Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I'm Midoriko Izu! Pleasure to be here!" The pretty girl bowed her head, her ponytail of green and black curls swaying with her movements. Izu took light steps to her seat, right between the two scariest boys in her class. 

Kuroiro Shihai, a boy with white medium-length sharp hair and black skin. He wore a light blue T-shirt with the text 'I met god' on it in black, the Kanji was the biggest. The white-haired boy also wore a pair of orange shorts. Shihai was going to be on Izu's right side.

Honenuki Juuzou, a boy with a pale-yellow hair colour and teeth on the outside of his mouth. He wore a pink long-sleeved shirt with blue stripes. The boy with teeth wore a pair of jean-shorts, there wasn’t a belt. Juuzou was sitting on the seat left of Izu's. 

Izu noticed their gazes, questioning, she couldn't let them see. "Pleasure to meet you two!" Izu smiled her most convincing smile, just like she practiced. 

- - - 

Izu gripped her backpack so hard her knuckles lost all their colour, it was her tenth birthday, her fifth year of Elemantary school. As the beauty's green eyes scanned the board for her name someone touched her shoulder. 

"Izu-sempai?" Izu turned around to see two of her few friends. Fukidashi Manga, a boy with a speech bubble for head, and Ito Tsumenne, an African girl with green water for hair. "Sorry if we scared you, but..." Tsumenne looked at the ground. "... nevermind, sempai must be busy." 

The beauty flashed a sad smile at Tsumenne before going back to the board. It didn't take long for the green eyes to find her name, right between Shihai and Juuzou per usual. Manga was also in Izu's class, but he was in front of Juuzou instead of behind Shihai. Tsumenne, on the other hand, was in another class, seat 20, behind the supposed 'Shinsou Hitoshi'. 

"Dang, Tsu isn't in our class." Izu looked to her left, Hoshi Kuzu, a girl with the universe as her skin and pale ginger hair, stood there. "I hoped I would catch a cold from her a week in or so, mom would finally pay attention to me." 

Manga nodded in agreement. 'She pays too little attention to you, last time she even spoke you was what? Seven years ago?' Everyone in the group let out different noises, everyone knew that Kuzu's mom barely cared for her child. 

Izu took note of the looks she was receiving, lust, awe, surprise. The gates were slowly filling up with people, all who noticed the beauty. All of Izu's friends were aware of how little she liked attention, hence why she was on school grounds two hours earlier than most. 

"Hold on!" The girls turned around while Manga just shifted his bubble. Shihai was dragging Juuzou with him towards the group. "We missed the train!" 

'Again? Get better homes, dudes.' Kuzu burst out laughing. "OH MY GODS YES, MANGA-SAN, YOU'RE A GENIUS!" Juuzou barely recovered before screaming with the little breath he had. 

More eyes were on Izu now, she was standing next to the loud girl that spoke highly of herself. There were so many, many, many looks. All eyes were on her. She was back there. The ring. The big man. He- 

"Izu, Izu. Listen to me, Izu. Nobody is looking at you anymore, nobody will." Blank words. They were all Izu could hear. "Izu, listen, I'm sorry I-I wasn't thinking I-" 

"It's alright." Izu felt the arms (when did they get there?) squeeze her tighter. Slowly, a few other pairs wrapped around her. Izu knew that Kuzu often forgot to think before acting. 

It's alright. She's okay.

- - - 

Izu looked at the lock that was on her front door. 

She didn't want to unlock it.

Her father would be home. 

She could just leave, right? 

Right? 

No, of course not. 

He would notice. 

But he wouldn't search, would he? 

Probably not. 

She could just leave. 

It wouldn't hurt, right? 

She could leave and never return. 

But she had to eventually. 

Otherwise her mother would suffer. 

One night couldn't hurt. 

Maybe she could find a street or something. 

But what if her mother came home early? 

That couldn't be good. 

What if her father is waiting, standing right at the door to burn who ever comes in? 

What if that man was there again? 

Was he also waiting? 

What if- 

"Izu?" 

- - - 

Manga liked Shihai's cousin and the cousin's friend. They were nice people. The cousin had pink-crimson skin and pink hair, Manga often called her Pinky because of the hair. Pinky's friend had black hair and crimson eyes, Manga called him Hard because of his quirk. 

The bubble-headed boy was the unlucky one, having to lead everyone to his home. Kuzu's mom disliked Kuzu having guests over without telling her, even thou Kuzu called two hours earlier and explained. Juuzou's family wasn't often home, his brother disappeared years ago apparently. Shihai has a loud baby sister that could drown in Tsumenne's hair and a toddler brother that would bother them. Tsumenne lived in the the nasty part of town, pretty self-explanatory. Izu couldn't bring guests home for an unnamed reason, Manga did have a theory though. 

With all of the group's homes - besides from Manga's - that only left one choice. 

But Manga didn't mind, that only meant Manga would have company the whole way home. When Manga walked home he walked with Izu until they got to her home, Manga continued down the block just to get to his home after the two had said their goodbyes. Today, on the other hand, Manga needed to walk to the train station with his friends - excluding Izu - which was in the opposite direction, not by much, but, still the opposite direction. 

While everyone talked to each other Manga looked at the scenery, it was a common topic between he and Izu. Chubby, the cute hero, patrolled the city per usual. A recent interview with Greek pillar, the holy hero, and Swirl, the liquid-making hero (A.K.A Juuzou's mom), was being broadcasted. A young boy sold flowers on the street. But Manga's favourite was the hero-comics sold on a stand. "H-Hey, why'd'a stop?"

"Hey, what'cha want, Fukudashi-kun?" Manga looked up at the man in front of him, black curly hair, horns pointing backwards, and, of course, that ever-present smile. His name was supposedly Monster but everyone knew that it was just an alias. 

Manga looked at the comics, the hero-comics were of a bunch of heroes who had similar powers or worked in the same area lived together in civilian form. 'One sprouts, I know I missed three Tokyo-AB, I see there's a new series, may I please have one of the new series?' Monster read Manga for a few seconds before nodding. "Junko-Kazuo, a Sprouts, the three latest Tokyo-AB, and one Oddity." A pale hand held up all the desired comics and gave them to monster. "Thanks!" 

"That makes it two, seven, eight- Nine hundred yen!" Manga handed over the requested amount of yen to Monster who gladly took them. "Next week a new Bachelors of Japan will be out, only for half the prize. Get one." Manga nodded and began walking again, soon hearing the desired footsteps behind him. 

 Manga could feel Tsumenne look over the bubble-headed boy. "The new Tokyo-AB is already out? Why din't I bring money?" The liquid-haired girl complained, getting a well-earned snicker from Hard. 

Manga continued to look around only to stop abruptly. Izu was standing in front of her door, crying and shaking, her mouth opening and closing as if she's trying to speak, her eyes were so widened they almost fell out of their sockets. 'I-chan?' 

"Izu?" The dressed girl whipped around as Shihai spoke, her bag almost flying off. "Is something wrong?" The beauty cried a bit more before running up to Manga and hugging him. 

- - - 

Manga's home was just a little apartment with four rooms, discounting the balcony. All the guests sat in the living room while Manga was making drinks in the kitchen. Mina (which Shihai was positive was his cousin'd name) had talked to Izu and surprisingly gotten her to feel better, even making the air spike once, dang Izu's quirk. 

"Do you want to play a game?" Izu looked confused, but her face was facing away so Shihai wasn't absolutely sure. Mina's face became worried, almost guilty. "Is anything wrong?" All of a sudden the air tensed immensely, just like that other time. The pink-skinned girl winced. 

Manga peeked his bubble into the living room. 'Is everyone alright?' The childhood friends all nodded - Tsumenne nodding slightly slower - while Mina and her friend shook their's. 'I-chan?' Izu was whimpering and clenching her hair. 

"I-I'm sorry..." The rest of the beauty's mumbles were incoherent. Manga walked up to Izu and picked up, only to walk back into the kitchen. 

Everyone in the room looked at each other for a few seconds before Mina's friend spoke up. "Would it be rude to ask if that happens often?" Juuzou hesitated on answering. 

"To be honest, we don't know." Mina's brows furrowed. "We don't spend a lot of time with her outside of school, Manga is the only one who sees her after school hours, and they only walk together." The black-haired boy looked... shocked. "We haven't ever been to her house, either. But we know for a fact that something is up." 

Kuzu let out a noise of agreement. "Yeah, it's obvious. She asks about other's quirks a lot but when her own quirk comes into play the air tenses quicker that I blink stars." Kuzu blinked, making a pair of stars as usual. "Same goes for her feelings and health." 

A loud bang was heard from above them. "Would you shut up!? Auntie's bothered!" The voice was female and sounded older than them. The miss was someone Manga had forgotten to mention, probably. Manga rushed into the room again. 'Sorry, I forgot to mention her. :(' 

Izu came into view holding a salver with glasses of orange juice on it, her knuckles were devoured from all colour. Izu herself had slightly puffy eyes and the ever so slightest shade of redder on her cheeks, both bringing out her almost invisible freckles. Izu's African skin was also paler, probably from outside her door. Shihai also noticed how the beauty had rough ends on her long hair, almost as if she hadn't cut it in a long time. 

"Wanna sit in my lap?" 'Fuckfuckfuckfuck' Izu began handing out the glasses. "Sure." 'Shiiiiiiiiiit.' 

- - - 

Kuzu tried her very best to not laugh (trust her, she did), but seeing the face of Shihai was too much, she just couldn't hold it in. When your friend has a deep crimson face filled with embaressment, it's impossible to not laugh! Another loud stomp was heard. "WOULD YOU SHUT UP!?" 

Manga shook his bubble. 'Don't worry about Koneko-san, she's just irritated.' 

"I know! How about we play charades?" Everyone in the room - besides from Manga who nodded - agreed. "I'll start!" The pink girl stood up and played air guitar. 'K.I.S.S.' The girl nodded. 

Manga went to the front and did a pirouette. "Ballet." Kuzu noted how Kirishima seemed to recognize it, 'I shouldn't had taught them' 

Kirishima Ejirou stood at the front, holding a fist close to his mouth. "A comedian?" He nodded and switched with Tsumenne. 

The liquid-haired girl held her right hand  bit under her left, allowing the drip to touch her. "Lab experiments!" Tsumenne nodded and went back to the couch. 

Kuzu stood up. What was she going to do? What if she made something unclear? What if her friends didn't understand? What if they hate her? Now she was at the front. She had to do something! Kuzu fell to her knees in a begging position. "Praying!" 'Let's go with that...' Kuzu stood up and nodded, letting Juuzou go to the front. 

All of them played charades for another few minutes before there was a knock at the window. Everyone slowly turned their heads to see a girl with the ever slightest tan, cat-like eyes of mostly yellow but more green towards the pupil, dark blue hair with a pair of cat ears not in the soft ponytail. The girl was glaring at them. The tension in the air gave everyone a headache.

"Future heroes don't bother their neighbours." A cold shiver crawled up Kuzu's spine. "Or do you want to become Vigilantes? Or maybe villains?" The air turned slightly less tense and more warm. Manga opened the window to let the stranger in. "Thank you." 

Kuzu was going to open her mouth to object but Izu was first. "You're Remember." The stranger (Remember?) whipped around with a chocked look on her face. "Your quirk is unknown, but there's going around a few theories, like your quirk is to see the next move someone makes in a fight, or that your quirk makes people not want to attack you. Of course there are many more and most have big flaws, you have over one thousand fans in Japan who don't even work together. One of the most well-known facts about you is that you were seven when you became a vigilante. What makes you different from other Vigilantes is that you actually have merch, like most heroes do. A-" Shihai puts his hand on Izu's mouth to prevent her from continuing. 

"H-holy shit. T-that's creepy." Remember's voice shook, a lot, she wasn't even trying to hide her fear. "I'm gonna show myself out..." Remember stumbled out of the living room and into the hall, desperately trying to unlock the door. A loud slam was heard.  

After a few minutes of awkward silence Tsumenne stood up. 

"How about we have a sleepover here? Do you mind, Manga?" 'Not at all, let me get the futons.' Juuzou and Kirishima instantly took everyone's glasses and went to the kitchen, Tsumenne and Izu followed Manga, and Shihai, the pink girl, and Kuzu were left to clear the living room. 

Kuzu cleared the couches while the two cousins rolled up the carpet. Soon enough, Juuzou and Kirishima returned, closely followed by walking futons. While the pink girl moved the carpet to a corner everyone else laid out futons, each one had a unique theme. Juuzou took the sea-themed futon, Shihai took the forest-themed futon, Izu took the chemistry futon between them, Manga took the fish-themed futon parallel to Izu's, Tsumenne took the Greek Pillar futon parallel to Juuzou's, the pink girl took the night-themed futon on a couch, Kirishima took the day-themed futon on the other couch, which left Kuzu with the music futon. She knew it would be an amazing night's sleep. 

- - - 

"Goodnight, everyone." Juuzou mumbled, clearly too tired to change clothes (He always wore night clothes under his uniform). Soon after everyone began to sleep, but not Izu. 

Izu was awake because she had gotten an idea, it had bothered her a bit. Her father didn't want her to become a hero, but he never said anything about a vigilante. Izu knew there was a lot to prepare, costume, name, weapon, fighting style, and a few others, but that wasn't what bothered her. What bothered her was if she was going to tell the whole gang or just her two best friends. If she only told Juuzou and Shihai she wouldn't risk her secret getting out for a while, but her costume would take longer to make and she would probably put a lot of pressure on Shihai who wouldn't be able to help. But if she told the whole gang her costume wouldn't take that long to make and there would be less pressure as neither Shihai nor Manga can help much, but she would risk her secret getting out within weeks, not only was Tsumenne a threat, but also her loud-mouthed friend. Of course she could tell her mom, or her grandma, or one of her cousins (even though only two of them were actually her cousins), or she could tell no one, or exclude someone from the gang.

After an hour of pondering, the beauty decides to sleep on it.

Chapter Text

Izu was usually tired, this morning was no exception. Izu woke up slowly, by the sun and not by the alarm clock as she usually would, her eyelids stung from the brightness. The beauty rolled a bit to hit something warm, or rather someone. 

"Mmm... I-chaan, Juu-kuun, stooop..." Izu shot up, suddenly wide-awake. Shihai was sleeping, futon thrown off to reveal his bare chest as much a possible, the sight had Izu's face heated up. "Noooo... I like both of you..." Okay, if people could die from the hottest guy in your gang being cute, Izu would already be at her funeral. 

The beauty quietly stood up, careful to not wake anyone, and sneaked out of the living room. The green eyes looked at each board, soon realizing that it was made from plastic. 'But my floors aren't... right, I'm at Manga's, forgot that' Izu looked around the hallway, she quickly saw the kitchen, maybe a glass of water would help her feel better. 

Izu could hear shuffling from the living room, but it wasn't followed by anything, probably someone tossing or turning in their sleep. Slim hands quickly worked the tap. 

"I-chaan, it's cold..." Izu looked towards the entrance to see Shihai, surprisingly surprising. "Juu-kunn is complaining..." 'Are you sure you're no talking about yourself?' 

Shihai was soon followed by a sleepwalking Juuzou. "I-chaan......" The tooth-mouthed boy groaned. 'Nevermind, he was talking about Juu-kun' "Iiiiii-chaaaaa-" 

Izu slammed down her glass on the desk, causing both boys to become wide-awake. A silent thud was heard from the living room. "I shall, just let me drink my water first." Izu continued her glass, soon having drank it all. "Let's go." Both boys smiled tiredly while slowly pasing their way to the futons. 

While Juuzou and Shihai slept on Izu's petite figure the beauty pulled out her phone, she needed advice. 

MI: I need help 

TA: Oh shit, who does I needs to  killz? 

MI: Stop that, it's hard to read English 

TA: Okay, I've got all the answers to your questions 

MI: Thanks, uncle Akifumi 

MI: So, I have a problem 

TA: Alright, what is it? 

MI: I wanna tell something to someone but I can't because it will have horrendous consequences no matter what I do 

TA: Tell me the options 

MI: I can tell my best friends, the thing I wanna tell them will be safe for a while but preparing will take longer and it might put a lot of pressure on one of my friends 

MI: I can tell the whole gang, preparing will take a very short amount of time and I might not put that much pressure on my friends but then the thing will probably be out in weeks 

MI: I can tell a part of the gang, the consequences may vary depending on who I exclude 

MI: I can tell no one, the thing will be safe for possibly years to come but preparation will take months if I'm unlucky 

MI: I can tell your child, uncle Kimiya's child, or tell aunt Umeko's child, it would require me to meet them and they might not trust me so my secret might be out without me even knowing and I have no idea if any of them are willing to help me 

MI: I can tell mother 

TA: Oh god no 

MI: Exactly, she'll worry about me to the point where she might force me to stay at home 

MI: OR 

MI: She will understand and help me become a vigilante 

MI: And my last option is telling grandma, I'd have support, someone to turn to, someone who's forgiving and hates my dad, she might even help me with the making the costume or train me, so I could become a vigilante easily 

MI: and I'd get a license 

TA: Hard choice, but I know one thing, stop analyzing and pick what your heart wants 

Izu smiled a soft smile, she could always turn to her uncles for advice. Izu really didn't know what to do without them. 

MI: Thanks  uncle, it means a lot 

- - - 

Tsumenne glared at the purple haired boy in front of her, he obviously hadn't slept for quite a while. "Hey." His eyelids- "Hey! You're bleeding from your mouth." 

The liquid-haired girl instinctively put up her hand, there was indeed blood running from her mouth, and she hadn't used her quirk today... 'Doctor, I need doctor. I've got to tell sensei - but it's study session-' "I can tell the teacher you left for the nurse's office." Tsumenne nodded, it was better to not speak. 

Tsumenne grabbed her bag and ran out her classroom, 'It's better to run out the side of the school, fewer teachers will see me' Tsumenne opened the door and continued to dash, catching the sight of something falling in front of her. A clinker was heard. 'A butterfly knife?' 

- - - 

Kuzu glares at the boy to the right of Izu, the universe-skinned girl sat right behind the boy. He kept on glancing at Izu during all classes, specifically under her desk, 'He wouldn't fucking dare.' 

Kuzu was one of the few girls in her class, she would rather have herself be the pervert-victim than her helpless friend. If looks could kill, there would be a corpse in a classroom.

 - - - 

All that Juuzou had seen was Shihai dragging Izu away when the lunch bell sounded, so Juuzou followed them. It didn't take long for the two (plus one) to reach the roof, Shihai slammed the door after him. Juuzou opened the door and saw a terrific scene. 

"What the fuck is this!?" Shihai held some type of pocket knife with blood on it in front of Izu's face. "Did you think I wouldn't see!? I saw during class!" 'What did he see? A-are they in some type of secret toxic relationship and Shii-chii is abusing I-chaan? Why is there blood on her fingers? Who cut her fingers?' "I saw how smoothly you handled the knife, too, you can't just do that!" 'What? Why would she-' 

"NO!" Shihai threw the knife away from the roof. 

Juuzou fainted.  

- - - 

Koneko Omo was a man who looked like a cat at first glance, grey fur, ears and tail, yellow eyes, short like a kid, that was all some people saw. But there was more to his appearance than that, he had wavy brown hair, five fingers with fur, and claws looking somewhat like a nail. Omo often wore a jacket or hoodie that was 170 in size, a T-shirt with his daughters logo, and women's jeans. 

Omo was a psychiatrist, but on his days off he was a villain, he liked living on the edge. Today, he was a villain, he was Zoo-san. Nori had complained over the phone that the kid who lived under her had brought over loud guests. Omo understood why his daughter had complained, while the extra hearing was useful for being a vigilante, it was a real pain when loud noises were a thing. 

Nori had also told Omo about a creepy kid that was really beautiful. Nori had also for a single moment flashed a news flash of Remember when she saw the kid, they all went to the same elementary school in Musutafu. 

'Of course she gave me directions instead of the name...' Omo chuckled to himself, of course his daughter would thing he'd lose himself. Omo looked at the building he had put a fire in one of the sides before hiding behind the tree he peeked out from. The fire had spread to most of the outside, a few classes already evacuating. 

"NO!" Omo looked up to see people on the roof, he couldn't make anything out though, he only heard what a girl said (shouted). "Oh god! Oh god no! He'll- he'll kill me!" 

"Ii-chan! Calm the fuck down! Nothing's going to happen!" There was also a boy, why hadn't hw known this? Clinker was on the opposite side of the school in relation to where Omo started the fire. A lot of screams were heard, preventing Omo from hearing anything. But he hears one scream louder than the others: 

"OH GODS! SHII-SHII, JUU-KUN, AND I-CHAAN IS STILL UP THERE!"

Chapter Text

Izu looked to her left, fire. Izu looked to her right, flames. Right in front of her was burning. Behind her was heat. She was surrounded, encased, this was her punishment for losing the knife, her father had found her. She couldn't breathe, he would hear, he would always hear. Izu gripped her hair with all her might, she would be burned again, they would notice. She couldn't let them see, they were her friends, her contact to the outside world, her differentiator. What if her cousins found out? Would they even be willing to help her? Probably not. 

"Oh gods, your friend is heavy." 'Foreign, pain, hurt, kill, destroy, unusual, danger'  "I saw your friend-" 

'Screeching? Where's it comi- wait. It's me, isn't it?'  

- - - 

Honenuki Seiko had just arrived at the burning school, the call she (and near heroes) had gotten indicated that there was uncertainty about everyone's safety. Apparently, the teachers couldn't find anyone missing but some student (Seiko hand a feeling about who it was) had shouted something about someone still being there. 

While Seiko couldn't do much on her own, Greek pillar could help her keep the building intact while they checked for any potentially missing student. Seiko looked over the crowd of students, one head was missing. Her baby's head was missing. 

"If someone is at the roof shout at the top of your lungs, okay?!" Chubby's sudden voice surprised Seiko. Soon a faint scream was heard from the roof. "C'mon, let's go!" 

Seiko nodded as Greek pillar summoned pillars for the other two heroes to jump on, which they did. On the roof were her baby, coughing, his best friend Izu, shaking with a foreign look in her eyes, his other best friend (Shihai), holding Izu with a pained look on his face, and a third boy who hoarsely coughed smoke. Each child was way too close to the fire for Seiko's liking, especially her baby Juuzou. 

Chubby began speaking in English, the only language she could communicate to everyone. "You take those two I take the other two." Seiko nodded, there wasn't room for argument. Seiko took the best friends of her son in her arms and began jumping back to the ground. "Move!" Seiko took a step to her right to see Chubby land next to her. 

The moment all the children from the roof touched the ground two people run up to them, Manga and a tired boy. "Surudoi-san?" The tired boy asked. 

"Ah, Shinsou-san you're-" a loud cough came from the boy spoken to, "- alright!" The so-called "Shinsou" flinched at the smoke. It didn't take long for her baby to also start coughing loudly, oddly enough Juuzou's best friends didn't even cough once. 

"Holy shit, why aren't you two coughing?" Seiko looked at the bubble-headed boy, it wasn't often he talked. "Was there anyone else up there?" 

Shihai shook his head, "no, just the four of us." 

"And Izu?" Shihai looked at the spasming girl, Seiko also saw her. "Well, she's been odd ever since homeroom, the scars were her doing, she's been spasming like this ever since I threw away her pocket knife-" 'pocket knife?' "- she was also mumbling about how her father would..." Shihai looked around and did a quick flick of his wrist towards him, as Manga leaned in Seiko turned up the sensitivity on her mask. "... punish her." A few silent noises. "Yeah, I'm sure she's in danger." 

Seiko turned down the sensitivity on her mask. 

- - - 

Tokoyami Akifumi pulled out his phone, he had gotten a text from his niece. 

MI: Can you come to pick me up at my school in one hour? 

MI: Dad will beat the shit out of me for losing a thing. 

MI: [Pinned location] 

Akifumi didn't notice how the door to his car closed. "Dad, everyone's here, may we go ere the night's appearance?" Akifumi's son - Tokoyami Fumikage - said. 

"One second, I have to check something." 'Twenty minutes ago... I should be able to pick her up.' "We missed your other cousin, Fumikage." A few noises came from the back seat of the car. The children in the back seats started arguing after half an hour so Akifumi turned on the radio, slowly finding the station that played old remixes. 

"And now for the 'Porcelain'remix! Original song by Skott and remix by AWAY!" Said the host, Hoshi Seiun. 

'Hold your horses 

Hold, hold the border 

Don't come closer 

Don't, don't let go of me 

I'm like porcelain 

When you're with me 

All, all I know is 

Just about a million ways to harm you 

All the things I shouldn't say 

Are the things that when I want to make you happy 

Only comes out of me' 

By now, the children had calmed down and no traffic was present. Akifumi let go of the wheel to let his quirk take care of it while he sent a text. 

TA: Okay, I'll be there in twenty 

The reply was instant, almost as if she had lurked with it. 

MI: Thanks, uncle Akifumi 

'What if I dropped, dropped the steering wheel 

Closed my eyes 

Drove, drove faster 

I'm like porcelain 

When I love you 

I, I know it's 

Just about a million ways to harm you 

All the things I shouldn't say 

Are the things that when I want to make you happy 

Only comes out of me 

We have got the power of destruction 

You can always let it fall 

But we have to try to work on something solid 

It is too goddamn hard' 

Akifumi yawned. 

'Give it a thought, it takes a lot 

To trust that someone else will catch my fall (I'm like porcelain) 

It takes a lifetime, breaking goes fast 

When everything that matters is made of glass 

Just about a million ways to harm you 

All the things I shouldn't say 

Are the things that when I want to make you happy 

Only comes out of me

Just about a million ways to harm you 

All the things I shouldn't say 

Are the things that when I want to make you happy 

Only comes out of me

We have got the power of destruction 

You can always let it fall 

But we have to try to work on something solid 

It is too goddamn hard 

I'm porcelain

I'm porcelain

I'm porcelain

I'm porcelain

I'm porcelain' 

There was some small talk on the station for a few seconds. "Alright, everyone! Next song!" Fake cheering came from the radio. "We have 'Horns' by Bryce fox! Remix by our beloved StÉlouse!" 

'Hey! 

In her heart there's a hole 

There's a black mark on her soul 

In her hands is my heart 

And she won't let go till' it's scarred 

Tried to breathe but I can't 

'Cause the air she feeds me is damned 

Got a touch like a thorn 

'Cause the girl she's hiding horns' 

In front of the car was the school Izu went to, a hooded figure was in sight. The figure was of a petite kind, rather slim, too. The hoodie was a dark grey, a medical mask and a green beanie poked out from the hood. Bubblegum pink laces were fiddled with by black gloves. A black pair of Jeans matched with green running shoes. The petite figure had a yellow backpack in front of their feet. Akifumi quickly sent a text to Izu. 

TA: I'm here earlier than I expected 

MI: Okay, let me into the car

A knocking came from the front window, all children letting out noises. A muffled "uncle, please" came from the petite girl, the female voice being rather bright. Akifumi unlocked the doors and nodded, the girl opening the door soon after. "Thanks." Under the beanie and hood, messy, green and black curls showed. Her eyes just like Akifumi's younger sister's, Inko, a forest green with toxic highlights. 

"Who're you?" Sounds Fumikage from the back seat. Right... they didn't know about Izu until earlier that same day. It wasn't odd for Fumikage to react strongly to strangers. 

"Midoriko Izu, child of Stalemate, probably one of your cousins," Izu responded, a small tint of fear present. 

There was a prolonged silence in the car, the radio had for some reason turned itself off. 

- - - 

Shihai closed the door to his siblings' room, all but one being in there. The boy slumped against the door and began crying. He didn't have anyone to take care of him, his mother only wanted a perfect offspring, his twin sister was stuck in a wheelchair, his birth father had died of pneumonia, his current "father" was a workaholic, all of that on top having two friends who didn't understand his stress, another friend who also had family problems, and the last two lived in the opposite direction of him. He had no one to turn to. No one to talk to. Not a single soul. All he could do was suck it up and hope for the best. 

Shihai stood up, not paying attention to the silent tears on his cheeks. The boy slowly walked into the bathroom, his footsteps light to not wake Resu. Kuroiro Resu, his eight-year-old brother. Gods, sometimes Kuroiro almost wanted to drown all his siblings, just to not take care of them. Shihai knew he would be labelled as a freak show, a sociopath for lacking empathy, an unstable person, they wouldn't even bat an eye on his terrible mother! He would be the only one to blame! It was as simple as that! A chuckle was heard in the apartment, then another, and another, and another... until it was full-blown laughter. 

"Nii-san?" Shihai suddenly stopped laughing, 'I woke up Rusu, didn't I?'  "Nii-san, Cho is thirsty." 'Of course, she is'  "I'm also thirsty." 

"Sure, just let me get some water for the two of you." Shihai noticed he was in the kitchen, right beside the sink. Shihai only saw blurs of what he had burnt into his muscle memory, grabbing two shot glasses, filling each for half a second, handing both to Rusu, snapping out of it once he hears a soft squeak. "Of course." Shihai sighed, putting his hand on his own forehead. 

Shihai stumbled into the bathroom, already opening the cabin over the sink. On the top shelf was the homoeopathic aid kit. Shihai picked it down and opened it, each bottle had a different use, but he knew it was all placeboes, but swallowing them helped Shihai calm down, so he often took a pill. A slim finger searched after a certain bottle, quickly finding a half-filled, cracked, bottle. 

Shihai took a pill and swallowed it whole, soon after searching for Mushinkei. 

- - - 

"Kuzu!" Seiun screamed into her apartment. "Kuzu?" 'Don't tell me...' 

Kuzu poked her head out of her room. "Mom! You're home early! I've already started preparing the salmon!" Seiun felt relieved, her child was alive. 

"I can cook for you if you want." Kuzu's face lit up. 

- - - 

"So, let's have a girls-chat!" Izu looked confusedly at her blonde cousin. Kaminari Denki had blonde hair with a black lightning bolt in it, his cold golden eyes having small green spots in them but when angeling his head turns hazel. His skin was a dark hazel and his lips had a blue tint to them, not mentioning the electric-blue freckles centred around his eyes. Yaoyorozu Momo, on Denki's left, had a bit paler skin and sark-grey hair which reached just past her shoulders. Momo's sharp eyes had a grey-brownish iris. Tokoyami Fumikage, sitting to Momo's left, had a raven's head and crimson eyes. Fumikage had a shade brighter skin than Izu, putting him between Izu and Denki skin-wise. "Don't tell me you don't know what a girls-chat is?" 

Izu shook her head. "Never heard of it." Denki let out a loud gasp. 

"We'll have to fix that! It's really just when girls gather in a group to ask questions, but we'll just have to do with a group." Denki quickly explained. "First question!" 

A few questions went around, Izu minimally contributing only when Fumikage stopped the other two to let the beauty say her word. 

Izu found out that her grandmother was apparently very willing to help anyone in her family, her mother easily falling for lies (sounds like a plan to get some training), and Denki existing by the worst scenario possible.

Chapter Text

"Shii-shii? I-I'm... help..." The voice was weak and terrified, Izu's voice was weak and terrified. 'Izu?' 

- - - 

"You came home from who knows where, you've been gone for two nights straight, and my pocket knife is lost. What's your stupid excuse this time?" Izu could hear her father reaching for the sharp thing. 

"I'm sorry." She truly was. 

"You know that doesn't explain anything." 

Soft steps nearing. 

Sharp. 

Pain. 

Pain. 

Pain. 

"Where's my perfect creation?" 

Hot liquid. 

Pain. 

Fire. 

Hot. 

"Isn't it hungry?" 

Yesyesyesyes. 

Very hungry. 

Steps leaving. 

Don't leave, don't want alone. 

Steps nearing. 

Crash! 

"Eat." 

It kindly ate. 

It wouldn't get any other food. 

- - - 

A young girl stared at the sky, the snow was falling. The girl herself was just turning three, right before she would get her quirk. The girl's parents had left her at her daycare, not that she enjoyed it. Her parents slowly walked away, not paying any mind to her. 

"Boo!" The girl turned around to see a boy with a bubble instead of a head. "Hi, I'm Manga." He was like her, an outcast. 

"I'm VWJCNSN" The girl responded. 

"Which class are you in?" The bubble-headed boy questioned curiously. 

"Peach, and you?" The girl countered. 

"Lilypad..." The boy sounded.  

The girl wondered what his carcass would look like.

- - - 

"Spit it out! Spit it out!" Izu clenched the bucket Kuzu had given her with all her might, but it still wobbled when the shiny stream of blood and stomach acid came into it. "Is- is that glass?" Izu felt the grip on her hair loosen. A nice warmth enveloped her, followed by patting of her head. "II-chan, it's alright, you can breathe." 

"Follow me, in, out." The beauty took a breath in, then out. "In, out." She took another breath and another, and another before suddenly she could breathe. Each breath was shaky, almost failing, but they had a rhythm to them. Izu got swept off her feet then put on something soft but structured. "Do you want anything?" 

Izu tried to open her mouth, her lips straining at the motion. "Am I really allowed to be selfish?" Manga tilted his head a bit. "Would it be selfish of me to ask for warmth?" 'No.' Izu smiled weakly, feeling extremely happy. Two blankets were laid on Izu, both keeping her warm. 

"So..." Juuzou started. "... you've had something on your mind, right?" Izu nodded. 

- - - 

"So what did you want to tell us?" Juuzou asked, Shihai leaning against him. 

Izu took a sharp breath. "I'mplanningonbecomingavigilante." Luckily, Juuzou was fluent in the word-salad-Izu language. 'A vigilante?' 

"Wait, you're what?" Shihai sat straight up, almost hitting Juuzou's jawline. "A vigilante? Have you lost it?" 

Juuzou saw the concerned look on Shihai's face showed how concerned he really was, it was easier to read his face than his tone. Izu could be seen analysing the situation at an incredible rate. 'What goes through your head?' Juuzou glanced downwards, spotting Izu's fingers. The slender fingers had scars scattered across them almost evenly, except for her left pointer finger, 'more scar than tissue...' 

"Would you believe me if I told you that my father would throw me off a cliff if I became a hero?" Juuzou could feel his eyes widen. "He hates heroes, he wants me to become an underhead fighter." 

A cold breeze filled the room. 

"You're serious..." Izu nodded. "He..." Juuzou already knew the end of the sentence.

Izu's arms began shaking, her head angled to let her hair cover her face. Soft whimpers began sounding from her. 

"... you haven't told anyone..." Shihai walked up to Izu and hugged her, letting the beauty's face fall on his shoulder. Juuzou walked up to his best friends and wrapped his arms around them. 

Chapter Text

What had Juuzou woken up to in the middle of the night? Honestly, he didn't know. 

MI: So I invited you two to this chat so we can plan about the whole vigilante thing :) 

MI: Right! 

Midoriko Izu changed Midoriko Izu to Reckless vigilante idiot 

Rvi: There we go! 

'How can you be so active in the middle of the night? It's almost as if you were fine' Juuzou pondered to himself for a few more seconds before taking out his camera and took a photo of himself, very careful to cover his private parts with his bedsheet. 'Aaaannnd send. Let's see how well you fare against a shirtless me' The tooth-lipped boy put his phone on his bedside table before rolling back to the middle of his king-sized bed. 

Not a single notification popped up on his phone for his remaining time in consciousness. 

- - - 

Midoriko Inko had woken up during an amazing morning to find her daughter bleeding from her nose on the floor between the kitchen and couches. The only thing that prevented Inko from moving was the fact that her daughter had a mysterious phone in her hand with a picture of a person. All electronics tended to stop working properly around Izu when she was using her quirk, so it was obvious for Inko to not give her daughter a phone, not even a flip-phone. 

The lights ominously flickered for a second before returning to normal. 'Sometimes I wonder if Izu is even aware that the lights flicker because of her...' 

A loud 'ping' echoed across the house, causing Inko to accidentally use her quirk at max power, sending her into the ceiling. Izu shot up and instantly glided over to the door. 

"What the fuck did he do to you?" The voice was filled with hatred. Izu mumbled something but stopped in the middle and looked straight at Inko. 

'I should probably introduce myself...' "Hello, I am Midoriko Inko, my sweetest's mother." Perfect, now the guy looked at her in a weird way. "Before you ask, yes, I'm-" 

"Miss Inko!" Inko looked towards the source of the voice to see a boy who looked almost like Seiko, only paler skin and shorter. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you!" Izu quickly grabbed both boys and stormed into the basement with a red face. 

- - - 

"Alright, so we need to make mechanics which don't need electricity, things tend to-" Izu stopped when the lights flickered. "- that." The beauty grabbed a paper with all the needed contraptions. "I've listed them simplest to most complicated, all of them should be able to be made by an idiot if you search enough. But I've printed the instructions, they're in a pile on the end of the work-table. The materials are in the other room, the door's unlocked." The lock made a loud clicking noise. "And thanks." 

"For what?" Juuzou asked. 

Izu put away the paper. "For helping me become a vigilante." 

The three besties smiled at each other before beginning working at different mechanics. They didn't even notice how many days went by, the trio only knew that weeks flew by because sometimes Izu would walk around in bandages or just lie on the floor from needing to heal, other times Shihai would have a first-aid kit with tablets in it and eat multiple, and Juuzou would rarely disappear for untold reasons. 

Spring became summer, summer became autumn, and autumn became the beginning of winter. 

"Hey guys," Izu's voice was hoarse and dry, "sorry for not being here earlier..." Izu stood in the doorway, her skin was so pale it looked grey, the bags under her eyes were so dark one would mistake it for make-up, the top eyelids covered most of the eye, but the most jarring thing had to be the legs. 

They were beaten black and blue, awfully scarred, and shaking. And that was just from the small part of the legs they could see. Izu took a step and fell down, being caught just in time by Shihai. Izu's body was cold and frail under Shihai's warm and strong touch. "I-chaan, rest, you need it." 

Izu couldn't say no when her friend was being so nice. 

- - - 

Juuzou walked in through the basement door to find the work-table empty, the other door standing slightly ajar. His phone buzzed from a new notification. 

Rvi: Come on in :) 

Rvi: I want to show you something, Juu-kun ;) 

'I'm not ready for you in a short dress, and I-chaan isn't evil' Juuzou slowly sneaked his way to the door, peeking in. 

There was a figure in the dark, he couldn't make out anything besides from it being there. "Juu-kun, do you see me?" The dark voice asked. A sudden flash appeared, the light shone right at Juuzou. "Juu-kun." 

"Hi." 'Oh, perfect! Now I'm an idiot, too! I don't even know who this is!' 

The figure walked past Juuzou without him noticing, the figure was petite but had an unfamiliar walk. "Juu-kun, it's me, Izu." 'Ah' 

Izu wore a pastel pink hoodie with a somewhat-inbuilt-scarf, the hoodie only reached past the chest area. The boots were a pale brown with the mechanism - which was also shaped like shoes, just ballet - on top of it, the dark purple and pastel pink fitting. The dark turquoise shorts had pastel pink ends and pale brown belts with a pocket connecting them. Under the hoodie was a dark purple suit-top. Izu's hands were covered in warm green gloves which had thickened fingers. The dark-turqoise gas mask had green glasses in them, accompanied by a purple and green mask on top. 

"Where's Shii-shii?" Juuzou took out his phone and showed the conversation he had with Shihai a few minutes ago. "So he'll be late?" 

Juuzou opened his mouth to say something when the door slammed open. "Sorry I'm- late?" The duo in the room stared dumbfounded at Shihai.

Chapter Text

If Izu had to be honest, she really hadn't liked living in front of some woods before today. Why today? She just finished her vigilante outfit and had to try all the mechanics, so they don't stop working in the middle of a fight. 

"Yeah, I almost forgot." Izu took out three transceivers of her pocket, each transceiver was small enough to be missed in the pocket with a rough search. "It was one thing I was working on, I would appreciate some backup during fights." The besties took an earpiece for themselves, putting them in their ear, mask, or just held it to where an ear should be. "So, you ready to call an ambulance?" 

Shihai and Juuzou gulped. "What?" They asked in unison, only to be left behind by the future vigilante. "Wait!" 

But it was already too late, Izu was flying at speeds Ingenium would only dream of. Of course, Izu knew the dangers of flying at the speeds she was flying at without an extreme reaction-enhancing quirk, not even speed-based quirks helped with the reactionary time below one-thousandth of a second. 

"Alright, we get it, miss mumble." 'So the communication is clear, the boosts will need a bit of w-' Izu flew head-first into a tree, only noticing she stopped. 'Shock nullification fabric, clear.' 

 A slight headache crept its way into the beauty's head, she probably should've made the under-mask also shock absorbing... she could fix that later. Izu stood up, ready to try out her shoes again, this time turning down the dials to minimise the risk of head injury. She really didn't need her father storming into the hospital in a rage, almost throwing the doors off their hinges. 

The masked girl jumped, this time travelling at a moderate speed, instead of a crazy one. Izu searched after her mini-hook, a miniature grappling hook, under her hood. She soon pulled out the small mechanism contained in a silver casing and pushed a silver-coated button, the end grabbed a branch and Izu flew up, over the treetops. 

The city, though in a dark sky, was as beautiful as ever. 

The tallest buildings had many windows, each a different colour. The smaller buildings had a somewhat green light in them, but each gave off the same warmth. The fake moon someone put over the hospital a week ago glowed a wonderful grey. Her school had pale lights all across the railings, almost making the individual bars visible. 

"Holy fuck, you fly fast!"  

... 

... 

... 

... 

... 

... 

... 

... 

... 

... 

... Indeed I do." 

Izu began falling down, she never realised how high up she was. While Izu was falling the boys screamed at the top of their lungs, causing a loud beeping in Izu's ear. The lack of oxygen to her lungs caused Izu to go in and out of consciousness, each time filling her veins with more adrenaline than the last two. Eventually, Izu landed on the ground, she could only see the roots of the trees, her only indicator she was on the ground. Everything went black. 

- - - 

Juuzou ran with Shihai right on his tail. "Where the fuck is she!?" The black-skinned boy shouted with his earpiece in his hand, for obvious reasons. For a split second, both boys saw pastel pink. "There!" 

Juuzou kneeled in front of the lying figure, 'Is she dead?' 

"She's breathing, quietly, but it's there." Juuzou picked up Izu, who was surprisingly light. "Let's take her to the hospital, just to be safe." 

- - - 

"Thank you for bringing her here, she will need rest for quite a while." Surudoi Supaiko had at first been surprised when two of his newly-found friends was at his front door, holding someone in a pastel pink suit. Supaiko didn't see who it was when his mother took off the mask, but it was probably someone only Juuzen (probably the teeth-lipped boy's name) and Shishin (probably the inverted Snow White's name) knew. 

Supaiko's mother, Surudoi Lorelei, was a doctor, and her quirk was perfect for quick diagnostics. Lorelei's quirk was known as emotional hair, the quirk itself letting her control her hair as well as "feel" any injuries or feeling of anyone who the hair touched. Supaiko himself had the same quirk, just coated in metal. 

"Come in, tell me of how terrible the local hospital is." The three boys followed Lorelei as she went into the living room. "Henrik, hämta några saker åt mig, okej?" Supaiko nodded, already having his hair in the bathroom. "Huvudvärkstablett, geltuben, aloe veran, lite bandage och gravi-" "MAMMA!" 

Supaiko's face was definitely hot enough to cook eggs on, why would his mother make such an inappropriate joke? He took back most things his mother requested. While Lorelei worked her magic hands, the metalette boy noticed a pair of green orbs staring right at him. "Supaiko, please make your mother stop." 

- - - 

"Second try, this time with shock nullification in the mask, better control on the shoes, and removal of many dials." 

"Yeah, sure." 

"..." 

"..." 

"..." 

"Shihai what the fuck-" 

- - - 

Izu jumped, after five weeks of testing, she could do some useful tricks in the air. 'Branch, jump, flip, staff, rotate, repeat' the beauty repeated in her head. 

"Where are you? I can't see." Izu quickly mumbled her location, west south end of the forest. "Thanks." 

Izu stopped on a certain old branch which showed off a familiar river. 

- - - 

Izu stared at the river and all the fish in it. 'I wonder if they'll find me soon, it's been over an hour...' the young child thought, the fish seeming to think similar thoughts. 

The young beauty often hung out with all of her friends, even Tsumenne when she could. Today, just like any other day that Tsumenne was in the hospital, they decided to play in the forest at Izu's. 

A slight breeze was enough to make her hair ruffle with it, a few leaves deciding to do the same. The wind chime put up on a large tree nearby began it's calming noise, putting most of Izu's worries to rest, turning the fish sleepy, and probably appeacing the gods. While most children Izu's age wouldn't even know how to play an instrument Izu already played five different instruments, only two of which she could read sheet music to. 

From the small bag Izu pulled out her five-stringed Lyra (she had one with twelve strings in her room) and began playing a short tune she taught herself. With every note, the wind seemed to get more powerful, still remaining soft, though. With every hum, the chimes seemed to copy the tune even more. And with every beat, the worries in Izu's head seemed to fade even more. 

This was peace. 

- - - 

Izu felt the warmth on her cheeks slowly disappear, it had been so long... 

"Who a-are you?" The voice was subtle, almost non-existent, but held a certainty in it. 

'Should I tell- no, just make a name up.' 

'But what?'