Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You’re not overly sure where to go. It’s not like there’s insurance for a giant woman falling through your apartment complex. Your car may have been salvageable, if you had gotten Kamui Woods-related damage insurance rather than All Might-damage related insurance. The two newest, flashiest heroes; what a team up! Maybe it was to cheer you up, seeing as you’re walking home from a job termination meeting! How thoughtful of them.

As you stare dejectedly at the branch-pierced remains of your car, which sits atop the rubble of your apartment, you hear cheering. Why is the crowd cheering? These two fuckheads just leveled a city block for some D-rank villain with a 3D printed glock, how is that impressive?

“Fuck this,” you grumble, kicking a jagged piece of cement. Your foot bends completely in half, which is impressive for someone without a flexibility quirk. The noise you make in response is equally impressive, rivaling the blond, America-kabure DJ hero you’ve been seeing all over the news lately. How does DJing and teaching English count as hero work, exactly?

Cursing under your breath, you limp down the street. Maybe you can sleep in the internet cafe. At least you can get yourself a treat, they have an excellent self-service ice cream bar and you deserve something sweet after today. You drop your stuff in one of the cubicles and hustle over to the ice cream as fast as your probably-broken foot lets you.

There are no spoons. Your eyes narrow as you stare down the empty container. That does it, that was the final straw. You leave the cafe, not bothering with your bag, and walk straight into traffic.
…
“Are you done yet?” the receptionist asks you, bored.

You stand in the entryway to the internet cafe, preparing to dart outside for the fourth time. Your clothes are tattered, but your body is fine. Better than fine, even, since your foot is completely healed. “Nah.”

“If I refill the spoons, will you stop? You’re upsetting the other customers.”

They don’t seem to care much about that, but you know their pay can be docked for bad reviews. You may be upset, but you’re not upset enough to screw over a minimum wage employee. Nodding your assent, you follow them to the pastel-decorated counter where the ice cream is. You scoop yourself a large helping while they pour shitty plastic spoons into the container, returning to your cubicle immediately after grabbing one.

Looking at the All Might comic-style poster on the side of your cubicle, you grimace. Not once today have heroes aided you. Thinking about it, not once in your life have heroes benefited you in any way. You’ve had three cars, a tank of goldfish, and two apartments reduced to rubble, casualties in their fight for “justice.” Your advanced education was comically underfunded because all school funding was going to building some kind of plate tectonic bullshit under UA. Realistically, without heroes, you would be better off.

The world would be better off.

Chapter Text

You are so fucked. So, so fucked. Apparently, a week of half-assedly lifting weights does not an A-list villain make. Who would have thought. You hadn’t even been trying to do anything that villainous, per se. A quick little vending machine theft, using a universal vending machine key you ordered online and had shipped to a PO box. Simple.

What you didn’t account for was how heavy and unstable vending machines are, or how slow getting crushed to death is. So for the better part of the past hour you have been respawning under the same vending machine, experiencing the same mind-numbing pain of your organs flattening over and over again. Exactly what you wanted to spend your evening doing. You’re about ready to throw in the towel and call for help when you’re blinded by a flash of blue light, the weight on your chest dissolving.

…

“So you really can’t die?” The white-haired man next to you is enthusiastically digging into yakitori he bought with your hard-earned yen.

“As far as I know, yeah,” you reply.

“Bet that’s convenient,” he says, finishing the last bite and burning the skewer. “I’m getting more, stay right there.” He jumps down from the wall you’re sitting on, quickly disappearing from sight.

You’ll allow it. He’s scrawny, as if he hasn’t had an actual meal in a while, and covered in scars. And he let you borrow his coat after burning your clothes off. That counts for at least some street food. Once he gets back you’ll ask him his name, maybe he’ll sympathize with your cause. You figure that no one gets permanent facial staples without at least some disillusionment with society on the side.

He returns carrying two skewers. “I got you one!” He’s puffed up, smug, as though he used his money to get you a treat and you should be grateful. What an ass.

You push your annoyance aside. “Thank you, um, I didn’t catch your name?”

“I haven’t decided on one yet, but I’ve been called the Cremator in the Weekly AG.” He raises an eyebrow, clearly expecting you to run away screaming.

It crosses your mind, to be completely honest. The Cremator, a serial arsonist and murderer who has somehow kept mostly out of the media spotlight save for tabloids, stares you down across the yakitori he holds. You gulp, then smile at him with too many teeth.

“Right, that’s-” you trace the kanji they use in their headlines in the air, trying to maintain eye contact. “I’ve heard about you.”

“And you aren’t scared?” He relaxes a bit, biting into his skewer and handing you yours.

“It’s not like you can kill me,” you say, attempting a flippant tone. You trace the kanji again in the film of dirt on the wall. “Kaso?”

He sneers, rubbing it away. “That sounds fucking stupid.”

“You’re right, my bad.”

“What’s yours?” Shockingly enough, he seems legitimately curious.

You begin to say your name, but decide against it. “I haven’t decided yet either.”

Rolling his eyes, he jumps off the wall. “You can’t steal my schtick.”

“Where are you going?” You jump down after him, completely fumbling the landing and getting his coat dirty.

“Home. You should go home too, I’ll track you down for my coat after you’ve washed it.”

You grit your teeth. Due to unfortunate, large-woman-related circumstances, you’ve been sleeping in the locker room of the local gym. While you’ve avoided developing athletes’ foot on your face so far, your luck could run out any day. Swallowing your pride, you call after him. “I don’t exactly have one of those, actually.”

He turns around. “Do you still have the vending machine key?”

“Yeah, it’s metal so it-”

“Give it to me,” he says flatly. “I’ll let you crash for a few nights.”

Pulling it out of the pocket of his coat, you place it in his outstretched palm. You’re reluctant to part with it, but it will get you a place to sleep.

Closing his hand over the key, he nods. “Alright, fine, come on.”

Chapter Text

You sit alone in the abandoned studio apartment that the scarred man has been squatting in. When he brought you here yesterday he unceremoniously dumped his extra set of clothes and a blanket on the peeling couch and told you to sort yourself out. He left afterwards, and he hasn’t been back.

Fiddling with the hem of the too-big white t-shirt, you count the individual water stains on the ceiling and listen to the busted, generator-powered TV that he “found.” It’s on some trashy crime watch program, the green-haired anchor babbling on about some moron who tried to steal from a vending machine and-

“Fuck.” You lean forward, anxiously chewing your lip and watching the CCTV footage of you pulling out the key and fucking with the machine, before attempting to tilt it and trapping yourself underneath.

The anchor fast forwards through the hour of footage, making completely unjustified comments about your upper body strength and cognitive abilities. Just before you’re rescued, the video cuts out and the anchor transitions into a live interview segment about a man with a dolphin quirk who tried to fuck one of the dolphins in the city aquarium. Happens to the best of us, you suppose.

“You’re welcome,” a low voice mutters from the doorway.

You jump. “Where did you come from? And what do you mean?”

Shrugging, he holds up a few plastic grocery bags, presumably having spent the rest of the money you rightfully stole. “I took out the cameras before saving you, I don’t want to be associated with someone that incompetent.”

“What did you spend the money on?” You aren’t going to dignify his comment with a response.

“I got some food, some clothes for you, and hair dye. I guessed on sizes by the way.” He tosses the bags onto the couch.

“Hair dye?” You dig out the clothes, a plain black t-shirt and sweatpants. They look about right and aren’t too scratchy, so he gets a few points there.

Running a hand through his hair he grabs the box of dye. “White hair stands out, and we were hanging out in a semi-public area last night. You could dye yours too, since your hair color was visible on the CCTV. I'll get whatever color you want.”

“It was blurry, and I’m not putting box dye in my hair, it’ll kill it.” You cross your arms stubbornly. “Your hair will never be the same.”

“Hair is dead anyway, and this dye is temporary. Go change, I want my stuff back.”

You get up to go to the bathroom when the ceiling in front of you gives out, depositing a very disgruntled looking middle schooler and a large quantity of purple gas into the living room. The gas dissipates, and you approach the kid slowly, hands out.

“Hey, are you alr-”

A bullet pierces you right between the eyes and you collapse.

…

It takes a minute to calm the kid down, he’s clearly not used to people he’s shot getting back up. Who the fuck gave him a gun anyway? Upon closer inspection he looks like, thirteen. With Japan’s gun laws and his age, there is no way he should have that. You pace the apartment, trying to figure out how he got it, while your temporary roommate questions him.

“What’s your name?”

The kid is visibly terrified, but he still manages a tentative answer. “Mustard, sir.”

“Like the fucking condiment? Don’t ‘sir’ me.” The shitty childhood vibes roll off him as visibly as the smoke from his quirk. He’s obviously very uncomfortable with kids, especially jumpy, violent ones.

“Like the chemical weapon, s- uh. Um,” Mustard chokes out. “Sorry for breaking your ceiling and shooting your friend.”

“Thanks,” you say, rubbing where his bullet hit you. “Why do you have a gun?”

“Found it.”

“No you fucking did not.”

He shrugs, palms up. “Found it up there like three days ago, I don’t know.”

Your “friend” forces a smile and puts the safety on. “Nice getting to know you buddy, now scram. “

Mustard’s eyes get very round. “I heard you guys talking about food earlier.”

With a groan, the scarred man flops down onto the couch. “I’ve murdered people. Multiple, innocent people. I’m not running a fucking halfway house for homeless people with shitty quirks!”

You give him a look.

“Both of you need to be out by the weekend.”

Chapter Text

Job hunting sucks, especially when you “look similar to” a thief from a crime watch program and your important documents were all destroyed with your apartment. You know that you probably won’t be out of the shitty studio your newly-black-haired pal “owns” two days from now, but if you at least appear to try he might not be too mad at you. So you’re pounding the pavement, spreading your admittedly sparse resume to businesses in need of employees.

You aren’t looking where you’re going. Too busy reading through your largely falsified work record to look up, you trip over the curb and fall right into the street. Sighing, you brace for the inevitable impact– But it never comes.

Cheers rise from the people beneath you as red feathers lower you back to the ground. A blond man in an aviator’s jacket approaches you, a red swirl framing him as the feathers return to his back. Hawks. He’s shorter in real life.

“Hey there, sorry for sweepin’ ya off your feet,” he says, louder than is really necessary. Multiple people in the crowd swoon and make jealous noises, and he flashes them a smile before turning back to you. “Make sure to watch where you’re going, I might not be there next time.”

Not like you were ever there when I actually needed someone, you think, shuffling your feet. The whole ordeal makes you feel like you’re in a zoo, with everyone staring and snapping pictures.

“Lost your words, huh?” He leans closer, poking the side of your mouth. “You don’t have to say anything, but could ya give me a smile?”

You turn up the corners of your mouth in his general direction, mumbling a “Thank you” and hurrying away.

The crowd swarms around him, forgetting you immediately. They would have loved him just as much if he hadn’t done anything. You don’t get to feel sorry for yourself for very long, though, because as you’re walking away a stapled hand grabs you by the hem of your shirt and yanks you onto a side street. Hawks, of course, does not notice.

“Are you trying to get all of us found?” His voice is angry, but it’s hard to take him seriously in the giant puffer jacket he wears to hide his scars.

“No? I’m trying to get a job. So I can find somewhere to live, with the kid if he needs it.” It feels unfair that he’s mad at you. You didn’t choose to throw yourself into oncoming traffic this time! He’s the one kicking you out of the apartment, and he doesn’t even own it. You huff, turning to leave.

“You can’t just keep people like stray animals because it fuels your savior complex, you know that, right?”

“Why do you give a shit? Why are you even mad at me right now? Stalking me while dressed like the Michelin Man and dragging me into alleys. Asshole.” You look down, realizing you never picked up your resumes off the street. “Fuck.”

“Hawks regularly gives information and support to Endeavor, the number 2 hero and- Well. He could be suspicious. What?”

“My resumes, I lost them.”

He glares at you. “Printing at the library is 10 yen a page, dumbass.”

You have the decency to look sheepish, even if it’s only like 70% your fault that they’re gone.

“Anyway, you don’t need them. I found a guy.” He looks very pleased with himself.

“What do you mean by that?” you ask. You are uninitiated into the world of professional villainy, and you don’t watch a lot of crime movies, so your first thought is that your roommate found himself a boyfriend. That impulse seems wrong, though.

“His name is Giran. He’s interested in you and Mustard, too. Just sit on the couch while we talk and don’t say anything weird.”

So unless ‘Giran’ is a polyamorous pedophile, he’s probably just a business connection. Got it. “Is he nice?”

That earns you a very confused look. “Who cares if he’s nice? He’s getting us jobs.”

You shrug and follow him as he starts walking back to the apartment. “Fair enough. Are we going to get cool support items?”

“My quirk is perfect, so I won’t. You probably will.”

“I hope one of mine is a staple remover.”

“Fuck off.”

Chapter Text

“Why doesn’t ‘The Cremator’ work?” the Cremator himself asks, exasperated. He’s sitting on the couch next to Mustard, who’s fiddling with the gun again. You both gave up and let the kid have it, it seems to function like a security blanket of some sort. “It’s an objectively cool villain alias!”

“Because it doesn’t work as a name,” you reply, rubbing your temples. “Like, Mustard is a little weird as a name-”

“Hey,” the gun-toting middle schooler objects.

“But it’s functional! I can’t say, ‘Hi The Cremator, nice to meet you!’ or ‘The Cremator, can you pick up eggs at the store?’ It doesn’t work!” You draw the kanji again on a paper towel, holding it up. “Pick a way of saying it.”

“Kaso is an awful name and I am not using it.”

“Use a different way!”

He pauses for a moment. “Dabi?”

“Like the elf? In Jerry Porter and the Transphobia Stone?”*

He straightens up, looking proud. “Dabi. I like it. Thank you for helping me with that, guys.”

“You’re welcome,” Mustard replies, not looking up from his work.

“I’ll come to tolerate it,” you sigh.

Dabi grins. “You need to pick one too, so get cracking. Giran will be here soon and he wants aliases to put on the forms.”

Looking worried, Mustard pipes up. “I don’t have my Individual Number card. I’m too young to pay taxes.”

“They aren’t tax forms. Giran employs violent criminals, we don’t pay taxes. They’re contract requests.”

You pace, thinking. Your quirk is useful, yes, but not very flashy. ‘Respawn’ is not a usable name in any social context anyway. You have no heteromorphic or quirk-indicative features. There aren’t even any crimes you’re particularly good at, you’ve only committed one so far.

“Eien?” Mustard suggests.

“Eternal? No, that suggests that I don’t die at all,” you say, continuing your pacing.

“You’re wearing out the carpet. Fumetsu?” Dabi seems at least half invested, which is better than nothing.

“Same problem as what Mustard suggested.”

“You’re like the guy in the one American movie about the news reporter who can’t die,* your alias could be Phil!” Mustard chimes in again.

You shoot him a look. “No.”

“Why not?” Dabi asks. “Phil is a great name!”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Mustard tilts his head. “There was a graphic novel where the main character was in a time loop that was really popular a while ago, All You Need Is Kill.* I think the character’s name was Keiji.”

“I think ‘Criminal’ is a bit on the nose for an alias,” Dabi says, glancing at you.

You’re thinking about it when the three of you hear a knock on the door. Shit. Dabi heads over to answer it while you and Mustard try to look deeply immersed in ammunition sorting. He lets in an older-looking man who is actively smoking two cigarettes at once and looks like he probably has been doing so nonstop for the past twenty years.

“This is Giran,” he says, pointing awkwardly at him. Giran bows.

“Good to meet you,” the older man says, dropping his cigarettes on the carpet. You and Dabi both wince. “I hear you’re interested in joining a group?”

You nod. Mustard gives a thumbs up. Giran passes both of you crumpled pieces of paper.

“Fill these out. You too,” he says, pointing to Dabi. “There’s not much to discuss really, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, it just depends on the number of requests.”

Picking up the leaky ballpoint pen you used to write the kanji, you stare at the paper. Alias? Quirk? Wanted status? and Rich and in need of an older husband? are the only questions on it. You fill it out backwards: no, n/a, Respawn, then you pause. Your roommates have finished already, and everyone looks mildly annoyed that you’re choosing to have your protagonist, character-defining moment right now.

You write down your alias, cringing a bit.

Keiji.

Chapter Text

Giran doesn’t get back to you soon. In fact, after about two weeks of radio silence, you all give up. You manage to find a job at the local McDonald’s, Dabi continues committing arson and robbery, and Mustard begins preparing for junior high. It is unspokenly accepted by all of you that your living situation won’t change, no matter how many times Dabi complains about extra people being in “his” “house.”

You help Mustard fill out the paperwork, using your old address just like you did for your new job. He seems anxious about going, which you guess is normal. You’d be anxious too if you had to list two random people you met a month ago as your parents on school forms. Obviously, you give fake names. Starting in the fall you will be Sato Kei, doting parent to Sato Tatsuo. Using a highly common family name will help you blend in, as long as Mustard agrees to leave his gun at home.

“I brought home dinner,” you call out, finally back after a double shift. You hold up bags of food from your job. They are technically stolen but you would have had to throw them out anyway.

Dabi, or Sato Ichiro, greets you, face stormy. “Did you realize that we have to go to a parent conference before Mustard can go to school?”

“What?”

“I got the mail from one of the post boxes, the conference is in two days.”

“Fuck.”

Mustard comes out of the bathroom, wearing his new school uniform. “Everything okay? Oh, thanks for dinner, Kei.”

You hand him the bag. “Keiji, ‘Kei’ is my fake name.”

“They’re basically the same. What’s happening?”

Dabi grabs a sandwich, and resumes anxiously going through the letter. “You’re dropping out of school.”

You bristle. “Mustard can’t leave school, he’s not even in junior high!”

“I did, I turned out fine!” Dabi retorts, aggressively biting his sandwich.

“Can you even do algebra?”

He looks up, mouth full. “That’s the one with triangles and shit, right?”

You put your head in your hands. “Mustard, you don’t want to drop out, right?”

“Probably not,” he says, shrugging.

“Then we need to go shopping. Finish your food and come with me,” you say to Dabi, tapping your foot impatiently. “We need to look professional.”

…

“That’s awful, Kei,” Dabi says, looking you up and down. “Who wears zebra print anymore?”

You’re in a thrift store, trying on a zebra-striped suit jacket. “So, too much?”

“Obviously.” He straightens the collar of a white button-up he’s trying on. It would look professional if he hadn’t left the top three buttons undone.

“They don’t have others in my size!” you protest, taking it off.

He throws a black, short-sleeved button-up at you. “Wear something business-casual. This is your size.”

“Are you even tying the tie?” You walk behind the screen to change into the black shirt. “I think we should avoid the ‘Mafia boss in a cheap porno’ aesthetic, if possible.”

“Whatever,” he scoffs, attempting to rearrange his hair. The back is getting long, putting him dangerously within mullet territory. “Cut my hair and help me re-dye my roots when we get home.”

You cross your arms. “What happened to please and thank you?”

“I literally kill people.”

“Right.”

Chapter Text

“What the fuck was that?” you hiss as you and Dabi are dragged down the school steps by two policemen. It’s broad daylight, so you can’t just “kill them and leave” as Dabi keeps threatening to do.

“I didn’t do anything!” He slumps in the officer’s hold like a toddler being dragged through a Wal-Mart. “It was your fault.”

“I’m not the one who called the principal a cuck and referred to using the bathroom as “taking a piss” in the first FIVE MINUTES we were there!” you retort.

“Okay, the cuck comment just kind of slipped out! He fucking looks like one and I’m stressed!”

“Can you two please be quiet?” one of the officers asks, weariness lacing his tone.

Dabi glares. “You’re the one who thought a demonstration of your quirk was appropriate!”

You blush angrily. “It was a distraction from YOU, and I only messed up ONE pen. And you told him Mustard’s real name.”

“I handled that part!”

“By telling the principal we REALLY LIKE CONDIMENTS!”

He rolls his eyes and refuses to continue talking.

As the policemen lead you towards the side entrance of the station, their brains unceremoniously splatter. Mustard steps out from behind the dumpster, silenced (where the fuck did he get a silencer?) gun in hand.

“So…” He begins dragging one of the bodies behind the dumpster. “How’d it go?”

“Haha, nice,” Dabi praises, holding his hand out for a high-five.

You slap his hand away. “First off, what the fuck. Second, I think you may not be able to go there, sorry.”

Mustard shrugs. “I didn’t really care one way or the other.”

You sigh.

Dabi disposes of the bodies within a few minutes. Mustard has already taken out the CCTVs, which you are both very impressed by. You head home quickly, avoiding the usual routes.

…

Jolting awake from your spot on the couch, you get up to answer the pounding at the door. Cracking it you see Giran, months late, soaked through by the pouring rain. Oops. You let him in, seeing that Dabi and Mustard are also awake.

“What the hell, man?” Dabi groans at the older man. “Where have you been?”

“I have news, I promise!” Giran splutters, attempting to warm himself over your hot plate. “Something big is happening. You might not even need to find a group at this rate!”

“So, no group?” Mustard asks, taking one of Giran’s cigarettes.

Dabi quickly wrenches it away from him and lights it for himself. “What kind of news?”

You sit back, quiet, feeling what would probably be labeled as “conflicted” in a more serious story. Fortunately, you’re you, so you feel like a weak bitch for a moment and quickly pull yourself together. Being a villain will be fun and cool! Just look at Dabi, he’s super well-adjusted!

“There’s been news of a hero killer circulating, and I confirmed the reports an hour ago.” Giran looks very pleased with himself. “He’s calling himself ‘Stain,’ says he wants to rid the world of ‘false heroes.’ I didn’t speak with him or anything, but I saw him in action. Talented guy. No nose though.”

“False heroes?” Dabi asks.

“No nose?!” you exclaim, more concerned by that than anything.

“No nose,” Mustard snickers. “What did he do, cut it off?”

“Yes, actually.” Giran spreads his arms in a sweeping gesture. “And he’s actually succeeding in his mission so far, unlike all of his predecessors.”

Dabi’s eyes are glowing. “What else do you know about him?”

Pulling out a bundle of papers, Giran shrugs. “He has a manifesto or something online. I printed that out and I wrote down my observations on his fighting style. I’d recommend you three continue acting on your own for the moment, let’s observe Stain and see how he does.”

“Thanks Giran,” you call after the man as he leaves.

Giving the papers a cursory glance, you see a lot of mentions of tongues and knives. Maybe you’ll just go back to sleep. Mustard follows your lead, leaving Dabi at the table poring over them.

“He won’t get weirder because of that, right?” Mustard whispers to you from the floor as you watch your stapled roommate.

“There’s no way,” you reply, turning over. “Get some sleep, kid.”

Chapter Text

“I don’t think you should use a mask,” you say, wrinkling your nose at Dabi.

The black-haired man is going through his small wardrobe, trying to put together a ‘signature look’ like his new idol. Assorted t-shirts, skinny jeans, rags, sweatpants, and socks are strewn around the studio, intermingled with the papers Giran dropped off a week and a half ago.

“I want to look cool,” he protests, pulling a black rag over his mouth and nose. “Stain does it, and if he’s right about heroes he’s probably right about masks.”

Mustard comes out of the bathroom, cocking his head. “Kei, why is Dabi wearing one of the cleaning rags?”

You’ve decided not to correct either of them on the alias. “He wants to look cool, apparently. Dabi, you already have your coat, why can’t that be your signature thing?”

“I ripped it.” He pulls off his shirt and tries on one he’s already looked at multiple times.

“Sew it up, then?” You flop onto the couch and flip on the television.

“You will? Awesome, thanks!” He chucks the coat at you.

You’re about 90% sure that he was at least a bit wealthy or spoiled growing up. “I can’t- Whatever. You’re so welcome.”

…

Buying thread was a good excuse to get out of the apartment. You guys should really get a better place, but most of your money is going towards other necessities and it is way easier to just not pay rent and hang out in an abandoned building. Turning onto a corner street, you bump into someone, falling on your ass and dropping your stuff.

“Shit, sorry,” you apologize, trying to get everything. The box of needles busted open, the contents mixing with assorted street debris and rolling everywhere. You curse as at least four needles lodge themselves in your palms, ready to just give up on the whole project.

“Ooo!” The stranger above you, face mostly obscured by a hood, giggles. “Do you want help?”

“Sure.” You’re distracted, busy trying to pick the needles out of your skin.

She pulls down the hood, smiling sunnily. If you had to guess you’d label her an incoming third year, though it’s a bit strange that she’s wearing her uniform during the summer-

“Nice to meet you!” She bares… fangs? At you, kicking you onto your back. “I’m Himiko!”

Cold steel presses into your throat, warm trickles of blood falling down your neck. She barely broke your skin, but now she has you at knifepoint. God fucking damn it. In broad daylight too, you have to wonder if you just attract weirdos sometimes.

“Himiko, right? Could you maybe not do this right now?” The needles on the ground have impaled themselves in your back. You are definitely killing yourself later to heal if she doesn’t do it first.

“What’s your name?” She doesn’t acknowledge your request, opting to press the knife in harder.

“I go by Keiji currently.” You look around. Why is this fucking side street so dark and abandoned? It is 3pm!

She squeals happily, pulling the knife back and pointing at your face with it. “Kei-chan, can I have some of your blood?”

“...What?”

“Please! Just a little bit, we’re friends, right?”

“No, we aren’t.” You sit up, touching your throat. Your hand comes away glistening red. “Fuck, why did you DO that?”

With a glare she shoves the knife back into your throat. “You’re being mean.”

…

You Respawn back on the ground, still in the pile of needles. Fuck. Himiko looks pale, mouth covered in what you presume to be your blood.

“How did you do that?”

Smugly smiling, you stand up, crossing your arms. “Quirk. I’m gonna have to do it again though because the fucking needles healed into my back and hands.”

She perks up, holding out the knife. “Need help getting them out?”

You look down at the thin metal lines in your palms, then groan. “I.. I fucking guess.”

The process is shockingly quick and professional, but it does leave even more blood on the ground and your clothes. She pulls the last one out of the back of your neck then gives you a thumbs up.

“All better! Should I, y’know…” –she mimes stabbing you– “Or are you gonna do it?”

You’re feeling charitable. “You can do it.”

“Thank you!” she singsongs, and you die for the second time today.

…

“Why are you covered in blood?” Dabi asks, looking a bit panicked as you walk in.

You drop the bag of sewing supplies on the table, turning to him. “Some Stain fans are a bit confused about the message, methinks.”

Mustard laughs. “They thought you were a hero? How?”

“I think she just really likes blood, she was pretty nice aside from that.” You walk to the bathroom, already dreading the cold water buckets to come. “Let’s get a new place guys.”

Dabi looks around the studio and nods. “Alright.”

Chapter Text

Mustard had grown up in a fairly average family. Lower middle class, reasonably low-powered quirks, with normal goals for themselves and their children. None of their names are important to this story, so none of their names are shared. Mustard himself was also normal, really. He was just a bit socially awkward, had a barely-functioning quirk, and he didn’t always get the best grades. That was okay though, at least for a while.

It stopped being okay when he was eight and he was friendless, failing, and his quirk no longer manifested. His parents, being traditionalists, first attempted the corporal route. When that didn’t work, they took him to a doctor, who told them he was chronically failing to thrive and prescribed a cocktail of mood stabilizers and stimulants to fix it.

As any neurodivergent person will tell you, shoving fistfuls of pills down the throat of an eight-year-old rarely fixes anything, and often makes it worse. He was not an exception. By the time he was ten, there was almost none of the awkward, happy child he had been.

His grades improved, and his quirk was rapidly increasing in power, so his parents assumed he was okay. He even made some friends! .

The Hero Commission is always on the lookout for talented, powerful young people. Seeing a bullied child with a seemingly unbeatable area neutralization quirk, they contacted him. His parents went for it when they were offered monthly stipends for supporting a future hero.

His home was destroyed in a “villain attack” soon after. His parents were killed. They were in the way. It was an unfortunate accident. His friends came for him, arms out in sympathy. Under the guardianship of the Hero Commission, he began training.

He couldn’t withstand the gas. No matter what, he was affected by it just as badly as everyone else. The Commission threw him out like garbage, destroying his file. They promised to check in and give him an allowance regularly. He never recieved the first payment.

Without the money, he was forced to withdraw from his medication. It had stabilized his quirk for a long time, and this time the quirk went the opposite extreme. It almost killed him, keeping him in a coma for three days and blistering his skin. Those in the shelter he was staying at also suffered initial chemical burns before leaving. No one helped him.

When he woke up, he was alone. Taking on an alias, referencing the toxic bioweapon used in the World Wars, he left the area. He trainhopped to Yokohama, crashing in an abandoned building. Someone involved in questionable practices may have used it before, because they left their weapon and ammunition behind.

…

“Yeah uh, and now I’m here!” Mustard finishes, shrugging. “It’s chill.”

You and Dabi stare at him, moderately horrified. You’ve just finished unpacking your four boxes of stuff in your ‘new’, slightly bigger studio apartment in the Kamino Ward neighborhood.

He kicks his feet, sitting on the table. “What?”

Dabi silently passes him a cigarette, lighting it for him.

“If it means anything I think we both do not plan on throwing you on the street.” You take one too, mouthing “Yikes,” at Dabi. “We’re closer to my job, so I can take on more shifts. And hopefully Giran’s going to get more info on the Hero Killer.”

“Sounds good,” Mustard replies, jumping down from the table. “I’m going to bed.”

Dabi watches him as he lays down, then turns to you. “Jesus fucking Christ,” he whispers.

You nod. “Yep.”

Chapter Text

You and Mustard sit on the couch, raptly watching the television. Footage has just been leaked from that one annoying-ass hero school that gets 90% of the school funding every year, and it looks as though the funding is not being put to great use. A group of villains numbering in the sixties or so managed to sweep security and attack one of the first year classes, severely injuring several faculty members.

“Holy fuck,” you breathe, slightly torn. On one hand, it’s fucking hilarious that the heroes failed that spectacularly. On the other, trying to murder children may not necessarily be the best thing to do. Since all the kids were okay, you decide that it’s probably fine to be a bit amused.

Mustard holds no such reservations, pointing at the screen and howling. “All Might only JUST showed up! Oh my GOD! Bro, your friend is DEAD.”

Elbowing him in the ribs, you tsk at him. “Be nice.”

Dabi comes out of the bathroom, hair dripping on the floor. “Every day that I have a real shower is the best day of my life. What’s happening out here?”

“A villain group got into the USJ at UA high school, they attacked one of the first year classes,” you explain.

He stiffens. “Which first year class?”

“A,” Mustard snickers. “Their best class. All of the students were fine though.”

Relaxing, Dabi sits too. “Any affiliation with Stain?”

“No, they’re led by that guy.” Mustard points at the TV.

‘That guy’ is an exceedingly crusty, questionable-looking man who’s probably about your age. He has had multiple childish meltdowns over the course of the video, flirted with one of the teachers while his weird pet beat said teacher almost to death, and appears to be wearing actual human hands all over his body.

“I want to be just like him when I grow up,” you quip.

Dabi gives you a hard look. “He looks like he has never brushed his teeth in his life.”

“You have Stain, I have weird, fucked-up hand dude.”

Before Dabi can respond with whatever mean thing he was getting ready to say, your doorbell rings. You have a doorbell now! Trotting over to the door, you look through the peephole to see Giran, toting along a very confused looking blond man.

“Hi, Giran!” You open the door and beckon them in. “Who’s your friend?”

“Kill yourself,” the blond responds, before grabbing your hand and shaking it. “I did not mean that in any capacity, sorry. Bubaigawara Jin, nice to meet you. No it’s not.”

At this point you have an okay grasp of when to let things go. “I’m Keiji, this is Dabi and Mustard.” You gesture to your roommates, Mustard still transfixed by the TV and Dabi still looking disgruntled.

Giran pulls out a mask, handing it to Bubaigawara. “This is one of my closest associates. He needed a place to stay for a few nights and I figured I’d bring him here.”

Appearing considerably more relaxed, Bubaigawara sits at the table. “I go by Twice, most of the time. I won’t cause problems.”

“No.” Dabi approaches, looming over Giran. It’s easy to forget that he’s a vicious murderer when you live with him every day, but he practically oozes malevolence as he stares down the older man. “We literally just got a bigger place.”

“So you have plenty of space! It’ll be a week at the maximum.”

“It’s only a few days,” you say quietly.

He sighs for a solid forty seconds, clenching and unclenching his fists. “And then he’ll be out?”

“Yes,” you and Giran both confirm.

“And,” you add. “I’m the one who pays for the apartment. So I get to pick.”

“You picked last time!” He’s stopped being scary again, sounding like a whiny teenager.

“Are you saying you don’t want me here?” Mustard asks innocently from the couch.

Dabi slumps, conceding. “Fine.”

You turn to Giran. “We’ll take him for a week.”

Twice looks up from the table, grinning through the mask. “Cool, can I smoke inside or do I need to go outside to do that?”

Smirking at you, Dabi pulls out his own pack. “Inside is fine.”

Pressing your mouth into a line, you look at him. “I have allowed that once total. You’re going to give Mustard cancer.”

“I’ll let him smoke while you’re at work so he can build a tolerance.” Your bastard roommate lights up, blowing the smoke at you. “Be glad that weed makes me paranoid, I could be doing that too.

Giran claps his hands. “Nothing seems problematic here so I’ll be off. I’ll pick you up in a few days,” he says to Bubaigawara. “Bye!”

You are too busy arguing that no, you cannot build up a tolerance to cancer causing chemicals with Dabi to say goodbye.

Chapter Text

As he often is, Giran is late. Jin settles in quickly though, so that isn’t an issue. He’s clearly used to his friend’s flakiness at this point. Dabi is obligated to share his mattress for the first time, which he isn’t happy about. Given that Mustard has been using a hammock recently and you’re still on the couch, you aren’t overly sympathetic.

“I’m sick of convenience store food, soup, and McDonalds.” Mustard stretches, frowning at his food. “And I want to do stuff, I don’t get to leave the apartment most of the time.”

“Well I want my bed back,” Dabi grumbles, poking at the rice ball on his plate.

“I’m like, fine,” Jin assures you. “But I know that you’re probably feeling a bit cooped up too, right?” He puts a hand on your shoulder, cocking his head.

You regard him, chewing the inside of your cheek. It is pretty stuffy here, and you actually get to leave to go to work. Dabi only goes out at night, and Mustard stays inside the majority of the time. “Yeah, I guess.”

“We could do a short trip to a different prefecture,” the masked man suggests. “I’m feeling very stable currently, and Dabi wouldn’t be recognizable to anyone there.”

He has been shockingly stable, especially the past couple of days. Aside from minor outbursts from Jin and quirk slip ups from Mustard, you could theoretically blend into a crowd.

“If everyone’s on board, that sounds good.”

You smile. A relaxing night out, that’s just what you all need. Pretending to be normal for once, not worrying about Giran or the questionable actions you’ve all committed.

You’re such a naive idiot.

…

“Where the fuck’s the kid?” you ask Dabi frantically, slumping against the wall of an alleyway. “For that matter, where the fuck is Jin?”

“I don’t know but calm the fuck down!” His voice is a hiss.

You had had a nice few hours. Trying ice cream flavors, wandering around the city, convincing Dabi not to shoplift everything. Why the fuck did you pick Hosu? Why didn’t you leave the minute those horrifying creatures started attacking? Why the fuck didn’t you keep Mustard on a fucking backpack leash?

Picking at your fingernails, you try to regulate your breathing. “Sorry. I think we weren’t chased by any of those… What were they called?”

“Nomus,” Dabi supplies, bundling you towards the end of the alley. “It looks like there’s a bunch of construction shit back here, hide.”

“I don’t want to hide, I’m saying that since the Nomus didn’t chase us we can retrace our steps and find them so we can leave.”

He throws a tarp over your head, pushing your shoulders till you're forced to crouch. “You’ve never fought and your quirk can’t buff me, so stay here. I’ll get them.”

You push off the tarp, aggravated. “I want to help! And how do I know you won’t ditch me here?”

He rolls his eyes. “Your crusty-ass idol controls the Nomus, right? If I randomly decide to abandon you after literal months, go with him!”

“I was joking about that!”

You would bicker more, but your senses, honed by years of being killed by stupid shit, alert you to danger. Yanking Dabi under the tarp with you, you clamp a hand over his mouth and whisper “Quiet!” to him.

Pulling your hand off, he glares but stays silent. You look around, noting a back passageway to your left and the street ahead of you. Neither look like great potential escape routes.

In the main alleyway, you see two shadowy figures enter, shoving each other around. Looking closer as one drops to the ground, your eyes widen.

Standing over the prone body of a racist caricature hero, the Hero Killer begins laughing. He points a blade at the feather wearing man, licking his lips. “False hero,” he proclaims. “For your intense racial insensitivity and your cowardice, I will release you from your pathetic existence. Any last words?”

“Okay, I get it,” you whisper to Dabi, watching as Stain stomps a cleated boot on the chest of the paralyzed hero below him. “He’s pretty cool.”

His eyes are glowing–like, literally–as he watches. “Holy shit.”

You nod your agreement, appreciating how happy he looks for once. Maybe coming here was a good idea after all.

You’re such a naive idiot.

Chapter Text

“No,” Dabi whispers, shaking his head. “There’s no fucking way.”

“Shh,” you remind him, tugging at his sleeve.

You’re watching the young-looking heroes who blasted into the alley one by one take down the Hero Killer. It’s ugly. Dabi seems particularly upset by the one with the split-dyed (is it dye?) hair, possibly because his roots are growing out again and this kid’s got perfect color definition.

“Endeavor is on his way!” candy cane boy shouts at his friends, blasting Dabi’s idol with another wave of ice.

Picking at one of the staples in his cheek, Dabi curses quietly. “I should have fucking known.”

“What?” you ask, looking up at him. His scars are smoking, hotboxing the tarp with a strong, burnt-leather smell.

“I’ll explain once we’re safe,” he replies, pushing your head down and dropping himself fully to the ground after you. “We’re gonna wait here till they’re all gone, now isn’t a good time to be caught.”

You nod, blinking against your watering eyes. It’s good that it’s dark, otherwise they would have definitely noticed the smoke. The heat is intense too, with his face so close. He looks at you, confused.

“What?”

Stifling a cough, you nod at his smoking jaw.

He visibly concentrates for a minute, lowering the temperature and smoke to less offensive levels. “Sorry.”

After about ten minutes, they leave the alley. You and Dabi follow at a distance, watching Stain’s final stand before he’s taken into custody. The heroes look terrified, as though waves of fear roll off him while he speaks. You aren’t afraid, and neither is Dabi. You know he’s not talking to you.

As Stain is collected by the number two hero, you look back at your friend. He looks bored, as he often does, his emotions only betrayed by a single drop of blood rolling from his eye. Grabbing his arm, you muster a smile.

“Let’s find Jin and Mustard and get out of here, you can explain when we’re home.”

He nods, and you leave.

…

You accept the cigarette Dabi offers, leaning against the brick wall outside your apartment next to him. “You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to, but-”

He cuts you off, lighting your cigarette for you with a finger and shoving it into your mouth. “Endeavor is my dad.”

You choke on the smoke, hacking loudly. “Your WHAT?”

“My dad. The one kid who was fighting Stain is my younger brother.” He’s avoiding eye contact. “Touya Todoroki, at your service.”

“And you’re entrusting this highly personal information with me?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugs.

“Why?” You don’t mean to sound incredulous, you’re simply surprised.

“Don’t start calling me that or anything yet, I’m trying to keep it under wraps for now. I’m still Dabi, you just have more blackmail material on me.” He laughs. “I have no idea why I’m telling you this.”

“Are you telling Twice or the kid?”

“Absolutely not.”

You nod, feeling strangely happy about that. “Alright. Thank you for telling me, I’ll avoid using your name until you say I should.”

“Wait,” he says, voice uncharacteristically soft. “I haven’t heard it in a long time.”

You tilt your head at him, testing it out. “Thank you for telling me, Touya.”

“That’s a bit weird,” Dabi says, back to his usual asshole self. “Stick with the alias.”

You flush, mildly annoyed. “Whatever.”

…

If Giran doesn’t learn normal visiting hours, you may kill him. You are once again awoken in the middle of the fucking night by his incessant knocking. Touya–no, Dabi–answers the door, flame in hand.

“What?” he growls, making the older man shrink back.

“Sorry I’m late, but I finally have a placement for everyone. You and Keiji can come with me, I’ll introduce the other two later.”

“Like, now?” you ask, looking at your pajamas.

“I brought you and Mustard new outfits, Dabi and Twice already have items.” Giran looks excited as he pulls out a simple, sleeveless compression top and cargo pants, throwing them at you. “Rip and fire proof, so you aren’t left with nothing when you regenerate!” A pair of metal-toed combat boots and some fingerless gloves with metal plated knuckles follow. “These are because you have no combat ability so your hits have to hurt!”

You glare at him. “Thanks. I’ll go change.”

Giran loudly clumps around your apartment as you slip on the outfit. It’s cute enough, and way more functional than most hero costumes you’ve seen. It’ll do.

You leave the bathroom, to oohing and ahhing from Giran and a noncommittal grunt from your roommate. He’s wearing the coat that you fixed for him a while ago. You wince at the awful stitching.

“Ready?” Giran asks, gesturing to the door. Mustard and Jin are still asleep, a pile of new clothing dumped in Mustard’s hammock.

“I guess,” you say, following him and Dabi into the hallway.

You go downstairs and outside, taking in the cool night air. Then you immediately are ushered through a basement door of the same fucking building by Giran, and into a bar.

Chapter Text

“Kei-chan!!” Himiko squeals, flinging her arms around your neck and spinning. “You’re joining the League, too?”

You straighten up, making eye contact with one of the other people in the room and immediately regretting it. Tomura Shigaraki glares at you from behind one of the rigid hands adorning his frame, scratching at his neck. He’s much more intimidating in person than he is on TV, even while hunched over and fiddling with a deck of cards.

“Giran, who are these idiots?” he rasps, scratchy voice taking on a whiney air.

Your stapled friend steps in front of you and Himiko, exuding practiced energy. “I’m going by Dabi right now.”

You clear your throat, looking away from the red-eyed man. “I go by Keiji.”

“I already introduced myself, but I’m Toga Himiko!” the blonde next to you giggles. She holds your arm. “I already know Kei-chan! I’m here to be like Mr. Stainy! I wanna be just like him, and I wanna kill him.” She flashes her fangs at Shigaraki in what may be an attempt at a friendly smile.

“You two, real names,” he demands, gesturing between you and Dabi. He gets up, looming over you. “Now.”

“You’ll find out later,” Dabi assures him, gritting his teeth.

You nod. You’re not giving this guy your real name, that would force Dabi to out himself as Touya, and that would likely go poorly. Plus, if you gave Shigaraki your real name, the author would have to use the Y/N abbreviation. No one wants that.

“Are you dumb or what?” Shigaraki hisses at Dabi, eyes training on you. “That was an order.”

“One I’m not following,” Dabi says quietly.

“You want me to kill your ‘roommate’?” Shigaraki asks, putting air quotes up at roommate. Both of you stiffen at the implication. “Because I’ll fucking kill them.”

Stepping forward, you attempt to reason with him. “Having protected identities is actually a good thi-”

Shigaraki leg sweeps you to the floor, your head cracking against the wooden planks. He crouches over you, one foot pressing into your shoulder to keep you down. His red eyes blaze with a mix of fury and joy as he clasps his fingers around your neck.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Pausing, he grins. “Any last words?”

You glare at him, clenching your jaw.

“Stubborn bitch,” he spits, flexing his hand on your throat. “You're only good for teaching this dickhead a lesson.”

Dabi laughs angrily. “Do it, see if I care.” He crosses his arms, looking away.

You notice how wide his eyes are and the sweat beading on his forehead. Why is he worried? You’re absolutely fine, he knows that.

Shigaraki slaps you with his free hand. “Pay attention to me, I'm the one who's about to kill you.”

Rolling your eyes, you look at him. “Whatever.”

He begins scratching his neck, frantic. “Why aren't you fucking scared of me? You stupid bitch I'm going to KILL you, this is game OVER, no save points!”

You shrug, pushing him over the edge.

…

You come to, still beneath him. He straddles you, clearly having been kneeling in your ashes.

“Hi,” you say innocently, blinking up at him.

“Now that we've had this fun little demonstration, can you stop?” Dabi hisses. “You can't kill them.” He looks even more agitated now for whatever reason.

Shigaraki looks confused, grabbing your hair and jerking you up so he's sitting in your lap. “What the fuck? So I can just…?” He grabs your face with all 5 fingers.

…

You come back again to Dabi between you and the red eyed man, practically snarling. “Knock it the fuck off! You know how Kei’s quirk works, you don't need to keep doing it.”

“Someone’s codependent,” Shigaraki huffs, looking at you over your roommate’s shoulder. “You're really cool, Keiji, I look forward to working together.” Wiggling his fingers, he grins. “I’ll be in charge of your quirk training!”

“You just get off on killing people you creep!” Dabi grabs your arm, scars smoking aggressively. “We don't have to work with him, let's go.”

“Hold on!” You pull away, rubbing your temples. This is not what you expected would happen.

Smirking at Dabi, Shigaraki throws an arm around your shoulders. “I kill more efficiently than you do, Dabi, and my quirk isn't destroying my body. The choice is obvious, of course I should be the one to train them.” His fingers drum on the top of your head, never all hitting at once.

Small flames ignite on Dabi’s face. “You want to bring Mustard around this fucking weirdo?”

“Mustard needs quirk training too, or at least gear.” You look over at Toga, who's been watching the scene play out with almost excessive amusement. “And I know Himiko, and Jin is joining.”

“I put up with a lot of shit for you,” he grumbles, extinguishing his flames. “Shigaraki, stop fucking touching them, dying isn't fun even if it's temporary. Let's go, Keiji, we'll be back with Mustard.”

You follow Dabi to the door, stepping over your ashes.

“Byeee Kei-chan!” Himiko calls, waving.

“See you both soon.” Shigaraki raises a hand, turning back to his cards.

Chapter Text

You cough, standing up to face Shigaraki for what feels like the millionth time. “How long?”

“Fifty-two seconds.” He looks way happier about that than he should.

Your progress over the past two days has been questionable at best, achieving an ever-so-slightly shorter reset time. Marks for where you died litter the floor, with four different timers determining when you did so. You no longer respawn right in the doorframe, but an eight-second walk away from it. Joyous.

“It feels like we aren’t making progress,” you say, cracking your neck. “Besides, usually people take more than a minute to kill me, either because they’re monologing or because they don’t have instant-kill quirks. I respawn where I was when I died most of the time.”

“Okay, and I want you to be able to control it going both ways.” Never the most reasonable individual, Shigaraki completely brushes off your protest. “And it needs to be faster, you take like thirty seconds to come back.”

With a groan, you reposition yourself at the door. “Fine.”

…

Dabi avoids looking at you as you enter the apartment. The vibes are absolutely rancid, Mustard also avoiding eye contact and Jin huddling in a corner.

“What?”

“Boss picked who’s going on the raid next week,” the black-haired man says, looking extremely awkward.

“He hates us and wishes we were dead!” Jin pipes up. “He’s protecting us!”

“Just you?” you ask Dabi, shrugging. “That was expected.”

“Me too,” Mustard cuts in. “He says I need to practice on actual people.”

You stiffen, immediately flooded by a combination of worry for the kid and bitter jealousy that the tween is more qualified for a raid mission than you are. “Oh.”

He nods, fiddling with his clothes. He’s wearing the new outfit Giran brought, gas mask set aside on the table. “It will be fine.”

“Are you comfortable with going?” You’re not going to be mad at a child for being better than you, but you’ll sure as hell be mad if Shigaraki is pressuring him into this.

“Yeah, I’ll stay armed and near Dabi.”

“Oh so I’m in charge of protecting you?” Dabi huffs.

“Yes!” the three of you chorus, Jin adding a “Maybe!” afterwards.

“Relax, I was always going to. You’ll be safe with me.” He looks somber for a moment. “Shigaraki mentioned that we have a person on the inside, we’ll meet them before the raid. Between me, the rest of the team, and the mole, there’s no way anything will happen to you.”

Mustard nods again. “Right.”

…

“No, no, no, NO!” Shigaraki exclaims, scratching at his neck. “You completely fucked up! Where did you even respawn?”

You glare at him. “The entrance to my apartment. I extended my point by at least twenty minutes.”

His eyes widen. “You did what?”

You’re working on timing again, in hopes that the next mission will be something you can go on. Unfortunately for you, your quirk keeps doing the opposite of what you want, and you haven’t reduced the time at all. You have, however, found an interesting alternate function.

“How far could you extend the respawn point?” He stalks towards you, wrapping a hand around your neck. “Could you get to, say, an hour this time?”

“You need to stop doing this to people, it makes you look like a weirdo.” You swallow hard, feeling your throat bob against his hand. “I can like, try. No guarantees.”

His response is a fifth finger on your skin, and you squeeze your eyes closed, trying to focus. You picture your apartment, honing in on the shower. An hour ago you were there, making excuses to skip today’s training.

You don’t black out. Hot water taps your face, a yellow glow dying around you. You smile, opening your eyes, only to be greeted by a terrified Dabi who promptly blasts you with fire.

The water prevents you from immediately being reduced to ash, resulting in you simply sustaining some really awful-looking burns. Your roommate curses, dragging you out of the shower and laying you on the floor.

“Kei, what the fuck?” Dabi wraps a towel around his waist quickly before crouching to look at you. “Where did you even come from?”

Wheezing with a combination of laughter and the extreme pain of third degree throat burns, you grab his arm. “Kill me first, I’ll explain,” you manage to gurgle out.

He looks around frantically, clearly not wanting to risk the security deposit by burning the floor.

“Toothbrush,” you whimper. “Hurry the fuck up.”

With a look of confused horror, the black-haired man stabs you through the eye with your toothbrush. You once again avoid blacking out, the glow surrounding you briefly before dissipating.

Sitting up, you rub your eye. “Thanks. Jin owes me so much money.”

Dabi looks completely lost, staring down at the bloody toothbrush in his hand. “What?”

“I told him the staples went all the way down, he said they didn’t.”

“Don’t make bets about my dick,” he groans, sitting back. “Explain. Why are you here?”

“We were trying out a new feature of my quirk, I didn’t know you were in the shower.” You finally have the decency to be embarrassed, looking away. “Sorry for scaring you. And making you kill me with a toothbrush. And betting on the state of your genitalia.”

Curiosity washes over his face. “What were the specifics?”

You straighten. “He thought it would be detachable, but not stapled. I thought-”

“Of your new quirk features,” he cuts you off, eyes flinty.

“I can respawn farther back than a minute if I focus on it, and I’m not passing out anymore.” You grin. “Cool, huh?”

“That’s actually really useful,” he agrees.

You stand to leave, but before you can the bathroom door bursts open.

“You took fucking forever,” Shigaraki whines, grabbing your shoulder. “Oh, hey Dabi.”

Your roommate puts his head in his hands. “I just wanted to take a shower.”

Chapter Text

It’s raid night. Everyone has gathered in the bar to get ready, tensions running high. You straighten Mustard’s collar for him, giving him a thumbs up.

“Ready?”

He puts on his gas mask, nodding. “Ready.”

Moving down the line to Himiko, you help her attach her syringes to her mask. “What about you?”

Crossing her arms, she sighs. “I wish everyone was going! I’ll miss you and Jin while we’re out.”

“Nothing bad is going to happen,” you assure her. “Besides you guys kidnapping a child. But I’m choosing to ignore that. Is our contact here?”

Dabi nods to yet another blonde who has just wandered through the door, escorted by Magne. You like Magne, and you sincerely hope she can start adopting some of the irrational blonde people you keep ending up taking care of.

“This is Aoyama Yuga.” She smiles, gesturing at the group. “They wired us the coordinates we needed yesterday, and we figured it would be good for them to be able to recognize everyone.”

They don’t come across as a villainous mastermind, more of a slightly nervous theatre kid. You give them a wave.

Everyone makes introductions, then the pair leaves. “Got to get the kid back to camp, seeya soon!” Magne says as the door closes.

“Well,” Dabi grumbles, coming up behind you. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright.” You turn to him, taking a step back. “Make sure Mustard is okay. Himiko too. And don’t hurt the kid you’re kidnapping too badly. And please don’t like, die.”

He grins at you. “Not like I pay rent, Kei. You’d be fine. I’ll make sure everyone is safe.”

Frowning, you turn back to Himiko’s wiring. “I mean it, don’t die.”

His hands settle on your shoulders, heating up slightly. “Relax, damn. You’re tense as hell.”

You jump slightly at the surprise contact. “I’m relaxed.”

Scoffing, he walks away. “We’ll all be fine.”

Himiko giggles. “You’re the one who dies all the time, Kei-chan.”

“Thank you so much for reminding me.” You finish up, buckling it at her neck. “Good luck.”

…

“It’s been an hour,” you worry to Shigaraki, pacing back and forth in the bar. “How long are they supposed to be gone?”

He absolutely slams an old-fashioned, grabs you, and forces you to sit on the stool next to him. He’s somehow more intimidating without the mask. “Five. Which, coincidentally, is how many times you’ve asked that.” Nodding to Kurogiri, he gestures at you.

The misty-headed man whips up two more in record time, placing them on the bar. “Keiji, it is unwise to stress yourself over such things.”

“Drink,” Shigaraki commands, sipping his. “They’re good, and you need to relax. Should have accepted the shoulder massage Scarface was clearly dying to give you.”

Rolling your eyes, you take a drink. “He wasn’t offering.”

“Whatever you say.” Shigaraki looks at you, eyes calculating.

You glare back. “What?”

He finishes his drink. “Nothing. Wanna watch me play GTA?”

“I though we were training while they’re gone?” You stand up, holding your half finished drink.

“You don’t need to overexert yourself right now. C’mon.” He hops off the stool and grabs your wrist, pinky up to avoid accidents.

“Tomura Shigaraki, you haven’t cleaned your room in a month, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Kurogiri sounds genuinely worried.

“They’ve probably seen worse,” he calls over his shoulder, leading you into the hallway.

You haven’t.

Books, clothes, food wrappers, and cords litter the floor. The only light in the room is from four (4!!!) moniters, glowing with questionable (to put it kindly) backgrounds. He gestures to what you assume is his bed, covered in laundry and the hands he wears.

“You can sit there.”

You gingerly push some of the laundry off of the bed and sit, watching him boot up his game. “Why do you wear the hands all the time?”

“Master gave them to me, they make me feel calm.” He scratches at his neck. “I don’t need them right now. When everyone is around and talking it’s a bit overwhelming, but when it’s less crowded I can manage. Plus I think I’m at least tipsy, not sure though.”

“How much did you drink?” You pick up one of the hands, tracing its fingers. It’s small, feminine.

“Like four of those.” He nods at your cup. He’s shockingly calm about you touching the hand.

“Well then probably, yeah.” You put the hand down, finishing your drink.

…

You rush into the bar, a reluctant Shigaraki trailing you, as the League staggers through the portals. After a brief headcount, you feel your stomach drop.

“Where the fuck is the kid?”

He’s currently holding a very pissed off looking 15 year old by the scruff of his neck like a cat, but he somehow still manages to look upset. “They got him.”

“Who the fuck is this? Y’all just keep a civilian here like a pet, or what?” the new kid (yet another fucking blond) growls at Shigaraki.

You maintain your composure, not wanting to cause problems. Two other members are also gone, and everyone looks concerningly banged-up. “Jail or dead?” you ask shortly.

“Jail.” His eyes look duller than normal. “I’m sorry.”

“Save it.” You leave the bar, waking up Jin who has been napping on the couch this whole time, and sit down in the hall.

The ‘recruit’ doesn’t sound very cooperative, ranting about “Some extra with Stockholm syndrome,” and setting off miniature explosions. You can’t focus on it, opting to curl into a ball and shake on the floor.

You’ve been laying there for awhile when you hear a loud crash from outside. Sitting up, you sprint outside, seeing the League bound by wood. Wood.

That house-destroying fucker is here. Shit. Your eyes widen when you notice that, more importantly, All Might is also here. He even declares it, looking like an absolute conceited moron. Your face contorts in anger, but before you can say anything you are scooped up by Edgeshot, the ninja hero.

“This is the civilian?” he asks the ‘recruit,’ raising an eyebrow at you. “You’re right, they don’t look like a villain at all.”

“Put them down!” multiple voices shout in chorus. Shigaraki and Dabi glare at each other, everyone else keeping their eyes on the hero holding you.

You’re frozen, confused, as Edgeshot zips out of the bar and deposits you in a police car.

“You’re safe now,” he says gently, patting your shoulder before zipping back inside.

Coming to your senses, you try to leave. The door won’t open, of course. The cop sitting in the front shoots you a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, we won’t let them take you again.”

…

Your prints are taken, your DNA analyzed. Apparently you’ve been a ‘missing person’ since your apartment was destroyed. You are evaluated extensively by a psychiatrist, who you lie to excessively. Despite your excellent job at convincing them you aren’t a villain, you are placed into protective custody. Now you get to wait in the psychiatrists’ office to get picked up. Joy.

“Hey,” the newly-emaciated All Might greets you, sitting on the couch across from you. “We haven’t formally met, I’m Toshinori Yagi, you can call me whatever you are most comfortable with.”

“Charmed,” you force out. The hatred you feel surprises you. Apparently hanging out with the League has affected your perceptions a bit.

“You’ll be hidden away for a while, just until we catch up to the League of Villains. I’ll be escorting you around, along with a few other heroes. You’ll be taken care of, all we ask is you tell us anything you can about the situation and potentially assist with a class at UA.”

You stiffen. “What do you mean by that?”

He smiles. “Just talking to some first years about the League, they’ve been targeted by them in the past and we decided it would be helpful to them to hear about what happened to you.”

Biting back a “How the fuck would that help?” you etch a smile across your face. “Alright.”

Chapter Text

You bite your thumbnail, pacing the floor of your room at Commission HQ. The Winged Hero sits across the room from you, one of his eyebrows raised.

"I recognize you from that day when you fell into the road. Why were you running around by yourself? Weren't you a hostage?"

"I- Dabi was right around the corner," you defend yourself, sitting down on the other end of the couch. "I had to get a job because I'm the only one without a criminal record."

It's been three days since All Might 'rescued' you from the League. The Commission has kept you under close surveillance, so killing yourself isn't an option. Not that it would help, since you don't know where the League even went.

"I guess that makes sense, that also explains why you were getting paid under the table at your job," Hawks concedes, leaning back. "I don't bite, y'know. You can sit with me."

You fake a trembling lower lip, shying back. "I don't want to be close to anyone yet."

Really, you just don't want to be close to this jackass. He can't know that though.

Clicking his tongue, Hawks nods. "I'm sorry, I forgot how uh, messed up you are. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on let me know, alright?"

Nodding, you hide your grimace with your hand. As if you'd ever want comfort from this winged fuckboy.

He leaves, switching with a disgruntled looking Endeavor. They're really pulling out the big guns to guard you.

"I'm only here to ride with you to UA, they're planning on moving into dorms and we decided you should talk to the kids." He crosses his arms, tapping his foot impatiently. "Get up."

If you were pissed before, looking at Dabi's deadbeat father almost pushes you off the deep end. Clenching your fists until your fingernails draw blood, you bite back a string of profanity and make eye contact.

"What am I talking to them about?" You're glaring. You're glaring at the current number 1 hero and you can't stop.

He rolls his eyes. "How to not get kidnapped and cause problems for everyone. Not that I believe you're some innocent victim. Maybe you were at first but those villains got in your head, huh?"

You stay silent, standing to follow him.

"What was your role in the League?" His voice is harsh as he grabs your wrists. "The leader seemed real torn up about us rescuing you, you must have been important."

Confused, you tilt your head at him. "What?"

"Yeah he started screaming about how much he hated us and wanted us dead, that's about when All For One got involved." His eyes are cold, a stark contrast to the heat rolling off of him.

Warmth unrelated to his flames fills your chest, and you stifle a smile. "I was just a hostage."

"Losing you was visibly demoralizing to the whole League." Endeavor drags you with him as he walks out of your room. "I don't buy your story."

...

Craning your neck, you try to get a look at the blond kid who is now rapidly walking away from you. If you didn't know any better, you'd think that was Aoyama Yu-

"So you were just minding your business when you were kidnapped?" Dabi's brother, Shoto Todoroki, asks quietly, sidestepping in front of them. "That must have been very difficult."

"Wait so how does your quirk work?" Midoriya, one of the other people involved in the fight with Stain, interjects.

"Give them space," the very tired-looking homeroom teacher says, shooing the students to a less oppressive distance. "One at a time."

You nod at him, genuinely thankful, and turn back to the students. "My quirk makes me functionally immortal, because I just come back every time I die. Yes, I was just kidnapped." You've lost sight of the blond.

"After your home was destroyed, right?" a brunette girl, Uraraka, asks.

"Correct." You're getting very tired, missing the quiet night in with your roommates you'd be having if the heroes had just fucked off. You even miss training...

Rubbing your neck and shivering, you look at the floor. You can practically feel Shigaraki's fingers on your throat, you've gotten so used to it.

"Are you okay?" The teacher rests a hand on your shoulder.

He smells like cigarettes, and your eyes are suddenly filled with tears. You miss them. Fuck, you miss them. What a stupid thing to get all mushy over.

"Hey, I'm going to take you back to HQ, alright ?"

Nodding, you wipe your eyes. You blindly follow him to the car, collapsing into the passenger's seat and shaking.

"Do you need anything?" he asks, starting the car.

"I'm okay, I'm sorry." You straighten in your seat, looking out the window.

He sighs and starts driving.

...

"Fucking SHIT!" Shigaraki shouts for approximately the 38th time, disintegrating a storage box. "Goddammit! Why the fuck would they do that?"

Dabi, face still hollow, leaves the warehouse again.

The League has been squatting here for a few days, and there's already a set routine. Someone innocently mentions the fallout from the raid, Shigaraki starts breaking stuff and screaming, Dabi fucks off and doesn't come back for an hour. Has anyone gotten food? No. Has anyone established a lookout? Absolutely not. Does anyone know what to do? Fuck no, of course they don't.

"Shigaraki, could you stop?" Spinner asks, flopping onto the floor. "I know a bunch of shitty things just happened but this isn't conducive to Stain's mission."

Crawling into another storage box, Shigaraki glares out at everyone. "We're going to fix this, as soon as Dabi gets back. This is unacceptable."

Toga, as unaffected as usual, pokes her head into the box. "What's unacceptable?"

"They stole my fucking- my trainee. And they threw some of our best people in prison, Toga. That's what's unacceptable." He grits his teeth, scratching at his neck.

...

You get privacy to change, thankfully. As you strip, you notice a piece of paper in your pocket. Unfolding it, you start to smile.

Come back soon, if you want to pass a message to the League slip it to me during your visit.
-Yuuga

Chapter Text

You slip the folded paper to Yuuga behind your back, smiling at the kids in the common area. Aizawa, their teacher, nods to you from his position on a couch.

"I'm glad you weren't scared off, we wanted to help the class adjust and we thought you would be a good distraction," he states, beckoning you over.

Nodding to Yuuga, you approach the couches, trying not to think about what you wrote. Is it weird? Are you weird? Will the League want you back if you're a sappy loser? Who knows. At least they'll know you're okay.

Hey guys, Kei here. Yuuga offered to get this to you. I'm at the Commission headquarters, guarded around the clock. The food isn't very good but I'm okay otherwise. No one has really told me anything. What's up?

The note has about four places where you scribbled out "I miss you," but you ended up leaving it right at the bottom. That's embarrassing as hell, really. Might as well go for it, though, since you don't actually know if you're seeing them again.

Sitting down next to Aizawa, you clasp your hands in your lap. "Hi, what am I talking about today?"

The kid across from you grunts, glaring. He's the one the League wanted. The stubborn fucker the group gave up Mustard for.

"Talking about what your deal is, extra. What did those villains make you do, anyway?" He crosses his arms, leaning back against the red-haired boy next to him.

You straighten, attempting a smile. "I was the only person able to get a job."

"We know that," Aizawa says gently. "We want to know about your day to day."

"What was the leader doing with you when I came through the portal?" the kid asks. "Torture or something?"

You had been laying on Shigaraki's bed and shouting out questionable advice as he murdered cops in GTA 4 when the Vanguard Action Squad came back. Every time you said something that wouldn't work, he had looked back at you, red eyes derisive, and repeated what you said in a high-pitched mocking voice. You threw one of his shirts at him at one point, almost making him drive off a cliff. He had flung off his headset and was stalking towards you, hands flexing and face split into a furious smile, when Kurogiri announced their return.

"Something like that. Nothing I couldn't handle." You shake off the memory, giving him a thumbs up.

"We finally obtained records from your landlord, you were staying above the bar with a few of the members, right? What did you do?" Aizawa prompts you. He puts a hand on your shoulder, carefully watching your reactions.

The first night after you joined the League, Dabi had made you redye his hair. You had sat cross-legged on the table, him in a chair in front of you, as you messily painted in the black pigment. He had blown cigarette smoke up into your face, hair flopping into your lap and staining your pants with dye. Mustard had wordlessly brought you a wet dishcloth that he smacked Dabi with before handing over to you. Jin had begged to be next, changing his mind after one thin streak in his hair and jumping out of the chair like a startled cat.

"I kept to myself, they're criminals after all." You're struggling again, but you can't keep acting devastated. Endeavor is already suspicious as is. "I'm just glad to be out."

...

"Dabi, come food shopping with me! Please?" Himiko begs, tugging on the hunched-over man's sleeve.

He sighs. "Go with Bubaigawara."

"He's a bit unstable right now," she says, looking over at Twice.

Twice twitches, shaking his head. "I'm totally fine! I'm killing the next person I see. I'm doing great!"

"Magne, then." Dabi opens his empty box of cigarettes for the third time, curses, and puts it back in his pocket.

"She's getting something from Yuuga."

"What's she getting?" Shigaraki rasps from the storage container he has taken up residence in.

"A special note!" Magne exclaims, waltzing through the door. "Aoyama was kind enough to contact our little hostage."

Four sets of hands immediately lunge for the note, Shigaraki elbowing past his nic-withdrawing teammates and Toga.

Eyes sharpening for the first time in the week that the League has been stuck in the warehouse, he clears his throat.

"We're going to raid the Hero Commission Headquarters."

Chapter Text

"Wait, where are we going?" you ask Midnight, who's asked you to call her Nemuri like four times. "I thought after I talked to the kids I was going back to my room."

"You have another interview, Endeavor is insisting." She pats your arm as she leads you down a hallway of HQ, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry, we all know you're clean, we just have to humor him since he's number one."

You follow her into a sterile room with a low white table, a very smug looking Endeavor sitting at its head and holding... A gun?

Mustard's gun.

Grinding your teeth, you sit down. Midnight leaves, giving you a nod on the way out. With a sarcastic smile, you tilt your head at Mr. Child Abuser and lean back in your folding chair.

"What's up?"

Flames erupt from his face, his brows furrowing. You always find it funny when Dabi does that, almost cute, but when Endeavor does it you just see a man who can't control his anger.

"We confiscated this from one of the villains involved in the raid on UA's first year training camp. The brat won't talk, but we figured you'd know something about him."

So they really did wipe his records. Must have not wanted to admit to grooming a child. You straighten up, pasting a vapid expression on your face.

"I don't recognize it," you lie. "Who was the captive?"

He slides the gun to you, and you realize it's still loaded. You look at him, confused.

"We didn't bother unloading it. Your quirk would get you out into the hall at most, and I could disarm you before you'd ever manage to kill me," he explains, smugness increasing.

You realize he's genuinely just trying to piss you off. Most likely, most of the commission members still know who Mustard is. He just wants you to snap and let something slip.

Picking up the gun, you pretend to examine it. They don't know about your quirk training. Could you get back a week? Could you hold onto the gun? In your training, you've only managed 3 days tops, and you barely held onto your clothes.

"Well?" he asks.

You clear your head, focusing on the bar. Shigaraki's room, full of trash and laundry. The perfect hidey hole while you figure out how to be a wanted fugitive.

"Well," you say softly, making eye contact. His eyes, similar to Dabi's but lacking the emotional depth, bore into you. "You were right."

Before he can respond, the gun is in your mouth. You pull the trigger, his face horrified as your brains paint the wall behind you. You focus as hard as you can, considering your brain is gone, the glow enveloping you.

Then it's over, and you're tangled in the sheets of the bed.

"Holy shit it worked," you whisper. You immediately scramble under the frame, creating a nest of sorts with laundry and hentai magazines.

Heroes are definitely watching the bar, but they aren't in here. You have time, genuine alone time to think.

And you have a gun. The warm metal presses into your palm, comforting. Four bullets left.

...

The Hero Commission is in chaos, with everyone attempting a different form of damage control. The story breaks due to Endeavor demanding compensation for being right. It's all over the radio and TV within an hour, Endeavor smugly giving phone interviews about it.

Villain "Keiji" escapes confinement at Hero Commission Headquarters. Armed and on the run. Do not approach.

...

Looking up from the radio, Spinner cocks his head at Shigaraki. "You were saying?"

"I guess we aren't raiding their headquarters," he amends, a smile creeping across his face.

Dabi is predictably losing his shit, flinging his arm around Jin to stay standing. "Kei shot themself in front of Endeavor? And just... Disappeared? Holy fuck."

"Where did they end up?" Himiko asks, looking at Spinner.

"Hell if I know." Turning, he calls over his shoulder. "Hey Compress, you hear that?"

The masked man guarding the door claps his hands. "A much needed win for us."

Shigaraki cracks his knuckles, pocketing your note. "Let's go find them."

"Uh, boss?" Twice interjects. "I actually recruited someone, he should arrive soon. I need to go greet him."

"By all means," Shigaraki crows, his mood noticeably improved. "Let's keep this positive streak going."

...

You collect what you need from Shigaraki's room. The heroes missed a shocking number of items, likely due to the mess. You collect almost 400 yen in coins, a Monster Ultra White, and Shigaraki's handheld gaming device and charger, packing them into a very childish-looking Pokémon backpack. You also opt to steal a black hoodie, the bare-bones wardrobe provided by the Commission not cutting it.

Creeping down the hall, you grab your costume from the training room. Changing quickly and pulling the hoodie over it, you take the box of colorful chalk that you had been using to mark your respawn points. It's easier to go back if you have something to focus on.

Fully equipped, you sneak out, easily bypassing the sleeping police guard at the door and taking off. You walk confidently, the hood and the shadows of dusk easily obscuring your now-wanted face. It's only when you make it to a side street that you stop, the reality of your situation kicking in.

You're a full-fledged villain now. Absolutely no going back.

And it feels...

Good.

You walk further back into the side street, drawing a bright blue 'X' on the ground and covering it with the debris littering the area.

Spawn point set, you continue away from the street. Any panic you could be feeling transmutes to adrenaline, a grin etching itself into your face.

Everything is going your way.

Chapter Text

The positive streak did not, in fact, keep going. Jin’s guest was not a friendly man, and the fallout from his introduction was tremendous. Magne died so fast, it’s almost like Horikoshi didn’t want to write her as a serious character. The League was forced to relocate again, calling into question how many abandoned warehouses there are in Japan.

Cursing, Dabi looks up from lighting a fire in the League’s newest abandoned warehouse. “This place fucking sucks.”

“Deal with it,” Shigaraki snaps.

Toga and Twice are gone, a choice no one wanted to make. With the loss of Magne and Compress’s injury, it was the best compromise the League could have made with the Hassaikai.

“I’m going to go look for Kei again, they might have seen the news about the old warehouse and gone there.” Dabi turns to leave.

“Why do you get to look every time? I want to go,” the blue-haired leader demands, removing the hand from his face. “Spinner, you’re in charge until I get back.”

“I’m the only other person here,” Compress protests.

Ignoring him, Shigaraki pulls up his hood and puts on a crumpled medical mask. “Are you going out like that, Dabi?”

Mildly surprised that he’s actually allowed to go, Dabi shrugs. “I can change into something less conspicuous.”

“Good. Hurry up.”

…

You grit your teeth, forcing yourself the rest of the way through the hole in the wall and back into the chill night air. The warehouse was empty, as expected. You wish they had left you some kind of clue, but logically you know it’s hard to do that when you’re fleeing a murder scene. Collecting your stuff, you carefully set a chalk respawn point against the wall before you leave.

As you slink away, you hear voices ahead of you. You can’t determine who they may be, between your hood and the wind that’s picking up around you. Deciding it’s not fucking worth getting caught, you do your best to quietly run away.

…

Shigaraki glares at the pink chalk X at the base of the wall, turning to Dabi. The stapled man is tearing apart the abandoned parking lot and alleyway for clues, not paying attention to him.

“C’mere, Burning Man, I found something,” Shigaraki calls. He rubs his arms, shivering in the wind despite his sweatshirt.

Dabi stalks over, lighting a small fire in his palm to get a better look. Shigaraki sidles closer under the pretense of looking, absorbing the blessed heat. Even Spinner deals wth cold better than him, and that guy is literally a lizard.

“It’s just chalk, boss. Doesn’t mean it was them.” Watching the blue-haired man’s frankly pathetic attempt to disguise what he’s doing, Dabi increases the flame, shielding it from the wind and moving closer. “Cold?”

“I’m not cold, Dabi,” Shigaraki lies, teeth visibly chattering. “And it looks exactly the way they marked points during training.”

Extinguishing the fire, Dabi stomps off. That’s the first and last time he tries to actually be friendly to that prick. “I’m going to set some shit on fire. They’ll know the blue flames are mine and hurry on over if they’re in the area.”

“So will the heroes, you piece of burnt toast. Get back here, my fingers are falling off.” Any venom intended in the words falls flat. “Are you trying to get us caught?”

“Hell yeah I am, by Keiji. We can get the fuck out of here the second they show up.” Dabi lights up his hands, grinning. “If they don’t, we can hold our own against a couple of heroes.”

“Fine,” Shigaraki sighs.

…

You look up, startled, as a pillar of blue flame consumes the warehouse behind you. When you register what it means, you’re already sprinting towards it, manic smile spreading across your face.

Barrelling back into the abandoned parking lot, you look around. No one’s here. You slump to the ground, tears welling in your eyes. While it may seem like common sense to not get your hopes up for a murderous arsonist, you’ve never let that stop you before. Maybe you should have.

Ice-cold fingers wrap loosely around your neck, forcing you to look behind you. Red eyes train on yours, widening at your tears.

“Oh shit. Stop doing that,” rasps your leaders’ familiar voice. He flexes his hand, face bordering on shocked. “Would killing you help?”

You wipe your eyes with your sleeves, laughter bubbling in your throat. “No, thank you though.”

“I told you we shouldn’t hide,” another familiar voice sounds. Heavy boots scuff across the asphalt in front of you.

Standing, you face Dabi. It hasn’t been that long, really, and his appearance is largely unchanged. It still feels surreal to see your former roommate, especially after blowing your brains out in front of his dad. He grins at you.

“Actually missed us, huh?” Cocking an eyebrow at you, he pulls your hood up. “Have you been okay?”

Nodding, you smile. “Thank you for finding me.”

“Thank me too,” Shigaraki cuts in. “You’re wearing my stuff.”

You laugh, taking his game system and charger from the backpack. “You should thank me. I’ll give your hoodie back when we get to wherever you guys have been hiding out.”

He takes the device, pinkies up. “Keep it, it’s old.”

Chapter Text

Throughout his life, one thing has been true of Izuku Midoriya: He’s a stubborn little shit. So, when his upperclassman told him to abandon an abused little girl and then a bunch of heroes dogpiled him for it, he made up his mind to not take their bullshit anymore. Of course, he bided his time. He needed access to Overhaul’s compound after all. But once he had the kid back in his arms, that was it for him.

None of these fucks deserve her. So, none of them are gonna get their grubby hands on her ever again.

Deku snaps to attention as Overhaul throws a particularly large, jagged piece of cement at his head. “What the fuck, Chisaki?”

“Give her back!” the masked villain roars, eyes wild.

“No, you psycho! Go away!” Racing up the side of the pit formed by Ryukyu moments before, Deku looks up, spotting… Himself?

With a toothy grin, his doppleganger waves and rushes away. They make no effort to help Chisaki or the heroes, their work apparently done after getting him assistance against the mafia leader.

Rather than leaving the pit, Deku allows who he assumes is Toga to continue impersonating him, swinging into one of the now-exposed tunnels on the side of the pit. No one appears to notice, Chisaki occupied with the Dragoon Hero.

“Where are we going?” Eri asks. She hasn’t said much, focusing on keeping her quirk output low. She’s really quite capable when everyone isn’t screaming at her.

“Currently, I’m trying to get away from everyone,” he mutters, scanning the area. Determining that the area is safe, he pulls out his cellphone, dialing his mother.

“Everything okay?” Inko Midoriya asks, picking up on the first ring.

He tells his mom everything. Of course he mentioned that he’d be going on the run and adopting a six-year old to her before doing it. “I got her back, I’m ready.”

Inko is a good mother. Of course she’s helped him with the details. She’s just happy he still trusts her with everything. So happy, in fact, that she finally thought to mention where his dad went. And like, who the fuck he even is.

“I liquidated the trust and withdrew the cash, it’s in the location you specified. Trash your cell and switch to the burner,” she says urgently. “Make sure she eats, she’ll need to regain her strength. And Izuku?”

“Yeah, mom?” he responds, face settling determinedly.

“I love you. Stay safe.”

“I love you too.”

…

Fiddling with the too-long sleeves of Shigaraki’s hoodie, you listen to your boss and Spinner argue over the best edition of Final Fantasy. Compress pats your shoulder, sitting next to you.

“I know that Magne’s loss is difficult, believe me. But you’ll do a good job as Yuuga’s new contact, I promise.” He takes off his mask, smiling at you gently.

You’re seriously getting put in charge of another blond child with poor quirk control. Another one. A measly three weeks after you lost the first one. Sighing, you look away, scuffing at the floor. “I guess.”

“And Dabi will be escorting you, isn’t that good?”

You look at the black haired man across the room, presently chain smoking aggressively next to the window. Scowling, your face heats up. He’s been weird since he and Shigaraki found you. Of course, he’s avoidant, and sarcastic, and aggressive, and a bit of a jackass, all of that wouldn’t exactly raise your eyebrows. The weird part is that he’s also always near you. There hasn’t been a moment since you faced him in the parking lot that he’s been more than 20 feet away. Every scouting mission, walk outside, outing to explore the rest of the building, he’s trailed you like a love-starved puppy. Or a large, predatory animal. The vibe flips depending on the day.

“Yeah.”

“No need to sound so enthusiastic,” the stalker himself calls sarcastically. “I’m sure Crusty over there would love to go with you instead.”

Shigaraki glares at him from behind his device. “What’s got you all pissy today?”

“Nothing, let’s go, Keiji.” Dabi strides towards you, holding out a hand to help you up.

You accept, brushing off the front of the hoodie as you stand. “Thanks. I’m ready now.”

“That hoodie is way too thin, it’s cold out. Take this.” He shrugs off his coat, dumping it over your head.

“Your coat is short sleeved, dipshit.” Shigaraki stands, handing his gaming device to Spinner.

Spinner clicks his tongue, immersing himself in the game and visibly ignoring the two angry men glaring at each other across his head. You envy his ability to do that.

You toss Dabi’s coat back at him, brows furrowing. “It’s not that cold. And I like this, it’s less conspicuous.”

“Wear a ratty, stained hoodie off of the incel’s floor then, see if I give a fuck.” Dabi grits his teeth, walking to the door.

“You know what? I would love to come with you, just like Dabi said,” Shigaraki rasps, smirking at the scarred man. “What do you say, Kei? A fun little bonding excursion with your leader, sounds great, right?”

Compress leaves the room, putting his mask back on and muttering something about men in their early twenties. Spinner wordlessly follows him, face almost bored, still occupied with the game.

You gulp, hurrying to the door. “I’ll just follow road signs and go by myself, see you guys later!”

Two sets of eyes burn into you. Back pressed to the door, you try to stop your hands from shaking as all of the animosity in the room is suddenly directed your way.

“No.” Dabi insists. “You already got kidnapped once, are you stupid?”

“You’re not trying to run back to the heroes or something?” Shigaraki’s eye twitches. “Or a different group?”

“No! You know I hate them, I just wanted-”

“What you want is to go see Yuuga. With us,” Shigaraki says softly, tilting his head. “Right?”

Dabi rolls his eyes at your boss then refocuses on you. “We’re not letting you get taken again.”

“Fine,” you agree.

As you’re leaving, Spinner runs back into the room, holding up the radio.

“Guys, holy fuck!”

“What?” Shigaraki and Dabi snap in unison.

“Remember that kid you really dislike?” He turns up the volume.

Midoriya Izuku, known as Deku, a first year hero student at UA, is on the run. In a shocking turn of events, during a rescue mission at the Shie Hassaikai headquarters, the student kidnapped the child the heroes were attempting to rescue and is now on the run. Eyewitness reports say that the League of Villains may be involved. The leader of the Hassaikai, Chisaki Kai, is in custody and en route-”

“Fuck,” you breathe, grinning. “We’re gonna go fuck that guy up, right?”

Dabi laughs. “Compress, get out here! You’re gonna get revenge for your arm!”

“Deku will almost definitely also plan on intercepting them too.” Spinner’s eyes light up. “He’s the one endorsed by Stain!”

Shigaraki sighs, rubbing his temples. “Don’t ask.”

“Let him in,” Compress says, gliding through the group and out the door.

“C’mon, he’d be an asset!” Spinner follows the magician, tail swishing behind him. “I’ll drive.”

“I… Guess he can join. If he wants to.” Shigaraki wrinkles his nose. “Whatever.”

The radio announcer continues, sounding panicky.

Breaking news! We have just received confirmation that Deku, the student who is now on the run, is not just any student! His files were just released, and we now know that his father is…

Shigaraki twitches, mouth curling into an ugly, cruel smile that puts the 1966 animated Grinch to shame.

“He’s fucking joining.”

Chapter Text

Throughout his life, one thing has been true of Yagi Toshinori: He’s pathetically insecure. So, when a pretty, green-haired girl gave him a singular smidge of attention at a bar one night, he folded immediately. And, nine months later, when a squalling bundle of freckly joy came into the world, he had dipped the fuck out and not looked back.

He was always on the sidelines. When his son was diagnosed as quirkless. When he got abused by both his peers and the adults around him. As he became a reclusive, baggy-eyed fanboy who never left his room except to watch fights. Then, one day, he left the sidelines. Not because he truly recognized Izuku as a strong individual. Not because he loved him, or wanted him to be great.

Yagi Toshinori was embarrassed. Embarrassed by his fling, embarrassed by his son’s existence, embarrassed by his ailing body. He decided he had had enough, and he was going to fix all of it. He was going to make his son replace him, all without revealing his identity.

Boy did that backfire.

…

You glance up at Shigaraki, who is perched on top of the van like a cat. “Spinner, where did you say you learned to drive?”

“Gran Turismo, why?” the scaled man calls back, swerving around another car.

Shigaraki sways, scrabbling at the top of the van.

“Okay, I have a license, maybe I could-” you start, but Dabi shushes you.

“They’re just ahead of us, look,” he urges, lighting up one of his palms.

Spinner pulls off an incredibly unsafe maneuver, drifting in front of the police escort. “Alright guys make this fast!”

“How do you like your pork, rare or medium?” Dabi asks you, grinning.

“You have to cook pork to 68 celsius or you’ll get food poisoning and die, moron,” your leader snaps at him, leaping from the van and onto the windshield of the police car.

“Guess I’ll get cooking,” Dabi cackles.

A hero, who for whatever reason appears to be mostly made of sand, pops out of the car, taking the brunt of the stream of blue flame that Dabi shoots. Compress steps in, trapping the man in a flame-filled marble right in the middle of his extensive guilt trip directed at the fire user. The next few minutes go exactly as you’d expect them to, the ambulance easily captured and broken into once the cops are dead.

You encircle the mattress that Overhaul, who apparently is some super-powerful mafia leader or whatever, is strapped to. He doesn’t look too happy to see you for some reason.

“I’ll be taking this,” Compress says sweetly, trapping one of the restrained man’s arms in another marble. “For my arm.”

“What are you doing? Give it back,” Chisaki mumbles, visibly confused. “You can’t just take that.”

“Hit him,” Shigaraki commands you. “Good punch to the face.”

You comply, shutting Overhaul up with a swift, metal-plated hit to the bridge of his nose. Having never hit anyone before, you feel good about it. He deserves it after all.

“We’re just killing time till the other guy shows up,” Dabi explains.

Chisaki stiffens, looking frightened by that explanation.

His fear is justified. The four of you proceed to pummel the man below you into the ground, something Shigaraki offhandedly defends as a ‘team building’ exercise. Shigaraki has just decayed his arm, waving a knife in his face and mocking him, when the new recruit finally shows up.

Deku looks a bit run down, costume altered and child in tow. She doesn’t seem bothered by the scene in front of her, blinking down at Overhaul from Deku’s back.

“Didn’t know you were here,” he says stiffly, ignoring the mafia leader.

Shigaraki begins sawing off the decaying arm, shrugging. “We wanted to recruit you.”

“Eri! Rewind me, help me escape!” Chisaki wails, hacking up blood.

She silently flips him off, small face stony.

You stifle a laugh.

“Like, to the League?” Deku is considerably less opposed to the idea than you thought he would be.

“Yeah, help us murder your dad,” Dabi says casually. “Patricide is real fun, I hear.”

“Didn’t he abandon you until he could groom you into a replacement hero or something?” Shigaraki asks.

“Something like that, I don’t care for All For One’s goals all that much either though.”

“Neither do most of us,” Compress cuts in. “I joined for personal reasons, Dabi, Spinner, and Toga are in it for Stain, and I’m not even sure what exactly Keiji’s deal is.”

“Pros kept destroying my apartments, I was getting really annoyed.” You shrug. “This seemed like a healthy outlet.”

“It did?” Deku raises an eyebrow at you. “Whatever. Do you guys have a steadier base of operations than an abandoned car on a side street?”

“Sorta,” Dabi replies.

“What about food? A place to safely keep the kid?”

“Depends on your definition of ‘food,’” Shigaraki says, distracted with cleaning his knife.

“And perhaps your definition of ‘safe,’” Compress adds.

“I can help watch her,” you pipe up, surprising yourself. “I’m not great in combat yet anyway.”

“Yet.” Shigaraki grins. “I’m restarting your training tomorrow, and we’re gonna practice till you can put me on the floor.”

“Don’t get too excited, boss. I’m taking them to meet Yuuga tomorrow morning. We had to reschedule for this, remember?” Dabi taps the kid on the shoulder, standing up. “Let’s roll, the heroes’ll be on their way soon.”

“Wait, Yuuga?” Deku dazedly follows Dabi to the van, everyone else following along. “Is that how you guys found the training camp? And got into the USJ?”

“Yeah, but we also stuck a tracker in your loud friend. So now we have two sources of information,” Shigaraki says offhandedly, handing you the knife. “Hold this.”

You pocket it, ignoring the ethically questionable implications of that. “Thanks.”

Deku passes Eri to your back, still looking generally confused. “So what are your plans right now?”

Compress bows dramatically. “We aim to obtain power, success, and sashimi.”

“I already agreed to get you some when we get money,” your leader sighs.

“Like, long term?” the former hero student clarifies, jumping up into the van.

“The death of hero society, I’m pretty sure we've mentioned that,” Dabi says, getting in last. He shuts the door. “Let's go, Spinner.”

You peel off, new members in tow.
…

“Wait so Midoriya was the mole?” Shoto Todoroki asks quietly. “I thought it was Bakugo.”

“Watch yourself, Icyhot,” Bakugo growls.

“Uh yeah, guess so, see you later!” Yuuga says quickly, running up the stairs to their room. Once the door is closed, they slump down, pulling the radio device from under their mattress.

“Yeah?” The leader of the League of Villains sounds vaguely hammered.

“We rescheduled for tomorrow, at 3, yes?” Yuuga pops two of their stabilizer pills dry, grimacing. “Just wanted to clarify.”

“Yeah, for uh, chess club! With your best friend from middle school. That's me.”

Yep, definitely hammered.

“Excellent.” Hanging up, Yuuga collapses onto their bed, clenching their stomach. The quirk is still rejecting, it’ll need to be removed soon.

They can't fucking wait till All For One is back.

Chapter Text

“Did you guys seriously blow half our budget on alcohol?” Midoriya groans, gesturing to the half-empty handle of vodka your leader is holding.

“I’m offended you think a few bottles of liquor is half of our budget,” Compress protests.

“More like three-quarters,” Spinner clarifies. “We’re celebrating recruiting you and defeating Overhaul, plus you have loads of cash, right?”

“Yeah, my trust from All Might.” He grabs the bottle from Shigaraki, who is having what sounds like an invigorating conversation with Yuuga over the radio. “You guys are seriously planning to meet them at 3 am?”

“Yup,” Dabi confirms, sprawling on the boxes the two of you are sitting on. “Boss, are they good?”

“They’ll be there,” Shigaraki manages, slumping next to you and grabbing for your drink.

You hold it away from him. “I thought you had a high tolerance.” You’re feeling largely fine, a sharp contrast to most of your fellow League members.

“If I drink slowly, I do.” He gives up, head resting on your shoulder. “I did not do that.”

“I noticed,” you reply.

“We all noticed,” Himiko says sarcastically, looking up from putting Eri’s hair into space buns that match hers.

Midoriya joins them, giving a disapproving look to the adults in the room.

Himiko perks up, scooting closer to him. She’s mellowed out a good bit since The Incident from when you returned with him, and you hope it remains that way. Poor Midoriya doesn’t need any more puncture wounds.

Dabi grabs your drink from your hands, taking a swig.

You glare at him, earning a laugh.

“Chill, Kei, I’m trying to catch up.” He nods to your leader, who appears to have completely passed out on your shoulder.

“It’s already 11, we have to meet Yuuga someplace an hour away at 3. Do not black out,” you hiss under your breath, not wanting to wake Shigaraki.

“You’d wake me up and drag me along, wouldn’t you?” He blinks at you innocently.

“No. I’d have Midoriya show me the way because he’s actually responsible.” You use your free hand to poke at his stapled face. “Plus, less conspicuous.”

“You’re breaking my heart,” Dabi says dramatically, grinning at you and taking another drink. “I won’t black out.”

…

Midoriya and Twice help pull your passed-out friends off of you. Leaving them propped against each other on the boxes, you leave for the meeting with Yuuga. Himiko is left to guard the group, Jin enthusiastically agreeing to watch Eri while you’re gone.

You grimace as the cool air hits you, pulling your hood up. “We’re meeting at an internet cafe, right?”

“Yeah.” Deku scans the area, looking back at you. “We’re taking a train the wrong way, then a sequence of three connecting ones to get there. Just in case we’re tracked or something.”

“Wait, we’re headed to my old neighborhood,” you exclaim.

It seems like it’s been a lifetime since the day you were fired and found another home destroyed. Since you gave up on heroes and decided to commit to stopping them.

“Was your apartment one of the ones destroyed in the Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods debut fight?” Midoriya turns red, clearly embarrassed. “I was there, to watch and take notes. That was before I uh, stopped believing in them I guess.”

“Yeah, it was.”

You walk in silence to the train station. Both of you are morbidly socially awkward, unfortunately.

“Was that all it took?” he asks quietly, boarding the first train behind you.

You shrug, deciding to be a bit bleak despite being the main character in a comedy fanfiction. “Looking back on it, I believed in our society by default,” you begin. “It was ingrained in me that there is a right way to do things, and that we’ve already found it. I was taught that people who couldn’t make it just weren’t trying hard enough, because our society was a perfectly oiled machine.” You scuff your foot on the floor of the traincar. “But everywhere I looked, it seemed like most people weren’t making it. Including me. And I was trying.”

Deku nods. “So when the people who were supposed to be the good guys kept hurting you and the people around you, it made you realize that it’s designed to be this way? This way meaning, uh, terrible?”

“Yeah, basically. I was also just pissed that my stuff kept getting destroyed.” You crack your knuckles. “So I started hanging around Dabi, and now I’m here.”

“Fair enough.”

You ride in silence until your first stop. As you get off, you tap him on the shoulder. “Your turn.”

“I grew up quirkless, then the second I got a quirk I was given a laundry list of stupid rules to follow. But that was mostly fine.” Midoriya furrows his brow. “Then, I was forced to leave Eri with Chisaki the first time.”

“Yikes.” You suck your teeth, looking down. “That would do it.”

“Then I found out All Might is my dad and was trying to get me to replace him because he was embarrassed by me,” the green-haired boy continues. “That pushed me from ‘running away with Eri to protect her’ into villain territory.”

“Honestly, it wouldn’t make sense for you to support the heroes, even without knowing All Might is your father.”

You and Midoriya look meaningfully into the camera like you’re on The Office. He clears his throat. “No, it really wouldn’t.”

…

Entering the meeting location, you spot Yuuga waving you over from a cubicle in the back. The internet cafe is empty except for the employee at the front desk, who is wearing earbuds and reading. Perfect.

When you get to the back, you notice Yuuga holding a small, struggling, purple-themed boy with duct tape over his mouth. Not perfect.

“Aoyama why the fuck is he here?” Deku hisses.

“Izuku! He stuck to my back on the way out.”

“Who is this?” you ask, hand on the gun in your pocket.

The silencer Mustard put on is still on it. No one else is here, it would be so easy to just…

You remove your hand, shaking yourself. Shooting children is not allowed.

“This is Mineta, he's the class perv,” Midoriya spits.

Your hand creeps back to the gun. “Oh?”

“He has repeatedly assaulted multiple girls in the class as well as female pros.” Yuuga’s typically very shiny face darkens slightly. “For some reason, the school hasn't addressed it.”

“Is his quirk super powerful or something?” You tilt your head at the teens, visibly confused.

“No, and his combat and tactical stats are low. Plus he tends to run away from threats.” Midoriya is grinding his teeth. “Aoyama, did he hear anything?”

Yuuga nods awkwardly. “I believe so, yes.”

You click the safety off, wondering how the author is going to justify you murdering a child. Because you're about to do just that.

“Keiji,” Midoriya admonishes, eyes wide. “We can't kill him!”

Yuuga looks at their former classmate doubtfully. “I mean…”

“If you scream, I let them do it,” Midoriya says to the hostage.

The kid nods.

Pulling the tape off, Midoriya levels the knife that Shigaraki gave you at the hostage's face. You pat your pockets, glaring.

He throws you a shiteating smile, turning back to grape boy. “Alright, here's what's gonna happen. You're going to unenroll from UA and never mention anything that happened here, and I'm not gonna sic the entire League on your predatory ass. Okay, Mineta?”

Mineta blubbers something about wanting to be a hero, earning a nick on his chin from Midoriya.

“You're also gonna stop harassing people. We’ll be watching.”

He releases Mineta and lets him leave.

The three of you wordlessly get ice cream from the self-serve bar, Midoriya passing back your knife.

“So, Izuku,” Yuuga says casually. “Quite a bit of pent up anger, I notice.”

You nudge them. “He was fine. Let's go over the intel.”

Chapter Text

By the time you return to the hideout, the sun has risen. You and Midoriya slip inside quietly, immediately coming face to face with a pissed-off, hungover Shigaraki and a still-drunk Dabi. Midoriya slinks away, wishing you luck under his breath.

“Hello, Keiji,” your leader says lowly, grabbing you by the wrist. “Care to explain why I woke up propped against this fucker?”

“You left without me,” Dabi states, lighting a cigarette. “I thought you were kidding.”

“Go back to bed, lightweight.” Shigaraki ushers the other man (shockingly gently) back to the boxes, dragging you along.

“You were both passed out,” you defend yourself. “I had to make it on time.”

Sprawling across the boxes and a sleeping Mr. Compress, Dabi looks up at you. “When he woke up, the boss thought he had disintegrated you permanently somehow, since you were gone. Real upset. Tore the place apart and woke everyone up.”

“Shut the hell up, I did not,” Shigaraki argues, tugging on your wrist. “Let’s go, I said I’d teach you combat today.”

“Bubaigawara had to hold him back from destroying the building while Toga explained where you went!” Dabi laughs, twirling the magician’s hat on a finger.

Shigaraki stomps away, you in tow, refusing to look at him.

…

You slump back against the wall, panting, the glow of your quirk fading. Shigaraki stalks across the room, picking up the knife off of the ground and handing it back to you.

Your skin feels prickly, overly warm. “Can we take a break for a few minutes?”

“What's wrong?” he asks, eyes narrowing in concern. He grabs your hand, tilting his head. “Why is your quirk still active?”

“What?” Looking down, you see your palms, still radiating yellowish light. “I don't know, I feel…”

He catches you as you stagger forward. “Fuck, okay, just try to relax.” His voice is unsure, almost frightened. Not the most emotionally literate man in the world, that's for sure.

Today is your first day back to quirk training after a week of combat work, and you've been pushing yourself harder than before. Shigaraki is making you incorporate attacks into the training, but each time you've lunged at him with the knife he's lazily sidestepped and decayed you. You cough, droplets of blood splattering on the ground.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he mutters, crouching to the ground and carefully propping you against the wall. “Should I kill you?”

“No.” You're suddenly in pain, clenching the knife handle. “No, that might make it worse.”

Your free hand presses against the floor, heating up. He looks down, eyes widening as he jumps backwards. “Kei-”

The knife shatters, the floor cracking at the same time. Shards of metal fly everywhere, lodging themselves in your hand. You curse, flexing your fingers.

“What the fuck,” you whine, gritting your teeth. The pain and heat have dissipated, thank fuck, but you still feel disoriented.

Hurrying back to your side, Shigaraki examines your hands. They're normal, one filled with metal shrapnel.

“Why didn't you tell me your quirk did that?” he snaps, picking pieces of metal from your palm. “Now you're hurt you fucking moron!”

“I didn't know,” you protest weakly, head lolling against the wall. “That's never happened before.”

He unceremoniously scoops you up, shockingly strong for a skinny NEET, and carries you out of the room. “Irresponsible as hell. I swear to fucking god.”

“Wait!” You wriggle, unable to do much.

“You seriously need to calm down. I'm going to take you to the doctor.” He looks down at you, eyes softening somewhat. “You'll be okay.”

“We can't go to the doctor, we're wanted criminals!” You glare at him. “And I can walk.”

Putting you on your feet, he steps away, catching you when you immediately collapse. Smug smirk plastered on his face, he picks you back up. “Sure you can.”

“What kind of doctor is going to help us?” you hiss, face heating up with embarrassment. You let him continue carrying you, visibly sulking.

“One with exceptionally shitty ethical standards.”

…

“What the fuck do you mean, Kurogiri is in jail? He can fucking teleport!” Shigaraki rages. “Keiji is having a violent quirk awakening and can't even walk-”

You easily walk over to him, drinking a Gatorade that Dabi graciously shoplifted for you. “I'm literally fine now.”

Dabi pulls you back to the pile of boxes the group has been using as a couch, heated arm over your shoulders. “You still need rest, Kei.”

Eri climbs up next to you, stealing your drink and taking a sip. You grin at her.

“Now is not the time to play happy families, we need to get to the doctor. I think we can get other stuff out of him too.” Shigaraki grinds his teeth, pacing the room. “Master mentioned some kind of power-up thing he could do. Plus he wants to give Staples a Nomu for some reason.”

Dabi looks perturbed, mouth pressing into a thin line. “Oh?”

You look down at your hands. Himiko got the metal out with her knife, but you decided not to use your quirk again until you know what's going on.

Midoriya swings Eri onto his shoulder, offering her a granola bar. She's somehow less malnourished living here in this abandoned warehouse than she was with the mafia.

“We could just pack up and move in that direction,” he suggests.

Shigaraki shrugs. “That could work.”

Chapter Text

Dr. Ujiko’s eyes widen. “They broke the time limit? And don’t have a cooldown period anymore?”

You’re gathered in the hospital that Garaki Kyudai practices in, in the basement where he goes by Ujiko and performs his ethically indefensible experiments. Dabi is playing with his new best friend/pet with Himiko and Jin, Compress and Spinner are placing bets on the defense stats of the Nomus that are still in progress, Midoriya and Eri are back at the new hideout you found upon entering this precinct, and Shigaraki… Well…

The blue-haired man tightens his arm around you, hauling you against his side. You’re squished against the decorative hand on his shoulder, the dead flesh cold on your cheek. He taps his foot impatiently.

“Yeah, I trained those out of them. Now fix the problem, Ujiko,” he says casually. “Unless you can’t?”

“Shigaraki,” the doctor soothes, attempting diplomacy. “Those limits allowed their body to dispose of the damage they took appropriately. Their quirk seems to convert the damage they take into energy that causes them to respawn and heal. If you tamper with their limitations, that energy has to come out somehow. Their body happened to pick a more destructive method.”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” you protest, muffled against the hand.

Shigaraki has always been a domineering, overbearing brat with no physical boundaries, but he’s gotten significantly worse in the past day. The doctor is not helping, if you didn’t know any better you’d say he was avoiding looking at you.

“Keiji.” Your leader leans down, speaking softly against your ear. “Do you want to stop training, or do you want me to make this guy help you regulate the energy releases?”

“Are you threatening me?” Ujiko huffs angrily.

“Just weighing options, Doctor.”

You chew on your lip, considering. On one hand, you could use your quirk to destroy shit and make your friends happy. On the other, you could be lame and useless in every instance of combat for the foreseeable future. Hard choice.

“I want to control it,” you declare, awkwardly pulling away and turning to face him. “But I want you to teach me. Not this guy. He gives me the creeps.”

The doctor huffs again.

“Me?” Shigaraki asks.

“Him?” Dabi calls over from where he’s trying to get his Nomu to do a cartwheel. “Seriously, Kei?”

“Your quirk involves uncontrollably disintegrating things. It’s at least similar,” you ramble, staring at the floor. “And I want Himiko to take over my knife combat training. That’s like, her whole thing. I want to learn different things from everyone, so I can be useful.” Your face heats up. “I don’t want to be left behind again, I want to help.”

The League members nod their assent. Ujiko sighs, waving his hand dismissively.

“Heartwarming. I guess come back when you want, I’ll be here.”

The group leaves, Shigaraki and Himiko intensely discussing where you are in your training. As you’re leaving, Dabi sidles up to you, new pet looming over him.

“If you want to be useful, I have a mission to go on where I could really use your help. You in?”

Nodding enthusiastically, you smile. “Of course!”

…

“No,” you groan. “Really?” Looking around the fourth abandoned warehouse you’ve been in in the past month, you slump against the wall. “Him?”

Dabi nods, smirking. “Bird boy himself. I was surprised too, until I did some digging. What the commission did to him was like if they had succeeded with Mustard, super fucked up.”

“And we’re meeting with him now?” You frown, adjusting your studded gloves. “I don’t like him.”

“That’s not very nice, is it?” a deeply annoying voice asks from behind you.

You jump, turning to make eye contact with the winged hero. He grins, waving.

Shoving Hawks away from you, Dabi looks him up and down. “You actually showed up.”

“Of course I did, I’m true to my word.” The blond stretches, folding his wings. “Plus I wanted to check on… Keiji, right? I won’t use your real name, don’t worry.”

“How does this fuckass know your name, Kei?” Dabi spits, glaring at Hawks. “Were you digging through their files like a creep or something?”

“The background check was my job, chill out,” the hero says smugly. “Let’s get to business, yeah?”

…

Flying back from his meeting, Hawks adjusts his glasses, replaying what they recorded. There’s no doubt about it, the pulsing light of active quirk genes is highly present, invisible to the naked eye but clear on the recording. An ongoing quirk awakening, possibly a second, latent quirk. He presses the button on the side of his headset, buzzing headquarters.

“Run the tests, I think you were right.”

…

“Why don't you use your name?” Dabi asks, handing High End, his new Nomu, an apple. The creature inhales it whole.

You shrug, scouting the streets for people. “My mom raised me by herself, and she's dead. There's nothing connecting me to it.”

Quickly directing High End through the alley and across the street, Dabi nods. “Fair enough. Do you think you'll ever use it again?”

Hopping the ‘For Rent’ sign on the closed outlet store, you grab him by the collar and pull him inside. “Nah. Get your pet.”

“I have a name,” High End grumbles, following you.

“But could I know it?” He looks down at you, cocking his head.

You quickly let go of his coat, stepping back against the wall. “Why?”

“My dad knows your name. So does that Takami bastard.”

Oh. This is about Hawks. For some reason, Dabi is absolutely convinced the winged hero is trying to hook up with you. He is also sure that Keigo Takami is lying about being on your side. You agree with his second belief, but the first one has made it increasingly difficult to work with the blond man.

“It's not the name I identify myself with,” you insist. Your back hits the wall as he steps forward again.

He leans closer. “I want to know at least as much about you as they do.” His eyes meet yours, doing the weird dead-fish thing that some men do before they try to kiss you.

You wrench away and duck under his arm, heart beating in your ears. “Let's complete the mission before talking about this.” Your face is flaming. What in the everloving fuck was that about?

“Right.” Tapping High End’s shoulder, he clears his throat. “Sic ‘em.”

The Nomu catapults itself through the wall, directly in the direction of Hawks and Endeavor’s meetup. The two of you watch it go, keeping your distance.

Chapter Text

"God damn it!" Dabi hisses, blasting a ring of fire in the direction of the heroes.

Leaping across, you ignore the burns on your skin and join your friend. You notice blood running from under his eyes, the stapled man smearing it away before the heroes can see it.

You draw your gun, pointing it at Endeavor. Dabi adopts a manic smile, more fire climbing up his arms.

"We've got you 2 to 2," he calls mockingly. "And it looks like you're injured, Enji Todoroki."

Endeavor looks about as happy as you'd expect in this situation. "You think some civilian your leader is sleeping with is a match for me?"

Dabi pulls up short, looking at you. "Kei?"

You shake your head.

He returns to his rant.

As he's talking, you notice something hurtling towards you. It looks like...

Pressing the Bluetooth in Dabi's ear, you shout into it, interrupting the monologue. "Ujiko!"

Black liquid shoots from your mouths, and you turn back to the Rabbit Hero who is approaching at mach speeds over your head. Cocking the gun, you shoot, watching her leg twist as the bullet enters it. Dabi grabs your hand, yanking you away from her, and the liquid consumes you.

...

“Holy shit,” you pant, coughing up the teleportation goo that the Doctor used to help you escape. The two of you were unceremoniously deposited on the floor somewhere in the League's current base, hands still intertwined. "Are you okay?”

Dabi slumps against you. “Can't believe he killed the Nomu.”

You stiffen at the extra contact before forcing yourself to relax. It's Dabi, your friend and closest confidante. Just because he was being a bit weird before an incredibly tense situation doesn't mean you shouldn't comfort him. Patting his shoulder, you attempt a reassuring smile.

"We accomplished what we were trying to do," you assure him.

"I wanted to kill him." Dabi grits his teeth, making eye contact with you.

Your foreheads brush as he gets closer, skin burning against yours. You look away. The room is dim, his eyes almost blinding in the shadows.

"I'll help you," you say, sensing you may be in a slight amount of danger. Today is definitely a large, predatory animal day. "I'll-"

His lips collide with yours, unpracticed and shockingly gentle. A scarred hand wraps around the back of your neck, thumb circling behind your ear. It's warm, safe, even with the aftertaste of the black liquid lingering on your mouths.

You resist briefly before reciprocating, deciding it's okay. His emotions are just high right now, there's no harm in letting him kiss you. It's not like you hate it or anything. In fact, as his other hand finds your waist and pulls you closer, you're almost enjoying yourself.

"Am I interrupting something?" your boss's scratchy voice demands from the doorway.

You panic, jerking your head away and scrabbling to your feet. Shigaraki is standing in the doorframe, arms crossed, and... Grinning? Relaxing as much as you can given the circumstances, you dust yourself off as he strides towards you.

"We're good, back from testing High End. The Nomu died, but we have a good idea of Endeavor's full power levels," you chatter, face flaming.

You're going to ignore what just happened, and everything is going to be okay. Everything is going to be-

Shigaraki grabs your throat, fingers digging into the sides of your larynx. He's still smiling, his cheeks creasing unnaturally. "Time for training, Keiji."

Dabi stands, shouldering his way in front of you and grabbing Shigaraki's wrist. "Can you wait a minute, incel? We were busy."

"Stop thinking with your dick and let me train them." The red eyed man tightens his grip, making you choke.

"Guys, can we not do this right now?" you sputter, trying to peel the fingers off your throat.

The two of them face you, oozing malice. Maybe what Compress said about men in their early twenties was right.

Everything is going to be terrible.

Chapter Text

You shrink back from the two men in front of you. "Why are you mad at me?"

"Why are you mad at me?!" Shigaraki mocks in a decidedly obnoxious falsetto. "Why'd you let Frankenstein's monster shove his tongue down your throat?"

You splutter angrily as the monster himself crosses his arms and smirks, his anger at you forgotten in favor of being a dick.

"If you wanted to make a move, you should have done it, boss." Dabi wrenches the other man's hand from your throat, pulling you to his side.

"I never said I wanted-" Shigaraki starts, before breaking off and scratching at his neck. "Fuck off. It's time for training, let's go."

You pull away from the scarred man, clasping the bridge of your nose. "Can we please resolve whatever the fuck is going on with you two? I'm not some toy to be passed around."

"I think I've made my intentions perfectly clear." Dabi shoots a hard look at your boss, cracking his knuckles. "Well?"

Bristling, Shigaraki scratches harder. His face gets progressively redder as he looks between the two of you until you're genuinely worried that he's been hit by some kind of tomato transformation quirk. Finally, he speaks, voice tremoring with... anger? Something else? You can't tell.

"Fight me. Both of you." Turning on a heel, he stalks quickly from the room.

...

You grab your boss's wrist as a deadly hand shoots past your face towards the black-haired man behind you. Glaring, you kick his knee, knocking him to the ground.

"Oh, now you're good at hand-to-hand combat?" Shigaraki scoffs, twisting his hand free. "What were you doing during our one-on-one training?"

"Were you seriously going to kill me, you freak?" Dabi shoots a plume of blue fire at the red eyed man, face contorted in a snarl.

"I knew they'd at least try to stop me," Shigaraki huffs. He grabs your wrists, holding them at your sides and twirling you to face the stapled man's attack. The flame hits you head on, and you wince.

"I haven't used my quirk since when it malfunctioned, don't use me as a shield unless you want to explode," you hiss, wrenching away and hitting your boss square in the chest.

Dabi monopolizes on the other man's stunned state to shoot more fire at him. Shigaraki sidesteps, leaping back towards you.

Catching him, you brace yourself and push him off. Reminding yourself that he's a violent murderer and you probably can't hurt him even if he looks like a twink, you steel yourself and approach again.

Shigaraki smirks, cocking an eyebrow at you. "I remember you being worse. Maybe you were pretending to suck so I'd keep doing this?" Slamming you to the floor, he drums his fingers on your forehead. "Are you a masochist or something, Keiji?"

"Get the fuck off!" Dabi demands, lighting back up.

"I'm not judging," your leader continues, leaning closer. "I'm one, too."

His fifth finger hits your skin, and you shudder. Yellow light shoots out from your forehead, your quirk working overtime.

Then the energy turns outward, and the world turns white.

...

Your ears ring as you come to, Shigaraki and Dabi coming into focus as you sit up.

"Holy fuck, Kei," Dabi laughs almost nervously.

Looking around, you notice that the concrete floor has mysteriously turned to gravel around you. Wild, that's crazy.

Wait.

Shigaraki is nursing some fucked up looking hand injuries, an additional trickle of blood running down his forehead. He grins at you, crawling forward.

"Are you okay?" you ask, reaching out to touch the hair over his split scalp. You look at Dabi, chewing your lip. "What happened?"

Arching up into your hand like a kitten, Shigaraki laughs. "You blew up the floor, threw me into a wall, and possibly broke my hand."

Dabi is looking you over for injuries, shoving your boss away. "You were screaming."

...

Looking over the genetic report provided by the Commission, Keigo Takami grinds his teeth. Donning his jacket, he swoops out of his window.

By the time he's collected Endeavor and is en route to Tartarus, he's decided on a course of action.

Kill the successor.

Chapter Text

Eri carefully rewinds Shigaraki's wounds, her little horn shrinking in the process. Her quirk control has steadily improved ever since she started eating enough and stopped being murdered repeatedly.

Midoriya gives her a thumbs up, tapping the horn. "Got it?"

"Yep!" Smiling, she runs off to find Twice. They've become unlikely best friends recently.

Himiko bounces into the room as Eri leaves it, grabbing Deku's arm. "I saw her today," she giggles, leaning against his shoulder.

Dabi flashes you a look, nodding questioningly between them. You shrug.

The whole League has been watching Himiko and Deku together with a mixture of emotions since he joined, their budding friendship a source of quality entertainment. Now that she's stabbed him a couple of times, she's treated him less like a love interest and more the way she treats everyone else. That is to say, like a gay best friend from a 90s movie combined with a punching bag.

Midoriya nods, extricating himself from the blonde. "That's great!"

"Who is 'she'?" Shigaraki asks, rubbing his hand.

The cool looking scars you gave him are gone, and you briefly feel annoyed by that before kicking yourself. The resident sadistic monster of the League just mellowed out, you don't need to replace her.

"Ochaco-chan!" Himiko smiles and sits next to your leader, fidgeting with her knife. She seems almost nervous. "My girlfriend!"

Dabi inhales his lit cigarette, hacking. You rush to his side, looking at your enthusiastic blonde teammate.

"What?"

...

Clutching their stomach, Aoyama hurries down the hall. They're sick again, as they always are when they use their quirk. As they enter, Uraraka waves at them across the hall.

"When you're done, I have painkillers and nausea meds if you want to come over!" she offers.

Nodding, they rush inside, calling a strained "Thank you!" over their shoulder.

...

Leaning back as far as his restraints allow, All For One observes the Winged Hero and Endeavor through the foot of pyrex in front of him. He's smiling, but he seems confused.

"The retainers here said you wanted to speak with me."

Hawks clears his throat, nodding to the papers that the retainers send into the cell. "Read these."

Endeavor sits smugly, watching the situation unfold. "Didn't I say that there was something weird going on?"

"Can it," Hawks demands, leaning forward in his chair. "What do you make of that?" he calls to the villain through the glass.

All For One looks genuinely speechless for once. "Is this what I think it is?"

"You tell me."

...

"So..." Shigaraki rubs his temples. "You're dating a UA student?"

Himiko grins.

"And she's on board with you being a villain?" Compress leans in, concerned. "She's not just trying to catch you?"

"She's on board, she primarily wanted to be a hero to help people and make enough money to support her parents, and female heroes don't get to do either of those unless they're top 20, they mostly just get sexualized," Himiko explains. "Female villains, on the other hand..."

"Okay, fair, but-" Shigaraki grits his teeth. "Are you being safe?"

"It's not like she can get me pregnant."

"I didn't mean that! Are you taking the necessary precautions to not get caught? Should we bring her here?" He scratches at his neck, pacing.

"It's okay, she'll come over with Yuu-chan."

"Should you even be dating? I mean, we're a bit busy, and-"

"So Kei and Dabi are fine but I can't?" Himiko stomps her foot, gesturing at you with her knife.

You have finished excavating the cigarette from Dabi's throat and he is holding you in his lap. It's not uncomfortable, but it's getting hard to pay attention with how fidgety he is.

"Hey, we're not-" you start.

"We're adults, we can do whatever," Dabi coughs, voice still noticeably scratchier from the cigarette. "You are a child."

"I'm eighteen in three months!" She looks back to Shigaraki. "You can't make me stop seeing her."

"They aren't together, and I'm not preventing you from seeing her," Shigaraki says slowly. "Please be careful, we've lost enough people."

She throws her arms around his neck, accidentally cutting his shoulder with her knife. "Thank you!"

He sighs.

...

"You're seeing who?" Aoyama looks at Uraraka blankly. "Really?"

They're sitting cross legged on her bed after taking three of her extra strength Midol. She sits in the same position on the ceiling, nibbling on a strawberry mochi and blushing.

"And I know you're involved with the League so you can't report me!" Her voice is high, nervous. "Besides..."

A sharp knock sounds on the door.

Walking over apprehensively, Aoyama lets in a furious-looking Bakugo, a very confused Kirishima, and a somehow more confused Todoroki. Stepping back, the sparkly blond looks at Uraraka.

"Are they...?"

She looks sheepish. "They know."

Chapter Text

Sighing, Yagi Toshinori buzzes into the visitor area. All For One welcomes him, brilliant smile on his face.

"Looks like we have more in common than I thought, All Might," he laughs. "Using your fame and prestige to sleep with followers, that doesn't seem too heroic."

The former number one hero grimaces, sitting down. "Save it. Do you have any idea how much of a mess this has caused?"

"Me having a child?" All For One asks. "Or that child working with yours to take down hero society?"

Slamming his fists on the arm rests, Toshinori shouts at the prisoner. "A civilian has defected despite us saving them, and is now wandering around with an unstable quirk thanks to YOUR genetics! Now my SON is in danger, and YOU-"

"Were you ever a father to him?" All For One asks, voice hushed and smug. "I take full responsibility for the villain Keiji and my lack of presence in their life. Can you say the same of Deku?"

"That's not the same!"

"Oh? The only difference is that I was unaware of the child I sired. You knew, and you chose to abandon him. I plan on making up for lost time, you've made no effort." He spits out the last few words.

Storming out, Toshinori wipes his eyes. He can't be seen crying by his former colleagues. That would be like admitting he was wrong.

...

Endeavor crosses his arms. "I need to let the world know."

The Commission chair presses their lips together in a thin line. "Why? Do you think civilians will feel safe, knowing All For One's spawn is loose on the streets of Japan?"

"They don't even know who they are," he insists. "Keiji is completely unaware of their parentage, so this will throw them off. The League values them deeply for some reason, this is a great opportunity for destabilization."

"We already have Hawks undercover with the League of Villains, we don't need to destabilize them right now."

Endeavor walks out, clenching the papers in his fist. The Commission won't get rid of him, so it's safe to take matters into his own hands. They'll thank him, eventually.

...

You wake up, strangely warm. Rolling over, you feel...

Ah, fuck.

Staples press through thin cotton against your cheek, Dabi's scratchy breathing rhythmic in your ears. You bolt up, fully awake, and clamber away from him.

The League sleeps strewn across the main room of the hideout. Somehow, during the night you nestled in on top of the black-haired man. Your face heats up as you zip up the oversized hoodie that Shigaraki gave you a bit more and walk towards the exit.

Red eyes watch you as you pick across the floor, a hand snatching you by the scruff of your neck.

"Can't sleep?" Shigaraki asks, looking pointedly at where you were laying moments before.

"Um-"

He grins. "I'm messing with you. Come with me."

You let him take your hand and lead you further into the building. With his hair ruffled and an oversized mecha anime t-shirt, he looks disturbingly normal. It's almost embarrassing to see him like this, especially when you're relying on his hoodie as your only real article of clothing.

"Where are we going?" you ask, tripping a bit as he pulls you up a flight of stairs.

"The roof. I found an old, generator-powered TV up there and I think I figured out how to hook up my games." He smiles over his shoulder. "Needed a player 2, and Spinner's still asleep."

The roof is littered with scrap metal and broken electronics, the lack of light pollution making the stars more visible than you've ever seen them in the city. You settle against a broken fridge and watch Shigaraki fiddle with the TV, outlined by constellations.

It comes on to some 24-hour news program, the channel a bit fuzzy. As he roots around for a cable, you notice how panicked the reporter looks and nudge him with your foot, pointing at the screen.

He takes a break to watch with you, shoulder tentatively bumping yours. You hesitate for a moment, then lean closer. It's a bit chilly, after all.

----Breaking news, an S! News exclusive, we have a shocking discovery.----

Shigaraki tenses, looking down at you. You smile at him and he relaxes, leaning against you like he did when he was drunk.

----We have received shocking evidence from the number one hero, Endeavor himself, about yet another paternity scandal.----

He grabs your hand, elbowing you in the process. You look at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I want something to fidget with," he defends himself, holding it in both of his.

----This shocking news has been backed up by genetic testing, so we know it is accurate.----

"Maybe Dabi is some big shot's son," Shigaraki jokes, tracing the lines on your palm.

"Mmh." You are noncommittal.

----We now have evidence to support a member of the League of Villains, known as Keiji- ----

He looks at you. "Got something to tell me?"

You stare at the TV, absolutely blank. "Nothing that I am aware of."

----Yes, the civilian who defected a while ago, is actually the child of All For One, who is currently held at Tartarus.----

He turns the TV off and leans back against you. Cracking your knuckles one by one, painstakingly gentle, he clears his throat.

"I'm sorry."

...

"I'm not dating Deku, I'm gay but not for him," Bakugo growls, burning handprints into the carpet of Uraraka's room. "Got that, Sparkles?"

"Yeah, sorry," Aoyama apologizes, laying back on the bed. "What about you two?"

"I am also not gay for Midoriya," Todoroki says quietly. "I am not even gay."

"I mean why are you like, involved with the League?"

"To make my father angry," the serious boy deadpans, taking a solid 30 second hit of a juul he apparently keeps in his sleeve. "Why else?"

"Todoroki!" Uraraka says angrily from the ceiling. "You're going to trigger the sprinkler system!"

Kirishima shrugs. "I'm joining because he is." He throws an arm around Bakugo's shoulders, grinning. "Also the Commission has been doing some pretty non-manly things like, forever."

The spiky blond turns red, glaring at the floor and shoving his friend's arm off of him. "I've been treated like a villain since my quirk manifested and now shitty Deku is my idol's son AND an actual villain. It's bullshit. And I hate All Might now."

"Very eloquent," Aoyama says drily. "Okay, is there anyone else I should know about?"

All three of them look awkwardly away. Aoyama grinds their teeth. "Who?"

Chapter Text

"Why is Monoma on here?" Aoyama looks at the list of potential villains. "Wait, Hizashi Yamada? Why the fuck- AIZAWA SENSEI IS ON HERE? Is this a joke?"

Todoroki takes another hit of his juul. "Allow me to explain."

"Bakugo is joining because he's jealous and wants to get back at All Might. Kirishima is joining because he is in love with Bakugo-"

"Hey!" Kirishima complains.

"The rest of the 'Bakusquad' as they call themselves are joining because they are supportive friends and because I am the person who buys their vape cartridges. I am joining to make my father angry."

"Right, but Aizawa?" Uraraka asks.

"I'm getting there. Kaminari is part of the Bakusquad and is in a relationship with three people last I counted-"

"What?" the other four teens ask, dumbfounded.

"-one of whom is Aizawa's trainee, Hitoshi Shinso. What?"

"Nothing, keep going," Aoyama sighs.

"Aizawa and his husband-" Todoroki pauses, expecting an interjection. No one seems surprised by that one. "-are joining for him. Monoma is also joining for Kaminari, as is Jirou. Momo is joining for me. The rest of the class are joining because they respect her, as they should."

"So most of the class is joining either because you're their nicotine dealer or because your girlfriend is ultra-charismatic," Aoyama summarizes. "With a side group who are joining because Kaminari has decided to experiment with polyamory during high school. Do I have that right?"

"Yes."

...

Clinging to your hand harder, Shigaraki attempts eye contact. "I'm sorry that you're finding out like this."

"You knew?" You feel lightheaded, trying to get up.

"No! I just, I know this is probably hard for you. And I don't like when things are hard for you. So I'm sorry." He speaks quickly, pulling you closer and not letting you go. "And I'm sorry for taking your like, birthright? If you even wanted it."

Settling back against him, you start laughing. It's not necessarily a happy laugh, more of a "what the fuck is happening" laugh, but the world stops spinning somewhat.

"I don't want to be his successor or whatever, Shigaraki," you clarify.

"Tomura."

"What?"

"Fucking... Call me my first name. We know each other well enough." He pulls back, sitting up and glaring at you. "You even call Bubaigawara by his first name."

You tilt your head at him. "Okay... Tomura."

A flush creeps across his cheeks. "Again."

"You're acting really weird, Tomura."

Cracked lips meet yours, clearly completely inexperienced. Your teeth knock together, and you pull away, more laughter uncontrollably bubbling from your throat.

"You almost chipped my tooth, Tomura."

He's bright red as he sits back. "Okay stop saying it so much, you're embarrassing me."

You watch him finish setting up the game, ruminating over the absolute plot dump you just experienced. You feel numb. When he rejoins you, you lean against him and go back to sleep, deciding you'll deal with everything once the sun is up.
...

Touya Todoroki had gone to sleep early. When he woke up at around midnight to you cuddled against his chest, he briefly thought he had somehow died and gone to heaven. Getting back to sleep was a struggle, obsessively avoiding waking you up or bursting into flames.

Waking up and stretching, he immediately notices that you are gone. Shrugging on his jacket, he begins looking for you around the base, deciding to go top to bottom. While he doubts you're on the roof, it couldn't possibly hurt to check.

Uncharacteristically cheerful, he pushes through the door to the roof, eyes honing in on...

"Well fuck me I guess."

...

You blink sleepily, looking up at Dabi. "What?"

The man whose lap you are sitting in tightens his arms around your waist, putting his controller down. "Oh, hey Dabi!"

Spinner, who arrived sometime after you went to sleep, wordlessly switches to single player mode and keeps going.

"What the fuck, Kei?"

Fully awake now, you remember the full events of last night and bolt to your feet, close to hyperventilating. You feel sick. You feel a little bit taken advantage of. You feel really fucking... angry.

Tomura gets up with you, visibly panicked. "Hey, you're alright."

Batting him away, you cross your arms. "No I'm fucking not! All For One is my fucking DAD. And you- You-"

Dabi reaches for you, possibly to comfort you, possibly out of habit. "Slow down, what?"

You back away from both of them, bristling. "Don't. You both keep fucking touching me without asking then getting mad at me for it."

Spinner whistles.

They both look as though you slapped them. Dabi clears his throat, stepping back.

"Okay. Let's just... Stop. All For One, the supervillain who is currently being held in Tartarus, is your dad?" He blinks back blood, face hardening. "And Shigaraki-"

Shigaraki clenches his hands into fists. "Nothing I did is any of your business, Dabi. Not like you can talk, anyway."

Putting down his controller, Spinner nods to you and turns to go. You follow him.

You can hear them fighting as you close the door. Somehow, you haven't started crying.

Spinner avoids touching you, smiling reassuringly. "Blade training with me and Toga?"

"Yeah," you nod gratefully. "Thanks."

Chapter Text

You go to the training room with Spinner, greeting Himiko and Deku. "Are you here for blade training too?" you ask the green-haired boy, going behind the pinned-up blanket in the corner to change into your costume.

He laughs. "Yeah, I figured it would be useful."

You put on your compression top, marveling at how much lean muscle you've put on despite your terrible diet. Coming out from behind the makeshift curtain, you catch the machete Spinner pulls from his giant sword bundle and tosses to you, smiling.

"I think it'll be useful too."

Nodding, he corrects his posture as Himiko pokes him. "If you want to talk about the thing..."

"I'm okay, but thank you. Where did you...?"

"Spinner's radio," Himiko answers. "If you change your mind let us know, okay? We love you, we're here to support you!"

You let the blonde girl tackle you in a hug. "Thanks, guys. And I'm sorry about-"

An ear-piercing shriek of "Fuck off!" followed by a loud crash comes from the ceiling. You wince.

"That."

"They won't kill each other, Keiji," Spinner chuckles. "If you leave them to their own devices for a few hours they'll work it out."

"I just wish I wasn't making them fight," you worry.

He leans on his sword, raising a scaled eyebrow ridge. "You aren't making them do shit. They're both manbabies who don't like to share or like, actually talk about their feelings properly."

You flush. "I went along with it too long though."

"Still not your fault." His tail twitches with what appears to be amusement. "Let them kiss and make up, okay?" Leveling his sword at you, he grins. "I want to teach you how to parry."

...

Bakugo looks at his shoes. "No."

"C'mon, Kats. It'll be our big break!" Kirishima says cheerfully. "It'll make the League more likely to accept us, too."

"Fuck you."

"I know you don't mean that so I'm not offended," the sharktoothed boy dismisses.

"God, I knew the Commission was ~fucking awful~ but they're keeping a middle schooler in Tartarus?" Present Mic asks loudly, sprawling across three desks and hitting Todoroki's juul.

"Hiz, those are terrible for you," the organizer of 'Chess Club' sighs, taking the vaporizer away from his husband. "No, Todoroki, you can't have it back. I'm still your teacher.

Todoroki holds out his hand, Momo Yaoyorozu resignedly making another one with her quirk and placing it in his open palm. "Is everyone here?" he asks.

Aizawa looks around the room at his entire first year class, his trainee, half of class 1B, the school Big Three, and most of the members of the support classes. "This had better be everyone, or UA is worse at security than I thought."

"On to today's topic," Uraraka says, shooting a look at Tokoyami. "Wait, why do you have a chessboard?"

"Even though we are not technically here for chess, it is registered as a chess club, is it not?" he asks gravely. "I believe it prudent to keep up appearances."

She nods, turning back to the group. "Okay, anyway, as most of you know, today we are determining the best way to break some of the captured League members out of Tartarus."

"Even the awful ones?" Monoma asks loudly. "Leave it to Class 1A to want to get the cannibal out of prison."

Kaminari, whose lap Monoma's head is in, gives him a look. "We are not breaking out Moonfish."

"Or Muscular," Uraraka confirms. "Or Overhaul, though he is no longer really functional. We are getting Rappa from the yakuza wing at Kirishima's request."

Kirishima pumps a fist.

"Otherwise, we are breaking out Mustard, Kurogiri, Stain, All For One, and the Lady Nagant," she continues. "Any changes we should make to the list?"

"Why Nagant?" Yaoyorozu asks.

"She's closely aligned with the cause, as shown by her past actions."

"Are we seriously pro-All For One now?" someone in the back shouts derisively.

"He's not nearly as bad as our current Hero Commission and top 10," Uraraka explains. "If you look at the list of stuff he did, he started a cult of personality and gave a bunch of people what they wanted, and he threatened hero society. That's less egregious than like, Jared Leto."

"Who's Jared Leto?" the same person asks.

Present Mic launches into an explanation of who the American actor was, as well as his best role (getting killed with an ax in American Psycho). Uraraka turns back to the rest of the group.

"Who has suggestions on how to get in?"

...

"You fucker," Dabi seethes, flames working their way up his arms and neck.

Shigaraki throws his controller at him. It bounces off his chest. "You don't get to be mad at me."

"I thought we fucking resolved this." Striding forward, Dabi shoots an easily-dodged tongue of flame at the red eyed man. "I thought you'd have a shred of decency."

"What, so because you regularly manhandle Keiji in public, you've got some kinda claim on them?" Shigaraki holds up his hands, fingers wiggling. "C'mere, let me disabuse you of that notion."

"You fucking creep," Dabi spits. "Go to hell." He shoots more fire, lighting up half of the roof and singeing Shigaraki's t-shirt.

"Fuck off!" Shigaraki screams. "That hurt, you asshole!" He accidentally decays a stray beam below a steel drum, the heavy object clanging to the ground. His arm is trapped, something the other man is quick to capitalize on.

"I lived with them for months," Dabi growls, crouching over the other man and holding flames up to his face. "I had a fucking home and family for once and then you showed up."

Grabbing Dabi by the throat with his free hand, Shigaraki drags him closer. "You came to me." He smiles meanly. "You sought me out. You lost that fucking kid all by yourself. Take some responsibility."

"You think I don't know that?" Blood runs freely down the black-haired man's face. "Because I do. So are you going to fucking kill me or something?"

"No." He loosens his grip on Dabi's throat. "You're a valuable member of the team, and you're important to Keiji. I- I can't do that."

"They'd get over it."

Shigaraki shakes his head. "They're pissed off at us right now but I don't think they want either of us to die."

Dabi slumps over the red-eyed man, flames extinguishing. "I think we fucked up."

"Are you only just now noticing that?" Shigaraki laughs. "I still feel like it was a win, they're using my first name finally."

"Lucky you."

"They don't know yours?"

"They do, but I told them not to use it. It was weird to hear them say it, after so long." Dabi looks pointedly at the man below him. "Can you let go now?"

Shigaraki relents, twisting his arm out from the rubble and sitting next to the stapled man.

Dabi straightens his collar. "Do you know theirs?"

"No, do you?"

"No, and I asked. Fucking Keigo Takami knows it."

Shigaraki's face hardens. "Why?"

"He was in charge of their Commission background check. Nothing weird or anything." Dabi examines the other man's arm, grimacing. "Sorry about that, let's go find Eri."

"What do we do after?" Shigaraki stands with the stapled man's help.

"Grovel."

Chapter Text

Screwing up her face, Eri fixes the broken bones in Shigaraki's arm. "Why do you keep hurting your hands?" she asks sweetly.

"I'm fucking stupid," he replies.

"Don't fucking swear around the kid, asshole," Twice gripes, immediately slapping a hand over his mouth. "Damn it."

"Bubaigawara," Dabi says softly. "How do you apologize to people?"

"God, you're fucked up." Twice shakes himself. "Sorry. Just say that you're sorry and stop doing the thing you're apologizing for."

"What if I really like doing one of the things I'm apologizing for and am going to continue doing it?" Shigaraki interjects.

Twice sighs and pushes up his mask, lighting a cigarette on Dabi's still-white-hot facial staples. "What are you two apologizing for?"

Dabi glares at his leader. "We're specifically apologizing for not asking first."

"Oh." Shigaraki grins at Eri. "Thank you." He waits for her to leave. Turning back to Dabi, his eyes light up. "So we can just ask?"

"God, you're fucked up," Twice and Dabi say in unison.

"Were you raised under an actual rock? That is literally the primary issue here," Twice continues.

"He got all of his relationship education from hentai," Dabi mumbles to Twice.

"Shut it, Staples." Shigaraki blushes. "Master didn't think this was an important topic."

"I'm not like, encouraging you to continue making passes at Kei," Dabi huffs.

"But I'm gonna!" Shigaraki stands up, stretching. "Alright so just say 'I'm sorry for kissing you without asking, now I am asking, please make out with me'?"

"No, moron." Dabi grinds his teeth. "Do not say that."

Twice spreads his arms dramatically, knocking his box of cigarettes onto the floor. "You have to be smooth!"

Compress pops his head in. "Oh, is this incel bootcamp?"

"I'm not an incel, he is!" Dabi protests.

The two older men exchange glances.

"Here, act out how you'll ask Keiji out on each other. We'll practice until it looks right," Compress commands, clapping his hands. "Shigaraki, go."

Throwing an arm around Dabi, Shigaraki grins. "Sorry for kissing you without asking. Head?"

Dabi shoves him off. "You're being stupid on purpose. I'm not participating."

Grabbing either side of the stapled man's face, Shigaraki makes uncomfortable eye contact. "You're so cool that it makes me scared. Want to act out this movie I watched?"

"Fuck off!" Dabi groans, sitting down.

"Shigaraki, it may be best to actually try." Compress removes his mask, approaching Twice. "Observe:"

Twice bodyslams the magician through the makeshift table. "I am not gay. Yes I am. No I am not."

"Bubaigawara, please do not physically attack me. My suit is the only expensive piece of clothing that the whole League owns."

Dabi sighs. "Whatever, you can try again."

Shigaraki straightens, sitting next to him. Gently taking his hands in his, he smiles, reaching up to caress his cheek. "Fuck me till I can't walk."

Dabi gets up and leaves.

...

"Getting the hang of it," you call to Spinner, blocking Himiko's knife. You're sweaty, covered in nicks and cuts and blood, but you feel considerably better.

"Hell yeah you are!" Spinner is clinging to the ceiling, attempting to catch Deku as he darts around.

A green lightning-encased fist brings a knife up to Spinner's face, halting abruptly before it hits. Deku comes back into focus. "Think I'm getting it too."

Spinner yelps, falling from the ceiling. He twists his tail, landing on his feet at the last second. "Jesus Christ, Midoriya."

Deku giggles.

You block Himiko again, making meaningful eye contact. The League is actively creating a monster out of this sweet, freckled kid. You're just glad he's on your side.

After training, you pace around the base, still in your costume. You see Dabi leaving a room and panic, turning around. You don't think you're ready to talk to him after you yelled at him this morning. What if he's mad?

"Hey," he calls, halting.

You stop, making yourself face him. "Hey."

"Done with training?" He puts his hands in his pockets, fidgeting.

"Yeah." Why do you feel so awkward? It's Dabi, you've said worse to him before.

"Can we go on a walk?"

You almost burst out laughing, he looks so uncharacteristically earnest. "Sure."

...

Shigaraki grabs the bottle back from Twice, finishing it in two gulps. "I'm the dumbest person alive."

After Compress left, they embarked on a noble quest to finish all of the alcohol in the base. They've just about done it, too.

"You can't be the dumbest," Twice reassures him. "At most you're like, the fifteenth." Alcohol seems to calm him down, the blond man's mask discarded and his temperament easy.

"Why does Keiji even like him?" Shigaraki puts the bottle down and starts hunting around the room for more. "I still don't know how I'm gonna apologize. Maybe that's it, he knows how to do that and I don't."

"Maybe," Twice replies. "He may just know them better, they lived together for a long time before joining."

"Yeah." Shigaraki pulls his hair back in a rubber band, sighing. "I'm gonna throw up, hold on."

Twice is waiting patiently when he gets back. He leaves his hair up, flopping onto the floor.

"Is it because he's hot?"

Looking puzzled, Twice tilts his head at his leader. "Like his quirk?"

Rolling over, Shigaraki glares at him. "No like, he's covered in piercings and cool looking scars, shit like that."

Twice nods thoughtfully.

Gesturing at his old t-shirt (newly cropped due to Dabi burning it) basketball shorts, and messy blue ponytail, he groans. "And he's got a trademark look and I look like a shut-in when I'm not wearing the hands."

"You are a shut in," Twice blurts.

"Okay but still," he sulks. "And his eyes, like, how do I compete with that?"

Twice snorts. "You sound gay as hell. Sorry. No, you do."

Bolting upright, Shigaraki narrows his eyes. "I've never done anything except what I want, Twice."

"Okay...?"

"So, I'm going to go get what I want, just like I always have. Master says it's my right, after all." Shigaraki grins, standing up.

...

"Yuu!!" Himiko cries, waving excitedly at them.

Aoyama smiles. "I didn't know you were coming over today."

"Since everyone here is joining, I figured it would be okay," she giggles. "I haven't told the boss anything yet, I want to surprise him."

"Does Tomura Shigaraki handle surprises well?" Aoyama asks. They pop one of their painkillers like clockwork 5 seconds before their phone reminder to do so sounds.

"No idea!" She skips up to Uraraka's room, humming.

"Good luck to her," they murmur, silencing the reminder.

Chapter Text

You walk through the falling-apart district, steel-toed boots scuffing the ground. It's raining. Dabi is next to you, slightly behind you, letting you lead.

Stopping, you lean against one of the decrepit buildings under an overhang, raising an eyebrow at him. You're feeling strangely confident.

"So?" you ask him.

He stands in front of you in the rain, droplets sizzling on his skin. You sigh, pulling him under the overhang.

"Did you want to talk?" You accept a cigarette from him, letting him light it for you.

"Yes." He looks down, blowing smoke out of his nose. "I wanted to apologize."

Tension you didn't notice before leaves your shoulders. He's not mad at all. Holy shit.

He continues. "I shouldn't have just assumed that you would want to be with me."

You straighten up. After all of this, you hadn't really thought about if you wanted him or not. You hadn't had a chance. But now, thinking about it...

"I'm sorry, Kei." He pats you on the shoulder, clearly attempting as platonic of a touch as possible. "I'll-"

"Hey!"

You both look over to see Tomura sprinting barefoot through the rain towards you. He skids to a halt under the overhang, panting.

"Hey," he says, softer this time. "I'm sorry for interrupting, I just- I need to say something."

"So you can apologize," Dabi says sarcastically.

"Yeah, I'm still amazed, trust me," Tomura responds. "Look. Keiji, I'm sorry for not asking before kissing you and generally being an asshole."

You really aren't mad anymore. If pressed, you would admit that you're actually pretty happy. The way you feel about him is different from the way you feel about Dabi, but the feelings are distinctly equal. You won't admit that just yet, though.

"So you both wanted to apologize?" You smile. "I appreciate it."

Tomura flushes darker. "And I wanted to, well, do something else."

"Don't use any of the lines you tried on me," Dabi says, looking resigned.

"Keiji, Dabi," he says, shooting the black haired man a look. "Can we, like-"

"Wait, me? The fuck are you... Oh."

Oh.

You smile. "I was going to say that I appreciate your apologies, but neither of you need to apologize in the future."

You've gotten with the program quickly, but Dabi still looks a little shell-shocked. "So you... You both... Both of you?"

"Well, yes," Tomura replies. "I would prefer that."

"I didn't know you could do that," Dabi says quietly.

"Really?" you ask incredulously. "Tons of people do that."

A slow smirk creeps over his face. "So I can just have two partners just like that?"

"You could have more! Like, if we discussed it first. If you agree in the first place." Tomura grins, pulling you against him.

You feel a bit giddy, smiling up at your... boyfriends? It feels strange. Good, but strange.

"Well yeah, I want to," Dabi answers. "But, in the spirit of our newly honest communication, there's something you should know first."

You stiffen. Names.

Dabi gives Tomura a rundown. Touya gives Tomura a rundown. Tomura is appropriately shocked, using the word "fuck" twelve times in around forty five seconds.

They turn to you expectantly. You see no reason to continue holding out on them, even if the abbreviation makes the author gag.

"Y/N," Touya tests it out. "I'm finally beating Takami."

"You were always beating Hawks," you respond.

"Y/N fits you," Tomura says. "I think I'll be sticking to Keiji for the most part, at least in public."

"Me too," Touya agrees. "Keep using aliases around everyone else. This is just..."

"Nice," you finish for him. "It's nice."

Tomura pulls Touya into a kiss, less clumsy this time. He grimaces. "That was nice, but you guys have got to stop smoking."

Touya laughs. "You're one to talk, you taste like straight bourbon." He leans down and kisses you, smiling against your lips.

You reciprocate, caged in by two sets of arms. Tomura tilts your chin towards himself, claiming you next. He does taste like straight bourbon. You find that you don't mind.

Lips, tongues, hands, and teeth overwhelm you until you feel like you're drowning. It would definitely be a good way to go. When you finally break apart, the rain has stopped.

Touya picks Tomura up so he doesn't have to walk back to base without shoes, and you head back. There's no hiding the bruises all over your necks, but hopefully if you hurry, no one will notice.

Wishful thinking.

As the three of you enter, you are met with multiple sets of eyes.

"Remember our bet?" Twice asks. "Who won?"

"Staples all the way down," Dabi throws over his shoulder, to raucous cheers from Twice and Spinner. No one else is impressed.

You make the walk of shame to another room and collapse in each other's arms, exhausted. Looking between your boyfriends, you smile.

"Now what?"

Chapter Text

Spinner marches up to the room you've been sequestered in for the better part of a day, banging on the door. "Put your clothes on, we have really big news from the doctor."

The three of you stumble sheepishly out of the room.

"Sorry," you mumble. "What is it?"

"He's seen fit to give us the location of the walking mountain All For One trained." Spinner looks you up and down. "Will you be okay to train?"

You blush, half angrily. "Yes! I'm fine."

Tomura is looking hauntedly at the floor. "I am not."

"Well you need to get fine, fast, because we're gonna hike for four hours to find this guy." Spinner glares at Dabi. "Leave both of them alone for a bit."

"Why are you looking at me?" the man with literal staples on his dick and a fire quirk asks innocently. "What did I do?"

All three of you look at him exasperatedly. He smirks.

"We're leaving in an hour, I took it upon myself to organize everyone else," Spinner continues. "I'm assuming that was the correct thing to do."

"It was. Thank you, Spinner," Tomura, says leaving to find his hands.

...

Hiking in the forest is a much-needed chance to relax. You walk peacefully, alone for a moment. Tomura is getting briefed by Spinner and the doctor (the doctor buzzing in through the radio). Touya is shaking down Jin for the money he owes you from your bet. Compress is trying to reason with him. Himiko has picked Eri up on her back and is skipping through the forest, a panicked Midoriya rushing after her.

You were literally never remotely this happy in a 9 to 5, you realize. Never this calm, never this surrounded by love. Breathing in the cold air, you smile.

"Everything good?" Midoriya asks, giving up on his chase.

"Really good," you reply. "It feels like, too easy, you know?"

"Yeah." He sighs, looking around. "I'm almost worried that something bad is going to happen."

"Hopefully we're just anxious," you laugh.

...

You point an accusing finger at the doctor. "You want Tomura to fight that giant thing by himself?"

The League has just been transported to the hospital basement. Ujiko looks at the group, smiling behind his stupid little mustache.

"I don't want 'Tomura' to do anything," he says condescendingly. "I'm telling him that unless he can force Gigantomachia to submit to him, I'm not helping."

Touya crosses his arms. "Why can't we help?"

Ujiko looks between the three of you, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you could. It would just make Machia less likely to see him as the true successor."

"Aren't there two successors now, technically?" Twice asks. "This is getting awfully convoluted!"

"Three," Ujiko corrects him. "One was a failure and I erased their memory, but there are technically three."

Everyone in the League sideeyes each other. Tomura waves his arms dismissively. "Whatever! I'll figure it out. Send us back."

...

It's been a month. Combined with Midoriya's money and a small stipend from the doctor, the League has been supporting itself relatively well. Himiko frequently leaves for a couple of days at a time, talking about a surprise she's planning.

Tomura is managing to hold his own in battles against Machia. You've gotten a lot of energy release control training in efforts to beat back the giant while your boyfriend naps. Touya has been regulated to the camp's space heater, a position he claims is dehumanizing.

Skipping into camp, Himiko wakes everyone up. "Today is the day!"

Twice rushes from behind a tree, holding out his phone. "Guys, holy fuck!"

They look at each other. "You go first," Himiko offers.

"Giran is being held hostage!" Twice pants. "They're cutting his fucking fingers off!"

"Jesus Christ, by who?" Touya stands up.

Tomura rolls off of his lap, glaring. "Is Machia awake already?"

"By the Meta Liberation Army!"

"So Giran is being held hostage by the Meta Liberation Army? For what?" Himiko asks.

"They want us to come to them," he hyperventilates. "Sorry, what was your thing?"

"A bunch of hero students have defected and are raiding Tartarus tonight," Himiko explains. "So, yeah. When do we have to go to the MLA?"

"Right now, they're sending a representative."

Rubbing his eyes, Tomura stands up. "Wait, so it's still morning, Machia isn't awake, we have to go meet the MLA right now, and Toga somehow started a student revolution?"

"Yes," Himiko confirms. "Surprise!"

He takes the phone from Twice. "I fucking hate surprises. Hello?"

Chapter Text

You and Touya lost Tomura in the commotion. Panicking, you pull Compress behind you as the massive fucking ice dragon barrels through the street.

"Who the fuck is this guy?" you scream, watching Touya's flames once again get smothered in impossibly large walls of ice.

"He said his name was Geten, I don't fucking know!" he shouts back. "Get out of here!"

"No!"

"Keiji it seems advisable to-" Compress starts.

You tackle him to the ground as a spike of ice almost impales both of you. "Shut up!" Standing, you dust yourself off. "I have not been training all this time just to let some fucker with an ice fetish murder my boyfriend!"

Another spike impales you, and your ears ring. You don't black out, you don't immediately explode, but God fucking damn it it hurts. Metal cleated combat boots crunching on ice, you sprint towards Geten, yellow light swirling around you. He looks up, hood falling back, the light illuminating a decidedly twinkish face.

You release the energy, blowing him off of his platform. Most of the ice collapses to the ground, some of it reverting to water. He catches himself, but you gave Touya an opening, and he's the type of person who exploits those.

Geten falls to the ground, all of his ice melted. He glares at you from under his hood, before throwing it back, face lighting up in recognition.

"I saw you on the news! We were going to recruit you until you joined back up with them," he nods at Touya and Compress.

"You have fans," Touya murmurs, carefully getting between you and the white-haired ice user.

The four of you startle at the horrific crashing noises coming from the Detnerat tower, looking over to see it decay completely. You sigh in relief.

"He's okay."

"Fuck, ReDestro was in there. You guys stay here," Geten demands, refreezing his ice and darting away.

You exchange glances before running after him. You want to see what Tomura is going to do. Besides, Machia should wake up any minute now, and according to the plan, you all need to get the fuck out of his direct path and let him bulldoze the MLA.

...

Looking out across the massive pit your boyfriend just blew in the middle of the city, your mouth falls open.

Touya grins at you, putting an arm around your waist. "He fucking did it."

Tomura raises his head, newly stark-white hair almost glowing in the setting sun. Raising his fist, he finds you in the crowd, smile tugging at his lips.

The MLA, newly his, cheers, starting hesitantly then building to a feverish crescendo. Gigantomachia sits in the crowd, head bowed in support. He points to you, beckoning, and you both practically fall over yourselves to get to him.

"I hope the heroes take this as a warning," he shouts, smiling at you and Touya and squeezing your hands in his before looking back at the crowd. "This is only the beginning!"

...

"Uravity, do you copy?" a harsh voice sounds over the comms.

"Copy, Explosion Murder Death God of Destruction Ground Zero," she sighs. "Can we shorten that over comms? Over."

"Part of being a villain is getting to name myself whatever the hell I want. Over."

A more cheerful voice pops into the channel. "Hey Kats, I found the other entrance. Hugs and kisses!"

"Red Riot, you have to use the code names and you cannot sign off like that. Over." Bakugo's comm crackles with mini explosions.

"I'm sorry for being secure in my masculinity. Over."

Uraraka huffs, looking at the text channels. Everyone is in place. Floating over the building, her vantage point is better than most, the clouds doing more to hide her than to obscure her view.

Kaminari buzzes in. "I've scrambled their communications and their gate, headed in now. Chargebolt, the lowly supermax prison electrician, is on the case. Over."

Kaminari will go in, pretending to be there for electrical work. Shinsou will be with him, brainwashing the guards to let them in to the control room. He'll send his quirk through the system, opening the doors the class needs and depowering those anti-quirk collars. Todoroki is on neutralization duty, freezing all active guards to the floor throughout the prison.

Uraraka is on surveillance. If shit hits the fan, she's calling in everyone else to fight.

Yamada is getting Stain, he didn't want a kid getting involved there. Kirishima is getting Rappa. Aizawa is getting Kurogiri, as they don't want him to just immediately leave. Tetsutetsu is getting Nagant, he's proven he can withstand bullets. A team of delegates including Yaoyorozu, Iida, and Togata are in charge of getting All For One, it was decided that they'd need charisma to make him listen.

Finally, a disgruntled, gas-mask wearing Bakugo is getting Mustard. He had refused to explain exactly why he needed to do that, only that he felt that he did. No one was eager to argue with him.

Uraraka is at least a bit disappointed that they aren't going the "total liberation" route just yet, but she knows that some people in here have actually done horrible things and her group of mostly teenagers does not have the resources to rehabilitate them. Yet.

Once the world is better, the plan is to come back, to blow down every fucking prison in the world and actually help people. Himiko talks about it sometimes, eyes glossy and cheeks flushed, a world where everyone can safely and happily be themselves without hurting other people. A world where only the truly irredeemable will ever be excluded, where everyone has a place.

It sounds good to Uraraka.

...

Kurogiri looks up, mist fizzling as Aizawa erases his quirk from the door. His eyes widen, mostly-obscured mouth curving into a smile.

"Shouta Aizawa?"

Aizawa stops in his tracks, covering his mouth. "You- I thought you were dead."

"I was rescued," Oboro Shirakumo says simply.

Tears well in the eyes of the dark-haired man, his voice shaking. "Why didn't you come back?"

"By the time All For One put me back together again, you and Hizashi were full-fledged heroes. How could I intrude, when you were finally achieving your dream?" He walks forward, holding Aizawa's shoulders. "You don't have to erase my quirk, Shouta. I won't leave."

"What have you been doing, all this time?" Aizawa blinks away his tears.

"Protecting Tomura Shigaraki from harm. Bartending. As of recently, prison." Shirakumo shrugs. "I got around quite a bit."

"We're here to break you out. You and some others." Aizawa takes a breath. "Will you come with us?"

Smiling, he nods. "Of course."

...

Mustard paces his cell, gnawing at his thumbnail. His hair is longer, his limbs growing into gangly adolescence in a surprise growth spurt. With nothing to do, he's taken to testing his quirk inhibiting collar. Just yesterday, he managed the briefest tendril of purple gas.

A loud beeping noise comes from the collar, the locking mechanism falling off. He stiffens, slowly lifting it off of his neck. At least six blisters burst, no longer pressurized by the collar.

"What the fuck?" he whispers, voice hoarse. First, it was hoarse from screaming as he was being tortured. Now, it is hoarse from not talking for over a month.

His door slides open, the light from the hallway blinding compared to the dimness of his cell. He covers his eyes, staring at the angry-looking silhouette of his... Savior? New torturer? Who knows.

"Hey, kid," a rough voice greets him, sounding almost regretful. "I'm here to get you out."

Chapter Text

"I don't like fish," Touya protests as you offer him a particularly perfect piece of tuna sashimi. "Don't put that near me."

"Tomura ordered beef just for you, no complaining," you tease.

A recovering Himiko reclines on a beanbag chair, sharing her food with Eri. "So when are we going out?"

Compress, actively preventing Twice from ripping his own hair out at the remembrance alter he set up for Himiko's double, grimaces. "Soon, I would hope."

Tomura has been very busy organizing everything for the past day and a half, but today you finally get to support him as he takes the mantle from ReDestro. Apparently, the prison breakers will arrive during the ceremony. Your newly-white-haired boyfriend has been tight-lipped about how that went, exchanging knowing smiles with Himiko and changing the subject.

Skeptic shuffles in, waving you along. "Let's go, chop-chop."

The group follows him, out onto a well-lit stage. Tomura reclines on a red chair, regal despite his general air of indifference and his many injuries. He waves Eri over, letting her sit next to him, then makes a sweeping gesture at the people on the stage.

"These are my new generals. If you disrespect them, you'll be dealing with me."

Your eyes widen as you look out at the crowd. In the back of your mind, you had expected him not to give you power. You're still learning, it would have made sense to leave you out.

He announces the new name, the Paranormal Liberation Front, to wild cheers from the massive audience. After letting them scream for a moment, he raises a hand.

"Now, most of you are aware that there was a breach at Tartarus. Let's welcome the brave defectors who made it happen." He smirks. "As well as a few familiar faces."

From behind the stage, an absolute swarm of hero students plus two teachers appears, lining up behind you. Then four prisoners come out, and your eyes fill with tears.

You had dismissed the fleeting hope that Mustard would be among them. It seemed ridiculous that the Commission would put a thirteen year old into Tartarus. But as the sandy-haired kid walks across the stage, gaunt and grinning ear to ear, your crushed hopes come to fruition.

It's not your intention to embarrass him or yourself, but as he takes his place between you and Touya you can't help hugging him. He reciprocates, laughing.

"I missed you guys too."

Touya pats his head awkwardly, looking over at his brother. He's going to have to tell everyone soon, you realize.

"And," Tomura continues. "My former teacher."

All For One enters, looking around the stage. His nonexistent eyes find your face, and he smiles.

"He will be advising us, as well as serving all of you in quirk-related matters." Tomura clears his throat, removing the hand on his face and letting it crumble away. "New faces and a new name, but our goal hasn't changed. We'll do what we want."

The cheering is deafening.

...

You help Tomura back to your room, Touya supporting his other side. He's visibly exhausted.

"Was that your last hand?" you ask quietly.

"Yeah," he replies. "I don't need them to feel comfortable anymore."

Laying him down, you let him burrow into your arms. Touya lays on his other side, chin resting on top of his head so his nose is almost touching yours.

Sleepily, Tomura tells you about his childhood, dozing between sentences. It's hard to listen to. He doesn't seem very bothered by it, but the pain he experienced shakes you to your core.

When he's done, and finally truly asleep, Touya extends his arms, hugging both of you to his chest. You let yourselves sleep too. It's warm here, and safe, and far away from shitty fathers and bad memories.

...

Aoyama is the first on the quirk swap list, practically bouncing with excitement. You watch as All For One gently touches their forehead, absorbing the laser quirk that was destroying them from the inside out and bestowing a simple, self healing quirk. Their eyes light up as they run over to you, already glowing with better health.

"Are you switching yours too?" They even sound better, less strained. "Mine was always supposed to be temporary, so I got first pick."

"I'm here for something else," you reply. "I'm happy for you."

"I am also happy for me. Good luck, Kei," they hum, clasping your hands reassuringly then leaving the room.

All For One is watching you, gesturing to the chair in front of his tentatively. "Hello. What do you want me to call you?"

"Keiji is fine for now." You sit stiffly, hands in your lap. "Hi."

"Do you have questions for me?" he asks. "I'll answer anything you ask to the best of my ability, Keiji."

You pull out a comically long roll of paper, unfurling it. "Several, yes."

He smiles, undisturbed. "Go on."

"Did you know I existed?" Your voice is wobbly, no matter how hard you try to control it.

"I did not, and if I had, I would have come for you."

You look up at him quickly, eyes sharp. His face is almost revoltingly truthful. You nod. "Right, I can skip to section B, then."

He chuckles. "Alright."

"What is my quirk? My full, real quirk, not what's on the registry." This one has been puzzling you for a while now.

"Well, you're similar to me," your father says calmly. "I don't know exactly what it does, but it appears to augment itself based on what you desire. Rather than collecting quirk traits from others, yours evolves. That's all I can figure out, but the doctor can help us determine more."

"Right." You scan your list, heart in your throat. "Do you remember my mom?"

"M/N L/N? Yes. Is she...?"

"She died," you choke out. You're suddenly on the verge of tears. "What was your relationship with her?"

He leans forward. "Keiji, if this is upsetting you, we can stop."

Shaking your head, you hold the list harder.

"We were... close. I definitely loved her, and I'd hope that she'd say the same of me. My work took me away from her, and when I came back the Commission had threatened her to keep her away. Presumably, they threatened to take you away, though I don't think they knew you were mine at the time. She was working at a support items design lab at the time, they likely thought that our relationship was business related." He looks at the ground, shoulders slumped.

A strange sense of relief washes over you. Then anger, cold and bitter. "They kept you apart?"

"Yes," he affirms. "I hadn't really been attacking them at the time, just traveling and managing quirks. Once they decided I was a threat and kept me away from M/N... That's when I truly became what they would call a villain."

Any guilt you've been feeling up until now sloughs away, leaving a pure, polished spike of hatred. "I don't think I need you to answer more questions," you almost whisper. "I'll tell you two things. One, don't interfere with my relationships, I know Tomura is your successor but he's MY boyfriend. Two." You take his hand in yours, cold smile tugging at your face. "I'll be joining you on the front lines, Father."

Chapter Text

"Unless you can absolutely prove that you're on our side, we aren't meeting with you anymore." Touya crosses his arms, looking around the warehouse. "You haven't given us anything useful."

Hawks frowns. "Don't be like that. I just want to know who all joined up, then I'll give you my info."

"You first," you demand. You and Touya had to take a train to get here, and you aren't exactly thrilled to be far from base.

"The fuck have they been feeding you over there? You're starting to act like an actual villain." Hawks smirks. "I'm not giving up valuable information to people who don't trust me."

Touya bursts into flames, storming towards him. He takes flight, bumping his head on the ceiling.

"Okay, damn. Fine. I have a few things: First, the heroes know you two and Tomura Shigaraki are... Whatever you're doing.

You shrug. "Have they told the press?"

"No, but they will."

"Whatever," Touya yawns. "Give us something interesting."

Hawks glares at him. "Second, Endeavor has officially gotten a divorce and claims he is looking for a new partner, but some people have implied that his first marriage was like, shady and that he's looking for a similarly shady arrangement. I think it's because his son was involved in the Tartarus break-in."

Touya stiffens. "Huh."

The winged hero continues. "Finally, Keiji, where you shot Mirko was a major artery. She didn't get treated until way later than she should have, and is only just now recovering from the blood loss."

Your boyfriend snorts, and you give him a look. "Is that all?"

"Yes, now, about the list..." Hawks looks between you hopefully.

"You should be able to figure it out with the camera footage from the break-in," you dismiss him. "It's too many people to name."

"You said-"

"We're leaving."

He grabs your arm, pulling your back against his chest and resting one of his feather blades on your throat. "Don't get cocky, now."

You try to break his grip, but more feathers swarm you, holding you still.

Touya growls, lighting up again. "I will burn both of you to ash right fucking now, Keigo Takami."

Hawks raises an eyebrow at him, clicking a quirk-suppressing collar around your neck. "Bet."

Touya's eyes go very round, his flames extinguishing. "You... No. You can't fucking do that, Takami, that's-"

"Unfair? Yeah." The hero wraps his free arm around your waist. "I'll torture all of the information I wanted out of them, don't worry."

You twist against his hold, stomping on his foot. He winces, but does not let go.

"The spawn of All For One is sure to be a useful hostage, huh?" Hawks laughs. "We'll be off now."

The last thing you see before you're hoisted into the sky are Touya's eyes, glowing with fury.

...

"Why am I not in prison?" you ask, tugging on the collar.

"You can't run away without your quirk," Endeavor explains for the fourth time, rapidly losing patience. He's carrying out a physical inspection, and it is not going well.

Three knives and your machete from Spinner are lined up along with your boots and gloves on the table. He tried to strip search you, but the sheer number of bite marks and bruises was a major deterrent. Upon uncovering the carved "死柄木弔" in your stomach, he had given up and stopped looking.

Of course, your quirk resets your injuries, but you haven't really been using it for the past few days. Bad luck for him.

He pulls another knife out of one of your boots, giving you an annoyed look. "Was that the last one?"

You nod, flopping down on the folding chair in the interrogation room. "It should be."

He should be glad he isn't searching any of your three fellow knife users. Himiko keeps so many that if she falls down, she clatters. Deku has twelve last you asked, and you're pretty sure Spinner sleeps holding his bundled sword like a teddy bear.

"It had better be. I'm just about fed up with you." He rubs his forehead. "The Commission has decided we're going to keep you here until your little boyfriend-"

"Which one?"

His eyebrows burst into flame. "Tomura Shigaraki. We're keeping you here until Tomura Shigaraki surrenders. Hopefully, your father will influence him in that direction."

You stretch. Tomura isn't stupid, he knows they'll likely just kill you even if he surrenders. You're mad that you got taken again, but you can use this to your advantage. Maybe.

"Are you even listening?" Endeavor slams a fist on the table, rattling the knives. "I am keeping you here under 24/7 surveillance, and I am going to torture you. Are you stupid?"

Shrugging, you put your feet on the table. "Maybe I am."

...

Tomura disintegrates the meeting room table. "FUCK."

Touya anxiously chain smokes across the room, forehead pressed to the wall. "I know."

"I should have never fucking let you two meet him. I should have sent someone less valuable. Like him!" Tomura points angrily at ReDestro.

The ginger man frowns.

"It's not your fault, I should have done a better job protecting them," Touya mumbles, sitting in the corner on the floor.

"No, it's my fault!" Tomura claws at his neck. "I'm a terrible fucking leader and a worse partner and-"

"Should I... leave?" ReDestro asks, pointing to the door.

"YES," both men insist.

Tomura walks through the heap of dust where the table used to be, draping himself over Touya. "I'm sorry for freaking out. We're getting them back."

"Freaking out seems justified," Touya says quietly, snuffing his last cigarette and grabbing his boyfriend's hands. "Let's figure out a plan."

Chapter Text

Ochaco looks down at her girlfriend, asleep in her lap, and smiles. "Hey, Himiko, you alright?"

The blonde blinks sleepily, giggling. "Of course I am, you're here."

Looking at the screen of the empty meeting room, currently playing Barbie as the Island Princess, Ochaco takes the rumpled space buns out of Himiko's hair. Gently detangling, she hums. "Are we doing anything today?"

"No," her girlfriend murmurs, falling back asleep. "Nothing is happening today."

...

Hawks pulls back, panting. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

You yawn, slumping against your restraints. "I've died more times than I can count, Takami, you think I'm phased by some fucking feathers?"

"Christ, those guys really fucked you up, huh?" His feathers return to his wings as he goes to the shelf, poking through torture implements.

"And down. And sideways. Haven't tried diagonally yet," you quip.

The hundreds of cuts on your body hurt, of course, but it's really not even on the same level as getting crushed by a vending machine. You've become practically immune to pain over the past year, and that's finally helping.

"You're disgusting," Hawks sighs. "Too bad we didn't get to you in time, we could have stopped you from becoming like this."

"You could have stopped me from being powerful, happy, and having two more partners than you have? Hard pass." Looking at the electric corkscrew device he's holding, you mentally resign yourself. "You would be a lot less pissy if you got laid."

"Are you offering?" He shoves the device into your arm before you can respond.

That one hurts like a bitch, but it's still tolerable. You spit at him.

"I'd stop being difficult if I were you, L/N," he hisses, wiping his face. "Now, info. Hand it over."

"You haven't even asked specifics," you fire back. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you don't even know what you want me to tell you. Like I said earlier, the list of prison breakers is easily findable. What the fuck else do you even want?"

He grabs your shoulder with his free hand, slamming you back against the wall. "We want every single thing you know, you fucking degenerate."

"As if I'd tell you shit. You're not exactly providing incentives." You look at your wrecked arm. "If I'm not talking while my bicep is put through the shredder, I'm not talking, period."

He grinds his teeth, leaning closer. "What if I hand you over to Endeavor? There are quirks that could easily combine your DNA, you can help him fucking Frankenstein together a couple of kids. You know I'm his second pick for that? You're his first."

You slam your forehead into his nose as hard as you can. "Fuck off!"

Reeling back, he lets go of the implement and punches you in the face. "You think I'm lying? The Commission has been doing that with heroes for over a year now." His nose is absolutely busted, giving you a flash of pride.

"No they haven't." You bit your tongue when he hit you, and now blood is leaking from your mouth. Lovely.

He looks at you, something almost sympathetic in his eyes. "Have you heard of the Quirk Singularity Theory?"

...

Pacing the room, Touya eyes Skeptic. "Are you sure I should be shirtless?"

The tall man nods enthusiastically. "Show the world your fucked up body! It'll do wonderful things to the ratings."

Tomura glares at him. "Don't be a dick, Skeptic. Touya, you were right about body cams, I'm glad you wore one to the meeting."

Shoto Todoroki sits across the room, hands steepled in front of his face. Yaoyorozu sits next to him, smiling awkwardly.

"So, Touya," she starts. "May I call you Touya?"

"Uh, yeah," Touya replies, cigarette between his teeth. "Shoto, do you want one?"

Shoto accepts, lighting it with his quirk and adding it to the puff bar in his mouth. Yaoyorozu rubs her temples.

"I switched the brands I made so you'd do it less, babe," she whispers to him.

"I like this type more. So, Touya, we're just gonna talk about how shit our dad was on national TV and show some footage of Hawks being a jackass?"

"Yep. I have paternity papers too, just in case people think you're lying about who I am."

Shoto grins around the nicotine products in his mouth. "Don't worry, I have something even better." He nods to the door.

Midoriya enters, leading four people. One of them, Geten, waves and joins Midoriya next to their leader. Touya's eyes widen, a choked sound escaping his throat.

Rei Todoroki and her two other children bow stiffly. She steps forward, tears filling her eyes.

"Touya, Shoto... I'm sorry."

...

Mustard exhales slowly, letting his lungs fill with the purple gas of his quirk. It makes him woozy, but he doesn't pass out. The gas packs the sparring stadium, the air opaque for 200 feet in every direction. He grins, drawing it back into his body and falling back on the floor.

"That was good," Bakugo coughs, sitting up. "Got through my gas mask."

Looking up at the ceiling, Mustard gives him a thumbs up. "Did lots of training in prison."

"I can tell." The older boy holds up his hand, setting off mini explosions. "Wanna see if it's combustible now?"

Chapter Text

Quivering with rage, Endeavor watches the broadcast. His obnoxious traitor of a son, his crazy bitch of a wife, his two useless children... And Touya. All parading around on national television, telling everyone horrible things about him.

Who cares if they're true?

Some twink in a winter coat backs them up, claiming to be Rei's relative or something. He doesn't know if it's accurate or not, but whoever that guy is, Endeavor fully believes he could beat his ass.

Touya and that green-haired punk Shoto was always hanging around feed into each other. Touya is the son of Endeavor and he's fucking the child of All For One, as well as his successor. Deku is the son of All Might and he joined the League before the rest of his class. Clearly, they conclude, heroes are doing something wrong. Shoto jumps in, mentioning that his whole family is joining the PLF. It's a pattern, they argue.

Endeavor bangs on the table, flames consuming his body. Angry beyond words, beyond reason, he storms into the torture chamber, eyes full of murder.

...

You wake up to the door slamming, a furious Endeavor hulking over you. Before you can do anything, he's ripping off your restraints, bundling your wrists in one of his hands and stomping outside. His palms are on fire, burning your wrists to the bone as he drags you down the hallway and forces you to sit in front of the TV.

Your eyes widen happily at Touya's face on the screen, wrists forgotten. "What are you showing me?"

"You knew," he spits. "You disgusting fucking villain, you knew he was my son."

You smirk. "Yeah, but honestly I was surprised by it. I mean, he's gorgeous and powerful, and you're a fascist cuck with a tiny-"

A flaming hand grips your face, destroying it. It only hurts for a moment, then it just feels very cold.

You blink, one-eyed, at him. Mouth ruined, you can't form words properly. This fucking sucks.

"I'm gonna use you as a bloodbag to create my new children. Better, more loyal children, with more powerful quirks," he rants, spittle flying.

Oh yeah. That. Hawks had given you a rundown. Basically, quirk singularity implies that quirks will continue to get more and more powerful until there is one ultimate quirk or the world explodes. At least, that's what you gathered. The Commission, Endeavor especially, want to achieve that one, ultimate quirk through any means necessary.

It's really a brilliant plan, if you're a Nazi. By funneling highly powerful individuals into hero work, the Commission creates a pool of ideal candidates. They then use asexual gene combination quirks to create test tube babies who are twice as powerful. Rinse and repeat with those infants until the goal is achieved. A eugenicist's wet dream.

You shake your head at him, making disapproving noises.

He jerks you up again. "I need a child who cannot be deformed or injured by my firepower. Your quirk is the ideal augmentation. Shut up and come with me."

...

"God damn it," Bakugo growls, sprinting over to Mustard.

They decided to test if the improved gas is combustible, and as it turns out, it very much is. The training arena is in shambles, All For One watching from the stands with a horrified expression on his face.

Mustard lies crumpled in the center of the room. The older boy skids to a halt at his side, frantically checking him for injuries.

After a few seconds of being examined, Mustard rolls over, laughing. "Just kidding."

Bakugo, who was hyperventilating moments before, looks like he's going to commit murder. "You aren't fucking funny."

Mustard waves at All For One. "I'm okay!"

"How'd you even do that?" Bakugo asks, curiosity overwhelming his anxiety and anger.

"I cocooned myself in some of the gas and focused really hard on that part not being combustible." Mustard shrugs.

All For One applauds, walking down to meet them. "You work together exceptionally well. I wanted to tell you that we're having a meeting, you are both welcome to attend."

"Is this about Kei?" Mustard asks.

"Yes."

...

The meeting room smells like a skunk crawled into the vents and died, a smoky haze still hanging in the air. Tomura looks around at the attendants, accusatory glare burning through them.

The attendants are Sensei, his generals, the two pro heroes and Kurogiri, the Todoroki family, Mustard, Bakugo, Yaoyorozu, and Uraraka. They shift, looking at each other.

"No one? Okay, let's get to work." Tomura fiddles with the projector for a few minutes, pulling up a slideshow. "Here's the plan;"

...

You punch the mirror, getting glass stuck in your hand. Still unhealed, you are horrifying to look at. Lips and tongue mostly gone, teeth visible, with an eye melted shut. Hair burned off, skin charred on your face, neck, and forearms. It's not a good look, to say the least.

You're supposed to be getting ready to get your blood drawn for the gene combination. You really would prefer not to do that. Holding one of the shards in your hand, you begin stabbing at the collar, glass breaking off with each strike.

The cancellation mechanism beeps, the light dying. You keep stabbing, near manic in your efforts to get away. Hawks knocks on the door. "L/N, you'd better be ready!"

You continue, slicing open your windpipe and breaking the lock mechanism. Choking on your own blood, you pull the broken collar from your neck.

The winged hero starts banging on the door harder. "I mean it! I'm coming in!"

Jamming it in a final time, you fall back into the shower, the world going very quiet.

Chapter Text

Kurogiri deposits the group in front of the Commission Headquarters. Tomura leads them forward, easily bypassing the doors and entering the lobby. After all, after leaving the civilians, All For One, and the pro heroes behind, he has everyone else from the meeting, Stain, Nagant, Gigantomachia, and a good number of the hero students with him. Who's going to stop them? The receptionist?

Leaving Machia to guard the entrance, they sweep through the first floor.

Stain neutralizes the cops that are milling around easily before wandering off to kill random heroes. Nagant says something about "making it 2 for 2" and sprints up the stairs to the Head Commissioner's office. The rest of the PLF members fan out, locking down the building.

Tomura and Touya know exactly where they're going, Shoto joining them specifically to upset Endeavor. As they walk up the opposite set of stairs to the residential wing, they hear a scream followed by an impossibly loud explosion. They start running. That's not just any scream.

That's you.

...

You wake up, healed, whole, and naked, laying on a busted-to-hell couch. You still glow with yellow light in the form of pulsing currents beneath your skin, winding their way all over your body. Standing up, you dust yourself off, looking around.

No.

God fucking damn it.

You're in the League's old abandoned warehouse that you stayed in before moving to meet Ujiko. Miles away from the Commission headquarters, over 2 months back. Fucking hell.

Stretching, you pace the room, cursing under your breath. The energy beneath your skin thrums and brightens, responding to your anger. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

The floor cracks beneath your feet, and you try to calm down. You need to kill yourself and respawn at the PLF base. That's easy. You're an adult, you can take care of this, you don't need to freak out just because your quirk is acting up. Maybe you got lucky and took out some heroes when you died.

...

A large chunk of the residential wing is missing, blown to little pieces. Keigo Takami lays in the wreckage, cocooned in charred feathers and seriously injured. Touya runs to him, kicking him onto his back and grabbing the front of his coat.

"Where are they?"

"Fuck if I know," the winged hero whimpers, lightly touching his probably-broken ribs.

Geten, who apparently also followed them up the stairs, joins Touya. "Who is this?"

Hawks manages to look offended. "I'm the number 2 hero, who the hell are you?"

"Oh, a glorified cop. Are we killing him, or?" Geten draws ice to his palms.

"No, we should probably take him hostage," Tomura sighs. "Though that's an appealing thought."

"Fine." Geten kneels next to him, gently icing his ribs. "If you try to get away, I have no issue giving your wings frostbite."

"Whatever," Hawks groans. "Thanks."

"What the fuck is going on here?" Endeavor's voice booms.

Everyone looks over, watching the number 1 hero approach. Shoto rips his puff bar, blowing a ring.

Endeavor's face goes red. "Shoto, are you-? That's not what's important right now. Where is L/N? What did you do to Hawks?"

"We didn't do shit to your pet bird, Enji," Touya yells back.

Endeavor bursts into flame, gnashing his teeth.

...

The raid is going extremely well, as far as Uraraka can determine. Lifting another maintenance worker into the air, she carefully floats them outside and lets them down.

"Take the day off," she says sweetly, waving as he runs away.

Sounds of fighting come from the lobby and she hurries over, finding Iida being held back by a few other students and shouting at Stain. Oh dear.

"You paralyzed my brother and now you're killing sidekicks? Why are you even here? You aren't even a League member, you murderer!"

Stain stands in front of him, arms crossed. "I haven't killed any sidekicks or civilians, I've just been using my quirk on them."

"Your quirk that involves STABBING!"

"Iida," Uraraka soothes, hurrying over to him. "What's wrong?"

About four gunshots come from the direction Nagant went in, immediately followed by a loud explosion and a scream from the residential wing. Iida glares at her.

"Are we doing the right thing? Working with murderers and villains?" His lower lip trembles. "Is this actually what you want?"

"We aren't attacking innocent people, Iida," she says quietly.

"We aren't working with innocent people either," he growls, pushing up his glasses.

...

In the basement of the Commission, Mustard, Bakugo, and Kirishima wander between glass tubes. Having seen the Nomu labs, they aren't as shocked as they could be, but it's still off putting. Fetal humans float in the tubes, hooked up to hundreds of wires each and meticulously labeled.

"This is a bit freaky, right?" Kirishima asks, squeezing Bakugo's hand. "Like, I'm right to be scared?"

He doesn't pull away as he usually might, nodding emphatically. "You're right."

"This one's designer," Mustard says, tapping on the glass of one of the incubation tubes. "Giant and Rabbit combined, I'd like to see that."

"Don't touch that," Bakugo warns. "Come on, we should just take pictures and leave."

"Really, Kats?" Kirishima looks surprised. "You don't want to blow them all to hell?"

"I want to take pictures first," Bakugo clarifies, free hand sparking. "Then we can do that."

Chapter Text

Holding up his absolute brick of a Nokia, Kirishima grins. "Pictures have been taken."

Bakugo shows remarkable restraint and does not mock the phone, nodding quietly.

"You both have masks, right?" Mustard asks, purple gas billowing around his hands. "I'm gonna cocoon us from the explosion so you shouldn't need them, but just in case?"

The two older boys put on their masks, drawing closer. Kirishima hardens his hand around his phone for protection, giving a thumbs up.

Gas seeps throughout the room, compacting around them in a kind of dome. Mustard concentrates, eyes wound shut.

"Do it."

Bakugo directs an AP Shot through the dome, and the worst noise any of the three have heard in their lives sounds around them.

"Hey, kid, it sounds a lot worse than it did in the training area!" Bakugo shouts, trying to plug his ears. "What's happening?"

"I don't know!" Mustard yells back. "Maybe the structural integrity of the building was just weak!"

Kirishima has hardened his entire head, ear canals protected by the spiky shell of his quirk. "Wait what?"

A chunk of the ceiling falls into the dome, breaking on the floor. The red-haired boy grabs the other two, pulling them under him and activating his quirk at full capacity.

"Fuck!" Bakugo curses. "The whole place is coming down."

The younger boy's eyes widen, sweat beading on his face. "Our people are up there."

"Everyone will be okay," Kirishima reassures him. "They'll make it out."

Bakugo makes concerned eye contact with him across Mustard's head. The kid is not doing great, visibly ill at the thought of any of their group members dying.

"They're all really capable," he growls, attempting a comforting tone and failing spectacularly. "And they're probably more worried about you than they are about themselves anyway."

Hands shaking, Mustard looks at the floor. "I guess. They shouldn't be."

"Let's work on that attitude when we get out of here," Kirishima cuts in enthusiastically. He gestures around. "Everything seems pretty settled."

Bakugo blinks at him. "I guess?"

They stand in a small cavern of rubble, the only way out a questionable-looking hole in the ceiling. Looking between themselves, they collectively sigh and start climbing.

...

Iida is storming away past the Hero Killer when the floor collapses. The masked man dives, grabbing him and Uraraka, who activates her quirk. They float above the wreckage, grabbing other people as they find them and getting them out of the rapidly-crumbling building.

"You okay?" Stain asks gruffly, not quite making eye contact.

Uraraka nods, sweeping her girlfriend into her arms from the rubble. "I'm okay."

The blonde giggles.

Iida, sullenly letting Hatsume and Aoyama clamber on top of him, nods curtly. "Yes."

Stain presses his lips together in a thin line. "Right. Good."

Looking over to the remains of the staircase, he doggy paddles through the air to Nagant, who is holding a spine as casually as you would hold a loaf of bread. They begin an animated conversation about her exploits upstairs, the sniper gesturing wildly with her prize. Huh.

"What was that, Ochaco?" Himiko asks quietly. "I didn't see anything."

"The floor exploded," the brunette replies. "Which doesn't bode well for our basement teams."

...

"Give Kei back!" Touya shouts, hands flaming. "Where are they?"

"I don't know! And no, I need them for something!" Endeavor sends a ball of fire straight for Touya's head.

Geten, holding Hawks like a sack of flour, begins ushering Shoto down the stairs.

"What the fuck do you need with them?" Tomura stalks forward, hands clenched.

"I want better kids!" Endeavor yells, putting a wall of fire between himself and the two enraged villains.

They stop in their tracks, looking at each other. Their brains visibly short circuit.

Endeavor briefly obtains a shred of humanity. "Using a gene combination quirk!"

Touya's eyes physically catch on fire. Racing through the flames, he leaps towards Endeavor...

And then the building starts to fall.

...

The leader of group B2, that's basement group 2, is seriously regretting the choices that led to this moment.

Izuku Midoriya needs to stop volunteering for things.

Denki Kaminari, arm around both the green-haired boy and Jirou, whistles happily, unbothered by the horrific crashing and explosions above them. B2 is walking through the sub-basement, basically a glorified storage closet. Kaminari, all of his partners, and Tokoyami Fumikage make up the group. Yes, Tokoyami Fumikage was sent to the poorly lit sub-basement.

"Guys, I think something's seriously wrong up there!" Midoriya urges. "Can we focus?"

Monoma and Shinsou cease their argument about the superior cat breed and look over. Tokoyami, cloak closed tightly, flashes his leader an awkward smile.

"Apologies, Midoriya, Dark Shadow is not cooperating."

"It's fine, Tokoyami, I just want to regroup." Shrugging off Kaminari's arm, Midoriya presses the elevator button.

The entire elevator falls loudly down the shaft, the door opening to a pile of electrical wreckage.

"Well," he sighs. "Fuck."

...

Sitting up on the conference room table, you rub your forehead. Kurogiri looks up, surprised, then teleports away, coming back with new clothes.

"Where is everyone?" you ask, getting dressed while sitting on the table. The room reeks of weed for some reason.

"They're currently trying to rescue you," Kurogiri explains. "Oh, shit. Come with me."

As you go through the portal, Yamada and Aizawa emerge from where they were hiding under the table, Aizawa holding a half-finished blunt. He squeezes in some eyedrops, sighing.

"We should go too, Oboro."

Kurogiri avoids looking at you. "Certainly, Shouta."

You raise an eyebrow. "Can I get a hit?"

Chapter Text

Tagging Aoyama to let them float, Uraraka grits her teeth. "Yeah, I think the whole basement collapsed."

Face paling, they nod. "Right. Do you think it's safe to head down, or?"

She looks them up and down. With just their self-healing quirk, they are not her first choice for the excavation team. However...

"They put Fumikage on the team in the lowest basement, I'm worried that Shadow will freak out." Aoyama chews their fingernails, attempting to peer through the rubble.

Fumikage, huh? Uraraka smiles, nodding to Himiko. "We can try to get down there, who's in?"

Hatsume, still sitting on Iida's chest as he floats, raises his hand for him. "We'll go!"

He sighs. "As former class rep, I am obligated to go."

"Either of you coming?" Uraraka calls to Stain and Nagant.

"Lady wants to check this floor for other students, I'm helping," Stain replies. "Could ya let me down?"

Releasing him and the rest of the students, Uraraka looks at her group. "Alright, let's go."

...

As prickly smoke curls into your lungs, the veins of light that have been under your skin since you respawned in the warehouse dim slightly, the power less overwhelming. You hand the blunt back to Aizawa, looking up at Headquarters. It's looking a bit... Destroyed.

"I'm going to the roof," you tell the three men. "Do whatever you think will help the most."

"Roof," Aizawa orders Kurogiri. "Me and you go there. Hiz, go help the kids."

Yamada runs into the building as Kurogiri sweeps you and Aizawa into another portal. You step out onto the crumbled roof, and you feel your heart drop.

Endeavor stands in front of Touya's prone body, Tomura hunched over him protectively and glaring at the hero. His eyes meet yours, full of genuine fear for the first time you've ever seen.

Aizawa activates his quirk on the hero, striding forward. "Really, Endeavor? I knew you beat your kids, but I didn't think you'd try to kill them."

You run to Tomura's side, frantically checking Touya for a pulse. He's burned worse than he already was, but he's breathing, albeit shallowly. "What the fuck happened?"

"Touya went to attack him and the building started collapsing. He fell, and that bastard fucking-" Tomura takes a deep breath, letting you remove his hand from where it claws at his neck. "He hit him with everything he had. It was awful."

Aizawa socks Endeavor in the jaw, the hero too stunned by his quirk being erased to dodge. "I sat by and observed you hurt your family, my students, this civilian-" He leaps away as Endeavor attempts to retaliate, scarf binding his wrists. "Not anymore, motherfucker."

"They're not a fucking civilian, Eraserhead!" Endeavor shouts. "You know that!"

"So you don't deny abusing everyone else?" Aizawa fires back.

As Endeavor splutters, you nod to Tomura, dragging Touya between you to Kurogiri. You feel strangely calm now, your brain focusing solely on your desire to beat Touya's father to death with your bare hands.

"Take him to Eri," Tomura tells him. "Then come back for us."

Geten and Shoto, holding an incapacitated Hawks on an ice slab they've turned into a stretcher, wave from the ruined staircase and run over.

"Us too," Geten pants. "Me and the bird, I think Shoto has unfinished business here."

Shoto nods, joining you and Tomura as you hurry back. Endeavor has busted the scarf, and Aizawa is not a heavy damage-dealer.

Aizawa has to blink, and Endeavor gets his powers back. He goes to shoot fire at your ally, face twisted in a snarl. Time feels slower, your cold fury at him all-consuming. You leap towards him, and the energy under your skin swells, propelling you faster, faster, till you're in between the two men.

You grab Endeavor's hand as the fire leaves his palm, and you let the energy go. He flies backwards, knocked to the ground, and you realize you're still holding his hand. Well, the remains of his hand.

Stiffening, you drop it, vision blurring and darkening at the edges and a sharp ringing piercing your eardrums. You don't have time to think about what just happened, your knees buckling beneath you as the world fades.

...

"Midoriya, is it really advisable to, and I quote, 'burrow our way out'?" Tokoyami asks.

"We might as well," Midoriya says. "The elevator doesn't work and the floor above us is probably in shambles, so I vote we Shawshank it."

"Including the part with the sewer?" Shinso asks quietly.

"We will try to avoid that. Anyway, Kaminari, did you and Monoma find shovels?"

The two blonds rush over, holding assorted gardening implements.

"They've got like, every type of tool down here!" Kaminari pants, throwing them to the ground. "Kyo, babe, you hearing anything?"

Jirou jumps at the loud clatter of tools, withdrawing her earphones from the ceiling. "B1 is still trying to find their way up. As for upstairs, lots of running and yelling from the general vicinity."

"Alright, thank you for checking." Midoriya punches the wall, the entire side blowing out of the basement. "Let's get out of here."

...

Kirishima says something, muffled by the rubble around his head. His quirk is active, the red haired boy bulldozing his way upward.

"Can't hear you, Ei," Bakugo calls up, right behind him.

Mustard, makeshift strap around his waist attached to the older blond so he won't fall back down the tunnel, cranes his neck to see over the boy's shoulder. "What's happening?"

Kirishima pulls his face back. "I found people."

Moments later, a highly concerned Uraraka and Aoyama appear overhead, the brunette floating rubble out of the way.

"Guys!" Her face falls. "Where's B2?"

"Fuck!" Bakugo turns around, Mustard getting dragged by the strap. "I thought they'd have taken the elevator, I thought it would be fine. Stupid. Fucking-"

"So they're all down there in the DARK?" Aoyama asks.

The rest of the rescue group works their way into the slightly larger cavern they're currently in just in time to hear a roar from the sub basement, echoing up through the ruined lab. They all freeze, Aoyama's face falling.

Mustard taps Bakugo's shoulder, eyes wide. "Uh, why is the dark bad?"

"Kats, don't do anything weird," Kirishima says, actively bracing himself for the inevitable explosion.

Bakugo points his hand back where they just came from, readying an AP shot. "God fucking DAMN it!"

Chapter Text

"Guys," Tokoyami says in an uncharacteristically urgent tone.

Group B2 looks at the feathered boy, clutching his chest and looking like he's going to be sick. They've made some progress on their tunnel, but the sub basement is still unlit, and it's clearly getting to him.

Midoriya ceases his punching at the dirt, face largely obscured by the darkness. "How long do we have?"

Head bowed, Tokoyami shudders. "Not long." His voice is strained, eyes glowing unnaturally in the dark.

At his internship, seemingly millions of years ago now, Tokoyami began cloaking himself in his quirk, using it to fly or as armor. Fusing with Dark Shadow in this way made him powerful, but now, as dark tendrils creep down his limbs and up his neck, it makes him vulnerable.

A strangled scream bursts from his throat, muffled by his beak as he clamps it shut. The tendrils twist, enveloping his body, swelling and distorting his form. Sickening crunching comes from his limbs, stretching nightmarishly as Dark Shadow takes over fully, embedded into its host.

"Jesus fuck, what's it doing to him?" Kaminari yells.

Shinso pushes to the front of the group, his capture weapon shooting out to grab the screaming boy. "Tokoyami. Answer me! It'll stop if you just-"

A twisted arm, shadows writhing around it, swats the purple-haired boy into the wall of the tunnel. His head thwacks against it, and he slumps to the floor, unconscious.

Midoriya panics, running towards the feathered boy and winding up to punch him. Instead, glowing black tentacle-like appendages shoot from his arm, wrapping Tokoyami and lashing at the other teens. Dark Shadow throws its head back and wrenches Tokoyami's beak so far open it cracks, roaring.

Kaminari, scooping up his incapacitated boyfriend and dragging Jirou and Monoma with him, tries to run out of the tunnel and back into the basement. "Everything is going to shit!"

Jirou's ears perk up as they run back through the tunnel's entrance, narrowly dodging Midoriya and Tokoyami's out-of control quirks. "Damn it! Everyone down!"

They flatten themselves to the floor just as the ceiling explodes.

...

"Hey! Wait up!" Present Mic yells to Stain. "What are you guys doing? Where are the kids?"

Nagant crosses her arms. "A big group of them went on a rescue mission downstairs, we're rounding up the rest."

Stain looks sulky. "Barely any heroes are here full-time, I only got to kill three."

"Oh... I'm, uh, sorry. Anyway, I'm here to help!" Yamada winces at a loud explosion from the basement. "Eesh, guess Ground Zero is down there?"

"Explosion Murder Death God of Destruction Ground Zero is in the group, yes." Stain says it very seriously, face unchanged. "Let's go, we have like nine kids to find."

They trudge through rubble, into the heart of Headquarters. Sero, codename Cellophane, is the first to be found, having taped multiple sidekick applicants to the ceiling to "keep them safe."

He joins the group, leaving his victims on the ceiling. No one can quite fault him for that. The cops and other heroes will be along soon enough without some random sidekick applicant running off to bring them here.

Ashido, codename Alien Queen (she isn't going to worry about cute optics as a PLF member), is next. She's been peacefully melting one of the break rooms, not even bothering with looting. She comes along easily, skipping beside Sero and humming.

Froppy, Creati, and Invisible Girl are corralling more maintenance staff out of the building when they're found. Yaoyorozu, ever the pragmatist, opted to help organize everyone rather than joining Todoroki upstairs.

The final four are bit spread out. Shoji and Koda are scouting, Sato is passed out in a hallway due to quirk overuse, and Ojiro is frantically searching an empty room for Hagakure. They all seem pretty relieved to be found.

Mission successful, the swarm of villains makes their way back to the lobby and waits for Kurogiri.

...

It's an absolute shitshow in the basement. Bakugo beat Dark Shadow into submission quickly, but Midoriya's quirk won't calm down.

Monoma, helping carry Shinso, visibly gets an idea as Toga is thrown up through the ceiling. He snaps his fingers impatiently, shouting to the green-haired boy. "HEY."

"Christ sakes Monoma, what the fuck do you wa-" Midoriya starts, eyes blanking. The whips freeze, in the process of throwing a resigned-looking Kirishima after Toga.

"Calm the fuck down!" Monoma yells. "Stop using your quirk!"

Blinking against his shoulder, Shinso looks up. "Usually I do it more calmly than that, Neito."

"Shut it, it worked."

It did, Midoriya crumpling to the floor and coming back to his senses. Looking around, his eyes widen. "Shit."

...

You wake up slowly, Tomura and Touya staring worriedly down at you. The glowing veins of energy are gone. Sitting up in your bed, noticing that you're clean in new clothes, you rub your eyes.

"Hey."

The two men dogpile you, smothering you with affection.

"We thought you were going to actually die this time," Tomura's muffled voice says from your neck.

You laugh. "I'm okay. Touya, are you?"

He nods, lips pressed to your temple. "Eri fixed me back up." He takes a breath, awestruck. "Y/N, you blew my dad's arm off."

Huh. You did do that.

"We saved the leftover finger bones for you," Tomura says sweetly.

Fixing him with a disapproving look, you raise an eyebrow. "What's with you and hands?"

He laces his fingers with yours. "Call it a fixation."

"Weirdo." Touya grins. "Now that they're up, we're holding the banquet or whatever the fuck, right?"

"For what?" You trace his burn scars with your free hand.

"As an excuse to get drunk and honor ourselves." Tomura gets up, releasing your hand and leaning down. "Get yourself ready, everyone wants to see you." He kisses you gently, immediately turning red. "We'll meet you outside."

Chapter Text

Eri, having fixed all of the major injuries, runs off. Aoyama calls their thanks after her, squeezing Tokoyami's fixed hand.

"Better?" they ask.

He nods. "Considerably."

Class A, plus Monoma, Toga, and Shinso, are hanging out in the central common room of the massive PLF base. Most of the injuries sustained during the raid were minor, a relief to the adults.

"So, Midoriya, you're gonna keep developing new quirks?" Sero asks, sprawled across a rug. "That's wild."

"Yeah, basically all of the former users are pissed at my dad so they're helping me," the green-haired boy replies. "You should hear them, berating him through the link."

"And they know not to throw your friends now?" Toga asks from the beanbag she shares with Uraraka. "I didn't enjoy that."

"They've apologized," he assures her.

Todoroki stands. "I have to go do the thing. Momo, are you-?"

She nods, following him. Everyone watches them go, the atmosphere awkward.

"What are they doing?" Kaminari hisses to Sero.

"Fuck if I know."

...

Your face heats up, eyes widening. "We're meeting your mom?"

Touya winces. "Well, Tomura already met her briefly. But, like, yeah. She put herself in charge of organizing the entire party for some reason, and she wanted to meet you first."

"She'll love you!" Tomura assures you. "Like, she liked me, and I am so much worse than you are!"

Elbowing him, Touya grabs your hand and pulls you along. "It'll be good."

"Sensei will be there too, so we'll have backup." The red-eyed man takes your other hand, and together the three of you walk down the hallway.

...

Smushed against a well-dressed chest, you make eye contact with Tomura, who is in the same situation. All For One steps back, looking down at you, and smiles.

"I am glad you are safe."

After years of not experiencing paternal affection, you can't do much besides smile and nod. Tomura looks wildly confused, mimicking your nodding.

Your father returns to where he was seated, and you come face to face with a white-haired woman. Gulping, you extend a hand to her, and she pulls you into yet another hug.

"Touya told me what you did to my ex husband, Y/N," Rei Todoroki says softly against your shoulder. "Thank you."

"He hurt Touya," you reply, dazed.

She smiles. "I'm glad my son has so many people who care for him."

The next hour passes in a blur, the Todoroki family loudly talking over one another. You sit between your father and Tomura, watching Touya interact with his siblings. Yaoyorozu joins you on the couch on the other side of All For One, giggling.

"They're even worse than they are at family dinner," she whispers to you. "You can tell Touya's the oldest."

You nod, looking on fondly.

Tomura leans against you. "Hana and I used to be that close." He doesn't seem sad, his tone observational. "I'm glad Touya is getting that back."

...

"Tokoyami, can you walk with me for a minute?" Geten calls from the doorway to the common area.

The feathered boy excuses himself, following the white-haired man down the hallway. After about five minutes of silence, he clears his throat.

"What is it?"

Geten fidgets with his coat, pushing open a door. "I wanted to ask you about him."

Hawks slumps against the wall, quirk-canceling cuffs binding his hands above his head. He looks up, eyes widening, as they enter. "Tsukoyomi?"

"You trained with him for a while, correct?" Geten asks.

"Yes," Tokoyami says awkwardly. "Is there a reason that he's in a normal room rather than a holding cell?"

"I found it more convenient to keep him here." Geten shrugs. "Anyways, I need your input. How do I make him stop complaining? It's constant. I struggle to sleep."

Looking over to the bed in the corner, Tokoyami splutters. "You're keeping the Winged Hero bolted to a wall in your room?"

Hawks barks a laugh. "I tried telling him how weird it was."

"Perhaps allowing him more space would help?" the feathered boy suggests.

Scratching his head, Geten narrows his eyes at the hero. "Like, allow him to wander around? What if he escapes?"

"Put a fucking tracker in me, twink. I'm not going anywhere, you didn't have the girl reverse my wing damage and as long as the cancelers are on it won't even start to heal." Hawks lolls his head to the side, grinning at Tokoyami. "How've you been, kid?"

Pacing and muttering to himself, Geten appears to consider it. Tokoyami watches him, trying to process the absurdity of the situation.

"I've been fine."

"Y'know he tried to feed me seeds?" Hawks laughs, breaking Geten out of his reverie.

The white-haired man flushes. "Only once. I listened to your requests and have been feeding you the special diet you require."

Tokoyami raises an eyebrow at the hero, who appears almost ashamed. "Special diet? He doesn't have one."

Geten blinks, storming to the hero and grabbing his face, smushing his cheeks. "Bastard! I have ordered you 10,000 yen of KFC since you got here 3 days ago!"

"M'sorry," Hawks replies, muffled by the hand squeezing his face.

Tokoyami slinks out of the room, the ice user's angry berating of the hero following him.

Chapter Text

Touya cuffs the back of your head as he walks past, smiling at you in the mirror. "You look good."

You're getting ready for the party, Rei's week of planning culminating in one comically expensive event happening tonight. All For One is footing the bill in what you think is an attempt to be supportive.

Turning to Touya, you look him up and down. His hair is growing out, lots of his original white showing. He's wearing a suit in the least formal way possible, sleeves rolled up and first two buttons undone, but you think it's nice.

"Do I look like a mafia boss in a low budget porn again?" he asks, pushing his hair back.

"Again? Y/N you've gotten to see this twice?" Tomura frowns with mock jealousy, coming out of the bathroom.

You stifle a laugh, smoothing the front of your outfit. Tomura went the opposite direction, looking more put-together than you've ever seen him and tying his hair up. You almost wish they had matched, the idea of two perfectly-matched white-haired men with similar heights escorting you around is one you find very funny.

"Do I look bad?" Tomura frets, his frown quickly becoming real.

"No, you look great! You both do," you clarify, rushing over to straighten his tie.

...

Geten succeeds in manhandling Hawks into a suit, humming. The hero is unimpressed, being about as cooperative as a temperamental dog when you try to trim its nails.

"Calm down," he reprimands. "I let Eri fix your wings, you have no reason to be difficult."

Hawks grinds his teeth. "You still have me chained up, asshole."

Rattling the cuff on his left wrist, attached by a chain to the quirk canceling one on Hawks' right, Geten shrugs. "I'm chained up too. Besides, your other three limbs are free now."

"You don't get to complain about it, you put it on yourself," Hawks huffs. "I want my quirk back."

Running a hand over the newly-healed red feathers on the hero's back, Geten tilts his head. "You have it, you just can't send these flying everywhere."

Shuddering at the contact, Hawks stops complaining. "Whatever. What type of stuff is happening at the party?"

...

Pacing the banquet hall, Rei fluffs her newly-cut hair. Enji never liked it short.

Everything looks close to perfect. Of course, she would rather Shoto not have three vaping devices in his mouth, and she regrets not color coordinating with Momo and Fuyumi because they look adorable in their matching red dresses, but otherwise she's happy.

All For One taps her shoulder. "Is everything satisfactory? We have an hour, if anything is not to your standards."

She nods. "Thank you, I think everything is good."

Everything is good. Everything is really, truly good for the first time in two and a half decades.

...

Jin holds still as Eri does his makeup, none of his manyfaceted personalities objecting. She wanted practice, and who would he be to deny a child practice in a trade she enjoys? He's just glad (and frankly, shocked) that he hasn't accidentally influenced her to swear or smoke or anything.

"Done!" she announces.

She skips over to Midoriya, who begrudgingly let her put eyeliner on him earlier. He swings her over his shoulders, mouthing a thank you (presumably for bearing the brunt of her experimentation) to the man and heading out.

...

"So we'll have everyone's parents relocated here by the end of the month?" Aoyama asks, letting Toga braid their hair back.

"Everyone who has good parents, yeah," Uraraka confirms. "I love the blue on you by the way."

Playing with the hem of their dress, they smile. "Thank you!"

Toga steps back. "Finished. Ochaco, do I have enough knives on me in case of emergency?"

Raising an eyebrow, Uraraka takes in her girlfriend's six blades, gleaming proudly against the pretty cream dress she picked. "I think you'll be alright."

"You're matching with Tokoyami, right?" Toga asks Aoyama, sticking her tongue out at Uraraka and adding another knife. "Colors, not outfits."

They nod. "Any color other than black is a tough ask for him, but he got a blue tie."

A knock sounds on the door, Tokoyami himself calling through it. "I also got blue socks!"

...

Shirakumo stretches, mist partially dissolving around his face. "Are you guys ready?"

Aizawa reluctantly drapes his capture weapon over a chair. "I think so. I cut myself shaving though."

Yamada, slinging his headphone around his neck, frantically picks up his equipment. "I forgot I was supposed to DJ but otherwise yes."

Shirakumo sighs fondly. "How did either of you function with me gone?"

"Doordash and several hundred phone alarms," Aizawa asserts.

"Adrenaline," Yamada adds. "Lots of it."

Opening the door, Shirakumo leads them into the hall, doing his best to avoid laughing.

Chapter Text

It's a bit cliché, but you do gasp as you enter the banquet hall. Rei outdid herself, the room a picture of classical beauty. You almost feel embarrassed, knowing that the party is partially for you.

Tomura leads you to the head table. The Todoroki family (minus Shoto, who's sitting with his friends) and All For One are already seated, the three middle seats left empty for...

You.

You awkwardly sit to Tomura's right, next to your father. He smiles, turning to the room and clearing his throat.

The room goes silent, uncannily, as if affected by a quirk.

"Welcome to everyone who participated in the raid on the Hero Commission Headquarters!" He gestures to Tomura. "After a word from our leader, my successor, we'll commence."

Tomura looks very put-on-the-spot, his chair screeching as he stands up. "Hello, you've all met me." He straightens, hand finding your shoulder. "I want to thank you all for assisting in destabilizing the hero community, but more importantly, I want to thank you for helping us get our partner back."

His other hand is clasping Touya's, you notice. Usually he's a better public speaker, but now he looks nervous, unsure.

"Please drink responsibly," he finishes, voice dropping off. He slumps back into his seat.

You squeeze his hand in both of yours, tilting your head at him. He shakes his head, mouthing "later."

Yamada, raising an eyebrow from the DJ stand, starts the music. He shows a remarkable restraint in avoiding public snarky comments, but based on his whispers with his husband and Kurogiri, you would imagine he's making them in private.

The amount of underage drinking that immediately begins is breathtaking. You'd be impressed if you weren't convinced your boyfriend was actively dying. He nods to you and Touya, motioning for you to follow him into the hallway.

No one notices your departure, All For One busy talking to Rei and everyone else occupied with destroying their livers. Once you're outside, he takes a breath, leaning against the wall.

"What's wrong?" you ask softly.

Touya puts an arm around him, making concerned eye contact with you.

"Okay so, a couple of things..." Tomura says shakily, leaning into Touya. "I am very happy you're back and was very worried and I-" He makes a strange, strangled noise. "I've never done this before hold on. Y/N, Touya, I-" The noise repeats.

You rub his back reassuringly.

"I need to leave for a few weeks," he sighs.

"You what?" you and Touya chorus, worried.

...

Geten sips a glass of white wine, watching Hawks throw back his fourth shot in ten minutes. "Are you having fun?"

The hero looks at him blearily. "No. Would you be having fun?"

"I don't follow."

"Imagine getting trained your whole life for one purpose-"

Geten nods. "Yes, that's what I did."

"Oh." Hawks sulks, laying his head on the table. "How old are you?"

"I'm 23," Geten replies, the wine in his glass chilling to a slush as he holds it. "Why?"

"I'm 23." Hawks pushes up off the table. "See I can't even complain because you're experiencing everything I'm experiencing. Including this." He shakes the chain.

"I took your quirk," the white haired man offers. "Complain about that."

"I'm bored of complaining about that. Geten, you're all nice."

"Untrue." Cocking an eyebrow at the swaying blond, Geten tugs him back down next to him. "Drink some water."

"You haven't tortured me even a little," Hawks whines, obediently picking up the water. "I'm a terrible fucking person."

"Agreed," Shoto deadpans from across the table.

The hero ignores him, hiccuping. "I suck. They suck. I've known that forever but, being here makes it more real."

Geten nods. "The eugenicist corporate monopoly that essentially runs our government is bad, yes. I don't necessarily think you are."

Taking a fifth shot, Hawks smiles. "Really?"

"Yes, I think you are capable of change and I don't think you were knowingly evil. Not like you will remember this conversation anyway." Geten eyes him, concerned. "You should slow down."

"I like to live fast," Hawks says, taking a sixth shot and promptly throwing up on the floor.

...

"So we'll be able to see you through the glass," you confirm. "And you're just recieving a copy of All For One's quirk, because my dad would be weirded out sharing a body with my boyfriend."

"Yes." Tomura is still a bit on edge, you can tell.

"It's safe?" Touya asks.

"Very. The doctor plans on like, increasing my physical strength and stuff in there too. My stats will be insane." He's visibly sweating, wiping his palms on his dress pants.

"What were you trying to say before you told us this?" You don't want to pry, but you're curious what's freaking him out so badly.

He takes a breath. "Right. Before I get stuck in a tube and experimented on, I wanted to say... Y/N, Touya, I- I love you."

You're both stunned, almost equally as unused to those words as Tomura. He waves his hands.

"It's early, you don't have to say anything, I just wanted-"

"I don't really understand the concept but I think I agree." Touya coughs, unscarred skin flushing. "Meaning, I uh, love you guys too?"

You laugh, taking their hands in yours. "I love you t-"

Two people crash through the ceiling and to the floor of the hallway. You look over, concerned.

"Everything okay?"

Stain, shirt completely unbuttoned and purple lipstick all over his face, gives you a thumbs up from the floor. "Sorry. We're fine."

Lady Nagant dusts herself off, standing and reapplying the same purple lipstick. "Threw him too hard. Apologies."

They walk away, presumably to go back upstairs. You turn back to your boyfriends, eyes wide.

"Huh."

Touya is cracking up, Tomura still looking at you expectantly. Smiling, you straighten his collar.

"I love you both too. Let's go back to the party."

Chapter Text

The party is winding down. Three students have commandeered the stage, playing a drunken rendition of Dead by My Chemical Romance (Jirou and Tokoyami clearly have it memorized, Bakugo freestyles on the drums and tries to keep up). You laugh, laying across one of the tables with your head in Tomura's lap.

"They're having fun," you comment, watching him finish his drink.

"I think everyone is." He nods to Touya, who is encouraging Shoto to do a keg stand as Rei looks on, horrified.

"Good."

Geten walks past, carrying a passed-out Hawks like a sack of flour.

"How much did he have?" you ask.

"He threw up the first six shots, then tried to make up for it with six more," the white-haired man says seriously. "He seems to like it here, at least while he is inebriated."

You watch him leave, stifling giggles. Tomura looks down at you fondly, pushing his hair back.

"Ready for bed?" Touya asks, having snuck up beside you. He looks even more disheveled than he did earlier.

Right. Tonight is the last night you'll be with Tomura for a month and a half. Early tomorrow morning, he's headed to Ujiko's lab to be put under. Nodding, you do your best not to be sad.

"Ready."

...

Midoriya watches the unofficial 1A band play, slumped on the table. Mustard leans across from where he's sitting to poke his arm, raising an eyebrow.

"Everything okay?"

Having not interacted much with the blond, Midoriya is a bit taken aback. "Yeah, why?"

"You look like you want to kill somebody." Stretching, Mustard shakes Kirishima, who's snoring facedown on the table next to him. "Ei, wake up."

The redhead startles awake, looking up at him and grinning. "Yeah?"

"Doesn't Midoriya look a bit murdery?"

Regarding the freckled boy, Kirishima nods. "Big time. What's up?"

Midoriya hadn't been consciously feeling murdery, but now that he's thinking about it...

"Kacchan has barely talked to me since you guys got here."

Mustard grimaces sympathetically. "I know the feeling, it's hard to get quality time in a place this big."

"We not spending enough time with you, Tatsu?" Kirishima asks jokingly, returning his attention to Midoriya. "Do you want me to talk to him for you?"

Nodding, Midoriya cocks his head. "Sure. Tatsu?"

"Sato Tatsuo," Mustard explains. "Kei picked the surname for privacy, I picked the first. Liked it more than the old one." He shrugs.

"Huh." Midoriya sips his drink, an ungodly mixture of wine, sprite, and flavored vodka. "It suits you."

"Stop drinking that," Kirishima fusses. "I'll talk to him, and if that doesn't work..." He hardens his fist, smiling sunnily. "Love the guy, but he's a stubborn bastard."

"Plus, I can guilt trip him," Mustard offers. "He still thinks me getting arrested was his fault."

Midoriya laughs. "Thank you guys. Really."

Chapter Text

You lean against Touya for comfort as you watch the liquid slowly seal away your boyfriend. The doctor, ever an asshole, claps his hands.

“Alright,” he exclaims, grabbing your arm. “Let’s run your evaluation, Keiji!”

Touya swats him away. “Give them a fucking second, Ujiko.”

Shaking your head, you force yourself to smile. “It’s okay, I’m ready.”

The doctor is finally going to run in-depth testing on your quirk. You’ll finally know exactly what it is, what it’s doing, and how much it’s likely to expand. It’s relieving, at least a bit, even on the same day you have to say goodbye to Tomura for a month and a half. Waving to Touya, you follow Ujiko further into the lab, trying to calm your shaking hands.

He sits you on a chair similar to the ones in dentist’s offices, humming. “Straps or no straps?”

You tilt your head at him.

“Can you sit still?” he rephrases, sighing.

“No straps.” You settle against the plasticky fake leather, hard cushions digging into your back. “I’ll be still.”

Pulling out a comically large syringe, he begins tying off your arm. You wince.

“What’s that for?”

“It’s novocaine.” He knots the rubber tie, pressing at your arm to find your main vein. “I’m injecting it around the extraction site, which will be…” Dotting it with a red marker, he smiles. “Right here.”

You sit patiently as he numbs your arm. “Why do you need to numb it?”

He gestures to the device he’s sticking into your arm, a genuinely upsetting-looking metal contraption with three clear test tubes screwed onto it. “That.”

“Oh.”

Ujiko waits for the numbing to kick in before clamping the device down on your arm. The tubes connected to it immediately begin to fill with blood, dark and unoxidized. He putters around his laboratory as you watch the device whir and beep and steal your blood. The childish impulse to say “No that’s mine!” and refuse to give more briefly washes over you, immediately replaced by embarrassment.

After a few minutes, Ujiko clicks a button and the device stops sucking. He leaves it on, collecting the tubes and depositing them into different machines. “That went fast, you have healthy blood.”

You get to help him with the PCR machine while the other scans run, watching them develop on the screen. A particularly bright green light flashes, making him jump and run over.

Eyes wide, he turns to you, near-manic smile plastered across his face. You put down the PCR tubes, laughing uneasily.

“What?”

He turns back to the screen. “Once we’ve run those, I’ll be sure. In the meantime, you should go rest.”

…

Endeavor is angry. Of course, he’s almost always angry, but now, sitting in his room and watching himself get ripped apart online, it’s worse. While everything that has happened has cycled out of the news, it’s still heavily covered on social media.

***From Twitter, a conversation between civilians***

Subscribe To My Onlyfans! @icegrrl: did u guys see tht endeavor is acc going thru w the divorce? no one has seen his wife in forever😬

Teru @no1dabifan: ikr! do you think he locked her up again?

🥀⛓️raven⛓️🥀 @sludgeandrot666: he killed her 100% btw wtf happened to hawks?

Teru @no1dabifan: he killed her?! that would make sense

子猫💕 @mandalayapologist: Didn't the PLF take Hawks? He's probably a hostage somewhere. Apparently Endeavor was forcing him to have babies or something…

Law Abiding Citizen @condimentking: image attachment

Subscribe To My Onlyfans! retweeted

Teru retweeted

🥀⛓️raven⛓️🥀 retweeted

子猫💕 and 147,891 others retweeted

Endeavor, hyperventilating, throws his computer across the room.

…

Mustard leans back in his chair, grinning. “I think those pictures we took at the Commission are going viral.”

Kirishima, Eri, and Midoriya cheer from their spots on the couch, Bakugo rolling his eyes and snorting.

“Good job, kid. Am I allowed to go now?”

Grabbing him by the collar, Kirishima shakes his head emphatically. “This is a team building activity, man. You're gonna stay here and team build.”

Chapter Text

You walk briskly down the hallway of the hospital, Touya tagging along behind you.

"So wait," your now almost-completely-white haired boyfriend asks, mildly panicked. "What does Ujiko want?"

"He just wants to give me my quirk test results," you repeat for the third time.

"And we're checking on Tomura?"

You stop, turning to him. Since Tomura was sealed away yesterday morning, he's been uncharacteristically anxious. "Of course."

Grabbing you by the shoulders, he avoids eye contact. "And... He's not taking you too?"

Oh.

Touya has a really bad history with people abandoning him. On top of that, he's quitting smoking while Tomura is in the tube as a surprise for him. The combination of nicotine withdrawal and legitimate trauma is doing a number on your boyfriend, and you hadn't even noticed.

"Tomura's procedure is highly specialized, he won't try it on me," you say gently, tilting your head to catch his gaze. "It'll be okay."

He pulls you close, kissing you aggressively, as if you'll vanish any second. The mint nicorette gum he's chewing does taste better than cigarettes, you decide. "He'd better not."

You take his hand in yours, smiling. "You'll be there to protect me, he wouldn't dare."

...

Mustard kicks his feet up on the desk, cackling. "Tell Denki he can stop scrambling our internet. My work here is done."

Midoriya texts Kaminari, not moving from his position (sprawled upside down over the back of the sofa). "Done."

Bakugo, begrudgingly letting Eri climb on him, huffs. "You made sure to hit major news channels too, right? Not just social media bullshit?"

"He knows what he's doing, Kats." Kirishima elbows him, refocusing on Mustard. "It's already trending everywhere! Nice job, man!"

"I just wish people weren't all tagging it as mpreg." Mustard scratches his neck. "I guess it's still a win."

"Ye- WHAT THE FUCK, DEKU?" Bakugo barks, jumping up.

Midoriya, noticing that he's been hovering a few inches above the couch, panics and falls to the ground.

"You good, man?" Kirishima asks, pulling the wide-eyed boy to his feet.

"Yeah, sorry," Midoriya apologizes. "New quirk again."

Bakugo carefully puts Eri down, grumbling as he leaves the room.

...

The doctor spreads your test results across a folding table in the center of his lab, grinning. "Take a look."

You and Touya appear equally confused by the papers.

"Can you interpret, Ujiko?" Touya asks. "I dropped out of junior high, I can't read graphs and shit."

Ujiko gives him a look, turning to you. "The easiest way to put this, L/N, is that you have 700x the average number of cells with active quirk genes."

You blink. "Neat."

"And," the doctor continues. "Your quirk appears to adapt to your subconscious. Tell me about your first quirk manifestation."

The first time your quirk manifested was the night your mom died. You had been pronounced functionally quirkless up until then, so when emergency services had dragged you out of the burning wreckage of your mom's car, they had thought it was a miracle.

Three suicide attempts later, they figured out what it really was.

"I respawned after a car crash," you say offhandedly. "Doctors thought I was quirkless until then. Even had the extra joint in my toe."

Ujiko eyes you as if he knows you're withholding information. "I see. When was the first mutation?"

"I was training with Tomura."

Touya raises his eyebrows. "When was the car crash?"

"I was like, fifteen." You let him take your hand again.

"That's a long time between mutations." Your boyfriend squeezes your hand, looking down at the table.

"The next was the manifestation of a destructive ability, correct?" Ujiko taps one of the papers. "One that releases a kind of shockwave? When was that?"

"Also training with Tomura. Not long after the first one." Flipping through the papers, you look between the two men. "Why?"

Ujiko waves a hand. "Just confirming for my records. I suggest 'All In One' for the name, an homage to your father and an apt descriptor."

You stifle a laugh. "Sure. All In One."

The appointment finishes without incident, and you rush to the room Tomura's tube is in. He looks weirdly peaceful, though you guess that's because he's technically dead. Resting your head on the glass, you listen to the steady beeping of the machines and watch him float.

Touya stands to the side, face unreadable. You motion for him to join you, but he stays planted in place, arms crossed.

"Come here, you miss him, right?" you ask.

He stares you down, spitting out his gum and lighting a cigarette. "Would you two visit if it was me in there?"

Chapter Text

“What?” You turn to Touya, concerned.

He takes a long drag of his cigarette, face sour. “Would you two visit me?”

Furrowing your brow, you stride towards him, taking his hands in yours. “Obviously we’d visit you, Touya. Where’s this coming from?”

He blinks, blood smearing over his corneas in a macabre imitation of tears. “Why didn’t you ever evolve with me?”

Why didn’t you? Tomura inspired a kind of drive, a motivation to ‘level up’ so to speak. You wanted to impress him, to get better, to be worthy of his energy. That was never a feeling you had with Touya. When it was just you, him, Mustard, and–later–Jin in your apartment, you felt settled. Familiar.

You had felt safe for the first time in your life.

You had never worried about improving for Touya because he had experienced you at your most pathetic on your first meeting and he had instantly accepted you. Sure, he was begrudging, and a bit (a lot) of an asshole, but he took you in without question.

“Yeah,” he sighs. “I figured. I’ll go call Kurogiri, enjoy your vis-”

Pulling him close and flicking the cigarette away, you kiss him fiercely, swallowing his words. He relents unquestioningly, his bloody tears smearing across your face as he deepens the kiss. You stay like that for a while, wrapped in each other’s arms.

When you do finally pull away, he looks confused. You almost feel like laughing, but you decide that might upset him again.

“I’ve never felt like I needed to impress you,” you explain slowly, reaching up to fix his hair. “Even in the first week, no matter how many times you reminded me I’d have to leave, some part of me knew you didn’t want that”

“I just don’t want to be-”

“A halfway house for people with shitty quirks?” you ask quietly, smiling.

“A stopover,” he clarifies. “I don’t want you to move on to…” He looks at Tomura wistfully. “I don’t want you guys to move on without me.”

“Touya, he’s fucking obsessed with you.” You unwrap a piece of nicotine gum, sticking it between his teeth. “He watches you sleep for like, at least an hour every night. He reads and comments on all of the xreader fanfictions people write about you. I had to talk him down from dying the tips of his hair black so you could match.”

“What was the second thing?” Touya raises an eyebrow.

“Since the broadcast you put out, a lot of people… Nevermind. What I’m saying is, I love you, and even if I was a complete moron and didn’t-” You poke his face as he frowns at the hypothetical. “Even if I didn’t, he wouldn’t give you up.”

“And the reason your quirk evolved for him-”

“He wasn’t exactly welcoming at first, and then when he was, he was rabid about getting me to ‘level up.’” You shrug. “Obviously I feel safe with him now, but that had an impact.”

Touya grins, walking over to the tube and tapping on the glass. “He looks so harmless in there.”

You join him. “Maybe seeing him like this will make my quirk devolve.”

“It better not.” Touya wraps an arm around your shoulders. “You still need to blow off Enji’s other hand.”

…

***From Twitter, a conversation between "civilians"***

Law Abiding Citizen @condimentking: image attachment

Endeavor ☑️ @endeavorofficial: obviously edited. as a fellow civilian, I cannot believe you would stoop to such levels.

Law Abiding Citizen @condimentking: ratio

Shoto ☑️☑️☑️ @theactualrealshototodoroki: did u forget to switch to ur burner dad

no one hmu @broccoliboy: uh, did YOU forget to switch to your burner ??

no one hmu @broccoliboy: WAIT YOU PAID FOR THREE CHECKMARKS?

Shoto ☑️☑️☑️ @theactualrealshototodoroki: i did not forget. i am above the law. also yes

John Smith @johnsmith123: Well I think this whole thing is ridiculous and obviously fake.

Shoto ☑️☑️☑️ @theactualrealshototodoroki: hi dad

...

Kirishima pushes into his room, eyeing the boy sulking in the corner. "Y'know something? I don't care how many quirks you have."

Bakugo huffs, shrinking further against the wall. "Neither do I. I care about how many quirks he has, though."

"Why?" The sharktoothed boy sits next to him, blinking at him expectantly.

"He-" Bakugo grits his teeth. "I still see him as weak." He leans against Kirishima, arms crossed. "And I know that he isn't anymore, but I can't help it. He used to be so goddamn fragile."

Kirishima nods patiently.

"It's not even jealousy anymore, I'm just terrified that one day those quirks will be too much for him." Bakugo's eyes widen as he says it, as if he's just realizing it now. "I'm fucking worried about him."

Wrapping an arm around the blond, Kirishima grins. "No shit, man. Glad you figured that out."

...

Hawks perches on the back of one of Geten's chairs, face subdued. It's been a couple of days since the party, and he hasn't made a single snarky comment or tried to break anything. It's concerning.

Geten, an attentive captor, has let him have his quirk back under supervision to try to cheer him up. The hero hasn't done much besides flap around the room to stretch his wings, escape seemingly not occuring to him.

Sighing, Geten approaches, poking at one of his pinions. Hawks jumps, face flushing as he turns around.

"What?"

"You are behaving strangely. What's wrong?" Geten maintains his flat affect, his concern only betrayed by his fidgeting.

"I want to speak to All For One." Hawks avoids eye contact, his feathers rustling as he gets off the chair. "I'll tell him what I know."

Geten blinks. "Why?"

A swarm of red feathers fills the room, pinning Geten to the ceiling. The white haired man, struggles for a second, looking down angrily. What he sees makes his eyes widen, all fight leaving his body.

The hero is glaring up at him, tears brimming. "You didn't try to kill me just now. Why?"

"I don't kill hostages." Geten tilts his head. "Are you letting me down?"

Hawks releases him, wiping his eyes. "I'm not really a hostage at this point, am I?"

"That's up to you, Takami." Geten shrugs. "Let's go see All For One."

Chapter Text

Keigo Takami didn’t have it all that great growing up. He had looked up to Endeavor as a symbol of justice, hope, vindication- imagine his surprise when he found out the hero’s true nature.

At the end of his training (or grooming, either works really), Keigo had thrown himself headfirst into hero work, hoping to be recognized by his hero. Endeavor did recognize him, finally, and promptly forced him to sign over his rights to his DNA. To his future progeny. Keigo, conditioned by the Hero Commission, rolled over like a dog and agreed to everything. He hoped that would make Endeavor care for him.

It didn’t.

The flame hero couldn’t be assed to spend time with Keigo in any genuine capacity, only showing him the briefest possible kindness in public and during the pre-creation procedures.

Imagine his surprise when Endeavor discarded him for a villain. A villain who didn’t even want the hero. A villain who blew their own brains out to avoid spending more than five minutes alone with Endeavor, a villain who was fucking the hero’s estranged son and the successor to All For One.

A villain who was one of the successors of All For One. His biological child.

It wasn’t fucking fair. It was less fair that when Keigo was injured and kidnapped by said villain, he was treated better than he had ever been treated in his entire life. Sure, the pretty ice twink chained him to a wall and wouldn’t let him use his quirk, but he wasn’t being tortured. All of his needs were catered to, almost obsessively, by the man who was assigned to watch over him. He was invited to events, given more and more freedoms till he practically wasn’t a prisoner anymore within a week. He wasn’t feared, forced to train till he collapsed, forced to starve himself for media events, or belittled by Endeavor and the Commission members anymore.

He hated it. He hated it so much. But Jesus fucking Christ he liked being treated like a person, or at least not like a weapon.

Hawks shrugs, leaning back on the small couch he sits on. Across the coffee table from him in a small meeting room, All For One listens, having made time at Geten’s request.

The blond hero stretches. “So, that’s basically why I’m here. What do you want to know?”

All For One folds his hands and smiles, getting ready to speak. Before he can, Geten cuts in, crowding closer to Hawks on the couch and narrowing his eyes.

“You think I’m pretty?”

“That’s what you got out of that?” Hawks groans. “Has anyone ever suggested interpersonal behavior lessons to you?”

“No, but ReDestro has told me he believes I am autistic.”

“Oh.”

All For One coughs. “You’re offering us information to stay here, correct?”

Hawks turns back to him, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fuck. Yes, I guess I am. Don’t ask me to fight or anything just yet though.”

Nodding, All For One leans across the table, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Take things at your own pace. Live how you want. That’s all we’re trying to do.”

…

Mustard grins at you from across the training arena. “Why aren’t you shielding yourself, Kei?”

You cough, staggering to your feet after succumbing to the gas for the fourth time. “All In One adapts over time, kid! And you can call me my name, y’know.”

He rolls his eyes, purple gas billowing around his form yet again. “Try imagining a cocoon of your quirk around yourself!”

Screwing up your face, you try to concentrate. You hear a concerned yelp from the kid, and open your eyes to see funnels of yellow light sucking as much of the gas as possible into your immediate vicinity. Shutting his quirk off, Mustard sprints over, helping you as you lower yourself to the ground. Enough got in your lungs to make you woozy.

“Is your subconscious trying to kill you?” he asks, panicked. “Why the fuck did it do that?”

“I don’t know.” You feel defeated. Why the hell would your quirk sabotage you? It evolves due to what you want and need, right?

“Kei-”

“Why don’t you use my name?” you ask, blinking tiredly up at him.

You feel a sense of pride for the shaggy-headed kid who fell through your ceiling. He’s gotten so strong since you met him, and changed so much. With the rate he’s growing, he’ll be bigger than Touya. Recently, he’s been a bit withdrawn, and you haven’t really had time to talk.

He furrows his eyebrows. “You don’t use mine.”

He’s got you there, huh? You hadn’t called him “Tatsuo” since you were pretending to be his parent. It’s a little sweet that he picked the random name you gave him, but for the life of you you can’t figure out why he’s so attached to-

The kid told you his birth name wasn’t relevant. He told you his parents were “traditional.” He recently (since having access to money and a doctor) shot up by at least four inches and “suddenly” his voice is deeper.

You’re a moron. And you’re the first “parent” that’s called him your son and not something he never was. You grin sheepishly at the kid, sitting up.

“You can call me whatever you want, Tatsuo.”

He smiles. “Thank you.”

Scratching your head, you let him help you stand back up. “I still don’t know what my fucking quirk is doing, so maybe we should end quirk training for the day.”

Tatsuo awkwardly pulls you into a hug, voice muffled against your shoulder. “Could I hang out with you and Touya sometime? Just us?”

“Of course,” you assure him. “And once I get my quirk back in shape, you’ll be the first person I train with.”

He nods emphatically, pulling away. “I’d better be.”

You watch him leave, grinning. He’s gonna turn out well.

Chapter Text

"How did you get that?" you laugh, watching Tatsuo proudly carry in a to-go tray of boba. You're hanging out in the set of rooms you and Touya share with your currently absent boyfriend, having been waiting for Tatsuo to return with "a surprise."

"I just used a VPN and a cash card to order DoorDash to a random park and had Hagakure get it for me." He grins and pats Hagakure--who you hadn't realized was there--on her back.

"Tatsu joined Class 1A's training group and suggested ways to get me an actual suit instead of just wandering around naked, so I owed him a favor," a bright voice chirps from seemingly thin air.

One of the drinks floats itself out of the tray, bouncing towards the door.

"Have fun!" she calls back, closing the door behind her.

"What did you suggest?" Touya asks, taking his drink off the tray. "Also, what is this?"

"I told her she could just use her hair like Mirio does, or have Hatsume figure out how to create quirk-compatible fabric." Tatsuo raises an eyebrow. "You've never had boba, Touya?"

Touya hesitantly examines it, eyes narrowing. "There's stuff in it."

"The stuff is the point." You grab yours, eyes lighting up. "Tatsuo, how did you know my order?"

He shrugs, sipping his drink. "Observation and deductive reasoning skills."

Touya tries his boba, suspicious face softening. "I like it."

You pull Tatsuo onto the couch between you, handing him the remote. "We have Spinner's whole movie hard drive, pick whatever you'd like."

He takes it, leaning on Touya's shoulder and browsing through the files. "Spinner is way more into rom coms than I would have expected."

You watch as Touya briefly stiffens, relaxes, and moves his arm over the kid's shoulders. Taking his hand, you smile at him reassuringly.

After your last training session with Tatsuo, you and Touya had had a discussion. You had both been feeling guilty over how little time you spent with the kid, and you had both been silently thinking of him as part of your little family unit. So...

Outting your drink on the table, you smile down at him. "You know, our set of rooms has two spare bedrooms."

Tatsuo tilts his head, putting down the remote. "Hm?"

"If you ever want to stop using the communal hall bathroom and kitchen, you could move in with us," Touya says quickly, slightly impeded by his mouthful of boba. He keeps his eyes on the TV, blinking faster than normal. "If you want."

"If you want to stay in the hallway the UA students are in that's totally okay," you cut in. "We aren't trying to uproot you from your friends or anything but-"

"It could be like before?" Tatsuo asks, voice wobbly. "Do you mean it?"

You hug him, nodding. "Like before, except you get your own room and we'll make better food. Promise."

He laughs. "No more McDonalds?"

"We will never feed you McDonalds again unless you want it," Touya assures him, voice rough. He joins the hug, resting his head on yours. "We'll be responsible this time."

"Does that mean you won't let me smoke anymore?" Tatsuo asks, exaggerating a frown.

"I'm quitting, so definitely not in the room," Touya says, attempting a stern voice. "Also, Tomura doesn't like the smell."

"Tomura..." Tatsuo looks back at you. "Will he be okay with it?"

You nod. "We'll talk to him about it when he wakes up, but he'll definitely understand."

Tomura, a child taken in under bad circumstances, an orphan, someone who had fallen through the cracks of the system, will understand. Tomura, who kills heroes without mercy but carefully puts bugs outside and takes in everyone who asks to join him. Tomura, who late at night when he thinks you're asleep whispers his plans for the future to you. Who wants a little house with everyone he loves in it and no outside interference, where he can be free to live as he wants.

Touya grins. "If anything, I think he'll be happy."

Chapter Text

"Are you okay?" Geten asks for the seventeenth time in the past hour.

Hawks, who has been dealing with this since his meeting with All For One yesterday morning, sighs and rolls over to face him. "Yes, I am still okay and I am still trying to sleep because it is two in the morning. Also, when am I getting my own bed?"

"You didn't ask for one so I assumed this was a fine arrangement," Geten explains, blinking. "Apologies."

"Do you want me to administer the RAADS-R test for you, because I think ReDestro may be onto something," Hawks grumbles. "Why do you keep asking if I'm okay?"

"Sure. And I keep asking because you've been very quiet."

"I am quiet because I am asleep." Hawks yawns. "I can find a copy of the test tomorrow. I'm going to try to sleep now."

"You aren't usually quiet while you're asleep," Geten states conversationally, sitting up. "Even when I stopped chaining you to the wall at night, you would toss around and talk in your sleep."

"Oh." Hawks snuggles into the blankets, shrugging. "I don't know, then."

"You look peaceful," Geten murmurs, getting up and pulling on a shirt. "I won't disturb you."

...

Rei Todoroki, a generally anxious person, is especially anxious tonight. She paces the halls of the PLF base, only interrupted once by Geten singlehandedly dragging a bed down the hallway.

Not wanting to bother with whatever the fuck her cousin is doing, she wanders into a communal kitchen to make tea. As she turns in, she runs directly into Inko Midoriya, who yelps and falls backwards.

"I'm so sorry!" Rei whisper-screams, grabbing a towel to clean up the drink Inko was holding. "What are you doing up?" Since parents started arriving two days ago, she and Inko have gotten along well. Spilling tea all over her at 2AM is not something Rei planned on doing.

"Making tea, I couldn't sleep." Inko whispers back. "I didn't want my puttering around in my kitchen to wake up my son or his friends so I came here."

"Izuku has friends over?" Rei puts on the kettle gingerly, getting out two new mugs.

Inko nods, sifting through drawers to find more teabags. "Katsuki and Eijiro have practically moved into our rooms at this point. Of course, Katsuki acts like he doesn't want to be there, but since his parents didn't come here I think it's good for him."

"How many parents didn't come along?" Rei tilts her head. "I know the Yaoyorozu family didn't, but I thought..."

"Besides them, the Bakugo, Ashido, Tokoyami, Uraraka, Kaminari, and Asui families, most of 2A's families, all of the families from those upperclassmen--I think Izuku called them the Big Three--and all of the families of established heroes didn't show up because they didn't support the cause. Oh, and the Shinsou family. So I've been taking people in where I can." Inko finds the teabags, grabbing two.

Rei frowns. "They should be ashamed. I know my situation is unique, but to not support your children..."

Inko puts a hand on her shoulder. "We do what we can. I've taken in Eri and Katsuki, and many other families have done the same for their children's friends and partners. It will be okay."

Nodding, Rei takes off the kettle. She pours the water into the mugs painstakingly slowly, flinching at every splash. "Let's both do our best."

...

Hawks crosses his arms, eyebrows furrowed. "You moved another bed in while I was asleep?"

Geten blinks up at him from his new bed. "You said you wanted to sleep separately."

"I-" Hawks sighs. "Thank you."

...

The Jirou family has grown rapidly in the past few days since arriving at the PLF base. Kyouka, who would usually have been shy about introducing two boyfriends and a metamour to her parents, had stepped up. Fueled by anger on behalf of her partners and Monoma, all of whom were abandoned by their parents, she had marched them all to the Jirou family's set of rooms and told her parents they were living there.

Her parents had welcomed them with open arms and smiles.

Watching as her father teaches Neito to play guitar and her mother teaches--well, tries to teach--Denki to bake, she leans on Hitoshi and smiles. He keeps reading his book, but reaches down to fidget with one if her earjacks.

"Everything alright?" he asks quietly.

"Yeah," she replies, settling in to read over his shoulder. "Everything is alright."

Chapter Text

"Okay question 30,"Hawks squints, reading off the shitty printed PDF he found in the PLF file room. "I get extremely upset when the way I like to do things is suddenly changed."

"That is oddly specific," Geten says quietly. "I do not get extremely upset, just the normal amount."

Hawks sighs. Sprawled on one of the beds in Geten's room, they've been working on this "30 minute test" for almost an hour. He stretches, wings fluttering as they unfurl, and gives the white-haired man a long look.

"What?"

Checking "Yes," Hawks moves on. "Oh, question 31, never desiring an intimate relationship. I'm guessing that's a yes, so-"

"Why do you think that's a yes?" Geten tilts his head, eyes very round. "Do I give off that impression?"

The blond coughs awkwardly. "I mean, sort of?" Geten is weirdly close, he notices, sitting cross legged under one of his wings and reading the test over his shoulder.

"Well that isn't true." Face starkly honest, Geten scoots closer and points at the paper. "Check no."

"...Alright," Hawks manages, visibly shaken. "Will do."

"You seem surprised," Geten observes, looking back up at him. "Your face is all red. Are you feeling well?"

Keigo Takami is presently at a mental crossroads. One path is escaping and going back to people who genuinely do not care about him in any capacity. He would finish that thought, but he just realized that the man in front of him smells like jasmine and fresh laundry.

"Um..."

"Keigo," Geten says slowly. "Do you want to continue this or do something else? You seem to be distracted."

He's leaned in closer, overlong white eyelashes almost close enough to brush Hawks' face. For once, his face displays actual emotion, a kind of vague concern and curiosity.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" Hawks forces out, eyes darting around the other man's face.

"You're the one proctoring my test." Geten's voice is even. "If there's something I'm doing to make you uncomfortable, you know you need to explicitly tell me. And," he swallows, blinking faster. "If there's something you want, you know you can't just imply it."

"What do you mean?" the blond breathes, face flushing.

Frost slowly crystalizes Geten's eyelashes, the temperature in the room dropping. "I mean you need to use your words."

They do not finish the test.

...

"Hey, asshole!" Bakugo shouts, waving a cast-iron pan. "Did you fucking put this in the dishwasher?"

Midoriya rushes into the kitchen. "Stop fucking swearing while Eri is here! And yes, I did, is that bad?"

Kirishima looks up from where he's working on a knitting project at the dining room table and clicks his tongue. "Uh oh."

From the living room where she's reading to Eri, Mrs. Midoriya calls over. "Izuku, did you touch Katsuki's cookware?"

"He put my pan in the dishwasher!" Bakugo shouts back, looking more hurt than angry.

"I was trying to help!" the freckled boy protests, grabbing the pan. "Eri, can you rewind this?"

Eri skips in, holding out her hands. "Izu, you can't put cast iron in the dishwasher," she chirps, taking it. "Kacchan said so."

Midoriya slumps. "I forgot, I'm sorry Kacchan."

The blond softens slightly. "No harm done I guess," he growls, taking it from Eri.

Kirishima smiles, resuming his project. Midoriya joins him at the table.

"Thank you Eri," he calls.

"You're welcome! It's good practice!" She smiles and returns to the living room, humming.

Bakugo finishes his work in the kitchen, abruptly placing a plate of apple slices on the table and rushing back to the room the three boys share.

"Peace offering," Kirishima remarks.

Midoriya smiles.

Chapter Text

Raising an eyebrow at his partner, Tokoyami tilts his head. "You're doing what?"

Flushing, Aoyama raises their hands. "I know it seems like a bad idea since I'm so weak, but-"

"Hey," Tokoyami says softly, cutting them off. "You are not weak. I fully support you, I'm just surprised you want to do that."

Aoyama nods. "So am I, and I feel bad because I don't want to be an inconvenience to you, especially right now."

The feathered boy scoffs. "You think I give a shit about if my family is here? I'm repressing that, we can deal with it in a few years. I want to support you through this."

"You plan to still be with me in a few years?" Aoyama tears up. "Thank you for supporting me. I'll ask All For One about my options."

"Of course I plan on that. My species of bird tends towards monogamy." He almost looks offended. "Anyway, can't you keep the self healing quirk and take your old one back?"

"Do you think I could handle more than one?"

Tokoyami nods, pulling them into a hug. "You definitely can. I'll help you."

...

Tatsuo is moving in, decorating his room with assorted items he's picked up and digital photos of himself with his new friends. His quirk-canceling collar from prison hangs off one post of his bed, the control panel pried open. Apparently, he's almost figured out how it works.

Usually that kind of thing would upset you, but you and Touya have matching Endeavor finger bone bracelets now, the third sitting on your nightstand and waiting for your boyfriend to claim it. With that in mind, you can't begrudge him his trophy.

You help Tatsuo drag his bed into a corner and construct the cave that he prefers to sleep in.

"There," you sigh, putting the last tack in the wall. A set of curtains cages the bed further into the corner, pillows arranged against the wall like padding. "Does that look right?"

He nods, pausing his arranging to hug you. "Sorry for being difficult."

"You're not difficult," you assure him, cuffing his head lightly. "I want you to be comfortable."

"Even if what I need to be comfortable is nesting like a mole rat to sleep?"

You give him a look. He seems a bit embarrassed, despite his sleeping preferences being fairly common for a traumatized child. "Yes, so let me know if you need more pillows."

Touya comes out of the closet, apparently done fixing the shelves. "If it makes you feel any better, I only stopped sleeping with stuffed animals when I was 13."

"Didn't you run away at 13?" you toss him a water bottle.

"Well..."

You and Tatsuo snap your gazes to him in unison, eyebrows raised. He scratches his neck, looking awkward.

"I didn't exactly run away."

…

Touya Todoroki didn't have much of a childhood. Starting the minute he could sit up, his father pushed him to be the very best. Once his quirk manifested, what had previously just been age-inappropriate weightlifting and several protein powder regimens took a painful turn.

Endeavor didn't care about stupid things like "safety," or "child abuse laws," or "the wellbeing of his young son," he wanted to win. He wanted to vicariously live through Touya as the boy grew up and beat All Might, claiming the title of Number One. Sure, maybe dumping your four-year-old son in a bucket of ice and telling him to boil it with his body inside of it is technically not great parenting, but he knew it would all be worth it.

Until it wasn't.

Touya's body wasn't built for heat. Quirk genes, as it turned out, were far more complicated than Endeavor believed. When Endeavor's flames got too hot, he had to sit down and get a glass of water. When Touya's flames got too hot, he burned. That didn't dissuade the kid from trying to please his father, though. Not by a long shot. Long after his father abandoned him to focus on having more children, Touya kept training.

Of course, the training was in secret. Touya was very meticulous about hiding it. It wasn't difficult, no one could see the burns as long as he kept them on his torso anyway, and his parents weren't paying close enough attention to keep him from sneaking out. Rei's mind was long gone at that point, and Endeavor was busy with his hero work.

When he was 13, Touya finally decided it was time to show his father what he could do. Endeavor had been focusing on Shoto for a while, but Touya thought he might be willing to train him again if he proved how strong he was. All he really needed was some interest, some positive reinforcement, maybe a hug, and everything would have been fine.

The next thing he knew, he was older and covered in scars, standing in front of a burning warehouse. He didn't know where he was, how long it had been, or how he got there. All he really knew was that his dad didn't show up.

After some investigating, Touya found out that it had been three years. His training spot on Sekoto Peak had burned to ash, and his family believed him to be dead. Endeavor, of course, did not appear to care.

Visiting his own grave, empty except for the jawbone found at the scene of the fire, Touya made several decisions. First off, he didn't give a fuck about being a hero anymore. Second, he needed to get as far away from the city he grew up in as possible. And third, he was going to destroy his father by any means necessary.

…

"So yeah, basically, I hopped around on fishing boats for a while, used a bunch of false names, fell in with assorted criminal syndicates, the usual bullshit. Did that for almost nine years, got bored, started torching assorted shitheads…" Touya pauses, tilting his head and looking at you fondly. "Then I met you."

"You were a fisherman?" Tatsuo exclaims.

"I guess?" Touya approaches, wrapping his arms around you from behind and resting his head on your shoulder. "And I was involved in the yakuza, and at one point I was in an underground fight club. I was not very good at that."

"I didn't know all of that," you complain, poking him. You aren't actually surprised. He's had nine years between waking up and meeting you, of course he was busy. WIth that big of a timeskip, you'd almost think Horikoshi just didn't want to come up with filler… Anyway!

He laughs. "It didn't seem important, I had my hands full learning how to be part of a family."

Tatsuo crosses his arms. "And you could have been telling your family fun stories."

"I'll tell you all about it," Touya promises, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "I promise."

Chapter Text

Releasing his quirk, Kirishima slumps to the ground, laughing. Rappa, beat absolutely to hell, fistbumps Machia.

The walking mountain lumbers over to the redhead, dropping his very angry boyfriend in his lap and grinning.

"We won!"

Bakugo bristles like an angry cat, jumping to his feet. "Like hell you won! You're grown-ass men who couldn't beat two teenagers in a fair fight!"

"Kats, dude, relax. It's just training," Kirishima soothes him. "Picking you up is technically a valid strategy, anyway."

Rappa claps his hands. "Let's go another round!"

"We have a prior commitment!" Kirishima calls to him, dragging Bakugo out the door. "We can keep training tomorrow!"

The former yakuza member flashes him a thumbs up before rounding on Machia, grinning. "Sounds good, I'll make do with him."

…

Keigo hums, feathers holding him and Geten midair as they read their separate books. It's a quiet day, with the students getting ready to leave for some kind of training at the hospital. Looking over at Geten, who is couched on his feathers and overanalyzing a passage from the Ramayana with frost building up on his furrowed eyebrows, Keigo smiles.

"What's happening now?"

"Sampati is injured," Geten says simply, not looking up. "How's your book?"

Grinning, Keigo closes his copy of A Clash of Kings. "Disgusting and violent. What got you into Hinduism?"

Geten looks over at him, tilting his head. "I would not have assumed you would know the religious affiliation of this text. Interesting."

Keigo opens his mouth to retort, Tokoyami bursting into the room with his partner before he can.

"Hawks," the overly formal student says urgently. "Yuuga and I are being tasked with something important, and I needed your opinion."

Aoyama smiles, waving. "Hi, Hawks! Hi, Geten! How would you go about befriending someone if they were a frankensteined-together testament to the hubris of man and also hardwired to obey you? We don't want to treat them like a pet."

Geten clears his throat, closing his book. "What?"

"Hurry, we have to leave soon," Tokoyami urges. Dark Shadow nods excitedly from above him.

Keigo blinks at him, shaking his head. "Teens these days have issues I cannot even comprehend."

…

Shirakumo helps Yamada gel up his hair, attempting reassurance. "You do not need to 'look hot' to go to the hospital. I promise."

Yamada crosses his arms, his mascara once again getting fucked up. "Unlike you, Oboro, we both still have visible faces and need to look presentable for large training events."

"Do we?" Aizawa slumps next to them, scruffy as hell and still in a towel. "It's not rational to waste effort on appearances. The students already know that I look like this."

Shirakumo washes the gel off of his hands, him and Yamada exchanging a look as they both slowly pick up hairbrushes, rounding on Aizawa.

The teacher leaves the bathroom ten minutes later, mad as hell but reasonably well-groomed.

…

"Why are we sending so many people to see the doctor?" Touya whispers to you. "And why exactly can't we go? I want to see Tomura."

You straighten Himiko's mask for her, waving to her and Ochaco as they walk to Kurogiri's portal. Most of class 1A, Tatsuo, Monoma, Aizawa, and Yamada are already through. Kurogiri nods to you, disappearing with the portal.

Turning back to Touya, you smile halfheartedly. "I wanted to see him too, but with so many of our people leaving, we have to stay to protect the base. They're getting Nomu training, and some of them are being assigned Nomus, remember?"

Touya grimaces. "Can't believe we're letting the kid bond with a Nomu, we're the worst fucking parents ever."

"He'll be fine! He's super excited." Laughing, you ruffle his hair. You trimmed it last night, leaving it completely free of dye or burn damage. The only gripe you have with it is Touya keeping the shaggy half-mullet look, but it honestly suits him.

He smiles back, seeming to relax. "You're right, what's the worst that could happen?"

Putting a hand over his mouth, you glare at him. "Don't fucking say that, you'll tempt fate."

He rolls his eyes, arms circling your waist. "Okay, my bad Y/N, everything will go catastrophically wrong. Better?"

"No!"

…

Endeavor looks around at his strike team of heroes and cops that circle the hospital. Everyone he called is here, with the exception of RockLock, who is "not going to murder a bunch of kids, you sick fuck!" or something. Tapping his communication device, he buzzes the team surrounding the base.

"Alright listen up," he starts, rubbing the stump where his hand used to be. "Based on the intel gathered by the mole we have at the PLF base, a large group of defected students and heroes will be at the hospital today, leaving both the hospital and the base weak. The hospital team is heading in now."

The group of Shiketsu High and Ketsubutsu Academy students–lead by assorted mid-rank heroes–that surround the PLF base fan out. Their leader, Majestic, announces Endeavor's words, nodding to the other heroes.

"Alright," he calls, raising a fist. "Let's do this!"

The students and heroes swarm the ground of the base, just as Endeavor's team breaches the hospital.

Chapter Text

Tatsuo stays close to his friends, vaguely unnerved as they weave through the mazes of Nomu incubation chambers. Nudging Eijiro, he whispers.

"I keep getting a weird feeling about this. Why do you think they sent all of the kids here?"

Eijiro shrugs, also looking apprehensive. Katsuki looks over, squeezing Eijiro's hand.

"What are you losers whispering about?" His voice is uncharacteristically soft, betraying a degree of concern. "This whole trip is stupid."

Nodding, Tatsuo fidgets with his mask. "I'm just worried about being split up like this."

Eijiro pats his shoulder, grimacing in agreement. "At least we're all together," he says reassuringly, gesturing to the teens packing in around them. "And Eraser, Mic, and Kurogiri are all here in case things go sideways. It'll be okay."

...

You sigh, blocking Touya's flames with your quirk again. "I still can't shut out Tatsuo's gas and I'm not sure why."

The two of you are training to take your minds off of the student trip. Touya shoots another blast at you, tilting his head.

"Maybe you subconsciously don't want to beat him? So your quirk doesn't let you." He winces as a tongue of flame gets past your energy barriers. "Fuck, sorry."

You shake off the burn, channeling some of your energy towards healing it. Healing was a very easy talent to develop, though it still isn't very efficient. "I guess that makes sense. But-"

"Y/N!" Your father bursts through the doors of the training arena, looking more panicked than you've ever seen him. "Comms are down, and there are heroes outside! Both of you come with me."

You stiffen, heart dropping. "The hospital...?"

"We can't contact them." Your father places his hands on your shoulders, facing you. Despite his lack of eyes, you can feel the eye contact. "I need you to both stay calm and come with me. We're going to figure out what's happening."

You turn to Touya, whose eyes have gone very wide. He twitches, refocusing on you and nodding.

The three of you wordlessly leave the arena, running as fast as you can.

...

Midoriya floats through the maze, occasionally bumping into Uraraka and Toga (as Uraraka). They're trying to see all of the Nomu at the request of the other students, but the room goes on forever. He sighs, settling back onto the floor. The two girls release their quirks, joining him as Sero swings in. The four of them were the designated "non destructive scout team," as the people with the smallest likelihood of destroying incubation chambers while they flew around.

"Hello," Aizawa greets them, him and Shinso also swinging in.

The four students look up, startled. Midoriya waves, smiling. "Hi! Though you guys were getting the other side?"

Shinso clears his throat. "I may have gotten us lost."

Aizawa raises an eyebrow. "May have?"

A loud crash interrupts their bickering, echoing throughout the hospital. The group looks around, on guard.

"What the fuck was that?" Toga hisses, finishing putting her sweater back on.

Uraraka narrows her eyes. "Sounds almost like Bakugo's explosions, but... Not quite."

Adjusting his mask, Shinso looks around. "Should I try to project my voice to ask where people are? In theory I could."

"Wait," Aizawa demands, growing concern on his face. "It could be a raid."

Sero groans. "Why would there be a raid?"

Midoriya shrugs, reactivating Full Cowling. "No idea, but we should prepare ourselves for the worst."

...

Rappa rushes Eri to the center of the compound, attempting to be as soothing as a 7 foot tall muscley man in a mask can be. "Sorry for the bumpy ride, we need to get you into a more secure location."

Eri blinks, a little shellshocked at being helped by a yakuza member for once. "How many heroes are out there?"

"A couple," Rappa lies, gritting his teeth. Machia lumbers over them as they run, shielding them. "All For One told me to get you to the basement just in case, but it shouldn't be for very long."

Looking at him, Eri shakes her head. "It's more than a couple, isn't it?"

Rappa nods, running faster. "It's a fuck ton, yeah."

Inko Midoriya pipes up from Machia's back, where many of the parents have been placed. "Don't swear in front of her or scare her! Eri, we will be fine."

"It's okay!" Eri calls up to her. "I'm not scared!"

Inko sets her jaw, attempting a smile. "I know, I'm proud of you!"

...

You straighten up, Rei rubbing your back. She smiles at you, reaching across you to ruffle Touya's hair.

"You should have gone with the rest of the parents, Mom," Touya says worriedly, pushing his hair back out of his face. "This is dangerous."

"Inko is there to manage everyone, and Natsu and Fuyu will help her so I know they'll be okay. I..." She looks between you, quickly wiping away a tear. "I'm not letting you out of my sight. Not until the heroes are gone and Shoto and Momo are back safe. None of you are allowed to die."

Your father approaches, clearing his throat. "The outside defences will fall soon, it looks like they number in the hundreds. Brace yourselves. And... I have to echo Rei's statement. Do not die."

You watch as he walks between groups, briefing them. Turning back to Touya and Rei, you force a smile. "Let's get them."

...

Geten carefully buttons his coat, looking at Keigo. "I thought you weren't going to fight?"

Keigo rolls his eyes, pulling on his new costume. "I'm an asshole, not a coward. We're protecting our home and a large group of civilians, some of them children. We're also trying to get our students back. Why wouldn't I fight?"

Grabbing his hand, Geten gives him a rare smile. "Thank you."

Chapter Text

You desperately throw up barriers, stretching your quirk to the absolute max. There are easily hundreds of heroes here, all dead set on destroying your home. Grabbing Touya, you pull him behind one of your barriers before Cementoss hits him with a chunk of the wall.

"Save your energy," he hisses, hands lighting up. "I don't want your respawn limited.*

Reluctantly, you let him reenter the fray, watching him anxiously. The siege has been going for around 20 minutes now, wearing down your forces and eating at Touya's patience. The lack of communication from the hospital team is concerning, especially since Endeavor is probably there.

Spinner urgently motions for you to duck, a beam flying over your head. You rush over to him, shaking off your worry.

"Kei, watch my back. There's a blade hero headed this way, and you're the only one here that I've trained with for thar combat style."

You nod firmly, drawing your knives and facing the incoming hero. "Right."

...

Snarling, Shoto Todoroki shoots a wall of ice between Endeavor and the other students. "Momo!"

"On it!" Momo Yaoyorozu jumps over the wall, throwing a handful of miniature explosives towards the fire hero.

Endeavor holds up his damaged arm, shielding his face from the volley. "I really don't like your girlfriend, son."

Blasting the hero with fire, Shoto pulls his girlfriend back to his side. "I'm not your son, Endeavor! Leave us alone!"

Momo rapidly makes more explosives, nodding to the students behind the wall. They swarm out, pelting the hero with bombs and assorted quirk damage. The hero staggers back, getting trapped by more of Shoto's ice.

Shoto approaches him, palm blazing. He lunges forward, hand grasping Endeavor's face. "This is for my family, you sack of shit."

…

Growling at Edgeshot, Present Mic defends Kurogiri's prone body. "You asshole! Fix him right now! I have five fucking students here, you can't cut off our way home!"

Edgeshot zips away, focused on evading the blasts of lightning, angry shadow bird, and soundwaves he's getting hammered with. Kaminari backs towards Mic, grimacing.

"I think splitting off was a bad call! When will Shirakumo wake up?"

Mic shakes Kurogiri's shoulders hopelessly. "Edgeshot scrambled his brain, so I'm not sure." He directs a scream at the hero, speaker on his neck shaking. "FIX. IT. YOU. ASSHOLE."

The hero stumbles briefly, allowing Tokoyami and Dark Shadow to slam him against the ceiling. He quickly twists himself tighter, weaving his way out.

Smiling smugly through his mask, Edgeshot calls back. "Was leaving the Commission worth it, Yamada?"

Jirou hits him with Heartbeat Wall, blowing him backwards. "Neito, do you have Toshi's quirk copied?"

The blond throws up his hands helplessly, grabbing at Edgeshot. "No, but- Once second!" He lands a shoe on the hero's neck, panting as he forces him to the ground and slaps the back of his head. "I can do something almost as good."

A sparkling laser cuts directly into the hero's spinal cord, leaving him limp on the floor. Self-healing already fully active, Aoyama collapses, sighing with relief. The rest of the group looks at them, varying expressions of shock on most of their faces and a proud smile on Tokoyami's.

They grin. "I should at least try to be useful, no? Monoma, did you get Edgeshot's quirk?"

Monoma nods, approaching Present Mic. The teacher pulls Kurogiri's head into his lap, giving the student easy access. Monoma winces, activating the quirk and flashing a forced smile to the other three students. "Let's see if I can use it."

…

Midoriya busts through another Nomu tube, pointing at Aizawa. "Follow his orders for now, got it?"

The Nomu nods patiently, looking at the horde of their kin following the group. They stretch, joints cracking. "Very well."

Sero is in charge of three. Toga is in charge of four. Shinso leads seven, and Aizawa has nine. Uraraka greets the twelfth member of her group enthusiastically as Midoriya breaks another tube. He isn't leading any of the Nomu, focused on getting as many out as possible.
"Find other groups!" He calls over his shoulder. "Take down the heroes, and find Shigaraki!"

…

Tatsuo hyperventilates, turning the corner and finally finding the doctor. He runs to him, hands clasping the man's lab coat.

"Get him out of the tube," Tatsuo demands, still shaking. "Now."

Eijiro and Katsuki run in behind him, twin worried expressions on their faces. Catching his breath, Katsuki looks up at the tube that holds Tomura Shigaraki.

"Tatsu, you sure?" His voice is gruff but trusting.

"Very sure." Tatsuo calms down as Eijiro and Katsuki join him, his panic morphing into purpose. "Do it, doctor."

Ujiko raises an eyebrow. "And why exactly would I do that?"

"The heroes are here!" Eijiro urges him. "Endeavor will be here any second, so- Oh."

Smiling, the doctor scratches the side of his nose. "I know."