The Cursed Hero

by elusivesky

Midoriya was born with a quirk nobody was able to identify, not even him. After his first encounter with All Might, his future is changed, but not in the way you expect. Will he be able to walk the path of a hero with his unknown power and the doubt inside his mind? Will his darkness overcome his resolve of what a hero should be? Language M / Romance T-M / Drama T / Pairing Unknown

21. Feelings

Author's note: Yo. What are your opinions on written spicey scenes? Too cringe? Good enough? Because man, I have a few options right now. Sorry for any typos and enjoy it.

---

" Speaking out loud "
' Thinking '
Highlighted Information
Written information
Titles and Techniques

---

Feelings

Shinji was behind the counter, talking to a very agitated Cathleen:

"Stop running down the place and calm down for a second. Explain to me again, how did that happen?"
"Ummmm... Do you remember the day I told you I had an argument with Izuku?"
"Yes, the day they called you at the association... Two weeks ago?"
"Three. The next day after we had our argument, Midoriya vanished from the map. There had been an explosion of some kind next to his house, and the next day, he and his mother were gone."
"Yes, yes, I know all that."
"So I thought he was dead... Or that Tsukuyomi had captured him until I received this."

She took off her cellphone and showed a message stating a date and a place for a meeting, coming from Midoriya's cellphone.

"You think it is an imposter?"

She didn't have to answer, swiping until she found the audio file she wanted him to hear. They heard Midoriya's unmistakable voice:

Cath, why didn't you show up? We need to talk about what happened in the association. I need a few answers so stop ignoring my messages and my calls.

She turned and started pacing again.

"It doesn't sound that bad-"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
"What?"
"That damn wolf- I wasn't careful enough and must have seen it- Heard it- Read it- It doesn't matter. What matters is that he knows! I bet he found out on the same night I shared everything with them."
"Wait, are you telling me that you didn't expect him to read your thoughts while you were explaining about his past? Oh boy... I never took you to be this naïve. And you can't really blame him from being angry with you."
"I thought I would be able to hide it... And of course he wasn't happy- Are you smiling?! You lied to him as well, so we're in the same boat." She glared at the man.

"That secret wasn't mine to tell, Cath."
"Well, it doesn't matter who it belonged to, what it matters is that he knows and that he wants to meet."
"Are you scared?"
"Of course I am! Even though we know him for some time, his mood swings are unpredictable. Tomorrow he may wake up believing I'm a threat and decide to kill me. Oh, and he's even more unpredictable right now because of that damn thing inside of him. He could be very well thinking about killing me right now."

Shinji was about to answer when someone answered for him:

"I would be lying if I say it didn't cross my mind. Ha... I'm joking, I'm joking. C'mon, give me a little credit, I wouldn't go that far."

They turned and saw Midoriya right next to them. They both looked at the door, wondering why the bell installed above it didn't make a sound announcing the newcomer. Shinji spotted the answer on the outside, the broom he kept right next to the door, lying down on the street.

"Izuku, look-"
"I know Cath. Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. I would never hurt you."
"I meant it when I said I was sorry. I just-"
"Lied to me?"

"..."

"It's water under the bridge."
"What you mean? You're not here to talk about that night?"
"Look, although I understand why you did what you did, I've stopped allowing people to hide these kinds of things from me. For god's sake, why would you even do that? This information will actually help me."
"Izuku, you have to understand-"
"I said I do understand why you did it, not the reason you kept this from me. You did it because you're a control freak, but in your case, the control comes in the form of gathering information, am I right? I know the feeling of having the information about something prior to anyone, I know it's a wonderful feeling... You feel protected and powerful, you feel one step ahead of everyone, but I still can't forgive you, even understanding your motives."
"I know, I just wish we could go back to how things were before. I meant no harm-"
"Go back to how things were before? Sorry, but that's not going to happen. Not when one of the people I trusted the most, enough to share even my own thoughts, were hiding things from me- And no, I'm not talking about your own secrets, I'm not mad because you didn't tell me everything about yourself... Everyone has secrets. I'm mad because you stole my memories and hid information regarding my powers."

"..."

"As I said, I understand that gathering information is your obsession, but I trusted you. I never had Raiju read your mind before then that night three weeks ago, because of how much I trusted you. Why did you keep this from me?"
"I don't know... I was afraid, ok? I don't go out sharing my quirk's applicabilities. I know this because people already tried to kidnap me when I was younger. My quirk is not something people can handle, and if it ends up in the wrong hands-"
"That's not what I asked... And you're lying again." Midoriya sighed, sitting on a chair next to the counter while the girl just stared.
"I'm telling the truth."
"About your quirk, yes, but you're dodging my question... And I wonder why didn't you tell me that your quirk wasn't just the second dimension inside your head."

"..."

"The power to acquire memories from another being, dead or alive, through DNA absorption, and manipulation of said memories inside your own. Now I understand why you did that."
"Huh?"
"The day you brought me home after I got my sight back. When I was getting out of the car you said I had a bug on my hair so you pulled something off, but now I understand that you were gathering my DNA so you could see all my memories."

"..."

"I gotta say, this is quite a quirk. What happened to the usual quirk's description? It was supposed to be something like laser eyes, harden body, fly, super-strength, you know, things simple like this. Since when such a complicated description of a quirk exists? And why yours is the first quirk I see that is like this?"

The girl just looked away, trying to think about dolphins.

"Seriously? Are you guys this scared of me? Why? I never hurt any of you. Why are you hiding things from me now? Why are you afraid that I'll hurt you this time?"

Midoriya looked at Shinji, who had a worried expression and sighed as they kept silent, making the boy's eyebrows go up after Raiju filled him in.

"I see. You're not scared of me. You scared of her." Midoriya slightly moved, making the Kusanagi on his waist come to view.
"Her?"
"Yea, it's a she."
"I- Look, you can't expect us not to worry about something as dangerous as the legendary Yamata no Orochi. Imagine the implications if it- If she was to obtain this."
"This is a risk I'm willing to take. Tell me, Cath. Please."

"..."

"Cath?"
"I'm really sorry I lied to you, but this is not a risk I'm willing to take... This is not something I can share with you at your current state. If things go wrong after I tell you this, I'm the one who's going to have to live with the guilt."

Midoriya narrowed his eyes.

"You know I could just force you to tell me with my Moonlight, don't you?"
"Would you?"
"Sigh. I wouldn't, Cath... This is not who I am." He looked outside for a few seconds before turning to ask with a tiny smile:
"But I'm intrigued... About what you explained to us."

"..."

Midoriya's smile grew when he asked:

"You didn't find any proof, did you? All the books you said you found, all the letters, everything was just bullshit, wasn't it?"
"I really-"
"Don't lie, Cath. Raiju is right here by my side."

The girl bit her lip and said while looking down:

"Not... Everything. I found some old paintings-"

Midoriya's skeptical look made her cut to the chase.

"Fine, I made up most of it, but the information is a hundred percent reliable."
"Of course it is, you desecrated my ancestors' tomb to find it. You got the information right from the source."

"..."

"I don't feel anything regarding what you did, they were not my direct family, but you can't be right in the head if you can't see that was just wrong. You violated someone's grave, and god knows how you absorbed their DNA."
"I had to. I finally found their remains... And I had to know."
"As I said, your obsession is way over the top."
"Like your obsession about saving people?"

Midoriya's mouth fell open and he gave a little thought before smirking.

"Umm, Touché. My obsession was something that I always wanted to put into words, but I couldn't at that time... But now I can. It was not about saving people... It was about proving myself. I lived all my life as nothing, so in the end, I said I was trying to save everyone, but in reality, I was just trying to prove myself to everyone... I was seeking their approval... It was all frustration, disguised as righteousness."
"Izuku-"
"But I got over mine. I saw how it made me blind, so I grew out of it. Now tell me, what about you?"

"..."

"Just don't let it consume you like mine almost did, Cath... This is a one-way road."
"Look, this really helped us so why can't you think about this as a win? You got the information, I got the information, everyone is glad."
"I'm not glad. Not in the slightest. The information you shared with us wasn't the only thing you stole from them, was it?"

Midoriya was looking to the end of the store, but switched to her face again, making the girl swallow compulsively.

"What did you find?"
"I- I don't- I don't even know what you're talking about, Izuku."
"Jesus, you're a terrible liar. I don't even need to ask Raiju. I can see in your face that you're lying again. I saw inside your head three weeks ago, I just wasn't sure about what that was... Until today."

The girl bit her lip, trying to hide her memories, but it was too late.

"A scroll?"
"Izuku-"
"Where is it?"

Cathleen sighed and tried to take a step back, but Raiju appeared next to a bookshelf, grabbing something that was hidden between the books, bringing it to Midoriya. He turned it in his hands, but most of the things written on the outside were like drawings to him, completely deprived of sense.

"What is this?"
"I don't know. I couldn't interpret the drawings on the outside, and I was afraid to open it, I swear."
"You? Afraid of getting extra information?"
"I have to be cautious about this, Izuku... I won't deny I'm a little obsessed, but I'm not dumb."

Midoriya smiled and positioned the scroll.

"Should I give it a try?"
"I don't think we should-"

Midoriya opened the scroll slowly, seeing a few letters and symbols drawn on it.

"What does it say?" He asked Cathleen who was somehow with her head in front of his face.
"A location... Where you can find... Some kind of power source... No, where you can learn some new kind of power source... I never saw this Kanji here... What is this? A new way to write energy? It mixes the Kanjis from nature and energy... I just don't get it... Is this related to the natural elements?"
"The natural elements?"
"Yea... But it doesn't make any sense... This Kanji here alter the way you read elements to energy... I don't think I'm interpreting this right, but this could be talking about some kind of real natural energy."
"Ummm... So it's a map? A map leading to this energy source?"
"It looks like one."
"Great, could you point me where this is?" He asked already knowing the answer.
"Nope."
"I thought so. Why are you giving me such a hard time? I thought we were friends."
"That is exactly the reason I'm giving you a hard time."
"Cath... You're not protecting me from anything... I am in control."
"And do you really believe you would know if you weren't?"

"..."

The girl just shook her head.

"There's too much at stake here for me to take your word for it, I'm sorry."
"If I were being possessed by Orochi, why would I bother asking you for anything? I could just force you to tell me all your secrets."

"..."

"It doesn't make any sense... You just found information about something important to me, and that's all I'm asking from you."
"Izuku, you can't go looking for this."
"Why not?"
"You need to get rid of those things inside you first. You need to absorb Fuujin and Suijin... You need to destroy Orochi."
"It's not that simple."
"HUH?! It's very simple! Don't you know what they were trying to-"
"I know what their intentions were, but I can't turn my back to the fact that they saved my life more than once."
"They didn't save you because they cared about you! They saved you because they need your body! They were using you, they're still using you... Can't you see that?"
"I can, but what would you do if it was you? What would you do to save your own life, Cath? When your survival is on the line, what would you do to stay alive? Would you lie? Would you kill?"

Cathleen received those questions as slaps, staggering, unable to answer back.

"It's easy to say what you would or wouldn't do when you're not in their shoes, it's easy to judge other people's actions when you were never put in the position to act yourself. You don't know how you would behave if you were to trade places, not until you're right there where they stood."
"Izuku... They are not people-"
"Don't worry, I'm sure there are other tombs like that one, and now that I know about their existence and its contents, it's only a matter of time before I find them."
"Why are you going after this?"
"Because I'm still not strong enough."

"..."

"And this is not the only thing I'm going after."
"Huh?!"
"You thought I was talking only about this scroll when I said you were keeping things from me?"

'No way.'

Raiju echoed her thoughts inside Midoriya's mind, and he smiled.

"Yes... I saw three weeks ago inside your head, and I was confirming it now."

The girl just sat on the ground and covered her mouth.

"I made sure- No, this can't be."
"And yet, it happened. I saw it."

Midoriya scratched his head and Cathleen saw a faint scar on his arm.

"What is that?"
"Huh? Oh, this? Didn't you hear? Well, I guess they really covered it up."
"What are you talking about?"
"Remember that three weeks ago, the night after our reunion, something exploded next to my house?"
"Yea, I saw on the news on the next day."
"Well, that wasn't really an explosion. That was me fighting Ononoki Shirayuki, and this was the scar she gave me. I was going to use my Lazarus to fully heal the wound but-"
"YOU WHAT?!"
"I know right? Using the Lazarus just to prevent a small scar is a little too much-"
"NO, FORGET ABOUT THAT! YOU FOUGHT SHIRAYUKI AGAIN?! WHAT HAPPENED?!
"Well, I gotta give you credit when it comes to gathering information because you were right when you told us that Shukaku wasn't the only beast and that he was the weakest among his kind."
"What you mean?"
"She had one inside of her as well."
"She had one beast? Which one?"
"I believe it was the Four-tails. She called him: Kurama."
"What the fuck happened that night?!"

---

Midoriya wondered how to proceed against an immortal enemy when he saw the same red steam that Hayama used one night before.

"What is that thing?" He asked himself, and for his surprise, Shirayuki answered:
"If they're right... This is... How you manipulate... Their power."

She struggled against something, while her eyes turned red, her pupils resembling an animal's. Midoriya waited, thinking about another course of action when he saw the steam gathering around her figure, taking form, becoming some kind of costume around her body, a costume made of red, dense steam. What caught his eye were the two tails swinging behind her when she finally stopped her energy gathering.

"Two tails?" Mirko-san, we may need some help-"
"Shut up, Midoriya. Keep your weapon down, you idiot-" Mirko tried instructing Midoriya to avoid a fight in this residential area, but she was too late.

The girl lunged at Midoriya, breaking the sidewalk with the strength of her legs, her hands already turned into claws by the red mist, aiming at Midoriya's neck. He swung the Kusanagi coated with lightning towards the girl, just to see his Raijin Blade being deflected by her bare claws like it was nothing.

"What the hell-"

He had jumped back a few times, so the girl jumped after him, changing her direction at every jump, trying to make him fall for her faints. She jumped walls and light posts, until she finally touched the ground, managing to deceive him, starting the movement to go to his right, stopping midway, turning left, using one of her tails to push the ground, turning right again, catching him off-balance, her claws ripping flesh from his arm, going towards his face. Midoriya felt the attack coming to take his life and felt shocked for a moment, waiting for the pain but noticing something with his Blood Moon, something coming from above at top speed. The claw was about to touch his face, when Mirko's feet came from above, delivering an ax kick so powerful that half of the street was destroyed, sending debris everywhere, breaking water pipes and setting off car's alarms all around. Midoriya jumped away from the center of the crater and touched his arm, feeling a throbbing pain, followed by a hot sensation. He checked his arm and saw a cut so deep that he worried if he was going to be ok, his blood continuously flowing from his wound to the sidewalk. He could almost see the bone.

"Magnetic Healing"

He looked forward and saw that Mirko was still there, her feet above the girl's head, but suddenly, she was sent flying away, doing acrobatics while mid-flight, landing with her feet on a wall. Shirayuki, or whatever that was, got up, and her face wasn't happy. She felt blood coming from her forehead and looked up, becoming even more enraged than before. Midoriya was about to look at his wound when the girl left a loud scream that could very well be a howl. It was long and deep, like a wounded beast screaming in a frenzy, emanating energy all around, and for their surprise, two new tails grew behind her back, joining the other two, starting to transform her body just like Hayama's, but her skin wasn't becoming sandy-colored, it was becoming dark red. They just wondered what they were going to do when they heard the monster twisting its head, trying to speak:

"Eee- Eeeeno- Eeee- Enough... ENOUGH!"

The last part came out in her voice and the energy surge suddenly stopped, going off like a wave, exploding the nearby lights, shattering the nearby windows. Her damaged skin that had acquired some kind of red tone, slowly came back to normal and the four tails vanished before she went back to her normal self, falling to her knees, her dress and stockings shred to pieces, gasping for air while Midoriya touched the Kusanagi's handle, wondering if he should take advantage of the situation, but Mirko grabbed his shoulder, holding him in place. Their small fight caused a lot of damage and they could hear sirens coming from afar. The girl looked up and said:

"You even... Forced me... To use Kurama... What's... Wrong... With you people?"
"We should be the ones asking that, what the hell did you just do?"
"I told you... I just wanted to... Talk-" She looked around, also hearing the sirens, and spoke before vanishing:

"Perhaps... You're not good people at all... Perhaps... He was right." She vanished in the same white light they used one night ago, leaving both Mirko and Midoriya confused about what just happened.

Almost an hour later, after most of the cruisers and ambulances had already left, a black sedan entered the scene and from it, the chief of police came, walking directly at Mirko and Midoriya, who were both explaining what just happened to an association member.

"Well, that was fast. What happened here?"
"You wouldn't believe." Mirko said while scratching her hair.

---

Shirayuki closed her eyes, walking slowly, taking deep breaths, her body was really hot, her head started spinning and suddenly she fainted, but instead of losing consciousness, she felt as if she was awakening from a long period of sleep. She blinked and found herself inside a dark room, looking around until she felt a presence behind her, turning to see a pair of orange eyes staring at her from the shadows.

'So you're the new Jinchuriki.'

'...'

'Can't talk? You must be really scared.'
'I'm... I'm sorry... What did you say?! The new what? What... Are you?'
'Oy oy... Did you just ask what am I? Where are your manners, you brat?'
'I- I'm sorry... I mean... Who are you?'

'...'

She just stared at the pair of eyes for a few moments before the eyes turned into a silhouette. She only felt fear for a second when she saw the monstrous face in front of her, feeling she was drowning, being pulled back into darkness.

From the shadows, Yamamoto walked towards her, looking at her body from up close before disappearing and reappearing inside the throne room.

"Your highness."
"Speak."
"I do not know how this happened, but the Moon's soul has returned, and she has, somehow, suppressed Kurama's frenzy."
"Did she now? How did she accomplish that? This is very interesting."

"..."

"You look concerned, what seems to be the matter?"
"It appears the Nine-tails is too much for her to handle."
"Yamamoto, I do not want excuses. I can see my goal in front of me, so do not dare to slow me down. Do whatever it takes to bring me the wanted results. The Moon's soul is not something to be taken delicately, the Moon's soul is my own essence."
"Sir, she might end up corrupted."
"And this should be my concern because?"

Yamamoto swallowed loudly.

"Have you forgotten to whom you owe your worthless lives? You should rejoice by the opportunity to give up your lives on my behalf, and so should her. You utilize my powers because I allow you to. Your useless bodies are nothing but vessels to nourish them."
"Your highness-"
"I sense dissatisfaction coming from you, so I recommend you to choose your next words carefully."

Yamamoto took a few more seconds to talk.

"I just... Do not want to see them perish again."
"You seem to believe you are something resembling a father, Yamamoto, but you are not. You are the warden that commands my powers. I granted you the Mirror, so you could always reflect those who sought my powers. I do not remember ever ordering you to create bonds with the others, as their destiny is to perish for me."
"Yes, your highness."
"You were not expecting this from me, were you not? I can see in your heart how you resent me for coming back, threatening your beloved children."
"No, your highness! I would never think something like that-"
"Speak the truth, Yamamoto. I do despise liars, you should be aware of that."

The old man pressed his lips together and looked up to Tsukuyomi's feet.

"I do not want them to die."
"So you are ordering me to stop, is that correct? You are declaring that their lives are more valuable than my purpose, correct?"
"No, I am-"

So fast that he missed the action, Tsukuyomi was standing in front of him. He felt fear spreading through every fiber of his being, unable to move, his jaw locked.

"Please, do continue... I find your self-consciousness... Risible."

He looked up, instantly regretting doing it so. The presence in front of him was the presence of a true god. The weight of his look was absurdly overwhelming, as if the whole moon was right there in front of him, pushing his body down, almost crushing it, making him unable to speak.

The Moon God stopped his energy flow and walked back to his throne while instructing:

"Go. Do what you desire, even if it means setting the girl free from the fox."
"Your highness?!"
"You heard me. I will allow you to proceed with your own judgment. What is more valuable to you, your purpose, or your new family? I will not punish you for your choice, I give you my word."
"Why-"
"I said you could go. You are free to choose, so go forth and choose."

The man looked confused but slightly bowed, disappearing, leaving Tsukuyomi alone.

But not quite.

"How entertaining. Their false sense of free will is always delightful to watch."

A female voice said from the shadows, as a woman appeared out of thin air. She had blond hair, just like Tsukuyomi, and was wearing a long black dress.

"Are you certain this plan will succeed?"
"Was you ever wrong, my lord?"

The god thought for a few seconds before ordering:

"See this step by step. I want nothing to veer from my plan."
"As you wish."
"And Elene, do not disappoint me as he did."
"Have I ever?"

The woman walked until she was in front of him and placed on hand on her chest.

"As long as I exist as the Moon's eye, I will never allow you to walk blind, my lord." She knelt in front of his throne and kissed his hand before disappearing, leaving Tsukuyomi smiling while remembering her deviant plan.

---

"That's what happened. I made a mistake and ended up fighting the Four-tails inside a residential area-"
"Not, it wasn't."
"What you mean? Of course it was a mistake. And if the fight continued-"
"I'm not talking about the fight, I'm talking about the tails. I believe that wasn't the Four-Tails... I believe that was the Nine-tails."
"The Nine-tails? Do you mean the strongest one? Are you sure?! I only saw four-"
"I am sure. I'm the one studying them, remember?"
"Right- I mean... At first, I thought it was the Two-tails, but after just a few minutes, it evolved to four. Do you have any idea why did that happen? Shukaku had only one."
"I don't know."
"You're saying you don't have this information, or that you don't want to share it with me?"
"Ha-Ha. No, I really don't have this information, I only absorbed superficial information about them, like their colors and shapes. I know that between them there were two red and between these two, one was some kind of ape. This information about tails' progression is completely new to me."
"Yea, that thing was definitely not an ape, I'm sure about that... It looked like some kind of wolf."
"Wolf?"
"Yea, it had pointy ears and claws."
"Wolf's ears... Claws... Could it be that you saw a... Fox?"
"What? A fox? Why?"
"This was one of the few written information I found. One Kanji meant, well... It meant Demonic fox or Spirt fox."
"I don't know, Cath... Maybe. I believe a fox could also fit, although I never saw a fox with four tails."
"Now it makes sense. Damn! Why didn't you talk to her? You could've obtained so much information."
"I'm sorry if I don't trust people who tried to kill me every chance they have. People who hurt my mom and murdered my friend."

His expression twisted when he remembered that said friend wasn't his friend anymore.

"Whatever. What is the plan moving forward?"
"Well, since you're trying to throw me off from the real objective of this conversation, I'll be blunt. I'll go after the information about this new energy source. Alone!"
"You're really stubborn, aren't you? I swear-"
"And after that, I'm going after the Rinnegan."

Cathleen felt the impact of that word. She just stared at him, finally having confirmation that he really saw that inside of her head that night.

"So you really saw it."
"I told you I did. I never knew I could obtain that. I believed the cursed was born as the cursed and was going to die as the cursed. If I knew I was wrong, I would've gone looking for it long ago."
"I still think this is a terrible idea."
"Have we met? Stick around, I'm full of terrible ideas." He turned towards the door, waving above his head.
"Don't do anything stupid, Izuku... You can't trust them!"
"Good night, Cath. Good night, Shinji-san."

Midoriya disappeared, appearing on the street, making the broom fall inside the bookstore, and Shinji suddenly asked:

"Wait, didn't he tell us that he couldn't teleport himself? How the hell did he do that?"

Cathleen almost ran out of the store to ask, but he was already gone. She turned and looked at Shinji with a concerned expression.

"Shinji... Did you notice?"
"How he's changed?"
"Something is very wrong with him... He wasn't like that three weeks ago."
"As a guardian of their treasure, it's not up to me to meddle into their choices, you know that."
"But this isn't about your duty or your family, Shinji... This is about the freaking world!"
"I know... And there's nothing we can do about it. The power to choose resides in the strong."

Cathleen looked outside again, imagining what the future reserved for them.

"What are we going to do, Shinji? How do we stop this?"
"I don't know, dear... I don't know."

---

Midoriya kept walking towards the subway, making his way home.

'Do you have any information about the Rinnegan?'
'Absolutely. The Rinnegan was once considered the eye that had the power over life and death. The holder was granted control over these powers, assuming the role of a god. It was said by lesser gods, that in times of disorder, the one who wields the Rinnegan was sent down from the heavens to become either the god of creation, who would calm the world or the god of destruction, who would reduce everything to nothingness. I do not know the specific power it provides, but I do know its power is divided into six parts.'
'Interesting.'
'It is indeed. Looking for it should be fun.' The venomous voice answered inside his head as he walked.
'I already told you this isn't a joke.'
'Mortals have a very dull sense of humor. I cannot refrain myself from being eager to go into a quest to retrieve a lost artifact. This will probably be dangerous, so I must participate in order to prepare myself.'
'Prepare yourself for what?'
'Prepare myself to take down those maggots.'
'You're really assertive, aren't you?'
'Perhaps I am.'
'Changing the subject... Have you found Fuujin and Suijin yet?'
'Not yet. They hid deep down inside your chakra, fearing for their lives, I suppose. How amusing it is to see that these gods are still pathetic.'
'You lost to a god, didn't you? Susanoo was the one who killed you-'

After these words, Midoriya had to stop walking because the rage of the being inside his head was so overwhelming that his head started to hurt. Orochi hissed, deadly:

'I... DID NOT... LOSE!'

The hiss inside his head made Midoriya worried for a second.

'Calm down. What the hell is wrong with you?'
'That vermin... That maggot... He dared to call himself a god when he never faced me head-on.'
'Then, how did you lose?'

'...'

'Orochi?'
'I must return to my search.'
'I guess this is a touchy subject for you, huh? Fine, I won't bring this up again."

"..."

Midoriya was thinking if he should fly home when he remembered something he wanted to ask for some time:

'Oh, so the reason I can't use wind anymore is that they went into hiding? That would explain why my wind techniques aren't working anymore.'
'Perhaps, but it is only a matter of time before I find them, and when I do, I will relieve you of the burden they represent.'
'That won't be necessary.'
'Do not worry, this is for our sake... Everything for us to achieve our goal.'
'I already told you it won't be necessary.' Midoriya tried to repeat but the presence inside his head was already gone.

"Raiju." He said and the wolf severed their connection, making Midoriya feel a sharp pain on his head when the wolf isolated the waves connected to Orochi. Midoriya could feel the judgment coming from his companion.

'I know what you're going to say-'
'I wasn't going to say anything. It was your decision to communicate with that thing, but I must warn you that if she manages to consume Fuujin and Suijin, we might have trouble in our hands. She said our goals, not your goals. Do you believe she won't try to consume them the first chance she has? Do you really believe she would deliver their power to you?'
'Do I look that naïve?'
'Then why-'

Midoriya looked behind him, spotting Edgeshot following him close behind, folding himself between two houses.

'Are you sure she can't hear us?'
'Yes.'
'It's a good thing you help Fuujin and Suijin seal themselves inside the ravine. I needed more time to create a plan to deal with this situation and that move bought me plenty.'
'I don't believe it will take long for her to notice the ravine. The ravine isn't actually inside your head... It's connected to it, but your mind is only the door.'
'I guess for now I have no other choice than returning to my normal life. I need to set things straight and continue my plans.'
'That would be for the best, but if I may add, you should get rid of that sword while you're at school surrounded by children. While you roam at night, it is a good idea to carry an eight-headed snake in the form of a legendary sword, but when you're at school, something could go wrong and-'
'I thought about that and the truth is that I can't leave it behind. What if I'm attacked again? The Kusanagi is my only weapon against deities.'

After a short pause, Raiju said as if he just remembered something.

'I forgot to tell you earlier, I've found Toga Himiko.'

'Where?'
'Currently, she is inside the league of villains hideout.'
'Currently?'
'Yes, at this exact moment.'

Midoriya stopped to tie his shoes.

'Should we prepare to go there?'
'No, we're going home.'
'You don't seem disturbed by this.'
'Why would I? It was inevitable. She is a villain after all.'
'I remember hear you distinctly say that she was just a scared child.'
'And she still is, but that doesn't change the fact that she is a villain. Child or not, you can't allow someone to do the things she's done.'
'Your feeling of betrayal is misplaced, she didn't lie to you.'
'Well, she didn't correct me, did she? When I said she never killed someone, she just stood silent. I thought she never killed someone before, but I was wrong. She killed innocent people before, Raiju.'

'...'

'It was a good thing though, you don't need to be cautious with this subject. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have started my plan.'
'Well, that is true. I just wish you could be more empathetic.'
'I can't mix things anymore, even if I want to. I can't see her by who she is and ignore her actions. I can't ignore what they do anymore, even if I agree that they are in the right to act like that. I can't allow a father to avenge their son's murder by killing the murderer. I can't allow them to spill their pain on others just because I pity them. I guess this is what responsibility is.'
'What the emperor said really stuck inside your mind. I wish we had met him months ago, it would've saved us so much trouble.'
'Ha-ha.'
'So you're next step is to go after the Rinnegan, correct?'

'...'

Midoriya's silence was filled with some kind of amusement.

'Umm? Oh. you were lying to Cathleen. What you really want is the energy source.'
'Yep. I never intended to look for some unknown power... I don't even know what this Rinnegan will require from me, but I'm not going to try my luck again... I already lost too much to achieve the power I currently have. When I think about it, I understand better now... You see... It hit me the other day... You know the cursed fruit I ate? When Kaguya ate the same fruit, she gained powers of a god, powers that couldn't be measured, she was able to absorb the natural elements all by herself, but I have gained nothing even remotely closer. A slight increase in my energy capacity? Are you kidding me? Something was wrong with that fruit, and if I were to guess, Tsukuyomi is the one responsible for that. Now, if I find a way to store more energy, I could use my Susanoo without restrictions... I would be able to maintain my Blood Moon and use my techniques more often.'
'Well, now that we know for sure that Tsukuyomi was the one responsible for restoring the cursed fruit, we can speculate that he had some kind of objective behind that action. Perhaps his purpose was this very outcome.'
'Could be, but for now, I must ask Hawks' help in finding someone able to translate this thing.' He touched his jacket, indicating the scroll inside his pocket.
'What about Cathleen?'
'She's terrified of Orochi, so I can't trust her opinion or her information right now. Fear clouds people's judgment.'
'Her fear isn't unjustified. Yamata no Orochi is a major threat, but you keep ignoring the signs for some odd reason.'
'Well, then I believe it's time to fill you in on my idea.'
'Ummm?'

He turned and faced the place where Edgeshot just hid again, speaking louder so the hero could hear him:

"Edgeshot-san, I'm going to use my Godspeed to get home faster, so I guess I'll see you there?"

He smirked to the hero who leaned out of his hiding place with a disappointed expression. Midoriya didn't wait for a response, using his power to run, sharing his next steps while the city passed by in a blur.

---

After the Hosu's incident, the 1-A was finally back at school again. Midoriya was a little late, thinking about what Aizawa would say after his absence, not caring much about it. This all felt like a colossal joke. The school had lost its purpose for all the effects. The moment he made his way inside the school, he felt Aizawa's presence inside the teacher's offices, so he walked fast-paced towards the classroom, walking in, facing the entire class. They all went quiet at first, then a few started asking what happened in Hosu and if he was ok. Midoriya saw Momo and Iida closing their expressions, wondering why didn't they tell everyone what happened. He decided to start his plan, going to the front of the class, feeling Aizawa on his way.

"Good Morning. I would like to make an announcement." Everyone felt confused by his intensity until he said:
"From this moment forward, I'll be stepping down from my position as the class representative. Yaoyorozu-san will probably inherit the position if she's willing, or if you want, you can make a new vote-"

Yaoyorozu and Iida weren't expecting that, but the girl wondered why Midoriya said you can make a new vote, and not we.

"Why are you stepping down, man?" Kirishima asked.
"It's... Complicated, Kirishima-kun, but I'm sure this is the best for us."

He saw Aizawa walking down the corridor with his sixth sense and went to his seat, passing by Bakugou who didn't look at his direction and by Tokoyami who nodded once, aware of what was going on.

After Aizawa's warning about the incoming tests, they started organizing group studies. Midoriya looked at them for a few minutes, until he got up, packing his things, and left the class. He was almost out of the school when he felt the presence, followed by the touch on his shoulder. He turned and saw Yaoyorozu. Iida was further behind her, close to a wall, his hands closed into fists.

"Can I help you with something, Yaoyorozu-san?" His voice had some kind of polite harshness that didn't pass unnoticed by her.
"What are you planning?"
"Excuse me?"
"For you to give up on your duty as the representative, something must be about to happen... I'm asking you what are you planning."
"Look, Yaoyorozu-san... I really don't want to be disrespectful here, but if you keep coming at me like that, we're going to have a problem. As for my plans, they don't concern you, excuse me."

He turned to leave but felt another touch. This time, his body didn't react in time because he wasn't expecting this. He found himself paralyzed by the flashing red light in front of him. After a few seconds where he noticed her stance while standing in his way, using the One for All on her hands that were holding his shirt. He blinked a few times and asked:

"What is this?"

"..."

"This is an assault, Class Representative... Please, let me go."
"No."
"What you mean by no? Are we going to stay like this until tomorrow? Back off-"
"Midoriya-kun, please tell me you're still you." She shook him and his expression changed.

Midoriya sighed, tired of this bullshit, so he slapped her hand, looking directly into her eyes:

"I won't... Because I can't. I'm not the Midoriya you knew, and I'll never be him ever again. He died within his ignorance and naivety. He died so I could be born."
"What in god's name are you talking about?"

He took a deep breath before taking a step closer, too close to her, invading her personal space. He felt Iida behind him, taking a step closer to probably intervene if things were to escalate, slightly amused by his self-confidence. Midoriya tried to refrain himself from being edgy, trying to be his old self even if slightly because he felt some kind of urgency to explain things to Momo as if he owned her that at least.

"You want to know something, Yaoyorozu-san? I read some interesting books about the human soul the other day." He paused and looked over her shoulder, speaking without meeting her gaze:
"It was said that a person's soul is composed of his own essence, meaning that everything that you think, do, or feel is in theory, part of your soul. What it's also written is that said essence can be affected by the environment where the soul's owner exists. So, let's just imagine this: You, who was raised in a wealthy, functional family, having everything, cannot understand what true pain or madness is because those concepts never crossed your reality. There are isolated cases linked to genetic, of course, I know that every individual is unique, but you can't deny they got a point here. Imagine your son is a pathological psychopath... What do you think would happen to him if he were to be raised inside a loving and caring family? Of course, he wouldn't be able to feel love for others, but his soul would be shaped in a way where he couldn't behave differently, and his urges would probably be suppressed. That's why most of the psychopaths have some kind of suffering or trauma connected to their past that led them to become what they are. Now, if your already shaped soul were to be placed inside an unfamiliar environment, then according to them, your soul could be partially altered. Altered is not really the best word to describe this, but it will do for now. Let's go with this: When your soul is placed inside a completely different environment, it starts to absorb whatever is around, to the point where the shock between who you are and who you are becoming, opens multiple cracks on your already shaped soul. Every single one of these new cracks will be closed by this new environment, every void will be filled and when it's over, your new soul will be like a broken glass cup that was glued together. You will never feel whole because, at every movement you do, you'll notice the friction between the intact parts against each other, and this will be a constant reminder that whatever you believed in, that belief cannot be made whole again. You'll feel that the new environment ripped off the feeling of innocence you had. Silly things as trusting people? It doesn't exist, because you'll always expect lies from them, because everyone has a reason to lie. Expect good from others? You'll always doubt their intentions, looking for their true purpose behind their actions, wondering if they only do good when someone's watching. Expecting love? Only hatred feels really appropriate to most of the situations... What would pull out your full potential? Protecting someone you love, or avenging someone you cared? I already felt both, and I assure you that the rage is a much more powerful motivator. It feels like love is something only small children do... Something too embarrassing to even think about."

Yaoyorozu kept in silence, absorbing everything. She gave it a little thought and asked in a whisper:

"Midoriya-kun... What did you see?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because... Whatever it was... I want you to show me."

Midoriya's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"No! Out of the question."
"I want to see as well... And I'll show you that you're wrong."
"I said no!"

He took a step to the side, passing by her, starting to walk away again when she said:

"Let's make a wager. Show me what has damaged your soul, and I assure you it won't damage mine."
"And what does this prove?"
"That you have changed because you wanted to, not because something made you."
"So you think I'm this shallow too, huh?" He whispered to himself but the girl listened.
"No-"
"Yaoyo- Momo-san, I don't care if I'm labeled as the worse of the worse if I can protect those who are dear to me, so the answer is still no... This is not something I would want to anyone."
"Let me decide what I want. I assure you it won't change me, and then you'll see that you can live your life without this thing pairing over your head, like some kind of whispering demon, influencing in every decision you make."
"And if it does? What if it changes you the same way it changed me? Would you be willing to wager your soul just to be right? Just to try to save me from this imaginary enemy?"
"Yes, I would, because I know it won't."
"I also thought nothing could change me... But I didn't know. You can believe yourself to be immune, to be strong-willed, but I assure you... You won't be."
"Well, if it changes me, then I'll be the same as you."

She just said that and Midoriya heard the implication behind that silly phrase. The promise of another broken individual just like him was as appealing as it was revolting. For a moment, he wanted for her soul to be corrupted like his soul was, but at the same time, he wanted her away from the ugliness of this world. There was no way to conciliate. You either know, or you don't. When you take the first look into the abyss, you can never forget what you saw. Fighting villains were one thing, but knowing what the true villains do, that was something entirely different.

"This is not your call to make. I already said no."
"No, this is not YOUR call to make. I'm the one who decides over my life."

"..."

"What? Do you expect me to beg?"
"I don't want you to beg... I want you to let this go... I want you to let me go. You know what I have to do and I'll do it on my own."
"I can't accept this... I won't accept this. Why?! Why are you the only one who has to be hurt for the greater good?"

That question hit so deep that it made him unable to answer, giving her time to consider her next words.

"I had enough if your arbitrary moral compass, so this ends now. You can either tell me, as my friend, or I'll force out of you."

Midoriya felt a shiver of anticipation after hearing those words. He had been itching for a fight lately and left a tiny smile spread through his face.

"What did you just say? Friend? You betrayed me and still dare to call yourself my friend?"
"I betrayed you?! I told them that because they had to know that you were in contact with the League of Villains. Who would know if they weren't the ones responsible for your changes... If they weren't the ones somehow controlling you. You wouldn't tell us anything about what was going on with you, so what did you expect me to do? I did that for you!"

Midoriya narrowed his eyes, his voice sharper.

"You didn't do that for me... You did that for yourself. After everything we've been through, after everything I did for you-"
"And I owe you my life, I know that... That's exactly the reason I had to do that. I was trying to save you... Even if from yourself."
"You're the same as Cath... You were just trying to feel better because you believed I was cutting you out of my life. You were angry, and that's the reason you said that."

She was about to argue when Midoriya hissed:

"Don't lie. I could see in your eyes."
"You're the one to talk about lies... All you did all this time was to lie to us-"
"I was omitting the truth because it was the safest choice, Momo-san. If I chose not to tell you something, you can be damn sure that I had a good reason for that."
"Huh?"
"I really thought that of all people, you would understand why I didn't want to share my secrets with you."

She pressed her lips, suddenly understanding and remembering the night she was killed. She looked into his eyes, noticing how they were genuine right now, still cold, but overflowing with sincerity. She felt as if she was receiving a punch. It was all about protecting them? Again?

"I'm fighting against the world, Momo-san, and I can't have your lives as my responsibility as well... At least not now, with everything I have to deal with."
"You promised Tokoyami-kun you would stop trying to protect us from behind our backs. We can take care of ourselves-"
"Against the Moon Clan? Against the Tailed-beasts? Against a god?"

"..."

"We are not friends anymore, Momo-san, so you can leave me behind. You're not responsible for anything that happens to me from now on. I'm just the guy that saved you once or twice and became your classmate."

She just glared at him, imagining how not to sound like a liar.

"Would you believe me if I say I'm sorry?

Midoriya stared at her expression and sighed.

"I would, but it doesn't change the fact that I will never trust you anymore."
"Then, I am sorry... I was wrong about the reason you were keeping things from us. I shouldn't have allowed my... Anger to take the best of me... And I wish I hadn't been so scared."
"Scared? Scared of what?"
"When I saw you after you defeated the One-tail... I saw your other half."
"And you believed the villains were responsible for that?"
"Who else? I knew the moment our eyes met... That wasn't you... And the feeling of seeing the person you like, gone-" She just bit her lip, realizing she just confessed to him again.
"And I liked you, more than you can imagine, but it's all in the past now."

She just stared at his cold eyes, not a single trace of pity or regret. She then took another course.

"I understand... Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to make you tell me everything."
"Huh?!"
"You heard me."
"And how exactly are you going to accomplish that?"
"By fighting you."
"By fighting- Are out of your mind?"
"Maybe I am."
"Momo-san... You don't know what you're talking about, so I'll just head home before we both do something we might regret, and please, don't attack me again because I don't want to hurt you. I'll just-"

Midoriya blinked and lost the movement she made again, appearing right next to him with an overheating sound on her whole body, the energy becoming red around her wrists and legs, as she stood there, a few centimeters apart, letting the One for All flow. The power surge was so strong that her hairband tore, making her hair fall around her face. Midoriya felt real danger emanating from her, wondering how strong she really was right now, because this was nothing compared to a few moments ago when she used to grab his shirt. Midoriya tried to think about something clever or intimidating to say, but her figure was completely different. Her eyes were wide open, her fighting stance perfect, her power flowing everywhere and that damn loose hair floating around. All these small details took away his attention, making him speak without thinking for a moment:

"You're really pretty with your hair loose."

His mouth fell open in shock after registering what he just said. Yaoyorozu's cheeks became pink, but her face remained calm.

"Thanks. Now, what should we do next? Should I fight you until you tell me the truth? I guess this is the only way to communicate with you... With my fists."

Midoriya sighed, trying to remain cool after his minor slip. He thought for a few seconds and said:

"Could you give me some time to think about this? When I'm back next week I'll-"
"Next week?"

'Aw, shit.'

"What you mean by next week? Where are you going?"
"Oy... Aren't you being a little intrusive right now, Momo-san? You're stepping way over the line."
"I don't care."
"Sigh... It's not like I care about telling you, I just think you're being really noisy right now, but if you insist, I'm going to help my mom with a few things on our house. I don't know if you heard about an explosion that happened three weeks ago. Anyway, that explosion damaged part of our house, so I'm going to help her with the repairs."
"Oh, let me call her to offer my help as well. I do have her number from that time we went to rescue you in the middle of the night, remember? Hold on for a second let me get my phone."

Midoriya's expression became unfriendly as she placed her hand inside her bag, never looking away from his face. She took her cellphone and glanced towards the contact list, and pressed the call button, but before she could put it in her ear, Midoriya's finger tapped the end call button.

"I'd probably believe you some time ago, but I know better now, so will you stop with the evasiveness? Where. Are. You. Going?"
"Momo-san... I-"
"At least once, tell the damn truth."

Midoriya faced her for some time before deciding.

"Someplace where I can become stronger."
"How?"
"I don't know yet. I'll find out when I get there."
"You don't know or you don't want me to know?"
"I really don't know."

"..."

"Is that all? Can I go?"
"Why?"
"What you mean why? I have a home to go back-"
"Why do you want to become stronger?"
"Ummm... To fight a goddamnit god?! Do you understand we're talking about an actual god? Tsukuyomi! I need more power if I'm ever going to try to defeat him."
"All right. Where is this place you're going?"
"Momo-san? What the hell is this? Why are you being so pushy?"
"Because I want to. Where is it?"
"Oh really? Two can play this game: I don't know."

"..."

"What? Why am I being so evasive? Because I want to."

She pressed her lips for a second, trying not to smile, and Iida was there, next to them.

"Iida-san." Midoriya greeted, not looking away from Yaoyorozu's face.
"Is everything okay, Yaoyorozu-san?"
"Yes, everything is fine."
"Cool."

Midoriya took advantage and turned to leave when he heard Iida's question:

"Going to continue the Hero Killer's job?"

That made Midoriya's body stagger. His first instinct was to turn and punch Iida in his idiotic face, but he suppressed it, slowly turning, glaring at the blue-haired boy. He looked straight into Iida's eyes and took a deep breath, shaking his head.

"You know what? Screw you, Iida-kun! Screw all of this! I'm tired of trying to protect you from the truth- Actually, you know what?! I don't want your shitty judgment anymore, so I'll make an exemption just for you. I'll show you."
"Show me what?" Iida asked, his face showing only disgust.
"The truth about your brother."

That mention of his brother, made Iida's lose his composure. He leaned forward as if he was going to run towards Midoriya when Yaoyorozu grabbed his shoulder, holding him in place. He turned and she slightly shook her head once while whispering:

"Don't."

Iida turned and almost growled at Midoriya:

"Don't you dare talk about my brother. He is good... He is a real hero, something you'll never-"
"Great. Do you want answers on why I didn't turn the Hero Killer in?"
"Because you're just like him! Because you're a villain as well."
"Heh, I can see why you're angry, Iida-kun... And I can also see that you really have second thoughts about your brother."
"WHAT?! I DON'T-"
"You want to know why Stain attacked your brother if he only goes after fake heroes, don't you? You want to know the reason Stain chose him, don't you?"

Iida's expression changed, and he couldn't answer, astonished.

"Come with me, and I'll give you the answers."

Midoriya stopped right at the exit, looking over his shoulder to the two. Iida was struggling, thinking about going with Midoriya, but at the same time, wondering if the boy was trustworthy. Midoriya looked at Yaoyorozu and, after considering for a while, added:

"You know what? You too, Momo-san. You were so eager a few seconds ago, weren't you? Whatever... I'll show you as well."

The girl didn't wait and walked decided until she was right next to him, looking over her shoulder to Iida, who also walked forward. Midoriya looked to his right and left, taking another deep breath, thinking if what he was about to do wasn't too stupid. He was angry and he knew that he shouldn't make harsh decisions while angry, but he had enough of their attitude. He then had an idea: He took off his cellphone and started recording, turning the camera towards Iida, who frowned, confused about what he was doing.

"This is the last time you'll be seeing yourselves. This is a farewell video. You, Iida Tenya, and you, Yaoyorozu Momo will die today... And from your remains, a new version of yourselves will emerge. This video isn't for you, this video is for the future you. Now, to one of the most important questions: What would you say is the greatest asset of a hero?"

He aimed his cellphone to Yaoyorozu, who narrowed her eyes before answering, trying to find the meaning behind his question but playing his game anyway.

"Righteousness. A true hero is a beacon of righteousness and goodness."

Midoriya turned to Iida and he also answered, thinking about his brother:

"A hero has to inspire people with his virtue. He has to be kind and humble, always taking other's safety into account. A hero is selfless. This is how a true hero should be... This is how my brother-"
"That's good enough." Midoriya stopped the video and whispered, looking towards the sun that was about to go down.
"When the sun comes up tomorrow, I want you to remember: You wanted this. You gave up the chance of being happy for the chance to understand."

Yaoyorozu looked at his face and felt nervous for a moment, but the boy interrupted her thoughts:

"Let's go... To the beginning of your last night on this earth."

As he energized his feet, running out of the school while followed by the two, the last ray of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon, leaving just a faint glow, slowly disappearing from view, giving place to the darkness. Cold... Frightening... Inevitable.

---

It was almost midnight when they stopped on the first rooftop. Midoriya sat on the ledge, not bothering about the five store's height, while Yaoyorozu stood beside him. Iida was slightly further in the back, not wanting to go near the ledge.

"Why all this trouble? It took us almost 5 hours to get here... Why did you make us run around the city?"
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to lose Edgeshot when he's tailing you?"
"Edgeshot?"
"Yes, he's the hero assigned to follow me after I leave school and home."

"..."

"Now that I finally managed to lose him, we can begin, but before we start, I have an important thing to say." He got up and turned, facing Yaoyorozu and Iida.
"From this moment forward, I'm not your friend, I'm not your classmate, I'm not on your side. Expect everything from me, from aggressiveness to actual physical harm."

Yaoyorozu couldn't believe her ears, but the boy stood there, staring at them for a few more seconds, before sitting again after simply warning them he was to be considerate dangerous from now on.

"Lesson number one: Heroes are also human, and human nature is disgusting. You who have lived your entire life suppressing your instincts, wouldn't understand, but those who embraced these instincts once, cannot go back to how they were before. I'll give you some examples: You never starved, so you don't know what would you do to acquire food if ever were in this position. You were never poor, so you wouldn't know what you'd do to get yourself out of poverty. You only truly know human nature when you see them at their worst moment."

He pointed down and Iida approached to see what he was trying to show them. Yaoyorozu narrowed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing wrong. They were just seeing what could only be a hero receiving something from an ordinary guy. Midoriya suddenly started speaking with a monotonous voice, his eyes becoming red:

"Any problems?"
"Nah, man... Shit's been quiet since you took care of that fucker. Who would've thought that those dumbasses would send someone to sell their shit right here-"
"I already warned you to not talk about this here! There are heroes with super hearing, you retard."
"Aw, my bad, my bad. Everything has been great since you arrested that criminal, Hero-san."

"..."

"So... Same time next week?"

"..."

"What?! You know this is the shit. This mix is stronger, but who gives a shit if a couple of addicts OD? This gives 10 times a better kick than the previous one, you already know that... Your hero job will be easy peasy while you're on this."
"Next week. Bring my cut as well."
"Will do. Thanks for keeping us safe, Hero-san."

They saw the hero leaving, stashing a package inside his costume, and Midoriya turned, facing both Yaoyorozu and Iida.

"So? What are you waiting for? Shouldn't we go and arrest him? Look, he has a new customer."

Midoriya pointed and they saw a girl approaching. Yaoyorozu was speechless, seeing that this girl could be the same age as her. She was twitchy and her clothes were a mess. Midoriya dubbed again:

"Damn, Chi-chan, what the fuck happened to you? You're a fucking mess."
"Hey, cmon- I just saw Kaze-sama leaving... You got some, don't you?"
"You have money?"
"I'm short... But we can work something out, right? You know I'm good, right? How about a small one? If you help me out, I'll help you out."
"Nah, I don't know... You're disgusting right now, girl, when was the last time you took a shower?"
"Gimme a fucking break, all right? I was thrown out yesterday... I just want a fix to help me get on my feet, ok? C'mon man."

The guy looked around and thought for a few seconds before nodding towards an alley, making Yaoyorozu gasp.

"Yes, you got it. You know what's going to happen, don't you? Guys? There's a drug deal and some solicitation happening down there, are you guys just going to keep watching?" Midoriya asked without any trace of scoff on his voice. After nothing from the two, he took off his cellphone and called someone.

"Maybe you're waiting for this." He waited for a few seconds and placed on the speaker.
"Hawks, I'm calling in me chip. Say it."

Hawks voice answered with a hint of anger:

"You're really an asshole, Midoriya. Fine. I, Hawks, grant you, as a pro-hero, permission to act on my behalf." He hanged up shortly after and Midoriya got up.

"You have permission to act. The number #3 hero gave you permission to act on his behalf, so every action you take from now on is within the law. What are you going-"

He never finished his question, because Yaoyorozu was already jumping down from the rooftop, aiming at the lower floors balconies. Midoriya faced Iida who was still shocked, but after noticing Yaoyorozu's response, ran towards the fire escape of the building they were to go down and aid her.

Midoriya also jumped down and suddenly remembered that he couldn't use wind anymore.

'Oh, crap.' He thought while throwing the Kusanagi on the ground.

"Switch"

He felt the dizziness when he touched the ground, looking up to catch the incoming sword, almost missing the catch because he was seeing double. He sheathed the weapon while thinking:

'Is there a way to get around this dizziness? This isn't going to be good in a fight.'

He waited for a few seconds and Yaoyorozu appeared, running with a crazy expression.

"Where are they?!" She asked, and Midoriya pointed to an adjacent alley. Iida also arrived, running all together with Yaoyorozu while Midoriya followed. They arrived in the alley at the same time and saw the girl on her knees while the man was taking off his pants. They both were startled and Yaoyorozu pushed forward, grabbing and pushing the man against a wall. Iida also went to her side, providing cover while she immobilized the drug-dealer.

"Oy... What the fuck are you doing? Who the fuck are you-"
"Silence! You're under arrest."
"Arrest?! Who the fuck are you, kid? You can't arrest me, you fucking brat... And this was consensual- AAAAAARGH."

The man screamed when Yaoyorozu twisted his arm harder, and Midoriya asked:

"Why are you hurting him, Momo-san? He's already immobilized."

The girl felt that question as if she was tased. She started breathing faster and asked Iida to hold the man. She turned and knelt next to the girl.

"Are you ok? Has he hurt you somehow-"
"What the fuck are you talking about? I don't need your help. This is hero abuse, why the hell are you hurting him for?"
"He was... He was going to give you drugs for-"
"SO FUCKING WHAT?"

"..."

"Hey, don't listen to her, I don't know anything about drugs."

Midoriya felt another person approaching through his sixth sense and took a step to the right, pressing his back against a wall and crossing his arms, waiting for the last part of this test to happen.

"Good evening, kids."

They all turned and saw the hero from earlier. Yaoyorozu and Iida closed their expression and the man asked:

"May I ask what are you doing to these two?"
"We're placing them under arrest." Yaoyorozu answered.
"Arrest? On what grounds? Are you even out of school yet? You three shouldn't be here at all."
"This man is a drug dealer... But I guess you already know that." Iida said, and Midoriya tried to hide a smile.
"Let him go, kid." He pointed to the armlock Iida was giving the man, but the boy didn't move.
"I told you to let him go. Are you disobeying a hero's direct order?"

Iida looked at Yaoyorozu and at Midoriya before setting the man free.

"Good choice. Now, I don't know why are the three of you doing this, but this man is a drug-dealer all right. A drug-dealer that is doing this because I asked him to. This is an operation to catch major suppliers. Do you get it? You're right now interfering with an undercover mission."

Iida's mouth fell open and he said:

"We thought... We thought he was- We didn't know he was working in a-"
"Of course you didn't know. You're so going to regret doing this. I'm going to call your school first thing in the morning to report this. You're breaking the law... You're not entitled to act as pro-heroes, placing people under arrest... Are you kidding me?"
"We had-" Iida started, but Yaoyorozu touched Iida's shoulder. Her face was solely on Midoriya's expression. She understood in one second, after seeing his amused gaze towards them, and asked:

"You're lying, aren't you?"
"What?!"
"There is no undercover operation. You're protecting him because he is your dealer. The drugs inside your costume that you got from him earlier are for you. And you're probably protecting him so he can keep dealing for you, right?"

The pro-hero stared at her for a few seconds and smirked.

"You have a very fertile mind, girl. I have no idea what you talking about, but I advise you to get out of here while I still allow you."
"We're not going anywhere." Iida hissed, pissed by being easily fooled.
"Oh, you want to play tough? How about this: Hey, drug-dealer, what happened to your arm?"
"Huh?"

The man asked, but before they could blink, the hero created something out of thin air, throwing it at the man's arm, breaking it with ease. Midoriya noticed it was some kind of boomerang.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! WHAT THE FUCK... OH MY FUCKING GOD... AAAAAAARHG... YOU BROKE MY FUCKING ARM-"
"Calm down for a second and please explain to me what happened here, citizen. How were you hurt?"

The man was panting while pressing his arm but suddenly looked at the two teens that were in shock.

"These two... They broke my arm for no reason."
"WHAT-" Yaoyorozu shouted and the pro-hero laughed out loud.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh my... Now that's a crime. You saw them doing it too, right, young girl?"

He turned to the girl who was sitting on the ground and she pressed her lips before the hero whispered:

"If you saw it, I may have to give you a reward later, you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"
"I- Yes... I saw it too... They did it."

The two were speechless and the hero continued:

"Now, I have no other choice than putting the three of you under arrest."
"You filthy-" Iida started, but Midoriya finally took part in it.
"All right, that would be enough. Hey, Hero-san."

The man turned and faced him, wondering why he had a feeling that he saw this boy somewhere before.

"How about we forget everything that happened here tonight? You don't call this in and we'll forget what we saw here? We promise to never meddle into your business again. How does that sound?" Midoriya said with an innocent smile.
"Business? What are you talking-"

Midoriya's smile instantly vanished, giving place to his cold expression.

"Don't play with me, Kazehaya. And don't make me tell Jin that you're the one who has been dealing behind his back this whole time."

The man opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Huh? No response? Yea, I heard your small talk with him. Your cut next week, huh? I wonder what Jin will do to you when he hears that you're the one stabbing him in the back."
"How do you know-"
"It doesn't matter how I know, just that I know."
"All right, all right... I'll let you off this time-"
"What did you just say to me?"

Midoriya used his unspoken enhancement and the man remembered. After seeing black lightning involving the boy's arms and legs, he remembered where he knew this boy from.

"You're the... You're the Raijin."
"I asked what the hell did you say to me?"
"I- I'm sorry... I meant- I didn't mean any disrespect... I just- Please... Don't tell him about this... I'm begging you."
"That's better." He stopped his energy flow and turned, walking away.
"Let's go, you two."
"Huh?! How about them?!"
"What about them?"
"They're criminals!" Iida almost shouted.
"Yes, they are. And how are you going to prove that? He has two civilians that will swear you're the ones that assaulted them, and he's the pro-hero, not you... You're just children playing with your quirks late at night."
"Hawks gave us permission-"
"Do you know how easy they can overturn this? They'll just say the message was directed to my cellphone, therefore, it was meant for me, not you two."

"..."

"There is no way out of this, let's go."

"..."

"Let's go!"
"No... This isn't right." Yaoyorozu looked at the girl who was staring at her with a strange affected face.
"Let me help you. Come with me-" She tried to take the girl away from those two but she moved away from her hand.
"Don't touch me. Leave us alone." She wasn't looking Yaoyorozu in the eyes, facing the floor instead.

Yaoyorozu kept looking around while opening and closing her mouth, trying to find a way out of that situation, and Midoriya almost gave up on his plan, seeing her helpless expression, remembering when he was the one trapped inside that same madness, but he turned his back on her and said:

"I already told you two, let's go... Now."

He walked away and after a few seconds of walking, he looked over his shoulder and saw the two following him.

"Midoriya-kun... Please... Help her-"
"I already told you that we can't-"

Midoriya felt the bump when Iida pushed him against a wall, his eyes shining with tears and anger.

"You... You orchestrated this... You... Piece of shit!"

Midoriya grabbed his fist and squish it a little, making him let go.

"No, I didn't. They had this going for a few weeks now. I just used their meeting as our first lesson."
"He knows you... He knows you from somewhere."
"Of course he knows me."
"Huh?"
"So people still have no idea, huh? That's good."
"No idea about what?"
"You could say that I'm taking part in our city underworld."
"Midoriya-kun... What does that mean?"
"It means that I'm a part of this reality. I have a role to play in this criminal part of town."
"You're saying... You're a real criminal?"
"Ummm... Yes... And no."

"..."

"I know what you're thinking and I'll answer all your questions at the end of the night... For now, let's continue-"
"No!" Iida hissed.
"Why not, Iida-kun?"
"I- I don't want to do this... I want to help that girl and arrest them."
"You can try, but I already told you what will happen if you do that. You can't help those who don't want to be helped."
"NO, MIDORIYA-KUN!" Yaoyorozu shouted while also grabbing his collar, softer, as if she was holding onto him not to fall, her face stained with tears.
"THIS IS THE SAME AS LOSING YOUR HUMANITY! THIS ISN'T RIGHT... WE CAN'T GIVE UP ON THEM! PLEASE!"

Midoriya saw his old self in the reflection of her tears but noticed his current self reflected on her eyes as well. He sighed:

"I understand your frustration, Momo-san, but you told me you could handle anything that I showed you, and this is only the beginning. If you can't handle this, I don't know if you can go on."

She just looked down, still crying, and Midoriya gently moved her hands before energizing his feet.

"If you can still believe in your resolve, let's continue... We have a few more places to go to."

They remained still for a few seconds but obeyed and followed the boy inside the dark one more time.

---

Midoriya sat on a ledge again, but this time, Yaoyorozu and Iida did the same. They just stared at the lights down there and didn't say a thing for a few minutes. Midoriya took his cellphone out and browsed between videos and audio files. He found what he was looking for and placed the cellphone on the ledge beside him. They heard someone speaking and Iida instantly looked towards it, wondering if he was hearing right:

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Of course, they love me... What isn't to love? I destroyed that villain back there, he didn't even see me. I wonder if I'll get a statue in this square, you know... Because he was a wanted criminal and there were so many people around. They were chanting for me, did you hear? Hahahahaha."
"You sure are good, Ingenium-san."
"I'm more than good, Maeda. This district is going to be crime-free and my face will be all over Tokyo someday, you'll see. The top ten awaits me."

Midoriya tapped his cellphone and the audio stopped. Iida was staring at him with an incredulous expression.

"This was recorded before he was attacked, and somehow, Stain heard this. The police department found footage and this audio from his agency and used it to try and find clues after the attack, so I managed to get ahold of this part to show you one day."

"..."

"That was the reason Stain attacked your brother."

Iida's lips started to tremble and he looked away. Midoriya kept talking while looking forward:

"I don't believe he was wrong. There's nothing wrong with believing in yourself and being proud of your own power, but those were not the selfless and humble characteristics the Hero Killer valued on heroes, so he picked your brother because of that. I believe the reason he wasn't instantly killed was exactly that this was his only flaw."

"..."

"Momo-san, are you okay?"

Yaoyorozu was facing Iida and leaned towards Midoriya, getting closer, enough to slap him once. Midoriya felt the sharp pain on his cheek and faced her, seeing how disgusted she was. She covered her mouth and looked away from him as well, making the boy remain in silence for some time. After at least five minutes, Iida got up.

"I have... I have to go."
"Iida-san, are you-" Yaoyorozu was about to ask something but the boy just ran out of there, leaving only dust behind.
"He needs time processing everything."
"You had that audio this whole time... You were waiting for this to happen, weren't you?"
"I was, but why are you speaking as if I did a bad thing?"
"You hurt him for no reason... You played with his emotions and soiled his brother's name."
"Did I?! Because to me, his brother did that by himself. Why are you accusing me? You were the ones who wanted answers. I'm just the one providing those answers to you."
"How can you stay so calm with all this? How can you? Are you still human, Midoriya-kun?"
"I am, or at least I think I still am."
"Then how can you standby and watch all of this?"
"Who said I just standby and watch?"
"Huh?"
"Ummm... Do you remember a pro-hero named El Tigre? He was injured a month ago."
"Yes... It was all over the news... He's still in a coma and they never captured the culprit-"
"I did that."

Yaoyorozu just felt the wind blowing on her face while her gaze was locked in his expression, his hair moving with the breeze and his eyes seeing things she could only imagine.

"You did what?" She whispered.
"I'm the one who attacked him. I'm the one that placed him in a coma."
"You- Why?"
"Because he tried to rape a girl in front of me."
"This can't be."
"Why would I lie?"

"..."

"I was so mad that I wanted to kill him where he stood... But I was afraid that it would change me... So I chose to use my Moonlight to mentally scar him forever."

"..."

"What you saw today is the reality I face every night."
"How can you live with this? How can you live with yourself, doing this kind of thing? And seeing this kind of thing every night while doing nothing about it."
"As I was saying... I'm not just standing by. I told you that I am a part of this underworld, but I didn't tell you which part."
"Explain, please."
"To them, I am... Raijin... The high-schooler with an inflated ego who wants to show his power and control over a few people. They never saw my face, so they can't be sure that I'm the same Raijin that appeared at the festival, also because my lighting wasn't this dark at that time. After using my powers to gain respect from the organized crime leaders, I was given permission to walk everywhere, to speak to everyone, under the persona of someone neutral. I did a few cleaning jobs, helping criminals get out of tricky situations, or making sure that some would end up arrested. To the criminals, I'm the person that maintains order when someone crosses way over the line, but in reality, I'm setting in motion a plan to dismantle all the organized crime in our city at once."
"I don't- This is just too much... I just don't get it." Yaoyorozu just shook her head and Midoriya started explaining:
"Someone once told me the world is a hard place to live in... And I didn't give much attention at that time because I didn't understand that person as I do now. What I'm doing is simply playing their game under their rules, or at least is what they believe I'm doing. In reality, I'm preparing to take down all the criminal organizations, until I can clean our city from these vile gangsters. After that, the path to creating a better world will be visible."
"So you're a double agent now... Some kind of vigilante?"
"Heh... I believe you could say that."

She just remained in silence, thinking about the things she saw tonight, trying to suppress the images, but failing every time. Midoriya faced her and moved his cellphone, playing the video from earlier. Yaoyorozu saw herself speaking:

"Righteousness. A true hero is a beacon of righteousness and goodness."

She saw her own face and after a few seconds, the screen became dark, reflecting her face. She looked so different. It was like years had passed since the video was taken, not hours.

"Now, I have to ask you: How is your soul?"

She just stared at the boy, feeling nothing but hostility towards him, feeling disgusted by his new way of doing things, but above all, she was furious with herself for not noticing all those things earlier.

"..."

"I understand, Momo, I really do. I was right where you were. It's suffocating, isn't it? When you finally realize you don't know anything. When you realize all the people that are suffering right next to you. It's like being poisoned, knowing there's no antidote that can save you, a feeling of despair and angst, but these feelings will vanish, I promise you. The human mind is amazing. It doesn't matter how much something affects your mind, it will always find the best way to heal itself. I saw countless similar situations and I thought I was going to go crazy, but it became easier to withstand... Eventually. The hero's course doesn't teach us about this part of the world. They teach us about a few specific situations and how we should respond to it, but they don't teach us how not to feel."
"What you mean by that?"
"Most of the people that want to become heroes have a high level of empathy, and although this is a great strength out there, when you're finally in here, it becomes your greatest weakness. When you put yourself in their place, you become enraged, desperate, sad, and helpless. It starts to affect you, leading to two paths: It either makes you literally crazy, or it makes you like me."
"And how is to be like you? What do you do?"
"The key is to suppress everything. That's my secret, Momo-san. You can't be threatened if you don't have fear, you can't be manipulated if you don't have naivety, you can't be misled if you don't have hatred, you can't be used if you don't have trust. What you really have to understand is that you can't be hurt if you don't feel."

Yaoyorozu thought about that for a few seconds:

"It sounds... Wrong. You're just pushing everything under the rug."
"Would you prefer everything under the rug, or around your home, contaminating everything?"

"..."

"It wasn't something I could easily deal with, so I found this answer."

"..."

He saw her face and wondered if he should wait. She wasn't ready, but he wanted her to feel as fast as she could. The feeling of power.

"All right, let's go."

Midoriya got up and her eyes snapped, she couldn't take any of that anymore.

"No... I don't want to see anything else-"
"We're not going to see anything new."
"Eh?"
"You're going to work on all the things we saw tonight."
"What you mean work?"
"We have... Two hours until dawn?" He said after checking his cellphone.
"So?"
"This means you have two hours to do whatever you want to right those wrongs."
"But I-"
"Don't worry... From now on, I got your back. Whatever you want to do, I'll find a way to make it happen. You're calling the shots. Two hours."

Yaoyorozu instantly remembered the people they just saw and got up, her face showing her resolve. Midoriya called her before she could jump down and said with a smile:

"But before we go... Mask on." He threw a red mask at her, that she held on her hands for a few seconds, imagining why did he have that.

"Did you anticipate this? This mask-"
"I did, but I was only half-right." He said while showing her a blue mask, probably meant to Iida.

She nodded and put her mask on. Midoriya stood right next to her on the ledge and pulled up his own mask. She saw that his mask was the inferior part of his first costume, which was now being used as a partial mask, covering his mouth and nose. It looked like a breather. She wasn't expecting the next words that came out of his mouth in a muffled voice:

"Momo, I want you to understand that everybody got demons, and most of the time, we lock them in the deepest part of ourselves." He pushed his cape behind and faced her.
"But sometimes, you should give them control."

She saw his eyes becoming red as he jumped down. She thought about those words for a few seconds before following him down with only one thing on her mind: Justice.

---

Author's note: Review? C'mon. I know you want it. :)