Who's this Dekiru and why do all the Pros want to adopt him?

by 80sGayTrashGoblin

Summary:

Midoriya Izuku has given up his dream of becoming a hero when his mom is hospitalized for cancer, but continues his hero analysis for the future. A chance encounter sets him on the road to becoming an analyst instead, and a green manilla envelope dropped into Midnight's P.O. box changes the future of the world.

Chapter 1: Dekiru's Debut

Izuku is never meant to be a hero. 

He’s quirkless, working part time to make up the gaps in his mom’s pension plan. She has stage four cancer, and a combination of complications and stress means she has to stay at the hospital. Thankfully, the pension is fairly generous, which is definitely needed as his father stopped paying child support as soon as he moved to America. The longer she remains in the hospital, the farther out of reach his dream becomes, and the more hopeless his situation feels.

He clings to the little joys in his life. He transferred out of Aldera Junior High into an online school, so he could pick up more shifts at Mew’s Muffins. He continues to run around the city and chase heroes, as it’s great exercise (which he needs to be doing now that his school is online, as his mom often reminds him). He keeps up with his journals and analyzing heroes, as it's the one consistent source of happiness in his life. His mom even encouraged him to take a class on ciphers at the local library, since it’s free and a hobby that “doesn’t put him in danger” like hero chasing. 

Well, jokes on both of them, because if he hadn’t been chasing Ingenium, he wouldn’t have picked up the envelope that changed the trajectory of his life. The seal of the hero agency had been broken, and enclosed was a written analysis of the hero, the villain, and a couple of battle strategies. The letter had been signed by Asai Kagayaki, and when he’d done some digging, he found out that she was a professional analyst for Ingenium’s agency. 

Izuku is never meant to be a hero, but he could be a hero for the heroes. 

 

---

 

He hikes his bag over his shoulder and steps into the hospital, holding a take out cup filled with warm tea. Every Friday, he has a tradition where he visits his mom right after his shift and brings chai tea with him to cheer her up. 

“Hi, Miss Hananaku!” 

At his greeting, the older lady looks up from whatever paperwork she is working on and smiles at him. “Hello, Midoriya. Here to see your mother again?”

Izuku can’t help but smile back. While doctors and nurses mostly ignore him, he always got a kind greeting from the secretary working at the front desk. “Yep!”

He bounces on his toes as she types something into the computer. “There we go, all checked in. You remember where to go, right sweetie?”

“Of course, thank you!” 

“You’re welcome, young man. You have a good day now.” 

“You too!” With a wave, Izuku spins on his feet and hums a little tune as he enters an elevator. 

He keeps it up, even as he gets dirty looks from some of the staff around him. Whenever he visits, he makes sure he keeps his spirits high; some part of him believes that if his mom is happy enough, she will be cured.

“Hi mom!” He grins as he enters the room, letting the door gently close behind him. He leans forward and lets his mom grab his cheeks, pull him close and press a kiss to his forehead. It's tradition.

“Izuku!” She smiles back at him, and then carefully takes the drink from his hands, taking a sip. With a satisfied hum, she turns away to set the tea down, before she bundles him into a hug. “You know you don’t need to bring me anything.”

He basks in the hug, soaking up the warmth he feels. “I know, but I want to.”

She lets him go reluctantly, and picks her tea back up while Izuku scoots a chair closer and sits down. His mom’s hair has thinned out from the treatments, and she is still pale, but the tea brought some more color to her face. Her eyes are bright and the bags under her eyes seem lighter than last visit, and he hopes that means she is getting better. 

“Well, I appreciate it very much. You are doing such a good job, I want you to know that.” 

He does his best to blink away the tears that gathers in his eyes. No matter how much she says it, he tears up every time. “Thank you, mom.” 

“No, thank you, Izuku,” she says, having set down her tea to hold his hand. “Now, you tell me about your week.”

He starts rambling, never letting go of his mom’s hand. About the new career he found, how the cats are doing at Mew’s Muffins, how he is still caring for the plants and the new podcast he started listening to after he finished the last one. He listens to her ramblings about the new show she started watching, how she feels like she is getting better, and how she thinks one of the nurses has a crush on a doctor.

He treasures these moments with his mom every week. For a few hours, the outside world doesn’t matter; they just make each other happy.

 

---

 

It took two weeks for Izuku to get over his nerves and finally put together an analysis. He chose to analyze Midnight, since she’s a fairly visible hero who is also a teacher at U.A.; he can pull together all his notes from the past few years and hopefully get constructive criticism for his work. After he wrote and organized a multi page essay in Japanese that he was satisfied with, he then encrypted it in a cipher that was a mix between a running key and a four square (and he may have gotten carried away but he was having fun). Once he was done he manually shredded the paper in plain Japanese, and then boiled the shreds in water and poured that into the grass in a nearby park.

His worried overthinking was passed down from his mom to him like the shittiest family heirloom.

Thankfully for his anxiety, the drop off goes smoothly. He wears a mask and covers his green hair with a giant hoodie, and walks into the post office like he is supposed to be there. He shuffles up to the counter, asks for the green manilla folder to be deposited in Midnight’s P.O. box, and leaves. 

The poor post office worker drinking out of a giant mug tells him, “Midnight wants me to tell you guys have got to stop dropping off essays the night before the due date.”

 

---

 

Kayama Nemuri, the pro hero Midnight, is this close to popping open a bottle of vodka. 

It’s 2 on a Sunday, and she’s grading papers through a pounding migraine. The notification from her phone that something was dropped off in her P.O. box did not help.

Maybe Shouta was onto something when he docked points from students that submitted their papers after 22. 

She decides to go and fetch the essay, hoping the fresh air would alleviate the headache. She pulls her hair up, tugs a black coat over her ducky pajamas, and slips on a pair of ratty sneakers that she’s had for forever. Deciding to keep her reading glasses on, she plops her phone and keys into her pocket and leaves the dorms.

When she steps outside, the cool night air immediately soothes her pain. The walk is pleasant, refreshing, brisk and exactly what she needs to lift her spirits after leaving red marks all over her students’ papers.

She gives a tired nod to Yoshimora (she’s been there often enough to know the night shift’s name) and slogs to her P.O. box. The student had placed it neatly in a green manilla folder, although it looks like there are about twenty pages inside, which is definitely over word count.

Her jaw drops when she opens the folder. That’s not an essay.

She thinks she's drunk at first, flipping through the pages. It's written in latin letters, jumbled up into nonsense and- were those greek characters? Sketches of Nemuri’s hero persona and equipment were scattered throughout, all neatly labelled in the same weird cipher. At the end (or beginning) is a cover letter, thankfully written in plain Japanese.

 

To Miss Midnight,

Hello, I am Dekiru! I’m a new analyst trying to get into the industry, but I’m not attached to an agency and I don’t have connections. So I’ve sent an analysis of you, your quirk and fighting styles, for free! 

The analysis is encrypted with a unique cipher I came up with specifically for analyses (I got carried away with it, sorry). Hopefully someone at your agency or U.A. can crack it, or I can rewrite it in Japanese to deliver it in person. This might take some time as I have destroyed the original copy for safety reasons.

Feel free to respond with feedback, I’m aware there could be mistakes or oversights. I’ll be using the P.O. box XXXX in Musutafu. (Right now I only deal in paper, I don’t have the funds to get a secure system.)

Thank you for your time,

Dekiru

P.S. Please don’t think I’m being weird or creepy, there (understandably) isn’t a lot of information about being an analyst available online and this is the best idea I had.

 

She closes the folder and tucks it under her arm, waving goodbye to Yoshimora as she leaves. As she walks, she pulls out her phone and opens up the group chat. 

 

U.A. Teachers and Company - 2:35

Too Much Perfume (Midnight), Lie Detector (Tsukauchi) and Giggles N Shit (Ms Joke).

Too Much Perfume: holy shit

Giggles N Shit: ✨spill the tea sis✨

Lie Detector: is this a serious holy shit or a non serious holy shit

Too Much Perfume: no its /srs

All Might Jr (Nighteye) is online.

All Might Jr: What happened?

Too Much Perfume: i get a notif of a dropoff in my po box at 2

Giggles n Shit: po box

Too Much Perfume: shut

Too Much Perfume: anyways

Too Much Perfume: i open it to find a folder w 20 pages of nonsense

Too Much Perfume: and a letter sayin that its encrypted analysis from a new analyst

Lie Detector: who’s the analyst?

All Might Jr: And why not email this to you? Especially if the papers are already coded.

Too Much Perfume: said they’re Dekiru

Too Much Perfume: and that they didnt have a safe computer

All Might Jr: Do you know what the cipher is?

Too Much Perfume: no

Giggles n Shit: arent u the art teacher

Giggles n Shit: shouldnt u kno that shit

Too Much Perfume: i saw goddanm greek letters

All Might Jr: WHAT

Nedzu is online. 

Nedzu: Greek characters you say (✿◕‿◕✿)

Giggles n Shit: u summoned him

Nedzu: (‾◡◝)

Too Much Perfume: y not at this pt

Too Much Perfume: ill give it to u when i get homhfldasjfklsdhfklasdhf

Giggles n Shit: ???

Too Much Perfume: walked into a pole :( 

Nedzu: Please watch where you’re going (；′⌒`)

 

Nemuri rolls her eyes, pockets her phone and picks up the pace. When she pushes open the door to the teacher’s dorms, Nedzu is waiting for her, sitting on a couch with his paws in his lap. She hands the folder to her boss, rubbing her forehead as the headache starts back up. She is not looking forward to going back to grading.

As she meanders back to her apartment, she hears her boss flipping through the papers. “Fascinating!” 

“Have fun, boss.” 

“Thank you! By the way, you should take some sort of painkiller for your migraine.” 

She grumbles, trudging up the stairs. She’s absolutely going to get herself some vodka.

 

---

 

It takes four days for Nedzu to get back to her. 

She is lounging on her couch, taking a break from the endless toil of grading by watching a few episodes of The Real Housewives of Yokohama (it’s a guilty pleasure). Her ball python, Tamamen, is wrapped around her neck and shoulders, and in between bites of popcorn she gives him little pets on his little head. 

And then she hears a knock on the door. 

“Come on in!” She grabs the remote and pauses her show as Nedzu opens the door. Unlike in the school buildings, where there is always a chance that Nedzu will pop out of the vents in the general vicinity, he will knock on doors in the dorms, which everyone greatly appreciates. In his hands is a stapled packet of paper, and he sets it down on the side table, a fair distance away from herself and Tamamen.

“Thank you for bringing this puzzle to me,” her boss starts chattering as she flips through the packet. “It was fascinating to pick apart. The cipher was clearly created by a student, but the talent shines through. A few tweaks and it could be unsolvable.”

Nemuri’s eyes widen as she flips through the pages. The report is broken down into various sections, from questions and theories to ideas for improvement to costume and support item suggestions. Strengths, weaknesses, ways to exploit and counteract those weaknesses, and even ideal missions for the R-Rated hero to be on.

“Wow.” 

Nedzu nods. “Dekiru was correct to encrypt their analysis, especially with the medium. I would love to meet them and pick apart their brain.”

She frowns and flips back to the photocopy of the letter. “They aren’t confident in themselves. If we spring a meeting with you on them, it’ll probably scare them, or they’ll think we’re messing with them.”

“My thoughts precisely. You should write back to them, request some more reports. Perhaps some of the other teachers?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Nemuri turns off the TV, stretching and preparing to get up as her boss starts to leave. “What are you going to do?”

The grin Nedzu gives her sends shivers down her spine. “Solve this newest puzzle, of course!”

Notes:

Rewritten 1/27/2025 as part of the 2025 overhaul.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 2: Call and Response

Izuku is on his morning jog, some pre-quirk music playing in his ears as he runs his usual route: from the apartment, to the small cafe around the corner for breakfast and a coffee, to the post office, and then past Dagobah beach to go home. Having a morning routine helps keep his life in order, and the five to ten minute window where Izuku is running is the only time he can let his brain shut off.

He expects today’s mail to be the normal spam, lawn care pamphlets and baby toy ads. Which there are, but there is also an official looking envelope with U.A’s seal on it. 

Izuku grins, dumping the trash into the recycling and clutching the letter close to him. He drains the rest of his coffee (which is not pleasant) and chucks both the empty cup and the sandwich wrapper into the trash. He feels like he’s Hawks, gliding on air as he runs home as fast as humanly possible. 

When he enters his apartment, he is physically vibrating from excitement and caffeine as he grabs his mom’s letter opener. Being careful not to cut himself or the letter in his haste, he slices the envelope open, eyes widening as he reads further and further.

 

To Dekiru,

This analysis is absolutely amazing, on par with Nedzu himself. Please send me your rates so that I can pay you for this freebie, you absolutely deserve it!

My friends are interested in ordering some reports of themselves. You should recognize them as pro heroes Present Mic, Ms. Joke, Ingenium, and Sir Nighteye. This is where I would tell you that you don’t have to worry about encrypting your analyses, but at the request of my cryptographer, please use a different but equally complex code for each of them. He said this is the most fun he’s had in a while, we’ll pay premium for the enrichment.

As for your theories and questions, I can’t answer much. Some of it is classified information and some of it is stuff I need to further test. However, what I can tell you is that you are correct in your theory about sexuality. My quirk is less effective on gay men and more effective on lesbians.

I have some questions for you, if you’re willing to answer them. Who is your teacher? How did you learn how to analyze and encrypt? What’s your alma mater? Hero and villain analysis is a very secretive industry, how did you discover it? Do you have pets? (That last question is just for my own curiosity.)

Thank you for your talents,

The R-Rated Hero, Midnight

 

Izuku flops face first onto his bed, presses a pillow into his face, and screams. Midnight responded, and liked it! She said that his analysis is better than most pros! Comparable to Nedzu himself! And wants him to do more!!!

After the adrenaline leaves his system, he realizes the first thing he needs to do is call his mom. He pulls out his phone, kicking his feet in excitement like a teen girl with a crush.

Well he is a star struck teen boy. The simile is accurate.

“Izuku, honey? What’s going on?” His mom asks, barely concealing the worry in her voice. 

The floodgates burst open, and he starts rambling, unable to stop himself. “Nothing’s wrong really, everything is fine, more than fine, it’s amazing! I told you how I sent that analysis Midnight, right? The Midnight- she responded to me! I got the letter this morning! And she liked it! She compared me to Nedzu himself! The smartest being alive on the planet! And she wanted to pay me! And here’s the thing- right- she wants me to do more! Pro heroes like Present Mic, Ingenium, and Sir Nighteye! Sir Nighteye!”

A chuckle from his mom snaps him out of his head. “I’m so glad, sweetie. Well, get your schoolwork done first, and then you should absolutely respond to Miss Midnight. And eat breakfast. You ate breakfast, right?”

Izuku nods, then remembers that she can’t see him. “Yeah, I did. I picked up a sandwich from work before I got to the post office. I’ll work on school, promise. Get well soon, mom.”

“Of course, sweetheart. You have a good day.”

“You too!” When the call ends, Izuku gets up, bouncing on his toes as he darts around his room. He pulls his precious notebooks off their shelves and flips them open to the various passages dedicated to Sir Nighteye.

He lays out blank pages and starts writing. He has a long night ahead of him.

 

---

 

It’s the middle of her lunch break when Nemuri gets the notification for her P.O. box. 

U.A. students are free to use the art classroom for their projects, as long as they are supervised by a teacher. Nemuri is the only one who is willing to sacrifice her lunch break, so she is sitting at her desk and scarfing down a sandwich while a few students paint… something. It definitely isn’t for her class given the realistic style, but it isn’t anything alarming so she doesn’t bother interrogating them.

The sound of a whip crack echoes through the classroom, and Nemuri shoves the rest of her lunch in her face, groping around her desk until she grabs her phone. When she sees that the notification is from the post office, she looks up at her students, who are all staring at her in some sort of phase between fight or flight and confusion.

“Can one of you be a dear and fetch something for me?” She asks, rifling through her desk’s drawers to find her keys.

One of them sticks their hand in the air. Tomito, a second year in support, if she remembers correctly (she recognizes faces, not names). “I can!” 

After finding her keys, she tosses them to the student, who clumsily catches the key ring. “Head to the post office next to campus and collect something from my P.O. box. If you explain that I asked you to get something for me and show them the keys, they'll show you where it is. Bring it back, and don't look at what's inside. Got it?”

The kid nods and skedaddles. She wonders who exactly Dekiru is to be able to reply so quickly. How much time did they have on their hands? Surely they have a part time job, right? Or university?

Deciding that grading is a more worthwhile use of her time than speculating, she pulls a folder of essays from her bag and starts covering them in purple sparkly ink. When she looks back up at the approaching footsteps, the student is returning with a manilla folder in their hands. 

“Thank you very much, darling,” Nemuri says sincerely as she accepts the folder. “Here, have a sticker.”

She believes in rewarding students for good deeds, in a way that won't impact their grades and cause students to try and make up for failing tests or missing assignments by running errands. The stickers are a very simple but effective solution, and never fails to bring a smile to a student's face. 

Case in point, the kid grins when she hands them a cat sticker. 

Nemuri leans back in her seat, opening up the folder to reveal a single letter, thankfully written in plain Japanese this time. 

 

To Miss Midnight,

Thank you for the compliments! I'm honored to be compared to Nedzu himself. My current rate is ¥6,000 per document. You really don't have to send me money for the freebie (would defeat the purpose of being free) but I do request being paid up front. I don't think you'd rip me off or anything like that, but it's more fair for me to ask everyone to pay me up front than to selectively ask certain pros. Not that I think certain pros would rip me off or anything either, it’s a peace of mind thing.

I'd be honored to write those analyses and provide enrichment to your cryptographer. If you don't mind me asking, is your cryptographer Nedzu? If not, you don't have to tell me their name, I just want confirmation on a hunch I have.

I don't have a teacher or anything like that, I've been studying heroes for basically my whole life. You should've seen my first analyses, they were written in crayon and just amount to ‘so cool.’ My school isn't notable, it's very no-name. I found out about the analysis industry when I picked up an envelope during one of Ingenium’s fights, before then I had no idea that my little hobby could help people. No pets, but I have an extensive plant collection and have befriended the local raccoons.

Thank you for your response,

The Newest Analyst, Dekiru

 

She frowns as she takes a picture of the letter, sending it straight to Nedzu. They are smart enough to clock her boss's involvement, yet they are asking for less than minimum wage. They're insecure, feeling the need to justify receiving payment up front and downplaying their talents as a little hobby. They are still in a school of some sort, which makes their response being in the middle of the day really odd. Perhaps online, or perhaps they sent it earlier that day and it was just now delivered to her P.O. box. 

The more pieces she gets, the more confusing the picture becomes.

 

The Big Cheese - 12:21

just got this in my break *img attachment*

How interesting! They appear to be quite young, still in university. 

The fact that they have not heard of the industry through their school eliminates the major heroics and support universities. 

we're gonna pay him 30 times that right

I am, yes! ψ(｀∇´)ψ

 

She swears she can hear Nedzu’s terrifying laughter echo through the vents.

Notes:

Rewritten on 2/24/2025 as a part of the Great 2025 Overhaul.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 3: The Letter Brigade

Izuku wakes up the next day with a crick in his neck as a result of laying over his notebooks. Thankfully, his papers are all dry (he’s a drooler), but the coffee pot he had grabbed from the kitchen is empty. It’s simply inconvenient to refill a mug over and over while he’s in the zone. One of these days, he’s gonna take the whole coffee maker and brew directly at his desk.

Ignoring the mess he made last night, he drags himself through his morning routine. Watering the plants, splashing water in his face, running the dishes, making himself look somewhat presentable for whatever time it is (he doesn't bother to check). Putting in earbuds as he does one footed hops across his living room to slip his sneakers on, he successfully leaves for his morning jog without falling on his ass. 

By the time he ran to Mews Muffins, he’s coherent enough to order his breakfast and coffee. He starts skipping as he runs to the post office. It’s only the next day, so he doesn’t want to get his hopes up, but he can’t help himself.

When Izuku enters the post office, he can’t tell if it's a good or bad sign that the receptionist stares at him with wide eyes. He doesn’t pay it any mind until he opens the box and five envelopes fall out, all from different hero agencies.

Giddy, he stuffs them into his bag with the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy shop. He chugs the rest of his coffee and inhales his sandwich, running home as fast as he can. He slams the door to his apartment, nearly knocking over some of the plants as he plants his butt on the couch to finally open the envelopes.

It takes every ounce of self restraint to not tear the envelopes open like a rabid animal, and instead use the letter opener like a normal human being. 

 

To Dekiru,

For just breaking onto the scene, you’re amazing! The analysis you did for Midnight was ROCKIN! I’m excited to hear your thoughts on me and my quirk, so I’ve already sent payment. It may be a bit over rate, so just consider the rest a tip for your awesome work.

Midnight also wanted me to tell you that you were correct, she does produce more gas from her quirk after she starts sweating. And she wanted me to send you this picture of her pet snake.

Put your hands up!

The Voice Hero: Present Mic

 

To Dekiru,

Congrats on making a grand entrance into the industry! You’re the first analyst to impress Nedzu in a very long time, you and your alma mater should be proud.

What school did you go to? Personally, I hope your amazing mind was at Ketsubutsu, although I’d be a little sad that I didn’t see you if you did.

I may have paid a bit over asking, but you’re selling yourself short. Consider it a tip, and maybe a bit of a bribe for the info on your alma mater. 

Have a laugh today, 

The Smile Hero, Ms. Joke

 

To Dekiru, 

You have a talent desperately needed in this industry. Your analysis on Midnight is impressive, but I would like to see the full breadth of your abilities. Enclosed is payment for reports for myself and my two sidekicks. 

I look forward to working with you in the future.

Sir Nighteye

 

To Dekiru, 

A dear friend of mine recommended your work to me, and it’s very impressive. For how much time and effort must’ve gone into your work, you are selling yourself short. Please accept a generous tip on top of my payment.

I may be a speed hero, but don’t feel like you have to rush. I look forward to what you send me!

The Turbo Hero, Ingenium

 

To Dekiru,

Am I a dog? A mouse? A bear? Most importantly, I’m Nedzu, the principal of U.A.

You certainly have my attention. It’s been a long time since I’ve had an interesting mystery to unravel. If you’re available, I’d love to be able to play a game of chess and further pick your mind.

While I certainly enjoy the challenge of unique ciphers, it is impractical in the long run, especially for any cases that are time sensitive. I have enclosed funds on behalf of Midnight for the work you’ve done. If you need more funds for a security upgrade, I would be happy to send more heroes your way; and once you are sufficiently set up, I would be more than happy to send you an invite to the Hero Network. I’m always looking to invest in promising minds.

Please respond as soon as available. 

Mr. Principal, Nedzu

 

Izuku’s eyes are wide as he reads every letter, and his eyes are already misting up. He pulls out five different checks, and after doing some quick math, he realizes he’s holding over a million yen in his hands.

His brain is going to explode. And not just from the caffeine. Of course the first thing he does is call his mom.

“Mom mom mom mom mom mom-”

“Izuku, hon, remember to breathe.”

He takes a few deep breaths. Thankfully, his mom sounds exasperated rather than worried. “Mom. Do you remember that analysis I sent Midnight?”

“Of course, honey.” 

“I just got another response- not from Midnight but Nedzu! I was right, the cryptographer was Nedzu the whole time! And I got letters from Present Mic, and Ms Joke, and Ingenium, and Sir Nighteye, and- and they want me to analyze them! And they paid me money! Real yen! And they paid me so much- Mom they gave me over a million yen!” 

“That is amazing, Izuku!” He can hear his mom’s smile. 

“Over a million yen,” Izuku repeats, as if this is all a dream. “I can quit my job. I can pick up that programming class. I can- The heroes said I was undercharging. This is…”

After he trails off, his mom speaks up. “This is the result of a brilliant mind and years of hard work. You’ve earned this, Izuku.”

That’s what finally gets Izuku to cry tears of joy. It still makes his head spin, the idea that his silly little hobby is so valuable that independently, five heroes gave him over a hundred thousand yen.

“I’m so proud of you, Izuku.”

Choking back tears, he answers, “I love you too, mom.”

 

---

 

Nemuri nibbles on a chicken nugget, observing the rest of the room. On her way over, Emi had picked up a giant McDonald’s order for everyone. Wrangling several classrooms of rowdy teens into learning to recognize the difference in realism paintings based on where they were painted is exhausting work, and while Nemuri loves Lunch Rush’s food as much as every other teacher, sometimes she needs greasy fast food at the end of a long day of grading.

Hizashi and Tensei keep trying to rope Shouta into conversation with them, which isn’t working. Neither is the joking flirting from Emi, who’s still keeping up the bit even after several years. Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, Sasaki is in a terse conversation with her boss, while his sidekick takes notes and occasionally answers if the conversation drifts to him.

Sasaki’s other sidekick, Awata, enters the room, holding seven green folders in her hands.

Immediately the small conference room erupts into chaos. The poor woman is nearly mugged, but Shouta’s glare and a clipped warning from Nedzu is enough to quell the frenzy. For her part, Nemuri stays put in her seat, dipping a few fries while she watches the folders being passed out. Naturally, she waits until everyone is distracted by their letters to start snooping over people’s shoulders.

 

To Mister Present Mic,

Thank you for the compliments and the tips! Please let Miss Midnight know that her pet snake is adorable.

The theory I’m most interested and excited about is the control of your pitch. Can you raise and lower your pitch to match certain frequencies, so they could only be heard by those with certain mutant-type quirks? How does a change in your pitch affect your quirk? If you can change your pitch, how will it affect your hearing? I’m so curious.

Putting my hands up,

The Newest Analyst, Dekiru

 

To Miss Ms Joke,

My alma mater is a small online school that I promise you’ve never heard of. I wish I could’ve gotten into Ketsubutsu, but alas it’s out of my reach.

The rate is based on my previous salary as a barista and how long it takes me on average to put analyses together. For these I’m mainly pulling from my prior knowledge, putting it all together and formatting and encrypting them takes the longest amount of time. I’m new, so I have no frame of reference for what analysts are normally paid. 

I did have a laugh,

The Newest Analyst, Dekiru

 

To Mister Ingenium, 

It’s an honor to be recommended after my first work! Thank you for the compliments and the tip, they’re very much appreciated. 

Don’t worry, these analyses don’t take much time at all! To be honest, as soon as Miss Midnight said you were interested in one, I started putting them together right away. Altogether it only took six hours, and most of the work was making it polished and encrypted.

I hope you enjoy the work!

The Newest Analyst, Dekiru

 

To Mister Sir Nighteye,

I appreciate the compliment! Honestly, I didn’t even know until recently that my lifelong hobby was actually a career path I could take. I’m still new to the industry, so I hope I don’t disappoint.

The Newest Analyst, Dekiru

P.S. French fries weren’t fried in France, they were fried in Greece.

 

“Shou!” Hizashi exclaims, passing a green folder to his husband. “The Little Listener wrote something for you!” 

Sasaki raises an eyebrow. “Dekiru wrote something on an underground hero, who should be completely unknown?”

Not even bothering to pretend she isn’t snooping, Nemuri fully leans over the table to catch a peek at Shouta’s letter.

 

To Mister Eraserhead,

Forgive me for being presumptuous. You’ve always been a huge inspiration for me, as a hero who avoids the media and went out of his way to avoid relying on his quirk. Consider the enclosed analysis a thank you.

Don’t worry about how I’m aware of your existence. I won’t tell a soul how I know, and that goes the same with the other underground heroes I know of. There aren’t a lot of ways for underground heroes to get the recognition and thanks you deserve without exposing you to danger, so this is my way of doing so. 

If any of my advice within this folder helps, then I’ll consider my work a success.

The Newest Analyst, Dekiru

 

“Awww, that’s so sweet,” Emi says, having also set her folder down to snoop.

“I’m still concerned about which other heroes that Dekiru is ‘aware’ of, especially with the information within these reports,” Sasaki points out. “Although their tone indicates that they’re unlikely to leak any information.”

“They’re trying to get into the hero industry,” Hizashi rebuts. “And they aren’t in any more or less danger than the analysts at the Night Agency.” 

Any further arguing about Dekiru’s knowledge is cut off by Nedzu’s cackling. She swears that she can feel the temperature in the room get colder as everyone shivers in fear.

“Ohohoho. Interesting indeed.” 

With just a little bit of looming dread, Nemuri scans the letter that her boss was sent.

 

To Mister Nedzu,

If you would permit me a guess, I presume you’re a hybrid between an albino ermine and a capybara.

I would be happy to play a game of chess, once I familiarize myself with the rules of the game. Otherwise, my strategy game of choice is shogi, and I’d be more than happy to play a game with you.

By the time you have finished decoding the analyses I’ve sent (forgive my presumption that this will take more than four days) I should have my security upgraded. As a new face in the field, I am unaware of what the industry standard is as far as softwares and firewall protections are concerned, so I’m working with the industry standard for cybersecurity. I am always open to recommendations and am looking forward to the Hero Network invite.

I’m honored to be called a promising mind by yourself.

The Newest Analyst, Dekiru

 

“I don’t think the villains are the ones we need to protect Dekiru from,” Juzou mutters, continuing to lean away from her boss.

She can’t help but agree as she watches Nedzu continue to cackle.

Notes:

Rewritten on 3/15/2025 as a part of the Great 2025 Overhaul.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 4: The Reign of Terror Begins

Mews Muffins is a little cat cafe run by Miss Aihara, a kind little old lady that he regards as an aunt of sorts. Izuku and his mother had been going for as long as he’d been alive, so it’s only natural that when he needed to pick up a part time job, he returned the favor.

When he was little, he ate pastries and named the newest cats. Now, he bakes pastries and feeds the cats. In another timeline, Izuku could see himself running his own cat cafe.

If he starts charging the amount the heroes say he should be charging, he could quit working at the cafe entirely, but he enjoys his job. It’s not like it cuts into his time (he completes his schoolwork within a couple hours and the two classes he physically attends are both at night), and the consistent routine is nice. The cafe’s atmosphere is relaxing, the regular customers are kind, and the bad apples are pretty rare. 

He also needs to build up savings. Jobs from heroes will grind to a halt once it comes out that he’s quirkless, and he needs to be prepared when the day arrives.

But today is not that day. Izuku is relaxing in the break room, nibbling at the edge of a pastry as he decompresses from his shift. It’s a little part of his routine, where he doesn’t allow himself to think about anything for the five minutes it takes him to finish his snack.

And yet, he holds an envelope from Nedzu in his hands. Still sealed, having been dropped into his bag directly from the P.O. box.

“Staring isn’t going to magically open it,” Izuku mutters. After wiping the crumbs off his hands, he slices the envelope open, taking care not to cut the letter inside.

 

To Dekiru,

You’re the only human to have correctly guessed what I am (if you would permit me a guess that you are indeed human). Congratulations!

I will absolutely take you up on that game of shogi. It’s been a long time since I’ve been challenged, and I’d love a peek into your brain. We’ll see if your skills of analysis translate to strategy. 

You do not have to worry about industry standards, for you are already following them! Given the overlap of the two fields, the hero analyst industry uses the exact same VPNs and softwares as is the standard in cybersecurity. Once you have finished building your new computer, the code for an HN invite is below.

My best and swiftest regards,

Mr. Principal, Nedzu

 

Izuku doesn’t know what to do with the strange mix of pride and dread in his chest. On one hand, he’s the only person in the world to correctly identify Nedzu, and somehow manages to follow industry standards without even knowing them. On the other hand, the same hero who figured out that he is building a new computer from scratch just to make sure he knows exactly what’s inside it is the same hero who just accepted his offer of a game of shogi.

What the fuck has his life become?

 

---

 

New Group Chat - 5:19 pm

Dekiru (Izuku) added Eraserdad (Aizawa), Silver the Hedgehog (Tensei), Jessica Rabbit (Midnight), Captain Jack Sparrow (Ms. Joke), God (Nedzu), Fus Roh Dah (Present Mic) and Dr. Strange (Sir Nighteye) to New Group Chat.

Dekiru, Eraserdad, Silver the Hedgehog, Jessica Rabbit, Captain Jack Sparrow, God, Fus Roh Dah, and Dr. Strange are online.

God: Congratulations ♪(´▽｀)

Captain Jack Sparrow: holy shit

Captain Jack Sparrow: is this dekiru /srs or /j

Silver the Hedgehog: Weren’t you building a computer

Silver the Hedgehog: How did you do that so fast

Dekiru: oh it’s pretty easy

Dekiru: the longest part was waiting for all the parts to ship :p 

Fus Roh Dah: WE ALL HAVE CUSTOM NICKNAMES!!!!

Dekiru: i had fun with them :D 

Dekiru: they’re all pq refs

Dr. Strange: There is something I’m curious about.

Dr. Strange: How do you dispose of the analyses written in plain Japanese?

Dekiru: shred manually, tear to bits, boil in water, dump w boiled water in nearest park

Dr. Strange: That is impressively thorough.

Eraserdad added The Detective (Naomasa) to New Group Chat.

The Detective: Why am I here?

Eraserdad: if i have to suffer so do you

Dekiru: what makes you think you’ll suffer????

Jessica Rabbit: he’s annoyed that we have 2 gcs to spam him w now

Dekiru changed The Detective to Pink Panther.

Pink Panther: I don’t know what else I expected.

Jessica Rabbit: also i hope u dont mind that i shared ur hn w peeps

Dekiru: that explains why my dms have exploded

Fus Roh Dah: DON’T SCARE THE LITTLE LISTENER

Dekiru: is your caps lock broken or are you shouting on purpose

Fus Roh Dah: NO THE BUTTON IS BROKEN

Eraserdad: its been broken for years

Eraserdad: its never getting fixed

Dekiru: fair

Dekiru: i've had to kick the dishwasher to get it to start the past five years

Dekiru: i’m never replacing it

Captain Jack Sparrow: we all have the One thing

Jessica Rabbit changed New Group Chat to Dekiru Protection Squad.

Dekiru: i guess?

Eraserdad: you aren’t older than 21

Dekiru: you’re not wrong

Fus Roh Dah: HE’S A LITTLE LISTENER

Captain Jack Sparrow: if it helps

Captain Jack Sparrow: we’re all like 30ish

Captain Jack Sparrow: for us anyone below 24 is a child

Dekiru: fair

Dekiru: will never let that be me

Jessica Rabbit: that’s what we said

Jessica Rabbit: and yet here we are

Dekiru: anyways i gotta go actually do my job

Dekiru: and multitask w the shogi game i’m playing

Eraserdad: already????

Fus Roh Dah: HOW

Jessica Rabbit: wtf

Captain Jack Sparrow: are you playing over the hn?

Captain Jack Sparrow: in dms?

God: Yes, we are (❁´◡`❁)

Eraserdad: oh no

Jessica Rabbit: is it too late to hand in my 2 weeks

Captain Jack Sparrow: are you winning dekiru

Dekiru: its been only 5 moves

Dekiru: so no

Captain Jack Sparrow: kick his ass

Dekiru: i’m trying :( 

God: ( •̀ ω •́ )y

 

---

 

Izuku grits his teeth, closing the door behind him with one hand as water drips off of him in buckets. The rain gets into his eyes, his jacket, even his socks. He normally likes storms, except when he’s caught outside in the downpour. 

He doesn’t regret taking a slightly longer route home. Not when there’s a small bundle in his arms and against his chest, currently digging their claws into his skin. 

Not bothering to take his wet clothes off, he beelines to the bathroom, leaving a trail of water behind him. Grabbing a towel from the rack, he lays it down on the floor and sets the cat down, gently prying their claws out of his shirt. 

They meow sadly again, the same pitiful meow that had caught his attention when he was passing the alleyway. Whispering reassurances (even though he knows they can’t understand him), Izuku carefully uses the towel to wipe off the muck and rain coating their fur. 

Further inspection reveals that the cat is a calico. She’s big enough to be near adulthood but small enough to still be a kitten; he guesses she’s about eight months old. He removes a torn and dirty collar from her; there’s no tags, but he wouldn’t contact the original owners anyways. They clearly abandoned her.

“Do you feel better?” Mrow.

Once Izuku is certain that she’s completely clean, he reaches out to give her some gentle pets behind her ears. He smiles when she starts purring. 

“Finders Keepers, kitty. You’ll be staying with me from now on.” 

Pet stores are closed already, but Izuku has a packet of pre-cooked chicken in the fridge and he can improvise a litter box until tomorrow. He bundles up the cat, carrying her out into the kitchen and sets her on the counter.

Priority one is setting out a plate of chicken and a dish of water. Priority two is watching her eat and drink while he wipes up the water all over the floor. Priority three is putting the dirty plate in the dishwasher and putting his shoes away. Priority four is grabbing an old box and shredding some of the spam mail to create a makeshift litter box. Priority five is bringing the kitten with him into his room and letting her become familiar with the space as he changes out of his soggy clothing into pajamas. Priority six is taking the wet towel and clothes and putting them in the laundry. 

He grabs his laptop off his desk and sits on his bed. Immediately, the kitten trots to him, nuzzling his side. He sets his computer aside in favor of giving his new friend pets, and the purrs he gets in return warms his heart. 

Izuku never realized how lonely he truly is at home, but having a warm fluffy companion who insists on being on his lap and purrs loud enough for him to feel it in his body makes him process it. Yes, he smiles every time there’s a new message in the HN, but it’s been a long time since he truly smiled in his own home. 

“What’s your name, kitty cat?” When he asks, the cat in question just blinks at him. 

“How about Sushi? Since I found you in a sushi box.” It’s probably just because he’s talking, but she purrs a little louder at his suggestion. “Sushi it is.”

He picks her back up again, getting under the covers and electing to take the night off of work. Instead, he researches what food is best for older kittens and what supplies he’ll need to get, as she curls up on his chest and starts kneading biscuits into the blankets. 

Izuku doesn’t think he’ll ever stop missing his mom, but Sushi makes that feeling less painful.

Notes:

Rewritten on 3/18/2025 as a part of the Great 2025 Overhaul.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 5: Falling Apart

Notes:

Trigger warning for minor character death, quirkist assholes, and attempted suicide. Please stay safe!

From that day, Dekiru’s popularity exploded.

Not among the public, analysts don’t get that sort of popularity in the public eye. No, among the hero network, Dekiru was gaining traction. He got asked to do analyses on everyone from the Wild Wild Pussycats to All Might himself. For villains, security, missions, police cases, and everything in between.

He was making so much money, he didn’t even have to go to work (he still did, cause it was nice and he liked the owner). He had finished the first year of the online college courses he was taking (he skipped from middle school to college, because he wanted to go to a physical high school) and was taking a metaphorical gap year for his new analyst job, as well as launching himself into programming and hacking classes. And all the bills were easily paid.

It was ten months before the U.A. entrance exams when it all fell apart.

On the way to the hospital, Izuku pulled out his phone, weaving around people expertly even with a duffle bag over his shoulder.

 

Trigger Case (DO NOT CHANGE NAMES) - 3:07 pm

Detective Tsukauchi: @Dekiru have you gotten the info yet?

Dekiru: i have, im still looking it over

Detective Tsukauchi: i think we need to meet in person

Detective Tsukauchi: ive only given you a little bit of information, but theres stuff that’s dangerous to be sent online, even over HN

Dekiru: i kno a place, its private and the part timer that closes the cafe wont mind if we use the cafe as a meeting place after hours

Detective Tsukauchi: where’s the cafe?

Dekiru: its Mew’s Muffins on Corner and 3rd st

Dekiru: meet at 9

Detective Tsukauchi: right

Detective Tsukauchi: @everyone Please meet for a meeting tonight at Mew’s Muffins at 9 pm

 

Satisfied, Izuku pocketed his phone. With a bounce in his step, he continued onward, his feet carrying him through muscle memory. Humming a little tune that he learned from his mother, he went up to the front desk with a smile and a good mood. They had moved his mom to another room, so he had to ask where it was. He didn’t want to just ask his mom, it was supposed to be a surprise visit!

“Hi, I’m here to see Midoriya Inko,” he chirped, bouncing on his feet.

“Oh, you must be Izuku, the quirkless?” The secretary asked. He flinched at the reminder, but nodded, keeping the smile and good mood. He’s heard enough of her remarks to be able to tune her out by now.

“She was pronounced dead a couple days ago,” the secretary said blandly.

The word dead slammed him in the face like a hammer. “I- I’m sorry, what?” He asked, jaw dropped.

“She’s dead, kid, now scram.” The secretary looked back to her computer.

“Why- why did no one tell me?!” He could feel tears running down his face, and he knew that he was attracting stares, but he didn’t really care.

She glared at him, full of disgust. “Get out, or I’ll call security, brat.”

Suddenly everything was too much. The blinding white walls, the beeping of machines, the smell of antibiotics. His breathing was short and quick, and it felt like a vice was wrapped around his heart. Someone shouted something, and in his panic he bolted. He didn’t register anything other than running, running far away, until his lungs burned and his legs ached.

He dropped his bag under the overpass, just standing there and breathing. He hiccuped, trying to get as much air in his lungs as possible. It still felt as if he was being strangled, as if at any moment the vice around his heart would clench and he would die.

Pronounced dead. Those words rolled over and over in Izuku’s mind. It was fuzzy, all he could process was the fact that his mom was dead. She’s gone. He had nothing left fighting for.

“You’ll make an excellent skin suit, kid.”

Suddenly he was engulfed. Thankfully he had enough time to close his eyes and mouth, but then he was covered in slime. He scrabbled desperately at the slime, trying to dig his way out as his lungs started to burn, and he could feel himself slipping…

Then he was being slapped awake.

He blearily opened his eyes, before everything came crashing back to him. Izuku sat up suddenly, which turned out to be a mistake when his forehead collided with another forehead. A rather large, familiar forehead… All Might’s forehead?

He was fourteen now, and knew the harsh realities of life, but seeing All Might in the flesh made him feel like he was four. Grief had hit his walls with a sledgehammer, and let the child in him out. The child that had been beaten down all his life, but still dared to hold onto hope.

“Thank you so much, All Might!” He scrambled to stand up, taking a few bows. HIs bag was plopped back onto his shoulder, and he almost blue-screened at the fact that his childhood idol had put his bag on his shoulder.

“It’s no problem, kid!” All Might laughed heartily, the sludge villain in a soda bottle shoved into one of the pockets of his cargo shorts. He picked up his groceries again, and Izuku gave into his impulses and dared to hope.

“Wait, All Might!” He shouted, running up to the man who was leaving. “Just one question!”

“I’ve got to go!” All Might boomed, getting prepared to leave.

He had a stupid idea. A really stupid idea. But he didn’t really care. Hope had stoked the ashes he thought were extinguished long ago, and he really didn’t care if he lived or not, so he did it.

“Kid, you’ve got to let go!” All Might shouted. It only registered to Izuku that he was now up in the air, clinging to All Might’s leg.

“If I let go now, I’ll die!” Izuku shouted back.

They landed on a rooftop, and he stumbled a little, the weight of the duffle bag heavy on his as he looked over the city, All Might behind him. It suddenly occurred to Izuku how incredibly stupid that was, yet adrenline still coursed through his veins. He didn’t know whether it was the fact that his mother was dead or almost dying to the sludge villain that left him without fucks to give, but it was incredibly freeing.

He turned around at the sound of steam and saw… a skeletal man? He resembled All Might, but he was so much smaller. Small Might?

“All Might? Is that you?”

He sighed wearily, the kind of sigh that you make after staying up three nights in a row working (not that Izuku would know from personal experience, definitely not). “Yes, it is me.”

“But you’re…” Izuku just gestured at Small Might. “Unless your quirk is a transformation type quirk and not an emitter type quirk like everyone assumed…”

Before he began to start mumbling, Small Might raised a hand. “No, I’ll explain what actually happened.” He raised his shirt, exposing a nasty looking injury. “I got this from a villain fight five years ago-”

“Toxic Chainsaw?” Izuku asked.

“You really know your stuff, huh kid?” Small Might chuckled, then shook his head. “No, this was from a fight that was never broadcasted. This injury limits the amount of time that I can spend in my hero form. Most of the time, I look like this.” He dropped his shirt back down, then looked up at Izuku, who was effectively blue screening. “I need you to keep this a secret. It’s very dangerous if this gets out.”

“Of course!” He bowed. “It will come with me to the grave!”

“Anyways,” Small Might said, standing up with his groceries. “You have a question for me?”

Izuku sucked a deep breath in. “Can a quirkless person become a hero?”

It was as if the entire world stopped. The only thing he could hear was the wind rushing past them. The air hung heavy, waiting for the pro hero’s answer.

“I’m sorry kid, but no. It’s simply too dangerous, some villains can’t be beat without a quirk. If you want to be a hero, try becoming a police officer or a doctor.” Small Might turned away, as if he didn’t just shatter Izuku’s dream. “They should let you out once you explain what happened.” Then he just left.

It was a delusion. A dream he clung to out of grief, one that he thought he’d come to terms with. But it didn’t hurt any less. Sure, he had a new job, helping the heroes, but it felt empty. Anyone could do what he did, it was just a dumb creepy hobby. Maybe he just needed to accept what he already knew. He really was a useless Deku. He had no one.

“Take a swan dive off the roof and hope for a quirk in your next life!”

A hollow cavern filled his chest, making him numb. He dropped his duffle bag on the ground, filled with a work uniform and green folders filled with notes that meant nothing.

He took a few steps, closed his eyes, and let himself fall.

Notes:

Edit: Hi, I have gotten a few comments about this chapter. I am aware that the pacing in this chapter is not great, but I'm not fixing it because I'm still working on the fic and I have other things to do. Maybe one day I will, but don't expect it.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 6: Being Caught

Notes:

Trigger warnings for a suicide attempt and discussed bullying and suicide baiting. Stay safe y'all.

Keigo flew around lazily, gnawing on chicken drumsticks as he scanned the rooftops. He normally wasn’t in Musutafu, but the Commission had sent him to look into a couple of things for them. And as their little lap dog, he complied. 

They wanted to know what would spurn All Might to become a teacher at U.A. and who Dekiru was, the mystery analyst. 

Keigo had his suspicions, of course (about Dekiru, he had no clue about All Might, the man didn’t even have a teaching license). From what he could infer, Dekiru was around the same age as him, if younger than him. He had a part time job that he mostly relied on to pay the bills. He had a cat that he sent pictures of (her name was Sushi and she was adorable). He was a massive nerd, especially of pre-Quirk era media. And he was smart as hell. Hawks liked the guy, but the Commission wanted him under their control. 

Anyways, he wasn’t lazily flying over Musutafu for a break (although these chicken drumsticks were delicious). No, he was trailing All Might. He just landed on a rooftop with a kid clinging to his leg, and just… deflated. There was steam, and then he was smaller. Skeleton Might? Small Might? Whatever, the commission would want to know about this anyway. 

He shook a couple of feathers out, moving them down to the rooftop. He missed the explanation that Small Might gave the kid, but did catch the kid’s question. 

“Can a quirkless person be a hero?” 

Oh, that was a loaded question. He crossed his fingers, hoping that Small Might wasn’t going to say what he thought he was going to say-

“I’m sorry kid, but no.” 

Goddammit, Small Might. 

He tuned out a little to what the old-timer had to say. He just left the kid there. After a villain attack that Keigo had previously trailed him from. He’s not that good of a hero anyways, just showing up, dealing with the problem, and leaving. At least Keigo knows to stay behind and make sure the civilians are alright and get them medical attention before continuing on patrol. 

He moved his hand up to his earpiece, about to get in contact with his handler, when the kid dropped his bag. And started to walk. 

Keigo moved before he could think, adjusting his bucket of chicken drumsticks to tuck it under one arm and diving. His blood had run cold, and the only thing he could think was ‘Please don’t be too late.’

The kid had stepped off. He willed himself to go faster. 

Faster. 

Faster. 

He grabbed the kid under his armpits with his free arm, spreading his wings out and jetting them up. The kid had only fallen a few meters at most, but that was too many meters for his liking. He pulled the kid close to him, maneuvering carefully back onto the rooftop, away from the edge. 

The kid’s eyes were wide open in shock, so Keigo took the time to really look at him. He was short, probably around eleven or twelve, and yet the bags under his eyes were the biggest he’s ever seen. His eyes were a brilliant green, but they were dull, lacking the spark of life. His curly green hair was a mess, like he had dragged his head through mud. He wore a t-shirt that just said “shirt” and grey cargo pants, with red high-tops that looked scuffed in the sense that he’d had them for a long time, but clearly cared for them. 

“Kid,” Keigo said gently, trying to project calm and not the absolute panic he really felt. He was briefed on a lot of things in the Commission, but someone about to jump was not one of those things. He was on his own. 

“You’re Hawks.” The kid’s eyes were wide. “Oh my god, you’re usually not in Musutafu, so I took you away from something important, I’m so sorry-” 

“Hey kid, calm down,” he said, his hand still gently holding the kid’s wrist (loose enough to be reassuring but there in case he tried to jump again). “It’s fine, I really wasn’t doing anything important. Besides, you’re important.” 

The kid shook his head. “I’m not.” 

“I’m sure that’s not true.” He gently tugged on the kid, and just flopped onto the ground. “C’mere. Let’s just talk.” 

The kid was nervous, but sat down. He stretched a wing out, using the bright red appendage to bring the kid closer in a pseudo hug, wrapping around him like a blanket. The kid leaned into the touch, melting against the hero’s side. 

After a few tense moments, Keigo decided to grab another chicken drumstick. “You want some, kid?” He asked, starting to gesture with the drumstick. “I got these from this really nice place downtown-” The drumstick flew from his hands, bouncing across the concrete and eventually skidding over the edge. He pouted. “Aww. My chicken.” 

The kid burst into giggles. Keigo was grinning despite the sacrifice of his drumstick for the kid’s amusement. It was relieving to see that he could still laugh despite being about to jump. 

He just met the kid and he was getting attached. Keigo is fucked. 

“What’s your name?” He asked. “I can’t just keep calling you kid.” 

The kid sobered up, curling up further like he was protecting himself. “Midoriya. Midoriya Izuku.” 

“Alright Midoriya. What’s wrong?” He was hesitating, holding back tears and practically biting his bottom lip hard enough to bleed. “Talk to me, please. I can’t help you if I don’t know.” Keigo, number twelve pro hero, was not above begging. 

“If you knew, you’d leave, like everyone else,” Midoriya muttered, shaking his head. 

“Kid, Midoriya, I promise that nothing you said could be so bad that I’d leave,” Keigo said, trying to reassure the kid. 

The words processed in Midoriya’s head, and he seemed to be psyching himself up for something. After a few moments, he blurted out “I’m quirkless.” 

All the pieces fit together. He knew the statistics. He knew the bullying and suicide rates were absurdly high. But Keigo didn’t really want to call attention to that, especially since the sentence right before that was ‘you’d leave like everyone else,’ so he did the next best thing. 

“So?” He shrugged, pulling the kid closer. “I’m not going to leave you just because you don’t have a quirk.”

Midoriya stared at him wide eyed, tears watering already. He flung himself at the hero, clinging to his jacket as he sobbed. Keigo simply let it happen, eventually just patting the kid’s shoulder awkwardly. 

It seemed that what Keigo said was what opened the floodgates, because the kid started talking. He waited patiently as the kid babbled. About the bullying, how it started from teasing and words up to quirk usage and suicide baiting, the spider lilies on his desks, and how his teachers would ignore or even encourage it. About how his father left him after his diagnosis, how his mother worked super hard, how she got cancer when he was thirteen, how she died today. About how he’s living alone in his childhood home and struggling to survive off of a part time job until he finally found a SECOND job that paid well, about how he’d always dreamed of being a hero before his mom fell ill. About his encounter with All Might and the villain attack, how he was almost drowned in sludge, and how All Might brutally crushed the last remains of this kid’s dream and left him on the roof, alone. 

“Holy shit kid,” Keigo said, and Midoriya snorted next to him. “That’s a lot.” 

He slumped into Keigo, apparently over the embarrassment of crying onto the pro hero. “I’m so tired, but lighter? Who knew being out of fucks to give would feel so freeing.” 

Keigo chuckled. “You’re lucky.” He took a moment to collect his thoughts. He could tell that just talking about everything helped Midoriya a little bit, so now it was up to Keigo to not fuck this up. “But you know what? I think your mom would be proud of you. You’ve made it this far off of just yourself? That takes a fighting spirit.”

The kid’s eyes were filling up with tears again, and opened his mouth to say something, when an explosion cut him off. They both turned towards the source, Hawks with a wince because of his advanced hearing. He could hear the signs of a battle. 

“You should go!” Midoriya exclaimed. 

“We’re talking about this afterwards,” Keigo said quickly, spreading out his wings. “You ready to fly?” 

Midoriya only had time to squeak before he grabbed the kid once more, launching them up into the air. They soared through the air, and Midoriya’s shriek of fright turned into delightful laughter. Keigo let himself smile, before focusing back on the situation. 

He dropped the kid off behind the police tape, flying up a little higher to assess the situation, only hearing the tail end of “That’s the sludge villain” from the kid. Sure enough, a man made of sludge was inside the alleyway, with an explosive blonde kid trapped inside it. Backdraft and Kamui Woods were working to keep the crowd back, and Death Arms and Mt. Lady were just standing there. 

Keigo was detaching his feathers when he heard a war cry. Midoriya ducked under the police tape, leaving his bag behind and grabbing a rock off of the ground. He slung it at the sludge villain’s eye, hitting it dead on. Sludge man roared, and Keigo’s feathers swooped down to tug the two boys away from the sludge, as Midoriya’s desperate scrabbling was getting them nowhere. 

The kid was shouting something about the wind, so Keigo flew up, bringing his feathers back to him. He snapped his wings open, then flapped them, creating a gust of wind that blew the sludge apart. 

The crowd cheered as he landed, and the police were working on collecting the villain's eyes and body while the boys were herded to the paramedics. The vultures- excuse him, the media- were already on the scene and trying to interview him. He ignored them for now and just gave a few waves to the crowd, making his way over to the boys. He sent a couple of feathers to go and grab Midoriya’s bag, it would do no good if he just left it. 

“You’re both good,” one of the nurses said. Keigo walked over to hear the heroes praising the blonde for his powerful quirk and bravery. 

“Look, you can’t just run into situations like that,” Kamui Woods said, turning to face Midoriya. “Even with an analysis quirk, it’s dangerous for-” 

“What analysis quirk?!” The blonde turned to Midoriya. “Deku’s quirkless!” 

All the other pros rounded onto Midoriya at that point. “You’re quirkless?! That’s even more reckless!” Mt Lady said. “You should have stayed behind the police line, we had it handled. Right Hawks?” 

Keigo raised an eyebrow, and was about to say something when Midoriya jumped up. “Had it handled?” He asked, a dangerous edge to his voice. Keigo could already see the vultures angling their cameras on him. “Had it handled?! If I had waited any longer before jumping in, Bakugou would be dead by now!” The blonde violently flinched at the reminder, and watched Midoriya like he had grown a second head. “I didn’t even need a quirk to figure out that having a rock thrown in your eye would be painful! You are fully trained professionals, how were you not able to figure out something?!” 

“We were waiting for someone with a better quirk-” Death Arms was cut off by Midoriya continuing to rant. 

“Someone with a better quirk? Is that your excuse?! I’m sorry, last I checked you don’t need a quirk to throw a rock at someone’s eye! Seriously, a kid is dying and all you’ve got is ‘our quirks don’t work?’ As heroes you should be trained in the bare minimum amount of strategy to be able to work out how to save someone! It should be expected that not everyone’s quirk would work all the time, and you should be trained to work around that! Because of that Bakugou almost fucking died!” Midoriya threw his hands up into the air, dragging them down his face. 

The four pros turned to Keigo. He shrugged, knowing what he was about to say was going to set the media on fire. “The kid’s right. I may have used my wings to blow him away, pun intended, but his quick thinking bought me the time to pull them both to safety. Plus, him frantically shouting ‘wind’ gave me a pretty good idea about how to beat that guy.” Leaving the other heroes looking rightfully scolded, he turned to the kid. “C’mon. We’ve still got to continue that conversation from earlier.” 

Midoriya groaned, but picked up his duffle bag. Keigo let out one last wave for the crowd, before grabbing him and lifting off into the sky. 

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 7: Mew's Muffins

“This the right place, kid?” Keigo asked, landing them in front of a cat cafe. Mew’s Muffins, he noted, the cat cafe that he had to meet at. 

Midoriya nodded, opening the door. The cat cafe was surprisingly empty, except for the cats wandering around. It was a nice place, a mix of tables and bean bag chairs. The walls were painted a pleasant light pink, with other pastel colors mixed into the place. Keigo could smell pastries and coffee. 

A young lady was leaning on the counter, but she looked up from her phone when they both entered. “Midoriya!” She exclaimed. “Aihara-san was getting worried when you were late… Hawks?!” 

While the young barista started fangirling over Keigo (something that will never not be funny), an older woman came out from the kitchen. “Midoriya!” She exclaimed, pulling the kid into a hug. “Don’t do that again! An old woman’s heart can only handle so much!” 

“I’m okay, I promise, Aihara-san,” Midoriya reassured her. “I was caught up in watching a hero fight, that’s all. I’ll duck in the back, get changed, and start my shift.” 

“That’s skipping a few steps there kid,” Keigo ruffled the kid’s hair and listened to the kid squawk. “I’d like a conversation with him before his shift. He should take a shower though, his hair is disgusting.” 

Aihara nodded, turning to the young lady. “Haruno, you can go now that your shift’s ended. I’ll handle the counter while Midoriya changes and has his conversation.” 

Haruno nodded in response. “Don’t die, Midoriya,” she called out, before grabbing a bag and walking out the front. 

Aihara lightly smacked Midoriya. “Go get changed! I’m not getting any younger, and you still stink!” 

With a yelp and a “Yes ma’am!” Midoriya went into the back with his bag. 

Keigo stretched his wings, falling into a bean bag and sending a quick text back to the agency. A cat walked up to him, her name tag calling her “Pawks.” The pro hero looked up at the older lady with an eyebrow raised. 

Aihara chuckled as she wiped the counter. “I see you’ve seen the names,” she said. “Young Midoriya has been coming here for a long time. He named all of the cats.”

Keigo shook his head. “Should’ve known that the kid’s sense of humor is just as bad as his fashion sense.” 

“Would you like anything, dearie?” 

“No, I have my- fuck!” Keigo pouted dramatically. “I left my fried chicken on that rooftop.” 

Aihara laughed at the hero’s dramatics. “Would you like a pastry?”

“You know what, I would. How much for that cat one?” 

Keigo ended up overpaying her for the pastry (he had the money to burn) and picked a table by the window, where they could have some relative privacy. It wasn’t really rush hour, thankfully, so there weren’t many passersby gawking at him. He turned the chair around, letting his wings spread out as he ate his pastry. It was a pretty good one. 

Soon enough, Midoriya came back out. He wore a simple white collared shirt, with some black slacks and those red sneakers. Over it was a light pink apron, with Mew Muffins embroidered on the front, and paw prints over the pocket. His hair was much fluffier now that it was clean, sticking out all over the place, and it read as more vibrantly green than before. 

“Take a seat, kid,” Keigo said. The kid did so nervously, his fingers drumming on the table. 

“What you said back there, in the alleyway,” Midoriya paused, nervously working his bottom lip. “Did you mean it?” 

Keigo smiled, hopefully reassuringly. “I did. Your quick thinking and action was what saved that kid. Now, it was reckless, I’m not going to lie. But you saved him.” 

Midoriya slumped over, wiping off tears. “Besides,” Keigo added. “Everything you said was right too. There were four pros, they should’ve figured something out long before we got there. For professionalities sake, I have to tell you that I disapprove of the language, but you were right.” 

Midoriya nodded, going over and hugging the bird themed hero. Keigo pat the kid on the back. “Now then, we’re going to have to talk about before that. I know you’ve got work, but after that, do you have anywhere to go?” 

“I should be good on bills,” Midoriya said. 

“Kid, you should not be living alone,” Keigo said. “Friends?” 

“Nope.” 

“Other related family?” 

“Nope.” 

“You sure Aihara-san wouldn’t take you in? She seems like a nice lady.” 

“I don’t wanna burden her.” 

Keigo sighed, patting the kid’s back. He was attached, alright. “Alright, we’ll talk about it more after your shift. Now, the important question, do you still feel like you wanna jump?” 

Midoriya hesitated, before he spoke up quietly. “I still do, I think I have for a while, but it’s quieter, easier to ignore. I won’t do it again, if that’s what you’re asking.” 

Keigo nodded, standing up and stretching. “Alrighty then. You get to work, and I’m gonna go see if I can reclaim my spot.” 

“Don’t you have to go back to patrol?” Midoriya asked, but he also stood up. 

“Nah, my shift was over a while ago,” Keigo lied. “Besides, I’ve got a meeting to attend that actually happens to be here tonight, so I might as well stick around.” 

Midoriya went back behind the counter, speaking a little to Aihara, while Keigo made his way back over to the bean bag he was in earlier. To his annoyance, Pawks was now sitting right in the middle where Keigo’s butt is supposed to be. 

“Alright, get out, you little rascal,” Keigo muttered, picking the cat up and flopping down. He sighed in content, then huffed as the cat jumped onto his stomach. He relaxed, letting one hand pet Pawks while the other one pulled out his phone. 

 

U.A. Teachers and Company - 5:19 pm

Falcon (Hawks), Anya Amasova (Midnight), Jacked Bugs Bunny (Miruko) and Captain Jack Sparrow (Ms Joke) are all online.

Falcon: i think im adopting a child

Anya Amasova: :eyes:

Jacked Bugs Bunny: spill the fuckin tea

Falcon: *fletchling.png*

Falcon: look @ him

Anya Amasova: OH MY GOD

Jacked Bugs Bunny: he looks like a piece of broccoli

Captain Jack Sparrow: isnt that the kid who sassed death arms, mt lady, backdraft & kamui woods?

Falcon: yes

Jacked Bugs Bunny: KEEP BROCCOLI-CHAN

Captain Jack Sparrow: how did u meet him?

Falcon: talked him down from a roof

Falcon: he says hes okay but im keepin an eye on him

 

That’s how he spent the next few hours: sitting in the same bean bag with a cat on his chest while Midoriya worked. There were customers who would trickle in occasionally who wanted a selfie with Keigo, but he made it very clear that he was not moving. To Keigo’s amusement and the kid’s embarrassment, there were even a few people who wanted a selfie with Midoriya. 

First to come in of the hero meeting were Aizawa, Yamada and Kayama. All being from UA, it made sense that they would come in at the same time. 

“Hello little listener!” Yamada exclaimed, already cooing over Midoriya. 

Midoriya gasped. “Present Mic, Midnight, and Eraserhead?!” 

Everyone looked at him. “You recognize me?” Aizawa asked, one eyebrow raised. 

The kid started to ramble, but Keigo chose to ignore it as Pawks started kneading biscuits in his chest. He opened one eye when Kayama dropped down next to him. 

“Broccoli-chan is certainly cuter in person,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows. Hawks just rolled his eyes and smacked the hero. 

Next trickled in the Detective and Iida, who were talking amiably about something or other as they entered the café. Midoriya nerded out about the pro hero, and about Ms. Joke when she arrived (how someone as bubbly as her is an underground hero is a miracle). He also fanboyed over Sasaki, Moashi and Awata when they all arrived at the same ten minutes before nine. While that was going on, Tsukauchi went around and pulled some tables around so that there was a place for a proper meeting. 

“Takami.” Keigo groaned as Tsukauchi spoke up. “You’re going to have to actually sit at the table.” 

“I can’t move,” he responded. “It’s illegal. I’m the chosen one.” 

Yamada snorted, then moved over to pick up Pawks, who let out an offended meow. “You’re now free!” He exclaimed, his husband using Erasure to cancel his quirk before he wrecked the café. 

“Catipeder?” Moashi asked, looking at the tag of the cat that had settled onto his lap. Everyone at the meeting had a cat. 

“Mine is Pawks,” Keigo said, as the stubborn brat had decided to perch on his shoulder now that he wasn’t lying in the bean bag. 

“Alright, the puns are all well and good,” Tsukauchi said, petting the cat on his lap. “But there’s a matter of security. There’s a teenager here, and this is confidential information.” 

Everyone looked up at Midoriya, who was currently closing up the café. “Besides, Dekiru is late,” Sasaki grumbled. 

Midoriya closed the curtains and flipped over the sign on the door, turning back to the table with a smile. “It’s funny how the cats gravitated to the heroes they’re named after,” he said, looking over the gathering of heroes with none of the nerves of the past few hours. “Pawks went to Hawks, Mewnight went to Midnight, Present Mew went to Present Mic, Eraserpaw went to Eraserhead, Ms. Purr went to Ms. Joke, Pawgenium went to Ingenium, Detective Meowmasa went to Detective Tsukauchi, Bubble Cat went to Bubble Girl, Catipeder went to Centipeder, Sir Cateye went to Sir Nighteye, and,” Midoriya paused to pick up a cat who had wandered over to him, “Nekiru went to Dekiru.”

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 8: The Meeting

Notes:

Ya girl is a bit of a dumbass and didn't include a key to the chat names, so I'm going back and adding A.N.s in the beginning of the previous chapters to include the names. Anyways, enjoy, lovelies...

Also shout out to fantasynamegenerators.com because this chapter would not be written otherwise

The silence was so thick, you could hear a pin drop. Shouta raised an eyebrow, silently assessing the kid. He was covered in scars, running up and down his arms. He had bags under his eyes, and his emerald eyes, which had previously been full of brightness and innocence, were now hard with the look of someone who had seen too much. Shouta didn’t know what happened to give a kid the skills to lie so convincingly. He didn’t really want to know. 

“You’re Dekiru?” Tensei asked. “But, you’re so young!” 

Everyone looked at Naomasa. He just sighed. “He’s telling the truth.” 

“He’s so cute!” Nemuri burst out, cooing over the kid. “He is a little Broccoli-chan!” 

The kid flushed as the other ladies and Hizashi started cooing over him, shooting a dirty look at Keigo. Keigo shrugged, raising his hands up defensively. “I sent them a picture of you, kid.” 

Mirai sighed. “Are we sure he should be on the case if he’s so young? He’s still a civilian.” He was trying to be scolding, but the cat perched on his shoulder blunted the effect. 

“As long as I stay behind the screen and off the field, I’m still safe,” Dekiru said, going behind the counter for something. “Besides, I know enough about the case that you can’t really take me off without having me sign a shit ton of NDAs.” 

He took a seat at the table, having pulled out a few different green manila folders, a notebook, and a laptop. “I’m ready when you guys are,” he said, nodding to the detective. 

The Detective sighed, probably already having a headache incoming from the can of worms that the Problem Child just opened up. “Alright. There’s been new information that’s been brought to the table regarding the Trigger case, but first I’d like to hear Dekiru’s analysis with the information we’ve been able to provide him.” 

The greenette nodded, pulling out the first folder and opening it up. “We’ve currently identified three dealers of this new version of Trigger,” he said. “Mita Ryoichi, Enokida Shohei, and Iwakiri Naozane.”

The folder opened, and Shouta saw the face of Mita Ryoichi. “Mita Ryoichi, 27 years old, Quirk: Trick or Treat. He can summon small pumpkins, which explode on command. He’s dealt other drugs before, but this is the first time he’s picked up an illegal drug to sell. He has connections to the Demon Riders, presumably where he’s been getting his drugs from before he started dealing Trigger. He relies on his quirk too much, so either dodging the pumpkins or turning off his quirk is sufficient enough to bring him in. I recommend Eraserhead and a pro hero for backup. Eraserhead should be able to take him on his own but with Mita having Trigger on his person, it’s best not to take the chance.” 

Dekiru opened the next folder. “Enokida Shohei, 37 years old, Quirk: Bait. He has an influential voice that specifically makes his taunts more effective. He was a former member of the Abegawa Tenchu Kai before they were disbanded, and his previous jobs were assassinations, not drug dealings. His fighting style heavily relies on his kanobo, though he does have knives on him. As long as you can ignore his taunts, he essentially fights quirkless. I’d recommend Ingenium and Rock Lock, as a combination of speed and immobilization should be able to take him down quickly.”

Finally, he opened the last folder. “Iwakiri Naozane, 21 years old, Quirk: Impulse. She can create brief electromagnetic pulses from the spikes on her forehead. She’s had a history of graffiti and assault charges, and she comes from a poor family, which is possibly why she turned to Trigger dealing. She’s an inexperienced fighter, so as long as any equipment brought to fight her aren’t shorted by the EMPs. I’d recommend Midnight and another hero as backup, Midnight should be able to knock her out on her own but like with Mita, she has Trigger on her. We should be careful.” 

Dekiru closed the three folders, sliding them forwards to the middle of the table. “There’s more details inside those folders, they’re all encrypted. Based on the info, we’re looking for a large yakuza group behind the Trigger dealings. One large enough to offer enough money to tempt the poor, notable enough to catch the attention of other former yakuza members, and with enough influence to reach into the underground pharmaceutical business. I have a short list of fifty yakuza groups here,” he opened his notebook to the page he was talking about, “But without information that’s where I’m at.” 

They all looked at each other, and Naomasa pulled out the two pages with the yakuza lists. Mirai cleared his throat, speaking up. “We’ve got video footage of a fourth dealer,” he said, opening his laptop. “We’re hoping you could possibly identify him and the person he was meeting with.”

“I’ll take a look,” Dekiru said, opening a blank page to his notebook. He nodded to Mirai, who played the video, and then started muttering faster than anyone could make out. Everyone looked at each other, just kind of watching as Dekiru started to write while he muttered, completely focused on the footage. Shouta watched as Dekiru opened a new tab, searching for light blue and purple crystals. He then wrote down ‘tanzanite,’ flipped to the police database, and started searching for quirks that produced tanzanite. 

“Hojo Yu,” he said, turning the laptop to the other pro heroes. “Quirk: Crystallize. He can summon tanzanite crystals all over his body, although they’re worthless on the general market. He had a previous affiliation with the Kesshorobo, a quirk crystal trafficking group. It could be that the yakuza group saw that he was dropped by the Kesshorobo and saw an opportunity to get another dealer.” 

“What about the other person?” Shouta asked, one eyebrow raised. The conclusion the kid reached in only a few minutes was impressive. He could see Naomasa taking notes. 

Dekiru turned the laptop back to him. This was the more difficult part, as the person was completely in the shadows. They could only see a small silhouette that the camera could pick out. He didn’t seem daunted though, instead porting the footage into some sort of video editing software. He cranked up the contrast, and the silhouette of the figure could be more fully defined. 

“Mimic, Quirk: Mimicry,” Dekiru muttered, continuing to write. “The general manager of the Shie Hassaikai.”

“Are you sure?” Mirai asked, looking back over the footage. 

“I’m sure,” Dekiru said, pulling back his list of yakuza organizations from the Detective. With a pen he managed to pull out, he circled the entry that said ‘Shie Hassaikai.’ “The plague doctor mask is a dead giveaway, along with the short stature.”

“So we’re taking on one of the older and also more influential yakuza groups?” Nemuri asked. “Sounds like a party.” 

“What’s your breakdown on them, Dekiru?” Moashi asked, his mandibles clicking slightly as he spoke. 

Dekiru clicked his pen as he looked over the information he had, Nekiru on his shoulder and nibbling on his green curls. “I can send you a more in-depth breakdown tomorrow, but I can give you guys my initial thoughts now.” When Shouta nodded at him, he continued to speak. “Hojo’s crystals can grow nearly instantaneously, and they’re fairly durable, but they aren’t unbreakable. You’d want the heavy hitters who do a lot of damage to counteract his crystals, such as Death Arms or Miruko. Another option are long range fighters, such as Snipe, because his quirk is best suited for close range. Mimic’s quirk, Mimicry, allows him to transfer his body and mind into an object and manipulate it like it’s his own body. Normally he can only possess objects up to the size of a refrigerator, but Trigger is involved so we shouldn’t rely on that. However, when he’s immersed in an object he has to manifest a body part in order to take in his surroundings, so that’s a weak point that can be used. We want heroes who are maneuverable or immobilizes, such as Rock Lock, Hawks or Miruko.” 

Everyone was quiet, as the Detective and Mirai were taking notes on everything that Dekiru was saying. When he talked, he had a captivating presence, drawing in all of the pro heroes. It was impressive, seeing his brain work in person. 

“That was amazing, little listener!” Hizashi exclaimed, the only thing keeping the windows from being shattered was Shouta’s instinct in turning off his husband’s quirk. 

“It’s amazing to see your mind work in real time!” Awata chimed in

“Absolutely fascinating,” Tensei said. 

Each compliment made the kid flush more and more red. Shouta snickered, quietly petting Eraserpaw. Mirai and Naomasa were going over the three files the kid had forked over. 

“So, here’s what we’re going to do,” Naomasa said, calling attention back to him. “We’re going to focus on the three dealers we’ve identified already, as we’re confident of their popular spots and should be easier to catch. Eraserhead will be going to apprehend Mita, with Snipe as backup. Ingenium and Rock Lock will be going to apprehend Enokida. Midnight will be going to apprehend Iwakiri, with Fourth Kind as backup. The Nighteye Agency will continue working with Dekiru on the case.”

Dekiru had finished scribbling something on a page of his notebook, then pulled it out and pushed it to the two heroes. “Based on their routes, these are the places and times that are best for bringing them into custody,” he said. “The info was already in the folders, but I figured it’d make it easier if it was written out.” 

“I believe the meeting is adjourned then,” Mirai stood up, his sidekicks following suit. “I’ll get in contact with the heroes. The missions will be coordinated over the HN.” 

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I would like a pastry before I have to go,” Nemuri winked. Shouta just huffed at the ploy, it was obvious she wanted to pry more information out of ‘Broccoli-chan.’

“Oh, I can get some pastries for everyone,” Dekiru perked up, slipping his notebook and laptop into the duffle bag behind the counter. He went to the back, and everyone waved goodbye to the Nighteye Agency as they left. When he came back, he set down a pastry in front of everyone. 

“Now, Izuku,” Keigo said, commanding everyone’s attention. “We need to talk.”

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 9: A Very Important Talk

Notes:

I know you've all been excited but this chapter has been a bitch to write. It's on the shorter end, but it felt like a nice ending point.

Also, I've been writing another story that's on seven chapters, called Kitsune, the Night Watcher. Go there if you want vigilante, AFO and OFA wielding Izuku who has also adopted Eri as his little sister.

Izuku chuckled, the signature ‘I’m in danger’ chuckle. “What do we have to talk about?” 

“Problem Child,” Eraserhead leveled a glare at him, having his phone in his hand for some reason. “Why did Hawks say that he had to talk you down from a roof?” 

Izuku checked his phone, sending the pro hero a betrayed look. Hawks looked away with a whistle, drumming his fingers on the table. “Guys, I’m alright,” he said, and absolutely did not shrink back at the skeptical looks from everyone. 

“He said he’s probably not going to jump anymore, which I do believe,” Hawks said. “But he also said that he’s living alone, and I in good conscience cannot allow that.” 

“Okay, but did he tell you why he was going to jump?” Ms. Joke asked, ignoring Izuku’s small ‘I’m right here.’

“Yeah, but I’m not going to say anything unless Izuku does,” he responded.

Suddenly everyone’s eyes were on Izuku. He looked down at his pastry, playing with his fingers, running them over the scars there. A band had settled around his chest, made out of his insecurities. Sure, Hawks had accepted his uselessness quirklessness, but what about the rest of the heroes? He was overthinking, he just needed to blurt it out. 

“I’m quirkless.” 

The silence was thick, almost suffocating. He kept staring at his hands, not wanting to look up at the heroes he admired, seeing the disgust or pity on their faces. He traced the scars on his arms, remembering how he got them. Shame, guilt, disgust, grief all coiled in his gut, tears starting to water up in the corners of his eyes. 

Izuku stood up, the screeching of the chair cutting through the silence. “I’m sorry,” he choked out, “I’ll just go-”

He squeaked as he was grabbed, being pulled into a hug by the person right next to him. Present Mic, his brain helpfully supplied. He could hear other chairs moving in the background, and he felt more pairs of hands wrapping around him. Before he knew it, he was in a massive group hug. Present Mic was holding him from the front, Ms. Joke from the back, Midnight from the left and Ingenium from the right. Eraserhead had put one hand on his shoulder, and Hawks had glomped onto the hug, wrapping everyone in his wings. Izuku sniffled, letting tears roll down his face silently. 

He pulled back after a few moments, wiping the tears off of his face and taking a big bite of pastry. He was still tucked into Present Mic’s side, Ms. Joke on his other side. Everyone else moved around to the front, picking up their pastries and continuing to eat. 

“Midoriya, you’re amazing,” Ms. Joke said, getting some nods from the other heroes. “Seriously, we were all sure you had some sort of analysis quirk, but the fact that you do that by yourself is impressive.” 

“Never meet Nedzu,” Eraserhead grumbled. “You’d take over the world.” 

The U.A. teachers all shivered collectively at the thought. Hawks ruffled his hair, and Izuku squealed a little. “Seriously, though, you’re a genius. And challenging those pro heroes? That was fucking amazing.” 

“Seriously, you gave no fucks,” Midnight wiped a fake tear from her eye. “Truly inspiring.” 

Izuku shrugged. “That was more of a today thing.” 

“That should be an every day thing, that was beautiful,” Present Mic said. 

Izuku smiled, as Present Mew rubbed the side of his face. “Thanks, guys,” he said as tears slipped down his face at the praise. He heard praise more often from the pro heroes, but on bad days liked today, it really brought out the Midoriya genes. 

“Oh, don’t cry Broccoli-chan!” Ms. Jokes said. 

Izuku chuckled, wiping them away. “It’s okay, they’re happy tears.”

“Speaking of which, we should talk about something,” Detective Tsukauchi said, frowning down at his phone. “Is this true?” 

He presented the phone screen to Izuku, who scanned it. It was a set of private DMs between the detective and Hawks, explaining the fact that his father had fucked off and his mom just died. 

“Uhh…” Izuku shot a look at Hawks, who looked away and started whistling innocently. “No?” Detective Tsukauchi gave him a disappointed look. 

“Anyways, the kid needs a place to stay.” 

Izuku started sputtering as five heroes shouted “DIBS!!!” 

Said five heroes started bickering about who was going to take him home. Izuku was slowly going more and more red, scooting over to where Eraserhead and the detective were speaking with each other. 

Eventually, Eraserhead activated his quirk, and everyone quieted down, turning to the two men. 

“Alright, first of all, I’m taking Midnight out of the running for foster parent,” Detective Tsukauchi said. “I know you’d make a great parent, but CPS would never sign off on that, and I’d rather not have a lawsuit.” 

“I- oh, fine,” Midnight pouted, but sat down. 

“Anyways, I think you’re all missing the point.” Detective Tsukauchi turned to Izuku. “He should choose.” 

Izuku blanched, and all of a sudden was met with four heroes doing their best impression of puppy dogs. His inner fanboy was freaking out, but he managed to stutter something out without making a complete fool of himself. “Can I- Can I come back to that tomorrow?” 

“Do you have a place to stay?” Eraserhead asked gruffly, concern thinly veiled in his voice. 

Izuku nodded. “Yeah, being Dekiru allows me to pay the bills. Really, I’ll be okay.” 

“What if someone moved in with you,” Hawks said, his wings vibrating. “I know that the others can’t just drop everything and try to rearrange things, but I don’t have an apartment, and I needed a hotel room anyways. I’ll stay the night, make sure everything’s okay, and we’ll figure it out from there.” 

Everyone nodded, although Eraserhead looked at Hawks a little suspiciously. “Your safety is our priority,” Detective Tsukauchi said. “I’m okay with it if you are, Izuku.” 

“Yeah, and if you don’t want Hawks to stay over, one of us can,” Ms. Joke said. “I’m gonna be here for the next month for the raid anyways, I’m already just crashing at Nemuri’s place.” 

“No, Hawks is okay,” Izuku said, swinging his duffle bag on his shoulder. 

Hawks put his hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. “We’ll figure this out, alright?” 

Izuku looked up at the faces of his friends, giving him reassuring smiles, and smiled in return. Maybe everything will be alright.

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 10: Settling In

Keigo subtly checked out the apartment, following after Midoriya. It was small and homely, pictures of him and presumably his mom hung up all over the place. The couch had a couple of crocheted blankets and was covered in cat fur. Papers were strewn all over the kitchen table, and the kitchen was messy but physically clean. There were hand towels with little frogs embroidered hanging on the stove, possibly a gift from a coworker. The first door he saw was closed, with an All Might name plate that said “Izuku.” 

A very loud meow drew his attention, and he zeroed in on the calico cat coming from the kitchen. “I know, I know, I’m sorry,” Midoriya said to her, as she sat down in front of him and started meowing. “I’m getting you dinner now.” 

Keigo flopped on the couch, letting his wings spread out as he listened to Midoriya getting Sushi (he assumed she was Sushi) her dinner. There was a surprising amount of plants in the apartment, pots holding various ferns and flowers. 

“I didn’t think you’d have so many plants,” he commented idly. 

“Oh, we didn’t, cause no one would be at home to water them,” Midoriya responded from the kitchen, and he could hear the kid prepping something. “But ever since I transferred to online school, my mom insisted that I get a whole bunch of plants. She said that keeping the windows open and having a bunch of plants would make sure I got fresh air. Do you want some water?” 

“If you’re offering.” Keigo scanned the spread of papers on the coffee table. They were all written in some sort of code that he couldn’t understand, probably his analysis as Dekiru. He recognized a picture of Snipe. “What’s this?” 

Midoriya came over with two glasses of water, Sushi trailing after him. “Oh, Snipe commissioned me for an analysis on him. It’s mostly finished, I’ve just got to clean it up and make it readable.” 

He hummed, taking a glass of water and scooting over on the couch. Midoriya sat down next to him, and he stretched out one wing, draping it around the kid. Sushi jumped up, climbing over his lap and settling right between the two, purring contentedly as Keigo took off one glove and started scratching behind her ears. 

“This is Sushi?” He asked casually, already smitten. At Midoriya’s nod, he continued. “Where’s the name from?” 

He flushed, looking away from the hero. “Well, I found her in a sushi takeout box.”

Keigo laughed, startling the cat, and Midoriya smacked him lightly. “Your names really are as bad as your fashion sense!” 

“Coming from pro hero Hawks?” He snarked back, one eyebrow raised. 

“Touché.” 

They both jumped as ugly squawking noises started coming from Keigo’s jacket pocket. The hero fumbled, pulling out his phone and groaning at the caller ID. “Sorry kiddo, I gotta take this.” 

Midoriya nodded, picking up his duffle bag from where he had plopped it at the end of the couch. “I’ve got to change anyways,” he said, giving him a wave as he went into his room. 

Keigo sighed, mentally bracing himself as he answered the call. 

“Hawks,” his handler droned. “Do you have any new information?” 

“I do,” he said. “I met Dekiru face to face at the meeting on the Trigger case. He didn’t give out his name or personal information, but we have a description.” 

“Excellent. What is it?” 

“University student, early twenties,” Keigo lied easily, having been trained to be able to manipulate people with ease. “His hair was dyed green, and he had natural green eyes. Freckles too.”

“That does fit the profile we’ve constructed,” his handler said. “Any information on All Might?” 

“No new information. I observed him, but it didn’t yield anything.” 

“Fine. Anyways, we have a new objective for you.” 

“Oh?” Keigo took sips of his water. Lying made him thirsty, sue him. 

“We need you to get a teaching position at U.A.” 

Keigo spit out his water, hacking out his lungs. “What? I don’t- I don’t have any teaching experience!” 

“Well, you’ve got ten months to prepare some teaching credentials.” His handler seemed unamused. “You have your orders. We’ll arrange for an apartment in Musutafu-” 

“No need,” he said quickly. “I’ve got that handled.” 

“Very well.” The phone clicked off. Keigo groaned, flopping face first onto the couch. 

“Are you okay, Hawks?” Midoriya asked. The winged hero looked up to see him standing there sheepishly, looking concerned. He was wearing a Present Mic tee and a pair of sweatpants. “I heard you choking.” 

“I’m fine kid.” Keigo sat up, patting the couch next to him. “And call me Keigo. Takami Keigo. It’s only fair you know my name.” 

“I- okay Haw- I mean Ta- I mean Keigo-san.” 

He raised an eyebrow as the kid sat down. “Just Keigo’s fine.” 

“Okay, Keigo-sa- Keigo.” His brows furrowed as he thought, sitting crisscross applesauce. Sushi apparently took that as an opportunity, jumping up and making herself comfortable in his lap. “What was that phone call about?” 

Keigo sighed. “Well, apparently I’m supposed to become a teacher at U.A.” 

“You’re gonna what?!” Midoriya gaped. “Do you even have a license?” 

“No, but apparently I’m gonna get one within the next ten months,” Keigo groaned. “And then there’s the issue of moving…” 

“Oh, right, you don’t actually have an apartment here…” Midoriya trailed off when Sushi bumped his palm with her face. He smiled fondly, continuing to give her pets. 

“I’d like to propose something, actually,” Keigo said carefully, making sure to keep his posture relaxed as Midoriya looked up at him nervously. “If you’re okay with it, I can move in here. You keep the apartment, you’re not living alone, and I have a place that’s relatively nearby.” 

Midoriya’s eyes widened. Then he started mumbling, about as fast as he was analyzing that crystal villain, and even Keigo’s advanced hearing couldn’t pick it up. Sushi was squirming in his lap, unhappy that she wasn’t getting pets. 

Keigo pspsps’d the cat, lightly scratching the couch beside him. She perked up, jumping out of Midoriya’s lap and gracefully walking over to him. He cooed a little as he pet her, and he was unashamed to admit that he was calling her a true queen, an angel, and a little baby. 

Midoriya was broken out of his muttering, and smiled at the scene. “Well, if Sushi likes you, I suppose you can stay.” 

“Normally I would say something sarcastic in return, but I’ve been blessed by an angel today,” Keigo sniped back, continuing to pet the little creature who had migrated to his lap. 

Midoriya chuckled, and the hero could see him taking a picture with his phone, before scooting over and also starting to pet the cat. 

“Well, Midoriya-” 

“Izuku,” the kid interrupted. “If I’m calling you Keigo, you can call me Izuku.” 

“Right.” Keigo smiled at Mi- Izuku. “I don’t mind crashing on the couch if you don’t have a guest room, but-” 

“Oh, it’s okay, you can use my mom’s,” Izuku flushed, looking down at Sushi. “I- It feels weird for me to move in there, since I’ve already got my own. Besides, you have big wings, you need the bigger bed.” 

“If you’re okay with it,” Keigo shrugged, hiding how touched he was. He raised an eyebrow when Izuku scooted over, pulling out a pen and starting to pull papers on the table to him. “What are you doing?” 

“Oh, you don’t mind if I work, do you?” 

“Kid, it’s-” he looked up at the clock, “Eleven at night.” 

“So?” Izuku shrugged. “I wake up at ten thirty in the morning.” 

Keigo tried to hide a yawn. “Lucky brat,” he smacked him in the back of the head, then stood up. “Well, I’m gonna turn in for the night. You gonna be good out here?” 

Izuku just leveled a look at him. “I’ll be fine.” 

The hero hummed in acknowledgement, stretching his back and wings. “If you need anything, lemme know.” When the kid nodded, he turned around, making his way to the master bedroom. Giving the kid one last peek over his shoulder (and taking a picture to send to the group chat), he smiled fondly. 

Izuku was leaning over the table, Present Mic’s radio playing softly while he muttered up a storm and chewed on the end of his pen. 

The kid’s gonna be alright.

 

---

 

U.A. Teachers and Company - 11:28 PM

Dekiru-chan (Izuku), Eraserdad (Eraserhead), Anya Amasova (Midnight), Fus Roh Dah (Present Mic), God (Nedzu), Silver the Hedgehog (Ingenium), Captain Jack Sparrow (Ms Joke), Jacked Bugs Bunny (Miruko) are online.

Dekiru-chan: sorry 4 worryin u guys

Dekiru-chan: im home w keigo and hes gonna be movin in!

Dekiru-chan: hes sleepin rn

Eraserdad: why is hawks moving in?

Anya Amasova: and when were u 2 on 1st name basis?!?!?!

Fus Roh Dah: i wanna be on 1st name basis w the little listener :(

Dekiru-chan: u guys can!!!

Dekiru-chan: also apparently hes supposed to become a ua teacher?? we just found out like 20 min ago so we dont kno a hole lot

Eraserdad: this years gonna be a nightmare

God: Well, Hawks can meet me in my office tomorrow and we can go over his credentials then. 

Dekiru-chan: ill let him kno when he wakes up!!!

Silver the Hedgehog: anyways 1st name basis!!!

Silver the Hedgehog: i’m iida tensei

Captain Jack Sparrow: fukukdao emi!!!

Anya Amasova: kayama nemuri

Jacked Bugs Bunny: usagiyama rumi

Fus Roh Dah: YAMADA HIZASHI

Dekiru-chan: thank u guys for trustim me w this!!!

Anya Amasova: u r a broccoli chan

Anya Amasova: trust in the broccoli

Jacked Bugs Bunny: WAIT

Jacked Bugs Bunny: DEKIRU IS BROCCOLI CHAN

Silver the Hedgehog: oop

Silver the Hedgehog: i forgot u werent there

Dekiru-chan (Izuku), Eraserdad (Eraserhead), Anya Amasova (Midnight), Fus Roh Dah (Present Mic), God (Nedzu), Silver the Hedgehog (Ingenium), Captain Jack Sparrow (Ms Joke), Jacked Bugs Bunny (Miruko), and Falcon (Hawks) are online.

Falcon: *dekiruatwork.png*

Falcon: it him

Dekiru-chan: KEIGO >:O

Dekiru-chan: i thot u were asleep!!!

Falcon: well u keep blowin up my phone

Falcon: arent u supposed to be workin?

Dekiru-chan: shit

Dekiru-chan: bye every1

Eraserdad: language

Anya Amasova: buh bye!!!

Captain Jack Sparrow: bye

Fus Roh Dah: GOODBYE LITTLE LISTENER!!!

God: See you tomorrow, Dekiru. 

Anya Amasova: fear

 

---

 

Sane U.A. Teachers - 11:43 PM

Nedzu: There’s been an interesting development. 

Cementoss: What’s going on now?

Nedzu: Dekiru is going to be an interesting student next year. 

Ectoplasm: HE’S GOING TO BE WHAT

Vlad King: Please don’t tell me a literal child has been running circles around the pro hero community for a year now.

Nedzu: :)

Power Loader: Nedzu, for the love of everything you hold dear, please don’t put him in my class. 

Nedzu: We’ll see how everything plays out. 

Nedzu: I’m going to be meeting him face to face tomorrow. 

Hound Dog: Alright, I’ll let Shouta know that he’ll have to change his Heroic Ethics class to include the new laws for when Nedzu and Dekiru take over the world. 

Snipe: I don’t get paid enough for this.

Notes:

I'm thinking of making an ask blog for my three Izukus, lemme know if you guys would be interested. EDIT: I have made the blog, it's the Official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Also there were questions about the other U.A. teachers, so I hope that answered your questions.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 11: Nedzu's Tea Time

Notes:

Hey! I have a couple of questions I would like to ask you, the readers, about. Please answer the Google Form here and enjoy the chapter. :D

Izuku was nervous, running a brush in his hair one last time. He was wearing the best outfit he had, which was a dark leather jacket that used to be his father’s before he left, a t-shirt that said “bowtie,” and dark jeans. He wore his usual hightops, because he was attached and definitely not because they were his only pair, and he was desperately trying to tame his hair, even though he knew it would be no use. He had one of his messenger bags over his shoulder, the one with a fuck ton of hero pins that he hoped could pass off as respectful homage rather than fanboy. Keigo, the lucky bastard, could get away with just wearing his hero costume for the meeting.

“You good, Izuku?” He asked from the living room. “You’ve been in the bathroom for like twenty minutes.” 

Izuku groaned, abandoning the brush and double checking he had everything. The analysis for Snipe, his laptop, that’s about it. Coming out of the bathroom, he frowned as he saw Keigo fluttering around the kitchen table, with plates that had black crusty things on them. 

“Umm, what the fuck are those?” Izuku asked, pointing at the lumps of coal. 

“I, uh-” the bird man had the audacity to look sheepish next to his hideous creations. “I tried to make breakfast?” 

“That’s a monstrosity is what that is,” Izuku said, picking up the plates and dumping ‘breakfast’ into the trash despite Keigo’s squawking. “We’ll pick up breakfast on the way there.” 

“You don’t know how to cook either, do you?” Keigo asked accusingly. 

Izuku scoffed, adjusting the bag on his shoulders. “I do, I’m just lazy. Besides, if we don’t leave now, we’re going to be late.” 

Keigo swore, and Izuku laughed at him, closing and locking the door behind them. He pulled out the two Pop Tart packets he had in his jacket pocket, handing one of them to the hero. 

“Get on my back,” Keigo said, while ripping open the Pop Tart bag and shoving one into his face. Izuku beamed, jumping onto his bag as the hero stumbled over. “Kami, kid, you’re heavy!” 

“Fly, my pretty!” Izuku cackled, shoving a Pop Tart into his face. Keigo squawked through his mouthful of breakfast, jumping up and into the air as soon as they were outside. 

10/10, easily the best Uber he’s had in a while. 

 

---

 

To say that Keigo was nervous was an understatement. No, he was sweating bullets as he sat in front of Nedzu, his feathers twitching as he felt the mammal take him apart with his gaze. But really, anyone would be nervous in his position: he was facing down the smartest creature alive. 

“Would you like some tea?” Nedzu asked, pouring into two teacups. “Peppermint tea is very good for nerves.”

“Of course, I would love some.” His wings twitched as he took the cup from the mammal’s paws, taking a careful sip as if it might hurt him. The hero wouldn’t put it past him. It was clean. And delicious. Though that might be just the mind games. Damn mouse. 

“It’s not often that we get a top hero asking for a position,” Nedzu talked carefully, and it felt like with every word the mammal was slowly peeling him apart like an onion. “Normally, we wouldn’t be available for a new hire, but… there are circumstances that may require a second heroics teacher assistant.” 

“Oh?” Keigo asked conversationally, trying to keep his wings from twitching. The only reason he was able to sit down at all and maintain some composure was that the principal had brought out a stool for him. Otherwise he would be anxiously pacing, which would be very bad for the whole ‘staying composed’ thing. 

“Ah, but I’m getting ahead of myself,” Nedzu took a sip of his tea. “Let’s start with this: what are your teaching qualifications? Other than being a hero: we both know that what makes a good hero and a good teacher are different.” 

Keigo cleared his throat, reciting the little speech he whipped up and memorized last night. “I am currently working on getting my Bachelor’s of Education online, which I understand won’t get me to the next school year, but it should give me enough experience to at least be a teacher’s assistant until I finish my degree in a few years and get my license.” 

“Of course, of course. You’ll find we are very flexible when it comes to licenses, since Heroics teachers are in demand, especially good ones.” Nedzu took another sip of tea. “How do you intend to balance your hero work and teaching work?” 

This was another point Keigo had planned out. “I am handing over primary control of my agency in Fukuoka to Phoenix, and I’m opening a new branch in Musutafu that will be in the primary control of Corollax. I’ll be in touch with both of them, and I’ll carry out patrols after school and grading when I have the time, but it will be put on the backburner to my teaching duties.” 

The mammal calmly sipped his tea. “Why are you considering teaching?” The underlying question was “Why are you considering teaching now ?” 

Keigo sighed. He tossed and turned last night, he knew that he was going to be asked that. He agonized over what he was going to say, but he landed on the decision that he knew was going to have consequences. 

“I’ll be completely honest with you.” Those six words alone had the mammal putting down his cup, tilting his head in interest. “The HPSC pushed for me to get a teaching position. They knew about All Might acquiring his position. But I’m less offering my skills as a teacher and more my position as an insider.” 

“Interesting, but how do I know that you’re not being transparent just to get in and siphon information back to the commission?” 

Keigo smiled. He prepared for that question. “I have information that could potentially bring the commission down if it came to light.” 

“Oh?” 

“Let me tell you a story…” 

 

---

 

Izuku waved sheepishly as Keigo closed the large door behind him. He sighed, looking around, and let his feet carry him as he explored UA. 

Classes were still in session, so he didn’t meet any students in the hallways. He admired the scenery outside the massive glass windows, and the pictures of various alumni or student projects (in the case of the Modern Art History classroom). 

Eventually he found that he had wandered to the teacher’s lounge. He briefly debated going on in, but came to the conclusion that he didn’t care enough. Ever since yesterday and being left alone on the roof, Izuku found that he was simply out of fucks to give. 

It doesn’t help that he’s had a pulsing headache for the past three days. 

He slowly opened the door and peeked inside (he still had manners, thank you very much). Aizawa-san (because yeah he had first name approval but it felt weird to use still) and Vlad King were sitting next to each other at desks, presumably doing paperwork, while Power Loader was doing his paperwork in a desk a row across from them. Kayama-san, Snipe and Lunch Rush were standing around the coffee maker and chatting. 

Aizawa looked up first, being the underground pro, and just grunted in acknowledgement at Izuku’s presence before going back to his paperwork. Vlad King didn’t even look up, presumably just trusting Aizawa, and Power Loader looked up. His entrance didn’t even disturb the conversation happening around the coffee maker, which from the sound of it was a very heated argument about student shipping (he wasn’t going to touch that with a ten foot pole). 

“Excuse me, who are you?” Power Loader asked, bringing the attention of Vlad King and the heroes around the coffee maker. Of course, Kayama-san just squealed. 

“Broccoli-chan!” She ran over and pulled him into a hug. Izuku flushed bright red as he felt his face squished against her… chest. “It’s so good to see you again! I didn’t expect you to be here so soon!” 

“Yeah, Keigo’s meeting with Nedzu right now,” he pulled back out of the hug, so the heroine slung an arm over his shoulder and dragged him to the other heroes. 

“Broccoli-chan?” Lunch Rush asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Power Loader coming over too. 

“Oh!” Izuku threw open his bag, pulling out the green folder and holding it out to Snipe. “This is yours! I know I could’ve sent it over the HN, but I figured I could hand it to you directly since I came to U.A. in person…” 

“Wait-” Snipe opened the folder, flipping through the pages. “You’re Dekiru?!” 

“Oh kami it’s true,” Vlad King muttered. 

“I thought the rat was pulling our leg!” Power Loader shouted. 

“Uh, yeah, I am,” Izuku scratched the back of his head nervously. “I didn’t tell anyone my age, obviously, I didn’t want to discount my credibility-”
“I thought we told you this, it obviously just makes you more impressive!” Kayama-san exclaimed. 

“No, you didn’t,” Izuku said, adjusting the strap of his bag. “You all sent me your names, then told Miruko that I was also Broccoli-chan, and then I had to go back to work to let Keigo sleep.” 

“Wait a minute, you’re on first name basis with Hawks?” Vlad King asked. 

“I mean, he is moving into my apartment,” Izuku deadpanned, then shrugged. “Besides, Sushi likes him.”

Kayama-san gasped. “Do you have more Sushi pics?!” 

Izuku smiled sheepishly, pulling out his phone and opening up to the gallery, letting the heroine scroll through his folder of Sushi pics and show the other heroes. 

“This is very impressive, kid,” Snipe muttered. “Your reputation holds up.” He dug around his costume pockets, eventually pulling out his phone. “I’ll send the money right over.” 

Izuku nodded a quick thanks, then snatched his phone back. “I can send more Sushi pics in the group chat,” he said, stuffing it back into his pockets. 

“So, I’m presuming you wanna go to U.A., if you’re here,” Lunch Rush started, and continued at Izuku’s small nod. “Which course are you planning on going into?” 

“I used to really wanna be a hero when I was small, but it’s pretty much unattainable for me now,” Izuku shrugged sadly, to the confusion of most of the heroes and the small sad nod of Kayama-san. “So I’m going into the analysis business. Use your greatest strength, ya know?” 

“Support course, then,” Power Loader sighed. “Which means I’ll probably be your homeroom teacher.” 

“The analysis track is in the support course?” Izuku asked. “I thought it would be in management.” 

“No, apparently not,” Power Loader shook his head. “Honestly I forgot we even have that track, there hasn’t been anyone in it for years.” 

“Which means you’ll most likely be the only student, which means you’ll probably be Nedzu’s only student…” Vlad King trailed off, and the room collectively shuddered. Izuku gave his most innocent smile, which didn’t seem to reassure the room. 

“It’s okay, I won’t take over the world!” He said cheerfully. “Even I know my limits.” 

“There’s a difference between your limits and the power of Nedzu,” Vlad King pointed out. 

“I think you guys are overestimating me, I’m not that bad,” Izuku said. 

“Don’t believe him!” The door was slammed open, and everyone watched as Keigo slammed into the doorframe. “Ow ow ow- Don’t believe him! He really is. I caught him trying to train the raccoons last night.” 

“Hey, you’ll be thanking me when the 3rd raccoon battalion saves your ass!” Izuku sniped back, then blinked when he realized where he was when he just swore. Keigo was getting himself back onto his feet, and Nedzu was standing next to him in the doorway. 

“Hello, Dekiru!” Nedzu exclaimed, bouncing over to him. “Am I a mouse? A bear? A dog? I am Nedzu, the principal of U.A.” 

“Actually, you look like an albino stoat,” Izuku said. 

The room went deadly quiet. Then Nedzu started laughing. 

“Midoriya Izuku, next year is going to be really fun.”

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 12: Katsudon and Conversations

Notes:

This chapter is a little on the shorter side, but it just felt right to end it there. Enjoy!

Edit: Gone back and fixed a few things. Don't write at midnight kids.

Izuku was flying on cloud nine. He’s collected a bunch of signatures from pro heroes (he’s still a fanboy, sue him), got a personal tour of U.A. and he’s currently being treated to Lunch Rush’s katsudon. 

“That’s it,” Izuku mumbled through bites of food. “Lunch Rush is my favorite.” 

“What the hell?!” Keigo squawked. They were both sitting in a small room off of the school’s kitchen, basically the cafeteria but for the teachers. Keigo was eating some yakitori (cannibal) which was also made by Lunch Rush. 

“I mean you’re cool too, but this katsudon is literal heaven.” 

“I saved your life!” 

“But this katsudon.” 

Keigo groaned, and Izuku let himself cackle as he continued shoving katsudon into his face. It wasn’t the most attractive sight but sue him, he was hungry. 

“I’m sure that Shegaka will be happy to hear that,” an elderly lady said from behind him. Izuku turned around, his eyes going wide. 

“Recovery Girl!” He exclaimed, his eyes practically sparkling. “The Youthful Heroine!” 

She smiled slyly. “Well, it’s not every day the youngins recognize me. I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

Izuku flushed with a squeak. “H-How?!” 

“I got to witness the younger members of the U.A. staff freak out when Nedzu announced that you could be a student here.” 

“What?!” 

Keigo stopped bothering to hide his laughter by now, doubling over. Izuku flushed, smacking him while even Recovery Girl started chuckling. 

“Why are you so mean?” Izuku whined, slowly slumping further down into his seat. That just made Keigo laugh harder. 

After the laughter tapered out, Recovery Girl came over. “Anyways, Nemuri, Hizashi and Shouta wanted me to check up on you, based on something you sent them last night.” 

Izuku raised an eyebrow in confusion. “I don’t think I sent a concerning text in the group chat?” 

Keigo looked at him weirdly. “Do you not remember the text you sent? After I went back to bed after being assaulted by your raccoon army?” 

“No?” 

“Check the group chat.” 

 

U.A. Teachers and Company - 3:17 AM

Dekiru-chan (Izuku) and Pink Panther (Tsukauchi) are online.

Dekiru-Chan: i feel like shit and my head hurst and im textin up th analysis 4 gang orca honestly im gonna fuckin give snipes 2 him in person im so fuckin tired i need coffee my goddddsdlkjfsklajd

Pink Panther: Dekiru?????????

 

“Oh, yeah, I can see how that would be concerning,” Izuku muttered, scratching his head. “I was wondering why Gang Orca’s analysis wasn’t finished this morning.” 

“What’s this about headaches, dearie?” 

“Oh, I’ve had on and off headaches the past few weeks,” Izuku said. “They usually appear about an hour after I start working on analyses on my computer, and they usually don’t go away until I go to bed and wake up the next morning.” 

“Hmm, it sounds like a case of Computer Vision Syndrome,” Recovery hummed, thumping her cane on the ground. “All those screens give you a headache. Just stop using as many screens and you’ll be fine.” 

“Your other option is a pair of blue light glasses,” Keigo spoke up. “I know some of the interns and sidekicks at the Aerie use them.” 

“Yeah, I can’t really stop using screens,” Izuku muttered. “I use the Hero Network to deliver my analyses.” 

“Well, I do have to go to the Aerie tomorrow to get some paperwork,” Keigo spoke through a mouthful of food. “We can get you a pair while we’re out- OW!” 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” Recovery Girl scolded, after smacking him with her cane. 

Izuku almost choked on his lunch. 

 

---

 

Izuku sighed, flopping face first onto the couch. He was excited this morning so he skipped his morning coffee, but now at two in the afternoon, he was drained. He could hear Sushi snoring right next to his head and he was honestly about to join her. 

“Hey, Izuku,” Keigo said from somewhere in the apartment. Izuku just grumbled in response. 

A red feather tickled his nose, and he sneezed. “I know, you want to take a nap, but we’ve got to talk first.” 

Izuku groaned, but sat up, and leaned back on Keigo when he finally sat down on the couch. “What d’we need to talk about?” 

Keigo made a clicking sound with his tongue absentmindedly. “We need to talk about yesterday.”

“But I thought we were done talking about yesterday,” Izuku whined, letting himself flop onto Keigo, getting an ‘oof’ out of the man. 

“I know kiddo,” Keigo sighed. “But we really should talk about it.”

Izuku grumbled, looking up at Keigo properly with a glare. Apparently it didn’t register as a glare because the bird man snorts. “So, what are we talking about?” 

Keigo thoughtfully clicked again, wrapping an arm around Izuku’s shoulder. “The bullying.”

That sobered Izuku up real quickly, and he was about to get up, but Keigo’s arm kept him from moving too much. The hero’s other hand was in his hair, giving him a gentle head massage. 

“What about it?” Izuku asked. 

“We want some names,” Keigo said, and Izuku raised an eyebrow. “Rumi suggested to just start burning down middle schools until we hit the right one, but I figured that it would be better if we just heard it from you.” 

“I- Miruko- Keigo, that’s just arson!” Izuku sputtered. “Besides, it’s not worth it.” 

“What do you mean, not worth it?” 

“I mean-” He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “I’m not going to school in person anymore. I should just focus on my future rather than waste energy on the past, you know?” 

“If it’s weighing on you enough to almost lead you to commit suicide, it’s not just in the past.” Keigo deadpanned. “The closure would be good for you. Besides, the heroes would be mostly taking care of it.” 

“I- alright.” Izuku shrugged. “I went to Aldera Elementary, and then Aldera Middle School.”

“What about the names of the bullies?” 

He just shook his head. “They’re kids. The only ones who would go so far as to physically hurt me and use their quirks were mostly the upperclassmen, and I never knew any of their names.” 

“The words and flowers aren’t harmless either,” Keigo pointed out. “And there’s only so long that ‘they’re kids’ is a good enough excuse.” 

“It’s mostly the teachers though,” Izuku argued. “No one would ever step in, some would even encourage it. The nurses would refuse to treat me, and the one time I reported when I got beat up to the principal, he put a mark of fighting on my record instead. I just think that they deserve a second chance, you know?” 

“Including Bakugou?” Keigo asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Including Bakugou. He’s always wanted to be a hero, and he’ll make a good one, if someone helped him pull the stick out of his ass.” 

They both laughed, startling Sushi, who was sitting in Keigo’s lap. After they settled down, Izuku spoke up again. “I’m not saying there shouldn’t be consequences, just that he should have a second chance.”

“And if he doesn’t improve even with the second chance, that’s on him,” Keigo said firmly. Izuku’s only response was a nod. He was starting to drift off. Keigo’s fingers on his scalp did wonders. 

“Alright, I’ll let you sleep,” Keigo said, adjusting them so that Keigo was laying on his side, wings over the side of the couch, and Izuku was laying on top of him. 

Izuku sighed in contentment. “Wake me up for dinner?” 

“Of course, fledgling.”

Notes:

Alright, I feel like I have to address a few things.

One: I know it's popular fanon that during middle school, Bakugou beat up and used his quirk on Izuku, and sometimes it leaves scars. I just don't see a whole lot of evidence for that? Most of Bakugou's bullying seems to be verbal or posturing using his quirk (destroying his stuff, knocking over his desk, etc). I don't think even Bakugou would go so far as to seriously hurt Izuku (maybe like a bit of a roughening up? if that makes sense? like the kind of fights I got into as a stupid middle schooler) if only so that he doesn't hurt his chances at UA. However the upperclassmen would show no such restraint.

I also mentioned the spider lilies a few chapters ago. Bakugou is not the person who would give Izuku a spider lily, if there's something he wants to say, he'll say it to your face. It's Izuku's other classmates who would give them to him.

And while Izuku does acknowledge the fact that Bakugou will need to see some consequences, they were both failed by the system. Bullies are not born, they're created. If he takes the chance, Bakugou can improve and become a better person (like he does in canon). That's why he's getting a redemption, albeit in a different trajectory. We'll get into more detail of Bakugou's consequences when Keigo talks to the Bakugous.

Anyways, now that that's addressed, Izuku finally gets glasses! Or is told that he needs to get glasses. Big mood. Also Shegaka as Lunch Rush's given name is a mash up of the Japanese words for chef (shefu) and painter (gaka). For anyone curious, his full name is Saiko Shegaka, and Saiko means supreme.

EDIT (9/14/22): (I thought I posted this already oops) I'm not engaging with any arguments about the Bakugou redemption arc. At this point, I'm just going to let the readers fight it out. I have made my decision and I am not changing it.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 13: Grief

Izuku was woken up by the smell of fast food katsudon. His mom buys katsudon from the place down the road when she wants to get him a treat but didn’t have the time to make it herself. 

He rolled off of the couch with a dull thud. “Hey mom,” he said, rubbing his eyes. Then he froze, as he saw Keigo standing in the kitchen.

That’s right. His mom was gone. She would never make him katsudon ever again, they would never laugh over cartoons on the rare Sunday mornings she didn’t have work, they would never go to the mall again where he would excitedly drag his mom from hero store to hero store while she patiently listened to him. He wouldn’t even be able to go visit her in the hospital, where they would have long winding talks about anything and everything until he had to go to work. 

She really was gone. 

“Fledgling?” Keigo asked, and when did he move to stand in front of Izuku? “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not hungry,” he said quickly, fleeing to his bedroom. He’s pretty sure the door plate fell to the ground from how hard he slammed his door. 

His lungs burned as he gasped for breath like a drowning man, sliding down to sit next to the door. He was shaking as a weight pressed down on his chest, his head filling with fogs.

He hasn’t been in his bedroom since yesterday, having fallen asleep on the couch while working. The stares of All Might plastered on every poster, bobble head, pillow burned his skin, silently mocking him for thinking he was allowed to have anything. 

Burden. 

Quirkless. 

Pathetic. 

You killed her. 

Burden. 

Quirkless freak. 

Sniveling coward. 

You killed her. 

Burden. 

Quirkless scum. 

Take a swan dive off the roof and hope for a quirk in your next life. 

You killed her. 

“Kid- fledg- to me-” the words were choppy as red filled his vision. “Need you- breathe-”

A pattern was being tapped onto the back of his hand, and he tried to follow in stuttering breaths. In, and out. In, and out. In, and out. Eventually, the weight on his chest let up enough so that he could finally breathe. 

Awareness trickled back to him slowly. He was sitting with his back to the wall next to his door, his knees tucked to his chest. His face was tear stained, he could already feel his eyes getting puffy. One hand was clutching his chest while the other was being held by Keigo, who was kneeling in front of him. His wings were spread out around him, blocking Izuku’s view of the room. 

“You back with me, fledgling?” The hero asked, still rubbing gentle circles into the back of his hand. Izuku nodded shakily. “Can you tell me what happened?” 

“My mom,” he stuttered out. “She always got katsudon from the same place after work. And then- And she’s not here. And then I came in- and- all I could see was All Might and- and I could hear the voices. Calling me a burden, quirkless freak, pathetic coward-”

“Izuku,” Keigo’s voice cut through, and he grabbed Izuku’s hands, pulling them to his lap and away from the hair they were pulling. 

“I’m fine,” Izuku responded instinctively. 

Keigo sighed, then picked up Izuku like he was a couple of grapes, his wings continuing to block Izuku’s view until they made it to the living room. He was dumped onto the couch, and Sushi climbed onto his lap with a needy meow. 

“Alright, I was gonna wait a few days until everything was more settled, but I think we need to talk about it now,” Keigo said somberly, sitting down next to him on the couch. “We’ll have to talk about your mom’s funeral.” 

Izuku sucked in a breath, petting the purring bundle on his lap as he nodded for Keigo to continue. 

“We’ll have to read her will, and decide where it’s actually happening. You don’t have to worry about money, me and the other heroes can pay for it. Do you wanna do it sooner or later?” 

“Sooner,” Izuku rasped out, his throat kinda dry. 

“Okay,” Keigo said. “And your room, we should redecorate. Take down all the, uh, All Might.” 

Izuku nodded. “I- I don’t think I can go in there right now.” 

“That’s fine,” Keigo responded quickly, looking over to his phone. “I’ll take down and put away the All Might stuff, and you stay here with Sushi and eat dinner.” 

He nodded blankly, and Keigo got up, putting the take out container in his hands. He also got his laptop put on his lap, Sushi moving to curl up next to his side. “Why don’t you do some online shopping while you eat?” Keigo asked. Izuku gave the man a small smile, which Keigo visibly brightened at. The hero gave him a small thumbs up, then went into Izuku’s room. 

He pulled one of his mom’s crocheted blankets over his shoulders, starting to dig into the food. It was surprisingly warm, and he started to devour it, not realizing how hungry he was. 

He opened the HN on his laptop to check on the others. 

 

U.A. Teachers and Company - 6:29 P.M.

Falcon (Hawks) is online.

Falcon: help izuku is having a panic attack wat do i dooooooooo

Falcon (Hawks), Eraserdad (Eraserhead), Silver the Hedgehog (Ingenium), Anya Amasova (Midnight), Jacked Bugs Bunny (Miruko) and God (Nedzu) are all online.

Eraserdad: do you kno what triggered it

Falcon: no

Falcon: he just woke up, said ‘hey mom’ then went into his room

Falcon: he slammed the door but i can hear him hyperventilating from here

Eraserdad: ok well go see him, try and get his attention, dont touch him at first, if he doesnt come around after a minute, gently grab one of his hands and tap a breathing pattern on the back of his hand

Silver the Hedgehog: use your wings to block off any other potential triggers

Anya Amasova: but also dont put your wings too close to him, u dont want him to be claustrophobic

Falcon: alright thanks

Falcon: ok hes back from the panic attack, his triggers seemed to be the all might posters in his room and the smell of the katsudon reminding him of his mom

Anya Amasova: ah, so hes starting to grieve

Jacked Bugs Bunny: ROOM MAKEOVER!!!!

Anya Amasova: try to help through his grief, like helping him arrange the funeral

Eraserdad: just stick by him

Silver the Hedgehog: and we’ll all help him w the funds!!!!

Falcon: ill let him kno, im workin on pulling down the all might stuff in his room rn

Anya Amasova: wat hospital? we can just put it all on nedzu’s tab

God: I would happily pay any expenses!

Falcon (Hawks), Eraserdad (Eraserhead), Silver the Hedgehog (Ingenium), Anya Amasova (Midnight), Jacked Bugs Bunny (Miruko), God (Nedzu), and Dekiru-chan (Izuku) are all online.

Dekiru-chan: its Musutafu General

Jacked Bugs Bunny: BROCCOLI-CHAN!!!!

Anya Amasova: DEKIRU-CHAN!!!

Silver the Hedgehog: Izuku!!!

Eraserdad: are u ok?

Dekiru-chan: im okay

Silver the Hedgehog: we’ll be here for u

Silver the Hedgehog: u dont have to grieve alone

Dekiru-chan: thanks guys :)

Dekiru-chan: im gonna go shoppin online for my room makeover

Silver the Hedgehog: have fun!!!

Anya Amasova: get some fluffy things

Jacked Bugs Bunny: make sure u eat dinner

Dekiru-chan: i will :)

 

---

 

Keigo rolled up the last All Might poster, gently putting it back into its roll. As much as he desired to take the merch and torch it all, a lot of this merch was stupid expensive, and pretty old. The kid could probably make a fortune selling it all online, if that’s what he wanted. He kept the original boxes and everything. 

He looked around the room, trying to get a sense of things. The walls were completely bare, with one cork board above his desk covered in notes, and painted a nice light grey. The shelves only had a few succulents, the desk had one Ingenium bobble head on it, and the bedding was replaced with neutral dark grey pillowcases and comforters that he found in the closet. The bookshelves were still filled, since there wasn’t any merch on them. 

On a side note, Keigo was mentally filing those plans to get Izuku to a therapist. 

He opened the door, placing the All Might nameplate onto Izuku’s desk before stepping out. He could see the kid had finished his katsudon, placing the empty take out container onto his coffee table, and was currently browsing through whiteboards. 

Keigo grabbed his chicken teriyaki, wrinkling his nose as he bites into it and it turns out to be cold. He keeps eating it anyways, plopping down onto the couch next to Izuku. “Watchya got so far, fledgling?” 

“I got a cat tower for Sushi,” Izuku mumbled, still scrolling through whiteboards. “I also got more plants, and some merch for other heroes.”

“That’s a good selection,” Keigo said, reaching out a wing to wrap the kid in while sending a feather to get the TV remote. “You mind if I put on something while I eat?” 

The kid hummed, so Keigo turned on some bird documentary, watching Izuku slowly relax more and more into his side. He sent a couple of feathers to throw out the take out container and wooden chopsticks, letting the kid cuddle up to him. Izuku muttered next to him as he debated the different prices of whiteboards and calendars, checking sales between different sites.

Keigo smiled to himself. The kid’s strong, he’ll be okay.

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 14: Visit to the Aerie

Notes:

Welcome the newest story to Diverging Paths: Musutafu's Newest Cryptid

Izuku was putting the finishing touches on his analysis of a villain in Hosu, absentmindedly drinking his fourth cup of coffee. Some nature documentary was playing on the TV, but it registered as static in his mind. He had long abandoned the couch, now just sitting on the floor in front of his laptop.

A red feather flew in front of his face, booping his nose. Izuku squawked, falling backwards and knocking over his coffee. He just managed to save it and his laptop. “Keigo, you ass!” 

“Hi Zuku!” The hero called cheerfully like he didn’t just almost spill Izuku’s coffee. “You’re sure up early! I didn’t think I’d see you until noon!” 

Izuku squinted at the clock on his laptop. “Holy shit, it’s six already?!” 

The two roommates engaged in a staring contest. Izuku was not losing. “Kid, did you get any sleep last night?” 

“Uh… I close my eyes every time I blink?” 

“Kami, kid,” Keigo closed his eyes and put a hand on his forehead. “You’re going to make me go grey. How are you still awake?” 

“Coffee.” 

… “What?” 

Izuku gestured with the mug. “This is my fourth cup.” Then he took a very long sip. With slurping. 

Keigo’s eyes visibly twitched. 

 

---

 

Izuku’s eyes widened as they landed onto the balcony of the Aerie. Keigo had to hold his hand as he walked into his office. Plush carpet, a nice desk, the wall that had the balcony was made entirely of windows, and there was a TV on the other side of the wall across from his desk. On the floor was a little nook that was filled with pillows and blankets, and there were a few file cabinets behind the desk with a coffee maker on it. There are a bunch of paintings of various birds on the walls, and a collection of some of the best fanart that was framed and hung on his walls, with little plaques on the walls. Embarrassingly, a few of Izuku’s drawings were also up there. 

“Really? The bird paintings?” Izuku sassed. 

“I have a brand to keep, fledgeling,” Keigo shot back, dragging him to the elevator. Which also had bird paintings. 

“Alright, your office is one thing, but the elevator is a little excessive.” He raised an eyebrow. “Are there bird paintings in the entire building?” The silence was damning. “Of course there is.” 

They walked into the small cafeteria, which had a small KFC in it. Of course. There were a few sidekicks wandering around, but Keigo pulled him to a table with two sidekicks in particular. (Yes, Izuku was still holding his hand. He’s a little touch starved, sue him.)

“Saisei, Mitsurin!” Keigo waved. The two women waved back. The first, the sidekick Phoenix had scarlet wings coming from her body and long wavy dark ginger hair, light blue eyes and freckles. She was wearing a simple sweater and jeans, with a pair of glasses on her nose and was also on fire, although it didn’t seem to be disturbing anything. The other woman, the sidekick Corollax had many piercings in her ears and on her face, her hair a rainbow mohawk and wings a shimmering mosaic of colors. She was wearing her hero costume: a silver bodysuit with thigh high combat boots and her goggles around her neck. He was glad to see she took some of his suggestions, based on some of the armored padding on her body. 

“Heya boss!” “Hello, sir.” 

“So, you two remember Dekiru, right?” Keigo asked.

The two looked at each other. “Yes?” Phoenix asked skeptically.

“Where is this going?” Corollax asked, raising an eyebrow. “And who’s the kid?” 

Keigo let go of Izuku’s hand, instead wrapping an arm around his shoulder and dragged him forwards. “This is Dekiru!” 

Their eyes comically widened in disbelief, looking at each other. “You’re not just fucking with us, are you?” Corollax asked. 

“Me?!” Keigo asked in mock offense. “I would never!” 

Izuku rolled his eyes, elbowing the hero in the gut. “Hi, I’m Dekiru,” he said, holding his hand out to Corollax. “I’m glad you took the suggestion about adding a layer of body armor to your costume.”

The woman grinned, taking his hand. “Corollax, though you knew that already,” she said, then gestured to Phoenix. “This is-”

“Phoenix, I know,” Izuku said, turning to the other hero with his hand out. “Pleasure to meet you.” 

“Pleasure to meet you too,” the heroine said, taking his hand. 

“Oh, now you have manners,” Keigo grumbled from behind him. Izuku kicked him in the shins. 

“So, what’s all this for?” Corollax asked, continuing to eat her breakfast. 

“I have paperwork and this one,” Keigo whacked him in the back of the head, “Cannot be trusted to be left at home alone, so I offered to let him visit the Aerie in person.” 

“I can be trusted!” Izuku pouted. 

Keigo turned to his sidekicks. “A couple nights ago I caught him training the raccoons to fight.” 

“Hey! Don’t badmouth the Third Raccoon Battalion!” 

The women were trying to suppress giggles. “And what about the other two battalions?” Corollax asked. 

“The First Raccoon Battalion is in Orokamono Park and the Second Raccoon Battalion is behind Hori-san’s shop.” 

Keigo groaned from behind him. “I’m grabbing a bucket and doing paperwork. You two are gonna get an email about it, sometime later, I don’t know when. Make sure he doesn’t start a Fourth Raccoon Battalion.” 

“Hey!” 

The hero walked towards the KFC outlet, and Izuku rolled his eyes. “You guys don’t think you could convince him to take down some of the bird paintings? The amount he has is honestly a little excessive.” 

Phoenix adjusted her glasses, probably changing the subject to something other than her boss’s tastes in decorations. “Well, the analyses we both got from you were a while ago. If you like, we could go into the gym and you could give us something based on where we are now.” 

“We’ll pay you,” Corollax added, leaning over onto the table with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. 

Izuku raised an eyebrow. “Pay me what?” 

“I know where a secret stash of donuts is.” 

“Throw a coffee in.” 

“Deal!” 

Izuku grinned as he followed the two heroines to the Aerie’s gym, already pulling out his notebook.

 

---

 

Keigo leaned on the doorway, looking into the analyst branch of his agency. The analysts and Izuku were standing around the large center table, files from various cases spread out everywhere. Izuku had his laptop open as he flitted through various tabs, and he moved through cases like lightning. On the faces of the analysts he hired, Keigo could see the awe on their faces, a match of the awe that was on his face when he first saw the kid in action. 

“I’d be surprised if the kid doesn’t completely solve all of our cases,” Saisei said, coming up behind him. She was in costume, about to go on patrol. 

“I have no doubt,” he didn’t even realize he was smiling until she raised an eyebrow. “Well, if you’ve got a case to pick up, don’t let me stop you.” 

Saisei rolled her eyes fondly, slipping into the branch. “Excuse me,” she cleared her throat. “I’m here for the Habit Headgear case.” 

“Oh! That one is, hmm, this one!” Umeji said, grabbing a folder and handing it to the hero. 

She opened it up, flipping through it. “There’s a lot of post it notes in here.” 

“Sorry,” Izuku muttered sheepishly, probably pulled out of his trance by Saisei’s entrance. “I got a little excited.” 

“Don’t be,” she said with a smile, closing the case and handing it back. She tapped the comms. “I’ll be in touch, but I do have patrol.” 

The group collectively waved bye to her as she walked out. Keigo stepped forward then. “And you, Izuku, have a pair of glasses to go get.” 

“Oh, right!” Izuku exclaimed, starting to pack up his notebook and laptop. “Sorry, I got a little excited.” 

“I know,” Keigo rolled his eyes, “Mister ‘I’m going to stay up all night working while drinking four cups of coffee.’”

“Actually, that’s relatively tame for me,” Izuku responded back. 

Keigo sighed. “Kid, you’re going to be the death of me.” 

“What kind of glasses do you need?” Umeri asked. “Cause we’ve got a few spare pairs of blue light glasses if you want one.” 

“Actually, that’s exactly what I need,” Izuku beamed. 

“Then let me get a pair!” 

Umeri scuttled into the back room, getting a simple pair of round black frames. But she placed them on his face. “They seem to fit,” she said, fussing with the sides of his head. 

“Yeah, they don’t feel like they’re going to fall off,” he muttered, moving his head from side to side. “I don’t feel anything different.” 

“You’re not going to feel anything yet,” Fujino pointed out, taking a sip of his coffee. “What you will notice is when you don’t have a raging headache.” 

“That’s a good point.” 

Keigo huffed in amusement, sending out a feather to slowly drag Izuku to him. “Well, I want dinner, so we’re going to go.” 

Izuku rolled his eyes, waving goodbye to his people. As they walked out of the Aerie, Keigo said, “You look good.” 

“Thanks!” He responded with a beaming smile. 

What Keigo wouldn’t do for this kid.

Notes:

Phoenix - Saisei Takibi, quirk is Phoenix (she has wings and has fire centered on her, she can use that fire to heal herself in short bursts but it makes her very tired), Karafuru’s half sister

Corollax - Mitsurin Karafuru, quirk is Chameleon Parrot (default form is wings that can change color, but she can change the color of her entire body), Takibi’s half sister

Orokamono Park - Idiot Park

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 15: Consequences

Notes:

I wrote the rest of the outline up to the Overhaul arc, I'm gonna make y'all cry so hard >:D

“I fucking hate paperwork,” Keigo muttered, filling out the last page. There was paperwork to transfer control of the Aerie to Saisei, paperwork to create a new branch in Musutafu, and then paperwork to give control of that branch to Mitsurin. 

At least once the branch was in Mitsurin’s control, all the necessary set up paperwork would be her problem. It’s the little miracles. 

He smiled as he checked his phone, cracking his neck and stretching his back. It seemed that Nedzu had received his message about Musutafu General Hospital and Aldera Junior High, if the threatening smiley face was to be believed. 

Seriously, how did he and Izuku manage to make smiley faces threatening? 

He raised an eyebrow when his phone went off, the Pink Panther theme that he had set for Detective Tsukauchi ringing through his office. “What’s up, detective?”

“I have a lady named Bakugou Mitsuki screaming at Sansa to see an Izuku-chan.”

Keigo sighed. He really didn’t want to have to talk to the Bakugous today, but apparently the universe had decided for him. “Who else is there?”

"Her husband and son."

"Well, I wasn't planning on doing this today, but I might as well get this over with."

There was a pause, then the detective spoke in a warning tone. "What were you planning to do?"

“Don’t worry about it, Tsukauchi.” Keigo had finished putting away his paperwork, sticking a post it note on the pile of paperwork for the Aerie Jr. “I’ll be on my way.” 

“Seriously what were you-” Click. Keigo jumped off of the balcony, flying out and towards the Musutafu Police Department, slipping his phone into his pocket. He could answer Tsukauchi’s questions in about five minutes. 

 

---

 

Five minutes turned into ten minutes as he flew lazy circles in the sky, procrastinating the detective’s grilling as much as possible. But eventually, he flew down to the station. 

The flight helped him sort out his thoughts. While Izuku was right that the teachers were partially to blame for teaching Bakugou, the kid still did so out of his own free will. He wasn’t completely blameless, and while Keigo’s gonna give him a second chance (from Izuku), Bakugou wasn’t gonna get off scot-free. 

Keigo strolled in, revelling in the amazed looks he got from on goers. When he entered the police station, the officers clearly tried to keep the amazed looks to themselves, but overall didn’t approach him. However, an officer with a cat head approached him. Officer Sansa, if the nametag was correct. 

“Detective Tsukauchi is waiting for you in his office,” Sansa said respectfully, turning on his heel. With nothing else to do (it’s not like he has a map of the station), Keigo followed him. 

“Are the Bakugous in his office too?” Keigo asked. 

“Yes, they were causing a disturbance.” Sansa made a face like he had bitten into a lemon, and Keigo had to bite down a chuckle. 

As they approached the door labelled ‘Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa,’ they could hear both a distinctly feminine voice and what Keigo remembered as the Bakugou kid’s voice yelling. When Sansa opened the door, it was to Tsukauchi behind his desk with his hands up, an older woman with spiky blonde hair (Bakugou Mitsuki, his brain helpfully supplied him) leaning over with her hands on the desk. Surprisingly, she wasn’t yelling at the detective, but at her son, who was yelling back (seems like he didn’t just inherit her looks). The husband was just sitting calmly in his chair. 

In other words, it was a clusterfuck. 

“Hawks, good to see you,” Tsukauchi said, clearly relieved.

“Why does a fucking pro hero need to be here?!” Bakugou-san shouted. “What happened to Izuku-chan?!” 

“Ma’am, that is classified information,” Keigo said smoothly, maneuvering awkwardly into the room with his wings. “But rest assured, he is safe.” 

“What do you mean, classified information?!” 

“With all due respect-”

“No, you don’t fucking understand,” Bakugou-san snarled. “I just got a phone call from the hospital that Inko passed away a fucking week ago, and I was never told! And when I ask to see her son, my nephew, I’m told that I have no right to that information because we aren’t blood relatives! She’s my best friend! And you-” she smacked the Bakugou kid when he was about to speak up, “We’ll talk about your shitty behavior later!” 

Keigo and Tsukauchi both looked at each other, with the same thought. Yikes. “Nedzu would want to hear about that,” Keigo muttered. 

“Why would the fucking principal of U.A. want to know about shitty Deku’s mom?!” The Bakugou kid shouted, earning himself another smack in the head. 

“Because Midoriya-kun didn’t even get a call,” Tsukauchi said. “The only way he found out was the receptionist telling him after he went to visit her.” When Keigo raised an eyebrow at the detective, he said, “They deserve to know something.” 

“Why the fuck would anyone do that?!” Bakugou-san shouted. 

“You fucking know why!” Bakugou kid shouted back. 

The Bakugou husband cleared his throat, causing the two standing up to look at each other and slowly sit down. “We would like to know where he is,” he said calmly. “Or at least how he is.” 

“A hero has him under their care using their emergency fostering license,” Keigo said. “We won’t say which, for both of their safeties, but rest assured that Midoriya is safe.” 

It seemed like the whole family breathed a sigh of relief (even the kid, surprisingly enough). “That’s good to hear,” the Bakugou husband said. 

Keigo turned around a chair and sat down. “What are your names? I never caught them on the way in.” 

“Oh, of course. I’m Bakugou Mitsuki, this is my husband, Bakugou Maseru, and this brat is my son, Bakugou Katsuki.” 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mitsuki-san, Maseru-san,” Keigo shook each of their hands. “Apologies for the classified information, but currently Musutafu General Hospital and Aldera Junior High are both under investigation.” 

“But why?!” Mitsuki asked, confusion plain on her face. Interestingly, Katsuki’s face scrunched up at the school’s name, something like anger and guilt on his face. 

“Quirk discrimination,” Tsukauchi said, “As well as student neglect and academic fraud.” 

“Is that why Izuku transferred out of school?” Maseru asked. 

“Among other things, yes,” Keigo said. “We also need to talk about your son.”

“What does Kats have to do with any of this?!” Mitsuki shouted, standing back up and slamming her palms on the desk again.

“Because he’s the main instigator of the bullying against Midoriya.”

The entire family went silent, which is almost scarier. "Kats, is this true?" Mitsuki asked quietly.

Katsuki growled, snapping back, and any remorse or guilt he previously showed was gone. "Deku fucking deserved it!"

The Bakugou parents gasped, and Mitsuki smacked him on the back of the head. "What the fuck?! No, I don't want to hear your justifications, you fucking brat! How could you?!"

Keigo cleared his throat and flapped his wings, fluffing out his feathers. Mitsuki huffed, sitting back down. Neither Bakugou were calm, just letting that anger simmer.

"Midoriya made a fair point when I talked to him about this," he said, letting his feathers rest back down. "It's not entirely his fault, the teachers were ignoring the bullying at best and actively encouraging it at worst. However, this doesn't mean he's going to go get out of this unpunished. We decided the following."

Keigo slid a small packet across to the Bakugous for them to flip through as he spoke. "Katsuki is blacklisted from U.A. He is allowed to go to a hero school though, preferably a boarding school. He is also required to go to anger management classes and therapy, and he'll be attending the school on probation: one strike and he'll be expelled."

The entire family seemed to be silent. "Thank you, for doing this for Katsuki, even if he doesn't deserve it," Mitsuki said slowly, blinking back tears. Katsuki started to growl, but Maseru placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, and he cut off with a simple huff.

"You should be thanking Midoriya," Keigo said, flicking his wing absentmindedly. "He's the one who asked for Bakugou to continue being a hero. Bakugou could make a fine hero, he just needs an attitude check."

The family quietly shuffled out, Katsuki dragging his feet and Mitsuki death glaring her son. Tsukauchi glanced over at Keigo. "That wasn't what I expected."

Keigo sighed, completely exhausted. "I'm going to go back to the agency and take a nap."

The Detective also sighed. "Kami I wish."

He snorted. "Well, here's to hoping." They both mock-cheered, and Keigo flew off, going back to the agency.

Hopefully it hasn't been overrun by raccoons.

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 16: The Plot Thickens

Investigation Team for Broccoli-Chan - 8:29 AM

Nedzu: We must have a meeting at U.A. today

Detective Tsukauchi: uh oh

Eraserhead: oh no

Hawks: I have to get Izuku to U.A. today for Hound Dog, meet then?

Detective Tsukauchi: that works for me

 

---

 

Izuku took a deep breath in, playing with the hem of his shirt while he shuffled outside of the door. He was still nervous, even though he knew that he shouldn’t be, logically. Just the idea of talking about his feelings to a total stranger made his skin crawl. 

“You’re gonna be fine,” Aizawa’s gruff voice made him jump a bit. He was so lost in his thoughts that he forgot about the hero who led him there. “Ryou is a good person. Hell, I’ve gone to him about my own problems.”

“Right,” Izuku nodded. “And the first session is just about connecting and getting to know me.” 

Aizawa gently nudged him into the office. It didn’t look like a stereotypical therapist’s office. Hound Dog himself had a spinny chair that he sat on, and there were multiple bean bag chairs around. A bookshelf was against the wall, and next to Hound Dog’s desk was a small table covered in fidget toys. There was a small jar of candy next to Hound Dog’s computer.

“Midoriya-kun, it’s good to see you,” Hound Dog said. “Come in, make yourself comfortable.”

Izuku nodded, sitting down on one of the bean bag chairs. “Thank you, Hound Dog-san.”

“Please, call me Inui,” he said. “And if you would like, you can grab one of the fidgets off of the table.”

Izuku plucked up a little cube covered in buttons. With one hand occupied by the fidget, his other hand stopped wringing his shirt, letting him breathe a little bit easier. Marginally. 

“Now, this is the first session, and my goal is to make this as safe of a space as possible for you,” Hou- Inui-san continued, making notes on his clipboard. “We don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to, and you are the one who sets the pace.”

That made him relax a bit. He’s not diving into the deep end right away. “How- How much do you already know?” 

“Only the basics, what’s already on your medical file,” Inui-san said. “But I want to hear it from you.” 

Izuku nodded, took a deep breath in, and started from the very beginning. 

 

---

 

“I’m sorry, it’s been what?! ” 

Keigo had slammed his hands down on the table, his feathers fluffed all the way out. He was well aware that it wasn’t very professional of him, but dammit he didn’t care. Eraserhead and the Detective were in similar states of shock, and Nedzu was grimacing as he sipped his tea. They had just entered the room, and the stoat slaps them with this.

The detective stood up from next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Nedzu, I’m afraid we’re gonna need a bit more context.” 

“Of course,” Nedzu responds with a nod, holding up a teapot. “Would anyone like some tea?” 

All three of them shook their heads, with Keigo slowly sitting down, the detective doing so after him. 

“As you know, I have been doing my own private investigations into Aldera Junior High and Musutafu General Hospital,” Nedzu had a wicked gleam in his eye, making the three of them shiver. “I had finished sending my report on Aldera to the police, and was going through previous billings and medical records of Midoriya Inko when I realized that all paper trails of her body stopped four days ago.” 

“Which is the day after Midoriya-san reportedly died,” the detective said. 

“So her body’s been missing for four days and the hospital did nothing?” Eraserhead asked. 

“So I kept looking,” Nedzu continued. “And I found security footage of villains stealing the body.” 

“Send it to me,” the detective said solemnly. “We’ll find them.” 

“Already done,” the stoat sipped his tea. “We’re looking for a villain with a warping quirk and a villain with a disintegration quirk.” 

Keigo slumped over, his head in his hands. “What am I going to tell Izuku?” They hadn’t even started making funeral arrangements and this happened.

Eraserhead spoke up. “We have to tell him. It’s illogical not to.” 

It was the detective who spoke up, surprisingly. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. The kid attempted suicide three days ago, and he’s still grieving. We should let him finish mourning before we spring this on him.” 

“It’ll be worse if we treat him like glass,” Eraserhead said. “He’s not fragile.” 

“He’s not in the best mental state either, it’ll be better if we wait until he’s recovered some.” 

Nedzu sipped his tea. “Hawks, you are the one who is currently the acting guardian of Midoriya-kun. What do you think?” 

Keigo’s wings fluttered nervously. “He’s a strong kid, but I don’t know. It might just be a me thing, but you didn’t see him when he had a panic attack after entering his room. I’m worried about the kid, but he deserves to know.” He dragged a hand down his face. All his training from the HPSC never prepared him for this. “I’m no good with this stuff. You three are probably better informed than I am.” 

Nedzu closed his eyes, and set his teacup down. “I think we should wait to tell him until we have Inui-san’s opinion. He’ll have the best picture of Midoriya-kun’s current mental state.” 

The three men looked at each other. It was the best compromise they were gonna get. 

Eraserhead stood up first. “I have papers I have to grade,” he said, then muttered under his breath something about idiotic students. 

The detective did so next. “I’ll get started on processing the security footage you sent me,” he said, adjusting his hat. 

Keigo finally stood up with a sigh, letting his wings fold up. “I’ll go wait for Izuku,” he said, checking his phone for the time. Not even fifteen minutes, damn. And his inbox was full of emails. 

Nedzu nodded, a clear sign of dismissal as he went back to sipping his tea with his eyes closed. The three shuffled out of there awkwardly, and Keigo breathed a sigh of relief. 

Eraserhead just nodded before walking off, leaving the detective and Keigo standing there awkwardly. 

Keigo cleared his throat. “You’ll update me on how the investigation is going, right?” 

“Of course,” the detective smiled, something that was probably meant to be reassuring but just came across as strained. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…” 

Keigo nodded, stepping out of the way as the detective left. With a sigh, he turned to find his way to Hound Dog’s office. He was not looking forward to the next forty five minutes.

Notes:

Dun dun DUNNN!!!

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 17: Getting Ready for the Gala

Notes:

I really didn't intend for this chapter to get so long, but now it is. Also, a few characters snuck their way in that weren't supposed to be in there.

Anyways, new update schedule! Every Wednesday one installment of Diverging Paths updates.

After only a month, things seemed to have settled down. Izuku has been going to therapy every week with Hound Dog, and he seems to be getting better. There were a few bumps in the road, like Keigo having to enforce a bedtime and get rid of the coffee machine. Overall, it has gotten better: Izuku’s bedroom has been fully redecorated, and a few more bird themed decorations made their way into the apartment. 

Izuku’s schooling was all online, so most of the time he hung out with the other heroes. He spent a lot of time at the Aerie Junior (Keigo wasn’t a name guy, sue him) and UA, but he also spent time at Rumi’s agency, Ketsubutsu Academy, and Sir Nighteye’s agency. He was making bank helping sidekicks improve and solving cases. 

Keigo would be even more proud of him if he stopped fucking up his sleep schedule. 

Keigo himself had cut down on patrols, spending more time getting his teaching license. He and Nedzu struck a deal where he’ll be spending the next ten months doing a fast tracked course of the classwork learning, and the next year he could be an assistant to one of the heroics teachers. He was also funneling information to Nedzu, holding up his end of the bargain. 

Hound Dog still hasn’t given them the green light to tell Izuku about his mom’s body. There has been no activity from the villains since, although Nedzu’s digging unearthed the fact that they had been stealing bodies before this. Unfortunately, the case has gone cold, so they can only wait. 

 

---

 

“Hey, Keigo!” Izuku shouted, stomping back into the apartment. Keigo looked up from where he was apparently lounging on the couch, taking over his spot where he was working. Izuku’s analysis papers were all moved to the corner of the coffee table, and Keigo’s stuff was now spread out instead. “D- Did you just steal my spot?!” 

Keigo stuck out his tongue, continuing to fill out some worksheet. Izuku rolled his eyes, throwing an envelope at his face. “Check your damn mail!” 

Izuku continued to get the bills to his mailbox in the lobby of the apartment, but most of Izuku’s mail as Dekiru and Keigo’s mail from his hero work went to the PO box. Izuku took a morning run to the post office every day, because they get so much mail every day that he has to check it every day. He also gets the chance to get his daily Starbucks, away from the watchful eye of his brother. 

He’s pretty sure his drink order puts the fear of the Kami in the barista, though. 

Izuku snatched his papers, sitting down at the dining table. He opened up the switchblade in his pocket (which Khe has for self defense purposes, Aizawa-san was teaching him how to use it) and used it to open up the letters. He usually got commissions through the Hero Net these days, but some heroes are old fashioned and send letters. 

Most of the letters were payment checks (like the commissions, most heroes just sent him the money directly, but some still liked sending checks) and the rest were commission letters. Skimming the names, he mentally added a Backdraft analysis, a case for Kamui Woods, and a case for Gunhead to his to-do list. 

He heard a very long “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck” from Keigo and looked up to find him sprawled over the side of the couch, the letter over his face. 

“What’s the problem now?” Izuku called out, pulling out his planner and making notes. When were the bills due, when did cases need to be sent in, where was he going to be babysat, when was he going to have time to take a nap-

“I forgot about the Hero Gala!” 

Izuku looked up, raising an eyebrow. “So?” 

“What do you mean, so?” Keigo asked. “I’m contractually obligated to be at every gala, and I have to look the best out of everyone there!”

Izuku snorted. Over the past month of living together, he learned that Keigo was a massive fashion diva. It’s a hilarious contrast to Rumi, who will wear whatever she pulls out of her closet without any concern about how she looks, specifically to fuck with Keigo. It made sense: the man who spent an hour before patrol making sure his hair and makeup looked perfect was a fashion diva and the woman who just rolls into her hero costume right before patrol doesn’t care. 

“Couldn’t you just wear one of the outfits you have?” 

Keigo gasped, like Izuku just said something scandalous. “Wear something I already wore? Of course not! I have to make a splash every year, that means wearing something different!” 

Izuku rolled his eyes. He wasn’t going to convince Keigo. “Well, have fun.” 

“Oh, no you don’t!” Keigo stood up, grabbing Izuku and picking him up with his feathers. “If I’m going, you’re going as well!” 

“Aw, come on!” Izuku shouted, kicking his feet stubbornly. “Can’t I just go hang with Aizawa-san?” 

Keigo squinted his eyes suspiciously at him. Another thing that Izuku learned while living with him is that the man is very protective. A little too protective in Izuku’s opinion, but to be fair their first meeting wasn’t the greatest. When Aizawa-san suggested getting Izuku a knife and teaching him self defense, Keigo nearly had an aneurysm. 

“If I have to suffer, so do you.” 

Izuku groaned, resigning himself to going. Keigo continued to talk as he used his other feathers to drag over Izuku’s shoes. “Besides, there’s gonna be other kids at the gala. It’s good for like, networking and shit.”

“I don’t wanna talk to rich brats,” Izuku muttered, crossing his arms stubbornly. “Plus, I’m not good at people-ing.” 

… “Izuku, you know you’re a rich brat, right?” 

Izuku sputtered. “You know what I mean!” 

“Look, if you wanna get into the hero industry proper as an analyst, you’re gonna have to learn how to handle parties.” Keigo said, using his wings to drag his boots over to him. The man was apparently feeling lazy today. “Besides, you can talk to heroes about analysis and cases all day. It’s the same thing, just a party instead.” 

Izuku rolled his eyes, tying his shoes and stuffing his phone into his pocket. He also grabbed the knife as Keigo finished pulling his boots on, apparently excited enough that he didn’t even check the mirror to make sure he looked “presentable”. Not like you really needed to be presentable while you’re just running errands, but whatever, Izuku wasn’t the diva here. 

“Come on, we’ve gotta get ready!” Keigo grabbed his arm, rushing them out of the apartment. He looked back longingly at the couch, before he was pushed out of his own apartment, resigning himself to his fate. 

 

---

 

“Hey Hizashi, Nemuri!” Keigo waved, Izuku still being dragged along grumpily. Yamada-san and Kayama-san were standing in front of the store, both in civilian wear. While Izuku and Keigo were stared at because of Keigo’s distinctive wings, no one bat an eye at the two off duty heroes. “Thanks for coming out!” 

“Of course!” Yamada-san responded. “Anything for the Little Listener!” 

“We did our gala shopping weeks ago, but I understand being in a scramble,” Kayama-san winked. “And I’ll never turn down any kind of shopping.” 

Yamada-san shrugged. “I’ll just be wearing the same suit as always. If it works, it works, ya dig?” 

“Thank you!” Izuku burst out. “I don’t understand wearing a different outfit for every occasion.” 

“Well we need to get you a formal outfit in the first place,” Keigo said. “The closest thing you have is a shirt that says ‘bowtie’ on it, and that will not stand.” 

Izuku grumbled, “I still don’t understand why I can’t just hang out with Aizawa-san.” 

“Aww, it’ll be good for you Little Listener!” Yamada-san said. “You need more friends your age, and I know Tensei’s brother will be there.”

Izuku groaned, but let himself be led inside by the adults. The store was high end, probably worth more money than he’s seen in his life. “I still don’t think I need all this.” 

“Nonsense!” The three adults chorused at the same time. 

“Can I help you, sirs and ma’am?” The clerk asked behind the counter, looking very confused. 

“Hi! These two need the tailor, pronto!” Kayama-san said, gesturing to him and Keigo. 

“Of course, let me go get her,” the clerk bowed, going into the back room. 

Kayama-san turned back to him and Keigo. “Who’s going first?” 

“The Little Listener has no idea what he wants,” Yamada-san said. “Keigo should go in first so that he has time to decide.” 

“I’m right here,” Izuku grumbled. No one listened to him. 

“I already have an idea,” Keigo said, his wings fluttering a little. “I can go in first.” 

Decision made just in time, as the clerk came back out with the tailor behind him. She was a short woman with what looked to be a spider quirk, eight eyes with a monocle on each of them and two fuzzy spider arms alongside her regular pair of arms. But surprisingly, standing next to her was-

“Bakugou Mitsuki!” “Bakugou-san?” “Auntie Mitsuki?” 

Everyone looked at each other in shock. As Izuku was standing there dumbfounded, Auntie Mitsuki came over to him. “Izu-chan, is that you?”

“Hi, Auntie Mitsuki,” he responded, a little sheepish. 

“Oh, look at how you’ve grown!” Auntie pulled him into a hug, pinching his cheeks as she did so. “Coming in with three heroes! My little Izu-chan is moving up in the world!” 

He was pretty sure his face was very red by now. “Th- Thanks Auntie.” 

She let him go, putting her hands on his shoulders and taking a real good look at him. “When did you get glasses? They look really good on you, you look very mature. And are those bags under your eyes? Are you getting enough sleep?” 

“We’re working on his sleep schedule, Bakugou-san,” Keigo responded, all of a sudden very polite and respectful. “But we are here for a reason.” 

“Of course, of course,” Auntie stepped back, looking between the four of them. “Have you decided who's going first?” 

“I will be,” Keigo said. “We wanted to give Izuku here a little bit of time to mentally prepare himself.” 

“Hey!” 

“Alright, get into the booth then, we don’t have all day,” Auntie said, going from overbearing Auntie to professionally feared Bakugou-san. “Tisserande-san, can I join you in the booth?” 

“Of course, Mitsuki,” Tisserande-san tittered, her mandibles clicking together (and Izuku really wanted to analyze her quirk but he didn’t have time damnit). “And we’re friends, you can call me Josephine.” 

The two ushered Keigo into the booth, closing it shut behind them. The clerk had already retreated back to the counter, flipping through what looked to be a Calculus textbook, and Yamada-san and Kayama-san turned on him. “Your aunt is Bakugou Mitsuki?!” Kayama-san asked incredulously.

Izuku shrugged. “We’re not related, but she and my mom were friends in college. I’ve known the Bakugous for forever.” 

Yamada shuddered. “Somehow seeing her be nice is scarier than seeing her be angry.” 

“No kidding,” Kayama-san also shivered. “She once yelled at me because the shade of purple I chose was too dark for my feather boa.” 

Izuku rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be helping me and not trauma bonding over my aunt?” 

“Right, right,” Yamada-san made a beeline over to the counter, plucking up one of the catalogs and bringing it to a bench. The clerk didn’t even look up. Kayama-san followed him to the bench, and Izuku did the same. 

“So, take a look at this,” Yamada-san dumped the catalog into his lap and let him flip through it, “And tell us what stands out to you.” 

Izuku flipped open the catalog on his lap. And flipped another page. And another. And another. Everything blurred together, words meaninglessly describe differences that for the life of him he couldn’t see. He didn’t really know the different sleeve or lapel types. It all turned to static in his brain. 

He slowly closed the catalog and put it back in Yamada-san’s hands. “That was all gibberish to me.” 

“Okay, then this is going to be harder than we thought.” 

The three of them looked up, and Keigo strutted out of the booth. He was wearing a bright red suit that was somehow eye-catching but not eye-burning, with a gold chain hooked on his jacket pocket. The shirt underneath was black, and he was wearing a dark brown tie with a gold hawk pendant on the tied part of the tie. Izuku didn’t think that earrings were necessarily part of the package, but nevertheless gold dangle hoop earrings were on his earrings anyways. Plus his hands were absolutely covered in red and gold rings. 

Kayama-san and Yamada-san immediately ripped into him. “That’s way too much bling.” “Why is your suit so bright?” “Brown tie? Really? Your suit is bright red and your tie is so boring?” “Your tie’s boring but you have a massive gold hawk with ruby eyes on your chest, are you trying to get people to look at your tits?” 

“Hey, now, let’s get the kid’s opinion,” Keigo said. 

Everyone looked at Izuku, and he started to sweat. “It looks nice,” he said. He was not qualified for fashion opinions. 

“See? He appreciates all my hard work,” Keigo said with a smug grin. 

“Hey, I did the hard work around here!” Auntie Mitsuki said. “You came into the booth with a hideous idea, and I had to do the work to make it look good!” 

“But the tie-” 

“The tie is brown and boring because we don’t want to clutter the eyes any more than necessary,” Auntie Mitsuki cut Yamada-san off. 

“But why that shade of brown?” Kayama-san asked. Izuku squinted at the tie harder and just saw that it was brown. 

“The golden brown meshed nicely with the rest of the outfit,” Auntie responded. “Now, does anyone else have any more concerns about my masterpiece or can I move on?” 

The two invested adults looked at each other, and then simply nodded. Auntie shooed Hawks back into the booth to get changed, and then knelt down to Izuku’s level. “Do you have any ideas? Anything at all?” 

Izuku shook his head. “I looked through the catalog, but-” 

“Oh, that’s the first mistake. The catalog gives you too many options.” Auntie looked him over appraisingly. “I’m presuming you don’t want to stand out like your friends?” 

He balked, shaking his head quickly. “Please no-” 

“That’s fine. Is there anything at all I can work with?” 

“Oh!” Kayama-san pulled something out of her purse, and on further reflection it turned out to be the first letter he ever sent. It was laminated, and at the bottom was his signature as Dekiru, written in teal glitter gel pen with a little bunny doodled next to it. 

Izuku was sure he was bright red. “You carry that with you?!” 

“I can work with this.” He was slightly afraid of the glimmer in his aunt’s eyes. “Get into the booth!” 

 

---

 

Keigo drummed his fingers nervously on his lap, the bag with his stuff sitting next to him. He could hear muffled conversation coming from the booth, but he couldn’t tell what it was about, and that made him nervous. Don’t get him wrong, he really did trust the woman, but sue him for being a little protective. 

“Keigo, he’s gonna be fine,” Hizashi said, lounging on the bench. He had returned the catalog by this point. 

“Yeah, Bakugou-san looks like she adores the kid.” Nemuri punched him lightly on the arm. “I was more worried about you in that booth. I heard a lot of yelling.” 

“Makes me wonder what shade of red you tried to pick,” Hizashi snorted. 

“You’re both assholes,” Keigo grumbled, and the other two started to laugh. 

The booth opened, and Keigo’s jaw dropped open. Izuku still wore his glasses, with a little bit of makeup that brought out his freckles and covered up the bags under his eyes. He wore a dark greenish blue vest and matching slacks, the vest having light blue lapels that complimented the look. Underneath was a black dress shirt, rolled up to reveal silver cuffs, a subtle touch of bling. His tie was the same light blue as his lapels, and clipped over the knot was a glitter teal pin of the bunny that he uses as his Dekiru signature. 

“Wow,” Keigo said. “You look great. I’m almost convinced you’re well rested.” 

Izuku rolled his eyes. “You dick.” 

“No but seriously, you look amazing,” Nemuri said. “You’re so adorable, I could just pinch your cheeks.” 

The tips of his ears went red. “Please don’t.” 

“The silver cuffs are a nice touch,” Hizashi said. 

“Finally, my artistry is appreciated,” Bakugou-san said smugly. “Izu-chan, get back in the booth so that we can get that bagged up for you.” 

“Alright Auntie,” he responded, all but fleeing back to the booth. 

All three heroes pulled out their wallets at the same time. Bakugou-san simply waved them off. “No need to pay for Izu-chan’s suit, I’ll cover it. I’m just glad that he finally agreed to let me dress him in something fancy.” 

“But you’re paying double for your suit,” Tisserande pointed at Keigo. 

“I think your suit is worth more than his,” Nemuri whispered. Keigo shrugged and handed over his debit card. 

“I’m glad you’re taking care of him,” Bakugou-san said, something that was, dare he say it, almost soft. 

“I’m glad to know him, he’s a real treat,” Nemuri responded. 

Izuku peeked around the door, holding the bag in his arms and back in that shirt that says “Shirt” on it. “Not that I don’t like seeing you Auntie, but can we please go home? I have to feed Sushi.” 

“Of course, of course. Don’t worry about the suit, it’s already been paid for.” Bakugou-san pulled him into a hug. “Now, remember what we talked about. If that hero guardian of yours hurts you in any way, let me know and I will shove lawsuits so far up their ass that they will be tasting paper for days.” 

“I will, Auntie, promise,” Izuku said, patting his aunt’s arm. 

As they left the store, parting ways with Nemuri and Hizashi, Keigo only had one thing on his mind (well, two, but he always thought about fried chicken). 

“What did you talk with your aunt about?” 

Izuku just smiled slyly. “Don’t worry about it.”

Notes:

Josephine Tisserande, originally a fashion designer and tailor living in France who moved to Japan for a fresh start. Her last name is French for weaver and she just has a generic spider quirk. Also Shinsou is the Starbucks barista that Izuku puts the fear of God into.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 18: Off to the Ball

U.A. Teachers and Company - 9:10 AM

Dekiru-chan (Izuku) is online.

Dekiru-chan: pls save me aizawa

Dekiru-chan: im gonn die

Dekiru-chan (Izuku), Pink Panther (Tsukauchi), Jacked Bugs Bunny (Miruko), Falcon (Hawks), Captain Jack Sparrow (Ms. Joke), Eraserdad (Eraserhead), Fus Roh Dah (Present Mic), Anya Amasova (Midnight), and Dr. Strange (Sir Nighteye) are online.

Pink Panther: Kid???

Jacked Bugs Bunny: just give me a name, ill kick there ass

Falcon: ignore him

Falcon: hes bein dramatic

Captain Jack Sparrow: bout wat?

Falcon: the hero gala

Captain Jack Sparrow: ohhhhh

Dekiru-chan: im go be eaten alive

Pink Panther: Kid, I’m sure you’ll be fine. 

Dekiru-chan: y cant i stay w aizawa???

Eraserdad: socializing will be good for u

Fus Roh Dah: ILL BE THERE LIL LISTENER!!!

Dekiru-chan: ive been betrayed

Anya Amasova: its the 1 day of the yr that shou can get a full night of sleep

Anya Amasova: no 1 can take that away from him

Fus Roh Dah: IT’S TRUE

Fus Roh Dah: THE 1 YR I TRIED 2 GET SHOU 2 COME HE PUNCHED ME

Anya Amasova: ill b bringin my niece

Anya Amasova: im sure u 2 ill get along

Dr. Strange: Every time I enter this chat, the grammar gets worse and worse. 

Dekiru-chan: SASAKI-SAN 

Dekiru-chan: u will save me right?

Dr. Strange: From what?

Falcon: the hero gala

Dr. Strange: Ah. 

Dr. Strange: Unfortunately for you, I am going with my sidekicks and my intern. 

Dekiru-chan: >:0

Dekiru-chan: betrayal

 

---

 

Izuku grumbled, readjusting the tie again and refusing to look at the other two heroes. He’d much rather be at home working, with Sushi in his lap and in pajamas, but no. He had to be in a stuffy suit (even if he did look good and it probably could’ve been less comfortable) and in a limousine, riding with Keigo and Rumi to the Hero Gala. 

Keigo was in the outfit he bought yesterday, lounging with one wing tucked around Izuku. He looked like he just stepped off of a runway. Izuku knew the secret: he spent four hours before this just getting his makeup and hair perfect. He knew because Keigo also spent those four hours making sure that Izuku was also perfectly done up. 

Meanwhile, Rumi clearly didn’t have the same qualms. The only improvement to her hair was that it was combed, and she was wearing a dark purple vest and slacks that look like they just came out of the closet and haven’t been touched for a year. She was wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and she was wearing the same silver sneakers that she always wore. Rumi told him herself that a few years ago, Keigo insisted on getting her a good outfit for the gala, so she got the laziest option she could and has been wearing it ever since. 

While Keigo and Rumi were bickering over outfits (Keigo was trying to convince Rumi to wear more bling, it was not working), Izuku slipped out his phone, reasoning that even if he couldn’t do work, he could at least check his email and get something done. 

A red feather snatched his phone out of his hands. “Hey!” Izuku shouted, lunging for it. “Give it back!” 

“Nope!” Keigo tucked the phone into one of his pockets. “You’re supposed to be socializing and having fun. No work!” 

“Come on! Just in the car? I’ve got things to do!” 

“Nope!” Keigo used his wing to tuck Izuku in closer to him. “If I’m using the gala as an excuse to procrastinate on paperwork, you are too!” 

“Wow, so responsible,” Rumi deadpanned, getting a middle finger from Keigo in return. 

“You’re also procrastinating,” Keigo shot back, trying one final time in vain to comb Izuku’s hair (seriously where did he get the comb from-). 

Izuku batted Keigo’s hand away from his hair. “How am I the responsible one here?” 

“Excuse me, the term you’re looking for is a workaholic,” Keigo said. 

“And the term you’re looking for is slacker.” 

Rumi started cackling, full on smacking the empty seat beside her as the door opened. The butler looked very confused, but said, “Sirs, madam, we have arrived.” 

Izuku started to sweat as he heard the sound of reporters clamoring outside. Keigo shooed Rumi out. “Get out there.”

“Why am I going first?” 

“Because you need to make us look good.” 

Rumi rolled her eyes, but she winked at Izuku. She slipped out, and Izuku could hear her snappy remarks as she hogged the reporters’ attention.

Keigo turned back to Izuku, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close. “Hey, you’ll be fine. The reporters aren’t broadcasting this live, and we filled out the form. They’re not allowed to release your information or pictures.”

“What about you? Don’t you want pictures?”

Keigo shrugged. “I can always come back and rock the runway later.”

Izuku sighed. “Let’s just get this over with.” 

The door opened, and Keigo flaunted out, wrapping a wing around Izuku to shield him from the lights. Izuku tuned out the reporters’ questions, only really registering Keigo saying “Ladies, ladies, I’ll come back later” as they fled to the manor. 

Once they went inside, Izuku let out a sigh of relief. Keigo chuckled, and Izuku flipped him the bird. 

“Put your birds away,” Keigo said, covering Izuku’s hand with his. “Anyways, let’s go find Tensei. I’m sure he’ll know where all the cool kids hang out.” 

Izuku grumbled, letting himself be dragged along. He swore he could hear Rumi laughing at him. 

 

---

 

“Hi!” Keigo said cheerily, while Izuku let himself be dragged along, stewing in the misery of being outside of his lovely apartment. “Were we late?” 

“You were five minutes earlier than usual,” Tensei ribbed Keigo.

Another teenager, who looked similar to Tensei and who Izuku presumed was the man’s younger brother, started chopping his arms (?) and said, “That’s still an hour and fifty five minutes late!” 

“We were five minutes early? Shoot.” Keigo pretended to check his non-existent watch, then started dragging them away. “C’mon Izuku, we need to leave so we can come back and be properly fashionably late.” 

Izuku started to thrash, mostly just playing it up because as much as he tries to deny it, he too is a dramatic bitch. “No! I survived once already! I’m not going back in front of the vultures!” 

Tensei was laughing behind them, and Keigo brought the two over to the table. There were a few kids there already. Izuku spotted a dual hair boy with a scar over one side of his face, a girl with pink curls, and a kid with his teeth on the outside of his face sitting with the Iidas. Keigo sat Izuku down at the table, who was grumbling.

“You’re new! I haven’t seen you at one of these before,” the kid with teeth said. “I’m Honenuki Juzou. My uncle is Snatch.” 

The pink haired girl smiled, shoving some sort of skewer in her mouth. “Hatsume Mei, future CEO of Hatsume Inc!” 

“Todoroki Shouto,” The dual haired kid said curtly.

“I’m sorry for not introducing myself!” The smaller Iida said. “My name is Iida Tenya, and I’m the younger brother of Iida Tensei!” 

“You’re Tenya? I’ve heard a lot about you from Tensei.” Izuku smiled. “I’m Midoriya Izuku. It’s good to meet you all.” 

“Are you the analyst my brother talks with regularly?” Tenya asked. Izuku just nodded. “That’s amazing!”

He flushed, covering his face with his hands as Tenya continued to ramble on about how smart and great Dekiru was. “It’s not that big of a deal,” Izuku muttered.

“Wait, so you’re Dekiru?” Hatsume asked, scooting over closer. Izuku nodded meekly. “That’s great! Be my business partner!” 

“Uhhh-” 

“Broccoli-chan!” 

Izuku groaned. Everything was going on all at the same time. He slumped onto the table to hide his face from Kayama.

“Hello Kayama-san!” Tenya said. 

“Hi children!” 

Izuku looked up. Standing next to Kayama was a taller girl with straight black hair, who must be Kayama’s niece. 

Kayama smiled, nudging her niece forwards. “This is my niece, Yaoyorozu Momo.”

Izuku waved. “Midoriya Izuku.” 

“And?” 

Izuku sighed. “I’m also Dekiru.” 

Yaoyorozu sat down next to Todoroki. “It’s excellent to meet you.” 

Izuku smiled back. “I’m glad to meet you too.” 

He looked around, seeing that Kayama, Tensei and Keigo were gone and breathed a sigh of relief. 

“So, how did you become a famous analyst?” Honenuki asked. “No offense, but you’re our age.” 

Izuku shrugged. “It’s a funny story, actually…” 

 

---

 

Keigo’s wings tickled, and he smiled behind his cup as he heard Izuku ramble happily to his new friends. He heard a new voice then, it sounded like the American Hero Cow Lady and her younger sister. He was happy that Izuku was finding friends.

“Are you still spying on Izuku? I thought he’s doing fine,” Rumi said, swirling her wine around. She was being snarky, but Keigo could hear her concern.

“Not actively spying on them, just checking in once in a while,” Keigo responded. 

“How did you get a feather on him without him noticing?” Nemuri asked. 

“I hid it in his hair.” He got snickers in response. “What? It’s like a bush. You can hide anything in there.” 

They got more serious then. “How are the cases going?” Tensei asked.

“No moves on the school district yet,” Keigo responded. “Apparently Nedzu wants Izuku to help take it down as part of his curriculum. Nedzu’s still getting evidence for the lawsuit against Musutafu Public Hospital, apparently they’re not cooperating.”

Nemuri hesitated, before leaning in. “And Midoriya-san?” 

Keigo shook his head. “No new leads.” 

Tensei frowned. “Well, we’re keeping an eye out at the agency. I know Mirai’s looking into it too, although he’s more focused on the Shie Hassakai case right now.” 

“I was thinking of asking more heroes onto this case,” Keigo said. “The more eyes looking for them, the better, right?” 

Nemuri nodded. “I reached out to a couple friends at Ketsubutsu and Shiketsu, maybe they moved their operations out of Musutafu and over to another city.”

“I don’t know if them moving cities or just lying low is worse,” Rumi muttered. 

Keigo shook his head. “Let’s focus on getting more people on the case.” 

They split up, Keigo going to find a few heroes he recognized from working on other cases. Hopefully the more people on board, the faster these villains can be caught. 

He doesn’t want to find out what these bodies are for the hard way. 

 

---

 

“You could do so much with your quirk!” Izuku said excitedly, having rounded onto Yaoyorozu. “Have you tried creating gasses? Oh, what about if you make food for yourself if you find yourself running low on lipids? You said you can’t create organic material, what about wood? What about-?”

He stopped himself when he realized that the other girl was just blinking at him. “Sorry, I know I can go kinda fast…” 

“Please, don’t be,” She responded quickly. “Your questions are very insightful… When I can understand them…” 

“I promise my analyses are usually a lot more polished than this, when I spend time on them instead of dumping my thoughts out.” 

“Brain dumping is an important part of the process!” Hatsume shouted from her end of the table. “The best ideas come from that initial rush of thought! That spark of inspiration!” 

“Yeah, but I usually save my brain dumping for the cat, and not to people’s faces,” Izuku rubbed his neck nervously. 

Tsunotori looked up at that. “Cat?” She asked.

Izuku brightened up. “Yeah! I have a cat, her name is Sushi. I would show you pictures, but I don’t have my phone on me.” 

“Oh, before I forget,” Yaoyorozu made a piece of paper and a pencil from her arm. “Tsunotori, Midoriya, if you could write your phone numbers here, I could add you to the group chat for hero kids.” 

Izuku muttered his thanks, quickly scrawling out his number and handing it to Tsunotori. She seemed to look a little relieved that the numbers were familiar to her and wrote her number down too.

“I can’t wait to start making babies with you!” Hatsume shouted. Izuku sputtered as some of the table tried to hide their laughter and the rest of the table just laughed. 

“She means her inventions,” Honenuki explained through wheezing laughter. 

“Oh- Oh okay,” Izuku’s face was still red as he took a bite of his food. “That- That makes more sense.” 

“I- I don’t mean to be rude,” Tsunotori said, tilting her head a little bit. “But is that a feather in your hair, Midoriya?” 

“A feather?” Izuku asked, before he groaned. “Dammit Keigo!” 

 

---

 

Midway through a conversation with Manual and Native, Keigo sneezed.

 

---

 

“Hold still,” Yaoyorozu said, and Izuku did the best he could. Thank goodness she was so tall. “Got it!” She held the red feather in her hand, handing it back to Izuku.

“Thanks,” Izuku said sincerely, then paused. He turned to Todoroki. “You can create ice using your quirk, right?” 

Todoroki nodded, looking confused. 

Izuku didn’t think it hurt to get a little brotherly revenge. He held the feather out to Todoroki. “Can you freeze it?” 

 

---

 

Keigo yelped, feeling cold register through his feather and at the tips of his wings. There was only one person who could’ve done this.

“Dammit Izuku!” 

 

---

 

Izuku’s eyes were gleaming as he rambled happily about Todoroki’s quirk. “So if you made the air really cold with your right side, and then made a little fire with your left, you could create a massive explosion!” 

“Please do not create explosions,” a voice said dryly behind him. Izuku turned around and saw Sasaki standing behind him, with three teens standing behind him like ducklings. 

“Hi Sasaki-san!” Izuku grinned, waving. “And they’re only hypothetical explosions.” 

Sasaki raised an eyebrow. “Like how the racoons that have infested my agency are only  hypothetically there?”

Izuku shrugged. With a sigh, Sasaki beckoned to the three teens to introduce themselves. 

“Hello, my name is Toogata Mirio, or Lemillion! And my mentor is Sir Nighteye.” The blonde said, shaking Izuku’s hand.

“Hi! Hado Nejire, or Nejire-chan, and my mentor is Ryukyu!” Skipping the handshake entirely, the older girl instead pulled Izuku into a short hug. 

“Amajiki Tamaki, Suneater. My mentor is Fatgum.” The nervous teen responded. Izuku just gave him a short wave, he was clearly anxious.

“Midoriya Izuku, or Dekiru,” Izuku smiled.

“You’re Dekiru?” Toogata asked. “Sir talks about you a lot! I’d love it if you could do an analysis!” 

“Of course!” Izuku grinned, leaning in. “What’s your quirk?” 

Toogata went through a brief explanation of his quirk, and Izuku was off, hypothesizing and questions and theorizing. The words were less for them and more for himself as he talked through his thoughts. 

“Wow!” Hado said, her eyes wide. “Do you do this for everyone?” 

Izuku blushed as the entire table behind him said “Yes” in unison.

Sasaki rolled his eyes, patting Izuku on the shoulder. “Save the analysis for later, alright? Just get to know each other.” 

Toogata pulled up a seat, the other two following suit. “Would you like to know about my quirk?” Hado asked. 

Izuku’s eyes practically sparkled as he answered “Yes!” without hesitation. 

 

---

 

Keigo smiled, as they were driven home in the limousine. Izuku was zonked out, leaning on his shoulder and snoring softly. Rumi was asleep across from him, although she was out because of the alcohol rather than the excitement of meeting new people. 

He was glad that the green bean was making more friends. And he was glad that they had more eyes on Midoriya Inko’s case. His mom’s death hit Izuku pretty hard, so Keigo’s happy that he found friends his age he could lean on. 

Keigo shifted, letting his wing drape over Izuku like a blanket. He’ll be alright.

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 19: Digging Up Dirt

Notes:

Welcome Lady Nagant! If you want to skip this chapter to avoid spoilers you can, it won't be TOO important, she'll just be popping up as a minor character every once in a while.

Private Messages: Dekiru to Nedzu - 2:10 AM

Dekiru: can i ask a favor?

Nedzu: Of course!

Dekiru: i want 2 talk 2 nagant

Nedzu: The one in Tartarus?

Dekiru: ye

Dekiru: i think she could help me take down the hpsc

Nedzu: An admirable goal!

Nedzu: Let me see what I can do. 

Dekiru: thank u

Nedzu: Anything for my favorite human. 

 

---

 

Izuku has been acting weird.

For one, he took the week off. Midoriya “I will work until I fucking die” Izuku took a week off. Second, he stopped letting Keigo in his room. Keigo will go into his room every now and again (he knocks if the door isn’t open, but most of the time it is) to help put up decorations or set up furniture. But now Izuku won’t let him in.

Keigo was going to get down to the bottom of this, dammit.

“I’m going to go see Nedzu-san!” Izuku shouted, a bag over his shoulder and running to the door. Keigo was lazing on the couch, pretending to be indifferent as he paged through his textbook that he was sent from U.A. 

“You got everything?” Keigo shouted back. 

“Yeah!” 

“And if something goes wrong?” 

“Scream and pull out the knife!” 

“Alright, have fun!” 

The door closed, and Keigo sprung up, the textbook flung onto the table. He ran over to Izuku’s bedroom, then stopped, frowning.

There was a paper taped to the door. 

 

DO NOT ENTER

ESPECIALLY IF YOUR NAME IS TAKAMI KEIGO

THE DOOR IS LOCKED AND I WILL KNOW IF YOU UNLOCK IT

 

Keigo huffed. “That sign won’t stop me because I can’t read,” he muttered, kneeling down and pulling a couple of his more sturdy feathers from his wings. He started picking the lock, when-

ZAP!

His hair and feathers stood straight up. “Did the fucker just taze me?!” 

 

---

 

Izuku’s phone went off, and he went to open it up. 

“Ah, what happened, Dekiru-kun?” Nedzu asked, sipping his tea. They were in the back of a U.A. car, one of Ectoplasm’s clones driving them to Tartarus. 

Izuku rolled his eyes at the notification. “Keigo’s dumb ass just tried to pick the lock to get into my room.” 

“Oh dear. Did you warn him?” 

“Yeah, I taped a sign on the door and everything.” Izuku sent a text back to Keigo that just said ‘told u dumbass’ . “It’s not my fault if he decided to try anyway.” 

Keigo just sent back an angry face. 

Izuku put his phone away, going back to sipping his tea. 

“Are you prepared, Dekiru-kun?” Nedzu asked.

Izuku nodded. “I have everything I want to ask written down in my notebook. I brought the audio recorder too.” 

“Excellent. I also brought everything I needed.” 

Izuku raised an eyebrow. “What would that be?” 

Nedzu just chuckled. “You’ll see, Dekiru-kun. It’s going to be a few more hours until we get to Tartarus. Would you mind a game of chess?” 

Izuku smiled. “I would love a game.” 

 

---

 

Lady Nagant was spending her day doing what she usually does: staring blankly at the mirror on the wall. Her hair had been cut short since her imprisonment, and she had a scar running from the bottom of her right eye down to her chin. She can’t remember who did it to her: time seems to blur together in Tartarus. 

She picked at the ugly orange jumpsuit. The name tag on it wasn’t her name. Shinjitsu Ichika was the bright eyed girl who just got into high school. Lady Nagant was the defamed heroine who killed the former president. They were not the same person, not anymore. 

How can a woman with blood on her hands call herself a hero?

The shutter to her cell opened, and she turned to look at the pair of quirk canceling cuffs passed through the small opening. She snagged them, dutifully putting them on. It’s not like she could escape. She learned her lesson pretty quickly. 

Being in prison was preferable to the outside world, actually. 

She didn’t bother memorizing the way out. She was curious about who had visited her. The defamed hero didn’t get any at all during her years of imprisonment. 

She sat down, cuffed to the table. There was a thin sheet of bulletproof glass between her side and the visitor’s side, two chairs pulled out. The only table in the room was hers: likely, there was only one prisoner allowed at a time due to the high risk they all posed. 

Two people were led into the room, and Nagant tried to hide her curiosity. One was Nedzu, a strange creature that made a shiver crawl up her spine (she went to Shiketsu, but she heard the rumors about U.A.’s famed principal). The other was a teen boy, a pair of glasses on his face and his hair bright green like a bush. She vaguely recognized him from somewhere, but she couldn’t remember where.

“Hello Shinjitsu-san,” the boy said, a notebook and pen in his hands. He was clicking it absentmindedly. “Or would you prefer Lady Nagant?” 

“Nagant, please,” she responded. “Shinjitsu Ichika has been dead for a long time now.” 

The boy nodded, writing it down. Nedzu spoke up this time. “I’m Nedzu, as I’m sure you’re aware. This is my colleague, Dekiru, a hero analyst.” 

“I’m working on taking down the HPSC,” he said, pulling out a tape recorder. “I’ve collected some evidence, but in order to really take it down, I need your testimony.” 

Nagant let herself smile a bit. She didn’t really think her testimony would do much, but it’s not like she’s doing anything else. “I’ll help.” 

“Thank you,” the boy beamed, and she felt like she was going to go blind at the pure kindness in it. He turned on the tape recorder. “This is Midoriya Izuku, here with Shinjitsu Ichika, otherwise known as Lady Nagant, for her story about her time with the Hero Public Safety Commision. With me is Nedzu-san as witness. Nagant-san, you can start now.” 

She took a deep breath, then started to talk. 

 

---

 

After a long, grueling three hours, Dekiru finally stopped the recording. “Thank you for your help, Nagant-san. I truly appreciate it.” 

“Of course,” she responded. 

He stood up, packing his stuff. Nedzu remained seated, sipping his tea that he had procured from… somewhere. She had stopped questioning it about half an hour in. “Dekiru-kun, you can go ahead of me back to the car. I have a few things I need to discuss with Nagant-san.” 

The kid looked between the two of them. “Are you sure, Nedzu-san?” 

The chimera just nodded, and with a small frown on his face, he shuffled off. Nagant looked directly at the creature, a shudder going down her spine once again. She felt like she was being dissected. 

“What is it you need from me, Nedzu-san?” She asked, breaking the moment between the two of them. 

Nedzu smiled. “I would like to extend an offer.” He slid a few pieces of paper under the glass, for her to read. “I understand that outside of prison, you would have a hard time being hired, given your record and unique history. It just so happens that with the new year coming up and with a few new hires, I am in need of more hands on deck, so to speak.”

She skimmed the documents. They detailed a management position, basically she would be running around helping to make sure the school kept going. Deliveries, paperwork, grading more minor assignments, cleaning, tutoring help. She was basically an assistant that’ll help wherever needed. And she’ll be given a provisional hero license, so that she could use her quirk in protection of the students if she needs to. 

“This is…” She trailed off, continuing to shuffle through the papers. There was a page for a name change.

“I understand that the name Shinjitsu Ichika isn’t well known, but you don’t seem to like the name anymore either,” Nedzu said, sipping his tea. “And I’m sure you don’t want to be tied to the name Lady Nagant anymore. An opportunity like this deserves a clean slate, don’t you think?” 

“It’s not that I don’t like the names,” Nagant muttered, more thinking to herself than anything else. “It’s just that they’re not who I am anymore.” 

Nedzu slid a pen to the other side. “Then who are you?” 

She thought about it. Vague memories of her time at Shiketsu came back to her. A long term girlfriend, their relationship strong but ultimately couldn’t survive the stress of heroism. A celebratory bonfire for 3-A’s graduation, the last time any of them would be together before going out onto the field officially. A work study in Italy, where she held a gun other than her own arms for the first time and was taught how to shoot by a woman she still thought of as a mother. 

She wrote down her name on the form. 

Tsutsuni Kaima.

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 20: One Step In The Door

Friends!!! :D - 7:19 AM

Broccoli-chan (Izuku), Sonic the Hedgehog (Iida), Hot Pocket (Todoroki), Dr. Jekyll (Hatsume), Mr. Sandman (Honenuki), and Mrs. Darcy (Yaomomo) are online.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Good luck to everyone taking exams today!!!

Mrs. Darcy: Best of luck to Midoriya and Hatsume!

Mr. Sandman: good luck u guys

Broccoli-chan: good luck 2 u guys 2!!!

Dr. Jekyll: thank

Hot Pocket: welc

Mr. Sandman: alriht, who told todo how 2 meme???

Mr. Sandman: i want names

Dr. Jekyll: zuku

Broccoli-chan: betrayed

 

---

 

Izuku squinted, going through the Powerpoint on his laptop one final time. He was presenting an analysis on Endeavor, and why he’s actually the worst hero. He had sent the presentation to Shouto already, who had just responded to him with a thumbs up emoji, and he was looking it over one last time to make sure there weren’t any embarrassing typos. 

“You’re gonna be fine, Broccoli-chan!” Mei said, from where she was sitting next to him. She was going through her bag, probably picking which baby she wanted to present. “You literally do this as your job.” 

Izuku groaned. “But usually those are sent in the form of nice little pdfs! I don’t present in front of people!” 

Mei leveled him a look. “You’ve checked the presentation seven times today. I’m pretty sure the eighth time is not going to show you anything new.” 

“But what if it-”

Mei covered his mouth with her hand. “No buts! You’ll do great.” She closed his laptop and took it from him. 

“Hey! I need that!” 

“You can get it back after you’re done with your practical,” Mei said, tucking it into her bag. “Or I’ll tell Keigo that we let you have Starbucks before the test.” 

Izuku balked at that. “I thought we were friends!” 

“It’s for your own good, Broccoli-chan,” Mei said. Her name was called, and she turned to look over at the little robot that had wheeled over to the front of the room. “If you even think about working on the presentation, I will sicc Keigo on your ass.” 

Izuku grumbled as Mei left, slumping in his seat. He couldn’t even study for the written test, as they had finished taking it already. Instead, he stood up and started pacing, hurriedly thinking out loud on his future analyses to take his mind off of the upcoming presentation. 

At least, he was, until an applicant threw a notebook at his head.

 

---

 

Izuku adjusted his glasses, looking himself over one last time before he stepped into the room. Usually, students would be wearing their middle school uniform, but he burned his old uniform as soon as he transferred out of Aldera, and online schools don’t have uniforms, so he just showed up in something close to business casual (jeans and a t-shirt that said “button up shirt”) and hoped it worked. 

Projecting a confidence he didn’t have, he walked into the room. It was a regular classroom, with most of the desks pushed to the side and a projector set up in the back, a laptop connected to it already. Sitting at the few desks still in the middle of the room were Power Loader, Nedzu, and a couple of other heroes he recognized as prominent support heroes.

“Welcome, Midoriya Izuku, our only analysis track applicant,” Nedzu beamed, a tea cup in his hands like always. “You may begin at your leisure.” 

“Thank you, Nedzu-san,” Izuku smiled, swiping the clicker thing off one of the desks. He paced to the front of the room, and his presentation came on. “Now, we are all aware that the world of Limelight Heroics is a very competitive place. If you are diligent in climbing the rankings, you can become a household name. But not all heroes who are good at climbing the rankings are actually good heroes.” 

Izuku pressed the clicker, and the powerpoint used a little fire animation to transition to his title slide: Endeavor is a Shitty Hero and Here’s Why, a presentation by Midoriya Izuku. (Yes, all of the transitions are fire themed, he thought it was funny.)

“Take the number two hero: Endeavor.” 

It transitioned again to a line graph of his popularity since his debut. “When Endeavor first debuted, he quickly rose through the ranks and maintained his popularity as a hero, which is impressive. However, it’s not due to anything heroic about him.” He clicked, and another line graph was shown over the original graph. “This is how much his PR team spent on marketing over the years. It goes to show that he’s more focused on making sure he maintains his image rather than actually saving people.”

The next slide was a graph comparing his villain takedown rate to civilian casualties, villain casualties, and property damage. “He has no regard for civilian safety, and he has tunnel vision on taking down the villains. Every single takedown involves at least property damage and civilian or villain injury, and there are way more villain casualties than any hero should. It’s not like he doesn’t have precision or control: he’s the number two hero. If he has the quirk control to make a mask out of his flames, he can minimize the amount of casualties he is causing.”

The next slide was a graph comparing his villain takedown rate to civilian rescues. “He even ignores the first principle of heroics: prioritize the rescue. We can see here that he always takes cases that involve taking down a villain, and there have been cases where he has killed one or more of the civilians he was supposed to be rescuing.”

The next slide was a graph of Endeavor’s villain and civilian casualties, with the graph of the minimum casualties for a hero license to be revoked overlaid on top. “In fact, Endeavor shouldn’t even have his license still. He’s caused enough death and destruction that he exceeds the minimum casualty limit for a hero license to be revoked, but because he takes down so many villains, the Hero Public Safety Commission doesn’t want to revoke his license.” 

The final slide was a picture of Endeavor in a trash can, with a bullet list next to him basically restating the main points he went through. “In conclusion, Endeavor is a shitty hero who doesn’t deserve to have his hero license still, let alone be number two. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.” 

Izuku finished off his presentation with a bow, then stood ramrod straight as the silence went on for several seconds. Then Power Loader started clapping, and soon the whole room was clapping. 

“Excellent job, Midoriya-kun!” Nedzu said. 

Izuku let the tension slip out of his shoulders. “Thank you, Nedzu-san.” 

“You may go back out to the waiting room,” Power Loader said. “You’ll wait out there with the rest of the applicants until we can dismiss everyone.” 

Izuku smiled, then bowed again. “Thank you for taking the time to consider me.” 

“One more thing,” Nedzu called out as he was leaving. Izuku turned back to face him. “It’s customary for analysis track applicants to have their presentations shared with the analysis teams of the hero teams they choose to present on.” 

Izuku paled. “I’m- I’m honored that you believe it’s worth sharing,” he squeaked, before running away.

 

---

 

“Mei, I’m gonna die!” Those were the first words out of Izuku’s mouth as he practically ran over to reclaim his seat next to his friend. 

“What did Nedzu say?” Mei asked. “Because if he said something mean no one’ll find the body-” 

“No! Nothing like that,” Izuku tried to reassure the situation. “It’s even worse.” 

“Well, if they liked your presentation, I don’t see-” 

“They’re gonna send it to Endeavor.” 

There was a moment of silence. Mei patted him on the back. “I’ll arrange your funeral, Broccoli-chan.” 

Izuku groaned, slumping down in his seat. “My life is over. Tell Sushi I love her and give her a kiss on the forehead for me. All my stuff goes to her. Make sure I’m cremated and launched into the sun-” 

“Excuse me!” 

Izuku turned his head a little, and a shiver went down his spine. He recognized that voice, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Small Might standing in an ill-fitting suit, practically hiding behind the doorway. 

“Is there a Midoriya Izuku here?” 

 

---

 

“Can a quirkless person become a hero?”

“I’m sorry kid, but no. It’s simply too dangerous.” 

“If I had waited any longer before jumping in, Bakugou would be dead by now!” 

“The kid’s right. His quick thinking bought me the time to pull them both to safety.” 

   

Toshinori has been doing a lot of thinking lately. 

Don’t get him wrong, he’s always thinking, but usually it’s along the lines of ‘I need to go visit Gran Torino again’ or ‘I need to be ready to make a speech at the Make a Dream foundation today.’ But lately he’s been thinking about quirkism, and one boy who dared to believe he can become a hero. 

He remembered being in a similar position. A bright eyed kid, without any quirk at all, wanting to become a hero that would be a pillar of justice for people to believe in. Back then, he was supported by a mentor who trained him and passed on her quirk to him. 

But he was so blinded by his own fear and his weakening body that he forgot where he came from. Instead of passing on the torch and reaching a hand out to another like Nana did for him, he callously dismissed the boy. 

He took the time afterwards to do his own research. Sure, he’d been teased and pushed around as a kid because he was quirkless, but it had gotten so much worse over the past few decades. Most people who were quirkless were older (and didn’t that hurt, being reminded how old he was), so quirkless children were increasingly rarer. The bullying, suicide rates and hate crimes were atrocious. 

And sure, he was injured, a hero with an incredibly powerful quirk, but that doesn’t mean other heroes with weaker quirks are any more likely to be injured. In fact, his own mentor’s quirk wasn’t particularly powerful, but he’s the strongest hero that Toshinori knows. 

Anyways, it all boils down to this. Toshinori, standing in a side room, across from the boy who he left on a rooftop. A boy who was able to save a kid that Toshinori couldn’t.

“Hello, Young Midoriya.” 

The boy clutched his bag tighter, although his face remained neutral and hard to read. “Hello… Small Might.” 

His eyes widened when he realized what he just said, and Toshinori couldn’t hide the chuckle that escaped him. “It’s alright, my boy.” 

“Umm, no offense, but why have you brought me here?” Midoriya asked. “You made it pretty clear what you thought of me last time we met.” 

Toshinori nodded. “I understand that what I said that day was wrong.” Midoriya’s head jerked up, surprise clear on his face. “Which is why-” Toshinori went down on his hands and knees, lowering his forehead to the ground in a proper bow, “I wanted to apologize for what I said.” 

The boy gasped above him. “All Might- I-” 

He sat up. Midoriya was crying, tears streaming down his face as he covered his mouth with one hand. “You’re the only one to apologize,” he sobbed out. 

Toshinori held out his arms. Midoriya hesitated, then practically barreled into him, sniffling as he wrapped his arms around the boy. 

“I was blinded by my own fear,” Toshinori continued. “If the Symbol of Peace can be crippled by a villain, what could happen to those with weaker quirks? But that’s simply not true. Some of the strongest heroes I know have relatively weak quirks, and rely on support gear and their wits to get them through battles. I’m sure a hero without a quirk could do just as well.”

Midoriya pulled away, wiping his eyes, the flow of tears gone for now. Toshinori stood back up. “You really thought a lot about this, huh?” Midoriya said. “Apologizing, I mean.” 

“Of course. Although it did take a couple smacks from my mentor to set my head straight.” Toshinori smiled as the boy chuckled. He was glad to cheer him up, even if it was at his own expense. 

“Gran Torino, right?” Midoriya asked. “Unless you have some other secret mentor I don’t know about.” 

“You really do know your stuff,” he said. “You’re correct about both of those things. That’s related to something I wanted to ask you, actually…” 

And Toshinori recounted the story of One For All. About a quirk that started with a user who could pass on another quirk, gaining strength from one user to the next, how it was passed to his mentor, who saw a quirkless kid with ambition and passed it to him. 

“And I see that heroic spirit in you, my boy,” Toshinori said, stretching out his hand. “I would like you to be the ninth holder of One For All.” 

Midoriya stared at his hand, then looked back up at him. “You do know how it sounds, right? Asking me to take your quirk right after you said that I can be a hero without one?” 

“Of course,” Toshinori said. “And I would support you either way. If you choose to reject the quirk, I will look for someone else to inherit it instead. But I believe you will do great things, with or without it.”

“What if I don’t want to be a hero anymore?” 

Midoriya pulled out a pin from his pocket, a bunny that looked like the one on Dekiru’s signatures. He recognized it from the pictures circulating on the HN. “I found something that satisfies me, without putting myself in harm's way and worrying my mother or my friends.”

“Then I would still support you,” Toshinori said honestly. “I meant what I said. You are already doing great things without it.” He put his hand down. “I’m presuming you’re not taking the quirk?” 

Midoriya shook his head, pocketing the pin again. “Thank you for offering, though. It means a lot. And I’ll help you look.” 

Toshinori smiled. “I look forward to it, young man. Now, you should get back to your friend. I’m sure she must be worried. I’m glad you have such good friends.” 

Midoriya smiled back, more hesitant than Toshinori’s beaming grin. “Thank you, All Might. For apologizing.” 

Toshinori shook his head. “You deserved it, my boy.” 

 

---

 

“Broccoli-chan, who made you cry? Who do I have to kill?!” 

“Nobody, I promise they’re happy tears Mei.”

Notes:

New update schedule! Dekiru is updating every other Sunday.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 21: Cheerleading

Izuku huffed, running through the halls and clutching his bag to his chest. Despite his morning runs, he still wasn’t really in shape. Especially since right now, he was going for speed over endurance.

As he skidded around a turn, he slammed into something, stumbling backwards and onto his ass. “Oh- I- I’m sorry-” When he looked up, he saw his life flash before his eyes.

He had slammed face first into Endeavor.

“Watch it, boy,” the hero practically growled at him. 

“Of course, sorry,” Izuku squeaked, sidestepping him and trying to not look like he was running away even though he totally was.

“Boy.”

He turned around, trying to project confidence despite facing death. “Yes?” 

The hero eyed him up and down, as if disgusted by his very existence. “What school are you from?”

“I’m home schooled.” 

“Who is your sponsor then?” 

Izuku was sure he was sweating bullets at this point. “I have multiple, but the main one is Hawks.” 

Endeavor narrowed his eyes. “You’re disgracing your sponsors by being late.”

Oh. He thought I was a hero applicant. “Oh, uh, I already took my entrance exam. I’m applying to the support course.” 

The hero seemed to lose interest in him immediately, and Izuku internally let out a sigh of relief. Literally, Endeavor just started walking off without saying a word. 

Izuku wasn’t gonna question any of this. He was just gonna keep running and not think about how close he was to death.

 

---

 

The applicants had finished their written tests by then, and Izuku was on time to mingle with them while the obstacle course was being set up.

“Hi guys!” Izuku shouted, waving at his friends as he made his way over. Iida, Honenuki and Yaomomo were talking, with Yaomomo switching to English every once in a while to include Pony. Shouto was dragged over there too, although he just seems to be sitting back and enjoying listening to the conversation. 

“Hello Midoriya-kun!” “Hi Midoriya!” “Hi Izuku!” 

Izuku slid into the conversation easily with a bright smile. “How are you guys doing? Nervous? Excited? Both? I’m excited! And nervous. But mostly excited!” 

“I’m a little nervous,” Pony said.

“Well I’m excited!” Honenuki shouted, holding up his hand for a high five. For a few moments, it looked like he was gonna be left hanging, but Shouto shyly high fived him.

“Midoriya, you look a little pale,” Yaomomo said, pointing out what he really didn’t want them to know. “Are you okay?” 

“Oh, I’m fine! Nothing like a minor scare, a full sprint through U.A. hallways, and a brush with death to really be invigorated in the morning!”

“A brush with WHAT?!”

“Did someone say invigorated?!” Izuku screeched as one of the other applicants shouted from behind him. He turned to see a kid with his hair buzzed off, and was so tall that he had to crane his neck.

“Oh! Hi. Hi.” Izuku calmed down (and took a step back, he wanted some personal space). He bowed a little. “Midoriya Izuku, support course applicant. Pleasure to meet you.” 

“I am Yoarashi Inasa, applying for the hero course! I apologize if I come off as rude, but why is a support course applicant here?! I thought the support course exams were inside!” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’m done with my exams, so I figured I would come out and cheer my friends on!” 

“I love such passion!” Yoarashi said. Izuku had relaxed once he realized that he was similar to Yamada and Iida. “Heroes should be passionate and have hot spirits, which is why I’m here!” 

“Hot spirits but cool heads,” Yaomomo said. “Having a clear head is vital to heroics.”

“You’re right, that is very important!” Yoarashi said. “I didn’t catch any of your names!” 

“Yaoyorozu Momo.” “Honenuki Juzou.” “Tsunotori Pony.” “Iida Tenya!” “Todoroki Shouto.” 

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Yoarashi-kun, but I would like to go back to what Midoriya-kun described as a ‘brush with death’ earlier!” Iida said, and suddenly everyone’s eyes were on him. 

“Well… I ran into Endeavor…” 

“That doesn’t seem that bad…” Yoarashi said. 

“The problem is that Nedzu said he would be sharing my presentation about him with Endeavor.” 

“I still don’t see the problem.” 

“The problem is that my presentation was about why Endeavor was the worst hero.” 

Honenuki pat Izuku on the back. “I’ll help arrange your funeral, dude.” 

Yoarashi looked around. “I don’t think we should be talking ill about Endeavor in front of his son.” 

Shouto deadpanned, “I helped him with it.” 

Iida started to arm chop. “I’m sure if you told Takami-san, he would help you!” 

“Yes, because my brother being in jail for murder is so much better,” Izuku said sarcastically. 

Yoarashi looked horrified, so Yaomomo said, “He’s joking. Mostly.” 

Yamada-san’s voice projected through the speakers, and started calling names to run the obstacle race. Izuku shook his head, giving his friends a smile. “You guys better go. I’m gonna go get Starbucks. Good luck you guys!” 

“Izuku, you have a problem,” Honenuki said. 

“Hey, if I’m gonna die anyways, I might as well.” 

 

---

 

Inasa grinned, wiping the sweat off his brows. “That was an exciting race! I kept the lead by the skin of my teeth!”

Todoroki nodded. He was quiet, but seemed to be a good dude overall. “It was a good challenge.” 

“We should spar sometime! It would be a great way to test both our skills and our spirits!” 

“Our friend group has a group chat. If you would like, I could add your number so we could coordinate.” Todoroki looked through his pockets, clearly looking for his phone.

A raccoon came up to Todoroki, a phone in its mouth. The boy held out his hand, and the raccoon gently dropped it on his hand before running away. 

“That was impressive!” Inasa said. “Is that your phone?!” 

Todoroki nodded, opening his phone up. “Midoriya has an affinity with raccoons. It’s not his quirk, he’s just like that.” 

Inasa took the phone offered to him, punching his number in. Apparently his contact name was just a tornado emoji. “That is very impressive! Also thank you for letting me into your group chat! Although why is my contact name an emoji?!” 

Todoroki shrugged, taking his phone back. “All the contact names are emojis.” 

The boy he recognized as Honenuki ran across the finish line. “Hi guys! That was pretty impressive, good job you guys!” 

“Thank you! You were also very impressive!” “Thanks.” 

Honenuki grabbed both of them, an arm around each shoulder. “Team Elemental Quirks! Juzou, Shouto, and New Best Friend I already forgot the name of! Congrats to us!”

Inasa went to remind Honenuki of his name (giving the kid the benefit of the doubt), but he got distracted by the small smile on Todoroki’s face. It’s the first smile he’s seen from the son of Endeavor all day.

As he listened to Honenuki celebrate and watched Todoroki smile, Inasa was struck with the feeling that he picked a good bunch of new friends.

Notes:

This update is a little later than I'd like it, but I love writing Inasa.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 22: One For All

Notes:

Hey guys! I’m sorry for the mini hiatus I went on. I had finished school and we just moved across the country, so I was a bit busy. However, I did take some time to plan out the rest of the year based on the biweekly update schedule for the series as a whole.

Kitsune - Every other Wednesday, chapter 25 should be up 7/20
Mercenary - Every other Sunday, chapter 23 should be up 7/24
Mothman - Every other Wednesday, chapter 12 should be up 7/27
Dekiru - Every other Sunday, chapter 22 should be up 7/31

I also crunched the numbers, and based on my math, by the end of the year Kitsune should be up to chapter 36, Mercenary should be up to chapter 34, Mothman should be up to chapter 23, and Dekiru should be up to chapter 32.

Also, please look at this art by goldnightshaade! He looks so tired, I love him, thank you so much!!!

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Izuku frowned, a notebook opened to two columns of twenty names, one labeled “1A” and the other “1B.” He was seated at Nedzu’s desk in his office, empty of the stoat because of a staff meeting. Nedzu was letting the young boy use his office to go over footage of both the recommendation exams and the entrance exams in order to decide which heroics student would be granted One For All. 

He had already crossed off the names of all his friends. They already have strong quirks, and it would be unfair to give them something like One For All. He also went through the list and crossed off all students with inherently powerful quirks, like Tokoyami Fumikage and Tokage Setsuna.

Going through the footage, he then crossed off names of people who have powerful or versatile quirks if they’re used smartly. Names like Uraraka Ochaco, Kouda Kouji, Tsuyu Asui, Kaminari Denki, etc. 

Looking through the newly culled list, he realized that the entirety of 1B was cut. There were only three names left: Mineta Minoru, Ojirou Mashirao, and Hagakure Tooru.

A knock on the door alerted Izuku to the time. He absentmindedly groped for the button that opened the door. 

Lady Nagant, now known as Tsutsumi Kaina, stood at the door, holding a tray in her hands. She has changed for the better since she’s been freed. She let her hair grow out again but shaved the sides, something she apparently always wanted to do but wasn’t allowed to while she was a hero. U.A. didn’t really have a dress code, so she wore sturdy boots, a pair of cargo pants tucked in, and a tee shirt. When she was first discharged from prison; her, Keigo and Izuku all went on a shopping trip, and it turned out that she loved cat tees. So from then on, Izuku made it a point that whenever they met or hung out, he would give her a funny cat tee or a wine aunt tee.

They met often whenever Izuku went to see Nedzu, of course, but she’s also been roped into the friend group of pro heroes that regularly battle over his custody. She’s found drinking buddies in the U.A. teachers, understanding with Keigo over the suckiness of the commission, and mentees to pass advice onto in the younger heroes. Now she’s Auntie Kaina, Nedzu’s secretary and protector of U.A. students.

She set the tray down on the desk, with a steaming bowl of curry and a cup of tea. “Lunch from Lunch Rush.”

“Thanks, Auntie Kaina,” he said, sliding the tray to himself. “Is the meeting still going?” 

“Yeah, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping any time soon,” she rolled her eyes. “A small lunch break, and then back to scheduling.”

Izuku winced. “Sounds like a great time.” 

“All boring admin stuff that I’m going to be the only one paying attention to by the end of it.” She checked her watch. “I’ve got to head back. But if you need anything kiddo, shoot me a text, whether it’s on this secret project of yours or anything else.” 

“Got it, Auntie.” She ruffled his hair, then left, the door automatically shutting behind her. 

With one hand, he started eating his curry, while he used his other hand to switch tabs from physical exam footage to written results. He pulled up the last three names on his list, switching to the response for the second essay question: What would you do as a hero to improve society?

Mineta was immediately crossed off the list. The answers revolved around changing laws for heroine’s costumes to show more skin. Gross, and definitely a student to keep an eye on. 

Ojirou’s answer was interesting. His essay talked about how he would change the hero ranking system from popularity and money to a more fair system based objectively on statistics such as rescue rates, civilian collateral, villain take downs and patrol hours. He argues that the ranking system unfairly props up heroes who take a ton of cushy modeling or merchandising jobs and doesn't acknowledge heroes who work hard to keep people safe. He also points out that the hero ranking system can influence a hero’s paycheck, and that it’s unfair for hardworking heroes closer to the bottom of the system to not get fairly paid for their work. 

It was a great read, especially because it’s the points that Izuku has made in conversations with Nedzu. It missed some of the other points of the hero ranking system that gets factored in like raising money for charity, community service hours, or number of successful current and former sidekicks, but overall Ojirou had the right idea. Ojirou values hard work, and seems to have a sense of dignity that means he wants to accept results with his own abilities. 

“You do know how it sounds, right? Asking me to take your quirk right after you said that I can be a hero without one?” 

“I would support you either way. But I believe you will do great things, with or without it.”

“I’m sure a hero without a quirk could do just as well.” 

Izuku couldn’t do that to him. He crossed Ojirou’s name off the list. 

And then it was one. Hagakure Tooru. 

He went and double checked her exam results, just in case. Her essay was about improving the foster care system, specifically for those with supposedly weak or villainous quirks. She herself got lucky and landed some good adopted parents, but she’s seen bad examples, and she believes that a hero with a weak quirk can use their platform to advocate for a reform. She was also the only student to get into the heroics course purely on rescue points, through saving several students from robots, and even helping a student escape the Zero Pointer. 

Hagakure Tooru would be getting One For All. 

 

---

 

At the same time Izuku was entering the conference room, Keigo was storming out like he was about to kick someone’s ass. “What was that about?” He asked, stepping into the room alone with Nedzu. 

“Don’t worry about it, Dekiru-kun. I’m sure it will work itself out.” Nedzu poured a cup of tea for him. “Have you decided who the next holder of One For All should be?” 

“I have. Hagakure Tooru.” 

“Excellent! Then I shall call Yagi-”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something first,” Izuku said, cutting off his mentor. When Nedzu motioned for him to go ahead, he continued, “I wanted to ask about the empty spot in 1-A.” 

Nedzu sipped his tea thoughtfully. “I understand that you have applied for the Support course, and have found a successful career.” 

He nodded. “I don’t see what this has to do with-” 

“I also understand that for most of your life, you have wanted to be a hero.” 

Izuku had his breath metaphorically punched out of him. “The spot is for me?” 

The stoat nodded. “There could be a split schedule between heroics and support, or you could just focus on heroics or support, with private lessons with me, of course. But from what I understand, the world has never given you a chance. I’d like to offer it to you now.” 

Izuku thought about it. He thought of all the people supporting him now, all the people who told him a useless Deku could never do it, all the people who he’s helped through his analyses. He thought about his conversation with All Might that day on the rooftop, and the same conversation earlier this week. Most importantly, he thought about his mom, who looked so relieved that he had found something to be passionate about that the world wouldn’t put him down for. 

“Thank you, Nedzu-sensei. It really means a lot to me that you’re offering me this chance.” Izuku took a deep breath in, clutching the files to his chest. “But I can’t accept it. I’ve already found something that has made me happy, a way to help without putting myself on the front lines and worrying the people who are supporting me. 

“Before I found that analysis envelope on the ground, I never could have imagined the people I could help through what I thought were my stupid notes. But now I’ve helped- I’ve saved more people than I could’ve imagined. In a way…

“In a way, I’m already a hero.” 

Nedzu smiled. “You’ve always been, Dekiru-kun, ever since you sent off that first letter. I suppose I will have to look into who will be filling that spot…”

“Actually, I’ve already picked someone out.” Izuku stepped forward and handed over the manila folder. “Shinsou Hitoshi, currently a member of 1-C. He was very close to having a spot, falling short of the rescue points needed. He also wrote an excellent essay response about reforming public perceptions of so-called villainous quirks. I think he would be an excellent fit for 1-A. Included in the folder is also who I think should take his spot in 1-C.” 

“Then I shall pass along the message to Aizawa-san and Yamada-san.” 

Izuku’s eyes widened. “You didn’t even look at the files.” 

“I trust that you have made the right decision.” 

Nedzu trusted him. Izuku smiled widely, wiping away the tears gathering in his eyes. Nedzu hopped down from the desk, and Izuku held out his hand for the stoat to climb onto his shoulder. 

“I think we should go check on Takami-kun now. Hopefully he hasn’t tried to murder All Might.” 

“Hasn’t tried to what?!”

 

---

 

Keigo thinks he has been doing very well with the self restraint thing so far. He managed to get through a whole meeting in the same room as All Might without punching him. And considering that the meeting went on for four fucking hours, that was incredible.

So when Nedzu informed him that Ass Might made his brother cry a second time the day of recommendation exams, Keigo went on a fucking war path. 

Once the meeting was finished, most of the teachers had congregated in the teacher’s lounge, with the exception of a few teachers who decided to do their planning in their classrooms (or were taking a nap). This meant that Keigo had an audience. 

All Might had been sitting at his desk, talking with Yamada and Kayama, when Keigo stormed forwards and slammed his fists on the table. 

“I have half a mind to punch you in your stupid face, but I did promise my brother that I wouldn’t do anything that would warrant jail time, so I’m going to wait before I do that,” Keigo snarled. “And I told myself I would wait to have this conversation in private, but I was just informed that you made my little brother cry for the second time.”

All Might seemed to brighten up at that. “Oh! Young Midoriya.” 

“So there is a brain in that thick skull of yours after all. You’re going to explain what the fuck you did this time, or I am going to-”

“Keigo,” Kayama spoke up, interrupting his rant. “What do you mean a second time?” 

“Let’s just say that the first time ended with Izuku throwing himself off a fucking roof. If I wasn’t in the area, he would be dead.” Keigo’s feathers were puffed up, his nails digging into the wooden desk. “So you better have a good fucking explanation-” 

“Keigo!” He was being physically pulled away by Kayama, who put some space between them. “Trust me, I’m angry too, but let the man speak.” 

Unfortunately, she had a point. Keigo took a deep breath in and let his feathers return to their natural state. Now that he looked, he could see All Might’s guilty face. 

“I am glad I went to talk to him then,” he said. “The day of entrance exams, I went to apologize to young Midoriya about what I said that day.” 

The entire room was silent. All Might took that as his cue to continue. “My quirk didn’t come in until I was sixteen. For my childhood I was treated like I was quirkless. But I had not realized how much worse it had gotten for those who were quirkless.

“I had gotten this form because of an injury that nearly killed me. I was blinded by my own fears, so I told him what I thought was true at the time, that heroism was too dangerous for those without quirks. But it wasn’t true, and I told young Midoriya that much. He can be an amazing hero, even without a quirk.

“He’s an amazing young man, and I told him that I would support him in whatever he does.” 

The room was silent. Keigo folded his wings back up. “I understand now, and if Izuku forgives you, then I will too. But if you pull anything like that again I swear I will kill you-”

“DON’T KILL ALL MIGHT!!!!”

Izuku had slammed into the door, panting like he’d just ran a marathon. Nedzu was perched on his shoulder, a folder under his arm. “He apologized for what he said, and- and I forgive him- and please don’t commit murder Keigo- ” 

After that, he promptly collapsed onto the floor. Nedzu jumped off his shoulders, walking over to them. “Takami-kun, if you hadn’t run off in the middle of my sentence, I could have explained the situation.” 

“Sorry, Nedzu-san,” Keigo said. “And like I said earlier, since Izuku forgave you, I’ll forgive you. But if you pull anything else-” 

“No murder!” Izuku shouted from the floor, and then started wheezing again. He saw Yamada bend down to give him a cup of water. 

“By the way, Yagi-san, I must talk to you for a bit,” Nedzu said, holding up the file. “It seems you have one more message to record.” 

Notes:

I am prepared to have my inbox blow up. (I love it every time it does.)

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 23: Results!

Izuku was nibbling on a macaron, listening to Tenya and Shouto describe their experiences with the normal entrance exam. He knew the story already, having watched the tapes, but it was much more thrilling to hear the tale from their perspectives. Iida was a surprisingly good storyteller. 

Himself, Mei, Tenya, Shouto, Inasa, Honenuki and Pony were all at Yaomomo’s mansion, sitting in one of the living rooms while they waited. No one except for Izuku knew the results, so they were all waiting at Yaomomo’s, with macarons that were going to be either celebratory or pity, depending on the results. 

“Drum roll please!” Kayama entered the room, holding up a bunch of envelopes. Inasa, Honenuki and Mei all started a drum roll, and Izuku could even see Shouto joining in. 

Envelopes were passed out, and the three most enthusiastic kids had a rock paper scissors match to determine who was opening theirs first. Mei won, so she tore open her envelope only for a disk to fall out. 

The hologram flickered on to reveal Power Loader. “Hello, Hatsume Mei. On the written exam you got a 98%, and on the practical you got forty out of forty points, making you the top applicant in the engineering track. You have earned your place in class 1-H at U.A.’s Support Course. Welcome to your support academia. Plus Ultra!”

“Poor guy needs a coffee,” Izuku muttered, as everyone else cheered for Mei. 

“Alright, I got second, I’m going now,” Honenuki said, dumping out his envelope impatiently. Everyone waited with bated breath as it turned on.

An hour later, and the results were in. Inasa, Yaomomo, and Honenuki were all accepted through the recommendation program; Honenuki was placed in 1-B while Inasa and Yaomomo were placed in 1-A. Pony was placed into 1-B through the foreign exchange program, since she and her older sister, Cow Lady, were still American citizens. Through the normal entrance exam, Tenya and Shouto got into 1-A. 

“Alright, you can’t put it off any longer,” Mei said. “Open it!” 

Everyone else in the circle (including Kayama) started chanting “Open it! Open it!” Izuku laughed, his cheeks bright red as he dumped the disk out, joining the other seven on the table. 

Instead of Power Loader, Nedzu popped up on the hologram. “Hello, Midoriya Izuku! It is a pleasure to announce that you have passed the entrance exam with flying colors! You achieved 100% on the written exam, the highest score of every applicant this year! In addition, you passed the practical exam with flying colors! Your presentation was the best that I have seen submitted in the history of the analysis track, earning your place in class 1-H! And don’t worry, we did not actually send your presentation to Endeavor’s agency. A little adrenaline is just the perfect way to start a morning!

“Speaking of which, I am delighted to inform you that due to your unique education and experiences, several of the normal gen ed classes you would take will instead be replaced by personal lessons with me, in addition to the normal lessons analysis track students would get. I'm excited to finally get to be your teacher. Welcome to your support academia! Plus Ultra!” 

The hologram disappeared, and several jaws were dropped. 

“Broccoli-chan, please do not take over the world,” Kayama said. 

Izuku smiled. “No promises!” 

 

---

 

Musutafu Central Broadcasting @mcbofficial

Following the expose released by the anonymous analyst Dekiru, the Hero Public Safety Commission has turned over many of its staff, including the Vice President. Read the full article here .

 

---

 

Naomasa stood in the lobby of Musutafu General Hospital, waiting for Mirai to arrive. He had his recording device under his coat turned on already, as well as a travel thermos of coffee, which was necessary for going anywhere. 

The information provided by Nedzu was invaluable. Not only could there be proven cases of quirk discrimination, but there was medical fraud, financial fraud, post mortum neglect, leaking of medical information, and obstruction of justice. Besides, they had testimony from Midoriya, several nurses, and a doctor, so this case was closed. It was just a matter of arresting the hospital director, so that a new one could overhaul the staff. 

As much as Aizawa and Takami wanted to be there to take down the director who had caused Midoriya so much pain, they were both teachers at U.A., so they had to stay at the school. However, Mirai was available and very willing, so here he was, waiting for the man. 

Finally, Mirai came in, wearing something that could be described as business casual, if you squinted really hard. Choice in undercover outfit aside, Mirai wasn’t wearing his hero costume, which was the important thing. 

“Are you ready?” Naomasa asked, sipping his coffee. Mirai nodded, and they both stepped up to the secretary.

“Excuse me, but can you tell us where the director’s office is?” 

 

---

 

Hitoshi sat down at the kitchen table, staring at the envelopes in front of him. Envelopes, plural, because two had come from UA. The second was written and dated literally three hours after the first. 

His current foster mother was stress cleaning the kitchen. His younger foster sister had dragged a chair next to him, and was excitedly slapping her palms on the table. 

“Nii-chan, you must be really special to get two letters!” She said, “Open ‘em, open ‘em!” 

“Alright, I will.” Hitoshi dragged over the oldest letter first, opening it up and feeling his heart sink. “Unfortunately, you did not place high enough to make it into our Heroics. You did place high enough to earn you a spot in UA’s Gen Ed course…” 

His mom frowned from her step stool, where she was dusting off the cabinets. “That’s still at UA. There’s probably a system to transfer courses.” 

Himari slammed her hands on the table again. “There’s still the second letter!” 

“You’re right, sweetie,” his mom said. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” 

Ignoring his sister repeatedly telling him to open it, Hitoshi opened up the second envelope. Instead of a letter, a disk clattered onto the table. They both jumped and clung to each other as a hologram was emitted from the disk. 

“I AM HERE, AS A PROJECTION!” All Might boomed from the fucking hologram . “Shinsou Hitoshi, on the written exam you got 92%. But, you did not get any points during the practical exam. However, points were not our only metric for your success!” 

The hologram played clips of the entrance exam, where Hitoshi had pushed other examinees out of the way or helped them out of rubble.

“We also had rescue points! For your incredible actions of bravery, you got 25 points, earning your place in class 1-A at U.A’s Heroics Course! Welcome to your hero academia! Plus Ultra!” 

The hologram sputtered out. When Hitoshi pulled out the other papers in the envelope, he saw that they were various forms, such as a costume form and safety waivers.

“You did it nii-chan!” Himari shouted, immediately grabbing onto his side. Hitoshi hugged her back, silently clinging on as his sister kept babbling. 

His foster mother sat down at the table again, a manilla envelope in her hands. “I’m so proud of you, Hitoshi,” she said. “I want to talk to you about something.” 

“Of course, mama,” he said, setting Himari back down in her seat. She still clung to him though, tiny claws digging into his hoodie. “What is it?” 

“Do you remember the conversation we had when we first took you in?” 

Of course he did. Hitoshi had been bouncing from foster home to foster home, each giving him back either because of his quirk or because he didn’t act like they thought he would. Then his social worker brought him to an apartment on the outskirts of downtown Musutafu, where he met his new foster mother and sister. They both had cat quirks, with the younger one also having some sort of light manipulation ability. Himari asked if he was going to be her new brother, and insisted on him playing with her, but his foster mother had a private conversation with him first. 

In complete defiance of every expectation meeting a new foster mother was supposed to be like, she sat him down and told him the truth. She introduced herself as Dodotaru Aoneko, although he was free to call her whatever he liked. She had explained that her second job had gone under, and while her first job had given her a raise, it was not enough to cover the cost of living for both herself and Himari. So she decided to foster an older kid, who would be able to watch Himari so that she could pick up more shifts and have the foster money to raise all three of them. She explained that he’d be enrolled in an online school while Himari is at a physical school, and that he was not required to pick up a job or anything like that. All she expected of him was to make sure Himari was alright and do a couple of chores here and there. 

While the relationships started off as Hitoshi being a glorified babysitter, they slowly got closer. Himari loved her big brother, and Hitoshi loved her in return. And over time, Hitoshi started seeing his foster mother as a mother, and with a couple more raises, she stopped having to pick up extra shifts. So when Hitoshi came back home after picking Himari up from school, she would be home to cook dinner for them. 

In addition to the online school, Hitoshi picked up some free self defense classes at the local YMCA, as well as using the gym while his foster mother was at work. And when he explained to her that he wanted to be a hero, she supported him a hundred percent. 

When Hitoshi nodded, his foster mother continued from across the table. “Part of the reason we took you in was because of the money that fostering you provided us. Thankfully, UA has generous scholarship programs, so we no longer need to depend on that money. Which means we can finally sign these.” 

His eyes widened as she slid over the folder, opening it to reveal adoption papers. “I know that Himari has seen you as her brother since you stepped foot in this apartment, and it only took me a little bit to see you as my son. I’ve held onto these papers ever since you came into our lives, and I’m so glad that I can finally, officially call you my son.” 

“Mama…” It finally broke Hitoshi, tears running down his face. His fo- his mom came over to him, wrapping both him and his sister into a hug. 

“I love you so much Hitoshi, and I’m so proud of you.” 

Notes:

In this house we give Shinsou loving parental figures. (Yes, these are the same Sushi and Himari from Mercenary)

Also my little brother wanted y'all to know that I updated while eating lunch.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 24: Orientation, How Fun!

Friends!!! :D - 7:00 AM

Broccoli-chan (Izuku), Sonic the Hedgehog (Iida), Hot Pocket (Shouto), Dr. Jekyll (Hatsume), Mr. Sandman (Honenuki), Mrs. Darcy (Momo), Annie Oak (Pony), and Typhon (Inasa) are all online.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Have a wonderful 1st day everyone!

Typhon: YES HAVE EXCELLENT DAYS!!!

Mrs. Darcy: Stay safe everyone. 

Broccoli-chan: its the 1st day

Broccoli-chan: how much trouble can we get in?

Mr. Sandman: r u /s rn? 

Mr. Sandman: ur /j right?

Sonic the Hedgehog: I think my eyes are burning

Hot Pocket: This is coming from the boy who has a raccoon army and gives multiple pros heart attacks

Broccoli-chan: im not that bad!!!

Mr. Sandman: yes u r

Hot Pocket: Yes you are

Annie Oak: Yes

Dr. Jekyll: Yes you are

Mrs. Darcy: Yes, you are

Broccoli-chan: O.O

 

---

 

Izuku crawled through the vents, getting a lay of the land before it was actually time for class. He has a great sense of direction, creating a map in his mind of U.A.’s vent system, and where everything connects.

He was there early because Keigo teaches there, so he got all the small talk with the teachers out of his system before he bailed and started exploring instead. 

He’d been to the school before, but it was still surreal to be in a U.A. uniform, with a backpack full of school supplies and his laptop. He was actually a student, he belonged there. 

He even had the time to set up his own little nest in one of the bigger areas of the vents. 

He got a text from Mei, and dropped out of one of the vents, scaring Yamada-san half to death. He scrambled out of the classroom, ignoring Yamada muttering “I thought he was a bug,” and sprinted to the start of the Support corridor. 

“Broccoli-chan!” Mei shouted, tackling Izuku in a hug. She figured out early on in their friendship that he likes physical contact, so she takes the chance to hug him and invade his personal space whenever possible. 

“Hi Mei,” he returned the hug, giving her a few pats before wiggling his way out (he was aware that she was very strong and if she really wanted to keep him there, there would be no escaping). He grabbed her arm, dragging her through the halls to class 1-H. 

“I’m so excited!” Mei babbled. “I’m going to make so many babies!!!” 

He laughed, more than used to the baby talk by now. “I’ll pass on all my analyses to you so you can make all the hero students gear. You wouldn’t leave me alone if I didn’t.” 

“Of course not!” Mei grinned. “You have so many good ideas for babies! You can’t hold out on me!” 

“I wouldn’t want to!” Izuku returned the grin. 

As he opened the door to 1-H, Mei pulled him into a side hug. “We’ll be a baby making machine!” 

Majima-sensei sputtered, dropping the (thankfully plastic) mug of coffee in his hands. His teacher sighed, putting his hands on his face, and said, “I need a raise.” 

 

---

 

Pony was sitting at one of the desks, in the classroom labeled 1-B. She was slowly sifting through the books she was given. She was slowly getting better at japanese, and her friends were helping her learn. 

Since she was living in the on campus dorms for international students, she got to be there super early. Izuku had popped in for a bit (literally from the ceiling) to say hi, but quickly continued exploring, leaving her to practice her japanese. 

“Hi Pony!” Honenuki called out cheerfully, waving to her as he entered with another student in tow. She thought she saw her at the recommendation exams.

“Hello, Honenuki,” Pony responded with a small wave, closing the book she was currently reading. 

“And here I thought my parents were extra about getting here early,” the girl said. 

“Nah, Pony lives on campus,” Honenuki shrugged. 

She nodded. “I’m from America.” 

“That’s pretty cool,” mystery girl grinned. “Tokage Setsuna, good to meet you!” 

“Pony Tsunotori. It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” 

Tokage bowed at the same time that Pony held out her hand for a handshake, and she accidentally smacked the girl in the face. 

“I’m so sorry!” 

Tokage laughed, holding her hand up to the bruise forming on her forehead. “Don’t worry about it. Still adjusting to the culture shock?” 

Pony smiled, a little relieved that she took it so well. “Yeah, Japan and America are pretty different.” 

“I bet!” Tokage slid into the seat next to her, with Honenuki taking a chair across from them. “Tell me about it?” 

Pony obliged, chattering on about her home and family until class started.

 

---

 

Izuku sat next to Mei, who was currently tinkering with some pipe cleaners (after the first explosion, Majima-sensei banned them from using anything other than pipe cleaners). Izuku himself was scribbling in a notebook, using one hand to pet Stanley (Captain of the First Battalion, who always brings him pickles, he does not know from where). 

He was mostly zoning out of orientation, with Nedzu basically giving a motivational speech, introducing the teachers and other staff.

“And I am pleased to introduce three new additions to our wonderful staff!” Nedzu announced, waving his arms to beckon them on stage. “First is a new secretary. If you need to get in touch with myself or any of the staff, or if you need anything that your teacher or the previous staff members can’t initially provide, she will be the one to help you.”

Auntie Kaina walked onstage, waving to the students. Izuku gave an enthusiastic wave back, even if he was the only student to do so. “My name is Tsutsumi Kaina, and I’m looking forward to the new school year. If any of you need anything, please let me know, and I will be happy to help.” 

“In addition, we have two heroics teachers. Please welcome the number twelve hero Hawks, and the number one hero, All Might!” 

Both of them jumped onstage at the same time, doing some sort of heroic pose. The entire student body cheered, with the exception of Mei, who was still making a thing with pipe cleaners, and Izuku, who was covering his ears.

This was going to be a great year.

 

---

 

“Orientation was kind of wild,” Tokage said. “I mean, Hawks was totally about to punch All Might, right? I’m not the only one who saw that.” 

“Like, I know as future heroes, we’re not supposed to be placing bets, but I’m willing to put 1,000 yen on Hawks punching All Might by the end of the year,” Honenuki said.

“Well, I’m not gonna be a future hero!” Mei said. “2,000 yen!” 

Izuku groaned, hands still on his forehead. He wasn’t sure how he was the only one who was suffering a migraine after orientation.

“Yeah, and 1-A wasn’t there either,” Honenuki said, still rambling on. 

Tokage groaned. “I sat right next to Monoma, and he complained about it the entire time .” 

Pony patted her on the back reassuringly. 

“But seriously, what were they doing?” 

“I don’t know. I’m sure we’ll hear about it from the others. Speaking of which, Tokage, you wanna join our group chat?” 

Izuku tuned out the conversation when he felt Keigo’s feather wiggle from behind his ear. He flicked it, letting his brother know that he’s coming, and stood up with a stretch. “I’m gonna go see what Keigo wants.” 

“Alright, cool.” “Bye Broccoli-chan!” “Bye!” “Bye Midoriya.” 

He walked back to the main building, rubbing his temples. Maybe he could swing by Recovery Girl’s and get some Advil before he met up with All Might.

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 25: But What Was 1-A Doing?

Izuku walked into the gym, bracing himself for what was inside. Aizawa-san was glaring at Yagi-san, who looked like he was trying to curl in on himself. Auntie Kaina stood near them, with Nedzu-sensei standing on her shoulder. Keigo laid face down on the floor, and Hagakure stood there, looking completely lost.

“What the fuck?”

 

---

 

“Young Lady, you too can be a hero!” 

“Yes, I accept!” 

“It’s okay mom, the quirk doctor said I just manifested a new part of my quirk during the entrance exam! I’m alright, I promise.” 

 

Tooru stood in front of the mirror, admiring her appearance again. She carded her fingers through her hair, a grin on her face. 

Tooru was wearing the U.A. uniform, admiring the effect One For All had on her body. She was now illuminated by a small halo of light, making her look almost ghostly. For the first time, she could see her haircut, her face, her hands. 

She put a sparkly bow in her hair and smiled. 

“Tooru! You’re gonna be late!” 

 

---

 

 

Momo walked into the classroom, scanning the room. A kid with purple hair and bags under his eyes had headphones on, reading a book and ignoring the rest of the world. Near the front, a girl with round cheeks was enthusiastically chatting with a girl who was transparent. In the back, Inasa was talking Shouto’s ear off, who occasionally responded, while Tenya was trying to scold Inasa for being so loud. 

“It’s fine, Tenya,” she said, taking a seat and putting her bag down. “Class hasn’t started yet.” 

“But he’s disturbing fellow students-” 

Momo raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the rest of the classroom. “I think you’re disturbing the classroom more than he is.” 

As kids were trickling in, Iida sheepishly apologized. One girl with pink skin and horns shouted back “It’s cool man!” 

“I am very excited to be at U.A. but I am slightly concerned about the sounds of explosions in the distance!” Inasa shouted, with Shouto just nodding politely. 

“It’s probably just Mei,” Momo said. “I’d be more concerned if we didn’t hear any explosions.” 

“How does she make an explosion out of anything around her?!” 

Shouto just shrugged. “It’s just better not to question it.”

Something caught Shouto’s attention, and Momo followed his vision to a yellow caterpillar inching its way into the classroom. Behind the podium, Uncle Aizawa emerged from his favorite sleeping bag.

“It took you lot twenty seconds to notice me,” he said, putting a stack of gym uniforms on the podium. “Put these on and get out to the field. You have five minutes.” 

Momo stood up, picking a uniform and making her way to the changing rooms. 

Now this seemed more like U.A.

 

---

 

Hitoshi was sweating. The rest of his hero career depends on him not getting 20th place in this fitness test. 

His teacher did say that it was a quirk assessment test, but Brainwashing isn’t going to make him run faster or become stronger. So it was all up to that gym membership paid via Starbucks blood money. 

On the bright side, he wasn’t the only one feeling nervous. The invisible girl (transparent? ghostly?) girl was full on panicking, with the round cheeked girl trying to reassure her. Next to him, a girl with jacks coming out of her ears was zoning out like she was mentally calculating something. 

“Being invisible doesn’t make me more swoll!” The invisible cried out, leaning on the other girl. “I’m doomed!” 

Same, invisible girl. Same. 

Hitoshi sighed to himself. “If I can deal with that monstrosity of a Starbucks order, I can deal with a stupid fitness test.” 

“You too?” 

He turned to the girl with ear jacks. “Yeah. My quirk isn’t gonna help me throw a ball.” 

She nodded, gesturing with her jacks. “These can barely hold a gram of weight. Jirou Kyouka.” 

He nodded back. “Shinsou Hitoshi.” 

“Here.” She pulled out a pen from somewhere (if these uniforms have pockets that’s pretty cool) and wrote a phone number on his arm. “We’ve gotta stick together.” 

 

---

 

The pervy grape was expelled. 

Inasa felt bad that he was glad Mineta was gone, if only for Yaomomo’s sake. She looked really uncomfortable with him staring at her. 

Although Yaomomo looked shaken up. “I didn’t expect him to actually expel someone,” she muttered. 

“He would’ve been expelled anyway, with the way he was looking at the girls,” Shouto muttered. “Aizawa-san wouldn’t have let him stay for long.” 

“Well, we shouldn’t dwell on it for very long!” Inasa said, pulling his friends into a side hug (Tenya was out of reach). “We have to focus on becoming heroes!” 

 

---

 

“Hagakure. Stay here for a moment.” 

She felt dread crawling down her spine, as she stood beside the podium while her classmates walked out. She followed her teacher out of the classroom, out of the building, and into a smaller gym. 

Standing there was a woman with blue and pink hair, cut short around her neck, wearing a tank top and cargo pants. Perched on her shoulder was the principal of U.A., Nedzu himself.

“Alright, we’re here,” Aizawa-sensei said, glaring at the rat man. “Now you’re going to explain what’s going on.”

Tooru chuckled nervously. “What do you mean?”

“We’re not blind,” her teacher said. “You start glowing between today and the entrance exam.”

Thankfully, she was saved from having to answer by Nedzu. “When the others get here, everything will be answered.” 

She practically hid behind her teacher when the door was kicked down. Hawks was standing there, with two feather swords, with All Might standing behind him nervously. They seemed ready to commit a murder, but faltered when they realized who was actually there. 

“Takami-kun, Yagi-san, if you could please settle down,” Nedzu said. 

“Okay, but when all we get is a text that says ‘Meet in Gym Gamma asap,’ forgive us for panicking.” Hawks brushed off his jacket, nearly beheading All Might when he deflated. 

All Might coughed into his handkerchief while Hawks floated his feathers back to his wings. “It has been a long day.” 

“Alright, they’re here,” Aizawa-sensei said. “Now, can we please have an explanation?” 

Nedzu chuckled from where he was perched on the lady’s shoulder. “Do you remember what we discussed at All Might’s hiring meeting?” 

Hawks raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? But I don’t see what All Might’s injury has to do with anything.” 

All Might cleared his throat, pointedly stepping away from the younger hero. “You see, it relates back to my quirk.” 

And so he told the same story he told Tooru, about a quirk that could be passed down from user to user. “I was the Eighth holder of One For All, and I have chosen young Hagakure to be the Ninth holder.” 

There was a moment of silence, like the moment before a bomb dropped, then the shouting started. 

“What the hell?!” “Oh, you couldn’t have told us sooner?!” “Why a first year student?!” “A heads up would’ve been nice!!!”

“Calm down everyone,” Nedzu said, sipping out of a teacup that wasn’t there before. The lady held a tea set, which also wasn’t there before. “I approved Yagi’s decision.” 

“And this is classified information,” All Might said. “We needed to be sure that we could trust everyone who learned the secret.” 

“I am her teacher!” Aizawa-sensei shouted. “It is my job to know this information!” 

“Who else knows about this?” Hawks asked.

“Sir Nighteye, as my former sidekick; Chiyo-san, as my doctor; a detective on the force; and young Midoriya.” 

“What?!” “How?!” 

“He was the first person I offered One For All to. He turned it down, but offered to help me look for another candidate.” 

Aizawa-sensei and Hawks started shouting again. “So, Midoriya was the one who picked me to receive One For All?” Tooru asked.

“He is,” Nedzu said, and the lady offered her a cup of tea, which she took. “He is one of the top analysts in the country, if not the world, and we trust his judgment. If he says that you are the right candidate, then you are the right candidate.” 

Tooru scooched closer to them, looking over at the three adults still arguing. “I don’t know if there would be this much arguing if I was…” 

“Do not mistake their concern for your safety as thinking you are unworthy.” 

The lady snorted. “What Nedzu’s saying is that they’re arguing because they want to make sure you’re safe. I’m sure they all agree that you deserve One For All.” 

“Thanks, er-” 

“Tsutsumi Kaina,” she said with a smile. “Nedzu’s secretary. I was introduced during orientation.” 

“Every student in Class 1-A will receive a packet with information that was presented during orientation,” Nedzu said. “It’s very important, but I understand why Aizawa-kun skips it.” 

“Even all the staff agree that it’s pretty boring,” Tsutsumi said with a wink. 

She turned her attention to the other adults when they stopped arguing. Aizawa-sensei was glaring at All Might, and Hawks was laying face down on the floor.

The doors to the gym opened, and Tooru looked over. A kid about her age was standing there, with bushy green hair and freckles. He was wearing the U.A. uniform and was wearing a pair of glasses, lugging a dorky yellow backpack. 

“What the fuck?” 

“Ah, Dekiru-kun! Please come in,” Nedzu said. “Would you like a cup of tea? It’s chamomile.” 

“Sure,” Midoriya took a cup, before wandering over to Hawks and nudging him with his foot. “Keigo. Keigo.” 

The hero just mumbled something. “Keigo, I will kick you.” 

“Let him be, Izuku,” Tsutsuni said. “You already bit him.” 

Tooru felt a horrible sense of dread.

“I think we should focus on the matter at hand,” Nedzu said. “We need an analysis on Young Hagakure.” 

Midoriya pulled out a pen and paper from seemingly nowhere, already flipping to a page. “Where is my- Here it is! Hagakure Tooru, quirks Invisibility and One For All. Hagakure, how are you feeling? Any pain, strange physical sensations, appetite changes, weird mood swings?” 

She shook her head, mind reeling. “Uh, no? Just this.” 

“Good, good,” Midoriya was writing in his notebook, scooting closer and closer to her. “So, this immediately tells that your original quirk wasn’t just invisibility, it was the ability to refract light through your body. It just wasn’t that strong, so the only effect it had was turning your body invisible. However, One for All strengthened your quirk.” 

“How? I thought it was just a strength enhancement quirk,” Tooru said. “It’s why I’m a little confused about this.” 

Midoriya shook his head. “One for All is a stockpile quirk that enhances the quirk of the holder. All Might’s body was only enhanced because he was quirkless, so the quirk had no other option.” All Might sputtered behind him, but Midoriya barreled on. “When looking at other users, such as Nana Neon, En and Lariat, it’s clear that it’s enhancing their quirks.” 

“My boy, that’s- how did you-” 

“Two days of intense research and no sleep!” Midoriya responded with a grin. 

“That’s when you bit Keigo, right?” Tsutsumi asked. 

He nodded. “I thought he was a clown.” He turned back to Tooru. “Hallucinations due to sleep deprivation start at the seventy two hour mark. Learn from my mistakes, don’t do that.” 

She nodded. “Now, I have a couple of things I wanna test out, which is why we’re in the gym. Can you try refracting light again…?”

 

---

 

Izuku grinned, flipping through his notes as Auntie Kaina drove them home (Keigo was a terrible driver). They had figured out that Hagakure was able to turn invisible again at will, and she was able to control the light going through her, giving her the ability to create flashes of light through her body. She could redirect beams of light and intensify sunlight and other existing sources of light, and can use that energy to heat things up. 

He had a costume originally designed for her (Nedzu sent him some of the costumes to redesign for students), but with this new idea, his brain was running wild. He had already texted Mei the details, and they were going to make it in the lab tomorrow before 1-A’s pre test. It would be a bit of a crunch time, but completely doable. 

Tomorrow was going to be amazing!

Notes:

What I had outlined for this chapter and what actually got written are two completely different things. The longer these stories go on, the more I learn that I don't control the characters :p

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 26: Pre-Tests

Pony giggled as her classmate complained incessantly. She could tell that Tokage was getting annoyed, but Honenuki found it just as funny as she did. 

“How come 1-A gets to do things while we have to do this?” 

“Because they took the Quirk Assessment test yesterday,” Vlad King sighed, already looking done with their class. 

“But why???” 

“Because Aizawa is crazy,” their teacher said. “Now, please step up and stop asking questions.” 

Pony and Honenuki shared a glance, giving each other a nod. They were definitely grilling their friends about what they did today. 

She may have picked up some of her friends’ competitiveness. Oops. 

 

---

 

Thankfully, the second day was calmer than the first. It was a usual class schedule, with his teachers just going over expectations, syllabi, and icebreakers. Which was just fine with Hitoshi. 

Yesterday was terrifying enough, thank you. 

It wasn’t a complete cluster fuck though. He thinks he made some friends? They stuck around the second day, despite his personality. Actually, he and Jirou were pretty similar, which was kinda cool. 

Anyways, Hagakure was talking about this support student she met yesterday, who agreed to meet them at lunch. 

Hitoshi didn’t think that much of it until he spotted the table. 

There was a girl with pink curls and goggles pushed up onto her forehead, excitedly chattering instead of eating. Next to her was a girl who was more spider-like, listening and occasionally pitching in. And across from them both was a boy with green curls and freckles that haunted his nightmares. 

Rabbit. 

He thought he escaped his days as a Starbucks barista, and yet here is his most terrifying regular. 

Now, Rabbit wasn’t rude or particularly chatty. Hell he even left fantastic tips. They didn’t know his name, he always signed with a little rabbit shape, but that wasn’t unusual either. Plenty of customers signed with a nickname. 

No, the truly terrifying part was the order. If Hitoshi was being generous, he would call it a murder weapon. If he wasn’t, he’d call it a violation of the Geneva Convention. 

Just when he thought it couldn’t get worse, Hagakure called out, “Hi Midoriya-kun!” And Rabbit looked up. 

“Hi Hagakure!” Rabbit responded with a wave. 

“Nope nope nope nope nope,” Hitoshi muttered, turning around. But before he could escape, Jirou grabbed his arm and dragged him to his doom. 

Hagakure had taken a seat next to the kid who could probably fight God, so the rest of them sat at a table that Uraraka had dragged over. 

Introductions were made while Hitoshi shoveled food into his mouth so that he didn’t have to talk. He learned that the Crazy Lady was Hatsume, the Spider Girl was Tisserande (although she was French so she preferred to be called Annabelle, or Anna for short), and that Rabbit’s real name was Midoriya. 

“Alright, why are you so afraid of Midoriya?” Jirou asked. “Do you know him or something?” 

He shrugged through a mouthful of food, while Midoriya spoke up for him. “Kind of! On my morning jog, I pick up Starbucks before I go to the post office. He was usually working when I came in.” 

“Yeah, we’re all scared of you,” Hitoshi responded. “It’s not just me.”

“But why?” 

He just gave Midoriya a deadpan glare. “Anyone whose daily Starbucks order is a legal murder weapon should be feared."

 

---

 

At the end of lunch, when he followed his friends back to class, Hitoshi had a horrible moment of realization. 

He was now friends with Midoriya. 

 

---

 

Tooru chatted with Uraraka and Jirou, holding her costume case close to her chest as they entered the locker room. They were taking some sort of pre-test, but All Might didn’t tell them much more besides that. 

“Oh!” Yaomomo called out, pulling out a note. “A couple of my friends in the support course  made some changes to our costumes.” 

To the tune of the other girls chanting “Show us!” Yaomomo pulled out her costume. It was pretty much the same as what she ordered, except that it came with a cape and a headset. According to the note, the cape was made of fireproof materials and the headset was a quickly modified baby of Hatsume’s to look up chemistry things for her quirk. 

The only addition that Hatsume and Midoriya made to Asui’s costume was the addition of some sort of neck pillow thing to automatically regulate her body temperature. To Jirou’s costume, they added padding to her jacket and pants, as well as boots she could plug her jacks into to amplify vibrations. For Uraraka’s costume they actually removed what used to be heels on her boots, and thickened up the padding of her bodysuit so that her costume provided actual protection. (Midoriya added a full four page rant about why fighting in heels is a stupid idea, they had removed the heels from Yaomomo’s boots too.)

Tooru nervously opened her case, eyes wide when she was met with a costume she didn’t remember ordering. Jaw dropped, she pulled out the letter attached. 

 

Me and Mei rushed to get this done yesterday, but thankfully the Hatsumes let us use their fiber spinner- I won’t bore you with the details. 

Your old costume was a literal crime: it had no protection and was showing way too much skin (I don’t think “she’s invisible” will fly with the hero commission). So here’s the new one. 

It’s a full bodysuit made out of your hair, so it’s still invisible and padded. The parts that are visible can turn invisible with you, even the belt and sunglasses. The sunglasses are meant to protect your eyes from your own flashes, while the invisible sections of the gloves are meant to act as a sort of magnifying glass. 

- Dekiru and Hatsume Inc

 

“That is sick,” Jirou said over her shoulder. 

“Try it on, try it on!” Uraraka cheered, shoving her into a changing stall. 

With a nervous giggle, she let her friends close the stall behind her. She changed as quickly as possible, stepping out to let her friends judge her. 

Most of the bodysuit was invisible as described, but there were a few opaque spots. One was a striped pastel blue and pink sleeveless crop top area, with a “cutout” of a star on the front and back. The second were shorts that ended just above her knees, with the front being blue and the back being pink. Her boots were also opaque, going up to her calves with gold accents around a pink star shape. Her gloves were the most similar to her old costume, although now they had “cutouts” like the ones on her chest, along with padding on the knuckles that she was a little concerned about. Her belt was gold with a pink buckle, and it felt like it was made of some sort of rubber. Finally were the sunglasses, tinted dark gray and shaped like an anime character’s. 

“You look so good!” Wow.” “That’s pretty cool.” “You look great, kero.” 

Tooru blushed as Jirou looked back at the note she had somehow pulled out of Tooru’s case. “It says your costume should turn invisible with you.” 

To the chants of “Try it! Try it! Try it!” Tooru stepped in front of the full body mirror and pictured a glass of clear water, like she practiced yesterday. In front of her eyes, she disappeared, as if there was no one standing there at all. 

She let go of the mental picture, turning to face her clapping classmates with a bashful smile. That was until Yaomomo pulled out her phone and gasped. 

“We need to go before we’re late!” 

 

---

 

Izuku bounced up and down excitedly, a little recorder in his hands. Nedzu was perched on his shoulder, and Mei was bouncing next to him. Support students don’t have the same extra period that the hero students  do (unless you’re Nedzu’s student) so Mei got permission from her parents to stay and watch her babies in action. 

The pre-test for 1-A was also a pre-test for Izuku. Nedzu has always gotten Izuku’s analyses in their final polished form, and he wants to see the raw unfiltered process. 

Yagi and Keigo were explaining the rules and dividing up the teams while Izuku opened his laptop, making sure that all his extra cameras were connected and working. Of course they were all being manned and guarded by the Fourth Raccoon Battalion.

“Me and All Might will be on the ground, while Nedzu will be keeping an eye on you from here,” his brother said, gesturing with his wings. “Now, Team J, you have five minutes to prepare your defense. Team A, you have five minutes to memorize the layout of the building and strategize.” 

Yagi started the cheer. “Go beyond-” 

“PLUS ULTRA!” 

 

---

 

Team J vs Team A Match: Voice Recording Snippet

Inasa and Uraraka had the right idea, using both of their strengths to their advantage. Uraraka floated the bomb up above the building, and they decided to stay up there and guard it. It’s a good strategy, since Inasa’s quirk is ideal to protect the bomb while it’s in the air. 

It looks like Shinsou and Kirishima have a plan though. It seems that Shinsou is going to use his quirk on Inasa in order to get him to bring the bomb back down while Kirishima fends off Uraraka. Given the circumstances, it seems like the best plan they can get. Kirishima’s quirk is close range though and isn’t going to help in a fight against Uraraka, so hopefully his combat skills can help him here. 

 

---

 

“So you’re still okay with my quirk,” Hitoshi deadpanned, following his classmates back to the viewing area. 

“Of course!” Inasa cheered, still extremely loud. “A hero should do whatever they can to save people! Especially with the least amount of violence!” 

“Yeah, it was pretty manly,” Kirishima said. 

“And it was smart,” Uraraka piped up. “I probably wouldn’t have thought about asking Inasa to bring the bomb back down.” 

“You guys were manly too!” Kirishima said again. “Floating the bomb was smart. I definitely wouldn’t have thought of that.” 

“Don’t put yourself down!” She responded, bouncing over. “You’ll be a great hero too!” 

“Yeah! I’ll focus on my strengths and leave the thinking to someone who is better at that sorta thing.” 

Inasa interjected this time. “Teamwork is an important part of heroics! But the most important part of being a hero is having a passionate spirit!” 

One of his friends (Yaoyorozu, if Hitoshi remembered correctly), smiled and said “Passionate spirits but cool heads.” 

“That is correct, thank you Yaoyorozu!” 

“I understand your passion, but this is an indoor space and I have to ask you to quiet down!” 

Hitoshi ignored whatever argument was happening in the corner when Midoriya bounced up to him, getting a little too close for comfort. “Shinsou! Your quirk is so cool! How far is its limit? Can you control multiple people at once? What sort of commands can you use? How does it feel on your end? Can you use it on me?!” 

Yaoyorozu came over to gently pull him away from Hitoshi, which he was very grateful for. “Izuku, maybe you should slow down and breathe for a bit?” 

“Well, I have used my quirk on you before,” he said, before realizing that he just admitted to illegal quirk use. 

“Really?” Midoriya asked, looking confused but still excited (and not scared, thankfully). “When?” 

No digging his way out of this now. “Uh, sometimes you would come in looking even more tired than usual, so when you ordered, I would use my quirk on you, give you an empty cup, and order you to leave.” 

“Oh, so that’s what was happening! By the time I snap out of it I’m usually on my way to the post office, so I thought I just blacked out ordering and drinking my Starbucks.” 

Hitoshi looked up to see something wiggling in Midoriya’s hair, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hawks-sensei flying up to one of the cameras displayed on Midoriya’s laptop. “Midoriya Izuku!”

He could almost see the moment Midoriya’s soul left his poor body. “Keigo, it’s not what you think!” He said, plucking the red feather(?) from his hair and running back over to the laptop. 

“Uh huh. Mei, has he been drinking coffee?”

Hatsume, who had procured a bowl of popcorn from who knows where, completely ratted her friend out. “Yep! He orders Starbucks every day on his morning jog!” 

“Mei!” 

His teacher started screeching. “You know you’re not allowed to- Grounded! You are so grounded! Grounded for forever!” 

Midoriya groaned. “You don’t even have the authority to do that!” 

“I so do! As both a pro hero and your older brother! So you’re double grounded!”

Principal Nedzu, who was still perched on Midoriya’s shoulder, patted his student on the head. “I do have to agree with Takami-kun. The amount of caffeine you ingest is very unhealthy.” 

“See! Triple grounded!”

As he slumped onto the monitor with a groan, Hitoshi felt a little bad for him. But only a little: anything that stopped Midoriya from ingesting those war crimes was a good thing. 

 

---

 

Team G vs Team D Match: Voice Recording Snippet

Asui and Ojirou look like they’re using sign language to plan, which is smart. And a nice surprise. I can’t see what they’re planning from here though. 

I think Yaomomo and Sero are making traps around the bomb. Sero is leaving tape traps around the building and in doorways, and Yaomomo seems to be making her traps centered solely around the bomb. She’s making parts, it looks like she’s building something.

(Hatsume: I added the blueprints of my babies to the Yao-Headset!)

She’s definitely building one of Mei’s inventions then- Hold on, is that a robot shark? Mei, you see that too, right? That’s definitely a robot shark, right?

(Hatsume: Oh yeah! That’s Felix the Shark!)

How- How do you plan around a robot shark? It’s not looking great for Asui and Ojirou…

 

---

 

Team H vs Team E Match: Voice Recording Snippet

Tenya, please stop planning so loudly, it is physically killing me. I’m pretty sure it’s not helping Jirou either. 

This is the first match that the defensive team has thought to spy on the offensive team. Satou is on the roof, and it’s not the most ideal hiding place seeing as it’s broad daylight and the shadow would be easily visible. It’s not a bad spot either: people rarely look up. Tenya is basically handing the defensive team on a silver platter. 

The defending team’s strategy is solid too. Tokoyami is on the bottom floor, in a room with no windows and one door, guarding the bomb. His quirk is extremely powerful, especially in complete darkness. 

It’s almost a guaranteed win for Satou and Tokoyami. 

 

---

 

Team I vs Team F Match: Voice Recording Snippet

There isn’t a single brain cell between Kaminari and Ashido. They don’t even have a plan, they’re just gonna guard the bomb and wing it. Which is a terrible strategy. They also have the same problem that Iida did. They are very loud. Which is a problem when Shouji essentially has super hearing. 

I- Uh, where is Captain Mickey going? Oh! He’s going to talk to Kouda! 

I forgot that Kouda’s quirk is that he can talk to animals. 

Yeah, it’s over for Kaminari and Ashido. I trained the Fourth Raccoon Battalion well. 

 

---

 

Tooru held her breath, slowly creeping through the building. The entire building was frozen solid, so she covered her mouth with her hands so that her breath didn’t give her away in the cold air. 

She knew which floor the bomb was being hidden on. She managed to catch a glimpse of it, basically using her invisible hand as a telescope (which was pretty cool, if she did say so herself). So she’s going to tag the bomb while Inasa distracted Aoyama and Todoroki. 

Apparently Inasa and Todoroki were friends? And they were also friends with Midoriya. So Inasa was the most qualified distraction (other than his quirk). 

Tooru was fully invisible, making sure she stayed cautious as she crept to the second floor. She could hear Inasa fighting the other team on the roof, but she didn’t want to risk it if one of them decided to double back. 

She looked around, scanning the room with the bomb quickly. Before she could double guess herself, she grinned, releasing her invisibility and sprinting to the bomb. She slapped it so hard that she accidentally dented it. 

“TEAM C HAS WON!!!” All Might’s voice boomed over the intercom. 

She had a wide smile on her face as she threw open the window. Inasa floated down to where she was leaning out. Tooru jumped out, feeling the wind catch her and land her gently on the ground. 

“We did it!” 

Notes:

My mom wants to inform you that the robot shark was her idea.

Also, I'm doing a quick interest check for a Discord using a classic Goblin Google Form.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 27: Media Shitstorm

Hitoshi glared at the crowd of reporters around the main gates, standing a few meters away with his friends. “Alright, what’s up with the media shitstorm?” 

“Well, news of All Might and Hawks teaching at U.A. was bound to make its way to the media,” Jirou muttered. 

“Hey guys, what’s up-!? Oh!” Kirishima ran up to them, stopping next to them while they were observing the swarm. 

“You think Aizawa-sensei will excuse us for being late?” Hagakure asked, tapping her chin. 

“Don’t worry, I got this!” 

Kirishima stepped forwards, cupping his mouth with his hands. What startled all of them was when he shouted, it sounded like it was coming from the other side of the reporters. “Look, it’s All Might!” 

The reporters started running, trying to chase the scoop. Carpe-ing the diem, Hitoshi bolted through the gates, his friends and Kirishima following them. 

“That was pretty sick,” Jirou said, once they were safely on campus and starting to walk to class. 

“Thanks!” Kirishima said gratefully. “I had a ventriloquism phase in middle school.” 

“Can you teach me how to do that?” Hagakure asked. “It would be super useful!” 

“Me too,” Hitoshi muttered. 

“Stealth heroes!” Hagakure cheered, holding up her hand for a fist bump, which Hitoshi returned. 

“Yeah, I can totally do that!” Kirishima said, with a wide grin. Why was Hitoshi’s face going red?

“Here, let me add you to the group chat.” Jirou whipped out her phone from wherever she stores it (he’s half convinced it’s a secondary quirk), and started to enter Kirishima’s number. 

A little while later, Hitoshi pulled out his phone from where it buzzed in his pocket. 

 

Guitar Hero -> HypnoToad - 8:14 AM

gay ass motherfucker

 

---

 

“Izuku, what the fuck?” 

Izuku chugged the second Monster can. The first was already empty. “Keigo banned me from coffee. He never said anything about energy drinks.” 

Tenya started arm chopping. “Energy drinks are extremely bad for your health!”

“Isn’t Monster banned in India?” Momo pointed out, sipping her thermos of tea. 

“It’s not in Japan though.” 

“You know, I think we were worried about the wrong hero killing you,” Juzou said. “We were all afraid of Endeavor turning you into a crisp, but I’m pretty sure Hawks is gonna get you first.” 

“I’m not afraid of being perma grounded,” Izuku muttered, taking another sip of his drink. “I can get anything I need through the raccoon army.” 

“I think the power is getting to his head.” 

Shouto turned to Mei, who was watching Izuku furiously while scribbling things down. “Are you going to do anything?” 

“Nope, I’m getting extra credit from Nedzu if I record Broccoli-chan’s slow descent into madness and turn it into a research paper.” 

“A slow descent?” Izuku muttered. “Damn, I gotta hurry up.” 

“Yeah, you say that like he isn’t already crazy.”

“Okay, I’m changing the subject!” Tenya shouted. “We elected our class representatives today! I was elected as Class Representative and Momo was elected Vice Representative.”

“Actually, Inasa was elected class rep, but he wanted to give it to Tenya, and the rest of the class went along with it,” Shouto said. 

“It was a very heartfelt speech,” Momo said. “I think I saw Kirishima crying in the back.” 

“I never intended to make anyone cry, but I’m glad my words touched people’s hearts!” Inasa shouted.

“How about 1-B?” Momo asked, trying to diverge from the shouting. “Did either of you get elected?” 

“Oh no, you know none of us are responsible enough to be elected,” Juzou said. “Honestly, I wasn’t paying too much attention, but the girl who’s been reining Monoma’s shit in is class rep.” 

Tokage nodded. “Honestly the test for rep is if they can deal with Monoma.” 

“What about 1-H?” Pony asked. 

“Yeah, everyone knows the support students are the crazy ones,” Juzou muttered. 

“You’re not wrong,” Mei said. “Majima-sensei pulled me and Broccoli-chan out of the running for representatives.”

“To be fair, the first thing we said when we entered his classroom was ‘We’ll be a baby making machine,’” Izuku responded, “I don’t blame him.” 

“I’ve got to agree with Power Loader on this one,” Juzou said. “Between the raccoon army surveillance state and the trail of explosions, neither of you are fit to be in any position of authority.” 

Izuku was about to rebut about how he was not building a raccoon army surveillance state, that was the crow surveillance state actually, thank you very much, when a screeching alarm went off. 

Izuku grabbed his caffeine vessel and his laptop. Mei picked him up, running to the side of the cafeteria opposite of the herd of people, while Izuku chugged the rest of the can and clutched his laptop to his chest. 

He and Mei watched out the cafeteria window as the media swarmed the campus. 

“The reporters shouldn’t have been able to get in,” Izuku muttered, throwing the empty can into the garbage bin. 

Mei set him down as Izuku slipped his laptop into Mei’s bag. “I’ve got an idea, but I need you to distract the media.”

She held out her arm for a fist bump, which he gladly gave her. “Leave it to me, Broccoli-chan!” 

 

---

 

“Are you an aspiring hero, who needs support gear but knows that most support companies are cheap and don’t offer you high quality equipment?!” 

Mei forced herself in front of the cameras, posing for them. “Are you an investor, disappointed in the current options out on the market and interested in fresh ideas?!

“Well say no more! At Hatsume Inc, we believe in providing the top of the line support gear, at fair prices without compromising the integrity of your vision! With fresh ideas, we can give you the support gear you need to make your heroic dreams come true! Find the final piece of your costume and your career at Hatsume Inc!” 

The reporters started to boo her, shouting for All Might and Hawks as the teachers started to show them out. Undeterred, she continued to shout. “If you want to get top of the line support equipment, call 555-HAT-SUME!!! That’s 555-H-A-T-S-U-M-E!!! Make your heroic dreams come true at Hatsume Inc!!!” 

Majima-sensei sighed, walking over to where she was still posing. “What are you doing? And where is Midoriya? You two are glued at the hip.” 

She grinned. “Distracting you!”  

“Where is Midoriya?!” 

Hatsume just made jazz hands. 

 

---

 

Izuku knelt down, wedged between a tree and the gates to U.A. He took in the wreckage with a frown, noting that the damage was relatively clean with no traces of fire or cutting. However, it does look like it was disintegrated. The edges of the gate were sloped and dusty, and there was dust laying around. 

If a rabid journalist had a disintegration quirk, they would’ve gotten in long before now. Someone let the reporters in, but for what purpose?

He held out his hand, dragging his fingers through the dust. It was fine, with some of it sticking to his fingertips. He stuck out his tongue, noting that the security cameras around the gate was an unfortunate casualty as he raised his hand-

“Please do not eat the dust, Dekiru-kun.” 

Izuku looked up to see Nedzu walking towards him, with Auntie Kaina trailing behind him. “Sensei, someone let the reporters in.” 

“It would seem so. When we did a sweep of the teacher’s lounge, nothing was out of place.”

“We’ll do a more thorough search later, once the reporters are off campus,” Auntie Kaina said. “But everyone was more concerned with the vultures.” 

“We should take this conversation into my office,” Nedzu said, hopping onto Izuku’s shoulder. His teacher has done that often enough that he shifted his balance instinctively, following Auntie Kaina back to the main building. 

It didn’t escape his notice that she took them through the forest so they wouldn’t be spotted by the reporters. 

“Izuku, why is Majima calling me?” 

 

---

 

Nedzu slid a cup of tea to Izuku, who took it gratefully. “I was planning on going over your notes from yesterday and looking through what you caught and what you missed, but due to today’s events, we’ll be switching your lessons around.

“Pull out your laptop. I’ll be teaching you how to use U.A’s security systems.” 

 

---

 

“Nedzu. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.” 

“Detective Tsukauchi. I have an update on the case.” 

Notes:

A Kirishima middle school ventriloquism phase was not what I had planned out for this chapter, but I weirdly don't mind.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 28: Interlude: [REDACTED]

Notes:

Surprise Interlude, brought to you by my shower! Set sometime in the ten months before the school year starts :)

File 477265656E 

Codename: Suringu

Quirks: Attraction of Small Objects (original), Repellation of Small Objects, Telekinesis (mutation)

Status: Sleeping

Classification: Unknown 

Like with Kurogiri, the two quirks fused into an entirely new quirk. In addition, brain scans have shown that the level of activity is on par with Kurogiri, and the subject has not manifested the enhanced physical strength of other noumu.  

It is unclear why the subject has mutated in this way, as opposed to the other noumu. Possible cause is that the base corpses of both Kurogiri and the subject were embalmed before they were acquired. The embalming process may have altered the transformation process. More testing is required.

Possible additional quirks:

• Absorption and Release
• Wings 
• Four Arms
• Overclock
• Air Walk 
• Blade Summon
• Radio Waves
• Hardflame Fan
• Liquidification
• Burst

Notes:

Psst, join my discord.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 29: Some New, Some Familiar Faces

Notes:

Sorry for the late chapter, yesterday I was helping my mom at work so I couldn't upload. But this one's a doozy. Enjoy!
Also note the updated Graphic Depictions of Violence tag. It's fairly canon typical but I didn't want to catch anyone off guard :p

“You can’t afford to use your time up before school,” Nedzu said, taking another sip of his tea. “Especially with the security breath yesterday.” 

He laid a paw on the hero’s knee. “Trust in other heroes to take care of petty crime. Your students are the ones who need you.” 

Yagi sighed, staring despondently down at his cup of tea. “I know. It’s just that All Might is the hero who is there. If he sees a crime, he steps in to help.”

“And that has served you well in the past, but your time is limited now. You have to prioritize your students.” 

Nedzu sat back, taking another long sip of his tea. “Well, now that we have the time, why don’t we go over the lecture you missed last week-”

The door opened suddenly, revealing an out of breath Tsutsumi, panting and clutching her laptop to her chest. 

“Nedzu, sir, we’ve lost connection with the USJ!” 

 

---

 

One of the best things about his brother is that he has little brother privileges for piggyback rides. The Hawks Taxi doesn’t have to deal with traffic or tolls!

Today’s lesson was analysis of disaster and rescue scenarios. It was an area that Izuku was unfortunately lacking in. He does a little bit of that when he does analysis of rescue heroes, but most of his work skews towards villain analyses and take down strategies. It was important work, but he can’t neglect disaster scenarios, and he had to remember to incorporate rescue tips into his general hero analyses. 

Keigo and Thirteen were going to be at the USJ early, while Aizawa would be waiting on the main campus for his students (probably napping). Yagi and Nedzu were supposed to be there too, but when they landed the two teachers were absent. 

“Where’s Yagi-san and Nedzu-sensei?” Izuku asked, jumping off Keigo’s back and making him stumble with a muttered ‘Shit!’ 

“All Might hasn’t arrived yet, so Nedzu is waiting for him on the main campus.” 

“You know where you’re going, kiddo?” Keigo asked, ruffling his hair.

Izuku swatted him off. “Yeah, Nedzu-sensei showed me the blueprints while we were going over U.A’s security systems!” 

The two heroes looked at each other worriedly. “What?” 

“The staff meeting yesterday was about plans of emergency in the event of a villain attack.” Keigo started to play with the feathers on his wings nervously. “While a plan was put in place for the main campus, the biggest concern was the field trip here.” 

“And you were banking on having All Might here.” 

“I can certainly take on any villains that may attack,” Keigo declared, trying to reassure them and himself. “But I don’t want to risk any students getting hurt. I’d certainly appreciate the backup.” 

“Don’t worry Keigo, I’ll stay safely in the console room.” 

“You should head there now,” Thirteen said. “Get comfortable down there.” 

Izuku hiked up his bag with a smile. “Don’t worry guys, I’m sure it’ll be fine!” 

 

---

 

Kyouka was an observant person out of necessity. She can’t turn her advanced hearing off, but she’s learned how to tune out meaningless chatter and only hear the important shit. 

There’s always an adjustment period though. It takes about a week for her to learn what to tune out. 

On the bus to the field trip, she hears the arguing between Kirishima, Kaminari and Ashido about the best Pokemon. She hears the muffled conversation between Hagakure and Uraraka about what kinds of hero they wanna be. She hears the very loud conversation between Inasa, Iida and Aoyama, with Todoroki interjecting snarky comments and Yaomomo holding in giggles. 

But most importantly, she hears a one-sided phone call between Aizawa-sensei and their principal (based on the muttered Rat Bastard) about All Might and a possible villain attack.

When the call was finished, she looked over at Shouji. He gave her a small nod: he heard it too. 

So they were the only ones to feel a sense of dread when they entered the USJ. And they were the only ones to recognize the danger when a portal opened in the plaza. 

 

---

 

Keigo bit back a curse as he watched the portal form in the plaza. “Get back! Those are villains!” 

“Follow Thirteen and get out!” Aizawa shouted from behind him. “Hawks, I’ll cover you.” 

“If you’re sure you can keep up, old man.” If you’re sure you’ll be able to take on the whole crowd at once.

“Speak for yourself, bird brain.” I know I can.

 

---

 

Izuku held his breath, eyes wide as he watched the screens. His hands shook as his eyes were glued to one screen in particular. He vaguely registered at the back of his mind the misty villain warping villains into the complex, scattering his classmates, but his eyes were glued to the woman that stepped out next to the villain covered in hands. 

She was wearing a dark purple kimono, with plated armor where the obi would be. Notably, she had four arms, and two spikes behind the back of her ears. She was tall and slender, with a simple mask covering the bottom half of her face. Notably, her hair was pulled up in a half up, half down bun with chopsticks stuck in the bun, with her hair going down to her mid back. 

Even with the mask covering the bottom of her face, he could recognize her. The signature dark green Midoriya hair, the hairstyle…

His brain was connecting the dots, but he didn’t want to acknowledge the conclusion he was reaching.

He didn’t know how long he stood there, shaking, when he heard the door open. He whirled around, pulling the knife out from his pocket-

“Hé! It’s just me!” Aoyama stood in the door, his hands up. When Izuku put the knife down, he lowered his hands. “I didn’t know you’d be here, Monsieur.” 

“Me and Nedzu-sensei were supposed to watch from here for my lesson on integrating disaster scenarios into my analyses,” Izuku sighed, running his free hand through his hair. 

“You are Nedzu’s student though, oui?” Aoyama said. “Do you know how to use the systems for this place?” 

That’s right. Nedzu taught him how to use the security systems and auto setups. He can use that to guide the others to the exit. Their signal to the outside world might have been cut off, but if Iida escapes outside, he can run and get help. 

He cracked his knuckles, pushing his feelings aside like he did when he saved Bakugou from the sludge villain. Emotions could come later, his priority was getting his classmates to safety. 

“Aoyama, guard the door,” Izuku said, pulling up the console. “I’ll keep everyone safe.” 

 

---

 

In the fire zone, Ojirou covered his mouth with his tail, following the trail through the maze of fire. He swears that the paths weren’t there before, opening before his eyes, but he’s not going to question not having to fight the villains. 

In the mountain zone, Momo, Jirou and Kaminari hid under a camouflage blanket, watching as a landslide triggered from seemingly nowhere swept the villains away. 

In the landslide zone, Shouto watched as the villains sunk into the mud, being trapped by something that looked like quicksand. He didn’t question it too much: it would make it easier for him to question them without overusing his quirk.

In the ruins zone, Inasa lifted Kirishima above the winds using his quirk, noticing that the buildings shook and dislodging the villains. Despite the fact that he hasn’t seen him, he has no doubt that his friend Midoriya was helping them. 

In the downpour zone, Tokoyami and Kouda held hands as they ran through the dome, following the trail made by the absence of rain. Kouda noticed that around them, the rain increased so much that it was practically pummeling the villains.

In the flood zone, while Tsuyu, Shinsou and Tooru were planning a route of escape atop the ship, they felt it shake around them, as the water started draining from the area. As the villains panicked about the water being removed, Tsuyu took the opportunity to leap to safety, with Tooru and Shinsou in tow. 

At the entrance, the lights above the door started flaring, stunning the warp villain for a few seconds. It bought Tenya the precious seconds he needed in order to open the door and bolt. When the villain disappeared, his peers took the opportunity to pull Thirteen and themselves outside, giving each other impromptu medical attention. 

Some classmates, as soon as they escaped their zones, ran for the exit and joined their peers. Some went to the plaza, ready to help their teachers if need be… 

 

---

 

Keigo grinned, pinning down another villain with his feathers. He spun around, hitting a villain in the nose with his elbow and launching him into the dude behind him. He ducked, feeling the capture weapon whip over his head as it smacked someone else in the face. 

He and Aizawa fought well together. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the villain covered with hands scratching his neck. “All Might was supposed to be here!” 

Keigo kicked another villain towards Aizawa, who wrapped him up and smacked him into a different villain. “How were you expecting to defeat All Might with a crowd of D-listers?!” 

Handy Man growled, scratching his neck again. “Noumu, kill the bird!” 

Time felt like a split second, before he was dodging the punch of the hulking villain, who up to this point had been standing next to Handy Man’s side like a lifeless doll. When he looked down, he saw that the villain had left a crater.

He was very glad that he wasn’t standing there.

“The Noumu was built for the sole purpose of killing All Might!” 

So the villain was blindingly fast and also ridiculously strong. He didn’t like to resort to maiming, but he also didn’t like the idea of being maimed himself, especially since the thing seems to be only punching. 

Keigo flew up, pulling out a few of his feathers for blades. He tucked in his wings for a dive bomb, using his speed and momentum to slice the Noumu’s arm clean off. 

To his horror, the arm starts regenerating. 

“That’s the power of Noumu!” Handy Man shouted, from where he was standing (out of the corner of his eye, he saw the woman fighting Aizawa). “Both Shock Absorption and Super Regeneration!” 

Shock Absorption implies that there’s a limit. Unfortunately, Keigo is a speed hero and not a strength hero, and that means that he can’t get there without getting up to ridiculous speeds. Which he does not have the time for right now. 

It has to have weak points though. And the number one weak point sticking out to him were the eyes on top of the exposed brain. 

Switching gears, he leapt up into the air to avoid another punch. Swerving through the air, he flew above the Noumu, plunging the feather blades into its eyes. 

It shrieked, dislodging him and sending him backwards. Spreading his wings out, he watched it try and pull the blades out of its eyes, but it ended up just flailing, lodging the blades in deeper. 

“Suringu, help the Noumu. I’ll take care of Eraserhead.” 

Faster than a blink, the woman jumped up, vaulting over the Noumu’s head. She used two arms to pull the feather blades out of the Noumu’s head and towards her palms, while she used the other two to summon two crescent shaped blades, launching them at him. 

Keigo used two of his feathers to deflect the blades. She launched herself at him, and in the blink of an eye, she was in front of him, one palm towards his chest. 

He felt his heart move in his chest.

Before he got the chance to move, she was gone. The Noumu, blood still dripping from its quickly repairing eyes, was about to punch him.

It’s not well known, but due to having an avian quirk, Keigo’s body had to adapt to fly. His bones were hollow, which meant that his body was light enough to fly, but his bones were very easy to break.

He could feel his ribs break, digging into his lungs. Blood filled them as he was launched backwards. He hit a tree, slumping over and coughing up blood. 

He stayed slumped, giving off the illusion of unconsciousness while he subtly sent his feathers out. He heard small footsteps running up behind him, and internally cursed. Get out of here kid!

“Noumu, kill Eraserhead.” 

He looked up, using a feather to yank Aizawa right out of the way of a Noumu punch. 

Suringu summoned four more crescent blades, launching them at him, which he deflected with his feathers. She ran at him, and in a blink-

“Warp Refraction: Flash Bang!” 

Keigo squinted as a bright flash lit the area, stunning the woman. He could hear Hagakure land next to him as he stood up, using the opportunity to send a couple of feathers out. They hooked on Suringu’s kimono, yanking her backwards, towards the fountain. 

“Kid, get out of here,” he said, stepping in front of her and instinctively shielding her with his wings. (He didn’t notice how they puffed up, how long repressed instincts were coming up in the form of heightened emotions and protectiveness.)

“Sensei, you’re hurt! Please let me help-” 

“I said get out of here!”

CRACK!

Aizawa was down on the ground, a crater around his head. His elbow was bleeding, dust around the edges of skin, and underneath the goggles blood was pooling in the crater. The Noumu roared. 

It was just him.

Keigo hooked a feather on the back of Hagakure’s belt, yanking her out of the way as he dodged another punch from the Noumu. He flew up, swerving mid air because the Noumu jumped and apparently had mad ups-

When it landed, there was a bigger crater than there was before. Which gave him an idea. 

Unfortunately, before he could act on it, he was dodging both a jumping punching Noumu and crescent blades going for his head. 

He flinched as one sliced through his shin, just barely managing to dodge the Noumu. Then, three things happened all at the same time. 

The door to the USJ slammed open. 

Handy villain had lunged for Hagakure, touching her face with five fingers. 

Hand still on her face, he turned to say something to Aizawa, who was using his quirk. 

Keigo tunnelvisioned, focusing only on the Handy Villain. Tucking in his wings, he dropped, dodging two crescent blades above his head. Picking up one of his feather blades as he dove, he got there just in time to cut off his fingertips. 

The villain howled, clutching his wrist as he stumbled backwards. 

“I noticed your quirk required five fingers,” Keigo spat out blood, standing in front of Hagakure. “Wonder how you’ll use it without them.” 

Unfortunately, the Noumu was charging both of them. 

With a gust of wind and the blink of an eye, he was near the treeline, away from the crater in the ground which would have crushed his chest. He was being held bridal style by Yagi in his All Might form, with Hagakure clinging to one arm. The sudden movement was not great for his lungs, as he coughed up blood when Yagi gingerly set him down. 

It pissed him off how Yagi treated him so gently, like he was bound to break at any moment. But then again, he couldn’t entirely blame the guy, he was sure he looked like shit. Coughing up blood, missing several feathers in his wings, and a bleeding gash in his leg. 

(Mainly, he wanted an excuse to continue being angry at Yagi, because he didn’t want to admit that the guy was growing on him.)

“The big villain has some sort of shock absorption quirk and super regeneration,” Keigo said, wiping the blood from his mouth. “I can handle the other two.” 

“Will you be alright, Young Takami?” 

He grinned, summoning his feathers back to his wings. “I’ll be fine. Focus on the big guy, big guy.” 

 

---

 

Tooru hid behind a tree, completely invisible and feeling helpless. 

Hawks had flown off to fight the kimono woman again, and they were both out of sight. The misty villain who initially scattered everyone was standing right next to the villain covered in hands (she learned his name was Shigaraki). And All Might was currently fighting the Noumu. 

She watched as Suringu reappeared next to Shigaraki, the edges of her kimono stained in blood and frost. 

Her heart leapt to her throat as All Might suplexed the Noumu, with a portal wrapping around All Might’s midsection. 

Her eyes barely registered a red blur as Hawks tackled the misty villain, causing the portal to dissipate. Two red blurs followed him, feathers cutting off the tops of Suringu’s horns and Shigaraki’s other hand. 

She shivered as the ground froze over, with Todoroki standing at the edge of the plaza.

“Dammit kid, I told you to get out of here!” 

All Might laughed boisterously, starting to pummel the Noumu. “You said that he has Shock Absorption, which means that there’s a limit! I must surpass that limit!” 

Tooru watched as her teacher and her classmate fought the three villains, as All Might pummeled the Noumu, and her stomach dropped. They were risking everything, and she was hiding behind a tree. 

Fed up, a feather dragged Todoroki to where she was standing, and their eyes met. “Give me a boost,” she said, starting to run. 

He nodded, and used his ice to launch her into the air. 

As she flew, she angled herself so that her back was to the sun. Putting her hands on her chest, she willed her body to focus, like a magnifying glass. 

“Warp Refraction: Laser!” 

The laser pierced the Noumu’s chest, causing it to howl. With a few last punches, All Might sent the Noumu flying through the domed roof of the USJ. 

As Tooru fell, she felt feathers cushion her fall, slowing her down so she was gently set on her feet. Still clutching her chest, she watched them fly back to Hawks, who was now standing next to All Might. 

“Tomura,” the misty villain said, standing next to Shigaraki, who was still clutching his stump arm. “The Noumu is out of commission. We must leave.” 

“No! All Might is weak, we can still-!” 

Two gunshots rang out in succession, piercing both of Shigaraki’s legs. The misty villain swallowed the three of them up, and they disappeared, as if they were never there to begin with. 

Her legs shook as she hugged herself. She watched as a cement wall was put up in front of them, watched Present Mic run to the battered body of Aizawa-sensei on the ground, watched as Hawks passed out and fell into All Might’s arms. 

This didn’t feel like a victory.

 

---

 

Kaina ran through the short hallway, Nedzu perched on her shoulder. Her arm was still transformed into a rifle, and her mind kept flashing through worst case scenarios. 

She saw the french kid, Aoyama if she remembered correctly, standing guard in front of the door. “Kid! Have you seen any villains?” 

He shook his head. “Non, madame. I don’t think they expected anyone to be here.” 

He stepped aside, letting them enter the room. It was dark, lit up only by the screens connected to various cameras. She could see a laptop shut on the console, decorated in stickers of various heroes. A figure was barely recognizable, only his green hair illuminated by the monitors, slumped onto the console with his head in his arms. 

The only thing that could be heard were heart wrenching sobs.

Notes:

Yes, there was a battle with Keigo, Shouto and Suringu. I'm leaving it up to y'all's imaginations :)

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Chapter 30: Is It True?

“Hawks had to have extensive surgery in order to fix the valves in his heart, realign his ribs and heal his lungs. Recovery Girl and our doctors did as much as they could, but he’ll have heart problems in the future, and his lungs will be weaker. I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do about it. He’s lucky he’s still alive.”

Izuku poured through security footage, downing his coffee as he did so. He knew his eyebags rivaled Aizawa’s at this point, but he needs to be working.     

The nurses have all begged him to take a break and get some sleep, but the one time he tried, he woke up in a cold sweat twenty minutes later. He’d rather be productive than tormented by nightmares.     

All the heroes were in individual rooms. He knew that Thirteen’s partner was at their bedside, and Yamada was sitting with Aizawa. He was sitting as close to Keigo’s bed as physically possible, reassured that he could hear the steady rhythm of the heartbeat monitor.     

He’s already dug through the police reports of the incident (he logged in with Tsukauchi’s account, but in his defense the detective should’ve changed his password by now). The Noumu was created from a corpse, stuffed with multiple quirks. The work of All For One. Who is supposed to be dead.      He’s spent the entire night digging through previous incident reports, the Quirk Database, open and closed investigations. He’s gone through the security footage five times now, writing down everything he can about the villains’ fighting styles, strengths and weaknesses.     

He’s aware that he’s repressing his emotions in favor of being productive, but even though Hound Dog has told him that’s a bad thing, he shoves it into a box anyways. Emotions would just blind him and make him illogical, he needed to keep a cool head. His mind was his only weapon: he would be useless without it.     

Given the paranoid state he’s in and the lack of sleep, his entire system goes on high alert when there’s a knock on the door. “Who is it?!”     

“It’s just me and Detective Tsukauchi, my boy.”     

He glared at the door. Tsukauchi was the last person he wanted to see, but he probably needed to come in and take his statement. “Fine.”     

Yagi sheepishly shuffled in, with Tsukauchi coming in behind him. Yagi took a seat across from them, while Tsukauchi made his way over to Izuku.     

Before the detective could get a word out though, Izuku glared at him, gritting out, “When were you going to tell me?”     

“I- Excuse me?”     

He spun around his laptop on his lap, showing the detective the investigation into the disappearance of his mom’s body. “When were you going to tell me?”     

The detective started to pale. “It’s not what you-”     

“Not what I think? What, that you hid the fact that villains stole my mom’s body out of the hospital’s morgue? Or that you have known they’ve stolen her body for ten months now? Because this is what it looks like to me.”

“Midoriya please, when the investigation opened you had just attempted suicide-”    

“Did I fucking stutter? Ten months! You’ve known my mental state has improved now for ten months! You couldn’t have given me some fucking warning that my mom’s body was missing and could show up as a villain in the last ten months?!”     

Izuku was shouting by now, standing up and clutching his laptop to his chest. “Get out!”     

“Midoriya, you know I have to take your statement-”     

“You have the security footage, you don’t need my statement! Get out!”     

“My boy, please try to see it from his point of view-”    

Izuku spun towards Yagi, fixing him with the nastiest glare he could manage. “If you’re going to take his side, you get out too!”     

The door was practically kicked down, revealing a very pissed Rumi and Auntie Kaina. “Alright, both of you get the fuck out before I make you!”     

In the first smart decision of the day, Yagi and Tsukauchi quickly left, the former with a pitying look and the latter with a small bow.     

Rumi and Auntie Kaina quickly ran into the room. Rumi, who was wearing an uncharacteristically large coat, stood by Keigo’s bedside and looked him over, while Auntie Kaina ran straight for Izuku and pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay, Zuku, let it out.”     

He hadn’t realized when he started crying, but he found himself melting into the hug, sobbing into the hero’s shoulder. He felt himself being rocked back and forth, and he could feel Rumi comfortingly rubbing her hand on his back.     

Eventually, he pulled back, still sniffling but not sobbing anymore. “Thanks,” was all he could muster.     

“Don’t worry about it, squirt,” Rumi said, ruffling his hair. “We’re family.”     

Auntie Kaina nodded. “We’re here for both of you.”     

He nodded, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. Auntie Kaina deftly pulled his laptop from his other arm, setting it down on the table. “Now, no more working.”     

“But I-”     

“Keigo wouldn’t want you to overwork yourself.”     

He sighed, nodding as he let himself be pulled along by the two. He was now sandwiched in his seat between the two, with Rumi next to Keigo’s bedside and Auntie Kaina next to the table by the window. He didn’t complain when Auntie Kaina pulled him into a side hug, accepting the comfort it brought him.     

“Besides,” Rumi said, as something moved under her coat. “Someone missed you.”     

His eyes lit up, as a meow came from inside her coat. Sushi’s head popped out of the collar, and she wiggled even more when she caught sight of him.     

Rumi gently pulled her out, handing her to Izuku carefully. He pulled the cat to his chest, nuzzling her as she purred, causing her entire chest to vibrate.     

“Okay, so I admit now that smuggling the cat in was a good idea,” Auntie Kaina said next to him. “But it was still a stupid one and I don’t know how you got away with it.”     

Rumi shrugged, moving over to join the little cuddle pile now that she didn’t have a smuggled cat in her coat. “Hey, giant coat is a classic for a reason.”     

He chuckled, pressing his face to Sushi’s fur as she purred.     

The situation was still pretty bleak, but surrounded by family, with an older sister who smuggled in a cat to cheer him up and an auntie who loved him, he admitted that it was a little brighter than before.

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Chapter 31: It's True

Being at Shiketsu may have been the best thing that’s ever happened to Katsuki. 

Oh sure, he hated it at first. He hadn’t wanted to settle for anything less than his idol’s alma mater, but he also realized that he was extremely lucky to be attending a hero school at all, and not in juvie. 

Due to being under investigation, and then eventually being shut down, he was quickly pulled from Aldera and schooled online. Which he hated, especially because his parents didn’t want him leaving the house at all at first, fearing him becoming victim to another villain attack. Thankfully his shrink convinced them to let him go out and train, but that had been a struggle. It had been enough of a fight to get the old hag to attend her own shrink. 

He had gotten the idea to clean up the beach on one of his morning jogs. Dagobah beach had been a dump, and there were mounds of trash. It would be good training, an excuse to get out of the house away from the old hag, and a way to add some community service hours to his resume. While no hero school required community service hours, he figured he needed something to stand out among the sea of nerds, especially with his probation. 

(It was not because the beach used to be Auntie Inko and De- the nerd’s favorite, that was just a coincidence.)

With the thumbs up from the Hat Detective, Katsuki managed to get into Shiketsu with 1,500 community service hours. 

Shiketsu had dorms for its students, so his parents helped him move in, with a promise to call every weekend and visit every break. Mainly to make sure their son didn’t keel over but also to remind him to keep up his video calls with the shrink. 

Anyways, the week at the dorms before class had started was the best it's ever been for Katsuki. He’s away from the old hag, which means he can relax a little (the shrink had explained to him that he had constantly been in survival mode, and now that he’s away from his mother, he wasn’t being worried about being spontaneously yelled at anymore), and there were a few extras who were maybe becoming friends. They lived in his dorm building and stuck by his side, determined to get to know him despite how prickly he is. 

He may not be an asshole anymore, but he was here to learn to be a hero, and he didn’t need friends for that. Despite that, Shitty Hair and Knife Fucker decided that he was going to be their friend, especially since they were all in the same class. (It wasn’t working, dammit.)

Katsuki groaned, flopping back on his bed and rubbing his wrists. He was pretty ahead academically and physically, but that did not help him with all the note taking he had to do. Or the cooking, because none of the extras in the building could make something better than microwaved dinner so he had to step up to make sure none of them starved. 

He just wanted to go to bed, but just when he thought he would be able to, his phone rang from his desk. 

With another groan, he grabbed it, squinting when he saw the number. It was only Thursday, why the fuck was the old hag calling him? 

“What the fuck?” 

“Kats! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, why the fuck wouldn’t I be?” 

“U.A. was attacked by villains!” 

Well, shit. Maybe he should’ve been paying attention to what the extras were talking about after school. (He told them that he needed to charge his hearing aids, but he really didn’t want to hear another argument about whether Pokemon or Digimon was better.)

“Kats, you should come back home, it’ll be safer.” 

Oh hell no. He just managed to get away from the old hag, he did not need to go back. But he also couldn’t just say that to her face. 

“Yeah, come back home and have to take a plane to school every morning, which is a very easy place for a villain to attack?” 

“We could find a different school, one that’s closer, or you could go back to online school-”

“I’ll be fine,” Katsuki cut her off. “Our dorm building is literally right next to the teacher’s dorms.” 

“Alright, brat. Stay safe, ya hear?” 

“Course I will. I can’t be number one if I get hurt.” 

With that phone call finally over, he tossed his phone back onto the desk, rolling over and burying his face into his pillow. Hopefully he could get some sleep-

His door was thrown open, the two extras running into the room with pillows and blankets. “Surprise sleepover!” Shitty Hair shouted. 

And there went that hope…

 

---

 

“Ow ow ow ow- Keigo my ribs-” 

Despite being in a hospital and also severely injured, this didn’t stop Keigo from pulling Izuku into a bone crushing hug. 

“I think you’re gonna suffocate him, Kei,” Rumi said, with Sushi still perched on her shoulder. Auntie Kaina had left a while ago to go talk to Nedzu, leaving the four of them in the room. 

There had been a couple of tense moments when a doctor or nurse came in and they had to hurriedly put Sushi back under Rumi’s coat. 

Keigo finally let him go, kinda. Izuku was still being hugged, but now he could breathe again, which was nice. 

“You brought her?!” Keigo asked, finally spotting Sushi. “And she isn’t on the bed with me? I thought we were friends, Rumi!” 

“When I put her on the bed, she tried to step on your chest, birdbrain,” Rumi huffed, leaning over and flicking him on the forehead. 

Interrupting them was a knock on the door. In a flurry of chaos, Rumi snatched Sushi up and beelined for the bathroom, leaving it slightly ajar behind her so she could eavesdrop. Izuku himself quickly dove under the chairs, hiding behind his bag and the blanket draped over him. 

He heard the door opening, and someone wearing high heels walked into the room. 

“Hawks.” The woman said, stopping right next to where Izuku was hidden. “We are disappointed in you.” 

“Gee, it isn’t nice to belittle a man in a hospital bed.” 

“Clearly we’ve been giving you too much freedom. What have you been telling Nedzu?” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Do you think we’re stupid? You start working at U.A, and then the analyst you’re supposed to be investigating releases an anonymous report backed by Nedzu slandering the commission. Now we have to scramble to get a scapegoat for the public while you play teacher-”

“I’m not playing anything,” Keigo spat back. “I nearly died protecting those kids.” 

The lady huffed, rapping her knuckles on the edge of the bed. “You’re aware of what happens to those who disappoint the commission, Hawks.” 

“I’m also aware that the last time that threat was made, they died.” 

“Since you don’t seem incentivized by your own life, what about Dekiru’s?” He heard Keigo rustling his feathers. “We know you’re lying about him. Let’s see, Midoriya Izuku, quirkless orphan, was attending online school before attending U.A’s Support Course, fifteen years old with an unfortunate record of getting into fights and suicidal behavior. We both know how easy it is for the quirkless to die these days-”

“Don’t you dare lay a finger on him!” 

“Well, that seems like an incentive.” She chuckled, as if amused by threatening a kid’s life for blackmail purposes. “Now, let’s talk about what you’ll be doing for us-”

This time there wasn’t even a knock on the door. It was flung open dramatically, with someone walking in and slow clapping. “Congratulations Gesu-chan, on your free trip to prison!” Nedzu said cheerfully.

“I’m sorry- what?” 

“I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but it is hospital policy to have security cameras in every room,” Auntie Kaina said. “So thank you for your confession.” 

“Although, if you come with me and Nedzu,” this time it was Detective Naomasa speaking, “Then you might be able to get a lighter sentence if you provide information about your colleagues’ crimes.”

Izuku heard two sets of footsteps leaving, and then Auntie Kaina said, “You two can come out now.” 

“How did you know?” Rumi asked, slipping out of the bathroom at the same time Izuku crawled from under the chairs. 

“His bag was still here and your ear was literally peeking out of the bathroom.” 

“Wh- I am not that bad!” 

“You totally are, I could see your ear,” Keigo said lightheartedly. Izuku could tell that he was still tense though. 

He sat on the edge of the bed, scooting over and pulling his ridiculous brother into a hug. “Everything will work out fine.” 

He felt a wing wrap around him, pulling him closer while Keigo hugged him back. “I know, fledgling, I know.” 

 

---

 

“You won’t be able to reach the top speeds or fly at altitudes as high as you used to be able. Your heart and lungs wouldn’t be able to handle it anymore. I’m sorry, Hawks.”

Tsutsumi had finally taken Izuku back home, so that he could sleep in his bed rather than shitty hospital chairs. She took Sushi with her, leaving him with just Rumi for company. 

“I don’t regret it, Rumi,” Keigo said, continuing to bury himself in blankets. “But I wanna be able to fly again. That was the only thing I could do that connected me back to my family.” 

“Well, maybe you could do other bird stuff now!” Rumi said, continuing to chew on a large bag of carrots she brought from the local Walmart. “Try chirping!” 

Keigo gave her an offended look. “You can’t just ask a man to chirp.” 

With a grin, she pulled out her phone and opened up the photo gallery. “We’ll see, Keigo.” 

Somewhat warily, he leaned over anyways, peeking over her shoulder as she scrolled through it. There are plenty of pictures of Sushi and Izuku cuddled together (he recognized them because he sent them to her), pictures of random stray cats she found on patrol, and selfies of her in front of whatever villain she had beaten. And then there was a shaky picture, as if whoever had taken it was laughing, of Keigo glaring at All Might at U.A’s orientation. 

“Chwirk chwirk chwirk chwirk-”

Keigo’s eyes widened as he covered his mouth with his hands. Rumi’s grin turned mischievous. “Oh? What was that Keigo?” 

“Nothing!” 

On her phone, she pulled up an article about the meaning of various Red-Tailed Hawk calls. “Well look at that, was that a mating call, Keigo?” 

“No! I am not interested in that oaf!” 

“Don’t lie to me, birdbrain.” 

“I’m not lying- I’m not interested in him!!!” 

 

---

 

Musutafu Central Broadcasting @mcbofficial

A whistleblower has revealed that even the current Hero Public Safety Commission president was deep in corruption. Read the full article here.

 

Musutafu Central Broadcasting @mcbofficial

Did you know that Hawks’ legal name is actually Hawks? Read the full article here.

 

Musutafu Central Broadcasting @mcbofficial

After the arrest of former Hero Public Safety Commission president Usotsuki Himitsu, Nedzu endorses a candidate for the new president, Asui Fukasaku. Read the full article here. 

 

Musutafu Central Broadcasting @mcbofficial

After two weeks of investigation, the previous director of Musutafu General Hospital has been arrested for Quirk Discrimination, Criminal Negligence, Tampering with Evidence, and Billing and Insurance Fraud. Read the full article here.

Notes:

I had to look up "health care related crimes" and "what calls do red tailed hawks make" you're welcome

- Hawks' handler: Gesu Yarou, which is just Asshole in Japanese
- President of the Commission: Usotsuki Himitsu, Liar and Secret, I used the same name for her in Mercenary
- Nedzu's candidate: Asui Fukasaku, a little shoutout to Orion on Discord :D

No trolly links for you guys, you're welcome.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Chapter 32: Preparing for the Future!

Shouto sat in his seat, trying to focus on the conversation with his friends rather than memories of the incident a few days ago. Inasa was trying to convince Tenya that the ocean was a soup, with Yaomomo trying to get Inasa to change the topic. Shouto was just trying to keep his laughter in. 

Although it was kind of hard to laugh when they were all worried. None of them had heard from Izuku since the incident, and they were all hoping he was okay. 

The conversation was abruptly cut off when the door opened, and he could see his classmates all scramble for their seats. When the door was fully opened, in entered a mummy wrapped in bandages, with a raccoon wearing a hat perched on his shoulder. 

“Good, you hellions are learning.” 

“AIZAWA-SENSEI?!” 

 

---

 

“Alright, this is Pickles and Wendy, they will be going with you today.” Keigo watched as his brother placed a raccoon with a green hat on Aizawa’s shoulder, and a raccoon with a red hat went on Keigo’s shoulder. 

“Which ones are these ones?” Keigo asked, slowly and carefully moving to give the raccoon scratches under his chin. He was trying not to pull any of his stitches, and he could see that Aizawa was keeping deathly still while the raccoon sniffed him. 

“First Mate Pickles of the First Raccoon Battalion is with Uncle Shouta, and First Mate Wendy of the Fourth Raccoon Battalion is with Keigo.” 

“Wh- there’s first mates now?” 

“There’s always been first mates,” Izuku crossed his arms with a pout. “Anyways, don’t do anything stupid. They will be texting me, Nedzu or Auntie Kaina.” 

“You taught them to text?!” “Problem child, is this really necessary?” 

A kid holding two baby raccoons to his chest like children should not be scary, but the death glare he gave both of them definitely struck the fear of the Kami into Keigo’s soul. 

 

---

 

“I can’t believe Aizawa-sensei came to school!” Inasa shouted, wiping a fake tear from his eyes. “Such passion!” 

“It’s super manly!” Kirishima added, giving the other kid a fist bump. Introducing those two was a mistake. 

“It’s super stupid,” Jirou grumbled. “He should be resting.” 

Hitoshi nodded, still chugging water. He’d just gotten his ass handed to him in a spar with Iida, and he was more interested in making sure to stay hydrated than participate in conversation. 

“What was up with the raccoon though?” Hagakure asked, while she was doing warm ups for her spar with Inasa. “He was wearing a green hat and I’m pretty sure I saw him texting?” 

“Ah yes, a member of the Raccoon Battalion,” Todoroki nodded, as if that explained jack shit. 

Hitoshi just groaned, making sure to do his cool down stretches. It’ll still hurt like a bitch, but hopefully stretching will keep it from hurting for a week as opposed to a couple of days. 

Hagakure and Kirishima were worried about Midoriya, so they were staying after school to check up on the crazy bastard (he and Jirou were just there for moral support). Turns out that the other group of Midoriya’s friends, the rec students, were also doing the same thing, so they decided to train together while they waited for the green idiot. Despite still being mostly annoying (Yaoyorozu was chill), they did actually have some good advice.

“I’m sorry but what the fuck?” Jirou asked. “You can’t just say that without explanation!” 

“No, that is the explanation.” 

“Yeah, it’s really surprising that Izuku managed to teach raccoons to text,” Momo piped up, like she wasn’t just dropping a bombshell. 

“Midoriya WHAT?!” 

“I didn’t do anything this time I swear!” 

Everyone turned to see Midoriya running towards them, with the other crazy bastard following behind him. Hitoshi got a split second to see him before multiple people rushed him and he was tackled to the ground in a group hug. 

“I’m fine! I’m fine.” After a few minutes of frantic sobbing and reassurances, the pile of students was very slowly pulled apart. Midoriya was still patting a sobbing Kirishima on the back. “I’m fine, I promise.” 

He turned to Todoroki and Hagakure. “Are you two alright?”

Todoroki just nodded. Hagakure sniffled, but also nodded. “Just sore, but I’m fine.” 

“Are you okay though?” Todoroki asked. “I mean your mother-” 

“I’m fine!” Midoriya coughed awkwardly. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” 

Hatsume mouthed from behind him, ‘He’s not fine.’

“How is Takami-sensei doing?” Momo asked, smoothly changing the topic. 

“He’s doing better. He’s still upset about not being able to fly, but he should be back in the air soon.” 

“We’re all glad you and Takami-sensei are alright,” Iida said. 

“Thanks, and sorry about not answering your texts. It’s been…” 

“Don’t worry about it dude,” Kirishima spoke up. “Taking care of yourself is manly.” 

As the conversation trailed off, everyone started kind of looking at each other. “We were training for the festival,” Iida broke the awkward silence. “Do you want to help? We’ve been taking turns sparring, and you always have good advice for us.” 

Midoriya gave them a small smile. “Sure.” 

“I’m super excited for the Sports Festival!” Hatsume shouted, plopping down next to Midoriya. “I’ll be able to show off all my babies!” 

“Yeah!” Inasa shouted. “I’m super pumped to show off my heroic spirit!” 

“I forgot that Support students could participate,” Jirou muttered. “Midoriya, are you-” 

“I’m not participating.” 

The entire gym went silent. He pulled out a notebook, just labeled “Analysis” on the spine. “I have to focus on my work. I can’t afford to get distracted.” 

While his classmates were trying to figure out what to do, Hitoshi slipped out of the gym unnoticed. Taking a few steps away from the door, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, hitting call. 

Maybe his mother would know how to arrange an intervention…

 

---

 

Mei watched her friend from the staircase to the roof, using her quirk to observe him without being spotted. Izuku was sitting on a blanket, typing away on his laptop while muttering and going through his notebook. Despite it being their lunch period, he had no food, and Mei knew that he didn’t eat beforehand. 

She’s noticed this the past few days. Izuku would go up to the roof and work during lunch. When they have free time, Izuku is working. Hell, Izuku’s been skipping out on hanging out with the rest of their friends to work.

Mei and her friends haven’t been able to stop him, so it was time to call the cavalry.

She went down the stairs, practically sprinting to the teacher’s lounge. She slammed the door open, startling multiple teachers (and she swore that a mug went flying). 

“I need help. It’s about Izuku.”

Notes:

The baby raccoons are named French and Fry :)

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Chapter 33: Intervention

Keigo wanted to help set up, he really did. However, since he was still recovering from the fuckery of the USJ, he was assigned the task of supervising. Which really meant sit to the side while everyone else set things up. 

At least by the sounds Aizawa was making, he wasn’t pleased to be benched either. 

Rumi and Tensei were arranging the room, dragging out chairs to surround a small table they stole from the teacher’s lounge. Kayama and Yamada were running errands, while Fukukado and Tsutsumi were on distraction duty. 

“We’re back!” Yamada shouted, holding a giant box. “I got the cake!” 

“And I got the baby!” Kayama grinned, holding up Sushi. 

“Give her to me!” Keigo responded, smiling when the heroine handed him the cat. She was purring in his arms, and he swore up and down that her purring was healing him. 

“Mirai, Naomasa and Nedzu can’t make it, but they wish us good luck,” Kayama said, supporting Rumi as she hung up the banner. “They’re currently working on the League case.” 

“We’ve got this!” Tensei shouted. “We have cake and a cat, what else do we need?” 

Keigo felt buzzing next to him, and opened up his phone to see a text from Fukukado. “They’re coming!” 

Everyone else quickly scrambled to take their places, trying to act casual. But Rumi was nervously thumping her foot, and Keigo himself was preening his feathers. 

This had to work. 

 

---

 

Izuku had no idea where this was going. 

He had just finished his work on the Stain case when Auntie Kaina and Emi took him to U.A, dragging him onto this nature hike thing. They both insisted on not talking about work, so a lot of the conversation was spent talking about Auntie Kaina getting into making stamps and Emi’s new relationship with Rumi. 

Then they were walking into U.A, going to one of the conference rooms instead of anywhere Izuku expected. Inside was his brother, as well as the other pros he’s come to regard as family, sitting around the table with a giant tiered cake covered in green and white frosting. Written in frosting along the sides of the cake were messages like “breaks are good” and “mental health is important” and “you matter :)” (yes, smiley face included). There was a banner hanging that read “Take a break!” 

“Uhh…” 

“Come in, sit down.” Auntie Kaina led him inside, making sure he took his seat in the empty chair. 

“What’s all this…?”

“We’re here cause we care about you kid,” Rumi said, and he could hear her tapping her foot. 

“But I’m fine-”

“Don’t lie to yourself,” Aizawa said.

“Hatsume came to us yesterday and told us that you’ve been skipping lunch to work,” Yamada said, placing a hand on Aizawa’s shoulder. “That’s not healthy, little listener.” 

“It’s not-”

“You’re overworking yourself,” Tensei said. “You need to take a break-” 

“I CAN’T!” 

The room went silent, and Izuku caught his breath, fighting to keep tears back. “I have to keep working- I can’t stop. I- I can’t lose anyone else.” 

He looked up when he felt Aizawa’s mummified hand on his shoulder. “Kid, we all get it. All of us had tried to bury ourselves in our work to cope with something.” 

Everyone around him was nodding. Izuku felt a wing wrap around his shoulders, and he looked up at Keigo on his other side. “We all had to learn the hard way that it wasn’t healthy. We don’t want that for you, fledgeling.” 

“I-” Words were caught in his throat. “What do I do, if I’m not…” 

“We all have different hobbies that make us happy,” Emi said, lifting her face into a smile. “When I have time I go hiking!” 

“I host the radio show, but I also like messing around and making music of my own,” Yamada said, which got some annoyed grumbling from Aizawa. “Sho takes care of his fur babies.” 

“He has seven, and they’re all named Bastard,” Kayama said with a wink. That got a laugh out of Izuku. 

“Hell, we’ve even gotten birdbrain over here into hobbies!” Rumi grinned, as if it was a great achievement. Which to be fair, it was. 

“I’ve been fingerpainting birds,” Keigo smiled. 

He raised an eyebrow. “So you can add to the atrocious number of bird paintings in your agency?” 

His brother slumped dramatically onto Rumi as everyone else laughed. Of course, this did disturb the cat on his lap, who instead hopped onto Izuku’s lap. He had just noticed that Sushi was here, and was delighted.

“I guess I care for the plants?” He said hesitantly, stroking Sushi. “But I don’t know if that counts.” 

“And the raccoon army doesn’t count either,” Keigo said. “Because I know you’re using them to gather information to do more work.”

When Izuku didn’t really say anything, Auntie Kaina spoke up. “Here’s what we all decided: you’re gonna stop working for the next few weeks, until after the Sports Festival. You will spend that time hanging out with your friends, trying out hobbies, doing normal teenager stuff.” 

“You are still doing your schoolwork though,” Yamada said. “That’s nonnegotiable.” 

“And you can do some analysis for your friends!” Emi spoke up. “Just no cases, no heroes. Dekiru is on a mental health break.” 

“What if there are urgent cases-”

“Then another analyst can work on it,” Rumi said. “You may be one of the best in the business, but there are other analysts. The world will be fine if you take a break, I promise.” 

Izuku sighed. Unfortunately, his older sister had a point. “I don’t know what to do.” 

“We’ll help Broccoli-chan, don’t worry!” Kayama reached over the table to ruffle his hair. “You’re not alone.” 

As the other heroes around the table all said (or shouted) their agreements, Izuku wiped away a couple of tears. “Thanks, guys.” 

“It’s what family’s for,” Keigo said, using his wing to pull him into a side hug. 

“Alright, now that the intervention’s over, it’s time for cake!” Kayama shouted, pulling out a knife and starting to slice into it. 

“Yes, and it’s also time for my other ulterior motive!” Emi shouted, standing up and pulling out a duffle bag from under the table.

“How did you-” “What?” “When did you have time to hide that?” 

With a dramatic flourish, Emi continued. “We haven’t been able to just hang out in forever, so I decided that it’s time for a board game day!” 

When the bag was opened, Auntie Kaina looked in the bag, then wrinkled her nose and looked back up at Emi. “Monopoly, really? Are you trying to get us to kill each other?” 

As the rest of the heroes started arguing, Kayama handed Izuku his slice of cake with a wink. He offered it to Sushi to sniff, and took a bite when she decided she wasn’t interested. With a smile, he bit into delicious minty cake with chocolate chips, and watched in amusement as the heroes argued between Exploding Kittens and Munchkin.

He was surrounded by family, with a delicious cake and a purring cat in his lap. For the moment, all was right with the world.

Notes:

So, welcome to the last Dekiru chapter of the year! I'm taking January off for all writing, but feel free to join the Diverging Paths Discord if you want to yell at me for making you cry or talk to other people.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

See y'all next year <3

Chapter 34: Get Ready, Get Set;

Tensei stretched out his back, watching as Rumi dragged Stain away, who was incapacitated by laughter. As they passed, Rumi gave Emi a quick kiss on the cheek. 

The heroine sighed, unsubtly watching her girlfriend’s butt. “I love that woman.” 

He sighed, waving at his sidekicks who were talking to the police. “Some of us are single, Emi.” 

“That sounds like a you problem, Tensei,” she shot back, skipping backwards. “Now come on! The sooner we finish patrolling, the sooner we can go visit Broccoli-chan! And your brother too.” 

Tensei accepted the water bottle that Big Shot handed him, patting his sidekick on the back. “Alright, but you’re helping me on the report when we get back.” 

“But I’ve got a date with Rumi tonight!!!” 

“That sounds like a you problem, Emi.” 

 

---

 

“Midoriya, right?” 

Izuku turned around, coming face to face with an older management student. Her eyes were shining as she looked at him, her hair flashing all sorts of different colors. Not waiting for an answer, she held out her hand. “Irohenka Okane from 3-J! You’re the first Analysis student in the Support course in like forever, and the rumors say that you’re psychic and you can tell how to kill a man at a glance!” 

“Umm, well I’m not psychic and legally I can’t answer the second one, but I am Midoriya, yes.” His head was spinning from everything that was happening. 

“Do me! Do me!” 

The only reason he wasn’t internally combusting was because he’s been friends with Mei for so long, but his face was still bright red. Presuming she wanted an on-the-spot analysis, he blurted out, “I need money first!” 

Which wow, what an unfortunate statement to default to. 

He might be spending a little bit too much time with Keigo, because she simply laughed and grabbed his arm. “Yeah that’s fair. It wouldn’t be as valuable if you didn’t charge!” 

She grinned, dragging him off. “Now normally, we only let management students in, but you get to be an exception!” 

“Alright you have to tell me up front where we’re going, because I want to make sure I’m not about to be murdered.” 

Without giving him an answer, she opened up an unlabelled door. Going through it, he was suddenly transported to some sort of American noir bar, with a combination of a pool and poker table, an ice cooler filled with sparkling grape juices, and a TV with footage of the Sports Festival playing. The management students were all swishing their mock champagne in fancy plastic glasses and eating cinnamon sticks pretending they were cigars. Everyone was at least wearing some sort of fedora, and Irohenka put one on his head, pulling another one out of her hair to put on her head. 

They really knew how to stick to an aesthetic, he’ll give them that. 

“I brought the Midoriya!” 

He grinned, adjusting the hat on his head. “Well I didn’t know I was the Midoriya.” 

He was herded to the table, as everyone gathered around while the reporters prattled on about the Sports Festival. There were standard playing cards spread out across the surface, but the faces of students were cut out and duct taped to them. Someone had dragged a literal pot out of the kitchen, and it was filled with snacks that were probably bought from various vending machines throughout the school. 

“Welcome to the betting table,” an older student said, who he presumed to be the ringleader of this underground betting ring because he had the fanciest hat. “Put your ante in and make your bets.” 

He pulled out a bag of Choco Cats that he had snagged from the vending machine beforehand, being handed a handful of poker chips. With a grin, he started placing them on top of participants. 

The pot was his. 

 

---

 

“Young Hagakure, a moment?”

Tooru turned around, giving a beaming smile to her mentor. “Hi Yagi-sensei!” 

He put his hands on her shoulder, giving a giant grin back. “How do you feel, my girl?” 

“I’m so nervous,” she admitted, wringing out her hands. “I’m still getting used to using One For All, and I still haven’t perfected Warp Refraction. I’m not ready!” 

“No one ever feels ready for their first Sports Festival,” Yagi said. “I sure didn’t when I was your age.” 

He released his grip on her shoulders, flexing and suddenly turning into Buff Might. “But rest assured, you are ready! Go out there, young Hagakure, and show the world that You are Here!” 

The optimism was infectious, and she flexed in return. “I am here!” 

She stumbled when Yagi patted her on the back, putting a little too much strength into it. “That’s my girl! Now get out there and show them who you are!” 

Tooru turned around, giving her mentor a quick wave as he deflated, before turning around and booking it to the waiting room. 

Every second matters. 

 

---

 

In the 1-B waiting room, Monoma Neito and Kendou Itsuka are rallying their class. In order to get higher and ensure that members of 1-B make it to the final bracket, the entire class is working together. While Monoma’s main selling point is to crush 1-A, their “rivals,” most of the class was persuaded by Kendou’s reasoning that getting further into the Festival means more attention from Pros. And those who weren’t were convinced by Pony’s promise to treat the class to ice cream if they worked together.

Meanwhile, in the 1-A waiting room, the Class and Vice Class Representatives were committing the same rallying. Their class was unique, and no one else from the other classes would understand what it’s like to truly fear for their lives. To no one’s surprise, it was another one of Inasa’s heartfelt speeches about passion and heroism that really convinced the class to work together.

From his tiny office, the brain of the security system working to protect U.A., Nedzu cackled. This year’s Sports Festival was going to be very interesting. 

Notes:

It's a little shorter than usual, but it's a chapter :p

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Chapter 35: GO!!!!!

Tooru never realized how much her cheerleading training would come in handy.   For example, when Todoroki froze the gateway, freezing their competition to the ground, she instinctively turned her jump into a split jump. And while the rest of her class used their quirks to leap over the competition (or just straight up bodied them), Tooru treated the unfortunate kids who were frozen down as pommel horses, launching herself forwards.

While it was very skillful and pretty cool (if you asked her), she could physically feel the middle finger that Hitoshi was giving her.

She hit the ground running, sprinting with the rest of her class. She was near the back of the group, but she didn’t mind. The most important thing is that they all made it to the next round.

She was very confident about how the race was going. Keyword being “was.”

“What the fuck?!”

 

---

 

“What the fuck?!”

First, Todoroki freezes the entrance to the ground, which was cool for all the kids with quirks that allowed them to get over the ice (and Hagakure apparently). Next, they make him run, and he’s kicking himself for not doing enough cardio. And now they have the audacity to have multiple zero pointers in their way.

At least he wasn’t the only one who was a little pissed. The rec students looked shocked, like they haven’t seen these spawn of Satan before. He and Jirou exchanged a glance, and she looked just as done as he did.

For a solid few seconds, they all just stared at the army in disbelief. Then it looked like the Class Reps got their act together, because Iida was shouting something to Inasa, and students were being launched by the wind into the air.

“Don’t you DARE-”  He definitely did not scream as he was launched into the air. He definitely did not cling to Kirishima out of fear while they flew over the zero pointers. And he was definitely not laughed at by his very supportive friends.

Hopefully the cameras weren’t recording him, because otherwise that was blackmail material for life. Hypothetically of course, because none of that happened.

(He did take Kirishima’s offer of a piggyback ride. Purely to avoid running. Not for any other reason, Jirou, stop laughing.)

 

---

 

Shouto slid on the ground, doing what Izuku would call a Tokyo Drift as he landed. Because of Inasa’s winds, he was launched a good way, only a few meters away from the next section.

He vaguely remembered Izuku’s brother muttering something about HPSC Health violations for the regular entrance exam, and that memory was ripped from the back of his mind. He was facing a seemingly bottomless pit, with thin tightropes running between the platforms connecting from one side to the other.

He knew Tenya, Inasa and Momo would be able to get across no problem, but the rest of his class wouldn’t. And they all agreed to work together, so he probably shouldn’t just strand them.

Making a flame with his left hand so that he wasn’t frozen solid, he started running across the pit, a bridge of ice forming underneath his feet.

When he made it to the other side, he stopped at the edge, getting down on one knee to wait for the rest of his class. While he tracked the faces of his friends and classmates, he used the breather to warm up his left side. It wouldn’t do to get hurt in the first round because he was being reckless with his quirk.

When the last person went across (Kouda, if he remembered correctly), he stood up. They hadn’t talked about sabotaging the rest of their competition, but Shouto wasn’t about to take any chances.

He released a bright flame, watching the bridge melt behind him, stranding the other students who managed to make it past the zero pointers. He recognized some of the rude gestures being pointed in his direction, especially from the two students who were on the bridge before it melted, and just gave them a salute.

Turning on his heel, he started catching up to his classmates. He’d secured himself a solid 20th place, and he’s determined to keep his class ahead of 20th and everyone else behind it.

What did his friends say? He’s “gaslight, gatekeep, girlbossing.”

 

---

 

A minefield where the steps have to be precise or you explode, where the mines are evenly spaced and if someone was paying close attention, they can tell where the mines were buried?

Tooru was considering asking Nedzu if he knew her old coach. Bumu-sensei would’ve cried if she were here.

“One two three four!”

She started shouting the U.A. spirit theme, launching forwards into a handspring. Despite not having done the routine in years, muscle memory carried her forwards. She cartwheeled, vaulted and flipped across the field, chanting the theme at the top of her lungs, all without ever disturbing the dirt that covered the mines.

“U.A!” She stuck the landing of the backflip, holding her hands up, when she heard a massive explosion behind her.

With her jaw on the floor, Tooru watched as Todoroki flew over all of their heads, not using his quirk to propel himself further. She tracked the arc he made as he flew over the course, colliding into Inasa’s back and sending them both tumbling over the finish line.

“Do I even want to know?” She asked to the wind.

“Real rich coming from the girl who just did an entire fucking cheerleading routine across a minefield,” Hitoshi snarked, clinging onto Kirishima’s back for dear life. The other boy’s face looked like it was slowly changing colors.

“Need to- breathe-” Kirishima wheezed.   Leaving the disaster gays to whatever was happening, she instead turned on her heel and started running. It was just a straight shot to the finish line, which she didn’t mind.

Considering everything else, tenth place wasn’t bad.

 

---

 

Inasa was sprawled out on the ground, taking the time to catch his breath after having it knocked out of him. He had managed to secure first place, but at what cost?

Next to him, Shouto was doing the same thing, only he was face down on the ground. His hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions, and he was covered in dirt and soot.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tenya and Momo stand over them. “Shouto, what was that?!”

When he was nudged in the side, he rolled over onto his back. “I was testing one of Izuku’s theories.”

“Which one?”

“Combining my left and right side does create an explosion.”

“Why would you do that?!”

“Why not?”

Inasa reached out to give a few pats to Shouto’s shoulder. “That’s pretty cool, but please be more careful.”

All they got was a thumbs up from Shouto. Tenya sighed, reaching down to help them both get up. “We’re still working on that.”

 

---

 

Tsuyu ribbeted happily, ignoring a 1-B kid throwing a tantrum about 1-A copying their strategy, and made her way over to Habuko.   “You made it, kero!” She croaked, hugging her friend.

They had both been sad when Habuko didn’t make it into the hero course, but she got into the Gen Ed program, determined to transfer in. The U.A. Sports Festival was her opportunity to impress the teachers, and fill the vacant spot in 1-A.

“I was so nervous,” Habuko sighed. “I didn’t think I’d make it.”

“But you did.” Tsuyu pulled away, but she still held onto Habuko’s arm. “Come meet my friends, kero.”

“Are- are you sure?”

“Of course!” She led them towards where Shinsou was standing with Hagakure, Kirishima and Jirou. She became friends with Shinsou and Hagakure after the USJ, and she was quickly accepted into the friend group by Kirishima and Jirou. “They’ll help you become a hero too, kero. We all help each other.”

“If you’re sure.”

With another croak, she waved to her new friends, bringing her oldest friend to meet them. She was excited for all of them to become heroes together.

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Chapter 36: Grudge Match

“Izuku? Where are you?” Keigo wandered around the backstage of the arena, looking for his little brother while the students prepared for the cavalry battle. Initially, they agreed that Izuku would be sitting in the observation booth with Nedzu and Yagi, but when he went up to check on them, Izuku was nowhere to be found. 

The only reason that Keigo wasn’t freaking the fuck out was because Nedzu said Izuku was fine. He was just squirreled away somewhere called “The Lounge.” Whatever that was. 

“Keigo!” Izuku turned the corner, holding a literal pot from U.A. kitchens, filled with a pile of vending machine snacks that went over his head. “A little help?”

He sent some feathers out, stabilizing the pile of snacks and helping Izuku stand up. Now that he got closer, there was a fedora haphazardly stuck on his head with a Pokemon card tucked into the brim.

“Izuku, what the fuck?” 

The kid took a deep breath in, and started talking a meter a minute. “So I got kidnapped by a management student and she brought me to this place in the back of the arena I think it’s called the Lounge and it was decorated like some old school American bar you would see in a noir show and they basically had a betting ring for who would get what place in the obstacle course for the first round and to place bets you had to put something in the pot so I put a bag of Choco cats in and all my bets were right so I won the pot and then they kicked me out.” 

While Izuku gasped for breath, Keigo took everything in. “So you found a betting ring on the results of the Sports Festival, and you won, so they kicked you out?” 

He nodded, and Keigo reached out to put the fedora on his head properly so it didn’t fall off. “Okay. Legally, I can’t endorse betting, so I am glad you got kicked out. However, as your older brother, I am proud of you.” 

Izuku beamed, still precariously balancing the snack pot in his arms. “Help me bring my winnings back up to the booth?” 

“Sure thing. And tell the raccoons to get off the field.” 

“No promises!” 

 

---

 

Pony skipped over to her friends. Yaomomo, Inasa, Hatsume and Shouto have already formed up as a team, so she went to join Setsuna and Juzou, who was talking to Tenya. 

“I really do appreciate all of you, and I wish you the best of luck,” Tenya said, arm chopping the whole time. “But I must prove my mettle, and I feel as if I would be relying on you rather than standing out on my own.” 

“But isn’t the whole point of a cavalry battle to help each other-?”

Juzou slapped his hand over Setsuna’s mouth, rather rudely. “I get it man, we already know each other’s strategies and you gotta impress the big shots.”

“So, is Tenya not joining us?” Pony asked, walking to stand next to Setsuna. 

“Us as in the three of us?” She asked, pointing to the three of them as Tenya walked off. “You joining us?” 

Pony nodded. “The point is to advance, right? The easiest way to do that is by working with friends!” 

“Yeah!” She and Juzou gave each other a little fist bump. They redid it when Setsuna also wanted to get in on the fist bump. 

“Excuse me.” They all turned around when Kendou spoke up. “Do you have room for a fourth?” 

“Yeah, you can join us,” Setsuna said, holding out her fist. “Seal the deal.” 

After a few awkward moments, Kendou returned the fist bump. 

“Wait wait wait, all of us have to do it!” Juzou shouted, holding his arm out. 

“We had to do this last time too,” Pony explained with a shrug. 

“Team fist bump!” 

Once the deal was indeed sealed, they pulled Kendou into their little huddle. “Got tired of reining in Monoma, huh?” Setsuna asked. 

The other girl sighed. “Yeah, I decided that he could find a team on his own. He’s still complaining about 1-A supposedly stealing our strategy.” 

“I’m not surprised,” Juzou shrugged. “They have Momo in their class, and she’s as smart as you are. It’s pretty likely they came up with the idea independently of us.” 

“Anyways, forget about the white boy.” Setsuna wrapped an arm around Pony and Juzou’s shoulders, officially pulling them into a huddle. “We need to come up with a plan!” 

“Monoma isn’t a white boy?” 

“He has the attitude of one.” 

“Fair enough.” 

 

---

 

“Okay, so Uraraka sits on mine and Hagakure’s shoulders, and she floats Shinsou, who is actually wearing the headband, up in the air, and both Uraraka and Shinsou are holding a very long rope.” 

“Jirou, where would we even get the rope from?” Tooru asked. 

“Aren’t you friends with the weird Hatsume girl? Can’t you ask her for one?” 

“I don’t have anything to bribe her with.” 

“Also, I’m not floating in the air,” Shinsou added. “I will puke.” 

Uraraka, who had been silent so far, spoke up. “Hagakure, if you’re invisible, does anything you hold turn invisible too? Like if you’re holding a rock in your hands, will the rock turn invisible?” 

She shook her head. “The only way to get the headband to be invisible would be if I ate it. And the rules clearly said that the headband had to be worn as a headband.”

“But you can still defend yourself with Warp Refraction, right? That whole flashbang thing?” 

Shinsou looked skeptical at everything that’s been suggested so far. “Can you even hold up that much weight with your quirk?” 

“Yeah! What do you think I’ve been doing at the gyms, practicing my cardio?” 

“Alright, so the only thing left is the rope,” Jirou said. “We don’t want Hagakure floating into the sun.” 

“I’m not the only one who thinks this plan is crazy, right?” 

“Well, do you have any better ideas?” 

Tooru left Jirou and Shinsou to their bickering when she spotted a raccoon wearing a hat out of the corner of her eye. She made her way over, crouching down to the raccoon’s level. “Hey, can you get me a strong rope that’s ten meters long?” 

The raccoon chittered something in response, saluted, and scurried off. 

“Were you just talking to a raccoon?” Uraraka asked, catching her attention. 

Tooru nodded. “He’s gonna bring us a rope!” 

Shinsou leaned over. “One of Midoriya’s?” 

“He had a hat and gave me a salute, so I’m pretty sure he’s one of Mido’s.” 

He sighed, covering his face with his hands. “What did I get myself into?” 

 

---

 

“What are your predictions for the Cavalry battle, Izuku?” 

He took a sip of his tea, looking out through the glass window. He could roughly see the teams coming together, with Stanley on his lap. 

“Monoma’s team won’t make it to the next round,” he said, continuing to give the raccoon scritches on the head. “He’s gathered a good team, all capable of making it, but Monoma’s ego is gonna shoot them in the foot and ultimately kneecap them.

“Shouto’s team will rely on Inasa’s quirk and whatever Mei pulls out of her briefcase for an aerial advantage, since a large majority of the teams are on the ground. That plus Shouto’s quirk means they’ll get the top spot.

“Unlike Monoma’s team, Kendou’s team won’t be kneecapped by ego. Plus, Juzou, Pony and Setsuna have been training together, so they’ll know how to work together as a team. They won’t be in the top spot, but they’ll be second or third.

“Tenya’s found a good team too. Dark Shadow is pretty powerful, and Sero’s tape can pretty easily snag headbands while Dark Shadow runs distraction. Combine that with Tenya’s speed and that’s a recipe for easy second place.

"Both Monoma and Kendou will mainly be pecking off at other teams, while Inasa will be focused on keeping the one million while Tenya will be focused on going after them..."

“What of Young Hagakure?” Yagi nervously asked, sipping on his tea. Izuku had almost forgotten he was here, though that was because he was lost in his own head. 

He leaned over towards the window, spotting Tooru and where she gathered her team. And also where one of the raccoons was dragging a very long rope.

He grinned. “Well, the top spot will go to either Momo’s team or Tooru’s. That strategy is genius.” 

“Oh?” Nedzu tapped the table with his paw. “Do go on.” 

“Tooru’s going to float above the arena using Ochako’s quirk.” 

He started cackling, in unison of Nedzu’s laughter and Yagi’s terrified chuckles.

 

---

 

Tooru leaned over, puking her guts up. Apparently, becoming the equivalent of a giant beacon and glowing so bright to be blinding for five minutes was a bit of a strain on her body. After the laser she fired at Shouto to steal his headband.

Right next to her, Uraraka was also puking, so at least it wasn’t just her. 

Hitoshi held up a couple of water bottles, and Tooru eagerly grabbed one, chugging the contents down. 

“You are my savior.” As she said that, Hitoshi patted her on the back. 

The crack of the whip distracted them all. “And here are the scores!” Midnight-sensei shouted.

 

4) Team Sero Hanta, Iida Tenya, Kirishima Eijirou & Tokoyami Fumikage

3) Team Tokage Setsuna, Pony Tsunotori, Kendou Itsuka & Honenuki Juzou

2) Team Yaoyorozu Momo, Todoroki Shouto, Hatsume Mei & Yoarashi Inasa

1) Team Hagakure Tooru, Shinsou Hitoshi, Uraraka Ochako & Jirou Kyouka

 

“We did it?” Uraraka asked, looking up at the board. “We did it!” 

Tooru found herself pulled into a hug, a giant grin on her face. 

I showed the world that I am here!

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Chapter 37: Intermission

Katsuki grumbled, being dragged around by Shitty Hair and Knife Fucker. Since there was an intermission, they had left their seats, searching the food court for something to bring back to the arena. And since Katsuki had a giant wad of money that his mom had shoved into her arms, he was the one paying for all the snacks. 

Although based on the size of the snack pile that his -ugh- friends were accumulating, he may have to pull out a card. (While yes, he has an allowance from his parents, he rarely touched it, preferring to use money he legitimately earned working under his parents.)

When he caught a bright red blur from the corner of his eye that wasn’t Shitty Hair’s horrible mohawk pigtail thing, he very quickly pulled his hood on. 

Unfortunately, Knife Fucker almost dropped all their snacks as he shouted, “That’s Hawks!!!”

Double unfortunately, the hero came over, with the Hat Detective in tow. 

Katsuki decided to shuffle backwards as the two went to mob the hero. Thankfully the idiots hadn’t noticed that he was hanging back, but the Hat Detective did and clearly decided to talk to him. 

“Hello, Katsuki.” He reached out to pat him on the shoulder, but seemed to decide against it when Katsuki glared at him. “How are you doing?” 

“Fine. Shiketsu’s been good.”

“I’m surprised that your mother let you come to the Sports Festival.” 

He snorted. “It was a fucking nightmare to convince her that we’ll be fine with Shitty Hair’s dad.” 

Hat Detective looked back over to the two idiots, who were currently trying to convince Hawks to sign Knife Fucker’s knife sheath (apparently as long as he didn’t bring the actual knife he could bring the sheath). “Are those your new friends?” 

“Fuck no. They’re just more bearable than the other extras.” 

“We’re totally friends!!!” Shitty Hair launched herself at him, and Katsuki just managed to not launch an explosion at her face as she clung to him like a tree. “Also who are you?” 

Hat Detective took off his hat. “Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. I worked on a case related to Katsuki and I’ve kept in touch with his family.” 

“Oh! The sludge villain attack, right?” Shitty Hair asked, continuing to smack him in the face with her hair. 

Hatless Detective raised an eyebrow. “So not friends, hmm?” 

“Shut up.” 

Knife Fucker joined them with a giant grin. “Look, Hawks signed my knife! And he gave me some tips on throwing knives!”

“It’s Hawks. Once in a lifetime opportunity! You gotta talk to him!” 

“Yeah! You know what’s better than a grenade stress thing? A grenade stress thing signed by Hawks!” 

“Come on!” 

“FINE!” Katsuki shouted to get the idiots to shut up. He was even generous enough to let the idiots cheer while he was dragged over to the pro hero instead of taking his hearing aids out. 

Although they had a point. This might be his only opportunity to give Hawks the letter to give to Izuku, so he had to take it. 

“This grump is Bakugou, he’s the other friend we were talking about,” Knife Fucker said, poking him in the face. “He looks angry because he is but he’s nice, he just won’t admit it.” 

Hawks looked him over, and seemed to approve(?) of whatever he saw. “Glad to see you’re doing better, Bakugou.”

“You know Hawks?!?!” 

“I had one conversation with Bird Bitch,” Katsuki grumbled. 

Hawks raised an eyebrow as his friends freaked out. “Did you just call Hawks Bird Bitch?!” Shitty Hair shouted, getting some turned heads from extras passing by. 

“I mean he calls Futsu-sensei Bread-sensei,” Knife Fucker shrugged. “He’s just like that.” 

Hawks was brave enough to pat Katsuki on the head, and his eye twitched as he still had Shitty Hair draped over his shoulders. “Can I know who you two are or am I just going to know you two as Knife Fucker and Shitty Hair?” 

“Did you two introduce yourselves like that-?!”

Shitty Hair grinned, leaning so far that he almost fell over. “I’m Morimoto Izumu, and I can turn my skin into IRON!” 

Knife Fucker then leaned in from the other side, balancing the three of them so they were upright again. “I’m Tsukiyomi Koan, and I can summon knives!” 

“We’re the Shiketsu Little Three-!” “Cause we’re year one, only newbies-!” 

They both shouted in unison. “We’re Team Rocket, blasting off again!” 

“I’m not helping you with this.”

As the extras groaned and whined, Katsuki reflected on how he got himself into this situation, and if it was too late to back out. 

 

---

 

“So, who’s this friend of yours again?” Keigo asked, slowly pecking at the bucket of popcorn he’d gotten from the food court. 

“His name is David Shield,” Yagi said, walking alongside him back to the stands. “He’s a support engineer, and one of the first people I told about my quirk. His daughter is also quirkless, and I think it’ll be good for both Izuku and Melissa to know each other.” 

“So you want Melissa to meet Izuku and Tooru, right?” 

“Yes. I don’t know when, as the Shields live on I-Island.”

Keigo pulled out his phone, scrolling through the field trip list that Nedzu sent them all at the beginning of the year. “I’m pretty sure an I-Island field trip is on here… Yeah, it’s during Year Two though.” 

Yagi tapped his chin. “I might be able to convince David to spend some time in Japan. I know that he’s been trying to make connections with the Hatsumes for years.”

The tip of Keigo’s wings started to tingle, the “Izuku is getting up to some shit” sense. “Well, I’ll let you handle that,” he said, handing Yagi the popcorn bucket. “I’ve got to go stop whatever Izuku is doing.” 

That at least got a chuckle out of the other hero.

He flew away, having two damning thoughts in his brain. The first was “ Izuku is eating something he isn’t supposed to” and the second is “Please don’t let Miruko be right.”

 

---

 

Tooru stood across from Todoroki, very slowly munching on one of the Pop Tarts that Yagi-sensei had given her. The closed off boy had come up to her right after the cavalry battle asking to talk to her, not giving her a chance to respond and wandering back off. She barely had time to accept the treats from her mentor (apparently a flavor only available in America based on that country’s number 1 hero) before she was ducking through hallways. 

She’d been there for a few minutes, awkwardly staring at each other while Tooru ate her food. Her mother, her teachers, and all of her friends would yell at her for skipping a meal right after puking her guts up. 

“Hagakure.” Todoroki finally broke the silence. “You’ve spent a lot of extra time training with the teachers.” 

Tooru swallowed, finishing what was in her mouth because her mother made sure she grew up with manners. “Well yeah, a part of my quirk manifested during the entrance exam.” 

He squinted at her. “Those… pastries aren’t available here.” 

“No, All Might-sensei gave me these cause I puked earlier.” 

Todoroki nodded. “He would give something American to his daughter.” 

She had been in the middle of another bite and almost started choking. “I- Wh- What?!” 

“Obviously, you wouldn’t want the public to know your relationship-” 

“No, we’re not related! He’s not my dad!” 

“Well, you would say that if you were related-”

“No!” 

Tooru shoved a pastry into her face so that she could focus on anything other than Todoroki’s conspiracy theories. She could feel him staring at her as she scarfed down the last pastry in the packet. 

“So like.” She talked with her mouth full, because she’d given up on her manners. “Why do you care so much if I’m related to All Might?” 

“I have to defeat the daughter of All Might to prove I’m better than my father.” 

“But like, why?”

Todoroki held a hand up to the patch on his face. “This scar is from my mother. She snapped from my father’s abuse. Me and my siblings are a result of an abusive quirk marriage, and I have to prove that I’m better than him.” 

Tooru felt like she’d been punched in the gut from the force of the fucking whiplash. Thankfully her mouth was full of pastry, so she had time to process what was going on and form a response.

“That… That can’t be it. If it was just about spiting your dad, wouldn’t you just try to throw and switch courses to Gen Ed or something?” 

He shook his head. “I have to prove I’m better than him, that I’ll be a better hero in every way.” 

She let the words process in her brain. “But- If Endeavor’s driving motivation is spiting All Might, isn’t it just following his path to become a hero to spite your dad?” 

Todoroki looked like she’d physically slapped him in the face. She felt bad, even though it’s something that needed to be said, so she decided to pull back on the trauma dumping and improvised therapy because she was not equipped for any of that.

“Look, I mean I’m pretty sure I know why you haven’t told anyone else- I mean I assume so because the vibes I get from Aizawa-sensei and Hawks-sensei and Dekiru-kun is that he’d be dead by now and anyone else would have a hard time taking a case against Endeavor- but you can talk to me if you need anything. And you should talk to All Might-sensei, he’s really nice, and if anyone is gonna take a case to the Number Two hero it’d be the Number One hero, right? He’s not my dad, but he is- He’s good, I promise.

“I really need to go eat, so yeah. But you can have these, I’m not gonna finish them. I- yeah, bye. I’ll see you, probably in the upcoming matches or something. Yeah. Bye.” 

She didn’t look back after shoving the other pack of Pop Tarts into Todoroki’s hands, speed walking back to the cafeteria because it would be rude to start running from the boy and she didn’t want to get in trouble for running in the halls. 

She didn’t see how Todoroki was staring at the foil packet like it was made of gold.

Notes:

I got some questions a few chapters ago caused I used the nickname Shitty Hair for a classmate of Kats that isn't Kirishima, so here's your answer.

 

Also I need your input.

 

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Chapter 38: Round One: Fight!

Honenuki Juuzou vs Tokoyami Fumikage Match: Voice Recording Snippet

In theory, the quirk match up is slanted in Juuzou’s favor. The ring is entirely made of dirt, and due to the rules of the match, Tokoyami is trapped in an arena where the entirety of the floor could turn into quicksand. While Tokoyami’s quirk is versatile, the broad sunlight weakens Dark Shadow. 

It’ll come down to skill and training. Juuzou has been focusing his training on endurance and expanding the A-O-E of his quirk, but I don’t know what Tokoyami has been doing. It’ll be an interesting match.

(Nedzu: For others listening, A-O-E stands for Area of Effect.)

(Yagi: Young Midoriya, why do you refer to Young Honenuki by his first name?)

Oh, we’ve been friends since the hero gala last year. It was my first, and everyone was so nice and let me join their friend circle. 

(Nedzu: While the tape is recording, we should probably stay on topic.)

Ah, right- Oh, that’s fascinating! Dark Shadow is propelling them over Juuzou’s quicksand spots! It’s an impressive amount of strength, even though they’re weakened by the light. I never got the chance to ask Tokoyami how connected his brain and Dark Shadow is, or if I could test the makeup of Dark Shadow…

Note to self, set up a time to ask Tokoyami my questions. Also work with Juuzou on his quirk and his hand to hand combat. And his ability to fall- there he goes.

 

---

 

Tokage Setsuna vs Sero Hanta Match: Voice Recording Snippet

Yeah, Sero is getting his ass kicked-

(Yagi: Language!)

Sero’s quirk and fighting style are all about binding and restraining, and his hand to hand is suffering as a result. Tokage’s quirk is optimized for stealth and escape, and she’s very good at escaping. 

Note to self: remind Sero to take hand to hand training up. He might benefit from a knife, actually. I’ll talk to Mei about it…

 

---

 

Tsunotori Pony vs Jirou Kyouka Match: Voice Recording Snippet

Jirou isn’t going to win either. Pony has been training with her quirk and hand to hand combat since she moved to Japan, and Jirou’s quirk is only usable with support gear. 

I know that Jirou has been training in hand to hand combat, but I don’t think she trained for horns being launched at her. To be fair, most people don’t train with flying projectiles in mind. But also, if you go into heroics, you should accept the fact that there will be projectiles flying at you.

(Nedzu: I believe Aizawa does a segment during his hand-to-hand unit about deflecting projectiles?)

Huh- what year is that?

(Nedzu: If I remember correctly, near the beginning of second year.)

I mean, I guess that makes sense, but it does put students without combat applicable quirks at a disadvantage.

(Nedzu: I’ll pass your thoughts along.)

 

---

 

Kendou Itsuka vs Iida Tenya Match: Voice Recording Snippet

This really is a case of unstoppable force versus immovable objects. In this case, Tenya is the unstoppable force and Kendou is the immovable object. Tenya's fighting style is about taking advantage of his speed to land hard hits before the opponent notices, and Kendou's is about remaining rooted in place and counterattacks.

It will really depend on how fast one of them can figure out the other's strategy and adjust to it. 

 

---

 

Uraraka Ochako vs Todoroki Shouto Match: Voice Recording Snippet

Brilliant! Fucking brilliant!

(Yagi: Language!)

(Nedzu: It's admirable you're still trying, Yagi.)

Uraraka started floating chunks of Shouto's ice and collecting them for a meteor shower! And Shouto couldn't melt the hail storm because he would've blown up the entire arena, and he'd exhausted his ice! It's brilliant!

(Nedzu: And the young lady is helping Shouto to the infirmary!)

(Yagi: Nedzu, why do you and Young Midoriya call Young Todoroki by his first name?)

(There are several seconds of awkward silence, followed by Izuku clearing his throat.) Don't worry about it. 

 

---

 

Yaoyorozu Momo vs Shinsou Hitoshi Match: Voice Recording Snippet

The battle won’t be about skill, but about mental fortitude. Yaomomo knows what Hitoshi’s quirk is, so the question is whether Hitoshi will be able to break her into answering a question. They don’t know each other well, so it really could go either way. 

Though according to Jirou, he was studying a book of dad jokes, so clearly he’s going for either psychological warfare or instinctive reactions. Or both.

 

---

 

Momo was slumped over, head in her hands as she sat in 1-A's changing room. She made it all the way to the final bracket, only to be eliminated in the first round. To a knock knock joke. 

She knew what Shinsou’s quirk is and fell for it anyway.

“Hey, can I come in?” Speaking of the devil, it was Shinsou knocking on the door. The irony.

She grumbled, and Shinsou seemed to take it as permission. He made sure the door was closed behind him before taking a seat across from her. 

Momo looked up when she heard the sound of a large cup being slid across the table. Meeting her eyes was a large hot coffee, and when she took a sip, it was almost exactly how she liked it. 

“I asked Izuku how you liked your coffee,” he said sheepishly. “I spent a year working at Starbucks, I'd like to think that I'm decent at making coffee.”

“Thank you, but why?”

“You looked pretty upset, and I figured that the coffee would be a good apology.”

She sighed, taking sips of her coffee. “I'm not upset with you, I'm upset with myself. I knew what your quirk is, and I fell for a knock knock joke!”

There were a few moments of silence, with Shinsou looking like he was thinking really hard. “Well, I thought the knock knock joke would be the only thing that would work.

“You're one of the smartest people in our class. I figured you wouldn't fall for any of the petty insults I thought of while I worked at Starbucks, and I thought you'd be too composed to break if I said any dirty jokes or shitty puns. And we've known each other for a few weeks so it's not like I can insult you or bring up something that would rile you up enough to respond to me. My best shot was getting an instinctual response from you, so the knock knock joke.”

“You-” She paused to take another sip of coffee. “You think that highly of me?”

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I?” 

She set the coffee down on the table. “I’m a Yaoyorozu. I’m supposed to be the best of whatever field I choose, and I got in on recommendations. I have to hold myself to higher standards. And yet I got knocked out in the first round of the finals.”

“I mean, you’re in the top sixteen out of what.. Over two hundred students? Yeah, top sixteen out of over two hundred students. Just making it into the finals means you’re in the top…” Shinsou pulled out his phone and typed something in. “Seven percent of U.A. students. Plus you showed off your quirk a lot during the obstacle course and cavalry battle, I don’t think any agency will turn you down. Don’t be too hard on yourself.” 

Despite herself, Momo smiled a little. She did feel better. “Thanks, Shinsou.”

Shinsou shrugged, standing up to leave. “I’ve gotta go watch Tooru and Eijirou’s matches. I’m glad I was able to help.”

Momo nodded in response, taking another sip of her coffee. “I’ll head up to the stands in a little bit.”

“Take your time.” 

Shinsou had his hand on the doorknob when Momo spoke up again. “The coffee is delicious.”

It almost looked like Shinsou was relieved. “Thanks.” 

When the door shut, she sat up, making sure to stretch out her back. She liked the rest of her class, but she did enjoy the few minutes of peace she got to enjoy her coffee. 

Maybe Shinsou would appreciate a box of macaroons?

 

---

 

Hatsume Mei vs Hagakure Tooru Match: Voice Recording Snippet

(The only audio picked up by the recording device was five minutes worth of gut wrenching laughter.)

 

---

 

“Okay, the glitter cannon was unnecessary,” Tooru groaned, continuing to rub the towel over her arms. 

“The glitter will give you more areas to focus your light through and increase the power of Flashbang! I gave you a tactical advantage!” Hatsume skipped alongside her, unbothered as Tooru shook her head and flung glitter at her. 

“That’s not the point! Glitter gets everywhere! I’ll never escape it!” 

“Yeah, unfortunately the glitter isn’t biodegradable, cause when I asked Majima-sensei for a bag, he denied me. According to him, it ‘takes a month and a half to ship from I-Island’ and ‘a ten pound bag is several million yen’ and ‘why do you even need that much glitter?’ Excuses!”

Tooru winced, both in sympathy for Majima-sensei and in understanding about the glitter problem. Apparently, a lot of companies that manufactured biodegradable glitter for hero costumes were also engaging in literal child slavery to make it. After the HPSC got overhauled and a new president was instated (who also happened to be Tsuyu’s great uncle from Australia, which was pretty cool), companies that had contracts with the HPSC for support equipment went under inspection for corruption, which included the support companies’ suppliers, and it was a big mess. Now that most of the biodegradable glitter companies were going into bankruptcy, there was a huge shortage, meaning the only reliable source was a plant on I-Island that jacked up its prices. 

“Okay, I know we agreed beforehand, but this reward better be amazing if you’re gonna infect my house with glitter,” Tooru grumbled, following Hatsume to the locker rooms for the support department. Since she was the only one who made it to the final round, she had the room for 1-H all to herself. 

“Well, it’s one of my babies. Obviously it’s amazing.” 

When they entered the locker room, Tooru took a look around while Hatsume made a beeline for one of the cubbies. As expected, there was a soot imprint of an explosion on numerous tables, but the property damage wasn’t nearly as bad as she expected given the prolonged period of time that Hatsume had been in there. 

“Here it is!” Speaking of the devil, the girl came bounding over with a case. “Open it!” 

Putting the case on a table and making sure to leave some space between herself and the case, Tooru undid the latches and pushed the lid off. Sitting in plush fabrics that probably cost more than Tooru’s house was a gleaming pair of black shades, which looked like the same shades she wore as a part of her hero costume.

“Introducing the Gurren Lagann Glasses 2.0!” Hatsume exclaimed. “They now include sensors on the sides that can read tap inputs for different modes. Refraction for zooming in, infrared for heat signatures, a filter to block out intense sources of light, an echolocation mode for the dark. All sorts of nifty things!” 

“I- Do I even want to know how it works?” 

“Nope! Let me show you how to activate each mode…” 

 

---

 

Kirishima Eijirou vs Yoarashi Inasa Match: Voice Recording Snippet

Yeah… This is not going to go well for Kirishima. To be fair, there's not a lot he can do against Inasa's quirk, let alone the years of training he's had under Taifu. 

If he's aware of this, Kirishima can instead angle the fight to show off his best qualities. 

(Yagi: If?)

He's not- We won't be showing these notes to them, right?

(Nedzu: No one else will listen to these if you don't want them to.)

Oh, perfect. Kirishima’s fucking stupid. 

(Nedzu starts cackling while Yagi sputters, oscillating between scolding Izuku about his language and scolding him about being nice to his classmates.)

 

---

 

Hitoshi had his phone in his pocket and his book of dad jokes his mom got for him under his arm. Unfortunately, his friends were right when they said that just re-reading the book over and over again was only stressing him more, so they sent him to put it back in his bag. 

He was sorta going on autopilot, when a booming voice rang out through the hallway. Deciding that eavesdropping was better than stewing in his own anxiety, he hid behind the corner and stayed as still as possible. 

“How can you surpass All Might and become the number one hero if you’re beaten by a weak little girl?” 

“She isn’t weak.” 

Hitoshi felt a shiver run down his spine as he recognized the two voices. Todoroki Shouto, and his father, Endeavor. He thought he was just imagining things, but Endeavor’s voice sounded cruel, and Todoroki’s voice sounded like it shook a little. 

It sounded like him and his father. 

It could be the stress of the day, tricking his brain into hearing things that weren’t there. But he was also a hero student, and he can’t wallow in what-ifs if Endeavor really is abusive. 

Silently, Hitoshi pulled out his phone and started recording.

Notes:

For those wondering, the winners are: Tokoyami, Setsuna, Pony, Tenya, Ochako, Hitoshi, Tooru and Inasa.

Also Taifu is a hero with a wind quirk, and I imagine he's Inasa's uncle.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Chapter 39: Round Two: Fight!

Tokoyami Fumikage vs Togake Setsuna Match: Voice Recording Snippet

This is an interesting match up. They both have strong quirks but in different directions. Tokoyami has a second person to telepathically communicate with and Setsuna has years of training from her family behind her. The only way Tokoyami wins is if he and Dark Shadow can figure out her plan fast enough to thwart it. 

(Nedzu: Ah, so you did get a chance to talk to Tokoyami.)

Yeah, I texted Yaomomo and she asked for me. Anyways, Setsuna’s plan looks to be using her body parts to set up a trap. See? She’s leaving them near the boundary so that if Tokoyami gets close enough, she can grab him.

(Yagi: But she wouldn’t be able to grab Young Dark Shadow though.)

She wouldn’t, which is part of the plan. You see how each part is angled? It’s a bait, so if Tokoyami gets into the center, she can swarm him, pin him down, and drag him out. Dark Shadow is not strong enough to anchor him.

(Nedzu: Clever. As expected from one of your friends.)

Wh- Well, she’s smart enough on her own! And she was studying combat strategy before she met me!

(Yagi: I don’t think we should underestimate Young Tokoyami.)

Oh- Oh- Oh! Tokoyami is pinned, but Dark Shadow grabbed Setsuna’s foot! 

(Nedzu: And there it goes…)

 

---

 

Tsunotori Pony vs Iida Tenya Match: Voice Recording Snippet

Okay, I know for a fact that Tenya trained in deflecting projectiles. Plus, Pony and Tenya have been training together for the past six months, so they’ve had half a year to adapt to each other’s fighting styles, figure out a counter, and figure out a counter counter. 

(Yagi: A counter counter?)

Nedzu-sensei, you’re recording the matches, right?

(Nedzu: Of course!)

Then I’m gonna go to the bathroom. This is going to take the whole thirty minutes.

 

---

 

Tsunotori Pony vs Iida Tenya Match: Voice Recording Snippet

(There’s the rustling of Izuku sitting back down in his seat.)

(Yagi: Ah, you’re back my boy! You just missed the tiebreaker.)

Shit-!

(Yagi: Language!)

How did they decide it? And who won?

(Nedzu: Iida beat Tsunotori at arm wrestling.)

 

---

 

Ochako figured she’d end up in the infirmary eventually. This is not how she thought she’d get here.

It started when she entered the arena. She was facing off against Shinsou, who she didn’t know too well. She knew his quirk, she knew that he beat the class Vice Rep with a knock knock joke. She’s very used to focusing on her homework and blocking out her annoying neighbors, so the match will come down to fighting skill. 

So she was back to square one.

But as she stepped into the ring (square? rectangle? what do you call a ring that isn’t a circle?), she forced worries and thoughts to the back of her brain. She has her plan, and she can’t afford to second guess herself. 

She learned that all too well at the USJ. 

The whip cracked, and Ochako fell into a defensive fighting stance. The plan kind of fell out the window when Shinsou did the same thing. 

They both kind of stared at each other for a few moments, but then Shinsou started to open his mouth. Panicking, Ochako decided the plan was back on and rushed forwards. 

“Did you know that brunettes are just dark gingers-” CRACK!

In the middle of Shinsou’s sentence, Ochako slugged him, fist hitting Shinsou right in the jaw. He stumbled backwards, clutching his face. 

She started panicking when he doubled over on himself and started choking. 

Ochako ran forwards again, this time getting behind Shinsou and grabbing him around the waist. Mostly due to muscle memory from a first aid class she took a few years ago, she started performing the heimlich maneuver. 

After a few terrifying seconds, Shinsou spit up a bunch of blood, tapping her on the arm after she did it. Ochako backed off, and after a few moments of staring at each other again, Shinsou backed up over the line. 

Almost ignoring the whip crack announcing her victory, she walked over to Shinsou, holding a hand out. Initially the other boy shook her hand, an extremely confused look on his face, so she pulled him towards him and slung that arm over her shoulder, supporting him as they hobbled off the field. Shinsou kept the other hand over his mouth, keeping his mouth shut. 

As they made their way over, Shinsou pulled some sort of handkerchief out of his pocket, sticking it in his mouth and pressing it on his tongue. Ochako didn’t comment on it, just continuing to truck on. 

When they made it to the infirmary, Ochako didn’t leave. She could never leave a hurt classmate, especially not a classmate that she hurt. 

 

---

 

“Dekiru! I need your assistance!”

Izuku scooted over to where his mentor was perched, slipping his glasses on. Nedzu was flipping through the recording of the previous match between Tooru and Inasa. 

Human eyesight was better than stoat eyesight (except for at night), so there were many times that Nedzu had called for him to look over a picture or recording for insight. In this case, Tooru and Inasa had fallen over the line on the ground at roughly the same time, and so Izuku and Nedzu had to consult the replay tapes to declare the winner. 

After a few minutes of back and forth scrolling, he said, “Tooru is the winner. Inasa’s wind gusts pushed him over the line first while in the air, while the laser that Tooru fired didn’t substantially push her.” 

“Then I’ll send the announcement to Kayama.” Nedzu took a sip of his tea. “Would you like some tea?” 

“No thanks, I’ve already eaten a lot today.”

They both watched as Tooru started celebrating on the field, and Inasa smacked her on the back in congratulations. Even if Izuku wasn’t on the field himself, he was happy watching his friends have fun.

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Chapter 40: Round Three: Fight!

Tokoyami Fumikage vs Iida Tenya Match: Voice Recording Snippet

This really does come down to who has the faster reaction time. Both of their strategies are pretty good: Tokoyami is staying in the center of the arena, while Tenya is trying to use his momentum to kick Tokoyami out of bounds in one swing.

(Yagi: What exactly is young Tokoyami’s strategy?)

He knows what Tenya’s strategy is, so he stays rooted in the center of the arena to give him as little room as possible. And when Tenya eventually goes in, he’s going to use Dark Shadow to counter attack, redirecting Tenya to use his own momentum against him.

(Yagi: Right now young Iida is just running around the arena.)

Because Tenya also knows Tokoyami’s strategy. He’s trying to disorient Tokoyami so that when he goes in for the kick, he’ll be too dizzy to react.

(Nedzu: Iida is making the same mistake that many of Tokoyami’s opponents have made today…)

Oh, you’re right! He’s trying to disorient Tokoyami, but Dark Shadow is the one who will be countering!

(Yagi: Would that not work, young Midoriya?)

No, while Dark Shadow and Tokoyami are linked, they have separate brain and brain-like neurons. So in this instance, the stimulus of Tenya approaching will be processed differently and at different times by Tokoyami and Dark Shadow. So it doesn’t matter if Tokoyami is disoriented, if Dark Shadow can still process what’s happening.

My money’s on Tokoyami.

(Nedzu: For those listening, please do not participate in gambling unless you are older than 19 and at sparring competitions where it is legal. And as a reminder, betting on the results of matches of the Sports Festival is illegal except for students in the Lounge without the use of legal tender.)

It was just a figure of speech, Sensei.

(Nedzu: Oh, I am aware. I am just covering my legal bases.)

---

Tenya sighed, pulling his glasses off and rubbing his face. He decided that he had seen enough.

His brother was sitting in the bleachers, covered in some sort of glitter contraption. The source of the glitter bomb was sitting next to him, and Ms. Joke was shamelessly grinning. Tensei- or the blob of Tensei- reached out to the seat next to him and futility tried to wipe the glitter off.

“Brother, why?”

At least Tensei had the good decency to look sheepish when Tenya put his glasses back on. “Congrats on making bronze?”

---

“Go out there, young Hagakure, and show the world that You are Here!”

Tooru took a deep breath to steady herself, standing across from Uraraka in the ring. She watched Uraraka’s previous fights: taking out one of the powerhouses of 1-A and taking out Hitoshi in one punch.

She can’t underestimate Uraraka.

The whip cracked, and the tension in the air snapped. Uraraka lunged at her, hands wide open. Kicking in before her brain, she rolled underneath Uraraka’s arm, sliding across the dirt and jumping to her feet.

So Uraraka’s strategy was to use her quirk on Tooru and float her out of bounds. Okay. Tooru could use that.

When the other girl turned around and lunged again, Tooru launched herself backwards, landing the back handspring. She was still pretty far from the boundary, but Uraraka’s eyes narrowed at her. She’s picked up on Tooru’s strategy.

She settled into a defensive position. Clearly the ball was in Tooru’s court now.

Tooru didn’t really have a choice but to take her chance. She lunged forwards. When Uraraka stepped forward to counter, fingers spread out, she dived. Tooru rolled underneath her, kicking her leg out and knocking Uraraka over.

While Uraraka was on the ground, she flopped on top of her. It wasn’t graceful, but she grabbed Uraraka’s arms and yanked them behind her.

She was so focused on making sure that Uraraka couldn’t use her quirk on Tooru that she completely missed the other girl’s movements. She jerked her head backwards, cracking Tooru in the face. Tooru stumbled backwards, clutching her nose as it bled all over hands.

Uraraka got to her feet, and Tooru flung herself to the side. She felt the brush of fingers on her side, and the feeling of weightlessness under her feet. Thinking quickly, Tooru flailed out, grabbing Uraraka’s arm and digging her nails in.

Tooru felt the other girl trying to pry her fingers off as she floated upwards. She grit her teeth, twisting to connect her foot with the back of Uraraka’s head. Uraraka stumbled, moving them a little closer to the boundary.

She felt them spinning, Uraraka was clearly trying to dislodge her and send her flying. Tooru didn’t let go, instead tucking herself into a ball. She spun herself around, which combined with the other spinning almost made her puke, and then kicked. Both feet connected with Uraraka’s stomach, sending them both flying in opposite directions.

From the glimpses she got in between spinning in the air, Tooru saw that Uraraka was stumbling right next to the line. She was so close to winning-!

“Show the world that You are Here!”

She squeezed her eyes shut, reaching down to pull off her jacket, feeling One For All buzz under her skin. Tooru felt for that core of power deep within her, her only thought being to turn as BRIGHT as possible.

When rewatching the footage of her match, Tooru was amazed about how much she looked like a star.

The whip cracked.

She carefully opened one eye, still floating in the air, directly in the center of the arena. On the ground, laying sprawled on her back, Uraraka was on the other side of the boundary line.

The sound of her heart beating drowned out the announcers, but Tooru didn't need to hear them to know that she won. When she locked eyes with Uraraka, she saw that the other girl had a giant grin on her face, and Tooru couldn't help but return it.

That's when she knew she won.

Notes:

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Chapter 41: The Finale

Hagakure Chiaki tried to raise her daughter right. 

Her quirk, Glitter Skin, meant that her skin was always shiny, and her husband’s quirk allowed him to turn on and off glow in the dark eyes. Given how inconsequential their quirks were, Chiaki became an office worker while her husband had been a haunted house actor before he became a house husband. 

When Chiaki gave birth and was handed an invisible baby, she knew that her daughter would have a hard life ahead of her. 

So she tried her best to encourage her daughter. When she learned that Tooru wanted to do cheer-leading, she immediately enrolled her. When she learned that Tooru wanted to be a hero, she immediately started researching hero schools. When she learned that her daughter got into U.A, she worked her butt off to get a raise so that she could pay for school supplies and everything Tooru could need. 

Given that her daughter was a U.A. student, Chiaki managed to get a day off of work to watch her daughter’s sports festival. She and her husband had arranged a large platter of snacks, set it in front of their TV, and watched as she climbed to the podium. 

She clung to her husband as her daughter fought the student with the bird shadow. She was so proud when Tooru exploded like a flash bang, banishing the other student’s quirk and blinding him. She and her husband were crying when Tooru pinned the student to the ground, getting the win.

For so long, her daughter went ignored and overlooked, but now she was shining like the brightest star.

 

---

 

Tooru stood atop the podium, a giant grin on her face. She did it! She made first!

To her left, Tokoyami stood with his arms folded. To her right, Iida was trying to hold back tears while Uraraka was bouncing on her toes. 

All Might landed in front of them, striking a pose that had the crowd cheering. Through the cheering of the crowd and her own heart beating in her ears, she couldn’t hear anything that the man was saying, but she was grinning all the same. 

She watched as All Might said something to Iida: obviously keeping his voice low so that she and the others couldn’t hear it. When the bronze medal went around Iida’s shoulders, he started sobbing, and Uraraka reached over to pat him on the back. She also teared up when All Might placed the medal around her shoulders, and then it was Iida’s turn to pat Uraraka on the back.

Tokoyami lowered his arms when All Might approached, accepting the medal with a graceful bow. Dark Shadow, despite having been blasted by light a few minutes earlier, made an appearance, and while Tokoyami wasn’t crying, the quirk was certainly weepy eyed. 

Finally, her mentor stepped up to her, and she couldn’t keep the grin off her face. It still didn’t feel completely real, even when the medal went around her neck and the gold was resting on her chest. 

“You did it, my girl. You showed the world that You are Here.”

She was speechless: there was nothing she could say that conveyed how she felt. Blinking back tears, she just quietly said “Thank you.” 

All Might’s grin changed, and she could tell that this wasn’t an All Might smile: this was a Yagi smile. 

He turned around, clasping her arm and raising it high into the air. “YOUR WINNERS FOR THIS YEAR’S SPORTS FESTIVAL!!!”

Tooru was sure this was the best moment of her life. She felt like she couldn’t contain it, and she was literally glowing-!

 

---

 

 

“Owww…”

Izuku absentmindedly patted his brother on the head, keeping his focus on his laptop. While Keigo was in pain, most of his whining was just to whine, so he focused on his work while he sat next to where his brother was curled up on the couch. 

He was sure that the advanced eyesight did Keigo no favors when Tooru accidentally flash-banged everyone from the podium, but he was definitely exaggerating for attention. At least First Mate Wendy was trying to “groom” him, running her claws through Keigo’s wings. 

Izuku wasn’t sure how he felt about the fact that half of the raccoon seemed to view him and Keigo as their kits, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. 

There was a knock on the door, pulling Izuku out of his work. “Come on in!” He said, ignoring his brother’s grumbling. 

Shinsou opened the door, just peeking his head in. Captain Mickey also poked his head in the door, giving Izuku a salute.

“Hi. Uh. The raccoon led me here.”

“I can see that.” He threw the raccoon a snack, and the captain scurried off, no doubt to rejoin his platoon. “Come on in, take a seat.”

Shinsou cautiously made his way in, keeping an eye on the raccoon on the couch as he crossed to the table to drag a chair over. “You have a direct line to Nedzu, right?”

“Yeah? I mean you could’ve also talked to Nagant, or knocked on his door, or talked to one of the teachers if there’s anything you needed-”

“It’s about Todoroki.”

Izuku straightened up, pressing a button to save his work and then closing his laptop. “What is it?”

Shinsou pulled his phone out of his pocket, opening something up and handing it to Izuku. His eyes narrowed, biting his lip as he watched the video that Shinsou had taken. He could hear his brother shift behind him, and First Mate Wendy had scurried away. 

“Give me your phone.”

Shinsou handed it over without a word, clearly a little shaken. Izuku quickly texted the video evidence of Endeavor’s abuse to himself, then handed it back to the other student. “Do you have anything else?”

Shinsou shook his head, slipping it back into his pocket. “I didn’t know he was allowed in the back. The email said my mom couldn’t go back.”

“He isn’t,” Izuku responded, a bit on autopilot as he forwarded the text he got to Nedzu. “We’ll have to comb over the security footage to see how he got back there. It shouldn’t be possible.”

Behind him, Keigo sat up, stretching out his wings. “I’ll go talk to Nedzu. If there’s a hole in our security that Endeavor found, it’ll have to be patched immediately.”

Izuku flinched a little. Keigo gave him a pat on the head, before standing up and walking to the door. Before he left, he turned to stare at Izuku. 

“Neither of you should worry about Todoroki or anything else,” Keigo said. “Me and Nedzu will take care of him. Just focus on your schoolwork and your training.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Izuku kept quiet. It’s not that he didn’t trust Keigo or Nedzu, but they had been in charge of a ten month long investigation into what happened to his mother, and they couldn’t find her. There was a part of him that said that if he had been the one searching, he’d have been able to find his mother before-

“Izuku.”

First Mate Wendy chittered at Izuku’s feet, resting one paw on his knee. He was pulled out of his own head: he hadn’t even noticed how worried Shinsou looked. 

“Yeah. Fine.”

Keigo clearly didn’t believe him, but left anyway, shutting the door to the conference room behind him. They sat in silence for a few seconds, before Shinsou spoke up. 

“So we’re definitely doing something, right?”

“Oh absolutely, here’s the plan…”

 

---

 

“Hey.”

Shouto turned around, watching as Shinsou walked up to him. He didn't respond, just waited for the other boy to catch up to him. 

“You free to hang out tonight? Like a sleepover?”

Shouto just blinked at the other boy, not really comprehending the question. “What?”

“I probably should’ve expected that.” Shinsou was scratching the back of his head. “Do you want to come over to my house?”

“Father wouldn’t allow it.”

“What if we lied about it and said that you were with the Vice Class Rep?”

Shouto narrowed his eyes at Shinsou. “This sounds like a kidnapping.”

“I mean legally it is. But I have Mario Party.”

“What is Mario Party?”

“Only one way to find out!”

He turned the idea over in his head. His father’s instructions were to get back home as quickly as possible, and he would be disappearing for an entire night, which would royally piss him off. If Shinsou already had an alibi set up, there was likely something else going on that Shouto wasn’t aware of, that required him out of the house. And he really wanted to know what Mario Party is.

“Sure.”

“Sweet!” Shinsou started walking in a different direction than he came, to where the staff parking lot was. “Yagi-san agreed to drive us.”

As they made their way over to the parking lot, they fell into a comfortable silence. For once, Shouto was looking forward to leaving school. 

For once, he wasn’t thinking about his father.

Notes:

Chiaki means a thousand lights, I thought it was fitting for Tooru's mom.

Other Stories: Kitsune, the Night Watcher - The Mercenary and His Daughter - Musutafu’s Newest Cryptid: Mothman

Art and Extras, crossposted onto the official Diverging Paths Tumblr.

Join the official Diverging Paths Discord!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Diverging Paths