Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hey everybody! It’s not a new chapter, but honestly I really didn’t feel like I would’ve been able to write a new chapter until I rewrote the first. Every time I go back and read it I’m struck by how awful it really is. I’m hoping that rewriting it will not only encourage more people to give the whole story a try rather than being put off by the bad writing in the first chapter, but also increase the value of the story as a whole and show just how far I’ve come in my writing in the last year. In addition, I really don’t feel like the Izuku of the original chapter matches up that well with the feeling of the story as a whole. As I continue, I’m going to attempt to rewrite one chapter every time I release a new one, just to improve the story a bit as it continues! Without further ado, Thank you!

Izuku was tired. No, actually, that was an understatement. He was utterly exhausted . He was quirkless, and discrimination was a growing problem. The media said that 20% of the population was quirkless, but 99% of them were the older generations. In the latest generation of children, only 0.3% were quirkless, and Izuku was unlucky enough to be one. Middle school was still as unforgiving as ever, and frankly? He was tired of it. All this fuss, all the name calling, the bullying, the death threats and suicide bait, simply because he didn’t have a power to call his own? It made Midoriya tired, but he never fought back. He kept taking all of the punishment, all of the torture. He continued to slog through the passing days even as the hell he called school continued to beat him down. Why did he keep struggling?

Because he was going to be a hero .

Lost completely in thought, Izuku didn’t even realize he was home until he had nearly bumped into the door. He sighed and mentally prepared himself to go inside. He didn’t know if his sisters were home or not, and he was really hoping they weren’t. After all, they hated him.

To be fair, it hadn’t started off that way. When Izuku was born, his older sisters Kazeha and Hariki were extremely protective of him, and while he was growing up they were always right there beside him. Once they graduated and became pro heroes though, things slowly started to change. It wasn’t much at first, just a seemingly harmless comment here and there, but when Izuku was officially diagnosed as quirkless things started to happen. An astonishing amount of pro heroes are extremely discriminatory against those without quirks, and every day at work, all Hariki and Kazeha heard was how useless their little brother was, and how they were so much better and needed to start shunning him. At first they were disgusted by the comments, but as the years drew on, slowly they started to crack, and become hostile. Their mother never joined them, but even she had fallen into the quirkist worldview, and it was shown not through hatred, but a lack of it, or more accurately, a lack of anything. At this point Inko practically ignored Izuku’s existence.

Bracing himself, Izuku stepped through the door and into the house, relaxing significantly when he realized he was the only one home. He made his way into the kitchen and turned on the television as he made himself something to eat.

“-N other news, Pro Hero Zephyr has stopped a hostage situation in Hosu today, managing to restrain the villain while she freed the hostages simultaneously! After this rescue, it is estimated that she sits around number eighty six on the Japanese hero rankings, coming in about twelve places behind her younger sister, Beat. Now for our reporter on scene.”

“Thanks Maki. I’m standing here with Zephyr right now, miss Zephyr do you have anything to say to the viewers?”

“Hmm, well there’s always a lot to s-”

The tv shut off with a click, revealing Izuku sitting at the counter, eyes even more dead than they were before. Even on the tv, his sister was still everywhere he seemed to look. Kazeha and Hariki had risen pretty quickly in the ranks, as both had inherited mutations of their mother’s quirk. Kazeha managed to get a mutation that allowed her to make blades out of mental energy, attributing to her hero name: Zephyr. Hariki got pretty much the opposite of his mom’s quirk. She could repel things with pulses of energy, and she was skilled. She didn’t have the raw power of Kazeha, but her control was incredible.

Suddenly Izuku was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of the door opening.

‘ Speak of the devil huh?’

Hariki had just walked through the door, and despite her small stature, she seemed like a massive terror to Izuku. 

“Oh great, and just when I was hoping I made it home before you. Out of my way, useless.”

Izuku quietly stood up and walked to his room before shutting the door behind him. His head was throbbing in pain and he didn’t want to deal with his sister’s loathing unless he had to. Almost robotically, he took out his homework and finished it quickly before opting to work on his notebooks. His head had other plans though, and began pounding in agony when he started to write.

Izuku hissed in pain, but got the message from his body and laid down to sleep instead. 

As the sun shone through his window and woke him up, Izuku sat up groggily, clutching his head with discomfort. His headache from yesterday hadn’t fully gone away, still lurking in the back of his head. 

He got dressed and prepped his bag rather quickly, but when he glanced at the clock his face paled. 

‘ Dangit im going to be late!’

He threw on his shoes and rushed out the door, running to his school as fast as he could.

Izuku burst into the classroom with minutes to spare, sitting down quickly as he prepared for the strain of the day. Almost immediately he knew it was going to be a rough one when he saw a hand slam onto his desk roughly. 

“So useless you can’t even show up on time huh Deku? ”

The name was spat out with so much venom even some nearby kids flinched in their seats.

Izuku simply looked up with dead eyes. He didn’t know why but the combination of his headache and all the things he had already been through had made him pretty uncaring about today. 

“Hey Kacchan.”

Bakugou reeled back slightly when he saw the lack of emotion in Izuku’s eyes. He had been fully expecting the usual terror and fear, but something about the lack of it made him uncomfortable. Sadly, it still wasn’t enough to put him off completely. 

“What the fuck happened to you? Your sisters finally realize how useless you are?”

Izuku didn’t bother replying, rather distracted by the flaring of his headache once again, the pain gradually increasing.

Katsuki slammed his hands on Izuku’s desk again, angered by the lack of a reaction.

“Answer me when I talk to you, Deku!”

Luckily for the greenette, he was saved by the class bell going off. Katsuki stalked away angrily, muttering under his breath as he sat down a little forcefully.

The rest of the day actually went by pretty quickly, although his headache did worsen throughout. Of course though, the world couldn’t even give him a single day without something happening.

“DEKU!”

Izuku flinched as he heard the voice behind him, and attempted to walk faster and make it off of the school grounds. Unfortunately, fate wasn’t on his side and he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt.

“What do you want Kacchan?”

“I wanna know why the fuck you think you can just walk away from me!”

The words were followed by a swift kick to the gut. 

Izuku fell to the ground, coughing and retching as pain blossomed through his stomach.

“You aren’t fucking special, Deku ”

Another kick.

“You're weak. ”

A punch to the side.

“ Pathetic. ”

A hand grabbed the back of his head.

“ Worthless. ”

Izuku’s headache spiked as his head was slammed into the ground by the blonde demon.

“Stay down if you know what’s good for you. Oh, and Deku? I saw you writing in that fucking notebook again. If you want to be a hero that bad, throw yourself off the fucking roof. Maybe you’ll get a quirk in your next life.”

Hot tears pricked at Izuku’s eyes as the bully walked away laughing. Strangely, it didn’t last long. The grief he felt was quickly overtaken by the pain that had been the primary resident in his skull since the day before.

Numbly, Midoriya collected his things and began to trek home.

About halfway there, he deviated from his standard route and suddenly sat down on a swing set in the middle of an old park. No one was around and he took the time to just breathe in. The ache in his mind still hadn’t gone away, but despite that, he just sat back and watched the leaves drift lazily across the ground. 

He didn’t have the slightest clue why he decided to stop at the park, but he didn’t really care, he didn’t have the energy to; so when a blade slipped around his throat and pressed up against his jugular, he just sighed in resignation.

“Stay the fuck still or I’m going to cut your neck you understand?”

Izuku didn’t move, opting to just remain still. His headache had increased in intensity once more, and now it was bad. Even the slightest movement caused his head to spike in pain. 

“STOP RIGHT THERE VILLAIN!”

For the first time all day, Midoriya’s eyes gained a spark as he heard the voice of his biggest hero, All Might. Headache momentarily forgotten, he began to turn to see his idol, but the blade pressing against his neck quickly reminded him why that wasn’t a good idea. 

Resignedly, Izuku just kept still as he listened to what was happening.

“Don’t move All Might! If you do, I’ll slit his throat!”

“HAH! NO YOU WON’T!”

“Why wouldn’t I?!”

A burst of air ruffled Izuku’s hair, and the knife clattered to the ground, no longer held.

“BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY CAUGHT YOU.”

Midoriya turned around to see the visage of the number one hero crouching down, preparing to leap away.

“All Might wait!”

All Might hesitated, quickly addressing the kid. “UH, YES KID? IF IT’S AN AUTOGRAPH I ALREADY SIGNED YOUR NOTEBOOK.”

“Woah really? Wait, that's not the point. Can someone without a quirk become a hero?”

All Might was stressed out, as he was straining to hold his buff form, so he quickly answered. “Honestly, probably not. At best you’d be a liability to others. Take care!”

As if he didn’t just crush a kid’s dream rather uncaringly, the giant man leapt away rapidly.

Izuku stood there motionless, the spark fading out of his eyes immediately. His hero just told him he couldn’t be a hero. Not only that, he said he's a LIABILITY.

The pain came rushing back, stronger than ever before. Izuku was sick of it all. The pain, the hurt, the bullying, the “heroes” that were everything, quirks, he was sick of it all. 

The pain in his head ran rampant, pulsing and rampaging. Izuku clutched his head in agony as thought ran through his head, unfamiliar and alien to him. 

‘I’m sick of this. I’m so fucking tired.’

‘I hate him.’

‘ Fuck All Might. Fuck Bakugou. Fuck Kazeha. Fuck Hariki.’

‘Fuck them all. They can all just fucking burn in hell .”

He clenched his fist, nails digging into the skin as red liquid dripped down his fingers. Gritting his teeth, he raised his arm and pulled back, the pain in his head peaking to a mad crescendo of agony.

With a yell of frustration, and fury, Izuku threw his fist out at the nearest object, an old oak tree that towered over the park. As his fist met wood, the pain in his head vanished, leaving his mind clearer than it ever was. All Izuku could find was rage. Then his world went white.

As he came to again, the first thing he noticed was the lack of a headache.  A close second was the fact that the tree was gone. And it wasn’t some metaphorical saying, no, the tree was destroyed . All that was left was a new layer of wood chips and a splintered trunk where the tree was. 

And Izuku? He felt amazing. He felt free. He felt like a fog over his mind had been cleared after years of incorrect thinking. He didn’t feel timid, nor shy. He felt brash, and rageful. He wanted everyone who had done him wrong to suffer. Part of him protested this new thinking, this new part of Midoriya that had woken up, but the other half of him felt that this was his missing piece, the section of him that- 

He was cut off by his own thoughts rushing in as he realized something.

‘OH MY GOD I HAVE A QUIRK HOLY SHIT!”

He didn’t know whether to freak out or be excited or scream, so his body was prompted to make the decision for him the second time that day, and he promptly passed out.

2 Days Later…

Izuku had finally worked out the specifics of his new quirk, Fury.

Firstly, it seemed to change his way of thinking. Not entirely, but the quirk seemed to make him not only more confident, but more easily angered. Not to the point where it was a problem, only so that it made his quirk much easier to use. As for his quirk itself, it not only amplified the anger he felt by hundredfolds, but in addition, the angrier he got, the stronger he became. It wasn’t simply strength, he also became faster, more agile, and was able to pick up sounds and smells with incredible ease. It was as if he almost became part cyborg. 

Beside the discovery of his quirk, Izuku’s fire to become a hero had been reignited, and as such, he began the hunt for a job. He wanted to get stronger, but good gyms were expensive. Luckily, he had jotted down applications for quite a few jobs, and today was the day he was supposed to get calls back from most of them. 

His first returned call came not even twenty minutes later, from one of the later jobs he had applied to. 

“Hello, this is Midoriya speaking.”

“Ah Mr. Midoriya, this is Tim’s Flowers, I wanted to speak to you about your application. Despite the astounding resume you put together, I am sorry but you didn’t quite pass our background check, and I cannot offer you the job.”

Almost as if he didn’t want to hear a response, the line went dead, and Midoriya was left staring at his phone in shock. 

‘My fucking background? I’m as clean as a whistle! What kind of bullshi- oh.’

His quirk status was included in the background check, and he hadn’t bothered to update it yet. They all thought he was still quirkless. 

Suddenly dreading the next few calls, Izuku slumped down in minor annoyance.

Just as expected, the next three calls all went similarly, most of them giving an offhand excuse then hanging up before he could answer. Just when he was about to give up, the phone rang once more. 

Izuku picked it up slowly and tiredly spoke into the phone.

“Hello, this is Midoriya.”

“Heya kid! You’re the one that applied for the construction job right? I noticed on your background that you were quirkless, and well you hit the jackpot with us! My company exclusively employs those with what society sees as ‘weak’ quirks, or those with none. So I hope you’ll join us soon! Our first job is in the city center tomorrow at 2. Does that work with you?”

Izuku was beaming. “Absolutely sir! I won't disappoint!”

The next day Izuku ran up to the foreman of the work site in his best work gear, and tapped on his shoulder quickly.

“Alright sir, I’m ready to work!”

The hulk of a man turned around, frowning slightly at Midoriya’s small build, but he quickly began beaming again. 

“Welcome to the team, kid! Today I’ll have you earning the ropes and getting used to the labor. Head over to the cement area, you’ll be mixing some new batches and learning to lay bricks.”

Izuku grinned. “Got it sir! I won’t let you down!”

Chapter Text

It had been six months since Izuku had been working with the construction company, and in that time he had undergone quite a few changes. His scrawny body had filled out, leaving him at a lean boxer’s build. All the work he had been doing spurred another growth spurt as well, leaving him at a respectable 5’ 9”. His stamina had been wildly increased and he was rapidly on the track to becoming strong. He had also gotten his quirk officially registered underneath the name “Fury” with the listed effect being a strength increase according to his anger. His relationships with friends and family still weren’t great, hell, he doubted his family even noticed his change, but he continued on anyways.
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“Alright sir that’s the last batch! Thank you again for letting me work this site too!”

Izuku’s employer chuckled. “It’s not a big deal Midoriya, and I told you, call me Tsuyoichi, I’m not just your boss, I’m your friend! Be careful on the way home kid.”

“Got it! Thank you again Tsuyoichi-san!”

Tsuyoichi chuckled to himself “That kid is gonna be the death of me.”

Izuku was grinning wildly as he sprinted back to the park where he first discovered his quirk, running faster and faster as he leapt over obstacles and debris in his rush. He had discovered new aspects to his quirk and he was incredibly excited to try them out. After about ten minutes of running he came to a small clearing in a grove of trees, and he proceeded to sit down and think.

He brought to mind all of the pain he had felt, all of the betrayal he had experienced. His anger rushed to the surface, meeting Izuku’s will. With fiery green eyes and a thin-lipped smile that promised pain, he swung at the tree.

With a loud crack the tree was separated from the stump. The grass behind the tree bent as the power of his punch created a small shockwave. Izuku let his anger drop and began to hop around in excitement, frantically twitching.

“FINALLY I DID IT! I’M STRONG ENOUGH!!”

After his outstanding success with his quirk development, he headed home, slowly opening the door to the apartment only to be greeted by a sight he didn’t think he’d have to deal with anytime soon. Three pairs of vibrant green eyes stared at him from the living room couch, his sisters sitting on either side of Inko. He walked slowly into the room, struggling to keep down the rage that flared up when he saw them sitting there.

Kazeha sneered “If it isn’t the quirkless burden. Where have you been? Crying about your insignificance?”

Izuku shot her a glare, his anger building even more. “No, in fact, I’ve been doing some training so I can keep up with hero work.”

Those words made Hariki laugh. “You? A hero? That’s a funny joke. Face it brother, you’ll never be a hero.”

Izuku let some of his fury slip on accident. “You shut your mouth. At least I don’t act like a villain to my own-”

“Izuku!” His mother stared at him in shock. “How dare you talk to your sisters that way! Apologize!”

He gritted his teeth angrily. Hariki and Kazeha looked at him with smug, expectant smiles on their faces.

“I- I’m sorry. I’m sorry you two are utter bitches.”

He stormed off into his room, slamming the door with a bang that shook the apartment and cracked his doorframe.

Kazeha shot up in a fit of annoyance. “How dare he call me a bitch! I’ve been working to keep his ungrateful ass safe and he can’t even do anything to protect himself! What the fuck is that about!”

Inko sighed. She knew her daughters had lost all familial love for their brother, and in all honesty she was beginning to feel the same. The money she made wasn’t much, and she had to rely on her daughters to get by because he sucked up so much of her budget. If only he didn’t exist life would be so much better for her and her family. But of course the proof of his life was right there. He hadn’t been around much though, so she wasn’t paying as much, which was a relief. She didn’t care too much for what he did anyways, as long as it didn’t interfere with her daughter’s success.

After a few minutes of talking and hushed gossip the two daughters left the building, leaving only a tired mother and an angry son. Inko went over to the cabinet and went for a glass of water before changing her mind and using her quirk to grab a hefty glass bottle filled with an amber liquid from the top of the fridge. She groaned softly as she knocked back a glass of whiskey. It was looking to be a long night for her as she could hear her charge screwing around in his room. She listened closely as she passed by his door, only hearing muted thuds and angry grunts. Uncaringly, Inko went into her own room and began to drink.

Izuku was steaming. Those two horrid people who were unfortunately related to him had exhausted his thin patience. He had quickly learned while working out his quirk that he no longer had the patience of an angel, and he was constantly angry. Suppression was possible, he could keep it chained up, but it was an ever present emotion, roiling wildly just beneath the skin.

He unleashed most of his anger on the poor punching bag that he had bought, its leather covering already patchy and worn after only three months of use. He was at least smart enough to have bought the strength quirk bag, rather than the plain old bag which wouldn’t have lasted under the onslaught he unleashed. After a good hour of beating he grabbed a towel and began to wipe down. Six months of construction work ensured he had by no means a bad figure, in fact he probably would have been one of the more attractive figures at his school if he hadn’t been labeled a failure by the blond bully he knew as Katsuki. Izuku crashed onto his bed, tired of all of the different thoughts racing through his head, the rage and the insults playing on repeat in his head.

Quirkless

Bastard

Useless

Burden

He groaned as he failed once again to keep himself from falling into overthinking. Taking a pencil in hand he began to write in his Quirk Analysis notebook in order to distract himself. Over the last six months he had filled it with hundreds of ideas and possible applications of his quirk and tons of side effects and weaknesses. So far the one he was most worried about was backlash of over-strengthening, and he was also worried about losing control if it ever got too far out of hand for him to keep under restraint. In addition some of the side-effects he had noticed was that while he was enraged, he sometimes lost focus on everything but the target, and he gained quite the high pain threshold. All of this meant that he was a great brawler, but he would trade out most of his focus for that strength. To Izuku it was a perfect tradeoff. He got so caught up in scribbling down more notes he didnt even notice he was nodding off.
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I AM HERE! I AM HERE! I AM H-KSSSGHSKKKSHHHH

Izuku grumbled angrily as he finally crushed the annoyance that woke him up. It was only once he had gotten all the rheum out of his eyes that he realized he had accidentally smashed one of the few pieces of All Might merch he was planning to sell.

‘Shit.’

Groaning in exasperation, he got up and got dressed while throwing away the crumpled shell of the old clock. He looked around his room for a moment, remembering when he had every inch covered in All Might merch. Now all of that had disppeared, replaced with other heroes such as Ingenium or Present Mic. Since All Might snapped him out of his blatant hero worship, he realized just how inefficient the man was. He had no sidekicks, and tried to take on the world alone. Endeavor had more villain captures than All Might did! The only reason the Pillar was still in his number one spot was thanks to his public image. Izuku grimaced as he thought about what the number one hero was really like, before realizing he was going to be late to school.

‘Shitshitshitshit’

He leapt out the door and began sprinting down the road to Aldera rapidly, passing by many people who were confused by the green blur that blew through the town with naught but a rush. When Izuku finally ran through the door to his classroom he was met with the ringing of a bell.

Lazily the teacher looked up from his desk. “Midoriya. Late.”

Indignantly he burst out. “But I was through the door by the time the bell rang!”

“No Midoriya, you weren’t. Now go sit down.”

The whole class began to snicker openly at the poor boy’s misfortune, all but Bakugou that is, who instead opted to bore a hole into Izuku’s head with a deadly glare. However Bakugou was caught off guard when he returned the glare with just as much ferocity. The instances of him standing up for himself had become more and more numerous, however there hadn’t been a true fight yet, so for now the supposedly quirkless kid was still safe from repercussions, however that didn’t mean that he was safe.

After one particularly long school day spent urgently waiting to leave, Izuku jumped up and walked out the door only to be met by Bakugou and his cronies hanging around at the gate. He cursed under his breath as he knew what was about to happen.

“If it isn’t the failure! Well hi there Deku. Care to tell me why you’ve been avoiding me these last few months? Working out isn’t going to do much if you don’t have any power beyond an average running speed.”

Bakugou’s cronies burst out laughing at that, then again they laughed at almost everything he said, just to stay within his good graces rather than on the business end of his explosions.

Izuku’s face darkened as the rush of ever present fury brought itself to the surface once again. “Well Bakugou, it’s a good thing I have more than speed. After all now I have what I need to kick your fucking ass.”

Katsuki was taken aback at Izuku openly cursing but regained his cockiness quickly enough. “Oh really? Are you sure it won’t just be a repeat of what happened last time? After all a quirkless shit like you couldn’t hurt a hair on my head.”

Izuku grinned ferally at that statement. “Alright then. Five.”

“Haaah?! The fuck you mean five Deku?!”

“Four.”

“Are you seriously counting down?! Fine then!”

“Three.”

“Let’s go already!”

“Two.”

“You’re going down.”

“One.”

“Alright Deku here I come!”

“Zero.”

The instant the last syllable left Izuku’s lips Bakugou blasted forward with a ferocious yell. Izuku brought up his hands in an instant and for once accepted the rage. He didn’t try to keep it back or control it. He let his fury flow. Immediately spinning around Izuku grabbed Bakugou’s hand and threw him into the ground with a feral growl before rushing in and throwing a punch. Katsuki rolled out of the way in the nick of time and let off an explosion into Izuku’s face as the falling fist made a small crater near his back. As Izuku whipped his head back around Bakugou blasted back onto his feet and overhead while Midoriya jumped to counter. Foot met forearm before Izuku pushed Katsuki’s legs out from under him and slammed him into the ground. He grabbed his hands quickly and squeezed with a strength belied by his stature.

“Give in”

Katsuki continued to struggle, wanting desperately to win against the weak, useless FUCK. But there was nothing he could do. Izuku finally released his arms and growled.

“Don’t you ever fucking touch me again you asshole. We’re done here. Go home and bitch about it.”

Katsuki roared in anger and charged once more. Almost casually, Izuku reared his hand back and punched. Bakugou was sent flying across the courtyard, rolling to a stop at the gate, unconscious.

“Bitch.”

With those parting words, and the school year coming to an end, Izuku left to prepare for the UA entrance exam that was going to take place the next day.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s nerves were on fire. The walk to the UA campus couldn’t be taking any longer. He wanted to just sprint all the way there, but he knew he had to hold back and conserve his energy. The UA entrance exam was supposed to be split into two parts, and he knew he was going to have some trouble on the physical. He was years behind everyone else, most of whom had years to train their quirks, as compared to him, who had just gotten his six months ago.

As he finally strolled up to the gates he realized that his nerves may have been affecting him more than he had initially realized. His heart was pounding and he was incredibly excited at the thought of becoming a hero at his favorite university. He could see in his peripheral vision many people walking into the building, people of all different types and walks of life. He himself began to walk inside the building before he tripped on a slightly raised brick that was lodged incorrectly into the pavement

‘Or I can just die here’

Suddenly he felt his weight leave him as he began to float midair. Slowly rotating around, the world was spinning slowly and he could feel the blood rushing to his head. As he finally was put upright in relation with the ground he was met with a cute, brown haired girl who was looking at him rather inquisitively.

‘Oh she’s cute’

He blushed furiously as he realized she was staring at him and she didn’t seem to be knowledgeable of what she was doing to him, so he decided to speak up rather quickly, otherwise all the blood going to his face was going to burst a vein.

“U-uh th-thank you for helping me!”

That snapped the girl out of it, she blushed slightly as she realized he had caught her staring, but soon she tilted her head and gave him a radiant smile that lit his heart afire. When she spoke to Izuku he could’ve sworn that it was the voice of an angel.

“Of course! I couldn’t just let you fall before the exam! It would’ve been bad luck!”

He schooled his emotions under restraint. “Well I appreciate it. Uhm, although would you mind letting me down? I don’t want to make you late for your test.”

The girl’s eyes widened and she gasped in shock. “Oh no! I almost forgot! Of course!”

She touched the tips of her fingers to each other and he felt his weight return to his body. After a rushed goodbye he watched the brown haired girl run off to her own testing center. Meanwhile he kept going on his trek into the halls of UA, finally coming to the main testing center. As he sat down he pulled out a pencil only to hear a storm of muttering enough to rival his own.
He glanced around rapidly and caught sight of a pink haired woman wearing a heavy pair of mechanical goggles. She was messing around with some piece of machinery, rapidly whispering about improvements and other various things. He got up and approached her slowly, not wanting to startle the hyperactive girl.

“Hey there, you okay?”

The girl looked up at him, and he was taken aback by what seemed to be her quirk. Her pupils were crosshairs set within a ring, and they began to expand and contract before finally deciding upon a setting when he looked at her. He was so entranced by the rhythmic movement of her quirk that he almost missed her response.

“Of course I’m okay! Just trying to finish this baby up before the exam starts, you know?”

Izuku was slightly startled, but smiled gently. “Yeah I suppose I can understand. I just came to check on you since you seemed extremely into it.”

The unknown girl smiled sweetly at him, before it rapidly became a more deranged grin that he still found somewhat attractive.

“Well, thank you mister green! I appreciate it, but we ought to get ready for real now, it looks like the test is being handed out.”

Izuku turned his head to be greeted by the sight of the test proctors handing out thick packets to each student.He rushed to his seat and arrived just in time for the pro hero Midnight to hand him his packet. It was about 15 pages long and he immediately sprang to life after they announced the allotted time limit of two hours.

Not even an hour later Izuku had already finished his packet. He thought that some of the problems were oddly easy, but as he glanced around the room once more he realized that all of the other students were still frantically working out the problems, some of them not even a third done with the packet. As he turned his head he caught sight of the pink haired girl from earlier who, like him, seemed to be finished, with her packet placed neatly in the corner of her desk. She glanced up and locked eyes with him before smiling brightly at noticing he was finished too. She shot him a quick thumbs up when one of the test proctors coughed gently, reminding them to keep to themselves. Izuku glanced back down at his desk and laid his head upon it, attempting to get as much rest as possible before the practical exam coming up next.

He was woken by the call for final response. He groggily wiped his eyes and took his packet up to the proctors, where he was then given a card to show the seat number he would be reporting to for the practical exam. As he walked out the door he realized that the pink haired girl was waiting for him. After the initial shock he decided to go over and initiate a conversation.

“Well hey there! How do you think you did?”

She startled at his sudden words but quickly regained her previous confidence. “Hey greenie! Was wondering what took you so long, but eh whatever! I think I did pretty good, after all those questions were pretty easy. Noticed you were done pretty early too, you must be smart hm?”

Izuku chuckled softly before responding. “I wouldn’t so much say it’s my intelligence as it is the work I’ve been doing. I’ve trained my mind for years to become a hero. My body, not so much, but I’m getting there.”

At those words her eyes trailed up and down his figure, her crosshairs dilating and contracting as they took in every detail. “Hmm, yes I’d say so! You look good Green! But as for hero level? I’d say you’re average strength in that category. Not to worry though! Your friendly neighborhood support hero is here!”

He didn’t know whether to be insulted or complimented at that, so he chose the latter. “Well thank you my pink haired friend, I appreciate it.”

Said woman gasped at that. “Oh yeah! We don’t know each other’s names yet! I’m Hatsume, it’s nice to meet ya….”

“Midoriya”

“It’s nice to meet ya Midoriya! I’d love to chat longer but here’s my stop! Go get ‘em tiger!”

With those words and a hearty slap on the back, Mei dashed off to go take her own practical. Izuku chuckled as she ran off.

‘Well, she sure is something’

He sauntered off quickly, soon coming up to his own auditorium, however the second he found his seat he cursed his own luck. None other than Katsuki fucking Bakugou was sitting in the seat next to him. When Katsuki looked over his eyes widened in anger and rage, and Izuku prepared to fight and let his anger to the surface, before Bakugou gave a curt ‘Hmph’ and looked away.

Izuku cautiously sat down, still keeping his anger close at hand, but tried to relax and focus on the words being spoken by the pro hero who had just walked up to the microphone.

“AAAAALRIGHT KIDS! SO YOU WANT TO BE A HERO?! LET ME HEAR A YEEEEAHHHHH!!!”

Of course, no one responded. “ALRIGHT THEN, THAT’S OKAY. TODAY YOU’LL BE TAKING THE PRACTICAL EXAM. IN ORDER TO PASS YOU WILL NEED TO GET TO A THRESHOLD OF POINTS WHICH ARE ACCRUED BY DESTROYING VARIOUS ROBOTS IN YOUR ZONE. THE FIRST ROBOT IS A 1-POINTER, AND IT IS EQUIPPED WITH NOTHING BUT ITS OWN HANDS. UP NEXT IS THE 2-POINTER, EQUIPPED WITH TREADS AND A RUBBER BULLET GUN. LASTLY IS THE 3-POINTER, WHICH UTILIZED SPEED AND A NON-LETHAL ROCKET LAUNCHER!”

Izuku had been muttering quietly trying to work out a strategy, but evidently he wasn’t quiet enough. A blue haired examinee shot up out of his seat and began chopping his hand wildly while exclaiming. “Sir! You forgot to mention the final robot! This is extremely unbecoming of such a prestigious academy!”

The boy then whirled around to face Izuku. “And you! If you’re only here to chat then I suggest you leave! This is a place for people who are serious about becoming heroes, not for people who will only be a burden on thei-”

He was cut off by Izuku’s next words, his voice dripping with fury. “Do not EVER call me that word. You had better sit your ass back down before I make you. If you would listen to the damn presentation you would realize you interrupted Present Mic-sensei while he was about to explain. If you’re quite finished making a fool out of yourself, I would sit down and listen rather than being a monumental asshole.”

Iida almost staggered with the fury behind those words. He had never encountered someone who could make him genuinely feel fear like that, and as for what the boy said, he couldn’t be right could he? Tenya was just telling it like it was.

‘Right?’

Present Mic stared for a few seconds before his trademark smile came back full force. “THANK YOU EXAMINEE 1170! YES THERE IS ONE MORE ROBOT LEFT, HOWEVER IT IS WORTH 0 POINTS AND IS MUCH MORE MEANT TO BE AN OBSTACLE TO AVOID. NOW KIDDOS, FLIP YOUR CARD OVER AND HEAD TO THE CORRESPONDING BUS! PLUS ULTRA!”

Izuku stood up silently and stormed out of the auditorium, more than one pair of eyes following him as he walked out and made his way to the bus marked ‘C’.

Once it finally dropped off all of the kids at the entrance to the battle zone, Izuku noticed the brunette who had helped him at the entrance. He decided to make his way over to her and greet her when he was cut off by the same bastard that had stopped him in the auditorium.

“You! You are unfit to be here! You cannot call people such vulgar words, and hope to get away with it!”

Izuku brushed the man’s arm off of his shoulder and shot him a glare using all the fury he had. He watched as the bluenette cringed visibly and slunk away. Meanwhile Izuku let his anger wash over him, feeling the familiar rush of power as he gained strength over himself. His eyes became tinted with a blood-red hue and he put on a savage smile.

“BEGIN TEST!!!!”

Midoriya didn’t wait for anything else. He dashed off into the zone, leaving small cracks in his wake as he searched for the first robot. Within a minute he had locked eyes with a 2-pointer. It dashed towards him and unleashed a barrage of the rubber bullets, but Izuku wasn’t having any of it. He charged at the robot, ducking underneath the barrage and swinging with a massive uppercut that sheared the robot’s arm directly off its body. With a ferocious smirk Izuku reached into the robot and ripped out the battery, leaving it dead in the water. As his peripheral focus returned he realized the others had caught up, creating a cacophony of noises in the battle zone. He cursed to himself and dashed off through the city, leaving a swathe of carnage in his wake.

------------------------------------

Within a darkened room there were five screens each displaying a different scene, One held a blonde boy blowing up everything in his path, another holding a boy that was using a tail to crush the robots through sheer strength. Yet a third screen showed a robot seemingly shutting itself down, yet a scruffy teacher in a sleeping bag knew better. He smiled at the fact that some of the students of this year had actually bothered to read the pamphlets that told the students where shutoff buttons were for the robots. One of the teachers couldn’t contain herself any longer as she cried out

“Oh the passion! This year sure is exciting.”

A small figure standing on one of the desks replied “Yes indeed Ms. Kayama”

He was enraptured by one of the cameras showing him a green haired boy who seemed to be protecting others while destroying robots, albeit going about it in quite the angry way. His attacks were rage filled, showing a willingness to injure behind them, but he still held some semblance of self-control.

Unnoticed by the others, one blonde teacher’s eyes widened as he recognized the boy in the frame.

------------------------------------

Midoriya was beginning to pant. He had never used his quirk at this intensity for this long before. He had been running around trying to gather as many points as possible, but he felt that he didn’t have enough, not compared to the amount of robotic wreckage that was already strewn around the testing site like it was no big deal.

“FIVE MINUTES REMAINING!”

‘Shit’

Midoriya cursed himself as he reminded himself why he was here, more anger flooding into his body and fueling his power. He dashed to the left before seeing a group of robots surrounding a duo of boys, one of them acting completely out of it, while the other sat on the ground trying not to vomit.

Izuku cursed his nature while he sped over and leapt high above the cluster, a number of lasers training on his form immediately. Izuku took next to no notice as a rocket came flying at him. He used the rocket as a springboard to launch himself through two of the robots and impact on the ground, standing back up to become a veritable whirlwind of destruction, ripping off the various robot’s limbs before taking out the power sources. He had found it was the quickest way for him to eliminate the robots, and it worked well. When the final robot was laid to rust, he glanced towards the two boys inquisitively.

“Thank you mon ami, we shall be fine.”

Izuku didn’t stick around to hear what came next, he had work to do.

---------------------------

Ochaco was having a blast, this test didn't even feel like a test to her. She was genuinely having fun sending some of the robots to orbit while using others as makeshift meteors to impact other robots.

----------------------------

The small animalistic shadow began to laugh maniacally as he hit a big red button located in the center of the dashboard. All of the other teachers sighed as they saw the principal’s flair for drama in action.

----------------------------

Ochaco’s joy quickly turned to horror as she was covered in spare debris, trapping her leg and making her unable to move from the spot she was cemented to. As the ground began to rumble an immense mechanical behemoth was revealed. It had a large rectangular head as well as a massive, bulky chassis. The worst thing about the robot was the eyes. It has six of them located in a hexagonal shape. She cried out in fear and pain as those same six eyes trained themselves on her, gleaming with what she was positive was malice.
-------------------------

Izuku had heard the 0-pointer before he saw it. It was hard not to hear with the groaning metal of the titanic machine. As it reared its head Izuku noticed the brunette who had helped him was trapped underneath a large pile of rubble, unable to move. Izuku felt his anger spike at UA as someone had gotten hurt during a test under their supervision. When he saw the robot moving towards her, his malicious smile deepened as he took off.

‘Time to return the favor.’

Izuku dove in without hesitation, drawing on all of his anger as the robot reared back its hulking fist. The thing was too broad, too large and too wide to even be considered a fist, it was more simply a herculean block of iron. As it drove towards the motionless girl Izuku led a frenzied charge.

Ochaco waited for the impact, but it never came. She opened her eyes only to be greeted by an incredible sight. The boy she had helped at the entrance was now standing underneath the massive fist, every muscle in his body strained to the limit as he struggled to hold the fist away from her body.

Izuku had never felt such an intense pain. Every muscle in his body was straining. He could hear the bones in his arms creak as they pushed back against the mammoth of a robot that was bearing down on him. He glanced back at the brunette only to realize she couldn’t move an inch. He cursed with utter fury and called every ounce of his anger to the surface. He would not fail. He recalled his bullies.

His failure.

His pain.

His own sisters.

His mother.

All Might himself.

“You cannot be a hero.”

“Useless”

“Quirkless”

“Burdening”

“DEKU”

With an almighty roar that echoed through the area, Izuku SCREAMED with every force in his body and threw the mechanical monstrosity back

“RAGING SUN!”

With a heaven-breaking cry he launched himself above the beast’s head, and cocked back his fist as he concentrated every piece of his anger towards this enemy.

“FURIOUS IMPAAAACT!”

He threw his hand forward, and the instant it connected with the top of the robot, his power exploded outwards. A vicious shockwave ripped through the air and created an crater in the head of the robot instantaneously. The displaced air created a pressure differential so great that the 0-pointer began to expand from the inside before its chassis exploded into a firework of sparks and shearing metal. The bang caused by the punch was heard through the whole testing center, and as Ochaco looked up, she was greeted by the frame of her saviour falling through the sky, his image lit up by the sky full of sparks he had created.

Izuku felt nothing, his rage had been depleted, but as he mutely fell through the air, one sentence stuck out to him, comforting him and calming him.

‘It would’ve been bad luck’

The boy silently chuckled.

‘Looks like I still ended up dead huh. Guess everyone was right.’

He had accepted his fate when he was brought out of his self misery by a slap to the face. Literally. Once again, he felt his gravity disappear as a brunette took him into her arms and struggled to carry him out of the testing area. He let her do just that as he could feel himself slipping out of consciousness, the last thing he heard was one thing from the angel carrying him.

“You are a hero.”

Chapter Text

As he woke up, gradually becoming accustomed to the bright white lights, the first thing that Izuku saw was an angel. The angel tilted her head down suddenly and looked at him before flushing furiously and stepping to the side. He barely registered the words she was saying but managed to catch the tail end of her sentence

“-ou okay?”

He gradually pushed himself up and quickly realized that this girl wasn’t an angel but the one who had helped him at the entrance! He sat up straight and took a second before replying.

“Yes I’m alright, thank you for your concern. What about you?”

She gave a small smile. “I’m okay! Just a sprained ankle luckily.”

He winced. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you sooner. If I hadn’t been so slow you would’ve been able to get out of there.

Ochako didn’t know what to do. This boy, who was not only the guy who saved her, but also one of the most incredible people she had ever met, was now apologizing profusely in front of her. She had a wide array of emotions come to light at that, but she pushed them all down and quickly reassured him.

“Hey, it’s okay! If it wasn’t for you I would’ve had a much worse injury. You saved me. You’re a hero.”

At those words Izuku began to tear up. His whole life, he had been told by everyone that he was useless, a failure. In less than 3 hours this girl came in and broke down all of his walls. It may have been slightly pathetic of him, but he had finally been told that he was a hero. It was something not even his own mother said. He didn’t know what he was supposed to feel, but his immense joy overcame him and he dashed forward, wrapping the girl in a tight hug.

Ochako blushed furiously and quickly was reduced to a stuttering mess as the boy who saved her wrapped her up in his arms. She was accosted by a multitude of thoughts, among which were that he was warm and she was rapidly losing her sanity. As the man drew back she couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed in the loss of contact, feeling slightly cold.

Once Izuku had finally settled back into reality he realized something worrying. He had no rage. Well, that was an exaggeration. He has a small amount, but it was a tiny ember compared to what it had been during the entrance exam. It made him nervous at first, but he could feel it slowly reaccumulating, and that gave him solace. He looked around the room, noting immediately the stark white walls and all of the sanitary and medical equipment.

“Am I in the hospital?!”

Ochako chuckled at that. “Yeah, they had to give you a check-up after the crazy stunt you pulled. You destroyed an entire 0-pointer and proceeded to fall almost 50 meters, I barely caught you in time. Luckily you escaped with barely any wounds, only a few strained muscles.”

An older woman burst through the door with an indignant huff. “Not for lack of trying though. This boy nearly broke 13 different bones and had hairline fractures on 48 different bones.”

Izuku barely heard that as he began to fanboy. “Oh my gosh you’re Recovery Girl! Your quirk is one of the most useful for healing and you have over 3 thousand successful missions!”

Recovery Girl huffed again and smacked Izuku over the head with her cane “Due to idiots like you who have no control over their abilities.”

She then turned to speak to Ochako, who had been watching the whole exchange with amusement in her eyes. “Your father is waiting outside dearie, you may go ahead and leave.”

Ochako smiled gently. “Alright then! Thank you for everything!” She then turned to Izuku “Thank you for saving me, I’ll see you in class I hope!”

Izuku simply grinned and waved as she left, turning back to Recovery Girl with no small amount of fear in his eyes.

“Am I okay to leave?”

-----------------

“Ouch…”

Izuku walked home slowly, still nursing his head wound from Recovery Girl’s cane. He had finally been cleared to go home after a good four hours of final checks. Today had been extremely exhausting and he wanted nothing more than to go home and just collapse onto his bed and sleep for the next week. He walked up to the door, noting that the mail had already been grabbed from the box. He cracked the door open slowly, trying to sneak in unnoticed. Of course, life had other plans for him.

“And just WHERE have you been?! We’ve been waiting on you just so we can eat! Of course the useless one is the one to show up last.”

Izuku sighed in resignation as he turned around to face Hariki, his anger still a small flame rather than a blazing inferno. “What do you want, Hariki? Just go eat.”

Hariki snorted with a sadistic smile on her face. “Oh no, you’re coming with me. We need to talk.”

Izuku reluctantly let himself be led into the living room where Kazeha and his mother were waiting, Kazeha wearing a furious frown, and his mother a worried look. As he sank into the chair opposite them, Kazeha was the first to speak.

“So, I heard from a friend that you took the UA entrance exam… for HEROES.”

Izuku sat up slowly. “Yeah, what about it?”

Kazeha’s frown darkened further. “They also said you destroyed a 0-pointer. How? What illegal things are you doing?! Do I need to take in my own sibling?”

Izuku immediately felt the flame rage white hot. “Don’t you ever insinuate I would resort to unsavory methods to become a hero. You all gave up on me, and never bothered to spare a second glance at me since then. How many of you knew I had a job? None of you. Look at me, I’m much more physically fit than I was before! It’s your fault you didnt pay attention, so fuck off.”

Hariki burst out. “And why would we pay attention to someone useless! There’s no point! It’s not our fault you decided to use illegal drugs.”

Izuku felt something inside of him snap at that. This family didn’t care. They never had. “I’m done here. You all don’t deserve to be called family. I’m leaving, don’t bother following. If you do, I will call the police for stalking.”

Inko sobbed gently, she knew she had wronged her son, but she had no idea how badly. But he was right. She hadn’t known he had a job. Looking at him now she could see the definition. She had failed as a mother and now she was paying the price. She watched him yell at them, and she watched him insult his sisters and her. A small part of Inko was angry, wanting to tell him to just leave, but she shoved it down. She had a chance. A chance to be a good parent, and she was going to take it.

“Izuku wait! Don’t go, I’m sorry. I should’ve paid better attention, I should have been a better mother. Could you forgive me?”

Izuku let out a harsh laugh. “You treated me like shit for most of my life. Why in God’s name would I EVER forgive you? You don’t deserve that. Goodbye to all of you, I hope I never have to deal with you again. Sayonara bitches.”

Izuku left the apartment, slamming the door hard enough to put a crack in the siding of the wall. There was still plenty of time left in the day, so he called Tsuyoichi, hoping to distract himself for the rest of the day.
He was lucky enough to get a last-minute position at one of the newer job sites. Once he showed up Tsuyoichi grinned wildly

“Hey Green! I’m honestly pretty glad you decided to come, Mazeru got sick, think you can take over his job? I know you’ve been working on brick-laying recently but today you’ll be mixing again.”

Izuku smiled. “Sure! It’ll be a nice change of pace anyways. Thanks Tsuyoichi-san”

“Anytime kiddo.”

Once the work had been finished for the day, Izuku sat down and began to figure out where he could stay. He had enough money for a hotel but that would burn through his expenses. He could sleep on the streets, but Musutafu wasn’t exactly the nicest area. He didn’t want to go to the Bakugou’s even though they were his godparents, Katsuki was just too much to deal with. He could try-

“Hey kid are you okay?”

Tsuyoichi had come and sat next to Izuku while he was muttering, catching the tail end of what he was saying. Izuku stuttered as he tried to respond.”

“Y-yeah! Im f-fine!”

“Kiddo, you can’t stay on the streets, it’s not safe. Come with me, you can stay with my family for tonight. Okay?”

Izuku began to tear up. “I couldn’t do that to you. I don’t want to impose.”

Tsuyoichi smiled sadly. “It’s okay kid. You’re going through something. I’m not sure what it is but I know it’s hurting you. I knew the second you came to work today. You had your smile on, but it didn’t reach your eyes. You just went through the motions. There was none of your usual energy. Look kiddo, yes, I am your employer, but I’m also your friend. I will NEVER kick you off the team for going through something rough. If you ever need any time to talk then I am here. Always.”

Izuku sobbed, unable to contain himself any longer. His ever present anger was held at bay momentarily by the immense sadness of losing his family. “Please. Please don’t leave.”

Tsuyoichi felt his heart break for the kid. He had lost his own family when he was young, and he wrapped Izuku up in a hug. “It’s okay kid. I’m here.”

For the next hour or so Izuku sobbed his heart out as he spilled everything to Tsuyoichi. His quirk, how his family treated him, his entrance exam, everything. Tsuyoichi felt nothing but empathy. His own situation had been very similar, and if it hadn’t been for a certain person deciding to help him then he wouldn’t be here today. Once Izuku had cried himself to sleep, Tsuyoichi cradled the boy and his arms and walked home.

Tsuyoichi walked through the streets carefully, making sure not to jostle the young kid awake. He had neglected to realize just how young this kid was simply because of the fact he was one of his best workers, but in reality the boy was still just that. A boy who has just experienced the anger of the world against him. He empathized with the boy.

He made his way through the alleys, slowly and carefully, finally coming upon his apartment. When he opened the door his wife came over and noted the boy in his arms. SHe looked at him questioningly before accepting it. His daughter gasped in awe but let her father put the boy to bed.

Once Tsuyoichi came back out he was bombarded by questions. He chuckled and sat down, trying to answer them one at a time to the best of his ability. The interrogation continued long into the night, after which they all finally settled down and headed to bed.

---------------

Izuku woke up to the noise of clattering pots and pans, as well as laughter. He was confused at first but then the memory of the previous night. He grew red as a tomato when he realized where he was. He quickly threw on his clothes and peeked his head out the door. He was greeted by the sight of a woman in the kitchen, cooking up a storm.

“Ah there he is! Good morning Midoriya!”

Izuku jumped as Tsuyoichi clapped him on the back. “G-good morning Tsuyoichi-san. I’m sorry for intruding.”

“Nonsense! You needed a place to stay, and I’m more than happy to provide, especially for my hardest working employee. Ochako! Come say hi to our guest.”

Izuku turned around when he heard a door open, only to have his jaw drop when he saw who came out. “Angel-san?!”

Tsuyoichi cocked an eyebrow. “Angel-san?”

Izuku stammered and blushed as he tried to explain. “I- ah- uhm- she’s the one who helped me at the entrance exam…”

Ochako cried out in indignation. “Dad! Don’t embarrass him! He saved me too. I would have been toast if he hadn’t taken out the giant robot.”

Tsuyoichi was stunned at that. “You were the one Ochako was talking about?!”

The man quickly wrapped Izuku in another hug. “Thank you.”

Izuku began to stutter again. “I-it's okay! I couldn’t j-just leave h-her!”

The touching moment was interrupted by the Uraraka matriarch announcing that breakfast was ready. They all sat down, Izuku feeling out of place as he began to eat, but the atmosphere quickly drew him in. The breakfast wasn’t much, consisting mainly of eggs and rice, but Izuku was satiated. As it was a Saturday, there was no work to be done, so Tsuyoichi and his wife quickly sent the children off to go do their own thing and get out of the house.

Ochako and Izuku looked towards each other and burst out into laughter as they were ushered out of the house. Neither of them had forged strong bonds with people they could consider friends, but the bond forged through their battle had already made them close buddies.

They had been walking for a while when they came across Dagobah beach. Izuku frowned at the sign, which didn’t go unnoticed by Ochako.

“What’s wrong Midoriya?”

“Oh, it’s nothing! Just, this beach used to be so beautiful but now it’s been filled with tons and tons of garbage once people began to dump their trash without abandon. Come look.”

He led Ochako down to the beachfront, her eyes widening as she registered the sheer amount of trash that was on the beach. There were refrigerators, fans, scrap metal; hell she even saw a few cars!

“Holy hell! You weren’t kiddin!”

Izuku grimaced. “Yeah, and the problem has only gotten worse. I can only imagine how it looked back when it was still pristine.”

Ochako got a determined look in her eye. “Well then, why don’t we clean it? There's two of us, and I’m sure that we can get it done. I’m sure no one will mind if we use our quirks just a bit…”

He was taken aback. “Are you sure? We might get in trouble.”

“I've been in trouble before dummy. We’ll be fine!”

“Then let’s do it.”

The two kids started immediately. Ochako would float the heaviest pieces of garbage to the row of dumpsters near the wall, while Izuku would shoulder the weight and use his rage and anger to heave it all into the dumpsters. Hours passed by without them realizing it, and soon they were summoned back to the apartment by a call from Tsuyoichi-san.

“Well, what did you two do today?”

Ochako and Izuku shot each other a look before answering honestly, neither of them wanted to disappoint the man. “We began to clean up Dagobah beach. We thought it would be a good act.”

Tsuyoichi processed it for a few moments before adopting a warm smile. “I knew you two were perfect to be heroes. What you guys started is a true act of heroism. I’ll talk to the city council and see if I can get you some licenses to use your quirks to help out. In addition it’ll give you two extra training in case UA doesn’t work out.”

The two kids were stunned, Izuku even more so. He wasn’t used to people being this nice, certainly not his own employer. He began to tear up again.

“Th-thank you Tsuyoichi-san.”

Tsuyoichi just chuckled, being used to Izuku’s emotions now, especially after he wasn’t allowed to properly express them at his old house. “It’s fine kiddo, besides it’s free, and easy!”

Once they had their temporary licenses it made work much easier. Many people had passed by the beach and gone over to inspect what the noise was, only to be greeted by the sight of two children working their asses off to fix the beach. Izuku would strain to carry tons of metal at a time, his rage fueling his strength, while Ochako carried similar weights through the air via gravity nullification.

-----------------------

One Week Later

-----------------------

The two kids carried the final load of garbage to the dumpsters, they had been toiling non stop for the last week, pushing their bodies and quirks to the max, improving all the while. Ochako could now comfortably lift ten tons of weight, and Izuku was able to hold his high powered rage for hours on end, and he had improved in target recognition and keeping control. Once they dumped the final load of trash they were met with a large round of applause.

They whirled around in surprise to be met with a large crowd who had come to see the final load be dumped. It was mostly the seniors of the community who remembered the times when the beach was clean. They did however see many cameras and flashing lights of pictures being taken. After finally getting the crowd to clear out, Ochako pulled Izuku into a hug, lifting him off the ground with her surprising strength.

“We did it Izuku! Finally!”

The two had become extremely close during the last week, all the hardships they had gone through creating a solid friendship. Izuku happily returned the hug and they both headed back to the house.

Once they walked through the door they were greeted by an ecstatic Tsuyoichi who congratulated them on clearing the beach and showed them the news, on which they were featured dumping the final load of garbage. The excitement spread through the house and soon they were all celebrating with joy. Soon enough Tsuyoichi calmed down and pulled a serious face.

“I know you two have had quite the exciting day but I must say it’s not over yet. Your letters came.”

Izuku and Ochako immediately sobered up at that. They had been waiting for these letters over the past week and the suspension hadn’t helped a bit. They quickly nabbed their respective letters and went to their rooms.

When Izuku opened up the bulky package, a small disc fell out. When he picked it up it flickered to life and projected a hologram. All Might appeared on the screen and began to speak.

“Hello there Young Midoriya! On the writte-KZZZKGHT”

Izuku had accidentally crushed the small recording device in rage.

‘All Might is going to be teaching?! The same All Might that told me I couldn’t be a hero?! THE RAT BASTARD WHO TOLD ME TO GIVE UP?!’

Izuku calmed himself quickly, not wanting to lose control in the house of the person who saved him. He quickly opened up the package again to see if there was anything other than the actual device. Luckily enough there was a letter contained within.

Dear Midoriya, Congratulations on your acceptance to UA highschool! I did a bit of reading and found that your record says you are quirkless. Judging from the practical I’m assuming that has recently changed. If you ever need help changing that status just contact me! Now onto the important stuff. On the written exam you placed 3rd out of 6592 students. In the practical you scored a total of 45 points, which would normally be plenty, but this year however had many high scorers. It won’t be enough to get admission; If that’s all we counted! Due to your heroic actions you scored an additional 25 rescue points, putting you in 2nd place with 70 total points. Congratulations, and welcome to your hero academia! - Nedzu. P.S. you are in class 1-A

Izuku stumbled out of his room in a daze of happiness, stumbling into Ochako, who was in a similar state. As they walked into the living room the two adults looked at them with expectant faces.

“We… got in.”

Screams of joy and celebration reverberated through the apartment as the family plus one celebrated the entry of the children to one of the most prestigious academies in the world.

-------------------

Izuku and Ochako were understandably nervous, they had managed to get into the biggest hero school in the world and now they were standing at the front gates. They walked into the building slowly, clutching their ID’s in hand as they searched for the 1-A markings that signified their classroom from the rest. When they finally got to the door they took in a deep breath before walking through the massive door, Izuku following Ochako.

“Get your feet off of that desk immediately! It is extremely disrespectful to the upperclassmen who came before us!”

“The fuck are you on about motormouth?!”

“Excuse me?!”

Izuku felt anger seep through as the two people he really didn’t want to see right now turned out to be in the same class as him. Ochako seemed to notice his discomfort and began to go comfort him but was interrupted by the wildly flailing blue-haired student.

“YOU!! You’re the one who was interrupting our teacher during the briefing! Do you have no respect for our teachers! What do you have to say for yourself?!”

Izuku tried to ignore the kid and sit down but the blue haired student kept cutting him off.

“Well? It wasn’t a rhetorical question!”

Ochako knew about Izuku’s quirk, and even she wasn’t sorry for the blue haired man. In fact, she was quite looking forward to Izuku’s retaliation.

“Answer me!”

“Shut the fuck up Iida. Yeah I know who you are. Blue hair? Obvious engine mutation? Easy enough to tell. You’re a fucking disgrace. Harassing me because I don’t fit in with your ideas of what a hero should be does not grant you the permission to do what you just did. If you try that again I will put you through the floor. Now fuck off and sit down, if you idiots havent realized already, not you Ochako you’re fine, our teacher is here.”

With that announcement, a yellow sleeping bag stood up and made its way over to the podium in the front of the class while everyone settled down.

“While I don’t exactly agree with his attitude or language, Midoriya is right Iida, what you did was out of line. As for the rest of you, you need to improve your spatial awareness. It took you a total of 12 seconds to calm down, even after Midoriya told you that I was here. As future hero students it is expected that you are able to focus when needed. Now put these on and follow me. My name is Aizawa, and I will be your homeroom teacher for the next four years. UA is trying a new teacher system where the homeroom teachers move with the classes in rotations. Last year I had no class, so I got stuck with you.”

He pulled out numerous gym uniforms and threw them to the class, a few giving him questioning looks.

“Mr. Aizawa, what about orientation?”

“It’s a waste of time. You are here to become heroes, not plain students. Now put those on and meet me at the field. Anyone who isn’t there in ten minutes will be expelled.”

At that sudden revelation the room whirled into gear, everyone grabbing a uniform and going to change. The locker rooms were typical, a cold stone floor surrounded by blue lockers, with a line of showers in the back. The boys had begun changing quickly, shedding their uniforms for classes in favor of the gym uniforms. Suddenly, a cry came from the corner.

“There’s a peephole!” The cry came from Mineta, a short student who had a large perverse attitude. Mineta was about to use the peephole to get a good look at the women’s side when a hand covered the hole and crushed the surrounding rock, closing up the hole. Mineta looked up fearfully to be met with Izuku glaring a hole into his skull.

“Don’t you dare peek at the women.”

Mineta gulped in fear, unable to give a response.

----------------------

As the students gathered at the field Aizawa looked over them with a huff.

“Today I’m going to be testing you to find out your limits with your quirks. You’re going to use your quirks to their fullest extent to get accurate scores. Bakugou, how far could you throw a ball in middle school?”

“50 meters.”

“Then try it with your quirk.”

Bakugou walked up to the plate and blasted the ball with all of the force he could muster.

“DIEEEEEE!”

Aizawa gave a dry smile and held up the device which read ‘705.2 m’. Everyone’s jaws dropped in shock as they realized this wasn’t going to be easy.

Aizawa led the group over to the track and explained the first exercise. “Alright. I’m going to be timing your 100m dash. First up is Uraraka and Asui.”

The two girls lined up, Asui crouching, ready to strike, while Uraraka lightened her clothes and shoes. WIth the bang of a gun, the two girls shot off, Asui easily bypassing Ochako, not that Ochako was slow.

“6.8 seconds” “9.9 seconds”

Aizawa grunted and marked down their scores. “Bakugou and Midoriya”

As the two boys lined up, Bakugou began to insult Midoriya, but Izuku didn’t even notice as his rage pulsed in his head, making him unable to hear it. He heard a bang and the boys dashed off, Bakugou blasting his way forward, Izuku propelling himself with rage, cracking the track underneath his feet with the force he was putting into it.

“4.5 seconds” “4.53 seconds”

Izuku gritted his teeth. Bakugou had passed him at the last second. The following test progressed much the same, with Izuku performing quite well but not quite well enough to shine in particular. Finally, after quite the impressive infinity by Ochako in the ball toss, it was Izuku’s turn.

Aizawa handed him the ball and watched expectantly. Izuku let his rage flow through him, and right as he cocked his arm back something snapped. His connection was cut, but instead of ruining his power it boosted it. With a furious roar he launched the ball, a boom sounding through the air as it broke the sound barrier. He whirled around to find the person that would dare to make him weak, the one who wanted to make him give up. He locked eyes with Aizawa, the man attempting to erase his quirk. Izuku roared incoherently and began to rush his teacher but was stopped by a girl. Ochako stood in front of Izuku, holding his shoulders. She pulled him into a hug and began to whisper to him.

“It’s okay Izuku. They can’t hurt you. We’re not here to hurt you. You are a hero.”

Izuku slowly calmed down, feeling his connection come back as Aizawa stopped erasure and rushed over to them as well.

Ochako then stood up and pushed Aizawa back. “Stay back, you hurt him and he doesn’t want to be near you right now.”

Aizawa flinched as he came to the realization that he had hurt one of his students, the kids he was here to protect. He hurriedly spoke.

“Class is canceled for the rest of the day. Your scores will be posted ASAP. Just, just go home and get some rest. Come prepared for tomorrow.”

The students, still nervous about what had happened, all dispersed. Ochako stood there with Midoriya as he cried into her shoulder, once again feeling like he had lost all hope in what he was trying to do.

Chapter Text

Izuku felt numb. He was lost in his own mind. He could vaguely feel Ochaco holding him but it didn’t matter. He had failed. He was useless, a loss. He couldn’t keep it in check, even after all of his training. He had failed. His parents were right, he was nothing, he was useless, a deku, a failure, a-

“Izuku, are you with me?”

He looked up slowly, tear tracks marring his face. Ochako was looking at him with worry in her eyes. She had her arms wrapped around him, comforting him as she held him. Izuku coughed roughly and spoke with a scratchy voice.

“I-I failed. I’m useless. I can’t do it.”

Ochako held Izuku close and told him the truth. “Izuku, you saved me. You kept me alive when I wouldn’t have lived much longer. For that reason I have nothing but thanks. You are a hero. You’re my hero.”

Izuku teared up again. “You saved me too. Y-you didn’t let me fall. You looked like an angel.”

Ochako blushed deeply. “I only did what I had to. But trust me. In no way have you failed. You are amazing.”

Izuku chuckled at that, finally coming back to his senses. “Thank you Ochako, you have no idea how much that means to me.”

Ochako beamed at him as he stood up and embraced her warmly. They were so engrossed that they didn’t even notice the snickers coming from outside their door.

In the living room Tsuyoichi was talking to his wife. “I give it three weeks, and I say that Izuku makes the first move.”

The Uraraka matriarch, Kaori, snorted. “No way. Ochako is going to make the first move, and I bet it’ll be within the week.”

Tsuyoichi grinned and shook hands. “You’re on”, only to notice a small eep noise from the corner. The two parents turned sheepishly to see the kids looking at them slack-jawed.

The parents smiled sheepishly before convincing the kids to go do something with the rest of their day off. In the end, the two returned back to the beach they had spent so much time fixing up. Despite the fact that it was still early spring there were a few people sitting on the open expanse, enjoying the cool breeze and the bright sunshine. Izuku and Ochako wandered around aimlessly for a while before they sat down and watched the waves hit the shore.

“Hey Izuku?”

Izuku looked over at Ochako who seemed to be fidgeting. “Yeah? What’s wrong?”

Ochako sighed. “I feel like I’m not enough. You were strong enough to save me, and keep me from death, but when it comes down to it, I’m not able to do anything but sit there while you’re in pain. It doesn’t feel right to me.”

Izuku cried out. “No! Don’t say that! You are plenty! You saved me Ochako. You helped me. You gave me a place to stay. I owe my life to you. You’re more amazing than you could ever realize! You’re kind, sweet, absolutely hilarious, you’re beautiful!”

Ochako blushed deeply as she took in the things that Izuku was saying. “Thank you Izuku, but I’m really not all that. If anything, you’re the cool one! You took out that huge 0-pointer, you saved me, and you’re really hot!”

She cut herself off with an “eep!” as she realized what she said. Meanwhile, Izuku’s face burst into a neon red as he managed to stutter out a sentence. “Y-You think I’m h-hot?!”

Ochako nodded quietly, not trusting herself to blurt out something she would regret later. Izuku looked down, his face glowing cherry.

“Y’know, you’re beautiful too Ochako.”

Ochako lit up in a blinding red glow as well as she took in his words.

“I-in fact, when you saved me during the entrance exam, I thought you were an angel.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. I guess it’s no wonder that I’m attracted to you.”

“Wait, you like me?!”

Izuku was shut up quickly as he realized he said that last part out loud. He thought about it for roughly half a second before sighing. “Yeah, I think I do. You’re just so a-amazing, you’re cool, a-and y-you kno-ow how t-to h-help people.”

His stutter grew out of control as he confessed his feelings for the girl, which, while not long discovered, had grown quickly and deeply after they became friends.”

“W-well, ah guess you and ah are in th’ same boat then huh? Ah like ya too Izuku.”

With those words Ochako promptly leant over and placed a kiss on the boy’s cheek before causing him to malfunction as he passed out.

“IZUKU?!”

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Once they finally got back to the apartment the two teens walked into the house only to be met with the devastated face of Tsuyoichi and the smug face of Kaori. Tsuyoichi was the first to speak.

“Already?! Who made the first move?!”

Ochako giggled and raised her hand slightly.

Tsuyoichi groaned loudly and raked his hands down his face in exasperation. “You knew this would happen didn’t you Kaori?!”

Kaori simply smiled gently. “Now now dear, it’s not that terrible, besides, I’ll make it up to you tonight~”

Izuku and Ochako both cringed heavily, with the latter shouting at her mother. “MOM!”

Kaori just laughed at her daughter’s antics. “Oh Ochako, don’t worry! Eventually I’ll teach you how to properly treat your boyfriend.”

Scandalized, Ochako yanked Midoriya around the corner and with her into her room.

Kaori and Tsuyoichi chuckled gently at the two, glad they had finally made the move to be together.

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Ochako and Izuku walked slowly up to the UA building hand in hand. Izuku was sweating in nervousness. To him, he had not only assaulted a teacher but lost control of his quirk. Even though Ochako had told him multiple times that it wasn’t his fault, and that any good teacher would realize that, Izuku couldn’t help but fear for what waited beyond the gates. The bell rang out, the stark noise contrasting hardly with the heavy, quiet morning air. Izuku gulped and stepped into the building slowly.

When he finally stepped into the classrooms he wasn’t sure what to expect, but it definitely wasn’t a worried look from Aizawa, followed by a hurried question if he was okay.

Izuku stammered at the unexpected question. “Y-yeah im f-fine!”

AIzawa let out a sigh he didn’t even seem to be holding in. “I’m sorry Midoriya. I didn’t think my quirk would affect yours like that. It’s my fault for you getting injured, and I sincerely apologize.”

Izuku was gaping in awe at the man who had been so strict the day before. He had been entirely expecting the man to brush him off, to not care, but here he was apologizing for what he had done! It went entirely against Izuku’s morals and what he believed in.

“Anyway Midoriya, do you think you are well enough to continue class today?”

Izuku chuckled at that, he had the occasional panic attack or bad day, but he was in a decently stable mental state, and he wanted to continue the class.

“Yes Aizawa-sensei.”

“Alright then, go take your seat and we’ll get started. There’s also a big surprise coming for your Heroics lesson.”

Izuku took his seat and shot a reassuring smile to Ochako, who had been watching the conversation nervously. She relaxed and sat back in her chair as well, not noticing the pink haired girl glancing at both of them with an excited smile on her face.

The day proceeded without much excitement for anyone, their English lesson was taught by Present Mic, who was incredibly loud and enjoyed shouting, which flared Izuku’s anger a bit but not by any major amount. After that came Math, which was taught by Ectoplasm, their quiet, yet effective teacher. Finally it was time for their heroics class. They had been waiting for their teacher to show up for a good 10 minutes when Kaminari finally spoke up.

“Soooo, do we get to leave then?”

Iida stood up and began chopping his hands wildly. “No! This is a prestigious school and there is no way that you are going to leave!”

Izuku shot Iida a bone-chilling glare and spoke softly. “Iida. Sit down.”

Iida stammered before sitting down suddenly, rapid heavy footfalls approaching.

With the door slamming open, a giant man entered the room.

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

Izuku’s face hardened as he saw one of the people he truly despised more than any other. All Might was standing at the front of the class, slowly taking in every student’s face. When he looked at Izuku, All Might started in surprise while Izuku glared at him with nothing but pure hatred in his eyes. Nervously speaking up, All Might began to explain the lesson plan for the next year.

“A-ALL RIGHT THEN! SO, WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING COMBAT TRAINING TODAY! BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED ON THAT, COSTUMES! GRAB YOUR COSTUMES AND HEAD DOWN TO TRAINING GROUND BETA!”

Every student rushed to snag their case that contained their costumes, Izuku being quite excited for his, as if everything was made to his specifications then he would be quite happy. When he got into the locker room he opened up his case to be met with a swathe of fabric and a note lying on top. He picked it up and began to read.

‘What’s up Greenie? Miss me, of course you did! It’s your old pal Hatsume, glad to hear you got in! I got to work on your costume and I gotta say I love the design! I substituted some materials for stronger versions but other than that it’s unchanged, also you hafta call me sometime, here’s my number! Now go kick some ass!’

Izuku chuckled to himself as he began to take off his shirt only to be met with gasps. He quickly turned around to see everyone staring at him with varying looks of fear or shock. It didn’t take him long to realize what they were looking at, as none of them were very discreet about the glances they were shooting towards his torso. He sighed and turned to address the problem.

“I guess it would’ve come out eventually, but why are you guys so shocked? They’re just scars.”

“Midobro, that’s way more scars than anyone should have.”

Kirishima was right. Izuku’s torso was a patchwork of hundreds of scars, ranging from the normals cuts and dots to more gruesome starbursts of pink skin. All the boys were staring worriedly but Izuku brushed them off.

“Look guys, I didn’t have the best childhood, but I’m slowly getting better. Don’t worry about this, besides, All Might is waiting. Let’s get dressed and head out okay?”

The other boys were still worried, but they all got dressed at Izuku’s behest. Izuku himself was pretty proud of his costume. It was a form fitting vest that was woven with ceramic fibers, as well as black gloves with padded knuckles. His pants were ragged near the bottom, but still lazily flapped around. The vest was a dark green color, and he also had a simple rebreather to go with it, packed into a simple face mask.

As everyone stepped out onto the field All Might smiled down at them with a wild grin. “ALL RIGHT YOU ZYGOTES! I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY NEZU THAT WE WILL HAVE AN UNORTHODOX EXERCISE TODAY! NORMALLY YOU WOULD BE GOING AGAINST EACH OTHER, BUT NEZU WANTED YOU TO ALL GO AGAINST SOMEONE OF HIS CHOOSING! TODAY…. YOU WILL BE FACING….. THE GALE HERO! ZEPHYR!!”

At his words a massive gust of wind blew through the area, whipping up dust and blowing the student’s hair around. Izuku felt his rage spike to a new level, every nerve inside of him burning with fury at the sight of his sister. She touched down on the ground and didn’t even seem to notice him, instead immediately using a wind blade to rush off into the city.

All Might sweatdropped at her actions before turning to the students.

“SO, YOU WILL BE GOING IN TEAMS OF 2 TO FIGHT HER! WHO WOULD LIKE TO GO FIRST?”

A lone hand shot into the air.

“MIDORIYA? ALRIGHT THEN! WHO IS YOUR PARTNER?”

“I’m not bringing one.”

“B-BUT YOU HAVE TO!”

“Nope. This is personal.”

All Might finally gave in and let Midoriya past him and into the city. While Izuku was searching for his sister, the rest of the class was watching him on the cameras.

“So, I bet Midobro will only last 5 seconds”

Kaminari chuckled. “Bet! You’re on Kirishima!”

------------------------

Izuku walked into the middle of the field, spotting his sister not too far away. Her eyes widened with shock.

“Izuku?!”

“Yeah. It’s me. The fuck do you want?”

She stammered before hardening her resolve. “You got into U.A. somehow. Those illegal drugs seem to be working. From here on out you are nothing but a villain to me, and I will treat you as such. Now FALL!”

Izuku swiftly leapt over the blades of wind that were aimed at him and growled in fury. He leapt towards Kazeha, cracking the ground under his feet. The wind rippled as he dodged her blades, something only possible due to years of seeing it in action. He could detect her invisible weapons and get around them with ease. He felt the rubble under his feet compress as he launched himself into the air with a wild roar, twisting around her flurry of blades. His fist met her arm with a boom, throwing up a massive cloud of dust. When it finally settled, the two were locked in a vicious fistfight, blows trading faster than the students could follow. Izuku was launching punches with fury while Kazeha was blocking them swiftly with blade armour. Finally Kazeha wrapped a blade around him and pinned him to the ground, pushing a blade against his neck.

“What drugs did you take, you villain?”

“None! I am your brother for god’s sake. I trained my ass off. I manifested a GODDAM QUIRK! But you never paid attention. To you I was nothing, useless. But I worked my ass off. I have the best damn quirk, and I am going to prove to you that I am better!”

With those words Izuku used his legs to fling his sister into the air wildly before jumping up to catch her and throw her through a building. She used more blades to shield herself, obvious turmoil running through her face as she thought about his words. Yet she fought on.

“Blade Storm: HURRICANE!”

Hundreds upon hundreds of blades rushed at Izuku as he gathered up his anger for a final blow.

“Raging Sun: FURIOUS IMPACT”

The two attacks collided with a massive explosion, sending both of the two flying. Izuku slowly stood back up, his rage filled eyes shining through the dust.

“Raging Sun: Wrathful Penance”

With a deadly calm voice the boy launched a fist into the ground, the resulting shockwave blasting the ground underneath Kazeha upward. With the last of her strength the fired off a final blade of wind at the panting Izuku, striking him in the chest, both of the two falling to the ground, fully exhausted.

------------------------

The class had been watchiaboutng the fight enraptured, but the second it ended All Might rushed into the battlefield to retrieve the two combatants. A stretcher was brought over and they were quickly carted off to be treated. However he turned back to the group.

“UHM, LOOKS LIKE WE’LL BE DOING THE OTHER TRAINING AFTER ALL?”

He was granted roughly two seconds of reprieve before the whole class burst into chatter, all but Ochako who was worried sick for Izuku. The whole battle exercise went without a hitch from that point on, even though there was more than one person who had been willing to fight the Gale Hero. Once the class was over, Ochako rushed over to the infirmary to go see her boyfriend.

------------

“Ugh.. Fuck that hurts.”

As Izuku opened his eyes the first thing he was was Ochako standing over him with a worried expression on her face.

“You know. I really need to stop passing out so much huh? I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Ochako couldn’t help the snort that slipped out at that, but playfully (yet gently) smacked him on the arm.

“You idiot! What were you thinking?”

His face set itself firmly. “I had to prove something to her. Kazeha is my sister. No longer though. She lost that privilege.”

Ochako brought Izuku into a warm hug, nuzzling her face into his chest. “Ah was so worried, when ya hit the ground ya jus’ looked so limp.”

Izuku held her as she began to cry. He heard the quiet sound of the door opening but waved away whoever was there subtly, as he would rather comfort his girlfriend at the moment.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here, and it all turned out okay, I’m not going anywhere, and as long as I’m alive I will ALWAYS come back.”

They remained there for the next ten minutes until Ochako finally calmed down. She looked up and Izuku gently wiped her tears away, planting a kiss on her forehead in turn, only to then be interrupted by a slow clapping from the other side of the room.

Both of them turned their heads to see none other than the Gale Hero herself standing in the corner of the room. Izuku barely managed to check his rage before speaking up. “What do you want?”

“Oh I don’t want anything at all! I’m just here to ask you again. What did you take that gave you this amount of improvement?!”
Surprisingly, Ochako was the one to reply. “How dare ya?! Izuku is one of the mos’ driven people ah ever met! He worked his ass off to get here and now you wanna invalidate that by sayin it was a supplement?! How DARE you! Ah don’t care who ya are, you will not speak to him like that!”

Izuku smiled warmly at what Ochako said, but Kazeha wasn’t so amused. “Look, kid. I get you like him and all, which I don’t understand since I could easily set you up with a real man, but whatever. Ten months ago that kid was scrawny and could barely throw a punch, now he even kept me on my toes. There’s no way that’s normal. Hell, he’s quirkless!”

Izuku snapped. “Shut up. Now. I told you before. I am not quirkless. Look up my file in the Quirk Registry, or don’t. I could care less, but don’t you EVER insinuate I would stoop so low as to take an illegal method or substance for the chance to get into UA. It looks like the school day is over so I’ll be taking my leave with Ochako. I suggest you do the same ‘sister’.”

With those parting words Izuku and Ochako headed home, angry over the encounter, but excited for what was to come.

Chapter Text

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Hi there! Saints123 here, I’m just here to give pretty much a quick breakdown of Izuku’s quirk.

Right now his quirk is known as (Fury) [I think… my memory is so bad I can't even remember what I wrote] but basically the angrier Izuku is the more powerful he becomes. It isn’t nearly going to give him the ability to reach All Might unless he either loses control or simply becomes incredibly angry. His quirk gives him a much larger limbic system than most. It basically moved his quirk factor section to the side, so when Aizawa’s quirk activates it cuts off his connection to the limbic system instead, making him lose connection and control. Quirk erasing bullets will work on him, but their effect may be… different. I don’t have plans to erase his quirk so I suppose I can tell you, basically he would lose his strength enhancement, but not his anger.

His quirk is only about 20-30% of its maximum output at the time he fights Kazeha. His 100% would probably allow him to go toe-to-toe with Muscular. Also his quirk has naturally given him much denser muscle and bone, making him able to take the impact, meaning no broken bones! (At least caused by himself). His quirk can also store his anger like a stockpile, and his drawback is that if he uses too much power or he uses it for too long, he is “drained” of anger, making him much calmer and easygoing. Izuku is able to keep his anger on a tight leash, and his emotion doesn’t overpower his other emotions, but when he is drained he is even more calm and chill.

His quirk is not even close to being finished, but when his quirk is finally finished developing, I’d probably put his power level somewhere around [REDACTED level].

And now for some backstory and other explanations. His family never really cared as Inko gave birth to 2 powerful heroes, and when her third kid was born quirkless, she was disappointed and her worldview took control. Kazeha got a rude awakening, but she doesn’t believe him fully yet. Also, Kazeha was only beaten so easily because Izuku was a bad matchup. SHe relies on taking out her enemies quickly, before they can retaliate, and he got her into a close range drawn-out battle, both of which are her weaknesses. In spite of that she still tied with him, which should give some insight into her power level. When Izuku is fighting another CQC quirk it won’t be such an easy win. Anyway, I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time, if there's anything else you would like me to explain just let me know in the comments! Now on to your regularly scheduled chapter.
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The next day when the two walked into the classroom, Ashido was sitting right near the door.

“Hi you two! Why were you guys almost late huh? Why did you two walk in together? Doing anything spicy~?”

She wiggled her eyebrows, sending both Izuku and Ochako into blushing, stuttering messes. Thankfully the two were saved by Iida coming over to help them.

“Ashido! You cannot insinuate such things about our classmates! It’s not right, and it is incredibly disrespectful!”

Izuku gave a strained smile to Iida, he still held an intense dislike for the boy, but was grateful he had helped them out. They went to their seats and prepared for their homeroom class.

Everyone had finally settled down when out of nowhere their teacher stood up from behind his desk, shed his sleeping bag, and spoke out loudly.

“Alright, I’ve reviewed the footage from yesterday’s battle trials. Izuku, you did remarkably well, but going in alone and with a grudge was foolish. I’d like it if you could stay behind after school today and discuss a few things. Ochako, Asui, you two need to learn a bit more in the planning section, Yayorozu and Iida only beat you because they planned ahead. Bakugou, Kirishima, you two are much the same, you charged in with no plan and won out of sheer luck. Mineta, Sero, you two probably have the most synergetic quirks, but you lost due to a lack of awareness, even with your plan. As for the rest of you, It was either a lack of planning or reactiveness. But that’s what you are here to learn. However, the second you drop behind I will not hesitate to kick you out of the course. Onto more important things, today you need to choose a class representative. I don’t care how, just decide before this period is over”

With those words, Aizawa donned his sleeping bag once again and sank beneath the desk, leaving the rest of the class to watch his actions with an awkward feeling. Soon enough they were interrupted by Iida rushing to the front.

“This should be decided by vote!”

Kirishima cut in quickly. “Then everyone would only vote for themselves!”

Iida shot back just as fast with a little nudge of his glasses. “Exactly! That way anyone who gets more than one vote obviously is worthy!”

At that statement there was a clamor of people who obviously wanted to be the representative.

“Ooh pick me!”

“I’m gonna be number one you damn extras!”

“I’ll put more into our training!”

“I’ll make all the girls show some skin!”

That sentence shut everyone and there was a noise akin to glass cracking. Izuku slowly turned his head to look at the perverted midget who had said that.

“Mineta. Care to explain what you mean by that?”

The person in question, seemingly unfazed by the aura of promising death that Midoriya was giving off, answered confidently.

“Of course! I'll make sure all the girls have to show some skin! I’m sure everyone would love to get a glimpse of Asui’s ass, or Ashido’s tits, and don’t even get me started on Uraraka’s thighs!”

Izuku felt his rage rush through him. ‘Aaand you fucked up.’

He stood up slowly and walked over to Mineta before putting a heavy hand on his shoulder, threatening to crush him at any second if he gave the wrong answer to his next question.

“Care to repeat that?”

Mineta gulped, he knew he fucked up then. “A-ah n-not really… s-sorry.”

Izuku gave him a gentle pat on the back that held more than a deadly implication. “Alright then, let’s keep it that way ‘buddy’.”

He just stared in fear as the shadow of death himself walked back to his desk and sat down, motioning for Iida to continue. However, no one in the class missed the imprint of his own hand that Izuku had left on his desk. Being more than a little intimidated, Mineta sighed with utter relief as Iida began to speak.

“A-anyway, everyone put your votes into the box and I will go over them in a moment!”

The class all entered their votes, pieces of paper quickly filling up the small box as Iida collected them all. Once he was finished he made a Tally on the board with everyone’s names and the amount of votes. No one expected the outcome however.

Iida - 4
Yaoyorozu - 4
Midoriya - 3
Asui - 2
Uraraka - 2
Bakugou - 1
Mineta - 1
Sero - 1
Kaminari - 1
Kirishima - 1

Iida and Yayorozu looked at each other, and eventually decided to settle the matter with a simple game of Rock Paper Scissors. It was an intense match, with the two furiously typing over and over again, finally when the wind settled, Yayorozu had won with a slim victory over Iida. Without further ado Aizawa stood up and announced the result, with Yaoyorozu being the class representative, and Iida being the Assistant Rep.

By the time they had finished with that it was already time for lunch, and the class filtered out of the room slowly, heading to the lunch room.

Izuku and Ochako had been joined at their table by Asui, Kirishima, and Ashido, all of whom were talking animatedly about their reasons for being heroes, Izuku leading the conversation.

“Well, I’ve always wanted to be a hero so I can help people, but I think my goals are slowly changing. I still want to help people as much as I did before, but I also have a desire to protect those who can’t protect themselves, like the quirkless people and the sick.

“Midobro, that’s so MANLY! I want to be a hero to be the best person I can be, especially after seeing my hero, Crimson Riot, in person! He inspired me to be a chivalrous and loyal hero after saving me from a villain.”

“Kiri you’re such a goober. I initially only became a hero so I could stick around with Kiri, but after a little while I realized that saving people is genuinely rewarding and I truly enjoy it!”

“Kero, my reason is much the same, but I’ve always wanted to be a hero, my mother was one too, kero.”

Ochako fidgeted nervously as she heard everyone talk, knowing that her own reason wasn’t that heroic. Unfortunately, Ashido focused on her rather quickly.

“What about you Uraraka? WHy did you become a hero?”

Deciding to rip the bandaid off now, Ochako told them. “I became a hero for the money. My family isn’t in the best spot and I really want to give them a good life.”

Kirishima perked up at that. “Maybe on the surface it doesn’t seem heroic but if you really just wanted money you could’ve just done a high paying job. Not only are you here saving people, you’re even doing it to help your family! I’m not sure about the rest of you, but to me that’s pretty dang heroic. She probably has better morals than most of us here, and with a powerful quirk to boot! Speaking of quirks, Midoriya, what's yours? I can’t seem to figure it out.”

Izuku shifted uncomfortably before answering, fully aware that his quirk could come off as ‘evil’ to most people. “U-uhm my quirk is called ‘Fury’. It gives me a heightened amount of anger, and the angrier I become the more my physical traits are enhanced. However if I use it too much my rage gets drained and I can’t use my quirk for a little while. What about yours?”

Kirishima grinned madly. “That’s such a cool quirk Midobro! Mine isn’t all that to be honest, I can harden my body to the point where most physical weapons will bounce right off of it, but in return it can make moving more difficult as it tends to stiffen up my joints.”

Midoriya, who was eating all of it up with a grin, quickly shot off a bunch of questions. “Woah, that's incredibly useful. Do you harden your whole body, or just your skin? If you harden your heart does it hurt you? Could you harden just your bones for extra durability when free falling or punching? Can you harden your muscles in a strained position to gain kinetic energy and then release it to punch more powerfully?”

With a cry of surprise, Kirishima interjected. “Woah there! Slow down a bit! To answer those questions, I think it’s my whole body that gets hardened. I’ve never tried localizing my hardening and I honestly have no idea for the heart or bones. That muscle idea sounds really cool though and I’ll definitely have to try it out! You’re giving me so many ideas bro!”

Izuku grinned at the thought that he had actually helped his classmate with something, and that they were reacting positively to his quirk analysis rather than calling him a freak and a mistake. Meanwhile the others at the table had similar questions for the boy.

“Wow Midoriya! I didn’t know you were so intuitive with quirks! What about mine? I can make acid of varying Ph levels out of my body!”

Going into another muttering state, he began to analyze Ashido’s quirk as well, when all of a sudden they were interrupted by an extremely loud alarm going off and ringing throughout the cafeteria. The group of five immediately covered their ears in surprise before yelling to one another

“DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON?!”

“NO! JUST FOLLOW THE REST OF THE CROWD, WE’LL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH!”

The group slowly made their way through the hall, everyone being pushed up against each other. Unfortunately they were quickly separated by the massive crown rushing to get out. When Izuku heard Ochako cry out in discomfort something snapped.

“EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

The booming shout was heard by everyone, and they all quieted down rapidly at the rageful noise.

“YOU ALL ARE FUCKING UA STUDENTS CORRECT?! THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU PULLING THIS UNORGANIZED BULLSHIT? GET YOUR ASSES IN ORDER AND MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE GATES IN AN ORGANIZED FASHION!”

Everyone was spurned into gear by the angry kid who had somehow humbled an entire school of anxious students, getting them all to file out of the school in an orderly fashion. Izuku quickly found Ochako and wrapped her up in a hug.

“You okay? I heard you cry out.”

She sank into his hug. “Yeah I’m alright, it was just a shock and overwhelming. Thank you for helping them.”

“Of course.”

The two walked out behind the crowd, slowly making their way to the training field. Once they got there they stood with the rest of their class until they heard Present Mic speak.

“IT'S OKAY KIDDOS IT WAS JUST THE PRESS INTRUDING! GO HEAD ON BACK TO YOUR CLASSROOMS AND CONTINUE THE DAY!”

Nearly the entire student body groaned at the false alarm, but they all headed back to their classroom to finish up their lessons. Surprisingly enough, they were met with their teacher ushering them to a bus out in the parking lot instead.

“I know you kids had battle training yesterday, but it’s just as important to learn how to rescue people. That way you’ll know what to do when a situation requires a little more finesse than just raw power. We’re going to the USJ, where you will learn to be careful with your abilities and to fine tune the control you will need in order to manage an emergency situation with precision.”

Kaminari, ever the non-observant blonde shouted “WAIT WE’RE GOING TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN?!”

Aizawa put a palm on his face and sighed, still unused to Kaminari’s antics. “Just get on the bus.”

With only a little nagging from Iida, most of the people finally got settled on the bus, although much to Iida’s disappointment it wasn’t a traditional bus, meaning people were seated wherever. Izuku ended sitting between Ochako and Kirishima. A friendly chatter filled the air while Aizawa laid asleep in the front seat. Izuku had been listening passively to the conversation when a question from Kaminari suddenly dragged him into it.

“Hey Midoriya your quirk is pretty strong huh? Makes you like a barbarian.”

Izuku sweatdropped at the comparison, thinking that he had a bit more control, but he hesitantly agreed. “Yeah I suppose you could say that. The angrier I get the more power I can wield. You’re not that weak yourself! You have the ability to blast anyone with electricity!”

Kaminari sighed slightly at that. “Yeah I do, but I don’t have any control over the electricity, and if I use too much then I can go stupid for a little while. It’s flashy yes, but it doesn’t have a great stopping power.”

Kirishima then spoke up. “Mine has decent power but it isn’t flashy at all. In terms of flashiness and strength, Bakugou and Todoroki are at the top, but Bakugou is a major dick.”

“THE FUCK DID YOU SAY SHITTY HAIR?!”

Kaminari laughed. “Yeah Bakugou, everyone can already tell that your personality is that of sewage steeped in shit.”

“I’LL KILL YOU FUCKER!”

Izuku glared at Bakugou for that. “Kacchan. Sit.”

“DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO YOU USELESS DEKU!”

EVeryone quieted down at that. They knew Bakugou didn’t have the best personality, but to openly call another person useless seemed a little too far. However Izuku had a retort.

“We’re not kids anymore Kacchan. I’m also no longer a deku. Call me that again and I will fight you, and win.”

“YEAH RIGHT YOU QUIRKLESS FUCK”

“Bakugou, I have already demonstrated my quirk to the class. Don’t tell me I need to show you personally how destructive it can be…”

The two arguing kids were interrupted by Aizawa glaring at them, cutting off Bakugou’s popping hands, while shooting a lethal glare towards Izuku. “Both of you need to cut it out. You are future hero students and you’re bickering like children. I don’t care what kind of animosity was between you two before you came to this school, but now you’re in a school to become professional heroes. You need to set your problems aside and focus on why you applied to UA.”

Izuku nodded to Aizawa while Bakugou growled in acceptance. Ochako took the opportunity to slide her hand into Izuku’s, which he took with a gentle smile. Of course it wasn’t long before Ashido let out a giddy squeal and shouted with victory.

“Oh I knew you two were dating! That’s so cute!”

That sentence attracted the rest of the class, all of whom had mixed opinions on the couple in the school. Most of them, such as Kirishima, Ashido, Asui, Kouda, Sato, Aoyama, and Hagakure were supportive, and excited to learn that even in the midst of all the excitement that had been going down in the last few days that there was still love blossoming. Meanwhile the other half of the class was either worried that it would impair their ability as heroes, or just straight jealous, with a particularly perverted midget mumbling about ‘the unfairness of it all’ and how Midoriya was ‘a lucky bastard’.

Not long after the excitement died down, the bus slowed to a stop and they exited to get into the facility. Most of the students were in awe at the sight of the massive dome which contained many different emergency simulations in various spots. Once they got to the main plaza, Aizawa was greeted by a shorter hero in a space themed costume. As they began to chat rapidly, Aizawa groaned in exasperation as they seemed to discuss something about someone else. However Izuku was much more preoccupied with Ochako, who was currently bouncing in place with an expression of pure joy on her face. SHe grabbed his arm and shook him back and forth while practically shouting.

“That’s Thirteen!! Oh my gosh oh my gosh Izuku that’s Thirteen!”

Izuku had known she loved Thirteen ever since he had began to live with her and her family. She didn’t have much hero merch but the few pieces she did have were all stylized pieces of Thirteen merch. In fact, Izuku had given her a piece of Thirteen merch once just to thank her for everything, and she had wrapped him into a hug so tight he thought he was going to suffocate. It wasn’t that much different now, with her shaking him back and forth in her excitement. Izuku chuckled and calmed her down while Thirteen turned back to the group.

When Thirteen spoke she started saying things that none of the class would have expected to come out of such a bubbly hero’s mouth.

“Alright kids, today you’re here to learn how to control your quirks and use them with precision in order to defuse emergency situations and save as many people as you can. However, most of you have dangerous quirks. Even my quirk, which has been used to save hundreds, can easily kill if I desired it to. Your quirks are much the same. If you wanted to kill, it would not be hard to do so. That is why you are here today, to learn how to control your quirks and use them carefully.”

“Ah, a lesson in quirk control huh? Well let me tell you something kids. When you’re a villain, you don’t have to worry about stupid NPC mechanics like ‘control’.”

Both of the teachers tensed and spun to the side, only to be met with the scene of a swirling black portal in the plaza. Exiting the portal was a man wearing hands all over his body, with light blue hair and other villains following soon after. The blue haired man then swept his arms and made a grand gesture while exclaiming.

“It’s not every day I get the chance to kill All Might himself! Welcome children, it’s time for the REAL game to begin. It seems like the final boss isn’t quite here yet, that’s alright. Maybe his summon requirements involve the death of some of his students?”

Aizawa yelled at the students standing at the top of the stairs. “Get back NOW! This is not a drill, those are real villains and you guys are not safe!”

He then jumped down into the plaza and began to duel with the large amount of D list villains that had been coming through the portal.

The class began to back up only to be greeted by the black misty visage of a well dressed bartender.

“Oh well hello there children. I am dearly sorry but I have been instructed to separate you from each other. I hope you understand.”

Thirteen jumped into the fray, motioning for the kids to get behind her before taking a defensive stance. “Not so fast villain! Black Hole!”

Thirteen created a black hole to immobilize the villain, but his quick reaction and creation of a portal turned Thirteen’s attack back on herself, ripping a hole into the back of her hero costume and deeply injuring her. Ochako rushed over and cried out. “THIRTEEN!”

The black misty villain then used a portal to transport both Ochako and the wounded Thirteen to the plaza next to the leader of the villains. The blue haired freak smiled cruelly up at the remainder of the class. “Would you look at this! A hostage, just for me. My S-rank clearing chance for this mission just skyrocketed!”

He grabbed Ochako’s arm with four of his fingers and yanked her over to him. “Stay still now! You wouldn’t want to get dusted.”

Izuku’s head was pounding. All of his neurons were firing on overdrive, every cell pulsing with white hot rage. He could feel everything, his senses were running in overdrive. Every non-essential function his body was doing had been shut down to grant him more processing power. He could see every detail of the hand on the sickening man’s face, the pale skin twitching as he talked. He could see the tears leaking out of Ochako’s eyes. He could smell the blood coming from the plaza, and the smoky scent of fire. He could feel the air moving around him, the gentle, subtle changes as people moved. He was livid, more than he had ever been so in his life. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the mist man tense up. Izuku jumped.
Kurogiri created a massive portal underneath the kids, watching them fall through. Once they were all properly split up, he turned to make his way back to Shigaraki only to be met close up with the eyes of a boy whose thoughts were anything but calm. He didn’t even have time to think as he summoned a portal in front of him, the boy’s fist phasing through it and out of the portal behind him. Kurogiri barely had time to register the boom of the air wave that was created before a second hand hit his metal brace with an uppercut, jarring and stunning him as he fell to the ground.

Shigaraki let out a roar of anger as he watched his main source of transportation get knocked out of the sky. “HOW DARE YOU?! YOU KNOW WHAT? JUST FOR THAT I’M DUSTING YOUR LITTLE GIRLFRIEND!”

Izuku’s entire body tensed as he watched Shigaraki’s finger fall in slow motion. He was too far and he wouldn’t be able to make it in time. Izuku’s brain began to overclock itself even more searching for a solution when he had a thought.

‘I am NOT going to let Ochako die here. I don’t give a fuck if I break myself. I’m going to KILL THAT VILLAIN.’

Izuku’s eyes slowly changed from his fiery green to a blood red color as his mood shifted. He felt more anger than he had ever felt before. Every nerve of his was on fire with rage. Izuku felt something click, and he dashed forward.

Shigaraki was watching the little shit who had dared to knock out Kurogiri when suddenly he disappeared. ‘A teleportation quirk? He’s going to be a pain to kill.’

Then Izuku reappeared right in front of his eyes. “You will not touch her.”

It wasn’t a plea, it wasn’t a question. It was a statement. Izuku unleashed the force of a small meteor into the ground, making a massive shockwave that surged underneath Shigaraki, causing him to lose balance and let go of Ochako. Izuku grabbed her and moved back up the stairs, sitting her down by the entrance of the USJ.

“Sit here, stay safe. I’m going back out there.”

She grabbed Izuku’s hand softly. “Please. Please don’t die.”

He planted a kiss on her forehead before jumping back down. “I won’t. I'm not allowed to yet.”

Shigaraki finally regained his balance and was immediately put on the defensive by an incredibly enraged Izuku throwing fists at him left and right. Shigaraki was only able to dodge due to years of near death training. When Izuku had backed off for just half a second, Shigaraki called out. “NOMU! KILL THIS BRAT!”

Izuku didn’t have time to react as a hulking black fist with the strength of a freight train connected with his cheek and slammed him into the ground.

-----------------------

Kaminari was having a rough time on the boat. He was saved by Asui, along with Mineta, and they were now trapped on a small boat in the middle of the lake where sumbersion rescues would take place. Mineta was freaking out while Asui was staring blankly, when he had a small spark of electricity hit just the right spot, and he got an idea.

“Hey guys? I think I have a plan”

------------------------

Tooru and Ojiro were simply watching Todoroki as he froze every villain they met so far while interrogating them to find out what their motives were and why they had come to attack the USJ in the first place. Needless to say, it wasn’t pretty.

“Damn. I didn’t think Todoroki could be so cold blooded when fighting.”

Tooru shivered at Ojiro’s words. “Yeah…”

------------------------

Iida was running through the forest with all the speed he could muster up at the moment. He had been thanking his lucky stars that the misty villain hadn’t noticed his slip out the door while he was transporting the others away, but now Iida hardened his face and pushed even harder. He had one goal. Alert the teachers.

------------------------

Kyoka and Yaoyorozu were stuck at the top of the mountain zone while Kirishima simply used his hardening to tank all of the opponents hits at the same time that Sato went to knock them out. They hadn’t been there long but both of the girls sweatdropped as all of these villains seemed severely underpowered to be taking on an entire class of hero students.

------------------------

Sero, Ashido, and Koda were gradually making their way through the earthquake zone, but they hadn’t faced much trouble except for a few weak villains. However, when they heard a deep, booming laugh from a few yards away, they immediately realized that they might not have been the biggest fish in this pond.

------------------------

Tokoyami, Shoji, and Aoyama were simply following Bakugou as he blasted the hell out of every villain as they made their way slowly back to the main plaza.

------------------------

Izuku couldn’t see clearly, but he knew he was in danger. As his sight cleared and he stood up slowly, he heard the blue haired villain from before cackling with mad laughter.

“HAHAHAHAH HOW DID YOU LIKE THAT BOY?! THAT BEAST WAS MADE TO KILL ALL MIGHT HIMSELF! A LITTLE BRAT LIKE YOU COULDN’T EVEN TOUCH HIM!”

Izuku felt himself growl as the beast rushed him again, but this time he was prepared. Izuku managed to catch the fist that the beast threw. With a mighty roar he flung the beast backwards and dashed towards it, throwing a flurry of punches that simply sunk into its flesh. The beast tilted its head in slight amusement before hammering its fist into Izuku’s back, knocking the wind out of him and throwing him backwards. He felt every rock and pebble as his body slid across the ground, a rough reminder that he could still bleed. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed the mist man getting back up, but when he tried to go attack the portal villain the bird man dashed in front of him again.

Shigaraki called Kurogiri to his side and handed him a vial of a certain drug.

“When the rest of this idiot boy’s class gets here along with any possible reinforcements, I want you to keep them away from the boy. He is going to be a testament to how strong Nomu is, as well as an example of what happens when you mess with us.”

Kurogiri nodded, taking the vial and hovering nearby.

Meanwhile, Izuku was locked in a furious battle with this monster that didn’t even seem to tire. They had been circling each other for the last ten seconds, both throwing punches faster than any normal human could follow, and the other countering with punches of their own. It was a crazy scene to see the smaller kid holding his own and even countering the hulking force of nature known as a Nomu.

--------------------------

Bakugou was annoyed as hell with these brats. He had finally gathered all of the members of Class 1-A together, and they had begun to head back to the main plaza, but he had to wait for the injured students who were slowing them down. When they got close, the whole class heard the noises of a clash, and began to speed up when they came to the plaza. What they saw was nothing short of stunning. Aizawa had managed to beat down all of the villains that hadn’t been spread out, and was now watching Midoriya throw down with something that could only be described as a monstrous force of power. When the class began to rush in to help, Aizawa held them back.

“You can’t get in. I’ve been trying. The portal villain took Trigger and will simply put you back where you started. Shigaraki said that if I keep trying he’ll forgo the battle and just disintegrate Midoriya. Stand behind me. I’m not going to lose any of you willingly.”

The students were shocked, some worried, some nervous, and others angry that they couldn't do anything to help. The only ones who felt any different were Bakugou, who felt indifferent, and Mineta, who was slightly happy that the person who he hated could possibly die.

-------------------------

Izuku was fighting with everything he had. The bid monstrosity matched every blow he threw, countered every blow, and still had the energy to fight, but he wouldn’t fall. Izuku was determined to win. His body coursed with the molten anger of a star, flurrying and chaotic. The Nomu seemed to laugh as it began to overpower Izuku, forcing him further down to the ground as its massive fists created gusts of wind that blew him over and destabilized him. Izuku only took the smirk of the creature as an insult and it fueled his rage to new heights. He screamed out as he threw one of his most powerful punches yet.

“RAGING SUN: FURIOUS IMPAAAACT!”

The move that decimated the 0-pointer in the entrance exam did almost the same thing to the hulking beast. The air collapsed in on itself, creating a massive boom as the shockwave tore a hole through the creature, ripping its internal organs apart and flinging it backwards, finally allowing Izuku to turn and face the other villains, blood running down his face, exhaustion clearly present.

Shigaraki simply laughed at Izuku. “You think you killed him? That’s just the beginning!”

Izuku turned around only to be met with the sight of the Nomu healing, the wound in his chest filling in with new bone and muscle, fixing the creature until it was good as new. Almost as a heralding of its return, it let out a piercing cry that shook the dome.

---------------------------

All Might had been rushing through the forest in his powered form at max speed, the trees and grass blurring as he pushed his limits. From what young Iida had said there were villains at the USJ, and All Might was not happy. He rocketed towards the USJ as the sound barrier bent around him before finally snapping, producing a massive sonic boom that shook the ground. It was at that moment that All Might saw the doors come into his vision, and just as he burst through the doors he was met with the scene of Midoriya, bloodied and tired, getting into a fighting stance in order to take on a hulking beast that seemed to promise death. All Might leapt forward to help out but was repelled by a field of portals. He tried dozens of times within a second but was unable to surpass the portals. He could do nothing but pray.

-----------------------------

Izuku dashed forward once again, the two powerhouses clashing with each other again, every punch creating a boom and a shockwave. The power they were putting off was so immense that even All Might could barely follow the battle as they sped up, flurries of punches becoming blurs as they moved faster than anyone could track. Izuku grunted as he felt the fists impact him, a few slipping by his defenses as Nomu began to overpower him. He flinched, and that was all it took. The Nomu immediately brought its fists down on Midoriya’s raised arms attempting to crush him into the ground. Izuku had punched several holes into the creature but as the onlookers watched they began to heal, and Izuku was straining to stop the beast. It pushed down even more forcefully, putting Izuku on one knee as he struggled.

‘Fuck, this might be it for me.’

He made a last ditch attempt to overthrow the beast but failed as it simply used its weight against the kid.

‘I’m sorry Ochako. I couldn’t uphold my promise. Wait. That’s not right. I made a promise. This fucker wants to stop me from keeping it. That’s not going to happen. YOU DARE TO TAKE MY FUTURE AWAY FROM ME?!’

The limbic system in Izuku’s head had been struggling to keep up with his quirk, and finally, something inside broke. It was Izuku’s limiter. Slowly his veins began to glow red and white as the rage begame more than his body was able to safely contain. He began to push upwards with every cell in his body, the Nomu slowly being pushed back by this new strength.

Shigaraki couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This boy had begun to push back his ultimate weapon, the one made to kill All Might himself. He screamed out in anger and disbelief

“NOMU?! HOW ARE YOU LOSING TO THIS LITTLE BRAT?! USE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE AND KILL. THIS. KID!”

Izuku had had enough. These villains had come into his school, hurt his girlfriend, and threatened his classmates. He had decided to end it here. With an all-encompassing SCREAM of defiance, Izuku launched the Nomu into the air and quickly followed, jumping off the ground with a boom as the dirt and stone was utterly vaporized from the point of departure. He was right above the Nomu at the height of the arc, and yelled out loud enough for the entire USJ to hear.

“AURA OF MALICE: METEORIC IMPACT”

As he threw his hand downwards for the final blow, he felt something inside himself find its peace, and then the punch connected.

An impossibly loud explosion echoed through the sky as the Nomu shot downwards and impacted the ground at Mach 5, creating a giant crater that threw back not only the villains, but everyone around. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left of the Nomu other than a place of impact. It was dead for good. Midoriya however was in critical condition. His entire body was bruised and battered, all of his limbs flailing behind him as he fell out of the sky. The entire class burst into commotion attempting to catch him as he fell, Aizawa being the one to lower the broken boy into his arms. All Might began to tend to the other injured members of the class while Uraraka made her way straight to Midoriya. She was bawling at the sight of him, worried out of her mind for the boy she had come to love.

Aizawa made his way with Uraraka out of the USJ to the waiting ambulances, where they proceeded to drive back to the ain campus in order to save Midoriya.

------------------------------

Shigaraki was furious. He had lost it all and was currently throwing a fit.

“Shigaraki.”

He immediately calmed down at that familiar voice. “Yes Sensei?”

“What happened? How did you lose so handily, and without even taking out a single student?”

“It wasn’t right sensei! There was this kid who was incredibly strong and fast, and he was able to kill Nomu after he started glowing!!”

“Hmm, he killed THAT Nomu?”

“Yes.”

Sensei began to chuckle at the implications.

“Looks like I finally found the next wielder. He sounds powerful. Too bad I’m going to snuff him out and end One For All right here and now.”

If only he knew how wrong he was…

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Thank you for reading this chapter! Honestly, that entire fight scene I was listening to Red Sun from the Metal Gear Rising soundtrack and I gave myself chills, but I hope you enjoyed it! Also if someone wanted to draw fanart of Izuku’s limit break, or just this version’s Izuku, I uhhh certainly wouldnt be opposed! :P. Anyway I hope y’all enjoyed!

Chapter Text

Izuku was beginning to get annoyed by the amount of times he had woken up after being injured. This was what, 3 for 3? He groaned and looked around the room. He was in a hospital judging from the white surroundings and medical equipment. Not long after he woke up a tall, thin man walked through the door. He was significantly balding and spoke with a distinct German accent.

“Sleep well, ja?”

Izuku blinked slowly before responding. “Uhhh, sure, I suppose, other than the intense pain that’s running through my body right now. I remember the fight, and winning? I think? After that I don’t remember much.”

The doctor nodded sagely. “Yes, they tried to treat you at UA but you were much too exhausted, so they brought you to me. My name is Doktor. Your quirk Fury seems like it went past its normal limit and proceeded to majorly injure you in the process. It also seems to have evolved. Not in terms of physical strength, but in terms of applications. In all honesty, your quirk reminds me of a friend. I’ll have to talk to him about sending you an internship offer.”

Despite the pain, Izuku’s eyes lit up. “Really?! You would do that for me?”

Doktor smiled gently. “Yes, you remind me of him. Angry at the world and with something to prove. It’s a dangerous combination. Now! Your wounds have mostly healed, the residual pain is just a side effect of my quirk, ‘Penance Healing’. It heals you immediately, but both you and I will experience the full pain of those injuries for the next three days, two of which have already gone by.”

Izuku bowed thankfully. “Am I cleared to leave?”

Doktor cleared Izuku to leave, and Izuku left the hospital and headed back to the house. The second he walked through the door he was tackled by a brown-haired blur

“IZUUUKU!”

Groaning in pain, Izuku accepted Ochako’s hug while Tsuyoichi and Kaori looked him over to make sure he wasn’t injured.

“Ya saved me! I was so scared when I saw ya fightin’ that monster! You were pushing yourself so hard, and when ya finally beat it you just slumped over! Ya scared me… AGAIN!”

Izuku began to tear up. “I’m sorry Ochako. I promise, I hate scaring you. I’ll do my best to not get in that situation again.”

The two crumpled to the ground, just sitting and sobbing as they held each other, at least until they were interrupted by Izuku’s phone ringing. When he pulled it out, confused, he was met by a caller ID he had never seen before. Tentatively, he answered the phone while Ochako watched curiously, sadness temporarily forgotten.
“GREENIE! Are you okay?! I heard about what happened from Power Loader, and I heard that you fought a monster! Are you okay? You can’t die before I help you get to number one!”

Izuku chuckled before wincing as the pain hit him. “Yeah Hatsume I’m fine, just a little banged up. How did you get this number anyway?”

He heard a chuckle over the line. “I hacked the systems to access your files.”

Izuku sighed. “Hatsume, that's illegal.”

She responded with a laugh. “And? Anyway when you get back to UA come see me. I have some upgrades for your suit, and plus we should hang out!”

Izuku grinned at her antics. “Sure Pinky!”

After hanging up he turned around only to be met with three pairs of cocked eyebrows. Chuckling nervously, Izuku explained.

“Hatsume is a friend I met at the entrance exam. She’s very energetic and hyper, but she means well.”

After they all calmed down It had already reached nearly ten o’clock, so they all headed to bed. At least, Izuku was going to before he was interrupted by a knock at his bedroom door. When he opened it he was met with Ochako standing shyly.

“I-I keep thinking about the USJ. Can I sleep with you tonight?”

Too tired to argue, not that he wanted to, Izuku wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into bed, both of them falling asleep, Ochako’s head lying on his chest.

When they woke up they were greeted by the snickers of Ochako’s parents looking through the door with grins on their faces. Izuku couldn’t do anything but blush heavily as the two snapped pictures, as Ochako was still asleep and he really didn’t want to wake her. Unfortunately, he had to as they had to get ready for the school day. Once the two were dressed and ready they set off for the building.

About halfway through their walk to the tram station Izuku was knocked onto the floor by a slap to the back of the head, courtesy of a pink haired girl wearing clunky steampunk goggles on her head who had a worried look on her face.

“Greenie! There you are! I didn't know you lived around here!”
Izuku just groaned as he pushed himself up. “Yeah, I do. I’m more surprised that you live around here, Hatsume.”

“Ah well, I’ve got my own workshop in a warehouse! Plus normally I leave super early in order to use the lab at UA, but today I slept in so I wouldn’t have trouble making more babies!”

Both Ochako and Izuku did a spit-take at that. “Make WHAT?!”

Hatsume rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Oh yeah sorry, I refer to my machines as ‘babies’.”

Izuku slightly remembered her saying something like that at the entrance exam but he didn’t think much of it at the time. Now he saw what she meant.

While Ochako was initially caught unaware of this new person, she quickly warmed up to the pink haired girl, chatting with her about various topics as Izuku trailed behind them, smiling the whole way.

Their happiness didn’t last long however, as the second they got near UA they were swarmed by hundreds of reporters.

“Do you go to UA?!”

“Is All Might your teacher?!”

“Can you comment on the USJ incident?”

“How did it feel to be attacked?”

“Are you the strongest student there?”

The whole group was pressed against each other uncomfortably as the reporters lost all respect for personal boundaries, every single one simply focusing on getting answers.

Izuku was about to push them back gently and just keep going when something registered with him.

He wasn’t angry.

Sure, he was mildly annoyed, but all in all he simply saw these people as just an annoyance. There was no familiar rush of anger, no heat building. It was like his anger was cold and dead. This scared the boy, so he quickly grabbed Ochako and Hatsume’s arm and dashed towards the main building, weaving between the reporters as they tried futilely to get past the improved UA barrier. Once he finally got to Aizawa’s classroom he burst through the door and grabbed the teacher behind the desk.

“Mr. Aizawa, can you erase my quirk?!”

“Midoriya? What? Fine. Don’t blame me if what happened last time happens again.”

Without a sound, Aizawa’s eyes lit up with an ethereal crimson glow
, and Iuzku felt his connection to his quirk become severed. Again, there was no anger that was riled up, simply a feeling of annoyance. When Aizawa released his quirk, even the minor feeling of annoyance was whisked away.

The two girls watched on, one with nervousness and the other with curiosity. WHen nothing bad happened, Ochako gingerly walked over to Izuku.

“Izuku, you okay?”

He turned around slowly, brain firing on every cylinder. “Yeah I think so. I believe I’ve just exhausted my quirk for the moment, so I don’t have any anger like normal.

Aizawa cocked an eye in interest. “That can happen?”

“Yeah. It happened before, after the entrance exam, but on a smaller scale. Now I can’t even feel a hint of it, but it should return within maybe a day? I’m just estimating here.”

Aizawa nodded. “A strange drawback. However, now is not the time for that. Go sit down at your seats, the rest of your class should be here soon. Hatsume, you should head down to the support area, and yes I know your name. I’ve heard plenty from Power Loader about his problem child.”

Hatsume grinned. “Ah that old coot loves me! He just won’t admit it! Anyway, I’m glad you're okay greenie! As for you Brownie, it was nice to meetcha! Gotta go, I’ll talk to you later!”

Izuku smiled at Mei’s antics while Aizawa just sighed. “ALright you two go sit down and you’ll hear what we’re going to do today, and don’t worry it’s nothing like what’s happened these past few days. Those were… flukes.”

The two sat down in their respective seats, watching as the rest of the class filtered in slowly. Once everyone was gathered, Aizawa spoke up. “Alright you guys. USJ was bad, but the fight isn’t over yet.

The whole class tensed up at that.

“The sports festival is coming up.”
They let out a communal sigh of relief as they heard the news. The class certainly wasn’t expecting this but it would be a nice surprise. A few students still had questions though.

“Mr. Aizawa, is it really wise to do this so soon after a villain attack?”

Aizawa shook his head tiredly. “I agree, it doesn’t seem very logical but Nezu thinks it will show everyone that we have a form of strength, and that you can’t mess with us.”

Izuku silently agreed with Nezu. If they had ceased their operations then everyone would be at a much higher risk than before. The villains would know that they had an effect on the school, and push their advantage. In a way, holding the sports festival could prevent them from having any more attacks, or at least ward off other villains from potentially trying.

Once the class ended Ochako grabbed his hand and they began to walk to the lunch room together, but Ochako seemed to have other ideas.

“Hey Izuku? What if I’m not meant to be a hero?”

Izuku turned to face her. “And what brought this on?”

“I want to be a hero for the money, so my parents can live an easy life. It’s not a good reason, it’s self-centered.”

“Ochako, you could have chosen any job if you wanted that, besides, being a hero doesn’t pay that well. I think you joined UA because at the heart of it, you enjoy helping people.”

Ochako wrapped Izuku in a bone-crushing hug and whispered into his ear. “Thank you.”

Then she took his hand and said, “Let’s go see if Hatsume wants to join us at lunch!”

The two began their trek down to the support labs. Once they got there they were wondering where Hatsume was, but it didn’t take long to find her as there was a loud bang followed by a noxious cloud of black smoke filling up a room in the corner. This was followed by a man wearing an excavator helmet running over to the room while muttering. In the end the man dragged out Hatsume and threw her out the door with a final proclamation.

“Dammit Hatsume! You broke the systems in this room. Go out and have some fun, just stay out of the support labs for the rest of the day! You need the break anyway.”

Mei visibly deflated at those words. Inventing was her life! When she was met with the noise of a gentle clearing of the throat in the corner she happily perked up when she saw who it was.

“Greenie! Brownie! What’re you two doing here?”

Ochako laughed at her antics. “Well, we wanted to see if you wanted to eat lunch with us?”

Mei smiled wildly. “Of course I’d love that! Where do we need to go?”

Izuku tilted his head. “Mei, don’t you normally eat around now?”

“Nope! Normally I eat at home!”

Worriedly, Ochako and Izuku led a confused Mei through the halls until they came to Lunch Rush, who greeted them with a smile. (At least they thought so. It was hard to tell with that mask).

Once the two had made sure that Lunch Rush would tell them if Mei didn’t eat, they went and sat down at one of the few tables that hadn’t been occupied yet. Not even ten minutes of idle chatter later and the period was nearly over. Saddened by the fact that she had to leave, Mei asked if she could come with them. Izuku would have loved that but the chances of Aizawa agreeing were slim to none. Slightly disheartened, Mei headed back to her own class while Ochako and Izuku went to theirs.

The classes were easy, and the day went by with next to no excitement. It was a nice change of pace for the class, and when the class released and the time came to go home, the whole class unconsciously released a breath they didn’t even realize they were holding in. Everyone was chatting happily, glad that they didn’t have to do anything else crazy today, but that quickly came to a halt when Kaminari opened the door.

A large gathering of students was crowded outside their door, mutters passing throughout. When the door opened they all perked up and the idle chattering became a rush of talk, anger and shock, as well as curiosity passing through the crowd. Kaminari stood there, almost in shock until one of the crowd finally spoke up.

“So this is the famed Class 1-A huh? You don’t look like much to me.”

The speaker was a tall lanky boy with wild purple hair and large, dark eyebags. He was wearing the signature UA uniform loosely, with the tie hanging well below his neckline. He smirked with malice as he saw the students get riled up.

“What? Don’t want to hear the truth? I heard one of your classmates got trapped by a villain and the rest of you were too pathetic to help him.”

Izuku, who’s rage had been building up again all day, felt the flare of his quirk, but he forced it down. He wanted to attempt civility before getting angry.

“Well, what makes you say that? You weren’t at the USJ, you don’t know what happened. Maybe it wasn’t that they were pathetic, but maybe the other villains were just too experienced?”

The lanky boy turned his head to stare at Izuku.

“Then they should have been better. Besides, you were the one who managed to get caught, Midoriya Izuku.”

Izuku felt his anger flare up at the subtle jab, but it was strange. His anger wasn’t fierce and uncontrolled like before. It was cold and focused. Strangely enough, Izuku could feel a ‘switch’ within his quirk. He would have to experiment later, but for now he was focused on the person in front of him.

“What of it? I was working to the limit of my abilities.”

“And such impressive abilities they are! It must have been such a blessing to be born with such a strong quirk, never having to face an adversary, never being beaten down, always standing at the top. What a joke.”

The boy had spat that with nothing but pure hatred. For whatever reason he despised Izuku for his quirk, but Izuku wasn’t going to let him off easy.

“You think I was born with this? You’re sorely mistaken. I have gone most of my life thinking I was quirkless, being pushed around, talked down to. You say you faced hatred for having a weak quirk, but you never faced the torment that comes from being quirkless. Now clear a goddamn path so we can go home. No one wants to deal with your little self pity trip. I’m assuming the rest of you came to scout out our class for being the primary threat in the Sports Festival correct?”

A few murmurs of agreement hit his ears.

“That’s about what I thought. I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re here to look at us or meet us, but if any of you insult me or my classmates then we are going to have a problem. Understand?”

Again, he was met with a few scattered agreements and a few nods.

“Good. Now get the fuck out of my way.”

With those parting words he muscled his way through the crowd, not so nicely shouldering the lanky kid out of the way, Ochako following behind worriedly. The rest of the class filtered out as well until only a volatile blonde boy was left.

“The fuck are you extras looking at?!”

The crowd moved around until one of the damn extras came up to him.

“Are you okay? While all of your classmates were arguing with Shinsou you were sitting down with a blank look on your face…”

“Of course I’m fine! Why wouldn’t I be you fucking idiots?! I’m going to be the goddamn number one, and all of you are just stones in my way!”

Bakugou was screaming now, his voice cracking near the end. He dashed his way out of the classroom, no one noticing the tears that fell from his eyes. He ran the whole way home, not paying attention, just needing to get back. He burst into his house, blasting his way up the stairs.

“OY LITTLE BRAT SHUT UP AND CALM DOWN!”

“FUCK OFF OLD HAG!”

“I’M NOT OLD YOU LITTLE SHIT!”

Bakugou didn’t respond as he threw his door open and flung his backpack off, Closing his door behind him. He sat down on his bed, his breaths coming faster than he could control. He was hyperventilating. All those reminders. All that pain he went through, and the pain he had caused. All for nothing.

‘I can’t cry, I’m going to be number one. All Might doesn’t cry. I have to be strong. If I’m not the best then they’ll all hate me. I am the strongest.’

The tears were flowing steadily now, the dull taste of salt filling his mouth as his vision blurred. His nose was getting stuffy, and he sniffed multiple times trying to clear it. He needed his stabilizer, his outlet.

Bakugou rummaged around his drawers frantically, looking for something specific. Once he found a solid grip he ran back to his bed, breathing slowing slightly. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a patchwork canvas of thin, linear scars. Bakugou held the blade to his skin and sighed in relief as he felt the soothing sensation of the blade slitting his skin open, the pain so intense it was euphoric.

Bakugou Katsuki had a secret. He was in pain. Izuku had been his friend for years, both of them eager to become the best hero-duo the world had seen. Then Izuku never got his quirk. At first Katsuki didn’t mind it, he knew Izuku had an amazing mind, even more impressive than his own. He had no doubts Izuku could be a fabulous hero even without a quirk; at least until one night when he was watching the news.

That night Katsuki had come home, eager to see Izuku again the next day. His father had fallen asleep in the living room with the news on, and his mother hadn’t gotten home yet. The TV was making loud noises so as a toddler does, Bakugou went to go check it out. He was greeted with a scene of grisly death. One villain had single handedly killed multiple heroes. Multiple. Heroes. That’s when it hit him. It didn’t matter if Izuku had the smarts. If people as powerful as those heroes were wiped out by one villain, then what chance did Izuku stand? Katsuki wouldn’t be able to take losing his best friend.

The next day, Kacchan died and Bakugou took his place. He bullied Izuku into the dirt, every single day, and it hurt. It hurt Katsuki so damn much. When they got into middle school, Katsuki had kept up the facade for so long that it wasn’t entirely a facade anymore. He genuinely enjoyed bullying Deku. On that last day when he told Izuku to kill himself, Kacchan came to his senses. He saw the pain he had caused, the hurt, the evil he had committed. He went home and immediately vomited. From that moment on he hated himself. The only thing that gave Katsuki solace was causing himself pain, which led to the cutting. He was just lucky that wearing long sleeve shirts could be passed off as generating more sweat.

When Izuku got into UA, Katsuki nearly had a nervous breakdown. The one he had failed to protect, and had instead hurt beyond repair was now trying to be a hero. It scared Kacchan. Then he found out Izuku had a quirk. He realized that all the bullying and pain he had caused was for nothing. He did it out of pleasure. That night Katsuki had fallen into such a deep spiral of self loathing that he had climbed onto the roof of his house and considered slitting his throat right there. In the end however, he decided that he had to apologize before he died.

As he finished his session of cutting Katsuki walked into his bathroom and let the blood wash away as he wrapped his arm in a bandage and put on another long sleeve shirt. THen he put on his mask, his angry persona. To be fair, he genuinely was an angry person, but he was subdued. His persona was just him being an open asshole, and he hated it, but it was necessary.

-----------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, with Midoriya…
-----------------------------------------------

Izuku had been sitting on the ground in his room at the Uraraka’s for a while now. He was focused on hitting that switch. He could feel it under his grasp, and he finally hit it with a mental ‘click’. Suddenly he could feel his old, familiar anger back, but it was different. He was strong again, but not as strong as when he fought his sister. He also felt his senses being enhanced, and his mental faculties had been augmented as well. It wasn’t just his strength, it was every part of him. He grinned as he felt his anger coursing.

‘Huh, Anger. I like that. I’ll call this setting Anger.’

He flicked the switch back to the second position. His anger immediately restrained itself and became focused and cold. His strength and senses left him, but in turn he felt as if everything was moving in slow motion. He had tons of ideas, thousands even; all running through his head with incredible speed.

‘Fury. That’s what this is.’

He hit the switch again to the third setting. His anger burst into a flame again, wild and ferocious, but instead of being a hot blooded anger it was a wildly calm one. His senses had shot up in sensitivity. He could hear and smell the cooking that Kaori was doing, and he could smell the subtle scent of dust that radiated from Tsuyoichi. When he focused he could even hear the noises of Uraraka changing in her room. His face exploded into a radioactive blush as he hurriedly switched his quirk again while noting that setting as ‘Wrath’

The final switch made his anger explode. It became a raging bonfire of red-hot, untamed flames. It coursed through his body as his senses returned to normal. He felt like he did when he fought the Nomu, his body fortified to an inane degree.

‘This is rage. This is me.’

He let his anger’s harness fall, the strength leaving his body as he let his anger calm down again. Once he had it under control he walked out the door into the living room, meeting Kaori and Tsuyoichi as they sat down to dinner, Ochako joining them soon after. Izuku loved it at this place. He was loved, and the rest of the day flashed by him quicker than he thought possible.

-------------------------------
2 Weeks Later
-------------------------------

Izuku was hyped. He had been waiting the last 2 weeks for the beginning of the sports festival, and now that it was here he couldn’t believe it. He had watched the event every year since he could remember, and here he was, about to actually compete. Izuku and the rest of class 1-A were standing in the tunnels, getting ready to go out on the field for the introduction. AS the tension was palpable in the air, no one was talking, but Izuku felt Ochako’s hand slip into his, and he smiled sweetly at the gesture.

Soon the noise of the crowd could be heard, and Present Mic’s voice rang through the tunnel as he called out.

“WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, OUT FIRST CLASS, CLASS 1-A!!!!”

The group rushed out onto the field quickly, the 20 of them doing their damndest to make themselves seen. As they exited the tunnel sunlight washed over them and the roar of the crowd filled their ears. They barely even heard as the other classes were announced by Present Mic, most of them instead trying to spot their parents in the crowd. Izuku of course didn’t bother to even try. Unfortunately for him it was just his luck that a patch of green caught his eye in the crowd. Yep, it was his mom, and both of his sisters.

He was not looking forward to this. In another stroke of misfortune he barely managed to catch the tail end of what Present Mic was saying.

“And now for the student speech, our very own Izuku Midoriya!”

‘Oh shit.’

Izuku walked up the stage, carefully accepting the microphone from Midnight before finally opening his mouth to speak.

“Hey everyone. I’m Midoriya. I joined this academy to be the best, but what no one told me is the struggles I would undergo before I even got here. You see, I thought I was quirkless. But just because I was quirkless I wasn’t going to give up. I had hundreds, no, thousands of people tell me it wasn’t worth it. That I’d never be a hero. I never listened. I pushed myself, pushed my body and soul to the limits. I may have a quirk now, but I have not changed my stance. It does not matter who you are or what quirk you have, or if you’re quirkless. If you have the willpower, then you can be a hero. So push for it. In the end, it will be insanely hard. I’m not going to say this to discourage you, but to make sure you realize the truth. Heroics are dangerous. You can die even with a powerful quirk. If you want to be a quirkless hero, if you TRULY want it, then come on. I’ll support you every step! Go PLUS ULTRA!”

With those final words Izuku threw his fist into the air amid the roar of the crowd. However this year’s speech had instigated mixed feelings. Many people were in support of the child’s message, while there were others who vehemently opposed it. It wasn’t surprising that his speech was so controversial, hell, even some of the teachers at UA had mixed feelings over what the kid had said, with the most openly opposed being All Might himself. Of course Izuku already knew that though…

Moving on from the admittedly decent speech, Present Mic announced that the first event in the Sports Festival would be a race, but with a twist! You could freely attack others during the race at any time!

That announcement made Izuku shiver, but he lined up in the tunnel with the rest of the students, letting ‘Anger’ fill him. For the past two weeks he had been working on the new aspects of his quirk, both physical and mental, and to be honest he was pleased with the results. Anger was his original baseline, while the other three are specialized versions of his quirk that focus on different aspects and types of anger. As he turned in the tunnel he noted that everyone had some sort of determination on their face, whether it was to prove themselves, to win, or just to be recognized.

Present Mic called out loudly “START!”

Izuku cracked the flooring underneath him as he leapt forward, rocketing over half the pack, others quickly following suit after the initial shock. Todoroki had flash frozen the entire tunnel, slipping up others and making it harder for them. Bakugou was blasting his way above the other students, while simultaneously aiming his explosions at students he wanted to incapacitate now. Other members of his class had been caught up in the initial freeze, and were now doing their damndest to catch up to the front of the pack. From the view of the crowd, Todoroki slid out of the tunnel first, being followed closely by the madly blasting Bakugou. Leading the main mass of students was Izuku, who was using his increased senses to get the best feeling of speed and acceleration he could, dashing to the front of the pack before swapping to ‘Rage’.

His body exploded with power as he roared, pushing himself forward with his momentum to fling himself closer to the two who were domineering the race.

Hearing a yell from behind him, Todoroki turned to see Bakugou and Izuku both crashing towards him. Aiming to counter, he let loose a wave of ice to stop them in their tracks. Within a second the ice was blasted to tiny shards as Bakugou relentlessly forged forwards. Choosing to focus on the race rather than the fight, Todoroki cursed and used his ice to propel himself as he zipped around the wide open space. At least, until Present Mic announced the first obstacle.

“AAAAND NOW FOR THE FIRST OBSTACLE! THOSE 0-POINTERS WERE NASTY IN THE ENTRANCE EXAM, SO WHAT ABOUT A STORM OF THEM?!”

“ROBO INFERNOOOOO!!”

With the creaking of a hundred doors opening, the floor of the arena began to shake as massive silhouettes rose slowly from under the surface. 300 red lights lit up with oppressiveness as the robots powered up for battle. Todoroki cursed under his breath while Bakugou grinned in sense of a challenge. Of course both of the boys were shocked when Izuku rushed past them with a roar and swung his fist at the nearest 0-pointer, shearing its head completely off.

Todoroki shot a glance at Bakugou before freezing all of the robots in place, stopping them from moving for the time being. Bakugou huffed in discontent, but settled with blasting forward and shredding a 0-pointer to bits from the inside. Meanwhile the rest of the pack was just beginning to come upon the robots as they ran, the caphocony of fighting and quirk usage blurring into a loud mess of noise that echoed through the arena like a crash of thunder.

Ochako was already panting heavily, struggling to keep up with the pack as she ran, using her momentum to keep her going. She had already had to defend from three other contestants who had wanted to take her out early. Her quirk was already being pushed to its max as she lifted an entire 0-pointer into the air and hurled it behind her with a mighty heave. There were various yells and cheers as people scattered, but she barely heard them as she forged onward.

Mei had finally reached the 0-pointers, and she was excited. Using a custom jetpack she flew up to the head of the robot and broke one of the lenses that functioned as an eye before reaching in and hotwiring it for her own usage.

Bunches of students had heard the rumbling behind them, but when they turned to see what it was, they were met with the frightening sight of a 0-pointer barreling towards them with incredible speed.

Bakugou was angrily blasting his way to the forefront. He managed to catch a second wave of ice thrown by Todoroki, and he began to blow his way forward to overtake Izuku when the latter suddenly disappeared from sight. When Bakugou caught up he saw what the problem was. It was a massive mechanical pit, with shifting walls and towers that were slowly moving around the chasm. The only way across was using ropes that were strung between pillars.

‘Of course, that’s if you’re not strong like me.’

Bakugou threw his hands behind him, relaxing the tension in his shoulder as he felt the sweat ignite, the rapid pops and sparks expanding into an explosion, the pressure flinging him into the air as he repeated the process. He quickly cleared the chasm, still seeing no sight of Izuku. Ignoring the small nagging at the back of his mind he rushed forward as Todoroi came up to the chasm.

Izuku had made a small mistake, charging over the edge of the chasm, but he was clinging on. He had dug his fingers into the side of one of the pillars and was hanging on as he attempted to climb back up. THe machinery was working against him, pushing him down every time he had gotten any headway. He had been at it for about thirty seconds when he realized he may be done for, at least until he saw Katsuki blast his way above him. A new lividness filled Izuku and he lunged forward, digging his feet into the pillar as he pushed, finally leaping over the lip of the pillar and turning to face Todoroki as he panted.

Todoroki was a little shocked at the sight of Izuku. He was crouched over panting heavily, nothing in his eyes but rage and hatred, only a little comprehension shining through. Izuku dismissed the threat with a snort and turned to go dash to Kacchan. Unfortunately, Todoroki saw that as an insult to his strength. He fired off a wave of ice to incapacitate Izuku, but in a mere second the ice was shattered and Todoroki felt his head being gripped by Izuku’s hand as he was thrown backwards. He hit the ground and rolled a bit of the extra distance, making Izuku bark in laughter before he turned around and took off.

Bakugou was still angry that he had never managed to see that Izuku had a quirk, and he was hating himself for it, that he knew, but at the same time it was helping him win. He could ignore the redness of his hands and the soreness of his shoulders if it let him win. He fired off another massive explosion, feeling the aftershock rip its way through his shoulders, almost crying out in pain but rather pushing through in order to claim victory. Izuku had other plans for him though. Izuku grabbed the back of Bakugou’s shirt and flung him back, wanting a fight. Bakugou twisted in midair, flipping back onto his feet and snarling at Izuku as he blasted overhead again, out of the greenette’s range. Izuku growled right back and slammed his heels into the ground, propelling himself further into the air in order to reach Bakugou. With a successful grin and a shout, he snagged Bakugou’s ankle and threw him headfirst into the ground, using him again to propel himself forward. Bakugou got back up and was about to fight Izuku to finish him off, but he was stopped in his tracks by a wave of ice covering him completely.

By the time Bakugou had freed himself from the ice, the announcers were already yelling.

“AND IN FIRST PLACE COMES MIDORIYA IZUKU!! FOLLOWED BY TODOROKI SHOUTO!!”

Baugou tried hard to hold in his tears as he rushed his way through a minefield and to the finish. Ochako came in 8th place, while Mei managed to eke in a victory while coming in 42nd.

Mei immediately ran up to Izuku and Ochako, who were waiting for her, and wrapped them in a massive hug, leaving both of them blushing messes.

“Yay! Guys I got in! It’s all thanks to you two’s support! I’m going to go get ready for the next event!”

With those words the energetic inventor rushed away in order to prepare for the coming event. Izuku and Ochaco instead decided to head out and grab something to eat while they got ready for the next round. Other than a few bruises and scrapes, Izuku was completely fine, and Ochaco was much the same.

-------------------------------------

Bakugou was sitting on one of the male stalls, knees pulled up to his chest as he panicked.

‘He’s so strong, I couldn’t do anything. I bullied him for YEARS. I ruined our friendship, and it was all for nothing. He never needed me, he never needed my sad excuse for protection. He was never a Deku, it was me all along.’

Gentle sobs racked his body as he cried, the sorrow flooding him like he had never felt before. He needed something. He needed to ground himself. He needed a blade. He was falling, fast, no one could help him, he was weak, he was-

*Knock*

Bakugou was cut out of his self-despair by a knock at the stall door, which was followed by a tired voice.

“Bakugou, are you okay?”

He sniffled as he responded. “A-Aizawa-sensei?”

Bakugou heard a deep, tired sigh from the other side of the door.

“Yeah, it’s me. I know you’re hurting, kid. I’ve been a pro for years, and I can tell when someone is in pain. I know you’re in a fragile state, so I won’t force you to do anything, but I’m here if you need it.”

Bakugou realized that he didn’t have the urge to cut anymore, His teacher was grounding him.

“C-can you stay with me? Just for a bit?”

He couldn’t see it, but Aizawa smiled gently as he replied “Sure, kid.”

His teacher slid to the floor, back against the wall as they were left in silence while Bakugou cried, a broken kid and a tired teacher.

---------------------------------------

Izuku and Ochaco had grabbed their lunches and sat down with their classmates, simply enjoying each other’s company as their class had an intense discussion over whether or not a hotdog was a taco.

Mina was the first to interject. “Of course it’s a taco! It’s the same structure!”

Shoji cut in quickly. “By that logic you’re assuming that anything with the same structure could be another type of item! Like an oreo being a sandwich”

“Is it not?” Replied Sato.

Shoji sat back to think about the implications before simply sighing and going back to his food.

The friendly group of classmates was interrupted by the sound of the announcement for the 42 surviving students to head to the field for the second event. Everyone but Mineta and Kaminari stood up and headed out to the field, just to be met with the entirety of Class 1-B, as well as Mei, the tall lanky fuck, and two other people.

Midnight wasted no time in announcing the second event.

“Alright kids! It’s time for the second event of the sports festival! It’s going to be….. PAINTBALL!”

Izuku groaned internally. He had done tons of research on how to use guns while he thought he was quirkless, but had no real experience, and most of the other kids looked to have no idea at all, if looking at them was any idea.

“You each will get one gun and a supply of paintballs! Hit your opponents to steal some of their points! Heavy weapons shoot fast but don’t steal much. Light weapons are medium, and long range steals a lot of points but are hard to aim! Just to add a little more excitement, only 8 can pass this round! Not only that, but Izuku Midoriya will have the added detriment of having all of his points stolen no matter what he gets hit by!”

As they lined up to grab weapons, Izuku began to think. Wrath would be of the most usefulness in this event, and he would most likely be going for a long-range rifle or something of the sort. As for which rifle, he had no idea. When he got up to the table he noticed three rifles looking back at him. One of them was in the model of a Winchester XPR, another was in the model of a Dragunov, and the final rifle was a hulking beast in the shape of a Barrett M82A1 rifle. Izuku grinned as he picked up the hefty thing. It was nearly as tall as him, and the paint ammo was much larger than any other paint ammo. Snipe eyed him as he chose it, and ended up only giving him a passing remark. “Yeah, good luck with that one kid. The recoil is insane.”

Izuku just grinned as he slung the weapon onto his back. When he got back to his group of friends he noted there were many small teams being made. As much as Izuku wanted to make a team, he had to do this solo to prove himself. He did notice however what some of his opponents were utilizing. Back when he had thought he was quirkless, he had done research on hundreds of guns, most of which hadn’t changed since before quirks. Ochaco had a small caliber Canik TP9sfx, while Mei had a Savage Axis II XP. One student with long braided green hair had a heavier RPK, while one student was using telekinesis to wield.. WAS THAT A PUNT GUN?!

Ochaco came skipping up to him quickly, along with Mei. “Hey Izuku you ready for this? Our team is going to win this!!”

Izuku sighed gently. “Ochaco, you know I love you, but I’ve got to do this solo. I want to prove myself.”

Ochaco was sad but knew he wouldn’t budge. “Well, in that case I won’t go easy on you!”

Izuku grinned. “I wouldn’t accept anything less!” 

Mei huffed in agreement as she told him much the same before they ran to go set up.

Slightly more nervous now, Izuku barely registered as Midnight told them to move into the field to prepare. Not long had passed before Izuku found himself snuggled into a small area, barrel of his gun pointing out the window.

‘Okay Izuku, they’re all going to be gunning for you. We all start with 100 points, but who knows how long that will last. So let’s’

“START!”

Immediately Izuku’s chest erupted into a stinging pain as he was splattered with paint, and on the leaderboard his name dropped all the way to 42nd place with 0 points, as Hatsume rocketed to the top with 200.

‘Fuck’

Izuku rushed out the door and began to climb, ignoring the small stings as he had no points to steal, the caphocony of gunfire occasionally interrupted by the massive explosive noise of the punt gun firing, taking out waves of people at a time. By the time Izuku got to the top of a tower, the rankings had changed significantly, with Mei in 3rd, and Yanagi Reiko being in 1st with 432 points.

‘Ah. She must be the punt gun user.’

Ignoring all else, Izuku lined up his gun and aimed down the sights as he activated Wrath, all his other senses calming as he focused entirely on the purple lanky bastard who had insulted his classmates. With the precision of a sharpshooter, Izuku pulled the trigger.

A deafening bang echoed throughout the air as the monstrosity of a weapon fired, even louder than the punt gun. Shinsou didn’t even get a chance to blink as his entire lower half was coated in pain and paint.

Izuku’s ranking shot up to 24th with 50 points, but he dropped to the ground, ignoring that. The firing noise had brought a lull to the battlefield. The explosion had echoed throughout the entire battlefield, but the flash hider equipped on the edge of his barrel had hidden the light, making it impossible to pinpoint where the bullet had come from.

----------------------------

Ochaco was doing rather well. Her Canik was rather accurate, and she had managed to avoid being hit by sticking to the ceilings using her zero-gravity. It made her ill, but it worked. She popped two more bullets into another opponent's back and flipped underneath into the lower floor while they looked for the aggressor.

----------------------------

Todoroki was slightly bored by this. He had fought many people under his father and knew how to use a gun. As such, he had chosen a Winchester Model 101, and was using his own fire to fire the gun, speeding up the velocity to minimize bullet spread and maximize accuracy.

----------------------------

Bakugou was spraying and praying. He had gone through 4 magazines already, but the Ak-74 in his hands hadn’t given up yet. He was sitting at a comfortable 5th place in the rankings, but he wanted more.

----------------------------

Yanagi Reiko was laughing internally as she used her massive punt gun to wipe out waves of people. She had done research and after seeing the massive weapon on the table, she had made up her mind.

----------------------------

Izuku was calm once again as he realigned, this time looking down the barrel at another sniper who wasn’t focused on him, namely Hatsume. He pulled the trigger, the resulting boom echoing through the arena as Hatsume was hit. He dove down again, but it wasn’t to last, as a hail of paint fire had ripped into the brickwork above him. He quickly dove down into the lower floors to find who was shooting. Once he was underneath he found his target, a silver skinned boy who was using the same gun as Kirishima, an AR-15. Izuku grinned madly as he painted another target with a heralding explosion of noise. He dove to the right to dodge any incoming fire, but was met with silence. Deciding to test the waters he pushed the stock of his gun into the window frame and winced as it was immediately hit. He drew it back and checked his placement. He was currently sitting at 6th with 150 points. He decided to hide in the background until he needed points, opting to drain the timer rather than risk getting hit. He moved to the back of the field and began to sit, attempting to regain his energy when he was met with rapid footfalls. He immediately lunged into an aiming position, barrel of his rifle pointed at… the RPK user? Said user began to heft his gun but was instead knocked out by a point-blank firing of the .50 caliber weapon directly into his gut.

Izuku frowned as he gave away his position and leapt up to one of the buildings using his anger in order to get a better handle on the situation, only to be met with a sting on his hand, and the signature tell of red paint as all his points drained away.

‘Oh fuck.’

With only a minute left on the clock, Izuku RUSHED.

He burst out the bottom floor of the building to meet the small group of people who had gathered around the unconscious RPK user. Thinking quickly, Izuku fired off a round and connected with one of the three before cocking back his weapon. Having no time to fire he used his gun as a shield until he reached cover, quickly spinning around to fire off another bullet, but missing. He had used all of his clip, so he dropped the gun and switched to Rage. He blasted out the door and swept up the RPK, turning to shoot the people only to be met with the click of an empty magazine. Mentally cursing the RPK user for not reloading, he dashed down the alley, seeing a young girl with big eyes and horns. Not having time to think, he knocked her out with a punch and swept up her gun, a small Makarov with a full clip.

0:50

He channeled rage into his legs and jumped, cracking the ground as he flew into the air, high above the rest of the contestants in the fake city. He switched back to Wrath as he reached the apex of his jump, everything becoming weightless, and in that instance he memorized every detail of the city below, from the bleak gray cracked walls to even the faded yellow lines on the false roads. He felt each gust of wind impact on his skin, the disturbances in the air created by whizzing bullets, he even heard the murmurs from the crowd as they watched him hang in the air momentarily, like the herald of anger itself, his face contorted into a malicious grin. Letting the Wrath wash back into Rage, Izuku hit the ground running. He sprinted around a corner and let off two shots, squarely impacting someone in the back. He couldn’t be bothered to see who. Dully hearing the voice of Present Mic’s announcing in his ears, he continued running to his next target, who was met with four body shots as Izuku slipped past him and into the building on his right. Crashing through the wall and ignoring the door, Izuku fired off his final two bullets at the group of three who should have been coming around the corner; and the rounds connected squarely.

0:40

Izuku flipped onto the ground and swept the legs of one of the people, knocking the other two’s hands up as their weapons discharged harmlessly in the air. Thinking quickly, Izuku yanked one of their weapons away, to find himself holding a Stoeger STR-9 with a 15-round magazine. Izuku had heard one shot go off, so maximum he knew he had 14 rounds left. Quickly ducking underneath the opponent who had recovered and aimed at him, he grabbed their arm and twisted, causing them to drop the gun as he jabbed his Stoeger under their chin, firing off two rounds. He snatched up the other fallen pistol, a Colt Combat Elite and shot each other opponent three times before attempting to run. That attempt was stopped with a whizz by his ear as a paint round flew dangerously close to his head.

0:30

Feeling desperation set in, Izuku increased his speed, firing off rounds at any sight of movement as he ran through the alley. Finally coming out into an opening, he was met with the sight of 2 unconscious people and the punt gun user.

0:20

He rushed towards the unconscious people for their weapons, but was interrupted by a sudden burst of gunfire from above. It was a red-haired girl with a Desert Eagle. He groaned internally and jumped up to the top and emptied both of his weapons clips before she could react. Izuku checked the scoreboard. He was in 9th place, 10 points away from the 8th place spot with 170 points. He saw red.

0:10

He leapt down into the square and dodged as the punt gun user fired off a colossal shot at him, only barely grazing him, not enough to count as a hit. He immediately picked up one of the guns and checked the chamber to see if it was loaded. It was.

0:05

Izuku leapt to the side again and took aim as the punt gun user was reloading her weapon. Everything slowed as he pulled the trigger.

0:04

The gun clicked as it misfired. Izuku panicked and ejected the bullet before racking a new one.

0:03

He looked up only to be met with the muzzle of the punt gun, fully loaded. He didn’t have time to think as he threw himself out of the way.

0:02

He frantically aimed and fired as the eruption of the punt gun rocked the battlefield and he hit the ground, skidding safely out of the way.

0:01

The bullet Izuku had fired flew true, impacting the girl’s torso just as the buzzer went off. Izuku almost sighed in relief as he noticed something.

Izuku Midoriya - 177 points.

The bullet hadn’t taken enough points. Izuku lost, coming in 9th place.

“AND THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS! THE FINAL 8 CONTESTANTS!”

Midnight was shouting praises, but Izuku didn’t hear them. His mind had gone numb. He had failed. Even with all his strength, it just wasn’t enough. He barely registered Ochaco running towards him. As soon as he felt her arms he began to break down, crying over the loss he had put so much effort to try and win into.

Chapter Text

So uh, looks like I pissed a lot of people off with that last chapter, which, to be honest, is what I was going for. Here’s a bit of an explanation. This world is much harsher than canon, and will remain that way throughout the book. As such, the conditions for becoming a hero are much more intense. It’s similar to canon Aizawa’s assessment test. He wanted to weed out the ones with zero potential. What UA is doing with that unfair disadvantage of losing all your points is giving a challenge. Can you rise to it? They want to see how the students react in the face of near-unbeatable odds. Most heroes will face those odds in their jobs in this world. If the students can’t react to this, they risk creating heroes who will freeze. It’s not singling out Izuku, it’s simply how they test students. Besides, failure is QUITE the motivator. The only thing this loss will do is light the fire in him. Also, I’m trying to make a semi-realistic story. Izuku is not going to win every battle. If he did then the story loses meaning. As for Ochaco and Mei’s interactions, Izuku told them to not go easy on him. They want to win, and he understands that. What better way to win than to go after a target guaranteed to give you 100 points? Izuku won’t fault her for legitimately doing her best to win.

Sadly, this chapter is mostly filler, (WITH IMPORTANT PARTS) but the next chapter is one that I have been extremely excited to release due to the character I’m implementing. You may or may not like it, but I think I like it, having Izuku’s rage based off of this character sets a limiter.

ALSO! The rankings in this are set entirely based off of logical reasoning other than Bakugou, he’s only in there for plot reasons. Yanagi was able to use a massive punt gun, easy win. Hatsume with her sight, Todoroki had previous training, Shoji and Jirou with their sensory abilities would have had a much easier time, Kodai because of her size quirk could size up the gun and bullets, and Iida is moving fast enough to spam.

Lastly, because of the harshness of this world, super moves are pretty common, with most being even more specialized into super movesets. For instance, Katsuki’s Howitzer Impact can be a set of 3 super moves, like AP shot, Hellfire blast, and Mortar shell.

--------------------------------------------

“AND THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS! THE TOP EIGHT CONTENDERS!”

Yanagi Reiko
Hatsume Mei
Todoroki Shouto
Bakugou Katsuki
Shoji Mezo
Kodai Yui
Iida Tenya
Jirou Kyoka

Izuku didn’t hear it. He had failed. All his work. His effort. Down the drain. He was pissed. He understood why UA gave him the detriment, but it still didn’t change the fact that he was angry. However, he wasn’t given any time to brood before he was tackled into a hug by a sobbing Ochaco.

“I’m sorry Izuku! I thought we could do it, I was so sure of it!”

Izuku smiled sadly before hugging her tightly. “It’s okay, we failed here, but this is just a message to us that we need to be stronger.”

When the two finally separated they were interrupted by a soft cough from the side. Izuku looked over to see Mei standing there sheepishly, almost ashamedly.

He sighed in exasperation, but he knew she wasn’t in the wrong. She was just trying to win, like he had told her to. She just went for the guaranteed points, and he couldn’t fault her for that. He gestured at her gently, encouraging her to join the hug until she did. Izuku brought both Ochaco and Mei into a deep embrace, all three experiencing many deep emotions, their minds in turmoil for the moment.

It wasn’t long before the trio had to separate, Ochaco and Izuku heading slowly back to the stands to watch while Mei went into the contestant lockers to prepare for her match. The couple had only made it about halfway through the tunnel before Izuku asked the question burning in his head.

“Ochaco, do you hate me for failing?”

Ochaco looked at Izuku like he was stupid.

“NO! Izuku, look at me. Ya ain’t any less ‘cause ya failed this once. Do you hate me for failing?”

Izuku steeled his expression. “No, never.”

“Exactly. We jus’ need to get a lil better! And we can, together.”

The two smiled and turned to head to their seats with their classmates, just to be met with the sight of Izuku’s family standing in the way.

“Ha! There’s the useless loser! You know, when Kazeha told me you got into UA I thought she was joking with me, but now I see she was serious? What the hell is a useless piece of shit like you doing trying to become a fucking HERO of all things?!”

Izuku ignored Hariki, opting instead to level a glare at Kazeha and his mother, Kazeha ignoring him while his mother actually shifted slightly uncomfortably under his gaze. Ochaco on the other hand was openly glaring at both Kazeha and Hariki, furious that either of them would insinuate that Izuku was a failure.

“Not only are you trying to become a hero, you can’t even make it into the third round of the sports festival! Then again, neither could your useless little gir-”

*CRACK*

The hall echoed with the sudden noise as everyone looked over to see Hariki pinned against the wall, the stone cracked underneath the force Izuku had used. He was now holding her by the neck as he used the full ability of Rage.

“Hariki. Talk shit about me all you want, but don’t you ever say anything about Ochaco. If you do, you will be my enemy. Simple as that. Despite everything, you are still my sister. However, you won’t be if you do what you just did again.”

“Khk! G-Get off me you little brat!”

With those words Hariki used a directional pulse, throwing Izuku back to the other wall. She stalked towards him, using a pulse at intervals to keep him on the ground.

“Look here. I don’t care what drugs you took, as long as you remain a good little punching bag then I’ll be happy. Now come, brother”

She spat out the words with a sickly-sweet tone that made Ochaco want to vomit. Inko looked like she wanted to say something but decided against it. Kazeha was simply watching the scene with a calculating eye, trying to figure something out.

Izuku forced himself up, his anger running unabashedly through his body. He tensed in preparation to attack, but was interrupted by a burst of wind in the tunnel.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”

All Might skidded to a stop between Hariki and Izuku. Hariki looked at him with respect and slight fear, while Izuku just stared angrily. As much as he hated to admit it, he would have a harder time fighting Hariki than Kazeha, so the hypocritical bastard had come in at a good time.

“YOUNG MIDORIYA, YOU KNOW THAT FIGHTING ISN’T ALLOWED! I’M GOING TO HAVE TO ASK YOU TO GO BACK TO THE STANDS BEFORE YOU GET HURT! YOUNG URARAKA, WILL YOU TAKE HIM AND MAKE SURE HE’S OKAY?”

Izuku felt his hatred for the mountain of a man spike even higher. He had essentially just asked Ochaco to make sure he didn’t get hurt walking back to the stands!

‘Does this bastard really believe that I’m that fragile?! He saw what I could do. Is he still of the mindset that I am quirkless?!”

Ochaco had noticed what All Might had said as well, and was slightly confused at why the giant man had considered Izuku to be weak, but she knew it wouldn’t be good to accelerate the situation, so wordlessly she took Izuku’s hand and began to walk back to their classmates in the bleachers.

They had reached the bleachers and quietly sat down near the front as their classmates scooted over, just in time for the first announcement to start.

“ALRIGHT FOLKS OF UA! FOR THE FIRST MATCH WE HAVE THE SPECTER OF GHOSTS…. YANAGI!!! AND FROM THE OTHER END, THE DEADEYE WITH THE DREADS… HATSUME!!”

The two contestants walked out onto the field, Hatsume bouncing and waving energetically while Yanagi just gave a small wave. Izuku and Ochaco giggled at Hatsume’s antics while the rest of their class let out various whoops and cheers, the sadness of their loss being overridden by the energy of the festival and the crowd.

“THESE TWO HAVE SHOWN INCREDIBLE PROWESS IN THE PREVIOUS EVENTS, AND NOW IT’S TIME FOR THESE TWO STRATEGISTS TO DUKE IT OUT ON THE FIELD! YOU READY LADIES!?”

With a single nod from each girl as they dropped into their respective stances, a loud buzzer sounded as they began to circle each other.

Mei had been allowed three support items into the battle, one of which she activated immediately as she began to seemingly levitate, before closer observation showed that she was being supported by poles of metal that would extend and retract as she seemed to glide around the field. Mei then pulled out a much more intensive support item which seemed to be a large taser, although it was quickly taken by Yanagi, who had utilized her quirk to steal the taser shaped object. Once she had it in hand, she fired off a round at Mei, who used her poles to launch herself in the air and at the girl while pulling out another support item which she placed on her head. They seemed to be goggles, as as they were connected to her head, Yanagi couldn’t take them. Or so Mei thought.

Yanagi sighed as she picked up Mei entirely, the support gear not weighing enough to stop Yanagi. She began to move Mei until she was entirely out of bounds, dropping her unceremoniously on the ground. You could almost hear a pin drop in the crowd.

“WELL, UHM. YANAGI WINS?”

The crowd broke out into awkward and spattered cheers, not that Yanagi seemed to care, she simply headed back into the tunnel.

Mei on the other hand kept as straight of a face as she could until she collapsed in the tunnel. She hadn’t even had a chance to exhibit any of her babies, and she had failed. She barely even heard the announcer shouting out the next match as she ran to the locker rooms, nearly sobbing.

“AND NEXT UP WE HAVE TODOROKI VS SHOJI!!!! WILL THE CONTESTANTS MAKE THEIR WAY ONTO THE FIELD?!”

Ochaco and Izuku had both stood up and immediately began making their way off of the stage when they saw Mei run off the stage. They heard Mic announce the next pair, but they didn’t care, opting to go help their friend instead.

Mina watched with an ear splitting grin as the implications opened up levels of teasing she had never even considered before, while most of the class watched on with mild amusement and interest.

----------------------------

Mei was crying in the locker room when she heard a knock on the door.

“Hatsume, can we come in?”

She sniffled and looked towards the door with a somber expression.

“Why are you here? I failed, shouldn’t you be disappointed with me or at the very least a little frustrated?”

Izuku let out a small chuckle at that, which Mei barely heard through the door.

“Well Pinky that would be quite hypocritical, especially after you didn’t think less of me for losing either.”

“But that was different!”

“No it wasn’t. Now, I’m coming in with Ochaco, you’re decent, right?” Izuku joked.

Having gained a bit of her pep back, Hatsume snarked right back. “And what if I’m not?”

Izuku halted with the door half open and began to stutter furiously. “But I-ah, uh, you. I -uh.”

Ochaco sighed. “Dangit Hatsume look now ya broke him!”

She pushed Izuku into the room and followed behind, heading over to pull Hatsume into a hug.

“It doesn’t matter if you won or not. You’re our friend, and we will improve. It’s gonna be okay.”

They sat there together in peace for a while, regaining their energy before heading back.

---------------------------------

Todoroki stared heatedly at Shoji while Mic announced, sizing him up before the battle began. Shoji was an intimidating opponent. He had the muscle, and the speed to back it up. Not only that, but his senses were also good enough that he could probably see Todoroki’s ice before it started. If he wanted to end the battle, he would have to do it in the first attack or risk a drawn-out battle.

Todoroki breathed in deeply as he began to build up his ice.

--------------------------------

The trio of friends came back to the stands smiling. As they sat down in their spots once again, Izuku leaned over to Kirishima.

“So, who won between Todoroki and Shoji?”

Kirishima lit up and began to recount the whole thing. “Oh dude it was manly! Todoroki unleashed an enormous glacier the second the bell went off, and he completely trapped Shoji! It was incredible!”

Izuku’s eyes lit up at the level of quirk usage. “Oh wow! Did the ice spawn from Todoroki or did it just kind of appear? What about fire, did he use any of that?”

Ochaco chuckled at her boyfriend’s antics, having gotten used to his ranting over quirks, while Mei looked on amusedly as Kirishima struggled underneath the onslaught of rapid fire questions from the excited boy.

“Woah Izuku hold on I can’t keep up!”

“Oh, sorry Kirishima!”

“It’s alright dude! Oh! The next match is about to start.”

They looked towards the stadium to see Bakugou and Iida walking out onto the platform, one contestant smiling and waving politely, the other scowling like he hated even being up there. Izuku knew better though. He knew all too well just how much Bakugou relished the feel of a fight.

“AND FOR THE NEXT FIGHT! IT’S BAKUGOU VS IIDA!! WILL SPEED BEAT FIRE OR CAN THE LIVING BOMB BLOW AWAY THE COMPETITION?!”

As the two took their positions, Bakugou sneered at Iida as he leaned over and placed his hands on the floor, while Iida leaned forwards as his engines roared. The second the bell rung, both combatants flew at each other with incredible speed.

“WOW FOLKS! BOTH OF THESE HEAVY HITTERS ARE FLYING AROUND THE COURSE!”

“Of course they are, Bakugou is using his explosions for high speed in order to catch Iida.”

“WOW ERASER! YOU FINALLY DECIDED TO TALK!”

With a groan, Aizawa told Mic to watch the match as the two battle titans clashed. They traded punches quickly, neither of them managing to get a hit off on the other. Then suddenly Bakugou blasted backwards to a safe distance and planted his feet. Then he used his palms to blast his feet into the ground, cracking the floor in the process.

Locked into place, Bakugou’s palms began to glow white-hot, the energy of the sweat creating a massive source of heat and light yet not exploding.

“FUCK YOU IIDA!!! LATENT EXPLOSION: POTENTIAL BURST!”

His palms erupted with a massive explosion that covered the field in smoke, Iida’s words getting lost in the sound. The crowd paused in silence as all noise ceased, the arena quiet with the presence of a hovering fog.

Suddenly the smoke began to circle into a towering column of wind and air as it was revealed Iida was running around it at speeds no one had seen from him before. Iida repeated his words, this time being heard clearly.

“RECIPRO BURST: GUST FORCE”

The veritable tornado that had formed was sent at Bakugou, said man only able to stay in the ring due to his anchored feet, although that didn’t last long as Iida sprinted through the tornado to throw a powerful haymaker at Bakugou, dispelling the windstorm and sending Katsuki to the floor.

Katuski retaliated by blasting himself back onto his feet, the holes in the ground now unoccupied. He leapt into the air and let loose a wild explosion downwards, creating a cracked and battered arena. The various obstacles that suddenly appeared had significantly slowed Iida, giving Bakugou the perfect opportunity.

‘Alright then, time to give this fucker what he deserves, I’m using my new move.’

He screamed to the skies as his pals became saturated with sweat. “HOWITZER IMPACT: MORTAR SHOT!”

Releasing a massive explosion from his hands, Bakugou spiraled rapidly towards the ground, coated in a blanket of explosions. He impacted the ground with the force of a mortar, shaking the stadium until the arena floor was nearly fully demolished. When the smoke cleared, Bakugou was standing stock still in the middle of the rubble, as Iida lay dazed outside the circle.

“WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT FOLKS! IN AN AMAZING SHOW OF POWER, BAKUGOU WINS THE MATCH!”

Izuku was watching in awe as Bakugou used the frankly incredible move. He still hated the man like no other, but he could respect a powerful move when he saw one. Ochako and Mei were much the same. When he looked over to the rest of the class he saw them in similar states, most of them simply staring, slack jawed.

They watched in silence as Bakugou left the arena with a snort, startled back into consciousness by Mic’s voice.

“ALRIGHT! FOR THE NEXT MATCH, IT’S GOING TO BE KODAI VERSUS JIROU! WILL BOTH OF THE GIRLS COME OUT ONTO THE FIELD?

Kyoka walked out looking slightly nervous, while Kodai had on her signature blank look. Once they got out onto the field they looked at each other and nodded as Present Mic shouted at them to begin the match.

Kodai began to circle slowly while Kyoka watched her, but Kodai apparently wanted to end the match as quickly as possible.

“SHRINK ZONE: RAINSTORM!”

Kodai shoved her hands out and the very air itself withing the arena began to shrink. Kodai couldn’t shrink a huge object, but she could shrink a 30 meter radius sphere of that object. As the air and everything within rapidly shrunk a cloud was formed as the air and water was compressed, and violent gusts of wind blew in to replace the missing air, harshly buffeting against the two girls.

Once the cloud was fully formed rain began to pour onto the arena, creating a slick surface that both girls had trouble standing on, but Kyoka wasn’t going down without a fight. She slammed her jacks into the ground and pumped her heartbeat through it, making the rain vibrate and the ground shake. The second she saw Kodai stumble she dashed in, wrapping a jack around her leg to fling her towards the boundary. Struggling, Kodai used her quirk to enlarge a raindrop and push herself back towards the circle, but a final blast from Kyoka’s jacks sent her tumbling over the edge.

“AND THE FINAL VICTOR OF THE FIRST ROUND IS KYOKA JIROU!! ONCE WE CONFIRM ALL THE COMBATANTS ARE IN TOP CONDITION WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THE SECOND ROUND!”

There was a general muttering as the stands began to clear out while they confirmed everything. In the middle of the arena a large timer appeared that had 15 minutes on it counting down slowly.

While Izuku and the others filed out of the stands they were chattering excitedly about what the next round would entail, most of the conversations eager for the fight between Bakugou and Todoroki, while others thought that Bakugou and Todoroki would be fighting each other in the final round. Either way, they were eager to see what would happen in the second round.

----------------------------

‘THAT WAS IT?!’ Was the collective thought running through everyone's mind as both Todoroki and Bakugou had ended their respective battles with Yanagi and Jirou in a single strike, Todoroki freezing Yanagi, and Bakugou using his explosion to incapacitate Jirou’s sensitive ears and keep her down long enough to knock her out.

“W-WELL FOLKS, UMM, SEEMS LIKE THAT’S THAT FOR THE SECOND ROUND! AS BOTH CONTESTANTS HAVE BEEN SEEMINGLY FINE AFTER THAT WE WILL GO IMMEDIATELY INTO THE FINAL ROUND! EVERYONE GIVE IT UP FOR BAKUGOU AND TODOROKI!!!”

The crowd burst into cheers and shouts as the two titans of battle walked onto the field opposite one another, one as cold as his quirk, the other explosively angry like his quirk as well.

“ALRIGHT EVERYBODY! TODAY WE ARE HERE TO WITNESS THE FINAL MATCH OF THE TWO BATTLE TITANS! ARE YOU READY?!”

The question was met with a massive roar as everyone ached with the need to see the two fight.

“ALLLRIGHT THEN!! READY?... BEGIN!!!!”

Immediately there was a crack and boom, and the arena was encased in ice and smoke. The massive glacier that Todoroki had sent at Bakugou had been countered by a piercing shot that blew through the ice, followed by Bakugou himself leaping towards Todoroki. He let off a blast that was cut through by a spike of ice, then blasted over the spike to face Todoroki.

“HEY BASTARD! FIGHT ME WITH YOUR FULL STRENGTH!”

Todoroki glared angrily at him. “YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THAT!”

Bakugou grinned fiercely. “WELL I DON’T GIVE A FUCK! I WANT YOU TO FUGHT ME WITH YOUR FULL POWER! NOT A HALF ASSED SHELL OF YOURSELF!”

Todoroki growled and threw another wave of ice at him, using it as a ramp to jump behind Bakugou. “SHUT UP! I’M DOING JUST FINE WITHOUT USING THAT BASTARD’S FIRE!”

Bakugou let off an explosion to block the shards of ice that had come up from the ground. “NO THE FUCK YOU AREN’T! YOU’RE NOT EVEN A CHALLENGE! HOW THE FUCK DID YOU EVEN GET THIS FAR OTHER THAN LUCK?” 

Shoto angrily summoned a massive flare of ice that encased Bakugou completely. “I got here because of my power. Now be good and lose.”

Present Mic began to announce again as everyone had been caught up in the frankly massive battle. “OH AND FOLKS IT LOOKS LIKE THIS IS THE END FOR OUR BAKUGOU!”

Then the glacier shook, glowing white deep within. Faintly inside the ice Todoroki could hear Bakugou yelling. “Fuck you Icy hot I’m not done yet! Howitzer Impact: Mortar Shot!”

A massive explosion ripped the glacier to shreds, multiple chunks flying into the barrier that protected the crowd. In the center of it all stood Bakugou, steam pouring off his skin from the rapid temperature change, the heaters built into his suit cranking at overtime to generate more sweat.

“HEY HALF N HALF! IF THAT’S ALL YOU’VE GOT YOU’RE GOING TO LOSE!”

Todoroki growled with effort as he prepared to summon more ice, only to be met with a stinging pain on his side as frostbite began to take effect.

Bakugou took the opportunity to lunge in and pin him to the ground. “You’re weak. You refuse to give it your all. That’s why you’re going to lose. Not only that, if this was a real villain battle, those deaths would be on YOUR hands.”

Those words hit Todoroki hard, but not hard enough. “And what would you know about being a hero? The only way you act I can see you being a bully. And you don’t know SHIT about my situation so stop telling me to use his fire!” 

With an almighty roar Todoroki launched Bakugou off of him and forced himself to bring more ice into existence. “I WILL NOT USE HIS FIRE!”

Bakugou was tired of his bullshit. “WHO GIVES A FUCK IF IT’S HIS FIRE! I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THAT! YOU'RE A FUCKING COWARD! YOU DON'T USE WHAT WAS GIVEN TO YOU! YOUR DAD DIDN'T JUST HAND YOU HIS FIRE, IT WAS CREATED INSIDE YOU, YOU FUCKING FREEZER. NOW STOP BEING A PUSSY ASS BITCH AND FIGHT ME, PUT ON A DAMN SHOW! ISN'T THAT WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR?" 

Todoroki, intimidated by the yelling, instinctively threw up a burst of flame, causing Bakugou to grin viciously.

"SEE?! THAT DIDN'T HURT YOU, AND IT SURE AS HELL DIDN'T COME FROM FLAMING DISASTER OVER THERE! NOW FIGHT ME ASSHOLE!"

Refusing to speak anymore, Bakugou simply dashed at Todoroki.

Todoroki froze, staring in horror at his hand, but at the same time working through what Bakugou had said. 

'Shoto. I know you hate it, but it's not his fire. You make it. It's yours.'

He gritted his teeth in anger, regretfully flaring up his flame quirk, the frostbite rapidly retreating.

"Bakugou, I hate you. You're crude, and loud, but you are correct, unfortunately. I choose what to do with my own quirk. So I'll give you your wish and knock you out here."

His smile widening further into a crazed grin, Bakugou sent forward a massive wall of explosive fire. "FINAL BLOW: SUPERNOVA!"

Todoroki simply tightened his lips and summoned fire, encasing the flame in icy shards before launching them at high speeds. "FLAMING COLD: LAVA SHARDS!"

The explosion and white hot icy shards rushed towards each other and collided with a gargantuan explosion. When the smoke had cleared, Bakugou was the only one left standing.

“AND WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT FOLKS! THE WINNER IS BAKUGOU! NOW PLEASE PREPARE FOR THE CELEBRATION!!!!”

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The next day….

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Everyone in the class was anxious. After Bakugou had won the Sports Festival, they now had to choose their offers for internships, and Aizawa was now presenting.

“Alright everyone! In first came Todoroki, with 7732 offers!”

The class oohed and ahhed as the bar appeared.

“Up next is Bakugou with 6547, and after him came Kyoka with 3210!”

The rest of their class watched their bars fill up, everyone except for Izuku, who was sitting at the bottom of the screen with a measly number one next to his bar. A few people shot him pitiful looks, but he sighed in resignation. He was already prepared for this, he was jsut hoping it was someone who could actually help him. He waited to get the letter from Aizawa but when he received it his eyes widened. It was from the one hero he had idolized ever since All Might turned out to be an asshole.

“To Izuku Midoriya, concerning an internship. From: Raiden, the Cyborg Hero”

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I have nothing to say other than this chapter was a shitty one. I rewrote it four times but I couldn’t get it to write out the way I wanted it to, so I ended up with this, and I’m hoping that I can go back and rewrite it with a better chapter when it comes to me. I apologize for the wait and the shitty chapter, and I reassure you that the next chapter will be better.

Chapter Text

Izuku was internally freaking out. He had just gotten an offer from Raiden, the American hero who had moved to Japan after the influx of criminals began to increase rapidly.

Raiden had been a Liberian child soldier who was experimented on in many different ways, but he had come out on top and became a hero, even with his ‘modifications’. He was a demon with a blade in his hand, and his first act of heroism was taking down Desperado, the company that had experimented on him, as well as uncovering a massive ring for trafficking children’s organs, and finally even taking out a corrupt politician, even when no one had his back. His quirk was widely unknown, and many speculated that it was something that either contained his robotic body or something that helped him utilize it. Others thought that it was much more of a combatant quirk. Either way, Izuku had a suspicion that his quirk wasn’t in either of those ballparks, but he didn’t want to speculate too far into a rabbit hole that would end up untrue.

After Izuku had fully analyzed everything about this guy he was pretty sure that he would rank at least third in the Japanese Hero Rankings, possibly even second, as he didn’t know exactly how much heat resistance he had. In America though, Raiden was placed third in the nation, right after Stars and Stripes, and after their elusive top hero, subtly known as the “Quirk Cutter”. One hit from his blade was said to completely erase your quirk, mutation or not, until he decided to re-enable it. It was a terrifying ability to think about, although to Izuku it seemed as if it could be slightly underwhelming to some.

Suddenly, Izuku was shaken out of his thoughts by Mei, who was sitting by him on the platform as they waited for their respective internships to arrive, Ochaco on his other side holding his hand gently.

“Doriya. Midoriya!”

“Huh? What is it Mei?”

“I was just saying I couldn’t believe that I got an offer from Snatch!”

Ixuku chuckled as Mei pouted at the lack of attention Izuku was giving her.

“THat is impressive! He’ll be able to help you improve a lot with your capturing mechanisms.”

“Yep!”

Izuku then turned to his girlfriend and asked her about her internship.

“So, Ochaco, why did you choose Gunhead?”

“I’m not a close range fighter, so I need to train in that area. Gunhead should be able to help me.”

Izuku grinned as she heard her reasoning, knowing that she was going to be amazing anyway. The trio stood up as the train began to pull into the station, but everyone was shocked into silence as a large mechanical canine dropped from the ceiling onto the ground.

It was black in color with a sleek look, he had red eyes and notched teeth, as well as a tail that seemed to end in three wire tips. Aizawa let his captured weapon loose in preparation to subdue it, but was interrupted.

“Calm humans. I am not here to harm you. I am here to pick up the one designated [Izuku Midoriya] to take him to my master.”

Izuku shakily rose his hand, a little nervous but incredibly excited as he was getting ready to meet one of his favorite heroes of all time!

“Good, come sit on my back child. I shall take you to Raiden.”

“Oh uh, one second!”

Quickly giving Ochaco a chaste kiss and Mei a hug, he said his goodbyes with slight tears in his eyes. Turning to the robot, he saw that its back had reshaped itself for optimized comfort when riding, which was amazing to Izuku. Mei on one hand looked like she wanted to disassemble him right then and there to see what made him tick, but she was containing herself for Izuku’s sake.

Izuku turned to his teacher and gave him a simple nod, his teacher doing much the same, neither of them being big on words. Izuku then sat on the robot’s back and got ready.

“Please brace yourself, we will be moving quite fast.”

The crowd watching on the train platform gaped in shock as the canine cyborg leapt away with speed rivaling even Iida’s. Over the noise of the train and the city, they could barely hear Izuku shout in surprise as he was carried away over the skyline.

Once they were safely out of range, Ochaco turned to Mei with a sparkle in his eye.

“SO, I saw you pouting when he was spacing out. Do you like him too?”

Mei’s face lit up in a radioactive blush as she shook her head vehemently, trying, and failing, to convince Ochaco otherwise. “Whaaaat? Nooo. He’s one of my closest friends, believe me! I don’t like him like that….”

Ochaco was unable to catch the last part of that sentence, but she knew what Mei had said. “Well, once you figure it out then come tell me, and trust me Mei, I’m not going to be mad, we’re both friends and you can’t control who you want to give your heart to.”

Mei simply nodded, still blushing up a storm as the two began the wait for their respective trains, the silence and dull chatter of their classmates becoming almost hypnotic as the two were dragged into the lull of their surroundings.

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Once they had arrived in an entirely new prefecture, the robotic canine came to a jarring halt in front of a decently sized building.

It was a large, red brick building that had a significant amount of yard space, and coming from the back Izuu could hear the noises of exertion. Fearing the worst, he immediately dashed around the back of the house to be met with an incredible sight.

His mentor seemed to be practicing his strikes, but they were performed with impeccable grace and poise, each strike doing precisely what he wanted it to, no more and no less. Izuku watched in awe as Raiden’s blade danced along the fake targets, slicing each one to shreds. His robotic body moved in synchronization, a marvel of technology and biology, his sword’s tip whizzing through the air leaving after trails. Raiden’s hair was flowing in the wind, the thick silver locks giving the appearance of an old experienced mentor. When Raiden reached the final target, he planted his feet, and Izuku saw something amazing. A red glint appeared in his eyes, and his sword sped up insanely, leaving Izuku to struggle to follow even the aftertrail as the target begame shredded into hundreds of tiny pieces, Raiden’s blade slashing faster than the eye could follow. Once he finally finished, the target was nothing more than wood chips as Raide slid his blade along his arm, then sheathed it in one fluid motion.

Izuku let out a small gasp at the display of such power, which caused Raiden to turn towards him.

“So, you’re the kid huh? Midoriya right? Anger quirk?”

Izuku stammered in response “I- yes, you uh. I. Yes sir, but how do you know all that?”

“I know your name from your file. As for your quirk, I recognized it the second you began using it onstage, after all, I have a variation of that quirk. As for you, it seems to be a much more physically focused quirk, while mine is a mental and physical enhancer. When I get extremely angry, I can slow down time to myself, and speed up the rate of slashes with my sword. Once I hit a certain level of anger, I can activate a whole new level of ability, one that I call “Ripper Mode.” Your quirk on the other hand seems to scale linearly, or possibly exponentially with the amount of anger or rage you feel at that moment, correct?”

Izuku stammered and eventually nodded as everything the man had stated was entirely correct. “Yes sir, you’re right.”

“Hmm. In that case then this training should prove useful to you. Yes, you lost on that battlefield, but I saw what was waiting inside you. That anger firstly needs to have a proper harness, and you will also learn here how to truly use it. If you just let it control you, then you will never reach your full potential. Come with me, there are a few things that I want to show you.”

With those words, the mechanical hero turned and entered the building, Izuku following close behind. It didn’t have many furnishings, only what was necessary and a few basic comforts. There also didn’t seem to be many personal touches to it, but Izuku didn’t mind that. They came upon a large hallway which had many doors, about 3 on each side. As Raiden led Izuku through the hall he noticed two things. One door had a nameplate with the name “John” on it, and one of the rooms had the door wide open, with the mechanical canine from earlier seemingly deactivated in the middle of the room. Once they reached the third room on the left, Raiden opened the door to reveal a simple room with the basic necessities.

“This is going to be your room while you’re here. I’m sorry if I missed anything, having a cyborg body makes me a little insensitive to the needs of others.”

“Oh no sir it’s perfect! Thank you so much!!”

Raiden smiled softly before asking his next question. “Would you like to settle in a bit first or jump right into it?”

“Would you mind if I set my stuff down real quick and then we can begin?”

“Sure kid, I’ll wait for you in the living room.”

As Izuku walked into his room, Raiden plopped down onto the couch with a heavy sigh. There was a reason he had never taken interns before. He got attached too easily, and the last time that had happened, well, he had lost his closest friend. He could already feel himself growing fond of the kid, he just hoped he’d be able to help the kid protect himself. While he was mulling in his thoughts, he heard the tell-tale buzzing of a call coming through. Seeing who it was he quickly accepted it.

“Hey Rose.”

“Raiden, are you okay? Is the kid there yet? How is he? Oh I’m so excited! It’s been so long since we’ve had someone in the house ever since John went off to college.”

Raiden chuckled at that. “Well, you’re not wrong about that. As for your questions, I’m doing just fine, the kid is here, he’s settling in at the moment and then we’re going to go do a bit of training. I want him to be able to harness his anger efficiently rather than having a bunch of wasted runoff.”

“Jumping into it so soon? Alright dear, just be careful okay? I know you’re probably already quite attached to the kid, despite just meeting him.”

“You know me too well. He’s finishing up now, so I’m going to have to call you back later, is that okay?”

“Absolutely! I’m going to finish up these errands and then I’ll be home. I love you.”

“Love you too Rose.”

With a click the line went dead, and Raiden could hear the footsteps of Izuku coming back down the hall.

“Um, sir? I’m ready when you are!”

“Alright then kid, let’s get going, and don’t worry, just call me Raiden.”

The two walked back out into the courtyard and sat down at Raiden’s instruction.

“Alright, first I want you to show me how you’ve been activating your quirk in the past. It’ll give me a good idea of the level of control and power you have of your abilities.”

Izuku nodded, letting loose the ever-present anger that lurked beneath the surface. He wasn’t even angry at a target, he was just simply pissed. Letting it just be simply anger, he felt his body get lighter and everything slow down as he began to process things at a higher speed.

Raiden looked on in curiosity, studying Izuku as he burned with anger until he was satisfied.

“Alright, cut it off.”

Izuku did as he was asked.

“Okay kid, here’s what I noticed. Your anger is the type that’s always there, even without a reason, you’re just naturally angry correct?

“Yes sir.”

“Good, now I’ve noticed that when you activate your quirk you let ALL of that anger rampage through you, and not only that, you don’t even use all of it. There’s a lot of runoff in that ability. IF we get you to properly harness it, and control the amount of runoff you have, then we can drastically increase your power, as well as showing you new ways to actually use your power and use your anger.”

Izuku perked up at that. “Really? How do I start? Fighting? Training?”

Raiden chuckled. “Nope, it’s meditation. Your anger has a core, and the secret as to how to harness your emotion is in that core, you just need to find it. NOw sit down and relax.”

Izuku sat down on the grass and held his hands out to his sides as he exhaled.

“Good. Now I want you to increase your senses to the limit without using your anger abilities. Just relax, and focus on your own body and what you can feel.”

Izuku cleared his mind slowly, everything fading to black as he took in every sense and thing he could feel. He could feel the grass tickling his legs, the gentle whistling of the wind as it blew through the tree branches. He could even hear the soft breaths as Raiden was meditating as well, shutting out all of the other distractions. Slowly Izuku began turning his concentration inward, removing himself from the outside. He could feel his heart beating, his thoughts slowing. He could even feel his anger making its way underneath his skin. Hidden within the anger though was a resistance. It seemed to be a core. Izuku focused on it, bringing himself closer to it. As the core came up to his face he realized it wasn’t just a cool core, but a roiling core of rage contained by a thin layer of something, however, no matter what Izuku did he couldn’t get into the core or activate it in any way.

He attempted to concentrate more, but the core still didn’t budge, just sat there waiting for the right stimuli. Izuku was about to resort to attacking the core, but he was shaken out of it by Raiden, who was looking on with mild concern.

“Midoriya, are you okay? It’s been almost six hours.”

He looked up to realize that Raiden was right, the sky had already changed to a dim purple and the daylight was rapidly decreasing in level.

“I was meditating for that long?”

“Yeah, you were. Did you manage to get it?”

“No, I found the core you were talking about but no matter what I tried, it wouldn’t budge or do anything. I’m sorry for failing you.”

“Midoriya, you didn’t fail me, we just need to try again. Now come inside, Rose cooked a delicious meal and afterwards if you’re up for it then we can work on some night fighting training.”

“Absolutely sir!”

“I told you, just call me Raiden.”

The pair walked inside and made their way to the table, Izuku seeing Raiden’s wife Rose for the first time. She was a woman of about 38, with short brown hair and a modest figure. Izuku immediately bowed his head.

“Thank you for having me Mrs. Rose! It is an honor to be here.”

Rose just giggled “Oh you don’t need to do all that, besides, I’ve been expecting you for a while. The second Raiden caught wind of your abilities he came to me and said ‘Rose, I want to mentor that kid.’”

Raiden groaned as his wife revealed one of his larger secrets to the boy right off the bat. “Rose! Did you have to tell him that?”

Izuku turned so fast he nearly got whiplash and stared at Raiden. “You really thought that?”

“Yeah kid, I honestly did. You have a quirk so similar to mine, and the way you fight is so familiar. I had to be your mentor. Now go ahead and sit, we don’t want the food to get cold.”

Izuku sat down at the table next to Raiden, and across from Rose, and with a quick “Itadakimasu” they all tucked in. The food looked amazing, it was a bowl of chankonabe with a few side dishes of dumplings. Izuku swore that the food was some of the best he had ever tasted aside from his personal favorite dish of katsudon.

WHile Izuku was busy eating, Raiden and Rose exchanged a glance at each other, they both knew that the kid had already wormed his way into Raiden’s heart, and was quickly worming his way into Rose’s as well. Through a few, less than ideal sources, Raiden knew about Izuku’s home life, and was seriously considering the adoption route, but they had a lot to go through before that could even be considered as an option. The rest of dinner was a mostly quiet affair as they finished up quickly, Raiden and Izuku cleaning up their plates then heading back outside.

At this point it was too dark to see, and Izuku was having trouble telling where everything was.

Raiden then spoke up and told him exactly what they would be doing next.

“Alright. I want you to fight me using any means necessary. Right now, wasted anger and everything is not a problem, just try to fight back.”

At those words Izuku saw a red dot appear in Raiden’s eye as he began to circle Izuku. Izuku responded by activating his Wrath as he felt the familiar surge of anger fill him. He could sense everything going on, but even though he could sense things, he couldn’t place them exactly without his sight. Then he got hit in the back with a rough kick. Izuku fell to the ground with an ‘Umph’ before springing back up, now having a target for his anger.

‘I’m going to kick his ass’

Diving to the left at the last second, Izuku felt the rush of wind as Raiden passed right by him and struck the ground. Swinging blindly, Izuku threw out a fist, hoping to feel something connect, but getting nothing but air. The only response to that was another kick to the side from Raiden.

“Come on Midoriya, you’ve got to be able to defend against these attacks! Don’t try to find me, just try to sense where I’m coming from and either block or dodge my attacks. Once you get a grip on these basics then we can move on to actually fighting back in the dark.”

Midoriya just growled in response, which didn’t exactly give Raiden positive notions. ‘We’ll have to work on his control, if he lets his anger take the reigns then he won’t be able to be a good combatant.’

Izuku felt something come from the left and lunged out, aiming to knock it off course, but was hit in the side of the head by Raiden twisting in mid-air.

“Good Midoriya! You seem to be able to guess where I’m coming from, your only issue is with actually blocking or redirecting the attacks. Once you can successfully guard against five of my attacks in a row we’ll move on.”

Accentuating the point with another whack to his side, Raiden continued his onslaught. Izuku would attack and lunge out but continually missed by only a few inches each time. He heard another whining noise by his ear and flung up his hand to the left, barely catching Raiden’s arm, but it was enough. He used his strength to fling him over his shoulder onto the ground in front of him, although that didn’t last long as Raiden flung himself upright, immediately dashing towards Izuku, throwing out both of his fists.

Barely reacting in time, Izuku managed to parry one of the fists, the othe rone string him solidly in the side as he flinched. Unfortunately for Izuku, Raiden wasn’t going to let up. He grabbed Izuku’s shirt and lifted him overhead before dropping him over his knee. Izuku managed to twist out of the way and counterattack with a punch to the side, but it was futile as Raiden blocked it and swung his foot at Izuku’s head. Izuku jumped up over the foot, bringing his fist down onto Raiden’s head.

“Damn, not bad kid, but now I’m going to double down. From the way you’re attacking, I can tell that your senses have adjusted and you can now accurately fight with me, so now we’re going to do an all out spar. As for healing, don’t worry about it, we have more than enough supplies to heal you, but as for everything else, well you’ll have to get used to pain eventually. Ready? BEGIN!”

Raiden blurred out of existence to Izuku’s senses, then suddenly the world did a 180 and Izuku’s face was in the ground. Shaking off the stinging sensation, Izuku switched to anger, dulling his senses considerably, but keeping enough to manage. He used his power to speed towards Raiden, who had been waiting for him to get up off of the ground. As he ran, Raiden took a stance that Izuku didn’t recognize, so he went low, which turned out to be the wrong choice as Raiden pushed his foot under Izuku and flung him into the air, running around him rapidly, throwing bruising punches as fast as possible.

Izuku could feel himself nearing his limit already. Stretching his focus between locating Raiden and barely defending against him was draining the boy more than he could have imagined.

‘Fuck this, I’m not losing here.’

He forced more anger into his quirk, as much as his body could safely handle. It flt like his muscles were on fire as he pushed himself to the limit. He planted his feet and slammed the ground, tripping up Raiden and making an opportunity. Immediately Izuku rushing in and grabbed Raiden, whipping him into the ground and throwing rapid punches until one of his fists was caught by the metal claws that Raiden had for hands. Izuku barely had time to gulp before Raiden flung him backwards, causing him to tumble against the ground until he came to a stop against the tree, soreness spreading throughout his body. Groaning with difficulty, he forced himelf onto his elbows, just in time to see a foot flying at him rapidly. Heaving himself out of the way, Izuku struggled to his feet to meet the flurry of incoming attacks. He parried Raidens first punch and countered with a rapid uppercut that only grazed his cheek, Raiden himself following up with a mean left hook of his own. Izuku ducked underneath it and jabbed Raiden twice in the gut before feeling a solid blow land on his back from above. Thinking instinctually, Izuku swept Raiden’s legs out from underneath him and pinned him to the ground before panting out.

“Looks like I won.”

Raiden simply gave him a grim smile. “Oh Midoriya, I haven’t started yet. Let’s get serious.”

He flung Izuku into the wall and seemingly disappeared before reappearing and slamming Izuku into the ground, quickly taking him and throwing him into the air, only to jump above him and slam him back down.

Izuku, on the receiving end of the beating, felt his anger spike to a new height. He felt truly threatened, and he was going to win

‘What did i FUCKING SAY?! I’M NOT GOING TO LOSE!’

Izuku felt every nerve fill with energy as he unleashed his anger’s full potential, every limb aching with pain as the raw energy coursed through his veins. He glared at Raiden before rushing at him at an ungodly speed, Raiden doing much the same. They met in the middle, their fists nothing more than a flurry of blurring punches that created small shockwaves every time they connected.The two jumped back, separating to take a mere breath before they were locked together again, each countering the other’s blows with his own. Izuku had sweat streaming down his face as his muscles tore themselves apart with every blow.

Raiden could see how exhausted Izuku was getting, and he knew that it was about time to finish the fight. He had dragged it out for a good five minutes. Most people thought that hero and villain battles were long and epic, but the truth was that they were over in ten minutes or less, in order to minimize casualties and losses. Charging up a final blow, Raiden slammed his fist into Izuku’s temple, finally knocking him unconscious as he was blown backwards into the gate. Raiden walked over to see nearly all of Izuku’s limbs at awkward angles, and heavy internal bleeding.

Sighing heavily, Raiden picked up Izuku and took him inside before giving him a shot of nanobots, a heavily guarded secret that only Raiden and Rose knew of. They hadn’t even trusted the Doktor with the new breakthrough in technology for fear that he would accidentally go too far when experimenting. After making sure that Izuku was comfortable in his bed, he walked out into the living room and sat down heavily next to his wife. Rose, knowing immediately what the problem was, draped her arms around his neck and asked.

“Lots of work to do?”

Raiden sighed, then smiled and kissed his wife. “Yep, he’s a great kid, but he needs control, and knowledge of how to harness his anger properly. After everything that’s happened, I can’t let end up like his father. I owe that much to Hisashi.

Rose’s smile faltered. “We both do love, Hisashi did so much for us, even if he did do it underneath a different name. That man was born to become a hero no matter what, even if he had to be a vigilante to do it. And a vigilante he became. It’s not your fault.”

Raiden turned his head. “I could’ve convinced him not to become one, to go through with the hero program at UA, it might’ve changed how things turned out.”

Rose shook her head. “You know he would’ve been a vigilante anyway, he wanted to help as soon as possible.”

After reassuring Raiden, Rose kissed him on the head and went to bed herself, attempting to get some sleep before the busy week that awaited the group.

Raiden sat motionless on the couch for a few minutes before getting up and going over to a picture on the mantle of himself and another person, a shorter man with his hair done up in a ponytail, a few loose strands framing his face. As he traced his fingers over the photo, Raiden spoke.

“Hey Hisashi. I know you never told your family about me or what you did as a vigilante, and I get that. You wanted to keep them safe. But your boy is here now. Little Izuku is incredibly strong, possibly even more so than you were. You two have the exact same quirk by the way, it's almost eerie. I won’t make the same mistake though. I’m going to protect Izuku and help him, even if I can't help you. You never should’ve tried to take on that villain, but I can’t blame you. I still wish you were here though. It’s hard. John is off to college, and me and Rose are doing just fine. We miss you Hisashi, or should I say Jetstream Sam. Anyway, I need to get to bed, but… I promise I will keep Izuku safe, no matter what.”

With those words, Raiden headed to bed, tears falling from his face even with all of the cybernetics he had.

---------------------------------

Izuku was stuck back in the flow of his anger. He couldn’t see anything but the core again. This time however, the core was massive. He felt like an ant standing next to the monstrosity, but he couldn’t even move. Then the core began to come closer. As it approached Izuku began to panic, he didn’t know what to do and it was getting really close to him. Then suddenly the core absorbed him, and anger consumed everything. Kind of. Izuku could feel the raw anger, but it was detached, as if he couldn’t access it yet. There was an immense amount of it. In total the entirety of Izuku’s anger was the equivalent of a red sun. He knew there were ways to forcefully access it, but in the end that just hurt him more.

Frustrated with his failure of being able to truly harness his anger, Izuku began indiscriminately lashing out, punching and kicking the air madly, and the core reacted. It swirled around him, acting as a battery, but it kept hurting Izuku the more he struggled. The fact that his own source of power was hurting him was pissing him off. It was his core, why did it have to be so shitty?

Izuku began to get pissed at the core but was woken up before anything else happened. When he opened his eyes, the first thing that he was met with was the chirping of birds and the smell of frying bacon.

Chapter Text

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Small Fluffy Filler Chapter, along with backstory on Izuku’s father

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Izuku groaned as he woke up, his body still sore from the previous day of training. When he went to pick up his phone he noticed three missed texts from Ochaco and Mei. Quickly getting dressed and throwing on some clothes, Izuku snatched up his phone and opened up his texts.

Ochaco: Hey Izuku! I got to Gunhead’s place, here’s this! [Gunhead.jpg]

Mei: Greenie! I’m here with Snatch!

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Ochaco personal: Goodnight Izuku, love you

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Izuku’s face paled as he realized that he had forgotten to send them a message back the night before. Scrambling for purchase on the glass screen he quickly wrote notes of apologies and assurances that he was okay. Unluckily for him the second that he had sent his message to Ochako, he got one back.

“Well good morning Izuku! It’s okay, I know you probably didn’t mean to not text. Anyway, that Raiden guy sounds super cool! Gunhead wants me to do some training so I’ll have to talk to you later, but I love you!”

Izuku sighed in relief as he was let off the hook, only to notice the smell of sizzling bacon wafting through the air. WIth the crisis now averted, he walked out the door and down the hall to be met with a surprisingly domestic scene.

Raiden was standing at the stove making eggs and bacon while Rose was sitting at the table sipping on a cup of coffee. To top it all off, the canine from yesterday was curled up under the table sleeping peacefully.

“Ah Midoriya, there you are! Want some eggs or bacon?”

“A-ah yes please! I’ll take some eggs.”

At the urges of Rose and Raiden, Izuku sat down at the table with a large plate of eggs and bacon in front of him. Of course, the meal didn’t last long as Izuku scarfed it all down, eagerly anticipating what would be happening for the rest of the day.

“Alright Midoriya, so yesterday was mostly a way for me to gauge your strength and senses. Today I want to see your agility level so I can plan out the next five days for good training, so you’ll be going out there with Blade Wolf, and he’ll test your agility levels to make sure that they’re up to par.”

“Blade Wolf?”

Raiden let out a small chuckle. “Ah right, I don’t think you two were properly introduced. Blade Wolf, come say hello!”

The mechanical beast underneath the table slowly got up and stretched before walking out to greet Izuku. “Hello Midoriya, I am Blade Wolf, previously designated LQ-84i. I am the most advanced AI in existence at the moment, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

Izuku’s eyes lit up as he heard those words. “AI?! I thought that research died out in the golden age of tech! Not only that but to be the most advanced AI is absolutely incredible! I hope we get along well Wolf.”

“I as well Midoriya, now come, and we shall begin agility testing.”

The trio of Raiden, Izuku , and Blade Wolf walked out into the yard while Rose stayed behind, saying something about preparation and someone coming by later in the week.

Raiden sat down as Izuku and Blade Wolf stood apart from each other, both settling into a fighting stance. As soon as they were settled, he called out.

“START!”

Blade wolf lunged towards Izuku, throwing out three non-lethal balls. Izuku on instinct, rather than dodging, blew the balls away with a single blast, prompting Raiden to call out.

“Midoriya, I need you to focus on dodging rather than countering today. This is to measure your agility.”

Izuku agreed, but the way he had reactively knocked the balls out of the way rather than doging had swept Raiden into an old memory.

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16 years ago…

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Raiden locked blades with Hisashi again, the clash producing a shower of sparks on the beach as their swords ground against each other. When they finally separated and jumped back Raiden spoke up.

“Damn Hisashi, you’re getting pretty stiff today, what’s up?”
Hisashi sighed. “Honestly? Inko’s pregnant.”

Raiden just grinned. “Congrats man! This is your third kid now right? How come you still haven’t told them about me or your other job?”

Hisashi’s face hardened. “I don’t want to subject them to that worry of me being a vigilante. As for the kid, well I’m tracking down a particularly powerful villain, and Inko would be the primary target if he finds out.”

Raiden sheathed his sword and pulled Hisashi down next to him. “Then quit. It’s not worth losing someone over.”

“Jack, you know how I feel. I can’t stop. If there’s someone out there that I can protect, then I will. Even though I had to become a Vigilante, I won’t ever regret it. It’s something I love doing, being able to save people.”

“Dammit Hisashi, you’re too good for this world.”

“Nah, I’m just a guy with a sword. Can I ask you a favor?”

“Whatever you want.”

“If I die, can you watch over them, my family?”

Raiden shot up and whacked Hisashi on the head. “Don’t talk like that! You won’t die. But to answer your question, yes. I will. You’re a damn good man, Hisashi. I couldn’t be more proud that you’re my friend.”

Silently communicating, the two wordlessly stood up and unsheathed their swords, preparing to battle once again, this time with Hisashi grinning widely.

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Coming out of his memories, Raiden resumed watching Izuku as he ducked and weaved over the projectiles and strikes that Blade Wolf threw, even when he was hit he still wore that smile, the same one his dad always had.

Izuku was panting wildly, now that he had been made aware that there was runoff anger he noticed it in every move, how much wasted energy he was letting off. All that did was piss him off more. He sped up slightly as Blade Wolf unleashed another trio of attacks that he ducked under. Once he put distance between them he barely heard Blade Wolf call out.

“I will obliterate your consciousness.”

Izuku paled as Wolf began to rapidly dash around. He stumbled forward to no avail as Blade wolf lunged and pinned him to the ground, before using his tail to lightly pat Izuku’s face. Izuku laughed nervously as the mechanical behemoth got off of him and walked over to Raiden, who patted him on the head.

“Alright kid, I’ve got a rough idea of your strength and agility. I’m going to have a schedule made for you as a background process, but for now we have the rest of the day to do whatever you’d like. Anything specific you have in mind?”

Izuku stammered as he wasn’t expecting this. “A-ah can I give a call to my friends and then we can go out and do a few things? I-if you’d like of course.”

Raiden smiled. “Sure kid, go make your call.”

Izuku grinned widely and ran inside to his room, shouting something along the lines of thanks as he did. Raiden just chuckled as he pulled out a large metal rod and began to pay a game of fetch with Blade Wolf, who seemed deeply offended yet went after the staff anyway.

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Izuku sat nervously on the edge of his bed as the phone rang, he had called Ochaco before but he’d never been on a group call, and that was only if both of them picked up. He didn’t have much to worry about, however, as he heard two signature clicks when the other two picked up.

“Izuku?” Mei asked.

“Hi guys! Sorry if this is a bad time. I just wanted to call you guys and check up on you.”

Ochaco laughed. “Izuku, it’s only the second day, but I get it. I’m doin’ fine here, Gunhead is a real good teacher and I’m learnin’ how to fight real well!”

Mei giggled at that, unknowingly causing both of the other to blush massively. “Same here Green, Snatch has been an awesome teacher and now I can make some really cool capture babies. Buuuut you’re going to have to wait to see them. Anyway, what about you? How’s your internship going?”

Ochaco made a noise of agreement.

“Well, Raiden is an amazing teacher. He gauged my strength, control, and agility, and soon we’re going to have more lessons on each of those concepts, as well as night fighting and many others. But besides all that, he’s surprisingly domestic. We’re in a small house with his wife, and she’s awesome too. I’m being trained, but at the same time I feel like I’m visiting with family.”
Mei snorted. “A top hero being domestic? I can’t even imagine that.”

Ochaco took the opportunity to tease. “Oh so just like you then?”

Mei smirked on her side of the line. “Oh I can be domestic, all i have to do is wear nothing but a naked apron and then I’ve got Izuku under my thumb!”

Ochaco let out an overdone dramatic gasp. “Oh no the horror!”

All three of them quickly broke down into individual laughing fits, the mental image being too much for any of them to bear for very long. After saying their goodbyes, they all hung up after a few more well wishes.

Izuku sat with his phone in hand, feeling much lighter than he had before he had made the call. Happily he got up and made his way downstairs to meet Raiden, who had actually put on some clothing rather than “wearing” his cybernetics. He had donned a simple button up shirt and jeans, as well as a light jacket for the colder weather.

“Done talking to your girlfriends?”

Izuku heavily blushed at the implications that he would be dating both of them. “S-shut up.”

Raiden just laughed uproariously, even Blade Wolf making a noise that was slightly similar to laughter. “It’s okay Midoriya. Now, have you decided what you want to do today?”

“Can we go to the shops? I noticed we were slightly west of Tokyo, and I wanted to check out a few things.”

Raiden nodded. “Sure we can, and that works out pretty well! There were a few things that I needed to pick up as well.”

With those words they walked out the door and into the garage, where a sleek black convertible was sitting. Raiden hopped into the driver’s seat while Izuku gingerly sat down in the passenger seat. Noticing Izuku’s hesitation, Raiden reassured him.

“It’s okay kid, you won’t hurt the car.”

Once Izuku had fully settled in, Raiden started up the car with a smooth purr and pulled out of the garage. The drive was mostly quiet, only accentuated by the soft background music that Raiden was playing. It only took them about thirty minutes to reach Tokyo, and soon after the two hopped out of the vehicle in the shopping center.

Izuku had taken off as soon as they had set foot on the ground, and as such Raiden began to wander around the shops. As he was wandering he didn’t even realize he was getting swept up into another memory.

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22 years ago….

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Raiden was walking with Hisashi through the Tokyo markets after a long day at their heroics lessons, it had been mentally exhausting on both of them, and the fact that they had kept up their secret training the whole night really screwed with their schedules.

“Hey Jack?”

Said person looked over with a questioning look. “Yeah? What’s up Hisashi?

“I’m dropping out of heroics. Not because I’m quitting, but because it’s too slow. I’m going to become a vigilante.”

Raiden dropped his drink in shock. “What?! Ok, Hisashi, calm down. First off, Inko, your WIFE now, doesn’t know that you’ve been taking these classes. Speaking of which she doesn’t even know about ME! And now you want to become a vigilante? Will you hide that from her too?”

Hisashi smiled gently. “Yeah I will. I want to be a protector, and if this is the way I have to go to become a hero faster, then I’ll do it. Inko doesn’t know about the sword yet, or the fact that I’ve been training. As for you, I’d like you to stay hidden, I need someone I can trust with the vigilante stuff who isn’t associated with her.”

Raiden shook his friend vigorously. “Possible offensiveness aside, it’s insane! You can’t do this.”

“Jack… my mind is made up already. You can’t stop me.”

Raiden felt as if he had aged almost twenty years at that moment. “Fine. But you do not try anything insane, okay?”

“I can agree to that.”

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Raiden was shaken out of his musings by a familiar stone archway. One he knew all too well.

“Memorial for the Fallen”

Raiden felt his saliva catch in his throat as he saw the engraved name sticking out like a sore thumb among all the others, Just the sight sweeping him into another memory.

“Hisashi Midoriya”

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13 years ago….

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The freak storm had come out of nowhere. Raiden was dashing through the rain as fast as he could, the alert had just come through on the hero radar that an incredibly powerful villain was fighting with the famed vigilante “Jetstream Sam”

‘Goddamnit that IDIOT! I told him not to do anything stupid’

As he ran through the streets, his cybernetic body massively increasing his speed, he heard booms and explosions getting closer. When he finally came upon the source, it was carnage. Bodies were strewn around the edges of a massive crater, and in the middle was Hisashi and an unknown villain.

The villain had pale blue hair and blazing eyes, and was wearing a clean fitting suit. Raiden couldn’t do anything but watch as he fired off beam after beam and blow at Hisashi, the vigilante in question cutting every attack out of the way.

As he collected the injured for help, Raiden barely managed to catch the villain moving with a speed so great even Hisashi, master of the blade, couldn't track it. As the villain raised his hand to kill Hisashi, Raiden tried to yell out, to warn him, but was silenced by the glare of the villain, who had noticed his attempt.

Unable to do anything but choke on his own words, Raiden had to watch as one of the most powerful vigilantes, no, HEROES of all time, with a record rivaling even that of Endeavor’s, was struck through by an immensely powerful fist. Immediately after dealing the fatal blow, the villain disappeared into a cloud of purple mist, and Raiden rushed to Hisashi’s side, tears streaking down his face.

“H-hey there Jack, what’s cra-” Hisashi was cut off by a hacking cough that spewed blood all over the ground.

Stuttering madly and incoherently, Raiden picked him up and cradled him to his chest. “N-no this can’t be happening. We can save you. There’s a hospital close by, we can heal yo-”

He was cut off by Hisashi pressing a finger to his lips. “Hey, we both know the truth. This is it for me. I made a stupid mistake. I only have a few requests before I go. Take my sword. Hold onto it. I want you to give it to Izuku when the time comes. Speaking of which. Watch over my family please. And if you get the chance, tell them I’m sorry…”

Hisashi wasn’t able to finish his sentence as he deteriorated into hacking sobs, Raiden doing much the same.

“Jack. I dont regret what I did, and given the chance I’d do it all again. Stay brave. Carry on…”

With those final words, Hisashi Midoriya, aka Jetstream Sam, one of the best heroes to ever live, passed on into the next world.

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Raiden wiped away the tears he didn’t even realize were streaming down his face. When he checked the time he realized it was past time for them to get back home, as the sun was already setting.

He touched the plaque one last time.

“Hisashi. I’m going to get better, and your son? He’s going to be just as good of a hero as you.”

Parting the area, Raiden walked back to the car, eager to begin training the son of his oldest friend, ready to give the world a new hero.

Unnoticed by Raiden, a small gust of wind picked up and blew leaves off of the plaque, a final signal that Hisahi had heard the man.

Chapter Text

Izuku groggily opened his eyes as he was shaken awake by his current mentor.

“Raiden? W-what time is it?”

“It’s 5 o’clock Midoriya, time for you to get up. I’ve got a perfect training plan for you. Today we’re going to start off with harnessing your anger well, but using it also in a way that doesn’t promote the runoff of excess, but rather the direction of all the energy for a maximized attack. Understood?”

Groggily, he nodded slowly as Raiden grinned.

“Good, get dressed and meet me out in the courtyard. It might only be the third day but this is when your internships really begin. We’re going to focus on training, and on the last day we’ll go out for a local patrol, okay?”

With those parting words, Raiden left the room as Izuku thought to himself. ‘What the FUCK.’

Less than 5 minutes later Izuku was ready to go. He and Raiden stood in silence before they both took their seats on the ground, legs crossed with silence surrounding them. Following Raiden’s example, Izuku exhaled slowly and let the silence overpower him as he was transferred into the realm of his own subconscious. He felt the energy wash over him as the core of his power, his anger, appeared once again.

He slowly moved towards it until it was within reach. This time however, something felt different. When he touched the core, it reacted. He felt his anger wash over him as it normally did, but it felt different. Focused. He felt every nerve fire with anger, but it wasn’t indiscriminate rage as he had gotten used to, no, this was FOCUSED. Every nerve in his body was pissed, not at Raiden, not at anyone, but at his own power. Izuku was pissed at the fact that it had taken him this long to figure it out when the harness was this simple.

‘Are you KIDDING ME?! THIS IS ALL IT TOOK?!’

He began to growl unconsciously as his anger began overtaking him, the core sliding up his arm and encompassing his body, not as a bubble, but as an empowerment. Izuku’s eyes flashed blood-red as he truly harnessed his power for the first time.

There was no other way for Izuku to describe it. It was incredible, as if every aspect of his other forms had been compressed into one.

He could sense every muscle twitch in his body, the millions of individual fibers rapidly contracting and relaxing as he moved, his breath rushing down into his lungs, the thin layer of mucus covering his throat drying out. He could feel everything. His strength felt unparalleled. Before, at maximum strength he could put out a blow that was roughly as strong as All Might at twenty percent. Now he felt as if he could go blow for blow with the man at full capacity. The only thing different is Izuku didn’t just want to beat All Might, he wanted to utterly beat him. To make him feel despair. Izuku wanted to destroy the man, to give him a taste of what he had done to him.

As his focus of anger changed from his own power to All Might, Izuku’s own ability reacted, focusing even more strength into his already titanic physical reinforcement, to ensure victory. Izuku grinned with bloodlust as he felt the power encompass him, only to be knocked unconscious and out of his subconscious mind by a concerned Raiden.

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Raiden slowly exhaled, feeling the solace of blackness encompass him and his mindscape. As he concentrated, another presence filled the area. When Raiden opened his eyes again, he was no longer alone. Instead, he was met by a second version of him, however this one had gleaming red eyes and a menacing aura. The other Raiden let out a broken chuckle as he began to walk forward.

“So! You finally got a protege huh? Not just any protege either, but Hisashi’s son! Never would’ve guessed you had it in ya!”

Raiden put on a grim smile. “C’mon ‘Jack’, we both know after I made peace with you you calmed down. You’re no longer fully Jack the Ripper, so shut off your damn killing aura. We save that for-”

“For the big enemies yeah yeah I get it. Look Raiden, as a sentient-ish quirk the only fun I really get is when you either let me out or when you come into your own mindscape, so I’ve got to mess around a little bit ok?”

Raiden laughed tiredly. “Yeah I know. Anyway, I need your help. You’re my quirk, and before we made an agreement to ‘calm’ you down a bit, you came out whenever I got extremely enraged and took over.”

Jack the Ripper sighed. “Yes, and what of it?”

“Well, I think Midoriya has a quirk similar to his father’s. Scarily similar. The angrier he gets the more powerful he becomes. How can I help him harness it?”

Jack openly laughed at Raiden. “Same as you did for me! If it gets out of control you have to calm it down, agree with your anger. Merge with it, like you did for me. It will reduce his power, not by much, but he will also gain the aspect of true control over his power. It will help significantly in being able to keep himself under control. In addition, he probably has a stronger version of Hisashi’s. Correct?”

“Yeah. When he goes “Berserk”, or properly harnesses his anger so that there’s no runoff, he hurts himself from the amount of energy.”

“Exactly! Merging with his anger will give him control, and a limit that’s still higher than his normal anger state, but not enough to where it hurts him!”

Raiden nodded. “So if I follow what I did with you he should end up fine?”

“Yep! And hey. I know you have doubts. As your quirk and a part of you too, I do as well, but it’ll be ok. We can do this. We’ll rip the objective to shreds!”

Raiden chuckled exhaustedly. “Thanks Jack. I’m going to go help the kid do that.”

“Yeah yeah. Just remember. Whenever the time comes I’m here to let ‘er rip.”

“I got it.”

Raiden opened his eyes as he inhaled deeply, light and color fading back into the world around him, only for him to be met with a frightening sight.

Izuku’s face was contorted into a frightening snarl, and his eyes were opened, yet unconscious. Rather than a deep green, his eyes were blood red, and a heavy malicious pressure was rolling off the boy in waves.

‘Shit. It’s worse than I thought.’

Choking out a growl, Izuku began to rise to his feet. Thinking quickly, Raiden walked behind him and chopped the back of his neck, watching silently as he crumpled to the ground, completely knocked out.

‘Fuck. This kid is going to be even more trouble than I had originally expected. Oh well, I signed up for this.’

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Izuku groaned as he woke up, opening his eyes to see Raiden sitting in a corner of the room, looking at him with an unreadable expression that quickly morphed into amusement when he noticed Izuku’s eyes open.

“So, you’re finally awake.”

“Do not.” Izuku groaned out as he shifted himself upright. “I do not need ancient game references Raiden. Why am I so sore?”

“Well, you managed to harness your anger properly! The only problem, your ability is vastly stronger than mine. Harnessing your full strength reinforces your strength to a point where your body can’t keep up anymore, and it hurts you instead. I think that you need to find a middle ground between the two states, or come to an agreement with you anger. I had to do the same with my quirk, and while it may seem different considering that mine is a sentient quirk and yours isn’t, coming to an understanding with your own emotion can help quite a bit.”

Izuku grinned dryly. “Alright then, just another challenge to figure out. For now, can we jump back into training? I’d like to get some kinetic fighting experience.”

Raiden, a born battle maniac, agreed quickly.

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Izuku stood across from Izuku, both of them staring intensely as they circled. Raiden’s hand dropped slowly, and within a millisecond the battlefield exploded into motion.

Izuku’s body exploded with power, his eyes contracting rapidly with the rush of adrenaline speeding through his body. Every muscle tensed as the incoming opponent approached. When Raiden was in reach, Izuku dropped underneath him and blurred out of the way, suddenly standing about thirty feet away, clutching his shins in pain.

“AH FUCK!”

Raiden halted, concerned. “Midoriya, what the hell was that?!”

“I just harnessed my anger, I tried to hold it back but it still fuckin hurts!”

Raiden felt himself pale slightly. ‘THAT was his power when harnessed? Good god, this kid is going to be a monster. Good thing that monsters make the best heroes.’

“I don’t want you to harness your anger until you learn how to use it without hurting yourself okay? Causing yourself unnecessary pain is detrimental to your own learning ability and everything else.”

Izuku frowned. “What if I can’t figure it out?”

Raiden smiled softly. “Let me tell you a story. An old friend of mine, he had a quirk somewhere between the two of ours, much more similar to yours than mine, but also weaker. He got stronger with his anger, but that anger also alienated him as he let it run indiscriminately. Eventually, he began to attempt to make peace with his anger, and his inner turmoil. It took ham many months, but finally, he did it, and calmed the raging storm. At the same time, his quirk underwent a mutation, although it wouldn’t be strange to call it an entire evolution. It changed from anger, to getting more powerful under pressure. The more difficult the task or his enemy was, the stronger he became. His only issue? He couldn’t utilize that strength. His body operated at extreme levels, but his brain couldn’t keep up. So he spent years upon years training to be able to harness that energy, and finally he became one of the most powerful people I knew. So yes, I do think you can do it.”

Izuku grinned slightly as he heard the story that Raiden was telling, finishing off with a snort. “Well that’s one way to end a story like that I suppose. Is it based on a true story?”

Raiden looked wistfully towards the sky. “Yeah. It is. Now come on, you said you wanted to spar and you haven’t even shown me what you can do!”

Wildly smirking, Izuku’s aura flared, once again having significant runoff after taking in the pros and cons of possibly hurting himself in exchange for even more power, opting to go for low power this time rather than hurting himself.

He rushed towards Raiden with a growl on his face, aiming for the chin in order to take him down quickly, unfortunately Raiden was ready. He grabbed Izuku’s fist and flipped him over his shoulder into the dirt.

“You have good power, Midoriya, but you telegraph your attacks, leaving yourself open to easy counters and parries. Again!”

Izuku growled and leapt to his feet before stalking closer to Raiden, keeping his hands at his sides, following Raiden’s advice. Raiden looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.

“Good, you’ve stopped telegraphing, but I assume right now you have to consciously focus on not telegraphing. By the end of this internship I plan to have you fully ready to fight with experience and power. I’m going to turn you into a monster.”

Izuku snarled. “No. I’m not going to be a damn monster. I’ve been called that before, I won’t become one. I’m going to be a hero.”

Raiden frowned. “Is that truly what you think? Midoriya, I’m a monster too. A cybernetic body, created solely for firepower, yet I have a loving wife, a kid, and a hero career. Monsters CAN be heroes. I myself am a testament to that. If you truly think monsters are bad, then come at me with everything.”

All of Izuku’s emotions were clashing, one side telling him that he could be a hero nd a monster, the other side telling him that no matter what he would always be worthless, like Bakugou had said. So instead of sorting out his feelings, he did what he does best. Izuku lashed out. With a mighty roar and a widely choreographed sipe, Raiden sidestepped his blow and struck him in the side, sending him into the dirt with a thump.

‘NO! I’M NOT A FUCKING MONSTER! I AM A HERO!’

‘Oh quit it. Of course I’m a monster. No human has this amount of anger bottled up. Why am I even trying to be a hero?’

‘FUCK YOU! DID YOU NOT HEAR RAIDEN?! MONSTERS CAN BE HEROES TOO!’

‘But what about what Bakugou said? He obviously knew better.’

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Seeing the kid go through an internal battle, repeatedly tensing up and angrily muttering, Raiden leaned against the wall with a heavy sigh. Not much time had passed before he was enveloped in his wife’s loving grasp.

“You OK?”

Raiden shook his head. “I’m worried about Izuku. Just look at him. He’s going through so much pain. His whole life he’s been put down and abused, and now that he’s trying to be a hero, his internal feelings are rebelling, telling him that he doesn’t deserve it, that he should just give up and cut his losses while he still has losses to cut.”

“Mmm, so a lot like you then.”

“Yes, and his father. It’s a rough life, I just hope that he’s able to take it well enough. He’s certainly a strong kid, but his mental state is fragile. Yes, I am training him to be stronger, but I’m also hoping to help him heal his mental problems.”

“That’s exactly why I love you. You’re one of the most caring and gentle people I’ve ever met, even if you have a hard shell. Literally.”

Raiden chuckled slightly. “So, mind telling me why you’ve been cleaning up all day so religiously?”

Rose smiled. “Well, I managed to convince John to come home for dinner tonight. I'd like for him to meet Izuku, considering how close he was to “Uncle Hisashi”.

“Oh really? Well thats awesome! I’m sure he’ll be happy to meet Izuku.”

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‘KEEP FUCKING TRYING!’

‘Giving up would be easier, and it works. You weren’t meant to be a hero. You’re WEAK.’

Screaming out in rage, Izuku mentally grabbed his source of anger. “LISTEN HERE DAMMIT! YOU ARE MY ANGER, AND I AM WHAT HARNESSES YOU. I AM GOING TO BE A HERO, NOW LET’S FUCKING DO THIS!”

For once, his two sides of anger merged into one. ‘We MaY Be A MoNsTeR BuT wE WiLl Be A HeRo.’

Raiden took his place as he felt a new pressure from Izuku, one he hadn’t felt before. Midoriya opened his eyes to reveal pure white irises that were blazing with white-hot anger.

“I WILL BE A MONSTER, BUT I AM A HERO.”

Raiden gasped. Izuku had finally harnessed his anger and made peace with it, but it wasn’t stable, and it wouldn’t last long. He raised up his guard and waited for Izuku to strike, only to be met with a searing pain in his side as Izuku blurred through the field and launched a forceful punch into his side.

“Gah-Fuck kid that hurt!”

Not responding, Izuku leapt back faster than Raiden could track.

Gritting his teeth, Raiden mentally reached out. ‘Hey, Jack. I need you.’

‘Tch, fine you big wimp. Let’s kick some ass.’

“GRAAAHHH!”

With an angry cry, Raiden’s entire personality and stance changed.

“ALright you little shit! Ready for an ass kicking?!”

Izuku didn’t bother responding, opting instead to leap at Raiden again, only to be met with his fist blocking him, and Raiden looking down at Izuku with a red gleam in his eye.

“Gonna have to do better than that!”

Izuku grunted slightly before unleashing a flurry of blows, each one swiftly blocked or deflected by the cyborg, who then proceeded to dash to Izuku’s side and lunge in to whack his chest. Barely managing to block the sword, Izuku dashed to the side, hoping to find a blind spot.

Raiden grinned as he fluidly twisted and stuck out his sword, tripping Izuku and making him face-plant into the dirt.

“BAHAHAHAHA! Nice try shit-stain! Too bad for you you're years to early to take me on! Now, it’s time to LET ‘ER RIP!”

Izuku barely leapt out of the way as a now unsheathed sword cut deep into the grass where he had just been standing. He began to strain for more power as he felt his control lessen as his anger began to split again.

‘Fuck, keep it together, just a little longer!’

Izuku strained his body to the limits, dodging repeated blows as Raiden slashed, fluidly twisting and ducking out of the way, trying desperately to not get hit by the vicious blade that was glinting dangerously in the sunlight. With a final attempt, Izuku dashed through Raiden’s blade flurry and attempted to land a hit on his temple, only for his anger to peter out halfway there. Izuku fell to the ground with an “Oh.” as Raidens blade came to rest his neck.

“Nice try kid. Nice to meet you by the way. I’m Raiden’s quirk, “Jack the Ripper.” I’m an alternate version of him with enhanced abilities and anger. Of course, I have calmed down quite a bit ever since your f- I mean my friend died, but it also came with a decrease in my strength. Doesn’t mean I can’t kick a whelp’s ass though, as shown from our little bout. You’re strong, but again, your choreography is way too much. It tells your opponents what moves you’re going to make and essentially allows them to easily counter or block any punch or attack that you might throw at them. If you want to get any better at fighting, you need to hide your true intentions and learn to mask your true objective with your attacks. It will allow you to land hits much easier and make it much harder for the opponent to block or counter your blows.”

With those words, Raiden removed his sword from Izuku’s neck as his eyes returned to their normal blue sheen.

“You ok Izuku? I know that must have been difficult.”

Izuku, contrary to what Raiden though, was looking up at the man with excitement in his eyes. “Did you see that? I harnessed it! I did it without hurting myself!”

Raiden smiled gently at Izuku’s childlike wonder. “Yes, you certainly did, but it isn’t perfect yet. You need to be able to keep that up indefinitely and without choreographing any of your attacks. As well we can work on more powerful attacks and super moves.”

Izuku began bouncing in place despite the fact that he had just lost. Raiden barely heard Jack laughing in his head.

“Man this kid is obsessed!”

Jack grinned at that, prompting Izuku to ask what was so funny.

“Nothing kid, now come on. Go ahead and take a nap, we’ve got something exciting planned for tonight!”

Beaming with a blinding smile, Izuku ran inside and up to his room, when he got a call.

“Hello?”

“ZUKU! I MADE IT WORK!!”

“H-Hatsume?! WHat’s going on?!”

“Don’t worry about that Zuku! Oh and call me Mei! ‘Chako said it was fine! As for what I got working, Snatch showed me how to build a perfect snare for incredibly fast and strong people like you! It uses resonant frequencies to lock up muscles and joints!”

“W-wow M-Me-i that’s incredible! Have you had any other breakthroughs in technology?”

“Nah not yet. Right now im just working on a special little something to help you enhance the strength that you get from your ability, and maybe something to help ‘Chako put additional force into the things that she makes weightless with her quirk. It would be a cool concept, but the materials and energy requirements for either of those projects it through the roof, and rather unstable as of now.”

“Wow! Mei that’s absolutely incredible! How has Snatch been treating you?”

“It’s been great! Even though he acts cold and stiff to the public, he’s actually as really nice person! He always makes sure that I have everything that I need in order to finish my projects! Thanks to his help, I’ve made significant progress on the jetpack, the extending tube dodger, and a few other of my more secretive babies!”

“Wow Mei, that really is amazing, I’d never be able to do anything like that, you really have a lot of talent.”

“Thank you Zuku! How’s your internship going?”

“It’s been absolutely amazing! I made a huge breakthrough in my abilities and how I use my quirk. I’m not supposed to tall anyone though, Raiden wants it to be a surprise for you guys when I get back, and honestly, I’m inclined to agree with him! I want to see your reactions in person rather than on a screen.”

“Oh! That’s okay ‘Zuku, I’m sure it’ll be amazing! I’ve got to go now, I hear Snatch calling me but have a good internship! I-”

Mei was suddenly cut off by the rapid bang and click of a phone being hung up. Izuku couldn’t help but wonder what she was going to say. Fortunately for Mei, he didn’t think about it too hard, as he began to get ready to take a nap in order to prepare for whatever would be happening that night.

-----------------------------

“You son is coming to dinner?!”

Izuku had been woken up a little bit earlier, only to once again be met by Raiden standing nearby.

“Yep. He should be here any minute. You don’t need to do anything special, I just wanted to tell you before he got here.”

“Ah. Okay”

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Raiden leapt up. “That must be him!” Izuku, come on down whenever you’re ready!”

With those words, Raiden walked out the door and to the porch to greet his son. Izuku went over to the window to see who this “John” guy was.

As he looked out the window, he saw Raiden and Rose hugging a tall, well muscled man with white, wavy hair. Izuku couldn’t see any noticeable quirk, so it must’ve been an emitter. As they chatted amicably, Izuku headed down to greet the man.

As he stepped outside he saw John’s head whip up immediately to meet Izuku’s eyes with a cold glare.

“So this is the kid?” John asked Raiden.

“Yes, but John-” Raiden began to speak.

John cut him off with a harsh tone.

“Pathetic.”

The cutting word was aimed at Izuku.

Chapter Text

Izuku stood in shock as Raiden’s son blatantly insulted him.

Quickly, Raiden barked out. “John! Apologize! NOW.”

John just scoffed. “Dad, I’m not going to just like this kid! He relies on his strength! He’s WEAK. If he wasn’t around, then maybe Uncle H-”

“John. Stop.”

All the men turned to see Rose with a furious look on her face, thorny vines growing from underneath her feet, thrashing rapidly and shredding the soil around her.

“You know exactly what your father was doing. All you do by insulting Midoriya is disrespect HIM.”

Izuku stood stock still, completely confused as to what was going on, but highly aware that this was a conversation he was not supposed to be privy to.

John sighed. “Fine mom, I won’t openly insult the kid anymore. But I want to fight him. I need to see his supposed “strength” for myself. So! Midoriya! Fight me. Prove your worth.”

Izuku snapped out of his stupor, staring incredulously at the man who had just challenged him to a battle. Raiden was standing out of the way with a conflicted look on his face, while Rose was standing off to the side, still staring at her son with a stern look. Finally, Raiden sighed.

“I had hoped this wouldn’t happen, but I think it might be a good idea. Maybe my son can learn to let go, and Midoriya, this could be a great experience for you, to fight against an unknown opponent. The only rules are that neither of you can hurt each other critically. Understand?”

Both of the opponents nodded their heads in understanding before turning to face each other, John taking off his overcoat to reveal a white button-up shirt underneath.

Izuku grinned widely as John sneered. “Ready to lose? You’re just a brat.”

Refusing to speak, Izuku closed his eyes.

‘Help me out. Please anger.’

‘OnE MiNuTe CaN Be GrAnTeD.’

‘That’s all I need.’

The second Raiden’s hand dropped, Izuku moved. Blurring out of existence, he grabbed John’s arm and threw him over his shoulder at the wall behind them. As John impacted with the wall, he growled in anger and jumped back to the ground. Izuku watched intensely as red vines sprouted from the ground and launched at Izuku, who wasn’t able to react quickly enough to the incredible speed of the vines, which had sprouted faster than he thought possible.

John launched his vines at Izuku, and Raiden furrowed his brow, ultimately deciding to send a warning to his son. “JOHN! HE HAS THE SAME QUIRK!”

This made his son pale, but it was too late as the vines had already ensnared Izuku, said boy going limp as the vines took hold. ‘Ah shit.’

----------------------------

Izuku was back in his mindscape, but this time it was different. He couldn’t move, and his anger core was growing at an incredible rate. His mind began to fill with a fog as he felt himself become angrier. He didn’t care about the world. He just wanted to hurt. To fight. To kill.

---------------------------

The familial trio watched in slight awe and shock as Izuku woke up, his eyes blazing with nothing but anger, more intense than any of them had ever seen. He shredded the vines covering him in an instant and landed on the ground with a bang. Then suddenly there was a small crater where Izuku had been before, and the air resounded with the noise of flesh connecting with steel. John paled and began to sweat as he saw his father, Raiden, with his quirk active and his blade out, having blocked Izuku’s fist just before it had landed on John’s face.

“John! Use your Quirk on me! NOW!”

Shaking heavily, John stretched out his hand and watched as Jack let the vines touch him. Immediately, Jack’s eye flashed blood-red and he screamed out. “GRAAAHHHH!”

John made his way back to Rose as they watched Jack and Izuku circle around each other, like predators circling their prey. With some invisible signal passing between the two, they disappeared, the rings of steel and the dull thuds of flesh sounded out as the two traded blows rapidly, each countering the other at a speed neither Rose nor John could follow.

“ROSE! GET YOUR VINES READY.”

Jack yelled out as he was beginning to lose ground. Izuku was letting loose blow after blow of concentrated anger and power, and slowly but surely, Jack was losing ground to the furious boy. Thinking quickly, Rose prepared a web of thorned vines, creating a huge cage to constrain the two.
Jack inhaled sharply as a fist impacted his gut, driving the wind out of his chest. He quickly jumped back and brought up his sword again, barely managing to catch Izuku’s fist with the flat of the blade as it connected, creating a massive gust and impact force. Thinking fast, Jack twisted unnaturally underneath the follow up punch, his cybernetics contorting as he watched the fist pass above his face, the wind blowing his hair to the side. Immediately, he threw his own fist forwards as he bent back up.

Izuku coughed in pain as he felt Jack’s fist drive hard into his side, the force flinging him into a wall of thorny vines which quickly grew around him the second he connected with the wall. Unfazed, he ripped the vines off of his form and kicked off the wall, cracking it in several places as he sprinted towards Jack, who held up his sword in a seemingly defenseless position. Intending to kill the man in one combination, Izuku drew his fist back and began a hailstorm of punches. Much to his surprise, Jack deflected every single blow, his sword flurrying back and forth with an unnatural speed and fluidity.

Jack was completely concentrated, eyes closed and feet planted as he entered blade mode, every difference in pressure felt and blocked as he deflected and redirected every single one of Izuku’s attacks. As the storm of blows finally slowed, Jack ended by tackling Izuku to the ground and repeatedly whaling on him, attempting to accumulate damage as quickly as he could.

Izuku grabbed Jack and threw him to the side before standing up and panting in anger. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the thorns next to Jack’s form open up and something slid into the cage. As if invigorated, Jack stabbed his sword into the thorns and stood up, unsheathing a massive set of blades that seemed to be blunted for knockouts.

“FINAL BLOW: BLOODLUST FLURRY!”

Jack leapt at Izuku, both blades fluidly slicing through the air with a whir as Izuku attempted to block, but the massive weight of the objects combined with Jack’s swinging strength broke through his guard and whacked Izuku on the temple, causing him to fall unconscious.

Panting heavily, Jack stood up and planted Bloodlust in the dirt before collapsing himself, his body and quirk both giving out after the intense battle.

Rose gently used her vines to pick both of them up and deposit them each in their respective beds, before grabbing her son by the ear and dragging him off to have a discussion on proper etiquette and basic respect.

------------------------

Izuku woke up first, his whole body was aching with pain, his temple was throbbing, and he had tiny cuts all over his body. He went into the shower to clean up, hissing slightly in pain as the water ran over all his wounds. After a long shower and a nice towel off, he walked downstairs to hear a bit of conversation in the living room between the family. Raiden was sitting next to Rose while John was sitting on the chair opposite of them.

“So, you haven’t told him yet?”

Raiden seemed to grimace at that. “No, I haven’t. He’s not ready yet, and telling him now would only mess up his mindset. I can’t risk it.”

After hearing that, Izuku walked out into the living room to confront the man.

“Tell me what?”

The three people sitting down looked up, startled. Raiden looked at Izuku with a pitiable look on his face before beginning to speak.

“Midoriya. I’m sure you heard what I said before. Are you sure you want to know?”

Izuku looked up with a determined gaze on his face. “Yes. I’ve had enough of all of the lies, the dodging around my questions. Not from you Raiden, you’ve been one of the best mentors I’ve ever had, it’s just tiring hearing it from everyone. I would like it if you could tell me what is going on.”

Raiden let out a deep sigh. “Alright, I’ll tell you, Izuku.”

“Your father, Hisashi Midoriya, was a vigilante, one of the best. His name? Jetstream Sam.”

Izuku’s eyes hardened in disbelief but he kept his mouth shut, at least for the time being.

“Hisashi, as I knew him, was one of the most passionate and caring people I had ever met. You even inherited your quirk from him, albeit much more powerful. He wanted to be a hero no matter what. We were on a fast track to become heroes together, when he met your mom. She only met me once, before I became a cyborg, but those two were the perfect match for each other. Kazeha was born, and the man couldn’t have been a prouder dad. Then there was an accident. During a villain attack, your grandparents, Hisashi’s parents, were killed. He began to let his anger run wild, and it alienated him. Slowly but surely, he lashed out, losing all of his friends. The only ones who stuck by him were me and Inko. Then, one day, something clicked. He managed to control his anger, and his quirk evolved, it became a pressure that empowered him, and he became determined to become a vigilante. And become one he did. Jetstream Sam rose in notoriety incredibly fast, the police at first launched entire platoons trying to capture him, but he never killed, only dropped off incapitated criminals at the station. Eventually, it got to the point where most of the world accepted your father as a hero, and if he had ever decided to come clean, he would’ve been very easily accepted as a real hero, but he continued to work in the background, unbothered by the rules and things of normal society. He also worked amazingly, somehow hiding his vigilante life from everyone but me. After Hariki was born, he slowed down significantly, but never stopped. It was only after you were born that something changed. You didn't act like Kazeha or Hariki, rather ending up being a meek and cowardly child, which Hisashi knew meant you were going to get some form of his quirk. He loved you all so much, that even when he was out being a vigilante, he still made sure to never get any of you involved. Then there was news. Tons of heroes had all lost to the same villain, an underground crime lord that no one knew the name of, and he was moving fast. All Might was out of the city at the moment, and Endeavor had lost to the man, which was extremely surprising, so your dad took up the mantle. In all honesty, Hisashi would probably rank around 7-8th on a list of the strongest heroes in the world. The fight was brutal. I told him not to jump in, but he couldn’t help himself. He saw the opportunity to save someone and he had to take it. The fight lasted all of ten minutes, both of them were titans on the field, Hisashi managing to block every attack and throw out a return fire, but in the end the villain did something underhanded. He teleported behind Hisashi and stabbed him. I tried to warn him but was silenced by a quirk. It doesn’t seem possible, considering that you can only have one quirk, but it happened. I had to watch one of my closest friends, and an amazing hero, bleed out. Your father was a hero, Izuku.”

Izuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Jetstream Sam huh? Do you have a picture?”

Raiden slowly stood up and walked over to the mantle before picking up a picture near the back and handing it to Izuku. The picture featured Raiden and Hisashi standing with their arms around each other, Inko standing in the back looking confusedly at the two. Hisashi had a massive grin on his face, while Raiden was stoically staring at the camera. Izuku let out a small chuckle at the sight before sniffling. He felt water run down his face but he wasn’t sure where it was coming fr-

‘Ah, right. Sadness, that still exists.’

He felt himself be swept up into a big hug as Rose wrapped her arms around him.

“Oh Izuku we’re so so so sorry. Your father was like a brother to us, I never would’ve met Raiden if it wasn’t for him, your father was an amazing man.”

Raiden walked over too, gently enveloping both of them in a hug as Izuku sobbed heavily, collapsing to his knees at the knowledge that his father didn’t just abandon him, but rather had passed away. His mom, Inko, had LIED. The betrayal was too much to bear, and he broke down even more.

Raiden and Rose dropped beside them as Rose began to cry as well, the memories rushing to her mind, and the loss of their friend ripping open old wounds. Raiden held them all somberly, even John walking over and hugging them all, already having accepted Izuku after seeing his strength.

As Izuku cried and sobbed, and his tears began to run out, he felt something inside him grow cold and brittle. His mother had LIED. She had told him that Hisashi didn’t want a quirkless kid, that he was the reason his father had left!

Something bent, cracking and splintering.

The whole family was in on it! Izuku had gone months thinking his father HATED him!

Raiden, Rose, and John began to back up as Izuku’s crying began to shift into something else entirely.

It bent further, the cracks growing more.

He was not a monster, he was not a failure. His father loved him. His father was a fucking hero. But his mother? His sisters? They were EVIL.

It shattered.

Both sides of his anger roared in unison, demanding that blood be spilt for this injustice. Izuku felt all of his muscles clench in unison. This wasn’t the half hearted anger synergy he had discovered. This was true unison. Izuku was one with his anger. He was no longer thinking of it as a quirk, something to control and use, no, he was much too pissed off for that. Rather, he was simply angry, allowing his anger to run through his body, not rampantly, but not restrained either. Izuku had hit his attunement, and it was terrifying.

“I’m going to kill them.”

Izuku took two steps outside, the ground breaking underneath the sheer intent of his anger, before he moved. He shot off like a rocket, the shockwave of his movement blasting everyone backwards. The area where he had stepped off from was now a large crater, the force of Izuku kicking off having compacted the dirt and grass into itself.

Raiden leapt to his feet in surprise. “SHIT!”

John began to get up, stuttering dazedly. “W-hat? What’s w-wrong?”

“He’s going after his mom and sisters. I had heard what happened, but I didn’t think Inko could ever do that. Jesus. This situation is so fucked up. John, help your mother, I’m going after Izuku.”

Raiden revealed yet another trump card that he hadn’t shown Izuku as he walked back inside the house. He went over to the freezer, opening the drawer. Inside the freezer were hundreds of what looked like blue glowing balls on a rope. Raiden grabbed two of them and walked back outside.

When he got back out, Rose looked at him in shock. “Raiden! You’re using those?!”

Raiden smiled resignedly. “I have no choice, Rose, I have to save this kid. For Hisashi.”

Rose grimaced, but ultimately agreed. “For Hisashi.”

“Wait, Dad, what are those?”

“John, these are the spines of other cyborgs. They contain a special fluid that recharges my own abilities. I’ve not been fully charged for a while now. But I need to. Take care of your mother.”

With those words Raiden crushed the spines in his hands, the blue fluid inside being sucked into his body. Then, the armor on his body began to change, the clear yellow plastic on his shoulders becoming metal plates with spikes. His boots grew spikes from the toes, and metal armor plates began to sprout from the sides of his legs, his chest, and torso.

Rose gasped in awe. “John, this is Raiden’s secret. He never fights at full power. He has always used his normal cyborg body for hero work, this is what he calls his ‘Custom Cyborg Body’. It’s how he managed to defeat that corrupt senator. In all honesty, while he’s using that suit, he’s just as powerful as All Might, if not more, but he has a reason to not use it.”

Raiden finally finished changing, and picked up a special sword. Rather than being in a sheath, this sword was in a case that looked like a railgun. With a single, fluid motion, Raiden unsheathed the sword, which crackled with a blue light. He swung it three times before dragging it along the inside of his elbow and resheathing it.

“I love you two. Be safe.”

The cyborg bent over and crouched on the ground, his cybernetics locking pins and pulleys to increase the tension in his legs. Blue light began to build up in the cyborg’s core as he utilized his full power. Lightning began to crackle at his feet, burning small arcs into the grass around him. Then, all of the gears were released. Raiden shot off into the distance at an insane speed, quickly becoming a dot on the horizon of the sinking sun. Then came the sonic boom. It originated from the point of departure, creating an explosion of noise as Raiden broke the sound barrier. John and Rose could only watch in shock and awe as he went after the kid he had been training.

---------------------------------
Izuku was dashing through the streets without a thought in his head other than death. He wanted to make them pay. He wanted to kill them. They had LIED. They were LIARS.

‘Liarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliars’

Izuku wasn’t a fool, he could feel his sanity being eroded away, but he was too angry to care. His whole life his mom and sisters had told him that Hisashi abandoned them because he was quirkless. Of course Izuku had some memories of the man, but not enough to dispute the claims, and the memories he had were foggy, very foggy. He had fallen into depression. He believed he was a monster, and the remarks from all of the other kids didn’t help. “Monster”, “Freak”, “Useless”. He had heard them all. All it did was build his anger up, until one day he couldn’t hold it back anymore and he lashed out; at Bakugou of all people!

‘Liarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliarsliars’

He was never quirkless, it was just dormant. He activated his quirk and went to school the next day, excited to show it off. He might’ve been in his last year of middle school, but he had a quirk! He didn’t realize just how hard it would be to control his quirk. He had crushed a desk out of anger that day. People didn’t expect the normally timid child to become a person who took no shit overnight, so they resorted to calling him a monster, shunning him even further than he already had been.

‘LiarsliarsliarsLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARS’

‘THEY’RE ALL LIARS’

Izuku came onto his home road. Where he used to live, with the LIARS.

Making a sharp turn and slowing down, he came to a stop in front of his old house. Taking purposeful steps, he walked up to the door, and went inside.

----------------------------------

Inko Midoriya had been conflicted. Her son had been quirkless. Useless, no. That wasn’t true anymore. Some way, somehow, he had gotten a quirk. He was powerful. She could finally have her son back. Now that he was strong.

Hariki and Kazeha were each in their rooms, doing god knows what, when they were both suddenly alerted by a loud explosive noise from the living room downstairs. They rushed down the stairs to see a sight that neither of them would have ever expected. Izuku was leaning over their mother with nothing but raw fury on his face, killing intent leaking out of every pore in his body.

“WHY DID YOU FUCKING LIE?!”

Izuku was shouting ragefully, spittle flying from his mouth as he screamed, every vein tensed and visible.

Inko was trembling in fear, as she glanced over to her daughters for help. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about Izuku!”

Kazeha and Hariki began to make their way over behind Izuku, lining up to knock him out.

“YES YOU DO! I’M TALKING ABOUT MY FUCKING DAD! THE ONE YOU SAID LEFT BECAUSE I WAS QUIRKLESS?! YOU LIED TO ME! HE DIED! HE NEVER LEFT!”

Both of the girls froze, as did their mother. The silence was only cut through by Izuku’s heavy breathing.

Inko began to speak. “Oh son, I-I don’t know. I-I just was so so angry and-”

“STOP, WITH THE GODDAMN LIES. I’M DONE. I DON’T FUCKING CARE. I’M JUST HERE TO END YOU. AFTER ALL, I’M A FUCKING MONSTER.”

Hariki and Kazeha snapped into action, Kazeha flinging air blades at Izuku while Hariki hit him with a powerful psychic pulse, pushing him into the floor.

Izuku felt his body hit the floor, but he let himself fall uncaringly. The pulse felt like nothing more than a gust of wind, and it was just so slow. He fell slowly, every second seeming like an hour as he hit the floor. He could have beaten them both immediately, but he wanted to break their spirits too. He felt a continuous force push him down, but to Izuku it felt like a child pushing him down. With minimal effort, he simply stood back up like there was no issue.

-----------------------

Hariki was strong. This she had known since she was a child. Even her older sister had trouble matching her sometimes. Her little brother had always been a disgrace, a disappointment. Her little brother was supposed to be someone strong! Someone she could teach! But instead he ended up being a worthless waste of space. Until he wasn’t. Hariki had no idea how to deal with that fact, she had always just shoved her feelings to the side. Then came this new feeling. It was alien. Like a pit in her stomach, it festered. So she did what she always did. Lashed out. She felt herself exclaim in triumph as she pinned her little brother to the ground, and began to walk over to him, eager to show him his place once again, and then he got up. There was no struggle to the boy’s actions. No effort was put into getting up. He just stood up like he had tripped. Hariki felt something she had felt very few times before. Hariki felt fear.

-------------------------
Raiden was rushing through the streets with all the speed he could physically muster, lightning arcing out of his heels as he went after the boy he had taken a liking too.

‘Fuck, this feels familiar. Feels like that night. There will be blood tonight.’

With those foreboding words Raiden sped up, putting the maximum amount of energy he could into his legs, ignoring his charge meter as it began to fall. He ran throughout the streets trying to pick up the boys trail. He was coming through a nice neighborhood when he heard the sound of explosions coming from nearby. Hoping it was a sign, he ran towards the source only to be met with a terrifying sight.

His trainee was standing in the living room of a house, fist outstretched towards a woman standing in fear.

Raiden moved.

------------------------

Izuku was livid.

They tried to kill him.

They had lied to him

They hated him.

He had enough. He stood up underneath the pressure and glanced at Hariki with a promise of death emanating from his form. Without warning, he lunged. To Hariki it looked like he had disappeared. The truth? He was simply moving so fast her eyes couldn’t track him. As his fist began to close in Izuku felt glee at the fact that Earth would be rid of the scum.

5 cm. His fist passed by her outstretched locks of green hair, her eyes widening slowly in surprise. He could feel the tingling of electricity as he inched in more, only to be blocked off by the sensation of a cold metal blade smoothly sliding into the space between her face and his fist. Then the blade twisted, throwing Izuku backwards and through the wall, out into the street.

Izuku slowly got back up, glaring at the person who had dared to block him from killing his lying bitch of a sister, only to be met with an equally stern gaze coming from his mentor. Raiden looked much more sleek, his cybernetics having become black in color, and looking much more equipped to kill. His sword was now sharp and crackling with electricity, even as he sheathed it; as was his body. Small arcs of lightning moved between the gaps in his armor as he walked forward, emitting just as much of an intent as Izuku himself.

“Izuku.”

Raiden’s voice was radiating with power. At the moment he was not here to teach, nor nurture. Raiden was here to stop his out of control kid.

Izuku simply glared at Raiden. “Raiden, move. We’ve fought before, you barely won. Right now? You’ll be crushed. I don’t want to do this, but they need to be killed. It’s for the best.”

Raiden walked forwards slowly, unsheathing his sword once more. “Izuku, this is one fight you will not win. I am your mentor. You cannot beat me as you are. Stand down, or I will take you out.”

Hariki suddenly yelled out from behind Raiden. “Yeah! Kill the useless little fucker!”

Raiden whipped around with a snarl. “You think I’m doing this to help you?! You have failed. You forgot what your father taught you. If Hisashi was still here he would hate what you’ve become. Hariki, sit down for once in your life and listen. Kazeha, you too, you have all fucking FAILED! This is not what Hisashi would’ve wanted. And you, Inko. You disgust me. I promised Hisashi I would protect his children, but you used to be such a loving and caring person. How you go from that to this I have no clue, but you are all awful. Now sit back.”

Izuku lowered himself closer to the ground as Raiden turned back around, unconsciously bracing himself to fight. Raiden stepped forward, and Izuku dashed. In a flurry of strikes that None of the onlookers could see, Izuku was already at a disadvantage. Every blow he had thrown had either been smoothly blocked or dodged with minimal effort.

Izuku remembered what Raiden had said. “You telegraph too much.”

Raiden watched on in slight amusement as his protege tucked his arms in and rushed at him again.

Izuku launched a lightning fast straight at Raiden’s abdomen, which was blocked as expected, but what Raiden didn’t see was Izuku’s right fist coming in for a wicked hook to the jaw. At least, that’s what Izuku thought until Raiden moved his sword. It shouldn’t have been possible, but he saw the gleam in Raiden’s eye. At the last second Raiden blocked Izuku’s fist, pushed it back, then went on the offensive. He began rapidly swinging at Izuku with the blunted edge of the sword rather than the sharpened edge that whistled through the air with every swing.

Izuku roared in defiance as he began to wildly knock back every blow that his teacher threw at him, before ducking under the last few and grabbing at his legs. Jumping swiftly out of the way, Raiden struck at the back of his neck but was denied by Izuku putting up a hand to block as he rolled out of the way.

Twisting off of the ground, Izuku kicked off of a building and leapt overhead to come down on Raiden from above, however Raiden simply blurred out of existence. Izuku froze in confusion until he felt a pointed boot drive into his back from above. His breath was driven out of his body as he hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Izuku growled further as Raiden thrusted forward, the point of his sword. Twisting quickly, he deflected the blade, the edge of it dragging along his forearm as he ran in close and drove his fist into Raiden’s jaw. Raiden flipped backwards and drove his blade into the ground, ripping it up as he yelled out.

“Metal Gear: Ripper Mode!”

Raiden clutched at his chest as Jack rapidly took control of the body, and his lightning turned red. His core began to crackle with the sudden surge of energy, and his entire body was arcing with little red bolts of electricity. Izuku’s eyes widened as Raiden lunged, sonic boom echoing out as he wrapped Izuku in his arms faster than he could think. Izuku felt the shocks of lightning, then all was still.

As the final echoes of the sonic boom faded out into nonexistence, Jack relinquished control as Raiden came back into focus. Izuku, too stunned at what had happened to react, could do nothing as Raiden hugged him tightly.

“Izuku. I know you’re hurting. I know your anger is running rampant. But come back to me. I know you’re there. Now come back.”

-------------------------

Izuku was floating aimlessly. He was in the middle of all his anger, and yet despite how much raw anger and emotional force was running through him, he felt… empty. His mother had lied to him, let them die. Not a big deal. Maybe he could just sleep for a while, after all, the anger had control, it can take care of things.

“zuku,”

Izuku heard his name called and perked up to catch Raiden’s sentence.

“Come back to me. I know you’re there, now come back.”

Izuku began to lie back down. Why should he care? They were all

‘LIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARS’

But…

‘I’m a hero.’

‘MONSTERMONSTERMONSTERMONSTER’

‘Yes. But I will help people. I can be a hero. I can’t kill them, even if they are’

‘LIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARS’

‘Yes. Even then. Besides, you’re MY anger. We don’t kill’

‘LIARS’

‘It doesn’t matter anymore! They chose their route, and I choose mine.’

‘KILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL’

‘NO!’

With a mighty heave Izuku stood up, reinvigorated. Reaching around him, he grabbed onto the invisible force of anger, and yanked.

------------------------------------

Raiden felt it as Izuku slumped over in his arms, all of the energy dissipating as he regained control.

“Hey kid, welcome back.”

Izuku groaned. “I’m sorry.”

Raiden smiled sadly. “It’s okay kid. I’ve lost control before too. There’s a reason I don’t use this suit. I couldn’t let you make the same mistake I did. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

The two embraced, one feeling like he had found peace, the other, looking forward to the future.

Hariki and Kazeha looked on in utter shock. No drugs could ever create what they had just seen, and they would’ve been dead if it weren’t for the mysterious man.

Inko was crying quietly on the same couch, realizing who this man was. For the first time in her life, her actions had fully hit her. She had basically given up on her son.

As Raiden and Izuku walked away, Raiden gave them all one last look of disappointment. “I’ll be watching you. I hope you choose to change.”

With those words, the mentor and student were gone.

-----------------------------------------------

In the darkness of the world, behind the cesspits, the crime, and everything that had fallen apart, something smiled, and the world turned.

-----------------------------------------------

Shigaraki was talking to the doctor about his new project, still disappointed in their loss, but much more willing to listen to ways to improve after their new hire.

He brushed four of his fingers across the screen that held the name of the project that was currently floating in a pool of stagnant water

“Metal Gear - Nomu”

------------------------------------------------

Stain was perched on the rooftop as he watched his quarry walk into an alley underneath him. Without a sound, he dropped down behind him silently.

Native turned, but not fast enough. With a flash of steel and a taste of blood, the hunt had begun.

------------------------------------------------

The smile widened, and in the darkness and fog of evil, something awoke.

Chapter Text

HEYO IM SO SORRY I FORGOT TO WRITE. So I've been very busy and I'm going to level with yall. I just graduated high school, and it's been extremely freaking hectic. I had to turn in my chromebook and all that (Which I was using to write the fic), and even though I got my new laptop (Another reason i've been slacking. Its an MSI Raider GE76, and i've been preocupied with war thunder and DCS). I Haven't forgotten about the story, the chapters have jsut been ignored in the large rush of graduation. Ill try to get it out before the end of the week, because then I go on a week long cruise. So yeah very busy, but no hiatus and I'm sorry ppl. Dont worry, next chapter is gonna be a banger. (Also sorry for the grammar and crap, this new keyboard is massive and im still getting used ot it.

Chapter Text

Hey there everyone, I’m back, after a very long, very unintentional hiatus. I have a good reason for not writing for like a month but other than that, it was just me not having inspiration, ideas, or even motivation. Right after I got back from vacay, I started a new job and had no inspiration for writing, so that held me down for a month. Then I had an allergic reaction, went to the hospital, got a weird rash that could be psoriasis- and I STILL don't know because the biopsy they took hasn't finished, but the stitches from said biopsy got infected and gave me sepsis. So… yeah. BUT! Two days ago at work I got an insane amount of ideas for this chapter, the next, and later on down the line. ALSO-

As an apology to you all (and something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while), my editor and I are going to be doing a Q/A session, so please drop a comment and ask us a question that you want answered in an interview format! Or, join the included Discord for this book!!  Anyway, without further ado, after 140 long days, here is the final chapter of the first arc of Fury; “Spark.” I hope you guys genuinely enjoy!

Also maybe I should make a few things clear, A lot of the fight scenes are going to seem as if Izuku doesn’t have any power. He does, but these creatures are just as fast and as strong, and on top of all of that Izuku is still in a mental war with his own abilities. He isn’t going to be at full strength in this chapter.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hey everybody! Archangel here, I’m Saint’s editor. Apologies for the hiatus, but, as I’m sure most of you know, life happens. It’s been a hard-fought battle against a myriad of different roadblocks to get this chapter up, but we finally have it polished up and ready for you all! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed working on it. Make sure to drop a comment for the Q/A!

https://discord.gg/GPWqY4bzGp

—-----------------------------

They had been walking in silence for a while. Izuku didn’t dare speak to his weary mentor, while said mentor seemed to be deep in thought. Tension grew exponentially as they trudged on, until Raiden finally spoke.

“Look kid- you and I both know what happened back there was bad. It shouldn’t have happened, and you shouldn’t have lost control like you did. Despite all that, I understand. They kept a massive secret from you, one that hurt you in the end, but we’re past that now. Come here.”

Raiden beckoned Izuku into an embrace as they went silent, all of the sadness and anger leaving them momentarily, filling the air with peace. 

The serenity of their moment was unfortunately shattered by rapid, ear-piercing beeps from Raiden’s phone. The cyborg gave an exasperated sigh and reluctantly withdrew from the hug, pulling out the deafening intruder to see what was so damn important.

Izuku watched on in silence as Raiden held the phone to his ear. He felt unease begin to pool in his gut as he watched the color drain from his mentor’s face. “Understood. On my way. Kid. There’s been an attack on Hosu. Do you think you can handle it? We’re gonna need as many bodies out there as we can get.”

Izuku nodded. “I can do it. I think. There’s no time to tell, we need to get going.”

Raiden nodded and immediately took off towards the city. Izuku fired up his anger as he followed closely, the power emanating from the boy still stained with the heinous acts he had committed just a short while before. 

Raiden was worried, but he had to put his trust in Izuku. ‘Ehhhh fuck it, can’t hurt. God, if you’re up there; help him hold it together. Don’t let him make the same mistakes I did.’ Raiden silently prayed.

They arrived at the MagLev train station in an explosive fashion, pushing men, women, and children out of their way to barely make it onboard the quickly departing train, yelling “HERO BUSINESS! OUTTA THE DAMN WAY!” as they forced their way through the crowds. As the train left the station, Raiden took note of the way his student shook violently, his eyes absently locked on the floor of the train car, evidently in a mental battle with himself. 

------------------------------------------

‘You should kill. You know you want to. The feeling’s there- it always has been. Intense, and profound. There’s nobody that can stop you. Not Raiden, not that shitbag All-Might, not even God himself, the bastard,’ a sinister voice echoed in Izuku’s mind. 

‘No! I won’t! I’m going to be a hero, and fight for the good of humanity! I won’t let myself become like you, whatever the hell you are,’ Izuku replied to the disembodied voice.

‘It’s in your nature- it’s what you were MADE for. All humanity has ever done to you is put you down! They beat you, and made you feel WORTHLESS. Why do you want to fight for the people that see you as nothing more than a useless, quirkless, PATHETIC little boy? Let the true you out to play. Let me show you what you’re capable of,’ the voice responded.

‘What even are you?! My anger? My core? Another identity?’ Izuku yelled into the void of his mental plane, pangs of extraordinary pain bouncing around his skull, making him feel as if his head was going to split in two.

A shadowy, spectral figure emerged from the darkest reaches of Izuku’s mind. ‘I’m you. I’m the part of yourself that you’ve kept suppressed. Your rage, your ferocity, your power . I know you want to stay the same. You want to keep your image as the ‘cute, loveable little cinnamon roll’ that everyone knows as Izuku Midoriya. That’s not you. Not anymore. You’re pissed at the world. Let it be known. Let your wrath consume you, and let your true strength flow.’

‘I can’t do that. What about Ochako? My friends? Mei? And Raiden?’

‘Stop restraining yourself. Be true to the power that lies in you.’

‘I don’t want to hurt anyone that I love.’

‘Good luck with that.’

—-----------------------------------------

Izuku growled lowly, but audibly, drawing the anxious attention of several passengers. Raiden quickly flipped towards the boy, ready to intervene if Izuku lost control. But, much to his surprise, the Izuku that stood before him looked different. Changed. More refined.

Izuku’s hair began to lengthen slightly as his aura of rage broadened. It wasn’t flailing recklessly as before, blazing with unbridled hatred and menace, but flowing smoother, and more unrestrained as Izuku allowed his true power to take a stroll on the outside. His physique wasn’t increasing in size or tone, but the feeling of power coming off the kid grew stronger and more purposeful with each second that passed.

‘Good. Tame it. Harness it, and make the power your own. Don’t let your rage consume you.’ Raiden thought as he watched his student with pride.

Raiden turned back to his own body, overlooking the effects of his customized frame. 

‘God, it’s been so long since I used this body. The last time was against… The Senator.’

Everyone knew who “The Senator” was. Senator Armstrong had been a pioneer on the leading edge of the modern day science frontier. Born quirkless, the man made it his life’s goal to become a hero by any means necessary. With his incredible intellect, drive, and deep passion for science, he created “nanomachines.” However, the invention that would have effectively been the magnum opus of human technology, became Armstrong’s downfall. 

Refusing to test the nanomachines beforehand, too anxious to see the fruits of his labor, Armstrong injected them directly into his heart. They worked as intended- granting him superhuman strength, speed, and resilience. Unfortunately, they also hijacked his body. Using Armstrong as their host, the nanomachines wreaked havoc on humanity for weeks on end. All-Might himself struggled to defend against the monstrosity Armstrong had become. The reign of terror finally came to an end after an epic clash between Senator Armstrong and Raiden. The two men battled fiercely for hours, leaving only destruction in their wake. The battle finally came to a close, with Raiden tearing Armstrong’s tainted heart straight from his chest.

Raiden was jarred from his thoughts by a sudden hard jolt, and the ear-piercing sound of the train’s brakes desperately trying to bring the train to a halt. As the train slowed to a crawl, the tinny speakers mounted in the roof of the car came to life.

“Attention passengers, the train has stopped due to the appearance of a villain on the track. Our apologies for the inconvenience”

Izuku shifted his focus to his mentor, who seemed to still be getting his bearings on the situation. “Raiden, you good?”

Raiden gave a slight smirk. “Yeah kid, I’m fine. Now come on, let’s see what this villain they’re talking about is.” 

Letting out a feral grin, Izuku stood up, ready to face their adversary. His enthusiasm was short-lived as the entire train car shook and the roof peeled open like a soup can. Izuku and Raiden quickly looked up to be met with the intimidating visage of a gargantuan creature. Its grey skin seemed to have a metallic gleam to it, and it had four massive arms protruding out of its back. It walked on two legs and towered over both of them at ten feet tall. However, the most shocking feature of the thing was its exposed brain, which had a band around it that gleamed with small red eyes. 

Izuku stood tall and prepared to rush the enemy, but Raiden held him back. “Izuku, wait. That’s a Metal Gear. It’s a machine made solely for destruction. Why this one has a brain, I have no idea, but we need to be careful. That thing could level a city block without breaking a sweat if it’s a true metal gear,” Raiden said with a tinge of nerve in his tone, wary of the powerful opponent that stood against them.

“I fought one of these at the USJ, Raiden. I killed it. They’re called Nomu, and I know their weakness. I’m going in.” Izuku replied, staring at Raiden in annoyance of his coddling.

Shaking off Raiden’s arm, Izuku lunged towards the mechanical being, throwing his fist out with a defiant scream. When contact was made, the Nomu’s chest caved in with a deafening boom. Wind whipped violently around inside the train car as the Nomu burst from the ground like a geyser and went flying into the void of night.

Izuku turned around and grinned at his mentor. “See? It wasn-”

He was cut off by the impact of a fist to his face. Izuku’s flesh rippled with shockwaves as the metallic fist drove deep into his jaw. An audible crunch was heard as Izuku’s head twisted unnaturally, throwing him backwards. Raiden stood in dismay as he witnessed his protege fly limply into the corner of the train, seemingly lifeless.

Passengers watched on in shock as Raiden’s face hardened in absolute rage. 

Every step the man took towards the hybrid of monster and machine seemed to be imbued with the wrath of hundreds, each step only thickening the murderous intent that hung in the air. The Metal Gear simply stared unbothered, its eyes beginning to glow even brighter as the power of the metal gear rapidly increased in preparation for the upcoming battle.

Raiden dashed forward, his custom body moving faster than any human eye could keep up with. Throwing his sword into the air, he locked it into his heel and thrust his foot into the gut of the nomu, only for his blade to be blocked by one of the four arms. With an unnatural growl, the nomu used the sword to throw Raiden into the wall of the train.   

With little effort, Raiden blasted out of the side of the train and slammed the palm of his hand into the neck of the nomu. He felt the recoil on his arm as the nomu collided with the wall of the train, and he felt the slight release of tension as the wall bent underneath the combined weight of the metal nomu and his cybernetic body. Finally, with an unholy screech of twisting metal, the wall warped and broke as the duo fell through, a shower of sparks flying through the air as the twisted arcs of metal scraped against Raiden’s body. 

He impacted the ground outside of the train quickly and leapt off of the creature, twirling backwards midair to land on the concrete a few feet away, watching intensely as the creature stood up with little effort, its metallic skin having taken no damage from the brief clash. The two locked eyes for mere seconds before their weapons were locked together again, the edge of Raiden’s blade scraping against the hardened claws of the man-made horror. Sparks flew as the two battled, Raiden slowly but surely overpowering the creature as its arms were pummeled into submission one by one. 

‘Damn it. I can’t use even half of my full power. Collateral damage isn’t an option here, especially not with Izuku in the condition he’s in. I couldn’t live with myself if I killed civilians, much less my best friend’s son, whom I promised I’d protect.”

He continued to push against the creature, only to be blindsided by a wild swing from one of the nomu’s spare arms that Raiden narrowly dodged. He quickly leveled his blade and focused his energy. Exhaling slowly, he opened his eyes to be greeted with the roaring face of the nomu, nearly frozen in time. All four of the nomu’s arms were slowly but surely moving towards his head as he stood. Wasting no time, Raiden located the weak points in each of the arms using his cybernetically enhanced vision, and slashed them faster than anyone could blink before he slipped out of blade mode. As time sped up again, the nomu let out a wail and staggered backwards, hairline fractures glowing yellow where Raiden had struck at the joints. 

Raiden wasted no time in blitzing towards the creature, swinging his blade towards the chest of the beast, only to freeze suddenly from the noise that echoed through the night.

It wasn’t a scream of fear, not the noise of mechanical objects. It was a cry of war, a call that echoed through the night, pounding through every creature’s skull and instilling them with a deep rooted fear. It was not a question, nor an announcement; it was a statement. A harbinger of death. 

Raiden looked towards the source of the ungodly sound and nearly faltered as he saw Izuku standing in the hole in the wall of the train. Izuku’s eyes were glowing furiously, and the very air around him seemed to be thrumming with power.

“Raiden. Move. You can’t fight fully here. Go to the city and help them out there. I’ll take care of this… thing.” Izuku stated plainly, not taking his eyes off of his prey.

As reluctant as he was to leave, Raiden knew his student was right. He would be of more use to the people in the city. Any areas that had already taken heavy damage meant that he could move and attack freely at his full potential. He gave a nod to Izuku and turned towards the city before dashing off at a blazing speed, small arcs of lightning crackling in his wake.

The nomu turned to follow, but Izuku got its attention with a shout. “Hey you ugly bastard! I’m the one that you're going to fight tonight.” 

He jumped down into the area below as the nomu slowly turned to face him. 

Izuku cracked a wicked, almost insane grin.

“I’ve been waiting on this one. Come at me, you failed science fair project.”

With a demonic growl, the nomu launched itself at Izuku, the red “eyes” glowing with a new ferocity. Izuku quickly dodged to the side as one of the creature's arms came down where he was previously standing, a massive shockwave splintering the pavement and sending chunks of concrete flying everywhere. Izuku stood up with a mad grin on his face and turned towards the creature. 

“Looks like you're actually half decent. Good. Entertain me!”

Without a further word, the two clashed, immense power flowing from both of them. From the corner of his eye, Izuku noticed the civilians he’d previously forgotten cowering in the relative safety of the already thrashed train car.

‘Shit. I need to take this fight somewhere else.’ Izuku silently thought, his mind abuzz with ideas on how to relocate the battle to a more spacious and secluded area, free of distractions and collateral damage. 

Luckily for Izuku, he didn’t have to do much. With the millisecond long opening Izuku created while he weighed his options for moving the battle, the nomu wrapped him up in his massive claws and threw him haphazardly into a leveled city block, creating a wide empty battlefield. 

‘Damn it, that was supposed to be the other way around.’ Izuku thought as he quickly rose from the rubble and dusted himself off.

The Nomu stormed towards him, eyes entirely focused on its target, yet still seemingly lifeless behind them. It immediately dove for Izuku, throwing two massive metal fists at him. Dodging quickly, Izuku rolled to the left as the nomu’s hands hit the ground with a tremendous cracking sound of metal meeting stone. The sickening noise assaulted Izuku’s ears, making him wince and giving the nomu barely enough time to drive a fist into his side. Izuku unwillingly exhaled viciously as the wind was driven from his chest and he was flung away from the nomu. 

He struggled to stand, bracing his body against his knees as he forced himself to rise. He could feel the bruise of a lifetime already forming underneath his shirt, and every move caused a flare of pain to rush through his body like a wave of fire. The nomu began to charge at him once again, but this time, sharp edges and points began to form out of the metal that constituted the creature’s body. This left him no choice. It was do or die. 

Channeling all of his rage, Izuku forced himself to jump high in the air. As he passed over the creature, it spun and grabbed at his legs, the spikes on the palms of the creature leaving large gashes in his leg as he yanked it free. Izuku bit back a scream as he forced his legs to MOVE. He ran at the nomu, each powerful step cracking the concrete beneath his feet as he moved faster than the nomu could keep up with. As he closed the distance between them, he began throwing punches one after another  into the nomu’s chest. Izuku screamed in defiance as the creature began to be pushed back by the flurry of strikes, narrowly avoiding the spikes that were erupting out of the creature’s skin in retaliation. Finally, he ended the barrage of attacks with a final blow, accompanied by a deafening howl of anger, blowing a massive dent into the creature’s gut and throwing it backwards across the ground. 

Izuku stood tiredly, panting and bleeding profusely. With a final primal yell of victory, he collapsed to the ground, only to be dismayed when the nomu stood once again and began to sprint at him, aiming to end him with a single blow.

Izuku, however, had other plans. With a crazed shriek, he lunged frenziedly for the nomu’s throat, finding purchase for a moment before four limbs locked themselves onto his sides to fruitlessly attempt to force him away. Feeling his grip on the creature's neck slip, Izuku kicked his feet into the air and over the nomus head, locking his feet on the creature's chest. Using all the strength he had left in his core, Izuku yanked at the nomu’s neck. Metal skin gave way to flesh and sinew, every tearing strand of muscle and tendon being felt by Izuku. Finally, even its bones disintegrated and tore out of place as Izuku ripped the head of the beast clean off its shoulders. 

Panting with exhaustion, Izuku dropped to his hands and knees as the feeling of disgust and nausea overtook him. Seeing the blood on his hands was the final straw, despite the fact that it came from an inhuman creature. He retched emptily, the deep, acidic burning of bile sliding over his tongue. 

‘I-I killed it. Why do I feel like this? I killed the other one too, but why is this so much worse?! This is what I was supposed to do, it would’ve killed thousands of innocent people!’ Izuku attempted to reason with himself, tears forming in his eyes and the nausea returning in force.

But he knew the answer. The other Nomu had been vaporized on impact. He hadn’t felt a thing, only heat and force. This time, he had felt the thing’s head come off in his own hands. He even had the blood on his hands to prove it. His vision swam as he vomited again, the bile burning his throat once again and filling his mouth with a vile taste. 

He had KILLED someone. His mouth felt dry despite the liquid having passed. He couldn’t breathe, and his vision was swimming. He braced himself and attempted to stand, but wasn’t able to manage it, falling to his knees once again. Everything was so VIVID. The tearing of the creature's muscles; the wet ripping sound of its veins popping; Izuku felt it all, bit by bit. It pounded in his head like a war drum, screaming that he was a murderer, over and over and over. He could feel himself slipping away. He was a killer, a murderer. His family was right. 

Izuku was so lost in his own mental state that he failed to notice the silver-haired individual walking up behind him. 

“Hehehehe, if this is what a low level scum does to the great inheritor, I’d love to see what the next test will bring!” Shigaraki smiled viciously as he walked towards the boy, eager to begin his next experiment.

—-------------------------------------------------

Raiden had been running through the city blocks without pause. The attack on Hosu had been unorganized, and loosely planned, but it was devastating and chaotic. He had come across a singular monster that had been wreaking havoc upon the city, but it hadn’t been nearly as powerful as the metal gear that had assaulted the train. The flesh made nomu had been a simple creature with long powerful limbs, merely able to swing with more power than the average human. Raiden had dismantled him quickly before continuing on through the city in an effort to quell the disaster. 

As he ran he watched the buildings blur around him, the wind blowing through his hair rapidly as he dashed forwards. As he ran he saw hundreds of people in the streets, many of them crying and begging for help, but none of them were seriously injured, so he focused on the main problem. At least until he heard the scream.

It was one of the most horrid screams Raiden had ever heard, and he had heard quite a few. The choked screaming of a person being abducted, the harsh shrill scream of fear, even the bubbling breathy scream of someone who had just been wounded. No, this was worse. It was a scream that pierced his ears and froze his blood cold. It was a scream of death. Immediately he kicked off from the ground and ran towards the origin point of the noise, hoping beyond all odds that he would get there in time. 

Finally, he ran into an alley, drawing his sword and swinging at the man who was standing over a slumped body, only to be met with the clash of metal on metal as the assailant blocked the blow with what seemed to be minimal effort. Already unused to the amount of resistance he was receiving from his target, Raiden was horrified when the man turned around.

He had a heavily scarred face, littered with scars and wounds; the most obvious of which was a missing nose. His tongue snaked over his lips, ugly and covered in ulcers. He wore a red scarf, and had plates of metal covering sections of his head, and just like Raiden; he had a body composed nearly entirely with cybernetics. However, his body was missing a few parts and seemed to be made with components that weren’t as high end. 

When the man spoke it was guttural and his voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “My name is Stain.  As much as it’s interesting to meet another like me, I have finished my work for tonight. Goodbye, strange man.”

Without another word, Stain leapt above the buildings and sprinted out of sight. Raiden prepared to follow, but his attention was drawn away by the wet, bloody coughs from the man he had presumed to be dead.

“Shit.”

—-----------------------------------

The Doktor had been sleeping peacefully until he was awoken by the loud voice of Raiden blasting through his communicator. 

“Doktor, I need information NOW!”

“Raiden?  Vhat are you saying it’s two in the morning!”

“I met another cyborg.”

The Doktor’s face hardened instantaneously.

“Details. Now.”

“His body seemed to be fashioned similar to my custom one, but his chest component was missing and the parts that were used in his body were beat up and looked near prehistoric.”

“Searching now.”

The Doktor sat at his computer desk and began typing. A few moments went by before he hummed in dissatisfaction. 

“No results. No company has purchased all ze necessary pieces recently to build a cyborg.”

“Widen the search parameters and try again. Make sure to include all consumers, public and private.”

Doktor did as was told and came up with one result. A result that made him run cold. His voice shuddered as he spoke,

“Desperado is back.”

—------------------------------------

Izuku felt himself failing to hold onto his sanity. He was falling. Falling fast. All he could feel was the sensation of tearing muscle under his fingers, and the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. He was so lost in his own head that he nearly failed to notice the creature walking up behind him. Almost. 

He threw himself to the side as a single edged sword came down and sliced through the rubble where he had just been kneeling. Rather than pursuing the attack, the beast simply retrieved its sword and stood in a ready stance. It was then that Izuku saw the man standing behind the new nomu. 

“YOU.” Izuku’s words were filled with nothing but pure and utter hatred as he stared at the man who had nearly killed the woman he loved. 

Shigaraki simply stared back, wearing only a casual outfit and an unhinged, yet somehow boyish look from behind his greasy and unkempt light blue hair. 

“Yep! Me. I’m curious to see how the inheritor will fare against this new nomu! We worked very hard on him, you know. Sensei had to go and get the body from a monument and everything. But, enough of that. Nomu? Kill the boy.”

Izuku brought his hands up to block the incoming attack, but the nomu seemed to be sluggish. It was moving awkwardly, and its slashes were weak. 

Izuku sneered at Shigaraki. “THIS is your new nomu? This is pathetic!”

Putting aside all of his mental wounds for just a moment, Izuku let his anger flare through him in preparation for the new battle, only to be met with a similar flare of power from the nomu, who was now mirroring Izuku’s speed and strength. 

Izuku grimaced. ‘He probably has a copy quirk for strength and abilities. I need to be careful.’

Shigaraki began to laugh wildly as the nomu started to push back the green haired child with more power than it seemed to contain. 

‘Sensei will surely be pleased with me after I kill this brat. His One for All is weak. He’s unstable. This won’t be a challenge’

Izuku ducked under another slash from the blade as he walked backwards, summoning more of his rage to his power. He threw a punch quickly and watched as the nomu simply increased its own power to match. Seemingly outclassed, Izuku leapt backwards and observed. 

‘Every time I attack he acclimates, but there’s a tiny frame of time where he takes damage. I need to do as much as possible in that one attack.’

Leaping forward once again, Izuku instantly throttled his power to the max and flung his fist out towards the creature. As his fist connected with the nomu’s chest Izuku felt a momentary ripple before the creature acclimated and began to swing its sword even faster.

With the pressure mounting, Izuku rapidly ducked under the flurry of sword strikes and rushed in with a tight inside jab, only to be met with a blinding pain as the tip of the sword smoothly cut into his fist.

—----------------

Ochako was watching the TV intensely, filled with fear as she watched the live feed of her boyfriend fighting against a beast that seemed to match him in both strength in speed. Unnoticed by her, Gunhead slowly picked the floating objects from around the room and placed them back on the ground, the floating a side effect of her very obvious stress. 

He was knocked out of his cleaning by a strangled gasp from Ochako. 

“Uraraka? What’s wrong?”

She turned to him slowly, tears filling her eyes. 

“S-sensei, he’s hurt. Please, we need to go to him.”

Luckily for the girl, her teacher had a soft spot when it came to things like this. He grabbed his keys and motioned her to the door of the dojo as he grabbed his gear.

—--------------------

Mei was doing much the same, clutching one of her machines much tighter than she realized as she watched the carnage unfold on screen. When the feed cut to Izuku’s fight, there was a loud shearing of metal as she crushed the small robot in her hands. Unfortunately for Mei, she could only watch in utter fear as she hoped for the best.

—--------------------

Raiden was running through the city when he heard the Doktor tap into his comms. 

“Raiden. Izuku is fighting a nomu on the west side of the city. You need to get there. NOW.”

Without even a response, Raiden took off like lightning.

—-------------------

Izuku screamed in rage and pain as he threw blow after blow after blow at the creature, who simply shrugged them off and continued on its onslaught with the blades. Izuku was littered with cuts and gashes, and bleeding profusely, yet his rage burned on. Screaming with defiance he sped up further than he had gone before. His arms became blurs as the nomu took punch after punch, shockwave after shockwave rippling through its body before it had time to acclimate. It brought up its sword and began to slash at an unholy rate, yet Izuku deflected every blow. The two were locked in place deflecting blows at a rate of hundreds of impacts per second, the ground around them cracking under the pressure as they continued to fight. Finally, Izuku threw a punch that broke the nomu’s guard, blowing out his chest cavity.

Izuku fell to his knees, screaming in pain and rage. Finally, he collapsed to the ground, the blood loss and severe injuries finally catching up. The last thing he heard was:  “Fine, I’ll do it myself.”

—-------------------

Raiden arrived at the scene just in time to see Shigaraki approaching a collapsed Izuku, but quickly intervened, pinning him to the ground. Raiden was met with a smirk and a laugh as Shigaraki burst into goop that sucked into itself and disappeared. He would have looked further but became preoccupied by the young girl who just ran past him to grab Izuku, sobbing the whole time. Once the two were loaded onto an ambulance, Raiden sat down and sighed. It had been a rough night.

[-----------------------

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING AGAIN I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY.

I know this chapter seems off, I couldn’t get into the right headspace for writing recently, I’ve been working almost constantly, hell the other week I pulled 84 hours, but were through with that now. I swear I will do my best to start uploading more frequently, and if you join the discord I post frequent updates there. I love you all and thank you for reading. Don't forget to ask a question for the Q/A sesh. IN ADDITION TO THAT, before i start the next arc im going to have an interlude chapter. “Aftermath”. The main focus will NOT be Izuku, it will be another character, and the loss that resulted from Hosu, I hope yall enjoy it.

https://discord.gg/GPWqY4bzGp

Chapter Text

Hey there everyone, Saints123 here, this chapter does somewhat pertain to the main story, but it is also an interlude, and the main character of this chapter will not be Izuku, but rather… BAKUGOU! 

I know a lot of yall must have a hate for him, and I understand that, but my version of Bakugou is going to be a lot more complex than just an angry boy. I’ve shown off some of his complexities earlier in the story. My iteration of bakugou is not mentally stable at all. He’s a very troubled kid who desperately wants to have friends and people that he can talk with, but at the same time he has been told all his life that he is better and shouldn’t be dragged down by people. He is in complete turmoil, and this chapter is not only going to expand on his emotional range as a person, but touch on quite a few sensitive issues for many people. This chapter will also be heavily based on a vivid memory from my life, and please keep in mind that the way I experienced this event will differ from some recounted memories of others. 

The main sensitive topics that I am going to be touching on minorly are the following: trauma, blood, pain.

The sensitive topics I am going to be basing this chapter around are: Death, Self-Harm, Mental issues, slight psychosis, emotional trauma. 

Again, this is heavily based on how I experienced the situation, and not everyone experiences this the same way, so please understand if my recounting doesn’t match up with experiences you may have had.

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

—---------------------------

It was the day after the attack on Hosu. Raiden had arrived home safely to both his wife and son embracing him, extremely worried. 

After he consoled them and explained what had happened, they all went to bed, still shaken by what had taken place. After such a large scale attack, it was no wonder when John was woken up roughly halfway through the night by a call from UA.

“.......”

“Right now? Have you told him yet?”

“.......”

“I’m on my way, I’ll take him myself.”

As John was walking out the door, he was stopped by a cough behind him. John turned to be met with the questioning look of his father.

“Where are you going?”

John sighed. “I took on an intern like you, I had a small break to visit you, but right now my intern needs me. There’s been… a bad situation.” 

Raiden sighed. “Go then, just be safe. Please.”

With a quick nod and a hug, John dashed out the door, thoughts racing through his mind. 

He wasn’t extremely public with his quirk, but it was one of the most versatile ones out there. He had been specially trained because of the nature of it, and in the end he believed it was completely worth it. He wasn’t a spotlight hero like his father, but he still saved just as many lives. 

John was actually what’s known as a “service hero”. They aren’t listed in the hero rankings, but are rather specially trained servicemen who cater to heroes and hero students. John was “The Therapist Hero, Calming Vine.”

John’s quirk was “Emotional Vines”, it allowed him to either enhance, subdue, or nudge a person’s emotions a certain way. The quirk cannot be used to control others emotions, simply to aid them in controlling them themselves. As such, when he had gotten a call from UA about a potential intern, he was incredibly surprised, but was looking forward to it. 

Even now, he remembered when Bakugou had first walked into his office. The boy was scared. Very scared. He hid it well, but even John knew something was wrong. It had only been three days, but he had built a decent amount of support with the kid. Bakugou had issues, but they finally began to start working on them.

John was shaken out of his thoughts as he came up to the Bakugou’s door, despite it being late at night. He knocked on the door and waited.

Shakily, the matriarch of the Bakugou household opened the door, her facade of calmness belied by the pricks of small tears in her eyes. 

“T-thank you for coming. They wanted you to be the one to deliver the news, and frankly, I agree. I don’t know how to tell him.”

John smiled grimly. “It’s okay, I’ll handle it.”

—---------------------

Bakugou was frustrated. First his intern teacher left him, then they suddenly ended the internships early, then when he got home, his mother had been off all day. He was sick and tired of all the weird things that had been happening lately? He just wanted a straight answer for once. 

With that thought came a knock on the door, which confused Bakugou. His mom wasn’t one to knock.

“Come in.” he grumbled.

Bakugou was surprised to be met by the visage of his American teacher. “John?! What are you doing here??”

John sighed heavily. “Hey Bakugou. You’re going to want to lay down for this.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?”

John sighed again. “Do you want it straight?”

Bakugou nodded. 

“In the attack yesterday, your father’s workplace was hit. Masaru didn’t make it.”

And then the world stopped.

A dull thrum filled Katsuki’s head as his surroundings seemed to fade to black.

Someone was talking. He could hear it. He couldn’t understand it. The last sentence kept running through his head, faster and faster. 

Masaru didn’t make it. 

Masaru didn’t make it. Masaru didn’t make it. Masaru didn’t make it Masaru didn’t make itMasarudidn’tmakeitdidn’tmakeitDIDN’TMAKEIT

The tension that had been building in Katsuki’s chest, the weirdness of his mom, the early end to his internship, it all snapped. 

Reality hit Bakugou like a freight train, but he wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to feel anything. 

So he ran.

“Katsuki? Katsuki? Katsuki! What? Where are you go-” John was cut off by the slam of a door as Katsuki sprinted out the door, slamming it behind him. 

He sprinted full force down the street, not even attempting to use his quirk. Every pebble that pressed into the sole of his foot was just another painful reminder of WHY he was running. 

Memories flashed through his mind.

His dad taking him to the park when he was little.

Masaru spending the afternoon with Katsuki after a particularly rough day of middle school.

The victory yell after Masaru’s team won a football game while Katsuki was trying to sleep. 

Hot tears streamed down Katsuki’s eyes as he ran faster. He couldn’t breathe. His lungs were fine, but there was no oxygen for him to breathe. He gasped and coughed, devolving quickly into retching as his brain continued to attempt to process what was happening. 

Without even realizing, he had sprinted into the forest where he played as a child. Katsuki fell to his knees as he sobbed. He felt cold. Coughing violently, he called out. 

“Dad? Dad, where are you? You’re scaring me, please come back.”

No one heard his calls. Katsuki was left alone as he retched once more, the horrid taste of bile rushing up and over as he truly realized that his dad was gone. He wasn’t on vacation, he wasn’t at work. Masaru was DEAD.

Katsuki had realized his dad was dead, but he didn’t understand it. It didn’t make sense to him. He cried senselessly, emotions and thoughts fading into nothingness as he laid on his side, sobbing for a person that couldn’t comfort him. As the time passed, the sobs calmed into whimpers. 

Katsuki began to giggle when he heard himself whimper. Him? Katsuki? The user of ‘Explosion’ reduced to this? He started cackling. The laughing grew with an insane fervor as he called out again. 

“Dad?! This is a joke! Right?! It has to be! You’re coming back! You’re coming back…”

The manic laughter faded into freshly renewed sobs as everything struck him again. He couldn’t handle it. It wasn’t possible. His dad was ALWAYS there. It was a fact of life. How could that change? 

Katsuki was terrified. He lost his father, his guide. Their relationship seemed rough, but it was tighter than most bonds. Something broke inside Katsuki, and everything truly hit him. His father wasn’t coming back. He would never hear his voice again. He would never see his face. He would never feel his dad’s hand on his shoulder again. His dad was gone. 

His dad was gone. Gone. Gone Gone GONE GONE GONE GONE GONE GONE GONE GONE GONEGONEGONE

H E’ S N E V E R C O M I N G B A C K

Katsuki’s sobs became insane. He couldn’t feel his own body anymore, nothing felt real. The touch of the grass under his hands felt WRONG. He slowly stood up, still crying. The world tilted around him, but none of it felt natural. Katsuki felt like he was floating, the world felt fake. So he ran. 

The wind battered his hair and face as he sprinted. His face was red with tears, and his feet were bleeding. Katsuki didn’t feel it. He couldn’t. The only feeling that Katsuki was experiencing was loss. He kept sprinting home. He needed a blade. Something to ground himself. He was losing it and he couldn’t do that. He needed a sharp edge. 

The closer he got to his house the worse he felt. He would walk in but his dad wouldn’t be there. But he wasn’t slowed. 

Eventually he came up to the door of his house, the tears having calmed. Everything felt horridly numb. No sadness, no anger, no pain. Katsuki just wasn’t processing anything. He was truly going through the motions. 

Almost robotically he walked through the house, shutting the door behind him. He barely muffled the sobs coming from his mom’s room. As he walked up the stairs to his room, each step felt like a new weight on his back. Another memory. Another lost. When he opened his door he didn’t even register John sitting on his bed. Katsuki immediately walked to the bathroom and pulled out a box cutter.

John immediately jumped up and ran to Katsuki, taking the box cutter from him. Katsuki barely even responded, turning his head to look at? No, through him, with an expression of mild confusion. Other than that, he was completely blank.

John sighed. Katsuki was already unstable. During their sessions, Katsuki admitted that he was terrified. He wanted to be strong, but at the same time was scared of being inferior, that they would leave him behind. So he pushed them all away first, before they could leave him. John also learned about his cutting habits. Katsuki had been called a monster by several students that he had bullied. And at one point, the weight of it got so bad that he took a knife to his own arm, and cut himself. When the blood that poured out was red, Katsuki whispered. 

“You’re still human. You still feel. You still bleed.”

It had become an unhealthy coping mantra. Whenever Katsuki began to fall into that cycle of depression, he would cut and repeat that mantra over and over. 

Now? Despite the pain, John knew it was so much worse than simple depression. Katsuki was numb, completely void of emotion. 

Thinking quickly, John laid Katsuki down, the boy barely even responding. After a quick reduction in grief and an increase in his peace using his quirk, John frisked the room for more blades, leaving satisfied. When he reached the living room, he ran into the Bakugou matriarch as she sobbed into her arms, head down on the table. 

John wrote a small message on his business card (You need to talk, my office is always open for counseling, don’t worry about fees. Your son and you both deserve more after what you’ve been through) and slipped it onto the table before quietly walking out the door. The Bakugou's needed time. Time to recover. 

As he sat down in his car and put in the key, he didn't turn it, rather the repetitive beeping of the key filling the car, and muffling John’s own crying, while the light on the dash illuminated his tear striped face.

—------------------

ALRIGHT SO YEAH. 

I know that chapter seems really quick. And I'm sorry, but also not. It was incredibly hard to remember all the things that I was feeling at the time and transcribe them onto the page, so it may seem a little rushed. Our next chapter will take us back to Midoriya’s recovery, and a few other complications. 

My only question now is how do you guys feel about Bakugou?

Chapter Text

  It had been a rough day for Ochako. She had seen her boyfriend fight against what seemed to be an unbeatable opponent, and he had gotten extremely injured in the process. She was sitting outside of the ICU with Raiden as both of them waited for the results of what was going on. The doctors had made her go home due to the shock of what had happened, and now morning had come, and she was only waiting on the results.

Tentatively, she raised her head. “Um, Mr. Raiden? How was Izuku’s work study before the attack happened?”

Raiden sighed as he spoke. “Honestly, the kid’s been through a rough week. The training we did was pretty intensive, and he learned things that he didn’t know about, as well as familial issues which I don’t know if he’d like me to discuss.”

Ochako ground her teeth in anger. “Those BITCHES! Did they hurt him?”

Raiden startled slightly at the girl’s tone. “No, I was more worried about Izuku hurting them if I’m being completely honest. He’s got something special. His quirk, it’s even stronger than his father’s was if I’m completely honest. It’s a strong augment, but if he can’t control it, then it will only become a detriment.”

It was at that moment that the hallway door slammed open, and a familiar pink blur flew into Ochako. 

“Is he okay?! Where is he?”

Ochako smiled softly as she returned the hug Mei was currently squeezing her in. 

“He’s still in the ICU, we’re just waiting on the news. Also, Mei, this is Raiden, Izuku’s teacher; Raiden, this is Mei Hatsume, she’s a support student who has an optical zoom quirk.”

Mei turned her head to look at the man who was currently analyzing her, only for her eyes to widen in shock as she processed what she was seeing.

“A CYBORG?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THAT’S SO AWESOME!! LOOK AT THE INTERWOVEN MECHANICAL FIBERS! THE ACCURATE OPTICS! HE EVEN HAS A PE-0 MUSCULAR SYSTEM!”

Ochako quickly pulled back the near rabid mechanic. ‘No! Bad Mei! Stop that!”

Raiden chuckled at the two’s antics. “No no Uraraka, it’s fine, she’s quite knowledgeable, it's definitely preferable to those who just ask questions about what it’s like to be a cyborg. As for you, Hatsume, that optical zoom quirk could be quite useful, especially in heroics, what made you choose support instead?”

Mei beamed widely as she spoke “I don't care too much about being a hero, I want to be able to protect my friends who are heroes with my support items!”

Raiden smiled. “Well, that's quite the noble goal. I take it from your worry about Izuku that you’ve taken an interest in him as well?”

Both Mei and Ochako broke out into massive blushes at that. 

“Well, Mr. Raiden, you see, we talked it over, and we’re willing to share Izuku, if he’ll accept Mei as well.” Ochako sputtered.

Raiden nodded his head slightly. “Yes, Izuku has plenty of love in his heart for both of you, but at the same time his quirk has a lot of turmoil. Are you willing to put up with that?”

Mei nodded furiously. “Of course!! I love his quirk too! Pus, I trust Izuku, I know he wouldn’t hurt me, even if he lost control of his quirk.”

Raiden spoke gently. “Good, I’m glad you have that trust in him. He’s had it rough, and I hope you two stick with him, as he will with you.”

“Absolutely!” Both girls exclaimed.

Just a little while later, in the midst of Raiden and Mei having a very intriguing conversation about the inner machinations of his robotic body, they were interrupted by a nurse coming out of the ICU and turning towards them.

“He’s stable, but still sleeping. We don’t know exactly when he’s going to wake up, but we estimate it will be in about 8 hours. Are you three going to be staying here, and is there a parent or guardian we can speak to?”

Mei and Ochako planted themselves firmly in their seats, they weren’t going home for anything, not after the boy that they both loved had just been involved in one of the hardest fights he had ever experienced, not to mention the trauma he would have from killing a Nomu, even if it was a monster.

Raiden slowly stood up with a heavy sigh. “I am the hero currently responsible for him. American hero, #3, Raiden.”

The nurse smiled heavily. “Ahh, alright. If you’d come with me and we can get this paperwork filled out. As for you two girls, that light above the door will switch to blue when he begins to wake up, once it’s blue you’re free to go in, just be mindful of how he’s feeling.”

The two girls nodded carefully, settling into a comfortable silence as they began to wait for the light to turn blue.

About four hours later, Raiden walked back to see the two fast asleep, the exhaustion of the day finally having caught up to them. It was now about 3am, and even Raiden was feeling mentally exhausted. He got back up to request a blanket from the nurse, which he then threw over the two girls before settling down himself and putting himself into “sleep” for the next three hours.

—-----------------------

Elsewhere…

—-----------------------

Shigaraki growled angrily as he paced around the empty room, scratching at his neck furiously while a shadowy figure observed from the corner. 

“Tomura, please calm yourself, everything in the room has already been turned to dust” Kurogiri asked kindly.

“YOU SAW IT! He was way too strong, that wasn’t in the files, he seemed even stronger than he was when he fought the Nomu, that's NOT FAIR! He’s not supposed to have an XP booster! He’s a hack! A CHEAT!”

The TV in the corner of the room, one of the very few items that survived Shigaraki’s wrath, crackled to life. Immediately Shigaraki and Kurogiri snapped to attention. 

A shadowy figure spoke from behind the screen. “Ah, Shigaraki, I saw the mission, that was beyond my expectations.” 

Shigaraki exclaimed in fear. “My apologies Sensei! I have failed you; I was weak.”

‘Sensei’ simply nodded slowly. “No, you didn’t fail me, the target was simply too strong. I didn’t expect him to effectively utilize One for All this quickly. However, his power still seems subpar compared to the level it should be at for the ninth user. At present, this is no issue. I have a solution." 

Shigaraki looked up with mild surprise on his face. "You do?"

All For One spoke softly. "Of course I do. It's time to show you the true plan. The war plan, and the opportunity that I will give you."

—------------------

Hospital

—------------------

Raiden came out of his sleep mode to see that the room was noticeably more cramped than before. There seemed to be a man and his wife conversing with Uraraka.

Noticing he had woken up, Uraraka turned the couple towards him. “Mom, Dad, this is Raiden! He’s the one who’s been taking care of Izuku during the internship.”

The big burly man approached first. “Thank you for taking care of Izuku as best you could. I know the boy is troubled. I’m Tsuyoichi, Ochako’s father. And this is Kaori, my wife.”

Raiden shook his hand firmly. “A pleasure to meet you too, and honestly, concerning Izuku we have quite a few things to talk about. If you wouldn’t mind coming with me for a bit?”

“Not at all! Kaori, are you coming?”

“Of course, honey.”

With that, the trio of adults left the room, presumably to find a quiet area to talk about important matters.

Meanwhile, the two young girls simply huddled together with the blanket, waiting for the light to turn blue. Eventually, their prayers were answered, as the light switched to blue with a soft ‘ding’.

The two girls immediately scrambled to their feet and stood at the door, bracing themselves before they walked inside.

The inside of the room was a sterile white color, with a single hospital bed in the center of the back wall, facing the door. As the two girls walked in they were met by the sight of a bandage wrapped Izuku slightly moving as he began to wake up. Immediately they took their places at his sides when his eyes snapped open.

Izuku immediately jolted forward with a hoarse yell, before looking around confusedly. “What? Ochako? Mei? W-where am I?”

Ochako exhaled softly, she didn't like seeing her boyfriend wrapped in copious amounts of bandages. “You're in the Mie general hospital. Izu, do you remember what happened?”

Izuku furrowed his brow for a moment before memories started to rush back into his head rapidly. “Wait. Raiden, Shigaraki, that weird Nomu, and the other Nomu that I-” 

He stopped suddenly, staring off into the distance with an increasingly more terrified look appearing on his face. 

Mei finally spoke up. “Izuku? Hey, Green, what’s wrong?”

Izuku spoke quietly, almost to where they couldn’t hear his whisper. “I killed one. I killed a person. Oh my god I’m a killer. I’m a killer. I can’t be-” 

He was cut off by Ochako throwing her arms around him and wrapping him in a hug, tears dripping from her eyes as she cried. “Shut up. You’re NOT a killer Izu. They did an autopsy, that thing had no brain functions, it was only alive through electrical impulses. It was a monster. If anything, you put it out of its misery.”

Izuku choked back tears. “But I ended the life of a living being…”

Mei jumped in too, hugging both of them tightly. “No Green, you didn’t. That was no life. It was a miserable existence. You are NOT a killer.” 

Izuku tried to blame himself once more. “Bu-”

Both of the girls spoke up in unison. “You are NOT a killer. You’re Izuku.”

Izuku drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “Thank you, girls. I know you mean well, but it’s not something I can just drive out of my mind. Thank you though. You’re right, it wasn’t a life. But I still did wrong.”

Mei mumbled slowly. “I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried. Really worried, and I know ‘Chako was too.”

Ochako nodded at that.

Izuku ran his hands through their hair slowly “Well I’m safe now. I have you two. Also, “‘Chako?”

Mei blushed a radioactive red when Izuku said that. “I - Uh- Wait. No, I mean, Uh.”

Ochako giggled at Mei’s mini freakout. “Mei, I think it's time we told him.”

Izuku tilted his head in curiosity. “Told me what?”

“Well, Izu, me and Mei talked a bit about who she liked. And well, I think she should tell you the rest.”

Midoriya leaned in with a large amount of interest on his face. “Oh? Do tell Mei!”

Said girl almost had steam coming out of her ears with how embarrassed she was. “I- You- Chako- I- Uh- ILIKEYOUANDOCHAKOSAIDITWASOKAY!”

She then proceeded to bury her head in the blankets of the hospital sheet, finally shorting out thanks to embarrassment. When she looked back up, her eyes met with the bright green orbs that belonged to Izuku.

“Eep!”

Izuku chuckled sightly. “Well, I can’t say I had no idea, and honestly, I definitely feel a bit of the same, and while I know you said Ochako already gave the okay, I still need to ask her myself. Ochako, are you okay with this?”

The brown-haired girl placed a single padded finger to her lips, humming in thought, before snickering. “Yes, you dummy it’s okay with me, besides she’s not JUST getting with you, I like her too!” 

Izuku’s blood rushed to his face as he began to blush too. “A-ah yeah that would make sense.”

Mei piped up softly “So, is that a yes?”

Her only response were two pairs of arms bringing her into a second hug, all of them falling onto the hospital bed together.

They laid there peacefully before the sound of the door opening alerted them to the returning adults.

“Tsuyoichi! Kaori! Raiden! You guys are here??”

Tsuyoichi gave a slightly concerned look at that. Now knowing the boys background, he was more worried about Izuku than ever before, but he plastered a blinding smile onto his face. “Of course! I can’t let my best worker go!”

Izuku and Tsuyoichi laughed while Kaori simply shook her head, walking over to check on Izuku, before noticing that the pink haired girl was cuddled up with the two as well. Being the teasing mother she was, Kaori couldn’t resist poking at them. “Ochako, Izuku, is this the newest member of your harem?”

All three of the teens lit up like Christmas lights.

“H-H-H-HAREM?!”

The adults shared a knowing look, before Kaori spoke up. “Now you three, I know you’re already in a relationship. Don’t give me that look Izuku. I'm a mother; I know how lovestruck teens act. Now, I’m not telling you three to split up, heck I’m grateful you’re together, lord knows Ochako and Izuku need someone to keep an eye on them.”

“HEY!”

“As I was saying, but besides that, you three need to support each other. You’re in it through thick and thin now, so keep it together, okay?”

The group laughed and conversed, as Raiden watched from the corner quietly, a small smile on his face. 

‘I’m glad the kid has a decent group. He needed it. Now, I should probably get home, Rose did say she was waiting.’

Raiden walked up to Izuku next, the present parents letting him pass by. 

“I’m sorry Midoriya. I shouldn’t have let things escalate like that, and now you’re in the hospital.”

Izuku simply cocked his head. “What are you talking about Raiden? This isn’t your fault. Do NOT blame yourself. I’m just sad our internship got ruined.”

The cyborg sighed. “Yeah, me too kid, but hey, guess what?”

He leaned in to whisper something into Izuku’s ear. 

“WOAH! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

“Nope, but hey, I have to go now, alright Midoriya? Stay safe, please.”

“Alright Raiden! Thank you for everything! Tell John I’m sorry.”

Raiden smiled. “I will.”

With those parting words, the white-haired cyborg left, leaving the newly reunited group to be together in peace.

—-----------------------------------

Excerpt from John’s Diary

—-----------------------------------

It’s been 2 days. Katsuki still doesn’t want to eat, nor do anything. He doesn’t seem to have come to reality yet, and still looks around, lost, as if he’s trying to find his father. Ms. Bakugou is much the same, although she is trying to put on a brave face for her kid. She’s come to one therapy session already, and she doesn’t know what to do. She says that Masaru was the rock that held their family together, and she’s fearful that since he’s gone, everything is going to dissolve. Katsuki still refuses to even come to therapy, stating he’s fine. 

I have no idea how to help Katsuki. He has no one to cry on.

—--------------------------------------

Author's Note: Heyyyy everyone... been a while? IM kidding. I know y'all are probably annoyed at the lack of updates, and I can't say I blame you. Its 7 parts life, 4 parts work, and 6 parts military for me right now, so my schedule is pretty stacked. I think I'm getting stable for about the next month though, SO I'm hoping to at least make it to/through the Forest camp arc. Anyway, I love you all. Thank you so much for reading, and I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit "mid". I might be rusty, but the gears are getting oil.

Chapter Text

  It had been about a week since the Hosu incident, and Izuku was fully healed. Today would be his first day back at school since the attack. 

Izuku sprung out of bed, heading into the kitchen where the rest of the Uraraka family was already eating breakfast. As he grabbed a piece of toast, Tsuyoichi looked up from his paper.

“Hey Izuku! Are you sure you’re good to go back today? I have no problems with telling them you can’t go to school.”

Izuku grinned slightly. “No, I’m fine! I want to go back anyways, I miss my classmates. Well, most of them anyway.”

He then sat down next to Ochako after giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, which prompted Kaori to speak up. “Oh, I almost forgot. Are you going to be heading to school with Mei? Does she live close by?”

“We usually meet her on the way, Mom. She takes the same train as us. Speaking of, we gotta go! Love you!”

Hugging her mother, Ochako grabbed Izuku’s hand, and the duo rushed out the door towards the train station.

Upon their arrival, they sat down and began to chat about the upcoming school day as they waited for the train to arrive. Soon enough, the train pulled into the station with a hissing of air brakes. The doors opened, and they stepped inside the train to be greeted by a girl wrapping both of them in a hug. 

“Izu! ‘Chako!” Mei kissed each of them on the cheek in turn as she guided them to the bench seats. As they sat down, Izuku on the left, Ochako in the middle, and Mei on the right, they all swayed slightly as the train took off again, this time heading towards the school’s train station. 

As the scenery rushed by, Ochako and Mei were excitedly chatting about finally going back to school, while Izuku was looking out the windows, blankly staring outside as thoughts and words rushed through his mind at the speed of light. The past week had been a quick one but had also been filled with many events. After Mei had joined the relationship, she had come by his hospital room every day until he was finally discharged on the third day thanks to modern medicine and quirks. Ochako had come by too, and the three had spent the first three days bonding and becoming closer. After Izuku was discharged, he spent time trying to wrestle control of his power, however, the Hosu incident had drained him completely dry. He didn’t even begin to feel his anger return until the fifth day. It had been strange, going without his anger for that long. He certainly did not become meek, but everything felt easier to handle, and he didn't have to wrestle control of his anger at all. It had been a strange experience for him. As for controlling his anger, that was difficult too. He was at a natural opposition to his anger, and as such he wasn’t able to fully embrace it. If he did, he would have gone berserk like he did when he learned about his family. Slowly but surely though, he was making small progress in controlling it for longer periods of time.

  Suddenly, Izuku was shaken from his thoughts by Mei patting his face softly. “-zu? Izuku? Hey, Broccoli, you okay??” 

Izuku sighed at the use of her pet name for him. He wasn’t opposed to Izu, but out of ALL the vegetables she chose broccoli.

“Yes Mei, I’m fine, I was just thinking about this whole last week.”

“Oh, well good to have you back! Because we’re here.”

Ochako laughed as Izuku blushed in embarrassment at not realizing the train had stopped, and grabbed his hand as they walked off the train and onto the street. It was a short walk to UA, and soon they were standing in the main hall.

“Alright loves! I’m heading to my class; I’ll see you after school!”

Mei rushed off without hearing their reply, eager as ever to get to the workshop.

Ochako sighed, but she knew Mei had been waiting to get back to her workshop ever since the internships had started. Making idle chatter with her boyfriend, the two walked down to class 1-A.

—----------------

“Alright. Welcome back you lot. Bakugou won’t be joining us today, he has some familial issues. Besides that though, who knows what’s coming up soon?” Aizawa was as tired as ever, in fact the bags under his eyes seemed to have even gotten bigger!

Yaoyorozu’s hand shot up quickly, and Aizawa pointed at her first. “Yaoyorozu.” He muttered.

“The semester finals, right Sensei?”

“Yes. You all have the semester finals coming up.”

The classroom broke into a cacophony, mostly coming from the half of the class whose grades left a bit to be desired, but they were quickly shut up by Aizawa’s piercing gaze, this time unaccompanied by his quirk. Ever since the last incident, Aizawa had been careful not to use his quirk on Izuku. It was a small gesture, but one that was noticed, and greatly appreciated by said green haired kid.

“As I was saying before I was interrupted, semester finals are coming up. The finals will be split into two portions, just like the entrance exam. There will be a written portion and a practical portion. For those of you who have less than stellar grades currently, if you fail the semester final, not only will you have supplementary lessons over the break, but you will not be able to participate in the school trip for the first years.”

That sentence made Mina burst out. “Aw teach c’mon, isn’t that a little unfair?”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Aizawa that answered, but Iida. “Ashido, it’s necessary to know what happens in writing as well as in battle. If the day comes when you need to turn that writing into action, what will you do?”

Mina was silenced, as was most of the rest of the class. No one expected Iida to say something like that.

Aizawa simply continued unphased. “Yeah, what Iida said. Anyway, in addition to that, I have a big announcement to make. As a couple things have changed in the world recently, UA is making a change to its curriculum, and switching out certain classes. Your Heroics class will now be split into two parts, and we will be replacing calculus with Quirk Control classes. As for the second part of heroics, that will become a close quarters combat class. Now, your teachers. Your CQC teacher will be the American #3 hero, Raiden: The Cyborg Hero.”

Raiden stepped into the classroom to be met with a bunch of excited whoops and fanboying over his attire and cybernetic body.

“Hi there everyone, I’m Raiden, you may call me as such, or you may call me sensei, in America honorifics aren’t nearly as big of a deal. But aside from that, I will be teaching you all how to fight hand to hand and close quarters combat, without your quirks.”

Denki raised his hand, and Raiden pointed. “Ah yes, Denki, correct?”

The boy nodded excitedly at the hero knowing his name. “Got it, what was your question?”

“How come we won’t be using our quirks to fight?”

“Good question, and the answer is rather simple, but rarely thought of. I can’t effectively teach all of you different styles to match your quirk in such a short time. I will be teaching you all the basics, and it is up to you to adapt the fundamentals into your own unique fighting style that uses your quirk to augment your capabilities.”

Denki nodded, pretending to understand; then Aizawa spoke again. 

“As for your next teacher, she is a relative of one of you in the class. Introducing your Quirk Control teacher, the Pulse Hero: Beat!”

Hariki stepped into the room with a sickeningly fake smile on her face as she cheerfully greeted the class, only for everyone to feel a chill down their back as a malicious aura filled the room, emanating from Izuku. He slammed his hands on the desk and stood up to shout. “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING M-”

—--------------------------

Mei, Ochako, and Izuku were all sitting together at the lunch table with the rest of their class, most of whom were still looking at Midoriya with varying expressions. Meanwhile, Midoriya himself was still wreathed in a slight amount of anger. He didn’t expect Hariki of all people to be the teacher for Quirk Control. However, he did recognize that it was a public area, and as much as he hated her, he wasn’t completely vengeful, he didn’t want to ruin her career, so he quickly cut off his outburst and sat back down. He had gotten a few strange looks but it was forgotten quickly.

Shoji asked quietly “So what do you guys think the practical portion of the exam is going to be?”

This immediately sparked a discussion between the class.

“I think it’s probably robots like last time, It would make the most sense.”

“Aw, fighting robots isn’t very manly.”

“Who cares about how manly it is? I just want to be paired up with a girl!”

“As much as I’d like to assume it would be some actual practical fighting, I can’t imagine it would be anything other than the robots mentioned before.”

Izuku let his anger recede as he began to speak too. “Well, it doesn’t matter if the practical is robots or not if we don’t all pass the written exam.”

Denki and Mina’s faces paled as they remembered just what their grades looked like. “Midoriya you gotta help us!”

Izuku chuckled lightly. “Sorry guys, I’m not good at tutoring people, maybe if you asked Yayorozu she would help??”

Denki and Mina immediately whipped around to look at Yaoyorozu with expectant eyes.

The rich girl paled a little bit, but was still excited. “Sure! Is there anyone else who needs help studying?”

At those words, about half of the table sheepishly raised their hands. Yayorozu was taken aback, but recovered just as fast.

“Alright! I’d be more than happy to set up a study session for everyone, and I’ll host it at my place. Is that suitable for everyone?”

As no complaints were raised, everyone was satisfied with the outcome and the table devolved back into their individual conversations. Ochaco then turned to look at Izuku. 

“Will you help me and Mei study?”

Izuku was about to nod in affirmation but then thought about something. “How about we join all the others in the big study group? I know you guys don't feel like doing so, but these are our classmates, and despite the bonding we’ve done in the past week, we aren’t too close with our classmates yet. This would be a great opportunity to form bonds and work together with our class, and I’m sure there wouldn’t be any complaints about Mei joining.”

Mei tilted her head as she heard her name. “What y’all talking about?”

Ochaco giggled at her girlfriend’s antics. “We’re going to join the others with their tutoring.”

“‘Chako, did you forget? I’m one of the highest scorers in the grade!”

The brunette blushed in embarrassment and buried her face in Izuku’s side as the boy laughed.

“Don't laugh at me ya big green oaf.”

“Hey!”

Mei simply watched the two with affection, at least until she was violently interrupted by a loud harsh voice speaking up.

“Ah! So THIS is class 1-A! Well, you sure don't look like anything special to me! Just because villains decided to go after you doesn’t mean we won't get our turn in the spotlight! Just you wait, the greatne- GHRK!”

The blond haired boy was silenced by Izuku putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder as he stood behind him.

“What was that? You think the U.A. incident was just a way for our class to gain some time in the spotlight?”

The pompous kid scoffed “Of course! That incident made you the top headline for days!”

Izuku’s hand tightened just enough for Monoma to feel a sharp pain in his shoulder.

“So. Us being in DANGER, is a good opportunity for popularity?”

Monoma gulped. “A-absolutely! Your class 1-A is just an insidious bunch.”

‘What the fuck is he?!’

Izuku’s face darkened. “You aren’t even worth my time. Leave or I won’t be so nice. I’m giving you a chance.”

Again, Monoma scoffed. “Ah so you’re nothing but blu-ghk!”

This time he was interrupted by an orange haired girl who had knocked him out with a karate chop to the neck. 

“I’m sorry about Monoma” She apologized to Izuku and his classmates. “I’m Kendo, the president of 1-B, and Monoma is just a little bit strange sometimes. Again, I’m very sorry for his actions, I’ll do my best to ensure it doesn’t happen again!”

Izuku simply nodded and said “Thanks,” before going to sit back down. Once the two class 1-B members had left, Izuku finally calmed down to see the whole table looking at him with concern. 

“Oh shit. I’m sorry you guys, I didn’t mean to do that, I promise I’m not mean.”

Shoji was the first to speak up. “We’re not worried about that, Midoriya. Are you okay? We know you’re not dangerous. In fact, I think I speak for everyone here when I say that I’m thankful you stood up for us like that. It’s good to know you care about us enough to go to those lengths. Thank you.”

Izuku shyly nodded, too stunned to speak. The rest of the lunch period went by uneventfully, and soon they were all filing back into the classroom, this time with everyone mingling and chatting together. To their surprise, when they all returned to the classroom, Bakugou was already sitting down with his feet kicked up on the desk. 

In an oddly familiar situation, Iida rushed over and began to chop at Bakugou. “Bakugou! Remove your feet from the desk at once! It’s extremely disrespectful!”

Bakugou glared at Iida. “Oh my god four eyes do you ever just shut the fuck up? Calm your damn jets, I'll move my feet.”

The whole class, now seated, was stunned into silence. Not only was Bakugou talking in a (slightly louder than) inside voice, but he actually listened?!

“Bakugou, are you feeling okay?” Kirishima asked. 

“EHHHH?! THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN SHITTY HAIR?”

‘Aaaand there it is.’ The whole class thought in unison.

The day also went by pretty peacefully, save for Bakugou declaring he would do much better than either Midoriya or Todoroki on the exams, before storming out of the room altogether. 

—-----------

It had been about three days now, and the day of the study session had finally come. 

Izuku, Mei, and Ochaco stood in front of the gates of a massive mansion, all three of them quite taken aback at the massive size of the house. After ringing the doorbell, they waited for about five seconds before the gates quietly slid open, allowing them access to the humongous pathway leading up to the building.

Once they finally reached the massive wooden door, it swung open to reveal an ecstatic Mina and a sheepish Yaoyorozu. 

“Hi guys! Can you believe the size of this place?! It’s crazy!! C’mon C’mon! We’re all waiting to get started!”

Mina excitedly led the trio into the living room, a massive room that housed nearly the entire class without issue. Yayorozu was sitting in the middle of the room teaching the ones who needed help, while most of the rest of the class had formed their own little groups and began to study the subjects that they knew were going to be on the test. 

As the night continued, Izuku’s tutoring group grew larger. He was the one teaching math, while Yayorozu was teaching English. Surprisingly, Iida was teaching History, and their groups were rotating as they tutored. It had been about four hours, and mostly everyone had picked up pretty much all that they needed to learn. Finally Kaminari spoke up.

“Hey, we should play a game!! I’m pretty much tutored out, and I know Mina is the same.”

One look at Mina confirmed this, said pink haired alien barely holding in as her head nodded constantly, before she snapped up quickly. 

“Eh-huh? I’m awake!”

Interestingly enough, Yayorozu agreed, and all the study materials were put away as various games were brought out into the room.

“So, what do you want to play?? We’ve got Monopoly, Uno, Risk, Pool-“

“UNO!” 

Almost everyone had answered almost immediately, and thus it was decided. As there were so many people, they combined quite a few decks together and let Kaminari deal.

“Alright guys, Stacking, No Jump Ins, No 7 Swap, Plus Skips, and Draw Until.”

Everyone nodded as they were dealt their hands, and Kaminari placed down a yellow three to start the game. 

The first few games went pretty well, with a couple crazy plays that made for some hilarious moments, but as the games continued, everyone found themselves acting a lot more casually, becoming more a group of friends than classmates. 

“Shoji no peeking! I see that eye!”

“Like Yayorozu isn’t making mirrors to cheat too?” 

“YAOYOROZU!”

————------------

“Ojiro if you play that plus four I will strangle you” 

“Psh you wouldn’t hurt me Midoriya, I’m your classmate!”

“Fuck he’s right.”

————-------------

“Hagakure, why are your cards on the floor?”

“… because?”

“HEY DON'T STAND BEHIND ME!”

————--------------

“Tsuyu please, I beg you to have mercy.”

“Nah.”

“What a mad banquet of darkness.”

————--------------

“Iida… did you just pull a card out of your sleeve?”

“I most certainly did not!”

“He did.”

“Yeah bro he definitely did.”

—--------------————-

Eventually everyone began to filter home, and their class became a bit closer, everyone save for Bakugou, Kirishima, Mineta, and Todoroki.The rest of the week flew by quickly, with the written exams being much easier than they had seemed originally, thanks to the tutoring session. 

Finally, the day of the practical exams came.

————---------------

The whole class of students was gathered in front of the city like battlegrounds as Alizae’s walked out in front of them.

“So, it’s been about two weeks since we made the announcement about the finals, and I’m certain that during that time you figured out something about the practical. So, what did you learn?”

Mina raised her hand.

“Yes, Ashido.”

“We learned that it’s likely going to be a tuned up version of the entrance exam, but likely with more difficult robots.”

Aizawa smiled dryly. “Normally yes, but this year we decided to make it harder to help advance the training of students. You will all be paired up and pitted against a teacher that is your weakness.”

All the teachers walked out into the open, Izuku’s blood boiling as he saw All Might standing in the middle, as well as Hariki standing to the side.”

Uncaringly, Aizawa continued speaking. “Now. All the teachers will be wearing quirk limiters tuned to each individual team. This means some teachers will have stronger limiters, and some will have weaker. Some may not wear them. Passing Objectives will be named with teams. Without further ado, here we go.”

“Sato, Ojiro. You will fight Ectoplasm. He will have a thirty percent limiter. Your objective is to last ten minutes in combat. Failure is defined as being unable to fight..”

“Jirou, Shoji. Present Mic, forty percent limiter. Last ten minutes in combat.”

“Kaminari, Ashido. Nezu, fifty percent limiter. Last ten minutes in combat.”

“Sero, Asui. Beat, forty percent limiter. Last ten minutes in combat.” 

“Mineta, Iida. Raiden, eighty percent limiter. Last ten minutes in combat.”

“Tokoyami, Aoyama, Cementoss, twenty percent limiter. Last ten minutes in combat.”

“Uraraka, Yayorozu, 13, forty percent limiter. Last ten minutes in combat.” 

“Kirishima, Todoroki. Me, twenty percent limiter. Last ten minutes in combat.”

“Hagakure, Koda, Midnight, ten percent limiter. Last ten minutes in combat.

“Bakugou, Midoriya. All Might. forty percent limiter. Escape within ten minutes.”

“Good luck to you all.”

Chapter Text

Hey there everyone! I’m so fucking back! This is the LONGEST chapter of Fury so far, clocking in at an absolutely hulking 13,547 words! This was one hell of a chapter to write, and some of these fights are very subpar, I am very aware. The story wasn’t flowing how I would have liked, but if you dislike reading all the Classmate’s battles, you can skip straight to the end to get to the Izuku VS All Might battle. While I love Bakugou, we all know he’s not doing jack shit in that fight. Another major plot point: Izuku is going to go Broly in this chapter. I know y'all wonder often who Izuku’s anger quirk is based off of, tbh it's really a mixture of all the “Angry People” Hulk, Broly, Asura, and Jetstream Sam. This chapter, it’ll be focusing on the Broly aspect. This chapter also gives a closer look at Izuku’s berserker mode of his quirk, and also contains some MAJOR character development that I know you’ve been waiting for.

Also, show some love to my editor, Archangel, because he’s been busting my chops about this chapter the whole time and I wouldn’t have finished it if not for him, so :P, fuck you all (just kidding I love you guys) and I hope you enjoy the chapter! Also, Uraraka is a lil’ ball of fire.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Heyo! The fabled Archangel here. This project is always a blast to work on, and we couldn’t be happier to present it to all of you. I know it took a bit to get out, but this chapter is a BEAST of an undertaking for the both of us, especially around work, college, and life in general. That’s all from me, so I’ll let you get into the fight. Have a good one and enjoy the chapter!

After all the teams had been separated and put into order, Aizawa addressed his students once more.

“Alright, we’re going to do this in order, so Sato and Ojiro, you two are up first. If you endure Ectoplasm for ten whole minutes, you pass. However, if he manages to knock you out, or capture you in any way, you fail the exercise. Now, make your way into the city. You both have 5 minutes to prepare.”

Sato and Ojiro shared an almost panicked glance as they realized that they’d have to survive an ordeal with a professional hero. Even though Ectoplasm was wearing a limiter, they knew that this would still be no easy feat.

The pair took off towards the city, anxious, but determined to impress their Sensei.

Nearing the end of their five minutes of preparation, Ojiro and Sato emerged from a small building that they had holed up in. Sato began rapidly stuffing his face with sweets he’d baked earlier, attempting to compound his strength as much as possible before his mind begins to turn to a figurative mush from converting sugar into strength.

Ojiro stood firm and calm outside the door. He’d made peace with the situation at hand and was preparing himself for the fight of a lifetime. 

“Mashi?” Sato said in between shoveling food in his mouth and finding time to breathe.

“Yeah, Sato?” Ojiro replied, amused and impressed by the sheer amount of unhealthiness his friend could shove in his face. 

“Do you have the same sense of impending doom that I do?”

“...shut up and keep eating, we don’t have a lot of ti-”

Mashirao was sharply cut off when the intercoms crackled to life. 

“Exercise beginning in: Three. Two. One. START!”

Immediately, the heroes-in-training split up and dashed towards the middle of the city, where Ectoplasm sat out in the open. As they ran, buildings flashed past, temporarily obscuring their vision. As each building flew by, there were more and more clones of their teacher in the center ring. By the time they got within a hundred meters, there were twenty-one clones crowding the plaza. 

Ectoplasm grunted slightly as he hit his clone’s limit. Normally he could make up to thirty-six clones, but the limiters had reduced that number. Each clone felt sluggish. Ignoring the slight strain, Ectoplasm rushed to the spot where he had seen Sato hiding, but the clones surrounding the building were blown back as the boy destroyed the outer wall, steamrolling his way through three of his clones before grabbing another one and throwing it at a cluster of three more. 

Sato growled as the sugar ran through his bloodstream, but he could feel his cognitive abilities begin to reduce. “Which… real?” he grunted out to Ojiro. 

“I don't know. They all look identical, just wipe them all out!”

With those words, the pair began their assault, shredding through the numerous clones, but as time went on, the number didn't decrease in the slightest, while the two boys were getting substantially tired.

“Sato! I don’t think we’ll be able to brute force this, but I have a plan! There’s a limit to how fast he can produce clones. I want you to use sugar rush and wipe out as many as possible!”

Ectoplasm cackled in response to hearing their plan. “Do you really think I’m going to allow that?”

With those words, one of the clones on the outside suddenly closed his eyes and began to concentrate. All the other clones rapidly congregated and began to meld together into three, much larger clones.

“Ultimate Move: Giant Rush!”

The students leapt out of the way as a massive fist came down, blowing apart a building as it impacted with the ground.

“Damn! We need to go after the main body! Attack him!”

They charged in tandem, leaping over various attacks, coming closer and closer to the main body of Ectoplasm, until they were thrown apart by a wave of pure ectoplasm spewing from one of the giants. When the students finally came to a stop, they were split up, unable to even see each other. 

“Eight minutes remaining.” The intercoms blared loudly over the battle.

            Back in the observation room the class watched their friends fight the teacher, while the other teachers stood in the back, observing every change in the battle as it happened, and judging every choice that the students made, marking it down on their scoreboards. 

            The silence was broken only by the rapid-fire muttering of an overly enthusiastic Izuku, who was quickly spitting out various ways that the duo could defeat and disarm the teacher.

                  “IfSatodecidestoactuallygoandattackthemainbodydirectlythentheresnotmuchthatthegiantscouldactyallydotohimbecauseofhisstrentghwaotnothatsnotaviablesituationbbecausetheresthreeofthemandonlyoneofhimbesidesheonlyweighsosmuchandthereforecouldactuallybepickedupand-“

            “OH MY GOD DEKU SHUT UP I’M TRYING TO FUCKING WATCH THIS”

            “Ah, my apologies everyone.” Izuku said with a straight expression, quickly relaxing as Ochaco made her way to sit next to him.

            “Is it just me or do they seem like a REALLY bad matchup for Ectoplasm??” Mina spoke up.

            Nezu then popped out of Aizawa’s scarf, startling the disheveled man, who hadn’t even known he was there. “Good question!! While it is a ‘bad matchup’ in general terms, this is exactly what we wanted. If you children can't overcome your weaknesses in training, then you’ll be nothing but a liability on the battlefield!”

            Almost all of the kids present began to feel a bit nervous, and most went to make strategies with their partners. 

            On the battlefield, Sato was dueling against two of the giant copies of Ectoplasm. His strength was above theirs, however the multiple copies matched up to him pretty evenly. 

            ‘ Damn, these guys are strong, but I have a plan. Now that we’re separated, I don’t have to worry about collateral.’

            Sato quickly took out a tiny vial of white powder and popped the cap. Immediately he could taste the sweetness on his tongue, and he downed the vial. An overpowering sweetness immediately melted on his tongue. Sato felt his pupils constrict and his vision tightened. Every muscle fiber in his body twitched and snapped tight with incredible power. He felt his head going numb as he lost rationality, barely managing to yell out.

            “Ultra Move: Neotame Rush!”

            He then threw a flurry of punches, each of which created massive shockwaves within the bodies of the giants, quickly making them unstable and causing their collapse into puddles of ectoplasm, which quickly dissipated into nothingness. 

            Sato clutched his head as he felt his consciousness return, his body losing the immense strength as he fell to the ground, exhausted.

            ‘ Shoot, I don’t think I have the energy to pull that off again. Midoriya was right, it really is a last-ditch super move.”

“YES! I KNEW IT WOULD WORK!!” Midoriya shouted out triumphantly after witnessing Sato’s new ultra move.

On the other side of the battlefield, Ojiro was locked in an intense, quick paced battle with the last giant. A massive fist came flying towards him from the side. Ojiro quickly braced his tail against the ground and flung himself up into the air, landing back on the copies neck, before swinging around and landing a bow on the copies jaw with his tail, slamming it into the ground as the body slowly dissolved.

Just then, Sato came around the corner, panting heavily. 

“Woah, Sato, what happened to you?”

Sato took a moment to catch his breath before speaking. “I attempted to use an entirely new super move. It worked, but left me really tired. I don’t think I have the energy in me to do that again.”

Ojiro nodded. “If it left you that tired, then yeah don’t do it again. Also, I don’t think we’ll be able to win this through conventional means. Ectoplasm is the perfect counter to both of our quirks, and he can just continue to make more and more. I think that if we want to beat him, we’ll have to do something completely unexpected, and I think I have a plan.”

After that, the two began to plot quickly, and all the while, Ectoplasm sat quietly in the center of the city, waiting for the two to make their move. 

As the two kids walked into the center area once more, the speakers turned on once again. 

“Three minutes remaining in the test.”

Ectoplasm perked up as the two entered. “So, you think you’re ready to finally finish this?”

They said nothing, opting to rather simply grin in anticipation of the battle to come. Ectoplasm bared a grin as well.

“Fine then children, come at me.”

Immediately, the scene exploded into action. A massive amount of ectoplasm spewed out of the teacher’s mouth and completely enveloped the field, as large white slabs erupted from the ground, enclosing the area inside of a massive clone’s mouth. Following the entrapment, Ectoplasm created several clones, which then rushed the pair. 

Thinking quickly to adjust to the plan, Ojiro punched the wall. Seeing as his fist bounced back, he grinned, and quickly said something into Sato’s ear, before the muscled teen picked him up and began to sprint to the side, taking out several clones along the way. 

Nearly instantly, Sato threw Ojiro slightly to the right of Ectoplasm, making Ojiro narrowly miss. As soon as the tailed boy passed their teacher, he threw the roll of capture tape that was spinning in his hand past the teacher, where it bounced off the wall and back towards Sato, who was holding the start of the tape. The second that he caught the roll, they both rushed their teacher and cinched the tape tight.

The speakers blared loudly. “Ojiro and Sato pass!”

After the announcement, the tired duo headed back into the waiting area, while Nezu hopped off of his bench and walked up to them. 

“Good job you two, you overcame your weaknesses in battle, and were able to analyze the situation without relying overly on your physical strength!’’

With that short compliment, Nezu wobbled off slightly as he went into the city to prepare for his battle. The fifty percent quirk limiter felt alien to him. His thoughts felt fuzzy, and slow. What used to be a simple calculation and analysis now took twice as much effort from him. It was a good handicap for the two he was about to face. 

He let out an evil sounding chuckle as he began to anticipate what type of challenge the two would provide.

Kaminari and Ashido stepped out into the newly repaired cityscape after the clock started, only to be greeted by signs pointing towards the middle of the city that said in bold lettering “Nezu Ahead!”

Thinking simply, Kaminari just said “Well that was easy”, and began to follow the signs, only for Mina to rapidly pull him back with a scream 

“SPARKY WATCH OUT”

After she pulled him back, a large I beam landed right where he had been standing, cracking the pavement.

Kaminari turned back to face Ashido, his eyes wide and hands trembling in shock. 

“B-but the sign.”

Ashido sighed. “You idiot, he WANTS us to follow the signs. This is Nezu, remember? We have to use our heads, just like Sato and Ojiro did. This final is supposed to help us improve our weaknesses by putting us up against someone who can counter us easily. For Sato and Ojiro, it was someone who was able to counter their physical strength. For us, it’s someone we have to outsmart.

Kaminari just looked at her, very obviously lost. “You sound like Midoriya now.”

Mia blushed as she spoke. “Well, he is the one who explained all that to me before we came out here. Now come on, let’s figure out where he’s really hiding.”

Following Mina’s lead, Kaminari grabbed onto her shoulders as she began to spray an extremely weak acid onto the ground, allowing them to “skate” through the fake city at high speeds. As they moved, they came upon a few more traps, only one of them catching off guard. It snared Mina’s leg and threw the two onto the top of a building which had no access hatch, they were stuck on the top of the building.

As Ashido was about to melt the roof, allowing them to fall through, Kaminari yelled. 

“Look out!”

She rolled out of the way just in the nick of time, as a massive wrecking ball came crashing through the building right behind her. She looked up to see that the crane fixed onto a terrace a few buildings away was being operated by a maniacally cackling Nezu as he maneuvered the crane to swing at them again. Grabbing Kaminari, Mina melted the roof and allowed them to drop onto a lower floor as she began to brainstorm. 

“What if I melted the ball? No, that wouldn’t stop him. Maybe the building? But then we could get hurt too. How do I stop him??”

Just then, Kaminari thought of something. “Wait, Ashido, what if we tried…”

Nezu clutched his head. He was trying to force his quirk to work better, but all it was doing was giving him a headache and making it even harder to see what was going on. His vision pulsed, and he groaned lowly as he grasped the controls of the crane once again. Thinking as quickly as he could, he smashed the entire top floor off of the building that the pair was located in, revealing nothing but a hole in the ground that had allowed the two kids to escape.

He began to look round to find signs of their movement but was shocked when they suddenly emerged on the roof of the building right in front of him. He grinned, and turned the crane again as he began to move the wrecking ball to take them out.

Kaminari was having second thoughts.

“Hey Ashido? Uh, maybe this wasn’t the best plan, we should take some time to think up a better plan than this.”

Mina simply grinned. “Well, this is the best plan we’ve got, and you heard the microphones, we only have five minutes left! We need to hurry this up, so get ready!”

Kaminari grimaced as he braced himself for impact.

Back in the observation hut, almost everyone was staring at the screen slack jawed. 

‘ Is- is he going to LET himself get hit by a wrecking ball?!’

Eraserhead narrowed his eyes as he began to watch more intently. He figured that the two had a plan, but he couldn't figure out what it was, which was extremely unusual, especially for him. He figured that their plan was either monumentally stupid, or simply had no chance to succeed, so all he could do was watch as a gargantuan hunk of steel barreled towards his student. 

As the massive iron ball approached Kaminari, Ashido raised her hands and let forth a torrent of viscous, caustic acid. Denki squeezed his eyes shut as he was slathered in the sludge and grunted loudly as the massive ball of metal impacted with the goo, softening the blow and allowing the yellow haired boy to stick onto the ball as it continued to travel. 

Nezu glanced up in shock as he realized that the two had done something that had gone completely against the grain of the match. He rapidly switched levers and turned dials in order to change the direction of the wrecking ball, but it was too late. Mina whooped in victory as she threw a wave of extremely corrosive fluoroantimonic acid onto the wire holding the ball to the crane. The wire snapped with a deafening bang, and the ball arced slowly, landing with a crash at the base of the crane.

Shaking out of the acidic goop, Denki wiped his eyes clear as he grabbed onto the metal struts holding the crane together, then yelled out loudly. 

“Stunning shock: 1000-volt knockout!”

His hair lit up in a blinding yellow glow as electricity raced downwards through his hands and into the crane’s framework, racing upwards and into Nezu, who had been holding onto the metal handle on the side of the seat, knocking him out swiftly.

“ASHIDO AND KAMINARI PASS!”

Back in the viewing booth, Aizawa let out a slight cough that sounded akin to a laugh, but nobody said anything. 

As the duo of idiots who somehow outsmarted Nezu strolled back into the viewing building, quite a few people stood up to congratulate them on their success and on their passing of the exam. After a few minutes had gone by, Eraserhead coughed quietly to remind them where they were, and he stood up to announce the next battle.

“Sero, Asui. You two are up next. You’ll be facing our newest teacher, the Pulse Hero: Beat. However, don’t underestimate her. She is quite a formidable foe.”

At those words, Hariki flipped her hair with a sense of superiority. “Come you two, let’s finish this up quickly, unless you’d rather admit defeat here.”

A few of the teachers were slightly put off by their newest colleague’s attitude, but most figured it was just to get into the spirit of the exam. Aizawa glanced down at his exam pad and schedule. Unfortunately, Present Mic had gone a bit overboard during his radio show, and so he was going to go second to last to take some time to recover. A lot of his fellow teachers had a few reservations about only giving All Might a forty percent limiter, but Aizawa knew better. This was more of a test for Izuku than Bakugou. Could he handle having a teammate, and could Bakugou rein in his emotions? For now, though, he focused on the current match. When mobility is restricted, how would Asui and Sero react?

Thanks to Cementoss, the false city had already been repaired, and Beat was resting comfortably in the middle of the city, just as Ectoplasm had. Once the last of the repairs were finally finished, Aizawa opened the doors to the city, and let Sero and Asui in. 

The newest pair of young heroes stepped foot into the city, only to be immediately pushed back by a strong, repetitive force battering against them. Thinking quickly, Asui grabbed Sero and used her tongue to slingshot them upwards to safety. As they came to rest on the side of a building, stuck in place thanks to their respective quirks, Sero turned to Asui.

“Thanks for getting us out of there so quickly, I didn’t expect her to attack us right off the bat.”

“It was nothing kero. But more importantly, we need to figure out where she is. If she can attack at a distance like that, she can end the fight before it even starts. Should we split up and search the area? We’re both very mobile kero.”

“Honestly yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Also, I think we should search the inner city rather than the outside area. In the booth she seemed to be a bit narcissistic. If it applies here too, she could be waiting in the center for us, as a way to show off her confidence.”

“That’s a good thought, we’ll go with that then. If you find her, fire off a string of tape into the air. I’ll be able to see it. If I find her, I’ll stretch my tongue up as far as I can.”

Sero nodded in confirmation, and with that, both of them dashed off to go find the enemy. 

Sero was swinging around the east side of the inner city rapidly, laying tape strings out as traps as he moved, just in case he was being followed. As he moved, he checked through each of the buildings. It was slow progress, but then he spotted a tall building up ahead. Using his tape, he began to swing rapidly, gaining momentum as he let go, flinging him about halfway up the side of the tallest building. He aimed his elbow upwards, firing off another tape string as it caught hold on the edge of the roof. He leapt upwards and began to move up, only to be caught off guard when a wave of force slammed into him from above, snapping his tape and sending him flying towards the ground. Reacting faster than he could think, Sero swung himself inside of the building and tumbled onto the floor roughly. 

He coughed a few times as he stood up shakily. Once he had regained his balance, he took off running up the stairs of the building as the external speakers blared.

“Eight minutes remaining.”

Sero grimaced, time was still going. 

Speeding up his steps, he burst out onto the roof of the building and hurriedly glanced around. When he looked towards the center of the city, he saw Beat sitting in the middle of the center, looking right at him.

“Shit!” Sero yelled out. He rolled to the side just in time as half of the roof was decimated by a large pulse of force. He hurriedly threw a string of tape up high into the air, arcing down towards the center of the city, hoping that Asui would understand. Without another thought, he charged off the side of the building, swan diving over the side and pointing his elbow at an overhanging terrace, latching on and using it to turn his downward fall into a rapid launch towards their teacher. 

Asui had been canvassing the western side of the false city, but after a few minutes had passed, she glanced over towards the east side to see a long string of tape being fired off of the largest building around and arcing down towards the center of the city. Understanding immediately, she put all the power she could into her leaps and began rushing towards the center to meet up with Sero.

After about a minute of running, she saw a familiar black mop and dashed over to him, coming to a stop at his side. He glanced over and they locked eyes momentarily, but it was enough to understand what was happening. They took about ten seconds to formulate a rough plan and immediately dashed to the sides again as they began to close in on Beat. 

Hariki opened her eyes with a derogatory grin on her face. 

‘ These pathetic kids think they can actually take me on? I only became a teacher to get closer to Izuku and find out what’s going on, but I don’t mind cementing my power as a top hero either.’

Eyes shining with a bright green energy, Hariki’s hair began to float as the two students charged at her from either side. Suddenly, she let a massive wave of power roll off of her, rapidly expanding as it blasted into the two teens. Shocking everyone, neither of them budged an inch, both using their quirks to hold on, pushing forward inch by inch. 

Hariki’s face morphed into an angry scowl. 

“You think you can beat me? You're years behind me!”

Letting out a yell filled with power, Hariki stretched out her arms, palms facing up, and began to lift her hands upwards with effort. 

“ULTIMATE MOVE: SYNCHROBEAT FURY”

The ground itself began to shake apart, chunks floating up as Hariki’s power rampaged. She was letting off constant pulses upwards, with barely any lag between each one. The resulting effect was almost like pure telekinesis.

Asui and Sero were both in shock. ‘ This is WITH a limiter?!’

Izuku was watching with a nasty expression in the observation booth. He remembered Synchrobeat Fury. Hell, Hariki herself had used it on him before, and despite his hatred for her, he had to admit she had gotten stronger. Her sixty percent was still enough to cause destruction on a widespread scale.

“Woah do you see that?”

“Yeah, Beat sure is powerful!”

His expression sank even further at the praise she was receiving. He hated it. He was so focused on the match that he didn't even notice Raiden sending him a pitying expression.

Thinking quickly on the battlefield, Sero and Asui were dodging repetitively while Hariki manipulated more chunks of the ground to float up. Finally there was an opening. 

“Sero! DO IT!”

Sero grinned and fired off a strand of tape that wrapped around a chunk of rock, sending it right into Hariki’s back.

With a cry of rage, Hariki focused fully on Sero, failing to notice Asui coming up behind her until it was too late. Just as she raised her hand to attack, Asui wrapped her in the capture tape.

“SERO AND ASUI HAVE PASSED”

Hariki lowered her hand with a sigh.

“Good job, I guess. Brats.” 

After the quirk limiting cuffs fell off of her, she simply used a tiny pulse to shred the tape right off of her before heading back to the observation booth with the students.

Aizawa sighed tiredly, it felt like it was taking forever to him, but it was good to see all of the different tactics that the students were using to overcome their weaknesses.

“Alright. Next up is going to be Mineta and Iida against Raiden.”

Mineta was practically shaking in his boots, while Iida was a lot more composed, but still nervous.

Raiden looked at them softly before speaking. “Don’t fail you two, I know you can do this. Even so, I’ll be using my full power.”

Everyone watched intensely as Raiden focused intensely, and a whirring noise began to emanate from his chest. The plastic plates covering his pectorals and shoulders slid back into his body, and sleeker, metal plates slid out, with additional spines popping up from the shoulders. The fabric covering his stomach was vacuumed close to his abs and hardened into a carbon composite. Additional metal plates popped out over his thighs and forearms, and his body lit up with a deep red metallic glow. 

Everyone in the room felt a noticeable power shift, as if suddenly Raiden was no longer just a teacher, but a coiled beast, ready to strike.

Aizawa, who had known about Raiden’s custom cyborg body, wasn’t concerned, but all of the other teachers, as well as the students, were shocked.

Seeing the looks on everyone’s faces, Raiden explained. “This is my custom cyborg body. It grants me unparalleled physical strength and speed, rivaled only by All Might himself.”

This sentence brought Iida to speak up. “Sir, if your body makes you as strong as All Might, why doesn’t everyone get physical modifications to be strong?”

Raiden’s face hardened at that. “My body is not to be taken lightly. Getting modifications of this extent is extremely traumatic, and there is a survival rate of a mere 1%. In addition to that, even if you survive, there is a massive chance of your body rejecting the machinery, or your brain getting overloaded from the shock. All of the factors combined make the actual survival rate of this extensive modification less than 0.00001%. Plus, I was indoctrinated and had no option. I don’t regret my body, but I wouldn’t wish this upon any other living being. In the future I shall tell you more, but for now, let’s get this exam going!”

As the whole room had fallen into silence, Aizawa sent the group out into the city to get into their places. After the two had left, the rest of the group stewed over what Raiden had said. It was a lot to think about.

Iida and Mineta were standing at the entrance to the city, one of them shaking in his boots, the other solemnly stretching as he prepared for the battle ahead. 

“Mineta. Are you ready?”

“No! I haven't even gotten to cop a feel of one of the girls yet! How could I be ready for this?!”

Iida grimaced in disgust of the boy in front of him.

“I’m… I’m going to ignore that. But aside from that. We need to be prepared. I’m assuming even with an eighty percent limiter on, Raiden is still plenty to deal with us both. So, we need to be fast. I’ve seen how quickly you can bounce off of your own balls, can you make it so that I can bounce off of them as well?”

“I- honestly, I’m not sure, I’ve never tried that before. Maybe?”

Mineta picked one of his balls off of his head and held it up close to Iida, focusing in his head. 

‘ Repel, repel, please repel, turn inside out, I don't know, just REPEL!” 

As he was thinking he threw the ball at Iida, and both watched as it hit him… and stuck to his armor. 

“Sorry Iida, I guess not.”

“It’s okay, at the very least it’s on the front, so I have a low chance of it sticking to anything else.”

“So that’s what you think?”

Both of the boys whipped around to see Raiden standing behind them. Neither of them had even heard him come up behind them. They watched as he drew a dull carbon sword from its sheath and whispered one word. 

“ Run.”  

They nearly tripped over themselves as they scrambled to get away, Raiden simply following along like a monster in a horror movie, walking as the two sprinted away. Finally, he crouched down, and dashed . 

Mineta released a cowardly screech and darted around a corner. Just as he thought he’d lost his hunter; he witnessed Raiden sprinting towards him with a sinister smile on his face. Mineta screamed once more and began throwing balls at him that Raiden dodged with ease. Finally realizing he wouldn't be able to trap his opponent, he threw up a ladder of the balls to climb to the top and look for Iida.

Raiden sat at the bottom, before he shook his head. “Smart. I can’t follow him, otherwise I’ll get stuck.”

“Mineta didn’t do that on purpose… right?’’

“He’s not that smart.”

Iida was sprinting around with his quirk, canvassing the area to see if there was anything that the pair could use, but he wasn’t seeing anything. Once he began to think of a plan, he began to shift around and move things to his advantage, and soon Mineta stumbled into his makeshift “arena.”

“Quick Mineta! Put balls on my hands!”

Pervy couldn’t begin to describe the images currently pouring through Mineta’s mindscape.

“WHAT?!”

“Your QUIRK!”

Stunned and rather ashamed, but still functional, Mineta did as asked, and the two waited for Raiden. It didn’t take him long to rush into the area, and Iida wasted no time. 

“Ultimate Move: RECIPRO BURST.”

The space around Iida’s armor seemed to warp as he sped up to impossible speeds, each foot slamming on the ground and leaving cracks as he accelerated. Time bent around his arms as his hands stretched out and impacted with Raiden’s chassis, barely managing to knock the cyborg over, and firmly sticking Raiden in place on the ground. Iida huffed and threw his hands up in victory, and Mineta began to squeal after realizing that they’d just beaten a very formidable pro hero.

“MINETA AND IIDA PASS!”

However, Mineta didn't notice Iida glancing towards Raiden with something akin to terror in his eyes. 

‘When I was in Recipro Burst, his eyes, they… they tracked me perfectly, as if I was moving slowly. He could have dodged it easily… and he was only at 20%. What kind of a monster is he?! Is he stronger than All Might?!’

30 minutes later

Tokoyami and Aoyama walked into the arena, both of them unsure how they were going to work together, as Aoyama’s “Navel Laser” made Tokoyami’s quirk nearly unusable. 

Of course, they didn’t have much time to think. While Cementoss was a man of few words, he was definitely a man of decisive action. A pad of cement lifted up around the two kids and began to rush them through the city. In just under a minute, the cement came down, and both came face to face with their blocky teacher. 

Tokoyami reacted immediately, sending Dark Shadow out to attack, but unfortunately Aoyama had the same thought. A blinding laser shot out from Aoyama’s stomach, forcing Dark Shadow to retreat as Cementoss easily stacked up a massive brick of cement to stop the laser from reaching him.

“Hm… You two need to focus not on how you hinder each other, but how you accent each other.”

Neither of the students had time to speak as a massive wall of cement split them off from one another, and blocks began to come at them.

Tokoyami grimaced as another block struck his side.

“Dark Shadow, destroy these fickle beasts, let us reign as kings of the night!”

The black shadowy monster burst forth from the avian student’s navel with reckless abandon, roaring and slashing at anything that got close. He cut apart a stone brick coming at him, ducking under another one simultaneously as he reached over and grabbed a shard of concrete from the ground, flipping over and throwing it through a rough construct of his teacher before screeching in a furious fervor. 

Tokoyami smiled as he began to join the fight too, standing back-to-back with his quirk as they fended off the seemingly endless amounts of concrete weapons that were coming at them. 

“Six minutes remaining!”

Just then, the pair heard a scream from the other side of the wall.

Aoyama wasn’t a fighter. Not really. So when he got thrown into his own little area field with moving concrete blocks? He just tried to dodge. When he realized that wasn’t an option though, he began to show off his dazzling abilities. 

He blasted lasers through tens upon tens of the concrete blocks, but he could feel his quirk beginning to be drained from him as he kept on. The weapons of stone were just too numerous, and he wasn’t able to keep up with the massive amount of them that were coming at him. 

“Six minutes remaining!”

Finally, his quirk snapped.

Light began to flow out from his navel, the area around him becoming brighter and brighter as the light formed almost a layer of light around him. His hair began to float up in the air as his eyes glowed a bright blue, overflowing with power. 

“Ultimate Move: DAZZLING KNIGHT!”

He let out a scream as light shot out from every corner of his body, blinding everyone and everything on the field. When they finally began to regain their vision, there was nothing there, other than a glowing Aoyama, a wiped-out Tokoyami, and a surprised Cementoss. 

“So, you two got past your individual assaults, well you won't get past this.”

As Cementoss spoke, he raised his hands high, and massive pillars of cement erupted out of the ground, arching slowly towards the pair. They heard several loud eruptions from behind them too and turned around to be met with the sight of even more massive pillars arching over the landscape. They were coming from the edges of the city, arching and reaching inwards as more cement built them higher. 

Tokoyami hurriedly tried to bring out Dark Shadow to attack, but Aoyama’s light was stopping him.

Realizing that he was causing problems, Aoyama rushed in to attack Cementoss directly, but was repelled by a thick box of cement that his light couldn’t penetrate.

“Mon Sieur, I can't break through, but I have a plan! One second!’’

Aoyama began to concentrate, which alerted Cementoss, who threw up a pillar, slamming into Aoyama’s stomach and lifting him even higher than the massive arching pillars. Luckily though, Cementoss had failed to notice a single detail, Aoyama was now casting an extremely dark shadow over the landscape, and Tokoyami grinned as he brought out a massive shadowy beast.

Cementoss reacted quickly, which was to be expected of a pro hero, but he was completely overwhelmed. The huge beast was composed completely of shadow and every attack that Cementoss threw at it went right through it like the beast didn’t even exist.

The giant creature opened its blackened maw and let out a piercing screech as it rushed at the cement teacher once again, swiftly dodging all the attacks thrown at it. Cementoss had almost no time to react as he was immediately restrained completely by the shadow, wrapped up in its tendrils and pushed to the ground.

“AOYAMA AND TOKOYAMI PASS!”

The massive structures made of cement slowly crumbled to the ground, bringing a knocked-out Aoyama with it, placing him gently on the ground as they continued to deteriorate. After Cementoss had gotten rid of all the abnormalities in the city, it was time for the next battle.

Uraraka and Yayorozu walked out onto the field, one of them looking completely serious, the other one blushing madly at the kiss she had received from her boyfriend before going into the test.

After a few minutes had gone by and Uraraka had regained her composure, the test started. The fully equipped pair (courtesy of Yaoyorozu) began to venture into the city. Unlike most of the other groups, they had actually formed a plan beforehand…

“Alright, so we have to beat Thirteen, which might be a little difficult. She can literally get rid of anything we throw at her. The only limiting factor I can see that she has is her mobility. It can’t be easy to move swiftly in such a bulky costume.”

“That’s true. She also doesn’t seem like the one to come after us, but rather we will have to go after her.”

“Right. She has the advantage there too. She can stall for time the whole time and she’ll be fine. We have a time limit though, and we have to capture her before it’s over. I can make a couple of tools for us too. I’ll make grapples and single use thrust packs.”

“Sounds like a plan. So, we corner her?”

“We corner her.”

Like most of the other teachers, Thirteen was waiting in the center of the city for the duo, and even she had no idea what to expect. She certainly didn’t have to wait long, as the pair had found her after only two minutes had passed.

Once Yayorozu and Ochaco found Thirteen, they immediately put their plan into gear and rushed her. As they ran towards their teacher, both of them felt a chill rush down their back as a strong pulling force began to yank them backwards. As they turned to look, Thirteen took advantage of the opening to rush in and sweep Ochaco’s legs out from under her.

“I’m not only reliant on my quirk you know!”

Uraraka grunted with effort as she felt herself lose balance, and quickly touched herself to become weightless, using her own momentum to right herself, and touch back down on solid ground. 

Thirteen didn’t let up and rushed at her again, throwing a punch this time, only to be countered by Ochaco, who had her guard up. She countered with a left hook that Thirteen ducked under to jab at Uraraka’s stomach, who kneed Thirteen in the chin. 

Yaoyorozu had been stunned by the brutality of the two fighting but came back to her senses as she realized that they were getting closer to the giant black hole. 

“Ochako! LOOK OUT!”

The brown-haired girl just grinned, although that expression changed to shock as a fist was driven into her gut. Thirteen quickly grabbed Ochaco’s arm and threw her over her shoulder towards the black hole. Yaoyorozu quickly grabbed her grapple and fired off the hook next to Ochako and began to pull her in, much to the annoyance of Thirteen, who thought that she had beaten the girl. 

After Ochako had stabilized herself once again, she charged at Thirteen with a rageful yell, only to find herself running right towards a smaller black hole. Immediately reacting, Ochako kicked up over the outer edge of the smaller black hole and used her thruster to jettison directly at Thirteen, activating her quirk and shoulder throwing her towards the much larger black hole, forcing Thirteen to shut it off.

Back in the observation room, almost everyone was watching in astonishment. 

“Goddamn Midoriya, remind me to NEVER mess with your girlfriend.”

Izuku chuckled at that. “Yeah, she’s pretty badass, she’s thrown hands with a few people in the past.”

“Uraraka. Street fighting. HOW?!”

“It wasn’t so much that it was a street fight, but someone was hitting on her. I didn’t have the control over my quirk at the time that I have now, so I was getting dangerously angry. She noticed and told the guy to fuck off. When he didn’t? Well let’s just say he’s missing a tooth or two now.”

“Okay, yeah. Remind me to never mess with her.”

Ochako was panting heavily while Thirteen stood up slowly, ready to go for another round, but Yaoyorozu spoke up.

“Tag out, let me do some of the work now. I’ll finish her off from here.”

Crafting a staff of carbon fiber quickly, Yaoyorozu walked towards Thirteen.

“Do you concede?”

Thirteen just rushed at Yaoyorozu without a second word, making a tiny black hole to yank the staff out of her hands, then swung her legs up to kick at Yaoyorozu’s head. Barely ducking in time, Momo placed her hands on the ground and kicked her legs squarely into Thirteen’s stomach, flinging her back and causing her to roll across the ground. She struggled to stand up, but finally Ochaco simply picked up the capture tape and secured their victory.

“URARAKA AND YAOYOROZU PASS!”

As they walked back to the observation room, Yaoyorozu apologized. “I’m sorry Uraraka, I only held you back during the test and barely did anything.”

Ochako just smiled. “Nonsense! You saved me from the black hole! You shouldn’t doubt yourself so much Yaoyorozu, you’re incredibly strong!”

“... thank you.”

Kirishima and Todoroki walked out onto the stage as the next test began. Immediately as Kirishima turned to make a plan with Todoroki, knowing that in order to defeat Sensei Aizawa, they’d need all the teamwork they could manage. As he began to speak to his teammate, the dual-quirked boy was gone in a flash of ice.

“God damnit. We’re gonna fail this so hard.”

Todoroki was using his ice to carve a path through the city and mark where he had already been, and he was making quick progress, when suddenly his flow of ice was completely cut off. He was swift with his reaction and rolled on his shoulder to minimize injury. The second he was standing; he began searching the windows of every building until he found the right one.

‘ Found you. ’

Todoroki rushed up the stairs and into the building but stopped just short of the door. Thinking ahead, he stomped his foot and watched as a massive wave of ice rose and surged into the room. He followed slowly, ensuring that his teacher was trapped, but he was only met with an empty sleeping bag. He barely even had time to be shocked before a flash of red appeared in the corner of his eyes. He raised his hand to freeze it, but he was too slow. 

A hardened cloth of specialized fibers hit Todoroki’s neck just right, knocking him out and taking him out of the exam.

“TODOROKI… HAS FAILED.”

Kirishima shook his head in disappointment. ‘ Fuck. I can’t beat Eraserhead on my own. But it’s going to be manly as hell to try!”

He began to run to the area where Todoroki had been knocked out, coming across the teacher himself soon. 

Eraserhead looked terrifying to Kirishima. He was standing in the middle of the alley dressed in all black, his eyes gleaming red with his scarf and hair floating above him.

“Why do you look like a ghost sensei?!”

Eraserhead chuckled menacingly. “Oh, you're going down quick for that one kid.”

Kirishima simply took a stance to fight, squatting down with one hand in front of his head, the other at his side, relaxed. ‘Here we go.’  

Barely even making a noise, Eraserhead charged at the boy, not even bothering to activate his quirk. When he got close, Kirishima moved quickly, interlocking both of his hands and bringing them above his head to come down onto his teacher’s head, but Eraserhead saw through it and used his scarf to wrap up the red-haired boy’s hands. However, Kirishima wasn’t deterred. Using his impressive abdominal strength, he raised his legs and wrapped the scarf around them before forcing his body to flip over, sending a snap traveling through the scarves and around his teacher’s neck, choking him as he unwrapped himself. Moving quickly, Eijiro dashed in close and hardened his fist to deliver a blow, but Eraserhead glared at him with a red glow in his eyes, forcefully shutting down his quirk, then kicking him in the stomach and sending the kid tumbling.

In an impressive usage of his quirk, Kirishima hardened his back muscles quick enough to send him up into the air as if he had jumped, leaving a pattern in the ground in the shape of a… demon's face?!

Izuku stared in utter shock at the blatant copyright claim Kirishima had somehow pulled off.

Grabbing his teacher’s scarf, Eijiro went to throw it, and by extension his teacher, across the field, but the scarf wrapped around his wrist instead, slamming him into the ground as Eraserhead walked up.

“Honestly not bad kid. Didn’t expect you to struggle for victory as hard as you did. Good job, but it’s over.”

“Not yet.”

“Kid, you're tied up and on the ground. You try anything else and you're going to hurt yourself.”

“NOT YET!”

Kirishima yelled out in defiance and hardened his wrist in the same fashion he had his back, quick enough to slip his wrist out of the scarf before Eraserhead could react. Immediately he used his free hand to brace his body as he swung his legs over his head and down onto Eraserhead’s shoulders, who just grabbed them. 

“Kid, I told you it’s over.”

“Not yet.”

Kirishima used the advantage of not needing to be connected to the ground to grab Eraserhead’s legs and yank hard enough to send his teacher to the ground, then forcing his legs down to make him hit the ground hard enough to be knocked out. 

He stood up tiredly, smiling at his victory. After waiting a few seconds his eyes widened in realization but he was too slow. Eraserhead swiftly knocked Kirishima out and laid him on the ground. 

“Damn kid even more impressive. But, ALWAYS check to make sure they're knocked out.”

“KIRISHIMA… FAILS”

Most of the people in the observation booth let out a bated breath as the first team to actually fail finished their exam.

A solemn mood filled the air as each group realized that it could have been them too, and they began to focus more intensely as the next test started.

Hagakure and Koda walked out onto the tarmac as the speakers went off to announce the beginning of the new test. Almost immediately a sweet smell began to fill the air as a light pink tinge began to flow around the city. 

Almost in a panic, Koda hurriedly yelled. “HELP!”

The reaction was swift; hundreds of birds that were around the area began to swarm the field, flapping their wings quickly as the gusts of wind formed swept the sweet-smelling fog away from the kids.

After granting them a few moments of reprieve, Midnight began to chase them, leaping from the rooftop she was perched on, to the next. She continued to chase them in this fashion, leaving puffs of gas in certain areas to block off their escape routes, finally trapping them within a tightly enclosed alley.

She leapt down from the building and landed smoothly in front of the two, laughing sultrily at their frightened faces.

“Oh my, those faces full of fear certainly are the picture of youth!”

Koda reacted first, inhaling a deep breath before calling out again, but not for the birds this time. 

“Come to me!”

It took a moment, but very quickly the air began to fill with the noise of hundreds upon thousands of little, tiny legs skittering along the ground. 

Immediately upon hearing it, both Midnight and Hagakure began to glance around frantically, and as the first little bug appeared on the floor, both of the girls began to freak out, while Koda gulped and steeled his nerves, momentarily putting away his entomophobia to help his classmate and himself win.

The black rolling wave of bugs swept across the floor, hundreds of smaller pill bugs and roaches being swept up and carried by the larger bugs such as the matured roaches, and the centipedes.

Koda, shaking furiously, pointed at Midnight and barely managed to squeak out. 

“After her.”

Midnight looked at Koda with utter betrayal in her eyes before she sprinted to get away, as she was utterly disgusted by the bugs. Meanwhile, Hagakure hid behind Koda, trying to stay out of sight of the bugs, despite the fact that she was invisible. 

The second the last of the skittering insects were out of sight, Koda collapsed to his knees, shaking with utter fear, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

Curiously, Hagakure came around to his front and noticed that he was barely holding it together. Quickly she embraced him in a hug. 

“Thank you for doing that. I know it must’ve been hard with your fear. It’s thanks to you that we made it this far, leave the rest to me.”

Koda nodded shakily, still trying to catch his breath after the wave of insects he had summoned.  

Standing up quickly, Hagakure stood up, and steeled her nerves. Her friend had stood up for her, now it was time for her to return the favor. After a quick stretch she took off to find Midnight, rushing through the streets. 

It didn’t take long to find her, all that she had to do was follow the screams. After they finally died off, Hagakure snuck up behind Midnight. Once she got close enough, she threw a punch, but it was caught by the pro-hero, who still hadn’t even turned around.

“Oh, sweet Hagakure, you didn’t really think you could sneak up on me, did you? Here’s a hint, although it's extremely light, I have a very light cloud of gas following me at all times. The second you walked up I could feel it. Now, go to slee-HRK!”

She was cut off by Hagakure pushing up and wrapping her legs around her neck and twisting, trapping the leather clad teacher in an arm bar before flinging her to the ground. 

Midnight cracked her whip in anger before attempting to stand up, and in an incredible display of strength, lifting up Hagakure, before flinging her away and rushing her right after. 

Both of the two immediately locked in intense combat, weaving and ducking underneath each other's punches. As they fought, a bright pink smoke clouded the area, and soon only the noise of battle was audible. After about three minutes it finally died out, and when the smoke cleared….

“HAGAKURE AND MIDNIGHT ARE BOTH UNCONSCIOUS! AS KODA IS STILL CONSCIOUS, BOTH PASS!”

Finally, it was time for Present Mic to take the stage.

As Shoji and Jirou walked into the arena, both prepared for a rough battle. Then the timer rang, they sprang into action. Jirou immediately plugged her jacks into the ground to locate where Present Mic was, but recoiled with a scream of pain as a loud yell filled the air, coming from the other side of the city.

“FUCK! THAT'S LOUD!”

“You okay Jirou?”

“WHAT?”

Shoji sighed; it was looking to be more difficult than either of them had anticipated. 

They had been running through the faux city for a few minutes, and thanks to the observations they had made, they knew exactly where Present Mic was hiding. 

They began to walk up towards the front of the building, preparing to attack, when suddenly the front of the building was blown apart by a wave of sound that threw both of them back, flinging them to the ground as they tumbled.

Rapidly standing back up, Shoji sprouted multiple limbs from his back and grabbed a massive piece of rubble, slamming it down and bracing himself as Jirou took shelter behind the rubble from the last few remaining pieces of debris that went flying by.

After the barrage of sound stopped, Shoji dropped the massive slab of stone with an echoing boom. Him and Jirou got up and prepared to face Present Mic, only to not see even a glimpse of his canary-like hair. 

Shoji suddenly spun around. “DUCK!”

Reactively, Jirou immediately dropped down as a burst of sound flew over her head, ruffling her hair. 

“Shit! He’s behind us?”

“No time! MOVE!”

She leapt to the side just in time as the spot where she had been crouched was annihilated by a shockwave slamming into the ground. 

Present Mic stood up from his hiding spot and laughed loudly, causing Jirou and Shoji to flinch. 

“Alright Little Listeners! It’s time to start this battle for real! Get ready, cause I’m coming!”

“SIX MINUTES REMAINING!”

Instantly, Present Mic ran towards the pair with a speed that belied his power, swiftly dodging the various attacks that the two launched at him before launching a point-blank sonic blast into Shoji’s chest, causing the boy to grunt in pain as he got pushed back. 

Jirou was the first to attack back, plugging her jacks into the ground and using the power of her heartbeat to launch seismic waves at Present Mic, but once again he simply dodged the waves in a manner very dissimilar to his build. 

He closed the gap to the young girl in an instant and began to trade blows with her, with Jirou blocking most of them barely. Unfortunately, she was barely able to hold on, at least until Shoji came to her rescue, picking up Present Mic and throwing him to the side.

As the teacher tumbled, he used a quick yell to blast himself back onto his feet, shocking the students with his thoughtfulness in his quirk usage. 

He threw another sonic blast at the pair, but they each dove to one side, causing their teacher to divide his attention. With the opportunity provided, Shoji grabbed Present Mic, loving his arms up to the sides and yelling out.

“JIROU, DO IT NOW!”

With a yell, the black-haired girl jabbed her earjacks directly into Present Mic’s side before unleashing a sizeable vibration, rattling his brain and finally knocking the man out. 

“JIROU AND SHOJI PASS!”

Back in the observation booth, Izuku felt his heart pounding, intense emotions rushing through him. Fear, excitement, and an incalculable rage coursed through his veins as he stood up. 

He locked eyes with the ultimate hero, the titan of power, and the tension in the room grew to a snapping point. An unbearable pressure filled the room as the two clashed with their gazes, causing the other teachers to usher them out rapidly and into the fake city, getting them ready for the next battle.

Slowly, Bakugou stood up and walked outside into the waiting zone where Izuku was standing.

“So, Midoriya. Are we even making a pl-”

“Stop. I don’t know why you’re calling me by my name but thank you. In answer to your earlier question, no. You hang back and finish the mission. I’m taking this fucker head on. You’d do well to stay out of my way.”

Bakugou scoffed. “Well, that's a stupid fucking idea if I’ve ever heard one. But whatever. Your funeral. Just don’t expect me to cry.”

Laughing bitterly, Izuku responded. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

After they entered the arena, the pair began to make their final preparations for battle.

Bakugou’s head rang with a dull buzz. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to be at school. He still felt nothing like himself, and only felt as if he were going through the motions. Surprisingly, he didn’t even plan to fight, only to complete the goal as soon as possible. 

Izuku, on the other hand, was bristling. Rage flooded his body and filled his thoughts as his memory played on repeat over and over, however his memories were flooded by rage, and were only exaggerated, enraging him further. 

‘ You’ll NEVER be a hero, you're far too weak. ’

The green haired boy began to twitch in anticipation, every muscle in his body tensing up as he readied for the carnage that was sure to ensue.

On the other side of the city, All Might sighed as he prepared for the fight. After he had put on the quirk restraints, he immediately felt the effects. His quirk felt weaker, more distant, and All Might felt sluggish. 

He knew he had wronged the student he was about to fight, and honestly, All Might couldn’t help but get lost in memory as he stretched.

He told Izuku that he wouldn’t be able to be a hero, but he hadn’t meant it to hurt the boy. He wanted Midoriya to enter into a safer job, as he’d thought the kid was quirkless. Looking back, All Might knew he’d fucked up his wording, and that Izuku deserved a serious apology, but it didn’t seem like he even wanted one at this point.

His train of thought was cut off by the crackling of the speakers, and he shook his head as he crouched down. He could think about this more later. For now, he had to win.

“TEST… BEGIN!”

Immediately the blonde giant disappeared, a massive shockwave emanating from where he had started, the very ground ripping apart in his wake.

All the students watched in awe. 

“He’s this strong even with limiters?! I know Midoriya is strong, but does he even stand a chance?”

“I mean, his target is to ‘escape,’ not to win, so probably not.”

Ochaco watched on with nervousness as her boyfriend and the number one hero rocketed towards each other.”

All Might blurred through the city, looking for the kids, when suddenly he felt every instinct in his body SCREAM at him to dodge. Listening immediately, All Might ducked quickly, only for a green blur to rocket past, a fist speeding through the space where his head had just been. 

All Might turned around to confront Izuku, only for Midoriya to act first.

Izuku’s head pounded with rage as he saw the man standing there, mockingly waiting for him to attack.

“ALL MIGHT! I’M GOING TO BEAT YOU!”

With a roar of rage, Izuku rushed in, throwing a punch at the titanic man, who quickly blocked it and returned the blow with one of his own, hitting Izuku’s chest solidly, throwing him into the ground, blowing apart the street. 

From the cloud of smoke generated, Izuku rushed out once again with another yell, this time landing a blow on All Might, who staggered backwards slightly.

‘Shit, the kid is this strong?!’

All Might quickly got serious, and the teacher and student became locked in a brutal brawl, neither of them even noticing the announcement that went off in the background.

“BAKUGOU PASSES!”

Both powerhouses were throwing punches faster than anyone in the booth could even see. To those watching, it looked like a constant blur of movement and shockwaves. 

Izuku gritted his teeth even tighter as he threw another punch that landed solidly in All Might’s gut, only to be sent sprawling into the dirt by All Might’s counter. Midoriya pushed off from his hands and landed on his feet, barely even touching the ground before he had burst into movement again, launching a flurry of blows that Toshinori barely managed to block, finally ending the assault with a quick spin and a roundhouse kick to the face. Unfortunately for Izuku, All Might didn’t even budge and simply gazed down at him with that sickeningly fake smile while he snatched Midoriya’s leg, picking up the boy and slamming him to the ground. 

As Izuku hit the ground he coughed, blood flying past his lips as he felt something crack inside him.

Aizawa slammed his hands on the table, standing up quickly. “What is that fool DOING?! I’m calling it off, it’s getting out of hand!”

To the shock of everyone present, Raiden was the one to stop Aizawa. “Don’t. Not yet. I know his limits. He’s stronger than this. I'm more concerned about what’s going to happen when All Might pushes Midoriya past his limits. 

Most of the teachers were confused, but Nezu spoke for them. “You mean this isn’t his full power?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Then we shall continue to watch for now. But please Mr. Lightning Bolt, you know his limits. If it goes too far, call this off.”

Raiden nodded in understanding as his eyes went back to the screen.

All Might was facing some difficulty in dealing with the raging student. Every blow that he threw, he took two in return, and the kid hit hard.

“Fine then Izuku. You want me to be completely serious? Then I will.”

All Might stopped smiling. Not just because of Izuku, but because of what he himself had done to this child. And he put all of those regrets, his pains, and his sorrows into his power.

Izuku stopped mid attack as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck tingle, and he instinctively ducked out of the way as a massive fist came crashing down right next to him. When he looked up, he saw All Might staring down at him, but no longer smiling. A glint shined in Izuku’s eyes as he began to smile. 

“SEE ALL MIGHT?! NOT SO WEAK HUH?!”

With another rageful yell, the waves of energy rolling off of Izuku became even stronger, with winds picking up as the boy let his power run rampant, not even trying to control it. His muscles tightened and bulged, and his hair began to whip in the wind, rising up as his eyes glinted with a cold rage. 

“Now. Let’s get this fucking party started.”

All Might felt his stomach tighten at the display. 

‘ That wasn’t his limit? What IS this kid?!’

Regardless, All Might prepared himself before he leapt at Izuku, fist outstretched for a final blow.

“TEXAAAAS!”

Izuku grinned wildly as he began to charge up his own power for a final blow of his own.

“RAGING SUN!”

All Might saw Izuku preparing a blow of his own and swung his fist, bringing it down over what seemed like minutes as Izuku brought his own fist up to connect with All Might’s, both of them meeting in the middle.

“SMAAAASH!”

“FURIOUS IMPACT!”

The shockwave was massive. Immediately after their fists connected an impossibly loud explosion sounded throughout the city, and a shockwave reverberated from the center of the city, shattering every window inside the faux city. In the epicenter of the shockwave, Izuku and All Might stood, both staring at each other, neither one moving a muscle. Then suddenly, an unspoken signal was given, and both of them exploded back into movement, blows being traded faster than anyone could blink. The fight slowly began to move across the city, wrecking several buildings in the process, but each of the behemoths in the fights simply shrugged off the buildings and kept going.

Izuku had blood running down his face, and he could taste it in his mouth too, but he was still going just as intensely as ever. Unfortunately, All Might could see that he was losing stamina and began to take advantage of it, rapidly hitting him three times in his neck, stomach, and side, making him stumble and fall. The blonde teacher reached out to catch him, but that just pissed off Izuku again. 

“I WON’T LOSE HERE!”

He grabbed his teacher’s outstretched arm, and with an immense amount of effort, flipped him over his shoulder, letting go to punch him in the jaw, sending All Might flying into one of the buildings.

“Did… Midoriya just send ALL MIGHT flying?!”

“Y-yeah.”

“Holy shit.”

Uraraka just kept her eyes glued to the screen, face starched white with worry and nervousness. 

Iida had been watching them, activating his recipro burst whenever he could to try and catch glimpses of the fight, but even then, he was barely able to keep track of what was happening on the field.

‘ They’re in a different league altogether.’

All Might stood up, shaking rubble off of him, then he noticed something. Barely putting up his arms in time, Izuku came barreling through, tackling All Might and sending him through the other side of the building, where they both landed on the ground, tumbling away from each other. 

All Might stood up and prepared for the next onslaught, and when he saw Izuku coming, he prepared to throw the first punch. However he was surprised when Izuku locked hands with him and began to turn it into a show of strength, both of them fighting to push the other back.

“FIGHT ME!”

“What do you mean Young Midoriya? I am fighting you.”

“YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN YOU BASTARD! I WAS OBSESSED WITH YOU FOR YEARS! I IDOLIZED YOU! I STUDIED EVERY BIT OF FOOTAGE I COULD GET MY HANDS ON TO WATCH YOU FIGHT! YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR FULL POWER LOOKS LIKE?! YOUR QUIRK IS RESTRAINED, AND YOU’RE STILL HOLDING BACK! FIGHT ME! ”

Izuku yelled the last bit with so much force he could feel the inside of his throat tear as he screamed, blood and spit flying as he raged. 

All Might realized that Izuku was right. He had been holding back the whole time, and it must have just seemed like he was mocking Izuku. 

‘ Fine Young Midoriya. I will stop holding back.’

Izuku blinked, and everything changed. Within an instant, the entire tide of the battle had changed, and All Might was overpowering him easily. As Izuku was tossed into the air, he felt his body be assaulted mercilessly, but he barely felt any of it. 

‘ That easily? Just 60%... and I was beaten that easily? Am I … weak?’

Toshinori was so lost in the battle that he barely even noticed that Izuku had stopped resisting, and after a final beatdown, he sent Izuku flying into the ground, where he lay unmoving. 

Aizawa was livid. “LOOK AT HIM! THAT IS YOUR STUDENT! DO YOU NOT C-”

Raiden cut the teacher off by swiftly unsheathing his blade and placing the tip under Aizawa’s chin faster than anyone can see. “Pay attention. He’s not unconscious. Hell, he’s only just now about to start. ”

Everyone in the room felt a collective chill run down their backs. 'Start…?’

All Might waited momentarily for the announcement that the battle was over, but when he heard nothing, he turned around, and to his utter shock, Izuku was moving.

Izuku struggled to his knees, fists on the ground as he blankly stared. After a few seconds he finally forced himself to his feet, swaying gently in the wind as he stared towards the sky.

‘ Weak? Am I weak? No. I refuse to be weak. I’m not done. I’m not done. I’m just STARTING. ’

Just like it had when he had learned the truth about his family, something inside Izuku snapped, and he screamed, the core of anger within him exploding outward as his power began to run wild.

Waves of power began to roll off of Izuku, the wind picked up and began to whip the smaller bits of debris around. As Izuku continued to yell, his scream deepened from a pitiful yell to a deep guttural yell of fury. The energy rolling off of him almost doubled in intensity, and even All Might began to feel pressure on him from the boy standing in the center of the city.

Izuku felt his throat begin to shred itself under the force of his screaming, but he couldn’t stop, it was as if the power was forcing its way out of him. His eyes began to roll back into his head as the surging strength overflowed his body, and the major changes started happening.

His hair began to float like Aizawa’s did when he was using his quirk, but his hair had a red tinge to it, and his muscles began to bulge and swell as his body mass increased, swelling until he stood at 6’ 2”, with nearly as much muscle as Toshinori himself. 

Finally, Izuku’s primal cry of anger tapered out, and he tilted his head back down to look at All Might. The man shivered as he stared at his student, who’s eyes were glowing white, excess energy radiating off the corners, causing it to almost look like his eyes were on fire. 

Then, Izuku took a step. 

The ground underneath him trembled slightly as he stepped forwards, muscles clenching and unclenching in rapid sequence as Izuku got used to the power once again.

Raiden unconsciously placed a hand on the hilt of his sword as he saw Izuku’s strength spike.

Noticing the action, Aizawa turned to Raiden. “Mr. Lightning Bolt, what just happened?”

Raiden sighed. “I’ve been calling it Izuku’s ‘Berserk’ mode. I’ve only seen it once, and it seems to happen when he is pushed to the very limit. Even while fighting the Nomu, despite nearly being beaten, he still failed to activate it. However, whenever his emotions get pushed to the very limit, and then some more, his limit seems to just snap. This is the result. He can barely distinguish between friend and foe, but even then, he can only warn his teammates before attacking them. He gains incredible strength, but he can’t control it yet. If it goes too far, I’ll step in.”

All the students felt their spines shiver. ‘ Step in to stop Izuku from hurting… All Might? The number one hero?!’

Nezu tittered slightly. “There’s only six minutes left in the battle, but if it goes past the time limit, continue the fight. Izuku now has a separate goal. I will be judging him personally.”

Most of the other teachers in the room had completely left this to Aizawa, Nezu, and Raiden at this point. None of them could even keep up.

Izuku’s head was completely blank except for one infinite, overwhelming emotion. Pure unrestrained wrath . 

Even while every nerve ending in his body was SCREAMING at him to kill All Might, Izuku’s immovable willpower managed to restrain it just enough to become ‘defeat All Might.’

Toshinori felt sweat drip down his neck as he watched Izuku slowly begin to crouch down.

‘ What is this pressure?! Was he hiding this all along?!’

Watching intensely, All Might brought his hands up to counter Izuku’s attack, when suddenly the world began to spin.

‘ Did I… get hit? ’

All Might crashed into one of the still standing buildings, flying through the whole structure and coming out the other side with a deafening blow, finally tumbling to a stop as he came to rest against a pile of rubble. The instant he glanced up, Izuku was already standing there, fist raised to deliver a final blow. All Might dove out of the way as Izuku threw his punch into the ground, shaking the city and demolishing the few buildings that still remained, leaving an open wasteland for them to fight in.

Hurriedly standing up, All Might put up his guard just as Izuku threw another punch, the shockwave penetrating All Might’s body, causing him to cough blood as he crumpled again.

“ Pathetic. ”

Izuku’s shredded throat made his words sound gravelly and unnatural, and it sent horror down everyone’s spines as he crouched down before his fallen ex-idol.

“ See? I’m stronger than you ever could have imagined. Do you concede?”

All Might forced himself up onto his elbows, looking up at Izuku in shock as he towered over him. 

‘ What? How is he so strong? Is this really that same kid? There’s no way. Whatever the case, I CAN'T LOSE HERE.’

In the corner of his vision, All Might noticed a person standing. It was a shadowy figure, with no features, but slowly, it raised its hand, and blew. 

Seven colored streams flowed into All Might’s chest, visible only to him, and he felt power filling him, invigorating him as he staggered back onto his feet, his previously drooping bangs now standing straight up once again.

‘ Is this… One for All?’

Shaking his head, All Might focused on the battle that was in front of him, and simply smiled in his typical fashion as he watched Midoriya’s gaze darken.

“No wonder they call you the best hero in the world. You just keep getting back up don't you.”

“Of course, Young Midoriya! As long as there is evil in this world, I will never stay down!”

“You’re such a fucking fool. No matter. Prepare to lose.”

Crouching down, Midoriya erupted in a flurry of motion, closing the distance between him and All Might in a near instant, and lashing out with multiple blows. The top hero, now reinvigorated, countered every blow fist for fist, but he could feel the immense power behind every blow rattling his whole body.

‘ I need to finish this, and fast.’

Leaping back, Toshinori tried to create a gap, but Izuku kept pace, consistently staying close as the two clashed, rapidly moving across the destroyed cityscape.

“Trying to run? Don’t bother, you can’t escape me.”

Almost casually, Izuku stepped closer to All Might, grabbing his leg and throwing him into the ground, creating a trench as he dug deeper. 

Izuku rushed in, prepared to deliver the final blow.

“AURA OF MALICE: METEORIC IMPACT. ”

Midoriya came crashing down like an unstoppable force, a blazing green and red aura surrounding his fist as he brought it down on All Might, who had crossed his arms to block the blow. 

As Midoriya’s fist connected with Toshinori’s arms, everything went silent for a moment, until the world exploded.

Dust and rubble went flying after the massive explosion was created, sending a cloud of dust up hundreds of feet into the air. While everyone in the booth watched, Izuku walked out of the smoke, eyes still blazing with an enraged purpose.

Aizawa was stunned. A student of his had just beaten the number one hero. In a situation where they were meant to be at a HUGE disadvantage. He walked towards the microphone to announce the victory but was stopped once again by Raiden.

“Wait. All Might isn’t finished yet.”

Within the massive cloud of dust and smoke, All Might twitched. 

‘ FUCK he hits hard.’

After a quick crack of his neck, Toshinori stood up and took a deep breath, and sighed slowly as the now shattered quirk restraints fell off of his wrists.

‘ Guess I need to get rid of the dust now. Alright. Let’s do this.’

Izuku was still walking away from the massive dust cloud when suddenly a deep, booming voice shouted from within.

“DETROIT SMASH!”

The outer layer of the dust cloud jerked inwards suddenly, before quickly exploding outwards, everything being cleared from the area in an instant, revealing All Might standing up inside a crater, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead, staining his smile red.

“You’re STILL NOT DOWN?! FINE THEN! I’M GOING TO FUCKING BEAT YOU!”

Izuku let out a guttural roar, his power spiking once again, this time turning his hair entirely red as the white glow over his eyes doubled in intensity, the excess flames tripling in height, leaving white trails flowing from the corners of his eyes that extended about three feet above his hair. 

Unfortunately, it meant almost nothing to All Might at full power. Every attack that the boy threw shook the earth itself, but Toshinori simpy countered. 

Izuku could feel himself grow even angrier as he was throwing out more attacks, as each one was countered with relative ease from the giant man.

‘ WHY?! I’VE COME SO FAR, AND I’M GOING TO BE BEAT OUT HERE?! WHY?!”

Toshinori began to slow his attacks as he saw the turmoil form within the boy.

Suddenly, Izuku screamed. 

“WHY?! WHY CAN’T I BEAT YOU?! AFTER ALL THE PAIN, ALL THE FUCKING RAGE! AND I STILL CAN’T BEAT YOU?!”

He launched another fist, which All Might easily caught.

“Young Midoriya, why do you want to beat me?”

“BECAUSE I HAVE TO!”

Toshinori caught Izuku’s other fist in his hands, holding the boy still, even as he struggled.

“Because why?”

“I HAVE TO PROVE MY STRENGTH! I AM STRONGER THAN YOU! YOU RUINED IT ALL! I’M NOT FUCKING WEAK! I CAN BE A HERO! I HAVE TO PROVE IT!”

“I’m sorry, Midoriya. I said to you something that I never should have, and it broke you. I failed, as a hero.”

“EXACTLY! I HAVE TO BEAT YOU!”

“You can be a hero. No, you are a hero, Izuku.”

Izuku froze completely as those words reverberated through him. Slowly, his hair faded back to green, and his eyes began to return to normal as he began to sniffle, slowly starting to sob as he collapsed into All Might’s arms, who simply sat there with him, comforting the boy.

“No -hic- this isn’t how it’s supposed to go; I have to beat you.”

“You already have, Young Midoriya.”

Izuku just began to sob harder until the power sap finally caught up to him, and he passed out in All Might’s arms.

All Might stood up slowly, picking up the young teenager and walking back towards the observation booth.

After Izuku had been put with Recovery Girl, All Might walked outside to see Raiden waiting for him, leaning against the wall.

“Well? I know what happened. What you said. How is he now?”

All Might sighed deeply, deactivating his quirk as he sat against the wall heavily, sliding down until he was sitting, looking down between his legs. “I fucked up, Jack. I messed that kid up.”

Raiden slowly sat down next to Yagi. “I won't lie Toshi, you’re right. You fucked that kid up. And I’m disappointed in you for it. But, you’re taking steps in the right direction. Besides, he passed the exam with flying colors. Nezu wanted to see if he could control his anger, and he managed to.”

Toshinori just looked down even more intensely. “He still hates me.”

Raiden looked at the closed door. “Well, I can’t say I wouldn’t if I was in his position. But you broke through to him. Small steps.”

As the two teachers continued to talk, the final exams finally came to an end.

Chapter Text

Welcome one and all! I have quite the big reveal coming along with this chapter, and it’s this: This chapter is the REAL start of Fury. Everything before this was pretty much an introduction. Show off Izuku’s quirk, meet the new characters. Standard stuff. This chapter is where canon starts taking a nosedive into the dirt, and within a few chapters your normal ‘canon’ will be a thing of the past. Get Ready! Cause here comes Fury.

Am I on a roll? Uh, no. But! I have a new chapter being cranked out already boys and girls, so without further ado, here’s a quick message from our editor, Archangel, and the newest chapter!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Heyo! Got some big stuff in the works for you folks, so make sure to stay tuned! Thank you so much for reading, and as always, enjoy the show!

Deep underneath Japan’s bustling cities, industrial machinery thrummed with life. As the subterranean megastructure neared its completion, an unfamiliar man stood upon a balcony watching the puzzle pieces come together smoothly. 

He picked up his phone and dialed a number which connected almost instantly. 

“Ah! All for One, the factory is nearly complete. How are the underseas ejection ports coming along?”

A gravelly voice came through the speaker of the phone. “I haven’t checked yet, I shall update you soon. Now, on your, no- Desperado’s end, how are the cyberwarriors coming?”

“Well, at the moment we have about six thousand combat-ready units. Half of those are fodder units. No higher brain function, three basic quirks, body enhancement, regeneration, and meta-machinery. As you’ve requested, they have been dubbed the MechaNomu. As for the other three thousand; We have twenty-five hundred Metal Gear: Nomus, and four hundred ninety Bio Gears.”

“And the ten special units ? I do hope none of them are unharmed, they are my treasured subordinates after all.”

“Oh they're just fine! We have four of them completed at the moment, would you like to speak with them?”

All for One mused for a moment before deciding.

 “Put me through to their room.”

Inside a separate room in the massive compound sat four “people,” each of them having undergone extensive surgery to become cyborgs.

Suddenly, the lone screen in the room crackled to life, and most of the cyborgs sat up as the voice of their master came through.

“Alright, let’s finish this quickly. With the construction of the undersea structures and the rapid advancement of our war plan, I’m quite busy. First off. X-01, your cyborg style was based off of one of Desperado’s old leaders, a man named Sundowner. However, your reactive armor plating has been foregone for ejection nozzles instead that can release either a flammable liquid or gas of your choice. Your weapon was based off of the Pincer Blades, AKA Bloodlust. However they also now have flammable ejection ports. Your entire body is composed of extremely temperature resistant alloy. How do you feel?”

The largest cyborg stood up, coming up to a hulking 6’ 5”, his cybernetics adding even more mass to his body. As he grinned, electric blue inlays began to light up all over his body, coming to life with his excitement. “I feel amazing sir, but I have one request. I’d like to be designated as ‘Sunbringer .’”

All for One laughed, a harsh, grating noise that was sickening to the ear. “Granted. Now, X-02. Your body was based off of another Desperado official, Monsoon. However, your body has many more segments, and as requested, each finger is detachable from your hand. Also as requested, we didn’t make you a weapon. Anything to add?”

The second cyborg, a much more lithe man, laughed and scratched at his neck habitually. “No master, only that I be designated Typhoon .”

“Good. X-03, You don't have much to say, so we’ll move on to the next. X-99. I know you have no idea why you’re here. As for why you can’t control your words, well, you used to be a hero after all. But I’m gracious, do you have a designation you would like to go under?”

With a click of a button the final cyborg’s mouth suddenly opened. “How are you controlling me?! Why am I here? I should be DEAD! Let me go! I need to see my son!”

Another click and the man fell silent and stiff once more, All for One grinning horridly as he closed the connection. 

“They’re perfect. Thank you, Abraham. This plan wouldn’t be operable without the support of Desperado.”

Abraham simply smiled. “Of course, sir. With this, a new era will come, a wonderful war spanning all of Japan, and the new regime of All for One.”

All for One relaxed into his chair, turning slowly to turn on a series of monitors that were lined up along the walls. As they came on one after the other, a soft blue light filled the room. A few keystrokes later, and the view changed. Several miles underneath the surface of the ocean, cameras whirred to life as they illuminated gargantuan structures bolted to the sea floor.

Tiny little pinpricks of light flashed repeatedly as hundreds of deep-sea workers welded more metal onto the structures. In total, there were five different sites, each one at roughly eighty percent completion.

The base of the sites was a humongous metal ring, measuring roughly 400 meters in diameter, and stretching into the water far above, towering over everything in the ocean at a staggering five hundred meters tall. Within the structure, not that anyone but All for One knew, was a housing unit on a gargantuan elevator. Inside the unit was a dormant monstrosity, a mechanical behemoth stretching roughly three hundred meters into the air. Its legs were comprised of three parts, two massive hunks of metal interconnected by an inner piece to form a tilted ‘s’ shape. On the hips of the beasts were thin wing shaped thrusters, powered by an immense plasma core housed within the torso section, a T shaped head with hundreds of floodlights and reinforced plates. Sitting atop the entire mass was a turret section, with a large plasma cannon and launcher unit sitting on either side. 

All for One grinned as he watched the construction. “Soon these Metal Gear: Rex Mk2 units will be fully ready to launch.”

He was interrupted from his musing by a knock on the door.

“Mr. Anderson? The reporter is here for the interview.”

All For One rapidly shut off the screens and put a blank white mask on his face, covering up all of his scarring. 

“Ah, Ms. Carol, do come in.”

The door swung open as a sharply dressed woman walked in holding a clipboard. 

All for One gestured at the chair before him as she sat down, then spoke. 

“All right Mr. Anderson the Fox News reporter is here for his interview with him. Do keep in mind, this is a big interview, as it will be your first ever public address as the number one hero in America.”

All for One, AKA Thomas Anderson, Quirk Cutter, grinned widely underneath the mask.

It was the day after the exams, and school could not have been more awkward for Izuku. The first period of the day had been led by All Might, and Izuku couldn’t bring himself to look his mentor in the eyes. After their battle, Izuku had a lot of time to stew over old memories, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized HE was in the wrong. 

All Might’s answer had been a perfectly reasonable one, albeit much harsher than he himself would have delivered. It was extremely awkward for the boy to realize that he had wrongfully directed his rage at the man the entire time. He still didn’t idolize him, much less like him. After all, years of rage don't just dissipate after a single night, even if he had been in the wrong. 

Lost in his thoughts, Izuku hardly noticed that he had completely lost his sense of time. He only realized this fact when it dawned on him that he was now walking towards his last class of the day.

Aizawa had walked into the room behind Midoriya quietly, hardly making himself known until he cleared his throat, garnering the attention of the class.

“Alright everyone, take your seats. The final exams are over now, and the results were actually much better than I expected. Congratulations on all of your personal achievements. Now, for the less pleasant announcements. Kirishima, Todoroki, you two have failed the test. Todoroki, due to your extreme lack of teamwork and refusal to rely on your teammate, you have failed. Kirishima, you failed due to your reckless charging in without making a plan. Despite that, the effort you gave was good, so good job, but unfortunately you will still have to take remedial classes during the summer camp.”

After a long pause the whole class exclaimed in shock. “Summer camp?!”

Aizawa looked at his class with a self satisfied smirk on his face. “Ah yes, I forgot to mention that huh?. Well, we are going to be having a summer camp for a week, it is going to function as additional training for the heroics classes, and it will be a joint training camp with class 1-B. Here are the supply sheets, please try to show up with everything on the list. Anyway, congratulations to all of you for making it this far or whatever. Class dismissed.”

After a few minutes of all the news sinking in, the class quickly began to shuffle out of the doors and walk out of the building. 

Ochaco and Izuku were walking out together, Mei happily strutting alongside them, all of them talking happily about their plans for the weekend, and what they were going to do, when suddenly the trio was interrupted by a deep voice.

“Ah, Young Midoriya, may I talk with you? Please?”

Izuku felt many different feelings rush up as he heard the man speak. Anger at what All Might had said, regret towards how he had treated the man, disappointment at his own weakness, and many more. Shaking his head quickly, Izuku turned around stiffly and spoke shortly. 

“Sure, All Might.”

As the boy walked into the room and out of sight, Ochaco watched him with concern on her face before she sat down and began to wait for him to come back, while Mei simply plopped down next to her, pulling a bundle of scrap and wire and fiddling with it. “Don’t worry Chaco, We both know what happened, but maybe something’s changed now?”

Ochaco just sighed, staring intensely at the door.

Izuku and All Might sat down stiffly, both simply looking at each other for a while, neither of them daring to speak a word.

All Might was the first to speak, letting out a heavy sigh as he talked. 

“I am sorry Midoriya. I had no right to answer your question the way that I did on that day. I was stressed out by multiple factors, but even so, I could have been much more tactful with my answer to your question.”

Midoriya leaned forward in his chair, a predatory look appearing in his eye as he spoke.

“Well, All Might. When you say that you could have been more tactile, does that mean that you still don’t think that a quirkless person could become a hero?”

The number one hero’s face darkened as he paused. “I don’t know.”

Izuku snarled. “And just what does that mean?!”

All Might backpedaled quickly. “Hold on, please let me finish, Midoriya. What I mean is, I don’t know because there’s no possible way for me to know.”

Izuku’s aura flickered as his rage began to spike. “There’s support gear All Might. Knuckleduster is a quirkless vigilante who you KNOW could be a hero. There are so many ways to be a hero. Why couldn’t a quirkless kid be one?”

All Might sighed in resignation. “You’re only partially true Midoriya. Knuckleduster is a quirkless vigilante. But look at his record. He hasn’t ever captured a villain that society had\s deemed as powerful. The man makes great contributions to heroism, despite his being a vigilante; however in a battle against a villain like Chainsaw Hands, he would have a severe disadvantage. He wouldn’t last as a professional hero, there’s no way he could make the quota. While support gear is strong, it can’t account for every weakness. What will you do when you encounter a villain who has a quirk that perfectly neutralizes every piece of equipment you have?”

“I’ll increase the variety of equipment! He can’t counter fire AND ice!”

“But what if he can control any machinery?”

“This could apply to heroes too!”

“True. In the end I don't know the answer. So let me ask you a question. When you asked me that question, if I had said yes. Do YOU think you could have become a hero?”

Izuku froze. 

“I- I don’t know.”

All Might smiled grimly. “Then you see my point. I can support everyone, tell everyone that they can be a hero, but in the end my words are just that. Words. My voice alone cannot sway the fate of a person unless that person puts in the work to make a change in his or her life. I believe that anyone CAN be a hero, and I was completely in the wrong to tell you otherwise. Everyone actually becoming a hero though, that's a different story. I cannot see the future, and I can’t make you work for it.”

Izuku sat still, lost in thought as he processed his teacher’s words. “I see your point. I do think you fucked up in telling me no, but I also see where you came from. At that point I was a weakling. I didn't do anything to train, I didn’t put in the work. If I had attempted to be a hero as is, I almost certainly would’ve died. That brings me to another point; while I can’t forgive you completely just yet, I think that maybe we should try to start things over. What do you say, All Might?”

With those words, Izuku stretched his hand out to the man sitting across from him. 

Taking the hand offered to him and shaking it, All Might broke out into a grin. “I think that's a wonderful idea Young Midoriya!”

Mei and Ochaco sat up quickly as they watched the door open and the two men walk out. The air between them was awkward, but it was no longer hostile like before. Izuku smiled at the two girls as they rushed over.

“Hey girls, you weren’t too bored right?”

Both of them blushed lightly, Mei softly punching him. “Dummy.”

Feigning sadness, Izuku fell backwards onto the floor.

“Oh how you wound me Mei.”

Ochaco burst out into laughter as she pulled him back to his feet. 

“Alright you jokester let’s get going, Mom and Dad said that they were going to take us out to eat tonight remember?”

The trio began to leave the school building once again when Izuku’s phone suddenly rang, causing the trio to stop.

“Again? Man the world does NOT want me going home today!”

Picking up the phone he answered quickly when he saw that it was Raiden calling.

“Raiden? What’s up?”

“ Hey Midoriya, are you free tomorrow?”

“Yeah I am, what’s up?”

“I’ve been working on another case with a friend of mine and we discovered something that may relate to your past experiences. In addition, I think I noticed something that has to do with your quirk, and I wanted to see if you could come into the lab so we could get a clearer understanding of what exactly your quirk is.”

Midoriya sat there in a bit of shock. Just when he thought that he had figured out everything to do with his quirk, Raiden hits him with this. 

“Sure, I should be free. Where do you want me to meet you?”

“ Just meet me outside the Musutafu transit station and we’ll head down to the station together. This involves… a lot.”

“Alright, I gotcha. See you tomorrow then!”

“Alright Midoriya, see you tomorrow.”

With that, Izuku shut his phone off completely and walked home with his lovers, finally finding peace for a single day.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

With an exasperated grunt, Izuku slammed his fist down onto his alarm clock, cracking the external plastic slightly. As he stood up he grabbed the clock and inspected the damage closely. 

‘ Ah fuck, that's another clock gone, I can’t ask Tsuyoichi to replace this, I’ll just get a new one.’

He rapidly got dressed, reading his texts from Mei and Ochaco, who had gone out together for the day. After writing a quick good morning text, he headed out the door and met up with Raiden at the station. 

Once they got on the train, Raiden filled Izuku in.

“Alright Midoriya, currently I’m working with the police to catch an underground criminal group that has passed themselves off as a yakuza installment. They’re known as the Shie Hassakie, and their leader is quite the formidable enemy. His name is Kai Chisaki, villain name Overhaul. His quirk is the same as his name, Overhaul. I won’t lie, his quirk is incredibly powerful. It allows him to literally break down matter and reassemble it in any way he chooses.”

Izuku frowned at the possibilities. “Hmm, if he has such a powerful quirk, why isn’t he a huge public enemy? He has the firepower to contend with even the strongest enemies, therefore he must have a limit if he hasn’t already come after the top heroes. Do we know what his motives are? An organized group like his must be following something.”

Raiden smiled at Izuku’s analytical strength. “You’re right. There's a reason he hasn’t gone after society as a whole yet. He hates quirks. His goal isn’t to wipe out heroes, but quirks as a whole.”

Raiden was cut off by the train coming to a stop in front of the police station. “Ah, perfect timing. The rest of this discussion can be finished inside.”

The pair stepped off the train and walked into the building, going through security to meet a tall man at the back of the station. Said tall man stepped forward as they approached, shaking Raiden’s hand. 

“Ah, Raiden! Good to see you.”

“Good to see you too Tsukauchi. This is Midoriya, he’s the one I told you about.”

“Ahh, the special case!” Extending his hand, Tsukauchi greeted Izuku as well. “A pleasure to meet you Mr. Midoriya.”

Izuku chuckled and accepted the handshake. “Likewise Mr. Tsukauchi. Now, Raiden told me that this case pertains to me in some way? How exactly am I involved?”

The detective motioned both of them into his office before closing the door and shutting the blinds. 

“Well first off, this case is top secret and no details can be revealed. Okay?”

Izuku nodded his head. 

“Good. Now, you already know that he wants to get rid of quirks. As for his methods? He has somehow developed a quirk-erasing drug. Currently he’s on his fourth version, and the erasure lasts roughly 2 months. This was a relatively recent breakthrough, but even so, we’ve heard rumors in the underground that Overhaul is hiding his true progress, and has long since created a successful, albeit unstable, erasure drug.”

Izuku’s eyes widened as he realized what the detective was insinuating.

It was then that Raiden spoke up. 

“Seems you realize the seriousness of the situation, kid. Now as for how you tie into it, this rumored drug also has some pretty big drawbacks. Persistent headaches, a lack of some emotions, a reduction in hormone production that can result in an abnormal lack of musculature. Seem familiar?”

Izuku’s face hardened as he spat out his words with disgust. “Yeah. It does.”

His disgust at his old self quickly morphed into confusion though. “Well, that leaves me with questions then. When was this drug administered? I never would’ve taken something like that willingly, and it must’ve been before I turned four. In addition, how did the drug lose its effect?”

Tsukauchi leaned back and sighed. “See, that’s where we’re stuck as well. Logically, Overhaul must have an accomplice that’s testing these drugs in the outside world, but we had no idea how to narrow it down, but now we have you. So, from before you were four, do you remember anyone weird, maybe in the setting of a doctor’s office? Or a stranger that you’ve never met before?”

Izuku began to recall anything and everything he could remember, about to give up, when a strange inconsistency made him pause.

“Actually, yeah there was something. When I was three, my doctor suddenly retired. He wasn’t old, there wasn’t any warning, he just left. The one who replaced him was named Dr. Tsubasa, but he looked interesting for a doctor. He had big circular glasses, and a massive, bushy orange mustache. He was a pretty good doctor though, as far as I can remember.”

That made Raiden and Tsukauchi startle, the latter quickly typing up something on his computer and pulling up an image file. 

“Izuku, did he look like this?” Tsukauchi swiveled the monitor around to Izuku, who smiled slightly.

“Yep, that's him!”

Tsukauchi frowned, as did Raiden. 

“Is something wrong?”

“Izuku, the man in that picture is not actually Dr. Tsubasa, but a criminal that goes by the name of Kyudai Garaki. He is a renowned geneticist for hire that is employed by multiple criminal gangs. He somehow stays out of the radar almost constantly. He’s infamous for his genetic works, including his quirk theories and revolutionary quirk machinery.”

Izuku felt himself startle in shock. His quirk wasn’t late blooming. It had been suppressed. Those headaches that he had been getting as a child weren’t a medical condition, like he had been told. No, they were the result of his quirk struggling to come forth. The more he thought about it the angrier he became.

‘ I didn’t have to go through that torturous childhood? I could have had a normal childhood if that man hadn’t injected me with that fucking drug? You’re telling me that the whole reason I had to have a shitty life, the reason my entire family hates me, the reason that I lost almost all my hope, the reason that my IDOL rejected me is all because of that MONSTER?’

The two older men watched Midoriya carefully as he twitched slightly, the vein on his forehead pulsing furiously as he muttered angrily. Quickly he caught himself; taking a deep breath he calmed down and turned back to them.

“Alright. So if this ‘Garaki’ character is the one behind the drug distribution, who is he working for? In addition, how far has their research come? If the one that was applied to me almost 13 years ago was able to keep my quirk suppressed indefinitely until I met a certain amount of emotional stimuli, couldn’t they very well have a fully functional version?”

Tsukauchi sighed. “It is very well possible, but now that we have confirmed who’s behind it, you don’t have to worry. This isn’t a case you need to be involved in any further, you’re still a child!”

Izuku sighed in compliance. He knew that the detective was right, it wasn’t his place to get involved. Reluctantly he and Raiden said goodbye as they stepped outside and began to move towards the laboratory.

Upon arrival in the stark white building, the pair were ushered down towards the quirk specialty facility, where they were guided into a large waiting room.

Interestingly enough, they didn’t have to wait long as the doctor opened the doors, accompanied by none other than..

“Aizawa-sensei?!”

Said teacher looked over and nodded at the boy. “Good, you’re here already. I trust Raiden told you why we’re here?”

Izuku nodded. “He said that he had a theory about my quirk and that he wanted to run a test with it!”

Aizawa smirked ‘ So he didn’t tell Midoriya everything huh? What a problem child.”

  “Alright Midoriya, we’re going to test for quirk sentience. One of the easiest ways to do this is to have Eraserhead here attempt to erase your quirk. If yours is sentient, then it should resist being ‘put to sleep’ like most others for a while before it succumbs. Is that okay with you?”

The doctor looked up from his notepad to see Izuku staring at him curiously. “You think my quirk is sentient? Well, I suppose that could make sense. Sure; let’s do it! Although. Do you have a place to confine me? My quirk REALLY doesn’t like being erased.”

The doctor smiled warmly. “Thank you for your concern Mr. Midoriya, and don't worry about it! These two young gentlemen can keep you confined in the worst case. In addition, since your quirk most likely recognizes it’s in a safe environment the destruction and resistance will be reduced.”

With the pleasantries finished, everyone moved into position, the two identical twins standing on either side of Midoriya while the doctor stood behind him, observing intently. Raiden was watching from the back wall, but suddenly startled as he put up his hand to his ear, seemingly having received a phone call. Izuku tilted his head quizzically as he watched the cyborg walk out of the room only to have his attention drawn back by his homeroom teacher. 

“Alright Midoriya, are you ready?”

Izuku breathed out calmly as he prepared himself. “I’m ready when you are sensei.”

Immediately he felt his quirk rampage to the surface, his hair immediately fading into a bright red color as he burst forwards, attempting to shut off the offensive quirk. He felt like he was watching the world through a screen, as if his eyes were no longer his own, and he couldn’t control his body. He watched himself surge forwards as he impacted with an invisible barrier that held him back from moving. Frustrated, he growled in anger as he began to attack the barrier. The charade went on for about thirty seconds before Izuku collapsed to the ground, unable to feel his own quirk.

The invisible barrier raised as the doctor scribbled countless notes into his clipboard before finally speaking.

“Alright Midoriya, it looks like you do indeed have a sentient quirk, however the level isn’t very high. It’s more just base instinct than anything else. However this should grant you a significant amount of resistance to anything that affects your quirk or quirk factor directly.”

Izuku nodded along as he took in the information. The doctor was extremely well versed in quirks, and even somehow knew that his quirk would hold back while struggling. 

“Thank you doctor- ah wait, what did you say your name was?”

The doctor just grinned as he shook Izuku’s hand. “Ah right I never did introduce myself properly!” Izuku startled as he felt a prick in his hand.

“Garaki. The name is Kyudai Garaki.”

Instantly reacting, Izuku yanked his hand away and leapt back. “What do you want?!”

His disguise fully melted away, the criminal laughed. “A few reasons! One of my employers needed a blood sample from you to figure out why his drug didn’t remain effective, although I already know. One for All must’ve negated the effects. But I’m also here to deliver a message. He is alive.”

Without waiting for a response the man burst into black slime that quickly drained away, leaving absolutely nothing behind. 

Raiden burst through the door having heard a bit of commotion, only to find a pale-faced Izuku sitting on the floor. 

“G-Garaki was here.”

Raiden cursed. Just more shit on his plate. First that weird Nomu from Hosu finally got analyzed, and now this? Criminal activity was also on the rise. Something was coming, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what.

End chapter notes! First time ever doing this, but here I’ll explain a few things. First, to those who wonder just how Garaki just happened to pop up right after he was just mentioned? Well, as someone hired by AFO, and a pretty high level person in his group, AFO is willing to help him out, and in addition, AFO has people everywhere in his pocket, of course he has someone in the police, so Garaki immediately got notified.

Chapter Text

Alright everyone! Welcome back for yet another chapter!! I know what you’re thinking 

‘No 2 month long break between the chapters?’

NOPE! My muse is back, for a little while at least, and with the return of my inspiration comes the realization of just how mid that last chapter was. It wasn’t BAD in my eyes but it certainly wasn’t great. I'm going to do my best to continue the flow I have, and while all those plot twists and reveals were necessary, that chapter as a whole was subpar once it switched over to Izuku’s side. There was a real lack of actual character depth, and I apologize. I also know this fic is largely action, with no real filler/fluff, and this chapter will change that a bit, while also switching POV’s for important development in the story on the villain’s side. Now, for the other side of things. 

It had been an extremely stressful week for Izuku. Not only had he technically been the target of a villain attack, but that villain had even delivered him a message that he had NO idea how to interpret. His first thought was that perhaps the man had been referring to his father, but after revisiting his dad’s grave he knew it wasn't true, no matter how much he wished it had been. 

Raiden was similarly just as stressed. Tsukauchi and him had gotten a bit more information from Izuku that made them realize that this case was tied into a lot more than he had originally thought. Not only was Garaki involved with the Yakuza through Chisaki and the Nine Bullets, but he had also escaped from the lab through what Izuku described as a “black sludge emanating from the mouth”. That tied him in with a few isolated cases of powerful villains managing to escape from heroes by the use of that sludge. One of the villains was none other than the infamous Shigaraki who had escaped from right under his hands in the same manner. On top of everything else, the Metal Gear Nomu they had recovered that night had Desperado’s tag on it.

Running his hands down his face Raiden sighed tiredly. Garaki wasn’t just tied into the Shie Hassaikai, he was also tied into the League of Villains, who apparently also had connections to that mysterious cyborg that called himself ‘Stain’. Whoever was the leader of the League controlled two thirds of the picture. And if the Yakuza was connected to them too, then they were looking at a supermassive Villain organization the likes of which the world had never seen. Reluctantly he pulled out his phone and scrolled down to call a contact he had sworn to only call in extreme emergencies. Sighing once again, he hit the button that read ‘Nezu’.

Sitting up and stretching with a large yawn, Izuku slowly got out of bed, much to the protests of his lovers.

Ochaco simply laid there and let out a long groan. “Ughhhhh what did you do that for Zuku you were comfy!”

Izuku for his part laughed at her while Uraraka grabbed Mei, curling up with her instead. 

“At least one of you still loves me,” she said, sticking out her tongue at Izuku.

The green haired boy was saved by Mei waking up slowly. “Green? ‘Chako?” After a few blinks she finally started to come to her senses. She jumped out of bed rapidly and slipped her signature red goggles on her head, leaving Ochaco to sit there in shock for a few seconds before the girl planted her face into the pillows, talking while muffled. “Okay, screw you both.”

Midoriya just laughed even harder before picking her up and putting her down next to Mei and giving both girls a kiss. 

“I thought you would’ve been more excited for today Chako, remember? We have a date planned!”

The brown haired girl’s eyes lit up immediately as it came back to her. She quickly floated both Mei and Izuku outside and slammed the door behind her as she rambled.

“Oh my gosh I totally forgot! You two can just wait outside while I get ready don’t worry I won’t take long okayloveyoubye!”

The green and pink duo looked at each other in shock at their girlfriend’s antics before laughing slightly and heading downstairs. When they reached the foot of the steps, they were caught off guard by Tsuyoichi clearing his throat as he put down his newspaper.

He looked at them before breaking out into a wide smile, wiggling his eyebrows as he spoke. “Have a good night you two?”

Izuku broke out in a radioactive blush as he sputtered in protest. “H-hey Tsuyoichi you know we aren’t l-l-like THAT!”

The man simply smiled at the kids. “I know. It’s why I trust you, Izuku. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt Ochaco or Mei. All of you kids are family. And while I know this is in a separate vein, I’m proud of you Izuku. I’ve seen how far you’ve grown, from being that scrawny little kid who could barely mix some concrete to being able to go toe to toe with some of the most fearsome villains out there. Just be careful kiddo! And have fun on that date today!”

Izuku’s blush started up once again as the last part of Tsuyoichi’s speech was spoken with waggled eyebrows once again. 

He was about to have another mental malfunction when Mei grabbed him and pushed him out the door, where Ochaco had slipped by, unnoticed by the greenette. 

“Ooookay Izuku let’s get you outside and on the move! And thank you Mr. Uraraka! Oh by the way there’s a baby for you in the garage! I know you’ll love it!”

As the door shut behind the trio, Tsuyoichi just looked towards the garage confused.

‘Baby?’

“Interesting.” The word was spoken quietly, yet with an air of irritation. 

“It seems quite the powerful… ability ; has surfaced. Not only that, but it was able to break through our current generation of erasure drugs. It took the boy almost 13 years, but these drugs were supposed to be indefinite. Chrono, call back Garaki. I want to see if there’s any new developments with the formula. After all, we have plenty of resources.”

—-----------------------------

The mall had been surprisingly empty when the trio walked in, but that didn’t stop them from latching together and trekking forward to begin their date. 

As they walked, Mei flitted about from window to window, admiring all that the stores had to offer while Izuku and Ochaco giggled at her antics, loving her all the same. The mall was a relatively new one, and had hundreds of different shops that catered to hundreds of different interests. Mei was more interested in the hobby shops as she watched the machines in the window displays move around, but slowly and surely Ochaco and Izuku got her to come with them to the clothing section, much to her chagrin. (And Izuku’s)

It had only been twenty minutes inside the apparel store but already Ochaco had loaded the trio up with a stack of clothes, not counting her own pile that she held. Izuku was reasonably bored, staring longingly at the hero merch shop across the hallways, but Ochaco just pulled him along. 

“Come on Zuku, we can go there next don’t worry! I just want to see how these look on you! You too Mei, I’ve never even seen you wearing anything but overalls!”

“That’s because overalls are the perfect clothing piece! No annoying extra fabric, plenty of pockets, and there’s barely any risk of a possible wardrobe malfunction!”

Ochaco’s face burst into a blazing blush as hundreds of thoughts ran through her head in the span of a single second, most of them unsuited for children. Izuku smirked at the brunette, although he himself was barely managing to control his own rampant hormones. 

“I- well- Oh come on let’s just go try these on!”

Not even ten minutes later and all three of the teens were having a hard time looking at each other without blushing with the outfits Ochaco had picked. 

Ochaco herself had on a white t-shirt with a cropped black jacket that she left open. Her skirt was pink and she had put on a braided brown belt to go along with the ensemble, finishing it off with a half-moon silver necklace, as well as white socks that came up just under her knee, and her pink sneakers.

She had managed to wrangle Mei out of her standard overalls and into a yellow tank-top, complete with a pair of green shorts and maroon lace-up shin boots. Of course, even her own girlfriend couldn’t get Mei to abandon the signature pair of red goggles that graced her head.

Finally, Izuku had put on a nice pair of lighter blue jeans, with a light brown belt. For his top he had on a black hooded t-shirt, and a stylized green jacket with embroidered waves and ocean near the bottom. 

After thorough inspection (and a few complaints from Mei), Izuku bought the clothes and they walked out of the clothing store, Mei falling to the ground and overdramatically acting as if she had escaped a prison. 

“Finally! I’m FREE!” 

Ochaco watched her with an unsympathetic expression while Izuku laughed from a bit further ahead. 

“Yeah and now you actually look prepared for our date, dear” Ochaco said relentlessly.

Mei thrashed on the ground playfully “Oh how you wound me!”

The pair looked at each other unblinkingly for a few seconds more before bursting into laughter again, only to notice that their third member had already moved on.

Getting up and dusting herself off, Mei spoke. "Hey where did Izuku go?”

Ochaco simply pointed to the merch store. “He may be a huge nerd but he’s OUR nerd. Want to go see what he’s got his eyes on?”

Mei shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt.”

As soon as they walked in the door they were immediately pulled over to the side by Izuku who was pointing excitedly at a boxed figure of Ryukyu as he rambled on and on about the supposedly super rare limited edition figure of Ryukyu where the company had apparently messed up and made the figure with only three claws on her signature headband instead of four.

He continued rambling for about thirty seconds before Mei grabbed his arm. “Hey Zuku, I know it’s rare and all, but have you seen the price tag?”

Izuku almost fainted as she held up a tag that had an absolutely exorbitant amount of zeroes on it.

“O-okay maybe it’s not worth it.” He chuckled sheepishly. 

The two girls rolled their eyes at their boyfriend’s antics. ‘You don’t say…”

As he was about to defend himself, Midoriya’s stomach let out a loud grumble that caused more than a few heads to turn their way.

“Hmm, well it looks like I’m hungry, and on that note I can think of a better use for this money than a hero figurine. What do you two say?”

He wasn’t met with any objections, and without any further discussion the trio linked hands and walked out of the merch store in search of a restaurant for some lunch.

Deep under the seas of Japan, the massive metal giants came ever closer to completion as the thousands of workers finished up the outer shell. Massive turbines began to churn to life inside the building, draining the water from the inside and pumping it out into the ocean faster than anyone had thought possible for a monumental structure such as this.

As the water funneled away, the looming behemoth housed within creaked and groaned as it settled once more under its own weight. On a small screen held by one of the scientists working far below, a counter began to tick down.

Ochaco and her significant others all sat back after a filling meal, fully satisfied. 

“Man Mei, I didn’t realize you knew spots like this! How’d you find it?”

The mentioned pinkette looked up with a soft smile. “Hey, it’s not like I spend ALL my time inventing.”

Izuku and Ochaco simply looked at her with doubtful expressions. “Sure Mei. Sure.”

Mei spoke indignantly. “Hey it’s not like it took me quite a while to realize that I had affections for you.”

Izuku complained. “Oh come on, that's not even remotely the same situation!”

Ochaco simply smiled warmly at her lovers’ antics. “Come on you two, we ate lunch REALLY late. Actually that was more of a dinner, but come on I’ve got somewhere to take you!”

The two that were currently arguing immaturely immediately snapped to attention and cleaned up as they got ready to leave, only pausing for Izuku to kiss both of them with affection. 

“You know I can taste the soy sauce you had right?”

Izuku snorted in mild embarrassment. “C’mon don’t ruin the mood! Now, where were we going?”

Ochaco didn’t respond, simply grabbing her lovers’ hands and leading them out the door and down the street. Luckily they didn’t have to go far, as their destination was only about two blocks down.

Izuku sighed as the memories began to flow while the trio walked out onto the sandy beach of Dagobah, the very same beach he and Ochaco had cleaned up less than a year prior.

Pulling the brunette close, Izuku leaned down and kissed the girl, Ochaco leaning into it as they embraced, nothing but love filling the space between them. As they separated, they grinned happily while Mei finally lost her patience. 

“Hey! Don’t leave me out of this!” She exclaimed, leaping into both of their arms, stealing a kiss from each before Izuku lost balance, causing all three of them to fall into a pile.

After a few minutes, the group finally situated themselves, with Ochaco leaning her head on Izuku’s shoulder while Mei was sprawled out over both their laps, all three simply relaxing as the sunset washed over the beach.

BREAKING NEWS! 

The big red headline flashed prominently across every screen in America, millions of phones going off as a presidential alert was sent out.

‘BREAKING NEWS! Today at approximately 1:18 AM, the Number One hero in America, Thomas Anderson; AKA Quirk Cutter was pronounced dead after a long battle with an extremely powerful villain, currently detained under the name “Mystery Box”. Mystery Box lacks any higher brain functions and seems to operate under an unknown villain. The main reason for Quirk Cutter’s death seems to be that Mystery Box is in possession of multiple quirks. If you see anything resembling this creature, please contact the American Quirked Society Protection Agency at the following number: (***-***-****). There is no need to be alarmed, all heroes are on high alert, and moves to follow up on Quirk Cutter’s death shall be announced as soon as more information is gathered. Thank you citizens, and God Bless America.’

All for One smiled as he stared at the television screen in the window. Faking his death had been remarkably easy with the multitude of quirks at his disposal, and his numerous years as the top hero in America had given him access to hundreds of extremely strong quirks that he had taken from various villains. 

He threw his head back, laughing furiously at the situation. Several people walking by looked at the grizzled older man with disgust, all assuming he was simply a drugged up junkie. As he came down from his high, All for One grinned evilly as he dialed a number and held the phone up to his ear. 

“Hello Jin. I need you to prepare a plane. I’m returning to Japan.”

Alright everyone, Hope you enjoyed! LMK if the difference between my editing and Arch's editing is noticeable, I'm kinda curious! And if you're still reading this after 20 chapters, thank you. I appreciate you all. 

Chapter Text

Alright, time for a bit of an explanation, heavens know y’all deserve one. So turns out, I was NOT able to take my laptop with me to the secondary training school like I thought I would be able to, and as such I had to wait an additional few months to start this chapter. Let’s see how this turns out after the ravages of time reached it!

But without further ado, onto the actual chapter!

It had been a wonderful weekend for Izuku, with the exception of the minor villain attack that he seemed to be at the epicenter of. Hell, even as he walked up to the big UA building he found his mind drifting back to the events of yesterday, specifically the sunset on the beach. 

He was shaken out of his musings by the usual goodbye from his pink-haired girlfriend, and he smiled gently as he watched her run excitedly to the support room that she spent so much of her time in. Mei had even shown him and Ochaco most of the creations that she had made, many of them being extremely impressive for someone their age, even coming close to being on par with professional support companies' creations. 

Once again reminding himself where he was, he took Ochaco’s hand in his own and walked through the halls until they arrived at the massive door that signified their classroom.

Gently opening the door, the pair stepped inside to the widely grinning visages of all their classmates, whom they had become well acquainted with. At this point, most of the class with the exception of Bakugou and Mineta were pretty close friends, and acted as such, the pair smoothly mingling with everyone. The second the class heard a slight shuffling though, everyone scrambled in a panic to sit down and shut up as their teacher rolled up to the podium.

Aizawa stood up quickly, shedding his yellow sleeping bag as he did, looking like some sort of human caterpillar as he did. Smiling style he held up a stopwatch that showed two seconds on it.

“Look at that, a six second improvement since your first day. Maybe there is some hope for you after all. Now, onto the first order of business. You all did decently enough in your finals, but what I noticed a lot of you lacked was two things. Super Moves and agility. Today we’ll be working on agility. Everyone but Midoriya, head down to Gym Gamma. Midoriya, head to Principal Nezu. You’re not in any trouble, he just wants to know more about the attack on the lab, and your personal experience.”

Nervously, Izuku stood up as the rest of the class filed out of the door, many shooting him a concerned look. Slowly he walked the immense halls of the school, turning down a separate hallway that he hadn’t been down before. He walked quietly to the door marked ‘ Nezu’s Office’ but right as he reached out his hand to open the door, it swung open on its own, causing him to stumble through the doorway.

As he looked up, he was greeted by the faces of his mentor, All Might, Nezu, and the detective he had met on the weekend. Scrambling to his feet, he stuttered out a greeting, pressure from four influential people overcoming his rage-filled half, momentarily reverting him to the boy he used to be.

“A-ah hey there.”

All Might for his part, offered Izuku a warm, albeit awkward smile before turning at the sound of Nezu’s voice. 

“Ah! Young Midoriya, welcome. We were just talking about the attack and the appearance of Dr. Garaki, although as you were the one to actually be in the room with him I figured it would be more beneficial to speak with you about the matter. Now, I’ve already gotten the majority of the encounter from your previous statement to Tsukauchi, but is there anything else that you might like to add?”

Izuku hesitated as he remembered what the villain had told him.

“There was one thing. Garaki told me when he was leaving that he wasn’t just there to make contact with me, but also to deliver a message. He told me ‘ He is still alive.’  

The second the words left his lips the aura in the room immediately changed, and all of the heroes in the room felt themselves shiver as their faces hardened. Izuku looked at them questioningly, and All Might sighed as he spoke up. 

“I’m sorry Young Midoriya, it seems that once again through no fault of your own, you’ve been dragged into a matter that doesn’t concern you.”

Izuku looked at All Might questioningly as the man himself looked towards Nezu; as if for approval. 

“You may tell him All Might, after all it’s not my secret to share. However I will request that if you do tell him; don’t leave anything out.”

All Might sighed in resignation. “In that case could you call Sui up here?”

Nezu nodded as he turned on the intercom. “Sui Kyuso to my office. Repeat, Sui Kyuso to my office”

In the 4-A classroom, most of the class broke into snickers as they saw one of their classmates getting called into the principal’s office. 

Smiling with gentle resignation, a boy with hair swept back into almost a perfect angle stood up and walked out the door.

“-And that’s the story of All for One and One for All.”

Izuku looked at the man silently, beholding him under a critical eye. “So that’s the reason for your decrease in activity over these past few years. However there was a sharp decline roughly a year and a half ago. Am I to assume that’s when you passed off your quirk to the current holder?”

All Might gulped nervously just as Nezu grinned maniacally.

“Right you are my boy! Well Toshi, would you look at that! He figured almost everything out after only being filled in on a little of the truth! And right on time too, here comes Sui!”

(WARNING: After this point is my writing after 5 months of non use. I may be rusty.)

Right on cue, a boy with strangely sharp angled hair and arrows for pupils walked in, only to freeze and turn around as soon as he saw everyone inside.

All Might sighed and called out. “Sui, no, it’s okay. You’re not in trouble.”

The boy turned back around and peeked his head in. “Oh really? Okay then!” 

Suddenly the arrows that made his pupils spun to the left, and the boy seemed to slide smoothly across the floor until he landed in a chair, pupils shifting back to normal.

Nezu’s grin widened slightly. “Alright Sui, as of this moment, I’ve been made aware by your mentor-”

The boy startled and interjected quickly. “You know?”

All Might saw it as his turn to speak. “Do not fear, Young Sui. Everyone in this room can be trusted. I promise you that.”

Sui’s abnormal eyes darted around the room momentarily locking onto each person as he observed them; finally stopping to ask. “Why is there a kid here? Can he be trusted with this?” 

Izuku stared calculatingly at the man, answering his question quickly. “Don’t worry, your mentor informed me about his situation a long time ago, I don’t pose any threat to you, unless you piss me off.”

Sui chuckled lightly at that, certainly not expecting his underclassman to be such an interesting person! Despite his airheaded demeanor and acting, Sui was very observant and noticed just how tense the green haired boy was, even as he observed Sui right back.

‘ Interesting! ’

At that point, All Might took it upon himself to introduce the two boys. “Alright! Midoriya, I’d like for you to meet Sui. Sui, Midoriya. Please get along you two. Midoriya, this young boy is the person that I ended up choosing as my successor.”

“A pleasure to meet you Midoriya. My original quirk is called ‘Direction’. I can change the direction of my movement in any ninety degree angle I please, whether it be up, down, or side to side. After receiving All for One, I call it ‘Velocity’. I can still only change direction at ninety degree angles, but I can do so while accelerating to speeds of up to Mach 1.03.”

Izuku internally began to fanboy over the endless potential of the quirk, but quickly restrained himself in order to give his own introduction.

“The pleasure is all mine. My quirk is called ‘Fury’. The angrier I get, the more my body and senses are enhanced. If I get angry enough, I can lose control and enter a ‘Berserk’ state, where my quirk’s consciousness takes over, seeking to end the battle in the most efficient way possible. However! Raiden is teaching me to help control and more efficiently utilize my quirk”

Sui cocked his head slightly, smile widening. ‘ He can’t control his quirk either? Man this kid just keeps getting more and more interesting! I’d love to do some training with him! ’

Izuku stepped back as Sui continued to stare, almost creepily at him. Suddenly, the older boy snapped back into reality.

“Alright! I’ve decided, I want to fight you, it seems like… fun! ”

Izuku cocked his head confusedly. “I- okay, sure. But first we have to discuss a few more important things, but afterwards I’d be happy to spar.”

Sui leaned forward to respond, pupils beginning to spin rapidly, only to be interrupted by All Might. 

“Sui, hold on one second alright? This concerns your safety too.”

After a few seconds, everyone was seated and listening intensely as All Might spoke. “Sui. You know the past of One for All. But I left something out, I believed it to be over, apparently that is no longer the case. The first wielder was not an only child. He had a brother, one that used his power for his own gain to manipulate and bend many others to his will. His quirk is the ability to give and take quirks as he sees fit. It’s a truly terrifying thing to see in action. He can even completely pull a mutation quirk out of a person, making them completely quirkless. A few years ago I thought that I had killed him. I felt his skull crack and cave underneath my own fist. He was completely unrecognizable once the fight was over, but apparently he survived, according to one of his henchmen. He’s a devious mastermind with over two hundred years of planning, wisdom, and knowledge, as well as quirks at his disposal. I cannot stress the threat of this man enough. He has the influence to singlehandedly control an entire network of villains over the entirety of precincts in order to achieve his goals. Do you understand?”

Sui contemplated the new revelation slowly, but slowly it began to click just how dangerous this new character could be.

‘ If he takes control over large portions of Japan, or decides to enable large scale crime waves, millions will die, and there won’t be enough heroes to stop it. That… isn’t fun. ’

“Yes sensei, I understand.”

It was at this moment that Raiden took his turn upon the podium. “Iz-Midoriya.”

Nezu’s eyes flicked over to the white haired hero at the slip up, but the rat said nothing. 

“I have discovered something in a similar vein to All Might. A criminal research syndicate that I took down a while ago seems to be rearing its ugly head once again. The name of the syndicate is called ‘Desperado’. They were originally led by a fearsome warmonger who went by the name of Sundowner, but after I took him out personally, they must have a new leader. However, their biggest threat isn’t the criminals that make it up, but more so the focus of their research. Before Sundowner was killed and Desperado was disbanded they had come quite close to perfecting the technology used in cyborgs like me, however their process of cyborg creation is a lot more invasive and controlling while being hundreds of times less… consensual.”

Izuku gritted his teeth in anger upon hearing about Desperado.

“Sensei, were Desperado the ones behind the Metal Gear Nomus? And if so, doesn’t that mean we have a lead to find the ones that attacked the USJ?”

Raiden sighed. “I wish I could tell you. I know that yes, the Metal Gear Nomus are a product of Desperado, but they sell their products very easily, so I have no clue if they're working with the League of Villains or not. Now, I believe that’s all of the big news we have for you two today.”

Nezu then piped up with his own little idea. “Midoriya, your class has been through quite a lot, would you like to give them a bit of a show and training rolled into one? I do remember Sui saying he’d like to spar with you, so why not make it into a joint training exercise?”

Sui agreed for both of them near immediately “He’d love to!”

Nezu grinned, his extremely sharp teeth glinting uncannily in the artificial light, sending a chill down everyone’s back. “Perfect! I’ll get it set up immediately.”

A single thought ran through everyone’s but Sui’s mind, who was still happily dancing in the corner.

‘ Just what is that rat about to do? ’

Detective Naomasa let out a small sneeze right afterwards, startling everyone who had practically forgotten about the man.

An hour later, Class 1-A, led by Aizawa, came to the outdoor training platform, a massive sixty by sixty-foot concrete slab with bleachers on either side, normally used for higher class spars.

Mina raised her hand impatiently as they all sat in the bleachers. “Hey Teach! What’re we doing out here?”

Aizawa smiled drily at the pink alien. “The Rat demands that I bring you all out here for a ‘joint training session’ with class 3-A so they can help mentor you and teach you more advanced things earlier on in the course. I normally wouldn't start by having you spar, but it seems the Overlord has something else in mind.”

Not long after he spoke, the entirety of class 3-A filed into the opposite side bleachers, led by their teacher Pro Hero Syren, the vocal hero. She was known for using her piercing voice to stun and incapacitate villains and use that time to efficiently take them down. 

Once the two classes were seated, silence fell over the entire area as the wind picked up, culminating in a burst of air brushing back the hair of every student as All Might landed on the platform!

The towering man stood up slowly, accompanied by two young boys that both classes recognized.

Sui Kyuso, Windwalker, the fae of 3-A. He was easily the strongest in their class, yet he had strong amounts of humility and willingness to work with others. His only noticeable flaw was that he had a particularly nasty habit of hyperfocusing on anything that seemed to be ‘fun’.

Izuku Midoriya, nickname unknown to most of his own class, but after the Sports Festival, most of the other people at U.A. had begun to call him ‘The Oni’ after his fearsome strength and speed. He had immense strength and power, but he was balanced out by many others in his class, all of whom had their own power in certain ways.

All Might grinned widely and addressed the gathered classes. “Welcome everyone! Today I have decided to start a joint training class, but today you, the class of 3-A will be helping your newer classmates on the basics of combat! However, before we start, Sui has issued a formal challenge to Midoriya, who has accepted, so without further ado, let’s watch these two young men duel it out, and may the best man win!”

Both classes sighed as they knew how their respective problem children could be, choosing to focus on the match rather than the situation.

Nearly immediately, Izuku let his rage begin to flow, hair floating gently in the air as he turned his eyes towards Sui, only to see his pupils blur as they began to spin wildly. Suddenly, they stopped for a mere microsecond and the man was gone.

Izuku felt himself blink out of consciousness for a split second as a fist drove itself upwards into his unprotected stomach. Spittle flew out from his mouth as he hacked up air, slowly falling to the ground until he slid his leg further behind him, standing back up in an immense display of abdominal strength. When he looked, Sui was where he had started, smirking confidently.

“You might want to show me something Midoriya! I’ve heard a lot about your power, don’t let me down!”

Midoriya growled animalistically as red began to seep into his eyes. “Fine. Let’s do this, Sui.”

The older boy simply smirked and quipped. “ Try to keep up! ”

With another blur of his eyes, the boy vanished again, Izuku barely able to track a blue blur with his eyes before- THERE!

With a fluid movement, Izuku slammed his foot downwards at an angle in front of him, dropping himself and planting into the ground as Sui flew overhead, just managing to grab his fist and redirect him straight into the ground. Izuku didn’t waste any time, straddling the boy and beginning to whale on him as Sui looked at him with pure joy in his eyes. 

Sui’s demeanor completely changed then, he grinned with an innocent glee and he began to spark softly with a blue light as his eyes lit up, spinning even faster until they stopped straight up. 

Faster than Izuku could even process, they were already sky high, even the buildings looking small underneath them. He grimaced and threw Sui away from him, only for the boy to be holding him by the neck the next second, the immense pain of being slammed into the ground filling his body as he whited out completely, coming to momentarily as he braced himself on his knees, grinning at the other boy before letting out everything he had, red color seeping into his hair as he bulked up. The two began to exchange blows with each other, Izuku barely managing to land a hit, however still taking hundreds as if they meant nothing. As they began to intensify, they were both quickly interrupted by a massive body coming between them, All Might chuckling nervously.

“Woah now you two, I love the spirit, but you’re frightening your classmates, and you nearly destroyed the arena. Let’s postpone this fight for now, but I promise you’ll be able to continue the battle later. For now let’s focus on the actual class.”

Sui and Izuku both looked at each other, the color fading from Izuku while Sui’s sparks tampered down, and they laughed at the havoc they had seemingly caused, clapping each other on the shoulder as the rest of the class began to file down onto the concrete and focus on the classwork.

The plane landed in Tokyo National Airport quietly, a sleek Boeing 787-8 BBJ. As it touched down it slowly rolled to a stop in front of an extended, blacked-out SUV. When the hatch popped open, a sharply dressed man stepped out, slowly walking down the steps as the warm sun hit his skin. The second his foot touched the ground, he felt it. He could feel it ALL. Everything he had been working towards was right within his grasp. The titans were ready, the government was not. The HEROES were not. Not for the first time since making his trip back to his hometown, All for One began to laugh unbridled.

Chapter Text

Well everyone, I’ve built things up long enough, it’s time for the chaos to begin! This chapter is going to be a massive shift in the story, and where we depart from the canon plotline once and for all! If you were hoping to read a fic where they go through a nice school life, then I’m sorry to say but this isn’t the fic for you, this shit is about to go off the rails! 

Also. I missed you guys lowkey, I’ve had so many ideas going through my mind, at least 20 of which aren’t going to be implemented because it would've been stupid in the plot, but I might make a separate collection of one shots like a “What If” for Fury.

On a separate note, I’m experimenting with new writing styles to prevent burnout, 1k words every 1-2 days being one of them and the one that seems to work the best. This means that chapters will most likely be weekly/biweekly updates depending on the size. This one is a little bigger, so biweekly!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hey guys! Archangel here. It’s been a while since we’ve had the opportunity to work on this together, but I’m so excited to be back in the swing. Thank you all for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy the chapter!

It had been a week since their joint training session with the senior class, and Class 1-A was showing significant improvement in a remarkably short time. Aizawa was actually looking forward to this year’s Forest Training Camp. Most years, the newer classes tend to slack off when they go. But, he had a special feeling about this class, which is also the reason he had all of them lined up in front of the desk in his classroom.

“All right, everyone. Respond when I call your name and then sit back down. When I’ve got accountability for everyone we can head out to the mall to shop for gear.”

The process didn’t take that long, and soon Class 1-A found themselves on the bus heading towards the mall. All the students excitedly chatted about what they were going to get. Even Aizawa found himself occasionally getting dragged into the conversation.

“I’m going to buy the nicest backpack that I can find!”

“Ooh- what about a pink one?!”

“I, for one, will be sticking strictly to the gear list we’re issued! It’s unbecoming of U.A. students to-”

“Oh come on Iida! You can’t tell me there isn’t ANYTHING you want that’s not on the list!”

“Settle down class, we’ll be there soon. I’d rather all of you not be the problem children that you are while we’re in public.”

“ALL RIGHT SENSEI!”

Once they arrived at the mall, they quickly split off into their individual groups. Bakugou headed out with Mina, Sero, Kaminari, and Kirishima.

Koda and Tokoyami were a surprising pair, even more surprising when Shoji, Hagakure, and Ojiro asked to join them! 

Iida ended up getting stuck with Mineta and Aoyama, but luckily Sato went with them to keep the two crazies in check. 

Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, naturally, gravitated towards each other, bringing in most of the more responsible students, like Jirou, Tsuyu, and finally Izuku and Ochako.

From there, all the groups split off, each one heading out to do their own shopping. As Todoroki’s squad meandered, they finally came across a small section of the store dedicated to clothing and other brands. The girls of course all went into the different shops to try on several outfits and woodland gear, while the guys were stuck outside waiting for them. (Not after Izuku had gotten Ochako to promise to show him how every outfit looked though!) 

Seeing nothing else to do for the immediate future, Izuku turned to the two toned boy and started talking to him, slightly surprised when the boy looked back with slight interest and actual emotion in his eyes.

“Hey Todoroki, are you ready to go to the Forest Camp?”

“Yes, Midoriya. I think I am. It will be excellent to find what I am still lacking, especially after my mediocre performance during the final exams. I went back to being a standalone fighter, but obviously that didn’t work. I suppose now I need to work on actually ‘ accepting help ’ as you say.”

Izuku’s face brightened as he saw the improvement in Todoroki’s mindset. Rambling on, Midoriya didn’t notice the surprise in Todoroki’s eyes, nor hearing his hushed warning.

“That’s really good, dude! If you accept help you’ll find it’s a lot easier to do things that you couldn’t do before!”

A new voice spoke up, raspy in nature. “Oh, is that so?”

Izuku’s eyes blazed instantly at the familiar voice, whipping around only to instantaneously feel four of his oppressor’s clammy fingers wrapped around his neck.

“ Ah ah ah - it sure would be a shame to kill you right now, Ninth. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to come quietly with me, and if you try to kill me, red hair , you can say goodbye to your little friend. Same to you brownie.”

Izuku whirled around in the man’s grasp, heart clenching up as he saw Ochako standing in the doorway of one of the outlets, absolute terror filling her eyes as she saw the situation. As Izuku was about to speak up, he heard Shigaraki muttering into a device. 

“Yeah, I’ve got him. Pull me back. Let’s get this party started .”

Chills running down his back, Izuku looked towards Ochako, a mixture of resignation, determination, anger, and love on his face. He whispered to her as the cloudy portal enveloped them. “I’ll be back soon, I promise. I love you and Mei, stay safe.” 

The last thing Izuku saw as the blackness overtook him was the tear filled face of his lover running towards him, arm outstretched.  

“MR. AIZAWA!”

The greasy, hobo looking man snapped to attention immediately as Iida skidded to a halt in front of him, giving a quick brief before blasting off to inform the others.

“Midoriya had been abducted sir. We suspect it was Shigaraki, with the League of Villains. No injuries, but Uraraka is severely distraught.”

‘ FUCK! ’

Immediately Aizawa hopped on a direct line with Nezu and All Might, informing them both of the situation. While Nezu began to scan the city’s CCTV system for clues, All Might dashed out towards the mall to regroup with his students.

As Aizawa hung up the phone, he couldn’t help but pray for the safety of his student.

‘ Please, stay safe Midoriya.’

As Midoriya came to, he quickly realized that he was locked in a cage. Thinking fast, he tried to rip the cage apart but was made acutely aware of the cuffs on him by the lack of presence his quirk normally had. 

‘God. Fucking. Damnit. This was supposed to be a good day.’

He didn’t like the feeling. He felt small, weak, powerless. He didn’t even feel himself nearly slipping back into the mindset he used to have until he was snapped out of it by Shigaraki’s grating voice.

“So. The prodigal son awakes!”

Izuku gritted his teeth as he took in his surroundings. The room seemed to be an empty flat, his cage in the middle of the room. There was a blank TV in the corner of the room, and not much else. The walls were lined with windows, and he startled slightly as he realized that he was at the top of a massive tower. Looking outside, he could see over the entire city, and even to the ocean in the distance. He spotted UA, and the mall that he had just been at, and it just made him even angrier.

“Where am I?!”

Shigaraki let out another scratchy laugh. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out, hero. Now, stand and greet the Sensei. He’s been waiting to meet you after all!”

The door in the corner creaked open slowly, and an oppressive power invaded the room. Izuku struggled to stay standing as he was overwhelmed by the pressure, nearly forced to his knees before his nerves roared at him to stay standing. Instinctively, Izuku knew that showing any sign of weakness in front of this man would end in absolute horror. The man himself was wearing a black two piece suit, and had almost no facial features to speak of. His head was largely made of scar tissue and the only thing that seemed to be keeping him alive was the respirator that he had placed where his mouth would normally be. He was accompanied by the smoky portal villain that had been part of the attack at the USJ.

“Ah, Ninth. It’s a pleasure to finally meet the newest holder. Welcome! I’ve decided to give you a first row seat to the destruction of society as you know it!”

His voice was even worse than Shigaraki’s. It wasn’t grating; rather rich and baritone, but it was sick. Diseased. Every word spoken filled Izuku with a deeper nausea, and had him wanting to claw out his own eardrums.

“What? Who are you? What do you mean Ninth? Holder? Wait, you can’t be saying what I think you are, can you?”

All for One had been expecting many things from the boy. Anger, rage, sadness, grief, even hopelessness, but the confusion the boy was exhibiting hadn’t even been a consideration. 

“I mean you, Izuku Midoriya, will hand over One for All and watch in despair as I end the cit-”

“Hold on. You think I have One for All? What in God’s name makes you think I want that shitty hack power?”

Both All for One and Shigaraki startled at that. “Boy, you’re telling me you don’t have One for All? Just some powerful quirk that I somehow missed all these years?”

Izuku nodded, completely serious.

All for One released a maniacal cackle. “Oh, this is either perfect or something absolutely horrible- and I can’t even tell which! Well, Midoriya, look. I thought you were the Ninth holder of One for All. It appears I was mistaken, but I can’t afford to delay my plans any longer. I’m going to take over Japan, and then, I’m going to take your pathetic quirk. Afterwards, I’m going to find out where the actual Ninth holder is, and snuff out the light of the heroes once and for all .”

“And just how are you going to ‘take over Japan?’”

The only response All For One gave was an utterly evil grin.

Aizawa managed to quickly grab Mei and Raiden from U.A.. Mei now led the way towards the heart of the city as the small group of heroes followed the signal from the tracker Mei had planted on Izuku. 

They had been making slow but steady progress. However, the sun was beginning to set, and the red skies of dusk were slowly stretching over the skyline. Anxiety amongst the group was rising. The atmosphere only soured when suddenly, every screen in the city crackled to life with the visage of All for One.

“Greetings, Japan. I am All for One. I have a question for you. Are you happy? Truly, happy? Look at your current situation. You've all been given such wonderful gifts; such amazing quirks. Yet, look at the restrictions placed on them. The world is naturally unfair. Why do you let people accentuate that unfairness? Using your natural abilities is nothing less than a God-given right, and I believe it’s time to show that. Mister Prime Minister, your days are over. Japan is going to be destroyed and rebuilt under my reign. If you wish to join me, well, you’ll know where to go. If you stand against me, you will be destroyed . Now, let the games begin .”

As the video faded out, the world watched with bated breath as All for One clicked an activation button on his computer. With this action, the world, as everyone knew it, changed .

The ground began to vibrate with the force of an earthquake as the program switched back to the regularly scheduled news, which was currently broadcasting over the ocean, showing a massive hole opening up in the water as something monstrous began to rise up.

“We urge all citizens to go to their homes and take shelter! The Prime Minister has announced a Tier Zero Supervillain incursion! Numerous shafts have opened up all over Japan, the current count is nine, with each seeming to house a gargantuan robot!”

Ochako tore her eyes away; glancing over towards the ocean, only to pale in fear as the looming shape of the massive robot in the distance seemed to power up, extending to its full height as it began to move in their direction, cannon glowing with a bright purple energy as it prepared to open fire.

The small squadron ran to cover quickly, Aizawa taking the time to check the text he got from Nezu

“Nezu has declared UA a refuge for people that need it. We’ll have to direct those that can’t help themselves.”

“But Iz-”

“We WILL get him back, Hatsume.” Raiden had thin lipped determination on his face, and spoke up as he looked at Aizawa.

“Eraserhead, start helping direct civilians out of here, take the girls too! I’ll get Midoriya back.”

“Understood. Hatsume, Uraraka, with me. Trust Raiden. He will get Midoriya back.”

Hatsume walked up to the white haired cyborg with tears barely held back in her eyes. “Please. Bring him back. He’s been through too much for us.”

Raiden agreed with grim determination on his face. “Don’t worry Hatsume. I’ll get your boy.”

The city was in chaos. Rubble was strewn across the streets, quirks going off in the midst of the anarchy, and most notably, were the swarms of black figures that swept through the streets animalistically as they hunted down the prey they had been ordered to… retrieve. The Nomu were a terrifying force, and multitudes of people hid as they witnessed the creatures ravage the city, the humongous robot that had caused the destruction having rampaged further downtown. 

Several professional heroes had tried to stop it. All Might had joined the fray, but even his most powerful blows simply forced the robot to stumble back before continuing on in its rampage. After a few hours of failed attempts to take down the mechanical menace, the heroes had to leave it alone in favor of the army of Nomu that had invaded the city, emerging from various places unseen and undetected. 

The first Nomu had emerged into an empty street, save for one woman who had been searching for refuge. Upon seeing the hulking black beast, she had startled but quickly came to a realization that it must’ve been a man with quite the interesting mutation quirk. 

“Sir! We need to get out of here! This place isn’t safe anymore.”

The Nomu cocked its head unnaturally, sending chills down the woman’s spine. 

“ H-h-hhungry ”

The Nomu's voice wasn’t just inhuman. It was wretched , guttural , and utterly vile . The gravelly tone it produced only served to exacerbate its poor prey’s terror.

The woman’s eyes widened noticeably as she inadvertently activated her quirk. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t have a combat-oriented power. Only the ability to see clearly underwater. Her expression grew more and more horrified as she stared at the creature.

“Y-you're not human, are you?”

The Nomu simply cocked its head the other way, as if it was turning its head to hear her better. 

It was then that she noticed several shapes hiding within the shadows of the alleyways, slowly stalking towards her. The fear already coiled in her gut doubled in intensity as she realized the shadows were more Nomu, all of them identical, jet black, hulking masses. 

Air choked her as she clumsily stumbled backwards, quickly turning to sprint away from the monsters in the alley. The Nomu collectively perked up, the sudden movement of the woman activating a command directive buried deep within their modified genetic code. Their actions were unnaturally swift, and in a flash, they began their unyielding pursuit.

She panted heavily. The air, smoke-filled and hazy from the city’s destruction, choked her lungs as she sprinted. Her legs ached with the unfamiliar exertion of a panicked dash for survival. The Nomu were trailing right behind her, clambering over each other and everything in their path, moving like a sickening biological wave. A smothering sensation of utter terror filled the woman, spurning her to make a frenzied sprint one last time, pulling ahead of the Nomu and leaping through a shattered window into a half collapsed building. Continuing her desperate struggle for survival, she scrambled to hide behind the nearest piece of furniture there was; just in time, too. A heavy thump landed on the ground behind her, announcing the arrival of the Nomu. 

It took slow, measured steps through the house, continuing to cock its head around every corner, searching for the prey it had been so close to catching. As it stalked ever closer to her hiding place, the woman clutched her mouth and curled into herself, despair sinking into her bones as it continued to walk forward. All of a sudden, there was a screech, and a rapid flurry of movement.

 Silence. 

The woman slowly removed her hands from her tear-streaked face, moving to peek around the corner of the couch she had hidden behind. As she glanced around, she realized the demon had finally left, giving up its frenzied chase. Letting out a breath she didn’t even know she had been holding, she braced herself and stood up. She was quickly met by the sunken, beady eyes of the Nomu hiding on top of the couch, staring lifelessly back at her, merely inches from her face. Her scream didn’t even make it to the top of her throat as its hand clasped firmly around it, and squeezed. Her struggle against the Nomu’s grasp was meaningless. In less than a heartbeat, her fight was over.

Aizawa was having a terrible fucking day. The announcement of an invasion by a supervillain? Somewhat manageable. The massive robots that were currently wreaking absolute havoc on the cities? Okay, it was going to be a LONG week. Then, the Nomu. Kidnapping people and seemingly taking them to some unidentified location? Fuck, Japan was in for a rough time. Finally, the villains that had all crawled out of the woodwork at the thought of an easy score and a fun time? The whole world was going to change, and not in a good way.

 It had only been 3 hours since the chaos started, and already Japan was in a nation-wide lockdown. The JSDF had come out in full force to its largest cities. The Prime Minister hadn’t given any orders since then, seemingly missing. The Japanese government had made contact with some of their allies, namely the U.S.A. The United States’ government had quickly pledged support, sending out some of their most capable quirk combatant forces, as well as Stars and Stripes herself, America’s new number one pro hero. Japan had nine more hours to hold out until the reinforcements got to the mainland, and their situation only worsened by the minute.

Some of the largest cities in the country had been hit first, namely Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, and Nagoya. The robot’s primary objective had seemingly been to cause as much destruction as possible. None of the monstrous constructs had purposefully gone after humans. But, in all of the destruction, the death tolls were already predicted to be exceeding five hundred thousand. 

The immense amount of death and destruction occurring in only the past few hours had filled Eraserhead with a sickening worry, and he feared this was only the beginning. The Nomu that had followed were becoming a real pain in the ass for the man. Considering that he had his two young, anxious, and unconditioned charges with him, his situation only worsened. However, the young women had been doing just fine keeping up. Hatsume, especially, had surprised him. 

Being that she’s a support student, he, wrongly, hadn’t expected her to be as capable as she’d proved. When they had been ambushed by a Nomu, the girl had pulled out a massive weapon that latched onto her entire arm as a brace. It was a mechanical wonder, the brace attaching snugly to the bottom of her arm as the handle slid into place. A second handle popped from the upper section of the weapon for extra bracing. The barrel itself was two separate particle accelerators that sparked the very air around them when charging. When she pulled the trigger, a raging beam of energy atomized the vile monster immediately. 

“...-ister Aizawa!”

Aizawa continued staring forward, lost in his own head.

“Eraserhead! Fuck! We’re being followed!”

Shaken out of his thoughts, the man quickly flipped around to look behind him. He cursed as he saw the large group of Nomu storming their way. 

“We’re almost to the school, don’t stop running! You two, go, NOW!”

Aizawa watched as the two passed him. Both moved apprehensively, wanting to help him. He wouldn’t allow this. He knew their best chance of survival was at U.A. with the other pro heroes.

“GO! I can handle these freaks.”

The pair looked at each other and confidently nodded, knowing that their instructor was more than capable of facing down the monsters that had pursued them.

This time, the two didn’t hesitate as they turned and continued their sprint to the school.

A thin smile stretched over Eraserhead’s lips as he turned to face the wave of Nomu, hair lifting effortlessly off his shoulders as his capture weapon began to slither its way around his pale neck. 

“I don’t know what the hell you things are, or what you think you’re doing, but you messed with my class.  I won’t stand for that. Now, come at me you wretched bastards.”

Shota dropped low into his fighting stance, a crazed grin forming on his face as he watched the mindless creatures rush him. It was like watching a dancer as he weaved through the creatures. Rehearsed, comfortable, effortless. Duck under one arm, somersault over the next leg. Flip over the back of that one, and throw a devastating blow to the chest of another. The hero felt himself falling into a familiar pattern of fighting. The creatures were fast, but predictable and mindless. They didn’t seem at all like the one from the USJ, making Aizawa wonder just what the differences between the types were. He didn’t have much time to mull over it however, as a claw clipped the edge of his arm, flaying thin slices of flesh from his skin. He glanced up quickly to see a slightly different Nomu looking back at him. This one had small horns protruding from the sides of its skull, as well as sharpened fingers that had already injured him. 

Suddenly the being stood up to its full, towering height. It observed Aizawa under a careful eye before it cocked its head, muttering something quietly.

“Str-rrro-ng.”

Eraserhead looked at the creature confusedly, wondering exactly what it was. He wasn’t given much time to ponder, as it suddenly lunged at him, giving him no chance to react. Aizawa attempted to feint out of the way of its blow, but he wasn’t quick enough. 

But, before the creature’s attack could land, Aizawa suddenly felt something else hit his side with enough force to send him flying, out of the way of the lethal claw. Coughing hard as he tried to force the air back into his lungs, he looked up to be greeted by the welcome sight of green hair standing in front of him. 

“Zephyr, you’re here.”

“Of course I am Eraserhead; I’m a hero. Although, I know I may not have been living up to that name, I’m doing my damndest to change that. Now, stand up. We have to get back to U.A. The rat is waiting.”

“Of course he is. Where’s your sister? I thought you two normally worked together?”

Kazeha fell silent at that, mulling over her next words for a while before she gave an answer. 

“Her and I had a… disagreement of sorts. I haven’t seen her since our argument a few days ago.”

Aizawa could sense that there was certainly more to add to that sentence, but decided it wasn’t the time to push a familial issue.

“Alright then, Zephyr. Lead the way.”

Izuku watched in horror as the carnage continued. Four hours had gone by since the robots had been unleashed upon the cities, the only building spared being the one that they were currently in. 

‘ Well, that explains what All for One meant by ‘you’ll know where to go.’ But… why? What’s the point of all this?! The destruction, the deaths of so many innocent people! It makes no sense!”

“Stop thinking so loudly, brat. If you must know, the ‘point,’ of all this, is to remake the world. Things have been far too bad for far too long. I can fix this wretched place. Discrimination and quirkism, as well as ableism are more prevalent than ever in society. Say that someone doesn't want their quirk, and it becomes a source of strife in their family; I can take it and give it to someone that really desires to have a quirk more than anything else. Those that are seen as lesser, will no longer be seen as such. Villains with lethal, hyper powerful quirks; I can just take them. I can destroy the very idea of villainy! I’m going to forge a new world, and make it into something better . But first, One for All has to be destroyed.”

“You really are a monster, huh?”

“Call me whatever you wish. I am simply a man who is imposing his visions of greatness upon this world. Isn’t that practically what everyone does already? Only I have the willpower and the resources to make it a reality rather than a dream.”

“Imposing your visions is a lot different from simply understanding that not every wish is realistic, especially at the cost of innocent lives on this scale.”

“Enough talk from you. You simply don’t understand, boy. I’ve lived countless lives, seen countless crimes, countless atrocities. These vermin should be culled at the source, and that’s just what I’ll do. If it makes me a villain in the meantime, so be it. Now then, you’ve seen my plan. You’re of no more use to me. It’s time you hand over your quirk. I’ll need it to get rid of that thorn in my side.”

Izuku laughed.

 “If you think I’ll just hand it over, you're even dumber than I thought. Fuck. You. ”

All for One simply sighed as he clicked a button on a remote in his hand, the cage lowering into the ground as the quirk restraints unclasped and fell off of Midoriya’s body. Izuku felt the familiar rush of power from his quirk finally return to him.

‘Oh fuck yeah. Let’s do this.’

The second the restraints came off, the boy rushed the ancient evil in a flash. But, in the instant he’d made his move, he was forced onto the ground by an overwhelming mixture of flesh and quirks, working together to form a sickening amalgamation that held him in place. 

‘God. Damnit.’ 

Large, deformed hands slowly emerged from the black substance with red veins running through it, holding Izuku in place. All for One held his hand up to Midoriya’s head as the liquid substance attached itself to him, red veins pulsing as they began to pull his quirk from him. 

Izuku screamed in agony as he felt his core of anger slowly get pulled away from him. However the quasi-sentient quirk wasn’t going down without a fight, deepening its roots into Izuku’s soul, holding on even as the invasive power of All for One continued its unrelenting assault. 

All for One grimaced in disgust as he felt the quirk resist his own, holding onto its master for dear life. 

“A sentient quirk? Disgusting. My own quirk was designed to be the king of them all; the one that reigns over every other one! Why do some of them still try to resist? Bend to your king’s will. Become mine.”

Midoriya’s scream intensified as the offensive power yanked harder at his own, tearing some of the roots free. Izuku could feel his strength being sapped from his body as All For One continued pulling loose pieces of his quirk, ripping sections of it away as his power greedily consumed them.

Feeling invigorated from the fragments of his new power, All For One sighed contently as he activated a small portion of this new ability. He felt an eon’s worth of his pent up anger begin to intensify even further as the quirk began to feast on his dismay and misery, converting it to an incomprehensible amount of unabashed power. 

“My God. Boy, with your quirk alone, I could take over Japan. I may not even need One For All.”

All For One felt his anger continue to grow larger and larger. Drunk on his own thoughts of just how easy this quirk alone would make his conquest over the nation, he failed to realize that, no matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t in control of the sentient quirk. The anger coiled in his head doubled over, and over, and over. It grew exponentially into a mass that his unconditioned mind couldn’t even hope to handle. The pain was unbearable, and all he could do was clutch his head as he collapsed to his knees.

Several of All For One’s quirks bubbled up to the surface of his skin before quickly subsiding as he desperately fought to regain agency over his own body. Izuku’s quirk ravaged his body and mind as he writhed on the floor, his psychiatric landscape nothing but pure, blinding rage. His mind was quickly being pushed to its limit, and the pain from his head was unrelenting, seeming to only worsen with each second. 

“S..to..p. I… cont…rol you. I a…m y…ou…r mas…ter.”

Even through the mountain of pain he felt, Izuku couldn’t help but laugh. He found the man’s suffering hilarious. 

“Bit off more than you could chew, huh? My quirk wouldn’t accept anyone but me as its owner. I’ve made my peace with it. We work together, not against each other. Were you really stupid enough to believe it would allow you to control it?”

All for One didn’t respond, too busy struggling with the war going on inside his body to grace the boy with an answer. Finally, he was able to activate several quirk suppressing quirks on himself, and slowly struggled to his feet with his semi broken body, thankful for the blissful silence in his mind. 

“I see. Your quirk is more trouble than it’s worth. But, I can’t allow you to keep it. Instead, I’ll simply transfer it to someone much less… dangerous.”

He adjusted the arm pinning Izuku to the ground, formless flesh snapping the boy’s arms out to his sides, almost as if being crucified. The black mass stealing his quirk spread over his entire body, the countless red veins thickening as it began pulling at a faster rate.

Izuku went back to screaming in pain as his quirk was ripped from him with even more force, the parasitic thief tearing off nearly half of his quirk directly from its roots. Gasping at the loss of strength, the boy’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes rolled back in his head and he lost consciousness. Deep within his psyche, his quirk pulsed with all the power it could muster, and forced its way even deeper into Izuku’s subconscious.

All for One watched the boy as he passed out, clicking his jaw in disappointment. He was about to turn when he paused, looking back at the motionless boy. He watched as his hair flared into a brilliant crimson red instantly, eyes snapping open, yet not seeing anything. With an animalistic roar, All For One felt the fragments of Izuku’s quirk he’d thus far collected be violently ripped from him, right back to their rightful owner.

“What? Stop resisting you incompetent fool. You cannot defeat me.”

His words were proven incorrect moments later when Izuku tore into the flesh holding him captive, flaying skin and muscle away until the tips of his own fingers were worn black and bloody. Twisting himself with an unnatural speed, the wrathful boy slipped out of captivity and dashed towards the scarred man with a crazed expression.

“You little FUCK! ”

All for One couldn’t hold his composure, firing off tens of speeding metallic spikes, generated from the backs of his hands. As they whistled through the air, Izuku operated on pure instinct. Individual muscles spasmed, lurching him out of the way as he continued his frenzied rush. Angrily, All for One slammed Izuku into the wall with the full force of his quirks, only for the boy to simply kick off from the wall, impacting  the man with the force of a bullet. 

The ancient evil stood up fully, shifting into a true battle stance as he finally took the looming threat seriously, the lingering coppery taste of blood on his lips accentuating the danger he was in.

He charged up an air cannon, firing it in the boy’s direction, the recoil fluttering against the sleeve of his suit. Izuku dodged by a hair’s breadth, curving agilely around the bullet as the lethal rush of air scraped his side, leaving a stinging sensation that only served to enrage him further. Their introduction was over, their initial exchange and formality finished. The room was quickly whipped into a frenzy of booming impacts as the true battle began.

Izuku ducked and weaved through the powerful quirk-infused blows that All for One continuously launched, throwing out his own attacks as often as he could. The familiar ache of battle settled deep within Izuku’s bones, preparing him for what came next . It was sudden, but he was hit. One moment he fought confidently, the next, he was thrown to the floor as a flower of pain bloomed in his side. 

All For One’s lungs were on fire, every nerve panicked and burning as he battled for his life. This exchange was the most exertion he had shown since his battle with All Might, possibly ever. Feeling his fist finally connect with Midoriya, he relaxed momentarily, feeling the reverberations of flesh on flesh impact ripple through his arm. The next second, All For One was thrown to the floor, the splitting pain rocketing through his skull as he righted himself. The nuisance was standing warily across the room from him, clutching his side as he flickered in and out of consciousness.

‘ Strange. That blow was meant to kill this cretin. ’

Midoriya choked out a growl of challenge, clutching his side as the pain wormed its way deeper into his gut. Within a blink, the two were locked in battle once more. However, this time, it was more intense than ever. 

All for One began to move faster, moving in ways that shouldn’t have been possible. He chained multiple quirks together as he struck Midoriya with all his might, the boy’s vision blurring yet staying steady as he countered with his own ferocious hits. 

Every blow they exchanged shook the space around them. The air pulsed in and out as the shockwaves rocked the very building, knocking loose the dust from mortar and steel alike. Roaring in indignation, All for One began to wind up a last ditch offensive, the very energy thickening the pressure in the room as it stifled everything else. Izuku didn’t even have time to blink before the gigantic aberration of a fist hit him, driving him through several concrete walls.

He quickly roused into consciousness in the open air outside the tower, his muddled and damaged thoughts barely managing to piece together that he was free-falling at the absolute last second. With immense effort, the boy pulled back his leaden arms and grasped the side of the building, coming to an abrupt stop merely feet above the ground. As Izuku released his grip and collapsed to the ground, his quirk’s effects faded away, leaving the boy mentally and physically exhausted from even attempting to clash with such a titan.

Raiden dashed through the streets at a speed he rarely achieved, blitzing through numerous alleys and blowing anything and everything out of place as a shockwave bursted behind him. He pushed himself faster and faster, gears clicking within his body as numerous gouts of flame burst from his joints, overclocking his systems and accelerating him to new heights. The cyborg couldn’t care less about the damage he was doing to the already shattered cities.

‘ Come on, faster. FASTER. I CAN GO FASTER. I HAVE TO. ”

Every muscle fiber in his body stretched violently, popping and crackling underneath his will, snapping taut as if electrified. Gears and wires whirred and sunk into place, every part of his body optimizing itself for absolute speed, and his armor sunk into itself as it increased its aerodynamics, all his pistons and gears firing at triple speed as he more than overclocked his system, he turbocharged it. Everything in his body screamed with the urgency to find his second son, the child of his once closest friend. His steel feet vaporized the ground as he passed, the sheer force of his steps blowing chunks out of the pavement.

‘Izuku, please be okay.’

His vision began to blur around him as he picked up even more speed, straining every nerve in his body searching for his boy. He blurred around streets and corners, moving faster and faster, sound itself couldn't even keep up, the air around him physically bending as he moved faster than the resistance could keep up. With an immense boom, the sound barrier broke, and Raiden flew across the city, raising hell in his wake as he unwittingly garnered unwanted attention.

Raiden slammed to a stop at the base of a gargantuan tower, finally glimpsing green locks of hair, The structure was still standing, and in relatively good shape. Midoriya laid in an unconscious pile at the base of the building, bruised and bloody from what must have been a herculean fight. Gently, Raiden picked up the boy with emotions welling up in his cyborg body. Happiness at his safety, anger at the ones who took him, and sadness at his current state. He sprinted off with the boy in tow, leaving nothing but dust for his stalkers to find. 

Shigaraki was more excited than a child could ever hope to be. He could feel the electricity flickering throughout his body, and he didn’t mean that figuratively. All For One had finally granted the “man” permission to use the gifts he had graciously bestowed upon him, and he planned to abuse them to their fullest extent.

As he strolled through the debris-ridden streets of the city, he slowly took off his cloak, revealing underneath a slick sectioned cybernetic body, with jolts of electricity constantly arcing around him. 

He paused momentarily, slowly surveying the area before something unknown seemed to register. He homed in on a building in the distance, speeding up slightly as he walked over to it, lightning arcing in his wake. 

As he walked up to the building, he held his hand out, fingers splitting off of his hand and whirling towards a large chunk of debris. The hunk of stone disintegrated as he made contact, revealing a group of survivors huddled together in fear.

Shigaraki cackled in pleasure as he approached. Several Nomu appeared behind him, walking behind the man menacingly as he demonstrated his newly released power. 

“Good evening, survivors. My name is Typhoon. Would you care to escape this crooked world with me?”

Chapter Text

What's up guys! I'm back, hopefully for longer than the last few times, but I know it's been pretty unreliable and I'm sorry for that. My main writing computer unfortunately got totaled, hinges on the lid and the backlight stopped working, then the data got corrupted so that wasn't very fun. I'm writing this currently off a $75 Chromebook and it's not a fun experience lmfaooo, but I'm trying. Chapters should be a little more consistent now that I'm kinda getting back on track with my career, things are settling down and I'm in a bit of a rhythm now, but we'll see how things go. To all my older readers who have stuck around thus far: Thank you. I know it hasn't been easy, but I genuinely cherish all of your support and seeing you guys' comments on my chapters makes my whole day. To all my newer readers: Welcome! Making it to this chapter means that this book has kept your attention thus far, and I hope it continues to do so! As always, none of this would be possible without my close friend and Editor, Archangel. make sure y'all appreciate him just as much as you do me, because he's the one that turns my frenzied writing into a legible story! Without further ado, here's the latest chapter.

3 months post-Nomu outbreak.

In the three months since the raging conflict, officially labeled: The Quirk War, began, Japan had been turned into a warzone, and its citizens found themselves caught in a horrifying crossfire. The pro-heroes did their best to minimize civilian casualties in the battlefield, but All-For-One’s forces proved to be an overwhelming and terrifying war machine, waging its war on both the heroes, and the civilian populace. Many flocked to their nearest pro-hero university, knowing it'd be their best chance at survival. 

Utilizing his incredible powers to best help the people he'd sworn to protect, Cementoss formed enormous defensive walls encircling U.A. and a portion of its surrounding area. It included most of the residential districts nearby, successfully creating a "safe zone" of sorts. Ketsubutsu and Shiketsu put up similar defenses, as well as a few Pro Hero agencies who managed to fend off the initial waves.

Toshinori trudged through the safehaven, his exhaustion displayed on his face. Three months of constant combat was more than enough to fatigue even the strongest of pro-heroes.  As he limped through the streets, he couldn’t help but notice the famine tearing its way through the refuge. Parents laid at the feet of others, begging for their kindness just so their children could eat. 

When the defensive fortifications were erected, an, unfortunately, overlooked factor was the potential for a lengthy war. The land encompassed by the massive walls composed near solely of residential areas, sparing a few restaurants and convenience stores mixed throughout. Food stocks were low to begin with, and dwindled rapidly as the heroes tried to feed the starving people. It was a miracle that they had been able to stretch the last of their reserves all the way to two months. The stronghold had begun sending out small teams of heroes to scout for potential resource stockpiles that could be returned to the safe haven a month and a half into the conflict, anticipating the shortage. As of yet, only one raid had been successful, providing a brief moment of respite before supplies dwindled once again. 

Sighing tiredly, the man grasped a radio from his waist and spoke into it in a low, gravelly tone, his voice hoarse from constantly shouting to other heroes in the heat of battle.

“Nezu, these people aren’t going to hold out much longer at this rate. We have to set out for a food raid, and soon. Do the recon teams have anything to report?”

The radio crackled to life, Principal Nezu’s voice coming through from the other side.

“ Recon teams Beta and Epsilon should be returning this afternoon. Alpha is still in recovery, and Gamma will be out for another week. As of now we have 4 possible storehouse locations, 2 of which are guarded by those elite Nomu. They haven't found any bases yet, but Epsilon reports that they may have caught a trail on Sunbringer. We’re standing by for a full debrief when they return.”

“Copy. I’ll head back now. And, uh… how’s the kid?”

A soft sigh escaped the radio, and Nezu responded. 

“ Midoriya is still trapped in a coma. I’ll be honest, Toshinori. His prognosis is far from ideal. There’s only so much we can do. Recovery Girl is still missing, and we’ve attempted every conceivable medical approach with the medical supplies we had left. If he remains in this state much longer, his body will begin to degrade from inactivity. Even if he wakes up, he may never be the same.”

Toshinori lowered his gaze as he listened to Nezu’s voice, thick with concern for the young hero, and for his longtime friend.

All Might sighed as the transmission ended, looking towards the sky as he prayed to any god that would listen to raise the boy from his unwilling slumber.

“Uravity! Enemy contact to the southwest! Sensors indicate a group of 16, no irregulars detected!”

Ochako bit back a curse as her squad rode through the wasteland that used to be a bustling city. 

“Epsilon, brace for contact! Use what we practiced! Honenuki, Tsuburaba, get ready to contain. Kaminari, Mei… rain hell on these monsters. ”

Snapping into action like a well oiled machine, the unit began their assault on the monsters. 

“PITFALL!”

Immediately after the words were spoken, the ground melted underneath the horde, trapping a large number of them in a dense, quicksand-like sludge. A few of the rabid beasts escaped but were quickly contained by Tsuburaba, who summoned cages of air to contain the stragglers. Once all the Nomu were confirmed to be immobilized, Mei and Kaminari stepped up. Kaminari went to each of the air cages containing the Nomu, and unleashed a fearsome lightning strike straight into their exposed brains. Komori wretched and looked away as the smell of charred flesh permeated the air. The newest addition to the squad was still fairly green to the terrors of war. 

Meanwhile, Mei pulled out her signature contact beam and began disintegrating the Nomu struggling to escape from the pit of quicksand one by one. Ochako looked on, a grimace displayed across her face. When the last of the Nomu had been disposed of, the ragtag group hopped back into their vehicle and headed for the massive superstructure in the distance that was the refuge. 

As they traveled, Komori took it upon herself to speak up. This was a rather uncommon occurrence, as she normally preferred to keep to herself. 

“...i-is every outing into the city like this? Everything seems so violent, and desolate. You can hardly breathe out here.”

Ochako and the others sighed in envy of the innocence the girl still held. The rest of the team had all taken part in the defense against the initial outbreak of the rabid beasts they called Nomu. None had been spared from witnessing the horrors the monstrous creatures were capable of.

“Look, Komori. Shit went downhill. You’ve been lucky enough to keep inside the university gates, but nothing that stood here had a chance . The cities are wastelands, filled with danger and Nomu. You have to be able to destroy them, even if it sickens you. They’re not human. Their lives hold no value, and their bodies hold no soul. They are purpose-built death machines. Just remember that.”

Komori paled at the thought of using her ability to end a life, human or not. She knew all too well about how dangerous her power could become. As she looked at the others, various expressions of grim determination resting on their faces, she knew she couldn’t be the one to hold them back. The brown haired girl held up her hand, watching the spores whirl in the air around her fingers until she clutched her hand close, gathering up the determination she needed to carry through.

Before they knew it, the massive walls of the stronghold were looming far above them, casting a dark shadow onto the ground. As they approached the massive gate that protected the inner city, they could see people bustling around the wall on top of the entrance. 

Ochako’s eyes tightened as she looked far above, knowing what the surge in activity meant. 

“Get ready. This is going to be a hectic entrance. Komori, stay in the vehicle no matter what, don’t get off, drive through as soon as you can. Get the truck inside the walls. Mei, Honenuki, with me.”

Komori looked around frantically as the trio began to gear up for battle. “What’s going on? Why are you preparing to fight?!”

Honenuki responded gently, trying to quell the girl’s rising nervousness. “Look at the base of the gate, the stronghold is being attacked. Don’t worry about us, we’ll protect you and the vehicle, just focus on getting inside.”

Looking over at the gate, Komori saw what he was talking about. At the entrance to the safe haven, a large number of black dots were swarming the massive door that kept the place safe. Swallowing her fear, she pressed her foot to the pedal as they approached.

As they came closer, Komori yelled out. “TIME TO CONTACT, THIRTY SECONDS!”

At the top of the wall, several shadows broke the skyline as they leapt downwards off the massive ninety foot structure; all six of them using various techniques to descend, one of them simply sprinting down the wall, another choosing to hit the ground full force, knocking several of the Nomu away as he crashed down. 

Mei sighed in relief as she saw the unit that came to join them. “Shock troops are here! Komori! Get my baby back to the garage!”

A complete contrast from earlier, Komori grinned with a sort of terrified mania as she screamed out. “BRACE!” before slamming the brakes, skidding to a stop only feet away from the mass of Nomu. Ochako, Mei, and Honenuki used the momentum to fling themself to the ground in front of the vehicle. None of them even had time to react before a couple Nomu attacked them, only to be shot down by a lone figure standing atop the wall, picking off solitary nomu that approached either the kids or the shock troops. As the two groups rushed into the fray, an incredibly loud grating noise filled the area as the door began to raise. 

Mei whirled around at the chittering behind her only to be met with the gaping maw of a Nomu coming right at her. Quicker than she thought possible, she brought up her arm, clicking a button connected to the watch on her wrist. Suddenly a collapsible spike shot through the mouth of the beast, metal piercing flesh as it extended into the thing’s exposed brain, black flesh going limp, causing Mei to stumble under the weight suddenly placed onto her arm. Retracting the spike, the girl pulled out her contact beam, yelling out to all who could hear. 

“GO TO HELL!”

With a pull of the trigger, a massive surge of energy erupted from the end of the barrel, Nomu screeching as their skin and flesh melted away down to the bone. Throwing the drained weapon to the ground, Mei clicked her heels as the turbines in her boots began to whir, propelling her into the air.

As the pinkette reached the peak of her arc, she clicked a button hurriedly, causing the turbines to rev up into overdrive, keeping her steady in the air as she pulled out another strange weapon, this one mainly set apart by the yellow frame that a singular blue laser shone from, highlighting a point on the battlefield below. As she pulled the trigger, lightning began to arc around the barrel of the weapon as air was rapidly sucked into the intake port. With a massive thump accompanied by a shockwave, a burst of compressed air shot out of the gun, trailing down to the most concentrated area of nomu before it exploded into a controlled gravitational pull, sucking in every nomu within a twenty foot radius. The gravity well compressed and shredded the beasts, with infernal yowls and screeches of pain emanating from the anomaly. With the largest bulk of the nomu wiped out, Mei powered down her boots, gliding back to the armored truck, landing with a thump before banging on the driver’s window. 

“Komori! Get a move on! I opened a path and we need to get through the gate before those beasts get in! DRIVE!”

Komori hesitated for only a split second before slamming her foot onto the gas, adrenaline still coursing through her veins like wildfire. She barely flinched as the vehicle proceeded to hit several nomu which left rivulets of blood trailing down the windshield.

Hearing the rev of the engine, Ochako yelled out to Honenuki as the truck approached them. 

“Honenuki! Make a bordered path for the truck, and get in! The shock troops can take it from here!”

The lipless boy grunted in affirmation before thrusting his hands into the ground and pouring his strength into the earth. With a sharp crack, the dirt in front of the truck fell away to reveal a path straight to the opening gate, safeguarded by the pitfalls on either side.

Honenuki grunted but managed to keep his concentration as Ochako grabbed him by the back of the collar, quickly making him weightless and floating both of them into the back of the truck. Thankful for the save, he expressed his gratitude with a nod to the brunette before returning his attention to maintaining the path, closing off the road behind them and encapsulating them from any nomu. 

The vehicle drove frenziedly through the gate, screeching to a stop in the courtyard just beyond the wall. Finally safe, the recon group turned to watch as the massive gate closed to the ground with a heavy thud. As the gate closed, everyone let out a breath of air that most of them weren’t even aware they were holding in. Despite the muffled noises caused by the shock troops eliminating the nomu, the small recon team began to unload the supplies that they had managed to scrounge together whilst on the raid. Komori shakliy stepped out of the driver’s seat, the full weight of what they had just done finally hitting her. As Ochako noticed what was happening, she quickly went over to hug Komori. 

“It’s okay, we’re safe now. We’re behind the wall, they can’t reach us. You’re going to be okay.”

The rest of the team grimaced in empathy, they all remembered their first ventures out into the wastelands of the city. It was truly a brutal place. Luckily, they were torn out of their memories by a new voice. 

“Welcome back Epsilon. What all did you find?”

A small white creature stood before them, somberly looking at Komori.

Honenuki startled and stood up. 

“Ah, Nezu. We searched the outskirts of the known area this time. We got extremely lucky and found an untouched market. We brought back roughly three hundred pounds of various canned goods, and we got extremely lucky enough to find soil and seeds. We brought back fifty bags of various soils and over five hundred packets of seeds. Hopefully Shiozaki can accelerate the growth of the plants. As for new locations, we’ve already pinged the market on the comm maps, and we also caught sight of a strange building in the eastern sector. It looked like a drugstore, but it was completely untouched. We didn’t get close enough to get a good look but we suspect it could be a Desperado outpost. As for the trail on Sunbringer, we did find the scorched land that was reported, but there weren’t any visible signs of movement. No footprints, treads, or anything of the like. He may be able to fly as well.”

Nezu beamed at the first part of the news. 

“Thank you Honenuki. The seeds and soil are going to be an incredible boon to the community, and if Shiozaki can indeed speed the growth of the plants, then our food worries will be no more. As for the Drugstore, did it seem to be guarded?”

“I couldn’t tell in all honesty sir. There were no nomu in the immediate vicinity, but all around it they seemed to swarm more than the average amount. I believe its a subversive attempt at guarding, to make us believe it isn't.”

Nezu furrowed his brow in thought.

“Hrm. I see. Thank you Honenuki, that is all. Take your squad to finish unloading then go to rest. Epsilon is going to be on standby for the next three days, so try to relax a bit. As for the drugstore, we’ll make a strike team soon to raid it.”

Honenuki nodded wordlessly and returned to the truck, several refugees joining them as they unloaded the truck and moved the supplies. 

Nezu sat in his office, thoughts moving a million miles an hour as he processed and watched several clips of footage on repeat.

‘So, Sunbringer may be able to fly. That is truly concerning.’

As Nezu scanned all the brief clips that they had managed to capture of Sunbringer, he still couldn’t find anything that pointed towards the man being able to fly. 

‘An external source of transportation perhaps?’

A sharp rap on the office door brought the animal out of his thoughts. 

“Come in.”

The door creaked open slowly as Toshinori entered. 

Nezu relaxed visibly as he saw the man.

“Ah, Toshinori. How was the battle earlier?”

The gaunt man sighed as he spoke.

“It was decent. All of the Nomu were wiped, and the kids made it back safely, but I can tell I’m losing strength. It’s not just my time limit anymore, my total strength is decreasing as well. It’s not noticeable yet, but it’s there.”

Nezu grimaced at the new revelation. 

“Hrm. How is Sui taking to the ability? Does he know how far along he is into the absorption?”

“Right now, he can use almost a full 40% of the power, while using 30% sustained. It’s much faster than I expected, however he uses it in a much more technical way than I ever did. It supplements his own quirk and boosts his own fighting style, which is great for him, but I’m afraid that he won’t have the strength to beat All for One when it comes down to brass tacks.”

“Well, all we can do now is support him in his endeavors and hope that Midoriya wounded All for One enough to make him vulnerable.”

“I agree. But first we do need to find where he’s hiding, as well as all of the people the nomu took, and where they're coming from.”

“I understand, and we may have a lead on that point. Team Epsilon found a suspicious looking building while they were out on patrol, not being specifically guarded, but nomu density was noticeably higher in the vicinity. I ‘m thinking about sending in a strike team to check it out. Thoughts?”

Toshinori pondered for a few seconds before speaking. 

“May I create the strike team?”

Nezu nodded.

“I’d like to go in myself, and I’d like Uraraka on support, Hatsume as well. Sui on vanguard with Kirishima, and finally I’d like to take Snipe with us as a backliner.”

Nezu thought for a bit before agreeing to the plan and setting the date of the raid to be two days out.

In the Medical Wing

Midoriya lay still on a stark white gurney, oxygen tubes and IV wires penetrating his body as he slept. The bruising and broken bones had healed remarkably fast, leaving the boy looking physically fine, albeit a little gaunt from the lack of proper nutrition and exercise. His quirk seemed to be slowing the deterioration of his musculature, allowing him to stay physically fit for longer. 

The door to the room opened softly, with both Ochako and Mei entering somberly, each pulling up a chair next to the boy that had been placed there specifically for them. The girls visited every day that they could, and had watched as the young man went from struggling for life to looking like he could wake up at any second. 

Mei clutched one of the boy’s hands close to her chest as tears began to fall from her eyes. 

“Please... Izuku... Come back. It gets harder and harder every day without you. Recently people have even been telling me and Ochako that we need to move on, that it's over for you; but I know it isn't. I know that you’re in there fighting as hard as you can to come back, and I’ll wait as long as it takes. We go on a strike in two days. They think we found a Desperado outpost. I’m scared. I wish you were here to go with us.”

Ochako stayed silent, opting to sit in silence, holding Mei while she cried. Ochako felt much the same, but she had made her peace. Mei was still grieving. 

After about fifteen minutes of tears, Mei finally stifled her cries and calmed down. Sniffling quietly, she moved closer to Izuku and brushed one of his fluffy locks out of his face before gently laying a kiss on his cheek. 

“I love you. Me and Ochako will be back soon, I promise.” 

Ochako followed suit, kissing Midoriya’s other cheek before walking out, taking one last look at her lover before walking out to prepare for the raid that would occur soon.

Soon after, the door opened once more, this time admitting two women, both with green hair as well. 

Kazeha still hadn’t gotten over her guilt of not giving her brother an official apology for how she had treated him for most of their life, and she was certainly feeling it now. She sat down in one of the chairs by his bedside, hanging her head as she felt the guilt rush to the surface. 

On the other hand, Inko Midoriya was in turmoil. One part of her, the part that had neglected Izuku all these years told her that he was only worth acknowledging now that he had power, while a smaller yet still significant part of her screamed that he was her child , and that she had been a downright horrid mother to him. The longer she went with these feelings, the more she realized that the smaller part of her was right, and that she had been a terrible mother to the boy. Slowly, she sat down and grasped for one of the boy’s hands; not saying a word, just sitting in silence. 

The pair got up in silence ten minutes later, neither saying a word to each other as they left quietly.

Two days had passed in the blink of an eye. Mei had been hard at work fixing the truck, while the rest of the new team had been taking almost every second together making sure they knew each other’s fighting styles and simulating battles to increase their teamwork under pressure.

All Might and Nezu had also been working hard, constantly filtering through metric tons of data to see if there was any information that could help them with the raid. The time had flown by quicker than they had thought, and it was all too quickly the morning of the raid. 

As the massive, armored truck rolled to the gate, hundreds of people congregated to see the team off. 

“Hey! Everybody in! I’m going to do a final check and then we’re off!”

Mei was a bundle of nerves as the team piled into the truck, giving everything on the machine one last look-over before she hopped in the driver’s seat. As she got in, she quickly noticed the older members of their team looking at the panels surrounding the driver in confusion. 

“Don’t worry Snipe, these are a couple of ‘extras’ I added to this baby to ensure defense as we travel.”

Snipe shook his head slowly, his concerns far from assuaged. 

Slowly, the massive stone gate opened before them, and the truck rolled out, dead set on their mission. As the gate closed behind them, the group did their best to focus. They were in the wasteland now.