I think that it is time to address something.

Kazumi's reasoning for becoming a villain as well as her origins.

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Our first comment this time around is from emiya-excalibur. Yeah, Ochaco rolled a 1 on her perception check, but think about it. They say love is blind and since she's in love with Izuku, she's going to be blind to things like that. Also, Kazumi is not All For One's daughter by blood, hence why the word was in quotation marks in the last chapter. As for you being hit by the feels train… I LIVE FOR YOUR SUFFERING.

And as for ElephantBoy00… yeah. You're welcome for this story and you're getting a new chapter! The second one of the day!

Onto Kazumi's origin!


It wasn't uncommon for children to be abandoned.

It was certainly less common than it had been before Quirks, but it was still common enough that special programs had been made to help those children. Especially if said children had Quirks of their own. Stiff punishments were put in for the parents of the abandoned children if the parents were found, but more often than not it was a fruitless effort. Sometimes, though, those same children ended up on the streets because they were afraid. Afraid of being abandoned again.

You wanna know how I ended up in the League of Villains?

Because I was one of those children.

I have very few memories of my life prior to All For One. All I remember is being left on a street corner by my birth father… and never seeing anyone come for me. Not my mother or any other family members. According to some people, I was considered an embarrassment to my family because of my Quirk and so they didn't want me. Why would they?

The programs that took care of children with Quirks that didn't have parents tried to take me in several times. But after the first few times, where I was bullied mercilessly for being made completely of water, I stopped letting them take me in.

Water Girl.

Water Witch.

Ocean Head.

River of Useless.

Those were the kinds of names I was called.

I learned to survive on my own by scrounging around and finding what I could. I even learned how to pickpocket to find money so I could have an actual meal once in a while. I never used my Quirk to get what I wanted. I didn't think it was right for me to do that when my Quirk was why I'd been abandoned and abused time and time again. Using it would only make things worse. But because of that, I learned to use my brain and my eyes to compensate and soon I was running the small group of orphans like me that took up the city area where we 'lived'.

Then, one day, a man approached me. Even now, I can't remember what he looked like. He introduced himself as All For One and offered me something. He offered me a home in exchange for me becoming his child. I was reluctant at first, but he kept coming back and speaking to me specifically.

"You have so much potential, Kazumi. Your Quirk is amazingly powerful and I can help you grow that power. All you have to do is become my daughter and I'll help you as much as I can."

Eventually, he wore me down and I went with him. He brought me to a small house where there was a boy several years older than me already living there. The boy, Tomura Shigaraki, was to be my brother. But he never treated me like his sister. I was his subordinate at best. Still, All For One treated us the same and helped us develop our Quirks to the best of his ability. He even taught me general studies like math and science and history.

For the first two years I lived with All For One, I was happy. I had him and a home. I wasn't scrounging for loose change or picking pockets. I was learning how to control my Quirk and everything else kids my age learned.

Then All For One almost died at the hands of All Might.

Shigaraki and I both vowed revenge and a man named Kurogiri took us in as his charges. Well, he took me in as his charge. Shigaraki refused to listen to him but accepted the free housing.

A few more years passed and All For One was slowly healing his wounds. As I grew older and continued to learn all I could while developing my Quirk, I became fascinated by the history of Quirks.

Then, when I was thirteen, I learned the truth about All For One.

He was a villain, the true villain who could steal Quirks as if they were change in the pockets of unsuspecting tourists. And All Might was supposed to stop him. By then it was too late for me to switch sides. Shigaraki made it clear to me that if I ever betrayed him or All For One, he'd let All For One steal my Quirk and then kill me in the most painful way possible.

So I stayed with Shigaraki.

Obeying him.

Resenting his every command.

Then came the day All For One brought somebody new to our hideout—a boy named Izuku Midoriya. He became the newest member of the League and I was intrigued by him. He was the first person my own age I had interacted with for quite a while and he seemed as interested in me as I was in him. We quickly became best friends and he told me his story—how he was bullied for his lack of a Quirk and his hero had told him there was no way for him to be what he wanted to be. He was the person who always had my back, no matter what.

Except for the USJ attack, but I blame Shigaraki for that, not him.

When I entered UA, I wasn't intending to feel the freedom I felt. All For One had set up an apartment for me not too far from the school so I would have a place to live. Not to mention he had Izuku move into said apartment in order to keep an eye on me and so it would be easier for me to relay information. We were roommates and best friends and that was it. All I needed for friends was Izuku—or Deku, as he'd taken to being called—and I didn't need anybody else.

But after the entrance exam, and meeting Ochaco Uraraka, I felt a longing to be more close with my classmates. She and Iida were my first friends other than Deku and I found myself… resenting my position. Deku and I were still working to take down UA, but I began to wonder if there was a way to convince All For One to spare certain students in my class.

Then came the Sports Festival, where I chose to forget the League for a little while and compete for myself, nobody else. It felt good. I was free of the League because they didn't care about the festival. Except Deku, who enjoyed watching the awesomeness that was myself and my classmates.

Shigaraki chose to remind me of my place and sent me to aid Iida when Stain attacked him. That was another time where I chose to fight for something other than the League; I chose to fight for Iida and Native and Todoroki and Stain declared me a true hero, worthy of living and carrying the title.

And that was the moment.

That was the moment it became clear in my mind that I was never meant to be a villain. I hadn't even stopped to think when Shigaraki told me Iida was in trouble. All I could think of was that my friend was in danger and he needed help. I was meant to be a hero instead of a villain. I never should've accepted All For One's offer. I should've stuck with the program homes.

I'm supposed to be a hero.

A few things stopped me from leaving the League right then and there. For one thing, Shigaraki's threat to kill me if I ever betrayed him or All For One. There was also the fact that Shigaraki began to threaten Deku and Ochaco and Iida. But most of all, it was because I was afraid. I was afraid of leaving Deku alone and letting him take the punishment for my betrayal.

The training camp incident, however, solidified something in my mind.

Deku was meant to be a hero, too.

We were in a rough spot. I moved into the dorms and kept in contact with him through texts while he remained at our apartment. I earned my provisional license and he became Ochaco and I's informant during our second year at UA for that assignment.

I knew he'd fallen hard for my partner.

That's why I went back to Shigaraki—so Deku could have a chance to be happy.

And maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to escape the life of a villain.

But it wasn't meant to be—not for Deku and not for me.

Because Fate has a nasty sense of humor and just when everything started going right…

Everything went horribly horribly wrong.


"Hey, Pink Cheeks!"

Ochaco turned at the sound of Bakugo's voice.

It had only been a couple weeks since she and Deku had become an item and she was still in the honeymoon phase. Meaning she'd been in a good mood all that time and nothing seemed to be able to bring her down.

"What's up, Bakugo?"

"I've been trying to talk to you for two weeks now but every time I try, Water Witch fucking blocks me!"

"I can't imagine why. Anyway, what's so important that you have to talk to me about it for that long?"

"It has to do with your boyfriend, Deku."

"Oh." She remembered that Bakugo had bullied Deku all through elementary and middle school and narrowed her eyes. "If it's to tell me that he's a Quirkless dork I shouldn't waste my time on, then don't say anything. I already know you bullied him for years."

"No, that's not the problem."

"Then what is it?"

"Do you know what Deku is?"

"He's a normal guy who's good at gathering information and a friend of Kazumi's."

"Uraraka… he's a member of the League of Villains." She blinked, then snorted.

"Nice try, Bakugo. But you're not going to convince me with something that lame."

"I'm being serious. He's nothing but trouble and you're going to get hurt if you keep dating him!"

"Even if he is a villain—which he's not—he's saved my life twice!"

"So?! Water Witch saved your life once and I don't see you dating her!" Suddenly, Bakugo looked bothered by something. "Wait, when did he save your life?"

"He saved me from that girl obsessed with blood at the training camp and again when a guy tried to…" Ochaco's voice trailed off. She couldn't finish what had almost happened that day.

"Think about it. How did he find the training camp? The only way he could've known was if he was with the League of Villains!"

Ochaco's eyes widened.

Suddenly, it all made sense. Why Deku hid his identity. How he'd saved her at the training camp. Him being so good at fighting and having a disregard for laws. He was a member of the League. She was dating a member of the League.

"No…" She shook, her lower lip trembling as her happiness was shattered.

He's a villain. I can't be with him if he's a villain.

"You know I'm right—"

"Bakugo!" The door to Ochaco's room flew open to reveal Kazumi, looking royally pissed. There was steam rising from her hair from the heat of her anger.

"Oh, hey, Water Witch. Did you know your buddy Deku is a member of the League of Villains? Because Uraraka's his girlfriend and she didn't know."

"No, I didn't."

"Liar!" He created small explosions. "You must've known! Why else would you keep me from talking to her?!"

The other members of class 2-A heard the commotion and came up to see what was going on.

"Because I know what you did to Deku, you bastard!" Water flowed from her hands as she prepared to go against Bakugo.

"I bet you're a member of the League, too! You're the reason we had so much trouble our first year!"

Kazumi threw the first attack and missed, gouging a cut into the wood floor.

"Don't make baseless accusations!"

"Baseless?! You put our entire class in danger!"

He forced her into the hall with the blowback from his explosions.

"Take this outside, you two!" Iida insisted.

"Will do, Iida!" Kazumi replied as she narrowly dodged another of Bakugo's attacks. She turned and ran for the stairs, heading straight for outside so they could continue their battle elsewhere.

"Uraraka," croaked Tsuyu. "What's wrong?"

"D-Deku… he's a villain… he's part of the League…"

"Is that what they're fighting about?!" Kirishima yelped.

"He thinks Kazumi knew, too, since she's the one who introduced me and Deku."

"We'd better stop them from killing each other!" Ashido gasped, running after the two heroes-in-training.

By the time the class got outside, they could see that neither Bakugo nor Kazumi was holding back. She kept dousing the fires of his explosions and he kept dodging her water slices.

"Worse comes to worse, he'll have nasty cuts, but I'm more worried about Kazumi," Hagakure stated.

"No, she'll kill him!" Uraraka gasped. "Kazumi told me something about her water abilities. Raise the pressure and it's enough to cut through steel! Those are the kind of attacks she's throwing!"

Todoroki frowned.

"I'm sorry, my friend," he mused, extending his right hand. "We've grown close over the past couple of weeks, but this is the most humane way to stop this battle."

In one quick move, he froze Kazumi to the ground and then launched himself forward to freeze the rest of her. Bakugo looked annoyed.

"What the hell, Half-and-Half?!"

"If Kazumi knows something about the League, then we need to bring her to the teachers. They can deal with her."

"No! Let me—"

"Bakugo, Todoroki's right," Kirishima interrupted. "Let's bring her to Mr. Aizawa and let him get the information out of her."

Uraraka pulled out her phone and found Deku's name in her contacts. While everybody else worked to get Kazumi inside, she hit the call button and went around the side of the building so nobody could see her.

"Hey, Uravity!" Deku's cheerful tone greeted her. "What's up?"

"Can… can I ask you something? And will you give me an honest answer?"

"Of course. You can ask me anything."

"Are you—are you a member of the League of Villains?"

There was silence on the other end.

"Knew it was too good to last… Kacchan told you, didn't he?"

"Yeah. He did."

"It was only a matter of time before he did. I'm so sorry…"

"You should be!" she exploded. "How can you be a villain?!"

"Because they knew I was Quirkless and they still saw potential in me."

'Potential'. 'Quirkless'.

She hated both of those words.

"You wanna know something, Deku?" Her tone was icy now. "Have fun with all your 'potential' alone. We're done."

He inhaled deeply on the other line.

"Okay. That's fair. We… we can't be together… if I'm a villain and you're a hero."

"Right, you bastard."

"Just… one more thing. I really do think your Quirk is amazing and I know you're gonna be a great hero one day. Take care of Kazumi and make sure she's safe."

Click.

He'd hung up.

Take care of Kazumi…? And make sure she's—crap. Crap, she really didn't know!

He didn't tell her and he was trying to keep her safe.

Crap!

Ochaco ran into the building and found Kazumi being restrained by Aizawa's scarf.

"Tell us what you know, Hamasaki. And this will go a lot easier."

"I don't know anything!" she insisted, struggling.

"Your Quirk won't work here. You have no options."

"Even if I did know, I wouldn't say anything! Deku is the first friend I ever had and he's always been there for me! Who cares if he's a villain?!"

"You set him up with Uraraka!" yelled Ashido. "I hope she dumped him!"

"I did…" Ochaco said quietly.

"Good girl."

Then why do I feel like I just kicked a kitten?

Aizawa released Kazumi.

"I'll be watching you carefully," he warned. "You are not to leave campus for the next week and you will not send any messages outside the school."

"Yes, sir."

"The rest of you, keep an eye on her, too."


Izuku stared at his phone, trembling.

He hadn't been able to do anything else for the past hour since his phone call with Uravity. It was over so quickly… and they hadn't been together long. But he'd known it would end badly. There was no way for it to end well. She was a hero and he was a villain. They were diametrically opposed and they never should have met.

But he wanted her.

He wanted her badly.

Kazumi's phone had been turned off (she'd probably gotten onto Bakugo's case and gotten in trouble) so he couldn't tell his best friend the truth.

His feelings for Ochaco Uraraka weren't 'just a crush'. No, he was completely totally and irrevocably in love with her. For the first time, he'd felt hope that he could move beyond the League and maybe do something else with his life. That hope had been dashed now.

She was so angry at me… and I don't blame her.

For a week, he subsisted off of whatever was in the apartment, refusing to leave for any reason. Shigaraki, miraculously, appeared to have no need for Izuku that entire time and the green-haired boy wallowed in self-pity as he scrolled through pictures of Uraraka on his phone.

Everyone told me I couldn't be a hero because I didn't have a Quirk.

Well, if it's any consolation, you're a hero to me, Deku.

Hero.

He sat up in bed, eyes wide. Inside him, he could feel the resolve he'd felt as a child to be a hero and make the world a better place stirring. The feeling was familiar and he welcomed it with open arms.

And he knew exactly what he had to do. He shot a text to Uraraka and prepared to make what was possibly the most fatal decision he'd ever made.

He was quitting the League and turning himself in.


No preview this time.

I will tell you all, though, that this next chapter is one of the scenes I planned out. We're getting into the real meat of the story now.

Next time: Deku's Resolve.

So long and thanks for all the fish!