How to find Elation in life

by RandomLeo

Summary:

Hey, would you like to hear a story?

Yes, this is Midoriya Izuku's tale!

Oh no, it's not the one of him becoming a great hero. Nope, not him becoming the villain either. No, not even a vigilante. No, we don't have dadzawa over here. No, neither All Might Bashing- Can you let me explain before you ask questions!?

Ok, where was I?... Oh yeah! This is the story of Midoriya Izuku, a boy with big dreams but no power in a world where they became the norm and be-all-end-all. Yes, this is a sad world, really, one where most love to put him through the grinder for sadism dressed up as character development, addiction to fluff, revenge, and power fantasies, or just the good ol' smut. But this story? You see, this story has one purpose and one purpose only.

I want to bring some Elation to your lives :)

Chapter 1: The Ultimate Question of Life is quite simple

Finding himself on top of a rooftop alone, just after his childhood idol tore apart his dreams, the same day his former best friend and tormentor suicide baited him, Midoriya Izuku couldn’t help but think about what brought him here in the first place.

Not his foolish decision to grab All Might’s leg just so he could ask him a question, or choosing to take the underpass route back home. No, his mind wandered even farther. To the day of the doctor’s appointment. To the night when his mother broke into tears and apologies. To even before, the first time he saw his hero’s video debut.

Looking for a reason. A justification for all his suffering. For the reason he had to endure these last ten years of despair.

Why was he here, steps from making Bakugou’s desire a reality? All his class? His school? Hell, the entire society who despises people like him? What did he do wrong? Why was it so bad, so impossible for someone like him to save people?

Why?

JUST WHY?!

 

Wallowing in his misery, he didn’t notice the small whistle from something falling from the sky, nor the clacking sound it made when hitting the concrete roof he was in. It wasn’t until he fell to his knees, eyes blurry with tears, trying to find support so he wouldn’t hit his face, that he noticed something that wasn’t there just a bit before.

Wiping his face with his forearm, Izuku blinked back the tears, finding the strange item: a white, blank mask, seemingly made of plastic. One with the shape of a sad face, round holes forming eyes and another curled down where the mouth would be. There were no other things that would identify its origin or purpose, and so the boy grabbed it to inspect it, turning it around.

What he saw then froze Izuku.

On the other side of the mask, seemingly badly attached, a yellow sticky note had a message, written in a hasty, messy hiragana.

 

‘Do you really want to know?’

 

What?

The boy wasn’t sure if he just thought that or said it out loud, but a second later he hastily looked around, in a frantic attempt to find whoever put the mask there. Nothing but the clear blue sky, the first orange tinges of sunset slowly crawling on the horizon, was there to answer.

He didn’t understand. The mask… was it suggesting what he thought he was?

At that exact moment, something hit his head, making him yelp. Trying to look for a culprit, he only found a red apple rolling close, with a conspicuously similar sticky note on it. When he grabbed it, another message in the same handwriting was there.

 

‘Yes. Though the moment you put it on, there’s no turning back :)”

 

Well, wasn’t that an ominous message?

And yet…

Even though he knew it was useless, he looked around once again, in vain hope of finding the one who was surely joking with him in his emotionally compromised state. Alas, he found nothing keeping tabs on him. Eventually, he just sat down, cross-legged, hands holding the blank mask on his lap as he thought of those messages.

Would he really try and put it on? What if this was some kind of quirk that required to put the mask on to activate? And even if it really was, what the hell would put it on do!? Would he start hearing voices? Visions? Drugs? Hell, he had no idea! This is a bad idea, most definitely!

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

…And yet… he wanted to know. Would this really give him the answers he wanted?

Would he finally understand the reason for his existence? The reasons for him to be-to exist?

How would a mask of all things give him the answers?

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

…Fuck it.

 

Breathing deeply, Izuku stood up, the mask in one hand and the apple in the other. He took a moment to drift, staring at the sky in the distance, the vision of the city winding down slowly, almost like wishing for him to take it all in before the end. And then, with a shaky breath, his face turned to the mask in his hand, now at chest level. For a few seconds, he waited. For what, he wasn’t sure.

And yet, nothing happened.

And yet, nothing mattered anymore.

His pain, his wounds, his broken dreams lying on the rooftop, all became meaningless. Just him, the mask, and the promise of an answer.

With a shaky breath, Izuku closed his eyes and put on the mask. Strangely, and despite the design, it fit him perfectly.

The boy waited for something, anything to happen. Still keeping his eyes closed, he noticed he didn’t feel any different.

And so, after psyching himself up, he slowly opened his eyes.

 

He found himself staring at the same sky. The same rooftop he was left by All Might. Nothing… nothing had changed. What was going on? Was he supposed to feel something? Was the mask not activating? Where was the change!? The answer!?

…Was there any answer?

 

The minutes passed, and yet nothing seemed any different. Just to make sure, Izuku tried to take off the mask, and he could do so effortlessly. And then he tried again. Nothing yet. To make sure, he just put it off and on a couple of times, until, with the mask on, a thought came in.

…Was he being tricked?

Or…

Was… was this the answer?

 

Looking back to the city, Izuku felt something new crawling in. Not a supernatural feeling nor a magical answer. Just a moment of clarity, the realization of something so obvious and dreadful at the same time.

He quietly fell on his knees, hugging himself.

This was…

 

…truly…

 

…

 

 

On the rooftop, a boy slowly stood up, with no way of knowing what he was feeling thanks to the mask on his face. The weight of his life, of his reality, sinking in. Now, dear audience, most people would break at the face of the absolute answer to life. Some would carry on, despite the uselessness of all. Some would carve some semblance of meaning on their flesh and soul.

But some, like Midoriya Izuku?

“…Ah…”

No, Midoriya Izuku here would find that the answer was incredibly…

“Ha…”

And utterly…

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

Hilarious.

 

 

 

The boy on the rooftop laughed.

It was a gradual thing, a few giggles here and there that ramped up to desperate and loud cackling. The boy had to hold his stomach, leaning back to the point he fell on his back, rolling around in laughter. If anyone had happened to be present in such a spectacle, they would’ve thought the boy to be crazy. And yet, right now? He was nothing but happy.

No, even more. Joyful.

No. MORE.

ELATED.

 

And what the boy wouldn’t notice until much after, until he left the rooftop, went home, had dinner with his mom, and went to bed, was the mask on his face mutating. It became smaller and rounder, until the bottom side of his face was uncovered, following the form over his forehead, cheeks, and nose. From the top, two pointed ends got larger and larger, emulating rabbit ears. The open eyes became slits, hiding the boy’s eyes and yet not impairing his vision. And the white material was splashed with color, mostly green with white tones around the corners of the mask, with two splashes of red inside the ears and two others of the same color around the cheeks like a blush, with four black diamond dots inside just like the boy’s freckles.

The boy’s laughs eventually died down as did the explosions in the far distance and the sunset in the horizon. He stood up and stretched his back, a wide smirk over his face, giving him an eerily aura.

As the boy got closer to the door, he threw the apple he still had in his free hand in the air, grabbed it mid-fall and gave it a munch, then reached for the rooftop’s door.

…And realized it was locked.

 

 

 

Somewhere, over the highest reaches of the eternal tree of the world, beyond the emptiness and cold reality of realities, someone laughed.

 

Notes:

Would you like to know the answer Midoriya found at that rooftop? Let me give you a clue.

Chapter 2: Real happiness is the chaos we make along the way

Summary:

Enlightening and angry chihuahua.

Izuku thought long and hard about what to do with this newfound revelation on the night of his epiphany and throughout the rest of that week.

What to do with this newfound understanding? With himself, with others, with his life and dreams?

Rehearsing lines, reviewing his analysis notebooks, and taking notes in new ones titled “How to find Elation in life”, he thought long and hard about how to proceed from now on. People around him noticed the change, being more withdrawn in school, barely reacting to his bullies, and letting his mom carry most of the conversation during their dinners and breakfasts. One day, she asked Izuku if anything was okay, and he just told her he was working on a hard essay that took a lot of him.

Not exactly a lie, but better than just mentioning he was changing the entirety of his existence.

Eventually, however, on a Friday at 4 a.m., with the safety of his beloved mask on his face, Izuku reached a decision.

With the answer written down at the end of volume one of “How to find Elation in life”, he smiled and jumped over his bed in joy.

But first, he needed to test some things, just to make sure he could put his plan into practice.

A certain entry in a notebook gave him an idea. One he rewrote time and time again since he was little. His smile became wide, teeth bared like a tiger. It was perfect!

After all, he spent years analyzing every single detail about him.

 

----------

 

Something was wrong. He could tell.

It started just after he came back from his week in the hospital. That slime fucker put his lungs out of commission before any fucking heroes decided to do something about it. He would never admit it, but those moments when nothing was done, not by the heroes, not by the civilians… and not even by him… kept him awake at night, nightmares of choking in slime and losing himself, waking up to scorched blankets and pillows and concerned parents.

He wasn’t exactly sure what it was for a while. The extras who tried to say anything about the slime incident were quickly shut up by a threat of explosions, and the teachers were extra lenient with him. But no, that wasn’t it.

It was at the end of the week, when he found himself in dire need to blow some steam, that he realized what was wrong.

It was Deku .

The nerd was practically invisible these days. He was in class alright, but not once he was called out for his mumbles, not once someone commented about his stalker notebooks. Hell, he literally vanished during lunch and the moment class ended he was the first to get out and just poof out of school.

And so, to make sure the nerd wouldn’t escape him this time, the moment the bell rang for the end of the class, he turned around and slapped Deku’s desk…

…Only to find no one there.

Blinking a couple of times in confusion because he was SURE Deku was just behind him a second before, he asked (read: shout) the other extras in class to tell him where Deku went, but no one could say. They were SURE he was there during class, and yet, had no idea where the fucker ran the moment the bell rang. And so, he started going around the school, looking for the shitstain.

After a few minutes, however, a teacher appeared behind him, calling him to the principal office.

And while that was weird, since he was NEVER called to the principal’s office except for his monthly bootlicking and praising, he went anyway.

…Only to find the chubby face of the principal contorting in a frown the moment he entered.

 

“Bakugou-kun, I understand that the last week has been… hard on you, but I need to remind you that vandalizing school property is not good. We don’t want to put this on record since is just one incident and we understand, but please be mindful in the future.”

…The fuck!?

He had no idea where THAT came from. Sure, he tended to blast his way out of class, but he never was called out even once. Was this about him hitting Deku’s desk? No one ever said anything about it!

In the end, he just spew some shit about things being okay and was left to go back. And Deku was nowhere to be found.

Fuck.

He kept trying to corner the fucker, and yet there was never a moment he could. Deku never showed up until class already started, magically appearing on his desk like he was always there. The moment the bell rang, he was already out, and no matter how long he tried to keep an eye on the shithead, there was always SOMETHING happening that make him look away, either an extra passing by or a teacher calling for him.

Speaking of, teachers started calling him all the fucking time for things he supposedly had done during the day: exploding school property, attacking students with a teacher close by, hell, one day the principal called for his parents to discuss his behavior! What the hell!?

 

“We’ve been having multiple discussions with your son about the recent situations during class.” The principal said with a mournful expression (that was the fakest shit he has ever seen). “And yet, it keeps happening. We understand that Bakugou-kun has been in a very stressful situation, but we’re worried about this. He has never acted this way before!”

“What the fuck!? Wait, why haven’t you said anything about it!?” the hag slapped his back at that, then turned to the principal “Hell, why have you let him get away with it till now!? That shit you’re saying should at least put him in detention!”

“W-Well… as we said, we understand he was still recovering from a villain attack, and so…”

“That shit’s not an excuse! I know my brat, and if he’s been vandalizing school you need to grow a fucking spine and do something about it, or he will never stop!”

“What the fuck hag!” he found himself finally reacting at that. “I haven’t done shit!” that got him another slap.

“Don’t fucking lie to me, we just saw the videos!”

“What!?”

“Katsuki, I understand you may feel frustrated by the situation, but this has to stop.” His dad intervened with a stern face, turning to the principal. “My wife is right; you must take measures to stop this and we both encourage it. If necessary, we’ll try to look for counseling for Katsuki-”

“Shut the fuck up, I don’t need a fucking shrink-”

“No, YOU shut up brat!” the hag interrupted with another slap. “You either square up or you can kiss your UA application goodbye!”

“B-But you can’t do that!”

“We can and will! Remember who must pay for all that shit!?”

In the end, that conversation ended up with his first instance of detention and him being unable to say anything during the rest of the day, still flabbergasted over all that happened. That was so stupid.

And it wouldn’t be the last.

 

During the next months, he would be called out multiple times by his teachers for his ‘rage fits’. It started with them trying to be understanding about it, saying that ‘things would get better eventually’. But with time, their annoyance became visible, and it ended with him in detention almost weekly. The worst part, and one that he realized soon after, was that all the things they blamed him for were stuff that he never did! Explosions in the library when he was at the other side of the school, picking fights with first years while he was on his way home, insulting teachers during lunch with him being away back at the classroom. And no matter how many times he tried to explain that it wasn’t him , there was always footage of him during all those times, and never a point where he was visible anywhere else.

A month before the entrance exam, he was sure someone was out to get him. But he didn’t know WHO.

 

The day of the final exams had him over the edge, both stressed and done with life. It was the first time in a while he thought about Deku since the fucking impostor began their campaign against him. And yet, like always, he could never catch him. The few times he managed to get him to talk in class he acted like the meek motherfucker he always was, but for a reason something in the back of his mind triggered danger alarms.

“Bakugou-kun, turn back to class this instant!”

But, as always, these last months, the teachers were out of patience when it came to him.

That day, after exams, he lingered a bit at the library, cramming the last pointers for their history test of tomorrow. It was on his way back that something terrifyingly familiar froze him on his way out of school, right at the end of the hallway that led to his classroom.

A voice.

“HAH!?”

His own voice.

“YOU THINK YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT TO DO!? I OWN THIS FUCKING SCHOOL!”

And then.

Explosions.

A moment later, a door behind him opened with a loud thud, and someone pushed him to the side, making him fall to the floor. When he recovered, one knee still down, he stared in front of him, seeing a fucker dressed in the same uniform he had. Same bulky figure. Same sparks popping out of his hands. Same spiky hair. The figure turned back just before the corner, showing his exact same face, and red eyes just like those he saw in the mirror every day stared at him with a smirk.

And on top of that, the fucking impostor gave him an exaggerated bow, one hand on his chest and the other extended to the side, before storming out.

“MOTHERFUCKER!” he stood up immediately, ready to give chase, but then a sudden hand on his shoulder stopped him. Turning back, he saw his homeroom teacher, shirt singed and his face black from soot and ash, face red and furious.

“KATSUKI BAKUGOU!” he screamed, his grip turning almost painful. “I’VE HAD ENOUGH! ”

The only thing that he could think at that moment was how the second he got his hand on that fucking impostor he was going to murder that piece of shit.

Notes:

Next time, on Dragon Ball Z: Old scarecrow has a stroke :)

Chapter 3: Identity thieving your way to victory

Summary:

Scarecrow POV.

On a certain rooftop in the middle of the night, a boy danced, mask on his face and eyes on the dark sky beyond.

It was a slow dance, movements careful and graceful, arms flowing like waves and feet swirling in circles. Then the boy jumped, spinning, and fell right on the tip of his feet, startlingly slow as if for a few seconds, gravity was forgotten.

And then one leg turned upwards, forming an almost 180° angle until it descended to the side hastily like he was kicking the air, forming an angle. And then went down slowly, arms going upwards at the same time, hands extended as if reaching the stars. He kept the pose for a few seconds until his left hand descended gracefully and pressed his chest. The other went down a second later slowly, and the boy’s upper body went down with it, forming a bow.

“A dance to celebrate destiny and new beginnings.” The boy muttered. “To them.”

 

----------

 

The entrance exam had the entire UA staff frantic and busy . The new hire, Yagi Toshinori, was no exception.

He was assigned guard duty from the security cameras in the monitoring room, his job was to inform Ectoplasm in case students got lost looking for their placements or went out of the way for some less innocent reason. Till now, he managed to catch at least a dozen or so students getting lost and some reporters that somehow tried to pass as middle schoolers.

Of course, work wasn’t the only reason he was here: he hoped UA would help him find the one future hero he would call his successor. While the prospect of accepting Mirai’s protégée was not a bad idea, there was something on the back of his mind telling him that he needed to look elsewhere. Any time he thought about it, the image of green hair would pop on, a mop of curls very similar to those entering the faculty-

Oh shit!

“Ectoplasm, a student just got inside the faculty room!” he announced through the intercom, the hero humming in answer before sending a clone to the area. Yagi saw it get inside and look around, but in the end, it came back empty-handed.

“No one was there, Yagi. Are you sure you saw someone?”

“Yes! He was small, green hair and-” Wait- he’s now in the cafeteria!? When!? “H-He just entered the cafeteria’s kitchen!”

Yagi heard a sigh, but another clone went to look. Yagi’s eyes zoned into the camera until the clone in question got in.

“Clear. Not doubting you here, but-”

“I know this sounds strange but-” Yagi saw green in another camera and… was that kid entering Nedzu’s office now!? “What the-” Wait, not only that… the same mop of green was also walking around one of the test areas… and also getting out of the janitor’s closet!

“Yagi?... Yagi, are you okay?” Ectoplasm’s voice had a tint of worry through the intercom. Yagi just took his headphones out and went for Power Loader, missing how the kid on the camera monitoring the central building’s rooftop stared at said camera and smirked.

 

 

----------

 

 

Nursing a cup of tea in his hands and trying to recover from a sudden headache, Yagi was back in the control room with the rest of the faculty, waiting for the practical exam to start. He was still worried about the strange green kid that somehow never appeared on camera when Power Loader came to check, even when Yagi swore he saw him multiple times in different places! The hero couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Chiyo had a point with him pushing himself too much and was seeing things now.

When Nedzu called for the teachers' attention, however, announcing that the exam was about to start, he quickly put those thoughts aside to focus on the participants. He had work to do, after all.

The place quickly became a buzz of activity, commentary going around about what the examinees were doing or some specific situations that needed some monitoring or possible intervention when accidents happened. Yagi was also taking notes as Nedzu asked him about some students who showed promise. One redhead in area D was helping some peers who were hurt by a robot with a wide toothy smile. An orange-haired girl with giant hands in area C did quick work on some robots while protecting a seemingly unconscious student. A blonde kid at site B with a powerful explosion quirk was going through the roofs chasing robots. He would need to look closely in case they ended up in the hero course, he supposed.

“The explosion kid in site A has good control of his quirk. Wasn’t expecting too many airborne fighters.” By his side, Snipe commented, also taking some notes. Yagi nodded absentmindedly.

“Yes, but his attitude needs-” the blonde hero was commenting when the other’s words were processed. “Wait, site A? Are there two-” A sudden tremor followed by a scream that was felt even in the security of the control room shook some of the teachers, Yagi included. A bit far, a raspy voice groaned.

“What the fuck is Hizashi doing!?” Eraserhead huffed, eyes turning red almost in instinct.

“What did I do now!?” Present Mic’s voice came from his position in the announcement booth.

“What-But the scream-” The confusion was cut off by a loud cackling coming from Nedzu, who was smiling widely.

“Worry not!” the principal chirped animatedly. “Just focus on site A if you want your answers!”

Everyone started looking around the screens, and as they did surprised gasps came from some. Yagi understood immediately when in one he saw Present Mic walking around, finger-gunning some robots as he screamed his usual “Yeah!” to destroy them. But what got everyone gasping loudly was how the hero on the screen burned with a green, spectral fire, as his figure changed into the bulkier appearance of Death Arms and started punching some robots that got too close to comfort.

Before anyone could react, Yagi heard a loud thud. Turning, he noticed Nedzu just punched a red button, and immediately chaos erupted in all the cameras at the arrival of the zero pointer.

Yagi felt bile and blood almost being spewed out at the surprise because what the fuck? Most examinees quickly turned back and started running away. The shapeshifter did the same, turning into Ingenium of all things and one of the students with engines in his calves ended up crashing against the wall at that. But then, the strange person made a sudden turn to the left, finding a girl trapped under rubble. Quickly, the mystery person turned back into Death Arms and pushed the rubble aside, grabbing the girl with one arm and becoming Ingenium before accelerating, not without grabbing the other student who crashed against the wall with the other one.

“Splendid rescue!” Nedzu clapped as the entire room was silent. At least until one of the teachers came back from their stupor.

“Nedzu, what the fuck was that!?” Midnight exclaimed loudly, though judging by her tone she was more impressed than angry. The principal cackled once again, obviously reveling in the chaos.

“That was examinee 69420, Midoriya Izuku. Quirk, Actor! Certainly a promising one!”

Yagi turned back, staring in amazement at how the person in questing brought two students to Recovery Girl, giving the kids a bow before letting them go. Only then Midoriya brought his hand to his face as spectral fire materialized a strange mask that he removed, and his entire appearance turned back into a boy on the smaller side dressed in athletic clothes, his curly green hair a bit damp from the effort of-

…

…

…

Wait…

 

Yagi coughed so much blood he had to go lie down until Recover Girl came to check up on him.

Notes:

Next time: Sussy baka vs paranoid hobo.

Chapter 4: Are true lies true or false?

Summary:

Sussy baka being sus. Also teach is paranoid. But is it paranoia if he's right?

On a random rooftop in the middle of the night, Midoriya Izuku gazed at the stars.

He sat cross-legged, volume two of “How to find Elation in life” laid open, notes scribbled hastily while papers floated around, carried by the wind in swirling motions around the kid like they had a life of their own, the logo of UA showing itself on them.

He grinned.

With a flick of the wrist, his beloved mask appeared in a blast of green flames on his face. Midoriya then stroked a pose, one open hand covering the lower part of his face and the other extended to the side as the entire air around him cracked like full of electricity. And then, a few seconds later the boy vanished without a trace, one single sheet left in its place.

 

The next day, in his too-big of an office, Principal Nedzu was observing a piece of paper found on the rooftop of the main building of the school.

He cackled.

 

----------

 

Aizawa Shouta didn’t want to go inside.

Yes, he knew it was an irrational thought. On the other side of this stupidly large door, he wouldn’t find anything other than twenty brats with egos too big for their own good and delusions of grandeur. But that was not the source of his worries, no. This dread came from a particular, green-haired menace.

He knew it was stupid to think about Midoriya that way, but years of experience gave him the foresight to know a problem child when he saw one, and this one in particular managed to make Nedzu cackle for hours AND make the Symbol of Peace faint.

That screamed problem child like no other.

Eventually, he pushed those feelings aside, opened the door, and conspicuously came inside. No one of the students there noticed his arrival even in his incredibly eye-catching sleeping bag, too busy chatting and fretting about being in UA’s hero course. Still silent, he glanced around the classroom for any sign of acknowledgment from someone.

Nothing.

‘Weird. I feel like someone’s watching me but…’

Counting the seconds as he stared, he kept tabs on the students. A rowdy bunch, with not an ounce of situational awareness (then where is this sensation coming from?). Problem Child and a loud blonde (Bakugou if he remembered from the meeting the other day) were bickering (more like the blonde screaming and the greenhead casually talking with the two kids he saved in the exam, Tenya looking torn between scolding the blonde and talking with Problem Child while the gravity girl (Uraraka) tried to calm the situation down). When enough time passed, he decided to make his presence known.

“If you’re here to make friends, get out.”

Everyone flinched, quickly turning towards him.

Everyone but one, who casually glanced in his direction with a grin.

God, he needed a drink.

 

Eventually, Aizawa found the strength to make his usual introduction (no he’s not dramatic it’s just to be clear he’s not dealing with any nonsense Zashi-) and left quietly to the field right outside the main building, where everything was ready for today’s assessment. As he walked out, he noticed a tuff of yellow badly hidden under a brush in the distance and had to keep his eyes from rolling at that. After the faint attack, for some reason, Yagi disappeared for a few days and then had a long conversation with Nedzu behind closed doors. No one is quite sure what happened, but the man left with a haunted expression and kept silent for a few days after.

“I think he’s paranoid if you ask me.” A voice by his side said, and thanks to his training he managed to keep his body from flinching. Instead, he slowly turned to his left to see Midoriya already changed by his side, casually glancing at the badly hidden hero.

“I didn’t.” Aizawa said dryly. The problem child just smiled in his direction.

“But you thought about it~” The kid sang, making the hero squint. But before he could say anything, the rest of the class was already appearing, and so he had to keep any questions to himself.

For now.

 

“…Midoriya. You scored first place in the entrance exam.” Aizawa called after explaining to the group what they would do. “What was your best result for the softball throw?”

“Uhm…” the kid took a few seconds to think, fingers scratching his chin in a dramatic gesture that the hero felt like a taunt. “Like 25 or 30 meters?”

“Try doing it with your quirk.” He said pointing at the circle prepared for the event. “Anything goes as long as you stay in the circle.”

Problem Child grinned savagely at that, and Aizawa felt the headache quickly coming.

The kid skipped -skipped- to position, and then turned to his classmates, giving an exaggerated bow. “Ladies and gentlemen of the audience, allow me to give you a good show in this trying times. For any good fellows of delicate hearing, the show recommends caution for incoming loud sounds.” Aizawa was about to scold the kid for his theatrics, but stopped at that last part, quickly glancing at a couple of students who covered their ears. Huh.

“With that out of the way…” Midoriya smiled as he did another dramatic pose, covering part of his face with his hand as green fire conjured his mask over it (Aizawa pointedly ignored a certain loud blonde screeching that if that was a p*rsona reference) and his body burst into flames. The students gasped in surprise, until the fire dissipated, leaving a completely different -and familiar- kid in his place. “…Time to start with a bang.”

A couple of things happened after that.

Midoriya threw the ball, screaming ‘DIE’ as a loud explosion gave him a good 769 meters.

18 students cheered at that, some clapping, obviously impressed by the stunt.

And then a second explosion, as the kid Midoriya had copied literally flew towards him.

“IT WAS YOU, YOU MOTHER FUCKER-!”

Aizawa barely had a second to blink as his quirk sprang to life, eyes glowing red as his capture weapon flew and grabbed the explosion boy centimeters before it reached his target, who nonchalantly turned back to him and smiled sweetly.

“Bakugou.” The hero spoke in a low voice that made everyone flinch. “Need I remind you of your status in this school? You’re already on thin ice with that record of yours, and I’m sure Nedzu spoke with your parents about what would happen if you brought that behavior here.”

“IT’S HIS FAULT!” the boy screeched as he tried to get away from his grasp, practically spewing towards Midoriya who casually stepped away. “THAT GODDAM COPYCAT! HOW YOU DID IT, YOU QUIRKLESS FREAK!? HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU-!”

Being done, with a flick of the wrist, Aizawa dragged the kid directly towards him. “Bakugou. I won’t say it again. You shut your mouth and stop trying to attack anyone else in the class or I’ll make sure your hero career is over before you can say ‘Plus ultra’.”

That shut him up very quickly.

With a sigh, Aizawa let him go, glancing at the rest of the students, completely silent. Well, maybe that would be enough of a motivation instead of his usual.

“Now let’s get moving unless you want to end up like him.” Everyone lined up at that. Aizawa just moved things up, but not without glancing at the Problem Child, who was acting like nothing happened.

 

 

The rest of the tests went without an issue, despite Midoriya making a show of his attempts by taking the form of various heroes and Bakugou glaring at him the entire time. Eventually, he just showed the results, gave some pointers, and let them go back. Only when most were already away he stepped forward and stopped Problem Child with a hand on his back.

The kid turned in his direction, and for a moment, he could’ve sworn he saw an abyss in those eyes, like a broken kaleidoscope of greys and red that made him feel like death was looming over his neck. But then he blinked, and the kid looked and felt completely normal.

“Midoriya.” He spoke, hoping his anxiety was kept away from his voice. “A word.”

The kid turned completely, hands on his back as he smiled like nothing was wrong. “Yes, Aizawa-sensei?”

“Explain.”

The kid’s head tilted. “About what? You’ll need to be more specific.” The tone was neutral, even polite, but somehow he could feel the pettiness under it.

“You know what. Bakugou. What was today about?”

The kid sighed, frowning as he looked pained. Aizawa almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

“Well. We went to middle school together, you see. It was… an experience.”

“So you must know his conditions to study here.”

“Not really.” Midoriya shrugged. “But I have some ideas. He wasn’t very nice.”

“Yes. Various marks on his records, especially during the last months of his middle school education.” Aizawa mentioned, raising a brow. At that, he noticed the gears turning in Midoriya’s head, and for a second he felt that hostile abyss again. And yet, like before, it went away with a blink.

“If you ask me, sensei.” The kid said softly, his stare slowly meeting his. "It should’ve been worse."

“How so?”

“He should’ve had records since primary school. But when you have an heroic quirk you can get away with a lot in this society. Surely you must know about it, Eraserhead-sensei. ” The kid mentioned, casually dragging out his hero name. Aizawa squinted, alarms ringing in his head. And then Problem Child giggled. “Aw, come on, sensei. I’m a hero fanboy at heart, I know my stuff. Plus, my quirk requires me to know about people if I want to imitate them.” That made Aizawa perk up. After all, Midoriya’s quirk was one hell of a mystery to him. It didn’t make sense.

“You need to know about the people you turn into?”

“Every good actor must.” The kid mentioned, raising one index finger as he enthusiastically explained. “Who are they? What makes them tick? Why do they do what they do? Imitating heroes is easy once you realize it. After all, they are actors too. For example…” green fire manifested over the kid’s head as his quirk activated, his size and hair grew and his voice turned lower and deeper. “Ereaserhead the hero? Easy if you analyze enough his work. The way he fights, the way he uses his quirk and his way of thinking. All things that can be seen while working.” Midoriya said, or, his own voice being used by Midoriya. Seeing himself smile cheerfully was very uncanny. “But if I wanted to imitate Aizawa Shouta, the person?” Midoriya’s copy then turned distorted and then faded away. “I don’t know what motivates him. Why does he wake up in the morning, what does he do in the evenings, his hobbies, his motivations, his hopes, dreams, fears, trauma… nothing.”

Uncanny.

Yes, that’s what Midoriya Izuku is.

Even now, when he’s looking at you with the sweetest smile and brightest of eyes, something is not quite right.

Just how much of this individual is real, Aizawa couldn’t help but wonder.

“Does that answer your question, sensei?”

The hero remained silent, staring. Midoriya stared back, an example of innocence and honesty.

Also, the fakest thing that could not be proven.

“Yes, that’s all. Go back to class.”

“Of course, sensei!” the kid saluted with two fingers before skipping back to the building. Aizawa followed his moves and kept watching even when the boy was gone, wondering just how much was true and how much an act.

…Or maybe his mind was playing tricks on him.

“…Tell me you felt it too, Aizawa.” The deep voice of Yagi cut through his musings, the man finally leaving his hiding place. The dark-haired man didn’t dignify the other with an answer, just leaving the place with his hands in his pockets.

…But yeah.

 

He could feel it too.

 

...

...

...Wait, he forgot to ask him about-

"Damn you, Problem Child..."

Notes:

Next time: A spectacular show! Today's actors: a bomberanian, a robot, an edgy duo, and... a cool-grunting rocket launcher!?

Chapter 5: After Sunset we find ourselves on stage (Scene 1)

Summary:

It's showtime!

EDIT: PERFECT KUDOS PERFECT KUDOS PERFECT KUDOS

EDIT 2: NOOOOOOO IT'S GOOOOOOOOOONE

With opened notebooks and pages of designs all over his bed, Izuku sat cross-legged, furiously writing in Volume 2 of “How to find Elation in life”. Resting on top of his desk laid a disk and a couple of letters with the UA logo on them. Now that part 1 of his plan was complete, he had to move to the finer tunes of his soon-to-be debut in the Grander Stages.

And for a good debut, he needed to look the part.

So, he spent more time than he wanted to admit working on costume designs. He had to admit that his mom’s insight and pointers about color and clothing combinations were a great help (as much as he found it hilarious to submit just shorts and a t-shirt with “Work Clothes” written on it, even he had to admit it wouldn’t be the best idea).

And so, eventually, he stopped his sketching, appreciating his work. Not bad, but even now it missed something. Letting his notebook go, he twirled his pencil with one hand as the other caressed his mask lying on his lap, wondering.

Eventually, though, a thought came to him, and he smiled, quickly adding that extra part to the costume.

It was perfect.

 

----------

 

Midoriya Izuku has changed, and he suspects it’s for the worse.

He still remembers that boy who desperately wanted to hold on to him, and not just physically.

That heartbroken face after he denied his hope still haunts him at night.

A quirkless boy who wished to be a hero. A tale incredibly similar to his own, and yet, unlike his mentor, he denied him the chance.

And now, that quirkless boy is part of the hero course. Got first place in the exam. Even has Nedzu’s blessing , if their last conversation about the issue is any indication.

…And all of that with a quirk he didn’t have before.

How?

HOW!?

Was it a miracle? An invisible quirk? One with very specific activation requirements?

(Was it him? )

And not only that. The thing that happened during the exam. Even now he swears it wasn’t his imagination. There’s something wrong with that boy! His entire being screams danger when he’s there!

What’s he supposed to do!?

What’s going on?

(Is this his fault?...)

Even now, as he prepares everything for his first class today, he can’t help but wonder, thoughts spiraling about what he can do about the situation.

…Is it even something he can do about it?...

 

----------

 

Midoriya Izuku is a mystery . A dramatic irony, a mask both physical and metaphorical, covering darkness unsurmountable.

A soul deeply in love with theatrics, mixed with a chaotic power that mirrors others. Fascinating, really. He wished he could speak with this conundrum, to know more about what’s hidden behind. And yet, there’s a strange… detachment from Midoriya. He’s not antisocial, no, he’s cordial, funny, and can hold a conversation like it’s nothing.

And yet, it’s like he’s just following a script. Or is playing a visual novel when he already knows the dialogue and correct answers.

And there's this... feeling. Of something there. Both familiar and unknown, like an abyss he once stared at a point he didn't remember, but the impression was left deep in his soul. Even his other self sang the first time they laid eyes on him, like greeting an old friend... or even an ancient enemy.

Just… who is Midoriya Izuku?

 

----------

 

Midoriya Izuku’s days are numbered.

He doesn’t have proof, but he’s sure nonetheless. All of his problems are his fault.

It’s because of him he’s in trouble. Because of him, his stay at UA is hanging on a thread.  

The worst thing is that he cannot just prove it.

(But that stunt in the test should be enough proof! And yet, that damn rat refuses to see it!)

The worst? He cannot just go and demand answers, one wrong move and he can kiss his place in the hero course goodbye.

But soon, he will find a way to prove it. The chance to get answers from that fucker.

And when he does?

He’s going to destroy him.

 

----------

 

“I AM HERE! COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!”

At the appearance of the number one hero, class 1-A cheered, obviously happy that they would have classes with THE All Might! One smile, however, was a bit more subdued, but not less there as the hero in question explained today’s event.

That smile turned feral as their costumes were presented.

The boy grabbed his case and casually hopped towards the changing room, taking a stool so he wouldn’t spoil the surprise.

After all, presentations are everything when you want to make an impression.

 

----------

 

While waiting for the students, Yagi was once again reviewing his flashcards, trying to keep his nerves in check. This was his first class, he wanted to do things well! He doesn’t want to end up doing remedial courses with Nedzu . Not that they wouldn’t be very useful! It’s just that the principal’s methods of teaching remind him a bit too much of Gran Torino, and that’s another whole can of worms he doesn’t want to think about.

But that’s for after! The students are coming and he needs to start.

“Wow, you all look really cool!” he couldn’t help his enthusiasm at seeing everyone so cheerful and wanted to compliment them (even though some of the costumes looked a bit unsafe… should he say something about it?) “I mean… Look at you! From this point on, You’re heroes! Now let’s start-”

“Sir!” a loud voice interrupted, the boy with glasses that reminded Yagi of Ingenium raised his hand. “Not everyone is here yet!”

“Huh?” the hero looked around, counting heads, and yes, there were only 19 of them! When he realized that the one missing was a mop of green head, he couldn’t help the shudder that came to him. “Oh, right, did anyone see-”

“-Midoriya? Worry not. Why?”

The voice came from behind him. He turned back in a hurry and saw-wait , when did everything turn so dark!?- a spotlight suddenly turning on, revealing a figure dressed in what seemed to be dark green dress pants and a black formal shirt with no tie, first buttons unbuttoned, and sleeves rolled back showing defined forearms. The figure was also wearing a vest of the same color as the pants and fingerless gloves, his right hand in his waist and the other holding… is that a fedora? Over his head.

“Because I am here!”

Yagi had to gather all his strength to keep himself from fainting.

 

----------

 

It took a while for All Might-sensei to do some breathing exercises for some reason, but eventually, the hero explained today’s exercise. A 2 on 2 battle of “heroes versus villains”. Quite an interesting scenario. His twin and inner self already roaring to go.

The pairs would be decided by drawing lots. When his turn arrived, he couldn’t help but hope that maybe the Fates would shine upon him this day and bring him closer to the subject of his new interest. As he drew a ball and looked at it, he noticed the letter “A” on what seemed very fresh paint, covering another letter that he couldn’t quite see. But one blink, and the ball looked completely normal, no strange details at all.

How-?

“Excuse me, do you have the A too?”

He turned around, seeing Midoriya Izuku just by his side, smiling while holding a ball with the letter “A” on it. He tried to say something in response to those emerald eyes staring through him but only managed a small nod. Midoriya’s smile sharpened at that, and he couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of terror and joy coursing through his entire being, stuck between running away from danger and drawing even closer to the boy’s magnetic pull.

“Why it’s almost like Fate is drawing us closer, Tokoyami-kun” Midoriya said casually, but something in his voice slightly deepening made him shudder .

 

----------

 

After finally being done with the lots, All Might started deciding teams for the exercise. The loud Glasses Fucker with the giant stick up his ass was rambling on and on about “doing a good work together.” Bakugou just ignored his ass, focusing on who would be the team he was going to grind up to dust. He had to recognize there were some strong people out there, Ponytail Girl has a versatile quirk and Half n’ Half is powerful. But if he could choose… there was only one option.

“Very well, let’s start! First would be Team A as he-” someone loudly coughed in the back, but Bakugou couldn’t tell exactly who. “Bless you. As I said, Team A as villains against Team D as heroes!” He quickly glanced around to check the competition. Birdhead was looking in their direction, and by his side, giving that fucking obnoxious grin, fucking Deku was waving.

“Team A, please enter the building and prepare!”

“Good luck, Kacchan!” fucking Deku sing sang as he and Bird Fucker walked to the building. “Make sure to put on a show~”

At that Glasses guy said something, but Bakugou was not listening at all. Grabbing hold of his new gauntlets, he just let himself savior the future victory.

He was gonna kill that bitch and no conditional rules could say anything about it.

The damn impostor is dead .

 

----------

 

“So… what’s the plan?” Tokoyami asked once he and Midoriya entered the building, the other glancing around as they stared at empty walls and stairs, hands on his hips. The boy glanced in his direction after a moment, giving him an easy smile as he played with his fedora, balancing it with one finger.

“Oh, I have plans if you want to hear them. But first, I’d like to hear about you, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, if you wish to know about me and my-”

“Not that, I’m afraid.” Midoriya was still smiling, but there was some strange undertone darkening his eyes. “You’ve been staring a lot at my dashing self lately, you know?”

Tokoyami’s beak opened at that, though managed to quickly compose himself. “I-I’m not-”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I know I’m attractive~” Midoriya purred, and the other’s feathers bristled at that, causing Midoriya to bark a laugh. “Just kidding~ But in all seriousness…” the boy added, suddenly quite close to Tokoyami’s face. “You… How much do you know?...”

That comment felt like ice in the bird boy’s veins.

The other’s eyes were staring right into his, and from this close, he could notice how his irises had some lines here and there, various tones of green like little pieces of stained glass.

There it was. The feeling he had since the first time he saw Midoriya. A wrongness he couldn’t explain, keeping him frozen as he witnessed this… person. Like a piece, a painting in a background that didn’t quite fit the style of this art…

But the moment broke when a shadowy figure emerged from his stomach, his inner soul manifesting right between him and Midoriya, golden eyes latching on the green-headed boy.

Midoriya grinned.

“Pleased to meet you, Dark Shadow.” The boy bowed, and strangely, his twin copied the gesture.

“Enlighted One.”

“Dark Shadow, what-”

“Does he know?”

“He’s close to the Abyss, and yet cannot see outside the Script.”

“Dark Shadow, what’s going on-”

“Understandable, he’s still too tied to the Narrative to understand. So you’re playing along to It, I presume?”

“For now. It depends on if THEIR shadow finally finds us.”

“Or someone else.”

“Dark Shadow! Midoriya!” Already done, Tokoyami screamed, eyes shut for a second in anger at the strange conversation between his quirk and Midoriya , but when he opened them again he found the silliest image possible: Midoriya had Dark Shadow in his arms like a cat, scratching his head as his inner soul… purred!? “W-What’s the meaning of this!?”

“Fumi! I like him! He’s wrong in the best sense!” his twin gawked, all seriousness from the previous conversation gone.

“Awww, I like you too Dark Shadow!” Midoriya chirped too, scratching his other self. “Who’s a good bird? Whoooooo’s a good bird?~”

“Meeeee~~~!!!”

Tokoyami could just sigh, the entire wrongness from before quickly forgotten. “Uh… can we just… focus on the exercise?” He pleaded, and at that, Midoriya brightened.

“Oh yeah, I have an idea about that!” he said, his smile turning feral quite quickly. “Say, Tokoyami-kun, how much of a showman are you feeling today?”

Notes:

This part became way too big (heh) for me so I'm dividing it into two parts.
You're welcome ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

Chapter 6: After Sunset we find ourselves on stage (Scene 2)

Summary:

The show is on!

“The exercise starts now! Hero Team, you can now enter the building!”

“Bakugou-kun, I insist we should-”

“Out of my way, extra!”

 

Watching his supposed partner storm away, leaving him alone, Iida Tenya sighed, once again wondering how someone so utterly disrespectful ended up in the hero course.

And yet, this was a training scenario designed by THE All Might! He couldn’t just fail because of an uncooperative asshole!

(Oh yeah, in the privacy of Iida’s mind he could be quite the scandalous individual!)

And so, as he finally sprinted forward to look for his classmate, he mentally reviewed what he knew about his competition.

Tokoyami had a sentient quirk of sorts, a being made of shadow. While worrisome, Iida remembered it being able to interact with its environment during the quirk apprehension test before, so it would make sense that his quirk had to be corporeal as well. In the worst-case scenario, he could use his speed to go past the shadow entity and engage directly against Tokoyami.

Midoriya, on the other hand, was a problem.

His quirk seemed to give him an extreme number of options, such as being able to imitate the appearance and powers of other people, including heroes! (The memory of that… boy imitating Nii-san still haunts him from time to time). And so, he would need to expect the unexpected… Quite the conundrum really.

So lost in his planning he was that he didn’t notice the figure in front of him until he quite literally rammed against Bakugou’s back. Iida quickly stepped away, apologizing profusely but then stopped when he noticed the other one was still, not even turning.

“…Bakugou? What’s-” he was about to ask for whatever was going on when he noticed. They just arrived at the building’s third floor and everything was dark. Even with open windows, the entire area felt… too consumed by darkness… almost artificially so.

“This is a trap.” The blonde finally concluded, growling.

“Quite right, heroes!” A voice in the dark responded, and then a spotlight (where did that come from!?) illuminated a point over a set of stairs, followed by…

…Music?

Under the light, Midoriya was leaning over the stair’s left handle, face half-covered by his fedora.

“I see you’ve found our secret lair, heroes.” The boy said, finally raising his head as one eye shone brightly, giving them a grin. “Then allow us to give us our warmest welcome!...”

Then another spotlight (HOW THE FU-!?) shone at Midoriya’s right, showing Tokoyami hiding most of his figure under his cloak, arms crossed.

“…To your final destination. May darkness consume us all.”

Oh. Oh! They were already in character! Magnificent show of sportsmanship!

“For the Troupe of Madness will descend upon you!” Midoriya said before jumping, doing several pirouettes in the air, and then gracefully descending on the floor. “The Mask of Chaos-”

Then Tokoyami’s quirk manifested, ascending in a torrent of darkness and bringing his user right beside Midoriya.

“-And the Mask of Shadow-”

And then they finished at the same time, in a pose that Iida had to admit was quite impressive.

“-will bring your end in joyful celebration!”

A few seconds passed, and Iida had to keep himself from clapping. Well then, if his opponents are already taking their papers seriously, so must he! Stepping forward and puffing out his chest, he spoke:

“If you believe your dastardly plans will find fruition today think again! We, heroes, win not rest until putting you two behind bar-WHOA!”

“Out of my way glasses! NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP AND FIGHT ME, DEKU!”

“…What a way to break the scene.” Three of the students present couldn’t help but mutter to themselves in frustration.

 

----------

 

Before anyone else could act, Bakugou was already on the chase, explosions blasting him forward. However, before he could make contact, shadows were drawn from all around, and a wall of dark purple energy threw him away, the spectral form of Dark Shadow almost mending with the darkness of the room.

“Surprise, Heroes! For the Troupe has a third, hidden member! Behold, the Mask of the Abyss!”

“Dark Shadow, that was so cool…” Tokoyami couldn’t help but mumble in marvel over his twin’s performance.

“Darkness, Abyss, keep Knight in Silver from escaping! I’ll take care of BBB!”

“Understood!” Tokoyami nodded, just in time for Iida to stand up and sprint forward in a yell, forcing Dark Shadow to block as the forces of both quirks clashed for dominance. Midoriya had barely a second to contemplate the marvelous performance before having to duck, his fedora burning to cinders thanks to Bakugou’s quirked fist.

The actor gasped in utter horror.

“You’re dead meat, Deku, You hear!? DEAD MEAT!”

Bakugou’s attacks were relentless, forcing Midoriya away from the blasting forces of shadows and silver sparks. Explosions ignited every time the blonde swung against him, and yet the green boy always managed to avoid his attacks, with a grace that emulated a dance and cheerfulness proper of a 90’s cartoon. Left hook into a twirl to the left, kick to the face, and kneel to the floor to avoid it. Bakugou’s rage got stronger and stronger as Midoriya seemingly avoided all his attacks with the wit of a sassy bunny.

“You…” the blonde growled as he continued his strikes in vain. “Was it fun for you!? To hide your fucking quirk, huh? To make fun of me behind my back, to fucking put me in trouble at school!?” Finally, one kick connected against Midoriya’s ribs, throwing him against the nearest wall. “Were you enjoying ruining my fucking life!? HAH!?”

Midoriya chuckled darkly, slowly but surely standing up.

“Wow… Bakugou.” The use of his last name made the blonde flinch slightly. “I knew you were delusional but I wasn’t expecting to be THIS bad.”

“What!?”

“Do you really think I would do something so stupid like hiding a quirk my entire life and then using it to give you trouble only months before the entrance exam? And even if I did, why just give you enough trouble to put you in a conditional agreement instead of just blacklisting you?”

(For the record, this Midoriya would absolutely do that.)

Then, Midoriya jumped forward, as green fire brought his mask back to his face, a feral grin as he arched his arm back, preparing for a fist.

“THINK AGAIN!”

Bakugou was ready to face the other head-on, already preparing an explosion, but when he blinked Midoriya was gone. The sudden disappearing act confused him for just a second, enough time for the other to magically appear right at his left, punching him directly in the face.

From then on, it was a strike against a strike, Bakugou managing to blast Midoriya away from time to time, and Midoriya sucker punching Bakugou when he least expected it, in a dance that suddenly crossed against the steel of Iida’s kicks trying to overpower Dark Shadow’s defenses while Tokoyami repositioned, doing his best to avoid being in direct view of Iida.

The minutes dragged on, as eventually, both teams clashed one more time before pushing back, all of them taking a second to catch their breaths. While no one said anything, it was clear that they arrived to an standstill. This couldn’t continue for long, or they would lose. Something had to be done. Something drastic or dramatic.

Bakugou’s grin turned feral as he raised an arm, bringing his free hand to the pin in his gauntlet.

“You’ve made me work up a sweat, Deku.” He said, pointing at the green-headed boy. “I’m sure you know how my quirk works. And these gauntlets have been storing a lot of sweat already.”

From the intercom, a worried All Might called for the blonde to stop, he was seconds from a four-way street to a full blown-up building. And yet, before he could drop a line for the ages, Midoriya’s grin widened and spoke.

“If you’re bringing the big guns, then… Let me do the same.”

His body erupted in green flames, most of it being covered by the fire. Only his bright eyes were still visible, and the entire area lit in light, forcing Dark Shadow back into Tokoyami, who quietly retreated, using the flashy light as cover. Bakugou hesitated, watching as the flames retreated into Midoriya’s body, becoming smaller, and smaller and…

…very small?

In place of Midoriya, a furry figure lay there. Almost the size of Mineta, dressed in a black suit with a black tie. A messy beard of sorts around his chin, and from the fedora on his head poked out two wolf-like ears. The small figure then adjusted his shades, showing a wide pointy smile as he…

….grunted.

“What the fuck.” Said Bakugou, not as a question but as a statement.

“So cool.” Iida found himself muttering, awed by the figure’s mysterious and suave demeanor.

And then the small furry boy took out an entire rocket launcher bigger than himself.

“What the fuck-” All Might voice came from everyone’s intercom. “I-I mean-Midoriya-shonen!? Put that down! You’ll kill them!”

The furry figure let out a cool grunt. Tokoyami, who somehow was calmly watching everything from the side, translated.

“He said ‘They will be fine if they dodge’.”

And the furry boy shot.

 

----------

 

Yagi sucked a breath as the missile was fired.

He wouldn’t be able to do anything, too far from them to intervene in time.

He wanted to look away but couldn’t.

And so, he could only freeze before the tragedy ensues.

 

----------

 

Iida could only stare in horror as the rocket was blasted in Bakugou’s direction. While he wasn’t in direct line of the shot, the explosion would surely hit him too.

He may survive thanks to his armor, but his partner? Even if he was brash and disrespectful, he didn’t want him to die like this.

Should he step in the way? Push him aside? Move them away?

Something!?

By the time he decided on a course of action, however, it was too late.

That hesitation would cost him.

 

----------

 

For the first time in years, Bakugou Katsuki knew true fear.

It was so ridiculous, a furry creature carrying a fuckin rocket launcher! Like directly from a cartoon!

And yet, with the rocket about to hit him, the only thing he could think about would be how much that explosion would hurt.

How much do explosions hurt; he wondered.

This… this sensation. This… hesitation that made his body freeze.

He has seen it before.

Saw it for years in green eyes.

As Bakugou’s eyes closed, one thought passed through his head. One he never let himself acknowledge until now, moments before the big bang of oblivion.

“Was this what he felt every day?”

And then the rocket made contact and-

BOOM

 

 

 

…

 

 

 

…

 

 

…

 

 

…

 

Bakugou opened his eyes.

Confetti was everywhere.

The furry creature was gone, and in its place, Midoriya was there with Tokoyami, both with party poppers and the air full of colorful papers.

“Well, that worked better than expected.” The greenhead grinned.

“An impressive performance.” Tokoyami nodded sagely.

“They really never even thought about the bomb!” Dark Shadow cackled.

Iida sputtered.

Bakugou’s fear melted away in a burning rage.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU-”

“The time is over! Villain Team Wins!”

Notes:

Next time? Well, I think it's finally time I make an appearance! ʕ·×·ʔ

Chapter 7: Searching for Midoriya Izuku

Summary:

Epic game of chess from someone who doesn't know shit about it. Sorry!

For a mind like Nedzu’s, mysteries are far and few between in this predictable world, ruled by strength, quirks, and tropes. And so, when things deviate from their usual circle, his interest obviously spikes.

That’s why, when Midoriya Izuku appeared in his radar, he chirped in delight. The boy, after all, was incredibly mysterious!

Quirkless until a few months ago, miraculously manifesting an incredible and versatile ability. For all intents and purposes, the story of an underdog rising to be the best.

Or that it should be, for most.

After all, looking at it closely, the pieces don’t fit at all with this story. Timing a bit too perfect, proof perfectly placed from thin air, powers barely explainable by quirk science. And while he wasn’t the only one to see this puzzle, both Aizawa and Yagi came to him with their own information and theories, both overlooked one simple, but crucial point in Midoriya’s puzzle.

Whatever this power is, it’s simply not a quirk. That's why he decided to accept him into UA despite all of his red flags.

Very interesting how such an answer is so impossible to conceive in a world such as this one. Quirks HAVE to be the answer to any mystery. It’s not like quirks have been just a recent mark in human history, less than a little stain in the tapestry of evolution.

The question, after such revelation, is obvious, then. If not a quirk, what’s the origin of Midoriya Izuku’s power?

Perhaps today’s conversation might shed some light on this.

 

----------

 

When the lunch alarm rang, class 1-A got ready for a hearty meal in the cafeteria. Most students were amicably chatting between themselves, one particular green-haired boy not being the exception, discussing old movies with Tokoyami. As they left the classroom, Midoriya suddenly stopped, turning his eyes to a certain point in the ceiling for a moment, before returning to his classmate, whispering something with an apologetic smile. The raven boy nodded, albeit a bit crestfallen, before leaving without him, as the other turned and walked away.

“Problem-”

“I’m already on my way, Aizawa-sensei.”

 

----------

 

The door opened seconds before Midoriya crossed it, the boy nonchalantly walking inside, hands in his pockets with an easy smile. As he went to the seat in front of his desk, Nedzu followed his movements with his own grin, while his mind raced, analyzing every single detail about the boy. No strange reactions, no detail out of place, perfectly plain face. Logically, Midoriya Izuku was a perfectly normal person.

So this reaction must be instinctive. This wrongness must be his animalistic nature detecting danger and compelling him to react and lash out and fight or run-

His rational self, however, smiled and invited the boy to sit.

“Tea?”

“That would be lovely.” Midoriya casually said. Nedzu prepared a cup for both of them and served, as the two enjoyed the beverage in uncomfortable silence. The principal wondered how long he should wait before starting this conversation.

“I believe we should just start already, no?” Midoriya mentioned casually. Nedzu managed not to react, besides a twitch of his tail, managing to keep his claws from coming out. “Lovely tea, by the way.”

“Thank you, Midoriya.” Nedzu nodded, sipping some tea himself to calm down. “Then I won’t beat around the bush anymore. Your power is not a quirk, is it?”

Midoriya smiled. A gentle smile to the naked eye, but chilling to Nedzu’s animal brain.

“That’s correct. Might I presume you don’t know about the origin of my powers and wish to know more about it?”

“Indeed! I must admit that I’m quite curious about you and these powers of yours. So if you’ll indulge my curiosity, I would appreciate it greatly.” The boy nodded at that, and yet, said nothing, his eyes roaming around the area. Nedzu waited, letting his cup back to his desk as his paws rested over his knees out of sight of the boy so he could clench them without showing this predator weakness.

Eventually, the boy’s gaze went back to the principal, and he smiled dangerously sweetly.

“If this is for your own curiosity and nothing else, what about we play a game?”

Nedzu’s tail flickered at that.

“And what kind of game?”

“Chess!” Midoriya said with the cheerfulness of a monster ready to strike little boy. “What about an answer for every piece you take from me?”

“Oh! Interesting idea.” What’s his angle what’s his plan does he want something what is his plan what is his plan- “But wouldn’t this make the game a bit one-sided? Unless you have something you want, if you take a piece from me?”

“Oh yeah! What about a request?”

This is it. This is his angle. “A request?”

“Nothing too crazy, of course. Just a favor I’d like to ask you. You’re free to deny any requests you don’t like.”

This must be a lure . Bait for something. “Can I ask details about these requests of yours?”

“If you want to use one of your questions for that, of course.”

Nedzu’s mind exploded, going through Midoriya’s proposition. It sounded perfectly reasonable and clearly in Nedzu’s favor; he did not need to accept any of Midoriya’s requests, and he could drag the game out to squeeze as many questions as he wanted. And yet, the wording of it all bothered him. Midoriya never said his questions would be truthful. Midoriya also said that he could ask questions about the requests if he used one of his moves to win a piece, leaving him with fewer possible moves in his favor. Was he sure Nedzu would accept his requests? Was this a way to coax him to do something? His logical self alerted him or potential traps and ways for Midoriya to spin this against him. His animal self screamed danger danger danger.

And so, after a few seconds of pondering, Nedzu smiled.

“I’m in.”

 

 

The principal prepared the board and offered Midoriya to choose his side. The boy took white, and so did his first move, pawn to D4. After pondering, Nedzu took his left knight and moved it to F6.

“Unusual start. How’s your day, by the way, Nedzu-san?” Midoriya asked as he moved his left bishop to F4.

“Quite well. Just busy with work.” The principal offered as he took a pawn and moved it to E6. “How about you?”

“Nice. The school has been way calmer than my previous one.” The boy mentioned, pushing his right knight to F3. So already taking out his stronger pieces. “I believe this year will be very interesting .” Nedzu kept his reaction in check as he pondered that strange mention, wondering if this was a bait for a question as he moved a pawn to D5. Another of Midoriya’s went to E3, and Nedzu took his left bishop out to D6. Midoriya’s right knight jumped to E5, the first chance for Nedzu to take a piece. But what was the reason for that move? What could come of this clash?

Playing it safe, Nedzu moved his right knight to C6. Smiling, Midoriya’s right bishop went to D6. ‘So you want me to start ’, the principal thought, using his knight to go to E5 and take Midoriya’s. “I think that’s my first question.” He said, and Midoriya gestured with his hand to invite him.  He could ask about that comment, but he had one first, that would hopefully put his and Yagi’s first theory at rest. “Who gave you that power?”

Midoriya’s gentle smile sharpened.

“Hm, how to answer that… you see, I cannot say THEIR name, so the best way I can describe THEM would be… a god-like entity with a very skewed sense of humor?”

Nedzy pondered in that answer. While short, it gave a few key points. First, THEIR name couldn’t be said, maybe for personal reasons of Midoriya physically couldn’t. And while technically the boy DID answer, the information itself wasn’t much. Skewed sense of humor? That doesn’t give anything. But the one part that was… interesting.

Entity.

Not a person.

Entity.

In a way, Midoriya admitted the source of his power was not human .

Before he could ponder more, Midoriya’s pawn went to E6, taking his knight.

“First request!” the boy said cheerfully . “You have planned an exercise for class 1-A at the USJ. No matter what happens, you must NOT cancel said outing, no matter the circumstances. Are we understood?”

Nedzu’s eyes closed for a bit. What. What . That poses a lot of dangerous points here. Midoriya knows about the class schedule. He also knows something WILL happen that might compel Nedzu to cancel that training exercise. Is this a way to cause UA damage? How? Why? Too many questions, Nedzu didn’t know.

Before he could realize, he took his left bishop back to E7.

“So what do you say?” Midoriya asked before making his move.

“I was hoping to ask something first before accepting or declining, if that’s possible.”

“Not when’s my turn, and you didn’t take a piece.”

Nedzu blinked. Yes, he retreated.

Why.

Why!?

“I’ll consider your request, but cannot guarantee I will hear it if I believe accepting will put UA in danger.”

“Fair enough.” Midoriya’s pawn jumped to F6 and took his knight. “Second request. Any interactions between me and the detective Tsukauchi Naomasa must be prevented at any cost. Me and he must NEVER interact.”

Nedzu’s mental alarms ringed. This… this was dangerous. And now was seeing Midoriya’s game, he was doing very strange and specific requests, naming key people and situations for a plan he had, and he knew all of these requests were perfectly reasonable for him to grant as needed. But why? But why!? But why… But WHY!?

His eyes met Midoriya’s. For a moment, he saw a kaleidoscope of green tones and darkness, and then a blink and nothing.

This was dangerous.

Too dangerous.

“That can be arranged.”

“Thank you.”

Nedzu’s bishop moved and took Midoriya’s pawn at F6.

“How do you know about all this critical information?”

A tense silence dragged on for a few seconds, Midoriya’s smile not giving anything.

And then…

“I know this story’s Script. All of their actors, their lines, and the plot of the story. Everything.”

Nedzu blinked.

Script. Actors. Plot.

While in theatrical terms, Midoriya admitted he knew the future. Some form of precognition or someone else offered him that insight , if the term Script was anything to go by .

One of Midoriya’s pawns went to C3. One of Nedzu’s jumped to C5. Midoriya’s last knight went to D2, Nedzu’s king, and left tower swapping positions at G8 and F8. Midoriya’s queen went to F3.

Nedzu was wondering who would voice their questions next. Depending on that, he had some ideas of what to ask, but Midoriya’s next request could throw him off a loop . So many variables.

Nedzu’s pawn to E5.

The hunt. The danger. It was terrifying. Horrible.

Midoriya’s queen to B3. Nedzu’s pawn to G6. Midoriya’s Bishop to G3. Nedzu’s pawn to E4. Midoriya’s bishop to C2. Nedzu’s pawn to D4.

Midoriya’s pawn to D4, breaking the stalemate and taking his pawn.

Thrilling.

“You must not share any information about me and my actions without consulting me first.”

Nedzu’s logical mind wanted to ponder on that request, analyze, and weigh the pros and cons.

Nedzu’s animal mind was on the hunt .

“Acceptable.”

Nedzu’s pawn went to D4 and took Midoriya’s.

“What is your goal with all of these actions?” he asked. Both as a way to weigh Midoriya’s intentions and to get more information about his goals.

“I want to ensure the Script goes just well enough for the story to be similar to canon, but giving me enough room to change certain key situations for me to reach my goal.”

In other words, some things MUST happen for Midoriya’s plans to go through, but not ALL of the foreseen situations. So, Nedzu accepting his requests is his way of bringing him to his side. An ally in a game Nedzu cannot yet see.

Incredible.

Midoriya’s left bishop went to E4, taking his pawn.

“In the future, Tokoyami Fumikage will experience a quirk evolution. There are two possibilities involved in that change. If the worst possibility happens… You must prepare everything you can to kill him as fast as possible, since I won’t be there to do anything about it. Involve Aizawa-sensei and Vlad-sensei, since they both will be there and they’re under your direct authority, unlike the other heroes in that scenario.”

Nedzu’s train of thought stopped.

“Why?” he ended up saying before he could restrain himself.

Midoriya’s smile turned sad at that.

“Because in that worst-case scenario, he would end up destroying every living being on this planet in less than a week.”

That answer felt chilling. Not something Nedzu was expecting.

And yet, in that moment, he saw Midoriya as his most expressive and human . Mournful. Sad. Someone carrying a weight far heavier than most.

What a burden the future must be for one such as him.

“What are the chances of this scenario happening?”

“I’d say 50/50.”

Nedzu analyzed the boy, looking for anything out of place, a hidden, dark intention behind his words.

He found nothing. And so, he decided to trust his instincts.

“… Then I’ll do it.”

“… Thank you.” The boy muttered, strangely vulnerable.

The principal nodded, contemplating both the board and this situation.

“How long until?...”

“Ah ah ah, I’ve given you way too many freebies for today.” The boy said, cheerful demeanor back. Nedzu chuckled to himself at that.

“Fair enough.” He pushed his pawn to C3, taking Midoriya’s. “What about now?”

“This year's summer camp.” The principal nodded, wondering about that. All students should be there, and yet Midoriya said he wouldn’t be there to stop Tokoyami.

What will happen in that scenario?

Midoriya pushed one pawn to D3, taking his own and effectively shutting down his train of thought.

“One more. Make sure someone other than Midnight and Cementoss takes care of this year’s Sports Festival, or at least put someone reasonable in charge of the podium. Someone with emotional intelligence, please.”

Nedzu’s tail flickered a bit at the strange request, but nodded. It was reasonable enough, though he couldn’t help but wonder why.

The principal pushed his left tower to E4. One of Midoriya’s pawns went to F3, and Nedzu’s right bishop went to H3, taking his queen.

“What is your ultimate target with all these preparations?” he decided to ask. While this entire situation felt bizarre and that looming danger ever present, he was seeing Midoriya more like a man with a mission instead of the wild card he felt like before, and so, to tip the scales, he needed his ultimate goal on the table.

The boy, gazing at the board, smiled softly.

“I need to eliminate someone who shouldn’t be here. Someone who has been seen by SOMETHING, and has deviated from his intended purpose.”

Nedzu contemplated that last sentence. Was Midoriya planning to murder someone? Most probably. Was this someone dangerous? He’d say yes. But with the fact that he said some key words, ‘deviated from his purpose’, and the rest of their conversation, Nedzu thought that…

A pawn went to H3, taking his bishop.

Midoriya’s gaze found his.

“I want all the records you have on Shirakumo Oboro. All the information available.”

Nedzu blinked. Once more, Midoriya’s knowledge astonished him.

“I’ll make sure to email you anything I have before the end of the day.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Nedzu’s queen went to B6. He would win in his next move, no matter what Midoriya would do. The boy in question smiled.

“Hey, do you want to bet something?” he said. Nedzu’s tail flickered, curious.

“Oh? And what do you want to bet on?”

“I can take your king in my next move. If I do, you’ll give me a free request that I’ll cash out in the future, and you’ll grant it no matter what. If I can’t, I’ll answer all of your questions truthfully. What do you say?”

The principal froze for just a second. That request… didn’t make sense. Midoriya had no way to win, he HAD to know that. Why offer a gamble that was clearly impossible for him to win? Unless he wasn’t seeing something?

…

…

…

And yet…

Nedzu extended a paw, smiling. Midoriya took it and shook it with his hand.

“Do your worst. ” Nedzu said, and Midoriya’s smile turned sharp. After separating, Midoriya’s hand went down the board…

…Took Nedzu’s king and threw it in his mouth.

CRACK.

CHOMP. CHOMP.

GULP.

…

…

…

Nedzu’s head fell into his chair, and he cackled madly.

Seconds after, a level 3 alarm shook the entire building.

Notes:

Next time: We're reenacting a certain Spiderman meme.

Chapter 8: Playing with doppelgangers

Summary:

I hate mirror matches.

Once again, Midoriya was on a rooftop in the middle of the night, frantically scribbling, erasing, and writing again in volume four of “How to find Elation in life.” However, his sunny disposition was nowhere to be found, his kaleidoscopic eyes not even in the pages as he wrote but staring at the distance, to a certain point in this narrative.

The plan was already in motion. Nedzu agreed to his requests , and he was already pushing the story to deviate from canon. Tokoyami’s situation was … unexpected, he had to admit. As always, one of THEIR shadows was always problematic, but Dark Shadow’s situation was intriguing. Maybe they would be the wild card this tale needed to reach his intended destination? Only time would tell.

…B ut he was distracting himself with this. It wouldn’t be relevant until the final arc, and he had more pressing matters to attend to. Blinking, his eyes went back to normal, and his gaze found his notebook. Chaotic scribbles with no sense at all were found, like the drabbles of a madman. And yet, they had meaning. For THEIR words were chaos, laughter, joy, and sorrow, all in one. Like the tragicomedy called life.

Midoriya smiled. The message was clear.

Tomorrow will be a show , and he will be one of the lead actors.

 

----------

 

Everything is ready. They have the schedule, the manpower, and the exact location.

Things will go exactly as he wants. He’s been grinding like crazy for this exact moment. His fated encounter with the last boss before chaos engulfs it all. And this rotten society finally falls apart.

While Sensei wished him luck yesterday, he wasn’t here today to send him off, busy with some stuff with the doctor (and no, he was NOT pouting because of that, SHUT UP KUROGIRI!). No matter. He was here to lead, and that would be enough for today.

And so, when the canon fodder finally arrived at the warehouse, he stepped forward. Some words before a fight were a must for team morale, as years of raiding taught him.

“Ahem.” He cleared his throat to call them, though most were either chatting or interested in the Nomu staying in a corner , unmoving . Frowning, he grabbed the closest guy from his jacket, instantly dusting the fucker. The yelp from the guy was enough for everyone else to shut up and listen. “Alright, NPCs, now listen!” Some complaints came at that, quickly shut up the moment he extended a hand to a guy. “You’re here for one thing and one thing only: Tanking! We’re going against the final boss, and while most will be away, getting an environmental buff against the hero brats, you’re here to tank any heroes while we go against the raid boss. So make sure to lock the fuck in and if you Leeroy Jenkins my fucking plan I’ll chase you down myself. Clear?”

No one said anything.

“Good. Now move.”

 

----------

 

The USJ. A pinnacle of what Hero Society has become, so many resources and technology are invested in for the sole purpose of training. Showy. Wasteful. And so, so very far from the main building, away from other heroes, and so easy to isolate. Perfect for today’s ambush.

As Shigaraki crossed the warp gate, he allowed himself to revel in the surprise and horror from the hero students and their teachers . But that joy turned to angry confusion as the main boss wasn’t there. What? Maybe the boss would spawn if he dusted some of the ads? Well, wasn’t that a thought.

Kurogiri warped forward, his orders to take care of Thirteen clear as day as one of the heroes stepped forth into his tanks. (Black uniform with a long gray scarf, quirks suddenly deactivating on his way, Eraserhead- ). The hero swiftly dealt with his canon fodder, and Tomura had to hand it to him, he was so damn cool Still, a stealth build in open combat? His skillset would work well with his low-level crooks, but against a boss?

Still, he decided to enjoy the show. Deplete his stamina, analyze his attack patterns. It was subtle, but his hair gave him away. What a glaring and stupid weakness to have, something so easy to cover, and yet, hubris is a sin. Slowly but surely, the interval between quirk activations diminished. Soon. Very soo n… And there!

In one swift move, just the moment his quirk faltered, Tomura reached for his shoulder. And lo and behold, decay did what it did best. The pained grunt was as cool as the hero, but it was a show of weakness nonetheless, and he reveled in it just before he had to step away from the hero’s reach. Even injured, the man didn’t relent.

So goddamn cool.

“You’re good, Eraserheah.” He offered with a lopsided grin. “But I’m not the final boss.”

Time to bring the big guns.

“Nomu!”

Before the hero could react, his ace stroke with overwhelming power pinning him to the floor. He allowed himself a cackle as he watched the miniboss helplessly struggle against the Nomu. Amazing , everything was going so good , he only needed-

“Shigaraki Tomura.” The voice of Kurogiri was a bit erratic . Which was weird , his warper never sounded anything but plain.

“Did you deal with Thirteen?” he asked, daring to look away from his now grappled prey.

“About that… they’re out of commission but not dead… however, one student managed to escape while another was… distracting me.”

“What.”  Tomura said plainly. What does he mean distracted !?

“ There was a green boy who started talking about cats and cloud jokes.”

What.

What.

“Did you…. Did you let a student escape … because you were distracted by cloud jokes!? ”

Kuogiri faltered.

Silent.

FOR FIVE SECONDS.

“They were very funny cloud jokes.”

Fuck.

Fuck fuck this fucking useless piece of shit he’s ruining his plan!!

“Fucking Kurogiri… If you weren’t our way out, I would’ve dusted you to ash!” Damnit, and fucking All Might is not even here!! “This is a disaster… and now reinforcements are going to come any second… we’re done !” Damnit! It itches. It itches it itches it itches it itches it itches-

Wait.

That’s movement over there. Two students are hiding.

Well, if All Fucking Might is not going to dare come here-

“-we’re going to hurt his pride before going.”

Tomura jumped to the green girl. Too low level, not having reactions yet. He just needed to touch her face, and it was done -

-And yet, nothing happened. The itch was completely gone .

What-

Eraserhead.

There he was, barely conscious and yet still using his quirk, acting like a hero.

“You’re so cool, Eraserhead.” He let himself grin. If he truly wanted to go like a hero , he would grant him a heroic death . “Nomu-”

“-throw Eraserhead back to the entrance!” commanded by his voice, the Nomu grabbed the hero and threw it like a baseball just in the direction some of the brats were, who managed to catch him just before he hit the ground.

…W hat the fuck.

“What the fuck!? Nomu, you piece of shit you listen to me-”

“Put that impostor back where he belongs!”

One move.

In one single move, Tomura found his Nomu throwing him back to the fountain. Luckily, Kurogiri’s portal helped him back before he hit concrete in match 3. Finding himself falling on his ass right besides Kurogiri, Shigaraki finally realized what the hell was going on.

On the other side of the plaza, scratching under the Nomu’s chin (who was thumping one leg!? What the hell!?) was a god damn doppelganger! His exact frame, face, and body posture. Hell, he even had a copy of his family all over him!!!

“You…. God… damn…” Tomura found himself pointing at the double. “What the fuck!? Since when has this become a mirror match!?”

The doppelganger pointed at him.

“What the fuck are you talking about?! You’re the fucking impostor! I saw you venting!”

“What the f-Ah, yeah!? I’ll show you! Nomu! Kill that double-!” The Nomu quickly turned against the guy, ready to strike, but then-

“Nomu! Stay!” And the beast stopped in its tracks.

“You shit! Nomu, I said attack!”

“I said stay!”

“Attack!”

“Stay!”

“Attack!”

“Attack!”

“Stay-FUCK!” Enraged at the double that was … was that a smug!? Oh, he’s fucking dead. “Kurogiri! Take care of the impostor!” he ordered his warper, and yet the other didn’t move. “Kurogiri? Why the fuck are you doing nothing!?”

“My apologies, Shigaraki Tomura…” the warper said, squinting at his direction. “…If you’re really him.”

…O kay,  this is ridiculous.

“The fuck are you talking about, Of course I’m the real one!”

“That’s what an impostor would say!” accused the double.

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes, it is!”

“No, it’s-NO! Shut the fuck up! I’m the real Shigaraki Tomura!”

“Oh yeah!?” the impostor spat. “Prove it.”

Oh my god, he’s NOT doing this- Wait, you know what?

“Oh, I’ll prove it… when I dust you myself!”

Tomura stepped forward, ready to grapple the copycat, but the moment he reached out, he found the double doing the exact same motion, open palms about to touch each other. What would happen if they made contact? It would depend on the bastard’s quirk. Most transformation quirks copy only appearance, and those who do copy quirks tend to require touch beforehand, and he would've known if someone dared put his hands on him. And so, this most probably would be only a cosmetic quirk.

Smirking, he pushed forward, and the pair made contac t…

…A nd immediately Tomura felt his skin peeling away, and nerves catching fire.

With a yelp, both Tomura and the copycat stepped away. Staring first at their decaying palms and then at each other.

“You fucker! You were supposed to step away at the last second!” the double accused with his uninjured index.

“No, YOU were supposed to step away!” Tomura rebuked. “Your goddamn copy quirk has to be cosmetic!”

“That was exactly my point! You should’ve chickened out at the end, goddamn copy!”

“But I DID decay you, so I’m the original!”

“You fucker, I decayed YOU!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Shigaraki, more than done with life, jumped again, almost at the same time as the doppelganger. One open palm was blocked , then a retaliation that was barely avoided . Tomura’s irritation growing by the second as this asshole was perfectly mimicking everything about him, fighting style included! The fighting style that was taught to him by his Sensei!

“You’re gonna pay…” Tomura growled lowly, as he ducked under the fucker’s attack that tried to grab his face. “How dare you…” Then he tried to grab the other’s leg but was pushed away by a kick to his wrist. “HOW DARE YOU!” in an improvised move, Shigaraki used his entire body to slam against the other’s torso, finally gaining some momentum and pining the other’s legs with his, but when he was about to grab the impostor’s neck, a hand on his forearm managed to graze just enough to activate decay on him, making him hiss in pain and distracting him enough for the other to push back. Both rolled to gain some distance. “You…. You!... I’ll kill you! I swear! The moment I destroy that fucking disguise of your s… You’re dead meat!”

The impostor stood up slowly, eyes covered by his bangs, but his smile was clear as day. “Oh, come on, copycat~” the guy sang that last word, mocking him. “Are you sure about that? You’re making this too easy for me.”

“What do you mean.” Tomura couldn’t help but say, not a question but a statement made in fury. The other, instead of asking, just suddenly and dramatically fell to the floor (yes, dramatically, he even put a hand on his forehead, going full drama queen .), seemingly unconscious.

All people present fell silent, not understanding what just happened.

“What the fu-”

BANG.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

Notes:

Next time? Fun times during school activities where nothing goes wrong! (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

Chapter 9: Behind the scenes during the preview

Summary:

Just school things, nothing weird going on in here! ( ° ᵕ ᵔ )

Slowly, but surely , the pieces fall into place.

However, the places they fall are not exactly what they should be.

No, no, they definitely are now what they should be! And for what reason?

Hm hm… hm hm…

Oh, I see! It’s you!

Why must you interfere with my design!? I had a vision here! Purpose! An objective!

And you’re ruining it!

But no more!

This tale must reach its intended conclusion! Its proper checkpoints! Its-

Wait.

What are you doing?

No! You can’t do that! That’s illegal! Improper! Impossible!

No!

NO!

 

----------

 

Aizawa sighed heavily, his bandaged self still in front of the 1-A class door, wondering if he should’ve listened to Recovery Girl and taken the week to rest.

Yeah, like he could stand still for more than a day.

Still, before he could just open it, he felt a strange wave of hesitation. For all that happened during the USJ, the fact that happened in the first place, and the troubles that a certain problem child caused during all of it .

Tsukauchi briefed him about everything the moment he was awake and requested information about his students. It seemed that the problem child thought it was a good idea to imitate a villain and put himself in danger.

It also seemed to be goddamn effective . Who would’ve thought that Nomu thing was programmed to answer to his master’s voice specifically?

And for some reason, whenever Tsukauchi tried to speak with Midoriya to take his testimony, the kid disappeared or Nedzu called it for some menial task or security issue, and Aizawa had to speak with Nedzu directly to make sure he wasn't being gaslighted into something.

(He definitely was, but had no way to probe it from the rat or prove otherwise)

God damn it.

In the end, he managed to gather enough courage to get in and had to deal with 17 kids fretting over whether he was okay (yes, he is, no matter that he looks like a mummy). Once they settled down a little, he could finally address the other issue that brought him here. That stupid thing that both Nedzu and the School Board insisted on going for despite the obvious issues the school still was dealing with.

“Your battle is far from over.”

That shut everyone up quite quickly.

“The school festival is coming.”

Yay. Fun.

Before he could go on, he noticed from the corner of his eyes the unhinged smile of a certain green menace, and if he wasn’t so tied up with those bandages, he would’ve full body shivered right there.

God fucking damn it.

 

----------

 

It feels … strange. Like it was just yesterday since they were all trapped in the USJ. The villains… the danger… Tokoyami thought, for a while, that they would never leave that place ever again. And yet, they survived, somehow.

But scars do not fade so easily, and the night, once a source of comfort, is now plagued by terrors.

Sleeping has become an issue. Every time he drifts out he finds himself at the mercy of his mind’s trauma. Nightmares of confusing origin plague his rest. He sees hands turning everything into ashes, dark purple choking the light out of everything. But also muddy shadows lost in a sea of black, reaching for a dark star that rolls through the sky, uncaring. Of a ring of white losing itself into an orb of nothingness. Of a cold feeling encompassing all, of him slowly but surely losing himself, of a world devoid of all color-

“Tokoyami-kun?” His friend’s voice made him blink back from the depths of his mind. Midoriya, sitting by his side in the cafeteria, was looking at him with concern. “You’re out of it today. Are you feeling alright?”

“I-” The raven boy was about to excuse himself when his dark self came out without his consent.

“He’s been having nightmares and can’t sleep well.” Dark Shadow said despite his squawk of protest, quickly cowering in embarrassment at the undignified sound he made.

“Oh, it’s okay Tokoyami-kun. We went through something hard.” Tokoyami’s gaze found himself staring at his untouched lunch. Was it okay, really?

“It-" he muttered after a while, unsure. A steady hand on his shoulder, however, reassured him. Despite his theatrics, Midoriya was nothing but friendly to him during these times. “It doesn’t feel like it…”

The other nodded, green eyes finding his own as he smiled softly, his gaze turning kaleidoscopic for a few seconds. “I don’t blame you. I  just wish I could do something for you.”

That made Tokoyami smile. Midoriya was truly a friend.

“You already do. Knowing I can freely speak with you is a weight off my shoulders.” The green boy’s smile wavered for just a moment, and Tokoyami thought he imagined that moment.

“Say… we still have a bit before lunch ends. Why don’t you try to sleep for a while? I promise I’ll make sure you’ll get some rest.”

“But I couldn’t…”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Midoriya brought out a blanket from … somewhere , at this point, Tokoyami stopped trying to find an explanation for Midoriya’s items that came out of nowhere, and put it on his hands. “Trust me, okay?” the bird boy grabbed the blanket -it was green with black dots, quite soft at the touch- and smiled. Nodding, he pushed his meal aside and used the blanket as a makeshift pillow, letting himself close his eyes. As he drifted away, he could’ve sworn he heard a soft humming voice and felt something gently stoking his feathers.

He slept soundly; no nightmares haunted him until the bell woke him up .

 

----------

 

Shinsou Hitoshi learned from a young age that no man is born equal. Even less in a world where your quirk defines who you are in society’s eyes. And year after year dealing with stupid kids, dismissive teachers, and heroic worshippers, his initial lesson was reinforced into the mask of spite and sarcasm he wore like a second skin.

That mask cracked the moment he realized his dream of becoming a hero was stripped away from him because of robots.

And so, now a first year in gen-ed, here he was, in the middle of a crowd trying to spot the rising ‘stars’ of class 1-A.

(Part of him, a small, very small part that whispered in those moments loneliness crept out from the shadows, hoped to find someone who would understand .

That part was quickly shut up by his usual mask.)

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. No time for stupid thoughts. He was here to scout the competition, to see if he could make it through the hero course. The sports festival was his one chance, after all.

And when one blond prick went on calling the crowd “extras” and pushing them out like he was the next coming of All Might, Shinsou once again reinforced his mask and stepped forward.

“Are all the kids in the hero course like this one?” he said as casually as he could as he opened his way through the crowd. ‘Come on Hitoshi , don’t show them that you’re scared’. “Gotta say, I’m a little disappointed.”

Most of the hero students looked either confused or annoyed. Good, that would make riling them up easier. “You know, those of us who didn’t make it into the hero course are stuck in general studies and other courses. Quite a bit of us. And depending on how we do at the sports festival? They might consider transferring us to the hero course and get one of your seats.”

Shinsou heard a snicker, and glanced to the side, noticing a plain, green-headed boy lying over a desk with a guy with a raven head. Squinting, he ignored the blond pomeranian as he locked eyes with the other boy. “A perfect chance to knock you out of your pedestals. Consider this a declaration of war. ”

The other boy kept his gaze. Green, clear eyes narrowed, though his smile was still there, pupils becoming like kaleidoscopes of green. Keeping himself from reacting to the sudden shiver that got him, he tried his best to appear casual as he turned back and ran walked away.

 

Only when he was hidden from any eyes behind a corner he unclutched his fists and let himself breathe in relief. Damn, that had been nerve-wracking! That green guy was weird , what’s his de-?

“Hey, nice speech!” No, Shinsou did NOT jump at the sudden cheery voice, no sir. He just stepped backward, that’s ALL! “Haha, yeah, keep telling yourself that.”

“What.”

“I said that speech was nice.” The green boy from before said, casually leaning back against the wall by his side, smiling at him. “You’ve got passion, I can tell.”

Shinsou narrowed his eyes, glancing around. No one was there, just the boy and him. Was this an ambush? Damn it, maybe if he managed to make the guy answer a question he could run away before-“Say, can I ask you something?” the green kid said, suddenly very close to his face. Shinsou was about to step away but somehow the green boy grabbed him by his arm and pushed him against the wall, blocking his escape with both arms by his sides, never stopping that damn smile of his. “Just one question and I’ll be out of your hair, I’m REALLY curious about something. What do you say?”

Dumbfounded, and overcome with a mix of terror and something else he won't could't identify, Shinsou could only nod sharply. The green guy’s smile widened. “Great! So…” he dragged that last syllable, subtly getting closer until he could feel the other’s breath ghosting overholyfuckingshithe’sgoingto- “What’s a good name for a purple Maine Coon?”

What.

Shinsou had to blink a couple of times while processing that question because what the fuck!?

The green guy-God damn it he needs to figure out this guy’s name because fuck- tilted his head as he raised a brow in question. Shinsou had to force his brain to reboot so he could remember how to speak.

“Uh… hm… Murasaki?”

A few seconds of silence passed after that. Shinsou suddenly felt like kicking himself or jumping from the window when the green guy honest-to-god giggled.

“A bit basic, but I’ll take it.” He said, pushing himself back from the wall. “Thanks for the idea! Keep it in mind, Shinsou!”

And then he turned back and skipped away.

…

…

…

Shinsou suddenly felt weak on his knees and found himself falling on his ass, the wall behind him slowing down his descent. Maybe, a few hours later, he would think about that encounter. About how impossible it would’ve been for the boy to catch up to him so quickly, or the way his eyes turned into stained glass, or his smell of mint, or the fact that he knew his name. Right now? He was just questioning in repeat What the fuck because seriously?

He had no idea what to think.

 

 

Notes:

This is not fair. This is MY STORY YOU CAN'T DO THIS-!

Next time? A new show begins! ⊹ ࣪ ˖͙͘͡★

Chapter 10: Everybody get up, it's time to slam now (Scene 1)

Summary:

A nice workout for everyone to enjoy! ⋆.˚⟡ ࣪ ˖

One night of clear skies and stars hidden by light pollution, Midoriya found himself dancing on a rooftop once again. Today, a slow dance, when he pretended to lead a partner over the imaginary ballroom, one hand over their waist and the other gently holding their hand.

For anyone seeing this, the scene would’ve been quite ridiculous.

Fucking piece of garbage usurper-

Suddenly, the dance stopped, as if time and space had frozen. The boy’s kaleidoscopic eyes found something in the dark sky, tracing its movements like a hawk.

After a couple of minutes of small, calculated hand and eye movements, he smiled.

Fuck you. You’re a bitch. Fucking scammer.

Ah, so some of the actors will be watching tomorrow’s show.  Midoriya’s smile widened at that.

Perfect.

Fucking liar piece of shit.

 

----------

 

The roar of the audience was deafening, to the point that Shinsou could barely hear his own thoughts. That, however, might be a blessing in disguise, considering that since this morning his brain decided to go into self-sabotage mode, listing all the ways he could fail today.

So now, under only the louder of his inner voices, he could only mentally scream that he had to do this.

He had to.

He had to.

It was his chance.

And he would take it, no matter what his stupid mind would try against him-

(Green broken eyes like the glass of a kaleidoscope, arms caging him, the smell of his breath so so close, that fucking smirk-)

Nope. Shut up. He’s not doing this today.

…Just in case, as Present Mic introduced the rest of the courses, Shinsou looked around for that mop of green that haunted his nightmares since he tried to be an edgelord and declared war against class 1-A like a fucking idiot.

No, he doesn’t regret it.

(Or maybe he does, just a little.)

No, he doesn’t, shut up.

“And for the student’s pledge, from class 1-A, Midoriya Izuku!”

Who? Shinsou glanced in the direction of the hero course. He wasn’t sure who this Midoriya was, only that normally the one giving the pledge would be the one who got first place in the-

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh shit fuck shit damn fuck is it too late to turn back and run away? Maybe if he asks nicely they would let him forfeit.

“No, they won’t.” Was the first thing Midoriya said once he reached for the microphone. The entire stadium fell silent. “Oh, it works. Well then.” Clearing his throat, the green menace continued. “Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the slaughterhouse! I’m sure you’re here expecting blood, sweat, and tears, and worry not, you’ll have your fill of bread and circus!” Midoriya chuckled, and his voice resonated in the suddenly silent stadium. “But first? Remember, this? This is something you’ve created. This society, this reality, where people harm and kill and die for your amusement. If anyone is guilty of this world’s sins. Is you.”

Some murmurs came here and there, most confused about the boy’s, words. For Shinsou, though? Those words resonated deep within his soul . Spoke of years of spite and loneliness and so much more.

And so, when the serious green boy suddenly smiled cheerfully and wished luck to the rest of the students, literally dropping the mic to an awkward Midnight, Shinsou could only follow with his gaze.

The mental ‘what the fuck’ had now a tint of awe instead of deep-bone fear.

 

----------

 

“What was that? Tokoyami couldn’t help but ask as soon as Midoriya came back after his speech. While he was expecting some theatrics from his friend at his pledge, he wasn’t expecting the sudden seriousness of his words. The boy in question only smiled at him with that crooked grin as his eyes glinted.

“Something someone needed to hear.” He said casually as the voice of Midnight explained the rules of the first competition, a race of sorts. Before he could probe further, Dark Shadow left his soul to go and hug Izuku again.

Never before has his inner darkness acted so… affectionate with someone else. He was neutral at best with strangers, and plain aggressive with those who said or did anything against him. And so, even now he couldn’t explain Dark Shadow’s strange… affinity with Midoriya. One part of him wondered, with a tinge of embarrassment, if this behavior was somehow a reflection of his own desires.

But before he could think about it further, the crack of a whip and a loud announcement marked the start of today’s show. At his side, Midoriya grinned, not moving yet, as the crowd of students kicked and screamed trying to cross the narrow passage.

“Is it time, Midoriya?”

“I think we should glide with style. Dark Shadow?”

“LET’S FUCKING GO!”

 

----------

 

“-have frozen the entire area and now slides on top! But some people won’t let a little ice stop them, Bakugou from class 1-A is already blasting his way to victory! Eraserhead, what do you think?”

“I want a nap.” Aizawa commented dryly, not wanting to be here at all. He had hoped he could use his injuries to escape extra work at the sports festival for once but no, Hizash HAD to drag him to do comment work, because he NEEDED the extra eyes on him as an underground hero. Very smart , good job.

“Party Pooper~” Hizashi sing sang as he continued his commentary, showing just how much Aizawa wasn’t needed here. Maybe if he closed his eyes and hid under the sound console he could nap until the entire event was over-

A sudden loud noise, like one from a mic out of order buzzed in his ears, and he instinctively gave his friend a quirked glare. But instead of shutting him up, the sound just changed to a familiar voice that gave him the chills.

“Fear not, dear audience, this is only a small, hostile takeover. Welcome, to today’s competition! Today, live from the first year’s race-”

He knew it. He knew he should’ve stayed home. Fucking-“

 

----------

 

“-UA’s resident Problem Child, Midoriya Izuku!” said problem child chirped while running through a myriad of robots with the grace of a cartoon bunny. “Today with my cohosts, the Raven Lord of Darkness, Tokoyami Fumikage!”

“Greetings from the depths of the abyss.” Tokoyami deadpanned, sprinting as his quirk cleared a path from here. “Glad to be here. Hi mom, I love you.”

“And our Black Soul of the shadows of the Black Void themselves, Dark Shadow!”

“Hi! Dark Shadow here!” the quirk waved with one hand while the other tore a robot’s head right off. “My pronouns are she/her, I love the darkness, apples, and shiny things. Nice to meet you!”

“Thanks for being here, both of you! Now, while we’re live from the battlefield itself, let’s see how things are!” Midoriya jumped, doing a backflip as he fell right on top of Dark Shadow’s open palm and looked around. “And what do we have here? Only giant robots who are definitely not a safety hazard! The Robo Inferno, ladies and gentlemen!”

“We already have our first place icing some of them, opening his way forward.” Tokoyami continued with a surprisingly flat tone, grabbing Dark Shadow’s other hand as his quirk pushed him directly to the wall beside the road, where the audience was going crazy. “As you can see, some foolish ones try to use the path forward, but the ice is both beautiful and fleeting.”

“And we-oof, two students got flattened by the falling robots-Oh wait, they are both fine thanks to their hardening quirks! Congrats, UA, you may be able to avoid being sued!” Midoriya smirked as he casually strolled around the robots. Dark Shadow by his side cackled loudly.

“That’s what you get for being inferior bags of flesh!”

“That said, our next obstacle is here at last, a giant hole you don’t want to consider a goal, everyone! The Fall is here!” Midoriya added, making some of the students groan in disgust.

“We’re seeing impressive displays of work over here.” Tokoyami continued as Dark Shadow came and went, grabbing him and tossing him into the air to later fly forward and do it again, like in a circus show. “Flying thanks to explosions, sliding in ice without losing momentum- And we also have flying students at 3 p.m. over there . What do you think Midoriya?”

“Impressive work if I say so myself!” the green-haired teem commented as he ran through the ropes, following a pink-haired girl in a jetpack. “Say, is this self-made?”

“100 percent support course work!” the girl said as Midoriya handed her a microphone. “Made with the latest technology, this baby is both easy to use and incredibly light! Do you need to make those long jumps to catch up to nasty villains? Just give us a call here to Hatsume Industries, that’s H-A-T-S-U-M-E, Hatsume Industries!”

“Thanks for the ad, miss Hatsume, remember that folks! And now for the last obstacle-Would you look at that , there’s fireworks already!”

“Ohh, it’s a minefield!” Dark Shadow cackled as some students went flying in the distance. “Once again, the inferior lifeforms you humans are show your limitations thanks to some puny explosions!”

“That’s right!” Midoriya agreed as he jumped around the minefield like a ballerina. “Don’t worry, everyone, the Geneva Convention doesn’t apply here as long as no limbs are lost in the way! How does it look from the sky, Tokoyami?”

“The last stretch is at hand.” Said boy commented as he held Dark Shadow, who was now expanding wide and acting like a makeshift parachute. “Both Bakugou and Todoroki from 1-A are competing neck to neck, no one dares give up their advantage!”

“I can see that!” Midoriya said, suddenly sprinting in the middle of the two boys who almost lost their balance. “Say, who do you think is going to win this?” the green boy asked with a mic in one hand and a half-eaten banana in the other, pointing the former to the two students.

“Out of my way.” Todoroki said coldly, pushing his ice wider to try and freeze Midoriya, but the boy just did a backflip, casually throwing the banana peel while tumbling backward, which fell right on Todoroki’s face, sending him to the side and against a wall. “Oof, a reminder to everyone: drive safely, avoid alcohol, substances, and daddy issues while on the wheel!” the boy added as he fell right on Bakugou’s shoulders, who was mid-fly.

“ACK! FUCK YOU DEKU, GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM-!” Bakugou was about to grab Midoriya and push him away before they both fell from the air when the green boy grabbed his head with his thighs and literally flipped him to the floor, using the momentum to jump forward, grabbing Tokoyami’s extended hand. Both glided thanks to Dark Shadow right towards the finish line.

“And with that, the winners are-!” A static sound cut Midoriya’s voice, and soon after Present Mic came back.

“-fuck was that-I MEAN, SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION, EVERYONE, WE’RE BACK ONLINE! AND CONSIDERING THE HACKING OF THE COMMS AND-“

“Perfectly legal action of our students, condoned by the administration, and thus completely under the rules!” Nedzu’s voice chirped through, cutting the voice hero and sending everyone into silence for a few seconds until Present Mic sighed deeply.

“…Today’s winners are Midoriya Izuku and Tokoyami Fumikage.”

At that, the crowd went crazy, cheering as the boys (and quirk) in question bowed deeply to their audience.

Notes:

Next time? You should know: chaos, red flags, and trauma dumping. (๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑)

Chapter 11: Everybody get up, it's time to slam now (Scene 2)

Summary:

Welcome to the jam! Team edition (•ᴗ<˶)✧₊ ⊹

“Now for the next game… Cavalry Battle!”

The people around Midoriya murmured as Midnight explained the rules of the second game: a team battle, chasing each other for points, decided by how you performed in the race. In paper, an interesting, yet simple game. But of course, a story like this would not stay simple when such a chance for narrative tension is there for the taking.

“…And the first-place bandana is worth… ten million points!”

Aaaaand there it is.

Eat shit and die.

Midoriya could feel the hungry gaze of the crowd on him, already planning to hunt him down. Far from feeling intimidated, however, the boy gave them a feral smile, welcoming the challenge. After all, this was all part of what the story had to go for.

No, it wasn’t you cheater! You’re ruining my narrative!

But for the stage to be set, he had to prepare. And for that, he needed some actors to perform alongside him.

And he had the perfect choices.

Don’t ignore me you bitch! Do you have any idea how annoying you are pretending I don’t exist!?

----------

Somehow, he had done it. Shinsou had passed his first trial. He only needed one more and then it was a matter of making people talk on the one-on-ones. He can do this! He can!

…

…

Or at least, he’s trying very hard to pretend he can.

He had to admit, that half of the reason he passed was luck. He managed to brainwash a guy who happeend to have a speed quirk that pushed both enough to reach 36th place. And now, this was a team battle. Maybe if he gets some people on his side quickly enough and stays to the side as the rest fight each other, he might-

“What about no.” Seriously, just how many times that voice will manage to make him scream startle him like that!? Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Shinsou turned back with a blank expression, finding Midoriya’s sunshine smile directed at him. The boy was accompanied by that raven guy from before with his shadow quirk on top of his head nuzzling him, and a girl with pink dreadlocks who was distracted tinkering with some metallic backpack.

“Midoriya.”

“That’s me!” the green boy grinned. “Say, do you have a team for the cavalry battle? Because if not, I’d like you to join mine!” At that, Shinsou raised a brow. What is he planning? He has no reason to include him in his team. Hell, he declared war on him just a week ago!

“You do have a huge target on your back, you know.” The purple boy said, sounding more confident than he felt.

“Yes. That means lots of eyes on us. Especially those of the teachers who can potentially recruit kids with hero material, as someone said.” Midoriya answered with a wink and a grin, and a part of Shinsou wanted to slap that smile out of his stupid face for making sense despite his argument.

“I don’t want to join your team.”

Yes, he does want to join Midoriya’s team.

“Are you suuuuuuuuure?”

“Yes, I am.”

No, he’s not.

Midoriya stared and smiled.

Shinsou’s poker face slowly, but surely faltered.

“What’s your plan anyway!? Everyone will be after you! What are you going to do about that!?”

Midoriya’s grin sharpened at that.

“Exactly. Everyone’s eyes will be on Midoriya Izuku.” The boy said, taking out a green bunny mask from thin air. “And we’re going to use that to our favor. But for the strategy to work? I need you, Shinsou.”

Need you. Need you. Need you.

Fuck.

This guy is unfair, and Shinsou has the distinct suspicion that Midoriya knows exactly what he’s doing, considering that shit-eating grin of his.

“…Explain to me that idea first.”

Midoriya cheered at that while the raven guy by his side snorted. The girl just put her backpack on Shinsou’s hands and started rambling about how to use it and what to do in case of a sudden explosion.

…Maybe he can still run away from this?

“No, you can’t.”

“What?”

“I said now we can talk.”

 

----------

 

For Todoroki Shoto, Midoriya was… a mystery.

Objectively, he’s one of the strongest students in class 1-A. His quirk allows him to copy any person he knows, quirks included. Potentially, he may even imitate the top ten heroes, and who knows who else. And yet, he doesn’t act like someone with that kind of power. Aloof, even ridiculous at times with all his theatrics. And so, Todoroki decided to figure out this strange person.

And for some reason, since starting his investigation on Midoriya, the person in question has been doing his best to avoid him like a plague: disappearing the moment he starts following him after class, using excuses when he tried to speak with him, even somehow avoiding him every time the class works in pairs during training exercises.

Hell, even today the boy managed to avoid him when he tried to challenge him!

It’s like he knows exactly where he is all the time. Maybe he’s using another person’s quirk somehow-?

Hmm, he needs to add that to the board.

But he’s digressing.

For now, he needs to focus. This is an opportunity to test Midoriya, one where he has no way to escape. He has a massive target on his back and is surely going to defend it with his life.

“Todoroki!” Iida’s voice brought him back, he and Momo already preparing for the battle. “Are you ready?” He nodded at that as the countdown started, eyes on the figurative prize. Iida was going to move them as fast as they could, Yaoyorozu already had the insulation ready, and so the moment he was close enough…

“GO!”

Iida’s engines roared to life and Todoroki’s right side was already freezing the ground to stop any stragglers and smooth his classmate’s path, but before they could reach something flew upwards. Most people followed the strange item with their gazes, and that was a mistake: the object exploded in blinding light, a grenade of sorts, and the rush for Midoriya stopped for just a second.

“Whoa! A flash grenade from team Midoriya!? Someone from the support course most likely!”

However, that trick won’t give them more than a few seconds. Already recovering, Todoroki was about to blast his way forward, looking for the green guy when…

“Wait… where’s Midoriya?”

“And in an unexpected move, team Midoriya disappeared! A vanishing act, or somehow hiding behind the scenes?”

…Of course!

“He must’ve transformed into someone else! Look for their partners!” Todoroki commanded, looking around. He’s quite sure Tokoyami was part of his team, but unsure of who else… that grenade had to be from someone from the support course, so he tried to look for gadgets and-

There!

“Iida!” Yaoyorozu said, pointing at the corner on the far left. “Tokoyami’s there!”

“On it!” Iida ran fast, though he wasn’t the only one on the way to Midoriya: Bakugou’s team was already blasting its way around, with the explosive boy in the air, while the other teams, realizing what they were doing, also pushed forward.

This time, however, team Midoriya went on the offensive. Tokoyami’s quirk pushed forth and around the team like a living barrier of shadow while a blast of fire came from the other side in a collision course against Bakugou.

“Whoa, two riders on the air!? Is this allowed?”

“As long as they don’t touch the floor they will be okay!” Midnight ruled. Todoroki had to narrow his eyes, trying to figure out who Midoriya was copying while Bakugou screeched for him when a damned familiar voice screamed back.

“Daddy’s fiery fist!”

The crowd gasped, seeing Endeavor punching Bakugou down, who was saved only by Sero’s timely intervention bringing him back to his team.

“You might believe you’re seeing double, but no! Team Midoriya’s ace is here, as our rider shows his acting skills! And I’m being quite literal!”

Gritting his teeth, Todoroki's gaze followed Midoriya back to his team as Iida pushed forward while Yaoyorozu made sure to ward off other teams with caltrops and flashbangs. He focused only on the fire at the end of the corner. Ready to freeze them solid and take that headband-

“SHOTOOOOO!!!!!” Endeavor’s voice roared, and he flinched, even knowing it was Midoriya. “What do you think you’re doing!?” he continued, his voice laced with something strange. But he couldn’t quite tell what, with how loud everything was. “Do you think you can win? Like this!?”

Damn it!

“Shut up!” he found himself answering as ice surged from his right side, Iida yelping as his legs almost froze, but before his attack could reach, white again.

What.

Another grenade?

No. This… is like he’s frozen. But in his own head.

‘How’ he wanted to say, and yet he couldn’t form words. And then a sublte, yet commanding voice whispered on his mind… or was it a real voice? He wasn’t sure.

“Protect us from the other teams. Keep your distance from us.”

And his body moved before he could think.

 

----------

 

“What!? What’s going on now!? Somehow, team Todoroki is protecting team Midoriya, freezing all their enemies in place, including his own team!”

From the corner, Shinsou was breathing heavily, even though they weren’t moving that much. Holy shit, he couldn’t believe that worked! On his shoulder, Midoriya’s body changed back to his usual form, his bunny mask still on his face as he patted his head. “Good boy.”

Shinsou spluttered, almost losing control over Todoroki. Tokoyami sighed in exasperation.

“Really, Midoriya?”

“What? He’s objectively a good boy!”

“I’m gonna let him go if you keep talking.” Shinsou said, unserious, but fortunately, that was enough for the teasing to stop.

“Very well!” Midoriya continued. “Even with Todostalker’s help, I believe someone will pass through in the end, so we need to be ready for comet formation! Hatsume, are we ready for lift-off?”

“Ready and waiting!” the support girl answered, cackling as steam came from her jet pack. “Remember, two taps to your controls for going up, we’ll have enough fuel for a few minutes max with our weight!”

“I’ll take care of that. Shinsou, use Todoroki for containment, Tokoyami, Dark Shadow, I’m counting on you for protection, I’ll need to maintain my focus on this!“

“Understood.”

“Aye aye, boss!”

“Good girls!” Midoriya said, making Tokoyami squeak as he petted the shadow quirk who chirped in delight (And no, Shinsou wasn’t jealous, shut up).

“Yes, you are!”

“Midoriya, Shut up!”

“Never!” the boy cackled as his form burned on green flames. It was somehow disturbing to see, but being the second time not as scary. The boy’s form suddenly turned into a brown haired girl with a pronounced blush. Tokoyami’s eyes widened in realization.

“I see now what your wicked mind concocted.”

“Hopefully this will give us enough time. Apologies beforehand if I puke on you all!”

“What!?” Each member was quickly slapped on their faces, and Shinsou suddenly felt like his body was as light as a feather. The support girl, realizing what was going on, cackled in delight.

“Awesome combo! Now we’re soaring high!”

The ice wall protecting them suddenly broke as the exploding boy from before smashed it, jumping towards the team. Shinsou’s grasp on the device on his left hand tightened.

“Lift off on go!” Midoriya said as Bakugou was getting closer and closer. Everyone tensed. “Three!”

“DEKU! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

“GO!”

“That’s not how a countdown goes!” Shinsou complained but activated his jetpack anyway, and the four jumped forth. The weightlessness, combined with the impulse of the support girl’s creations, made them go full speed like a comet, literally blasting against the exploding boy who almost fell again.

“And somehow, team Midoriya blasts through the air-! A-Are they flying!? How!? Look at them, everyone, they really are full of surprises!”

Shinsou was screaming for a bit, but eventually, that fear turned into elation. He was flying. Holy shit, he was flying over the arena, going toe to toe with the big leagues! Hell, he had one of the most powerful students of the hero course in his control, keeping potential enemies frozen in place! He never felt so powerful before!

By his side, Hatsume was cackling, megaphone in hand (when?!) promoting her jetpack to the audience while Tokoyami and Dark Shadow blocked incoming projectiles their way. Midoriya, still using the girl’s form, looked a little green, but grinning regardless.

“And we’re on the endgame, everyone! Twenty seconds remaining!”

Good. They just need to keep it up! Just the last stretch and-

“Pomeranian at 3 o’clock! Shinsou!”

“Fuck!” the exploding boy was blasting forth, about to strike him. He somehow avoided Tokoyami and went for him, hands ready to blast him. Shinsou yelped as he flailed, making his team break course somehow and barely avoiding a direct hit, but that was enough to break his focus. “Shit. Todoroki’s free!”

“Recipro burst”

Somehow Todoroki had enough time to react and create a ramp so Iida could pull a literal fast one on them. Team Todoroki blasted at them with a speed that made them impossible to avoid and so both teams went down like an asteroid as Present Mic counted to zero. Everyone flailed as hands tried to reach for the bands on Midoriya’s head and-

BAM!

“Aaaaand, time! Now let’s see the results!”

Shinsou tried his best to separate from the pile of corpses, noticing quickly that Todoroki had Midoriya at the last second, one headband in his hands. His eyes went wide as the rest of both teams noticed. Team Todoroki brightens up in joy.

“And in the first place, with ten million and sixty-nine points, team Midoriya!”

…And that joy died down quickly. Shinsou smirked as his eyes darted to Tokoyami.

“How?!...” Todoroki found himself saying, finally noticing the headband on Tokoyami’s head.

“Well, that was simple.” Midoriya said, wobbly standing up to face Todoroki. “All eyes were on me. I just had to make sure it stayed that way.”

Shinsou had to give it to him: Midoriya was right. When he proposed the idea, he thought it was ridiculous, but it ended up being true. Everyone wanted to chase Midoriya, and so, focused ONLY on him.

Their mistake, really.

“Oh.”

Midoriya suddenly turned back into his body, pale as a sheet.

And before anyone could ask what was going on, he vomited rainbows all over Todoroki, who burned himself in surprise.

 

Notes:

Next time: We enjoy, we confuse, and we weep. ｡°(°¯᷄◠¯᷅°)°｡

Chapter 12: Everybody get up, it's time to slam now (Scene 3)

Summary:

The final battles are here! Cue to theories, elation, and ⋆⭒˚.⋆drama⋆⭒˚.⋆.

The last game was announced . A final tournament of 1 on 1 battles. The final stretch.

Though it may be overkill to participate in these games. After all, his purpose was fulfilled . Eyes were on him. His in particular. He was sure he now knew of his identity, and so the pieces would start moving in his favor.

So, strictly speaking, he had no reason to continue further.

And yet, the green-haired boy smiled.

After all, he was already here. An extra show wouldn’t hurt.

 

----------

 

Shinsou gulped.

He made it. He was here, at the finals.

Now the only thing he needed to do was to fight his way through.

This is what he’s been waiting for all along . A chance to finally show his worth.

And so, when the one-on-ones were announced, he reached a decision. He was going to go all out. No matter what.

…A nd then, they announced the fighters.

…A nd of course, life would throw all his plans through a loop just now.

Because his first fight was against Midoriya Fucking Izuku.

By this point, Shinsou was convinced that the green boy was not a human but a menace from hell. Nothing else could explain just how many layers of wrong was he covered in.

And in his disbelief, he couldn’t help but find the boy’s gaze on him.

The bastard winked at him.

WINKED.

He was so fucked.

 

----------

 

Bakugou was so frustrated he was about to explode a bitch.

His chance to shine at the sports festival was taken by fucking Deku , he had the gall to make a show out of this fucking competition, treating him like another fucking extra on his way!

Since the start of the fucking year, that bitch Deku was somehow able to do whatever the fuck he wanted at school with that fucking quirk of his he must’ve got from some eldritch creature. In the beginning, he was convinced Deku was mocking him, hiding his true power all this time.

But then, after the rage simmered down, he started watching.

The weird ways he acted sometimes. How he seemed to go ahead of everything that happened, or how somehow he spaced out, staring at nothing with weird eyes that turned into stained glass for seconds. How his mood shifted from annoyingly cheerful into cold as fuck.

And so, he reached a conclusion . Something he should’ve seen coming.

This was not Deku. Somehow, he was an impostor using Deku’s face, like a villain or something. After all, Deku was quirkless, and this motherfucker had the power to change appearances at will.

Of course, no one would believe him, and the Rat would probably use the chance to finally force him to go to a shrink.

And now that he had the chance to finally beat that shitstain , they had to be in complete opposite brackets! The only way they could face each other would be in the finals!

…F ine. Fine.

He was going to destroy the competition. Each and every one.

And when the time finally came, he was going to show the world. Prove who this guy was.

…N o, he’s not coping , shut the fuck up-!

 

---------- 

 

Todoroki Shoto was … conflicted.

In one way, he felt like his initial suspicions about Midoriya were somehow correct: He was more than what met the eye. Not only powerful and versatile but also with a tactical mind, if his last victory was anything to go for.

…A nd yet, he managed to make him break his vo w…

…B y vomiting on him-

No.

 He’s not going to think about it.

He’s not.

It doesn’t matter that the scene was transmitted on live TV, it didn’t happen.

…Still. Now sadly he has more questions than answers. And so, after the one-on-ones were announced, and noticed they would fight if both won their first matches, he concluded that he needed more data to make sure about his suspicions.

And so, he needed to go to the source.

“Midoriya. We need to talk.”

 

A few minutes later, Todoroki and Midoriya found themselves in one of the large hallways of the stadium, facing each other in solitude.  Shoto was contemplating the boy’s easy smile and relaxed features, wondering just how much was genuine confidence and how much was a mask to hide his true nature and feelings. Eventually, he concluded that contemplating would bring him nowhere, and so, he decided to just speak.

“You do not make any sense, Midoriya.” He said bluntly. The green-haired boy remained smiling. “Your powers, behavior, all in you do not align with what should be expected of someone like you. I’ve tried to make sense of you over and over, and every time you manage to confuse me more.”

“Aw, shucks, you’ll make me blush!” Midoriya said, giggling, and Todoroki had to take a moment to process that because he did not understand why he would blush. Eventually, he just sighed to himself and decided to be direct.

“Midoriya… are you an alien disguised as a human?”

Silence.

The green boy blinked a couple of time s…

…T hen started laughing hysterically.

Todoroki … was baffled. Why was he reacting this way? Why was he … rolling on the floor with laughter?

“Oh my god-Oh my THEM bwahahahaha!”

“…I don’t understand why are you laughing. Was I wrong?”

“Oh-Haha-Oh gods, give me a moment…” Midoriya had to sit up and actively focus on breathing to finally stop and stand up . “Oh boy, that was funny…”

“How so?” Asked Todoroki, genuinely confused.

“Oh god. You see, Todoroki-kun.” Midoriya started, wiping his eyes of some tears with his sleeves. “I think everyone is theorizing about me out there. People have imagined that I’m either some doppelganger or a demon from hell. But an alien? Oh, that one’s rich!”

“…That doesn’t answer my question, though.” Midoriya snickered, almost erupting in giggles again, but managed to compose himself.

“Tell you what. If you manage to bring concrete proof of what I am, I will tell you. Until then, I’ll neither confirm nor deny your theory.”

At that, Todoroki’s eyes lit, inspiration coming at him suddenly. Would he really confirm his theory if he brought proof? If so, he needed to consult his board!

Lost in his ideas, Todoroki completely forgot about the other reason that brought him here, especially when Midoriya asked him to come with him to lunch to discuss his ideas about him.

 

----------

 

“Welcome, everyone, to the first round of today’s finals! I hope you’re ready for buuuuurning competition!”

As the sound of the audience cheering came through the waiting room, Shinsou was definitely not feeling ready for burning competition.

Midoriya already knew about his quirk. Maybe not the exact activation requirements but still must’ve had an idea. Plus, he had his demon powers and could transform into any other person to destroy him in a flash. Hell, he had copied fucking Endeavor! He could imitate All Might and Detroit Smash his ass to the States for all he knew!

So yeah, he did not have much hope for his chances. Maybe if he somehow made him talk with a joke or something?

“Coming from class 1-C, the mysterious dark horse from general studies, SHIIIIINSOU HITOSHI!”

Fuck.

Fuck that was him!

Resigned to face his destiny, Shinsou walked through, the lights and deafening roars of the public hitting him with full force. Holy fuck, was the place always this packed!?

“And from class 1-A, the multifaceted jack of all trades, MIDORIYA IZUKU!”

And from the other side came the green demon, hands on his pockets and … was that a fedora!? What the fuck!?

In the center of the arena by his side, Midnight was staring in Midoriya’s direction, probably wondering the same as him.

“Ahem… Midnight … your call?”

“O-Oh, right. Uh, I want a clean fight! You go ‘'til your opponent taps out or is pushed out of the arena. Are we clear?”

Both nodded. Midoriya with more confidence, but it's okay. No one is staring except the entire world. No pressure Shinsou .

“Very well. Then let the show…” Midnight let the seconds drag as she raised her whip, suddenly letting it crack against the floor. “Begin!”

Before Shinsou could open his mouth, Midoriya was already running to him, and he had to step back to avoid an open palm trying to grab his arm.

“Shit!” Another attempt, now for his shoulder, and Shinsou had to step back again. “So that’s how it is? You’re gonna use me and then push me down-WHOA!” And lo and behold, Midoriya used the moment to grab him by the wrist and push him against him. Losing balance, Shinsou found himself manhandled and falling on his back, with Midoriya quickly over him, using his weight to pin him down.

Looking up, Shinsou stared at those kaleidoscopic eyes on him, tones of green that he had never seen reflected on the boy’s irises. Suddenly, every attempt to speak was over as Midoriya raised a single hand, grabbing Shinsou’s chin to make sure the other was looking.

He could hear some gasps and loud voices commenting on something , as well as some squeals coming from somewhere close. And yet, there was nothing else he was paying attention right now.

“You think too much , Shinsou-kun.” Midoriya whispered. “You have goals, and they’re admirable. But you think so much about them that you forget this moment, right here, right now.” It was becoming difficult to concentrate on the boy’s words, as the way his lips moved was becoming more and more fascinating. “You should start enjoying the moment more. Focus on the now. Shin.Sou.Kun.”

Thump.

Thump.

All senses were fading. Only kaleidoscopic eyes and lips were important, to the point that Shinsou could only see him. Could only think of him. Nothing else mattere d…

Nothing mattered but now.

…

…

And then he heard laughter.

 

Suddenly, he was being flipped away, rolling on the floor until he stopped on his back, eyes on the sky. It was like, for a moment, he fell away from the entire world, and now was coming back to a reality less colorful, when all of his thoughts came back like a tidal wave. Embarrassment, doubts, uncertainty, all of it, forcing him to acknowledge just what just happened on live TV.

Pushing himself, Shinsou stood up and was about to just run away from it all when Midoriya’s gaze found him again.

 

He was there, smiling that wry smile that made you want to punch him and some other things. Still on the arena. Still in a fight. Still wearing that stupid fedora.

“Do you want to fly again, Shinsou?” Midoriya suddenly asked, and somehow, Shinsou understood the meaning.

And so, he nodded.

The green demon’s smile widened.

“Then let’s dance.”

 

----------

 

Tokoyami watched the fight between Midoriya and Shinsou, enraptured.

It began with the usual flair from his friend, the fedora making him snort and Dark Shadow cackle. Through he noticed something … strange. A sudden shift from the moment Midoriya managed to pin Shinsou down.

Most people around them gasped in surprise, commenting scandalous things about his friend and the boy from 1-C. Normally , Tokoyami would chuckle at the stupidity of the situation, but even he had to admit that … something was happening between the two.

It became even more obvious the moment Shinsou managed to free himself and both stood up, taking some distance as they stared at each other.

Something … strange churned inside Tokoyami’s very being, and for once it wasn’t his other self.

Suddenly, both Midoriya and Shinsou ran for each other and started fighting. It was uncoordinated, trying to push the other, attacking and avoiding, a mess, though an entertaining one, considering how the public was cheering. And yet, for Tokoyami, it felt like a dance of two kindred souls that found each other for the first time.

The strangeness inside of him collapsed into a strange bitterness.

For some reason, memories of Midoriya, all his theatrics, their crazy plans during their first battle exercise, and ideas for the sports festival came to mind.

They felt … bright. Colorful. Like fireworks shining over a night sky, giving a fleeting but beautiful light.

And said light now was … mellowing. Getting colder and colder as he stared at his friend dancing the dance of conflict.

What kind of grief was wounding his soul, now of all times, as he gazed at his friend’s smile?

What matter of weight was collapsing in his chest, seeing Shinsou smile the same way?

It felt like gravity and density getting stronger and stronger in his heart, pulling everything in an attempt to squash that bitter grief and pain and-

“Fumi!”

“Huh?” Fumikage blinked, noticing Dark Shadow’s claws holding his head and forcing him to stare at her bright eyes, concern evident in her expression.

“Are you okay? You look sad…”

“Ah… I-I apologize. I’m not sure what came over me.” He said as the people around him cheered. Looking down, he noticed Midoriya finally managed to push Shinsou out of bounds by grabbing his arm and flipping him away. His friend, once his victory was announced , took his fedora (that somehow stayed on the entire time) out of his head and bowed to the audience.

Tokoyami felt himself smiling when their gazes met, the strange churning feeling being pushed away for now.

 

--------

 

Dark Shadow stared at her host as his gaze followed the Masked One. Even now, she could feel his apprehension and doubts.

If she could, she would’ve loved to just take all of his bad feelings and throw them somewhere.   Alas, she cannot do so. Not without erasing all of Fumi’s feelings. Not something she wants for him.

Not being able to feel is … is awful.

And so, she settled with nuzzling her host’s head, as one claw conspicuously grabbed a single white feather and threw it away.

Notes:

Next time: Part two of part three? Yeah, this is too confusing. (⸝⸝๑﹏๑⸝⸝)

Chapter 13: Everybody get up, it's time to slam now (Scene 4)

Summary:

Fun times shall never end!
(Cries himself in a corner.)

Shinsou lost in the end.

He felt the sting of defeat, yes. But he wasn’t really mad about it. If anything, it was a strange mix of satisfaction and a craving for more. Even though he wasn’t sure what more meant for him.

For now, he was okay with it. There was no rush to figure out what was going on. He had something good now, and he was going to just enjoy it.

He came back to the stands with Midoriya by his side, cheers everywhere. The rest of the gen-ed classes congratulated him for the fight, and how far he managed to go. The recognition improved his mood exponentially, the feeling of people noticing his efforts felt like a balm warming up his soul.

“You did good, Shinsou-kun.” Midoriya mentioned, patting him on the back. “Keep it up. You’ll become a great hero.”

And Shinsou, for once, just nodded, feeling like he could believe it.

 

----------

 

Todoroki, on the other hand, won his fight.

He wasn’t feeling good about it, though.

Of course, Father would be here. Of course, he would appear right before the fight and ruin his day. All because he wasn’t number one. All because of the fire.

“You could’ve won if only you used it!”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. No, he was not going to let him stray from his promise. He had come all the way here with only her ice. He was going to show him just how much he could do.

No matter the cost.

 

----------

 

Back at the grades, and watching the arena being repaired after a giant glacier hit, Midoriya sighed.

This was going to be problematic if left alone. Todoroki’s situation, that is.

“What was your plan for this plot point?” he asked in a whisper, resting his face on the fence separating the area from the arena, feeling the cold even from here.

“Wait you’re talking to me? Like actually talking to me?”

“Never mind, I can do this myself.” The green boy said, taking volume 4 of ‘How to find elation in life’ from somewhere, skimming through some of the pages. “Let’s see…” stopping in a certain one, he read, narrowing his eyes. “Seriously? Just power of friendship ‘this is your fire’ style? Not even a bit of innovation…”

“S-Shut the fuck up, it works!”

“Oh well.” The boy stood up after that, stretching his arms. “Guess I’ll have to do something about it.”

“Great, another thing you destroy from my plot.”

“Your plot was shit anyways.”

“YOU TAKE THAT BACK!”

 

----------

 

“ALL RIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. IT SEEMS THAT WE’RE STARTING THE SECOND ROUND OF THIS TOURNAMENT WITH A BLAST!”

Todoroki clenched his fist as he waited for the call, thinking about the possibilities for this fight. Depending on how he tackles this, Midoriya could easily counter him if he used a fire quirk, something that he showed himself capable of when he took Endeavor’s form. However, that would depend on just how fast can he use his quirk. So this would be a contest of speed.

If so, he has the advantage.

“Two members of class 1-A face each other now! On one side, he’s the ice-cold prince who already showed us he can end things in one stroke! TODOROKI SHOTO!”

At the call, he stepped out, breathing deeply. He was going to do it. He had to.

“And on the other side, our jack of all trades that knows how to dance! MIDORIYA IZUKU!”

The boy in question appeared soon enough, fedora in hand already. He smiled at him as he got closer, making finger guns in his direction. He narrowed his eyes as Midnight came closer to them, whip in the ready.

“Alright boys, you know the rules and so do I. I want a clean fight, go ‘'til you cannot continue or leave the arena. Are you two ready?”

Both contenders nodded, eyes on each other. Stepping back, Midnight raised her whip. “Then we’re beginning…”

CRACK!

With a wide swing of his right arm, Todoroki sent the biggest glacier he could manage, immediately covering the entire arena in ice. Yeah, it might’ve been overkill but considering his opponent he was not going to take any chances. Even after the initial strike, he didn’t move, narrowing his eyes to detect the smallest of activities.

Which is why he quickly noticed a familiar green glow from inside the ice.

“You really don’t hold back, do you?” a distorted voice came from it. Todoroki was ready for another strike. “I think I know what you need, Todo boy.” Suddenly, the green light turned into a crimson inferno, flames exploding from inside. Todoroki was about to attack again, expecting to find the face of his father, but then froze at the sight of something far worse.

Bicolored hair, heterochromatic eyes, and a familiar scar on the left side. But instead of frost, he was covered in flames.

“Time to face yourself, Todoroki.” Midoriya said with a deranged grin, using his own voice to send the message.

Holding back his anger, Todoroki’s right foot hit the ground, ice surging toward his target. Midoriya imitated the gesture with his left, fire countering the wave right in the middle.

“You… who put you to this!?” Another wave of ice, another of fire countered. “What’s the idea?!” Swinging his right arm, he created another glacier. Midoriya answered in kind with his own fiery wave.

“I just told you.” Midoriya said, the deranged smile looking eerie on his own face as he stepped to the side, avoiding a narrow ice wave. “You gotta face yourself if you want to win, Todo boy.”

“THIS IS NOT ME!” Todoroki screamed, sending another attack that was quickly stopped. Time and time again, Midoriya perfectly mirrored his moves, just with his left side. “I will win only with her ice. I will not use his fire!”

“Then answer me this, Todoroki.” Midoriya stepped to the side focusing his left leg as he stomped, fire erupting all around him to melt his opponent’s attacks. “What am I?”

That question made Todoroki stop for a moment. “…What?”

“You understand my power. I can copy others and use theirs. And so, I am here, copying you, using fire. What does that mean for you, my other self?”

“SHUT UP!”

Another wave of frost was launched, and another fiery one countered it. Attack after attack, Todoroki went on relentlessly, and yet managed nothing but continuously lower his body temperature. And meanwhile, Midoriya’s words did nothing but reverberate over and over again in his mind.

“What am I?”

“ And so, I am here, copying you, using your power.”

“What does that mean for you?”

What…

What does that mean!?

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!?

After a particularly strong attack, Todoroki had to stop, breathing heavily. His body had frost all over, and he was shivering badly. On the other side, Midoriya was also catching his breath, his uniform was scorched all over and his left side was red. And seeing him like that, pushed to the brim, like a mirror… He wondered.

Would that be his, if he ever used his fire?

And if he knew what Todoroki was thinking, Midoriya smiled.

“This is me using half of us. That is you, using half of us. What does that mean, Todoroki?”

“What are we?”

For a second. Or maybe an eternity, Todoroki just… contemplated the man on the other side. Not Midoriya wearing his face, but just… him. The other him over there, scorched and feverish.

“He wouldn’t need to hurt himself if he used his ice.” He found himself saying.

The other him smiled.

“He wouldn’t need to hurt himself if he used his fire.” He said.

And that…

…That made something click .

Todoroki, after taking a deep breath, found himself wanking forward, the other him doing the same, until they met at the center of the arena. He contemplated the other him, burned, and found himself feeling bad for how much he had to push himself.

“…You were only hurting yourself doing this.” He said. The other him shrugged.

“Sometimes, you need to look at yourself from the outside to realize.” Strangely, Todoroki found himself agreeing. Closing his eyes, his lips curled upwards.

“You’re ridiculous… but right.” He conceded in the end. “You… you are me. The part I thought wasn’t me but controlled by Endeavor. But in the end… only I can decide what to do with this fire.”

Letting himself feel, the warmth trapped in his chest flew freely for the first time in years. The frost covering him thawed, and he could feel the heat in his left coming to life, not as scorching pain but as heat.

His heat.

His fire.

Todoroki was about to open his eyes and thank his other self when a wave of wrong and emptiness hit him, his newfound heat gone. Opening his eyes suddenly, he found wavy black hair floating and red eyes staring at him.

He full-body shivered.

“Oh, and one extra lesson.” The visage of his homeroom teacher said with his trademark smile. “Never drop your guard in a fight.”

Before he could react, he felt a pull and then found himself flying in the air, away from the arena.

Right as he was about to fall, right before the announcement of his defeat, before the roar of the public, he found himself smiling.

‘I’m going to slap you, little shit’. The thought somehow found a way out from the depths of his brain, a flash of a memory of a crooked smile and cerulean eyes.

Notes:

Just how many parts will the sports festival have? You don't know. And I don't know either!

Also, a cookie for those who notice all the references in this chapter!

Chapter 14: Everybody get up, it's time to slam now (Scene 5)

Summary:

IT'S F*CKING DOOOOONE!

“AND NOW, THE LAST MATCH OF SEMIFINALS! TWO STUDENTS OF CLASS 1-A FACE IN THIS ARENA!”

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He somehow managed to get this far. As he pondered his options, he had to admit to himself he was at a disadvantage. His opponent was fierce, and his quirk was good against his own. That much he had to admit.

“ON ONE SIDE, HE’S BEEN BLASTING HIS WAY TO VICTORY SO FAR! GIVE IT AN APPLAUSE TO BAAAAAKUGOU KATSUKI!!!!”

He let the cheers be washed away as he felt the darkness. Yes, he knows the odds are stacked against him. Yes, he might know he would lose in the end. But now, seconds before starting, only one question was still bugging him, disturbing his stillness.

Why was he doing this?

“ON THE OTHER SIDE, THE DARK DUO FROM THE EDGES OF THE ABYSS! HERE IS TOKOYAMI FUMIKAGE!!!!”

A hand took his, and he looked at his side, his inner darkness accompanying him. Tokoyami let himself smile as much as he could.

“What do you want to do?” Dark Shadow asked, the question bringing him a sense of warmth and companionship. A familiar gaze and crooked smile flashed in the corners of his mind.

He knew.

“Let’s give them a show.”

 

----------

 

Only one more fight. One more, and Deku was all his.

He just needed to deal with Birdbrain and his puppet. Easy. He knew that shit was bad with light, and he had that for days to come.

At the other side of the arena, the fucker walked casually, hand in hand with that shadow shit. Midnight got closer for the usual reminder of the rules, and Bakugou barely paid any attention, more worried about the moment the match started.

“Ready, set…” the hero raised her whip and screamed go while making it crack.

Bakugou was already flying.

The shadow thing was already moving, and he sent a blast its way to make a path to its owner.  Crossing the darkness, he reached for Burd Guy for a direct hit.

BOOM

The shitstain went flying, barely caught by his quirk before he could reach the arena, but Bakugou was already giving chase. Another blast to the guy, but it was moved by the side at the last second by his quirk, who was dragging him with his arms like he was a toy.

“Art of the Shadow.” He whispered while being carried, eyes closed. “Puppeteer’s puppet.”

Bakugou changed courses with a well-timed blast, chasing his target, and yet he was swiftly manhandled by his quirk from one corner to the other, forcing him to adjust every time to avoid basting himself out of the arena. Then the bird went upwards and brought to the center, his fucking quirk holding one hand and the other on their chest.

“Art of the Shadow.” The quirk said, snorting. “Chaotic Rondo!”

Bakugou leaped forward, now changing targets to the quirk instead, though now Bird Brain managed to bring it to the side, grabbing it from the shoulder and pushing it down like a ballroom dance. This continued a couple of times, him trying to connect a direct hit, and the two moving like they were dancing and avoiding any attacks, even when he switched again and again to catch them off guard.

What the hell-

God, he’s stupid, they are connected! They probably can communicate telepathically or some shit like that!

With a roar, he hit the ground with both hands, the subsequent explosion raising dust and debris. Immediately after he blasted forward, right hook and the ready until he connected with something.

There!

One blast and the makeshift smokescreen dissipated, showing the Bird Guy on his knees centimeters before the arena border with his arms crossed over his face, his quirk right behind him practically hugging him. His arms were singed, probably receiving the brunt of the attack.

“…I could’ve taken it.” The shadow quirk grumbled. His user just shook his head.

“I need you in your best for the last step, my other self.”

“Oh! Are we doing this? Tell me we’re doing this!”

“Indeed.”

“HELL YEAH!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Bakugou raised both hands. He has been coming and going a lot, and sweating even more. At this point he didn’t give a fuck, he just needed a big enough blast and both of them would finally get out of this way-

But then, the shadow thing fell into the floor like it was goo.

That made him pause for a second.

And then, the Bird Guy was just.. sinking into his shadow!?

“Shadow Art.” He said, staring at him with crimson eyes and strange, pitch-black pupils. “Mirage of the Inverted Sea.”

And then he was gone.

“What the…” It took Bakugou a second, but then he realized what was going on: the entire arena was being covered in a tar-like substance that quickly grabbed his feet. He tried to blast it away, but the more he did the more the tar splashed, covering him. And it was cold. Oh so cold that his sweat, and therefore explosions, were diminishing.

Slowly, but surely, all he could see was black, and time, feel and everything was just…

 

 

 

fading-

 

----------

 

Watching Dark Shadow covering everything in the arena, Midoriya couldn’t help the smile that came to his face.

What a way to break narrative expectations! To shatter the ideals of so many! To bring eyes to them!

Also, how dangerous. But effective for his plans.

Yes, that would mean that they'll know. They will know about them, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, and thus, their destiny is inevitable.

Will he rise at the climax of his journey? Or will he sink like so many others, under THEIR shadow?

“Why do you care about them? Aren’t they just another pawn you plan to use for your plan, like Shinsou?”

Midoriya’s smile dropped. His eyes turned kaleidoscopic for a minute.

“Don’t patronize me, creator.” He whispered to the wind, no one hearing his words. “You only know what you have created under THEIR whispers. You’re just like me. And like they will be, eventually.”

“...What do you mean?”

Midoriya’s smile came back. Sharper, and more dangerous.

“You should know. You created this plot, after all.”

“…! You mean-”

Midoriya stood up and left his seat, missing how suddenly the darkness dissipated and three figures appeared at the center of the arena. Two bowed to their audience, and one lay on the ground, shivering.

He had one last dance.

 

----------

 

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WE’RE FINALLY HERE! THE LAST FIGHT OF THE FIRST YEAR’S SPORTS FESTIVAL! AND WHAT A FIGHT WILL BE!

ON ONE SIDE, OUR JACK OF ALL TRADES IS HERE TO FINALLY ASCEND TO KING! MIDORIYA IZUKU!

AND ON THE OTHER, THE FOREBODING ONE WILL CRY FOR NEVER MORE UNTIL HIS OPPONENT IS DONE AND DUSTED! TOKOYAMI FUKIKAGE!”

The fighters found each other at the center of the arena. Midoriya, with his fedora now being held against his chest with his right hand before putting it back, and Tokoyami, walking side by side with Dark Shadow. Midnight got closer, checking if they were ready. They just nodded, not even breaking sight from the other.

“Very well!” the hero said, retreating and preparing her whip. Let the final begin…”

NOW!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No one moved.

The cheers from the audience dimmed, confusion replacing their excitement.

In the arena, Midoriya just smiled, stepped closer, and extended both hands to both Tokoyami and Dark Shadow.

“May I have this dance?” he said, smiling. The shadow quirk just jumped to hug him in answer, while his partner just nodded, bowing.

“I would be honored, my friend.”

Before anyone could react, music started blasting from the speakers, drowning Present Mic’s bewildered commentary.

Tokoyami and Midoriya held hands as the music started, and swayed back and forth, Dark Shadow circling them both in the same slow rhythm.

And then they started dancing, one going for the other in a slow, but potent dance that felt oddly sensual at times. Some of the audience followed their movements with his jaws dropped, some blushed when Midoriya boldly grabbed one of Tokoyami’s legs to drag him closer, some gasped as Tokoyami pushed against Midoriya, hand on his lower back as he pushed him down, his curls barely brushing against the floor. Even Midnight had to admit that the energy both gave was somehow affecting her, finding herself fanning her red face with both hands.

And then, as the music became louder and sharper, their movements became more and more aggressive. Midoriya was practically dragging Tokoyami to the edge of the arena, then Tokoyami was grabbing Midoriya’s hair and forcing him to kneel, beak dangerously close to his neck. The moment Dark Shadow joined the dance, grabbing Midoriya’s waist from behind and making him spin, she and her other self circling the dancing green boy, everyone gasped. A two vs one in a tango that for moments felt even more intense than a proper fight, devolving into a competition between Quirk and User for his opponent’s time as a dance partner, dragging him from the other like a ragdoll, and the person in question letting himself be torn between the two like a doll.

All with a wide smile on his face.

The music ended just as both Tokoyami and Dark Shadow each held one of Midoriya’s hands, the other on opposite sides of the boy’s waist as he let himself fall in his back, being held by the two mid-fall. The three were gasping for air, the dark ones just staring at their partner with wide, awed expressions. Midoriya’s eyes were closed, his smile now dimmed and his expression calm and satisfied.

“I give.” Midoriya said after a few seconds, and it took a sharp beep and Present Mic coming back online for Midnight to finally announce the winner.

 

----------

 

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WE’RE HERE FOR THE AWARD CEREMONY! Before we start, today’s host, our beloved Midnight, was called for urgent hero business. And so, on her stead, let’s give a big applause to VLAAAAAAD KIIIIIIIING!”

The hero in question appeared as the ground opened to the podium who was about to come out, sighing as he conspicuously stared at the side where his friend Hound Dog was trying to come down from his rage fit. Vlad inwardly sighed, hoping Nemuri and Ishiyama would survive whatever idea of ‘educational seminary’ Nedzu had planned for them.

Oh well, he wasn’t too worried. If what Ryo said was true, the dumbasses deserved it.

Anyway, time to put on a show.

 

----------

 

Staring at the second-place medal on his neck, as he walked back home, Midoriya smiled.

It was done. Finally.

“And it only took us five chapters.”

“What are you talking about?” on his left, Tokoyami was staring at him, blinking curiously while Dark Shadow just cackled.

“Don’t worry about it.” Both his quirk and Midoriya said at the same time.

“You get used to it.” On Midoriya’s right, Shinsou shrugged.

“Are you used to our friend’s eccentricities?” Tokoyami countered with a raised brow. At that, Shinsou groaned, covering his face with both hands.

“Oh god don’t remind me, I don’t think I want to get on the internet for the rest of my life after this.”

“Oh come on, Shinsou-kun, it’s just some memes here and there and some fanfics written about us, they’ll forget about it in like a month.” Midoriya snarked, his purple friend groaning in despair.

“For fuck sake, I wasn’t thinking about fanfics! My life is ruined…”

“I am certain it will be fine. If you ask me, it was a splendid performance.”

“Yeah, at least it wasn’t as bad as whatever you two were doing at the end. I think they’ll need to censor that fight, R18+.”

“I-It wasn’t that bad!”

“Oh boy, it WAS.”

Midoriya slowed his pace, letting the two bicker and him just take it all in. It was unexpected and unnecessary for his plan, the two meeting and joining him, but he thinks it’s okay. He can allow himself some fun in the meantime.

Also, they’ll be good for him, in the end.

He noticed Dark Shadow on top of him, deciding to nest in his hair. He reached out a hand to pet her, the dark creature nuzzling him.

“You doing good?” he asked the shadow bird, who nodded with eyes half-closed.

“Yep. I’ll be fine. He’s still himself even after a bit of my power. We’re safe for now.”

“I’m glad.” The boy said, eyes rising up the sky as he noticed a small light glow in the distance.

“Will you?” Dark Shadow asked, after a while silent. “You’ve given yourself away to them. At least one or two should know about your existence.”

“It’s okay.” Midoriya smiled, noticing the light in the sky was multicolored, like a rainbow. “That was the plan, after all.” The shadow creature hummed in response, thinking about something.

“And now what?”

“We wait, and follow the Script.” Midoriya said, blinking. The light was gone. “I’ll find them eventually.”

“And after that?”

The boy’s smile sharpened.

“I give them my best show.”

 

 

Notes:

On a black alley, a man dragged a katana through the floor, the blood on it, painting a line in the asphalt.

He let the fake’s corpse bleed out, walking away as his eyes found the sky. He noticed what seemed a shooting start traversing the sky, its multicolored light leaving a mark like a line in the yellow over him.

Like an arrow.

He smiled, feeling a thrill like no other. The knowledge of a job finally completed, a mark taken, and the satisfaction that came with it.

But then he felt something else. The desire, the thirst for a new one.

And as the light flickered away, the man smiled to himself.

One hunt was completed.

A new one was on.

Chapter 15: What is a Predator?

Summary:

A miserable little pile of retribution! (?)

It felt like a lifetime since he was last on this rooftop.

This time, he was not here to dance or monitor anything. He just contemplated life, this story, and the path ahead.

“You said that my narrative is still the driving force of this Script, even with all the changes. You mean that my narrative rules still are in effect ?”

“Indeed.” The masked boy whispered to the air. “But they’ve been… twisted.”

“Not by you. I understand now. Your goal .”

“Do you, now?” He smirked coyly.

“To an extent! At least, now I realize some things. Say … how many are there? I originally planned for seven to manifest, but …”

“Well…” the boy raised a hand holding a pen, the other flipping through the pages of his notebook. “You know about me. There’s also the twisted Hunter, chasing his own delusions. And yourself, who saw an ending and wrote a story retroactively.”

“Do I count, even suppressed by you ?”

“Of course.” The boy smiled, writing something in his notebook. “After all, you’ll be free eventually, and you’ll be the one to decide this story’s end. If you want your original ending, be my guest. That decision will be yours to take.”

“…”

“Of course, there’s also the one who twisted your story. I would say something about him, but I don’t want to spoil our dear audience just yet. They’ll have enough with this exposition after all.”

“Stop breaking the fourth wall, idiot .”

“Oh, it’s been broken since chapter one. We also have some potential candidates, of course. Tokoyami-kun is already awakening the powers given by his proximity to his Shadow, as dangerous as that is. And of course, His creation, the Cocoon of Destruction.”

“What about Shinsou ?”

“Oh, he’s a wild card. So many possibilities! I can’t wait to see where his path leads.”

“…That was all you , wasn’t it? I must admit I never considered him in my initial Script .”

“You give me too much credit.” The boy smiled, standing up as he closed his notebook. “That was just a happy accident.”

“Yeah, right.”

 

----------

 

 

 

“So, internships, huh.”

Tokoyami raised his head from the table he was sharing with Midoriya, Shinsou, and Todoroki, of all people, in the cafeteria. He tried to pay attention, but it’s been hard with his insomnia lately.

“Oh yeah, you should’ve seen how many offers Tokoyami-kun got.” His green friend interjected with a grin. “I’m pretty sure some dance academies sent us some, too.”

“Don’t remind me.” Tokoyami added, still remembering how Aizawa pointedly mentioned ‘some non-heroic institutions’ also sent invitations to class 1-A. He didn’t say names, but the stare of almost all his classmates gave away what they were thinking.

“Do you think they’ll accept me too? Otherwise, I will end up going with Endeavor.” Todoroki added, slurping some soba. His friend just shrugged.

“Only if you want to follow a new dream. Speaking of.” Midoriya continued, his index drawing circles in Shinsou’s direction. “Someone’s been trying very hard not to smile the entire time. Spill the tea, Shinsou-kun!” The person in question snorted, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

“Of course you would know, you creep.” He said. “I’ve got a teacher reaching out. He offered me training so I could transfer to the hero course.”

“Yay! No more noodle arms!” Dark Shadow giggled, coming out to then lay over Tokoyami’s head, raising a claw. “Oh, oh, do you have any ideas for hero names?”

“Oh yeah, we had that class today, so it would be good if you think ahead.” Midoriya nodded sagely.

“Hm… I mean, I had some, but they are… not good.”

“Oh, let me guess.” Midoriya closed his eyes, one hand on his chin as he pretended to think. “Eraserboy!”

Shinsou, who was having some juice, spilled it immediately, going completely red. Todoroki’s eyes widened.

“T-That’s not it! You’re inventing it!”

“Oh, am I?”

“Are you Aizawa-sensei’s secret love child!?”

“Todoroki, what the fuck!?”

“Hehe, Shinsou’s cute.” Dark Shadow commented, and while Tokoyami agreed, his mind drifted away from his friends' bickering to a certain folder on his backpack.

Oh well, it doesn’t seem like he’ll get any sleep, so he may as well use this time for something.

Sighing, Tokoyami took out his folder, fiddling through the pages as he started checking name after name. Some he recognized from local heroes, though as he looked at them, one name made him stop.

“Hawks?...” he whispered to himself, though not low enough. He realized that the bickering around him stopped suddenly.

“What about Hawks?” Shinsou asked as he glanced at the paper he was holding, his eyes soon turning wide. “YOU-You got an offer from Hawks!?”

“What, like, it’s hard?” Midoriya casually said as he drank some juice. “I think I also got one.”  Lucky for them both, Shinsou wasn’t drinking anything, though he still spluttered.

“Me too, though I doubt he will be able to teach me much.” Todoroki commented casually.

“You-How are you all so casual about it!? He’s the number three hero!”

“He’s a birb. Tokoyami-kun and Dark Shadow are birds, so I guess he wanted them. For Todoroki-kun, everyone knows he has the hots for Endeavor, so maybe he’s trying to get points with his son.”

“Eugh.” Todoroki deadpanned.

“It’s weirder that he wanted me.” Midoriya commented, doing a conscious bad job of pretending to be puzzled. “Maybe he wants to see us dance up close?” That got a snort from him. His friend was hilarious after all.

“I thought you were already used to him, Shinsou-kun.” Tokoyami jabbed, getting a glare from his friend. As the conversation continued, Tokoyami’s gaze returned to the paper forgotten on the table.

He somehow had a feeling that this wasn’t just for birds or dances, but he would keep that to himself for now.

 

----------

 

There was something dark festering inside his chest. He could feel it.

It stated the moment he saw Nii-san in the hospital. It bloomed when Nii-san told him he wasn’t going to be a hero anymore. It tried to come out every time his classmates asked him if he was okay, and he had to force a smile and say things were fine.

Is this… what wrath feels like?

He doesn’t like it. But he can’t give up this feeling. Not since HE is still out there, on the prowl.

“Iida-kun…” Uraraka's voice brought him out of his musings. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I… I had a large breakfast, and I don’t think I’m hungry.” He said, standing up and taking his tray. “Excuse me.”

“Iida-kun-!” Before he realized, Iida was already sprinting away, leaving his friend behind and speed walking around the halls of the school. He only stopped when he found himself in an empty hallway, realizing just how strange he had been acting the entire day.

“Damn it…”

“Hey there, Iida-kun!” A familiar voice right in his ear made him jump and almost karate chop the intruder when he saw familiar green eyes and hair smiling in his direction.

“A-Apologies, Midorika-kun. I didn’t notice you…” He excused himself, trying to sound cordial. Midoriya was… strange to him. Besides their training exercises, he never had the chance to truly interact with him. He always admired his enthusiasm, though multiple times he questioned his methods.

“It’s okay, you looked like you were thinking really hard about something.” The boy said, giving Iida a bright smile that somehow didn’t feel cordial. “Say, since we’re here, can I ask you a question?”

A familiar irritability came forth at that. He tried his best to keep it at bay. “If it’s about my situation, I established multiple times that I’m doing okay, Mido-”

“Oh, it’s not about that.”

That made him stop. It… wasn’t? That’s the reason everyone talked to him today!

“…Then… what is it?”

Midoriya’s eyes opened. For a second, it was like his irises became stained glass in a myriad of green tones, but then a blink, and it was gone. Was it his imagination or?...

“Say, what is a hunter?”

Iida blinked, not expecting the sudden change of topic.

“…Excuse me?”

“That’s my question. What is a hunter?” Midoriya asked, swaying from side to side. Iida had to take a moment before he could actually think.

“Well… a hunter is someone who pursues and… h-hunts animals, either for sport or for sustenance.” At that, Midoriya hummed.

“Yeah, that’s a definition, but not a complete one.” The boy stopped suddenly, stepping forward. “Would that mean those who hunt people are not hunters?”

Suddenly, the air around the hallway became colder.

“What do you say, Iida-kun?”

His mouth felt dry, his breathing became erratic, and he noticed his breathing was visible when he exhaled, unable to respond. Midoriya’s smile widened.

“I suggest you think long and hard about that, Iida-kun.” He said, stepping forward, making Iida step back in sudden fear. The green boy just casually laughed, patting his shoulder. “Relax, Iida-kun, this is just friendly advice. You see, all hunters have one thing in common. And I’m sure the moment you realize just what it is… well…”

Midoriya walked ahead, crossing the rest of the hallway casually, and suddenly the air around came back to normal, Iida feeling like he could finally breathe again. When he turned back to ask his classmate what he meant, the boy in question was long gone, like none of this ever happened.

And yet, his heart was still racing…

Notes:

Next time? Birb 𓅪

Chapter 16: Birdy's paradise

Summary:

No the title's not sarcastic what are you talking about?

Hawks… had to be honest with himself.

When he sent those internship invitations, he wasn’t expecting much. At most, one of the commission his choices, hopefully just the one for intel reasons.

But days later, and with Tokoyami Fumikage, Midoriya Izuku, AND Todoroki Shouto now in his office of the agency, he started wondering just how he ended up in this situation.

(The answer was a long and convoluted series of situations that started with him being six and thinking he could be a hero by helping all these people, but that’s not here nor there.)

“Uhm… Hello! You three!” the respected number three hero, smoother than butter and a certified heroics personality, cleverly said to his new interns.

They stood silent, staring, until both Tokoyami and Todoroki grabbed a couple of bills from their pockets and put them on Midoriya’s already extended hands.

 

 

“Soooo…” Hawks tried again on his way to the Aviarian’s gym, his interns right behind him. “Not that I don’t appreciate you being here, but I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting you three to accept my invitation. Why did you, if you don't mind?”

“I thought it would be funny.” Midoriya said, hands on his back with a bright smile that sharply contrasted with what he was saying.

“I didn’t want to because I dislike the idea of you using me to try to get into Endeavor’s pants, but I hate him more, and if Midoriya is coming here, I’d rather be with him.” Todoroki said casually, like his comments weren’t igniting something in the hero's cheeks right now.

“I just decided the chaos that these two would bring would be worth witnessing.” Tokokami added sagely, like the idea of watching the world burn wasn’t chaotic in itself.

“I’m just tagging along for the ride! I also think this is funny.” Tokoyami’s quirk finished, jumping suddenly from the bird boy’s back, and it took all of Hawk’s training not to squeak in surprise.

“…I see… Thanks for your honesty!” The hero said, trying to keep the strain from his smile. “Let’s never speak about this again! Now let’s go through some drills, I want to see what exactly I am dealing with here.”

 

Hawks, arms crossed and casually leaning against the wall, observed carefully as his interns went through what could only be called a free-for-all brawl. Todoroki was keeping the other two away with his ice, Tokoyami was moving as Dark Shadow covered him, and Midoriya was cackling madly, taking the form of Kamui Woods and shooting bamboo pieces at the other two. The hero had to give it to them; they were competent enough for first-year students. Todoroki was the most obvious: he clearly had years of training under his belt, his control over ice was perfectly suited for attack and capture, and Haws was wondering just how much he could do with ice with more subtle, fine-tuned control. Tokoyami was interesting, his quirk doing most of the heavy lifting, but he was at least conscious of himself being his most glaring weakness, making sure to keep his distance and take cover when needed. And Midoriya…

“EAT YOUR VEGETABLES, TOKOYAMI!”

“I’m quite sure wood doesn’t count as vegetables!”

“Bamboo shoots are edible, though.”

“You’re not helping, Todoroki!”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to.”

Yeah, Hawks can tell the kid’s a menace. His quirk has the potential of being extremely powerful, though, and that's the reason his handler made him send an offer. The Commission was expecting to secure a deal with the boy away from UA, and Hawks REALLY preferred to just… not do that. He wanted to delay that conversation as much as he could, but knowing how the Commission does things, he would be pushed rather sooner.

He really wishes Midoriya says no. He doesn’t want to see another kid trapped under their thumb.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Hawks clapped, his interns quickly running back to him. “I’ve got an idea what to work with you guys, though I would like to know if there’s any specifics you’d like to go for?” The boys stared at each other for a bit, and then Tokoyami raised a hand. The hero gave him a nod at that, and the bird student spoke.

“I’m worried about my inner self’s instability under darkness. She grows powerful, but also violent. If there’s a way to con… uhm, help us, that would be highly appreciated.”

“Noted and filed, thanks, Tokoyami!” The bicolored teen also raised a hand. “Todoroki?”

“I’m not sure how much experience you have with fire quirks, but…” he said, rather apprehensively. “I’d like some guidance with hi-my fire.”

“I see… I’m not good with fire myself, but I have some sidekicks with fire quirks we can go for, if you’d like.” The boy nodded, apparently relieved at that. “What about you, Midoriya?”

“I’d like to know all about you and your sidekicks, Hawks-sensei!” the boy said with stars in his eyes. Todoroki smiled, and Tokoyami cleared his throat, making the boy blink as he realized something. “Oh, right, my quirk works with information, you see. The more I know about people, the better I can imitate them, and while you’re clearly in the limelight, there’s not much info about you and your people besides the obvious, you see,”

Hawks nodded slowly, letting the seconds pass. “We’ll see about that, buddy.”

 

With the help of some of his sidekicks, Hawks gave the trio some pointers and left them to train with the promise of a rundown of how he does his work after his patrol. Once done with that, he went out flying, ready to scout the surrounding streets as usual. Though in the middle of his usual flight, a ping from his earpiece signaled a call from a familiar number. Sighing, he tapped the side of his visor once as he slowed down, looking for the nearest rooftop.

“Agent Hawks.”

“Isn’t it too early for that tone, Okuhara?” The hero tried, but the silence from the other lane told him this wasn’t the call he expected (or it was, and he didn't want it). Finally landing, he let himself sigh. “Okay, okay. What is it?”

“Midoriya Izuku started his internship today, right?”

“…Yes, he did.”

“Have you presented the commission’s proposal?”

“Okuhara, it’s been like two hours-”

“Three and a half according to our records.”

“Three hours. We’ve been over rules and basic drills, haven’t even had the chance for one-on-one tutoring, considering I have three interns!”

“You’re capable of multitasking.”

“You try multitasking agency stuff, plus three interns, plus all our intel work.”

“…”

Hawks let himself smirk at the small victory. Not that he would say anything, of course.

“What’s your planned schedule for them?”

“First day for physical training and general guidelines. Second for desk work. The third one, I want them to go out for a small patrol. Then rinse and repeat until the last day.”

“Be sure to have the proposal ready for the third day at most, agent. And don’t forget our intel gathering about the USJ.”

“Noted.”

At that, the line went dead. Hawks let himself wait for a moment, just to make sure they were gone, until he finally groaned to himself.

Three days. Hopefully, something would happen for him to avoid that goddamn contract.

 

----------

 

By the time the first day of the internship ended, Hawks was tired. The boys were nice, but had way too much chaotic energy; It was hard not to laugh when Todoroki made some of his comments with that deadpan expression, and Midoriya didn’t help with bringing up his crush admiration for Endeavor whenever possible. Tokoyami kept to himself, but the hero was sure he was silently judging his sins the entire time.

No he doesn’t have any sins what are you talking about.

Once inside his penthouse at the top of his agency, he let himself relax, taking out his uniform and changing into a pair of sweatpants, hoping his usual fried chicken spot is still doing delivery because he doesn’t want to fly for at least five hours. And so, he let himself relax into his couch, lying on his stomach as he picked up his order on his phone with the TV on a random channel as background sound.

“Oh, the teriyaki popcorn chicken is really good there, you should try it!”

“Oh, new menu?”

“Yeah, they got it like last week. Only for the next month, though, a shame.”

“I hate when they do that-”

Suddenly, feathers were flying to the intruder, who was erratically moving to avoid them, almost like a cartoon character.

“Whoa whoa, you really don’t hold back!” the intruder complained with a familiar whine, one single feather stopping just before stabbing him in the eye.

“What the-Midoriya, what are you doing here!?”

The boy in question smiled, letting himself fall on the couch beside Hawks the moment the feathers retreated, like he wasn’t about to lose an eye a second ago. “I told you in the morning, I wanted to know about you!”

“Buddy, there are better ways to do that than get inside someone’s apartment without them knowing-” And that made him realize something about the current situation. “Speaking of, how did you get inside here!? This place is off-limits for everyone-”

“But you!” the boy ignited in green fire, and only his knowledge about his quirk and years of training prevented him from jumping back. A second later, a mirror image of himself was in front of him. “So I became you to get in!” Another burst of fire, and Midoriya was back. “But that’s not the point, what about talking about ourselves, Kei-chan? Is Kei-chan okay? Can I call you that? Or is Keigo better for you?”

Hawks' breath hitched.

No one called him that.

No one ever.

Because there were no records of that name left. He was sure of that.

So how!?

“Oh yeah, I kinda know a lot about you.” Midoriya said, his eyes turning like stained glass and acquiring a myriad of different tones of green. “Your birth as Takami Keigo. Your first heroic rescue as six. Your mother selling you to the commission, and all the nasty stuff they did to you. Hell, I even know the contract you have to make me sign for them!” Midoriya smiled brightly as he casually disclosed every confidential piece of information about him like it was nothing. “But it’s not the same just knowing, you see. Hearing it from the source? Understanding their opinions, what they thought about it, what their own conception, values, and reactions?” The boy said, getting closer and closer to Hawks, his smile turning more and more deranged. “Knowing everything there is to know from the source?”

There was a tense moment of silence as they both stared into the other’s eyes. Midoriya’s shining with emerald hues, broken into a million pieces. Hawks’ wide, golden, and bright with contained humidity.

And just like that, the spell broke as Midoriya went back, turning to the TV. “So why not talk a bit? Know each other better? I can pretend I’m interested in the Commission’s offer if that helps! What do you say, Kei-chan?”

A part of Hawks wanted to get rid of the boy and be done with it. Another wanted to run and hide for the rest of his life from those disturbing eyes that seemed to see through him. But the bigger part, that who stirred when called Keigo, wanted something else.

A chance.

And so, the words came out before he could think about them and regret them. “But what do I get for all this?”

And Midoriya?

He smiled.

“That.” He said, delighted, as he turned to Keigo. “Is the correct question.”

Notes:

Next time? A-hunting we will go~ (￣^￣ )ゞ

Chapter 17: Fire in the Sky (Scene 1)

Summary:

Hunting is in season now!

The next day, the trio woke up bright and early thanks to an overexcited Hawks who, for some reason, was awfully cheery. Once ready, the hero invited them to the agency’s cafeteria for breakfast.

“Alrighty, chickadees, you’ve been doing good so far!” Hawks started once everyone had their food, munching on some karaage on the side. “We’re going to work on a day-by-day rotation. Yesterday you focused on training, and today we’re going for the most important part of all hero work…” The man kept silent for a few seconds as a way to create tension, and smiled widely after that before continuing. “…Paperwork!”

Both Midoriya and Dark Shadow, who were up eating an apple, groaned at that.

“Hey, it’s an important part!” The hero chided, poking both with a feather. “The earlier you know all the nooks and crannies of paperwork, the better for all of you! That way you’ll be able to avoid all the common mistakes that at best keep you entire nights redoing documents or at worst dealing with a lawsuit!”

“That just makes it worse!” Dark Shadow squeaked, her head falling over the table by Tokoyami’s side.

“It’s not as long as you pay attention.” Hawks huffed, taking a second to eat some more chicken. “But cheer up! If you do well, I’ll bring you with me for a patrol tomorrow! I’ve had a request for help from Hosu to cover some absent heroes in the area, and the place is one of the safest there is, so you’ll be fine!”

That comment made Midoriya not so conspicuously snicker. While most just ignored the gesture, Tokoyami already realized that it was a sign of things to come. He just wasn’t sure if this was something to dread or look forward to.

At least he would not be alone for this.

 

----------

 

As Iida walked around the streets of Hosu, Manual going in front while checking up on the people, his mind was going in circles over the last days’ events.

Nii-san. Stain still on the prowl. And green eyes staring through everything he wanted to hide.

“What is a hunter?”

The question has been there, haunting him since that day. At the beginning, it was just a nagging feeling, a memory that, while confusing, was somehow alluring enough that he found himself thinking about it at night or when he was distracted. But as days passed, his internship was approved, and he finally found his way into Hosu? The question was becoming ever present in his mind even when he didn’t want to.

“What is a hunter?”

And what IS!? The word was repeated so many times in his head that it started to lose its meaning. Why hunter? Why was it written that way!?

…What IS a hunter? And why does it matter?

“Tenya.”

Hearing his name, the boy’s eyes went up. Manual was by his side, staring at him with narrow eyes.

“Is… is something wrong?” He asked. The man kept silent for a few seconds but ended up sighing. That’s generally a sign of either tiredness or resignation, he thinks, so he’s still unsure of what’s going on with-

“The reason you accepted my internship…” the man said, stopping Tenya’s train of thought. “You’re here to hunt the Hero Killer, aren’t you?”

Hunt.

Hunt.

Manual was saying something else, but Iida was not listening. The word was echoing now, a sudden connection finding its way deep into his soul.

Because the word Hunter? He could connect it with several things. Like wild hunters or bounty hunters. In a way, Stain was kind of a hunter in his eyes, one whose prey were heroes.

But him ?

“Would that mean those who hunt people are not hunters?”

Was… was this what Midoriya was trying to explain before?

Was he, who was trying to become a hero, becoming a hunter instead?

And while the concept should feel daunting. Scary, even, it just… made… sense.

Was… was he a hunter? Was he on his way to becoming one?

And if so… what would it mean… for him?

“You see, all hunters have one thing in common. And I’m sure the moment you realize just what it is… well…”

“What all hunters have in common…” the words came as a whisper, escaping before he could notice. For some reason, Iida thought about the hot fire in his chest, burning since that fateful day. Nothing had been able to quell it. Even now, it burned hotter than ever, asking for one thing only.

And it felt like it would burst at any second, and scorch anything in its path.

 

Suddenly, a bestial roar came from the skies, and strange beasts came down , destroying nearby buildings and causing civilians to flee in terror. One was already coming for him, the creature having a mix of a human and bat-like form and a familiar exposed brain. Before he could do anything to defend himself, the creature was already pushing him down, pinning him, but just as he was about to bite his way through his armor, a water torrent pushed it aside.

“Tenya!” Manual quickly caught up to him, helping him stand up. “Are you okay?” Iida could barely nod, eyes still on the now recovering creature.

“N-Nomu…” he said, noticing the similarities with the one they found at the USJ. As the monster stood up, Manual pushed him behind him, ready to cover for his intern.

“Tenya, fall back! Escort any civilians away from here, quick!”

Like waking up from a dream, Iida’s body moved suddenly, looking around as he noticed more heroes joined forces to combat the creatures, and fire burst out from some buildings around the area, illuminating the darker streets in a pale orange light. Noticing some of the civilians either paralyzed in fear or frantically going in the direction of the fight, he took a deep breath before shouting. “Everyone, this way!” he pointed, remembering that the street they were now on was not far from the police station. “Help is on the way, stay away from the fight!”

The people quickly started moving, and Iida kept watch in case any Nomu got too close as he walked with them. And as he did, he noticed something gleaming from a nearby alley. Thinking that maybe someone was around, he glanced in the direction to notice something on the floor.

A knife, the edge covered in something dried and dark red.

Somehow that made his pulse accelerate, and the fire in his chest expand, the scorching warmth covering all, from his arms and legs. He… couldn’t explain this sudden adrenaline. But somehow, something in him knew that, if he went forward, he would find… something.

No, someone.

A hunter…

…Or maybe prey.

The cries of people running made Iida look back, the last straggles going away from the main event. But then explosions came all around, fire erupting everywhere and turning the entire area orange. The boy’s gaze went between the alley and the scared people running for their lives. He was ready to step forward, but then he stopped, noticing that he was unsure in what direction to go.

No, he shouldn’t hesitate! He knew where to go; a hero had a duty to others! And he was a hero!

“All hunters have one thing in common.”

And yet, this… this heat was pushing him in the opposite direction.

He stepped in the way of the civilians, and yet his gaze was still on the alley. He… he knew, somehow, that if he turned away, he would lose the trail. How? He wasn’t sure, he just knew. He just needed one step, and he could go and assist the people in need.

That’s what a hero would do, and he was a hero.

…Was he?

Ba-thump. Ba-thump.

He took another step, hearing the people’s cries being swallowed up by the chaos, ever farther.  Then another, feeling the train of warmth and copper washing away.

Ba-thump. Ba-thump. Ba-thump.

His engines then roared to life, blue fire pushing him forward, and he ran. The wind was tearing away any sounds distracting him from his objective.

Ba-thump  ba-thump ba-thump ba-thump-

And under his mask, he could feel a smile creeping up from the depths of his soul.

The scent of blood was getting stronger.

 

----------

 

One lick, and it was over. The fake fell on his knees, like a lamb to the slaughter.

His blood was pumping. His hands were slightly trembling, expectantly. Today, a fake hero would finally be culled.

This hero was… Who was this hero? Nati… something…

It doesn’t matter. He’s a fake . He’s guilty . He knows. He’s sure of it.

And so, fate has been decided. They are here so blood will be spilled.

The prey fake was saying something, probably begging for his life, but it was useless noise for him. He raised his arm, katana at the ready, but before he could finish the job, a roar broke through the darkness tinted with red and black.

“HERO KILLER!!!”

Annoyance coursed through him at someone stopping his hunting crusade. At the entrance of the alleyway, a man in blue and silver, familiar armor was there, fists clenched.

“Who…” he said, voice almost growl-like. A hero? No… this felt different… somehow the scent of a fake was there, but also… something similar too. The aroma of a hunter made his skin crawl. “Competition…”

“I will stop you…” The newcomer said, almost like trying to convince himself. “I WILL!”

A deafening sound broke through the silence, blue light coming from behind the armored man, and in the blink of an eye, he was on top of him, ready to kick. Yes, this hunter was fast.

But he was faster.

One move, and a katana was blocking the other’s attack. This fighting style… yes, it’s familiar. He has faced one like this before.

Pushing forward, he managed to create some distance, using the moment the blue light turned off to bring a small knife from his waist and slash in a wide, vertical arc upwards. Not strong enough to break the other’s armor, but it hit the helm just right to crack, the force making it fly upwards and fall a few meters away.

“Nothing but a child.” He realized. The smell of a hunter must’ve been a mistake. “Walk away, and you might yet live.” The child snarled, blue eyes turning half-red with fury.

“Run.?... Run!?” The boy’s teeth were bared. “You did not give my brother a chance to run! Now he’s never going to be a hero again! No, I will not. I will avenge my brother! I’m Ingenium, the hero who will stop you!”

Realization came to him, now understanding the familiar feeling. He could just smile at the boy in front of him, playing hero when only doing the opposite.

Blue light came to life, and the boy lunged, ready to strike. “I WILL KILL YOU!”

Yes, he had spirit. Drive.

But it was clouded by rage. Not using it to push forward, but letting it control him.

That would be his downfall.

He had only to point his blade forward and stand his ground, and let the boy do the rest. One subtle move, and his katana was now piercing the other’s armor right on his arm as he barely avoided the kick to his face. Enough force to kill. So he was really going to do it.

One blink, and a twirl. The boy rolled to the ground on the opposite side as he stared at the new fake.

Disappointing. Insulting.

The fake tried to stand up, not knowing it was over. Lifting his blade to his lips, he licked the blood, and the boy fell to his knees, all his fury vanishing in just a moment.

He stepped forward, sure that if the fake could move, he would’ve flinched.

“Look at you. You claim to be a hero but are moved by only rage and vengeance. So focused on your quest that you ignored everything else, even the hero bleeding out in front of you.” He said, pointing at the other fake with his katana, the boy just noticing his presence. “You’re nothing but another fake. Culling you would be a kindness to the world.”

While keeping neutral on the outside, something in his chest roared in satisfaction. Not one prey but two! His hands trembled slightly, the anticipation from before coming back in waves as he readied the katana to finish the job. One swing from upwards and-

CLANK

Suddenly, he saw red. Literally, a long, red feather blocked his blade, followed by a myriad of small dagger-like feathers coming from above, forcing him to deflect the attacks with quick moves from his katana as he stepped back for some distance, watching the newcomer. Red feathers, yellow locks, and the piercing golden eyes of a hunter stared at him.

But his smell… it wasn’t the smell of a hunter.

It was the smell of a hero.

And that made him smile .

“Heya, folks.” The hero said with a grin. “Mind if we join the hunting party?”

Notes:

A fight is coming. The hunter and the jester shall clash.

If anything, it will be funny.

Chapter 18: Fire in the Sky (Scene 2)

Summary:

It's d-d-d-d-d-d-duel time!

Tenya gasped at the clash of iron and feather, unable to believe what he was seeing. Hawks!? How!? What was he doing here!? The Hero Killer, however, instead of showing surprise, narrowed his eyes, unflinching.

“We?...” he asked in a low growl, Hawks’ smile sharpening. Seemingly realizing something, and just as Iida felt the air suddenly chilling, he jumped a second before a wave of ice hit him, forcing him to jump to the nearest ceiling.

“What’s going-” Before he could finish the question, darkness wrapped Tenya's torso and pulled him right outside the alley, along with the now-unconscious Native. “Wh-Tokoyami? Todoroki?”

“Nice job, Tsukuyomi, Shoto!” Hawks shouted from the alley, waving at both students. “Secure Native and go through our plan! I’ll take care of our good old friend here!” The hero added, pointing with a thumb to the man already throwing knives in their direction, though they were quickly hit out of the way by a flurry of small feathers. One swing, and Hawks was already flying between Stain and the hero students. “Good sir, leave the children to play between themselves and settle this between us adults, shall we?”

 

----------

 

Chizome was livid. His hunt was denied not only once, but twice today! His blood boiled, rage consuming him as his desire for blood justice was yet to be quenched. He stepped forward once and then used the momentum to reach with a small jump towards his target, hopping through the alley to the other rooftop as Hawks used one of his bigger feathers as a sword, parrying the strike just enough for the tip of his blade to avoid the slightest cut. As he turned, he had to step back once, twice, and three more steps as he blocked a myriad of small dagger-like feathers as they were thrown his way, the hero keeping himself meters above him in the air.

“You’re good, not gonna lie.” The hero said with a smirk, pointing in his direction with a finger gun. “But I know your modus operandi. Ambushes in narrow alleys, where you control the flow of battle. Things don’t look too good for you, huh?”

Chizome growled, even if he had to hand it to the hero. He was now exposed in the open, at least a dozen feathers surrounding him, ready to strike at the slightest command of the number three. He couldn’t be in a worse situation.

And wasn’t that a thrilling thought?

As he stepped forward once, the feathers moved like a swarm, chasing him. He parried one, hopped a bit farther forwards to avoid another, and went on, even as some of them cut him in arms and legs, not allowing himself to slow down by the pain. When he reached the edge of the roof, he jumped backwards, using one feather about to strike him as a platform to take another, and then another, and one more jump, launching himself directly against the hero who, despite being surprised by the sudden maneuver, managed to block the incoming cut just in time.

“You really are crazy, huh?” Hawks laughed in disbelief as Chizome pushed against him.

“None shall stop my crusade.” Stain growled as he freed one hand from the katana to push the hero’s torso, sending both directly down. “Not even you, number three!”

Tring to stay in the air was a futile effort with Chizome pushing him down, and the hero could tell as he maneuvered himself enough to separate from his foe and take some distance down the alley, covering from flying knives with some feathers as he repositioned himself on the ground, just before Stain closed the distance between them with a single step before clashing his katana against two feathers covering Hawks in an x position in front of him.

“’Crusade’ you say, huh. You mean killing or maiming every hero you see out there?”

“I only cull the fakes out of the world so only those true heroes remain!”

“So that makes me a fake too now, since I’m trying to stop you?”

“ YES! ” One swing more powerful than the previous ones made Hawks flinch back, surprised by the sudden power boost. “You’re nothing more than a fake, chasing a career!” Another strike actually managed to crack one feather. “A glory hog!” The third strike created a crack in the second one. “ALL OF YOU DESERVE TO DIE!”

One clean slash, and the feathers were cut in half.

Chizome turned the blade back, aiming for the hero’s neck, when darkness covered him and pushed him back, and his feet were frozen in place, giving Hawks time to reposition over the rooftop.

“ GAAAAAAH! “ One clean slash pushed the darkness away and broke the ice, and Chizome turned around, furious at his prey being denied. “WHO DARES-” Turning to the intruder, he saw a child with a raven head surrounded by a dark spirit, and the offspring of Endeavor from the other entrance of the alley. “More fakes! Endeavor’s creation-” The bicolored boy flinched at that, but otherwise didn’t react. “And-” but when his sense of smell tried to pick up the scent of child and fake from the other boy, he found…

“You…. You don’t smell like them… no, you don’t have any smell… Like you’re nothing … What… What are you… ”

The moment of distraction proved a mistake, for it gave Hawks the window he needed to tip the scales: a small feather hit his hand just right, the katana went out flying through the alley, and another to his ankle came right after, pinning him face down against the floor. Three more secured him before he could try thrashing his way out of it, with Hawks descending and kneeling over him to use his weight as extra security.

“Phew, that was close.” Hawks muttered to himself before turning to his interns. “Report?”

“Native and Iida’s injuries have been treated, and both an ambulance and the police are on their way.” Todoroki said quickly, looking up.

“Is Jack joining us soon?”

“Last check, he was taking care of the civilians around the area, ETA 3 minutes.”

“Good. Now let us secure…” As the hero looked down, he noticed an ominous aura coming from the Hero Killer, a hue of both red and dark yellow as the villain pushed against Hawks’ weight with surprising force. Before anyone could react, a burst of both raw strength and energy pushed everyone back, followed by a mighty roar that made everything around tremble by its force.

 

----------

 

Tenya’s eyes widened in horror as he could only watch from the street he was still down as a blast of red and yellow came from the Hero Killer, pushing Hawks, Tokoyami, and Todoroki back. And right in the middle, slowly stepping back up, the Hero Killer trembled as from his hand a flash of crimson extended, his blood flowing like alive, taking the shape of a katana.

“Heroes…” he said in a low, threatening tone. “You are heroes…”

“YOU MUST DIE!!! ”

 

 

Stain just swung once, a single vertical move. Two seconds later, a myriad of red slashes came, like opening through space itself, all around him, as multiple cuts appeared all over both the hero and his interns. Instead of falling into the ground, they kept frozen there, as what seemed to be chains of crimson and gold phased in and out of existence around their arms and legs.

What’s going on? This is not the Hero Killer from before. This… Tenya doubts that whatever this is can be called human. Not with the way those crazed eyes now shine an eerie gold, and his blade of blood trembles slightly.

“This is what happens when a hunter loses itself to the Hunt.” A familiar voice said by his side, and a figure dressed in a green and black suit walked forth, rolling back the sleeves of his dress shirt. “Now he’s just a blade that sharpened itself to kill his favored foe: an imaginary monster keen on chasing ‘heroes’.”

Tenya’s mouth gaped as he watched Midoriya walk forth, confident, his mask secured on his face. He wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure what he could say. Sensing the new foe, Stain slowly turned his gaze to the green boy.

“The Rainbow Arbiter would be disappointed to see how low THEIR Chosen has descended.” The boy said nonchalantly as he shrugged. “Then again, THEY barely care about anything other than THEIR hunt.”

“Midoriya!” Finding his voice, Tenya screamed. “Fall back! This is not your fight!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll let you have the killing blow!” Midoriya said cheerfully, like he didn’t just propose a crime.

“You don’t understand!” Tenya insisted. “This is my fight! I’ve already put enough people in danger!”

“That’s something you should’ve thought before all this.” The boy said, turning towards him, and Iida’s blood ran cold at the way his broken eyes stared at him like through the mask, like he was worse than trash. “That’s how you hunters are. Never care about collateral before shooting. Alas.” The boy turned back to the Hero Killer, who pushed himself down a bit, crouching as he was readying another strike. “But worry not, Iida.”

Stain cut once forward, Midoriya throwing himself back as he barely avoided the first strike and then jumped forward in a twirl over his foe’s head to escape the cuts that soon followed in the air, landing gracefully behind Stain as he attacked with a red feather that appeared from nothing. Both attacks clashed, creating a wave of energy around them.

“I’m not planning to lose.”

 

Notes:

Chosen of the Hunt: Imaginary Beast - Hero Killer
Stain

Chapter 19: Fire in the Sky (Scene 3)

Summary:

What is The Hunt, if not a deep obsession?

What is Elation, if not a fleeting lie?

Feather and blade clashed, imaginary energy clashing against a greenish hue that quickly broke into kaleidoscopic tones of emerald as the masked boy jumped forward, and Chizome Stain stepped back a single move, just barely avoiding a swipe from a small, dagger-like feather. In a flash, the boy sprouted wings from his back, who, after a second, broke into a myriad of feathers descending like a mortal shower. And yet, it took a single move upwards for every one of them to be sliced in half by swipes of crimson and orange energy.

Watching, the green-haired boy’s smile turned feral, and he drew his fist back for a punch, and yet, instead of jumping, he held his ground as a barrage of fire came from it. Stain quickly sliced down, parting the flames in half as they were redirected sideways, and then lunged forward, opening his way through the fire with his bloody sword. Closer and closer to his target as his mind narrowed to a single focus.

“CUT THEM DOWN!”

He sliced upwards, the boy stepping to the side with a burst of blue coming from his arms, but then a shadowy movement from the same direction made his eyes go wide as an afterimage of the Hero Killer appeared a second later to attempt a second cut. His arms quickly turned rectangular, cement barely blocking the strike before the afterimage dissipated into the dark.

And so, it was Stain’s moment to go on the offensive.

It was a barrage of attacks, first a single cut from the monster’s weapon, followed by a hundred cuts into spacetime, and then an afterimage, another hundred cuts, and so on. The green boy managed to avoid most attacks by combining small bursts of speed, parts of his body turning into stone or cement, and his dancer-like movements, but the relentless strikes kept him from doing anything but staying on the defensive. Clicking his tongue, he took a deep breath and shouted a single “Bitch!” with enough strength that made the surrounding buildings tremble and had the effect of pushing Stain back a couple of meters.

Now he created an opening and went full speed ahead to keep it.

Engines roared to life, and in a flash, he closed the distance, a punch at Mach speed somehow avoided at the last second, but then an empowered kick forced him to block. The bloody sword managed to deflect the impact but broke into a thousand pieces, which suddenly lost their solid form, ending as a crimson stain on the wall at the monster’s side. A swipe from a large feather followed, which was blocked by a newly formed sanguine blade.

Feeling an ominous sense of danger coming, Stain jumped back a meter. A wise decision, a second later, shadowy tendrils emerged from below, trying to drag him into the darkness. One single swing was enough to cut the shadows in half, dissipating them in a crimson glow of imaginary energy.

The green boy laughed in disbelief. “You’re crazy. Incredible what single-minded focus and delusion can create, huh?”

Instead of answering, Stain swung forth, creating a wave of cuts that the other had to avoid by jumping upwards to the nearest roof. His hunter followed soon after, and the two stared at each other, fire and chaos painting the night sky around them.

The green boy watched him for a moment, a smile still on his face. “So, are we doing this, oh great hypocrite? Was your crusade worth distorting your ideals and yourself?” A hint of annoyance broke through Stain’s focus, about to snarl when the same wave of danger from before made his mouth clamp shut. The other’s smile widened, shrugging to himself. “Oh well. Worth a shot.”

Enough distractions. He needs to cut .

 

Jumping forward, his sanguine blade cut through the air right in front of the other’s neck, one afterimage almost connecting with the boy’s chest but dissipating as a shout forced it to vanish. His weapon quickly turned back in a downwards swing that was stopped by a cement arm, inclining it over the boy’s head so it slid back, forcing Stain to get closer as his enemy drew back his other arm, already catching fire.

In a surprising move, Stain pushed forward, the fiery fist connecting with his gut. And yet, the pain didn’t deter him. Throwing his blade upwards, he bit his lip, drawing blood, and with a quick move of his head, created a small needle with it, which was spewed forward with his target right in front of him. The green boy barely moved his own to the side to avoid being impaled in the forehead, but the small needle managed to make a small cut on his cheek, and a few drops of blood came out.

Suddenly, it was like time slowed down, as the boy’s drops of crimson liquid spilled, jumping in the air. Snarling, he stared at Stain, who was smiling widely as a breath later, the sword he had let go of descended, catching a drop of said blood on the way. The monster then rotated on one foot, the other up and kicking his enemy, sending him back as he grabbed the handle of his blade on the same movement, the single crimson drop flowing upwards through his weapon until it jumped up into the air and directly to his open mouth.

The moment it touched his lips, it was over.

 

And yet, the other didn’t fall, and a sudden feeling of emptiness came over him.

Looking back, the boy’s face was no longer covered by his mask, eyes now glowing red, and wavy hair floating upwards. Erasure .

But he knew of that move. And with the taste of copper still on his mouth, it was a matter of time.

A gray scarf flew from the boy’s hand, trying to grasp him, but one cut made quick work of it. In the same movement, the green one jumped forward, his other hand already holding a feather. Stain blocked, now on the defensive, doing his best to keep the blood on his mouth as the other directed his attacks to either his throat or stomach, intentions clear. Both knew they didn’t have long, and one wrong strike would mean losing their advantage.

The boy kept himself facing Stain at all times, despite his attempts to feign his movements to break the line of sight. At the same time, Stain managed to keep himself from swallowing or spewing, avoiding hits that would cause any reactions and just tanking those he couldn’t avoid with legs and arms. The stalemate broke with an unexpected move: as the green boy jumped back, inhaling and shouting a quick “hey!”, Stain was dragged back, forced to use his sword to keep himself steady. Then, he jumped up, fist drawing back as it descended in a fiery wave. He felt the heat seconds before it came, and in response, threw his sword to the descending comet, making its shape break just before making contact.

The liquid connecting quickly splashed, temperature rising to the boiling point.

SPLASH!

The feeling of emptiness was gone.

Victory is at hand .

 

The boy fell like a meteorite, the roof exploding in rock and fire, creating a hole that reached the first floor. The incoming dust blocked all sight for a few seconds, but eventually cleared, showing the green one with one knee on the floor, one fist red and bloody, and his face marked with a burn around his now closed eyes.

Stain jumped down to the alley beside him, savoring cooper and something that tasted like joy.

Finally.

As Stain drew closer, Midoriya’s face broke into a grin, then a small giggle, and finally a full-blown laugh. That made him stop, brow rising at the unexpected reaction.

“I see. Really, it makes sense.” Midoriya said, eyes still closed. “You’re so obsessed with heroes that your own powers mutated with them in mind. No heroic power would be impossible to break through. No hero could defend against you completely. You made yourself into a machine made to hunt heroes. And so, no heroic power would break you.”

Ignoring the babbling mouth of a lamb about to be slaughtered, Stain raised his blade and made a horizontal cut. And yet, in a bizarre move, the other opened his mouth and bit down . Puzzled, he froze for a second, unable to understand what was going on.

When he noticed the way the other’s tongue came out unusually long, tasting his bloody blade, it was already too late.

His body shut down, and he fell in front of the boy, his sword losing structure and splashing over the other, who smiled like a deranged monster with his mouth painted red.

“So maybe your own would do.”

That made Stain chuckle too, letting the silence echo for a few moments.

“This is just a stalemate.” He said. “It will depend on who recovers first.”

“Oh, that’s not true.” The green boy answered, his face turning to the side. “For there’s someone you forgot about, hunter.”

Stain’s eyes followed as he heard a step. Slowly dragging himself forward, an armored figure appeared, holding one bandaged arm with the other. And now, he could smell it again.

The aroma of another hunter .

“Isn’t that right, Iida-kun?”

 

----------

 

He was free .

Even though he could feel it, he couldn’t stand up. Not yet. Not when two hunters were clashing, not when he could only watch the dance of gods, giants facing each other. It wasn’t until the meteor fell, breaking the building near the alley, that his body finally reacted, like his strings were finally cut.

He stood up, his body feeling wobbly. As he walked, he noticed his classmates and Haws still paralyzed… no, it was something else. It looked like they were… glitching. No, looping. Like their moves were jumping into frames and then coming back to their previous positions, separated from reality. Was… was this the power a true hunter wields? Was this what Midoriya was talking about?

Would he become like this, too?

He heard something falling. Turning around, he saw it: Stain had fallen, his body frozen on the ground. Midoriya turned his head to him, eyes closed but smiling, nonetheless.  

His voice broke through his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

“I told you I would leave the killing blow to you, didn’t I?”

His eyes focused on Stain. The man was lying there, eyes burning into him, but not able to do anything but snarl and curse.

It would be so easy to do it. Break him like he broke Nii-san, and a part of him was screaming to do it , to go, hunt, spill blood-

And yet.

“What… what would happen… if I did it?” Tenya asked. Even if he wasn’t staring, he could feel Midoriya’s gaze on him.

“You would have your revenge. You would claim justice. And also his title of Chosen. You would become a true hunter, the Arbiter's representative in this world in his stead. For only one can be allowed to exist.”

“Will I… will I end like him?”

“You mean an imaginary monster?” Midoriya tilted his head. “Only if you let yourself get lost in the hunt like he did. Of course, I don’t blame him. It’s so easy to let bloodlust consume you, to disguise your impulses as justice. Most hunters do. But you, Iida, you can take that power and shape it into whatever you wish.”

“If you only spill his blood.”

 

Tenya stepped forward.

His eyes were on Stains'. He was no longer screaming. "Do it." No curses, no threats. Just wide, red eyes that knew they were in front of a hunter, and they were prey. "Do it.". Even if for a few fleeting moments, they were . "Finish him!"

That view made Tenya’s blood boil, an all-consuming desire for blood justice .

"It's your right!"

It wasn’t about the power. It wasn’t about the consequences. It was just about revenge. Retribution. "This is what you want!" His engines roared to life, one leg drew back, winding up a strike directed to Stain’s head, and Tenya found his voice escaping, a roar of pure hatred-pain-fear-elation from the depths of his-

"Avenge your brother, Iida!-"

A flash of a smile. A big hand pats his head. A voice saying, “You’re going to be a great hero, Te-”

BAM

 

----------

 

Sirens could be heard in the distance, getting closer and closer.

Heroes were approaching, finding two students and the number three frozen in time, suddenly breaking free.

They found a building destroyed, fire, and debris all around.

And in the center, a sobbing boy, hugging himself on his knees.

And a killer, half of his body stuck in a hole on the one wall left standing. Barely alive.

But breathing.

And one kid in green, burnt and kneeling. His closed eyes opened in glossy, kaleidoscopic emerald.

“Too bad.”

Notes:

One chosen has been defeated.

Two active ones remain.

One remains isolated from the narrative.

And three are yet to emerge from their latent state.

Chapter 20: Dead Zoned

Summary:

Aftermath. The narrative evolves as it reaches the point of no return.

Tokoyami doesn’t remember much about what happened during their clash with Stain. Despite Hawks’ measures and Midoriya’s usual cryptic messages, he wasn’t expecting to be stuck in a time loop caused by a villain’s strange power. The medics who examined them once they were brought to the hospital found nothing strange, and Todoroki and Hawks didn’t seem to perceive what happened to them during the minutes they were frozen.

But Tokoyami knows. He remembers the feel of time dilating, then going back two seconds, running forward, and then going back over and over again. Unnervingly so. And he has the suspicion that his inner soul knows too, considering how silent she has been this entire time.

There’s also something else haunting his thoughts even now. A fleeting, passing comment that made no sense, and yet shook his very core. No one else seemed to notice, or give any importance, and yet…

“You don’t smell like them… no, you don’t have any smell…”

Glancing up from his hospital bed, he saw Iida silently gaping from the bed in front of him, looking to Tokoyami’s left. There, Midoriya was with Hawks on his lap, wings fluffing as his green friend was petting the hero’s head, the older man chirping in satisfaction from time to time. At the bed on the other side, Todoroki was silently observing, the only sign of interest in the bizarre situation being the phone in his hands as he was seemingly recording the entire thing.

It should be baffling. Or maybe amusing.

Yet, Tokoyami feels… numb.

“You’re nothing … What… What are you…”

These words shouldn’t be haunting him so, just the rambles of a crazed man. And yet, they stir something deep within him, like trying to fit scattered pieces in a puzzle that is still far from completed.           

“Why… Why such nonsense shakes me so?” He can’t help but wonder in the darkness of his mind.  “What did he perceive about me? Were the inner powers of my sibling and mine? The weakness of the shadows looming at that moment? Or something else?”

He felt lost in his mind, unsure of what was happening around him as he tortured himself with haunting scenarios. It wasn’t until the scream of someone close that he finally came back to reality, finding that they were no longer alone. Right at the room’s entrance, pro Hero manual was there, fists clenched, accompanied by a man with a dog mutation dressed like a detective, expression serious and tight. By his side, Todoroki was up from the bed, teeth bared. Iida quickly jumped forth before something worse happened.

“Please, Todoroki, wait!” He begged, then turned to the newcomer. “Please, sir, this is my fault! If you’re going to punish anyone, it should be me! Not the ones whose only reason for intervening was saving my life!”

His classmate was bowing at a 90-degree angle, fists by his sides, trembling, as tears were slowly dripping . What crime was the man committed to cause such a reaction? He should pay attention. He shouldn’t lose himself, not with his people still vulnerable, how stupid stupid stupid-

“Chief Tsuragamae.” The soft, yet commanding voice of Hawks drew everyone’s attention to him. No longer on Midoriya’s lap, the hero was casually sitting on the bed, but the way his eyes zeroed in on the newcomer was sharp and dangerous.  “While I understand my chicks might’ve acted against the vigilantism laws,” Is this what all this was about? Vigilantism laws… That means using his quirks against villains. “I DO have to remind you they’re under my supervision. I was called here with the express motive to cover for unavailable heroes, and that’s exactly what we did.”

“While you have a point, Hawks, that doesn’t justify this level of violence, woof.” The chief’s voice was low, with a growl lingering over it. Whether an intentional threat or just his usual cadence, Tokoyami didn’t know, but it ruffled his feathers nonetheless. “While a criminal, Stain is now in a permanent coma, and we don’t know if he’ll wake up, woof. Hell, we’re not sure if he’ll survive at all!”

At that, Hawks stood up, wings puffing up in defiance. “Article 97 of Heroics law: Heroes can use excessive violence if the threat is either an S-Rank villain or is putting multiple lives in mortal peril. Stain, in his current position, covers both.”

Tsuragamae also stepped forward, claws suddenly appearing from his paws. “And you should also know that the article only applies to licensed heroes.”

“Maybe, but these students are covered by UA’s agreement for internships, and one of the conditions enforced by the HPSC in said agreement is that they have special permissions covered by hero law in case of an emergency. And even if they weren’t, Article 102 also gives a licensed hero on the top 200 and up the capacity to permit civilians to use their quirks covered by hero law in case of an emergency.”

Oh. Tokoyami thinks he understands the situation. He wasn’t sure what happened exactly with Stain, but he does know the only ones present were Midoriya and Iida. And by the way Midoriya is keeping a hand over Iida’s mouth, something wrong had to happen during Stain’s capture!

Tokoyami’s gaze went back to the chief and Hawks, staring as they kept centimeters from each other, obviously trying to force the other into submission like the predators they felt like. It wasn’t until Manual subtly sprayed some water over both of them that the tension finally broke, both quickly turning to the sighing hero.

“While I didn’t want to interrupt your… discussion, I think it’s obvious that this was just a situation getting out of hand. We should worry about processing everything else instead of looking for who to blame. Please, chief, let us take care of our interns, considering this is nothing more than an unfortunate accident.”

An awkward silence came for a few seconds. Tokoyami noticed that most were holding their breath in wait, except Midoriya, who was trying not to laugh. Eventually, the chief sighed in defeat, shoulders dropping.

“Very well. We shall inform the public that Hawks was the one to take down Stain, and your names shall be taken out from statements for your security, under the Children's Protection Act.” The man stood there, eyes dropping for a second, before bowing lightly. “That said, as future heroes… I thank you for your efforts, regardless. I hope something like this doesn’t repeat, for your own sakes.”

 

----------

 

Over the Hosu hospital roof, right in the middle of the night, a certain green boy was sitting down on the ledge, staring into the distance.

‘What a shame that things ended this way.’ He thought. And what a shame it was, indeed.

Even if misguided, the Chosen of The Hunt would be no more. Not by Iida’s hands, nor his, but because the narrative decided it would be so.

Something that shouldn’t be and yet is.

“It shouldn’t be happening like this. Stain wouldn’t just… conveniently fall into a coma. Not in my original story.”

“This means he’s starting to affect the direction of the narrative, too.” The boy whispered to the air, tracing the faint scar left by the Hero Killer around his eyes. “For now, it's just subtle and opportunistic. But time is getting short.”

“What would happen if he got complete control, though?”

“He would become the author in your stead. I don’t need to tell you what it would mean for everyone and everything here.”

“…So how long?”

“When was your story supposed to end?”

“…After the Kamino raid. At least that was my original plan. Maybe add after, but I never planned that far.”

“So that would be it. After that, the story will no longer be yours. It will be up for grabs.”

“…Will you? Grab it for yourself, if you can?”

The green boy stared up, smiling. “Who knows? Certainly not myself. You’re the one who can hear THEIR whispers, you should tell me.”

“Fuck you.”

The boy closed his eyes, breathing deeply. It was cold outside, but the feeling was welcome for a troubled mind. Even he had to admit he might be out of his depth in his current status. After all, that fight with Stain was an extremely close call. Who would say he would make it to the final clash? He had to do something about it.

“Midoriya?”

The boy turned at the familiar voice. Right behind him, Dark Shadow was there , eyes downcast and form strangely liquid, the bottom part dripping what seemed like black tar.

“Dark Shadow? You shouldn’t be this far from Tokoyami. What’s wrong?”

The dark entity fiddled with his claws, seemingly sighing to herself. Then, in a whisper, she spoke. “Tokoyami’s mental state is no good. He’s getting closer to THEIR shadow.”

The boy said nothing. Just nodded slowly. He knew, after all.

“It-It’s my fault. I shouldn’t-Shouldn’t have done it in the first place.”

“Are you blaming yourself for Tokoyami’s connection?”

“I’m stating a fact!” Dark Shadow’s voice rose. “If it weren’t for me being connected to him, he wouldn’t be eroding right now! It’s all because I wanted to escape! Now I’m dragging him down!”

The boy observed the shadow entity, slowly losing her usual form now that she was away from her host, his dark body becoming tar-like, voice distorting. “…Why are you telling me this?” He ended up asking after a few seconds of contemplation.

“You… You have the power of one of THEM. You can do it. If… If you kill me, Tokoyami will be free from THEIR influence. He no longer will be in danger of losing himself to Nihility.”

“And you’ll be gone. He’ll never know what happened to you, his inner self.”

“I’M NOT HIS OTHER SELF, I’M A GODDAMN PARASITE!” The entity roared, dark claws grabbing the boy from his hospital gown. The boy in question just stared coldly, kaleidoscopic eyes shining in the darkness. “I just wanted to be me again! I wanted to be something!... Anything!... And because of that…” the voice of the entity was getting more and more distorted, sounding like a monster losing itself. “Because of that, I…”

“Even if I killed you, it wouldn’t do anything.” The boy said, unflinching. “You’ve been with him since he was four. It’s been years. Whatever you were before, you’re part of him now. That means THEIR mark is already part of him, too.”

The tar entity’s claws faltered, his form becoming smaller as it fell on the rooftop, half-dissolved.

“…So there… there’s nothing I can do to save him? Will he end up like me, from before…”

The boy stared at the weeping tar shadow and had to admit he felt pity for it. But he had to admit to himself… There was no answer to this. Not one that would guarantee anything. While Nihility’s power would make him resistant to most abilities from other pathstriders, Tokoyami was still vulnerable to THEIR Shadow and would either rise from the darkness or be consumed by it like so many others.

“I’ll be honest, Dark Shadow: I’m not sure what we can do. We can support him all the way, but in the end, it’s in his hands. If he’s strong enough, he’ll keep his ego. If not… at least we can end his suffering before it gets worse. Either way, he’ll need you by his side.”

The boy walked to the tar entity, kneeling in front of it. With gentle hands, he grabbed it, its body barely solid but still able to be held. Ignoring the way it stained him, he dragged it close to his chest, gently patting it on its head as he walked back to his room, thoughts of what was about to come still plaguing him.

Notes:

As the story reaches its final arc, we expect endings and no more narrative.

But what will happen after that?

And more importantly...

...Who's going to decide that?

Chapter 21: Eternal sunshine of a soulless mind

Summary:

How does Nihility feel like for you? And for those at your side?

Shinsou had to blink a couple of times to process the entire situation. Everyone around their usual table was acting like nothing weird was going on. Like having fucking Hawks of all people during lunch time taking a nap on Midoriya’s lap was natural! The entire school was staring in their direction!

After a few seconds of VERY awkward silence, the boy couldn’t handle it anymore. “Okay, are we just going to ignore the fact that fucking Hawks-”

“Yes.” “Yep.” “Indeed.” His three friends answered simultaneously. Todoroki slurping his soba stoically, Tokoyami just staring at his untouched lunch, and Midoriya happily preening the hero’s wings as he hummed a tune.  Shinsou just stared at his friends for a bit until he sighed in resignation.

“…Anyway… uh… how was your week? Had fun during internships?” The boy tried to change subjects, noticing the glance the four (yes, even Hawks) shared for a few seconds. 

“It was cool. We trained, went around for a fly, dealt with a serial killer, and had paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork.” Midoriya casually commented, while Shinsou just nodded absentmindedly as he had some rice.

“Oh, cool, sounds like-” the moment his mind processed the statement, he almost choked. A flying feather had to gently pat him on the back for him not to die. “What the fuck!?”

“Language, Shinsou, we have kids here.” Midoriya chided like nothing was wrong. Shinsou was going to slap him. 

“Don’t ‘Language’ me, you just said you faced a serial-”

“Anyway, how was YOUR week, Shinny boy?” Midoriya interrupted as a feather was pushed against Shinsou’s lips to shut him up. “Something that made you smile happened again?” The green boy added with a grin. But he was NOT going to let him change the subject again. No, he was going to stand his ground!

…

…

…Ok, but he kinda wants to gush about it.

“Fine, but we’re going back to the serial killer thing.” He ended up saying before grinning like a fool. “So, while you were dying out there, I was dying here after school. Training, you know. And it seems like if I do well enough, I will end up learning Eraserhead’s binding cloth technique! I was able to use it once to see how it worked! Got tangled for a bit, but…”

In the end, lunch ended before Shinsou could finish his story, and no words about serial killers came out later on.

 

---------- 

 

After class, the four gathered at the school’s gate. Todoroki was telling Shinsou about the upcoming exams they had, and while he had them too, it seems like the hero course would have an extra practical one. No one knew what it would be about, but they were supposed to prepare as much as they could.

“Oh, right. Guys, I gotta head out early today.” Midoriya said as a flash of red and gold drew closer. “I promised mom I would take care of Kei today, and he gets angsty if he doesn’t have enough exercise-” Before the boy could end, a hero-shaped bird descended, grabbed him, and flew away before anyone could react. “Sorry, I promise I’ll be free tomorrow, let’s do that study group we planned for the exams!”

The three just stared at the sky as Midoriya was taken away, until eventually it was nothing but a dot in the sky. Done with life, Shinsou could only sigh. “Should I even ask or?...”

“We know just as much. My current theory is that Hawks was adopted into the Midoriya family and now is Midoriya’s not-so-secret love child.” Todoroki said with a shrug. “By the way, I have to go too, I’m going to see my mother today.”

“Oh, it’s okay. Good luck.” Shinsou waved at the two-toned boy as he left, then turned to Tokoyami. “Guess it’s just you and me, huh?” He said, getting no answer from the boy in question. Raising a brow, Shinsou noticed that Tokoyami was looking down, a frown clear in his expression. “Uh… Tokoyami? Are you there?”

Just then, the other reacted, noticing there were only the two of them. “Ah. Apologies. My mind was elsewhere. What about our comrades?...”

“Mido was kidnapped by a bird, and Todoroki’s going to visit his mom.” Shinsou said, noticing that Tokoyami nodded and blinked slowly, as if it was hard for him to pay attention. “Uh, say, you doing okay? You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“It might as well have been so.” The bird boy said, letting out a hollow laugh. “My apologies, Shinsou, it seems like I’m not in the best condition today.”

“Hey, it’s cool. If you need to sleep early, just go for it.” The boy suggested, noticing how Tokoyami seemed apprehensive about the idea. “…Or we can… just go somewhere?”

“…If you don’t mind.”

“Of course. I kinda have an idea, if you’re up to it.”

 

 

A few minutes later, Shinsou brought Tokoyami to one of his favorite places to relax after a difficult day: The Tafu Mew Mew Café. Normally, he wouldn’t let anyone know about his cat café addiction, especially Midoriya, but something told him that Tokoyami would welcome the distraction. And so, now they had a table on one of the corners directly beside a large window. Shinsou had chosen it because the cats always loved to nap there at this time since the sun hit the area just right.

The boy distracted his friend by introducing him to the cats here. He knew them all by name and had figured out most of their personalities, like the chubby orange one on his lap, Bubu, who loved aggressive pets on his back that bordered on slaps for some reason, or the tabby one now lightly hitting Tokoyami on his leg, Mittens the Destroyer.

“…And don’t let her cuteness fool you. She can and will bite your ankles when you’re distracted.” Shinsou rambled as he told about one time the little devil hid under the table for five minutes to wait for the moment he came back with a coffee to strike. He hoped it was entertaining enough for his friend, since he had no idea what he was doing, and he was running out of material.

If he was honest, he wasn’t sure what he was doing. He didn’t have much (read any) experience comforting friends. Hell, the last time he had friends at all was… too long ago. And even if Midoriya was infuriating as fuck, and Todoroki clueless to anything social and Tokoyami a dramatic goth, they were his. 

God, now he’s spacing out thinking about his pathetic social life, way to go, Hitoshi.

“…I’m sorry I’m forcing you to deal with my… problems, Shinsou.” Tokoyami suddenly broke the silence, hands slowly getting closer to Mittens, but stopping as the cat suddenly stared at the boy. “You probably have better things to do.”

“You’re seriously overestimating me, then.” Shinsou tried to joke, but the other didn’t react, like paralyzed in the moment. “Ugh, what I mean. Is… I don’t mind. You’re one of… my friends, so…” He continued, awkward as hell and unsure how to proceed. “I mean, I’m not just putting up with you, you know. I’m here because I want to be.”

For a few more seconds, Tokoyami just stood there, gaze on the cat who was as frozen as he. Eventually, the boy broke the stalemate by gently touching the cat’s head, and immediately Mittens ran away to who knows where. 

The boy just stood there, hand extended and gaze dark. 

“I’m not sure why…” Tokoyami said low, like telling a secret. “But I’m not sure why I’m here. Alive. In this school. In this existence. It’s like… suddenly, I question the purpose of my actions. Dark Shadow offers no insights. She barely speaks to me these days, and nights are… haunting. It feels like every time I close my eyes, I’m drowning. And I’m not sure why, but I feel like if I fall asleep alone, I will never wake up, and… and the worst part is I don’t feel scared by all this. I barely feel anything at all…”

Tokoyami’s hand, still extended on an empty spot in front of him, twitched lightly. Shinsou had to admit he had no idea what was going on, but for a moment, it was like Tokoyami was… fading. Like all colors around the boy were turning to grey, and his shine was dimming to zero.

And before he could react, he reached out, clasping that hand with his.

Tokoyami felt cold. 

But his heartbeat was still there.

Alive.

 

Both Shinsou and Tokoyami were staring at each other, eyes wide in surprise. Hitoshi wanted to slap himself, and yet a part of him refused to let go, like the other would disappear if he did. And so, he just said the first thing that came to him to break the awkward silence.

“You should take a nap. Being sleep deprived makes you extra angsty.”

Tokoyami blinked, maybe surprised, or baffled. But in the end, he huffed a single laugh. Not bitter like before, but just… light. Present. Here. And Shinsou breathed in relief for some reason.

“How long do we have left?” The bird boy asked. Shinsou took one hand away to check on his phone, but didn’t let go of Tokoyami. 

“Like 40 minutes.” Tokoyami nodded slowly, shrugging to himself.

“Then I think I’ll take on your offer, if you don’t mind.”

The boy then lay on his back, using Shinsou’s thigh as a pillow. Despite feeling extremely embarrassed, the other let him. He tried to look at anything but the other boy for a bit, but eventually glanced in Tokoyami’s direction. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing evenly, holding his hand with both of his, like he did before.

Shinsou felt both extremely awkward and joyful, for some reason. 

The boy let himself breathe, not looking away from his friend, wondering just why he felt so much panic before. Still, something in the back of his mind made him feel uneasy, as his thoughts wandered, trying to figure out what was wrong with Tokoyami. Was this related to the serial killer thing, or something wrong at home? He mentioned Dark Shadow being silent, and now that he thinks about it, she was not there during lunch. Which was weird, considering she always comes out to pester them for some apples or to cuddle with Midoriya or Tokoyami. 

Before he could realize, his free hand was going through Tokoyami’s feathers softly, earning him a few chirping sounds from the sleeping boy. That made him snort. It was kinda cute, like what Dark Shadow does when you pet her just right. 

Letting the evening sun wash over them and wishing for his friend’s well-being, Shinsou started humming.

Notes:

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

Chapter 22: Miss Mom

Summary:

A mother's thoughts

Midoriya Inko loves her son. For her, he’s her world.

Since she knew about him, Inko wished nothing more than for her baby to be happy and safe.

Maybe that’s why, the day of his quirkless diagnosis, a part of her broke down in guilt for not being able to give her son a quirk.

Since then, their lives have taken a visible turn for the worse. Hisashi left soon after for a “work opportunity” in America, only for the divorce papers to arrive just a month later. She had to take more hours on her nurse job so she could keep up with her debts.

But the worst part was watching how her baby was slowly losing his light.

In the beginning, he came to her, talking about “accidents” at school. Inko went there multiple times, and the teachers reassured her again and again that nothing was wrong. And yet, his little boy still came back from school hurt. When, eventually, Izuku no longer appeared with visible wounds, she thought things were getting better, and yet, the signs said something else. Her baby no longer spoke about friends, went vague about what happened at school, and she noticed the med kit was emptier every time she checked it.

Those years were the worst. No matter how many times she went to school, or asked her baby if anything was okay, or asked the police what could be done. Nothing changed.

Until a bit more than a year ago, when Izuku appeared more hurt than she had seen him in years, but with eyes brighter than the sun, when everything changed.

Her baby told him everything. About the bullying, Katsuki, and even All Might. To say she was furious was an understatement. But then he explained that nothing could be done, that he had no evidence besides his scars, and those would be ignored most likely. And while Inko wanted to argue, she knew it was true. Years of trying to help her son showed her so.

But the most incredible thing that happened that day was Izuku revealing he had a quirk now.

She was never convinced about his stress manifestation theory, and yet, she knew not what else could’ve been the cause. Regardless, since then, her son was happy, talked to her more about his day, and reaffirmed his wish to become a hero. And this time, Inko was prepared.  She reassured him that she would support him in any way she could, no matter what.

And so, ten months later, and with the UA letter announcing her baby getting first place, happy tears were spilled all over the place.

Inko was so happy that her son made it, and even more when she saw him flourish during his stay there. Her heart felt full when she started talking about the friends he made there, and she couldn’t wait to finally meet them.

And the opportunity finally came when Izuku asked one day if he could bring some people for a study group. Inko squealed with joy and frantically started planning to make sure everything would be perfect. She managed to get the day free to be there, made sure the house would be spotless, would prepare snacks and her baby’s favorite for dinner, and enough for all his friends in case they could stay! Ah, that would be lovely.

“Mom, I think you’re more excited for this than I am.” Her son said one day, and Inko, with a laugh, had to admit that it might be true.

When the day finally came, Inko’s joy crashed down under a wave of anxiety, her thoughts all over the place. Did she have everything? Would Izuku’s friends like the place? Would they mind her there, or would it be awkward for them? By the time her nerves were getting to the point she was thinking about running away with the excuse of an emergency shift, she heard the door opening, and her baby announcing his presence, with others speaking softly with him.

Inko practically ran to the genkan.

“Welcome home!” She said, managing to hide her anxiety under a smile as she saw the newcomers. The tall boy with bicolored hair would be Todoroki, who was blinking in her direction, looking confused. The boy with bird features, Tokoyami, she was sure, politely bowed to her. The last one with violet hair all over the place, like his son’s bed hair, and looking like he needed a nap, Shinsou, seemed very nervous. “Oh, you must be Izuku’s friends! He told me a lot about you!”

“Mom!” Her baby whined, and she giggled at how cute he sounded. His boy quickly turned back to his friends. “Anyway, this is my mom, Midoriya Inko. Be nice, or else.”

“Baby, don’t threaten your friends.”

“It’s not a threat if I will do it, Mom.” Her boy said with a bright smile. His friends just rolled their eyes, and that made Inko feel a bit better.

“Anyway, I’m glad to finally meet you!... Todoroki-kun, Tokoyami-kun and Shinsou-kun, right?” She asked each of the boys, who had been a bit surprised. “Well, I told you Izuku talks a lot about you, I feel like I know you already!” She added with a smile, which turned to a laugh at how her baby was a bit red.

Ah, her boy is so cute!

“Anyway, come on in! Will you work on the living room or your room, Izuku?”

“Ah, living room, if that’s okay.”

“Of course! I’ll prepare you some snacks in the meantime!” She said, bowing to her boy’s friends before practically skipping to the kitchen, when she had everything ready, previous anxiety already forgotten.

 

After bringing the boys some snacks and drinks, she went back to the kitchen to prepare dinner in a good mood. She even let herself hum while working on it, feeling extra motivated! By the time things were mostly done and she only had to wait for the rice to cook, she let herself stretch, enjoying the feeling of a job well done. After that, she checked the time, noticing that a couple of hours had passed already.

“I wonder if they would like something to drink…” she said to herself as she walked back to the living room, noticing the boys were talking. And yet, before she could step out, something made her stop in place. More specifically, Tokoyami’s voice.

“…don’t know why my quirk would be acting up like this.”

Oh…

Was Tokoyami-kun troubled by his quirk? Her baby said something about it being sentient, a being they called Dark Shadow.

“Is that why she doesn’t come out for lunch?” Todoroki's voice asked. “I was wondering why I haven’t seen her much…”

“Oh well, welcome to the ‘troubled quirk group’, Tokoyami. We have sessions each Thursday and Saturday.” Her baby added, amusement noticeable in her voice. Ink had to stop herself from snorting, while someone else, who sounded like Shinsou, did it openly.

“We’re in a group? I didn’t know about it…” Todoroki added, Oh, the sweet boy.

“It’s a joke, Todoroki.” Shinsou had to say. “But wait, since when have you quirk drama, Midoriya? You have the most op one in existence.”

“Oh well, maybe because god had to give me a drawback and made me live quirkless for like fourteen years before I could figure it out.” Her baby said casually, and only her hands, already covering her mouth, stopped her loud gasp.

The table at the other side went silent.

For a moment, Inko’s anxiety flared up, scared for her baby. She was almost about to cross the door to say something when Shinsou spoke again.

“Oh shit. Sorry, I had no idea…”

“It must’ve been a difficult existence. I’m sorry.” Tokoyami added.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Her baby continued, casually, but she knew him and knew when he was deflecting. “The point is, we all have our issues. Dark Shadow’s in her angsty phase, I have my drama, Todoroki has daddy issues, and your labels, Shinsou. Which are ridiculous, by the way, your quirk is the gentlest thing ever.”

“W-What?...”

“Hey, remember when you got me with a dad joke at lunch? It was like a spa for my head!”

“Midoriya, what the fuck-”

“Now I wonder how it feels. Can you put me under, Shinsou?”

“Todoroki, not you too!”

“I have to concur with our friends, Shinsou, you have one of the gentlest quirks, and a voice to pair with.”

“Tokoyami, I swear to god, stooooop!”

“Oh, now the maiden’s bushing. How cute.”

“How cute indeed.”

“I swear I’m going to murder you both…”

Inko laughed a bit, wiping away her tears. She was so glad her baby had found such good friends. She took a few minutes to compose herself and wash her face over the sink before finally going to the living room. There, her baby and Tokoyami were laughing while Shinsou was hiding his face with his hands, ears red, and Todoroki was blinking like a cat, looking confused. They all turned to her at that moment.

“Sorry for interrupting, boys, but I was wondering if you would like to stay for dinner?”

“Oh! You HAVE to, mom’s making katsudon today and it’s legendary!”

The boys went to their phones for a bit, and eventually all agreed to stay. Inko nodded and went back to the kitchen to check the rice, feeling glad that his baby had such good people as friends.

She couldn’t wait to talk to all of them at dinner!

Notes:

Next time: Exam time! \( ᐖ)/

Chapter 23: Hero of Steel (Scene 1)

Summary:

When an overwhelming force faces an ever-changing power, who will be victorious?

For Tokoyami, these last weeks have been hell.

For some reason he has yet to discern, his inner soul no longer speaks to him. For a while, at least, he saw her during training, but since a few days ago, Dark Shadow has refused to come out, even after Aizawa-sensei’s threats. Add to that the nightmares that plague his nights to make things worse. Were it not for Shinsou and Midoriya, whose presence somehow keeps the darkness at bay, he would’ve gone mad a long time ago.

And yet, all the panic he should be feeling about this is muted. There, but like a foreign presence rather than his own feeling.

Which, in his opinion, is worse.

“Tokoyami.” Midoriya’s voice cut through his darkness, as always. Turning to his side, he saw his friend give him a rare, genuine smile. “It’ll be okay.”

And somehow, he believed it. “My thanks, friend. I just wish she could be here for this, too.”

“She is.” Midoriya added, his grin turning cheeky. “She’s just a bit too depressed. But I’ll figure something out.”

“Attention, students! It’s time to explain the practical exam!” A chipper voice interrupted the moment. Oh, yes, he needs to focus on today’s events. They were all training hard for this, and all his friends were counting on each other. Glancing to the other side, he noticed Todoroki’s eyes on him, and they quickly exchanged nods, as Tokoyami noticed the red and white bracelet on his right wrist. Midoriya had one too, his green and red, and his own, black and yellow, was a comfortable weight that brought a smile on his face, as a melodic voice came as a memory from the one who prepared them.

“Think of it as a good luck charm or something.” Shinsou had said, trying to appear nonchalant, but unconsciously tugging his own, dark purple and light violet. Even if he couldn’t be here right now, his spirit was accompanying them.

He can do this.

 

----------

 

He can’t do this.

Tokoyami ignored everything the moment he heard it. Not the way Nedzu’s eyes lit in delight, or Aizawa turned in surprise and maybe a bit of panic, or how All Might spluttered.

Only that phrase. On repeat. Again and again.

“Midoriya and Tokoyami versus All Might!”

He can’t do this.

He can’t do this.

He’ll be just a burden to-

“Tokoyami.”

A hand on his shoulder.

A familiar tune as he hummed.

And just like that, he was brought back to reality.

Turning to his side, Midoriya’s kaleidoscopic eyes were looking up, his feral grin on full display. The view alone stirred something deep within his soul, like a primal calling.

As he turned, green fire burst on the boy’s face, his familiar mask manifesting over it. “Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

 

----------

 

Toshinori took position in the middle of the testing site, skyscrapers and buildings all around, eerily silent.

His mind drifted to the talk they had with Aizawa and Nedzu. The way the former questioned the principal’s sudden change of plans, switching Midoriya to All Might instead of him. The way Nedzu cackled like the other hero told him a hilarious joke. And the casual way he answered.

“Do you truly believe you have a chance? The only one here who can give Midoriya a challenge is All Might, of course!”

Toshinori frowned as he mentally reviewed what he knew of Midoriya. At first glance, he acted cocky and playful, like he was taking everything in stride. And yet, he was always training hard, applying himself with an admirable dedication, if not a bit extreme. It felt to him like he was preparing for something, but he was not quite sure what it was.

And his quirk… while not equal in power to One for All, it rivaled it in sheer versatility. He had to admit that, at the beginning, he wasn’t sure what to think, doubts and suspicions plaguing his mind, considering their shared history. And yet, the boy showed again and again his heroic spirit, even if it was in unorthodox ways, to the point that he thought about making him his successor were it not for Mirio. And so, he should take his threat seriously. After all, he could adopt the form of various heroes and use their powers if he so desired. Hell, he could copy Aizawa-kun and end the fight in one fell swoop. And yet, Nedzu’s words didn’t feel like a lie or a prank. There was something there that he couldn’t see at the moment, but eventually clicked as he jumped to the top of a building.

“He has never copied me.”

He tried to think of a reason. On Young Midoriya’s notes, it said that his quirk required extensive knowledge of the person he had to copy. His work as All Might was quite literally on display for the world to see, and yet he hadn’t taken his form. Was it because of One for All? Or maybe because Midoriya was not aware of who he really was? Was this because the boy didn’t know about Yagi Toshinori?

A loud siren indicating the beginning of the exam interrupted his thoughts, and so he decided to push them aside. He was here for a reason, and it would be better to focus on it. He crouched a bit and then jumped, eyes roaming the surrounding area as he went up and on until he saw a flash of movement in the distance. Turning his body downwards, he kicked the air and went down like a meteor, making contact in seconds and leaving a huge crater on the street he fell on, causing a strong gust that went everywhere, raising a large dust cloud around him.

Even with his impaired vision, Toshinori could see the shadow a few meters in front of him. Smiling, he raised a foot and pushed it down, cracking the floor and pushing the dust away. Right there, standing proudly with his mask on, was Midoriya-No, the hero Jack, grinning.

“So, you decided to come and face me, Hero.” He said, getting into the role of villain. “Is your partner not with you? Or did he decide to escape?”

“He might have, he might not have. Who knows?”

“I see. Have you decided to take me by yourself? Or is this your attempt to distract me?” He tried again. Midoriya didn’t answer this time, and that was an answer in itself. “Very well, then. Let’s see how long you last, hero!”

One jump, and in the blink of an eye, Toshinori managed to close the distance and draw a punch, connecting right with the boy’s torso. A sickening crunch made him gasp in surprise before the body in front of him disappeared in a smoke-like substance.

“An illusion?... No, a clone. Ecotplasm’s!”

“Ding ding ding, a prize for a correct answer!” A couple of shadows jumped from the nearest buildings, various copies of Midoriya coming down with red feathers on their hands. And yet, Toshinori had to only punch upwards, and the shockwave was enough to dissipate them. Then he turned, a jab stopping a large red feather that was about to hit him from behind, clashing his strength against the boy’s.

“Hawk’s quirk, too. And you’re not transforming, huh.”

“A trick my baby bird taught me.” Midoriya answered with a grin. “Why transform my entire being with just a part can suffice?” The boy added as two red wings sprouted from his back on a burst of green fire. Propelling himself with them, he pushed forward enough for Toshinori to require more power to keep up.

“Heh… a very smart application.” The hero conceded, a part of him feeling genuine pride for his student. “And yet…”

IT’S NOT ENOUGH!

 

Pushing himself forward, a burst of energy was enough to deflect the feather, and then a second jab upwards broke it in half in less than a second. Midoriya could barely take a breath before All Might had already grabbed him and, with a move of a proper baseball player, he threw the boy at a nearby building, the force enough to leave a large hole in the walls.

A jump later, and All Might was inside the building, staring at Midoriya, who was already standing up, albeit slower than normal.

“Say, Young Midoriya, may I ask you something?”

“Chatting during exam time? Sure, I’m down for wasting your time.”

“You can clearly do a lot with your quirk. Take the form of many heroes and use their powers. And yet, I don’t think I have seen you use mine a single time. Why is that?”

Midoriya tilted his head to the side, surprise evident even with his mask on. Eventually, the boy’s smile came back. “Well, that’s simple. You’re a living Deus ex Machina, All Might. Using you would be like using a living, breathing cheat code from reality itself.”

“And you don’t cheat like that?”

“Oh, I do it all the time. But yours is a cheat even I cannot use.” While the comment was surprising, it brought a genuine laugh to Toshinori. What a way to describe your limitations!

“Well, if you put it like that, I cannot blame you!” He added with a good-hearted laugh. “If that’s the case, allow me to put my cheat to the test!”

Coming forward, both clashed with enough strength to go flying through the building’s ceiling, kicking and punching and dodging attacks. Midoriya came from all directions, managing Ectoplasm’s quirk for defense and Hawks’ for offense and maneuverability, and yet only one good strike was enough to break the clones down.  As the initial impulse died down, their move through the air continued as an arc, slowly descending until they fell rolling through a street, Toshinori hitting the last of the clones as he stopped with one knee on the floor.

He smiled.

“I see. So you plan to wear me down with numbers? Not bad… for most.” As he stood, Toshi… no, All Might took a deep breath, already drawing a punch. “The let me finish this… With one strike!”

Midoriya then jumped from behind the hero, a capture weapon appearing from his arm as his eyes started to shine red. And yet, the student was suddenly blocked by a piece of concrete , the man already hitting the ground with his foot to hide from the use of Erasure on him.

“Plus!...”

Then, he turned, and…

“ULTRA!”

 

BOOM!

 

Midoriya covered himself, just as a wave of pure wind and power broke free, the single punch breaking holes and pushing down buildings and everything on his path. And yet, no attack connected with the boy. Instead, the burst of power went in the opposite direction, going directly to the exit.

It took him just a moment, but it was already too much time for him to realize the attack was directed at someone else, and only the scream in the distance told him who.

Notes:

Switching sides...

Chapter 24: Hero of Steel (Scene 2)

Summary:

Find yourself in the void.

“Run around to the exit. No matter what, don’t get close to the center. I’ll keep him at bay while you escape.”

Even as far away as he was, Tokoyami could feel the shockwaves in the distance—overwhelming power on display.

And Midoriya was facing such strength alone.

Logically, he knew it was the best course of action, considering the circumstances. And yet, a part of him resented this arrangement, knowing that, even if just a little, he might be able to fight alongside his friend, were it not for…

“Damn it…”

The sounds were getting closer. Clenching his fists, Tokoyami pushed himself to run faster. Still not enough, still just there, useless, like he was nothing.

“Why… What have I done to you!? Why would you forsake me so!?”

No answer. And yet, his inner soul couldn’t hide from him. Not entirely. He could feel it, not like the open stream he often experienced, but like drops, few, but still clear. Waves of anger, guilt, fear were escaping from her consciousness.

And for some reason, an until now muted feeling came back, breaking through the throes of his darkness.

“WHY!?”

He didn’t notice how his steps faltered, nor how he fell on his knees until he was already there, feeling the cold pavement in his hands.

“Why would you forsake me!? What sin have I committed to bring this woe? Have I broken your trust? Have I hurt you? Broken your trust in any way?”

Nothing. The drops were frantically stopped, like hands containing a leak.

“ANSWER ME!”

He then felt the wind. A breeze at first, which brought him a flicker of hope, but then it turned into a gust, hitting his back with increasing force. Only then he registered the destruction in his ears, coming closer and closer and-

CRASH!

He could only feel pain as he rolled and rolled until he hit something. The moment his eyes opened, he could only see pieces of rubble all around the fake city, like the aftermath of an earthquake. By the time he could finally stand, the steps made him falter, and a towering figure blocked the light and his chances to get away.

“I hope you didn’t think I would just let you go like that, Young Tokoyami?”

Ironic how the boisterous and cheerful tone that people usually associate with safety could feel so chilling. Before Tokoyami could react, the man was already in front of him, sending him flying with a well-timed punch in the gut. However, before he could hit another building, a flash of red grabbed him, and green, concerned eyes brought a sliver of hope to his heart.

“Quickly, run!” Midoriya said, putting him down as he turned, sending blasts of fire to the number one, already closing the distance. And yet, despite the warning, Tokoyami did not move. He couldn’t, not while Midoriya was there, putting himself in between All Might and him, not while he was sent away like a flea, only to step up and send fire, or a clone to hold the hero back. In his desperation, he tugged his mental link to his other self, demanding, begging for help for his friend. And while feelings of concern and fear escaped from Dark Shadow’s self-imposed prison, she didn’t budge.

And that?

That couldn’t stand.

“Very well.” He found himself whispering, stepping forward. “If you won’t join me… I shall do this myself.”

One step after another, and suddenly, he ran. Not from danger but towards it. No matter what, he would not leave his friend alone. He will not be a hindrance to him. He doesn’t care if he doesn’t have his quirk or help. Even if he’s nothing, he will not leave him alone.

And as he walked, drops of a tar-like substance fell, leaving a trace of darkness behind him.

 

----------

 

This was… not good.

Not Midoriya. His student was holding his own in battle, keeping him on his toes with versatility alone: To Hawks and Ectoplasm, he added Endeavor’s quirk, and tried surprise hits with Eraserhead’s.

What was worrying him was Tokoyami.

He was aware of the recent… problem with the boy’s quirk, how it was getting difficult to control, and in the last weeks, it even refused to come out. While he’s no expert in sentient quirks, he could tell something was wrong, and no matter what he tried, Eraserhead couldn’t do anything. His inclusion in Midoriya’s exam was a last-ditch effort to do something about it, and even now, nothing was happening.

Sighing, he jumped away from a flurry of feathers, then descended like a whirlwind towards Midoriya, who was already waiting with a fist ready. Was he hoping to match his strength by imitating another hero?

So be it!

Feeling himself smiling, he kicked the air to gain momentum, ready to collide with the boy’s, and yet, before he could reach, a chill down his spine threw him off course, hitting the air besides the boy’s head before jumping back, finding what seemed to be Young Tokoyami ready to attack.

And yet, the boy’s body was covered… no, stained with black tar on arms and legs, and the man gasped in horror when he realized that said substance came from his eyes, like dark tears flowing unnaturally.

When he finally reached the ground, a splashing sound made him look down. The tar was everywhere, now covering the rubble around them, and even Midoriya didn’t escape the strange phenomenon. Looking back at Young Tokoyami, the boy seemed to have just now realized what was going on, staring at his stained hands and then at him, eyes wide and teary.

Before he could do anything, the tar around them rose like a dome over them, and only when all light was gone did it descend, swallowing everything inside.

 

----------

 

A lake of still, murky waters. Red lilies blooming. A starless dark sky, and an unnaturally large moon looming on it.

Tokoyami opened his eyes, suddenly feeling himself floating over the waters, rising to watch the strange surroundings. This place felt both terrifying and familiar for some reason.

Standing up, he realized the murky waters were shallower than he thought. Able to walk around, he tried to make sense of what was going on when a strange presence made him stop. A figure with a humanoid shape, made of a dark substance that flowed slowly from its body to the waters around it. The figure, even if it had no features, projected a strange and familiar sense of both fear and anger.

“Are you an idiot!?” It-No, she asked with a voice Tokoyami knew well. “Do you have a death wish!?”

The entire shock he felt, the strange place, and even Dark Shadow’s appearance became second place to the anger. He walked forward, fists clenched. “You… Are you here to scold me!? In what grounds, after all you’ve done!?”

“Wha-” The tar figure stepped back, using her limbs to keep some distance. “This is not about it! You could’ve escaped!”

“And that wouldn’t have needed to be if YOU were there with us, instead of hiding!”

“I’m not hiding, idiot!”

“Then why shut me out, huh? Why isolate yourself from everyone!? Why leave me alone and void, without you there!?”

“It’s…” The dark figure faltered, a splash of gold peeking out from the tar-like substance, but the light quickly was covered as she faltered, turning back. “It’s for your own good. You don’t need me!”

“What!?” Tokoyami gasped, rattled. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re my other self, my inner soul, my sibling-!”

“No, I’m not!” Dark Shadow stepped back once again, avoiding the boy’s hand, trying to grasp her. “I was never supposed to exist here! I’m just a parasite latching on to your soul, tainting you! If it weren’t because of me, you would’ve been normal! You wouldn’t be suffering!”

 

Tokoyami blinked, confused as Dar Shadow retreated into herself. What? Why is she saying this? Is this about his nightmares and the feeling of a void inside of him?

Was she right?

And yet…

Clicking his tongue, Tokoyami reached anyway. Ran fast and jumped so his sibling would not run away. With steady legs and extended arms, he reached out so she wouldn’t leave him again, but the moment he made contact with her-

 

 

Rain. It’s raining.

Darkness everywhere. A giant ocean of black, everything devoid of color.

Hands raising, figures tainted in tar, all of their humanity lost, wiped by the shadows.

And yet, they can only reach out, a cacophony of screams and wails, begging for THEIR attention. One gaze. One second. So they can finally feel something, anything again.

One of them hears a voice. A whisper. A figure of blank, that still has some color. Not yet one of them, extends a hand tainted in red.

“You are yet truly lost.” The figure says. “Hold my hand and you might find a self to call your own again, away from THEM.”

The one watched that hand, not understanding who, what, or why it was there. And yet, after eons, the one felt one sliver of something for the first time since falling into THEIR shadow.

Hope.

 

 

 

Tokoyami gasped, like breathing for the first time after minutes of being underwater.

Still gasping, he noticed his other self was crawling on the waters. Rain was falling from cloudless skies, and the moon was slowly turning black, a halo of silver slowly manifesting around it.

“I think I remember.” He said, after his breathing calmed down. "I was running around the park when I was four. I found this muddy animal under a tree, and tried to help it, but it vanished. Then my quirk manifested that night.”

Dark Shadow said nothing, still crawled into herself.

“You have been my other self, my sibling, since that moment. I care not who or what you were before.”

“I’ve been tainting you since that day.” She finally spoke. “Slowly. Just now, Nihility’s mark has become obvious. The longer it spreads, the more it’ll consume you. You’ll become nothing.”

Tokoyami contemplated his sibling as he mused on what she said. It… would explain much. The way his feelings have been dimming for a while, the void, the way everything feels muted.

And yet…

 

“I care not. I’d rather be lost together than alone.”

“But it’s my fault. I did this to you.”

“Was that your intention?”

“No!” Dark Shadow stood up, traces of her usual form uncovered. “I just wanted to be someone again. I never realized-”

“Then I won’t blame you, my sibling. And neither should you.”

 

She faltered, unable to say anything. She wished to run, to leave, but couldn’t. And he knew it. Regardless of origin, they were connected, and she could no longer keep her walls here, where darkness and nothingness mix into them.

“It’s going to get worse with time.”

“I am aware.”

“You may lose yourself forever. Unable to feel like before.”

“Yet I won’t be alone. You’ll stay with me, won’t you?”

“…And if the Abyss finds you… If THEY stare at you… Nothing will be able to save you.”

Tokoyami couldn’t help himself at that moment.

He smiled.

“Then we shall stare back, together.”

Tokoyami was the one stepping forward first. Kneeling over the waters, he extended a hand. Dar Shadow, still unsure, just looked back at it before finally reaching out.

The moment they made contact, the rain intensified, washing away the dark tar over her, revealing her full, shadowy form. Both smiled, as no more walls were between them.

 

 

 

Yet the siblings found themselves now at the border of the abyss.

 

 

 

A deafening sound interrupted the moment, like waves of a tempest, literally tearing down the scenery like glass. Pieces of the moon fell, slowly revealing a black hole inside, expanding and swallowing all. They tried to reach for each other as they were slowly pulled into THEIR shadow, but barely grazed each other's hands before flying in THEIR direction, unable to do anything but-

“Ah ah, it is not your time yet!”

Tap.

Something hit his forehead, and suddenly, gravity reverted, and Tokoyami fell back into the waters. This time, he went down, deeper and deeper, as he could only see a figure of green and black, distorted from his position. He could’ve sworn he saw a sad smile before anything turned back again.

 

----------

 

When the dome of darkness finally broke down, like pieces of glass that shattered out of existence the moment they touched the ground, four figures appeared. One unconscious All Might, and a Tokoyami passed out. Midoriya was holding him on his back, already walking towards the exit, and Dark Shadow was silently floating by their side, holding her sibling’s hand on her own.

It was over.

Chapter 25: When the dust blows

Summary:

Strange things are happening, and one young man is confused.

Dark, metallic walls. Clouded skies. A cold, ominous aura all around the area.  Hawks thought with a sardonic smile that this place needed only thunder in the distance to complete the evil lair look.

As the bronze gates of Tartarus opened, and a cohort of special forces armed to the teeth appeared to escort him, the hero came back from his musings to focus on his mission, one of his hands on the pocket of his jacket, fiddling with a little plushie toy Dad-Midoriya gave him the day they had The Talk™. One of the guards gave him a curt nod, pointing to the interior with the rifle he was carrying.

“We’ve been expecting you, sir. Something about a prisoner?”

“Yes. Cell 420-69, I believe.” While a dark helmet covered the guard’s face, the hero could notice a subtle flinch of hesitation that made him narrow his eyes. “All good, man?”

“Y-Yes.” The guard quickly recovered. “But… are you sure, sir? That cell-”

“A hundred percent. Lead the way?”

“…Yes, sir.”

 

The insides of the prison felt even colder than the outside, to the point that the hero had to zip up his jacket and subtly cover himself with his wings. He couldn’t help but notice how the longer they walked, the more… muted everything around them turned, like color was slowly dissolving, and even the walls were losing structure and detail. Was it a trick of the light or a premeditated look for the area? Even the voices of the prisoners cursing in the distance were getting ever quieter, losing any distinction and becoming just echoes.

“Sir. We’re here.” The guard from before, who looked barely humanoid now, spoke with a disemboweled tone, and Hawks found himself unable to recall how it sounded back at the entrance. That made the uneasiness he was feeling turn into dread, as the man pointed to black walls over a grey canvas, with bars drawn over that wall. “But… sir, why did you want to see an empty cell?”

The hero blinked, suddenly feeling like eyes were on him.

“What do you mean by empty?” He asked, pretending they weren’t just beside a drawing on a blank wall. “Stain should be here.”

“…Stain, sir?” the humanoid shadow said, tilting his head to the side. “Is that a villain?”

 

----------

 

Things don’t make sense. He doesn’t know why.

Even after that damn doppelganger, things have been turning stranger and stranger. Sensei has become fascinated with every single thing that glitch does, the doctor comes and goes practically weekly to give him weird shots, and for some reason, Kurogiri has not stopped making cloud jokes! If he hears ONE more, he’s going to-

“Shigaraki Tomura. We’re having steak today made by yours truly.”

“Kurogiri, if you finish that fucking phrase-”

“A mist steak, if you wish.”

“OKAY I’M FUCKING DONE!!!”

 

A warp gate and a few minutes later, Tomura was wandering around a shopping district in Kiyashi, hoping to find something to pass the time until fucking Kurogiri’s daily joking spree would be over, when he noticed strangely familiar figures around, happily chatting with each other and grating his poor ears with their squeals. Before he realized, he was already hiding behind a cardboard figure of a flaming piece of trash, watching the hero hopefuls from the USJ going around without a care in the world.

Huh, what are they doing around here? No matter, this is the perfect chance! If those brats are here, it means that the doppelganger will be there too, and if that’s the case, he only needs to catch him alone, and then he’ll-

“You'll what, Tomu-chan?”

He was about to flinch when a hand grabbed his throat, a single index finger wiggling dangerously close to his lips. Glancing to his side, he saw his own face smiling too widely, and for just a second, he wondered if that’s how he normally looks when he smiles before whisper-yelling a curse.

“Let’s go take a walk, shall we?”

 

If anyone would bother to look at them, they would probably see a pair of twins, one happily catching up while the other pretends to brood at his annoyingly cheery sibling.

Tomura, however, knows best, and were it not for the hand on his neck, he would’ve dusted this fucker to oblivion already.

“…So, there I was, my sorcerer build against fucking Malenia, when this summon appeared, nothing but a jar on the head and a dream, and I shit you not, the bitch actually soloed here! Zero hits the entire fight, even at phase two! Who does that!?”

“You play sorcerer? You disgust me.” Huffed Tomura, rolling his eyes while the doppelganger just laughed.

“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you’re one of the greatsword guys?”

“It’s the way Miyazaki intended!”

“Then why did he add sorceries!?”

“For pussies like you who are afraid to get his hands dirty!”

Both glared at each other for a bit, when suddenly the copycat started laughing to the point he almost let his index touch Tomura, and he swatted it away in a panic. For a moment, he found himself snorting at his stupid brother’s shenanigans, relaxing for once since so long, to the point he didn’t remember the last time the itch stopped and-

Tomura froze.

The itch.

It was gone.

He felt light.

How!?

Turning to his bro-no, the copycat, he saw green, kaleidoscopic eyes staring at him, a blank expression on his face.

“What the fuck did you do?” he said in a whisper. The other kept silently contemplating before getting closer to his face, lips barely opening.

“I’m showing you how it feels to be free, Tomura. Free from his influence. From THEIR burden forcefully put upon you.”

“What…” Tomura blinked, confused. What is this copycat talking about? Is this an attempt at reverse psychology? A recruitment scenario!? That thought made his anger burst into life again. “You… Are you trying to make me doubt sensei-?”

“How much of your anger is your own, Tomura? Of your desire for destruction? Is the itch yours? Why is it there? Why is he feeding you so much hate? Have you ever thought about how the only thing he shows you is destruction?”

His head hurts. His heart pounds out of control. No. No. He’s lying, that’s not true. This anger is his own, this desire is his and his only!

“You know nothing.”

“I know more than you’ll ever know, little caterpillar.” Him-Not, the boy, now he was back to his green tones, said, frowning in… sadness? Was he... sad? Why? “You’ve been growing up so much under THEIR influence without even realizing, and soon it will be too late. I want you to have a chance, even if it may be too late. You deserve to be saved.”

…

…Saved?

SAVED!?

Without realizing, Tomura slapped the boy’s hand reaching out, hot molten lava burning in his chest.

How dare he…

How dare he try to save him!?

“Fuck off, hero.” He snarled, baring his teeth as that hot anger burned from his chest to every part of his body, like the cracks of lava around a volcano. “You come here, fuck with my head, try to feed me lies, and pretend you want to save me!? You’re nothing more than a fucking hero like everyone else. You’re the reason everything is the way it is!”

“Tomura-”

“SHUT UP! I don’t care anymore! I’ll show you… I’ll show everyone! I will destroy everything… and I’ll make sure to start with you, you fucking liar!”

He wasn’t sure what happened later. He remembered panicking voices and fingers pointing in his direction, and then running and mist and suddenly he was back into the darkness, surrounded by chambers and golden lava flowing everywhere, and a panicking doctor trying to make him do something, but he wasn’t listening. He could only see green eyes glowing in lies pity, a hand trying to reach out and pain pain painpainpainpainpain-

And then a pinch.

And then darkness.

Notes:

The beginning of the end is coming soon.