Chapter Text
”I want to be a hero.” Izuku isn’t talking to anyone in particular. It’s just the truth. His Quirk is evil, his father is a monster, but he wants to be a hero so badly.
~
“Hi, Tomu.” Izuku could barely believe what he saw. It’d been years since he saw Tomura so… blank. When his father first kidnapped him, really. Once they’d bonded it was like Tomura’s personality did a complete 180. They’d had each other, and that was it. The guilt from leaving Tomura behind had mostly settled in Izuku’s gut, but then, seeing him like this, it made itself known once more.
“Izu?” He didn’t sound like he believed it. Izuku couldn’t blame him. Nedzu had to pull major strings to get this to work, and Izuku was grateful for his help. His “rehab” was going perfect, and Aizawa was still training him, teaching him hero laws and standard protocol. They had a plan.
“Hey.” Izuku couldn’t help but smile. Tomura’s scars were finally getting healed, and while his skin wouldn’t ever really be “clear”, it was certainly less painful. Decay’s negative effects were clear to see in his skin, and how thin he was. An overactive metabolism meant he was tiny, and while that was fine when he was a villain, if he was going to ever reintegrate into society, he probably needed to bulk up slightly. Then again, nothing was particularly strange looking nowadays.
“You’re really here, right?” He was behind the glass, which Izuku thought was stupid, but whatever. It wasn’t like he could actually hurt Izuku, and Izuku would never hurt him. He couldn’t bring himself to.
“I am. I told you I’d visit.” There weren’t tears in Tomura’s eyes, but Izuku was definitely crying. “I’m sorry.”
“You- you don’t have anything to be sorry for.” Tomura closed his eyes. “I’m sorry I never saw what he was. That I never questioned why…”
“I didn’t know until he killed my mom. I wouldn’t have ever known if I hadn’t seen it.” Tomura’s eyes snapped open, and he looked at Izuku in horror.
“He- he-“
“That’s why I left. I couldn’t trust him anymore.” Izuku closed his eyes, letting tears fall. “I tried to find you. I tried to find you before I left so I could try to get you out but-“
“You wouldn’t have been able to. And with both of us, he would’ve found you again.” Izuku gripped his arms tightly. “I’m stubborn. You know it, I know it. I would’ve tried to make you stay.”
“I know. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have tried.”
They both sat silent for a moment, the noise of guards and quiet radio static fading into the background easily. Izuku wasn’t sure what else to say. There wasn’t anything he could do. Nedzu could pull strings, but he couldn’t change what people thought. Tomura was a villain in the public and legal eye, and no amount of evidence to what All For One had done would really change that.
“I’m assuming this isn’t just you keeping your promise.” Izuku’s eyes snapped open. “I hear them talk about you sometimes. It’s not hard to put together.”
“I’m not asking you to be a hero. I can’t even be a hero. I’m just asking you to try.” Tomura glared at the glass between them. “Please, Tomu.” A buzzer signaled that his time was up, and Izuku stood carefully. “Think about it. Please.”
~
Hitoshi wasn’t surprised that Aizawa and Yamada saw right through the cover story Izuku made up on the spot for his presence at Kamino. He also wasn't surprised that he’s grounded for the next “foreseeable future”, which essentially meant until they’d both cooled off. Which was a while, considering Izuku was also grounded, but for life instead. Not that something as simple as grounding would be able to stop Izuku. It would probably take the literal end of the world to stop him, and even then, it’s probably only a fifty-fifty shot. And that’s assuming Izuku himself isn’t the reason for impending doom. Especially with Nedzu teaching him. Hitoshi already had to stop him from figuring out what might happen if Monoma copied his Quirk, and Hitoshi had to literally brainwash him and drag him to Aizawa to stop him. It wasn’t something he wanted to repeat.
Hitoshi was surprised, however, to find that Izuku was no longer “officially” at U.A. He was still there, obviously, but he wasn’t taking classes, not anymore. Aizawa told everyone he couldn’t, that his kidnapping had traumatized him to the point he couldn’t do it. Bakugou made some noises at that, but Aizawa shut him up real quick.
That didn’t stop Izuku from looking over Hitoshi’s notes every night, flipping through them and marking them down for himself. He claimed he just wanted to be an analyst, use his smarts for good.
Hitoshi knew it was bullshit. Izuku wanted to be a hero. It was cruel to ask him to be anything else, but he understood, in some terrible way. Izuku lied, over and over again, out of fear, but lied all the same. Combined with him killing his dad, there was no chance in hell he could legally get a license. Hitoshi was surprised he wasn’t in jail, although he’d apparently used blackmail to his advantage. Not that Hitoshi could blame him. He’d do the same.
“Your hair is going white at the roots,” Hitoshi remarked, ruffling it gently. Izuku jumped slightly, and hurried over to the nearest mirror to inspect it. He swore, pulling back his fringe.
“Fuck,” He whispered. Hitoshi sat up straighter, concerned. It wasn’t that weird, was it? No one spared a second glance at two-toned hair anymore, and Izuku wasn’t going to look like an old man. White hair was mundane, nowadays.
“What’s wrong?”
“My dad- his hair was white.” Hitoshi felt himself balk. That would explain it. Izuku always said he looked a lot like his dad, especially his hair and freckles.
“I’ll go get hair dye.” Izuku turned back to look at him.
“You’re grounded. We’re both grounded.” Hitoshi grinned at him, picking Soba up off of his lap and depositing the cat on the ground. He didn’t seem to care, jumping onto a kitchen chair and curling up to sleep. “They might actually murder us if we do anything.”
“Bold of you to assume I don’t accept death.” At Izuku’s frown, Hitoshi softened his grin. “Come on, it’ll be fine. I’ll be in and out in a heartbeat.”
“What are you two hellions planning now?” Aizawa asked, and Hitoshi swore softly.
“Nothing-” Izuku started, but Hitoshi cut right through that. Aizawa would probably make an exception, and there was no point in hiding it now.
“Izuku’s hair is going white, and his piece of shit dad had white hair. We’re gonna dye it back to green.” Hitoshi looked up to him, daring him to argue. He’d been more supportive than most about the whole thing, standing in Izuku’s corner more than anyone else.
“Fine. But we’re getting all the stuff we need for it, and we’re telling Hizashi. He’ll want to help.” Hitoshi grinned again, and pulled Izuku by the arm.
“Wait, why am I coming?” He asked, even as he let Hitoshi drag him towards the door.
“We need to color match, stupid. It won’t take much, and you won’t even have to bleach your hair!”
~
Tenko was the only person who knew the doctor well enough for this to work. It was already a risk, but Life Force had the drawback of limiting movement, and the doctor wasn’t exactly equipped to fight in the first place. The heroes were ready, and Tenko was prepared to pin him down, if need be.
Getting a plea deal was made easier when Izuku suggested they just… “kill” Shigaraki Tomura. A simple thing to do, because he hadn’t ever legally existed in the first place. Supposedly, he died from a sudden heart attack. Which, with him being only twenty, looked weird, but no one was going to question it much. Combined with the promise of spilling literally everything he knew, Tenko got off easy.
He was still in jail. He would be, for the rest of his life. Izuku seemed to think that he could integrate into society again. Tenko wasn’t so sure, and in all honesty, he didn’t want to. He couldn’t, not after everything he’d done, all the pain he’d caused. Rehabilitation was great, but it didn’t erase the past. Even if it did, it wasn’t worth it. Tenko knew he was stubborn, unwilling to change. He still didn’t like heroes, still didn’t like All Might, was still bitter that he was left to rot.
He was still in jail, but he wasn’t getting the death penalty. Izuku had a lot of blackmail and a lot of leverage, but he wasn’t a miracle worker. Him not dying was just about the best they could do for him, and Tenko was fine with it. He’d long since accepted his fate, the moment Izuku shattered his view of Sensei.
Izuku had Decay, and Tenko felt decidedly… freer, without it. He’d still kept his pinky up at all times, the habit so far ingrained in him he couldn’t stop himself from doing it.
Instead, the Warp Quirk sat heavy in his stomach. Izuku warned him that it wasn’t pleasant to use, although it was easy to understand. Think of the person you wanted to summon. Focus on summoning them to your location. Wait, and pray. Simple, really.
So when the doctor stumbled into the cell, coughing up a storm, Tenko couldn’t help but feel pleased with himself. If he was stuck here for the rest of his life, then the doctor ought to suffer the same fate. Bastard was a monster. Assuming they didn’t just kill him the moment he spilled everything about the Noumu project. Tenko wouldn’t blame them, either way.
~
There’s a vigilante who lurks around Musutafu. No one knows what his Quirk is. Some people say it’s multiple people, others think it’s highly specialized gear. He patrols often enough that he’s well known, the grin of a green bunny mask a comforting sight to those in need or in danger. Heroes aren’t meant to work with him, but most people are sure Eraserhead, and later, Siren, do anyways. He’s surprisingly popular, with some asking the Hero Commission to make an exception and give him an official license. Fans make pins and stickers of him, poses of him in action. He’s got a surprisingly large fan base for a vigilante.
When the Yakuza start to rise up, whispers of their Quirk destroying bullets and their mysterious source getting louder and louder, they’re destroyed in a matter of hours. It’s outside his normal patrol, but it’s to save Eri, the child whose blood was spilled for a worthless cause by a worthless man. If Overhaul was strangely lacking a Quirk when he was found, tied up nice and pretty (complete with a bow on his forehead), then most people would just assume he’d shot himself with one of his own bullets.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“I’m not asking you to like me, Nighteye. I don’t need nor want your approval. You can either work with me, or around me, but I’m getting her out.”
They didn’t need to know that someone else had it. They didn’t need to know that someone had convinced Eri that her Quirk wasn’t cursed, that she was perfect the way she was, that Overhaul was wrong. They didn’t need to know she was taken in by Aizawa Shouta, homeroom teacher of the infamous class 1-A.
He’s got a lot of different nicknames, mainly “problem child”, but he doesn’t seem to mind them. He’s friendly and kind, good with lost kids and supervillains alike. It’s not just flashy fights or signature moves with him. People ask why he bothers with the smaller things, why he’s not a spotlight hero for everyone to see.
”Sometimes, saving the world is stopping a villain, sometimes it’s getting a kid back home.
Sometimes, he’s spotted at a small grave, placing flowers down gently and whispering a few words. No one bothers him. If a man who seems determined to save everyone needs to mourn, they let him mourn.
Some heroes grumble about him, saying they don’t wish to work with someone outside of the law, but it’s often ignored in favor of his skills and experience. Even if they don’t work with him, he doesn’t care.
Prism was there to stay.