Izuku had never realised how hard talking was. It wasn't a surprise. It couldn't have possibly been a surprise.

Of course the police would want to know everything. Of course he'd have to say everything that happened to him.

Starting was the hardest. His mother was sitting at his side, and All Might was there, sending him a reassuring smile.

Funny, how he'd admired that smile before the villains had made him into Nomou. Funny how he still admired the smile even after everything.

Funny how after everything had changed, a mere smile was able to calm him. Even after everything had changed, he still admired heroes, admired All Might.

And his mother had grabbed his hand to let him know that he was okay. He was safe. He wasn't with the villains anymore.

So he started with the ending of everything normal.

"You last saw me after the incident with the Sludge Villain, r-right?" He asked hesitantly, and the grave-faced police officer nodded.

He shuddered, and continued.

He hated thinking of how weak he had been. Of how weak he still was. He hated thinking of how he'd been like a puppet, how he couldn't even think.

He hated how he'd been a villain.

That was what he was, wasn't it? He'd fought for them, he'd analysed all those heroes, all those heroes in training for them, and far, far too many times he'd nearly killed for them.

A part of him knew that he hadn't had a choice. That he couldn't do anything but obey orders, because that was all Nomou was meant to do. That was all Nomou could do.

But another, stronger part of him remembered Tomura's red eyes, his hands clawing at his neck and an insane, cruel laugh ringing through the eerie silence.

So when Izuku talks and talks and lists off everything that happened to him like he's living through it again, he's already expecting punishment.

He'd wanted to be a hero. A hero.

How had he ended up as a villain?

He wasn't sure when he started crying, only that his voice is surprisingly steady, even when he has to try several times to finish a sentence.

He finished talking, and found himself unable to meet any of their eyes. For a moment, it's like he's Nomou again, and he's not sure when he'll next be punished or caught in one of Tomura's tantrums.

Then the police officer clears his throat, and stands. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that kid, but rest assured that we'll do all within our power to bring justice to the entire League."

Izuku still hadn't looked up, when All Might quietly questioned the officer. "Will that be all you need?"

"That was the full account, so we don't need anything else. He's free to go." The officer said with a strained smile. "Make sure he recovers, okay? Poor kid..."

Izuku's mind was suddenly caught on those last words.

"He's free to go."

"W-Why?" His voice was hoarse from all the crying, but he can almost feel how all of the adults freeze at his question.

"W-Why? Y-You heard it all, r-right?" He dimly realised that he was crying again, or maybe he just never stopped. "I-I h-helped them... S-so I'm a v-villain, r-right?"

The police officer just looked sad. "Kid... You were under the influence of a brainwashing quirk. There's a whole section of the law about people who were forced into working for villains like that. You didn't want to do any of that stuff, you couldn't even think for yourself. No, kid, you're not a villain. The world is rarely that black and white. If anything, you're a victim."

And then he nodded to them all, and left the hospital room. Izuku just stared after him, for a moment, feeling very overwhelmed and very, very small.

For a moment, Izuku wondered if he will ever get better. If he would ever be able to move past the guilt.

And then his mother was hugging him and All Might managed a small smile, and Izuku remembered that he wasn't so alone after all.

Bakugo found out about Izuku's situation through a newspaper. A fucking newspaper.

Clearly, whoever was involved wanted to keep it hushed up. The rational part of him almost couldn't blame them. A quirkless boy being snatched off the streets was worrying enough. A quirkless boy being captured by and experimented on by villains was even worse.

And the quirkless boy wasn't quite so quirkless anymore.

The story was leaked. The hospital Izuku was staying in had been crowded, and someone had caught a glimpse of him, and the news had spread like wildfire.

All the public knew was that he was safe. Recovering.

Bakugo snarled when he saw the paper, and before he realised what he was doing he'd burned it with his quirk, and his gut lurched as he saw the awkward smile that had been plastered wither as the paper shrivelled and blackened in his grip.

He wanted answers. He wanted them badly.

"I know today's news was shocking, but can you all please focus on your studies." Aizawa growled and Bakugo forcibly shoved the thoughts of the stupid quirkless Deku from his mind and returned his focus on the lesson.

"Ah, Inko?"

The woman turned to face Toshinori with a small smile. "Yes?"

"Well, a few students were requesting permission to visit Izuku. I thought it'd be best to leave it up to you, though."

"I... Who were the students?" Inko blinked. She wasn't sure how to help Izuku. He'd been in a constant state of guilt since he'd talked to the police officer, and she knew there had to be a way to help him.

"One is Ochako Uraraka. If I recall correctly, she's the one Izuku saved at the USJ." The pro hero told her. "Tenya Iida, the one that helped Izuku fight off Stain..."

Inko was surprised to find herself nodding. Izuku had helped these people. Maybe if he could see that he had saved people... It would be worth a shot.

"And the third?"

"Katsuki Bakugo." All Might said gravely, and Inko can't help but frown.

"I'm fine mum, really." Her son smiled nervously, and tugged his sleeves down further to hide the burns.

Another time, and Izuku is sporting a black eye and several bruises. He can't pretend nothing happened, so he just twists the truth, and she knows it. "We just ended up playing a little rough, that's all."

"I'm fine. I promise."

"I... I think the first two students would be good for him... I think he'd be happier if he knew that he'd helped people. But Bakugo... I'm not too sure."

Toshinori smiled. "You're right. I think knowing that he did some good would help him a great deal... Does Izuku have a history with Young Bakugo?"

"I'm fine. I promise."

Inko smiled, but it was strained. "Yes. They were friends once."

They both didn't mention it again, after that.

Uraraka wasn't sure what to expect when she was led to the hospital room. She'd thought of the boy with the dead eyes more often than she would have liked to admit.

He'd saved her. He'd saved her and she didn't know what happened to him. He'd saved her and she hadn't even thanked him for it.

"I know it sounds weird, but I can't help but wonder if maybe he got into trouble for helping me."

She was meant to be a hero. How could she be a hero if someone else could have been hurt for helping her?

So she entered the hospital room determined to help the boy who had helped her.

He looked different from how she remembered. Back then, he had been scared and hurt and he'd seemed almost dead.

He looked better. His eyes were full of life, and he was staring at her nervously, instinctively flinching away from the noise of the door opening.

"Hi!" She said brightly, smiling at him, because she remembered the scared boy in the missing poster and the boy with the dead eyes.

"I'm Ochako Uraraka. I don't know if you remember, but you saved me!" She was less certain now, suddenly nervous. But his expression changed and he looked shocked, if anything.

"But... But it was m-my fault you were in d-danger in the first place." The shock settled into a mask of complete misery and Uraraka's heart clenched at the thought.

"No, that was the villains." She blurted, and suddenly she found that she couldn't stop talking. "I was sure I was going to die, but you saved me! And all this time I've wanted to thank you, because you could have killed me and you didn't, and... And I'm really sorry, because I think you got into trouble for helping me."

Somewhere in the middle of her rant, she started crying, and by the end of it, Izuku was crying.

"I didn't want to hurt you. Or Kacchan. I'm really, really sorry." And then they're both sobbing and saying sorry.

Izuku was still feeling guilty over everything he'd done. He'd hurt people, and he'd never, ever wanted to hurt anyone. It was the reason he'd refused to join the villains. It was the reason he'd wanted to be a hero. And it'd all happened anyway.

Uraraka was still struggling to cope with the USJ incident, even though it happened so long ago. She'd nearly died. Her friends had nearly died. And someone had been hurt for helping her, she had been so sure. Then she'd found out that one of her classmates had been one of the people to hurt someone weaker than him, and suddenly the world wasn't so bright anymore.

"W-we're both kind of a mess right now, a-aren't we?" Uraraka managed a weak laugh through her tears.

"Y-yeah." Izuku agreed.

Uraraka frowned, then she remembered why she'd entered the room in the first place. She wiped away her tears and smiled again.

"How about we try this again. Hi! I'm Ochako Uraraka, nice to meet you!"

For a moment, Izuku loooked terrified, completely overwhelmed and close to crying again. Then he managed a much weaker smile.

"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya."

And that was the start of their friendship.

Iida was less sure about what he was going to say.

"They're both monsters. Get away."

He knew that he needed to talk to the green haired boy. The one that had been called a monster. The one that Stain had called a lost cause. The one that had saved him.

The boy had saved Iida from himself. The boy had been someone to protect, and it had taken his mind away from the thought of revenge, and through that Iida had found a way to be a hero... a way to make Tensei proud.

But the boy was the missing quirkless Izuku Midoriya. And Izuku had a quirk, or had when he was fighting Stain, and none of it made any sense.

But none of that mattered. He needed to thank Izuku. He needed to apologise to Izuku.

Iida wasn't sure how he'd say any of it, because it was all too confusing, only that he needed to say it.

But as soon as he opened the door, Midoriya turned to look at him, and his eyes were eerily intent for a moment. Iida froze, unsure of what to do.

Then the moment passed, and Izuku laughed nervously. "Sorry, it's a really bad habit... Y-you're the o-one that saved me from S-Stain- y-you're Ingenium r-right?"

Iida blinked. "I- yes- that is my hero name."

The boy's face lit up. "Thank you so much. I- you saved me, not just from Stain a-and..." He trailed off, his eyes growing distant with memories.

"Ah, Midoriya? I'm the one who should be thanking you. Without your presence on the battlefield, I am certain that I would have died." Iida interrupted, causing the boy to stare at him. But he didn't speak, so Iida continued. "Stain was a formidable opponent, and you had been fighting him off admirably."

"I..." Midoriya frowned, looking hopelessly lost for a moment. "I... No, I wouldn't have been able to keep fighting for much longer, so you really did save me... T-thank you."

Iida still didn't think the boy was right, but it looked like Izuku would be reduced to tears soon, so he let it slide. "I... It was merely the duty of a hero." He said, and tried not to think of Tensei.

"You're going to be a great hero, then." Izuku beamed at him, still pale and uncertain, but seeming so much happier.

"Iida, take the name Ingenium. D-don't let i-it die."

Iida smiled. "Thank you Midoriya." And he wondered if somewhere, Tensei would be watching him and if somewhere, Tensei was proud of him.

Later, Izuku wondered what he had done to deserve the friends that came to visit him regularly. Uraraka always made a point to be cheerful and friendly, and she rarely stopped smiling. Iida was always careful and sometimes even a little stern, but he was friendly and willing to talk to Izuku nonetheless.

And All Might and his mother were always visiting, too. They always tried to put a smile on his face, and more often than not, it worked.

He wasn't Nomou anymore. He had friends now. He was ready to start moving forwards and leave the memories of the villains, of Nomou behind him and start getting better.