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Chapter Text

"You should probably give it up."

... What?

Shocked by those words, my All Might figure fell unceremoniously onto the floor. I felt tears prickle at the corner of my eyes and turned to look at my mother, who was in turn looking in disbelief at the doctor.Time seemed to slow down and I vaguely even registered the continuing of the conversation.

"Oh dear, so you really think there's something wrong with him? Most of the kindergardeners have begun to show signs already." 

"Excuse me, but you're forth generation, right, ma'am? What quirk's do you and your husband have?"

My mother removed her hand from my back- when had she put it there- and let an object float in front of her. 

It only made me feel worse. I had one wish, only one wish, and that was to become a hero. Couldn't god have mercy? 

"Oh, nothing too special, I can float small objects towards me and my husband eats fire. They're useful enough I think."

The doctor sighed, casting a pitiful glance at Izuku before continuing.

"Izuku should have already manifested one of the quirks or a combination of the both, but after viewing his x-ray I don't think he's going to...You see, when superpowers first began appearing there were many research studies conducted and doctors discovered a link between the bones in a person's foot and their likelihood to develop a quirk. People with a quirk have only one joint in their pinkie toes, their bodies having evolved into a more streamlined version of the human form."

He pointed at the x-ray, which showed Izuku's foot. 

" You can see here that Izuku has two joints in his pinkie like roughly twenty percent of the population.Based on the research that's available it's safe to say that your son isn't going to develop a quirk." 

°-°

I was sitting in my room at the desk, watching the same video I watched every evening, but I couldn't focus on anything. I distantly heard the rain falling outside and the thunder rumbling. 

I don't have a quirk, I am the only one in my kindergarden who doesn't have a quirk. My eyes were glistening with unshed tears, but it was nothing compared to the pain I was feeling in my chest. I was suffocating in despair and the video was making everything even more realistic, which made me even sadder.

"Fear not, citizens, hope has arrived!"

I looked up, just in time to see All Might flash one of his fearless smiles.

"Because I am here!"

I stopped breathing for a moment, my eyes widening as a sudden thought crossed my mind. Maybe if I worked hard enough, I could still become a hero, no matter if I have a quirk or not! 

"See that, mom?" I started, turning to look at my mother, unsure of how to continue. "There's always a smile on his face, no matter how bad things get. Even when things seem impossible, he never gives up."

My eyes filled with tears again. Please... Say yes, tell me I can...

"Do you think... I can be a hero too?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, the tears on my mother's eyes started rolling down her face. That's when I knew... She had given up on me.

The hug she crushed me in felt like salt on a bleeding wound as I cried silently in her hold, my world crumbling before me. That's-That's not what I wanted to hear, couldn't you see... mom?

After what seemed like a little eternity, my mother let me go and ushered me to go get ready to bed.I felt nothing. Her words registered somewhere in the back of my mind and I went to the bathroom, hearing the front door open before I closed the door.

Ah... Dad is home...

I went to bed without any hugs or goodnight kisses. Shouts where echoing through the house, followed by even more shouting. I plopped down lifelessly onto my bed and closed my eyes, drifting off into an uneasy sleep. 

I was a happy child with a happy life... I didn't think it would all fall apart so fast...

°-°

Dad left us. Roughly two weeks after I was pronounced quirkless, Dad packed his things, saying he didn't want to be related to that disgrace of a son. It took a great toll on my mother.Father was always her strength pillar and with him gone, she wasn't the same.

For the most part, she ignored me and started taking more night shifts.

At the Kindergarden, Kacchan started bullying me. After I told him I was quirkless, at first nothing changed. I still followed and admired him. But after I tried to help Kacchan when he fell into the river, his demeanour completely changed. The smiles turned into glares and the protective hands turned into heated fists.

The one person I always felt safe with, became the source of danger.

After about two weeks, everyone started calling me Deku.

"You can read the characters for 'Izuku' as 'Deku', you know."

That's how it all started.

At first I thought Kacchan was just joking, but with time, I understood why he called me that. I really did.

My father left my mother because of the failure I am.

My mother was disappointed in me and hated me because of how useless I am.

Kacchan made fun of me because I am a quirkless weakling.

Those thoughts occured more and more and I started believing everything everyone said.I started talking less, because my voice was annoying.I stopped fanboying over All Might.

This might be a shocking statement, but I lost my excitement completely. Everyday I woke up, everything I did seemed like such a hard thing to do. Even waking up. 

The posters and figures are partially gone, only a few of those standing on my desk.I stopped watching that one video of All Might I always watched. It reminded me of how much of a failure I was.

Not to mention that I smiled and ate less. 

But despite everything, I still had my wish to go to U.A. and become the number one hero, even without a quirk.

°-°

I got into elementary school. I thought that the bullying would finally stop, but... 

Everyone made fun of me. It's because Kacchan head on told everyone I was quirkless. I knew my life was in ruins the moment he told everyone. The other kids faces practically gleamed with sadistic smiles. 

Eventough Kacchan made my life hell, I couldn't bring myself to hate him, he was my first friend and I'll never forget that. Not to mention that I had a crush on him. 

Disgusting, right? 

Not only am I quirk less, but also a gay faggot AND in love with my bully. That fact haunted me ever since I realized it, made me more depressed. But I couldn't help it. Kacchan was amazing, because he was everything I was not. Strong, courageous, confident, he had a cool quirk... 

A quirk... something I'll never have... 

Right to my prediction, everyone started making fun of me. At first , it were only mean names and a few shoves here and there.  I was nine years old when it got physical. My classmates started pushing me, pulling at my hair, or hitting me.

It hurt.

But what hurt more was the fact that my mother didn't care.I came home with bruises and cuts everyday, sometimes even broken bones, but nobody cared. 

She didn't even look me in the eyes...

Seven years passed and nothing changed.

It got even worse if possible. 

My mother's sadness turned into fury and she would lash out one me if I even as much as casted a glance in her direction. Sometimes she would also hit me. Reminding me of how much of a failure I am, is something my mother has also constantly been doing over the past few years. 

I wonder how much longer I could take...

Sitting in my room, tears rolling down my face, I thought about tomorrow.It was my birthday.Nothing too special. We didn't celebrate it anymore, after all.

With a sigh, I turned on my back and blankly looked up at the ceiling, drowning in my thoughts. I fell asleep, not knowing that tomorrow something big would happen.

°-°

Today was another day of school. 

Sure, it was my birthday, but for me it's not a day we celebrate anymore. Since my father left us, our home has been cold and empty. Just like my mother's eyes that weren't looking at me anymore. 

At school, nobody knew my birthday except for Kacchan. But being who he is, he would just beat me up even more on that day. 

Wandering through the school's hallway, deep in thoughts, I didn't realise a presence behind me, grinning sadistically. Until that person clamped a hand over my mouth and dragged me away, that is. The person led me outside into the alley beside the school's building and threw me against the wall. My head hit the pavement as I fell onto the floor, followed by searing pain. 'Oww...' 

I hesitantly looked up, instantly greeted by the smirking face of Kacchan, who held his arms crossed over his chest in a smug way. My eyes widened in terror and I shrunk in on myself, willing to dissappear. My eyes found their way to the floor, which suddenly became so much more interesting than anything else, and stayed like that. I decided to stay quiet, or instead of going home with a few broken bones and bruised I wouldn't come home at all. 

"Aw, is little worthless Deku afraid? Hahahaha! You haven't even gotten your birthday present from me yet!" 

With those words said, Bakugou took out and punched me square in the face. It didn't stop there, Kacchan didn't leave me alone until I lost  consciousness, bleeding heavily. 

°-°

When Midoryia woke up, school had already ended. Covered in blood and with silent tears streaming down his face, the poor boy tried to stand up. At first, he fell down again, due to the immense pain he felt everywhere. After a few more attempts, and with the help of the wall, Izuku managed to stand up. 

Talking slow steps, each step causing him agonizing pain, Deku walked into the school building. He passed many empty rooms, but stopped in front of one particular room. 

Inside this room, there was a mahogany piano in the middle and a chair in front of it. Nothing else. Contrary to the occupation of the room, the room itself was very big. 

Izuku made his way over to the piano and sat down, memories flooding his mind. How he fell in love with Kacchan and how he lost him, only because he was quirkless. He really did ruin everything.

A new wave of agony washed over him and Deku didn't stop the heart wrenching sobs he let out. Midoriya slowly let his fingers brush over the piano tiles, before beginning to play a sad melody. Soon after that, he started singing. 

How can I say this

Without breaking

How can I say this

Without taking over

How can I put it down

Into words

When it's almost too much 

For my soul alone

I loved, and I loved 

And I lost you

I loved, and I loved 

And I lost you

I loved, and I loved 

And I lost you

And it hurts like hell

Yeah, it hurts like hell

As he was singing, Deku didn't notice the way his eyes started glowing light purple or the way he got surrounded by purple light. 

I don't want them to know 

the secrets

I don't want them to know 

The way I loved you

I don't think

They'd understand it, no

I don't think 

They would accept me, no

I loved, and I loved 

And I lost you

I loved, and I loved 

And I lost you

I loved, and I loved 

And I lost you

And it hurts like hell

Yeah, it hurts like hell

Dreams fight with machines

Inside my head like adversaries

Come wrestle me free

Clean from the war

Your heart fits like a key

Into the lock on the wall

By now, small, glowing notes began appearing out of nowhere. The notes were floating softly in the air in what seemed like a bubble, moving to the rythm of the song. The whole room was being illuminated by warm purple light, but Deku was oblivious to it all, his eyes closed and leaking tears. 

Midoriya opened his eyes slightly when he felt a strange, warm feeling in his chest. Seeing the purple light and the notes, he gasped, eyes wide and disbelieving. 

I turn it over

I turn it over

But I can't escape

I turn it over

I turn it over

I loved, and I loved 

And I lost you

I loved, and I loved 

And I lost you

I loved, and I loved 

And I lost you

And it hurts like hell.

After he ended singing, Izuku took a look at the scenario around him. The bubbles stopped moving and were just floating in the air. 

He stood up as fast as he could, just in time for a note to float up in front of him. Fascinated, Izuku moved his hand in a circle like motion, his disbelief growing by the second when he saw the bubble circling around his hand. Could it be... 

Concentrating on the warm feeling in his chest, Deku stretched his hand out and moved his hand to the left. His thoughts were confirmed when the notes also moved to the left. I have a quirk! 

Not being able to contain his happiness, Deku smiled brightly for the first time in six years. He quickly took his bag and ran out of the room, ignoring his muscles screaming in protest at the sudden movements. All the boy could think about was that he finally had a quirk. 

Now I can make mom proud, and dad will come back too... 

Upon arriving at the house, he threw open the door and called out for his mother, eyes sparkling with life. However, his moment of euphoria quickly ended when he saw how empty and dull everything looked. The curtains were gone, the kitchen was empty and the table with the chairs were also gone. What happened... 

Izuku moved to look at the living room, his heart sinking further when he saw that all the photographs were gone, the curtains were gone in the living room as well, the couch lacked pillows and blankets and the tv was also gone. No..., the boy thought. She wouldn't... 

Dread settled in the pit of his stomach, his vision became blurry from the tears that prickled in the corner of his eyes as he ran as fast as he could towards his mother's room.Throwing open the door, Izuku looked around and screamed. "NO, NO YOU CAN'T!" 

The room was completely empty, nothing was there. No table, no bed, no closet. The only thing there was a note lying on the ground. 

Midoryia took the note in his shaking hands and looked over it. 

Dear Izuku, 

I'm sorry, I just can't do this anymore. I'm tired of everything, that's why I'm moving back in with your father in America. 

Sorry

That day, his world completely fell apart. 

Instead of crying or shouting, maybe even screaming in anger, the boy felt nothing. 

Oh... right. Nobody cares.... 

His joy over having a quirk was replaced with heartbreaking acceptance as Deku dried his tears, his mind falling into a dark abyss of depression. His eyes grew could and lifeless and his body became numb. 

That's right, nobody would care... Even if I got a quirk now, it wouldn't change anything...  Better pretend I didn't get one. After all, this will only get me in trouble... 

That was the day he started building barriers in his mind to seclude his emotional mask from the pieces, broken and shattered all over again, he really consisted of. 

Izuku fell into the dark abyss of depression and it would be impossible for anyone to pull him out of it. 

After all, 

You can't save what's already dead.

Chapter Text

Katsuki grew up surrounded by people who were always following him out of amazement. At first it was Izuku. The small, green haired boy was afraid of everything, no matter how harmless it was. That's why he followed Katsuki wherever he went whilst wearing that expression of complete awe as if Katsuki was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. And for him, that was right. For Izuku, Katsuki was like a role model, because Katsuki was everything Izuku wasn't. Strong, courageous, confident. Wherever Katsuki went, he didn't have to turn around to know that his friend was following him.

When they where children, Katsuki still considered Izuku his best friend. They did everything together, just like their parents, who were best friends. Katsuki himself found comfort in the smaller boy. His hair reminded him of the forest they always played in. So did the green eyes. Katsuki loved the forest, therefore Izuku was one of the few people that Katsuki liked. The other ones being Inko and his own parents. All of those other children that started following him later on were just insignificant existences that stuck to him. The nickname 'Kacchan' was also something Katsuki only tolerated because it was Izuku calling him that. And after all, he did get to call Izuku 'Zu-chan' in return. Then there were also the many childish promises they told each other with an honest expression on their face.

"When we grow up, we're going to be the coolest hero team! Right, Kacchan?"

"Hey Zu-chan, when we're old enough, we're going to get married and live in a big house, 'kay?"

Their parents thought that the two were perfect for each other. With Katsuki allowing Izuku to befriend him in the first place, it almost seemed as if fate itself brought them together and Inko and Mitsuki were so happy watching them play together. 

Their relationship proved to be something special indeed, when Mitsuki, Masaru and Inko noticed that those two had some sort of connection with each other. 

"Mum, Mum!" Katsuki came running towards his mother on his small feet. Mitsuki turned around in surprise, Katsuki had been sleeping only moments ago, hasn't he? 

The blonde haired woman smiled and crouched down, taking her son in her arms. Masaru was sitting at the kitchen tabke eyes as wide in surprise as his wife's, but with a glint of amusement in them. "What is it, little one?" 

Katsuki seemed to be worrying over something, his brows furrowed and fists gripping the hem of his small, red t-shirt. "Is Zu-chan ok? Mum, did Zu-can get hurt?" 

Now it was Mitsuki's turn to worry, glancing over to her husband to see him looking at his son with confusion written all over his face, the mug of coffee having been put down. Mitsuki looked back at the boy in her arms and finally asked." Why would you think that?" Inko and him were on vacation right now, because Hisashi was home from work and they wanted to take a week off. Of course Katsuki was lonely, without the freckle faced boy he had nobody he wanted to play with, but to think that he was hurt? Maybe it was a nightmare? 

"Katsuki, did you have a nightmare?" The married couple grew even more worried when Katsuki shook his head vigorously. "Mommy, can you ask Auntie Inko if Zu-chan is okay?" 

Mitsuki nodded mutely and turned around in search for her phone, sending a grateful look Masaru's way when he handed it to her with a loving smile. Searching through her contacts, she pressed call when she found Inko's number. After a few rings, her best friend picked up. "Hey, Mitsuki-chan, is everything okay?" Her voice sounded strained and worried, which confused the blonde haired woman. "Actually- no. Katsuki is asking if Izuku-kun is okay." Looking at her son, who was leaning closer to the phone, she waited for Inko to answer. 

"Well- He fell off the bed and hurt his foot. We were at the doctor just now. He said it's nothing too serious, but he'll have to avoid straining his leg for a week." 

At that statement, the blonde boy let go of his shirt and asked Inko if he could talk to Izuku. "Of course, wait a moment-Izuku, baby, Katsuki-kun wants to talk to you. " A happy squeal was heard on the other side of the phone as Mitsuki handed her son the phone, putting it on speaker. 

"Why are you so clumsy Zu-chan? You can't be hurt when I'm not there to protect you." Listening to the adorable little talk the two boys were having, Mitsuki giggled whilst Masaru was looking at him with clear amusement in his eyes. 

"When you come back, where gonna play heroes again, 'kay? Bye Zu-chan?" 

"Bye Kacchan, I love you! " Katsuki went completely still while his face went from a natural, slightly pale skincolor to a deep red blush. Mitsuki laughed quietly and looked at her husband, who smiled back. On the other line, they heard Inko snicker too. 

After Mitsuki and Masaru put Katsuki to bed again, they sat down on the couch in the living room. "What the fuck?" Was the first thing the blonde haired woman said. "I swear this is not an accident. How could our boy possibly have guessed that Izuku-kun is hurt?" Masaru seemed to think for a while before answering. "Well... I'm not sure, but maybe they have some sort of connection. I red about that not too long ago. I mean, I can't say for sure, maybe Katsuki just thought he was hurt and he had thought right, but I think it's not that." 

Mitsuki stared at her husband, before she smiled widely. "I think that it's fate that brought them together and I think this connection could be true. I just put Katsuki to bed and asked if he just thought that Izuku was hurt. But you know what he said. 'No mommy I felt a bad feeling in here.' And he pointed at his chest. This is most certainly not just a guess. Oh my god! I have to tell Inko about it! " She shot up from her seat and went to the kitchen to retrieve her phone. Masaru shook his head and smiled fondly at the thought of Izuku and Katsuki. 'Maybe it really is fate.' 

It wasn't the last time that happened. There were a other similar incidents that proved that whatever Masaru said was right. Katsuki and Izuku did have a much deeper relationship than other friends. They hoped it stayed that way. Knowing Katsuki and his arrogant behaviour, Mitsuki and Masaru hoped he wouldn't become someone to hurt his best friend. 

Time flew by and nothing changed. 

But then Katsuki got his quirk. His confidence and self worth skyrocketed and seeing as he was always praised by everyone, told how strong he was and that he'll be a wonderful hero one day, he started believing that he was above everyone. Wherever he went, other kids always followed him as if it was a natural thing to do. Katsuki and Izuku still played with each other, but Izuku did see how all the attention was affecting his childhood friend. And not in a good way. 

When mostly everyone of the kids had gotten a quirk except Izuku, Katsuki became mostly confused and disappointed. Izuku might just be a late bloomer he kept thinking, but after Izuku came to him the day after they had an appointment with a quirk specialist, looking heartbroken -was that fear too? - he knew something wasn't right. 

"Kacchan", the boy started, looking anywhere but him. "I-I.... I was at the do-doctor yesterday, and h-he told me I'll..." 

"Told you what?" Katsuki asked impatiently. 

"I-I'm sorry, Kacchan... T-The doctor said I w-won't ever have a q-quirk..." The boy flinched at the words himself, the reality of everything crashing down on him. 

But Katsuki was silent, his eyes were wide and he didn't move at all.  ... quirkless? 

"... so you really are useless, eh Izuku?" 

Those were the words that left the ash blonde boy's mouth first after he recollected himself from the shock of those words.

For Bakugou, Izuku being quirkless felt like the ultimate betrayal. All the promises they made shattered the moment those words came out. He was so angry... Angry at the green haired boy in front of him. He was the one who broke their promise, because he was QUIRKLESS. He was already pretty much useless when nobody had a quirk so he had to protect the smaller boy, but being useless when even all the other extras got a shitty quirk? 

"W-What are you saying, K-Kacchan? We can s-still be friends, r-right?" The boy's voice pulled Katsuki out of his thoughts, but the anger remained. Still, he tried to calm himself because after all, he hated seeing Izuku cry and the boy looked like he would start crying any second. " Y-Yeah... " The ash blonde replied, not looking at the child in front of him. It's not like they were enemies now, but.... friends? With a quirkless kid? When Katsuki was supposed to be surrounded by strong people with quirks, not some crybaby?

...We'll see..., was what he told himself and since that day, things started to change between them. 

°-°

"You can read the characters for 'Izuku' as 'Deku', you know."

They were playing at the playground, him, Izuku and a few other children that followed Katsuki. The boys had stars in their eyes, looking in awe at the ash blonde boy who was still holding the small bucket with Izuku's name on it. He was clearly enjoying the attention, proudly declaring the others that he can read.

"And Deku means someone who is useless!" At that, everyone laughed except for Katsuki and Izuku. Katsuki had a smug grin on his face, looking at his childhood friend who had tears in his eyes. He ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach he got when looking at the freckled faced boy. He is useless, Katsuki told himself. You don't care about weak people... 

Since then, it was a normal thing for Katsuki to call Izuku 'Deku'. The cute childhood name he made for the boy became only a bittersweet memory, as well as all the promises that were left broken and forgotten. 

Izuku still followed him and watched him from a distance, but since Katsuki started calling him Deku, the boy distanced himself from the ash blonde, seeing how he was changing for the worse. 

At the Kindergarten, Katsuki was showered with praise at his amazing quirk and looked upon in awe and with stars in everyone's eyes. If that wasn't a boost to an already inflated ego. 

Izuku however, was reprimanded for his lack thereof, making Katsuki think that his childhood friend should only follow him around like those other kids and not dare play with him. After all, Katsuki was strong and courageous, whereas Izuku, no, Deku was a useless crybaby. 

Everything escalated on that one day. 

Katsuki fell from the tree trunk he was walking on just seconds ago. Landing in the water, the ash blonde boy quickly recollected himself and was just about to come out of the river when he saw a hand being stretched out towards him. "Are you okay, Kacchan?" Nobody of the boys who had followed him had dared to move and ask if he was okay. Nobody but Deku. Kacchan's expression darkened and he slapped the other boy's hand away. Who does he think he is?! 

He was okay, Katsuki didn't need anyone's help, especially from a quirkless loser like Deku! He was stronger than any of them, but apparently that damn green haired boy thought of himself so highly that he dared to look down on him. Someone who had a strong quirk and wasn't pathetic and afraid of everything. 

After that day, the feeling of Deku looking down on him only increased. Everything the boy did, no matter if it got something to do with katsuki or not, pissed the boy off. Especially his hair and eyes. That shitty green color reminded him of the forest, at the place where Katsuki's hate for Deku started. Katsuki started doing everything so Deku remembered his place.

Below everyone.

But when Deku still wanted to be a hero and kept on dreaming, Katsuki exploded. He wanted to do anything so that smaller boy would give up. He was too weak and useless, not to mention the lack of his quirk, to be a hero. That coward would get himself killed on the entrance exam. 

When they got into elementary school, the first thing Katsuki did when he saw a few extras trying to make friends with Deku was telling everyone about that bastard's disease. 

"Hey, what's your name?" 

Katsuki had watched from a distance how two boys approached Deku and tried to start a conversation. It pissed him off to no end. Dekus don't have friends and he would make sure it stayed that way. Katsuki just had to wait for the right moment. 

" What's your quirk, Izuku?" Perfect. A devious smirk stretched across his face and he called out for the whole class to hear. "Don't even bother to ask, that loser is quirkless, you know!" 

The reactions were even better than the boy had hoped them to be. 

"Oh, umm, I-I should, umm, go..." 

"Y-Yeah, me t-too..." 

"A quirkless boy...?" 

"What if he is gonna infect us with his quirklessness?" 

"Isn't it some kind of disease?" 

"My mom told me to stay away from them..." 

Katsuki looked at his ex childhood friend in amusement. His face was a dark shade of red, a clear sign of humiliation and shame. Katsuki loughed at the boy, smirking brightly. "Now you understand, right? A quirkless nobody like could never have friends!" 

He knew that with those words he had yelled out, the green haired boy's life was in ruins. Deku clenched his fists tightly and refused to cry, blinking his eyes repeatedly. But it didn't help, because one by one, they started to slide down his face, leaving bitter tear tracks carved on his cheeks. 

It left a pang in Katsuki's chest, which he tried to ignore, because he was better than anyone else and shouldn't care about a failure like the freckled boy.

The feeling of guilt never really went away, seeing how everyone started making fun if him. Even the teachers. 

Would it have been another kid that would have been bullied, someone with a quirk, the teachers would have intervened immediately. But with Izuku, the teacher said that bullying was not tolerated in their school and that he had no proof he was being bullied. At first, Katsuki and the class only bullied him by calling him names and a few shoves here and there. And Katsuki was planning to keep it at that. He didn't plan on doing anything else. 

At home, Mitsuki started wondering why Izuku never visited them anymore. 

"We kinda grew apart and he has other friends now", was what Katsuki told his parents, not looking them in the eyes. After Izuku was pronounced quirkless, he remembered Mitsuki and Masaru telling him that he shouldn't make fun of Deku, because apparently, his father had left him and it was really hard for both the boy and his mother. They really liked Izuku and if someone found out what he did to him... Well, he would be in deep shit. 

Then things started getting physical. 

Katsuki was not a heartless bastard and knew that it was wrong. Not to mention that if someone found out about it, he would be rejected from UA Highschool because of their intolerance to bullies. But at the time, he was an agressive asshole, thought that he would still be accepted in that school and on top of that, the green haired boy really pissed him off. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Katsuki shouted annoyed when he saw a few extras beating Deku up, while the latter was curled up on himself, whimpering slightly. One of the extras, seemingly the leader whose name Katsuki didn't even bother to remember, scoffed and turned to look at the ash blonde. "Yo Bakugou, you defending that disgrace or what? Aren't you doing the same we do?"

Now it was Bakugou's turn to scoff. "Listen here you dipshit. If he tells the teachers we're dead!"  Katsuki was fuming with anger at seeing how beaten up that worthless Deku was. That bastard was so weak he couldn't even defend himself... And he still wants to be a hero?! 

The three boys that were towering over Izuku laughed. Katsuki only glared at them and tried to remember if they were in his class or not. Then the leader spoke up again. "You think that abomination will tell someone? He isn't fighting against us, so he clearly enjoys it, isn't that right?"

Kicking the boy as hard as he could in the manhood, the boy let out a small, suppressed scream of pain. Katsuki took the time to look at Deku.

His hair was bloody and dirty, the green color faded to a grayer shade of it's original color. His face was also covered in blood and he had a big bruise on his left eye. blood was still trickling down the side of his face down to his chin. The once white button up shirt was covered in big, red stains. Overall, the messy boy was shaking hard and would not look up from the floor. When he heard Katsuki's voice, he visibly flinched but did nothing to get away from the beating. His books were scattered across the floor with his yellow backbag, now dirty and battered, lying not so far away from them. "This reminds me.... Bakugou, you're one of his main bullies, aren't you? You always insult him, but.... Do you really hate him? You're standing here, alone, defending that trash..."

"What are you implying?" Katsuki scowled, not liking where this was going. The innocent smile on that extra's face turned into a devious smirk as he spoke uo again.

"If you hate him so much, why don't you beat him up too? Surely you have a lot of pent up anger inside of you, amd that thing here would gladly take it all! Am I right, Izuku~?" He asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. The boy, who had tensed visibly at the words, didn't answer to the question directed at him, making the boy towering over him scowl and kick him in the face." Am I right, Izuku~?? "

Flinching hard, Katsuki saw Izuku nod slightly. It was barely visible, but the amswer was still enough for the three bullies. The leader, Yuri Takahiro, Katsuki faintly remembered, had a sadistic gleam in his eyes as he looked wryly at the ash blonde boy, as if challenging him to do it.

"And what if I won't do it?" He asked through gritted teeth, wanting to wipe that disgusting smile off those extras faces and burn them from the inside out for challening someone as mighty as Katsuki Bakugou. "Well~" Yuri answered, the smirk never leaving his face. "Then I guess everyone will have to find out that you have a crush on the quirkless deformity!"

Katsuki's anger skyrocketed.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY, YOU SICK FUCK?! I'D NEVER EVER HAVE A CRUSH ON SUCH A WORTHLESS MISTAKE OF LIFE!!"

He really felt like punching something, rather someone, right now. The smirk on the leader's face still remained, not in the least intimidated at Katsuki's outburst. He had his arms crossed over his chest as if daring him to try and do it. Taking a deep breath, Ktasuki made his decision.

"Fine."

Izuku's eyes widened and he began trembling even more than before, curling in on himself. "That's right! I knew you were a real man!"

Walking up to the trio, Katsuki took out. For a fleeting moment, an expression somewhat resembling guilt crossed the blonde's face, dissappearing as quickly as it came. The fist made contact with Izuku's already bruised cheek, followed by many more.

When everyone left, Katsuki didn't even turn around to look at his unconscious ex childhood friend, blood pooling underneath him.

That was how the physical abuse started, Izuku becoming Katsuki's punching bag for every little occasion. 

°-°

It was Izuku's birthday.

The day a worthless abomination had been born into the world. And Katsuki planned to remind Izuku of where he exactly stood in society.

Seeing Izuku wander through the school's hallway, deep in thoughts, Katsuki hid behind a locker, waiting for the opportunity to drag Deku away. The boy was alone, which was no surprise, and there were no teachers and students in sight. Not that anyone would have cared. When he felt it was the right moment, the ash blonde clamped a hand over Izuku's mouth and made his way to the alleyway beside the school. Throwing him against the wall, Katsuki grinned sadisitcally as Izuku's head hit the pavement as he fell onto the floor. 

The green haired boy hesitantly looked up, instantly greeted by the smirking face of Kacchan, who held his arms crossed over his chest in a smug way. Katsuki saw Deku's eyes widen in terror as he shrunk in on himself, willing to dissappear. It made Bakugou even more thrilled. The freckle faced boy decided to stay quiet and continued looking at the floor, which aggravated Katsuki only more than he already was.

"Aw, is little worthless Deku afraid? Hahahaha! You haven't even gotten your birthday present from me yet!" 

With those words said, Bakugou took out and punched him square in the face. It didn't stop there, Katsuki didn't leave his ex childhood friend alone until he lost consciousness, bleeding heavily. 

" Tche, weakling. " 

Katsuki didn't even spare the boy a second glance, he simply took his own school bag and walked away to clean his hands from the blood. 

After he washed his hands in the bathroom, actually feeling calmer after taking all his anger out, Katsuki made his way home. 'Huh?' 

Passing by all the houses in his neighborhood, he saw a big car, clearly made to transport furniture, beside that Deku's house. His brows furrowed whhen he saw Inko's bed being loaded into the car. "Are they moving or what?" Was what Katsuki thought, but shook his head. If they would move, his mother would have known and that bastard Deku would also have said something. Scoffing, Katsuki resumed his way home. Why did he even care about that fucker? It wasn't his family, therefor it weren't his problems what happened in their household. 

°-°

"I saw Izuku-kun today." 

Katsuki stopped eating his ramen to look at his mother, who had a frown on her face. Masaru looked at her in surprise. "Yeah? Did you talk to him? How is he?" 

Katsuki continued eating and tried to look like he didn't care, but he was secretly listening to the conversation. After all, if his oarents found out what he did... They would put him up for adoption right away... 

His mother sighed and looked at Masaru. "He seemed really bad. We talked a little bit and he smiled and all, but... He seemed so off. Well, obviously something happened because he had a black eye and was covered in blood. Either he got into a fight or was being bullied. But... His eyes are what seem so off. They just seem so lifeless and dull. "

Masaru thought for a moment, looking at Katsuki, before he turned at Mitsuki again. "Come to think of it... We haven't seen Inko in quite a while, I'm sure it was hard for both of them since Hisashi just left. I just hope everything's going well with them. Inko is still like a sister to us and Izuku and Katsuki were always together when they were children. " Mitsuki nodded and stared at Katsuki. At first, he tried to ignore it, but the stares were annoying him to no end." What is it, old hag?" The woman gave her son a slap on his head before turning serious once more. 

" Oi brat, is Izuku being bullied at school?" Without thinking, Katsuki shook his head and denied it, the lie slipping easily from his tongue. The married couple exchanged looks before Masaru spoke up. "Son, there isn't anything happening between Izuku and you, right? You're still nice to him?" 

Shit. The one question he didn't want to be asked. "What the hell does that mean?! Are you doubting me?? I said there is nothing going on between us, we just don't talk anymore!!" 

Mitsuki, who wasn't fazed by Katsuki's outburst at all, smiled with a reliefed look on her face. "It's okay, brat. We believe you. You are a good kid, despite your personality. I just worry for Izuku-kun's wellbeing, that's all." 

Those words felt like a punch in the face. Despite his attitude, he still loved his parents and he wanted to be a hero to make them proud. But if they were to find out, they would never be proud of him... 

After they finished eating dinner, Katsuki went upstairs and threw himself on his bed. The feeling of guilt at having lied to his parents just wouldn't get away. "SHIT!!" In his state if anger, the boy threw a pillow against the wall and screamed into his blanket. 

After a while, the ash blonde had calmed down and was staring at the ceiling. 

Suddenly, he felt a pang in his chest and tears slid down his cheeks. He wiped confused at them, only for new ones to roll down. 'What the fuck?!' 

He trued to calm down and took out a bottle of water to drink a bit. Then the pain abrubtly disappeared. Confused, Katsuki stared out of the window, a sudden person coming into his mind. 'Deku...?' 

What the hell happened... 

Chapter Text

"You can't become a hero."

I was looking in shock at my mother, her sadistic smile and flaring eyes piercing my soul.  Standing in my room that was filled with All Might figures and posters, tears were falling down my eyes as I watched my mother laugh cruelly at me. Then she turned her back at me and walked towards a white blinding light, dissappearing and leaving me in the darkness. "No... mom, mom! MOM!"

The scene changed to my father. I couldn't see him clearly, but the scoff and disgust written across his face was unmistakable. "You are a disgrace to this family, you'd be better off dead."  Father turned his back on me too, leaving me behind. Just like my mother.  "NO, WAIT FATHER!"

But nobody listened.

I was left behind again and again. 

The room turned pitch black, I only saw red, glowing eyes and deviously smirking mouths laughing at me.

"Stop... Stop..."  I tried to hide from those stares, but they were everywhere.  On the floor, on the walls, on the ceiling. I couldn't escape. I was suffocating. "Help, someone please stop this!"

Then suddenly, everything stopped.  The laughter stopped, the faces dissappeared and I was left alone in a completely white room. I  heard a little child laugh.

"Kacchan, you're so cool!"

I stiffened at those words and slowly turned around. The white room turned into the forest me and Kacchan were always playing in when we were children.  I was greeted by the sight of Kacchan and my smaller self playing hide and seek.  "When we grow up, we're going to be the coolest heroes! Right, Kacchan?"

The ash blonde bobbed his head in agreement, eyes sparkling with excitement. "We're gonna be better than All Might, we're gonna be the Number One team and kill all of those villains!" 

"But Kacchan", I heard myself say.  "I'm not strong enough and I don't want to kill anyone." Ka cchan flashed one of his beautiful smiles at me. The smiles I fell in love with.My eyes were tearing up again, knowing what I was going to say. I wished this moment would never end. I wished that at this moment, time would stop forever.

"Don't worry, Izuku! I'm gonna protect you from everyone until you're strong enough to kick asses yourself!"  An involuntary sob escaped my throat.  I remember those times well enough.  Kacchan telling me he would protect me until I got stronger.

I remember we even promised each other to get married once we're older.

All of a sudden, I was thrown to the ground, my eyes closing shut.  When I slowly opened them again, Kacchan was standing in front of me, small explosions coming from his hands. "You really are a crybaby you worthless Deku!"

I was in my elementary school with  everyone laughing at me. Of course I was crying again,my cheeks burning red from shame.  Oh god, please let me dissappear from here.

But the voices didn't stop. They only got louder. And all at once, I saw my father again, leaving me behind. Then my mother. And then Kacchan. The only difference was that Kacchan held his fist out and hit me square in the face. "Please, stop... Kacchan, stop..."

"What was that, you worthless piece of shit?" 

Black hands were grabbing me and squeezing my throat and pulling me into a dark abyss, simultaneously suffocating me.  "NO! STOP, HELP ME, PLEASE SOMEOME HELP!"

"HELP!"

I shot up from my bed, chest heaving irraticaly. I repeatedly blinked my eyelids, trying to adapt to the dark room I was in. It was still dark outside. I heard the rain hitting my window, the room got illuminated every now and then by lightning, flollowed by the occasional rumbles of thunder.  looked at my clock. 

3:40 am.

With a sigh, I let myself fall back on the bed and breathed in deeply. It was only a nightmare...

A shiver ran up my spine as I thought back to the dream and my mother.

What had happened, was three years ago. I'm 14 now and next year I'll be going to highschool. I don't really care in which Highschool I'll be going, either way, I don't plan on becoming a hero. After all, everyone made crystal clear that I can't become one. Especially Kacchan. I don't even know if I want to live that long. Maybe I'll die before I do. Doesn't sound too bad. 

The only problem was that my teachers still thought I wanted to apply to U.A. They thought I was so naive to become a hero, even without a quirk. Well, at least everyone thought I'm still quirkless. And even if I told someone, who would believe that a boy got his quirk at the age of eleven? 

They'd think I'm delusional or some weird freak. 

But you are a freak, aren't you?

My whole body stiffened at the words.

Admit it, after all you're a psycho! Always mumbling to yourself and speaking with a nonexistent voice is something only freaks do!

Stop this, not today...

I see. You really think You can get rid of me? I'm a part of you, only without those shitty emotional masks. Seriously, do you think someone would actually care how you're doing?

No... 

Killing yourself doesn't sound too bad, does it? How about hanging yourself, or drowning or-

Shut up... 

-Slicing your throat, or maybe poisoning, or how about-

Shut Up! 

-maybe dehydration would be a good way, or also drug overdose, or-

SHUT UP! LEAVE ME ALONE! 

How about jumping off a building? 

The voice didn't stop, so I ran into the bathroom, pulling out my pocket knife. The sharp edges were tempting, telling me to do it. Only a few cuts and the voice would stop. Temporary. 

I put the knife on my wrist and made the first cut.

°-°

It was 6 am now.

I was laying in my bed, bandages wrapped around my wrists, a few patches tainted a deep red. I liked the color. It reminded me that I was still alive and not six feet under. The voice also stopped. I could lay in silence, if only for a little moment. 

I knew I needed to see a doctor and get medication. I knew I had schizophrenia. If I hadn't put on a mask, the changes would be clear. I had become like a doll. Lifeless and fake. But I didn't really care, after all, nobody else did. Ever since my mother left, she would send me barely enough money to hang on for a month. I only got enough of it to pay for food and for the house. Due to the house being so old, it's not like it was overly expensive or something.

And I didn't really eat anything, four or five times a week, I lost my appetite after everything that happened. Sometimes I could afford a few pieces of clothes. All of that All Might merchandise certainly helped get me a bit more money. I got rid of every single piece of the merchandise. It certainly left a hole in my heart, I still admired him, but somehow I also had to live.

But that's already it. I couldn't pay for the electricity costs, for the heating costs or even warm water. Everything was cold and dull. How ironic. Cold and dull, just like my life.

*beep beep beep*

The sound of my alarm clock pulled me out of my thoughts. With a sigh, I dragged my body down to the bathroom. I closed the door and turned to look at my reflection in the mirror. Well, good to know that I looked as ugly as ever.

My unbrushed hair stood in all directions, and the color was just a faded tone of the once healthy forest green hair color. My eyes were almost grey, I wondered how nobody noticed the dead look in them. Guess I was that good of an actor. Dark, purple eyebags decorated my skin and even my skin was as pale as snow white sheet.

I took out my concealer and applied it to my eyebags with skill, which pointed out that it was not my first time doing this.

After I was finished, I put on my school uniform, which was crumpled. Taking my house keys, I closed the door and made my way to hell.

°-°

"If you want a quirk that badly, pray you'll get one in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof!"

Izuku froze at the words, his mind blank. He knew Kacchan could be cruel, but he never thought his childhood friend hated him THAT much. Guess he was wrong. 

Izuku felt tears well up in his eyes again, afraid to turn around and say something. He refused to cry either, or else his consealer would wash off. However, he managed to turn to look at his ex-childhood friend with a hateful glare, to which the blonde contered by making small explosions in his hand, a silent threat to close his mouth shut, or else. "Something wrong?" 

The demonstration played its role, seeing as all the anger and hate quickly left the green haired boy, replaced by fear and sadness. With a laugh, Kacchan and his two extras left the room, leaving Izuku alone. With all the noise gone, his mind was completely at the voices mercy which returned not too long ago. 

Didn't I tell you? Killing yourself is such a good idea, isn't it? 

Stop it. 

Oh but where would be the fun in stopping? Just imagine the happy look in dearest Kacchan's face! 

Shut up! 

Like always, the voice didn't stop, but he wasn't really listening. Kacchan's words were ringing in his ears, feeling like a stab in the heart. 

If you want a quirk that badly, pray you'll get one in your next life...

Pray you'll get one in your next life... 

Take a swan dive off the roof... 

Like on autopilot, Izuku took his old, yellow bagpack and throwed it over his shoulder. The impact hurt his right shoulder, Kacchan having burned that place with his explosion. Still, Midoriya didn't even wince, the nagging pain effectively distracting him from his negative thoughts. 

He didn't cast the room a second glance, exiting it and closing the door in one swift motion. 

°-°

Izuku was walking towards the place where Katsuki threw his burnt notebook at. "Idiot, you can't go around telling people to kill themselves. If I would really jump, what would he do then?" 

Well, it certainly wouldn't be giving two shits about you and asking for forgiveness. After all, your definitely not worth it, HahahAhaHAha! 

Shut Up! 

I passed by the small, old pond near our school and saw my book being nibbled at by three red and white colored koi fishes. "My dreams turned into fishfood..." Quite literally... 

Haven't they always been fishfood? 

Izuku clenched his fists as a new wave of anger overcame him. Actually, the idea of suicide didn't seem that bad to him. Reflecting on his life, he figured that he had nothing to loose. With his mother and father having abandoned him and him being bullied by literally everyone, suicide was a really good way to end everything. And most importantly, Kacchan would be happy, after all he suggested that idea himself, didn't he? 

Izuku shook his head quickly and tried to get his notebook back before people would deem him weird for standing in front of a pond without any reason whatsoever. Society was a cruel place, full of prejudices. Do something that seems weird in public, people would judge them, instead of trying to find out why they're doing it. 

"That's enough, give it back." Midoriya yanked his burnt book out of the fishes mouths and looked carefully at it. Sadness and depression consumed him as a whole, his eyebrows furrowed together and lips trembling. "Stupid J-Jerk..."

Wow, look at this, I'm crying again...

Oh you're such a crybaby! Kacchan is right, isn't he? Go take a swan dive off the roof and it would all end! You would get rid of me too! 

Shut up... 

Izuku carefully packed away his hero analysis book and slowly made his way home. At the underpass, where the words 'Watch your head' were written in bold letters, Deku stopped for a moment, looking at the ground.

For what seemed like the 100th time that day, Deku sighed wistfully and resumed to trudging home. Halfway through the underpass, Midoriya heard a strange noise behind him. Shifting to get a better look at what's behind him, the boy shrieked in fright at what he saw.

A monstrous sized green sludge villain was towering over him for just a moment, before attacking him. The slime around his body felt disgusting, but Izuku didn't struggle as the villain spoke up. 

"Dont worry, I'm just taking over your body, it'll be over soon!"

He most likely would die by suffocating due to the slime being stuffed in his mouth. It hurt, that was a fact, but to be honest, if he'd die from this then it was worth it.

You're finally getting what you wanted, isn't that right?

Izuku ignored the voice for now, too caught up in the moment to care. He was getting weaker by the second, his body struggling for air. Black dots appeared in his vision and the last thing he heard before going unconscious was the sound of the manhole cover being thrown open. Then everything went black.

This is the end... finally...

The disappointment was big when Izuku woke up to someone repeatedly slapping his left cheek. "Hey, wake up!Hey!" Is that...

Deku slowly opened his eyes and blinked several times before fully comprehending what was going on. The muscular man with blonde hair smiled at him. "Thought we lost you there!"

AHHHHH!

Izuku scrambled away, not believing his eyes. He wasn't that much of a fanboy anymore but still, it was his favourite hero of all times and still was. To see him right in front of his eyes was a big honour. Besides, Izuku had one question he wanted to ask the Number One Hero personally. Everyone may have given up on him, even he himself, but maybe All Might could give him hope again.

You really think that? wow, I knew you were dense but this is just too much! 

Leave me alone then if you think I'm dumb! 

Ahahhaah, you know I won't! 

And the voice disappeared. Izuku sighed in relief. He could get a few minutes without the voice reminding him of how much of a failure he was. He knew that well enough. 

"Well, looks like you're moving around all right. Sorry about that back there, I didn't mean to get you caught up in my work! Usually I pay more attention to keeping bystanders safe, but turns out this city's system is difficult to navigate!"

At the end of the speech, All Might flashed him his signature smile, bringing Deku out of his shock. Scrambling around, Izuku tried to find his notebook to get a signature of the man standing before him. If I already met him, an autograph would be nice. It would be the only evidence that I still admired him, crushed dreams or not.

When he found the notebook laying not to far away from him, Deku quickly opened a new page, only to find that All Might already signed it.

"Ahhhh, thank you so much, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Izuku bowed his head, thanking his idol profusely. The other male laughed it off and prepared to leave, catching Izuku off guard. "You're already leaving?" The unspoken words of wait, I want to ask you something, hung in the air.

"Stand back, I'm taking off!" Izuku however didn't listen to the instruction, latching onto All Might's leg before he jumped off.

"Eh?" 

All might noticed a sudden weight on his leg and turned around, only to see Izuku holding tightly onto it. "Hey, hey, hey, what do you think you're doing? Let go, I love my fans but this is too much!" 

"If I let go now, I'll die!" 

With those words, All Might stoped struggling, as if he only now realised that they were flying in the air. "I still have something I wanted to ask you!" 

"Okay, I get it! Just keep your eyes and mouth closed!" Izuku pressed his face into All Mights leg to shield himself from the wind, allowing himself to relax just slightly. 

He had shown so much emotion in ten minutes than he had in ten years. And the one person that triggered this was his childhood hero. Well, I guess no matter how much I wanted to forget my obsession, it always finds a way back...

Meanwhile, All Might was holding the green haired boy's back to secure him so he wouldn't fall down. As they landed on the roof, Midoriya, shaking like a leaf, had to take a deep breath to steady his heartbeat after experiencing something like that. "M-My whole while life just flashed before my eyes..." 

While Izuku was trying to calm himself, the hero turned around and walked towards the edge of the building. "Not a very smart move. Bang on the door for a while, someone will let you in. Now, I have to go!"

Izuku quickly collected himself and turned to look at his idol. "Wait, not yet, one second!" But All Might wouldn't listen. He was ready to take off again, leaving the boy alone. Abandoned. It all felt like some sort of sick dejavu. His father left him like that. His mother left him like that. Kacchan left him like that. And now All Might. He couldn't let that happen. One Answer, one answer was all he wanted. One answer to know if he could...

"Sorry kid, it's not going to happen."

"I'm sorry Izuku, I'm sorry!"

"You are a disgrace to this family, you'd be better off dead."

"Take a swan dive off the roof!"

"You think you can become a hero, worthless Deku?"

"Is it possible to become a hero even if I don't have a quirk?"

°-°

Izuku was standing on the roof, completely alone.

"It's good to have a dream, but you have to consider what's realistic, young man."

His idol, the Number One hero in the world told him he couldn't become a hero. But what did he expect? For him to smile at him and tell me that yes, of course you can become a hero, just work hard and you'll be like me? Life hated me, why would it give me such a luxury?

In that split second, the edge of the roof seemed a lot more tempting.

Come on, do it! Everyone will feel a lot better without you there to ruin it! 

Izuku took a small step towards the edge, but flinched and stopped when he heard the sound of an explosion. Maybe that's a villains attack, I wonder what kind of... heroes there... would be.......oh...

He forgot.

After all, he didn't need to take notes if he wasn't going to become a hero. He didn't plan on doing that, but he suddenly got that pang of hope when he saw All Might. 

Well, now that this hope of yours is crushed, why don't we go home and find a way to kill ourselves? You wouldn't want to make a big commotion by jumping off that building, would you? 

You're right... let's go... 

That's how Izuku found himself going home, alone, with his dreams crushed and why? Because he was quirkless. 

And when he'll open his door and step into his house he'll be greeted by loneliness and coldness, because his parents left him. Why? Because. He. Was. Quirkless.

So you understand, right? NOBODY GIVES A DAMN ABOUT YOU OR YOUR FOOLISH CHILDHOOD DREAMS, HAHAHAHA!

SHUT UP! Shut up, I get it. I know I'm a weak coward who is depressed but too scared too die even if he knows that it would make everyone happy, I don't need you to remind me of it! 

Well, I'm gonna do it anyway, so have fun!

Well, I'm gonna ignore you then, so have fun! 

Izuku continued his walk home, ignoring the voice in his head completely. The boy only stopped when he saw the cause of the explosion in front of him....

Excellent, his feet still managed to bring him here. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had to be here, as if he had to do something, no matter how weird it sounded. He looked through the mass of people surrounding the explosion and made out a massive, green mass with eyes and a disgustingly big grin. Isn't that the one who attacked me? 

Izuku thought about how he talked to All Might on the roof and remembered that no, the bottles weren't there anymore! Connecting the dots, Deku's face fell as he realised that the hero lost them when he grabbed onto that leg. Guilt and self-hatred were eating him alive and he felt himself tear up at the revelation. Distantly, he overheard two young man talk about what happened, his nerve-wracking train of thoughts stopping as he heard the words hostage.

He tried to calm his nerves and look closely enough to see any indication that there could be a hostage that sludge villain wad holding. Then he saw it. Spiky blond hair struggling against the monster's fierce grip.It can't be...

The hostage opened his eyes and Izuku gasped quietly at the sight of ruby red eyes, shining like brilliants in defiance, refusing to give in to that villain.

And suddenly he was running. He was running, but not away from the scene, no, he was running towards the source of danger and fuck what am I doing, he should stay out of this and stop running and turn around but FUCK KACCHAN WAS IN DANGER AND HE COULDN'T DIE.

And he realised that this was the feeling he felt, some sort of weird connection to his childhood friend. They always had something like that, but nobody knew why. One time, Izuku got hurt during his vacation and suddenly his mother got a text from Mizuki, saying that Kacchan was asking if Izuku was alright. 

But that didn't matter right now. Right now, he was saving his childhood-friend-turned-into-a-bully. 

No matter how bad he was hurt by those same hands, he couldn't stop loving that young man, no matter how much he wanted to forget him.

When Katsuki heard the shouts of the pro heroes, he turned with much effort to look at what was causing those shouts. He froze when he saw a green mob of hair with freckles running towards him. Deku...?

Said green mob of hair flung his backbag with full force at the villain, effectively catching him off guard. Izuku started digging his hands into the green beast, desperately trying to save his ¿friend/bully?. "What the hell are you doing?"

Deku looked up at Kacchan with tear filled eyes and responded. "I don't know, you just looked like you needed help!"

This simple statement made Katsuki's anger skyrocket. He made even more explosions to try and free himself from that bastard. Why aren't the heroes doing anything?

Izuku was dumbfounded when he saw that five pro heroes were doing nothing to help them. What the hell were they waiting for?! Suddenly, the villain threw Izuku to the ground and took out. The green haired boy closed his eyes and waited for the impact that would, hopefully, end his life (again). Only that it never came.

"I am here!"

°-°

Like always, it was me who got scolded by the pro heroes. "How could you be so reckless! You could have died!"

I know I could have died, but Kacchan was my childhood friend and while the pro heroes, may I empathise, PRO HEROES, were doing absolutely NOTHING, which is ridiculous because there were FIVE of them, I tried to save Kacchan. And then they dare to scold ME about being reckless?! Someone should teach them about the values a great hero should have.

I casted a glance at Kacchan. Of course, the pro heroes were fawning over him with stars in their eyes, telling him how strong and amazing he was, how powerful his quirk was and how he was going to become a great hero. I knew that it was true, but it it still left a big hole in my heart. Why couldn't life be fair for once?

When everyone was done telling me how stupid I am, I silently packed my things and left, eyes casted downwards. In the end, it was All Might who saved us, which caused him more trouble because he reached his limit of how long he could be in that strong form. And if I hadn't been there, it would have been so much more easier for everyone.

How about we jump off that roof right now? There aren't many people around and it's still high enough to die on impact!

I ignored the voice and continued my way home, thinking how I could apologize to All Might. I wanted to do it right there, but he got surrounded by dozens of reporters. Well, I'll leave him a message on his website.

"Deku!"

I turned around in surprise to see Kacchan following me. I sighed inwardly, I could already tell that he was going to scream at me that I did nothing and I should have left him alone. 

"Listen, I would never ask for a weakling like you to help me! Don't think you can look down on me! You hear that? I was fine by myself! You're just a quirkless failure who...." 

Ah, I know.... I am a quirkless failure, worthless, a disgrace to my family, better off dead, weak, a coward... 

 I wasn't really listening anymore. He could have said kill yourself to me in the face instead of preparing that speech. I mean, he already told me that today, it wouldn't hurt to hear it a second time. 

I snapped out of my thoughts when I saw Kacchan stomp into the opposite direction. Oh well, let's go home and die. I resumed to walking home, but stopped when I heard footsteps running towards me.

"I am here!"

I frantically looked up to see All Might standing in front of me. What the hell? He was surrounded by a bunch of reporters like five minutes ago! "Ah, All Might, what are you doing here? How did you get rid of all the reporters?" All Might laughed again. How can he laugh so carefree....

He began praising himself about how strong and amazing he was, but stopped when he abrubtly transformed into his weak form, caughing up blood. When he stopped coughing, there was a serious tension in the air. "Young man, I cam here with thanks, a correction and a suggestion." What is he saying? I was useless, I did absolutely nothing! 

"If you hadn't been there... If you hadn't told me about your life... I would've turned into a guy with a bodysuit who was all talk. Thank you."

Why was he telling me that, I should be apologizing to him for causing him problems....

"That can't be... It was my fault in the first place...I got in your way, and I said all those impertinent things even though I'm quirkless..." Saying this out loud made me realise just how MUCH of a failure I really was...

"That's right."

... What?

"Because it was none other than the timid, quirkless You at the scene that I was able to act."

No, no, that's not right, I was a burden and I did nothing, I didn't help anyone...

"Top heroes have stories from their school days. Most of their stories have on thing in common: Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think."

What was he saying? How could he say something like that to me. Tears were forming in my eyes again, I was unable to believe the things my hero was saying to me.

" I'm sorry Izuku! "

For some reason, I remembered my mother's words from back then. My heart was beating so wild in my chest it almost hurt, but I couldn't even think straight. My dreams have always been crushed, I was born with broken dreams. Abandoned because I was quirkless. Nothing. A pile of dirt in the way. And everyone was making it clear to me every, single day. So why was he saying those things to someone like me? It didn't make sense.

It was getting hard to breathe and I slowly crumbled to the ground on my knees, hands over my heart.

"That was true for you too, wasn't it?"

I was crying now, something I've done everyday, but this weren't tears of sadness, no, how could they? I was crying out of happiness and disbelief because fuck, this was too much. For the first time in my life, someone gave me a little bit of hope, I was feeling something, other than sadness and fear. And everything seemed like a dream because this was my childhood hero.

He was practically a stranger who I met only today.

It wasn't my mother, or father, or teacher, or even Kacchan saying this.

This was THE Number One Hero in the world.

"Yeah..." I nodded my head, clenching my teeth and squeezing my eyes shut.

That's not what I wanted to hear, mom. Back then, I wanted you to say... The words I wanted to hear were...

"You can become a hero." 

Chapter Text

Approximately ten months have passed since All Might told Izuku he could become a hero. Everything changed from then on.

All Might started training with the boy, with the intention that he'd inherit his quirk. At first, that goal seemed too far away from him. Izuku was a scrawny, little kid without any muscles whatsoever. But over the ten months of excessive training, he got really strong. Since the incident with the sludge villain, Katsuki hasn't been bothering him. While he's glad about it, he wondered what changed his mind.

Izuku's been feeling a little bit better himself too. Not much, but enough to stop thinking about suicide all the time. The voices weren't bothering him so much anymore. Sometimes, he would still get really depressed, the voices would come back and he'd still cut. But right now, he was enjoying his life as much as his situation allowed him. 

Due to the cuts he occasionally made, he had to bandage his arms. During summer, it would get really bothersome because while he would train in a sleeveless shirt, his bandages remained wrapped around his arms. The one time All Might asked about it, he nearly fucked everything up.

"Young Midoriya", All Might started, seemingly looking a little nervous.  Izuku stopped what he was doing to turn and look at his idol, the nervousness effecting Izuku too and making him instantly nervous too. "Y-Yes?" 

"Why do you wear bandages, my boy? Is everything okay?" Izuku's eyes widened a bit and his cheeks flared up. Shit, shit, shit, what do I say? 

He was internally panicking to get out a decent excuse. "W-Well, you see, I, uhm, I, y-you know I just, er, I, i-its like a, uhm, fa-fashion thing?" 

All Might eyed him sceptically, a hint of worry still seen in his eyes. "Are you sure?"

Midoriya shook his head vigorously. "Y-Yeah! You know, I saw Eraserhead on TV once and thought that the, er, bandages looked cool, so I thought I would try something like that too!"

"Hahaha, ok young Midoriya, You had me worrying about you for a bit!" And the tension dissapeared, Izuku laughing awkwardly beside All Might. He wanted to tell All Might, he really did. But he would get disappointed again at the fact that All Might was just another adult who didn't care. 

After all, nobody had cared ever before. Why would someone care now? 

Right now, it's only been a day since the attack at USJ and Izuku felt like a complete failure. All that little self confidence and self worth he has built over the last 10 months vanished along with the villains. He was so stupid. After they had been attacked, he had to be saved TWICE because he tried to help. It made Izuku feel so ashamed of hinself. He really did make a fool out if himself, no matter what All Might said about buying him time or shit. And now the voice was back and he felt like a piece of garbage again. He didn't show it though, because now there were people who, for a change, weren't bullying him,which meant that he couldn't allow his mask to slip and let everyone see the real him. 

They would just leave you again, like our dearest Kacchan, isn't that so? 

Leave me alone...

You really need to listen to me sometimes. I already told you I won't, hahaha!

Izuku was trying his hardest to distract himself from the voice, but it just wouldn't stop. It kept talking and talking.

"Deku, are you ok?"

Izuku looked uo to see the worried faces of lida and Uraraka. He didn't understand why they looked like that, had he said something out loud?

It wasn't until he looked at his hands did he understood their worry.

He snapped his chopsticks in half while trying to eat the rice. Oh shit, shit, shit!

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm alright! I've just been thinking about the attack yesterday!"

Liar

"Oh yeah, that was so scary! But Asui said you were really good out there!"

Liar

"It is good to have someone like you in our class, Midoriya-kun!"

Liar

Shut up!

But I'm right, aren't I? Face it, they don't care about you at all, it's all fake! It's just pity fir a worthless piece of shit like you!

Izuku abrubtly stood up and bowed his head slightly, which confused Uraraka and lida greatly. 

" Deku, what are y-" 

"I'm going to use the bathroom for a bit. Please don't wait for me, I'll see you later." Before anyone could say anything else, Midoriya was already gone. 

You're a weakling, aren't you? Can't even cope with an imaginary voice, hahaha! 

Shut up, shut up! 

He ran through the hallway to the bathroom as fast as possible, the walls closing up on him, suffocating him. When he reached the bathroom door, he threw it hastily open and locked himself in one of the stalls. Breathing irratically, Izuku sank to the floor, choking due to the lack of air he was getting. His mind felt hazy and the voice in his head became louder and louder. 

You can kill yourself right now! Nobody would care! 

You are such a worthless piece of shit, you know that? 

Kacchan was right, go take a swan dive off the roof, youbwould make everyone so happy! 

"You are a disgrace to this family, you'd be better off dead."

"I'm sorry, I just cant do it anymore." 

"Worthless Deku, can't do anything right, can you?" 

"Take swan dive off the roof!" 

Silence. 

Izuku's mind cleared and his breathing finally slowed. His eyes, wet from tears, were closed and he tried taking deep breaths.   The voice was finally gone. 

When Izuku had completely calmed down, he noticed a sting on his arms. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down. Shit... 

His bandages were ripped off and many new cuts littered his arms. The floor beneath his hands was red from all the blood and he still held the razor in his hand. When did I take it out?

He completely blacked out, something that has been happening more often recently. That was not good. If something like that were to happen during class or somewhere where he wasn't alone... Well, the outcome would be horrible. He could already imagine those eyes, judging him, those smiles, laughing at him.

Luckily, the bandages were still clean, which meant that he could still bandage his arms with it. His uniform was also clean, he was holding his hands so nothing except the floor would get bloody. 

Only now remembering where he was, Izuku panicked and took out his phone to look at the time. He breathed a sigh of relief. Lunch was going to end in five minutes, so he had to hurry up a little.

Cleaning up as fast as he could, Izuku wiped the floor clean from the small puddle of blood and carefully bandaged his arms after stopping the bleeding. Izuku was just about to run out of the bathroom, when his vision suddenly turned black for a second and he stumbled backwards. Lately, he has been feeling exhausted as if he pulled all-nighters without getting even an few minutes of sleep. While he did sleep bad, his sleep always preoccupied by nightmares, he did get a full half an hour of sleep, which is, in fact, worse than a month ago where he got a total of two hours. Not to mention that he couldn't control his emotions anymore and blacked out more often than usual.

But what bothered him was the fact that he didn't know why he became like this. Sure, he had depression, schizophrenia and insomnia, but during his days in middle school, he always managed to be fit for the lessons, even when he sometimes didn't even get an hour of sleep. But now, it was hard keeping his eyes open and simple things like eating or even listening to the teacher was as hard for him as running a marathon. Picking up his chopsticks or keeping his eyed open seemed almost impossible with the state he was in, that was how bad his exhaustion has gotten. But now wasn't the time to worry about that, after all, he was running late to the afternoon classeswhere theywould train for the upcoming UA Sports Festival.

And to be honest, he wasn't looking forward to it.

°-°

Chapter Text

It's been two months since the U.A. Sports Festival. Class 1-A has gotten to know each other better. Literally everyone has taken a liking to Izuku. Especially to Izuku. He was like a strong thread that kept everyone together. But those who were attached to him the most were namely Uraraka, lida, Todoroki, Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero and Asui. All of them loved how Izuku was just an adorable, polite and innocent person. Always in to help someone and never thinking about himself.

Even Shinsou from Class 1-B got attached to the freckle faced boy. After the Sports Festival, they became really good friends and started hanging out together. 

And Izuku... Izuku himself was a completely another issue. He tried hiding his real self better, because he noticed Kacchan has been looking at him closer lately. He tried to smile a little wider everyday, pay more attention to his surroundings and try to analyze other people's behaviour. His plan seemed to have worked out, because he didn't feel those eyes on him anymore. On the other side, Izuku felt worse everyday. He couldn't even sleep anymore, Izuku would simply collapse out of exhaustion when he came back to the dorms. Which was another problem. Everyone lived in a dorm now. The boys on one side of the dorms, the girls on the other one. That's why Izuku tried even harder to hide the whole situation from everyone.

Every time he'd cut in the bathroom, he actually panicked a little because he feared someone might notice his absence, but... they didn't notice and maybe they didn't care. He knew it was the latter, but desperately hoped it wasn't.

Throughout the day he would always drink at least five energy drinks to keep himself awake. But lately, it seemed that they've lost their effect since the boy was tired, even when drinking those energy drinks. Izuku made sure that he wouldn't fall asleep in front of everyone again. What happened two weeks ago was already enough for him. 

"Finally we're here!" Ashido shouted, her muscles aching from the training they did.

"Yah, let's watch a movie or something together!"

Izuku stayed silent they whole time, his body exhausted and aching. He already drank six energy drinks throughout the day and at this point, his body wouldn't react to them anymore.

"Yo, Midoriya, you okay there?" It was Kaminari who asked this, smiling but with a hint of worry in his eyes. "I-" Izuku couldn't finish his sentence as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body gave in.

Just as he was about to crash onto the floor, a pair of warm hands caught him and carefully lowered the green haired boy to the floor. "Midoriya?"

It was Kirishima. His soft red eyes were looking worriedly at him, eyes checking for any unseen injuries. "Hey, Midoriya, buddy, open your eyes!" Midoriya slowly blinked his eyelids before closing them. His breath evened out and he fell asleep."Izuku?"

Kirishima poked Izuku's cheek and watched the smaller boys head loll to the side. At first, everyone started panicking because it looked like Izuku fainted, but once Kirishima heard the soft snores coming from the smaller boy, he snickered. "Hey Kirishima, what's so funny about it?" Uraraka asked with a glint of anger in her eyes. "Nothing, it's just... It seems like Midoriya fell asleep,hahaha!"

At that statement, the whole class burst into laughter. "This", Kaminari laughed. "Is priceless! Man, he must have been very exhausted!"

"Hey guys," Hagakure shyly said, but was ignored because of how loud everyone was being.

"Guys."

"Guys!"

"..."

"GUYS!!"

That got everyone's attention. In a calmer tone, Hagakure continued. "I think we should move Midoriya-kun to the couch so he could sleep a little more comfortable. We can watch a movie together too."

"Seems like a plan. I'll take Midoriya, you guys take some food with you!" Everyone agreed and left to go to the kitchen and living room. Kirishima gently swooped Izuku up, alarmed by how light he was. That wasn't even the right term, the boy was dead weight in his arms!

What the hell...

Ignoring that thought for now, Kirishima brought Izuku over to the couch and layed him down so that his head was laying on the armrest and covered him with a blanket. Kirishima sat down next to the sleeping boy, Kaminari and, surprisingly, Katsuki beside him. Everyone else sat down too and together they watched a movie.

Izuku woke up somewhere in the middle of the movie. "Whaa...?"

Kirishima noticed that Izuku was awake and smiled at him. "Hey buddy, you fell asleep earlier. Had us all worried. You can go back to sleep if you want, we're just watching a movie." The red haired boy's words registered somewhere in the back of Midoriya's head and he layed down again. He looked around and suddenly jolted up again." Oh my god guys, I'm so sorry I fell asleep! I seriously didn't think I was that tired, oh my god, I'm so sorry guys, seriously, I shouldn't have fell asleep like that, god I'm so stupid I worried you all and you brought me here, I'm so sorry I-"

"Woah, woah, calm down, buddy, everything's okay. It's not like you hurt someone, you just fell asleep." Everyone agreed at that, the movie paused and all eyes on the green haired boy, who was a red, blushing mess. "Midoriya-kun, you have to take care of yourself better, sleep is very important, especially for such a young body like yours!"

"Yeah, I'm so sorry lida, I'm going to sleep better, I promise, I'll go to bed earlier, I'm sorry for worrying you." Izuku looked down at his bandaged arms, relief flooding him when he saw that the bandages were still on him.After everything was settled, the class finished the movie and went to sleep.

In the end, Kirishima forgot to talk with Izuku about his weight.

Since then, Izuku settled to drinking energy drinks, along with coffee and other drinks that contained much caffeine. Izuku knew it wasn't healthy at all, but he couldn't take on any more risks. His thoughts became darker everyday, suicide actually seemed like a very good idea, no one would miss him after all. 

Right now, Izuku was sitting in the cafeteria, along with Uraraka, lida, Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, Todoroki and Bakugou. Well, Kirishima forced Katsuki to come, that is. Despite Izuku's seemingly carefree attitude, he felt completely uncomfortable sitting there. He didn't have any appetite, again, and was staring into nothingness, eyes tiredly blinking. Yesterday had been another sleepless night, he couldn't close his eyes without suffocating in dark thoughts,which meant that he was up and cutting the whole time. His arms were already full of cuts, so he continued slitting his tights and stomach. It hurt, but the pain actually felt good. 

Izuku was so caught up in thoughts that he completely missed the suspicious looks he was getting from a certain blonde boy. 

Bakugou had trouble not thinking about his ex childhood friend. Sometimes, he would wake up at night to get a glass of water or shit and see that the lights in the bathroom were turned on and Deku's door slightly opened. It happened not one time, or he would have let that thought go, but since Katsuki woke up almost every night, he couldn't forget about it. And what was weird was that it was always Izuku who went to the bathroom. Just what was that shitnerd doing in there that required waking up every damn night?! 

Though Katsuki wouldn't admit, he was worried out of his mind and also furious over the fact that he couldn't find out what was going on with the nerd. His mind wandered back to when he followed Deku to the bathroom a few months ago. That time he heard him crying... Maybe he was crying in the bathroom every night? But why would he do that? He was a ball of sunshine, why would someone like him cry? And more importantly, over what? 

"Guys, I'll be right back. I'm going to use the bathroom." 

Katsuki looked up with a frown, eyeing Izuku up and down. Again?

He noticed how Izuku was slightly trembling, his left hand was gripping his right wrist tightly and his eyes seemed completely dead. Without waiting for answer, Izuku ran out of the cafeteria.

Katsuki had enough. Slamming his hands on the the table, the ash blonde boy followed Deku to the bathroom. " Yo shitnerd, stop running!"

He heard the freckle faced boy's breath hitch and he stopped running, frozen in place. Katsuki walked up to him. "Turn around so I can see you, I'm not gonna talk to myself."

Slowly, as if trying to buy himself time, Izuku turned around, eyes glued to the floor. With a sigh and a much calmer voice, Bakugou continued. "What the hell is going on with you? You run into the bathroom every. single. night. You think nobody noticed? Well, I did. So? Care to explain? "

Izuku still had his head down, looking anywhere but the person in front of him. He couldn't believe someone noticed. Moreso, after he was especially careful to his surroundings. " N-Nothing is wrong."

Wrong thing to say. Katsuki grabbed his shoulders in a tight grip and shaked him slightly. "Don't give me that bullshit! What's your problem, huh? You think you're so mighty that you don't have to tell me anything? You're always looking down on me you fucker, so quit that crap and talk to me!"

It was as if something inside Izuku snapped, because he abrubtly slapped Bakugou's hands away and glared at him with the most hateful glare he had ever seen on the small boy's face. The temperature seemed to have dropped several degrees, because suddenly, Katsuki felt coldness wrap around him.

"What does it matter to You! You never cared before, why care now? I don't know what to think of you anymore, Kacchan!" And just like that, he wasn't glaring at him anymore, instead looking at the floor again, a depressing aura surrounding him.

"First, you bully me, make it clear that I am unwanted in your presence, and then you suddenly ask me what's wrong with me? I'm telling you that nothing. is. wrong. with. me. You can go back now, I'm using the bathroom like any other human being!" Stomping off, Izuku left Katsuki completely dumbfounded in the hallway. Katsuki sighed and pinched his nose. Way to go, Bakufuck. God, how can I mess this up so bad! What the fuck were you doing just now, mouth?

Bakugou ran a hand through his hair in distress, before huffing and turning around to go back to the cafeteria, but not before glancing back to the spot where Izuku dissappeared.

°-°

Izuku locked himself in one of the stalls and sank to the floor. He just snapped at Kacchan! How could he let that happen?

Way to go, you sick fuck. Seriously, how can someone mess this up so bad? Now he'll definitely destroy you, hahaha!

Shut up, I know that...

His head felt like it would split in half at how bad it hurt. He already drank four energy drinks and three cups of coffe, but he was still tired as hell, something inside of him was constantly causing him pain, he had a massive migraine and that voice WASN'T HELPING AT ALL!

Aw, nice of you to appreciate me like that! 'wasn't helping at all!' Technically, I am helping you find the best way to end your pain, but you wouldn't listen, what a shame!

Can't you be quiet for now, please...

Well, well only since we don't want to be late for training, do we?

Oh. He forgot. Today it was supposed to be a free afternoon, but everyone wanted to train at USJ and Aizawa-sensei said he and Nemuri-sensei would watch over them. Ectoplasm would be there too to make some clones for them to train on. They even said they could turn on some music.

Exiting the bathroom in a hurry, Izuku ran to his classroom, seeing Shinsou on his way there. "Hey Midoriya." The purple haired boy greeted him. He even had a small smile on his face. "Hey, Shinsou-san!" Deku greeted back, quickly putting on his tough facade.

"Didn't I tell you to just call me Shinsou?"

"Ah, yeah, sorry!" Izuku rubbed the back of his head whilst smiling sheepishly. As if remembering something, the green haired boy spoke up. "Oh yeah, Shinsou, do you want to go train with us at USJ?" Said boy thought for a moment, before agreeing and following the smaller boy towards his class.

"Oh look, it's Shinsou! Hey man, you coming with us?" Kaminari shouted, followed by a calm 'yeah' from the other boy. Everyone else also greeted the purple haired boy. Izuku looked around his class with a fake smile on his face. Everyone was chatting happily and even Shinsou went to talk to the others.

Everyone but one.

Izuku's smile fell a little when he noticed Kacchan looking at him with a serious expression. He didn't want to talk to him. Not yet. Katsuki stood up and made his way over to the frozen green haired boy, who looked like he would start crying any second. Shit, shit, shit, please, someone save me from this...

It's your fault in the first place for snapping like that, poor, little Izuku! 

He looked frantically around and spotted Uraraka, who was talking with Asui and Ashido. lida was scolding Aoyama, who was sitting on a desk and laughing. No one even noticed him and Katsuki was coming nearer. No, no, no...

"Alright class", came the voice of Aizawa from the door. Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. Perfect timing. Everyone turned to look at their homeroom teacher, who was standing at the door along with Nemuri, who had a smile on her face. "If everyone's ready, let's go. Shinsou, you'll be joining us?"

Said boy nodded briefly. Aizawa turned around and sighed. "Let's go, I want to go to sleep already." 

On their way to the bus, lida instructed everyone to stand in pairs while waving around with his hands. "lida-kun", Asui stated. "Everyone's already standing in pairs except for you."

"Oh."

After everyone was seated, they took off towards USJ. On the way, everyone was yelling again, much to Aizawa's dismay. He just wanted to sleep, but those little brats wouldn't stop yelling. "Cheer up!" Nemuri said, slapping a hand on the man's back. Aizawa only grunted in response, before growing serious again. "Have you noticed that Midoriya seemed kinda... off?"

Midnight stopped smiling, a frown replacing the smile. "Yeah, every emotion he displays seems so... fake, but I don't know why." Both adults casted a glance at the young boy, who was sitting beside Uraraka with his eyes closed, but not sleeping.

"Well, maybe we're just overthinking. I mean, he doesn't have a reason to fake his emotions, like Toshinori said, he is a very bright student." Aizawa agreed and the conversation ended on those words.

°-°

"We are here!" Ashido cheered, excited to be able to train there again.

Everyone gathered around Aizawa, who took out his sleeping bag again. "Okay, listen here. Ectoplasm is also gonna be here and make a few clones for you to train on. Midnight here's gonna turn on some music via the speakers of the hall and you train whatever you want. If you have questions, go bother those two", he pointed at Midnight and Ectoplasm. "because I am going to sleep. Okay? Okay."

Nemuri went to turn in the music, while Aizawa explained a few other things to his students, Ectoplasm standing beside him.

After everything was settled, the Class, plus Shinsou, went to train in different areas, Midoriya ahead of everyone, trying to escape the eyes of Bakugou. Suddenly, energetic music was heard through the speakers. "Woahh, I love this song! It gets me all hyped up!"

Everyone agreed to what Kaminari said, starting to sing along. However, that moment of joy didn't last long.

Because in that moment, Izuku screamed. 

Chapter Text

The scream was followed by a deafening boom so powerful, it actually knocked everyone, teachers and students alike, off their feet. 

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!" 

There wasn't a single person in the building that wasn't affected by those waves of power. Even the teachers, who tried to get a hold of themselves, were send crashing into a far wall, not too far away from the entrance of USJ.

Several people tried using their quirks, namely Katsuki, Kirishima, Todoroki and lida, but to no effort. Katsuki's explosions were immediately extinguished, Kirishima tried to activate his quirk, but the strong waves coming from sowhere were too powerful, resulting in him also crashing into a wall. Todoroki tried using his ice to shield himself from the unknown power, but was shocked when he saw the ice crack to a thousand pieces, and lida tried to run into the direction of the power's source to stop it, but was blown off into a wall, right next to Kirishima. All of the other students were also send crashing into one of the main sections of the facility. 

Everyone tried looking at the source of that power, but it was hard opening their eyes, because all they could see was whirled up sand, caused by the waves of sheer force, which were expanding in every direction. 

Aizawa, who was the first to get a hold of himself, tried opening his eyes, only to close them again due to the sand getting in them. The teacher sighed inwardly. Why couldn't they have one peaceful trip to USJ without any incidents?! 'What a drag...' 

The teacher figured that he had to wait a little for the power to die down, even if only a little. So he waited anxiously, not comprehending what was happening. After a few moments that seemed like an eternity, the powerful wave became weaker and the Erasure Hero managed to open his eyes a little. What he saw, made them widen noticeably. 

His problem child was standing with his hands clenched tightly around his ears. His mouth was opened as if screaming, but no sound came out. 

His eyes were opened wide and unseeing. 

But what made everything even stranger, was the fact that his eyes were glowing in a purple light, the same with which the boy was surrounded right now. Not to mention that HE, out of all people, was the source of that power. 

'What the hell is happening?' 

Shouta looked around and saw that the other teachers and students were still affected by the waves of power coming from Midoriya, so he tried crawling a little bit closer, which was harder than he let on. With how strong those waves were, he couldn't keep his eyes open long enough to focus on his student. So he had to crawl closer to activate his quirk, if only for a split second. And his mind wasn't focused enough to come up with another plan.

All he could see was his student. And something was happening to him. Whether it be his quirk going crazy, or him being affected by someone else's quirk, he didn't know. But even if his quirk was going crazy, that power could not possibly be his quirk alone. And why would his quirk even go crazy in the first place? So what...

Eyes widening slightly, Aizawa felt like slapping himself in the face. He had to erase the quirk first and then access the damage. All the questions in his head weren't helping his colleagues and students. Closing his eyes for a moment to collect himself, the Eraser Hero took a deep breath, finally focused on Izuku and activated his quirk. 'Fuck!' Even if it wasn't as bad as it was before, the sand was still being wirled uo and now that he activated his quirk, his actually caught a decent amount of dirt. But that wasn't important right now. 

The effect of his quirk was instantaneous. The waves of power abruptly stopped and the purple light died down. The black haired hero closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting his tense muscles relax. When he opened them again, he decided to take a look around. The students were slowly getting up to their feet, some helping the ones who got hit harder. Then he saw Midoriya again. His eyes were half closed, looking dull and unseeing, so unlike the usual ones. The green haired boy staggered a few times and swayed dangerously. "Shit!" 

Shouta leapt forward to catch Izuku, who stumbled and fell forward. Wrapping his bandages around the tiny body, Aizawa slowly lowered him to the ground, kneeling beside him. His eyes roamed over the boy's body, taking in his unconscious form. 

His face was pale, almost like a sheet of paper which wasn't, in any way, healthy. His hair was a grey shade of its original colour, looking unkept and faded. But what alarmed him was his body itself. It was just skin and bones. His problem child looked impossibly small and vulnerable, laying on the ground with closed eyes. Aizwa noted that he'd have to talk about that later with him.

By now, the other students were slowly shuffling closer, still frightened about what happened. But upon seeing Izuku's still form, all signs of fright disappeared. 

"Is he okay?" 

"What the hell happened?" 

"Shit- was that Midoriya?" 

"Aizawa-sensei, is he gonna be alright?" 

"Why did he faint?" 

"Was that his quirk?" 

"Silence!"

Everyone stopped talking and looked at their teacher, who still didn't take his eyes off his problem child. Kirishima, being the closest to his teacher and friend of all the students, crouched down beside Izuku and frowned. Behind him, Uraraka, lida, Kaminari, Ashido, Shinsou and Todoroki also crept closer until they were standing right behind their red haired friend.

"Aizawa-sensei", Kirishima spoke up quietly, not taking his eyes off the freckle faced boy. "Was that his quirk?"

Carefully, Eijiro put his hand on the boys forehead, cursing when he felt how hot it was. He also noticed how tired and dead their friend looked, how could they not have payed attention to that... Kirishima felt like garbage, guilt wracking his mind as he closed his hand around the thin - too thin, to small- wrist. He remembered now, wanting to talk to Midoriya about his weight after the boy collapsed in their dorm. And he forgot, how could he forget something this important... 'How hadn't we noticed before that something wasn't right...?'

"Yes", Aizawa answered after a while of quietness. "I erased his quirk, but something is wrong. It couldn't be his quirk that did this."

"But", Uraraka chirped in. "He's gonna be alright, right?" Surpressing a tired sigh, the teacher finally looked up and locked eyes with everyone's worried gaze. "That problem child's gonna be just fine." A little bit further away, he saw Nemuri and Ectoplasm looking at him. A silent conversatiom seemed to pass through the trio, before Nemuri nodded. Aizawa gave a nod of acknowledgement back and stood up. 

"You brats will continue training with Midnight and Ectoplasm, I'm gonna bring problem child over here to the infirmary." With surprising gentleness, Aizawa took Izuku in his arms and took off, away from the protests of his students to let them come with him.

°-°

The walk to Recovery Girl was long and it gave Aizawa plenty of time to think as to what could have happened and why. But not only that. He was also very concerned for Izuku's well-being, even if he didn't show it. First of all, he was shocked by how little Midoriya seemed to weight. He was as light as a feather in the man's arms and while he knew that Izuku had a thin frame and was always scrawny-looking, this was clearly not normal with how tiny the boy looked. 

Secondly, he would have to have a talk with Midoriya about his well-being in general. Now that he thought about it, he cursed himself for failing to notice that something was wrong with his student from day one. He may only be the teacher of the boy, but he noticed so many things that had him questioning what had happened with the freckle faced boy. And no doubt the other's had noticed too. It were small things, really, may it be his personality, his habits or his behaviour, but they still noticed it. 

For example, there was the stuttering whenever he talked about something, looking so timid and unsure, but Aizawa didn't understand why. The boy talked as if he was afraid nobody would be willing to listen to him or just cut him off mid-sentence. 

Then it was the flinching. Whenever someone tried to hug him, Izuku would always flinch, stiffening immediately as if he expected to be hurt. Even when someone moved unexpectedly, for example if someone were to trip over something near Midoriya, or someone simply did something unexpected, the boy always flinched. 

The muttering was a habit similar to his stuttering. No doubt it had something to do with one another. Fear of not being listened to, but when they're listening, you want to say everything at once, because you think that they're gonna change their mind. The boy's timid nature itself was also something to worry aside. Let's cast aside the flinching and stuttering for now. 

Over the time they spend together as teacher and students, Aizawa tried to make out their personality and everything related to that. But whenever he came back to the topic Izuku Midoriya, he was left clueless. Some worrying things he noticed for sure. For example, how he would always apologize for everything, even if it wasn't his fault. Everyone kept telling him to stop doing it because most of the time, he wasn't at fault at all, but the green haired boy didn't listen. That his problem child had a too soft heart was clear after he first met him. The way he would always help everyone, never raise his voice at anyone, no matter how rude they were , heck, he even put up with Bakugou's attitude for fuck's sake. He was so selfless, but sometimes he had a feeling it had something much more darker to it. Shouta felt as if Izuku really didn't care about himself at all.

There were the taboo-topics, as Aizawa liked to call them, as well. It was not like his student would explode with anger, but you could clearly see how uncomfortable he was when that taboo-topic was brought up. The first taboo-topic was his family. Whenever someone asked him about his mother or father, he would simply say "My father works overseas, so me and my mother live alone." Shouta knew there was something to it, but they always dropped the topic. Midoriya was hardly uncomfortable with something, and when he was, they respected it. The other taboo-topic was his past in general. Thinking about everything that had happened since they met, Aizawa figured that he knew nearly nothing about his problem child. Whether it be about his school days, his realtionship with Katsuki or other friends, nobody knew anything. The only thing that everyond knew was Izuku's name, obviously, his age, his apparent relationship with his parents, and the fact that he and Bakugou were childhood friends. That's it. No favourite color, animal, movie, nothing. 'Maybe we should do a general get-to-know lesson...', the teacher thought tiredly.

When the Erasure Hero came to stand in front of Recovery Girl's office, Aizawa took a deep breath - because no matter how calm he looked on the outside, he was still worried for the problem child of class 1-A [even though he would never admit that willingly] - and slowly opened the door. In the room, Recovery Girl's head turned to look at him, sighing when she saw the small bundle in Aizawa's arms. 

"What happened this time? Broke his legs? Arms? Or something else?" 

The woman said as she turned away from them, typing something on the computer. 

"I don't know what happened." At that, she turned back to Aizawa and raised an eyebrow. "You don't know what happened? Wait, let's move him to the bed first, you can tell me everything later." 

Shouta carefully layed Izuku down on the bed and watched as Recovery Girl did her work. "This doesn't make any sense", Aizawa suddenly said. Recovery Girl didn't say anything, instead letting him continue. "There weren't any villains that could have used their quirk on him and what happened definitely wasn't because of his quirk."

"What happened?" While checking Izuku, Recovery Girl was at a loss of words. While the boy didn't have any injuries, he was extremely malnourished and sleep-deprived. She thought that Izuku was a very sweet boy, who had to carry a lot of problems with him. There were many things about him she didn't understand, but she tried to do everything she could to help him. And seeing him care so little for himself worried her. Didn't he kniw that eating and sleeping was essential for functioning during the day? 

"We went to USJ to train. Midnight and Ectoplasm went with us and when we got there, we turned on the music. After that, I really didn't understand what happened. There were powerful waves of sheer force expanding in every direction. It was Midoriya, but I don't understand how that could have happened. It definitely wasn't his quirk, and it definitely wasn't a villains quirk that affected him. "

" You stopped those waves with your quirk? " Recovery Girl interrupted. "Yes. That's what's weird about it all." There was silence after those words. "Maybe we should call a quirk specialist, he'll know what to do. So don't worry, because everything was going to be fine" Recovery Girl promised without a second thought. She didn't cast the Hero beside her even one glance, intending to finish what she was doing. 

Recovery Girl checked Izuku for any more injuries,frowning when she saw the bandages. Now that she thought about it, she had never seen him without those on. "Aizawa-kun, have you ever seen Midoriya-kun without those bandages?"

The Erasure hero put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment. "No. He said he didn't like to take them off, so we didn't."

"I think we should take them off." Shouta stared at the woman beside him, then averted his gaze to look at the boy in front of him. Reflecting on everything that involved talking to Izuku about his bandages, Aizawa took notice that the green haired boy always looked panicked when asked to remove them. By all means, he respected his student's privacy, but if taking them off meant that they could help him, he was ready to ignore his students pleas to let the subject go. "I think we should." Recovery Girl gave the man beside her a curt nod before slowly unwrapping his arms from the bandages.

They had expected anything, really. Tattoos, embarrassing injuries he tried to hide. Anything, really. 

But neither was prepared for what they saw. 

Aizawa's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, as did Recovery Girl's. 

Time seemed to slow down around the Erasure hero and the only thing he registered was his heart hammering wildly in his chest. 'Oh god, no...' 

Hidden behind bandages were self inflicted scars, all varying in size and depth,crisscrossing each other like a wild battlefield of cuts. 

The room was silent and neither of them spoke, wondering how they hadn't noticed before.

Chapter Text

Hello guys!

I need some help with choosing the next story I'm going to write after finishing this one. I have a few ideas in mind, so I want you to choose the one you would like for me to write first. They're all Boku No Hero Academia fanfictions, but I plan on writing others too, like Bungou Stray Dogs, Servamp or Haikyuu. So please read all the summaries and give me a review. Just comment the number below :)

Anyway, let's get it started:

Number 1:

Soulmate AU/Still with quirks and all

In this world, soulmates are connected with each other through a red string and a soul mark. The soulmark and string will both appear at the age of 10, and the two are fated to be with each other forever. However, if one of the two will abandon his soulmate, the abandoned soul will fall into an endless pit of darkness, which will slowly consume the abandoned soulmates whole mind until there is nothing left but a black void. The soulmark will start bleeding, before turning black - a sign of a broken fate. The red string will be cut off and the thin thread will slowly blacken, a sign of the abandoned soulmate dying, until the thread turns completely black and the person dies. The person who abandoned his soulmate will NOT feel any pain at first, he will see the cut off string but not feel the same pain as his soulmate. Realising his mistake and trying to fix it is going to be near impossible- the abandoned souls mind being nothing but broken pieces and darkness. In most cases, the soulmate will die during his soul mates attempt to fix him, fate trying to keep the two broken soulmates away from each other.

In a world like this, Katsuki and Izuku happened to be soulmates. Both were childhood friends from a young age on. Both got a quirk at the age of 4 and dreamed to be the best hero team in the world. Izuku's quirk was exactly like his mother's. He could let for example objects float towards him or control the direction in whuch they're floating. 

In school, Izuku was bullied for his weaker nature and kind soul, but even with Bakugou helping him get rid of them, he didn't always know what was going on. Izuku became depressed and tried to kill himself after a student told him to take a swan dive off the roof. Katsuki was able to save him, but even with that help, Izuku fell into a coma. Ten months passed and bakugou made it into u.a. He often visited Izuku and watched over him. But then things started to change when he made new friends. He visited less and started to forget about his childhood friend. After a few months at u.a., izuku finally woke up. At first Bakugou visited him the whole time, Deku having to stay in the hospital until all his wounds are healed, but when he noticed that Izuku seemed fine, he started to forget about the boy. He came less and less, until he stopped coming at all. At first, Izuku was confused and worried, which was why he immediately went to find him after he got released from the hospital. When they saw each other, Bakugou ignore him and turned back to talk with his new friends. 

Izuku couldn't believe it at first. He tried to reach him and talk to him, but was always disappointed. After coming to the conclusion that nobody needed him, he ran away. His mother had died a few days prior after a building collapsed. His trust in heroes failed completely when he saw that while there had been gunshots, hostages and bombs, there hadn't been any hero in sight.

After a month, Bakugou realised that his childhood friend was missing. To his horror, the ash blonde started realising just what he did to the boy, so he and everyone of his friends started searching for him. But to no avail. 

Two years later, a new villain called Deku appears with the league of villains, who apparently hates heroes and is out to destroy them. When Bakugou realises who DEKU is, can he save him from everything and build up his trust in heroes again? Moreso, what will happen with the blackening red string of fate? 

[ "What the hell?! Why are you fighting with them, why are you on their side?! "

"Well, hello. Long time no see, I guess." 

"Stop pretending and tell me you little shit! I searched for you, I thought you were gone!" 

"Oh, really now. You abandoned me remember? You don't really care." 

"Of course I care! We're..." 

"We're what? Friends? Sorry, but I can't recall being friends with a self centered asshole!" 

"What happened to you? The friend I knew would never say that to me!" 

"What happened... You ask...Well, my eyes have been opened and my mind cleaned of all the bullshit people were telling. I finally realised who spoke the truth! So I changed. I stopped pretending to be someone I am not and here we are! We are all there where we should be. You who believed all the lies society told you, are attending U.A. and I, who learned the truth is a villain!"] 

Number Two:

Slight ¿Horror? AU( not really sure about that story idea, it's kinda weird)

Class 1-A is having a vacation! After everything that happened, Aizawa decided to take his class to Kyoto, to relax and get their minds off of all the fighting and stress. Not to mention that our favourite green haired boy had, once again, broken his leg and needed a small break to recover from his injuries. Arriving in the city, they stayed in a normal looking hotel. Everyone who was working there, seemed pretty nice. But not everything is as it seems. 

After staying the night in the hotel, Class 1-A was getting ready to go to the beach to spend a day there. Unbeknownst to them, they were the only guests in the hotel, the service being villains that were out to take the hero and heroes in training down. One of the villains had a quirk to make exact copies of people, cloning they're appearances and quirks. Before leaving the hotel, a villain made a clone of Midoriya that left with the Class. Meanwhile, Midoriya was still asleep and alone in the hotel. But not for too long, because the villain made clones of everyone who was on this trip. 

They're goal: Break All Might's successor. Make him an emotionless puppet. And the villains the puppeteers. 

Midoriya wakes up long after the class is gone, and is faced with a game. A game of survival. 10 rooms. 19 friends. No way out of the hotel. Are you ready to play? 

["Hello Midoriya Izuku! What an honor to have you here! We have a little surprise for you, a little game we think you will like! How about it, are you ready to play? 

The rules are simple. You have to get out of this hotel, but on you're way there you have to pass ten rooms. Each room will have two of you're friends in there. One is dead, the other alive. There are two masks on each side of the bed. One red, the other blue. Put the red one on your friend and he'll instantly die. The blue mask is just a mask. You put it on the dead friend. However, if you put the blue mask over your friend that's alive, he'll attack you. Your goal: Kill him and put both masks on your friends. 

And in case you try to run away, the whole building is filled with bombs that are waiting to blow off this whole place. Now, you wouldn't want innocent people getting hurt, do you? 

The first room is marked with a 1,the second room with a 2 and so on. 

Without further ado, let the games begin!" ] 

Number Three:

Shigaraki is Izuku's brother

Two boys that have been born into a family of disaster. Midoriya Tenko and Midoriya Izuku. Since birth, everything was a catastrophe for the two. Abusive father, abusive mother and no one to turn to. They're family life has been a big secret since they were born, and zhey wanted nothing more but run away from that. But they couldn't, because they're parents had connections everywhere. Not to mention that both of them were looking exactly like they're parents. Tenko had the same black hair color and red eyes as his father, whilst Izuku looked like a replica of his mother. Both had curly hair, the only difference were their quirks. Whilst his father's quirk was All for One and his mother's quirk consisted of simply floating objects towards her, Tenko's quirk was called Decay. Izuku on the other side, became quirkless after his father stole his quirk. Tenko's quirk does NOT work on Izuku because they're brothers. 

Tenko was six years old when Izuku had been born, and when Izuku turned eight years old, his father left to become the Leader of the League of Villains. Tenko was forced to leave with him. 

7 years later, the brothers meet at USJ, during the League of Villain's first attack. Can both of them keep their relation to each other a secret? When the time comes, they have to choose sides to fight against their enemies, but who exactly is their enemy? 

["I-Izuku..." 

"Nii-san? What's happening? What-Why are you here?" 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I had no other choice..."

"Stay away from Deku, villain!" 

"I have to go, I'm sorry, we'll meet again I promise."

"W-Wait, it's - I have so many questions, you-you don't have to go now, I'll talk to them, I'll tell them not to attack you, just- "

"I'll explain later, Izuku, I'll explain lat-"

"SEVEN YEARS!! S-seven y-years... Y-you left me with her... You told me you'd come back..."

"I'm sorry, goodbye..."

"WAIT!" ]

Number Four:

Izuku is psychometric

Izuku admired all kind of quirks. Wether it be a strong quirk, or a weaker one, he admired all of them. He himself, was quirkless. Well, except for the fact that he was a freak. 

He had a normal life. His mother and him were living peacefully together, his father working abroad to earn money for the family. At school he was getting bullied for being weird and quirkless. Especially his childhood friend Katsuki. Or Kacchan how he wouild call him. He didn't have any friends, but he was okay with that. After all, he was a quiet kid that enjoyed peace and silence. But he hated himself. He hated his fake looking blue-green eyes that had a tinge of pink in them. That's why he always wore green eye lenses. But most importantly, he hated his ability. It wasn't a quirk, but an abnormality only his mother and father knew about. 

Just by touching a person or an object with his bare skin, he could see the memories they held. He always wore gloves to stop things he didn't even want to see. 

Even after he met All Might and all his friends in U.A. he didn't tell anyone, too afraid how the others wouild react to that. But when suddenly, people were starting to get murdered, the killers never leaving a trace, and the pattern seemingly completely random, Izuku has to step up and overcome his self hatred and insecurities in order to help solve that big mystery. 

["Shimura... Tenko...?"

"What the hell? How do you know?!" 

"Oh...I-I didn't..." 

"How. Do. You. Know?" 

"I saw." 

"Huh?" 

"I saw a woman calling your name... She had black hair and blue ey-" 

"... Impossible... How did you saw? Nobody knew, nobody was there..." 

He contemplated for a moment, unsure of what to say. The man in front of him was his enemy and such information could get him in very big trouble. But he looked so... Sad right now. As if he saw something he wasn't supposed to see. 'Of course not. You're watching his memories, how can that be something you were was supposed to see?' 

No. He couldn't. He couldn't let anyone know his flaw. His abnormality. What made him a freak. 

Not now at least.] 

Yeah, so those were the ideas I had in mind. Not all, but the ones I really thought about. Please comment the number you want below. I will be doing all of these fanfiction ideas, I'm just not really sure what to start of. 

Furthermore, I wanted to hear if you guys would like me to write a fanfiction of another anime. For example:

Bungou Stray Dogs 

Blue Exorcist

Haikyuu

Servamp

Free

Kuroko No Basuke

Or something like that. Please let me know. Thank you and I'll be waiting for your comments! 

Chapter Text

The bunch of students was silent. 

After Aizawa left with their friend, none of the remaining students moved. All of them were lost in their own thoughts, especially those who were really close to Midoriya. Uraraka was actually looking like she'd start crying any second, feeling helpless and scared about what happened. 

Iida was in a similar state, trying to analyze what just happened. 

Tokoyami, Mina, Asui, Kaminari, Sero, Jirou and Todoroki were plainly confused. Aizawa said it couldn't have been his quirk, but what was it then? Had his friend been attacked by a villain with an unknown quirk? Had some civilian accidently activated their quirk when bumping into him? Or was it contrary to what Aizawa said really his quirk going crazy? But no matter what it was, everyone of them hoped that their friend would be okay...

Bakugou was angry. Angry at that stupid, useless Deku for not taking care of himself, for letting himself get attacked by a villain or some other stupid shit that happened. He saw how weird his ex-childhood friend had been behaving those past weeks and maybe it had something to do with one another. Whatever it was, that shithead was so going to fucking get it when he woke up.

Kirishima... 

He was a wreck. 

He was the only one to see Izuku up close and he felt so guilty for not noticing anything. He considered Izuku one of his best friends and to know that he failed someone dear to him... 

'I should have seen it', he thought.

Izuku had always been thin, but as he grabbed the little wrist, it just seemed too ridiculous, too ridiculous how frail he seemed. How could he have not noticed before?! 

Kirishima knew what the problem was. He had seen it on one of his classmates in middle school before. Eating disorder, or simply eating less than required for the body. But why, was what the red haired boy wanted to know. Why would such a happy, selfless and caring boy not eat? 

If he would have started not eating during his time at U.A., Eijiro would have noticed for sure. But he didn't, which meant this had been going on for some time. Just what exactly has been happening to his friend? He didn't know anything near enough to consider him his friend, but Kirishima cared so deeply for Izuku, he had to find out. And this time he would not forget it or let the subject go. It was his duty to help the sunny boy how the boy helped everyone else. 

"I think we should cancel training for today, kids", Midnight stated, her voice calm and serious. None of the students spoke, only nodded their heads and headed for the entrance of USJ. 

"You think their going to be okay?" Ectoplasm asked. He couldn't help but worry for his students, especially Midoriya. "It's Class 1-A we're talking about. Everything's going to be just fine." Nemuri stated, although still sounding unsure.

After a while, the teachers also headed to the entrance, right when the bus back to U.A. arrived. And the atmosphere in the bus wasn't any better. Complete and utter silence. 

Downcast eyes. 

Grim expressions, worried ones. 

In the end, that's how everyone went back to the dorms, only one name in their mind. 

'Midoriya...' 

°-°

Aizawa stared.

For once, he couldn't pretend to be calm and uncaring about something. Because this was something that couldn't be kept calm about. 

Izuku was harming himself. 

His student was harming himself. 

HIS problem child was harming himself. 

Aizawa was not prepared for this. He thought the kid was happy, that he was alright. How hadn't he noticed before? 

He slowly reached out his hand to touch the others arm- noticing that his own hand was shaking badly, something that usually never happens - and lightly grazed the uneven skin. There were many of them. Too many for a 15-years-old child that had so much liveliness and energy in him. He traced the scars with his fingers, noticing that there were old ones that seemed to have faded alomst completely, only leaving a thin, white line, and newer ones that were still slightly red. Just how LONG had he been doing this? 

It was something he didn't want to know the answer to, let alone ask, but he knew he had to, after all, he failed his own student who he was supposed to take care of. ESPECIALLY his problem child was someone that needed a lot of care. And to think he let something this important go by unnoticed... 

Recovery Girl was also at a complete loss of words. Aizawa knew how much she cared about the boy and to find out something like that... 

"I-I think I'll leave you alone for a moment..." The hero turned his head and watched as the woman slowly left the room, no doubt to go somewhere private. He couldn't blame her tough, Aizawa himself felt like a complete failure in every way. 

What was he supposed to do now?

Just straight up confront him about it?

Shouta knew that he couldn't place a task of this importance in someone else's hands, he had to do it alone. After all, the kid was someone he really cared for and he was his student as well as problem child. But first, the kid had to wake up. Then he would deal with everything spontaneously. 'Ah' , the teacher and hero just remembered. 'I have to call his mother too...'

After that thought, Aizawa took out his students profile Recovery Girl had given him, only to come to the shocking realization that he did not have Midoriyas parents number. Nor did he know where the boy lived. It was strange, considering that everyone had to write down that information for emergencies in cases like that. Just what exactly was going on with the boy? 

It was already noon when Aizawa noticed the small movements on the bed. He had stayed by the childs side the whole time, not even standing up to go eat, drink or even go to the toilet. Aizawa wanted Izuku to wake up to him being there, the kid shouldn't be alone when he woke up, who knows if that shit that went down in USJ repeated itself in the medical room... 

"Midoriya?" The Underground Hero asked quietly, not wanting to scare him. Said boy's eyes slowly fluttered open, looking around the room, not really comprehending what was happening. Aizawa was about to call out the kids name again, when he noticed the subtle change in his eyes. Panic. The kid was panicking. It was as if something clicked inside of him, because all of a sudden, his eyes were wide and darting frantically across the room. "Hey, Midoriya, are you okay?" 

The kid didn't hear him at all, instead he was looking down at his badly shaking hands. His whole body shook tremendously, breath coming out in short panicked breaths. "Midoriya", Aizawa repeated again, worry evident in his voice. 

No response. 

The boy didn't even twitch and that worried the Underground Hero greatly. "Midoriya", he tried again, but it was still the same. The teacher took a deep breath and spoke again, louder. "Izuku." 

A hitch if breath and the boy cried harder. "Izuku, I need you to calm down. Everything's okay." The teacher contemplated about touching him, but with a panic attack like that, he feared the kid would only panic even more. So he first tried with words and if that wouldn't help he'd have to find another solution. "Izuku, you are okay, I am here." 

The green haired boy shook his head frantically, his eyes clenched tightly shut. "Izuku, you have to listen to me. We are in the medical room. We are alone so you are okay." Through his panic, Izuku slowly opened his eyes and, through his blurred vision, spotted long dark hair, accompanied with bandages. The boy took a deep, still choked and strained breath, but he couldn't calm down. 

Aizawa started talking again. "Izuku, I need you to calm down, but I will need to touch you. Is that okay?" The teacher hadn't expected an answer, but was relieved when the boy gave him an almost unnoticable, shaky nod. As if in slow motion, Shouta wrapped his arms around his student, careful not to startle him. The boy still flinched hardly, though. Pulling Midoriya towards his chest, the teacher tucked the small head under his chin and tightened his arms around the frail body. "You are okay, you hear me? It's going to be okay, I'm not going to judge you for anything. It's okay kid, I got you." 

Shouta noticed how tense the boy was in his arms, how he trembled a little, as if expexting to get hurt, it made the situation even more grave. They were going to have a talk. Just him and Izuku. And not only them, Aizawa will talk with his mother too to see what's going on. And if that didn't help, he'd have to find another way, but he was NOT going to let this go. Not after all that. 

A soft stutter brang him back into awareness. "What did you say?" The Underground Hero saw that his problem child was still shaking and crying. Shit, he had to calm the boy down. "S-S-Sorr-Sorry, I-Im s-sorry..." 

Aizawa's eyes darkened in sorrow. He was doing it again, he was apologizing, why was he apologizing all the time? It didn't fit his personality at all, but thinking back to what happened, what was real and what had been for show of his personality. Aizawa slowly layed his hand on top of the other's head and started caressing it. "There is nothing you have to be sorry, so stop apologizing. Everything's going to be okay."

Time passed by and regardless of the fact that Izuku was still tense in his teacher's hold, he had calmed down and was only sniffling once in a while. Shouta's hand didn't stop caressing Midoriya's head, he figured it helped his problem child calm down. It was silent for a while, before he felt the kid pull away from the hug. The teacher slowly unwrapped his arms from around the kids body and sat up properly. Izuku still didn't look at him, but at his slightly shaking hands. "Izuku. Please look at me." 

No response. Aizawa took a deep breath and asked again. "Izu-" 

"Why aren't you saying it?" 

What? What was he talking about? 

Aizawa straightened up further and looked at his student with a completely dumbfounded expression - he really was showing too many emotions this day-, wondering what Midoriya meant by that. "Why aren't I saying what?" 

The Underground Hero saw Midoriya's clenched fists and the way he looked at his hands with a defeated expression. What was he thinking? 

"Why aren't you saying it? You are too weak for this school, this behaviour is not accepted at this school, I should have expelled you long ago! Why arent you saYING IT?! "

Aizawa looked at his student with wide eyes, utterly shocked and confused at how his problem child could think something like that. Had he that litte trust in his teacher? Shouta licked his lips and took a deep breath. "Why would you think that?" He spoke in a calm, deep voice. Only now, Izuku looked up. But when he looked up, his eyes held so much anger and pain in them, it physically hurt the teacher to look at. "Why, you ask?! Isn't that obvious? I am weak for cutting myself and even not being able to control my quirk properly! I am such a disappointment you should have expelled me when you had the chance!" 

The student was crying again, his head in his hands and all Aizawa could do was stare. He felt so confused and helpless, considering the fact that he never thought Izuku to be like this. And especially since it seemed that he hadn't had any hope in the teacher. 

'Just what exactly happened to you?' 

The Underground hero thought, his heart breaking at the thought of HIS problem child not trusting him.

'Who made you into the person you are?' 

Chapter Text

~11 years ago~

It has been a month since everyone found out Izuku was quirkless. The kids in his kindergarden always make fun of him for being below them, useless, weak, good for nothing and worthless. The green haired boy got pulled by his hair, shoved to the ground and other things like that.

And it was beginning to take a toll on the small boy. He got quieter and more secluded, he was scared to come and play with the other kids, because he knew they would make fun of him every chance they got.

At first, Izuku had hoped that the other adults who were looking after them would step in, but the moment he saw their faces, he knew nobody would help him. Not a quirkless mistake. "How his mother must feel", he would hear, or other things that hurt.

"I would be ashamed to go out with him, knowing that he was quirkless."

"They should just give him to an orphanage."

"His parents must be so disappointed to have a kid like him."

"I hope they get rid of him soon."

"What will he even do without a quirk?"

"Isn't it hard to find a job where no quirk is required nowadays?"

Sometimes, the kids would get too rough with him and it started to hurt, all their little games. But everytime their 'games' got attention from the adults, it was always Izuku who had been scolded. Apparently he started the fight because of attention. Everytime that happened, his mother would get very angry. Sometimes she would beat him for being such a disappointment. Which was, in fact, very often. And after Kacchan started hating him, it only got worse. He would come home with burn marks that would scar due to the lack of care they received. Izuku's mother simply didn't care about his injuries and Izuku didn't even know how to treat them. He was FOUR for Christ's sake.

That's right.

The innocent, little boy was only four when his world started falling apart and his trust in humans dissapeared.

°-°

~9 years ago~

'Finally!', Izuku thought as he made his way towards the school he'll be going from now on. They last two years in his kindergarden were horrible for him, so he desperately hoped it would get better from now on. 

'Well, new school, new luck!'  The boy kept repeating inside his head, but to be honest, he was really scared of meeting his new classmates. Especially the teachers of the class. Making his way over to his class, he saw a few of the other kids looking at him with a smile. A smile!

No frowns or disgusted glances, but actual smiles. He couldn't help the hope that started blossoming inside his chest. 'Maybe it will get better from here on.'

After everyone was settled in their classrooms, Izuku sighed in relief, his day having passed without any problems so far. 'Okay... I've been through one and a half hour of the day after waking up and everything's still okay...'

But maybe it was just fate hating him so much he decided to let hope fill him, only to have it crushed the moment he saw his childhood frind Kacchan glaring at him. His face changed from relief to horror, as he watched the blondes glare turn into a morbid smirk. He saw the boy stand up and instantly shrunk in on himself, eyes lowering to look at the floor, filling with more tears with every step Katsuki took in his direction.

'Oh god, no... Please, anything but that...', the green haired boy desperately thought, willing himself to dissappear and never show up again.

"Oi, Deku", the ash blonde boy tilted down until his mouth was right beside the other boy's ear. In this position, he could clearly see the way his ex-childhood friend trembled in fear, which only made the blonde teens grin wider. He leaned down close to the other boy's ear and whispered in a sadistic voice. "We're gonna have soo much fun, Deku." 

With those words, Bakugou stood up and walked back to his seat as if nothing had happened. Izuku was left alone again. He put his head in his arms and a few silent tears escaped his eyes, his hope of having a normal school life having shattered. Suddenly, he remembered the words his mother had once told him.

"Mommy? If god exists, then why aren't all people equal?" 

"Well", his motherhad told him that day with a cruel smile on her face. "God does exist, but... He doesn't love you." 

It seemed that his mother really was right. And why would she lie? Mother knows better, she was always right. 

"Alright class, my name is..." Izuku had seen the teacher come up to the front of the class and start introducing himself, but all he could think about was how he wanted to just dissappear from this world. Maybe turn into a bird and fly away... 

"... You tomorrow. "

Izuku blinked in shock. The first two periods were over, and all he did was stare off into the distance. Well, they had a small break now, so it started getting noisy in the classroom. "Hey, what's your name?" 

Izuku blinked in shock at the two boys that had approached him while he had been daydreaming. One of the boys had dark red, spiky hair and black eyes, he was tall and had quite a few muscles, while the second boy was a little bit shorter - but still a lot taller than Izuku - and had dark blue, straight hair and dark blue eyes. It took Izuku quite a while to answer, because the boy couldn't believe they were talking to him out of all people. He even glanced back quickly to assure himself that, yes indeed, they were talking to him. 

"M-M-Midoriya I-Izu-Izuku..." He quietly replied cheeks flaring red in embarrassment at how he had stuttered. He couldn't help it though, now one had ever willingly started a conversation with him. The three of them actually started a little conversation and Izuku really enjoyed himself, until the long dreaded question came. "What's your quirk, Izuku?" 

In one swift motion, the green haired boys eyes widened and he turned to look at Katsuki, a pleading look on his face. 'No, no, please... Don't tell them...'

But of course, the blonde didn't listen, because in an instant he lept from his chair and exclaimed too joyfully, too loud: "Don't even bother to ask, that loser is quirkless, you know!" 

The reactions were even better than the blonde boy had hoped them to be. 

"Oh, umm, I-I should, umm, go..." 

"Y-Yeah, me t-too..." 

"A quirkless boy...?" 

"What if he is gonna infect us with his quirklessness?" 

"Isn't it some kind of disease?" 

"My mom told me to stay away from them..." 

That was it. 

Izuku slowly, ever so carefully sat down again - when had he stood up- and hung his head in shame. He could feel Kacchan's eyes staring at him in amusement, which only made him hang his head lower. His face was a dark shade of red, a clear sign of humiliation and shame. He heard Katsuki laugh at him, smirking brightly. "Now you understand, right? A quirkless nobody like could never have friends!" 

And that was it, wasn't it? 

His life was in ruins. Because not only the students were looking at him in disgust, but also the teacher who came shortly after Bakugous rather loud exclamation. Deku clenched his fists tightly and refused to cry, blinking his eyes repeatedly. But it didn't help, because one by one, they started to slide down his face, leaving bitter tear tracks carved on his cheeks. After that day everyone started making fun if him. Even the teachers. 

Would it have been another kid that would have been bullied, someone with a quirk, the teachers would have intervened immediately. But with Izuku, the teacher said that bullying was not tolerated in their school and that he had no proof he was being bullied. But then the same thing that people told his mother in Kindergarden were being told again. "Your son clearly started the fight, punching a student in the face. I think it is because of his lack of a quirk that he wants the attention. But there are consequences for this behavior. No matter how much he wants the attention, he can't just cause trouble like that. I am going to give him detention for the rest of the year, given his behaviour had been repeating itself for quite some time. "

Oh how he remembered the beating his mother gave him all too well. After all, he still had those scars on his back. At that time he had been six and a half, only half a year after entering the school. But at that time, he already broke. 

He stopped talking to his classmates unless necessary. 

He stopped eating. 

And he stopped smiling real smiles. 

That was when he knew that this was his life and nothing could ever change that. 

After all, even God didn't love someone like him... 

°-°

~5 years ago~

It felt as if everything kept getting worse. 

His mother left him. 

The teachers were still picking on him too, although in their own way. They would often give him worse grades despite scoring almost 100% in every subject, they would often forget to give him the required sheets for the lesson, during the lesson the teacher always picked him to come to the front of the class to, for example, solve a difficult equation, and if he couldn't do it, there would always be some snarky comments. It was unbearable. The humiliation and shame had one time become too much, so he had just run out of the classroom and into the bathroom stalls. 

Then, he still had too many issues with Kacchan. After he got his quirk, he actually tried talking to him many times, but it always ended up in scars. 

So he stopped trying. 

Everytime he came to school, everyone looked at him with so much disgust it tore his heart apart. He was so alone, he had nobody. It was like a constant fear nagging at him, that at any moment someone would lash out and beat him. Even at home, the faces of the students and teachers kept haunting him. "You deserve all of that", an inner voice had told him. "It's all your fault how your teachers and classmates treat you." 

And he believed it. 

°-°

~4 years ago~

He was walking towards the teachers lounge to give his homeroom teacher the slip he had been told to sign. With his mother having left him, he had to fake the signature. Not that anyone cared. He was just about to knock on the door, when he heard the voices of some of the teachers he had in some classes. 

"-ht, he is completely useless. How can his mother even deal with him?" 

"I bet she must be so ashamed. Personally I would have left him to die somewhere the moment I found out he was quirkless." 

It didn't take long for Izuku to figure out they were talking about him. It was nothing knew, but he couldn't help the tears forming in his eyes. Nonetheless, he continued listening to what was said. 

"Well, quirkless or not, he has the best scores in class during tests and exams, sometimes even better than Bakugou's." 

"Yeah", another voice said."Because he is cheating. I don't know how yet, but it's obvious he would cheat just to get some attention. Why do you think I give him worse grades than he scores?" 

"His behaviour is also really annoying. I mean, he always crues when something does not go his way, and the students tell me he tries to pick fights with them all the time. I mean you should see the bruises on the poor kids faces when they come to me. For example Makota-kun. He came to the nurses office really often with bruises and said that he just wanted to ask Midoriya something or help him. It's horrible what some brats do to get attention. "

" I guess it would have been better if his mother aborted him. Did you know we have machines that can see if a child is quirkless even before he is born? Would his mother have had that kind of thing back then, we wouldn't have to deal with that abomination anymore. It's really b-"

He ran. 

Izuku turned and ran away, the slip falling forgotten onto the floor. It was the same everywhere, all the teachers were the same. Tear tracks were on his cheeks, but he wasn't crying anymore. He had no more tears to cry over people hating him. He was used to it anway... 

°-°

~1 year ago~

" 'If you want a quirk that badly, pray you'll get one in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof! ' I think Katsuki had been right, don't you think? Such a shame that one of my students was born quirkless."

Izuku was staring in shock at his homeroom teacher, his eyes wide and filled with tears. Turned out, his teacher had heard what Katsuki said back then. 

Right now, he just started training with All Might to become his successor and everything was somewhat alright. Sure, school was hell and home was cold and lifeless, but meeting All Might gave him a little bit of hope. 

And now... He couldn't believe it. 

His teacher heard. His teacher heard Kacchan saying those words and still didn't do anything. But oh well, why would he? 

Why would he protect someone like Deku? 

Izuku knew how teachers were. They are all the same. They are only stepping in for kids with quirks, something Izuku didn't have. Well, even if he told him he got one, who would believe him? His trust in teachers had faded long ago. 

Teachers were associated with three things. Pain. Consequences. Danger. And the most important rule: You listen to what they say. 

He doubted that would ever change. 

°-°

~3 months ago~

After what happened today, Izuku was quietly sitting in his room devoid of any merchandise or other personal things. He held his 13. Hero Analysis Notebook in his lap, glaring half heartedly at it. 

All the other Notebooks were thrown into his mothers room, half destroyed. He remembered getting a rush of anger when he got scolded by the heroes for saving Kacchan from the sludge monster and trying to destroy them when he got home. He had screamed that day until all the anger left him and he was crying. It had been the same day All Might told him he could become a hero, and he felt so hopeful when he entered his house. But upon seeing the the Notebook, it was as if something had possessed him. 

Right now though, Izuku was thinking about what happened today. He felt as if his sensei Aizawa hated him. He told him that Izuku's quirk was unfit to be a hero, and even after he passed the test, he felt as if his sensei was glaring at him constantly. Judging him. Analyzing him. He hated it, he felt as if he was at his old school again, getting stared at for being quirkless, and that feeling just wouldn't go away.

After he found out he was quirkless, Izuku had started looking at the World of Underground Heroes. And Eraserhead was the closest person to a quirkless hero Izuku had found. He had become his favourite Underground hero since then. 

And now he felt like a complete failure for making his favourite Underground Hero hate him. But what upset him the most, were his eyes that watched him as if he would go and stab someone while he wasn't looking. It were the same eyes that were looking at him in middle school. Surely the teachers from the old school wrote something about his supposed behaviour in the papers you need to have in order to get into U.A. 

It just devastated him, to know that his teacher was just like any other teacher he has ever met. With those cold, narrowed eyes and judging gaze, the boy had hunched in on himself and dashed back to his house after the lessons wete over, locked himself in his room and sat there. 

'God really can't give me a break, can he?' 

The boy chuckled softly, completely out of place with the sad look on his face. Then, the tears started rolling down his cheeks and the boy let himself cry once again. 

~

The Attack on USJ had happened only hours ago. Izuku was sitting on a bridge not too far away from his house. He was looking at the clear water with a dead look in his eyes, his face showing no emotion whatsoever. 

'How can I be such a useless piece of shit?' 

The green haired boy was, once again, beating himself up over what happened. It just felt as if everything was his fault. His sensei got hurt, his friends almost got hurt, but most importantly, All Might got hurt. And it was all his fault. Everything. Maybe if he weren't there, none of it would have happened, maybe everyone would still be okay, or maybe in a better shape. After all, All Might got hurt saving him. He was such a useless piece if shit, he couldn't even help. 

It's as if he was back at Level 0. All the self-confidence he build over the time spent training with All Might was shattered completely. And the voice was back again, plaguing his mind with bad thoughts. He considered jumping from the bridge, it's not as if one student dying would make any difference to his homeroom teacher. It's not like he cared.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his phone ringing. Picking it up, he heard Urarakas cheerful voice through the speaker. "Hey, Deku! Our class is having a meet-up in an hour to get to know each other better. Do you wanna come?"

'A meet-up...', Izuku thought. He looked down at the clear water under him and considered saying no. But it would be selfish to do so, wouldn't it?

Uraraka had actually made the effort to call him, it would be rude to say no.

" Of course, Uraraka-san, where do we meet?" He asked in a happy voice that made him cringe inwardly.

After getting the location from the brown haired girl, he took one last glance at the water beneath him and swung his legs over the bridge to make his way home and get ready.

°-°

~now~

He didn't understand. Why wasn't his sensei saying it? He was not any different from all the other teachers he met, so why?

The last thing Izuku remembered was arriving at USJ and hearing music begin to blast through the speakers. Then everything went dark. When he woke up, he had been confused at first, but the moment he didn't feel his bandages around his arms he started panicking. 

Hearing Aizawas voice made everything even worse. Surely he would expel him now that he found out? 

After a while he had calmed down, but he was afraid of what he would hear. But then his sensei just wouldn't say it, why couldn't he make this easier by saying it?! 

"Why do you think I would say that?" 

He heard Aizawas genuinely confused voice, but he knew better than to look up. He learned not to look at his teacher after having done something wrong. Last time it happened, his eye had been black for a whole week. 

Izuku stayed silent. 

" Midor-"The teacher stopped himself when he saw his student flinch. Guess he'll have to stick to the first name, not tha he minded. He had to find out what was going on with his student. 

" Izuku, look at me. "

He couldn't, it was just a trap, the moment he lifted his head, he would-

"Please."

Shocked, the green haired boy looked up just in time see a hand coming towards him. 'No, no, no,...' 

"No!" The boy screamed out, scrambling as far away from the hand as he could without getting up from the bed. He started shaking again, on the verge of hyperventilating, that he didn't notice the arm falling limply to the teachers side or the way his teacher looked at him with so much worry and sadness. It was so quiet, save for his heavy breathing, he thought that Aizawa-sensei had left. 

Until he felt the bed dip down next to him and oh god, now he would get it, he would - 

A pair of strong arms wrapped around the students torso, pulling him towards a warm chest, someone tucking his head under a chin and running a hand through his hair. 

"Listen Izuku", Shouta started, and Izuku had never heard his sensei sound so soft and concerned. "I don't know what is happening to you. I really don't know, but if something is bothering you, you gotta talk to me. Be it me or someone else, you have to say something. I am not going to expel you for this , but I want you to talk to me or someone else. We are going to get through this, Izuku, I promise. "

Slowly, Izuku let himself relax in his teachers hold upon hearing those words. Maybe... Just maybe his teacher was different than the rest, maybe he really could trust him.... 

" I-It's j-just... I-I don't.... Don't know.... "He started. This was so hard for him. Nobody had ever cared for him like that. Nobody had ever held him like that. 

Izuku was torn between telling his teacher and keeping quiet. He wanted so badly to just pour out everything he had been holding in since he was four, but he was just so so afraid of getting hurt again. 

"I'll wait." 

"Huh?" 

"I'll wait", Aizawa told him. "It's probably too much for you right now, so just relax a little bit. You did good kid, you did really good, you have so much potential. So just rest for a bit. Until you're ready to talk, I'll wait." 

' I'll wait until you come to me.' 

Chapter Text

A tired sigh escaped the teacher's mouth as he opened the door to his home. After what happened today, he knew what his new task would be. But Aizawa was not good with emotions, that's why he needed help, someone Izuku trusted and admired... He could ask All Might, but Izuku would not want that. That's why...

"Hey babe, how was work?" Hisashi greeted his husband. His voice was cheerful and as loud as ever, something that completely contrasted Shouta's quiet and tired one. "Babe?"

The Underground hero shook his head and locked eyes with the other men, who was coming closer by the second. As Present Mic came to stand in front of the other, his brows furrowed in concern. Disheveled hair and slumped shoulders was something Yamada was used to seeing when regarding Shouta. But what concerned him were those black eyes that were filled with so much worry and sadness. It was a sight he usually never saw on his husband. Something had happened. Something bad. 

"What's wrong, Shouta?" he asked. But the man simply shook his head again, sighed and plopped down on the couch. The blonde haired man sat beside the other and they sat together in silence. "It's the Problem child", he finally said, which surprised Present Mic. Aizawa was used to seeing the kid break his bones and land in the hospital, but this time he felt it was something serious. 

"What happened?" The man carefully asked, which resulted in the Underground hero running a hand through his hair and sighing tiredly. 

"... I-It's bad 'Zashi, really bad... I'm not good  with emotions, but he needs someone right now and I don't know how to deal with that." This answer only brought up more questions in Yamada' s head. But just as he was about to speak again, the black haired male continued. " We missed all the signs, babe. All of them. He needed our help and we didn't see, nobody did. "

Yamada was at a complete loss of words. The fact that Aizawa was not speaking clearly worried him. Especially regarding the kid. The small green haired boy was his favourite student. It was just the way he smiled and never gave up, the way he always thought about others first, how he would give his life to save his friends. He was always so motivated and kind and encouraging. There were traits about him that Hisashi didn't like, the main one was the way the boy didn't seem to expect anything from his elders. Hunched in on himself, head down and voice quiet, that's how he always saw him during class. And he didn't understand why. The boy was so cute Yamada wanted Izuku to trust him, but he never asked for help or anything, if he didn't understand something, he would never come to the teacher but would try and figure it out himself. "Speak clearly to me, babe. What is going on?" 

Aizawa looked his husband in the eyes and he felt as if all the wind had been knocked out of his lungs. Sadness, worry, pain, horror. All of those emotions were displayed in those dark eyes. 

Taking a deep breath, Aizawa spoke and Hisashi's blood ran cold. 

"He cuts himself." 

°-°

Kirishima was standing outside the infirmary room. Izuku was just on the other side, probably sleeping, but he couldn't bring himself to open the door. 

The others had already visited Izuku after coming back from USJ, he was the only one who decided to come now, late in the evening. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? Was there evn something he coukd say? How could he help his friend? 

Those were all thoughts swirling around his head. Eijiro was the only one who really SAW Midoriya, having been the closest to him. But what was he supposed to say if the boy woke up? 

"Don't worry much, Kirishima-kun. You'll know what to say when the time comes. But for now, go in first, you have been staring af the door for the past 20 minutes. I have been looking at the clock." Recovery girl was standing beside him and looking up at the red haired boy. It was clear to Kirishima that even Recovery Girl cared for his friend, but as he looked the old woman in the eyes, he saw an emotion he couldn't quite place in those eyes. Not trusting his voice to speak for him, the boy just nodded and ever so slowly opened the door. 

Inside, the freckle faced boy was sleeping soundly, though he looked tense and a bit uncomfortable. Quietly, Eijiro made his way over to the bed, took a chair and sat down right beside his head taking the small - too small, too thin, underweight - hand in his own and squeezed it lightly, as if trying to reassure the sleeping boy. The red haired boy sat like that for a while, in complete silence, before Izuku stirred. Quickly, Kirishima straigthened up with wide eyes as he panicked slightly. 

"Midoriya, Midoriya, are you alright?" He asked, hands roaming over his body to check if something hurt. The boy's eyes slowly fluttered open and for a moment, he saw something that made him stop breathing. So much despair and fear were seen in his eyes, before they focused back on Eijiro and seemingly brightened with an obviously fake smile. It didn't sit right with the red haired male. Why was he smiling when he was obviously upset about something? Why wouldn't he tell someone if something was happening to him? 

"Hey, Kirishima-kun, what are u doing here?" 

'I'll just play along... For now', the red haired boy thought before answering just as cheerful. "I just came to visit! After, you know... What happened at USJ... everyone visited you while you were still asleep, I think three hours ago." 

The green haired boy's brows furrowed in confusion, his smile falling a little. "Then... Why are you still here...?" 

"Actually... I wanted to talk to you about something..." After that statement, Kirishima could clearly feel the tension in the way Izuku froze. He knew that the green haired boy most likely knew what he wanted to talk about. The smile now completely wiped off his face, as if it had never been there before, Midoriya quietly, ever so hesitantly asked. "What.... Did you want to talk about?" 

Now that he asked, Eijiro started panicking slightly. He should have prepared himself before coming here, he should have thought about what to say... "Well...", he started, fumbling nervously with his hands. With a sigh, the red haired boy stood up from the chair and sat on the bed. A look of fear passed the freckled faced boy's face and he flinched slightly, making Kirishima feel even worse than before. He noticed now, he was afraid of him and clearly uncomfortable, but... He couldn't. Kirishima's eyes hardened in determination and he took a deep breath. He couldn't let it go. Not now. Not after all that. After closing his eyes and taking another deep breath, he opened them again. 

"Why aren't you eating?"

"... W-what...?"Izuku's eyes widened in shock and his mouth opened, then closed again. He sat like a gaping fish for a while, before he slumped in the bed and averted his eyes to look at his hands. But he didn't answer. That only confirmed Eijiro's suspicion. Something serious was happening. "Please, Midori- Izuku", the boy quickly changed the way he reffered to Izuku upon seeing him flinch slightly again. "Please, Izuku. I'm your friend, why won't you talk to me?" 

Desperately, Kirishima reached out to place both hands on the other's shoulder, but froze midway, his hands still in the air. Izuku's expression morphed into one if confusion and he shifted slightly. "K-Kirishima...? "

"What the fuck is that?" The red head growled, still glaring at the other boy's shoulder. There, covering half of the teenager's neck and shoulder was a big scar. It wouldn't have been noticeable, but Midoriya's suit had ripped right on this spot, and the scar was very well visible. As he slowly reached out to trace the scar, Eijiro's frown only deepened and he let out a shaky breath. The scar was, by the looks of it, really old, maybe three or four years old. And it wasn't just a scar, it was a burn. A big, burn scar. An explosion shaped scar. 

The red haired boy took a deep breath and looked up at Izuku. Said boy's eyes widened at what he saw. Eijiro's eyes were shining so bright with fury he almost flinched away, but they also held so much pain and confusion. A dark, murderous aura seemed to surround him as he slowly pressed his next words out through gritted teeth. "Who. The fuck. Did. This?" 

Afraid to move, the green haired boy stared at his friend, not comprehending why looking at his shoulder caused that reaction. And then realization hit him. 'Shit, shit, shit, the scar....' 

Getting nervous all of a sudden, he dropped his gaze and fumbled with his hands, feeling like the boy in front of him was going to drown him with that look. "Um-Um... This... I-It's... Nothing... Nothing at all..." 

That seemed to snap Kirishima out of his trance as he scowled and exclaimed. "Do not come at me with that shit! This is a burn mark, an EXPLOSION shaped burn mark!" At that statement, Kirishima grabbed both of his shoulders and shook him slightly, his expression melting to a pained one. "H-How did that happen, who d-did this?" As the red haired teenager seemed to think about his words, a million possibilities ran through his mind and stopped at one in particular. A burn mark... An explsion shaped burn mark... Letting out a small gasp he spoke."No... Don't tell me... ?" 

Desperately trying to wriggle out of the other boy's grasp, Midoriya shook his head, tears gathering in his eyes. "No, no... T-This happened... At training..." 

"That's not true!!!" Kirishima shouted, his own eyes glistening with tears. When he saw how hard he held Midoriya's shoulders, he let his friend go as if burned. Instead he gripped the bed sheets so hard his knuckles were turning white. "That mark is too old to be from training, and I know exactly someone who can create explosions with his hands!" 

He didn't want to believe it, he wanted Izuku to look at him and say he's wrong, but the signs were all there, laid out in front of him. 

And when Izuku started crying he knew. 

Slowly, Eijiro wrapped his arms around the other boy, his own tears falling when he heard his friend's quiet sobs turn into heartbreaking wails. The original purpose of coming to visit has been left forgotten as Kirishima watched his friend break down completely.

They sat like that for at least an hour before Midoriya's cries turned into soft hiccups once in a while. His head was buried in Kirishima's chest and he was clinging to him in anguish as all the walls he built around himself had been shattered, and why? Because of a single question. A question that held a horrifying truth. 

Not wanting to scare him, the red haired boy carefully pulled away a bit and wiped his friend's tears with his hands. He closed his eyes for a moment to collect his thoughts,and when he did, he opened his eyes that held a determined glint in them. "Please, tell me... Did Bakugou do this to you? You went to school together, didn't you?" 

The silence he reseived was all he needed as an answer. His expression shifted and an angry expression crossed his face. "But why? I know he doesn't like you, but what happened to cause this scar?" 

As the freckle faced boy looked up, a silent plea was etched into his expression. Please don't ask anymore. 

And damn his soft heart for giving in, but he understood. It was probably too much for one day. After all Eijiro heard that Aizawa hadn't left until the Class arrived. "It's okay", he said after a while of silence. "I won't ask anymore, but if anything happens or you need to talk, please come to me. Come to me and we'll talk. I care about you, Izuku. You're like, one of my best friends and you can always count on me. And not only on me. Kaminari, Sero, Mina, Uraraka, lida, Shinsou, Todoroki, fuck this, the whole Class cares about you. I bet even Aizawa-sensei and Present Mic and all the other teachers do. So please, talk to someone if not me. "

He laid his hand on top of the other's head, amazed at how soft his hair was-he definitely had to remember this for some other purpose- and carded his hand through the fluffy green curls. Relief washed over him in waves as he saw the boy hesitantly nod and smiled. 

They sat like that for a while until Izuku's eyes began closing, so Kirishima laid him down on the bed and tucked him in. "Also", he quietly added before softly closing the door. "We still are going to talk about that eating habit of yours." 

And with a smile, he was gone. 

Izuku was left alone, but that didn't bother him too much at the moment. He quietly stared at the stars outside the window and closed his eyes. 'Talk to somene, huh... If only that would be so easy.' 

°-°

It was already nighttime when Kirishima arrived back at the dorms, but he was still wide awake, and by the looks of it, all of his other classmates were too. At least judging by how the lights were still on. He opened the front door and stepped in, but was greeted with tense silence. 

Quietly making his way to the living room, he saw Kaminari, Sero, Uraraka, Asui, Todoroki, Mina, lida, Jirou and Momo. They turned their heads upon hearing him enter, but otherwise remained silent until Mina spoke up. "How is he?" Her voice was quiet, worried. So unlike her usual loud and cheerful one. Kirishima sighed and plopped down on the couch beside Kaminari. "It's... I don't know. For now, he's okay, but I don't know if he's okay in general." 

Nodding, everyone fell silent once again, lost in their own thoughts. The only sound heard was the clock ticking and the student's breathing. No more questions were asked, everybody sorting their thoughts and worrying about a friend... 

Two hours passed and everyone went to sleep. It was only Kaminari, Sero and Kirishima left." There was something else that happened, wasn't there?" Denki suddenly asked, surprising Eijiro. The red haired boy stayed silent for a while before nodding. "I saw.... Something I wasn't meant to see. I-It's not only about Izuku." 

"What did you see?" Sero asked, his gaze calm, but also with a hint of worry for his green haired friend. Kirishima sighed and looked up, his eyes holding confusion and despair in them. "It's... I don't know what happened. I-I was talking to h-him, and t-then... I saw that... That scar on his shoulder..." 

"Scar?" Kaminari asked in confusion. 

"Yeah...it-it was a big one, it covered half of his hand and down his shoulder... I- it's not a secret that we all have scars, but that scar.... It was really old. Like, three or four years old, but that wasn't what caught my attention."

"And what did?" The blonde and black haired boy asked simultaneously, posture tense and expression worried, but also curios. Kirishima felt some of his anger return but willed himself to calm down.

"It was a burn mark. An Explosion shaped burn mark." He looked pointedly at his two friends, whose eyes widened noticeably.

"You-You don't think-" Kaminari gasped, looking to an equally shocked Sero. "I don't think. I know. Shit, guys... It's - He started crying after I asked if Bakubro did it, that was enough of an answer, and you too know they both went to the same school."

"We know, but- I mean it's- did he tell you what happened to cause this scar?" Kirishima shook his head.

"I asked, but it was obvious he didn't want to answer that just yet. So I didn't press any further. The only thing we can do as his friends is be there for him, but I think it's time we have a talk with Bakugou. Maybe he'll tell us something." Hanta and Denki both nodded in understanding and agreed.

" I just- I can't believe he would do that. It's illegal to use his quirk on a person unless it's a villain and you are defending yourself",Kaminari quietly said after a while, his expression tired, but the worry was still there.

"I think", Sero spoke up, his voice uncertain."Maybe it was an accident or something. We shouldn't judge too early..." 

"You're right... Anyway, I think I'll ask him about it tomorrow when we're alone. And then I'll tell you what happened." Kirishima stood up and gave them a small tired smile, hoping for a good outcome.

After wishing everyone a good night, Eijiro plopped down on his bed and quietly stared out of the window. He wished that Bakugou would tell him it was an accident tomorrow. But with the reaction he got out of Izuku, and judging by Bakugou's personality, could he really hope that? 

'I'll ask tomorrow, and hopefully we will solve everything...' 

Chapter Text

"H-He's doing what??"

Present Mic couldn't help but shout in shock at what he heard. He looked his husband in the face to see if it was just a joke, but to his horror, Aizawa was completely serious. His eyes were haunted and pained, but at that moment, Hizashi couldn't feel any better. His student was cutting himself... His cutest, happiest, kindest, friendliest student was cutting himself! Just how nuch had they missed? How could they have let that happen?

"And you're sure they're..." The blonde haired man trailed off, hoping for any other kind of answer. Of course, that's not what he got. Shouta shook his head a little. "There were many of them, 'Zashi, so many... And its been happening for a long while."

Yamada grabbed his head in shock and took a deep, shaky breath. He didn't say anything, but a single tear rolled down his cheek and he didn't bother wiping it away.

"Wh-What can we d-do?" The man quietly asked, looking over to Shota, who was glaring at the floor as if it was at fault.

"There are just too many things that don't add up." The black haired male said, clenching his fists as Hizashi looked at him in confusion. "What doesn't add up?" Aizawa's head wipped around to look at his husband, eyes hard and determined, though the worry and confusion was clear to see.

"Everything. He cuts, he didn't write the number of his mother's phone on the papers we teachers need for emergencies, the way he acts.."

Suddenly, the man jumped up and looked at Yamada, the other man couldn't do anything except for listen to what the underground hero had to say, for he had never seen his husband act the way he did now. 

" We are going to talk to All Might first. Maybe he knows something. Then we go to Nedzu. And I also want to talk to Izuku's mother." Present Mic nodded and stood up too, murmuring under his breath. "Since when does he call him by his first name?", and then he called out a little louder to Shota, who was already walking out of the door. "Can I call him Izuku too?"

°-°

Todoroki was making his way towards the medical room Izuku was in in fast strides. His expression was calm, but everyone who crossed his way covered in fear, because in the depths of those heterochromatic eyes lingered a beast that was waiting to kill its prey. 

Innerly, the boy felt like skinning a certain blonde alive, then stabbing him with a big, sharp kitchen knife, then burn his face with boiling water and then rip out his organs. Usually, those thoughts wouldn't cross his mind, but after what he overheard, he was beyond furious. 

"Yeah...it-it was a big one, it covered half of his neck and down his shoulder... I- it's not a secret that we all have scars, but that scar.... It was really old. Like, three or four years old, but that wasn't what caught my attention."

Todoroki stopped as he overheard those words, knowing that they were talking about the green haired boy Kirishima had  visited. His brows furrowed and he leaned onto the wall to secretly listen what they were talking about.

"And what did?" He was actually curious too. After all, Izuku became one of the closest persons to him he knew.

"It was a burn mark. An Explosion shaped burn mark."

"You-You don't think-"

Shouto's eyes widened as he realised what Kaminari was implying. He clenched his fists as he remembered that Izuku had once told them he and Bakugou were childhood friends and went to the same school.

"I don't think. I know. Shit, guys... It's - He started crying after I asked if Bakubro did it, that was enough of an answer, and you too know they both went to the same school."

That was enough of an answer he needed. He quietly made his way upstairs and set his alarm clock on 7 am. He definitely was going to be the first one to talk to Izuku the next morning. And he was going to get an aswer, no matter what.

He knew exactly what that burn meant, but he needed confirmation from Midoriya. His childhood hadn't been the best and he had dealt with pain before, but if what Shouto was thinking about Izuku was true, then everything was a lot worse than he imagined. 

As he came to stand before the door with the name tag 'IZUKU MIDORIYA' on it, he paused. A look of determination crossed his face and he pushed open the door. 

Inside, he saw his friend staring quietly out of the window. He didn't seem to acknowledge Todoroki, even as he came closer. 

The red and white haired teen cleared his throat. The freckle faced boy flinched hard and whipped his head around to look at the intruder. As he saw Shouto, he relaxed visibly. "O-Oh, Todoroki-kun... What brings you here?" 

He noticed how off the slightly taller male seemed. His eyes were hard and seemingly staring at his shoulder, right where his burn mark was located. But he couldn't know, right? 

"We need to talk." Even his voice was cold, which started to scare Izuku. But he tried not to show anything.

"A-About what?" he nervously asked.

He had an idea about what, but everything seemed so unreal. First Aizawa-sensei, then Kirishima and now Todoroki. He couldn't understand anything and that was weighing him down. He didn't get any sleep because his brain had been trying to comprehend why everyone was so nice, but he couldn't come up with any reasons at all.

"Let's start about how Bakugou was abusing you." His eyes widened. How had he found out? Did someone tell him? But that's impossible... Maybe he could lie to him and convince him that everything was alright. Altough knowing Todoroki, that would be impossible. But it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?

" W-What are y-you talking abo-"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!!" Todoroki slammed his hands onto the bed, right beside the other teen. Scared by the sudden outburst, Izuku yelped in terror as a sudden memory crossed his mind.

He fell off the bed and pressed himself as close to the wall as possible, in the corner farthest away from Todoroki. The tears trickled down his face subconsciously as he started shaking, his mind recalling various occasions of the kids, the teachers, and even his own mother shouting at him like that.

Shouto only held his mouth in shock. He hadn't meant to shout, but he also didn't expect that kind of reaction. Even he himself, who knows what childhood trauma is, had never lost control of himself like that. His eyes darkened in sorrow as he thought about what was happening. He definitely was going to find out. Slowly, holding his hands up in a, what he hoped was a harmless position, and crept closer. The boy on the floor didn't move, but then again, he wasn't even looking at him anymore. As he came to stand in front of his friend, his eyes noted just how badly he was shaking. Worry flooded his mind as he thought about how to calm him down.

"M-Midoriya..." The boy spoke, hands hovering over the trembling bundle. Shakily, he heard the green haired boy mutter something. "S-S-Sorr-Sorry..."

Shouto's brows knitted in confusion and painful understanding. He must have been right. Izuku had been abused by someone, most likely Bakugou, but he couldn't blame anyone without finding out first.

He reached out and gently touched his friend's shoulder, ignoring his flinch and pulled the boy towards himself. Todoroki wrapped his arms around the shaking teen in a secure hold and softly began drawing circles on his back. He lightly rocked back and forth, hoping to calm Midoriya down.  "I'm sorry for scaring you Midor-"

"I-I-Izuk-ku, please call me..." He heard a soft voice whisper and nodded. His shirt was getting soaked by the tears the boy was sheeding on his chest, but he didn't care in the least. His eyes were wide, still shocked at how Izuku reacted, and his hold on his friend only tightened by the second. Protect him, protect him, protect him, was what his mind was telling him to do. Like a mantra. 

The half-hot half-cold quirk user concluded that Bakugou was not the only thing that's been happening to the green haired boy in his arms. It was a lot more than that... 

"Are you okay now?" he heard himself say as he noted how Midoriya quieted down and his breath slowly evened out. The boy in his arms nodded shakily and pulled away to wipe his tears. "T-Thank you, T-Todor-roki-kun..." 

"Don't mention it", he immediately answered, standing up and pulling Izuku up with him. With great effort, the freckle faced boy was now sitting back on the bed, the other teen sitting on the edge of it. 

"So..." Izuku slowly mumbled out, not sure how to continue. 

"I swear that I will not tell anyone about anything that happens in this room. But I also don't want you to lie to me. You don't have to answer verbally, just nod for a 'yes' and shake your head for a 'no'. If I make you uncomfortable in any way, tell me. Got it? "As Izuku nodded, Todoroki took a deep breath and started. 

"Has Bakugou been abusing you before you came to U.A.?" A nod. 

"Has the abuse been verbal AND physical?"  A hesitant nod. Shouto's eyes grew colder with each question. 

"Has only Bakugou been abusing you?"

He saw the boy tense slightly. Then a small, almost unnoticeable nod. He sighed. 

Asking Izuku who had also been doing it was impossible, he wouldn't get any answers out of him. Not now, when he was in this situation. " I won't ask anymore. But know this", Todoroki told his friend, who was looking at him with big, relieved eyes. 

"I won't let him anywhere near you, or else I'll see that bastard's face smashed against a wall after I burnt him until he would be unrecognizable. Understood?" 

The shock on the smaller boy's face was understandable, Todoroki himself would have never thought to use such words, or feel the way he did now. But it was all legitimate. Izuku was his friend, thanks to whom he could use both his quirks now and not just the half-cold one. "B-B-But, T-Todoroki-kun, i-isn't that a bit t-too..." 

"You heard me, and I'm not gonna change my mind", Shouto retorted immediately. "I don't know what happened to you, but now, you have friends to help you get through this." Izuku had tears in his eyes, Todoroki's words were just so surreal and he didn't want to believe him, because he didn't want to get disappointed again. He didn't want to get hurt again. 

"Also", the boy with hetero chromatic added. "I won't ask now, but don't think I won't find out everything you have kept us in the dark about. You helped me, so now we will help you too." 

And after that, he was gone. Midoriya was left to think about what happened once again. The tears he tried to hold in escaped his eyes and left tear tracks carved on his cheeks. For a long while, he just sat there with red eyes, trying to figure out why someone like Kirishima, Todoroki, or even Aizawa-sensei would want to help someone as disgusting as him. 

"Why is this happening to me..." 

he whispered, and covering his face with his arms, he dissolved into tears once more.

°-°

"Bakubro! Wait up!" Kirishima called out to the blonde haired man in front of him who was grumbling something about him fucking off. 

"The fuck ya want, shitty hair?" 

Ignoring the insult, Kirishima organized his thoughts and took a deep breath. 

"We need to talk." 

Usually, Katsuki would scream about how everyone should fuck off and mind their own business amd leave him alone, but something about the look he was getting made him comply. The red haired boy's eyes were cold amd hard, which set alarm bells off in his head. He didn't like it one bit and had a bad feeling, but stopped walking anyway. "Watcha need? I don't have all day! " 

Eijiro's eyes didn't seem to soften, instead it seemed as if they were piercing his soul whilst glaring at him with bright, furious red eyes. The stare continued for a few more minutes, until he cleared his throat amd spoke.

"Have you been using your quirk on Izuku before U.A.?"

Bakugou's eyes widened. 'Shit, who told him...?' 

Not replying to the question, he decided to look at the floor, which seemed more interesting than everything else at the moment. He could feel Kirishima's disbelieving gaze filled with horror on him and shut his eyes. 

After what happened at USJ, he had spent the last days thinking about the green haired boy. He knew that what he had been doing to his childhood friend all his life was wrong, but in a sick, twisted way he still believed that Izuku was looking down on him. He had intended to keep quiet about their past, but hearing that question was a shock to him. If someone found out.... He couldn't even dare think about what happened. 

"Bro... But why?? Izuku is the kindest, friendliest, most determined and encouraging person I know, why would you-"

"Actually, this is something I also would like to know. "Bakugou looked up and Kurishima turned around to see a very angry looking Todoroki leaning against the wall. 

"Todorki, what-"

I have been talking to Izuku just now, but he wouldn't tell me a thing. I know you are a bastard, but I've never realised what a rotten piece of shit you were. So", he continued. "I think both Kirishima and I would love to hear what you have done to our friend." He and the red haired boy locked eyes and Todoroki nodded. Kirishima seemed to understand him, seeing as he nodded back and turned back to look at the blonde haired male. 

"It's none of your business, fuckers!" 

Now, he had expected for the teens to shout at him, walk way, anything really, but he wasn't prepared for the fist that connected with his cheek. Looking up in shock, he saw Kirishima's tear filled glare. 

"Dammit, bro! How can you say that?! He is one of my best bros and I can't stand to see him hurt, of course it's our business!!" His hand helplessly fell to his side and the red haired boy's eyes grew pained."You're my bro, Bakugou and you're really manly and cool and shit, but if what me and Todoroki think is true, I won't just stand aside and do nothing." 

Eijiro clenched his fists and gave his coldest glare he could muster. 

"We won't let you anywhere near him, we are going to protect him from now on." 

"And if you even hurt him again, I will personally skin you alive, then burn you with my quirk, freeze your intestines with my quirk and after I cooked them I'm going to feed them to the dogs on the street." Todoroki ignored the look he was getting from Kirishima and turned around to walk out of the dorm.

Looking back at Katsuki for one last time, Kirishima hurried out of the front door to get to the classroom. 

Bakugou was left alone in the dorm, the others having already left. Sliding down the wall, he touched the cheek were the red haired boy had hit him. An image of a young Izuku holding his hand out and asking if he was okay crossed his mind, and for the first time in a while, he let his emotions out, feeling the regret eat him alive. Wasting no time, Bakugou walked out of the door with his head down and slammed the door shut behind him. 

°-°

Aizawa and Hisashi were walking down the floor towards the teachers lounge, where they knew All Might would be. 

"Hello Aizawa, Yamada!" Various teachers greeted the pair, both nodding in acknowledgement but otherwise scanning the area to find a certain blonde haired man sitting on a couch whilst drinking tea and chatting with another teacher. 

"All Might." Aizawa said. Said man looked up and smiled. 

"Hello Aizawa, Yamada, how can I help you?" 

The underground hero pointed to the door. "One word." 

Toshinori wanted to retort, explain that he was enjoying a nice conversation with a colleague, but stopped once he saw the hard look he was getting. A nod and he excused himself. 

"So, what concerns you that you needed to talk alone?" Eraserhead and Present Mic shared a look, before the latter spoke up. 

"It's about Izuku." All Might suddenly got nervous at the way Present Mic was behaving. Usually he was very loud and happy, a complete contrast to his now serious expression. 

"About young M-Midoriya?" he asked, unsure of what could be wrong. He had visited his successor yesterday and he seemed to be completely fine. Eventough Recovery Girl was giving him a look he could not quite place, and nobody would tell him what happened at USJ, he had thought nothing was wrong.

"I'm gonna make it simple." The dark haired pro hero sighed and looked up to meet Toshinori's eyes. The look Yagi as getting from Aizawa really started to scare him. To everyone else, it seemed like the usual, bored expression, but he saw, he saw the underlying horrors they held. 

" Did you know that Izuku cuts?" 

All Might's heart stopped and his breath caught in his throat, the words finally catching up on him. "Young M-Midoriya...?" The man whispered with growing horror, not believing what he heard. 

"Shit.... So you didn't know either... And what about his mother, have you met her before?" 

The number one hero was shocked by what he heard, but seemed to think about the latter question. "No... I didn't." came the answer after a while. He saw Aizawa and Present Mic share a look AGAIN and was about to ask what was happening, when Present Mic answered. "We're going to talk to Nedzu about everything and then we'll meet up with Izuku's mother, and you are coming with us." 

"Of course I am, but I would like to know what happened first." Yagi said. Izuku held a special place in his heart and he would do whatever it took to help him get better. Painful understanding crossed All Might's face as he remembered the bandages his successor was always wearing. 'So that's why...' 

"We'll tell you on the way to Nedzu's office." Toshinori nodded and hurried to walk beside the married heroes, who started explaining eberything that happened during the last few days. 

"No, that was definitely not part of young Midoriya' s quirk. We have been training before and what you explained to me has definitely never happened before." 

All Might tried to recall any occasionts like those, maybe where his student had told him something about it, but couldn't come up with anything. And after all it was his own quirk he lassed on, so he himself should know if what happened was part of the quirk or not. 

"Seems like we have another problem... Why is this always happening to that problem child?" Shouta muttered under his breath, thinking about all the sleepless nights he's going to have thanks to his student. 

Beside him, Yamada and Toshinori chuckled, beofre growing serious once again. 

" Recovery Girl said he has a quirk appointment tomorrow, Aizawa's going to be present." Hisashi told the other blonde man. 

"But why is he still in the hospital?" Aizawa stopped. 

"He is underweight and tired. Doesn't look like he got any sleep the last two months. She said she wants to have him with her for a few more days." The dark haired man explained. "He's going to get discharged right after the appointment." 

With that, all three males resumed walking towards a certain principal's office, hoping to get some answers. 

"Wait! What about the rest of the class?" 

"I told Midnight and a few other teachers to be with them until school ends." 

°-°

Shinsou was usually not one to be interested in other people's business. Everyone had kept their distance from him out of fear of his quirk, and he had neber bothered to make friends. 

So how Midoriya Izuku forced his way into his life, was still a mystery to the purple haired teen. In a way, the green haired boy was just really likeable. After the Sport's Festival, he thought everxthing would go back to normal, but no, that Midoriya was trying to talk to him wherever he went. Beofre sxchool, during school, after school, during lunch break, when they saw each other on weekends. 

At first, it was horrible for Hitoshi. Having a personal stalker was kind of creepy,but slowly he had started to warm up to the freckle faced boy. After some time, Izuku straight up came to him and had wanted to ask about the brainwashing quirk. 

Shinsou thought that this was it, he was like everyone else, but the questions he got were completely unexpected and based on pure curiousity. 

That was the first time someone thought his quirk was cool. 

The two of them became really good friends, to the point where he would come with Class 1-A to the training grounds and went to their dorm. But he always felt as if there was something to Izuku nobody knew. As if there was something much darker inside of him he couldn't quite place. 

It was no secret that Shinsou himself had secrets. He hadn't told anyone about how the kids in his old school were afraid of him, making fun of him, just because he had a quirk that could brainwash people. But with Midoriya, there was something else. Nobody could smile 24/7 and truly be happy. Nobody. 

And for the first time in his life, he wanted to find out what it was. So like he said, he wasn't usually one to be interested in other people's business, but his feet still led him to the medical room his friend was in. He passed mamy classrooms and the teachers lounge, down to the medical wing of the school. And the closer he got, the more louder he could hear a nice voice singing a song he didn't know. The voice sounded familiar, and incredibly sad. 

Do you ever feel like breaking down?

Do you ever feel out of place?

Like somehow you just don't belong

And no one understands you

The words he heard had an actual meaning, and the closer he got, the more confused he got, seeing as he had an idea who it was that was singing. 

Do you ever wanna run away?

Do you lock yourself in your room?

With the radio on turned up so loud

That no one hears you screaming

No you don't know what it's like

When nothing feels alright

You don't know what it's like to be like me

To be hurt

To feel lost

To be left out in the dark

To be kicked

When you're down

To feel like you've been pushed around

To be on the edge of breaking down

And no one understands you

No you don't know what it's like

Welcome to my life

As Shinsou came to stand in front of Izuku's room, he gasped in shock. It was indeed the green haired male who was sitting, but that wasn't what shocked Hitoshi. It was the purple light surrounding Izuku and the floating purple notes. Midoriya didn't seem to notice him through the door, seeing as he had his eyes closed. But wht the hell was happening? A quirk? But that was impossible, he had a completely different quirk. 'What the hell...' 

He would have barged in into the room, but meaning of the lyrics made him stop. Why was he singing that? Was he really feeling like that? 

Do you wanna be somebody else?

Are you sick of feeling so left out?

Are you desperate to find something more

Before your life is over

Are you stuck inside a world you hate?

Are you sick of everyone around?

With their big fake smiles and stupid lies

While deep inside you're bleeding

Hitoshi felt as if he had been thrown into ice cold water. He had a theory about Izuku hiding something, but those lyrics... Big fake smiles and stupid lies?! Just what had they missed? What could probably cause his friend to feel like that? 

No you don't know what it's like

When nothing feels alright

You don't know what it's like to be like me

To be hurt

To feel lost

To be left out in the dark

To be kicked

When you're down

To feel like you've been pushed around

To be on the edge of breaking down

And no one's there to save you

No you don't know what it's like

Welcome to my life

No one ever lied straight to your face

And no one ever stabbed you in the back

You might think I'm happy

But I'm not gonna be ok

Everybody always gave you what you wanted

You never had to work it was always there

You don't know what it's like

What it's like

To be hurt

To feel lost

To be left out in the dark

To be kicked

When you're down

To feel like you've been pushed around

To be on the edge of breaking down

And no one's there to save you

No you don't know what it's like

To be hurt

To feel lost

To be left out in the dark

To be kicked

When you're down

To feel like you've been pushed around

To be on the edge of breaking down

And no one's there to save you

No you don't know what it's like

Welcome to my life

Welcome to my life

Welcome to my life

The song came to an end and Hitoshi couldn't wait anymore. Opening the door, his eyes met big, shocked green ones and the light around him disappeared along with the floating purple notes.

"S-S-Shinsou...?"

°-°

Bakugou didn't go to class like the rest of the students, after what happened he just left and aimlessly walked around the city. Eventually, he got lost in thoughts and looking up, he found himself in a forest. His eyes widened as he recognized what part of the forest his feet brought him to.

Everything was still the same. The river was as clear as back then, and the tree trunk was still there too. 'When did I...'

His breath caught in his throat as he saw a familiar heart carved into a tree beside the river.

K+I

That was what was carved in the heart. Lightly touching the carving, he remembered the day it was made.

It had been a sunny day, he and Deku hadn't had their quirks yet and went to play in the forest. Unfortunately, they got lost in it and couldn't find a way out. It was evening and both of them were really tired and eventually came to this very river. They had sat beside this tree and watched the water flow. Katsuki, being the genius he was, managed to make a small fire and so they sat beside each other. After a while, Izuku had fallen asleep while he himself had watched his childhood friend. After that, he had carved those names in the tree trunk with a heart and smiled.

Not even noticing the tears that filled his eyes, Bakugou continued staring at the tree. After a while, he furiously wiped his eyes and turned around, climbing onto the tree trunk over the river and sitting down. 

Thinking about what Kirishima and Todoroki said, he was conflicted between what he thought was right all his life and what all the others thought. 

On one side, he had believed his whole life that what he did to Izuku was justified, seeing as he constantly looked down on the blonde head, but thinking about it now, he noticed how Izuku would flinch when he came close and stop talking how he did when he was with his friends. He wouldn't even start to mumble beside him. He should be happy, he finally got what he had always wanted. A deku that would respect him, or for that matter, be afraid of him. 

But why couldn't he feel happy about it? 

Everytime he saw the boy flinch, his heart felt heavy. Everything he did around Bakugou reminded him that once, they had been happy together. And now... 

The blonde boy shook his head. Where did those thoughts come from? 

He shouldn't think like that, he should be focused on becoming a pro hero. 

Sadly, he got the feeling that something would happen to Deku. Something bad. 

And then he would have to decide whether to step up and leave his past behind or let everything they way it always had been. But thinking about it, it was probably time to grow up and mature. 

'But if I do, will you forgive me... Deku...?' 

°-°

"Finally, we are going to meet again." 

A man in his late forties was standing in front of a monitor, which showed a picture of a green haired boy in a hospital bed. The room was dark, the only light source being the screen. A single chair was located beside the man. Behind the man, the burned corpse of a woman was lying on the ground and bleeding profusely, indicating that she had been killed not long ago. 

The man himself was tall and handsome. He had curly black hair and scars on his face, the most prominent one being the one that went from just above his right eyebrow down to his right cheek. His eyes were a cold, vibrant red color which were crazily glaring at the screen and he had a devious, sly grin on his face whilst laughing maniacally. 

"I'm going to get you soon... Midoriya Izuku!" 

Chapter Text

"S-S-Shinsou...?" the green haired boy stuttered out, eyes wide open in shock. Said boy was looking at his friend with equally big eyes, not really comprehending what he just saw.

"What...What the fuck?!" 

The purple haired boy shouted out in frustration. He saw Izuku start to panic, so he willed himself to calm down and take deep breaths. 

"I-It's n-n-nothing.. I-" 

"This didn't look like nothing to me." Hitoshi cut him off, staring at his friend with narrowed eyes. He had never seen anything like this and he didn't think something like this was part of Izuku's quirk. That - that something had been making Midoriya glow purple - not that it looked bad, the color really suited him - And those notes... Just - what the fuck... 

'I want to go home', he internally screamed, feeling the urge to just forget what happened, go home and sleep. But of course he couldn't do that, because the moment he stepped through the door, Izuku's secret became his business too. 

Izuku on the other hand was mentally slapping himself in the face. How could he start singing so carelessly?! He couldn't even control that strange quirk and totally forgot that purple light and the notes would appear! 

'Well, aren't you a completely retarded fuck?' 

Shut up

I think you know me well enough to know that I won't. All of your dumb mistakes that could have been avoided if you had killed yourself are SOOOOOO entertaining! Someone bring the popcorn!! HahaHaHahAhA! 

Please... Just stop... 

I still wonder why you didn't kill yourself though, it's not like anyone cares about you!

But Kirishima does, and Aizawa-sensei and Todoro-

You really think that? Face it, they only cared because if something happened to you, it would be bad for U.A's reputation!

No... No... 

You can deny as long as you want, but you know I'm right. Who in the world would care about useless, quirkless Deku? A filthy liar who drove his family apart! 

"-riya?"

The moment everyone learns the truth about you, they will all be disgusted by you!

Y-You're wrong - I-

You thought your mother cared too, and look where we are now.

"-doriya?? Mido-"

Just shut up, okay?? I know you're right, I KNOW!! 

"IZUKU!!" 

As he somewhat came to his senses again, he was distantly aware of someone shouting his name and noticed how he was shaking, tears were spilling from his eyes and he was gasping for air. He really was pathetic, wasn't he? Having a full-on panic attack just because of some words.

"Izuku? Are you okay?" 

" Wha- I-"

" Relax." Hitoshi commanded as he pulled Izuku under his control. Beneath his touch, he felt the green haired boy's shoulders slump as the tension drained from him. He held his quirk active for a while, before slowly letting Izuku come to his senses again. The boy blinked several times before his eyes focused on Shinsou. 

"Shinsou? W-What happened?" 

"You just started panicking so I used my quirk to get you to relax." The purple haired male answered, his eyes narrowed as he thought about how to get his friend to speak to him truthfully. He only came up with one idea, but using his quirk to force answers out of the first person who genuinely had thought his quirk was cool was just evil. He wouldn't dare do that to the first person he had ever called a friend. 

"Oh." The silence they sat in was suffocating, Izuku having a depressed aura surround him. He wanted to deny it, but he actually knew the voice was right. Every. Single. Thing. Was right. 

"Can you tell me what that light was?" Shinsou quietly asked. He could tell the purple haired male, but if he did, what would the boy think about him? He could already hear the disgusted voice in his head. 

"So you're telling me, that you had a quirk but did not use it? Pathetic, how could god even waste a quirk on someone like you?" 

"Midoriya?" Shinsou asked and Izuku could start crying again. Lately, he hadn't felt comfortable with anyone calling him Midoriya. His mother used to call him Izuku to calm him down, but after what happened with his father, she started calling him various names, but never his own. So hearing his classmates and sensei calling him that helped him get his emotions under control again. "Sh-Shinsou, um, c-could y-you, um, if you d-d-don't mi-mind, call m-me mayb-maybe I-I-Izuku? I m-mean, um, y-you don't have to and I just t-thought, w-well, um, a-actually.. F-forget it, I-I-" 

He was cut off by a hand on his head. 

'Well, people sure like to touch me these days...' 

The green haired boy looked up and was met with a pair of tired, violet eyes, though they were shining a little with curiosity and worry. " It's okay, Izuku. "

" Oh." He whispered quietly, trying to relax under his friend's touch. Shinsou was a really nice friend and he really liked hanging out with the purple haired boy, but the way he acted reminded him of Aizawa sensei, whom, he really was ashamed to admit, was afraid of. In Midoriya's opinion, his teacher was just like any other teacher he had, and the fact that he called him problem child proved that he was right. 

"Oh my, what a problem child."

"That child is always making problems, why can't the principal just expel him." 

"Stop starting fights with other students. Gosh why must you be such a problem child?!" 

And Aizawa would be no exception, no matter what he had told him. "Izuku?" 

Shit, he spaced out again.

"Y-Yeah, I'm alright." He answered and put on the most convincing smile he could muster. But it slowly started fading under the glare he received. "Don't say you're alright when you're not." 

Shinsou held the gaze for a few more minutes, then sighed and looked away. "Listen, I know that you don't want to talk about it, but you leave me no choice. Either you tell me yourself or I'll use my quirk on you." 

Midoriya's eyes widened in shock. He really would... No, he couldn't tell him. What if someone else found out? But... The quirk specialist would find out tomorrow anyway, and he could trust Hitoshi, right? And what did he have to loose anyway? It's not like he didn't count with someone expelling him at one point. A dream could only last that long, after all... 

" Well... " Izuku began and Hitoshi's head snapped back into the other boy's direction. Part of him wanted to go back to bed and sleep forever, but Izuku was different, he... He was there for Shinsou, so now he was going to be there for his friend. 

" I-It's actually my-my quirk..." he stuttered out and looked down at his lap, awaiting some kind of reaction. When there wasn't any after a few minutes, Midoriya looked back up again and met Shinsou's eyes. The expression on his face was calm and understanding, no trace of disgust or anger evident. It was different than all of the looks he had gotten from the teachers and kids at his old school. 

Even when making small mistakes, the teachers would point it out to the whole class immediately. Everyday, his gaze would stay glued to his desk when someone would talk to him. It was already bad enough he felt those burning, mischievously glinting eyes on him as he clenched his own shut to try and blend out the shame he was feeling. 

Close your eyes

Take a deep breath

Hide all of your emotions 

Open them again

That's what he had done his whole life. That's how nobody found out. And after all that happened... It seemed as if he was stuck in some sort of book, where everyone suddenly cared for him and he'd get the happy ending he had given up on.

But looking in Hitoshi's eyes, it was one emotion that shocked him. Or better said, lack thereof.

Pity.

Even on Kirishima and Todoroki, he had seen a glimpse of that emotion, but not on Shinsou. 

He hated pity. After he failed to get his quirk, all he ever got were looks of pity of those who were not that prejudiced against quirkless people. Or well, less prejudiced than most people. It was clear that they pitied him, especially since he sometimes heard what they were talking about.

"Oh my... It's going to be difficult for him, that poor child..."

"Quirkless people end up killing themselves at a young age, most of them not living past the age of 25..."

"And it's almost impossible to find a job when you don't habe a quirk..."

Then they would glance at him every few seconds with that look on their faces...

Even Todoroki and Kirishima had that look on their faces, as if they wanted to say 'What a poor thing, quirkless people are so vulnerable...' 

He hated it. 

But what could he do? It's not as if they were wrong. If he had a quirk, he wouldn't have been bullied and most certainly wouldn't have been afraid of them. 

"Izuku?" Shinsou slowly asked and Izuku's head cleared again. "A-Ah sorry, my mind has been running away from me..." Izuku stuttered out, face flushing in embarassment. He should stop thinking about anything, or else Shinsou would really leave him alone and go away. Maybe sleep. Clearly that was more important than him. 

"And where was it running away? "The purple haired boy asked with a small smile, in hopes of getting his friend to further open up to him. He noticed that many people were intimidated by him, so it had been a shock to him to see that Izuku had came up to him after their match and asked about his quirk with no malicious intent whatsoever. 

And now he wanted to return that favor. 

A sigh of relief escaped his mouth when he heard the low chuckle coming from Izuku. That was a good start. 

"It's... Anyway, so... I got this quirk when I was eleven... But... Given the circumstances-" 

"What circumstances?" Shinsou's eyes widened. Eleven years, that's... Goddamn late. And if he hid this quirk, then what was up with the quirk he used now? Hitoshi was no idiot, he was by far one of the smartest kids in school, so of course he already had an idea where Midoriya got the quirk from. But right now he wouldn't ask, maybe Izuku would tell him later. 

"U-Uh... D-Doesn't really m-matter..." 

Doesn't really matter? 

Well... Another problem ended to the already huge pile of mysteries surrounding his friend. And the problem was that Izuku just wouldn't. fucking. talk about it! Taking a deep breath, Shinsou reminded himself to stay calm. Everything was going to turn out okay. They would find out everything about Midoriya... Hopefully... 

Thinking about it, he really had a bad feeling, like something was going to happen... 

"So... You know, I, uhm, my quirk that I got now, i-it's not... Well, not r-really m-mine, uh..." So he was right after all. 

Smiling softly, the purple haired male layed a hand on Izuku's shoulder, not missing the slight flinch and look of distrust send in his direction. Ignoring the lump that settled in his throat, he spoke up. "You got it from All Might, didn't you?" 

The look on his face would have been hilarious if not for the severity of the situation. Izuku looked at him as if he had grown a second head and Shinsou was sure his eyes would pop out soon if he didn't stop looking at him like that. 

"H-How do you...?" The boy sputtered, all color draining from his face. Had it really been that obvious? 

'Well, considering the fact that you suck at everything, including keeping secrets, I would say it was really obious!' 

Shut up... 

"I've been thinking lately, because you two seemed really close and your quirks were both similar, but it was just a guess, really", Hitoshi answered immediately after seeing how Midoriya was starting to drift away again. He noticed that this was also a big mystery. Izuku's mind, that is. He was often found lost in thoughts and Shinsou really would like to know what was going on in his head. Nothing good, he assumed, since he always wore a pained expression on his face. But what it could be... That, he didn't know... 

"O-Oh." The green haired boy answered quietly, his voice small and unsure of what else to replay with. 

Innerly, he felt like the biggest dumbass in the world. 

'Well, thanks for stating the obious!' 

Trying to ignore the voice in his head, Izuku's mind started racing as he thought about what All might would say. He said to keep it a secret but here he was, exposing it to someone who possibly didn't even care for him. And worst of all, if Hitoshi found out, it wouldn't be a problem for other students to see... Or worse, villains! 

'No, no, no... What have I done...' 

'Seems like a good time to think about how you want to kill yourself so you won't dissapoint anyome anymore!' 

... 

Now that he really thought about it, death seemed like a good escape of this hell. His head felt like it was splitting apart and the stress and depression and anxiety and - oh god All Might was going to be so angry, please not All Might- he was just so tired that everything he did drained him physically more than he was able to withstand. His thoughts were always somewhere else and he knew everyone thought he was weird, especially because of the whole muttering thing. Oh, how he wanted for it all to just stop - end my pain, let it all finally end! - and have a peaceful sleep without any nightmares or worries... 

Shinsou noticed his friend panicking again, starting to shake from whatever was happening in his head. It would be impossible to talk further to him, and they still had a lot to talk about. 'For now, I have to let him rest...' 

Hesitantly placing his warm hands on Izuku's shaking shoulders, the purple haired teen shook him a little, relieved to find that Midoriya responded to him. 

"Izuku?" 

"Y-Yes?" 

"Go to sleep, I'll be there when you wake up." He saw Izuku's shoulders slump and the green haired boy's head leaned against his own shoulder, tension draining from him, worries leaving him and while he was under Hitoshi's control, mind empty too. Carefully, as if the teen was made of glass - it sure felt like it, after all, the boy was just skin and bones - Shinsou noted that he should get the boy to eat more. 

But for now, he gently covered Izuku with a blanket and took a seat beside him. 

[And if he started carding his hand through Izuku's hair - well, no one would have to know anyway.] 

°-°

"Aizawa-kun, Yamada-kun, Toshinori-kun. To what do I owe the sudden visit?"

Nedzu's cheerful voice rang through the room. It had been a tiring, boring day so far and with those three suddenly visiting, it was a nice change.

"We have to talk. Immediately." Aizawa answered and the principal dropped all the cheerfulness in his tone, growing serious instantly. This wasn't Aizawa complaining about students, coming to expell students or being furious at students. This was a worried Aizawa and it meant no good. Nobody has seen the black haired male that way for a long time, so something tragic must have happened.

Behind him, Nedzu could see Yamada's haunted expression - alarm bells rang in his head, because never, NEVER had he seen Yamada this way - and All Might was twitching nervously, eyes darting across the office. 

He ignored it all for now, finding that maybe they were just overreacting - they weren't and he knew it - and smiled again. 

"Of course, have a seat. You three want some tea?" 

All three of them politely declined, so that was how they ended up sitting on the comfortable office couch, Nedzu on one side with a cup of black tea in his hand, Aizawa, Yamada and Toshinori on the other side, the worried frown never leaving their faces. 

"So, why are all of you looking like that?" 

Aizawa looked up and his gaze hardened. "We need to talk about my student Midoriya Izuku." 

"Oh?" The mammal questioned surprised, not expecting that answer. "And what is there to talk about Midoriya-kun?" 

He didn't know all that much about the boy, and what happened at USJ recently also wasn't really clear to him, but from what he had red in the boy's resume... He actually didn't think Izuku would be the way he was. "We need information about contacts, anything that could help in finding out more about young Midoriya." 

It was All Might who answered, his hands folded on his knees as he tried to stay calm and not sprint out of here right to the medical room his successor was in. He saw how Nedzu's expression morphed into one of confusion, the smile finally gone. That meant something caught his interest, making him serious and more than willing to listen  to what they knew. 

Yagi knew that the principal didn't like Midoriya at first, and he had no idea why. All the he knew was that he had been against Izuku becoming his successor and going to his school at first. He really wondered why, because usually, Nedzu would put up with everyone he met. 

"I see... And may I ask why you need it? Aizawa-kun, I heard you have been with Midoriya the most for the past few days, so I can assume it's you who got the idea?" 

The underground hero nodded blandly and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I've talked to him the last time I visited, and I suspect something clearly wrong. When I tried to talk to him about something I suspected he would be uncomfortable with, he started crying and panicking." 

'Attention-seeking issues', Nedzu's mind told him, but he forced that thought down, listening to the black haired male's explanation. Now he had to think of what to say. He could confront them and tell them what he knew about Izuku from his resume the teachers had given him and from that point on see what'll happen next. 'Yes', he thought, 'That's what I am going to do.' 

"I'll be honest with you three", the mammal sighed. "I didn't like Midoriya one bit and if it wasn't for All Might begging me to let him in, he wouldn't be here." 

At that, Aizawa frowned confusedly, while Hizashi and Toshinori just looked at the principle with a curious expression on their faces. Nedzu sighed again, and went towards his shelf where all the student's resumes were being held in.

Looking through all the files he got, he finally found it at the very back. Taking it out, the mammal took a seat on the couch again. 

"It's... I have realised that something is wrong with his resume. His behavior is completely different from what they'd written down there. Or maybe Midoriya-kun really changed." 

He saw Aizawa's irritated gaze on him, urging the principal to continue. Any other day he would have reminded the underground hero that he was still to be treated with respect, but decided to keep quiet when he noticed the underlying worry in his eyes. 

"Exactly how... Different are we speaking here?" All Might hesitantly asked. The mammal took a breath and slowly opened the file, gaze falling onto the additional notes. 

"It is standing here that he has extreme attention-seeking issues, he always starts fighs with other students, disrespects the authorities, doesn't take assignments serious and creates unnecessary problems." 

"That is bullshit!" Both Aizawa and Yamada shouted out, Toshinori sitting stock still with his eyes wide open, filling with anger. 

"He is", Hizashi continued. "The most selfless kid I've ever met. He is shy and I can't imagine him starting a fight with anyone."

"He is not someone to talk back to anyone, that much I noticed. When I've met him, I knew he had a heart of gold, that's why I wanted him to be my successor." Nedzu nodded thoughtfully, eyes darting over the papers once more, before he closed it and leaned back. It was silent for a moment. Yagi was thinking about the boy who already had a special place in his heart. How could he have missed all those mysteries surrounding the freckle faced boy? 

Aizawa was worried. Really, really worried. He already had a talk with Izuku, he found out he cuts and now this... Just who else in the world could know something about him?

"I don't know anything about his family either. I never met his mom and he didn't write anything down on those papers. I can't help you with that, I'm sorry."

"Bakugou!" Yamada suddenly shouted out. The other two pro heroes looked startled at first, but upon understanding just what the blonde haired man meaned, the nodded their heads.

"Bakugou was in Izuku's class in junior high! I heard they know each other since they were little." 

"How... Convenient. Can you bring him here? I want to talk to him. You three take care of other things." He shot a meaningful glance at the three pro heroes and they nodded seriously. "I'll bring him here, you wait for me at the entrance."

They split up and the underground hero walked towards Class I-A's classroom. Knocking on the door once, he opened it.

"Oh, Shouta-kun! What are you doing here?" Midnight asked him, looking a bit too cheerful in his opinion. He scanned the group of students and his eyes landed on Bakugou, who was sitting at his desk, a thoughtful expression on his face. When the blonde haired boy felt a hard gaze on him and turned to look at the source if it. He shrank back a little in his seat. His homeroom teacher's eyes were boring holes into him and he looked away. "Bakugou, one word."

The spiky haired boy gulped and slowly stood up. Had he done something?

He didn't think he did, but Aizawa's expression didn't give anything away. They left the classroom and walked away from it in silence. It was suffocting. Bakugou had been thinking about his childhood friend and what was going on the whole day, reflecting back on his own behavior as well, so he wasn't really aware of what was going on.

"Where are we going?" he asked anxiously, hands stuffed in his pockets to keep them from twitching nervously.

"To the principals office."

"Why?" Bakugou retorted immediately, his breath catching in his throat. Usually, he would have yelled angrily and promptly walked away, but he wasn't in the right state of mind, so he kept quiet. He noticed Aizawa was not in a good mood and everyone should know an important rule:

You Do NOT fuck around with Aizawa when he is angry, or you won't be able to fuck around anymore at all.

"Listen, you will go to the principal's office and Nedzu will talk to you about Izuku. It is very important to tell the truth, so don't even think about lying." Bakugou's shoulders slumped further at the underground hero's gaze and he nodded mutely.

After hearing a faint 'come in', Bakugou opened the door and stepped in. The two of them were alone now.

" Please take a seat Bakugou-kun" the mammal spoke up, pouring hot water into a cup and setting it down on the mahogany table. 

He saw reluctance in the spiky haired boy's eyes, something that was quite uncommon for the kid. Nedzu knew how Bakugou was like. Brash, arrogant, smart and always very agitated. So that expression of anxiousness didn't fit him at all. 

"You're not in trouble, Bakugou-kun. Sit down and I'll explain the urgent matter."

Katsuki sat down and slumped in the seat, taking the hot tea with a quiet 'thank you'. Neither of the two spoke for a while, until the principal broke the tense silence. 

"What we are going to talk about is very important, Bakugou-kun. It is necessary for you to answer all the questions truthfully." 

Seeing Bakugou nod, he continued. 

"You and Midoriya-kun went to the same middle school, right?" 

"Yes", he answered without hesitation, wondering what could be so wrong with the nerd that even the principal had to get involved. 

"What was he like during that time? His behaviour in class and during break?" 

Nedzu made sure to ask the questions concretely, for there was no time for misunderstandings. Something was very wrong, and if they were right, things were a lot worse than they originally thought. 

" Well... "

'Why is he asking that?', Bakugou thought, thinking about what he had done to the freckle faced boy since they were kids. He really had been a dick to him and now that he realized that, if he could help Izuku by answering that question... 

"He was always quiet. Teachers didn't really like him and he made sure to be invisible during school hours. The nerd didn't have any friends, so he was always by himself. Well, he changed after coming to U.A. . Haven't seen the little shit smile in almost 11 years like he did with those shit heads. "

" I... See... " They way he said it made Bakugou uncomfortable. A shiver ran down his spine and he shuddered at the dead serious look he was getting. 

" Have the teachers been unfair to him in any way? "

Katsuki was at a loss of words of what to say. He knew the teachers didn't like Izuku because he was quirkless and they often belittled him for wanting to become a hero, but what did he mean by that question? Did he find out how the green haired boy had been treated? 

He squirmed a little in his seat under the look he was getting. He really didn't like this situation, it was creeping him out. "Why are you asking?" 

Nedzu sighed and reached for Midoriya's resume, handing it over for the blonde to take. He reluctantly took it and wondered why the principal gave him that. 

"Open it and read. I want to know if this is true." he heard the stern voice of the mammal, so he obeyed. Katsuki opened the resume and froze, eyes widening in shock.

'What the...'

°-°

"Where are we even going now? We don't know where Izuku lives!" Present Mic questioned, trailing after Aizawa along with All Might. The black haired hero stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"If Bakugou and Izuku know each other, then Bakugou's mom would surely know Izuku's mom."Not waiting for a reply, Shouta resumed walking towards his students house. He really hoped his parents had some answers for them. At least where his problem child was living.

After a while of running, the three stopped at a small, nice house. They would habe admired how well-kept the house looked, if they weren't in such a hurry. All Might stepped forward and rang the doorbell. They didn't have to wait too long, because only a few seconds later, a woman with blonde, spiky hair opened the door. "Oh! What a surprise, aren't you my brat's teachers? Did something happen!" She looked quite annoyed when asking if something happened. If that brat started a fight again, well... She really hoped god would be on her son's side, because she was not going to hold back.

" No, it's uh... Do you know Midoriya Izuku? "All Might asked awkwardly, watching as the blonde woman's eyes widened.

" Izu-chan? " the woman's facial expression morphed into one of worry.

The three heroes exchanged a relieved look, glad that she knew him, however the obvious worry in her voice made them nervous. "Is-Is he okay? Oh god, I haven't heard from him for so long, and Inko-chan too?" The woman stopped her rambling and turned her head to look at the three men standing in front of her.

"First... Would you like to come in?"

That's how they found themselves sitting on the Bakugou family's couch. "So... What happened?"

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose and composed himself, sorting his thoughts to figure out what to do next. Taking a deep, altough shaky breath, he locked eyes with the worried mother's gaze.

"We can't find out anything about Izuku's mother nor where he lives. He is avoiding that matter and we didn't know what else to do, so we came here in hopes of finding an answer."

°-°

"You really thought I wouldn't notice?! I am not stupid, you piece of shit! If you thought that I wouldn't see the letter you tried to hide, then you are mistaken!"

In a matter of mere seconds, the letter stuffed in an envelope was lying on the floor, burned to a crisp.

A thin, white haired male in his twenties was looking at the black haired monster in front of him, Midoriya Hisashi.

He was grinning like a madman, the next words making his blood run cold.

"It is enough that I killed her so she wouldn't get in my way, but now after what you did, I'm going to lock you up in this cage, just like a little dog. After all, you followed my Inko like a dog, so why not be one, Rin?"

Said man's eyes widened as tears gathered in them. He would have done everything for the woman who saved his life, that's true, and after he found out what happened, he intended to help her son. Spitting on his face, the mad man left the room in a fit of cruel laughter. The moment the door closed, Rin's fearful gaze dropped and he aggressively wiped away the spit, looking at the door in anger and disgust. "You really think you are so smart, aren't you? We'll see about that..."

And out of his pocket, the white haired man took out the original letter, 'To Mitsuki' written down in cursive letters.

'I am going to save you... Midoriya Izuku, even if I will die for it. I promised her...' 

Chapter Text

'What the...'

Bakugou almost dropped the resume in shock. This... he had never expected that. He knew Izuku was really smart and nailed all the tests with ease, so why were his grades so bad?

And the additional notes... What the hell was happening?

"Midoriya Izuku has severe attention-seeking issues. He cries whenever he doesn't get his way, harasses other student and starts fights with them. Upon confrontation, he lies and tells a different version of what had happened. He is unwilling to take class assignments serious, creating problems with his teachers. Upon being called out to the board, he refuses to stand up and doesn't respond when asked a question."

Nedzu was watching Katsuki's expression carefully, noticing how it shifted from a shocked expression, to a furious one. After a while, he slammed the papers on the table. 

" What... What the fuck? " he whisper-shouted, shaking with rage. He couldn't believe it... He had been in the nerd's class for as long as he could remember... And he never noticed before?! 

"This is not true at all!" He told Nedzu, shooting up in distress and almost knocking the coffee table over. 

"Not true..." Nedzu muttered in disbelief and shock, before looking up at the spiky haired male. "You are telling me this isn't true?" 

Bakugou just shook his head vigorously and made his way over to the door in a hurry. 

"I-I gotta go!" He shouted and the door fell closed. Nedzu slowly turned back to ovserve his still steaming cup of tea, untouched. The resume was the most important piece of paper any student could get. Without a good resume you wouldn't be able to attend a good school and you certainly wouldn't get a good job. The teachers had written down such things on the green haired boy's resume, Bakugou was saying that wasn't true, that that information given to him was bullshit. So that left the teacher with a pile of question. 

Why had those teachers done that? 

What had Midoriya done for the teachers to write that down? 

And why exactly didn't the boy speak up about that? 

With long, loud sigh, Nedzu closed his eyes and massaged his temples. 'Aizawa had been right after all... All Might too... We have to do something, and fast. "

°-°

" H-He didn't?" Mitsuki asked, eyes wide as she took in the information. 

Aizawa shook his head and waited for the woman to say something else. 

The silence was quite unnerving, but the three heroes gave Bakugou's mom the time she needed to compose herself. 

" It's... I don't know" she finally spoke. "Me and Inko-chan were best friends, because of this, Katsuki and Izuku-kun were also best friends. We would meet up regularly, but... After her husband left... I guess you could say she distanced herself. I haven't seen her for nine years now, and the last time I saw Izuku-kun was four years ago. And even then... " She paused and looked all of them in the eye, worry swirling in her deep red orbs. 

" When I last saw him, he had been ever so polite and kind, but something was off. And not just his appearance. "

" Could you elaborate please? " All Might quietly, patiently asked the woman. The blonde haired man still tried to sort all of the information. It was surprising that Bakugou's and Midoriya's mom were best friends, because given how his successor and the blonde acted, he never would have guessed. And if she knew her that well, then it meant Bakugou and Midoriya knew each other quite well too. But why were they behaving like that if they certainly knew each other since they were little? 

"It looked like he had been beaten up, and believe me when I tell you it looked horrendous. His face was full of cuts and bruises, his school uniform was tattered and there was dried blood on his shirt. It looked like someone had intended to kill him. I asked what was wrong and he just waved it off like it was nothing... He was always like that, you know. But... That day, I felt something had changed in him, he had that aura surrounding him, I just.... " The woman didn't continue, just looked down at her lap. Hisashi stared at her. He just couldn't believe it... He really couldn't. 

Someone has beat up his precious student, but why? 

There were so many parts of the story there were missing, pieces to complete the big puzzle only Izuku had. Unfortunately, he hid those pieces well and locked them up. 

Right there, Present Mic made up his mind. He was going to pay Midoriya a visit and after everything they found out, and still would, he was going to talk to him. And no one was going to step in his way. All Might certainly cared about the boy too, that was clear. But it wasn't the same feeling Shouta and he himself felt. 

Whilst All Might could have been a cool uncle for the boy, Hizashi felt a... parental protectiveness over the boy. And he was sure Shouta did, too. That's why hearing that he cut himself... It didn't sit right with him. 

"Do you think it was someone from his school?" This conversation almost seemed like an interrogation, with how Aizawa was asking Bakugou's mom so many questions. 

"Definitely." Mitsuki didn't seem to mind it though, in fact, she really appreciated those three talking to her about the small, green haired boy. She was so worried for him and if the heroes in front of her could help, she would gladly give them all of the information she knew.

After finding out Midoriya's address, a precious piece of information they immediately saved on their phones, they bid their goodbyes and went to the Midoriya household, unaware of what they would find there.

°-°

The door clicked shut and Rin breathed a sigh of relief, eyes glinting triumphantly. 

He held up a pair of keys and almost shouted out in happiness. 

Those keys were Hisashi's most treasured belonging, for those were the keys to all of the rooms in this building, and the ones in Japan, where that evil monster planned to bring Izuku to. He didn't know where that place was, but it would certainly help those heroes if he got those keys. 

It was midnight when Rin decided to put his plan in action. Hisashi Midoriya was already away, gone to kidnap his own son. 

The white haired male fumbled with the key lock, trying to keep as quiet as possible. When they cage opened, he sneaked out of the room and passed through the hallway, arriving at the main hall. 

"He's already at the airport, his flight is scheduled in half an hour." 

He heard a man dressed all in black grumble. 

Another one spoke up. 

"The group is already in position. They are waiting for boss' arrival."

Rin's eyes widened at that. 'Shit, they're fast.'

He sneaked past the main hall and out of the building, activating his quirk. He could calculate the fastest route to the airplane and to his final destination. Not a very useful quirk, but good enough right now.

Calling a taxi, he opened the cab door. 

°-°

It was already getting dark outside, but Bakugou's priority was talk to Deku asap. He had to know if what he thought was true, and if it was, it would mean that what had happened on school grounds wasn't only bullying by pears, but neglect and abuse of a student. He didn't even talk about the fact what he and the others had done, fuck that all, this was about a teacher breaking the school rules of staying neutral to whatever shit people talked about a kid and helping a student with problems, not making matters even worse. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck...'

"Bakugou-kun?" The blonde teen stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a feminine voice behind him. He slowly turned around, meeting the gaze of Recovery Girl. He didn't know what to say to her, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. He stayed silent, waiting for the elder woman to refuse letting him visit the nerd, but to his surprise, she didn't.

"His room is right down the hall, you'll see the name tag under the room number." Was all she said before turning around. Katsuki gulped, nit quite believing that she let him pass this easily, considering how he behaved around Izuku. He turned around as well, slowly, cautious of anything that indicated this was a trap or something, and froze when he heard Chiyo's voice.

"Please don't blow up this place. Something is going on with Midoriya-kun and I assume despite how bad you act around him, your intentions for coming here are good. It would certainly be pleasant to see you two get along."

He whipped around and just stared at the back of the woman's head. Disbelief corssing his face, before settling on a determined expression and walking off with a quiet 'Hai'.

Chiyo glanced back to the dissappearing head of the blonde, sighing in contentment as she thought about the email Nedzu had sent her moments ago.

'Dear Chiyo-san,

As you may have heard, there are auite a few problems surrounding Midoriya-kun, which are worrying me. I just had a talk with Bakugou-kun and surprisingly, even he seemed worried about him.

When you see him, I ask of you not to stop him from visiting the boy. It seems that with how the recent events keep turning out, we may have the chance to get those two to get along. It certainly would better Aizawa-kun class' mood.

Greetings,

Nedzu'

'Well...' Chiyo thought. 'It definitely would be better for everyone if those two got along...'. 

°-°

"That would be 25$,sir." The taxi driver told Rin as he held out his hand. The white haired man handed the money over and got out of the taxi, bidding his goodbye and entering the big airport of Boston. He didn't stop and kept walking, eyeing the mass of people through his round sunglasses which matched his black turtle neck sweater and leather jacket perfectly. He was also dressed in black ripped jeans and white converse. 

He hadn't left Hisashi's building for three months, and he didn't want to look like a homeless person from a ditch, so he quickly went home and changed his clothes. It's not like anyone had been worried about him anyway, not that his parents didn't care about him, they just weren't home much because the worked in different places. And he himself was already 20 years old, he could tend to himself in cases if emergencies. Well okay, that was partly a lie because if he coukd, he wouldn't have been forced to work for a man who killed his wife and planned on torturing his own son. 

"The flight A295 to Tokyo, Japan is scheduled in 45 minutes. Please remember that gate 1 will close in 25 minutes." Good, so he still had time. 

He passed the border control, pulling out his fight ticket, the one Inko had secretly bought him and his ID card, because yes, he wasn't one of those gangster types who faked different ID cards and documents. 

" Excuse me, can I see your passport really quick?" A woman in her 30's asked. She had blonde hair and wkre glasses, her eyes a warm brown color. Her hair was into a loose ponytail and a few strands were framing her face. She wore a white blouse and black skirt. 

" Oh, of course. "Rin smiled charmingly, pulling out his card. He gave it to her, embarrassed by the picture that was taken for it. He that was three years ago, but he really changed during that time. Chubby cheeks gone, undercut instead of coconut hair and originally black hair dyed white, though he didn't dye his sides. It was like black hair with big, white cotton candy on it. He saw the look the woman gave her, and he frowned slightly. 'Geez, I hope she won't make a big deal out of it.' 

"That's you?" She finally asked in wonder. He only nodded and scratched the back of his  head awkwardly, smiling shyly. 

He saw the woman- Sarah Jones, he red on her nametag- laugh slightly and type something on her computer. "You can pass", she said and gave Rin back the passport. Rin thanked her and continued his walk in fast strides until he was at the terminal. 

10 minutes left, that's good. 

The white haired male bought himself a cup of coffee and sat down to wait until he could finally go on the airplane. 

When he caught a glance of the doors to his flight opening , he shot up and was the first to get on the plane. He adjusted his seat and leaned against it, plugging in his earphones. 'Just so you wait, Hisashi... You'll definitely get what you deserve...' 

°-°

Aizawa knocked on the door. "I don't think they're home", All Might nervously told him, looking around for the woman he saw on one of Mitsuki's photographs. 

"Maybe they left a spare key under the doormat", Hizashi suggested, already kneeling down to look under it. 

Taking the key, he inserted it into the hole and opened the door. As the three heroes stepped in, the cold atmosphere gave them the chills. They moved around slowly, shocked by how empty the house was. There wasn't a couch in the living room, nor was there a television. The bookshelf looked broken and was devoid of any books or statues. 

"Are... Are you sure we got the right house?" Present Mic asked, his hands twitching as he fiddled with them. 

The underground hero nodded dumbfounded and moved to the stairs, the other two heroes following him mutely. 

They came to stand in front of closed door, a broken All Might sign with the name Izuku hanging from a rusty pin. Nobody wanted to open that door, afraud of what they would find there, but Toshinori moved forward and clasped his hand around the handle. He pushed open the door. 

"..." 

The room was almost empty, the only furniture occupying it being the bed, small closet and desk with a chair. The three pro heroes had thought that their student would have an unholy amount of hero merch in his room, so seeing it like that was quite the shock. And not to mention that it was incredibly cold in the house. No scratch that, it was freezing. "I imagined his house to look... Different..." All Might mumbled, Present Mic nodding shakily in agreement. A small piece of paper under Izuku's bed, which looked completely wrong in that empty room, caught his attention. He kneeled down and carefully picked it up."... What is it...?" his husband leaned over his shoulder to see what it was, Toshinori peaking too. The trio was left speechless. 

On the photograph, there were two boys no older than four. One haid bright, curly forest green hair, the other light, spiky blond hair. That was a photo of Katsuki and Izuku when they were little, no doubt. In this picture, Bakugou had both arms around Izuku and hugging him protectively, his cheeks pressed against the green haired boy's. His expression was challenging, daring whoever took the photo to take his friend away from him. Still, he was smiling. The green haired boy, who had a shy smile on his face was also making a piece sign into the camera, whilst his other hand was gripping the hem of his white shirt. They looked really cute together and left no doubt in the three males that those two really were friends back in the days.

But what striked them most, where Midoriya's eyes. Bakugou's eyes held a challenging gaze, sparkling with life and glinting like a red Ruby even now as he was going to U.A. . His eyes never lost their light. But to see Midoriya's eyes so full of... full of life! It physically hurt them to look at it, because they would always be reminded of the dull, almost grey orbs that decorated the freckled face now. In this picture, his eyes were so green, and not one shade of it. There were various warm shades mixed in his eyes and it seemed that if you looked at them, all your worries would go away. It's like standing in the forest, surrounded by many trees, the sun and animals. That's the vibe you got from looking into them.

Now though... They couldn't even imagine what kind of pain their student must have gone through, for those eyes to become... that. If the three heroes wouldn't have seen this photo, they would have honestly believed that his eye color was grey with a tint of something that should resemble a green color. There was no light, no happiness in those eyes. Only isolation, loneliness, depression and fear.

"We truly missed all the obvious signs", Yamada's voice cracked and he sniffled a bit. Aizawa was beside him, still looking at what he held in his hand and sighed. "That's why we have to help him be happy again."

Toshinori agreed with a quiet 'yes' and the three got lost in their own thoughts again.

"Should we look at the... other room?" All Might's voice was hesitant, unsure even and so different from his usual, self confident one. They didn't comment on it, understanding that it was really hard for the man too, and chose to just give a curt nod in reply. Toshinori's grateful face was proof enough that it was the right thing to do, to let him sort his thoughts out alone. He would seek advice on his own when the time came. 

Hizashi was the first to move, shuffling out of Izuku's room and towards the other one. (Maybe his mother's room). 

With the other two heroes standing close behind him, he pushed open the door and immediately took a step back in shock. The room was a mess. 

There were books everywhere, one of them burned at the edges, other ones were ripped and loose papers were lying on the floor. The walls had a few dents, the wallpapers were partly ripped off and there wasn't any furniture whatsoever in this room. They saw old photo books, ripped pictures, blood specks on the ground, and everyone wondered just what the hell all this was supposed to mean, wondered what happened here and why everything was like this.

"Oh my god..." The number one hero whispered, looking like he's going to be sick. Even Aizawa looked appalled at what he saw, but he stepped in first, altough reluctant. His hands were shaking slightly as he carefully picked up one of the notebooks and brushed with his hand over it. "... Hero Analysis Notebook for the Future Pt. 7..." the cover red, altough the words a bit smudged and the notebook itself was ripped on a few places. The underground hero opened the book and gasped silently. Inside the book,on the furst page, an accurate drawing off him was displayed. For someone who wasn't even supposed to see the hero, given that he was purposely an underground hero, the drawing was really, really accurate and lifelike. Beside the drawing, there were messily written notes, looking like they'd been written in a rush. Aizawa started reading them. 

Meanwhile Yamada sat down on the floor beside the photo book, putting it on his lap to look through it. He opened it and looked at the photograph, at the three pairs of eyes that were looking back at him. He instantly recognized the small boy as Izuku, who was laughing brightly as he made a heart form with his arms. The woman, no doubt his mother, was also doing heart signs with her hands. She was beautiful, to say the least. Her eyes were the same as Izuku's, and the color of the hair too, except that she had straight hair. Then there was a man beside her. He had an arm around his wife and a hand was on his son's head. The man, he squinted his eyes and could make out the words Hisashi, Inko and Izuku. So the man was called Hisashi... And Izuku's mother was called Inko. Hisashi had, contrary to Inko and Izuku, black hair, 'Curly', Yamada noted. 'That's where Izuku got his fluffy, curly hair from'. 

Behind him, All Might took in the picture and smiled. "That's a beautiful family, isn't it?" 

Yamada nodded and continued looking through the pictures, the number one hero sitting down beside him. There were many cute pictures in that book, most of them even containing baby pictures of Katsuki. Both heroes were in awe at the adorable pictures, but when they turned the page and saw a blank page, the frowned. "Huh? Where are the other pictures?" Hizashi questioned, turning a few more pages, only to find them empty. He tried looking fir other picture books where more pictures would be, but couldn't. That was weird. This photobook contained pictures of Izuku up until the age of what must he four years old, no way those could have been the only ones. 

A book being slammed closed aggressively made Present Mic and All Might flinch. They whipped their heads around to see Aizawa fuming in the background. "You okay Shouta?" Yamada questioned, but his question got ignored as Aizawa started muttering lowly. "I really underestimated that problem child's abilities, if that is notebook Pt. 7 and I just saw Number 12 on the floor, then this should habe been written some time ago, definitely before he got into U.A. so how did he find all of that information, I am supposed to be an underground hero, and if he found out all this, do I need to be more cautious around the villains I'm fighting against? No, nobody has ever-"

" Shouta! " That seemed to pull the underground hero out of his thoughts as he turned around to look at his husband. His eyes showed pure confusion and just as the blond haired man was about to continue, Aizawa threw something at him. Catching it, Yamada stared at the notebook in his hands. "Read" was the only instruction he got from the black haired male, before he turned back to the pile of books and started collecting them for later purposes. 

"Hero Analysis Notebook Pt. 7... Well let's take a look!" The two heroes opened the first page and started reading, with each line the smile leaving their faces, replaced by shock and confusion, just as Aizawa's expression had been. After a while, he closed the book and just stared." That's... I... He is... "

" His analytic abilities are no joke" Toshinori said, completely serious. If all that formation Izuku got was about an underground hero, how much did he write about heroes that lived in the spotlight? 

Shouta finished stacking all the notebooks, only the 13 one remained in his hands. He traced the burns carefully and opened one of the pages. "What's that?" he suddenly turned and held out the book for All Might to see. Said man paled and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well... I met him before U.A. when I saved him from that slime monster.... That's when I signed this book..." 

The other two males looked at the number one hero blankly until Aizawa closed the book and held out the cover for him to see. "Slime monster you say? So that beast had a type of fire quirk?" 

Yamada's mouth opened as he gasped and his eyes widened slightly. "Holy shit what the fuck happened?!" 

All eyes were on Yagi now, who looked at the book in thought. 

"It was already like that when I met him, but back then, the book was wet too... I don't know what happened to it..." 

And they left it at that, intend to find out who did this and why. Everyone took a few of the books to carry and went on their way to Aizawa's and Hizashi's house, leaving with even more questions than they came with.

°-°

Bakugou stopped in front of Midoriya's hospital room, thinking of what he would say. Shit shit, he didn't even think about what to start with before coming here, his feet automatically started running. Well, not that it mattered now, he was already here so he'd have to talk to his childhood friend. He'll just improvise. 

Katsuki knocked on the door once and stepped in slowly, hearing the conversation Izuku and someone else had abruptly stop. Slowly lifting his head, the spiky haired blonde locked eyes with a confused and slightly scared Izuku and... A very angry and annoyed looking Shinsou. "The fuck are you doing here?" The purple haired guy said, moving a little closer to his friend. Bakugiu was about to respond when the small boy spoke up. "I-It's okay Shinsou... Give us a few minutes, okay?" He certainly did not miss the scared and unsure look Izuku gave him despite the smile, and was hesitant to let him go. But after another nudge from the freckle faced boy, he sighed and stood up, making his way over to the blonde. Hitoshi gave him the nastiest glare he could muster and left the room without waiting for a response. 

"That fucker just-" Bakugou lowly muttered, clenching his fists as not to storm out of that door to pick a fight with the purple haired bastard. But he retrained himself and took a deep breath, turning back to the boy on the hospital bed. His eyes widened at the way Izuku was sitting tense and shaking slightly. Bakugou's eyes darkened with guilt and shame. He was the cause of all this, he made his childhood friend be afraud of him. How could he have let that happen. 

Both boys just stared at each other like that, afraid to make a sound. Then Katsuki cleared his throat, making the green haired boy look up at him again in slight panic. 

"Uhh, can we talk?" 

Chapter Text

"Uhh, can we talk?" Bakugou shifted from one feet to another, avoiding his classmate's gaze as he waited for an answer. Izuku actually seemed to contemplate it. He was afraid of Bakugou, he didn't know if he would lash out, should Izuku say something offending or if he'd hit him or burn him again like in middle school. They were alone now, nobody here to step in should something happen. Suddenly, having Shinsou here hadn't seemed like a bad idea.

And still, as he saw the blonde boy, his childhood friend and first love, his gaze softened just the tiniest bit. He came here to talk, didn't he? And Shinsou was just right down the hall, if  something happened. 'How can I even still love him after all that?'

He didn't know, he just did. Maybe it was the fact that Izuku knew Bakugou had a soft side to him, that he could be kind and loving. And besides, Bakugou was his Image of Victory, everything he ever wanted to be. That's why he answered with a soft 'okay' and waited for the blonde to continue. Said male slowly, as if being careful not to scare him any further, moved closer to the bed and stopped right in front of him, quietly taking a seat beside the green haired boy. Izuku wondered what happened to make Bakugou so subdued and calm. He expected the boy to shout or hurt him, but right now, the spike haired blonde only sat beside him, not doing anything else. 

Katsuki took a deep breath and looked up, face determined and something akin to worry in his gaze. "I red your resume..." 

He started and Izuku's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't have found out, could he?

"I don't know what happened, but Aizawa-sensei send me to the principal, who gave me that resume and asked me to read it and say if it was true." 

Izuku started shaking slightly, every single word coming to mind that has been said to him by those teachers and what they had done. 

'Wasn't that piece of shit the one you didn't want to find out what happened? Well, you did a good fucking job, hahaha!' 

"I just... What the fuck, Deku?!" 

Bakugou wanted answers, he wanted them now. But to his dismay, Deku just stared at his lap, his ears red. It was awkward, the both of them sitting here when they haven't had a normal conversation in almost eleven years, except for the one they had some time ago when Izuku ran out of the cafeteria. And even then, it was Bakugou shouting and the other boy defending himself. 

Now that the both of them had the chance to talk everything out, to move on from their past childhood friends turned bully and victim relationship to something else. But as Izuku was sitting here he realised that no matter what his childhood friend would say today, forgiving him, should he even try apologizing, would be ridiculous. Izuku loved Katsuki, but at the same time he hated him and was scared of him. For everything he'd ever done, for the way he'd left him alone and then started hurting him, breaking all their made promises. Bakugou was one of the main reasons Midoriya wanted to kill himself, woke up feeling like shit, had all those insecurities and mental problems. All because of the person that sat before him and tried to find out what happened with those teachers. 

Kacchan on the other hand was close to loosing his temper. He hated not getting the answers he wanted, but being answered with silence was worse, and right now, that's what the nerd was doing. But he willed himself to calm down, because outside the door, Shinsou would certainly hear them and call a pro hero. That was the last thing he needed. 

None of the two spoke, and outside, the streets were empty and quiet. It was already night time, the moonlight lighting up the whole room, seeing as the lights were off. 

"Why do you care?" 

Katsuki's eyes were as wide as saucers as he heard the counter question he just got. He couldn't believe it, when had Deku grown a dick to talk back to him like that? 

He hadn't expected this. He thought Izuku would straight up answer so he could go again, his mind chickening out on the opportunity to apologize to the freckled boy. 

As Bakugou lifted his head, he was stunned by the look of coldness and hate he was getting. Of course there was nothing that could hide the undeniable fear in those green eyes, but the dead, grey eyes were overwhelming him at the moment. 'Wait, what?... His eyes are grey...?' 

"What's wrong with your eyes?" the spiky haired blonde moved fast and sat down on the bed, putting a finger under Izuku's chin to make him look up again. The flinch he got made something cold settle in the pit of his stomach and he gulped hard. It became apparent now, just how much the green haired boy feared Katsuki. Guilt flooded his mind, but he forced it to the back of it to concentrate on what was important right now. He put a finger under his childhood friend's chin yeat again, getting the same reaction, but this time he did not jerk away. Bakugou forced Izuku's chin up and for a moment everything stilled. Katsuki's heart stopped and he shifted back in disbelief. What he just saw... What did he just see? 

Izuku's eyes were completely dead and blank. Gone were the various shades of green that he had loved when he was younger, when Izuku was still his friend. Right now, his eyes reflected so much pain, desolation, horror and fear that it physically hurt him to look at and he involuntarily flinched back a bit. 

"Why... Why are your eyes grey?" he whispered as soft as he could manage, shaking his head in denial. 

Izuku only looked away, eyes glazed over with unshed tears. He couldn't look the blonde in the eyes, refusing to answer this question. If only he knew... 

" De-Deku... What happened to you?" As fast as an arrow, Izuku's eyes found Katsuki's, and never, never had he seen them look as angry as they were now. The tears started falling one by one and the green haired boy did not make a move to wipe them away. "You... How can you ask something like that?!" His voice was nothing more than a broken shout, voice cracking several times. His face was getting redder by the second and the tears became like waterfalls, but Bakugou had never seen anything like this. He was looking away in shame, tears pricking at the corners of his own eyes as he realised that he made a big mistake by asking him that. 

"Do you realise how much you hurt me?! I trusted you, I loved you and you threw everything we had away! You did not just break my heart, you used and toyed with it as you pleased, stepped on it and shattered it to tiny pieces! You made my life hell, Kacchan! "

His breath was getting uneven and hard as he clenched his fists to the point they started bleeding. Katsuki wanted to unclench them, do anything to calm the boy in front of him down, but he couldn't move a muscle as every single word caused his heart to clench and guilt overflow him. He realised now, but it was too late. His childhood friend could never forgive him again and it was nobody's fault but his own. And he knew it, yet he desperately tried to deny it, that it wasn't his fault the sunshine boy lost all his light, becoming not even a dark shade of his old self. "I hate myself, do you understand? I hate myself because everything those kids at school, including you, have ever said to me is true! I was all alone, hated by everyone because of what, the lack of a quirk?! Why does having a quirk define who you are to the extent that you're going to be shunned for the lack of one? Tell me dammit! "

But he couldn't, because there isn't one, there never was. All there ever was was people's pride and ego. Sitting here, ashamed by his past actions, Bakugou realized one thing. Deep inside, Izuku was still the small child he'd once grown to love. A child that had been punished for something beyond his control, abused, shunned and broken beyond repair. That was all Izuku was. A scared, broken child that had lost all faith in humanity. And right then, despite his unforgivable actions, Katsuki made a promise to himself to bring back the boy he loved when he was younger and made the promise to marry him, to apologize and redeem himself. Right now, forgiveness was unimaginable, so he couldn't say anything about it. It would just be as if all the words Izuku was shouting were a joke, were he to apologize now. He couldn't do that to him. 

Izuku's words became broken wails as he dissolved into tears completely, slapping Kacchan's hands roughly away when the blonde tried to comfort him. 

"J-Just g-go away f-fo-for now..." he whispered, and Bakugou could do nothing more but obey. Looking over his shoulder one last time, he quietly left the room, tears trailing down his cheeks upon closing the door as he heard the muffled sobs echo in the room. 

°-°

Hizashi opened the door to his and Aizawa's house in a hurry and was the first to step in, followed by Shouta and lastly Toshinori. The three heroes put the books down on the kitchen table and sat down around it, utterly exhausted. Behind them, a black cat emerged from the living room. "Oh, Kuroo, come here",Present Mic patted his lap and to his contentment, the cat jumped on it and settled down. All Might was surprised that the two males had a cat, not making them out to be animal lovers. But then again, didn't Aizawa apparently like cats? 

"What now?" Yagi questioned into the round, hands itching to take one of the books and read them. But he was aware they had more pressing matters than some hero analysis. 

"We have to report to Nedzu first, then we'll see what we'll do." Aizawa spoke up up with a voice that held no room for argument. On the outside, he looked calm and composed, but innerly his mind was running. They had to help his problem child and solve all those mysteries surrounding him. Alarm bells were ringing in his head and he had a feeling something was going to happen, though he did not know what it was. But whatever it was, they had to get to Nedzu asap. 

"Okay, then we'll see." Hizashi agreed, though nobody made a move to stand up, too lost in their own thoughts. Yamada himself wanted to curl up on his bed with Shouta and his cat, ideally solve everything regarding Izuku as fast as possible. They had lost some time in Midoriya's house, without even getting the answers they came to get. Having looked through his home, it did not even look like Inko was living in that house. But that was impossible, Izuku could never live all by himself. And if he did, for how long had he lived like that? And what exactly happened to him that made the green haired boy's eyes dull and lifeless?

"Let's go." 

All Might suddenly stood up and made his way over to the door. Hizashi lifted Kuroo up and set him down on the couch in the living room, before following the other two heroes out of the house and back towards U.A.

°-°

Todoroki, Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero were the only ones still up in the dormitory. The three guys of the Bakusquad were still waiting for the 'leader' of the group to come back, and Todoroki couldn't sleep, that's why he, upon Eijiro's invitation, got comfortable with the others on the couch. Earlier that day, he, Uraraka and lida were talking about what happened to Izuku. Uraraka was clearly worried about him, blaming herself for not realising sooner that something was wrong with their friend. 

"I am such a bad friend. I should have been there for him when he needed us and yet he is in the hospital now and, and-" 

The girl cried whilst eating her rice. Lida tried to comfort her, but anyone could see that even the class president was blaming himself, trying to cope with the current situation. It was taking a toll on him too, for he respected the green haired boy deeply. 

"It wasn't your fault, Uraraka-san. As the class representative, I should have known something was up with one of Class 1-A-" 

"Guys!" Mina almost shouted beside them. "Let's not blame ourselves anymore, 'kay? I understand that we should've taken care of our friend better, but what's done can't be reversed."

"I agree", Kirishima nodded. "All we can do now is help him get better." 

After classes ended, they'd come back to the dorms and now it was half past 11 pm. Nobody made too loud noises. Kirishima occasionally started a conversation with Todoroki, Sero and Kaminari joining in, then it would get silent again and Denki, Sero and Eijiro would talk about stuff only they were interested about. 

"Shouldn't he be back by now? Where the hell is Bakubro?" Kirishima muttered, completely exhausted after the day. Denki shrugged and Sero nodded his head in agreement. Todoroki wasn't really listening, he was in a world of his own, thinking about what they could do to help Izuku. They knew so little about him that bringing the boy stuff he liked was difficult, for nobody, except maybe Bakugou, knew what Midoriya liked. And in general, they knew nearly nothing relevant about him or his past. But that would change, Todoroki himself would make sure that Izuku knew he could trust him. 

The buzz of his phone brought him back into awareness. 'Who would text me at this hour...' 

It was 23:55 now, nobody would be awake at this hour, so who... 

"Who's texting you?" Kaminari curiously asked, the other two boys also seemingly interested in knowing. Slowly, Todoroki took out his phone and looked at the screen.' Midoriya...?'

The dual hair colored teen wondered, opening the message. When he did, his eyes widened and, as if he had been dumped in cold water, shot up, almost dropping his phone in the prozess. The three other boys flinched back violently, startled by the sudden movement. 

Upon seeing Shouto's incredibly panicked expression, the other boys stood up too, dreading whatever they would hear. "What is it, what happened? Who texted you?" Sero frantically asked, gripping Todoroki's shoulders. The boy looked eyes with the others and they feared the worst, judging by how he started breathing hard and his body was shaking. Instead of answering, he simply held up his phone for them to see the message. 

Kirishima cried out in distress, Kaminari and Hanta holding a hand over their mouth in shock and incredible worry. 

Midoriya:

Help

°-°

After Katsuki left, Izuku slowly willed himself to calm down. It took some time, but after a while, his sobs were reduced to occasional hiccups, before it was silent once again. He was exhausted, the emotional outburst had completely drained all his energy. 

Before he could lay down and close his eyes, a sudden feeling of being watched washed over him. Midoriya looked around, but didn't see anyone or anything watching him. So he layed down and closed his eyes, but the feeling did not go away. 

The more he started paying attention to it, the more intense that feeling seemed to get. Shakily, Izuku reached for his phone and opened the messenger, wanting to ask Shinsou if Bakugou left or was still watching him. 

Before he could, however, two men appeared seemingly out of nowhere. One of them was muscular as hell, he was wearing a black suit and sunglasses and had brown hair. The other man... Izuku stiffened as he sat up straight. "D-D-Dad?" he stuttered out, not believing who he was seeing right now. But it was him, no doubt. Black, curly hair, glowing red eyes, tall and muscular. Standing before Izuku was his own father, Hisashi Midoriya, a father who abandoned his  son due to the lack of a quirk. 

Izuku was terrified of seeing his father here. He has changed. Gone were the kind eyes, instead replaced by terrifying evil ones that glowed with malicious intent and the promise of death, and he had many scars on his face, indicating that he fought many fights. The smirk on his face contrasted completely the deadly aura he was surrounded by, and with each second they stared at each other, Izuku was afraid he would suffocate from the tension. 

"Hello son! Long time no see!" 

As the two men crept closer, Izuku errputed in panic, blindly tapping on a number and typing in the words Help, before a hand covered his mouth. Izuku let out a despreate, terrified scream before the hand clamped down on his mouth. 

The last thing he saw before everything turned dark were the eyes, ruby red, glowing eyes that held amusement and murderous intent in them, a distorted sneer and the words: "We'll have soo much fun together Izuku!" 

Within an eye blink, they were gone. The room was left empty and cold, the only indication that someone had been there was the phone on the bed, which started ringing. 

The caller ID red Todoroki. 

°-°

Keigo Takami was at home, sitting in his working room. There was a big monitor attached to the wall, in front of it a dark mahogany desk, where piles and stacks of papers and files were loaded. A few pens were scattered across that desk and a cup of coffee was standing neatly on the left side of it, a chocolate donut placed right beside it. The wall opposite to the monitor held a big map with many different pictures of a male pinned to it. There were dots and strings connected to each other, light yellow pieces of paper with information scribbled on them also pinned to the wall.

One of the notes red as followed:

Villain Phantom Flame

Real name: Unknown

Age:Unknown

Relatives:Unknown

Appearance: Unknown

Quirk: Fire (unknown what kind)

Victims: 356

Additional notes:

-leaves victims burnt to a crisp, deformed and almost unrecognizable

-dissappears and appears like a phantom, hence the name phantom flame

-most wanted villain in America

-seen a few times in Japan, meaning he has a residence in the country /is japanese

The other notes were also all about the same villain, the photographs showing all of his victims and possible conntections they had with one another. In the center, a single picture of a man was seen. Black, curly hair, red yes and scars all over the face. Under that picture, another note.

Possible Suspect

Name: Midoriya Hisashi

Age: Unknown

Relatives: Unknown

Quirk: Fire Breath 

Appearance: 

-Curly black hair, a few gray strings in them

-ruby red, almost glowing eyes

-muscular and tall

-dressed in a black suit and sunglasses most of the time

Hawks himself was sitting by the desk, looking through the stacks of papers in hopes of finding more clues as to where the Phantom Flame could be.

He has been working on this case for at least a year now, starting from when he had a mission in America. One of his colleagues had been killed by that man, as well as many other citizens and heroes. He was the most wanted man in America, and considered a highly dangerous threat in Japan. Nearly nothing was known about that man, which was one of the main traits that made him so dangerous. He was mostly active at night and killed his victims by burning them until they were almost unrecognizable. Then he disappeared.

Keigo has found out from one of the victims before they died, which had managed to hide in a drawer but were shot, that he wasn't alone. There was another buff man with brown hair and sunglasses with him, who had a teleportation quirk, which was most likely why Phantom Flame could dissappear before the police and heroes appeared to the scene.

The ash blonde monitored over his screen any teleportation and fire quirk uses which weren't used by heroes. His monitoring system was limited to parts of America/ USA and parts of Japan, since all those victims were found in those two countries.

"Why the hell is that bastard so hard to find?" he spoke to himself, moving on to the file of his main suspect. Midoriya Hisashi.

The man had a fire breathing quirk, was never to find at night and not much was known about him, though his appearance tended to intimidate other people.

A red blinking light on his screen caught Takami's attention. Turning to look at the computer, his eyes widened as he dropped his coffee in shock, the content spilling all over the floor. But that was the last concern on his mind, seeing as the the red blinking light started beeping slightly.

UNAUTHORIZED TELEPORTATION QUIRK USAGE

The hero quickly zoomed in to the place where the dot was blinking. He took a sharp intake of breath upon seeing that there was a chance that one of Hisashi's men was at one of U.A's hospital rooms. Wasting no time, Hawks grabbed his coat and dissapleared towards U.A. high school.

°-°

Yamaguchi Rin was swearing under his breath, cursing all the pilots and other workers at the airport. He had lost nearly two hours after landing in Japan, because there wasn't enough personal on the border control or shit like that.

After finally getting out of the airport, he took a taxi straight to Musutafu, praying that it wasn't too late. 

Musutafu was thirty minutes away from where he was, and it was 23:20 right now. 

The cab driver was a middle aged man, really kind and friendly who, thank god, knew how to drive fast when he really needed it right now. During the drive, Rin took out his phone and googled the exact location of Bakugou Mitsuki's house. He was tapping his foot impatiently, wondering how far along Hisashi and his crew was. Hopefully not far, but with how organized and strict they were working, Yamaguchi feared the worst.

"We're here, that would be 2 100,917¥", the cab driver told him with a smile. The white haired man payed and wasted no time in getting out of the car. It was 23:48.

He practically sprinted over to the women's house, ringing repeatedly, until a groggy and annoyed voice opened the door and spoke up. "What do you want at this time of night?"

She locked eyes with the man, frowning in confusion because she had never seen him before.

Before she could ask him who he was however, he grabbed her hand and pushed the envelope into it. "This, you have to read it fast, it's from Inko Midoriya. I don't have time to explain, but we need to get to her son Izuku Midoriya!"

He spoke as fast as he could, but then stopped in fear that she didn't understand him, but after a beat of silence, her expression changed into shock and worry." Inko-chan? Oh my god, what happened to Izuku-kun?? "

With shaky hands, Mitsuki opened the envelope and unfolded the letter, beginning to read.

Dear Mitsuki,

I'm sorry that all you hear from me after all this time only through a letter, probably for the first and last time. Please rrad this, because my Izuku is in danger and you habe to help him please. Let me explain:

I made a BIG mistake when Izuku was eleven years old. I left him and moved to America to live with Hisashi. 

I regretted my decision so much after that, but after Izuku got into U.A. and Hisashi saw him at the Sport's Festival, he became obsessed with him and kept saying that our family became like this because of him. I don't know what happened with his mind, but he started getting the idea of torturing and then killing him to steal his quirk. I'm trying to stop him, but I don't think I'll make it out alive. When you get this letter from my dear friend I met here, Yamaguchi Rin, please find Izuku fast. I don't know how much time there is left. 

I'm so sorry Mitsuki for failing all my friends and family. Please tell my dear son that I love him so much and that despite knowing he won't forgive me, I am so so sorry for everything I have done. 

Goodbye, Mitsuki-chan

Your Inko-chan

Mitsuki stared at the letter after reading it, completely speechless. Then, after a while of trying to process everything, she turned to Rin. "Are... Are you Yamaguchi Rin?" said male nodded. "Y-Yes miss. I don't know what happened, but she was a good friend of mine and I want to help with everything I can." the spiky haired woman nodded and turned back to look at the letter, a determined expression crossing her features. Without wasting any more time, she pulled out her phone.

Opening her contacts, she dialed her son's number. 

23:55.

" Katsuki!"

°-°

Bakugou was walking down the hallway, wiping his eyes occasionally as the tears on his eyes slowly dried. The realisation of what he'd done to Izuku was weighing down on him and clouding his mind with guilt completely. He didn't even notice that Shinsou was standing in front of him until he literally bumped into the teen. 

"Watch where you're going", the purple haired male said, not looking up from his phone. "Sorry", the blonde absent-minded answered and did not move from where he stopped. Shinsou froze. Did Bakugou just-? He whipped his head around and frowned when he saw the other boy's red, puffy eyes. "The hell are you crying for?" he asked, gaze shifting down the hall to Izuku's room, as if he'd be able to hear something from that room. 

"None of your business, brain fuck." 

The boys left it at that, nobody making a move to leave, only glaring at each other with hate. That is until Katsuki's phone starting ringing. He scoffed. "What the hell does that old hag want now?" 

He accepted the call. However before he could answer with a loud voice, his mother shouted. "Katsuki!!" All 45 kinds of cursing responses he already had prepared got stuck in his throat as he heard the sheer panic in Mitsuki's voice.

"Mom? What happened??" Hitoshi looked at the spiky haired blonde in wonder, confused about what caused his mom to panic. "Izuku! It's Izuku!! Where is he right now?!"

The purple haired teen's eyes widened and so did the blonde's, however before Bakugou could answer, a bone-chilling, terrified scream was heard down the hallway. Katsuki's face contorted into one of pain as he gasped and fisted his shirt on the place where his heart was. It was Izuku, Izuku was in danger. 

Alarm clocks rang in both the boys' heads and they ran back towards Midoriya's room, dread and terror crawling up their spines. "I'll call you back later, mom!" Shinsou had never heard Katsuki's voice sound so frightened and panicked. A hurried 'wait' was heard from the phone, but Bakugou pressed the button to end the call. They sprinted even faster now, Hitoshi slamming open the door upon reaching it.

" IZUKU!!"Wide, frantic purple eyes were glowing as they desperately scanned the room. The spiky haired boy gasped. "SHIT! "

Hitoshi saw the phone on the bed that was ringing and, without wasting any time, picked up. Immediately, Todoroki's alarmed voice was heard. "Izuku?!" 

°-°

The three heroes were running towards Nedzu's office after making sure the mammal was still there. With everything they'd found out, it was to be discussed first and then all of them would work out a plan. 

The hallways of U.A. High school were deadly quiet and after coming to stand in front of the office, they knocked on the door. After hearing a 'yes', all of them entered. The first thing they saw was that the principal was still sitting on the couch, his cup of feet surprisingly still full, but no steam was coming from it, which meant that the tea was cold. That alome left an uneasy feeling in the heroes, because Nedzu's cup of tea was always, always hot. 

"N-Nedzu-san?" Present Mic asked hesitantly, afraid of startling the mammal. He was met with silence, and Yamada was about to ask again, when he spoke up. "Yes?" His voice was quiet and lacked any emotion. It was strange to see the cheerful and happy principal like this, for he'd never sounded like he sounded right now. 

Nedzu cleared his throat as he really seemed to become aware of the fact that there were three people at the door. 

"Take a seat, you three", the trio shuffled inside the room amd sat in front of the other. They saw Izuku's file on the desk, opened at the page they had seen before. He hadn't offered them tea, was what all of them instantly noticed and wondered what happened. 

"Well", whatever was occupying the mammal's mind was pushed back as Aizawa, Yamada and Toshinori saw him take a deep breath and compose himself. "I talked to Bakugou-kun and he said that this file here is not truthful. Therefore I will instigate this case myself with the help of you three and additionally I will ask Detective Naomasa and the police to help with this case. It is not a simple matter of bullying. If this file really is fake, then this is a serious matter of breaking the law and the teachers responsible for this will have a lot of problems. "

The three heroes nodded and were just about to report what they saw in Izuku's house, when the door flew open and a man barged in. 

" Principal Nedzu! Where is the medical ward of U.A.?!"

All four males were stunned by the sudden appearance of the man. He had ash blond hair, gold-brown eyes and on his back, they saw two large, red wings. The man was dressed in his hero costume. 

"Takami-kun, to what do I owe this sudden visit?" There was no happiness in this question, Nedzu was dead serious, especially when seeing Hawks, who was usually also very cheerful, so frantic. 

The hero's mouth opened, when the five people heard footsteps running towards them." NEDZU-SAN WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" 

Kaminari and Sero were breathing heavily, having run all the way there from U.A.'s dormitory. Aizawa raised an eyebrow at the sheer panic in his students' eyes and stood up. 

"Kaminari, Sero, what are you doing here?" 

The duo blinked as if only now realising they weren't the only ones in the room and gasped louy when they saw their homeroom teacher. 

"Aizawa-sensei!! It's Midoriya, something happened to him! He send Todoroki a message saying HELP and when Todoroki called back, Shinsou answered the call and said that Midoriya just dissappeared!" 

Silence. 

" WHAT?! "

Chapter Text

"WHAT?!" All Might and Present Mic shot up, Nedzu dropped his cup and Hawks eyes narrowed in confusion, trying to make sense of who they were talking about. 

After Kaminari's outburst, the tension skyrocketed as everyone had to stop and process what the student shouted. Aizawa couldn't comprehend at first, the words sounding like a foreign language to him. 

Midoriya was gone. 

His student was gone. 

His problem child was gone. 

Hadn't he gone through enough already? 

There were so many mysteries surrounding the boy, so many problems that had to be solved and right when Aizawa and the others were beginning to discover what was going on, he was suddenly gone.

It took some time for them to finally make a move, and when they did, everything erupted in chaos. "Everyone, to the medical ward!"

Kaminari and Sero were the first to run, followed by Hawks, Present Mic, Aizawa, Nedzu, and All Might. 

The older hero himself was panicked, not understanding how something like this could have happened in a place like U.A. Wasn't the school supposed to be safe? 

His chest felt tight all of a sudden as endless possibilities crossed his mind.

His successor was kidnapped by the League of Villains. 

His successor jumped out of the window in panic when he saw something inside and disappeared.

Someone, other than the League of Villains, kidnapped him for his quirk.

Someone wanted to get information about U.A. out of him.

He was abducted and about to be killed.

He was already dead.

Toshinori refused to let that happen. The boy was like a nephew to him and had so many problems surrounding him, he definitely needed help. And the issue about what happened at USJ was still unsolved...

As everyone came closer to the hospital room, they heard angry shouts and cries.

Bakugou was on his knees, touching the place where his heart was while Kirishima was beside him, a hand on his back. Opposite to the two, Shinsou was sitting on the floor, propped up against the wall as tears fell down his eyes and he fisted his hair. He was shaking his head and his face was too pale to be considered normal.

Todoroki was standing by the left side of Shinsou, forehead against the wall as he had his eyes closed and tried to stop his hands from shaking in rage and despair. He had his phone in his right hand and just as he was about to slamm it against the opposite wall, Present Mic grabbed his arm and slowly lowered it, making sure the teen would calm down.

"It's okay, Todoroki, let's sort this out okay?" the teen slumped against Yamada and just stared at the floor as his eyes glazed over. 

Aizawa rushed to Shinsou, hands hovering over the teen, but reluctant to touch the boy. 

"Shinsou?"

But the teen didn't hear him, his eyes unfocused and terrified. How could he have let that happen?! 

He had been just down the hall, waiting for Bakugou to come out of the room so Hitoshi himself could go back again, and right when he was about to go back, right in that fucking moment, the blonde gets a call saying they should check on him. 

Next thing they knew he was gone. It was all his fault, all his fault! And now his friend was gone, kidnapped, maybe even dead by now and they wouldn't even know! If he had been a bit faster, if he had only been smarter and waited outside the door despite the green haired boy's protests, everything would have been alright! 

But no, he just had to fuck up and get Izuku in danger! 

It really was all his fault, and his fault only, he was an awful friend and didn't deserve forgive-

"Shinsou! Snap out of it, we can't do anything about the situation if you don't tell us what happened!" 

The purple haired teen blinked three times and slowly turned his head to look at the underground hero. The latter froze and a chill ran down his spine upon seeing the terrified expression. 

"H-Hes gone... " the boy whispered, and leaned against the black haired teacher, who could do nothing more but pat his back in a futile attempt of comfort.

"H-He's in danger, we have to help him, he needs help, he's hurt and-" 

"Woah, woah! Calm down Bakubro! We can't help you or Izuku if you don't tell us what happened, okay?" 

Kirishima interrupted, not understanding the sudden change of behavior in the spiky haired blonde. Didn't he dislike Deku? 

All Might kneeled beside the spiky haired blonde, his bony hands shaking with worry. "Bakugou?" 

At the older voice, said male looked up to meet Toshinori's eyes. "Who the hell are you?" 

The answer got stuck in Yagi's throat. Shit, he forgot that they didn't know his 'weak' form yet. 

Before he could answer though, Nedzu's voice chimed in. "I'm going to explain everything later, it's about time you know." 

Bakugou wanted to relax, to get his shit together, but the knot did not dissappear. He felt as if he was about to puke and the feeling was all about his childhood friend. His ears were ringing, his eyes couldn't seem to be able to focus on anything, because everything in him was screaming to help Izuku. It was the same feeling he had gotten when they were younger and Deku hurt his foot, his mother had told him some shit about a connection after that. 

And right now, this connection was stronger than he ever felt it, indicating that his childhood friend was in immense danger. But he was out of his reach, wasn't he? 

Kirishima, after seeing that Bakugou was in the care of that old, bony man, stepped back beside Kaminari, whose eyes were swimming with unshed tears, fear taking over his whole body. Without hesitation, the red haired boy engulfed his friend in a tight hug. 

"What are we gonna do now, Ei? Midoriya is gone, we have to help him..." 

Eijiro's own eyes were glazed over too, and before anyone could see his tears, he hid his face in Denki's shoulder and silently cried. "I-I don't know Denki, I don't know...." 

Upon Nedzu's request to gather all the other students from 1-A in their classroom, Sero disappeared down the hallway, back towards Heights Alliance. 

Meanwhile, everyone else already went to 1-A's classroom, quiet and desolate.

Kirishima and Denki sat beside each other at the front row, Bakugou sitting down on his usual place and looking out of the window, his hand never leaving his chest. Shinsou, who had still not stopped crying, sat down on Midoriya's chair and thought about what his friend had told him, trusted him with.

Hitoshi feld honored, of course he did, because Izuku was the only student whom he really respected. And to know that he was the only one that knew about his 'real' quirk... He was determined. If Midoriya wouldn't tell anyone about it, he wouldn't as well. A secret as big as this one shouldn't openly be talked about anyway.

Aizawa, for once, wasn't sleeping in his yellow puffy bag while waiting for the rest of his students. He was pacing back and forth across the room, cursing all the security systems in U.A. They should have warned them that there was an unknown person breaking into the high school , and yet, nobody knew until his two students came running into the principal's office and shouting that Midoriya was gone.

... That's right... He was gone, kidnapped, taken by some mysterious person that no doubt was hurting his student. 

"Where is Deku-kun?" The door opened and Uraraka was the first to step in, looking sick with worry. Beside her, Iida fared no better, he wasn't wearing his glasses and his brows were furrowed in anxiousness. The rest of the students were right behind them, some not yet having comprehended what this ruckus was about, some already wide awake and urging the others to enter the classroom. 

"Everyone, please take a seat, everything will be explained in a bit", they heard Nedzu's loud and stern voice, and without any complains, did as they were told. Uraraka practically ran towards Todoroki, who was sitting quietly on his seat with his head down. 

"T-Todoroki-kun, are you okay?" the girl asked and layed a hand on the boy's shoulder, noticing how he was trembling slightly. 

Shouto didn't give her a verbal reply, but shook his head and gave her a hard look. 

Until his friend would be found, nothing would be okay. 

" Is everyone here now?" Present Mic asked, glancing at the clock which read 00:32 am.

Iida answered with a short yes after looking around and seeing that everyone was there.

"Good", Nedzu sat on the teacher's desk and clasped his hands together, his constant smile gone and replaced with a deep frown.

"Then let us begin. The reason we have called you here at this hour is because something grievous has happened and we need to think of our next steps."

Next to speak was Aizawa, who looked worse for wear than they'd ever seen him. Gone was the indifferent and bored expression the homeroom teacher wore in their presence, replaced by a frantic and anxious one.

" To all of you who haven't been present at the time it happened or don't know yet what happened", Shouta spoke, eyeing six students in particular, before continuing. "Midoriya Izuku has dissappeared from his hospital room approximately half an hour ago-"

Everything erupted in chaos once again.

"What do you mean he dissappeared?"

"Where is he now?"

"How could he have dissappeared if it is a secure place?"

"How do we find him?"

Shinsou abruptly averted his gaze again to look out of the window, eyes glazed over.

Todoroki looked down and clenched his hands to fists, hating to see how they were trembling.

Kirishima, Sero and Kaminari moved to quiet the others down, though their feet were aching to rush out, find the bastard who took THEIR friend and obliterate him. 

The only one who did not move at all or made any indication that he was listening was Bakugou. He was still slumped in his seat, still had his eyes closed, but when All Might took a glance at the spiky haired blonde, he gulped. The boy was literally steaming. He was gritting his teeth and his whole posture screamed that he was about to go on a killing spree.

His hands were making tiny, almost unnoticeable explosions, but if he had the opportunity, he would have blasted all those loud and annoying extras away.

Couldn't they fucking be quiet so they could finally do something?! 

"And you woke us up only because of that?"

Bakugou's mind came to an halt in a split second and his anger skyrocketed.

"What-" 

Slamming his hands on his desk, everyone shrieked when the table took the brunt of Katsuki's fury and split in many, tiny pieces. 

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY GRAPE FUCK!?" 

Waltzing over to the terrified teen (pervert), he grabbed Mineta by his shirt and lifted him up. 

"Bakugou", Aizawa gave him a warning look, but did nothing more to stop him, knowing fully well the purple haired male deserved it.

"CARE TO REPEAT THAT AGAIN?"

Despite shaking like a leaf, Minoru opened his mouth and everyone present in the room face palmed.

"I-I as-asked why th-they wok-woke u-u-us up b-because of tha-that..."

He didn't have any time to react before he found himself slammed against the wall.

"Are you fucking nuts?! Deku is gone and all you care about was your sleep and freaking perverted dream??", he stalked over until he was leaning in close to Mineta, a bright grin filled with malice on his face.

"Listen here grape haired fucker, next time you'll get kidnapped, I'll do shit about it, in fact, I'll end you myself and make it look like an accident, got it?"

A shaky nod was all he got in response and Bakugou huffed, sitting back down on his seat again.

The other Class 1-A students took their time to give Mineta a nasty glare before turning their attention back towards their homeroom teacher. Sighing exasperated, Eraserhead continued.

"We do not know who is responsible for this or-"

"Actually I might help you with that", Hawks suddenly spoke up, who everyone forgot was even there with them.

Seeing that nobody said anything else, he continued.

"I've been working on a case for a long time, about a man who mercilessly kills his victims by burning them and disappearing just like that." 

"Ah, the Phantom Flame I assume", U.A's principal said, looking thoughtfully at the Winged Hero. Latter gave a nod and continued. "I have been able to keep track of the places he appears at on a monitor, but it seems that he has been taking a break from killing to plot something. I got a signal from the monitor an hour ago that this man's quirk has been activated in one of U.A's hospital rooms." The temperature in the room dropped and silence hung in the air.

" Wait-Wait, you mean you think that this villain kidnapped Izuku?"

Nobody in the room moved, all of the students were frozen in their seats and fidgeting in their seat as dread pooled in their stomach, mixed with fear. They knew exactly who Phantom Flame was and what he was capable of. If that monster got his disgusting fingers on Midoriya...

"Do you have someone as a suspect in mind who could be-" This time it was Aizawa who asked, but was once again interrupted.

"Yes, I have and from what I gathered-"

Keigo's explanation was cut off by the sound of a door slamming open, revealing a distressed Mitsuki with a white haired man in tow.

"Mom?!" Bakugou shouted out, the heroes looking confused at each other as to why his mother was here. With a stranger no less.

"I'm so sorry for the intrusion sirs", she told the heroes, "but this is very important."

"Come in, if my guess is right, you're here because of Midoriya-kun?" Nedzu asked, catching the white haired man's gaze.

Mitsuki nodded dumbfounded and entered the room along with the male.

"And who are you?"

The principal didn't break eye contact with Rin, who straightened up and tensed even more if possible.

"My name is Yamaguchi Rin and I am a friend of Midoriya Inko-" 

"Midoriya?" Hawks suddenly questioned, only now having noticed that familiar last name. 

"Yes, isn't that Izuku's mother's name?" Shouta stated, raising an eyebrow. 

"The suspect about Phantom Flame's real identity is Midoriya Hisashi." 

"Isn't that the name of Deku's dad?" Katsuki inquired, looking between Hawks, his mother and Rin. 

"Yes, but I haven't heard from him in a while before Rin here suddenly knocked on my door." 

"But it was reported that Midoriya Hisashi didn't have any known living relatives", Keigo looked at Bakugou's mother in question, but the woman only stared at the white haired male. 

"Yes, because Hisashi disowned Izuku and Inko is not alive anymore." 

Present Mic choked on his spit when he heard the words. 

"What do you mean, she is not alive anymore? Doesn't Izuku live with his mom?" 

Beside him, Aizawa lost all sense of self preservation, regarding the male in front of him with a worry nobody knew he had. 

As for Bakugou, it seemed like everyone was speaking a different language, because every word that was being said seemed like they were spilling nonsense. 

Inko was dead. 

Hisashi was supposedly a murderer. 

What the fuck?! 

"Wait, could it be that you don't know?" 

His train of thoughts were interrupted by the white haired male, Rin. 

Every student felt out of place in their own classroom for the first time, it seemed as if they were intruding in their classmates personal life, but... maybe it was for the best. Their friend had suffered long enough and it was time they'd help him. 

"D-Don't know what?" Toshinori slightly stuttered, hands fidgeting and eyes darting from everyone nervously. 

He didn't know what was going on with his successor and the truth they were about to find out appeared to be much worse than they originally had dared to imagine. 

Yamaguchi pursed his lips and studied everyone of the heroes for a second, then turned uncertainly towards the kids and then directed his eyes back towards Toshinori. 

"Inko abandoned Izuku when he was eleven to live with Hizashi in America, and was killed by him." 

The sudden stillness in the room was unnerving. Aizawa, Yamada and Toshinori were looking at each other in disbelief, their faces almost white with how pale they were. 

Uraraka abrubtly stood up and stumbled back. 

" S-Sensei", she stuttered, tears filling in her eyes."Why didn't we know that? We're supposed to be his friends and he didn't trust us enough to tell us something as important as this." 

Shouta only looked down in guilt and shame. 

It was all his fault. His attitude of indifference and lack of attention towards his student's problem was the whole reason the boy was gone now. If only he had payed attention to him more in the beginning or shown him that he cared, anything that could have assured his problem child to come to him we he needed someone, then he would be with them now and not god-knows-where. 

"I'm working on a case regarding the Phantom Flame and my main suspect is Hisashi Midoriya. Is he-" 

"-that monster? Yes. I've been forced to work for him for quite a while, that's where I met Inko." 

Nodding thoughtfully, Hawks averted his eyes from Rin and towards Nedzu. 

Said mammal was about to speak, when he heard Aizawa muttering under his breath, something along the lines of 'just what we needed now', before he fixated his gaze on the white haired man. 

"Turns out my problem child has been kidnapped by his own father, who is also Phantom Flame who killed Izuku's mother, who abandoned her own son when he was eleven?" 

Rin nodded. 

"Jesus fucking christ", the black haired man started fuming again, Hizashi trying to calm him down, despite wanting to hunt down that bastard and eradicate him. 

The students were tranquil after those words were spoken. How could they have not noticed? 

That was a question lingering on everyone's mind these days, the only thing that mattered. 

"What are we going to do now, Sensei?" Yaorouzu asked firmly, not taking her eyes off of the teacher. 

"I-I have something that might help", Rin fumbled with his jeans pocket for a while before pulling out a ring with various keys attached to it. 

"It's not much, but when I escaped I grabbed his keys that have access to all the rooms in the building in America and in Japan, the place were he most likely brought Izuku to. But I don't know where this building is located, only his personal guards are allowed to come with him."

"But that is enough to work around", everyone's head snapped towards Nedzu, whose eyes were literally sparkling with unspoken fury and resolve. 

Leaning a little bit forward, all of the students anticipating what the mammal would say. 

"If I am correct, Yamaguchi-kun, then you also know how those guards look and what their quirks are", Rin gave a nod, "which means we have to work on finding the location first. After that, we'll split into three groups. The observation group, the attack group and rescue group.

The observation group will go into the building first and watch out for anything important, for example the exact number of people that are in this building. Based on that, we'll send out a larger number of heroes who will attack the building and arrest the villains, while the rescue group searches for Midoriya-kun and saves him. Any questions?"

Kirishima raised his hand.

"Can we help save Izuku?"

Aizawa was about to interfere with a negative response because - he thought the fuck not, they were not experienced and still children - when Nedzu stopped him.

" It is going to depend on how dangerous the situation is. At most, I'll allow you to be part of the rescue group when everything is cleared, but that is a question for when we've found the place Midoriya-kun is kept in." 

"I'll inform Mirai of the recent events and ask him to help us, as well as Gran Torino", All Might spoke firmly, already taking out his phone. 

"Very well Toshinori-kun, the rest of us will be in the conference room then, I'll bring the other pro heroes too." 

"Wait wait!" Bakugou suddenly shouted out. "You still didn't say who that old man is!"

"Oh that? You see, that's All Might."

"HUH?!"

Chapter Text

Hello my dear readers! I am back with another update!

Honestly, those are just a few things I wanted to say because there might have been a little bit of confusion for some of you considering one point, so here we go.

So, there has been a question about the Bakugou and Midoriya relationship tag, because I changed it. 

As of right now, those two cannot even be considered friends because of all the shit Baku has put Deku through. That's why I decided to make it a "future relationship tag" but leave it at the "friendship tag" for now, because they are going to be together at the very end, last chapter is going to be an epilog.

For now until the end, the story is more going to be about Bakugou trying to redeem himself and get Izuku to trust him again, which is my priority.

Because I don't want it to sound like those stories where Bakugou bullies Deku, but then Deku forgives him and only fluff follows. I made Katsuki that aggressive in this story for a reason, which is honestly just me wanting to make him feel the heartbreaking guilt I need in my life for bullying Izuku and then working hard to gain the other's trust again.

So, if any of you were confused, yes there will be Bakudeku romantic relationship, but at the very happy end.

I hope this doesn't change your view of the story  :)

Then, the next point I've been thinking about was the first Update in this story I made and about the voting for the next thing. 

I want to thank all of you for voicing your opinion so thoroughly and based on that I decided on what I am going to do from here on. 

After I finish writing this story, I'll be rewriting a few chapter / adding a few, mainly abou tthe sport's festival because it kind if left a big hole in the beginning with the whole skips I made. I already have half of it written, so it's going to be really fast.

After that, I'll start writing the Shigadeku brother AU, because it got the most votes, BUT parallel to this one, I'll be posting a Haikyuu fanfic I've been working on and only publish it when it's completely finished so I can make regular updates on certain days.

For any of you who are interested in the Haikyuu fic, I wrote the summary here:

Everything's been fine until now. Shouyou had a great team, his techniques have improved greatly since attending Karasuno and they were winning lots of matches.

Who thought that one game could change everything.

Blamed for almost loosing the game, getting picked on, insulted and left out of team practices, Hinata drops out of Karasuno and leaves Japan without a trace.

Two years later, he comes back and enrolls in Tokyo University, having changed completely. What he didn't expect, was to meet so many people he played against during his high school days, who wanted answers to all their questions.

And it's going to be an Oihina fic because Kageyama doesn't deserve Shouyou in this fic, so sorry for everyone who has a problem with this choice of ship. But again, this story is also going to focus more on friendship and all, with lots of worried Bokuto, Kenma, Kuroo, Akaashi, Lev, Inuoka, Iwaizumi and the Karasuno third years. but with the additional Oikawa x Hinata.

Oh and Sakusa is gonna be in it too, he ain't gonna be left out of this one x) 

I'll also be posting one and two shots about Boku No Hero and Haikyuu, so please look forward to it. 

And the last thing I'm going to bother you with is about the rescue group I mentioned in the last chapter.

My head is full with ideas but I cannot choose a person who will rescue Izuku from Hisashi. 

It would be really nice if you could tell me your opinion about it and choose one or two of the following characters:

1. Kirishima

2. Shinsou

3. Aizawa

4. Present Mic

5. Hawks

6. Todoroki

Bakugou will be in the attack group, eventough he was said to be on the rescue group, but that boi ain't having any of that shit, he still has to eradicate a certain dad XD

Ok, my rambling is just going to end here, please leave comments and see you in the next chapter!   d=(´▽｀)=b

Chapter Text

Izuku woke with a start. 

He blinked a few times to try and clear his vision, only to notice that it was completely dark in the room, as well as strangely quiet. 

Not a comfortable quiet, more of a dangerous quiet you see in horror movies when something unexpectedly horrible was about to happen. 

He tried to move his hands, but then noticed that they were chained to a wall, as well as his feet, and he had a thick collar on his neck.

The green haired boy's head was seemingly splitting in half because of a headache, and he was completely confused as to where he was and who took him.

He was in the hospital, that he remembered. But what was the last thing that happened?

Izuku knew Shinsou found out about both his quirks - how could you be so careless and stupid - and then Bakugou had come and asked to talk. Shinsou left after that and they had a "lovely" chat, after which he asked Bakugou to leave... After that... 

Deku straightened up immediately after everything came rushing back to his head, his mind going rigid. His father has been there, in the hospital room and took him and now he was here with that man he hadn't seen in eleven years. 

But where was here? 

The room didn't have a single window in it, so there wasn't any light that could make it possible to see if there was something in the room. 

He couldn't even look where the door was, and he didn't hear anything because it was completely and utterly silent. 

All of a sudden, a door in front of him swung open and Midoriya flinched, almost letting out a loud shriek. He saw the silhouette of a tall, buff man, who slowly came closer with heavy steps. 

"How lovely, so your awake now, Izuku?" 

The voice chirped far too happily and kneeled down, gripping the boys face hard and forcing him to look up. 

The grin on the man's face was a complete contrast to the evil glint in his eyes that promised a lot of pain. 

Izuku gulped, exhaling shakily. 

"Well, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here, right?" 

Deku stayed silent.

A harsh slap on his cheek and he whimpered. 

"Right??" 

After getting a small nod, Hisashi stood up and towered over the freckled boy. "You see, after all this time, your existence has been a... thorn in the eye, to say the least. I wanted to kill you right off the bat after kidnapping you and leave your body to rot here until your precious teachers would have found you, but I suddenly had a more... how to say... funnier idea, you see."

Upon hearing those words, a chill ran down Izuku's spine, making him shake with fear. He had come to terms that his father hated him long ago. But that was one thing, to see him here and saying he wanted to kill him was a whole other thing. A more funny idea? 

He was terrified to even imagine what it was, but judging by how his father had gone completely crazy, the teen prayed that Aizawa-sensei would save him. Or anyone else, it didn't really matter. Even if they didn't care about him, his homeroom teacher had told him that he would help him didn't he? 

It was the first time ever someone has told him that, gave him a reason to believe again, and despite his mind screaming at him to not trust anyone, to distance himself because everyone would only hurt him, he clung to his sensei's words with desperation. 

"You know what, Izuku?" Hisashi leaned in close and whispered in his ear. 

"I'm going to torture you to the point you won't even remember your own name, and then I'm going to burn you to a crisp, slow and painfully, and leave your body for those heroes to find. You won't get the chance to relax here. You might have stolen someone's quirk to get into U.A, but without it, you are just a pathetic excuse of a low-life. Your only purpose in life is to serve as a punching bag for those who would even waste their time to look at you. Nothing more, nothing less. "

No, no, no...! Izuku shook his head vehemently as tears gathered in his eyes. 

This couldn't be true, not after everyone told him he was worth more, it just couldn't be! 

But it is, a part of his mind whispered. He didn't want to believe, he wanted to deny it, but deep down, he knew it was true, he knew nobody really cared for him and only told him that they did out of pity, even Shinsou who just had to be good at hiding his emotions and true feelings of disgust and pity. 

Even Aizawa-sensei, whom he knew didn't like him from the beginning. 

Even Kirishima, who was the first student to visit him after the USJ incident he didn't even want to remember. 

And even Todoroki, who had a much more tragic past than he himself had. 

So why was he behaving like whimp? 

He should have known it would come to that one day. Kacchan had been right after all, taking a swan dive off the roof WOULD have been a better option, but he had been afraid to do even that. 

"I hope you're ready for what I'm going to do with you, my son, so much fun indeed!" the man laughed as he exited the room, closing it with a loud noise. 

Izuku curled up on the ground and cried silently, dark thoughts and whispers plaguing his mind endlessly as all of his foolish hopes of a better life shattered. 

Distantly, he still thought about the others, hoping that someone would prove him that no, he was wrong, people cared for him, but that was one small part compared to his mind that was thinking realistically. How could he have even dared to hope such thing? Just how desperate was he for someone to see him for more than just a useless pebble of dirt on the floor? 

He would die here alone. 

And nobody would come. 

Not for useless Deku. 

~

The uneasiness about the situation rolled off every student in waves, creating a heavy and suffocating atmosphere back in the dorms.

Uraraka was crying, Iida and Tsuyu trying to calm her down, reassuring that everything would be alright.

The students sitting not too far away from the trio where looking away and questioning would it really?

Todoroki has retreated back to his own room to think, and if a few tears escaped his eyes, it wasn't anyone's business to know. He was sitting cross-legged in the middle of his room, a few flames flickering here and there and his walls were frozen at some parts.

He had gotten the message from Izuku, after which he had immediately called him whilst running to U.A. in a hurry, Kirishima and the others trailing not too far behind. But he was already gone. His friend was already gone and the only thing left was Izuku's phone.

Todoroki wanted to burn down everything in the room and take apart every last bit of the city until the green haired boy would be found, but Nedzu's instructions had been crystal clear: Stay in the dorms together until Aizawa-sensei would come to them with further instructions.

Honestly, he had shared a look with Shinsou at that statement and they both came to the silent agreement that if the pro heroes would tell them to stay at school while they would save Midoriya, he and the purple haired boy would just sneak out anyway to help save their friend. And the consequences were not relevant at all. Not if it was about saving a dear friend's life. 

Exhaling shakily, Shouto leaned back until he was lying on the floor and staring up at the ceiling.

'Izuku... Where are you?'

~

Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero were all huddled up in the living room, along with Mina and a few other students, who were all asking about what happened exactly.

Uraraka, Iida and Asui also sat down closer to listen to what Kaminari was saying, while Kirishima was sitting beside him and crying with his head on the blonde's shoulder. 

Shinsou was sitting quietly in Izuku's room on his bed, looking around but not sure what he should do now. 

When he heard what the boy's father did, his first thought was if Izuku himself knew who his father was. Probably not though, if his parents abandoned him... 

Shinsou let himself fall back onto the teen's bed, guilt and sorrow filling his heart as he thought about what his friend must have went through. 

Hitoshi felt so bad about thinking of Izuku as another arrogant kid blessed with a strong quirk in the beginning. First of all, he was anything but arrogant, he was the complete opposite to be exact. Shy, self-conscious, heart of gold and selfless, not to mention his habit of mumbling to himself whilst analyzing a person's quirk. 

Second of all, the amount of pain he must have gone through as a child was unthinkable. Shinsou himself had a hard time as a kid, because nobody wanted to be friends with him. 

"You're never going to become a hero with that villainous quirk", some kids had told him. 

"Don't come closer to us, villain!", others said. 

To put it short, he was alone all his life, all because he didn't have a hero-like quirk. 

That's why the purple haired boy could only imagine what Izuku must have went through if he didn't have a quirk until he was eleven years old, and even then, if he didn't tell anyone about his quirk now, did that mean he hid it back then too? 

Society was fucked up, he knew that, and if 20 percent of the people all around the world didn't have a quirk, then it would be much less in Japan alone. He himself had never met a quirkless person, but if he had, he would have done everything to be kind to that person. 

Shinsou's hands were itching nervously and he was sweating profusely, thinking about what Izuku was going through right now. He didn't care what the teachers would tell them, either way, he'll be going to rescue Izuku too, with permission or without. 

~

Since coming back to the dorms, Bakugou has locked himself in the bathroom and not come out at all, despite Kirishima and the others calling for him. The pain in his chest has subsided a little bit, but not enough to be able to relax. 

Now that he thought of it, the last time he felt something like that was...four years ago? Didn't that Rin guy say Auntie left Deku four years ago? 

"Motherfucking hell...", Bakugou whispered. For someone who claimed to know Deku the longest, he knew nothing about him at all. If his childhood friend had suffered all that shit at home, and went to school just to be tormented there as well... How could he still be so happy? 

He didn't understand. 

Maybe Izuku was faking his emotions...and if he did, he was freaking good at it. 

'Well, he had plenty of time to learn how to fake it', his mind cruelly whispered, reminding the spiky haired male of what he had done to the green haired boy. Katsuki didn't understand for a long time, that he had to admit. He was an arrogant brat in elementary and middle school, heck, he had been one since getting a quirk. But he wanted to change now.

Try and make amends with who he once called friend and redeem himself, at least a little. Midoriya had every right to hate him forever, if it where him on the green haired boy's place, he sure would have, but right now, he had to push those thoughts to the back of his mind.

There were more pressing matters right now.

Find Hisashi that bastard, rescue Izuku and find out everything that happened to him before U.A. And even if Aizawa would find out that it was him who beat Izuku and made fun of him, he was ready to face all the consequences. Maybe he should take anger management classes...

"Yo Bakubro? We're having dinner, you coming?" a knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts.

The usually loud and energetic voice of Kirishima was quiet and serious, the grin on his face nonexistent and his eyes were dull and sad.

Bakugou wanted to scream.

Scream, shout, destroy something, anything, because every single student had that look of devastation or fury plastered across their faces, it just reminded the spiky haired blonde of what occured.

They decided to eat in the living room for once after having ordered some take out, the mood being even worse than before. The absence of a shy, seemingly cheerful voice was apparent, and Katsuki clenched his hands into a fist at the silence.

No mumbling, no conversations with friends, just...stillness, desolation and fury. 

"What are we going to do now?" Kaminari broke the quietness, looking up from his food with teary eyes. 

"We're sure as hell not going to be allowed to help, I mean, have you seen Aizawa-sensei's face when Eiji asked if we could participate too?" 

Kirishima nodded beside the blonde. "Yeah, he looked ready to eradicate my very existence at the question, you know. Man, I thought I would die, honestly." 

"So what?" Everyone's head whipped around to look in shock at Todoroki, who had spoken up for the first time since coming back to the dorms. "Even of Aizawa-sensei is going to tell us to stay back and wait, I'm not going to miss the opportunity of saving my friend." 

Shouto's eyes were gleaming in unspoken anger and determination. He was quiet and didn't talk much, he didn't have a lot of friends and avoided getting any. But after Izuku had helped him and they became friends, it was as if a whole new world had been opened for him. For the first time in his life, he felt like he belonged somewhere and didn't even mind being talked to. He had felt happy after that, all thanks to the green haired boy who made him realise that the quirk was his and only his. 

And now that Izuku needed him, Todoroki was ready to break every single rule to get him back. Especially that he was in the clutches of Phantom Flame, who could do god knows what with the boy. 

"He's right", Shinsou inquired, pressing his lips into a thin line. "I want to murder Hisashi myself for kidnapping Izuku, and I'm ready to face whatever consequences for that."

Bakugou was shocked by the way Hitoshi said all that with such a monotone voice and straight face, as if his words were the most obvious thing he's ever said. And at some point they were, even if hearing them from the usually disinterested and bored male was quite a shock. 'But it makes sense', he thought, 'since everyone loves Deku'. 

"That's right!" Everyone jumped at the loud voice of Eijiro, who had jumped from his seat in the process and was standing tall now with his hands on his hips. "I'm sure as hell gonna save Izuku from that bastard! But we need a plan first and...", the red haired teen groaned. 

"We gotta find out where he's being kept. I don't think Aizawa-sensei's going to tell us, so we have to find out ourselves... Somehow...", Kirishima trailed off, losing the confidence he just had mere seconds ago. Everyone fell into silence again, thinking about how they would get the information they needed. 

"Do you think they are going to tell us if they find where Midoriya's being kept in?" 

"As if", Katsuki scoffed. "They're not gonna tell us shit. I bet they're just gonnay say : Midoriya has been found, stay in the dorms until we're back and don't cause trouble." 

When his words met silence, the blonde haired male opened his eyes and looked around to see all of his classmates, Shinsou included, staring flabbergasted at him. "What? "

" You're... You're so calm Bakubro! Are you coming down with a fever? " Sero asked, laughing when he saw the boy glare at him. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN?! I'M PERFECTLY FINE ASSHOLE!"

"Oh, there he is", Mina snickered, the others joining in. Before Katsuki could throw another one of his insults, Uraraka interrupted him.

"He's right. I don't think Aizawa-sensei or anyone else will tell us what's going on, they know we would try to follow them."

"And what are we supposed to do then?" Yaorouzu asked, leaning back against the armchair as she sipped on her tea. That got everyone to think again.

What should they do?

What COULD they even do?

It's not that the U.A. staff was exceptionally good at keeping secrets from their students, but somehow nobody was able to find out anything when they needed it.

"I guess we'll just have to stay alert and see if we can eavesdrop on a conversation or something. We're only students, so I think that would be as far as we could go. I mean, they're pro heroes, it would be hard to find out classified information", Denki sighed, everyone else feeling just as disappointed that they couldn't come up with anything better. 

"Maybe Shinsou can brainwash someone and make them tell us the information?" Mineta suggested, and immediately, 19 pairs of eyes were glaring at him; hateful and furious. 

"Sure", Jiro spoke up in a calm and composed manner, "and when Aizawa-sensei will find out, we're gonna tell him it was you who suggested it and then you'll get expelled."

"Nah, not before Midoriya will wipe out your existence after he comes back."

"Yeah,probably! Everyone knows how dedicated Deku is, especially to his friends!" 

"Yeah, but before any of that can happen", Todoroki surprisingly spoke up in a deep and cold voice, making Mineta shiver in fear as the red and white haired boy loomed over him, "I'll freeze you up with my quirk and then burn you for even suggesting that." 

The grape haired boy shrieked in fear at the unusual display of hate on the fire and ice quirk user, and nodded quickly, sinking further into the armchair he was sitting in. 

"M-Maybe I could sneak in somehow and listen in", Hagakure softly suggested, Uraraka standing up in shock. "Absolutely not sweetie! That's too dangerous! If Aizawa-sensei or anyone else finds out, we're dead!" 

Everyone else agreed and it became quiet once more, all ideas they had having been crushed by the mere fact that they could not go against pro heroes, who have a lot more experience than them and would find out eventually. 

"Then all we can do is hope they tell us something or we'll overhear by accident. I don't really wanna get in trouble for using a quirk on a teacher or sneaking in to listen on purpose", Kaminari stood up and made his way over to the kitchen, asking if anyone else wanted something sweet.

"That's all bullshit", Bakugou grumbled and kicked the small table in the living room. The rest of the class could only agree, having never felt so helpless before.

~

"Anyone wanna fill us in on what exactly happened?" Midnight asked when she glanced around the room filled with pro heroes for the tenth time.

She, along with a few other pro heroes have been messaged by Nedzu himself to meet in the school's conference room half an hour ago, and despite everyone already being present, the room was completely quiet. The woman casted a glance at Aizawa, who was sitting not too far away from her, looking more tired than she'd ever seem him before. He was glaring at the floor as if it was the one at fault for all the commotion, but otherwise didn't move. Hizashi had a hand on the underground heroes back and he himself was crying silently.

All Might sat beside Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye, who both looked confused at the state the blond haired was in. His eyes were red and puffy, tear tracks were visible on his cheeks and his hair was completely disheveled. 

What the hell happened? 

"Well then", Nedzu finally spoke up in a serious tone after eyeing all pro heroes that were present. "Let us begin." 

Chapter Text

"So... What exactly happened?" Midnight asked exasperated, desperate to finally get an answer as to why Hizashi, Aizawa and All Might looked as if someone had died. And well, now that she noticed it, why was the Winged Hero Hawks here? 

Nedzu sighed loudly, that alone being a red flag seeing as he never lost his cheerful attitude, and opened his mouth to speak. 

"Izuku Midoriya, student in Class 1-A had been taken from the medical ward to an unknown place." 

The female hero's eyes widened. 

Izuku was a sweet boy, he was quiet and payed attention to her classes all the time, but the dullness and unspoken terrors in those faded green orbs were indication enough that he had been forced to grow up far earlier than any child should have. She had taken great liking to him, he was smart and analytical, and most importantly, never caused any problems, contrary to the blonde spiky haired boy for example. 

Of course Nemuri had noticed that even if Aizawa was in denial, the freckled boy was his favourite from all this year's first years. And that also counted for Present Mic and All Might, but well, everyone could see how Toshinori looked like a proud uncle whenever Midoriya did something amazing. And Yamada... Yeah, well, he just absolutely adored him, always ranted about how cute and dedicated the boy was and how he would make a good hero and how he was always so attentive in his class... 

"Does anyone know who it was?" Snipe spoke up. 

"Yes, I'm sure you've heard the name Phantom Flame before", the principal answered, casting a glance at Endeavor, who scoffed. The fire quirk user had a particular dislike towards that villain, seeing as he used a type of fire ability to burn his victims. 

"And what the hell does that bastard want from the kid? I doubt it would be any information about U.A., that guy doesn't have any reason to want to attack this school." 

Nedzu looked down. "The reasons for that are rather...complicated, so to say."

Endeavor raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything further, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for an explanation.

The sudden sound of a chair scraping against the floor had everyone's eyes on a white haired male, whose presence was only now noticed. Rin stood up with a grim look on his face and eyed every single hero present in the conference room. "Phantom Flame's real name is Midoriya Hisashi, I'm sure you recognize the last name. He kidnapped Izuku in order to kill him, because he hasn't been able to do so before."

"And who are you?" Midnight inquired, scanning the male suspiciously.

"Oh of course, I'm sorry. My name is Yamaguchi Rin, and I have been forced to work under that monster for years now. I managed to escape and came here to warn you about what was about to happen, but it seems that I was too late."

"Wait, so this means that Midoriya is Phantom Flame's son?" Cementoss asked in disbelief. 

"If so, should the boy also be considered a villain?" 

"Isn't he dangerous?" 

"Should he also be considered a vilain then?" 

"Silence!" Aizawa spoke up for the first time since coming here. The command wasn't shouted, more like spoken in an aggravated manner, but it certainly had its effect, because all eyes turned to him. 

The underground hero was glaring at everyone with bright and glowing red eyes, his hair and scarf were floating in the air and his hands were clenched into fists on the table. "Midoriya is my student who has a lot more on his plate than ANY of you! Furthermore, his father abandoned him when he was four and they had no contact to each other since then! So if I hear another word about your inane thoughts it'd be my pleasure to throw you out of this window! Am I understood? "

At the unusual display of anger on the usually composed and lazy man, everyone only nodded and gulped, turning back to the principal. "As Aizawa-kun already said", he continued, "Midoriya-kun has nothing to do with that villain and from what I've gathered, he is in a state of immediate danger, that's why I've gathered all of you here." 

"Has his mother already been informed of those events? If it was his father that kidnapped the boy, shouldn't she be informed?" Gran Torino spoke up, glancing at Yagi, who was still looking at the table without moving.

"Technically yes, but seeing as we have just been informed that his mother is deceased, or better said, had been killed by Phantom Flame, and there is no one else we could inform about this situation, I'll just move on to the reason I gathered all of you here. "

" God, what a troublesome successor you picked, totally your kind off people", Sir Nighteye grumbled under his breath while Gran Torino muttered something along the lines of 'what a poor child'.

"You want us to help search their hideout", Midnight stated matter of factly.

"Yes", Nedzu answered shortly and turned to Hawks. "Didn't you say you were monitoring every place the teleportation quirk was used at?" 

"Yes", the other answered without hesitating. "But it seems that either their hideout blocks my stystem so that I'm not able to see where they teleported to, or they didn't bring him neither to Japan, nor to America." 

"The buildings are armed with a special security system that blocks every signal whatsoever. I can assure you that he only has hideouts in America and Japan, but he brought Izuku to the place in Japan. However, it's hard to find the building, seeing as they aren't even shown on any maps and I don't know where the place is because it is listed as confidential information only his closest bodyguards know", Rin informed them, shifting in his seat as everyone stared intently at him. 

The mammal nodded and addressed everyone again. "As of right now, I'll assign search patrols for different regions. Mirai-kun, can you assign search patrols in your agency? You too Todoroki-kun. I'll contact Fatgum as well and other  hero agencies all over Japan. I want you to report anything suspicious looking to me, because everyone will have to work together in this. It is a very serious case. A student is gone and I want you to be one hundred percent focused on what you're doing. Am I understood? "

When everyone nodded, the mammal continued.

" Good. I'll call Tsukauchi-kun too, he will also be of help. In the mean time", he turned his attention the Yamaguchi, who was sitting quietly and tense in his seat. "Will you be able to write a list of all the personal bodyguard's names and their belonging quirks?"

"Of course", he acknowledged the request immediately. 

"Marvelous. If that is all, everyone is dismissed. I'll message all of you considering the patrol times later and assign everyone to groups." 

~

The next time Izuku woke up, he immediately knew something was wrong. 

He had a sense of awareness, no holes in his memory or anything, but that wasn't the problem. For someone who relied on observation and analysis of people, places and sounds, his mind went haywire when he couldn't feel anything.

Not a single sound could be heard, he felt something soft on his ears, and he couldn't see anything, at all. His eyes were opened, and he blinked, feeling a cloth against that part of his face. 

Noice canceling headphones and a blindfold... Fuck. 

Being completely vulnerable like this, on enemies territory no least... Double fuck. 

Unable to use his quirk, not to mention that the villain had PERSONAL problems with him... Catastrophic.

He could already see Aizawa expelling him without hesitation... If he would come out alive of this that is, though he doubted that anyone would even come for him. 

Trying to shift in his position, Izuku only now seemed to become aware that his feet, hands and neck were restrained, most likely by quirk-nullifying, thick chains.

Panic bloomed in his chest and his breathing sped up. He was alone, it was dark, silent and he couldn't move, not even an inch. His father could come and hurt him at any given time and he'd neither see the attack coming nor be able to stop it, he was exposed, utterly EXPOSED to an enemy-

His throat constricted and though he couldn't see and hear, he felt himself start to shake, being close to bursting into tears at the feeling of not being aware of what could happen. 

In all his life, he had always been cautious of his surroundings, being a quirkless child in a world full of quirks had forced him to be vigilant at ALL times, as much at home as at school.

Izuku himself only noted that his behavior, this hyperawareness was not normal when he first entered U.A.

The way everyone's posture seemed slack and relaxed just seemed so wrong, he never understood, how can they be so relaxed when everyone in his class could just turn on him and attack?!

How could his classmates argue with their teachers, who could expel them at any time?!

He remembered Aizawa at the USJ, how he almost gave his life to protect them, as well as Thirteen, how All Might barged in with an angry look on his face and the only thing Izuku had thought was why would anyone want to protect him?

"Despite that uncaring attitude, Aizawa-sensei really wants to keep us safe!" Uraraka observed once when they were sitting at the lunch table.

"Of course, it is a teacher's duty to keep his students safe", Iida replied, adjusting his glasses as he gestured with his hand as if he were cutting through air.

...safe...

What did it even mean to feel safe?

And why would teachers be obliged to keep him safe? As far as he knew, nobody ever made him feel safe. 

Be it in middle school, at home, U.A. or during a fight with villains, all he ever really felt was anxiousness, fear and insecurity.

It was the same now, he was biologically related to the villain that kidnapped him and planned on burning him to death, and the constantly present fear had morphed into terror and panic, clawing at his throat like a vicious beast, his insides were churning and despite everything, Izuku tried to hear at least something, a single sound that could reassure him nothing was going to happen. 

A shriek of pain escaped Izuku's lips as his muscles suddenly constricted, his body feeling as if it was on fire.

What was happening?! 

He felt electricity surge through his body, burning his insides and his heart leapt into his throat. 

Then it stopped. 

His shoulders sagged and his whole body was twitching and shaking in the aftermath. "Ughh..." Izuku whimpered, choking on air as tears escaped his eyes and wet the cloth around his eyes. 

He didn't get much time to calm down, because one moment it was quiet, and then it was burning again. 

It stopped once again after some time, but everything erupted in pain once more amd Izuku bit his lip until it drew blood in order to keep himself from screaming out. 

The green haired boy thought it would hurt less each time, but the pain only got worse, he felt as if everyone bone of every joint was breaking at the same time and his muscles were tearing apart. His body was twitching uncontrollably, saliva was dripping down to his chin and he could smell burning flesh.

30 seconds that felt a lot longer than they actually were and everything stopped once more. 

Nausea clawed at his throat, and his stomach contracted violently. Bile rose up and he vomited everything he had stomached during the time in the medical ward. His face was unimaginably pale, a sick shade of white and as he kept crying, choking and heaving, he heard a voice through the headphones ; loud and booming. It was laughing maniacally, voice dripping with sweetness as it spoke.

"My, my, I'm so dissapointed in you little Izu-chan! Why are you so quiet, I want to hear you scream!"

The electric shock left him breathless for a moment, amd then he heaved again, though there was nothing left to throw up. He tasted acid in his mouth, mixed with blood and it wasn't stopping.

But he refused to cry, didn't want to give in, to prove his father how much of a wimp he was-

"Damn it scream! Scream you useless piece of shit I want to hear you scream!"

The chains didn't loosen up, instead the seemed to tighten around his wrists, which were covered in a thin, thunder like pattern that grew darker the longer he was being shocked. 

Izuku lost count of how many times it had already been, but when he felt the shocks surging through his body again, even more intense than the last time, he finally screamed. 

~

It was already noon when the students woke up. 

After sitting in the common room until approximately five am - they would all have stayed up longer if not for Aizawa threatening to kick their ass into detention for a year ; and no, it was definitely not fun seeing him throw Mineta up the stairs with his capture weapon [on second thought, it definitely was] after that grape shit kept sneaking glances at the girls' shorts instead of complying and trudging to his room - and because of Aizawa giving them the next day off from school, all alarms were turned off. 

After eating breafast, which was actually lunch judging by the time, Class 1-A found themselves in the common room, where their homeroom teacher was explaining the procedure for the following weeks. 

"You'll have joined lessons with Class 1-B since almost all of your teachers, including me, Present Mic and Midnight will be on patrol with other pro's. I want you to be on your best behavior or else I'll see your asses in detention, writing a ten-page essay about appropriate behavior with other teachers. Also Mineta ", the cold and tired gaze of the underground hero was directed at the grape haired boy, making the smaller one shiver in fear. 

" Yessir? "

" Come outside with me for a little chat about respect and proper conduct between classmates. "

After everyone got their probationary schedule to see if everything would work out as written down, Aizawa and Minoru left the room, leaving the others alone with their thoughts.

" Oh fuck my life", Kaminari sulked from where he sat. "I'm so NOT excited to have joined lessons with that Monoma guy."

"Oh, just you wait until I get my hands on that fucker, he'll shut his trap in less than a fucking millisecond!"

"You know what? Feel free to do so!" Mina exclaimed, inquiring how she would be ready to acid things up a bit if another resentful word towards their class would be spoken. Surely, everyone had been informed of the disappearance of their classmate by now, which served as wonderful insult material for Monoma... 

Despite everyone trying to keep up a conversation, doing anything to keep themselves from being quiet, silence had descended upon the roomin less than ten minutes.

"I hope they'll find Midoriya fast", Koji muttered, earning a few nods from the others.

"Yaoyorouzu, can't you just make a small devise through which we can listen to what happens?" Mina proposed, but immediately got a small shake of the head as an answer. 

"We are already going to be in deep trouble for planning to break the rules, and personally, I don't want to make it worse by putting a devise on one of our teachers or in one of the rooms just so they could find out and expel us on the spot." 

"But there has to be something we can do, non?" Aoyama asked, taking a seat beside Mina on the couch. He and Midoriya have never really talked, and weren't exactly best friends based on that, but Aoyama respected the green haired boy greatly. To be able to keep going, use his quirk despite knowing that it would result in broken bones, it was admirable, given the fact that Yuga knew exactly what it felt like to you have a quirk with grievous drawbacks. 

And still, when gazing at the boy, he felt as if he could do that too, keep going and improve to become stronger. 

...On second thought, he definitely would need to become proper friends with Midoriya, maybe he can learn something from him that way as well. 

"We'll improvise, isn't that what we're best at? Either way, no one's going to stop us from helping Midobro!" Kirishima pumped his fists into the air, everyone else cheering as well. 

They couldn't let sadness or anger overtake them, those emotions wouldn't be of any help. Instead they'd be more focused on observing than ever in order to find out the location from the teachers - [when the heroes figure it out themselves] - and concentrate on making a plan for Midoriya's rescue, plus ultra. 

~

"W-What did you want to talk about, s-sir?" Mineta asked, shaking on his two feet as the teacher leveled him with a cold glare. 

"I'm going to cut this short, brat ; Contrary to what you may think, I keep track of everyone's behavior in class amd I think you forget that I have the authority to expel any of you at any given time", the black haired male started explaining, making sure to speak slow amd calmly before he lost his cool and unintentionally lashed out at the grape haired teen. As much as he would have deserved it, now was not the time. 

"Yessir, I know, sir", the small boy answered without hesitating, knowing that at the moment, even the tiniest disobedience could set his sensei off at the moment. 

"I'm glad that you seem to understand me so well, but I don't think my point came across clear enough, so let me simplify it for someone like you; I will be keeping a close eye on you from now on because I won't have you disrupt my class and peace of other students by your perverted and grotesque thoughts anymore. If you fail to do so and I'll get a single complaint about you from other teachers, direct expulsion will follow and I will personally give you a nice, red mark on your resume which will hinder you in being accepted into any kind of hero schools. What you are doing is even pejorative for a villain, let alone heroes and will not be accepted in any way. "

Aizawa was literally looming intimidatingly over his student, eyes red and merciless as he chewed out everything for Mineta.

" Do you have anything to add? No? Wonderful, then you are on extreme probation until further notice. "

Not giving the small student any time to answer, Shouto walked away from the dormitory, heading back towards U.A. and leaving Minoru behind.

How long his words would last in the other's head? He didn't know.

But if it came down to it, Shouta wouldn't hesitate to make sure that this brat wouldn't become a hero.

Perverts like him were just trash of society anyway.

As one problem left his mind, the full weight off the situation finally settled in and left his heart clenching in pain.

Hopefully they'd find Izuku soon...before it was too late... 

Chapter Text

"IT'S BEEN A WEEK! A whole week already..." the underground hero sank back into the chair he previously stood up from. 

It has been a week since his problem child has been kidnapped and so far, nothing has been found. Not a single trace. The mood amongst the teachers and other pro heroes has effectively dropped to the point where they rarely talked amongst each other, instead going out on patrol at any available time.

Aizawa himself hadn't gotten any sleep whatsoever. Worry was tearing him apart bit by bit and his mood just worsened by the fact that there wasn't any luck in finding the building, which had caused him to snap more than once at Yamada and a few other people. 

But most of all, his heart was heavy with guilt. He promised his student he'd help him and now that he needed it, he couldn't do a single thing. 

And Shouta knew that Izuku wouldn't expect anyone to save him, which made his heart sink even deeper into a hole of depression and regret. 

"I know, Aizawa-kun. Everyone is effectively working on getting any hints as to where Midoriya-kun could possibly be right now", Nedzu assured the man, but he felt just as hopeless as the rest. 

Even if he would put aside the kidnapping-issue, there'd be no way the mammal would be able to rest or relax a bit. Midoriya getting abducted is one thing, his resume a whole other. No, he didn't forget that, by all means, this was on his mind the whole time. He'd have almost expelled a student with so much potential, and because of what? A bad review of his behavior? 

If Nedzu were to start an investigation in Aldera, ot would be a possibility that the school could be shut down. And by god if Nedzu found even the slightest error in their system, he would do so with pleasure. 

"But it's not working is it? Nobody has been able to track that bastard down and -" the man sighed, putting his head in his hands.   "I don't know what to do anymore. If we don't find him soon... It's going to be too late." 

The principal nodded sadly and looked down at the stack of papers on his table, putting some of them aside and sliding a few of them over to Eraserhead. 

"I know it won't be of much help right now, but do you want to go through the list of guards Yamaguchi-kun wrote down? Maybe that'll help us spot one of them and be able to track them down to their hiding spot." 

The man  took the files into his hands, steadying himself as he stood up from his chair. 

Just as he was about to leave the office, the mammal called out to him." You should get some rest Aizawa-kun, you definitely need it."

And he did, it was obvious. Dark eyebags, even darker than usual contrasted the pale skin, his black hair was disheveled and stuck out in different directions, and even his steps seemed more sluggish than usual. 

"No",the man immediately replied without hesitating. "Until my kid will be found, I won't be resting." 

And with that, Shouta dissappeared down the hallway. 

"Your kid?" Nedzu hummed with a knowing smile, turning back towards the computer to check for any incoming mails from other pro heroes, hoping that at least someone had good news. 

~

After getting himself a cup of coffee, probably the third today, Aizawa sat down on the couch at his apartment and pulled out all the files on those guards Hisashi kept with him. 

Yamada wasn't at home right now, his shift had started an hour ago and he would be gone for at least three more hours. After that, both of them had only ten minutes of time together until Aizawa would head out for patrol. It wasn't ideal, since they weren't able to see each other almost the whole day, but both of them had priorities. 

Bring back their problem child. 

Looking at the first page, Aizawa started looking through the list of names and their belonging quirks.

"Walter Scott 

Poison quirk- is able to inject poison that the body produces into another person through biting one's skin. The poison will take effect 10 min after getting bit ((–>NOT deadly, but will cause unbearable pain for 5h straight without lessening))

Daisaku Harris

Pain inducement - is able to cause varying levels of pain by touching a person with all five fingers

Hirokatsu Hashimoto 

Memory quirk - can force victim to remember worst memories and intensify the pain of memories

Sam Williams 

Drawing quirk - can bring anything he draws to life, from animals to weapons, but for it to work, it must be a real animal ((–>means that mystical creatures like unicorns or dragons cannot be brought to life)) 

Jackson Roberts

Chain quirk - can produce chains out of any part of his body ((drawback –>can use quirk for about 20 min, then needs to wait 20 min to use his quirk again)) 

Satsuo Kawakami

Teleportation quirk - can teleport himself and anyone he touches to a place within the country he's at ((–> can't teleport from JAPAN to AMERICA)) 

Tadami Murayama

Shadow quirk - can control people's shadow ((drawback –> has bad eyesight, which means best to fight him in a dark place where the shadow isn't much visible)) 

Harry Ohashi

Puppet quirk - by touching someone with his fingers, he is able to attach a visible string to the victim that his body produces ; can control victim's body with that (( drawback—> can control up to 3 people, but not more, is forced to stop one control to activate the other)) 

John Thompson

Weapon quirk - can transform any part of his body into a weapon ((has a massive injury on the left side of his body –> possible weakness)) 

Akinobu Watanabe 

Electricity quirk - can channel electricity through any surface such as walls and metal in a 5 km radius. Upon coming in contact with his quirk (f.e. if touching the object through which he channels electricity) a dark, thunder-like pattern appears on the skin. If skin will get completely covered in that pattern, the victim will die. "

Shouta's blood ran cold.

Those quirks, they were dangerous... Many of them especially suitable for... 

The man's eyes widened. 

'Fuck.'

Phantom Flame must have chosen his guards and "coworkers" based on their quirk, fucking hell.

The underground hero felt sick. His problem child needed to get out of there now, they could not wait any longer. If those men used their quirk on his kid, then there wouldn't be anything left to save. It was already bad enough that his kid has suffered through abandonment by both his parents and god knows what more in his middle school.

No wonder Izuku didn't trust any adults, they failed him in every possible way, but just the thought of discovering something ... a lot worse in Aldera Middle School than what he had imagined...

He didn't think his heart could take it.

And he certainly didn't think Midoriya could take it if they confronted him with something like that after he had been kidnapped, possibly tortured and in the worst case scenario , would already be dead-

No, he wouldn't let that happen. He'd save the kid, and he'd pick up his broken pieces, even if that would be the last thing he'd do. 

"Shou, I'm back!" Hizashi's voice could be heard from the entrance, exhausted and sad.

The blond haired man trudged towards the living room and plopped down onto the couch, leaning his head on Aizawa's shoulder.

"What's that?" the man asked as he saw the files in his husband's hands, seeing unknown names on a list, along with the person's quirk on it.

"A list of Phantom Flame's guards and their respective quirks."

Yamada nodded, expression much more serious than before as he skimmed over the informational provided on thise pages.

The blonde hero also seemed to have noticed a pattern in those people.

All if their quirks had something to do with inflicting pain, emotionally or physically, well, except the teleportation guy. And if they were able to inflict pain with their powers, that would mean many could use it for....

"Shit!" Yamada cursed as he shot up from his seat, the sheets of paper scattering all over the floor as Aizawa dropped them. 

"Shou we meed to find him, we need to find him now, he already has suffered so much we can't let him suffer anymore!" 

Aizawa nodded grimly, his heart aching as he thought of the pain his problem child must be in. 

"We're going to find him, that's a promise. I'm going out to patrol, I'll see you later!" 

Closing the door behind him, Shouta swung himself onto the rooftop and dissappeared from sight. 

~

The last days were nothing but pure agony for Bakugou. He'd randomly start feeling pain all over his body, making him unable to move, before the pain stopped again. It were only a fraction of seconds, but it was enough to let the spiky haired blonde know just what his childhood friend was going through. 

He should have prevented it. 

He could have prevented it, but no, he decided to not even look back when walking aqay from that medical room. 

'Stupid, stupid', he berated himself after yet another episode of pain passed. 

"Dude, really, what's going on with you?" Kaminari asked as he emerged from the kitchen and plopped down on the armchair in the living room. 

His hair was messed up, probably not having been brushed since washing it, and he had dark circles under his eyes, just like the rest of 1-A. But who could blame him? 

Their classmate was gone and they could only sit still and watch as the pro heroes went to search for him. 

"Probably something he deserves anyway", Todoroki answered, not even looking up from the food he was eating. 

"Shut the fuck up Icy-hot! You know nothing!" Bakugou retorted, shooting up from his seat. 

"Oh really? I know enough to be aware of how much of a sick bastard you were to-" 

"Guys, stop!" Uraraka came in between them, stopping either of them from starting a fight. 

"Can't you just get along for once?! For Deku-kun?" 

"Hmph", Bakugou huffed and sat down again, while Shouto only turned his head away from everyone and walked back into the kitchen. 

"But really man, why're you feeling like that? Shouldn't you go see Recovery Girl if you're hurt?" Mina asked, sitting beside Kirishima on the other side of the couch. 

The way Katsuki was behaving was really weird. He would wake up normally, then suddenly double over in pain and stay like that for about thirty seconds, until everything seemed fine again and his muscles relaxed. Then he would sit on the couch and without any warning, his muscle would tense again and his face contort in pain, before relaxing again. 

They asked about it, proposed to help him go to Recovery Girl, but he refused, saying that they couldn't help. 

Katsuki sighed as he leaned back onto the couch. "I can't really explain what it is, but it's been like that since we were kids." 

"We?" Jiro inquired, having gotten comfortable beside Kaminari on the big armchair. 

"Me and De-Izuku", he explained. "Whenever he would be in pain, I would feel a fraction of it for a short period of time and vice versa. The doctors couldn't explain it, old hag and old man were also confused, but we never got an answer. That's why we just never talked about it anymore." 

"I saw the scars and I know for a fact that you used your quirk on him at least a few times in middle school. Shouldn't you also have been in pain?" Todoroki coldly asked. He didn't care if the blonde in front of him was in pain, but he wanted to know why he kept hurting his friend if he'd also be hurt from it. 

Bakugou shook his head." I don't know what happened, but I stopped feeling it after we were six. The first time I felt it again was at the Sport's Festival when he fought against you. And even then it wasn't as bad as it is now." 

"So you think Midoriya-chan is being hurt, kero?" Asui concluded, her heart breaking at the thought of her friend going through all that, when he never should have to go through all that. The green haired girl only hoped that they'd make it in time to save their friend... 

" Yeah... ", Bakugou nodded, and went quiet again. 

He'd done that a lot the past few days, being quiet, that is. It seemed as if his whole personality did a 180 degrees turn, because he was neither cursing the fuck out of people, nor screaming or calling them degrading nicknames. 

It should have been something to worry about, but well, who hasn't been like that since the past week. 

The class wakes up, Midoriya isn't there. 

The class eats breakfast, Midoriya isn't there. 

The class has school, Midoriya isn't there. 

The class comes back home and eats dinner, Midoriya is not there with them. 

Not there where he should be. 

Not only once had someone gone up to the green haired boy's room in the morning to check if he was still asleep, only to realise that oh....he had been kidnapped. 

And honestly, the teachers telling them they were already searching day and night for their friend didn't help them in the slightest. 

What use did the words 'already searching' have? 

Did they know where Midoriya was? 

Because that was all that mattered, nothing else. 

And they didn't, that was the problem. 

It was as if he vanished from the earth's surface, or had been pulled into some other dimension, or worse...what if Shigaraki used his quirk on the boy and he was already gone... 

"I really wish we could do something to help Mido! It sucks without him, really gives off dark vibes when I look around in class and don't see green curly hair!" Mina exclaimed, sighing sadly as she thought back to the third day of Izuku being gone. 

She hadn't forgotten per se, but it had slipped her mind during Ectoplasm's lesson that her classmate and friend was missing, so when she turned to look at Bakugou's pissed off face, she had been confused as to why the green haired boy wasn't sittingbbehind the angry blonde. 

Mina had almost lifted her hand to ask, but it was as if realisation came crashing down on her and excusing herself quickly, she locked herself in a bathroom stall and cried for her kidnapped friend. 

The only comfort for her was the fact that Ectoplasm didn't send anyone for her, and when she returned half an hour later, he had only looked at her with sympathy before nodding once. 

"That is true. It's quiet without Midoriya-kun's muttering as well. I think it's just something you get used to", Yaomomo nodded to herself, agreeing with the pink haired girl.

The whole class was worried for the boy's wellbeing and it was tearing them apart not knowing what was happening to him... 

"I don't get why you all are moping around like that! It's not like we can do anything about it, so why being sad! I can cheer you guys up if you want, I got really nice magazines in my room I-"

...or well, almost the whole class. Of course, there was also Mineta, who by now the whole class was ready to obliterate. He had no knowledge about being tactful whatsoever and just sprouted what was on his mind everywhere. 

And despite Midoriya saving his ass back then in the USJ, at the beginning of the school year, it seemed that he wasn't even grateful. 

"Mineta."

"Uh, yeah?"

"Go dive head first into the toilet, then go to your room and stay there until I call you." 

Without any more words, the grape boy's expression turned slack and his eyes blanked as he turned on his heals and headed towards the bathroom. 

Silence spread over the whole living room, until... 

"Oh my god Shinsou, you absolute legend!" Mina exclaimed, laughing so hard she almost fell to the floor. 

Kirishima beside her was also snickering to himself while Kaminari tried to surpress his mad laughter, but ultimately failed and fell to the floor as he cackled with the others. 

Shinsou gave Mina an emotionless thumbs up, though everyone could see his eyes twinkling in amusement. 

Suddenly, Jiro stood up and made her way towards the bathroom as well, everyone glancing at her in confusion. 

"Kyoka-chan, what are you doing?" Tsuyu asked, making the girl turn to her for a second, enough to let them see her phone held up. 

"I'm filming this for Midoriya, can't have him miss something like that", she explained with a straight face, no ounce of jokes present on her face. Turning back, she dissappeared behind Mineta, leaving everyone else behind, whose mood had dropped again at the mention of Midoriya. 

"I say we make a plan of people responsible for filming anything hilarious that happens. We can take turns", Sero proposed. "That way we can show Midoriya everything he missed, and he wouldn't feel excluded from inside jokes we'd make about it." 

"Ohh I like that, bro!" Kirishima immediately agreed, the rest of the class nodding as well. 

Maybe Midoriya wasn't there, but if they filmed everything for him, it would feel as if he was just gone to visit family or something and would look at their videos later on. That would be an easier way to cope with what happened than simply being depressed about it. 

~

It was dark again.

All he felt was immense pain that blocked out any coherent thoughts in his head. 

His back hurt, his wrists hurt, his arms and legs hurt, his head hurt... But honestly, what part of his body didn't hurt? 

He didn't know how many days had passed, but it felt like an eternity since he was brought here. 

The worst part was that he didn't know when it would start, neither when it would end. He had only been fed twice, but that wasn't telling him anything. 

He could have been fed twice a day, once in two days, once in a week, once everyday, and therefore could be in this room already for three days, maybe a week, maybe a month, and maybe only two days. 

But he couldn't worry about that, his mind would drift back to the pain he was feeling again and again, leaving him unable to form any sort of plan, or analyze possible sounds, smells, anything that could help him get out of here. 

He had given up on someone saving him long ago, not that it mattered. 

Nobody would come for him, why would anyone bother? 

He was left alone in the place he was kept at, feeling unbelievably cold, hungry and tired. 

Quite often, he would drift off to unconsciousness during a torture session, simply because his mind was shutting everything off. 

He'd dream about Shinsou, who had found out about his quirk.

He'd see Todoroki, talking to him about how Bakugou had hurt him in middle school. 

He saw his teacher, telling him that he'd save him, protect him. 

But that dream always went nowhere, it always ended in a black void. Maybe because those were empty promises, nothing more than the untrue words of yet another teacher... 

Sometimes he'd see Kacchan, being friends with him, protecting him, even if that had been a long time ago. 

Those kind of dreams ended with shattered picture frames, burns and even more pain.

Maybe that was his punishment for tearing apart his family, for being a burden to everyone else. 

Because that was all he'd ever be to someone, right? 

Chapter Text

"Boss, it's been three weeks. Why can't we just kill that little pest?" A dark haired man in a black suit asked the other male in the room.

"Patience is what you need. Let the others have a little fun using their quirks on him. What's more entertaining than watching someone getting slowly tortured to death?" Hisashi grinned maniacally, the other man joining in.

Through a monitor in the room, the two could see Midoriya writhing in pain on the floor, having been injected with Walter's poison only minutes ago and left alone again. 

"Also, tell Walter you two are going to meet our client, I'll be staying here", the black haired male said without even glancing back at the other. 

But then he turned around with deadly serious, and glowing eyes. 

"And make sure you're not seen. There are enough heroes searching for us as it is." 

"But even if they follow us, we can easily overpower them. We made a lot of connections with different villains the past few weeks who are currently in here and ready to attack if needed." 

"While that may be", Hisashi hissed, "I still haven't had my fun with little Izuku. So make sure you two come back alone." 

"Yes sir", the man bowed and left the room to get Walter and the suitcase containing the money for their deal with their client. 

Meanwhile the boss turned back to his monitor and smirked. Even if those so called heroes decided to come for Midoriya, they would be overpowered by the villains Hisashi and his men made a deal with. 

And then they could do nothing more but watch as the student they failed to protect burned to death. 

~

Aizawa was out on patrol, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. 

Yet another two weeks had passed, making his problem child a missing person for three weeks in total. He had taken up even more shifts after the second week, but to no avail. Heroes from different regions were searching all over Japan for a sign of the green haired boy, of Hisashi or his men, at least a small hint of their whereabouts, but nothing. 

He hadn't seen his students for this whole time either. Aizawa had visited them only once, at the end of the first week, to check on how they were coping with their friend and classmate's disappearance, only to see scared and broken children. 

"Are there any news on Midoriya-kun, Aizawa-sensei?" 

"Midoriya is going to come back right?" 

"Are you going to find him soon?" 

"Why does it take so long to trace the villains back to the location they are at?" 

"Can't we do anything to help speed up the whole case?" 

"Midoriya is not dead, right? You'll find him?" 

The kids were all huddled up in groups in the living room. Some where in their room almost the whole time, others seeked comfort in each other. 

From what he'd gathered, Sato was stress-cooking when he wasn't in class. 

Bakugou would feel the pain his problem child was feeling for whatever reason he still hadn't informed Shouta about. 

Todoroki's quirk was going crazy, he would loose control over his ice and cause it to creep up the walls. Apparently, his whole room was already half frozen and his fire quirk was steaming the whole time, as if someone had put out a fire with water a few moments ago. 

Shinsou hasn't been seeping at all anymore.  He had been an insomniac before and catched up on sleep during the day sometime, Aizawa saw that, but now, he was laying in bed at night, and during the day, it was hard to fall asleep since the commotion about his student's disappearance hasn't died down yet. In fact, all teachers seemed on edge, as well as the students, waiting for some good news. 

The rest of the class wasn't faring any better. 

Mina would accidently acid her or her classmates clothes, furniture or other things since she was stressed out of her mind. 

Kirishima had problems controlling his quirk too, since he would activate it whenever there was a loud or suspicious noise, as if he was awaiting the villains to come back. 

Kaminari would electrify his classmates when he got too nervous thinking about Midoriya. Aizawa heard he even fried his notebook because of the stress. 

The rest wasn't faring any better, but Aizawa meant it when he said he was proud of their coping attempts. Apparently, they had all started filming videos of funny moments that happened, or just sequences of their daily life for Izuku. 

He himself had even been included in some of those, though he must say he didn't mind that in the slightest- [though if someone would ask he would ever deny giving his consent to be in those videos]. 

The underground hero was just glad that his problem child had found friends like those brats, and he really hoped the green haired boy would see that too. 

"I told you it would be a success", Shouta suddenly heard a voice on the street. He himself was on patrol, and it was approximately half past three am, which was why two men in sunglasses, black suits and a suitcase in their hand walking down the rocky and dirty beach was more than just a bit suspicious.

Dropping down in one of the alleys between all the ruins that were once houses, the underground hero tried making out their features, as well as the conversation.

"I don't even know why boss would bother tell us to be alert, there's no one in here!" one of them exclaimed rather loudly, and Aizawa deadpanned. Didn't they know what underground heroes were?

"I know right! And besides, this is a part of Japan no one ever bothers coming to. No one lives here and there's dirt and garbage everywhere", the other commented, chuckling lightly. 'I feel sorry for their boss', Shouta thought as he creeped closer to the two males, careful so as not to be seen. While the two continued complaining about god knows what, Eraserhead took the time to study the guys' appearance.

One of them, the one with the suitcase in his hand, had dark brown hair and was tall and muscular.

The other one had completely black hair and looked skinnier, as well as a bit smaller, though not by much. From the distance, he could vaguely make out a thunder like pattern across his throat and froze as a thought crossed his mind. 

Akinobo Watanabe - electricity quirk, that leaves thunder like patterns on the skin. Electricity quirk, electricity quirk, that leaves thunder like patterns on the skin. Thunder like patterns. Patterns in the form of thunders, dark in color, almost purple stretched across the skin. Yamaguchi Rin told him Watanabe had a thunder like pattern of his own quirk across his throat from an accident when he was younger. A thunder like pattern. 

The same thunder like pattern he saw right now on the brown haired male. 

It couldn't be, could it? 

Aizawa's throat went dry at the possibility of those two working for Phantom Flame, the possibility of them knowing where Izuku, his problem child, was. 

Just as he was about move even closer to observe the two guys from up close, they both suddenly dissappeared, as if something swallowed them up. 'What the hell?' 

Deciding to wait for a few minutes, the underground hero waited with baited breath for any signs of the two males returning, or to hear any sound. 

And when he didn't, he ran out of the alley he had currently been in and onto the street, looking around. The shouldn't dissappear like this, it was not possible. It was as if they went through a portal, like the one the League of Villains used at the USJ, but an invisible one. 

But it wasn't possible. There wasn't anything here, there couldn't be anything here. 

He was standing right on the edge of the beach filled with dirt and rocks and whatever more garbage there was, staring at the ocean. 

The had dissappeared right here, and no one else was there. 

A quirk? Did they know he was following them and used a teleportation quirk? 

If those were the men who were with Phantom Flame, it was a possibly. But that couldn't be, since the guy who had the teleportation quirk had purple hair and not black.

Did he dye it?

But Rin said purple was his natural hair color and that he was allergic to a substance used in hair dye.

Did someone use a quirk on him? 

Or was it something else? 

No, he was definitely missing something. 

The man with brown hair was Akinobo, and the black haired one one of the other workers. 

Was it an unregistered second quirk? 

Someone unregistered with an invisible quirk who had been there the whole time? 

Maybe the ability to make everyone invisible who touched the person? 

The man mentioned something about a contract, was it about safety ensurance of some sort or something like that? 

That they would get back where they needed to safely and without anyone knowing where they went? 

That was possible, but his gut was telling him that it was something else.

Kneeling down on the part of the beach where those two men dissappeared, Aizawa stretched out a hand to look at the footprint of the man that was only halfway there and froze in horror.

Half of his hand dissappeared.

~

"NEDZU!"

The mammal almost dropped his cup of tea as the door swung open with so much force, he actually feared the door would be thrown off it's hinges.

Pausing the discussion with Rin and Nemuri, the mammal looked up to see a more than just disheveled and disoriented Aizawa leaning against the doorway.

"Shouta!" Midnight cried out in confusion and shock. "What happened?"

The black haired male was shaking all over his body, though his hands, which were grasping the capture weapon tightly in his hands, were trembling the worst. "Aizawa-kun? What's going on?" Nedzu asked, equally confused and tense as the two other persons in the room.

"Unregistered Quirk", Aizawa blurted out, leaving everyone even more confused and mortified at what could have brought the male into this state. 

After taking a deep breath, he spoke again.

"The group of Phantom Flame, do they have an unregistered quirk you don't know about?" he asked much calmer this time, directing the question specifically at Yamaguchi, who paused to think once the question registered in his head.

"It's a possibility. There's this one man that's always beside Hisashi. I don't really know what he looks like, nor his name, neither his quirk. But he seemed really important, gave off that intimidating kind of aura. Why?"

"I found their hideout."

"What?" Kayama whispered, Rin paled and Nedzu's eyes widened.

"Are you sure about that Aizawa-kun?" he urged, and sank back in his seat when the other male nodded.

"Wait!" Midnight called out, "You mean to tell me you finally found out where Midoriya is?!"

Aizawa nodded gravely. "Oh god", she whispered, and plopped down on the couch, hands covering her mouth in disbelief. "I'll call a meeting with everyone who is involved in Midoriya-kun's case, so please explain there what you saw so we can discuss further actions", Nedzu explained and turned to his computer the moment Eraserhead nodded and dissappeared down the hallway, away from the principal's office.

'Please hang on a bit more, kid, we're coming.'

~

Hizashi was pacing back and forth in his and Shouta's apartment, not being able to calm himself down.

Midoriya was already missing for three weeks, and it seemed ridiculous how there wasn't a single trace of neither Phantom Flame himself, nor his men.

The hero himself knew he wasn't as close to the little listener as for example Aizawa or All Might were, but he adored the kid just as much. There was something about him, whether it be the kindness, the attentiveness during lessons, or the way he seemed to be so amazed by everything he saw, he didn't know. But he knew for a fact that when they'd find Midoriya, he'd smother him in love and affection and keep him safe from harm's way.

The blonde had heard enough from Aizawa to know that the boy had been through too much his age, and that only added to the fact that he'd do everything to make the boy happy.

"'Zashi?" A voice could be heard when the front door slammed open and close again. Shouta was back.

"Shou?" he turned to look into the direction the sound was coming from, but all he saw was a blur of black before he was enveloped in someone's arms. Aizawa had quite literally crashes into him and, judging by the way the shirt he was wearing seemed to get wet, cried into the other's shoulder.

"Hey babe, what's wrong? What happened?" Hizashi was immediately all over Shouta, checking for injuries or anything that could have made the man cry like he was right now. Aizawa crying in itself was a rare sight, something he'd only seen the black head do when Oboro died, and even then, he wasn't shaking as much as right now.

Pulling away from the tight hug, Yamada took his husband's face in his hands and softly wiped away the silent tears that were escaping the man's eyes.

"I f-found him", Eraserhead whispered and moved to dry his tears himself, not seeing the moment Yamada went still. "Wh-Who?" he asked almost breathless, not daring to hope for the answer to be what he was thinking.

No way, it couldn't be....

"Izuku."

And that was all Yamada needed to dissolve in tears himself. "You found... The little listener....", he choked out, and when the other nodded, enveloped Aizawa in a tight hug.

"Finally....we..." he trailed off, not knowing how to put in words what he felt. Three weeks felt like an eternity, no news, nothing at all, and now they finally had a lead. Both Yamada and Shouta hoped that the boy wouldn't be completely broken when they'd come. 

When they heard a buzzing sound out of nowhere, both males pulled away, and Yamada took out his phone, unlocking it and looking at the group chat of everyone involved in the search of their problem child. 

Nedzu:

Everyone please gather in the conference room immediately. 

All Might:

Is it news on Young Midoriya? 

Cementoss:

I hope so, the villains couldn't just have dissappeared from earth's surface. 

Hawks:

Be there shortly. Endeavor is with me

Sir Nighteye :

I will come right away with Gran Torino

"Let's go", Shouta said and and stood up, drying his eyes once again and walking out, Present Mic following him as well. 

On their way they met up with Kayama, who had tears in her eyes, and Rin, who had been with Nedzu and Nemuri the whole time. 

In the conference room, they saw All Might, who was crying beside Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye and, by the looks of it, saying something, which resulted in Mirai placing a hand on Toshinori's shoulder and Gran Torino answering the other.

"If everyone is here, I would like to begin this meeting", Nedzu said, a cup of tea ever so present in his paws. Though he spoke in a calm and collected voice, everyone could see how anxious and tense he really was, but they couldn't judge him for that, since they themselves weren't any better. 

"Aizawa-kun, if you could recount please", the mammal spoke, turning to the black haired male, who simply nodded and cleared his throat. 

"I saw two men in black suits during patrol, who were walking alongside the beach in the abandoned district at the ocean, and decided to follow them. They were walking towards the water and suddenly dissappeared. Turns out the two, as I had suspected, were part of Phantom Flame's men. It seems that one of the people has an unregistered quirk, seeing as they dissappeared because they walked into a barrier of some sort, which allowed the area that needed to be hidden to become invisible. Inside the barrier was the building they're keeping Izu- Midoriya inside", the man explained, watching as everyone sat frozen in shock, disbelief or relief from hearing that. 

"Y-You mean we finally found him?" Toshinori asked, sounding more like a lost and scared boy than the symbol of peace. Aizawa nodded and watched as the blonde man's posture slackened in relief. 

"I don't think it's safe for any of us to go in there yet", the principal told everyome after thinking for a while. "I want to send a small drone into their hideout to observe how the building is being protected and where we could sneak in easily." 

"Yamaguchi", Hawks suddenly spoke up, startling the other male.

"Do you have an idea who could be the one to create that barrier?"

Rin slowly shook his head, looking down guiltily. "Sorry, I think the person was Hisashi's assistant and representative boss, but I've never actually saw him before. I think it's because his quirk is very valuable to that monster. Building a barrier is more than useful, and logically thinking he's the only one who could have that kind of power, since I know pretty much everyone else in the organization. "

"Okay, thank you", he nodded at Rin, and Nedzu took over again, addressing everyone else again. 

"Here's what I think would be the best way to take action. I want to send out a drone to see how far the barrier reaches, and to get a vague idea of how it looks inside. After that, Aizawa-kun and Tagami-kun will infiltrate the building, find out the whereabouts of Hisashi and his men, and give the command to attack. Everyone else will be waiting right outside of the barrier and when you're going to get the command, we will proceed to attack. Yamada-kun", he turned to the blonde hero. "I want both you and Aizawa-kun to be the ones to rescue Midoriya-kun, while everyone else will take on the group." 

Everyone nodded and agreed, when Midnight raised her hand. "Can we get a copy of all the members of the organization so we have an idea of wgat exactly we're up against?" 

"Excellent idea, Nemuri-chan. Yes, I will hand you the information, but as far as I know, Hisashi will have other villains on his side to help as well, since he no doubt has made alliances since he knows we're searching for Midoriya-kun."

With that, the principal ended the meeting and everyone filed out of the room, too busy to notice Rin slipping away from everyone's sight into the shadows. 

Chapter Text

Making sure nobody followed him, Rin sneaked around the hallways of the school building until he was outside, letting out a breath of relief.

'Thank god no one noticed me', he thought and continued his way towards where he was headed, still being careful and attentive so as not to be seen.

He knew there were a lot of security cameras installed, but thanks to his quirk, he was able to locate all of them and make sure he wasn't seen in any of them. If any of the U.A. stuff saw him, that would only seem all the more suspicious, and while he was filled with determination at what he was doing, Yamaguchi wasn't exactly looking forward to getting beat up by Eraserhead for this.

The male grimaced at the thought of those glowing red eyes being directed at him.

The closer he came, the louder he heard different voices speaking, some shouting, others laughing, and one voice was begging for mercy.

'The hell is going on there?', Rin sped up and when he came to an halt, hastily opened the door and came in. What he saw in front of him was certainly not what he was expecting at all.

A black haired boy was shooting white bandages, or were it tapes, out of his elbows, which were wrapped around something...no, someone, it was someone small who was clearly struggling to get out of those tapes, and Rin could vaguely make out dark purple hair in the form of... Grapes? 

Then there was a boy with spiky blonde hair, who was clearly furious, judging by his facial expression and the way he let out explosions from his hands. This boy was the the woman's, Mitsuki's if he remembered correctly, son, and was being held back by another guy with red hair, but he didn't seem enthusiastic in holding him back at all. 

In fact, it seemed that everyone was waiting for something, or someone. 

In that moment, a girl with pink hair and pink skin came out of the...kitchen? carrying a big smoothie machine, followed by two other girls, one with long green hair and another with short brown hair, each carrying a big cup meant for drinks. 

Yamaguchi watched in complete confusion as the pink haired girl set down the smoothie machine right under the taped boy with grape hair, and started speaking.

"Today is the day we'll finally be free of one disgusting abomination of a pervert." 

Beside her, a girl with long black hair came to stand. 

"We'll make a rotten drink out of this rotten grape and give that juice to Phantom Flame, so he can choke on mould and thus die from poisoning." 

It seemed as if they weren't talking to their classmates, but to someone else. Turning his head, he looked around and....there! He saw a girl with short dark hair and ears, which looked like a cable at the end, holding a phone, which was most likely recording. 

To her left was a blonde guy with a black thunder-like streak in his hear, who was clearly trying to hold back his laughter as the two girls spoke. 

When Rin saw the black haired guy lower the grape boy into the smoothie machine, he stepped forward quickly and shouted,"Wait! What're you doing?" 

Instantly, all eyes were on him, and they froze like dears caught in headlights. 

Then the blonde guy with the thunder streak shouted in dismay. 

"We've been discovered, mission abort!" 

Rin thought he heard someone say 'what a mad banquet of darkness', but with all the kids panicking in the common room, he wasn't sure if it was real and not just his imagination.

But when he shifted to come closer, he felt a presence behind him and froze in terror.

Turning around slowly, the male shrieked loudly and almost fell on his butt when he saw a boy with a bird head? behind him.

"Hey, aren't you the guy who was with Blasty's mom?! " the pink haired girl suddenly shouted, recognizing his face.

Regaining his composure, Yamaguchi remembered why he'd come here in the first place and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, that's me", he smiled unsurely, the smile slipping from his face in complete shock wen he saw the grape haired boy fall from the ceiling, still halfway covered in tapes. The other girl also still seemed to he recording.

"Uhmm..."

The pink haired girl, he really had to ask her name, it was weird calling her that, seemed to have noticed his confusion, because she smiled innocently and - Rin was ready to leave and never come back again - kicked the grape head out of the window.

" Don't mind that thing", she replied cheerfully. " He's a scumbag who doesn't deserve kindness."

"Uh... Okay....?" he said, though it sounded more like a question.

"Anyway!", the brown haired girl interrupted any further thoughts by clapping her hands. "What are you doing here?"

Yamaguchi scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh, right... You know, I'm not really supposed to tell you anything about it, because I know that you're going to do something reckless, but... I've been in a similar situation before and know how you feel."

"Hold up, hold up!" The red haired boy waved his hands frantically, having let go of the spiky haired blonde now.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your friend", Rin didn't hesitate with the answer, and just like that, the atmosphere became heavy and sad.

"We found the villains' hideout and are planning to take action soon. I know no one wanted wants to tell you about it because it's dangerous, but I know you would want to be aware of it."

"They found... Midoriya?" a purple haired, tired looking boy spoke up for the first time since he came into the room, eyes wide and disbelieving.

When Yamaguchi nodded, he sank onto the couch and opened his mouth several times, before closing it again.

Nobody in the common room could find the right words to describe how they felt. Relieved, of course, but also terrified, worried, angry. 

But there was one question that lingered on everyone's lips but was never spoken out loud. 

Was Midoriya going to be okay after all that? 

Shinsou couldn't find the right words at all. 

It wasn't even anger he felt because it was so much more. 

Rin said they found Izuku, but knowing their teachers, they would never tell any of their students about the green haired boy's whereabouts, since they all knew exactly that every single student from Class 1-A would hunt down Phantom Flame in his hideout.

But Shinsou was also convinced that he'd get the information from them by force if needed, because only seeing Midoriya when he's already been saved was not enough.

He wanted to make the man who hurt his first friend pay.

He wanted to rip apart every single molecule in that abomination of a human being and watch as he crumbled to ashes by his own fire.

What Shinsou wanted wasn't rescuing Izuku. He knew Aizawa would kill anyone who came in the way while coming to Izuku's aid. 

What Shinsou wanted was fight against Hisashi and show him what happens when he messed with his friend.

And one look told him that everyone else felt the same.

He saw Uraraka's eyes quite literally shine, much like Aoyama's quirk, with determination, saw Kaminari spark with electricity all over his body, saw Kirishima ball his hands into tight fists as he activated his quirk, one of Todorok's side steaming as the other was covered by a thin layer of ice, his eyes chilling everyone to their very core with the amount of deadliness in them and that wasn't even all.

The rest was just as bad at containing their emotions, but before any of them could do something brash, Rin stopped them. 

"Hold up, I know you want to save your friend, but hear me out first okay? I can help", he explained, and reluctantly, everyone sat down again, waiting for the male to continue. 

"Ok uhm", the male started, feeling a little out of place now that everyone's eyes were on him. "So first of all, I want to ask of you not to tell anybody I've been here, because the others didn't want to involve you in the rescue at all. It's too dangerous for kids like you to follow pro heroes into a fight with a villain as dangerous as Phantom Flame. "

" Then why are you here? " Shinsou raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. 

" I've been in a similar situation before, a friend of mine has been kidnapped and we as a class wanted to save him", he closed his eyes, remembering his second year in the hero school in America. 

"I was angry at our teachers until I graduated for not telling us where they kept our friend, and we regretted not being able to help save him for the rest of our school time. And since I know how much Izuku must mean to you, I want to give you a chance to save him". 

Uraraka stepped forward, tears shining in her eyes as her lip trembled. "You would do that for us?" 

Yamaguchi smiled. "Of course, it's the least I can do after all." 

Mina put a hand on Uraraka's shoulder, and turned to face the older male. "So what's the plan? What are they doing?" 

~

"Is everyone ready?" Nedzu asked, a big monitor lighting up the whole room. Aizawa was there, All Might, Hizashi and everyone else involved in the case. Power Loader had made a drone specifically for this mission, with the ability to make itself invisible so it wouldn't get noticed. 

Hawks was holding the controller for the drone, and slowly moved the device higher into the air, as far as it would go. 

"Okay, now let's lower the drone until we're inside the barrier. It's easier not to get noticed that way." 

With a nod, everyone watched on the monitor as the camera slowly came closer to the ground, until all of a sudden the didn't see an empty beach and ocean anymore, but a big and old building appearing seemingly out of thin air. 

They were inside. 

" What the hell..." Sir Nighteye muttered and stared wide eyed at the villain's hideout they've finally found. 

"And you're sure this building isn't shown on any maps?" Gran Torino directed the question at Nedzu, but it was Hawks himself who answered, not taking his eyes off the screen. 

"Yamaguchi-kun said they had a villain with a construction quirk make that building for them in record time, and since it hadn't been registered anywhere, moreso, had been hidden from sight the whole time, nobody could have known there was something in there, is that right? "

Rin nodded and turned his attention back to what the camera was showing. 

"The location of that building is just too convenient for them. After a massive villain fight in that region, everything had been destroyed and the government didn't bother invest any money into reparations, since the damage had been too big. It's uninhabited as far as I know, and many villain use that place to their advantage for black markets and drug deals", Aizawa muttered, remembering at least seven villains he had catched in there, all dealing with human trafficking, underground experiments and such. 

As underground heroes, this part of Japan was one of the places they all had to check out after debuting, but Shouta himself was shocked that he had never even noticed the presence of something as big as this near one of the patrol routes.

As the drone moved closer to one of the windows, everyone blanched at the number of Villains inside the building.

" Phantom Flame has made quite a few deals with different villains it seems", the principal mused, already having expected that outcome. He was sure that the more people he had on his side, the easier it would be for them to win. 

Oh well, too bad Nedzu was able to recognize most of them and write down all heroes that were suitable opponents for them.

'Besides', Nedzu glanced at Yamaguchi with a knowing smile, 'we'll have Aizawa-kun' s students to help. That will be most certainly a surprise for Phantom Flame, since he wouldn't expect us noble heroes to send in children to fight against them.'

Truth to be told, he already knew Yamaguchi would tell Class 1-A about it, he was really bad at hiding what he was feeling and for someone like Nedzu, it was easy to read him like an open book.

He wasn't pleased about the idea of his students getting involved in this in the least, but the thought of mere teenagers being able to overpower an overly confident and arrogant man was quite thrilling, dare he say.

And just to be able to see the look of shock on Hisashi's face when he would be defeated, Nedzu would gladly take the brunt of Aizawa's fury when he'd find out.

And no, he wasn't purposely endangering the kids, he knew how dangerous it was and cared for every single one of them, but he knew that if they would stay together, they'd be able to win that fight. And well, even if he'd tell them no, they'd find a way to sneak out and fight anyway. 

That reminded him of a certain group of heroes when they were in high school themselves. 

Glancing at Aizawa, Nemuri and Yamada, Nedzu sighed sadly. 

'Not everyone has made it until graduation, maybe that's why Aizawa-kun is so scared of his students following them into the fight', the principal thought, the image of a certain blue haired teen popping into his head. 

"I managed to scan the whole building", Takami suddenly spoke, turning to give the mammal a short glance.

The latter clapped his hands together, pleased about that information.

"Perfect! Then we can call back the drone and see which place would be best to sneak in, Aizawa-kun, Takami-kun."

Both heroes nodded and pressing a button on the controller, everyone watched as the drone flew back towards U.A.

"Now", Nedzu projected the building in the center of the room for everyone to see after extracting the finished scan from the device, "The best way to sneak in would be from above, which is an advantage on our part, since Takami-kun can fly up with his wings, and hold Aizawa-kun until they are at the highest part of the roof. Majima-kun, could you make a few support items for those two? I was thinking of a device that is able to make Aizawa-kun and Takami-kun invisible. "

Power Loader nodded, an idea already forming in his mind at how he could make it most efficient and practical.

" I'll need some time to finish it, tomorrow at best ", he told the principal, who just nodded at the other.

" No need to worry, meanwhile everyone else will plan out the rescue in detail", he reassured the other and turned back to address everyone. 

"Well then, let's begin."

~

"So", Kaminari started, not talking to anyone in particular. "What's the plan now?"

After Rin had left with a promise to inform them of future developments, nobody has moved from the living room.

Nobody had even spoken up, too overwhelmed with the fact that Midoriya had been found.

It didn't really click in their minds yet, considering they hadn't seen him in three weeks. And even if the hideout has been found, they didn't know any actual information on their friend's situation.

Was he hurt badly?

Was he fine?

Was he...already dead?

The fact of not knowing drove them insane, and the tension in the room had never been thicker before. It was as if everyone was a time bomb, waiting to explode and cause havoc everywhere.

"Yamaguchi-san told us he'd inform us about the exact date when they'd rescue Midoribro, so the only thing we can do is think about how we're going to sneak into the fight and who's going to go", Kirishima assessed the situation, wringing his hands together nervously.

...right...they hadn't even thought about who's going to go. Granted, they all wanted to go and save their friend, but understood fully that they'd bring too much attention upon themselves if everyone went to the hideout.

"That's a good idea", Yaomomo said, and looked everyone up and down.

"I know that everyone of you wants to go, but we have to consider that not everyone's quirk is suited to fight against villains yet. Especially because Yamaguchi-san told us their quirks and how dangerous they are. For example Kaminari", she called out to the blond haired boy, who tilted his head in confusion.

"Your quirk would be really useful in the fight against those people, but if you overuse your quirk even a little, you'll be a liability for the rest of the fight and will get hurt easily."

The class nodded in understanding. They had to be realistic, that's what the black haired girl wanted to say.

" I think it will be best if we sort out the advantages and disadvantages our quirks will bring in the fight before actually making the decision", Iida proposed while adjusting his glasses, but froze when he saw the stares he received from everyone.

"Is something the matter?"

"I thought you'd be against us saving Midoriya, man!" Kaminari shouted out in shock, mirroring everyone's expression.

"While I do not agree with your plan, I must admit that it is indeed the only way. Midoriya-kun is my friend, and I'd go as far as breaking the rules in order to save someone dear to me!"

"The words of a real hero", Mina whispered proudly with tears in her shining eyes.

Iida was right, and his words accounted to every single one in the room. They'd break every single rule there was, if it meant saving their friend.

"Ok then, let me straight up tell the names of everyone I don't think will be of much use during the fight", Jirou suddenly volunteered, catching everyone's attention.

"As Yaomomo said, Kaminari is totally unsuited for that, since we don't need a brainless idiot getting unnecessarily hurt. To be honest, the only ones I think would be able to do something are Bakugou, Shinsou, Todoroki, Kirishima, Uraraka, Yaomomo, Mina, Shoji, Tokoyama, Sero and Mineta. "

" Wait a minute, why Mineta?? " Kaminari cried offended, casting a glare a the grape haired boy, who was smirking up at Kaminari.

" Because my quirk will be more useful than yours", he declared confidently.

Kyoka only shrugged. "No, it would just be easier to get rid of him during a villain fight. We could kill him and make it seem like a villain did it."

That statement was followed by a round of 'ohhhhh's and Mina, Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero fell cackling to the floor.

"J-Jirou", Kirishima said in between laughs," Y-You abs-absolute savage - bawhahahaha!"

The others also tried stiffling their laughter, while Mineta was crying and whining about 'why everyone was so mean to him'. 

When they had calmed down again, and after having enough of his cries, threw Mineta out of the window, Momo cleared her throat.

"I think Kiyoka-chan is right. Everyone else agrees on the choice?"

Everyone nodded and it was decided.

Everyone shared a determined look, while Bakugou stared at the ground, hands clenched tightly into fists.

'Just you wait, Izuku. We will save you, and I'll make everything up to you, even if it'll take me a hundred years to earn your forgiveness.'