Hello welcome back, I wanna go ahead and say sorry about last weeks chapter I know it wasn't really what you all were expecting after a week break. but honestly I didn't know how to properly introduce Mei's backstory. anyways thank you all for following and favoriting, thank you for also giving your reviews, i really appreciate it.

I don't have many memories of my father, but the ones I do possess will always be treasured by me. There is one memory in particular that I will never forget...

It's a memory from when I was very young, still in primary school and shortly after Kacchan had denounced our friendship and labeled me as useless. I was crying to my father on our walk home from school, asking why my best friend suddenly despised me for not having a quirk and why he now acted like a jerk to everyone he met.

Dad just scratched the back of his head in his usual fashion while thinking up an answer. "Hmm, well it might be because Bakugo thinks now that he has a very powerful quirk he can become as STRONG AS ALL-MIGHT. But you have something better that Bakugo doesn't, Izuku."

My young child mind was confused. What did I have than Kacchan didn't?

"What is that dad?"

"You were the first one to be a hero, Izuku. You stood up for what you believe in and held your ground against bullies."

That blew my mind as a child, knowing that I was considered as hero.

"But daddy, I got beat up….and I was scared"

"It's alright Izuku, if you went down at least you did so with your head held high! Plus I'm sure you got some swings in, right?" He imitated a boxer, throwing some punches at the air and gave me a quick wink.

"N-no…" I whimpered, dropping my gaze from him to stare at sidewalk instead.

"Oh well then, that's alright Izuku. I don't think your mother is ready to know her little baby boy is giving other kids black eyes."

Dad watched me still sulking about with my head lowered and dragging my feet as we walked home. We had passed a small electronic store that had TVs in the display case that were broadcasting the local news, which was currently airing a highlight reel of our pro heroes most courageous acts.

We stopped to watch the broadcast, my eyes lit up watching the fantastic heroes earning their living. My dad looked over and saw the amazement in my eyes, he couldn't help but smile.

"You know Izuku, they may not show it, but they're afraid too."

"Really? But how can they be daddy, they're big and tough superheroes."

"Even the strongest and toughest get scared sometime."

"Even All-Might?"

"Hahaha, especially All-Might! You know, that's why he always has that big smile on his face Izuku. He uses his fear and transforms it into a big smile to show to the world, to give others hope. That's why you'd make an excellent hero, Izuku! You faced your fear in order to help those in need, regardless if you are quirkless or not!"

My eyes began watering again, although this time it was not out of sadness, but rather because my father had such faith in me, even as a child.

….That's why…

... That's why I vowed no matter what, to be the hero he had always envisioned me up with his last breath….

It was just an evening in the summer when my father had offered to pick up the groceries my mother needed to make dinner, I had tagged along as we didn't often get to spend much time together. Our current topic of discussion was on which hero was the strongest: Crimson Riot or All-Might!

"Haha Deku, you can't think All-Might is that strong?"

"Are you kidding dad, I bet he can beat him up with one hand behind his back!"

Dad just laughed at my enthusiastic response and ruffled my hair. Mom was always telling him not to mess it up, but dad would joke and say that it was always kind of messy anyways. I didn't tell mom, but I kind of agreed with him.

I launched into a spiel about the strength of All-Might, I just had to convince my dad he was the stronger of the two! My dad just smiled and watched my silly expressions as I gallivanted around talking about my all time favorite hero for the thousandth time.

In the middle of my ramblings my dad stopped me in my tracks by throwing out his arm in front of my chest. I blinked a few times in surprise and looked ahead of us to see a man standing in our path. He wore a grey jacket with the hood up and a mask that resembled a twisted looking wolf. .

"Izuku, stay behind me…" We took a step back, my father's eyes locked on the masked individual and never looking away. Then I felt something behind me, someone else's hand.I looked up to see an identical wolf mask, except this person was a lot bulkier than the first mask wearer.

"D-daddy…" In the quickest I've seen my dad move, he spun around and threw a punch to the face of the man who had attempted to sneak up on me. My dad then picked me up and raced across the street, only to be met by another masked man. We changed directions and found ourselves running down an alleyway, this time to be met with a dead end.

"Well looks like your trapped, old man," the third masked person spoke up, he was smaller than the other two figures, he even sounded young enough to be a teenager.

Dad set me down but pushed me back so I was still out of harm's way.

"Maybe now you'll think twice about sticking your nose where it doesn't belong," the smallest of them growled out.

Did my dad do something that made these guys angry? My dad tried reaching for something from his back pocket but got frustrated when the object wasn't there. "Well this is embarrassing," he chuckled before taking in a huge breath of air and exhaling a huge ball of fire. I was awed by my father's quirk as I never got to see him ever use it like this before.

Once the flames died down, we were able to see that one of the masked assailants caught fire and was desperately trying to put it out while the other two continued to close in on us. Dad continued to use his quirk to ward them off, however each time he would use his flame burst, the flames would get smaller in size. As the men continued to approach closer I could see my dad waver slightly, he seemed a bit dizzy.

"Oh come on, how hard is it for people to notice a giant ball of fire?" Dad grunted before unleashing one more breath of fire, this one being the largest one he had unleashed.

One of the two approaching men jumped out of the way to narrowly avoid being hit straight on by the fire ball and was apparently too shaken to pursue us any further. That meant that only one masked man remained, although he seemed persistent and stood his ground in front of us.

The flames my dad had been releasing were so hot that they had blackened some areas of the wall in the alley. My father began to cough, currently unable to produce any more flames. He regained his normal breathing for a moment and tried his quirk again, only to fail and fall into another coughing fit, this one persisting and getting worse.

"Man… maybe I should have listened to Inko about quitting."

"Haha my old man was a smoker too, it was only a matter of time before his habit was the death of him," the remaining wolf spoke, his mask partially melted and now a deformed version of its former appearance. His hood and jacket was also burnt and torn and I could see that his body looked charred as well.

And suddenly we could hear sirens in the distance. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding and thought that hope had finally arrived.

"Forget it. We have to bail, the police are almost here!" The biggest out the three spoke out. I peered around my father and realized that he had been the first to be struck down by my father's fire.

"No, the job's not done yet!" The man in front of us yelled before flicking his hand and revealing a small, white blade that seemed to have formed from the palm of his hands.

Dad knew what was coming. He could have done anything, try to use his quirk one last time or try to dodge the incoming stab. But what he did, he did for me.

He used his last breath to place himself squarely in front of me, hold his ground, and take the stab to his lungs. Just to ensure my safety.

He fell to his knees and kept his gaze locked onto his murderer, he even grabbed onto his forearms to hold him in place, waiting for the police to come.

"HEY, LET GO!" The killer screamed, trying to tug his arm free.

My dad spat up some blood, still holding on even as the killer started to punch him in the face. It wasn't until his cohorts came in to free him from my dad's grip that he managed to escape.

They all made a run for it before any police could show up and they didn't look back, except for my father's killer, who looked back to me and we exchanged looks.

I wonder what he was thinking right then.

I know what I was thinking. That I'll never forget those empty white eyes.

"I...Izuku…" My dad groaned, I rushed over to his side.

"Daddy!" I cried

"Izuku.. It's okay..." He held my face to see my stream of tears that rained on his wounded body.

"But daddy, you're hurt really badly!"

"It's alright, I had to do whatever I could to protect you, buddy…I was trying to be like my favorite hero."

"A-All-Might?"

"No, buddy…. You, Izuku Midoriya, the hero that wants to protect everyone… That's the kinda hero you're going to be, right?" I shook my head in agreement, holding on to my dad. "That's good, Izuku… you're going to be one amazing guy one day… I just only wish I could be there to see it…." he smiled before his eyes fell closed and he stopped breathing.

"Daddy?" I called out before the dark realization had finally hit me, and I mourned the loss of my father. The sounds of the sirens were replaced with howls of wolves in my mind.

Now that I think back, I wonder If I made him proud. I did the best that I could, trying to be the hero he always wanted me to be. Hopefully I did, otherwise we're going to have an awkward conversation when we meet again.

I wonder if he would have liked to have met Mei, I bet he would have liked her as much as mom and I do. My only regret is that I never got to tell her how I really felt. She probably wouldn't wanna hear it anyways, maybe she'd brush it off like it was a heat of the moment kind of thing. Oh man everything is starting to feel warm, what's going on?

Izuku woke up in a cold sweat, eyes panickingly darting around taking in his unfamiliar surroundings. The first clue he got was the beeping of a heart monitor, was he in a hospital?

He blinked a few times in surprise as realization set in, this wasn't the U.S.J. or U.A., in fact it wasn't even a hospital. It was home, or rather the loft Mei and Izuku called home.

Taking a deep breath, and realizing that an intubation tube had been placed deep in this throat, Izuku raised his right hand above him and noted a combination of scars and bandages covering the entirety of his arm.

'I'm… alive?' Izuku thought wondrously. He clenched his fist tightly, the feeling reassuring him that he had once again cheated death. Now the first thing on his to do list was to remove the invasive tube from his throat. Using both hands he pulled, using quite a bit of strength in his weakened state to remove the tube. Self extubation turned out to be more difficult than he was expecting. The green hero did his best to push himself into a sitting position and then proceeded to start ripping of the rest of the medical equipment taped to his body.

He felt a strange, heavy feeling in his chest. Placing a hand to his heart he felt some sort of bump, and it was warm. Looking around he remembered that there was a mirror somewhere in the loft. 'Okay, I can do this. One step at a time.' Izuku took his first steps, which resembled a baby wobbling around after learning to walk for the first time . It took awhile, but the young Midoriya was determined and moved his limp body in front of the mirror.

An audible gasp left his lips, he couldn't believe it. On his chest was a soft green glow that was bleeding through the shirt he was wearing. He knew instantly what it was, but he had to be sure. Rather than taking his shirt off like a normal human being, in a flurry of quick movements and panic Izuku ripped it off completely.

Anxiety filled Izuku as he found the battery fused to his chest. Losing all rational thought he grabbed the nearest item to him, one of Mei's flathead screwdrivers. Desperately thinking that he had to remove the battery, he drove the screwdriver right onto the edge of the battery and tried to pry it off him. As expected he started to bleed, but this only added to Izuku's fear and caused him to start hyperventilating. 'Maybe if I stab as hard as I can, I can get it in one go." he thought, now in full fledged hysterics.

Izuku braced himself, grabbing a random washrag, balling it up, and placing it in his mouth. Raising his arm he was ready to stab himself, that is until he was suddenly tackled.

"NO!" The intruder screamed at Izuku and then rolled around on the ground til the intruder was right on top of him, holding his stabbing arm as far away from him as possible.

Still shaken from the earlier U.S.J attack, Izuku attempted to throw off his attacker, but this proved to be difficult due to his weaken state. His failing struggling stopped when the voice spoke again and this time he recognized it.

"Izuku, stop," the voice pleaded, causing Izuku to relinquish the screwdriver. He felt tears falling on his face and upon a closer look Izuku finally saw it was Mei who had stopped him. "Geez, you come back to the world of the living only to try to kill yourself again?"

"M-Mei?... What's going on? What happened to everyone?" A slew of questions came from the young vigilante.

"Alright calm down, one at a time. I'm sure you have a lot of questions Izuku, but first let's slow it down a bit. You just woke up, you must be hungry. I'll get you something to eat and maybe some new clothes."

Mei retrieved a fresh set of clothes for Izuku, his favorite flannel shirt and a simple pair of shorts. Mei left Izuku to change and after he headed downstairs to meet Mei he found a a simple beef bowl awaiting him. He sat down next to her, hoping to get some answers first. The tension was unnerving, neither one had said anything but just sat stewing in silence. Izuku wasn't sure what to ask first, and Mei didn't know where to even being or what Izuku even remembered.

Ultimately, it was Mei that broke the silence.

"I figure that we can start on big one," she said quietly, not willing to look at Izuku in the eyes, unlike the green haired teen who was completely the opposite. "You might be wondering why the battery is fused to you now. To put it simply, after your grand finale, we rushed you over to the hospital to find out that your heart, for whatever reason, wouldn't beat on its own. The thing that is now keeping your body going is that battery."

Izuku clutched his chest tightly, taking the time to let it all sink in. But what made it difficult was watching Mei, who was having a harder time accepting his new condition than he was. She was shaken to her very core, taking on a deathly serious tone. He could see tears now falling on to her lap, he had to say something to ease her worry.

"Mei, it's going to be alright. I'll just have to learn to live with it. It will be odd being my own night light at first, but I'm sure I can manage."

Mei snapped, slamming both hands on the table and bringing her face up to Deku's.

"HOW CAN YOU ACT LIKE THIS IS GOING TO BE OKAY!" Her eyes were red and puffy, tears now streaming down her face. She placed both hands on Izuku's shoulders and through sobs she managed to choke out, "Especially since I'm the one who made you like this."

"What are you saying…?"

Mei bit her lip, she had rehearsed multiple times on how to tell Izuku everything since he was unconscious, but when she finally had the chance to tell him, everything was thrown out the window.

"B-be…. because I invented the battery Izuku!" She had finally confessed the truth to him. Trying to push past her tears and the self hate she felt towards herself, she began to divulge everything to her one and only friend in life. "I-I essentially u-used you… I made you help me steal back the battery…. b-because I-I wanted to use the suit and battery to prove to those at U.A. that I'm not a complete screw up... I used U.S.J. as a stage hoping that maybe the U.A. staff would notice us and they would take me back... I didn't mean… I didn't think something like a villain raid would happen…..I didn't mean for things to go so bad… I'm s-sorry Izuku Midoriya..."

Izuku was a whirlwind of emotions, how was he supposed to act? I guess angry that his only friend had used him like the tools that she made. It seemed like the appropriate reaction, but he just couldn't bring himself to hate her. Mei had probably been in the same void that he been on that eventful day, he knew more than anybody that cold feeling she was in.

Izuku wrapped his arms around her and held her close, throwing the young inventor off guard.

"It's alright, I forgive you," he whispered in her ear.

"W-why?" Izuku pushed Mei back to look her right in the eyes.

"It's cause we're partners or did you forget? I told you that I'd help you out as much as you're helping me? I would have gone along with your plan more if you had told me everything from the start…. You and me, all the way. Remember, Mei?" Izuku gave off his signature smile, holding his hand out for Mei, just like she did for him. Hatsume grabbed Midoriya's hand the pulled him close together for another hug, this one a little more forceful and sending them tumbling to the floor.

"AH!"

"Izuku, you big dork, I freaking deform you and you just forgive me like that?" Izuku didn't bother trying to get up, his pulse raced like a bullet train. He could feel his face turing a bright red and his emerald eyes completely fixated on her crosshairs. It took every ounce of mental energy he had to try and make a word sound remotely Japanese.

I-I-It's b-b-because I n-n-ne-" Izuku was cut off as the front door swung wide open, interrupting Izuku's confesion. The duo looked up to see who the culprit was.

"Hey Hatsume, I thought I'd stop by and check on you and Deku-" Uraraka walked in to the sight of Mei and Izuku on the ground on top of one another. Words like 'awkward' or 'embarrassing' weren't strong enough to describe how Izuku was feeling.

"Hatsume, what are you doing? This isn't proper bedside etiquette!" Uraraka was sporting a fierce red blush, the same as Izuku who at this point had broken down and started to foam at the mouth from embarrassment. Mei was the only who was completely and utterly clueless as to what exactly the fuss about.

"Wait, what are you doing here? Who exactly are you?" Izuku asked snapping back from his shame coma.

Izuku got back on his feet, dusting himself off as he did, when he was suddenly charged at by an overzealous Uraraka. She grabbed him by the collar, nearly throttling the poor boy.

"Is that how you say, 'Thanks for saving me, Uraraka-chan, from certain death and/or prison!'? Maybe next time I shoulda left you there!"

"Okay I'm sorry, please don't shake the injured," Izuku responded meekly.

Uraraka gently released him, having the good grace to blush slightly at her own improper bedside etiquette.

"Well I'm glad to see that you're okay. You had everybody worried."

"Huh? everybody?"

"Yeah, everyone wants to meet the mystery hero that saved the day. Don't worry, I didn't tell them your name or anything."

"How could I be the hero when I couldn't stop the villains...?" Izuku sulked, heading dropping downwards and clenching his fist to his chest.

"Who cares, that's for the police to handle. Plus, don't you know you managed to save all the lives of my classmates that you came across? Tsu-chan, Mineta, Todoroki-kun, and myself. We're all really grateful to you. Haha, even my friend Iida-kun wants to shake your hand for saving me. You should be proud of that fact, Deku-kun!" The brunette finished her speech, looking at Izuku earnestly.

Izuku felt a warm sensation in his heart that gave him a big smile.

"Izuku Midoriya, the hero that wants to protect everyone… that's the kinda hero your going to be, right?" It was as if the words of his late father were ringing in his head. Izuku looked up with sense of pride.

"Did they find out anything about the group that attacked you guys?" Izuku probed the girl for more info.

"Huh? Only that all the villains who were caught and arrested were small time thugs and that the bird creature you fought hasn't said a single word since it was finally defeated by All-Might," Uraraka answered.

Izuku though hard on where he could start his investigation until Mei broke his train of thought by nudging his shoulder and asking, "Are you seriously thinking of playing hero after just coming back from the dead?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Well good luck with that, the suit is completely fried." One step forward two steps back Izuku thought but he wasn't going to let it damper his spirit

"Well that's fine, I need some time to get back into fighting shape and in that time I'm sure my amazing partner can make a new one. This time even better, right?" Izuku inquired, flashy the inventor a confident smile.

Mei took a deep breath.

"Tch who said I haven't been working on one since your dirt nap." The young inventor rushed over to one of workstations to bring out a helmet. "BAM SON!"

The bottom half looked like his old visor but now she had added something to cover the rest of his head, as well as what looked like pointed dog ears on the side of the helmet.

"Go ahead Izuku, put it on!" Mei urged him, eager to see her new design in action.

Like a child on Christmas, Izuku put the Helmet on,which activated its functions immediately. The standard functions were still present in the new helmet: night vision, infrared. binoculars, and the voice changer. Izuku stood pondering was exactly had changed from the previous model when a warning prompt flashed on his screen indicating danger.

'BAM'

Mei stuck the back of Izuku's head with a huge wrench, the force knocking him to the floor..

"What the hell Hatsume, are you trying to kill him?" Uraraka yelped out, full of concern and alarm. Izuku slowly got up, surprised by the blow and staggering slightly.

"Hey... what was that for?"

"The helmet is insulated with a special gel that softens huge impacts, you'll be a little disoriented but at least you'll live. I figured I'd do more to give you a little bit more protection plus it's great for hiding your identity. I mean, I love seeing your lush green locks but I figure you want some more anonymity," Mei boasted while twirling the giant attempted murder weapon

"T-thanks, but you couldn't have given me a heads up first?"

"Hmmm. I would but you should having gotten a danger prompt, not my fault those sharp reflexes of yours need to be honed some more. You can think of it as punishment for shorting out the radio the other day," Mei said shrugging off his complaint.

"S-sorry. Don't worry Hatsume, it won't happen again, I promise."

"Yea it better not or else I'll make a baby to put you in the ground!"

"You guys are too much," Uraraka intervened, before a thought came in to her head. "Oh I almost forgot, Aizawa-sensei wanted me to give this to you for when you woke up."

'What's the point in having a secret identity if your tutor and partner just let people know?', Izuku moaned in his head.

"And he's just okay with you knowing I'm Deku?!"

"Well to be fair he's kinda…. too tied up with his injuries to do anything about it, so he figured I could help out as long as I, and I repeat, 'Keep your mouth shut or the closest thing to a hero you'll be is a meter maid'. So yea, he's cool with it. Well here you go, it's supposed to be a type of special training program filled with skills and advice any homegrown vigilante finds useful and he wants you to memorize the whole thing." Uraraka handed him a large book so thick that Izuku had to use both hands to grasp it, but it was also surprisingly light.

"This thing is massive and he wants me to go over the whole thing?!"

"That's just the first book, I'm supposed to bring three more tomorrow. These things are so heavy even with my quirk they aren't just floating away."

Mei and Uraraka spent the rest of the evening helping Izuku catch up on past events, like the fact that Mei had to smuggle Izuku out of the hospital before he could be ID'd so nobody could ask questions about his incident. Also the fact that his mom still thinks he's helping out Aizawa and that he was just too busy to call her back; he was not eager to return to a distressed mother.

Once it was getting late Uraraka got up and headed out, stating that she had to prepare herself for U.A.'s annual Sports Festival that was to debut in three weeks.

After her departure, Izuku placed the giant tome of knowledge on his desk and caught his reflection on a chrome surface. Mei spotted him examining the helmet's appearance and made her way over to his side.

"You like it, Izuku? I wanted it to give you the appearance of a wolf.."

"W-why wolves, Hatsume?"

"I don't know, guess cause they're kind of intimidating. I mean, what's more scary than a lone wolf coming at you in the dead of night, am I right?"

"Y-Yea... "

Izuku took off his helmet and turned to face Mei, whose eyes still retained their redness from all the crying from earlier.

"No more secrets between us anymore, right Mei?" She nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah, I promise Izuku."

"Good. Cause if we can't trust each other, then what's the point of this partnership. We're in this together, until the very end."

"Then that means listening to each other and not taking stupid, life threatening risks anymore Deku!"

"Got it, Mei."

With that they shook hands, reaffirming their partnership before parting ways to prepare for Deku's fight on crime. Mei took the vigilante by surprise by giving him a quick peck on the cheek whispering, "I'm so happy you're still alive."

has stopped responding.

Located far from normal civilization lies an island that is home to Tartarus, a maximum security prison built to hold dangerous villains with quirks. On a normal night all that could be heard on the outsides of the prison would be the sound of the wind and the sea, but tonight was not a normal night.

Sirens filled the airwaves and searchlights lit up the darkened sky and surrounding ocean. In a matter of seconds search boats and helicopters deployed, searching for escaped prisoners. But they wouldn't find them, because deep below the ocean floor a duo of prisoners had surrounded themselves in a sort of protective dome.

One of them as was extremely frightened at the thought of being caught, while the other was calm and collected and covered in blood.

"I don't understand why we're just waiting here when they could find us at any minute, man. We should be out there running as fast as we can," the worried one said, pacing back and forth inside the dome.

"You? Running? Ha, that's rich," the one creating the dome said pointing out his partners rather round physique. He pulled out a watch, likely stolen from the guard whose blood now covered the villain's body. "No, we wait here another five minutes."

"Your friends better be here, man I still can't believe it. You had this all figured out, huh? The riot, the access codes, even killing off the other prisoners that joined us just so we could have a better chance at escaping. I'm so close to freedom that it hurts." The cubby one relished at the thought of his new lease on life.

"Oh yea, does it hurt like this?" The bloodsoaked figure took a deep breath before screaming at the top of his lungs, pulling out a white orb from his chest that looked to be made of bone. The demented prisoner ripped open the sphere, which containing a pistol similar to that of which the guards carried. He pointed right at his frightened companion and fired three times, all dead center in the chest, killing him instantly.

Once dead, the betrayer released his shelter allowing water to flood over them. The killer made sure to grab the corpse of his deceased 'ally' and swim to the surface. He was then greeted by a patrol boat with two guards aboard that aimed their rifles at him the moment he broke the surface.

"About damn time and get those things out of my face."

"Are you Gachi Kamomīru?" One of the guards inquired, pulling the prisoner out of the water.

"Listen here," Gachi drew out a white pointed blade out of his hands and threatened the guard with it. "The name is Spinal Tap, got it?"

"No, it's not. The boss says you're not allowed to use that name, he doesn't want you to attract attention with a dead man's name."

"Oh yeah, what's my new name then?"

"Dekuro. The boss said that his master plan is in motion, one of his three sons went ahead of schedule, you are to follow their every order."

"HAHA I bet it was that spoiled brat, wasn't it? Whatever. Yea, I'll do the old man's bidding but first I have score to settle with a quirkless brat."

"Absolutely not. The boss wants you to take his orders as top priority, so set aside your petty revenge for later."

"Tch, whatever." The newly dubbed Dekuro eyed the guards before asking. "So which one of you boys is my size." The pair looked at each other before the silent one started to strip down, with Dekuro doing the same. After exchanging uniforms, the ex guard was hyperventilating, trying to accept his demise.

"Can I just-" Dekuro shot him three times with the same pistol he used earlier on his escapee.

"Is there even a soul behind those pale eyes of yours?" Dekuro started to laugh at the remaining guard's question as they sped their way to the shore line.

The howling of wolves could be heard in the far of distance.