Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The news from the doctor was devastating. Izuku Midoriya will never get a quirk, he was doomed to be Quirkless. His lofty dreams of a path of heroism were quashed before they could even take off because he will never be able to become a hero without one. For it was the unspoken law of this world. He wanted to forget, to deny, to escape reality and dive back into his fantasy where he would become the greatest hero. But not even his favorite video of All Might could pull him out of his despair, and what he wouldn’t do to have somebody to hold him close and tell him everything will be okay.  Instead, he ran out of the tiny apartment, he needed to get out of that suffocating space. The echoing words of apologies from his mother filled his head as he bolted away from it all.

With no place in mind, Izuku ran blindly with tears clouding his vision, away from the grim reality he didn’t want to believe. He ran past dull streetlights and bleached buildings, and soon the grey landscape of the city gave way to one that was green. The Quirkless boy had run to the nearby forest with a large creek, a place where he and his friends would go hunt for bugs. Yet, he did not stop at it and kept running past that body of water deeper into the forest. He ran and ran and ran, until his little legs could run no more, and this was when he finally let himself drop. Izuku would cry in earnest whilst deep in the woods, mourning his future before it even begun. Yet, he would not cry for very long because his anguish was interrupted by the sound of splashing water. Izuku rubbed the tears out of his eyes, and he saw that his sprint had taken him to a large pond. “Strange, I don’t ever remember that being here”. However, the Quirkless boy inferred that it was a landmark that he and his friends never found because none of them ventured this deep into the woods.

The pond itself was something Izuku had never seen before, even in the books that were at his preschool. This pond was clear to the point that it looked like glass while its banks were devoid of any vegetation. The banks themselves were not encased in mud, but rather seemed to be solid stone. These features gave the pond an almost artificial look that made it seem alien compared to the surrounding forest.  

Yet, the unnatural look of the pond had only briefly caught the attention of the green haired boy, instead his attention was focus upon a dark shape below the waters’ surface towards the center of the pool.  It was massive, like an All Might sized ink blot was just below the surface. Despite the clear water, Izuku was unable to discern any definite shape or feature that could make it appear more than just a blob.  

“What is that thing?”, Izuku thought to himself

Izuku moved closer to the waters’ edge in an effort to get a clearer image of the blob. The action of the Quirkless boy seemed to cause a reaction as an eerie silenced seemed to fall upon the forest. It was as if the presence of something had quietly silenced the denizens of the Mustafu forest.  Izuku felt his skin crawl and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he became overwhelmed with a primal fear. He was overwhelmed with an urge to run away, but at the same time his fear had rooted him in place. The green haired boy locked his eyes with the blob as he began to shake uncontrollably.

“I am being watched.” Izuku stated in his thoughts

The mere mention of those words in his brain seemed to be spurred something in the blob, as the silhouette seemed to stare back at him with unseen eyes. Izuku wasn’t certain whether he was staring down a dangerous predator or a friendly giant. However, before Izuku could determine possibilities of the silhouette’s identity, it decided to confront him first by very suddenly swimming towards him.

The action startled Izuku causing him to fall back on his rear, he instinctually began to scoot backwards away from encroaching silhouette. But his minimal efforts to escape were stopped by a tree that he had backed into. Izuku could feel his heart trying to escape his chest as its beats nearly drowned out the sound of the moving water. He closed his eyes and looked away, hoping that this was all just a bad dream. The sound of the disturbed water disappeared, but he kept his eyes closed…

"Heroes must be Brave, Heroes must be Brave, Heroes must be Brave”

…After what seemed to be hours, did he dare open his eyes.

The figure was shaped into a form that vaguely matches the description of a mermaid, like a half human torso and a fish tail for legs. However, that’s where the figure diverges from that popular image of a mermaid. Its tail was muscular and tough looking when compared to how fragile a mermaid’s tail looked and was easily the length of human being while matching the width of the torso.  The tail itself looked like it belonged to a lamprey or some other scavenger fish rather than something akin to a normal fish. The torso was covered by some sort of white robe-like tunic, complete with a bulky hood and loose oversized sleeves that stopped at the elbows. Despite being concealed by the tunic, the torso displayed signs that the figure was female. The stranger’s arms were long, nearly reaching the ground, and they ended with a pair of spindly human-like hands with four clawed fingers on each one. The most striking feature was the head and face of the woman. She had no mouth, nose, or ears; instead, there was two diagonal slits that ran across the center of her cheeks. The only other feature her face possessed was a pair of bulbous almond shaped eyes that were as dark as obsidian. She had no hair and instead had a mane of tentacle-like appendages, each the size of a forearm, littered where her hair would be.

She carried as sense of weightlessness as many of the loose features, such as her robes and ‘hair’, floated in the air like they were underwater. In fact, the tail that served as the stranger’s legs didn’t touch the forest ground, but also floated above the ground like it was in pool of water. She was noticeably bulkier than the average person, and a great deal taller. She was easily three heads taller than his mother, making her significantly larger than most people or animals. In Izuku’s case, the stranger was practically a giant.

In Izuku’s short life, he had seen all manner of quirked people, but none of them compare to the being floating right in front of him. He could spend hours trying to learn about what possible quirks had resulted in the unique appearance of stranger. However, he could’ve wished it weren’t in a situation where said stranger wasn’t giving him the impression that he was a deer that had been cornered by a very hungry tiger. 

Izuku was shaking even harder than before as his eyes began to water, while suppressing his compulsion to scream. His eyes never left the giant figure that dominated his view, inferring that if his eyes ever left, he would be attacked. It was yet another standoff between the two and once again the standoff was broken by the stranger. The fish woman slowly outstretched on of her long arms towards Izuku, reaching out to him. Izuku flinched and instantly shut his eyes as he began to hyperventilate. His brain screamed out in desperation, trying to get his body to do something, anything. But fear had clamped down on Izuku like a pair of jaws, leaving him paralyzed against the incoming hand. He stammered a final plea against the stranger.

“P-Please! D-Don’t h-hurt m-me!” Izuku begged

But whoever or whatever the stranger was, they never made a sound to address his pleas for mercy. Izuku vainly raised his arms up defensively in a desperate attempt to protect himself from the oncoming grasp.But he would never feel pain. He would feel a warm touch on his head, it was gentle and affectionate like how his mother would touch him. Izuku opened his eyes to see that the stranger was gently ruffling his hair. He stared back at the stranger with confusion in his eyes as his arms dropped, surely this stranger had ill intent. Why would they do a gesture of affection? However, his assumption would be quashed nearly instantly by the stranger, as if she had heard the thoughts of doubt in his head. The stranger pulled her hand out his hair and slowly leaned down towards Izuku’s height level. The young boy gasped in surprise, once the stranger’s face got closer. Despite having few facial features or any sign that that said face could express emotion; he could somehow feel that the stranger was radiating a large and friendly smile. The stranger lifted her long arm out again, outstretched with her hand in the gesture of a handshake. Though hesitant at first, Izuku raised his own hand and grasped the stranger’s offered hand. It was warm and irradiated a soothing feeling that made all the anxiety in him wash away. It was like he had never felt fear in the first place, or the fact that the worst day of his life occurred today. A smiled formed on his face, and shone it back at the stranger, replying back to her stoic face that was smiling back. His smile seemed to make her ‘hair’ flutter like the limbs were giddy with happiness. It was at that moment that Izuku had made a friend. A rather large and strange friend, but a friend none the less.

Chapter Text

Izuku shut the door to his room and threw himself face down on his bed. He was trying not cry but that look of disbelief and disgust on his mother’s face was too much to take. His breakdown was interrupted by a pair of warm hands gently touching his shoulders. With some effort, he took his face out of his pillow and looked at his new friend. She somehow looked sad without making an expression, all the while an aura of concern dripped from her person. Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat and shifted his position to where he was sitting on the beds edge. He patted the empty spot next to him, gesturing her to sit next to him. She obliged to the offer and carefully moved herself so her large body didn’t knock anything down in his room. The bed creaked at the heavy load of weight as she sat on the mattress while her long tail occupied the floor of Izuku’s room. It was a while before he finally spoke…

“Don’t worry, I am just a little upset that mom said you weren’t there. But she is wrong, I can see you, so you must be there.” Izuku said with a sniffle, “But let’s not worry about that now. Let’s just do something else”. Izuku looked at his giant friend with watery eyes, but he couldn’t be sad, he needed to show his friend that he was happy. “I know! Why don’t you tell me your name? I already told you mine, and I am excited to hear yours”

However, the aura of sadness from his friend seemed to grow worse at the mention of the prospect. The fish woman looked away from Izuku as her head hung low. Izuku noticed her hands clenched into fists as her hair squirmed in frustration. He froze on the spot, unsure what to do, but he gathered his courage and gently grabbed one her clenched fists with both hands. He could feel the tension ease slightly in her giant fist, and the squirming in her tendrils wasn’t as noticeable. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me your name now” Izuku said with reassurance “You can tell me when you are ready. I can wait, after all we are friends, right?”. His nameless friend turned back to look at him and he gave an assuring smile to her. He wasn’t sure how, but he could’ve sworn he had saw tears in her eyes.

“Don’t Cry. Don’t Cry. Don’t Cry”, Izuku muttered to himself as he could feel the tears build up behind his eyes.

However, such an action was hard in the face of the jeers and taunts of his classmates. The news that Izuku was Quirkless was something that was not well received by his peers and former friends. As typical of children their age, they turned against the black sheep of their group. Yet, the carnage brought upon him by his peers only worsen after they eventually figured out about his invisible friend. “Deku is such a loser, and crazy to make up someone to put up with him”, said one

“First he doesn’t have a quirk, and he has to make up someone to stick around him”, said another

Izuku sank to his knees as each insult pierced him like an icy knife, one after the other. He felt a warm touch on both his shoulders, and it put him at ease. Through his blurry eyes, he could see the blue outline of the fish woman as she grasps his shoulders and obscure the view of his classmate with her large form. Izuku mouths a thank you to his friend as the weight of the insults lightened. The hair of the fish woman fluttered in response.

“Izuku? Are you okay? Is everything alright?”, Inko Midoriya asked her son one evening during dinner. She possessed an expression that screamed worried with her deep frown and wide eyes. Izuku looked up from his dinner and towards his mother, and a piercing feeling panged at his heart. He hated lying to her, but he also didn’t want to worry her. After all, she deserved a better son than he ever could be. But he would do anything for her, even bear all the bullying with a smile.

“I-It’s okay mom. Everything is fine. I am just a bit tired.” Izuku weakly reassured. His mother did not seem to be convinced but did not bring up more on the subject. However, Izuku sensed an aura that radiated disapproval with a hint of anger and looked to the place near the dinning table that his silent friend was laying. It was hard not to see that she did not agree with Izuku’s idea of hiding the bullying he was facing with her hair squirming in anger. Izuku shuddered as her black eyes silently challenged his willingness to suffer.

“You all are now third year students now. So now it is time for you to start thinking seriously about your future, and what you will be doing with your life” the homeroom teacher declared “I could pass out some career aptitude tests…” the teacher grabbed one of the many stacks of papers on his desk. “But let’s be honest here, you all want to go through the Hero track!”

Every kid in the class, except Izuku and Bakugou, began to cheer and show off their quirks. Izuku’s nameless friend rose from her spot on the floor and wrapped her lean arms around Izuku in a response to the display of his classmates, emitting a soothing aura to the occupant in her arms. It was her own attempt at trying to protect him, but he only wished her touch could actually shield him from harm. Izuku’s thoughts darkened at the display and tried his hardest to make himself small as possible while trying to take comfort in the warm embrace of his friend’s touch. Bakugou didn’t move from his relaxed position as the chaos unfolded, all the while with a smug smile plastered on his face.

“Yes, Yes, you all have some powerful quirks, just settle down now” the teacher half-heartedly said as he reigned down the class’s excitement.

“Teach” Bakugou blurted out “Don’t rope me in with all these extras, they’re at best side kick material to some D-tier grunt”

The jeers and shouts were evident of what Bakugou’s classmates thought of that comment.

Bakugou, unfazed, stood up and laughed in their faces, “Got a problem with that? I’ll take all you losers on!”

“Enough Bakugou” the annoyed teacher remarked “But I wouldn’t shy away from the test results from the mock exams. You surely can get into UA with those numbers” The teacher’s comments sent the class into silence and then murmurs broke out among them.

“He’s gonna try to get into UA?”, murmured one

“That one school with only a 0.2 acceptance rate?!”, murmured another

“If teach thinks he can make it in, then I believe it.”, murmured a third

With each comment Bakugou’s smile grew larger. He didn’t think he could get into UA; He knows he can get into UA. Anyone who disagrees with that idea had to be either suicidal or just plain stupid to contest that fact. But the teacher wasn’t done yet with mentioning UA High School.

“Oh yes, Midoriya; Didn’t you want to attend UA as well?” the teacher said offhandedly.

The room once again was silent, and Izuku felt all eyes upon him. However, there was only one pair of eye that put him in a state of primal fear. Bakugou’s red eyes pierce him like bullets full of rage, his smile vanished and in its place was a scowl. Izuku held his breath as he unfortunately gained the full attention of a very angry Bakugou. He felt the long body of his invisible friend shift as she slowly unwrapped herself from Izuku leaving her long tail on the floor circling the desk. He felt eight digits grasp his shoulders and the coarse fabric of the white robe rub against his head. She had taken a position that mirrored a viper poised to strike, and Izuku knew she would strike out if she could touch anyone other than him.

Nine years of bullying is something Izuku did not expect to face in life, or how the dirt tastes for that manner. Upon hearing those accursed ten words, Bakugou decided to make sure Izuku knows that applying for UA would result in consequences. Said consequences came right after class ended, with Bakugou and Izuku in a secluded alley near the school. It was ten minutes of the worst beating that Izuku has ever faced.

“You never learn do you, Deku?” Bakugou remarked darkly while cracking his knuckles, “Well, fortunately for both of us, I think it’s time you learn the HARD way!”. Bakugou then delivers a hard kick to the stomach on Izuku’s prone form. The green haired boy retches from the pain of the blow. Bakugou then grabs Izuku by the collar of his shirt, hoisting him up to eye level of the blond boy. Bakugou pauses and looks in on the pathetic kid in his grip. Deku was covered in all manner of bruises, burns and his split lip dripped blood on his face. His school uniform was roughed up, singed, and had holes from the explosion cradling punches of Bakugou, revealing pieces of burned and bruised skin underneath. His face was contorted in a look of adjected horror making the already meek teen seem ever more vulnerable. Deku screamed nothing but pathetic, and that pisses Bakugou off. Bakugou scowls and throws two more punches in the face of the Quirkless nobody, nailing him in the cheek and in the eye. Izuku groaned in agony as tears began to fall from his swollen eye, mumbling something incoherently.

“SHUT IT, DEKU!” snarled Bakugou “YOUR QURIKLESS ASS BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF!”

“P-P-lease, just s-s-stop. I-I wo-o-n’t tell…just stop p-please” Izuku forced out with desperation in his voice.

He couldn’t see where his friend was at, but he could feel her presence close by him. A kaleidoscope of concern, sadness, and rage was coming from her. Yet, no matter how much she tried to fight against Bakugou, she could do nothing spare Izuku from the wrath of the explosive bully.

“Oh, you aren’t talking, Deku.” Bakugou took his right limb off of Izuku’s collar “This is between us, no extras, no adults, just me and the Quirkless loser that thinks he can get in my way”

“I-I n-never w-wanted t-t-to g-get in y-your w-way, Kacchan” Izuku stuttered “I-I j-just thought...”

Bakugou snarled “You thought what, Deku? That everyone would just humor your dumbass and let some nobody like you become a hero. You’d think that they would even let your imaginary friend come in and share a seat in UA?”. Izuku flinched and what little courage he had left died as Bakugou gave him the cold reality.

“It doesn’t surprise me that someone as stupid as you would still hold on that childhood bullshit!” Bakugou said with a tone that was almost pitying “And I am sick of dealing with your kid bullshit, Deku. So, I am going to make sure you understand, once and for all”

Bakugou raise his right arm back, it now cackled with small explosions like some form of twisted laughter. Izuku looked at the glowing right hand in terror, it was coming, and this explosion was larger than any others. He shifted his eyes back to Bakugou, and panic filled every fiber of his being. Bakugou had a grin that was similar to how All Might would smile, but instead of warmth or reassurance that was known to the Number One Hero, it emitted a sense of…Satisfaction. A satisfaction that enjoyed the pain he was dishing to Izuku, the cruel high of a boy enjoying his dominance over one who would always be weaker than him. It was the smile of a Villain, and it made Izuku fear for his life. Bakugou was clearly done playing around, and he was truly out for blood now. Izuku tried to struggle out of the iron grip of Bakugou, but like all the times before his resistance to Bakugou was never enough. Time seemed to move in slow motion for Izuku at the moment. The right arm of Bakugou slowly moved towards him, carrying the impending explosion with it. Izuku could not feel anything, not his heart, his shallow breathes, or even the pain from his previous injuries. All he could do was watch the inevitable blow come streaking towards him like a rolling freight train.

“He’s going to kill me! He’s going to kill me!”

Suddenly, Izuku felt his body become overcome with a cool feeling, as if he had stepped outside on a day in autumn. The feeling intensified as a pair of blue arms, tensed with extreme strain, wrapped themselves around his around his chest. He felt something warm press against the back of his head, and yet, it made him feel at ease in this awful predicament. Tears dripped from his swollen eyes as the realization finally hit him. He tried to call out for her, but nothing more than a garbled croak come from his throat. She squeezed more firmly and pressed against his body slightly harder. Bakugou’s attack was almost upon his chest with her arms wrapped protectively around it. As he internally braced himself for the blow, something took him out his moment of doom. It was a voice he hadn’t ever heard before; it was soft and gentle and vibrated like the ocean at the seashore.

It said only one word: “Sleep.”

His vision darkened as he felt a flash of stinging pain, and everything faded into nothingness.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s eyes shot open in an instant. He found himself staring something he would not expect. The sky was pure, unaffected by the pollution or lights of the earth, making the inky black void seem clear like a pool of water. Lights of all of colors shone brightly against that inky pool, with streaks of a gold colored dust swirling between the black void and bright lights like sediment kicked up in clear water. It was beautiful. It was like nothing he had ever seen, and not even the old photos of deep space from the pre-quirk era could compare. The sight of such a scene fills the teen with a sense of bliss, and yet made him feel small, smaller than anything his world made him feel.
He couldn’t feel his limbs or anyplace on his body, he could only feel something cold below him, it felt like he was lying on a bed of ice. Izuku tried to move but found himself unable to, his limbs, if he still had them, were not responsive. Did his nameless friend transport him away from Bakugou before the blow hit him? No, she at best was only to touch him nor she shown any sign of having a quirk. Perhaps, she did something to ease the blow so he would not feel pain? But that didn’t explain how he got here in the first place. Scenarios and possibilities rambled on in the head of Izuku, but only one seemed to have been the likely result of his encounter with Bakugou.

“Am I dead?” Izuku pondered as he stared at the star filled horizon.

“Not Yet”

A voice broke the veil of silence that had engulfed Izuku and the space-like purgatory he now occupied. Izuku tried to move his head to find the source of the sound but could not do so, and all he could do was helplessly stared at the scene he awoke to. He felt a pit develop in his stomach and pinch of fear. He suddenly found himself to be able to find his voice
“Who’s there?” He called out “S-Show yourself”

The star-filled swirl in his field of vision rippled like something had disturbed its surface, and his ears caught the faint sound of water splashing. Izuku heard sloshing and dripping before those were replaced by a noise that was similar to something heavy being dragged through sand. The sky lights above him became obscured by an eclipsing shadow. Said shadow was a face that Izuku recognized in an instant. His nameless friend was there in all her glory; black eyes shining like polished obsidian, blue skin that was moist like a frog’s, and the long tendrils on her head hung limb instead of floating like usual. She was a sight to behold in this space anomaly of a place, a place she seemed to be at home with rather than the tiny bedroom he was used to seeing her in.

“You are hurt” deadpanned the fish-woman “Why do you let him hurt you?”. If nameless had a mouth it would be clear that she was frowning. Izuku’s eyes grew as a large as dinner plates.

“You can talk!” Izuku shouted

“Yes.” Said the irritated fish woman

“But how is that possible!?” Izuku screeched

“Arudimentaryphysicalofyoudemonstratedthatyoudonotpossethefeaturesthatwouldindicateamouththerewasalsonotindicationofahiddenmouthororificethatcouldbeusedforspeechhoweverthatisunlessyoucanconductspeechthroughthenostrillikeslitsonyourcheeks”

Izuku’s gaze wanders away from her figure as he gets lost in his rant,

“butthencomestheissueofneedingairtobeabletousevocalcordstoproducethesoundyetyourphysiologyshowedthatyoudonotbreathorhaveaneedtobreathebutthenyoucouldhaveaquirkthatwouldaltersomeofthebodyto…”

Izuku was cut off from his muttering tangent from a clawed finger that gently pressed itself over his mouth. He looked back at his friend to see her with what can be described as a stoic face that somehow has an amused expression.

“That is enough, little minnow” the fish woman said with a mother-like tone “We are talking about what happened to you and not about me.”

Izuku gulped “What do you mean? What happened?”

She said nothing but extended her index finger from her curled fist and reached down and touched Izuku where his chest was at. Izuku winced as he suddenly felt a burning pain shoot into his previously numb system after the finger made contact. The feeling became worst as he felt a sense of nausea in his skull while his vison blurred, and a blaring ringing filled his ears. He couldn’t help it when tears of relief rolled off his cheeks after she lifted her finger off his chest, returning it to the painless state it was in before. As his vison began to clear, he noticed that his invisible friend was staring at him with an intense gaze, with an aura of overwhelming sadness being emitted from her. She disappeared from his eyes before he felt something warm and coarse replace the icy cold feeling. Spindly fingers began to gently comb through his curled hair as his invisible friend once again appeared upside down in his vision. If he were to guess, she had cradled him in her lap something she hadn’t done since his sixth birthday.

“That monster had finally done his worst” she finally spoke up with a shakiness in her voice, “He could’ve killed you with that attack. You are only saved by the fact that I had to interfere”

“I-I’m sure it’s nothing. It is not like I haven’t dealt with befo...”

She once again placed her slender finder on his mouth, silencing him yet again. With the newfound position, Izuku was finally able to catch a brief glimpse of the top of her hands. The shiny blue skin of his friend was marred and burned black with darker spots of bruising following the end of the damage. Izuku held his breath as he felt tears welt in his eyes. She bore the blunt of the blow that was meant for him, a blow that could’ve killed him had she not shielded him.

“No, there is no ignoring this, little minnow” she interrupted with a firmness in her tone “You cannot tell me what he did to you was acceptable” She paused for a moment “Will you promise me to stay away from that snake or do something to put an end to his reign of terror, lest I have to interfere again?”

Izuku was shaken by the sheer anger in the question, “I-Interfere again?”

“Yes, I will do so again if he even thinks about hurting you again. I have spent too long watching you get hurt at the hands of that parasite. Next time, I will put a stop to it permanently, with or without your permission” the fish woman threatened

Okay, it was not a threat, but an ultimatum. Izuku decided it would be probably best to give into this demand, and not for his sake, but Bakugou’s. As much as he resents Bakugou for the years of bullying, he would not wish him to be on the receiving end of whatever punishment his friend has in store for him. Izuku silently nodded to the fish woman, and she seemed pleased with his answer.

However, she was far from done with him.

“What do you wish to do, little minnow?” asked the fish woman

“W-What do you mean?” a confused Izuku questioned

“Do you still desire to be like the smiling giant?” the fish woman probed

Izuku hesitated from answering, she clearly meant about becoming a hero. But the way she said it, indicated a tone of disapproval. Had she not agreed to his childhood dream? He recalled all those times in which she seemed a tad overprotective of him throughout the years, or those times when she seemed to disapprove all those times, he stuck his neck out for classmates getting bullied.

“If you think I do not agree with your desire to become like the ones you admire, then you are right” the fish woman said

Izuku gasped in surprised, “Huh? But why?”

She said nothing at first, pausing at the action of stroking his hair, and instead shifting her long arms to wrap around his head protectively. “I simply do not wish for you to hurt yourself for parasites underserving of your kindness,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “I don’t want to lose you, my little minnow”

Izuku was overwhelmed by the response, but pressed the issue further, “Why do you call me that? Little Minnow?”

The fish woman tilts her head, “Is it not obvious, I find you adorable like those yipping furry creatures.”

“Eh?!?”

The fish woman responded with a bout of hearty laughter at Izuku’s surprise. Surely, his oldest friend wouldn’t have a reason so shallow as likening him as a cute animal.

But before he could respond to her, she interrupts “Besides that, I do care deeply about you, little minnow. I am your friend, so I wish for you to be happy but also to be safe.”, She looks away briefly. Her voice is filled with an old sadness as she speaks, “So that’s why I ask you again. Do you wish to continue this path?”

Izuku could only answer with silent for a long time…

“Yes. All I ever wanted was to help people, like how you’ve helped me when I was little”, Izuku replied, “I want to return the favor to someone who will need it”

His friend said nothing but moved her left arm into his view. She raises her hand towards her face, and squeezes her fist so tight, her skin darkens from the pressure. She opens her hand up, revealing a self-inflicted cut in the center of her palm. Black liquid oozes out from the wound and on the claws on her fingers, but she then shifts her bleeding hand towards his mouth.

“Then, so be it. I offer my blood, and with it my strength will become yours”, the fish woman said in a prayer-like manner, “This will be our bond as a master and student as our relationship begins in earnest”

Izuku looked at the bleeding wound with hesitation but relented and opened his mouth to the black liquid. It tasted bitter. But thoughts of the bitter taste were forced out of because a sensation akin to burning rapidly enveloped his body. Pain overwhelmed his nerves as it felt like every single nerve was on fire, he lost focus on everything around him in his miasma of agony. He would scream if he could find his voice or, is he screaming already but cannot hear it? Yet, somehow amid his numbness to the world around him, he could hear a voice. It was gentle and vibrated like sounds of the ocean, yet it wavered like the speaker was threatening to lose their nerve at the proclamation.

“M-Marris” said the trembling voice, “My n-name is Marris”

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up to see the face of his nameless, no… named friend, peering over him. Her stoic face carried a gentle smile of relief at the realization he was awake. She had a name, and it was Marris. The warm feeling of happiness seeped into his chest at the revelation, it was something he wanted to know about her since the day they came home together. And now he knew. But there was more to his happiness than learning his oldest friend’s name. Frankly, he was giddy with excitement because he will finally have a quirk, or an equivalent to one, and it was all thanks to Marris. Izuku smiled happily back at the fish woman, and after a moment to recollect himself, Izuku became aware of his position. He wasn’t touching the alley floor, instead he was on something rather warm and a little damp. To Izuku’s surprise he was still being cradled by her in a much similar way in the pool of stars. Despite the years that had passed and the amount he had grown, his small frame could still be nestled by the giant fish woman. Though his longer legs now sat upon her lamprey-like tail instead of being contained in Marris’ equivalent of a lap.

However, unlike his previous situation in the star filled lake, Izuku could now feel everything that had happened to him today. His limbs felt like they were laden with lead while his chest felt like someone had hit him with a baseball bat. With the help of Marris, he was able to get off of her, thus allowing her to pull herself off the filthy alley street. His tense muscles scream in agony as they were forced to work after being taken from the embrace of the fish woman. After a moment of trying to get himself out of his disorienting state, he finally was able to asset his situation. It was too dark to really see anything clearly, so he took to feeling his chest for the damage Bakugou did. His uniform was ruined, again. It appeared to be burned so badly that he will most certainly have to get a new one. Izuku grumbled incoherently in annoyance at the destroyed clothing, he hated having to replace his uniforms. Yet, thoughts of uniforms took a backseat as his hands traced over the portion of his chest that Bakugou had hit. He reflectively winced at his own touch as he felt up the epicenter of Bakugou’s attack. The area was still very clearly damaged, but not as bad as he thought.

“Maybe I can hide this injury like all the others with some bandages, burn cream and a lot of pain medication” Izuku thought to himself

“Don’t even think about trying to hide what he did, Little Minnow.” Marris said in a stern tone Izuku jumped at the sound of her voice.

He then looked at Marris with a rather perplexed expression. She stared back at him with an unreadable expression as she once again took the appearance of mother-like figure who was perpetually underwater. The green haired boy gulped and frantically nodded to the fish woman; he was certainly going to have to get used to the fact his once silent friend is now very vocal. Izuku let out an exacerbated breath. Bakugou can certainly makes his life more difficult in more ways than one. Izuku wondered how he was going to explain this one to his mother, no doubt she would probably smother him until he was in a protective bubble of bandages and that was before they would go to the hospital. Yet, He shook the thoughts out of his head, he’ll worry about those pressing issues tomorrow. Today was simply an awful day and he still had to walk back to his apartment in the dark. Now all he needs to do is to find his stuff and go home. Luckily, Marris seems to have a greater degree of night vision and guided him on the way to his discarded yellow backpack.

After retrieving his backpack, the two walked/floated in silence back to the little apartment. … It was surprising to the two to come back a dark and rather empty apartment. Izuku found a note on the counter on top of a bag of instant noodles that explained why the small apartment was devoid of its third inhabitant. The note stated:

Izuku, I won’t be able to be home for today and a little bit of tomorrow, I had to cover last minute for a co-worker at the hospital. Don’t worry, your favorite is in the refrigerator, and also gave you some noodles if you get hungry later. Also remember that…

The rest of the letter dives into a mini rant of all the places and items that a fretting mother thinks their child will need in their absence. Izuku sighed in relief and crumpled up the note left behind as he dropped his things on the floor as he slowly made his way to his room. Frankly, he was too tired to eat, and merely thankful that he didn’t need to explain why he came home late looking like he got jumped to his mother. No doubt she would mummify herself from all the crying. It wasn’t long before Izuku found himself at a door with an All Might themed name plate, and promptly went in without hesitation. His room was filled with a lot of hero merchandise with several figurines filling his bookshelf and posters of heroes nearly occupying every space. The only oddity in the room was a desk that contained all manner of books and sketches of marine life be it real or mythological. The center of it all was a notebook containing his analysis of Marris, and with the recent string of events, he would most certainly have to add more to it.However, such things can wait for another time, as the exhausted boy dropped himself on his bed with the All Might sheets and covered his eyes with his arm.

“Goodnight, Marris” Izuku said as his exhaustion began to catch up to him.

“Sleep well. Little Minnow” Marris replied. And like a spell, those words seemingly caused Izuku to finally drift away into the world of dreams.

There were stars, but they are growing faint with every passing second. His body felt like it was being crushed into a little ball by some great force. Suddenly he was awashed with a burning sensation, like he was slowly being cooked in a oven, his vision began to fade as it was enveloped in a bright light. The pain of such an experience was seer indescribable agony. Izuku was surprised he was still alive or even conscious to begin with, as it felt like every cell was being crushed or incinerated. The unending pain ended he hit something with such a great impact that every bone and organ felt like they had been completely dislodged from their normal place. Hissing and bubbling echoed in his ears as something cold envelops him, fortunately his vision gradually returned. Only for him to see a sky filled with twinkling stars that were obscured by the black waters of a great ocean as he sank deeper into the darkness.

Izuku jerked awake. His breathing was heavy with his limbs shaking uncontrollably. His body was also drenched in a cold sweat as the green haired boy tried to make heads or tails of the dream he had just had. However, never in his life had Izuku had a dream that felt so…real, like he had been reliving someone’s traumatic experience. Izuku looked to floor near his bed that Marris usually rested in, but she was not present.

“What did her Blood do to me?” Izuku shakily questioned.

He needed to ask her what that dream meant or at the very least if having nightmares was a side effect of the pact. The trembling boy looked at his All Might themed alarm clock and saw that it had read 8:00.

“I need to get ready; mom will be here in a few hours. Marris is never gone for too long, so I will ask her when she comes” Izuku thought to himself.

With a bit of wobbliness in his frame, he gets out of bed and left his room towards the bathroom to start his day. Izuku knew that he would be subjected to changes as he accepted Marris’ gift, but he wasn’t expecting extreme physical alterations.

When he was younger, he expected it to be a moment of great happiness when he finally manifested his quirk. However, his shocked and panicked expression snuffed out all the potential happiness he could’ve felt, and it was a far cry from his daydreams as a kid. In simple terms, he had jumped in fright at the sight of the stranger in his bathroom mirror after waking up that morning. Once the initial shock had passed, and the realization finally hit him, he begun to examine his alterations in detail. His signature green coloring of his eyes and hair had been completely vanished in favor of a dark blue pigmentation. Izuku’s skin grew more pale and smooth and moist, similar to the skin of an amphibian. While his teeth were now slightly more sharp, giving him a slightly more fierce appearance. If one had no prior knowledge on Izuku’s Quirkless status, on can assume he has a minor aquatic mutation quirk of some sort. Many thoughts bombarded the mutated boy’s head, but the foremost was how the heck he was going to explain this one? One does not simply develop a quirk beyond the expected age of manifestation, and even if one were to develop such a thing, it certainly wouldn’t be a mutation one.

However, Izuku’s change was not brought on by what anyone would consider as normal, and as a result the teen was perplexed on how to deal with the inevitable fallout. As he dumbfoundedly stared into his reflection, the source of his metamorphosis floated into the bathroom with her usual grace. At the sight of Izuku, Marris froze briefly before quickly examining him with a curious intent. Marris’ probing gaze took Izuku out his stupor, and he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable at what Marris was doing. As such, his cheeks flushed red as her nonexistent smile grew larger and larger. The uncomfortable staring ended with Izuku getting crushed in the large arms of his friend as she did the equivalent of squeal.

“You look like I am your sire and not the green one! I feel so flattered!”, Marris beamed with pride, “You haven’t been this adorable since you were a hatchling!”

Izuku never thought he could ever feel this embarrassed and not be at the receiving end of a prank from his school bullies. He also now knew what it felt like to be one of those baby animals that were being swoon over at the pet store by some schoolgirls. Frankly, he was just glad there was no one else around to see him getting manhandled by an invisible force, the last thing he needed was for someone to think he was possessed by a ghost or something. However, his earlier dream and the alterations had not left him, and he was craving answers.

“Marris, what exactly will your blood do to me?” Izuku asked.

The fish woman had gone silent at the mention of his choice of words, while she had let Izuku fall from her embrace. She once again scanned over his appearance, but this time she gave Izuku the impression that she was trying to solve a rather difficult question. It planted a seed of worry inside the now blue haired boy.

“If you seek an answer, then I do not have one. For I do not know what my blood will exactly do to you.”, Marris said with a hint of guilt in her voice, “But, I do have some ideas…. take off that shell”.

Izuku took that as a que to take of his shirt and obliged to this suggestion. He gasped in shock at the sight of his bare chest because it was completely devoid of any injury. Impossible! Bakugou had hit him with his quirk yesterday, and it took at least a few days for the initial damage to even heal in any noticeable way. In fact, all of the injuries he got from Bakugou were gone, and Izuku hadn’t noticed at first due to the new change of color. It was simply impossible for as many injuries as bad as that to disappear unless…

Izuku took his gaze away from his reflection, and towards his invisible friend, specifically her arms. Marris had used her arms as a shield against Bakugou’s explosion, and Izuku clearly remembers devastating amount of punishment they took. Yet, the only indication of such an event was the numerous scars dotted in those damaged areas. The scars themselves looked they came from a wound that had happened years ago and not a day ago. The blue haired boy was at a loss of words at the regeneration that Marris, and him to an extent, possessed, but that cannot possibly be it? The idea of possessing anything more than a strong regeneration quirk was something that made Izuku feel a combination of excitement and dread. He was excited by the potential power that he could get, but at the same time he did not like the way Marris was implying the possibility of that being a bad thing. His thoughts swam with the possible implications on what she calls their “Pact”.

“Do I even have a quirk”, Izuku’s thoughts pondered, “Or is it something more than that?”

Then as if his thoughts have been spoken out loud, Marris was quick to reply to the puzzled teen. “It seems that you took more from me than just appearances.”, Marris said with a stoic voice, “Come with me little minnow, let us find a place to see the full extent of our pact. It seems you really are imitating me in more ways than one…”

Chapter Text

Despite being a Saturday, the hustle and bustle of Mustafu never seemed to sleep. As such, blaring horns of traffic or the conversations of bystanders filled the streets with a constant stream of noise. Such a life was something that Izuku had grew up with, and it had never bothered him for that reason. However, he could not help but feel irritant at all the pounding sounds that bombarded his head, it seemed as if every word or engine rev had become even louder. Izuku rubbed his head to relieve the small headache he was developing and cut his gaze back to Marris. The fish woman was leading him to a place for the first time, and frankly, he was only slightly unable to comprehend such a thing. In fact, there much about Marris that he did not know, and that made her into an enigma of sorts.

“You are muttering again” Marris said with amusement in her voice.

Izuku snapped out of his daze only to see the awkward stares of nearby people. He couldn’t help it when his cheeks turned red with embarrassment, and promptly picked up his pace. However, the hearty chuckles of the fish lady took his attention away from the judging gazes of other people. Her aura was beaming with joy and amusement, but this was replaced by one that radiated fear.

 “Izuku, as cute as you are when you do that, I need you to be at your best for this. Specifically, your brain needs to be relaxed until we start.” Marris said in a serious tone

That information made Izuku perk up. “Marris, it’s not like my head will blow up” Izuku joked

“It certainly is a possibility, but that is not what worries me the most” answered Marris 

Izuku flinched at her words. What could possibly be worst that one’s head spontaneously bursting? According to the blue mermaid, there certainly was something. “If that’s not what worries you, then what does?” Izuku quickly replied

“It’s whether or not you can handle the stress of the pact, and losing a head would be considered lucky” Marris warned 

Izuku’s stomach twisted itself into knots with dread.

“Little Minnow close your eyes and focus. I want to concentrate on me and connect with me” the fish woman gently commanded, “Reach out like you are trying to find me, drown out the world around you and reach out”. 

“Marris, I am trying, but it’s harder than I thought” Izuku replied with an edge of frustration 

When Marris had said she wanted to see to full extent of the pact, Izuku had fantasized about the ordeal. He had expected the ordeal to be similar to how quirks manifest, and he thought he would be able to use his new ‘powers’, albeit a weak version of it. However, that was simply not the case. Marris failed to mention that the process was exceedingly difficult and time consuming. When they had started it, the sun was just above the horizon, and now it was nearly setting. Izuku was hot and tired and not to mention filthy, and so far, it was for absolutely nothing. He recalls what Marris had told him earlier:

“You were not the first human I have given my Blood, but you are the first to exhibit my own natural qualities”, Marris stated, “ However, each one who took my Pact reacted to it a different way with a different power. The one binding fluid to them all was the way in which it was manifested”. 

The fish woman then explained in detail the actually process of manifesting their pact. It was akin to tai chi meditation but with a complicated list of precise positionings, movements, and times. There was even a specific number of times one had to breathe between each intervals between movements. This had to be practiced extensively, otherwise it could have some seriously consequences for the physical wellbeing of the participate. 

How and why it worked was something that Izuku could not get a straight answer from Marris. That could lie with the fact that she did not know the inner workings of human society very well or words. The blue haired boy vividly recalled her calling a car an “armored land crab” on more than one occasion on the way over.

Regardless, it didn’t help that the location was one of the worst places for Izuku. Marris had promptly led him to Dagobah Beach, or what was once Dagobah Beach. In its place was a junkyard that housed garbage that been washed ashore from the Pacific Ocean or had been dumped there by the local residents of Mustafu. Izuku and Marris had taken up residence in a rather large clearing of in the jungle of garbage, one that mostly home to trash bags of rubbish.  The smell of sun-bleached trash and rotting fish had done much to make Izuku dizzy from nausea, while the beach was close enough to the city to be plagued by the noise created by the hustle and bustle of urban life. Trying to concentrate on the task on hand was near impossible by the frequent and disruptive noises, adding to Izuku’s growing frustration. 

“It’s like reaching out to grab prey, but while blind. Perhaps you need a point of reference to help you find me. Look for the sound of dripping water”, replied Marris, “Chaos and distraction will impede you, and conquering them is the first step”

Izuku tried to do just that but the distractions of Dagobah Beach were making the task rather difficult. Yet, no matter how well he had rehearsed the body movements, his mind seemed to be taking the longest to find the connection. He kept trying, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t find the tether to their bond, but he was better off finding a grape seed in a bed of sand. His face scrunched up in frustration, as he desperately attempted to find the sound, but voices of self-doubt begun to eat at his consciousness. 

You should just give it up

You are a Deku, something useless

I am sorry Izuku

You can’t be a hero without a quirk

Maybe Marris had made a mistake by sharing her blood on him. After all, he couldn’t even do this first hurdle, she had given a chance and he blew it. Izuku screamed out, as a blaring horn of an angry motorist ruined his attempt again. Izuku looked down, trying to avoid Marris’ stare, as his breathing deepened and sweat ran down his blue hair and onto his face. His fists clenched white as he remembered the words of Bakugou and the others. They were right, he really was worthless…

Izuku suddenly felt something warm gently grip both sides of his face, and upon looking up he saw Marris had left from her position. She was directly in front of him, having lowered herself to be eye level with him, while gently cupping his face with her spindly hands. Her stoic expression possessed a faint smile layered with a reassuring aura. 

She whispered softly to him, “Izuku, don’t let the voices of doubt drown you into deep water. You think that I made a mistake by making this Pact, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.”, Marris whispered in a shaky voice, “You are a friend that few deserve, and all the years I spent with you are the some that this old hunter will never forget. I watched you grow from when you were just a hatchling, and you proved time after time that you are different from those around you and were destined to do great things”

“B-But, I can’t even…” Izuku tried to argue.

“Little Minnow, I made my decision because I believe you can become like those in the box”, those words had made Izuku freeze, “ So, stop listening to the voices of those liars, and think back to pond, where we first met”

Izuku relented to the request after a moment of deliberation and thought back to that night all those years ago. The memory filled him with both happy and sad emotions because it was simultaneously the worst and best day of his life. He thought of that overcast evening in the forest and distinctly remembered when Marris had confronted him. She was dripping wet from the water, and yet there was no sound of the sort in that encounter. The memory blinked in his mind removing the surrounding forest from the picture, while the sounds of nearby city disappeared from his ears. He reaches deeper into the memory, trying to find the moment when he should’ve heard the water. Once again, the memory blinked this time the pond and the ground were removed, while the sound of sea vanished from his ears. He kept prodding at the memory, hoping to find that missing sound.

Drip Drip

Izuku’s eyes shot open, only to find he was no longer at the beach. Instead, he finds himself in a black void, staring at the Marris from the perspective of his young self. It was exactly as he remembered, but now with the accompanying sound of dripping water. Marris was frozen in the outstretched gesture of a handshake that she had done when they first met, but with a symphony of movement coming from the water that was dripping off her blue skin.

Drip Drip

 
He reached out towards her outstretched hand and grasped it firmly. A white-hot sensation ran up the arm of Izuku, causing him to recoil away from the touch of his friend. The blue haired boy looked away from Marris’ frozen form to look at his hand, and to his relief it had not been burned. However, Marris had vanished. Instead, there was a rather crude depiction of Marris in the form of a small statue made from a single and large animal bone resting on a large table-like slab of stone. At the base of the statue, was an assortment of random material that ranged from expensive and valuable jewlry to beat up wooden plates carrying whole pieces of uncooked fish.

Izuku’s eyes grew in amazement at the object. “Is this a shrine to Marris”, He questioned, “Who would even try to worship her? And for what reason?”
 

Yet, the musings of blue haired boy were interrupted by some other object that had caught his attention.  In the cusp of the statue’s four fingered hands was an object that was the size and shape of a marble. It was glowing red hot and would most certainly burn him if he were to touch it. But…

Izuku started to reach out towards the red object unconsciously, as if his body were acting on its own accord. “Stop! Stop!”, he screamed in his head, but his body did not heed his mind’s commands. When his outstretched finger made contact with the red marble, a blinding flash of light blanketed his vision.

There was a faceless man kneeling amid a muddy and crater filled landscape. Wrapped in his left arm was a worn gas mask that was faded and dented from repeated use. His right arm was outstretched, like a waiting beggars’, towards some unseen person or thing. His filthy and unkept uniform was khaki colored with many harnesses, pockets and sashes adorned on his person each one filled with various items and trinkets. The shoulder area of the mud stained uniform was embodied with an octopus dressed in a rainbow of colors that was overlaid on a flag from a dead empire of the pre-quirk era. The thunderous roar of an unseen object shattered the image.   

Izuku’s blue eyes shot open and were greeted the stoic face of a very concerned woman. Yet, the concerned face of his invisible friend did not register for the dazed teen. Izuku felt numb, like his senses had been dulled down, and could not hear the pleas of Marris or the dirty sand he now lay upon. This changed when pain violently shot up through his left forearm, and like a turning on a switch, it propelled Izuku out of his torpor.

The blue haired teen jerked upright with a cry escaping his lips whilst clutching his forearm. Everything on the outside world was ignored as this moment of pain raced throughout his system. When the wave of pain finally subsided, Izuku removed his hand from his forearm and inspected the epicenter of his agony. Upon his inner forearm, close to his wrist, was a red mark the size of an American quarter. On first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a red circle, but a closer look reveals that it is actually a depiction of an octopus in the style of some tribalistic art style. Despite its rather simplistic and harmless appearance, Izuku could feel a strange power radiate from the image.

“What had happened to me?” thought the blue haired teen.

“IZUKU! IZUKU!” Marris frantically shouted as she begun to roughly shake him 

The sound of Marris shouting took him out his transfixion with the image on his body and made him aware of the fish lady. He had never ever seen her in such a state of distress with her stoic face bordering on the edge of fright with a aura and voice that were pure hysteria. 

“M-Marris, it’s okay. I think I am fine” Izuku said in a coarse voice

Marris was not convinced and begun to frantically asked a list of questions. “How many fingers am I holding up?!”

“Um, Two?”

“What does the green female call herself?!”

“Inko?”

“Does your body feel any sharp pain?!”

“No, nothing like that.”

“Do see me with a mouth?!” 

That particular question seemed out of place. “I don’t see you with a mouth.”

With that finally answer, Marris breathed a sigh of relief or the equivalent of one who doesn’t need air. Then without even a warning, the aura of the fish woman changed to one that expulsed pure menace. Marris turned to face Izuku with a face of thinly veiled anger.

“Little Minnow, won’t you be as kind to tell me what had happened to you”, Marris demanded with malice

Izuku gulped down a large lump in his throat because he had feeling that he had nearly done something he shouldn’t have. 

Izuku had managed to explain what he had experienced without Marris unleashing her wrath upon him.  The fish lady had opted to remained silent throughout the whole ordeal and seemed to grow slightly uncomfortable at the mention of the soldier and the octopus. It was only after he had finished speaking did Marris actually gave her input.

“It seems, little minnow, that you are a strange one, even among those of the pact” said the fish lady

“What do you mean by that Marris?” Izuku asked 

“I say that because that mark belonged to a power that I had given to someone who was alive over three hundred winters ago” Marris said with certainty, “But there is only one way to find out.”

Marris proceeded to float towards Izuku and roughly grabbed his forearm. The moment she did, Izuku felt an electric sensation emerge in the points of contact, like a circuit had been connected. Using her index finger, Marris directly touched the octopus on his forearm. It was like a switch had been flicked inside Izuku, and made the blue haired teen feel weightless, like he was nearly incorporeal. Was this his quirk? What could it do? How could he control it? Questions and theories bombarded his mind like a bomber, and it distracted him from the sour expression on the blank face of Marris.

The fish woman grunted in annoyance before speaking, “It seems that I was right, you have the power of that Rat.”

“What is it Marris? I cannot wait to learn how to use it especially if it’s a quirk that you have experience in!” Izuku said with barely kept excitement.

Marris said nothing, but instead used one of her long arms to point in the direction of a broken discarded car mirror. Izuku quickly raced to the mirror and hastily picked it up, and saw…

…nothing?

It was at this moment that Izuku finally noticed that he couldn’t see his arms, legs, chest, or head. He dropped the car mirror into the sand as he realized the quirk he got.

Izuku Midoriya had obtained the power of true invisibility. 

Chapter Text

Life changed significantly in a variety of ways for Izuku and Marris following that day at the beach. Izuku was experiencing a biological change in his body that was not typical of a teenager in this day in age. For one, he found his sense of vision, hearing and taste growing stronger, and with a little help from Marris was able to use them in a way that made him notice things that an ordinary human could not. The fish woman had done this by periodically playing a game of hide-and-seek with Izuku in the garbage jungle of Dagobah. She would use the power of the rat to hide among the junk and Izuku had to find her using a different sense. It was steep hill to climb, but by the end of a few weeks, Izuku was able to find an invisible Marris through sight, taste, and hearing with proficiency. The regenerative ability was also something that the two worked on together, and to the surprise to Izuku, Marris had displayed that there more to it than that. Izuku’s initial assumption was the regeneration was passive quirk, a power that happened unconsciously, but Marris had showed him that was not the case. She revealed that it could be actively used to rapidly heal any wounds if one forces it to speed up, it was akin to changing the energy output from low to high on a generator. However, Izuku was very much warned that such an ability was not a guaranteed get-out-of-jail-free card and could actually kill himself if his wounds are too great. The fish woman had taught him to utilize this aspect of regeneration through a series of mental and muscle exercises, it was very much the way which she uses it,  but was not inclined to let him hurt himself to see if he was successful.  

The blue haired boy was also continuously trained in his Invisibility quirk and this was done by having him practice spear fishing in the junk reefs of the nearby ocean using his quirk. Something that the fish woman had deemed more practical than whatever the internet had to say. It served as a three-point training regimen in which he could hone his skills in stealth, swimming, and quirk usage. his skills in stealth were much to be desired but that will come with practice. So far, Izuku was not able to catch anything, but his research showed that the sport was not easy and took a lot of skill to master. While a bit disheartening that he hasn’t come close to even getting the desired results, he can notice a general improvement in his attempts.

After the experience Izuku had with his manifestation, Marris took it upon herself to have a stronger hand in guiding Izuku. It was a bit like the smothering that his mother usually does, but the blue haired teen had a feeling that Marris had lost others before, and most likely due to her own carelessness and was not inclined to let it happen again. However, as of late, there have no breakthroughs on acquiring a new quirk. With only several months until the UA entrance exam, Izuku needed to be at the top of his game to make up for the years lost time.

But the outside world was not going to let Izuku’s Pact with Marris go without consequences in a world as wonderous as his. That became very apparent when the two went back to the Midoriya apartment and back to Inko Midoriya. The Midoriya Matriarch nearly wrung herself out of water like a sponge upon the sight of her son. She in her half-panic half-concern believed that Izuku was going through a rebelling phase and joined some aquatic themed gang of delinquents. It took nearly an hour to get his mother to calm down, and assurance that family therapy wasn’t needed, to give an explanation. Izuku’s explanation went along the lines that he had been jumped on his way home by some high school aged thugs on his way home, and the experienced seemed to manifest his long overdue quirk from the trauma. This seemed to be a convincing story, after another hour of Inko crying and strong insistence that Izuku goes to the hospital.

Things went even more haywire when Izuku went to school on Monday. Teachers and students alike were in looking at him with disbelief and awe, likely to the fact that he was not dead or the fact he had a mutation like quirk. The only who wasn’t fazed from the whole ordeal was Bakugou…because he was absolutely livid with what he saw. In typically fashion of a bully, Bakugou forcefully pulled Izuku aside at lunch for a ‘Talk’.

“Alright, Deku, you have one minute to explain your shitty look!” Bakugou said through cracking teeth.

Izuku stared wide eyed at his bully. Bakugou’s face was a light pink, from anger most likely, whilst his expression was sharp like a predator eyeing prey. One fist was clenched on his uniform’s collar while the other was being flexed like he was preparing to use his quirk. While Izuku was no longer Quirkless, that didn’t mean he was inclined to push the buttons of a ticking bomb. Even worse was the thunderstorm of righteous fury that was Marris, who poised herself protectively around Izuku. Her obsidian eyes mirrored the same sharpness as the blond boy whilst an invisible snarl was etched on her blank face. She was clearly waiting, almost inviting, for Bakugou to lay a finger on Izuku.

“Those two are going to kill each other, and I will be caught in the middle!”, Izuku thought nervously, “I need to think of something!”

Izuku gulped an apple sized lump in his throat, and silently prayed that the gods had gave him blessings in luck and charisma today, “I-I woke up like this a-after our t-talk on Friday. I don’t know how, but I t-think you managed to knock a quirk into me?”

He was so dead.

“I-It’s not cool and flashy like your quirk in the s-slightest. Its j-just that my quirk made me look blue and f-fishy” Izuku sputtered through his sharp teeth, “It’s still useless”

Bakugou raised an eyebrow at the explanation. Izuku wasn’t sure if he had bought it or thought that Izuku had been smoking some hard drugs. But whether he believed it or not, he could not explain Izuku’s quirk in any logical way, except that Izuku was given it. And that was crazy talk, a quirk that gives other people quirks. Well it seems that the explanation, or rather the useless implications of Izuku’s quirk, appeared to calm the blond boy down significantly. With brutish grace, the blond boy let go of Izuku’s collar, and let the blue haired boy fall to the floor. Without ceremony, the blond boy began to leave the deserted classroom. Bakugou stopped before the door, and turned back to Izuku, his usual sour expression on his face.

“Yeah, that’s bullshit, Deku. But whatever, just make yourself useful for once and stay out my way. I got a UA exam to focus on, and I don’t have time to pound that in your stupid skull. Got it Deku?” Bakugou said with a veiled threat.

Izuku nodded his head furiously while a slight tingle emerges in his chest. With a snort, the blond teen left Izuku alone with his invisible friend. Marris relaxed from her striking stance and repositioned herself to help Izuku up. Izuku left in silence as he subconsciously rubbed his chest.

Bakugou would become a local legend at Aldera Junior High as a kid who was so strong that he could beat a quirk into the Quirkless. On the bright side, the school body decided to ignore the now quirked Izuku for remainder of his year at the school.

“That will be enough for now, little minnow.” Marris said monotonously

It was at the end of another fruitless session of quirk manifestation, and yet the sun wasn’t even setting over the horizon. Izuku turned his head towards the fish lady and raised an eyebrow at the rather the tone of her voice. It had been four months since he first heard Marris’ voice and had learned quite a bit about the behavior of his longtime friend. She was by and large very emotional and expressing, despite the physically limitations, and it was rare for her to even use that tone. Except when she is trying to hide something from Izuku. Being the altruist that he is, Izuku decided to see if he could do anything to help her.

“Marris, what’s the matter?”, Izuku prodded, “Is something this bothering you?”

The hair of the fish woman begun to squirm in embarrassment, and promptly turned her head away, likely to avoid Izuku reading her expression.

“I-It’s nothing, little minnow, I am just tired” retorted the flustered mermaid

Throughout his time with the fish woman, he never ever once saw her tired or even sleep. In fact, when he younger he once pretended to sleep to see when Marris would begin sleeping, she never did, and spent the night staring out the window. Even so, this only made Izuku push the subject further.

“Marris, you and I both know you never get tired.”, Izuku replied, “Just, tell me what is bothering you.”

Marris was silent for a long time before weak chuckle came from her nonexistent mouth.

“I remember when you couldn’t understand me at all, it made hiding things so much easier. Now I forget that you can understand me with familiarity like a predator does his prey”, Marris reminisces, “I-I simply desire something, but I do not want to get in the way of your preparation”

“You had done so much for me, Marris, so I would be more than happy to help you”, Izuku retorted

 “Little Minnow, I do not understand much about your kind, but I do know that they place emphasis on trivial matters. It always seemed pointless that one needs to do things like ‘take a test’ just to be able to fit their role in the food chain. Why can’t they wait to grow up and either succeed or fail like every other creature on this world?” ranted the fish woman

Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose, she was clearly trying to deflect away from her “Okay, I understand your reasoning, but don’t be stubborn and make things hard. So just tell me what you want what you want, and we will go from there?”, Izuku half scolded half pleaded.

The fish woman remained silent for a while before softly speaking, “I just…remembered what this beach used to be like before all this filth made it their home.”, Marris looked in the direction of the ocean before hanging her head down, “I just wanted to be able to see the ocean again.”

It was quite possibly the first time Izuku had ever seen Marris seem so meek and small. Izuku almost forgot that Marris was probably the most lonely and sad creature on earth. She was like a ghost in many ways, unable to be seen except by rare number of individuals or have effect on the world around her unless the circumstances were extreme. She certainly takes pleasure in things that most take for granted and was probably used to having her pleas heard on the deaf ears of a world that was ignorant of her existence. Perhaps this wasn’t always the case, but he cannot deny the fact that a creature as powerful as Marris wouldn’t tie itself to a five-year-old kid unless she was desperate for companionship.

The blue haired boy said nothing to the fish woman and got to the first steps to cleaning up a section of beach with what little daylight he had left. Ignoring her pleas to not worry about her and to focus on himself, he continued until the sun disappeared. Izuku would continue to do this every time he went to Dagobah for training.  The hero-in-training resolved to clean up the beach for his oldest friend.

For many nights’ afterword, he would have dreams in which he sees a far-off figure in the white robe that Marris wears, but they would always be out of reach.

Of all the days in which Izuku finally succeeds at spear fishing, it has to one of the miserable days of the year. Despite the fact that it was midday, there was a strong chill in the air with an overcast sky dripping a light sprinkle of slush. It was that limbo period in the year in which spring was still rubbing its eyes while winter was not yet inclined to leave. For Izuku, this left him with very little time to practice his invisibility quirk, lest he turn into an ice cube in the freezing waters of the Pacific. So, his activities were restricted to cleaning up the dirty beach, at least until the first thaw began. Almost at once, he resumed the task that was given to him by the fish woman, though he was restricted to an hour and traded his trunks for an insulating wetsuit.

However, to say Izuku was proud of his catch was another story. The fish itself was not that big, almost the size of his forearm, and looked rather meek and tired. He had found it in a small cropping of appliances, and was completely unaware of its surroundings.  It appeared that the winter was harsher this year than usual, and it was not strong enough to survive an attack from a predator.

“I was not so different from this fish not too long ago. Would have I shared its fate if Marris was not there to protect me?” Thought the blue haired teen.

The successful hunter mechanically swam back to shore past the reef of appliances and onto a barrier of garbage that bordered the ocean. Eventually, his thoughts of negativity evaporated he wanted to show his oldest friend his small victory.

The day of the UA Exam

It had been some of the most grueling nine months for Izuku. But on this spring day, he can finally take in all the fruits of his labor. For one, his body was no longer scrawny and twig-like. It was now lean with slim muscles as the result of months of swimming and trash collecting. Another was his proficiency of his quirk, despite being behind many others in that department by a number of years, Marris’ rather unique style of teaching more or less enabled him to use his quirk with adept familiarity. He probably wasn’t as good with it as Bakugou was with his own quirk, but he is sure UA will help with that.

The final fruit was Dagobah Beach itself. When Izuku first arrived at the beach, it was nothing more than a cesspit of trash and filth. Now the beach was noticeably a lot more cleaner, with only the larger things remaining scattered along the sands. With the white sands and the teal waters places against the rising sun, the beach was once again a beach. Izuku stared in wonder at the sight, sitting atop a car, waiting for his oldest friend to arrive.

It wouldn’t be long before he sensed the presence of the lamprey mermaid nearby, and with haste jumped from his spot from the car to greet her. To say that the fish woman was ecstatic would be an understatement, and in typical fashion of Marris, she proceeded to bear hug Izuku like there was no tomorrow.  Izuku was just glad no one could see this.

When she finally let go of the blue haired teen, did she finally speak.

“Well done, Izuku, you went beyond your promise and were able to make it on time with the customs of your kind” Marris said with pride in her voice.

“Thank you, Marris, I couldn’t have done it without you” Izuku replied humbly

Marris took her gaze away briefly away him and towards the scene behind him. The was a strange longing in her eyes that he just couldn’t fathom.

“I would normally attend with you on your hunt, but I think you should go alone to prove yourself”, said the fish woman, “ I will meet you later, but for now, I-I think I wish to be alone”

Izuku didn’t want to do this by himself, but he was reluctant to go against his friend’s wishes. Resigning himself to the task ahead he preceded to head home and get his stuff ready for the exam.  But before he could even set foot of the sands of Dagobah.

“Ah, but before you leave, I have something for you” said Marris

With a snap of her long fingers, cool water enveloped Izuku and he found himself in the world of stars where he drank Marris’ blood. Only this time, he wasn’t relegated to the floor. This time he was to discern that the floor was reflective and had the appearance of polished marble.  However, before he could lose himself in the beauty of the cosmos, Marris shot from the black void between the starlight causing it to ripple. Before any words could be said between the two, the lamprey mermaid proceeded to take off the white robe she usually wears while wearing a large smile.

“Here, a gift to you little minnow.”, Marris said whilst presenting the robes, “They will help you in your quest to become the apex of your kind”

It wasn’t bad a gift, in fact he was flattered that she would give something so personal. But there was a caveat to the gift…

…He saw Marris’ bear chest as a result. Izuku’s face turned red and he attempted to take the gift without looking but he unable to do so without catching a glimpse. To his surprise, the blue skinned lady’s torso held a vague outline of a human female with none of the details of one and held characteristics of many aquatic life forms. For example, the skin there was white rather than blue, and she had no belly button or any nipples on the breasts. Buts that doesn’t make it any easier for Izuku to look at. As averting his eyes as best as he could, Izuku grabbed hold of the white robes and held them in front of him, blocking the view of his underdressed friend. He blinked.  

In the split second that he blinked, Izuku found himself back at the shrine to Marris. This time, the marble sitting in the hands of the crude statue was colored a burning hot white. Subconsciously, Izuku once again reached out to touch it as he did before. When flesh met the white hot marble, a blinding light overcame all his senses.

It appeared to be a farm, but one that had seen a great strife. The crops were burnt, the animal pens were destroyed, the farmhouse collapsed in on itself, and the bodies of the farmers hanging from ropes in a large tree. Among the ruins walked a figure in the robe that Marris wore, only it was newer and more pristine. They walked carefully and slowly, like they were looking for someone. Suddenly the white figure stopped and looked towards a section of the farmhouse that had a puddle near what was once a wing of the house. Slowly they made their way towards the building and stopping just before it. The figure kneeled and pulled off their hood, but they were faceless. The figure reached out towards something in the shadows of the house.

“Are you cold?” said gentle voice of a woman, “Don’t be afraid. I have been looking for you.”

The sound of bells ringing shattered the vision.

Izuku opened his eyes to see Marris’ face in his, and lucky the robe was blocking everything from the neck down. Her expression was puzzling for but a moment, but then it was erupted with a light chuckling.

“It seems you have a pendant for being full of surprises, little minnow. I guess you got two gifts instead of one.” Chuckled the fish woman

“Did I get another quirk?” Questioned Izuku

“It appears so, but I’d rather we practice it when we have time. So, don’t even think about trying it, if it is the same as this mark” warned Marris whilst pointing down.

Izuku looked down at his left arm and saw a new mark had appeared beneath the red octopus symbol. It mirrored the circular structure of the red mark but was colored white, like Marris’ robes instead. Within the circle was a swirling tribalistic depiction of a crab with a Christian crucifix in the heart of the animal.

Izuku was speechless and did not even know to begin with the little amount of information that he had. Marris herself was being quiet about any further details, but he did not like the silence that he was getting from Marris.

“We will talk later when your test is done, little minnow.” Marris said with an unrecognizable tone.

Without a warning, Marris pushed Izuku to the ground so quickly that he didn’t even have time to cry out. A sensation of cool water quickly past through Izuku’s senses before he was met with the city street. Izuku landed on his rear on the sidewalk outside his apartment complex.

“What was that all about?!” exclaimed Izuku

Chapter Text

UA High School. A towering behemoth of the world of heroes. The school of origin of many great heroes in both the past and modern eras. For many, this place is their point of origin in heroics, and Izuku was no exception.

The blue haired teen stared in awe at the twin structures that dominated the view from the entrance grounds. It was nothing compared to the realm of stars that Marris seems to inhabit, but heroes and everything to do with them has always been at the heart of Izuku as long as he could remember.  He couldn’t help but take in on what was essentially was his future school….

…until he was roughly shoved on to the ground on his rear. When Izuku reoriented himself from the sudden displacement, his point of view was shifted to meet a familiar angry face with spikey blonde hair. Bakugou’s expression was a mixture of mild rage, and confusion. The blonde opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but seemingly decided against it. Rather, Bakugou snorted and twisted his faced into one containing amusement. He turned and continued his walk towards the entrance of UA and disappeared behind the glass doors. For once, Bakugou had managed to confuse Izuku by not devolving into his usual behavior seen in Aldera High.

“First Marris, now Bakugou. What is with everyone today” Thought the blue haired teen as he picked himself off the ground. He dusted himself for a second, then grabbed the straps of his yellow backpack with a look of determination in his eyes.

“No matter if everyone is acting weird today. This is a new beginning, and I have to not let anything stop me!” Izuku thought with resolution.

With his newfound resolve, Izuku took his first punitive steps towards his future… Only to trip on his own feet and once again plummet to the ground.

“Or I will just die.”

However, Izuku did not meet death or the ground for that matter. In fact, he was surprised to see that his descent was completely halted midair.

“Sorry about that, but I figured that you probably needed some help there” said an unfamiliar voice, “But can you please pull yourself up, you’re heavier than you look.”

Without any hesitation, Izuku did as he was asked, and to his surprise, saw that a girl was the one who caught him. The girl was shorter than him with a head of brown hair and eyes that reminded him of a light coffee. Her skin was peach colored that was typically of most people in Japan, and the uniform that she was wearing indicated that she was clearly from another school.

“S-Sorry for troubling you like that, but thank you anyways for helping me” Izuku said nervously

The girl giggled in return, “You don’t have to apologize, accident happen after all. Besides, it would be unheroic of me to not help someone who needs help”

“H-Heh, yeah. Are you attending the exam for the hero course?” asked Izuku

The brown-haired girl smiled, “Yeah, and I would guess that you are as well?” questioned the girl.

The blue haired boy nodded in return, and this only seemed to make the girl’s smile grow larger.

“Well, I wish you luck and I hope that the next time I see you, we will be classmates. But that can’t happen if we miss the exam.” Said the girl as she started to hurry towards the glass doors.

Izuku was feeling braver than usual and piped up to get some parting words. “G-Good luck to you as well” Izuku shouted to her.

The girl stopped before opening the door and shot one last smile before disappearing into the building.

“What a nice girl.” Izuku said out loud to no one in particular, “I talked to a girl?!”

The blue haired teen turned scarlet at the realization and covered his face with his hands in embarrassment. As sad as it sounds, this was indeed the first time Izuku had talked to a girl beyond a few words of pleasantries or a series of hurtful jabs directed at him. Marris, who was like an older sister, and his mother do not count in that regard. However, his moment of embarrassment was short lived as the teen remembered the words of the girl, and he himself made like a banana and left to attend his exam.

The written exam was nothing Izuku couldn’t handle, it was only nerve wracking and nail biting as much as a written test can be. So, only the common feelings of inadequacy and anxiety followed the blue haired teen as he followed the crowd of students heading towards the auditorium for the practical exam. The rows of trophies, awards, and hero memorabilia lined the halls on route to the auditorium helped ease his test anxiety.

It didn’t help that he was forced to sit next to Bakugou in the arranged seating, but thankfully the blond for once decided to ignore Izuku.

Izuku in turn was too busy Fanboying over the fact that Present Mic, the voice hero, was the one giving a seminar for the practical exam. The excitement of seeing one of the most popular heroes in Japan put the blue haired teen into one his trademarked muttering fit.

“CAN I GET A ‘HEY’, LISTENERS!” shouted the voice hero

He was promptly met with silence from the crowd in the auditorium, a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. Present Mic awkwardly cleared his throat and resumed the seminar.

“Okay Listeners, I want to you to pick up the brochures that have been provided at your seating and take a real good look at them.” Present Mic said with returning gusto, “In this exam, you will be facing robots set as mock villains in one of UA’s mini cities. There are three robots that you will contend with, One Pointers, Three Pointers, and Five pointers. Each are worth the same amount of points in according with their names, and you are to destroy them to get the points to your score.”

 A hand in the near to the front row of the auditorium shot up before Present Mic can finish his explanation.

“Yes, examinee #428.” Present Mic asked without losing his signature smile.

“Ah Yes, you said that we will only be facing three types of robot villains, but on the pamphlet, there are four listed. Is this a printing mistake and if so, it reflects poorly upon a school as prestigious as UA? Furthermore!”, a black-haired teen with glasses rose up in a robotic like manner and turned towards the back of the auditorium, “You there with the blue hair! Your mumbling is disrupting the seminar! Are you even taking this exam seriously!”

Izuku jumped at the accusation that was directed towards him, and felt his ears turn red with embarrassment as the other examinees laughed at him. He lost his voice in a panic and could only stutter as a form of retort towards his accuser. This only fueled the laugher of the other examinees. The blue haired teen sunk further into his seat, trying to avoid any more negative attention. Present Mic luckily saved him from any further embarrassment.

“To answer your question Examinee #468. The fourth robot is what we call the Zero Pointer, and it serves more as an obstacle that you are to avoid rather than confront. I will note that if one manages to destroy the Zero Pointer, they will receive no points to their score.” Present Mic said matter-a-factly, “Well, if there aren’t any more questions, go change and hop on the city grounds that corresponds with your assigned letter. Good Luck, and remember…Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!”

Izuku was stretching his muscles as away from other people as he could on the starting line of City Grounds D. After the incident at the auditorium, he was avoiding the other students who would no doubt make fun of him. So, the blue haired teen opted to avoid the others to try to stay focused on the upcoming test. Every now and then he would peek into the crowd of examinees, trying to see if any were focused on him. It was doing this that Izuku saw her.

Brown hair, peach skin, and a smile that he was familiar with. It was the nice girl from earlier, dressed in track pants and a tank top with wrist warmers. She was seemed to have gotten her preparation done and was waiting idly for the test to begin. Without Marris around, and the dressing down he got in the seminar, Izuku certainly needed a friendly face.

“Perhaps I can go and say hello, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to…”

“There you are!” shouted a familiar voice

Izuku turned to see that same examinee who had called him out in the auditorium storming his way towards him. Before Izuku could even do anything to reply or run away, the glasses wearing kid begun to run his mouth in the longest and worst dressing down that Izuku have ever faced. All the while the teen never ceased his robotic karate chop hand motion or even pausing to take a breath. Izuku could not even understand what he was even trying to say with how face he was speaking. He caught words such as “improper”, “ashamed”, and “respectable” in the rant that mirrored his mumbling. Just when Izuku thought the other teen was going to pass out from oxygen deprivation, a loud shout shot out.

“GO!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards the source of the noise. Only to see Present Mic standing a sort of sports podium with a smug smile.

“What are you waiting for? There are not countdowns in real life! GET MOVING!” Shouted the voice hero

Everyone paused…. And like a stampeding herd of cattle, the examinees raced into the artificial city.

When Present Mic had ended the countdown or lack of one, Izuku was not prepared for main ingredient of the practical exam. Pure Chaos. The scene he witnessed took the blue haired boy made him lose focus, causing the teen to just stand still like an outplace piece of furniture. It was like a ravenous swarm of locusts had been released on a small field of corn. Each examinee was or trying to gorge themselves on as many of the villain points as possible with no regard to anything else. The ones with the more flashy and powerful quirks were mechanically destroying the villain robots without any regard. There were a few times in which they nearly caused the debris from the destroyed robots to hit some of the other examinees. The examinees with the less flashy or more utility oriented quirks were not having an easy time to begin with in trying to take out the robots. It didn’t help that the examinees with the flashier and destructive quirks used them as distractions in order to add onto their own score.  In response, the other examinees took to hindering their competition using their own quirks as an act of petty revenge, desperation, or to fuel the chaos.

“These people are what the future heroes will look like?” Izuku whispered in disbelief. His thoughts drifted to that of some anonymous poster on an old hero form. He openly condemned UA and other schools like it, saying all they did was breed a generation of heroes who care only for fame and fortune. Izuku venomously disagreed with the old poster, but now he couldn’t help but feel so disgusted with what he was seeing. It was like he opened up a repressed memory, a memory that he shouldn’t have. 

“Why does this feel so familiar to me? I’ve never even seen anything so cut-throat before” Pondered Izuku. But whether it was his memory or the memory of a ghost, he wasn’t sure. But the blue haired teen did not let it distract him from the exam. He couldn’t afford to fail now.

Izuku was growing desperate. Despite all his training these past nine months, he was not doing the best in acquiring points. The cloud of chaos around the exam had made it actually rather difficult to take down a robot. On nearly every occasion he used his Invisibility power, he was nearly blown to pieces by an exploding robot when it was hit by a twinkling laser beam, or had his messy curls grazed by a beam that went wild. Any other robot was taken down by that kid who had reprimanded him for his muttering during the seminar, his speed quirk allowing him to blitz through robots left and right.

“Dammit! How many points do you need to get for yourself!” Izuku shouted to no one as yet another three pointer was taken from him by a ranged quirk. “I can’t fail this, not after everything Marris did for me!”

However, the atmosphere of the testing grounds changed as menacing aura filled the artificial city. The earth trembled as a titan made its appearance on to the city. The zero pointer that Present Mic had mentioned had been released in the last minute of the exam. Present Mic was lying when he said the robot was like an obstacle, it was more like an unstoppable force. The robot itself took the appearance of hunched humanoid figure that was the size of a small skyscraper. It was armed to the teeth with an assortment of missiles, guns, and claw-like hands, and at the cusp of the test’s end it was released.

The examinees’ appropriate response to the zero pointer was to run like hell away from the thing. For Izuku, the choice was clear, he needed to get some points and perhaps he finally can get some while everyone is distracted by the….

“Help me!” …

…

“Help me!”

The voice was faint, nearly lost on the in the sea of other sounds of the mock battle. Izuku turned to look at the source of the plea for help. It was that nice girl from earlier, only this time she was trapped under large chunks of rubble, leaving her only head exposed to the world. Izuku wouldn’t have noticed her if not for the sharp increase in his senses over the last few months. The only problem was the fact that the Zero Pointer had noticed her as well and was converging upon her location.

The blued haired boy took a step, then another, and another but then the steps turned into a sprint as he was headed straight towards the danger. Test be damned, someone was in trouble, and Izuku was not going to stand by and do nothing about it.

However, Izuku’s rescue charge was interrupted when something snagged him from his run. Izuku turned his head to see the same kid who berated him earlier, he had sprinted up to him to him and was holding him back by his arms.  

“Do you have a death wish or did you not pay attention to our Instructor? He told you to avoid the Zero Pointer!?” barked the taller examinee

Izuku begun to struggle against the other’s hold, “Let go of me! There is someone trapped in the rubble, directly in the path of the villain” he half-demanded half-pleaded

“Even if there was someone there, they would’ve called out for help, and I don’t hear a word! You think I would believe an obvious lie from someone who is clearly not suited for the hero course”, retorted the other teen face contorting in anger

For the first time in Izuku’s life, he felt a burning white sensation in his chest at the accusations of the other examinee. For the first time in his life Izuku was angry, at the wonton greed and pettiness of the other examinees, at a test that was biased for uncaring brutes like Bakugou, at this other teen who had the gall to say those words. The white mark on his arm was burning like his chest, ready to explode the hidden power underneath his flesh.

A loud crunch briefly took Izuku out his fury, and as the teen turned his head to see what was in front of him. The colossus-like robot was nearly upon where the nice girl was trapped, but Izuku could not see her head anymore and the only sounds he can hear was a very faint whimpering.

“Do they let kids die in examines like this? Will they even stop it to help?” Izuku frantically thought

Desperation crawled out and replaced the fiery anger that was previously inside Izuku, and he redoubled his efforts to get out of the other teen’s hold. Like a cornered animal, Izuku struggled against the hold with all his strength and when that was not enough, he even resorted to trying to elbow the other kid to get him to let go.

“Hey, you with the red hair! Help me hold this guy down, he’s gone hysterical!” Izuku heard the teen shout.

Another even stronger grip replaced the other on his right side, and it seemed whoever it was activated their quirk, turning the soft feel of flesh into a hard-sharp texture.  No matter how hard the blue haired teen fought against his captors, it, like so many times as before, was never enough. Escape was impossible.

Izuku felt tears stream down his cheeks as he screamed his voice raw, begging and/or demanding the two to let him go. His innards twisting into gordian knots as the faint whimpering disappeared into silence, as he still vainly tried to break free. Flashes of the white figure flared across his eyes, as he sees her in a slideshow like manner mirroring his predicament. Except that she was struggling against her captors who were taking her to a pole standing atop a large pile of wood.

Izuku would only have to bear the unbearable for a short while longer, as the bell sounding the end of the test caused the Zero Pointer to freeze in its tracks. Izuku went slack in the grip of his captors and he completely blotted out the world around him as his head was lost in its own prison of dark thoughts.

“It wasn’t enough. Not enough to pass the exam. Not enough to save that girl. Not enough…I wasn’t enough”

The blue haired teen ignored the stares from the other examinees who had witnessed the ordeal. He ignored the words of the school nurse as she came to asset the injured kids. He ignored to the gasps of his captors and the other kids as the unconscious girl was pulled from the rubble by a group of rescue robots. He ignored the dull throbs in his arms as he mechanically walked away from UA and to Dagobah beach. He ignored the dings and rings of his cell phone as he sat in the sand huddled into a little ball. He ignored the cold chill in his body as the sky began to drop buckets of water on the teen.

He couldn’t ignore anything anymore when the overcast sky descended into darkness and a rather large white garment was draped over his shivering and wet frame. He looked up from his spot to see the blue skin, black eyes, and tendril-like hair of Marris. Her aura was surrounded with clouds of worry that he had not seen in years, whilst her blank face carried an expression that he was all too familiar with. It was an expression that she always had when Bakugou and the other students were even nastier than usual, when the teachers would go the extra mile to increase the misery he would face that day, or the day when his mother told him in tears that his father wasn’t with them anymore, it was her silent way of saying things will be okay. It was at that moment that Izuku finally broke down, and the lamprey mermaid took him into a comforting hug.

It was on the twilight of the day of the UA entrance exam, in which Izuku’s childhood dream would die in the rising night. He would find another dream in the darkness of the night, changing the future of the young boy and the society he was born into. But for now, Izuku cried his heart out in the arms of his only friend, as the sound of rain pelted the sands of a forgotten beach.   

Chapter Text

Inko Midoriya knew something was wrong; call it mother’s intuition or whatever one wished to call it. It doesn’t take away from the fact that her son wasn’t quite the same since taking the exam to UA. Then again, Izuku hasn’t quite been the same for the past year or so, and that was not say he hadn’t been the same since he was five. Inko couldn’t deny that there was something that her son was hiding from her for these past few years, but she couldn’t place her finger on what it was? And there were many possibilities. First, was Izuku’s late blooming quirk, and with that fish themed appearance, came a determined drive. It was like he finally had a goal to push for and was trying his damnedest to achieve that goal. While she had reservations about him becoming a hero, it seemed that for the first time in years her baby boy was happy. It was almost like someone, somewhere had answered the prayers of her son, and yet.

And yet, it seemed that it wasn’t enough. For the past few days, Izuku was quieter than usual along with the fact like he couldn’t focus on anything, like something was distracting him. It made the already anxious woman feel on edge due to her concern for the wellbeing of her son. Maybe he was anxious about his test results, Inko can remember all too well the stress she had when she too had to do her bout of the extreme testing that Japan is known for. Perhaps checking the mail for the third time in ten minutes might ease her nerves. After all, as soon as that letter comes in, the sooner the two can leave this purgatory of frayed nerves. For better or for worse.

When the letter finally arrived exactly a week later, it didn’t help the situation, in fact it appeared to make the tension hits its zenith. Izuku looked like he had seen a ghost when she had handed him the letter with the wax. With a nervous gait, Izuku silently disappeared into his room whilst gently shutting the door with a click. Inko Midoriya quickly scooted her way across the painfully polished floor to just outside the door to her son’s room. She silently stood there twisting the skirting of her apron to the sound of paper ripping coming from behind the wooden door. For the first time in years, the Midoriya matriarch held her breath and closed her eyes as she awaited the results of her son’s test.  Despite her desire to have her now blue haired son to choose a safer career, she silently pleaded to any of the gods to let Izuku pass.

“Please! Please! I just want him to be happy. Just let him have this!”, the green haired woman begged.

The prayers of Inko Midoriya was interrupted by the tell-tale sound of paper falling to the floor breaking the silence like a sledgehammer. She opened her green eyes to see the door with the All Might themed name plate slowly open with a creak. She held in a gasp as her eyes grew to twice their size at the sight of Izuku.

Izuku was hunched over like he was carrying a heavy load of invisible rocks while his arms hung loosely at his sides. But it the face of her son that tore her heart to pieces. It was like the life had been drained from her son with his skin bleached a sickly white. The blue eyes of Izuku were blank and devoid of any emotion with dark circles underneath them. The eyes also simmered like Izuku wanted to cry but seemed to have no more tears to shed. The worst part of it was the opened half-frown half-smile etched on the face of Izuku like a nasty scar. It was a look that haunted Inko for years in her nightmares, a look that she will never forget. Nearly ten years ago, Izuku had the same appearance when the doctor had told him the worst news of his life.

Inko Midoriya froze on the spot like a deer in head lights. Tears begun to welt up in her eyes, as the realization hit her. Izuku begun to speak, but either he couldn’t say it coherently or she lost the ability to understand. Once he was finished with his unintelligible explanation, her blue haired boy begun to robotically move past her, and she did not try to stop him. The soft thumps of footsteps reverberated in the apartment as Izuku moved further and further away. It was only when the door to the apartment finally slammed shut did Inko fall to her knees and begun to bawl uncontrollably. Izuku’s mother fell adrift in a sea of her own dark thoughts, blaming herself for being a bad mother and the one responsible for her son’s pain.

Just a few feet away, on the floor of a hero merch filled room was a letter from UA High School. The letter contained all manner of words detailing villain points and rescue points, and it all ends with a final phrase. “Izuku Midoriya: Villain Points: 9, Rescue Points: 0. We at UA are sorry to inform you, Mr. Midoriya, that you did not score enough to qualify for the hero course.”  

The sun was shining bright in the sky, as Izuku Midoriya left the suffocating atmosphere of the little apartment. Years ago, he thought the day he was diagnosed as quirkless was the worst day of his life. He was wrong. Seeing those horrible words broke the spirit of Izuku, making him seem nothing more than a mindless machine as he aimlessly wandered the streets of Mustafu. He wasn’t sure where he was going, and frankly he didn’t care because it never mattered in the end for Izuku. He was always doomed to be a failure.

“Useless, Useless, Useless, Useless, Deku, Deku, Deku, Deku”

“Deku can’t do anything right”

“Marris would’ve been better off alone than to waste her time on a failure like you”

 Then, like a great wave of water, the dark thoughts clouding the mind of Izuku was swept away. The cool feeling of water overwhelmed his numb body, and the familiar feeling did much to calm him down. With the blue haired teen out of his stupor of misery, he became aware of his surroundings. He was at a deserted park of sorts, sitting on an old wooden bench in front of rusting playground equipment. Sitting next to him was Marris, who held him in a half embrace with one of her long arms, while she held one his hands with her free one. The lamprey mermaid also rested her head on his mess of blue hair as well.  He hadn’t told her or his mother what had happened during the exam because he was trying to hold himself together after that blow to his self-confidence. Maybe he had a small hope that perhaps it was enough to catch the attention of someone in UA. But that was clearly not the case.

“M-Marris, I-I-I d-don’t know what to do anymore” “I tried my best, but it wasn’t enough” Izuku said trying not to sob

“Tell me what happened that day, Little Minnow” Marris said in her motherly voice

Izuku recanted his whole experience from the practical exam. From the inability to get any villain points, to the other examinees stopping him from saving the girl. It was painful the recount the memory with Izuku having to pause every so often to be able to continue it. Marris surprisingly remained silent throughout the whole telling, but Izuku could feel a burning anger slowly begun to steam off the fish woman. But unlike a certain blonde, Marris never lost her temper. By the end of his story, Izuku was shaken and trying his best to hold himself together, he probably would’ve collapsed into a sobbing mess if not for Marris holding him. Izuku kept his gaze away from the face of the fish woman, not wanting to draw her ire by failing as bad as he did.

“Izuku”, said Marris, “Don’t blame yourself for the actions of those snakes. They are too blind and selfish to even understand.”

“Thank you, Marris”, replied Izuku, “I am glad that you believed in me, and still do, but I-I think they were right about me.

“Little Minnow, a hunter shouldn’t give up so easy. You can always keep trying.” The fish woman said with encouragement

“I am sorry Marris, but I am not like all the others and I don’t think I was ever supposed be like them.” Izuku said dejectedly

“Izuku…” Marris said with a slight crack in her voice

“I-It’s just…I want to be a hero, but it seems no matter hard I try…There’s always someone there to put me back down. Bakugou was right, I am useless, and I just refused to believe him. I-I just tired of it all, Marris.” Izuku said with melancholy

Upon hearing those words, Marris was uncharacteristically silenced. When the fish woman had remained quiet for such a long time, Izuku begun to feel extremely anxious.  The blue haired teen sunk his head lower and tightened his hold on the four fingered hand of the fish woman.

“DidImakeyouangryorwhatIsaidhadmadethingsworseIamsorryMarrisIdidntmeantoupsetyoupleasedontbemadwithmeIdontwanttobealonerightnowpleaseIamsorry” the blue haired teen quietly pleaded

Thump Thump

A foreign sound was coming from Marris.

Thump Thump

It was like the beat of a drum, and it was so faint, he was only just able to hear its presence.

Thump Thump

… !

It was the sound of a beating heart… the beating heart of Marris.

Izuku turned his head to meet the gaze of the fish woman. Marris was looking at him as well, but with black eyes etched with an age long pain. Her blue skin somehow looked lighter like she had paled, all the while her hair had frozen up completely. It was like Marris had seen something that had made her seized up in terror. Izuku felt his gut twist into knots and a wave a guilt dropped on him like a falling anvil. He opened his mouth to say something to Marris, but she cut him off before the words could even go to his lips.

“I see…Well, that is okay Little Minnow”, Marris said with an almost robotic calmness, “The past few suns have been hard on you, haven’t they? Let us return to your den so you can rest.”

With those words, Marris left her seat and begun to float off in a seemingly random direction. Izuku just sat there confused at the action of his invisible friend, before the realization dawned upon him. He jumped from his seat on the bench and begun to chase after Marris.

“Marris! Wait come back!” exclaimed the blue haired teen.

Izuku frantically begun to chase after the fish woman, as she seemingly weaved in and out the crowds of people or the spontaneous alley ways at random. Despite his best efforts, the lamprey mermaid was always just out of out his grasp or would unexpectantly make a turn for no reason. He dares not shout for her, lest he bring some unwanted attention to himself along with the possibility that he will be taken to a psychiatric ward for chasing after someone that wasn’t there.

“Marris please! I am sorry! Did I make you like this? Just please stop!” Izuku thought in hysteria

As Izuku rounded the corner of yet another alleyway, he saw that Marris was within a large gathering of people. She was standing just on the outskirts of the crowd pointing at something that the people had gathered around. At first glance, it appeared that a set of buildings were on fire, but a series of shouting and crashing indicated that there was more going on. Izuku begun to push his way through the crowd, trying to see what was going on and why Marris had led him there.

The scene in which Marris had led him to was something that was almost seen daily in Japan. It was a villain attack, but one in which things were going well for the heroes. The villain appeared to be made out of green sludge with only a set of eyes and a mouth being the only human characteristics on his body. The sludge villain was ranting incoherently, and Izuku was only able to make out a few words such as “need” and “disguise”. To Izuku’s surprise, there was some squirming within the mass of sludge, it was a young boy, no older than 10. The Sludge Villain appeared to be trying to shove its liquid form through the mouth of the boy, and based upon the words of the ranting, the villain was trying to use the body of the boy to escape the heroes. The only question Izuku had was why the five heroes at the scene were not doing anything?

“I am barely keeping these flames in check, someone else has to do something!”

“I can’t use my quirk the alleys are too small!”

“I can’t use my quirk because of the fires!”

“My quirk is suited for fighting someone made of liquids!”

The heroes weren’t doing anything because their quirks weren’t suitable for the situation. All the while, the young boy was slowly being drained of oxygen. A sensation akin to a prick from a needle emerged in the chest of Izuku causing him to start hyperventilating at the sight. Then Izuku caught the eyes of the villain’s hostage. The boy’s eyes screamed of desperation…it reminded Izuku of that…that nice girl.

Alone, scared, trapped and in grave danger, but no one came to save her. And when someone tried, he was stopped by those who said he couldn’t do that. To see pro heroes, do the same was something that lit a flame inside the blue haired boy. He took a step forward without even thinking, and then another and another. He didn’t notice when Marris draped that oversized white robe over him, or when he subconsciously helped her put it on. Nor when he took its hood that was too big for him, and flung it over his head, concealing his face while somehow still being able to see. His chest was nearly a raging inferno as he took another step. Then a voice, low and hushed, but soft and gentle like the ocean buzzed into his ear.

“A hero does helps those in need and expects nothing in return. Don’t believe in the lies of those cowards, and do what you were destined to do”

And like a bullet, Izuku shot off into the villain attack.

Yagi Toshinori was having a bad day, and that was saying something considering he was the number one hero in Japan. But many tend to forget that the god-like portrayal of Yagi was counter intuitive to the fact that he was just as human as anyone else. And just like any human, he bound to make mistakes. In this case, Yagi had gotten a little too sloppy when capturing that Sludge Villain and dropped the soda bottle containing the villain in his haste to get him into police custody. Now said villain was attempting to kill a boy and use his body to escape before Yagi could come and apprehend him again.

Little did the villain realize that Yagi was well past his daily limit on One for All to be able to do anything. It didn’t help that today was the day that Yagi had finally passed his quirk onto Mirio Togata after a year of preparing the boy. Mirio was by far an excellent choice for his successor but was not one that he had chosen himself. However, time and being picker weren’t luxuries that he could afford, and reluctantly passed on his quirk to Mirio before One for All could be lost to the world. Yet, it was also a grim reminder that Yagi’s time as a hero was coming to an end, and it was a future that he did not want to accept.

The scene before him was a just a small taste of what he could expect, with someone in danger and him stuck on the sidelines unable to do anything. It painfully reminded him of how he had to sit back and watch his master die at the hands of that monster. Yet, he kept trying to force his battered to body to change forms and save the day once again, but it wasn’t enough.

“Please, I need to do something. It’s my fault that boy is in trouble” Yagi wheezed in between breaths.

However, in the peripheral of his vision he caught sight of something fast and white dash through the crowds before disappearing entirely. Yagi gasped like the rest of the people in the crowd when the Villain recoiled in pain, eyes bloody, and a person dressed in a white robe literally appeared from thin air.

Izuku didn’t know what possessed him to run into that villain attack, but it was as if his legs moved on their own. Regardless of why, Izuku dashed through the crowd and with practiced perfection felt his true invisibility shroud him as he passed through the police barrier. He could feel something in his eyes changed as his vision lost its ability to see in color, and slow down significantly like time itself had slowed down. He could see flashes of veiny tendrils of color across the Sludge Villain and his hostage. Specifically, red colors across the hostages’ chest and mouth and purple colors over the villain’s eyes.  Weak points and injured points!

With little time left, Izuku grabbed a rocky chunk of debris and wound up his arm to throw it at the villain’s eyes. He felt the familiar touch of Marris on his arm as he prepped for the through, and weight of the heavy object lessened significantly in his hand. It also appeared to be thrown harder as Izuku felt the object left his and into the face of the unsuspecting villain. The object collided into the larger of the two eyes with a disgusting squish. The sludge villain recoiled and howled in pain whilst slacking his grip on the boy, but still not letting go of him.

Izuku continued his dash towards the villain and let go of his stealthy state when he came into reaching distance of the hostage. With Marris enhancing his physical abilities, Izuku shot his hand into the liquid body of the villain and grabbing the trapped arm of the boy. Izuku pulled with all his might, and with Marris aiding him, it was enough to pull the boy out of the grip of the green villain. The boy took a large gulp of air, coughing while doing so, as his mouth became free of the sickening liquid.  Like a sack of potatoes, Izuku flung the boy behind him and away from the villain, placing himself as a barrier between the two.

Before Izuku could do anything to put some distance away from the villain, the villain recovered from the blow. With a savage cry, the Sludge Villain begun to slash out at Izuku, using his ‘limbs’ like whips. Thanks to his enhanced senses and athletics, Izuku could dodge the attacks with ease, but this only served to make the villain angrier. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, the sludge villain could not land a hit on the white robed person, but then a bout of bubbling laughter emerged from the mass of sludge. The Sludge Villain raised a ‘limb’ higher than normal and brought it down at a near blinding speed, but not at Izuku. It was directed towards the injured child that Izuku had pulled out of the villain’s hold. Without even thinking, Izuku dashed in front of the boy and took the blow from the villain. The robe that Marris had given him had served like a piece of amor against the attack, but Izuku was wearing nothing underneath but a t-shirt. While this stopped his flesh from being pierced, it did not stop the force of the blow from breaking several of his ribs. Izuku sank onto his hands and knees and coughed blood onto the ground, he could hear Marris yell out his name before his vison faded into a familiar scene.

Izuku found himself staring at the statue of Marris with yet another marble in its hand. This one glowed hot like the others but was colored a light blue. The blue haired teen reached out and touched the molten hot orb and the shrine disappeared into darkness.

A lone bridge stood in a rainstorm of untold magnitude. Upon this bridge stood two armies battling on the wooden boards of the bridge over a large river. One side was under the banner of a white flag and red cross, while the other side had no banner was more of a rag tag group than anything. Defeat looked inevitable for the rag tag army, until a figure emerged from their ranks and begun to single handedly hold off the army. The figure’s face was obscured by a battered helmet inscribed with many runic symbols in blue paint. He was shirtless with only a few plates of metal covering his arms while his pants were armored heavily with metal and animal furs. He carried two axes and used them to mercilessly cut into the enemy soldiers. This continued until he was struck into the gut by a spear. Instead of falling down, electrical sparks danced off the man’s body as he ripped the weapon out of his body and charged deeper into the horde. Lighting struck from the sky every time his axes took another life.

Izuku could feel the sparks dance across his body the moment he left the vision, and quick glance to his left arm confirmed his suspicion. Another mark was rested beneath his latest one, this time it was light blue an dictated a tribalistic version of an eel. He had acquired another quirk.

He could still feel his injuries from the villain’s strike, but there wasn’t any pain, or he just didn’t care about pain anymore. Without much fanfare, Izuku took a breath and forced the regeneration to heal his chest of its injures, and too his surprised it worked leaving a sore feeling in the place of broken ribs.  Izuku begun to slowly rise from his wounded position, sparks dancing with ever increasing intensity as he did. Clouds gathered in the sky as the wind begun to pick up, the sound of thunder ominously echoed in the sky. The villain in front of him displayed confusion along with fear at the sight of Izuku rising seemingly without injuries combined with the phenomenon in the weather. Like in a trance, Izuku raised his arms towards the sky and squeezed his hands into fists, and like magic rain begun to fall from the sky.

The with the drop a of pin needle, Izuku dashed towards the villain and begun to wail on the liquid body of the villain. His attacks were clumsy and uncoordinated, and even if he were trained in hand to hand, they wouldn’t do anything to a body made of liquid. But a body made of liquid would be hard pressed to hand punches embossed with lightning. As such the villain screamed in agony as jolts of lightning shocked his system with every punch. The villain tried to counterattack but any blow that wasn’t dodged by Izuku did nothing to stop the onslaught and instead would hurt him even more the more he touched Izuku. In desperation, the sludge villain grabbed Izuku and threw him away from him, eating the damage from the electricity to try to get distance between him and Izuku. The sludge villain turned with a spasm to try to make an escape, but only to meet the one person who he did not want to see. His eyes grew in horror as All Might stood there between him and his ticket to freedom.

“Don’t think that you can get away that easily villain!” All Might said in his bombastic voice while rearing his muscled arm back. “DEROIT SMASH!”

With a single punch, All Might knocked out the Sludge Villain out, creating a tornado that simultaneously clearing the storm and leaving the villain as a spot on the wall of a nearby building.  The crowd cheered at the sight All Might once again coming in and saving the day, but the number one hero was deaf to their cheers. Instead he was focused upon the white robed figure who rekindled his heroic spirit. The figure was rising from the spot in which the villain had thrown him and for a moment the two locked eyes.

All Might could see that the figure’s costume was a white robe, more fit to be on a priest than a hero. It was oversized as well, hiding the figure’s face and arms in its white folds. The only physical feature that was visible of the person was a mouth filled with sharp teeth, and for a moment All Might thought he caught a peek at a pair of pitch-black eyes. The staring contest between the two ended when the figure suddenly jerked their face in another direction and back to All Might. Then an orb of a clear liquid floated up to the chest of the figure and engulf him into its folds, and the liquid disappeared within a second and with it the white robed figure.

Izuku was for calm for the first time in a week and was celebrating by mindlessly flicking through the channels of the television.  Marris coiled up like a snake in her favorite corner of the living room, softly humming to herself. In reality, Izuku was trying to process the events that had happened to him today. Aside from gaining a third quirk, and Marris showing him that his second quirk was a versatile warping quirk, along with the fact that Marris could affect the world in small ways by using him as a medium; he was having a hard time trying to understand why he did what he did. Was it because Marris was angry at the heroes, and their willingness to disregard Izuku and it was her way of sticking it to them? Or was he in fact the one angry about it. Perhaps, it was to show that an untrained teen who recklessly charged into danger did a better job than the pros. That was until he saw All Might. The number one hero was hurt, very hurt. Izuku could not forget the red veins stretch across the symbol of peace like cancer with the greatest tumor settled on the left half of his body. All Might was Izuku’s idol, with Marris being the only thing to rival him, and it pained Izuku to see him hurt. But he did so while keeping his smile, and it was made clear that All Might was trying make people feel safe as long as he could. A sacrifice unworthy of the cruel world he was protecting. But the realization of such a sacrifice only steeled something within Izuku, UA or not, he was going to be a hero and help bear the weight that All Might carried for them all. It was the least he could do for the man. But the fight with the Sludge Villain had showed Izuku that he still needed to grow in order to carry his weight, but Marris once again came to rescue and told Izuku she will talk to some old friends to help him. Whatever that entails, it will have to wait. For now, Izuku was keen to distract himself from the revelation he learned today by flicking through some channels. That was until he hit the Hero News Network.

In today’s hero news, All Might was seen along Pro Heroes Backdraft, Mt. Lady. Death Arms and Kamui woods during a hostage situation along the Old Market Boulevard district of Mustafu. The villain responsible for the attack has been caught and detained while the hostage is said to be making a full recovery at Mustafu General Hospital. However, in a surprising twist, a civilian, seen here in the white robe, ran up an attempted to rescue the hostage from the villain. He successfully managed to free the hostage and hold off the villain before fleeing the scene after All Might had arrived and defeated the villain. The whereabouts and the identity of the civilian are unknown, but his actions are determined to crucial to the survival of the hostage.

[the camera cuts to a man in a business suit with red eyes and tears falling from them]

“I-I just want to say whoever you are, t-thank you for saving my son. You will always be a hero to my family for doing that.”

Tears fell from blue eyes as Izuku was called a hero for the first time in his life.

Chapter Text

It was like a scene out of a typical slice of life anime. The sun was shining brightly and there was a gentle breeze in the air which made the pink petals of the cherry blossoms swim through the air. Among this beautiful scenery was a young girl dressed in her school uniform, slowly walking to school with a smile on her face. After all, it was the first day of high school, and she like so many other students were looking forward to beginning this section of their young life. High School was more than just learning and tests, it was a time to make new friends and acquire memories, both good and bad. However, this scene described did not truly match the stereotypical image that most would imagine.

While the landscape certainly matched the standards, the girl within its beauty certainly did not. That was because the girl was Hagakure Tooru, and her quirk, Invisibility, made it impossible to discern any physical features of the girl beyond the uniform that seemingly floated in the air. Even if one were to somehow see her face, it would be very clear that the girl was not happy. Without any way to see her facial features, one can notice her unhappiness through the subtle body language projected on the uniform. A rather stiff and small gait seen in the knee socks and shoes and the slight folding of the UA tie and jack indicating a slouching posture. The reason on why the invisible girl was unhappy can be attributed to the UA practical exam.

She, like so many others, experienced a week of heighten anxiety and frayed nerves awaiting the results of the exam. When she got her letter exactly a week later and saw the results, it was not exactly the news she wanted to see. She did not do too bad on the written exam, but there was much to be desired with her academics. As for the practical exam, she came in at 40^th place on the practical exam, barely making the cut by hair strand over 41^st place. While the news would be a bit disheartening, but one would expect some happiness over the fact that she actually made it in. But there was caveat with the experience she had in the practical exam that the other examinees did not experience. During the final stretches of the exam, the Zero Pointer was released over a seemingly deserted section of the test ground and slowly steamrolled over its way to the examinees. The only issue was the fact that it wasn’t released over deserted land, and in fact had been released where Hagakure was fighting robots. In a twisted case of bad luck, the UA faculty had not noticed the presence of Hagakure when they released the Zero Pointer, but the Machine Titan certainly did not and Hagakure became its first and only victim as a result.

 That exam was something that will be forever into the invisible for as long as she lives. A stinging reminder of the fact that her quirk holds a dangerous downside to all its practicability. She thought she was going to die alone in that dark cave of concrete created by that giant machine. It was an experience that still plagues her dreams, in which she is crushed to death without anyone realizing she was there, her calls for help went unnoticed by anyone. It was bad enough for her to nearly decline UA’s offer to attend, but in the end, she managed to swallow the awful feelings and persevere.

Hagakure stopped in front of the gated entrance of the most prestigious hero school in all of Japan. She took a deep breath and straighten her posture out.

“Get yourself out of that angsty pity Hagakure! You got to make a good first impression to everyone. Don’t let it become like middle school all over again!” Hagakure half-scolded half-prepped herself

Without much fanfare the invisible girl strode beyond the school gate with an unseen confidence on her uniform. Perhaps things will become better for her once she starts school, and maybe if she is lucky, she might see that blue haired boy in class.

When Hagakure arrived inside the classroom labeled 1-A caught sight of the eccentricity of her new classmates. Said sight included a tall boy with glasses karate chopping the air whilst scolding a spiky blond-haired delinquent for having his feet on his desk. Hagakure looked around to see if there was a head of messy blue hair, but to her disappointment he wasn’t there.

“Maybe he is in another class?” Hagakure thought to herself as she begun walking

The two students noticed Hagakure and gave the invisible girl a mixed reception. The boy with the spikey blonde hair looked at like he was sizing her up, but it was only brief moment before he snorted and looked away seeming dismissing her as someone not worth his time. The boy with the square glasses seemed to stiffen up at the sight of her before walking up to her and introduced himself as Iida Tenya in a manner that was overly formal. It made the invisible girl giggle at the ridiculousness of it before returning her own introduction as well. Iida then made an offhand comment about getting ready for homeroom and proceeded leave to his own seat with a strange urgency. Hagakure thought it was best to follow suit and did the same before their teacher arrives. However, as she made her way to the seat labeled with her name, but she caught sight a boy with spikey red hair look at her. At first, she thought it was because of her quirk, but that changed when she saw guilt slowly seep into his eyes before he suddenly looked away. That was most certainly peculiar. But any thoughts of that strange look changed when a voice intruded upon the class.

“If you’re going to converse, go somewhere else.”, said a voice that sounded nearly dead

All the students looked at the source of the voice and saw a large yellow caterpillar on the floor with a face that looked it hadn’t slept in years. After a large gulp from a pack of juice, a tall man with long black hair and grey scarf emerged from the yellow caterpillar. To say class 1-A was surprised at the sight of a homeless man in their classroom would be an understatement to say the least.

“It took you a full eight seconds to settle down, you are definitely going to need to step it up if you want to be pros.”, The man said with tired eyes, “I am Shouta Aizawa, and I am your homeroom teacher.”, he then proceeded to reach into the yellow bag he was in and pulled out a host of gym uniforms. “Put these on and follow me. We have work that we need to do.”

It turns out that today is just not Hagakure’s day, and she was brutally reminded of that during the quirk apprehension test. Hagakure just wanted to strangle that pink skinned girl who had to open her mouth and draw the ire of their homeroom teacher. The threat of expulsion for last place in the test had done a lot for beating down the invisible girl into realizing how uncapable she was when compared to her classmates. But no matter how hard she pushed herself, she simply couldn’t compete with her average score when compared to the high score of those with the quirks that made them more physically capable. Invisibility could not get her a good score when her classmates had quirks that could throw a ball well beyond several hundred meters. By then end of it all, she was a panting mess with hurting limbs and acidic burn in her stomach as she nearly pushed herself to the point of vomiting. However, all her hard work resulted in her heart dropped into her stomach when scoreboard had shown her name at the bottom of the list, barely losing to a short boy with balls on his head. A feeling of dread and denial filled the form of Hagakure at the realization that she had failed, and that all she had to endure before and after the test was all in vain. Unseen tears flowed down her face as her voice was lost to silence as she waited for Mr. Aizawa to expel her, but then it was revealed to be a logical ruse for the students to bring out their best for the test.

Then the girl with the ponytail had the gall to say that it was fairly obvious trick, and it was not like her position was in any jeopardy with a quirk like hers. Hagakure remained silent on the trip back for her things, and speedily hurried out of class before anyone could try to talk to her. She just wanted to be alone after the stress of today’s events weighing down on her like a bag of bricks. And eventually she found a deserted park not too far away with rusting playground equipment for just that purpose. She took a seat in an old wooden bench and let her book bag fall to the floor as a steady stream of tears flowed down her unseen face. She never made a sound; she hadn’t done so in years. Her hands twisted into each other as they shook uncontrollably from the strong emotions. The worst part was the fact that if anyone were to see her, she would only appear to be just sitting down and nothing more. That was the curse of her quirk.

“Excuse me? But do you mind if I sit next to you miss?”, a voice cut through the air like a knife.

Hagakure’s invisible eyes blink at the sound of the voice and was greeted with a person standing in front of her. The person was dressed in an oddball manner, even by the standards of a society in which people in spandex punched other people in spandex. He was dressed in what appeared to be a white hoodie that was several sizes too large for him, with the hood nearly covering his entire face and sleeves that extended nearly to his knees. The only physical feature of his face visible was a mouth with sharp shark-like teeth. The hoodie also appeared to be embroidered with many patterns depicting symbols that looked like they belong in some shrine rather than a boy’s jacket. The image presented to Hagakure made her think he was some kind of sidekick or a new hero with some religious theme to his persona.

The person stood there for a moment, clearly waiting for Hagakure’s answer. But when she gave no reply, he sat down next to her none the less. An air of awkwardness arrived as white hood had interrupted what had been a private moment. The two sat in silence for a while, and Hagakure debated about leaving the park. But white hood spoke out before she could even think to reach for her book bag.

“I am going to be frank with you miss, but the reason I came over here was because I saw you crying.”, White hood said in a polite tone, “I just wanted to see if things were all right.”

Hagakure froze at the words that white hood had said. It was impossible, there was no way he could’ve seen her cry, unless…

“I-I am s-sorry, but did I hear you right? Y-You said that you could see me crying?” Hagakure asked with a small stutter in her strained voice.

White hood turned his hidden face towards her and titled it to the side like he was confused by the question she had asked.

“U-Um yes. I was just passing by and I saw you on this bench with tears on your face. I don’t mean to be rude, but I found it a little odd that you were rather quiet about it.” Replied white hood

“It’s just that…that my quirk makes me invisible.” Said Hagakure “So no one has been able to see me since I was five years old.”

Somehow white hood looked a little flustered at that remark.

“Oh! U-Um…I am sorry about that, but you appeared to be just as visible as anyone else.”, White hood said while rubbing the back of his head

Something inside Hagakure’s chest fluttered at the statement of white hood. Could it be that after ten years of being lost to the eyes of the world, that she finally found someone who could see her? The invisible girl could feel the welts in her eyes dry up and the sadness lifted away, and in its place a curiosity emerged.

“I-I don’t mean to be pushy, but can you tell me what I look like?” Hagakure asked with age old excitement upon her voice

White hood gave no reply but instead reached inside his oversized cloak and pulled out a notebook and a pencil.  He wanted to draw a picture of her.

“I could do you one better and give you something beyond my words to take with you. B-But only if you are comfortable with it.” White hood said in a flustered tone

Hagakure giggled at White Hood’s embarrassment and gave him a nod of approval. At the sight of her approval, White Hood went to work on the picture, muttering artist lingo under his breath as he moved the pencil. With the flowing movement of the pencil only stopping when he glanced up to look at her occasionally. After about ten minutes of muttering and the scratching of graphite, the sound of paper being torn echoed in the park. White Hood had his pale hand stretched out with a piece of paper within it, and Hagakure reached out and took the piece of paper and gazed upon it as quickly as possible.

The picture took the form of a portrait of sorts depicting everything from the neck up and was made with incredible care and detail. In the portrait was a girl with short shaggy hair combined with thin eyebrows and long eyelashes. The eyes of the girl were shaped like almonds and were placed and an angle that resembled the angle in cat eyes were positioned but were still human looking in every other way. Her lips were thin but were etched into a friendly smile and her nose was well refined that gave her an aristocratic vibe.  She had pointed ears that had no lobes while her chin was short but was shaped like a diamond. The skin on her forehead and cheeks were unblemished, save for a small scar on the left cheek near her ears. Overall, it was the appearance that was reminiscent what westerners called the Fae, beautiful women with sharp features and pointed ears.

Memories poured into Hagakure as she tried to remember what she looked like before the manifestation of her quirk, but there were muddled with time and were not clear as a result. But there were many things that she could recall that align with White Hood’s depiction of her. The short hair was a result of too many instances of hair getting caught and tangled and not being able to see it to correct it, and as a result Hagakure had it cut monthly to prevent those issues. The small scar was the result of Hagakure getting cut while on a school field trip after her quirk manifested and it scarred because no one was able to properly treat the wound. Yet, the more Hagakure stared at the picture, the more it seemed that it was in fact her face on the paper, and like a ticking time bomb memories just exploded. She could recall a time when she was four years old and her father called her his little elf during the winter holidays, or when she would wear a white pillowcase as a dress and pretend to a women whom she thought she looked like in a movie about a gold ring. It all just clicked like the final piece of a puzzle.

Tears of happiness flowed down her invisible face as she stared at her reflection for the first time in a decade. She turned her head back towards White Hood, who had remained silent and still the entire time, and gave him a large smile that she knew he could see.

“Thank you.” Was all she said

“It was no problem.” White Hood replied

The two sat in silence for a while before she stood up from the park bench.

“I really need to get going now, and I also just wanted to thank you again for doing that.” Said the invisible girl.

White Hood stood up from his seat and gave Hagakure a light bow, “I was happy help, but I don’t think I helped you with what was upsetting you?”

Hagakure smiled, “It’s okay, I don’t even remember why I was crying anyway.”

White Hood nodded and turned his back towards the invisible girl, apparently ready to part ways with her. But something within the girl stirred, and it made her drawn towards White Hood, and it made her act before her mind could even register her actions.

“Wait!” Hagakure nearly shouted. White Hood turned his covered face back to her.

Heat flushed into Hagakure’s cheeks as she said, “W-Would you like to exchange contact information?”

White Hood seemed to be taken aback by such a proposition, and his hidden face displayed disbelief in the notion.

“W-Why would you want to do that with me?” White Hood said in disbelief

“Because I would like to be friends with you, silly.” Hagakure replied “Unless you don’t want to…”

“No No! Its just that no one has ever wanted to be friends with me before” White Hood said with tint of hurt.

Hagakure once gain beamed a big smile, “Well, then allow me to be first! Hello, I am Hagakure Tooru! And you are?” asked the invisible girl while extending her hand into gesture of a handshake.

White Hood hesitated at the notion, but then used both of his hands to pull the oversized hood off his face. Hagakure nearly gasped when the familiar head of blue hair, freckles, and the eyes of the accompanying color greeted her once again. The blue haired boy nervously took her hand with his hand and returned the gesture of friendship.

“My name is Izuku Midoriya and I am pleased to see you again Hagakure.” Izuku said with a small smile on his face.

Chapter Text

In today’s society, there are very few things that a man like Hanji could do to make a living. Japan was still a country that prided itself on a large and skilled force of labor to make it one of the top economic powers in the world. This can be seen in the hero industry with the country not only containing some of the best heroes in the world, but also top-notch support, business, and administrative branches to support it. Hero culture was so ingrained into Japanese society, that people developed a rather warped perception of what it means to be apart of it.

In Hanji’s case, he had the unfortunate luck of being born with what many would deem as a ‘villainous quirk’. It wasn’t anything impressive really, just a quirk that made someone cough uncontrollably, nothing really scary in the face of something like a brainwashing quirk. Yet, it was enough for some asshat to make the connection that he could suffocate a person, and just like that he was now forever deemed a villain in the making by his peers and teachers. At first, he tried to fight against the villainous image he had been given, but it seemed everywhere he went he just couldn’t shake off that image. Years of discrimination eventually he worn him down to the point in which he just embraced the image. Afterall, if they couldn’t see him as anything more than a villain, then why should he even bother in the first place.

But one look at Hanji and one wouldn’t expect him to be a villain, a little shady looking, but he doesn’t look like what is portrayed in the media. No, Hanji is not one of those one-and-done losers who get their fifteen minutes of fame fighting a hero before being forgotten by all but the hero fanboys. In fact, Hanji likens himself as a hunter or a predator if you wish, and he was simply trying to make a living at the expense of whoever was unfortunate enough to cross his path. Hence why he is hanging out in a long alley way where most people leave the world of Mustafu’s night life. This route serves as a pathway, a game trail more like it, for people who are easy pickings for a man like Hanji. Drunks, teenagers, depressed salarymen, lonely 30-year-old women; you name it and Hanji has probably robbed them before. But don’t blame him for trying to earn another pocket full of yen, it was natural for a predator, such as himself, to hunt the prey.

Speaking of prey, what did that show say about animals? That a good predator goes for the sick, old, or young animals because they are the easiest to take down. That notion of survival of the fittest is what Hanji likens his job as. It makes no sense for someone like him to mess with someone like All Might, especially when he could take on a downtrodden salaryman without the threat of him fighting back. A smart hunter knows the best way to get his meal.

Speaking of meals, the sound of disheveled high heels begun to head in his direction. It was show time! Without making a sound, Hanji sunk into a crouched position in the confines in the shadows of a couple garbage cans as he waits for his prey to get into striking distance. A minute or two passes before Hanji’s prey wanders into the alleyway completely unsuspecting of danger. The lights from the streetlights illuminate the appearance of the person walking into the alleyway. It was a girl of about college age who was dressed in the outfit of a stereotypical ‘sexy librarian’. Red form fitting turtleneck sweater, plain black skirt that goes to the knees, high heels, thick rimmed glasses, and with her hair done into a tight little bun. However, unlike those librarians from those films, this girl had a quirk that gave her elephant like-tusks, ears, and a trunk as well as a look and face that screams ‘heartbroken’. Perhaps her boyfriend broke up with her and was with someone that didn’t look like a poacher would come and shoot her to make a quick buck on the ivory market. Whatever the reason, Hanji was about to make her night a whole lot worse.  

The thug waited until the woman had passed his hiding spot and deeper into the alley before he quietly emerged from his spot and blocked the closest route of escape.

“Hey! behind you” Hanji said whispered while snapping his fingers.

The girl turned to look and see who was behind her. Big mistake. She held a perplex expression for a moment before her eyes bugged out and she began to cough uncontrollably.

“Works every time” Hanji said out loud in a manner that was self-congratulatory

The street thug kept his gaze squarely on the woman as she continued the coughing fit, with each one getting hoarser and hoarser. Hanji wasn’t sure if he liked it when his victims were under the effect of his quirk. But he couldn’t deny the fact that it made his job some much easier, it didn’t matter how physically strong they were, one look and it was over. You can’t do anything if you can’t breathe, an evolutionary advantage that made him a predator and not the prey.  The coughs of the girl were growing hoarser and her face was beginning to turn into a shade of blue and she begun to sink onto the ground. A strange sense of satisfaction emerged in Hanji the more he stared at the girl slowly being strangled by his quirk. It was a high that was better than any drug, it was it felt like to be powerful to be among the strong. This woman like all the others was at his mercy, he was the master of her fate, and he could do whatever he sees fit with her.

“THIS IS WHAT BEING A VILLAIN IS ALL ABOUT!”

A wicked smile crossed his face as he stared onto the woman in front of him. Her body wasn’t that bad looking, well developed and almost super modelish even. Perhaps he could have a little fun after he helps himself to the contents of her purse, provided he covers that ugly face up first.

Then in a motion that was akin to turning off a switch, the girl stopped coughing. She then took a desperate breath air and released a series of small haggard coughs before the sound of her breathing pierced the alley. The girl then collapsed fully on the alley floor, seemingly knocked out from Hanji’s attack. Hanji stared with eyes the size of dinner plates at his victim’s sudden ability to breathe as he was in disbelief on what he had saw. It was as if someone had turned off his quirk, in fact, he felt his hold on librarian girl completely disappear.  

“What?!? That’s impossible! As long as I have a line of sight of their face then they can’t break out of my quirk!” Hanji frantically thought  

The street thug had forgotten one of the most important absolutes in nature’s conflict between predator and prey. One animal’s predator is another’s prey. As such, Hanji wasn’t prepared when an invisible force had punched him squarely in his exposed and unprotected chest. Normally an attack of that type was not enough to knock someone out, but when said punch was a solid as stone while also delivering enough electricity to stun a horse on a target that never once had ever experienced anyone who fought back. As such, there was little for Hanji to do except feel the air leaving his lungs as his nerves and muscles spasmed from the burst of electricity. In the brief moment that Hanji had before hitting the ground and passing out, he caught the glimpse of the air simmering and a small figure dressed in white appeared out of thin air in the motion of the blow that had taken him out.

Hina Kiba was what one would call as an average college girl, albeit with some quirks that she wished she didn’t have. For one, she was rather insecure about her own attractiveness in due part of her quirk “pachyderm”. Combine this with her staunch work ethic and nerdy interests, and you have someone who sticks out significantly among her peers who would rather have a good time above all else. She tried so hard to keep her high school boyfriend, but all her efforts were in vain as she lost him to a prettier girl that suited his desire for a more easygoing frat lifestyle. So, she did the worst thing that anyone her age and gender could’ve done, and that was to drink her sorrows away alone. It was in that alley way, on one of the worst days of her life that she thought she was going to be another nameless victim of the crime that riddled the streets of Japan….

“Ma’am? Ma’am?” said a strange voice whilst the feeling of being lightly slapped was happening.

Hina groggily opened he eyes to the image of a large white hood dominating her vision. Hina groaned as she was helped into a sitting position by the mysterious person. She could feel the cool and rough texture of bricks on her back, he must have moved her to against the wall, but she didn’t even feel momentum of being moved.

“I thought I nearly lost you their ma’am” said the mysterious person, “It’s a good thing I made in time, other wise you would’ve been worse off. But I want to ask you, are you feeling okay?”

When her head was finally feeling clearer, she took a look at the source of the voice. The vioce belonged to a small figure dressed in a set of white robes that looked way too big for him. His face was mostly obscured by a white hood, but what was visible was a mouth filled with sharp teeth. Such a feature would be intimidating, but the mouth was etched into a friendly smile that made Hina feel at ease.

“I-I think I am okay.” Hina said with a little bit of uncertainty, “What happened? I just remember seeing a man and then I couldn’t breathe?”. It was strange. She was getting strangled and yet, she somehow felt only a little winded.

White Hood replied, “You appeared to be being mugged by a villain with a quirk that makes you cough uncontrollably. But don’t worry, the villain is currently restrained and bound. I also already took the liberty of alerting the authorities.”

Hina couldn’t place her finger on why, but for some reason White Hood reminded her so much of All Might. Maybe it was the way he was so reassuring, it could be the way his presence put at ease despite nearly being murdered not too long ago, or perhaps it was simply because this was first time she had been rescued by a hero.

“Are you a hero?” Hina asked innocently  

The smile of White Hood faltered briefly for a moment, but it would return to it previous luster.

“No ma’am, I am not a hero. I am just a concerned citizen just looking to help when I can.” White Hood said with a tinge of hurt.

Hina suddenly became aware of the lights and sounds of police sirens in her ears, but she didn’t care about them right now. She wanted to know more about her rescuer before he would have to leave. She didn’t know why, but somehow, she knew that her rescuer would soon leave her. She needed something to anchor herself to him, especially after what had happened to her.

“B-Before you go, can you tell me your name?” Hina pleaded.

White Hood’s head tilted to side, seemingly in confusion, it seems that her request had brought him to hesitate. The flashing of red and blue were getting brighter and the sound of sirens were now blaring, and Hina wondered if she had overstepped an unseen line. She hopes that she didn’t offend him. Then, White Hood leaned his hooded face to the side her head towards her right elephant-like ear and whispered so faintly that Hina would’ve missed those words if not for her good hearing.

“My name is…Ma’ken Ris.”, White Hood said softly.

Hina’s body shuddered uncontrollably at the name like it held some great significance or power. Then, the air around the concerned citizen seemingly simmering like a pool of water, and Ma'ken Ris vanished out of thin air from her sight. The next moments of her life came back to her in images, it was like Ma’ken Ris’s presence was keeping her stable from the damage she received from the villain’s quirk. But she remembered when a flashlight shone in her face from the first police officer to arrive. She remembered being loaded onto a stretcher by paramedics and hooked up to a portable oxygen machine. She remembered her attacker being loaded into the back of police car with his hands restrained by quirk suppression cuffs. She remembers being loaded into the ambulance and in the periphery of vision, she saw a familiar white figure on the roof of a building watching her like a guardian angel. She would never forget him, even after the doors of the ambulance would close.

Yagi Toshinori stared in disbelief I the documents that were laid out in front of him, but his friend Sir Nighteye didn’t have a habit playing elaborate tricks on the number one hero. Unless you count the time, the detective had managed give Yagi a hair gel that turned his hair purple for his birthday. Yagi still remembers the small fad, in which people dyed their hair purple, because he unwittingly showed up to a villain fight with purple hair.  But Nighteye knew that this was no laughing matter, especially with the possible implications of the documents.

“It seems that your Sludge Villain helper wasn’t a one-hit-wonder”, Nighteye said with his usual dryness, “In one night he was active in several locations, some of which are many kilometers apart, resulting in 18 villain arrests and 3 civilian rescues. Reports vary on some details, but the main commonality of them all is the vigilante’s white costume and the presence of multiple quirks in said individual.”

Yagi could feel the beads of sweat run down his face as looked deeper into the police reports. A Vanishing Quirk. An Electricity Quirk. A Teleportation or Warping Quirk of Sort. A Stabilization Quirk. A Quirk that Stabilizes emotions. And of course, a mutation quirk. At least three of these quirks are confirmed by Yagi because he saw them firsthand during the Sludge Villain incident a few weeks ago. But a person with two quirks was extremely rare, in fact Enji’s boy was the first one he had seen that possessed two naturally, and it was even rarer for someone to have them of this supposed strength and caliber. In fact, it reminded him all too much of…

“It’s like All for One.” Nighteye said abruptly, “You think he had anything to do with this on the off chance he is still alive?”

Yagi turned his face away from the paper to look at his former sidekick.

“I do not know, but something about this doesn’t sit well with me.” Yagi replied, “Regardless of he is or isn’t a remnant of All for One’s sphere; this is something that cannot be ignored.”

Nighteye nodded at the remark before his face stoned into a look of concentration. Yagi knew the look of his former sidekick formulating a plan of sorts.

“Do you have something in mind?” Yagi asked.

Nigheye’s brow furrowed, “Nothing solid yet. I would like to have more information before doing anything. After all, your little helper is still quite insignificant in the underground; Heck, Tensei didn’t even have anything on him, and he’s well versed on the world of vigilantes.”

“If you would enlighten me then, Mirai. How did you find out about him if his footprint is so shallow?” Yagi asked

“It was more an accident and a little luck I suppose.” Nigheye said sheepishly, “One of my staff members asked for some time off because there was a family emergency. His niece, a Miss Hina Kiba, was violently assaulted by man named Hanji Kumo, a thug known for preying on vulnerable people, whilst she was returning home from a night of drinking.”

Yagi knew all too well the dangers that the city streets possessed at night for the average person, and to think that Miss Hina was fortunate to escape a grisly fate. Most aren’t so lucky.

“I guess my curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to look into the case of Miss Kiba. And I learned about the involvement of your little helper, but I also learned something else.” Nighteye said with a neutral expression.

Yagi raised his eyebrow at statement, “And that was?”

“The supposed name of your little helper. Does the name Ma’ken Ris mean anything to you?”

Yagi’s body shuddered subconsciously.

Hagakure was beaming with excitement because today was one of the few half days that UA had during its school year. So, what better way to spend her free time than with her friend Midoriya. It was true that she had made many friends among her peers at UA, none of them possessed the same level of understanding that Midoriya had with her. She can’t really blame them, none of them has the vision quirk that Midoriya has, and it’s always easier to understand someone when you can see them. In fact, it was really the first time in a while that the two could really hangout, between UA and Midoriya’s seeming randomized schedule, the two could only chat via text or phone. But it was special enough for Hagakure to change out of school uniform into some casual clothes for their outing. In the meantime, she sat in swing set the same park that the two had met waiting for him to show up. She planned to eventually introduce him to her UA friends, but for now she wanted to have him all to herself.

When the blue haired teen arrived, he was sporting a white zip-up hoodie, a pair of cargo shorts, a t-shirt that said t-shirt in kanji, and his signature red shoes. However, Midoriya was sporting some bags under his eyes and tired looking expression that looked like he had stolen it from Mr. Aizawa.

“H-Hey, Hagakure-san. Long time no ‘See’.” Izuku said with his usual stutter

“Midori!”, Hagakure said whilst jumping from the old swing set, “It’s good to ‘See’ you again.”

The two laughed at the cheesy sight jokes that had developed in their texts. Despite this, Hagakure knew something was up with the tired look that Midoriya was sporting.

“Um Midori if you don’t mind telling, but why do you look like the Sandman skipped your house last night?” Hagakure said going straight to the point.

Midoriya looked like a deer caught in some headlights at that question, but it disappeared and was replaced with an expression made him seem genuinely happy.

“I managed to get a job, and last night was my first shift.” Replied Midoriya, “I am working part-time as a security guard at a storage unit, and I run the suicide hours shift. So, I am…”

“So, you are getting used to those late-night hours?”, Hagakure said finishing his sentence.

The Blue haired boy nodded his head at the statement. Hagakure felt her heart warm up at her friend managing to have something going for him, from what she understands, he not only failed the UA exam but also didn’t apply to a different high school. He never explicitly said the reason for it, but she could imagine it being a rather personal affair that he wasn’t ready to share.

None the less, Hagakure grabbed the wrist of fish boy and begun dragging him off as fast as she could pull him.

“Then let’s go Midori! I know the perfect place to celebrate your new job!”, Hagakure boomed with her usual bubbliness.

The invisible girl was unaware of the true nature of Izuku’s job, but events would soon reveal the truth to the hero-in-training. In the meantime, she was also completely unaware of the red blush on the face of her friend or the sheepish smile of a hidden third member of their party.  

Chapter Text

“…and then Mr. Aizawa then decides that we could do with a little bit of combat training. But not with our quirks. Instead we were supposed to fight quirkless while our opponent has one hand tied behind their back.” Hagakure remarked with a combination of horror and amusement.

“That certainly is… unorthodox…but was there a reason why he would have you do that?”, Midoriya asked with a raised eyebrow.

 “He said it was to prepare us for a possible scenario where a villain would have an unfair advantage against us.” Hagakure said while letting out a bout of laughter.

The blue haired teen joined the invisible girl in laughing at the sheer ridiculousness and genius behind her homeroom teacher’s methods.

It had been nearly two months since the two teenagers had become friends, and their friendship had grown stronger as a result. For Hagakure, Midoriya was the only person in which she really could act as something beyond the bubbly persona she had adopted when the reality of her quirk had finally reared its head. It was a friendship that she greatly treasured and wanted to keep no matter what, even if that meant losing her friendships at UA. Midoriya on the other hand was a bit hesitant at first about the relationship, but he would eventually warm up to invisible girl in the same way she did to him. It started it out with the two texting each other in those first few weeks, but eventually Hagakure buttered Midoriya up enough for the two to hang out together. From that first hangout day, the friendship had blossomed to the point in which the two teens were nearly inseparable. It wasn’t all that perfect, however. Hagakure was still a hero student and couldn’t always hang out because of the physical and mental demands of the hero course. Midoriya was not as busy as Hagakure but took his job as a night guard rather seriously, and because of the nature of his schedule; he was usually working from 11 pm to 6 am five days a week. So as a result, the blue haired teen spent most of his time sleeping during the day and had to prep himself in advance for their outings together. Even still, he still decided to stay up long enough to meet Hagakure everyday at the train station, and to walk with her to the gates of UA. At first the invisible girl tried to get the blue haired boy to just go home and sleep, but he was as stubborn as a mule and was very adamant that an extra hour of being awake wouldn’t hurt him if it meant he got to spend time with his only friend. Hagakure was rather touched by the reason why Midoriya walked to school with her and decided to just the blue haired boy have his way. She would eventually grew to love and look forward to those walks to school along with the tired face that greeted her in those mornings in the station. It allowed the two have their usual conversations, but without the medium of the cell phones to hinder or slow down their talks.

“I really shouldn’t be laughing at Mr. Aizawa. Not only is he the weirdest teacher I have ever had, but he is also the toughest one that I have ever had.”, Hagakure said with a slight shiver, “If he heard me say all that, I think I would be lucky to not be expelled or worst; be put in remedial classes.”

Midoriya let out a small chuckle, “It’s okay Hagakure-san, I understand you completely.”, Midoriya paused for a moment before he himself shivered, “My supervisor said that I would need to take some self-defense classes in order to handle certain situations that could happen, so you know that I…”

“Won’t get hurt?” finished the invisible girl

“That and so I can’t sue the company for any damages I could get on the job.”, Midoriya added, “But the people that they recommended were a bit…. unorthodox and eccentric to say the least.”

“They couldn’t be as bad as Mr. Aizawa, right? Right?” Hagakure said with concern.

Izuku felt the sensation of being roughly shaken by a pair of strong hands. Strange. He could’ve sworn that he had just gone to bed after a night of patrolling. But he didn’t feel his bed sheets or his Fatgum themed pillow, instead he felt grass? Was he dreaming? Or had that villain with the dream quirk escaped prison in America to begin a reign of terror in Japan? Or maybe…

“Oi! Oi! Wake up blueberry boy! Wake up!” shouted a loud and accented voice.

The blue eyes of the vigilante shot open while he simultaneously jerked himself upright into a sitting position.  It turns out that, yet another bizarre event had occurred in Izuku’s life thanks to a certain mermaid. He was on a small island set adrift in an ocean that was as still as the surface of a mirror with a thin fog enveloping the piece of land. The island itself was almost bare, with only a few large rocks and trees sticking out of its almost blank landscape. There was only two structures on the small landmass that Izuku could see, a small homely cottage that was only a short walk away and the outline of a lighthouse that looked like it belonged in the classical era of human history farther in the distance.  A quick look at the sky revealed the familiar cluster of swirling celestial bodies that belonged in Marris’ world, but more towards the rim of the swirling galaxy rather than the center.

However, a loud cough interrupted his gaze at the landscape and drew his attention to origin of the sound. Izuku’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates at scene in front of him. There were three people in front of Izuku. One was a man dressed as a soldier from a pre-quirk era war, squatting and sporting a familiar octopus’ badge. Another was large man sitting on a rock who was dressed in a patchwork of armor that was decorated with charms depicting marine animals, mostly eels, and runes that were painted with blue dye. The final person was a kneeling woman who was wearing a white shawl with beaded necklace that had a wooden medallion. Inside the medallion was the carved picture of a crab with a crucifix at its center. Izuku would have to be blind to not recognize his predecessors, but unlike his previous interactions with them, he could actually see their faces.

Octopus had a rather plain face with his most noticeable features being his shaven head and the five o’clock shadow that only slightly darkened his pale face. Eel’s face was that of a seasoned veteran that was covered with long greying hair and beard that gave made appear as a warrior sage. Crab’s face was like unblemished porcelain with many sharp angles to her facial features and combined with fact that her hair being braided into a tight bun; it quite simply made her look as regal and scary as an eagle.

Before Izuku could say or do anything, Octopus spoke up, “We heard from the old lady that you needed to learn how to fight.” The man said with a crisp Australian accent that dripped with an excited and menacing tone, “We also heard that you seem to be in possession of some things that belonged to each of us? Would you care to explain that, blueberry boy?”

Izuku did not like where this was going.

From the rather shell-shocked look that Midoriya was sporting, Hagakure guessed that Midoriya’s self-defense teachers were clearly just as bad if not worse than Mr. Aizawa.

“You really seem to love your job if you are willing to be sent to boot camp for it.”, Hagakure casually remarked.

Midoriya perked up and gave a small smile, “I really do love it, more than anything to be honest.”

There was pride in Midoriya’s voice when he said that, and it made Hagakure happy that he was happy. When she had first met Midoriya, he was cheerful albeit with some jumpiness that reminded Hagakure of a mouse. Yet, years of being invisible had taught Hagakure to be exceptionally observant of other people and their body language. With Midoriya it was rather easy to see that he was hiding something just below the surface. If the way his smiles and tones seemed a bit forced were any indication. Especially when heroes or school was brought up in front him, and like the concerned friend that she was, Hagakure decided to dig into the subject.

“I know this might rub you the wrong way, Midori. But weren’t you trying for the Hero Course? Did something happen at home or something that stopped you from attending?” Hagakure bluntly stated.

The invisible girl immediately regretted pushing too much into the taboo subject because Midoriya’s happy expression vanished. In its place was a face that bordered despair, but something beneath Midoriya steeled, and it too vanished. Midoriya, now sporting a neutral expression with a weak smile, and put his hand on Hagakure’s shoulder. She doesn’t know if it was to comfort her or himself.

“I-I guess there is no point in avoiding it anymore, and I suppose you would eventually ask. It’s long story, and I guess you also deserve to know it as well.”, Midoriya said with resignation., “But I am afraid its going to have to wait.”

“What?! I thought you said you were going to tell me the story?” Hagakure asked in a panic.

Midoriya chuckled, “Oh, I-I am going to tell you Hagakure-san, It’s just…”. The blue haired teen pointed to something out of the girl’s view. Hagakure looked to what he was pointing at, and only to see the gates of UA High right in front of them.

“If I am also not mistaken, then you have only a few minutes before class starts.” Midoriya said whilst pointing at his wrist.

The invisible girl stole a glance at her phone, and sure enough, there was only a few minutes before the first bell would ring. She was going to be late if she didn’t hurry up, but she couldn’t squish down that nagging feeling that she had, and instinct told her that she shouldn’t let this escape.

“I am just worried about you Midori. I just noticed how you seem to freeze up or try to change the subject when heroes are mentioned, and I remembered that I saw you at the exam. So, I just…I am sorry. I shouldn’t have…”, The invisible girl said dejectedly while looking down.

“Thank you.” Said the weary voice of Midoriya

“Huh!?”

“It’s just that…very few people really cared enough to try to see what was bothering me before. They would usually just ignore me and not care if I did bring anything up. The fact that you are concerned for me…is just something I never expected anyone to do. I am…I am so happy that you care.”, Midoriya said with a smile, “You are a better friend that I could ask for, Hagakure-san. So, thank you for being my… best friend.”

The invisible girl felt the anxiety lift away from her body and a warm and rosy feeling emerged instead. She smiled back at the only person who could not only see her but also the first true friend she had in years.

“J-Just, promise me that you will wait here after school ends, so we can go to that park so you can tell me.” Hagakure asked meekly.

Midoriya flashed a smile worthy of All Might’s, “I promise…”

Hagakure was mindlessly glancing out of the small window of the bus in which she and her classmates were in. Class 1-A was doing their usual group conversations while they waited to get to their destination, and while Hagakure was usually a participate in these conservations she was not really invested in this one. Said conservation was about how flashy and cool the quirks that were in their class, it was a rather sore subject in the mind of the invisible girl. So, she was inclined to sit this one out, even if she had to endure a boring ride to their Heroics Class. Yet, it seemed she wasn’t the only one who shared the same sentiment. A pink girl with horns and black sclera was sporting a bored look as well, and in her boredom stole a glance at the floating gloves that was Hagakure. Mina Ashido was about as interested in quirks as the next girl, but what really interested a girl like Mina was gossip. And after catching her friend with an unknown boy earlier this morning, she knew exactly who was going to be her source of entertainment. The pink girl flashed a wicked smile at the unsuspecting Hagakure.

“So Hagakure, why didn’t you tell me?”, Mina said with feigned confusion loud enough for the others to hear, “I thought we were besties, and I thought you would at least tell me first?”

The gloves moved away from their previous position to above the bus seat.

“Tell you what, Mina?” the invisible girl said in confusion.

Mina’s toothy smile grew larger, “That you had gone and gotten yourself a boyfriend.”

Suddenly the bus grew eerily quiet with the eyes of nearly every student zoned in on the two girls. The exception being Bakugou, who was utterly disinterested in anything that wasn’t fighting, Mineta, who was heavily invested in something on his phone, and Todoroki, who wasn’t very social in the class to begin with. Then like an explosion, the voices of many students came crashing in all at once.

“Hagakure-san relationships are against UA school policy, they interfere with academics and your duties as a hero student”, scolded 1-A’s residential air chopper.

“Is he as handsome as Moi, Mademoiselle Hagakure?”, Asked 1-A’s prettyboy with a twinkle in his eyes.

“This is just like one of the classics, Jane Eyre, I think. Despite having a quirk that turned you invisible, he chose to be with you Hagakure-san, it’s so romantic.” Said 1-A’s 3d printer with watery eyes.

“Uh, guys. I think you are making her uncomfortable, Kero.”, A voice of reason emerged from the chaos.

Hagakure herself was embarrassed beyond belief with what had just occurred, and if not for her quirk she would have been redder than a Russian flag. But the frantic movement of a pair of white gloves was more than enough to show that she was flustered, and the incoherent stream of words did not help her case. To add even more to her misery, Mina had decided to put her two cents in once again.

“You guys should’ve seen him, he looked like a blueberry with the cutest little freckles.”, the pink girl said matter-of-factly, “So, Hagakure quit stalling and tell us about your boyfriend! I want to know all the details, especially when you two decided to share a kiss.”

If Hagakure was red before, she was crimson now with all the blood in her body rushing to her unseen face. She was stammering like Midoriya himself with only being able to muster a few meaningless words at a time. When she thought that she was going to die from embarrassment, rescue came from an unlikely source.

“Hey, can you guys stop with that anime relationship nonsense, and could we actually talk about something cool for once.”, complained a boy with grape hair.  

The group of students of turned to see that Mineta Minoru, Class 1-A’s residential pervert, was the one that had actually spoken up taking all attention away from Tooru.

With a confident smile completely devoid of his usual lecherousness, Mineta raised his cell phone up and revealed the contents of what he was so invested into the class. Many of his classmates had expected it to be something along the lines of his usual antics with some image of a heroine that was of dubious content. But that was not the case with this instance. Instead there was an image that was of poor quality and grainy, like it had been taken from a security camera. In this photo was a figure that was either dressed in baggy white clothes or had a body that was bulky and white as snow.

“You guys have to check this out because this was coolest thing since All Might stopped that skyscraper from falling.”, Mineta said with enthusiasm, “Musutafu had gotten a new vigilante roaming the streets, but that’s not even the best part! This guy appears to have multiple quirks!”

Mineta was given a disbelieving look from all of his classmates. A bead of sweat rolled down from his purple hair.

 “Here let me send you the link!”, said the grape boy.

Mineta proceeded to quickly type of the link to the hero website before anyone could protest or argue, and a resounding number of dinks echoed in the bus as a result. With the exception of Bakugou and Todoroki, everyone stopped and looked at their phone.

Tooru was surprised to see that Mineta wasn’t lying at all, and the link he sent was in fact part of a night owl section of the everyday Hero News, one that was typically reserved for information about villains both past and present. In link was a lengthy article detailing feats and sightings of the Musutafu vigilante, that ended with a short 30 second video. Hagakure looked and saw that everyone one was actually reading the article or watching the video.

“Well, when in Rome do as the Romans do. I guess.” The invisible girl thought to herself as she bit the bullet and watched the video.

The silent security footage showed what was clearly a villain stuffing several wads of cash into his jacket as he hastily tried to escape through an alleyway. Then, the villain suddenly stopped a turned his back in the direction he was coming from, before he flew back and hit the ground like he had been punched with some massive and unseen force. Sparks of electricity could be seen dancing at his legs and feet when the camera caught view of the front of his body as he laid on his back. The air where the villain had stopped at simmered briefly before the white figure in the picture appeared out of thin air. The white figure moved towards the fallen villain, and knelt down at him, while sparks of electricity danced all around his body like a protective shell. Suddenly the figure’s head shot up at something unseen. Then a mysterious slime-like liquid emerged from underneath the figure and moved quickly around him like a snake coiling around a rabbit. When the vigilante was completely enveloped, the ball of liquid then shrinks in on itself until it completely disappeared. Not a second later, a police officer and a nighttime hero ran unto the scene causing the footage to end.

For the first time ever, Hagakure was impressed by something that was brought up by Mineta. A vigilante with multiple quirks, and that was without the almost supernatural way he seemed know where the villain was. Or the fact that this guy does in fact have multiple quirks, at least three by the looks of it. Her classmates also seemed to share the same sentiment, based on the way they were talking about it, a conversation of awe and fear was going on.

“Whoa! I never even thought having multiple quirks was possible. I wonder how it works like that?”

“It’s looks like he has a warping quirk. That’s extremely rare even if one were to look at the global statistics.”

“Damn, imagine having to fight against someone like that, you probably have no chance unless you put together a team of heroes that can counter each of the quirks.”

“The most troubling aspect of this vigilante is not the multitude of the unholy powers in his grasp. I fear that it is that wicked shade of darkness that follows that hunter of the night, like spirit of evil.”, said a bird headed boy in an edgy voice.  

Everyone looked at Tokoyami like he had grown a second head.

“What do you mean, Tokoyami-san?”, Uraraka Ochaco asked with concerned curiosity.

“There is something surrounding the aura of figure, something dark and mysterious.”, Tokoyami said stoically, “His shadow appears to be similar in the same way Dark Shadow is connected with me, but he is possessed by something that makes my Eldritch Shadow quiver in fear. Do none of you see it?”

…

…

…

Tokoyami sighed when everyone stared at him blankly. “Yaoyorozu-san, a pencil and paper if you please.”

“Oh, of course Tokoyami-san.” Yaoyorozu said realizing what he was requesting.

Once he was given the requested items, Tokoyami held the paper against a solid surface and called out Dark Shadow, whom he gave the pencil. To the surprise of everyone the bird made of darkness started to draw on the paper.  After only a minute of scribbling, Dark Shadow had finished his piece of art. Tokoyami would stare at the image briefly before passing it to his peers.

Each student had a varying reaction to the image, some gasped in either fear or surprise, some remained stone faced or disbelieving, others were perplexed or curious. When it was Hagakure’s turn with the drawing, she did not know what to make of the crude picture in front of her.

A strange silence overcame the invisible girl as she stared at Tokoyami’s crude drawing of the supposed shadow that followed the vigilante. The longer she stared at the drawing the more she began to experience some sort of connection that she had no right to have. The first of these connections’ stems from the fact that she could feel the power radiating from the crude drawing, much in a similar one can feel the presence of a large and toothy animal. Despite having a literal depiction right in front of her, she also could not understand why it was there, it was like deep down she subconsciously knew it didn’t belong there. The worst of these, however, was the fact that the thing that Tokoyami drew seemed so familiar to her. She didn’t know why but it was like she had some deeper and more personal connection to the creature or quirk or whatever it was. As the invisible girl continued to stare at the drawing, the more she felt at ease with a warm rosy feeling in her chest, the same way she felt when around…

Before the hero-in-training could finish her train of thoughts, something completely impossible happened to the drawing, something that shouldn’t be possible. The ‘head’ of the sketch moved slightly from its original location and stared back at the invisible girl. Hagakure’s unseen eyes grew wide as she somehow forgot to breathe.

“Thatisntpossiblethatisntpossible!”, her thoughts told her, “IamseeingthingsIamseeingthings!”

Then the drawing, as if it had heard her say all those things out loud, winked at the invisible and turned its four slits into a mouth full of teeth that was blaring a friendly smile at Hagakure.

Hagakure quickly closed her eyes and shook her head and looked back at the drawing. It was once again completely unaltered from how she originally saw it. Before she could voice what she thought she saw, a particular comment made everyone focus their attention on something else.

 “Hey Bakugou, you really need to see this picture. It’s one of the most wildest things I have ever seen, and could you imagine what the actual guy with this is like”, said Kaminari in the background.

The explosive turned away from looking outside the bus window and unto the group of students. His face had turned into the scowl that they were all too familiar with, but this one was laced with venom.

“And why would care about Bird Brain’s shitty drawing, all this bullshit about a punk with multiple quirks with an spooky ghost following him sounds like a waste of time.”, Bakugou ranted.

“I dunno man, this guy seems like he could take on our entire class with one arm tied behind his back.”, Kaminari said with hint of nervousness, “If this article is anything to go by, he seems to be cleaning up the streets better than the usual nighttime heroes.”

The explosive teen looked as if someone how wrote a Philippic about his worth as a hero with Kaminari’s remark. Causing his usual frown to deepen and his expression to sour. Yet, Bakugou wouldn’t be Bakugou without his trademark ability to bounce back from any setback. The blonde teen’s brows furrowed, and his expression became neutral as a teen with anger issues could.

A loud snort emerged from the blonde, “Whatever, if some wannabe thinks he can do a hero’s job better than they can, then they got another thing coming.”, the spiky blonde leaned forward to snatch the drawing out of the hands of Tooru, “If that fucker thinks…just…quirks…huh?!?”

Bakugou had a reputation for being rather explosive in the same way as his quirk, this made him one of the more arrogant and hostile members of 1-A. However, it could not be understated that Bakugou does not back down or lose heart at anything thrown his way. Which makes more surprising that he turned pale and froze up at the image he himself had taken. In fact, Bakugou wasn’t showing fear, he was showing absolute terror on his face. The explosive teen jerked his hand away from the paper, as if it had burned him, letting it fall to the floor of the bus. He looked at his classmates with a clenched jaw and red eyes that betrayed the terror within him.

“Take this damn thing away from me, and don’t show it to me again!” Bakugou said in a low and shaky voice. “I’ll kill the bastard who even dares to pick it up again!”

The entirety of Class 1-A blinked. If Bakugou was afraid of something, then it was much more serious than anyone could imagine. However, anymore thoughts or ideas on the subject were interrupted by the voice of their homeroom teacher.   

“We are here.”, Mr. Aizawa said in his usual dead tone, “If you have time to gossip, then I suggest you get your priorities straight unless you all want remedial night classes.”

With that threat hanging over their head, the hero students quickly moved out of the bus and avoid the ire of their teacher. Hagakure purposely hanged back to be the last one out the bus and stole one last glance at the discarded drawing on the floor. But all she was met was a blank piece of paper with its occupant completely vanished from his white prison. She didn’t know why, but the knowledge of the image’s disappearance put the invisible girl at ease.

Chapter Text

For the students of Class 1-A, the site of their next lesson in heroics was certainly one that will be engraved in their heads, if the location was any indication. The bus ride had taken them to a large domed structure that reminded Hagakure of the pre-quirk era’s idea of a futuristic utopia. But the glass of the dome structure was not translucent enough to show what exactly was inside, but she has her fingers crossed for that utopian city. With a shiver of excitement, the invisible girl followed her classmates and their tired teacher into the structure.

Inside the dome was not a city, but a patchwork of different environments. Each urban and rural biome were connected together by a series of cobblestone roads that led to the center of the dome with an ornate greek-inspired fountain in the heart of it all. Yet, what caught the invisible girl’s attention was the person wearing an astronaut costume that was greeting them by the concrete steps. 

“It’s the Space Hero: Thirteen!”, Uraraka Ochaco exclaimed with stars in her eyes. 

“Good to see that I have some admirers in this year's class.”, the space hero said humbly, “I am Thirteen, and I will help you kids in your rescue training today.”

Mr. Aizawa did not appear to be as pleased as his students to see Thirteen. 

“Thirteen, wasn’t All Might supposed to be here with you.”, Mr. Aizawa said in an irritated tone as he walked up to his co-worker. 

Thirteen did not respond to Mr. Aizawa but instead held up three fingers. Whatever meaning that sign had it was lost on Hagakure, but Aizawa seemed to understand its unknown meaning.

“Well, then I suppose we better get started then.”, their homeroom teacher replied. 

  The space hero went into a mini lecture to the class about the potential harm that their quirks could inflict, but added that even the most dangerous of quirks could be used to help people. Thirteen highlighted the fact that her quirk, Blackhole, was one of these examples. The space hero also gave a quick summary of the place in which they were going to do their rescue trials, the aptly named Unexpected Simulation Joint or the USJ. Hagakure had to stiffen a giggle at the mention that it had the same acronym as the Universal Studios of Japan amusement park. With the briefing seemingly over, Mr. Aizawa started to get things rolling for the trial.

“All right, now that is out of the way let us get started by…”

Whatever her homeroom teacher was going to say was cut off by the lights flaring on and off, and a burst of wind began to ripple through the air. A large black vortex cut through the air like a knife, and from the swirling darkness emerged a couple of figures. One was a man in his early twenties with shaggy white hair with an assortment of human hands attached to his body and face. Another was a giant of a man with black skin, a bird-like beak, and a head that had an exposed brain. Last to emerge was a man that appeared to be made from the same dark mist from the vortex with a pair of yellow eyes, he was wearing the attire of a bartender along with a metal brace around his neck. 

“Thirteen and Eraserhead, but no All Might?”, the hand villain said with a confused tone.

“Perhaps there was a change in schedule, or maybe he was due to show up later?”, the mist villain was quick to reply.

“It doesn’t matter.”, the hand villain stated, “I’ve run this kind of dungeon before, and in order for you to draw out the boss you need to kill some of his mobs to do so. So let’s get our party together and start this raid.”

The mist villain nodded at the hand villain’s request and opened up a series of portals in the courtyard of the fountain area, and from the mists emerged a small army of villains. Each one with quirks or costumes that were grotesque or intimidating in the eyes of Hagakure as they slowly marched towards their little group.

“Thirteen! Protect the students, and get them out of here! Kaminari, use your quirk to try to contact the school, and tell them we are under attack! I’ll hold them off as long as possible! These are real villains!”, her homeroom teacher ordered as he put his goggles on and sprung into action.

“Mr. Aizawa, you can’t! There are too many of them!”, Hagakure heard Momo exclaimed.

“A hero always finds a way out of a tough situation, Miss Yoayorozu! Now Hurry!”, Aizawa barked before he sprung upon the approaching horde of villains.

“You heard your teacher! Let’s get moving kids!”, Thirteen said as she quickly took hold of the situation. 

Hagakure speedily hurried alongside her classmates as they kept pace up with Thirteen towards the entrance of the USJ. She glanced at the faces of her classmates, each on with a look of panic or steeled determination. And if the fear she felt in her chest was any indication, she was certainly not among the latter of the two categories. However, anymore thoughts of fear or courage in the face of danger were washed away by the sight of the steel entrance of the dome. They had made it!

But the villains weren’t going to let the hero students get away that easily, and that became apparent when the black vortex reared its ugly head again, this time in their escape route. From its misty depths emerged the villain made of the black mist. He had his arms crossed behind his back in a posture that was similar to that of a waiting butler. Yet, the villain displayed mocking and malicious intent behind his bright and wispy yellow eyes as he bore onto the students and their escort. 

“Greetings.”, the villain siad with friegn politeness, “We are League of Villains, young heroes. I do hope you forgive us for our intrusion in this bastion of heroes, but we are here to end the life of All Might, the Symbol of Peace.” 

Hagakure could feel her blood turn to ice at the proclamation of the villain. They were here to kill All Might? 

“It seems, however, that he is not here at the moment. But it matters not!”, misty continued, “We can’t have you little eggs running around unsupervised, now can we?”. The gentleman villain morphed into a large shapeless portal of black mist, and in the corner of her eye, Hagakure could see another dark portal form beneath her and her classmates. 

“Not if I say anything about that! Children, stay back!”, shouted Thirteen as she unclasped a finger on her spacesuit. The effect was immediate as Thirteen’s quirk began to suck up the black mists that were trying to envelope the students. Yet this did not faze the mist villain in the slightest. 

“Thirteen is it?”, the villain said with a smug tone, “You are rather well known for being a rescue hero, so I cannot imagine you have much experience in combat.”

“I have enough experience to beat scum like you.”, Thirteen defiantly retorted. 

The villain attempted to open up another set of portals to try to snare up his quarry, but each time, Thirteen’s Blackhole dispersed any portal by sucking it into its own crushing void. The two combatants were seemingly at a stalemate, but the mere fact that Thirteen was only responding to the villain’s attacks would ultimately be her downfall. 

As Thirteen moved her hand to swallow up another misty portal, but without any warning another portal opened up in the direction in which Thirteen moved her hand. The small portal swallowed the hand of Thirteen, and quicker than the blink of an eye a third portal opened up directly behind the space hero. The effects were immediate as Thirteen’s back ate the full force of her own quirk. A large chunk of her space suit was ripped away violently as the hero gasped in pain. Thirteen collapsed onto the ground, her quirk also stopping, only the sound of strain breathing could be heard from the downed hero. 

With the fall of the rescue hero, Class 1-A nearly descended into chaos. Hagakure could hear Uraraka crying amid the panic shouts as well as Iida yelling for everyone to hold steady. Yet, it was Bakugou and Kirishima, and Todoroki that were shouting the loudest, and who were the ones that effectively prevented them from scattering. However, As class 1-A’s hard hitters immediately took the place of Thirteen, ready to try to fight their way out of danger. But the mist villain did not even register them as threats in the first place. 

“Looks like yet another hero overestimated their own abilities, how typical,”, the mist villain mocked, “But now with that nuisance is out of the way, it is time to do my job. DISPERSE AND SCATTER!”

Once again a huge portal of black mists opened beneath the students, intending to swallow them up and separate them. It was at this moment that chaos ensued. Hagakure saw Bakugou attempt to blast the mist villain with his quirk, only for it to have no effect on the villain. Others tried to use their quirks as well on the villain, but they were met with the same result as Bakugou. She could hear the sobs and shouts of a different number of students, each one unidentifiable as the mist grew larger in her vision. But then a voice emerged from all the other ones, a voice that was loud and echoed, a voice that sounded unnatural and scary. It was the unmistakable voice of Tokoyami’s quirk Dark Shadow. 

“THE PREDATOR IS HERE!”, shouted the panicked voice of the sentient quirk. 

A sudden flash of blue that swirled and twinkled inside the black mists, and the invisible girl was greeted with the concrete floor of the entrance of the USJ. The invisible girl shot her head up from the ground and scanned her surroundings. Sure enough, she was still at the entrance at the USJ along with most of her classmates with Bakugou, Todoroki and Momo being the only ones missing. But the classmates that weren’t sent off by the mist villain didn’t look very peachy. Uraraka and Mineta had a frightened and baffled look with tears streaming down their eyes. Kirishima, Iida, Aoyama and Sero all had a dumbfound expression but one that was laced with fear. Ashido, Kaminari Ojiro, and Jiro all looked utterly confused; while Shoji, Sato, and Kota all looked afraid. But It was Tokoyami and Tsuyu that were what worried the invisible girl. Both of the two had their eyes opened as wide as they could and they were shivering as if they had been plunged in ice water while both were bordering on the lines of hyperventilating. Why were they....

...suddenly Hagakure could suddenly feel a rosy and warm feeling deep down in her chest, the same feeling she had when looking at the drawing. And the same feeling she had when around Mid...

“I should’ve expected resistance from this little group of eggs.”, the mist villain said, trying to hide the irritation in his voice, “Though I cannot say I am not impressed that one of you managed to cancel out my quirk, but that fact shouldn’t be surprising. You all are the best of the best, the little golden eggs waiting to hatch. Golden eggs that must be crushed…”

The mist villain once again prepared another portal to swallow them up, but a fast and slime-like liquid shot rapidly into the heart of the portal and exploded. The explosion dissipated the portal in a manner that was akin to dust being blown away in the wind. The yellow eyes of the mist villain narrowed while the eyes of Class 1-A widened. Hagakure suddenly became aware of the scent of sea salt and iron in the air. 

“I am getting tired of all this stalling, why can’t you be good and stay still…”. 

Suddenly a burst static blue light rippled across the large mass black mist like contorting tendrils that seemingly striking at the inky darkness itself. The sickly yellow eyes of the villain expanded as an unearthly shriek emerged from the black void. The mist villain’s larger form dissipated back into his smaller humanoid body; sparks of electricity could be seen dancing on the metal brace around his neck as the villain fell onto his hands and knees. 

The mist villain let out a dry cough as he looked up at the group of students, his yellow eyes were contorted in panic,“W-What? T-That shouldn’t be possible?! You brats couldn't possibly figu..AAAAHHHHH!!”

The mist villain was abruptly flung back, like he was hit by an invisible truck, all the while he was airborne, blue electrical sparks danced across his body with most of them congregating on his metal brace. The mist villain met the reinforced door with a loud bang before unceremoniously face planting onto the floor. A large human shaped dent could be seen in the steel door from where the villain had hit it. 

“You are right, they didn’t figure it out. But I could see it written all over you.”, projected a low emotionless voice. 

In the space between Class 1-A and the mist villain, the air rippled like the surface of a body of water and revealed a figure hiding in plain sight. Said figure had their back facing the hero students with his front facing the downed form of the mist villain. But it didn’t take much for the hero students to recognize the white costume of the vigilante that they had seen only a mere minutes before. He was positioned in a slight crouch with his arms position like they were going to grapple with the villain. Two tentacle-like limbs were positioned as auxiliary limbs from the puddle of the mysterious liquid at his feet.  Help had quite literally come from out of nowhere, and it seemed he was more than a match for the mist villain. 

The mist villain slowly rose up from his hands and knees, wobbling all the way back to a standing position. Compared to the crisp and well dressed that he was first seen, the mist villain was frazzled and dazed. 

“The Ghost of Musutafu graces us with his presence, here to play hero.”, the mist villain sneered, “Your presence here changes nothing, we are more than prepared to deal with some lowly vigilante."

“Oh Really?”, the vigilante replied with feigned surprise in his voice. But, if the villain was expecting a reply at the attempt to get a rile up the vigilante, then he was completely mistaken. Without even moving an inch physically, one of the liquid tentacles shot at blinding speed at the mist villain and grasped onto the metal neck brace. The Mist Villain attempted to break free from the hold of the liquid, but the tendril flexed like a constrictor snake and appeared to get tighter. The villain stopped his struggle the moment the metal braces begun to whine and crack at the crushing pressure placed upon them. The yellow eyes of the villain contorted into a look of absolute horror. 

“Because the way I see it, is that you stay and fight an opponent that completely out matches you, or you run away back to your companions and delay the inevitable.”, the vigilante said with a venom in his voice, “And I am not inclined to let someone who could pose a serious threat with a quirk like yours run around freely. 

The vigilante shot his other hand into the liquid tendril that had remained by his side. Hagakure and her classmates’ eyes widen at the sight of the baseball sized ball of liquid that formed directly in front of the bound villain. From the hidden depths of the orb, shot out the hand of the vigilante.

The hand extended far enough to grab the neck brace of the mist villain. Somehow the black mists seemed to have paled. 

A stream of lighting enveloped the vigilante and as well as the mist villain, making the entire area glow blue with the bright light from the attack.  The yellow eyes of the villain expanded to an impossible size as his screams drowned out the sound of the crackling electricity. The villain went limp in the liquid hold of the vigilante, seeming knocked out from being shocked with the blue lightning. With the threat of the mist villain out of the picture, the white robed vigilante let go of the villain and let him fall to the floor with a soft thump. 

“I-Is he…”, the voice of a quivering Mineta sliced through the silence. 

“No, but its unlikely that he was able to remain conscious from that attack.”, the vigilante said in his emotionless tone, “I have been following this group for weeks now, and have been trying to put a stop to thier plans. Clearly I have failed in that regard, but that won't stop me from limiting the damage that they could do. Do not think of me as a enemy becuase I only wish to help you students out of this predictament. So set aside any prejudices you have for my ilk because the only way we are going to get out of this alive is to work together.”

...

...

...

Mr. Aizawa had taught them in hero ethics that vigilantes are just as bad, if not worse than villains. This was in due part because of their disregard to the law in favor of their own belief in justice. However, vigilantism was bad because it was very easy for a person to shift to villainy, as their belief in the system becomes ever more and more disillusioned. The example Aizawa had used to the class was an unfortunate vigilante named Pop Step, who went from an attention seeking vigilante to a very dangerous supervillain before being defeated in a grisly final stand. 

But with the situation at hand, the hero students were in a battle of practicality and principles. Do they work with a person who by law is just as bad as the attacking villains or do they team up with him for the sake of survival? Many of the class couldn’t help but notice that he had not left his battle stance, and how he seemed to be sizing them up somehow while not looking at him. An aura of suffocating pressure had descended upon the scene.  

“We Graciously accept your proposal for a temporary alliance in the face of these villains.”, said the stiff voice of Tokoyami.

Most of the hero students gave Tokoyami a look of shock.

“Yes, we as a class agree upon working together, kero.”, a trembling Tsuyu also chimed in.

Upon those words, the pressure immediately vanished, and in its place a soothing and calm one surfaced. White Robes turned to face the group of UA students as he relaxed from his battle stance, giving them a good look at the front of the vigilante. He was just as indistinguishable from the front as he was from the back, save for a smiling mouth full of sharp teeth. However, indistinguishable was too strong of a word for a certain invisible girl because the vigilante was anything but unrecognizable.   

Hagakure’s unseen eyes widened to dinner plates as her mouth contorted into a frown of disbelief. The camera images of the vigilante were grainy and of low quality, making it impossible to discern any details beyond the general shape of the person. But now that the vigilante was right there in front of her, she could see him in greater detail than what the camera could offer.  She was hard-pressed not to recognize those white priest-like robes, the same robes that Midori was wearing when they met in the park. 

“ It’s him?!?Midori is the vigilante?!”, Her thoughts told her. 

A stream of different emotions sparked within the invisible girl, each one conflicted with the other. One was happiness and relief because of the fact that he had saved her from the mist villain.  She could feel wonderment and shock at the display of the powerful quirks and how they were used to surgically take down their attacker.  Another was anger because she had realized that her closest friend had been lying to her for who knows how long and about how many things? And another was embarrassment?

…

…

..!

An unseen red blush crept onto the face of the invisible girl as heat also flooded her cheeks, as the invisible girl quickly became aware that she was standing there wearing only gloves and shoes in front of the only person in the world that could see her.  While Hagakure was not exactly a girl that minded showing skin, but that layed with the fact that her quirk made it impossible for anyone to see her nude form. So she didn’t exactly mind when she had to run around in her ‘costume’, but with Midoriya that was simply not the case.

…

…

…

It took every ounce of willpower for Hagakure not to scream hysterically in embarrassment or to dive behind the classmate nearest to her in an effort to cover herself. 

“Aoyama, give me your cape now!”, the invisible girl said on the border of shouting. 

When the shiny hero-in-training gave her a dumbfounded look , she could feel her heart begin to race.

“Please, give it to ME!”, Hagakure shouted the final word with a bit of venom in her voice.

Aoyama paled at the 180 turn that the usually bubbly girl did into a demon-like entity, and proceeded to take his cape off. However, because of the shakiness in his limbs, the naval laser user fumbled the process enough times that in the corner of her eye Hagakure believed she saw the white form of Midoriya staring at her. Heat exploded out the invisible girl’s ears at the thought that Midoriya had seen her completely exposed. She violently ripped the cape out of the hands of the shaking Aoyama, and proceeded to cover her naked body with it.  She sank down onto the ground in a little tent made from Aoyama’s cape as steam could be seen emitting from where her head should be. 

“ Maybe it would have been better if that villain had sent us away, after all?” , Hagakure thought darkly.

 Barring Hagakure, Class 1-A was confused at their classmate’s unexpected desire to be covered or at the vigilante standing there as still as a statue.

“Erm...um...right”, White Hood said awkwardly before shaking his concealed head, “Okay, enough dilly dally. I need those with knowledge of first aid to attend to Thirteen immediately, and I need a headcount of your classmates.”

Heading the orders of the vigilante, Iida proceeded to take charge of the headcount and tally up the numbers. Uraraka and Koda got to work on patching up Thirteen as best as they could with what they had. The vigilante remained fixed upon his spot clearly waiting for Iida to finish the tally or was perhaps formulating a plan in his head. 

“I count only 16 out of our class of 19.”, Iida said with his usual stiffness.

The vigilante cursed under his breath, “Can any of you contact the school?”

Kaminari spoke up, “Even with my quirk, I can’t get a signal on my phone. They must have some jamming signal or a quirk that can block the electronics.”

“Well, we must…”. Whatever the vigilante was going to say was interrupted by him suddenly turning his head in the direction of the courtyard. White Hood sprinted back to the descending stairs cutting past all the students in his way. Those who weren’t tending to Thirteen also went with the vigilante to see what had caught his attention. They all wished they hadn’t because they all caught sight of Mr. Aizawa beaten down to bloody pulp in the hands of the giant villain with the exposed brain. The grunts of the League all cheered in victory before charging towards the students.

“GUYS, THE MIST VILLAIN!”, shouted the panicked voice of Uraraka.

All of them flipped around to see the mist villain wobbly standing up, while trying to open a portal to escape. Without hesitation, the vigilante sprung into action by sending his two liquid limbs to try to restrain the villain. But because of the greater distance between the two, the mist villain was able to dive back into the darkness before the slime-like tentacles could even get close enough to touch him. 

The vigilante cursed out loud before issuing more orders,“Those with combat oriented quirks will set up a defensive perimeter around the entrance and repeal any of the cannon fodder that gets past! The rest of you need to work on getting that door open! And you!”

“Me?!?”, Kaminari said in a panic.

“Yes, you! You are going to alert UA on what is happening over here and bring in as much help as you can muster!”, the vigilante barked.

“B-But, I can’t…”, Kaminari argued.

“I’ll make sure that their jamming signal won’t be an issue.”, interrupted White Hood. The self appointed leader quirky raised his oversized sleeve, revealing a hand and snapped a finger causing the liquid around his feet to shoot towards Kaminari. The slime-like liquid then encircled the yellow haired boy before shrinking in on itself before disappearing into thin air. The hero students collectively gasped at the sight and before anyone could ask, the vigilante cut them off. 

“Don’t worry, I only warped him outside UA’s gates. If your other classmates were here, I would send all of you, but I am not one for leaving them to the sharks and I believe we share that sentiment. Let’s hope your friend can get help in time.”, stated the vigilante. 

Without anything else to say, the vigilante dashed without hesitation towards the oncoming attackers while Class 1-A got to work immediately. Save for one girl, who was awestruck by a person she thought she knew.

Chapter Text

The word ecstatic would be too weak to describe what Shigaraki Tomura was feeling right now. Sure had been a little angry at the fact that his raid had been slightly ruined by the fact All Might was too busy signing autographs to follow the damned schedule. But, that doesn't mean the quest was completely ruined, after all, it is usually the side quests that are the most fun. It was just so cool to Erasure Head go in a fight all of his fodder, you don’t see many hero npcs do that, especially story ones. It just makes the smile under Father grow larger when said NPC is taken down by his party with ease. 

“Good Job Nomu.”, Shigaraki said with glee in his voice, “ Now let’s get the xp from this encounter before moving on to the next one.”

Nomu remained silent, but seemingly understood the video game lingo that his master was saying, and raised his fist to punch a hole inside the underground hero’s head. 

But then a strange slime-like liquid shot at blinding speed at the underground hero and enveloped him like a proactive shell. Nomu continued with his master's orders and punched the blob of liquid, but this action resulted in an explosive splash of water on the immediate area and no dead Eraserhead. The creature remained expressionless even as his master’s hidden face was contorted into rage at the fact that the hero in Nomu’s hands literally vanished. Things like this really made Shigaraki break out into that irritating itching. The villain began to scratch his neck until it was red, and mumbled curses under his breath as he looked around for the missing hero.  

A quick scan revealed a person in an oversized white robe fighting among the remaining cannon fodder with a familiar slime-like liquid being used as a weapon against the grunts. Shigarchi narrowed his eyes at the figure as he took down the last of the fodder. It was at this moment when an injured and ragged Kurogiri warped back to his side. Shigaraki felt the itch get worse as the bartender told him of his failure to scatter the hero brats. 

Izuku cursed himself at the disaster that he now found himself dealing with as he took down on goon at a time. He had spent over a month of searching the streets once rumors of a plot to kill All Might surfaced in the criminal underworld. Yet, every lead and every rumor always resulted in a dead end, even with Marris’ ghostly presence getting intel in the darkest reaches of villainy. The League of Villains were a ghost in every sense of the word with no information on who they were and why they wanted to kill All Might. It was like the League appeared out of thin air and had a massive backing as well, and that made Izuku terrified of them. He needed to squash them while they were still small, but because of his own sloppiness, Hagakure was caught up in danger. Stupid, stupid, stupid Deku! 

“Stay focused on the hunt, Izuku!”, Marris’s voice warned behind him, “Those hatchlings are relying on us to keep them safe.”

“Right, sorry Marris”, Izuku replied as he finished off the last of the goons.

With the creeps out of commission, Izuku turned his attention to the three remaining villains.Two of them didn’t appear out of the ordinary when it came to villains but the third one gave Izuku a bad feeling. The villain called Nomu was tall and muscular with skin as black as coal. Its eyes were blank while its opened beaked mouth gave it an intimidating look. The most striking feature was its large exposed brain that pulsed disgustingly in its skull. 

Marris hissed from behind Izuku, “That beast is not natural, it was made. Be careful Izuku, it is an abomination in every sense.”

The mist villain from earlier returned to the villain dressed with hands and the large beaked villain, and it appeared the one with hands was not happy.

“Kurogiri, if you weren't on our ride I would kill you right now.”, the hands villain angrily said, “How can you be so useless to lose a fight with a hero wannabe that hitched a ride with us?”

“Shigaraki Tomura, he is the rumored Ghost of Musutafu.”, Kurogiri warned, “He is a formidable opponent with multiple quirks, so do not underestimate him.”

Shigarki shot a glare at the vigilante, “It doesn’t matter if he’s got one quirk or a thousand, there’s no way he could stand up to our party comp. Besides, there’s still a chance we can do this if the brats hadn’t actually escaped.”

“That’s where you are wrong!”, the two villains looked at Izuku, “I sent one of the students back to UA! The heroes and the police are already on their way. You and your little assasination are done, villain!”

The one called Shigaraki raised a shaking hand and pointed towards Izuku, “You’re bluffing! There’s no way any of the brats escaped! It’s impossible!”

“He’s telling the truth, Shigaraki. He possesses a warping quirk, and I am inclined to believe he did as he said.”, Kurogiri reasoned. 

With the words of the mature villain, Shigaraki degraded into a temper tantrum with him scratching his neck red while babbling ‘not fair’ over and over at Izuku. But as quickly as it came, the tantrum left and Shigaraki was once again as calm as he was a few minutes before. 

“Meh, whatever. Alright Kurogiri, I guess we are done with game now let’s go home.”, Shigaraki said with a resigned voice, “But first, let’s bruise up the ego of those hero bastards by killing a couple of their brats and that damned vigilante ganker.”

As if it were a command, the large beaked villain shot out at blinding speed at Izuku with its fists raised to attack. Even with Izuku’s enhanced senses, the creature moved as if Izuku was seeing him in real time. Izuku, completely caught off guard, barely had time to raise Crab’s quirk, Holy Water , in time to block the charge of the villain. It took all of Izuku’s strength just to be able to hold against the attack of the thing that the villain called Nomu. He knew instantly from the power behind the attack that Nomu could easily shatter his bones into dust if it were to make direct contact. His eyes did not detect any sort of weak point or anything that he could use to exploit in his advantage. He was on his own in figuring out how to defeat this monster.  Marris hissed in anger as Izuku could feel her strain to help bolster his physical strength and his quirk’s strength against Nomu. But the endeavor still felt like he was trying to stop a charging rhino with a piece of glass. He wasn’t sure how long he could hold out against the monster and it showed no sign of tiring or stopping. 

“Wow, you are cooler than I thought.”, Shigarchi said with child-like awe, “To think that this npc could be able to hold out against an attack by Nomu and not die. But I wanna hurry and go pown the brats. Nomu hurry up and kill him!”

Without making a sound Nomu began to relentlessly punch the liquid barrier that separated it and Izuku, and with each strike Izuku could feel it getting weaker and weaker. He could feel Marris pour more of her strength into him to hold up the defense, but she was limited by the fact she was restricted by her ghostly state. The blue haired vigilante estimated they could only hold out for a few minutes at best before they break. 

Izuku stole a glance back at the group of students still at the entrance of the domed building. Most of them appeared to be close to having their moral breaking as the situation seemed to be turning in favor of the villains. Some were pushing their quirks to the absolute limit to break open the door, while others tried to maintain order to prevent them breaking. But there was one student that locked eyes with Izuku. Hagakure stared at him with her brown eyes wide and teary, but also with an expression of acceptance? She was watching the moment in which her best friend was going to die, and after that she would experience her own death at the hands of these villains. When Izuku finally realized this fact, something steeled within him and a surge of power invaded his body. He was going to save them, he was going to save Hagakure. Even if he were to die on this day.   

With a loud warcry, Izuku and Marris used all of their strength to push back against the beaked villain. The effect was immediate as Nomu was suddenly pushed nearly all the way back to his master, leaving Izuku as the only obstacle between Shigarachi and the students. All eyes on the fight widened in shock and surprise. Izuku could see flashes of Octopus as he and his country men shouted a phrase as they heroically held the line against an enemy that wished to destroy the homes they were defending. 

“Y-You shall not pass!”, Izuku chanted in between heavy breaths, “You shall not pass! You shall not PASS!”

With a final shout, electricity surged across the white form of Izuku as he began his own counter attack and charged like a bullet at Nomu. Flashes of Eel came into his vision as the viking fought a giant scaled beast,slashing relentlessly with his axes until it succumbed from the assault. Holy Water , which was imbued with lightning, attacked at blindingly fast speeds at the large form of the beaked villain. Water sliced through flesh like a hot knife through butter as Izuku focused his attacks on the limbs of the villain. Nomu screamed in a beastial cry as its limbs were decorated in deep gashes and spasms from the electricity. Izuku’s rapid onslaught seemed to have paid off as the final blow of the attack managed to completely sever one of the arms of the Nomu after over hundreds of slices. Izuku stopped his attack with that blow as he desperately huffed air back into his lungs, but he still kept his eyes locked on his opponent. Silence had filled the plaza...until a series of giggling shattered it like glass.

Izuku quickly looked at its source, and saw that Shigarchi was the one laughing.His laugh was maniacal that almost sounded like the villain was choking on his own breath. It made that unnerved feeling in his stomach grow larger. 

Eventually the villain stopped laughing and directly addressed Izuku with a smug smile beneath his mask, “This save keeps getting better and better, and to think I was worried my party would get wiped. Nomu, show them what you really can do.”

Right on que, the body of Nomu began to heal itself of all the damage that Izuku inflicted upon it, even its missing limb grew back in a matter of seconds. Izuku’s eyes grew wide in surprise as he could hear Marris growl threateningly at the sight. Then without warning, Nomu shot at blinding speed at Izuku with its arms wound up to deliver a punch. Izuku quickly pulled back Holy Water to block the attack. A huge shockwave burst out from the impact of the blow as dust scattered into the air. Izuku found himself nearly pushed to the ground as Nomu continued to apply his full strength onto him. Once again, Izuku and Marris were desperately trying to hold off an unstoppable force.

“Surprised to see that you aren’t the only with multiple quirks? Nomu, here was made to have many different quirks to be the ultimate anti-symbol of peace! But you have impressed me Ghost, you nearly had me fooled there for a while. But I now know that you weren’t multiclassing and were just a simple mage with high enough charisma to fool people.”, Shigarchi said in video game lingo, “ But everyone knows that a mage needs a fighter to hold off another fighter. And yet for a mage...you remind me too much of All Might and I destroy things that I hate.”

The venom in the villain’s voice caused a chill to run down Izuku’s spine as he strained to prevent himself from being crushed by the villain. 

“That being said, if the little vigilante wants to play hero then I say we let him have a taste. Kurogiri, scatter the brats.”, commanded Shigarchi. 

The haggard mist villain nodded at the command of Shigarchi and used his quirk on the group of students watching the fight. In an act of cruelty, the villains forced Izuku to make the impossible choice, his life or their lives.

“Little Minnow. Please, there has to be another way”, Marris said in a strained but pleading voice. 

But Izuku saw no other way, and steeled himself for a choice he always knew he would have to make.

Black mist began to once again try to swallow up the students and scatter them to their doom, but to the surprise of the students, a familiar liquid shot rapidly into the darkness and dissipated the mists. Hagakure quickly averted her gaze back to Midoriya, and saw a face that would never leave her. The hood of the costume still obscured many of the facial features of Midoriya, save for the mouth and eyes. His toothy mouth was in a large smile and his deep blue eyes were wet from tears. This minal expression was telling them all one thing: Everything was going to be okay.

Hagakure could no longer hold her voice back when she heard the villain order his henchman to kill Midoriya. She felt tears sprint down her face as the muscular arm of the monster shattered the liquid barrier and collided with the small body of Midoriya. She lost her voice and the ability to hear when she witnessed his body fly through the air and crash into the base of the stairs with a sickening crunch. The world was gone in the vision of the invisible girl as she suddenly found her legs moving on their own to the heart of the fight. 

When Hagakure reached the crumpled and bloody form of the white robed Vigilante, she kneeled and quickly inspected him. From the rudimentary first aid lessons she had been given at UA, she could tell immediately that he had most if not all of his ribs broken. His skin was covered in all manner of lacerations and bruises, while the worst damage appeared to be chunks of missing flesh on his arms. However, the worst injury appeared to be coming from somewhere at the back of his head, with the sign of it being a few lines of blood streaming down from his hood. If he didn’t get medical attention soon, then he could very much succumb to his injuries. She needed to get him out of the fight and with the others. The invisible girl put every ounce of her strength in her arms and back and attempted to sling her wounded friend over her shoulder and carry him to safety.  But she was just not strong enough to accomplish the task, but she refused to give up. 

“Come one get up, get up!”, Hagakure frantically said as she tried to help Midoriya on his feet.

The vigilante seemed dazed momentarily before suddenly realizing who was trying to rouse him up. “H-Hagakure? W-What are you-u doing here? Y-y-you’ll die if-f-you-u don’t l-leave.”, Midoriya said in a pained and weak voice. 

“Not without you Midori! You’ll die as well!”, Hagakure said with tears in her eyes as she vainly tried to lift the heavy form of Midoriya, “I won’t abandon you!”

Yet, the emergence of the invisible girl did not alleviate the danger that was present in the plaza. And Hagakure’s rescue abruptly became aware of a looming shadow over her, and turned to see the one called Nomu obscuring her view. Its soulless eyes stared at her blankly as its master began to monologue. 

“One of you brats actually grew a spine and left your spawn. You must be really brave or eager to die an agonizing death.”, said the hand villain. 

Every instinct told Hagakure to run and get away from the beaked monster, but she never felt a drop of fear. She would rather die alongside her friend than leave him behind. Her white gloves took a battle stance and so did her combat boots. “I won’t let you hurt him or any of my friends, villain!”, the invisible girl retorted defiantly. 

The hand villain let out a small snicker, “You should’ve taken off those clothes and hid, and maybe then you could’ve lived to tell the world about the League of Villains. But I always do love it when a low level thinks they could pvp with a max level. Alright, Nomu let’s kill this filthy casual and move on to the rest of her noob party? Oh and hurry up and do it right because I am getting real tired of these gankers coming in and ruining our KD.”

The Nomu obediently followed the orders of its master, and slowly raised his muscular arms high in the air with his fists clenched. As much as she didn’t want to admit, she stood no chance against a creature that was made to kill All Might, and the villain knew that. All Hagakure could do was stand there, unable to do anything as tears slid down her cheeks. She silently uttered an apology to her friends and family, and closed her eyes waiting for the moment she would become a smear on the floor.  

“KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF HER!”, Midoriya shouted from behind her.

Hagakure could feel something burning hot being emitted from the person she was trying to protect, and  was surprised to see a bright green light dash into her vision. The light grew as bright as the sun and completely overtook all her senses.  

The world was shrouded in grey and was devoid of all sense of time. The air simmered and distorted everything into fuzzy outlines, but this was not the case for a boy with blue hair dressed in white robes. He was uncharacteristically clear in this strange and distorted world as he  ran back into a fight to protect the one friend he had of his own kind. Even with his body covered in blood and with the horrendous injuries he sustained in the battle. But it was not as odd as the fish woman who swam in the air like it was a pool of water. Marris’s bulbous black eyes focused intensely on Izuku while she reached out and gently cusped the face of Izuku with her slender hands. She leaned towards Izuku until her forehead touched his forehead. 

“Well, it finally happened didn’t it? I knew you were destined for great things the moment I laid my eyes on you Izuku. I just wanted you to stay small for just a little longer, but you can’t be a child forever and one day you had to grow up.”, Marris paused  while sporting a blank look of nostalgia.

“You wanted to know why my blood made you have strange dreams or changed your body to resemble me? It’s because...It’s because you have a quirk, my little minnow.”, Marris cooed in a sad yet joyous tone, “ One that would be worthless to any human without my blood, and I did not want to give it to you because….my blood would’ve killed you at such an age. But then that monster h-hurt you and left me no choice. I did everything I could to protect you Izuku, but I failed. You cannot imagine my joy when you woke up from your sleep. I hope you can forgive me for not doing enough, but now that my blood is in your veins...you will become a hero like no other. But for now, I will show you its full potential and help you save these hatchings….Thank you Izuku, for allowing me a freedom that I thought I lost so long ago. I love you, my little minnow. I love you like the child I could never have....”

Marris let go of her affectionate embrace and floated higher into the grey air. She hummed in a low voice as she did a short series of hand gestures. A bright blue light surfaced from the chest of the fish woman, and slowly began to consume Marris. Once the mermaid was eaten up by the light, it compacted in on itself into a sphere that was roughly the size of a baseball. The star-esque orb then descended slowly until it reached the chest of the teenage vigilante. When the light contacted the wounded flesh of Izuku, a shock wave of light and air exploded like a nuclear bomb. 

Yagi Toshinori stood there in his hero form on the transport vehicle with his fellow teachers and young Kaminari as it drove as fast as it could towards the USJ. In the distance he could hear the wails of sirens as paramedics and police raced towards their shared location. His colleges were all sporting that fierce and determined look as they patiently awaited the domed building, clearly eager to jump in and save Class 1-A and their wounded teachers. Yet, it was young Kaminari that worried Yagi the most. The boy was sporting a look that Yagi has seen on people awaiting the fate of their loved ones after a disaster or villain attack. A blank and neutral expression, but one littered with worry and guilt beneath the surface. 

“Young Kaminari.”, Yagi said in his gentle but bombastic voice, “ Chin up, my boy. We will be there soon and save your friends.”

Kaminari perked up at the words of the number one, and soon shared the same expression as his teachers. 

Hopefully, things will turn out okay. But that was until the group had seen what appeared to be a small star explode out from the domed structure in the distance.  Confusion set in among the heroes as an unknown factor had been thrown into the situation, leaving them all staring dumbfoundedly at it. But Principal Nezu’s feral and scared voiced is what took Yagi out of his stupor and into action.

“I’LL GO IN AS A VANGUARD!”, Yagi stated, “KEEP YOUR PACE, I WILL GET THERE FIRST AND GET THE STUDENTS!”

Without any arguing from his fellow teachers, Yagai opened the door to the transport truck and hopped out onto the flatland. He let it get some distance before channeling One for All and leaping into the air towards the battle.

Bakugou was absolutely going bananas, and he was really loving it. There were very few times in which he could let loose on some chumps unfortunate enough to meet him. That all changed when a green light that was as bright as the sun overwhelmed all his senses. He didn’t know why, but the light put the fear of god into the explosive teen. He vainly shot explosions in the direction of where he thought it came from, believing it to be a quirk of attacking villains. Little did he realize that it was a warning from someone who hated everything about the hero student. 

Silence descended upon both the USJ and the neighboring city as the residents and invaders of both places stared into the small star. While humans had a mixed reaction to the anomaly. Civilians and heroes alike felt comforting rosy sensation in their rib cages, while villains both big and small, felt an overwhelming dread in their hearts. The very earth itself also seemed to react to anomaly, with the wind suddenly dying and the ocean becoming as still as a lake. While animals, both predator and prey, whimpered and hid or snarled and ran away as their acknowledgement. But for the children trapped in the machinations of a murderous villain, completely cut off from help with no no success in escaping, and their last shield battered and destroyed by a monster. The green star gave them only one feeling in that moment of peril, and that was hope.

The intense light finally seemed to fade away, and Hagakure was once again aware of her surroundings, sort of. Perhaps she will in a minute or two when the world finally decides to stop spinning. While her vision was currently unreliable, she still was able to make use of other senses.  And to the surprise of the invisible girl, she was being held in bridal style in the strong arms of...Midoriya? 

The arms were warm and gentle against her skin, and were somehow firm and cool at the same time. It was like she was being held by both her mother and father at the same time. Suddenly in the peripheral of her blurry vision, a blotchy white oval shape dominated her eyesight. Hagakure felt a warm and rosy feeling emerged in her chest the more she stared into the blurry face.  Without even thinking, Hagakure reached out and gently caressed the face of whom she thought was Midoriya. It felt very similar to the arms that were carrying her, but with enough warmth to completely erase the coolness.

“Midori?”, Hagakure asked in a soft voice.

“Not quite,”, replied a feminine voice, "But do not worry, he is safe right now."

A bucket of ice water splashed across the naked frame of Hagakure, and she pulled her hand away from the face of the stranger,“I am sorry. I thought you were someone else?”

The stranger gave her a light chuckle, “Do not worry about where you place your fins. But I had no idea that you were so fond of my Little Minnow.”, the stranger paused, “ Well, I do not have to worry about when he finally decides to court another human.”

Hakagure felt like she was talking to Midori’s mother, and unwittingly embarrassed herself as well. It was at that moment as well in which Hagakure’s vision decided to return. The person holding her was not Midori, but the stranger was somehow dressed in the white robes that Midori had been wearing only moments before. If that wasn’t strange enough, then it became clear by the fact that the stranger did not look like a human.The stranger was very clearly female, based on her voice, and the fact that Hagakure was held close enough to her to feel every feature of her chest. Her skin was a dark blue while her hands had only four fingers. Her arms were lengthy and lean, but the invisible girl could feel power and unseen muscles in them. The stranger’s face was devoid of a nose, mouth or ears; with only two large and black almond shaped eyes and two slits on the cheeks. Instead of hair, there were thick tendril-like appendages leaking from under the hood. It was the face in Tokoyami’s drawing!

“As much as I would like to talk to you, I do not have much time and there are still vermin to be dealt with,”, the creature said in a stoic voice, “But in case we meet again, call me Ris. Now go back to nest with the other hatchlings, and let Mother Ris deal with these invaders.”

A familiar tentacle of liquid rose from somewhere behind Ris, and it coiled around Hagakure like a snake before completely enveloping her. The sensation was akin to being sealed inside a tube of water before being shot out at a blinding speed. All Hakagure could feel was the rushing of water on her skin before finding herself gasping for breath at the entrance of the USJ. 

The dust began to settle as Marris raised herself from her lowered position to her full height. The mermaid stretched out her long arms and neck as she took in the air of the earth for the first time in centuries. When her body relaxed from the stretching, she focused her bulbous eyes on the remnants of the ones calling themselves the League of Villains. The abomination was standing on the spot where he landed after being flung from the explosion, staring blankly at her. While the one made of black clouds had his yellow eyes wide in fear while in a position that looked like he was about to run. The vermin with claws on his body did not show fear or anger behind his coverings, instead he expunged rage like a bad odor. 

“What the fuck is this?!? You're telling me that this npc was a secret boss fight the whole time! And he had a fucking second phase as well! What a bunch of cheating bullshit!”, whined the pale vermin.

Marris tilted her head in confusion at the strange use of words that the vermin was using. Why do humans not vocalize things clearly, why do they always spout unnecessary gibberish? 

“I AM SO SICK OF THIS SHIT! NOMU JUST KILL THE DAMNED CHEATER!” the vermin ordered with a red face.

“Shigaraki, I don’t think that is the best of…”, interjected the fearful cloud.

“SHUT UP KUROGIRI! I DIDN’T ASK FOR YOUR OPINION!”, quickly retorted the parasite, “NOMU KILL THE CHEATER!”

The beaked abomination dashed at great speed towards Marris, but to her, this beast was merely walking instead of sprinting. She stayed still as the beast slowly raced towards her. The fish lady waited until the last moment before lazily raising her slender hand to block the attack. Nomu’s clenched fist made contact with the hand of Marris, a shockwave of hurricane proportion was released as a result. Sending the two other vermin further away from the titans. The abomination then relentlessly tried to attack Marris in a blur of fleshy punches.  The forehead of Marris glowed a bright purple as purple light coated the beaked monster, and to the surprise of those watching, the monster was lifted helplessly into the air by an unseen force. Before she could even decide on what to do with the beast, she felt a pair of cold hands grab her neck. She lazily looked back to see the cloud using his power to allow the pale vermin to grab her neck. The pale vermin had a look of triumph etched on his face, like he had one by grabbing her neck. Marris, not wanting her skin to be sullied any further by the touch of the fool, grabbed his limb by the wrist and squeezed hard. The sound of bone shattering and his far off cry of pain was music to her nonexistent ears as she pushed the limb back into the portal. The pale one seemed to become a deathly white as he stared at Marris with a look of disbelief and horror at the realization of whatever he was trying to do had failed. 

Marris then looked her attention back at the helpless creature in her net. How was she going to get rid of it?

...

…

…

Ah Ha! The fish lady remembered something Izuku said about the smiler having ended his fights with a ‘cool’ finisher. If she was going to help Izuku become a hero, then she would need to practice as well on how to behave as a hero as well. But what ‘cool’ thing should she do to end the fight? Marris recalled back to a time in which Eel was practicing his power on some those green stalks, and how when he hit one, it would turn to ashes. That sounded ‘cool’.

Having decided to her method, Marris hummed like a transformer as patches of her skin began to glow blue like the lightning in the sky. Dark clouds built up in the sky around the domed structure as flashes of light flicked inside the sky. The beaked monster was lifted slightly higher in the air as the storm became angrier and angrier. When Marris was satisfied with the amount of power built up in the clouds, she finally let go of the barrier that was holding all the pent up power onto her captive target. Six bolts of lighting struck the beast in the blink of an eye, and without any fanfare, the fish lady let her on it go. A charred husk of a corpse was all that was left on the weapon that was made to kill All Might, destroyed before it could even be put to the test. 

An eerie silence dropped on the USJ. The two villains that had witnessed their trump card get destroyed so easily by the vigilante looked like they were about to pass out from the shock. Marris, having remembered when little Izuku told her heroes do ‘cool’ poses, lifted one of her long arms and pointed a clawed finger at the two vermin. 

“You are next!”, she said in a voice that attempted to mimic the bombastic voice of the smiler. 

It was at this moment, when the two vermin finally lost their nerves and practically tried to run over each other trying to reach the warp gate. The fish lady lazily let the two escape with their tail between their legs after having decided she had more important things to attend to rather than chase the two welpings who picked the wrong fight.  

“I am here!”, shouted the familiar voice of the smiler.

Well, it seems that help finally arrived to help the hatchlings and the danger was more or less over. Marris now prepared a portal using Crab’s power to return to her world and attend to her injured minnow. He still needed to meet his future mate before the day’s end, and she was not going to let him break a promise even if he was injured as he was. Luckily, Crab can help him lick his wounds better than that one old female hero with the lab coat and stick once she gives her power back to her old charge. 

Oh right!?! The fish woman jumped into the air as she had almost forgotten the most important thing about being a hero. She needed to smile at the hatchlings!  She turned back to face the group back at the entrance, and saw that indeed the smiler was there among them. She hated having to change back to her mouth, but she would do it anytime for her little minnow. The flesh around her lower face tickled as it contorted back into its original form. With a little bit of effort, she felt the muscles pull upward as she flashed a smile worthy of the big smiler himself. And by the look of his pale and sweating face, it was clear that Marris could challenge him at his own game. With that final peace of business out of the way, the fish woman dove into the water and back into her realm of stars. She had a minnow to nurse back to health.

Chapter Text

Hagakure let out a groan as she was finally let out of the doors of UA while rubbing the back of her neck as she walked towards the gates. Rescue had come by shortly after All Might had arrived, and had all of the auxiliary forces attend the former hostages while her teachers cleared the USJ of villains. She just wanted to go home and lie down in bed after being probed and questioned by police and paramedics for such a long time. But she really shouldn’t be complaining, she didn’t get hurt like her teachers or was in a bad state mentally. Momo had suffered a head injury after being warped by the mist villain, and was unconscious for the rest of the attack. Luckily, Todoroki had been warped with her, and practically gave himself quirk exhaustion trying to protect her from the villains in the ambush. Bakugou had been warped by himself, and had managed to fend off all the villains thrown at him. But they found him in a dazed and panicked state, attacking anything that moved in his sight. He had to be sedated by Midnight and put in quirk suppressing cuffs for the paramedics to even look at him.  

No. She was better off than most of her other classmates. But that didn’t stop her from getting chewed out by every figure of authority at the scene for recklessly running into danger. However, the scolding words were not at the forefront of the mind of the invisible girl. Hagakure was thinking about Midoriya, and all the skeletons that he had been hiding from her for who knows how long?

He was lying to me from the very beginning wasn’t he?

He stays up late to do his vigilantism, and not because he has a job!

Why didn’t he tell me? Am I not his friend?

Was I even his friend to begin with, or was I nothing more than a source of information?

Did he not trust me? Did he think I would turn him in?

Why was he so willing to die and leave me?

Hakagure finally glanced back up from her mess of thoughts, and to the pathway that led to the mouth of the hero school.

…

…

…

There he was. The blue haired boy was leaning back against a wall near the wrought iron gates of UA. Midoriya did not look well in the slightest, and Hagakure would’ve been worried sick about him had she not known how he came to look like that in the time she went to school. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts instead of the bulky robes of his vigilante costume, allowing Hagakure to see the damage. His pale skin was even whiter than usual, probably from the all blood he lost, while his blue eyes had a sunken and exhausted look to them. His arms, legs, and neck were lightly bruised with a couple of scars on places where she had seen him lose skin. But the most damaged feature was his face, despite the fact it had no injuries. Instead Midoriya’s face contained guilt, fear, and regret. The fact that he had healed so quickly was enough of a sign to show the many secrets that the boy had hid from her. 

Hagakure slowly walked up to the injured boy, giving him an expression that was neutral but contained a hidden anger beneath her visage. Midoriya tensed up at the coldness that Hagakure was giving to him. She could hear him swallow something down his throat as he opened his mouth to speak to her.

“H-Hello, H-Hagakure-san.”, he greeted her in a hoarse and weak voice.  

The Invisible girl shot him another piercing gaze, this time with all of her hidden anger behind it. Midoriya flinched once again at Hagakure. Deep down her heart felt like it was tearing apart as she said those words of ice. She hated this, she hated to do this, but she couldn’t help it with what she learned today. But she was far from finished with him, she was going to learn the truth, one way or another.

“Follow me.”, She said in a stern and emotionless voice, “You better have a good explanation to all this.”

Yagi Toshinori wiped the sweat of his brow with a handkerchief as he surveyed the meeting room, and all of the UA faculty that filled it up. Today was an exciting day to say the least, but not one Yagi wished to have again in the near future. Which makes it all the more surprising that this day is being finished in an office room and not in the ICU of the Hospital. The meeting at hand was a discussion of the events that had taken place at the USJ. The meeting was centered around the damages, security, and other monotonous topics. But with those out of the way, the meeting would be coming to a close, but not before the most important of the subjects was addressed. 

“And the final status of Eraserhead and Thirteen has been assessed, and I am glad to say that both are in stable condition and are expected to make a full recovery.”, Principle Nezu said with his calm attitude finally returned to him. 

The Heroes/Teachers all visibly relaxed at the news that their co-workers and friends will be returning back to them in the future. 

“Which leaves us at the subject of the wellbeing of the students...and of the vigilante…”, Nezu said a bit more softly. 

Recovery girl was quick to pick up from where the principal had left off, “After my examination of each of the students and some talks with the paramedics, I came to the conclusion that most of them managed to come out of this incident without injury. However, it cannot be stated that they all came out unscathed.”, the old woman added, “Miss Yaoyorozu had suffered a concussion along with a broken wrist, which I presume was the result of the way she fell from the warp gate. An afternoon of resting with treatment from my quirk should be enough for her to return home tonight.”

Many of the UA Staff looked relieved at the fact that Yaoyorozu managed to get off better than was initially expected. The elderly hero continued her report after a brief pause. 

“Mr. Todoroki on the other hand was suffering from hypothermia, a clear sign of overusing his quirk. From what I was told, it was in the defense of Miss Yaoyorozu when they had been separated from the others by the warp villain. It seems to be a mild case of hypothermia, but I’d think it would be best to have that child stay here overnight so I can keep an eye on his body temperature. 

Endeavor was certainly going to be upset, he was rather protective of his children. 

“As for Mr. Bakugou,....”, Recovery Girl trailed off, “Medically speaking there is nothing wrong with him, but he was beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

Everyone in the meeting grew still at the elderly hero’s words, and leaned in closer to hear the details.

“On the surface, Bakugou has all the symptoms of a panic attack. The trembling, dizziness, sweating, and heart palpitations were clear in that regard.”Recovery Girl looked deeply concerned, “But for reasons beyond me, his body won’t calm down from whatever induced the attack, in fact he is getting worse the longer time goes on. If not for the fact that many of the paramedics had quirks that could help with the stabilization of his body, then I predict that Bakugou would've eventually gone into cardiac arrest from the stress that his heart was facing.”

“What would have caused such a thing?”, Present Mic spoke up.

 Recovery Girl looked flabbergasted, “I-I don’t know. Whatever caused this either had to be extremely traumatic or was a quirk powerful enough to do such a thing. I’d recommend that Bakugou be taken to a specialist in Tokyo for treatment, he might be out of school for a week, but they most certainly could do what needs to be done.”

“We will see to it that it most certainly gets done.”, Nezu said sternly, “And now on the subject of the Vigilante?”

A pregnant silence filled the room as no one dared to utter a word about the final subject.

The mouse bear creature surveyed the room before finally speaking himself. “I think it will be best if we summarize first what we know about our unexpected guest among unexpected guests. From the security footage and the testimony of both the students and villains, we can confirm that the vigilante has four quirks, three of which have been confirmed and documented by local police before the incident. But the fourth quirk of this individual appears to be on a scale that appears to surpass the power of All Might, if the claims of the Villain Shigaraki are to be believed.”

Yagi noticed that his coworkers paled at the mention of that detail, and to be frank, so did he. He saw the security footage. The vigilante could barely hold off the thing called Nomu when two clashed, but after he transformed into that...thing, it was no contest on which one was stronger. Right on que, Nezu passed out a printed paper containing the image of vigilante in his second form. Yagi stared into the familiar image that had been burned into his memory only hours before. In a perfect shot of photography, the vigilante was posed triumphantly while blaring a large smile towards the camera. A smile that caused shivers in Yagi’s spine because of all the sharp dagger-like teeth filling every possible space in its mouth. 

“The second form, as we will call it, is certainly interesting to say the least. This form is clearly adapted for an aquatic environment with only a small percentage of the body containing characteristics of terrestrial creatures. It closely resembles a lamprey in many of its physical features, but is sized on a scale that is similar to a shark’s. In other words, it resembles a rather twisted and horrifying depiction of a mermaid.”, 

Nezu paused while he scanned the room with his scarred visage, 

“This goes without mentioning the power spike in the quirks already known in this individual and the emergence of a previously unknown and extremely powerful quirk. Etc. Ect. I can go on for hours discussing every single oddity and contradiction of this individual’s quirk. But at the end of the day, it is a quirk of unimaginable scale and power that belongs to someone who lies in the grey area of the law. A person that is on the threat level of a natural disaster, if not on an apocalyptic level, and now here we are. So my fellow heroes, how should we proceed?”    

The silence in the room was deafening. 

A swirling vortex of inky darkness materialized in a dingy and musty bar hidden away from the prying eyes of anyone looking for men of villainy. From this swirl, emerged the terrified and wounded villains known as Kurogiri and Shigaraki Tomura. The elder villain looked frazzled with his yellow eyes drooping and his clothes dirtied and charred in places. The younger of the two was much cleaner than his older compatriot, but he also looked worse for the wear. His already pale face was now a sickly yellow color, his red and bloodshot eyes bugging out of their sockets. He carefully clutched his purple and shattered hand like one would hold a piece of fragile glass. Both villains were taking in heavy breaths of air into their lungs as a television mounted on a wall by the bar counter turned on by itself.    

“Welcome home, Shigaraki Tomura. I pray that your mission was successful?”, a distorted voice said from the Television. 

The pale villain looked like he had swallowed a lemon whole, “Sensei, the entire mission was a wipe. Our game plan was ruined from the very start by a cheating vigilante!”

The television raised a metaphoric eyebrow, “I do not understand, surely one street rat pretending to be a hero wouldn’t be that much of an issue.”

“You don’t understand,Sensei. Ghost was the entire reason the raid had failed!”,ranted Shigaraki, “He and Kurogiri fought in a 1v1 and beat him without even taking a point of damage, and ensured the brats couldn’t be killed by our ads!”

The televsion remained silent as it soaked up the story that the Decay Villain was spouting.

“So i sent in our own boss to deal with the pest, and it was clear that this punk could not fight Nomu in a brawl. But…”, Shigaraki’s voice trailed off.

“But then the Ghost of Musustafu killed Nomu with a mere wave of his hand.”, Kurogiri somberly added.

“I am afraid I do not understand.”, the voice on the television remarked.

“Sensei, with all due respect, I do not know how, but all I can say is that the vigilante transformed into a monster of unimaginable power.”, Kurogiri said with fear in his tone.

“Kurogiri…”, the voice said with a laced warning.

“My quirk didn’t work on him!”

The television went silent for a moment before ‘Sensei’ spoke again. “What?”

“Shigaraki Tomura’s quirk did not work on the vigilante, I saw him make contact with all his fingers and nothing happened. Ghost is an anomaly that is as much of a threat as All Might is to us.”,Kurogiri frantically added.  

The silence of the television was eerie as the master of the League said nothing on the news that was given to him. When he finally spoke again it was soft and almost fearful in its tone, “Kurogiri and Tomura, I want the two of you to focus on healing your battle wounds and expanding the league. This time try to acquire servants that could provide the league with something more than thuggish strength. As for the Ghost you keep mentioning...I will look into him personally.” 

“I must say, Yamashiro-san, I think you finally managed to get the scoop that I have been waiting for!”, the bombastic voice of a fat man with extra fingers said as he finished looking over a bundle of papers.

Yamashiro couldn’t help but sigh in relief at the fact that her boss was finally pleased with a story that she brought in. It had been a rocky few months at the agency that she worked at and that was in due part that it was renowned in publishing the stories of many of Japan’s titans of journalism on a regular basis. She by all means shouldn’t have been here at all, being a college graduate with no connections or work experience before this, but she guessed that having impressed Mr. Fujita with her story on last year’s UA Sports Festival was mainly responsible for that. 

“The most prominent school in all of Japan was attacked by a group of villains, but was saved by the last moment by a dazzling vigilante and his arsenal of quirks. The mere fact alone that this guy has some many quirks will be enough to sell like hotcakes! I can’t wait to see all the yen rolling in from this week’s issue, however...it’s not perfect.”, Mr. Fujita said while his voice grew more somber.

Yamashiro jumped in her seat as her long hair changed into a different shade of color, “Not perfect, sir?”

The many finger man rubbed his chin as he developed a quizzical look, “Yes, this story is not perfect, and that is because of the name of this vigilante guy. Ma’ken Ris?”, Fujita paused to shudder, “I don’t think our readers will appreciate the issue with the whole shudder deal. Besides how does one even say that properly?”

“You want me to change it to something else?”, Yamashiro said with uncertainty.

“Bingo!”, the fat man exclaimed, “Just make sure it is simple and catchy at the same time! I want it to scream out like one of the Hero Names! More Pizazz means more buyers! Just be sure to get it done by tomorrow so we can get to the printing and uploading.”

…

“It’s done…”, the tired voice of Yamashiro echoed as she stacked the papers into a neat little pile.

The little apartment that she called home was washed with darkness with the little desk lamp providing the only source of light. Yamashiro herself had bags under her eyes and frazzled hair, which contrasted with the piles of energy drink cans littered around her work area. But upon the exhausted visage of the reporter, a small smile appeared as she felt satisfaction for the completion of her best work yet.

...

...

…

Which lasted only a few seconds before the young reporter’s head hit the desk with a soft thump. The light sound of snoring could be heard from the reporter as she drifted off into the world of sleep. Her manuscript on the desk was a mess of words that were undecipherable from the head of hair that obscured them, but the title of the news story was still visible.

Ghost, The Mysterious Rescuer of the UA Attack!

In a luxurious office located in the capital of the country, sat two people looking through the contents of two identical manilla folders. One was a woman who was sitting behind a heavy looking wooden desk while the other was a man sitting down in front of the desk . The man was dressed in a dark suit with a bright yellow tie, and a tired looking face combined with a head of greying hair. It was about as standard as you get for a government official. Except for the fact that this man did not look like a political leader in any sense or form. The reason for this oddity could lie with the fact that the man’s skin looked like the surface of a cracked rock, or perhaps it was the fact that he was sitting in a wheelchair. The woman was the exact opposite of the man in terms of looks and age. She was youthful with a head of hair as black as ink and a shine in her eyes that spoke volumes of her gentle character. She was dressed in a similar manner to her companion, dark dress suit but with a skirt instead of slacks. She wore no neck piece but instead had a colorful flower on her collar. The two were deeply invested into the contents of the folder, but it would be the man who would finish his reading first.

“What do make of this?”, said the man in the wheelchair. 

The woman looked up from her reading, “I don’t know. Much of the report troubles me, especially the group of villains that perpetrated the attack.”

“Kyo-san, with all due respect, I think a course of action is needed to address the events of this incident. The interests of UA align with ours after all. Perhaps we should bolster the police or maybe get the Ministry of Defense to investigate.”, the man in the wheelchair argued. 

Kyo looked out the window for a moment with a torn look on her face, but it disappeared once she turned to face her companion. “Do you trust my judgement Yama-san.”

The stone man raised an eyebrow, “I trust your decisions as much as your father’s.”

Those words brought a smile to the face of the woman, “Well, then. I think it is best that we leave the matter of investigating the situation to the heroes. But if things do escalate, we will involve ourselves into the matter.”

The wheelchair bound man did not look pleased with the answer that he was given, but decided to keep his begrudges to himself.  However, he did press another issue towards the woman. 

“And what of the vigilante? He is the wildcard in this entire situation.”, the man said with a serious expression, “A wild card with not just one, but at least four powerful quirks. Quirks that do not match anything in the police database, much less any quirk that has been documented in the last 100 years.”

The woman looked out the window again, but decided to stand up from the desk and move towards the glass. “We should by all means, treat him on the same level as the villains in this incident. But I do not think it is best to pursue that pathway.”, the man named Yama looked at Kyo with raised eyebrow, “Something deep down is telling me that we should try to get him on our side. If he were to become a hero...I think we would have the coming of another All Might.”

“And if we fail, and make an enemy of him? Or who would be the ones responsible for your ‘recruitment’?”, the man retorted.

“We let the heroes deal with the situation, that way, if they fail or succeed; blame or praise will be directed upon them.” Kyo stated.

“I thought you had trust in the heroes, Kyo-san?”

“I do Yama-san, but I even someone as young and naive as I can see the rot that has seeped into the hero system. Reform has been at the forefront of my government, and there has been no immediate call to reform that system as of late. But, if they cannot reform themselves…”

“Then we will step in and ensure that change does happen.”

“Indeed, Yama-san, a large number of villains and villainous groups with extremist ideologies have emerged from this rot and they threaten to force it upon us. Whether we want it or not.”

“I see, so this vigilant would serve as another All Might, a reason to allow the system to be changed.You really know how to play the game well, for a youngster.”

The Prime Minister of Japan smiled at her Deputy Minister and mentor giving her a well earned compliment. 

It was a calm and quiet afternoon in one of the many forgotten landmarks of Mustafu. In this case, it was a park that had its share of overgrown grass and untrimmed trees that watched over rusting playground equipment. Much like Dagobah Beach, this playground was a favorite spot of many of mustafu’s middle class families back in its heyday. But as the old tech industries died in favor of ones that had thrown their lots in the hero system, the place was gradually forgotten as each of the families left for economic opportunities. It is now nothing more than a relic of what was once a prosperous community in a deserted part of a small city. It made it the perfect spot for someone to have peace and quiet or to conduct activities that required a bit of privacy. Recently, two souls had made the place a sacred ground in which they could go to places or merely enjoy each other’s company without having prying eyes spy on them. Today was another one of those days. 

The walk had taken a little bit more time than expected, but that was in due part because Midoriya was unable to move as fast as she would have liked. But it didn’t matter in the end because the time of truth had arrived. Hagakure continued to walk until they reached the old rickety park bench that they had sat on when they met for the second time. She turned to face Midoriya in a single motion. The blue haired boy looked far from okay, in fact, his expression was that of a child cowering from their parents. 

…

Izuku knew he was in trouble. Marris was keen on letting him know that he was going to need to talk to Hagakure, and saw to it that he couldn’t miss out on the planned meeting. Truth be told, he didn’t want to do this. Hagakure’s stone-like visage had reminded him too much of Bakugou’s in the small moments before he unleashed his anger on himself. He had finally gone and found a friend after years of loneliness, only to ruin it like everything else that he does. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid Deku! Yet, he kept his gaze locked into the brown eyes of Hagakure, if he was going to lose her friendship, then was going to do head on and reap the consequences of his stupidity. He waited for Hagakure to say those seven words that will sever their friendship, but to his surprise she did not say them. Instead she raised her hand and with lightning fast speed, she proceeded to slap him cleanly across his face.

Smack

“That is for lying to me!”, Hagakure scolded.

Smack

“That is for seeing me naked!”,She added voice getting weaker.

Smack

“That...is for being so damned reckless!”, Hagakure balked with a breaking voice.

Izuku slowly turned his head back to face Hagakure, and saw the full scope of his actions. Hagakure was frozen in the motions of hitting him again for another one of his misdeeds. But it seemed that the emotions that had been boiling up inside the girl had finally lost their fury. Hagakure stood there, prepared to hit him again, bit only stared at him with a trembling lip and eyes growing wet from tears. Izuku had been fixated on her anger that had forgotten one important thing.

Hagakure suddenly dropped her outstretched arm and rushed forward to tightly hug onto like he was going away.

“T-That...is for...not leaving me...here f-forever.”, Hagakure weakly voiced. 

He wasn’t the only one who feared abandonment.

Chapter Text

The two teens remained conjoined to each other, and after what seemed like hours, the invisible girl did finally let go of Midoriya. Her posture was rigid as her face was hidden by the brown bangs of her hair. Her pointed ears were red as a slight shiver reverberated through her body. Her eyes were wet and her mouth was contorted into an angry frown that had its ends twitch. It was clear that the girl was so angry that she had temporarily lost the ability to speak or was trying hard not to explode into a volcano of anger. 

She finally decided to speak up once again after a minute or two of silent fuming, “S-So tell me...why? Why are you a vigilante? Why didn’t you tell me? I want to know the truth or so help me Midoriya Izuku!”. With that declaration, the invisible girl looked up at him with a stern but expectant face, her brown eyes keenly focused on him while waiting for him to respond.

Izuku felt his own insides begin to fester at the mention of the question, and the memories it brought up within him. For a moment he thought about not telling her the truth about what made him a vigilante, he didn’t want to know about his failure to save her. Would she hate him for it? Or would she decide she doesn’t want to be friends with someone who was as useless as he was. However, Izuku spotted a shadowy figure hiding in the periphery of his vision. A quick glance revealed that the figure was Marris, who was hiding among a cluster of trees, spying on the two teenagers. The fish lady’s hair squirmed in irritation as an invisible frown was slowly carved on her lower face. Izuku could feel her disappointment at his mention of hiding the truth from Hagakure, and Izuku looked back down on his best friend.Hagakure was once again looking expectantly at him for his explanation, but he could see signs of a shattering frustration growing in her face the longer she waited. No, she deserved to know, even if it cost them their friendship. Izuku swallowed the apple sized lump in his throat before he began to speak. 

“T-The t-truth is...is...is t-that I-I am a-a-a f-failure.”, Izuku painfully stuttered out, “E-everything t-that y-you s-saw w-was be-be-because I w-w-was n-never good e-enough.”

Hagakure’s coffee colored eyes grew wide with disbelief at Izuku’s explanation. She opened her mouth as if to interject but closed it and let Izuku continue speaking. 

“My..My quirk was essentially dormant for most of my life and I didn’t even realize I even had one until a year ago. And even then it wasn’t anything like as it was now, and it took a lot of h-hard work and...special requirements for me to even begin to understand its potential. So until last year, I was a q-quirkless kid with the pipe d-dream of being a hero.”, Izuku hoarsely stuttered and looked away from Tooru, “I had n-no friends and my childhood friend t-turned on me and became my w-worst bully. My grades were average at best and my teachers had written me off as a lost cause. The o-only thing I could do was to be a b-burden to my family, I-I was nothing but d-dead weight to the only ones that loved me. I was...was...a deku... useless .”

Midoriya stuttered a breather of air as he steadied himself, “My quirk e-emerged after...after an accident. Even then, the accident was because I-I was unable to stand up for myself. But I finally had a quirk! I thought I could finally be a hero, but…”, Midoriya paused. 

Hagakure suddenly realized she stopped breathing. 

“B-But I-I f-failed t-the p-practical e-exam.”, Midoriya said with anguish in his voice, “After working so hard for long, it made me so sad and angry that I disappointed the one person who believed in me and helped me. I just wanted to g-give up....because deep down, I knew e-everyone was r-right. Quirk or no quirk, I was n-nothing but a kid with i-impossible d-dreams.”, The blue haired boy’s face visibly flinched as he uttered those painful words.

For a brief moment, Izuku’s face hardened up with an iron resolve,“But that was until I saw someone in danger with no rescue in sight and something stirred inside me. I dove headfirst into danger without even thinking about it, and I became a vigilante after saving that boy. I didn’t want to stop, I wanted to continue because I decided to make a promise.”

“A promise?”, Hagakure parroted. 

“Yes, it was a promise that I would never fail to rescue someone again. Because I failed someone before at the entrance exam, and I refuse to do so again, even if I never became a hero.”, The blue haired teen croaked his resolve leaving, “Because the truth about the exam is...you were the one in danger and I failed you, Hagakure.”

Tooru froze as still as a statue.

“My quirk allowed me to see you trapped in the rubble in the path of that giant robot, and I tried to go in and save you. But…”, Izuku dropped to his knees unable to hold himself up anymore, “But some of the other kids stopped me from going in because they thought I was lying about someone in danger. They thought I was too desperate for points and was acting irrationally. No matter how hard I fought back and tried to break free, it wasn’t enough...I wasn’t enough.” 

Izuku closed his eyes and tears began to leak out from his eyelids, “I know you hate me for lying to you Hagakure, but the truth is that I wasn’t lying to hide it from you. I was lying about everything because I don’t deserve to have someone like you as a friend! You did the thing that I could only dream of doing with a bright future ahead of you. And me? I am just the nobody that couldn’t even do one thing right in his entire life.And my future?! The only thing I have waiting for me is a cold cell in prison for all the laws I broke.”, Izuku took a choked breath and clenched his fists while closing his eyes, “So if you don’t want to be friends with me anymore, I understand. I will not stop you if you are going to report me to heroes or the police, I understand that someone like deserves as much. But I just want to say one last thing before you do...I am sorry. I am sorry I couldn’t save you from danger! I am sorry I was too weak to tell you the truth! I am sor-”

Izuku was suddenly tackled as he was still speaking, and this was in due part of the invisible girl.

All Hagakure could see was Midoriya, but not the same blue colored fish boy that she had met at UA all those months ago. Instead, Midoriya was smaller and somehow meeker than even the tiniest of mice. His thin and scrawny frame contrasted with his lean athletic build that he had now. His hair and eyes were colored like a pine tree and pair of emeralds, but their color seemed to be fading like he was older than he looked. His skin had more color in it than it does now, and his sharp teeth were nowhere to be found. But the worst of it all was the expression that this Midoriya carried because it was the look of someone who carried no happiness or hope in their being. Hagakure subconsciously reached out to touch the green colored boy, but before her hand made contact with Midoriya, a bright flash of light overwhelmed her senses. When the flash left her system, she looked back at where Midoriya once was. The boy was on the floor of an empty world, his eyes empty of all life staring towards oblivion. His chest was blackened and marred, as if he had been hit there by a molten piece of metal, while the stench of burnt human flesh lingered in the air. Hagakure gasped in shock as she stared at the body of Midoriya. She somehow knew that he was dead, and that nothing could’ve been done to save the life of the boy she called her friend. Hot tears flowed down her cheeks as she reached out to touch the body of Midoriya, that sound of a dripping liquid grew loud in her ears as she drew closer. The moment her flesh met the corpse, a pair of lengthy blue arms reached out and grabbed Midoriya. 

Tooru held onto Izuku even tighter than before all the while she was sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. A swirling vortex of emotions bubbled inside the invisible girl as she held onto Midoriya on the ground of that abandoned playground. Izuku, the only one in the world that could see her, was the only one who knew she was in danger. Her friend, her remberer, her hero. The realization that on one of the worst days of her life, there was someone who knew she was in danger, and tried to save her. A great weight seemed to lift on Hagakure’s shoulders, and a bonfire of flame was alite inside her chest. She didn’t care that he wasn’t able to save her that day, the mere fact that there was someone who didn’t forget about her was enough to make the curse of quirk easier to bear. The fact that he was tearing himself apart over that he believed he wasn’t enough teared a hole inside her heart. He needed to know that he was not a failure, because even though he failed to save that day, he saved her two times after. Once from the villains of the USJ, and by being the friend that she long sought after she got her quirk.

“Midori, don’t say that about me or yourself. I could never hate you, nor would I ever even think about ending our friendship or ever turning you in.”, Tooru choked out in his chest, “I don’t care that you weren’t able to save me that day because you saved me today, you are a hero to me Midori!” 

Midoriya’s eyes widened out in surprise at what the invisible girl was saying. 

Yet, the invisible girl wasn’t done yet, “But not just to me, everyone in my class is grateful for your actions today. You saved me and my class today, and because of you, we survived. I don’t think I or any of them will ever be able to repay you for that.You are a hero, whether you think so or not!” 

All Izuku could was cry in the face of it all.

It took a long while before Midoriya was able to calm down enough to continue the talk. Hagakure found out firsthand what years of being told by everyone that you will never amount to anything does to a person. Midoriya went his whole life without anyone believing in him, or anyone reliable to lean on throughout it all. It made the fire in her chest throb in sympathy for him as someone as kind as him being given that type of treatment. He was a diamond in the rough, a person seen only once in a lifetime. She just wanted to latch onto him and never let go, and her heart fluttered like a butterfly at the idea. But there was one thing that she couldn’t help but place her finger upon, and that was Ris. When she voiced this particular question...well...the subject was clearly a taboo one. Midoriya simply looked like she had uncovered a secret that had buried deep. 

“W-Well? U-Um...Ris is...um.”, Midoriya mumbled.

“I am his quirk, and that is all there is too it.”, the familiar voice of Ris echoed. 

Hagakure looked around frantically for Ris, but as far as she saw she and Midoriya were all alone. 

“Do not try to find me, unseen one, your eyes are not keen enough. Very few are capable of such a feat.”, Ris continued in a strained tone, “Though, I do ask if you and Izuku are certain about this? After all, you two are still quite young to sire some hatchlings.”

It suddenly became apparent to Hagakure that she was still on top of Midoriya. And it became apparent to Izuku that Hagakure was still on top of him. The fact that both teens were so close basically meant that both were feeling each other in a rather intimate way. A pregnant pause happened as the two digested this realization along with the implication of the words of Ris. Izuku’s face turned completely red as his mouth was agape in shock. Hagakure’s face was also red, but not as red as her pointed ears were, along with the fact that her eyes were as wide as dinner plates.  

Among the silence that descended between the two, a light snickering could be heard from the main instigator of the entire situation. She clearly took a page from a certain pink haired girl when it came to entertainment. And like a pair of speeding bullets, the two teens quickly separated from each other, both clearly flustered. 

“Now just because I know the truth that doesn’t mean you are off the hook, Midori.”, Hagakure said rather quickly while keeping her gaze away from him. “I still want an apology for the lying and nearly scaring me to death. And you are going to do some things for me to make up for it.”

Izuku gulped and said nervously as he too looked away from her, “U-Um, that’s understandable. What do you want, Hagakure-san?”

Somehow the fishboy knew the invisible girl was grinning like a wolf while she was speaking. “First, I want you to teach me that peculiar fighting style you have. I saw the way you fought all those villains and I want to be able to do that. Besides, I need to keep an ‘eye’ on you more often so you don’t get into trouble like you did today.” 

Izuku restrained himself from sighing at the vision pun; clearly Tooru was back to her usual self. “Fine, I can show you a thing or two. I just don’t expect to be ‘seeing’ any progress with you.” 

The invisible girl let out a bout of contagious laughter, and he couldn’t help but laugh with his friend as well.  

After the jovial chuckles died out the invisible girl was quick to continue,“Well, ‘see’ about that Midori, but only if you can meet my second demand.”

“And what would that be, Hagakure-san?”, Midoriya asked with curiosity. 

“It’s a simple thing really.”,Tooru said with a strange meekness in her tone, “I just want you to call me by my first name and I call you by yours.”

Izuku gulped as his own face got a scarlet hue, again. Calling a girl by her first name! It was something that Izuku was certainly not expecting, especially not from Hagakure. A look at the invisible showed that her face was contorted in a nervous expression, as if she was expecting rejection. He didn’t know why, but his heart tingled with a desire to bring a smile to her face. He respected the fact that Hagakure should be given respect that should be given to his best friend, but at the same time, he was hard pressed to respect the wishes of her as well. 

“I-I think I can d-do that, Hag-I mean T-Tooru-san”, Izuku said with a slight stutter.

A moment of silence passed before a sigh of relief could be heard, “Thank you, Izuku-san.”, the invisible girl with happiness in her voice, “Now, can you do one last thing for me and use that one quirk of yours to take me back home. I think I missed the last train ride home.” 

Izuku silently walked through the door of the little apartment he called home. Today was certainly a taxing day, both physically and emotionally. But he guessed it was all for the best between him and Hagakure. It was a relief that Hagakure wasn’t going to turn him into the police, but at the same time he couldn’t help but have this nagging feeling that he should be at UA with Hagakure. And not patrolling the late nights as a vigilante. Was it even possible to go legit or was there no hope for him at all?

“Izuku! Izuku!”, the frantic voice of his mother reached his ears, “Where have you been? I was worried something might have happened?”

All thoughts of his legal situation disappeared, “Oh, I was out looking for some work, mom. I didn’t find anything today, but I did manage to make a friend today?” 

His mother seemed to have perked up at that, “A friend?”

“Yes, I made a friend. Her name is Hagakure Tooru…”

With those words, the blue haired teen finally told his mother of the first friend he had made in years. However, absent from the Midoriya apartment was the invisible mermaid that also called this place home. Where she went or why she wasn’t there, was yet to be revealed. 

Hagakure let out a yawn as the excitement of the day finally caught up with her. Today was quite taxing indeed. Between nearly getting murdered by villains, all of Izuku’s hidden bagage, and her parent’s smothering her with questions on her wellbeing. Well, it was safe to say that she tired to say the least, and because school was cancelled tomorrow, it meant she could sleep in late.After changing into her favorite pair of pajamas, the elf girl laid her head down onto a soft pillow and pulled her blanket over her frame. Within a few seconds, the Hagakure was set adrift into a sea of dreams.

Hagakure’s eyes shot open as she was suddenly overcome with a sensation of falling, and found that she was not falling at all. Instead she was standing on a pool of water that was so still that she mistook it for the surface of a mirror. She looked down at the reflective water and saw a swirling galaxy of stars and dust spinning endlessly in a circle. But the beauty of that celestial nova paled in comparison to the other thing in the reflection. It was her, but without her quirk. She could see herself in not just the reflection, but also physically as she gazed upon her arms for the first time in years. Hagakure was overcomed with so many emotions that it would be nigh impossible for her or anyone to say what she was feeling. Instead, the elf girl opted to take in her appearance as long as possible. She was speechless at a sight that she only dreamed of before, and only made possible by the eyes of Izuku. 

“ Vanak Ma’ru! Atu Na, Am'ma Ris!,”, a soothing and femine voice drifted out,“Icu Kuvi Tam Mi’ka Vum An’paka Irupp Atarka Ka Na Un’kalu Oru Pari Kai Vala Ma’ken Ris.”

The voice sounded like the crashing waves of the ocean upon a sandy shore while the language it spoke sounded muffled and alien to any language she had heard about. Hagakure turned towards the source of the sound and gazed upon someone else who was a stranger and a familiar face to Hagakure. Cloaked in the same shadow that makes up Tokoyami’s quirk was Ris. Much like Dark Shadow, Ris was little more than an outline with the only discernible feature being her almond shaped eyes, whose black coloring was darker than her shadowy body. Hagakure’s unseen pools of coffee met the brightly shining stones of obsidian that were Ris’ eyes. The two invisible women stared at each other like they were the reflections of a two-sided mirror. That was until the hair of Ris squirmed in excitement while the lengthy arms of Ris reached out and gently caressed her face. The touch of Ris reminded her of a chilly autumn wind, but one that still had dregs of summer within them. An accompanying sound of a squee emerged from the mouthless lips of the shadow Ris. 

“ Inn’oru Var En Kut’tiy Il Cern Tul’la r ! ”, Ris cheerfully continued in the strange language,“ En Ak’ku Ipp’otu Iran Tu Api Mana Kul’Anta Ikal Ullan’ar!” 

Ris then let go of Hagakure as she raised one of her hands while squeezing her fist tightly, and after a moment or two, a viscous black liquid began to drop from her closed hand. With her other hand, Ris pointed at the liquid with her index finger, and a faint purple light outlined the black liquid. The liquid lost its hold on gravity as drops of it began to float in the air towards Hagakure. The now visible teen, unsure what to do, stood motionless at the incoming ink-like liquid. 

“ Ukaal Kai’Yai Iye Pi’tuk Lun’kal, Atu Oru Ka’an Mu’ume Yaatu.”, Ris spoke with an authoritative tone. 

As if her body was not her own, Hagakure found herself compelled to expose her left arm towards Ris. With a swipe of spindly witch-like hands, the black liquid shot out onto the exposed arm of Hagakure. A white hot pain shot up Hagakure’s arm when the liquid made contact with her skin. Her mind kicked into overdrive as she tried to forcefully pull her arm away from Ris, but her body would not listen to her at all, in fact her body wouldn’t move at it. It was as if she had been imprisoned in one of Todoroki’s glaciers of ice, helpless and at the mercy of the supernatural creature.  Hagakure screamed out in pain as each passing second felt like hours of agonizing torture as the black liquid stung into her skin. But her cries of pain dissipated in the black pond of the cosmos. 

The sound of dripping echoed in Hagakure’s ears as she found herself taking a gulp of air into her lungs as the pain vanished without warning from her system. The sensation of falling returned to Hagakure as her body lost all its strength from Ris’ torture. Before she could fall into oblivion, Hagakure felt a needle like pain enter her limbs and back, as if her skin had been pierced by fish hooks. She let out a faint groan as her weary mind prayed for some kind of relief from this nightmare. And that relief did come when a four fingered hand interlaced with her own, and like a magic spell all the pain vanished from her form. As she stared up at the starry night sky, Ris returned to dominate her vision, but was completely devoid of the shadow that entombed her. She appeared to Hagakure as an actual creature made of flesh and blood.

“Manni Ka’vum, I know it hurts but with this pain comes a great gift. It may not seem like it and only appears to be that I am just hurting you like a savage beast. But I am neither a savage nor a beast. So do not worry, Oarfish, I wouldn't dream of ever hurting anyone so important to my little minnow, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t important to me now.”, Ris soothed in a mother-like tone,“ The gift I gave you should allow you and Ma’ken Ris should be able to enjoy more of each other’s companionship beyond what the blue island allows and without the curse of your blood. And Since you are now part of my kin, it is only fair that I give a new hatchling a name. Henceforth, I shall name you... Ma’Kal Ris!”

With that final proclamation, Ris touched the center of her forehead, and the hooks holding Hagakure finally let go of her body. Everything was swallowed in the void as Hagakure fell from the stars.  

Hagakure Tooru would wake up in the morning completely unsure of what she experienced was real or a dream. But hidden away from the eyes of the world was a mark on the skin of her arm. It was a faded purple tattoo depicting an Oarfish in a tribalistic fashion that was roughly the size of a quarter. This new marking would go unnoticed by the invisible girl, but not by the fish boy with the sharp eyes, who was more than eager to point out its existance.   

Chapter Text

Tooru yawned silently as she stretched her arms out as she sat in her seat on her train to school. It was an effort to help get the sleep out of her system after a rather intense two nights. Despite having a day off of school to rest from all the recent events, she couldn’t help but feel tired. But can she really help it? Afterall, it was not her fault that she had been given a quirk by Izuku’s quirk, and one that altered her body’s sleep cycle as well. Two nights in a row, her dreams had been interrupted in a row by Ris, who then spent their time trying to show her how to use it. 

She remembered when Ris had told her,“ Your kind believe that Oarfish are messengers to the gods, hence the name and power of my gift. You will learn to cross between my burrow and the blue island you are stranded on.”  

And so she did, or at least was trying to. Trying to learn how to access and control this quirk was like trying to catch a slimy fish and trying to convince it to grant you a wish. It was irksome and frustrating to put in nice terms. Anytime she failed to cross between the two worlds, she would always end up waking up in her bedroom with Ris already there to begin the trial again. For two nights in a row, Tooru had to endure very little sleep and spend a lot of mental energy trying to succeed. She was lucky that Ris was a kinder soul than Mr. Aizawa, and had the patience of a thousand saints to deal with her angry and irritable mood through it all. Heck, Ris even allowed her to spend as much time needed in Ris’ world to catch up on the lost sleep. Time did not seem to flow there as the way it did on earth, or perhaps it didn’t flow at all? She wasn’t really sure how that could be possible, but she can’t really complain since it allowed her to sleep. Though that bed in the old cottage was not as comfortable as the one she had in her room, it would do until she could get a hang on her new quirk.

Deciding it was best to not think about the grueling training she was going to have to do at night, the invisible girl opted to zone out the world and just not think. However, her ears picked up the sound of a shill and energetic talk between two middle school students near her. 

“Hey did you see that new story on the Hero News? The one about the hero with the multiple quirks?”, said the voice of a young boy.

“You are such a dummy, they’re a vigilante, not a hero?”, said the voice of a young girl.  

“Don’t call me a dummy! Besides they’re the same thing!”, whined the annoyed voice of the boy.

“No they’re not! A vigilante goes to jail like a villain! Heroes don’t go to jail last I checked!”, retorted the girl. 

Tooru stopped paying attention as the two continued in their back and forth bickering. The invisible girl felt a spike of dread stab itself into her at the statement of the girl. “ A vigilante goes to jail like a villain” . She couldn’t get the image of her Izuku locked inside a cage out of her head. 

A gentle breeze flowed through the air and the sun shone brightly in the morning as Hagkure waved goodbye to Midoriya. The two parted ways at the gates of UA, as they have normally done, with Midoriya stopping at the wrought iron barrier as if it were some impassable obstacle. All the while Hagakure, reluctantly continued onward, leaving behind the blue haired fish boy that she calls her best friend. However, with everything that had happened the past week, between the villain attack and learning the truth about Midoriya, she found it even more difficult to leave him behind. She stole a final glance at him before entering the pristine doors of the greatest hero school. Midoriya was still standing where she last saw him with a big smile and waving her off enthusiastically. That smile filled her with joy, but also with a tang of sadness as well. She returned the wave before entering inside the school, wishing he could make the trip to her class.  As she walked to her class, the invisible girl took the opportunity to think about some things in a rare moment of peace and quiet. 

Despite what she said about him earlier, she couldn’t help but agree with some of the things he said about himself. Most notably, her future as a hero and his inevitable downfall as a vigilante. But she didn’t want that. She wanted him to come with her on that journey and not be left behind the fence. 

“ Is there anyway to help him?”, the invisible girl pondered to herself, “Can I help him become a hero?”

Her left wrist purred in delight at the thought, and she couldn’t help but rub the place in an effort to calm down the excited tattoo. Her thoughts drifted back to what those kids said on the train and what Izuku had said. Was he really doomed to a life inside a cage? Where would he leave her alone forever? No. She doesn’t want to be alone again, not after finding Izuku. Something deep down inside Tooru harded her resolve. Izuku may have failed to save her once before, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t going to try to save him from the edge of the abyss he was standing over. She was going to save her friend no matter what.

When the invisible girl finally arrived to class, it was in its usual state with different students either talking or preparing for class in a chaotic manner. After the USJ, it made Hagakure breathe easier seeing her friends there acting like students without a care in the world. With a pleasant warmness in her belly, the invisible girl stepped into the classroom to begin her day. Yet, something utterly surprising happened when she did. There was a brief pause as all of the eyeballs of her classmates settled on her, and in the blink of an eye most of them surrounded Hagakure. 

“Hagakure-san, that was so cool of you! Did you see what Ghost looked like? Did he look like a human-alien hybrid like all the forums said?”, a fanboying Mineta said with stars in his eyes.

“Hagakure-san, you could’ve hurt yourself with that reckless move of yours!”,A karate chopping Iida scolded, “Why did you throw yourself in danger like that?”

“Tooru-chan! You need to tell me about all the details about Ghost! Is he as hunky as your boyfriend? Or even is he better than you little blueberry? I want to know!”, Mina said with a devilish smile.

“My unseen comrade! Did that master of darkness bewitch you with his sorcery into becoming his minion of the shadows!?! Your aura feels diluted with the Ghostly presence of that bishop of the predation!”, Tokoyami said with his usual unusual choice of words and melodrama. 

Yet, so many more voices spoke over other voices becoming a sympathy of noise. Tooru wondered what she did in a previous life to deserve this.

Kirishima stayed in his seat as the others swarmed Hagakure, he wanted to go with the rest of them and inquire about the bravest girl in the class. But he couldn’t. He didn’t deserve to, especially after what happened at the USJ or the entrance exam. His gut felt heavy, as if it had been filled with molten lead, and he didn’t dare look at the person who couldn’t be seen. 

“You’re such a coward! You’re no hero! You’re no hero! You are just a big fat fake!” , Kirishima thought darkly about himself.

But he wasn’t wrong. How can someone like him even become a hero? At the USJ, when the vigilante had fallen in battle, it was Hagakure who went in to help their temporary ally. All the while he stood back and watched everything play out, frozen as a statue. Perhaps it was her bravery in the face of mountainous odds that inspired the vigilante to pull through and save them all? Or maybe it was something else entirely. Either way, Hagakure was more of a hero than he ever hoped to be. He can’t even call himself a man, and that was entirely due to the fact he can’t even go up to the girl and apologize for leaving her behind. 

“Not a hero! Not a hero! Not a Hero! Not a hero! Not a hero! Not a hero!”, a dark voice kept telling Kirishima.

The red haired teen slowly began to bow his head towards his desk, keeping his gaze firmly upon it and away from his classmates. He didn’t notice that his spiky hair was faintly drooping or how the roots of his hair were black once again. 

Shoto merely glared at the crowd of people surrounding his classmate with an unusual sharp edge to his coldness. He wasn’t there to witness how Hagakure was able to help save the day, but he learned enough from eavesdropping on his classmate’s conversations. However, the newspaper article on the vigilante was more than enough to help fill in any gaps. Ghost, a spirit-like presence on the streets, with an arsenal of quirks at his disposal. With one that is at least on par or even greater than All Might’s. 

Such a thing did not go unnoticed by his Father, and as of late, became his new obsession alongside the Hero Killer. Whereas the Hero Killer was hard to track and unpredictable, the Ghost of Musutafu location was quite literally in his moniker. This resulted in his father taking time to personally patrol the streets of the small city at night, but so far Endeavor remains unsuccessful. 

Ghost became a prize to the Number Two Hero, a symbol of what he viewed as his inevitable victory over All Might. In a way, Ghost had become something like that to Shoto. But more as a way to show Endeavor that he will rise to the top without the old man’s blasted quirk. He just needed to wait for the opportunity to arise.

You are my prey, Ghost. My stepping stone towards my victory over Endeavor. 

“If you are going to converse this much and block the door, then perhaps you all need remedial night classes.”, said a familiar and bored voice. 

Upon hearing the familiar voice of their homeroom teacher, the crowd of students congregating at the door scattered. As they all rushed to their seats, Mr. Aizawa slowly made his way towards the podium. Everyone of class 1-A collectively gasped at their homeroom teacher. Mr. Aizawa was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, making the underground hero look like a mummy or a cocooned fly that somehow escaped a spider’s web. As to why the injured hero didn’t take some time off to heal was anyone’s guess? Hagakure hoped it was to show his students that he was alive and well after the beating he got from the villains. But more likely was the fact that he was probably as stubborn as he was sleepy. 

“It took you five seconds to get all set for class. Better, but still not perfect.”, The underground teacher said with his usual deadness, “Any questions before we begin class?”

“Mr. Aizawa. Shouldn’t you be resting or at least take the day off to heal your injuries”, Momo said while sporting a set of wrapped bandages around her head.

“My health is of no concern, Miss Yaoyorozu. If I can function without hindrance, then I am going to do my job.”, Mr. Aizawa said lazily, “Any more pointless questions?”

When no one answered, the underground hero grunted, whether in approval or disapproval, was anyone’s guess?

“With that out of the way, it's time to continue, business as usual.”, Aizawa said as the class collectively groaned, “But first there are a few announcements.”

Everyone perked up at those final words before the slog that was class could begin.

“Firstly, Bakugou will not be with us for the remainder of the week. He is getting treatment by a specialist for the...peculiar injuries he got at the USJ. However, he is expected to make a full recovery and will certainly be with us again when school is back in session.”, Aizawa said with ease. 

The class collectively breathed a sigh of relief, their classmate was going to be okay. 

“We will be having class for the remainder of the week, but school will not be in session next week.”, the underground hero torted, “UA will be undergoing a serious upgrade in security in light of the villain attack. You are expected to keep up with the usual physical training as well writing an essay on your experiences at the USJ.”

Kaminari, Mina, and Sero could be heard groaning, clearly dejected that they weren’t getting a week off of school without any strings attached. 

“As scheduled, UA will be having its annual sports festival, and all students are to participate in it.”

Momo’s hand once again shot up, “Mr. Aizawa, shouldn’t UA cancel the festival due to the major breach of security?”

The bandaged face of Aizawa looked exasperated, “I agree with your logic Miss Yaoyorozu, but the decision to hold the festival is out of my hands. It is being held to show everyone that school was not shaken up badly by the villain attack, despite it being an illogical decision. However, security will be increased tremendously, so hopefully no villain will try to get 15 minutes of fame crashing the event.”

Their homeroom teacher took a moment to get everyone’s attention. 

“However, do not think of it as a run of the mill highschool sports festival, it is important to your careers as heroes. The festival is to demonstrate your abilities and progress you made these past few months, and this is important in making future connections. Support companies, Managers, and most importantly heroes will be watching and scouting for your future potential,so do not disappoint. It also is a chance for those who didn’t qualify in the entrance exams, an opportunity to enroll in the hero course. But also, it is a chance for those already in the course to be demoted to general studies should they not meet expectations. You will have some in class time training in Heroic Studies with All Might, but you are expected to do most of the training outside of class.”

The class gulped collectively at the amount of weight suddenly placed upon their shoulders. Would some of them be expelled and replaced with someone else. Best not to see if it was actually true.

“Also keep in mind that a week long internships with pro heroes will be taking place after the festival. Your performance will also affect which hero will offer an internship, remember this will either help or hinder you in your future careers.”, Mr. Aizawa added with an extra sharp point, “Now, enough time is wasted. Let’s get to work.”  

Heroic Studies was actually rather calm and a little boring, and that was likely due to the fact that All Might had wisely decided his students had enough excitement lately. So, the Number One hero opted to simply do a lecture about various protocols needed in arresting lawbreakers as well as a little bit of verse on the law itself as well. To be honest, it was rather boring, but many of Class 1-A took it as a nice break from the recent danger. 

“And that is why the case of Shizuko vs Iwate was a benchmark in the process in which the standardization of arrests could be given.”, All Might said in his bombastic voice, “Do be sure to remember that. It will be on the exam.”

The new teacher was met with the sound of furious scribbling in response. However, before the Number One Hero could continue any further, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.  

“Well, it seems we are out of time. You all know the homework assignment, and Young Kirishima I want you to take this packet to the front office, it is all the work that Young Bakugou is going to miss. The rest of you have a nice day and stay safe. Class dismissed.”, All Might boomed.

The Number One Hero turned teacher began to erase all the terms and law sections off the chalkboard as his students packed up and shuffled out in their little social groups. When he finished with the board he moved to the teacher’s podium and began to collect papers sitting on it. He had finally had a day as a teacher with no incidents! And Mirai doubted he could do it without some disaster. He almost deflated back into his true form thinking that the room was empty, but he wasn’t as alone as he thought he was. 

“All Might Sensei?”, said the quiet voice of Hagakure Tooru. 

Yagi looked up from his pile of papers to see the floating uniform that housed one of his students. She was standing about and arm’s reach away from the podium. Normally, he would zip out of the classroom and straight to the teacher’s lounge to avoid anyone seeing him in his weak form. But at the behest of literally every voice of reason in his life, he was doing less hero activity and saving his time for school. Despite not fighting at the USJ, the event left a bad twist in the stomachless body. He doubts that Young Hagakure would be here talking to him without that Vigilante, or he wouldn’t be here after trying to fight a monster on borrowed time. Still he had more than enough time for his students as a result. 

“Is something bothering you, young Hagakure? Or perhaps you need help with something? ”,All Might asked. 

The long sleeves of the uniform began to fidget with the helm of the skirt while the shoes twisted in circles. 

“Well...you see sensei, I do need help but it's not with a school related thing.”, the invisible girl said nervously, “I was wondering if it is possible for a….vigilante to become a hero?”

Years of keeping up a neutral expression against dangerous villains and the bloodthirsty press prevented Yagi from going wide eyed at the question. He had seen the security footage, and had seen that Hagakure had run straight into the danger when Ma’ken Ris fell into battle. He had been meaning to ask his student if she had learned anything about the vigilante beyond what had been observed. 

“This is about that vigilante isn't it?”, All Might said rather seriously, “Don’t tell me a friend of yours is that vigilante?”

His invisible student jumped at the accusation as if it were a poisonous snake. “N-No, No All Might sensei! It’s just...just that he really went above and beyond to save our class. I-I guess his actions really inspired me to go and help him.”, Hagakure paused, “I-I was asking because...because I saw his face.” 

Yagi froze at the statement. Perhaps he could be one step closer to finding the vigilante, he was certainly making more progress than Mirai. “Young Hagakure, that information is rather important. If I may ask why you didn’t report that immediately to the authorities?”

His student flinches at the light scolding, “I know sensei, I know. The only reason I didn’t was because...looked so lonely. He looked so sad and lonely. And yet, he saved me and my friends when no one else could. I know he’s on the bad side of the law, but after all he did...I don’t want him to be punished. He’s a hero to me, sensei and I want to save him from himself.”

Had he not given his quirk to Mirio, he might have made Hagakure his successor. His student came to him with information that she had withholding from the authorities knowing that she could get into serious trouble. But she did so because she wanted to save someone that would’ve been just locked away like a villain. Heck, Yagi probably would’ve done the latter had not for the fact that Ghost had proven his heroic spirit time and time again. A hero prioritizes the rescue, then the capture. 

“Young Hagakure, I am sure you know that harboring such information could be considered an obstruction of justice.”, the floating uniform could be seen sinking in on itself, “But I cannot ignore your intentions for doing so, and lucky for you, I too would like to see this individual as a hero. And to answer your question; I do not have the experience to make the right judgment, but I do know someone who does. I would like to continue this discussion together with an old friend of mine. But provided that the Ghost of Musustafu cooperates, I think we might be able to make something work.”

Even though All Might couldn’t see it, his student was smiling. “But Young Hagakure, let me and my acquaintance handle most of the case. You are still only a first year, and don’t forget you have to prepare for the Sports Festival. Though, perhaps if you do well enough. I can convince them to take you on for internships…”

The uniform began to hop on its heels at the notion, “Can you really do that All Might Sensei?”

Yagi gave his trademark smile, “Yes, I can! But only if you can keep your end of the deal up, Young Hagakure! Am I clear!”, Yagi bombastically said with his hand in an ‘ok’ sign. 

“Yes, sir!”, Hagakure replied while her sleeve saluted.

“Then what are you waiting for? The Festival will be here before you know it!”, Yagi continued.

The floating uniform gave a slight bow before quickly leaving the room, while incoherently saying thank you to the noobie teacher. 

Yagi stood there for a minute with a genuine smile on his face, as he slowly deflated back into his true form. Mirai was most certainly going to love Young Hagakure, and he most certainly was looking forward to the sports festival more than ever. 

The trip to Dagobah Beach was an uneventful one, well as normal as one would expect for anyone trying to find the place. Hagakure wasn’t really sure how such a place was so hard to find, but it was likely because it had some bad rep to it. Nonetheless, some kind locals were able to point her towards the way when she couldn’t figure out a way to go. She had just wished Izuku would’ve come and took her there, but Ris had said that he was having a busy day. She hoped he wasn’t doing anything illegal during the day now, the last thing she needed was for him to get into trouble while she was at school. She was most certainly going to give him an earful if he was. 

Despite taking a lot longer than she expected, Hagakure was able to find the fabled Dagobah Beach. Which made all the more confusing at the local’s aversion to the place because the beach was beautiful. White pristine sands that looked like a soft blanket, water that sparkled like polished emeralds, and sitting on the beach was a creature of legend...a merman.

..!

Hagakure found herself standing right behind the merman sitting on the beach, she didn’t even remember walking up to it. Nor did she register immediately that said Merman had a head of messy blue hair, pale skin, and a mouth of shark-like teeth. She wondered what Ris meant when she said Izuku was busy, now she knew why because Izuku somehow turned himself into a merman. His tail was lamprey-like and was colored a deep blue with a single green in its skin. Her brown eyes met Izuku’s blue eyes as he turned to face her, seemingly unaware of her presence until now. A moment of awkward silence passed, as the two stared each other down.

Izuku wasn’t wearing a shirt, so she caught a full view of his toned torso, though lean in his build it caught her attention more so than what the boys in her class had to offer. Some mysterious liquid began dripping down her nose as she stared at Izuku like he was some kind of piece of fine art.   

The blued haired boy’s face turned red as he appeared to get really uncomfortable with the staring, “H-Hi Tooru-san.”

“Hey, Izuku-kun.”, Tooru said absentmindedly.

“I-I can explain this.”, Izuku said with a growing nervousness. 

“Can you?”, Tooru droned with a bit of drool dripping out her mouth. 

The teen turned merman began to sweat nervously at the elf-girl, “Y-yes! It all started…”

But whatever explanation the boy said was completely lost to the invisible girl. She was certainly going to enjoy these next few weeks of training. 

Chapter Text

A gentle breeze flowed through the air as Izuku waved goodbye to Tooru as she crossed the wrought iron gates of her hero school. A tiny pang of hurt reverberated in his chest as he watched the invisible girl look back at him one last time before she disappeared behind the doors of UA. He wanted nothing more than to go with her, to be her classmate as well as being one her closest friend. But some things were never meant to be.  His brief moment of sadness was interrupted by a pair of hands clasping onto his shoulders, these hands were warm to the touch.  Izuku gazed behind himself in an upward direction, and saw the large form of Marris casting herself as his shadow for the time being. 

“Do not be sad Little Minnow, Ma’Kal Ris will be with us as soon as her hunt is over.”, Marris said in a dreary tone, “Though, I do not wish to leave either of you alone. I cannot be in two places at once….yet.” 

Izuku giggled at the idea of Marris trying to figure out how to achieve such a thing, “I know Marris, but I just wish I could go with her.”

Marris looked back towards the doors, “I do too, Little Minnow.” 

A moment of silence fell upon the two, as the absent mindedly gazed upon the hero school in the warm sunlight. Izuku pondered how his life would be any different if he would have succeeded at the exam. Maybe he would’ve made tons of friends, real friends who cared about him. Maybe the teachers would actually care about him and his future. Maybe he would finally get to meet All Might, and ask him the question that his gnawing at him since he was five years old. Maybe Tooru would be grateful for him saving her, so much that she would reward him with a ki…

“Mal’Ken Ris! You are far too young.”, Marris balked in her motherly tone.

Izuku jumped into the air at the bark of his oldest friend and mentor, all the while he blushed red as he forgot that Marris could hear his thoughts. He turned his gaze back to Marris, and saw that her blank face was showcasing an exasperated expression. With embarrassment wriggling inside him like a worm, the blue haired boy thought it would be best to change the subject.

“U-Um, yes. Sorry about that Marris.”, the flustered teen said while looking away, “Well, since there’s not much for us to do until this afternoon. Perhaps we can go to the beach and work on the new quirk. I would like some practice using it before we head out again.”

The fish lady did not look ecstatic at the idea. She crossed her long arms across her chest adding onto the displeased parent image. “You were only injured two days ago, and Crab couldn’t have healed you that well. I understand your excitement but I was reluctant to even let you train with Ma’Kal Ris this soon.” 

Izuku had forgotten Marris could be just as fretting as his own Mother when it came to his safety. The fact that he had nearly gotten killed was enough for him to be scolded for hours by the fish lady once Tooru was sent home. But if anything, the USJ incident was a lesson wrapped in thorns that he needed to address before returning to the streets. He was strong, but the USJ showed him that there was always a bigger fish. The more he thought about it, he was very similar to Eraserhead in terms of combat. Stealthy, quick, and efficient. But these strengths were negated by the fact both of them had been forced into a brawl against an opponent who was tough, strong, and fast. It was exactly what that villain Tomura had said, “A Mage cannot fight a Fighter without another Fighter” . 

Izuku was too specialized in his fighting style and quirk mindset. He needed to diversify in order to hold out on his own, or another repeat at the USJ might occur. And it might be possible that Marris might not be able to save the day as she did before. 

Izuku turned his gaze back to Marris to argue his case with the fish lady, but only to her face only a few inches from his own. 

“You make a good point Little Minnow.”, spoke the fish woman, “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to do a little bit of practice before Ma’Kal Ris comes to us. Come, let’s not waste anymore sunlight. We need to get you strong again for the next battle.”

Without another word, Marris gracefully twisted in the air away from Izuku and began to float towards the concrete reef of Musustafu City. Izuku blinked before realizing that Marris had read his thoughts once again. With an exasperated sigh, Izuku took off in pursuit of the fish lady towards their usual stomping grounds. 

Dagobah Beach hadn’t changed much beyond the initial cleaning that Izuku had managed to do over his months of training. With the exception that the larger hunks of trash had finally been removed, making the beach completely trash free for the first time in years. However, even with all the cleaning the beach still maintained its reputation of a place to avoid in favor of the other attractions. Aside from the occasional stray dog or cat, Marris and Izuku were the ones who most frequently visited the old beach. 

It was part of the reason Izuku still used it to help train his various quirks and combat style without the fear of someone walking in on him. But also the beach served as an area in which he and Marris could lounge and relax without having to worry about spacing. Izuku got straight to business after shortly arriving by starting out with the tai-chi esque stretches while Marris observed him from her favorite stretch of sand. Once he was done, he nearly sprinted towards his teacher, clearly excited to try out his latest quirk. 

He opened his mouth and spilled his thoughts out to the mermaid, “So are we going to do that same ability at the USJ and practice with because I have a whole notebook for improvements. First we could….”

A slender finger was placed on his mouth, shutting it before he could get lost in one of his mumbling rants. The fish woman looked at the blue haired boy with an unreadable face, or rather one that was lost in thought. Marris looked at him with a neutral visage after seemingly made up her mind. 

“No.”, deadpanned the mermaid, “We will not be working on that part because there is nothing you have control over. But I believe something else might be achievable.”

“What do you mean by that Marris?”, he said while hiding his disappointment. 

Marris chuckled a bit at that response, “Well, to put it simply...we are going to see if you can summon a fraction of myself into the world instead of my entire form.”

Izuku looked quizzically at Marris. “When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound like much.”

The fish woman looked at the teen with the blank face of a sage, “I understand that when one grows up weak it is only natural one wants to use their strength to their fullest. But one must never forget to restrain themselves of their strength lest they hurt themselves by not knowing their limits.”

“You want me to start small in order for me to know my limit, so I can become stronger?”, Izuku half-asked half-stated after a minute of digesting Marris’ words.

The fish woman beamed, “Correct! It would be irresponsible of me to give you the power to level mountains and not teach you how to use it without hurting yourself. Only a fool would do such a thing without giving a second thought about their student’s well being.”

 Flashes of a lot of broken limbs appeared in the thoughts of the teen causing him to shiver at the realization. He was certainly glad that Marris wasn’t having him figure out all this on his own. 

“Right! Then where do we begin?”, Izuku asked with determination back in his system. 

“For now, we will see if your body could handle the stress of a fraction of my form. But if I did things right with these many past suns, then your vessel should be fine. Yet, it never hurts to ensure you are alone when eating your quarry.”, said the fish woman.

“So how are we going to see that I am a suitable vessel?”, questioned the fish boy. 

“It should be the same as all the others. Just remember what I taught you: Focus and reach out. Find the bond we share, but you will not be alone in this. I will reach from beyond the depths to help.”

Izuku did as Marris commanded, and focused his thoughts towards the sound of dripping water. 

Drip Drip Drip

Izuku smiled at the sound, satisfied that what used to take him hours to achieve now only takes minutes. He opened his eyes to see Marris frozen in time with her arm outstretched towards him in the black void. However, to his surprise the fish woman’s body began to wiggle and twitch in numerous places before the sound of eggshells breaking erupted in his ears. In a jilted and stiff manner, Marris began to move forward towards Izuku trying to close the small distance between the two. Izuku took it as a sign to also move towards his patron, and he did so as well but without any restriction to his movement. A bright green light emerged when their fingers met each other. 

When the bright green light faded from his eyes, he found himself once again at Dagobah beach. 

I don’t feel any different 

Then like the flip of a switch, Izuku became overwhelmed with a strange feeling that felt like a bad case of nausea. Izuku rubbed his belly as he cursed himself for opening his big mouth. He wondered if this was normal, or if something had gone horribly wrong. His thoughts drifted to when Marris said exploding heads was a commonality, as if to add onto his growing paranoia. 

“Marris! I really don’t feel so good. Is there something wrong?”, Izuku wearily asked.

But he was met with silence.

“Marris? Marris?”, Izuku called out as he looked around for the fish lady, “Come on Marris, this isn’t funny. I think something is wrong.”

But once again Izuku got no response.

Fear began to drip into his system as he started to spin around looking for the mermaid. “MARRIS?!? MARRIS!?! WHERE ARE YOU?!”, Izuku shouted with desperation in his voice.

For all his shouting, he got no response from Marris. On top of that, the nausea grew worse as a razor sharp pain pierced his body like a bullet. Izuku retched out a dry cough as his legs grew weak and the world started spinning in his eyes. The blue haired boy tried to stable himself, but his body lost all sense of motor control. Without any resistance Izuku fell onto the white sand and curled up into a ball trying to vainly numb the pain in his system. 

“Marris….Marris”, Izuku hoarsely whispered, “Please...help...me.”

But all he received was silence before he blacked out. 

Poke Poke Poke

The world was lost in the vision of Izuku or perhaps his eyes were closed. Did things go wrong and he became a victim of an accident?

Poke Poke Poke

Well that didn’t explain why something was poking him on the forehead. With great effort, Izuku tried to open his eyes, and to his surprise it worked. Dominating his vision was Marris, who was upside down whilst floating in the air, poking him with her index finger. 

“What happened?”, Izuku said with a groan as he sat up. 

“It was as I said. I was making sure your body could handle the stress of my form.”, Marris explained, “And fortunately, you are a suitable vessel from my trip.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me it would hurt? I thought we were doing this to make sure this wouldn't happen”, Izuku asked groggily. 

In response, the cheeks of the fish woman grew a darker color, and the dark blank eyes of Marris lost their usual luster. She hung her head down as her arms drooped in their sockets, causing them to sink into the sand. 

“I am sorry Little Minnow.”, Marris said with guilt in her voice, “But this is as new to me as it is to you. I should have known that it wouldn’t be easy on you. I am sorry. I am sorry.”

It was not difficult to see that Marris was being hard on herself for something that was an honest mistake. It was something Izuku came to notice quickly during his life with the fish woman, and it was always after he received a beating from his middle school bullies. Even when she couldn’t speak her body language was enough to show the frustration and guilt she had. Izuku reached out and touched Marris on the shoulder, and almost instantly he could feel the tension disappear.  

“It’s okay Marris. It was just a mistake.”, Izuku soothed gently, “Come on, let’s get back to it.”

The fish woman’s expression remained unreadable, but Izuku swore he could’ve heard muffled sniffing coming from Marris. 

“Yes. Of course. Let us continue.”, Marris said softly, “Now touch my arm Little Minnow, and speak the words: Toku Pa’lar Mar’Ris*

Izuku hesitated at the next step of the training, his mind still focused on the unpleasant experience he had not too long ago. Yet, he relented when he saw Marris begin to tremble. The trembling was so slight that one would have mistaken it for quick shallow breaths, but Izuku knew Marris did not need to breathe. Heaven knows what self-degrading thoughts the fish woman has about her mistake, and if the hints at her past were any indication, then it explains why his patron is a perfectionist. 

Izuku grabbed onto Marris’ arm, and gently squeezed it. “ Toku Pa’lar Mar’Ris .” 

…

…

…

Nothing happened? Another failure? What did they do wrong? Maybe he wasn’t compatible with the quirk or perhaps.... 

“Little Minnow?”, interjected the fish woman

Mutter mutter mutter

“Little Minnow?”, Marris tried saying again. 

Mutter mutter mutter

Izuku felt a warm and soft hand grab onto his chin as he mumbled his thoughts. 

“I’m sorry Marris. I got carried away with the mumbling again didn’t I?”, Izuku apologized as he turned around to face Marris, “I...just...tr...ying...to...huh?”

To the average person, Marris would be considered an abomination on the account that she looks like a Frankenstein-like creature that appeared to be made from all manner of oddities. As a result, the appearance of the fish woman was eye catching to the point that any changes would immediately stick out. Izuku always thought her arms were one of the most odd features of Marris. They were long, so long that they would drag on the ground if she couldn’t float. They possessed an unnatural amount of strength and yet they were extremely frail at the same time.  They contrasted so sharply with the rest of her body that it would be one of the first places in which one would look first for any abnormalities. Or in this case, when her right arm just vanished from out of its socket. 

Izuku stared down Marris with a sickly curiosity as his attention was squarely on the place her arm should’ve been.  Soon, however, panic descended upon him like a dropping stone as he realized something that should’ve been obvious. 

“MARRIS! YOUR ARM IS GONE?!?”, Izuku screamed in a panic. 

The fish woman looked at the flailing human in front of her and then back at the now empty arm zone. Izuku expected many things to happen after that, none of them good. Yet one thing he did not expect was Marris to start laughing.

“ Cheechee... I... cheechee... wonder who... cheechee... stole it?”, Marris forced out before being completely lost in her laughing.  

The blue haired boy looked dumbfoundedly at Marris as she started to roll in the sand while laughly like a maniac. Izuku didn’t understand what was so funny about losing an arm, it was no laughing matter to him. Why couldn’t he have a normal day of training without something happening like this? Was it too much to ask for? Izuku rubbed his temple as he could feel a stress headache surface from this entire debacle. 

Except instead of his hand being the one to rub his aching temple, it was a hand that had only four spindly fingers. 

Izuku flinched as he pulled his arm away from himself, or rather pulled Marris' arm away from him. The teen carefully examined the foriegn limb that had become attached onto him like a parasite. But it wasn’t a parasite at all, instead it felt more like an extension of his fourth quirk. 

“It can’t be? Can it?”, Izuku said in bewilderment. As if to prove to himself that it was true, Izuku flexed his arm. And sure enough Marris’ arm did the flexes that he had wanted to do. 

The young warlock took off his shirt as quickly as he could with only one arm. Once he finished with the action, he resumed his examination of the alien limb. 

The arm was an exact replica of Marris’ arm, but one that was slightly modified from the original. It was shorter and smaller to accommodate his smaller body from the much larger body of the mermaid-look-alike. Runes were carved into the blue skin in a manner that made them look like self-inflicted scars. And its length ended in the middle of his bicep that looked like someone had welded the two foreign skins together. 

“It looks like this little test was a success.”, cheered the fish woman.

 Izuku returned his attention to the one-armed Marris.

“Since it has been proven that it could be done, then let us actually sharpen our fangs.”, Marris said as she closed the distance between them. “I hope your skull is ready to work Izuku, because I want you to get creative. After all, I can’t always give you a hand.”

Izuku face palmed with that pun. 

A small breeze danced in the air as the shoreline purred all along the white sands of Dagobah. The sun was due to begin its descent below the horizon, and begin another night in the small city. Many would take this lingering afternoon to prepare themselves for their evening activities like dinner or homework. For Izuku, an entire afternoon of quirk training in the hot sun just made him want to go home and slid into bed. But his work was only beginning with Tooru due to arrive at the beach and begin her training with him. This was going to be the norm until Marris could teach the invisible girl the quirk of the oarfish, and then the two could dedicate the afternoons to being friends. But that will have to wait for the time being. In the meantime Izuku dragged himself back towards the drier sands of Dagobah after a long cool dip into the ocean. When he was satisfied with the length he was away from the water, he flipped over into a sitting position and viewed the kaleidoscope of oranges, reds, and blues mixing together across the sea. 

“I am proud of you today, Izuku.”, Marris whispered behind him, “ You did well with practice.”

Izuku beamed with the praise from his supernatural patron, “Thank you Marris. But it's nothing too big or deserving of praise. Though I don’t see why it is a big deal anyways.”

The teen could hear Marris huff and snort. “Well, you try saying those words when your youngling is wearing your tail like a snail does a shell. Or perhaps when you have to face the indignity of only being cut up into little pieces unexpectedly.”

The lamprey-like tail that now served as Izuku’s legs flopped in irritation. “I already told you I was sorry Marris!”, Izuku said in embarrassment as he covered his face with his hands, “If I had known, then I wouldn’t have done it without warning you first.”

“That didn’t stop you from laughing at me falling in the sand, and I know when someone is laughing at me not with me. That little rat that was your predecessor showed me well enough with his own little tricks and jests.”, whined the fish woman, “Perhaps, I should tell Ma’Kal Ris about all the little things you did when you were smaller in return for my humiliation?”

Izuku froze up, “Y-You wouldn’t dare?! M-Marris you wouldn’t be that petty would you?”

The fish woman said nothing at first but then replied to the merman in a mocking voice, “No, I wouldn't. But you aren’t sure of that? Right, Mighty Boy?”

The bickering between the two ended when the sound of crunching sand was caught up in their ears, or whatever counted for ears for Marris.  The bisected mermaid and the merman with the stolen tail turned to gaze upon the source of the new noise. Standing there was Hagakure Tooru still dressed in her UA uniform with her school bag draped over her shoulder. Her expression was mostly blank with her mouth only slightly agape and the pupils in her brown eyes were dilated. Her short brown hair shivered in the light breeze while her pointed ears were blushing red. Her breathing was fast and shallow as if she had been running before stopping.

Tooru was a person in which Izuku could come out of his shell and be himself without fear. But for some reason this Tooru in front of him made him do the exact opposite of that. He found himself unable to speak with his throat suddenly drying up. Something warm and anxious emerged in his gut as his best friend merely stood there without saying a word. His face burned red and sweat began to drip down as the minutes lingered.

“H-hey, Tooru-san.”, Izuku greeted nervously.

“Hey, Izuku-kun.”, replied Tooru. Yet, the invisible girl did not take her eyes off him nor did she even move to acknowledge his greeting. 

The Merman nearly flinched at the machine-like reply he got from Tooru. He didn’t know what was wrong with the girl, but it was beginning to make his heart beat like a wardrum the longer this went on. Maybe it was because he still had the fish tail! Yes, she was probably in shock or something! Either way, he needed to do something because he is pretty sure that Tooru is having a nosebleed. 

“I-I can explain this.”, said Izuku hoping that it will stir up the elf-girl. 

“Can you?”, Tooru droned with the same machine-like manner as before. 

He just hoped it was a good enough explanation, or the next few weeks of training are going to be difficult.

Unknown to either of the teens was Marris looking at the sight with glee. After so many years of loneliness, she was glad her little minnow had found a friend like Tooru, and even more so now that the two are going to be something more than friends in the future. It gave her an excited anticipation that she hadn’t felt since her little Anthony met Cleo. Afterall, she never had an opportunity to be a grandmother before. And that thought made her hair wiggle in excitement.

Chapter Text

Hagakure stared down her opponent with focus resolved as she practically gulped the air like a suffocating fish. Her sparring partner, however, was standing in a relaxed stance as if the battle he was in was of no interest to him. The invisible girl had to bite down the anger inside her opponent because she knew it was a trick, one made to goad her into attacking recklessly. She needed to remain calm and keep her cool because this was a battle of minds rather than of strength. 

This little sparring match between her and Izuku was the crescendo of the promised training he would give to her for being a troublemaker. However, she just kept her mouth shut when she mentioned the UA Sports festival because that opened the floodgate of Izuku going above and beyond to prepare her for it. What was originally supposed to be combat training turned into a full blown regime with the Izuku stretching all her attributes to the limit. It was grueling to say the least, but she weathered the pain in pursuit of All Might’s offer. At the very least she got to see the blue haired boy without a shirt everyday, as shallow as it sounds, a shirtless Izuku provided enough of a carrot for Hagakure to begrudgingly walk to the beach everyday. But now was not the time to think about such distractions because she needed to keep her eyes on the real prize.  

The final exercise was simple, Hagakure needed to throw Izuku onto the ground and pin him. The exercise was one that would test her ability to problem solve against a seemingly impossible obstacle. The same quirk that Izuku used to see her invisible form also gave him a huge edge in combat. It was a quirk that was a multi-tool of information gathering that enabled him to not only to predict her attempts to knock him down but also to spot any weakness or flaw in her assaults. An apt analogy would be like trying to fight someone with the ability to see into the future and know what your every move will be used against them. It was a lesson which caused Hagakure to eat more sand than cement factory over the course of her training with Izuku.  

Her quirk gave her a huge advantage over many people, but Izuku wanted her to not use it as a crutch against her possible opponents. As Izuku pointed out, any criminal with a quirk that enhanced senses could negate the advantage she had or a quirk with area reach could also be an issue. Hence why Ris had Hagakure do this exercise as her final lesson before the Sports Festival, because not all fights would allow her to brute force her way to victory with her quirk against every opponent. Todoroki with his ice came to mind in that regard, and was a proven fact when he froze a building whole during the Heroes vs Villains assignment. That still didn’t stop Izuku from playing the role of an arrogant villain to complete the mock battle.

“Smug Bastard.”, Hagakure swore under her breath as she resisted the temptation of smacking the uninterested look off his face. 

“Well? Are going to come at me or have you finally decided to give up?”, taunted Izuku. 

“I’ll give up when you are lying in the sand after I throw you there!”, Hagakure retorted. 

And like a bullet Hagakure bolt towards her opponent head on like a charging Rhino. She had a plan to beat her mocking partner, but it could just as easily backfire if the timing wasn’t executed properly. 

“Head on again!?”, Izuku said in feigned surprise, “You can’t seem to get it in your skull that this won’t work like all the other times! But fine! Another easy victory for me!” 

The blue haired boy took off in a sprint towards Hagakure, intent on meeting her head on as well. His blue eyes were now completely black as he used his vision quirk to probe for any weaknesses.  

“He took the bait!” , the invisible girl thought to herself, “Now the rest is up to me!”

The two teens continued their charge towards each other, and Izuku smiled as the ensuing brawl was about to begin. Hagakure took the first swing, a simple haymaker with her right hand that was directed towards his face. But the attack went wayside when the warlock vigilante dodged it completely, as he was well aware of its trajectory.

“Too slow!” He taunted before doing his own counter attack. 

As quick as lightning, he grabbed the arm that Hagakure had thrown at him and flung it open. This was different from the norm because usually he would just throw her away from him. It seems that Izuku was so sure of his victory he decided to play with his food, a big mistake. The Blue haired teen wound his other arm back with his palm open, clearly intent on delivering a palm punch on Hagakure.

However, in the corner of his eye he saw something moving towards his as quickly as humanly possible. But the time he realized what was coming towards him, it was already too late to stop the handful of sand from crashing into his face.

Hagakure smiled when she heard Izuku sputter and cough from her little move. Yes! She did it! Using the opportunity that she had made for herself, Hagakure grabbed the arm that had been holding onto her with both hands. Using all of her strength and the momentum of his body weight to flip him over her. Her tormentor for the past week let out a gasp when his body connected with sands of Dagobah for the first time since they started.  Hagakure continued her onslaught as she tried to jump on her opponent to pin him.

Izuku blindly struck out against her as he attempted to throw the girl off him. Hagakure threw more punches at her frenzied opponent, landing him twice in the face and once in the gut. Izuku grunted in pain and subconsciously took one arm away from the fight to grab onto the places Hagakure punched him.  Once again Hagakure tried to pin him down, but one of the stay attacks from his blinded defense connected with her stomach, hard! Hagakure coughed out a shower of spittle from the force of the blow, but continued her attempt to pin him while she tried to keep the contents of her stomach from spilling out. Izuku flailed and bucked like an cornered animal, but being blinded by the sand while only having one hand prevented any meaningful defence. Hagakure finally managed to pin Izuku after nearly a week of no success.

The invisible girl found herself overwhelmed by the high of achieving a victory against a strong opponent. As quickly as she tried to get on him, the invisible girl jumped off the fish boy as she started to jump in victory. Whooping and cheering at accomplishing her impossible challenge!The moment was perfect….until the adrenaline of the fight wore off and Hagakure upchucked her lunch right on the beach.

Some time passed as the two remained locked in their positions as they recovered from the beatings they gave each other. 

Izuku laughed heartily from his sprawled spot in the white sands, and with a great heave the blue haired boy lifted himself from the ground and back onto his feet. He ran his hands through his messy hair to roughly shake all the sand out of it before looking back to Hagakure. He shined a big smile at her even though his eyes were red from the sand.

“Congratulations Tooru-san!”, Izuku cheerfully said, “You did good with that little move there because I wasn’t expecting you to pull a trick like that.”

Hagakure lightly blushed at the praise given to her by Midoriya. “It was nothing Izuku, but I can’t help but think that it was a bit of a cheap move to throw sand in your face.

It was a move that Hagakure thought of in the beginning, but the simple notion that Heroes fought fair prevented her from using it. But the more and more she was unable to scale past the mountain of a barrier that Izuku presented, the more desperate she became. Her victory was not one of skill or brilliance but of sheer cowardice and hopelessness. However, such negative feelings were vaporized when she felt eight warm digits touch her shoulders and something warm nuzzle her hair. 

“Nonsense.”, said the calm and wise voice of Ris, “As a huntress defending her kill, you needed to be able beat a greater opponent lest you go hungry. A successful fighter uses their brain and their might, and you were able to do that Haga-chan.”

Hagakure felt a little better after Ris gave her some of that much needed pep talk, but she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her new name from the fish woman. When Hagakure started training with Ris and got to know the sentient quirk a bit more, she couldn’t help but feel like she was with someone who was both old and young at the same time. Ris was knowledgeable about a great deal of complicated ideas and concepts but was completely at a loss at something that was simple in concept.  Her favorite instance was when Ris could point to places on the human body in which one would disable or kill if they were to strike it with enough force, but then the Mermaid was at a complete loss when Hagakure showed her one her dad’s magic tricks. She would be hard pressed to forget it when Ris spent three hours trying to figure out how to get a rabbit to come out of that old top hat. 

The invisible girl likens it to the fact that Ris did not have much in the way of anyone showing her these sort of things. So Hagakure took it upon herself to do so, and what better place to start was by honorifics. Her first lesson to the sentient quirk didn’t really stick until she got to the honorific of “chan”. And from that moment Hagakure learned of the quirk’s unhealthy obsession with cute things or what it perceives to be cute. So now in the eyes of the alien mermaid, Hagakure was now Haga-chan , a name befitting of Ris’ affection. But she wasn’t the only under the scrutiny of the naive quirk’s naming scheme. Hagakure admits that Izu-chan is an adorable nickname for her best friend, much to his own embarrassment. 

“She is right Tooru-san. You shouldn’t bring yourself down because of that, but enough of that right now because it is time to celebrate.”, Izuku said with excitement in his voice. 

“Celebration?”, Hagakure parroted. 

Izuku beamed with a large smile. “Yes! A celebration for all your hard work these past few weeks and a good luck tradition from us. Now come one and get your things we need to hurry.”

Hagakure wasn’t sure what to expect by celebration, but one of things on the list certainly didn’t involve a cafe. Or rather a cafe that was themed after Victorian England. It was a small cafe and one that tucked away in a niche corner of the commercial district of Musustafu. It also appeared to be runned by a tall man with a white mustache-goatee combo and a short girl with red pigtails, but the place had the homely feel that most cafes don’t have. At first she couldn’t tell why Izuku would come to a place that was more befitting to girls that were into handsome boys dressed as butlers. But that changed when she tasted the food and tea because whoever cooked the food in the back clearly knew what they needed to do to get customers. 

“I will admit you surprise me with your tastes Izu-chan.”, Hagakure said after eating her share of mini sandwiches, “I was under the impression you only ate Katsudon.”

Izuku blushed slightly, “That’s not funny Tooru-san. I’ll have you know that I cannot burden my mother with my insatiable taste for that dish. I would simply eat all the pork in Japan if I did that.”

Hagakure chuckled at the bad joke, but she soon forgot about it after she took a drink of her tea. But her mind drifted off towards the monkey that was on her back, and had been there since she confronted All Might after class. She steeled herself for the inevitable conversation she spent a long time trying to avoid.  

“Izuku.”, Hagakure said, “I want to ask you a question, an important question

Izuku became unreadable in Hagakure’s eyes and she wasn’t certain if he was overthinking her intentions. But he didn’t shy away from her prodding, “Sure, ask anything you want?”

The invisible took a deep breath and steeled herself to say the question that could potentially ruin the evening. She looked around to see if any of the two staff were nearby before asking the cursed question.  

“Izuku, have you ever thought about...not being a vigilante anymore? Have you thought about going legal...become a real hero.” Hagakure said with her resolve shaking. 

She didn’t know how her friend would react to the can of worms she opened. Rage? Sadness? Denial? Yet, in the moment she looked away she was met with no kind of response. Yet, she could feel the air stiffen and the temperature drop a few degrees. Reluctantly, she turned her vision back towards the boy sitting across from her.     

His expression was blank and unreadable with no discernable emotion on the surface, he was a stoic as a statue. But Hagakure was perceptive to the emotions of others to a greater degree than most, and she could see the broiling beneath his visage. Was it anger? Was it sadness? Was it denial? No, it was none of that. For all Hagakure could see was acceptance.

“What brought this up?.”, Izuku said in an oddly quiet voice, “I was under the impression that we would not talk about my job.”

Hagakure gulped, “Izuku, I just thought that maybe your ‘job’ isn’t exactly a good long term idea. I think that maybe you should be open to new opportunities when they emerge.”

Izuku looked angry for the first since Hagakure met him, “Hagakure. I think you are overstepping into something too dangerous for you? How did think this could even work?"

Hagakure paled, “W-Well, I-I thought maybe I could talk to Principal Nezu abo…”

“No!”, Izuku interrupted. His voice became louder despite not being raised a decimal, “I won’t let you ruin your future trying to fix mine. It is already bad enough you know my secret, and how would you think they would react if a hero student knew the identity of a known vigilante and not only did nothing but also decided to learn from him?”

“I-I j-just t-thought…”, Hagakure in shock at the quiet anger of Izuku, “t-that y-you…”

“It doesn’t matter what I want or what you think I want.”, Izuku quietly said in a bitter voice, “I read what they all say about me, Tooru. Out of all the hero news, only one applauds me for my actions at the USJ. The rest don’t even acknowledge me for my actions because to them I am just another one of the villains that invaded your school.” 

“B-But…”, Hagakure stuttered meekly as her head hung low. Drops of tears were starting to spill onto her lap. 

“Or should I mention that despite everything that happened at the entrance exam...”, Izuku puffed, “That I wasn’t given anything besides a rejection letter! No invitation to general studies or recommendations to somewhere else! They didn’t have the gall to tell me if you were okay because they don't want me! I am just the failure of an examinee that they don’t want to tarnish their image! You are wrong and foolish to think that it was a possibility! So just drop it!” 

Hagakure wanted to deny it but she couldn’t help but remember what those kids said on the train all those weeks ago. Or when Mr. Aizawa said vigilantes are worse than villains. How could she forget the interviews in which three of the top ten boasted on capturing Izuku if given the opportunity. They really don’t want him…

“I too would like to see this individual as a hero”

No! All Might wants Izuku to be a hero and that had to count for something. It gave the invisible girl a small nugget of hope that if anyone can make Izuku a hero then it would be the greatest one of them all. It means that she has to win the sports festival or Izuku will be lost to her forever. 

“ I am sorry Izuku, but I am afraid that I cannot just drop it.”, Hagakure’s thoughts replied to Izuku, “I won’t give up on you, even if you gave up on everyone else.”

The rest of the time at the cafe passed in silence. As neither of the two dared to utter a word to each other.

The day was bombastic as spirits were high, and why wouldn’t they? It was the UA Sports Festival. It was a day in which the people of Japan could partake in spectating some of the nation’s most talented and powerful students to test their mettle. The affair was extravagant as the Olympic Games of the Pre-Quirk Era, and was ripe with people from all sorts of life. Money Hungry Agencies eyeing future investments, Talent Scoping Heroes looking for future sidekicks or apprentices, and Starry Eyed Children watching in awe. Heck, even the scum and villainy of society watched on for reasons such as calculating as sizing up future enemies to merely wanted to watch a good brawl with quirks. 

For the students involved in the Festival, most were excited to put their skills to the test and succeed at whatever goals they had placed upon themselves.  But out of all the contestants within the student body, there was one that did not share the high optimism or the frayed nerves of the other students. Instead, she sat alone in the locker room in a hunched position with her head looking towards the floor. She was fully dressed in her UA Gym Uniform, save for her jacket, which was sitting next to her on the bench she was resting on. Describing any of her physical features beyond her clothes would be impossible for anyone in the student body because this girl was Hagakure Tooru, and her quirk Invisibility prevented that from happening. 

Tooru was still troubled from her conversation with Izuku the night before, and she was pretty certain she had inadvertently angered her friend. He didn’t even show up to wish her good luck when she arrived that morning. To say that she was hurt would be an understatement. She was just glad that her friends couldn’t see her face or they would see that she was not feeling okay. Why did she have to open her mouth?

“Are you aware that such talk is not a good thing to have when you are about to undertake a hunt as large as this?”, soothed the familiar voice of Ris.  

Hagakure sighed from her hunched position, “Was it really that bad?”

Ris was quiet for a moment or two before speaking again, “No, but I don’t want my Haga-chan to be down when she has an important job to do.” 

The invisible girl raised herself before turning to face the source of the voice. Contrasting greatly against the pristine lockers was Ris the Mermaid floating in the air as if it were a pool of water. Black empty eyes met saddened brown eyes in the pause between the two speaking.

“It’s just a sports festival, Ris. It’s not that important.”, a dejected Hagakure said. 

The blank face of the Mermaid gave a quizzled look, “It is important. You are taking a part of it, so that is more than enough of a reason to make it important. Besides, I know of the deal you made with the Smiler.”

Hagakure jumped in shock, “How did you..”

“Know?”, Ris finished, “I always know what all of my kin are up to, no matter how secretive they think they are. Just because I am not there doesn’t mean I cannot see or hear you.”

Something large and heavy dropped into Hagakure’s stomach, “Oh okay.”, Tooru said as she hunched over again, “And I guess that means that you are going to tell him….”

Ris tilted her head in confusion as her tendril-like hair began to twist in on itself, “No.”

A shocked Tooru practically jumped into the air to stand up and face Ris again, “NO?!?” she said in bewilderment.

“Yes.”, deadpanned the Mermaid. 

“B-But Why?”, Tooru questioned in disbelief. 

The mermaid looked puzzled at the question. Puzzled enough for Ris to begin to tap her chin with her finger while she tilted her head upwards. 

“Well that is a silly question Haga-chan. I thought it was obvious that we both agree on having the exact same reasons for doing this.”, Ris stated as if the answer was obvious, “I want you and him to be happy, and I believe the only way for that to happen is if he follows you past the gate.”

It made sense that Ris would be interested in what was best for Izuku, but Tooru could not help but think that being secretive like this would have some unforeseen consequence.“He won’t like this, us going behind his back like this.”, she said with doubt in her voice, “He was so angry for even thinking about the idea.” 

Ris looked somber, “I am sorry about what happened last night. If I was there, then he wouldn’t have dared said what he said.”

Hagakure sighed, “You don’t have to apologize. It’s not like it's your fault.”

“You are wrong Haga-chan. It is my fault.”, Ris said with guilt in her voice.

“How is your fault?”, Hagakure asked.

Ris huffed a breath of air before speaking, “When he failed this place’s proving test, I was the one responsible for pushing him down the path he now treads.”

Hagakure’s eyes widened in surprise, “You did that? I thought he became a vigilante by his own choice.”

Ris’ hair drooped while she also slouched, “He did choose it, but I nudged him in that direction. It is just…”, Ris said before pausing, “...He was so devastated. He worked so much and experienced so much pain, and for all his efforts to fail. I should’ve been there with him, but I wasn’t. He was so sad, so empty. I wanted him to be full again...to be alive. I wanted him to be happy again.”

Hagakure felt her chest bottom out at the anguish in the voice of the warped mermaid. 

“And now, here you are...my second kinsman. Fixing the mistake I made.”, Ris said apologetically, “I am sorry to burden you with such a momentous task.”

Tooru didn’t know what possessed her to reach out and hug the sentient quirk, but she couldn’t help but feel that Ris was more than a quirk. Ris felt like a living and breathing creature, one that was human in every way but appearance. The quirk’s body was slightly damp and warm to the touch, and had the same rosey feeling when one hugs one of their grandparents. Hagakure could feel the hidden tension give away completely from the fish woman, and after some hesitation Ris returned the hug.

“You did what you thought was for the best, and you couldn’t have possibly known.”, Hagakure gently soothed, “But I am not gonna do this alone and neither are you. We will fix this together, and I know nothing will stop us. So, let's make a promise to see this through. Can you promise me that, Ris?”

The sound of sniffing could be heard coming from Ris, and Hagakure felt something wet drip down on her shoulder. 

“Please, call me Marris, Haga-chan.”, Ris said with relief in her voice, “And yes, I promise. Can I count on you as well?”

Tooru squeezed Marris harder and said with determination, “Yes, you can count on me, Marris!”

The mermaid was quick to reply, “Well then, let us start our work. Good luck out there Haga-chan. Know that I will be watching  and cheering you on.”

Yagi Toshinori maneuvered his way through crowds of people with the haste seen within a person who was very late. For a Hero who prided himself on showing up to the danger ontime, he certainly had an issue of showing up late. Hopefully the people waiting on him won’t be too upset. 

After another minute of weaving, he found the vip booth reserved for him and a few other guests for the Sports Festival. The tall skeleton man slammed through the close door and forgoed his promise to enter through a door like a normal person in favor of sparing what little seconds he had left. The door creaked and banged as it was violently opened by the rushing hero.

“SORRY I AM LATE! BUT I AM HERE NOW!”, Yagi screamed bombastically into the room. 

His former sidekick, Sir Nighteye, and Principal Nezu certainly didn’t look pleased at the fact that he was tardy. Even more so with his ‘grand’ entrance into the booth.

Yagi could feel a drop of sweat run heavily down his forehead as his suit tie suddenly became a little snug around his neck.

Luckily his successor was there to help lighten the mood, and got up from his seat to greet the old hero.

“Oh! Glad to see you made it on time Mr. Yagi!”, Mirio said with enthusiasm in his voice, “I bet you are excited for this year’s festival.”

All Might inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, “You bet, Mirio my boy. We got quite the bunch of contestants this year.”

“Ah yes, and Sir told me that you scouted one of them to intern at the agency?”Mirio said, “I am excited to see her in action, and hopefully she can make a big impression.”

“Yes Yes, I think we are excited to see if Miss Hagakure can meet expectations!”, Nezu chimed in, “She does have a long road to travel, and placing dead last in the quirk evaluation tests means that she has a lot of room to grow.”

Sir Nighteye kept up his usually serious face, “I will be the judge of that Principle Nezu. It is my agency, and I will determine if she has grown enough to intern there.”

Mirio gazed upon his mentor with a puzzled look, “Aw come on and lighten up Sir. It’s still a day to enjoy the festival and take things laid back a bit.”

Sir Night Eye remained as stoic as ever, “But Mirio! I am laid back right now!”

The sound of laughter reverberated within the booth like a raging earthquake. 

Bakugou was steading his breathing as he took slow and deep breaths of air. He closed his eyes and tried to drown out the noise of the extras in this dark tunnel. He needed to remain calm and keep his body calm just as the doctor said. But it felt like a temporary solution rather than a permanent one. The doctor’s medicine wasn’t able to do anything about that thing that was mocking him.

The explosion quirk user cracked open his eyes to see the little monster that had been tormenting these past two weeks hiding in the periphery of his vision. Whatever the damn thing was it most certainly wasn’t human, but that was about the only description of the thing that could be said without the word ‘distorted’ in it. 

Yes. Katsuki couldn’t really get a good look at the fucker to really say what it looked like, but whenever he did...he could feel his heart start to go haywire. And the last thing he needed was to get a heart attack from looking at the blasted thing, so staring directly at it was a no go. But that didn’t mean the fucker wasn’t content to sit in his periphery being a nuisance. Instead, the bastard would get up close and personal with Katsuki with the clear intent of giving said heart attack. Luckily the doctors knew of a way to stop that from happening, but there’s no telling when the murderous little monster would decide which inopportune time to leave its spot to give Katsuki the hug of death.

He just hoped that the fucker would decide to play nice and stay in his periphery. He needs to win the Sports Festival to prove he is the strongest and that he will not be hampered by this fucking little gremlin. He just needs to focus, and ignore it. Just as the doctor said to. 

Going on patrol in Musustafu was not only dangerous but also redundant at the moment, and the last thing Izuku needed was to draw attention to himself to a large group of heroes. Even if there was danger going on in the city, there were simply more than enough heroes to take care of it. So, if the surface was frenzied with competition, he just needed to dive to deeper waters where there would be less fish to bother him. At least that’s how Marris would put it.

However, getting to his temporary hunting grounds would take some time, especially since he travels there by train. But it should give him some time to watch the Festival before he gets to work. As such, the blue haired vigilante sat there in the empty train car as it traveled to his destination. His phone in hand as he watched a live stream of the opening events.

“I am really disappointed in you, Midoriya.”, scolded a familiar voice.

Izuku turned his gaze away from the cell phone and towards the voice that appeared in the seat next to him.

In a manner that was not befitting of a creature of supernatural origins, Marris was sitting in the train seat like a normal person. Nevermind the fact that her tail nearly reached the other side of the cart, or the fact that she took up nearly two seats because of her sheer size. But that paled in comparison to the scold that was etched on her blank face. 

Izuku gulped as he had never seen Marris directing such emotion towards him, “H-Hi Marris. Where have you been?”

His response seemed to irritate the fish woman more, “Do not ‘Hi Marris” me, Midoriya! I am in no mood for you to be pretending that nothing is wrong! And if you must know, I was seeing Haga-chan and trying to help her feel better after what you said to her.”

A flare of anger emerged in his chest, “So, you know about it then. And you are taking her side in all of this?”

“Is it wrong for her to care about you Izuku! And don’t act like she was in the wrong because she isn’t!”, Marris bite back. 

“That’s easy for her to say, Marris because she is already a part of that group! And I’ve been a vigilante for months now, and the moment she finds out she immediately tries to butt in and fix things that can’t be fixed!”, Izuku retorted back.

“Midoriya…”, Marris warned as her hair danced in a frenzy, “Do not pretend to be in the right because you are not.”

“No! you don’t get to stand there and lecture me for this because in all that time you never once tried to do what Hagakure brought up. You are being a hypocrite that is siding with someone who is wrong!”, Izuku barked back as his emotions boiled over.  

“ THAT’S ENOUGH !”, barked Marris, her voice a raging storm, “I do not care if you think what she was doing was out of line or not! The simple fact is that Ma’Kal Ris cares about you enough to bring it up and even risk herself for you! She did it as an act of love for you Midoriya and you responded to it by biting her and barking at her. That is unacceptable! You are going to apologize to her and that is final! AM I CLEAR !”

Izuku was taken aback by the rage of Marris, and trained his eyes on the floor before reluctantly saying, “Yes, Marris.”

The fish woman looked away from Izuku and crossed her long arms. Marris huffed a breath of air for the first time ever before disappearing entirely from the cart. “ I am leaving to go watch Haga-chan, and to give you time to cool down your temper. I do expect you to think things over and come to the proper realization.”

With that final threat/order, the presence of Marris disappeared from the train leaving Izuku all alone. Frustrated and angry beyond repair, Izuku pocketed his cell phone and spent the rest of the trip watching out the window of the train as it zipped along its path. 

Hagakure huffed and puffed as she finally crossed the finish line at the end of the obstacle course. Her body ached and her lungs burned at the mad dash she had to do to secure her position in the final stretch of this insane course.

“ Robots, minefields, and sheer drops. Who is the madman who designed this and got approval to use this nightmare?”, Hagakure thought to herself.

Nezu sneezed loudly from his seat in the VIP booth.

Hagakure counted herself lucky that her combined training with Izuku and Marris had helped steeled her body in more ways than she imagined. Quick reflexes honed as a result of sparing Izuku enabled her to avoid getting her feet encased in ice by Todoroki in the tunnel. Increased strength and endurance allowed her to keep up a good pace after everyone broke out of the tunnel. Marris’ stealth tips allowed her to not get noticed by the hoard of Zero Pointers running rampant, despite the unconscious shuddering she did when she got close to one of them. 

The parkour that Izuku showed her how to do worked well with her own training in gymnastics helped her cross the ravine with greater ease than some of the other students. Thankfully, Bakugou’s self proclaimed challenge to Todoroki enabled the minefield to clear by the time she got there, leaving the final stretch of the race to just be a simple sprint.

Still, despite all the outside training given to her by the Vigilante duo, it still wasn’t enough for her to overcome many of her classmates that had a strong quirk.  Momo zipping past her on the final stretch on a bike comes to mind. 11th place was not bad by all means, and it meant that she was able to move on to the next round. A step closer to her goal. 

Hagakure blinked as she found herself standing with a group of students she didn’t remember walking up to. Nor did she have any memory of the second event even starting, in fact...wasn’t she freaking out because she couldn’t find anyone that will take her into their team? That was until she met that boy with the purple hair?

The invisible girl looked up to the scoreboard and said that she was on a team for someone called Shinso. The cavalry battle was already over? And they had also managed to score in fourth place, just barely enough to make the cut to the final round. The gears in her head worked hard to figure out what in blazes just happened.

“You were under the control of the sleepy one’s quirk?”, Marris' voice echoed in her head. 

“I was under a quirk’s effects?”, Hagakure mouthed in disbelief.

Under any normal circumstances, Hagakure would’ve been feeling a number of things at the notion. None of them are good. But when Marris emerged in her life in the most painful of ways. The shock of not having control was considerably lessened as a result. Besides, she considers the whole deal a blessing in disguise rather than the polar opposite of it. She was able to make it to the third round, despite the fact that it was looking like she was going to lose at round two.

“Perhaps I should thank this Shinso person?”, Hagakure thought to herself, “He may just have done me a favor.”

The invisible girl then looked back to the scoreboard to see the announcement for the third and final round.

Final round: One on One Duels 

Final Contestants: Hitoshi Shinso, Hanata Sero, Shoto Todoroki, Ibara Shiozaki, Denki Kaminari, Tenya Ida, Mei Hatsumi, MIna Ashido, Ejiro Kirishima, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Katsuki Bakugou, Momo Yaoyorozu, Fukikage Tokoyami, Yuga Aoyama, Ochaco Uraraka, Tooru Hagakure. 

First Bracket: Shinso vs Uraraka 

Kaminari vs Shiozaki

Ida vs Hatsume

Todoroki vs Sero

Aoyama vs Ashido

Tokoyami vs Yaoyorozu

Kirishima vs Hagakure

Bakugou vs Tetsutetsu

Hagakure looked at the board with an unseen and fierce determination. She was going to win this competition and save Izuku from the trap of vigilantism. And she wasn’t going to do this alone because she had a secret weapon that she had been saving for this final round. The power of the Oarfish will ensure she will not lose this final obstacle. 

Meanwhile in Hosu...

Steel shined in the miniscule amount of light that was able to worm its way through the darkness that engulfed the alleyway. It was a scene beholden to a grisly and one-sided slaughter because once again the Hero Killer had struck once again. A man dressed head-to-toe in a suit of armor that reminiscent of a mecha lay on the dingy street with blood pooling beneath his crumpled form. This man was Ingenium, the Turbo Hero. Or at least he was Ingenium because at this moment he was nothing more than Tensei Ida, and was struggling against an unseen force slowly choking him.  

Standing victorious over the mecha man was a predator that specialized in this peculiar type of prey. The Hero Killer: Stain. The vigilante turned villain took the appearance of a Shinobi or atleast what one would look like in the modern world. He wore a tattered red scarf that also functioned as a headband while also sporting black arm guards that protected his wrists. However his most striking feature was the fading mask that covered most of his noseless face. The look was complimented with spiked combat boots, black military issued trousers, and kevlar bullet proof vest. But what completed his image was the bloodied Katana that he held in one hand over the downed hero.

“Pitiful!”, the Hero Killer barked with disgust, “I was expecting more of a fake as popular as you are, but I shouldn’t be surprised that a hero that hides behind his sidekicks wouldn’t put much of a fight!”

The downed hero below him said nothing.

“Got nothing to say?”, Stain said in mocked jest, “Good, because I don’t think I would like to hear anything that comes out of your LYING MOUTH!”

In a bout of ideological rage, the Hero Killer raised his katana high in the air and brought it down on the helpless hero underneath him. The sound of metal giving way echoed in the alley as the gory sound of slicing took its place. But it wasn’t enough for the Hero Killer to attack once, no, he quickly ripped the katana out of the hero and struck again. And again. And again. With each attack blood splattered the walls of the alley and the pool of blood grew larger beneath Ingenium.

The blood stained villain lifted his red katana and in one quick motion swiped the blade through the air, removing all the gore coating the sword.

“Fakes like you disgust me. All of you fake heroes are polluting what it means to be a hero.”, Stain monologued as he circled the Hero, “It’s a disgusting stain upon society, a stain that must be washed away with the blood of the unworthy!”

The Hero Killer stopped his circular motion in order to point the blade near the neck of the injured ingenium.

“If you have any semblance of true heroism then you should be thanking me because your death means that society will grow better without you. Goodbye, Ingenium! May your corruption die with you!”, The Hero Killer bellowed.

In one final and swift motion, the Hero Killer raised his katana in the air one last time and was going to bring it down into one final blow on the beaten hero. This time with the intent of decapitating the helpless man. 

However, the Hero Killer was many things: A crusader, a skilled fighter, and strong willed. But above all, he was a man that was well experienced in the art of stealth and stealth attacks. Had he not been so experienced, then he would’ve never heard the attack that was coming for his exposed backside. In a display of extraordinary reflexes, Stain turned around just fast enough to block the attack with his battered katana. Sparks ricochet as the sound of nails on steel screamed in the alleyway like a banshee. The force of the attack threw the Hero Killer a great distance away from his quarry, causing him to ragdoll from the momentum before he was able to catch himself back on his feet. 

In a display of martial prowess, the Hero Killer was quick to reform up a defensive battle stance with his offhand prepared to pull out a hidden blade for a counter attack. However, there was no follow up on the attack nor was there any indication of the use of a ranged quirk. But the Hero Killer kept his guard up as he scanned the dimly lit alley for the interloper. And glowing like a beacon in the dark was a small figure dressed in white. A figure that Stain recognized from seeing him in countless images. 

“The Ghost of Musustafu.”, Stain said out loud as he stared down his newest opponent. 

The city of Hosu trembled at the villain and vigilante, whose battle was about to tear it shreds.

Chapter Text

WELCOME BACK EVERYONE! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED LAST ROUND’S FIGHT AND THE SMALL BREAK AS WELL!”. Present Mic screamed into the microphone, “BUT ONTO THE NEXT ROUND!”

Hagakure steadied her breathing as she walked down the suffocating hallways to face Kirishima in a trial by combat. She was nervous, but she couldn’t afford to be nervous. She needed to be brave, she needed to win. 

“Do not worry, I am here with you Haga-chan.”, voiced Marris in her head.

The sun was blinding to Hagakure as she left the confines of the belly of the arena. Flashes of camera lights dashed across the stadium like a wave of water. Excited cheers and whoops mimicked the sounds of seals drowned out the sound of her footsteps on the turf. She swallowed the lump in her throat and kept her head straight, trying to not focus on the fact that millions of eyes are on her.  

“Watch out Ladies and Gentlemen because if I didn’t warn you then you couldn’t see her coming. Making her way first to the ring is Class 1-A’s own invisible girl….TOORU HAGAKURE!”, Present Mic hammed up in the microphone. 

Hagakure sighed at the cheesy entrance announcement given by her english teacher. To her, it sounded more like it belonged to a pro wrestling match rather than a sports festival. 

“And her opponent is none other than 1-A’s own manliest of men! A student with a body as hard as stone, and is as tough as he is strong! I present….EIJIRO KIRISHIMA!”, Present Mic said with cheese on the ham. 

Said student began his own trek towards the fighting ring, but he was different from the Kirishima that Hagakure had met on her first day at UA.  His hair was drooping as if it had lost its signature spikiness, and top of that was the color change. On the lower part of his head, towards the roots, was the tell tale sign that Kirishima had been dying his hair red. But now it was returning to its original color of black, and he either forgot to or intended not to apply color to them. His walk was stilted and stiff, as if he was lacking confidence. 

Hagakure got a good look of his eyes when he took the spot parallel to her in the ring. They were filled with an empty crushing feeling that she couldn’t place her finger on.

“ Is Kirishima okay? ”, Hagakure pondered.

However, her thoughts on her opponent’s wellbeing were dashed when Midnight cracked her whip. 

“Alright, You all know the rules by now! I want a nice clean and fair fight!”, the R-rated hero said on the microphone, “NOW LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!”

Kirishima wasted no time and immediately charged towards Hagakure, arms already hardened using his quirk. The invisible girl knew she was at great disadvantage against Kirishima because of his quirk. Not only could he use it as a powerful offensive attack but also use it as a defensive ability that would cause Hagakure’s attacks to backfire. To make up for this disadvantage, Hagakure had to be fast and precise. So she held her ground and waited for him to come to her because she was not eager to charge a rolling stone like Kirishima head on.

Her opponent began his attack with a left uppercut that was directed towards her stomach. With surprising speed, Hagakure sidestepped the attack and flanked Kirishima in one motion. Tooru then quickly used the opportunity to punch Kirishima in the face with a right hook. However, Kirishima was a guy that shrugged off punches on a daily basis, and instantly retaliated with a right hook.

Hagakure just barely avoided the punch with a backstep, sighing in relief that she avoided a punch to the face. Before the air even finished its ‘whooshing’, Tooru countered with a jab to the stomach. Kirishima grunted in pain when the sudden attack connected, but hardened his left leg and did a blind kick towards Hagakure in retaliation. The attack missed its target, but it was enough to scare the invisible girl into backstepping away from the boy.

“Well, would you look at that folks! It looks like Hagakure has some tricks up her sleeves, she certainly floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee!”, Present Mic narrated 

“Asymmetrical warfare.”, Said the annoyed voice of Mr. Aizawa, “The two have completely different approaches to fighting. However, it cannot be understated without mentioning that Miss Hagakure is at a disadvantage. In a fight against an opponent like Kirishima, all it takes is one mistake or a miscalculation to lose their advantage or even the fight. Mr. Kirishima on the other hand could afford to make a mistake or two.”

The invisible girl heavily breathed in much needed air after that brief engagement she had with her classmate. Even though she had yet to hit an area under the effects of his quirk, Hagakure felt like she spent the entire fight chipping away at a large stone with her fists. Her initial strategy was just to merely chip away at his soft parts, but that was about it. She had no solid idea on how to finish the match. 

“ Even if I can avoid his attacks, all it takes is one mistake and I am finished ”, analyzed Tooru, “ What do I do? ”

Hagakure’s thoughts drifted to all the tools she had available in her arsenal, and how she would be able to use them. Oarfish? No, at least not yet. She had a limit on that power, and she needed to save it for one of 1-A’s powerhouses or use it as a move to finish the fight. Perhaps she should shed off her clothes and become completely invisible? It’s not a bad idea considering that anyone would be unable to deal with attacks they cannot see coming. Yes, that should do it! Good thing Izuku is the only who can…

…

…

…

A red blush developed on the unseen face of Hagakure at the realization that Izuku could see her body to its fullest. Suddenly, her idea somehow became a lot harder to execute. Her long sleeves moved close to her face as her hands clasped her cheeks in embarrassment. 

“Nononononono! He already saw me naked before by accident, and what if he thinks I am some kind of voyeur from doing this? Our relationship is only a couple months old, we can’t be progressing their relationship that quickly! We haven’t even held hands!” , Hagakure mentally screamed out. 

Wait? What in the name of All Might was she thinking!? What was all this talk about moving too quickly in their relationship?! They weren’t even dating, yet! Wait, she wasn’t supposed to think that! She got all flustered at the thought of holding Izuku’s hand, and she would probably explode into a pile of blood at the thought of willingly stripping with Izuku wa…

A hard punch to the gut knocked Tooru out of the world of fluster and into the world of extreme pain. A shocked cry escaped Tooru’s lips as she went tumbling away from her peer who gave her a sucker punch. 

Hagakure cursed herself for getting so distracted as she tightly held onto her stomach as she slid away from Kirishima. Damn it! She’s lucky that she is used to getting punched there, otherwise that might have been a KO. But that still left Kirishima with only one punch away from victory and her with no plan to actually beat him. 

“You are the fish, he is the bear. His jaws are powerful and sharp, but you are fast and nimble.”, Marris echoed in her head, “But every bite of his jaws takes great effort. Do not strike him but make him think you will. Do this until he grows weak and then strike him with all you have.”

“We don’t do things because they are easy, but because they are hard.”, the invisible girl paraphrased as she resumed a wobbly battle stance, “Thanks for the advice Marris.”

 Kirishima re-hardened both of his arms before once again charging Hagakure with a bellow. Hagakure let out another deep breather before charging back into the fray. She just hoped Izuku was watching her right now. 

The sound of clanging steel echoed in the alleyway as a shower of sparks illuminated the battle taking place in its isolated confines. The Hero Killer dug his heels into the ground to stop the momentum of his sliding, and as soon as he stopped, Stain took off in a sprint back towards his opponent. Meeting him halfway was the Vigilante known as Ghost. He had no weapons but his human arms had been replaced with two monstrous four fingered ones. Steel met claws as the two rapidly exchanged blows causing a shower of sparks as Stain aggressively attacked Ghost. But Ghost wasn’t content to remain on the defensive.

In the blur of the exchange, Ghost caught the screaming blade of the Hero Killer in his left hand, and used the unnatural strength of his Patron’s arms to squeeze the sword blade and shatter it. Shards of metal rained from the blade as it was separated into two pieces. Taking the initiative from the shocked expression of the Hero Killer, Ghost quickly swiped his right claw at near blinding speeds towards the flat footed villain. With equal swiftness of Ghost, the Hero Killer attempted to back dodge the swipe, dropping the remains of his sword. But he was only partially successful due to how close he was to Ghost’s counter attack. Tearing fabric wailed as the combat vest Stain wore took the brunt of the damage, leaving only four shallow cuts on his ribs.

Stain growled in anger as he landed into crouch on his backfoot, but was quick to aggressively retaliate the interloper. Still using the momentum of his dodge, Stain used all his strength to jump towards the nearest wall of the alleyway before springboarding off of it to shoot himself towards Ghost like a missle. Stain crossed his arms towards his hips during his flight, and roared a triumphant scream as his deranged eyes homed in on Ghost. Faster than Ghost could react, the Hero Killer filled his hands with concealed throwing knives, and flung them in droves at Ghost.

The speed and sheer volume of knives prevented Ghost from being able to dodge them all. Ghost quickly crossed his two arms into an ‘X’ to protect his face and neck from the raining knives. Many of the knives missed, due to the fact Stain sacrificed accuracy for coverage, but many others connected with their target. The knives that struck his robes and arms bounced off harmlessly, leaving only large bruises as damage. However, one of the knives struck a part of his body that wasn't covered by his white robes, his face. The knife whizzed by his head and ground his teeth into his cheek, leaving a deep cut across it before bouncing out of his hood and onto the floor when it hit the back of his hood. 

Stain was quick to follow after the knives, and crashed into Ghost with a strong superman punch in the chest. The cloaked vigilante was torpedoed from the blow before his back scraped against the floor. A pained gasp escaped from his lips as his form came to a stop. Stain seized the initiative with a blurry dash and pounced on Ghost like a predator does his prey. Zoning in on the open laceration that blemished the pale face of the vigilante. Stain opened his mouth wide allowing his long whip-like tongue out, only millimeters away from the red liquid oozing from the wound.

Sparks of electricity danced all over Ghost causing Stain's body to seized up in spasms, preventing him from using his quirk to paralyze Ghost. A tendril-like liquid twisted itself around one of Stain’s boots before flinging him away from the downed vigilante. Stain tumbled and rolled when his airborne body hit the floor, smoke sizzled off his body as he laid on his back. 

Izuku silently cursed his luck as he stiffly sat up from his prone position. So much for ending the fight in his usual style. It looks like this was going to be one long and brutal fight. He was already having a bad day from his personal life, and it looks like work wasn’t going to make it any easier. 

“He is really strong, and is most certainly a huge leap above the average criminal?” thought Izuku, “I cannot take lightly with all the heroes he’s killed.” 

The sheer speed and lighting-like reflexes of the Hero Killer was a factor that he cannot afford to neglect for it seems to be on par with his own speed if not greater. His enhanced vision hadn’t been too much of help besides warning him about the mouth of the Hero Killer. It was most likely quirk related, but he had no idea what it could do, and he didn’t intend to find out the hard way. Unless he wanted to end up like the twenty three heroes before him and the countless villainous scum that met their end by the hands of the Hero Killer. However, unlike his previous experiences on the streets he was running against a clock with a victim that was slowly dying behind him. He needed to act fast, while the Hero Killer was briefly out of commission.

“ Sanctus Aquam”, Izuku whispered and the pool of liquid beneath his feet began to stealthful slither its way towards the downed hero. 

The crawling liquid began to cover the body of Ingenium, filling every damaged region in the suit of armor with the liquid. Once the liquid had finished wrapping itself protectively on the hero, the liquid fainly shined before its viscous surface seemed to harden. The new surface of the liquid now had the texture of gelatin, but seemed to have the same consistency as tree sap. Whatever state the liquid had turned into didn’t matter for the effect of its transformation was immediate in stopping the blood from leaking out Ingenium’s ruined body.

“ I cannot heal like Crab, but she was at least able to show some of the tricks that Holy Water can do. Hang tight Ingenium, I can slow down the bleeding at the cost of using it in combat.” , Izuku mentally spoke out. 

The sound of clattering instantly brought Izuku’s attention back to the villain he was battling. The Hero Killer was back on his feet, but was swaying side-to-side like a tree in the wind. The closed eyes of the villain shot opened to reveal a pair of two stars radiating a cold hatred. Stain’s swaying body stiffened awkwardly before he once again took off in a mad sprint towards Ghost; picking up the remains of his Katanas’ hilt in one hand and the largest piece of the shattered blade in the other. The Warlock Vigilante quickly sprung back up to his feet and locked his eldritch arms into a ‘W’ stance as he charged against his opponent.   

Steel and claw screamed once again in the alleyway as the two fighters clashed head first in a brutal onslaught that locked the two weapons together in a stalemate of strength. The Hero Killer used his greater speed and larger size to push against his smaller and less experienced opponent. While the Ghost of Musustafu used his superior strength and tougher armor to endure the onslaught and push back against the momentum of the Hero Killer.

Despite his face covered by an oversized hood, Ghost exhumed a fierce and determined face with his only visible facial feature gritted into a toothy snarl.  Stain shared an equally fierce and determined expression, save for his mouth which was carved into a deranged grin and his eyes bloodshot with bloodlust. 

Hagakure growled in pain as she clutched her hand that had the bad luck of punching a hardened part of Kirishima’s body. It appeared that Kirishima was finally catching onto her game of chip away at the stone. Despite this, it had been clear that Kirishima’s attacks were slower than they should’ve been. It was as if he didn’t have his heart into the fight or was not going all out against her. Whatever the case, she wasn’t going to pass up on using this weakness to her advantage. Until then, she was lucky that she didn’t break her hand, but she had more pressing issues. Such as the fist coming straight for her face. 

By instinct, the invisible girl ducked underneath the punch and dashed behind Kirishima. The partially red haired boy cursed as he moved to do an elbow drop with a hardened arm on the girl trying to flank behind him. But Hagakure’s back dash was nothing more than a bait to open up Kirishima. She changed course mid dash and tackled Kirishima’s kidneys while punching his gut. Kirishima choked out a bunch of spittle as he was caught completely off guard by the attack.  The manly teen fell onto his rear as he clutched his stomach, completely oblivious to Tooru.

Seizing on the opportunity, Tooru quickly grabbed his right shoulder and applied a nerve lock on his Trapezius muscles and used all of her strength to hold it down. Kirishima’s eyes grew wide and watered from the excruciating pain that was seizing up his shoulder. He vainly tried to use his quirk to harden his shoulder, but the pain from the lock was making it extremely difficult.  There was no way out unless he muscled through!

“ How shocking? A fake like you losing to a true hero. Just give up now. It’s the least you can do for abandoning her .” , echoed the dark voice in Kirishima’s head.

Something sparked in Kirishima upon hearing those words in his head, and it wasn’t good. It was as if something cold and empty snuffed out a light inside him, and with it his will to continue. But another voice emerged in the depths of his mind, one that was small and nothing more than a whisper. It strangely reminded him of Mina’s own voice.

“ Don’t listen to him! Please don’t give up! You can still be a hero ! I believe in you! ”, encouraged the voice . 

Spurred on by the small voice, Kirishima felt his will to fight and win return to him. A desperate roar escaped his lips as he used as much stamina as he could to force his quirk to manifest in his shoulder, biting down on all of the pain as he did so. The effect was instant with his quirk finally coming to his shoulder and negating the pressure applied on by Hagakure. 

The invisible girl squealed in surprise and immediately let go of Kirishima, but escape was not possible without any damage. The sharp toothed boy hardened his arm and swiped behind him with as much force as he could muster. However, instead of connecting with the legs of Hagakure he was met with empty air. A pit of dread formed in his gut before panic set in, causing the teen to turn his attention behind him. There was no sign of Hagakure, nor were her clothes scattered on the floor. It was like she just vanished in thin air!

“What!? She was just right there, and there’s no way she could’ve moved away that fast!” , his mind raced.

In the corner of his eye he saw a sudden jump of movement heading straight towards him, and the scent of kelp filled his nostrils unexpectantly. All Kirishima could do was move his irises to and watch in horror as a shoe came straight for his face. He didn’t even have time to think to use his quirk, and by the time he did it was already too late. The shoe connected with his face with an audible crack! Stars swarmed his vision as the sensation of falling overwhelmed all of his senses.  Kirishima fell to the ground with his drooping hair flowing and his eyes rolled behind his head as he crashed on the cold concrete. A small and meek voice screamed in despair while another voice laughed sadistically at his fall.  

“Kirishima is unable to continue! Hagakure wins!”, shouted the voice of Midnight as she cracked her whip.

Hagakure stood over her opponent still locked in her battle stance while the floating uniform heaved up and down. Unseen to the world was the face of an elf girl who lost her peachy color for a red one. The heaving was Hagakure breathing deeply as she struggled to take in air after the fight. Her limbs felt heavy as she let them sink.

“Damn, I had to use Oarfish to finish him, and I am lucky that he was knocked out by the blow. If he didn’t, then I would’ve lost for sure.” , Hagakure thought. 

The invisible girl then began the trip back to the stands for rest before her next fight as medical bots took Kirishima to Recovery Girl. If the match up was to be as she thought it was going to be, then she was certainly going to need to gather as much strength as possible. 

ROUND ONE OVER----MATCH UPS FOR THE SECOND ROUND.

SECOND BRACKET:

Shinso vs Shiozaki

Ida vs Todoroki

Ashido vs Tokyami

Hagakure vs Bakugou

Ghost growled in pain while clutching his other cheek after yet another barrage of knives came flying his way. A quick glance at his hand revealed a thin layer of blood covering his fingers, he got cut again. However, aside from the two cuts on his cheek, Ghost appeared to unhurt in the fight with Stain. That couldn’t be far from the truth. The robes had done a tremendous job of preventing Izuku from getting cut, but they did little to dampen the force of Stain’s attacks. Underneath the clothes, Izuku was covered from head to toe in black bruises. However his enemy didn’t know that, and was primarily focused on his attacks towards Izuku’s face. It may have to do with the unknown quirk of the Hero Killer or maybe he was trying to end the fight with a finishing blow in the most vulnerable place available. Frowning, the Warlock returned his attention to the assassin that had given him another cut on his face.

Stain was quite ruffled as well with many pieces of his outfit torn or with a number of holes in them.  Cuts and Bruises covered his arms like tattoos while his chest armor was nearly torn to shreds from the battle. He still carried his broken Katana, but had lost the blade shard and replaced it with a Tonto in his offhand. The Hero Killer breathed heavily after their fight had taken them up to the roof of one the buildings that made up the alleyway. In fact, it was Izuku who did this by tackling the Hero Killer whilst he was doing one of his mid air assaults. His enhanced hearing could make out the sound of someone heading for the alleyway amid the hissing and screaming. If his guess was right, then it was most likely one of Ingenium’s sidekicks coming to look for their leader. Thus, Izuku’s main priority was to take the fight elsewhere so Ingenium could get the help he desperately needs without the need to have the authorities deal with Stain first. The last thing he also needed was to get trapped inside that alleyway by the Police and Heroes with a man who will fight to the death. Thankfully, a boost from Marris’ tail was more than powerful enough to accomplish the job, and fling both of them onto the roof of a nearby building.

But now they were out of the alley and it was only a matter of time before they would catch the attention of the Heroes. Ghost needed to end the fight before he found himself cornered without Holy Water to guarantee his escape. Ghost huffed a breath of air as he readied himself to go on the offensive against the murderous villain.

“Well, Well. The Ghost of Musustafu is here and so far away from home.”, The Hero Killer said in a calm voice, “A creature of your caliber and reputation doesn’t strike me as one that would stray too far away from his city. What brings you here? And why do you impede on my work?”

Ghost was glad his hood covered most of his face, otherwise it would betray the surprise on his face. Aside from Shigaraki, no villain had ever talked to him especially with something as mundane as this. But then again, Stain wasn’t a manchild like Shigaraki.  

“Musustafu is full of Heroes, and roaming its streets would only end in my arrest.”, Izuku said in the wisp-like buzzing his alter ego used, “As for you, our confrontation is one of happenstance. Though I would say that I am fortunate to run into the likes of you.”

Stain raised an eyebrow under his red mask, “Fortunate to run into me? Do you have a death wish or maybe you are arrogant enough to think that you can subdue me?”

“Both those answers or wrong because I don’t think I can take you down Stain.”, Ghost replied, “I know I can take down a villain like you with no problem.”

Stain smiled his grisly smile, “I see...so the morally righteous vigilante persona, then? But one that also has an ego to match as well. How typical. It seems that all those papers are wrong, and you are much worse than you expected.”

Ghost felt a nerve twitch in irritation, “What’s that supposed to mean?

The Hero Killer chuckled, “It means that you are no different from me beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“Like You!?”, Ghost balked, “I am nothing like you! I do not murder people and claim it is for the greater good! Are I really desperate enough to use tricks to try and unhing me?

“Tricks?!”, Stain said like he had been insulted, “I don’t resort to such cowardly tactics against anyone, especially villains in the making like you, Ghost! Do you really think that you have the moral high ground over me?! That you are the noble and righteous vigilante!” 

“I am…”, Ghost began to say. 

“Are really delusional enough to even think that!”,Stain interrupted while pointing his broken sword at Ghost, “You became a villain in the making the moment you thought your judgement was greater than all the others. It’s only a matter of time before you cross the unforgivable line and descent into villainy.

“I will never become a villain, my intentions are good! And what would you know about judgment! A man that murders people for not living up to his ideal version of a hero, judging me as if he knew what kind of person I am!”, Ghost countered. 

Stain snorted at the remark, “I said the same thing long ago before I took up the mantle of ‘Hero Killer’. I was once like you, a dissatisfied idealist who took matters into my own hands to save this rotten world from itself! I was also not the only one to follow the same path as you Ghost, or rather you are following my path. However, unlike you, I never rebelled against the system of Hero Society.”

“How can you say that?! You murder people in the system, and claim not to be a villain!You also act like the system isn’t wrong and flawed beyond repair!”, Izuku said bitterly, “I would be better off if I wasn’t shackled by the Hero system and its favoritism!”

“The system isn’t wrong! It's the fake and the corrupt that are making the system wrong! And It is my duty to purge that corruption and return it to his purer form! That is my conviction! That is my purpose, that is my great but terrible quest. To stain myself full of sin to create a purer society!Then tell me this, Vigilante of Justice! What is your conviction?”

“My conviction?” Ghost questioned. 

“Yes! What is your reason for doing what you do? What great cause do you justify your actions! Why do you take matters into your own hands?”, stressed the Hero Killer.

“Why does that even matter!?”, balked Ghost. 

Stain growled in anger, “Because I can see your whole history written all over you! You are like every other villain that washes our world with their filth! A self-proclaimed victim of society that uses their past injustices as nothing more than an excuse to justify their criminal actions. You claim that you are in the right and you couldn’t be far from it. All your actions point to a child that is lashing out in spite and anger, determined to spit in the face of those who wronged you! To proclaim that you are better than they are!”

“That’s wrong! You are wrong!”, denied Ghost, “How can a system that favors the strong be a Just one? Where those with power are given everything while the weak are casted aside like garbage?”

Stain said nothing for a moment as his bloodshot eyes scanned Ghost, “You act like you don’t have a tremendous power beneath you. Not one, but four quirks! All of them powerful in their own way! Yet, you talk as if you are one of society’s helpless and downtrodden.”, Stain argued back, “You possess a strength that's only ever graced this world forty years ago, a power that could be used for the greater good. But for it to be wasted on an individual like you is saddening.”

“SHUT UP!”, Izuku barked in anger, “YOU KNOW NOTHING OF MY LIFE OR WHAT I HAD TO ENDURE! A VILLAIN LIKE YOU HAS NO RIGHT OR GROUNDS TO JUDGE ME!”

“Neither do you.”, Stain said in an oddly quiet voice before he raised his two weapons, “I now know what you truly are, Ghost. You are nothing more but a slighted child who uses their gift in pursuit of selfish means. And yet, proclaims that what they do is Just and for the better. You are no different from the frauds that fatten themselves off of profit and indulge themselves with the drug of fame. In fact, you are even worse than them. But unlike those fakes, you have the power to uproot society into chaos and destruction.”

Izuku was trying hard to steady himself from the Hero Killer’s words. He was trying so hard not to shake from those words. They pierced him harder than any of Stain’s Knives. Tooru’s words echoed in his head like a cryptic warning he had chosen to ignore.

The Hero Killer repositioned himself into a fighting stance, “You are a threat to everyone, but one that has yet to fully develop their skill. So for the good of a purer society...I must kill you while you are still only budding.”

Ghost was shaking in rage at the words of Stain, “I’d like to see you try Hero Killer because from this moment onwards...I will defeat you and end your madness!” 

A moment of silence and gentle peace fell on the rooftop, before it was mauled into shreds. 

A bloodcurdling scream escaped from the Hero Killer as his face contorted into a maddening rage, “A newspaper had the audacity to compare the likes of you to All Might! The greatest hero to ever exist to be compared to a petty creature such as you...I cannot...think...of anything...more...INSULTING!” 

Faster than Izuku could react, the Hero Killer closed the distance between the two with a single dash. With inhuman speed, the Hero Killer sliced at Izuku’s chest with his broken Katana while he stabbed at his shoulder with his tanto. The broken blade bounced off harmlessly off the robes, but the hero killer was finally able to pierce the hard shell of the robe with his tanto. Izuku screamed out as the cold blade buried itself into his shoulder. The Hero Killer, not wanting to lose his opportunity, dropped his sword hilt and grabbed the tanto with his now empty offhand. Using both of hands and his full strength, the Hero Killer used his momentum to knock Ghost onto the ground pinning him with the blade. 

“You think you are invincible but your arrogant sense of self confidence will be your downfall! ”, shouted the Hero Killer, “ I am not like those cowardly fools who attack children and run when they are met with resistance! I am not a villain! I am a necessary evil to purge corruption and other evils!”

The Hero Killer roughly pulled out the embedded dagger, and brought the blood soaked blade to his face. Nothing could stop Stain when his tongue connected with the bloody knife. 

Izuku could feel his body go slack immediately when the red tanto kissed the tongue of Stain. His eyes widened in shock as his worst fear came true.

“ I can’t move!”, Izuku thought frantically, “ His quirk! It paralyzes people! ”

Stain raised his tanto high into the air, “IT’S OVER GHOST! THIS BATTLE IS NOW OVER! NOW DIE!”

The knife whistled a sickly tune as it descended upon the exposed neck of Ghost. Blood splattered as the blade dug into the neck of the warlock. 

Endeavor huffed as he watched the retreating back of his masterpiece disappear into the dark folds of the UA Stadium. That boy and his childish rebellion was giving more grey hairs than all his years dealing with the media. It didn’t matter if the boy accepted him or not because he needed to realize that using only half of his potential was a quick ticket to a gruesome death with a villain or at the hands of the vultures when they blame him for some disaster could be averted if he used his fire half.

All this headache just to spite him. How irksome that his legacy was going to be tarnished by the boy’s own naivety. Perhaps this was fate’s way of telling him that he was always destined to be alway come up short. To always be behind All Might. Damn kids. 

The elder Todoroki snorted in irritation as he began strolling to his spot in the stadium. Debating about leaving the Festival for his agency and avoiding the failure in the making that was his youngest son. 

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

The elder Todoroki growled in irritation as he heard the annoying sound of his phone grate against his ears. He was already having an irritating day already, and was in no mood to deal with the antics of his annoying sidekicks, so this had better be important. After pulling his phone out of his pocket, he was surprised to see that it was a text message sent through an official channel by Law personnel. The normally scowling Hero began to grimace as he read the contents of the message. It seems that fate had other plans for him. 

Stain stood motionless like a statute, paralyzed in his killing blow. His breathing was shallow and quick despite exerting himself beyond his limits to secure the kill. He kept his hands secure on the Tanto, ready to push it past the point of Ghost’s spine should he prove not dead. But that was not likely. Ghost’s face was bloody, his mouth drooling red, his eyes were hollow.  He did it. He was victorious. Ghost was dead…

BOOM!

Clouds gathered and darkened as they blanketed the sky blocking the sun. Stain looked up to the sky with surprise as a cloudless and sunny day suddenly became stormy. Lightning glowed deep in the clouds as wind began to violently howl like a wolf was in the sky. The Hero Killer narrowed his eyes as he scanned across the rooftops for anyone who might be using a quirk to alter the weather. Perhaps a hero had finally come to interfere with the fight. He was so focused on the deteriorating weather around him, that the Hero Killer was caught completely off guard when the body beneath his feet spoke out loud. 

Udødelig Raseri!

Fear and surprise enveloped the face of Stain as he looked back down to see a blue monstrous hand coming straight for his chest. A small shockwave briefly interrupted the wind as Stain was punched in the chest. Blood, spittle and bile sprayed out his mouth as he was flung off the ‘dead’ vigilante with enough force to throw him off the building.  His thoughts raced at a million miles an hour trying to make sense of how Ghost survived being stabbed in the neck. But none of them seemed possible. Stain landed unceremoniously on his belly onto a lower building that was cramped as close to the higher building as possible. 

The Hero Killer coughed and grunted as he used his arms to shakily push himself off the ground. The sound of steady and slow footsteps make the Hero Killer quickly glance back up to the taller building. His eyes widen in shock at the sight of Ghost standing at the edge of the building. 

Blue electricity swarmed the small fram of Ghost like insects, and strange tentacle-like appendages were overflowing from the confines of the hood. Flickers of blue light revealed black empty eyes and mouth full of wickedly sharp teeth. But those features paled in comparison to the tanto that was still embedded in the vigilante’s neck, and a strange black liquid oozing out of the wound like blood. In a slow and deliberate motion, Ghost reached out and grabbed the handle of the knife with his monstrous limb. The sickly wet sound of tearing flesh could be heard as the blade was slowly pulled out of his neck, revealing the injury in its entirety to the Hero Killer. Stain’s irises shrank and jittered in the whites of his eyes as looked on in horror at what he was seeing.

“I-It c-can’t be? There’s no way.”, Stain said in shock.

With the hand that was devoid of the knife, Ghost raised his other hand high into and squeezed it into a fist. Lightning flashed across the sky, darkening the details of the warlock for the tiniest of moments. Stain felt his chest tighten up at the sight of Ghost’s neck after that flash of lightning because the devastating wound he delivered to Ghost was now gone. 

“Your belief in your skills is applaudable, but you underestimate me and my power! But don’t worry, I’ll play your game of wills, Stain. You said you wanted to know my conviction! Then I will tell you!” , Ghost said in a deep rumbling rage, “You were correct in assuming that my reasons were drawn from spite and anger.”

Ghost squeezed the tanto in his hand causing the blade to groan in agony before shattering into fragments of metal. The warlock then jumped from the taller building down to the shorter one, landing into a crouch only a few feet away from Stain. 

“However, that was until I learned the truth about the crumbling pillar.” , Ghost continued as he rose from the crouch, “The shining pillar whose brilliance blinds the world to its impending end. My purpose is to lessen the strain it endures, until a new pillar can take its place. In short, I deal with the scum that chip away at its base, hastening its end. I, Ma’ken Ris, stop blind scum like you STAIN!” 

With that final statement, Ghost locked his arms into another ‘W’ stance and his body into a slight crouch in preparation for the final battle.

Stain looked on at his opponent with an unreadable expression, before slowly pulling himself off the floor. Stain had no trouble steadying himself upright in front of his enraged opponent. The Hero Killer causally reached for a knife hidden away in his combat vest. Stain then used the small blade to cut off the knots that were holding the mask and scarf to his person. The howling wind blew away the fabric, revealing the deformed skull-like visage of his face. Letting the knife fall harmlessly to the floor, Stain reached down and unbuckled the armor around his knees, also letting it fall to the ground. The sound of a unzipping was lost to the roaring wind as Stain undid his combat vest and peeled off his chest, revealing a chest full of battle scars.

With one final motion, Stain reached for the final sheathed weapon that was tied to his lower back. In his hands was a Wakizashi clad in an ornate wooden sheath. With a steady and careful hand, the Hero Killer pulled the blade from its sheath. The hilt of the short sword appeared to be styled after the traditional style of Chinese swords. Silver metal glazed the ornate patterns and embroidery of the hilt, while the handle was made from ivory wrapped in a silk that was dyed black. The black of the sword was pristined and well cared for. Swirling red vines of an unknown metal were laced into the fabric of the blade, making it look like blood was flowing through the steel weapon. Etched into the center of the sword blade was a single word written in the language of the Nara Period of Japan. 

スターベイン

Sutābein, Star Bane

The Hero Killer dropped the sheath in his hand and took the hilt of the sword in both of his hands. Stain took up a defensive stance before his opponent, all unhinge rage gone in his system. Instead it was replaced with a disciplined and focused aura that seemingly didn’t belong to the radical serial killer. 

“Then we shall see whose will is stronger!”, Stain calmly stated, “Your will against mine! Abomination!”

The howling wind became silent in the ears of the villain and the vigilante. 

Ghost was the first to engage, charging with a feral roar on his breath, causing cracks to appear on the rooftop with every step. The Hero Killer also took off into a sprint, running like the shinobi of old towards the inhuman monster coming at him.  A flurry of blows exploded when the two opposites clashed. Without his armor slowing him down, Stain became inhumanly fast, as if he had a speed quirk,  he sliced his odd blade defensively rather than aggressively. Ghost was slower with his monstrous half form, but that was balanced out with his unrelenting ferocity and his quirks. Bursts of shockwaves buffed against the wind as claw and steel clashed against each other in this death battle. A stalemate emerged in the fight with Stain unable to counterattack from the beast-like aggression from Ghost keeping him on the defensive, and in turn Ghost was not able to land a blow due to his slower attacks and Stain’s increased speed. 

The final battle has begun, and those caught in the path of the two will suffer the consequences. 

Ida nervously paced back and forth in his waiting room as he was clearly agitated by his upcoming fight. 

“T he strongest of our class. I have to fight Todoroki-san .”, the speckled teen thought to himself. 

His fight against Mei was nothing more than a joke or rather as a glorified advertisement for the maniacal inventor’s machines. It didn’t reflect his own capabilities that well, especially since he foolishly agreed to wear all the gadgetry. But his next fight was a make or break when it came to his performance, he just hoped that he wouldn’t end up like poor Sero did.

*RING RING RING*

Ida jumped at the sudden sound of his cell phone ringing, and was quick to pick it up. The caller id said it was from his mother. Odd. He was expecting a call from after his match with Todoroki, but why would they call while he was waiting for him to begin. Ida shrugged and thought of the call as nothing more as a pre match good luck chat. Without anymore thought the navy haired teen answered the call. 

“Hello.”, was all he said when he answered. 

And then his world turned to ashes.

Smoke and dust billowed from the city of Hosu amid the storm that was raging in the sky as the sound of battle echoed on the streets. The howling wind did much to dampen the sounds, but did little to prevent the two combatants from spilling into the streets.  A path of destruction followed in their wake as they fought to the bitter end. 

Amid this battle, the Hosu Police Department was in chaos. It was already bad enough that most officers were off duty with only a skeleton crew manning the emergency line. They had expected a couple instances of noise complaints or maybe a barroom brawl caused by some heated passions caused by the UA Sports Festival. What they didn’t expect was a raging battle between two villains in the midst of the city. 

The skeleton crew quickly became overwhelmed with the number of emergency calls being phoned in by terrified civilians caught up in the crossfire of the battle. At first it was fine, nothing more than a few callers expressing worry over some sounds they heard in the back alleys. But soon things started to explode when the two started moving across the city. The crew was desperately working to get off duty officers to report in while simultaneously alerting other emergency services to the call. 

“Help they crashed into my store! Oh God!”, screamed the caller before disconnecting.

“Hello, are heroes here? Mommy said to call this number. bad men are in the house. ”, said the confused voice of a child caller.

“ Please send an ambulance as quickly as you can! Two men were fighting and my brother got hurt trying to stop them. Please there’s so much blood.”, said another panicked caller. 

“There is a villain and monster fighting in the street! Hurry send someone because they are destroying everything!”, another terrified caller said. 

Everyone in that crew was at their limit, and could not spare any second away from jobs. That was until Line 99 began to screech. Everyone in the office stopped what they were doing and paled at the flashing light of the line. It was the line used exclusively by Heroes, for dire emergencies. No one dared touch it at first, but a young man with peppermint hair stepped up and answered the line. 

“This is the Hosu Police Department! State your Emergency!”, the man said with strained urgency. 

“This is Crawler, a sidekick a part of Team Idaten!”, screeched the panicked voice, “I need dispatch to send an ambulance to 21 Suki Ave! I repeat! I need an ambulance at 21 Suki Ave! We have a hero down! I repeated a Hero is Down!”

“This is dispatch, Crawler, we hear you loud and clear!”, the dispatch operator replied, “We are sending an ambulance right now!”

“Hurry!”, shouted the sidekick, “Ingenium is also covered by a strange quasi-liquid like substance. I think it might be the work of a quirk, but I cannot confirm what its function is!”

“Roger that Crawler! Paramedics will be alerted to the situation.”, stated the dispatch operator.

“Team Idaten is also requesting immediate backup! We have confirmation that the Hero Killer and another party are involved with the attack. I repeat! The Hero Killer and a third party is in the area and active!” 

The Hero Killer….? Everyone in that office once again became silent. A villain of that notoriety in their town, and with the only available hero down for the count. Everyone became frozen in place, and became oblivious to the world around them. The ringing of phones sung like a chorus at a funeral while the ‘hellos’ from the sidekick on the line fell on deaf ears. Until the tell-tale sound of boots on tile sounded like the roar from a jet engine. All turned towards the door to see a man with a dog head, while dressed in casual clothes, standing in the doorway. Everyone knew who this man was, and were utterly surprised to see him there. The man wasted no time and immediately got to restoring his subordinates to their duty. 

“Dispatch I need every available officer to report for duty, and to take to the streets! We have a known Serial Killer roaming the streets uncontested right now with only Team Idaten as the available heroes!”, Ordered the Chief of Police taking control of the situation, “Send a request of aid to Musustafu for any available Hero to come and assist the situation in Hosu. Preferably ones who can make great haste!”  

“Are you sure you don’t want me to help Haga-chan? It will be difficult, but I am sure I can help you in the same way as Izuku.”, Marris said in a worried tone

“It’s fine Marris, I appreciate the offer. But I have to do this on my own.”, Hagakure said reassuringly 

“Please, Haga-chan. Allow me to help, I beg of you.”, Marris pushed.

Hagakure seemed puzzled at Marris becoming insistent of helping her, “Is there something wrong, Marris? You didn’t act this way with my match with Kirishima, and what makes Bakugou any different?”

Marris’ voice remained stoic and neutral but betrayed a hidden emotion beneath its surface. “Shark Tooth is one of your fellow hatchinglings in the reef. He plays rough but his heart is kind and good natured, so there is nothing to worry with him. But that is not true with him .”

It was almost as if Marris was trying hard not to spit out the words that seemed to address Bakugou directly? Did she have a history with the explosive quirk user or was there something else to it? 

The incredibly unfitting sound of Marris huffing echoed in her head, “Do not trouble yourself with such things at least not today. Go and continue with your fight, but know that I will be watching...carefully.” 

Hagakure gulped at the veiled threat in Marris’ voice, and she wasn’t sure it was directed to her or Bakugou. Wisely, Hagakure opted to not push the subject and hurried towards the ring for the upcoming fight. 

“ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! CAN I GET A BIG ‘YEAH’ FOR THE NEXT MATCH OF THE SECOND ROUND!”, announced Present Mic.

The cracking silence of the stadium caused a heavy bead of sweat to crawl down the forehead of the noise hero. And a resounding snicker could be heard from the cocooned man next to him, and it was loud enough for the microphone to pick up.

Not one to lose his cool so soon, Present Mic continued his broadcast. “Um, Right. Anyways staring us off in the second round of the third event are two extraordinary students! Coming first to the ring is a boy that is strong as he is fierce. You know him as the number one student in the entrance exams and a powerhouse throughout the entire festival! Will he win and move on to the finals or will his streak end here? Give it up for the Bombardier of UA: Katsuki Bakugou!” 

Right on que, Bakugou strolled out the tunnel that led to his side of the arena. The crowd erupted in cheers and whoops, but the explosive teen paid them no mind. He walked all the way to his side of the arena with that same disinterested expression he always carried, hands in his pockets.

“Next up, is a girl that we certainly didn’t see coming this far into the festival, but we are cheering for her nonetheless. Will this underdog earn another victory or will she bite off more than she could chew? Give it up for the Invisible and Charming: Tooru Hagakure!”

Much like Bakugou, the invisible girl strolled out from her side of the arena. Unlike the explosive teen, Hagakure returned all the cheers thrown her way with waves and a big smile. If only anyone could see it. Her strut hid a deep nervousness within as she was terrified at going against one of the strongest in her class. 

The cheers of the stadium died as Hagakure took up her position in the ring, as many prepared themselves for the one sided beatdown that was going to occur. The crack of Midnight’s whip signaled the beginning of the fight, and like a bullet the two opponents sprung into action. 

Hagakure shot into a sprint trying to close the distance between her and Bakugou. If she had any chance against the boy, then it would be in close quarters and not at a distance where he can just blast her with his quirk.  However, Bakugou wasn’t going to just let her waltz up to him unimpeded, he raised both his arms and unleashed an explosion from both.

With honed reflexes, Hagakure was able to dodge the first barrage without issue, and from the lingering smoke closed the distance between her and Bakugou. In a singular and graceful motion, Hagakure removed the jacket she was wearing and tossed it towards Bakugou. Instinctively Bakaugou blasted the jacket with his quirk and turned it into ashes. 

With the momentary distraction, Hagakure slid underneath the explosion before spingboarding into an uppercut on her classmate. Her fist connected with his jaw with a fleshy thud, and continued her assault with a haymaker towards his liver.  The blond teen growled in pain at the blow, but was quick to counter with a knee jab into Hagakure’s side 

The force of the blow and her smaller size caused her to go flying. Hagakure stifled a yelp as she impacted the floor. From her spot, she could see Bakugou charging her with smoke in his palms. With her instincts telling her to move, she forced herself to roll away from her spot just as Bakugou brought down his open palms onto the ground. An explosion followed the action and shattered the concrete ground like an eggshell. 

Tooru kicked up back onto her feet and rushed onto Bakugou’s exposed back. She locked her arms around his head into a sleeper hold while her legs locked around his waist. The blond teen instinctively grabbed at the arms holding his neck prisoner while he also tried to shake her off. But Tooru’s grip was like that of a python’s, and thus refused to let go no matter how hard he tried to loosen it. With his face beginning to turn blue, Bakugou jumped into the air and landed on his back with all his weight bearing down on Tooru. She retched as her breath was forced out from the impact causing her to intentionally let go of her quarry. 

Bakugou instantly rolled away from the downed girl, but he wasn’t quick enough to get on his feet as she was. Hagakure dashed towards her target as quickly as she could, intent on collapsing on him while he was in a bad position. Bakugou didn't get up before sending bursts of explosions towards his opponent. 

Hagakure was quick enough to dodge the first explosion, but was unable to dodge the second one. The heat from the fire singed her skin, and the force of the explosion forced her back.  But Bakugou wasn’t one to relent, and let out a chain of explosions on her as he got to his feet. Without being able to recover Hagakure tumbled and somersaulted repeatedly, growing closer and closer to the edge. However, Bakugou stopped his chain of attacks and merely watched with a smug expression at the invisible girl who collapsed at the edge of the ring. 

Hagakure trembled uncontrollably as she attempted to get back on her feet, but her body was refusing to cooperate. Her breathing was hoarse as each explosion felt like getting hit by a car repeatedly without end. 

“Hagakure are you able to continue?”, asked the concerned voice of Midnight.

Hagakure said nothing to the hero, and instead started to scream out. With every ounce of her strength the invisible forced herself to her feet, swaying and shaking as she did so. With hoarse heaving, Hagakure took a fighting stance and steadied herself. 

“I-I can continue, Midnight-sensei.”, Hagakure replied. 

Bakugou looked like he swallowed a lemon, but that soon changed back to the same dismissive look he presented to her on the first day of school. 

“Well, it seems that you are tougher than you look, invisalign. But that won’t help you against me. Pebbles like you are to be brushed aside so I can deal with the important extras.”, stated Bakugou. 

“That’s where you are wrong Bakugou! You say that I am a pebble in your way of victory, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth! In reality, you are the pebble in my path and I have no choice but to win!”, Hagakure retorted back with a fire in her heart. 

“Are dumber than you look or are you trying to bluff me like I am some moron? Can’t you see that you are completely outclassed. Your battle with shitty hair was a fluke and that was becuase he was too stupid to beat you into a pulp the proper way. But when I say you are outclassed, then you are fucking outclassed, and what I say is fact.”, Bakugou sneered. 

A smile creeped up on the unseen face of Hagakure, “Then you’ve made a great mistake.”

The tattoo on Hagakure's arm tingled as electricity shot through her system. The veins under her skin darkened to an inky black and displayed themselves proudly like a badge of honor, despite the fact that no one could see them. Her brown eyes changed to the color red and her short hair began to take a more tentacly appearance. Small webbing also developed on her hands and three shark-like gill slits appeared on her neck. The power of the oarfish was in her veins, the true form of Ma’Kal Ris , her trump card.

“Because I spent weeks preparing for this festival, training both quirk and body with the intention to win! But not for my sake, but for another’s! SO I CANNOT LOSE!”, Ma’Kal Ris shouted defiantly. 

The scent of kelp began to linger in the air as an aura of strength began to emit from Hagakure. Bakugou’s face flipped to a shocked face before he quickly raised both of his arms towards the invisible girl and shot a massive explosion without hesitation. The ball of fire and ash raced towards Hagakure and engulfed her like a wild animal. The crowd gasped in shock as the invisible girl was seemingly devoured by the explosion, but completely covered by the thunderous sound of the explosion was a simple phrase said on the lips of the girl. 

“ Pivu Na’ai , Rift Walk!”, spoke Ma’kal Ris 

“Sir we are getting reports that the Hero Killer is fighting the Ghost of Musustafu!”, exclaimed one of the dispatch operators, “What are the orders for the officers should the reports are confirmed?”

The Chief of Police remained stoic, “As of right now our focus to get any civilians out of harm’s way. Send out a Hero Alert to all cell phones in Hosu, and I want our Officers in the field to proceed with extreme caution. And if the Ghost of Musustafu is really in our city, then I want him handled with the same scrutiny as the Hero Killer.”

“Yes Sir!”, replied the operators .

“Natso! What’s the ETA on the support from Musustafu!”, barked the Police Chief. 

“Support is on its way, and due to arrive in fifteen minutes.”

HERO ALERT!

WE ISSUE A WARNING TO THOSE RESIDING IN THE HOSU AREA! STAY INSIDE AND LOCK YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE NOT HOME TAKE COVER IN ANY BUILDING OR BUSINESS. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO LEAVE FOR ANY REASON SAVE FOR EMERGENCIES. TWO CONFIRMED VILLAINS ARE RUNNING RAMPANT IN THE STREETS. BOTH INDIVIDUALS ARE CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. IF YOU SEE AN INDIVIDUAL DRESSED IN WHITE OR ONE WIELDING WEAPONS, DO NOT ENGAGE! RUN AWAY OR HIDE AND ALERT THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY!  

THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

Bakugou, and by association, the stadium watched in tension as smoke lingered in the air far longer than it should have. But the dissipating material scattered enough to reveal the spot where Hagakure once was, and the spot was empty of the girl.

Bakugou’s eyes grew large and his irises began to twitch in the white void in his socket. She should have been blasted into the wall with that peculiar explosion! There was no way she would have been able to dodged it! It was impossible!

“What the fu-ACK!”. But the swear word he was trying to say was cut off by a powerful punch delivered behind his back. Another attack was swiftly followed by the first before the blond teen could turn around causing him to choke out a grunt of pain. Quickly using his quirk to propel himself and get some distance between his attacker, Bakugou sent out another burst of explosions to turn him around to face his attacker. 

His face contorted into a vicious snarl ready to strike at the unseen attacker, but his face would soon return to shock as he was once again struck from behind. A loud crack mumbled in the arena as the next series of attacks managed to break a rib of the explosive quirk user. With the scream of an enraged animal, Bakugou shot a large explosion blindly behind him. The explosion snarled like a ravenous beast as it indiscriminately tore up the arena without a care.

Yet, it did not strike its intended target. As right before his eyes, a long sleeved UA uniform literally materialized right in front of him. He nearly jumped back in surprise, and was so caught off guard that he didn’t use his other arm to either attack or defend. Seizing on the opportunity, Hagakure began to repeatedly punch at the chest of Bakugou.

“Doradoradoradoradora!”, Ma'kal Ris bellowed as she knocked the breath out of Bakugou with each punch. 

Bakugou jammed his eyes shut as he stumbled back either trying to get away from Hagakure or had lost his balance from the assault. But Hagakure did not relent in her fury, but instead kept the close distance to her opponent.  In turn, Bakugou began to randomly shoot out explosions, hoping for a lucky hit. However, Hagakure used Oarfish to sidestep in between worlds to dodge his blind attacks while continuing her push on the larger teen.

Bakugou sweared loudly as he vainly tried to regain his footing as he was keenly aware he was being pushed towards the boundaries of the fing.  He wasn’t sure how close he was to it, but he was sure to lose if he did not do something. So he opened his eyes…

...and saw the fiend that plagued his vision. The fiend whose very image made his heart tear itself into self destruction. The fiend that clearly wanted him dead. Fused into the form of invisalign was the distorted shape creature that attacked him at the USJ. Only this time it wasn’t distorted. 

It was a head that was shaped like a human’s, but without ears or a nose. Instead there were a pair of soulless black diamonds that were sunken into the skull of the creature, and its mouth was filled to the brim with a random assortment of teeth from different carnivorous and herbivorous animals. His head contained a mane of fleshy tendril-like hair and a red crest-like fin grew out where his spinal column was located, while his neck had fibrous red gills exposed on the outside of its body. Its skin was scaly like a frog’s with a mucus esque substance coating it.  Its hands had only four spindly but strong looking fingers that ended with ivory white claws. 

Almost instantly Bakugou’s heart began to beat out of control at the sight of the creature. But the thing also didn’t remain idle because it followed the strikes of invisalign perfectly. The blond teen could feel his chest stall each time the creature hit him in the heart. A hollow feeling emerged inside Bakugou as each attack seemed to chip away at his life. His lungs burned in agony and his face turned pale. 

“ Am I dying? ”, Bakugou idly thought to himself as he closed his eyes again, “I don’t wanna die!”

With these words, a spark suddenly jolted through the system of the blond teen. Rage. A rage that was hotter than the surface of the sun burst into the body of Bakugou. A rage that jump started his stressed body into overdrive as a final attempt to survive the threat that was trying to kill it. Eyelids opened without hesitation, revealing a pair of crimson eyes that were contorted into balls of burning hatred. They locked onto the monster/person that was attacking him, and all Bakugou saw was red. 

“Man this fight is starting to get really intense. Do you think they will have to stop it?”, asked a watching bystander. 

“I dunno man? I hope so, because those two are really taking a beating.”, said another bystander. 

“Guys, we should really do what the alert said to do and not linger around.”, said another bystander. 

“Yeah, but none of us have a TV at our place or even a computer to watch the festival. And I don’t want to miss out on all the fights.”, retorted another. 

The sound of a miniature explosion rocked the plaza behind the crowd of people causing many to drop down in surprise. A small cloud of dust could be seen in the heart of the plaza, clearly the source of the explosion. Murmuring erupted in the large crowds of people as they conversed among themselves, trying to make sense of what caused the cloud. That was until a brave woman dared get close enough to the cloud to get a better look. 

“I-I think someone fell from a roof!”, yelled out the panicked voice of a woman, “Somebody call an ambulance!”

Yet, no one made a move to do anything. Surely the heroes would arrive and take care of things, right? However, that changed when the cloud of dust settled, and revealed who had crashed into the centre. Even without much of his signature costume, it was hard for any of the people to not recognize a wanted murderer lying on his back in the center of the crash zone. Stain looked slightly disoriented, as he started to lean back up from his prone position. The crowd of people stared at the villain like a deer in headlights before the Hero Killer dashed towards the crowd of people without warning. The crowd screamed in terror before scattering like a herd of deer. Pockets of people remained either trembling in fear or paralyzed in awe with their phones recording the unfolding situation. 

Another cloud of dust rocketed in the plaza square, but this time was accompanied by a shockwave that knocked all but Stain to the floor. The clearing dust revealed a small figure dressed in white inside a small crater where the Hero Killer was only a mere moment ago. The remaining crowd gasped in awe and terror as the monstrous features of the newcomer became more visible. Long blue arms that ended with four clawed fingers. Tendril-like appendages leaked from underneath its hood, and electric sparks of electricity danced off its body like frankenstein’s monster. An aura of suffocating pressure leaked from the monster in white and into the courtyard. Many people found themselves unable to move because of a primeval fear that gripped them like a cold fist over their hearts. 

The monster dressed in white let out a beastial roar that caused the ground to rumble before leaping towards the Hero Killer. It was at this moment that the lingering crowds of people descended into chaos, and scattered from the plaza in terror. The beast swiped wildly at the Hero Killer, slashing with the ferocity of an enraged lion.  Stain easily blocked the attacks with his sword or was able to dodge the claw’s pathing. In the blink of an eye, Stain leaped over the beast in the air and was able to get behind the creature. In one fluid motion, Stain sliced at the berserking vigilante’s back cutting from shoulder to hip. An explosion of black liquid escaped from the wound while the liquid coated his blade. 

Stain was quick to lick his blade when he landed on the ground, and felt his quirk take hold on Ghost. But instead of collapsing on the ground, Ghost remained standing. Stain’s eyes again expanded in surprise at his quirk on working on the abomination before him.Ghost roared in pain and anger as he quickly turned around in one move. The sparks dancing on his body increased in frequency as Ghost slammed his arms into the ground creating a small crater from the impact. Electricity buzzed like a swarm of bees as it was violently and indiscriminately penetrated into the ground. 

I AM UNSTOPPABLE! 

The Hero Killer was quick to leap onto an elevated position before the sparks got to him. He returned his gaze back to Ghost after he landed on a nearby tree, but was unable to dodge the chunk of rubble that had been thrown at him. The sound of bones crunching could be heard as the object made contact with the body of the villain. Stain grunted in pain as he fell from the tree and unto the paved street right on his belly. 

A crackling sound of breaking asphalt laughed out as the Hero Killer quickly returned his gaze to see Ghost sprinting with his claws plowing into the ground at his sides as if they were nothing more than butter.  Stain rolled onto his back and did a kick up to his feet as quickly as he could. With a grunt of pain, Stain back stepped on time to avoid the two claws that crossed into a destructive X. Pieces of asphalt and tar rained from the cataclysmic damage done by the Vigilante’s relentless pursuit of the villain. However, the failed attack had left the underside of the white robed vigilante exposed to attack. 

Stain ducked into a crouch and tilted Sutābein horizontally before dashing towards Ghost. Sutābein shined brightly in its wide arcing wide slash and was eager to taste the black blood of Ghost again. However, a clear liquid materialized out of nowhere in front of Ghost’s exposed belly, and from the liquid emerged the monstrous claws of Ghost.  With uncanny speed, the claws reached out and entombed Sutābein within its iron grasp . Stain’s eyes widened in surprise as his last weapon had literally fallen into the hands of the enemy. Blue sparks once again increased in intensity all along the body of Ghost and soon swarmed over the blade of Sutābein , but the Hero Killer was quick to dash away and abandon his sword in order to avoid the electric shock of the vigilante. 

Stain looked at Ghost in unrestricted hatred as the monstrous vigilante held onto his prized sword like a trophy. Ghost looked at the Hero Killer with a strange expression of glee that was accompanied by a toothy smile. With a taunting chuckle, the monstrous vigilante tossed the blade right back towards Stain, and the Hero Killer didn’t hesitate to take back his sword.  

Ingenium has been rescued, which means I have all my quirks available!”, Ghost stated, “It's over Hero Killer!"

As if to punctuate his point, the water-like liquid grew in size and pooled beneath his feet and formed two man sized tentacles at his sides. They squirmed and pulsed as the clouds in the sky grew darker and wind grew fiercer. The taste and scent of metal lingered in the air. 

The hunched villain dropped his head and his body began to tremble. Stain’s fists clenched tightly before his head shot backup to face his opponent. Stain’s face was lost in shadow save for his eyes which became blood red headlights. Black and red tendrils of light began to dance around Stain like her were a bonfire. A suffocating aura of fear began to envelop the courtyard as it clashed with the aura of Ghost.

This world is corrupt with fakes and villains like you, but I won't lose or give up in the face of it all! Only a true hero can kill me, and that means I can only die to All Might!

Stain began to twitch and jerk in spasms as he began to walk towards Ghost without a glint of fear or resignation in his face. No, the only thing left in Stain’s face was a deranged impression of a human skull. 

Very Well! Feel the Wrath of Ma'ken Ris!

Ghost’s body seemed to begin to warp and twist itself as if his bones were as malleable as clay. One of his arms lengthened abnormally to be dragging on the ground while the visible mouth grew wider and larger. A tail that resembled a lampreys manifested behind the vigilante as the breathing from his shark-like mouth became strained. It was as if he was unable to take in the oxygen in the air as effectively as before or rather he wasn’t meant to take oxygen from the air in the first place. His strut towards the Hero Killer was awkward and possessed a limp. 

The battle of wills between the vigilante and the villain was one of stalemate, and had been so since the beginning. The indomitable will of the Hero Killer would not relent to defeat, especially to a vigilante that was a mockery of all that he admired. The unholy powers of the Ghost of Musustafu allowed the vigilante to be an unrelenting force for the purpose of protecting the ailing titan, and Ghost wouldn’t allow Stain to chip away at its strength, not when there were others trying to do so. Stain, the murderous villain, a representation of what all vigilantes are destined to become. Ghost, a spiteful vigilante, a representation of what all villains once were, before their world became corrupted beyond repair. They were mirror images of each other, a past and a future, and were destined to destroy each other. Yet, their destructive battle had made its mark on the world around them. Buildings and homes destroyed in their frenzy, injured civilians caught in the crossfires, and the understaffed emergency services strained under the unforeseen event. Sirens blared like the screams of people as every police officer in the city of Hosu raced towards the epicenter of the battle. And a Hero had arrived amid the chaos to put an end to the battle. 

Spindles of orange flames circled around Ghost before erupting into a tower of flame, catching the vigilante completely off guard. The monstrous vigilante unleashed an unearthly wail of pain as the fire kissed his body like a swarm of insects. Stain quickly turned to face whoever had decided to interfere, and was met with a whip of fire heading towards him. An attack of that type was something that the Hero Killer could dodge, if he had been at full strength. But battling Ghost had left Stain much weaker than before, and Stain could do nothing but attempt a dodge. However, his dodge was not successful and was only grazed by the inferno, even then, the power of the fire still carried a punch. The flames sunk into his skin like a blade as the force of the fire whip flung him back. The Hero Killer crashed into a pile of debris with a thundering boom before falling flat on his belly. The scent of burnt clothing and human flesh lingered in the air as the wind had abruptly died without warning.  He wobbly pushed himself up enough to adjust his head and see the scene before him. 

Ghost was also on the ground, but unlike Stain he was sitting on his rear in a hunch. The ends of his robes were smoldering with fire, while his monstrous features had disappeared. Ghost was also blackened and burned, and his liquid quirk appeared to have shrunk down significantly in size. And flying in the air was a man that only a blind man could not recognize. Fire danced on the man’s body as his signature scowl was replaced with a determined grin of satisfaction.  Rage boiled inside the Hero Killer as the greatest of the Fake Heroes had shown his face. Endeavor had joined the fray.  

Hagakure was doing it! The second strongest student in her class was on the ropes, and it was all thanks to Marris’ gift. But she needed to hurry and finish this fight because she had a limit on how long she could maintain this form before she exhausted herself. Yet, it seemed that victory was within her grasp as Bakugou was unable to mount an actual counter offensive or even a way to defend himself beyond blind desperation.

“ One more punch ought to do it!” , she thought to herself, “COMET STRIKE!”, she shouted out as she put all of her strength in that punch.

The sound of cracking boomed across the ring as her fist connected with something solid and extremely tense. Hagakure felt her heart drop into her stomach and her eyes widened in shock at the scene she was looking at. Her squeezed fist was had been caught by one of Bakugou’s hands despite the fact that said arm was clearly broken with black bruising. Without hesitation, she swung her other one at the boy with as much strength as she mustered. But to even further her shock he caught it without even looking at it, and it too damaged his arm but to a significantly lesser degree than his other arm. Then without warning, Bakugou squeezed his hands, grunting in pain as he forced his damaged limbs to carry out the action. Hagakure cried out as her hands were crushed like paper in Bakugou’s iron grip, cracking as he easily broke her hands. 

Terror filled the unseen face of Hagakure as Bakagou raised his head to face her directly. The corners of his face were stretched unnaturally while his eyes and mouth contorted into the scariest of monsters. Without warning, Bakugou headbutted Hagakure, striking her just above the eye. Stars swarmed her vision as a gash had opened up on her forehead, causing blood to stream down her face.

Panic and terror filled her system, as she tried to pull away from Bakugou but he would not let go of her no matter how hard she struggled. That was until he abruptly let go of her without warning causing her to fall on her rear, but that was so Bakugou could free up his hands.

Howitzer Impact!

Without any hesitation, the blond teen shot out a tremendous explosion at point blank at the off guard girl. The fire of the explosion singed her uniform and burned her skin while the shock wave sent her flying. Hagakure cried out in pain and in terror as she was sent careening. She landed with a thud in the center of the ring having lost the power of the Oarfish. The invisible girl trembled as she tried to prop herself on the ground, and was met with another explosion before she could even try to sit up. Due to her closeness to the ground, she was only pushed a short distance. 

Hagkure gasped in pain as she lay crumpled on the floor like a ragdoll and tears streamed down her face as she lay there before being blasted by another explosion. Then another, and another. Each one breaking and burning her further and further. 

“HAGAKURE!”, screamed the panicked voice of Marris inside her head, “I WILL KILL YOU! YOU YELLOW VERMIN!”

The explosive quirk user stopped his barrage, clearly with sudden distress on his face.. The blond teen’s breathing then began to go erratic as he reached into his pockets and pulled out a pill bottle. He fumbled in opening the pill bottle for a moment, but was able to open it and dump some pills into hand and swallow them.  The effects were immediate with his breathing slowing and his body and face softening from its tension. 

“Y-You.”, Bakugou said wearily, “I underestimated you, but I won’t allow that to happen again. I won’t let you win.”

Hagakure was trying to stifle a sob as she was struggling to rise up from the ground. Every part of her body ached and stung like it was still burning in the flames. Her breathing was quick and desperate as the scent of sickly sweetness filled her nostrils. 

“Hagakure, can you continue?”, Midnight called out.

“I-I can...can c-continue.”, stuttered out the invisible girl. 

As Hagakure went against her protesting body, she could feel the hands of Marris assist her in standing her back up her feet.  After a moment of swaying back and forth, she shot like a bullet back towards Bakugou. But she was met with another barrage that sent her falling back to the floor, but she forced herself back onto her feet, biting through all the pain as she did so. 

“I can’t lose! I have to save Izuku! Oarfish, please come back!” , Hagakure’s thoughts screamed out. 

But Oarfish couldn’t come, she was too hurt for the gift of Marris to be of any help. The fact was that Oarfish was her trump card, a final and desperate assault to take down her opponent. After that, she was left with nothing. But that didn’t stop Hagakure! She kept getting up everytime she was knocked down by an explosion. 

Despite ruthlessly peppering Hagakure with explosions, Bakugou was clearly also on his last legs. He only used his arm that was less injured, while he hugged his other arm towards his chest. Every so often, he would start punching his chest with his injured arm, and swearing he wasn’t going to die underneath his breath. His legs shaked wearily as he clenched down his jaw in either focus or in pain. 

Hagakure meanwhile was bruised and battered beyond relief. Burns dotted her invisible body as blood dripped down her face. Yet, her spirit was still strong, a will worthy of the great heroes of old. Yet, while she was as strong as steel, her body wasn’t as malleable as the metal. Upon being downed by another explosion, it wouldn’t respond to any of her commands. 

Get up! Get up! GET UP! GET UP”, She screamed at herself, “I NEED TO GET UP!

She didn’t know why but her vision was beginning to fade as the sounds of the outside world disappeared from her ears. Her limbs felt as heavy as lead while her neck couldn’t seem to support the weight of her head. In this hazy world, she saw the silhouette of a boy dressed in white with blue hair and sharp teeth. It was Izuku!

“ Izuku help me up! I know I can still win this! Please, help me up!”, Hagakure called out. 

But Izuku didn’t respond to her calls for help, but instead a frown and sad expression filled his form. He pulled the oversized hood over his head, and obscured his facial features. He turned his back towards her and glanced back at her one last time before walking away.

Izuku?Izuku, come back! Izuku! IZUKU! PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!” , Hagakure screamed out desperately. A sudden and familiar warmthness filled her body before the sensation of falling hit her like a truck.

“I am sorry Haga-chan.”, Marris said in a teary voice, “I am sorry that we couldn’t win.”

And with that, Hagakure blacked out.

Endeavor made no move to attack his quarry beyond the bursts of fire he initially shot out. Stain growled like a feral animal as he rose to his feet. He took a stance of defiance despite the fact his legs trembled and his arms hung limp in his shoulders. 

“Endeavor!”, Stain yelled out in anger, “You dare show your face to me!”

“Endeavor? The number two hero is here?”, said the confused voice of Ghost as he stirred from his position and up to his feet.

“His presence here doesn’t matter, just another fake for me to eliminate alongside you!”, Stain growled. 

The Hellfire hero did not look amused at the slightest by Stain’s comment, but kept his intimidating look as he descended towards the ground. The smoke in the air obscured everything behind Endeavor, like a thick black fog.

“Hmpt, How awfully arrogant of you, Stain, to believe that you stand a chance against me. Someone of your  skill and calibur would lose at full strength, much less in the state your in.”, Endeavor said matter-factly, “And as for the Ghost of Musustafu...well it seems that you really do not have a fondness for fire.” 

“A lucky hit.”, Ghost said as his tendrils of water rose up from the puddle beneath him, “I don’t intend on being captured, and I am more than capable of dealing with fire.”

For once the fire hero looked like he was actually going to burst out laughing from the comment. Stain and Ghost looked at the hero with a confused but guarded expression.

A big smile was on the burning face of Endeavor, “As much as I would like to have the glory of putting you two problems behind bars by myself, but I believe the situation doesn’t call for that.”

Right on que, a red dot appeared on the chest of Ghost and the forehead of Stain. Then dozens soon materialized all over their bodies. Ghost swore under his breath in a strange language while Stain’s eyes widened in surprise. A burst of wind blew away the lingering smoke in the air to reveal dozens of Police officers, dressed in riot gear and normal uniforms, aiming assault rifles and pistols at the vigilante and the villain. 

“I believe the term is called stirring up the hornet’s nest, and you two got the hornets really angry.”, Endeavor mocked, “Listen up! You two are cornered with no way out! Drop your weapons and release your quirks with your hands on your heads! You both are under arrest!”

The fire of Endeavor increased in size and intensity as his intimidating face returned with a scowl, “Resist and be met with equal force! It doesn’t matter to me what you choose! Either way, I am throwing both of you to rot in Taraturus for the rest of your days!”

A tension hung in the air as Ghost and Stain took in the words of Endeavor, and neither dared not move lest they get chalked full of holes. That was until a vortex of black mist appeared beneath the Hero Killer and began to swallow him up. The Hero Killer looked as surprised as everyone else, and vainly tried to struggle out of the vortex. 

Izuku’s eyes widened at the familiar sight of Kurougiri’s quirk, and instinctively moved to cancel out the quirk with his own. But the sudden action had broken the hypnotic hold the warp gate had on the police. 

“THEY’RE TRYING TO ESCAPE! OPEN FIRE!”, Shouted the voice of a Police Officer.

A symphony of gunshots riddled the courtyard as the officers fired their weapons. Another black portal emerged in front of Stain, and absorbed all of the bullets beelining for him. The black mists disappeared the moment Stain was completely devoured by the warp gate. However, Izuku had foolishly released his only form of protection, leaving him exposed to all the bullets heading towards him. From Underneath his hood, his eyes were wide with shock and terror as he saw a wall of bullets move as fast as a pitched baseball coming at him. There was no escape. He was going to be gunned down. 

“How annoying.”, his mouth said as it moved on its own in a voice that wasn’t his.

“What’s hap- ”, Izuku thought before he disappeared into unconsciousness.

Bullets tore into Ghost like a hole puncher does to a piece of paper. Black liquid splattered from the exit wounds like a vile form of fireworks as his body appeared shaken by a pair of invisible hands. Gunsmoke choked the air as every Officer had unloaded their weapons into the vigilante. The sound of clicking broke the screeching gunfire, and the plaza fell silent. 

…

…

…

A gust of wind blew away the gunsmoke, revealing the area they had just showered in bullets. But there was not the mulched body of a vigilante, but instead there was someone or something wearing a tattered white robe. Laying there on her large tail was Marris, her floating hair hanging limply while her blank visage stared into the posse of police. An aura of fear emerged from their ranks at the sight of the strange and alien creature in front of them.

“ I knew I should’ve kept my eyes on him. We get into one fight and he goes off and gets himself into this mess when I wasn’t looking. Why couldn’t he just stay home and watched Haga-chan from the little box” , Marris thought to herself, “Well, I better scare off these humans so I can go and discipline him .”

Marris raised her hand into the air, and squeezed it into a fist. Holy Water raced faster than the human eye could process towards the police. With pinpoint accuracy, the liquid cut through all the guns like a hot blade rendering them useless. The police officers cried out in surprise at their weapons suddenly becoming torn to ribbons in their very hands. 

“Okay, now they are fangless and afraid. Perhaps I can go home undisturbed.” , Marris pondered.

However, before she could do anything, a pillar of fire engulfed her. She didn’t even realize she was being burned alive until she noticed her flesh burning off her skin. With a lazy turn of her head, she gazed upon the one who was burning her. He was a man dressed like those that lived in the box, but he had his facial hair on fire. Marris tilted her head in confusion. Since when did humans have hair that was made of fire and how wasn’t it burning him? Last time she checked, humans got burned when they touched fire. Things like that were simpler to understand when quirks didn’t exist. What next? A human who looks like one of those white boxes that humans put their spare skin into.   

“So this is the fabled form to rival All Might!”, spouted Fire Face, “Let’s see if it can handle being burned to ashes! PROMINENCE BURN!”

The fire vortex that was entombing her increased greatly in heat and magnitude. There was no doubt that Fire Face could melt away her flesh to the bone, if he could keep at it for maybe an hour or two. But regenerating the flesh from the bones always makes her itchy and stiff for a couple of months, so this little game has to stop. 

Marris simply lowered her fist and extended her index finger into a pointing gesture towards the Fire Face. Holy Water raced blindingly fast towards Fire Face, and in one swift strike made a slice at the head of the human. Fire Face cried out in pain as he stopped his fire storm to clutch his bleeding face.  

“I do apologize, that attack will most certainly leave a nasty scar. But wear it with pride, Fire Face, you did more damage to me than those welps from the league.”, Marris said out loud. 

Endeavor looked up at the thing in front of him with an enraged expression and revealed the wound done by Holy Water. It was a clean cut over his eye, and would leave a jagged scar once it heals but Marris was careful not to blind him. But it seems that he didn’t take Marris’ gesture of mercy well. 

“DON’T YOU DARE MOCK ME!”, Fire face bellowed as he raised his right hand, charging it up with fire.

Marris rolled her eyes, or what constituted rolling her eyes. Right on que, Holy Water grabbed the hero’s legs by coiling around them like a python. Fire Face gawked in surprise before bellowing a shout as he was suddenly flung into the air and away from the plaza like one of those villains inside the little box. The police officers looked in horror as the Number Two hero was tossed aside like it was nothing. Their gazes fell upon Marris as if she were a hungry predator about to descend upon some helpless barn animals.

“You are next!”, Marris said mockingly while pointing.

And just like that, the police officers began to clamber over each other trying to run away from the unstoppable monster before them. 

Marris snickered a little bit before using Holy Water to open a door to her world. This day had been taxing, both emotionally and physically, and it was far from over. But sometimes unpleasant things cannot be avoided. She just hoped that things would work themselves out before the sun leaves the sky.

Chapter Text

Marris descended down from the sky, causing it to ripple, as she returned to the dimension she called home. Her blank eyes scanned the calm mirror-like sea and sparkled when they spotted the location that had been searching for. The fish woman tucked her arms at her side and began to swim through the air in a similar manner to her smaller parasitic relatives towards her destination. 

The destination was an island located close to the heart of the mirror sea, and only minutes after spotting it, Marris made contact with the island. The moment she came within the borders of the body of land, gravity’s hold seemed to return to her, causing Marris to flop gracefully on the sands. The fish woman’s hair squirmed in irritation as her whole body lost its usual grace and began to sag slightly like a beached fish. 

“Why couldn’t I have been born as a creature of the lands and not the seas?”, Marris complained to herself. 

Using her lengthy arms, the warped mermaid began to drag herself further inland. The sand growled as she forced her large body across its surface. Despite her size and supposed weight, no trail was left in the sand as she moved.

The fish woman continued her trek until she reached the heart of the mound of rock. Marris gazed longingly towards the sky, and peered into the heavens above her. A soft sigh escaped her nonexistent lips as she returned her gaze towards the sands as she waved her hands, and two unconscious figures emerged on the ground. 

“Izuku.”, Marris cooed, “My charge, my anchor, my son. I am sorry for what will happen and what you will have to endure. But this will hurt me more than it hurt you…”

The warped mermaid swung her head to face the other unconscious body.

“Tooru.”, Marris said sadly, “My charge, my teacher, my daughter. Please, forgive him for what he has done, and if not now then find in you to forgive him when he begins to save himself. And please, forgive me for what I must do…”

Izuku snapped his eyes open and he shot up. His breathing was heavy as he frantically scanned his surroundings. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as his mind is still in the midst of the battle in Hosu. His arms raised and prepped for a fight.

“ Where is Stain? Where is Endeavor? Where am I? ”, raced Izuku’s mind.

“Gone.”, said a dull voice, “The fight is over.”

Izuku’s visage zeroed in on the source of the voice. His narrowed eyes softened at the sight of Marris on a sandy hill, and just for a moment he felt relieved to see her.  But the sentiment changed when he felt her aura and the expression that she carried on her statue-like face. Her aura radiated anger and sadness like a noxious cloud of gas that made it hard for izuku to even breathe. Her empty face was marred with a disappointment that surpassed anything that Bakugou had when he was revealed to be quirkless. It made Izuku wince with the realization that he had fallen so far out of Marris’ favor. The jewels of obsidian bore into him like a drill before her metaphoric mouth moved with a slow and deliberate tone that his birth mother had given him for recklessly playing on the jungle gym. 

“What. Were. You. Thinking?”, Marris said through metaphorically clenched teeth, “Did you have any idea what kind of mess you were in?”

“I had everything under control.”, Izuku said carefully, “You didn’t need to show up.”

“Izuku! You did not have everything under control! I looked away for only a few hours, and I was shocked to see that you were about to be torn to shreds.”, Marris argued back.

Anger bubbled inside Izuku as he said with restraint in his voice, “Everything was fine. It was just a few minor unexpectant variables.” 

“Really? Because that sure didn’t look like it to me!”, Marris said with feigned surprise.  

“Why do you care, you never cared before!”, Izuku nearly yelled, “You never once questioned my job, so what is with the sudden change of heart?” 

“Izuku, I have always cared and if it seems like I didn’t before, well that because I was always there when you ventured out.”, Marris bore down, “So, stop dodging the question, and give me the reason why you decided to fight that human in a battle to the death?”

“It was because a hero was in danger, and I needed to fight him to save the hero.”, Izuku said without thinking. 

Marris looked like he had just slapped her with that comment. Her eyes narrowed, “Lies.” she said accusingly. 

“I am not lying to you.”, Izuku said with anger breaking his voice. 

“Izuku, are you trying to play me for a fool? You had no reason to fight that human because you could’ve very easily ran away with Crab before he could bite back. I think you just wanted to fight him.”, breathed Marris. 

Izuku steadied his breathing as he tried to calmly reply to his patron. But the rage he felt against the Hero-Killer was all too real, and worst of all he enjoyed every minute of the battle. It was like confronting the personification of everyone who ever doubted him. What better way to show it to his childhood doubters by taking down one of the most notorious villains in Japan.

“So what if I did? Let’s say that I did want to fight him. I don’t see any reason why taking down that villain would be a bad thing.”, Izuku said firmly. 

“Did you not think your actions have consequences! Should I mention all the places you tore through in your fight or all the humans you hurt in the crossfire. That wasn’t like a predator taking out his prey in one swift blow, it was a senseless fight marred with destruction. I have no doubts that your little fight might cause the others to see you in a different light. On top of that! You running off to play vigilante doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of my disappointment compared to how you have been treating Tooru.”

“What does Tooru have to do with any of this?”, Izuku exclaimed, “Aside from being the one who started all this!”

“What is wrong with you, Izuku?”, Marris bit back with tears, “How can you say that about her? That girl has been nothing but kind to you, and everything she had done was out of her love for you!”

“Well, I don’t see it that way Marris! I don’t care if she had the noblest intentions, but you can’t expect me to sit there and smile while she takes away the only thing that has made me happy!”, Izuku exploded, “I won’t ever be a hero, they don’t want me, and they only started to care when I started to grow stronger and showed them I can do their job BETTER! Face it! She! Is! Wrong!” 

“NO I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS! She did nothing wrong nor did she say anything wrong!”, Marris retorted, “I watched her break herself apart against opponents she shouldn’t have faced, while I sat there helpless to do anything! She forced horrific injuries on herself all because she wanted to save you! And how do you repay her? By running off to go pick fights with street vermin, and you didn’t even have the gall to watch her! Much less give the support she needed!”

“H-He wasn’t watching?”, squeaked a weak voice. 

Both of the two parties turned to see the unconscious Tooru had woken up in the middle of their argument. Tooru’s eyes were wide with surprise while a stream of tears crawled down her cheeks. Her pointed ears drooped, and her mouth was etched into a frown. But worst of all was the look of utter betrayal in her face as she stared down Izuku like he had just slapped her across the face. 

Marris’ blue skin paled at the elf-girl while she mumbled something about how this wasn’t supposed to happen. Izuku on the other hand looked like he had been doused in cold water, and a dagger of ice pierced his heart. 

“Y-You weren’t watching?”, Hagakure said in disbelief, “Why? Was this because of the argument? Am I really that bad of a friend?”

“No No! You aren’t a bad friend Tooru. It’s just....”, Izuku faltered. 

“Just what?!”, Hagakure said with venom, “I want to know what has been bothering you, Izuku! And I am not asking!” 

“What’s been bothering me?”, Izuku copied, “What’s been bothering me is the fact you decided to interfere with my work!”

“I only mentioned the possibility!”, Hagakure barked. 

“Lies.”, Izuku said darkly, “Do you think Marris is the only one to listen to what you say when no one else is around.”

“Izuku.”, Marris warned.

“No, don’t you dare take her side in all of this because it doesn’t get to the heart of the problem. I don’t care if you think I deserve to be a hero because the fact remains that no one else wanted me to be one!”, Izuku said bitterly, “I was fine before you came into my life and I don’t want you meddling with the only thing I have left!”

Marris was paralyzed in shock at the bitterness that laid dormant in Izuku, a bitterness that had been bottled up long before she took him under her fins. Tooru on the other hand stared at the boy in front of her like he was a complete stranger. As much as she wanted to deny it, he wasn’t the boy who greeted her in the park, but was something completely different.  He was Ghost. A persona born out of all the hate and anger that he kept away from the world, and here he was lashing out at the people who loved him. Something inside Tooru snapped.  

Hagakure said nothing as she took in what Izuku had said, “Is that it? Am I really not that important to you!”

“It’s not like that…”, Izuku skirted. 

“WELL IT SEEMS LIKE THAT TO ME!”, Tooru snarled.

Both the Fish Lady and the Fish Boy jumped in surprise at the sudden outburst.

“Is that all that matters to you! To be this vigilante, to be Ghost!”, Hagakure grited, “Does nothing else matter to you?!” 

“What else do I have?!”, Izuku said angrily, “I had nothing before Ghost! I was nothing before Ghost!”

“No.You had Marris, and you used to have me! But if you want to be a lonely vigilante then I won’t get in your way!”,Tooru blared in equal anger, “Marris, I am leaving. You can come see me later, but...I just want to be alone right now.”

Without another word the invisible girl began to stomp her way towards the shoreline. And once she reached where the ocean kissed the sand, a portal opened up and revealed the nurse’s office with her unconscious body. She had one foot through the doorway to the real world before she turned to face Ghost. 

“I want to forgive you, but I can’t. You care more about being a vigilante than anything, and I won’t take it away from you . ”, Tooru said without emotion, “Goodbye Ghost, I hope you got what you wanted.”

Hagakure walked straight through the portal, and she dared not look back lest Ghost sees the tears streaming down her face. Her heart shattered like glass when the portal closed. 

Izuku stared dumbfounded at the spot where Tooru had just left. There was no more anger in his system, it had left almost immediately when the portal closed. Now all that remained in Izuku was...regret. He did not feel like a whole person, and instead felt like he had lost an important piece of himself. But worst of all was the realization that his only friend wasn’t coming back. She was gone, and he hated that fact. He didn’t know why, but he knew deep down he made a grave mistake. 

“Get out”, Marris said quietly.

“What?”, exclaimed Izuku.

“I said GET OUT!”, screamed Marris. 

Izuku fell down on his rear onto the sandy ground, fear overwhelmed his instincts as Marris had lost her temper. Her hair thrashed violently and her witch-like hands twitched threateningly. Her obsidian eyes no longer radiated a pleasant warmth, but now peered down on him like cold spotlights. 

“GET OUT OF HERE!”, Marris shrieked, “I DON’T CARE WHERE, BUT LEAVE! I CAN’T EVEN LOOK AT YOU!”

“WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS! ANY OF THIS!”, Izuku roared back, “YOU SHOWED ME THIS PATH AND I TOOK IT! YET I AM THE WRONG ONE!”

“QUIET! YOU HAVE SAID ENOUGH!”, stormed Marris, “AND I AM DONE WITH ENTIRE ARGUMENT!”

“STOP THAT! STOP DEFLECTING! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO NOT TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY IN ANY OF THIS!”, Izuku stormed. 

“WHO AM I?! I AM THE WHOLE REASON YOU ARE A VIGILANTE!”, Marris retorted Harshly, “THE CLOTHES, THE TRAINING, YOUR VERY OWN POWERS ARE BECAUSE OF ME! YOU ARE NOTHING WITHOUT ME! NOTHING BUT A USELESS HUMAN!” 

Marris felt something twist painfully deep down inside her as she saw Izuku’s face lose its anger and contort into one that she wished she never saw. Betrayal. Izuku stared at her with the same face that he gave when his bullies tormented him. And it was directed to her. Anger left Marris like a blown out candle as she realized what she said. A great weight crushed her shoulders as she meekly reached out to Izuku. 

“Izuku, I didn’t…”, Marris began.

But Izuku tore away from her like she was a burning flame, “DON’T TOUCH ME!”, Izuku shouted with tears in his eyes, “I-I t-thought w-we w-were…I HATE YOU!”

Izuku turned away from Marris before a pool of water formed beneath him and swallowed him up before vanishing. Marris stared blankly at the spot where Izuku once was for a few minutes or maybe a few hours. Whatever what the time was it didn’t matter because Marris collapsed onto the sand and curled up into a large ball. A sound akin to sobbing could be heard from the large mass as she layed on the sand like a beached whale. 

“W-What h-have I-I d-done?”, The Blue Lady sobbed.

Tooru wheezed like a veteran smoker as she came into the material world once again. Her vision was fuzzy while her body was stiff and sore. Even after being in a deep sleep for an untold amount of time, Tooru felt so exhausted whilst lying in the hospital bed. After a moment to acquire clarity, she looked upon herself to see her hands, belly, head, and legs wrapped in bandages. Salves and ointments floated like strange spots in different places along her invisible body. 

“I guess it would’ve been too suspicious for Marris to use the same healing as Ghost. I don’t think I would want to bring that type of attention to myself.”, Tooru said dejectedly.

“Good you’re awake!”, said a friendly voice.

Tooru turned to see Recovery Girl at her bedside in a manner that befits a doctor. The rescue hero didn’t have her signature scowl that she reserved for those who come to her office. Instead, Recovery Girl was sporting a friendly demeanor and a gentle smile, but underneath that grandmotherly charm was the serious doctor that tended to the heroes-to-be.

Tooru deflated as she let out a tired sigh, “How bad was it?”

Recovery Girl raised an eyebrow but kept her demeanor, “Two broken hands, a concussion, some fractures, and plenty of burns and bruises to spare. I would normally be upset, but I cannot get mad at you for the damage done to you by another student. But I am not pleased with the damage you did to your peer.”

Hagakure looked a little embarrassed, “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know I was being so rough. ”

“You have nothing to be sorry for dearie, just try to tone down the brutality, he is your classmate after all.”, Recovery Girl reassured as she began checking Hagakure’s injuries, “Though I am half-minded to go give the referees a talk for allowing you two to get so vicious with each other. I already have enough problems with Mirio and his meathead teacher.”

Hagakure raised an unseen eyebrow, but didn’t prod further and left Recovery Girl to her work in silence.  The invisible girl rested her head on the pillow and let her head slouch off the side. She mindlessly watched the empty infirmary with an empty mind for what seemed like hours. Underneath she was a swirling current of many emotions, ones that were not good. She tried her hardest to bottle them up. 

“There! All done dearie.”, said Recovery Girl, “Unfortunately, you are gonna have to wait here and rest until the Festival is over. I already called your parents, and they are on their way to pick you up.”

“Oh? Thank you Sensei.”, Hagakure said with sadness leaking out.

Recovery Girl seemed to catch what Hagakure had been hiding, “You are cleared for guests now that I had a look at you, dearie. If you want I can call for some of your friends to see you, you did have a lot of them wanting to see you when you arrived.”

“Thank you sensei, but I just want to sleep right now.”, Hagakure said with a twisting knife in her heart. 

“If that’s what you want, dearie.”, Recovery Girl said gently before trodding off to continue with her duties as school nurse. 

Hagakure winced as she shifted into a more comfortable position that could be interpreted as a sleeping position. The invisible girl waited only a few more seconds before breaking down. Tears streamed down her face as any noise in her throat died. She didn’t want her friends to see her, not when this was the face of the old Hagakure. The old Hagakure that returned after losing the one person she always dreamed of meeting. 

Izuku sat crouched into a ball with his hands on his face as he sat in a dark corner among piles of rubbish. He was shaking like a leaf as he muffled his own quiet sobs, but thanks to Octopus, no would be able to see him. 

His heart ached with a pain that he had never before felt in his life. His body felt like it was carrying a boulder that threatened to crush him. Guilt and betrayal. He really did it this time, didn't he? He drove Hagakure away all because he spat in her face when she offered to help him. But it didn’t feel like help. It felt like pity, it made him feel useless. Like he wasn’t good enough to become one with his own merit alone. And Marris…

She really thought he was useless, didn’t she. It hurt him to think about it, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The way Marris treated him throughout his life no longer spoke of a supportive friend, but of a person who was coddling him because he was so weak and helpless, like a baby. The ache in his chest grew into a burn with that realization. 

This was all because couldn’t past the stupid exam! Deku, Deku, Deku, Deku!Voices of his past echoed within Izuku as he wallowed there in that alley, and like a great blizzard they threatened to extinguish the fire within. 

“ Try taking a swan dive off a roof, and maybe you’ll be born with a quirk in the next life.”

“YOU ARE NOTHING WITHOUT ME! NOTHING BUT A USELESS HUMAN!”

“The greatest hero to ever exist to be compared to a petty creature such as you...I cannot...think...of anything...more... INSULTING !”

Yet, the small fire in Izuku fought back against the blizzard. A small voice, wispy and buzzy, rose above all the other ones and spoke gently but with the force of a shout.

“Do not listen to them because they are liars.”, the voice said gently, “But if you do not believe me, then why don’t you prove them wrong by bringing the Hero Killer to justice.” 

Izuku paused and digested what the voice had just suggested. To him the Hero Killer was an amalgamation of everything that tormented him from his childhood. On top of that, the Hero Killer had been the source of his recent woes, if hadn’t been so stubborn to take down then perhaps Izuku would’ve been able to leave Hosu without invoking the Ire of Tooru and Marris. Yes, that was it! Izuku needed to take down the Hero Killer to not just prove that villain wrong, but to also prove the others wrong! HE WASN’T USELESS, HE WAS USEFUL!

Izuku swallowed the pain and misery tormenting him and tried to focus into a determined mindset that always followed Bakugou.  He had work to get done, and he couldn’t bog himself down with emotions. And maybe when he finished...he could go back to them.

The vigilante stole a glance at the green lamprey tattoo on his arm before looking away. He wasn’t going to use it in his hunt, he needed to do things on his own without Marris’ help. He needed to grow up and become stronger. Maybe then he could consider himself as her kinsman when he could stand on his two feet. 

But first, a visit to the Hero Killer’s last victim, he needed information. But more importantly, Izuku needed to be sure he was going to be okay. His heart couldn’t take another loss tonight.

Chapter Text

Yamashiro looked on in disgust at the work of her fellow journalists, and it saddened her that very few of her profession actually seek out the truth. Instead it seemed that they only cared about the number of views that their sensationalized works were going to get.

The Horror of Hosu: The Hero Killer and the Monster of Musustafu!

Blood and Claws: Hosu in Siege!

Hosu: A Tale of Two Evils! 

A Tale of Two Evils ? Really? It was almost like they were reviewing an episode of a Saturday morning cartoon for children. Did no one think that anyone wouldn’t laugh at that?

The journalist sighed as she closed the window to one of these stories from a sister news branch. For a moment Yamashiro did nothing but sat there lost in deep thought. She took a quick glance at the article she was about to submit to her boss for the morning edition of the paper. 

The Fight in Hosu: Another Rescue for the Ghost of Musustafu!

Ghost had been something of an enigma to the journalist, and her initial investigation on his ‘debut’ into the mainstream all those weeks ago had made her want to know more. Afterall, she was the one who gave him the name that her fellow journalists were decrying as a dangerous villain that needed to be arrested. 

The destruction and terror caused by the enigma’s fight with the notorious Hero Killer had done much to ruin the already bad reputation of Ghost. It appeared as nothing more than a senseless battle between two undesirables, and was likely the result of a territorial dispute or something of the sort. But Yamashiro wasn’t one to take things at face value, and after a little digging she found it. The fight between Ghost and Stain was the result of Ghost coming to the rescue of a person that was lost amid this sea of outcry. Ingenium. Ghost fought Stain to save Ingenium.

Everything lined up perfectly with that realization. The admission of the hero to the ICU along with the strange substance that he reported to be covered in. A substance that bore a resemblance to one of the quirks of Ghost. She believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ghost’s intentions were good in this situation, but unfortunately spiralled out of control. She had had faith in what she was reporting, as a journalist it was her duty to ensure that the truth is told, lest it be forgotten. 

She hoped that this article would please Mr. Fujita more than this year's Sports Festival one. Her boss was clear to point out that while she had a way with words, she certainly didn’t have a way with a camera. Those bad and blurry photos brought embarrassment to the reporter, and she hoped she could find someone to take pictures for her.

Kizuki sat there in her seat, struggling to breathe as she hesitantly reached out towards the laptop to press replay on the video.  Her blue hands shook with euphoric anticipation as they pressed the little symbol on the video. Something akin to an excited squee escaped her lips as she watched the bodycam footage that Re-Destro’s moles in the police had acquired for her. Kizuki’s green eyes ate up her dark sclera like a ravenous beast as she rewatched the video depicting the Ghost of Musustafu’s stand against the heroes and police. 

She didn’t know why, but for some strange reason, she was obsessed with the vigilante. Well, more so than her usual form of obsession. But this transcends all her ‘Journalistic Curiosity” that she is well known for in the MLA. No, it was beyond any obsession and instead it felt like a combination between her inquisitive nature and...something else. She couldn’t really put her finger on it. Especially since the video would keep ending! 

A frown appeared on the woman’s face as the video once again ended its duration. The MLA Lieutenant grumbled a curse at the damn policeman for being a coward and not giving her a longer video. She smiled widely again once the video looped again, and again, and again, and again. Kizuki didn’t remember how long she watched the single low quality clip, but it must’ve been minutes or hours and she didn’t lose that feeling that made her feel...alive. What was it called again? Well, no matter. It couldn’t hurt to keep watching.

…

…

...

Somehow Kizuki found herself staring at two paused images from the video in separate tabs. One was the Vigilante in his more ‘humanoid’ form and the other was his ‘greater’ form.  She was breathless at the sight of the two images, and the longer she looked at them the more she felt like a balloon that was gearing to pop. She wanted...no...needed to interview Ghost. But not like how she usually does. She wanted to understand Ghost and spread his story to the masses, but she wouldn’t dare to kill him like her usual interviewees. His powerful quirk and its almost divine-like radiance needed to be behold and treasured. 

All her thoughts raced to arrange said meeting as soon as possible along with haggling needed for Re-Destro to lend some of his goons and resources. Her eyes never left the images on her computer as she did so, and thus was thoroughly shocked when one of the images moved. “Greater Ghost” moved its head in the still image to seemingly face her, and like a paralyzing quirk, Kizuki found herself unable to move. 

One would expect flight or fight responses to kick in at such a moment, but not with Kizuki. Instead anticipation boiled inside her in a manner similar to a child receiving a gift, as her eyes zeroed in on the image with undaunting attention. 

“You cannot speak to him...yet.”, a powerful feminine voice said inside her skull, “You require more insight before you can seek us.”

Kizuki felt herself get a little disappointed at the image.

“But…”, the image said with Motherly authority, “I can help you understand. But only if you cast off your ties to your life and fully dedicate yourself to learning.” 

The MLA Lieutenant's eyes brightened up briefly before they became etched in deep thought as she weighed her options. Seeing the vigilante in both forms took away the boredom that had been eating away at her for the past years. Was this whole thing a mid-life crisis hallucination as she subconsciously wanted something to give her that same groove she lost from her youth? Maybe. But then again, the MLA had really lost its luster as the years went by, and what she really wanted was to find a great story and spread it far and wide. Something that seemed nothing more than a distant dream to her these days. But someone deep inside her told her to take the offer. Maybe Ghost could help her where the MLA had failed to do. 

“I-I’ll do it!”, she said, barely containing her excitement. 

“Greater Ghost” said nothing but with stilted movement, snapped its fingers. Kizuki was swarmed with fast images inside her brain that jigsawed together in a twisted form of a mental puzzle. The MLA Lieutenant screamed in pain as the white hot images snaked inside like the roots of a tree. It wasn’t long before she blacked out.

…

…

…

Kizuki smiled as she boarded the train that would take her as far North that was possible, and from there involved a lot of walking and perhaps commandeering a boat for the last leg. From there she would say the ‘name’ in the heart of the Kuril and began her learning. She trembled with excitement for her prize that would let her see Ma’ken Ris face to face. She hoped that Re-Destro wouldn’t bother too much trying to find her. After all this was her Yatra and she didn’t need that small minded thug bothering her on her sacred journey. She was on the tail of a story that surpassed all others, and she was certain she would find it. All she needed was to have…

...Faith. Yes, that was the feeling. 

Everyone in the stadium cheered at the sight of the Number One Hero bouncing into the arena with his iconic smile and bombastic laugh.  Students, Audience, and Heroes all looked on with stars in their eyes as All Might stood there with three medals in his giant hands, ready to present them to the winners of the UA Sports Festival: First Years edition. 

Inwardly, Yagi was just glad he spent the majority of the day in his real form watching the festival. Though he was almost tempted to skyrocket to Hosu and help the poor city out, he trusted Endeavor to handle the situation and everything will turn out okay. Hopefully. But that was neither here nor there. His job was to present the medals and keep up the facade of the symbol of peace, despite his ailing power. 

“ Young Shinso.” , All Might beamed with a fatherly and proud boom, “ You were the underdog of this Festival, and faced many challenges and strong opponents. Yet, you proved to be a force to be reckoned with, and surpassed the expectations of a General Education Student. Be proud of your achievement for it was no small feat. Congratulations on Third Place, and I hope to see you in one of our vacant spots in the classroom. ”

Shinso looked like he was going to melt, and it was likely to be from happiness. In fact, the usually stoic boy was smiling softly, but that smile soon turned to a grin once the Bronze medal was placed around his neck. His gaze dropped to the floor as he mumbled a “thank you” to All Might. Yagi didn’t bring the teardrops falling to the ground to anyone’s attention, and promptly moved on to the next student. 

“ Young Todoroki .”, All Might said with a tone more in line with his Teacher persona but dripped with pride and satisfaction, “ From the start, you displayed yourself to be one of the strongest contenders of the field, and yet you fell short of the prize. But don’t let that discourage you! You did exceptionally well in each of the categories and more proved you have the potential to become one of the greatest heroes of the next generation. Congratulations on Second Place, and I hope you use this experience to grow and become stronger and better than the Legacy you carry! ”

Todoroki didn’t seem to register what All Might was saying or even when the silver medal was placed around his neck. Rather it felt like his mind was off somewhere else, and no one can place whether it was a good or bad thing. His icy face didn’t exactly show anything beyond his normal stoic expressions. Though, Yagi could’ve sworn he saw a burning fire in those blue eyes. 

“ And Young Tokoyami .”, All Might boomed with his greater than life Heroic tone, “ I congratulate you on overcoming all the challenges and hardship you faced on this day. You not only proved your strength but also your worth as a hero! I have no doubts that you will grow into a fine Hero! But for now, revel in your achievements because today is your day to shine! ”

Tokoyami tried to remain stoic and edgy, but he just couldn’t. His facade was already shaky, and it completely broke once All Might put on the Gold Medal around his neck. Tears flowed freely as he smiled as hard as he could with his avian features. Dark Shadow popped out his belly to affectionately pat the back of his client. Overall, the image was enduring, and was probably a dream of Tokoyami when he was a child. A dream that came true. 

Yagi smiled and beamed with pride at his students. 

“Well, shit.”, Bakugou cursed before getting bonked on the head of an irritated old lady.

“No swearing!”, was all she said before she wandered off to whatever a school nurse does. 

Normal Bakugou’s reaction would’ve been to curse some more, but some things weren’t worth the trouble. Instead his mind was focused on other things, like his failure to place in the Festival. The thought of not winning the Festival rustled his jimmies more than those days where Deku was grating instead of irritating. 

But it's not like he could blame Deku for his loss. He nearly got his ass kicked by the only other patient in this room. In fact, no one has ever come close to kicking his ass as hard as invisalign. Not even shitty hair or Icy Hot came close to that bar. And he couldn’t exactly ignore the rant given to him by Recovery Girl when he stubbornly tried to go to his next scheduled fight. But there will be other opportunities to prove his strength, so he can swallow his pride for now. 

But something about that fight had unsettled the blond teen, and no, it wasn’t just that little gremlin that tried to murder him mid fight. Though, now that he got a good look at it...it looked familiar. He’s seen it somewhere, but where?

Bakugou let out a grumble of growls as he vainly tried to pinpoint the origin of the little killer. Instead of dwelling on the thing, he stole a glance to the sleeping girl a few beds away. A small smile grew on his lips as he stared at the only extra at this school that seemed to be worth his time. He hoped they got another chance to fight, because that fight was fun. Minus the nearly getting murdered part. 

“Hagakure.”, Bakugou mouthed to himself and from the corner of his eye he could’ve sworn he saw the girl stirr in her sleep. Yeah. What a nice name for an extra. 

Todoroki fummed in anger that was legendary in his family. He tried his hardest. Poured blood sweat and tears into his planned victory over Endeavor. Only for it to be derailed against his final opponent. No matter how strong his mother’s quirk was, it was somehow powerless against Tokoyami and Dark Shadow. Glacier upon glacier were powerless against the unstoppable eldritch monstrosity of Dark Shadow. 

To add onto his humiliation, his father had decided he wasn’t worth the time to be around and left halfway through the festival. If Shoto were to guess it was to save himself the shame of his “Masterpiece” sharing the family pastime of coming in second. Years of isolation and gut wrenching training and all for Endeavor to abandon him as if he were a stone on the road. It made Shoto’s blood boil at the thought of being discarded, especially after all that man did to his family in the name of beating his longtime rival. 

That was until he was notified of his father’s admission to the hospital, and the news of Ghost and the Hero Killer fighting in Hosu. It didn’t take much for the teen to connect the dots, and it made him even angrier. 

He stood and gave a death glare towards a tv showing a still image of Ghost fighting the Hero Killer. Shoto found his breath labored and his patience stretched to the limits by the time he came across the image. Without hesitation, Shoto encased the poor device into a coffin of ice before walking away at a brisk pace. He won’t fail where Endeavor did, and at long last his mother’s suffering will be avenged. 

“Is there any good news from this entire debacle?”, said a rather irritated Kyo, surrounded by a pile of discarded papers. 

She wasn’t surprised to see her deputy shrug nonchalantly about the whole thing before talking as if the whole deal were nothing more than small talk. It wasn’t like national security was at stake. 

“We confirm that All Might and his former sidekick are taking a personal interest in the vigilante, and thus are likely to spearhead the recruitment.”, Yama calmly stated. 

“And?”, Kyo continued with impatience. 

“And the Hero Commission is following the tune of the media. For them, Ghost is now a wanted villain, and the Hosu Police department readily agreed.”, added Yama, “Endeavor certainly helped with that sway in opinion as well.” 

Kyo could feel a headache coming from the bad news, and this is what she gets for trusting a delicate job to a bunch of spandex wearing morons who don’t comprehend anything beyond punching things. It’s too late now to interfere directly without looking like they are sponsoring a criminal that helped destroy a city. 

“Send a representative to the Nighteye Agency and get our fingers involved in their work.”, Kyo said with a sigh, “Let’s make sure these meathead don’t fuck things up.”

“Language!”, the Rock Politician scolded before rolling out the room in his wheelchair. 

The young Prime Minister gazed out the window and hoped that the situation could be salvaged. That last thing they needed was to make an enemy of that power, and she had hope that All Might would be able to do it. But she feared that there would be no one to stop Ghost if they did. 

Mongolia 

“Son,'' said an old man sitting in front of a television.

“Father?”, asked a young man who had hurried in the room.

Without his gaze leaving the television, the old man continued to speak in a deadly serious voice. “It pains me to say this, but I am afraid I cannot see your wedding to your lovely betrothed. But I must leave.”

“Leave? Father, what brought up this?”, the now confused man said.

“An old enemy of our people. An enemy so old that we forgot about them. Everyone except for me.”, The old man said cryptically, “And before you try to talk me out of this: the answer is no, I won’t reconsider. This is an enemy that MUST be dealt with.” 

The young man merely stared agaped at the old man before him, clearly unable to think of a comeback. He didn’t notice when his dad had gotten up and rested his hand on his shoulder. The younger man tentatively looked at the older one as a child always does to their parents. 

“I’m sorry, but it is a duty that bestowed upon me before I had you.”, the old man said softly, “There’s a stash of gold upstairs behind the portrait of your mother. Use it to help start your life with your wife-to-be, and make sure my grandkids live a happy life. Give them my love when they are born. This will be my last journey, and I won’t be coming home.” 

“Dad, please.”, the man said tearfully.

The old man hugged the younger man, “It’s going to be okay son. I know you can do well..”

The two men remained locked in embrace as it would be the last time they would see each other.  It was a sacrifice that neither had expected to ever take, but it was one that the old man needed to do. Even if his son would never truly understand why.

“ So you’ve returned Devourer, after over three centuries. I will make sure that you return to your cage and your host is put to the sword. ” 

Tension wasn’t the appropriate word to describe the atmosphere of a small dingy bar. Between a mental unstable man child and a murderous self appointed policer of  heroes, it was honestly surprising that neither were trying to kill each other. 

It might have to do with the fact that said murder was quite battered and wounded when he arrived. Exhaustion also may have played a role in it as well, because Stain was drained from his fight with Ghost. Or maybe it was because of the hour of ranting Shigaraki did when Stain simply asked his conviction. 

The Hero Killer looked like he wanted to murder Shigaraki right there for his simple motive of destroying things he hates or just to shut him up. But was occupied by a Kurogiri who was kindly dressing the wounds of the Hero Killer.  And privately, the mist villain agreed with Stain on the matter of having Shigaraki shut up. Thankfully, the Hero Killer did just that. 

“Quiet!”, Stain said irritatedly, “Enough of your prattle! You’ve proven yourself to be nothing more than a child with no conviction. In any other circumstance, I would kill you for wasting my time with such an idiotic notion of an alliance!”

The temperature of the room dropped a few degrees as Shigaraki looked like he was about to charge the injured villain and disintegrate him.

“But.”, Stain interjected, “I can agree with you on one thing.”

In a singular and swift motion, Stain pulled out a knife and threw it at the board of pictures that Shigaraki had half heartedly set up in the bar. The knife struck the large photograph in the center of the board with a sickening thunk. 

“That Ghost must die!”, growled Stain.

Shigaraki Tomura smiled behind the hand of his Father as an unholy alliance had been forged. 

Purple and thorny tendrils retreated from the computer and back into the hand of its ‘owner’. All For One pondered the information that he had been given so graciously by the media and the public police report. It seems that Ghost is going to be a tough cookie to crack, especially if he were to take down someone of Endeavor’s caliber without actually fighting him. 

But one doesn’t live as long as he does without being able to take down obstacles that appeared nigh invincible. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as invincible, and he should know. Analysis of Ghost’s quirks and fighting styles, provided by his enemies in the daylight, are coming together to formulate a plan to get rid of the vigilante...permanently. 

Shame. He really would’ve liked to take those quirks, but Ghost proved to be too much of a wildcard to capture and brought before him. Unless he wanted to fight Ghost in open battle, but he’d rather his enemies still think he was still dead at the moment. Maybe that vigilante's corpse might provide him another powerful minion. Kurogiri could use a younger brother after all. 

But enough pondering the future. Right now he needs to focus on the present. 

“Alexia, call the ‘Doctor’.”, All For One said nonchalantly to the ancient machine from his childhood.

“Calling the Doctor.”, replied the robotic voice of the machine.

A new Nomu is needed to be created, and All For One wanted to make sure the Doctor had the right specifications.

The sterile scent of chemicals, plastic, and medicine filled the nostrils of Ingenium as he suddenly awoke from his deep sleep. The injured hero groggily turned his head as much as he could as he tried to gather his bearings. He was in a hospital, specifically inside an intensive care unit. He also assumed it was night, if the fact that that lights were off and his only source of light was the machines that beeped softly somewhere behind his bed. 

But what awoke the hero was not the machines or anything to do with health. Instead it was a cold dread. A feeling he only got when someone or something was watching him. His thoughts quickly raced to Stain, and in his half-panic he believed the Hero Killer came to finish the job. But a more collected part of him told him that whoever was here was not hostile. He still kept his hand on the nurse call button just in case.

“Who's there?”, He said weaker than he expected, “Show yourself.”

The air to the side of his bed shimmered and rippled before revealing a figure clad in white. Even in the dark and being on all manner of painkillers Ingenium recognized the Ghost of Musustafu in an instant. The vigilante that supposedly saved his life. 

“Ingenium. I am glad to see that you live.”, Ghost whispered, “But I am afraid to tell you I didn’t come here for a social visit.”

“Then why did you come?”, the hero grunted in exertion, “Why risk discovery to see an injured hero?”

Ghost titled his head to the side, “I seek information about the Hero Killer, and I figured you would have something that could help. Especially since the capture of the Hero Killer became...personal.”

“I-I see.”, Ingenium said, “I would suggest that you leave him to the other heroes, but you seem like the person that wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Ingenium could’ve sworn he saw a toothy mouth form a smile beneath that dark hood, “Will you help?” was all that Ghost said.

“On one condition.”, Ingenium grunted, “I have a younger brother, who is looking to become a hero like me. But my...accident tore him apart, and if I know my brother; then he will do something that he will regret.”

“You want me to protect him?”, Ghost inquired. 

“Yes! Please, I want someone to watch him while I am here. It would put me at ease if you do. So can you do that, Ghost?”, strained the Hero. 

“I can.”, Ghost said without any hesitation. 

“His name is Tenya Ida. Keep him safe.”, Tensei affirmed, “And here’s what I know about the Hero Killer…”

Chapter Text

Five days had passed since the UA Sports Festival, and the now infamous Battle of Hosu. One couldn’t go anywhere without hearing someone on a black screen or on the streets talking about either of the events. The latter of the two being a rather controversial topic. 

But controversies about villains were not in the forefront of Mr. Aizawa’s head when he began class that Monday. Much to the distress of Mineta, who had taken up the liberty of using the blackboard for a wild theory about Ghost being a Human-Alien hybrid. The grape haired boy had drawn complicated geometric diagrams, references to different sea life, and other ‘historical’ instances of extraterrestrial life to support his idea of Ghost’s origins. 

Either way, Class 1A’s resident pervert and newfound conspiracy theorist had clearly been awake for far too long and had way too many cups of coffee. The girls of the class were at least thankful that Mineta had something else to do other than bothering them. But as Mr. Aizawa was walking in, Mineta was in the midst of convincing his classmates to prepare a trip to the Kuril Islands to prove his theories correct.

Mr. Aizawa was not pleased in the slightest, especially when Mineta suggested Yaoyorozu use her quirk to create a deep ocean submarine and for Kaminari to dispense aluminum hats to “block the psychic presence”. In all his years of teaching, Mineta certainly was one of the most crackpot students he ever had. 

But he was a man that valued time, and unorthodox trips to the northernmost islands of Japan were not going to happen.At least it was easy to get things on track once the internships were mentioned, and Mineta was cocooned in his scarf to his desk. Afterall, today was an important day for their future careers, and they couldn’t afford to get sidetracked with internet nonsense. 

Tooru stared at the list of intern requests with a disbelieving daze and a surprised expression. One hundred internship offers. Sure, it was a small amount compared to what the powerhouses of the class had gotten, but it was way more than what some of her other classmates had gotten. The invisible girl didn’t know whether to be happy or nervous at the idea of catching the attention of a hundred heroes, but then again her life hasn’t been peachy lately. 

She sighed as she deliberately let fall flat on her desk, and allowed Marris to properly read the list of heroes. The large invisible fish lady leaned over her shoulder to look at the piece of paper with what was only a half-hearted interest. Tooru wasn’t sure if Marris could actually read and whether the names on the paper would mean anything to the warped mermaid if she could. But it was her own way of trying to help take Marris’ mind off the fight, and Marris in turn was trying to return the gesture of kindness.  

Marris hadn’t been well ever since the fight, and it certainly showed on the fish lady. Her dark blue skin seemed to lose some of its luster and her black eyes no longer seemed as vibrant as before. Her movements became sluggish at best and rigid as stone at worst. However, it was her mannerisms that gave away her deteriorating state. When Marris came to her room during that awful day’s evening, she found a spacious corner and coiled herself into a mound and stayed there for 3 days and nights. She didn’t speak nor did she move, and was unresponsive to any attempt by Tooru to communicate. On the fourth day, Tooru managed to get Marris to speak after spending the entire day coaxing the mermaid out of her stupor. What she said made Tooru’s heart shatter. 

“He hates me now, and it’s all my fault that he does.”, Marris had said with a voice devoid of any emotion and yet was full of sorrow. 

Marris didn’t speak again after saying those words, but she became responsive after that. It took a lot of coaxing to get her out of that room, but Tooru was able to get the warped mermaid to follow her. And Tooru’s nature as a hero-in-training took over as she tried to rouse Marris out of her sadness, but she wasn’t as successful as she had hoped. It was hard. It was hard for Tooru to even try to stay strong for Marris. For Marris bled guilt and sorrow like a running faucet and tried vainly to hide how much pain she was in as if she was trying to not worry her. But the sound of the mermaid sobbing late in the night had proved that everything was far from okay. 

The source of their sorrow was one person, or rather the removal of one person. Izuku had vanished completely from Musustafu, and neither Tooru or Marris had been able to find him. The two had checked the various locations he was known to frequent, but they were deserted as they had been before Izuku had first visited them. It was done under the vain hope that maybe things would revolve themselves if they had a chance to speak again now that emotions were clamer. But, Tooru didn’t know if she wanted to see him again or even talk to him, but she couldn’t deny that she felt like some important part of her had been lost. 

“ He abandoned you.” , her mind grimly said, “ But why? What drove him to abandon everything? ”

Tooru let out another sigh as she started to head out of the classroom after Mr. Aizawa dismissed it in favor of letting his students deliberate their internship choices. She discreetly grabbed the hand of Marris and led the mermaid out the classroom like a parent guiding a child.  She needed to focus on which hero she was going to intern under, and needed to decide it before the end of the day.  If Izuku were here, he probably would’ve figured it out for her in a matter of minutes. 

However, in her drone-like movement Tooru, with her attention squarely on Marris, she walked into someone. But it certainly didn’t feel like Hagakure walked into someone; instead it felt like she ran straight into a brick wall. As expected, Hagakure fell back on her rear as she let out a surprised cry. The invisible quickly looked up to see another student, but one that was clearly not from class.

He was tall and muscular, but had a face that looked like it belonged to a cartoon. He had blonde hair and doll-like eyes carried a friendly fire beneath them . He also carried a stack of papers in one arm. Strangely enough, Hagakure couldn’t help but see him as a younger off-brand version of All Might Sensei. The older looking boy raised his hand behind his head as he looked sheepishly at Hagakure.

“Oh! Sorry about that!”, He said in an embarrassed tone, “I didn’t see you there. No pun intended.” 

Hagakure rolled her eyes at the unintentional pun, but it brought a smile to weary and invisible face. 

“Don’t worry about it.”, she said nonchalantly, “I tend to get that a lot.” 

The boy beamed a smile, and extended his arm up towards Hagakure. The invisible girl took it and without much effort, he helped her back to her feet. 

“If you don’t mind, can you point me the way towards someone named Hagakure Tooru. She is a first year in the Hero Course. Would you happen to go to class with her or know anything?”, the boy asked while looking at his stack of papers.

Hagakure raised an unseen eyebrow, “I am actually Hagakure Tooru, and who are you and why are you looking for me?”

The older boy hopped up in surprise,”Oh I am really on a roll today”, he muttered to himself, “I am Mirio Togata and I am a third year hero student. And I was looking for you to extend an offer on behalf of the hero I intern under.”

Hagakure tilted her head in confusion as she listened to the older student. What hero would’ve wanted to propose his internship offer in a runabout way? Why not just use the same channel as the other heroes?

“I am sure this seems a little weird, but Sir tends to do things rather directly when it comes to building his team or recruiting interns. But then again Sir Nighteye isn’t exactly a normal hero when it comes to these things.”, Mirio said in a tangent. 

Sir Nighteye? Sir Nighteye? Where has she heard that name before?

…

…

…

Tooru’s invisible face lit up in realization of the hero's identity. Sir Nighteye was All Might’s only sidekick, and he was offering her an internship offer! If what Izuku said about Nighteye was correct, then he wouldn’t pick up interns willy-nilly.

“Mirio-san. If I may?”, Tooru started.

“Please, just call me senpai.”, Mirio corrected. 

“Right....I am surprised that I was given such an opportunity by Sir Nighteye, but I didn’t even do that well at the Sports Festival.”, Her thoughts drifted towards her failed attempt to win the festival.”I only made it to the second round of the final event and my victories in the other two rounds were mediocre.”

Mirio gave a reassuring smile, “Ah, but you see, that’s where you're wrong, Hagakure-san.  You exceeded expectations for someone with your type of passive quirk. You manage to secure your positions into each round by our own merit or through wit. But what impressed Sir the most was your combat prowess and your quirk.”

“My quirk?”, Hagakure said in disbelief, “It’s just invisibility, it doesn’t do anything more than that.”

“Really?”, Mirio said in feigned disbelief, “Then you can perhaps tell me about what happened when you fought that blonde kid? The way you seemingly teleported around was amazing.”

Hagakure’s invisible face contorted into shock as she suddenly went very rigid. Panic threatened to overtake her as the sudden thought of being discovered by a hero. Luckily, Marris gave her hand a tight squeeze, as if to reassure her that there was no danger. The mermaid was silently telling her to play it cool, and not to panic. 

“That…”, she carefully began, “happened because someone pointed out the potential of my quirk beyond simple stealth, and I sort of, well, discovered something I didn’t think I was capable of doing.”

She was so dead. She had been so preoccupied with trying to win the festival that she had neglected her cover story for Oarfish. Izuku’s nervous fretting had rubbed off on her in an unexpected way and caused her to overthink the situation. But being connected to Ghost was the least of her concerns in terms of drawing unwanted attention. Being the guinea pig of experimental drugs, a secret villain, and being an imposter all came to mind.

“Ah! I know how you feel.”, Mirio said in sympathy, “My quirk was incredibly difficult to use and unremarkable as well. Just when I thought I finally discovered everything about it, Sir Nighteye and Mr. Yagi showed me Permeation had more secrets than I imagined.”, Mirio chimed, oblivious to Hagakure’s fishy demeanor. 

Hagakure eased up a bit at the sheer obliviousness that Mirio had towards her quirk, but she was not inclined to believe Sir Nighteye wasn’t as dim. But what perked her attention was the mention of the older boy’s quirk changing and the hero’s ability to master them.

“Is that what interning for Sir Nighteye did for you, Mirio-senpai?” Hagakure asked, trying to deflect away from herself, “He helped you understand your quirk.”

“Yup!”, he practically shouted, “I would’ve had to drop out of the Hero Course without Sir’s help, and I bet he could help you with your quirk as he did mine.”

Hagakure pondered the proposition. Sure, she had the risk of being discovered, but there was no clear defined connection between her and Ghost. So maybe they would see her second quirk as a coincidence. But at the same time, Oarfish was a difficult quirk that required so much time and effort to gain control over it. And that was with Izuku and Marris coaching her. Yet, they were not experts in quirks or had a true understanding of wrestling them.

Everything came naturally to Marris like it was encoded to her DNA to excel in the mysterious powers of humans and was not inclined to discover their full potential. Izuku, despite being the owner of multiple quirks, was still very much a novice. His own training was a combination of self-teaching along with Marris’ own guiding hand, and was nothing formal like the average quirk therapists that everyone saw as children. 

However, unlike Izuku, she had the full opportunity and resources to explore and train her quirks without fear of the law. And she would be a fool to not take advantage of that fact. 

“I will tell you what, Senpai.”, Hagakure siad with a fire in her voice, “I will sign up with sir Nighteye for my internship. But only if you tell me what happened to your quirk.”

There was no way she was going to this without any leeway, and a gut feeling told her that Mirio’s quirk was the key to that.

Mirio suddenly went a little rigid, “I-I guess it couldn’t hurt to let you know. We are in the same boat after all…”

The blond upperclassman huffed out a breath of air before speaking, “Well, I don’t know what caused it, but I suddenly started having this gold electricity-looking appear out of the blue when I was training at the agency.” The older student explained, “And funny enough it occurred when I was doing the standard training routine and...well...I kinda broke my arm.”

“You broke your arm?”, Hagakure said in surprise, “That must have been quite the surprise! Are you okay?”

“Nothing Recovery Girl couldn’t fix.”, Mirio said with a familiar shell shocked appearance, “But anyway...I told you about my quirk, does this mean we have a deal?”

Hagakure was well versed in reading the body language of the people she interacted with and she could tell by the simple mannerisms of the older student that he was lying. Or at the very least not telling her the full truth behind his own quirk. But she could tell that the offer from Sir Nighteye was sincere, or at least Mirio was sincere about it. 

“A deals, a deals.”, Hagakure quotes, “I’ll be sure to turn in the paperwork to my homeroom teacher, and you can tell Sir Nighteye he’s got a new intern.”

The upperclassmen had a look of triumph as he began to ramble about somethings that Hagakure didn’t care too much to listen to. Instead she is trying to decipher the strangeness behind the quirk of the older student. 

“ I got Oarfish because Marris gifted it to me, but who or what caused his quirk to change or did he get a new one? Who could’ve given him a quirk in the first place? If it was given to him.” 

However, her thoughts became interrupted by the feeling of Marris suddenly letting go of her hand and floating towards the older student. The warped mermaid then circled around him in the air as if she were trying to examine him closer. A surprised snort escaped the nonexistent lips of the mermaid before an unseen smile formed on her face.

“It really is you again, isn’t it.”, she said softly, “And you have company this time?”

Marris reached out and touched the shoulder of Mirio, and to her and Hagakure’s surprise, Mirio  suddenly turned his head to face where Marris was floating in the air. He stared blankly at her for a moment before returning his attention to Hagakure.

“Weird, I thought I felt someone touch me on the shoulder.”, said the older boy with a bit of confusion and panic.

“Don’t tell me your quirk breaks your arm so you can touch ghosts, senpai. ”, joked Hagakure with a nervous sweat. 

Mirio laughed at the joke and he seemed to ease up with it. “Nice one, Sir is certainly going to love you. Well, I better not take up more of your time but please have this bit of paperwork to look at. It will give you a bit more of what Sir can offer you better than I can explain it. I hope to see you there, Hagakure-Kohai.”

Without any more delay, Mirio gave Hagakure the bundle of papers he was carrying and left after waving goodbye to the freshman.  Hagakure skimmed through the papers briefly before looking at the fish woman. She couldn’t help but notice Marris stayed in the same place where she touched the older student and how her eyes seemed to linger on him as he walked away. 

“Marris, what was that all about?”, Hagakure asked. 

“Nothing.”, Marris said eventually, “He just reminded me of someone.”

The warped mermaid seemed to be in higher spirits for the rest of the day. 

Iida stared at the paper containing the list of heroes, and it should’ve been easy for him to decide which one he would do his internship with. His brain would be telling him to choose one that would offer some set of skills or anything to aid his progress as a hero. But a fire burned in heart, and it was calling for vengeance against the man, no, monster that destroyed his world. 

Tensen, his brother, his role model, his hero had been confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Ingenium had died that day in Hosu even though the man who wielded it didn’t perish. Yet, if it weren’t for the supposed actions of the Ghost of Musustafu then Tensen would’ve died on the streets of the city that day. 

Ghost didn’t stop there, however. It seems that the vigilante had the same opinion as Iida regarding the Hero Killer and tried his hardest to destroy the deranged villain once and for all. But he was unsuccessful and Stain was able to escape but not without taking damage. Rumors are circulating that some villains in Hosu are sheltering the Hero Killer while he recovers. All the while the Ghost of Musustafu stalks Hosu like a persistent predator does to its quarry. 

Iida looked at the paper one more time before scribbling out the needed information for his internship. By the name of the great Iida Clan, he swears that Igenium will be the Hero to take down Stain. And if any luck, then a pale white shark might smell blood in the water and bring his full might into the fray. 

Todoroki glared daggers at the list containing up to 2000 heroes looking to have him on an internship. However, he wasn’t focused on which bigwig Hero was looking to have the son of Endeavor to bolster their image. Instead Todoroki was looking for someone who had an interest in hunting. Todoroki had actually done some research on the specific hero he was looking for, and now he had just had to hope that they had actually decided to take internships. His heterochromic eyes scanned furiously down the packet of papers until he saw the name he had been looking for. 

Mirko, the Rabbit Hero. 

Mina Ashido had found herself at her desk obsessing over her friends, rather than focusing on which hero she was going to intern with during the next week. 

Her long time friend and horn buddy, Kirishima, was not faring well. Ever since the Sports Festival, Kirishima had become withdrawn. He wouldn’t answer any of her text messages beyond single word replies, and his proactive and friendly demeanor had been extinguished. His face carried a weak frown while his spiky red hair had deteriorated to a head of sagging black hair. He wouldn’t talk to any of classmates unless he had to and would leave to an unknown location whenever lunch or any kind of break occurred. Worst of all was his complete loss of focus. He always seemed to be in a disoriented state with his mind clearly somewhere else, and it made him oblivious to the world around him.

Mina felt her heart shatter when her attempts to try to talk to Kirishima were met with oblivious stares or half-hearted assurances that everything was fine. She wasn’t the only one to notice Kirishima’s change of attitude. Most of their teachers had Kirishima stay after class to have a talk, but much like Mina they had little success in breaking through to him. But Kirishima wasn’t the only friend of hers experiencing turbulent times. 

Tooru had also not been the same since the Sports Festival. It was almost like a switch had been turned off and the happy and bubbly girl had been replaced with one that was trying her hardest to function. It was as if the happiness in the invisible girl had just vanished. Any attempt by Mina to try to talk to the invisible girl was met with Tooru deflecting or changing the subject. 

After some thinking, Mina came to the conclusion that Tooru and her boyfriend had gotten into a fight or maybe they broke up. Her suspicions were only partially confirmed when she spotted Tooru coming to school without the blue haired boy anywhere in sight. Mina had a word or two for him if she was lucky enough to run into him. But then again, maybe there wasn’t a fight at all and perhaps something else happened instead. Maybe he was at Hosu when…

Mina could only imagine what Tooru would be feeling if her boyfriend was one of those unlucky enough to get between the Ghost and the Hero Killer. Her bestie was practically glued to the hip of the blueberry, and it probably tore her friend apart to find out he got hurt or worse if they hadn’t found him at all. A chill crept up her spine at the thought of her future boyfriend parting ways with her like any normal day, and he never came home again.

Either way, Mina felt so useless as she sat at her desk as Mr. Aizawa talked about the internships. The Moth girl stole a glance at her two friends, both stewing silently in their misery. A frown invaded Mina’s face as she tried to piece together a way to make her friends happy. 

Tokoyami was having a hard time trying to decide which Hero he wanted to intern with, and it was not because he was overwhelmed with the amount of offers, No, it had to do with the fact that something in the classroom was unnerving him and his quirk. He felt like he was in the presence of a large toothy predator, but so far he had the luck of not being noticed by it. 

The small voice of a hero told Tokoyami to investigate the presence, but instinct told him to remain unnoticed by the thing. In fact, this same predatory presence felt like that suffocating cloud that coated the Ghost of Musustafu. Was it a part of Ghost’s quirk or perhaps there really was something more to Ghost than what he appeared to be. He didn’t know nor was he sure he wanted to know. Mineta didn’t help ease him with his tirade about the dangers the world would face if Ghost was the emissary of something greater. 

The avian headed teen stole a glance at Tsuyu and saw that the frog girl also seemed to be on edge as well. It was likely that the animal instincts ingrained in her quirk allowed her to sense the overwhelming presence as well. But she too seemed unwilling or afraid to find the source of the presence hiding amid their ranks. However, he did see her look back several times as if the source of her distress was right behind her. Tokoyami suppressed a shudder and tried to resume that task at hand as best as he could, but he had a feeling that he would need to finish it later. 

He just hoped that if the predatory mist that hangs around Ghost was with them, then it would be a friend. The images from Hosu were enough to send a chill up his spine, and the memory of the USJ had a darker connotation if he and Tsuyu hadn’t made that crucial choice. The vigilante was someone Tokoyami hoped would become a friend, because the origin of Ghost’s power seemed to make everyone small and insignificant. 

Hagakure looked at the blank whiteboard given to her by Midnight-sensei with a fleeting conflict in herself. If you had asked her what she would’ve chosen as her hero name, then you would get something related to her quirk. Invisible Girl was one that would come first in her mind. But, now it was hard for her to even stick to that name after everything that has happened to her. 

She glanced down at the sleeve of her school uniform where Oarfish was hiding in plain sight. Meeting Izuku and Marris had changed her outlook on many things, and one of those was how she viewed her quirk. Before she met them, she viewed her quirk as a curse. An ability that took away the little things that most people take for granted. That was until Izuku...

A dull ache in her heart throbbed as she thought about the boy she called her best friend. Her thoughts mindlessly drifted to what made him into the vigilante that ran away from everything. He told her a bit about it, but she had a feeling that there was more to it than that. It was a puzzle she intended to solve, and maybe things will get better if she solves it. But even if it doesn’t work out in the end, she will never forget him or what he did for her. For at least a while, Izuku was her dearest friend, and maybe he could’ve been more than that if given enough time. 

The invisible girl sighed as she returned to looking at the white board in front of her. Without any more delay, Hagakure wrote out the name that will follow her for the rest of her life. She stared at it for what seemed to be hours and was surprised to see her vision get obscured by tears. 

“Are you done with your name, Hagakure-san?” Midnight called out. 

“Yes, Sensei.”, Hagakure replied while she blinked her wet eyes as she strode to the front of the classroom. 

“This name is special to me because I always thought a person was defined by their quirk.”, Hagakure proclaimed, “But I also know that the people you meet along the way are just as important as your quirk. This name is a gesture of gratitude for helping me along to where I am today.”

Without any more words Hagakure shows her classmates the small whiteboard. Most were confused by it, but some were able to see the meaning behind it. Marris, however, had a happy smile on her unseen face as she saw the hero name of her second child. 

“Salacia, the Hiding Hero.”, Hagakure said with confidence and pride. 

Hosu

Shadows of the alleyways parted as an invisible presence stalked them like a predator. At least that’s what Giran thought as he ran like a madman from the entity chasing him. It was just a normal day in the city, as normal as one could get these days.

Ever since the fight between the Hero Killer and the Ghost of Musustafu, the city has been turned upside down. Swarms of heroes and police now patrolled the city, and they weren’t lazy either. People way more innocent looking than himself had been pulled aside by either group for ‘questioning’. Paranoia was holding the city hostage as they searched for the two responsible for it all. 

But forget the police or the heroes because some fucking monster was going after him like he had raw meat in his pocket. The info broker cursed as he ducked into another alley and hid behind a dumpster. His breathing was frantic but he did his best to make it as silently as possible. His mind raced about what to do about escaping the creature that wanted his blood.

As he thought of a way out of this mess, he had failed to notice a small puddle of water forming beneath him. All Giran could do was scream like a manly man as he was unexpectedly pulled into the ground into a tube of water. 

…

…

…

A deep gasp escaped the lips of the villain as he broke the surface of the liquid and onto the filthy street. Giran began a coughing fit as the water had not agreed with his smoker’s lung. The villain counted himself lucky that he didn’t drown.

“Ah, finally.”, said a wispy voice, “The broker for the league. You are a lot harder to catch that I anticipated.”

Giran’s head snapped to face the source of the voice, and saw it belonged to the infamous white robed vigilante. Ghost was sitting on a pile of rubble whilst fiddling around with some kind of trinket. He wasn’t looking at Giran and was focused on the trinket in his hands, but Giran had the sneaking suspicion that Ghost was watching him like a hawk. 

“I won’t waste anymore time with pleasantries because there is someone I need to find.”. Ghost said harshly, “You are going to tell me what I want to know, and then I will leave your filthy hide to the police once we are done. Now you can either choose to do this the hard way or the easy way. The choice is yours and I hope you choose wisely.”

Tough guy act, huh? For someone with a reputation as his, he wasn’t very smart. Hell, this vigilante just thinks he could waltz up to him and expect the whole song and dance. Giran has dealt with people like that before, and if that bastard thinks his quirks give him some sort of special treatment. Then he's got another thing comming.

Giran maintained his cool as he replied, “That’s not how things go with me. Memory can be fickle, especially mine, and I’ll need some incentive to remember certain things. But that only applies if I actually like YOU! And you just walked up to me and made demands like I am some sort of manservant! So what makes you think I’ll tell you anything.”

Ghost merely turned his hooded face towards Giran and titled it.

“But let’s say I do like a punk like you, and I agree to all your bullshit demands. I am a professional, First and Foremost!”, Giran emphasized, “And I don’t betray clients, and no amount of torture or money could change my mind. So why don’t you sod off! You arrogant prick and let me fucking go!”

It was a bait to draw the vigilante close enough for Giran to use his quirk. Afterall, Ghost wasn’t the first elitist fuck to try to force information out of Giran. And he won’t be the last one to get his head bashed in with a lead pipe after he is standing in confusion after losing the last 5 minutes of his memories. All he needed was for the vigilante to teach him to “mind his manners”.

“Do you know what thalassophobia is, Mr. Giran?”, Ghost said without moving.

“What the fuck are you talking about you freak?”, Giran said, confused at the abrupt subject.

Ghost paid no mind to his response and answered the question for him, “It’s the irrational fear of the Ocean. And it's a phobia that I am inclined to believe earns its negative repetition.”

Great! The vigilante was also a freakazoid on top of being an arrogant prick. 

“Was this your plan? To torture me with your psychology major bullshit!”, Giran barked angrily, “Is that seriously the best you can do to get your information?”

Ghost sighed in exasperation before suddenly snapping his fingers. A tendril of water shot towards Giran’s head and encased inside the bubble of water. Muffled screaming could be heard coming from the water as the info broker clawed at the bubble. After letting the man suffer a few more seconds, Ghost snapped in his fingers again. Another tendril of water formed up and coiled around the villain's leg and with a great heave, it pulled him out of the bubble. 

The broker continued to scream even as he was free of the confines of the bubble. His face was contorted into a look of terror while also being soaked with water.The salty scent of seawater seeped into the dank alleyway. Giran quickly snapped his head back at the still motionless vigilante, but he now looked at Ghost like he was a dangerous animal. 

“Did you like meeting Nuzzles?”, Ghost said in feigned kindness, “She really likes it when you give her tummy a rub.”

“THAT WAS A FUCKING GREAT WHITE SHARK!”, Giran shouted back. 

“Rude. She’s really a gentle creature once you get to know her.”, mocked Ghost, “But we can forget all about that bad attitude of yours, if you tell me the information I want to know.”

“Go fuck yourself!”, Giran shouted. 

Ghost merely shrugged, “Have it your way then. But don't worry Nuzzles isn’t the only ocean friend I have! How about you meet Mr. Hugs?” 

Instantly, the water coiled around Giran’s leg began to swallow him up and continued until the man only had his head exposed.  Giran’s eyes grew large as he tried to struggle against something inside the bubble. He grew more panicked after he let out a surprised shout.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? WHAT THE FUCK IS GRABBING ME!”, Giran cried out. 

“Oh, that’ll be Mr. Hugs. Don’t worry, he is actually nice for a giant squid.”, Ghost replied. 

Giran’s screams of terror echoed in the alleyway as he got familiar with Mr. Hugs. It was a vile and villainous thing to do, but Ghost was on a mission to take down the Hero Killer. Ghost won’t ever return to being Deku, and he intends to prove he isn’t useless by any means necessary. Yet, in the midst of his ‘information gathering’ Ghost had failed to notice that his chest was as silent as the bottom of the sea. 

Chapter Text

The morning air was cool as the heat of the sun had yet to bear down in its full power onto the grounds of UA. A small breeze breathed lightly amid the leaves and bushes of the school’s landscape making it appear as if the plants were like animals. Standing near the gates of UA was Hagakure Tooru, and floating alongside her was Marris the ghostly mermaid. Tooru was dressed in a set of casual clothes, consisting of a shirt and a pair of track pants. The invisible girl also had a backpack slung over her shoulders and a medium sized suitcase in her hand. Marris’ appearance had also been altered for she now wore a form fitting diving suit tailored to her size and unique body structure.  The pink flower embroidered black suit was a gift from Hagakure after her insistence that Marris no longer roamed about without any clothes. Thankfully, the fish woman actually welcomed the gift with open arms and hadn’t seemed to actually take it off since she was presented it. 

Clothing aside, the two were actually waiting for their pick up to come and take them to the Nighteye Agency. It was another case of the eccentric hero using an unorthodox approach to a rather straightforward problem, but Hagakure was glad she could at least enjoy a trip to Tokyo in a car rather than taking the train. But the  pickup was running late, and Mirio-senpai said that they had run into a little difficulty along the way when she had called him. So until then, the two stood in silence for a good while, at least until Marris had gotten bored and decided to make small talk. 

“You are nervous.”, Marris deadpanned, “If I am to be correct, then one should be excited to see a hero?”

Hagakure glanced at the invisible mermaid as she spoke her words through a confused tone, and inwardly wondered how Marris was not able to understand the situation. But then again, she spent ten years with a Hero Otaku so social readings were probably not that high on her list of skills. Or maybe she was trying to entice her into speaking about it outloud to help calm her nerves. 

“It’s just…”, she struggled to say.

It had actually been eating her up for quite a while. Sir Nighteye was not an average hero, the fact that he tied with All Might for a good number of years while also having his own successful solo career as well. Forums online spoke of him as the brains of the operation when he was All Might’s sidekick, and this made Hagakure nervous. She internally doubted that Nighteye had actually wanted her for her skills, and more like trying to gain a lead on Ghost. Why did she have to tell All Might-sensei about that? She could be so stupid sometimes…

“Enough.”, Marris said firmly, “No more of that. I now understand your skittishness, but don’t worry Haga-chan. If this man-thing with the night sky in his eyes thinks about hurting you, then I will be sure he regrets doing it.”

Hagakure blinked. Did Marris just somehow read her mind?

“Yes.”, Marris replied.

…

…

…

The rumbling sound of a car wiggled its way into the quiet air causing Hagakure and Marris to look towards the source of the noise.  Pulling up on the road towards the two was a red four door pick up truck. The truck was an American model and looked both old and new at the same time. Inside the front cab was the clear as day image of Mirio sitting in the passenger seat while wearing a casual set of clothes. The driver’s seat contained a tall and skeleton looking man with a head of blonde hair with two large bangs. The driver was also wearing a tacky looking suit. The truck came to a stop at Hagakure’s spot and the window rolled down to reveal Mirio’s smiling face. 

“Sorry we are late Hagakure-Kohai.”, Mirio apologized as he and the other man got out of the truck, “But we got held up by a villain attack that blocked the usual route.”

“It’s fine.”, Hagakure assured, “I only got here a few minutes ago.” 

The two men walked up to Hagakure, and Mirio began his charade of what could be described as a jubilant talk about Hagakure spending the next week with Sir Nighteye. Luckily, Mirio’s ted talk coincided with him helping Hagakure load her belongings into the bed of the pick up truck. Yet, even when the task was done, the older student continued to talk nonstop. Mirio talked like a broken record player for a good number of minutes before finally addressing the elephant in the room. 

“Oh! I almost forgot!”, Mirio exclaimed, “Hagakure-kohai this is Mr. Yagi works as a secretary at the agency. And Mr. Yagi, this is Hagkure Tooru, the new intern.” 

Hagakure bowed lightly, “It’s good to meet you Mr. Yagi.”

Mr. Yagi returned the bow, “Likewise Miss Hagakure-san.”

To the surprise of Hagakure, Marris was circling around Mr. Yagi in a similar way she did Mirio. However, unlike with Mirio, Marris took longer to examine the person in the suit. The lamprey mermaid raised a metaphoric eyebrow at Mr. Yagi before diving into a chorus of snickers. 

Hagakure wanted to press Marris for the information, her own curiosity calling, but the last thing she wanted to do was start talking to someone who wasn’t there. So she kept her mouth shut and tried her best to not stare at the giggling mermaid all throughout the ride to Tokyo. 

Hagakure was fairly certain that Sir Nighteye’s agency was going to follow the norm of most hero agencies. She expected an eccentric design that followed the motif of the hero or was a towering monolith as a testament to their accomplishments in the industry. 

But the building that housed the agency looked like any other office building with its modern and humble design. It was just like any of the other buildings that were housed on this city block. Which made it all the more intimidating.   

Hagakure was glad that invisibility prevented anyone from seeing her facial expressions in situations like this because she certainly wouldn’t be fooling anyone with her inability to have a poker face. Her heart was threatening to jump out her chest as she apprehensively got off the truck and retrieved her things. Mirio’s ramblings fell on deaf ears as she was more worried about the Hero she would soon be face-to-face with. Luckily, Mr. Yagi seemed to catch onto her present mood.

“Miss Hagakure-san, are you okay?”, Mr. Yagi said rather bluntly. 

The question caused Hagakure to jump and ‘eep’ in surprise. Mirio and Yagi looked at each other before turning back to profusely apologizing to Hagakure. 

“I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry!”, Hagakure apologized as she opted to just let it out, “I am just a little nervous. My friend told me that Sir was a big deal and I have been so worried that I’ll do something wrong or give a bad impression.”

Even without the implications of her link to Ghost, this was expected to happen in the mind of Hagakure. She was so used to the fact that most people just glossed over her without even thinking to give a second glance that she became fretful about impressions. What good was making a connection if the hero you were interning under simply forgot about you. 

“It seems ‘a little nervous’ would be an understatement”, Mr. Yagi pointed out, “I understand that this all might be a little much for you, but think of Sir Nighteye as any other hero.”

“But he was All Might’s sidekick.”, Hagakure argued, “And it was already intimidating enough to just ask All Might-sensei some questions.”

“You remind me so much of Sir Nighteye when he came to All Might all those years ago.”, said Mr. Yagi.

“I do?”, Hagakure mouthed.

“Oh absolutely!”, Mr. Yagi exclaimed with a smile, “He was a terrified bundle of nerves that was hidden behind a cloak of coolness. I am told he looked like he was about to vomit when he walked into Mr. Might’s office.”

Hagakure slowly digested all the information that spilled out of the skeletal man’s mouth. 

Mr. Yagi gave her an understanding impression, “But the point is Miss Hagakure-san, everyone had to start at the bottom and everyone always has that nerve racking first interview.”, Mr Yagi advised with a sage-like wisdom, “But if you’re looking for any advice, then I might be helpful.”

Mr. Yagi took a moment to think before speaking, “In all of my years working with Sir Nighteye, I’ve always found the best way to get a good impression is to make him laugh.”

“Yeah.”, Mirio chipped in, “Sir really likes jokes, and with your quirk there’s bound to be plenty of puns you can throw!” 

To Hagakure’s surprise Marris also chimed in.

“Don’t fret over how you will look to Sky-Eyes. Just listen to the two goldfish and you’ll do fine.”, Marris said inside her head. 

Somehow, Hagakure was able to feel a little more confident. 

When Hagakure arrived inside the office alongside the two blondes, she was greeted by the two sidekicks that worked for the agency. Centipeder was a man who looked like a centipede in a tuxedo or was a centipede that was man sized and wore a tuxedo. Either way, he was a nice friendly gentleman-like character that helped Hagakure with the final pieces of paper work and gave her a rundown of how the agency worked. Bubble Girl was a blue woman with a costume motif that reminded the invisible girl of one of those toy bubble blowers for children. She was bubbly, if a bit clumsy, and gave Hagakure a brief tour of the main offices as well as showing her to living quarters. 

When that little bit of business was out of the way Bubble Girl led Hagakure to a dark wooden door with a brass plaque that said: Sir Nighteye. 

“Sir Nighteye is already waiting for you. Just enter when you are ready.”, Bubble Girl said with a secretary’s disposition. 

Hagakure blankly stared at the door as if it were going to bite her if she got too close. She could do this...she couldn’t do this. Her breathing stopped as she grew as stiff as stone, her body firmly rooted in its spot. Marris returned from her hidey hole to hold Hagakure’s hand. This small gesture brought a lot of comfort to her weary nerves and brought encouragement to her spirit. It was now or never! With a deep breath, Hagakure strode towards the door and passed it without hesitation. 

…

…

…

…

..!

“ Why is there so much All Might Memorabilia?! ”, Hagakure screams internally.

There were many things that she was expecting when she opted to intern for Sir Nighteye, but seeing that his office was decorated like any hero fanboy was not one of them. There were All Might posters, figurines, toys, a breakfast cereal, and snowglobes. Some of them looked cheap, others looked expensive. There were new and pristine and old and worn memorabilia. If Izuku was here, he would probably gush over each individual piece. 

Hagakure stole a quick glance at Marris and saw that the lamprey mermaid was floating midway between the floor and the ceiling. Her stoic face showcased a rare instance of exasperation as she covered her bulbous eyes with her hand.  

“Not another fanatic.” she complained to herself. 

Hagakure stifled a giggle before turning her attention back to the center of the room. Nestled behind a desk was a skinny man with a lengthy body. He had dark green with yellow streaks smoothed down in a combover. He wore a grey suit with a red polka dot tie along with a pair of triangular glasses. His hands closely resembled Marris’ hands with their spindly lengths and witch-like appearance. Sir Nighteye, at least Hagakure presumed, paid her no mind as he was heavily invested with the papers on his desk. 

Hagakure gulped, “Excuse me, but are you Sir Nighteye?”

The man looked up from his papers before setting them down and addressed Hagakure. His face became focused as he did a 180 from a simple salary man to the judging visage of an eagle. Even with Invisibility hiding her face, Sir Nighteye’s visage stabbed into her brown irises like knives with accuracy.  

Sir Nighteye glared at her,“And you are Hagakure Tooru, I presume?

“Yes, that’s me.” she replied with uncertainty, “I know there’s not much to look at, but I am sure you could see that.”

The faintest of smiles could be seen curving upwards on the lips of the hero, before he bursted into a small series of soft laughter. After a moment of this had passed, he stopped laughing and rose from his seat. 

“I suppose I should formally introduce myself.”, He said as he extended his hand towards Hagakure,” I am Sir Nighteye, the hero you will be interning under for the following week.” 

“Nice to meet you, Sir Nighteye.”, Hagakure said politely as she met his hand and shook it, “I am Hagkure Tooru, but you knew that already.”

“Indeed, you have quite the file for someone of your age, but considering the situation your class was in. I really shouldn’t be surprised that things were unorthodox with you or your peers, Sir Nighteye remarked. 

“The USJ?”, Hagakure answered, “Yeah, that was not how I expected my Tuesday to go. I am just glad no one got seriously hurt during that.”

Sir Nighteye smiled at that, “Yes, your class is very lucky that none of them faced any serious harm. But I am sure you’ve gotten plenty of condolences from other heroes.”

“Yeah...”, She admitted as she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. 

“Now, before we begin the formalities of the internship. I do have a question, if you don’t mind?.”, Sir Nighteye asked.

A small thread of panic wove inside Hagakure causing her heart to start racing, “I don’t see why not? Ask away.”

Sir Nighteye probed with an inquisitive eye, “Why do you think I offered you the internship?”

“Mirio said that you were most impressed by fighting prowess, and...my...quirk.”, Hagakure trailed off as she slowly realized what Sir Nighteye was implying.

Hagakure suddenly felt very small, and exposed in a room full of the smiling faces of All Might. Sir Nighteye felt more like a predator that was subtly probing for a weakness before pouncing. Her instincts told her that danger was lurking about.

“Remain calm.”, Marris instructed her in a whisper, and then proceeded to float closer to Hagakure. 

“I assume that All Might failed to inform you that I am currently the head of the investigation for the Vigilante known as Ghost.”, he said with a sigh, “ I am responsible for the recruitment of him within the ranks of heroes or for his arrest and incarceration should he prove unwilling.”

“He didn’t.”, she admitted with a shaky tone.

“All Might spoke rather highly of you when he suggested that I offer you an internship. I was skeptical, of course, but I was soon proven wrong when I witnessed your run into the Sports Festival.”, Sir Nighteye said stoically as his eyes bore into hers again.  

Marris instinctively wrapped her arms around the panicking Hagakure, her presence seemingly erasing the dread that overwhelmed her human charge. Marris remained calm, but kept her eyes fixated on Sir Nighteye. The fish lady leaned in so close to Hagakure’s knifey ear that it brushed against the mouthless face of the mermaid. 

“I will whisper lies in your ears.”, Marris ordered, “Say them as exactly as I do, my words will seem truthful as they hold power over humans.”

Hagakure squeezed the four fingered hand that was resting in her lap in acknowledgement.

“You could imagine my surprise when I noticed that your fighting style was nearly identical in match to the vigilante’s fighting style.”, Nighteye added, “Can you tell me why that is?”

“I copied him.”, Hagakure replied a little too calmly, “I'm trying to mimic his style after the USJ, so I can protect myself and my classmates should something like that happen again. He was like Mr. Aizawa in regards to fighting, and I thought it should work well for me.”

“I see, it's on account that you would have to fight mostly quirkless should the need arise. A solid alibi, if any videos of the vigilante were available to the public before Hosu.”, Nighteye remained in his stoic position, “However, your quirk’s capabilities seems far beyond what it is capable of, but invisibility should not be doing things such as that dashing or that kelpy smell?” 

“My Grandfather on my mother’s side had a quirk that made him smell like dried kelp, and my aunt had a quirk that let her dashed quickly.”, Hagakure said with certainty, “These quirks are in my family’s history, but we don’t know anything about my father’s side of the family because he was adopted.”

“That doesn’t explain how such a combination could result in what was seen at the festival.”, He jabbed.

“Yes, it doesn’t.”, Hagakure said with a fierceness, “It still doesn’t make sense to me, but I woke up one day after having a peculiar dream.”

“What do you mean by ‘peculiar dream’? Are you implying you had a dream and then your quirk evolved. “, Sir Nighteye skeptically  

Yes. No. I don’t know ”, Hagakure lied with feigned confusion, “I went to bed one night and had this dream where a person talked to me. Next thing I knew...was this!

In an action akin to flexing a muscle, Hagakure switched to her Oarfish form. Yet, the effect seemed instantaneous as Sir Nighteye suddenly became bedazzled at the scene. Marris suddenly began to speak words in a language that Hagakure could barely understand. Not because she didn’t know the language, but because she was speaking so fast that it sounded like gibberish.

The words had a profound effect on Sir Nighteye as the man grew tense as the phrases continued. His eyes clouded over and mouth went slack. A bit of droll dripped out of his slack mouth as the minutes went on. Hagakure, meanwhile, was half-curious half-panicking as she watched Marris turn Sir Nighteye into a brainless zombie. 

Then as abruptly as she started, Marris ended the mysterious chanting with an exhausted sigh. Hagakure could feel the mermaid's gip on her slacken, and Hagakure could feel a crushing weight hover over her shoulders. Without even thinking, the invisible girl dropped Oarfish and examined the mermaid wrapped around her. 

If Marris could be described as exhausted, then this would be the only time in which Hagakure would say it. Her stoic visage was tainted with a slight sagging with two dark bags below her bulbous eyes. The gorgan hair of Marris sagged instead of floated while a flown cracked metaphorically across her mask.

“Some humans are too inquisitive for their own good.”, she said in a winded gasp, “Serves him right for daring to torture my Haga-chan like that.”

Sir Nighteye replied with a groggy groan. He shook his head lightly before blankly staring at Hagakure for a moment. A loud tired yawn escaped his lips as he stretched his back and arms.

“Well, now that conversation is finished, I guess we can begin your internship.”, Sir Nighteye said in a sleepy voice, “I want you to go and dress up in your hero costume and meet up in the training gym in about ten minutes.”

Hagakure, stunned by what she was seeing, replied, “Yes, Sir.”

She quickly got out of her seat and hurried to the door and just as her hand touched the door.

“And Hagakure-san, Welcome to the team.”, Sir Nighteye said in a pleased voice.

Hagakure merely said ‘thank you’ before exiting through the door. 

Sir Nighteye let out a breath of relief the moment Hagakure had left the room. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. That conversation must’ve been more exerting than he thought because he felt like he had been awake all night. It was rare for things to go as well as they did for him today, but he will certainly accept it when they do go well. His suspicions of Hagakure Tooru were completely cleared with that little conversation. 

Her demeanor displayed that she was about as heroic as it comes to a person of her age, but wasn’t clouded so much by the good & evil dynamic to not work with those in the grey spectrum. Best of all, she wasn’t tied in any form whatsoever to All For One. Hagakure Tooru, by all accounts, seemed to be genuine with her intentions.

He cannot help but feel a bit annoyed with the very lax standards that their society has in its institutions, however. Seriously, how can one misdiagnose a quirk like her’s anyway? Incompetence? Laziness? Dismissive? It doesn’t matter in the end, but a mistake like that could cause some issues later down the line. Still, Hidden Strength had a nice ring to Hagakure than Invisibility did. 

The foresight hero stopped his tangent train of thought and pondered his next move in the case. Especially since his quirk had revealed an interesting revelation in her future. 

Hagakure was standing amid a great expanse of flickering orange and red. She was posed in a defiant gesture as if she was preparing to fight. Behind her was the unconscious body of an unrecognizable kid laying on the ground like a battered and frazzled doll. 

Opposed to her was a titanic monster. Its head was a mawing abyss of blackness, while its two arms were powerful liquid boneless-limbs. Its legs were a nest of thick whip-like tentacles that squirmed and pulsed as it hoisted the body of the monster high into the air. Connecting it all together was the iconic white robes of the Ghost of Musustafu. 

Hagakure appeared to be crucial in the case of the Ghost of Musustafu, but he feared that it might end in violence if the future was any indication. He didn’t enjoy the idea of Hagakure running headfirst into a berserking vigilante, after all she was just a girl, but the events at Hosu forced his hand to be heavier especially with the government now bearing down on him.

“Ghost must be recruited at all costs! He is an extreme threat to national security if he were to turn into an enemy of the people and the Heroes if he did. We are trusting you to complete this task, failure is not an option.” -Prime Minister Mitishibusi Kyo 

Whatever the future holds, Sir Nighteye will be sure that Hagakure will come out unscathed.

Hagakure plopped down on the bed with an exhausted groan only seconds after she entered it. The had been rough, mostly consisting of quirk training by Sir Nighteye. She was expected to do more with her days, but on the account of being her first day, there wasn’t much for Hagakure to do. However, Bubble Girl was kind enough to provide Hagakure with a schedule of her internship’s activities. 

A groan of exhaustion escaped the invisible girl’s lips as she looked at the grueling schedule ahead of her for the rest of the week. It certainly explained why Mirio-senpai was so good at being a hero, and she was sure the same could be said about her if she survived the week. However, her survival was not at the forefront of her mind right now. Instead, Marris’ actions towards the hero had been 

“Marris, I need to ask you a question.”, Hagakure said quizzically, “What did you do to Sir Nighteye that made him all...drooly?”

The warped mermaid had taken it upon herself to find a nice corner to coil up, as she too was experiencing a rare case of fatigue. With a lazy turn of her head, Marris glanced at Hagakure before resting it back onto herself.

“I merely joined the conversation in your stead, when it became obvious that he was too nosey for his own good.”, replied Marris without looking, “I can be very persuasive when I want to be, and no human has been able to resist my words.”

“Was I really in that much trouble? Maybe I should’ve just gone with someone else!”, Hagakure cried.

“Yes, you were in that much trouble. But there was no helping it since this human is even more paranoid than he should be.”, Marris complained, “But don’t worry, I made sure he won’t be a further problem.”

As much as Hagakure wanted to just drift into the world of dreams and sleep there was still business she needed to do. And she had a feeling that an opportunity would be scarce in the near future. 

“There’s also something else I want to know before I go to sleep.I want to know about Izuku’s past. Specifically when he had green hair, and I want to know what it was like for him growing up.”, Hagakure stated.

Marris visibly jumped in surprise at the request, and was overcome with a strange combination of emotions. Her fists tightened and her hair squirmed while she was coiled up. 

“Why do you want to know that?”, Marris said, clearly flustered.

“I want my best friend back, and I know you want him back as much as I do. So please, Marris! I need to know so I can understand why he did what he did.”, Hagakure begged. 

“I don’t think it is something that you should see.”, Marris advised, “It is a dark time for Izuku and I wouldn't want you to see it.”

Hagakure was taken aback by the response, “Marris, I am training to be a hero, so I am going to see awful things. And I don’t think Izuku’s past is something to shy away from. Especially since he needs help!”

Something changed in the demeanor of Marris, and it wasn’t good. In fact it bordered the lines of anger. “No, I don’t think I should show you. I think it is best to drop the matter.”

A blare of anger erupted inside Hagakure, “No, I won’t drop it, Marris. Not while he is out there being something he shouldn’t be.”

“Hagakure.”, Marris warned, “I don’t think you would understand…”

“I understand completely!”, interrupted Hagakure, “I think I understand why you are avoiding it, and it’s because you are hiding something!”

Like a bullet, Marris shot towards Hagakure. The lamprey mermaid positioned herself so she would tower over Hagakure while her black eyes bore into with a cold glare. It was an attempt to intimidate the human girl, but one that had failed. 

“I am not going to show you anything.”, Marris nearly snarled.

“You won’t show me or is it because you don't want to show me!”, Hagakure snarled back. 

The two glared at each other in a game of chicken with each of their icy glares bore into each other. Elven face contrasted with Alien face before it was Marris ultimately flinched first. The warped mermaid looked away while muttering something unintelligible. 

“Marris! Speak up!”, Hagakure all but barked.

Once again the mermaid released an intangible stream of words. 

“Marris!”, Hagakure scolded. Her patience at a breaking point.  

“I-I can’t!”, Marris howled, “I don’t want to speak of any of it! I hate those years, and all those memories! They weren’t just bad for him! They were even worse for me!” 

“That's why we need to talk about this, Marris! Something is very wrong and we need to solve it before something regrettable happens.”, Hagakure sternly replied.

“Well, something regrettable has already happened.”, Marris said coldly.

“That’s why I need to know more about Izuku’s past, so I can help him see what he is doing isn’t the right way.”, said Hagakure, “He believes we have wronged him, Marris, and I need to know why he thinks that.”

“Everything I did for him was for his own good!”, Marris exclaimed, “And he’s a greater fool than I expected if he hadn't realized.”

“But how did he feel about any of it? Do you ever stop and ask him what he was feeling or whether he wanted that or not? Because I didn’t and I wished I did. But that’s the problem Marris, everytime we talk about him, it feels like we are talking about a pet and not another person!”, Hagakure growled. 

“That shouldn’t matter! As long as he is alive and safe!”, Marris argued. 

“Marris! This is why Izuku ran away!”, Hagakure balked, “He ran away because you and I didn’t take into account how he felt about this! Just because we felt certain in our actions doesn’t mean he did! Heck, maybe what we did was the wrong thing to do.”

“Don’t you dare act like you understand! Your kind is cruel and evil towards each other for just being different!”, Marris growled, “Every action I did was to ensure that Izuku was safe from all the parasites that infest this rock!”

“Yes, you’re right. I don’t know what it was like, and I don’t think I could understand it fully.”, Hagakure admitted, “But standing here and pretending to know what is best isn’t going to solve anything. Marris, please! I don’t want to be alone again and I know you do as well.”

Marris stared at Hagakure with an angry glare, but not at her but seemingly through her. “I could very much change your memory as I did to sky-eyes, and you wouldn’t even realize what I did. No sane creature would dare to demand something such as this from me. You challenged me like this because...you love him.”, she said as if stating a fact. 

Hagakure stared blankly at Marris before her own face erupted into a stream of redness. But she didn’t outright deny the claim, and instead it made sense. She felt beyond the simple warm and fuzzy feeling in her belly. Instead, she felt like she was a whole human being when around Izuku, and she knew exactly why. It was because Izuku was the only person in the world who could see her, the real her that was hidden by her quirk. She loved him, and that’s why she wanted to help him, even if he clawed at her the whole time. 

“Y-Yes.”, she said softly, “I do love him, and I know you love him too, Marris. That’s why you won’t do that because deep down you want to be with him again like I do. So please, help me understand so we both can help him.”

Marris said nothing and instead only peered at Hagakure. This unnerved the invisible girl as for a brief moment, Marris peered at her like a predator does its prey. Was that jealousy? Or was it that fierce protectiveness? Hagakure didn’t know. The warped mermaid quietly uttered a phrase underneath her breath, and almost instantly Hagakure felt her body lose control of its functions. A sensation of falling began to overtake all of her senses as she fell from the earth. 

Hagakure was overwhelmed by what could be described as a movie playing in her head. It was too fast to comprehend its contents initially. But soon it became apparent to her what was happening in these visions. A younger, green colored version of Izuku was getting merciliy bullied by other kids and teenagers. The memories were silent and slightly warped, but she could feel a set of emotions all throughout the replay.  

Anger boiled into rage as silent screams were directed towards the children while her clawed hands attempted to stop them. But they all phased through them, causing the mermaid to get angrier as they continued. Soon clawed hands looked like she was trying to rip the children apart rather than restrain them. A bloodcurdling wail reverbated as each attack did nothing to the attacking humans. 

Saddeness turned into a growth of depression as the fish woman failed in each incident to protect Izuku. A creature of her strength and power looked at itself with a hatred that surpassed the fires of the sun. She cursed. She cried. She begged! She wanted to be anything other than her ghostly form to do something! Anything! She just wanted to protect the little boy, but she never could. She kneeled beside the wounded Izuku, and waited until he could pull himself off the ground. The sound of weeping could be heard from the scene, even as no tears fell from black eyes. 

Fear...changed into hysteria. As each incident grew more and more severe, a hollowness of tumultuous horror filled the inside of Marris. Every cut, every burn, every bruise was a harrowing reminder of the frailty of Izuku. She watched every child with paranoid eyes, waiting for them to eventually strike out at her child. The adults were no different as they allowed such things to happen, and even joined in on the side of the others. Soon, all she saw was enemies, they were everywhere and they wanted to hurt izuku. No where was safe for him, and she feared that one day his life would end at the hands of his tormentors.  

All of these three emotions swirled within each other like a whirlpool of negative emotions that gnawed at the flesh of Marris as she watched the final scene unfold. Izuku was attacked by another boy. His arms outstretched in a position that Marris had recognized before. It was a position in which someone intended to kill. She was engulfed with rage at the attacker and tried to maul him with her claws. She was submerged into a pool of fear as one of her worst nightmares was unfolding before her eyes. A cloud of sadness overcasted on the realization that she would be alone again. 

She didn’t want to be angry. She didn’t want to be fearful. She didn’t want to be sad. She wanted to be happy. She needed Izuku to be alive to be happy. She...didn’t...want...this!

…

…

…

…

Theyrekillingmyson!

…

…

…

…

Theyrekillingmysontheyrekillingmyson!

…

…

…

…

Theyrekillingmyson!theyrekillingmyson!theyrekillingmyson!theyrekillingmyson!theyrekillingmyson!

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

I…..WON’T…... LET…... THEM!!!!

…

…

…

The sensation of every single nerve began to scream in agony as her arms fought against the walls of her prison like never before. Searing lashes of pain snaked across her flesh as she forced her arms through the walls. Adrenaline coursed through her for the first since her fall from the black sea. She fought, she screamed, she pushed with all her strength…and the walls of the cage shattered. 

The warped mermaid stared at the unconscious form of Hagakure, her aura betraying a vortex of negative emotions. She visibly sagged as she turned away from the invisible girl and gaze outside towards the night sky. 

“Now she will know of my greatest failure.”, Marris said to herself, “Then she will understand that I am not the creature she thought I was.”

The stars in the sky seemed duller that night as Marris watched and waited for the impending morning.

Chapter Text

Izuku was crouched and shivering over a puddle of water that he had been so unceremoniously thrown in after by a  group of faceless boys. His lip was bloody while his skin was bruised in different places. Scrapes and scratches littered him like spots on a dalmatian with a dirtied school uniform to complete the ragged look. He wheezed and coughed as he slowly regenerated from the beating he took from the other children. 

He looked down into the dirty water and peered at his own reflection alongside the reflection of Marris hovering above his shoulder. Tears began to fall from his eyes and his face was shaped like clay into borderline despair. Marris placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but it did nothing to alleviate Izuku. In fact, Izuku had completely ignored her initial attempts to comfort him and instead seemed dead set on his reflection. 

“Why does everyone hate me?”, He spoke in a whisper, “What did I do wrong? Why...do I hate seeing...myself?”

A shot of adrenaline surged through the unconscious Hagakure as she shot up from her bed with a loud gasp. A bout of coughing overtook her as she adjusted to consciousness once again. She learned it all. She learned why Izuku so willingly abandoned everything. It stung like a barbed hook in her skin. 

Izuku thought he was useless, and was convinced that everyone viewed him as nothing. Ten years of perceived quirklessness and ten years of being subjected to torment had engrained the notion as almost a fact in him. The name “Deku” was one of the many examples from a long list of dehumanizing done by his classmates and teachers. It only worsened when he failed the UA entrance exam. As his failure was nothing more than a confirmation of what he had been told everyday for a decade. 

Her intentions for Izuku to become a hero, while good natured, had the opposite effect on a boy who only received disdain or pity his whole life. That still won’t stop her from slapping the hell out of him for being a jerk about the whole thing! But that was going to be after the fact because there were still bigger fish to fry. The invisible girl frantically looked around the room for the only other person that held close ties to Izuku.  And after a moment of searching, Hagakure’s brown eyes locked onto the blue shape of Marris. 

Hagakure stared at Marris with an apprehensive face or she would have if she knew Marris could actually see her. The mermaid, however, did not even spare a glance at her, instead opting to look outside the singular window in the room while fiddling the strings of her wetsuit. But that ultimately didn’t matter because she had learned the truth about Marris. The warped mermaid was not a quirk, she was a living creature of unknown origin and was extremely powerful. But that realization paled in comparison to the inner workings of Marris. 

The warped mermaid was devastatingly lonely. Her prison or whatever made her ghostlike was the reason for her loneliness. She was seldom seen by humans who could actually perceive her, and she latched onto them when she discovered them. But her never ending life cursed her eternally to suffer the pitiful lifespan of a human being. That was even if the human was lucky enough to make it to old age. Most of her adopted “children” met a gruesome and violent end to their lives. Marris’ entire existence was a cycle of suffering brought about by long periods of crippling isolation which were interrupted briefly by small joy in the form of a surrogate family. Yet, it would always end with the tragic death of the human, and the cycle repeats again.  

It was a punishment befitting of a person who wronged the Gods in the many legends and tragedies of the Ancient Greeks. But things changed with Izuku. Hagakure couldn’t deny the feelings Marris had for the boy, she loved him like any parent would their kid. There were plenty of happy memories in which for a brief time, Marris could forget her curse and feel free. But even love could distort into something more vile should the circumstances allow. Izuku’s near death experience had propelled the fish woman to act not out of the best interests of Izuku but rather in her own selfish desire to stay happy. 

Izuku being tormented and nearly killed because of being quirkless? Give him one or even two quirks to ensure that doesn’t happen again. He failed the exam and can’t become a hero? Push him towards being a vigilante to give him something to live for. And so on and so on. 

Everything that she did, every decision, every action, and every regret was dictated by that event. It made the kindly and generous creature that Marris portrayed herself as a much more selfish one.  In fact, Marris’ gift of Oarfish was one of these selfish decisions. Hagakure couldn’t help but feel like she was more of an object in the eyes of the mermaid rather than a person. Or perhaps she saw humans as weak and pitiful creatures like how one looks at puppies. Which made all the cutesy talk that Marris spoke take a more demeaning demeanor. Now that the cat was out of the bag however...

“I should hate you…”, Hagakure said bluntly, causing Marris to flinch.

She really should hate the mermaid for acting in the way she did towards her and Izuku. She should hate Marris for treating them as objects for her own desires rather than people. She should hate Marris for deciding that she would be the perfect emotional anchor for Izuku without her say in it all. 

She should hate Marris...but Hagakure has lived the same life that Marris has had.

The invisible girl was a mirror image of Marris in every sense of the word. She too was cursed with loneliness by the effect of her quirk. She experienced firsthand what it was like to be forgotten, despite being Infront of other people. She never had friends on the account that they could never get past the difficulties of her quirk and neither could she relate to them on the account that she couldn’t do things that most kids age take for granted. She too had been waiting for someone like Izuku to come and save her from her curse, and despite all that has happened, she wishes to save him. Hating Marris would be like hating herself, and that was something that she could never do.

“Marris, I…", Hagakure began as she turned towards Marris.

To the surprise of Hagakure, Marris had vanished from the spot near the window. The hero student quickly hurried to her feet towards the empty spot. The invisible girl did a brief scan of the area to see any sign of the mermaid, but there were none. 

“Marris, I know you can still hear me.”, Hagakure called out as he talked to the empty room, “I don’t hate you for why you did what you did, but that doesn’t mean I agree with it.”

The room remained silent and empty.

“If it makes you feel better, then know that I would’ve done the same if I were in your shoes. But that doesn’t make it right.”, Hagakure paused to take a breath, “Izuku is lashing out because of something that both you and him chose to ignore for years. I am going to find him and try to talk some sense into him before he does something regrettable. Running away from our problems is not going to solve anything, and I will fix this even if he kicks and screams the whole way.” 

The invisible girl quickly got her stuff ready as she prepared for her day at the Nighteye Agency.

“I love Izuku, Marris. I want to be happy with him, and I will do anything to have that.”, Hagakure said with determination, “ I am like you Marris, a sad lonely girl, and I would do anything to not be alone again. I would risk everything, just for Izuku to come home. My career, my freedom, my friendships, even my relationship with you Marris. I am sorry, but I will do what is necessary if such a thing were to pass. You are welcome to come if you are willing to admit you made a mistake. If not...then all I can say is...goodbye.”

With those final words, Hagakure left the silent room.

 Three Days Before Hosu

“Have you ever heard of a quirkless villain?”, Hagakure blurted out. 

Sir Nighteye raised an eyebrow at the question that was randomly thrown in his direction. It was a break period in between the rigorous quirk training that was a part of internship. The youngest intern at his agency used it as an opportunity to ask advice or questions pertaining to improving Hidden Strength . So, this question was completely out of the blue.

“A quirkless villain?”, Sir Nighteye replied, “What suddenly brought this up?” 

The spot where Hagakure’s head should be appeared to move in apprehension, “Oh nothing really, but I have never heard of a Quirkless hero before. So I wondered if there was a quirkless villain, or maybe there was no such thing?”

An innocent enough question.

“I don’t seem to recall anything of the sort….”, Sir Nighteye said after a moment of silence. 

“I would be surprised if you did.”, said the wheezy voice of an elderly man, “Most people these days don’t remember anything.”

The two people in the training room turned in near synch towards the new participant in their conversation. 

A squat elderly man with light grey hair stood amid on the edge of the training ring alongside Mirio, who was sporting a thousand yard stare and shivering in fear at the old man. He was dressed in a yellow and white hero costume with a black mask while holding an old rickety wooden cane. His face held a permanent scowl that was only emphasized by the wrinkles that consumed his face. 

“When I was one of you anklebiters, there was a villain that caused a load of havok in many of the prefectures. He was a proper professional criminal too! Not like one of these freakshows or those fifteen minutes of fame street thugs!”, The Old man ranted.  

“Gran Torino.”, Nighteye said while hiding his disdain, “if such a thing were true, surely there would be something written about it or at least mentioned in the Commission Archives?”

“Ah, but that’s where you were wrong. You see this villain was the famous Takashi Kouichi, but you would all know him under the moniker ‘The Fool’ .”, Gran Torino replied. 

Hagakure recalled in history class that “The Fool” was an infamous villain that terrorized Japan nearly sixty years ago. He was famous for high level robbery of many of Japan’s most secure banks, and no matter how tight the security was, he always managed to break in. Even worse was the fact that he managed to defeat every hero that came after him. However, this is not what made him infamous. What history remembers “The Fool” for is his break in at the Osaka National Laboratories, and grievously injuring the Number Three Hero at the time. Hagakure found herself going wide eyed at the realization that all these crimes were committed by a quirkless person. She was most certainly impressed in a morbid sort of way. 

Yet, it seemed Sir Nighteye wasn’t convinced, “Quirkless? The records from that villain’s case indicated he possessed an intelligence quirk on par with a supercomputer.”

Gran Torino gave Sir a shit-eating-grin, “History is always written by the victors, and more often than not, they change the record to make themselves look good. Or rather in this case, make it appear they were dealing with a high profile villain with a powerful quirk, and not a disgruntled part-time salary worker with no unique power. Could imagine how foolish and incompetent they would look if word truly got out!”

“Excuse me, Mr. Torino, Sir?”, Hagakure blurted out.

The elderly man shot his hawk-like gaze towards the floating gloves and boots in the room.

“If what you’re saying is true then how did they defeat him?”, She asked. “Mr. Aizawa said that it took Five Pro Heroes, including the number one hero, and the entire Police Force in the Princeps to arrest him.”

The old pro laughed like a madman at what she had said, but he didn’t stop when he should have. Mirio and Sir Nighteye exchanged awkward glances while Hagakure began to sport an unseen blush across her face. Thankfully, Mirio decided to save his Kohai from embarrassment.

“Um...what is so funny about that question, Gran Torino?”,spoke Mirio.

“Nothing, just leave it to those suits to flaunt their nonexistent muscles.”, the old man said in between wheezes.

“Sooooo….they didn’t use any of that?”, Hagakure asked a little meekly

“Oh no, they did. The commission nearly mobilized the entire country to do so, but all it took was just the Number One Hero.”, Gran Torino said with a little too much glee. 

“You mean, He beat “The Fool” by himself in a battle.”, Mirio said in surprise. 

“Nope!”,Gran Torino exclaimed, “All he did was talk to him, and convinced him to back down.”

Everyone in the room stared at the old pro like he was a dancing cat.

“You mean to tell me that one of the most notorious villains of the last century was defeated by a simple conversation by the Number One Hero!”, Sir Nighteye said in disbelief. 

“Yes.”, deadpanned Gran Torino. 

“What did he say to him?”, Hagakure asked innocently. 

Gran Torino stared at Hagakure with the most serious expression she had ever seen on the old man, “Just the one thing that he needed to hear. Now come on and get ready! I need to see yer stuff before the end of the week because you and the blonde here are going to Hosu.”

Two Days Before Hosu

Iida wondered if Manual had even an inkling of an idea why he wanted to intern with the normal hero. He certainly hoped deep down that no one could be that daft, but he was thankful if he was. 

Despite Manual's attempt to keep everything appearing as normal as possible, everything was far from okay. The city was abuzz with activity and paranoia with the recent battle. Heroes and Police patrolled the streets like an occupying military rather than law enforcement. Average citizens were extremely jumpy and on edge. While the few criminals that were brave or foolish enough to still be active were guarded even more than usual. On one occasion, Iida came across a patrol of people in the more seedier parts of the city. They were a neighbor watch made of the working class and criminal persons of that sect of the city. They had all banded together for the simple purpose of mutual protection.

Fear had gripped the city of Hosu because everyone knew one simple fact about the battle that had taken place earlier that week. The battle wasn't over just delayed.

The hero killer had a moniker of at least three victims in the city he visits. And so far only his brother was the singular notch on the murderer's tally. And he was a monster that was known for his principles, so he was not going to abandon the city so easily. 

It is believed that Ghost is still in the city, and based on the supposed sightings he was clearly stalking the Hero Killer.  The vigilante from Musustafu was treated with an extra layer of fear due to the recently leaked video. The mere fact that he easily beat Endeavor after getting shot at least a hundred times did little to ease everyone's worries. Especially with his disregard for civilians caught in the crossfire with his battle with Stain.

At least three top ten Heroes were called to aid the inevitable sting operation, and calls were made to All Might himself to help subdue the walking disaster. But none of that was an immediate concern for Iida, right now he was only looking for the right opportunity to enact his revenge. 

A rough shove from a passing civilian took Iida out of stupor momentarily, and the hero-in-training quickly looked to see who the one that so rudely ran into him. But all he was met was a sea of unfamiliar faces. The teen only lingered a bit longer before the calls of Manual ushered him to keep up with the pro hero.  

What Iida didn’t notice was a small orb of water hiding in a crevice of his armor. 

One Day Before Hosu

“I am surprised that you even took on an intern at all. Aren’t you renowned for your no help, no weaklings, solo attitude.”, A man with a cat chimed. 

The person he was addressing was a woman dressed in a white leotard and a pair of thigh high boots. She had dark skin and a pair of bunny ears strutting out of her head of long white hair. She carried a permanent scowl on her face as she crossed her arms with an impatient tapping coming from one of her feet. 

“I don’t.”, She said, “But this year I decided to make an exception.”

The cat man looked quizzically at the bunny woman before slowly striding past her. “Well, whatever you see in the young man must meet your rigorous standards. But then again, you didn’t come here for idle chit chat.” 

“I sure as hell didn’t.”, she scoffed with arrogance, “I came here to kick that vigilante’s ass!”

The cat’s ears flickered, “I see, but I can assure you that Ghost is no average street thug. His strength is grossly underestimated along with the fact he is more animal than man. But promise me this Mirko, try not to do anything rash.”

The bunny woman almost gave him a scoff, but it quickly changed to a smirk mixed with a smug expression. “No promises.”

The cat headed man merely sighed before entering through the double doors, and the Rabbit Hero followed shortly after. 

Inside the two doors is a large conference room containing all manner of police officers and heroes. Many were looking into manilla folders while others were talking with their fellow contemporaries. The man with the cat head strode past every individual while each one seemingly locked onto the man and kept their eyes trained on him as headed towards the head seat.

Mirko hopped on her heels next to a boy with white and red hair, but also ignored his presence in favor of the cat man. 

Once in the center of the conference room, the cat headed man began to speak. “Thank you all for coming, and the city of Hosu will appreciate your help in the coming days.” The cat man began, “Thanks to the capture of the info broker known as Giran, we now know the League of Villains is aligned with the Hero Killer and they intend to strike the city once again.”

An image of the known leaders of the League and Stain appear on the projector screen. A figure dressed in white robes also appears amongst the images.

“Giran’s testimony also indicates that the Ghost of Musustafu is still in Hosu and intends to finish his battle with the Hero Killer.”, The Police Chief said, “We are going to make sure that these villainous scum are going to regret coming to our city.”

The heroes and police directed their full attention towards the plan to save the city from the foreigners that threatened it.

“Not too late to back out now, kid.”, Mirko told Todoroki, “You think you are strong enough to handle it or would rather return in a few years when you finally learned to walk.”

“I do not think I am ready, Miss Mirko.”, Todoroki said without taking his eyes off the board, “I was born to take down people like them off their pedestals.” 

The Night of the Attack

On a small skyscraper amid the forest of concrete and steel stood a figure amid one the buildings' many perches. His body features and face were obscured by the bulky and oversized white robes that he wore. 

His eagle-like gaze peered over the horizon that overlooked the city that he had so unceremoniously invaded. It was abuzz with activity with various law enforcement and average civilians going about their evening.

The Ghost of Musustafu had been waiting for the better part of a week for his prey to emerge, but the now crowded streets of Hosu will make things difficult.  Not to mention that he was so ruthlessly being hunted by heroes and police alike.This complicates things, but with plenty of idle time and a problem that needed addressing, Ghost was able to find a solution.It emerged when he was strengthening his quirks while he awaited the League’s attack.

As such, he raised a sleeved arm to allow his hand to tunnel out of its burrow. With a quick motion that mimicked brush strokes, a ball of clear water emerged in his hand. It rippled and pulsed like a living organ of fluid. 

“ In oculis Patris ”, he murmured to himself

An explosion of colors cascaded inside the ball of water before revealing the image of two individuals. One was a man who looked rather ordinary despite being a pro hero. The other was a younger person dressed in a suit of armor akin to a mecha robot.  The two individuals appeared to be doing a routine patrol through a section of the city and nothing more.

The wonders of each quirk's potential. Holy Water could effectively be used as a simple security camera by leaving a piece of liquid in a location or on someone. It completely took all of his concentration to channel the quirk in this manner and also made it impossible to use in combat. Plus he would have to drop it to recharge its strength once he took off in pursuit of its last location, but he was more than fast enough to pursue on foot.

Ghost smiled when the focus became fixed upon the armored individual and revealed the eyes full of anger inside the mask. Was it villainous to see that the brother of Ingenium was full of hatred for the Hero Killer, or was it worse for Ghost to use him as a sniffer dog to find his quarry? Maybe, but it gave Ghost the ability to comb large swaths of the city without worrying about being interfered with. 

All he needed to do was wait and strike when Iida Tenya found the Hero Killer for him.

“Are you sure about this?! You just joined up with the party and now you already want to split off?”, an irritated Shigaraki spouted.

Yet, Stain paid him no mind as the two sat atop of the small skyscraper overlooking the city of Hosu. Though, the gamer talk of the man-child was grating on the ears of the hero killer, but he would have to endure it for now. 

“If we are to achieve our goals of destroying our common enemy, then yes, I must leave.”, The Hero Killer repiled, “But don’t think I won’t honor our alliance.”

Shigaraki scratched his neck causing the skin to redden, “I still don’t understand why trying to find the shrine of that sword of yours is going to help kill that vigilante? Wouldn’t just stabbing him with the sword kill him anyway without the side quest?”

“ Sutābein is no mere ‘sword’, Shigaraki!”, Stain barked, “It is a legendary relic of our country’s past that was forged to fight a monstrous scourge that plagued the lands!”

The puppet leader of the League did not look convinced, “I still think all this effort for a weird looking relic of a bygone age is a waste of time. I don’t believe this side quest will amount to anything useful.” 

“Believe it or not, you cannot deny that we are running for a limited amount of time to kill Ghost.”, Stain retorted, “His skills as a fighter are ametuer at best and yet he kept up with me on the sheer strength of his quirks alone. Should he acquire proper training or complete mastery of his quirks, then he will become unstoppable!” 

This line of thinking was something that Shigaraki could agree with the Hero Killer. But without all the stupid Shinto superstision nonsense.  

“Whatever, let’s just get this raid started so the real main quest can begin.”, Shigaraki spoke out loud.

Right on que, a black misty wormhole opened up behind the two villains and from within the swirling mists emerged three nomu. Each bioweapon stared blankly as they awaited orders from their masters. Stain eyed the three abominations before dismissing them entirely as they paled in comparison to the monster that hid behind white fabric that was most certainly hunting him as they spoke. 

“Time to finish what I started.”, Stain said as he dashed off the roof and into the concrete jungle.

The nomu then quickly followed the motions of the Hero Killer and each one took off in a random direction. The true battle of Hosu begins. 

Chapter Text

Hosu was burning. Fires rampaged throughout the city like a swarm of ants, devouring buildings as if they were bread crumbs. Civilians, now jostled like panicked herd animals, began to flee from any danger they saw. The Nomu of the League of Villains robotically and indiscriminately attacked anything that moved. Heroes and Law Enforcement attempted to regain control of the situation, but the situation was too chaotic to exert over any real control. But that didn’t stop everyone from doing their best.

Lowly traffic officers, didn’t forgo their duties and began to direct the panicked citizens towards the cities’ shelters. Firefighters rushed to the scene and ruthlessly tried to beat back the growing flames even as the Nomu continued to battle with the Heroes only blocks away. Ambulances were already screaming their way across the roads to deliver the wounded. But amid the chaos, three children would part from their groups and descend face first into the fray. 

“IIIDA! IIDA! WHERE ARE YOU?!”, Yelled out Manual 

“DAMMIT KID! WHAT GIVES YOU THE IDEA TO JUST LEAVE!”, Mirko screamed.

“HAGAKURE-SAN!”, Lemillion exclaimed in a panic, “NOW'S NOT THE TIME TO DO THIS!”

Flames and screams reverberated across the concrete jungle as Iida ran across it as fast as possible. He only had one goal in mind for his exodus from Manual, and that was his revenge against the Hero Killer. So he ran, and ran like a blur of grey across the streets. 

He dashed! He swerved! He weaved! In and out! In and Out! Every nook and hidden street was checked with the utmost haste and anticipation. His labour soon bore him fruit as he stumbled into a rather isolated alleyway that held the prize he longed for.

Stain was there in the alleyway with the iconic scowl/crazed expression that he was known for in the media. He somehow looked exhausted and was still clearly in the process of recovery from his fight with Ghost. His sword, an oddity even for a blade, was caked in the red liquid of someone’s blood. 

Iida, while still sprinting towards Stain, swiped his fist towards the deformed face of the Hero Killer. However, the fist of Iida was met with air as Stain, with almost superhuman reflexes, dodged the attack with a back step. In a show of reflexes, the Hero Killer instantly dashed forward towards Iida whilst slicing his sword in an arc. Iida for all his worth managed to jump pack far enough to avoid getting bisected. 

Sparks lit off the alley as the sword scraped against the armor that Iida wore, leaving a fraux scar across the metal skin. The Hero Killer, his eyes narrowed, gazed upon Iida in confusion. 

“Get out of here child, this is no place for someone like you.”, Stain dismissed. 

“I am no child, Hero Killer!”, Iida retorted whilst taking off his helmet, “I am here to avenge my brother, the man you maimed!”

The Hero Killer looked at Iida with a raised eyebrow, “Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?”, He said in irritation, “I’ve killed many brothers and their vengeful siblings as well. What makes you think you will be any different?”

Iida’s expression hardened, “I am Tenya Iida, and I swear to you! That Ingenium will be the hero to take you down!” 

The Hero Killer’s eyes drifted to the side before they shot open unexpectedly and in one swift motion, he flung a throwing knife towards Iida’s shoulder. Iida was slow to react to the knife, but was utterly surprised when the blade did not embed itself in his shoulder. Iida flinched in response, a second too late to dodge the knife, before jumping around and looking behind him. Embedded into a nearby garbage bin was the knife impaled on a strange liquid. 

“What have you done?”, Stain said, his voice dangerous.  

“FOUND YOU!”, Ghost exclaimed, causing a roar of thunder across the black sky.

With a flutter of his robes, Ghost took off in a burst of speed which made him look like a specter as he glided off the building he was waiting on. His feet only lightly touched the ground before he was already off in a dead sprint. The air around Ghost simmered like a pool of water before he completely vanished from view. A maddening glee was in the eyes of Ghost as he zeroed in on the location of his quarry like a starving dog. The hunt was now on.

“So that was his plan. To use you as bait.”, Stain said in disgust, “Now he comes to finish our fight. How clever, but also vile of him.”

“That doesn’t change anything!”, Iida retorted, “I will still get my revenge!”

The Hero Killer scoffed. Then in an instant Stain was upon the novice hero. The cold blade of Sutābein pierced the flimsy armor of Iida and gnashed into his shoulder. Iida cried in surprise and in pain as he was flung onto the ground like a ragdoll. Stain, while pushing his full strength down on Iida, yanked his blade out of the body of Iida the moment his body collided with the ground. Stain’s whip-like tongue streaked across the red blade and in an instant Iida’s body lost its ability to move. 

The “Battle” was over before it began. Tenya Iida, in his anger and grief, had failed to consider a real plan to take the herculean task of defeating the Hero Killer. In his deluded thoughts, he convinced himself that he would succeed where so many pro heroes, with more training and experience than him, had failed. No, no one had succeeded at bringing the Hero Killer to his defeat. Only the Ghost of Musustafu had brought Stain to the edge of defeat, a human-monster with four quirks in his arsenal. If that was the power required to fight the Stain of Society, then it was obvious that Tenya Iida never stood a chance on his own.

Iida still snarled and growled at the Hero Killer, despite the fact he was as helpless as a newborn child before the serial killer. In response, a spiked boot came down on Iida’s throat. Iida’s eyes bugged out of his sockets as he attempted to will his hands to try to grab the boot that was crushing his windpipe. But his body remained unresponsive.

“Pathetic! Pitiful! And Tiresome!”, Stain growled, “Did you seriously think that you could waltz up to me and expect anything different. I don’t know whether you are too stupid or too arrogant to see how foolish your actions are!”

The Hero Killer pressed his foot harder down on Iida’s throat and bent down to where his noseless face was a mere inches away from Iida’s. Tears streamed down the face of the paralyzed novice hero 

“As if you are a hero to begin with! You are nothing more than a fake with delusions of grandeur, along with a conviction driven by simple vengeance!”, Stain practically spat, “I don’t have time for this! I don’t have time for fake scum like you! Not while there are things even worse lurking about.”

The Hero Killer raised his sword up towards Iida’s face threateningly, “You deserve a lesson in humility, Boy! Let me show you what happens to fake heroes like you and your brother.”

The Hero Killer pulled himself away from the face of the boy, and raised the odd sword high into the air and it came crashing down on Iida. The scent of Iron invaded the alleyway.

Ghost was hot on the trail of his quarry, and much like a beast on the hunt his focus narrowed down on the prize before him. What he had failed to realize was the fact that the hunter was being hunted. Thus, it was a huge surprise to Ghost when a wall of ice formed directly in his path towards the Hero Killer.

Ghost dug his heels into the ground to avoid a collision with the ice or getting swallowed up by it. The still invisible Ghost turned around to see if anyone was behind him, and to his surprise, he appeared to be completely alone. The vigilante’s thoughts pondered the strangeness of the “attack”, but his thoughts were cut short when another wave of ice was sent careening towards him. 

Ghost dashed away from the line of impact without much of an issue. What he wasn’t prepared for was a person emerging seemingly from nowhere and grabbing his right arm in an iron grip.Before Ghost could react or even see who was the one grabbing him, a deep freezing pain shot up his arm. He shouted in both shock and in pain as he looked to see his arm encased in ice.

In a panic, Ghost dropped Octopus in favor of Eel . Electricity surged through his body, warming up his painfully cold arm and getting whoever had attacked him off of him. Continuing his evasive maneuvers, Ghost rolled in a random direction to throw off his attacker’s next course of action. It appeared to be the right call as another wave of ice sprinted in the direction that he was last in.  Seizing the opportunity, Ghost sprinted parallel to the wall of icy spikes believing that whomever was shooting them would still be at the origin point. 

He was fruitful in that guess for a boy wearing an electronically packed set of goggles around his face was in that location. Ghost charged up a flux of lightning in his body before quickly closing the distance between him and the boy. The boy was quick to notice the vigilante barreling towards him, and responded by stomping his foot down and sending a wall of ice towards Ghost. 

“ Udødelig Raseri! ”, Ghost shouted, which resulted in the sparks across his body intensifying in frequency and size. 

The vigilante continued his headfirst charge towards the ice and wound his right arm back in a fist before striking the wall of frozen water. Blue Sparks rippled through the ice before it shattered like glass. The boy was not deterred by the development and continued to send wave after wave of ice at the vigilante. Ghost in return just kept shattering the ice sent towards him, and used the brief window in between shots to close as much distance as he could. 

It was a battle of attrition to see which would give out first before the other. Lightning or ice? The answer seemed to lay in the boy that had attacked Ghost. It became clear that he was slowing down in the speed in which he was sending the ice as well as a visible shiver in his posture as well. Ghost on the other hand didn’t appear to be tiring or was even faltering in any visible way. 

A thunderous crack of shattering ice signaled the end of the test of strength when Ghost broke through the ice and closed the distance between him and the now shivering boy. The vigilante let out an aggravated battlecry as his electrified fist connected with the chest of the boy.  His opponent gasped in pain before seizing up from the jolts of lightning. 

He promptly fell on his back with a light thud. Ghost towered over the boy, whom he noticed the red and white hair beneath the goggles. The robed figure walked towards his downed opponent, and allowed Eel to fade, believing his enemy had been incapictated.  Ghost took a position to the side of the boy.

“Awfully brave of you to interrupt me and my business, but that didn’t make it any less stupid.”, Ghost said dismissively.

The boy let out a raspy cough before speaking, “The news didn’t tell me you were arrogant. I thought you would be more humble considering this battle is far from over.”

Ghost let out a laugh, “You can’t be serious? It is clear that you are finished, and even if you recover, it doesn’t change anything.”

“I hate to break it to you, Ghost, but I am afraid that I am far from finished.”, the boy said, unleashing a creeping surge of ice into the floor.

The ice had entangled the feet of the vigilante due to its abruptness. Ghost instantly pulled his guard up expecting another attack from the boy on the floor. But no attack came from the front, instead, he was kicked from behind by a dark skinned woman in a white leotard with enough force to produce a shock wave. 

“And I forgot to mention that I brought backup.”, the boy gloated.

“Dammit kid, don’t act like hot shit right now!”, Mirko screeched, “Because when I am done with this vigilante, I am going to beat your ass for running off like that!”

Ghost was sent flying from the kick from Mirko and collided with one of the stray walls of ice. A throating retch escaped his lips as he broke through the ice as if it was tissue paper. His body ragdolled on the tarmac before coming to a complete stop, Ghost lifted himself up into a crouched position and looked upon his attackers with angry eyes.

The vigilante reached out for Crab, but the quirk was not able to respond to his call. Ghost growled in annoyance. Ghost let out a bellowing roar which synced with the blue sparks that emerged across his white body. He dashed at full sprint towards the duo like an angry bull.

He didn’t even get halfway to the two before the scream of a gunshot ripped through the air. Ghost came to a screeching halt as his right arm exploded with a small shower of black blood. He didn’t have time to see who took the shot before a perfectly round rock stuck him in the chest. He let out a wheeze as he was sent flying back.

The wounded vigilante twisted mid air to land on his feet, and dug his heels into the ground to prevent him from sliding further away. He quickly looked up to see that “Backup” was not just a single hero. It was a small army of police officers, heroes, and sidekicks. A small tinge of fear sprang up in the vigilante as the numbers of his opponents surpassed those of the USJ, and he was not at full strength either. 

Mirko let out an annoyed expression before speaking, “Alright you chumps! Don’t let up on Ghost and don’t let him escape! On me!”

In the blink of an eye, Mirko took off in a single white blur. The defenders of Hosu sprang into action and unleashed a torrent of attacks on the Vigilante.

“Udødelig Raseri!” , Ghost screamed, “ Trench Rat !”

Ghost’s body disappears in a splash of the air, but bright blue sparks betrayed his form. Not that hiding mattered because he had caught a glimpse of those same goggles that his first attacker. No, he sought out Octopus for the increased speed and evasion, and it helped in dodging the long range attacks that were aimed at him.

However, he was nowhere near as fast he needed to be to fight the leader of the defenders. 

He saw only a white blur in the corner of his eye before he was struck by a powerful kick from the sky. Ghost grunted in pain before blindly swiping at the source of the blow, but was only met with empty air.  Then another powerful blow struck him from the back causing him to drop Octopus after losing concentration from the pain. 

The defenders of Hosu seized the opportunity to land some blows on the vigilante. Ghost was in a trap. He was horribly outnumbered and outgunned. He did not have his signature quirk available and it made him a sitting duck to long ranged attacks. Mirko’s aerial attacks negated his electric defense and opened up opportunities of attack from her companions.  And Ghost could only react to his attackers, never able to strike back and deal damage. It was only a matter of time before he fell to their assault, and his patron knew that.  

Marris’ eye shined like polished stone as she gazed on the scene before her in horror, she would’ve been crying if not for the deep maternal instinct telling her to protect her child had overridden her emotions. For centuries she had been relegated to the sidelines, and had to watch everyone of her children die before her eyes. But now she had the freedom to inverne for the first time since her imprisonment, and she intended to do just that.

Without any hesitation, Marris began to force the connection she had with Izuku and materialize herself into the world to fend off his many attackers. She was careful to not do so all at once lest she arouses the ire of the attackers to intensify their assault.  As a result Marris began to force her presence through Izuku’s right arm, but what she hadn’t counted on was Izuku to notice her.

“STOP IT!”, He barked, “I DON’T NEED YOU!”

He grabbed his now half changed arm and began to resist her with all his might. Marris found herself struggling to use his quirk and come into the world, and had to use more of her strength to try and overpower the rebelling human. The time away from him had weakened her presence on earth, plus her brainwashing of Nighteyes had been more taxing on her than she expected.  But she still had reserves to draw upon to use in this emergency. Even with those reserves, however, the task was like trying to force a stubborn animal into a cage by pushing it by hand.  

However, her focus was broken the moment she witnessed Izuku take direct attacks from the horde of humans looking to take him down. He grunted and wheezed as the dark skinned human delivered a powerful kick to his back, but made no effort to dodge or block the attack. 

Panic and another emotion boiled inside the fish woman, “WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?! THEY’RE HURTING YOU AND YOU WON’T LET ME PROTECT YOU!”

“STOP LOOKING DOWN ON ME LIKE I AM HELPLESS!”, He roared back even as he took another hit causing him to spit out black blood. 

Marris snarled, causing her mouth to rip open across her face in sheer frustration. She gave up on the gentle approach and materialized in front of her rebellious charge. Her blank face now contorted by a toothy mouth stretched into a silent angry roar.  He met her rage filled face with own blank face hidden by the hood of the robes with an equally angry expression.

“I DON’T CARE IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!”, Marris bellowed as she began to overwhelm Izuku’s resistance with sheer brute force of her superior strength. 

Izuku clutched his right arm as if it were burning him, and screamed in rage filled agony as he tried fighting back. Throughout this all, Izuku continued to take attack after attack before the group noticed his odd behavior. For a brief moment, the assault on Ghost paused as they observed the vigilante that seemingly lost his mind. That was until someone in the group noticed his right arm.

“HE’S CHANGING INTO THE MONSTER FORM!”, shouted an indistinct voice from the crowd.

In an instant, every single one of the Hosu defenders unleashed their full might on Ghost in the hopes of taking him down before he changed into his seemingly invulnerable form. Ghost, with his full attention on Marris, was hit by every bullet or quirk thrown his way. He shrieked like a terrified animal as the intensity of the attacks took their toll on the vigilante.  He tried to shrink in on himself to become smaller while vainly tried to shield himself with his one arm that was still human.

Marris on the other hand was going absolutely hysterical. She shrieked like a banshee as she increased her pressure on Izuku to take his place in the living world. Yet, even through it all, Izuku continued to resist her. 

“STOP RESISTING! YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!” yelled Marris, her jaws quivering . 

From the darkness of the hood, Marris could see a pair of blue eyes stare directly into her black ones. Rage. Fear. And Hatred. His eyes were overflowing with these toxic emotions and they were directed solely onto Marris. She froze up from this realization and in her state of shock she barely comprehended Izuku spoke to her in a voice that was devoid of any of life or emotion. 

“I’d rather die than spend a lifetime being your pet.”, He said clearly and calmly amid the chaos, “If you can’t accept that, then I never want to see you again.”

A searing pain erupted inside the fish woman as the world turned grey around her. Her will gave out like a pair of tired legs causing the fish woman to let go of her attack on Izuku. Hagakure’s words echoed in her non-existent ears like the words of warning that she had arrogantly ignored. Marris scanned the scene around her and onto the attacking humans, she looked at her own hands then onto the battered Izuku. 

She was hurting him. She had been hurting him far longer than anyone else, and that was why Izuku was acting the way he was. Images of his murderer flashed in her mind before she stopped seeing him as Izuku’s greatest threat. She saw herself. Her heart shattered in an instant, as her whole world came crashing in on her. How could she do this to her child? How could she be like...HIM!

Before she even knew what was happening, Marris was fleeing the scene away from the child she had scorned. Away from the mistakes she had made and the danger they presented. She fled like the coward that she was, for she deserved nothing but misery. Izuku deserved to be happy, and he would be happier if she were gone. Marris....felt alone. 

Todoroki had his reservations about the battle he now found himself in, but the plan that the Chief of Police developed was effective as it was cold and calculating. He just hated the fact that so many extras managed to weasel their way into his moment of triumph. Maybe he should have expected this, after all, who wouldn’t want to claim the glory of capturing the Ghost of Musustafu. But he expected the vigilante to put up more of a fight, and not be reduced to...this.

He narrowed his eyes on the pitiful sight of Ghost trying to vainly block the ranged attacks directed towards him. Despite the damage he was taking, Ghost appeared to either have strengthened his regeneration or had toughen his body to superhuman durability. It doesn’t matter anyway, there were simply too many people for him to outpace the damage or endure it for very long.

“He’s turning into the Monster form!”, shouted an indistinct voice.

Without even thinking, he sprung into action.A few took heed and cleared the way, but others didn’t. Without waiting for anyone to clear, Todoroki powered up his ice to its maximum limit. The temperature of the air plummeted causing frost to form on objects and people’s breath to appear in the air. From his position, he could see Ghost, couched and clutching his arm, turn his head to seemingly look at him.

Todoroki stared back at the covered face of the vigilante with a fierce and determined expression. Without any hesitation, he let go of his mother’s quirk. Mist and ice showered the air as a skyscraper sized wall of ice was sent careening towards the vigilante. Ghost didn’t dodge the attack, infact, he didn’t seem to notice it until he was already consumed by its cold embrace. 

Hagakure was running as fast as she could amid the chaos that had befallen Hosu. It took every ounce of her to not stop at everything that came across her path, but she needed to find Izuku before the Heroes did. Disaster was inevitable if the two opposing sides were to meet. However, it seemed that she was too late for that.

She clutched her chest as a sharp pain echoed within her flesh like the walls of a cave, but more than pain she could feel the emotions of her patron and other half . Flashes of a bloody and battered Izuku appeared in her eyes along with brief images of an army of men and women attacking him.They were already fighting! She was running out of time!

Hagakure dropped any idea of saving Oarfish, and she immediately transformed into her aquatic shape. The scent of kelp filled the streets as she began to warp as fast as she physically could go. The fires and smoke stung the nostrils and gills of her aquatic form, but she swallowed down any irritation and soldiered on forward. 

 “Pleasedontbetoolatepleasedontbetoolate!”, she prayed as she closed the distance between her and the heart of the attack. 

As the icy mists began to dissipate, it revealed a gruesome scene. In an effort to contain Ghost before he could switch forms, Shouto had shot out a glacier unrestrained at the vigilante. The officers and heroes at the scene stared in a macabre interest before turning into horror at the devastating attack on the wanted fugitive. 

Ghost was completely encased in ice on the right side of his body, entombing his leg and arm in the frozen liquid. His head, narrowly avoiding the ice, hung low as he breathed incredible heavy breaths of air. From the ice, his half transformed arm had black streamers of blood trailing behind it in the ice. The parts of Ghost that were outside the ice hang limply from the glacier, but were still a threat. Yet the vigilante made no move to try to break himself free. 

Shouto stared in shock at the sight of the damage his quirk had done to the vigilante. It was a scene out of the many takedowns that his father had done, with the villain being utterly injured by the flames of Endeavor. He...wasn’t like his dad. No, his mother’s gift was nothing like his father’s quirk. It didn’t hurt like the flames, it wasn’t…

“What are you idiots doing!?”, Barked Mirko as she hopped onto the scene, “Get this vigilante secured!”

The others on the scene began to carefully approach the partially trapped vigilante, but with an obvious fear in their faces.  Shouto didn’t really pay much mind to them, and instead directed his full attention to Ghost. The world was silent in his ears as he stared at the hooded face of the vigilante, and jumped when Ghost spoke to him in a calm and clear voice. 

“Why did you seek me as you did? Why did you want to hunt me down?”, Ghost asked. 

“I am Shouto Todoroki and I am the son of Endeavor.”, Shouto said with disgust. “ I came here with the purpose of defeating you.”

“You sought me out to avenge your father’s defeat by my hands?”, Ghost assumed before Shouto could speak.

Shouto stared at the pitiful thing before him before speaking, “No, I sought you out Ghost because you are the very thing my father failed to overcome! He failed to surpass you, a symbol of All Might, and that’s why I was born! To succeed where he failed! But I refuse to be a pawn in my father’s failure and I will prove to that scumbag that I am not him nor do I need him to be greater!”

An odd sort of twitching emerged from the almost still form of ghost, “There is a madman terrorizing this city! And all you can think about is your petty revenge against your father? A hero, one of your own, was brutally butchered by a monster and all you can think about is one-upping your daddy issues?”

“And what would you know about being a hero.”, Todoroki fired back, “You are a vigilante, you are no better than any other villain. But know this Ghost, I’ll never forget your sacrifice as a stepping stone to my rise over Endeavor.” 

A metallic taste and scent filled the air like a poison. Ghost’s injured body tensed up and began to tremble in a clear rage. Even though the hood obscured his face, Shoto could sense a pair of inky black eyes zero in on him. Hatred scorched from beneath the hood. 

“A stepping stone?”, Ghost said his voice was nearly a rumble. “Is that all I am to you people? A prize to parade? Even after I saved your class? After I saved all those other people! I just wanted to help! I just...Why? Why is the whole world against me! What did I even do wrong! You...aren’t...a...hero...none..of...you..are.”, Ghost began to tremble in a clear rage, ” Stop... looking...down...on...ME !”

The sky immediately blackened to a dark abyss as clouds covered the stars with a menacing growl. The approaching grunts of the heroes and police immediately stopped in place while the rabbit ears of Mirko twitched.  She suddenly grabbed Shouto by his collar before dashing into a full sprint.

“EVERYONE! GET CLEAR!”, She warned with a bellow!

An explosion of ice and water rained from the sky as a bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and onto the glacier. Police and Minor Heroes stampeded like a herd of cattle as they tried to get clear of the site of the explosion. Then in a scene out of a sci fi movie, all the water and ice stopped midair before rushing back towards ground zero. Those that were brave enough to look back saw the source of this unnatural phenomenon.

Ghost had been completely freed from the icy prison, and in full control of the water quirk that had been mysteriously absent when they confronted him. Sparks danced across his body as he let out a bloodcurdling roar and the water and ice began to coalesce around him. A miniature storm raged inside the shapeless liquid before Ghost rose out of the liquid. The water convulsed as it began to take the shape of large tentacles that independently moved on its own accord. These celephapod-like limbs attached themselves all along the body of Ghost, save for his head. A crushing pressure blanketed the area as Ghost’s terrifying aura of fear invaded the small humans below him.

Hysteria overtook the group as many lost their nerve and had completely deserted in the wake of the monstrous creature before them. However, Mirko didn’t get her position as number six hero by running away. With Lightning fast speed, the bunny heroine quickly dropped off her reckless charge before jumping back into the fray. Her expression was fierce and full of fire as she rushed back to meet Ghost headlong. 

Tendrils of water dashed from the writhing mass and shot with near blinding speed towards the rabbit heroine. Mirko pushed herself to the limit and began to do what rabbits do best, and dodge and dash like their lives depended on it. She shot out with shocking speed in a seemingly random but calculated path causing the tentacles to miss their mark and crash into buildings and the ground. Concrete and Tarmac pelted Mirko as she narrowly avoided getting crushed by the tendrils of Ghost. 

“ Keep your speed and be unpredictable! He packs a punch but he can’t take a hit! Avoid his limbs and aim for the soft center! ”, Her thoughts raced. 

But it would be a false statement to say Mirko wasn’t affected by the imposing presence of Ghost. The animal part of quirk had her startled to her core, and she knew she would be running away had it not been for her years of discipline as a pro-hero. And yet, her rabbit instincts were screaming, no, begging her to run away from Ghost. But what made him different compared to everything she faced before? She didn’t know, but she couldn’t just abandon the city to the mercy of a berserking monster.

Mirko springboarded away from the crushing blow from the wall of tentacles sent her way, and used her momentum to propel herself towards a nearby building. Ghost visibly turned his head to see her use the building as yet another springboard to torpedo at breakneck speed towards the exposed vigilante. Mirko bellowed a triumphant roar as she prepared a kick with all of her strength and Ghost was only an arm’s length away!

“LUNA SIDE KI-”

The words of her special move died in her throat as he collided with something soft causing a shockwave and a huge splash of liquid. Her eyes grew as wide as saucers as they shook in their sockets at the image before her. Her attack had been caught by a tendril of water that had protectively covered Ghost’s chest, causing her attack to be completely blocked. Without warning, the water that her foot was trapped inside, shot out and snuggly wrapped itself around her leg. Snapping herself out of the shock, Mirko attempted to break herself free of its grip but it was already too late. The other limbs that had failed to hit her now descend upon her like a pack of ravenous dogs. She kicked, punched, and resisted with all her might, but there were too many limbs for her to fight off. Soon she had been completely captured by the many limbs of Ghost.

The black maw located where the vigilante’s head was supposed to be, only gave her a sparing glance before turning his attention away from her. The moment the maw turned away from her, the liquid limbs holding her, squeezed down on her. Mirko gasped in pain as the mother of all bear hugs hit her like a rolling freight train. She tried to push back against the tightening arms, but it was all in vain as the task equivalent to stopping a flash flood. Her mind began to grow hazy and delirious as her breathing became strained and near impossible.  The blue limbs of water began to look like a swarm of pythons, eager to squeeze the life out of the little bunny they had caught.

Mirko let out a defeated cry when her strength finally failed her, and her resistance to Ghost’s ever tightening grip gave out. Her vision faded in and out of consciousness as oxygen was all but deprived from her. The last thing she saw was a wall of spears shoot towards her faster than she could track before she finally blacked out. 

“LEMILLION! WE HAVE TO FIND SALACIA!”, Nighteye blared on the coms to the heir of One for All, “I’VE SEEN HER FUTURE WITH MY QUIRK, WE HAVE TO MAKE SHE DOESN’T CONFRONT GHOST ALONE!”

MIrio knew he fucked up the moment he lost Hagakure during the Chaos, and to be fair Gran Torino running off as well didn’t help. As such, he ran like hell to find his Kohai but that task was quite literally trying to find an invisible needle in a haystack. 

“Sir, what happens to Salacia in the future you see?”, Mirio replied as he moved through the streets.

“I think Ghost will kill her. My vision showed her standing against Ghost as he strikes her down!”, Sir Nighteye balked, “Mirio if it comes down to it, you need to fight him without any restraint!”

Mirio hastened his pace after hearing those words from his mentor. He didn’t want to fight Ghost, and not because he said to be as strong as All Might. No, he didn’t want to fight Ghost because he believed that Ghost had good deep down in him. He believed Ghost was a well meaning individual that was trying to help in his own way.

However, Mirio knew that no matter his intentions, if Ghost showed he was more than willing to kill people in his way, then Mirio had no other choice. He was going to be the next symbol of Peace, and he needed to protect the world from those who threatened it. The blonde hero suppressed a stir in One for All , which caused gold lightning to dance across his body. He didn’t know why, but he had a strange conniption that his quirk was trying to speak to him.

Ghost let out a pained wail as the careening glacier had completely caught him off guard. Yet, Shouto didn’t pay mind to see if his attack had hit the vigilante, no villain, directly. His priority was to catch the unconscious Mirko that had been knocked out of the death grip of the monstrosity. He used the glacier as a pathway to rapidly close the distance between the falling rabbit hero and the reeling villain.  Shouto caught Mirko just as she was about to hit the ice tower that he had created, he grunted in exertion as he hefted the full weight of the number five hero. 

However, with the added weight combined with the speed he used to get there Shoto found himself speeding towards the edge of the glacier. Shouto, thinking quick, used his mother’s quirk to create a slide that looped back towards the city streets.  Shouto and the unconscious Mirko crashed into the street with a resounding thud, causing the two to tumble before coming to a halt. 

Shouto rolled back onto his feet and carefully scanned the surrounding streets for the downed hero. He spotted Mirko laying limply on the ground with a stream of blood flowing down her head. Shouto muttered a curse before hurrying up towards the unconscious hero, but was interrupted by the tree sized tendril of water slamming into the tarmac in front of him. The hero-in-training spun around after nearly getting crushed to face the origin of the tendril and saw Ghost blaring down on him in his newest form. 

“ I came here to destroy my sworn enemy, but if you want a fight then I will give you one! ”, Ghost roared. “ I’ll show you all that I am not weak!” 

Shouto didn’t bother to respond and instead unleashed a torrent of glaciers towards the villain. Ghost responded by combining all but two of the squirming limps into one, and swiping the glacier away with one swing of his massive extension. Crystals of ice rained from the sky as the ice was shattered like glass. 

As Shouto readied for another attack, Ghost threw his large appendage towards Shouto. It was slow and easy to dodge, allowing Shouto to get clear of the path with no issues. However, that didn’t appear to be the intention of the berserking villain. Like a rubberband, Ghost stretched the limp out before using it to catapult himself to the location in which it had crashed. Dust bellowed into the air as Ghost landed inside the crater. 

Shouto quickly fired off a massive glacier of ice towards the crash site, attempting to restrain Ghost again in a pillar of ice. Dust and mist particles filled the air as an eerie quiet descended upon the battlefield. Shouto kept his eyes trained on the last location of the villain, his right side geared to strike. 

With an animal-like wail, Ghost came bolting out with his water limps more akin to mimic spider legs with four free limbs hanging off his back. Oddly, Ghost only had one sleeve visible as he went charging out of the fog of war like a rhino. Shouto smirked to himself as he watched the vigilante run headlong towards himself, completely exposed to another wave of ice. The ice-hero pulled out the full power of his mother’s gift, ready to entomb Ghost in ice once again. However, Shouto felt a pang of fear and panic fill his heart as he could’ve sworn the abyssal maw of Ghost smiled at him.

“ You’ve lost .”, Ghost gloated seemingly inside his head.

Before Shouto could react, an arm grabbed onto his right arm with an iron tight grip. He spun his head around to see a vortex of water with Ghost’s missing limp right behind him and was firmly holding on his right arm. A sickly blue glow of lights caused Shouto to turn around again and see Ghost, his body completely full of sparks. Ghost quickly let go of the electricity building up inside him before Shouto could do anything to react.  Shouto screamed in agony as the electricity hungrily surged into him. It was far stronger than before like Ghost had been restraining the power when they first fought.  Now he couldn’t find the strength to hold himself up and slumped over as his legs gave out. 

The scent of iron and burnt flesh lingered in the air in the nostrils of Shouto. The ice hero breathed hungrily as he collapsed to the floor. However, the sound of cracking filled his ears before a red hot line of fire struck across his chest. Shouto gasped in surprise as the blow sent him sprawling, his eyes shot open to reveal a tendril of water careening towards him. The blow crackled across his body like a scorching piece of metal causing Shouto to tumble back. Then another whip of water struck him before he could recover, and then another, and another, and another. 

A rain of whips descended on Shouto without an ounce of mercy, each one crashing down on the ice-hero without pause. Ugly bruises and red marks developed over Shouto’s body as he vainly tried to crawl away from Ghost. Panic and desperation overtook Shouto as his instinct to survive took over, he blindly shot out his ice in the hopes of hitting Ghost or shielding him from the attack.  However, the moment he raised his arm back to attack, Shouto saw one of the tendrils wrap around his arm faster than he could react. Ghost raised his cloaked arm, in which the sleeve fell down and revealed a bloody and injured arm, and squeezed his fist almost cruelly.

THUMP THUMP

The tendril around his arm squeezed without any restraint. Shouto cried out in pain as he felt his arm get crushed making it limp and useless. Shouto fell onto his rear and stared up at the multi-limbed monster before him, it had no face, no emotions, only an empty foreboding. Without any warning, Ghost raised another limb and slashed with unrestrained speed towards the cowering hero. Shouto screamed in agony as the attack had cut a path directly over his eye on his cold half of his face. Pain gripped Shouto as he clutched his face and began to desperately scoot away from the villain attacking him, keeping his remaining eye locked on the villain. 

THUMP THUMP

Ghost casually walked towards Shouto in a manner that was akin to a cat playing with a wounded bird before killing it. Shouto meanwhile was entombed by hysteria. His remaining eye jittered in his socket as he hyperventilated. His limbs shook uncontrollably as he scooted away from the monster coming at him, and his fragile mind jumped between reality and his gruesome past. In his mind, he was nothing more than a helpless little boy trapped in the clutches of a monster that jumped between Ghost and his...mother.   

THUMP THUMP

But his mother didn’t look anything like his mother, even at her darkest moment. She was draped in Ghost’s robe while her hands were tipped with claws made of ice. While her eyes had been replaced by the black void eyes of Ghosts’ most powerful form. Shoto couldn’t say anything, his voice was locked away in sheer terror as a voice deep down told him he was going to die. However, his movement was interrupted by him hitting something solid and stone-like, completely stopping him dead in his tracks. 

THUMP THUMP

The Ghost/Mother monstrosity stopped dead in its tracks and stared at the cowering kid in front of it. It tilted its head as if pondering its next course of action, but then it began to slowly raise one of its limbs in preparation to strike him down. Shouto in turn, cowered in fear and curled up on himself waiting for the attack. The limb came down onto Shouto. 

Even from the Police HQ, the Chief of Police could feel the aura of the Ghost of Musustafu. It was an omnipresent and bone chilling fear that invaded the mind like a poison. Those under his command and the civilians they were charged to protect also could feel it. Most if not all of the defenders of Hosu were now fleeing for their lives leaving a small brave few to fight against the Nomu of the League. 

The radio communications and emergency lines were overwhelmed with the chatter of those seeking help or safety.  This prevented crucial information from being relayed effectively to and from command due to the cluttered frequencies. The few pieces of vital information that could make it through painted an awful situation.

Edgeshot and support tied down with Nomu in the East District. 

Best Jeanist aiding rescue efforts with the fires in the Central District.

Mirko has engaged with Ghost….Hero is down, repeat, Hero is down.

It seems that he put too much faith in the sheer magnitude of numbers that they had put into the city. But the city was not without its trump card. 

“It seems that the situation is worse than what our expectations had predicted.”, said the cat-headed chief, “I am afraid that we will have to resort to the heavy guns to solve this issue.”

The Police Chief turned to face the muscle bound titan that was idle behind him. 

“Go and do what you do best, if you may.”, said the cat-man.

All Might did not need to say anything to the smaller man, but he nodded to him before shooting off into the air at super sonic speeds. It was time for order to be restored to the city of Hosu.

Before the final blow could be struck, a figure dashed in front of the downed heterochromic teen as a protective shield. Ghost would have continued his assault had it not been for the fact that the person who came to Todoroki’s aid was a girl with short brown hair and sharp elf ears. Ghost’s eyes widened beneath his hood as he recognized the girl instantly and stopped the strike at once.  The snake-like liquid was only a mere inches away from the face of Hagakure Tooru. 

A deafening silence descended upon the scene as the hero-to-be and the vigilante locked in on each other like reflections in a mirror. Ghost’s hood blocked any facial expressions, and left him unreadable as a result. Hagakure’s face was determined and full of courage, but betrayed traces of fear behind her eyes as she looked upon the monstrous form of Ghost. 

Todoroki quickly stirred from his curled up position to see his classmate acting as a human shield. Further memories flooded his mine as he tried vainly to tell his classmate to get out there and save themself from the danger. But his voice was lost amid his sea of turmoil, even as he feared that Hagakure was going to be impaled by the berserking criminal. 

Even without being able to see her face Todoroki knew she was trying to be reassuring as she glanced back at him. Despite her invisible face, Hagakure somehow looked like the gentle and smiling face of Rei Todoroki. Not when she was the broken and tormented woman, but when she was the mother that loved him. Todoroki let out a muffled croak before his body gave out on him from the physical and mental stress of the night. He felt...at ease.

“Ghost.”, she said stalwartly as she turned back to Ghost, “Stop this fighting, and leave before it’s too late to walk away from this.”

The monstrous Ghost twisted and squirmed as he closed the distance between him and Hagakure. His black maw only a mere inches away from her invisible face despite being raised high in the air. 

“ Do you intend to fight me, little hero ?”, Ghost jeered in a rumbling voice. 

“No.”, Hagakure retorted, “I don’t intend to fight you.” 

The limbs of Ghost swelled in size as they twisted threateningly towards Hagakure. “ Then what gives you any idea that you can stop me? Do you perceive me as WEAK ?”

Most people would have shivered or cowered as the monster appeared to be back on the edge of the blind rage that had brought destruction. Yet, Hagakure maintained her defiant stand against the storm before her. 

“No, I don’t see you as weak.”, She said, “We won’t fight because I know you are better than all of this.”

This comment appeared to have a profound effect on the vigilante. His tendrils seemed to lax and his demeanor became significantly less hostile. The crushing pressure in the air laxed in weight. 

“I understand you, Ghost. You were someone who was in pain and cried out for help.”, Hagakure said as she closed the meager distance between the shocked vigilante, “You cried out for so long, hoping that someone would come. But no one ever did, did they?”

Several of the massive tentacles fell to the ground as puddles of water onto the street floor. Ghost’s position was lowered to the level of the street. Hagakure paid no mind as she continued to talk to the vigilante.

“Is that why you became a vigilante? To help those like you? You wanted to help those whose cries were never heard.”, Hagakure continued, “But the world didn’t see it as you did, and not many believed that you are a hero. They believed you to be nothing more than a villain. 

Ghost tensed up at the mention of those words, and clearly became more agitated. Hagakure took a deep breath as she continued without any fear. Some of the tendrils of water fell to ground as Ghost’s will over them appeared to slacken. 

“But the people you saved, they believed in you. But it wasn’t enough was it? You’ve been told your whole life that you will never be that hero. You were always were supposed to be nothing”, Hagakure said with tears only visible to Ghost

Rage returned to Ghost as a Tentacle shot wrapped around Hagakure. The black maw of Ghost was etched in a silent snarl, while Hagakure’s invisible face showed compassion to the only one who could see her. She continued even though she was now utterly helpless before the vigilante. 

“When I asked you that question all those weeks ago it wasn’t because I didn’t think you were capable of being a hero.”, Hagakure continued unfazed by the threat, “I believed you deserved to be a hero for all that you have done, and I wasn’t the only one! All Might believes in you, Ghost!”

Ghost shook like a leaf in the wind as he spoke shakily, “Y-You are lying! He didn’t say that! He wouldn’t say that about me!”

The sound of a large object crashing into tarmac reverberated across the torn buildings like an echo chamber. Dust and debris rained from the impact and pitter pattered like rain before a new sound emerged from the fog of war.

“ She is not lying, Ghost! ”, interrupted by a voice that was both familiar and new, “ I was more than happy to oblige Young Hagakure because I agreed with her .”

Ghost and Hagakure turned their heads to see a man walking from a newly born crater in the street. He was dressed in a spandex suit of red, blue and yellow. He was a mountain of a man that possessed a muscular body that would make the Greeks jealous. However, what made him distinct was his blond hair with two bangs styled to form a “V” and soft but stern smile that adorned his face like a fine piece of jewelry. In the blink of an eye, the number one hero closed the distance between the two and was only a few feet behind Hagakure when he spoke again.

“ You have the trappings of a great hero deep within you.”, All Might said with absolute certainty, “A heroic spirit such as yours is wasted on the likes of the Hero Killer and his senseless violence.  You are not like him, in fact, I believe that you have the potential to be something greater. I know you can be a Hero, Ghost.”

Almost all of the tendrils of water fell to the ground, and Ghost hung his head in what appeared to be shame. The one wrapped around Hagakure loosened its hold on her. Ghost began to visibly shake though it is unclear if it is rage or another emotion is the reason for it.

“Please! It's not too late to turn back away from this path, and be the Hero we know you are!”, Hagakure said with her own fortitude shaking.

In a surprise move, Hagakure raised her out from the loosened restraints and touched the chest of Ghost. He flinched when her hand caressed his chest. Hagakure couldn’t feel anything inside the chest of Ghost. It was like he had no heart. No heart to feel anything but emptiness. No heart to be truly alive.

“Ma’Ken Ris! Taya’ytu vitti un’kai! Un inai unar’kir! Izuku! I am Sorry! Please come home! I miss you!”, Hagakure shouted to Ghost before letting her head hang.

…

…

…

THUMP THUMP

…

…

...

Hagakure stirred from her stupor at the new sensation she was feeling. While the fear inducing aura of pressure vanished from the air. 

…

…

...

THUMP THUMP

…

…

...

THUMP THUMP

It was the beating of a heart, Izuku’s heart. Hagakure looked up to see the face of Izuku dimly hidden by shadow instead of the black maw of Ghost. His expression was one of surprise as he was slouched while clutching his chest over with his left hand. He was breathing deep and loud, as if he had just surfaced from underwater. She wanted to reach out and grab onto him and never let go, but something deep down urged her not to. 

She noticed his gaze drifted from the ground and onto her. Izuku and Hagakure locked eyes, and Hagakure could’ve sworn she saw green tinge the once pure blue eyes of Izuku. Before she could ponder the thought any further, a tendril of water emerged and devoured him before disappearing from sight. Hagakure fell to her knees as she finally remembered to breathe as well. All Might zipped off from his spot behind her and onto a far away section of the street. He carefully bent down and picked up something before zipping back to Hagakure. 

In the arms of All Might was the unconscious form of Mirko. She was battered with a small trickle of blood leaking down her forehead. Large bruises could be seen jotting out from underneath her costume and exposed parts of her body. 

“ Gather Young Todoroki, Salacia. We need to get them medical help before we rejoin the others .”, All Might said in a somber tone, “ Let’s hope your words were persuasive to our vigilante friend. ” 

Izuku warped into the decrepit alley that was the last known location of the Hero Killer. Izuku scanned around to see if anyone was still there, and to his surprise there were only two vague shapes of people hidden in the shadows. He rushed to get a closer look and saw one was slumped against the alley wall and the other was lying on the street. 

He rushed to check the one against the alley wall, and saw that it was the Hero Native. He was dead, clearly killed by the blade of the Hero Killer. Izuku cursed as he quickly rushed to the other person, and checked his pulse. A faint beating could be felt in the sensitive senses of Izuku, he was still alive but only just. Another look at the downed person revealed the mecha armor of the younger brother of Ingenium lying in a pool of his own blood. 

Izuku quickly turned the fallen teen on his back and froze by what he saw. The familiar spectacles and the navy-blue hair that littered his head. It was the boy that had sabotaged his entrance exam. Izuku’s limbs shook with emotion as he stared into the dying boy that upturned his life. His skin was a deathly white while contrasted by crimson that painted his armor. 

“It’s you.”, Izuku said in a neutral voice, “The one who said I didn’t deserve a place among your ranks. The one who said I didn’t have the makings of a hero, and yet, here you are.”

Izuku scanned around the alley to look for any signs of the Hero Killer. Yet, no sign of the Hero Killer could be seen within the confines of the alleyway. But something glistening on the walls of the alley caught the eye of the vigilante. A message was written in the blood of one of the victims upon the dingy brick wall. Izuku’s eyes lingered on it before turning his eyes to the sole survivor. 

“I HATE YOU!”, Izuku shouted, “I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID AND EVERYTHING YOU SAID! WHY!? OF ALL PEOPLE, DID IT HAVE TO BE YOU!” 

Izuku fell to his knees as his body trembled with bottled up emotions. Tears fell down from his eyes as he gazed upon the broken form of Tenya Iida. He wanted to leave him behind like how he did to Hagakure. He wanted him to feel what it was like to be abandoned while his life hung in the balance. He wanted to scream at the boy who said he had no place as a hero! He wanted to do all that, it would be something Ghost would’ve done without a second thought. However, he wiped away his tears and rose to his feet and his expression hardened with determination. 

“I won’t forgive you, I never will be able to, but…”, Izuku said as he used Holy Water to pick up the boy and place him in his arms., “That doesn’t mean you deserve to die.”

Ghost was born from a boy who merely wanted petty revenge against a world that had wronged him for so long and robbed him of his dream. It was a future that Izuku only could see himself go down, and the more he went down it the further and further he lost himself. It was a pit that he had trapped himself in without a way to get out. Until…

Please! It's not too late to turn back away from this path, and be the Hero we know you are!

I know you can be a Hero Ghost!

“I won’t disappoint you anymore.”, Izuku said to himself, “I’ll do everything I can to become better. I promise.”

With those final words, the water swallowed up Izuku and his injured charge vanished from the alley. Leaving behind the body of Native and the final message of the Hero Killer to the police and heroes. 

Chapter Text

Hagakure grumbled as she tried to rub the sleep out of her unseeable eyes on board the train to UA. Out of all the things she expected to happen on her internship, exhaustion was not one that immediately popped into the mind of the invisible girl. She shouldn’t be surprised that working at an Agency like Sir’s would take more out of her than the sports festival. Then again, it was easier to pretend that a two break would be enough to recuperate from 5 days of hard work. 

She let out a raspy yawn while stretching out the long sleeves of her UA uniform in an effort to fight off the urge to sleep. After another round of rubbing her eyes, Hagakure blinked, and suddenly found a small elementary aged boy standing infront of her. The invisible girl managed to stifle a jump and the yelp that nearly escaped her throat.

“I’m sorry to bug you miss.”, he said with hesitation while nervously fiddling with his hands, “But are you Salacia? The hero with the invisible quirk?”

Hagakure paused for a moment, “Um, I am not quite a hero yet, but I am Salacia.”

The boy’s eyes lit up, “Wow! Can I have an autograph? Please?”

The boy in turn pulled out a small Wild Wild Pussycats themed notebook and a bright yellow pen, and held it in front of Hagakure. Hagakure couldn’t help but let out a small smile as she signed his notebook with the pen and saw the stars in his eyes grow into galaxies. He clutched the notebook like it was a valuable and delicate object.

“Thank you, Miss Salacia! My friends are going to be so jealous I got your autograph! You were so cool in that video when you fought Ghost!”, The kid exclaimed as he hurried off without sparing a second glance.

A bucket of ice water splashed on Hagakure, removing any sleep left in her system.

“Video? Me? Fighting Ghost?”, Hagakure spluttered in surprise. 

A quick search on the internet had revealed that Hosu was being blown up by the media. Dozens of articles about the battle with the Nomu and more specifically, Mirko’s assault on Ghost. Not only were there articles but there were also videos as well. 

Most were of medium quality, and looked as if they were taken by a cell phone. Several of the videos were only a minute long and only caught portions of the fight before the taker of the video was forced to stop. But, the most popular of these videos was one that lasted eight minutes. It caught the moment in which Izuku went berserk and ended when she and All Might Sensei talked him down. Her brown cat-like eyes widened in surprise at the number of views on that video.

“Five million views?”, she gasped quietly.

Her eyes drifted to the comments of the video. The commenters had mixed opinions on Ghost, with one side supporting his side in what can be described as self defence against excessive force. While the other half note that Ghost was too brutal in retaliation and was more like a villain rampaging than what the latter argued. 

However, all of the commenters had one thing to say about her. 

That girl did what Mirko and all those other heroes couldn’t do, and drove Ghost off. She must be something special.

She must be really strong or so Heroic, that Ghost wouldn’t try to fight her. So cool.

She has the heart of a true hero! Salacia stood against that villain without fear or hesitation, and all just to save her fellow heroes from that villain. 

Hagakure wasn’t sure what to expect when she opened the door to her homeroom. Between the video and her newfound celebrity status, she wasn’t too optimistic about her classmates’ reaction. She stared blankly into the room of her peers before they all swarmed the invisible girl and bombard her with questions. The only ones who did not swarm her was Bakugou, who was trying to get rid of a head of combed hair. A bandaged up Todoroki, who looked rather hesitant to join the monkey pile that formed up at the door. A blacked haired Kirishima who was trying his hardest not to look at her. And a surprisingly missing class vice rep, Iida Tenya. 

Hagakure let out a breath of exasperation after what seemed the millionth question about Hosu was sent her way. She knew she wanted to be noticed by other people, but maybe it was a monkey paw wish, if she couldn’t even make it to her desk.

“Guys Guys! Please. Can we just save it for later.”, she finally managed to speak out.

“But Hagakure-san, we want to know how you were able to get that monster to back down!”, Kaminari argued, “How were you able to beat him when Todoroki couldn’t?”

“Yes, and I would also like to know why you are insistent on blocking the door to my classroom?”, a tired voice echoed.

All of the students paled and looked out to see their homeroom teacher staring at them impassively. The teens didn’t even wait for Aizawa to even say anything again, and in the blink of an eye, they all returned to their seats. Aizawa didn’t even acknowledge their swift departure and merely walked to his podium. 

There was something different in the look of their homeroom teacher, and it wasn’t just because the bandages trapping him are gone. No, Mr. Aizawa had the tell-tale look of someone who was angry, but was only barely trying to contain said anger beneath the surface. The class collectively let out a fearful gulp. 

“It’s nice to see that you all finally got the sense to stop wasting time, you just might make it as pros afterall.”, Aizawa half-compliemented-half berated, “Before we begin our usual lessons, there are some announcements to make.”

The class listened in silent nervousness. 

“Iida Tenya will not be joining us as a member of the Hero Course. Had he not dropped out of the course due to health reasons, then he would’ve been expelled otherwise.”, Mr. Aiazawa said with a bit of a bite in his voice, “Here at UA, we are training you to be heroes and we don’t not tolerate acts of vigilantism against serial killers, no matter the reason. Let that be a lesson.”

The class had a mixture of both horror and worry as many put two-and-two together. Their former vice rep was the anonymous third victim of Stain that the news outlets had mentioned.

“As for your vice representative...Hagakure Tooru!”, He spoke monotonously.

Hagakure stood up in her seat with her arms at her side, “Yes, Aizawa Sensei?”

“You are an effective vice representative starting today. Speak with your class representative about your new duties. I do expect you to do better than your predecessor.” , Aizawa said with a warning in his voice. 

“Yes Sir!, Thank you Aizawa Sensei.”, Hagakure said before returning to her seat. 

“As for the rest of you...I hope you are prepared because your finals are coming in the next two weeks.”, Aizawa said with a sadistic grin.

The class groaned in unison. 

Hagakure groaned in exhaustion as she began to pack her things away as the final person to leave her class. The day was long and tiring with the amount of people that wouldn’t stop pestering her alongside the usual grueling work of a Hero Course Student.  Or the fact that Aizawa had punished her by adding extra work in the form of being appointed the vice representative. 

But the icing on that cake came from the fact that three boys in her class had separately come up to her and asked to speak alone to her. She however, turned them down and more or less asked for another time to have a chat. Normally such a notion would excite the invisible girl, but it was seen as yet another burden onto an already burdened girl. 

“I just hope they aren’t trying to ask me out. I already have enough to deal with Izuku, and they aren’t cute as he is.”, Hagakure grumbled to herself.

However, Izuku disappeared yet again from the face of the earth, and finding him would be a monumental task that she hopes proves fruitful in the upcoming weekend. But as far as Hagakure is concerned such a task can wait, for she wants nothing more than to go home and sleep. 

As the invisible girl turned away from her desk, an abrupt sound of someone knocking on wood pierced the air behind her. She jumped in surprise and turned around with her arms raised ready to fight whomever was with her in the room. 

...

…

...

To her surprise no one was there, but sitting on her desk was a white sheet of paper. Hagakure frowned as every horror movie trope began to warn her about going to go look at that paper. But she had a feeling who might be the mysterious messenger, and she was fairly certain it was a Ghost and not a Ghost-Face. She strolled up to her desk and picked up the note and read the scribbles on his pristine surface. 

Meet me at the old playground. We need to talk. -Ma’ken Ris

Hagakure treaded the familiar pathway towards the old park in the forest surrounding UA. Its lightly beaten pathway with an assortment of bramble obscured much of her vision. But as she did time and time before, she traversed the old roadwork with ease and without messing herself. The fresh scent of wet wood and the overpowering fragrance of the thick underbrush filled her nostrils. Birds of all shape and sized sung their own tunes of music while a light breeze added a waltz to the plants

She couldn’t help but hum an indistinct tune as she traveled the path like any old inexperienced hiker would. Nature could be serene, even when she was troubled deep down. Hagakure had been dreading this encounter the entire remaining week of her internship. For it was time that she confronted Izuku in a more private setting. It was time to set this argument and family feud aside, so they can move on with their lives. 

But she feared the worst possible scenario. Call it nerves or a gut feeling but instinct told her deep down that everything was still as volatile as they were in Hosu. She didn’t fear Izuku, nor did she believe that he would attack her if agitated, but she did fear the severing of ties. Yet, she couldn’t deny it was a possibility if one or more of the parties involved wouldn’t accept the olive branch.

The branches and tall grass gave way to a clearing in the midst of the thick woodlands and into the remains of an old playground. Its old and rusted bones contrasted greatly with the greenery with its bright red pigment of rust. But the dilapidated equipment was nothing but a minor stark compared to a bright white figure sitting on a faded wooden bench.  

Sitting hunched over with his hands in their lap quietly was Izuku Midoriya. He was dressed in the signature robes of his vigilante persona, but the robes were filthier and littered with holes and torn up in many places. His blue hair now had a touch of green at the roots of his long unkempt locks. From the ripped and torn places in the sleeves of his robes, Hagakure could make out the signs of scarring and injuries still fresh on his flesh. He was staring at his feet and appeared to be oblivious to the world around him.

Hagkure slowly and hesitantly walked her way up towards him, but he didn’t acknowledge her presence and merely continued to watch his feet. When she was nearly upon the bench and its occupant, she raised her voice in the quiet atmosphere.

“Excuse me sir? Do you mind if I sit next to you?”, She asked somberly.

With a small jolt, Izuku looked up to her, and the two locked eyes for the first time since that night. And just like that, she was no longer invisible to the world, but now had her sharp fae-like features being watched by him.  His eyes were now tinged with the same green coloring with his hair, and retained the blue that she had known him for having. Her brown eyes locked with the orbs of the mixing colors. 

…

…

…

She sat down next to him after he failed to give an answer. An awkward silence ensued as the hero and vigilante sat next to each other. The wordless air would not last long as it was pieced by the language of the vigilante.

“Why did you do it?”, Izuku said as he looked down.

Hagakure turned to look at him, “Do what?”

“Why did you come after me and talk me down?”, Izuku elaborated, “After the way I treated you, the way I yelled at you, and after I left you alone at the Festival?”. He turned his face back to meet hers, and she noticed a scar running down his cheek and jawline. “Anyone would’ve turned their back on me and left without a word. But you stayed, and more than that. You came to me to try to make amends. Why?”

Hagakure kept her gaze on the vigilante before turning to stare at her shoes, “I guess there are a couple reasons. But I told you most of them at Hosu, which only leaves two others.”

Izuku tilted his head in puzzlement.

“To be honest with you Izuku I didn’t understand why you became a vigilante. And your explanation didn’t give enough idea, so I had to...force Marris to show me.”

Izuku flinched before once again returning his eyes to the ground, “How much did you see?”

“I saw enough to understand.”, Hagakure quickly responded, “I am sorry if you didn’t want to share it, but I needed to know why you...did what you did.”

Izuku hesitated. “I didn’t want to be him again. I didn’t want to be Deku.”, He admitted. 

“The insult your bullies used?”, Hagakure interjected. 

“Deku was more than an insult. It was...reality.”, Izuku said with hurt in his voice, “That wimpy green haired kid was everything I didn’t want to be anymore. Quirkless. Weak. Pathetic. So, when Marris gave me those quirks, I wanted to become someone new, someone who was the opposite of Deku.” 

Izuku let out a shaky breath from his lips. Hagakure turned to see his face locked directly on the ground while his eyes were glazed over with tears. Hagakure moved her hand over his own hand.

“Do you want to talk about it? I am here for you.”, she affirmed.

Izuku said nothing before he began to slowly speak about his life as the quirkless kid. He stuttered and took long moments of silence in between every detail of his younger days. Hagakure listened intently and carefully as Izuku spilled out the ten years of trauma before her.  

She gently squeezed his hand every time he faltered or hesitated, and it seemed to bolster his resolve to continue the tale. Tears began to form in her eyes as well as his as she heard the heart wrenching story of being a quirkless boy in a world of superpowers. It made Hagakure want to do something. It made her want to travel back in time and protect the younger Izuku from his tormentors, or hunt them down and face punishment for their actions. It made Marris try one extreme from another in the name of protecting a little boy. 

“Then I failed. No matter what I did. No matter how hard I worked. I would always be that kid. I will always be Deku.”, lamented Izuku, “I just wanted to be a hero. I just wanted to help people. I wanted to be useful. I...didn’t...want to...to admit that they were all right.”

“Is that why you snapped at me when I brought up the idea of becoming a hero.”, Hagakure replied gently. 

“Yes.”, Izuku said after a moment of silence,”I either got hatred or pity from people growing up. I-I...just...I...was so angry deep down for so long that...I...took it out on someone who didn’t deserve any of it. I am sorry, Tooru. I am sorry for everything.”

Silence once again filled the clearing with its presence.

“I forgive you, but next time will you please talk to me about it. I don’t want to fight with you, Izuku.”, Hagakure said firmly, “Just promise me one thing.”

“What do you want me to do?”, replied the vigilante.

“I want you to stop lingering in the past.”, said the hero, “I want to have a future with you and that can’t happen if you are stuck on the misgivings of the past.”

Izuku’s mouth opened, but Hagakure was quick to silence any noise. 

“I am not asking you to forget and forgive, but instead I want you to make peace with it.”, the hero affirmed, “I know it is not something that will be easy for you, but I will be by your side through it all.” 

Izuku’s hand tightened its grip on hers, “You promise?”

“I promise.”, she replied softly as she returned the squeeze.

“You really are a hero, Tooru.”, Stated Izuku as he focused his gaze on her, “Going through all this effort and risking everything for a quirkless vigilante with borrowed powers. You really care too much for me.”

Hagakure took in the image of Izuku and for a moment she could’ve sworn that she saw an elf girl with brown eyes reflected in the irises of the vigilante. She would follow him, no matter where he may go. He was the anchor that grounded her to the earth, and made her feel like she was a normal girl who wasn’t cursed with invisibility. But he was also a storm, a vortex of power and wild emotions that was almost impossible to control. Yet, she could calm that storm. Salacia was more than the goddess that hid from Neptune, she was the one who calmed the raging storms of the sea. Her heart began to pound like a drum in her chest, and a voice deep down told her to reach out and never let go of him. She won’t let him run away again.

“I don’t care that you were quirkless until Marris gave you those quirks or the fact that you used them to become a vigilante. Because quirk or not, you are still the boy that decided to cheer me up on a bad day. You are the boy that risked life and limb to save my class from the League of Villains. You are all that and so much more to me, Izuku.”, Hagakure affirmed, “Because the other reason is…” 

Without any hesitation or warning, Hagakure quickly moved her face towards Izuku’s while cupping her hand over his scarred cheek. She kissed him on the lips. Her face grew hot as her lips intertwined with Izuku’s. He, in turn, also turned red with a blush while his eyes widened in shock. However, his shock was soon dissipated when he returned the kiss that Hagakure gave him unexpectedly. For the moment, the world around them vanished as the vigilante and the hero were locked in the passion of the kiss.

Eventually, the two were forced to separate, but they kept their hands locked together while their foreheads pressed against each other. The sound of heavy breathing was the only sound that could be heard coming from the two as they took the moment to gaze into each other. 

“D-Do you want to go somewhere together? M-Maybe, we can go see that n-new movie o-or go eat s-somewhere?”, Izuku stuttered out with a small smile on his face.

“I-I’d like that.”, Hagakure replied with her own face occupied by an ear-to-ear grin, “Can we go as a...a...couple?”

“Y-Yes!”, Izuku shouted softly, “But first…”

Without any warning, Izuku went limp and rolled off the park bench and onto the grass with a soft thud. Hagakure quickly rushed to check on her new...boyfriend, and was surprised to see that he had fainted. A small chuckle escaped the lips of the invisible girl as she cradled the bicolored head of Izuku in her lap and began to fan air in his face. Her hand soon found itself wandering towards the chest of the unconscious teen.

Thump Thump

Thump Thump

Thump Thump

For the first time in a long time, Hagakure took comfort from the soft beating of a heart that nearly became silent forever. She closed her eyes and thanked the gods above for bringing back Izuku. A small smile appeared on Salacia’s lips as the sea became calm once again. 

Chapter Text

Izuku waved goodbye to Hagakure after dropping her off at her home from their first "date". His smile was wide and he was absolutely giddy with happiness from the afternoon that the two shared together. But that smile soon faded a mere moments after the door to her apartment closed. He lingered there outside her home for a minute before letting out an exhausted grumble.

He had a lot of work to do, and he was not looking forward to it. On the advice of Hagakure, Izuku needed to address his next actions carefully, if he wanted to be recruited. His actions at Hosu had done a lot to damage the reputation of the already disliked vigilante he masqueraded as. Then, there was Hosu itself and the scars that he left on its population. He needed to atone for what he had done during that week of chaos and war. However, he just needed to figure out what could be done without causing even more harm.

Next, was Mar…

How was he going to deal with the fallout he had with Marris? Could he even face the old mermaid without his own emotions getting out of control. Could she? Unlike the fight with Tooru, his fight with her had venom on both sides. Should they even see each other again? And if they did, what would the relationship be? Things couldn't go how they were before, but he didn't how things would go in the future. Maybe those hateful words they said to each other were truthful?

Izuku let out a sigh as he turned and began to mechanically walk away from Tooru's house. All the while he mind debated his next course of action. For just a moment, he became tempted to just leave the matter as is. He would bury the last remnant of his past that still clung to the quirkless kid. Ghost certainly would've loved to abandon the controlling lamprey that falsely guided him. But Izuku couldn't stop remembering what Tooru said earlier, and the promise he made to her.

Stop lingering in the past, and make peace with it.

Izuku stopped walking and let out a defeated sigh as he digested the information that Hagakure had shared with him earlier. Marris was lonely, that much was obvious by the unique situation she was in and by the clear length of time that she had been alive. What didn't make sense was the way that she tried to manipulate him off of paths that she herself set him on. Hagakure had said it was Marris wanting to keep herself happy by ensuring he stays safe. But why was him staying safe, important enough for the mermaid to pull strings behind his back? It's not like any of his predecessors had been given this special treatment. In fact, a pact with Marris seems to be a form of immortality for the human, given that their consciousness becomes a part of the essence of the mermaid.

If anything, death was only a temporary setback for Marris when it came to her charges. She should've been indifferent to it at worst, but she was almost as frantic about him getting hurt as much as his own mother was. None of this made any sense! Not unless he went to the hiding mermaid and forced her to give out a long overdue explanation. The bicolored teen prepped Crab to warp him away and begin his search for the lamprey mermaid. For better or for worse, he and Marris were going to put an end to this once and for all. Water swallowed up Izuku before he got any second thoughts, and he disappeared to confront his patron.

The woods around Musustafu hardly changed in the years since Izuku was last in them. They were still the same poorly kept and lazy group of trees in all of Japan. Which made it easier for him to navigate through it without getting lost. But trying to find a location in the woods using only recollections seen through tear clouded eyes made the job as challenging as is. He was more or less navigating through the woods using only his gut instincts and educated guessing.

"Why couldn't she live in a giant tower with a letter 'M' for a sign.", Izuku grumbled to himself.

The teenager had been walking the woods of the Musustafu for about an hour now and had found nothing yet. He had searched everywhere that Marris could be hiding, and had found nothing yet. But then again, there is a lot that Izuku doesn't know about Marris, and for all he knows she could be hiding in the depths of the ocean. However, Izuku wasn't the type to give up so easily.

…

…

…

After another two hours of continuous searching, Izuku managed to find the last location. It was the same as he remembered it. The water of the pond was entombed in a ground of ashy stone as if it were a foriegn blotch on the natural forest. It was easy to know that this was the right spot with the sunlight bathing on the pond also produced a grand beacon of radiance in the dreary forest.

Izuku stood at the edge of the pond ignoring all the awe inspiring sights. He looked down into the depths, and despite its clarity the water looked deeper than it appeared to be. He remembered that Marris came out of the water when he was crying. However, he doubts that such a thing will work again. The blue haired teen muttered to himself as he brainstormed ideas until one idea popped in his head.

If Marris had been so concerned with his well being, then she would most likely come out if he endangered himself. Izuku let out a shaky breath of air and looked for the largest rock around the pond and carried it towards the water's edge. The blue haired teen spent a minute taking deep breaths and rocking back and forth trying to psyche himself up for what he was about to do. He was going to hate this. With a loud yell, Izuku leapt straight into the water while carrying the rock. An icy cold chill enveloped Izuku as he plunged straight down at great speed towards the bottom.

Deeper and deeper, Izuku sank further and further into the watery depths of the pond. His lungs burned as a pressure built up in his head. His instincts to survive begged him to let go of the rock, but it was too late by this point from how deep he appeared to be. Izuku limply let go of the rock as the edges of his vision darkened and his lungs burned. He frantically kicked his legs and clawed with his hands towards what he thought was the surface. But the dwindling air in his lungs made his limbs sluggish and heavy. Soon his panicked attempt to surface took its toll and the will to fight left the teen. He stopped all resistance and merely let his body sink as his eyes darkened into oblivion.

It was dark and unshapely with no discernable features beyond a great expanse of nothingness. The world was blanketed by a heavy black fog that diluted his vision with its inky particles. Izuku felt cold. Colder than anything he ever felt in his life, but at the same time he felt like he was nothing. Empty and devoid of any matter or senses, it was like he was in a...Void.

"But, father said he didn't want me to call you that while he was around."

"Well, your father isn't here now. So call me what I want to be called."

A voice? No, it was two voices. One was familiar to him, but so different at the same time. The other was the muffled sound of a child. He wasn't familiar with that one.

"B-But..."

"Ma'ken Ris, I really don't like being called that and you know I'd prefer it if you called me Mar'Ris."

"Okay, Mar'Ris!"

Izuku's eye jolted open in surprise as he turned over to his side and began wretching out water from his esophagus. Once most of the foriegn liquid was expelled from his lungs Izuku began to hungrily take in as much as air as he vision was foggy and obscured by the lack of oxygen and the water in face. Initially, Izuku was shaking like a leaf while his mind was overwhelmed with the shock of his near death experience. His terror ended when he began a bout of crazed laughter as a sort of twisted form of coping.

"I hope I never have to do that again. Tooru would kill me if she found out I drowned myself.", He thought to himself.

Thankfully, the burning in his lungs had more or less stopped, and the tightness of his chest had subsided. And more importantly his vision had begun to clear and become more focal. Now if he was correct then Marris should be...

"Hello, Izuku Midoriya.", Marris said evenly as she gazed down on him, "I pray you have a good reason for trying to drown yourself in my pond?"

The young teen shot his head in the direction of her voice, and merely stared at the titanic figure before him. Her presence was so alien and massive that one could easily be intimidated by her appearance alone. Yet, the warmth and kindness that he usually associated with Marris was gone. In its place was an emotionless tone and aura emitted by the mermaid. She seemed almost indifferent to him, if it weren't for the tiniest of cracks in her voice and demeanor that betrayed her attempts to remove them.

"It was the only way to get you to come out of hiding.,'' he said in a raspy voice.

"And if I had chosen to ignore it?", she countered.

"It was a risk I was willing to take,'' he replied, "But I knew you wouldn't let me drown."

The mermaid crossed her arms while her hair fluttered in clear irritation. Her lamprey tail coiled on itself on the stony ground as if it was her way of sitting down.

"For a human that proclaimed "you never wanted to see me again", you wasted no time in seeking me out again. Do your words have no meaning and are as hollow as bones?", she said dryly.

Izuku was dumbfounded at the mermaid 'sitting' in front of him, she was nothing like the Marris he knew. But then again, he didn't think that she could be so…

"Are you going to speak or are you going to waste your time standing there? I can sit here and wait until this world gets devoured by the sun and not grow a day older. I doubt your pitiful hide would even last that long as dust.", jeered the mermaid.

...Bitchy.

"I heard that, insect!" scoffed the irritated lamprey.

Izuku sighed and pulled himself to his feet. Even with Marris "sitting" she still towered over him, and with her crossed arms and sour mood made him feel smaller than usual.

"I've come to talk to you, Marris. We have unfinished business.", stated Izuku with a stern face.

"I disagree.", returned an icy Marris, "I do not think there is anything left to say with a human that made their hatred of me ever so clear. And make no mistake, Izuku Midoriya, I am not as forgiving as you might expect!"

Izuku hesitated as he was intimidated by the large alien creature sitting before him. She was stronger than him in every way, and she also held the key to his strength as well. There was nothing he could do to stop her from doing whatever she wanted. Any person would've told him he was stepping into the lion's den by doing this. But this is more than something that he needed to do to be able to move on. Hagakure told a bit about how Marris was behaving in the past months since he formed their pact, and he couldn't help but notice how off Marris was. Nor could he ignore that strange vision he had while unconscious. He needed answers...

"If I only ask you one question, and after that I will leave you alone.", Izuku carefully said to the mermaid, "Is that agreeable?"

The mermaid tapped her chin with her clawed hands as if she were thinking about the proposition. "I might as well see what your ape-brain has to say to me, given the trouble you went through to bother me. Fine. Speak!"

Was this what Marris was really like? Was this how she dealt with other humans? This cold and distant indifference was so alien to her warm and friendly persona. Yet, everything about this just seemed wrong. Even her moments of rage were more natural and real than this. It was almost as if she was trying to cover something up with an emotionless facade. No, now's not the time to think about this! He needed to think about what he was going to ask her!

…

….

….

After mulling over his thoughts in what seemed like a century of thinking, Izuku knew what he needed to ask Marris.

Izuku took a deep breath, "On this very spot, nearly ten years ago you crawled out of that pond and followed me home. I never questioned why you would do such a thing, and I also never realized how you treated me throughout the years. In fact, I would have never noticed had not Tooru not pointed it out. So, the question I want to ask you is this: why did you name me Ma'ken Ris?

The featureless face of the mermaid somehow showed visible shock, "W-What did you say?"

"Why did you name me Ma'ken Ris after you gave me those quirks?", Izuku said louder, his voice strained, " Why did you go so far as to give me a name in the language you speak?"

"I-uh-um. I gave that name because I had nothing else to call you.", Marris said, taken aback.

"I don't believe that one bit! Especially since the name my mother gave would have sufficed! Ever since you gave me that name, I couldn't help but finally realize that you started to treat me differently. You became more prominent in my life almost like you were trying to micromanage it. You became less like a friend and more like my overbearing mother!", Izuku continued with a fire inside him.

The lamprey mermaid was visibly distressed and in total shock, "I...I...I...think this conversation is over. Go and leave my presence before I show you what happens to nosey humans!"

Anger flared up inside Izuku, "No! I am not leaving! And I am not letting you run away from this, again! So I will ask once again, Why did you name me Ma'ken Ris?!"

"I SAID I AM DONE TALKING!", Marris roared as anger invaded her system. Her mouth threatened to break apart across her face with a faint movement along her cheeks. The mermaid sat back on her tail, heightening herself to be nearly ten feet tall. Her eyes bore into with a burning glare while her hair flailed about violently. Her long arms were outstretched with her claws ready to swipe.

Izuku wasn't fazed by the mermaid's intimation, "I wondered why you did everything you did? The way you tried to keep me happy, even when it contradicted all the actions you did in the name of me. All the ways you held me, talked to me, all that warmth you showed to a stray child! I thought it was because I was nothing more than a pet to you! But only now did I realize the truth…"

Marris snarled at Izuku causing his body to jump by instinct. Her form began to morph into that of a horrid abomination. Her arms ripped apart into an extra set of two clawed limbs, while her mouth split into a feral maw that stretched from ear to ear. Her chest ripped open to reveal a toothy second mouth full of needle-like teeth. Barbed tentacles exploded from her back and began to whip the stony ground beneath them. An aura of fear greater than anything Izuku had ever experienced radiated from Marris like the winds of a hurricane.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING! LEAVE! BEFORE I DEVOUR YOU!", She roared, her voice a cacophony of voices.

She was terrifying. She was emitting a gut-retching aura of primal fear, and her appearance made Izuku's head ache in a stinging pain and his stomach to boil. But, it had no bite because it was nothing more than a bark. For if she really wanted to hurt him, then she wouldn't waste time with such a flashy display. Marris was trying to get him to leave, to get away from her. Yet, he mentally betrayed no thoughts or feelings of fear, instead all he had was sadness.

"I wasn't the first one to be called Ma'ken Ris, wasn't I?", Izuku said with a sad frown.

Marris froze like a deer in headlights. All of her postering and threatening displays went slack.

"That's why you became so controlling. That's why you gave me that name. Ma'ken Ris was your child, wasn't he? Not an adopted one, but your full blooded child. You lost him, didn't you? And I reminded you of him, didn't I?"

He was expecting Marris to react in a variety of ways. She maybe was going to be stubborn and deny the accusation. He thought she might run away and hide from him, or maybe attack him if her reaction to his prodding were any indication. What he wasn't expecting was for the monstrous mermaid to start crying. Not like muted crying sounds on her blank face, but full on crying. Her black eyes streamed a creak of tears while her mouth folded into a hyperventilating frown. The skin of her face wrinkled and moved as the sound of choked sobbing came from her throat. Marris made an expression for the first time, and it was one of sadness.

Whatever self restraint she had was now gone, and with it the false image of the Marris he knew. Like a pebble being dropped in still water, a disturbing rippling changed the form of Marris. Gone was her monstrous appearance and in its place came what Izuku thought was her true appearance.

She was still massive, maintaining her All Might sized venere, while her skin maintained his amphibian-like qualities. Her body was much more defined than the vague form he was used to with her feminine qualities appearing to be bigger and more pronounced, with a larger chest and large child-bearing hips. However, a previously unseen white scar in the shape of a diamond marred the flesh on her lower belly. Her arms were still lean and long, but ended with webbed hands that contained five clawed digits instead of four.

Gone was her lamprey tail and in its place were a pair of shapely feminine thighs that connected to a pair of dinosaur-like legs at the knees. Her back held both the lower and upper dorsal fins of a lamprey while her thighs and forearms contained fins that resembled a lamprey's caudal fins. Her body maintained its usual dark blue pigment with a white belly, but splotches of grey and black spots and stripes dotted her darker skin.

Marris' head was no longer the same as he long knew it to be. Gone were her jumble of tendril-like hair. In its place were eight tentacles that were a combination of different cephalopods. Specifically two tentacles that belonged to a cuttlefish, two tentacular limbs of a squid, and four tentacles of an octopus. Her face was no longer as blank and devoid of features as her fake one. Her eyes were much smaller than before, only slightly bigger than human's. But they were spaced farther apart and had what appeared to be eyelids in the same place as a human's, but only much less pronounced. She was still noseless, but had small slits where her nose would end if she had one. The fish woman had a mouth that wasn't hidden, but it was more akin to a human's in size and shape. However it was without lips and ended with lines that ran across the cheeks of Marris.

Izuku was in awe of this form of Marris. This form held none of the mystery or vagueness of her old one. It spoke of someone who was ancient but was still full of youth. It spoke of someone who of regal blood, but was born in the humblest of beginnings. It spoke of someone who was powerful but restrained themselves from using it. She was beautiful, but monstrous at the same time. This was the true form of the enigma that contradicted itself. She was the goddess that the ancient humans worshipped.

But unlike her mermaid form, this one did not radiate warmth, anger, or even power. Instead it radiated an aura of grief. In an instant, Izuku was knocked out of his stupor the moment Marris fell to her knees and began to curl in on herself. The sound of her sobbing once again rang out in his ears as his eyes caught sight of the tear drops falling onto the stone below. Her sobbing became muffled as she buried her face in her webbed hands. Her claws dug painfully into her own face, causing black liquid to drip down her skin and mix with her tears.

"Tell me.", Izuku said firmly,"Tell me everything that you can. I want to understand."

The Marris he knew might have outright refused to spill anything about her past to the bicolored teen, but this Marris didn't even hesitate. She spoke vaguely at first, indicating that the memories were too painful to go into much detail, but eventually spoke in greater and greater detail as she seemed to steel her will against the ghosts of the past.

There were stars, but they were growing faint with every passing second. Her body felt like it was being crushed into a little ball by some great force. Suddenly she was awashed with a burning sensation, like she was slowly being burned by a star, her vision began to fade as it was enveloped in a bright light. The pain of such an experience was sheer indescribable agony. Marris was surprised she was still alive or even conscious to begin with, as it felt like every cell was being crushed or incinerated. The unending pain ended when she hit something with such a great impact that every bone and organ felt like they had been completely dislodged from their normal place. Hissing and bubbling echoed as something cold envelops her, fortunately her vision gradually returned. Only for her to see a sky filled with twinkling stars that were obscured by the black waters of a great ocean as she sank deeper into the darkness.

Marris held the large bulge in her belly with her claws as she stood overlooking the harsh lands of the Steppes. The unending fields of grass were a boring sight to the natives of this world and the slaves they possessed. But to the visitor from the stars, they were beautiful despite their rather simplistic nature. Just many things in this world, it captivated her with its foriegn concepts and feelings. She didn't know what it was called, but that warm rosey feeling in her chest whenever she could feel the thing inside her would kick or when she looked at the male responsible for putting it there. However, she could ponder those thoughts later, for now she and her mate will travel to a place called the Kuril. She was due any day now, and they wanted to make sure that the birth went smooth.

She was broken. Her son. Her baby boy. He was gone. Dead.

Everything was a haze, black and white, and dark. She felt empty, like something had been ripped away from her. Her limbs shook as the void within her vanished and an inferno took its place. A scream tore her mouth into a gaping maw, exposing her sharp teeth while her hair flailed in a frenzy. The battlefield she was in began to be torn to shreds as her mind went haywire. Soldiers, both foe and friend were ripped apart. Trees and rocks were splittered and crushed like twigs and glass. The soil itself cracked like an egg causing those unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire to fall into a never ending abyss. She was going to make them pay! She'll kill all of them!

Never once did she ever look at herself and think anything of it. But now, she felt a deep disgust whenever she caught sight of herself in the reflections of water. She didn't see herself, all she saw was the creature that couldn't do anything to protect her child. A creature caught up in that ugly expression! An expression that hadn't left her face since that awful day!

Pathetic. Weak. Helpless. Miserable.

Those words echoed in her head over and over, reminding herself of her worst day on this small rock. Marris hated being Marris. She wanted to be someone different, someone who didn't let her weakness define her. Marris wanted to become a pillar of stone, unmoving and strong without the weaknesses of her old self. Without even thinking, she began to trace her clawed hands over her face. Before she knew it, she was mercily mauling her own face and reshaping it into something pain was astronomical, but she bore all of its self-inflicted agony as she forcibly remolded her body. For it was her punishment for allowing things to happen as they did. Marris was born with a face covered in the inky black blood of a grieving mother.

Humans were a pitiful sight. Lesser creatures fighting against creatures of superior power was something that she could never fathom. Even if she wasn't of this world and wasn't privy to its rules. But she could applaud their bravery when the leader of the rebellion stepped before her and asked for aid in their war. Weak and Pathetic. She didn't know what her son saw in these insects to warrant throwing his life away for them. But...she loved her son, and would do anything for him, and if helping these humans would honor his memory, then so be it.

"I have heard your call, human. And I will aid you.", She said simply, "Now take my blood, and let us see if you are worthy of my power."

"Thank you for your gift Marris, Mother of Heroes. We will never forget your aid, my Lady.", replied the bowing human.

At the very least, these humans would at least be instrumental in her revenge against...Mo-

Once upon a time, Marris scoffed at the idea of thinking humans as anything more than slaves. They were pitiful creatures, created from a population of apes by the hands of a Lord, whose sole purpose was to serve as servants and worshipers for the true masters of the earth. Their subsequent domination of the planet after the last of the Lords had been vanquished was a shock to Marris.

Even more so when she discovered that some of their number could see her in the hidden prison that she was cursed with for her betrayal. Sometimes, she would pull them into her prison whilst they slept and feed them her blood. Those that received it usually become great heroes that defined their eras or merely made a difference in this cruel world. If not for them, then she surely would've gone mad from loneliness a long time ago. Not that such a thing matters, after all Marris was only living for the next day after another sleepless night.

Marris didn't know why that little boy was so different from the other ones. He was no different from any other humans that she oversaw from the confines of her prison. But for some reason, he brought out all of the worst traits in herself. All of those emotional outbursts and maternal instincts that she had long buried would just surface. Why was he so different? Why did he make her feel so happy? Was it his quirk? Or maybe it was how adorable he looked?

No, Ma'ken Ris was why. The boy reminded her of the faint memory of her deceased son. Of his gentle and caring demeanor. His willingness to put the wellbeing of others above his most importantly, this boy shared her son's heroic spirit and it practically made them identical. This boy was destined to be a hero like her son was always supposed to be. Just like how she was always supposed to be the mother of that hero.

She needed to leave, she needed to get away from him before the pain would return. But anytime she tried, she would always hesitate and chicken out of it. It was like she subconsciously didn't want to leave and be lonely again, not when she was with a reincarnation of her baby. For the first time in a long time, Marris felt that warm rosey feeling in her chest, a feeling that she nearly forgot.

"T-That's w-why I-I n-named y-you M-Ma'k-ken R-Ris.", Mar'Ris said in between sobs with a stutter, "Y-You r-remind m-me s-so m-much o-of h-him! I-I h-had t-to k-keep y-you s-safe! I HAD TO!"

Mar'Ris let her head hang in shame, and covered her face with her hands to hide herself from Izuku. She did so many things wrong, and for what? A false happiness? She didn't deserve any of it even if it was fake.

"I-I c-couldn't l-let y-you d-die a-again! I-I c-cannot b-bear a-another l-loss!", she croaked in a muffled voice, "I-I a-am s-sorry! I-I a-am s-sorry I-I h-hurt y-you! I-I d-didn't k-know w-what e-else t-to d-do!"

Izuku said nothing while his face was hidden by the shadow of his hair. Without even speaking, he closed the distance between the two and gently cupped her crying face with his hand and moved her head so they were face-to-face. Her flesh felt damp and warm but it trembled with a nervous jitter while a trail of tears ran down his hand. The crying woman visibly flinched at the touch of the smaller human, while her black eyes widened in surprise. She had been expecting the human to reject her, because no matter what the intentions behind her actions, she still greatly wronged the one she dared to call her child.

"I forgive you.", Izuku said gently with his own stoic face.

"I-I t-thought y-you h-hated m-me? I-I t-tried t-to c-control y-you, I-I s-shouldn't b-be f-forgiven!", Mar'Ris stuttered out while contorted in an expression of sorrow.

Marris clearly saw things as yet another punishment she was doomed to face. Her life seemed to be nothing but an unending line of misery, and she believed she deserved it for failing the two people she valued above all else. Yet, Izuku saw things much differently. The fight that the two had with each other was something that went beyond the simple Hero or Vigilante future for Izuku. It was the inevitable clash between the two's greatest insecurities. However, behind these two insecurities came a desire to help one another. Yet, the two had stubbornly refused to cry out for help from one another, and it nearly destroyed them. This needed to end before the cracks in their relationship deepened to the point of no return.

"I thought you didn't care about me, and were just pitying me. I thought that the only friend I had was no different than the other people who only saw me as a weakling.", Izuku said with a breaking voice, "I forgive because you showed me that wasn't true."

"B-but, I-I d-don't u-understand?", the fish woman said, confused.

"Marris, I had been lingering in the past ever since the sludge villain. Tooru said that the only way I would be able to have a future was to make peace with it.", said Izuku, "She said I needed to make peace with it to be able to move forward. I don't want to continue doing that if it means I lose her or my dream of becoming a hero. I nearly lost so much by running away to fight Stain, and now I don't want to run the chance of you losing everything as well."

"Izuku.", Mar'Ris whimpered, "I don't think I can do that. I am just too broken to even think about doing that! I...I...haven't even visited him since he died, I don't think I have the courage to even think about the idea. I think it's just a lost cause to help me. Please, just leave me here and don't let me hold you back."

A fire lit up inside Izuku, but not one of rage, but one of compassion. "No, I am not going to leave you behind even if I have to drag you home myself! I know it's not going to be easy, but I will be there to help you through it all. I'll help you if you promise to help me as well."

The fish woman blinked at the bicolored teen. "Y-You r-really m-mean it?"

"I do.", affirmed Izuku, "And, Marris, I am sorry for how I acted towards you and Tooru. Can you forgive me?"

Marris stared blankly at izuku before her lips curved into the smallest of smiles, "B-But only if you forgive me for how I acted towards you and Haga-chan."

"Apology accepted.", Izuku said warmly.

"And I accept yours as well.", She replied in kind.

Izuku let go of his hold on the goddess in order to grab her into a hug. She returned the hug given to her by him and for a moment the duo were lost in their own warmth; taking confort in the rhythmic beating of their own hearts. They lingered in each other's arms for a long time before reluctantly breaking apart. Marris and Izuku stared at each other in silence. It was like the two were really meeting each other for the first time. But not under the veneer of whatever mask they wore to hide their weaknesses and fears. Instead they were meeting themselves as who they really were supposed to be: As Izuku and Marris, client and patron, surrogate son and surrogate mother.

"Come on, let's go home, Marris.", Izuku said as he took her hand in his.

"Yes, let us go home.", She replied as she accepted his hand, "But please call me, Mar'Ris from here on."

Izuku smiled back at Mar'Ris,"Yes, sure thing, Mother."

Chapter Text

A pair of bi-colored eyes and a pair of inky black ones lingered upon each other as the silence in the room was deafening. Mar'Ris sat cross legged on Izuku's bed while he sat on his desk chair only a few feet away. Izuku's throat constricted in on itself after he had heard the news that Mar'Ris had given him. She in turn looked solemn at doing so with her face forming a worried expression with her alien features. She appeared to be looking at his feet rather than his face.

"Is it really that bad?", Izuku finally said after what seemed like hours.

Mar'Ris hesitated to speak at first, "Yes."

Izuku gulped, "What do we need to do?"

Mar'Ris' gaze returned to Izuku's while her hair-tentacles fluttered confidently, "We get as many allies as we can before the parasites strike out in the open."

Izuku gulped before nodding with the same confidence as his patron.

To say that Shigaraki was in a good mood would be an utter lie, in fact he was far from being in a good mood. He was frankly rather pissed off at the current turn of events. He and the Hero Killer played their roles in the raid flawlessly. The Nomu wreaked havoc on Hosu with only the loss of two of them, while Stain killed one hero while severely wounding another. The news should have been talking about the league and its new partnership with Stain, but they weren't.

Ghost had once again stolen the spotlight away from the Shigaraki with his fight against Mirko. Even worse was the fact that All Might and that invisible brat from UA were skyrocketing in popularity for defeating Ghost where others failed or had merely stalemated. It was like rubbing salt on an already fresh wound. Sensei told him to be calm and merely bid his time, using his partnership with Stain to gain more powerful recruits for the league.

But the mere fact that he executed his plans flawlessly, only for that Ganker to come and ruin it was what had him fumming. It made that unbearable itch on his neck even worse as his scratching was now drawing blood to try to ease the irritation. Kurogiri wasn't too happy about the loss of most of his bar's furniture as well.

Stain on the other hand became withdrawn within a few days of the attack, and Shigaraki didn't know why. The man was very vocal about his stupid ideology, and now he hardly said a word. Shigaraki was certain it was due to his side quest to power up that dumb sword, but at this point he was certain it was something else. The puppet leader of the League remembered one of the video games that sensei gave to him in which the world changed due to the actions of the players. This could spell good or bad for the players depending on the state of the game.

And Shigaraki was certain it spelled bad, considering he caught the Hero Killer talking to his sword. Mumbling that the mother and the son had reunited and the old priest was marching to his doom? Also wasn't that old relic called sutta-something or was it something something-bean? Either way, Shigaraki was certain that the old sword wasn't called Monari, and he was also extra certain that saying that name out loud didn't cause his spine to shiver uncontrollably. He was just glad that the Hero Killer was leaving the next morning, and hopefully he will take that cooky shit with him.

It was yet another sleepless night for Tenya Iida, and the heavens reflected the inner turmoil. From his blindness window, the night sky was starless without a moon to lighten the inky sea. Yet, his eyes weren't directed towards the sky, but rather onto the hospital bed that he had been unwillingly confined to. As the young teen had only found consciousness mere hours ago.

Iida was sitting upright in his bed with an agonized scowl carved into his face. With a painful huff, the teen threw the covers covering his legs off, revealing the damage done from Hosu. Anger and shame boiled beneath the skin of the teen as he stared at his legs or rather his lack of legs. Tears soon welted in his eyes the longer Iida stared at the nubs for every hope and dream came burning down to earth.

"Ingenium will be the hero that will defeat you, Stain!"

It was an empty promise that was made in a moment of rage and arrogance by an inexperienced child, and it was doomed to fail as a result. His career as a hero was over before it even began, and so was his promise to Tensei. The hero named Ingenium was gone, and Iida killed him the moment he chased after the Hero Killer.

"You are nothing but a fake and with delusions of grandeur, along with a conviction driven by simple vengeance!"

Tears began to drip from Iida's eyes as the memory left a bad taste in his mouth that was leagues greater than any other shortcoming in his life. He was no hero, he was the fake that Stain claimed he was. No hero would ever do what Iida tried to do.

"If you look up to me Tenya, then I must be a great hero."

He let his brother and hero down, and that hurt more than any of the Hero Killer's wounds. Wouldn't it have been better that he died in Hosu to spare his family the shame of his actions, and let them think he died as a hero trying to save Native from Stain. But he didn't and now they had to bear not only the loss of the Ingenium line, but also deal with the taboo of vigilantism as well. He didn't know when he began to drift off to sleep, he seldom could these days. Maybe his dreams won't plague him this time…

Iida's eyes shot open with guarded surprise while he shot upright into a sitting position. All the while his panicked mind tried to piece together what happened. His thoughts instantly drifted to a villain using his quirk for some nefarious attack on the hospital, but that train of reason gave out immediately once he examined his surroundings.

The legless teen found himself sitting in an endless expanse of a strange dark matter that functioned as a solid while appearing to be liquid. Shining lights and streaks of golden dust reflected brilliantly on the surface of the dark matter. Iida looked at the sky and saw a swirling galaxy of star-like lights and clouds of cosmic dust tying it all into one shape. For a brief moment, Iida was awestruck by the scene before him with all stellar beauty before the teen suddenly realized the scope of the situation he was in.

"This is strange, even for a dream.", Iida mumbled to himself, "But it feels so real at the same time."

Iida immediately began to scan the horizons in all of the surrounding directions, even going as far as twisting his body with arms to get a better look around. Yet, such an effort was in vain as there was simply nothing but a seemingly never ending flats with no visible landmark within sight. There was no telling how far the flats went on, or even if there was an end to them. It was a case of catch 22 where Iida would either starve to death or die of exhaustion.

"But isn't that what you wanted? To rid your family of the shame you brought on them?"

An ugly but not untrue thought, but he had a strange feeling that his mind was subconsciously trying to tell him something. Otherwise, there would've been Stain, Tensei and a lot of blood if this had been a nightmare. In all honesty, this dream felt too odd to even be a dream or rather a dream that he should be having. Iida's dream brain instantly began to ache upon trying to make sense of this situation, but maybe he should play along to see what torure he believed he deserved. Now which direction should he begin to crawl?

Before the teen could make up his mind on which way to go, he suddenly felt uneasy. Immediately Iida began to scan the endless horizons again, not based on any logical reason but on the tiny voice of instinct that helped early man survive a world of danger and monsters. Gray eyes peered across the endless flats until they came across a silhouette standing tall in a previously empty land. Iida froze up immediately upon seeing the newfound obstruction in the endless flats.

The silhouette would best be described as an indistinct blob of ink as any fine details, if there were any, seemed to be obscured by sheer distance between it and blob or what appeared to be a blob at a distance was something that could be described as a thing. Not very detailed but there are few words that Iida could mouth to fit an ample description of it. It would've been something that would've been ignored as some distorted feature in any normal circumstance, but here on the unending flats it stood like a sore thumb.

The crippled teen remained transfixed upon the bloch with squinting eyes that were trying to make out details that could give away its identity. He blinked…

Did it get closer? He blinked again, and the blob vaguely looked larger. Iida blinked again! It was gone?! The hairs on the back of his neck instantly stood up, and a pang of instinctual fear ebbed into the crippled teen. He frantically looked around while his breathing grew labored trying to find where the blob had gone.

"Look behind you.", warned the ugly voice in his head. Iida gulped down an apple sized knot in his throat as he reluctantly followed the advice of the voice. He was hoping that there was nothing there, but that wish proved to be a disappointment with the "thing" looming over him.

The thing was massive. It was at least equal to or even greater in size to All Might, and resembled the general humanoid shape but with some stark differences. For one was the fact that the body of the thing was covered in a dark bluish skin with lean muscles pressing against it from underneath. Its torso contained all the features of a human female but with way more pronunciation with their size and allurement. Oddly enough, the creature appeared to be wearing what appeared to be a plain white halter dress giving it a more intelligent and civilized aura than a beastial one.

The thing's long arms ended in a pair of webbed hands tipped with a set of knife-like claws, while its legs ended with a set of dinosauroid feet. It's head was shaped like a human's but was devoid of some of the normal features while also possessing altered versions of others. Like a set of black almond shaped eyes, two small slits for a nose, and a small lipless mouth with extending lines along the cheeks. But the most weird feature was the hair made of several thick tentacles along with a crown made of copper wire that held three jagged crystals together along the front.

It looked like a queen of some sci fi-fantasy race from an old video game, but it also strangely felt distinctly human at the same time. The crown and the dress felt out of place on the creature and yet they also fit in perfectly at the same time. While the humanistic features on it felt more like a mimicry on what a human should have, but the aquatic features didn't feel like they should belong either. The creature was simultaneously a familiar sight and alien at the same time, a contradiction in the world of the uncanny.

Almost instantly, the feeling of fear dissipated from IIda and instead was replaced with an indescribable empty feeling. It was as if there was a vast void of nothing inside him. This had gotten beyond weird and now had gone into the realm of absurdity! The teen wanted answers or at least whatever delusions his psyche was at least devising.

"What are you? Where am I?", Iida meekly prodded.

"..."

"Why aren't you answering me?", Iida barked with a waver in his voice.

"..."

Once again, the creature did not say or do anything, just merely stand there with its uncaring visage directed at him. Iida guessed it was expected that the creature couldn't speak, but even if it could, what would it even say? Yet, the thought didn't ease up any of the stress or frustration that was boiling underneath.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME!?", Iida shouted at the creature with all his frustration exposed.

It felt like the creature was mocking him by completely discounting him. Hell, what was he even thinking!? It probably couldn't even understand what he was saying, much less understand what he was going through. He didn't even know why he felt compelled to even talk to something that couldn't even…

"I know how you feel.", the thing said with feminine voice.

Iida's mouth dropped, more out of confusion than shack. "You can actually talk!?"

"Yes.", deadpanned the she-monster.

Iida raised an eyebrow, "Well, since you can, could you tell me…"

"Be silent.", She gently ordered. Iida instantly and unwillingly clamped his mouth shut while his eyes widened in horror. He waited tensely for something awful to happen to him but nothing ever did. All it did was stare at him.

For the briefest of moments, the creature's face furrowed into one of the most heart wrenching expressions Iida had ever seen before returning to its empty expression. The monster then began to close the space between it and the teen with a gait that resembled a bird's strut. Iida was instantly transfixed upon the hulking figure as it walked over to him, while his heart began to beat like a drum as the creature kneeled in front of him. It was still two heads taller than him while doing so. Iida felt extremely uneasy as he could see his reflection in its black eyes, displaying his pathetic state for the first time since waking up from the surgery.

"You are being torn apart by regret.", She replied, "Your spirit is in an endless war between a past full of mistakes and a future full of endless shame. You can never move forward."

"W-Wha-", Iida sputtered out, suddenly surprised he could speak again.

"Heed my words, for they are not the workings of a dream, for they are more real than you can imagine. Listen to them well and take them to their fullest for they are the only hope you have left.", the she-monster said with authority, "Make peace with your past and continue forward with balance, you will be set free from your regret."

Despite being so vague in the wording, somehow that bit of advice seems to make Iida feel lighter. But a lingering distaste still hung over the teen like a miasma of guilt and anger.

"It will be no easy task, but I believe there is something in you worth salvaging despite the grievances you gave to my kin. I can help you take back what was taken from you, namely your legs and quirk.", stated the she-monster, "In return, I only ask that you aid me when I or my kin call upon you? Do you accept my patronage, Iida Tenya?"

Everything about this seemed so crazy, but there was something about it that felt so real. Give his legs back and quirk? That was impossible, even with a host of the strongest healing quirks in the world. Nothing in the world could bring back what he lost, much less what he took from his family.

"You seemed to have doubts about me. Perhaps I should show you what I am capable of.", The mock Queen spoke.

The creature queen reached out and grabbed Iida by his right shoulder, and a painful burning jolted down his body and towards his leg. Iida squeezed his eyes in pain before shooting his hands to grab the stump of his left leg. Yet, instead of feeling a bandaged knub he felt the boney dome of a knee. The navy haired teen instantly shot his gaze towards his legs and rapidly opened his eyes…It was there! His leg was there! His calf engines! Everything was there! He could feel it there! If he could get it back then he could amend his mistakes!

Before he could get further ahead of himself, the she-creature let go of his shoulder and with it so did his leg disappear into oblivion. Iida found himself shouting while frantically scratching at the now empty spot where his leg once was. He remained frozen in place for a second before his anguish caught back up with. He let out a cry before breaking down into a sobbing mess. The she-creature made no move to comfort or ease him, and merely watched him

With tears lingering in his eyes and his hands lingering in the specter of his leg, Iida whispered meekly, "What do I have to do? What do I have to give? Please tell me what I must do to get them back!"

"What was broken can be reforged into something stronger, and I want you to show me you have what it takes to be the hero that Ingenium always was supposed to be. But you must prove to me that you could be a true hero without them. Do this, and I will restore your former self to its lost glory. Do you accept it?", she replied.

"I'll do it.", Iida said without hesitation, "I will prove that I am worthy of your gift and worthy of the name Ingenium."

"Good, now that pact is sealed and begins.", commanded the Sovereign," Then perhaps the Hero Ingenium could be reborn from the fire and ash he perished within. Now leave, and prove your will to your Sovereign and most importantly to your elder hatchmate."

The two stared at each other for only a moment, one with a blank caring and the other with shock. It felt like centuries in Iida's case, and in that instant Iida felt a fire ignite inside him. The Sovereign flashed him the smallest satisfied smile in the world before she slowly and deliberately raised her webbed hand and snapped its clawed fingers. And a sensation akin to falling suddenly emerged within the teen before Iida's vision finally disappeared in a deepening abyss.

The clacking of keys resonated throughout the humble office with an old man typing meticulously. The man was teched into complete and utter focus on his job, until a light rapping could be heard on the door.

"Ah, Kujo! Come in, come in.", said the old man, "It's been a while, but then again you get really engrossed with our patients

A man walked right into the room, and he was the spitting image of an overworked doctor with the bags under the eyes, sagging glasses, and the wrinkled coat. The man simply known as Kujo looked like he had swallowed a whole lemon with his expression. "Despite getting hurt, you somehow didn't have any of your annoying cheer. I figured some time being a patient would have dampened it."

"As serious as ever!", the elderly man said with amusement, "Well since we are on the topic of patients , how are things going with your latest charge? Your last report indicated a successful amputation, but was there something about his mental health that was concerning?"

"Ah yes, Iida Tenya, our former hero student turned vigilante.", Kujo said dryly, "His operation was a success, but it seemed that his mental state suffered as much as his physical state. We were debating about putting him on suicide watch at one point, but that was until recently."

"Recently? ", the older man questioned, "What condition was the patient experiencing until recently?"

"To put it bluntly, the boy was suffering depression and what appeared to be a rather bad guilt complex. At least that's what Dr. Akashi from the psych ward said.", Kujo paused to take off his spectacles, "He was rather withdrawn through it all. With no desire to eat, sleep, or even attempt to do some of the physical therapy. The boy seemed to be content with the idea of merely wasting away instead of recovering."

"So what did the ol' Kujo do to get this little guy back on his feet?", the old timer beamed with a grin.

"Nothing.", Kujo nonchalantly, "It was little too soon to prescribe him any medication for such an issue and Dr. Akashi had three patients ahead of him in greater need of her quirk than Mr. Iida. Honestly, I expected the worst possible outcome to happen with this kid, but that makes it all the more surprising when the exact opposite happened."

"A recovery?", the old man filled in.

"More than that, he is going above and beyond to not only recover but he now has a different mindset as well.", Kujo replied grimly, "It is as if he has a completely new look on life, he now views things as a life to be had after his injuries and not as the end of it."

The old man of the hospital paused in thought before returning to his work, "Well, see to it that our patient makes a full recovery. I want to see him out of here in good spirits. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir. ", droned Kujo, "Sir there's something else you need to know. The patients keep getting these weird necklaces or something. We don't know where they are getting them nor who might be giving them out."

"Are they doing any harm to the patients?", the graying man asked.

"No, they just look odd and they are unsettling the doctors with their random appearances. Is there something that needs to be done about them?", asked Kujo.

"No No.", he replied, "They're a good omen, and they help the patients heal the damage from within. Just have a little faith in them, will you Kujo?", the head doctor said while reaching for something underneath his shirt.

Mirai was having a stressful night. The hero was feeling ragged after spending hours dealing with all the paperwork and the fallout of Hosu. It was unfortunate that he couldn't use Foresight on himself to help him avoid such headaches, but quirks couldn't fix everything. The underground hero should count himself lucky that nothing in the future he saw came to fruition. The last thing he wanted was to lose one of his students to a vigilante that seemed to border on the line of a brutalizing animal.

Which brings up the subject of his latest headache: The Ghost of Musustafu. The incident at Hosu had made his job of recruiting the rogue nigh impossible. Injuring 20 heroes and police and crippling the number 6 hero for life are the latest bits of criminal offenses added to his record. A record that was growing with offenses seemingly every other week at this point.

The Hero Safety Commission had remained quiet on the matter, at least publicly. Mirai was certain that the Commission would likely send one of its dogs to go and deal with him, permanently. He didn't trust the Commission, and neither did the Government, and if the supposed rumors were true then the nest of vipers would do something drastic to ensure their power wasn't threatened. Even if they didn't send one of their rumored assassins after him, Mirai was certain that whatever that nest of vipers had planned it wasn't good.

The mainstream media had already called for his arrest after his botched battle with Stain. Now they were out for blood, decrying him as the biggest menace to society since Toxic Chainsaw. Yet, in all their calls for justice and self assured confidence that the Ghost of Musustafu will be brought to justice, there was an underlying element in their narrative. Mirai easily recognised it as fear. They were afraid of Ghost and the destructive power that he was capable of doing with seemingly no one that could stop him.

"No one but All Might and Salacia.", Mirai's thoughts reminded him.

If Hosu taught him anything about Ghost is that the vigilante appeared to hold both Hagakure and Yagi in high regards. Yagi makes sense due to the profound impact he had on the world, and no doubt that Ghost was someone who admired Yagi or at least respected him. What didn't make sense was why Hagakure also seemed to have this effect on Ghost. That's impossible, unless Hagakure is directly connected…

"Niru'ttu ma'ru na ka'lai it uk'iren! / I order you to stop!"

Mirai sat at his desk with a blank expression as his train of thought suddenly vanished. He remained as still as a statue with the ticking from his 10th anniversary All Might Clock being the only source of noise in his office. His jaw went slack as drool began to drip out of the corner of his mouth.

Thump Thump

Mirai moaned in pain as he groggily rubbed his eyes while slouching on his desk. The man soon rested his elbows on his desk while his hand covered his face. A small curse escaped his lips as he struggled to get coherent again.

"Did I black out?", he asked no one in particular, "Maybe I should see a doctor? The stress of this case might be a little too much for me."

"If someone of your experience was able to chase All Might around for as long as you did, then I would imagine I would be no problem by comparison."

Sir Nighteye froze on the spot, not daring to move from his position. There was no one else in the office right now, and he didn't recognize the voice as belonging to one of his team. But if there was an intruder then he would have at least heard them enter his office. It was as if the intruder had just appeared out of thin air. The only people he knew that were capable of such a feat were Kurogiri of the League and…

"Me.", said the Ghost of Musustfu.

Fear and panic surfaced on Mirai as his brain tried to crank out a plan, unless he was imagining things. Yes, maybe he was just imagining things, all the stress was probably just making him hallucinate. He was sure that if he were to take his hands off his face and look…

…

…

…

"If you are done gawking at me, Sir Nighteye, then I would like to have a discussion.", Ghost calmly stated, "And I won't do anything rash if you won't in return. So would you kindly take your finger away from the silent alarm underneath your desk?"

Sir Nighteye hesitantly pulled his hand away from the button, but kept his guard up and eyes trained in on Ghost.

"Thank you for your cooperation.", Ghost taunted, "Though, I can't imagine that this was something you expected."

"No, I cannot say that I have had the luxury of having the subject of my case come in for a casual chat.", Mirai said cooly, "Which begs the question: why are you here?"

Ghost somehow took a somber expression on his hooded face, "Is it too late for me?"

"Excuse me?"

"Is it too late for me to possibly join the ranks of the heroes through whatever rehabilitation program you have?", Ghost answered a bit forcefully.

Sir Nighteye nearly dropped his jaw.

"Look, I am not doing this for myself. Frankly, I think the hero system merely caters to the strong at the expense of the weak! I am more than content of staying a vigilante, but…", Ghost trailed off.

Ghost's hooded head seemed to droop as he paused, clearly searching for the right words.

"There was a boy at Hosu, Tenya Iida.", Ghost said somberly, "He managed to find the Hero Killer by himself, and tried to confront the villain."

Sir Nighteye already knew the details concerning the latest drop out of UA. "What does he have to do with your little visit?".

"I was hunting the Hero Killer as well, so I was surprised to see that he had beaten me to him. So I rushed to him, but as you know, I was caught before I could reach him on time.", Ghost paused, "He had no help, nor was anyone else aware of his situation. No one but me. And I thought, maybe if I wasn't a vigilante, then perhaps things wouldn't have ended as they did."

If Sir Nighteye hadn't been so practiced in maintaining a stoic visage, then he surely would have been shocked. But if he was anything, he was sarcastic. "Finally figuring out that actions have consequences?", he slipped out.

"The point is, Sir Nighteye, I want to become a hero. Not because of a selfish desire to fulfill a lost pipe dream. Not because I think I deserve to be one.", explained Ghost with a growl, "I want to become a hero so I don't take the heroes away from those who need them. How many people at Hosu got hurt because the heroes were too focused on taking me down!"

The vigilante began to steady his breathing, "So, I ask you Sir Nighteye, the lead hero in my case. Is it too late for me? Am I too far gone to become a hero or am I now considered a villain that needs to be apprehended?"

Sir Nighteye looked at the small figure before him and answered as best as he could, "I don't know, Ghost. Your actions at Hosu have made your situation rather precarious. Frankly, your rehabilitation case should've been dropped and your files should have been transferred into the database of dangerous villains."

Ghost didn't look sad or angry, he looked resigned, "I understand."

"But!", Mirai exclaimed, "There are powerful people that want to see you as a hero as well, and I am sure that you will be welcomed in our ranks. Especially given that you are willing to admit that your actions were not in the right. We can probably twist that into something akin to having an epiphany, provided you follow some stipulations."

Ghost seemed to perk up with the assessment, "What needs to be done?"

"Some paperwork concerning you and your situation needs to be processed in the state's bureaucracy, first and foremost. Which will take a long time even with a hero and a high government official hurrying the process.", Sir Nighteye explained, "The fastest we can get you processed would take about a month, and you need to attend a meeting with both Hero and Government representatives to finalize it."

Ghost's invisible eyes seemed to narrow, "Do I get a say in any of it or do I merely sign myself as a dog to the government?"

"Normally you wouldn't, but given your quirk's strength, I'd say that there would be room for negotiation.", Sir Nighteye added, "But that is what the meeting will be for at the month's end."

Ghost didn't look satisfied but seemingly grunted in annoyed acceptance.

"You will also need to lay low for the month and stop all vigilante activity, and if not, try not to break headlines again.", Sir Nighteye said in annoyance, "Does that answer your question?"

The hooded head of the vigilante raised his head slightly, "It does. But I would like to make some requests before I can agree to your terms?"

"You may, but I cannot guarantee that they will be granted.", Nighteye added dryly.

"Very well.", Ghost acknowledged, "First, I would like the meeting to be held on neutral ground for obvious reasons."

"I am sure that something could be worked out.", Mirai was quick to reply.

"Secondly, I would like to request that you keep me up to date with this process. Say, weekly visits like this should suffice?", Ghost added.

"Agreeable, request. I can do that provided that I am notified ahead of time.", Nighteye said in return.

"And lastly, due to my age and current lack of an education. I request that I be allowed to join a hero school as part of the rehabilitation program."

Sir Nighteye suddenly felt his headache get worse.

Spinner was giddy with excitement as he traversed the ruined alleyways of Hosu. His scales itched with an excitement that he hadn't felt since that old western rpg had been re-released for the 100th time. Why was this loner of a lizard-man here in Hosu? Quite simply, he was here to see the sight of Stain's latest purge. He wanted to see the scenes in which the fake heroes had been purged from society. He wanted to see the battlegrounds in which his idol fought the monster in white robes to a standstill, doing what both the number 6 and 2 hero failed to do.

But most of all he wanted to see if he could meet Stain. He held hope that he could, on some off chance, find his idol on the streets of Hosu and get the recognition that he deserved. But if not, at the very least he could 1-up the others on the forum with his visit to the latest site of Stain's crusade. He was going to be swimming in that sweet sweet Karma if anything.

"Ha! Wait till those losers get a load of me now! I'm about to go somewhere where they would piss their pants! I can't wait to see the look on their face when I become the Hero Killer's sidekick! Egg on their face for laughing at me!", Spinner thought to himself.

The lizard man apty and stealthfully ducked underneath the police tape that had sectioned off his destination. Spinner carefully looked around and ensured that an undercover cop or stealthy hero was watching him on the empty street. He crept with baited breath along the shadows of the alleyway before he came to the blood spattered scene of the crime.

For an alleyway that was marred with filth and grime, it was vibrant in a sick sort of way with the blood stains along the ground and walls. But Spinner wasn't interested in the grisly demise of another set of fake heroes. Instead he was interested in the rumored message that Stain had left before going dark. The message had yet to be revealed to the public and had been purposely censored from all journalists. This only made Spinner and the other forum posters even more curious about its contents. Spinner fantasized what the message could be alongside his forum pals on that particular channel. His gut told him it was about Endeavor and the multitude of crimes that number two had committed, but there was only one way to find out.

It took the lizard man a little while to find it, as it was a bit difficult to make it out in the low lighting and the splotches of blood. But after a painstaking job rivaling the translation of hieroglyphics, Spinner found his message.

You are next!

Spinner's smile instantly soured to a frown. Honestly, he may have overhyped himself in expecting the contents to be a bombshell, but this was a tad too disappointing. The human lizard let out a disappointed sigh before pulling out a battered cell phone to snap a few pictures for the forum. Unbeknownst to Spinner was a large ripple in the air that shimmered behind him. It made no sound or sudden actions before a tendril of water snaked from out of nowhere slowly towards the unaware lizard. Spinner didn't have time to yelp as the liquid limbs pulled into the maw of nothing that they emerged from.

...

When Spinner woke up, he saw that he was suspended upside down by his ankles. Not only that, but his arms and hands were also bound. If he had any distress about being tied up as he was he didn't show it, and attempted to try to struggle out of his bindings. But to no avail, Spinner was caught in the spider's web very securely.

His reptilian face contorted as if trying to conjure up ideas on how to escape. He thought of using his knowledge of video games to think of an escape. However, he was almost certain that quick time events don't exactly pop up when in a pickle.

"I don't really see many people dress up like the Hero Killer, and I especially don't see them wandering around at night.", proclaimed a familiar voice.

If it weren't for the fact that Spinner had religiously watched the Hosu video like 500 times, then he wouldn't have recognized the wispy low voice of his idol's arch enemy. He was there caught in the claws of the Ghost of Musustafu. Slowly, Spinner turned his head as far as he could from his bindings towards the source of the voice, and sure enough the notorious vigilante was there staring with his robbed face.

Upon instinct Spinner went gung-ho against the vigilante as any follower of Stain would. He was sure that he would've kicked his ass, if he hadn't been so tightly bound. So instead, he did the next best thing: And insult and talk down the monster that dared to try to stop Stain's crusade. He was certain if he tried hard enough, he would piss off Ghost with his verbal superiority and then Ghost would strike him down. Forever Maytring him as a true disciple of Stain.

Yet, no matter what Spinner said to the vigilante, nothing seemed to make him budge or move a muscle. All the cloaked villain would do was just stand there and watch the thrashing Spinner with an impassive void. By the end of his rant, Spinner was gasping for air while his eyes maintained their steady bulwark on Ghost. It took ten minutes for Spinner to verbally assault the enemy of his idol with every bit of the Hero Killer's preachings. It was all in the name of defending the Hero Killer and his righteous crusade against his enemies.

Yet, Ghost didn't seem to be fazed in the slightest, "Why do you admire the Hero Killer and his work?"

"What?!", Spinner shouted in confusion, "Isn't it obvious why anyone would follow Stain? He said tha…"

"No, I want to hear an answer from you, Shuichi Iguchi, and not from the dogma of the Hero Killer.", Ghost replied ignoring Spinner's shocked gasp, "Why do you choose to follow his tenants?"

"That's it?", Spinner replied with bravado, "You want to know why I follow the tenants of the Hero Killer Stain?"

Ghost merely nodded silently in reply.

"Easy! I…"

Shuchi paused, unable to say anything. At first he was confused as to why he was unable to give an answer to what should have been an easy question. Yet, he couldn't think of a single answer to why HE started following Stain. He felt as if Stain's ideals were the only thing in his life, but he didn't really know why or rather he didn't want to admit why.

"No answer?", Ghost spoked in resignation, " I cannot say I am surprised, given that you reminded me of what I once was."

Shuchi looked at Ghost with wide eyes, "Like you?"

"Yes, like me." said Ghost as he closed the space until his hooded head was just out of arm's reach, "I was someone who was alone and directionless, who had pipe dreams with no way of achieving them. I was shunned for being different from the others, and it made me cling to the one thing I thought I had a place in."

"H-How?", Shuichi said, shocked that Ghost's story was similar to his own.

Ghost looked at Shuichi with an age-old hurt on his hooded face, "It doesn't matter how I know because what matters is what should I do with you?"

Shuichi gulped as his throat suddenly felt very tight as fear invaded his mind for the first time in this encounter. Ghost's form began to waver as it began to take on a more fearsome image that the media had been portraying him as.

"Normally, I would just beat you up and leave you for the police and let them sort you out.", Ghost stated matter-of-factly, "But I doubt that they will do anything anyways. Given that dressing like a serial killer is not illegal nor is wandering the streets at night."

The vigilante's gaze seemed to bore down on Shuichi as he remained hanging upside down. The lizard man didn't know what to make of that look, but he would best describe it as analytical. He didn't know if that spelled anything good for him.

"Oh, I know what to do with you!", Ghost remarked with a toothy grin, "I'll consider it my revenge against the Hero Killer. Goodbye, Shuichi Iguchi. And may you enjoy the opportunity that I gave you, and know that I will be watching you from here on out."

Despite it sounding like a congratulatory remark, it was more akin to as if Ghost had just given him a death threat. Shuichi felt a chill run along his spine as the maw of Ghost spoke those words. Ghost then let out a deranged laugh as the liquid that had bound Shuichi began to engulf him. In a panic, he tried to struggle against the grip of the liquid but it did not halt the encroaching liquid. Shuichi screamed out but was muffled by the liquid as it devoured his head. Then, all Shuichi could see was an abyss of dark water.

Shuichi coughed out a mouthful of water as he found himself in an unfamiliar part of Hosu. The lizard man looked around before he realized he was soaking wet, and much of his Stain costume appeared to be washed away from the torrent of water that engulfed him. Shuichi began to pat himself down as if he were trying to see if he was still whole.

Shuichi let out a sigh of relief when every part of him appeared to be accounted for, which allowed the lizard man to see where he was at. He appeared to be at the mouth of another indistinct alleyway that dotted Hosu. At first Shuichi was confused why he had been dumped here, but any confusion was replaced with relief given that Ghost hadn't decided to kill him. Martyrdom or not, the idea of death scared Shuichi more than he expected. It brought a tiny sliver of doubt of whether he was an actual follower of Stain, ready to die for a greater cause, or just a loner with nothing else going for him.

The lizard man, who now felt exhausted, picked himself off the ground before beginning his trek back onto the streets towards the shabby hotel he had rented out for this outing. He was disappointed beyond belief for nothing going as he hoped, and wallowed in pity as he dragged his feet as he walked. However, his stroll was interrupted by the furious sound of rapid clicking which followed out by a stream of curses. Shuichi paused in his walking wallowing to look at the source of sounds that had interrupted his sulking.

Across the street was a woman dressed in a rolled-up white button-up shirt and black business skirt with a black blazer tied at her waist. She held out a camera and was trying to clearly take pictures of a wrecked building, but seemed to be doing a poor job of it. The camera would flash and she looked at the back of the camera, which resulted in her letting out a frustrated curse after examining the digital image. Her hair would flash between red and blue with each failed attempt.

Normally Shuichi would just walk past this person, seeing how her problems weren't any of his business. But something deep in his gut told him that he should go up to the woman and see what is wrong. Before he could second guess himself, he now found himself staring at the woman's back.

"Excuse me.", Shuichi said nervously, "Are things alright?"

The woman's gaze shot from her camera and towards Shuichi, her hair turning gray for a brief moment before it turned pink.

"Oh, um…yes…things are…not fine.", the woman gritted out before she slouched with her hair turning light blue, "I am just frustrated with everything."

"What's wrong?", Shuichi said with a reflex.

"I am trying to take some pictures for my job, but I was never really good with a camera.", she said with hair turning from pink to red, "Every photo keeps coming out wrong no matter what I do, and I keep relying on someone else to provide photos for each commision."

"What's so bad about that?"

"Besides, having to get my pay deducted for paying for those photos!", she shouted as her hair turned purple, "Or losing out on prime stories because I can't take a picture that isn't blurry! I actually lost my chance to publish my interview with All Might because every photo I took of him was awful!"

Shuichi jumped back wide eyed while the woman drooped with frown, her hair turning dark blue.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just that I have been having a stressful time trying to get these photos for my work.", she deflated.

"If you want, can I give it a go? Maybe I can take some pictures for you?", Shuichi offered while rubbing the back of his head.

The woman's hair turned dark orange before it flared blue, "Sure give it a go, I am sure even a baby could take better pictures than me. Heck, I wouldn't mind if you decided to snag my camera, at least then I would have an excuse for not providing photos."

Without any fanfare, the woman handed Shuichi the camera. The lizard man examined the camera for a moment and was surprised to see that it had the same design as a camera in one of the old video games he played. He subconsciously thought back to those times when he was nothing more than an outcast who passed the time by religiously playing video games. He somehow was able to learn how to drive by playing Car Stealers 15 everyday for a year-and-a-half, so hopefully his binge playing of Hero Snap taught him a thing or two about photography.

…

…

…

The woman was looking at the photographs that Shuichi had taken with a critical eye, her hair changed to an orange. However, her expression softened before her hair changed to a yellowish color.

"These…", she began before pausing, "Are great!"

If Shuichi's scales could change color, he would no about be blushing right now. "They can't be that great. I am sure someone else could take better photos."

The woman smiled, "They don't have to be perfect, but they are just what I needed. Thank you!"

Shuichi awkwardly stood there in silence as the woman continued to flick through his photographs. Her hair turned into a light shade of red when she stopped looking through the camera's collage. The lizard man, satisfied that his good deed was done, turned to resume his trek to the hotel.

"Wait! I never got your name!", the woman nearly shouted.

Shuichi turned around and gave a light bow, "Oh, sorry about that. My name is Shuichi Iguchi."

Surprisingly enough she returned the bow, " I am very thankful for your help Shuichi-san. I am Yamashiro Rinree, and I was wondering if you would be interested in being my permanent photographer?"

Shuichi's eyes widened, "You really offering it? Like for reals and no joke?"

"I do.", Yamashiro replied, "I'll have to work some things out with my boss, but I don't think it will be too much of a problem. So are you up for it Shuichi-san?"

Shuichi took a minute to ponder his options and weigh the pros and cons. Becoming her photographer would net in some much needed income for the lizard man, on top of the fact that he would be to travel where all the big events are happening. He has a chance at meeting Stain because of this! But with this job, it would mean that he wouldn't have time to devote himself to his Spinner persona. It would mean he wouldn't be the devoted follower of Stain that he proclaimed himself to be…but would that even be a bad thing?

…

…

…

"Yes! I'll do it!", Shuichi replied.

Todoroki sat in silence on the seats situated outside the principal's office looking at his feet as he tried to not think about his current predicament. The teen had his left arm bandaged and in a sling while half his face was also wrapped in white bandages. There was also a scattering of other bandages that covered pieces of his body from his injuries. He didn't know why he was told to meet the principal after school, but his gut told him that he was in trouble.

"It's because you got her killed and hurt all the others, my dear Shouto, like father like son! Even without his fire!", the warped voice of his mother whispered in his ear as a chill crept up his back.

Despite the defeat of Ghost at the words of All Might and Tooru, the nightmarish apparition of his mother still hasn't disappeared from his head. She mostly hid from his sight and he only caught glimpses of her in the periphery of his vision. She was as cold and horrifying as she was in Hosu, and her presence never made him feel safe or at ease. She also constantly haunted his dreams with her cold embrace, causing the teen to develop a pair of bags under his eyes from the insomnia.

It was only when he came back to school and in the presence of Hagakure did the specter of his mother finally seem to back away from him. But the moment the invisible girl finally left to go home, his mother came back in full force to haunt him. Her chilling aura brought back the unease and guilt in him. The younger Todoroki shivered as he tried to ignore the voice, hoping that Principal Nezu would hurry.

Right on que, the door to Principal's Nezu's office was opened by a tall, lengthy skeletal man in a baggy suit.

"The principal will now see you, young man.", said the man with a reassuring smile.

Todoroki got up from his seat and walked past the man and into the office. Insided seated at an old hardwood desk was UA's Principal. The small little mouse-bear with pristine white fur glared at Todoroki with a smile that screamed danger rather than comfort.

"Ah, Hello there, Todoroki-san!", Nezu said cheerfully, "How are you doing today, and would you care for a cup of tea?"

Todoroki would flat out lie to his school's principal if he answered with the generic "fine". Yet, he doubts that the principal will take him seriously if he replied with what was really troubling him. So, he opted to give the small animal incharge of his school an honest, but not entirely truthful response.

"I am doing as well as I am capable of, sir. Oh and no thank you.", He said in his usual monotone.

"Suit yourself!", Nezu said with a chuckle, "Good to see that you are taking things well, given the circumstances.", remarked Nezu, "In fact, I hear that you aren't the only one that has made a recovery."

Todoroki raised his one visible eyebrow, "What do you mean by that sir?"

"I am referring to an old Alumni of this school, who as of late was just sent to the hospital due to a confrontation with a certain vigilante.", Nezu said while sipping his cup of tea.

The chill on Todoroki's skin evolved into a burning cold. His unbandaged eye grew wide as he fought off the urge to shiver, "Is she okay?", he asked with melancholy.

"The exact details of her condition haven't been released to the public, but between you and me. She, against all odds, survived her encounter with Ghost. It is believed that she wouldn't have made it had you not saved her when you did.", Nezu firmly replied.

Todoroki instantly felt relief the moment he heard the news. The cold from his mother's specter dulled in his presence, allowing him to feel some warmth again.

"Now, Todoroki-san. I bet you are wondering why I called you into my office today?", Nezu asked, quickly changing the subject .

"Am I in trouble because of the raid, sir?", he asked truthfully even as the cold grew more bitter.

Oh, dear heavens boy, No!", Nezu said aghast, "You are not in trouble! In fact, I called you here because we are concerned for you."

Todoroki tilted his head in confusion before he fought off the chill that crept up his neck, courtesy of mother.

"Barring Mirko, several police officers and heroes reported something peculiar before Ghost went berserk.", stated Nezu, "It was a conversation you had with the vigilante that caught my attention alongside the reports of Hosu hospital staff hearing you say some interesting things while unconscious."

Shouto froze. His body went into overdrive with his heart racing while his arm and bandaged eye throbbed in pain. He didn't realize it, but his face contorted into a look of absolute horror. He could feel his monstrous mother behind him, wrapping her impossibly cold arms around his neck, threatening to strangle the life out of him.

Nezu had a resigned expression or at least one that could be allowed by his animal features. His black beady eyes spoke of an age-old pain as they stared into the heterochromatic eyes of Todoroki.

"Todoroki-san, do you feel safe at home?", was all Nezu asked.

Todoroki didn't know what broke first, the tears in his unbandaged eye or his stoic visage. All he knew next was the fact that he was kneeling on the floor of Nezu's office, barely able to breathe as his mother's cold grip tightened on him. His wounds from Ghost ached in a dull but sharp pain as years of bottled up misery came pouring out.

Everything became a blur after that. He remembers tearfully telling the principal all of his years being forged into Endeavor's masterpiece with the heartless and meticulous training. He remembers coughing uncontrollably as he told Nezu about the day his mother finally snapped. He remembers collapsing, mumbling that he needed Hagakure, while his mother's shrill voice screamed in his ears. He remembers being ushered into a bed in the schools infirmary by All Might-sensei, even as he kept ranting that he was a monster that only hurts everyone around him.

He remembers fading in and out of consciousness as the temperature seemed plummeted to the unforgiving cold touch of the void of space. He remembers seeing the face of his monstrous mother peer down on him, her black eyes uncaring and a mouth full of teeth etched in a gleeful grin. He shivered uncontrollably as no heat seemed to be able to pierce his body, only the coldest of cold seemed to enter him. However at some point, the cold that had been trapped inside him melted away as a warmth finally entered him when he felt two hands grasping his exposed uninjuried one. He weakly turned his head to see the invisible face of Hagakure staring at him with deep concern.

"Todoroki-san.", she said full of worry, "It's okay, things are going to be okay."

She was not prepared when Todoroki latched onto her and started to bawl his eye out.

Nezu stared outside his office window with his paws resting on his chin while his face was in deep thought. All was silent in the office until the sound of an opening door interrupted his train of thought. The mouse-bear turned to face the fully buffed All Might emerging from the entryway before he gently shut the door behind him. The moment the door clicked, an explosion of steam puffed from All Might before it dispaited, revealing his true skeleton form.

"Young Todoroki seemed to be doing better once Young Hagakure visited him, he was finally actually able to sleep peacefully when I left. Recovery Girl still has him hooked up in case he experiences another episode.", All Might said wearily, "Young Hagakure said that she will be staying at her boyfriend's house here in Musustafu in case she is needed further. "

"Quite the predicament, isn't it?", Nezu said in his same jovial tone, "To think of the lengths that one would go to surpass a rival, regardless of the consequences."

All Might paled, "Wh-What are we going to do, sir?"

Nezu flashed a toothy grin, "Simple, we are going to do our jobs as educators, and do what is best for our students. Todoroki-san needs to be taken out of the care of Endeavor, Number Two or not."

All Might shuddered at the beast standing before him.

"But for now, I will get the paperwork in order while you will go about seeing if there are any relatives that could take Todoroki-san in, or any people from the hero community willing to take him in if he has no relatives that aren't able to."

Despite the veil of darkness that had illuminated the room, Rumi couldn't sleep. As hard as she tried to shut her eyes and drown out the small specs of light from her medical machines, she just couldn't. But one could guess that it was only natural that she faced another sleepless night given the news she had been delivered by the doctors.

The bones in her legs and arms had been crushed, causing a massive amount of cuts and muscle tearing within her limbs. All of her ribs had been broken, and it was only by sheer luck that none of them punctured any organs. However, her worst injury by far was her broken spine. It had been broken in her lower back with two vertebrae cracked and one shattered in two. It was an injury that no healing quirk could ever fix, and as a result, she would never walk again.

Mirko died that night in Hosu with her failed attempt at toppling the Eldritch Villain, and all that was left of her was Rumi Usagiyama. A cripple that had no hope of ever having a normal life,who was nothing more than a shadow of what Mirko once stood for. She always imagined that her career would end in a blaze of glory, in which she would die fighting with no regrets. But the fight that crippled her was not that fight. In a cruel twist of fate, a rabbit like her had come into conflict with Ghost and arrogantly believed she was more than capable of defeating him. But the vigilante was no mere punk, but instead he was an apex predator who easily overwhelmed her and all the others with little effort. She paid the price for underestimating him.

Rumi squeezed her eyes shut as tears leaked from them, glad no one could see her in weakness. If she could move, she no doubt would begin to thrash and scream out! However, she couldn't. All she could do was sob quietly to herself while she was frozen in her casts and bandages as she mourned the loss of Mirko.

…

…

…

A bright shadow appeared in the periphery of her vision in the dark hospital room. At first she thought it was a nurse that had come in to check on her, but she didn't hear a door open or see the light from the hallway. It was as if the bright shadow had just appeared in the room. Rumi's head twisted to face the bright shadow, and squeezed her teary eyes towards the shadow.

It took a moment for the hero to recognize the shadow lingering in the room. It was short but its aura sent every hair on her body standing up in fear. It's bulky white body was dirty with ribbon-like tendrils on its form. While white head of the shadow had a face that was a black abyss that faintly held a mouth of shark-like teeth. The shadow was something that haunted her dreams in which it looked impassively at her as it squeezed the life out of her.

The Ghost of Musustafu.

Primal fear screamed from within as her animal instincts became instantly on edge. She vainly tried to move herself away from the figure, but her broken body wouldn't allow her to do so. Her breathing was pitched and fast and pained as her broken ribs struggled to expand. Panic thoughts filled her mind while her voice was lost in terror of seeing the figure. Her eyes widened unnaturally as her orange eyes teared up.

Ghost remained still as a statue, before he closed the meager distance in the blink of an eye. He was on top of her while she laid in the bed. He was looming over her as if he were an adult and she a child. In a swift motion, His sleeved arm grasped her chin and forced her face to look into the abyss he called a face. Rumi's ears drooped while her heart threatened to explode out of her chest.

The black maw of ghost leaned uncomfortably close to hers, "Mirko, you survived our battle?".

Rumi would've said something snarky had she not been too terrified to find her voice. The scent of iron and sea salt filled her nostrils, making her shudder unconsciously. Her broken bones ached with a throbbing pain as Ghost pressed his body against hers, not caring if the weight would damage her further.

"You are of sterner stuff than most, if you were able to survive the power of my strength.", Ghost buzzed, "I bet you want to know why I am here? You think I have come to finish you off?"

Ghost pulled her up by her chin to level her face with his blue clawed hand. Pain reverberated in her ribs as Ghost had forcibly moved her broken body to better face his black abyss. Tears welted from her eyes from the nerve frying pain as she tried to bite down on the agony in the face of her nightmare.

Ghost tilted his head in perplexity, "Don't be afraid. I am not here to hurt you, rather I came here to make amends to you. The brutality of our fight was the result of that boy, Todoroki, bringing me into a blind rage. And I lost…control…to say the least, but I suppose that feels hollow given your prognosis."

Those words made her heart stop for a moment before she vainly tried to shrink in on herself. Amends? Yeah right, more like to gloat over her while she was so vulnerable! The mere fact that he could get so close to her without any retaliation just pissed her off! In fact, She was also so pissed with herself for aching so weak in front of the villain, but at this point her rabbit instincts were probably the only thing keeping her his free hand, he began to gently stroke the top of her head. It did nothing to ease her nerves or hide the fear in her face.

"I just wanted you to know that I am sincere when I say this: I am sorry and it was not personal.", Ghost cooed, "Yet, you are a woman of action and such words mean nothing if one doesn't back it up with their own strength. So let me show you how sincere I really am."

Ghost then did the most unexpected thing Rumi ever could have guessed. He kissed her. Not a small light peck or simple contact on her lips. No, it was something akin to a french kiss. With his tongue, which was larger and longer than expected, he fully explored her mouth.

Rumi's eyes widened in surprise at Ghost's kiss. While her rabbit ears instantly straightened up and a deep red crimson color painted her face. A flurry of emotions and thoughts incoherently crossed her mind all at once. Surprised was the first of her emotions as she couldn't make sense of why the vigilante was kissing her, it left her befuddled and confused. Anger was next as she thought of it as one of Ghost's domineering gloating. She instantly thought of chomping down hard on his tongue, hoping she could bite off!

But her anger was brief as it was replaced by...Pleasure. A feeling of relief washed over Rumi the longer Ghost kissed her as if his saliva was like an addictive drug. Panic initially rushed to her as she venomously tried to deny the fact she was enjoying the kiss. However, such thoughts soon became overwhelmed by the growing euphoric feeling that swept aside all logic. Rumi fought back against it, but she eventually gave in to the feeling. She in turn returned the kiss to her visitor with her tongue eagerly snaking around his own tongue. The euphoric feeling only grew stronger as a result causing her blush to deepen and her heart to race faster than was humanly possible. A pleasant rosey warmth emerged in her burning bosom the more and more she got lost in the hypnotic entanglement!

Unexpectedly, Ghost broke away from her mouth and Rumi vainly tried to follow his movement to keep their mouths connected. A trail of saliva still lingered between their mouths before being broken when Rumi let her head fall on the pillow. She was a blushing mess with her ears drooping slightly. Her breathing was labored, and her body was shaking as she began to calm down from the sensational feeling. Rumi looked at Ghost with half-closed eyes as she suddenly felt sleepy.

In her eyes, Ghost no longer appeared to be a threatening, nightmarish figure. Rather, he looked more human and his presence no longer brought the fear of God in her. She felt strangely calm and safe in his presence now. His face was no longer a black abyss, but a light veil of shadow that obscured enough of his face to hide his identity. What little of his face that she could see was a mouth full of sharp teeth etched into an assuring smile with a set of cheeks with cute little freckles. Wait, why did she think they were cute?

"You will experience a lot of pain in the next few days, but you will come out stronger than ever should you weather its effects.", Ghost stated assuredly, his voice partially feminine, "Consider that the end of our grievances. Now go, and be a Hero that everyone could admire."

The rabbit hero took in everyone of Ghost's words, and doing so seemed to make her sleepier and sleepier. But she fought off unconsciousness enough to speak some words to her visitor.

"Thank you, Ghost-sama.", she weakly replied with affection. Wait, why was she thanking him? Why was she calling him Sama?!

However, such questions wouldn't be answered as she fell into unconsciousness. She heard Ghost one last time before descending into darkness.

"Why did it HAVE to be saliva, Mar'Ris!?", Ghost angrily balked.

"Thank you for calling me doctor. I came as soon as I could.", replied the red winged young man.

"It's no problem Mr. Hawks. I was expecting you to come a lot later given Endevor is still out of commission.", a balding man in a white coat returned.

Hawks for once didn't have the calm easy going vibe he was known for, instead he had a rare face of concern, "Yeah, but enough of that. You said there was something wrong with Mirko."

The doctor looked at a loss of words before speaking, "Yes! As you know, Miss Usagiyama's injuries were rather severe. Despite our best efforts, it was unlikely that she would recover enough to return to Hero work."

Hawks nodded. He was there to hear the doctor's assessment of his friend a day after her ill fated battle with Ghost. Bones nearly crushed into dust with lots of internal bleeding. If not for the miracle of the quirks in the field of medicine, Mirko would've died against the villain.

"Is she okay, doctor?", Hawks asked.

"Quite so!", the doctor replied, "But that's why I called you."

Hawks titled his head and crossed his arms, "What do you mean? Isn't getting better a good thing?"

The doctor gave the hawks an unreadable expression, "Let me show you."

The doctor led Hawks to the recovery ward section of the hospital, passing the numerous people that now filled this section of Hosu General Hospital. Each of the patients glared at Hawks with wide eyes as he and the doctor passed by. This continued until the Doctor led the hero to a set of double doors with a label that said: Weight Room.

After passing through the double doors, Hawks froze at the scene before him. Mirko was there in the gym, dressed in a loose set of hospital gown. And she was lifting weights with a smug smile on her face while the other patiences watched her in awe and amazement. It was as if she had not been so severely injured only a week-and-half ago.

"But, that's…", Hawks began.

"Impossible.", the doctor finished.

"W-What happened, doctor?", Hawks said as he continued to stare at the rabbit heroine.

"We don't know.", the doctor said honestly, "A few days after her surgeries, she broke down into one of the worst fevers I have ever seen. We first thought it was an infection and administered antibiotics, but they didn't seem to have any effect in easing the fever. It only got worse and worse as the days progressed, Mr. Hawks."

The doctor paused before speaking again.

"I cannot overstate how bad Miss Usagiyama got, Mr. Hawks. She was burning as hot as Endeavor and screamed out delusions and nonsense as we tried to help her.", the doctor added with a nervous tick, "On the last day of the fever, she went unconscious and her bodily functions slowed to the point of nearly stopping. We were convinced that Miss Usagiyama was going to succumb to the fever after that, but against all our predictions, the fever appeared to have broken during the night."

The doctor looked at Hawks with a combination of horror and befuddlement.

"We did an examination of Miss Usagiyama when she awoke and we deemed she was well enough to leave bed. And we were shocked to see that her broken limbs and internal injuries had been healed! Not only that, but any scars or remnants from past injuries and ailments were also gone! It was like she never had any of them to begin with! "

Hawk's jaw dropped. That made no sense! No one in the history of ever made a recovery from injuries like she had in that short amount of time, and much less in an unorthodox way! No! This was not at all possible even if quirks were at play in this situation.

"Doctor, do you think this was the result of a quirk?", asked Hawks.

The doctor looked at the number three hero with a haunted expression, "If it is, then it is on a scale I have never before seen. I shudder to think what aborant power would be able to do this if it wasn't a quirk."

While the doctor and the Hero had their conversation, Rumi beamed a smile to her fellow patients as she lifted a 200lb barbell with one arm high above her head. They clapped at the extraordinary feat of strength of the rabbit heroine and cheered her on to continue. None of them noticed a small pendant bouncing on her chest as she continued to show off her newfound strength. It was a small figurine roughly the size of a key, carved from what appeared to be ivory or bone. It depicted a strange cross between a fish and woman, but it somehow emitted an alien aura to its design. The idol of the fish-lady was also lovingly wrapped in a piece of white fabric that had looked like it had been torn off of a larger piece of fabric.

In between breaks, Rumi would unconsciously grab the figure with one of hands and twirl it between her fingers. A crimson blush would appear on her dark skin and a bright smile would form on her face as she did so. No one would have guessed that her recovery was the result of an angel that visited her in the night. No one, but her.

Wakkanai, Japan

The old haggard fisherman looked at the woman standing before him with a furrowed look on his face, and then to the bag full wads of cash she had offered him. It was more money than he had ever hoped to make while fishing these waters, and in fact it was enough for him to retire for three life times. It was honestly too much for something as simple as a trip to the Kurils. But that was what had made the whole ordeal unsettling for the old fisherman.

This woman, dressed like she belonged in some salary office, just came up to him asking for a ride to the Kuril Islands like it was a ferry ride. Never mind the storms that could just appear or the possibility of being caught by the Russians. Dangers like those aside, there was also something that the fisherman had seen in this woman one too many times. It was a small glint that sparked briefly in the green irises of this woman, and he had seen in the eyes of many other sailors before they jumped off the boat and into the black waters. The madness of the sea.

"Is that amount significant for a one-way-trip? Or do you require more?", the woman asked with a glinting smile.

"Unless, my hearing is going bad or you just misspoken, but did you say one-way?", the fisherman asked, confused.

"No, you hear me correctly. The trip is one way and I don't have delusions on what I expect to happen. But unlike the other unfortunate souls that ventured there, I have faith that my lady will protect me."

"A religious fanatic, great!"

He immediately wanted to tell the woman that he couldn't do it and go find some other boat to ferry her. But the temptation of having so much money was just something that he just couldn't let go.

"No, that's enough. We leave first thing in the morning.", the old fisherman, "Be ready by then."

The blue skinned woman let her grin turn to a toothy smirk, "It's no problem, afterall I can wait. Besides, my Lady is busy with the others right now, and I am sure she can wait..."

Chinese-Mongolian Border

"Name, age, and quirk..", said a man with a pristine uniform with a bored tone.

"Sonam Gyatso, age 81, and my quirk is translating. It allows me to read and speak any language, both dead and living languages.", an old man dressed in traditional Buddhist robes said with a jovial tone.

The official raised an eyebrow at the man, but said nothing as he looked through the paperwork provided by the man. Passports from Mongolia, the Russian Republic, The United States, the European Union, India, and Japan. Citizenship from all of those named countries as well as several bachelor degrees and three master's degrees in language. No criminal record to speak of.

"Reason for crossing the border?", droned the official.

"Just passing through, my true destination is in Japan.", replied the man, "I am going on holiday to do some exotic fishing."

The official looked at the old man with a rare look of inquisitiveness. He thought about probing him for further information, but decided against it. He doesn't get paid enough to listen to the whole life story of every sorry-ass traveler that tries to get past this gate.

"If he really is going where he says he is, then the border guard in Japan can deal with the paperwork.", he thought offhandedly.

Without a second thought, the official stamped on his passports and other documents before slipping them back to the old man. He then pressed a button causing the gate to lift up allowing access to the old man.

"Your entry has been approved. Stay out of trouble while in China.", warned the Official, "Next!"

With that the old man shuffled past the gate with a grin on his face, while another person took his place at the official's booth.

Chapter Text

Amid the towering behemoth of a building, rested a single office on the very top of the east wing of a skyscraper. There were large clear windows that enabled the occupants to get a superb view of the surrounding area. It had enough room to house several pieces of furniture and had enough space to enable people of most sizes to sit comfortably in it. The room was also equipped with the best of the best when it came to technology both in terms of luxury amenities and beasts of administration. All in all, it was a room befitting for the top CEO of a Corporate Empire that spanned the globe.

However, said room was nothing of the sort as its sole occupant sat at the large mahogany desk whilst they were diligently typing away at a high dollar laptop. The individual working away was also an oddity in his own right as the clicky clack of the computer keys made the only noise in the room. Seated at the desk was a tiny figure dressed in an immaculate business suit with a sweater vest, bow tie, and fine dress shoes. The figure dressed in these clothes was no mere human, instead the creature in this office suite with the suit was none other than the animal hero known as Nezu. 

The mouse-bear creature’s face was as crunched in concentration or at least as far as his animal face could allow, nose deep in a computer monitor. On the monitor of his personal computer was a hodgepodge of pdfs, video files, and pngs that were all messily thrown about the screen. All the while Nezu’s black eyes scanned the contents of the screen with intense interest. 

“Just what are you, Ghost?”, Nezu said to himself as he continued his work.

Ever since the USJ the animal principal had been borderline obsessed with the vigilante, and that had not only because of the power he displayed at the incident. Rather it became interested in Ghost at the climax of the battle, where his most powerful form manifested. Nezu paused from his work to reflect upon what he felt during that moment. 

Danger. Fear. Run. Hide

Upon retrospect, such notions weren’t based on any logical reasoning but rather on the most basic of animal instincts. Even now, as he stared at images of the Ghost’s form he felt a tiny tingle in his very being, warning him to stay wary of such a creature. Illogical, for these were merely images on a screen and not the real deal, but Nezu wasn't too keen to ignore such things on the basis that they might provide insight that was hidden to everyone that was only human. 

But beyond the basics of self preservation, there was nothing to note from the animaline side of the matter. 

Luckily for Nezu, High Specs allowed him to be far more perceptive and intelligent than any human, and along with increases in these traits, Nezu could digest information at a rapid pace. The mouse-bear chuckled to himself as his famous party trick of flipping through an instruction  manual and then reciting it word for word came to mind. A crude use of his quirk, yes, but one that showed its potency in an easy to understand manner. But enough fun, time to resume the monotonous working of shifting through blotches of information. 

…

…

…

The sound of knocking made Nezu jump out of his stupor with his tail twitching and his nose wriggling in irritation. The principal of UA turned his head to face the door to where the noise had originated from. He stared at it blankly before turning back to the web of documents on his screen. Specifically, a partially declassified dossier from the Soviet Union that supposedly was a geological survey done in the pre-quirk era.

Монарх Экспедиция, остров Сахалин, “Молдавия”, Июнь 17, 1959.

Monarch Expedition, Sakhalin Island, “Moldova”, June 17, 1959. 

Nezu blinked as he stared blankly at the rabbit hole he had fallen into whilst researching a vigilante. Documents pertaining to a forgotten scientific expedition written in the pre-quirk age under the brutal regime of a one party state? It made no sense, but the data analyzed by High Spec pointed towards these declassified papers. Even with most of the information on the dossier being omitted from the pdf, this should have nothing to do with a vigilante who first appeared on the streets mere months ago.There had to be a reason for this! Maybe the documents…

Nezu’s train of thoughts was interrupted as the sound of knocking reverberated once again, this time a little bit harder. The mouse-bear flicked his tail in irritation before putting on his professional voice and speaking into the microphone on his desk, “You may enter.”

The door swung open to reveal a bedraggled Aizawa standing in the entryway with his usual slouch and unkempt appearance. Aizawa’s eyes flickered to Nezu before the homeless-looking hero strutted in the office, closing the door behind him. 

“Ah, Aizawa-san!”, Nezu said with his usual over-friendliness, “What brought you here so late?”

Aizawa looked at Nezu as if he had grown two heads, “Sir, It’s 4 in the morning. You know when I finish my patrol and report for the school day.”

Nezu held his poker face even as his best teacher raised his eyebrow at him.

“Did you stay here all night on the computer?”, Aizawa said accusingly. 

“It appears that I did.”, Nezu admitted, “It seems that I got a little engrossed with my research.”

“Research on what? If I may ask?”, Aizawa probed. 

Nezu hesitated, “On Ghost.”

“The vigilante?”, droned Aizawa

“Is there another one that we aren’t aware of?”, Nezu piped mischievously

Aizawa rolled his tired eyes, “The last thing we need is another one, and especially if no one can finally get their act together and catch him.”

Nezu’s ears twitched at Aizawa’s comment, “For someone who is credited with saving your life at the USJ, one would have pinned for Ghost to be recruited.”

Aizawa paused to look out the window and into the dark early morning, “Yet, he very nearly killed one of my students, or at the very least maimed one of them into early retirement.”

“Ah Yes, it was fortunate that Miss Hagakure was there. Otherwise, Todoroki wouldn’t have been so lucky.”, Nezu said somberly.

Aizawa didn’t look any happier from that comment, “It was a reckless thing to do to confront a wildcard like Ghost.”, Aizawa almost snarled, “Confronting him would’ve been like running head first into the middle of a typhoon, and trying to talk it down with equally predictable results nine times out of ten.”

 Nezu’s ears twitched once again as a metaphoric ding chimed in his head. A sign that High Specs made a connection and within milliseconds that information registered with Nezu’s mind. 

He paused for a moment to digest the information, “An interesting analogy, considering such a reckless move for anyone else would result in disaster no matter the circumstances. But I believe that there was more to that confrontation than meets the eye.”

Aizawa raised his eyebrow again, “What do you mean?”

Nezu paused as his quirk worked itself inside his little skull until it formulated a missing piece of the puzzle,”I believe that Miss Hagakure’s confrontation with Ghost wasn’t mere coincidence, and that our student was intentionally trying to confront Ghost.”

 Aizawa tilted his head, “What are you proposing?”

“If the reports are to be believed, then the final moments of the fight indicate that Ghost went berserk and attacked everything that moved. He showed no mercy to those he targeted and caught.”, Nezu said somberly, “Under that logic, Miss Hagakure should have been nothing more than another casualty, unless he had a compelling reason not to hurt her. Such as the two having a personal connection.”

Even with his face half hidden by his hair and scarf, Aizawa failed to hide his surprise when the dots seemed to finally click together. “Let’s say that your theory is true, and Hagakure knows Ghost. How deep would this connection go between the two?”

“Based on my analysis of the evidence at hand, I estimate that such a relationship at its minimum would be that of best friends, on a similar scale to you and Yamada-san. But there is a strong possibility that the two might be romantically involved.”, Nezu stated with excitement. 

“Sir, I think that idea is a bit of a stretch? Friends or allies maybe? But lovers?”, Aizawa interjected, “Perhaps, Ghost was solely focused on Todoroki after he said those choiced words. Other villains have been known to do such things.”

“Which is a fair assumption in itself, plenty of villains ignore civilians and such in favor of someone they perceived to wronged them. Yet, your comparison to Ghost being a storm is an apt metaphor for he is known to be volatile and unpredictable in which side he wishes to fight.”, Nezu explained, “Which makes it all the more interesting to see Miss Hagakure choose Salacia, the name of the roman goddess who calmed the sea when Neptune went into stormy rages. A peculiar coincidence, don’t you think?” 

Aizawa grew uncomfortable as the words came out of Nezu’s mouth, “If this theory is true, then there would be a possible route of finding out the identity of Ghost.”

“Indeed, Aizawa-san.”, Nezu said with a toothy grin, “But do you want to know the best part?”

Aizawa’s poker face held even as Nezu’s was twisting into the gleeful sadist.

“I know for a fact that Miss Hagakure has a boyfriend, and I think we should take a look into this individual and see who he really is?”, Nezu said with a smirk.

Todoroki stared blankly at the television as the media went absolutely ballistic with the current story running on the news. It was all about his family or rather his former family given what had happened. He already knew what was being shown on the screen but was watching some pompy haired anchor air his family’s dirty laundry to the public helped distract him from his mother’s cold presence. 

Everything felt like a dream to him the more he lingered on things. To be taken away from  his father, to be free of his cruelty, to be free of his shadow. It didn’t feel all that believable to Todoroki. And yet, it was most certainly real, and not a fictional delusion. 

“Shoto, you really think you are free?”, an icy voice whispered behind him, “Your father’s sins are your sins, and you can’t escape. You can never escape.” 

Todoroki shivered at his mother’s words, and hoped that Hagakure would hurry. Yet, he couldn’t shake off what his mother had said. He wasn’t free. He had no path, no future, no purpose. And it was difficult to shake off the idea of being a hero, an idea that was decided for him before he was even born. Yet, did he even want to be a hero anyways or did he want to find his own way? He did not know what to do. He was lost. 

Mina let out an annoyed groan as she escaped the confines of the dark abyss that was school. She slouched as she walked with bags of tiredness underneath her black eyes while her book bag was draped on her shoulder with only one strap. Her brain felt like a mashed banana as she trudged robotically down the stairs of UA High. 

The last two weeks had been gearing up for finals, which would be taking place all week next week. To say that it was exhausting would be an understatement to all the physical training and studying she had to do outside of school, on top of all their usual work. It was hell for someone like her, as she vainly tried to cram all the information she could inside her skull, but she knew she needed to have a break when she looked at  Mr. Aizawa. And he looked like a Pythagorean Theorem formula dressed in hobo clothes. 

So, for the sake of her sanity, Mina decided to take a few hours off of studying to recharge her batteries. Normally she would just head home and blow some steam off in the comfort of her room by playing video games or watching gossip tv. But an animalistic growling coming from her belly quickly changed her plans. Instead the teen opted to get something to eat before taking the train home. 

Yet in a twist of fate, class 1a’s social butterfly found herself taking the trip alone. Her go-to friends of Tooru and Kirishima had declined her invitation to go and socialize over some food. The invisible Tooru frantically apologized as she explained that she was currently too busy and couldn’t really spare a moment afterschool. Kirishima declined the invitation stating that he needed to study, but his downright depressing aura stated otherwise. No matter how much egging she tried, Kirishima would not budge. Seeing her friend like this tore a hole in her heart, especially since nothing she tried seemed to help.

As a result, Mina patrolled the streets alone with a heavy heart and a lot on her mind. Such was her inner turmoil that she wasn’t even aware that she had stepped inside a quaint little shop until one of the servers spoke to her. The lobby was a brightly decorated room with a few frilly chairs lined up against the wall with many tapestries, pictures and potted flowers decorating the empty spaces. A white table cloth was draped over the counter with an old fashion looking register along with a few baskets of candy. Mina digested the scenery in the room taking all of its colorful splendor, that was until a loud and terrified squeak took her out of her spectating.

Mina locked onto the source of the voice and was beholden to a tiny red haired lady dressed in a maid themed uniform standing in front of some double swinging doors. Her eyes were wide with fear while her lip trembled the longer Mina stared into her. A pang of guilt swirled inside the pink skinned girl as she awkwardly tried to put on a reassuring smile on the lady she inadvertently scared. This only seemed to make the lady even more terrified as her eyes began to welt and her hands began to noticeably tremble. 

Before Mina could utter an apology to diffuse the situation, another figure emerged from the set of doors. The figure was way taller than the lady he stood behind, but they were not much taller than she was by comparison. The figure was a boy who looked close to her age but it was a little hard to tell with the butler themed uniform he was wearing, which made him look older. He had a rather exotic look with freckles and a pair of blueish-green eyes. His hair mimicked the same color as his eyes and it was combed neatly as well. 

“Ah, a customer!”, the boy said in an excited yet friendly voice, “Aiba-san, why don’t you let Mr. Tobita have a guest, while I will show her to a table and get her set.”

The boy then flashed a smile that was awfully contagious, yet somehow hid a more predatory connotation behind its cheerfulness. The tiny red haired lady, Aiba, mutters a quiet acknowledgement before scurrying off behind the swinging doors. The boy then turned to face Mina, his odd blue-green eyes boring into her.

He gave a light bow, “I am sorry about Aiba-san, she is a little shy and doesn’t do well with new people.”

“Oh no, I should be the one apologizing!”, Mina replied with wide eyes, “I didn’t mean to scare her! If it's not too much you wouldn’t mind passing an apology from me to her.”

He smiled again, without any predatory threats this time, but this time Mina caught a glimpse of his sharp teeth. “I’ll see to it that she does. Now, if you don’t mind, may I get your name so I can show you to your table.”

“My name is Mina Ashido, and could I get a table close to a window?”

“I think that can be arranged. Follow me, Lady Ashido.”

Mina couldn’t help it when her pink face turned scarlet. 

Izuku didn’t know what he did in his past life to deserve any of this. Despite having a literal goddess as a quirk, who was also a friend and a family member, he still believed that some divine force had it out for him.  No, if he was being honest Izuku was certain that some far off and forgotten divinity took it upon themselves to make his life as hard as possible.

To be fair, Izuku mainly blamed Nighteye for his predicament when he suggested he lay low in between now and the meeting. But such a task was easier said than done. It wasn’t due to the fact that Izuku couldn’t do it, oh no, he thought that he could resist the urge to prowl the streets at night, but suddenly dropping an activity he had done practically non-stop for months left the teen stir crazy almost immediately. 

He tried to ignore it at first, but things predictably got worse with his restlessness. Tooru had to put her foot down on the entire manner when she learned he spent a whole night awake, staring out his window using all his will power to leap out the window and into the night. She promptly stomped on any smoldering embers before they could grow stronger, and gave Izuku an ultimatum to find something to occupy his time. As such, Izuku found himself in his current predicament. 

“Izuku-san, Table 6’s order of pastries and tea are ready!”, said a gray haired man with a mustache and goatee. 

“Yes sir, Tobita-san!”, Izuku replied while taking said order on a silver tray. 

Tooru’s ultimatum was simple: Find a way to occupy yourself that doesn’t involve vigilantism or else there would be consequences. Whatever threat she implied was enough for Izuku to get to work finding something to keep him occupied. His search bore fruit when he discovered the hidden gem in the form of a cafe that he visited every once while had a help wanted sign. One interview later and demonstration later, Izuku found himself as an employee of the Lady’s Cup.

The job seemed simple enough. Bring food to customers, clean tables, put on a friendly smile etcetera, etcetera. His co-workers were also friendly and nice which was a bonus. Mr. Tobita was a giant of a man that took his business very seriously, but had a kind heart underneath his stoic front. He also had a tendency of being clumsy, but the man really knew all the intricacies of making tea and what bakery went best with it . Meanwhile, Aiba-san was a tiny woman who was more skittish than a mouse in a cat cafe. Izuku didn’t see her do much aside from registar work and tech support for the various electronic devices the cafe had. She hadn’t said much to Izuku beyond a few words here and there, but he supposed that she will become more outgoing with him once she gets used to him. 

As a result of the dynamic of his two coworkers, Izuku found himself as the sole waiter of the establishment. As Aiba-san’s shyness prevented her from having face-to-face conversations with people, despite the fact that she can work perfectly fine while hiding behind the registrar. At first, Izuku didn’t know why Mr. Tobita didn’t work as the waiter on top of being the chef, considering the actual kitchen work was light in this type of establishment. But he soon realized that Mr. Tobita was clutz with a capital C, at least when he tried to show Izuku the ropes. Day One of the job, and four broken teapots, six plates, and two cups shattered before Izuku could practice with them. And liberal uses of the mop and pail as well to clean up a lot of spilled tea showed Izuku exactly why Tobita didn’t wait tables.

Despite the numerous setbacks, Mr. Tobita was satisfied with Izuku when he finally got to see what he was capable of, and thus Izuku was set to start the following week. He was given a uniform, themed after a Victorian butler, and his weekly schedule as well.  Izuku went home that day with a big smile on his face and pride in his chest. 

When he told the women in his life about the news, they each reacted accordingly. His mother burst into a stream of tears that obviously caused him to start crying as well. Mar’Ris was a different case, first he had to explain what a proper job was to her and then he had to explain what a waiter does and why. But by the end of it, he ended up in a spine breaking hug by the larger alien woman, with her being proud of his achievement as well as looking so adorable in his uniform.  

Tooru was unfortunately unable to really talk much when he got his job, given that she was currently in the middle of school finals. The brief moments he walked her to school in the morning showed him enough that she was running herself ragged with all the studying. So, he opted to be the supportive boyfriend and did his best to help her out as best he can. Even if it was something as simple as carrying her book back for her in the morning or providing her with a morning cup of coffee or even just an ear to listen to her vent her frustrations out . It wasn’t much, but his heart always fluttered in happiness when he saw Tooru smile.  

Izuku nonetheless took the job on with his full might, giving it the 110% he puts into everything he does. So he donned his victorian themed uniform and straightened his unruly hair and walked into the cafe to begin his job. Things went swimmingly at first with Izuku doing his duties diligently and efficiently. But then came a problem he never expected to face when dining tables.

“One order of moshi and English Breakfast fresh from the kitchen.”, Izuku exclaimed with a smile as he set the silver tray down on the table, “Can I get you ladies anything else?”

“Oh, I think we are fine for now, Zuzu-san.”, cooed a girl in an UA highschool uniform.

“Yeah, but we’ll let you know if we need anything? Right, Hina-chan?”, said a girl with feathers for hair while she nudged a small girl with milky eyes.

“Y-Yeah.”, she stuttered with a blush on her face as she tried to look away from him. 

There was always a catch, wasn't there? It turns out that the Gentleman’s Cup was the semi frequent outing of many of UA’s female student body. However, with the latest edition of a young handsome boy dressed as a butler, it seemed to make the place surge in popularity on a scale never before seen in the quaint little shop. 

Normally the mere notion of a girl flirting with him would usually leave him red faced and flustered, but after a few days of repeatedly getting hit on by school girls he more or less got used to it. His first real challenge came when a much older woman came barging into the store near closing time. She was dressed in a crumpled up set of office clothing with a pair of red glasses. Upon entering the store, Izuku could smell the scent of alcohol from several feet away, along with the fact she slurred her words.

The woman, whom he thinks called herself Nemuri, spent the better part of a half-hour lamenting in slurs about the plights of a single 30 year old woman. She then tried to miserably ask Izuku if he would be willing to hook up with her, after she spent 10 minutes silently eyeing him up like a piece of candy. When he declined the invitation due to a number of reasons, he then had to deal with over 20 minutes of crying and one pool of vomit before he called a cab to take the poor woman home.    

After that particular incident, Izuku was sure he would be able to handle any woman that walked through the shop’s doors. But once again, he was soundly proven wrong as a menacing aura  seemed to be directed towards his back. An unconscious shiver ran down his spine as a result of this unsettling presence. Instantly, Izuku knew exactly who it was and he didn’t need to look behind him to know that Tooru was there. 

He knew that she was still dressed in her school uniform sitting at a non-descript table with a pot of tea that she would only take a few sips from. Instead, she would use her quirk’s key ability to keep an eye on him or rather to make sure no girls would push boundaries with her boyfriend. The result of her bestie going in vivid detail on what she wanted to do with Izuku.

It took all of Izuku’s discipline as a vigilante to keep his smiling face neutral while he gave the trio a slight bow before hurriedly heading back towards the kitchen. It was only then that Izuku let his face fall into a weary frown once he was safely behind the doors. Izuku wiped the heavy sweat that dripped down his forehead as he let out an exhausted sigh. 

Mr. Tobita looked up from the pastries that he was glazing with icing and his eyes bore into Izuku with what can be described as amusement. 

“They can be quite the handful can they?”, He said sagely, “Even more so when you have your own to go home to.”

Izuku looked at his boss with weariness, “Sir, can you please not do this?”

Tobita smiled mischievously, “So which one is she?”

When Izuku didn’t respond Tobita’s grin turned into a devilish smirk, “Come on my boy, don’t be so coy. Unless you want me to go to each table and ask?”

Izuku frowned before blushing in embarrassment, “T-Table 5, sir.”

“Ah, the invisible one? I must say Midoriya that I never took you as a romantic type? To love one that cannot be seen! It’s almost story-like.”, Mr. Tobita exclaimed with a poet’s flair. “What’s her name?”

Izuku looked away from his boss before mumbling out his girlfriend’s name. Mr. Tobita nodded as Izuku spoke indicating that he somehow was able to discern it despite Izuku’s attempts to hide it.

“Well, that’s enough fun for now. There’s work to be done and we shouldn't dally anymore.”, Mr Tobita said, returning to his usual eccentric self, “But first, what kind of sweet does she like, lad?”

“She likes caramel.”, Izuku said automatically.

Mr. Tobita turned to reach towards a rack of finished pastries and picked up one of the caramel cakes. He loaded the pastry on a tray with all the usual flare but added some additional decorations.

“Remember, to all the other girls you are merely a butler to treat them as princesses for a short time. But to MIss Hagakure, you are HER Gentleman. Never let her forget that.”, Mr. Tobitas said seriously.

Izuku digested what his boss said before he lost the weariness in his face. He took the tray and left without saying anything. Mr. Tobita couldn’t help but smile.

“What if I fail and can’t go on the summer trip?! Or will I have to take remedial classes with Mr. Aizawa?! Oh man, I am going to die today Izuku, I know it!” Hagakure exclaimed, her eyes furrowed in dread.

Izuku held his tongue and listened to his nervous girlfriend as she vented out of the worries she had accumulated throughout UA’s finals week. She had been a wreck throughout the week, having to take a final exam each day for one of her classes which accumulated to singular practical exam on the final day of the school week. All with the simple caveat that failure means losing your position in the hero course at worst and remedial classes during summer at best. It is safe to say Hagakure’s future is at stake. 

“I am sure you will do fine.”, Izuku reassured, “If you that worried then I can get Mar’Ris to help you out. She could surely give you an advantage.”

Hagakure tilted her head, “But Izuku, wouldn’t that be cheating?”

“I think it will be more like creative use of quirk mechanics.”, Izuku said with a grin. 

Hagakure rolled her eyes at the boy who was more than loose with his definition of illegal and legal. “Easy for you to say, fish-boy. You don’t have to study and you get paid for your work already.”

Izuku frowned, “I wouldn’t exactly say that I enjoy getting ogled at by girls all day as a good thing. I’d rather take your exam.”

“You say that now until you take a test made by my teachers.”, Tooru said with a shudder, “I think I would rather get ogled by girls all day.”

The two remained silent until they both bursted into laughter at the sheer ridiculousness of their own statements.The laugher abated when the the two resumed their short stroll, this time with Tooru and Izuku locking arms with each other. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you after school?”, Izuku aked.

“I am fine, Izuku. As much as I would like you to spend the afternoon with you, I am gonna have to pass.”, Tooru answered, “But I don’t want to leave you all by yourself tonight.  

Unknownst to many, save for Izuku and Mar’Ris, Hagakure’s invisible face betrayed the stress she had been dealing with the past two weeks. Her elven face was sunken and pale while dark bags hung limply under her eyes. Izuku looked at his girlfriend with concern before begrudgingly accepting his fate.

“Oh don’t worry about it, Tooru. I bet Mar’Ris is more than willing to keep me company while you catch up on the lost sleep.”

The invisible girl raised an eyebrow, “Can I trust you two to not get into trouble?”

Izuku smiled sheepishly at her, “It was only one time…”

“Izuku…I am being serious.”, Hagakure warned.

“So am I, Tooru.”, Izuku replied, “We’re not like that anymore, and we certainly don’t go looking for it anymore..”

“I know you’ve been on good behavior lately, but I also know that trouble loves to gravitate towards you.”, Hagakure said with a seasoned experience, “I am just worried that you’ll spoil your chances, just promise me you won’t do anything reckless.”

Izuku hesitated to reply as a million different scenarios played in his head, and each of them involved donning his robe and becoming Ghost again. Out of sheer necessity of course. Hagakure was quick to notice her boyfriend’s hesitation and pounced on his indecision.

“Can you promise me, Izuku? Can you do this for me? Please?”, Hagakure said as she nuzzled his shoulder while squeezing his arm a little tighter. 

Izuku blushed as he caved in to his girlfriend’s charm, “I-I am sure n-nothing will happen, but I think I can do that.”

Hagakure smiled as she inwardly fist pumped in victory at all the girls in the cafe, “You’re the best Zuzu!”

Izuku’s face turned a deeper red at that comment. He pulled at his shirt’s collar before letting out a nervous cough, “So, when you pass your exams when will your summer trip start?”

“Mr. Aizawa said we will be leaving a week after exams on Friday.”, Tooru stated.

Izuku frowned as he mentally checked his dates and came to a simple realization.

“My meeting with Nighteye will be on Sunday.”, Izuku stated.

With that Hagakure’s chipper mood was immediately spoiled, “I am sorry, Izuku. I didn’t realize…”

“It’s okay Tooru.”, Izuku interrupted.

“But, It’s the day you’ll be joining us, heroes.”, Lamented Tooru, “I should be there for you.”

“Tooru, I said it was okay. I don’t want you to skip out on this trip for my sake.”, Izuku assured, “Besides, I’ll probably be joining you next year on it anyway.”

Tooru paused as the realization dawned upon her, “You don’t mean?”

“I do.”, Izuku said with a smile. 

Hagakure didn’t even think twice about jumping up and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. Izuku returned the hug by grasping her lower and lifting her feet off the ground for a moment. Tooru showered Izuku’s face in kisses as she expressed her gratitude, while his face turned a deep crimson. 

“How were you able to do it?”, she murmured in his ear.

“I guess it helps when All Might is sponsoring me in all the paperwork.”, Izuku murmured back. 

Tooru made a mental note to send All Might-sensei a gift basket when everything is all over. For now, she merely wants to get lost in Izuku’s warmth. 

…

…

…

Eventually the couple broke apart and continued on with their trek towards UA’s gates. They walked hand-in-hand chatting their mouths off about the mundane things in a teenager’s life. Until the couple came upon the wrought iron gate that separated Tooru’s world from Izuku’s. 

“Well, I guess this is where we will part for the day.”, Izuku said sadly, “Good luck on your exam Tooru. Pass or Fail, I’ll bring you some of Mr. Tobitas’ caramel cake.”

Tooru’s cheeks turned scarlet, “Thanks Izuku. I’ll give it my best.”

Their hands lingered together until the growing distance between the two grew enough to force them to break apart. Izuku would keep his eyes on Tooru as she moved along while she would often look back at him. Izuku lingered in his spot even after Tooru disappeared behind the doors UA, his stared directed on the gate that separated him from his future.

Closing up the store wasn’t a task that Izuku did often by himself and that was due to the fact that either Tobita-san or Aiba-san would linger with him in the late hours to help with the task. However, the responsibility was thrusted upon him when both his co-workers left for plans they had made in advance. As to what specifically called for both his co-workers to leave that evening, well, Izuku couldn’t think of a reason. At least not one that wasn’t scandalous. 

Even so, Izuku wasn’t one to pry into the private affairs of his compatriots, especially given that he was wholly responsible for shutting down the shop and had a lot of work to do. The work wasn’t difficult, but rather monotonous, especially if one was alone and no one to help pass the time. Luckily for Izuku, he wasn’t alone. 

“And what does this little machine do?”,asked a curious fish lady whilst pointing at one of the many appliances. 

“That’s a whisking machine. It mixes all the ingredients into dough.”, Izuku replied. 

Mar’Ris’ black eyes shone in curiosity as her thin mouth twisted in concentration as she began to examine the object. She stared at the dirty appliance as if it were the most amazing thing in the entire world, despite the mundane nature of the little contraption. Izuku for his part had taken off his coat down to his white dress shirt with its sleeves rolled up while he washed the mountain of dishes leftover from the day. 

“And this ‘dough’ is something you eat?”, Mar’Ris asked while she squished a piece of dough between her fingers, “Or do you throw it on the fire, like all the other food, before you eat it?”

“Sort of, we put it in a box that has fire in it and it cooks the dough a bit differently than the other food.”, Izuku replied while scrubbing a plate, “Cooking it that way makes the dough into bread.

Mar’ Ris swished her head to look at Izuku before she resumed her examination of the dirty appliance, “Sometimes it amazes me the lengths humans will go just to be able to eat, but I must ask, how does bread taste?”. 

Izuku raised an eyebrow and paused his scrubbing, “You never eaten bread?”.

“No.” Mar’Ris deadpanned after a moment of silence.

…

…

…

“Do you want to try some?”

“Izuku, I cannot eat.”

“Can’t or won’t? Come on, just open your mouth and have a little piece.”

“Izuku, if I open my mouth then I will become ravenous and I doubt that you could find something to satiate it.”

“Okay…how much do you need to eat if you do?”

“The last time I ate was when I was pregnant with Ma’ken. And I had a craving for those little fluffy animals with the white hair.”

“You mean sheep?”

“Yes! That was the name! I ate over a thousand heads of sheep that day to ease that undesirable feeling!”, Mar’Ris exclaimed before becoming somber. 

She began to fiddle the whisking machine in front of her, but it was nothing more than to keep her hands busy as the memory surfaced. Izuku recognized the gesture instantly due to his years of watching her during the night. It was only now that he realized that she was reminiscing about her long dead son. Without any hesitation, Izuku reached out and grabbed the webbed hand of the fish lady, and the tension in her relaxed.

“You would think that he would grow up to be a predator like his mother, but he never ate flesh of other creatures or anything from them.”, Mar’Ris reminisced, “I was frantic when I couldn’t get him to eat anything I gave him.”

“How did you manage to find something he was able to eat?”, Izuku asked.

“I sat him down by some discarded kelp on a beach while I went to go find some other prey to feed him.”, Mar’Ris replied with a small hint of humor in her tone, “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him chewing on the plant! I thought maybe someone had swapped him with a plant-eating changeling, but I was just so relieved that he wouldn’t starve. That little tadpole decided to run me ragged before he decided that he was going to eat plants!”

Mar’Ris let out a small huff of chuckling before she fell silent, “I am sorry. I just miss him.”

Izuku tightens his grip on her hand, “You don’t have to apologize for anything. It’s only human to miss someone you loved.”

The words uttered by the small human made the fish woman pause for a moment as she pondered the meaning of the words. Izuku could only gaze awkwardly as the still form of Mar’Ris glared off into empty space. At least until she returned from what deep thought she had been mixing within the sea of her brain.

“Yes, it's only human…”, was all that Mar’Ris muttered. 

The sound of the locking mechanism clicking indicated that the final piece of work of the night was now done. Izuku let out a sigh of relief as he pocketed the shop’s key and began to stroll back towards his home. Mar’Ris shadowed the teen with the gait of a crane causing a distinct click to echo as her claws touched the pavement. If anyone could see Mar’Ris, one could assume she was a towering monster silently stalking an unassuming teenager. 

The two bickered with each other as old friends do about the mundane things in life. Except that their version of mundane things involved vigilantism, quirks, and for some reason shellfish. It was no different than any of the other nights Izuku returned home from his job as a waiter, but unlike the others this trip was occurring late into the night. Not that such a thing scared Izuku nor did it bring worry to Mar’Ris. Izuku had long been used to staying out in the seedier parts of Mustastfu, and Mar’Ris was adapted to live in a place shrouded in cold darkness. If anything, the two found the daytime to be scorching and blinding. However, that meant many other denizens who used the darkness as a cover came out. And when they came out, so did their crimes. 

As Izuku turned the corner, something came barreling into him causing the teen to stagger while whatever had hit him came crashing down with a thud. Izuku winced at the sudden force that came barreling at his midsection before his face hardened into sternness. He opened his eyes, his mouth opening in preparation to tell whoever ran into him to watch where they were going. However, his stern face scrunched up in confusion at the scene before him. 

The person that had ran into him was a little girl no older than the age of six. She was dressed in a faded hospital dress while her exposed arms and legs were wrapped in bandages. She was walking on bare feet, which were black with filth from the street. Her hair was long and gray and showed signs of never being washed or combed. A horn jutted from the right end of her forehead as the only aberrant sign on what would be a “normal looking girl”.

From her fallen position, Izuku could make out a pair of crimson colored eyes that were contorted in absolute horror. It wasn’t just her eyes either. Her entire face was one of the most frightened faces Izuku had ever seen. Her eyes watered with tears, her mouth clenched tight in a frown that was trying to silence any noise, an uncontrollable jitter rocked her frail frame as she desperately tried to still herself. It was not difficult to imagine that the girl was a victim of an abusive household and likely had run away from it. But she was probably scared out of her mind and untrusting of anyone out of fear. 

Izuku’s expression immediately softens and he kneels down to be level with the girl. He reached a hand out towards the girl causing the girl to flinch as his hand got closer. Izuku hesitates at her reaction and pulls back away from her. But his arm was abruptly stopped by an invisible force whilst a feeling of cold warmth invaded his skin through his dress shirt. 

“Don’t.”, Mar’Ris hissed in his ear, “She is afraid, very afraid. Use your quirk.”

Izuku looked at the face of his alien friend and gulped down the tightness in his throat before once again reaching out to the little girl. She reacted in the same way as before but this time it was accompanied by some incoherent mumbling followed by her tremors getting worse. Izuku braved against his instinct to pull away and press his arm forward. In the dark they wouldn’t have been able to see clearly enough to see Izuku’s arm had transformed into the clawed limb of his patron. But whether she could see that or not didn’t really matter because the girl flinched at the approaching hand anyways. Izuku held his breath even as his much larger hand gently caressed the girl’s forehead and a bit of her scalp.

The tension in the girl immediately disappeared alongside the jittering with the touch of the clawed limb on her head. The girl opened her closed eyes, overflowing with tears, and looked directly at Izuku. Even in the darkness of the night, Izuku could see that she was confused, like his touch was something alien when compared to what she was used to. Yet, it was all just confusion, her aura contained disbelief like what she was experiencing wasn’t real. A convulsion of sorts materialized somewhere from within, and he acted on it without a second thought. He pulled the girl into a hug. She didn’t reciprocate the hug, instead, she remained as rigid as a board and unbeknownst to him her teary eyes widened with shock and surprise. 

“It’s okay.”, He told the girl, “You’re going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

That was all it took to break the fragile walls the girl had hid behind. Tears ducts broke as the little girl finally began to cry in earnest. She didn’t return the hug but appeared to merely wrap her arms tightly around his neck and underneath his arm like he was a safety blanket. Izuku remained stoic and calm despite his emotional nature. Mar’Ris kept a hand on his shoulder to help steady him. 

“I wasn’t expecting to have grandchildren this soon or that they were going to be a lost hatchling.”, Mar’Ris remarked with a slight curve to her forever closed mouth.

The emotional breakdown seemed to be too much for the girl to handle as she passed out in Izuku’s arm’s not long after that. He carried her with her head resting on his shoulder. Her death grip on him had faded while her breath tickled his ear. It was both a boon and problem that the girl passed out. Firstly, he wasn’t able to get any information out of her for her parents or even her situation, so he could help her better. On the only plus side, she wasn’t awake to see him talking to Mar’Ris, which would look like he was talking to himself in any other case. 

“Mar’Ris can we not talk about adopting this little girl.”, Izuku grumbled, “If anything she needs to go to the police so they can get her what she needs. Besides, I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a kid?”

“Lucky for you, I am well versed on taking care of hatchlings. Both human and anything else,” Boasted Mar’Ris. 

“Mar’Ris, she probably experienced a lot of trauma, so she’ll definitely need way more than the simple basics. And you and I both know that someone like me shouldn’t be doing this kind of thing.”

If Hosu taught Izuku anything, it is that he is way too volatile to handle his own trauma much less anyone else's. After being struck down too many times, all he knew was to strike back and destroy. It was a poisonous urge that hadn’t gone away, merely suppressed, patient and waiting to explode again. 

Izuku shook off the horrible thought and added, “I wish Tooru was here. She would know how to handle this.”

Mar’Ris motioned herself in a way that would indicate she was going to reply, but she paused midway through the gesture and turned her head away from Izuku. Her unblinking eyes strained in focus while her tentacle hair began to stand up as if they were trying to locate something. Izuku was immediately thrown on guard as the perception he inherited from Mar’Ris gave him a feeling of severe uneasiness.  He clamped his mouth shut and strained his ears to listen while his eyes scanned the darkness.

Silence…

…

…

…

…

KHUTHUD KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD KHUTHUD!  

It was the unmistakable sound of a pair of heavy boots treading across the concrete streets of the city. They were slow and nearly undetectable by the senses of hearing. But most importantly, they were deliberately going in his direction, clearly trying to stalk after something or maybe someone. 

“We’re being hunted.”, Izuku thought to himself

Without sparing a second thought, Izuku immediately ducked behind some trash cans as cover and activated Octopus. As he turned completely invisible, he placed the unconscious girl in the darkest corner of the trash cans, but kept his unseen head above them in order to keep a look out for who or what was stalking them. Mar’Ris for her part got down on all fours and scurried to the same group of trash cans that Izuku had hidden behind. She lingered close to Izuku and the girl as close as she could trying to mask them with her presence. 

They all remained silent and unmoving as the faint sound of the boots grew only slightly louder and louder. Then silence…

…

…

…

And from the darkness of the night emerged the creature that had been stalking its prey. It was a tall creature with a lengthy and thin body. It was covered from neck to toe in a black dress clothes with its clawed hands covered in pale white gloves. Yet the most striking features of the creature was the tuft of purple fur around its lower neck and a large beak covering most of its face. From the darkness, Izuku could make out a pair of sickly glowing yellow eyes etched into what can only be a scowl on the creature. 

A chill emerged in the air as a pressure descended upon the alley, clearly emeninating from vulture-man. The alley grew eerily silent, save for the soft muffled breathing coming from the beaked creature as it scanned the alleyway with a gaze belonging to a bird of prey. Izuku kept his gaze honed in on the vulture and held in his breath as he remained frozen in place trying his hardest to draw attention to his cluster of trash cans. 

Even without his quirk’s ability to see things that one would normally overlook, everything about the man screamed danger to Izuku. And not in the same way Nomu or Stain, but rather more like how Mar’Ris invoked danger when she became enraged. A cold-calculating and unforgiving predator. He remained on guard as a result with his eyes lingering on the talons of the beaked man as they were bathed in swishing colors of a deep black. The teen silently thanked Octopus for his true invisibility and keeping him out of sight from the beaked man. At least until, the vulture-creature looked in Izuku’s direction and locked eyes with Izuku.

Alarm bells immediately went off in his head while his chest tightened from the shear stress. Izuku’s heart thumped violently in his chest the longer and longer the beaked man kept his eyes on him. Instinct and logic clashed as Izuku fought the urge to flee with the little girl while his mind tried to rationally reason a way to doubt his supposed discovery. However, all that nearly was broken when the beaked man suddenly tilted his head and squinted his eyes. Clearly the man had spotted something out of place, and it was most likely himself. Izuku nearly lost his cool and almost broke into a frenzied panic were it not for Mar’Ris.

“Nila ya’ka iru!”, Mar’ris softly ordered from behind him and immediately Izuku’s panic vanished.

Simultaneously, the vulture man broke his vigil after the sound of faster and louder footsteps broke though the silence. Even though Izuku was numb to the effects of his own emotions, he still felt relief wash over him when the man turned away. 

Three men suddenly emerged from the darkness, each of them panting heavily. All three men looked like the typical street thugs he’s encountered. Baring that these thugs had these dumb looking cloaks and beak-like masks. Each of them were huffing and puffing like they had been running at full speed for quite a distance.

“Any sign of the girl?”, Man-Vulture hissed at the men.

“None, sir.”, one of the thugs said in between bated breaths

“I didn’t see anything, sir”, said a different goon. 

“Nothing on my end, Overhaul.” said the final thug. 

“Idiots!” Overhaul scowled, “How difficult is it to keep an eye on a little girl?! How can anyone be so incompetent?!”

“Sir, I don’t understand, it's just a little brat. What’s so important about some bratty kid?”, one thug spoke out. 

True to his appearance, the man the thugs called Overhaul, turned his head in a manner befitting of a carrion bird. Overhaul then slowly stalked towards the minion that had spoken those words of idiocy until he was nearly in the face of the minion. Even if the man towered over Overhaul and his slouched posture, Overhaul somehow seemed a lot larger than him.

“Our entire operation hinges on that brat, you fool! Without her, the yakuza have no chance at returning to their former glory!”, Overhaul’s voice said, dripping with rage “How do you explain yourself for losing our most important asset?!”

The thug shrinked back at his boss’ anger, “I-I am s-sorry, boss. It w-was a m-mistake!”

That only seemed to make Overhaul even angrier, “Mistake? MISTAKE?! The only mistake made here was me trusting somebody useless like you with an important task! Allow me to show you what happens when you make a “mistake” in the Shie Hassaikai!”

It all happened in the span of five seconds. A quick flutter of a coat and a shower of shredded white fabric were all Izuku saw before the scene was showered in blood. Izuku quickly ducked behind the trash cans to avoid the chance that blood was splattered on his invisible form. His heart was pounding in his head as he no longer was watching the scene before him. He frantically grabbed onto the unconscious girl and held her firmly in his chest. He slowed his own breathing to nothing more to short shallow breaths and stayed as still as a statue. 

“O-Oh m-my God.”, meekly said a thug

“H-He killed Yugi!”, the second thug exclaimed in disbelief 

“So vile and so dirty.”, the man vulture his voice dripping with disgust, “Go find the girl and if you come back empty handed…you’ll end up like your friend here. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir!”, the remaining thugs said in unison.

With that, two very fast and frantic footsteps echoed in the alley before they slowly faded away. It would be a very long while before the slow methodical footsteps of the man-vulture called Overhaul did their own echoes. Izuku dared not move, even as the faint footsteps of Overhaul disappeared into nothing. He waited and waited and waited until he heard the skitting steps of city vermin once again appear in the alley. Only then did he drop Octopus and emerge from his hiding place with the little girl in his arms. 

No one spoke, they dare not too. Izuku stared at the dark alley with trepidation before he became aware of Mar’Ris’ presence behind him. She put a clawed hand on his shoulder and he eased up a bit with its touch. He stared up at her before he returned his gaze onto the child in his arms. Izuku held the girl tighter in his arms and before he even knew it, the white cowl was obscuring his features. Mar’Ris in turn, abandoned her true form in favor of her mermaid form, her blank face showed a determination within its visage. It was their own silent conversation that was nothing more than an affirmation of what must be done. 

Chapter Text

Hello. It’s been a long time my dear readers. Nearly a year if I am not mistaken. I ran this situation in my head for a very long time and no matter what I couldn’t come up with anything that wouldn’t step on a few toes. So I am just going to be as brutally honest with you as I can be, since I feel that it's better to break bad news without any of the bullshit. So here we go…

I haven’t posted an update on any of my fics on MHA because of one simple reason: I lost all my enthusiasm for the series. If any of you have been paying attention to the series manga or anime, then you know that there has been a noticeable drop in quality with the series combined with a ramp up in pacing of the plot. As far as I am able to discern, it appears that the Mangaka has more or less lost all passion for his own creation. 

You can look up a youtube video on the subject if you need a deeper explanation, but at the end of the day, Horikoshi is merely trying to end his series as quickly as possible. I can understand that feeling. If the thing you once enjoyed causes you nothing but stress and dread then I can see why one would just try to finish it as soon as you could to get it over with.

It’s really hard to like a series much less write about them if even the author doesn’t seem to care about it anymore. I haven’t even been reading any other fics about MHA because I find myself unable to find any enjoyment because of the less than stellar treatment of the characters and the shock value cliffhangers dotting the source material as of late. And that’s kind of the state I have been in for the last few months following my last announcement or update.   

I have had a huge desire to write all these months, but I could not will myself to even write more than a few sentences before just dropping it in favor of something else. I wrote a lot of fics and oneshots about my d&d group’s party and I even wrote a one off story about a video game on an alt account.  But everytime I try to write about MHA…I just can’t get into the groove. 

I thought about several times about just announcing the end of my fics and leaving at that, but I hate leaving things uncompleted and I also dislike being another statistic of a fanfic that never got completed. But at the same time, I am finding it extremely difficult to even muscle through to continue without doing what Horikoshi is doing to the main series.

I just don’t know what to do anymore, and I have been tearing myself apart trying to figure something out. I don’t know if any of you have a solution or some encouraging words, but I also don’t want to make promises on something I can’t deliver. 

As of right now, my fics’ future is going to come into question and I remain undecided, but at the very least I will let you all know if I am going to stay or walk away from MHA for fanfiction. If you guys could voice your opinions in the comments I would really appreciate it. Thank you for all the love, support and criticisms these past years. And I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. 

Chapter Text

The city of Musustafu had been swallowed up by the dark. The night was getting old but had still not relinquished its inky blackness away from the city. Dawn was still not due for a couple more hours and with it the bright sun would expose the creatures of the dark to the light. 

Overhaul stalked the streets of the concrete jungle, his light feet carefully treading the darkness. The vulture-like villain swayed his head back and forth, eyes darting furiously to and fro, looking for his lost prize.   

KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD!

The yakuza boss continued to stalk the dark slowly and methodically looking for his lost asset. 

KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD!

Trash, dirt, filth and manner of vileness below his feet. How the masses can just wallow in this disgusting world is beyond Overhaul. 

KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD!

The night was quiet with only the smallest of sounds peeping from the brush of the concrete jungle.  Only an oblivious man would continue his trek completely unaware of his surroundings. 

KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD!

Overhaul was not an oblivious man, and knew that he was being hunted by some rat hiding the shadows. He was waiting for the moment in which the interloper would strike. 

KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD! KHUTHUD!

The sign was brief and almost completely indistinguishable from the white noise of the late night city. A low whoosh of air and a teeny crunch of gravel were all the warnings he had before the inevitable blow came to his vulnerable flank. Overhaul dropped to the ground, grumbling to himself as he dirtied himself with the filth. However, even from the ground He could see a flash of wispy white fabric zoom past him. If it weren’t the news covering this individual constantly the last few weeks, then Overhaul wouldn’t have recognized the Ghost of Musustafu. Yellow eyes narrowed as the hunter now became the hunted. 

…

Izuku swore silently to himself as his opponent unexpectedly dropped to the ground causing his trajectory to completely miss the yakuza boss. The robed teen cracked the pavement with his electrified and reinforced fist collided with the ground. He quickly hopped back onto his feet while pulling his arm out of the ground and turned to face his opponent. 

Overhaul didn’t waste any time dealing with the surprise assassin and immediately yanked off one of his gloves. He grabbed a discarded soda can in one single blurry swipe and flung the object at Izuku. 

However, the soda can was no longer a soda can and was now a sharp looking spike of shiny aluminum. Izuku quickly dodged the throwing weapon with ease and called upon Crab . The quirk appeared behind him in the form of a squirming tendril of water. Said limb went careening towards Overhaul, ready to crush him.

The Yakuza boss reached out with his talon-like hands and made contact with the watery limb. When the limb came into contact with Overhaul, it exploded into misty vapors of water. Izuku felt the presence of his quirk immediately vanish, and was now without his ranged abilities for a while.  Overhaul slammed his hand into a nearby trashcan causing the metal to goran and morph as three sharp spikes of aluminum shot out from the object at breakneck speed towards Izuku. Once again, Izuku dodged the incoming projectiles with a dash and slunk back into the shadows with the activation of Octopus.  

…

Overhaul head swung side to side as he was scanning for any sign of the interloper’s presence. However, he could see no sign of Ghost. Logic dictated that the interloper had vanished to the shadows to await another opportunity to strike. However, Overhaul wasn’t going to let this squirmish with the diseased villain be on his attacker’s terms. 

Rather, he was going to draw out the villain and finish him with a singular and devastating blow. If his knowledge on the villain were correct, then it would take devastating brute force to put him. However, the Yakuza boss didn’t have the benefit of leveling an entire city block with his quirk as he needed to remain unnoticed to the heroes. He couldn’t let the asset get away from his clutches no matter what. 

Which means Overhaul had to go for the throat with a serrated blade with his quirk. He had to hold nothing back, but had to do so in a logical and unforgiving way. Such a task was simple enough for the Yakuza boss. And drawing him would be simple enough. 

“Your reputation doesn’t suit you.” Overhaul remarked to the no-so-empty night “I thought you would relish the chance to fight and not hide away in the shadows.”

The bird-like head of Overhaul swished from side to side while his ears strained to listen to the tiniest of noises. The Yakuza boss began to strut slowly and deliberately in a circle, his boots quietly yet loudly tapping with each step. The 

“The Ghost of Musustafu hiding away from the enemy like a sniveling rat?!” Overhaul mocked “No no, that’s not what you would do. You are a brute, a rapid animal, a beast. You wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to fight…unless you are protecting something or someone?”

The stillness of the night seemingly answered back with its own stillness. The Yakuza boss grimaced from beneath his mask and relaxed and flexed his fingers. 

“You found the girl!” accused Overhaul “And you are trying to take away from me, to save her if you will!”

Within the shadows of the night, the air tensed up and a heavy fear lingered within the air. 

“That child is cursed. Never meant to be born. Her power is nothing more than a blight I use to destroy an even greater plague.” Overhaul said as he continued to look for Ghost. 

From within the shadows and in Octopus’ quirk something boiled deep within Izuku. A blazing and dreadful fire ignited within his calm demeanor and threatened to overtake him. His breathing increased sharply as the edges of his vision blurred with the color red. He…he was losing his cool. 

“Her quirk is uncontrollable and none are immune to the damage it can do without my own quirk.” remarked Overhaul “Everytime that brat loses control, I have to kill and reassemble her over and over again until it ends.”

Izuku was struggling to remain standing on his feet as he dropped to a crouch nearly on his hands and knees. He couldn’t hear Mar’Ris or feel her touch. All his focus was on the monster that hurt the little girl…His charge…tortured…His entire body was shaking with rage, desperate to be released. He needed to remain calm…

“When I kill you and take back the girl, I’ll see to it that she never sees the sky again.” Overhaul growled “She is only useful to me as a blood bag!”

Nine words. All it took was nine words and something deep within Izuku snapped. The world seemed to slow down for Izuku as his vision became fully red. His breathing became hoarse and loud while his limbs subconsciously became alien and warped. He opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a bloodcurdling roar…

Overhaul’s eyes darted immediately towards the roar of his opponent having abandoned all notions of stealth. The white robe was ragged and torn making Ghost look like a rippling mass of colorless horror in the twisted shape of a human. His face was a black void that seemed to suck all the light around it like an all devouring black hole. A guttural and unnatural scream bellowed from his empty face while inhuman claws were raised to lash out. A cold and uncaring pressure not too similar to the vastness of the dark ocean weighed down on the alleyway. 

The Ghost of Musustafu was terrifying when he was enraged, more demon than human. Any mere mortal man would no doubt be struck with a paralyzing fear at the nightmare incarnate. But Overhaul was no mere mortal. He was above and beyond even the idols of quirks that called themselves heroes. He did not fear the cancerous blight that was Ghost! For he was the cure! He was going to remove this tumor and claim back his stolen asset. 

With bloodshot eyes and popping veins, Overhaul slammed his hand onto the ground and activated his quirk. The ground bloomed into a bouquet of spikes and thorns that shotgunned out towards Ghost. It was a wall of spikes and thorns that rocketed out in all and every direction in a cone. It was a calculated and deadly attack with only those that had hardening quirks having the hope of surviving it head on. Ghost’s water quirk would no doubt save him due to its teleporting aspect, but that would only work if he was sound of mind. 

His blind frenzy had left him open with no indication that he was going to use it to save himself. If anything, Ghost still charged towards his certain death with frenzied abandon. Instead raised his longer and larger left aberrant arm high into the air near his right shoulder. The four fingered appendage then tightly squeezed itself into a fist and swung towards the deadly attack. The blow did not connect with the altered matter and instead stopped short of the wall of thorns. A deafening crack rippled through the air before an implosion sucked the surrounding air in a small bubble-like object in the air. An eerie whistle zipped through the silence of the night before the bubble exploded with hurricane-speed winds. Simultaneously, the spikes that had been beelining for Ghost shattered from force of the implosion and explosion caused by Ghost’s raw strength. 

Overhaul instinctively slammed his fist onto the ground and used his quirk to secure himself in place against the debris filled gale-force winds. His mind worked at a million miles a second trying to discern how Ghost was able to pull a feat known to only a few species of shrimp. The science needed to pull a feat like this would be beyond the capabilities of any quirk. Even more so given that this feat was not done underwater and instead on land. 

A feeling of dread pitted itself against the ego of Overhaul as the gravity of the situation fell on him. If it weren’t for the mere fact that quirks were born over two-hundred years ago, then Overhaul would have considered Ghost as the source of all quirks. But the more likely situation is that Ghost is the next evolution of quirks with him heralding an age of powerful and uncontrollable quirks.  

The defeating crunching asphalt brought Overhaul back to the moment and he quickly used his quirk again. This time using it to make the ground in front of him as far as possible spring into a field of spikes. The ground bubbled for only the briefest of moments before it happened, but it appeared to be enough of a warning to spur Ghost into action.  

The monstrous villain slammed his larger arm onto the ground before bending the limb with tight muscles. Ghost launched himself into the air before the field of spikes could sprout and impale him. The body of the villain rippled and disappeared as he activated his invisibility quirk whilst flying mid-air. Ozone and sea salt filled the air and masked the scent of garbage. 

Overhaul’s eyes bugged out in horror as they darted to and from everything that moved in the darkened alleyway.  No time to be subtle or careful. If he drew the attention of the authorities then so be it. Overhaul prepared to slam his hand into ground again this time to cause an indiscriminate attack all around him. Before Overhaul could complete his action, an invisible hand grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air.

Overhaul let out a hoarse choking scream from underneath his mask. His legs kicked out from beneath him while his hands slapped and grabbed the invisible hand holding him up into the air. Despite activating his quirk multiple times, it did nothing against the invisible hand holding him hostage. No shower of gore. No alteration of matter. Nothing…

Then suddenly and abruptly Overhaul was slammed into the ground with enough force to crack the concrete. The Yakuza boss let out a pained gasp as he was unceremoniously lifted into the air and slammed into the ground again and again and again. To the outside observer, Overhaul became nothing more than a blur from the amount of times he was slammed into the ground. HIs body became more and more bruised and limp. Crimson red blood stained all the immediate area as the yakuza boss was mercilessly dispatched.

Overhaul’s beaked mask fell off his face at some point, revealing the full face of the unconscious yakuza. And with the fall of the mask came a ripple of air and it revealed the hunched form of the demonic Ghost of Musustafu. Overhaul hung limply in the hands of the villain, broken and battered and was in no state to fight or even move.           

The eldritch villain greedily sucked in air with labored breaths while he unceremoniously dropped the brutalized yakuza to the ground. Ghost stared at the broken body of his prey with the same heightened agitation that empowered him. His heart was beating fast while his lungs screamed for air. He had won, there was no doubt about it, but it brought no relief to him. His rage was all consuming and it cried out for blood. 

Must…destroy…to…protect…

All his anger, all his instincts were screaming at him…

How…dare…he…hurt…our…charge…

This innocent little girl, born in a cruel world with even crueler people…deserved better…

She…is…ours…we…will…keep…her…safe…

Ghost raised his monstrous arm up into the air without even realizing it. But his body somehow knew his intentions and acted on its own accord to fulfill them. His four-fingered hand clenched so tight in a fist that it drew black blood… 

He…must…DIE !

Ghost snarled in all his eldritch frenzy as he swung his arm down with all his might towards the head of the insect that dared to hurt his charge. 

…

…

…

The deathblow intended for the vulture-maggot was abruptly stopped by something that was as strong and as solid as bedrock. Ghost’s fury boiled over as he roared in anger at the interruption and struggled against the force holding him back with all the ferocity of a caged beast. The force holding him did not budge or buckle against him and remained defiant. 

“Stop. He’s done. There’s no need to do this.”

How…dare…you…stop…me!

“Izuku, don’t do this. You are only hurting yourself…”

He…deserves…to…DIE!...stop…containing…me!

“Izuku, Hagakure wouldn’t want you to do this…”

It was like a light being switched on in the roiled sea of rage within Ghost. He jolted in surprise as the weight of the moment finally caught up to him. He looked down at the bloody and beaten Overhaul at his feet, unconscious and defenseless. An uncountable shivering emerged in the demonic form of the villain as a cacophony of emotions swirled and contradicted each other.Ghost then subconsciously raised his hands towards his own face and saw them coated in the blood of his enemy. Then the voice of his beloved Hagakure replayed in his conflicted mind. 

I know you are better than this.

Finally, it was like the veil had been lifted from Izuku’s eyes. His breathing became fast and erratic. Tears coated the corners of his eyes while his knees wobbled and buckled under his own weight. His heart had felt like it had been stabbed by a thousand icy knives. He yanked his hood off, not caring if he was seen, as it felt like he was suffocating with it on his head. Guilt and shame filled the void by the rage causing the teenager to all but sob as he sunk further and further into himself. 

“W-What h-have I-I d-done?” Izuku whispered to himself as he slowly began to curl up into the fetal position. 

This was stopped when a pair of large warm arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders. Izuku felt the larger body of Mar’Ris press gently against his back while he felt her head nuzzle the back of his hood. The touch of his surrogate mother brought some relief to his wounded spirit, but Izuku was still shaken up by the experience. 

“It’s okay, Izuku. Breathe, son. Breathe.” cooed Mar’Ris

Izuku did as he was told and his hyperventilating slowed down a bit, but he was still very much experiencing the worst of the moment. His head hung in shame whilst he began to hug himself tightly as he shrinked in on himself as much as he could. Izuku couldn’t speak up at first but managed to choke out a single sentence after managing to overcome the frog in his throat.

“I-I w-want to g-go h-home.” he managed to get out. 

“We will.” stated Mar’Ris as she squeezed him a bit more firmly “But the little girl still needs you. Can you bear it for a little while longer?”

Despite his troubled state, Izuku remembered the sheer desperation and fear in the little girl’s eyes as she tried to escape the monster holding her hostage.  Izuku sniffed and wiped his eyes free of tears with the sleeve of his cloak. He slowly and unsteadily rose to his feet and began to slow his breathing down once he was standing. Mar’Ris remained by his side helping her human calm down with her presence. 

“I-I c-can…” Izuku said after a few hour-long minutes. 

The duo-colored teen slowly pulled his costume’s hood back on his head while Mar’Ris remained glued to his body like barnacle. Izuku called upon Crab’s quirk and immediately went to work. Both him and Overhaul were swallowed by the clear liquid and away into the night.  

Eri awoke from her sleep with a jolt. Her crimson eyes wide with shock. Her breathing was fast and erratic. It was seldom in which the horned girl would have dreams in her sleep. Especially ones that weren’t nightmares.She rarely, if ever had dreams about someone finding her and rescuing her from Kai. No, what she usually dreamt of was nightmares, in which a beaked bird would peck holes in her body over and over again. They always all ended with one swift and brutal killing blow. 

But such fantasies of being rescued were dreams for a reason whereas her nightmares weren’t far off from her hellish reality. As such Eri merely sat there. Staring straight ahead, completely oblivious to her surroundings, and numb to all forms of sensations. In these moments of ignorance, the horned girl could forget about all her cursed existence and the monsters that showed her nothing but cruelty. At least for the moment, she could just pretend that everything was okay…

Eri let out an exhausted sigh as she rubbed her tearless eyes one last time before she began her day. She moved to hop off her old dusty bed…

…

…

..!

Eri gawked in shock as she became keenly aware that she was not on her bed. She had been lying on the floor during her sleep but it was not the floor of her room. Rather, the floor was covered in water. A puzzled Eri looked apprehensively at the liquid floor and noticed the water was completely still and did not shimmer when she tried to disturb its stillness. 

Then the horned girl noticed the spiral of stars and celestial dust reflected in the liquid. Eri unconsciously looked towards the sky and her jaw dropped while her eyes sparkled in amazement. They were the most beautiful thing that Eri laid her young eyes on. For she had never seen the stars as the lights of cities drowned out the islands of light in a sea of black void. The celestial bodies of stars shine brightly and unhindered by the lights of the earth. The clouds of primordial dust that painted the sky sparkled like nothing Eri had ever seen before.

The cosmos made the girl feel small, but not in a bad sort of way. It made her feel like there was more to the world beyond the claustrophobic rooms and halls. Deep down, Eri felt that there was someone out there looking for her, and they were going to take her away to somewhere better.

“ A’tu ala’kaa Ili’ai ?”, a wispy voice called out.

Eri’s head immediately darted out towards the origin of the voice, and there its owner was in plain view. He was dressed in a worn and ripped white hooded cloak with embroideries that were dirtied with stains or worn into indiscernible states.One sleeve of the cloak was shorter than the other, revealing a pale white hand while the other sleeve hid his other limb. His face was hidden by the dark of his save for his mouth which was filled with sharp teeth. He appeared to be larger than anything she had ever seen in her life, as if a living giant was standing there before her. 

Eri blinked. As if she were trying to see if the person see was indeed there and not a figment of her imagination. Was she dreaming? Or maybe he was just a horrible and twisted experiment done by Kai to keep her pacified?

Yet, White Hood didn’t seem to mind that the child doubted his existence. After all, he would’ve been a pipe dream at best and a downright fantasy for the child to believe in. Since when did anyone in her shoes expect someone to actually save them from their prison. Yet, he was here to prove her wrong. Without saying a word, White Hood reached into the sleeve of his cloak and pulled out a familiar beaked mask. He nonchalantly tossed the object onto the ground about halfway between him and the girl. 

“ A’tu Mu’ṭeen Tu’Vtii A’tu .”, He said calmly, “ Ovar'haal Po’Vtti Taa’too . Av’ar Ini Un’kaal Kai’Yaap At’Uatt Mṭṭ’Ar. Niin’Kal Cu Tann’Tirra Maak Irukk’ Irri’Kal! ”

Eri's face stoned over as she stared at the titanic figure before her and back at the mask on the ground. She couldn’t understand the strange language he was speaking, but its meaning was not lost over her.It was as though her entire world had been shattered. Then the vision of the little girl blurred as tears she didn’t know she even had began to drip down her eyes. Knowingly or not, Eri took a step. And then another, and another and another. Before she even realized it she was running towards the giant man.

Eri collided with White Hood as she embraced the villain with a hug. His battered robe swished in the air as Eri held onto the larger life figure for dear life. It took all of her willpower and years of ingrained habits to hold it all together before she spoke out loud.

“W-Wh-at s-s-hould I g-give y-you?”, Eri trembled, “I-I w-will g-give y-you e-every-t-thing I-I h-have.”

Eri was prepared to give him anything, her life, curse and whatever meager possessions she had and it would not be enough to return the gratitude she felt. But White Hood changed his position to kneel to her height and the imposing giant was gone. In its place was her savior who rescued her from a long going nightmare. His arms wrapped themselves around her and returned the embrace. Her eyes widened at the gesture as White Hood lowered his head to be even with her ear. 

“Walk, P’en . Unnoticed, and in the sunlight. Walk with a smile on your face…nothing will trap you anymore. Not Overhaul or anyone else…nor will your gift. Now be free of this dream.”, whispered White Hood in clear japanese.

Eri felt the sensation of falling overcome her before she blacked out. 

It was another late night for Shouta as he sat in the midst of his unfurnished apartment in his favorite yellow sleeping bag. His bloodshot eyes were glued onto the bright light of a laptop as he mindlessly scrolled through pages and pages of social media blabber. When Nezu said that he suspected Hagakure Tooru having a romantic connection with Ghost, he expected that he would be out in the field trying to get a glimpse of her unknown boyfriend. Specifically, his usual forte of masquerading as a hobo and getting a glimpse of the mysterious individual and maybe eavesdropping some important information. 

Click Click Click

And not brainlessly scrolling through Miss Tooru’s social media accounts looking at the various selfies and pictures or posts she made, hoping to get a lucky break. 

Click Click Click

At this point, he’d rather risk getting caught by his student rather than see another picture of a caramel chocolate cake or a repost of a hidden camera prank clip. 

Click Click Click

Though he supposed that one clip with the prankster getting tased by an old man was funny as it was illogical. And he certainly now knew that his student has a rather unhealthy obsession with plushies and deep ocean fish.

Click Click Click

He really should get some sleep because there’s only a few hours until morning and he has to put in a report for all this.  

Knock Knock knock!

The tiredness and boredom evaporated immediately out of Shouta’s system as the sound of the knock on his apartment’s door hauntingly hymned through the small abode. Shouta’s eyes zeroed in on the entrance before he escaped the comfy confines of his sleeping bag. None of his daylight colleagues would appear at his home this late in the night nor would his underground contacts without using the official channels. 

Knock Knock Knock!

The underground Hero was certain that it was something totally mundane and being that he wasn’t paranoid in the slightest, he did not grab the knife he kept on his person while out on patrol. Shouta hesitated when he was directly in front of his apartment door, and cursed himself for taking his hero gear for the evening. Well too little too late to cry about spilled milk. 

Shouta opened the door to his apartment expecting to see many things waiting outside his door. But he certainly was not expecting to see a little girl with dirty gray hair and a horn on her head sitting down on the ground while wrapped in a torn white cloth. She was looking at him with the most terrified eyes he had ever seen a child possessed. 

Shouta immediately relaxed his guard while the dreaded realization came into his mind. 

“I am not going to get any sleep tonight.”

Dawn casted its light over the shore of Dagobah Beach, illuminating the white sands to its shine. The night was over and with it, the darkest evils of the world vanquished yet again, until the mighty sun descended at the twilight of the day. A small breeze blew in briny air from the sea towards the shore while the sound of rolling waves interrupted the silence.

Izuku and Mar’Ris were both standing as close to the water as they could without getting wet and taking in the view of the rising sun. Izuku looked absolutely trashed with the bags under his eyes and his slouching posture. Mar’Ris for her part didn’t look weary or showed any sign of fatigue, but rather he face showed the vaguest signs of relief. The two were silent as neither of them dared bring up the happenings of the not so distant night. 

After an unspecified amount of time passed, Izuku looked at his patron and spoke up. 

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” asked Izuku. 

Mar’Ris looked down at her smaller charge, “I do not know, but my instinct tells me she is in better hands.” 

The awkward silence resumed…

“Mar’Ris.” Izuku said with hesitation “Am I making the right choice? In all of this?” 

The alien goddess’ hair twisted and squeezed in thought. “Are you afraid? After what happened last night?”

Izuku’s thoughts returned to the elephant in his mind and there was no sugar coating it. Izuku had nearly lost control and had all but killed Overhaul. Yes, Overhaul was a monster in his own right for what he did to the little girl, but just because there was a reason didn’t mean what he did was wrong. Heroes don’t kill, but was it even possible for him to be one now? His anger was so overwhelming, so intoxicating, so enticing. It made him feel strong and beyond approach, like he was something more than a vigilante. He gave into its poisonous temptations and unleashed it all out, but then…

I know you are better than this.

Hagakure. His best friend. His better half. She was the anchor that kept himself in place when the currents of the sea wanted to take him away. He didn’t realize at the time, but in retrospect, he was beginning to doubt he had ever gotten over Hosu. Doubt began to cloud his thoughts as his expression became consumed with worry and fear. Was he nothing more than a ticking time bomb waiting to give in a moment’s notice? Were the heroes right? Was he too dangerous to be left to roam free? 

“I am.” he huffed out “I nearly crossed an uncrossable line. I shouldn’t have, but I nearly did. I…don’t know if I should…am I the monster the news says I am?”

Mar’Ris looked at her troubled human with a slight frown to her small-yet-large mouth all the while her brows furrowed ever so slightly in concentration. With the gait of a bird, she went behind the troubled teen and embraced him from his back. Izuku felt her warm belly on his back while her lengthy slender arms captured his head in a V formation. It brought comfort to the weary teen. 

“I was once like that, Izuku.” she admitted quietly “When I lost Ma’ken, I was nothing more than a rabid animal. I destroyed everything and everyone in my path. I was inconsolable. I was blind to anything but my rage and my grief. And…I wanted to hurt others…to inflict my pain onto them.”

Izuku runs his hands over Mar’Ris’ clawed hands as he takes in what she had just said. 

“How did you overcome it?” he asked in a small voice “The rage. The desire to hurt others.”

Mar’Ris looked away, shame plastered on her alien face as she looked at the sun rising over the sea. Izuku felt the muscles in her hands tense up. 

“I wasn’t able to do so. At that point, I had lost the only family I had and I never did have any friends to call upon to bring me back. I had no one, no you and Haga-chan to remind me...” Mar’Ris said her own tone full of regret “It was only after I became a ghost upon this world was I able to begin to clear my mind of all that anger.”

Izuku gently squeezed her hands and all the tension in them relaxed. 

“It took me decades, no, centuries to calm down and learn to reign it in. Now, I can mostly keep myself in check, but it’s always there and ready to strike if I don’t remain vigilant.” continued Mar’Ris “It nearly came out again in that city with all the fire.”

Guilt weighed heavily on Izuku as he recalled that horrible chain of events. 

“Mar’Ris, I am sorry if…”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Izuku.” interrupted Mar’Ris as she rested her head on his fluffy hair and wrapped her arms around him a little tighter, “We both made mistakes that night.”

Izuku thought back to Hosu and how he lost control and how he unleashed his pent up rage against the world. It poisoned him like nothing had ever done before and doubts began to pop up in his head. He wasn't himself that night or was he? Was that who he really was? A monster? A demon? A Killer? Was he nothing more than a void of wrath and hatred that lashed out at anything and anyone? 

Mar’Ris must’ve been reading his mind because she not only tightened her soothing embrace a little more but she began to nuzzle his hair as well.

“Don’t let my story discourage you. Sometimes things can only be solved with time and cannot be solved overnight. And unlike me, you will not be facing it alone. We won’t let you lose yourself again.” replied the fish woman.

A small smile grew on Izuku’s face and the worry in his face softened, “You’re right, I have you and Hagakure to help me. I won’t be dealing with this alone.” 

Nothing more was said between the two as they remained locked in each other’s embrace enjoying the warm morning sun and each other’s presence. It was a quiet and serene moment for the two as the bond between them had strengthened. An unknown amount of time passed until something interrupted them.

Mar’Ris was the first to turn her head away and look off to something further inland. Izuku was quick to follow his surrogate mother’s gaze as he too had noticed something in his enhanced senses. However, he was unable to discern anything beyond “someone was coming towards them”.

“Who's coming here?” Izuku asked the fish lady. 

Mar’Ris, who always seemed to know more than he did, flashed him a sheepish smile on her smaller mouth. She looked down at him and gave him one last squeeze and nuzzle before letting go. Izuku raised an eyebrow in confusion as he looked at the alien woman with a puzzled expression

“I’ve been too greedy! Hogging you all to myself this morning.” she said with a squee with her hands on her cheeks “I suppose it’s time that my little minnow spent some time away from me. A mother should always leave her son alone when he is…”

Whatever Mar’Ris was going to say was replaced with a girlish giggle.

“Mar’Ris, you are not making any sense right now.” deadpanned Izuku. 

Mar’Ris let out another giggle.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be revealed shortly…”

And with that, the fish woman vanished with a ripple of air leaving a flabbergasted Izuku behind on the beach. His brain went into overdrive as he tried to make sense of what she had been implying, but he was coming up blank with what she could possibly… 

“Izuku!” shouted a familiar voice. 

Izuku looked away from his stupor to see a girl with brown eyes and sharp ears running towards him. Her beautiful orbs were glazed with tears while her face had a happy expression plastered on her face. Suddenly, all the implications of his patron made sense and seeing Hagakure smile so radiantly made his own spirit soar. Joy filled the weary frame of the duo-colored teen as a smile wormed its way onto his face. 

“Tooru!” he shouted excitedly back.

“Izuku!” she returned “I passed! I passed! I am going on a summer trip!”

With that final bellow Hagakure closed the final stretch of sand between her and Izuku and jumped towards him. He caught his girlfriend without any issue and clasped her into a tight hug. She returned the hug to her boyfriend as the two began to happily laugh while their hug turned to a twirl.  

Sand crunched and squelched at the dance that the two were having before Izuku and Hagakure reluctantly ended their embrace. Hagakure was grinning ear to ear showing off her white teeth in a rare instant of genuine happiness. Izuku on the other hand had lost all the night’s weariness as Hagakure’s joy seemed to bring a second wind of energy to the forlorn teen. They were only a few inches apart from each other, but both were finding it rather difficult to keep their hands off each other.  As such, a crimson blush was on the face of the two teens as they struggled to find the right words to speak. 

Izuku was the first to break the silence. “Congratulations, Tooru! I knew that you could do it!”

Hagakure smiled back at her boyfriend “Thank you, Izuku! 

“We still could’ve helped you pass you know.” Izuku replied sheepishly. 

Hagakure rolled her eyes at Izuku’s insistence on cheating “I am just glad that neither of you had too. I almost considered it at some point. But speaking of which, I saw her on the beach when I was running up here. Where is she?” 

Izuku almost hiccupped at the question “W-Well, s-she said that s-she wanted to give us some a-alone time.” 

Hagakure seemingly spaced out upon hearing the explanation before her face scrunched up in a devious expression. A predatory and hungry gaze was directed towards Izuku causing the unfortunate teen’s ears to heat up while he became very nervous as well. 

“W-Well, w-we d-definitely h-have to c-celebrate. W-Why don’t we g-go find somewhere to d-do so?” suggested a stuttering Izuku.

Almost immediately, realization hit Hagakure and her devious expression disappeared.

“I hate to shoot you down Izuku, but I have something different in mind.” said Hagakure “My classmates and I had plans to go to the mall today and shop for what we’ll need for the trip.”

Izuku deflated a little bit but didn’t show his disappointment. He didn’t have a monopoly on Hagakure, and it made sense that she would want to get ready for her trip with all her friends. But the duo-colored teen didn’t expect Hagakure to continue to speak.  

“But, I don’t think I’ll be able to carry everything by myself.” remarked Hagakure as she looped her around Izuku’s arm “Would you care to give me a helping hand? I’ll reward you with…something special.”

Hagakure then flashed Izuku another devious smile whose meaning was not lost on him. The implication caused him to turn full blown scarlet and the heat in his throat to get stuffier. The bi-colored teen looked away from his girlfriend trying to hide his totally-not-nervous expression. 

“I-I’d liked t-that.” he stuttered.

Hagakure pulled her warm boyfriend closer to her person as she looked awfully smug with herself while she nuzzled his shoulder. 

“My friends are going to love you, Izuku!”

The sea was in rage. Rain fell from the sky in torrents while the wind roared in fury. Waves rocked the small fishing boat like it was nothing. The crew of the small fishing boat were like a collection of brightly colored ants chaotically working to prevent the little boat from capsizing. Their haggard old captain shouted out commands from the helm to the soaked sailors, his voicing fighting against the wind.

Odd amongst their number was a woman with blue skin and purple hair, dressed in the clothes of a salarywoman. She was soaked to the bone and was visibly shivering from one of the few stable positions on the deck. One arm grasped around her life line to the deck while the other was shielding her eyes from the rain. She was muttering to herself, words lost in the storm, her desperate eyes scanning around the storm beaten horizon looking for something.

“EVERYONE HOLD ONTO SOMETHING! ROGUE WAVE!”, Yelled out the captain, his voice faint in the gale winds. 

Kizuku turned her away from her task to see the source of the commotion, but she neither heard or saw it. A loud crack briefly interrupted the sounds of the storm, and the boat jerked violently, like it had just hit a solid object. Kizuku wasn’t quick enough to brace against the force of the blow and ended up losing her grip on her anchor of stability. She couldn’t scream out or even try to grab onto something before she collided with one of the many pieces of fishing equipment scattered on the deck. Stars swarmed in Kizuku’s eyes before she went limp and started rolling down the deck.

..

..

..

The world was unfocused to Kizuku as she suddenly came to, even as the storm continued to rage all around her. By instinct, the woman attempted to stand back up on her feet. But her head instantly began to swim in nausea while her arms and legs felt extremely heavy. This only enabled the woman to get as far as her hands and knees before her body refused to continue. Her eyes were wide with pain while she struggled to remain stable in this crawling position.  

She let out a raspy cough. Black liquid sprayed on the deck of the ship and onto the back of her hands. She stared at the liquid as if she was bedazzled from the sight of it. She continued to stare at the liquid, confused by its presence the longer she stared at it. 

“I-Is that…the…b-blood?” She gurgled to herself “T-The blood of… m-my Lady? Why…would…I…u-unless?”

Suddenly it was all gone. The sound of the storm. The cold in her hands. The feeling of her wet clothes.The pain in her head.The lucid smell of salt and fish. All of it was gone. Kizuki began to smile excitedly when that intoxicating feeling of euphoric faith came to her. Her eyes widened at the realization. She had made it!

“W-We’re…here!” She excitedly coughed “The place…where…Lord Ma’ken Ris was…born.”

The haggard old Captain yelled out something but Kizuki wasn’t listening. Her pilgrimage was over. Without a care or heed to her own safety, Kizuki wobbled wearily as she used her newfound willpower to stand up on her feet and began to limp toward the stern of the ship. The fishermen shouted out once again to her, but all her attention was on the silence of the sea. She walked in a straight line without losing her balance or slipping despite the boat churning and rocking as violently as it did. 

Once the blue skinned woman reached the stern she did the most illogical thing anyone could do. She left the deck of the boat and stood on the railings of the ship. By some miracle she didn’t topple over into the sea and to her death. Instead, Kizuki spread her arms out and closed her eyes as if she was trying to enjoy the moment. 

Then the blue skinned journalist bowed her head and clasped her hands together in a prayer.

I beseech to you, Lady Mar’Ris, the Holy Mother, and I beseech you, Lord Ma’ken Ris, the Divine Emissary to grant me the strength to endure the trials. Your enemies are strong. Your enemies are numerous. But my faith in you guides me to the sanctuary of your court. You are the shield that protects both my soul and my mortal body from the evils of this world. In return for your love and protection I pledge myself to you and your heirs forever more. To forever honor the covenant of blood. Amen.

Her Green eyes and black irises opened while her mouth of sharp teeth was etched in a smile. Without any hesitation, Chitose Kizuki, threw herself off the boat and into the dark sea. 

The one problem that Kyo had with being prime minister in a country like Japan was all the paperwork one had to do to get anything done. At this point with all the regulations and laws enabled during the Emergence of quirks their country was becoming more bureaucratic than the most tyrannical of all the ancient Chinese Empires. Sometimes she wondered if any of those famous emperors or kings got a kick at seeing the mountains of papers thrown at them because she certainly hated this necessary evil. 

Yet, Kyo couldn’t help but be excited for the up and coming week where all the fruits of her labor were about to be harvested. The Ghost of Mustafu brought neatly and legally into the fold. With his presence, so many people can breathe a sigh of relief at All Might’s impending retirement  and not look at the inevitable event with dread. Things will be even more peachy once his apprentice graduates UA and she can rest easy knowing there will be two pillars keeping peace and order. Maybe then she could get some reforms rolling on this bloated corpse of a country. 

However, she’ll just have to make due with finalizing the last signature on the location of their meeting place: Korriban Support Industries HQ. A small but well respected support item company that earned its place amongst giants like Feel Good Inc and Detnerat for its production of custom support items for those with dangerous quirks. The company’s board agreed to be the location with the stipulation that they and only them  get to make the support items for Ghost should he join the fold. 

 A small price to pay but it was an expected one given the company’s long history of failed attempts to enter the hero market for support items. Ghost had certainly made a splash with all of his actions. Actions that will no doubt hinder his rebranding…

Kyo’s train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a clicking door lock and the all too familiar sound of wheels strolling on the tiled floor. The young prime minister looked up from her paperwork to see the stony skinned Yama rolling his wheelchair towards her desk. 

“I am a bit surprised that I suddenly have some time set aside for a small vacation? And one that happens during next week's meeting with Ghost no less.” Yama said when he pulled up to the desk “Though I do ever recall requesting such a thing? Do you care to explain that to me, Prime Minister?”

Kyo looked at the much older man with a sheepish smile that she was doing a terrible job at hiding. 

“I think…” began Kyo “That this appears to be a happy set of circumstances.”

Yama raised an eyebrow on his stony skin and opened his mouth to argue but his junior beat him to the punch. 

“You’ve been working hard this past month to see our latest project go through all the necessary forms and regulations.” she said sheepishly “I guess after all that work, someone thought you deserved a well deserved break.”

The wheelchair bound man stared at the younger woman for a whole moment before he let out a sigh. He then began to rub his temple with one of his hands. 

“Are you sure you can handle this on your own?” he asked. 

“I can.” she said with confidence. “I know you care and want to support me on this, but sometimes we can be a little selfish sometimes.” 

“Where, praytell, is my trip taking me to?”

“I thought Kyoto would be good on your old bones.”

Amid the titanic towers of glass and steel in the Greater Tokyo Area, a council of the most influential and powerful members of society were meeting. These meetings were a rare event with them only occurring in anticipation of world shattering events. The last time this council had convened was when All Might was about to confront Japan’s true leader over five years ago.That particular meeting was more concerned with damage control over the two possible outcomes of the impending battle. However, this council’s subject had little do with damage control or the fallout of the battle.  

“This council has been called today in regards to the government’s plan to incorporate the villain Ghost into its ranks.” said a shadowy figure “I am sure you all have read the reports?”

Instead the council had an agenda on the more malevolent side. 

“Our society is based around the dichotomy of heroes and villains. He doesn’t fit into it with the way he’s been acting. Reports by our agents and other parties indicate that Ghost is building up a powerbase in and around many institutions in the Musustafu Area and beyond.”

“Many in the Government are ignorant of these facts, but the few that do know are doing nothing! They fear him and are afraid to move against him.”, remarked one of the shadowy figures, “And they hope to appease him in a delusional form of control. The chains binding him are flimsy at best and imaginary at worst.”

“Solely on his strength alone? No quirk or quirks match anything in the database nor do the reports have anything that could give us a solid scale of his power.”, interrupted another shadow figure, “We must assume his potential is limitless.”

“What about his influence on people?”, another figure nearly shouted, “We have confirmation that Mirko is compromised and she is the latest of a long list of turncoats. There is evidence that Sir Nighteye has been compromised and is under the control of Ghost. Rumors detailed by our underground agents tell of a blood crazed maniac obsessed with Ghost. Heroes, villains, gangs, doctors, artisans…students! All converted and awaiting this monster’s command…”

“Minister, I understand that your daughter is a sore spot to bring up. But, I’d ask that you refrain from bringing up personal affairs in this meeting.” remarked another shadowy figure.

The minister in question immediately quieted up his mouth. A chorus of chattering and hushed talking about the various details on the reports bounced around the darkened room.  

“Friends, colleagues, and compatriots.” said an emerging figure “I believe enough has been said about this little meeting and our rising usurper. It is clear to me that he intends to replace our old dictator with himself but with less tact and with more smoke and mirrors.”

A round of hushed agreements and nodding heads followed the claim. However, there was also a smaller chorus of dissenting opinions mixed in. The shadow leader noticed them and continued his speech. 

“For those of you who are undecided on a course of action, let me remind you of the purpose of this council. It was us who steered the course of this country when our leaders failed their duties. It was us who restored the Emperor when the Shogun stubbornly resisted a changing world. It was us who did what was necessary to survive Nuclear Armageddon when the military decided no price was worth surrendering to the Americans. It was us who instigated the Hero System when Quirks ravaged the world and plunged it into chaos and fear.” proclaimed the leading figure.

Everyone had their attention focused on the figure and their speech. 

“Our country’s power is our power. Our decisions have done nothing but steer this country towards peace and prosperity while others would’ve led us to ruin!” chanted the figure “Are we going to let a petty villain ruin four centuries of our uninterrupted rule? Are we not going to do what is necessary to save our nation and people!?!”    

The entire council shouted in a chorus of “no”s with exclamations of incoherent babble. 

Despite the darkness in the room, the leading figure somehow grinned a toothy smile. “Then, I believe that it is time that this council has to make a verdict?”

A chorus of “yes” resounded in the dark room.

“Very well, Those in favor of the Accused?” said the leading figure. 

No hands were raised nor were there any sounds.

“And those against the Accused!”, proclaimed the Leader 

A loud chorus of noise along with a forest of raised hands.

“It seems that we reached an accord. Let history remember our meeting as the same one held by the patriots that saved the republic from the hands of a rising despot.”, said the Leader

“Death to the Villain! Death to the Villain! Death to the Villain!” chanted the council. 

All was silent in the warehouse of the League of Villains, as the two masters of the League had just finished hearing the tapped phone line provided by the mole within the government. They knew the full extent of the government’s plan to incorporate Ghost into the Hero System regardless of the Hero Association’s protests. Not only that, they learned some of the more classified information provided by Ghost to Sir Nighteye as a sign of trust. Which made the reality of the information all the more terrifying if All For One was a lesser man.The mood had become somber as the All For One silently observed the reaction of his successor to the latest bit of bad news.

Shigaraki was oddly silent. As if his man-child demeanor had finally realized the full gravity of the situation in a rare instance of maturity, and was carefully deliberating his actions. The silence of the room grew ever more terse as the minutes dragged on for what seemed like hours until at long last did the young villain speak up. 

“We have to kill him.”, Shigaraki said simply, “The League…no we won’t survive if he becomes the attack dog to those scumbag heroes.”

“I agree, Shigaraki.”, All For One remarked, his voice taking control of the conversation, “If everything in the intel provided by our associate is true, then Ghost is not at his full potential.”

Immunity to Emitter Quirks. Multiple powerful and versatile quirks. Casually fighting off some of the strongest heroes without going all out. A growing base of followers. And a willingness to enforce his will on others. If anything, Ghost eerily reminded All For One of himself in an uncanny way. Which made him dangerous, even more so than his brother’s heirs. Ghost could do more than destroy him and his empire, he could replace it with his own and take his place as the ruler of the underworld. All the while, his presence on the overworld of Society would no doubt propel him the same heights as that buffoon All Might. The perfect checkmate, the ruler of heaven and hell.  

“His threat to our plans was greater than even what I anticipated.”, All for One said moresely, “And it is wise to fear him. Which means…”

In another lifetime, Ghost may have been able to create his empire and few, if any, would have been able to do anything about it. However, Ghost’s own potential was hampered by the little desire to play hero and had foolishly made enemies of so many factions in the process. The mere fact the Hero Public Safety Commision placed a death warrant on his head only meant time was limited for the meddlesome vigilante. Hence, why do the dirty work yourself when someone else could do the heavy lifting. 

All For Smiled underneath his mask, “...It is best that we get rid of him before that threat should ever come to be.”

Afterall, sometimes all you have to do is leave a little bait out and the vermin come crawling from the shadows. 

“Are we gonna plan another raid with Nomu?”, Shigaraki asked.

“More so than that, Shigaraki Tomura. Why spend all of our strength and power to eliminate him when the enemy of my enemy can easily assist us.”, All For One gleamed, “Why not provide an opportunity too irresistible for lesser and paranoid men to not take.”

With a push of a button on his computer, the camera feed switches from the static to the footage observing a large tank full of vile green liquid. Inside the liquid was a figure curled up in a ball like a child inside a mechanical womb. The figure was malformed and hideous as it looked more like a living nightmare rather than anything real. 

“Let us give the opportunity for our enemies to destroy each other.”, All For One said with a toothy grin beneath his mask. 

From within the tube, the Nomu's sickly yellow eyes blared open.

“I named him Paladin.”, All For One said, “Let’s see what he could do for us.”

Old and arthritis ridden fingers twirled and fiddled with a small medallion. Said medallion was equally if not even older than the hands that held it. The edges of the object were clipped while the faces of the medallion were worn from repeated use over the ages. Despite this apparent usage, the medallion still displays the vague outline of a great four-winged dragon. The symbol of a Lord and badge of office for only the most trusted of his followers. It was his most prized possession, not even the gold he left behind in Mongolia was as valuable as this little bronze medal. The old man holding this old medal remained transfixed on the object with a small but toothy smile as he twirled it between his spindly fingers. 

This is your Captain speaking, but we have approximately ten minutes until landing. We hope you enjoyed your flight on Air China and we bid you a warm welcome to Tokyo! 

The old man’s smile became a grin. 

Omake (Deleted ending to Ghost vs Overhaul fight)

Overhaul stood at attention on the spot he sent an impaling spike out towards. His demeanor and stature is that of a vulture awaiting its meal. His piercing gaze was focused and his gloveless hands etched into claws awaiting to finish the job he started.He was expecting a great number of things to see in the dust cloud that was slowly dissipating. A bloody and impaled villain. A complete miss. An unlucky hobo who made the wrong noise in the wrong place. Ect ect etc.

Yet, what the dust cloud revealed when it finally dispersed was a large and sharp spike impaled on the courtyard wall. With the villain that attacked him standing next to it unharmed and out in the open. The beaked Yakuza boss raised an eyebrow at his enemy’s abandonment of stealth and readied himself for whatever trick Ghost was going to use.

Ghost remained still and unmoving in the face of his enemy. And carried no aura of intent nor any conviction to continue the fight. It was as if the villain had abandoned his defense of the girl and had all but given up in the face of Overhaul. Which was all the more surprising when Ghost spoke out and ended his silence. 

“I think you’ve said enough Overhaul, and I want to tell you that you're despicable.Worse than that, you are one of the most vile creatures I encountered on these streets.”, Ghost remarked without any emotion in his voice.

Overhaul recoiled in a way that a deeply insulted man could with his eyes growing wide and veins beginning to pop along his flesh. How dare he…

“You justify the torture of a little girl to bring back an organization that has no right to remain!”, Ghost all but shouted. “The Yakuza were nothing more than thugs and lowlives that enjoyed a bloated self-important ego.”

Overhaul was shaking in almost a blind rage. He’s heard the whole “you are evil talk” from those deliriously sick from hero syndrome, but this is the first time anyone dared disrespect the Yakuza in front of him. And from a villainous scum calling himself a hero no-less. 

“Even then, the Yakuza of old were men of integrity and honor! They at least looked for and cared for the people under their protection.”, Ghost spat, “ You have neither honor nor integrity! Nor would I say you even resemble anyone resembling the Yakuza!”

The silence in the alleyway was deafening. As the world remained still and quiet in the face of the two villain’s staredown. Overhaul’s bloodshot eyes were locked on the void inside Ghost’s hood. While the robed villain standing before the beaked one merely returned the stare but with all the contempt and indifference that the vacuum of space might contain. 

“You are nothing more than a barbarous beast pretending to be one! A hypocrite who preaches against the woes of quirks but uses his to bruteforce against any hardship that comes his way. A disgusting maggot with a pride larger than the carrion it wriggles on.” insulted Ghost

Overhaul had never been this angry before. Everything he worked and dreamed of was insulted and spat on like garbage. He would not let this filthy diseased dog get away with any of those words!

 “You will not have that girl, I won’t let vermin like you walk away with her.”, Ghost proclaimed, “I dare you to strike first, you vile Mak’oot !”

With those final words, Overhaul saw red and without even letting out a roar dashed at full speed towards the robed villain. Ghost didn’t move or even seem to acknowledge that his opponent was stampeding towards him like an angry bull. Overhaul’s limbs became contorted and more monstrous as they grabbed a hold of Ghost’s neck hidden in the confines of the hood. Ghost did not struggle nor did he react from what was clearly his death by the touch of Overhaul. Overhaul roared triumphantly as he activated his quirk, and awaited the bloody explosion that would kill this interloper. 

…

…

…

But to this horror, Ghost did not explode into a shower of red liquid and instead remained intact and unmoving.

Overhaul’s eyes widened in surprise while his mouth gawked open underneath his beak-like mask. Ghost remained as still as the singular limb remained on his neck in those short seconds that felt like hours. Then in a flash of white fabric, Ghost’s arms moved with blurred swiftness towards Overhaul’s neck and grabbed it. Clawed four fingered hands wrapped tightly around Overhaul’s neck and began to squeeze while lifting the bigger man into the air. A throaty choking noise escaped Overhaul’s throat as he let go of Ghost and brought them to Ghost’s monstrous hands in an effort to pry them off his neck. His legs began to kick and flail as he was lifted higher and higher. Blood dripped down his neck as the talons dug into his skin.

“Your quirk is powerful.”, remarked a feminine sounding Ghost, “It is definitely one of the strongest quirks a Mak’oot can possess. However…”

As Ghost paused in his speech, he seemingly began to grow in size before Overhaul’s eyes, as if he had a gigantification quirk. As the robes of the villain grew smaller, Overhaul saw more and more details emerge from the confines of the clothing. Blue skin, large black soulless eyes, a head full of squirming tentacles, and a mouthless snarl. Overhaul’s eyes bugged out from both strain and in fear as he realized that the thing holding capture pierced into him with a hatred as cold as the deep ocean.

“... I am bigger than you .”, Ghost spat with venom in her tone.

Chapter Text

Izuku was wound up like a spring toy with how nervous he was, but Hagakure’s arm lock helped settle some of the nerves. Even after that had changed in his life, Izuku was still highly strung about meeting new people outside of his jobs. 

They are going to be your future classmates. That’s why you are nervous.

Yeah, that simple fact alone would paralyze someone as socially stunted as himself out of fear that he would make a bad impression.  Izuku even considered going and getting dressed in a suit with the mentality of “first impressions matter”.  Luckily, Hagakure was able to reassure him that her classmates were some of the nicest, most friendly people she had met and they would get along like carrots and peas. 

…

Izuku saw them before Hagakure did, and it was very hard not to. Mutant quirks aside, it was hard not to recognize them on the account he had seen them many times in the reruns of the UA Sports Festival. Vague outlines became familiar as Izuku remembered the grueling circumstances that enabled their first face to face meeting. Or in one particular case, when Ghost was beating him down without any mercy. 

However, Izuku couldn’t solely say Hagakure’s classmates stuck out because of their notoriety or through his recollections at the USJ. There was something different about them that Izuku felt in his gut that said they were different from the average Hero Student. Which made all the more weird that he was there interacting with them like any normal teenager would. But that was something else to consider at another time because for now Izuku was not their future classmate or their frenemy Ghost.   

“How silly of me?!” said a surprised Hagakure, “I almost forgot! This is my boyfriend everybody!” 

Izuku jumped out of his daze as the eyeballs of all the teenagers were suddenly on him. 

“H-Hello?” Izuku said with a stutter as he nervously peered back to his girlfriend’s friends, “I’m I-Izuku Midoriya.”

Each of Hagakure’s classmates looked at Izuku with a penetrating gaze. Izuku recognized a few of them from the USJ and the Sports Festival. Like the electric boy and the girl with the earphone jacks. He was just glad that Bakugo seemed to ditch this little get together otherwise things might have gotten a little heated. But even without the explosive blonde around he wasn’t liking the looks he was getting, especially from the girls. Though the pink girl seemed to not be looking in his direction. Actually now that he thinks of it, she seems rather familiar…!

“You’re that girl from the butler cafe.” Izuku said without thinking while pointing towards the pink girl “Mina Ashido, I think?”

Mina in turn let out a tiny eep before she covered her face which was growing into a deep shade of pink. All eyes were on the pink girl as some unspoken secret had been replayed. Izuku noticed Hagakure subtly returning to his side and caressed his arm with an iron grip. 

“Um, was it something I said?” Izuku said with worry in his voice along with an increased heartbeat. 

“To be blunt.” said a short boy with ball shaped clumps in his hair “Ashido experienced the whole Lady’s Cup experience, and let’s say she couldn’t help but  mention ‘Strawberry-Spearmint swirls’.”

A girl with headphone jacks on her ears repaid the short boy’s statement by jabbing said ear jacks into his eye. The boy collapses onto the ground howling in pain rolling back and forth on the ground whilst clutching his eyes. 

Izuku was taken off guard by the whole thing. Both by the fact that it happened and no one seemed to pay any mind to it. It appears that this was such a common occurrence that everyone was used to it. 

Meanwhile the hidden meaning behind the  words was not lost on Izuku as his face began to heat up from the thought. He wished that he had his white robe so he could hide his face. However, the same not could not be said for the other girl’s of Hagakure’s UA friends. Barring Ashido, their faces betrayed the fantasy of him and his butler persona. The fish boy’s throat tightened as a sudden primal fear emerged from the deepest depths of his spine. 

Luckily for Izuku and unfortunately for the girls, Hagakure was there.If Izuku wasn’t made of sterner stuff then he would definitely cowered in fear from the aura of jealous rage emanating from Hagakure. This was enough to whip the other girl’s in line from their devious thoughts, but Hagakure decided to make sure this bud was nipped once for all. 

“Girls, let’s not make the same mistake that Ashido did.” Hagakure said to her now pale white friends “Right, Ashido?”

“It was a BIG mistake.” Mina Ashido said a little too frantically “I already apologized for it.”

“I know Ashido. I forgave you. After all, we all make mistakes in the heat of passion.” Hagakure said in an eerily calm voice. “Sometimes, we forget to hold back our strength during training for example…”

Izuku blinked in both shock and horror and decided the best thing to do was to let Hagakure handle the situation. The blonde boy with a black lighting bolt in his hair walked past the girls and towards Izuku. Izuku heard him mutter something along the lines of “girls” before he stretched his hand out to him. 

“Don’t mind them, we are all a little bit crazy in our own way. I’m Denki Kaminari.” 

With that the floodgates were open and Izuku became more or less acquainted with all of Hagakure’s male classmates by the time the girl’s were ready for their introduction. All of them seemed nice enough and their introduction passed without incident save for some odd glances directed at him from the Todoroki, Tsuyu and Tokoyami kid. He just hoped that they will be able to become friends once it all is over. But for now, it was time to go shopping with his girlfriend. 

Hagakure’s life as a Hero Student was very busy and she usually did not have the time to do a lot of the things that most other teenagers took for granted. Between both her studying and training she had never had the opportunity to do what was the most important step in a couple’s relationship: Shopping Together!

…

…

…

“Izuku, how does this shirt look on me?” asked Hagakure

“It looks alright. I don’t think the color suits your eyes.” Izuku said from within the mountain of clothes he was carrying. “Maybe you should consider…”

“For the last time, I am not going to wear one of the All Might t-shirts no matter how comfortable it is.” said an exacerbated Hagakure “I have a reputation to uphold and I don’t want everyone to think I am a hero otaku.”

A disappointed sigh escaped from the mountain of clothes. “Could you at least get yourself a hoodie in case it gets cold?”

“I already have a white one, so there’s no need.” replied a sly sounding Hagakure. 

“But that was my hoodie.” interjected Izuku.

“Which is why I don’t need one.”

…

“Come on. What if you need one?” whined Izuku. 

“I don’t think they would let us bring a knife with us unless its support gear. Besides, what would I need a filet knife for anyways?” asked Hagakure while examining the thin blade.

“If you don’t descale some animals, then the meat has a bad texture. Plus scales could get stuck between your teeth.” replied Izuku.

Hagakure blinked at her boyfriend’s words.

“Next you’ll tell me that there will be benefits to eating it raw versus cooked.” Hagakure sarcastically remarked.

Izuku opened his mouth before wisely closing it.

Shopping with Izuku has been an interesting experience. He was very knowledgeable about camping and wilderness survival, though some of the things he suggested were a step too far from Hagakure. It was probably a quirk of having someone like Marris in his life with her animalistic tendencies. Yet the survival weirdo in him paled in comparison to the hero otaku he clearly was. For someone who was considered by the media as an enemy of all heroes, it was odd seeing him act like a fanboy of them despite all that has happened. 

The sheer number of times he suggested some hero-themed clothing or camping item was frankly astronomical. Or how excited he would get over some item and gush about it like I was an artifact with a storied history. He would gush about an Endeavor Lighter, remarking how easy it was to start a fire with this product, and did so without acknowledging the fact he thrashed said hero like a ragdoll. Luckily for Hagakure, this all came to a stop when she slyly suggested that she try on a Mirko themed one piece swimsuit. To seal the deal, she picked up the article of clothing and held it in front of her body to give Izuku an idea how it would look on her. Hagakure had never seen him blush so quickly nor had she ever seen a shade of red so deep as that. Should she also mention his nose started bleeding as well. 

Regardless of all the memorable moments there was still one inescapable reality of shopping. And it was the fatigue of walking all over the place with your mind hard at work trying to decide what you wanted to buy and whether or not you could afford the price. 

“Is that the last of the stuff that you’ll think you will need?” Izuku asked while setting down their bags on a bench.

“I think so.” Hagakure replied while she sat down on the bench. 

Izuku stole a glance at his phone before looking back at his girlfriend. “If I am correct then we have about twenty minutes before we have to meet your friends at the food court?” 

Hagakure merely nodded in agreement. 

“Well since we have some time, I am going to take a trip to the restroom real quick.” said Izuku.

“Before you go, can you get me a bottle of water Izuku? I don’t think I can wait till the others show up.” asked Hagakure. 

Izuku nodded before going to a nearby vending machine and getting his tired girlfriend a cool bottle of water.  He handed the plastic encased liquid to Hagakure before scurrying off to the nearest restrooms.

Hagakure took a long drink from the bottle of water that her boyfriend had so generously bought for her, and let out a satisfied “ahh”  from the refreshing liquid. 

Distracted by her own thoughts, Tooru was a little more than oblivious as she sat down at her spot on the bench waiting for Izuku to come back. As a result, she didn’t really pay too much attention when someone exclaimed that she was Salacia from the video. After all, she and Izuku had been accosted a couple times by some fans of hers at the mall already, so she wasn’t really surprised there was another one wanting an autograph. 

However, before she could turn around and greet her fan, an arm suddenly wrapped itself over her shoulder. A violent shiver went through her form as Tooru was completely caught off guard. By instinct the young heroine-in-training activated Oarfish, filling the air with the scent of kelp, and was about to warp away from the handsy creep. Or she would have if not for the fact that she felt four fingers grip tightly around her neck. Something told her deep down to not move a muscle because she would be killed if she did so. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Hagakure Tooru. After all, we’re friends catching up, right? Unless you want my last finger to come down, I have max level reflexes after all.” said an all too familiar voice. 

Hagakure turned her head just enough to see the familiar blue-grayish hair and the unobscured face of Shigaraki Tomura. 

Shigaraki Tomura was a little goofy looking when he was dressed in his villain costume with the hands covering his face and body. However, somehow without those hiding the face of the villain he became a nightmare incarnate. His red bloodshot eyes felt like they were stabbing her with his gaze. His long blue-grayish hair hid most of his face in its length or in the shadows it created. His mouth was large with thin chapped lips combined with a set of teeth that somehow looked too large for it. His teeth were perfectly white, almost like they came from the bleached skull of a dead man. The black hoody combined with his long spindly arms and legs gave him enough of an uncanny valley look to make him appear not human but rather a poor mimicry of one. 

Hagakure never felt an ounce of fear when she confronted her beloved Izuku when Ghost consumed him. For no matter how twisted and monstrous he made himself, she knew deep down there was a beating heart inside all that darkness. However, Shigaraki was different. His aura felt…quiet. No heartbeat, no humanity. Just utter emptiness within his form. Everything about it felt like it was the cold uncaring embrace of death along with a squirming desire to destroy. Hagakure’s instincts screamed out at her to get away to find her beloved because…

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you…yet. I want to exhaust your dialogue with this chance encounter. So why don’t we take things easy? I’ll relax if you do?” said Shigaraki. 

…Shigaraki would kill her without a second thought. 

Despite the sudden loss of her breath and the frantic beating of her own heart, her mind remained clear. Hagakure gulped nervously with the fingers constraining her throat, reminding her of her vulnerability, as she reluctantly released Oarfish. The cold dreaded aura of Shigaraki retreated and the grip on her throat relaxed slightly.

“Good Good. I am glad we can keep things civil.” He replied.

“What do you want?” Hagakure said with steel in her voice despite her fear.

“You are annoying.” remarked Shigaraki

“Excuse me?”

“Shut up!” barked Shigaraki “You annoy me because of that stupid little stint with Ghost. And speaking of which, you know who else annoys me? Ghost !”

“I’m sorry?” Hagakure said whilst trying to sound calm. 

“You’d better be because this is partially your fault!” exclaimed Shigaraki “You had to go and defeat him using the dialogue option and everyone’s been talking about him. Just him. Not. Me.”

Hagakure kept quiet in the face of Shigaraki’s ranting as she was unsure if interrupting him would set him off or risk having him place down the last finger. 

“I do everything right. I formed an alliance with the Hero Killer, I destroyed Hosu with Nomu, I’ve infiltrated UA.” Shigaraki said bitterly “I should be the talk of the news right now, they should fear me but…”

Hagakure felt the fingers around her throat tighten up and the cold dreaded aura return to the villain. Shigaraki’s hooded head lowered as anger seemed to take hold of him. 

“They all talk about Ghost! They all obsess about him and his deeds. He pisses me off with how little he’s actually accomplished and gets praised. How I do so much yet get nothing! Everyone only cares about Ghost.”

Shigaraki’s head rose and turned to face Tooru again. 

“So tell me what the difference is between him and I? Why the hell do I get nothing when he gets everything!” Shigaraki growled. 

Hagakure’s heart was racing as all of the villain’s attention was on her and waiting for her to answer his question. No Marris to whisper into her ear the powerful words of her divinity or Izuku’s strength to protect her. She was completely on her own. Her brain went a million miles a second as she tried to come up with something satisfying enough to the villain without provoking him to press the last finger. Come on, Tooru! Think! Think!

…

…

..!

“For most people, what they see in the news will just be a story to them. To them, a good story has to have a good plot, a good hero, and a good…villain.” she said. 

Hagakure didn’t wait for Shigaraki to answer and kept talking for fear of him pressing down the last finger out of frustration with her answer. 

“But any villain or hero won’t just do, oh no. They both have to want something with a desire to see them fulfill that goal of their’s.” remarked the invisible girl “I know that Ghost wants to become the strongest in the world and he tries to prove through his battles with strong people.” 

“But I already do that. I want to destroy the things I hate, and so I do. So what’s the point in all of this?” growled Shigaraki, his temper rising. 

“My point is that nobody can really tell what you want Shigaraki. Sure, you destroy things but that’s not really unique. Average villains destroy things all the time nowadays, and that doesn’t make it interesting. Which means your story isn't interesting, so no one is paying you attention. You should be asking yourself a different question.” Hagakure said carefully. 

Shigaraki remained silent in the face of her question, and awaited the piece of wisdom she was going to share.

“Ghost was weak and wanted to sit at the top as the strongest man in the world. He hasn’t lost a single fight against any opponent, and everyone is interested if he can sit upon that throne at the top.” Hagakure said sagely “You said you wanted to destroy things, but why do you want to destroy those things, Shigaraki? Where do you want to sit at the end of your goal?”  

Silence. Hagakure had nothing else to say for that was all she could say in the short span of time she had. And yet Shigaraki was still there, holding her hostage with a single finger’s breadth away from death.  She was praying that Izuku would hurry up and get…

“You.” Shigaraki said, his voice somehow brighter, more certain, almost cheerful “Are an interesting woman, Hagakure Tooru. You, make things so much…clearer.”  

Shigaraki turned his head to face Hagakure again and greeted her with a nightmarish smile. But there’s something different with it along with the aura of the villain. The air around the villain was almost heavy and piercing. Hagakure no longer felt fear and death in the aura of the villain. It was something much worse.  It reminded her of Izuku’s own aura. But whereas Izuku’s was one that had hope and assurance. Shigaraki’s presence filled her with a sense of dread and hopelessness. 

It was like she was in the arms of a monster, a true monster from the darkest of fairy tales. The invisible teen’s invisible face hid the fear she was showing the villain while she unconsciously began to shiver in terror. Bile burned the back of her throat as the fingers gripping her neck felt like icy metal. Her eyes grew wet as the last of her resolve was crumbling before Shigaraki’s terrifying form. 

“Tooru?”

Both her and Shigaraki turned to see Izuku. The duo-colored teen was a mere twenty feet away from Hagakure and Shigaraki before he stopped in his tracks. He had a confused and worried expression on his face before suddenly it flipped. It was almost like Izuku had just realized who she was with and turned his gentle demeanor to something ferocious. Izuku’s eyes narrowed and his fists clenched. For only the briefest of moments, Hagakure caught a glimpse of Izuku’s aura and it was downright murderous. The air became still and dreadful as the auras of the villain and vigilante clashed. 

She knew in her gut that Izuku was quite literally one step away from donning his robe and attacking Shigaraki. He probably only stayed his hand by the mere fact that Hagakure was a hostage and hesitated out of fear of hurting her. However, it could not be mistaken that Izuku was hesitating. Instead it appeared that the fish boy was waiting for one slip up on Shigaraki’s part and he would pounce to defend Hagakure.     

“So you had company? But not one of your friends from UA? I’ve never seen this one before.” remarked Shigaraki “All well, guess our time is up. Follow me, and I’ll kill as many of these npcs walking around before I kill you.”

The hand that had been gripping her throat releases. And despite his grip on her being light she still shuddered out a breath from her throat. Shigaraki abruptly rises from his seat on the bench just as Izuku closes the distance between him and her. Hagakure practically jumps into her boyfriend’s arms seeking safety in his soothing presence.     

Hagakure turns her head away from Izuku and back towards Shigaraki. She caught one glimpse of his black hoody before he disappeared into the mass of people.  

“Tooru! Are you okay! Who was that?” Izuku said with a voice heavy with worry and suppressed anger. 

“Oh that was Shigaraki.” Her voice was eerily calm as the world began to swim around her. 

Hagakure knew Izuku had said something, but it was lost to her as she dashed to the nearest trashcan and emptied out her stomach. 

The sound of steel on steel rumbled softly in the carriage of a lone train car while the sun was slowly descending down the horizon. The car itself wasn’t anything too special aside from its neat and clean interior that Japanese trains are famous for. However, what made the car special was the two occupants. In the car was a boy with messy greenish-blue hair and a girl with short brown hair interlocked in an embrace while on the train’s seats. 

The two looked like a lovely couple if not for the rather stern look that Izuku had on his face and Hagakure’s tired face. The cause of which can be attributed to the afternoon that the two had at the mall.  Following the encounter with Shigaraki, Izuku had notified the police of the villain.  The mall had been evacuated and a search had been initiated. However, the police couldn't find the roaming villain. It was only after a couple hours of waiting and an hour of giving statements to the police did they allow the couple to return home. 

The afternoon was stressful enough as is with her encounter with Shigaraki, but it was made even worse with the police. Aside from the rather rough and intrusive interrogation, there was a worry that one of the police might recognize Izuku as Ghost based on the scant details that are available on Ghost. But aside from asking Izuku what he saw from returning from the bathroom, they didn’t bother him. Izuku wisely decided to escort Hagakure home the old fashion way to allow his girlfriend to destress from the whole ordeal. 

Hagakure took solace in that decision as she snuggled in the warmth of Izuku’s arms as he held her while they sat together. The duo colored teen had one arm over Hagakure’s shoulder while his other hand was interlocked into both of her’s. Hagakure was resting her head on Izuku’s shoulder as her eyes dropped with exhaustion. Izuku himself looked to be in deep thought despite the scarlet blush on his face. 

“Tooru.”, He said, breaking the silence. 

“Mmmyess, zuku?” Hagakure replied, her voice soft and muffled. 

“I’m sorry about today, I should’ve been there” Izuku half said half berate himself. 

Hagakure sobered up immediately, “Izuku you have nothing to apologize for. It’s not like you kne…”

“I get it. I couldn’t have known that he would be there. But…”

Izuku’s expression hardened briefly before he turned to look at the elf girl. It immediately softened when he gazed upon the face of his better half. 

“I have a bad feeling about this Tooru. I am going stir crazy with this entire thing.” He spoke with absolute certainty  “That’s why when I finish the meeting in Tokyo I am coming straight to you.”  

“Izuku. That’s a risky move. What if someone sees you?” Hagakure warned with a slight edge in her voice. 

“I will stay hidden and stay far enough away where no one will find me. I know it is a risky thing to do.” assured Izuku “I…I just will feel better knowing that if anything happens I’ll be right there. So please, just let me do this, Tooru.”

Izuku stared at her boyfriend with a skeptical expression as her conscience was screaming how much of a bad idea this was. However, she couldn’t help but remember the nightmarish smile of Shigaraki and the feelings of dread that were still too fresh in her mind. Hagakure felt her expression drop as the implication of the subject weighed in on her. The idea of izuku being close by would definitely put her at ease more so than the worry he would be found by her hero teachers. 

“As long as you don’t stir up trouble or get caught, then I’ll allow it. Just please go as Ghost and not as Izuku.” Hagakure sternly laid out. 

Izuku flashed a bright smile before giving Hagakure a kiss on the cheek. This action surprised both of them. Blood flushed to the faces of both teens as steam seemed to emanate from the top of their heads as well. Izuku looked away from his girlfriend with wide eyes and a wibbly smile. Hagakure gave the back of her boyfriend’s head a pouting face before she sneaked in closer to him. Izuku jumped in shock at the sudden closeness but soon snuggled back towards the smaller girl. With that the two remained locked in each other’s embrace and no other words were spoken between them. 

It was a rare day for the grounds of UA as an unprecedented fog had rolled in onto the campus and obscured the landscape in a heavy mist. It was odd but not impossible to deal for the eager students of UA’s hero course. They slowly but excitedly navigated the misty lands in their friend groups or some by all their lonesome. One group that approached the school contained only one student of UA and two strangers to the institution. 

Hagakure was dressed for the trip with a striped tank top and denim short shorts that was complimented by a white hoodie that was two sizes too large for her. Accompanying her was her boyfriend Izuku Midoriya. He himself was wearing a T-shirt that said “fish” in kanji while sporting a set of cargo shorts. Floating and swimming above the two was their patron, who was in her mermaid form. 

The trio talked and laughed as anyone would do in the company of others. It was a strange sight, but a welcomed one given this was the first time in a long time that they could act like normal people. But like many other things in their lives, they were running on borrowed time. 

“Well, looks like this is the end of the road for us.” Izuku said with a slight sadness to his tone. 

“For now.” Marris added with a positive note “We will share this path with you in the future, no doubt.”

Hagakure smiled as the thought invaded her mind. “It’ll be worth the wait!”

Izuku smiled at his girlfriend before his eyes went wide with realization and he went into a tirade that amounted to him signing off a checklist of Hagakure’s supplies.  Hagakure giggled at her boyfriend’s word vomit while Marris held the same expression as one does while watching a puppy play with a toy. As much as she wanted to stay there and wait for Izuku to devolve into incoherent mumbling, she did have a bus to catch. 

“Izuku.” she said, interrupting his stream of words. 

“Yeah.” he said softly, his eyes wide and face flushed. 

“Stay safe.” Hagakure replied before catching Izuku in a hug. 

Izuku briefly froze up in the face of being held by his squishy girlfriend before he rebooted and returned the hug. Marris watched in amusement at the two children she had taken under her wing and she couldn’t help but admire their growth and bonds with each other. However, her thoughts as a sideline observer were interrupted by a strong set of arms that grasped her and pulled her into the duo.  

“That goes for you too, Marris.” remarked Hagakure as she pulled the larger fish woman into the hug. 

“Don’t feel like you aren’t a part of us because you are important too.” Izuku added while aiding his significant other. 

Marris blinked at the gall of two before she herself smirked to herself and joined the hug. “Old habits die hard I suppose.” she murmured softly.  

For a while, it felt as if there was no world beyond this trio. No responsibilities. No Dichotomy. No mistakes or regrets. It was serene for once. However, such moments couldn’t last forever. Eventually the trio broke their hug and Hagakure hurried along towards the bus, often glancing back at the two. Izuku and Marris waved and smiled at their departing companion until both the fog and distance devoured her out of sight. The mother-son duo linger there for a moment before departing as well, as their trip to Tokyo would take place the next morning. Little did any of them realize this was the last time they would see each other as the blossoming family they were growing into. Going forward from this day nothing will ever be the same again.