"Alright, is everyone alright?!" Deku asked the poor, dazed students as he gently sat them on the road.

"Uhuh." They, including Tasen, had never gone so fast before, and were on the verge of vomiting,

"Maru? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine dad." She looked around with dizzy eyes and mumbled, "Baachu? Dad where's Baachu? Where's Meiwaku?"

"I'm getting them, I'll be right back. You." He pointed to Tasen in an authoritative manner, "Call the police. But don't tell them who saved you."

"But we weren't supposed to be here either!" Candy gulped, fearful of expulsion.

"I know your principal. She won't expel you for going on a dangerous mission to save your friends. Now call the police!"

With a powerful surge of green lightning sparked across his skin before he shot back into the forest.
The number one hero came zooming back into the decrepit building, and if Deku had not seen this kind of horror before he would've barfed.

There was blood everywhere.

The criminal lay on the floor, completely unconscious, and the other three stood in shock. Meiwaku was especially covered in blood. His hands were almost cupping the steaming flesh.

"I had one of the students the other authorities in..." Izuku gasped. "I'll... stop him from bleeding... But we need to get out of here, now." He mumbled as he used tape to cut off the circulation around the villain's fresh wounds.

"Right. You two. Come with me." Bakugo demanded as he dragged the two shocked boys out of the abandoned building, leaving Deku with the convict.

As they ran up the hill, pulling themselves onto the road above, Bakugo turned to Eiji with a angry gasp.

"You tried to go after this bastard yourself?! What the hell!"

"Dad—"

"You care about your friends, I get it, but what if you died?! Don't you think they care about your safety, too-"

"Dad!" Eiji gently cut off his dad's scolding and quietly pointed to the guardrail.

Meiwaku sat there. His hands were dripping with blood. And the look on his face was absolutely horrified at himself.

Bakugo sighed softly and came up to the poor kid.

"Ey. Kid."

Meiwaku tried to, but he couldn't look away from his hands.

"Here. Lemme help you with that." Bakugo said as he took the corner of his tank top and wiped the blood off Meiwaku's hands. They were shaking. "You saved my son. Thanks for that."

"..." Meiwaku ground his teeth together as he tried to keep his composure. But it was very difficult to do so. "I imploded his hands... I'm... just as bad as him."

"Oi! Look at me, kid." Bakugo pointed at Meiwaku's face, making the boy stare him in the eyes. "You aren't nothing like that asshole of a father you got. Kapeesh?"

"I... promised myself I wouldn't hurt nobody with my quirk."

"...That's a rough one, kid." Bakugo pursed his lips, "Especially if you're planning on saving people."

Meiwaku felt his lunch try and come up.

"You alright, kid?"

"...It's just... this is real! I imploded his hands off..."

"You did what was right. And dontcha see that you have something he doesn't?" Bakugo asked the confused teenager.

"Hands?"

"What?! No! I was gonna say morals or friends or family or shit!" Bakugo over-exaggerated, "'Hands?' Yeah, no kidding! You got some messed up humor, kid."

"Heh. Yeah." Meiwaku tried to smile. "Thanks... Ground Zero." As he looked down the road, he saw the small band of rescuers running towards them, shouting and screaming his name.

"Meiwaku! I thought you died!"

"Are you okay, Poprocks?!"

"I-I am glad you are unharmed!"

"Meiwaku! We did it! We got out of there!"

"..." Meiwaku's eyes widened as they all gathered around and hugged him. They ignored the blood on his hands. He was alive, and that's all that mattered.

They genuinely cared about him, and it wasn't something he was used to. It felt like something he never had before.

Suddenly, siren lights caught everyone's attention, and Ground Zero disappeared from their midst.

"Ground Zero?" Meiwaku mumbled, his brain still trying to process the worst day of his life. Eiji smiled,

"You'll see him again."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I can get ya hooked up. I know a guy." He chuckled as the several police cars, trucks, and ambulances screeched around them.

This day, kinda sucked. Honestly, it was the worst day of their lives. But it was over now.

They made it.

## The next morning

Everyone sat in the dormitory common rooms, and crazy enough, they weren't expelled! Principal Yaoyorozu was oddly understanding. They told the police some strange vigilantes saved them, disappearing into the night. Everything seemed to wrap up nicely. But... things did not go without consequences...

Meiwaku lied about his connection with this criminal, which could've prevented a lot of this crap from happening. But worst yet, he lied to his mother. About everything. And he had dismissed her feelings for far too long...

It was only a matter of time before—

"Meiwaku?" Gasped Eiji as he saw the teenager try and sneak out the back door with his bags. "Meiwaku!" He shot up from the couch and dashed.

"What? Where?!"

"Is he leaving?!"

"He can't!"

Meiwaku picked up his pace as he heard a small stampede of bare feet running across pavement. He couldn't look at them.

"Meiwaku! Wait!" Eiji huffed as he and the others caught up to the bully, but he didn't look at them quite yet. But he could pause a moment for them. "Where are you going?"

"...Home?" He shrugged, his face turned away from them.

"But fam..." Maru meeped as they all stepped a little closer, "Isn't this your home?"

"I—" Meiwaku was finding it hard to talk for some strange reason, "I can't. I wasn't ever s'posed to be in the Hero Course."

"What are you talking about?! Of course you—"

"No! I wasn't! I was selfish! I jus' so wanted be a hero that I didn't care if I died an' I didn't think about my mumma and—"

"It's not selfish, wanting to be a hero." Tasen said with a smile, "Having a dream and pursuing it is an amazing thing to have. And yeah, it can be dangerous, but—"

"No! You don't get it!" Meiwaku coughed, "I chose this life, but it WILL kill me! I didn't have that long in the ringer, but this?! This fighting and shit?! It's gonna eat my years away, and I didn't care I was so selfish!"

"What are you even talking about, man?"

"I'm sayin... I'm saying...!" The bully nearly pulled his shirt away, but he couldn't. He couldn't show them for some reason. "I got hurt. A long time ago. There ain't much... between my heart and my skin. I'm not that strong." He squeaked.

"You're hurt?" Maru gasped alongside a few others.

"So I lied. My mumma thought I was in the Support Course. She thought... I was making tech that'd keep me alive. But instead, I was killing myself." Quietly, defeatedly, he whimpered, "I can't lie to her no longer."

"Then tell her the truth, man." Eiji smiled a smile warmer than the son. "Tell her you're going to be a great hero one day! Even with everything in your way!"

"..." Meiwaku choked. And he stepped back closer to his friends. Grinding his teeth and trying to hold himself together, he let them hug him. And he didn't hold it in any longer. With water threatening to drop off his eyes, he croaked, "I... don't want... you to see this..."

Slowly, shakily, he pulled his shirt up.

His rescuers almost gasped at the sight. A scar stared back at them. It was quite deep... and quite gruesome.

Meiwaku tried to hide his emotional face with his shirt as he whimpered,

"This is me... This is what that bastard did to me..."

"...!" No one could say a word. But Eiji was so happy. Meiwaku finally showed himself. He didn't have to fake anything anymore. He was himself.

Tasen put a hand on Meiwaku's shoulder and smiled,

"Meiwaku? Your dad's an asshole."

"Heh!" Meiwaku laughed through his snot. That's when he realized something. He loved these guys. He didn't want to go. "I gotta do something..."

## The UA gate

Ms. Meiwaku paced back and forth in front of the taxi as she waited for her son again. Slowly, he walked up to her through the gate and she ran up to him with panic still in her veins.

"Ba-Ba!" She hugged her son, who was much taller than her, "Where are your bags? Are you ready to go home? Oh sweetie I was so scared—"

"Mumma." Meiwaku stopped his poor mother's rambling. "I can't leave."

"W-What do you mean you can't leave?!" She gasped.

"...UA is my home. The Hero Course is my family." He smiled.

"Meiwaku! B-But I'm your family! Our home is your home!" She squeaked. "This whole time it has been you and me! W-We're a team!"

"Mumma. I'm sorry I lead to you." He changed subjects.

"We can talk about that later—"

"I'm sorry I lied to you when I told you I was hanging out with my friends after school."

"..." His mom's eyes widened as she listened.

"I'm sorry when I told you I was eating dinner with them, or going to events, or playing video games."

"..." A deep sadness took over her poor heart.

"I'm sorry that I told you they were taking care of me while you were gone. And I'm sorry I never told you how much I hated being alone."

"Ba-Ba..."

"I didn't have any friends. I focused everything I had on training myself to become a hero, but I always ate alone, I kept to myself, and I never made a single friend."

His mom's heart has broken into a million pieces as he told her the truth. If she had known he was so lonely she would've studied for another career! She would've found a way to stay home! Basuji knew what would've given up... that's why he never told her.

"But now that I'm here, mumma..." Meiwaku smiled and spoke raspily, "I don't eat alone no more. It's like for the first time ever... I got a family!"

With tears prickling her eyes, Meiwaku's mom hugged him gently.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give that to you, Ba-Ba..."

"You can." He huffed lovingly, "Let me stay here."

"...Okay." She squeaked, "You can stay... But no more lying to me, okay?! I want you to tell me everything!" She mumbled into his chest.

"Yes, mumma."

"Tell me about your friends and the funny stories you create, okay? Sniff!"

"Yes mumma."

"And please, *please* tell me when you're struggling. I want to be with you in all the ups and downs, okay?"

"Heh. Yeah mumma. I promise." He chuckled as he gave a little kiss to the top of her greeting hair.

Suddenly, the bell rang, and he pulled away from their hug.

"I gotta head to class now."

"Okay." She sniffed and waved to her son as he walked back into school. "I love you Ba-Ba."

"Hmph. Love ya too, mumma."

And Meiwaku went home.

## Hosu Prison

Chigawa dragged his feet across the floor as he was shoved back where he belonged: behind bars. The guard chuckled as he closed the door shut, it's click signaling the rest of Chigawa's days will be spent here.

"Welcome home, bastard." The guard laughed, "But hey, don't need that quirk restraint collar anymore, right?"

"..." Chigawa wanted to kill this guy so bad. But he had nothing to motivate him. This was it for him.

"Oh yeah, here's your book." The guard threw it into the jail. "Funny. You're right back where you started, except this time, you don't even got hands to turn the pages of your book." The twinkle in his eye showed he was having far too much fun with this.

The guard left with a chuckle and allowed Chigawa time to wallow in his misery.

Angrily picking up the book with his nubs for hands, he saw a small slip of paper fall out. There was something written on it, in sparkly gel pen.

"You almost killed one of the blonde ones." It said. Chigawa gulped in fear. That lady who broke him out? That was one of the blonde ones?! How did she see that?! He dropped the book in horror as he read the rest...

"You're lucky it was just your hands..."