This story is heavily based off of the anime/manga series "Boku no Hero Academia". This work of fiction may contain spoilers towards the series, as well as references and characters. I do not own any of the references or characters from the original series that may appear in this story. This work and its original characters are fictional, any resemblance to real people living or dead is purely coincidental.

To be unique, is to be one of a kind, unlike anything else. What does that mean in a world where everyone is unique?

The world has transformed dramatically. Unique abilities that are normally impossible for an average human to achieve, are now commonplace. Nearly 80% of all of humanity is equipped with some sort of ability or mutation. These unique traits are known as "quirks". When individuals are given power, they are capable of making decisions that can affect others.

This story is not comprised of a single hero.

Friday, April 21st 1:32 a.m.

The curtains hanging over his glass sliding door were cast aside, allowing the moonlight to cut through the darkness. Upon the dorm room's bed laid Riku, unable to bring himself to sleep even though he was physically drained. The events of the day before had continued to linger in his mind.

Part of him felt an unbearable excitement. He was able to fight to his heart's content, although he would have preferred to continue after his opponent began to stand once again.

...No.

After a moment of contemplation, he determined that would've been a poor choice. He was already injured after the first round of combat, his wounds would have left him unable to put up a good fight. Perhaps he should thank Endo for stopping him at that point. Still, it was a level of combat he'd never experienced before. Specifically, the moment he had jumped in to protect his friend. That was the sharpest he had ever felt, like a brand-new army knife.

Once again, he felt his heart squeeze. Riku found himself holding one of his pillows tightly. It somehow made him feel a little better.

Then there was Endo. He could swear he still felt the touch of her lips lingering on his cheek.

He thought he had overcome his sudden feelings for her long ago. Unfortunately, they came back with the force of a two-ton truck. Shaking his head in an attempt to dismiss these intrusive thoughts, had only given him a severe headache. He was in no condition to be moving around so frantically.

Another thought had managed to cling to him stronger than either of the two combined. The feelings that bounced in his chest were near ineffable. The boy would take time out of his sleeping schedule in order to bring the words out.

He'd witnessed someone being killed for the first time in his life. It's not surprising that it had taken this long to finally start to affect him, given that he was distracted by the company of his friends for an extended period of time. Now that he was all by himself, surrounded by a multitude of thoughts, he had no choice but to pay them mind. It wasn't like watching a movie, with blood and guts spilling out in grotesque fashion. This execution was haunting, watching a man simply crumble and fade into the wind. There was no trace left of him at all.

Everything about the thief had led Riku to the conclusion that he was involved with the League of Villains. He had multiple quirks, that had seemed so bizarrely mismatched. Almost as if they were randomly chosen out of a shopping mart's bargain bin. Could he have been an experiment? A low-valued pawn? The thief kept muttering to himself, as if he already had a foot in the grave. Desperately trying to steal Anzu's U.A. I.D. card, as if his life depended on it, like it was his last chance or something. He willingly injected himself with Trigger, the drug Detective Naomasa had warned Riku and the others about. The drug that bestows incredible power, but at the cost of your reasoning.

Shortly after Riku and the others escaped, the man was killed by a mysterious stranger. Riku's eyesight was blurry from his fatigue, leaving him unable to make out the silhouette. All that was clear, was that the thief slowly faded away as he bellowed in an excruciatingly sickening way. Could it have been All For One who finished him off?

His eyelids lowered halfway as he continued his thoughts, facing the moonlight.

No... All For One was locked up in maximum security. The one more likely to have done it is Shigaraki Tomura, the new leader of the League of Villains.

The boy's eyes shot wide open, as his ideas started to piece together.

That would explain the disintegration... According to articles and video clips I've seen online, Shigaraki has a disintegration quirk. Wait, the thief's quirks were taken away right then and there before he died. Does that mean that Shigaraki can give and take quirks now? How is that possible? Did All For One give him the ability before he was imprisoned? Did he... break out? No, it would've been all over the news. Wait, maybe they're covering it up? Did Shigaraki enter the prison to reach All For One?

He clutched his head as it throbbed, overheating from all of the thinking. There wasn't enough information for him to come to a reasonable conclusion. Too many possibilities.

His phone vibrated, the light of the screen illuminating the remaining darkened areas of the room.

It was a text from Rock.

"hey, you up? i was just about to make some hot cocoa you want some?"

A small wave of relief passed through Riku after hearing from someone familiar.

He'd planned on telling everything to Rock and Kazuto the next day.

Technically, it was the next day already.

rikuraku has added littlerock02, kazu to the group chat.

rikuraku: guys

rikuraku: are u awake

littlerock02: yo did u get my text

rikuraku: yes

littlerock02: so cocoa? :D

rikuraku: yeah but i gotta tlak to you guys

littlerock02: ok

littlerock02 has changed the group name to "the boys"

kazu: why are you guys awake

rikuraku: scroll up

rikuraku: actually wtf you dont even gotta scroll up

rikuraku: just use ur eyes theres not alot of messages

littlerock02: LOL

kazu: ok... what do u have to talk about at 2 am

kazu: some of us are trying to sleep?

littlerock02: ur kinda hostile kazu

littlerock02: everything ok?

kazu: nothing

kazu: just tired

rikuraku: moving onn

rikuraku: lets sneak to the living room and get that cocoa

kazu: why not just use this chat

kazu: we're not allowed t o go out past curfew

littlerock02: cmon kazu, ur hangin with the cool kids now

littlerock02: and cool kids dont follow the rules

kazu: wh at

littlerock02: ok but serouisly, if snipe comes by im hiding real quick

littlerock02: i dont want him to hat eme even more

rikuraku: this is important guys

rikuraku: leave immediately, we talk asap

kazu: ok

rikuraku: WAIT

littlerock02: what

rikuraku: i cant stand up

rikuraku: u guys gotta come here

littlerock02: are you serious

rikuraku: yes

kazu: you cant walk downstairs?

rikuraku: yes

littlerock02: but like

littlerock02: i dont wanna go down, get cocoa, and go back up to ur room

rikuraku: fucking do it

rikuraku: this is really important

Riku pressed the topmost button on the right side of his phone, turning off the screen. Groaning, he shifted his position, letting his feet hang over his bed. Exhaling sharply, his feet descended to the soft carpet. Managing to maintain a hunched stance, he shuffled his feet forward. Approaching his door, he raised his left arm and managed to unlock his door to let the others in.

After several minutes, Kazuto let himself into the room. He had unintentionally revealed an apathetic stare as he laid eyes upon Riku, laying exhausted on his bed. Quickly shaking off his expression, he properly offered his greetings and leaned against the west wall as they waited for Rock to arrive.

Nearly sixteen minutes after Riku had invited the two boys, Rock had finally made an appearance as he peered into the room after opening the door ever so slightly. In his right hand he held a checker-patterned thermos containing piping hot chocolate.

"Sorry," Rock said in a hushed tone, "Were you guys waiting long?"

Kazuto shrugged with a small scoff, "I just wish you didn't take your time. It's almost like 2:30."

"Sorry...! I'm here now, let's talk," squeaked Rock.

The fluffy-haired boy approached his bedridden friend, his brows knitting together into a concerned expression. "What happened to... Did you use your right hand again?"

Riku ignored his question and shakily extended his right arm towards the two, revealing Detective Naomasa's business card.

"Remember this?" he whispered.

Kazuto and Rock exchanged worried glances, before inching closer to the familiar paper. A wave of disgust brushes through Kazuto, bringing the bespectacled boy to grasp his neck.

Riku places the business card on a small desk to his right, and turns to face the two boys.

"This is what happened," he begins.

As the length explanation deepens, the boys share their thoughts as well as hot chocolate that didn't seem too warm anymore, and some pleasant low-key music.

"So... you saw Shigaraki? The leader of the League of Villains?" Rock questions incredulously, leaning forward to further accentuate his inquiry.

"Yes," Riku stated plainly.

"That's what makes sense," Kazuto mentioned, taking a sip from his hot chocolate. "It seems Shigaraki had found that the 'thief' had outlived his usefulness. Well, that's what we're assuming anyways. The only thing that can concretely tie the two people together, is the fact that the thief had multiple mismatched quirks, and Shigaraki is able to steal and bestow them. Based on those two facts, it's likely that the two were connected."

"Yeah, Shigaraki stole the thief's quirks and then disintegrated him before disappearing," the tired boy muttered.

"Why did he want Anzu's I.D. card though?" Rock questioned.

"Well, it's easy access to U.A. He's been known for attacking the school in the past. I'm sure we don't have to rack our brains too hard to figure out what he was planning," Kazuto replied.

Riku's hypothesis, with the help of the discussion with Rock and Kazuto, had shaped into a more solid idea. They had reached a consensus that the mysterious figure that was seen was Shigaraki Tomura, the new leader of the League of Villains, who had inherited All For One's abilities. Either that or All For One himself had somehow escaped his imprisonment in maximum security and had taken Shigaraki's disintegration quirk, or had an incredibly similar one. The latter seemed less likely.

"What do we do now?" Rock asked softly, looking to his feet as he sat in a crossed-leg position.

"What do you mean? We aren't doing anything!" spouted Kazuto, the sudden shift in movement knocking his glasses askew.

Suddenly, they were feeling incredibly in over their heads.

"I told you both this information because I thought you deserved to know. If we tell Naomasa, I'm probably going to be expelled. He and the Principal specifically told us not to get involved," Riku expressed, snapping his eyes to the two boys.

"Wha... Expelled?" Rock croaked, his grip on the thermos tightening.

"Then why did you get involved, Riku?" Kazuto asks, replying to his gaze in kind.

"I was helping Anzu get her shit back, remember? It's not like I ran out looking for the fucking League of Villains."

"Fighting some robber in the streets, and even ending up using your quirk? You may not have been looking for the 'fucking League of Villains', but it sure sounds like you were out looking for trouble," the bespectacled boy fires back, crossing his thin arms as his brows furrow.

"Hey!-" Riku's voice caught in his throat, "I did what I had to! You weren't even-"

His tirade was cut short by Rock standing, extending his hands to both of them to intervene.

"It's late, we shouldn't raise our voices," said Rock.

Riku and Kazuto stopped, and gave their attention to the boy who interjected.

"It sounds like this information could really help the police in their investigation... We don't even know how much they really know,"

Rock slouched as he continued with his explanation, crestfallen.

"But I don't think we should tell. I... I know it's selfish and all, but I really don't want Riku to get expelled or anything. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, he saved the day. He might've broken the rules to do it, but he did it! No one was hurt!"

The boy's downtrodden expression slowly brightened as he continued in his small speech.

"He doesn't deserve to get expelled."

Riku could only look to his friend with a near-blank expression.

Kazuto slowly blinked, and then looked towards the two with acceptance in his eyes. "Then... this is our secret, right?"

"Kazuto...!" Rock chirped.

"H-Hey, come on. It's not like I wanted Riku to get expelled. It just seems like this is important stuff that could help Mr. Naomasa."

Rock and Kazuto began to share a laugh, leaving Riku to turn to the veranda and gaze at the moon. His eyelids lowered as his lips curled upward.

Somehow it always ended up like this. Light and easy.

Riku turned back to face the two boys, "Oh, I forgot to tell you guys! Guess what Endo-"

Kazuto quickly stood up and cut him off, "Alright, that's enough for one night. I've got to go to bed."

"Oh... I guess it is pretty late. We have class in like, five hours..." groaned Rock, running his fingers through his hair.

As their blue-haired friend inched towards the door, they noticed he stood still for a couple of seconds before facing them once again.

"Riku," Kazuto aimed his right pointer finger to Riku's face, "You might've gotten ahead of me just a little bit, but mark my words. I'll win her in the end."

With a huff thrown in for good measure, he left the dark room. Rock and Riku remained still, dumbfounded by the challenging words spouted by their friend.

"What is he talking about?" Rock asked curiously.

"Nothin', Endo kissed me and now he's jealous."

Rock fell over.

Soon the night would be over, and class would begin again.

Just a little inbetweener chapter, trying to get Riku to talk to his boys about what the heck just happened previously. He probably won't make it to class since he's so worn out. Seriously, using his right hand to heal really messes with his stamina.

Glad he could tell his friends about his near-death experience. He wasn't necessarily about to die, but he was near to death. Ha.