in the government and the UN investigators to get off of their backs. I guess the law doesn’t apply to you if you’ve got money.”

“Just look at the way their daughter acted in UA. They bought her way in so she could flaunt herself in commercials, even though she lasted less than ten seconds when it really counted! It’s just business as usual for them!”

Momo read through line after line of vitriol. She hadn’t spent that much time on social media, feeling closer to her friends and the people that she could speak in person to, so this was the first time that she had read anything like this. She knew that people had ridiculed her at the beginning of the year, but to see the sheer amount of venom directed towards not just her, but her parents by association made her feel disgusted.

“This is ridiculous.” She responded flatly.

“It’s not just this page though.” Tsutsumi flipped to several other outlets and their posts around the same time, and whenever they mentioned the Yaoyorozus, it was with the assumption that they had a hand in the corruption of the HPSC.

“Why though?” Momo asked incredulously. “My family’s never been involved in anything like this!”

Tsutsumi shrugged.

“Let’s be honest with ourselves, Yaomomo.” Tsutsumi said, picking up a fry. “Most of the wealth in this country is in the hands a few families. It’s been that way since before Quirks. Which means that most of how money gets spent here is decided by those families. Even if people are wrong about your family, it’s not that much of a stretch to believe that the HPSC was working with some of the others. That makes it easy for people to throw blame at you.”

“But this is ludicrous!” Momo shouted out loud. “My family has done nothing but help this country! All of the money my parents have given to charities, that we’ve donated to reconstruction efforts, all of the jobs we’ve created and saved, does that mean nothing to these people?”

“That’s probably why you only noticed this now.” Tsutsumi answered. “People might be dumb enough to blame your family for their problems, but they’re not dumb enough to do that when you’re one of the few people offering jobs to anyone.”

Momo reflected on what Tsutsumi said. It was true that the Yaoyorozu conglomerate had been invested in the support industry, and with the dissolution of the hero system, they had taken a hit due to the loss of those businesses. However, they were wealthy enough and had enough stocks in other industries that they were able to weather such losses. If anything, Yaoyorozu conglomerate had flourished after the fall of the hero system, as this had caused so many of their competitors to fail or move their businesses outside of the country, leading to them being the main investor and employer for the small businesses that were trying to fill in the gaps (such as the case when Momo brought the Uraraka’s construction firm to their attention.) They were likewise quick to take advantage of the legalization of public Quirk use and the opportunities that they provided, reworking their hero-associated interests to fit more mainstream production, such as buying out companies that made hero costumes and remodeling them to make clothes for people with transformation and mutation Quirks. In hindsight, much of the prosperity that Momo’s family had gotten over the years was because of the fall of the hero system. However, seeing what people were saying about her family made Momo wonder how she and her parents would be seen if that fall had not happened.

“Like I was saying,” Tsutsumi went on, taking her phone back, “you would have had to have dealt with basically the perfect storm of bad media. You were the victim of a system slanted against you, scrutinized as a Recommendation student, demonized for your failures, and associated with a family that many would assume to be corrupt.” Tsutsumi shook her head. “Even if there were heroes who respected you, it would have been too dangerous for their careers to take you on for an internship or as a sidekick when you graduated, and the same would go for any of your classmates that graduated with you. Unless they wanted to destroy their own reputations, they would have to avoid you.”

Momo glared at Tsutsumi, her mentor making an assumption about her friends that she did not appreciate.

“So, say you try to strike it out on your own; you’ve got another problem.” Tsutsumi said as she worked through her fries. “Nishiya talked to you about sponsorships, right?”

Momo paled, realizing where her mentor was going with this.

“Our society liked to spout the message that ‘if you work hard enough, you can accomplish anything!’ But that just isn’t true. Heroes needed the support of others, they needed people to give them a chance. They needed people willing to make support gear for them, they needed other heroes willing to patrol and cooperate with them, they needed police willing to share intel with them, and they needed to be someone that people would automatically think, ‘Hey, this guy will solve all my problems!’ for better or for worse. But people weren’t going to give a chance to someone with so many scandals associated with them, no matter how true they were.”

Tsutsumi gave Momo one more flat look.

“The fact is, if the hero system hadn’t been dissolved, you would have been stuck in mediocrity as a sidekick or a hero in the three hundreds at best. At worst, you would have a hero license that wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on, and stuck meandering along, the public never acknowledging your true potential, always seeing you for what they perceive as your failures or associating you with the corruption of the hero system, all the while they would be complicit in a part of it.” Tsutsumi swirled some ice cubes around at the bottom of her drink. “Most likely, after a few years, you would break. Maybe it would be like me. Maybe it would be like Mirko. Maybe you would just end it yourself.”

Tsutsumi was about to sip a bit of the water that had melted from her ice cubes when she also added:

“Oh, and by the way? In this world, I’m still in Tartarus, because there was no way in hell that the HPSC or the Japanese government was going to let me see the light of day with my knowledge of their dirty laundry. So, you can imagine why I would personally not want that kind of alternate timeline to come around.”

Momo stared aghast at how nonchalant Tsutsumi was in describing that scenario. In the past, she wanted to believe in the inherent goodness of people, to believe that they would do the right thing and be fair. However, the contempt people showed for her and her classmates in their first year, and what they showed towards heroes and law enforcement after the fall of the HPSC had long since demonstrated to Momo how petty, selfish, and short-sighted they could be, and it made that alternate timeline Tsutsumi spoke of seem all too possible.

“If this could have happened if the HPSC hadn’t fallen…why didn’t it happen here?” Momo asked.

“Because while there’s still a lot of things wrong with the way things are, at the very least, popularity doesn’t matter.” Tsutsumi answered. “The fact is, people had to accept you when you joined the police because you were one of the few willing to do so.” The former hero rolled her eyes in disgust. “Everyone was so used to someone else solving their problems for them that they’d grown too lazy and selfish to do it themselves.” She shrugged. “Good for you, I guess.”

Momo mulled over her mentor’s words, weighing the scenario that she depicted against the one that Sasaki had painted for her, and eventually spoke.

“Even if I’m unsure of whether things would have gotten as bad for me in this imaginary timeline as you assume, I can agree that it probably wouldn’t have allowed me to reach my fullest potential.” Momo closed her eyes and sighed. “I remember enough of how people could be so callous towards me simply in the school in my first year, and I suppose it makes sense that such toxic attitudes would have been reflected in our society as a whole. I’m certainly not proud of what I’ve seen in the populace so often when they show their true colors; being so quick to abandon and blame the people who were trying to protect them, to show such selfishness, bigotry, and prejudice, and yet do nothing about the problems they complain about themselves.” She opened her eyes and glared at Tsutsumi, challenging her. “I do not believe though that everyone would be as callous as you seem to think. I have faith in the people who believed in me, especially my friends, and I do not think that they would just abandon me to such an ignoble fate.”

Tsutsumi’s expression did not change, though Momo knew her well enough to know that she would doubt that assertion.

“I know you think that I’m naïve for believing that. Maybe they wouldn’t always know that I needed help or what was going on was wrong…I certainly remember the problem with our approaches to Bakugou and Mineta, but I think that if I needed help, they would provide it.” Momo looked down at the table.

“Though…it wouldn’t have just been me struggling though, would it? Even if I doubt some of the details of your world, everything that would happen to me could happen to someone else. Even if I took Sasaki’s offer to become the new Symbol or otherwise things would have been good for me…my classmates would probably suffer from similar issues, if not worse.” She admitted. The fact was, in their first year, 1-A had very few public victories. The USJ had put them in the spotlight in a way none of them wanted to be associated with, Bakugou painted them all as braggarts at the Sports Festival, there was the chaos of the Summer Camp attack, Iida’s foolish attack on Stain, Gentle Criminal crashing their concert at the Cultural Festival, all culminating in them being perceived to have failed against the League and Gigantomachia at Jaku.

“I can think of several of my classmates who would have been sidelined for vapid or foolish reasons despite having such great potential;” Momo started counting down on her fingers, “Sero has excellent mobility and capture capability that has suited him very well in the force, but was humiliated in the Sports Festival just like me. Hagakure has essentially become the backbone of our information network, but was almost always ignored for what people saw as a simple Quirk. Shoji…Shoji is one of the strongest, most effective officers I have ever met, with incredible sensory abilities, and is almost unbeatable in short and long range, but I’ve seen how people respond to him often enough to know that despite deserving to be in the top 10, people’s prejudice would always keep him at a low rank. There are just too many cases where we wouldn’t get the support we need because people would see us as unimpressive, unattractive, or incompetent because of a situation taken out of context."

Momo glared at Tsutsumi, not letting her comments about her friends abandoning her go.

“But I would have done what I could to help them. I think they would have done the same for me. Maybe I’m being naïve, but I trust them. As awful as things were for us the year before Jaku, I am grateful that I got to know all of them, that I got to have real friends for what was the first time in my life.”

Tsutsumi considered Momo for a moment.

“And what exactly do you think you could have done if they needed help? If the system hurt them that way?”

“Then I would have destroyed the system myself.” Momo answered.

Tsutsumi and Momo stared at each other for a moment before Tsutsumi grinned.

“Heh. I knew there was a reason why I agreed to take you on as my student.”

Momo smirked back before taking Sasaki’s card out. She sighed before tearing it into pieces and throwing it away in the garbage.

Perhaps it wasn’t accurate to say that “it was finally over,” at least from Momo’s point of view, though everyone was acting like it as they celebrated their graduation. The former Class A were drinking, talking, and laughing in relief, celebrating that they had made it through their three years at UA. Momo celebrated with them, enjoying their company, but she also knew that this was probably as easy as it was going to get for them. Soon, they were going to be starting their new jobs as members of the country’s emergency services, expected to be the backbone of Japan’s security fresh out of high school. No, Momo knew that things were not over, not by a long shot.

Still, she didn’t want to sour anyone’s evening, and she kept those thoughts to herself, letting herself enjoy the party with all of her friends. In the middle of the party though, Dark Shadow suddenly called out.

“Everyone! I’ve got a toast!” The Quirk lifted his drink, getting everyone’s attention. “We’ve…well, we’ve been through some shit.”

Everyone’s look became somber, though Dark Shadow continued.

“But from the start of our time here, even at our worse, we’ve had someone who’s been there for us. She held us together, she was the shoulder we could cry on, and she led us through the best and the worst times of our lives.” Dark Shadow turned to Momo with a grin. “This one’s for you, Yaomomo!”

Momo felt herself almost cry in appreciation as everyone cheered for her and she toasted Dark Shadow back.

These past few years had been hard. They had gotten scars that they were going to have to carry with them for the rest of their lives, all for a life different from the dream that they had put so much effort into. However, looking around at her friends, Momo felt grateful nonetheless.

The future was going to be hard, but it was there, and they were all going to fight for it together.

Chapter Text

For as long as Ayane could remember, there was the Rule.

Of course, she had to follow the same rules as everyone else; don’t lie, don’t steal, brush your teeth, etc. However, there were rules, and then there was the Rule.

For a while, Ayane didn’t realize that there were was the Rule, though she knew that there was something different about her family. Her mother wouldn’t go out with a hat, no matter the weather, her father wore colored contact lenses, but mostly it was something that she picked up on how they acted whenever they were in public and when they were at home. There was a tensity that most people never noticed around them whenever they went out in public, as if they could only breathe when they were back home, or with the Midoriyas. Then there was the fact that her parents always left Ayane with the Midoriyas once a month to go out on a “special trip.” Ayane loved being the with Midoriyas; she loved Aunt Inko’s hugs and her cooking, she loved how pretty and nice Eri was, she loved it when Josei let her ride on her shoulders, but she really, really loved Izuku, who always had a fun story to tell Ayane about the days of heroes, or a cool action figure to show her from his collection, one of which was a prized possession from her fourth birthday party. Ayane would always look forward to this time of the month…if it wasn’t for the fact that so often when her parents came back from their special trips, they seemed tired and sad. Sometimes, Ayane’s mom would just hold her in her arms for an hour, crying for a reason that she couldn’t explain to Ayane.

It was only when Ayane’s Quirk came in that she began to learn what the Rule was, why they existed, and why Ayane must never, ever break the Rule.

It happened when Ayane and her parents were at the beach with the Midoriyas, including Auntie Inko, Eri, Izuku, Josei, and baby Inori. Ayane was building a sand castle, mostly to entertain the giggling Inori (who, despite only being one year old, was already Ayane’s size,) when her hands started to itch. There was a spark, a flare of green light, and a loud “Pop!” that startled everyone. Ayane felt the itch in her hands again, but the pop frightened Inori, who began to cry. Josei quickly picked her up and began to rock her back and forth, as well as placing a pair of ear muffs on the baby’s head that muffled any noise.

“Ayane…what was that?” Izuku asked, kneeling down next to Ayane. For some reason, as frightened as Ayane was by the explosion, and especially by the fact that she had upset Inori, she couldn’t help but think that Izuku knew what it was from the start, as if he recognized what Ayane had done. There was also however almost a sense of fear she could see on her Mom and Dad.

“I…I don’t know…I just…my hands…” she looked frantically at the bawling Inori. “I…I didn’t mean to…”

“Hey…hey…” Izuku said soothingly, placing his hands on Ayane’s shoulders to calm her down. “It’s alright…Inori just got frightened by the loud noise, she’s going to be fine.”

Josei’s rocking quickly soothed Inori, and the tall fox woman gave Ayane a kind, reassuring smile while Inori was looking curiously back at Ayane again.

“Do you think you could show us what you did?” Izuku asked. “I think it should be alright now that Inori’s wearing her ear muffs.”

The adults and Eri were all standing around Ayane expectantly. Nervous, she pointed her hands out towards the water, and felt something in her hands flex; another pop and a flash blared out, this time colored blue. She did it again, and the pop flashed red, yellow, orange, purple, and back to green. Now that she was wearing her ear muffs, Inori giggled at the pretty flashes of light and color.

“I got my Quirk!” Ayane shouted in joy, immediately feeling a hug from Izuku.

“Congratulations, Ayane, it looks like a great Quirk!”

“ ‘Yane!” Inori squealed, probably not understanding the situation but excited that everyone was so happy nonetheless.

“That’s a really cool Quirk, Ayane!” Eri said.

“Good for you, sweety.” Aunt Inko said, giving Ayane her own gentle hug.

“Mama, Papa, I got my Quirk! I can make fireworks!” Ayane shouted, running up to her parents. Oddly enough, despite how big of an event this felt to Ayane, her parents seemed to be the least excited. They hugged her and patted her on the head, but neither were smiling. They actually seemed…scared.

“Mama?” Ayane asked.

Mitsuki and Masaru stared at their daughter for a moment, before looking over at the Midoriyas, who oddly weren’t that surprised by Mitsuki and Masaru’s reactions. Izuku and Aunt Inko gave Ayane’s parents sympathetic looks.

“Mitsuki…it’s going to be okay.” Aunt Inko said for some reason, her hand on the shoulder of Ayane’s mother.

“Do you want us to be with you when you talk to Ayane?” Izuku asked.

“…No…” Mitsuki finally responded. “I think we need to handle this on our own at first.”

The Haradas went home, where Ayane’s mom and dad sat her down at their kitchen table, sitting across from her.

“Is…is my Quirk bad?” Ayane asked, the question wearing on her conscience ever since she noticed how her parents had reacted.

“No, sweety.” Her father said, patting her on the shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with your Quirk, and we’re sorry about how we’re acting.”

“Why do you two seem so scared, though?” Ayane asked, upset.

Her mom and dad looked at each other, and pulled out a photo album.

“Ayane…” Mitsuki said, taking Ayane by the shoulders firmly, her eyes digging into her. The way her mother was looking at her made Ayane feel as if she couldn’t move, and she was scared. Her father, usually more patient, had the same look on his face. “We need to tell you something. However, for your own good, you cannot tell anyone else but the Midoriyas, because they already know. It needs to be a secret kept between all of us. Do not talk about this to anyone else. Don’t talk about this when anyone but us or the Midoriyas can hear. If you say anything about this and someone else hears about it, it could lead to you, your father, and I all getting hurt. We could lose our jobs, our house, and our friends. I wish that you didn’t have to deal with this secret, but we can’t avoid it. You cannot talk about this to anyone else, do you understand?”

Ayane nodded her head, feeling her heart in her throat.

“Yes, Mama. I won’t talk about it.”

Mitsuki sighed, giving Ayane a gentle hug to try to comfort her before opening up the photo album.

“Ayane…you have a brother.” Mitsuki explained, opening it up and displaying it to Ayane. In it were several pictures of a boy that looked like Ayane’s mother when she wasn’t wearing a hat; with wild blond hair, red eyes, his face usually showing a cocky smirk or an annoyed scowl, oftentimes flashing explosions in his hands like the ones Ayane has made, but only in the color yellow. Looking at the pictures, Ayane realized she recognized the boy from a framed photograph in her mother and father’s room. She had always asked who the boy was, but hadn’t received an answer until now. One picture was of the boy at the doctor’s office, where he was gleefully blasting off explosions while holding a Quirk Registration emblazoned with “Bakugou Katsuki-Quirk: Explosion.”

“Bakugou Katsuki…” Ayane read out loud (she could read two years ahead of everyone else in her preschool.) “Wait… ‘Bakugou’ isn’t our last name.” she pointed out, though this made her parents frown more.

“…It used to be.” Masaru answered wistfully. “We changed it to ‘Harada’ before you were born.”

“Why?” Ayane looked at the picture of her brother again, noticing the date on his Quirk Registry was eighteen years ago. “Why haven’t I met him?”

Mitsuki and Masaru frowned as they looked at each other before looking back at Ayane.

“…Katsuki’s in prison, Ayane.” Mitsuki answered.

Ayane felt her skin go cold.

“You mean he…what did he do?”

Mitsuki and Masaru grimaced.

“…Something bad, Ayane. Something really bad. We’ll tell you when you’re older, but he did something really bad.” Masaru said.

Ayane knew that she wasn’t going to get anything out of her parents after that, and didn’t try to press them.

“That’s where we go when you spend the day with the Midoriyas once a month, Ayane.” Mitsuki explained. “We still try to visit him whenever we can to make sure that he isn’t lonely.”

“We were planning on telling you about when you were older…” Masaru said uneasily, “but because your Quirk is so similar to his, we realized that you needed to know now.” Ayane’s father put his hand on her shoulder. “We had actually considered not telling you at all, not wanting to make you have to carry around a secret this big.”

“But…why do we need to keep this secret?” Ayane asked.

For the first time in Ayane’s life, she saw her father angry. He scowled, clenching his fists and closing his eyes in barely-restrained fury as he thought back to an unpleasant time in his life. Ayane recoiled beneath his gaze, which made Masaru realize he was scaring her, so he calmed down and gave her a hug. Ayane’s mother for her part just looked ashamed, defeated almost. That scared Ayane just as much.

“Sorry, Ayane. I’m not angry at you, it’s just…bad memories.” Masaru sighed. “Do you remember when we explained to you how some people think Josei is a villain just because she’s a heteromorph?”

It was Ayane’s turn to scowl, remembering a particularly unpleasant memory of when Izuku and Josei were taking her out to a restaurant, and some mean men started shouting at Josei and throwing rocks at her (Izuku took their picture and had them arrested for assault.) The thought made Ayane clench her fists together, and she felt her new Quirk activate unconsciously. The second that she started creating ‘pops’ in her hands though, her mother immediately stood up.

“Ayane, stop!” she said sharply, startling Ayane with how angry she had gotten. Mitsuki glared down on Ayane. “Never do that again! Never use your Quirk like that just because you’re angry!”

Ayane flinched at the sound of her mother yelling, making her want to cry. Masaru put a gentle hand on his wife and his daughter’s shoulders to try to calm them down. Mitsuki noticed how upset she had made Ayane and sat back down.

“…I’m sorry for scaring you.” She said. “It’s just that’s one of the things that Katsuki used to do; using his Quirk when he was angry and not controlling himself…you can’t use your Quirk that way.”

“Mitsuki…she’s not Katsuki.” Masaru reminded his wife, making Mitsuki look down at the table in shame.

“…I’m…I’m sorry…” she whispered to Masaru and Ayane.

Ayane’s father took another breath to calm himself and went on.

“Anyway, like I was saying about how people will judge Josei because of how she looks, or how people might judge Izuku because he doesn’t have a Quirk, there are a lot of people who will judge others because of their family.”

Ayane looked up at her father, frowning as she started to understand what he was saying.

“When Katsuki got arrested…” Masaru grimaced as he remembered those days again, “we got harassed a lot. People blamed us for what he did…”

“Maybe they were right…” Mitsuki muttered.

“Mitsuki…” Masaru interrupted his wife, squeezing her shoulder gently before turning back to Ayane. “People shouted at us, painted insults on our house, and threatened us. We used to run a different fashion business, but we lost all of our clients because of the scandal of what Katsuki did. We couldn’t leave the house without someone harassing us, and some of the stores where we went to wouldn’t serve us. We received death threats in the mail. It got to the point where we had to move and change our family name so that people would leave us alone. It’s why I wear colored contact lenses and why your mother always wears a hat in public. As far as anyone except the Midoriyas know, the ‘Bakugous’ vanished a few years ago.”

“We eventually were able to find new clients because of all of the changes in the economy,” Mitsuki explained before adding bitterly, “but considering how unfair people can be, we’re pretty sure that if anyone found out who we used to be, they would start attacking us again.”

The expressions of Ayane’s parents became fearful, and they each put a hand on her shoulders, holding her in place as if they were afraid of what might happen if they let go.

“That’s why we’re scared Ayane. What Katsuki did made a lot of people very angry and sad. If they drew a connection between him and you, they would treat you badly. A lot of people will treat others unfairly for dumb reasons, and if you accidentally revealed that Katsuki is your brother,” Mitsuki looked down at Ayane’s hands, “or if they even think that your Quirk is similar to his, they’ll judge you. You need to be careful.”

“O…Okay…” Ayane stammered. “I’ll be careful. I’ll keep it a secret.” She promised.

Mitsuki saw how scared her daughter had gotten. Feeling ashamed of herself for her outbursts and for scaring Ayane, Mitsuki pulled her into her lap and hugged her.

“You are a good girl, Ayane. You are a good girl. I’m sorry I shouted at you, that was wrong. Will you forgive me?”

Ayane nodded, relieved that her parents seemed to have calmed down. Unfortunately, they had also planted a new fear in her heart.

A fear, and a curiosity.

For a while after Ayane’s parents told her their secret, things didn’t feel that different. They had never talked about Katsuki before, at least not when Ayane was around, and Ayane was smart enough to know that he was still something that they were upset about, and not something to bring up. She hadn’t talked about him before, and she didn’t after, at least for a while.

The bigger matter for Ayane at first was her new Quirk. She was as excited about it as anyone else was; it was a new ability unique to her! However, her parents warned her about showing it off too much, stressing about how it might cause people to make the connection between her and Katsuki.

Thankfully, Izuku was there to help Ayane and her parents come to terms with her Quirk. A few days after Ayane’s parents had their talk with her about the Rule, he sat her down and made sure she understood that she shouldn’t be afraid of her Quirk, something which she had honestly been feeling after the talk, and which her parents later apologized for after Izuku explained that to them.

Izuku was a big help for Ayane in learning how to control her Quirk. Apparently, he had known Katsuki when they were younger, and had written a lot of notes on it that helped Ayane understand it. Really, her Quirk “Fireworks” was the exactly same as “Explosion”, just with the added effect that it used compounds like sodium, magnesium, and iron along with other substances that Ayane could consume to change the color and effect of her bursts. This ended up becoming important as it was just enough of a difference that by focusing on it, Ayane and her parents were able to pass Fireworks off as being unrelated to Explosion. That being said, there were a lot of other rules that Ayane had to follow in regards to her Quirk, though they were mostly common sense; you wouldn’t want to set off fireworks indoors or around fire hazards obviously. This meant that Ayane had to read up a lot on safety precautions such as fire safety, potential chemical hazards that could have bad reactions with her Quirk, but this wasn’t that difficult either. Most fire hazards were labeled with big, bright signs that you didn’t even have to read to notice; what kind of idiot would set off an explosion around something as clearly labeled as a propane tank, anyway?

While Ayane had a lot of fun with Fireworks when she first got it, as the years went by, it felt less like a big deal to her. She certainly liked it; it was a fun way to entertain Inori, and later Issho, along with her classmates, but that was basically all she could do with it, or rather wanted to do with it. Izuku had given her a bunch of ideas about the different ways that it could be used, even helping her to figure out a way to propel herself through the air with it, but it was hard work, and ultimately what she wanted to do with her life didn’t really have anything to do with her Quirk. Perhaps if hero work was still an option, Ayane would have been more interested in making Fireworks stronger, but since that wasn’t an option, she didn’t see much of a reason to work on it beyond what she would use for basic exercise. It was basically a nice toy, but not much more than that.

Then came the day that Ayane found out what “really bad thing” her brother had actually done. She was playing with some of her classmates in the playground when they started a game of “heroes and villains” (though it sometimes changed its name back to “cops and robbers” or “heroes and robbers”, etc.) Even though she didn’t like playing the role, Ayane volunteered to be the villain to be fair, which seemed to excite her classmates.

“Oh!” one of them cried out. “You could pretend to be Bakugou Katsuki!”

Ayane went pale.

“…Huh?”

“You know, Bakugou Katsuki!” the boy said. “Japan’s Last Villain! My mom and dad watched a documentary about his old middle school last night!”

“Oh yeah!” another boy added. “My parents saw that too! They told me about how Bakugou killed a bunch of people!”

“He…killed?” Ayane repeated.

“Yeah, he killed sixteen people, including a police officer.” A girl said. “My mom said that he used to be a hero student, but was so mean and so bad that the League of Villains tried to recruit him.”

“Why didn’t he join them if he was a villain though?” One of the boys asked, unaware of how Ayane’s heart was beating in her throat.

“Maybe he wasn’t strong enough.” Another boy answered, shrugging.

The game went on from there, with some of the other kids volunteering to be civilians that were killed by Bakugou, with Ayane pretending to blast at them (she refused to use her Quirk despite the others wanting her to, pointing out how unsafe that would be, but mostly feeling as if she couldn’t bring herself to use her Quirk at the time.) Eventually, Ayane found herself getting chased by the kids pretending to be police officers, who later made her sit in the jungle gym that they were using as a jail. By the time that the game ended, Ayane felt so sick that she had to ask the school nurse to call her mom to take her home. Only then did she finally break down crying, with her mom rubbing her back in an effort to soothe her.

“I’m sorry Ayane…I should have told you…I didn’t think you’d find out so soon…” Mitsuki said contritely.

“He killed them…he killed them…” Ayane whimpered, still remembering the feeling of being in the position of her brother, imagining what it would be like to lose control of one of her Fireworks and burn all of her friends, only to be caught by the police and locked in a jail for the rest of her life.

Maybe it was a result of Bakugou being put in the public conscience again by the documentary, or maybe it was only just then that he was truly brought to Ayane’s attention, but after that game she started to hear about her brother everywhere. He’d be referenced by politicians as a critique of the old hero system, used as a joke by comedians, or caricatured in drawings of graffiti as a monster. Every time he was brought up, Ayane felt a chill at the reminder that she was related to a man that had murdered over a dozen people, who was given the title of “Japan’s Last Villain”, and accredited as the one who killed the hero system (something that made Ayane’s mom angry. According to her there were a whole lot more people causing problems besides Bakugou; he just happened to be one of the most noticeable targets.) Ayane began to imagine how people might treat her if they knew she was Bakugou’s little sister; to be related to someone who had brought such shame on the entire country, and to understand the need for the Rule. Playing the game and hearing about what Katsuki had done made it clear to Ayane why the Rule was so important; she didn’t want to be seen as someone who would suddenly snap and kill over a dozen people.

Thankfully, Ayane’s tendency to not use her Quirk that often out of safety concerns outside of putting on a short show in safe areas and her different application of it kept most people from making any kind of connection between her and the Quirk of “King Explosion Murder.” Those that might consider the connection would usually dismiss it after looking at Ayane. She wore her hair long in a ponytail, and while she liked to roughhouse and run around with other kids, she came off as demure enough when she played with other girls that it would seem to be a big leap to connect her with a boy that had to be chained like a dog at the Sports Festival. Masaru was inconspicuous enough in his appearance that he could go out in public without anyone recognizing him as the father of Bakugou Katsuki. In Mitsuki’s case, the other parents that she interacted with had a tendency to misjudge her age to be far younger than she actually was due to her Quirk keeping her skin from getting noticeable signs from aging. If anyone noticed that she looked similar to Japan’s “Last Villain”, they dismissed it easily enough with the assumption that she was too young.

Keeping the secret of Ayane’s connection to Katsuki wasn’t easy, at least mentally, but it was something that she got used to. It just became a taboo that Ayane knew not to bring up in public. When she got older, Ayane realized that as worried as her parents were for what might happen if people found out that Katsuki was her brother, the secret, or at least having a family secret wasn’t that unusual. Everyone had something to hide, something that they had to carry. It was just something that they learned to live with.

That didn’t mean that she didn’t hate it though. She hated carrying this secret around with her, having such a perpetual fear over something that she hadn’t done, the idea that people would see her as someone who would go and do something so horrible. She wondered why her brother would have done such horrible things, what could have driven him to do that, and perhaps, in her darker moments, what could drive her to do something like that.

After Ayane’s parents first told her about Katsuki, and the shock of what he had done had passed, Ayane began to realize that not talking about him simply made her feel worse. She felt that her parents not talking about him made them feel worse too, so she started to ask about him again. While Mitsuki and Masaru were first startled by this, they slowly opened up, and were a lot more open about Katsuki when it was just the three of them. They showed her pictures of Katsuki in their photo album, talked to her about what he was like when he was younger, showed Ayane his old collection of All Might merchandise (which was cool, but it wasn’t as good as Izuku’s,) even growing to have fond expressions as they reminisced about better times. As disturbed as Ayane was by what her brother had done, she was glad that he had at least left their mother and father with some good memories; she felt better when they were happy. Through these conversations, Ayane began to feel a connection with her older brother; she got ideas about how her Quirk could be used, she learned his favorite All Might movies, and heard about his successes. Granted, he sounded like an egotistical jerk and his successes clearly went to his head, but his successes were there. He had gotten into UA, having obtained the highest score in his year, and won the Gold Medal in his Sports Festival (again, Ayane could have done without him insulting everyone at the student pledge, using excessive force against his opponents in the Battle Tournament, or otherwise acting so violently that he had to be chained and muzzled like a dog to be given his medal.)

Along with having a similar Quirk, Ayane realized that had also shared her brother’s love of heroes. She loved looking through his old merchandise, imagining herself wearing a costume and fighting villains, all to the cheers of an adoring crowd. Of course, heroics was no longer a possible career. She could potentially join the police, which Izuku told her was what happened with most heroes anyway, but that wasn’t really what she wanted to do. She was still enamored with the idea of heroes from the movies that Izuku showed her, the collections of action figures, models, costumes, and even what she knew of her brother’s time in the Sports Festival. Perhaps if more time had passed without Ayane finding direction in her life, she would have simply shrugged and chosen to pursue work in Emergency services anyway. However, Ayane found her muse not long after she got her Quirk.

As her parents had explained to Ayane, they had managed to rebuild their fashion business after changing their name, but this meant that they were working essentially from the ground up, which required that they bring their work home with them instead of leaving it to an employee. This was how Ayane found herself climbing up onto her mother’s lap one day while she was busy drawing.

“Mama…is that a hero costume?” Ayane asked, staring in awe at the drawing of the fancy red dress that her mother was working on.

“Hm?” Mitsuki remarked before chuckling. “No, this is just an idea for a new lineup. What made you think it was a hero costume? It’s just a dressing gown.”

“Look at it!” Ayane pointed out. “It looks just like what Ryukyu used to wear!”

Mitsuki looked closer.

“Huh.” She remarked. “I guess you’re right. It does look like her old qipao.”

“Oh!” Ayane pulled out another drawing of a blue and red ensemble. “And this looks like Edgeshot’s robes! And this is the same pattern on Majestic’s costume!” she pointed out an outfit with a bizarre mismatch of different fabrics and patterns that Mitsuki had been trying to pull together. Mitsuki picked up the drawings Ayane had pointed out, looking at them more critically.

“…Have I really just been copying hero costumes?” Mitsuki remarked, looking at the clothes Ayane pointed out.

“Why do you act like that’s a bad thing?” Ayane asked. “They look cool! Could you show me how to make these?”

Mitsuki looked at her daughter in surprise for a minute before laughing.

“Well, I suppose if it works! Sure, let me show you…”

Talking to her mom and dad about their work quickly became one of Ayane’s favorite pastimes, something that they were happy to oblige her with. Eventually, this grew into a desire to make clothes herself; she wanted to try to capture the same feeling of awe and excitement that she got when she looked at pro heroes. That wasn’t to say that it was easy; learning to sew was hard and involved a lot of pricked fingers. Some of the designs that Ayane drew up were either garbage or too obviously copying a different idea, something that felt lazy to her. However, getting to spend time with her parents, looking at all the different and bold styles that heroes wore, and figuring out how to turn them into something that people could wear for everyday use quickly became a passion for her, and no matter the setbacks, she kept on working. Over time, she felt as if she was getting better, and her parents were praising her work. For Inori’s fourth birthday, Ayane managed to make a sweater that was inspired by Mt. Lady’s old costume, and the little girl loved it.

As Ayane grew up and started to approach her ninth birthday, the connection she felt with her brother through her parents’ stories led to her wanting something. Perhaps seeing the way that some of her friends and classmates had siblings made her want a deeper connection with Katsuki. Perhaps she just didn’t like the idea of being afraid of him, of herself, or of what other people might think if they knew of their connection, and wanted to put those fears to rest. Maybe she just didn’t like having the Rule hanging over her head. Whatever the case, one day, Ayane made a request of her parents.

“Can I visit Katsuki with you guys?”

Mitsuki and Masaru paled. They looked at each other, almost as if they were having a silent conversation, before turning to Ayane.

“…Are…are you sure you want that?” Mitsuki asked after a moment’s hesitation.

“Well…yeah! I know he’s done bad things…” Ayane admitted. “But he is my brother.”

Mitsuki looked at Ayane for a moment, her expression softening despite her worry.

“Ayane…” Mitsuki said, putting her hand on her daughter’s shoulder, “Katsuki…can be very difficult. He can say and do some awful things, and I’m not sure if you would like it if you met him. There…there have been a few times where I’ve left him crying. There have actually been a few times when we weren’t allowed to see him because he tried to break out of prison. He…keeps acting as if he shouldn’t be there.”

Ayane frowned. She knew that this probably wasn’t going to be pleasant, that her parents might argue that she wasn’t old enough, but then her father spoke up.

“Sometimes Katsuki doesn’t want to see us, Ayane, but there have been a few times when I think he was glad for the company, even if he wouldn’t admit it. How about this; we’ll ask him the next time we see him if he wants to meet you.”

“And if he says yes, I can visit him?” Ayane asked hopefully for reasons even she didn’t quite understand.

“If he wants to, and if you’re sure.” Mitsuki answered. “Just…remember, sometimes he doesn’t want to talk even to us, so he might not want the company. Maybe something else you could do too would be to write a letter?” Mitsuki suggested. “You could write a bit about yourself to let him know about you. We could give it to him the next time that we meet, and see how he feels about the idea of meeting you.”

“Thank you, Mom and Dad!” Ayane said, smiling as she gave her parents a hug. They returned it, though they looked at each other warily. Ayane could feel their concern. She even felt it herself a bit, but she had decided that this was something that she needed to do.

Ayane sat down in her room and started working on her letter…and stopped. What exactly could she write? There were a lot of things that she wanted to talk about, but she had enough sense to recognize that “Why did you kill those people?”, “Why didn’t you just become a police officer?”, and “Why do you keep making Mom cry?” weren’t appropriate to put down. What exactly could she write to someone whom she had never talked to before, and who had murdered 16 people?

Ayane shook her head. She couldn’t think of Katsuki that way, she couldn’t think of him as a murderer. She needed to just treat him as her brother. She got to work:

Dear Katsuki

I haven’t gotten to talk to you, but Mom and Dad told me about you a few years ago, and I thought that it would be nice to try to get to know you. I’m Ayane, your little sister. I’m eight now, but I’m almost nine.

I’d like to visit you. Would you mind that? I’d like to talk to you and get to know you more. I’ve only ever heard stories from Mom and Dad…and other people, but I thought that it would be nice to meet you face to face. Mom said that I should send you a letter so you can get to know me a bit before we meet.

Mom and Dad told me that you really liked heroes, and even got into UA! I saw an old recording that we had of your Sports Festival, and I thought that you were really cool! I thought that your fight against Uraraka was the best (it sounds like you were being harsh on her, but Mom and Dad tell me that’s just how you fought.) I think that heroes were really cool and I wish that heroes were still around. My favorite hero’s All Might, but I also really like Ryukyu and Edgeshot because of their costumes and their Quirks. (Also, dragons and ninjas are just cool.)

I hope that I’ll get to see you soon!

Love,

Ayane

The next time that Ayane’s parents left her with the Midoriyas to visit Katsuki, she spent the day in nervous anticipation, waiting to hear back about a time that she could finally meet her brother. When Mitsuki and Masaru picked her up though, they looked at her with sad expressions.

“Sorry, Ayane…” her father explained, wincing as he struggled over what to say, “but…he wasn’t interested in meeting you yet.”

Ayane frowned, her excitement fizzling out like a deflated balloon.

“Why not?”

Mitsuki and Masaru exchanged worried looks, and Ayane knew that whatever their answer was going to be, they weren’t going to be telling her everything.

“He’s…just like that, sometimes.” Mitsuki explained. “He’s really stubborn. It’s hard to break through to him.”

Ayane noticed that didn’t really answer the question, but her parents looked upset and she chose not to push the issue.

“Did…did he get my letter, at least?” she asked.

“He did.” Masaru said, nodding his head. “Don’t worry, he did.”

“Do you know when he might write back?”

Again, Ayane’s parents grimaced.

“We’re not sure.” Mitsuki answered. “He doesn’t usually write back himself. But, hey!” she remarked, kneeling down to Ayane’s level. “Don’t let this get to you. You can always send him more letters and we can try again next time!”

Ayane huffed, realizing that this was the best that she was going to get for now, but resolved to try again. She wrote another letter, and sent it…to no response. After this, she thought that it would be better to just wait until her parents went to visit Katsuki to write another letter and try again to meet with him. She waited a month, with her parents carrying another letter, only for them to come back with the same response.

While Mitsuki and Masaru wouldn’t say as much, Ayane got the sense that Katsuki didn’t like her. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she wished that he would say something. There were a lot of times that she thought that it wasn’t worth getting worked up over a brother that she had never met. However, despite his apparent disinterest in her, and despite what he had done to end up in prison in the first place, he was still Ayane’s brother, and she persisted.

A few months after Ayane’s first attempt to connect to Katsuki though, something different happened. Her parents dropped her off with the Midoriyas in the early morning like usual, where she would be stay until the late afternoon. This day however, Mitsuki and Masaru came back in midday. Both looked even paler than usual as they pulled Ayane aside.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

The two sighed.

“Katsuki tried to escape again, so the visit got cancelled. It’s going to take a while before he’ll be allowed visitors again.” Masaru answered. Mitsuki seemed on the verge of tears, and Ayane quickly hugged her mother, trying to comfort her.

“It’s…not all bad.” Mitsuki sniffled, trying to put on a cheerful façade for her daughter. “We can still write letters, and we should be allowed to visit again in a few months…”

“Yeah!” Ayane said out loud, recognizing that her mother was trying to grasp onto whatever silver lining she could find. “Maybe we could all write him a letter together!”

“That…that would be nice!” Mitsuki said, rubbing Ayane’s head, still trying to keep a happy face up. “Let’s…let’s see if Izuku and Josei have some paper we can borrow!”

The three ended up spending the day at the Midoriyas’ home. Izuku and Josei made sure that they had some space to write in private, and after which the Midoriyas did all they could to make Mitsuki and Masaru feel welcome; they prepared a big meal, watched movies, played games, it should have been a great day. It didn’t change the fact that once Ayane’s parents took her home, she could hear her mother crying in her room.

It was six months before Mitsuki and Masaru could visit Katsuki again. In that time, Ayane still didn’t get a response from any of the letters that she sent, though neither did her parents. When they came back from their visit though, they sat her down again at the table.

“Ayane…Katsuki said that he’d like to meet you.” Mitsuki said with a nervous smile.

“Really!?” Ayane said excitedly.

“I mean…not in as many words, but sometimes you have to tease out what he actually means.”

“So…I can finally visit him?” Ayane asked.

“Next month, you can, if you want.” Masaru said, though he reached out to put a hand on Ayane’s. “But Ayane, we want you to make sure that you actually want to do this. We’ve warned you that talking with Katsuki can be difficult, and if you decide later that you don’t want to visit him, you don’t have to.”

Ayane heard what her father said, but she had made a decision that she was going to talk to her brother one way or another, and she was going to do it. If she had to wait until she was 18, she would have. The next month she spent in nervous anticipation, wanting to finally get to see someone that she had never talked to, and yet still had such a huge impact on her life, even if it wasn’t in the best way. The next few weeks, she was plagued by everything that could go wrong; what if Katsuki changed his mind? What if he tried to break out again and they couldn’t visit? What if he tried to attack them? (Ayane didn’t think that he would, but some of what people said about him suggested the opposite.)

Finally though, the day arrived. Despite going to a prison of all things, Ayane was dressed nicely, wanting to make a good impression. Izuku and Josei both visited Ayane’s family before they set out, giving her a hug and wishing her luck.

Ayane didn’t account for how long the trip itself would take, requiring that the family take a bullet train for four hours. Once they arrived at the bridge to Tartarus, Ayane was feeling understandably antsy. This however was only the beginning, as it took another hour simply to go through all the procedures to check in. There was a stack of paperwork that Mitsuki and Masaru had to fill out, their pockets had to be emptied, they were each questioned, and they were put through several scanners to check for contraband before being put on an armored shuttle. As they crossed over the five-kilometer bridge over crashing waves to the prison, it started to weigh on Ayane just how dangerous of a place this was.

“Tartarus used to be a lot worse, apparently.” Masaru mentioned idly as he noticed Ayane shivering. “When the HPSC fell, the UN did an investigation of the prison and had to overhaul it for human rights violations.” He spoke, perhaps just saying the first thing that came to his mind in an effort to distract his daughter from her fear. “It’s a lot nicer now…at least for the upper levels. Katsuki’s able to exercise, talk with other people, use the library…” He mused, grimacing. Ayane though still looked at the approaching prison in fear.

“There was some debate over where Katsuki should be sent.” Mitsuki explained bitterly. “We tried to get a lawyer who could send him to a nicer prison, but all the media attention he had gotten really screwed him over. Not to mention, the fact that he keeps trying to break out kind of proved the prosecution’s point…”

The shuttle entered a garage in the prison, where a heavy metal door sealed behind them. Ayane clung to her parents as they went through another series of scanners, questions, and bleak, empty white hallways. Finally, Ayane and her parents reached a reinforced door. Before they entered though, Mitsuki and Masaru bent down, looking at Ayane.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” Mitsuki said. “We know that this is scary.”

Ayane though shook her head. Maybe she was just being stubborn, but she was here, and she wasn’t backing down now.

“Alright.” Mitsuki whispered as she and Masaru took Ayane’s hands and guided her through the door.

Ayane found herself in a big white room, or at least half of one, as the room was split by a big pane of glass. Ayane’s parents guided her to one of three chairs on their side of the room. On the opposite side sat Katsuki.

Ayane had seen pictures of her brother when he was younger; he resembled Ayane and her mother the most, the main difference being that Mitsuki had encouraged Ayane to grow her frizzy blonde hair out more. Before his arrest, Katuksi was slightly taller than most people his age, but with far more noticeable muscles. Now though, he was taller than both of his parents and had a physique that resembled Endeavor’s. He’d certainly look like a hero were it not for his orange prison fatigues, scars all across his knuckles, and a contemptuous scowl he was currently directing towards Ayane.

“Hey Katsuki.” Mitsuki said, smiling despite her son’s apparent disinterest in her.

“Hey, son.” Masaru added. His and his wife’s smiles faltered though when they noticed how Katsuki was looking at Ayane. She repressed a gulp and spoke up.

“…Hi, I’m Ayane. I’m your sister.”

Katsuki glared at Ayane for a moment.

“…Katsuki?” Mitsuki asked warily.

“What’s your Quirk?” Katsuki suddenly barked.

Ayane blinked, caught off guard by the question.

“My…Quirk?”

“What, you fucking deaf or Quirkless? What’s your Quirk?”

“Katsuki, what the hell?” Mitsuki growled. “Don’t talk to her like that!”

Katsuki thought kept on ignoring everyone but Ayane. Something about him; his arrogance, his dismissal of their parents, and even something about the way he focused on Ayane’s Quirk of all things rubbed her the wrong way. She supposed she should have expected something like this. However, Ayane wasn’t going to let someone like this intimidate her, no matter who they were.

“…Fireworks. I can make colored explosions from my hands.”

“Show me” he ordered.

“Indoors? With these guards around?” Ayane pointed out.

“Sounds like the dollar store version of my Quirk, anyway.” Katsuki answered, looking away, bored.

“Katsuki…” Masaru spoke up, showing a rare display of anger, “this is your sister. She wants to get to know you. The least you can do is try to meet her halfway.”

“I don’t really care about it that much anyway.” Ayane said, almost as a challenge. “It’s nice to show off to my friends, but that’s about it. It’s not as if I could really use it to do what I want to do with my life anyway.”

Katsuki gave Ayane a contemptuous look.

“Yeah? What do you want to do, then?”

“I want to become a fashion designer, like Mom and Dad.” Ayane answered with pride. Katsuki though just looked bored.

“Tch. What a waste. They have you as a replacement and you can’t even be bothered to make something worthwhile with your Quirk.”

Ayane recoiled from her brother’s comment.

“Katsuki, how the hell could you talk to your sister like this?!” Mitsuki shouted, standing up from her chair while Masaru held Ayane’s hand. “I would have thought that out of all of the people you’d show respect for, you’d at least do it for her!”

There was silence from Katsuki, either out of being cowed by his mother or not caring enough to answer. Mitsuki and Masaru were both tensed, and Ayane could tell that they were close to leaving. She tried to start again.

“What exactly do you think I should be doing then? There aren’t any more heroes, so I couldn’t use my Quirk for that, and I’m not really interested in becoming a police officer.”

“They’re just quitters.” Katsuki scoffed. “They’re extras who joined that worthless new system or gave up. They just dropped everything and let it die.”

“So, what, you think I should become a vigilante? Isn’t that what got you here in the first place?” Ayane challenged, angry at the insult towards Izuku’s workplace, ignoring the squeeze her father gave her shoulder in warning not to provoke her brother.

“If people had just let me do my thing, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” Katsuki shouted. “So a bunch of extras got in my way, big fucking deal! Heroes separated the chaff from the wheat, the people that mattered from the extras!”

Ayane leaned back, finding it hard to understand how her brother thought and realizing with every passing second how little she wanted to be there right now. She wanted to try one last time though to make a connection…or at least try to defend the people she cared about.

“I think heroes are great.” She agreed. “But they aren’t all there is. My godfather Izuku works with the police and he…”

“Deku?” Katsuki suddenly asked, staring at Ayane.

“What?” Ayane asked, confused. She thought for a moment that ‘Deku’ could be a shortened form of ‘Dekiru’, but considering who she was talking to, she realized pretty quickly that he meant ‘Dekunobu.’ “No…I said ‘Izuku.’”

“I know who fucking Deku is.” Katsuki growled standing up, the guards behind him readying their batons.

“Katsuki…” Mitsuki growled, and for the first time, Katsuki actually looked at her, albeit with a disgusted expression.

“You made that worthless Deku her godfather? You trying to pull the same shit you did with me?”

“His name is Izuku.” Ayane growled, standing up from her chair and glaring at the jerk on the other side of the glass. “And he’s not worthless. Izuku’s the coolest person I know! He’s the one who taught me how to use Fireworks!”

Katsuki stared incredulously at Ayane through the glass for a moment before shouting back.

“The fuck!? You let Deku tell you how to use your Quirk!? No wonder you’re so weak! Deku’s a worthless, Quirkless pebble, and if he had any sense, he’d have taken a swan dive when I told him to!”

Ayane went pale. His brother had told Izuku to kill himself?

“Fuck you, asshole!” Ayane shouted back, angrier than she had ever been in her life. “He’s more of a hero than you!”

“Say that again!” Katsuki shouted stepping right up to the glass. “You say that again, you little…”

“That’s enough.”

Masaru’s voice somehow cut through the tumult, drawing the attention of the rest of his family as he stood up and took Ayane’s hand and the guards grabbed a hold of Katsuki on his side.

“I’m not going to let you talk to your sister like this or make her listen to your sick views, Katsuki.” He said, glaring at his son in anger and disappointment. “We’re done. Goodbye.”

Masaru turned Ayane and Mitsuki around and walked out, not looking behind him again.

Ayane’s family didn’t head straight out of the prison though. Instead, they headed to a waiting room. It was still almost as austere as the rest of the prison, but there were a few token efforts to make it feel more welcoming; a stack of old magazines, some leather furniture. Ayane wanted to just leave, to not even bother with the train and run the whole way back. However, as soon as her parents had her sit in one of the chairs, she realized how exhausted she felt, trembling as if she really had run that distance. Her parents both enveloped her in a hug.

“We’re sorry, Ayane…” Mitsuki said. “We should have made sure that he wasn’t going to say those kinds of things…”

Ayane didn’t answer immediately. It wasn’t her parents’ fault. She knew the kind of person her brother was; she had heard about what he had done, how he acted in school, she had seen how he had behaved in the Sports Festival. What else was she expecting?

“I…I thought that maybe…he wasn’t like how everyone said…I thought…if he was trying to be a hero, maybe that showed people were wrong…”

Ayane felt her parents hug her tighter.

“Everyone thought that Ayane, it’s not your fault for wanting to think better of him.” Mitsuki said.

“He…did…did he hurt Izuku?” Ayane whimpered. She felt her mother shiver before she pulled away and made herself look at Ayane.

“…Yes. He did. We didn’t know until after he had gotten arrested. No one at their school ever said anything…but we should have known better after Izuku stopped coming over, and Katsuki started calling him that awful name.” she admitted. “When Katsuki was young…he wasn’t like this, but he could still be selfish and arrogant, and liked to start fights. We were happy that Izuku was friends with him, we thought that he’d be a good influence…” Mitsuki said with tears in her eyes. “We should have noticed…we should have done something…” she was stopped from crying more by Masaru’s hand on her shoulder.

“When we visit…we don’t usually talk about Izuku. This is the first time that he’s come up in a while.” He explained. “We hoped that over time, Katsuki would realize that he was wrong to treat Izuku like that, that he was wrong about Izuku, that he might realize why we wanted him to learn from Izuku. I suppose that even after all this time though, he’s held on to his views on Izuku the same that he has on…everything else.” Masaru admitted, lowering his head contritely.

Ayane looked at her hands. She could feel her Quirk beneath her skin, ready to spark and burn. She remembered watching how Katsuki had used his Quirk on others in the Sports Festival. He was skilled with it, more adept than most of his classmates. People weren’t allowed to use their Quirks in public, which would have made training them difficult, and yet Katsuki for some reason had no issue with that, already knowing how to use his Quirk in combat…almost as if he was used to using it on other people.

Ayane remembered going to the beach with the Midoriyas, and seeing strange, faint marks on Izuku’s skin. She had always thought that they looked like hands.

Would her Quirk have made a burn like that?

Her parents didn’t say anything, but they seemed to be able to sense how upset Ayane was, and they hugged her again, grounding her. After a moment, she felt brave enough to ask another question.

“Mom, Dad? Am…Am I a replacement?” Ayane asked.

“No.” Mitsuki answered immediately, taking Ayane’s head in her hands. “If we were trying to replace Katsuki, we wouldn’t still be visiting him.”

The point made Ayane pause for thought, and she felt her father put his hand on her shoulder.

“We had you because we wanted to, Ayane. We wanted to raise another child, and so we had you.” Masaru explained. “Even with as bad as things got with Katsuki, we still love him. But we love you for who you are too, and we wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Ayane felt tears prick her eyes. Her parents hugged her again, and she returned it this time.

There was a knock on Ayane’s door.

“Ayane? It’s me. Can I come in?” Izuku’s voice spoke from the other side of the doorway. Ayane had been lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling when she heard her godfather. She had thought that she wanted to be alone for a bit with her thoughts, but she didn’t want to ignore Izuku. She walked to the other side of her room past her collected hero memorabilia and some of the fabric patterns that she had been working on before opening the door.

“Hey, Izuku.” She said with wane enthusiasm.

Izuku smiled despite her lukewarm greeting.

“Would you mind if we sat down so I could talk to you?”

Ayane could guess what this was about. While it had been better that she had talked to her parents immediately after leaving her meeting with Katsuki, she still carried some baggage with her that she couldn’t easily explain to anyone. She nodded anyway and walked back over to the bed, where Izuku sat down next to her.

“So, how are you feeling? Your Mom and Dad told me that your meeting with Katsuki didn’t go very well.”

“I’m okay, I guess.” Ayane answered dismissively.

“Okay.” Izuku said. He didn’t look completely convinced, but didn’t try to push it either. If he had, Ayane might have gotten defensive, but ironically his quiet presence made her want to talk more.

“…Izuku…you knew my brother when you were younger, right?” she asked hesitantly.

“I did.” He answered. “We were friends when we were younger, we had the same homeroom in elementary and junior high, though we stopped seeing each other by the time that we went to UA.”

Ayane stared at Izuku, and he sighed.

“And…he was my bully.” He admitted, without elaborating on it further.

Ayane clenched her fists together nervously. What she was about to ask could make her godfather uncomfortable, but if she had asked him this earlier, it might have made her first meeting with Katsuki easier.

“…What was he like when you knew him?”

Izuku looked up at the ceiling.

“Well…he was probably the most determined person I have ever met. He had a lot of natural talent, both with his Quirk, and with a lot of other things in his life, but he didn’t just sit on his laurels, and spent as much time as he could on making himself stronger. He was strong, confident, and seemed like the kind of guy who would always win. In a lot of ways, he seemed like the ideal hero.” Izuku explained almost wistfully before he looked at Ayane, and frowned. “Some of that might have been me wearing rose-tinted lenses though. When I got to UA, I got to know other people who worked just as hard, if not harder, but for reasons other than themselves. While Katsuki was certainly tenacious in his pursuits, that had less to do with improving himself and more with making sure he was better than everyone else.” Izuku leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. “Honestly, that was probably his driving motivation through most of his life. I admired his determination to win, but that sometimes came at the expense of other’s well-being…usually mine.” He admitted. “Katsuki loved to lord what he saw as his superiority over others, and it made it so that when he saw people who were more talented than him, like when he got to UA and met people like Yaoyorozu, or when he thought that someone was trying to improve themselves so that they could compete with him…like with me…I guess that made him feel insecure, and led him to lashing out, trying to put others down.”

“…He sounds like he was a jerk.” Ayane pointed out. Izuku sighed again.

“Yeah. He was.”

Ayane looked down at her clenched hands, working up the nerve to finally talk about what had been bothering her.

“Izuku…am I like Katsuki at all? It’s just…” Ayane gripped her hands together nervously. “Mom and Dad warned me that if people found out that Katsuki is my brother, they might see me the same way they see him. Sometimes though, I hear about something Katsuki did, and it makes me wonder if I’m like him.”

Izuku smiled.

“To answer your concerns, no, you are not like your brother, Ayane.” He looked around the room, noting the fabric patterns that she had been working on. “You have his determination to succeed, but in your case it’s to push yourself to be better, not better than others, but to just be better, whether it’s a better student, a better designer, or just a better person, and it’s something that I really admire about you.”

Ayane blushed, still not entirely sure of herself, but Izuku went on;

“You have a similar Quirk, but you don’t see that as something that really defines you.” He shrugged. “I have seen you get angry like him, but it’s for good reasons, like when you saw Josei getting attacked by those thugs.”

Ayane pouted at the dig at her temper, but Izuku just smiled.

“But one of the biggest ways you’re not like your brother? He would never open himself up like you are now. He would have seen this as being ‘weak.’ So, you’re definitely a lot more mature than he is.”

Ayane snorted in laughter at the thought that Izuku saw a ten year old as more mature than a twenty-eight year old man. It gave her the courage to look up at Izuku and take in what he said. Seeing her cheer up a bit, Izuku gave her a hug, which she eventually returned.

“Izuku?”

“Yes?” He asked, pulling away to look at Ayane. She looked at the floor, nervous.

“Would…would I be bad if I didn’t want to see Katsuki again?”

“No.” Izuku answered firmly, putting his arm over Ayane’s shoulders. “Your brother hurt you, and you shouldn’t have to put yourself in a situation where he could hurt you again.”

Ayane peeked up at Izuku once, only to look away again before mumbling another question.

“…Would it be bad if I did want to see Katsuki again?” Ayane asked, worried that Izuku would think that she was being stupid.

“I don’t think so.” Izuku said with a shrug, much to Ayane’s surprise. “Sometimes I wonder if I should visit him myself.”

Ayane looked up at her godfather in shock.

“But…he hurt you. He said awful things to you. Why would you ever want to talk to him?”

“Well…” Izuku though before answering. “Obviously, I’ve got a lot of reasons not to want to see him. He was my bully. He hurt me, and made me feel like I was worthless. My life improved when he was no longer a part of it.” He admitted. “It’s just…do you remember that true crime documentary they did on Aldera?”

Ayane looked down at the floor, grumbling.

“It made me realize that…I don’t think your brother ever actually had friends. He had lackies, and they turned on him as soon as he stopped being someone they could benefit from.” Izuku looked up at the ceiling. “Maybe I’m arrogant for thinking this, but even if I realize now that he wasn’t my friend…I think that I was probably the closest thing your brother had to a friend, and that just makes me feel sad for him. Besides me, it’s just your parents who were actually concerned about him.” Izuku looked back at Ayane with a sympathetic look. “So, I think I understand where you’re coming from. He was unkind to you, but he’s your brother. I can’t blame you for wanting to try to have a closer relationship with him and being worried for him. At the same time though, just because he is your brother doesn’t mean that you have to talk to him.”

Ayane folded her arms over her chest, confused about what she wanted to do.

“Here’s what I think;” Izuku said. “I don’t want you to be put in a situation where you’re going to get hurt for no good reason, and Katsuki doesn’t deserve your company if he’s just going to abuse you. However, the fact is, he did eventually agree to see you. Even if he wouldn’t admit it, he’s probably lonely.”

Ayane frowned. As awful as Katsuki had shown himself to be, she still pitied him, being stuck in such a depressing and foreboding place as prison. Ever since she had visited, she wondered, and even had nightmares of what it would be like to be trapped in a building like that; nothing but grey concrete and steel or blinding white rooms, never able to get out, never able to see the outside, stuck in there until the day that she died.

“So, how’s this for an idea? You start over from scratch.” Izuku suggested. “If you still want to have a relationship with Katsuki, you make sure that he knows that he can’t treat you like that again. You write him a letter telling him that you might be willing to visit him again, but only if he makes sure to respect you when you do.” Izuku frowned and shrugged. “He might not respond, but I think that he needs to be willing to humble himself if he wants to have a connection with anyone. Katsuki doesn’t show respect easily, but he needs to learn to. If he’s not willing to go that far for you, then I don’t think you should see him.”

Ayane thought about what her godfather said. She had been struggling with conflicting emotions ever since she had met Katsuki. On one hand, she wanted to be able to spend more time with him, on the other, she wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Was this normal for sibling relationships? Thinking about it though, starting over felt like the best idea.

“That sounds like a good idea Izuku, thank you.”

Izuku smiled and ruffled Ayane’s hair.

“Actually, there was something else that I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What is it?” Ayane asked.

“Well…” Izuku smiled with a hint of mischief. “I made a friend last week, and invited him to our barbecue. Your parents have met him before, but I think you would like to meet him, too. When I told him about you, he sounded interested, especially with how much you love heroes.”

“Who is it?” Ayane asked, her interest peaked.

“Oh…I’d rather keep it a surprise…” Izuku said, grinning. For some reason, he was looking at Ayane’s All Might action figures.

Chapter Text

The television screen displayed the famous image of a stopwatch counting down before shifting to its featured reporters.

“I’m Lyle Sander.” A man with a white and black scaled dragon mutation with green hair and white antlers spoke, followed by;

“I’m Shanti Deva.” A woman with a white lion heteromorph Quirk.

“I’m Ryan Inspir.” A man seemingly composed of computer code.

“I’m Solomon Bass.” A man with an elephant trunk.

“And I’m Ellen Inaerum. Those stories and more tonight on 60 miniutes.” A woman with red hair and no obvious Quirk said.

The program opened to another shot of the stopwatch counting down, before shifting to Lyle Sander, wearing a black suit with a white shirt and dark green tie, sitting in front of an image of the title card for what looked like a slasher film. The card was labeled Aldera: Middle School of Japan’s Last Villain, depicting an average Japanese middle school leaking blood from its windows, while an image of the now infamous Bakugou Katsuki stood upon the school, chained and muzzled from his “victory” in the Sports Festival. Lyle spoke, completely nonplussed by the tasteless image in the background.

“Ten years ago, Bakugou Katsuki started what would be his first and last year at UA, once considered the best hero school in the world. During this time, he gained infamy worldwide for his conduct during the Sports Festival and for his kidnapping by the League of Villains. A year later, following the collapse of Japan’s hero system, Bakugou gained infamy once more when he murdered 16 people after dropping out of UA when the school revamped its hero course. Bakugou’s arrest was a scandal that many blame for quelling the efforts of Japan’s Hero movement to reinstate the hero system, and led to Bakugou Katsuki as being seen as the symbol of why the Japanese hero system failed. One year ago, a documentary called ’Aldera: Middle School of Japan’s Last Villain’ aired, investigating Bakugou’s former middle school and his time there. This documentary was the brainchild of television producer, Monoma Neito.”

The screen shifted to Lyle shaking hands with a blond, smug-faced man before sitting down in a tasteful room to talk.

“What drove you to create this documentary in the first place?” Lyle asked.

“People always have a fascination with how things went wrong.” Monoma replied with a smirk, flaunting his hand in the air. “Bakugou acted as if he was the second coming of All Might, only to become quite literally ‘Japan’s Last Villain.’ I thought it would be fitting to get an idea of where such a barbaric person learned to be so barbaric.” Engrossed in his subject, Monoma leaned forward, as if trying to draw Lyle’s attention even more. “Most people know about Bakugou’s time in UA; his conduct in the Sports Festival, his abusive behavior towards his classmates, and the teachers’ coddling despite his actions. I wanted to look further back, to see where ‘Japan’s Last Villain’ truly began to develop into the monster he became, that being, his old middle school Aldera. Thankfully, there were quite a few people willing to share their experiences,” Monoma’s smirk somehow became even larger, “but I hadn’t planned for what else those former students would reveal.”

The screen switched to footage of Monoma’s documentary, displaying one of the people Monoma had interviewed, along their name on display at the bottom of the screen;

“That stuff he said at the Sports Festival? The way he beat on everyone? That was nothing new. Bakugou always acted like that.” A man with shoulder-length gray hair said, his name listed as ‘Imari Tengo.’

The documentary began to display footage of Bakugou’s time at Aldera; attacking other students, snarling at them, starting fights, using his Quirk to intimidate or assault others.

“You think you’re tough?” Bakugou shouted as he rammed his fist into the stomach of a student who had his hands up in a futile attempt to placate the bully.

“Die, freak!” A heteromorph with a hyena mutation became his next target, blasting him down a hallway while onlookers laughed.

“Get the f___ out of my seat.” Bakugou snarled, his swearing censored by the network as he kicked an unassuming girl off a bench at a lunch table.

The screen went back to Lyle’s interview with Monoma.

“How did you get the footage from Aldera used in the documentary?” Lyle asked.

“It wasn’t that difficult to get ahold of.” Monoma smirked. “Despite Aldera not being very forthcoming with sharing information about Bakugou’s time as a student there;” the man rolled his eyes, “they made the claim that due to a filing accident, all of their records on Bakugou had been lost, it wasn’t that difficult to find evidence of Bakugou’s crimes. People record everything nowadays, after all. Everything that I needed to prove what people were saying had been posted and saved on social media. It’s really quite surprising that no one else had taken advantage of it before now, considering what a spectacle Bakugou made himself out to be. But then again, perhaps the people who had taken that footage realized in retrospect that filming it showed themselves to be complicit in Bakugou’s crimes. Why, practically all of Bakugou’s crimes were recorded, from the very start of his reign of terror!”

Monoma spoke gleefully as the footage switched back to the documentary, as Monoma was interviewing one of Bakugou’s old classmates, a man with spiky black hair named ‘Tanaka Kaito’:

“What was the first thing you remember Bakugou doing in Aldera that made him stand out?” Monoma asked.

“The first thing I remember? It was his fight with a guy named Wani Mizu, a guy in his last year in Aldera when we were in our first. Looking back, Bakugou treated that school the same way he would going to prison. The first thing he did was find the toughest guy there and started a fight. Wani was the biggest guy in the school, had this Crocodile Quirk that made it so that he could barely fit through his class doors.”

The screen changed to cell phone footage, apparently taken at the incident just outside the school. It showed Bakugou as a twelve-year old glaring at Wani, who was almost twice his size, with his gakuran stained with some kind of drink.

“What the hell, you jerk!? I was drinking…”

Wani didn’t get another chance to shout, as the next instant his muzzle was rocked to the side by an explosion-powered left hook from Bakugou. The older boy clutched his muzzle in pain only for Bakugou to shove him to the ground, pin him down, and start blasting at him with his explosions.

“You think you’re hot s___, freak? Who said you had the right to talk to me that way!?”

As Wani was getting attacked, noticeably no one was trying to stop the fight, either teachers or students. Many of the students in fact were excitedly cheering on the spectacle. Eventually though, one student ran in. He was a plain-faced boy with green hair and freckles, and he frantically tried to take Bakugou by the shoulder and plead with him.

“Kacchan, stop! He didn’t do anything to…!”

Bakugou answered this interruption with an even bigger blast, knocking the boy to the ground, his uniform smoking. It was only at this point that Bakugou finally got off of Wani, who frantically pushed himself upright and ran away, while Bakugou was distracted angrily shouting at the boy that interfered with his assault, his rage-filled eyes glaring down at the trembling green-haired boy.

“You stay the hell out of my way, Deku! I was busy teaching the extras their place and a Quirkless waste of space isn’t going to stop me!”

Bakugou finished his rant by kicking the boy in the stomach before stomping off, the gazes of all the other students watching him filled either with awe or fear.

“That fight, if you could call what Bakugou did a ‘fight,’ kind of set the tone for the next three years.” Another former student, a man with what looked like a giant clothes-pin for a head, his name listed as ‘Suzuki Botan’ spoke.

“Some people thought that, ‘hey, this guy’s beating up the school bully, that’s great!’ But then he showed he was an even worse bully.” A bald man named ‘Yoshida Isamu’ said as the program switched to his quote, before shifting to a red-haired woman named ‘Nakamura Fumiko.’

“You know, now that you mention it, I don’t think Wani ever actually did anything. I mean, yeah, he was big and scary, and there were rumors about him being a bully, but I don’t actually remember him doing anything to anybody. It probably didn’t matter to Bakugou.”

The footage switched back to Monoma speaking to Lyle;

“I had actually managed to find Wani Miku, but he declined to be interviewed about his time in Aldera. The poor man had to deal with discrimination his entire life, so I can’t blame him for not wanting to be reminded of his time there. He seemed to be doing well enough for himself though; he went and joined the coast guard, even.” Monoma shook his head. “Who knows how many other people that ruffian had victimized throughout his life, though? We may never know. It gave me quite a good deal of pleasure to bring his sordid past to light.”

The footage changed back to clips from Monoma’s documentary. “Everyone knew not to challenge Bakugou, or he’d blast at you.” Tanaka said.

“He’d use his Quirk on other students?” Monoma asked.

“All the time! Hell, I bet most of us still have burns or bruises!”

“Did the teachers know? Did they ever do anything?”

“Hell, no! At most, they’d tell Bakugou to ‘settle down.’ He never got punished for anything that he did. He’d destroy school property, he’d destroy our property, he’d beat people up, and this was usually in full view of the teachers!”

A new face came up; a glasses-wearing woman with black hair named ‘Ito Keiko.’

“The teachers would never punish Bakugou for anything; they saw him as their meal ticket. They always talked about how ‘incredible and heroic’ his Quirk and his drive were, and I’d hear about them brag about how he would bring up Aldera’s reputation. If they ever punished him for anything, it would have hurt his record, which would have kept him from looking like the ‘perfect student’ to UA. They’d write off anything he did, or they’d blame it on someone else!”

Yoshida came up next.

“It’s ridiculous that he got into UA, now that I think about it, but it shouldn’t really surprise me. The a__hole would have had a perfectly clean record.”

“What were his grades like?”

“Perfect.” Yoshida answered with a scoff. “He worked pretty hard to make sure that his grades were top of the class, but honestly, with the way the teachers favored him? Who’s to say what his grades were actually like?”

The camera switched back to Nakamura answering Monoma’s questions.

“You could never be too good with a subject that Bakugou was taking. If you were, he took that as a challenge and wouldn’t leave you alone. He’d put all of his focus on you, which meant that you’d be the target of everyone else as well. He wouldn’t sabotage you, at least outright, but getting shoved around or threatened for thinking that you were ‘better than him’ did basically the same thing. I could have been getting better grades, maybe even got into a better high school, but underperforming was the only way to survive in Aldera.”

The footage switched back to Monoma as Lyle was interviewing him.

“It really makes you think, doesn’t it? How much license certain individuals get in this country depending on whether or not they can convince others that they are the ‘main character.’” Monoma scoffed with distaste. “I actually had the displeasure of knowing Bakugou personally when I went to UA myself. Considering Bakugou’s behavior didn’t change in his short tenure, it seems as if UA didn’t treat him any differently from his old middle school. One has to wonder if Yoshida’s suggestion could have held weight for the esteemed academy as well.” Monoma smugly suggested.

“Were you able to get any evidence of this kind of tampering with Bakugou’s grades, or is this just assumption?” Lyle asked.

Monoma blinked before shrugging.

“Who’s to say?”

Tanaka’s image came up next.

“So, here’s the thing; the school had rules like anywhere else, but those rules only applied to certain people. It was sort of a sliding scale of figuring out how much someone could get away with. One example was how Bakugou would always put his feet up on his desk like an a__hole, and the teachers never did anything about it. But then you had someone like Midoriya, and if the teachers got bugged by him mumbling in class…I don’t know, it was a thing he did, they’d smack him upside the head!”

To illustrate Tanaka’s point, more footage was shown of Bakugou insulting, shouting at, or attacking other students in full view of his teachers, who outright ignored his behavior. The screen changed to Nakamura’s interview;

“That was just how the school hierarchy worked; if someone had a powerful Quirk, something that people would say was ‘heroic,’ the teachers would give them more leeway since they wanted to be on better terms with the ones that they thought had the most potential. If you had a weaker Quirk, the teachers would harp on you more if you did something wrong, or more often than not, ignore when you were pushed around by someone with a stronger Quirk.”

This time, Suzuki’s voice was heard narrating over phone footage of some of the students hanging around Bakugou…including Imari Tengo, laughing at some of the students he pushed around.

“The only way you could avoid getting pushed around if you had a weak Quirk was if you latched onto someone with a stronger Quirk. There was this one kid, Imari, whose Quirk just let him extend his fingers, who’d have been right at the bottom with Midoriya if it weren’t for the fact that he was Bakugou’s lacky. Imari probably realized that by talking up Bakugou’s ego enough, the a__hole would let him hang around, which kept him from being a target. Also meant he got to pick on others more easily. Guy was a total loser; wasted all his time in the arcade, smoked outside the school, tried to flirt with high school girls; it was pretty messed up.”

“I like to think that this was emblematic of our society in general; those with powerful, flashy, ‘heroic’ Quirks were, and perhaps still are, lauded and praised even if they were barbaric in their behavior.” Monoma pontificated and glared even as he kept up his smug grin, his fists noticeably clenching in anger. “Those with weak or unappealing Quirks, or those without, were treated like second-class citizens. And people like Bakugou certainly worked hard to maintain that status quo.”

“Bakugou never called anyone by their real name. He’d always pick some trait about people and call them by that like ‘Squid Eyes’ or ‘Rock for Brains’ or ‘Glasses.’” Ito spoke from her interview, irritably adjusting her own glasses. “It just went to show how little he cared about anyone but himself. I don’t even know if he knew anyone’s real name. I don’t know what would be worse: That he didn’t care to even find out, or that he knew people’s names and intentionally called them awful stuff just because he thought that they didn’t deserve them. And that was the big problem; whatever he’d call you, it was usually one of the most insulting things he could think of, whatever trait just stuck out the most. This got really bad for anyone who was a heteromorph.”

“Hell, we’ve got it bad enough, but the fact that Bakugou would call people those names, and everyone would follow suit meant that I never felt okay in school. People would always draw attention to my head, point out how weird and how freaky it is. I grew up hating myself because of that stupid ‘Clip-Head’ Bakugou gave me.” Suzuki spoke bitterly.

The camera showed Lyle speaking to Monoma again.

“What was your reaction when you noticed some of the people that you had been interviewing referencing each other?”

Monoma shrugged.

“I suppose I should have seen it coming. I had merely meant this documentary to explore Bakugou’s past and what led to him developing into the abhorrent thug we know him as today. However, it should have been obvious that his ego would have been fed by sycophants for it to be so overblown. It was the same story in UA, as far as I was able to gather.” The man tapped his fingers together in thought. “This did actually bring up one question that I had been considering as I learned about what kind of environment the staff at Aldera were fostering in regards to how they equated one’s Quirk to their value:”

“If you don’t mind me pointing this out, but some of the ideologies that the teachers seemed to encouraged sound very similar to that of the MLA. Do you think that there might have been some connection?” Monoma asked several of the former students in his documentary.

“Was Aldera a secret MLA cell? I don’t know, maybe.” Tanaka said in his interview.

“No one ever said anything about the MLA outside of classes, but with the way the teachers propped up people with strong Quirks, it wouldn’t surprise me.” Ito answered.

“Nah. They always taught us how crazy those MLA people were. It would have been kind of dumb anyway for them to try to teach us something like that, only for us to talk about it at home and get kids’ parents all worked up.” Suzuki replied when he was asked the question. “Aldera didn’t care about any kind of creed, they just wanted to boost their image. It just so happened that they ended up teaching us the same thing, anyway.”

The camera focused back on Lyle’s interview, as Monoma thought of something with a smirk.

“As I was trying to get a complete picture of Bakugou’s time at Aldera, there was a specific question that I had been curious about, considering it was the first time that Bakugou was first exposed to infamy:”

“What was Bakugou’s last year like? If I recall, that was the same year that he had that humiliating experience with the Sludge Villain. How did he take that?”

Imari shook his head incredulously.

“It was probably the worst after that Sludge Villain took Bakugou hostage and had to be rescued by Mt. Lady. I was smart enough not to bring it up, but the moment some idiot did, asking if he was alright, the a__hole exploded, pinned the guy against a locker, and set explosions off right next to his ears. That’s what happened when you treated Bakugou the same you would with anyone else; he got insecure and started treating everyone even worse.”

The focus changed again to Ito.

“We all talked up Bakugou in his last year, if only to satisfy his ego, but I think a lot of us were just trying to get through it, and we were glad to finally not have to deal with him anymore. I seriously feel sorry for Midoriya for having to go to the same school as him, but at least they were in different classes.”

Monoma’s expression became grimmer and more serious.

“One of the things that I had not expected from my investigations though was that I would personally know one of the people that Bakugou had hurt. I also knew Midoriya in UA, I think quite highly of him, and it was quite distressing to hear that he had to spend so much time in close proximity to the boy that would become ‘Japan’s Last Villan.’” Monoma’s eyes narrowed in a glare. “Perhaps that might have been what motivated some of my…editing choices, in regards to how I portrayed his former classmates.”

“Throughout Bakugou’s reign at Aldera, he victimized dozens of other students. Through our investigations though, we found that there was one boy who was most often the target of Bakugou’s abuse.” Monoma’s voice narrated as the footage changed back to show the green-haired boy attempting to stop Bakugou’s assault on Wani, followed by several other clips of Bakugou attacking him.

“What the f___ did you say, Deku?” The clip opened with Bakugou backing the boy into a wall.

“I…I didn’t say anything!” The boy pleaded.

“I f___ing heard you, Deku! You think you’ve got a right to mouth off to me?” Bakugou snarled before releasing several small explosions next to the boy’s ear.

The next clip showed the same green-haired boy walking down the hall, only to be roughly shouldered aside by Bakugou.

“Get the f___ out of my way, loser.”

The shove caused the boy to trip and fall into a trashcan, which poured out refuse on him, much to the laughter of the other students watching. A final clip showed Bakugou holding an assignment that the green-haired boy was clearly worried for, attempting to grab it back, only to be kicked in the stomach by Bakugou.

“K…Kacchan…wait!”

“You think you’re hot ____? You think a Quirkless freak like you could become a hero? Get a f__ing life, Deku.”

Bakugou callously scoffed before setting the assignment on fire. Again, the other students laughed at the boy’s pain and humiliation.

“There was one guy that Bakugou just seemed to really hate. His name was Midoriya Izuku, but everyone called him Deku. Apparently, he just really seemed to hate Quirkless people.” Yoshida explained.

“ ‘Deku?’” Imari said, replying to a question about the insult. “It means ‘useless.’ When he was a kid, Bakugou misread the kanji on his name as ‘dekunobu’, and the name stuck, especially after everyone found out that he was Quirkless.”

“Once Bakugou started calling him ‘Deku’, everyone else joined in. Heck, some of the teachers started calling him by that name.” Tanaka added to Imari’s explanation in the next clip.

“Midoriya didn’t have any friends. He was Quirkless, so in Aldera, that meant he was at the bottom of the barrel.” Ito spoke, her face downcast as she was reminded of her old classmate.

“He did this weird thing where he’d fixate on someone’s Quirk and start writing about it in these notebooks he’d carry around, mumbling to himself. It was annoying, but he was a nice enough guy. Too bad everyone treated him like s___.” Nakamura said, miming writing with her hands before shrugging. “He seemed like a good guy. I hope he’s doing okay.”

Suzuki came up next.

“He was a pretty nice guy. He tried to be, anyway. It’s kind of amazing that he could be with what he went through. He tried to keep to himself mostly, but for some reason Bakugou really had a hard on for him and always seemed to seek him out.” Suzuki said, shaking his head in pity.

Yoshida’s image came up again, narrating his own experiences with Midoriya.

“Deku wanted to be a hero even though he was Quirkless, and he got made fun of a lot for that. He gave up on that in our third year though and got into UA’s Gen Ed program. I don’t really know what happened to him after Aldera.”

“Did Bakugou leave him alone after he was forced to give up on his dream?” Monoma asked.

“Tch. Hell no. Bakugou was just looking for an excuse to beat up the Quirkless kid. Even when Deku stopped trying to be a hero, Bakugou would just make up a new excuse, acting as if Deku was ‘thinking above his station’ or something like that.”

Ito came up again, getting more frustrated as she recounted her experiences.

“I couldn’t get why Bakugou wouldn’t leave that guy alone. Looking back, he was a perfectly nice guy. He didn’t bother anyone, he tried to help people whenever he could…but everyone treated him like garbage because he was Quirkless. Bakugou though? For some reason Bakugou just hated Midoriya.”

Imari spoke next, shaking his head as he talked.

“Bakugou was always talking about how Midoriya was ‘looking down’ on him. I have no freaking idea where he got that from, since that guy was almost always just keeping to himself.”

Monoma shook his head sadly as he recounted what he had learned of Midoriya’s past to Lyle.

“Sadly, I learned through my research into the school that Bakugou was hardly the only thorn in Midoriya’s side. I had gone into this project with the intent of revealing Bakugou’s sordid past and what turned him into the deranged psychopath he was by the time he had left Aldera, but I had my suspicions that he would hardly be the only bad apple in the bunch. If Aldera had truly been the ‘welcoming and safe learning environment’” Monoma made air quotes with his fingers as he scoffed, “that the school had claimed, then it wouldn’t have produced someone like Bakugou in the first place.” Monoma shook his head with a scowl. “No…it takes a village to raise a child, and I knew that there were plenty of others who would share Bakugou’s views, who would flourish in such a contemptible school. There’s never just one shark in the water, after all.” Monoma frowned as the television switched back to clips of the documentary, where Monoma asked Nakamura another question:

“What were the other students like at Aldera?”

“Not much better, to be honest.” Nakamura replied, shaking her head.

The documentary continued to show various clips of phone cam footage, only this time instead of focusing on Bakugou, it was several of the former students that Monoma had been interviewing;

A clip from a girl’s bathroom where the owner of the phone shrieked at a pair of eye stalks peeking into the room, followed by laughter at the girl’s resulting shrieks.

Nakamura cackling as she and several girls threw water balloons filled with fluorescent green paint at another crying girl.

Tanaka running up like a bull behind an unsuspecting student with his Quirk active, battering them into the school pond with a noticeable cracking sound, laughing with glee towards the camera as he ran away.

Imari dumping a rubbish bin over the head of Midoriya Izuku.

“Bakugou wouldn’t usually do anything to you as long as you weren’t in his way, or if you were Midoriya, but the other guys? They’d go out of their way to find weaker people to pick on.” Ito said.

“The students were all like sheep. If Bakugou started beating on someone, they’d all start beating on them.” Suzuki answered when he was asked.

“It’s like I said; the rules were on a sliding scale. If you had a strong Quirk, the teachers would let you get away with anything.” Tanaka said, shaking his head ruefully, just as the footage ironically switched to him tripping Midoriya as he tried to carry his lunch through the cafeteria, leading to a teacher coming up and chastising the Quirkless boy for making a mess.

“There was this one kid; Tanaka Kaito.” Yoshida explained as the focus was put back on him. “His Quirk let him grow rocks on his body. He sometimes talked about being a hero himself, at least when Bakugou wasn’t around. He’d pick fights with people, actually broke a few bones, but he’d always say he was just joking around and lost control of his Quirk. His Quirk was barely strong enough that the teachers must have seen him as a decent back-up or someone that would have ended up in a C-grade hero school and let him get away with it.” The bald man scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief.

“There was this boy, Yoshida Isamu, whose Quirk let him stick his eyes out on stalks. He was a total creep. Sometimes, I’d see his eyes peeking through the door to the girl’s locker rooms. Again, the teachers hardly ever did anything.” Ito said with a look of disgust.

“Bakugou wasn’t the only one who’d pick on Midoriya. There was this other kid named Suzuki Botan; had this creepy mutant Quirk that turned his head into a giant clothes pin. He’d break Midoriya’s stuff with his head when Midoriya wasn’t looking, just to mess with him.” Imari recounted, the screen changing to show footage of Suzuki nonchalantly walking up next to Midoriya’s desk, swiping the calculator off it, and crushing it in his head before the green-haired boy could notice, leading to several of the students who had watching stifling their laughter at the boy’s confusion and frustration.

“There was this girl named Ito Kaito, who moved to Musutafu in our first year. She didn’t really do anything at first, but on Valentine’s, she sent Midoriya this really messed up letter, talking about how his head looked like he had some sort of fungus growing out of it. One of the guys found it and pinned it to the wall, and Midoriya got to be called “Fungus Head” for a few months before everyone got tired of it and went back to calling him ‘Deku.’” Nakamura said.

“Another girl named Nakamura pulled this really mean prank on Deku, telling him to meet her behind the school after class; she and a bunch of other girls ended up dumping a bucket of ice water on him. Posted a video of it and everything!” Tanaka said, the screen changing to camera footage of the same event, ending with Nakamura and her gang of friends cackling at the boy’s humiliation.

“It would take a year to go over everything that everyone did to Midoriya. Honestly, looking back? I can’t believe he didn’t go postal at some point.” Suzuki said.

“Did the teachers ever do anything about these other students?” Monoma asked.

“No. Those guys were nothing but lazy bums.” Suzuki replied bitterly. “You could get away with anything as long as the person you did it to had a weaker Quirk, or if they were like me and were a heteromorph.”

Suzuki’s voice continued to narrate as the footage changed to Bakugou walking next to Imari while Tanaka was streaming the three of them walking; Imari and Tanaka smirking while Bakugou hardly seemed to notice that they were there.

“Bakugou had these two lackies that would follow him around; Imari and Tanaka. Imari and Tanaka were two of the guys with weak Quirks that would latch onto Bakugou so people wouldn’t make them their victims. I could kind of get it, but then they’d use that to be just as huge bullies themselves.”

“Imari and Tanaka would be the guys who held whoever Bakugou was beating in place, and then kick them when they were down.”

Yoshida scowled, obviously from personal experience.

“Imari would use those creepy fingers of his to flick at my skirt. Tanaka once tried to pin me against a wall…” Ito recounted, looking sick.

“I once saw Bakugou suicide bait Deku.” Tanaka recalled as the perspective switched to focusing on him. “It was the same day that our teacher talked to us about what tracks we wanted to apply to after middle school. Deku had applied to the hero course for some reason, but that pissed off Bakugou. After class, he cornered Deku and threatened him not to apply to UA at all. He burned up this notebook he used to write about people’s Quirks and then threw it out the window. Deku was all worked up, but when Bakugou dared him to say anything, Deku was too scared to.”

As Tanaka spoke, the documentary began to alternate between him and Imari as they recounted their perspectives of the same incident.

“Just before Bakugou left, I remember he turned and grinned at Deku, and said ‘If you want to become a hero so bad, take a swan dive off a roof and hope for a Quirk in your next life!’” Imari shook his head in disbelief. “It was freaking messed up, man.”

“Imari just laughed about how Deku couldn’t speak up for himself, but I thought it was kind of messed up. Heck, it was one of the few times I was brave enough to say something to Bakugou; I mean, he and Deku knew each other when they were kids, but when I pointed that out, he didn’t seem to care at all. He was a freaking psycho!”

“I remember Tanaka tried to cheer Bakugou up afterwards, talking about trying to pick chicks up at a bar. I mean, what the hell, man? We were freaking middle schoolers!”

“People treated him horribly…I treated him horribly.” Ito admitted, looking away from the camera as a few tears showed up in her eyes.

“…Midoriya was a good guy. He didn’t deserve that. I’m glad that he got into UA, anyway. Glad he didn’t have to be in the same class as Bakugou.” Suzuki said, barely able to pick his head up in shame.

The camera focused back on Lyle’s interview with Monoma, as he scoffed at the memory of his talks with the former students.

“Isn’t it quite something how people will try to make others look worse in order to make themselves look better? It’s quite pathetic, isn’t it?”

“…Quite.” Lyle responded with a flat voice that Monoma didn’t seem to notice.

The perspective switched to the final part of the Aldera documentary as Monoma’s voice narrated:

“But what of Midoriya Izuku? What happened to him after escaping Aldera to join UA’s General Education program? We managed to track Midoriya down and speak to him, but when asked about his own experiences with Bakugou and Aldera, this was all he had to say:”

The footage showed Midoriya Izuku as a grown man, standing in the doorway to his house as he spoke to whoever was trying to ask him questions.

“Bakugou isn’t a part of my life anymore. He’s best left as someone to put behind me.” Midoriya said calmly before closing the door to his home, and Monoma’s documentary ended.

Back in the interview between Lyle and Monoma, the reporter asked a question:

“Is it true that was the only thing that Midoriya said to you?”

“Yes.” Monoma answered, nodding his head. “Quite the mature response, I must admit. It seemed the perfect way to close out the documentary, if not how the country should look at Bakugou in general.”

Lyle held a finger up, “If that was all that Midoriya said, did you get his permission to use the footage of him saying it the same way that you did with the other former Aldera students?”

“Oh…” Monoma waved his hand dismissively. “Midoriya and I go back quite a bit. Just a single line like that was nothing to be concerned about.”

“I see.” Lyle said, looking at Monoma critically. “And…how did Midoriya respond to all of that footage of him being used in your documentary?”

Monoma froze in place, unconsciously rubbing the back of his head, looking behind himself for a moment as if he expected to see someone there.

“Oh…I haven’t seen him since then. I’ve been rather busy and I imagine that he would have been as well.” He attempted to answer dismissively.

The camera focused on Lyle as he was staring at Monoma with a frown. The blond man quickly attempted to correct himself.

“But this whole experience feels like something that Midoriya has overcome!” Monoma said, waving his arms wide. “The ultimate underdog, finding success in life where his once hated tormenter is finally banished to ignobility! How could I pass up on such an opportunity to tell such a tale!”

Again, the camera focused back on Lyle, who was still giving Monoma the same flat, disappointed glare. The footage of Lyle’s interview ended, and switched to the reporter narrating as the staff of Aldera attempted to dodge questions from a crowd of reporters and protesters shouting outside the school.

“Just weeks after Monoma’s documentary aired, Aldera was put in the spotlight and heavily scrutinized for the crimes the documentary brought to light, along with the former students that were interviewed for documentary. Likewise, it seems that it did not occur to the men and women that Monoma interviewed that their former classmates might have unflattering things to say about them.”

The program began to display headlines from newspapers and online comments detailing the infamy that the former Aldera students that Monoma interviewed were subjected to:

“I can’t believe that we were working with such a huge bigot!”

“I should have known better; that Yoshida guy was such a disgusting pervert.”

“I thought Ito was such a nice woman, but to hear that she did something so cruel to that poor Midoriya kid is awful.”

“Takeo Industries does not condone Imari Tengo’s behavior. There is no place in our company for that kind of prejudice.”

“Several of the people interviewed expressed outrage at the studio that they had given interviews for, accusing them of slander. However, because of the contracts that they had signed when they agreed to be interviewed, including agreeing to display their faces unobstructed, they could not pursue legal action against the studio. Just a few days after the documentary aired and their parts in participating in Bakugou Katsuki’s bullying, including his suicide dare were made public, Imari Tengo and Tanaka Kaito were both fired from their jobs.”

The television showed footage of Imari and Tanaka glaring at each other as they walked into a courthouse.

“Unable to sue Monoma, Imari Tengo and Tanaka Kaito instead chose to sue each other for slander; the case was thrown out of court when the judge pointed out that they only had themselves to blame for admitting in the first place that they were present at the time of the alleged suicide dare. Them mentioning each other’s names in their interview didn’t actually weigh that much on the damage to their reputations compared to the fact that they knew about the event at all.”

“Mr. Monoma, how did you feel when you first learned how the former students that you interviewed ended up?” Lyle asked back in the interview.

Monoma laughed.

“I found it hilarious! So many people sucked up to Bakugou, thinking that he could lead them to greatness, only to be completely forgotten as he obviously intended. Bakugou certainly never hid his disdain for others; it should have been obvious that nothing good would have come from associating with him. And even if they weren’t directly associating with him, it certainly seemed to me that they were enjoying the toxic environment of Aldera and taking advantage of how uncaring the staff were towards similarly abhorrent behavior. No, I find it quite satisfying. After all, who doesn’t like to see awful people face consequences for their actions?”

“Many of Aldera’s former students have faced consequences, certainly, but one has to wonder just how severe such consequences should be for something someone did at a time when they are still growing up.” Lyle narrated. “I managed to find several of the students that Monoma interviewed to hear their perspectives on what they have been going through in the aftermath of the Aldera documentary:”

The screen switched to several different interviews with the former Aldera students. Several of them were extremely distressed. A few looked disheveled, as if they were struggling to find work:

“It was freaking middle school, for crying out loud! Everyone acted like a jerk back then! I lost my job…my company dropped me when they were ‘downsizing.’ They said it had nothing to do with the documentary, but I don’t buy it. They just wanted to distance themselves from someone with a reputation like mine.” Imari ranted, begrudgingly wearing a garbage collector’s outfit.

The next clip showed Suzuki, who was talking in the street while wearing a ruffled coat with holes in it.

“I’m not proud of what I did, but I was a kid back then. I was just trying to get through middle school; I wasn’t thinking about being good or bad, I was just trying to make sure that I wasn’t the one being targeted.” Suzuki said, so ashamed that he could barely look at the camera. “Bakugou treated me like garbage. He treated everyone like garbage. I still remember that awful nickname he gave that stuck with me all these years, and I thought that this would be my way to finally speak out.” Suzuki said, hanging his head low. “Kind of pointless now that he’s in prison, anyway. And I know that I was being a hypocrite agreeing to talk for that interview in the first place, making Midoriya go through stuff that was so much worse that anything that I went through. I’m sorry, but this…this just isn’t fair…”

“After they saw that documentary, my family has stopped talking to me. They pretend that I don’t exist. My brother won’t let me talk to my niece; he and his wife say that I would be a ‘bad influence.’” Ito said, tears trickling down her eyes as she was on camera in her apartment, alone.

“People started throwing stuff at me on the street. For something I did ten years ago.” Tanaka growled, wearing a janitor’s uniform.

“Yes, I was awful, I get it! I don’t need people rubbing it in my face all the time!” Nakamura ranted as she sat at a kitchen table in her grimy apartment. “As far agreeing to be a part of that documentary in the first place…I just…I was angry, I guess. Aldera really was a crappy school. The teachers let so much rotten stuff go, and I guess I wanted to hit back at them for that.” The red-haired woman grimaced to herself. “And I have to admit, I only realized that I was just as bad as anyone else years after I had left.”

“I was an idiot, I admit. When that Monoma jerk gave me an opportunity to be on TV, I thought it would be cool. See my face up on the screen. I should have known better than to trust that scummy a__hole, I admit it!” Yoshida ranted in dirty clothes as he sat on a bench in the street.

The footage switched back to focusing on Lyle as he walked down a neighborhood street in Mustafu, Japan, as his voice continued to narrate.

“Monoma’s documentary went at great length detailing the abuse Midoriya experienced in Aldera at the hands of Bakugou and the other students. Viewers were only given a brief window into Midoriya’s ultimate fate after he left Aldera, with him only giving his one line about his experience there. I had learned much about how the Aldera documentary affected those that Monoma interviewed, but I wanted to understand how it affected Midoriya Izuku and his perspective on it.”

Lyle knocked on a door to a house, where Midoriya greeted and welcomed him inside, and the two began to talk, the narration continuing over their conversation.

“I was able to get in touch with Midoriya Izuku, and he agree to answer some of my questions. The first: What was he doing now that he had graduated from Aldera and from UA?”

The footage switched to that of the Musutafu Police Station.

“Well, he works here now. Not as an officer, but as a Quirk analyst.”

“Midoriya has been one of our greatest assets in the past few years.” The gorilla-headed police chief Gori spoke. “His analysis has been a great boon both in improving the Quirks of our officers, as well as dissecting the Quirks of the criminals we deal with.”

“Midoriya might be one of my greatest personal students.” The short, white, mustelid-like Nezu, former principal of UA spoke. “His homeroom teacher brought his analysis to my attention in his first year, and it is a matter of great personal pride that I have been able to help him cultivate his talents.”

“Midoriya has saved lives with his work, even before he joined the police force.” The raven-haired, tall heiress Yaoyorozu Momo spoke. “His analysis helped my class stay alive during the year that the League of Villains were active. His kindness and willingness to listen to our problems and help us has always been a great comfort, and we are grateful to him. In his own quiet way, he is just as much of a hero as any other pro hero was.”

The camera switched back to Lyle and Midoriya talking at the Midoriya family table, his tall wife sitting next to him in support of her husband while Lyle continued to narrate.

“It would seem that despite his daunting experiences, Midoriya has managed to put his past behind him and live a successful and happy life. Considering his reluctance to be interviewed for the Aldera documentary, I was concerned that Midoriya would be reluctant to talk to me. However, he agreed, on the condition that I help him get in touch with his former classmates whom Monoma interviewed.”

“Middle school was an awful time, but it was ten years ago. I don’t want something that far back to determine how I feel or how I live my life. The things my classmates did were wrong, and our teachers should have made them answer for it, but it should have been done back when we were teenagers and needed to have their behavior corrected then. Maybe this isn’t the best attitude, but how petty would I be to hold it against them for something that long ago, especially when we were just kids at the time?” Midoriya shrugged. “We were all still growing up. I was still growing up. There are a lot of things that I did or thought back then that I know are wrong now, just like anyone else, and I don’t think that it’s fair for those people to be blamed for something that they did back when they were still students.” Midoriya frowned, shaking his head. “Sure, I wish that they would have apologized to me, but the kinds of things that I’ve heard that have happened to them; losing their jobs, getting harassed on the streets, even being disowned by their families? That’s just wrong. You wouldn’t punish them that way back when they were still students; why are they being punished so much worse now?”

The program showed footage of Midoriya meeting with Ito and Suzuki as Lyle continued to narrate. When Midoriya met with Ito, she attempted to bow in apology, only to be stopped by Midoriya, allowing the two to talk normally. The next shot showed her and Midoriya meeting with her brother’s family, who thankfully all greeted her without issue. The next shot showed Suzuki, wearing a business suit as he exuberantly shook Midoriya’s hand, having apparently just been allowed back into his old job, as well as awkwardly handing Midoriya a brand new calculator. The last shot showed Midoriya talking with Nakamura in a much cleaner apartment. While it was obvious that Nakamura still felt awkward, she was smiling gratefully as she interacted with Midoriya.

“Ever since Midoriya had heard about what has been happening to his former classmates since the Aldera documentary, he has been trying to get in touch with them, as well as their former workplaces and the families and friends that they have been cut off from. Part of his agreement to talk to me was predicated that he be allowed to express to the public how disproportionate the consequences that his former classmates have experienced are.”

The screen displayed several more articles talking about the Aldera documentary.

“While Midoriya was grateful to be able to reconcile with some of his former classmates and to help them reconcile with their workplaces and families, he is still worried about how the public will see them. Japanese society is sadly notable for shaming those who have experienced scandals, and he can only hope that displaying his forgiveness towards his former classmates and expressing his own frustration with how they have been treated will protect them from disproportionate retribution from a judgmental society.”

“Perhaps it was appropriate then that as I completed my interview with Monoma Neito, I asked him a question that we may all want to consider ourselves:”

Lyle narrated as the perspective switched one last time to his interview with Monoma.

“If someone made a documentary about you and how you acted back in middle or high school, what kinds of things do you think your classmates would say?”

Monoma’s smirk twinged.

“…I believe that this interview is over.” He said before standing up and walking away.

Chapter Text

Tsutsumi Kaina stood at the end of the bridge to Tartarus on the mainland.

What had just happened?

It felt as if one moment, she was sitting in her prison cell, trying, as usual, to not let the isolation get to her, when suddenly she was escorted to a room where some men in suits were waiting. These men introduced themselves as representatives from the UN, who wanted to ask Kaina some questions about her time working at the HPSC’s personal hitman while she was still operating as a hero. She scoffed at this notion at first, even when she learned about a massive data breach that had occurred as a result of a battle between heroes and villains, revealing the true circumstances that led to her incarceration.

To the rest of the world, she had been seen as the ideal hero for most of her life, praised and adored by the public for her heroic actions as the hero “Lady Nagant,” until one day for some reason she had gone crazy and killed her hero partner in cold blood, and sent to Tartarus as punishment for her crime.

Oh, if they only knew.

These UN representatives told her that they mostly just wanted her testimony to verify how accurate their findings were.

Sure. These were actually UN representatives. They knew she was innocent of the crime she had been accused of. They actually wanted to get her out of here. That was actually going to happen. Right. Kaina had just assumed that this was a means for a new regime to take over the old HPSC, or more likely the old regime to take on a new name to satisfy the public. Sure, they told her that they were lawyers, that they wanted to secure a release for her wrongful incarceration, but she had heard that kind of song and dance before. She had nothing better to do though, and figured that she might as well take the off chance that she could actually screw over the HPSC’s president that had her sent to Tartarus in the first place, so she just told them the truth: she had gone on black ops missions for the HSPC, assassinating villains deemed too problematic for the HPSC to allow to run free, along with corrupt heroes whose crimes the HPSC didn’t want the general public to know about. At first, as a naïve hero student, she had been convinced that she was “doing this all for the greater good,” “that she was doing a necessary public service,” “maintaining the sanctity of heroism.” She was killing actual bad people; these were villains who were about to commit acts of terrorism, fake heroes that brought shame to the name of heroism and were using their positions to increase their own wealth and fame at the cost of innocent lives. She had bought those lines for a while, but the fact was that each death weighed on her conscience more and more, to the point that when an adoring fan ran up to her while she was out patrolling, saying that she wanted to be just like her, Kaina could practically see the blood on her hand after she had shaken the girl’s hand. Finally, when the HPSC president ordered her to make two corrupt Heroes “go missing,” she openly questioned for the first time whether she was doing the right thing, if the lack of transparency towards the public was akin to brainwashing. When Kaina refused the order despite the president’s insistence, he gave a veiled threat that she might be the next one to go missing. That was when she had actually snapped, killing not a fellow hero in an argument, but the fat sack of human waste threatening her life, painting his office with the splatter from his head as she blew his brains out with her Rifle Quirk.

The “UN representatives” didn’t seem that surprised by Kaina’s story, and thanked her for her time. She just rolled her eyes, expecting to be led back to her cell. Instead, to her greater confusion, her handcuffs were unlocked. She almost gave into the instinct to take the opportunity to make a break for it, when she was handed a new change of clothes, a suitcase of 300 million yen for reimbursement for wrongful imprisonment, and an apology on the behalf of the government of Japan. She was escorted outside, over the bridge to Tartarus, where she was dropped off at a bus station. Kaina hadn’t moved from where she had been left.

There were guards, but they weren’t paying her any serious mind. There was just an open expanse of road leading to the city. No walls. No bars. No prison fatigues. Even if this was somehow just an elaborate hoax, it felt like a huge, needless risk to just leave her out in the open like this.

Okay, that was oversimplifying things; there were actually quite a few people there, much more than one would expect at the nearest bus stop outside of one of the most secure prisons in the world. There was a massive, growing crowd of people gathered outside the bus station. Thankfully, none of them seemed to notice Kaina. Wearing sunglasses and a black ball cap that concealed her indigo and pink-streaked hair, any passerby probably assumed that she was an off-duty prison guard and paid her as much attention. Instead, the crowd of civilians was gathering in anticipation for something.

Only a few minutes after Kaina had been dropped off at the station and the fact that no one was trying to force her back into the prison began to hit her, the reason for the gathered crowd made itself known. An armored prison vehicle drove up to the gate to the bridge, where heavily armed riot-officers held back the crowd that began to shout at whoever the truck was bringing into the prison.

Kaina recognized the type of truck, used to transport high-profile criminals. Whoever was being sent into Tartarus was someone that could possess connections that warranted being driven around in a tank. There was still a window that Kaina could see through though, allowing her to recognize the prisoner.

It was the current HPSC president. The one that had replaced the president that Kaina had killed, and who was responsible for sending Kaina to Tartarus to prison in the first place. The blond, mid-aged woman locked eyes with Kaina, apparently not believing what she was seeing. The president, normally so confident, clean, and domineering, was pale, as if she had just come out of the hospital, only to be dragged here. Somehow, past all of the chanting and jeering protesters, the president happened to see Kaina. As she was being escorted into Tartarus. From where Kaina had just left. Possibly even to the same holding cell.

Kaina’s mouth twitched.

“He…hehe…”

The window was apparently soundproof, but Kaina could see the president glare at Kaina and suddenly scream and beat at the glass as the vehicle drove her away. And for the first time in over a decade, Kaina laughed. She laughed so hard that she couldn’t breathe, but she had enough presence of mind to make sure that she was still staring at the former “madam president”, ensuring that this would be the last thing she’d see before the cow would spend the rest of her life inside a steel tomb. Kaina kept laughing even as the armored vehicle drove away over the bridge. A few of the crowd edged away from her, thinking that she had lost her mind, but who cared about them. Kaina was outside Tartarus, she was going to make the most of this.

Finally, Kaina managed to get ahold of herself. The crowd was starting to disperse.

So…

That was it?

Her imprisonment was just…over?

People actually found out the truth and she was allowed to walk free?

It was that easy?

There was a bus arriving, set to head off to a city. Which one? Did it matter, as long as it wasn’t here? And yet, Kaina didn’t take it. She didn’t trust it. She didn’t trust that she was really free yet.

When an animal is caught in the wild, only to be released later, it won’t immediately rush out from the crate it was carried in when the door is open. It doesn’t trust that it won’t be hurt the moment that it steps out of the crate. To the animal, the crate is a place to hide, a narrow area where big predators can’t easily reach in and try to grab it. In these cases, the people (maybe they’re researchers, maybe they’re wildlife vets, maybe they’re interns,) will have to sit and wait for the animal to finally feel safe enough to finally leave. You can imagine how those people will feel confused, and perhaps a bit annoyed that this big, dangerous animal that they had caught isn’t just leaving. Perhaps that was how the prison guards felt as they watched Tsutsumi Kaina staring off into the ocean, ignoring the bus as it was departing, the next one not set to come for another two hours.

Kaina stood outside the bus station, staring out at the ocean. She could breathe in the air. Smell the salt water. Feel the sun on her face. She was out.

Kaina didn’t even think to take the bus. Maybe she was paranoid about being tracked, and wanted to throw anyone off that might try to follow her, to force her back into the grisly, “necessary” business of killing. Maybe she just wanted to run. Either way, without warning, she suddenly broke out in a sprint down the road. No one stopped her.

It had been a long time since Kaina had been allowed such free use of her legs, so she was obviously cramped by the time she had stopped running. However, her discipline had never left her, and when she did finally collapse on a bench at the next bus station, she was dozens of miles away from Tartarus. It was only here that Kaina bought a ticket to the next town over, booked a room in a hotel, showered for an hour (wasting as much water as she damn well pleased, even being able to fill up the tub and just soak,) ordered a pizza with the works and a liter of soda, and turned on the news as she wolfed her food down.

The battle that the UN representatives told her about? It was real, but it was far more damaging than they had described. Thousands of people; heroes, villains, and civilians, had all died at Jaku, which had been essentially reduced to rubble from the rampages of Shigaraki and Gigantomachia. Technically, the heroes won, but only due to the sacrifice of a young man not even yet out of high school. In the chaos afterwards though, innumerable scandals of the HPSC and hero society came to light; Endeavor forcing his wife into a Quirk marriage and abusing or neglecting their children, blackmail, bribery, assassinations, institutionalized discrimination, sexual misconduct, and lastly, what the HPSC had forced Kaina to do. The PLF’s attack on the HPSC headquarters, followed by the investigations of the UN, had revealed everything; how Kaina had been directed to kill villains and corrupt criminals deemed too risky to be allowed to walk freely, how Kaina killed the previous HPSC president when he had threatened her to continue her work, and how she had been framed for a crime that she had not committed and thrown into Tartarus. It was all there, all made public.

This had been growing for the past few days, with new revelations being made of the underlying corruption of hero society, to the point that Japan’s membership in the WHA had been rescinded. By the time that Kaina was up to date on everything that had been happening, the prime minister made an announcement:

“Though the UN investigation is still ongoing, the findings it has brought to light so far have been deemed requiring immediate response. Due to the decision of the WHA to withdraw membership from Japan, and the reveal of how badly our hero system has failed to uphold justice and order, it is the decision of myself and of Parliament to dissolve the HPSC, and to integrate our pro heroes into Japan’s police force and emergency services.”

Kaina stared at the screen, not hearing anything else, whether it was the shouted questions of frantic reporters towards the prime minister, the wails of people in the rooms adjacent to Kaina’s, or the shouts and cries of people outside in the street as they began to riot.

The hero system had been dissolved? It was gone? Actually gone?

Kaina had learned about the corruption of hero society when she had been made a tool to enable it. When she finally refused, when she fought back and was arrested, she had harbored bitter feelings in herself, going into Tartarus in the hopes that one day, everything that the HPSC had worked to hide would come to light, that people would realize what a rotten façade the hero system was. It had been her dream, something that she would hold onto in the moments when her isolation within the steel tomb of Tartarus felt like too much. She’d think about a day where the rose-tinted lenses that everyone wore would finally be shattered, and they would see the rivers of blood that ran beneath their shiny utopia, where that sanctimonious, hypocritical sow of a woman who ran the HPSC would be dragged out of her office before the public and shown as the criminal that she was.

That didn’t mean that Kaina had ever actually thought that would happen. She had sworn off her naivety when she had killed the previous president, and she realized how false the idea that the heroes were good guys, the villains were bad guys, and goodness would always win. She realized at that point how farcical those ideas were, and by extension, how the corrupt organization that had controlled Kaina for her entire life had sunk its claws so deep into society that it was never going to be excised.

But it just had. The HPSC’s corruption had been revealed, people could see the inherent failures of the system, the prime minister had dissolved the hero system, and Kaina had seen the HPSC president being dragged into Tartarus.

It had happened. Everything she had dreamed for. The system that she had grown to despise was done. And she was free.

She should feel happy. She should be laughing, crying in joy, dancing around in her room despite the clear shock and horror everyone else in the country was probably experiencing. In truth though, Kaina didn’t know what to feel. All of this…it just felt too good to be true.

“Lady Nagant! Lady Nagant!”

Kaina was on patrol, when she was stopped by a group of kids, excitedly running up to her.

“It’s really you!”

“You’re so cool, Lady Nagant!”

“I want to become a hero just like you!”

“Just like you!”

“Just like you!”

Nagant saw herself in the kids, wearing her school uniform, grinning wide and excited to be able to live the dream of becoming a hero. She saw them, growing up, their hands stained with blood, just like her.

Kaina snapped awake, hyperventilating.

It didn’t take her long to calm down. She had this dream before. It was the same procedure as usual: Realize it was a dream, calm down, try to go back to sleep since there wasn’t anything else to do in prison, and nothing she could do to stop kids from chasing after a devil’s bargain disguised as a dream come tr…

Oh.

There weren’t going to be any more girls chasing that dream any more. And Kaina hadn’t woken up on her hard, cramped cot in a steel cube; she was in her new apartment. She had a nice bed with clean sheets, in an open room, and if she wanted to, she could turn the light on. She could just keep the light on instead of it being controlled by the prison. In Tartarus, the lights would come on or be shut off at set times, putting everyone on the same schedule. Now though, Kaina could wake up, stay up all night, and if she wanted to, turn off the lights during the day, close the shutters, and sleep while the sun was up.

She settled on turning on the lamp that was next to her bed. The light illuminated her bedroom, showing it to be pretty austere. The apartment was furnished with what Kaina needed to sleep and store what few clothes she was able to carry, but not much of anything else.

The barren apartment reminded Kaina too much of her blank, colorless cell in Tartarus. It wasn’t as if the guards would have let her decorate. Now though? It began to hit her that this room was hers, and she could do anything she wanted with it.

Several hours later, Kaina was out again with her hair dyed black to ensure no one could recognize her, splurging on whatever cute merchandise she could find. Plushies, mahou shojo merchandise, adult-size onesies, she took whatever she could carry back to her apartment, only to immediately leave to go on another shopping spree. Some people might find it odd that a government assassin would be interested in this kind of stuff, but she just liked cute things, ever since she was a girl, and she wasn’t a hero or a government assassin any more, so who cared what anyone thought about the grown woman openly lugging around Sailor Moon posters?

Most people didn’t take notice of her anyway. While Kaina was gleefully spending her reimbursement money from her wrongful imprisonment, she was still watching her surroundings, always ready to drop whatever she was carrying and fight anyone who might try to drag her back to the hellhole of Tartarus or the hellhole of her past life as a hero. Most people that she passed on the street or working in the stores that she visited though seemed too shellshocked from the announcement of the dissolution of the hero system of the day before. They barely seemed to notice Kaina, or really, anything else, walking around like zombies, their eyes hollow and empty as they took in the collapse of their dreams. They were either in a fugue state, or they were twitchy, looking around as if they were preparing themselves for someone to attack them, or perhaps to attack someone themselves.

On her second trip out for the day, Kaina managed to find a place to stop for lunch, a diner called “Burger Queen.” It had been over a decade since Kaina had eaten a burger. She wasn’t even necessarily a huge fan, it was just that now she had a chance, and she was going to take it. The burger didn’t disappoint though; Kaina swore it was like eating the burger from the end of The Menu. So, of course she ordered two more. Yeah, it was probably going to make her sick, but it was hard to have impulse control when she was finally free to eat whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, and how much she wanted after having her meals regimented at set items, set times, and set amounts. As she was eating her third burger though, Kaina noticed something outside.

“Fake heroes! Fake heroes! Fake heroes!”

Kaina heard chanting, and saw a crowd gathering down the street. Vaguely, she could recognize a figure that they were gathering around.

“Hakamada?” Kaina said to herself, recognizing Best Jeanist’s iconic ‘jurtle.’ The ‘Fiber Hero’, or perhaps the ‘former Fiber Hero’ had his hands raised, trying to calm the crowd over whatever it was that they were getting worked up about, but his presence seemed to make everything worse, as the people were suddenly riled up like a swarm of wasps, running around in a frenzy, shouting, throwing garbage and rocks everywhere; at Hakamada, through windows, at each other. Hakamada’s attempts to quell the riot only seemed to make everything worse, as his attempts to bind the rioters once they started to get violent only led to a different group of people breaking out in a rage further down the street.

“Um…ma’am?” the cook spoke up to Kaina, his only customer at the time. “I think you should get away from the windows…”

Kaina did what the man asked, the chef even allowing her behind the bar for added protection as they waited for the riot to calm down. Meanwhile, Kaina watched as Hakamada desperately tried to keep people safe.

Kaina had become a hero around the same time as Hakamada, so they were relatively familiar with each other, and there was a time in which she had even considered him to be something of a friend. By the time that he had broken into the Top 10 and started to get the kind of clearance that gave him an idea of the kinds of things that the HPSC had Kaina do, it was also around the same time that she was starting to have questions about the hero system. She had tentatively started to share her concerns with him; that perhaps they were hiding too much from the public about the kinds of things that heroes did behind closed doors, that the way that the HPSC set up the ranking system was unfair, that perhaps one day, these sorts of problems would boil over and the public might get angry about it. He simply patted her on the back and told her not to worry, that the HPSC wouldn’t do anything nefarious, that they could trust that they were in the right as heroes, and that if people did ever find out about their black ops missions, even if they would be shocked at first, they would understand and be forgiving towards them.

Oddly enough, seeing Hakamada struggle, Kaina didn’t feel like going out to say “I told you so.”

“Sweet little bumblebee, I know what you want from me,

Dubi dubi du dah dah

Dubi dubi du dah dah

Sweet little bumblebee, more than just a fantasy,

Dubi dubi du dah dah

Dubi dubi du dah dah”

Kaina unashamedly listened to the bubblegum dance music, her sense of awkwardness gone even disregarding the fact that she was alone in her apartment as she was cooking. That morning, she felt like getting pickles, and decided to use that as the impetus to learn how to make Polish ‘Zuppa Ogórkowa’, or ‘Dill Pickle Soup.’

After eating out, it hit Kaina that rather than force herself to eat whatever bland fare a guard would bring her, she could choose what she wanted to eat. She could go to a restaurant and pick something, or better yet, make something herself. So, one of the first things she used with her free time was to take up cooking. In Tartarus, Kaina would have to eat the same bland fare a prison guard would slide through her door every day. There was little to no variation, just enough to keep her alive. It didn’t matter if she didn’t like it or if she wasn’t hungry, she’d have to eat it, or she wasn’t going to get anything else. Now though, she could choose whatever she wanted to eat.

She knew how to cook before she went to Tartarus, or at the very least, she knew how to work a stove, but there had only ever been so much time she could make something for herself when her job required her to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Now though, she had time to learn. She made pancakes in the morning, topping them off with whatever fruit or candy she felt like. She spent an entire week learning how to perfect a tsukemen dish that she would get from a 24-hour restaurant in her hero days. There were times where she’d get the faintest niggling of a desire for a particular dish that she didn’t have in the kitchen, only to immediately go and pick up the ingredients for whatever met her fancy at the time, even if she had only just gotten groceries the day before, or she couldn’t realistically fit everything in her fridge. If she didn’t have enough room, she could just dump it, after all.

As Kaina was cooking though, she saw a shadow swoop by from the corner of her eye. The instant that she had activated her Rifle Quirk and pointed her gun arm behind her, she heard a scream from the apartment upstairs, followed by a faint crunching noise from the ground below. Kaina moved to the window and peeked down, seeing a body in a business suit on the pavement with a slowly growing pool of blood.

“Tetsuo! Tetsuo!” a woman’s voice cried out from above in despair as a few bystanders gathered around the body.

Slowly, Kaina edged away from the window. There wasn’t anything she could do about this. She generally avoided efforts from her neighbors to get to know her, realizing that it would probably put them on edge to know who she actually was. However, her experience in reading people and situational awareness had allowed her to pick up on a few things from the apartment regardless. She knew that the man from the apartment above her used to have an administration job in a Support Gear company in the city. Of course, with the dissolution of the hero system, that had meant that his livelihood was gone.

This wasn’t a rare occurrence. There had been a rash of suicides on top of the rampant crime, riots, and general social unrest ever since the collapse of the hero system. Quite a few people who had committed suicide weren’t even related in any obvious way to the hero system the way Tetsuo was; there were only so many ways the mind could cope with a change so overwhelming. Kaina had made sure to stay up to date on current events, partly to be informed, partly in the hopes that she might be able to satisfy some sense of spite for seeing the world that betrayed and used her fall to pieces.

This didn’t feel particularly satisfying.

Kaina went back to her soup and turned her music up, singing along to drown out the sound of sobbing from upstairs.

The news had been getting repetitive, and most people were recommended to stay indoors unless they absolutely needed to go out. Kaina felt reasonably confident that she could handle herself in the face of any riot or thug taking advantage of the country’s weakened law enforcement, but wasn’t interested in getting into a fight either. She had gotten enough food to last for a while, and it wasn’t as if she had any family or friends to visit, so she decided to just spend the day binging on mahou shojo anime.

Today, she was marathoning the entirety of Madoka Magica, technically a bit of a departure from the cutesy stuff that she usually watched. The characters were still cute, but there was a nuance to their circumstances missing in other anime, a dark undercurrent to the system that the magical girls fought under. Kaina remembered when she had first watched this series when she was younger; she admired Madoka’s heroism, kindness, and optimism, her desire to save everyone. Now though, watching Madoka and the horrors that she experienced, Kaina felt numb, and saw how naïve Madoka was, even if she admired her goodness. She wondered how Madoka would fare in the world of pro heroes; if she would be able to maintain her belief in a happy ending, if the corruption of the system would wear her down, or if she would simply end up destroying herself in a futile act.

Kaina sighed wearily as she slurped up some tsukemen. Maybe someone like Madoka could have been a true hero, but she had yet to ever meet someone like that in real life. And even if someone like that existed, the system would have taken advantage of their image and used it to draw in more idealistic fools to be made more cogs in an ever-growing abomination that wore the façade of heroism. Heck, that was practically what they had done to All Might.

…Maybe it would be good to switch to watching Pokémon for a bit.

Kaina’s thoughts were interrupted by her door bell buzzing. This immediately put her on edge. She didn’t talk to the neighbors, she didn’t have any friends or family who would want to visit, and she hadn’t ordered anything. She started to bend her arm into its rifle form when she paused and took a breath.

“Keep it together, Kaina. Just because someone you don’t know is at the door doesn’t mean that they’re someone you’re going to need to shoot.”

Still unwilling to completely abandon caution, Kaina crept noiselessly towards the door and looked through its peep hole. She immediately pegged the man standing there as a government employee, but not someone who would be used to carry out the kinds of work that she did. He was scrawny, with thinning hair and thick glasses, and clearly in need of a break considering how heavy his eyebags were and how nervous he seemed. He was a pencil-pusher, not a triggerman. That begged the question of why he was here. Even if he wasn’t looking for her for any malevolent purpose, Kaina knew better than to trust anyone from the government.

“Ms. Tsutsumi?” he asked, knocking again. Kaina weighed the option of not saying anything in the hopes that he would just go away.

The man knocked one last time.

“Lady Nagant?”

That got her teeth on edge. She didn’t want to take the risk that one of the neighbors might hear.

“What do you want?” she growled through the door, making the man flinch, though he did his best to regain his composure.

“Um…I’m a representative of the new Department of Emergency Services, and I was wondering if I might be able to come in and have a word with you?” the man said, speaking towards the peep hole.

“No.” Kaina answered. Unless the man had a warrant, she was under no obligation to speak to him.

The man froze awkwardly.

“Uh…it’s just…we’ve been trying to locate former heroes. We’d like to offer you a chance to join the Emergency Services…your skills would certainly be invaluable…”

“Lady Nagant, we need you! You’re the only hero who can do this kind of work! I know that it’s a bit grimmer than the hero work that the public knows about, but that makes it all the more necessary! We need the public to trust that our society is strong, and these…deviant elements would throw that trust into question! I just need you to…make them disappear.”

“I said no.” Kaina growled again.

The man blinked, his mouth hanging open as he stammered.

But he still wouldn’t leave…

“Ms…Ms. Tsutsumi…please…we need your help…the country needs your help…I know that the HPSC betrayed you but…!”

Kaina gave no answer beyond cocking her rifle arm, making sure that the bespectacled worm on the other side of her door could hear it. This finally gave the man the picture as he paled, stepping back in fear.

And yet, he still didn’t leave.

Kaina readied her rifle arm, ready to fire a round through the thin wood of the door and the man’s skull.

“I’m…I’m sorry for bothering you, Ms. Tsutsumi!” The man stammered, followed by his rapidly retreating footsteps. Kaina kept her Quirk ready for a minute more. When she looked through the peep hole again, she was able to confirm that no one was there anymore.

She had gotten complacent. Of course they wouldn’t leave her alone. With the country as bad as it was, who else did they have left to clean up their messes? They would lure her back in with sweet-sounding promises, telling her that she was “serving society,” “performing a necessary duty,” and “protecting the people from behind the scenes,” only to have her fill up a new graveyard. And the moment that she started having doubts, or started to get old and slow, they would make her and all mention of her disappear.

No. She wasn’t going to let them do that.

They knew where she lived. She had to get out of there.

Perhaps she should leave the country altogether? Start over somewhere completely different, far away from the HPSC. Kaina shot that idea down pretty quickly. The instant someone found out about her, whether it would be a foreign government or a criminal organization, they would try to force her to work for them. Japan was the only country that didn’t have a hero system currently after all, and it would be easy for the government of the U.S. or China to claim that they were strongarming her for ‘the greater good,’ that they were ‘giving her a chance to make up for her past misdeeds.’

So, no point in moving. She just needed to figure out a way to protect herself where she was. She needed to take some time to think, to plan, to prepare herself for the next time someone tried to visit her, to force her back into becoming a murderer. Kaina took a breath and retracted her Quirk. She felt her arm tingling though, and looked down. She was shaking. Why was she shaking? She had killed so many before…

She was about to kill that man. Even years later, the reflex was still there. It was so easy. Too easy. This shock brought Kaina back to the present.

“What the hell am I doing?” Kaina asked herself.

She was about to kill some scared office worker. And for what? It was clear that he had nothing to threaten her with. The HPSC was gone, she had seen the president heading into Tartarus. They didn’t have the resources any more to force her to do anything. The Japanese government didn’t have the resources to do anything; they were floundering so much that there was talk of asking for UN assistance just to help police their own country.

What was wrong with her?

Actually, that was pretty obvious. She had been gaslit into becoming an assassin under the guise of a hero for over a decade, and had spent another decade inside a prison meant to be a punishment for someone who deserved worse than death. Maybe it would be better to ask what was right with her.

So, what was she supposed to do about this? Who exactly could she talk to? A psychiatrist? That would have been hard enough in this country even before it started turning into the set of a Mad Max movie. Family? All dead. Friends? Most probably dead, terrified that Kaina would want to kill them, or otherwise be someone that Kaina actually would want to kill.

…Maybe she could start with taking a walk to clear her head.

The general public had been encouraged to stay indoors while what accounted for Japan’s law enforcement attempted to restore order to the country, so the streets were mostly barren. Kaina wasn’t overly concerned though; she was probably the most dangerous thing in the city at the moment, and she needed the fresh air after cooping herself up for so long.

That being said, it wasn’t improving things too much for her mental state.

They’re going to come back for you. The next time that they visit you though, they won’t send some pencil pusher. There will be men in tactical uniforms, assassins with undetectable Quirks, ready to drag you into an unmarked van. So what if the HPSC has been dissolved? Do you really think something that ingrained in the culture could be so easily removed? You know that the suits in the government will just form something under a different name with the exact same purpose.

Kaina took a breath, trying to calm her inner thoughts. Her surroundings though didn’t do much to cheer her up though. Contrary to the hustle one would expect from a city as active as Musutafu, it was mostly barren, with the majority of its citizens too scared to leave their homes or businesses. A lot of said businesses were clearly struggling though. It seemed as if every other building that Kaina passed on her walk had a ‘FORECLOSED’ or ‘OUT OF BUSINESS’ sign, the windows covered up with plyboard, or smash by some vandal. A city this big, with so few people out, with entire streets absent of people, felt to Kaina as if she was walking in some apocalyptic wasteland.

One of the buildings Kaina walked past was an obvious former hero agency, considering the eyesore of architecture it was; with a stylized black-and-yellow striped caution band wrapped around it, labelling it as the “Death Arms Hero Agency.” The style choice confusedly matched the additional, official caution tape wrapped around the building by police, marking the building as a crime scene from the various acts of vandalism done to it after the hero quit. The windows were smashed, the walls had graffiti covering them saying ‘QUITTER!’, ‘FAILURE!’, ‘WORTHLESS FAKE!’, etc., and a scorch mark on the wall indicated that someone had attempted to set the building on fire at some point.

Musutafu had been a popular city for heroes, perhaps because of UA being located there, so there were numerous other hero agencies that Kaina passed as she walked, but almost all of them were in a similar state as the former Death Arms Agency. A few were in the process of being vandalized as Kaina walked by them, with grimy figures spray-painting lewd images or phrases on the agency walls, only to scamper away like rats the moment they saw Kaina observing them, as if they could sense that she was a former hero.

The streets weren’t completely abandoned though, as Kaina could hear shouting in the distance in a few locations of Musutafu, as people chanted slogans similar to the ones that she had read spray-painted on the walls of hero agencies. Perhaps protesters were moving from building to building, finding new targets of their ire depending on which agency buildings had been abandoned yet or not. Kaina could hear more protests around areas of the city that she knew had government buildings; probably a more consistent target of people wanting to find something to be angry at. UA seemed to be a major focus of protests as well; perhaps because there was a possibility that the school might still have someone that would shout back.

Eventually, Kaina stopped, trying to find a quiet place to herself, but even with as empty as the streets were, and as much as she avoided the sounds of shouting, she could still hear the echoes of riots and vandalism resonating through Musutafu.

It was strange. In a way, this was what Kaina had hoped for over the last decade of her life; an end to the façade of the hero system. No more HPSC, no more children being duped by flowery promises of fame and noble purpose, no more hypocritical or naïve slogans gaslighting everyone into ignoring the rot of their society. Everything had been laid bare, the people that had hurt and manipulated Kaina into killing people were in prison, it had all just come to a crashing halt.

Looking around Musutafu though, a city empty of anything but vandals and bits of litter rolling around like tumbleweeds, it felt like a hollow victory to Kaina. Yes, the hero system was gone, but in its place was…this.

Kaina shook her head, hoping that finding something nicer to distract her. She ended up wandering towards the wealthier part of Musutafu. Yes, she knew that a lot of those buildings were constructed from the largess of the hero system, with deluded fools dressed in spandex making money for a select handful of bureaucrats, but it would be like walking through a museum. Yes, the stories of how everything got there were usually ugly, but they were nice things to look at, at least.

However, most of the buildings in the ritzy part of Musutafu weren’t doing any better, with some being vandalized as much as the former hero agencies, and a few with active angry mobs shouting outside of them. In hindsight, Kaina realized that she should have known better; most of the businesses in the country had gotten successful because of the hero system. Without the system, a lot of the owners of the businesses would be suffering, in addition to being another target of the ire of public opinion.

The last building Kaina came across was the Todoroki estate. She was surprised to see it mostly untouched. Even though she knew that Endeavor wasn’t actually in his home, but had been transferred to the Fujiya Hospital, and his remaining children should be seen more as his victims than complicit accomplices, she honestly expected the general public to not care and target them as well, if only to pick out someone else to blame for their problems. Small favors, she supposed. Just as she observed this though, she saw someone leaving out the front door of the building. He was blond man with golden-brown eyes, wearing a respirator mask, and weakened nubs of red wings sticking out of his back. As he walked out, the man sighed, exhausted and coughing.

“…Takami?” Kaina spoke out loud in surprise.

The former No. 2 Hero Hawks, now known just as Takami Keigo, froze in place before turning towards his old mentor.

“…Tsutsumi?”

Kaina had heard about what had happened to Takami; working undercover as a double agent with the League of Villains in an effort to subvert the group, tipping the heroes off to the League’s operations in taking over the MLA and to their location, allowing the heroes to launch a surprise attack, culminating in the defeat of the newly christened ‘Paranormal Liberation Front’. Of course, because of the actions of the villains Dabi and Skeptic, the majority of the public only knew about his assassination of the villain Twice, framed as Hawks toying with a mentally unstable man before stabbing him in the back.

Kaina however knew Takami from much further back than that. Like her, Takami had been brought into the HPSC at a young age, albeit for him it was far, far younger. He had been practically sold to the HPSC by his deadbeat mother, and like her, trained as a hero, but also in the arts of infiltration and deception. She had been one of his teachers. At the time, she hadn’t thought much of training a child for the purposes that she had been, she had just told herself that the HPSC had done the same thing with her and she had turned out alright. When she had been arrested though, one of her greatest regrets was the fact that she knew that Takami would be put to the same use as her.

“Tsutsumi?” Takami asked again, his voice sounding raspy through his mask, his injuries a result of Dabi’s retaliation against the hero for killing Twice. Despite his pain though, he took a step closer to Kaina.

Kaina expected quite a few emotions from Takami; fear of her reputation as an assassin, anger towards her for participating in his training, but his voice carried more confusion, and daresay it, happiness, at seeing her?

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

This was probably the first conversation Kaina had with a human being in the past month apart from her nearly shooting that government representative. She decided to put aside her confusion for the moment.

“I wanted to go for a walk.” She answered. “What are you doing here?”

Takami looked towards the Todoroki household.

“…Just checking up on someone, I guess.”

Kaina looked towards the house. She remembered back when she was first training Takami, in the moments that he allowed himself to be more excited, to act more his age, he had expressed an admiration towards Endeavor as the man that caught and arrested Takami’s father, a wanted murderer. Considering what had been revealed about Todoroki Enji and how he treated his family, this was probably hard on Takami, especially with the issues he had with his own father. However, that begged the question of who Takami would have to visit here. From what Kaina knew about the Todoroki family (who had unfortunately been put in the spotlight by the tabloids following Dabi’s reveal of Endeavor’s abuse,) the only person who lived here was Todoroki Fuyumi, the only daughter of the Todorokis, a school teacher just about Takami’s age…

Kaina felt the faintest hint of amusement at the thought that occurred to her, but she had enough sense not to bring it up in the light of their current circumstances.

“So…how are you?” Takami asked.

“I’m fine.” Kaina answered with a shrug, not wanting to talk about her nightmares, her paranoia, her fear that she was going to be forced back into killing people, or the missing last decade of her life. “How about you?”

“Fine.” Takami answered with his own shrug. Kaina though stared at his respirator, along with the nubs of his wings on his back. “I got beat up at Jaku, but the doctors said that I should recover with time. A few days ago, I couldn’t even speak, had to use a text-to-speech app on my phone just to talk to anyone.”

Takami’s voice got raspier the longer he spoke, having to cough as he finished speaking.

“Do you need me to help you get back to the doctor?” Kaina asked in concern. Takami waved his hand dismissively.

“I’m fine…” he said while he got his breathing under control. “It’s just a problem when I’m out walking. I’ll be able to take this off and breathe more normally once I get somewhere to lie down.”

Kaina frowned at that statement.

“Do you have somewhere to lie down?”

Takami froze in surprise, as if he had only just considered that question himself, before going back to his relaxed voice, likely hoping that Kaina wouldn’t notice.

“I’ll be fine, I’m just going to be getting a hotel.”

Kaina thought for a moment. When she was working with the HPSC, they had added her living accommodations to her agency; in hindsight, it was another way to control her, by being the means through which she had housing. They likely used the same methods with Takami. However, considering the hero agencies were all being shut down, that probably meant that Takami had lost those accommodations. She looked again at the nubs of Takami’s wings, and listened to the distant shouts of people looking for anything and anyone to blame for their problems. The former No. 2 hero, in a severely weakened state, on his own without even a safe place to live would be the ideal target.

“…How about you come with me and crash on my couch for the time being?”

Takami stared at Kaina.

“You…want me over at your place?”

Kaina shrugged.

“It would make me feel better to know that you were somewhere safe.” Takami still seemed hesitant, so Kaina added, “We could make fried chicken!”

The offer of his favorite food finally got to Takami.

“Alright teach, you got me.”

“Giga Drill is gone.” Kaina said to her handler over the phone.

“Wonderful.” The man said in the same tone he had used to congratulate Kaina since she was a child. “You’ve done an excellent service to society Lady Nagant, you should be proud of yourself.”

Kaina did not feel proud. Giga Drill was scum; a hero who used his position to take advantage of teenage girls from hero schools through internships that he had offered. However, when one of the girls had told the HPSC about what the hero had done, they had dismissed the case. True, they had made Giga Drill face consequences for his actions, but there was no acknowledgement of what those girls had gone through. As far as the public knew, Giga Drill was just going on an extended leave of absence. After some time, the HPSC would tell the story that the man had ‘valiantly died in the line of duty.’ He would still be seen as a hero by the rest of the world, possibly even given a plaque or a statue honoring him in his old hero school, one that the girls that he took advantage of would have to see every single day.

“Lady Nagant…is something wrong?” The handler asked over the phone. Kaina hesitated. Perhaps this was a chance she could say something, maybe she could suggest an actual change.

“Sir…I think that we should come clean about what Giga Drill did. Those girls he hurt aren’t going to get justice if people still see him as a hero.”

“Nagant, Nagant, Nagant,” the handler tsked. “You know we can’t do that. Don’t you see what kind of an egg that would put on our face? People need to know that they can trust heroes after all.”

“But sir,” Nagant pleaded, “what if someone else tries to take advantage of girls like that again?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that!” the handler said, “We’ve already issued payments to the families of those girls, there’s no harm done!”

No harm done?

No harm done!?

“Although, now that you mention it…one of the girls hasn’t been quite cooperative. We’ll need you to make her go away.”

Kaina felt her heart stop in her chest.

“…What?”

“Kill her, Tsutsumi. That’s an order.”

“N…no!” Kaina shouted. “How could you ask me to do something like that?” she had never been given an order like this before! How could they think something like that would be justified?

“Are you refusing your order?” the handler asked in a dangerous voice.

“Yes!” Kaina shouted again. “I’m not going to kill someone innocent!”

“That’s too bad.”

Suddenly, Kaina was hit by a massive explosion that tore her room apart. As Kaina hit the floor, a massive wooden beam fell on her, pinning her down. Everything was spinning, she couldn’t see or hear anything but ringing, but the moment her hearing came back, she saw the cracked screen of her phone that the handler was still talking through.

“It is quite unfortunate, Lady Nagant, you were very useful to us.”

Pinned beneath the debris, Kaina heard approaching footsteps.

“Fortunately, there will always be those willing to do what’s right for their society.”

A hand roughly grabbed Kaina by her shoulder, holding her down. She looked, and saw the face of the girl that had wanted to shake her hand, her hand glowing red and pointed between her eyes.

Kaina snapped out of it, grabbing and twisting the hand holding her down, kicking the debris off of her and twisting her attacker’s arm around, activating her Rifle Quirk in the same move to point at the back of their head.

“Wait, wait, Tsutsumi!” Takami’s voice cried out.

Kaina blinked. She wasn’t in her old agency, she was in her apartment. She hadn’t kicked debris off of her, it was her bed sheets. And it was Takami whose head she currently had pinned to the wall with her Rifle arm.

Shaking, she pulled away. Carefully, his hands in the air where she could see them, Takami turned around.

“…You were screaming in your sleep. I guess I just made things worse, huh?” he tried to joke.

Kaina was still panting. Takami looked down, and Kaina realized that her Quirk was still active. She quickly retracted it, and Takami took the opportunity to leave.

Kaina didn’t sleep for the rest of the night. She had nearly killed a man that she had known since he was a child. She could still remember when Takami first met her, and the innocent joy in his eyes as he realized that he was going to have a hero of such acclaim teaching him…

Kaina wretched, doubling over the side of her bed as she barely fought off the urge to vomit. Eventually, she calmed down enough that she was able to crawl out of bed. Much to her surprise though as she walked into the living room, she saw Takami was still there, lying on the couch as he flipped through the news on his phone. He looked up and shot her a smile.

“Morning!” he said as if he was pretending that she hadn’t nearly killed him the night before. “Sleep okay? Sorry I scared you like that, dumb move, I know.”

Kaina stared at Takami, unable to believe it. He was still there?

Thinking about it though, Kaina remembered that Takami didn’t exactly have anywhere else he could go. She had initially only intended to have Takami sleep on her couch for a night before he could find somewhere more permanent. He had certainly tried to find somewhere else, not wanting to impose on his old teacher for too long (that was just what he said to her. The real reason they both knew was what they both knew about the things that the other had done. In a bizarre way, they were the only ones who could understand each other…but the difference between them was that Kaina was one of the people who had helped put Takami in the position where he would go and do those things. Obviously, an uncomfortable arrangement, for Kaina at least.) However, finding an apartment for Takami was a lot harder than they had anticipated. Besides the general issue of finding housing in the turmoil of society at the time, the moment anyone recognized who Takami was, they immediately turned him down. No one wanted to be associated with the HPSC hitman that had murdered a man with a mental disorder in cold blood. (One landlady was dumb and entitled enough to say this to Kakami’s face, and Kaina had to fight the urge to feed that woman her own teeth. How the hell could anyone judge Takami for what he did? He risked his life every single day he was spying on the League, gave the heroes the window of opportunity that they needed to attack, and took out one of the greatest threats in the League before he could unleash a literal, ever-growing army on the country. And people rewarded all of this by treating him like the plague. Fuck those worthless, ungrateful peons.)

“Y…yeah…” she said, not wanting to think about the previous night herself. She pointed her thumb towards the kitchen. “Hey, you hungry? I was thinking of making chicken and waffles.”

That was a lie; Kaina was going to eat cold cereal out of the box while she watched Tokyo Mew Mew. The offer though surprised Takami so much that he couldn’t muster the will to say no.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah, my treat.” Kaina asserted, immediately getting to work with the meal. Working though made her feel sick, staring blankly off into the distance as the chicken fried.

Here she was, giving Takami a bribe so he wouldn’t think about the horrible thing she had just done. How much had the HPSC rubbed off on her?

“Takami…I’m sorry…” she eventually managed to work up the courage to say out loud.

Takami finished folding up the blankets on the couch to make it look nice when Kaina spoke.

“I’m…I’m so sorry…” Kaina repeated again.

Takami stared at Kaina for a moment before sighing.

“It’s okay. I get it.” He answered with a more sincere smile.

And didn’t that just make her feel worse? Takami didn’t seem to be bothered though as he gratefully dug into the food. Despite his issues with finding housing, Takami had been improving steadily since Kaina had invited him to her apartment; his wings were growing back, and he hardly needed the respirator mask anymore. As the two were cleaning up the dishes, Takami spoke up again.

“Hey…so…” Takami said. “I was wondering…”

In the time that she had gotten to know him, Kaina had found only one thing that got him to speak with that hint of fear, and despite the events of the previous night, she felt the urge to smirk.

“See…Fuyumi’s brother is going to be coming over for dinner tonight, and she invited me to spend it with them.”

“Aww…” Kaina teased, actually managing to illicit a blush from her old student. “You’re getting to know the family…”

Ever since Kaina had started letting Takami sleep in her apartment, she had noticed that he had been making a lot of calls to the daughter of the Todoroki family. He excused it as just wanting to check up on the family of the hero that had once inspired him so much, wanting to make sure that they were okay after going through so much turmoil, but Kaina could tell there was something a bit more there.

“Haha…right.” Takami tried to ignore the teasing and continued; “The thing is, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me.”

Kaina stopped scrubbing her pans.

“It’s just…you know,” Takami went on, “you might like to spend some time with people. I mean,” Takami shrugged, “I get it if you want to want to binge Pokémon again, it’s your choice how you want to spend your time, but…” Takami shrugged, “it might help you to calm down if you had someone to talk to.”

Kaina repressed the urge to wince at Takami’s verbal jab, choosing not to respond as she continued to clean. Takami took advantage of the fact that she didn’t say no, though.

“Fuyumi knows who you are, by the way, so she’s not going to judge you.” Takami shrugged. “I mean, we’re all kind of in the same boat, aren't we?”

Kaina wasn’t particularly enthused about the idea, but she couldn’t argue with Takami’s logic. There was only so much time she could spend cooped up in the apartment, after all.

“…Okay.”

Several hours later, the two were making their way back to the Todoroki mansion.

By this point, Takami’s wings had grown back almost to the point that he could use his Quirk without hurting himself. That being said, Kaina was glad that she was walking with him. From what she had heard, Takami’s old hero agency had been attacked by arsonists, even though the building itself was supposed to be repurposed. She didn’t like to think how someone would react to seeing him walking around. Unfortunately, even though she had let Takami borrow her hair dye and he was wearing a coat to cover up his wings, it wasn’t a perfect disguise.

Such was the case when the two were cutting through an alleyway as a shortcut, only to bump into a man that smelled of liquor as he accidentally swayed into Takami, knocking his coat loose. The man immediately noticed Takami’s wings.

“Hey…it’s you! You’re Hawks! You killed that Twice guy!”

Takami sighed.

“Look, man, I’m just out for a walk…”

“How the hell are you not in prison?” the man demanded furiously, anger growing on his face and supplanting any confusion he might have had from his intoxication. “Why the hell haven’t they executed you?”

“Buddy, I got questioned by a UN panel, and they all agreed that I did what I had to do to stop the League from killing even more people than they already had…”

“Oh, sure, the guys from the government said that.” The man said contemptuously. “But we all saw what you did! We saw you kill a man with a mental disorder when he was just trying to run away!”

“He was about to unleash an army of clones on everyone…” Takami tried to explain.

“I don’t care what your damn excuses are!” The man started to back away, but kept his aggressive expression. “Let’s see what everyone else thinks when they hear you’re here!” The man cupped his hands over his mouth, “HE…Gack!”

The man had attempted to shout out, only to painfully gag as Kaina shoved her Rifle arm into his mouth. She had hit him so aggressively that she had pinned him against the brick wall of the alley by the back of his throat.

“Tsutsumi!” Takami tried to get Kaina’s attention, to try to calm her down, but she had enough of this.

“You shut the hell up, you worthless piece of garbage.” Kaina growled to the man as he frantically coughed and gagged on the rifle shoved into the back of his throat. “If this man here hadn’t done what he had, you and everyone you know would be dead. Don’t you act as if the League were filled with noble people when every single one of them knew that they were working for a psychopath who had murdered two children and was planning on murdering everyone else.”

Kaina leaned her head forward until he was face to face with the man, who was frantically crying, hands shaking over the arm ready to execute him, but too scared to touch it for fear of setting the former hero off.

“You have no idea what he had to do, how much he put at risk to help you ungrateful bastards. You say a goddamn word to cause trouble, and I’ll pop your head like a zit, you understand?”

“Yyygggmmmpphhh!!! Yyygggmmppphh!” the man answered, frantically trying to shake his head up and down. Finally, Kaina pulled her rifle arm out, and the man, spitting and coughing blood from the force of her attack, ran crying out of the alleyway.

“…You didn’t need to do that, Kaina.” Takami eventually said. “I could have just flown away.”

“…You didn’t deserve that, kid.” Kaina answered. She shook her head, exhausted. “I’m sorry, I don’t feel up to talking to anyone else tonight, I’m going home.”

Takami sighed.

“Alright. I should be able to fly back without any issue. You take care of yourself, Tsutsumi.”

The two departed, and Kaina took to wandering aimlessly through the city, still cautious of distant echoes of protests, along with the faint glow of another fire being set. She sighed, disgusted by what she was seeing. Were these the kinds of people that she had been fighting to protect? Was this the real face of the society the HPSC duped her into serving?

Finally, the day came where Takami’s doctor cleared him, and his wings were confirmed to be back to their full glory. He celebrated by lapping the city of Mustafu a few times, grateful to finally be able to fly freely without being couped up anymore. Kaina tracked him in his flight, bemusedly smiling at his exuberance before heading back inside; he had mentioned that he had a few errands to take care of for the rest of the day.

Once Kakami came back to the apartment, he did something somewhat confusing to Kaina; he put on his old hero costume. When he noticed her watching him, Takami gave Kaina a grim smile.

“Feeling nostalgic?” Kaina suggested, even though it had only been a bit over a month since Kagami had last worn it.

“Just making sure everything still fits the way it should before I go on patrol again tomorrow.”

Kaina blinked in surprise.

“Patrol?”

Takami shrugged.

“Yeah, the police aren’t really sure what else to do with the heroes that are trying to integrate with them, so they’re mostly just having us try to do the same things we did before until they figure out how to change things up.” He looked wistfully at his aviation jacket. “I’m kind of wondering if they’re going to just have me stick with this since its probably the best thing to wear with how fast and high I move. Maybe they’ll give me something in blue to match everyone else eventually.”

“Wait…you’re joining the police?”

Takami looked at Kaina quizzically.

“I mean…yeah? The government’s trying to keep all the heroes they can, so I’m just going to try to make the most of whatever it is they’re going to try to do with me.”

“Ms. Tsutsumi, I promise you, you are going to be a great service to society. Your skills are exactly what we need, and there isn’t anyone better for the work that you do!”

Takami was apparently able to pick up on the apprehension Kaina was feeling, as he tensed up as he looked back at her.

“…What is it?”

“…I don’t think you should do this.” Kaina answered.

Again, Takami blinked.

“Why not? I’m not a pro hero anymore, but this is the closest thing that we’ve got right now…”

“Takami…” Kaina interrupted, feeling her heart beat in her chest, trying to tamp down the thoughts that were screaming at her, reminding her of how she was the one who had trained him for this purpose, to make him into a government agent, to fulfill whatever duty they deemed necessary. “You already got out from the HPSC’s thumb. Don’t crawl back under a new one now that they don’t have the power to put you back under again.”

Takami stared at Kaina.

“…Tsutsumi…the HPSC’s gone…”

“Do you really think that whatever is going to replace it is going to be any better?” she snapped. “What do you think they’re going to have you do?”

“…The same stuff I did before?” Takami tentatively answered.

“Exactly.” Kaina said, stomping up to her old student, pleading with him not to fall back into the same trap that he and her had been caught in. “They’ll send you out on the same missions, to do the same stuff, to hide the same bodies. You know what you were trained to do. What I was trained to do. People aren’t just going to let those skills go, especially not if you’re just going to give them a chance to abuse them again.”

Some of the confusion left Takami’s face as he began to understand what Kaina was getting at, replaced with…pity?

“Kaina…they need my help.” He gestured to the window outside. From their view, the two could see a swath of vandalized businesses and homes. In the distance, the two were even able to see the blackened remains of one of the buildings that had been set on fire during a riot. “Someone’s got to do something about this.”

“Why?” Takami snapped again. “What do you owe to anyone out there?” she got up into Takami’s face. He did not retreat, and he just seemed upset that she was acting this way, which just made her angrier. “You lost your childhood because of people like the ones asking you to put that costume back on. You lost your innocence. You put everything on the line, and how do people thank you? They hate and fear you, even though you’re one of the biggest reasons why they’re all still living. You can’t even show your face in public without someone starting a riot trying to lynch you. Why would you want to help them?”

“Well, what else can I do? I can’t just sit back and watch everything burn.”

“Why not?”

Takami, normally so calm and composed, noticeably recoiled from Kaina’s statement. She felt bile in her mouth as she spoke, but forced it down and kept on with a rant that she had been holding in for years.

“Why shouldn’t we just watch it burn? Why not just let this rotten society face the consequences of their actions?” Kaina walked back to her living room with her arms spread wide. “I’ve got everything I need to live my life! Why shouldn’t we just let those rotten, ungrateful bastards fix their own problems?” She gestured towards the wide-eyed Takami. “Why shouldn’t you? Why go back to the same kinds of people that made us hated in the first place? You know as well as I do that they’re not going to trust you. You know that kind of reputation doesn’t go away.”

Takami stared at Kaina as she panted from her shouting. Eventually, he bowed his head and spoke in a quiet voice.

“…I want to keep kids from thinking that no one is going to save them.” He said in a quiet voice.

“I…I thought that heroes didn’t exist. I thought that my mom and I were never going to get away from that man, but then Endeavor showed up and finally stopped him! He showed me that heroes exist, and I want to be a hero like him!”

Kaina winced at the memory of Takami still as a wide-eyed, innocent child, though Kagami didn’t notice with his head down.

“Look…it does piss me off how people treat me.” Takami admitted. “Twice…I wish I could have convinced him to drop out from the League, but he was going to help them kill a lot of people, and I wish that people could realize that, and that the footage Dabi showed was taken out of context. I wish that I got something out of nearly getting burned alive.” Takami threw his hands up in frustration. “So, yeah, people are being assholes to me. And yeah, it sucks that the HPSC used me the way that they did. I had hoped that if I worked hard enough, I might be able to change them from within, make them less corrupt, but looking back, I really should have realized how much they played me.” He looked up at Kaina before wincing and looking away. “I can’t help but wonder if they were going to have me start to take someone else under my wing the way you did. Maybe whoever comes to power next is going to try to use me the way the HPSC did, and I’m not going to lie, I’m going to be on my toes to try to keep that from happening to me or to anyone else again.”

Takami sighed before looking back at Kaina.

“The fact is though, people still need help. Maybe they’re not saints, but neither am I. Look…I’m not All Might. I don’t have clean hands. But considering Endeavor is still in the hospital…I am probably the most skilled person in the country for this sort of thing, and I want to use what I’ve got to help them.”

He shook his head and shrugged.

“Things aren’t going to get any better unless we do something.”

Kaina couldn’t look at Takami in the eye, but he gently patted her on the shoulder.

“I don’t blame you for not wanting to get involved with any of this again, but this is my choice.”

Kaina idly slurped up some cup ramen. It would have tasted better, and maybe even made her feel better if she had gone through the effort to make it herself, or maybe make some tsukemen, or gyoza, or anything that took more effort than popping a cup in a microwave, but she didn’t have the energy to.

Takami had left about a week ago. While he hadn’t found any apartment willing to take him on as a tenant still, Todoroki Fuyumi had invited him to move in. Takami confided when he explained this to her that while he and Fuyumi both felt they might be moving a bit fast, it was ironically something that her brother and mother had encouraged, not feeling comfortable with her living alone, especially not with the stigma that had attached itself to the Todoroki name (though they were going to be legally changing their family name to Himura for this reason.)

Kaina didn’t realize how much she had appreciated Takami’s presence in the apartment until he was gone. He was someone she could talk to, someone who understood part of what she felt, someone that she understood. Watching anime on her own wasn’t the same as having Takami there, even if she sometimes had to compromise on what they watched (she did have to admit that Uncle From Another World was pretty funny, even if some of the references were seriously out of date.) Even though he had left, he still made sure to call her every few days. She always pretended that he was going to mooch off of her food again, but privately knew that he was checking up on her, knowing that she didn’t have anyone else to talk to.

Worse, she couldn’t get what he had said when he had told her that he was joining the police. There were times when she wanted to shout at him, when she wanted to beg him to stop, to not make the same mistakes she did, and then there were times where she just felt so proud of him.

She still checked up on the news. She still didn’t get any satisfaction from what she read about society falling apart.

Things finally came to a head when she was watching the news about a new riot breaking out in Mustafu.

“We’re getting reports of riots breaking out in separate locations of the city all at once. Each riot started in a major political, commercial, or transportation hub. It’s clear that these riots are far more organized than in the past.” The reporter frantically spoke to the camera on the scene at the Musutafu courtroom as a crowd of people wearing skull masks were trying to force their way through the police’s attempt to hold off. Kaina could make out some of the chants the masked rioters were shouting:

“Reject the Creatures of our society!”

“How many other Spinners are we supposed to put up with?!”

“CRC forever!”

The Creature Rejection clan. Of course. Kaina was familiar with them, even though the HPSC had never deemed them a significant enough threat to send her after them, though in hindsight, Kaina thought that some of the HPSC officials might sympathize with their anti-heteromorph views. Frowning, Kaina flipped through the news feed on her phone, getting live updates on each of the locations the CRC was rioting at:

One mob was rioting through the streets of Takoba, a poorer district where a lot of heteromorphs had to live. Another was trying to force their way into a hospital. Another into the National Bank. The last location chilled Kaina, as a crowd was rampaging through the metro station, cornering a group of heteromorphs that had sealed themselves inside a subway car that had been force off of the tracks. Police were there at each site, but it was clear that they were being overwhelmed. The only help the police had at each location was a single former hero attempting to combat the most violent rioters.

Kaina watched as Sakamata Kugo, formerly Gang Orca, who despite being one of the most targeted individuals at the courthouse he was trying to protect, still stood his ground as he wrestled with a Clan member with a Muscle Enhancement Quirk.

Yamada Hizashi, formerly Present Mic, was in Takoba, using his Voice Quirk to try to repel rioters, though he struggled as they were attempting to rush at him from multiple angles, forcing him to back up as he tried to fight.

Hakamada Tsunagu, formerly Best Jeanist was helping the police reset their breaking cordon by entangling rioters forcing their way through it.

Katamari Kuri, formerly Enigma was attempting to block the CRC’s attempts to ram trucks into the National Bank with her Mass Expansion Quirk that turned her into a giant black blob.

Kamiji Moe, formerly Burnin, one of Endeavor’s former sidekicks, had stationed herself on top of the subway car the CRC was trying to break into, holding her ground against the bigots and forcing them to step away with handfuls of fire.

Each of these former heroes were fighting odds far beyond what they should be expected to handle, but all without the praise that they had previously known. Several of them had been victimized in their own way by the society that they had fought to protect: Sakamata, despite being acknowledged enough to become the No. 10 Hero of the country, still had his physical appearance lambasted by the general public, being ranked third among “Heroes who look like villains.” Katamari had been treated even worse, being attacked as a villain even back since her early days as one of Ingenium’s sidekicks. Others were reviled by the public for their failures, or their perceived failures, despite working just as hard: Hakamada was seen as an example of the hero system’s decadence, despite having abandoned his fashion business in order to focus his efforts on helping the police. Yamada was demonized along with his other colleagues from UA for never reigning in the now infamous Bakugou Katsuki. Kamiji was blamed for the familial abuse her boss had committed, even though there was no way she could be blamed for what Endeavor did in his personal life.

All of these people, leftovers from a broken system, sometimes even victims of it, still trying to help the society that villainized them.

“I’m getting reports that the former No. 2 Hero Hawks is attempting to assist, but is caught in an aerial battle with several CRC members!” the reporter announced.

“Takami…” Kaina breathed as she saw phone footage of her former student skillfully swooping past skyscrapers in combat with his own opponents; some having grown wings of their own, some propelling themselves like rockets, and other attempting to ensnare him with wires or tentacles. Though he was far more skilled than any of them, it was clear that the CRC had accounted for his interference and was coordinating in a way that he couldn’t immediately respond to.

“…Screw it.” Kaina said before running out the door.

Keigo rolled out of the way of a torrent of flames that a masked CRC member was blasting at him while using it to fly. Normally, he’d have no problem with this, but another Clanist with a Wind Manipulation Quirk was making it difficult for him to direct his feathers. Suddenly, he felt a tendril hook onto his leg.

“Got him!” a Clanist shouted, having ensnared Keigo’s right leg with a transformed tentacle as he attempted to dodge past a skyscraper. He heard what sounded like an oncoming missile and braced for impact.

BANG!

The CRC member that could turn his limbs into jets shouted in pain, clutching the sputtering remains of his right leg as he suddenly careened out of control, ramming into another Clanist with a Limb Extension Quirk, causing the two to topple to the ground. Keigo recognized the sound of the gunshot, and felt his heart soar at the realization of what had just happened. The Wind Manipulation member suddenly fell out of the air with another Bang, giving Keigo the opportunity to finally make use of his feathers, which zipped out, snaring several of his distracted opponents and slamming them into the ground as more CRC members were sniped out of the air. With the skies clear, Keigo noticed a flashing light from a distant building signaling him to come over.

His old mentor was waiting for him, her Rifle Quirk active.

“Get me somewhere high.” She ordered, to which he obeyed with a grin.

Hero society, particularly Japanese Hero society, had always looked down on guns, something which Kaina realized in retrospect would have made it difficult for her to achieve acceptance without the HPSC’s manipulations. The fact remained however that no matter how strong you were, a rifle shot, even when Kaina used nonlethal ammunition, could usually take anyone down. Using Takami’s feathers to take her to a better vantage point, Kaina was able to take out most of the strongest threats that the other former heroes were facing. Coupled with Takami’s speed, the two were able to quickly neutralize the CRC’s attempts to run amok. Sakamata was in combat with the Brute CRC member when he was suddenly knocked out by a bullet impacting the back of his head, allowing him to use his sonic waves to paralyze the rest of the rioters at the bank. The trucks that Katamari was getting battered by had their tires shot out. In the open area of train station, Kamiji found that her opponents were all forced to run for cover to avoid getting sniped, allowing her to get the trapped passengers to safety. Hakamada was joined by Takami, who took down the rioting Clanists before they could react. Yamada was finally given a break as red feathers hitting from multiple angles flanked the Clanists trying to outmaneuver the Voice Hero.

But for some reason, when all was said and done, Takami brought the other former heroes to Kaina’s location. He just shrugged and grinned under her annoyed glare.

“They wanted to thank you.” He explained. When Kaina kept glaring at him, he walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “They know who we are, and what we’ve done. At this point though, considering the mess that we all got ourselves into with the HPSC, we’re just glad for whatever help we can get.”

“Tsutsumi…” Hakamada said, stepping forward, his head bowed in remorse. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t take what was happening to you seriously. I…I had just assumed that we were heroes, that the people we worked for would do the right thing…”

Sakamata stepped forward.

“You saved a lot of people, Tsutsumi. We are sincerely glad that you came to help, despite what we had been led to believe about you.”

“Endeavor never went that far…” Kamiji said grimly, “but I kind of understand now what it’s like to realize that the organization you were working for wasn’t all something to respect.” The woman flashed Kaina a smile. “It’s nice to be reminded that I’m not alone and there’s still some stuff left fighting for.”

“…It’s been hard lately.” Katamari said. “We don’t get much support, and now that the hero system’s gone, it feels as if I’m seen as a villain more than ever.” The young woman grimaced before smiling at Kaina. “I was scared that this was going to turn out a lot worse than it did. Thank you for helping us.” She said, bowing in respect.

Yamada spoke up, looking exhausted.

“I thought that was going to be it, you know?” the man said, slumped over. “There’s…there’s a lot of things that I feel like I’ve got to make up for, and I’m glad that I’ve got a chance to keep trying to do that, thanks to you two.”

Kaina looked at the former heroes spread before her, expressing their gratitude to her, treating her as a hero again. She’d be lying if she said that it didn’t make her feel a bit better about herself.

“…You’re welcome.” She answered simply.

“Ms. Tsutsumi…” Sakamata said, standing up straight. “We understand if this was something you chose to do merely on a whim, but I believe that I speak for all of us that if you chose to lend your aid with the force, we would be grateful.”

This was something that Kaina still doubted. Sure, these six former heroes might welcome her, but they could hardly speak for every other police officer. Then again though, this was a lot more people than she had in a while rooting for her.

The other heroes were giving Kaina her space, but Takami was looking at her expectantly.

Kaina couldn’t deny it; going out into the field, actually fighting for something, or at least someone that she believed in, it felt good. It felt good to fighting for anything at all. She felt how she did before she had met the HPSC, when she believed she could do some good in the world.

“What do you think?” Takami asked.

Kaina took a breath.

“…You’re right. I want to help too…but you know me, Takami.” Kaina pointed out. “You’ve seen the kinds of things that I’ve done, the ways that I’ve snapped. I’m not sure if I can help others when I need help myself.”

“I think we all need that kind of help.” Yamada pointed out grimly.

“We’re all just trying to sew ourselves back together.” Hakamada added. “Trying to take what we have and sew it into something good, and to try to not make the same mistakes we did in the past. One thread at a time.”

Kaina groaned, even as she had to repress a snort, remembering Hakamada's clothing puns. She looked again at Takami.

“If you still don’t want to do this, or if you need more time…”

“No…I think I’ve spent enough time cooped up.” Kaina admitted, looking out at the wreckage left over from the riots. “I need to do something now.”

Two years later

Kaina and Takami watched from a window in the upper floors as the new recruits came into the building, standing in a line as Chief Gori called them to attention.

“That them?” she asked, pointing to the crow-headed boy and the solid shadow sticking out over his shoulder from his navel.

“Yep. Tokoyami and Dark Shadow.” Takami responded. He seemed calm, but even as talented as he was in masking his true feelings, Kaina had trained him and knew his tells, the faint dilating of his pupils, the straightening of his wings as if tensing for takeoff; he was nervous.

“You sure you want to do this?” she asked.

Takami shrugged as if the challenge didn’t bother him.

“I’d rather us not hover around each other awkwardly until one of us snaps. If they’ve got a problem with me, I’d rather them air it out now.”

As Gori was talking to the recruits, Kaina noticed one of them, a tall, black-haired girl that Kaina realized was the heiress of the Yaoyorozu Conglomerate, observing her and Takami from her peripheral vision, her eyes widening in a brief moment of surprise and recognition before refocusing on Gori without anyone else noticing.

“Not bad situational awareness…” Kaina noted.

Once the new recruits had gotten familiar enough with the layout of the station and had a break before having to go out on duty, Kaina and Takami went down to the mess hall. The two saw Tokoyami and Dark Shadow on their own as they were leaving the locker rooms, and Takami took his chance. Kaina hung back, wanting to give her old student the privacy he needed to talk to his old students, but also wanting to be around in case things might get ugly. Takami wasn’t sure how Tokoyami and Dark Shadow would take seeing him again. He had taken them on for their Work Study back in their first year, but that was before he had become a pariah for his work for the HPSC and the assassination of Twice.

“Wish me luck!” Takami said to Kaina as he approached Tokoyami and Dark Shadow.

Kaina could see Takami greeting the two, who reacted in shock and surprise as expected. What she didn’t expect was the two would then throw themselves around Takami in a hug, exclaiming his old hero name excitedly, before realizing that they were in a public area and immediately trying to recompose themselves, blushing. Takami laughed it off, clearly relieved before inviting the two to talk. Kaina smiled, letting them have their privacy.

About an hour later, Takami met Kaina back in the mess hall, his unease gone.

“So, it went well?”

“Pretty good.” Takami answered, nodding with a grin. “They seemed glad to see me. It’s not all roses and daisies; they were pretty shocked to find out what the HPSC had been doing like everyone else, but they don’t seem to hold that against me.” Takami sat down, a faint glum look momentarily coming over him. “I almost feel like they should a little more, but I guess they were more concerned about me getting injured by Dabi. I kind of feel guilty for not talking to them since then.”

“Well, better than you expected, at least.” Kaina pointed out. “You three were talking for a bit, were you just catching up?”

“Yeah.” Takami sported a smirk. “Turns out they got a girlfriend when they were at UA.”

“Wait…you mean Tokoyami has a girlfriend, they share a girlfriend, or…”

Takami shrugged.

“I…think we’re just saying that Tokoyami has a girlfriend, but she also likes Dark Shadow…I don’t know, it’s something they’re figuring out.”

“Huh. So, you going to go back to teaching them?”

“If they’ll let me.” Takami said as he took a bite out of his chicken. “I’d certainly like to. I’d like to teach them what I know. Make sure that they don’t make the same mistakes I did.” He added wistfully.

Kaina smiled, though the comment made her think. She wished that she had been better at teaching Takami not to make her mistakes.

Perhaps it was hearing about Takami’s excitement about his mentorship, but Kaina decided to ask another question.

“So, besides this girlfriend of his, did Tokoyami and Dark Shadow mention any other students of note?”

Takami probably realized what Kaina was fishing for, but didn’t push it.

“Well, there’s two that they talked about now, the same two that they talked about the most back when they were doing their Work Study;” Takami pointed towards a green-haired young man sitting with the former members of the Hell Class, though unlike their uniforms, he wore a simple dress shirt and tie. “If I’m right, that guy over there? His name’s Midoriya Izuku, sounds like he’s working as one of our new analysts. Those two baby birds told me that he’s one of the biggest reasons why they’ve got such a good relationship. Also…” Takami paused uncomfortably, “Nezu took him on as his personal student.”

Okay, a bit too scary for Kaina’s liking.

“And the other one?” she asked.

Takami pointed over towards Yaoyorozu. In the brief moment that Kaina observed her, she noticed how the other members of the Hell Class interacted with her; deferring to her, giving her a look of respect that Kaina would only ever see in soldiers towards a trusted general.

“Yaoyorozu Momo. Apparently, she’s kind of the leader of their little group. Those two really make her sound impressive.”

Kaina continued to observe Yaoyorozu, resolving to keep an eye on her. She didn’t make any immediate decisions, instead wanting to get a handle on the girl, along with the rest of the new recruits. Despite several of them showing talent over the next few months though, it really was apparent that Yaoyorozu had earned the respect of Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, along with the rest of their peers, and eventually the rest of the police force. She was extremely intelligent and methodical, but also demonstrated a surprising ability to adapt to changing circumstances, able to handle threats that took Kaina years of training under the HPSC to deal with. Eventually, she decided that she wanted to cultivate this talent.

On the day that she decided to talk to Yaoyorozu, Kaina observed Yaoyorozu at the firing range until she decided to approach the young woman. Even with her safety goggles and ear protection on, Yaoyrozu was able to realize someone was approaching her and turned.

“Sergeant Tsutsumi.” the girl corrected herself, bowing to her superior. “It’s good to finally meet you. May I help you?”

Kaina took a look at the target sheet that Yaoyorozu had pulled in.

“Good grouping.” She observed. “But I think you can do better.”

Yaoyorozu looked at Kaina, curious.

“Do you think you could show me how?” she asked.

Kaina smiled, looking at the Glock that Yaoyorozu was practicing with.

“From what I can tell, you’ve accounted for distance, bullet drop, and wind direction, but you haven’t taken your heartrate into account.”

“What do you mean?”

Kaina activated her Rifle arm, pointing it out to Yaoyorozu.

“When you’re aiming at something from far away, even a small jolt can make a big difference, including the jolt your heart makes through your arm when it beats. The trick is to shoot between heartbeats.” Kaina deactivated her Quirk and looked at Yaoyorozu. “So, start with listening for your own heartbeat. Close your eyes, and block out any distraction.”

Yaoyorozu frowned, but did what Kaina said, closing her eyes and trying to block out any noise. Thankfully, it seemed that she was patient, as she didn’t wince or complain that it was too hard, simply standing still and listening. Kaina stayed quiet, letting the heiress work.

“…I’ve got it.”

“Good.” Kaina said, sending another target sheet down range. “Now, pick up your gun, find your heartbeat again, and fire between the beats.”

Again, it took a moment before Yaoyorozu fired, but it was shorter than the first time before she fired. She took another moment to find her heart beat again, fired, took another moment, and fired. Each subsequent shot took a little less time.

Kaina pulled the target sheet back. Each shot was a bullseye.

“Wow…thank you, Sergeant…” Yaoyorozu said as she observed her work.

Kaina looked at her a moment longer.

“Would you be interested in anything else I could teach you?”

Yaoyorozu stared at Kaina with wide, excited eyes.

“Absolutely! Thank you, Sergeant!”

Kaina sighed, but smiled. Yaoyorozu was enthusiastic, like she was when the HPSC recruited her. Kaina would make sure to give her student the guidance she needed.

The former Lady Nagant still had nightmares. She still sometimes saw blood on her hands. But she had people with her now who understood that, people who wanted to help her, and people she could help. It was likely that in the job that they had, there would be more occasions that would give Yaoyorozu her own nightmares, if she did not have them already. Perhaps it was inevitable. Kaina didn’t think that she could stop that. She could however be there for Yaoyorozu and the next generation when they were awake, to help them deal with their pain, and pass on what she knew to them.

Chapter Text

Cathleen’s phone rang. When she picked it up, she saw a number that she recognized and gasped, immediately answering.

“All Might?”

“Hello, Young Cathleen.” The familiar voice of All Might spoke over Cathleen’s phone. She flinched though in concern, recognizing the sorrow in her old mentor’s voice. All Might had been through a lot over the past few months; failing to rescue his two students at the USJ and another of his students being killed by the serial killer Stain. The peace that All Might had built in his country seemed to be coming apart at the seams as he had been appearing more sporadically lately, just as the League of Villains had been on the rise.

“…What’s wrong, Master?”

“…I don’t suppose that you’ve heard about what’s happened with David Shield, have you?”

Cathleen closed her eyes in frustration. She knew. The whole country knew. Probably the whole world knew. David Shield, All Might’s former sidekick, had attempted to steal a piece of technology called the “Quirk Amplification Headset” (which, to be fair, he had invented) from the technological marvel, I-Island, which had been deemed too dangerous by the island’s sponsors. His plan, from what Cathleen knew of the court proceedings, was to hire a group of actors to pretend to be villains to keep the island occupied while Shield and his assistant Samuel Abraham could steal the device from the I-Island tower and refine it for proper use. However, Samuel had instead hired real villains, who in turn betrayed Sam and David, almost managing to make off with the headset were it not for the efforts of All Might and his new pupil, Lemillion. Unfortunately, while David Shield had never meant for anyone to get hurt, wanting to use the headset to help people, his plan still led to him being tried and convicted for treason, despite All Might testifying in his favor, resulting in him being incarcerated in federal prison in the U.S.

“…Yes, I have heard.” Cathleen responded. The thought of someone so close to All Might carrying that infamy was staggering to Cathleen. She had known David Shield; he had been instrumental in the design of much of the technology that the U.S. Airforce used, which her brothers-in-arms used, and she felt indebted towards the amazing inventor. She could only imagine how All Might himself would be feeling at the time.

“…I was unable to prevent my friend from facing consequences for his actions, despite his intent.” The hero sighted wearily over the other end of the line, and Cathleen’s heart went out to him. “However, there is another problem this brings up; David’s daughter, Melissa Shield, who I have come to see as an adopted niece of sorts.”

Cathleen grimaced. Along with David Shield, she also knew his daughter Melissa, who even at the age of 17 had been showing herself to be just as talented an inventor as her father, if not more so.

“Melissa doesn’t have anywhere to go right now. I wish that I could take her to Japan with me, but with my duties as a hero, a teacher, handling my new protégé, on top of all of the villain attacks that have been occurring, I don’t think I would be able to keep her safe.” Cathleen could practically hear All Might dragging his hand across his face in frustration. “She is almost 18, practically a young woman, but I’m scared for her; both for how people might try to take advantage of her mind, and for people who will see her as the daughter of a traitor. So…I was wondering if I might be able to ask for your help in watching over her?”

“Absolutely!” Cathleen answered immediately. She was practically kicking herself for not thinking to do something for Melissa Shield sooner. “You can count on me, Master, I’ll make sure she’s safe!”

Cathleen heard a welcomed sigh of relief from All Might.

“Thank you, Young Cathleen, I promise that I will pay you back someday…”

“Nope.” Cathleen firmly responded. “You already did when you saved me and my sister and inspired me to become a hero myself. Just…” Cathleen added in concern, “Just…take care of yourself, alright, All Might?”

“…I will do my best.”

It took a bit of wrangling, but Cathleen was able to convince one of the military commanders in charge of her air base, Timothy Agpar, to take Melissa on as an intern as she worked towards her college degree in engineering. This gave Cathleen the opening she needed to let Melissa stay in one of the spare rooms of her house.

Once they were finished bringing in all of Melissa’s stuff (she had a lot of tools), the young blonde woman nervously approached Cathleen.

“Ms. Bate…thank y…”

“I’m going to stop you there.” Cathleen said with her hand out. “It’s going to get really awkward if you call me ‘Ms. Bate’ here, just call me Cathleen, or better yet, Cassie.” She said with a grin. “We’re housemates now, after all!”

Melissa managed an awkward smile in response.

“Okay…Cassie…thank you for taking me in.”

“No problem, Melissa.” Cathleen answered warmly. The poor girl was still clearly struggling with her father’s conviction, looking as if she was going to break into tears again, and Cathleen couldn’t blame her. She patted Melissa on the shoulder, thinking of something to cheer her up.

“Hey!” she suddenly pronounced. “How about we go get some breakfast?”

About an hour later, Cathleen had brought Melissa to the mess hall of the Arlington Air Base. Here, Cathleen introduced Melissa to Vince, the head ‘crepe chef,’ a heteromorph with a Whooping Crane mutation that Cathleen had built a repertoire with, and in exchange, Vince was willing to be a bit more liberal with how he made Cathleen’s crepes:

“So…you have gummies in your crepes?” Melissa asked, noticing the specific topping Kyle gave to Cathleen.

“I don’t have a problem.” Cathleen said, pulling her plate closer to her body and starting to eat.

“…I didn’t say that you did…” Melissa said bemusedly, before getting enamored with her own crepe.

“You’re going to love it here.” Cathleen assured Melissa as they ate. “This might not be I-Island, but this is where a lot of the country’s aviation research goes, and a lot of it isn’t even for military purposes. Weather monitoring, wireless communications, computer technology, you’ll fit right in.”

Melissa gave Cathleen a bit more of a sincere smile as she ate, hopefully bolstered by the crepe and the promise of the work that she’d get to do.

“Cassie…” she said, putting her plate to the side. “Seriously…thank you. It’s been really hard for me lately, and I wasn’t even thinking about how people might look at me because of what my father did. There was a good chance that most colleges wouldn’t have accepted me were it not for your intervention.”

Cathleen frowned as she saw a few tears gather behind Melissa’s glasses and she thought about some of the conversations that she had with the brass when she was arguing for Melissa to be given this internship. While Timothy had her back like usual, most of the other commanders saw Melissa as a political liability that would be better to keep away from. Thankfully, Cathleen knew how to throw her own political weight around and made it clear that she was going to be supporting Melissa Shield regardless of what anyone else said.

“You don’t deserve to be treated that way.” Cathleen said. “And I’ll make sure everyone knows that. You’re going to do some great things, Melissa. I’m just glad that I’ll get to be there to see them.”

Melissa took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes, smiling at Cathleen before looking at one of the television screens on display and frowning. Cathleen turned and saw that UA was giving a press conference in response to the Summer Camp attack and Bakugou Katsuki’s kidnapping.

“I can’t believe these people…” Cathleen muttered. “Blaming a school for getting attacked by villains…”

The two watched as Aizawa, the homeroom teacher for the class that had been attacked the most by villains, as well as being Bakugou Katsuki’s homeroom teacher, stood up to defend Bakugou Katsuki from the question of whether the League might have tried to kidnap him in order to recruit them to their side.

Cathleen thought of something.

“Melissa…are you okay watching this?” she asked. “From what I know, the Gold Medalist of the Sports Festival gets to go to the I-Expo, so it just occurred to me that you might have known Bakugou.”

Melissa admittedly did look uncomfortable, but not necessarily scared.

“…I met him…”

Cathleen blinked, taken off guard by Melissa’s response.

“…What was he like?”

Melissa stared at Cathleen for a moment.

“I…didn’t spend that much time talking to him…but, do you want me to be honest?”

Cathleen blinked again, nervous about what she was getting into, but wanting to settle something that had been bothering her for a bit.

“If you’re comfortable with it.”

Melissa sighed.

“Honestly…I kind of got the impression that Bakugou was a bully.”

Cathleen winced. She had been watching the 1st Year Sports Festival with her bros, and the impression a lot of them had gotten from Bakugou was not good; the way he disrespected all of his classmates during the Student Pledge, his aggressive and violent behavior, including nearly attacking the other finalist, Todoroki Shoto, after he had been knocked out, culminating in him having to be chained and muzzled during the Awards Ceremony (and boy, was that in of itself disturbing to watch…) However, All Might had smiled and proudly handed Bakugou his Gold Medal (having to put it in his teeth when he refused to hold still,) proudly proclaiming him as the winner. The respect that All Might had shown made Cathleen hold her opinion of Bakugou in abeyance. She trusted All Might, and she trusted UA; if they were standing by Bakugou, she chose to trust that he had the potential to be a hero that they claimed. However…it was disconcerting to hear the opposing opinion expressed by someone who had actually met the boy.

“What gave you that impression?” she asked in trepidation.

“Well, that violent behavior he showed at the Sports Festival wasn’t an act, for one.” Melissa said as she was counting down on her fingers. “When the villains attacked, he actually seemed excited by the prospect of hurting people. He was otherwise extremely dismissive towards practically everyone around him, to the point that he didn’t even give them the dignity of referring to them by their own names, instead using names that…frankly just sounded insulting or otherwise demeaning, as if he didn’t care enough to learn the names of his own classmates. And…well…” Melissa frowned in discomfort, “This admittedly never came up, and maybe I’m not being fair about this, but he’s the kind of guy that I’d think twice about revealing my Quirk status to.”

Cathleen glowered. She had to deal with a wide array of villains and otherwise awful people as a hero. In her experience, she could actually sympathize with a lot of people who had been called ‘villains,’ but she had absolutely no pity for bigots who victimized others based off of their physical traits, beliefs, or Quirk status. This was another reason why she and All Might wanted to make sure that Melissa was safe; there were a lot of people who would use the fact that she was Quirkless as a justification to hurt her. Cathleen took a breath; she trusted Melissa, but didn’t want to make a judgement off of someone that she didn’t actually know.

“The weird thing though…was that his classmates mostly didn’t seem to be that bothered by his behavior.” Melissa said, frowning at her plate. “At first, I thought that I was missing context that showed he wasn’t as bad as I thought, but some of the things that he did just made me uncomfortable. He had this one friend with him who kept on laughing off everything that he did even though Bakugou gave him the nickname ‘Shitty Hair.’”

Melissa looked up at Cathleen and must have realized how uncomfortable she was getting, as she stopped talking again and focused on her crepe. Cathleen likewise didn’t want to focus any more on the UA press conference.

“So…were there any students you did like at the I-Expo?” Cathleen tentatively asked.

Melissa blinked.

“Oh, I actually liked most of them!” she said, putting her hands up as if to quell Cathleen’s concerns. “I got to meet Lemillion, and he seemed incredible! But I actually got along really well with Yaoyorozu Momo.”

“Wait, that girl who lost against…what was his name…Tokoyami?” Cathleen asked.

“Yeah! She’s actually extremely smart and her classmates have a lot of respect for her.” Melissa answered with a smile, apparently able to ignore the televisions for the time being. Curious, Cathleen tried to fish for more information.

“Really? She’s that impressive? It sounds like she wasn’t really able to show her stuff at the Sports Festival. Honestly, the only thing I knew about her was that shampoo commercial she was in.”

Melissa winced at the comment.

“Ugh…that was not the experience Yaoyorozu had meant to sign up for. It almost sounds like she and that other hero student were brought there under false pretenses. Trust me, I saw how she acted during the attack, and she was probably one of the most competent people there. I’m really glad that she’s working to become a hero, I was actually thinking of sending her a few Support Gear design ideas that she…” Melissa’s eyes widened as she looked at the television screens again. “Uncle All Might…” she whispered.

Cathleen’s head whipped around as she saw why the news report had gotten her attention again; All Might was in combat with a villain.

For the next few minutes, the entire base was silent as they watched on various screens the historic battle in which the Symbol of Peace fought what might have been his most daunting opponent to date. Most did not know who All Might was fighting, but those with the proper clearance, such as Cathleen, realized that the masked figure was probably the ageless villain All For One, and the real stakes of this fight. It was perhaps the only time in anyone’s life that they actually saw All Might struggle against an opponent, to the point of actually being on the backfoot several times. Cathleen almost felt her heart stop as she saw her mentor reduced to a skeletal form, All For One boasting to the world that this was All Might’s true form, only for the hero to finally muster up the power that he needed to finally crush the villain with one last Smash.

All Might, his skeletal form revealed to the world, lifted his finger to the camera.

“You’re next.”

The base broke out in cheers at All Might’s victory, Cathleen and Melissa joining, but both only really did so as they were caught up in the excitement, as both were still horrified at what they had seen and the daunting realization of what this meant.

All Might’s time was done.

Cathleen stood on the X-66 jet of her squad flying hundreds of miles above the city of Manila, ready to leap off. She, her squad, and a cadre of WHA heroes had been asked by the government of the Philippines to aid in a mission to take down the villain Nine and his gang. Weeks earlier, Nine had made his presence known when he had nearly destroyed Nabu Island in Japan with a massive storm. The idea of a villain with such a powerful Weather Manipulation Quirk would have been frightening, but seen as manageable by the Philippine heroes, were it not for additional information that the WHA had found out about Nine in the aftermath of the disaster. Apparently, Nine had somehow stolen the Quirk of a young boy named Shimano Katsuma, ‘Cell Activation.’

The ability to steal people’s Quirks. That meant All For One was involved somehow. A double agent planted within the League of Villains had managed to divulge that Nine had been granted a weakened copy of All For One’s Quirk, allowing him to steal a maximum of eight more Quirks on top of his own. Nine had stolen Cell Activation to counteract the physical strain Weather Manipulation had on his body, and the heroes had confirmed that Nine had managed to steal ‘Air Wall,’ ‘Scanning,’ ‘Bullet Laser,’ ‘Hydra,’ and recently stolen the Quirk ‘Power Boost’ from the hero ‘Carabaoman,’ culminating in a villain with power that the Philippine heroes weren’t properly equipped to handle. All of this in the hands of a Darwinist supervillain seeking to create a new society where the strong ruled over the weak. Obviously, an extremely dangerous individual, and someone that Cathleen personally wanted to snap in half like a chicken bone.

Moments ago, the heroes were finally given an alert by one of their undercover agents that Nine and his gang were seen around the Manila Humarise temple, and put their plan into action.

Normally, with a mission like this, Cathleen wouldn’t be in costume as Star and Stripe, probably instead wearing a black tactical uniform, knowing that the presence of such a world-famous hero would immediately tip off Nine and lead to him fleeing, or worse, instigating a confrontation and putting thousands of people living in Manila at risk. However, there was a snag with this; one of Nine’s Quirks, ‘Scanning,’ allowed him to detect the Quirks of people around him, along with their strength. Someone with a Quirk as strong as Cathleen’s New Order would definitely tip him off, no matter what precautions they took. This was why Cathleen was currently flying hundreds of miles above the city, out of range of Nine’s Quirk.

The plan to neutralize Nine and his gang was rather straightforward, and generally unlike most operations heroes would undertake. The taskforce would corner the gang, give them one chance to surrender, and if they made a move to fight, shoot them with snipers set up on the surrounding buildings. Not generally the ‘heroic’ approach, but considering the sheer strength of Nine and his allies, it was agreed that they posed too great a threat to dance around with. Guns were often seen as ineffective against Quirks in this day and age, but Cathleen had been around enough military hardware to know how facetious that idea was. Unless someone had a Quirk that granted them a specific resistance to such an attack, a bullet could kill a villain or a hero just as easily as it could anyone else. Nine’s Scanning wouldn’t be helpful for locating any snipers in a city if their Quirks weren’t any stronger than anyone else’s. Cathleen was really there as a last resort; no one wanted two powerhouses to get into a fight in the middle of a crowded city, All Might’s fight against All For One still fresh in everyone’s minds.

Unfortunately, things went FUBAR pretty quickly, as an explosion went off within the Humarise temple.

“Alpha team, Nine and his gang are fighting with the Humarise cultists, there’s bodies everywhere!”

“Damn. Take Nine’s group out now!”

“I’ve got a confirmed kill on Mummy, over.”

“Bravo team, we’ve got Chimera subdued.”

“Command, this is Delta, I’ve got Slice in critical condition; it looks like one of the cultists she attacked got a lucky hit in…”

“For Humanity’s salvation!”

Cathleen heard a shout from over the radio, echoed several times by other cultists.

“Sir…the cultists are attacking us! Skycrawler got a knife in the leg, I only just got him out!”

“Star and Stripe, we need you here, now!” the commander barked.

“Roger that.” Cathleen said over her radio. She activated her second order of her Quirk on herself before leaping from the jet, using a specialized pair of goggles to help her locate her target as she plummeted through the skies. With the few miliseconds she had, she picked out a spot free of people or buildings and slammed to the ground, the first order she habitually had active granting her the resilience she needed to withstand the impact without issue. Just her luck, Nine was walking out from the massive hole he had blasted in the Humarise temple just as she landed. The villain stared in awe at Cathleen;

“New Order…with that Quirk I’ll be invincible!”

Cathleen didn’t give him any more time to think, launching herself towards the villain, too fast for him to counter with his ranged Quirks, but just slow enough that he had time to reach out and grab Cathleen’s arm.

“Yes! I…”

Nine’s look of exultation vanished as his face paled. Cathleen grinned as Nine felt the effect of the order she had set before jumping, altering reality on whatever target she made physical contact with:

“Cathleen Bate can disable other people’s Quirks through physical contact.”

In the next instant, Cathleen wrapped her hands around Nine’s head;

“Nighty, night!”

And slammed her forehead against Nine’s skull, likely cracking it and knocking the villain out cold.

With Nine defeated, the other heroes quickly moved in and restrained Nine, ensuring that he wouldn’t be able to break free even with all of his Quirks. Considering the scope of his crimes and the incredible threat that Nine posed, he was probably going to be executed. Cathleen didn’t mule over that any more than she needed to and proceeded to assist the other heroes rescuing those caught in Nine’s explosion, but also to deal with the hostile Humarise cultists. It seemed that the moment that the heroes stepped into the temple, the remaining cultists took offence to that and rushed at them, requiring that Cathleen knock them out.

As Cathleen thought about the situation, it made sense that something like this would happen. Humarise was a Doomsday cult that held the Quirk Singularity Theory, the belief that Quirks would eventually grow too powerful for humans to control, as their religion and thus hated Quirks, while Nine and his gang were Quirk supremacists. It was inevitable that Nine’s first target after gaining the Quirk he needed to stabilize his body would be to target Humarise. Now, if only those that were still alive would stop attacking the heroes trying to rescue them.

It was a good thing that Cathleen had a way to neutralize Nine so quickly, she realized as she observed the damage the villain and his gang had caused in their brief rampage. Many of the cultists had simply been crushed or buried beneath the rubble from Nine’s explosion, while others had been torn or sliced apart, frozen, nearly-vaporized, or electrocuted.

Finally, Cathleen and the heroes reached the bottom floor of the temple, where, of all things, they found a lab.

“…What am I looking at?”

At the center of the lab was a black box with a glowing red light in the center.

“Stand back…” a hero ordered, stepping closer to the box before his eyes shined as he used his Quirk, allowing him to analyze foreign substances. As soon as he did though, the hero paled.

“My God…what in the world were they doing here?”

“What is it?” Cathleen asked. The hero kept his eyes on the box as if he expected it to bite him as he turned his head towards the other heroes.

“It’s a bomb…filled with a modified version of Trigger in gaseous form. If my analysis is correct, the Trigger gas would be so powerful that anyone who breathed it in would have their Quirks boosted to the point that it would destroy them. A dose like that would turn practically any Quirked person into a living bomb.”

The sound of rocks shifting was the only warning the heroes got. A robed figure that the Philippine heroes recognized at the temple’s leader pulled himself out of a pile of rubble and sprinted towards the Trigger Bomb.

“For Humanity’s Salvation!”

“Nope.”

Cathleen blitzed faster than the eye could see, grabbing the man by the neck before he could slam his hand down on a big red button they could only assume was the trigger for the bomb.

“Get your hands off of me, you diseased filth! You have not right to trespass on our sacred grounds!”

“Hey, Agilaman,” Cathleen said to one of the Filipino heroes present, “What’s this guy’s name?”

“Multo Butangero.” A hero with eagle-like traits answered.

“Alright…well, considering we have a WMD here and this guy just tried to activate it, I think that I have enough probable cause to use my Quirk on him.” Cathleen announced before activating a new order; “Multo Butangero will truthfully and completely answer any question he’s asked.”

“I will do no such thing!” the cultist shouted. “I will not so easily…”

“Why do you have this bomb here?” Cathleen asked.

“The Humanity Salvation Device is meant to be used to kill all heroes that will be lured to Manila by a secondary device, along with all others in major cities around the world by the will of Flect Turn.” Multo answered, his eyes widening in horror as he realized what he had done. In a frantic move, he attempted to shove something in his mouth, only for Cathleen to grab and pull out the cyanide pill.

“No.” she said, barely able to restrain herself in her fury from popping this man’s head like a zit. “We are going to be having a good, long talk.”

One week later, Cathleen was in Otheon, participating in a simultaneous worldwide endeavor to invade the Humarise temples and disable their Trigger Bombs, with her mission being the most important, due to the cult leader Flect Turn being the only one capable of activating the bombs. Thanks to their fortune in finding out about Humarise’s plot, they were able to surprise Humarise just a week before they would have instituted their plan. Now, the only problem left was dealing with Flect Turn himself.

“I will not be swayed from my sacred duty by such diseased filth!” the glowing blue man shouted as he reflected one of Cathleen’s hits back at her, following up by using his Quirk to shred the stone floor around him and blast it towards her like shrapnel. On top of this, Cathleen had to contend with the Humarise base’s turrets firing on her, slowly wearing down even her prodigious strength. She responded by clapping her hands together, creating a shockwave the destroyed most of the turrets, but again was reflected back at her by Flect Turn’s strange Quirk.

“Your efforts are useless! Even I cannot control my curse! No matter can touch me!”

Well…that was clearly wrong, considering the fact that the man was wearing clothes that weren’t being blasted off of his body. But, it was helpful for him to explain how his Quirk worked so she could beat him. Cathleen smirked and activated a new order:

“All of the air in front of me is sleeping gas.”

To Flect Turn’s horror, the air became pink and hazy. He attempted to use his Quirk to blast it away, only to realize too late that he also blasted away all of his oxygen, forcing him to collapse to the ground, gasping for air. By that point, it was a simple matter for Cathleen to wait a minute while she simply stood still with her gas mask (the heroes had taken precautions in case they were exposed to the gas themselves.) After gasping and attempting to sputter out some more platitudes, Flect Turn finally lost consciousness and Cathleen cancelled her order, allowing her to arrest Flect Turn with the other heroes that had joined her. She breathed a sigh of relief as the mainframe controlling all of the Trigger Bombs worldwide was safely shut down.

That evening, after the mission had been completed, Cathleen began to wonder how things were going in Japan. Humarise had their own temple there, after all, so she gave All Might a call.

“Young Cathleen?”

“Master, how are you? Did the heroes have any problems in Tokyo with Humarise?”

“No, no, they did fine.” All Might answered. “The temple was cleared out and the bombs disabled. You did a fine job, Young Cathleen. Your actions have likely saved thousands, if not millions of people.”

Cathleen frowned, hearing her mentor’s voice. While he was praising her, he sounded even more tired than when he had asked her to take care of Melissa.

“Master…are you okay?”

There was no answer at first, making Cathleen even more worried.

“There’s nothing to worry about, Young Cathleen. Just…problems that I can’t do anything to fix.”

It hurt Cathleen to hear her mentor, the Symbol of Peace (and she still saw him as that even if Yagi Toshinori wasn’t an active hero anymore,) speak so lowly of himself.

“Is there anything I could do to help?” she asked. “I could take some time off to visit.”

All Might gave a weary sigh.

“I’m afraid not, Cathleen. This isn’t the sort of thing you could help us with. I wouldn’t want to bother you anyway; you’re likely going to be very busy cleaning up Humarise.”

That point was sadly true, much to Cathleen’s consternation. While they had taken out Humarise’s leadership, the WHA wanted to make sure that the organization wasn’t going to threaten anyone else again, and the fact was that a global cult like Humarise simply took a lot of effort to deal with. Cathleen didn’t want to just leave her mentor like this though.

“Master…whatever the problem is…you can talk to me about it. You’ve done so much for me, and for everyone else.”

“…You’re doing plenty for me already, Young Cathleen. I appreciate you taking in Melissa. Please…just make sure to keep watching out for her.”

“…I will, Master. You have my word. Please…take care of yourself.”

Cathleen hung her phone up and sighed. Somehow that phone call was so much more draining than her fight against Flect Turn. She just hoped that All Might could catch a break…

Cathleen was all but ready to scramble the jets herself and blast over to Japan, regardless of the trouble it would get her in, when she saw what was going on in Japan, and it was only because of Timothy talking her down that she avoided getting court-martialed for breaching international waters with military hardware. Still, she had her costume on and ready as the military announced a state of DEFCON 3 as the destructive potential of the PLF was revealed; the League of Villains having managed to take control of a restored Meta Liberation Army, a massive bioweapon named Gigantomachia, and their leader Shigaraki, enhanced to a monstrous level by being granted the Quirk of All For One. The Japanese heroes were all swatted away like flies, being crushed and torn to pieces by the overwhelming force.

Perhaps what was most horrifying to Cathleen and Melissa, who had been watching with her in the mess hall, was the fact that the UA students were fighting alongside the heroes against the PLF.

“Those kids…” Cathleen spoke in horror. “Some of them are just sixteen years old…how in the world could the HPSC send them out to fight something like this?”

It was worse for Melissa, having personally met some of those students, watching as they were being expected to somehow come up with a plan to defeat the monster Gigantomachia, or watching as Lemillion confronted the abomination that Shigaraki had been turned into. The news reporters could only film the fight from so far away, but they could see enough, as Lemillion and Shigaraki blitzed around each other, hitting each other with impacts that sounded like cannon blasts. Eventually, the weakened Shigaraki was picked up by the arrival of Gigantomachia and the rest of the PLF’s leadership. Lemillion appeared as a flickering light, before releasing a mass of black tendrils that grabbed the heroes and most of the villains apart from Shigaraki and flinging them away. He vanished for just a few seconds, only for a beam of light to jet out of the ground, impaling both Shigaraki and Gigantomachia. There was a shout that could be heard even as far as the reporters;

“POWER!!!”

And an explosion enveloped Shigaraki, Gigantomachia, and the swarms of Nomu. When the camera finally stopped shaking and refocused, Cathleen and the rest of the world saw what was left. Stubs of Gigantomachia’s limbs were sticking out of the ground, the rest of his body vaporized, a haze of black mist blowing away where Shigaraki had been on the monster’s back. Spearing through them both was a vapor trail that extended all the way into space.

“Togata…” Melissa whimpered, collapsing to her knees. “No…”

There was silence in the mess hall, until Cathleen raised her hand to her head in salute to Lemillion, All Might’s last disciple, a move followed by every soldier present.

“Godspeed, bro.”

“In a stunning move today, the World Heroes Association has rescinded Japan’s membership. As such, Japanese heroes are no longer allowed to operate outside of Japan.” A reporter announced on the television that Melissa was watching while she idly picked apart some gizmo she was working on. Cathleen was working in the kitchen, but was paying just as much attention, even if she would rather not be hearing it.

“I’m afraid that the situation is a lot more dire than that, Diane.” Another speaker with striped skin interjected. “While officially, that is all the WHA has authority to do in regards to Japanese heroes, WHA membership is granted to all UN member states. The only countries that aren’t granted membership are those that have used their hero systems to commit crimes against humanity, oftentimes to prop up an authoritarian regime.”

“Anthony, are you saying that Japan is on the same level as something like North Korea?” Diane asked. The other speaker, Anthony, nodded.

“We’ve seen that the HPSC drafted teenagers into a battle against an army numbered in the thousands, not even counting whatever biological monstrosities the League had been using, you cannot compare the kinds of street crimes that hero students are supposed to be training against with a force of that magnitude. The use of child soldiers is a crime against humanity, so I can only assume that is how the WHA sees it. We really have to question now, just what else were Japanese heroes getting up to in their own country, let alone the rest of the world? The investigations have confirmed that the HPSC used Lady Nagant to assassinate some of their own heroes, but what else? Could the HPSC have been performing assassinations in other countries? Kidnappings? Could they have been instigating disasters themselves? Can we really trust anything that the Japanese heroes have done? Can we trust that they were operating as heroes at all?”

“Melissa, could you please shut that off?” Cathleen asked, finally fed up. Melissa complied with her own glower towards the television.

Japan’s problems hadn’t ended at Jaku. Even disregarding the footage that found its way to news outlets abroad from Japan of Hawks killing Twice, and of Dabi revealing himself as Todoroki Toya, a child born from a Quirk Marriage his father Endeavor forced Todorki Rei into, once the UN saw that the HPSC had drafted child soldiers to fight an army, they and the WHA sent investigators to the country.

It was almost a relief to Cathleen that she wasn’t allowed to assist the investigation, considering how her relationship with All Might could have biased her. Each day after the Battle of Jaku though revealed some new crime, another act of corruption perpetrated by the Japanese HPSC, another stain on the reputation of Japan’s heroes.

“Cassie?” Melissa spoke up from the couch, putting her work down.

“Yeah?” Cathleen answered. It was only when she responded that Melissa turned to Cathleen with a conflicted expression.

“…Do you think that the WHA made the right call in rescinding Japan’s membership?”

Cathleen heaved a frustrated sigh, before sitting down next to Melissa.

“…I hate this. I hate what the WHA’s actions say to the world about the heroes of my master’s homeland.” Cathleen grimaced, bowing her head. “I also hate that I can’t disagree with them. What the HPSC did, just what we know already, using heroes like that…” Cathleen turned and gave a hard stare at Melissa. “Look…heroes have killed. Sometimes we have to. But there has to be transparency to it. What the HPSC did, covering up this stuff, pretending that the country operated off a perfect justice…that couldn’t work. And that’s not counting everything else they’ve gotten into.”

“Like using child soldiers.” Melissa pointed out, glowering, still horrified that friends that she had made, younger even then her, had been forced into a conflict so deadly. Cathleen groaned, leaning back in her seat.

“…Technically speaking, the ICC defines the use of ‘child soldiers’ as the enlistment of children under the age of 15 into combat, and all of the hero students were at least 15 by that point. Really though, when you’re dealing with a force of that scale, and the fact that many of those kids had only just completed their first year of training, the difference is kind of moot, especially considering the WHA’s standards. So yeah, frankly, that is horrifying, and the HPSC should be removed from power after what they’ve done. With what we know now, the WHA can’t allow heroes under the authority of an organization like that to operate outside of their country.”

Melissa’s gaze fell back to her work, without really looking at it. Cathleen tried to smile and get Melissa’s attention.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright. Japan’s going to have a rough time for a bit, but once they get people they can trust running the HPSC, or whatever new organization they’ll come up with, Japan can reapply for membership. This is just something that has to happen. It’ll be tough, but they’re going to come out of this better.”

Melissa looked back at Cathleen, unconvinced.

“Cassie…Uncle All Might wouldn’t have known about any of that stuff, right?”

“Of course not.” Cathleen answered, putting a hand on Melissa’s shoulder in an effort to comfort her. “All Might would never let these things happen on his watch. You know that he would never condone the HPSC using heroes as assassins.”

“I can believe that…” Melissa said. “But…there was also what Endeavor did…It’s just…” she chewed on her lip before looking up at Cathleen. “Do you remember what I told you about how the UA students acted around Bakugou?”

Cathleen paused in thought about what Melissa was saying.

“Yes?”

“I can’t help but wonder if maybe…my uncle might look at Endeavor the same way, saying that because he’s a hero, he can’t be a bad guy, even if he hurt his wife and kids.”

Cathleen frowned in thought. This was an unfortunately legitimate point. Though she loved Japan, she loved Japanese heroes, and loved when she got to visit the country when she went to All Might conventions, every now and then she picked up the cultural dissonance that existed between Japan and her country. She loved how polite and courteous Japanese people were, how they didn’t have the “me-first” mentality so prevalent in the U.S., but there was also the flip of that collectivist mindset, which meant that if certain individuals couldn’t fit in, say, if they were Quirkless like Melissa, they could find themselves ostracized.

“I don’t think so.” Cathleen answered after a moment. “If All Might had known, the League would have mentioned that, to try to discredit him and the heroes more.”

Melissa nodded, accepting the logic of that point, but neither she nor Cathleen could shake the question of ‘what if?’ Eventually, Cathleen sighed and looked at her watch.

“Hey, it’s almost time. Do you mind if we turn the TV back on and hear what the prime minister has to say?

Melissa nodded, allowing Cathleen to turn the TV back on to a news station present at the Japanese prime minister’s announcement.

Yes, Cathleen thought to herself, this was something that needed to be done. It was horrifying that this revelation only came about in the wake of a battle that killed thousands of people, but hopefully they could learn from this. Japan could start over, rebuild its hero system, and people’s trust in…

“Though the UN investigation is still ongoing, the findings it has brought to light so far have been deemed requiring immediate response. Due to the decision of the WHA to withdraw membership from Japan, and the reveal of how badly our hero system has failed to uphold justice and order, it is the decision of myself and of Parliament to dissolve the HPSC, and to integrate our pro heroes into Japan’s police force and emergency services.”

Cathleen and Melissa stared aghast at the screen, barely able to comprehend what the prime minister had just said.

“Cathleen…” Melissa spoke up. “Does…does that mean what I think it means? Japan’s just…not going to have heroes anymore?”

Cathleen couldn’t answer, not immediately.

“This is a temporary thing.” She asserted. “Maybe they just need time to restructure their hero system. Clear it out completely to remove all of the corrupt elements, and start over.” She stood up, refusing to accept what she had just heard, not then. “The prime minister was probably forced to do this to bow to public pressure…but people will eventually see that they need heroes.”

Cathleen said this, but it was as much to herself as it was to Melissa. Wanting to keep busy, to keep herself focused on the next step, she pulled her cellphone out.

“Let’s give All Might a call. I want him to know that I’m standing with him, no matter what…”

Cathleen rang, but her mentor did not answer. That was okay. It was to be expected, with Togata’s funeral being that day, followed by the weight of this announcement. Cathleen understood. She would be there for All Might, just as he had been there for her.

“Introducing our guest to talk about her perspective on the pro hero movement in Japan, please welcome, Star and Stripe!”

Cathleen walked onto the stage, waving and beaming at the cheering audience, striding over to the talk show host, Lyle Sander before sitting in the proffered chair.

“So, Star and Stripe, what’s your take on the situation in Japan?” Lyle asked.

Cathleen shook her head in frustration.

“It’s tough for them right now. They found out that the commission that they trusted to run their hero system was corrupt, and they're feeling the effects of that. I can only imagine what it must be like to try to rebuild after all of that.”

“But you disagree with the measures that the Japanese government has taken in response to these revelations?” Lyle asked.

“I disagree with one of the measures that they’ve taken, that being to dissolve the hero system entirely.” Cathleen responded. “There are a lot of measures that they have taken that I do agree with; trying to give more funding and manpower to the police and other emergency services, for example. However, I believe that dissolving the hero system completely is a bad idea.” Cathleen explained, laying out her points; “Yes, the HPSC was corrupt, and it is good that Japan took measures to ensure that those that participated in that corruption are brought to justice, not to mention the heroes that took advantage of that corruption and profited off of it.” She admitted. “However, there were also many heroes who were not corrupt, who did what they could to help others. There were thousands of heroes that showed their courage and dedication against the PLF; the villains there were only stopped because of the heroes present! All Might and Sir Nighteye,” Cathleen adamantly persisted in referring to those in the pro hero movement by their hero names, “are correct; removing the hero system in its entirety is insulting to the memory of those that died at the Battle of Jaku. And just look at the state of the country now that the system has been removed!” Cathleen held her hand out as if she was gesturing towards the country. “The economy is in shambles, they’ve lost a huge portion of their law enforcement, and from what we can glean about the mental state of the average Japanese citizen, they’re in shock! Changes need to happen, certainly, but not like this.”

“How did you react when you learned about everything that was revealed in the aftermath of Jaku?” Lyle asked.

Cathleen sighed.

“I was shocked. At first, I didn’t believe it. In general, you’d want to question the words of terrorists,” she spoke with contempt before admitting, “but when so much was confirmed to be true, I was just shocked. I couldn’t believe that the Japanese HPSC would ever do half of the things that they did. I might have not known Endeavor personally either, but I was certainly horrified to hear that he had forced his wife into a Quirk marriage…it’s just…disgusting…disgusting and pitiful.” Cathleen grimaced in distaste before looking back to Lyle. “Heroes should not be motivated by competition, and I would have thought better of a hero of such renown to be so insecure that he would have a Quirk marriage just to give birth to a hero stronger than All Might out of spite. I just…I feel so sorry for his wife and his children, to be forced into that kind of environment.”

Lyle shook his head in sympathy.

“It really is saddening to hear. And it’s like you said, Japan is dealing with a lot of struggles right now. So many people died, their economy is in shambles, and whatever direction they take as far as heroes go in the future, their law enforcement is probably one of the areas that they’re struggling the most with. It sounds like Japan has been having a hard time encouraging enough people to join its emergency responders, which has been making the problem worse; they just don’t have people enforcing laws or helping with rescue work.”

The reporter turned to Cathleen with a frustrated, albeit wary look.

“This actually is related to something else that has been concerning me about how people perceive Japan right now: Some have suggested that Japan’s problems in reinvigorating their police and rescue forces is indicative of societal apathy in the wake of the hero system; that people have grown so used to heroes protecting them that the average citizen doesn’t know or care enough to do it for themselves or for anyone else. What is your response to that?”

“I’m personally annoyed by those kinds of accusations.” Cathleen pointed out, frowning. “We don’t know what it’s like for people going through this right now, and it’s unfair to assume that there is something morally wrong with the people of Japan just because they are struggling. I maintain what All Might has said in the past; that anyone can be a hero. It’s hard, but I believe that there will always be people willing to stand up to save each other. This is exactly why we need heroes! I know I’m biased, but heroes inspire us and make us want to become better, to put our lives on the line for the sake of others.”

It wasn’t by Cathleen’s intent, but her statement elicited applause from the live audience, making Cathleen grin. She could only hope that this would lend All Might and Sir Nighteye the public support that they needed to bolster their movement.

Cathleen stood in front of Timothy Agpar in one of their meeting rooms. Though she wasn’t in any kind of trouble, there was a definite tension in the air.

“How are you, Cathleen?” Timothy asked.

“…I’m fine, sir.”

Timothy didn’t seem convinced though, giving Cathleen a sympathetic look.

“…You know, Cathleen, you can talk to me, if you want. I like to think that I’m not just a work colleague, after all.”

Cathleen tried to maintain her composure, not wanting to dwell on what had happened the day before in Japan, but eventually she groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“That kid…” Cathleen growled. “A kid who All Might gave a Gold Medal to on national television, that All Might was willing to give up his career to rescue, that stood by him and supported him no matter what doubts anyone had for him…went and killed sixteen people.” She summarized before slamming her fist on the table. “Heroes don’t act like that. They’re not selfish, they don’t hurt people for fun, and they don’t act entitled and throw a temper tantrum when they don’t get what they want!” Cathleen shouted. Timothy simply stood patiently, giving Cathleen the chance to let it all out. “All Might put so much stock into that boy, UA put so much stock into him, and what does he do? He goes out and proves everyone that was trying to pull UA down right! Six…sixteen people…” Cathleen bowed her head in mourning. “Sixteen people…”

Eventually, Cathleen pulled herself back together.

“Because so much stock was put in that boy, that UA and All Might were basically holding him up as a future hero, that is what people are thinking of when they see the Japanese hero system.”

Cathleen hung her head contritely. She had dealt with villains with genocidal might, halted natural disasters, and yet somehow, the actions of an angry teenager felt more devastating to her.

“This…this is going to hurt my old master. There’s no walking around it. He sunk too much of his support into Bakugou, and people are going to judge him for it now.”

Timothy sighed.

“I’m sorry, Cathleen. I wish that I had something encouraging to offer you.”

Cathleen shook her head.

“There’s nothing I can do about it now, but I’ll keep supporting All Might no matter what.”

“I won’t say no,” Timothy replied, “but be careful. You don’t want to end up linking yourself too much with something that could lead to another scandal.”

“Hmph.” Cathleen smirked defiantly. “When has something like public approval ever stopped me from doing what I thought was right?”

Timothy shook his head fondly.

“Anyway, was that all you wanted to talk about?” Cathleen asked.

“I don’t think that it’s anything that you need to worry about,” Timothy replied, “but the investigations that happened in Japan? They’re going to be happening here.”

Cathleen looked at Timothy quizzically.

“Really? Are people that paranoid?”

“More like they’re being introspective.” Timothy answered. “We want to make sure that we don’t have the same kinds of problems with our own hero system, but if we do, that it won’t cause the same kind of scandal.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “I doubt that you have anything to worry about in that regards…unless you decide to run off and start an international incident.”

“I make no promises.” Cathleen answered with a smirk. She walked away more confident, but as she considered Timothy’s warning, she had to wonder; what Bakugous, Endeavors, and Lady Nagants might be hiding in plain sight in the hero system of her country?

Cathleen sighed in frustration as she read another article on her phone, this one announcing that Sir Nighteye’s sidekick ‘Bubble Girl’ had left his agency, and by extension the pro hero movement. Normally, this would be beneath the notice of the international press, but considering the attention that Japan, the pro hero movement, and Sir Nighteye had on them right now, it meant that the most minute details of his and All Might’s life were on display, including the rumors surrounding Bubble Girl, or rather, Awata’s departure. Admittedly, Cathleen didn’t know Sir Nighteye that well, but she balked at the idea that someone so close and trusted by her mentor would be guilty of half of the ridiculous rumors being thrown out on social media. Seriously, a ‘Tickle Machine?’ Really? There was no way that someone who acted that dignified, who had managed to rebuild his relationship with All Might, would ever do something so ridiculously invasive.

Right?

Cathleen shook her head, forcing herself to get back to focusing on her patrol. Checking the news nowadays was always frustrating, even if Cathleen knew that it paid to be informed about current events. Despite efforts to keep the results of internal investigations from blowing up on the media, quite a few heroes and the officials within the U.S.’s own hero system had become the subject of scandal as Internal Affairs began to dig up America’s own share of misconduct. Some had taken bribes, some were guilty of embezzlement, excessive force, evidence tampering, drug use, some had shown a pattern of profiling based off of race or Quirk, and in the wake of the reveal of Endeavor’s familial abuse, the spouses and children of many other prominent heroes and public figures began to talk about their own experiences being abused, or even being the victims of Quirk marriages themselves.

It was frustrating, Cathleen had to admit, as she leapt from building to building, scanning for any possible problems, but ultimately, she believed she should be glad that this was happening; it wouldn’t do for these kinds of crimes to go unpunished. In her case, as Timothy pointed out, she didn’t have much to worry about, but the way in which her work was scrutinized made her feel uncomfortable. Not that investigators were looking too close for comfort, but because they barely glanced at her, merely acting excited to be in her presence, almost dismissing the idea that she could be guilty of anything at all. Granted, it was encouraging to know that she had that kind of faith from the public, but she had to wonder if heroes like Endeavor had similar faith, the assumption of ‘this is one of our top heroes, there’s no way that they could be involved in anything nefarious!’ In contrast, some heroes like Captain Celebrity who had been the subject of multiple scandals in the past were placed under much heavier scrutiny both by investigators and the public. (Which was particularly upsetting to Cathleen because she knew and respected Christopher Skyline quite a bit. Yes, he had a reputation for being a skirt-chaser in his earlier years, but most of that was an act more than him performing any actual impropriety. In the years since his visit to Japan, he had worked hard to change his image to be a good father and husband.)

Cathleen had to admit that this was a weakness of the hero system; image played a big role in their work. Impropriety, or even the suggestion of impropriety, had a much bigger impact on one’s job and their ability to perform their job unimpeded when they were a figure in the public spotlight.

Coincidentally as she was thinking of Captain Celebrity, Cathleen picked out one of his sidekicks navigating through the streets on his own patrol, one which, as soon as Cathleen saw him, she immediately developed a desire to talk to.

“Skycrawler!” Cathleen greeted, landing on top of one of the buildings that the former Japanese vigilante and a teenage girl in a hero costume were taking a break on. Skycrawler perked up and grinned, waving at America’s No. 1 Hero, while the girl, whom Cathleen could see had blonde hair, blue eyes, and horns sticking out of her head, stared at Cathleen starstruck.

“Star and Stripe! What brings you here?” Skycrawler responded with thickly accented English. Cathleen could remember when the man first arrived in the U.S. and could barely speak the language at all, but thankfully he had applied himself and did his best with the contentious reputation he had unfortunately carried over from Japan.

“Just wanted to check up on my fellow heroes. And who might this be?” Cathleen turned towards the blonde teenager, whom, now that Cathleen could see more clearly, looked somewhat familiar to her.

“This is my…well…Captain Celebrity’s intern, Rocketti. He asked me to show her around. He’s busy with a gang he doesn’t want interns around for.” Skycrawler explained.

“St…Star and Stripe…” Rocketti sputtered out, shaking in her boots.

“Well, nice to meet you, Rocketti!” Cathleen greeted the teenager. “Hey…actually, I was wondering, you look kind of familiar…”

This statement caused Rocketti to stop shaking, only to grimace uncomfortably along with her mentor, and Cathleen immediately realized she had made a mistake. Rocketti tried to smile in response, though she couldn’t look at Cathleen in the eye.

“My family just moved back to the U.S. this year…I transferred from UA.” She explained.

Cathleen’s eyes widened in shock as she realized what this meant; she had probably seen this girl when she was in the previous year’s Sports Festival, but also possibly in footage from the Battle of Jaku. Cathleen was probably just the latest in a series of people reminding this poor girl of the most horrifying day of her life. In an attempt to comfort the girl, Cathleen put her hand on Rocketti’s shoulder and smiled.

“I’m glad you’re here. I wish you hadn’t gone through all of that, but standing strong as you did, I can tell that you are going to be a great hero.”

Rocketti smiled more sincerely before wiping a few tears from her eyes. Cathleen still felt guilty for opening up old wounds though and wanted to make up for it, putting her plan to talk to Skycrawler to the side for the time being.

“Hey, how about I patrol with you two?”

This thankfully perked up Rocketti, who practically bounced on her feet in giddiness at the chance to work with her home country’s Number One Hero.

“Well, who am I to say no to that?” Skycrawler answered.

The two attempted carjackers sprinted for their lives, trying to get lost in the crowds. There was no way that they were going to get into a fight with Star and Stripe of all people. Were they not hyped up on adrenaline, it might have occurred to them that there was no realistic way that two street thugs like them could ever manage to outrun a hero that could move at hypersonic speeds, but somehow, they had run out of sight of the hero, making the crowds part in front of them by flashing their Quirks threateningly.

“I think we lost her!”

“I can’t believe it! We…GACK!”

Both thugs suddenly felt themselves getting snagged around their collars and thrown against a brick wall, a pair of horns pinning them there.

“Nice job, Rocketti!” Skycrawler praised his intern, who had positioned herself in an ambush point after Star and Stripe scared the two towards her. The crowds cheered for the teenager, especially when Star and Stripe caught up and gave Rocketti her own praise. Most of the day passed by in this manner, though Skycrawler had Rocketti spend a lot of time helping with him in smaller ways; helping old people cross the street, giving people directions, helping to change a flat tire; it was a trait that Cathleen respected about Skycrawler and appreciated that he took the time to instill those kinds of values in Rocketti. It was probably quite surreal for people watching Star and Stripe following the two as they picked up litter, while she was carrying a dumpster on her shoulder. It was simple work, but exhausting, so Cathleen treated the two to lunch, picking up some hot dogs from a street vendor and finding an empty rooftop to eat in peace. As the three ate, Cathleen couldn’t help but still be curious about Rocketti, or rather Pony Tsunotori as she learned.

“Rocketti…would you mind if I asked you some questions?”

The girl looked up at Cathleen and nodded.

“Sure!”

“How are you handling moving back here?”

Rocketti frowned, looking away from Cathleen for a moment, worrying her that she had crossed a line again.

“…It’s tough.” She admitted in a quiet voice. “I just…I left my classmates so soon after Jaku…” she admitted, her voice quavering.

Cathleen put a comforting arm over the girl’s shoulders, letting her know that she was there. Rockett managed a smile at Cathleen’s gesture.

“I’m…still trying to deal with it. Moving, trying to fit into a new school. Just…” she winced, “what I’ve been through…but…” Rocketti took a breath to steady herself. “I’m doing my best to deal with it. My parents were able to find me a good therapist. She’s been helping me deal with…with Jaku.” She spat out, before frowning. “That, and…” she looked at Cathleen anxiously before looking away.

“Is there something wrong?” Cathleen asked.

Rocketti sighed.

“Most of my new classmates have been pretty nice.” She explained, “But sometimes, I hear them talking about my friends from UA.” The normally innocent-looking girl scowled. “They keep on acting like everyone is like Bakugou, Mineta, or Endeavor. And it really bugs me because there’s plenty of people in my new school who act just the same as them!” The girl sighed wearily, her anger leaving her in depression. “I miss my friends. I wish that I didn’t have to move, even if I couldn’t be a hero over there. I guess part of what’s driving me now is becoming a hero so I don’t let them down.”

“Have you heard from them at all?” Cathleen asked cautiously, worried for the sake of the students All Might fought to protect.

“Well…” Rocketti spoke, her expression a little less morose, thankfully. “Most of my friends from my own class sound like they’re doing alright. They’re safe in UA, at least.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear.” Cathleen nodded, deciding to risk inquiring a bit more, “Do…they talk about how their curriculum has changed?”

Surprisingly, Rocketti rolled her eyes and snorted.

“Sorry…” she chuckled awkwardly at Cathleen’s expression, “It’s just that some of them keep calling me for advice on how to use guns, but I’ve never used a gun before! They just think I would because I’m American!”

“They’re learning how to use guns?” Skycrawler repeated in concern.

“Yeah, it’s part of the new curriculum.” Rocketti explained. “They’re putting a lot more focus on ranged combat. Basically everyone has to learn. There’s a lot of stuff that they’re learning, actually.” The girl admitted, leaning back in thought. “They’re focusing a lot more on squad tactics, safety protocols, one of the new teachers is actually a former police chief.”

“How are they taking the changes?” Cathleen asked. Rocketti frowned, wobbling her hand back and forth before shrugging.

“Well…it sounds like it’s really hard for a few people, but they mostly seem to be doing okay. My Class Representative Itsuka was having a hard time, but she’s been working to improve.”

Cathleen nodded in relief.

“That’s good to hear. Any of that interest you?”

“Honestly…” Rocketti considered the question, “A lot of what they’ve been learning sounds pretty useful. It sounds like the teachers are working to make sure that everyone’s going to be a lot safer.” As she said this, she frowned. “Now that I think about it, with the kinds of things that they talk about, the things that the new teacher’s been telling them…it makes me wonder about how I’m being taught here.”

That certainly got Cathleen’s interest.

“Huh. Maybe I should look what they’ve been doing. See if I might want to make some suggestions for us.”

The three spent the rest of their day doing the same thing, by which point, Rocketti collapsed on one of the couches in Captain Celebrity’s agency from the constant patrolling. He and Cathleen let her rest while they went outside, taking in the view of the city.

“Star and Stripe?” Skycrawler spoke up. “Thanks for patrolling with us. Pony really liked that.”

Cathleen gave the sidekick a thumbs up, and answered in Japanese to give the man a chance to speak more comfortably.

“Hey, no problem! There was no way I could leave that girl looking so down! But there was actually something that I wanted to talk to you about, Skycrawler.”

“Yeah?” the former vigilante answered in his own language, turning towards her.

“Do you ever think about going back to Japan?”

Skycrawler frowned and sighed.

“Sometimes, I wish that I could. I’d be lying if I said that I wouldn’t mind going back, or that I wasn’t concerned about how things are going there right now, but I’ve already made my new life here. Why do you ask?”

“I guess…” Cathleen began tentatively, worried about how people might take the idea that she had been considering for some time. Though the two weren’t extremely close, Skycrawler’s past made Cathleen feel that he would be one of the least judgmental towards her for considering this. “I guess…I was thinking about going over to Japan myself for a bit.”

“You mean, join the UN soldiers?” Skycrawler suggested.

“I was thinking more joining with the pro hero movement. Maybe lend my hand and show them how heroes can still help people, you know?”

Skycrawler stared at Cathleen for a moment.

“You sound like you’re talking about becoming a vigilante.” He pointed out.

“Well…” Cathleen shrugged. “I just feel like I could do more to help All Might’s movement out, you know? Try to get people to realize that Bakugou wasn’t emblematic of everyone who still wants heroes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that they’re trying to bolster their police and give them more respect, but I still feel like it was wrong to just abandon the system altogether.”

“…Are you asking me since I used to be a vigilante?” Skycrawler asked after a moment of contemplation.

“I’m not advocating for going out and throwing my weight around.” Cathleen explained. “I just want people to see the good that heroes did, even if I can’t get official recognition for it.”

Skycrawler sighed, looking up at the sky for a moment before answering.

“I don’t think that it’s a good idea.”

“What? Why not?” Cathleen asked, confused. “I would have thought that you would be all for the idea.”

The former vigilante gave Cathleen a frustrated look before settling himself.

“For one…and I know that this sounds hypocritical coming from me, but I don’t think that it would be a good idea to encourage vigilantism.”

Cathleen gave Skycrawler an incredulous look before the former vigilante held his hands up to defend himself.

“Look…when I first started out, I was really only a vigilante in the loosest of terms. I just wanted to use my Quirk to help people. I wasn’t interested in making a statement, or anything like that. All that business with the Villain Factory, Queen Bee, all that? I kind of just wandered into it by accident. I only stayed and fought because…” Skycrawler shrugged. “I was there, and there was something that I could do. If that was all vigilantes did, I’d be fine with it.”

“And all of that was good stuff.” Cathleen pointed out. “Even if you weren’t called a hero, you acted like one.”

Skycrawler held up a finger to interrupt Cathleen.

“Here’s the thing… ‘vigilantes’ come in all flavors. Like I said, starting out? I was only a vigilante in the sense that I used my Quirk without a license. I wasn’t looking for people to fight. Sure, there’s probably plenty of people like that, who just want to help…but then you have people like Knuckleduster, or, if you want a modern example, Mirko. Not bad people…but the way that they did things, they were, and most likely will, get hurt, and they won’t have a support network to fall back on. And then,” Skycrawler glared, “you have people like Stendahl, or Lord Explosion Murder. People who start off as vigilantes, only to eventually snap and become full-on psychopaths.” Skycrawler shook his head. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to encourage people to go out like that. You don’t know what kinds of people you might inspire.”

“Okay…you have a point.” Cathleen admitted, before going back on the attack. “But I don’t want to act as if I’m judge, jury, and executioner. I just want to help people see the good that heroes can do if people give them a chance again.”

“Which brings me to my second point.” Skycrawler interrupted before looking at Cathleen in the eye. “Do you want to replace All Might?” he asked.

“What!? No!” Cathleen responded in shocked affront. “Why would you…I don’t want to replace All Might!”

“Well, that’s probably what my country would want.”

Cathleen stepped back, confused.

“Excuse me?”

“I think that if you went to Japan, people would just want you to fill the void that All Might left. To be the figure to let them know that everything’s alright, and they don’t have to worry.”

“And that is a bad thing because…?”

Skycrawler looked up at the sky with a tired expression before looking back at Cathleen.

“Look, All Might was a great hero. The best hero. I wanted to be just like him, just like everyone else. I wanted to help people. The problem though is that people got the wrong message from All Might. They got the idea that a hero was going to fix their problems, that a hero was going to fix other people’s problems. That it’s not their problem. I don’t think that All Might ever meant for that, but looking back…that’s how people took it.”

Cathleen felt uncomfortable as Skycrawler said these words, how similar they sounded to so many of the criticisms she had heard towards Japan, only this time to come from a native of the country.

“Listen…one of the things that I realized being a vigilante was that there wasn’t anyone around to do the little things, you know? Help a cat out of a tree, give someone directions, that sort of thing. There were a few heroes who would step in and do that stuff, but most of them were focused on taking care of the incidents that would earn them prestige. But because everyone was so used to heroes being the ones to help people, all of that little stuff was just left undone. You just…accept it as part of life, that if a hero isn’t going to fix it, then it’s not a problem worth anyone’s time anyway. Not having someone, even if it’s a stranger,” the man chuckled humorlessly, “heck, especially if it’s a stranger, willing to help you with that kind of thing…it does things to you, you know? It messes with the way people think and treat each other.”

Cathleen felt sick at the picture that Skycrawler was painting as he continued to speak.

“And honestly? I think that it made it hard for anyone to do anything even if they wanted to help. For most of my time as a vigilante, I was just doing that kind of stuff, the small stuff. But according to the law, I was a criminal. There wasn’t a distinction made between me, or someone like Stendahl or Lord Explosion Murder.” Skycrawler shook his head forlornly as he counted down on his fingers; “It was either you were a hero, and you got to help people, at least if it got you attention. You were an average citizen, going about your life, and any problems that you saw weren’t your responsibility. Or you were a villain, but unfortunately, that last category had a lot of people roped under that umbrella, including me.” Skycrawler gave Cathleen a grim smile. “The fact that I was treated that way at all kind of says a lot about that system, doesn’t it?”

Cathleen frowned, disheartened to hear her idea shot down.

“…Do you not think that Japan’s hero system should be restored?”

Skycrawler sighed one last time.

“I just don’t think that it’s as simple as removing all of the bad people. I think that if you try to bring things back, to start over from scratch, but with the same idea, you’ll get the same result.”

This brought back another fear for Cathleen. She uncomfortable as it was, she felt like she needed to voice it.

“Do you think that our system has similar problems?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes it has its own problems.” The man responded bluntly, making Cathleen flinch. Skycrawler just shrugged. “Let’s be honest with ourselves, Star and Stripe. I’m a former vigilante. People don’t look at me here as badly as they did in Japan, but it’s a reputation that I’m not going to be able to shake, especially not with what that Bakugou kid did. The fact that I’m Japanese myself doesn’t help much either in the eyes of the public. People have been challenging me with everything that has been going on in my home country far more than I am comfortable with.” The former vigilante glanced at the building behind them. “If it wasn’t for Captain Celebrity, I don’t think that I’d be able to find anyone in this country willing to give me a chance.” Seeing Cathleen’s horrified expression, the sidekick attempted to adopt a more cheerful expression. “It’s okay though; it’s not as big of a problem for me since I’m a sidekick, and I still get to help people like I’ve always wanted.”

Any further musing was interrupted by Skycrawler’s phone ringing. He smiled as he looked at the contact before answering.

“Hey Kazuho!...Huh?...Yeah, I was with Star and Stripe…Tsunotori did fine, she’s just a little tired from working all day…yeah, I can ask her…Sure, I can ask them both!...Thanks, I love you too. See you when I get home!”

Skycrawler turned to Cathleen with a more exuberant expression.

“That was my wife, letting me know that she wanted me to invite Pony over for dinner. Do you want to come too?”

“Uh…sure!” Cathleen awkwardly accepted, though she questioned if she’d be able to eat anything with how sick she felt after the conversation, her frustrated contemplation at odds with Skycrawler’s easygoing attitude.

Cathleen had found herself watching the news on Japan with Melissa as a regular part of their morning, wanting to stay abreast of the situation in All Might’s home country. They were hardly the only ones in the country, or even the world, who had adopted a similar habit. This day, they watched as the former Mt. Lady, Takeyama Yu stood behind the podium in front of the police station in front of the crowds of reporters. Cathleen had to admire Takeyama’s ability to stay calm in the face of the press, particularly after the damages she would be addressing here.

“I would like to apologize for the damage to property that I have caused in my time as a member of the police force. I have taken efforts to compensate those who owned the property. Furthermore, after some reflection on my conduct in the force, I have decided that it would be best for me to resign from the police force.”

Cathleen sighed. Despite being criticized for pandering to fan service, Cathleen respected Takeyama’s work as a hero, and felt that it was a shame that she was dropping out of the field, even if it wasn’t heroics anymore.

“I would like to address some comments made by Sasaki in the pro hero movement in regards to the damage that I have caused. First of all, I am not leaving the police out of any sense of frustration with the force, but rather my own inabilities to perform the duties I’ve been asked to do. I am grateful for the time that I’ve gotten to spend with my fellow former heroes and the men and women who work to uphold our law, and I want to make it clear that I believe that they deserve our respect.”

As this, Cathleen winced, while Melissa frowned, both upset at the reminders of Sir Nighteye’s apparent campaign against the Japanese police force, including any heroes that had joined with them, as opposed to those that he and All Might were attempting to rally under the pro hero movement. This tactic of Nighteye’s made Cathleen glad that Skycrawler had convinced her not to head over to Japan herself; as much as she would have liked to support All Might and Nighteye’s efforts to restore the hero system in Japan, she could not stand disrespect towards other men and women in uniform, especially as a member of the U.S. Airforce. She had even gone as far as to try to call All Might about his former sidekick’s behavior, but she could only suppose that he was busy as he hadn’t returned any of her calls.

“Ms. Takeyama,” one of the reporters with a dolphin mutation spoke up, “The former hero Sir Nighteye has repeatedly made the claim that the police are unfit to handle the responsibilities of law enforcement alone. How do you think the damages that you admit to reflects on the police?”

Having been in the media spotlight before, Cathleen could pick up on details in interviews and press conferences that others could miss, and she could see that Takeyama was repressing the urge to scowl. In a way, this made Cathleen respect Takeyama a bit more, the former hero still having respect for her fellow officers.

“It is true that I caused the damage to that warehouse, amongst various other damages to public and private property while working as a member of the police force, but that damage was a result of my own decisions and training received as a former hero, not because of any failings of the police.”

Cathleen frowned at this, while Melissa leaned forward, interested to hear Takeyama’s reasoning for this statement.

“Ms. Takeyama,” another reporter with green skin spoke up. “Are you blaming the hero system for your damages even though it has been dissolved?”

“As I have said, the damages are a result of my decisions.” Yu repeated. “However, looking back on my time as a member of the police and as a pro hero, it’s made me realize that a lot of the practices that myself and other pro heroes were trained or encouraged to perform caused more harm than good. I was primarily trained to use my Quirk to handle problems, even if it wasn’t the best answer for the job. Our Quirks were how we marketed ourselves, how we made our living, and how we attracted sponsors. Most of us haven’t received training in the more mundane, but still vitally important practices used by the police; hostage negotiation, medical training, quite a few of us hadn’t even received real combat training. While I’ve been attempting to acclimate to this protocol, my instincts have unfortunately led me to repeatedly use Gigantification, even in circumstances where it would cause more harm than damage.”

Cathleen paused for thought. She had been a hero for many decades, which allowed her to see many of the mistakes that less experienced heroes often made. What Takeyama was saying; heroes using their Quirks in scenarios that didn’t fit the situation, was one of the most common causes of injuries and deaths, both among the heroes themselves and among bystanders.

“Ms. Takeyama, why do you claim that you’re having so many issues using your Quirk now compared to when you were a hero?” Another reporter asked.

“I would argue that I have been having the same number of issues.” Yu answered. “Looking at my record as a pro hero, despite my best efforts, quite a few of my patrols resulted in collateral damage. The only difference is that now, we do not have Villain Insurance to pay for these damages. Even that though in hindsight wasn’t a good practice, because ultimately it still came down to taxpayers paying for the damages that I caused.”

Melissa looked questioningly towards Cathleen, who had to pause for thought again, but motioned to Melissa that they could talk after the conference.

“Ms. Takeyama,” a reporter with white antlers that looked like Lyle Sander spoke up, “considering your claims, and the arguments made by Sir Nighteye in the pro hero movement, are you saying that the movement is misguided in their efforts?”

“I am.” Yu answered, making Cathleen flinch at how blunt the former hero responded to the question. “The fact is, the hero system failed, because it didn’t work. It encouraged practices that I’ve come to see were needlessly dangerous both to heroes and to civilians, caused a drain to our economy that we’re only realizing now due to the absence of the HPSC’s attempts to cover up, and turned law enforcement into a popularity contest that doomed a lot of prospective heroes to fight over exposure. The men and women in emergency services should not be made to worry about their image when we have to do so much dangerous and unglamorous work. I am grateful for my time working as a pro hero; the people that I helped, the friends that I made amongst my colleagues, and even the people that I apparently inspired as a hero. However, the system itself was not a good one.” Yu gestured to the precinct behind her. “These are the people working to put our country back together, and they deserve our support. While I am not going to be a member of law enforcement any more, I still intend to support them however I can.”

The conference ended, and Melissa turned to Cathleen.

“…Cassie, how much of that do you agree with?”

Cathleen folded her arms over her chest, thinking.

“…She has some good points.” Cathleen admitted. “From what I’ve seen, one of the biggest causes of injuries and deaths among heroes, especially younger heroes, is finding themselves in situations where their Quirks are ill-suited. A lot of times, a hero’s Quirk is just their go-to solution for any problem, even if it can’t help.” She shrugged in frustration. “My Quirk is pretty versatile, since I can literally alter reality with it, so there aren’t that many scenarios where it wouldn’t fit. The best heroes know how to adapt their Quirks for different situations, but even then…” Cathleen struggled to admit to Takeyama’s point.

“It’s like trying to use a sledgehammer to unscrew a bolt.” Melissa concluded.

“I suppose so.” Cathleen nodded.

“How much damage do hero fights cause?” Melissa asked hesitantly.

Cathleen had to pause for thought again.

“…I’m not really sure, on average.” Cathleen admitted. “I’m probably not the best example. In my case, I’m usually able to deal with villains too quickly for them to be able to cause major problems, and, again, my Quirk is versatile enough that I can use it to solve disasters in a way that doesn’t cause damage. I’ve seen quite a few occasions though where heroes end up causing more damage than what they are trying to prevent…” Cathleen wilted as she added, “and yeah, those kinds of damages are ultimately paid through taxes.”

Melissa frowned at Cathleen’s admission.

“But hey,” Cathleen interjected, “sometimes disasters are just expensive. Sometimes, a hero has to make a judgment call between saving someone’s life and causing property damage. I can tell you about a lot of times where collateral damage would have gotten a lot worse if a hero hadn’t been there, even if the police were.”

“I suppose so.” Melissa nodded. “There are some problems that could only be solved by a powerful Quirk. However,” the college student turned back to the television as the reporters were stalking about Takeyama’s speech, “this does make me think that we need to put more focus on our other emergency responders for the situations that don’t require such an extreme response.”

Cathleen nodded in agreement, despite this coming from a speech that challenged so much of what she believed in. It wasn’t as if she could argue against the police getting better funding and training after all.

“Do you think that Takeyama was right about popularity though? Melissa asked.

This, Cathleen could not deny, not after getting to know Skycrawler better.

“Yeah, I have to agree with her on this. A lot of times, I can’t help but feel like heroes have to focus way too much on image. Heck, Skycrawler might be one of the best heroes that I know, and I think that he should really be able to go pro, but he can’t seem to shake that mess he got into in Japan, and I just can’t see him ever managing to get the support that he needs without Captain Celebrity’s help.” Cathleen frowned. “And then you’ve got the opposite problem, where there are people who are called heroes, who act more like stuck-up celebrities, more concerned about their popularity than actually helping people. I don’t have to worry too much about that stuff because I’m already the Number One hero…but I do have to wonder.”

Cathleen and Melissa sat in an uncomfortable silence. What Takeyama said was probably just meant to defend the police, but Cathleen wondered how many people were going to take what she said seriously, to do some introspection as to how they handled heroics in their own country.

Over the next few days, it seemed as if that wasn’t the case. People certainly saw Takeyama’s speech and talked about it, but it was used as more of another indictment of Japan’s former hero system, as something else for the rest of the world to thumb its noses at what they saw as the corruption and incompetence of the fallen nation’s heroes.

Perhaps if that was where things had ended, that would have been all anyone got from Takeyama’s speech. However, just a few days later, while the speech was still fresh in everyone’s minds, Cathleen heard a call over the hero comms of a Dragonfly villain robbing a bank in DC. She was just about the jump over there herself when the Volt Hero: ‘Rizzbizz’ called that he had the villain in pursuit, and no one needed to worry. Cathleen simply shrugged and redirected herself on her own patrol. Rizzbizz had been lagging in the rankings recently, but he was powerful and could easily take down this villain. About half an hour later though, Cathleen happened to be checking her phone when she saw an alert pop up; normally she just relied on the hero comms for that, but sometimes civilians would pick up on things first, so she made sure to keep an ear out for them as well. What she saw though was frustrating, to say the least.

Rizzbizz was still chasing the Dragonfly villain. As she changed her course back towards DC, Cathleen tried to get more information about the situation. Sure, the villain in question was fast and agile, but Rizzbizz could turn himself into a bolt of electricity and travel through power lines, making him one of the fastest and most mobile heroes in the country, so why was he having such a hard time with a villain like this? The villain didn’t even seem that dangerous, he had just waved around what had now been identified as a toy gun and left the bank with a single bag of money. As Cathleen acted off of a hunch though, when she looked up social media, she saw that the reason the villain hadn’t been caught yet was because Rizzbizz was continually posting selfies of his pursuit as they passed by several monuments, clearly stretching the fight out to draw in more attention. Several bystanders were excitedly filming his chase, Rizzbizz zipping ahead of the villain to head him off, only to obviously let the robber escape to draw the spectacle out more. Cathleen rolled her eyes in frustration and made a call over the hero comms:

“This is Star and Stripe, I am heading over to assist Rizzbizz.”

“What? No, I’ve got this, I…Hey! Where do you think you’re going!?”

Cathleen sped up, not wanting to take the chance that someone was going to get hurt because Rizzbizz chose to act immature. With her speed, she would be able to reach the current location of the chase within a minute.

It wasn’t fast enough.

Just a few seconds before Cathleen would have made it, she saw a massive flash of light around the Washington Monument indicative of one of Rizzbizz’s final moves; it looked like the hero had panicked and attempted to end the fight before Star and Stripe could get there and potentially hog the glory.

“There are civilians there, you idiot!” Cathleen growled to herself.

When she arrived at the scene, Cathleen took note of everything: The villain had one of his wings blasted off, and had likely broken several bones once he had impacted with the ground, though he was thankfully alive. Rizzbizz was grinning and waving to the gathering crowd of people, most of whom were cheering, but as the seconds passed and they saw what Cathleen saw, their cheers turned to looks of horror, seeing the smoldering base of the Washington Monument, which now had a hole blown out of it.

The Volt Hero noticed what everyone was staring at and turned, his cocky expression turning pale.

“I…I thought that marble didn’t conduct electricity…” Cathleen could hear Rizzbizz faintly say to himself.

There would be a time to chew out Rizzbizz later; as Cathleen noticed the monument was cracking and immediately got to work stabilizing it, strengthening its base with an Order before it could tip over like a chopped tree. She shouted more orders to Rizzbizz to help evacuate the monument and the surrounding area until construction crews could come and do what they could to save the historical building.

The civilians were all safely evacuated, and the Washington Monument stabilized, but a great deal of damage had been done. For recklessly damaging a national memorial, Rizzbizz was stripped of his hero license. Investigations into his actions showed that Rizzbizz could indeed have apprehended the Dragonfly villain within a minute of their first encounter, but because of his lagging rank, the former hero had allowed the chase to go on longer than was necessary for fear of potentially losing his agency. When Star and Stripe had indicated that she was coming to end the spectacle, Rizzbizz panicked and in a last attempt to make it a good show for the public, used one of his more destructive moves, only to make a move that could have not only led to dozens of people getting hurt, but blasted a historical monument.

Mistakes happen. The incident could have occurred at any other time, and while it would have still been a career ender and frontpage news for a time, that is likely as far as it would have gone in the public conscience. With Takeyama’s speech relating to this exact issue still fresh in everyone’s minds though, it got people thinking. How often had this, what the former Mt. Lady talked about, actually happened? How often had heroes used attacks of disproportionate force to deal with a problem? How often did one’s rank negatively affect how a hero performed on the field? How much did damages like this cost taxpayers? Lawyers, reporters, opportunistic politicians, and curious civilians began scouring through the records of hero activity, finding more and more data that supported Takeyama’s speech. A new political movement began to gain traction, calling for a change to how heroes and the hero system operated.

Several months later, the news of Mirko’s hospitalization and subsequent crippling was spread worldwide. Perhaps the U.S. HPSC wanting to take the initiative this time and avoid another scandal, as soon after, Cathleen and many other heroes were informed of a new set of rules and protocols to dissuade heroes from engaging in practices that could similarly injure them.

It is said that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. Cathleen certainly loved being a hero. She loved bringing hope to people, the power that her Quirk gave her, the rush of launching herself through the air, but she sometimes was at a loss for what to do when she wasn’t on patrol (and convinced to take a break.) Sometimes she would just hang out with her bros in her flight squad and go out for a beer, watch a movie, watch a football game, play a football game, etc. In the past year though, Cathleen had been changing up a lot more of her hobbies by hanging out with Melissa. The brainy girl favored museums, symposiums, or clothes shopping, and Cathleen was more than happy to oblige, even if some of what Melissa talked about went over her head (though that wasn’t actually that much; you couldn’t be a member of the Airforce and be dumb, after all. There were actually a few things about aeronautics that Melissa was happy to learn from Cathleen.) There were also unfortunately the difficult meetings Melissa had visiting her father in prison. Melissa always told Cathleen that she didn’t need to worry, that she could go on her own and Cathleen didn’t need to waste her limited time off escorting her, but Cathleen knew that Melissa appreciated having the shoulder to cry on after the visits.

This night, Cathleen was in her civilian clothes at Melissa’s college watching a video presentation being given by a Dr. Makabe Hanako, a woman with blue, carapace-like skin, as she used her Quirk to modify a chunk of palladium for a very unique purpose:

“As you can see, by using my Quirk to artificially alter the density of the palladium, it indeed has shown the capability of absorbing hydrogen and its isotopes, long believed to be impossible. By forcing the hydrogen atoms so close together, we were able to make them fuse and generate energy.” Dr. Makabe stood up, waving her arm in an arc to display the small, but clearly powerful reactor she had set up. “My esteemed colleagues, I present to you the first fully-functioning cold fusion reactor.”

For a brief moment, the audience, along with several others that Dr. Makabe was presenting to at colleges and labs throughout the world, sat in stunned silence before breaking out into applause. Many rushed to type in questions and requests of Dr. Makabe on their own computers, while business representatives rushed out of the auditorium to call their bosses of what they had just learned. Eventually, Cathleen and Melissa left the auditorium after the presentation ended, Melissa still excitedly jabbering on about the implications of this.

“It can actually work…people had given up on it for centuries, even before the rise of Quirks, and someone actually found a way to make it work!” Melissa said out loud, her eyes wide. “This is going to change everything! Clean, plentiful energy, fossil fuels are going to be a thing of the past!”

Cathleen wasn’t as vocal about it as Melissa was, mostly grinning in amusement at how hyper the girl had become, but she was certainly stunned by this revelation herself, and she knew that this was going to become a major talking point even among the Airbase. Eventually, once the two arrived back at Cathleen’s home, and Melissa had stopped scribbling the ideas of how she might be able to implement this technology in her notes, the college student paused.

“…I think that they’re going to have to allow free public Quirk use like Japan has done.” She said out loud.

“You really think so?” Cathleen asked. She questioned this assertion herself; allowing for free public Quirk use in Japan was a criticism that she often heard towards the country’s prime minister by the officials of U.S. hero system. It would be almost impossible to police a country that allowed that freedom, and opened it up to a lot of property damage if people were allowed to use their Quirks without restraint. Melissa though just stared at Cathleen shaking her head.

“Cassie…I don’t think you understand…They won’t have a choice to not allow free Quirk use, even if only so that they can get access to this technology. Forget about what happened to its hero system, Japan is going to become the new Mecca of science!” Almost in a frenzy, Melissa started pacing around the living room. “Quirks usually seem to be bound by principles that we can understand. Usually. But then there are Quirks that the current state of science simply doesn’t have the ability to understand.” Melissa whipped her head towards Cathleen, caught up in her own excitement. “Do you remember Tokoyami Fumikage’s Quirk from the Sports Festival, Dark Shadow? Do you have any idea how that’s possible? A sapient being composed not of energy, but of the absence of light. That makes no sense whatsoever, but he exists, and there’s a country now where people can study Quirks like that!” Melissa paused, staring at Cathleen. “What if we studied ‘New Order?’ What if we found a way to replicate it? The ability to artificially reprogram reality itself!”

Cathleen blinked.

“That…sounds kind of terrifying.”

Melissa laughed and shrugged.

“I suppose so. But do you get what I’m saying now? If scientists aren’t allowed to study what Quirks can do in their own countries, they’ll travel to Japan to do so. It could lead to a global brain drain, and once the government realizes that, they’ll take whatever measures they need to stop it.” The girl chuckled to herself, shaking her head ruefully. “Heck, if I had a Quirk I could study, I’d move to Japan myself.”

Cathleen whistled impressively to herself, musing over Melissa’s point, wondering how likely it was that the measures taken in Japan would take off anywhere else. The idea seemed like a good one; allow people the ability to explore their Quirks and their potential. Dr. Makabe had a relatively simple Quirk; the ability to alter the density of objects, and yet she had achieved what might be the greatest scientific discovery in modern times. Who knew what else people could do? And then there were the stories about the different ways that people in Japan had managed to find work for themselves after their economic collapse, taking advantage of the repeal of the ban against public Quirk use to create small businesses. Such a move could help a lot of people in the U.S. as well. However, Cathleen knew that there would be pushback; large businesses might lobby to limit public Quirk use to prevent competition, while others might have more legitimate concerns of how such a move could result in mass vigilantism, increase the number of Quirk-related accidents, or maybe even create a caste system for society based off of one’s Quirk, forcing individuals into certain roles regardless of their personal desires.

As for her and what she wanted?

…Cathleen wasn’t so sure. She frowned as she lay back in her bed, trying to consider what something like this meant for her. The fact was that this change was a result of the hero system falling in Japan. What did that mean about the hero system that Cathleen was a part of?

Melissa took her turn on the stage in front of the various professors, businessmen, and military commanders judging her for the exposition. Granted, this wasn’t on the same level as the I-Island Expo, but she had still found herself at a prestigious event for gifted engineers and college students like herself from across the U.S., an event that could make or break their careers. The doubtful, suspicious looks many people gave her did not instill confidence. Many still saw her as the daughter of a traitor, despite all of the effort that she put into her work.

Thankfully, her eyes focused on Cathleen, visiting the expo as Star and Stripe, who flashed her a grin and a thumbs up. She then focused on a small web camera, through which she knew that the inspiration for her invention was watching and also supporting her. The support of these two gave Melissa the courage that she needed to smile confidently and begin her presentation.

“What is the biggest obstacle in determining what kind of equipment is given to soldiers and emergency responders?” she asked the audience. “Sadly, the answer, too often, is money.”

This certainly got quite a few people’s attention, as several previous skeptical audience members unconsciously leaned forward at the mention of the magic word.

“For those working in the military, emergency services, or even the hero system, much of their work is dependent on having the right tool for the job, and as the duties of these individuals have become more complex as time has gone on, they have required more tools. Thus, we have an issue; either those working in these fields are overloaded with equipment, some of which is for extremely specific circumstances. In this case, just properly equipping an emergency responder or a soldier can cost around $20,000 a year.”

Cathleen and Melissa could feel the winces of several of the audience members who had to shoulder those costs despite their attempts to maintain their stone-faced exteriors.

“The alternative though is to not properly equip emergency responders, thus making their jobs more difficult and dangerous, if not impossible to perform.”

Melissa opened up a case and picked her invention out of it.

“As such, I have created a device meant to simplify and negate the costs of equipment into a single object;” Melissa displayed the support item to the audience, a red gauntlet. “I present to you, the C-tool, or more completely, in honor of its inspiration, the Creati-tool.”

Melissa pressed a button on the gauntlet, which folded off of her arm to form a small shovel.

“The Creati-tool is meant to be an all-purpose piece of support gear meant to fit any circumstance, whether it be digging through rubble,”

The tool shifted into a fireman’s axe,

“Chopping trees or through barricades,”

To a large pair of bolt cutters, a large saw, and a crowbar.

“Or any other obstacle you can think of.”

Melissa folded the C-tool back into a gauntlet, only for it to partially fold back into itself for a smaller set of tools, including a screwdriver, wrench, and even a frying pan.

“The Creati-tool is meant for practically any scenario;”

The C-tool flattened out an extended, forming a…blanket? The audience looked at Melissa’s invention quizzically, only for her to continue to deftly show the different forms that the C-tool could take, including a sleeping bag, a stretcher, and a signaling flag.

“Designed with carbon fibers and insulating materials, the Creati-tool can also be used to protect the user against the cold, extreme heat, to carry loads exceeding 3000 lbs,”

Melissa morphed the tool again into a shield, before placing it inside of a now-revealed reinforced fiber-glass box, also revealing a large sniper rifle with its barrel pointed inside the box.

“Or to withstand impacts from high-caliber rifles.”

Melissa smiled confidently towards the disbelieving audience before firing the rifle, which left the shield completely undamaged, as Melissa demonstrated by pulling the C-tool out and cycling through its various forms before returning it to its gauntlet shape.

“The Creati-tool can take over 120 different forms, weighs only ten pounds, and costs $100.” Melissa barely repressed a smirk in response to the audible gasps she had heard from several of the audience. “Sure, an axe or a shovel would cost less on their own, but considering the dozens of other applications that the Creati-tool can handle, that is saving roughly $10,000 worth of equipment that an emergency responder would otherwise have to use.”

The attendees were shocked. Many of the other presentations that they had seen were technically flashier, but the sheer variability the C-tool provided, coupled with the realization of how much money could be saved through the replacement of so much other equipment made it clear that the C-tool was arguably the most practical piece of support gear that they had seen so far. One audience member raised their hand to ask a question.

“How is it that the C-tool is so durable?”

For a moment, Melissa’s smile turned somber.

“The same technology that I designed the Creati-tool with was the same that I used to create a piece of support gear for All Might.” She explained, bringing up some footage of a strange red band being displayed by the now-famous Lemillion as he practiced some punches with it, impressed at the gear’s durability. “It was meant to be a way to allow him, or in this case, Lemillion, to safely access the use of their Quirk without drawbacks, and was able to handle three hits at 100% before being destroyed. I simply incorporated similar techniques to construct the Creati-tool to allow it to be as durable as possible to avoid malfunctions in the field.”

The revelation that Melissa could create technology capable of handling forces of that magnitude floored the audience again until another attendee raised their hand.

“Why did you design it in the form of a gauntlet?”

“The Creati-tool was originally meant for hero work.” Melissa explained, morphing the C-tool into various forms of clothing, including a cape, a sash, and even a crown. “I have noticed in the past that heroes often neglect to bring simple tools into the field as they clash with their personal themes, so the Creati-tool was meant to be modifiable to fit an individual’s personal style and be easily incorporated into their costumes.”

Finally, Melissa finished answering everyone’s questions, and bowed to the audience, thankfully to some enthusiastic applause. Cathleen breathed a sigh of relief as she added her own applause, grateful that the investors seemed to be able to see past the reputation Melissa’s father had made and to recognize her true potential. The college student practically had a line of people wanting to continue to talk to her about her technology, as well as potentially offer future investments.

Cathleen gladly let Melissa enjoy her time in the spotlight before the college student was finally able to tear herself away from everyone and run up to the hero, hugging her joyfully.

“I did it! I actually did it, Cassie!” Melissa squealed excitedly.

“Way to go, Melissa, I told you, you were going to be great!” Cathleen responded with her own bear hug.

Out of breath, Melissa laughed.

“I couldn’t have done this without you, Cassie. If it weren’t for your support, I don’t think I would have been able to get my foot in the door, let alone have all of these people take me seriously.”

Cathleen patted Melissa on the shoulder.

“This is just the beginning, Melissa. Just you wait, the lives your tech will save is going to dwarf my own numbers in the future, I can tell.”

Melissa beamed at Cathleen before her smile became somewhat somber.

“What’s wrong?” Cathleen asked in concern.

“Nothing…I just…” Melissa sighed. “I wish Dad could be here. Or Uncle All Might.” She admitted.

Cathleen frowned, understanding her frustration. Thankfully, Melissa managed to perk up pretty quickly.

“Oh! I forgot to call Yaomomo! It’s probably in the evening where she is, but she still made the time to watch over the internet!” she remarked before pulling away with a wave to Cathleen to make a phone call.

Cathleen smiled happily after her housemate and friend, only to notice a small group of military commanders idly talking to each other nearby, including her friend Timothy Agpar. Curious at to how they were feeling about the presentation, Cathleen sidled over without them noticing.

“Okay Tim, I admit, good call on convincing us to let Melissa intern at the base.” A commander reluctantly said.

“The young lady has a fruitful career ahead of her, that’s for sure.” Timothy agreed with the general speaking.

“That is if she doesn’t take after her father…” another general spoke in an undertone, only to flinch at the look that Timothy gave to him.

“You shouldn’t speak like that. Ms. Shield has done nothing wrong, and has given no indication that she intends to do anything wrong.” Timothy said. The general in question raised his hands as if to calm Timothy down.

“Come on, Tim, there’s no need to be like that…”

“I believe on principle that there is need to defend people from harmful rumors.” Timothy interjected. Cathleen grinned, glad that she could rely on her friend to back her and Melissa up.

“My issue is; Did she have to call it the ‘Creati-tool?’” one of the generals asked skeptically. “It’s not good optics to associate ourselves with the Hell Class. That Aizawa…” the general shook his head in frustration, “I’m not saying that the man deserved what he got, but considering what we know about what his teaching did, it kind of throws the capabilities of his students into question.”

“Ms. Shield insisted on giving her friend credit.” Timothy pointed out, shrugging. “She seems to think quite highly of the Yaoyorozu heiress’ skills, despite the reputation UA has for itself right now. In any case, the fact that Ms. Shield has the backing of Star and Stripe renders optic issues moot, don’t you think?”

“I suppose so.” The general admitted with his own shrug. “If that technology is really as effective as she makes it out to be, it will certainly made a tidy profit. Our HPSC has been thinking about incorporating more support gear into their heroes’ loadouts as it is, so smart of that girl to get a start on catering to heroes from the start.”

Another general cut in with his own blunt statement:

“Look, let’s just be honest with ourselves here: With what Ms. Shield has shown herself being capable of, our focus should really be on having her work for us for as long as possible until I-Island wises up and poaches her back.”

Cathleen grinned to herself, noticing Timothy wink at her as the other commanders laughed to themselves. As she walked out of the hall to make her own phone call, her mood became more somber as she dialed All Might’s number, only for the call to go to voicemail.

“Hey, All Might…I know that you’re probably busy, and you’re having a hard time nowadays, but it would be good if you returned Melissa’s calls. She’s worried about you…I’m worried about you, master…I…I could really use your advice nowadays…”

One year after the collapse of hero society in Japan, the country seemed almost unrecognizable. Thankfully, with the help of UN soldiers, the country was able to start stabilizing its law enforcement and its economy, but it was by no means a positive picture. The populace still seemed shellshocked from the loss of their heroes, and there was continuous social upheaval as citizens and politicians argued about which direction they should take their country. Law enforcement began to take a new form, as Japan’s police and rescue workers began to implement new protocols. There was no focus on showboating or image, there was an expectation that emergency responders would work as a unit rather than attempt to take the glory for themselves, and the way that they worked was expected to be done in a manner that minimized danger to themselves and to bystanders. The economy slowly began to build up from the collapse of its main foundation partially thanks to the implementation of public Quirk use inciting a spread of small businesses. There were issues of course; more public Quirk use without a proper framework or regulation led to many accidents and injuries, and while the Yaoyorozu conglomerate had managed to prevent a total collapse of the Japanese economy, it would take many years before the country could build itself up from the base of a smattering of small businesses. That being said, the signs finally made it seem as if Japan would be able to build itself back up again with time.

The U.S. though was also changing, along with practically every other country in the world, even if the changes weren’t as drastic, immediate, or noticeable at first. The scandals of Japan’s hero system led to the governments of the world quietly looking into their own affairs and trying to root out similar corruption before they would likewise come back to bite them. While Japan had earned a great deal of ire, it also earned the attention of the world, being seen as something of a test of how a country without a hero system could operate, as people began to consider what ideas would work and what wouldn’t. The U.S. wasn’t the only country to start making changes to its protocol, though it was quicker considering the lesson it learned from the Rizzbizz fiasco. Collateral damage was not as easily forgiven, cooperation between heroes and other emergency responders was expected, as several states began to institute seniority rules, such as heroes having to obey the orders of higher-ranking police or rescue workers. Hero schools began to emphasize safety and practicality over spectacle, which, whether heroes realized it or not, slowly led to a greater focus on long-range combat.

Most of these changes were in the background though; there was still a ranking system that was influenced by a heroes’ popularity, requiring that heroes learn to balance greater nuances to their duties.

The successes Japan gained in its economy and its scientific community also gained people’s interests. Long-simmering resentment over having to repress one’s Quirk found an outlet as people had a specific example to point to as to how such a practice could be beneficial. Such sentiments started off small at first, but grew as time went on and Japan began to rebuild itself, becoming a new issue for American politics to debate over. At the time, those that had such desires were still in the political minority simply for the fact that such a big change could be difficult for people to swallow. However, support for Quirk use legalization was growing, and Cathleen suspected that eventually the country would start to see such measures to allow this freedom. Probably not everywhere at once, obviously, but perhaps state by state, likely starting off in areas away from crowded urban centers where free Quirk use could lead to hazards, or in controlled environments where scientists would be granted a bit more freedom to see what benefits could be derived from more free Quirk use, at least at first.

These growing movements though were countered by opposing parties. As Cathleen had predicted, part of the opposition to free Quirk use came from those in power who could stand to lose profit or power from the legalization of such measures such as large businesses. Others pointed out how dangerous public Quirk use could be, using many of the examples of accidents in Japan and wanting to avoid similar fiascos.

Changes to the hero system likewise faced opposition. Money was a factor certainly; many businesses relied on hero endorsements just as much as heroes relied on the endorsements themselves, and as such balked at the talk of completely decommercializing heroes. There were also heroes who found themselves frustrated at being expected to balance the new protocols they were expected to adopt when they directly conflicted with their ability to make a profit from their admittedly dangerous professions. How could they be expected to do their jobs in this kind of environment? They still had to find a way to be popular in order to get the support they needed for their work, but suddenly they were being bogged down by new regulations that could run counter to how they had been handling their work for decades, and how they were able to make a living off of heroism in the first place. Rules were implemented, pulled back, and re-implemented as the hero system attempted to adapt to arguments made from different sides.

One of the problems that came with politicizing these sorts of issues was the extremes that could result from such debates. There were a few points that most people could agree with; taking away harsh penalties for Quirk use under duress or ensuring that heroes operated in a manner that minimized collateral damage for example, most could agree on these simple measures. There were others though that would either say that the hero system should be ripped apart in one fell swoop or those that would say that the hero system should remain exactly as is, insisting that it was already perfect. This became a problem for Cathleen when Melissa came into the living room while she was reading, looking at her phone in concern.

“Um, Cassie? You might want to see this…”

Cathleen took the phone and scowled, seeing a tweet made by Kevin Colt, the leader of a notably toxic branch of the pro hero movement, showing a photograph of himself giving a thumbs up to the camera while standing next to Cathleen, smiling at something off camera.

Kevin Colt-‘Star and Stripe showing her solidarity!’

Cathleen remembered this; it was a charity event that some Congressmen were hosting that Cathleen had come by to offer her own support. When she had found out that Colt was at the event, Cathleen had gone out of her way to avoid talking to him, though it seemed that he had managed to take this picture without her noticing.

Cathleen groaned, before pulling out her own phone, annoyed that she would have to do damage control to avoid being associated with someone so toxic.

“Thanks, Melissa. Hopefully this will take care of the problem.”

Star and Stripe-‘I did not agree to have my picture taken, and I do not support Colt’s party. I support pro heroes, not those that try to use them as talking points, and not those that would deny measures that could ensure the safety of pro heroes.’

“There.” She said, putting her phone away and hoping to forget about the issue. Five minutes later though, Melissa had to interrupt her again, this time with a more incredulous expression.

“…Cassie?”

“Is Colt throwing a hissy fit?” Cathleen asked without concern. “Don’t worry about it.”

“…It’s not him.” Melissa answered, turning her phone towards Cathleen. Cathleen read the new tweet, her eyes wide as she saw who wrote it.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Sir Nighteye-‘I would have expected more of America’s No. 1 Hero. But it seems that she is unable to support the hero system in her own country, let alone that of Japan’s. If she is willing to allow the heroes of her country to fall the same way that so many of ours has, it would seem then that All Might and I are the only ones truly committed to the cause of restoring heroism.’

Cathleen stared aghast at Nighteye’s comment. She should have been mad, but she was honestly more confused as to why Nighteye was attacking someone who had been helping them.

“Has…has he gone nuts?” Cathleen asked out loud. Forget about the fact that Nighteye was misconstruing her words, he had just isolated a lot of people who would have otherwise supported his movement; she was the Number One Hero in the U.S. after all; with All Might retired, she was probably the strongest and most popular hero on the planet, and Nighteye just attacked her for not siding with an extremist.

“I can’t believe it…” Melissa said, sitting down and starting at her phone incredulously. “This makes no sense…could there be something wrong with him?”

“I can only assume so…” Cathleen responded, shaking her head in disbelief. “Maybe the stress is just getting to him…”

That was about as good of an excuse as Cathleen could come up with. Despite All Might and Sir Nighteye’s best efforts, and Cathleen’s own best efforts to offer support, the Japanese pro hero movement had been seriously floundering. Ever since Bakugou’s arrest, it seemed as if the movement had been taking hit after hit; Takeyama’s speech decrying Nighteye’s attacks (which in of themselves had been isolating quite a bit of support the movement could have otherwise had,) Awata and Moashi (Nighteye’s former sidekick Centipeder) leaving the movement, along with the rumors and scandals associated with their departure. Cathleen could only assume that Nighteye was feeling oversensitive about anything that might be considered a betrayal in his eyes. She groaned, putting her head in her hands in frustration, hoping that this wasn’t just going to cause more problems for her former master.

Cathleen wanted to put the matter aside; it was just an online debate over tweets after all. However, a few days later, after Cathleen had managed to stop a terrorist cell from attacking a children’s hospital, it seemed that many of the reporters weren’t interested in checking whether the sick children were safe, the motivation of the bombers, or even that interested in the fact that Cathleen had literally twisted the terrorist leader like a pretzel. No, that wasn’t what they were interested in:

“Star and Stripe, is it true that you no longer support the Japanese pro hero movement?”

In the midst of the reporters’ questions, Cathleen felt a migraine coming at the sheer stupidity of the situation she had found herself in.

“I still support Japan’s heroes. My beliefs have not changed in that regards since I first made them public on the matter a year ago. What that has to do with what’s going on now is another question…”

“But Star and Stripe, the co-leader of Japan’s hero movement, Sir Nighteye, seemed to interpret comments that you made in response to Kevin Colt’s own comments as meaning that you are doubting your earlier stated support…”

“I have made my stance and support clear.” Cathleen said, staring down the offending reporter. “Now if anyone doesn’t have any questions related to the matter at hand, I’ll be…”

“But Star and Stripe,” another reporter attempted to shout, “Just how exactly do you think the hero system should change?”

Cathleen though had already leapt away, attempting to ignore the question. However, she still heard it, and couldn’t help musing on it. Despite Nighteye’s criticisms, Cathleen still believed in heroes, whether they were American, Japanese, or any nationality. The past year though had highlighted issues that she didn’t know how to address: Rizzbizz’s collateral damage as a result of his desperation, Skycrawler’s struggling to find acceptance because of scandal, the question of whether Quirk use should be legalized or not; the world was changing, and Cathleen didn’t know what direction to go. She eventually found herself on a stretch of road that seemed to be absent of traffic at the moment, and leaned against a tree to take a moment to breathe and think.

Cathleen heard her phone buzzing, and she was tempted to let it go to voicemail. If it was important, she’d hear it over the hero comms, and she just wanted to have some time to herself to think. Regardless, when she looked at the contact, she gasped, and immediately answered.

“Master?”

“Hello, Young Cathleen.” The wizened voice of Cathleen’s mentor spoke over the phone. He sounded more exhausted then ever, but he was there, talking to her. Granted, All Might had at least called Melissa on her birthday, and Cathleen was able to give a brief greeting to her old mentor back then, but to be called by him eased a pain she didn’t know she was carrying.

“All Might…how are you?” she asked, scared that he was going to hang up before they could have a proper conversation. “It’s been such a long time since I last heard from you…”

“Yes…I suppose it has been.” All Might admitted. “Too long, and I wish that I had the freedom to speak to you more often, or to speak to you about more pleasant things.”

Cathleen clenched her phone in worry.

“Is something wrong?”

“No…nothing’s wrong…” All Might spoke, though Cathleen wasn’t convinced, but her mentor continued to speak. “I am calling because I owe you my apology for the things Sasaki has said. I don’t know what he was thinking when he sent out those tweets critiquing you for simply defending yourself from an attempt to misappropriate your image.”

“All Might, it’s fine, you don’t need to apologize…” Truthfully, as annoyed as Cathleen was by the reporters, at this point, she didn’t really care.

“I do.” All Might asserted. “Sasaki has been acting foolishly, and it can be very difficult for me to reason with him…I fear that despite his desire to honor Young Togata’s memory, his zealotry may simply create more problems than it will solve.”

“All Might…you don’t need to worry about me, I’m fine!” Cathleen said, though her stomach twisted with guilt. There was so much that she wanted to talk to her old mentor about, but she didn’t know where to begin. How was she supposed to be a hero in a society like this? What was the answer? At the moment though, hearing her master, Cathleen felt that she needed to put that to the side, being so much more worried for how All Might was faring. “Just…how are you? It feels like your movement has been having a lot of problems, and Melissa and I have been worried for you. We…we wish you could talk more often…”

“…I wish I could too.” All Might answered wearily. “But…I owe this to Young Togata. I need to keep fighting for his sake…for my mentor’s sake…I can’t let this all end here. I’m sorry that I haven’t made more time for you two, but I need to do this.”

“All Might…” Cathleen chewed on her lip for a moment, not wanting to chastise the former hero when he already seemed so down on himself. “This isn’t…” she sighed, unable to think of the words to say at the moment. “Please…take care of yourself. I understand you have an obligation, but you are important to Melissa and I, and we don’t want you to tear yourself up. If you need to take a break, or if you need to talk to one of us, you can always call. We might have our own stuff, but we’re here for you.”

“…I appreciate that, Young Cathleen, I really do. It gives me hope knowing that there is a hero like you in the world.”

Cathleen grimaced, bothered by All Might’s words on top of her already present confusion.

“I’m sorry that I can’t talk more, but thank you for your kindness.”

“…You’re welcome, master.” Cathleen said before All Might hung up.

TEN YEARS LATER

“Approaching the target area, decreasing speed.”

The pilot announced as they slowed the draft down from hypersonic speed. On their visors, Star and Stripe & Rocketti were able to see a feed of their mission area; a vast swath of the California wilderness that had been set ablaze by the Fire Quirk user ‘Smoky.’

Once the XL-166 craft had slowed enough, Rocketti undid her seatbelt and stood up, walking to the door of the plane. The former UA student was one of the examples of how the hero system in the U.S. had changed over the past decade. She ended up taking after Cathleen by joining the Airforce. Like Cathleen, she was still a registered pro hero, but took on missions for the U.S. military as needed, lending support for the WHA on their missions, or in the case where the Airforce was assisting the wider effort to contain the disaster set off by a particularly powerful criminal (they were told to avoid using the word ‘villain.’) In a sense, it was similar to what had happened to Japan’s hero system, albeit with the difference that heroes still kept their unique identities, as long as their conduct and equipment fitted the requirements for whatever unit they were a part of. In Rocketti’s case for example, she had abandoned a great deal of the ‘horse’ aesthetic that was emblematic of her original costume in favor of something more streamlined and practical; a flight suit equipped with goggles, attachable oxygen mask, and a helmet molded to her horns to allow her to better handle the stresses of flight. The only element she retained from her original costume was the stylized image of a horse over her chest which was used as her personal logo.

Not all heroes were like this, in fact the majority still operated off of the old system. This was just one of the ways heroes were encouraged to adapt. In this case, Rocketti wasn’t as beholden to the need to cater to public image through spectacle, instead answering more to the branch of emergency services she had joined with. In Cathleen’s opinion though, the twenty-eight year old was skilled and popular enough in her own right that she could operate independently of the Airforce if she wanted to.

“This is Cumulus, we have managed to clear a safe zone from the fire at location Delta-Three, ready to receive civilians.” Another hero announced over the radio.

“Roger that, ready to drop.” Rocketti announced. When she was given the go-ahead, the bay door opened, allowing Rocketti to leap from the plane, only to detach her horns and telekinetically direct them to carry her by her feet through the smoke. She then proceeded to scour through the skies over the burning force, finding civilians caught in the blaze, using more horns to snag and carry them over to the safe zone. Meanwhile, Cathleen stayed on the plane as it carried her towards the small town that Smoky was attempting to hold hostage.

“This is Beta Squad, releasing extinguisher drones.” Another pilot announced, Cathleen using her feed to watch as the squad released a massive swarm of drones designed by Melissa Shield. These drones functioned as extreme insulators, able smother fires more quickly than the time that it would take for planes to put them out by dumping water on them. This gave Cathleen the opening that she needed.

“Star and Stripe, we are over Target Alpha, you are clear to drop.” The pilot announced, giving Cathleen the signal to leap out of the plane herself, Melissa’s fire-proof suit protecting her from the flames and smoke as she plummeted through the sky until she impacted the ground in a massive plume of dirt. In the brief moment that she took to catch her bearings, she saw that she had hit exactly where she had wanted to, directly in front of Smoky. The charcoal-skinned criminal had been blasted away by her impact, the dirt she kicked up managed to smother most of the flames that he had ignited on himself. Before the man could speak or cause more problems, Cathleen blitzed over and knocked him unconscious with a single blow.

“Target Alpha is down.” Cathleen announced, proceeding to restrain Smoky with fire-proof bindings before allowing another plane to pick him up and transfer him to prison.

Thankfully, Cathleen, her squad, and the other heroes had managed to work fast enough that despite Smoky’s reckless power, the only damage to human life were a few burns. Once the fire had been extinguished and the civilians rescued, Cathleen and Rocketti were picked up by their jet and blasted back over to the East Coast. The ride took them 10 minutes. Landing in the Arlington Air Base, Cathleen and Rocketti were greeted by Melissa Shield.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“We managed to stop Smoky before he could actually kill anyone.” Cathleen answered with a grin, patting the side of the XL-166. “Your girl here got us and everyone else there just in time.”

“Good to hear.” Melissa said, walking around the jet to check for any damages before turning to Rocketti and Cathleen. “The suits hold up?”

“Why do you even ask us, Melissa? You know they work fine.” Rocketti cheekily answered as she retracted her helmet into a collar on her costume. “We could breathe just fine, I didn’t feel any heat, and the heads-up display let me find everyone just fine.”

“Well, sure.” Melissa answered with a shrug. “But I can always do better.”

Cathleen chuckled and clapped her two partners on the back before taking them out for a drink. The three had to lightly disguise themselves in order to avoid being swarmed by fans, but over the years it was a skill that they had each managed to pick up. The risk was worth it for the bar in question though, being one of the businesses owned by someone who had managed to wrangle a license to use their Quirk for work, in this case the ability to alter fermentation rates. The three had a good drink, some good talk, until Cathleen happened to notice the television playing a report on the mission that she and Rocketti had just completed.

“Smoky’s rampage started at 5:00 pm. During that time, he engulfed several acres in flames, including a popular hiking trail and nearby town, threatening to spread the fire even further if a ransom was not paid or if any of the local heroes attempted to intervene. The only hero capable of taking Smoky down without the danger of collateral damage was Star and Stripe, who was on the East Coast at the time of the attack. Despite this, she was able to arrive twelve minutes after the rampage started with fellow hero Rocketti, defeating Smoky within seconds. The people of this town can only be thankful that their Number One hero was there to save them!”

Cathleen didn’t want to bring the mood down, so she looked away before she could accidentally draw Pony and Melissa’s attention. It was infuriating to her though that she was the only one being given credit for such a huge endeavor; Pony had saved dozens of lives in the minute that it took Cathleen to take down Smoky, and Melissa’s technology was the whole reason why they were able to arrive there and extinguish the fire so quickly in the first place. At least they were giving Pony some credit. But Cathleen wondered how often this had happened in the past, how often she had unintentionally overshadowed other heroes. And another question: How much did her country rely on her? How much had it trained itself to rely on her?

Was this how All Might saw his relationship with Japan?

Cathleen was 54. She still had a good few years left in her, but every now and then, she began to notice herself slowing down slightly. Not enough that anyone but her noticed it, but it was there. She didn’t feel old persay, but as the next July 4th got closer, she was reminded more and more that she was approaching the age that All Might retired. Cathleen felt pretty confident that she’d be able to keep going on as a hero for quite some time, but hearing the news reporter sing her praises, she couldn’t help but wonder how her country would take it when she would inevitably have to step down herself. Would America react the same as Japan did, trying to act as if everything was fine before it collapsed on itself, or had things changed enough that it would remain stable?

About an hour later, Melissa and Cathleen helped Pony get back home safely (she was a bit of a lightweight when it came to drinking.) As they left, Cathleen stopped Melissa.

“Melissa…” Cathleen said as they were walking down the street back towards Melissa’s car.

“What is it?” she asked.

Cathleen hesitated, sighing.

“I’m…sorry that the news didn’t mention anything about your tech.”

Melissa looked at Cathleen for a moment in confusion before smiling.

“Cassie, it’s fine. Why do you seem so worked up about this?”

“I don’t know…” Cathleen said, running her hands down her face. “Your father wasn’t as well known as All Might and people still gave him credit as All Might’s sidekick, I feel like you should be given credit too!”

“Then let people know at your next news conference.” Melissa answered with a shrug. “I’m getting plenty of credit as is, you don’t need to worry about me so much anymore.”

This was a legitimate point. Over the past ten years, Melissa Shield had managed to advance the technology of the U.S. Air Force to the point that it was considered two generations ahead of practically every other country in the world. With the funding provided to her by the U.S. government and Cathleen’s own support, Melissa had been creating new inventions every day that were continually saving lives all over the world: Practically indestructible armor that hardened in response to impacts. Portable sonic weapons capable of taking down individuals with extreme physical enhancement Quirks. Armors equipped with jet boosters for accelerated movement or heavy impacts. ‘Anima’ drones had become a staple for the army, police, and rescue workers for their use in scouting, transporting equipment, and even redirecting energy to power additional equipment. At this point, Cathleen’s commanders were simply trying to make the most of the time that they had Melissa under their employ before she would return to I-Island, taking the role ignobly lost by her father, though it seemed that Melissa’s own name would soon eclipse that of her father’s.

Cathleen smiled at how much more carefree Melissa had become since she had first taken the young woman under her wing, back when her father’s arrest and the suspicions people had towards her still stung. Nowadays, Melissa had the respect of people the world over, and was saving lives with her technology just like she always wanted. Before Cathleen could say anything else though, Melissa’s phone rang. When she looked at it though, she froze in shock.

“What is it?” Cathleen asked in concern.

“…It’s Uncle All Might.” Melissa answered breathlessly before frantically answering the call. Cathleen hung over Melissa, not wanting to intrude in the conversation, but also not wanting to miss the opportunity to hear from her old mentor for the first time in years.

“Uncle All Might?...I’m fine, but don’t worry about me, how are you!? I haven’t heard from you in years!”

Melissa blinked, looking over at Cathleen.

“Yes, actually, Cassie’s with me now. Let me put you on speaker.”

“Young Cathleen?” All Might’s voice, more wizened then ever croaked from Melissa’s phone.

“Yes master, it’s me, how are you?” Cathleen asked frantically.

“I’m…” All Might hesitated. “I’d rather tell you both in person. If I came over, would you two be willing to talk? I have a lot to talk to you about…a lot to apologize for.”

Cathleen and Melissa looked to each other in concern before Melissa answered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about exactly, but I think we’d both like to talk to you.”

All Might arrived just three days later. While Cathleen had continued to watch the progress…or honestly, lack of progress, of the pro hero movement in Japan and had seen her old mentor’s public appearances, it didn’t give justice to how withered the former hero looked. He was more emaciated than ever, his formerly blonde hair gray and lank. He stood awkwardly in front of Melissa and Cathleen, who were both too stunned to say anything. The former hero managed a hopeful smile towards the two.

“…I am very glad to see you two again.”

Still, Cathleen and Melissa were still. There was probably a lot that they couldn’t put into words. Eventually, Melissa managed to break the tension by rushing over to her honorary uncle so quickly that he flinched, though she calmed down enough to give him a gentle hug.

“…I missed you…I missed you so much…” she murmured into his shoulder.

All Might patted Melissa’s back shakily, though his smile became more genuine, perhaps more genuine than Cathleen had seen in years.

“…There is…a lot that I need to say to you.”

The three went back to the privacy of Cathleen’s house, where All Might sat opposite the two on Cathleen’s kitchen table. There was so much that Cathleen wanted to say to All Might; concerns about how he looked, how he had been doing, joy at finally seeing him in person again, confusion as to why he was here, but she settled on;

“All Might…what the hell?”

The former hero looked down at the table ashamed, likely realizing what Cathleen felt, but that didn’t stop her from saying it, and neither did Melissa stop her, likely feeling the same frustrations herself.

“It’s been years since we’ve last heard from you! You barely give Melissa a call a year anymore! You’re basically her only family left! And you’re my mentor! Why haven’t you been returning my calls? Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been about you?”

All Might sat and let Cathleen give her tirade over him, waiting patiently for her to finish. Once Cathleen had finally settled down, he looked up at the two with a contrite expression.

“…I have much to apologize to you two for. I have been negligent towards you in checking on your well-being.”

“I’m more concerned about your well-being, Uncle All Might.” Melissa pointed out. “You don’t look well.”

The former hero gave a grim sigh, looking at his bony hands.

“No…I suppose I don’t. If I’m being honest with you, I haven’t been doing well for quite some time. I’ve only recently been willing to admit that to anyone.”

“Master…what’s happened to you?” Cathleen asked.

All Might looked up at the two and took a deep breath.

“There is a lot to explain. I suppose it would be best to start with a story of two brothers…”

For over an hour, All Might talked to the two women about his life. He explained the origins of his Quirk, One For All, the battle against the villain All For One that had been going on for generations, only to be stopped by him, at the cost of his health. He explained being introduced to Togata Mirio by his former sidekick Sir Nighteye, and being convinced to pass One For All onto the young man, only to realize over time that the Quirk was killing him. He talked of Togata’s death, and his remorse at being the cause for it. Of attempting to reinvigorate the fallen hero system in the hopes that he could make Togata’s death mean something, to honor him and his own mentor Nana Shimura. Of his despair of his floundering efforts, of Nighteye’s growing instability and controlling behavior, his realization at the corruption of the system he had unintentionally propped up, his belief that he had failed everyone that drove him to isolate himself and throw himself further into his work. Of his attempt at suicide, only to be stopped by a Quirkless man that he had met fourteen years earlier, whose dreams that he had once shared at his age, only to ruthlessly stomp on them, only for Midoriya Izuku to finally break through to him, helping him see the good that he had done despite what he had seen as the collapse of his world.

“While you are both free to continue to refer to me as All Might if you wish, I am hanging up that identity and leaving the pro hero movement.” The former hero explained. “I am just Yagi Toshinori, a mortal man trying to rebuild what bridges I can with the people that I love. You two have every right to be angry at me for what I’ve done, for ghosting you two for so long, but if you are willing, I would like to try to rebuild what connections I can…”

Yagi looked up at Cathleen and Melissa, only to be taken aback at the tears in the women’s eyes. Glaring and crying in frustration, Melissa nonetheless stood up, walked over to her uncle, and embraced him.

“Why…?” she sniffled. “Why didn’t you say anything to me? Why didn’t you tell me you were feeling like this? How could you even think about killing yourself? Do you have any idea how much that would hurt me? How much it would hurt Cassie? Everyone? You are so important to me…you’re the reason why I was able to come here in the first place, why I was inspired to make support gear…”

Yagi gingerly hugged Melissa back.

“I’m sorry, Young Melissa. I was being foolish. I hope you can forgive me.”

Cathleen couldn’t take it any longer and joined in on the hug, fighting her emotions to not lose control and hug her old mentor as tight as she could. The first chance that she could, she was going to go over to Japan and thank Midoriya Izuku personally. She would then go and give Nighteye a kick in the crotch.

“Master…you are the last person who should ever think badly about themselves. You are the last person who should ever see themselves as a failure. If you are, then what do you think that means about everyone else?”

Yagi gave a weak chuckle.

“You really think too highly of me…” he coughed, but still smiling, “but I can accept that I’ve been too hard on myself.”

Eventually, the three broke apart, relieved to finally let go of so much tension and to see their loved ones alright.

“I would have contacted you sooner, but I’ve been trying to reconvene with some of my other old friends.” Yagi smiled. “I was worried that Tsukauchi would be angry at me for what Sasaki had been saying about the police, but really, he was more angry that I hadn’t spoken to him at all over the past few years. He was very grateful to finally talk to me again. I had a bit of a talk with Nezu to catch up, he destroyed me in chess…” Yagi chuckled, shaking his head fondly, before looking to the two women, “but I was thinking that I would like to spend a bit more time here to catch up with you two, if you’re okay with that and you have the time…”

“I’ll make time.” Melissa immediately said. “I’ll take a day off. I’ll take a week off. Whatever you want to do, Uncle All Might, I just want to spend time with you again!”

The former hero beamed at the prospect before turning to Cathleen.

“And you, Young Cathleen? I understand if your duties keep you busy, but I have a lot that I would like to catch up with you on.”

Cathleen looked at her mentor, finally here, and knew what she wanted to say, even if it scared her. She turned to Melissa.

“Melissa…there’s actually some things that I wanted to talk to All Might about privately. I can wait for another time, but would that be okay with you?”

Though Melissa was certainly loathe to separate herself from her uncle for even a minute, she nonetheless stepped away from the two of them.

“Take whatever time you need. I’ll start making plans for things we could do. I can’t wait to show you everything that I’ve been working on, Uncle All Might!” Melissa said excitedly before leaving the two alone.

“What’s on your mind, Young Cathleen?” Yagi asked.

“So…are you really doing it? Abandoning the pro hero movement? Putting it behind you?”

Yagi looked at Cathleen in concern for a moment before nodding grimly.

“I am. While I still wish to honor Young Togata’s memory, this is not the way to do so. I wish that I could bring back heroes somehow, that I could let them be the inspiration to others that they were to me, but…” Yagi groaned. “The way Midoriya explained it to me, I don’t think that the system I was trying to rebuild would have stayed so idealistic.”

“…What about my system?” Cathleen asked.

Yagi paused again in concern, but Cathleen continued:

“Some of the things that have been going on in your country have been going on in mine. Some of the problems that were in your country, I also see in mine. I want to stand with heroes, it’s what you inspired me to be, but every now and then, I keep seeing the same problems. I wonder if I’ve been making the same mistakes you have, propping up this system. We’ve been trying to examine it, to see if there’s the same kind of corruption, and we’ve been trying to make it so that we don’t have the same problems, where it doesn’t focus so much on competition and image, and actually helping people, but I don’t know how far is enough. How do I tell if I am being naïve to the faults of the hero system myself?” Cathleen threw her hands up in frustration. “Am I doing the right thing? I want to be a hero, I want to help people, but with what we’ve seen over the past few years, the problems that went on in your country, it makes me wonder if I’m fighting for a good cause.”

Yagi considered Cathleen for a moment more.

“…This has been weighing on you for a while, hasn’t it?” he said.

Cathleen collapsed in a chair, her head in her hands.

“Yes…” she almost moaned. “I’ve wanted to talk to you about this…but you always had so much on your plate. I guess I was looking for the reassurance that we were fighting for something good, despite what so much of the world was saying, but now I just don’t know.”

Yagi sighed, sitting in a chair opposite Cathleen himself, thinking.

“To be honest, Young Cathleen, I don’t know myself.”

Cathleen looked back up at her old mentor, who was frowning that he wasn’t able to give a better answer, but he went on;

“For one thing, your country’s hero system is not the same as mine.”

“Maybe not,” Cathleen conceded, “but it’s pretty similar.”

Yagi shrugged.

“In some ways.” He conceded. “I have to wonder how many of the problems of my hero system were unique to my country and the issues already emblematic of it.” Yagi held his hand out to Cathleen. “Perhaps you might be noticing some issues with the hero system unique to your country.”

Cathleen sighed and frowned. She certainly had picked up on issues like that over the years, such as how heroes could oftentimes openly argue with each other in public, to create schisms among their fans for inane reasons, for one. Yagi picked up on Cathleen’s mood, patting her hand.

“Don’t make the same mistake that I did Cathleen and get lost in your self-doubt. I’m only just coming to terms with these kinds of issues myself.” He held up a finger. “Here’s what I think though; If you are helping people, you are doing a good thing. First, just focus on that. Now, if the system you are working for that is meant to make it easier for you to help people isn’t doing that, or doing something that prevents you from helping people, then there is a problem with it. Some of it might not be obvious.” Yagi winced, adding. “Some of it might only be obvious in hindsight. Perhaps we wouldn’t have the problems that we do now if we were willing to pay closer attention, to be more honest with our faults, and to be willing to listen to those that point out these problems. I will say this in favor of your country; your people are willing to at least talk about these issues much more easily than mine were. You are trying to take measures to address these issues.”

“We are…” Cathleen said, before frowning again, “but sometimes I feel as if we’re stuck in a deadlock, arguing between what changes need to be made, to the point that we don’t get anything done.”

Yagi sighed, folding his arms over his chest.

“…As much as I hate to say it, you might just have to wait for people to see the consequences of failing to act. It’s what happened with my country, at least.” Yagi said, shaking his head slowly. Cathleen winced, being reminded of the Rizzbizz fiasco. Yagi though smiled again. “On the other hand, maybe it’s better that some of these changes happen more slowly in your country. When they happened in mine, they were quick, drastic, and caused a lot of turmoil. If possible, I would have rather avoided all of that.”

“Master…” Cathleen said tentatively, scared for the answer to the question she was about to ask. “What if it turns out that we shouldn’t have heroes at all? That we need to find a way to do without the system entirely? What will that mean for me, and all of the other heroes who work here?”

Yagi mulled over Cathleen’s words for a moment before answering.

“Young Cathleen, I want to believe in heroes, but we may also have to accept that there isn’t a good way for us to have a hero system.” The old man shrugged with a more hopeful smile. “Or maybe there is. Maybe your country will find a way to make it work. I just don’t know for sure.”

Cathleen didn’t feel completely satisfied by this answer, and Yagi seemed to realize this, so he went on.

“Here’s something that I’ve come to notice ever since I talked with Young Midoriya and was able to take a clearer look at my country now that I’ve dropped out from the pro hero movement: Even if there aren’t pro heroes anymore, there are still heroes. There are plenty of people willing to sacrifice themselves and their time for the good of others. We’re still trying to figure out how to do so, but they are there, and they are working. That is in essence, what I wanted; for my country to feel safe, for people to be able to be happy, and trust that someone is there for them. So really, what do we have to complain about?”

Yagi raised his finger towards Cathleen.

“So, here’s my suggestion to you Young Cathleen; don’t worry about being called a hero. Maybe your country might keep the title of hero, maybe they won’t, but they will still need people who are likewise willing to help others, even if it is under a different name. In Japan, the heroes became police officers and rescue workers, but they still help people the way heroes are supposed to. Maybe even more so. I worried that putting heroes in those kinds of uniforms would take away too much of their identify, that they wouldn’t be able to inspire others the way heroes did, but my country has been managing to build itself back up, to get to the point where people are trying to help each other.”

Yagi smiled ruefully.

“Maybe some day in the future, we’ll figure out a way to make heroes work. Maybe your country will. I don’t know. We’ll just have to see what works, to be conscious and ready to deal with the problems, and to be humble enough to admit when something doesn’t work. For now, don’t worry about being called a hero. Just focus on being heroic. If you are still called a hero, maybe we’re on the right track.”

Cathleen looked at her old mentor and sighed, but smiled. Perhaps it was not the conclusive answer she had been hoping for, but it at least helped her have an idea of how to move forward.

“Thank you, Master.” She said.

“It is my pleasure, Young Cathleen.”

Chapter Text

Shuichi missed a lot about the world outside of prison. Granted, there were a lot of things that weren’t that different. Sure, before he became a villain, he could technically go outside his home…though that put him at risk at getting harassed by his neighbors. He could buy and make his own food…though he mostly just lived off of cup ramen (if he was honest with himself, prison food was probably an improvement over what he used to eat.) He wouldn’t be forced to live around people who wanted to hurt and kill him…actually, no, he still would. However, he could pick his own clothes instead of wearing the same orange fatigues every day. His apartment door locked when he wanted to. If he ever wanted to, he could have taken a walk in the woods (something he rarely ever did, but wished so much he had done more of.) He could control when his lights turned off, when he went to sleep, there was actually a lot that he still had control of his life. Not to mention he didn’t have blood on his hands. There weren’t people who had a legitimate reason to want to kill him personally.

He also sometimes missed being able to play video games; the escapism into an alternate world where he wouldn’t be judged for his appearance, and he could imagine the characters he’d fight, shoot, and stab in his first-person shooters or dungeon crawlers were the jerks in his neighborhood who’d attack him with bug spray for the crime of taking a walk. Though then again, getting so lost in those fantasies, especially the violent fantasies, probably wasn’t that good for him.

Perhaps that realization in retrospect was the reason why he only missed playing video games sometimes. Granted, escapism would have been nice in a place like Tartarus, but at least they let him use the library.

At the time, he was reading The Count of Monte Cristo. He had to wait quite a while to be able to reserve the copy for himself; the fantasy of being wrongfully convicted, only to get a lucky break and escape to a personal island of riches beyond measure, and the chance to take revenge on the people that wronged him was obviously a popular one in Tartarus. Though at the part that Shuichi was at in the story, when the titular Count was observing the consequences of his revenge, and the numerous innocents caught in his schemes, felt a bit too personal to Shuichi, and he had to put the book aside, sighing.

It was almost a welcome distraction when he heard a knock on his door.

“Prisoner Iguchi?” a voice Shuichi recognized called out to him. He stood up and went to the bars of the door, seeing the young prison guard Shishikura. Shishikura was one of the most unpopular guards in Tartarus amongst the prisoners. He wasn’t corrupt or cruel, but he was a stubborn, obnoxious, hypocritical taskmaster, the son of the Warden of Tartarus, and had one of the most disturbing Quirks Shuichi had ever seen, ‘Meatball,’ which let him control raw flesh. Prisoners that got into fights, tried to escape, or otherwise cause problems under his watch would often find themselves turned into shapeless lumps of flesh. He had also however, saved Shuichi’s life several times, and treated Shuichi like a human being, referring to him by his actual name instead of a number or something more insulting and creative like some of the other prisoners might do. (Shuichi heard a rumor that Shishikura supported Stain, which might explain why he treated Shuichi well enough, but the last prisoner to suggest that out loud spent the next hour getting chewed out by Shishikura.)

“Yes, guard?”

“I have some news you should know.” Shishikura announced, before his authoritative, overly-dignified tone became a touch softer, “Toga Himiko died last night.”

Shuichi felt his throat close up for a moment, his skin going numb.

“…What happened?”

“It seems that between guard shifts, she bit through her wrists.” Shishikura explained, sounding the faintest hint apologetic.

“…Oh…” Shuichi said, taking a few steps back away from the door, wanting to give himself some space. Shishikura gave him a moment before continuing.

“It seems unlikely that any friends or family will claim her remains, so she will be buried in the Tartarus Cemetery. I can see what I can do about allowing you to visit her funeral.”

“…thank you…” Shuichi answered numbly before sitting back down on his bed.

A week after Shuichi’s conversation with Shishikura, he was standing in the bleak, enclosed field where Tartarus buried its dead. In a way, Shuichi was lucky that Tartarus had its own cemetery; it was likely impossible that a prisoner with his reputation, being a member of the most infamous terrorist organization in Japanese history, one that had killed thousands and had completely upset social order, would have been granted a furlough if Toga were buried elsewhere. Despite managing a decent reputation with his behavior though, Shuichi was only allowed to be present during the funeral fully restrained and with Shishikura and another guard (Shuichi had heard that he was the one that watched over Stain) watching over him.

The Tartarus Cemetery was cold and barren, basically a flat expanse of land where the only distinguishing features were the flat stones marking the prisoners’ graves. Supposedly, some of the other League members were buried around here; Dr. Garaki, Muscular, Moonfish, and a few of the original leaders of the MLA. Shuichi had heard that Dabi’s body had been claimed by his mother, despite everything he had done to hurt his family. He wondered if there was anything done for Shigaraki, though there wasn’t anything to bury after Lemillion’s suicide attack. Most likely, Shuichi would be buried somewhere here when he died. His family had disowned him, and he didn’t have any friends outside of the League. It was a sobering thought; to just become one more stone in this empty field.

Surprisingly though, Shuichi and his guards were not the only ones present. A small family of four was also there, though Shuichi was kept away from them while they went up and paid their respects to Toga. At first, Shuichi was confused; he knew that Toga’s parents had disowned her. The two elderly parents here though didn’t look anything like Toga. It was when the children…if they could be called that, with one young woman who looked to be about eighteen, and a boy of about fourteen, stepped forward that Shuichi guessed who they were. These two had Toga’s blond hair and golden eyes, the eighteen-year old looked like a more neatly groomed version of Himiko. Toga didn’t talk about her family that much when Shuichi was getting to know her, but she had slipped once that she was the ‘eldest’ daughter of the Toga family, so she must have had siblings.

The daughter seemed uncomfortable, only going up to Toga’s grave to say something short before stepping back to what Shuichi assumed were her foster parents. The boy stepped forward and stayed in front of Toga’s grave for longer. At some point, he turned towards Shuichi. He must have realized who Shuichi was, because he stared at him for some time before going back to stand next to his sister, after which the family left. Finally, the guards let Shuichi come to pay his respects. They allowed him to take a few steps away from them; enough to give the illusion of privacy if not the real thing, and to place a small bouquet of red roses on her tombstone.

“…Hey Toga.” Shuichi said when he was finally able to get his throat working again. “Were…were those your brother and sister? I kind of guessed you had siblings, but you never talked about them. I can understand not wanting to talk about your parents…they sounded awful.” Shuichi glared before moving on, “But at least your brother and sister came. It’s kind of a hassle to get to Tartarus, so they must have cared about you.”

There was no answer obviously, but the guards were respectful enough to stay completely quiet, and Shuichi could pretend that it was just him talking to his old friend.

“I…uh…” he gestured to the roses he left at the grave. “I hope you like those. I had been saving up my money…so I’m glad that I was able to spend it on something worthwhile.”

Shuichi stayed quiet, imagining the things Toga might say to him. Despite himself, he couldn’t help but to start crying.

“…I’m so sorry, Toga. I’m sorry that all of these awful things happened to you, that your parents treated you that way and made it so hard for you to live. I know you did some bad things…but you were good to me…you were kind to me, and that’s a lot more than anyone else ever did.”

Shuichi barked a laugh, the irony of the situation practically mocking him.

“Heck…I knew you for less than a year, and you were one of my best friends. You were nice to talk to, to practice knife-fighting with. Knowing you made things feel worthwhile. Like I wasn’t just in the League to kill people, that I was there for someone, and there was someone there for me…I hope that you realize how much that meant to me.”

With his hands restrained, Shuichi couldn’t wipe his eyes, but he tried to shake the tears out of them.

“I wish we could have known each other before all of this…maybe we could have helped each other, to stop each other from doing the things we did…I don’t know if they’ll let me…but if I can, I’ll try to visit you again.”

Shuichi felt the presence of the guards behind him, and let them lead him back into Tartarus.

About two weeks after Toga’s funeral, Shuichi got another knock on his door.

“Prisoner Iguchi.”

Shuichi stood in front of the door as he always did.

“You have a visitor.” Shishikura announced.

Shuichi blinked in surprise. Who would visit him? His family had disowned him, the only friends that he had were from the League…so by this point dead (he didn’t know what had happened to Kurogiri after he had been arrested.) He supposed that this would at least be something different, so he let Shishikura lead him to the visitor’s rooms, an area he hadn’t been to before. It was a bright, white-tiled room that made Shuichi’s eyes hurt just being in there, with an unbreakable glass wall separating Shuichi from the visitor’s side. He sat at the table in the center of the room and waited. After a few minutes, Shuichi’s visitor was allowed in.

It was the boy from Toga’s funeral that Shuichi assumed to be Toga’s brother. Seeing him outside of his mourning clothes let Shuichi glean a lot more about this boy: He wore a loose, rumpled hoodie, jeans with holes in them, and red shoes. His skin was pale, indicating someone who spent too much time inside. Shuichi would have been worried for how he was being treated at home were it not for the fact that he didn’t look outright sick or unfed. The boy wore his rugged clothes with defiance rather than shame, glowering at the world around him.

All in all, baring the red shoes, the boy reminded Shuichi a lot of how he used to dress and act before he joined the League, albeit perhaps being better taken care of.

Though the boy had a dark look in his eyes, his expression changed once he sat in the seat opposite the glad wall from Shuichi, looking at him almost with…reverence. It was a look that made Shuichi uncomfortable.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” the boy asked. “You’re Spinner.”

The boy spoke Shuichi’s former villain name with a sense of awe, rather than the contempt Shuichi so often heard from other prisoners when they referred to him.

“…I used to be.” Shuichi admitted. “I saw you at Toga’s funeral two weeks ago. Are you her brother?”

“Yeah. My name’s Kento. Jitaku Kento.” The boy scowled in contempt. “Of course, I used to be Toga Kento, but I don’t use that name anymore.”

That certainly made Shuichi worried, but considering how he had seen Toga turned out, it shouldn’t surprise him that her siblings would have had their own issues with their parents.

“Well…for me, it’s just Iguchi Shuichi now.” Shuichi explained, making Jitaku frown. “Why did you ask to see me? Did you want to talk about your sister?”

Jitaku blinked, hesitating, apparently thrown off by the direction Shuichi was taking the conversation. Most likely, Shuichi realized, the boy probably had some sort of fixed idea of how this was supposed to go, and wasn’t prepared for anything different. What exactly he thought he was going to get out of this, Shuichi didn’t know, but he guessed he was about to find out.

“I mean…” Jitaku said once he regained his focus, “I suppose so. My sister, Akemi, and I tried to visit her a few times…” Again, Jitaku glowered. “But the guards always canceled our visits. They would always say that Himiko had tried to escape when we tried to visit.”

“Hm.” Shuichi answered. “That does sound like something Toga would do. I’m sorry for that. Were you close to her?”

Jitaku frowned, sitting back in his seat as he thought to himself.

“…Not really.” He admitted. “I don’t think that I really ever knew her growing up. Our mom and dad were always on her for some reason. They didn’t talk about it, and I only figured it out when I was older, and I learned how her Quirk needs blood, and that freaked them out. They were always on pins and needles whenever they were around her, like they were waiting for her to snap. She just made herself act ‘normal’ like they wanted.” Jitaku’s eyes almost became clouded in thought. “When she was living with us, it was like she was just…hollow. Like a robot. But I realized that she probably did that just to keep our parents from shouting at her.”

The boy scowled.

“Akemi didn’t get it. It took her a while to realize how messed up our parents were. I wouldn’t have got it myself if…”

Jitaku clammed up for a moment, looking at Shuichi for the first time in fear.

“What is it?” Shuichi asked.

“…If…I wasn’t Quirkless.” He admitted.

Shuichi blinked and nodded, getting a bit more of an idea now of why Jitaku seemed so withdrawn and bitter.

“…Was that rough for you?” He asked.

“It’s awful.” Jitaku spat. “It’s bad enough at school, getting pushed around, having people call me names, acting like I was unevolved or stupid, but at least there, if I kept my head down, people would usually leave me alone. My parents though?” The boy’s fists clenched in anger. “I couldn’t escape them. They wanted things a certain way. They wanted us to be a ‘normal’ family.” Jitaku spoke the word with a similar contempt that Shuichi had often heard when Toga spoke it. “It was like…they expected me to represent the family, to be the ideal son, to excel and get a good job…but they also looked at me the same way as everyone else. Like I was unevolved, like I was a burden to them. If I ever came home late because I was beaten up, they’d lecture me about how I was giving them a bad reputation.”

Jitaku laughed sardonically.

“You know…it’s funny. Were it not for the way I was treated, I probably would have never understood Himiko. I probably wouldn’t have cared, just lived that perfect life of a productive, ‘normal’ son that my parents wanted, not noticing and not caring that Himiko had basically reduced herself to a doll.” The boy shook his head in frustration. “But even back then, when I was only seven, I knew something was wrong with Himiko, that she was hurting. Even if I didn’t really know her, I was probably the closest to understanding her, how she was acting, and imagining how that must have hurt her. Wanting to be something else, to fit into our parents’ ideal.” The boy looked down at the table, slowly shaking his head. “But when she snapped, I was just a kid. There wasn’t anything I could do for her. I only really started to understand how she would have felt when she joined the League.”

The boy’s eyes became fervent, staring off into space, but Shuichi could see how angry he was getting.

“Feeling trapped…that no matter what she did, it was never going to be enough. Feeling like each day you lose a bit of yourself until you finally snap.” Jitaku looked up at Shuichi, almost beholding the heteromorph with a reverence that made Shuichi uncomfortable. “But then…she found you guys…people who saw how sick everything was, people who wanted to change it, to just…tear it all down.”

Shuichi sat numbly as he listened to Jitaku’s rant, his words feeling all too familiar to how he thought when he was younger. Not to mention, hearing about what Toga was like when she was living with her family was sobering, to say the least. Having to constantly repress her true self for years, living life with a mask. It almost made Shuichi’s troubles feel minor by comparison; he couldn’t hide what made him different, but the effort that it apparently took to hide something like that could break someone.

“…What was she like?” Jitaku asked, his voice softening a bit, looking to Shuichi with less anger, and more sadness and regret. “Back when she was with you and the other people in the League, what was she like?”

It almost felt wrong for Shuichi to answer this. This boy had lived with Toga for years, but had never actually gotten to know her. Shuichi meanwhile had only known Toga for a few months, and yet had more of a connection. It felt almost as if Shuichi had robbed this boy.

“…She was…” Shuichi hesitated for just a moment. “Passionate. She was always enthusiastic and full of life.” Despite everything he had been through, and everything he and Toga had done, Shuichi had found himself smiling. “She cared a lot for us…I don’t think that anyone else in the League cared about everyone else as much as she did. The way she cared was…different, but she did. I didn’t always understand her or agree with her, but we cared about each other, regardless.” As Shuichi mused on happier times, he started to deflate, looking down at the table as he remembered what it had all led to. “It’s weird…when I joined the League, I did it because I was told that it followed Stain’s ideals, and Toga was the same way. By the end though, that didn’t really matter. I realized by that point that wasn’t the actual purpose of the League, but none of us cared. We weren’t fighting for any kind of ideal, we were just fighting because we were all that we had.”

Shuichi looked back up at Jitaku. The boy was staring at him, his mouth open as if to speak, but for the moment unsure of what to say. It was so unlike the angry tirade that he had unleashed just a moment ago. He looked vulnerable.

“…I wish that you could have gotten to have known her.” Shuichi offered as a condolence. “I think that she would have been a good sister. If she could have afforded to express herself, I don’t think that she would have cared that you are Quirkless.”

The boy looked down at the table in though, his temper quelled for a moment as he thought of the relationship he could have had with his sister had things turned out differently.

“How are you doing nowadays?” Shuichi asked. “I’m guessing that school is still hard, but how about your home? Those two adults that I saw with you, those were your foster parents, right? The Jitakus?”

Jitaku shrugged, still stuck in his own little world and not really paying attention to Shuichi.

“They’re alright, I guess.”

Shuichi couldn’t help but feel a little irritated at Jitaku’s blasé response. Whoever the Jitakus were, they were willing to adopt children who likely carried some of the worst stigma in the country. They were caring for Kento’s needs as far as Shuichi could tell, but were also kind and understanding enough towards him and his sister that they were willing to go to Tartarus to allow them to pay respects to Himiko, one of the most infamous criminals in modern times.

“Well…they seem to be taking good care of you. And I hate to point this out, but I’d imagine that not a lot of people would have been willing to take you and your sister in after all everything that happened with your family.”

“I guess.” Jitaku shrugged again, more frustrated before looking back at Shuichi. “Look, that’s not really what I wanted to talk to you about.” Jitaku said, his gaze again becoming more fervent. It was again, something that Shuichi had seen in himself a while ago.

“Okay…” Shuichi answered hesitantly. “What did you want, then?”

“I just…” Jitaku looked nervously over at the guards on Shuichi’s side of the room and leaned closer. “I wanted to meet you. I wanted to meet someone from the League of Villains.”

Shuichi unconsciously felt himself leaning back, not liking where this conversation was going more and more.

“You’re like my sister…you get what it must have been like for us, don’t you? I learned about you, about how people in your hometown treated you like garbage because you’re a heteromorph. You joined the League to change things.” Jitaku lowered his voice to the point that only Shuichi would be able to hear him. “…Maybe they could have.” The boy looked back up to Shuichi. “You and the League were able to change a lot, you were able to show everyone what hypocrites heroes were, but besides that, nothing’s really changed.” Despite Jitaku’s earlier attempts to be subtle, he went back to ranting, not noticing how disturbed he made Shuichi.

“Heteromorphs like you and Quirkless like me are still treated like dirt. Everyone’s still selfish, awful hypocrites. Whoever’s in charge still hasn’t made things better for anyone. They still look down on people like us.” Jitaku grumbled at the table, taking a moment to get control of himself. “There’s still so many problems. So…” Jitaku looked back at Shuichi and lowered his voice. “…I was wondering…if you might be able to…give me some advice.”

Shuichi blinked, starting at Jitaku for a moment, finding it hard to believe that he would just openly rant about all of this. Hearing this, realizing how Jitaku saw him, and likely what he wanted to get out of Shuichi, it made him mad.

“What exactly do you see me as?” he asked, glaring at Jitaku, making the boy flinch at Shuichi’s abrupt change of tone. “An idol? Do you see what I did, and think that it’s something that you should copy? Maybe you’ve got your own ideas about how you could do the same things? That I should be some new symbol the way Stain was?”

Jitaku recoiled, staring at Shuichi, his bravado gone as the former villain raised his voice.

“Well, I’m not.” Shuichi said bluntly, making Jitaku recoil even more. “You want my advice kid? Don’t do what I did. What your sister and I did didn’t help anyone. All it did was make things worse.”

Jitaku had almost scooted his chair away from the table with what Shuichi said. After a moment though, he glared back at Shuichi.

“How can you say that?” He asked with a hushed voice. “With everything that you’ve been through, everything that you fought for? You…you…” he stammered, trying to find his voice. “You represented heteromorphs everywhere! You were fighting for them, for people like us, to give us a better future!”

Shuichi stared at Jitaku blankly.

“Is that what you think? That I represented heteromorphs? Do you really think that I made things better for people like me in any way? Do you believe I was even thinking about other heteromorphs when I joined the League?” Shuichi leaned forward, glaring at the pale Jitaku. “I joined a group whose first public action was to murder two heteromorph girls. I was a leader in an army that murdered thousands of people at Jaku, including other heteromorphs.” Shuichi ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “When I joined the League, I became famous in the worst possible way. People posted my face everywhere. They saw a heteromorph working with a group that murdered and kidnapped children, that created monsters from human corpses, and destroyed entire cities. How do you think people interpreted that?” Shuichi challenged Jitaku, who gaped like a fish as the former villain gestured over his shoulder towards Shishikura.

“Do you see that guy over there? The one with the tiny eyes?”

Jitaku nodded numbly, while Shuichi ignored the annoyed scowl Shishikura sent his way.

“He’s saved my life five times. Do you want to know who he’s saved me from?”

Jitaku blinked, looking down at the table in thought for a moment before frowning and looking back up at Shuichi.

“Bigots, right? I bet there’s a lot of people in here who still look down on you because you’re a heteromorph. I bet that they hate you more because of what you mean to other heteromorphs.”

Shuichi scoffed, shaking his head.

“Good guess, but no. I know enough to keep my distance from guys like that in here. No, the ones I have to look out for are other heteromorphs, like me.”

Jitaku paled in surprise and confusion.

“What? Why? Why would they want to kill you? With everything you did for them…”

“Did you not hear what I just said to you?” Shuichi shouted, making Jitaku flinch again. “Do you want to know what I did for heteromorphs like me? I gave everyone another reason to be scared of people like me!”

Shuichi gestured to his stomach.

“If I didn’t have a minor healing factor, and that guard didn’t have a way to replace lost tissue, I’d have a nice, big hole in my gut from six months after Jaku. The guy who did it was a shark heteromorph. He had a little sister with the same Quirk. He told me that she was a sweet girl who worked hard to make people feel comfortable around her. She had actually managed to make some friends. But after I rampaged through Jaku on Gigantomachia’s back, I undid all of her work, and everyone became afraid of her. It got to the point where she accidentally startled someone, and they cracked her skull with a wrench, killing her. Her brother killed the guy in return, and ended up in Tartarus. When he saw me, he put a shiv through my gut, letting me know how I got his little sister killed.” Shuichi bitterly shook his head. “Two months later, another heteromorph who lost his parents in a riot tried to beat my head in with a rock, since the neighborhood they lived in used to be safe until the local hero agency closed. Ten months after that, well, the guy who stabbed me in the back wasn’t a heteromorph; it was his grandson that he had raised, but his grandson had lost his business when customers became too scared for him to serve. Six months after that;” Shuichi gestured towards Shishikura again, who was watching the talk grimly. “well, if it wasn’t for him again, I would have lost an eye!”

Leaning forward again, Shuichi challenged Jitaku with his glare.

“Tell me. What good did I do? How do you see things improving for heteromorphs in any way that is connected with what I did? Can you tell me anything? Because I would love to know.”

Jitaku was silent, shrinking in on himself. Eventually, he spoke, mumbling just loud enough that Shuichi could hear it;

“You had to do it. You all had to do it. The only way that you could have changed people was if you made them. If the heroes hadn’t preempted you, if they hadn’t woken Gigantomachia up…”

“Are you listening to yourself speak?” Shuichi asked, shutting Jitaku up again. “We were killing people who had nothing to do with the things that happened to us. Killing people who were trying to stop us from killing people.” Shuichi shouted, pointing at himself. “We were the ones who organized an army of suicidal zealots. We were the ones who rode on Gigantomachia’s back as he was rampaging through the city, and who tried to stop the people, including children trying to stop him.”

Again, Shuichi leaned forward, making Jitaku look at him in the eye.

“I gave the exact same excuses you did when all that was going on, but do you want to know why I’m the only League member who wasn’t on death row? It’s because my lawyer made me look through the pictures of the deceased. Children, sick, elderly, and again, other heteromorphs. She talked to me about what personal information she could get on them. Those people weren’t just mindless sheep kid, they were people who had their own lives, families, friends, and problems just like me. So, tell me again that all those people dying, people just like you and me, tell me that was necessary, and what that would have even been for?” Shuichi folded his arms, remember another point. “Oh, and want to know what else my lawyer told me? It turned out the whole point of what Dr. Garaki was doing to Shigaraki was to let All For One take control of his body through his implanted Quirk.” Shuichi paused, satisfied to see the sick expression on Jitaku’s face. “If we had won, all I would have accomplished would have been having one of my friends, granted a psychopath that gleefully slaughtered thousands of people, be taken control of by an immortal megalomaniac who could care less about people like us!” Shuichi groaned, clenching his head. “My lawyer managed to get me to feel and admit remorse for what happened because she made me realize how stupid and cruel it was. Now, I have to live my life regretting it.”

Jitaku sputtered, grasping for something to say.

“You…you said that they were your friends though.” He eventually got out. “They were the only ones who cared about you. How can you be okay with the heroes and the government killing them like that? What about what happened with Twice?”

“I’m not okay with that!” Shuichi shouted, jumping up from his seat in rage, the guards getting closer to keep him from losing control while it was all Jitaku could do to not fall over in his seat. Shuichi glared at the boy, panting in anger before he calmed and sat back down, looking at the table dejectedly.

“Twice…he was a good guy. He shouldn’t have been a villain. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. He just wanted to find a place to belong when everyone else rejected him. He wasn’t like the rest of us. We had our own problems, we had been hurt too, but we also wanted to hurt others. I don’t think that ever crossed his mind. He should have had better friends. We should have been better friends to him. Kept him out of situations where he could have gotten hurt like that, where he would have had to hurt people. He was a good guy, a good friend, but I was a bad friend to him. If I had really cared about him, I would have wised up and realized what could have happened to him.”

Shuichi looked back up at Jitaku, the memories of his fallen friends sobering his anger, though he was no less determined to make Jitaku understand his mistakes.

“Just tell me, if you knew someone like that, someone who was hurt by the system, but didn’t have any real desire to hurt anyone, would you make him do things like what we did? Maybe we didn’t force him, but we didn’t give him any other options either. Would you tell yourself that it’s for the greater good, that this guy has to do horrible things for that idea of what you think is a better world?”

Jitaku averted his gaze in shame. At least he was thinking now.

“To be fair, for some of us, we just didn’t have anywhere else to go. People didn’t give Twice a chance. Your sister wasn’t given a chance. I don’t think that she ever thought that there was anyone she could turn to for help.” Shuichi shook his head in frustration with himself. “I used to see myself the same way. People wouldn’t give me a chance. People wouldn’t accept me. But my circumstances weren’t the same as them. I could have moved. I could have found other heteromorphs and made friends with them. There were plenty of other people like me, people who could have helped me, who maybe could have used my help.” Shuichi sighed, closing his eyes in frustration. “I don’t know what exactly happened to Shigaraki to make him the way that he was. I know he lost his family and got taken in by All For One.” Shuichi scowled, wondering if All For One had anything to do with that point. It would have been oddly convenient for him, after all. “But he still chose to do what he did. He chose to kill people. He enjoyed killing people. Dabi…” Shuichi scowled harder, feeling sickened at the memory of someone that he had once seen as a friend, someone he had once even admired. “Well…everyone knows about him. I can’t imagine what it was like for him growing up. But the fact was that he didn’t really care about changing the world for the better. He just wanted to spite his father by murdering his little brother.” The heteromorph barked a laugh and shrugged. “Hell, maybe he was just the honest one among all of us. For all our talk of remaking the world into something better, we sure as hell enjoyed destroying everything.”

“Well…why shouldn’t you?” Jitaku spoke up, earning Shuichi’s glare again, though the boy had gotten his resolve back. “You all got hurt, and no one answered for what happened to you until after you started fighting back. My parents only got in trouble once Himiko made everyone find out what they did to her. Maybe it wasn’t good that so many people got hurt, but what else could you all do by that point?”

This time, Shuichi and Jitaku both glared at each other, daring the other to speak. Eventually, Shuichi did.

“You’re not here because you think I’m some sort of ideal, noble revolutionary. You’re here because you think that I can give you an excuse to hurt people.”

Jitaku jumped up from his seat, glaring down at Shuichi.

“You don’t know me. I thought you knew me, but you don’t.”

Shuichi though was completely unintimidated and stared blankly back at Jitaku.

“When I was your age, I was just like you. Angry at the world for mistreating me. At first, I wanted to do something good, to make something of myself. Heck, I wanted to be a hero when I was younger, I wanted to help people, but people shot that idea down pretty quickly. I grew up angry and bitter, but unable to do anything about it. It didn’t matter if I tried harder to be good to prove people wrong; they were convinced that I was a freak. If I ever fought back, I would always get the blame for it. So, I retreated into my own little world and became a hikikomori. It made me feel like I was hollow, without purpose, just sitting in my room all day playing video games and wanting to escape the world. But then, I heard about Stain, and his drive to remove fake heroes, to change the world. I got caught up in it, and changed myself to try to be just like him.”

Jitaku tried to continue glaring at Shuichi, but the heteromorph could tell that he was letting his guard down at all the things Shuichi mentioned in common with him.

“But you know something that I realize now? There were probably plenty of ways I could have tried to change the world. I could have used what happened to me to drive me to help other heteromorphs, to try to campaign for them, or to just volunteer somewhere where I could help them. But I didn’t. I latched onto the first ideology I heard that let me hurt people. As much as I ranted about carrying on Stain’s will, making the world a better place, I think in the end, I was just looking for an excuse. When I attacked that Summer Camp and hurt Pixie-Bob and Mandalay? Those were good heroes who worked to help people. They were protecting children from us, a group that included Muscular and a freaking cannibal for crying out loud! But that didn’t matter to me. The fact was, I just enjoyed hurting them. It felt good, like I was finally hitting back at a world that did nothing but hit me.”

Shuichi could see the mention of blood intriguing Jitaku, no matter how much the boy tried to deny it, and he pressed his attack.

“The League had practically nothing to do with Stain. Shigaraki didn’t care about Stain’s ideals, hell, he hated the guy! But I still stuck with him. I guess that goes to show just how much those ideals really meant to me. How much do the ideals that you were talking about really mean to you?”

Jitaku looked away in shame, getting the picture.

“Fighting back against the people who hurt you sounds good when you’re thinking about it. But it’s really easy to switch around in your head who’s actually hurting you. It starts off as your bullies, then it’s the people around you who don’t do anything when they see you getting bullied, even though if you’re honest with yourself, it would be hard for you to jump in yourself. Then it’s the people who are supposed to protect you, like heroes, but didn’t, even though they never met you before and would have no idea what happened to you. Then it’s anyone who gets in your way, no matter how much of a reason they have to stop you for all of the people you’ve hurt. Then it’s just…anyone. You don’t know them, but they probably did something to deserve it. It gets easier and easier to hurt others, easier to justify. But then, when you’re alone, or asleep, you think about it, and you realize how far you’ve fallen, to the point you’ve done things worse than anything done to you, to people who had nothing to do with what happened.”

Jitaku cringed more, unable to look at Shuichi in the eye.

“Your parents hurt you and your sister. Someone should have stopped them. Someone should have helped you. But that doesn’t excuse all the horrible things that Toga did. It doesn’t excuse what I did. It wouldn’t excuse you.”

Shuichi morosely shook his head.

“Don’t do what I did, Jitaku. Don’t kid yourself. Nothing good was ever going to come of what we did. I get that you look up to your sister, that you empathize with her, but that doesn’t make what she or any of us did good or smart. If you do, it will just make things worse.”

Finally, Shuichi lowered his voice, speaking more gently.

“Look, I get it. I get feeling like no matter what you do, no one will acknowledge you. Give you a reason to be proud of yourself, to think that you’re worth anything. I get hating the bastards that treat you like that, and latching onto something that makes you feel like you can fight back. But I’ve got to tell you, what you’ve been thinking about, it’s not worth it.”

Jitaku couldn’t look back at Shuichi. He stood up, and walked out of the visiting room.

A month later, Shuichi was brought back to the room, and Jitaku came in again.

“Why are you back here?” Shuichi asked.

Jitaku grimaced, looking down in embarrassment.

“…I didn’t realize that my foster parents were watching our conversation.” He admitted.

Shuichi gave the boy an exasperated look. Did Jitaku actually think that they would let a minor in here without some kind of supervision?

“…They liked the things you told me. Even suggested that I come back.”

“Okay.” Shuichi responded, somewhat surprised. “That’s why they wanted you to come back, why did you?”

Jitaku still didn’t look at Shuichi.

“You’re right, okay? What you said about me. I hate how people treat me, and it makes me hate them. I just…I feel so powerless, and I want to fight back, to make things fair, is that so wrong?” Jitaku finally looked at Shuichi with a pleading look in his eyes.

“I’m not sure.” Shuichi answered. “If you’re just defending yourself, I think you’ve got a right, but I also know how easy it would be for people to put all the blame on you…I’m not sure if there’s a way to make things fair for people like us.”

“…If you don’t think that I should do what you and my sister did, what should I do? Are you telling me that I should just let the people at school pick on me? That I should just accept it if I can’t get a job, and I just end up living homeless for the rest of my life?” He asked, challenging Shuichi, who looked down at the table in thought before answering.

“I don’t know, but I can at least say that you could really do anything and it would turn out better than what your sister and I did. Your foster parents seem to be pretty nice to you, maybe talk to them? Ask them to talk to your school? Maybe have them threaten legal action? If you really want to help other people like you and me, maybe you could try to become a police officer to protect us. Maybe become a lawyer. A politician. Try to make laws that stop discrimination.”

“Do you actually think that people would let me try to do those things?” Jitaku asked bitterly.

“It would be worth a shot to try.” Shuichi answered. “You’d at least be putting your effort towards something worthwhile. You could volunteer with support groups for heteromorphs, or for people who have problems with their Quirks. It would be hard for anyone to turn you away for that.” Shuichi pointed out.

Jitaku looked at the table, musing over what Shuichi said. He didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic. Shuichi perked up as he came up with one last idea.

“There is one thing you could do that your sister and I did.”

This caught Jitaku’s attention as he looked back up at Shuichi.

“Find someone else like you, someone who gets pushed around, who people don’t give a chance, and be there for them. Find the weirdos, the people that don’t fit in.” Shuichi smiled softly, remembering the days where he was with the League, not when they were fighting heroes or other villains, but the rare moments where they were just resting, and could appreciate each other’s company. He had a lot of regrets, but making friends with Toga and Twice wasn’t one of them.

“These problems you have?” Shuichi pointed out to Jitaku. “You know you’re not the only one who has them. I think that if we had just one person who reached out to us, we wouldn’t have become villains in the first place. I can’t guarantee that they’ll always accept you, or that you’ll always get along, but I think that if you can be there for just one other person, you’ll at least make a difference for them.”

Shuichi watched as Jitaku mulled over his words, and faintly, the boy’s expression seemed to soften. After a moment, he spoke again.

“…Would you mind if I visit you again?”

Shuichi smiled, glad with the realization that even with a life spent either in emptiness or bitterness, the only people who had ever valued him dead ignoble deaths, but at least here, he could still do something good. He could help Toga’s brother avoid the same mistakes that they made.

“I’d like that.”

Chapter Text

No.

No.

No…

Rei’s mind couldn’t accept it.

Her eldest son Toya, whom she had thought burned himself to death in his effort to push his flames past his limit so as to earn his father’s approval, was alive. However, in his reveal, he had murdered his little brother Shoto.

Rei’s baby boy, who wanted to be a hero like All Might, who had gone to Rei crying when he was upset about how cruel his father had been to him and to her, who Rei had encouraged that he could become the kind of hero he wanted to be, but whose last interaction Rei had with was when she had snapped from the stress and fear that he was going to turn out just like his brother as Enji had pushed him, and had poured boiling water on his face.

He was gone. Burned to ash by Toya in his desire to spite his father for ignoring and replacing him. He was dead, in part because he had sworn off the fire side of his Quirk to spite his father for sending Rei to a psychiatric hospital and had tried to fight his then-psychotic brother with half of his power. Rei had lost her chance to ask for Shoto’s forgiveness.

No, she would have given that chance up, if only he were okay, if he were still alive. She’d carry that guilt for the rest of her life if it meant that he was still alive. She knew she deserved to be taken away, to be separated from Shoto after what she had done, but had she known that Shoto was doing something so foolish as to intentionally hobble himself, she would have sold her soul for the chance to beg him to stop, even if it meant that he wouldn’t forgive her.

But he was dead, the only part of him left to bury being what ashes Enji had managed to grasp.

Rei stood over Shoto’s grave. She was not sobbing and wailing like Fuyumi and Natsuo were. She just stood there in shock, the only hint that she was not a lifeless statue the fact that there were tears streaming down her face. Dr. Higurashi’s hand on was her shoulder, the wolf heteromorph having come along in an attempt to support Rei at the funeral. However, Rei couldn’t feel her. All she could see was her son’s tombstone.

Sixteen years.

Shoto had only been alive for sixteen years, and so much of that was spent either being brutally trained by his father, or living in bitterness. How often had he been allowed to just be happy? To have the simple pleasures that any boy growing into a teenager could have had? Birthdays? Festivals? Hanging out with friends? Did he ever get to have a crush? Was there anyone he had liked?

Rei didn’t want to accept it. She just stared at the stone, the rest of the world fading away around her, not noticing Dr. Higurashi’s hand tensing on her shoulder in alarm…

“Mrs. Todoroki! Mrs. Todoroki!”

There was a sound of paparazzi shouting, suddenly bursting through the thin defense the police had managed to put up around the Todoroki family cemetery to protect the funeral, only to stampede like hungry rats over to the grieving family. Suddenly, they were crowding around the three Todorokis, waving microphones in their faces, pressing in on them, shouting questions, wanting to draw more blood from their tragedy.

“Is it true that you participated in a Quirk marriage with Endeavor?”

“How many other children did you have?”

“What happened to Toya to turn him into Dabi?”

Rei was barely aware of any questions that the paparazzi were shouting at her, not even bothering to act sympathetic. She was however, faintly aware of the sound of scared whimpering and crying from her daughter, and the shouts of Natsuo as he tried to shield her sister from the horde. Rei’s children were scared an in danger.

Suddenly, Rei unleashed a torrent of ice, engulfing the paparazzi, spearing through their cameras and recorders. Those who weren’t caught up in the attack recoiled in fear, dropping their own equipment as they stared at the furious figure of Endeavor’s wife.

“Leave my family alone.” She ordered. “I am already in a psychiatric hospital. Do you think I care what happens to me if you harass my children again?”

The paparazzi backed off, cowed long enough for the police to rush in and drag them out. Rei stood between her children, the grave of Shoto, and all the onlookers, allowing Natsuo to pick up Fuyumi from the ground and offer what comfort he could.

Rei felt the hand of Dr. Higurashi on her shoulder again.

“I think we should go, Rei.” She said.

Rei didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to leave her baby alone again, but there was nothing else to do. Having pulled themselves together, Fuyumi and Natsuo embraced her, the mother who had failed them. They had no words, overwhelmed by either the grief of Shoto dying, Toya being the villain who murdered him, or of the burden of pressure that they now realized was going to be on their family. Rei had failed them, but she was still their mother. She hugged them back, her tears mingling with theirs in some futile effort to comfort them. It was enough though to get them to keep moving, Natsuo helping Fuyumi get into a car driven by Endeavor’s sidekick Burnin, a woman who carried almost as much shame as the Todorokis themselves had, but chose to help them regardless out of shame or duty. Seeing her children safe, Rei allowed herself to be steered into another car by Dr. Higurashi. The wolf heteromorph was silent as she drove away.

“…I’m sorry…” Rei offered as an attempt at an apology. Using her Quirk on so many people, losing control of her emotions…

“What for?”

The doctor’s voice cut through the haze of Rei’s thoughts as she looked up at Higurashi. The doctor gave Rei a small smile.

“You were defending your family. I will not hold that against you.”

Higurashi put her focus back on the road, aware of how dangerous things could get with the turmoil in the midst of the Battle of Jaku and the reveal of so many scandals of the hero system, knowing the need to be aware of her surroundings. Her smile left her as she spoke more contritely.

“…I’m just sorry you had to leave like that. I don’t know when we can visit again, but I’ll see what can be done, if you want.”

Rei was inclined to thank her doctor, wanting to go back…but to do what? She had almost lost herself in her grief again. Could she face her son after her failure?

“Rei…” Higurashi spoke up, “I understand how difficult this must be for you.”

Rei doubted that. She sincerely hoped that Higurashi had no idea how she felt.

“Back there…before the paparazzi attacked us, I noticed you were dissociating. What you’re dealing with…I can see that it’s quite overwhelming for you. I think though that it might be better if you’re allowed some time to process everything, to come to grips with what has happened.”

Rei didn’t answer. She had no idea how she could even begin to think about accepting what had happened.

“You’re going to get through this, Rei. You are a strong woman.” Higurashi assured her.

Rei had lived for so many of the past few years in a haze after what she thought was Toya’s death and when she scalded Shoto. In her more conscious moments, she realized that it was her way of escaping, to not have to face the horrors of her reality. It was very tempting to slip into that mindset after Shoto’s death. However, Rei noticed that she wasn’t the only one to do that anymore.

Many of the doctors, nurses, and visitors to Fujitani Hospital seemed to carry the same blank expression that Rei had so often seen on herself in the mirror. According to Fuyumi and Natsuo, practically everyone was like that; as if they had shut down all but the essential parts of their minds, moving around on autopilot; eating, drinking, working, even talking to their coworkers, but without actually thinking about it. Natsuo and Fuyumi weren’t like that, at least when they visited Rei, and she was cognizant enough to be grateful for that, even if it is was clear to her that they were struggling as much as anyone else. She could see how much angrier Natsuo had gotten, how he now reflexively had his hands clenched into fists, a faint sheen of frost appearing in his hands when he thought no one was noticing, how Fuyumi seemed to have gotten paler and thinner, as if she was forgetting to eat.

And she couldn’t help them. She was stuck in the hospital, not fit to be their mother. This was often a topic of her sessions with Dr. Higurashi. Contrary to the usual mental image one would have of a psychiatrist sitting on a chair, writing down notes while their patient lay on a couch and stared up at the ceiling, Rei’s sessions with Higurashi usually took place with the two of them sitting across from each other over a small coffee table. Dr. Higurashi would sit on the same level as Rei, usually with some tea or water ready, and she would forgo writing anything for the sake of simply talking to Rei as an equal.

“…When I came here…” Rei admitted, “I felt that I was a danger to Shoto, to my children. I had hurt him in such a horrible and cruel way…and I was barely even conscious of what I was doing when I did it. I believed that I didn’t have a right to have a relationship with Shoto or any of my children after what I had done.” Rei felt numb, but as the thoughts of what had happened to Shoto, and what had driven him to act the way that he did that contributed to his death, she clenched at the hem of her dress in pain. “However…I found out that over the years…Shoto had been refusing to use half of his Quirk to spite his father, because he blamed his flames for what I did…he practically crippled himself…I…” Rei stammered, barely able to hold herself together, “I know I didn’t have a right to have a relationship with him after what I did…but I wish that I could have spoken to him, to try to stop him from hurting himself…”

Rei buried her face in her hands.

“I failed my son so much…I hurt him when I was around him, and I made him hurt himself when I was away…I wasn’t able to stop Toya from hurting himself, from hurting others, and now Fuyumi and Natsuo are hurting too…I just…I can’t do anything…”

Higurashi gave Rei a moment to vent, handing her some tissues to try to dry her tears.

“…There’s not an easy answer to what’s happened to you and your family, Rei.” Higurashi said, looking down at her cup of tea in thought.

“There are things that should have been done for your family. Toya should have had someone explain to him that his father’s approval wasn’t a measure of his own value. Dare I say it, he should have realized that his father wasn’t someone to emulate. Shoto should have been told that his burn and you coming here wasn’t because of his Quirk or that of his father’s. However, there is a question of just how much you could have done to help. Perhaps you could have tried to take your children out of your husband’s influence…but considering his connections, it is unlikely that you would have succeeded, either in divorcing or gaining custody of them, or reporting his abuse to the authorities. It sounds as if he could have easily negated any effort you could have made on that front.”

Rei sighed, recognizing the truth of this. While it might have been possible for Rei to get Fuyumi and Natsuo out of Enji’s influence due to his indifference towards them, he was never going to let Shoto go.

“We also can’t be sure if anything you would have done would have reached your sons. You tried to stop Toya, you tried to get your husband to acknowledge him, but both rejected you.” Higurashi continued, making Rei wince at the memory of her pleading to Toya to stop hurting himself with his Quirk, to Enji to just talk to Toya.

“It’s possible that Shoto would have been similar. Children greatly desire to become heroes growing up, but with Toya, being the son of such a prestigious hero, being fed those dreams so much more fervently, to be told that he shouldn’t be a hero, to be denied the dream that would have felt within his grasp for so long…” Higurashi sighed in frustration. “It was already an unhealthy obsession in our society. I think that it would have been exceptionally difficult to be freed from that desire in your case. Most likely, Toya required professional help, the kind that is very hard to find in our society.”

Higurashi put her cup down and spoke in a manner that was surprisingly blunt for what one would expect for a psychiatrist.

“Your marriage was built on a conditional relationship, based off of Todoroki’s ambition and spite. It was a marriage that probably shouldn’t have existed in the first place. However, considering your circumstances, I don’t think that you would have been able to deny your husband’s proposal. The fact is, you were in a situation that was beholden to the whims of a selfish, prideful man. You and your family were all greatly hurt by your husband’s abuse, both emotionally and physically. In an ideal world, you would have had access to help, both to protect you from your husband’s abuse, and to help you heal from the psychological damage he inflicted on you, but I don’t know if that help was available to you.” Higurashi shook her head sadly. “In your case, there was only so much you could do to make the most of your circumstances. You’ve accepted the responsibility of what you did to Shoto, but the responsibility of what happened to your family is hardly on your shoulders alone. Your husband, Toya, and even Shoto made their own choices with their own consequences. This is something that you’re going to have to come to terms with, Rei.”

“But…I could have done more…” Rei protested, her guilt weighing heavily on her. “I could have reached out more to Toya…I could have kept him from doing what he did…”

“Could you have?” Higurashi asked. “As difficult as it would have been, Toya could have listened to you and chosen a different path. After he had recovered from burning himself so much, he could have come home. You had shown that you loved him, but he rejected it. In the end, becoming a villain, dedicating his life to spiting Endeavor, killing so many people, including his own brother, that was his choice, and the consequences are his to carry.”

“But Shoto…” Rei whimpered, only for Higurashi to interrupt her again.

“You were here, Rei. You weren’t in a situation where you could have talked to him. You needed help, and that isn’t your fault. Even with that in mind though, there were plenty of people who could have helped Shoto, but didn’t. His teachers, who were themselves heroes, should have realized that Shoto was hobbling himself, and pulled him from the Hero Course when it was obvious the kinds of risks he was taking. Your husband could have pulled him, were he not so fixated on his own ego. Maybe you could have reached Shoto, but you’ve already told me about the inordinate degree of control your husband had over Shoto’s life, which would have made that difficult.” Higurashi shook her head.

“It’s not healthy for us to focus on ‘what-ifs’, Rei. The best thing you can do is to instead focus on what you can do now. You still have a son and daughter who care a great deal about you, and whom you care about.” The doctor pointed out.

Rei hesitated, staring down at the table between her and Higurashi, weighed down by her guilt and her self-doubt. It hurt her to see her children struggling after experiencing so much pain, but did she even have a right to be their mother?

“Your children still want to be a part of your life, Rei. They still want you to be a part of theirs’.” Higurashi said, as if sensing what Rei was thinking.

Rei did her best to take Higurashi’s advice, and made the most of whatever opportunity she had when her children visited. Usually they’d be together, sometimes on their own due to Natsuo’s studies or Fuyumi’s struggles in finding a new teaching job. Those times were precious to Rei, but they were also difficult for her. There was only so much she could do for Natsuo and Fuyumi. She talked to them, she tried to be there for them, to comfort them in their troubles, but it was clear that the public reveal of their father’s abuse, Toya’s reveal as a villain, his murder of Shoto, and the stigma that was now attached to their family name was a heavy burden to bear. Shortly after Jaku, Natsuo had his family name legally changed to Rei’s maiden name of ‘Himura,’ and after Fuyumi was dismissed from her current teaching job for the scandal that had attached itself to her, she had been forced to make the change herself if she was to have any hope of continuing her career. Rei couldn’t blame them, either for Natsuo’s hatred of his father and what he had done to his family or for Fuyumi’s necessity. She had always hoped that Natsuo would be able to forgive Enji one day, but it seemed that would never happen.

Some time after the Battle of Jaku, Natsuo was unable to visit due to complications with his schoolwork, leaving Fuyumi to visit without him. She was not visiting alone, however.

Once Fuyumi had hugged Rei, she gestured to the winged man who was standing awkwardly in the doorway of Rei’s hospital room.

“Mom, you remember Keigo, right?”

Rei certainly did remember Takami Keigo, the former No. 2 Hero Hawks. She remembered seeing his body burnt so badly by Toya that the man’s wings had been reduce to stubs and he was forced to wear a respirator mask. She remembered bowing in remorse towards the man for what Toya had done, just one more act of cruelty he had performed in his malice and desire to spite his father. Thankfully, the young man seemed to have mostly healed by this point, no longer requiring the mask and his wings almost restored to their original health.

Rei experienced a brief moment of shock though as she realized that Fuyumi had referred to the young man by his personal name, but it was perhaps a more welcome shock than usual.

“Yes, I remember him.” Rei answered, bowing respectfully to the young man. “I’d like to thank you for escorting my daughter.”

“No problem.” Takami answered, nodding. He stayed by the doorway, likely wanting to give Rei and Fuyumi their privacy, but he seemed the faintest bit awkward watching the two.

“So…um…I’ve got some good news, Mom!” Fuyumi announced, appearing slightly more cheerful than Rei had seen her over the past few weeks. “I was able to get a new teaching job!”

“Fuyumi, that’s wonderful!” Rei exclaimed, hugging her daughter in happiness and relief. “Where will you be working? How did you get the job? When are you going to be starting?”

“I’ll be working at Musutafu Elementary…close by UA, actually.” Fuyumi explained. The two women were silent for a brief moment, the reminder of Shoto’s alumni sobering them before Fuyumi continued. “One of my previous students’ mothers was able to get me in touch with the school board there. I’ll be starting with everyone else at the end of summer.”

“I’m so glad, Fuyumi.” Rei said warmly, glad that things seemed to be going well for her daughter for once. Fuyumi smiled in return, though her demeanor turned somewhat sober as she thought out loud.

“…It might be a little hard for the kids starting out…They won’t have been to school for an entire term, and that’s not even taking into account how they’ll all be handling everything that has been going on lately…It sounds like they were in need of teachers with all of the chaos going on…” Fuyumi scratched her chin nervously at the reminder to herself how difficult teaching had gotten recently. She was hardly the only teacher who hadn’t been able to do her job; in the wake of the collapse of the hero system and the loss of so much of the country’s law enforcement, schools had been closed for children’s safety. It was only with the arrival of the UN soldiers managing to restore some semblance of order that anyone was able to think about sending their children to school again. Seeing her daughter getting lost in her thoughts, Rei patted her hand.

“You’re going to do great. I think that you’ll understand those children much more easily than anyone else.”

Fuyumi smiled, though her expression became even more stressed as something else occurred to her, as she nervously looked over at Takami.

“Fuyumi, is something wrong?”

Fuyumi clenched at her blouse.

“…Keigo told me something that I think you should know.” She explained. “It’s probably going to be made public knowledge soon anyway, and I think that it would be better if you hear it from us.”

Rei looked over at the former hero, who sighed, looking at Rei.

“They’ve set Toya’s execution date.” He admitted. “It will be at the end of the year.”

Rei felt her heart freeze. Her eldest son. Her once wonderful, cheerful little boy, now an embittered, scarred young man, was going to die. She was going to experience it all over again, possibly even worse so than before.

“…Oh.” She answered. What else could she say? Plead to the judge to spare Toya’s life? As much as the thought of losing her son hurt her, Rei knew that there was no way that anything she’d say would change Toya’s fate. He had murdered Shoto. He had murdered so many other people by his own hand, to say nothing of the fact that he was a leading member of a terrorist organization that had razed an entire city.

Rei supposed that she was aware that this was going to happen, but in the midst of Shoto’s death and everything else that had happened, she hadn’t truly processed what consequences Toya’s actions would lead to for himself.

Rei felt a hand squeezing hers. She looked up, and saw Fuyumi looking at her, tears streaming down her face. Her daughter hugged her, offering what comfort she could, all the while likely feeling her own heart being torn open. Perhaps it was this knowledge, the reminder that Fuyumi was also hurting, that she needed help, that allowed Rei to fight through the fugue that was threatening to overwhelm her and to hug Fuyumi back. The two simply held each other for a few moments more before they eventually released each other.

“…Thank you for informing me, Takami.” Rei said, making herself look at the young man who was brave enough both to face down her son and to face her. She had heard of what Takami had done, as well as the vitriol he now faced as a result of it. He was possibly just as, if not more reviled than Endeavor, and yet he still continued to work to protect and help people. He still took the time to come here, to watch over her daughter, and to deliver difficult news.

Takami didn’t make any response, likely thinking that saying ‘You’re welcome’ would be in poor taste. Eventually, he cleared his throat.

“I’m not sure if this is the best idea, but I also felt like I needed to tell Endeavor what I learned. I’ll just leave you two alone…” the winged man moved to leave, but was stopped by Rei.

“Wait.” She stood up. “I should come with you.”

“…You really don’t need to.” Takami said apologetically to Rei.

“I think that it would be better if he heard it from me.” She answered.

Takami stared at Rei, shocked at her fortitude.

“…Are you sure about this?”

“I am.” She affirmed, before walking out the door with a reluctant Takami and Fuyumi following.

Enji’s room was on the other side of the hospital. When he had been brought there to be treated for his injuries from the Battle of Jaku, it was the wing specifically dedicated to heroes. Even with the dissolution of the hero system though, Enji had stayed in the same room, and had not left it since he had first arrived months ago. Rei and Takami had a quick conversation with Enji’s doctor, who reluctantly allowed them in.

When Enji had been brought in from Jaku, his body was badly battered from his fight both with Shigaraki and with his son, but he still had the same imposing frame he always had, somehow matching even All Might in his bulk. Now though, after months of constraining himself to his room, Enji was a shell of the man he once was. His muscles had atrophied, his skin was going pale from a lack of sunlight, he was even going bald. It was his eyes though that struck Rei the most. What were once intense, vivid blues were now cloudy, staring at the opposite wall. It was a look Rei had seen far too often in herself, especially when she had first arrived.

“Enji?” Rei spoke up, trying to get her husband’s attention. There was a response, at least a faint one. Just barely, as Rei spoke, she could see Enji wince at the sound of her voice. Worried how he was going to take the news, Rei nonetheless sat down on the chair next to her husband’s bed and took his hand in hers.

“Takami has just told me something you should know. It’s going to be difficult, but it’s best if you hear this from us.” Rei held Enji’s hand, managing to stay calm even as she felt her heart tear open. “Toya’s execution date has been set. It’s going to be at the end of the year.”

To the frowning Takami and the quietly crying Fuyumi, who were standing at the door, no reaction could be seen at first. Rei though felt Enji’s hand go limp in hers, and she felt a faint tremor in his skin. A tear came out from his eye, followed by a tremor in his hand. Recognizing what was coming, Rei gently held Enji’s head against her shoulder as she felt a greater tremor through his body, followed by a hoarse sob. Enji didn’t have the strength or the will to move his arms, and could only sob into Rei’s blouse, moaning in agony.

Rei stayed with her husband for quite a while. When he had finally calmed down, she was surprised to see that Takami was still there, standing patiently as he beheld the former No. 1 hero.

“Fuyumi needed some time alone in the bathroom.” He explained. Rei nodded, understanding how overwhelming this could be. Though she had spent what felt like an hour sitting, she felt drained. Still, she wanted to make the most of the time she had with her daughter and elected to sit on a bench outside of the bathroom. Takami sat down next to her, but he seemed to be having trouble looking at her in the eye.

“Is something wrong, Takami?”

Takami didn’t look at Rei and didn’t answer immediately. When he spoke, he was facing the floor.

“I’m the son of a villain.” He said. “Growing up, I didn’t believe in heroes. I was stuck in a house filled with trash, where my mom and dad would shout and threaten me all the time. One day though, right as my father was going to go too far…” Takami hesitantly looked at Rei. “Your husband showed up. He saved me, and took my father away. He was the one who made me believe in heroes.” Takami looked away as he continued to speak. “I admired him. I admired that he was basically the only hero trying to chase after the Number One spot. He was a good hero. Maybe he wasn’t working as a hero for the best reason, but he saved so many people. How could I hold his motivation against him with what he had done?” Takami’s expression became morose. “But then at Jaku, I found out that he was abusive towards his family just like my father.” The young man shrugged. “I can’t hold that against him too much, I guess. He still saved me, regardless. But…it’s still kind of galling to know. And now…here I am, sitting with the woman that he abused. That he forced into a Quirk marriage, and drove into psychiatric care.” Takami looked up at Rei apologetically. “I don’t know what I should say. I’m sorry for what he did to you and your family, but part of me still can’t but help to look up to him, to be grateful to him for what he did for me.”

Rei though smiled.

“I don’t hold that against you. He was a great hero, and I was always proud of the work that he did.” Rei looked at the floor herself and sighed. “When we got married…I didn’t really think that much of it. That was hardly the first time that the Himuras were involved in a Quirk marriage, after all.” Rei spoke with distaste before shaking her head. “I just saw it as how things were done with my family.” She smiled though as she remembered happier times. “Despite why Enji married me though, he was actually a caring man at first. I think that he wanted me to be happy. For a while, I was. I think that there was a good man in him. Maybe there still is…even if he's wrestling with a giant.” Rei turned back to Takami. “He did a lot of good. I’m glad that you recognize that.”

“Yeah…” Takami frowned, folding his arms over his chest. “I think that a lot of people could see that though. The problem though was that we kept on refusing to believe that he could do anything bad. I think that we had that problem with a lot of people. There’s what happened to that Bakugou kid…what happened to me…”

Rei frowned, not appreciating that Takami was speaking so lowly of himself.

“Takami…what is your intent with my daughter?”

The previously morose young man suddenly flinched at the question. Takami didn’t try to edge or look away, meeting Rei’s gaze even as he struggled to speak.

“…We’re still trying to figure that out, to be honest.” He admitted. “When we first met after Jaku in the hospital, I just saw her as Endeavor’s daughter, someone related to someone I admired, going through a hard time, and I talked to her, wanting to help her deal with everything that was happening to her.” Awkwardly, Takami looked away from Rei as he continued to speak. “I guess we kind of just became friends after that. We were both in the media’s crosshairs and were the subject of big scandals and family issues, and it felt like she was one of the only people I knew who wasn’t a former hero who wasn’t judging me, and I wasn’t going to judge her.”

The man mulled over his words some more before looking at Rei in the eye again.

“…I care about her. That’s as much as I really know right now. I want her to be okay…and it feels nice when I’m with her.”

Rei continued to hold Takami in her gaze for a moment before smiling.

“I’m glad that Fuyumi has a good man that cares about her. I appreciate you watching out for her.”

Rei finally looked away.

“…I should be doing that myself.”

Rei made the most of what time she had left with Fuyumi, who had managed to settle herself after seeing her father. They talked about Fuyumi’s upcoming job, Natsuo’s studies, Natsuo’s girlfriend, books that they had read. It was a welcome respite, even with the overhanging specter of Toya’s impending execution. As difficult as this meeting had been to her, Rei truly regretted seeing Fuyumi leave. She was afraid for her, her safety in this uncertain and oftentimes cruel society. It was comforting to see Takami walking closely with her though.

After Fuyumi’s visit, Rei had another session with Higurashi.

“Before she came, Fuyumi talked to me about what she planned to discuss with you today in regards to what is happening with Toya.” Higurashi explained. “How are you feeling right now, Rei?”

Rei didn’t answer immediately, clenching her hands together on her lap.

“…I don’t know how to process this.” She admitted, her voice shaking. “It’s like you said…there are consequences to what Toya has done…I knew it was coming…so I suppose in a way I’m almost relieved to have a specific date instead of letting it lie in abeyance…but…” Rei felt tears coming to her eyes, and didn’t bother to wipe them away. “I don’t want Toya to die…I want Shoto to have justice…but I also don’t want Toya to die…Am I a bad person for wanting him to live after what he did? To my son, to his brother?”

“You love your sons. Both of them.” Higurashi responded, handing Rei some tissues to wipe her eyes. “I would argue that the fact that you still love Toya even after what he did to be the mark of a good mother.”

Rei doubted that. As much as Dr. Higurashi tried to encourage her when she felt down on herself, she never felt as if she could shake her guilt, and now her guilt was compounded. Higurashi waited for Rei to calm down before speaking again.

“Rei, there’s something that I would like to talk to you about.” Higurashi said. Rei was curious, and nodded.

“I am going to be getting a new patient. She won’t be staying here like you…” Higurashi paused for a moment in thought, “At least as far as we know right now. Her circumstances are very similar to yours.” Higurashi explained. “I was wondering if you might be willing to talk to her when she visits. I think that you two could get along, perhaps you might be able to help each other.”

Rei blinked, wondering what the circumstances of this woman could be like to be similar to hers. Perhaps she was also a victim of abuse? Even with what Rei was dealing with at the time, if this woman felt the way she did, Rei wanted to help her.

“If she is willing, I would like to.”

The woman guided by her husband and Dr. Higurashi into the sitting room that Rei was waiting in was someone that she had never met before, but whose identity Rei was able to realize pretty quickly. Bakugou Mitsuki hadn’t been on television as much as her son had been, but in the wake of all of the scandals he had been involved in, her face, particularly as similar as it was to her son’s, had unfortunately been in the crosshairs of the media.

Mitsuki was only barely more cognizant than Enji was, having to be gently guided along by her husband in order to move and staring off into space with a blank expression. When she sat down and registered that Rei was sitting in front of her though, the cloudiness seemed to fade from her eyes as she focused on Rei in recognition.

“Bakugou Mitsuki? My name is Todoroki Rei. Higurashi is my doctor and she thought that it might be good for us to talk.”

Mitsuki didn’t respond verbally, but there was at least some awareness in her eyes that encouraged her husband and Higurashi as Rei spoke.

“You’ve…probably heard about what my son, Toya did. So, I can understand what you’re going through right now. I know that you might not want to talk about it, but if you are, I would like to listen. I hope that you wouldn’t mind listening to what I have to say either.”

Mitsuki stared at Rei, only for tears to start to trickle down her face. Her lip trembled, and she was forced to look away as she quietly sobbed. Regardless, she nodded in response to Rei.

Rei spent the next few weeks talking to Mitsuki, helping her to break out of her shell. At first, she would just sit with the woman, and the two would find something on TV to watch together. Sometimes her husband or Dr. Higurashi would join them and talk. It was a slow process, but Mitsuki was slowly responding to Rei in a small, quiet voice that seemed so uncharacteristic of her more aggressive appearance. At first, it was just short, one-word answers to Rei’s questions about what she wanted to watch, if she wanted anything to drink, or how she was feeling, but slowly, Mitsuki began to make progress in opening up to Rei and to Dr. Higurashi.

That wasn’t to say that their meetings were necessarily pleasant though. The fact was, the two spent time together because they were possibly the only two people who’d have any idea how the other was feeling, who wouldn’t judge the other. Rei could see Mitsuki wince whenever her son’s name was casually thrown around on television, and Mitsuki would quietly take hold of Rei’s hand on the occasions that Toya’s impending execution was brought up in the news.

One day, after noticeably struggling with something for several minutes while she and Rei were sitting down, Mitsuki finally spoke up.

“…Where did we go wrong?” Bakugou asked, her voice hoarse from a lack of use. Rei looked at the woman, startled to hear her speak.

“I…I know that I messed up badly with Katsuki. I shouted at him, hit him, and I know that was wrong now, even if at the time it seemed to be the only way to get my son to listen. I should have made him realize that he couldn’t treat people the way that he did, that his Quirk didn’t make him better than everyone else. But you though… You seem like a good person…your children have a lot of respect for you, they seem to think that you’re a good mother. Why did our sons do the things that they did?”

Rei faltered at being asked something that she had been asking herself for years, but had never been able to properly answer herself.

“…I don’t know.” She responded honestly. “I made mistakes…not trying to fight Enji as often as I should have, not taking Toya to get professional help, not getting professional help myself…but Dr. Higurashi has told me that it’s not as simple as whether I did something right or wrong.” Rei clenched at her dress, internally writhing at her failures. “But there were things I couldn’t control; what my husband did, the decisions my son made regardless of my attempts to get him to stop hurting himself…Dr. Higurashi sometimes points out how our culture was so inundated with heroes that it was very hard for Toya to consider doing anything else on top of how Enji has built him up so much when he was younger.” Rei shuddered, a tear coming out of her eye as she remembered Shoto as a young boy, lamenting all the years she had lost with him because of her weakness. “I hurt Shoto, I made him think that the fire half of his Quirk was the problem…” Rei took a breath to steady herself. She didn’t like talking about this, but perhaps she had grown attached to Mitsuki, sympathizing with her, especially as her son had been the same age as Shoto, and felt that she needed to do this.

“But Dr. Higurashi also pointed out that Enji could have changed how he approached Shoto. His teachers could have realized that he had a problem and kept him from going out into the field where he could hurt himself. The HPSC could have realized that Shoto’s power, his relationship with the Number One Hero, and the optics his presence in Jaku could provide weren’t worth sending an emotionally damaged teenager out into a battle.”

Rei made herself look at Mitsuki, who was pale from Rei’s revelations of her sons.

“Maybe you could have treated your son differently. Maybe you could have checked more on how he behaved in school. Maybe there was a different way that you could have punished your son when he did bad things that would have worked better. I don’t know.”

Mitsuki looked away from Rei, feeling guilt at the reminder of her own failures. Rei though wasn’t done.

“Did you ever do anything that encouraged him to see himself as better than others because of his Quirk?”

“No…” Mitsuki moaned, grimacing. “I have a Quirk that moisturizes my skin, for crying out loud! I knew what it was like to be judged for having a weak Quirk, and I didn’t want Katsuki to judge others that way!”

“Did you encourage him not to think about others?”

“No…I…whenever he was in the house, I’d always be on him for not using people’s names…”

“Did you make him see heroism as a way to hurt others without consequence?”

“No!” Mitsuki wailed, putting her head in her hands. “I knew he focused too much on the idea of beating up villains, so I’d always try to point out to him the people that All Might and other heroes saved, I tried to encourage him to be friends with people who cared about others…but he wouldn’t listen to me!”

Seeing Mitsuki overwhelmed, Rei gently hugged her, letting the woman cry herself out. She had hit too close to home, for both of them. She had tried to be a good mother too. She had tried to get Toya to stop hurting himself, to find something that made him happy even if he couldn’t be a hero. She had tried to get Enji to acknowledge Toya, to stop hurting Shoto. She and Mitsuki had tried.

“You made mistakes, Mitsuki.” Rei whispered as Mitsuki whimpered on her shoulder. “But you tried. I think that you did your best to help your son when you saw his problems. But maybe there was only so much that we could do. It doesn’t sound as if the teachers at UA really addressed our son’s problems, that they made them realize that they needed to change. It sounds like a lot of people were encouraging your son to do the wrong things. I don’t think that’s your fault.”

Mitsuki didn’t speak the rest of the day, but that was okay. She needed time to let grief out that she had been struggling with for months. Things weren’t perfect for her after that conversation; she still needed to talk to Dr. Higurashi, and she was still down on herself, but it became easier for her to talk after that point.

Through Mitsuki’s visits, Rei got to know Mitsuki’s husband, Masaru. He seemed like a good, kind man. Even with everything that his family had been experiencing, he still clearly cared for his wife and felt relieved to see her improve, earning Rei his thanks.

One day though, he wasn’t the one to escort Mitsuki to the hospital, but instead, it was a shorter, green-haired woman. Rei just happened to be going for a walk past Dr. Higurashi’s office when she saw Mitsuki walk in, accompanied by the new woman. The green-haired woman gave a satisfied sigh before sitting down on a bench opposite Higurashi’s office, pulling out a book to read. Something about this woman seemed strange to Rei; she had an air of tranquility Rei hadn’t seen on anyone since before the fall of the hero system. It was truly surprising that anyone could be relaxed nowadays. Just as the woman was about to start reading though, she happened to look up and noticed Rei watching her. Not wanting to make the woman uncomfortable with her staring, Rei was about to leave when the woman spoke up.

“Excuse me, are you Todoroki Rei?” the woman asked.

Rei hesitated. Her name carried a certain stigma that made being recognized risky; some people might be repelled by what her son and husband had done, some might look at her with pity.

“Yes, who might you be?”

The green-haired woman stood up and beamed before bowing to Rei.

“My name is Midoriya Inko. I’m so glad to meet you, I wanted to thank you for how you’ve helped my friend, Mitsuki.”

“Oh…” Rei was caught off-guard, not used to people being so glad to see her. “You’re welcome, it’s my pleasure. I’ve liked spending time with her.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Inko said, a slightly tense look on her face. “I was scared for Mitsuki…after what happened with Katsuki, I wondered if she was ever going to be the same again, but just a few weeks after talking to you, she started talking to me again, taking care of herself, she’s even started working on her designs again…It’s just…such a relief.” Inko beamed at Rei, grateful tears gathering in her eyes. “I was worried that I had lost one of my oldest friends.”

Rei didn’t know how to respond to such positivity, but remembered herself enough to smile.

“I’m glad that I was able to help.” Wanting to spend more time with such a friendly person, Rei gestured towards the bench Inko had been sitting on. “Would you like to sit and talk while we wait for Mitsuki’s appointment to end?”

“I would love to!” Inko proclaimed, the two women sitting next to each other.

“You mentioned that Mitsuki is one of your oldest friends, how long have you known her?” Rei began.

“Back since high school.” Inko explained, smiling wistfully at happy memories. “We both had our sons close to the same point as each other, and since we were friends, Katsuki and my Izuku became friends.” Inko’s smile faltered. “Or, at least that’s what I thought.”

Inko looked back towards Higurashi’s office dolefully. Rei frowned, imagining how Inko must be feeling at that point, wondering how a boy she had known as a child would grow up to become so violent.

“I still remember how Izuku and Katsuki used to want to become heroes together.”

“Oh, is your son a hero student?” Rei asked.

“No…” Inko spoke morosely, almost with a touch of guilt, only for her mood to slowly become more cheerful. “No…he’s in UA’s General Education course. He’s doing quite well, actually.” Inko smiled proudly. “He does Quirk analysis for the hero…well…the Emergency courses, and has been very happy with it.”

Rei smiled at this, though it made her think of something.

“You said that your son used to want to be a hero. What changed?”

At this, Inko frowned for a moment, worrying Rei, though Inko answered easily enough.

“Well…Izuku doesn’t have a Quirk.” She answered. “He still wanted to be a hero for quite a while though…” Inko grimaced, looking towards Higurashi’s office again, which gave some more unsettling implications to Rei about how the relationship between Mitsuki and Inko’s sons might have changed over the years. “I wish that I had been more supportive of him. Growing up was difficult…probably more difficult than he let me realize.” The green-haired woman sighed. “One day about a year before he would have applied though, he told me that he had changed his mind and wanted to apply to UA’s Gen Ed course. He didn’t tell me exactly why…maybe it was something that was just building up for a while, but he told me that he realized that there were other ways he could help people.”

Rei felt guilt for bringing Inko’s mood down.

“You said though that he’s happy now, right?” she asked in an effort to restore Inko’s good cheer.

Inko blinked, but smiled and nodded to Rei.

“Yes. Ever since he started going to UA, Izuku has been the happiest I’ve ever seen him.”

“Then I don’t think that you should feel upset.” Rei explained. “Your son is happy, safe, and it sounds like he’s going to be doing a lot of good in the future.” Her gaze fell to her lap. “…While I don’t know what struggles your son has gone through, I’m glad that he didn’t experience what Shoto’s class went through…”

Rei’s voice faltered. She wondered if Enji ever considered pulling Shoto out of UA after it started getting attacked by villains, or if his pride prevented the idea from occurring to him. Before she could lose herself too much in her regret though, Rei felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Inko was looking at her in concern, but wasn’t pressing her for details, likely knowing what she was thinking about. Rei smiled, and the two fell into a comfortable silence. She was about to ask more about Izuku, wondering if her son had ever interacted with the kind Quirkless boy, wondering if they could have ever been friends, but thinking about Izuku’s past made Rei pause for thought again.

A young boy with big dreams, perhaps the same dream that everyone else had, only for a doctor to end up telling him that his dreams were unattainable because of his genetics. Though Rei didn’t know what Inko’s relationship with her husband or her life at home was like, she could guess at how she might have felt raising a son with a dream broken so young. She wondered if Izuku had ever felt despair at this shattered dream, though according to Inko it had taken him ten years to give up on it. She wondered if Izuku tried to push himself, to push his body to the point that he got himself hurt. She wondered how Inko felt watching this, watching his despair, his chase towards a dream that hurt him, all the while watching someone else close to him seem to be set on that dream.

She wondered though as well what Toya could have done if he had chosen a different path. If he had dedicated his talents to something worthwhile. If he could have found a way to live a happy, meaningful life. Maybe he could have realized how hollow Enji’s praise would have really been. Maybe he could have understood and comforted Shoto in a way that Rei couldn’t.

“Mrs. Midoriya…”

“Please,” Inko interrupted with a smile. “Just call me Inko. I know that we’ve just met, but I would like to be friends with someone who has helped my friend so much.”

Rei blinked and smiled in return.

“Then please call me Rei.” She replied with Inko nodding as she waited for Rei’s question. Rei though took a moment to think of what to say.

“Inko, would you be willing to answer a difficult question?” Rei began hesitantly.

“What is it?” Inko asked.

“What would you do if your son did something like what my son Toya did?”

Inko froze, gaping at Rei in surprise at the question. As she thought though, her eyes seemed to become distant, and a look of horror passed over her face.

“Inko?” Rei asked in concern when Inko remained speechless, worried that she had gone too far. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

“It’s…it’s alright.” Inko answered, shaking her head. “I just…thinking about that possibility is a little…overwhelming. I want to just immediately deny that it would ever happen…but if I’m honest with myself…I can almost imagine a world where my son did something just like that.” Inko admitted. Noticing Rei’s shocked expression, Inko backtracked. “Don’t get me wrong, Izuku is probably the most good-hearted person I have ever known, and I’m not saying that just because I am his mother. It really is astounding how much he just wants to help people…especially with what he went through…” she added somberly. “With the way people treated him, and the fact that it took so long for him to receive an actual acknowledgement of his abilities…it’s actually surprising to me that Izuku stayed as sweet and kind as he is. I don’t know everything about him, but he’s never expressed any kind of resentment or real anger towards the world. I can imagine though a world where he would give into resentment, to use his mind, and his ability to reach people to strike back. I can imagine that much more easily than I would like to admit. Imagining that…it’s awful…imagining my son being so bitter that he would go as far as to hurt people.” Inko’s eyes were distant as she spoke before refocusing on Rei. “If I have to answer, I would still love Izuku, I know that, but it would be painful. I would probably blame myself like Mitsuki did, wondering what I could have done differently, feeling like a failure.”

Rei deflated. She remembered Toya’s exuberance as a child, his desire to become a hero just like his father, only for the joy to get violently sucked out of him when they had explained to him that his Quirk hurt himself, to be replaced with desperation to prove himself to his father, bitterness towards his family for not supporting him, culminating in his spiteful insanity as Dabi.

“However…” Inko said, interrupting Rei’s train of thought, “Izuku didn’t let resentment get the better of him. Despite everything that he went through, despite my failures towards him, Izuku didn’t become resentful and chose to find a way to help people even if it wasn’t what he originally planned to do.”

Inko looked at Rei in the eye, making it clear that she wanted Rei to hear this.

“Ultimately, that’s because of his choices. He chose not to give into resentment. He chose to find a way to help people despite not being able to chase his dreams. I made mistakes, some of which could have hurt Izuku, but he’s always forgiven me for them, and reminds me of how I’ve tried to support him. Regardless, it was still his choice to let me love him, even with all of my failings.” Gently, Inko squeezed Rei’s hand. “I think that it’s the same with your son. I believe that you loved him, that you worried for him, and that you tried to help him. Regardless of whatever mistakes you made, whatever his father did or didn’t do to him, what he did was a result of his choices.”

Rei…didn’t know how to feel. She wanted to argue back at Inko for blaming her son for what happened…but she couldn’t deny the facts as the green-haired woman laid them out. Her instincts made her dwell on what she could have done…but as Inko had pointed out, she had tried to help Toya. Every time she saw him trying to train a Quirk that was hurting him, he tried to get him to stop, but he refused to listen. She had tried to get Enji’s help, but he refused to have anything to do with Toya as he refocused his efforts on Shoto.

As Dr. Higurashi had pointed out, there was only so much that she could do.

Inko patted Rei’s hand again.

“What happened to your family is horrible, Rei, and I just don’t know how to answer your question. It’s probably why I wasn’t able to reach Mitsuki the way that you were. The best I can answer is that I would try to still be there for my son how I could.”

Rei was quiet, and Inko gave her the time that she needed to think. When Mitsuki was done with her appointment, she, Rei, and Inko happily began a new conversation, with Mitsuki expressing interest both in Inko’s son Izuku, but also a young girl that Inko had been fostering named Eri.

Inko had initially meant to just help escort Mitsuki to the hospital because Masaru was busy trying to restart their fashion business, but after talking with Rei, Inko became a more regular presence at the hospital, visiting Rei along with Mitsuki when she had the time available from her nursing job at UA. Talking with two other mothers, regardless of their circumstances…it felt nice to Rei. An aspect of motherhood that Rei hadn’t been able to partake in when her own children were growing up, perhaps out of shame for the situation in her own family. Mitsuki and Inko though knew what Rei’s situation was like and didn’t judge her for that. They didn’t always understand each other, but it was soothing to have women who were simply willing to be there.

Hearing about how Mitsuki was trying to visit her son in prison, and the impending end of the year, Rei became convinced more and more of something that she needed to do, which she one day broached upon with Dr. Higurashi, Fuyumi, and Keigo.

“You want to visit Toya?” Higurashi repeated in trepidation.

“Yes.” Rei answered simply.

“Mom…are you sure about this?” Fuyumi asked in concern. “Toya…you know what he did…he…he…”

“I know.” Rei interrupted. “He…he murdered Shoto.” Rei winced, feeling the stab in her heart at the reminder. “But…he’s still my son.”

“Rei…” Keigo spoke up, his fear for Rei’s sake obvious in his voice. “Dabi…Toya…isn’t like how you used to know him…I interacted with him for months undercover…and while I know that you don’t want to hear this…he’s a monster. Everything he did was for the purpose of hurting Endeavor and his family. He cared for nothing else.” Keigo grimaced, closing his eyes in memory for a moment. “I remember…when I killed Twice, he was enraged, but not out of pain for the death of his friend, but for the loss of what he saw as a useful tool for his spite.” Keigo looked directly at Rei, who met his gaze. “If you visited him, he’d just use that as an opportunity to hurt you more. He doesn’t deserve the right to speak to you.”

“…I appreciate your concern, Keigo,” Rei responded, “but I know him better than you believe. I saw his anger and his spite as he was growing up. He attacked Shoto as a baby with his flames while I was holding him, so I have no reservations that he feels love for me. Nonetheless, I still want to see him.” She turned to Dr. Higurashi. “Please doctor…please let me see him…”

Higurashi considered Rei for a moment, her heteromorph traits making it hard to guess what she was thinking.

“…I’ll see if I can arrange a visit to Tartarus, but I want to be there with you.”

It took some time to arrange the visit. Out of the living League of Villains members, Dabi was likely the most dangerous, arguably having the highest body count. This, coupled with the fact of his impending execution, made the executives of Tartarus paranoid about the possibility of Dabi managing to escape. Thankfully though, Higurashi was just able to get the warden to agree to let Rei visit, albeit under heavy guard.

The white visiting room that Rei met Toya in was split in half with a thick sheet of glass. Toya’s side was equipped with vents that could spray a cloud of carbon dioxide within a matter of seconds, quickly dousing any attempt he might make at creating flames. Such an attempt would be quite difficult already with his body heavily restrained with flame-retardant bindings. Seeing Toya face to face though, none of this seemed to bother him to Rei. He seemed indifferent, only showing the slightest bit of amusement when his mother sat down on the other side of the glass.

“Well. I’m surprised to see they let you out of the psych ward. Here to say goodbye to me, Mom? You didn’t get a chance with little Shoto.”

The fact that this was how her son chose to greet her hurt possibly even more than the jab at Shoto’s death. Rei frowned and took a breath.

“Toya…why?”

“ ‘Why’, what?” Toya asked with a self-satisfied smirk. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“Why do all of this?” Rei asked, finally getting out the question that had been plaguing her for almost a year. “Why devote yourself to spiting your father? Why kill your little brother? Why…why didn’t you come home, if you were alive?” she asked, pleading, but Toya showed no sympathy for her, keeping the same smirk on his face.

“Why not?” He responded, making Rei recoil in horror. “It’s the same thing that I had always been doing, proving that I was worthy to dear old Dad. That I was superior to that half-baked puppet you two replaced me with…”

“Shoto was your brother.” Rei interrupted, feeling anger in the midst of her sorrow. “And he had been hurt by your father just as you were. Enji pushed him, abused him, made him train to the point that he could barely move, took away his childhood, and didn’t even let him get to know you or Fuyumi or Natsuo. How can you not feel any pity for him?”

“Oh, what?” Toya asked sardonically. “Was the replacement not up to snuff? Couldn’t take the pressure?” The boy that Rei gave birth to, cared for, and played with leaned forward as far as his restraints allowed him. “Do you expect me to feel sorry for the perfect little brat Endeavor made to shut me out? It was such a pleasure to see little Shoto to get incinerated. Seriously, you thought someone that pathetic would be up to snuff? He just kept on blasting that worthless ice of yours even as it was getting evaporated. You should have seen Endeavor’s face when he saw his little science project turn to ash. It was fucking hilarious.”

Had Rei not seen Toya’s speech revealing himself, dancing amidst the ashes of the hundreds of people he had cremated at Jaku, she wouldn’t have been able to believe that he could be so sadistic and cruel. That did not mean that it didn’t hurt her to see in person.

“Oh, by the way, I was wondering…” Toya leaned back as if struck by a thought. “How did little Shoto get that burn on his face? Didn’t look like Endeavor’s handiwork.”

The circumstances of Rei’s hospitalization weren’t made public, though it wouldn’t surprise her if Toya had somehow knew already. Either way, Rei wasn’t going to run away from this.

“I did.” She admitted, ignoring Toya’s laugh. “His left side made me think of what happened to you, and after you had died, I was so desperate that I splashed him with boiling water.”

“I bet Endeavor didn’t appreciate you tarnishing his masterpiece. I’m surprised that he didn’t just dump the damaged goods and have you squeeze out another replacement.”

Rei was tired, and done playing Toya’s games. She should have known that nothing he would say would satisfy her desire to understand what she could have done differently.

“Toya…I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I couldn’t get your father to acknowledge you. I’m sorry that I couldn’t get you to see that there were other ways you could be happy. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you and your siblings a family where your value wasn’t determined by whether you could become a hero or not.” Rei picked up her gaze and glared at Toya.

“However, what you have done is despicable. As bad as I and your father failed you, nothing justifies killing your brother. Nothing justifies killing all those people.”

“Oh, please.” Toya scoffed, only for his face to split open in a grin. “Do you think I care about those sacks of flesh? All I was doing was showing the world what Endeavor created.”

Rei could barely react to this. She could only look at Toya.

“Was all of this really just for your father? All of this pain you put yourself through, that you put others through, just out of spite?”

Rei closed her eyes in shame and shook her head.

“…Your father was not a good man. He could have been, but he wasn’t. He was not someone worth emulating. Neither was he worth dedicating your life to destroying. I am sorry that he didn’t acknowledge you when you were so desperate for it, but none of that makes what you’ve done worth it. You haven’t just destroyed Enji and Shoto, you destroyed yourself. There were so many other things you could have done with your life, even after you burned yourself like this. There were so many other things you could have done that could have made you happy if you had just let go of your resentment. Now…the only pleasure you seem to get is in causing pain to others.” Rei frowned at her son “Well, you did it. Your father is a broken man. What exactly does that accomplish for you though, Toya? What do you gain from this?”

“Proof.” Toya hissed, jerking forward in his restraints as if he wanted to bite Rei’s throat out. “Proof that I was better. Better than him. Better than your half-baked puppet.”

Rei felt so ashamed, she couldn’t even feel angry anymore. Just pity.

“Fine. You got to prove yourself like you wanted. Along with a scarred body, and a death sentence. Do you really think that it’s worth it?” Rei sighed. “I failed you, Toya. I admit that. But I tried to help you. I wish you had let me.”

Rei had enough and stood up in response to Toya rolling his eyes.

“I love you, Toya. Even with everything you’ve done, I still love you.”

As she was walking away though, she turned once more to her condemned son.

“…He liked soba, by the way. Shoto liked it prepared just the way you did. I thought you should know that.”

Rei didn’t know why she said it. Perhaps she just wanted to have Toya acknowledge the most basic aspect of Shoto’s humanity, that he was a person and not just a replacement. Perhaps she was so desperate that she imagined Toya flinch faintly just as she turned away from him.

When Toya’s execution came, Rei was the only member of his family who witnessed it. Natsuo considered the Toya he knew to be long dead, and Fuyumi just didn’t want to face him after murdering Shoto.

He was made to stand on a platform with a noose around his neck. Tartarus must have had some kind of measure in place to keep him from using his Quirk, or maybe the reason he wasn’t fighting back was because he realized by this point that there wasn’t really anything else he could do to spite his father any more besides dying himself.

As Toya beheld the witnesses to his death, his face was impassive, only sneering once as he saw Rei amongst the crowd. As his eyes passed over those present though, his expression changed. His eyes continually jerked back to his mother, looking at whoever was next to her as if he was frantically searching. Rei could just make out his voice as the officers read out Toya’s crimes and his sentence.

“Where is he…Where is he? Where is he?!”

Rei felt tears well up in her eyes at the realization of what was disturbing her son so much. Toya’s head noticeably jerked as he searched through the crowd, his murmurings became frantic shouts, ignoring everything that the warden was saying to him even as he asked for his last words.

“Look at me, Dad! Look at me!” Toya desperately shouted as the warden shook his head in frustration, only to turn and nod to the executioner, who pulled the lever to drop Toya, his shouts only stopped only by his neck being snapped.

Toya lived his last moments the same way he always had; desperately yearning for the gaze of his father, all the while ignoring the offered gaze of his mother.

Toya’s grave was originally in the Todoroki family plot, an empty site that they had buried his jawbone in; the only piece of him that they were able to collect from the fire that they had believed he had died in as a teenager. However, with Shoto buried there now, it didn’t feel right to bury his murderer next to him, even if he was still Rei’s son, and Rei had Toya’s old tombstone removed. Instead, Rei brought Toya’s remains to Sekoto Peak, where he, Enji, and Shoto would go to train, where they had originally though Toya had died, and had his body buried there, away from the public eye where his gravesite would undoubtedly be vandalized.

Rei, Fuyumi, and Natsuo were silent as they stood in front of Toya’s grave. What could they say? The Toya they thought they knew they had already mourned for. The man he had become had done everything in his power to torment them. They pitied him, knowing what he had gone through, the child he once was, but it was too hard to reconcile with the monster he had become.

In the end, Rei could only say one thing.

“Goodbye, Toya. I love you. I always will.”

Once Rei and her children had made it to the bottom of the peak, she stopped, trembling before Fuyumi and Natsuo.

“Mom?” Fuyumi asked tentatively. She flinched as Rei looked at her and Natsuo with tears in her eyes.

“I…I know that I haven’t been a good mother to either of you…I know I’ve failed you, Toya, and Shoto…I hurt my son, and I left you two with Enji. I…I know that I don’t have a right to be your mother after what I’ve done…but…” she choked on a sob, “I…I’m scared for you two…I’m scared for how everyone sees our family…and for what happened with Shoto because of what I did and how I wasn’t there to help him. I just…I want to be there for you two…I want to be a part of your life again…I know it’s selfish, but I…”

Rei was cut off as Fuyumi and Natsuo both embraced her, their own tears mingled with hers.

“This isn’t your fault Mom…” Natsuo said, hugging Rei tightly. “What happened with Shoto…that was Endeavor’s fault. He kept Shoto isolated. He is the reason why Shoto wouldn’t use the fire side of his Quirk. He is the reason Toya went crazy. He is the one that forced you into a Quirk marriage in the first place. Hell, Toya could have come home whenever he wanted and we would have helped him! He’s the one who chose to become a monster, you didn’t turn him out that way. You didn’t deserved what happened to you, to be locked up for something that bastard did!”

Rei held her son close, so sad that he had been filled with so much resentment towards his father, even if he deserved it, but so proud of him for finding a way to live his life regardless. Fuyumi spoke through her own tears.

“You were a great mother, you did the best you could. What Toya did wasn’t your fault; we tried to get him to stop hurting himself all the time, but he didn’t listen to us.” Fuyumi sniffled, resting her head on her mother’s shoulder. “I…I always hoped that we could have had the normal life we used to have, back when Toya was training with Dad, and we were happy…but that’s just not going to happen. It never was…not with the way Dad treated us. That wasn’t your fault, either.” Fuyumi pulled her head back so that Rei could see her face, tears smudging her glasses that she hadn’t been able to pull off. “I miss you Mom…I miss you so much…I want you in my life again! And…I am scared too, Mom…Keigo has helped me a lot, but I’m still scared…I want you home again…”

Rei felt her heart break at her daughter’s pain, and she held her close as well. Fuyumi had held up so well, doing what she could to fulfill the role that Rei should have, being forced to grow up too fast for a thankless job.

Rei swore that she would do whatever she could to be there for her children.

As soon as Rei got back to the hospital, she brought up her request to Dr. Higurashi; to be able to go home. To her surprise, Higurashi quickly approved of this request.

“I was quite impressed with how well you handled meeting your son in prison. Despite his attempts to hurt you, you held up quite well and didn’t regress as I feared you might have. I do not believe that you are currently a threat to yourself or to others. Also…” Higurashi looked uncomfortable for a moment, “As the person who admitted you here is now himself, a patient, and with the revelation of his abusive behavior towards you and his family, what he says about your mental state is rather moot at this point.” Higurashi gave Rei a proud smile. “While I have to make a stipulation that you continue your sessions with me so I can continue to monitor your emotional and mental well-being, considering how your son and daughter have made it clear that they want you back in their lives, I can only imagine that you returning home to them would help both them and yourself to recover.”

Hearing Higurashi say these things made Rei happier than she had felt in a long time. She stood up taking Higurashi’s hand in hers.

“Thank you, Doctor…thank you so much...”

Dr. Higurashi simply smiled and patted Rei’s shoulder.

“I told you Rei, you are a strong woman. I’m glad that you’re finally able to go home.”

Rei came back to the Todoroki estate. Fuyumi and Natsuo threw a party for her. Mitsuki, Masaru, Keigo, and Inko were all there to congratulate her. Natsuo was finally able to introduce his girlfriend to her, to which he added that she was actually his fiancé now. Rei was so happy for him, so glad to meet such a wonderful young woman that Natsuo was going to spend his life with. It was a happy time.

Waking up the next morning in her old bed was almost a frightening experience for Rei. Perhaps it was startling not to see Enji there, or maybe she was scared that he would have been, but it took only a moment for her to remember that he was now living at Fujitani Hospital. Fuyumi had made Rei breakfast, which was wonderful, though Rei privately griped that she hadn’t woken up early enough to make breakfast for Fuyumi; she wondered if she was going to get into a friendly competition with her daughter over this, though it was likely going to be in Fuyumi’s favor for quite some time. She felt exhausted coming home from the hospital, and ended up spending a lot of her time just sleeping. It was so wonderful to have so much time to spend with her daughter and her boyfriend; to be able to talk freely, to be able to cook meals together, to read together, to watch TV together, the only time limit being on when the two had to go to work. It was so much easier to see Natsuo now, though out of respect to her son, Rei would often instead visit him in his new apartment, as he confided in her that he simply didn’t feel comfortable in the Todoroki mansion anymore. Actually, once Rei had come home, he suggested that she change her family name back to ‘Himura’ herself, though he backed down when Rei pointed out that she didn’t have any particular loyalty towards the Himuras either, being the ones that sold her into marriage in the first place.

Of course, it wasn’t all a cheerful time for Rei. Now that she was back home, she also had to contend with the absence of Toya again, this time joined with Shoto’s absence. Fuyumi had set up a Buddhist shrine in Shoto’s old room in the same vein that Enji had for Toya (Toya’s shrine was still present, they just didn’t change the picture.) This made her son’s absences easier to bear for Rei; their rooms weren’t something to avoid or be afraid of, but places where she could sit and quietly honor their memories.

Oddly enough, it wasn’t the melancholy that was hardest for Rei to bear, but the boredom. She treasured every moment she could spent with Fuyumi, Natsuo, and even Keigo, whom Rei was excitedly waiting to become an official part of the family, but they all had their own jobs and lives, which meant that Rei was often the only person left in the Todoroki household. For a while, it was nice to have privacy that would have been impossible at Fujitani, but Rei found herself looking forward to her appointments with Dr. Higurashi, less as a patient and more just to have another friendly face to talk to.

Rei wasn’t in a position to get a job, having lived as a housewife for most of her life, followed by living in a psychiatric hospital for over a decade, and being the wife of one of the most infamous people in the country, though thankfully due to the fortune Endeavor had built up, she wasn’t in any real need of a job either. Regardless, she had so much time on her hands that she didn’t know what to do with. Going for walks through Musutafu could sometimes clear her mind, though as paparazzi caught wind of her departure from the hospital, the stares and whispers she noticed from strangers as she walked by could be disconcerting.

Thankfully, Rei still had her friends Mitsuki and Inko to talk to. They would often meet for lunch or visit each other’s houses to talk. Rei finally got to meet Izuku and the newly christened ‘Midoriya Eri,’ who were both such a pleasure to talk to.

All things considered, Rei’s life after leaving Fujitani was nice. It just felt like there was nothing she could really do with it. This would change one day though when Rei met with Mituki and Inko in the Todoroki household. Mitsuki had just announced that she was pregnant, making Inko and Rei squeal with joy and hug their friend. Just as Mitsuki had to leave to go back to her new business though, Inko stayed behind, a somewhat hesitant look on her face.

“Rei, I wanted to ask you about something.”

“Sure Inko, what is it?” Rei asked, curious.

“…I have a friend at work who has been struggling with a personal issue for quite some time. She only recently opened up to me about it, and it’s clear to me that it’s weighing on her a lot. You were such a big help to Mitsuki, that I was wondering if you might be willing to meet with my friend?” Inko asked hopefully. Rei certainly had no reason to say no.

That weekend, Inko brought her friend over from work. The friend in question was one that Rei was only vaguely aware of due to a scandal associated with her from the previous year, rather than her hero work, as the blue-skinned Awata Kaoruko was only a sidekick of Sir Nighteye’s for a short period while Rei was in the hospital.

“Rei, this is my friend from UA, Awata Kaoruko.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Awata, I heard that you might be interested in talking to me?” Rei said, offering the younger woman a seat in her living room. Awata sat down awkwardly, clearly nervous about what she was there to talk about.

“…If you’re willing to listen.” She said. Rei nodded in response, giving Awata the time to start speaking on her own initiative. “…I heard about…the way your husband treated you.” She stammered out.

“Yes?” Rei answered, slowly getting an idea of why Awata wanted to talk to her.

“What happened to me really isn’t anything like what you went through…” Awata said, obviously trying to downplay whatever it was she was going to say, though Rei smiled and patted the young woman’s hand comfortingly, encouraging Awata to trust her. The former sidekick proceeded to explain her history with her former employer Sir Nighteye; how she was originally so excited and honored to be working under such a prestigious and efficient hero, only to find out how he’d treat her when she didn’t meet his standards for ‘humor’; forcing her into a ‘Tickle Machine’ in an experience that sounded downright traumatic to Rei. By the end of her explanation, Awata had broken down sobbing in shame, with Inko hugging her for support.

“The thing is…I don’t think that there was ever a sexual component to any of it for Sasaki…he literally just saw it as a way to force people to laugh. I kind of understood that, so I made it an excuse for what he did, that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed…but it was just so…degrading…and I didn’t feel as if I could ever say anything against him. The Tickle Machine was right in the middle of his agency! People saw it all the time! People saw me and Moashi in it, and while they were weirded out, they’d hardly ever say anything! So…I just figured that it was something that I needed to accept…that it wasn’t as bad as I sometimes thought it was…But when Sasaki’s pro hero movement started to fail, he became more erratic, more volatile…it got to the point that I just couldn’t take it anymore and I left…” Awata’s voice rose as she became more distressed until it broke, and she had to wipe her eyes, gratefully holding Inko’s hand.

“It’s only after working at UA…getting to know Inko to the point I felt I could trust her that I really started to come to grips with how disturbing what Sasaki did to me was…” Awata looked up at Rei pleadingly. “Is…is there something wrong with me? That it took me this long to realize?”

Feeling such sympathy for this young woman for what she went through, Rei gently took her by the shoulders.

“Awata…none of this is your fault.” Rei sighed, remembering how her family sold her into a Quirk marriage with a man she hardly knew, how Enji had hit her when she had tried to get him to acknowledge Toya or to not train Shoto so hard, and the acceptance that there was nothing she could really do about it. “I think that when we’re exposed to this sort of thing for so long, we just come to see it as normal, to try to find the good in the people who are hurting us, even if it’s wrong.” She smiled ruefully as she admitted, “That was how it was for me as well.”

Admitting the abuse that she had been subjected to in the past was difficult for Awata, but it was clear that she was grateful to have someone else that she could be open to about it, and after the three women talked for a little while longer, Awata thanked Rei and left, hoping to talk to her again some time.

“Thank you, Rei.” Inko said.

Rei smiled, glad that she was able to help someone else who had experienced that kind of pain.

“Thank you for bringing her.” Rei replied to Inko. “She was a very nice young woman. I can understand why you care so much about her.”

Inko stared out the window, frowning.

“…It’s upsetting, really. What you went through is perhaps the most obvious, but I’ve come to realize that there is a lot of pain and abuse that we came to see as normal, and it’s only after we’ve had such a huge jolt that we’re realizing how much of what we had come to accept was wrong.”

“I suppose so.” Rei agreed with her own frown. “Hopefully people can get the help they need like I did.”

Inko turned to Rei again.

“Rei…I’m grateful that you were willing to talk to Awata, especially if it involved opening up some of your old wounds.”

Rei shrugged and smiled.

“The wounds are there, Inko. Pretending that they’re not there wouldn’t help anyone. I am truly glad that I was able to help Awata. I hope that she’ll be willing to talk to me again.”

“I’m sure she will.” Inko replied. “You certainly did a good job getting Mitsuki to open up.” The green-haired woman seemed to be struck by another thought.

“What is it?” Rei asked, curious.

“…Well…if you actually are interested in helping people like this…and if I knew someone else with similar problems, would you mind talking to them as well?”

Rei considered her situation. Talking to Awata, even if it was difficult, made her feel satisfied, as if she wasn’t just living in an empty house, waiting for Fuyumi and Keigo to come home from work. It felt like she was actually using her life and her experiences for a good purpose.

“I would love to.”

Ten Years Later

Inko took Rei’s answer very seriously, as did Mitsuki, and several other people who came into Rei’s life. Inko introduced Rei to Uraraka Ochako, a former classmate of Shoto’s who had transferred out of the Emergency Course, only to feel guilt at what she saw as abandoning her friends, not made better by the jeers and judgmental looks she received from a few other students. Soon after, she got Rei in touch with Asui Beru, the mother of Eri’s best friend Satsuki, and the mother of one of the students who died in Shoto’s class. Later on, Inko’s coworker Hizashi Yamada introduced her to his friend Fukukado Emi, who struggled with the loss of her friend Aizawa Shota, whom she had feelings for, but also the realization of how many lives he had inadvertently ruined as a teacher. Rei got to know another of Inko’s coworkers Ippan Josei, a heteromorph woman who was dating Inko’s son. This was followed by some of Inko’s friends from her previous job got her in touch with Usagiyama Rumi, the former hero Mirko. Rumi didn’t like to talk about her issues, mostly just hanging out with Inko and Rei because she could, but over time she admitted her regrets at her actions that had led her to be confined to a wheelchair, and her shame at having regrets at all.

Over time, Rei met an ever-growing group of women who had either been abused, who lost people they loved over the course of the past few years, who had made choices that they regretted, or were judged by others for forces outside of their control. They were grateful to Rei, to talk to other people that wouldn’t judge them about their issues, who could understand what they were going through. Rei treasured the connections that she made, and was grateful for the opportunity to help other women who had experienced similar problems. It wasn’t as if they had regular meetings; they just met when they could. However, on the twelve-year anniversary of the Battle of Jaku, a bulk of Rei’s group of friends had managed to make the time to all meet together in Rei’s living room.

“I don’t know.” Rumi was saying to Kaoruko and Rei. “With how serious things were at the time, I still don’t think I had any other choice but to dive in headfirst to try to catch Garaki or to try to take out Shigaraki...” the former hero shrugged, looking at her prosthetic arm and leg. “Maybe if I had learned to do things a different way beforehand, I could have had someone with me who could have taken those two bastards out earlier, but honestly, with all of the things I did wrong in my life, I can’t say I regret what led to me losing my arm and leg.”

“Maybe that’s what Togata was thinking.” Kaoruko admitted, forlornly looking into her wine glass. “With what Shigaraki had turned into, I don’t think that there was really anything else he could have done…”

The former Bubble Girl felt a pat on her shoulder, turning to see Emi.

“He saved us, Kaoruko.” Emi said. “It was all I could do to keep my students safe, and I only managed to keep them from dying because of the heavy hitters like Togata and Rumi.”

Rumi sighed, turning to Rei.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t faster though, Rei. That I wasn’t able to stop the League before your sons met each other.”

“Rumi,” Rei answered, shaking her head. “You fought so hard you literally lost an arm and a leg. It would be ridiculous for anyone to say that you didn’t do enough.”

The former hero gave a grim smile to Rei before noticing the time.

“Well…” she grunted, wheeling herself towards the exit. “I’ve got a different party I’ve got to go to.”

“Me too…” Ochako said, stopping by Rei. “Thank you for inviting us, Mrs. Todoroki.” She spoke softly, though Rei patted her on the shoulder, knowing how uncomfortable she probably still was being around the mother of the only classmate of hers to die at Jaku.

“I’m glad you came, Ochako. It means a lot.”

Rei felt a pat on her back from Rumi as she wheeled past her with Kaoruko and Emi in tow, the three former heroines going to the same memorial where they would be meeting with other former heroes to commemorate their sacrifices.

“Keep in touch, Rei.”

“Thanks, Rumi.” Rei answered.

Kaoruko approached and spoke in an undertone to Rei.

“Are…are you going to be visiting…”

“I’ll be visiting Enji later today, Kaoruko, yes.” Rei answered without fear. Rumi glowered, but didn’t try to argue with Rei on this, the older woman having made her point clear already about her relationship with her former husband. The other women left, either to celebrate the country finally becoming self-sufficient apart from UN support, or to meet with colleagues to honor their fallen brethren. It was much the same for Rei, though she had made the decision to spend at least part of the day with Enji, not wanting him to spend the anniversary of their son’s death alone.

It had been a long time since Rei had last visited Fujitani Hospital as a patient; Dr. Higurashi having determined that further sessions weren’t necessary a few years ago. However, Rei still visited often to see Enji. Their marriage had been annulled, though Rei still kept the Todoroki name. Maybe it was out of loyalty towards Shoto and Toya, maybe it was spite towards the Himuras, maybe she had just grown used to it.

Arriving at Enji’s room, Rei was reminded as she so often was of how she must have looked when she lived at Fujitani; pale, clammy skin, prominent eyebags, clothes hanging loosely off of her body, her eyes staring vaguely at the wall. Enji had adopted a similar look, but for him it was worse, perhaps because of his once intimidating presence. It was like seeing a lion at the zoo that had grown old and close to death.

“Enji?” Rei spoke gently. “It’s me.”

Sitting on his bed, Enji gave a slight start in surprise. Rei suspected that he always wondered when she would stop visiting him.

“…Rei. Thank you for coming.”

“Of course.” Rei took Enji’s hand, and walked with him and his doctor out of the hospital. If there was one good thing about Enji’s emaciated state, it was that there was no way anyone would recognize him. Many still held the name ‘Endeavor’ in contempt, seeing him similarly to Bakugou Katsuki, as one of the major reasons for why the hero system failed.

About an hour later, Rei, Enji, and his doctor were at the Todoroki family grave. Rei gave Enji a stick of incense, and they approached Shoto’s tombstone. Rei brought out a small bowl and filled it with cold soba as an offering to Shoto before she and Enji each lit a stick of incense to burn over the grave.

Rei felt calm. It wasn’t to say that she didn’t feel sadness or pain here, but she had made peace with it. It felt easier to handle her past mistakes here or at the shrine she kept of Shoto in the Todoroki home. Enji wasn’t handling it as well, trembling as he had his hands clasped together in prayer.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…” he whimpered under his breath as he wept. Rei laid a hand on his shoulder to try to steady him.

The two stayed like this for about an hour before Enji reluctantly stood up. Fuyumi and Natsuo were going to be here with their families to pay their respects to Shoto and he didn’t feel as if he had a right to be around them.

“…Thank you, Rei.” He said.

“You’re welcome, Enji. I’m glad you came.”

Stiffly, Enji nodded, walking back towards where his doctor was waiting to escort him back to Fujitani.

“Enji?” Rei called, stopping her ex-husband, wanting to say something that was on her mind. Enji stopped, but did not turn all the way to face Rei again, perhaps too ashamed of himself to look at his son’s grave any more.

“…I know that this is hard for you…but you should start thinking about what you’re going to do when you leave Fujitani. You can’t stay there forever, and having a goal could help you heal.”

Enji was silent, until he looked up at the buds of a nearby cherry tree.

“…If I ever feel that I can face myself…I would like to get a job here.” He answered. “I’d like to be a groundskeeper here, or maybe at another cemetery where heroes are buried. I’d like to tend to these graves…make sure that they are kept clean…that people can remember them. I feel that I owe it to all of them…and to Shoto…at least that much.”

“I think that’s a good goal.” Rei said, smiling at her ex-husband. Enji looked at her for one more moment before leaving with his doctor, leaving Rei alone. She turned back to Shoto’s grave.

“Hello Shoto.” Rei said out loud. “…I hope that you’re doing alright.”

Rei was not ignorant of the fact that her son was dead, but talking as if he were sometimes felt comforting; even if he wasn’t there anymore, she still cherished him as part of her life.

“I hope that it wouldn’t upset you for your father to be here. It sounds like the way you saw him wasn’t that different from Toya.” Rei frowned, looking at the ground. “I couldn’t exactly blame you for feeling that way. I wonder if it was possible for me to have given you the kind of life I would have wanted for you. Despite the circumstances of our marriage, there was a time where I could believe that your father was a good man. We were happy. I wish that you could have seen those times.”

Rei sighed, looking up at the sky.

“You know, people are always talking nowadays about how it’s a good thing that the hero system fell. I wonder how you would have felt about all of this. If it wasn’t for that ranking system, I think that your father wouldn’t have treated you the way that he did. Maybe you could have seen more of the good man I had. On the other hand though, being a hero was the only thing you were ever interested in. I think that there could have been a lot of other things you would have liked though. Maybe you could have been a chef. Maybe you could have been a painter; you always seemed so introspective; I think that you could have made something beautiful.”

Rei heard the sounds of children laughing, and turned to see her grandchildren led by Fuyumi and Keigo; Natsuo was probably not far behind with his wife and son. From far off, Rei heard little Shoto laugh about something, only to fly off into the air after a moth he had startled, his ice-like wings allowing him to easily catch the insect in his hands, his mother only half-heartedly calling him down. His sister Rei joined in on the fun, seeing another moth and chasing after it on her own flame-like wings. Rei smiled, glad that her grandchildren were able to enjoy this small pleasure.

“Your nephew though wants to take after Keigo and become a police officer. Maybe you would have done the same. You wanted to make people feel safe like All Might after all, so maybe it wouldn’t have mattered to you whatever you were called, whether it would have been a hero or a police officer.”

Rei knelt down, lovingly rubbing the top of Shoto’s tombstone, imagining that she was rubbing his hair.

“I love you, Shoto. I always will.”

Chapter Text

The hospital staff wouldn’t let Kota see his Aunt Shino, as she was still in intensive care. However, the people who would normally watch over Kota when Shino wasn’t available were also indisposed. Chatora Yawara (‘Tiger’) and Tsuchikawa Ryuko (‘Pixie-Bob’) were both in the hospital as well from severe head injuries they had sustained at the hands of the League of Villains. No one even knew where Shiretoko Tomoko (‘Ragdoll’) was, having been kidnapped by the League during the Summer Camp attack. This left Kota in the care of a cat-headed police officer who had volunteered to watch over him while they waited at the hospital. Kota thought that his name was Sansa; but that was all he could process at the moment, despite the officer’s attempts to talk to and reassure Kota.

Kota was the son of the Hero duo ‘Water Hose.’ Two years ago though, they had been murdered by the villain Muscular, and Kota was put in the care of his only living relative, Sosaki Shino. This would normally have been bad enough were it not for what people said to Kota after his parents had died; praising their work, claiming that ‘they died as heroes.’ As if that somehow made things good. As if it was good that Kota was alone now. Being abandoned, and the callous attitudes of people towards his situation, made Kota hate heroes, which made his relationship with his aunt, also known as ‘Mandalay,’ the leader of the Pussycats, tense to say the least.

This night though was making Kota rethink how he looked at his aunt and her friends. Just hours prior, Kota had come face-to-face to with the very villain who had murdered his parents. Muscular had smashed through the cabin that the Remedial UA students were housed in, nearly ripping off the arms of the teacher that had been watching over them. Just as it looked like Kota and all the UA students were going to be slaughtered by the villain though, two of the students; Ashido Mina and Kaminari Denki, attacked Muscular, somehow combining their Quirks in a way that completely overwhelmed the seemingly unstoppable villain, leaving him a writhing, smoking wreck on the ground. For just a moment, Kota could feel a sense of relief and joy that the monster that had destroyed his life had been defeated. That peace lasted only a few seconds though, when the other hero course teacher Aizawa brought back Kota’s Aunt Shino, barely clinging to life. Though Ashido tried to block off Kota’s view of his aunt as she attempted to treat her injuries, Kota saw what had happened; his aunt had received massive, jagged scars down the left side of her face. Ashido probably didn’t notice as she was treating Shino, and the other hero students were too shellshocked from the attack and the revelation that one of their number had been kidnapped in the chaos, but Kota could only stand there numb, unsure if Shino was even alive.

He still didn’t know. She had managed to use her Quirk ‘Telepathy’ to send out an alert to the hero students, and Kota reasoned that neither Ashido nor the doctors would be bothered to treat Shino if she was dead…but seeing her face nearly sheered off…was she going to make it?

As Kota sat in silence, it began to hit him.

Shino might die.

His last living relative might die. He might be left alone, completely alone.

Shino had been nothing but kind and patient towards him, and the last thing that he remembered saying to her…really, the only kind of thing that he had ever said to her was continuous insults and bitterness. That might be his last memory of her. Almost mockingly, Kota remembered his last interaction with his parents:

“Goodbye Kota! We’ll see you after daycare!”

“Have a great day, kiddo!”

“I will Mom and Dad! I love you!”

It was so simple, something he had said time and time again, but yet he had never done something so simple to Shino.

As angry as Kota felt about heroes…he began to realize how awful he had been, and just what he might lose.

Kota felt a tap on his shoulder, as Officer Sansa got his attention and smiled.

“Good news, Kota, Tiger and Pixie-Bob have woken up and it sounds like they’re going to be okay.”

Kota felt resentment if anything towards Sansa, making him think for a moment when he mentioned ‘Good news!’ that his aunt was going to be okay, that she was going to survive, and that he’d have a chance to start over with her, but he didn’t let it show on his face. If he were in a more rational state of mind, it might have occurred to Kota that at the very least he’d be around familiar faces rather than someone he had only just met.

When Kota was allowed to see Chatora and Tsuchikawa, both of them had heavy bandages over their heads, and sober expressions.

“…Hey, kitten.” Tsuchikawa said with a grim smile, as much as she could bring herself to try to be hopeful for Kota’s sake.

“…Is Aunt Shino going to be okay?”

Tsuchikawa’s smile fell, and she put her hand on his shoulder.

“Hey…it’s going to be fine. Everything’s going to be fine.”

That was a load of crap, and they all knew it. Despite Tsuchikawa and Chatora’s attempts to help Kota stay positive as per their duty as rescue heroes, that same experience probably made them realize how grim the outlook was, and Kota? He’d been here before. He knew what this could mean.

Tsuchikawa and Chatora got a hotel room nearby where they could hear progress on Shino’s situation, and where they could keep abreast of the heroes’ efforts to track down Ragdoll and the League. Being heroes part of the investigation though meant that they had to take turns watching over Kota.

Kota could admit that his aunt’s friends cared about him. They checked up on him, made sure he was fed, that he was healthy, and tried to lift his spirits to the best of their abilities, but he wasn’t their main priority. Though the two attempted to keep Kota out of the loop, he could tell when they were off speaking to each other privately, wondering just what they were going to do with him if Shino didn’t make it.

The night passed without any news on Shino, good or bad. Chatora offered to take Kota to a pancake restaurant for breakfast, but he didn’t answer. The cold cereal that they all had instead tasted like ash.

Hours passed. How could the doctors not know whether or not Shino was going to make it? What were they even doing to her? What could they do after getting hit the way she was?

Finally, Chatora got a call and left the room. Tsuchikawa had her hands on Kota’s shoulders as the two looked at the door he left through, as if to prepare herself to comfort him. Chatora was in the hall for only a moment, but what felt like an hour. The relieved grin on his face as he came back into the hotel room made Kota’s heart feel as if it was going to explode.

“She’s going to be alright.” He announced, making Tsuchikawa cry and hug Kota to her chest in relief. “That Ashido girl...the doctors say that if it wasn’t for her they don’t know if Shino would have made it. She’s going to have to get some stitches and stay in the hospital for a bit, but she’s going to make it.”

“Can…can we see her?” Kota forced himself to ask.

“We’ll need to wait a few days.” He explained. “The doctors say that she’s going to need some rest first.”

That wasn’t quite what Kota was hoping for; right then all he wanted was to run to his aunt, to see with his own eyes that she was okay and to apologize for being so awful to her. Chatora and Tsuchikawa knelt down to his level and smiled as if they knew what he was thinking.

“It’s going to be okay. We’ll visit her as soon as we can. In the meantime, I’m still hungry for pancakes, so how about we try that restaurant, okay?” Chatora offered.

Thankfully, the next day, Shino was cleared for visitors, which meant that seeing her was the first priority of Kota, Chatora, and Tsuchikawa.

When they came into the room, Shino was already awake, her head jerking towards the door, and her gaze immediately zeroing in on Kota.

“Kota! Are you alright? Did you get hurt? What happened to you?”

Shino moved to try to pull herself out of bed, ignoring the clear pain it made to her head were it not for a nurse gently holding her in place long enough for Kota to come up to her.

“I’m…I’m fine…” he said. “The hero students…they stopped Muscular…”

“Muscular attacked you?” Shino repeated incredulously, grabbing Kota by his shoulders.

“Yeah…but…I’m fine…I’m…”

Kota choked up, unable to speak any more.

“Kota? What’s wrong?” Shino asked.

“…I’m sorry…” Kota whimpered, facing the floor. “I’m sorry…I was so mean and bad to you…I’m sorry…”

Any further words were smothered by Shino gently pulling Kota into a hug, at which point he couldn’t take it anymore, and all of the fear and anxiety he had been holding over the past few days came out at once, sobbing into his Aunt Shino’s hospital blouse.

“It’s alright…” she whispered, rubbing the back of his head, “It’s alright…I’m here…”

After a moment, Kota stopped crying, though he still held onto Shino, afraid to let go, allowing her to look up to her two friends, who had been waiting patiently for Kota to get out his greeting.

“Ryuko, Yawara, how are you? I remember that Magne villain hitting you two, what hap…”

Shino stopped, looking at the two and realizing something was off as Chatora and Tsuchikawa were avoiding her gaze.

“…Where’s Tomoko?”

Though Chatora and Tsuchikawa still had the hotel room paid for, no one was really using it, as the two were devoting all of their efforts to the heroes’ mission to rescue Shiretoko and Bakugou, and Kota stayed by his aunt’s side for as long as he could. Granted, she had to spend most of her time sleeping, but that didn’t matter to Kota, as nervous as he was for something else to happen to her.

“How long are you going to have to keep those on?” he asked, pointing at the bandages across the right side of her face, making her look like half a mummy. Shino just shrugged in response.

“A few days. They’ll have to give me stiches afterwards, too.”

Kota was confused by how nonchalant Shino was about being mutilated.

“…Are you going to have scars?” he asked.

“Maybe for a while, I don’t know.” Shino answered. Noticing her nephew’s discomfort, she smiled. “A lot of heroes get scars, Kota, it comes with the job.”

A job that nearly killed her. That killed Kota’s parents. He wanted to scowl, annoyed at how his aunt didn’t seem to care about her pain, but even as young as he was, Kota had enough sense not to talk about that now.

Despite not saying anything, Shino seemed to pick up on how Kota was feeling, and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry to have scared you so much.” She said. Kota didn’t answer, but it didn’t seem to bother Shino.

“…What would have happened if you had died?” Kota eventually asked.

Shino seemed to recoil at this question, her smile fading as she considered it.

“…Kota, you don’t need to…” she began, trying to perk herself up, but the fearful look of her nephew clammed her up, being struck by the fact that she was in fact Kota’s last living relative.

“Well…” she eventually began, “I’ve talked about this with the other Pussycats, and if something were to happen to me, they’d take care of you like they usually do when I’m not available.”

“But what if something happened to all of you?” Kota challenged. “You’re always working together, after all. All of you got hurt at the Summer Camp.”

Shino’s attempt at optimism faltered.

“If something were to happen to all of us, I have it set in my will…”

“You have a will!?” Kota exclaimed loudly in shock, making Shino wince, in turn making Kota force himself to calm down.

“Yes, I do.” She considered Kota for a moment, and sighed. “Death is something that we have to be aware of as heroes. This is a dangerous job, but it’s one that needs to be done.”

Kota wanted to argue about this, but was worried about exasperating his aunt’s condition and stayed quiet, for the time being.

“I have it in my will that if something were to happen to all of us, a man named Toyomitsu Taishiro would take care of you; we knew him when we were in hero school, and he’s someone that has a lot of my trust and respect. You might know him as ‘Fat Gum.’ I was hoping to introduce you to him one day. Whatever the case though, whatever happens to me, I promise you that you will be taken care of.”

This assurance did not make Kota feel any better, as he looked away from his aunt, scowling. He didn’t want his aunt to die. He didn’t want to be left alone, left in the care of more people who were probably going to die themselves. He felt Shino place her hand gently on his shoulder. Normally, he would bitterly shrug it off, he wanted to do the same here, and it took all his willpower to resist that urge.

“Kota…” Shino spoke so gently that she was able to get Kota to look back up at her. She looked at him sadly.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry that I’ve scared you so much. I’m sorry that you’re in this situation.” Slowly, Shinso hugged Kota. “You are so precious to me. My job is dangerous, but I promise you that I will do everything I can to make sure that I come home to you.”

That wasn’t what Kota really wanted to hear. He wanted to know that this wasn’t going to happen again, that he wasn’t going to be left alone. He didn’t want Shino to be a hero and go out and do stupid stuff that would eventually kill her. However, he was smart enough to know that this wasn’t a battle that he was going to win anytime soon. He could only hope that his aunt would be bedridden long enough that he could think of some way to argue with her.

Shino looked at a clock on the wall.

“Would you mind if we turned on the news?” she asked. Kota shrugged. Most of what went on in the news was hero junk that he wasn’t interested in.

Shino turned the TV to a report of UA’s staff talking about the Summer Camp attack. Kota though could tell that watching this upset Shino, as she tensed up in her bed as she listened to the reporters shout their questions at the teachers.

“Why do you want to watch this?” he asked. “You don’t look like you want to.”

Shino turned to Kota and frowned, sighing.

“I suppose that on some level it’s not healthy for me to torture myself, reminding me of what I failed to do…”

Kota frowned in response to this. It was the villains that had attacked the camp; that wasn’t his aunt’s fault.

“But this is the best way that I can stay up to date on the situation with Tomoko and that Bakugou kid.”

Kota huffed, understanding at least that much of his aunt’s concern, worrying about her friend. Suddenly though, the report changed, announcing a fight breaking out between All Might and a villain in a black suit and helmet while the Bakugou kid was trying to fight against the villains that had attacked the Summer Camp.

“Tomoko…where’s Tomoko?” Shino muttered out loud, staring in fear at the report, her teammate nowhere to be seen.

Now, Kota might have not been a huge fan of heroes, but he would have had to have been living under a rock to not know how powerful All Might was. And yet, against this unknown villain, All Might was struggling.

Could All Might die here? Was that a possibility? The kids at Kota’s school had always taken it as a given that he would win every fight; the possibility of him ever dying the way Kota’s parents had never occurred to them. Kota though, perhaps a bit wiser than them in this regard, knew that wasn’t the case. Still though, it was frightening to see All Might show obvious pain from the hits he was taking.

It was only when a new, strange hero popped out of nowhere, battering the League aside and jumping out of the area with Bakugou in tow that All Might was truly able to let loose, eventually defeating the unknown villain with a single blow. Merely a few seconds after the fight ended, and both Shino and Kota were in shock, Shino got a phone call.

“Ryuko?” she spoke into her phone. After listening for a minute, she broke out in relieved tears. “Tomoko…thank God!”

Hours later though, as the rest of the country was celebrating All Might’s miraculous defeat of the unknown villain, Shino and her teammates were finding it hard to be cheerful.

Even as heavily bandaged as Shino was, she was with Tsuchikawa and Chatora, crowded around the bed of Shiretoko, who was sobbing into her hands while her friends were embracing her.

“Tomoko…it’s going to be okay…it’s going to be okay, we’re here for you…” Shino said, trying to reassure her friend.

“It’s gone…he took Search…he took my Quirk…” Shiretoko sobbed. “I…I can’t be a hero anymore without my Quirk…”

Kota stood awkwardly against the wall of Shiretoko’s hospital room. While he had been antagonistic towards the Wild Wild Pussycats even at the best of times, he had gotten to know them well enough to know that Shiretoko Tomoko was normally such a cheerful, bubbly figure, fully embracing the cutesy theme of her team. To see her so distraught, so broken, was frightening to Kota, and he had no idea what to do here. All he could think to do was to stay out of the way while his aunt tried to comfort her friend.

Kota looked at his hands, unconsciously feeling moisture gathering on them from his Quirk ‘Water Gun.’ It wasn’t a particularly powerful Quirk, only able to shoot as much water as a garden hose, and Kota had only had it for roughly a year by this point, so even in normal circumstances he would have questioned just how attached he would have been to it. Considering how enthused other kids his age were about their Quirks, excited about using them to become heroes, he was even less enamored by Water Gun. The way that Shiretoko was crying though made it clear that she did not see ‘Search’ the same way.

It took some time for Shiretoko to calm down. Kota stayed by the wall, while Shino and her teammates stayed embracing Shiretoko. When she did stop crying, Shino took her by the hands and looked at her in the eye.

“Tomoko, it’s going to be alright.”

“Yeah, you’re still one of us, Tomoko!” Tsuchikawa proclaimed, swinging an arm over her friends’ shoulder. “You’re still one of the Pussycats!”

“No matter what, we’ve got your back!” Chatora added, patting Shiretoko’s shoulder.

Shiretoko sniffed, wiping her eyes off, and managed a watery smile.

“…Thank you, guys. I’m so glad you’re my friends…”

Once the four were finally able to pull themselves from another, Shiretoko stared at her bedsheets and sighed.

“I have to start thinking though, what do I do now?”

Shino put her hand on Shiretoko’s shoulder.

“We do mean it, you know.” Shino said. “No matter what, you are still one of us. You are still a Pussycat.”

Shiretoko looked up wearily at Shino.

“But what does that mean now that I don’t have Search? As much as I hate to admit it, my days as a hero are over.”

Shino thought for a moment.

“Well…it’s not the most glamorous option,” she admitted, “but if you feel like you can’t be a hero, that doesn’t mean that you can’t still work at the agency.”

For the first time, Shiretoko seemed to perk up, if only a bit.

“I suppose so…we could always use an office lady…”

Shino though spoke up again.

“However…are you sure you don’t want to try to be a hero still?” Shino suggested. Shiretoko gave her an incredulous look, but Shino was not intimidated, and kept speaking: “Just look at me; my Quirk doesn’t really offer me any kind of physical boost. Yeah, it’s useful for getting in contact with people, but since I can’t receive messages back, it’s kind of limited. In our line of work, I could basically be replaced with a megaphone. We’ve all received rescue training, and it’s not all reliant on our Quirks. I’m sure that there are ways you could make it work.”

Shiretoko blinked at Shino. Kota was thrown off himself; heroes had Quirks, he didn’t know of any that didn’t. He didn’t know anyone who didn’t have a Quirk, actually.

“Our Quirks make our work easier, but people have been doing rescue work long before Quirks existed.” Shino explained. “I’m not saying that it would be easy, but it is an option, and we would stand with you if it was what you chose to do.”

Shiretoko looked amazed at Shino, and towards Tsuchikawa and Chatora nodding at her.

“…I’ll think about it.”

By the time that Shiretoko and Shino were finally released from the hospital, Shiretoko had a lot of time to think about what Shino had suggested. Her response though deflated her teammates somewhat:

“Guys…I think that I’m just going to work in the agency office.” She announced to them outside of the hospital. The three other adults looked at her sadly, though perhaps not unexpectantly as Kota watched. Shino put her hand on Shiretoko’s shoulder.

“Tomoko, if this is what you want to do, we’re fine with it, but are you sure?”

Shiretoko smiled in response.

“Shino…I appreciate your faith in me, I really do…but if I go out in costume without a Quirk with you guys…I’m just going to hold you back more.” Just as the three other adults were about to protest, Shiretoko raised her hand to interrupt them; “I don’t just mean physically. You all went from rank #32 to #411. You need public support to do your job as heroes, and if I try to force myself to be a part of the team…I’m not sure if the public would support us.”

“If we need the support of bigots to be #32, then frankly, we’re better off where we are!” Chatora growled.

Shiretoko though just put her hand on Chatora’s shoulder and turned to the others.

“Guys…I appreciate you standing by me, but I’ve made my decision. I still want to help you, but I think that I will be better off working in the agency.”

The three sighed, upset, but embraced their friend nonetheless.

The weeks after Shino and Shiretoko returned from the hospital might have been some of the best times that Kota could remember. Though Shino had been dismissed from the hospital, she had not been cleared for hero work, and was told to take it easy. For just a little while, she was not Mandalay of the Wild Wild Pussycats, but just Sosaki Shino, Kota’s aunt, and he was finally ready to treat her that way.

It almost came as a surprise to Shino to find Kota being so much more considerate to her, wanting to actually spend time with her, but it was a welcome surprise nonetheless. With the doctor’s orders to take it easy, she and Kota spent the next few weeks relaxing in their home, watching movies, playing board and card games, or drawing. Kota was a little disturbed when his aunt almost cried when he asked her for help with his homework, but she was happy to help him work through his problems. Really, with how much he kept to himself at school, Shino was perhaps Kota’s first real friend.

It was with some regret and trepidation then that once Shino had her last appointment with her doctor and had her bandages removed that she sat down with Kota at their dinner table.

“Kota…the doctor’s cleared me to go back out into the field.”

Kota flinched at this, feeling the familiar pressure behind his eyes that for most kids would signal tears, but which he had since forced to drive his anger. Here though, he stopped himself from scowling or shouting at his aunt, but just barely.

“…Why, though?” he asked, pleading. “Why do you want to go back to doing this stuff?” He pointed at the scars on the right side of his aunt’s face, sheering down even past her hair line. “Just look at what happened to you!”

Shino absentmindedly ran a finger down her scars.

“Yes. I can see what happened to me. But this kind of thing could happen to other people, and I want to try to keep them from feeling the same pain.” Shino knelt down to Kota’s level and hugged him gently. “I know you’re scared. But I’m giving you the same promise that I gave to you back at the hospital; I will do everything that I can to make sure that I come home to you.”

Kota couldn’t take it anymore and turned away from his aunt, not wanting to see her, not wanting her to see him about to cry.

With his aunt back out in the field, Kota found himself either wandering around the woods again when he came home from school, or hanging out in the Pussycats agency office whenever she wasn’t at home. Normally, the office was either a hub of activity as the Pussycats handled office work; logging data on computers, checking on hero communications for ongoing emergencies, taking phone calls, or it was completely absent as the Pussycats went out into the field. Nowadays though, Shiretoko was a constant presence in the office, allowing the Pussycats to stay up to date with whatever new information or calls the team got, and to handle the backlog of paperwork.

Kota wasn’t on good terms with any of the Pussycats, but the possibility of his aunt’s death may have given him a new appreciation of the rest of her teammates as well, which made him a bit more personable. A bored child with nothing better to do, Kota often found himself in the agency office; drawing or watching TV as long as the Pussycats didn’t need it for anything. For her part, Shiretoko would throw him a kind word every now and then, managing to engage Kota in conversations as she worked. The work seemed to be good for her, as it was clear that she was antsy now that she was no longer a pro hero, but Kota could notice her occasional looks of frustration when she thought she was alone, and brief periods of time where she seemed more morose after the remaining three Pussycats left the agency to go handle some disaster.

One concerning behavior that Kota noticed from Shiretoko was a tendency to suddenly jerk her head around as if she was looking for something, growing more concerned until she blinked. She would then sigh and get back to work, deflated. At first, Kota thought that Shiretoko saw some threat that he didn’t, but after this happened a few too many times, he just went up and asked her.

“Shiretoko, why do you keep doing that? Looking around like that?”

Shiretoko looked at Kota in surprise, probably not realizing that anyone had noticed her, before frowning.

“Sorry Kota…sometimes I just forget that I don’t have my Quirk anymore.” She explained. “I’ll wonder for a moment where someone is and look for them, and it’s scary not seeing them on Search. It used to be that I could always know where your aunt and our teammates were, even if they were miles away, and now that I can’t see them…” she grimaced, embarrassed, “I…get worried that they’re not…there.”

Kota paled getting the implication. Shiretoko just shrugged.

“It’s just something I’m going to have to get used to. Getting upset about it isn’t going to change anything.”

Kota continued to stare at Shiretoko even after she got back to work, her original fear and anxiety seemingly gone. Before talking to her, Kota had thought that Shiretoko had been struggling with the loss of her Quirk and her old job, but now that she had put that thought into his head though, Kota wondered how she could seem so cheerful at all.

“Is something wrong, Kota?” Shiretoko asked, noticing him staring at her. Kota looked at his feet awkwardly.

“Are you…are you doing okay?” he asked.

Shiretoko looked at Kota for a moment and gave him a small smile.

“I think so. I won’t lie and say that I’m not upset about my Quirk getting stolen and not being a hero anymore, but everyone still makes me feel like I’m part of the team, and I’m glad that I’m still doing things that are helping people.”

Kota looked shyly up at Shiretoko, begrudgingly impressed. The former hero rubbed his head before explaining further.

“Maybe it’s boasting, but you have to be made of stronger stuff to be a Rescue Hero. We always do our best to save as many people as we can, but we learn early on that all you can do is make the most of whatever situation you’re in.”

Kota trembled at the comment.

“Do you mean…when people die?” he asked in a small voice.

Shiretoko recoiled for a moment, before frowning, perhaps recognizing how much of the darker side of the world Kota had come to see compared to the average kid his age.

“I’m afraid so, kid. We all dress up in silly costumes as a way to cheer people up, but dealing with death is part of the job.”

Kota frowned, remembering how Shino had something similar when thought of something.

“…Was that how it was for my parents too?”

Shiretoko closed her eyes and sighed.

“Yes. They were Rescue Heroes, so they had to deal with the same things your aunt and all of us do. Sometimes, things can get bad, kid. Sometimes, people can get hurt and we aren’t able to help them in time. It’s a tough job.”

Kota clenched his fists, frustrated at the reminder of how dangerous his aunt’s job was, how dangerous his parents’ jobs had been.

“…Why? Why do you guys do this? Why become heroes in the first place if it’s so awful?”

Shiretoko leaned back in her seat as she spoke to Kota

“It’s for different reasons. Some people do it for fame…Others do it because we just like seeing people happy and safe. Some do it because they were inspired by another hero, maybe one that saved them or someone that they knew.” Shiretoko paused for a moment, considering Kota again, as if she was wondering how much she should say, before her usually cheerful and soft features subtly hardened. “If you’re asking though why we keep doing this…a big part of it is just that we know what can happen if we don’t help.”

Kota paled at the implications. He remembered Muscular’s attack on the cabin. Ashido and Kaminari’s defeat of the villain, and Ashido’s care of his aunt. Shiretoko noticed Kota’s unease and patted his shoulder.

“It’s not all bad. It helps that we have fans who support us. It can be a lot of fun getting into the characters that we make for ourselves.” Shiretoko grinned. “You should have seen your aunt when we knew her in college; she was so shy! Going with our cat theme really brought her out of her shell. And…well…” Shiretoko’s smile warmed. “It’s nice to know that we’ve got each other. It really means a lot how your aunt and our friends have been supporting me. It makes me want to keep helping them, however I can.”

Kota withdrew from Shiretoko for a bit to think about what she had said.

A few weeks later, Kota came with the Pussycats to visit UA. He made sure to thank Ashido and Kaminari for what they did. They seemed to appreciate that, and as annoyed as Kota was to be around the hero students, it made him feel better that he had thanked them. The students meanwhile introduced Shiretoko to a friend of theirs’ from UA’s General Education Department who happened to be Quirkless. As excited as Midoriya was to meet the Pussycats, Shiretoko in particular seemed to be encouraged talking to him, learning about the ways that he had been supporting the hero students.

Shino and the other Pussycats weren’t saying anything around Kota, but he could tell that this day wasn’t going to be the same. The way that they looked at each other, the way that they would only talk to each other about work when they were out of earshot of Kota, he had known that something was coming. That was all but confirmed when Shino hugged Kota far longer than normal one afternoon before she, Chatora, and Tsuchikawa were about to get in a car to take care of hero work, but somewhere that they wouldn’t tell Kota.

“Kota…” Shinso said as she hugged Kota, “You take care of yourself, alright? Be good for Tomoko.”

Kota nodded numbly, the enormity of the situation starting to hit him. Shino took him by his shoulders, looking at him straight in the eyes.

“I promise you, just like I did back in the hospital, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that I come back home.”

“Aunt Shino…” Kota could barely speak out as his aunt stood up, got into the car with Chatora and Tsuchikawa, and drove off.

Shiretoko knew something about what was going on, but she was being extremely close-lipped about it. Whatever it was though, Kota could tell that it worried her, as she gave into her nervous tic of looking around in an attempt to use Search on her friends several times that evening.

Kota wouldn’t find out what had unnerved his aunt so much until the next day, when a news report came in from Jaku of a massive hero operation that seemed to involve heroes from across the country, fighting against a literal army of villains. At first, it seemed as if the heroes had an advantage, until the Jaku Hospital was suddenly destroyed in a massive wave of Decay, revealing the now-infamous figure of Shigaraki, the leader of the League of Villains, standing triumphant over the unconscious bodies of Ryukyu and Endeavor. Shigaraki was quickly engaged by the Provisional Hero Lemillion, but as this fight was going on, the League, or the Paranormal Liberation Front as they were now calling themselves in conjunction with the Meta Liberation Army, revealed another horrifying weapon; a massive monster called ‘Gigantomachia’ that proceeded to crush every hero and civilian in his way as he went on a rampage towards the city of Jaku.

Kota and Shiretoko could only watch in horror as they saw this destruction, knowing that Shino, Chatora, and Tsuchikawa were all there somewhere, and pray that they could get away. The destruction on display was like nothing they had ever seen, even with Shiretoko’s experience as a Rescue hero working in disaster zones in the midst of tsunamis, floods, and earthquakes.

Finally though, just as Gigantomachia reached Jaku, Lemillion released one final attack, obliterating Shigaraki and Gigantomachia, putting an end to the battle. Moments later, as the leaders of the PLF were announced to be captured, Shiretoko got a phone call.

“It’s Shino!” she yelped, putting her phone on speaker. “Shino, are you alright? How are Chatora and Tsuchikawa?”

“We’re…we’re okay.” Shino said in an exhausted, almost numb voice over the phone. Kota had never heard his aunt so shellshocked, but she was alive. “Kota…are you there?”

“I’m here, Aunt Shino!” Kota yelped over the phone, grabbing it in his hands.

“I…I’m okay…I just wanted to let you know that…It’s…It’s going to take a while for us to deal with this…but we’re going to be okay…”

Kota felt Shiretoko hug him, the two crying in relief.

When Shino was able to finally come home to the Pussycat agency with Chatora and Tsuchikawa, the first thing that she did was to wrap Kota in a crushing, almost desperate hug. Kota welcomed the gesture, though he was unnerved to feel his aunt trembling, and he wondered just how bad Jaku really got for her. She, Chatora, and Tsuchikawa all looked terrible; their costumes torn, their bodies bruised and dirty, and they were so exhausted that the only thing they could do was collapse on chairs in the agency. All of them looked as if they just wanted to sleep, but were too scared to do so. Shiretoko, who had been beside herself for being unable to help her teammates, immediately set about making some tea for her friends. The three were unable to speak for some time. Once they had drunk their tea, Tsuchikawa simply fell asleep on the spot. Chatora laid a blanket over her before finding a quiet corner to sit down in, his head in his hands. Shiretoko and Kota looked to Shino in fear, the only active Pussycat who looked as if she still had it together.

“…It was bad.” She admitted. Kota and Shiretoko sat down on either side of her, being there for her even in her silence.

The three pro heroes were barely able to push themselves any further the next day, which was made worse as they were still on call, the revelations of Dabi being the offspring of Endeavor as a result of a Quirk Marriage and Hawks’ assassination of Twice leading to people acting erratically, leading to more accidents and requiring that the Pussycats still be available to help. Things became more concerning when the news announced that Japan’s HPSC was now under investigation by the WHA and the UN.

Jaku and the revelations made by the villains were constantly being talked about on the news, with Hawks being condemned for killing Twice. Shino though had been frustrated by this, explaining to Kota that the PLF had intentionally misrepresented what had happened in that altercation, pointing out how many more people would have been hurt had Hawks not stopped Twice there. Kota wasn’t entirely sure how to take that, but he remembered Muscular. From what he knew, Ashido and Kaminari hadn’t killed Muscular, but from the way that villain had been screaming, it had been a close thing. Either way, Kota knew that if Muscular hadn’t been stopped there, he would have killed Kota and everyone else at the cabin, so he chose to trust his aunt’s word on this.

What had happened between Endeavor and Dabi was more difficult to understand though.

“Shino…what’s a Quirk marriage?” Kota finally brought himself to ask during one of the brief breaks that Shino had in her work. His aunt tensed at the question, but sighed.

“A Quirk Marriage is when someone forces someone else to marry them in the hopes that any child they have will inherit some stronger combination of the Quirks of their parents.”

Kota frowned, trying to understand this. Shino had explained to him that babies were born when a man and a woman loved each other, even if she didn’t go into many more details beyond promising that she would explain when he was older.

“So…Endeavor did that?” He asked.

Shino grimaced, clawing at the couch that she was sitting on but not answering immediately.

“I’m…not entirely sure.” She admitted. “I wasn’t there at the confrontation between Endeavor and Dabi, so when I first heard about it, I was more inclined not to believe the words of a villain, especially not one who had just killed a child.” Shino scowled bitterly before deflating. “But…with what the news has been saying, and what they’ve found out about the Todorokis…it sounds like it’s the truth.”

Kota scowled at this. He might not understand all the particulars about marriage, but he could tell enough from his aunts’ reactions and those of the people on the news that forcing someone into a marriage was pretty despicable. And all that just to force a child to become a hero? It was everything that he despised about the hero system.

“What’s going to happen to Endeavor then?”

Shino shook her head sadly.

“I don’t know, Kota. There are a lot of details to consider; how the marriage was instituted, how he treated his wife and children; Quirk marriages can be hard to prosecute, especially one so long ago.”

Kota glared at the television. It just went to show how dumb people could be about heroes, acting as if they could do no wrong. It reminded him of how that jerk Bakugou or that pervert Mineta acted at the Summer Camp, only no one really seemed to be that bothered, even when Mineta tried to peep on the girls as they were bathing. Now it seemed like everyone was freaking out about this.

Shino was able to force herself out of her own funk as she noticed Kota’s mood, patting him on the shoulder.

“It’s going to be alright, Kota. People know what he did now, and he’ll face consequences for it. At the very least, this means that his career as a hero is over.”

“And Hawks?” Kota pointed out, referencing the scandal he had gotten involved in.

“Well…” Shino looked with trepidation towards the news report talking about Hawks’ case at the time, before saying confidently, “What Hawks did is under investigation right now. Sometimes this sort of thing just happens. It’s not pretty, but I think that whatever was going on, Hawks did what he had to do. I think that once the investigators look into his circumstances, they’ll probably rule in Hawks’ favor.”

A few days later, after Hawks had been questioned by the UN, his actions were deemed as necessary for his duty just as Shino predicted. Unfortunately, what Kota could tell of the public’s opinion towards Hawks, a lot of people still saw him the way that the League painted him, calling him a murderer and an agent of the corrupt HPSC. Shino and the Pussycats sympathized with the No. 2 Hero, having lost so much of their own support after dealing with their own scandal of the Summer Camp attack, but even as tired as she was, Shino kept on reassuring Kota that things would settle down soon.

Except they didn’t. Each day, the news would report on a new finding of the UN and WHA’s investigations, revealing a new crime that the HPSC had done or some hidden scandal within Japan’s hero system; blackmail, bribery, something called ‘sexual harassment,’ and cover-ups that the HPSC did of several other heroes’ crimes. Each new revelation seemed to strike Shino and the other Pussycats with more horror. The worst revelation came though when Kota saw a picture of a woman with indigo and pink-streaked hair being talked about on the news. Kota had no idea who this woman was, but seeing her picture caused Shino and the other Pussycats to pale worse than any reaction he had seen them make before now; Shiretoko outright dropped a stack of papers when she listened to the report. The reporter talking about the woman seemed himself shellshocked, barely able to keep himself together as he spoke;

“In perhaps the most damning revelation made so far, the UN investigation into the HPSC has found that Tsutsumi Kaina, the former Lady Nagant, who had been incarcerated for killing a fellow hero in an argument, was in fact innocent of the crime. Investigators have found that Lady Nagant actually performed over 87 assassinations of villains and corrupt heroes under the orders of the previous HPSC president. The former president was not in fact killed in a car accident as the HPSC originally reported, but was instead killed by Tsutsumi when he threatened her in response to her desire to stop her work.”

“They…they did what?” Tsuchikawa gasped out loud.

“The HPSC…87 kills…” Chatora murmured.

“Is…is this true?” Shiretoko asked frantically. “It can’t be true, right?”

“…I think it is.” Shino said in response, staring numbly at the screen. “It really is.”

“We’ve…who have we been working for?” Chatora asked out loud. “We’ve never done assassinations…but do you think the HPSC had any other heroes do that?”

“Maybe…but those…those are villains…” Tsuchikawa attempted to reason. “Villains and corrupt heroes…so…”

“Ryuko.” Shino interrupted Tsuchikawa loud enough to get the attention of her teammates. “…Even if the people the HPSC ordered killed committed crimes…and I have to question what their justification would have been regardless…they still hid this all from us. If these were people that deserved death…why not just be transparent?”

Shino’s question silenced the team, until Shiretoko spoke up in a quiet voice that could nonetheless be heard by them all;

“…They wanted everyone to think that they were always in control. They wanted society to think that we are perfect and can do no wrong. They didn’t want anyone to know about the ugly side of the work that we do…”

The Wild Wild Pussycats were all staggered by the realization, unsure of how to comprehend this information and what it meant for them and their work. Kota had been watching the report from a hidden corner, and turned away.

He had been right. He had been right all along. Heroes, this whole system…it was just an ugly lie. Everyone he knew talked about how heroes were the good guys, that he should like them and be like them…but that wasn’t true. Had his parents been involved in anything like this? For a moment, he considered this possibility, but his rationality stamped down the idea; they were Rescue heroes, they wouldn’t have done crimes like this. He could remember them well enough to know that they cared about people. They cared enough to put their lives on the line against Muscular. But still…like Tsuchikawa pointed out…who else had the HPSC used for missions like this? Who else had gotten involved in something like what Endeavor had done?

The next day, the news showed an announcement from a WHA representative:

“The Japanese Hero Public Safety Commission has been shown to have misused its influence, covering up deficiencies in hero society to exude the veneer of justice. This façade has been maintained through systematic corruption and intimidation, acts which it was its duty to fight against. This corruption furthermore has been subtly spread to almost all aspects of life within Japan, from its top government to its education systems, encouraging a systematic prejudice against heteromorphs, individuals with Quirks deemed “villainous,” and individuals with weak or no Quirks, all the while granting license to those with powerful Quirks to act with impunity. The WHA has regretfully concluded that the Japanese HPSC is corrupt on a fundamental level, and cannot justify supporting such a regime. It is the decision of the World Heroes’ Association that Japan’s membership be suspended.”

This announcement floored the Pussycats as much as the revelation of Lady Nagant’s assassinations did.

“Japan’s WHA membership is…suspended?” Shiretoko repeated in a disbelieving voice.

“How can they just…how can every Japanese hero be blamed for what the HPSC did?!” Tsuchikawa shouted out loud.

“What else could the WHA do, though?” Chatora asked with his head bowed. “They don’t know just how much influence the HPSC has had over us, so they can’t afford to take the risk that we might be acting under their orders abroad…”

Kota could understand what was so bad about the reveal of Lady Nagant the previous day, but he didn’t understand why the Pussycats seemed to worked up about this announcement. He turned to Shino, who was sitting next to him.

“Aunt Shino, why is this such a big deal? You guys talked about the WHA before, but what exactly do they do?”

Shino tore her gaze away from the television to shakily explain to Kota:

“WHA membership lets heroes work in other countries. Without it…it means that Japanese heroes can’t operate outside of Japan.”

“That’s only part of the problem though.” Tsuchikawa interjected, scowling at the TV. “Rescinding our membership means that that WHA sees all Japanese heroes as inherently untrustworthy. They’re acting like we all knew about what the HPSC was doing!”

“I have a pen-pal in the U.S.” Shiretoko whimpered. “What’s she going to think of all of this?”

The last indignity came just a week later in an address given by Japan’s prime minister, just as the country had finished mourning nationwide for the heroes killed at Jaku.

“Though the UN investigation is still ongoing, the findings it has brought to light so far have been deemed requiring immediate response. Due to the decision of the WHA to withdraw membership from Japan, and the reveal of how badly our hero system has failed to uphold justice and order, it is the decision of myself and of Parliament to dissolve the HPSC, and to integrate our pro heroes into Japan’s police force and emergency services.”

Unlike earlier announcements which led to the Pussycats shouting and grumbling, now they were speechless. After a few minutes of watching reporters shout questions at the prime minister only to receive the same answers restating what he had already said, Shino shut the TV off. Tsuchikawa left the break room to be alone. Chatora walked outside, followed by the sound of heavy impacts against a boulder as he slammed his fists into it. Shino just lowered her head, staring at her lap. Shiretoko was just as shocked initially by the announcement, but perhaps because she was no longer a hero already, she recovered enough to sit next to Shino and put her hand on Shino’s shoulders. She couldn’t think of anything to say, but she tried to show that she was there.

Kota meanwhile was just as still as his aunt, even if he wasn’t as floored by the news, at least for the same reasons.

It was over. The hero system that had led to his Mom and Dad getting killed, that had nearly killed his Aunt Shino and had led to Shiretoko losing her Quirk, was done. It seemed that people had finally come to the same conclusion that he had made after the deaths of his parents, and realized how stupid this whole system was.

Seeing his aunt so distressed, Kota added his own comforting hand on her shoulder, but inwardly, perhaps almost vindictively, he felt satisfied. It was over.

Except it wasn’t.

The next morning, the Wild Wild Pussycats, or perhaps now the former Pussycats, gathered in their meeting room and sat at the table. Kota had been here before a few times, though Shino warned him not to interrupt when they were talking, and there were a few occasions when he wasn’t allowed in due to the Pussycats discussing confidential information. He sat on a chair separate from the table, watching as Shiretoko handed Shino, Chatora, and Tsuchikawa a packet of papers each before sitting down in her usual spot.

“This is the new job description that the Ministry of Law Enforcement has sent to all pro heroes.” Shino explained to Chatora and Tsuchikawa. “It’s pretty tentative for now, just what they were able to put together on such short notice, but for the time being, it’s their request that we agree to become employees of Japan’s regular Rescue services. For the most part, our duties would be the same, it’s just that our benefits would be different.” Shino frowned, taking a deep breath before continuing. “The ranking system has been abolished, obviously, though this means that our merchandising deals have also been dissolved. I’m not sure how we’re going to handle any repairs or replacements that we need to our support gear, but Tomoko plans to get in contact with our usual supplier, or find a new one if they are no longer available.” Shino laid her hands on the table and looked at Chatora and Tsuchikawa. “The short summary of all of this is that they want us to do the same work, but without the pay that we’ve been expecting. Right now, the Ministry wants to pay us the same as they would any Rescue worker, just with the added benefit of us being trained to use our Quirks.” Shino clasped her hands together and grimaced. “I can’t lie to you, this is going to be pretty rough. I think that if the amount of hate mail and angry phone calls we’ve been getting since Jaku is any indication…”

The three heroes looked uneasily towards Shiretoko, who sighed, being the one who had handled most of the abuse from people looking for someone to shout at in the midst of Jaku.

“We can expect people to be even more belligerent with us. Considering the state of the country, I think that it’s fair to expect that we are going to be working even more than usual, with less support from the public, for less pay, and less, if any acknowledgement for our work. I just want you two to understand this, and I wouldn’t blame you two if you don’t want to…”

“You’re staying, aren’t you?” Tsuchikawa interrupted with a rather blunt, rhetorical question and a grim smile. “I appreciate you laying it out for us Shino, and I’m not going to say that I’m looking forward to what we’ve got facing us, but I’m sticking with you.”

“Pro heroes or not, the Wild Wild Pussycats stick together!” Chatora roared.

Shino blinked, but smiled.

“Rock on with these sparkling gazes!” she said, sticking her hand out in the middle of the table.

“We’ve come to lend a paw and help!!!” Tsuchikawa said, placing her own hand on top of Shino’s.

“Coming out of nowhere…” Chatora rumbled in his deep voice, adding his hand to the huddle.

“Stingingly cute and catlike!” Shiretoko said, putting her own hand on top.

“Wild, Wild Pussycats!!!” The four former heroes shouted…only for a loud banging sound to jolt them out of their camaraderie. It took Shino only a moment to see Kota’s empty chair and the sound of the band, the door to the meeting room slamming shut.

Kota ran outside, frustrated tears in his eyes, stopping in the middle of the woods outside of the Pussycats’ Agency. One might wonder if they were going to call it that anymore, since the Pussycats and heroes as a whole were now finished, only it seemed as if Kota’s aunt and her friends didn’t get the message.

Kota only stopped when he felt a hand holding him back by his shoulder.

“Kota, what’s wrong?” Shino asked, having finally caught up with her nephew, only for Kota to round on her.

“Why are you doing this?!” he shouted.

“Doing what?” Shino asked in confusion.

“This!” He pointed to her costume. “Heroes are done now! Everyone realizes how dumb they were, but you’re still planning to go out and do the same stupid stuff! The way you talked about it makes it sound like it’s going to be even worse than before!”

Shino sighed in frustration.

“Kota…people still need help, I still need to…”

“No, you don’t!” Kota yelled, tears in his eyes. “You almost died, again at Jaku! Why do you have to do this? Why do you have to go and do the same stupid stuff my Mom and Dad did?!”

Shino waited and let Kota shout himself out. Once he was calm enough, Shino sighed.

“…You were right.” she said quietly, making Kota flinch as her aunt spoke in a bitter voice he had never heard from her before. “I admit it, you were right about the hero system. The way people saw us…the things that the HPSC did to make us look the way we did, only to abandon us if we couldn’t be used anymore.” Shino laid her hand over her face in frustration. “It used to be that people would cheer for us whenever we showed up, even if we weren’t there to help anyone. After Jaku though…with so many heroes dropping out, you’d think that people would be more grateful for the heroes who remain, but it feels like all we hear whenever people see us, even if we’re there to help them, is criticism for not stopping Gigantomachia, for letting things get so bad, accusing us of getting involved with criminal activity like Endeavor and Lady Nagant.” Shino gave a sardonic laugh. “And the thing is, we should have seen it sooner. It was rubbed in our faces after Tomoko had to retire and I got these scars on my face; we used to be ranked 32nd, only for us to drop out at #411.” Shino shook her head bitterly. “We’re grateful for the fans that we had who kept supporting us, but for us to drop almost four hundred ranks after we experienced such a loss? It really shows us just how much loyalty and gratitude people had for us.”

Shino fixed her own teary gaze on Kota.

“For the first time…I think that I really understand how you felt about how people talked to you after your parents died. People just took them for granted, acting as if that’s just part of being a hero without considering how it made you feel. It really feels as if people expect us to risk our lives without any real gratitude.”

Kota felt his heart sink as Shino’s words hit. However, his aunt put her hands on his shoulders.

“The thing is though, Kota…I’m doing this for the same reason I always have. Even if it’s dangerous, people still need help. I know that it’s going to be harder and more dangerous, but if anything, that just shows how much more we’re needed. As bad as things get, that doesn’t change that people are going to need help.”

“But why…?” Kota was about to cry, only for Shino to interrupt him.

“Kota…what would have happened to you if Ashido and Kaminari weren’t there at the Summer Camp? What would have happened to me?”

Kota’s breath was stopped in his throat as he choked on his answer.

“…I…I don’t want you to die…”

Shino just hugged Kota to her chest.

“Kota, I’ve told you before. I’ll always do my best to make sure that I come home to you.”

Kota didn’t hug Shino back, but he had enough of shouting at her, and he let her hold him as he cried, scared for her sake in a world that was going to get a lot harder.

Even with the bombshell that was the dissolution of the hero system, the news continued to report on more revealed scandals in the system, though most people had become numb to the new revelations in the light of the more immediate concerns of society falling apart. However, soon after there was one more story that got people’s attention, as Bakugou Katsuki gained infamy by killing 16 people after going on a week-long vigilante spree. The former Pussycats felt sick at this story, having lost so much already from their earlier efforts to help and protect the young man. Kota was startled at first by the news, but quietly realized that he wasn’t that surprised, remembering what the hero student was like at the Summer Camp. He kept it to himself though as he trudged along to another day at school.

School was a strange experience for Kota nowadays. While many schools across the country were closed to the dangers of children being out without the protection of heroes, Kota’s school was in a rural area where crime wasn’t as big of a concern. School had never been pleasant to him, as difficult as it could be for him to get along with other kids his age, especially those that seemed to have no interests beyond heroes; playing heroes, talking about heroes, or dreaming to become heroes themselves. It wasn’t something that Kota was ever interested in, knowing how heroism was just a stupid way for people to get themselves killed. Only now with all of the scandals of the HPSC revealed, everyone seemed to realize that. This revelation didn’t cheer Kota up as much as he might have thought in the past though.

In fact, nowadays, Kota’s fellow First Graders hardly spoke at all. Kota would walk into the classroom, and rather than seeing the other students loudly running around the room and talking to each other, making a din that required their teacher at least five minutes to settle down, they were all quiet, keeping to themselves, hunched over, nervously or bitterly looking at their classmates. Kota preferred the quiet, but this just felt unsettling.

The students were silent and sullen throughout most the day, though at some point Kota noticed that a drawing of Endeavor that had been hung up in the room had been torn to pieces. When the teacher noticed she merely sighed, picked up the pieces and threw them away without another word.

Kota remembered the previous year in kindergarten, after the Sports Festival. The other kids were excited to see all of the hero course students competing, and for a period they would see them as heroes the same as any pro. The kids would try to mimic moves that they saw the students do, like how Yukito would use his ‘Snow’ Quirk to try to create a big glacier like Todoroki did, or Kazuma would use her winged feet to try to zip around like Iida. Of course, many of the students had been excited by Bakugou’s matches, loving how loud and impressive his explosions were. Quite a few kids ended up with scuffed knees and elbows in their attempts to recreate his ‘Howitzer Impact.’ Considering how they had all likely heard about what Bakugou had done though, Kota knew that it wasn’t a coincidence that the kids who had scrapped their knees the most mimicking that attack were the ones who were the sullenest.

Normally during recess, Kota would find some corner of the playground to be alone, maybe go on the slides or the swing if there wasn’t anyone there to bother him. Now however, all of the usual places that he would go to keep to himself were occupied with kids that would scowl at him if he approached. No one was bugging him to play a game, but neither was anyone playing a game. It felt…wrong. Kota could understand why everyone was acting like this, upset as they were to find out about all of the awful stuff that the heroes did, but to actually see what it was like when people started thinking the way that he did…it actually made Kota wish that they would act normally, that there would be noise, people being happy. This though? Was this how he came off to everyone? Kota shuddered at the thought, not appreciating how this reminded him of how he felt when Shino was in the hospital, and he realized what a jerk he had been.

It was a relief to come home from school, but the only person present at the agency when Kota was dropped off was Shiretoko. Shino, Tsuchikawa, and Chatora were all still out working, apparently.

Shiretoko though didn’t seem any cheerier. As Kota came into the office, he overheard a conversation:

“Ma’am, unless you have an actual emergency to report, I must ask that you not call us again.”

“I have every right to let you know what failures you…!”

Shiretoko didn’t listen to the call any further and hung up. Her frustrated expression made it clear that this wasn’t the first time she had received a call like this that day. As Kota waited in the agency for Shino to come back, Shiretoko had to answer several more phone calls just like this.

Finally, the three former Pussycats returned to the agency, though not looking much better than they did from Jaku. They were filthy, their outfits torn, and Tsuchikawa was even sporting a black eye. Seeing her friends, Shiretoko closed the office down for the day and set about trying to put a meal together to help her friends recover.

“Hey, Aunt Shino…” Kota greeted his aunt in an attempt to be welcoming. Shino though could barely lift her head and smile.

“Hey, Kota.” She managed to get out. Though she was smiling, her behavior concerned Kota. Normally, Shino was so cheerful and friendly, wanting to know about how Kota’s day went even when he was scowling at her.

“Tough day?” Shiretoko asked, putting plates of food in front of her friends.

“I saw maybe one ambulance.” Tsuchikawa groaned as Shiretoko gave her an ice bag for her eye. “One. That was how much support we had for dealing with that landslide. We had one ambulance to deal with thirteen people injured. I ended up having to use my Earth Beasts to carry most of the wounded ten miles to the nearest town…”

“One ambulance?” Shiretoko repeated in disbelief. “Why so little?”

“Everywhere else was swamped.” Chatora explained, managing to make his limbs move enough to start eating. “That was all that could be spared at the time.”

Shiretoko looked in concern back at Tsuchikawa.

“…And your eye?”

Tsuchikawa laid back in her seat, not wanting to answer. Shino eventually did it for her.

“At the landslide, some of the people who were stuck in their cars got angry at us. Maybe they were being impatient that their commute was stopped, or maybe they were just angry at heroes. They started throwing things.”

Shiretoko glared in response, doing what she could to comfort her friend. Kota stood to the side, silently fuming himself. He could understand people being angry, but actually attacking his aunt and her friends? It was one thing for them to go out and do stuff that could get them killed, it was another for people to be so ungrateful.

The next few days unfortunately passed the same. The former Pussycats were overworked, just like every hero that tried to stay and help in the system, the country’s meager and underfunded police and rescue forces barely able to keep up with the demand. Of course, this led to people complaining even more, being even more uncooperative with the former heroes, and making their jobs even harder.

When Shiretoko had to retire from hero work, she was at first obviously frustrated, but Kota was impressed with how quickly she had managed to settle into her new life; finding pleasure even in simple office work as long as it was helping people. Now though, having to deal with another backlog of paperwork, along with sorting out the calls from people looking for someone to complain to from the actual emergency calls, it was clear that Shiretoko had her hands full. This was nothing compared to her friends that had to keep going out in the field though; taking the brunt of both handling so much work on their own and the disdain of the public. Each day Shino, Tsuchikawa, and Chatora came back to the agency physically and emotionally drained, wincing from straining themselves or even snapping at each other after having to deal with so many irritable, ungrateful people, if they came back during the day at all. Kota often found himself helping Shiretoko just trying to support her friends, making meals, preparing coffee, or getting blankets for them when they collapsed on the sofas. Shiretoko was clearly distressed to see her friends in such a state but being unable to help them further. Perhaps that was why Kota often overheard her talking to Midoriya from UA over the phone; wanting to talk to someone who might understand her situation.

With the Pussycats so busy, and people at school not being anyone that Kota would want to hang out with, he had unfortunately fallen back into his old habit of wandering through the woods on his own, oftentimes to his secret hideout on a small mountain overlooking the woods. He sat on a rock, uncaring that it was damp from an earlier rain, idly tossing rocks off the mountain.

Shino had kept her promise and had kept coming home, but Kota had to wonder each day how much longer she could take working like this.

“Why? Why are you doing this?” He asked out loud. “Why help people who are such jerks? They’re just making everything harder for you. Haven’t you done enough? Aren’t you worried that you’re going to turn out like Mom and Dad?” He scowled, thinking more about how in the past, Shino and the others would look forward to getting mail, sometimes reading it out loud to each other. Nowadays, whenever Shino read a letter, it just seemed to depress her before she had it shredded. “Those people don’t deserve your help. They’re just mean to you, they just…” Kota blinked, before deflating, remembering how he used to treat his aunt just as callously.

Kota sighed, wondering if he should go back to the agency by now, maybe see what that package for Shiretoko from UA was and why she seemed so excited about it. He wondered how the former hero students were doing at UA. So many of them had died; those two girls from a year ago, the Iida kid killed by Stain, Todoroki by Dabi. He wondered if any of them had wised up and left. There was also that Midoriya kid that Shiretoko liked to talk to. Maybe he sent that package? Kota was pretty sure that he wasn’t in the hero course, but what was he doing now? Maybe Midoriya had more of an idea of how Shiretoko was doing; his friends suddenly brought down to his level, but probably worried for their well-being.

Kota was bored by this point and decided to head back to the agency. The second that he jumped off of the rock though, he felt the ground beneath him shift. He heard a loud cracking noise, and then suddenly everything just collapsed.

“...ta?”
“Kot...?”

“Kota?”

“Kota, can you hear me?”

The sound of his aunt’s voice being projected into his head jolted Kota awake, only to make him feel an intense, crushing pressure on his body, but especially around his right leg, which he felt was being painfully pinned by something. He couldn’t see. There wasn’t any light, but he could feel dirt in his eyes. He couldn’t hear anything but Shino’s voice being projected through her Telepathy.

“Kota, if you can hear me, say something!”

“Shi…” Kota tried to whimper out, only to cry as speaking hurt too much. He realized what must have happened. The rain from earlier must have weakened the mountain on his secret base, and he had been caught in a landslide. He was buried alive right now.

Kota couldn’t call back to his Aunt. Her Telepathy only allowed her to project messages, not receive them.

“Aunt…Shino…”

He had been around the Pussycats long enough to have heard of some of the stories associated with people getting caught in landslides. Unless rescuers could get to them in time, the ones who got crushed quickly were lucky. Otherwise, they’d be stuck buried in dirt and mud, and either suffocate or starve.

He had never told anyone about his secret base. He had wandered off without telling anyone where he was going, like always. He was going to die here.

Kota couldn’t help it, he started to cry from fear and despair. He was going to die. He was going to be stuck here, and no one would be able to find him. Shiretoko didn’t have her Search anymore; there was no way to know where he was.

“Kota, wherever you are, we’re going to find you, okay?”

Shino’s voice echoed in Kota’s head. He clung to it, the only comfort he had, praying that somehow she’d find him.

“I promised you that I’d always do my best to come home to you, now you need to do the same, got it? You’ve got to be strong like your Mom and Dad!”

Kota whimpered, holding on to the memory of his Mom and Dad, unable to move or to do anything else.

“Tomoko’s got a drone up…she sees a heat signature on the mountain…the cave up there collapsed! Are you there, Kota?”

They…they found out where he was? Perhaps reflexively, his body refusing to let him give up, Kota writhed around, trying to do anything that might get someone’s attention. The only part of him that wasn’t trapped though was his left arm, which he just waved around in an empty space by his head that was giving him air.

“There’s movement…is that your arm? Kota! Just hang on, we’re coming!”

“Shino…” Kota cried in relief, praying that his aunt was going to get there in time. Shino continued to speak to him, reassuring him, just being a voice for him so that he wasn’t alone.

After the fact, Kota would realize what a comfort his aunt’s Quirk was for people in his circumstances. She continued to talk to him, to calm him down and to get his mind off of his circumstances and his fear. If she hadn’t been there, Kota knew that it would have felt like hours before he’d be rescued. Instead, she was able to help him keep stock of the situation; she and the other Pussycats reached him within a matter of minutes. Tsuchikawa cleared the dirt away, while Chatora was able to mold his body through the constrained space and safely pull Kota out, handing him over to Shino, who gently held him as they brought him to the hospital.

All things considered, Kota got off pretty lucky; just having a few bruises and a broken leg. What was more concerning to Kota was how his aunt was clinging to his bedside, sobbing.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I should have been there, I should have kept a closer eye on you…I haven’t been around…”

Shino’s friends did their best to console her, but it was only when Kota got her attention that she was able to look up.

“…Thank you for saving me, Aunt Shino.” He said, barely holding in his own whimper. He looked to the other three adults standing behind her, who all made time to check up on him, as if they saw him as part of their family. “Thank you all…I’m sorry I was so mean to you all…you saved me…”

“You should really thank Tomoko here!” Tsuchikawa said, patting Shiretoko on the back. “She’s the one who figured out how to make that drone from UA work so fast; she was able to see that the mountain had fallen apart from the sky and see your heat signature!”

“…Drone?” Kota repeated, wiping his eyes off. “What are you talking about?”

Oddly enough, the other former heroes seemed to be as confused as Kota was, looking to Shiretoko for an explanation.

“Tomoko, why did you have a drone sent from UA in the first place?” Chatora asked.

Shiretoko sighed, smiling.

“Well…I wanted to get a few chances to test this out first before I would say anything to you guys…but I want to go back into field work with you all.”

Shino finally stood up next to Kota’s bed.

“Well, you’ve definitely got a place in the team if you want it, but are you sure, Tomoko? You seemed so settled in your office work, do you really want to get back out there when it’s this bad?”

“Absolutely.” Shiretoko answered with utter resolution. “The fact that it’s this bad is why I want to go back out. We can hire new office staff, but I’m one of the few people in the country who has actually been trained in rescue work. I wasn’t as concerned about that back when I lost my Quirk, but there were other heroes back then. Now though?” Shiretoko shook her head in frustration. “No one’s applying to the rescue services. We need all the help we can get. That’s why I’ve got those drones from UA!” Shiretoko explained, brightening up. “I had been talking to Midoriya about ways that I might be able to replicate my Quirk, and he told me about a friend of his who dropped out of the hero course who used those drones with her gear. He pulled a few strings and had them sent to me to see if they would work!” The woman shrugged. “It’s not Search, but it’s close enough. Right now…I just really want to help you guys.”

The other three stared at Shiretoko for a moment before suddenly enveloping her in a hug.

“Tomoko, it’s great to have you back!” Shino cried.

The four friends laughed, but once they were satisfied that Kota was safe and happy, they left him alone with Shino.

“…I think I get it now.” Kota admitted as he was hanging his head. “I needed help. Even if I was mean to you. I needed a hero…or at least someone.”

Shino gave a watery chuckle.

“I guess we were both right and wrong about a few things, huh?”

Having a broken leg, Kota obviously wasn’t going to be active for a while. Shino ended up taking time off from her field work to watch over him. A while ago, this would have made Kota ecstatic. Now though he had a better idea of what this meant he was taking her away from, even if it was wearing her down.

Still, he made the most of their time together, talking, playing games, or just enjoying each other’s company. Shino took over what office duties she could do at home from Shiretoko as the former Ragdoll worked to find her niche in what rescue work was turning into.

On the day before Kota’s cast was due to come off, he asked his aunt a question as they were sitting in their living room:

“Aunt Shino, why did my Mom and Dad become heroes?”

Shino smiled wistfully.

“For both of them, it was All Might. Both of them were huge fans; it was actually what got them into a relationship in the first place, joining one of All Might’s fan clubs, talking about how they wanted to follow in his footsteps; one thing led to another, and they decided to partner up both as heroes and as husband and wife.” She smirked at Kota’s expression at her simplistic answer. “I know it doesn’t sound like much, but you really don’t understand what it was like before All Might, Kota. It felt like the whole country was spiraling out of control; villains caused disasters every day and no one was able to stop them.” Shino jerked a thumb over her shoulder outside the agency. “Even as bad as things can get out there, it was nothing like how it was before All Might. One day, there was this huge fire at a hospital, and everyone just assumed that it was going to be the worst disaster of the year, they had accepted that all those people were as good as dead. Suddenly though, this giant guy showed up laughing, and saved all of the people who we had written off for dead. All Might’s debut, seeing someone standing against incredible odds, it did something for us. It made us feel as if we could have hope, that not everything was as insurmountable as we thought it was. He got people like your Mom, Dad, and me thinking that we could do something, that we could make the world a better place. There was just something comforting, knowing that there was someone there for you when things got bad.”

“Why did everything get so bad again though?” Kota asked. “Why did the HPSC get so corrupt?”

Shino didn’t flinch away from the question, but sighed out of frustration .

“I’m not sure. I guess that somewhere along the line, we got something wrong about how we handled heroism. Maybe people just stopped seeing heroes as human. They started seeing them as something apart from them, instead of people who had their own needs and problems, and all of the problems that heroes dealt with as something apart from their daily lives, something that they didn’t need to think about.” Shino shook her head slowly. “I think that things are still going to be hard for a while. We need to make it so that people can trust that when there is trouble, someone is going to be there for them. But people also need to wake up and realize that we need to be there for others as well. It’s something we’re just going to have to figure out.”

Kot mulled over his aunt’s words, and slowly came to a conclusion that he hadn’t considered since his parents were alive.

Nine years later…
Perhaps it was inevitable, who his family was, what his aunt had done for him, and who had surrounded him for so much of his life, but Kota was at UA, ready to follow in the footsteps of his parents and his aunt. Granted, it wasn’t the hero program, and there was even talk of removing the Emergency Services course at UA in favor of making such courses college-based, but it was just talk for now, Kota was going to take advantage of this opportunity.

Not too long after Kota had been rescued from that landslide, Japan’s prime minister called for UN assistance, which, while was an extremely unpopular decision with the general public, was a huge relief for former heroes like the Pussycats working with the rescue services. With the arrival of the UN troops, Kota was finally able to see his aunt relaxed, and it no longer felt as if she and her teammates were close to breaking from stress.

The Pussycats ended up retiring their hero costumes for regular rescue fatigues. It was a bit of a somber moment for the four, putting aside their dresses, cat ears, and mittens, but the fact was that while alterations had been made to make the costumes rugged enough for their rescue work, they weren’t as practical as the basic uniforms other rescue workers wore. They didn’t get rid of them though; sometimes Kota would see the Pussycats wear them for parties, or just if they were feeling nostalgic (or in the case of Tsuchikawa, when she was flirting with the UN soldiers.)

Kota remembered the costumes that his parents wore as the Water Hose duo; he wondered if when he went into Fire and Rescue how similar his uniform would be. The thought made him smile.

“Excited?” Shino asked, getting Kota’s attention. He turned to his aunt and the other former Pussycats, who had taken the day off from their work to see him off on his first day at UA.

“I was thinking about Mom and Dad.”

The answer made Shino tear up and hug Kota…in front of all the other new students. Thankfully, Shiretoko, though laughing herself, gently pulled Shino off before she could kill Kota from embarrassment.

“They’d be so proud of you.” She said, brushing the side of his face.

To heck with it. Kota hugged his aunt back, prompting the other former Pussycats to join in. Finally, they released Kota, but before he could walk off, Shino stopped him one more time with a slightly concerned look.

“Kota…I know that it’s going to be a while before you’re involved in any actual rescue work…but could you promise me something? I trust that you’re going to do your best to help people, but please…promise me that you’ll do your best to come home safe.”

Kota nodded.

“I will.”

Chapter Text

Isle looked over the pool, watching multiple perspectives in the timeline leading to the same outcome. For many of these, he had been physically present in his duty as a Tartarus security guard, but he felt that it would be best to simply record these all at once.

He sighed, feeling no pleasure in knowing what was coming for each of these poor souls. Perhaps a while ago, he might have felt a grim satisfaction, believing that each of them was simply reaping the consequences of their actions, and that was undoubtedly true, but he was older and wiser now, and knew the true horror of what awaited them. Nonetheless, he had a job to do.

As a Watcher, Isle was allowed to grant an identity of sorts to the timeline under his purview. In his case, Isle had always leaned into his love of music. Sometimes the song he’d give wouldn’t fit the situation perfectly, but it was a way to organize the perspectives. For what he was watching now though, there was only really one song he could think of.

The situation, as grim as it was, called for an appropriate dignity, so Isle decided to simply play the song himself, pulling out an acoustic guitar from his collection as he looked once more over the various perspectives on display in the pool.

There was an undeniable tragedy to many of these souls. As abhorrent as their actions were, one could always have wondered how things would have been different if someone had helped them when they needed it, if the fox had shown up for any of them instead of Midoriya. Really, Isle could follow each of them and find a story worth telling, just as he had for so many others in this timeline. However, there was only so much tragedy he was willing to stomach.

Isle thought to himself as his claws hooked into the guitar’s strings. Sometimes, the most important lesson one could learn from a perspective was a reminder of everyone’s ultimate fate. Sometimes, the only thing a Watcher could do was to be a herald. He spoke out loud:

"And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, One of the four beasts saying, 'Come and see.' and I saw, and behold a white horse"

And Isle began to play, watching as each soul approached their end:

All For One hung half-dead restrained in the most secure room of Tartarus. When Lemillion destroyed Shigaraki, he had destroyed the main part of All For One’s soul, or what was left of it, that had been transferred into Shigaraki in an effort to control him. The backlash had not just damaged All For One’s brain, but had weakened the control he had over the Quirks he had stolen over the years to the point that their vestiges were now free to torment what was left of All For One’s conscience, a nightmare he could not wake up from. He had spent years in this state, his will broken from the death of not just his original Quirk, but that of One For All, and the remaining vestige of All For One’s brother Yoichi, all the while the vestiges of those he had wronged doing all they could to enact vengeance on what meager sliver remained of All For One’s soul.

Slowly though, the howling vestiges stopped tearing into All For One, as they realized his body was finally weakening to the point that it could no longer hold them. There was no point in remaining; no satisfaction could be gained from taking another pound of flesh from this withered husk, and they finally moved on.

All For One though felt fear, driving him to speak out loud for the first time in years since the conclusion of Jaku, yelling for the Quirks he had stolen to return to him, crying out to Yoichi to save him.

Though Isle felt no pleasure seeing this man, or what passed for a man as he was dying, he felt no pity for him either; the dragon could not help but to scoff at the villain’s goal of thwarting humanity. No true plan, no real motive beyond a vapid fantasy, not even a real name. Just greed and ego with no purpose. Styling himself as a demon lord as if he would be granted a position of authority amongst the demons out of respect to his great evil; clueless to how completely antithetical to life, existence, and thought hell was, how utterly incomprehensible and horrifying true demons were, and how pathetic they would see what he viewed as his ‘great evil.’

Dr. Garaki Kyudai, a man who had gone by many names over the years, was perhaps the most tragic in what he could have been. Granted an incredible mind and a singularly unique Quirk that doubled his lifespan, giving him the chance to benefit the world for literal ages, only for his initial research to be rejected. Ostracized from society, he gleefully offered his services to All For One, kidnapping and mutilating people in unspeakable ways for the benefit of a blatant evil.

As he was being led to the gallows though, Garaki still maintained his belief in the just cause of his work, pushing his research beyond the restraints he had once been constrained by, regardless of how cruel and utterly useless to humanity his work had ultimately become. In the guise of a Tartarus guard, Isle listened to the once respected doctor pontificate about the greatness of his work and the cause he had aspired to in serving All For One. While most guards felt rage at the man’s bragging, Isle felt only contempt.

Chisaki Kai, later known as Overhaul, had the unfortunate circumstance of growing up in in an orphanage. After reading of a theory of how Quirks first came to be from a virus carried by mice, he came to believe that Quirks were a disease. He was shown kindness though, taken in by the Boss of the Shie Hassaikai. Chisaki grew to idolize his surrogate father and the yakuza, but this was ultimately secondary to his ego and obsession to rid the world of Quirks. Though he would claim that everything he did was to bring honor to the yakuza and to the Boss who had taken him in, Chisaki repaid the Boss’ kindness to him by taking the granddaughter of the Boss and use her as a guinea pig to create a formula that could erase Quirks, in the process tormenting her endlessly, using his own Quirk to break apart and restore the innocent little girl to obtain his samples. Chisaki further showed his hypocrisy and arrogance by using his Quirk to force his surrogate father into a coma, planning to bring him back when the Shie Hassaikai was restored to its original glory and show what he had done for the Boss.

Isle had seen many different worlds, and had been exposed to many horrendous evils, but so few individuals had earned his hate more than Chisaki, so few had tempted Isle so sorely to interfere in the matters of a world to enact his own catharsis on the man; to use his power to trap Chisaki in a time loop of endless torment. There was simply no sentence that existed amongst humans that could come close to properly punishing a man that had tormented an innocent child the way he had. Isle restrained himself though, knowing that it was not his place. As Chisaki’s life went on, he would face the failure of his endeavors when he was beaten to a pulp by the hero Lemillion, his limbs removed by a vengeful League of Villains, and imprisoned for the rest of his life. After Jaku, doctors would manage to restore the old Boss of the Shie Hassaikai to health, who made a point to visit the armless Chisaki in Tartarus, and spell out how utterly disgusted he was by Chisaki’s actions, and his intention to take him to task for his disgrace until the wretched man would finally go to hell. Chisaki was forced to live with his dreams crushed, his body crippled, and the man that he had come to see as a father holding him in utter contempt.

What could Isle say about Shimura Tenko, or perhaps the name he had accepted of Shigaraki? Which name carried more pain? A young man whose descent into villainy was practically engineered by All For One and his abusive father? A boy conditioned to hate All Might, heroes, and everything that they stood for? Just how much agency did he have?

It was true; in his last moments, there was a crying child calling out for help from within Shigaraki just as there was in the prime timeline. Part of Isle hoped that the child would be shown mercy. On the other hand, around the child was a hateful, sadistic man who had murdered scores of people simply because they had hope, and would have gleefully murdered scores more had he not been stopped. He made his choices. Perhaps had he known that the downfall of hero society would have been brought about by his actions, he would have felt pleasure. However, Isle knew that there was no pleasure, not even the hope of a memory of pleasure awaiting Shigaraki.

Akaguro Chizome. What more could be said about him that Isle had not said to the man’s face? Disillusioned by the legitimately true problems of the hero system, only to become so embittered and zealous that he mutilated or murdered heroes that didn’t meet his standards, all in the name of ‘conviction.’ Despite being kept in a sterilized room, Akaguro inevitably contracted sepsis, his body too weakened to fight off the infection. One might be tempted to admire Akaguro’s determination to keep living, holding on for as long as he did, but Isle saw the man during this time; raving nonsensically and straining his body in an attempt to escape. A man with no limbs, no skin, unable to even eat on his own. What use was conviction then? What purpose did it serve? There was nothing to admire; a bitter man dying a pathetic death for a nonsensical purpose.

Todoroki Toya had been raised to be the Number One Hero by his egotistical father, only to be rejected when it turned out that his Quirk hurt him, to the point that Enji refused to even talk to him, despite Toya’s outright begging to do so. Driven to the point of destroying his own body to prove himself worthy of his father’s love and praise, he would have earned Isle’s sympathy had he not in turn become so driven by spite that he had attempted to murder his brother Shoto as a baby, scorned the love of his mother, murdered countless other people to bring shame to his father, and finally succeeded in murdering his even worse abused brother. While Shigaraki had been manipulated for almost his entire life, Toya had options available to put his spite aside, to accept the love of his other family members, to live a life different from a father he should have realized didn’t deserve his respect, but had chosen, time and time again, to be selfish, to be cruel, to harm others merely for his own ego. A pathetic child in the guise of a man, crying for his father’s attention.

So often when Isle observed Toga Himiko, he could not help but to shake his head in pity. So many timelines where someone, quite often Midoriya, had come to rescue her, but so many others where her path remained the same as the prime timeline: abused by her parents who repressed her to the point of completely breaking her, driving her into the League of Villains. However, as with Shigaraki, her development did not change the outcome of her actions, nor the twisted young woman she had grown up to become; condemning the heroes for killing her friend Bubaigawara and preventing her from living the life she wanted, all the while ignoring the scores of people she murdered, rendered friendless, and would have tormented for her to live her ‘normal’ life, to enact her ultimately selfish idea of ‘love.’ A sad girl, but one who like all her friends, had to deal with the consequences of her actions.

A year after her capture at the hands of Yaoyorozu Momo and the police, Toga was almost as braindead as All For One. She had spent months clawing at the walls of her prison cell, trying every trick she could think of to break out, but to no avail. Toga began to realize that there was no getting out; the guards were too careful around her, the walls of Tartarus too thick, and any friend that she might have had that could have broken her out was dead by this point.

Perhaps her actions were a conscious decision; weighing living in this steel tomb for what was left of her life, or going out on her terms. Maybe the iron supplements that the guards provided for her with her meals, which would have satisfied the needs of her Quirk when she was younger, simply didn’t feel equal to what she had come to see as the beautiful sight of red blood, a sight that, as she considered her wrists, she just wanted to see one more time.

Imasuji Goto, better known as Muscular. A man driven purely by sadism. Ultimately, nothing more. Imasuji had lived his life taking pleasure in the murders he committed, up until his encounter with Mina and Denki at the Summer Camp. The police and heroes did not tell the two this, but while their attack did not kill Imasuji, it did leave him both blind and experiencing horrible nerve damage. He was in so much agony that the once proud villain was begging to be put out of his misery. It took several months for that request to be granted, though Isle knew that he when he finally saw what awaited him on the other side, he’d be begging to go back to the pain he knew in Tartarus.

Bonito Akari, better known as Moonfish. This one, Isle didn’t really know that much about. He was, as he had told Aizawa, not omniscient, so there were certain details that eluded him about this timeline. What drove him to become who and what he was, a cannibal more animal than man? Was he like Toga, forced to repress an unusual urge until it overwhelmed him? Was he like Bubaigawara, struggling with a mental disorder in a society that was hostile to such conditions? Was he like Muscular, and simply chose to indulge in his sick desires and had no interest in being helped? Isle simply didn’t know. In the light of his crimes, perhaps the ‘why’ was inconsequential. Maybe that was how it was with all of those Isle was watching now. The end result was that Bonito had killed countless people, and needed to face the consequences of his actions.

Kemuri Gaku, known as Mustard for a span of one day. Isle did not need to look too far into Kemuri’s past to know him. He was at one time, enamored by heroes like every boy his age was. However, he was mocked and feared for his Gas Quirk and the limitations of it. He chose to latch onto the figure of Stain as an excuse to indulge in his spite and jealousy, to murder teenagers given the chance denied him, arguing that such lucky children were what was wrong with the world. His arrogance earned him a shattered jaw and a stint in juvenile hall.

Being fourteen at the time of his arrest, he had a good chance of being eventually released. Isle wondered what a life like that might have looked like; perhaps looking back on himself and realizing how pathetic he was, maybe getting a chance to rebuild his life. However, Kemuri’s pride was always greater than his sense, his arrogant attitude and his refusal to shut up quickly earning him enemies in juvie.

Sako Atsuhiro, better known as Mr. Compress, once a thief, but so casually sliding into the role of kidnapper and murderer, all to honor the legacy of his great, great, grandfather the Peerless Thief; because a Robin Hood-esque burglar would have loved to have been associated with a band of mass murdering terrorists. It was truly amazing to Isle the kinds of mental hoops people would jump through to equate their atrocities to their original motivations.

Sako likely saw himself as going out in a blaze of glory in his effort to allow the League of Villains to escape from Jaku by compressing part of his torso to escape the grasp of Best Jeanist, believing that he would forever cement his legacy as the heir of the Peerless Thief.

Yotsubashi Rikiya, otherwise known as ‘Re-Destro’ might have been one of the individuals happier with his life compared to the others that Isle was watching, having technically achieved the goal of his ancestor Destro to create a society where meta-abilities could be used freely. As people in Japan began to find ways to make a living off of their Quirks, to be able to use what they had been repressing their whole life, and possibly preventing further cases like what Toga and Twice from occurring as easily again, it could be argued that it proved that what Yotsubashi had wanted was ultimately good.

However, this was not what he really wanted, not what could truly satisfy him. As Re-Destro began to resort to more extreme methods of protest, of ‘liberation,’ the MLA had slowly attracted the more extreme members of society, morphing the MLA’s ideology to further extremes. A goal that had once been to allow for the free use of Quirks had slowly morphed into a veneration of Quirks, of seeing them as the mark of value in humanity; ‘Liberation’ now ironically coming to mean the domination of Quirks. Perhaps if Yotsubashi had truly been concerned for the allowance of free Quirk use as his priority, he wouldn’t have picked a fight with the League of Villains, a group that had no real bearing on their mission. Maybe he would have been more patient, allowing the MLA’s influence to spread through society and making their position more secure when they finally revealed themselves. There might have not even been a need for the prophesized ‘Meta-Liberation War,’ if he had simply allowed society to come to that conclusion on their own. But no, when his life was on the line in the face of the greater power of Shigaraki’s Quirk, he quickly capitulated. The stronger would lead, that was all. That was what Yotsubashi’s ideology had devolved into.

So, Yotsubashi sat his cell in Tartarus, legless from his fight with Shigaraki, his execution impending, feeling no true pleasure. Meta-abilities had not been truly ‘liberated’ as he had imagined. The obstacle of heroes had been removed, yes, but the rule of the leaders of government had not been changed, mostly unrelated to their meta-abilities. The only hope he had was that liberation might occur in the future, and people would come to accept the ways of Destro, but even that seemed unlikely. His actions had only further galled the general public against Destro, further demonizing him.

As Yotsubashi was wheeled towards the execution chamber, his attitude was the same as any zealot, believing that the sacrifices he had made for his ideal world had been worth it, his only disappointment being in having failed, and his confident hope that people would see things his way in the future.

Flect Turn, a zealot driven by the theory of a madman and his own self-hate. Stopped in his quest to commit a global genocide. Even in defeat, he maintained his fervor, looking on the Quirked guards leading him to his execution with contempt. At the same time, Nine, another zealot driven by his pride, similarly stopped, similarly maintaining his fervor. Both men despised what the other stood for, seeing themselves as martyrs to their cause, thinking of the lives that they destroyed in their pursuits as necessary sacrifices for better worlds, ones of course ruled by them. Who else would be worthy, to have the proper wisdom? History would vindicate them in the years to come, or so they claimed as their last words, believing that future generations would look on them as icons.

Kengen Hokori, the former HPSC President, had been in Tartarus for some time, mostly so that the authorities would have enough time to comb through all of the evidence at hand of the HPSC’s corruption. With the damage Skeptic had done to their network and the HPSC unable to cover their tracks, there was quite a bit to sort through; blackmail, embezzlement, coercion, assassination. The prosecution eventually concluded that Kengen had committed more crimes than almost any other villain alive beyond All For One and Dr. Garaki. Despite this, Kengen maintained her composure. Everything she had done had been for the sake of an orderly Japan. Control needed to be established; power needed to be in the right hands. Sacrifices had to be made; there were simply disparate elements in society that needed to be brought to heel or removed It wasn’t her fault that people hadn’t been able to handle the truth.

This sentiment particularly galled Isle as he listened to it, both as a guard and in his true form observing the events in the timeline. ‘Conviction’ was a word that he had come to hate when he first started watching over this world, but ‘sacrifice,’ or rather, the way that people used it, was one that particularly riled him long before then. True sacrifice was noble, selfless, loving even. The ‘sacrifice’ that Kengen used, in the same vein as Dr. Garaki, Re-Destro, and so many other villains, was only ever used in the context of sacrificing someone else, someone that they would see as ‘not mattering,’ completely subverting what sacrifice meant in the first place.

Of course, it was different when Kengen did it. She was in charge of the heroes. She was the ultimate force for good in the world. She decided what was good. Others, they were too naïve, too narrow-minded, too emotional to do what needed to be done. Another sentiment she shared in common with the other villains.

This was the attitude that Kengen maintained throughout her incarceration, claiming to still possess authority that Isle and the other guards needed to respect. She was able to reassume what she called her dignity as she was being escorted to her execution chambers, maintaining the same self-righteousness she had throughout her life.

Fourteen souls walking towards the end of their lives.

Akaguro dying of sepsis, his heart finally failing, the prison’s doctors unable to prevent the inevitable.

Sako, decompressing his abdomen to slip out of Best Jeanist’s bindings in an attempt to give his compatriots a chance to escape, the blood loss proving to be more than he expected. The once smug showman feels his skin get clammy, confused as to why his heart was beating so slowly.

Shimura Tenko, exhausted from his fight with Lemillion, allowing his sensei to take the reigns of his body, wondering what the hero is doing as he sinks into the ground. With his enhanced senses, he is able to perceive Lemillion blasting out of the earth in a beam of light, through Gigantomachia and through his chest, his last thoughts rage at the realization that he will not be able to destroy this world.

Kemuri not realizing that he is walking into a spot where the guards couldn’t see him, not realizing that a boy that he had insulted earlier and his friends are watching, hardly believing that Kemuri is so arrogant as to make such an obvious mistake, but making sure to take advantage of the opportunity. The young man that had felt strong and dangerous enough to join with a group of terrorists is caught off guard by a sock filled with batteries swinging into the same spot that he had been hit by Tetsutetsu, knocking him on the ground and giving the other boys the opening that they need to rain blows down on him. Desperate, Kemuri attempts to release his gas to defend himself, but his attackers have dawned face scarves to mitigate the effectiveness of his Quirk, and when a particularly brutal blow breaks one of Kemuri’s ribs and punctured his lung, his gas proves to be more dangerous to himself, causing him to choke to death on his own Quirk.

The guards assigned to watch over Toga realize that they have made a mistake in their patrols and rush to check on her, only to see her slumped against the wall, her bloody arm hanging limply by her side. Blood drips from her grinning, chesire-like smile, tears streaming down her face in either exaltation or sorrow.

After years of living a crippled life within the prison of Tartarus, subjected to the regular lambasting of his former Boss who expresses his shame for him, Chisaki finally breaks and swallows his tongue.

Isle and several other guards watch as All For One gives one final, desperate scream for his brother as his body crumples into dust.

Garaki, Todoroki, Kengen, Yotsubashi, Bonito, and Imasuji are led to the execution chambers of Tartarus on separate days. In the case of Nine, the UN rules that he is given a lethal injection specifically designed to bypass any resistances his Quirk possess, and Flect Turn is ruled to be gassed to death; the sheer scale of his crimes warranting the unusual method.

Imasuji is almost grateful to feel the noose around his neck. Bonito doesn’t seem to notice, too entranced by the smell of flesh around him. Toya likewise doesn’t seem to notice, but only because he is searching for his father among the witnesses to his death, desperately still seeking the same presence he always had, and as always ignoring his mother watching, who loves him even unto his death. Garaki, Kengen, Yotsubashi, Nine, and Flect Turn are all impassive as nooses are placed around their necks, or in the case of Nine and Flect Turn, strapped into a chair. Their final words are all affirmations of the nobility of their work.

Garaki, Kengen, Yotsubashi, Bonito, and Imasuji all drop, their necks snapping. Nine’s injection and Flect Turn’s gassing both pass by without complications; the two falling unconscious before their hearts stop beating.

Not a single soul that Isle watches show any remorse for the lives that they have destroyed in their last moments.

People have a lot of different reactions when they realize that they are about to die, when they start to think about what comes after.

Some are convinced of their innocence, claiming that they cannot be blamed for their actions with what has been done to them.

Some face it with defiance, ready to challenge whoever judges them, ready even to accept condemnation, believing that their conviction will remain even beyond death, that it still somehow gives a shield and a justification for their actions.

Some face it spitefully, as they did to life, believing that just as they faced everything with the same callous dismissal, they will do the same to whatever they face afterwards.

A few welcome hell as they are about to die, knowing and relishing their own depravity, believing that they will fit right in and exalt in their vision of what it will be like, rejecting what they see as the bland, constricting, hypocritical view of heaven.

So many different attitudes going in. Isle though, knows what they face. He knows that there is no pleasure that they could have enjoyed in life, no excuse that they could make, no goal they could have pursued, no ideal that they could have adhered to, that any soul would ever see as worth it the moment they realize what their actions have earned them.

"And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts, And I looked, and behold a pale horse, And his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him"

Isle chose not to dwell any further. He sighed, putting aside his guitar when he received a notice from a future version of himself, prompting him to look at a point roughly fifty years after the Battle of Jaku.

“Well, I’ll be…” Isle remarked.

Fifty years after the Battle of Jaku:

Katsuki lay in the prison hospital bed, dimly hearing the regular beeping of the heart monitor. The regularity of the beeping was something he had learned to be thankful for in recent days, after having a major heart attack that required him to be resuscitated by the prison staff…The fourth time this year.

His body, which he had taken such painstaking care to keep strong, was slowly withering away from age, the multiple fights he had gotten into over the years, and the heart issues he had been struggling with. He could hear the black-scaled doctor talking to two visitors just out of sight:

“We’re not certain how long we can keep his heart beating; sooner or later he’s going to have an attack he’s not going to be able to get up from. I’ll give you time to talk to him.”

Two people came into Katsuki’s line of view. The first was Ayane, the closest living relative that he had today now that their mother and father had died a few years prior. Her, and her son, though he had almost graduated college by this point. While it had taken him a while to admit it, Ayane had grown up to be a beautiful woman, as well as having the kind of world-wide success to the fashion business she had inherited from their parents that Bakugou knew he never would have been able to achieve as a hero.

It had been a long, difficult relationship for Ayane ever since she and Katsuki had first met, but two years afterwards he caved and asked to meet her again. It took him a long time to admit it, but the fact was that she was one of the few relationships he could have, something that he desperately craved. He had destroyed everything else before he had been arrested, and it wasn’t as if he was popular in prison either.

Standing next to Ayane was Midoriya Izuku. It was the first time Katsuki had seen him since UA. Despite being old enough that his green hair was graying and one of his grandsons was getting married, Midoriya actually looked to be in pretty good health. The contrast between Katsuki and Midoriya was not lost on the former.

It took Katsuki a while to understand why Midoriya always seemed to be in his thoughts. True, he had grown to view Midoriya with contempt, but for someone he had always looked down on, it was strange and frustrating that he could not help but to think about Midoriya, thinking about how he wanted to be a hero despite not having a Quirk, how he had held his hand out to Katsuki when he had tripped into that stream when they were kids, how he had gone to live a happy life without Katsuki. It took a very long time, but perhaps age, and the dawning realization that he was going to die gave Katsuki a different perspective: Midoriya was probably his only real friend. Sure, Katsuki had been popular before he went to UA, but even back then he knew that all those people were nothing but bootlickers, wanting to either earn his favor so that they could beat on others or so that Katsuki wouldn’t beat on them. Midoriya was someone who looked up to him like everyone else, sure, but he also was willing to call him out when he was doing something wrong; he actually wanted him to be better. Even Shi…Kirishima…his name was Kirishima, though he came close and was probably a good guy, wasn’t the friend that Katsuki needed. It was too bad that he had rejected that friend for so long, and it was only on his deathbed that he was finally willing to swallow his pride and ask for Midoriya to see him.

Katsuki spoke with Ayane first, repeating essentially what the doctor had already said. She hugged him with tears in her eyes. Tears. For him. An awful brother who had shamed and insulted her. Katsuki didn’t know if this was something unique to Ayane, their parents raising her differently, or Midoriya’s influence, but he couldn’t understand how he could be related to someone so good and kind. Finally, Ayane stepped back.

“…Midoriya.” Katsuki said, giving his old friend the benefit of his real name for the first time since they were toddlers.

“Bakugou.” Midoriya replied with a solemn nod. Katsuki didn’t realize how much it would hurt for Midoriya to not call him ‘Kacchan’ like he used to, but he knew that he didn’t have a right to ask that of him.

“…Thank you for coming.” He said.

“Of course.” Midoriya answered, sitting next to Katsuki’s bedside. He said nothing else, but what could he say? He had rightfully cut Katsuki out of his life for the past fifty-one years, and practically everything before that was Katsuki doing everything in his power to beat Midoriya down.

“…I’m sorry.” Katsuki choked out. “I’m sorry…for everything…”

It was so pathetic. Fifty years. It took fifty years for Katsuki to apologize for tormenting the only real friend he had ever had. Katsuki didn’t know what would be worse; if Midoriya even remembered anything, and Katsuki was so pathetic that he could only bring himself to apologize after the fact, or if he had hurt Midoriya so much that he still remembered the awful things he had done.

Midoriya sighed.

“I forgive you.” He answered. “What you did hurt, and I wish that you had been kinder to me, but I forgive you.”

There was so much Katsuki should say, so much to apologize for, so many regrets that he had, too much for him to speak about with what time he had left. Heck, Midoriya wasn’t even the one he had hurt the worst. He had hurt so many people over the years, he had murdered sixteen of them in his hubris. How could he even begin to try to make amends with the people he had hurt? There was so much he should have done, that he should have used his time for that he instead wasted ranting and raving after a fantasy.

“You were my friend.” He admitted. “Even if I wasn’t a friend to you.”

“I wish that we could have been friends.” Midoriya answered, hanging his head. “I wish that we could have graduated together, worked together, and seen each other’s families.”

Katsuki felt a burning sensation behind his eyes.

“Do you…have any pictures of your family?” he asked.

Midoriya smiled and pulled out his phone, flipping to his photo collection. He showed a picture of his wife; a tall heteromorph woman with teal, fox-like traits. His children as babies, elementary school students, UA students, coworkers with Midoriya (his daughter apparently joining him in his analyst work while his son working under the Dupli-Arms student Katsuki faintly remembered). His daughter at her wedding, his son at his, and pictures of their own children.

For a moment, Katsuki let himself imagine still being a part of Midoriya’s life. Working together as police. Perhaps Katsuki could have gotten married and had his own kids. He’d have introduced them to Midoriya’s children like his parents had.

Katsuki couldn’t help it. What pride did he have left worth pretending that he wasn’t in pain?

“…I’m dying, Izuku…I’m scared…” he whimpered, tears trickling from his eyes.

Midoriya didn’t seem surprised to see Katsuki finally showing weakness, likely accepting that he was as fragile as any other human being.

Katsuki remembered slipping off of the log as a child into the creek. He remembered Midoriya running in after him, offering his hand to help him up, concerned that he was hurt.

Midoriya was holding his hand out to Katsuki now. Katsuki took it.

“It’s alright.” Midoriya told him. “I’m here for you, Kacchan.”

Chapter Text

When Mirai was a child, life was chaotic. Villains ran rampant with no one able to stand in their way, and all of society suffered.

There was no guarantee that the trains would arrive on time, that the grocery store would be open, that he would have school that day, or that the train station, grocery store, or school would even be there, along with any of his friends or neighbors. Sometimes, it felt just as likely that the train station, grocery store, school, or his neighbor would become a casualty in some villain attack.

There were heroes, of course, at least a few of them, but never enough, and hardly ever good enough to handle the threats that they fought. The ones that Mirai knew about were either always inevitably overwhelmed not too long into their careers, would flee when confronted by a threat too intimidating for them, or were in league with the criminals that they ostentatiously fought against; taking bribes to look the other way from their activities or outright participate in them.

There was never any certainty, any promise that life would be the same the next day. In Mirai’s elementary school, practically everyone had lost a sibling, a parent, or their own life, and if you hadn’t, it was accepted that it was only a matter of time until you did.

Mirai’s Quirk Foresight didn’t help matters. The ability to see into the future, even if only once a day, seemed like a godsend, a way to prepare for whatever bad thing could happen, but it didn’t help when bad things were all that Mirai ever saw, and no matter what he did, they would always occur. No warning given to whoever’s future he looked into, even when he used his Quirk on himself by looking at his reflection, could change what he saw.

This may have contributed to why Mirai was so neat and tidy compared to other children his age.

Mirai’s bed is made, the covers sticking over the mattress by 3 inches on either side.

Mirai’s toothbrush is placed in the fourth slot of the stand, the one most directly facing the sink.

Mirai has three pens on his desk; black, red, and blue, three inches away from the edge.

Mirai learned that people who learned about his habits would mock him for them, so he kept them to himself. Perhaps it was symptomatic of obsessive compulsive disorder, but it was a way for him to find peace in the midst of the chaos that went on in the rest of society. It was his life, his world, and a way to make sure that things were under his control at least in his own room.

Except, the outside intruded on his world.

One day, he came home to see that his apartment had been crushed in a giant villain attack. His parents had been out at the time, thankfully, but his home, where he could at least pretend he was safe, was gone. They had to find a room in a hotel. Mirai wrapped his arms around himself, rocking on the edge of the bed, not even bothering to correct the sheets, or the position of the pens on the table, what was the point? Nothing was certain. He and his family could just as well die in the next minute.

Mirai’s father tried to steady him, but he couldn’t hear what was being said. Eventually, the man sighed, turning on the television in an effort to distract Mirai.

It didn’t help. There had been another villain attack, one that set an entire hospital aflame.

Even the sick and the dying weren’t safe, Mirai thought to himself bitterly. There was absolutely no respite. No hope for anyone.

Suddenly though, a figure leapt into the blaze. For a moment, Mirai’s brain stopped. Was that man insane? Flames could be seen flowing out of every window in the building. To go in there was suicide. However, in the next second, the figure leapt out, supporting several hurt or unconscious people at once.

And he was laughing. As if there was nothing to be afraid of.

“It’s fine now. Why? Because I am here!”

The man placed the people down, and leapt right back into the building. He came out with more people, and leapt straight back in. In a matter of minutes, this man, this hero, had saved over a hundred people. All of the spectators stood unbelieving towards the hero who identified himself as ‘All Might.’ They looked to him with an expression that Mirai hadn’t seen on anyone, but knew intuitively to be hope.

For just a moment, Mirai forgot about his destroyed world. He looked to All Might, and believed that things really were going to be fine.

The Sasakis moved into a new home, and Mirai continued to keep abreast of the exploits of All Might. In a matter of days, he was hardly the only one. It seemed that almost overnight, All Might was cutting crime in half, stopping villains in their tracks, and rescuing people from disasters that most would have assumed meant the doom of all involved. His power was practically limitless, his mere presence brought hope to the innocent and dread to villains.

For so long, it felt to everyone that evil and chaos was an insurmountable force that would eventually crush everyone. Now, the insurmountable force was on their side, and those that took advantage of the innocent were the ones who were being crushed. When Mirai used Foresight, his predictions stopped being constant omens of disaster, and when they did bode for ill, Mirai could still believe that things were going to be alright, that there was a point in preparing for these events. Mirai found a tranquility that he could once only find a sliver of in his OCD practices by taking on a new hobby of collecting All Might merchandise. Each new action figure, poster, trading card, DVD, bed cover, alarm clock, and wrist watch made Mirai feel more as if he was in his inner sanctum when he was in his room; the temple to his savior.

As Mirai watched as All Might single-handedly brought peace to Japan, he felt hope. In addition to this though, he felt fervor. He wanted to be a hero like All Might. No, he wanted to work with All Might, to be a part of the hero’s efforts to bring peace to the country.

It wasn’t quite that simple, though. There was the first obstacle of becoming a hero himself, and so Mirai relentlessly trained his body and mind, honing himself into someone who could become a hero despite the once-a-day limitations of his Quirk. That was the easy part though; Mirai was nothing if not meticulous, and fitting a workout and combat regimen into his day was simple, allowing him to quickly develop gains to his fitness. While his Quirk was quite limited, his discipline put him on a level above his peers who tended to rely on more powerful Quirks, allowing him to gain entry to a hero school and to continue to excel. The hard part was convincing All Might to take him on as a partner.

His first attempt was when he applied as an intern for All Might’s hero agency, only to receive a respectful, but firm negative, as the hero explained that he was not interested in taking on any partners. Frustrating, but Mirai was pragmatic enough to realize that it was a long shot to expect the top hero in the world to take on an intern while he was still in high school. And besides, he got a response from All Might! He added it to his ever-growing collection of memorabilia dedicated to the hero. Mirai was nonetheless determined, and continued to send applications at every available opportunity. When that didn’t work, he showed up at the agency in person, waiting for hours for the chance to talk to All Might in person. The hero was surprised, but gave him the same polite, albeit firm response he had given in paper.

Mirai though knew what he wanted and would not budge. He continued to apply, to find places that he could talk to All Might, to plead his case, challenging him to give him a shot. Eventually, perhaps simply annoyed and wanting Mirai to stop pestering him, All Might gave him a chance. He led Mirai to a room filled with filing cabinets, explaining that with all of the time he spent as a hero, he was behind on his paperwork. He challenged Mirai to both fill out all of the paperwork and to use the paper trail to locate a particular villain that he had been struggling with. Considering the weight of the work, All Might likely didn’t expect much. Mirai however was not intimidated, only grateful to finally be given a chance to prove himself. A few days later, he had sorted through the entire room, and had narrowed down the identity, address, associates, likely targets for further crimes, and favorite restaurants of the villain ‘Oilslick.’

Mirai’s efforts impressed All Might, who at that moment, fulfilled the dream that Mirai had had since he had first seen All Might’s debut, and made him his sidekick.

At first, despite being impressed, All Might clearly kept Mirai, or as he was then known as, ‘Sir Nighteye,’ at arm’s length, continuing to give him cases like Oilslick’s to sort through. As time went on though, and Mirai’s work continued to impress All Might, the hero began to open up to his sidekick. He listened to Mirai, took his advice on where a villain would likely show up, and improved his already prestigious record. The hero’s trust grew, eventually convincing All Might to divulge his real name; Yagi Toshinori. He shared his history, having been trained by the hero Titania, or rather Shimura Nana. He introduced Mirai to his mentor’s friends Gran Torino, Recovery Girl, and even the enigmatic Nezu. Their partnership grew into something that Mirai had dreamed of but never expected, and All Might became Mirai’s greatest friend. Soon after though, All Might shared his deepest secret; his Quirk, One For All, and its origin with the villain All For One. Having grown to trust Mirai’s intelligence and dedication, All Might asked for Mirai’s help in finally putting an end to the villain who had plagued Japan since the Dawn of Quirks.

Those were the best days of Mirai’s life; he was working with his idol to bring peace and order to a chaotic society. They were ushering in a new era of heroes, and All For One’s mysterious influence was waning over the country in the light of All Might’s strength. Their ultimate victory was assured.

However, after years of sifting through data, All Might and Mirai were able to track All For One down, only for All Might to flounder for the first time that Mirai had ever seen him. He had underestimated just how powerful and vicious All Might’s nemesis was, having always been confident in his hero’s invincibility. Mirai couldn’t believe that All Might was only a mortal man.

In the end, All Might finally killed that disgusting abomination; reducing his brains to pulp, but at the cost of being grievously injured. A hole blown in his side, Mirai wondered if All Might would live at all. His idol, his hero, his friend, the indestructible herald of an Era of Peace, lying on a white hospital bed, barely breathing as Recovery Girl desperately operated.

After hours of surgery, Recovery Girl announced that All Might would live, but her prognosis prevented Mirai from celebrating. All Might had lost his stomach and one of his lungs, and the damage had made it so that All Might wouldn’t be able to use One For All unimpeded; he was limited in how much he could use it each day. She estimated that once he recovered, he would be able to use it six hours a day, and that limit would drop as time went on.

Mirai despaired; this couldn’t be. After all of their work, all of their effort to create an Era of Peace, and just as they were on the cusp of making it permanent, just as they were about to remove that final obstacle…that victory was snatched from them.

Mirai was allowed to see All Might, but his friend was too weak to register him at first.

This wasn’t right. The Symbol of Peace, Mirai’s friend, couldn’t be reduced to this. Their dreams couldn’t be reduced to this.

All Might would recover. He’d maintain hope. He had to.

He had to.

Wouldn’t he?

But what if he didn’t?

All Might’s eyes were only half-open, probably not aware of Mirai’s presence.

Mirai had learned a long time ago that people didn’t like his Quirk. The ability to see into the future, even to the limited extent that Mirai could was useful, but it could also be traumatic. No one liked to be told that an unavoidable trauma was heading their way. They would always fight it, refuse to believe Mirai’s predictions, determined to prove him wrong, only for what they feared to inevitably befall them, and with no one else to blame, they would curse Mirai. So, Mirai would only ever use Foresight on people who gave their permission, or on criminals.

But he had to know.

Mirai placed his hand on the shoulder of the semi-conscious All Might, locked eyes, and activated his Quirk, his pupils turning purple.

A villain, standing over All Might, delivering a final blow to him, giving the crippled hero a gruesome end.

Frantic, Mirai took in as many details as he could. The vision would occur between six and seven years. He could not tell where this was taking place, just that it was surrounded by rubble, with a white and black fox scampering among the ruins; irrelevant information.

All Might was going to die. There was no stopping it. Mirai felt the earth open up beneath him.

“M…Mirai?” All Might’s eyes blearily opened.

Mirai stared down at the hero. He couldn’t afford to be emotional now. He knew what the future held. As Recovery Girl explained to All Might the extent of his injuries, Mirai did all he could to take control of himself.

If there was ever a time for him to try to change destiny, it was now, but even if that was still impossible, preparations needed to be made. All Might needed to find a successor for One For All, someone who could carry on his legacy and maintain his vision for peace.

However, it quickly became apparent to Mirai that All Might didn’t see things this way, pushing himself out of bed, only stopping at Mirai and Recovery Girl’s desperate pleas. Despite his injuries, All Might was determined to continue his work, even if it killed him. As much as the idea repulsed him, Mirai begged All Might to retire. Even if he as a hero could not persist, his legend could. All Might, as admirable and foolish as ever, refused to abandon the world. Nezu, who arrived after Mirai had used Foresight, thankfully agreed with Mirai, pointing out that he needed to pass One For All to a new holder. He offered to help; giving All Might a chance to view possible successors at UA. Mirai begged All Might to listen to reason and go with Nezu’s suggestion.

Again, All Might refused, pointing out how vulnerable society would be if the Symbol of Peace retired in his efforts to find such a successor, that even if All For One was gone, more villains would take advantage of his absence.

No matter what arguments they made, All Might refused to see sense. Desperate, Mirai made it clear to his partner that if he went on this path, he would not support him. Surely this would work? Surely All Might would realize what an asset he’d lose this way on top of everything else? Yes, it was a tough ultimatum to deliver on top of All Might’s existing condition, but this was the only way that All Might’s legacy could persist!

However, when All Might looked at Mirai, his expression was not intimidated or shocked, but one of realization.

“You used your Quirk on me, didn’t you, Mirai?”

Mirai was cowed, but only for a moment. He backpedaled, trying to plead again, to beg All Might to trust in the other heroes that had been inspired in the wake of the Symbol of Peace to ward off the villains while he searched for a successor. All Might though became irritable, frustrated that Mirai had used his Quirk on him without consent. Desperate, Mirai blurted out what he saw, of All Might being killed by a villain in six or seven years, hoping that confronted with the certainty of death, All Might would finally agree with them. However, furious at Mirai’s breach of trust, All Might picked himself up from the bed and walked away.

“How long that time would be until I could find a successor, it would be a period of fear. I cannot abandon people who would need my help during that time.” All Might spoke without looking at Mirai, hobbling away.

Mirai was distressed at All Might’s refusal to see reason. He did not want to see his friend die. When he had regained control of his emotions though, he attempted to console himself with the hope that with time, All Might would realize how foolish he was being and they would be able to talk again.

That fight was five years ago.

All Might had dissolved his partnership with Mirai, forcing him to go independent from his friend and set up the Nighteye Agency. It was not ideal, but Mirai continued his work to the best of his abilities, managing to maintain the respect he had accrued as All Might’s only sidekick. In addition to his duties as a hero though, Mirai dedicated himself to trying to find a worthy successor to All Might’s power, hoping that if he could only show the Symbol of Peace someone worthy, that would be impetus enough for the hero to realize that he could pass the torch of One For All on without fearing for society’s fate.

The search was more arduous than Mirai had been prepared for, though it should have been expected. He was looking for someone with the same heroic spirit, the same presence, the ability to make people feel safe, and the power to always come out victorious that All Might possessed. Unfortunately, such a figure was rare indeed. Oh, a few individuals caught Mirai’s attention; heroes and hero students who excelled over others, who seemed to be able to inspire others, but for five years of searching, every single individual that Mirai considered proved themselves unworthy in some manner. They were vain, empty-headed, boastful, used their image as a means of covering up for the greed or lechery, or simply incompetent in the face of real adversity.

Each year that passed added to Mirai’s fear of his vision of All Might’s death. He still hadn’t found a worthy successor, and All Might still hadn’t contacted him. Time was running out. By the timeline established by Mirai’s vision, All Might was going to die either the next year or the year after.

Mirai forced himself to stay calm though as he continued the same measures he had always taken in this search, leaving the operation of his agency to Centipeder and Bubble Girl (after giving the younger sidekick a session in the Tickle Machine to make sure she understood the importance of humor in hero work) while he watched the UA Sports Festival. As the premier hero school, one with the advantage of being run by one of the few beings in the world who knew about One For All, the students’ efforts to gain the attention of pro heroes for internships was also the ideal means through which Mirai scouted for possible successors to All Might’s Quirk. In five years, Mirai had not found any of them worthy, but if he was going to find anyone worthy of the Symbol of Peace’s mantle, it would be in the Symbol’s alumni.

The First Year Festival showed no one worthy of mention; simply a bunch of children meandering around with Quirks that they barely understood, albeit puffed up like peacocks and expecting the world to kiss their feet. Were Mirai not trying to be thorough, he would have simply skipped the Second Year Festival in favor the Third Years so as to locate students who showed actual discipline and properly developed power. However, as the Festival began, Mirai’s attention was grabbed by a student from 2-B.

There was a young man standing at the front of the crowd of students as they were about to force their way through the narrow tunnel. He was taller than the others, with a blonde head of hair, beady blue eyes, and a muscular physique. So much of his appearance was similar to that of All Might’s, Mirai noted as he focused his attention on the young man. Sure, there were a few details that were different, but more than anything else that the hero student had in common with the Symbol of Peace was the presence he seemed to possess; his constant, hopeful grin, the way he patted his more timid, elven-eared classmate on the back in an attempt to cheer him up. The energy he gave off seemed infectious, as he said something to his other classmates and eliciting a chuckle. Whoever this boy was, he seemed to recognize the value of humor.

Perhaps Mirai should have been looking at the other students in addition to the one that caught his attention, but he had the Festivals recorded; he could look back on them later. For now, he chose to focus on this young man.

The instant the bell rang, the young man burst out of the starting line with a grace that befitted his muscular form. Mirai noted though that the boy wasn’t using a Quirk in a noticeable way just yet; perhaps it didn’t offer a physical boost or was more subtle. This was a bit of a mark against the young man; it would have been better if he had something that could potentially ease him into One For All. Still, Mirai kept his focus on the young man. To his credit, even if his Quirk didn’t offer any obvious physical benefit, the young man was strong and agile enough that he was able to bob and weave through the obstacles ahead of many students that did possess such enhancements.

It wasn’t until a later part of the Festival in which the young man, announced to be named ‘Togata Mirio,’ found himself in combat with another student that Mirai was able to see what his Quirk was. Togata’s opponent sprayed a jet of concrete at him, and despite his best efforts to dodge, found his foot snagged on the sticky material. Just as the Concrete Quirk user was about to seal his victory, Togata suddenly vanished…leaving behind his clothes?

The next instant, Togata seemed to pop back into existence, launching himself through the air…over the head of his opponent. To the untrained eye, it would have looked as if the young man had teleported, but in the brief period of events that transpired, Mirai was able to see that when Togata appeared to have vanished, he had instead been sinking into the ground, and in the moment that he had reappeared, he had blasted directly out of the ground, just not in the direction of his desired target…and naked. Not teleportation…phasing of some kind…the Quirk though only seemed to affect Togata, and not whatever he was touching, including his own clothes. A fascinating, albeit obviously finicky Quirk, but one that Togata wasn’t able to control, as the referee Ms. Midnight was forced to disqualify Togata for indecent exposure. Mirai had to close his eyes in frustration; Togata seemed to be so full of promise, only for him to humiliate himself like that…

However, Togata did not seem to be mortified as one would expect, merely crouching to hide his private parts while he laughed good-naturedly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment while his opponent handed his pants back to him. Once he was properly clothed, Togata gave his opponent the same confident smile, offering his hand in congratulations. Despite being thrown off by Togata’s mishap, the Concrete Quirk user seemed to be unable to resist the urge to return Togata’s gesture, even laughing at whatever Togata was saying to him.

Even though Togata had humiliated himself, he kept the same smile, the same energy which even his opponents couldn’t seem to resist.

A constant smile.

The ability to spread hope and persevere no matter the situation.

This was it. This was the essence of the Symbol of Peace. This was the one who would carry on All Might’s legacy!

Mirai had seen enough. He immediately set about writing an internship offer. He was not going to lose this opportunity.

Togata Mirio stood before Mirai in his office, subjected to a gaze that had reduced grown men to sweating, nervous husks. In a bizarre way, despite being surrounded by All Might merchandise, the exacting angles Mirai had arranged everything apparently had an intimidating effect all on its own; everything was perfectly arranged in Mirai’s world, and woe to him that did so much as tilt a poster frame. Togata though showed no signs of being intimidated, only keeping his same cheerful grin, excited and grateful to have been given an internship offer from such a prestigious hero.

Good. Confident and hopeful no matter the circumstance. More evidence to Mirai that he had made the right choice.

“Why do you want to be a hero?” he asked, betraying none of his excitement. Togata happily spoke up:

“When I was younger, I fell into a river. I was just goofing off, having fun by the shore, but it had rained the day before, so the river was a lot deeper and quicker than usual, not to mention how slippery the edge of the river was, so I slipped and fell in.” Togata’s expression became pensive, though his smile only dropped a small amount as he continued to recount his story. “The thing is, a few of my friends were there, but no one helped me. Maybe they were scared, maybe they thought that I didn’t need the help, but I was in pretty big trouble, and I couldn’t keep my head above the water.” Suddenly, Togata’s expression changed, and his already blinding smile became even bigger, his blue eyes shimmering as he spoke. “But then, a hero named ‘Mayfly’ saved me! She pulled me out of the river, checked up on me, made sure I was alright, and talked to me.” Togata sighed wistfully. “I think that last bit was what really helped me; there were a lot of people who could have helped me; she could have just pulled me out of that river, and I would be fine. The thing is though, even after I got pulled out, I was still scared;” Togata shook his head. “That kind of thing…it sticks with you. I thought I was going to die, I was so scared. But Mayfly, after she had helped me, she took the time to talk to me, it really went a long way in making my panic go away. The way she cared about me…I still remember how scared I was back then, but now, when I think about that time, I don’t think about how I almost died, I think about that hero.”

Togata raised his fist into the air in excitement.

“When Mayfly saved me, that was when I decided that I wanted to be a hero like her! I thought about all the other people who needed a hero like I did, and I wanted to be a hero to them! Not just someone who helps them, but keeps them from getting scared the way that heroes do! But…uh…” Togata lowered his fist and rubbed the back of his head, laughing awkwardly, “you probably saw from the Sports Festival how hard it is for me to control my Quirk. I feel like if I could get a handle on it, it could be really useful, but I haven’t quite figured it out yet.”

Despite recounting what might have been one of the most embarrassing moments of his life, Togata nonetheless continued to speak confidently.

“But I’m not going to let that get me down! I’m going to become a hero, no matter how hard I have to work!”

“Hm.” Mirai noted, not letting his face betray any emotions, though he appreciated the way that Togata understood the difference between a hero and other emergency responders. He looked at the information on Togata’s file. “Why call yourself Lemillion?”

“Ah!” Togata lit up in excitement. “Well, that’s sort of a challenge to myself. I know that there’s a limit to what I can do, I know that I can’t save everyone,” Togata admitted, “but I don’t want that to stop me! I want to save as many people as I can, and so, I called myself ‘Lemillion’ as a challenge and a goal, to save a million people!”

Despite himself, Mirai couldn’t repress a small smile, nodding towards the young man. He had one more question though.

“What do you think of All Might?” he asked, as if his office wasn’t the greatest and most expansive collection of All Might merchandise in existence (it was; Mirai had checked, and it was a title that he held on jealously to.) Again, Togata lit up in excitement.

“He’s the greatest hero ever! He’s exactly the kind of standard that I want to hold myself to; someone who can save the kind of ridiculous number of people that I want, and way beyond!”

Mirai took note of this enthusiasm and Togata’s goal, satisfied that when he was offered One For All, he would take it and carry on the legacy of the Symbol of Peace.

“If your goal is to become a hero like All Might, then I would like to help you achieve that goal.” Mirai announced. Togata’s eyes lit up.

“Do you actually think you can do that?”

“If you are willing to do what is necessary.” Mirai answered.

“Absolutely, Sir!” Togata saluted the man. “I’m ready to put my grindstone to the nose!”

Oh yes. Togata would do very well.

The young man was as enthusiastic and hard-working as Mirai could hope for. His Quirk, Permeation, required some work, but it was certainly within Mirai’s capabilities to understand. They spent the internship figuring out some of the nuances of the Quirk; Permeation rendered Togata impermeable to matter, including air and light, which meant that Togata could not breathe or see while using it…at least when he was using it on his eyes or his respiratory system. Thankfully, the Quirk could be specified to certain body parts. It could allow Togata to phase through objects, including obstacles and opponents, but the second it was deactivated, Togata would be immediately expelled from said object due to Mirio’s mass being incapable of overlapping with existing mass. To use this ability practically, Mirai realized that Permeation required a meticulous, step-by-step process, rendering different parts of Togata’s body impermeable at a time, and then deactivating his Quirk in a similarly specific order to ensure that Togata’s mass was being expelled in a direction that he intended. There were numerous other nuances that Togata had to work through; Togata needed to make sure to have at least one foot remaining permeable to support his weight if he didn’t want to sink into the ground, he needed to be able to measure how much air he could hold in his lungs to determine how long he could remain impermeable as well as consider how the frenetic environment of hero work could affect his breathing, and Togata needed to get used to the sensation of falling while still managing to maintain his sense of equilibrium and spatial awareness. The work was long, repetitive, and Mirai required that Togata perfect movements down to the most minute details to an obsessive degree. And yet, over the course of the week, Togata persevered, trusting that Mirai’s methods would produce results, even if it took an entire day to get even the smallest maneuver down. When he made any progress, no matter how minute, Togata took it as reason to celebrate, and whenever he had a setback, he simply saw it as a reason to work harder and persist.

By the end of the week, Togata had gotten a handle on Permeation to the point that he could use it practically, and considering how useful the Quirk was, Mirai predicted that it would put him a level above his classmates. For his part, Togata was ecstatic and immensely grateful to Mirai, being unable to keep himself from continuously expressing his thanks to the former sidekick. Mirai took this gratitude in stride, glad that he was able to get off on such a good start with the next Symbol of Peace. There was still work to be done of course; Togata was still a long way from mastering Permeation.

Ideally, Mirai would have preferred for Togata to have mastered Permeation before moving onto the next step of his plan, but he believed that Togata would need to have a Work Study with him to perfect it. More importantly though, they did not have enough time; All Might had only one to two years left at most according to Mirai’s prediction. They needed the Symbol of Peace to pass One For All as soon as possible.

Mirai wasn’t confident that All Might would respond to his call if he attempted to get in contact with him, so he decided to resort to an intermediary, and once Togata’s internship had been completed, he called Principal Nezu.

“Why, Sir Nighteye, what a pleasure!” The chimera’s voice spoke out from Mirai’s phone. “I don’t suppose that you’re calling about your internship with young Togata? The young man certainly had great things to say!”

“That is good to hear.” Mirai answered. “While Togata is part of the reason why I am calling, I was hoping that you might be able to do a favor for me.”

“And what might that be?”

“I was wondering if you could arrange a meeting between All Might and myself.”

There was a brief pause over the other line as Nezu considered Mirai’s request.

“Well, I can certainly try. Though, I must ask myself, Togata was the first student you’ve ever taken on for an internship, considering how much of your time you’ve been focusing on finding a potential successor for All Might. Am I to believe that these two points are related?”

Nezu’s voice was playful and cordial as usual, but there was an uncomfortable edge to it that despite Mirai’s experience dealing with the worst villains imaginable, made him shudder.

“They are.” He admitted. “I believe that Togata’s drive, his powerful Quirk, and his heroic spirit make him an ideal candidate for One For All, and I want to introduce All Might to him as a potential successor.”

“Hm.” Nezu mused for a moment before speaking jovially. “Togata does certainly have a lot in common with All Might. A cheery disposition, a great deal of charisma that draws people to him, he even looks like a young All Might in some ways! Why, I dare say that you may have picked one of the most similar people on the planet to suggest to All Might!”

Again, Mirai felt uncomfortable, despite his confidence in his actions.

“Those are hardly marks against him.”

“Certainly not!” Nezu answered in a cheery voice. “I just hope that you are careful with respecting the ways in which young Togata is not like All Might.”

“I will.” Mirai answered, though he privately did not see many attributes of Togata that he did not share with All Might. “So, will you help me?”

“I will see what I can do about arranging a meeting between the two of you, just be aware that this is All Might’s decision to make.”

Thankfully, Nezu pulled through, and soon, after years apart, Mirai was finally in the same room as his idol. With the subject of their last conversation still fresh in their minds though, the mood was awkward, to say the least. All Might was in his withered state, wearing an oversized baggy white shirt and green pants.

“…I’m glad to see you again, All Might.” Mirai eventually opened up.

For his part, All Might didn’t seem outwardly angry at Mirai, and was at least looking at him in the eye.

“…I suppose that it has been a while.” He admitted.

“How are you doing?” Mirai asked. “The last I checked, you’ve only been able to be active about three hours a day.”

All Might frowned; perhaps it wasn’t the most tactful idea to bring up his diminishing time as a hero, but Mirai was hoping to make a point to his hero.

“…It’s true.” All Might admitted again. “It seems that I keep pushing myself, helping whenever I see someone in trouble, and it’s been making my available time decrease faster than I would have liked.”

To Mirai’s surprise, All Might lowered his head in sadness.

“…I…made a mistake recently. I accidentally allowed a villain to escape my grasp, allowing him to put a young boy in danger, just after I had used up my available time for the day.” All Might closed his eyes in frustration. “That young man would have died were it not for that new heroine, Mt. Lady…”

Mirai recalled that event, having noted All Might’s presence in Musutafu that day, as well as his pursuit of the Sludge Villain. He could only hope that he was the only one to notice that despite having been seen chasing after the villain earlier that day, All Might wasn’t the one to capture him. All Might put his head in his hands.

“So much from that day…” he lamented, “not just in my physical failures…I have to wonder if I have lost my way as a hero…”

Mirai became concerned as a far-off look passed over the face of his idol.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

All Might didn’t look at Mirai in response, continuing to face the floor.

“…It’s not important.” He answered with a sigh before leaning back in his chair.

“Well…” Mirai began, somewhat flummoxed by his idol’s behavior but choosing not to let it bother him, “I may have a way to help you with one of these issues.”

All Might sat up straight, looking at Mirai.

“Recently, I took on an intern…”

Things had been going according to Mirai’s plan so far; Nezu had gotten him in touch with All Might, and All Might was willing to hear out Mirai’s suggestion and meet with Togata. In their first meeting, Togata seemed as starstruck by the emaciated form of Yagi Toshinori as he would have been his true heroic form. All Might (though Togata did not know him as this yet) actually seemed taken aback by Togata’s enthusiasm to know more about him, not just for what stories he might have about the Symbol of Peace as All Might’s ‘secretary,’ but about him as a person; a sentiment that All Might seemed to appreciate, allowing conversation to go by naturally between the two while Mirai watched over them. In turn, All Might asked Togata similar questions to what Mirai had asked him on the first day of his internships, as well as how his classes and friendships were progressing. Mirai couldn’t help but to feel a bit touched as All Might spoke to Togata on the importance of having friends as a support network, of having people that he knew he could rely on. There was only so much time that Togata had available though, and he had to leave to head to his morning classes for UA.

“So, what is your opinion on him?”

All Might sighed in thought.

“I can certainly see why you think so highly of the young man.” All Might admitted. “He certainly has a bright future ahead of him as a hero, particularly thanks to you.” The hero grinned proudly towards Mirai, though this was not quite the response the former sidekick was fishing for.

“Certainly, but imagine the kind of hero he could be as your successor.” Mirai pointed out. This statement made All Might frown.

“…I’m not quite sure.” All Might said, infuriatingly. “I can agree that he has a great deal of heroic potential…but I don’t feel as if I can just make someone my successor without getting a proper feel for them. There’s only so much I can glean about his heroic nature from a single conversation…”

“I’m not asking you to give him One For All immediately,” Mirai said, though he had hoped for that as the best case scenario, “but I would encourage you to continue to get to know Togata; try to spend some more time gauging his potential for yourself.”

All Might leaned back in his seat in thought.

Mirai was rather…thrown off by how All Might decided to spend time with Togata, but his intern was certainly taking to cleaning up Dagobah Beach with enthusiasm. All Might had invited Togata to spend time with him after school clearing trash from the area, giving the young man the challenge to clean it completely by the end of the school year. He explained to Togata that in addition to the physical training it offered in exercising multiple parts of his body with the varying sizes of garbage, it was also a reminder of the importance of giving back to the community as a hero. For his part, Togata threw himself into the work with the same passion that he had in training his Quirk.

As unorthodox of a way to get to know Togata as Mirai considered the exercise, it was producing the kind of result that the Foresight hero was hoping for. Togata was quickly growing attached to Yagi Toshinori, appreciating both the workout cleaning the beach gave him and the values the secret hero was instilling in him. In turn, Mirai could see his idol growing attached to Togata, the young man’s enthusiasm slowly winning him over. While All Might stayed in contact with Nezu as he continued to look for possible successors amongst the students of UA, it was clear to Mirai that most of his attention was focused on Togata. Beyond that, it encouraged Mirai to see his idol smiling so much after spending time with Togata.

Despite the progress that Togata was making in his relationship with All Might, it took all of Mirai’s restraint to not pester his hero any more than he already had. Time was running out. It was getting closer to the earliest estimate of Mirai’s prediction for All Might at six years.

Finally, as February came to pass, All Might confided in Mirai that he had been convinced. He invited Mirai to see the fruits of Togata’s work at Dagobah. As frustrating as it was to Mirai to have to wait so long, he had to admit, the sight of the now-pristine Dagobah Beach was quite lovely; and almost poetic end to the culmination of his hard work. Togata was standing on the last pile of garbage, staring out at the ocean, standing with his fists in his side and his elbows out; one of All Might’s poses.

“Young Togata, you’ve certainly exceeded expectations.” All Might announced, letting Togata know that he and Mirai were there. The young man jumped off of the pile, grinning ear-to-ear.

“It’s all thanks to you two. I wouldn’t have gotten this far if you hadn’t been there for me. I’d just be flopping around with a Quirk that I couldn’t control, and the best I would have been able to hope for would have been to brand myself as ‘Lemillion: The Streaking Hero!’”

“Young man…” All Might put his hand on Togata’s shoulder. “We may have given you opportunities, but you are the one who put in the work, and that is something that you should be proud of.”

Togata rubbed the back of his head bashfully while All Might continued:

“Getting to know you over these past few months have made them some of the best times of my life. Knowing that there’s going to be a hero like you gives me hope for the future.” All Might’s expression became grimmer, worrying Togata. “For a while…I was worried about the state of the hero system…so many people become heroes for fame or fortune, and neglect the main point of bringing hope to people.” All Might patted Togata’s shoulder. “I am so glad that Sasaki introduced you to me, showing me that I was wrong about the future, and that it is in good hands.”

“Wow…” Togata spoke awkwardly, but grinned. “Thanks! I promise that I’ll do my best to make you proud, both of you!”

All Might nodded.

“Actually, that brings me to something that I wanted to talk to you about…”

“Perhaps it would be better if we discussed this in private, away from such a public area?” Mirai interrupted.

All Might blinked, looking around and suddenly noticing that the beach was already attracting visitors.

“Ah…yes…I believe that would be wise.”

A little less than an hour later, the three were back in Mirai’s office, with the doors locked and away from where his sidekicks might overhear.

“Is there a reason we’re being so private? Is someone going to ask me to choose between a blue pill and a red pill?” Togata joked.

“Something like that.” Mirai answered as he lowered the blinds on his windows, eliciting a nervous laugh from his intern. Finally, he nodded to All Might. The emaciated hero turned to Togata, and without preamble, shifted into his true, muscled form.

“I AM HERE!”

Togata stared at the now-revealed All Might, his grin fixed on his face.

“…Huh?”

All Might simply laughed, patting Togata on the shoulder. Togata’s eyes widening made Mirai realize that despite All Might clearly holding back his true strength, Togata could still feel the power behind the hero’s hand, letting him know that this was in fact the real All Might.

“A bit of a surprise, I know, but I, Yagi Toshinori, am in fact All Might.” The hero explained. “You know that injury I showed you a while ago?”

Togata nodded, still dumbfounded by what he was hearing.

“The one that took out your lung and stomach?”

“Right.” All Might answered. “That injury caused me to lose control of my Quirk. Since then, the amount of time that I’ve been able to be active has diminished. Right now, I can only maintain this form for about three hours.”

“Three hours?” Togata repeated, a look of horror passing over his face. At least he understood the severity of the situation.

“Indeed. The fact is, my time as the Symbol of Peace is slowly coming to an end. Society has come to rely on me to maintain the peace, and I fear what will happen when I finally run out of time.” All Might explained gravely before lifting his head back up and grinning at Togata. “However, there is hope. While I might not be able to carry on as the Symbol of Peace for much longer, it is possible for someone else to.”

All Might held his open hand out to Togata.

“Young Togata, will you take my Quirk, and become my successor?”

Togata stood speechless for a moment.

“…Uh…I’m going to need a little more of an explanation…you want me to take your Quirk?”

“Yes.” All Might answered, before going on to explain his Quirk, ‘One For All.’ He spoke of its origin as a Quirk accidentally created by the Quirk Boogeyman, with its original possessor discovering that it could be transferred from successor to successor, growing in power until it was handed down to All Might, who used it to become the Symbol of Peace that he was in the modern day. Though Mirai had heard this story before, it was as if he was listening to a sacred scripture.

“And thus, I wish to offer One For All to you, young Togata. Will you accept it?”

This was it. This was finally it. After years of worry, pleading with All Might to pass on his Quirk so that his legacy could live, it was finally here. Now, all that Togata had to do was to accept it…

Only he wasn’t.

Mirai blinked in confusion as he saw that Togata was still standing there in front of All Might, looking at his hand and unsure of himself. He looked over at Mirai, his expression one of uncertainty, before looking back at All Might.

“Um…wow…that’s…um…that’s a big offer…”

Togata was trying to keep a smile on his face, though it was clear that he was reluctant to answer.

“Do you…do you mind if I have some time to think about this? Maybe talk with Sir some?”

“Absolutely.” All Might answered, pulling his hand back with a patience and understanding that Mirai did not think appropriate for a situation that required haste and decisiveness. “I can certainly understand that this is a big commitment. Ultimately, the choice is yours. I’ll give you and Sasaki some time to talk.” The hero exited the room, leaving Mirai and Togata alone.

It took all of Mirai’s self-control not to round on Togata and berate him for being so foolish. They were so close! He couldn’t afford to let all of the time that he had invested in Togata go to waste! Still, Mirai forced himself to stay calm, recognizing that losing his temper was more likely than not to drive Togata away, and with him All Might. He would need to be rational, and simply lay out the facts to Togata.

“May I ask why you didn’t accept his offer just yet?” Mirai asked.

“I’m just…not sure if this is a good idea…” Togata answered, frowning for the first time that Mirai had seen him.

“How so? You told me that you wanted to save a million lives, to help as many people as possible. With One For All, you could meet that goal easily. Think of the good that you could do!”

“Well…yeah…” Togata stammered, “But…it’s just…being a hero to me isn’t only about letting people know that someone is there to help them, it’s about inspiring them to do the same, to let them know that they can do it too, just like Mayfly did to me.” Togata phased his hand through the wall of Mirai’s office before pulling it out and looking at it. “Permeation isn’t really a strong Quirk, not really any stronger than anyone else’s, but I swore to make it strong enough to use it to become a hero. Mayfly’s Quirk wasn’t really that strong either; it just gave her a set of insect wings. But she was still able to help me with it. She was able to show me that if I worked hard enough, I could become a hero and save people the way she did. If I take One For All though, wouldn’t that just subvert that idea? Instead of my power coming about as a result of my own effort, it was instead given to me, and it’s not something that someone else that I might help and want to inspire could realistically achieve for themselves. It just…doesn’t feel right.”

Mirai stared at Togata. He refused to let a foolish sentiment like this get in the way of what they had been working for. Togata needed to understand what was at stake.

“Togata…” Mirai said, placing his hands on Togata’s shoulders, “The situation is much more dire than All Might made it out to be.”

Togata recoiled slightly at this proclamation, though Mirai held him in place as he proceeded to explain;