AFTER THE VILLAIN ATTACK

Bakugou groaned as he felt himself slowly waking up from his sleep, his eyes then immediately shot open upon noticing that his ankles and wrists were restrained. He was then immediately greeted by darkness, which lead him to conclude that he had a sack over his head. For a moment he was confused as to why he was in this position until memories of what transpired flashed through his mind. The training, the attack, the fight with Moonfish and finally….Izuku's injured state as he looked to him in horror.

And with that final thought, he felt his anger rise up as he now understood where he is. With a growl he began shaking in place as he vigorously struggled to free himself from his position, which proved to be futile as the restraints prevented him from moving too much. ''Damn these restraints.'' He thought with a curse as he doubled his efforts.

''Oh, you're finally awake.'' A bored voice made itself known.

Freezing from the voice, Bakugou's mind went into overdrive as he tried to identify who the voice belonged to. He didn't have long to ponder on it however as the sack covering his head was suddenly removed and forced him to shut his eyes from the sudden burst of light in his vision.

As his eyes adjusted, he found himself glaring at the sight before him while also noting that they are in some sort of bar.

In front of him stood all the members of the league of villains, with each member looking at him calmly with relaxed postures in their current positions. Shigaraki sat on the middle bar stool and looked to him thoughtfully with Kurogiri beside him from behind the counter top.

To the left side of the room he saw Magne and Spinner leaning against the wall with their arms crossed while they looked to him with serious expressions. Turning to the right he saw Dabi looking at him in boredom as he leaned against the wall with Mister Compress beside him. Looking ahead again he saw Toga resting her head on both of her hands as she leaned on the far side of the counter top with an expression he couldn't decipher.

His observations were interrupted when Shigaraki spoke up. ''Welcome Bakugou,'' he stated before spreading his arms wide. ''to the lair of The League of Villains.'' He stated proudly while the members remained in their positions and continued to look at Bakugou in silent alertness.

Bakugou ignored this and continued looking around for any possible escape routes while also trying to use his quirk, only to internally grimace when he discovered that he wasn't able to.

''In case you're wondering,'' Shigaraki spoke up getting Bakugou to glare at him. ''your quirk won't work with those special restraints on you.'' He stated before crossing his arms. ''It's amazing what you can….borrow from the police nowadays.'' He stated smugly getting a growl from Bakugou while Dabi, Magne, Spinner and Mister Compress smirked from the remark. Toga made no reaction as she continued looking to the scene with the same unreadable expression.

Seeing that he had no choice, he decided to calm down and slightly relax on his seat. ''What do you fuckers want with me?'' he demanded as he glared at each and every one of them. His gaze then lingered on Toga for a moment, noticing that she had a different expression, but quickly dismissed it and directed his murderous gaze on Shigaraki.

Rather than be intimidated, Shigaraki looked amused by the expression directed at him. ''Why, we simply want to offer you an invitation to join our ranks.'' He stated as if it was the most obvious statement in the world.

Bakugou narrowed his eyes at him and spoke up with the first thing that came to his mind. ''Fuck. you.'' he spat with every word laced with venom as he looked to the decay villain with a hate filled gaze while he struggled in his position.

''I know this isn't an easy decision to make.'' Shigaraki continued, obviously ignoring Bakugou's response while the latter glared at him for brushing off his answer. ''But know this, out of every one of your classmates….you're the one that's been more interesting.'' He praised getting Bakugou to pause and look to him with a confused expression.

Bakugou was silent for a bit before deciding to speak up and find out more while he can. ''Oh yeah? What makes me so damn interesting to you?'' he asked with a growl while making an expression that made him look interested. While the other members continued listening with keen interest.

As if expecting the question, Shigaraki calmly spoke up. ''Isn't it obvious?'' he started with an obvious tone while Bakugou listened in. ''It's because I see potential in you.'' He stated getting a questionable gaze from Bakugou, while on the inside he felt a bad feeling in his gut.

Seeing his expression, Shigaraki explained. ''You see…unlike those fools who kept holding you back.'' He stated while Bakugou held down an outburst. ''I can see right away that your quirk can lead to many possibilities. Combined with your natural talent when it comes to using it….I have no doubt that you'll be able to reach new heights in no time.'' He praised highly while Bakugou digested his words with a scowl since he could tell right away that Shigaraki merely wanted to use him. ''Which is why I propose that we join forces, so that we can unlock that potential together.'' He offered calmly as he gave Bakugou an expectant look, while the latter looked ready to call on his bullshit until-

''Well said Shigaraki.'' Came a voice that made Bakugou freeze upon hearing it. To anyone it sounded like a normal voice, but to Bakugou he could almost feel the imminent doom behind it. Meanwhile Shigaraki smirked at the teen's reaction while the other league members felt themselves feeling uneasy as well from the voice but did well not to show it.

Turning to the voice he saw that the voice originated from some sort of communication panel. Said panel had a black screen with a speaker below it. But Bakugou knew for a fact that he didn't need to see the person to feel how ominous or dangerous he was. ''As young Shigaraki stated,'' the voice continued getting his full attention. ''we understand that this is a rather….difficult decision to make, so with that in mind we'll give you some time to consider this generous offer.'' He stated in an eerily calm voice that just screamed death, forcing Bakugou to stay silent and watch what he says. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that the other members looked nervous as well, apparently even they weren't immune to the aura of death the voice emanated.

Bakugou was silent for a bit before reluctantly agreeing. ''Fine.'' He agreed with a growl as he looked to the black screen, seeing he had no choice in the matter. ''It could give me time to think of a way to escape.'' He thought as he began thinking of making possible openings when he had a chance.

''Excellent.'' The voice stated in an approving tone while Bakugou started feeling a small bit of sweat form from the long exposure to the voice. ''Shigaraki, do be kind and show our esteemed guest to his room, be sure he's comfortable and well fed.'' He ordered with a calmly but authoritative voice.

Shigaraki nodded without hesitation. ''Yes Sensei.'' he stated before turning to Toga. ''Toga,'' he called out getting the girl's attention. ''you, Spinner and Compress bring him to his room.'' he ordered getting affirmative nods from the three.

''Okay.'' Toga nodded as she and the two approached the restrained teen. And before the latter could react, he and the chair he is restrained in, were taken away by Compress's quirk. They then wordlessly left the room to escort Bakugou to his quarters.

As the three left the room, AFO spoke again. ''Shigaraki.'' he called out getting the man child's attention while the other members (minus Kurogiri who looked accustomed to this) tensed from hearing his voice again. ''It is best to not force him into joining, after all an effective member is one who is willing to fight for the cause.'' He advised in a sagely tone.

Shigaraki was silent before nodding in understanding. ''Yes Sensei.'' he stated before looking to the direction where Bakugou was taken away. ''But with everything planned he'll be working with us regardless of what he says.'' He stated with a sinister smile, evidently pleased with his genius.

AFO was silent for a bit before responding. ''Very well, but be sure to inform me if you've made any progress.'' He ordered calmly, evidently seeing no problem with giving Shigaraki his full trust in this.

''Yes Sensei.'' Shigaraki responded before looking to the blank screen with conviction. ''I'm certain he'll have a response ready for us tomorrow,'' he stated before smiling evilly as he looked to where Bakugou was dragged away. ''it's just a matter of time now.'' He stated confidently getting an affirmative hum from AFO before the transmission ended.

After making sure AFO disconnected, Dabi spoke up. ''Oi, how are you so sure that the brat will agree to joining us?'' he asked with an inquisitive expression, evidently tense from hearing AFO's voice.

''Yeah.'' Magne spoke up with a nervous expression getting their attention. ''I mean you saw how the kid reacted back there when you offered him to join us the first time.'' He stated with a bit of sweat from his forehead, evidently shaken up from hearing OFA as well.

Kurogiri was about to ease their concerns until Shigaraki calmly responded. ''Calm down.'' he ordered immediately silencing them. ''Like I said, either way….he WILL be fighting for us.'' He reassured ominously while everyone else decided to say silent and just follow his lead.

Upon placing Bakugou in his sleeping quarters, Toga and everyone else left the room and decided to do their own thing or just go to sleep. As she made her way to her room, her mind flashed to all her interactions with Izuku at the camp. All the conversations, gestures and the expressions that were directed at her.

It honestly baffled how such simple interactions and expression directed at her from Izuku could bring out old feelings and memories that long since died all those years ago. But what really caught her attention is that how she felt…bad when she looked to Izuku's expression of horror and defeat. His expression of pure defeat and how injured he looked just felt wrong to her. And it wasn't just any form of fake pity either, it was genuine sadness for what happened to Izuku.

And yet she didn't why.

Why did she feel that way? Why hasn't she been feeling that sense of guilt until now? How come whenever she remembers his battered state and his expression of defeat, she feels her heart ache?

They've never even met before! Not once had they seen each other during their younger years. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they know next to nothing about each other, the only thing they do know about one another are simple things such as what side they're on and that they're both pretty weird.

So why did she feel like she hurt an old friend?

Upon reaching her door she sighed and wasted no time and entered her room as she scrambled to come up why she was feeling these things. She then took off her shoes and plopped down on her bed as she tried to reassess herself. She started with infatuation at first, only to immediately shut it down considering that she would do some pretty crazy things if that were the case (lord knows she doesn't need to be crazier than she already is).

After a few moments she decided to narrow it down and focus on what she felt upon meeting and interacting with him. The first thing that came to mind would be…comfort, unlike the usual tension that would be brought out when people outside her team talk to her. Izuku looked to her and treated her like she was just like any other person despite the clear allegiance differences and intents. This alone brought her feelings of assurance and belonging that she admittedly hasn't felt in a long time since-

Toga immediately stopped her train of thought as she groaned into her pillow. There she goes again; at this rate she won't be able to get anywhere with the burst of emotions and thoughts running through her. Why did this have to be so difficult? All she had to do that night was to help in the capture of Bakugou and collect blood.

''What a pain,'' She thought with a sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose as she laid down on bed. ''and to think this all started because of a chance encounter with…'' her train of thought trailed off as she paused upon noticing a certain detail. ''Wait…,'' she thought for a bit as she digested her last thoughts before abruptly sitting up with wide eyes. ''That's it!'' she exclaimed to herself with a look of realization on her face.

Izuku Midoriya is the cause of all this. It's so simple when she thought about it, if it wasn't for her chance encounter with him. all these old feeling and memories within her would have stayed dead for as long as she lived. Which would mean that learning more about him would be the key to understanding why exactly he has this effect on her and why he reminds her so much of….him.

Which unfortunately lead her to the next problem.

''How do I do it.'' She thought as she put a hand to her chin. She considered locating whatever hospital he was most likely placed in, but shot it down when she realized that he is most likely asleep as he recovers from his injuries. Ignoring the stirring of her emotions as images of his state flashed in her mind, she directed her attention to his classmates. But they'll most likely be under heavy guard after their attack so how would-

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Startled from her thoughts she looked to door while putting on her emotional mask. ''Who is it?'' she cheerily asked in her usual tone.

''It's me, Shigaraki.'' He called out getting Toga to immediately stand and head to the door. Upon opening it she was greeted by the site of their leader who looked bored from waiting. ''We need to talk.'' He stated getting a curious look from her but stepped aside to let him enter anyway.

As she closed the door, Toga looked to Shigaraki with an excited grin. ''So, what's this all about Shigi?'' she asked with her usual tone while masking well her confusion. Hoping that he won't somehow complicate her already complicated situation.

After growling from the nickname, Shigaraki calmed down and crossed his arms. ''There's not much to talk about actually,'' he stated getting making Toga tilt her head in confusion. ''Starting tomorrow you'll be in charge of feeding our guest while he remains here.'' He ordered but clarified upon seeing her shocked expression. ''I'm sure you've noticed by now that despite being able to sleep on a bed, the brat is still required to wear special quirk binders.'' he stated getting her to nod in affirmative. ''And because of this he can't exactly….feed himself.'' He informed with a serious look while Toga's eyes slowly widened in understanding. If Bakugou were to eat freely, it could provide him an opportunity to use his quirk and quite literally ''blow this popsicle stand.''

Now having a clearer understanding of the situation, Toga was about to ask why he assigned her of all people when an epiphany hit her. Bakugou is not only Izuku's classmate but from what she's learned, his close friend as well. This is perfect! Why would she need to go out there and look for answers when its literally just within arm's reach?

Upon realizing this, Toga formed an excited grin as she nodded enthusiastically. ''Sure thing!'' she happily agreed, more than glad to be given this opportunity to find the answers she seeks.

Though surprised from her enthusiasm, Shigaraki shook off his shock and decided not to care about it. ''Good.'' He stated with an approving tone before speaking up again. ''While you're at it, see if you can…persuade him to join us.'' He stated in a dark tone which Toga noted and immediately understood what he was implying. But considering that his command could very well prevent her from acquiring the answers she seeks, she opted to just use words instead.

With this decision she grinned excitedly. ''Sure thing!'' she agreed with a giggle while mentally cheering for this perfect opportunity given to her.

Satisfied with the response, Shigaraki nodded in approval. ''Good.'' He stated in an approving tone before speaking up again. ''And one more thing, I'll be assigning Spinner by the door while you're doing this in case anything goes wrong.'' He added before making his way to the door while Toga internally winced at the order but decided to keep silent to prevent rousing any suspicion. She just hoped that Spinner wouldn't be able to hear what would be going on in there.

''No problem, goodnight Shigi!'' She agreed and wished with a cheerful tone while Shigaraki grumbled about the nickname as he left the room to talk with Spinner.

Once the door closed, she went onto lock it again and smiled to herself on a job well done. Thanks to her experiences in life and her quirks nature, she developed a useful skill in masking her emotions, which in turn would make it easy to hid her true intentions. Which also resulted in her becoming a great actress when the situation called for it.

Plus, it also helped that her school had a play that one time and a drama club.

And with that she plopped down on her bed once again to have her much earned rest. ''Now I can finally get my answers.'' She thought with a content sigh as she dozed off into dreamland.

She just hoped that Bakugou would be willing enough provide said answers.

Meanwhile Bakugou laid on his bed as he stared at ceiling with a frustrated expression. It's bad enough that they captured him and hurt his classmates. But now their offering a spot on their team while keeping his hands trapped in quirk cancelling binders and his ankles connected to chains.

It became self-evident that their definition of comfortable is very different.

With a heavy sigh he decided to think about it tomorrow after he's well rested, hopefully he'll be able to find an opening for him to escape by then. So, with one last growl he closed his eyes and tried to gain as much rest as he could.

MEANWHILE IN LOCATION: UNKNOWN

AFO sighed as he ended the transmission and leaned back on his seat. ''I do hope you right Shigaraki, for we no longer have the leisure of time.'' he stated to himself before looking to the computer screen beside him, where a result from scanning a Nomu could be seen. Said results showed some sort of tracking device, somehow fused with the Nomu. It occurred to him that someone must have been brave enough to not only create the device, but to also implant it on the Nomu as it left the camp. Thus, gathering information as to where it originated from.

Which admittedly is a simple but very clever plan.

He then sighed before closing the results screen and put a hand on his chin ''They'll be upon you soon.'' He stated knowingly, having no doubt that the heroes would use this information to locate one of his Nomu production plants and somehow gather information to locate the student they captured.

Which would mean that he would be there to lead the rescue.

After chuckling at the thought, he turned to where he knew his mask would be placed. ''It looks like we get to settle things soon….All Might.'' He stated with a hint of excitement in his voice. Evidently eager to settle things with the man who not only took away his eyesight, but also tore apart his empire back in the early days.

NEXT DAY MORNING - WILD WILD PUSSYCAT VAN

''Are we there yet?'' Kota anxiously asked as he glanced out the window with a worried expression. Seeing this Pixie Bob looked at him worriedly and immediately wrapped an arm around him to hold him close to wordlessly reassure him.

From the driver's seat, Mandalay looked to the rear view mirror with a frown before looking ahead again. ''We're almost there Kota.'' She assured in a soothing tone which help Kota relax into Pixie Bob's embrace.

She, Pixie Bob and Kota were currently on their way to the local hospital where Izuku, the other students and the rest of their teammates were placed. After the villains retreated, help arrived in the form of emergency response units and a fair amount of law enforcement.

Upon arrival the rescue teams immediately went to work with taking in anyone injured or knocked out by the gas created by the villains. While this was happening, law enforcement secured the area and began interviewing people who encountered any villains while the firefighters dealt with extinguishing the flames.

But despite the wave of relief brought upon their arrival, it didn't compare to the amount of dread and anguish caused once all the students were informed that not only did Izuku come back the worst injured, but also because the villains were successful in capturing one of their own.

Just by remembering everyone's expressions that night frustrated her to no end as she gripped her steering wheel harder.

FLASHBACK TRAINING CAMP – AFTER VILLAIN ATTACK

''How did this happen?'' Aizawa asked with a frustrated expression as he looked to Izuku who, among many others, are being loaded into their respective medical transports. Looking to the side, he could feel his regret and anger grow as he saw his students looking to the scene with horrified expressions. The most noticeable would be Mina who was releasing her pent-up frustration and grief while being comforted by Ochako and Tsuyu who had tears in their eyes as well.

Looking to the rest of his students he could see that they were fairing no better as Iida looked guilty and ashamed for not being there for his peers in their hour of need. Kirishima kept his distance from the group as he looked to the ground in anger, obviously upset with what transpired. While the rest of his classmates wisely gave him the space to calm down.

''I…I honestly don't know.'' Mandalay sighed with a sad expression as she looked to Kota who looked devastated in Pixie Bob's embrace. The latter doing her best to reassure him that Izuku won't die and abandon him. Looking to their fellow pro, she could see Vlad making sure that all his students (who weren't knocked out by the gas) are all accounted for.

As far as they were aware, the only ones who knew about the training and the location for it are the people from U.A. and the Wild Wild Pussycat Squad. Which lead them to a dark thought that they didn't dare to address tonight.

''Excuse me!''

Turning to the voice they were greeted by a police officer who saluted them before speaking up. ''We have managed to secure three villains that have been found incapacitated in the forest.'' He reported getting their full attention. ''We have also gathered all Nomu bodies that could be found.'' he finished with a serious expression.

After digesting the information, Eraserhead nodded to him. ''All right, good work.'' He stated with a grateful tone getting an affirmative nod from the officer before he left to join his squad. ''At least we know they lost some heavy hitters tonight.'' He added knowing that Muscular and Moonfish's skills are incredibly dangerous. Which caused a small amount of satisfaction to stir within him, since that would mean that the villains lost a large amount of firepower as well.

Mandalay shared similar sentiments as she nodded in agreement. ''I hear that.'' She agreed, evidently more than relieved to know that Muscular will be behind bars for good this time. ''So, where do we go from here?'' she asked, realizing that apart from recovering and securing the students, they had to deal with the inevitable backlash from the media as well.

''Isn't it obvious?'' Aizawa countered getting her attention while he looked to her with a serious expression. ''We deal with those vultures(media) first and then plan a way to get Bakugou back.'' He stated seriously before going off to join Detective Naomasa to question the students. Leaving Mandalay with a thoughtful expression before she nodded in agreement and wore an expression of determination before going to comfort Kota.

PRESENT TIME

As expected, the media went down hard on the school and every hero involved for failing to protect a student from capture. Public opinion on them also started expressing their doubts about U.A.'s security and the heroes' ability to protect the students. But in all honesty, most of the pros didn't really focus on this (they are already preoccupied with the fact that there could be a possible traitor), what they did focus on was finding a way to rescue their captured student. It wouldn't 100% remove the media's doubt on their security, but it could at least put the public at ease.

And true to Aizawa's word, thanks to his, Vlad's and Pixie Bob's statements. Detective Naomasa was able to identify similar reports of people providing similar descriptions of a man with patchwork skin being spotted entering a bar. Said man was Dabi who has committed a great number of crimes and property damage that gave people more than enough details on what he looked like.

In other words, they have a trail, which also meant that they just needed a plan now.

Her musings were cut short when she spotted their destination up ahead. ''We're here.'' She called out getting Kota to sit up and secure Izuku's jacket, which he thankfully allowed them to wash it first before he brought it. While Mandalay and Pixie Bob glanced at each other with amused expressions, internally glad that the tension in the air was cut by Kota's growing idolization for Izuku.

Heck, neither of them would be surprised if he asked for red shoes in the future.

HOSPITAL

Upon entering the building, Kota didn't waste any time and asked if they could see Izuku first, which of course they immediately agreed to, much to his joy. After asking for directions to Izuku's room the two pros were requested to verify their identities, which is understandable considering the circumstances. Once finished they went on their way to Izuku's room, only to stop when the nurse informed them that his mother was visiting.

Upon hearing this both pros froze and looked to each other with worried expression. Since the attack, there wasn't any shortages of concerned parents giving them calls about their children. And knowing that Izuku came out the worst injured out of all of them, they are understandably fearful of how the mother would react to all of this. Especially when it was their responsibility to look after them all.

With this in mind both pros looked Kota, ready to tell him that they'll come back later. Only to immediately stop when they saw the pleading eyes he gave them. Now logically speaking, it would be wise to leave the mother to stay with her son uninterrupted. But as they looked into Kota's eyes they could clearly see how desperate he looked to verify Izuku's condition, which only tugged their hearts more.

And considering that he never asked for anything until this point, what choice do they have?

With this thought both pros internally sighed and decided to bite the bullet before looking down at Kota with kind smiles. ''We'll go see him.'' Mandalay announced kindly while Pixie Bob nodded in agreement. Both silently hoping that Izuku's mother wouldn't tear them apart for this.

Kota looked to them in shock before giving them the biggest smile they've ever seen. And before they could react, the child latched onto Mandalay's leg and gave it a hug. ''Thank you.'' He stated gratefully while the pro was stunned for a moment before smiling warmly and patting the child's head while Pixie Bob mimicked her expression.

Perhaps risking mutilation from an angry mother wasn't so bad after all.

IZUKU'S HOSPITAL ROOM

As they made their way to their destination, it came to no surprise that they notice the increase of security personnel in the hospital. And judging by how serious they all looked, the people here are as good as secured.

Upon arriving at the door, the pros paused for a bit, both not exactly ready to have an encounter with an undoubtedly distraught parent today. While Kota hesitated out of fear, fear that his hero's condition would be worse than what he saw last night.

After taking a few more moments to mentally prepare herself, Mandalay raised her fist to knock on the door while her two companions immediately straightened themselves out.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

A few moments passed again before the door was opened by a woman that they immediately identified as Izuku's mother. From her kind eyes (that were slightly red from crying) and the warm aura she gave off, it wasn't exactly difficult to see the resemblance.

After a few moments of just staring at each other, Inko decided to break the silence by clearing her throat before speaking up. ''Um…who are you?'' she asked with weary tone while idly noting that Kota was wearing Izuku's jacket.

Realizing that they hadn't said anything, the pros straightened themselves out while Kota tried to peak behind Inko. ''Sorry about that, I'm Mandalay,'' she started before gesturing her teammate. ''and this is Pixie Bob.'' she informed while said pro nodded at the mother. ''We're the from the rescue team Wild Wild Pussy Cats.'' She introduced calmly while Inko looked confused by their sudden appearance but understood who they were.

''Ok…?'' Inko slowly nodded before wearing a confused expression. ''But what brings you here?'' she asked while the pros were internally surprised from how casually the mother was being towards them.

Suppressing her shock, Mandalay calmly responded. ''We're here to visit our other teammates and check on the students but…'' she trailed off as she directed her gaze to Kota who was fidgeting from their attention. ''Kota wanted to check on Izuku first.'' She informed kindly while Inko looked to the child with curiosity.

''That is…if you'll allow it.'' Mandalay calmly added, making sure to give Inko the choice while Kota looked to the mother with a hopeful and pleading look.

Inko was silent for a bit before she looked to Kota with a warm smile. ''Yes, you can.'' She approved with a nod before stepping aside and gestured them to enter while the pros were taken aback by her warm welcome.

While this was happening, Kota wasted no time and entered the room to see Izuku. The sight that welcomed him brought tears of relief out of his eyes.

There Izuku laid, wearing a hospital gown with heavy bandaging in his arms while some medical patches are placed on his cheek. But despite this, the one thing that Kota focused on is the fact that Izuku is very much alive as he could see the steady rise and fall of his chest. And if that isn't indication enough, the heart monitor he was strapped onto indicated it.

While Kota wiped away his tears, the pros took in the sight and released a breath that they didn't they were holding. Once she recovered Mandalay spoke up as she looked to Inko. ''Sorry about that.'' She apologized with sincerity in her tone.

Inko didn't mind as she gently waved it off. ''It's fine,'' she stated before looking to Kota who finished cleaning himself up and was now looking to Izuku in silent prayer. ''I could tell that this is important to him.'' she stated warmly while the pros returned the expression.

The pros smiled at her before frowning with guilty expressions which confused Inko. ''We…just wanted to say,'' she started before the two of them suddenly bowed towards the mother. ''on behalf of my team we would like to-

''Stop.'' Inko gently interjected getting the two pros to look at her in shock. ''I've gotten plenty of apologies today thanks.'' She joked with a hint of sass while the pros slowly straightened themselves out.

It was true, once everything settled down, Inko received a great number of calls from pros and Nezu who all expressed their deepest regrets in not being able to keep the teenagers safe. All Might especially sounded particularly regretful for Izuku's current state.

''What happened at the camp,'' She continued before the pros could speak up. ''wasn't any of your faults.'' She firmly stated with no hint of animosity in her voice, effectively shocking the pros.

Snapping out of her shock, Mandalay still looked uncertain. ''But-

''No buts.'' Inko gently interjected. ''As far as I'm concerned, you all did what you could to protect everyone that night.'' She stated while the pros remained silent, giving her permission to continue. ''So, don't go feeling guilty for something you had no control over.'' She advised with a serious expression while the pros looked thoughtful from those words.

''And with what happened to Izuku,'' She continued as she looked to her son. ''what he did was his choice, and I know for a fact that he'd do it again in a heartbeat.'' She stated with as she looked to him with a sad smile. Evidently more than familiar with her son's self-sacrificing attitude while mentally noting to have a talk with him about it.

Inko then looked to the pros who stared at Izuku's form with guilty expressions. ''But if that isn't enough to convince you then listen to this.'' she stated seriously while the pros silently paid attention. ''Like what I said to All Might, Izuku wouldn't have done all of this just for all of you to blame yourselves.'' She stated before giving them a kind smile that reminded them of Izuku. ''And neither would I.'' she sincerely stated with a kind tone.

Not even bothering for a response, Inko turned from the stunned pros and walked to Kota's side with a smile. ''Hello child.'' she greeted warmly, startling the child a bit from his thoughts. ''I see you have my son's jacket. '' she pointed out with an interested look.

Seeing what she was referring to, Kota looked down to the jacket with a fond smile. ''Yeah, he gave it to me after he saved my life.'' He stated before his eyes widened in realization and looked to Inko with a nervous expression. ''D-Do you want it back?'' he asked with reluctance evident in his voice.

Understanding the problem, Inko wore a motherly smile as she gently shook her head. ''No need.'' she stated getting a shocked expression from the child. ''If Izuku wanted you to have it, then I see no reason why you shouldn't have it.'' She reasoned with a kind smile while Kota looked to her in awe for a bit before returning the expression as he held the jacket close.

Meanwhile the pros found themselves smiling at the scene. Very thankful for the older Midoriya's forgiveness and immediately understood where Izuku's friendly nature came from, making it a no brainer with how many friends he can make.

Suddenly a thought went through Pixie Bob's head before stepping forward. ''Excuse me Ms. Midoriya-

''Please, call me Inko.'' Inko interrupted and encouraged with a smile while Kota went back to looking to Izuku's form in silent thought.

Though shocked from the suggestion, Pixie Bob slowly nodded. ''O-Okay.'' she agreed with a hint of uncertainty before wearing a more composed expression. ''I don't mean to pry, but…did Mina call?'' she asked with a worried expression while remembering the teen's state of grief after seeing Izuku's state and learning what happened to Bakugou, despite her boyfriend's efforts.

Understanding her worries, Inko nodded making her sigh in relief. ''Yes, she did. I just finished talking to her before you two arrived.'' She informed before frowning. ''She was quite upset about not being allowed to visit until later. But after talking to her and assuring her that he was fine, she calmed down and promised to check on him when I leave.'' She informed with smile, glad to know how dedicated Mina is to her son.

In the meantime, the pros silently agreed with Mina's sentiments. I mean can you blame her? If they were in the same position, they would most likely feel what she feels. But due to protocol, the students were ordered to stay at their homes in the meantime with some parents even discouraging their children to leave period. The only reason why they were allowed to visit freely was because of their status as pros, but even they needed to go through a process just to be given clearance to do so. But given the circumstances, no one could exactly blame the police for being so strict with the rules.

Their musings were interrupted when Mandalay felt a tug on her wrist, looking down she saw Kota looking at her with a smile. ''We can go now.'' He informed with a satisfied tone getting shocked looks from the adults.

''Are you sure?'' Pixie Bob asked getting the child's attention. ''It's fine if you want to stay longer Kota.'' She offered kindly while Mandalay nodded in agreement as both saw no problem in doing so.

To their surprise however, Kota just shook his head. ''It's fine.'' he stated before looking at Izuku with a smile. ''All I wanted to know is that he's still alive,'' he informed before looking to the shocked pros. ''with that done I think it's best for us to leave now so that we wouldn't disturb his rest.'' He suggested calmly.

Though taken aback by the child's level of maturity, Mandalay shook it off and spoke up with a smile. ''That's really mature of you Kota.'' she praised as she patted him on the head, drawing a smile from the child. ''All right we'll go, but not before we see everyone else okay?'' She asked getting an affirmative nod from the child with all three of them having the goal of giving Inko time with her son.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Startled from the noise, everyone turned to the door to see a nurse peeking through. ''Ms. Inko?'' she called out getting the woman in question to step forward. Upon making eye contact the nurse stepped inside and looked to her with an apologetic expression. ''Sorry for the interruption, but I've been informed to end your visiting hours.'' She stated apologetically getting shocked looks from everyone.

''Isn't that unfair?'' Mandalay spoke up getting the nurse's attention. ''I mean this is her son that she's visiting.'' She firmly reminded with a serious expression while Kota and Pixie Bob mirrored her expression while Inko looked surprised from the pro's intervention.

They all knew why she needed to leave, but surely there are some exceptions?

To their pro's dismay however, the nurse sadly shook her head. ''I understand, but sadly the police strongly advise her to leave due to safety protocols.'' She informed and continued before the pros could speak up. ''The only reason why she's here in the first place, is because All Might gave them the order to give her time to be with her son.'' She informed remembering how serious the Symbol of Peace looked from giving the order, which naturally caused the police to cave in. Meanwhile Inko found herself shocked from the lengths the Symbol of Peace went for her and Izuku. At first, she assumed it was meant to be a favor to her and Izuku, but it was clear that there is more to it that she didn't know about.

Meanwhile everyone else was shocked from the revelation, but before Mandalay could speak up, Inko beat her to it. ''It's fine.'' she stated getting shocked looks from everyone. ''I've already been here longer than I should have,'' she informed and it was then they noticed how sleep deprived she looked. ''all I wanted to do was to make sure my son is alright and that he had spare clothes to wear when he wakes up.'' She stated sincerely as she gestured to a small bag containing Izuku's usual clothes beside his bed.

After listening to her reasoning, Mandalay nodded but still looked unsure. ''Are you sure Inko?'' she asked getting a nod from the mother. The pro nodded in return before speaking up. ''All right, but allow us to drive you home.'' She offered getting a surprised look from the mother.

Inko looked ready to decline the offer before the pro spoke up again. ''Please.'' She interjected while Inko listened in. ''It's the least we could do.'' She pleaded with sincerity in her voice while Inko looked to Pixie Bob and saw her nodding in agreement. Looking down at the child she saw him looking at her with a pleading look as well.

Seeing that there was no room for her to decline, Inko sighed in resignation before smiling at them. ''All right, I'll go with you.'' She nodded in agreement with a grateful expression.

Mandalay nodded at her and mirrored her expression before turning to the nurse who was patiently waiting for a response. ''Tell the chief that we'll be the ones to escort Inko home.'' She informed with a serious expression.

Understanding the situation, the nurse nodded in affirmative. ''All right, I'll be sure to inform the chief then.'' She stated before bowing to them and quietly leaving the room.

A few moments of silence past before Inko decided to break it. ''Would you mind waiting outside for a bit?'' she requested while everyone else turned to her. ''I just need a few moments with him.'' she stated with a kind expression.

''Of course.'' Mandalay nodded with a look of understanding before she, Pixie Bob and Kota made their way to leave the room, before she paused and looked to Inko with a grateful expression. ''Oh, and when you have the chance please tell Izuku thank you.'' she requested while Pixie Bob and Kota looked to her and silently requested the same thing, drawing a surprised look from the older Midoriya.

But before she could speak up, Mandalay continued. ''Without him I- a lot of us wouldn't have returned in one piece.'' She stated before holding Kota's shoulder with a gentle squeeze. ''Or with our lives.'' She stated sincerely while Kota reached up and held Mandalay's hand.

Understanding the implications, Inko nodded with a smile. ''I will.'' She agreed while Mandalay returned the expression before she, Pixie Bob and Kota made their way out of the room. The latter giving one more glance at Izuku before following the pros, a gesture that touched the older Midoriya but chose to stay silent about it.

As the door closed, Inko stared at it with a smile before sighing and approaching her son with a small but proud smile. ''Honestly, no matter how strong you are you always seem to end up becoming the most injured.'' She lightly chastised as she ran her fingers through his hair affectionately. ''But then again…that's exactly who you've always been when it came to the lives of others.'' She stated with a knowing look before she gave a kiss on Izuku's forehead and leaning back with a smile.

''I'm proud of you Izuku.'' She stated sincerely before making her way out of the room to join Mandalay, with plans on finding out the full story of what Izuku did during the camp.

As she left however, she completely missed how Izuku had a small smile on his face as he slept.

MEANWHILE EARLIER IN BAKUGOU'S SLEEPING QUARTERS

With a slight jolt Bakugou found himself sitting up from his bed as he opened his eyes. Upon noticing the weight on his hands, he looked down and grimaced as he realized that what he dreamed about was real and that he was indeed held captive by the villains. With a huff he let his legs hang on the side of the bed as he analyzed his surroundings.

The room sported a simple design, with white tiled floors and cement walls painted in grey. Above him is a single circular ceiling light, no windows in sight but there's an air vent that's too small for him or anything to fit through and a single bed with a pillow but no blanket, two chairs and a single small table. And from what he could tell, these guys are so confident that he wouldn't be able to escape that there's apparently no form of camera or recording device in sight.

''Cocky bastards.'' Bakugou thought with an angered expression before standing up to examine his room for anything to use. Unfortunately, the more he scanned the room, the more he was forced to admit that escape was indeed impossible without the use of his quirk. ''Their cocky, but they did think of everything.'' He conceded with huff before sitting back on his bed.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Turning to the door he could hear a girl's voice, Toga if he remembered correctly. ''Breakfast!'' she announced before she unceremoniously opened the door before, he could respond. In her hands was a tray with a warm plate of curry.

Just by looking at the meal, he could feel himself become hungry but refused to show it and simply scowled at her. ''The hell is that?'' he asked while eyeing the dish wearily, which helped lessen his hunger since there could be a possibility of it being drugged or poisoned.

Seeing his tone and expression, Toga calmly shook her head. ''Curry.'' She announced calmly as she placed the tray on the table before facing the suspicious teen. '''If you'd like I could take a bite of it.'' She offered calmly, hoping that her tone would calm him.

Bakugou considered the offer but quickly realized that they wouldn't have a reason to kill him yet since they still needed a response from him. With that in mind Bakugou hesitantly shook his head. ''Don't, I'll eat it myself.'' He declared with a huff, he maybe in a shitty situation, but at least he could still-

''Actually,'' Toga spoke up with a sheepish expression snapping him out of his thoughts. ''your uhhh…not going to feed yourself.'' She stated getting Bakugou to freeze from the statement while she mentally braced herself for what's to come. ''That's why…I am here.'' She stated with an awkward chuckle as she held a spoon.

Understanding the implications, Bakugou's expression tuned murderous as he glared at the villain. ''Fuck that shit!'' he stated angrily before turning away. He considered tackling her but decided against it since he'll be in a worse situation if he does anything. Which was a frustrating thought enough at itself.

Not even surprised from the response, Toga was silent for a bit before speaking up again. ''Look, you don't have to eat it.'' she stated getting him to glance at her. ''But just so you know, I doubt you'll be able to last long before the next batch.'' She threatened with a knowing look that spoke experience.

Bakugou wanted to argue but no matter what he thought of she was right, if he really wanted to escape then he'd need the energy to do so. Plus, this could also be a useful way to lower their guard further by making them think he's under their thumbs.

Despite feeling a blow to his pride at the last thought, he huffed before nodding. ''Fine.'' He begrudgingly agreed before standing up and taking a seat on one of the chairs. All the while keeping his eyes on Toga to find any kind of deceit or ulterior motives.

Toga mentally cheered before smiling brightly at him. ''Great!'' she cheered with a happy expression while he internally groaned. She then immediately seated herself on the other chair, scooped a spoonful of his meal and held it in front of him. ''Here you go.'' She offered with a kind tone that made it hard for him to tell if she was faking it or not.

Which she wasn't.

Bakugou's gaze then switched between the spoon and Toga's expression to see if anything was amiss. Once he confirmed that their wasn't any, he mentally sighed before leaning forward and opening his mouth. Which Toga wasted no time and gently placed the spoon in his mouth, once he took the food, she placed the spoon down and looked at him curiously. ''How is it?'' she couldn't help but ask.

Meanwhile Bakugou gingerly chewed it for a bit before swallowing and braced himself for any side effects. Once there were none he scowled at Toga. ''No comment.'' He stated stubbornly, refusing to admit that it tasted alright.

After resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Toga looked to him with a knowing smile. ''I'll be sure to give your compliments to Kurogiri then.'' She teased before scooping up more food.

''Just shut up and feed me.'' Bakugou growled back earning a giggle from the villain (which of course pissed him off) as she brought up another spoonful of curry.

The two then fell into silence as Toga continued feeding Bakugou who just focused on finishing what was given to him. While this was happening, the gears in Toga's mind turned as she tried to figure out the best way to approach the situation. Sure, she knew what to ask, but asking about it is a different situation altogether.

Plus, there is the terrible possibility that Bakugou wouldn't even want to talk to her.

Meanwhile Bakugou tried his damndest to get a reading on the person in front of him, unfortunately this proved to be difficult since she looked just as unreadable as the first time he saw her. Sure, she sounded kind, but he noticed how nervous she sounded while also looking dangerous all at once which made it impossible to read her.

As the two mentally processed the situation, the feeding proceeded with no issues whatsoever.

Eventually their thoughts were interrupted when Toga noticed that Bakugou took the last bite of food. ''Well that wasn't so bad was it?'' she asked with a grin while Bakugou grunted in annoyance as he stood up and sat on his bed while Toga cleaned up with a thoughtful expression.

After a few moments of considering her words, she opted to just go with the flow at this point since she had a feeling that her time with Bakugou wouldn't be long.

But first…

''Hey, Bakugou.'' She called out without turning around, Bakugou remained silent but she knew he was listening so she spoke up. ''Are you by any chance interested in joining the league?'' she asked though she already knew the answer.

''Hell. No.'' Bakugou immediately responded with a growl while glaring daggers at the villain. The latter not even surprised by the response and couldn't help but smile a bit in amusement.

She quickly replaced her expression with a neutral one as she shrugged. ''Oh well, just asking.'' She stated causally while behind her Bakugou looked surprised from how she easily gave up on the offer.

His surprise only grew when she paused her work and looked to him with a hopeful expression. ''Can I ask you something?'' she asked seriously with a hint of hope in her voice.

Bakugou was taken aback by her tone and expression but quickly shook it off as he glared at the villain. ''If it's another offer-

''No that.'' She dismissed getting s surprised look from him. ''It's about Izuku.'' She revealed bluntly, deciding against dancing around it and just get straight to the point.

Ignoring how she used Izuku's first name, Bakugou formed a murderous expression. ''I've got nothing to say to you.'' He growled assuming that she was gathering info to hurt his friend.

To her credit, Toga expected the response. But that didn't mean it hurt any less as her expression faltered and frowned a bit. ''I see.'' She stated with a slightly defeated tone before turning around and continued her cleanup. ''Well…it looks like I won't get my answers after all.'' She thought with a frown while internally grimacing at the thought of continue enduring her inner turmoil.

Bakugou felt a little bit uncomfortable by how Toga looked and sounded just then. But knowing that she's a villain, he was about to crush those feelings until he remembered a conversation he had with Izuku during the Sports Festival.

FLASHBACK SPORTS FESTIVAL – BEFORE KAMINARI VS. IBARA

While the arena was being cleared from Todoroki's ice. Izuku, Mina, Bakugou, Iida and Ochako decided to go get some refreshments and relax in the meantime. Meanwhile the rest of his classmates were off doing their own thing while the arena was being cleared and repaired.

Once they got their drinks, they found a place to settle down and simply enjoy the moment of peace. Izuku found himself taking a seat and leaned against the wall while Mina sat beside him and leaned her head against this shoulder. Ochako, Iida and Bakugou sat crossed legged around him, effectively creating a small circle.

After a few moments of peace, a question formed in Bakugou's mind as he spoke up. ''Deku,'' he suddenly called out getting the teen's attention. ''why the fuck did you make friends with him?'' he bluntly asked getting a confused look from the teen.

''With who Kacchan?'' he asked with a curious expression.

Seeing this Bakugou rolled his eyes. ''Eye bags.'' He supplied with a huff while everyone stared at him blankly before deadpanning at him, realizing that he was referring to Shinso.

Now understanding what he was referring to, Izuku spoke up with a smile. ''Well, because it looked like he needed a friend.'' He stated simply getting a confused look from Bakugou while everyone else paid attention.

''How the fuck could you tell?'' Bakugou asked with a curious expression.

Izuku was silent for a bit before speaking up with a serious expression. ''Well…when Ojiro dropped out of the competition after mentioning that Shinso's quirk caused him to not remember anything, I looked to him and immediately noticed how guilty and sad he looked from what he did.'' He then smiled. ''From that point on, I knew he needed a friend to help him and tell him that he shouldn't be ashamed of his quirk.'' He stated kindly while also thinking of a way to help Todoroki with his problem as well.

While Bakugou and everyone processed what he said, Izuku grinned before wrapping an arm around a surprised Mina. ''Plus, it helps that Mina teaches me how to read people better.'' He praised before giving a pick peck on Mina's cheek making her blush. The latter then giggled as she returned the gesture and snuggled up to him making Ochako coo while Iida smiled.

Meanwhile Bakugou was silent as he mulled Izuku's words over a bit before speaking up again. ''Alright, I get that you wanted to help him,'' he started with an understanding tone getting their attention. ''but did you seriously need to be friends with him after he fucked with your mind?'' he asked with growl, evidently still upset with what Shinso did to Izuku.

Izuku grinned at that. ''Yep, because from my point of view: strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.'' He stated calmly taking everyone aback by his friendly nature.

''Midoriya.'' Iida spoke up getting everyone's attention. ''I mean no offense…but that line of thinking sounds naïve.'' He stated as he, Mina and Ochako wore worried expressions, thinking that he could be taken advantage of. While Bakugou looked skeptical from the meaning behind those words.

Seeing their expressions Izuku couldn't help but chuckle. ''Yeah your right,'' he agreed getting their full attention. ''but then again….friendship can sometimes appear in the strangest of places.'' He calmly countered with a knowing look.

And with that all their arguments died out as they took in his words.

Mina, Ochako and Iida took in the wisdom of his simple words since Izuku pretty much proves this point by making friends left and right depending on the person and situation. While for Bakugou, he considered how their friendship was formed despite him bullying Izuku for being supposedly quirk less for all those years, until he revealed his quirk by saving his life.

Which indeed makes their friendship quite weird and unexpected.

''And in case you still don't believe me.'' Izuku suddenly spoke up getting everyone to turn to him. ''I was able to be friends with you.'' He reminded warmly as he looked to Bakugou. While everyone else instantly understood what he meant since Izuku and Bakugou's personalities would often clash but still get along well.

Now understanding Izuku's point, Bakugou scowled before looking away. ''Damn you.'' He grumbled making Izuku chuckle while everyone else decided to ponder on his words. Depending on the situation and person, Izuku's point of view could indeed make an ally of the situation, which in turn could change the tide of things.

However, before anyone else could say anything, Present Mic's voice boomed through the speakers.

''ATTENTION EVERYONE! REPAIRS TO THE ARENA ARE COMPLETE! PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR SEATS!''

Once the announcement ended, Izuku separated from Mina and stood up. ''Well it looks like it's time to see what Kaminari can do.'' He stated with a grunt as he stretched, making a satisfying popping sound while doing so.

''Oh please,'' Bakugou scoffed as he and everyone else stood and stretched as well. ''I bet that dumbass Pikachu will fuckup his match.'' He predicted confidently with a huff.

Iida of course was quick to reprimand him. ''It is not wise to underestimate your fellow peers Bakugou!'' he sternly scolded in his usual manner getting an eye roll in response while Ochako tried to calm him down.

Izuku was about to defuse the situation until Mina spoke up. ''Well what are we waiting for? Let's see if he's right or not!'' She stated enthusiastically before grabbing Izuku's hand and began dragging him away to their designated seats.

''You heard the lady, let's go!'' Izuku called out with a chuckle as he allowed himself to be dragged away by a giggling Mina while Iida, Ochako and Bakugou immediately followed them to see how the match would proceed. The latter mulling over Izuku's words and wondered if he could apply those words himself as well.

PRESENT TIME

As he remembered that day, a thoughtful expression formed on his face as he stared at the villain before him. The whole concept sounded ridiculous but if there was a possibility of making an ally or possibly redeeming someone, then perhaps he could give it a shot.

But before he could do anything, he needed to reflect on their interaction.

From what he could tell, it was clear that whatever she wanted to ask him was important, maybe not to the league but…most likely to her. Not only that, the way she acted towards him was different as well, unlike the other villains who addressed him like a ''guest'', she spoke to him in a calming tone as if to tell him to trust her.

Sure, she asked him if he wanted to join the league, but it didn't look like she cared about the response since it seemed like she expected that kind of answer from him.

So why? Why does she not care about him joining the league? What does she want to know about Deku and why did she look sad when he refused to tell her anything?

''Well, it looked he needed a friend.''

Remembering her expression, he could tell that she was disappointed, but there was something else there. It wasn't anger but rather it looked like….sadness, as if he just destroyed her chances of getting whatever she wanted. Which apparently revolved around his friend.

Which brings up the question, why?

Why did she want to know more about Izuku? He considered intel for her advantage but squashed the idea as he remembered the tone she used when asking about him. There was no malice behind it, or at least none that he could detect, but rather there was genuine curiosity and sincerity in her tone.

Not only that, there was also a hint of hope in her voice. The same kind of tone that reminded him of the time when Kirishima approached him and asked him to be his frie-

His eyes widened as he zeroed in on that last thought.

No…surely not.

She's a villain! Why would she want to be close with a person who wanted nothing more than to become a great hero in the future. It sounded insane considering it since not only do they have different allegiances, but also, he's pretty damn sure that they haven't even met before!

So why the hell would she want to-

''Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.''

He wanted to curse for his internal conflict but stopped himself when he realized that Toga was about to make her way out of the room with the tray in hand if he didn't pull his shit together and make a decision now.

Fuck it, time to bite the bullet.

''Wait.'' He called out getting her to stop and look at him curiously. ''I'll talk to you about Izuku.'' He agreed while internally praying that he wasn't going to regret this. While Toga looked surprised from the complete 180 and was about to speak but stopped when he shot her a warning look. ''But I'll have two conditions.'' He warned getting her to slowly nod in agreement. ''One, I'll stop talking the moment your questions step out of line and two, you'll have to tell me why exactly you want to talk about him.'' he compromised with a tone that left no room for argument.

Meanwhile Toga placed the tray back on the table and went silent for a bit as she weighed her options but quickly realized that this could be her only opportunity so she nodded in agreement. ''Alright, deal.'' She agreed since he had every right to question things given the circumstances while Bakugou was internally surprised but hid it well as he returned the nod.

Realizing that he was patiently waiting for her, Toga then decided to get comfortable and take a seat on the chair that was far enough from Bakugou to ease his worries. She then went silent herself as she chose her words well before eventually looking up to him with a serious expression. ''The reason I want to talk about him is….,'' she trailed off with hesitation as she felt uncomfortable opening up with her personal feelings. ''is that I want to find answers.'' She admitted getting a confused look from him since his hunch was pretty much proven.

Toga ignored his expression and looked down at her hands as she clasped them together. ''Recently I've been getting these feelings.'' she admitted before giving Bakugou a look before he could say anything. ''Not attraction,'' she clarified with emphasis getting Bakugou to calm down a bit, glad to know it wasn't a love triangle situation. ''but more on…confusion.'' she stated with a conflicted expression getting a confused one from the teen.

Seeing his expression Toga began explaining how she's been feeling a surge of conflict within her ever since she had her encounter and interaction with Izuku. How different his attitude towards her were vastly different with how others would treat her normally now or in the past.

By the end of the explanation, she felt a bit lighter from opening up.

''So, what your telling me is….,'' Bakugou trailed off as he digested her words. ''you think that by knowing more about Izuku, you'll also be able to understand why you're having conflicts within yourself.'' He surmised with a serious expression while internally surprised with how open the villain is being.

Toga nodded without hesitation. ''Yes.'' she stated sincerely as she stared directly at his eyes with conviction. ''For me to find clarity I need to ask about Izuku.'' She stated getting a thoughtful expression from Bakugou.

Now that he understood her intentions, everything started making sense. As she stated, no one in her life must have treated her the way Izuku did, which would understandably confuse her. I mean who wouldn't be if your entire life was faced with people judging you for most of it.

After staying silent for a few seconds Bakugou nodded to her with a serious expression. ''Alright, let's do this.'' He agreed while a logical part of him told him that this was a bad idea. However, it was quickly overpowered by his hero instincts and his genuine curiosity.

Toga then gave him a genuine smile. ''Thank you.'' She stated gratefully, smirking a bit when he looked shock from how normal she sounded. The latter quickly recomposing himself when her expression became more serious. ''Does Izuku care about evil quirks?'' she asked with a hint of guilt in her voice.

Though surprised with her question at first, Bakugou decided to answer with what came first to his mind ''No, he doesn't.'' he stated while Toga listened intently. ''To be frank, no quirk is evil to him, the person who has it will be called evil if they hurt people with it.'' He stated with a serious expression while Toga's eyes glazed over as she looked at her hands with a thoughtful expression as she remembered the amount of people that she hurt just because of her urge to see or consume blood due to her quirk's nature.

Seeing her expression, Bakugou quickly jumped in to reassure her. ''But to be honest I don't think that matters with him.'' he added getting her to look at him and it was then he noted that the life in her eyes returned. ''As long as there's a chance, Izuku would always see the good in a person.'' He stated with a look of experience, since he too was on the receiving end of Izuku's forgiveness despite being a childhood bully. ''So yeah, from my experience you'll only be labeled as evil if he deems you irredeemable.'' He stated in an assured tone before adding one last thing. ''And as far as he's concerned, no quirk is useless, no matter what you tell him.'' he finished remembering how Izuku would openly praise Mineta's quirk if given the opportunity.

While Bakugou went silent as he allowed her to digest his words, Toga felt the hurricane of emotions within her return in full force. Only this time, there are a lot of more positive ones this time. Namely a massive amount of relief, comfort and assurance once again from hearing Bakugou's info about Izuku.

''No quirks are evil.'' She repeated in her head as she felt a small glimmer of hope reignite within her, sure she felt guilt but it was immediately overshadowed by everything else.

But as she thought this, another old memory resurfaced.

FLASHBACK

The young teen sighed in relief as the last class for the day ended. She knew all this was necessary for her education, but if it meant continuing her daily routine of being ignored or being stared at strangely, then why does she even bother at this point?

But alas it was all necessary to work her way into society, so with this in mind she found herself outside the school grounds as she started making her way home. Back to her….family.

She almost found herself laughing at the word ''family'', considering how they weren't any better than the people who treated her outside of their home. Ever since her quirk manifested as a child, she began feeling urges to consume blood or to at least see it. Things got so drastic that she eventually brought home a dead bird for the sake of observing the blood's beauty.

Needless to say, her parents wanted to put a stop to this.

But rather than bringing her to quirk counseling like any good parent should, they decided to put matters into their own hands and encouraged her to live a ''normal life''. Now Understandably, this all caused confusion to form within the young child as she had no idea why her parents acted the way they did, but ultimately decided to take their words to heart and suppress her quirks urges.

And for some time, it worked and her parents showed more approval by the day.

But it did not last however, as the more the girl grew, the harder it became to suppress her natural urges. And despite her best efforts in acting normal like her parents wanted, she eventually couldn't contain her urges and found her inner mask cracking from time to time from the overflowing amount of urges built up within her.

Said cracks caused her to become more antsy the longer she didn't have an opportunity to see blood and when she did, she would start sweating or feel an overwhelming urge to taste it. Naturally her parents saw this and tried to intervene, but their efforts were all for naught as their daughter became more and more agitated with each attempt to fix her.

When they couldn't handle the task any longer, they began discussing in secret of plans on allowing another member of their family tree to take care of her and thus relieving them of the burden of trying to repair the unrepairable.

However, one night the girl heard of their plans and felt her heart shatter upon hearing this. And what made matters worse is that the urge to see blood, or specifically her parents' blood, roared with fury within her. But knowing the life that it would lead to and what she would become, she fought hard within herself until she eventually calmed herself.

As she accomplished this feat, she felt newfound determination within her as she decided to prove her parents wrong by fixing herself and to one day be accepted into society. She then began to find hep group online with similar problems as her and began researching on common methods used to suppress natural quirk urges or ways to hide it. Which would result in creating a painful training regime of resisting her urges by viewing pictures or videos of blood (which were all spilled by animals in nature documentaries).

It was admittedly bitter work, but the result was worth it as she found herself feeling her urges less and less from the sight of blood. Which in turn resulted in her improving her demeanor and overall look in public.

Seeing this, her parents began interacting with her warmly again as if nothing had transpired between them. But the girl was not naïve and knew that things were far from normal between them now as she began to grow more distant with them over time. When questioned about this she would often brush off the question or would just simply state that she was in no mood to talk. Unsurprisingly her parents accepted the excuses blindly and decided that it was simply stress from her school life.

But despite the massive gap between them they lived in relative peace despite their being almost no words exchanged between them unless necessary. The girl would become accustomed to this and simply focus on her mission to grow and eventually move out of her home to live in society as she chose.

So, until then, she would have to continue her internal struggle as she lived amongst the people while trying to mask her emotions by the day. However, every now and then, cracks would form within her and would cause a wave of unease to flow out of her.

Which would ultimately lead to her lonely life of being an outsider to everyone else.

''Hey wait!'' a voice made itself known, followed by the sound of frantic footsteps which effectively knocked her out of her somber thoughts.

Turning to the voice she saw that it was the same boy who staring at her earlier and it was then she got a good look at him as he caught his breathe. Besides from their standard school uniform, the boy appeared to be shorter than her by an inch while sporting black hair and blue eyes.

All in all, he was a pretty plain looking guy.

Her observations were interrupted when the young man coughed before looking up to her with an awkward grin. ''Sheesh you walk fast.'' He praised with an awkward chuckle as he began straightening himself up.

Seeing this, the girl raised an eyebrow at him and fully turned to face the newcomer. ''Can I help you?'' she asked with a tone of curiosity mixed with caution, evidently not used to someone approaching her of all people for once. Heck, even in group projects she would often find herself working solo since nobody would feel comfortable around her. which admittedly sucked every time.

Seeing this, the stranger quickly fixed himself and offered a nervous smile. ''Well I noticed how you would always go home by yourself, so I thought it would be great if we could walk home together since I live in another street not too far from you.'' He offered sincerely with a kind expression.

And for the first time in a long time, the girl found herself left speechless as she looked to the boy with a shocked expression from both his offer and sincerity behind it. However, she quickly shook it off as she still had her suspicions.

''Why?'' She asked with suspicion evident in her voice while her stance appeared to be tense.

The boy looked at her strangely before realizing why she acted the way she did and wore a more understanding expression. ''Ok I'll be honest with you.'' He started honestly getting her attention. ''ever since I Transferred here people have been acting…different around me.'' He admitted with a sad tone before looking down.

''Different?'' The girl repeated as she tilted her head in confusion. ''But why?'' she added as she scanned the boy again, only to find no other reason why people would treat him differently.

Her confusion grew when the boy hesitated, as if worried with what would happen after he reveals why. Finally, after a few moments of mental preparation, the boy took a few breathes before looking up to her with a serious expression. ''I'm Quirkless.'' He admitted with a tone that showed no deceit.

With that one statement, the girl found herself freezing as she looked to the boy with an expression of shock and understanding. And for good reason to since quirkless individuals are considered rare in their society, which would often lead to their unfortunate treatment as lower-class citizens by most of the civilian population with quirks. Such treatments would cause the suicide rate of quirkless individuals to increase by the year.

''Ever since everyone else found out I was quirkless upon arrival,'' he continued, not even fazed by her expression and reaction. ''they started treating me like an outsider or simply someone not to acknowledge.'' He stated sadly as he looked away with an empty chuckle. ''Funny, now that I think about it, it's not exactly different with the way they treated me from my last school.'' He admitted with a frown and tone that spoke of years of experience.

''What about your parents?'' The girl couldn't help but ask, surely they would be the ones to support him and notice how he's being treated?

As soon as the question came out, she regretted it almost immediately as the boy's expression became sadder. ''They would ask about it but wouldn't really do anything about it like the staff from my last school.'' He admitted before he quickly wiped the tears that began to form in his eyes. ''They still keep me around, but I think that's because I still have the potential to earn money with other jobs.'' He speculated before turning away to hid his pained expression.

Meanwhile the girl felt anger bubble up inside her from the injustice of it all, it was bad enough that people like her were treated poorly just because they had difficulty controlling their quirk's urges. But now, even people without quirks are being treated like dirt for being different as well!?

It simply wasn't fair!

She was about to speak up when the boy beat her to it and looked at her with an expression of conviction. ''When I saw how lonely you are, I knew at that moment that you needed someone to be your friend. Someone who would have your back and support you when you feel the weight of the world crashing down on your shoulders.'' He declared with a determined expression.

And with that declaration, all form of suspicion and distrust for the boy was crushed and immediately replaced with admiration for the boy's spirit and noble gesture. As she looked to him, she came to a realization that she could feel some form of kinship towards him. Both were outcasts to society in their own way and their parents kept them around mostly for convenience nowadays. Both essentially were forced to forge their own path and accomplish their goals without any form of help from people who normally would support them.

So, with this in mind, her decision became clear.

''Alright, let's be friends.'' She nodded with a smile.

Upon hearing the response, the boy's demeanor immediately changed and looked to her in shock. ''Woah really!?'' he asked for confirmation with surprise evident in his voice, which immediately told her that a large part of him expected the offer to fail.

Seeing this she couldn't help but giggle in amusement. ''Yes, really.'' She confirmed with a gentle smile.

Tears looked like they were about to form in the boy's eyes but he quickly shook it off as he gave her a bright and relieved smile. ''That's great!'' he cheered with such joy that she could already tell that things are going to go well between them.

And since they are going to be friends, she might as well have some fun.

''With that being said,'' she continued getting his attention. ''aren't you being a little bit rude right now?'' she asked with a tone of mock offense as she playfully crossed her arms with a look of annoyance.

Which naturally caused the boy to look at her in surprise. ''W-What do you mean?'' he asked in a nervous tone, thinking that he somehow botched their friendship before it even started.

Seeing this she giggled and quickly calmed him. ''Relax, I'm just teasing. I just want to know your name first.'' She stated before laughing a bit from his dumbfounded expression.

Realizing that she was joking he chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. ''O-Oh.'' He stated with a nervous tone, much to her amusement. He then quickly recomposed himself and held a hand out. ''My name is Saito Hiraga, nice to meet you.'' He stated with a friendly smile.

The girl then looked to the hand before looking up to Saito with a smile as she grabbed it. ''Nice to meet you too, my name is-

''Toga!''

PRESENT TIME

Blinking back to the present she turned to the door where the sound of someone knocking can be heard. ''Toga, times up.'' The voice of Spinner announced while said teen looked to Bakugou and gave him a look that silently promised that she will share her piece of the story later. Thankfully the latter understood the silent message and nodded to her with a serious expression.

After returning the nod with a small smile, Toga's eyes immediately glazed over as she wore her usual persona. ''Okay!'' she responded cheerfully as she grabbed the tray and turned away from Bakugou as she started making her way out of the room. While the latter couldn't help but be impressed with her acting.

Once she left the room to no doubt report to Shigaraki of no progress, Bakugou couldn't help but think about how ludicrous his situation is. Here he is, held captive by villains who wanted his services for their cause, not only that, but it would seem that he gained a possible ally from within their ranks.

And it was all thanks to Deku.

''Fucking hell.'' Bakugou exclaimed with a chuckle as he shook his head. ''Even when you aren't around your still making friends Deku.'' He stated with an amused tone before he stood up and laid down on his bed as he now considered Toga as a factor in his escape.

Not only that, his mind also raced to figure out what story will Toga have for him later.

Unbeknownst to Bakugou and Toga, there was another reason why Spinner was placed by the door. Besides security reasons, he was instructed to listen to what went on in the room via earpiece that was connected to a hidden listening device in the room.

Under normal circumstances he would report to Shigaraki without question, but something he heard from Bakugou and Toga's conversation made him reconsider.

''No quirks are useless.'' He repeated in his head as he leaned against the wall outside of Bakugou's room and looked to his hand with a thoughtful expression.

For years he endured mistreatment or discrimination due to his mutation quirk. The most common of course would be other individuals calling his quirk useless for having so many downsides and yet so little positives. So, with all this in mind, hearing someone saying that no quirks are useless meant more to him than what others may think.

And knowing that those words came from someone who Stain considers to be a true hero, he knew that they were 100% truthful.

''I'll keep that in mind Midoriya.'' He thought to himself with a small smirk before he straightened himself up and went to join Toga to report that he found nothing worthy to report.

He just hoped that he and Toga wouldn't end up paying the price for what they were doing.

BACK AT IZUKU'S ROOM - AFTERNOON

Mina was never a fan of hospitals, now don't get her wrong she didn't hate what they do here, what she does hate however was the unintentional tension or unease that it brings to whoever comes to visits. Upon arrival said feelings within her would have reached high levels if it weren't for the timely arrival of a nurse who reported that Izuku was to be cleared of his bandages with the only thing needed now was for him to get some well-earned rest.

From there it was a matter of watching over her Izuku and hoped that he would wake up by the end of her visit.

From her seat beside his bed, Mina sighed as she ran her fingers through Izuku's hair. ''I knew what you did was the right thing to do, but it was still foolish of you to keep fighting in your condition then.'' She chided gently before wearing a sad smile as she cupped his cheek. ''But then again, I'm foolish too.'' She admitted with a small chuckle. ''Because that's one of your qualities that made me fall for you.'' She stated sincerely before she leaned down and gave Izuku a quick peck on the lips.

She then leaned back with a smile as she let her hand linger a bit before letting go to wipe tears that began forming. Once she recomposed herself, Mina looked down at Izuku with a smile. ''Well, at least you won't have to worry about looking like a mummy when you wake up.'' She joked with a chuckle as she remembered how Izuku would joke about how he and Aizawa must be related.

*Bzzzt* *Bzzzt* *Bzzzt*

Without wasting anytime, Mina pulled out her phone and saw that it was a message from Kirishima that read: ''[Me and everyone else who can go will join you later.]''

After reading the message, Mina found herself frowning as her thoughts focused on her fellow horn buddy. Out of all the people who took the news of Bakugou's capture, Kirishima was by far the one who took it the hardest. The latter wearing an expression that was quite frankly, frightening to Mina after they were informed by Aizawa about their classmate's capture.

And ever since then, he's been putting up a strong front that everyone could see through.

After replying to her friend's message, Mina set her phone aside as she tried to think of a way to raise Kirishima's spirit, if even a little bit. Because the sight of her normally cheerful friend being at the brink of being swallowed by a pit of despair was just plain wrong to her.

But then again…this whole situation was just plain wrong. Villains attacked, knocked out a number of students with some sort of gas, captured one of their own while Izuku came out the most injured out of everyone there. And to think, all these things happened before they were experiencing life as pros.

Her solemn thoughts were interrupted when a yawn erupted from her. Looking to the clock she saw that it was currently 2:00pm and it was then that she felt the full impact of her emotional and mental exhaustion.

And since her parents knew that she would be home late because of her visit, she came to a logical solution as she looked down at Izuku's bed with a small smile. ''Welp, no use in staying awake while waiting for them.'' she stated to herself as leaned down and placed her head on Izuku's bed, relishing how comfortable the bed was despite not lying down on it.

But despite this, something was still missing.

From her position she looked up and gently took in Izuku's hand. ''Please wake up soon, Izu.''She mumbled with a hopeful expression as she slowly drifted into dreamland with Izuku's warmth to help reassure that he was here with her.

LEAGUE OF VILLAINS BASE BAKUGOU'S SLEEPING QUARTERS - AFTERNOON

''Well shit.'' Bakugou thought with grimace as he came to the conclusion that there wasn't any way of escaping from his room. when the coast was clear he would constantly stand up and search for any type breach in his room, heck even a crack on the floor at this point. But since he failed to find even that, he came to fully accept the conclusion that the room itself was escape proof. Which lead to another conclusion that the only way to escape the room, would be to somehow slip through the door when they gave him food.

But the factor of Toga being a possible ally and Spinner guarding the door complicated the issue.

''Maybe when it isn't her turn.'' He thought to himself as he looked down with a thoughtful expression. Only to immediately shake his head when he realized that even if he managed to barge through his room, the other villains will most likely be in the way. Which in turn would bring him back to square one-

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Alerted by the sound, Bakugou immediately took a seat on his bed and wore a tired expression to make it look like he just woke up. ''What?'' he called out in an annoyed tone.

''It's me again!'' Toga announced in her usual tone which calmed him down a bit. And without waiting for a response, the door was opened by Spinner who wore a serious expression as Toga walked in with a tray carrying what looked to be Ramen while wearing a friendly smile.

As the door closed, Toga placed the tray on the usual spot and looked to Bakugou who was calmly taking his seat across from her again. ''Sorry to say, but this'll be the last meal you'll get for the day so enjoy it while you can.'' She warned getting a shocked look from Bakugou before he nodded with a serious expression.

As Toga fed the explosive teen, who was grumbling about how shittier his situation got. She mentally and emotionally prepared herself for what was to come when she shares her story with Bakugou. To be honest a part of her didn't want to, on the account the Bakugou didn't feel like someone she should share this with, but a deal is a deal so she opted to honor their agreement.

And since he's a close friend of Izuku, she felt assured that she could trust her.

Once the food was gone, Toga helped him drink a glass of water before putting everything on the tray once again. Once finished the two stared at each other in silence as they wore serious expressions. Both knew that what was about to be shared was very personal and should be treated with a significant amount of respect.

Finally, after a few more moments of silence, Toga spoke up. ''So, about my past.'' She reminded before closing her mouth again as she wore an uncomfortable expression. Evidently not comfortable with sharing her personal thoughts with anyone since she hasn't done it in a long time.

Seeing her expression, Bakugou was about speak up when Toga raised her hand. ''It's fine, we had an agreement after all.'' She dismissed with a serious expression while Bakugou looked to her with an expression of disbelief. ''I just need a few moments.'' She requested quietly getting Bakugou to soften his gaze and nod in understanding.

Once she was prepared, Toga took a breath before speaking up.

''It all started when I met a boy named Saito.'' she stated with a small smile. ''My best friend.'' She declared as she pulled out a small heart locket from her pocket and looked to it with a nostalgic expression that held a certain amount of sadness on it, as she began telling her story while Bakugou chose to remain silent and listened in attention.

FLASHBACK

Since their first meeting, the two quickly became friends as they immediately warmed to each other on the way home that day. When the point arrived for them to go their separate ways, they immediately exchanged contact numbers. But even when they walked their separate ways, both were still in a better mood than they have ever been in their entire lives.

Naturally, both of their parents noticed this but didn't question it which suited them both just fine. Once they finished dinner and any homework they had on that day. They wasted no time and started chatting with each other again until it was late at night. Which in turn allowed them to grow closer as they grew more comfortable with each other with each passing moment.

Eventually though, they ended their interaction since they still have school the next day. Not that it mattered though since both didn't get much sleep since they struggled to comprehend the fact that they managed to gain their first ever friend since forever.

With this in mind, they both swore to themselves that they'll treat this friendship with care, as to not risk being alone again.

Weeks have gone by and their friendship grew ever stronger with each passing day. Of course, this led to Toga eventually revealing her quirk and its nature, but to her surprise Saito didn't seem disturbed or fearful of it. Quite the opposite actually since he was more amazed and intrigued by it as he excitedly begins asking questions about it, of which she happily answered. Saito then praised her for her determination and will to endure against her quirks urges and darker motives that formed in her mind from her parents' negligence and other people's treatment towards her.

Which only further proved to Toga that their friendship was real.

The two would become inseparable in their school, going as far as to immediately unite and find an isolated place where they could interact or finish schoolwork together in peace. To the point where they were silently crowned as a set by their fellow students and teaching staff. The latter mentioned finding their friendship strange but eventually just didn't care to disturb them. Which again, suited the duo just fine.

Naturally, this would create a rumor that the two were dating, hence why they were so close all the time. Said rumor was something that would make them laugh when they discussed it in private, because for one: It isn't true. And secondly: Saito wasn't exactly interested in the opposite sex, which gained respect from Toga since he was open about it with her.

Rumors aside, the duo continued their school days despite what others assume about them, despite being called ''The freaky duo'' or ''Weirdos''. Neither of them cared since this was nothing new to them at all. So, they pushed and formed a strong bond as they created happy memories together and hid no secrets from one another.

Until one fateful day when they were separated.

It was just another day at school nothing more, Toga and Saito were on their way to their usual spot to each lunch. When Saito stated that he forgot something in the classroom, of which Toga teased him about but didn't mind and let him go get it.

A mistake that she would make her guilty for a long time.

A considerable amount of time has passed and Toga grew worried since it wasn't like him to be late. And the fact that their fellow students had negative views on them did little to calm her down. Pluss the staff here weren't exactly helpful either.

''I need to go find him.'' She told herself before she left with haste in search of her best and only friend. Her search went on for some time as she covered almost every possible place where he could have been which sadly yielded no results. Feeling a bit tired she considered the possibility that he was back where she was and that she was merely being paranoid.

She was about to turn back until-

''Get up you freak!''

Though understandably startled by the voice, Toga immediately felt a sinking feeling in her gut as she immediately went to where she heard the voice. A thousand thoughts went through her mind, hoping and praying that it wasn't who she thought was being on the receiving end of that angered voice.

Her fear increased as she heard the sounds of someone getting hit as they grunted in pain from the audible smacks coming from a nearby corner at a fairly isolated part of the school. Upon reaching the corner she lessened her speed as to not draw any attention to herself. She then carefully peaked from the corner and hoped that it wasn't who she thought it was.

Once she did however, she was met with a sight that made something inside her snap.

Held by the collar of his uniform, is a beaten-up Saito who wore an expression of pain. Holding him up was a student that she could only assume came from another class, who stood taller than her by three inches. Accompanying him were two other students who just barely reached his height. All three were wearing expressions of anger and annoyance as they looked at Saito. ''Why the hell are you still here?'' the taller student asked as he pulled Saito closer to him, drawing out a pained grunt. ''In case you haven't noticed, your kind isn't welcome here.'' He informed in an angered tone while his two cronies voiced out their agreement as well.

Despite his potion, Saito coughed before opening eyes to look at the leader with a defiant expression. ''That may be true.'' He agreed before giving off a weak but daring grin. ''But that won't stop my determination to make a place in society.'' He stated determinedly, taking everyone aback by his spirit.

Snapping out of his shock the leader scoffed disbelievingly at the statement. ''Yeah? Well how's your determination supposed to save you now?'' he mocked while his cronies laughed mockingly as well.

''If I were you…I'd let him go Right. Now.'' Advised a calm but cold voice.

Looking to the voice, they saw Toga standing there with an unreadable expression on her face. However, the same could not be said for her eyes as they could plainly see fury behind them, fury that promised death if they do anything remotely harmful to her friend. Not only that, there was also an aura of doom around her as well.

Seeing this the leader started sweating a bit but kept his tough faced as he dropped Saito (which effectively pissed her off more) and turned to face her with an annoyed expression. ''Get outta here you freak, this is none for your business.'' He ordered with an intimidating look while behind him his cronies exchanged worried looks, having heard of not only the scary rumors around her but the relationship that she had with their victim. Meanwhile said victim could only look up with a pained expression from his seated position against the wall and silently begged her to run away as he held his bruised abdomen.

To their utter shock, Toga giggled in an unnerving way and formed a sweet smile that rooted them in place. ''Oh really?'' she asked in a disbelieving tone that was too sweet. ''Because from the looks of things, it looks like your harassing my friend.'' She accused as she slowly made her way towards the leader while making sure to keep eye contact while doing so.

As this was happening the bullies could only stare with wide eyes as the grip of fear froze them in place. All the while Saito could only smirk at the display, having an idea of what she's planning to do.

''So, here's some friendly advice.'' She suddenly stated, snapping everyone out of their thoughts. And it was then they noticed how close she got, which effectively made them all tense with anticipation. ''If you hurt my friend any more than you already have, well….your gonna have a bad time.'' She warned with a dangerous smile that promised eternal torture.

Seeing the display, the leader's intimidating facade faltered but refused to let it completely crumble as he scoffed. ''Whatever.'' he dismissed with a small waver in is voice before looking to his cronies who looked paler than ghosts. ''Come on, let's not waste time with these freaks.'' He ordered before marching away with slight haste while his two companions didn't waste any time and ran to catch up with him.

Toga kept her crazed expression as she watched them leave, once they were out of her view, she immediately wore an expression of worry as she knelt in front of her friend who confused her by chuckling in amusement. ''You know….you could earn a living from being a professional Yandere.'' He joked with a grunt as he straightened his back against the wall.

Despite the situation, Toga couldn't help but giggle at the notion. ''I'll think about it.'' She joked with an amused expression. Only for it to crumple and be replaced with a guilty expression as Saito grunted in pain while holding his abdomen. ''I'm so sorry for leaving you alone.'' She stated with regret in her voice as she looked at his injuries. Said injuries included a bit of bruising on his face and no doubt a darker bruise on his abdomen.

Seeing her guilt, Saito calmly spoke up. ''It's not your fault, I mean I was the one who….Toga?'' his statement was replaced with confusion as he looked to his friend who stared at him with a blank expression. ''Toga you there?'' he called out with a worried tone.

That seemed to do the trick as Toga snapped out of her trance and quickly looked away. ''S-Sorry about that, I just wasn't myself for a moment there.'' She admitted with a gulp as her fingers twitched a bit.

Saito looked at her with confusion and concern until a thought ran through his mind as he wore a look of realization. Ignoring the pain on his arm from blocking one of the bully's strikes, he quickly got his phone and used the reflection to look at himself. His theory was proven when he saw a trail of blood pouring out from a cut on his head. And as he looked to his friend, he concluded that her training did not include actually being in close proximity to any form of blood. He could only imagine how painful it must be for her to resist the urge, especially when the source of her urges is literally right in front of her.

With this in mind a look of conviction formed on his features as he looked to his friend who wore a pained expression. ''Toga.'' he called out, only to get her to respond by shaking her head as she silently tried to convey her problem. ''Here, bite my arm.'' he offered as he raised his good arm.

His absurd offer seemed to snap her out of her internal conflict as she looked to him in shock. ''Saito no…,'' she trailed off as her eyes automatically locked on the blood trail on the side of his face. ''your injured enough as it is.'' she reasoned out before looking to his arm with a gulp as she continued her internal struggle.

Understanding her concern, Saito merely smiled at her. ''Yeah.'' He agreed as she managed to lock eyes with him which made his stomach churn as he saw the clear conflict in her eyes. ''But believe me, seeing my only friend hurting like this hurts more.'' He stated with a worried expression as he offered his arm again.

Toga looked at his eyes and saw nothing but sincerity within them, her gaze then switched between his sincere expression and his arm with a conflicted expression her own for a moment before eventually caving in. ''Thank you.'' She stated with sincerity and relief in her tone, getting a kind nod in return.

He then prevented himself from letting out a pained grunt as she sunk her pointed teeth and began sipping his blood. From there, silence followed as Saito continued observing Toga who appeared to be under some sort of trance as she indulged her quirk's instincts.

Finally, after what it seemed like an eternity, which in reality was only a few minutes, Toga released his arm and began taking in air for her efforts. ''I'm sorry.'' She apologized with a guilty expression as she absentmindedly licked her lips.

''It's fine.'' Saito brushed it off getting a shocked look from her. ''If our positions were reversed, I know you would have done the same thing.'' He stated with a knowing look that got a small smile from her as a result, fully agreeing with his statement. ''I mean…that's what friends are for.'' He claimed sincerely with a heartwarming grin.

Toga felt tears slowly form in her eyes from Saito's commitment to their friendship despite what she did. ''Yeah.'' she croaked out as she quickly wiped away her tears and gave him a watery smile, getting a kind smile in return.

''Come on, let's get you to the clinic.'' She announced getting a nod of agreement in return. She then wasted no time and helped him slowly stand up, earning a grunt from him as he put an arm over her shoulder for support.

After steadying himself Saito looked to Toga with a grateful expression. ''Thanks for saving me.'' He thanked as he looked to her with a grateful expression.

''Likewise.'' She responded gratefully as she mirrored his expression, the two then started making their way to the school's infirmary with big smiles on their faces knowing that they had each other's support in more ways than one.

A year has passed since the incident and their friendship grew stronger since then, to the point where they became each other's siblings that they never had. Of course, this caused the rumors to escalate further but they didn't care nor never will.

In terms of the incident, it came to no surprise to the two that when it reached Saito's parents, he was the one that was reprimanded and told to avoid getting involved with those groups of people. It took a lot of convincing on Saito's part for Toga not to march right into their home and give his parents a piece of her mind that day.

As for the school, well most students who heard of the incident felt their fear of Toga grew, which lead to them further distancing themselves from her and Saito. For the teachers they expressed their sincerest ''apologies'' to Saito, but stated that they couldn't do anything about it without proof of it happening.

So yeah, they were pretty much left on their own again.

With this in mind, Toga refused to leave Saito again after the whole incident (with the exception of him going to the bathroom of course.). The latter not even bothered by the gesture and simply accepted her act with open arms, glad to know that she valued their friendship just as much as he does.

Putting the incident behind them, they continued their journey through their school in the hopes of graduating and making a place in society together someday, regardless of whatever or whoever stood in their way.

Or so they thought.

''Your leaving?!'' Toga asked with an expression of shock and hurt as she looked to Saito who couldn't meet her gaze and looked away with a regretful expression.

The two were currently seated on a bench in a park, currently it was a weekend and Toga thought it would be a good idea for the two of them to hang out and enjoy the moment of rest. Only for he plans to go out the window when Saito called her first and asked her to meet him in the park to deliver some news.

And looking back on how sad he sounded, she could now see why.

''My parents they…,'' Saito sighed before looking at her with a saddened expression. ''they decided to move me to another school after they realized how badly I got hurt last time.'' He informed with a frown before looking at the ground in despair.

''But that was a year ago!'' Toga retorted in outrage as she stood up and looked to him with a frustrated expression. ''And nothing has happened to you since!'' she claimed with a serious expression, knowing full well how people would avoid hurting him as long as she was around.

Saito nodded in agreement as his expression became frustrated. ''I know but….'' He clenched his fists. ''they already made their decision.'' He admitted with frustration making Toga sigh tiredly as she took a seat beside him again.

Of all the times his parents could have chosen to have grown a conscience, it had to be now of all times!? Not only that, apparently what they considered the right thing to do was to take away their son from their school with just a year left before graduation.

And away from his friend.

And with that thought, Toga looked to him with a serious expression. ''Wait, don't your parents know that I'm looking out for you?'' she asked getting him to tense up. ''Don't they know that you have a friend who cares for you?'' she asked with pain in her voice.

She then froze when she looked at her with an expression of sorrow. ''Toga…they…'' he hesitated before speaking up. ''You're one of the reasons why they wanted me to change schools.'' He admitted with guilt in his features while Toga felt herself pale from the implications.

Seeing her expression, Saito quickly jumped in to clarify things. ''It's not what you think!'' he denied, already knowing what she was thinking. ''I don't regret our friendship; in fact, you're the only one who accepts me for who I am. And that is something that I will never regret'' He assured with sincerity which thankfully calmed Toga down.

''It's just that my parents don't see it that way.'' he admitted with a frown. ''After they got word of the rumors about you and I, they see you as someone I shouldn't associate myself with.'' he stated before going silent as his expression became angered from the argument, they had last night.

Seeing where his point was leading to, Toga leaned against the bench and looked up to the sky with a defeated expression. ''So…this is it huh?'' she rhetorically asked, hoping with all her might that this was all just some sort of elaborate joke.

Sadly, her wishes were left unanswered as Saito nodded before mirroring her position. ''Yeah, it is.'' he agreed with a tired sigh as he looked away with a saddened expression.

Frankly both couldn't believe it, both promised to face the world together and yet they were forced to separate from one another by unjustifiable means.

*BEEP* *BEEP*

Their somber thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car horn, looking to the direction they saw a small sedan with two individuals that Toga immediately identified as Saito's parents. And based on their expressions, they didn't look particularly pleased to see their son with Toga. looking at the backseat, she could see some boxes, no doubt from their home.

''That's my ride.'' Saito announced with a sigh as he and Toga stood up and looked to the vehicle. The latter looking at them with an angered expression but opted to stay calm, lest she gave his parents the satisfaction of proving what they believe her to be.

Saito appreciated the gesture and silently thanked as he began rummaging in his pocket. ''I have something for you.'' He announced getting her to look at him with a neutral expression. ''Something to remember me by.'' He declared as he pulled out a gold heart shaped locket that broke her neutral expression and replaced it with surprise.

Toga looked between the locket and Saito with an unsure expression. After receiving a reassuring nod from her friend, she gently took the gift. On the outside it looked like an ordinary locket, but as she opened it, she felt tears began to form from what she is seeing.

It was a selfie of them together with big smiles on the day they officially became friends. On the other side of the locket is an inscription that read ''Best Friends Forever.''

As Toga gripped the locket with emotions varying from sadness, happiness and frustration. Saito revealed that he was wearing a similar locket around his neck. ''I have one too, that way we match.'' He stated with a sad smile as tears began to form in his eyes as well.

Nodding wordlessly, Toga placed the gift around her neck and looked at it with a watery smile. ''It's beautiful.'' She praised before looking up to him, her expression unchanging. ''Thank you.'' She thanked before she began wiping away her tears.

''Anything for you, my friend.'' Saito responded in kind as he wiped away his tears as well while Toga looked to him a smile through her tear stained eyes.

The two stared at each other in silence for a few moments, not sure of what to do. Until eventually the dam broke and Toga wasted no time as she embraced Saito, while the latter immediately responded by embracing her as well.

''I'll never forget you.'' Toga swore with tears as she tightened her embrace.

Saito nodded as he tightened the embrace as well. ''Likewise, and I'll be sure to call whenever I can.'' He swore while Toga just nodded, silently promising the same thing as well.

*BEEP* *BEEP*

Despite the noise from Saito's parents, their embrace didn't falter as they savored their moment together. ''Heh…I don't want to let go.'' Saito admitted with a small chuckle while Toga merely nodded in agreement as she made sure to cherish this moment.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end as they found themselves separating and looking to each other will small smiles that held sadness within them. And after what seemed like an eternity of staring, Saito made the first move and nodded to her with a smile before turning around as he started making his way to his impatient parents.

All the while Toga watched his retreating form with a frown before she looked down at her locket with a somber expression as she started thinking about what could have been in their friendship.

''Oh, and Toga?''

Startled from the voice, Toga looked up and saw Saito looking at her with a serious expression. ''Be the hero I couldn't be.'' He requested with a hint of silent plea and sadness in his eyes.

Thought taken aback by the request, Toga understood where he was coming from and nodded to him with a look of conviction. ''I will.'' She swore with a determined expression as she internally started planning on possible hero schools that she could go to.

Seeing her conviction, Saito nodded with a grateful expression. ''Thank You.'' He thanked with a smile, getting one in return. He then turned around and continued his way towards his parents who continued looking at her with disapproving gazes that she honestly didn't care about as Saito boarded their ''family'' car. After getting on board, his parents wasted no time and began moving away from the park.

Once their car was out of sight, Toga's determined crumbled as she let more of her tears fall. ''Goodbye….Saito.'' she choked out before she fell on her knees and clutched her locket with both hands as she started weeping with anguish and despair, not even caring for the people around her who stared for a bit before continuing their day.

The only thing keeping her from breaking at that moment, was the hope that they would eventually see each other again.

Unfortunately, their reunion would never come to pass.

After one month had passed since he left, news reached school the school that Saito and his parents were caught in a villain's rampage through another part of the city. Said villain went wild with his polarity quirk under the influence of the trigger drug, which would increase his quirk's capabilities but would have a negative side effect to his mind.

Naturally the pros were on the scene, with one team doing whatever they could to keep the scene isolated as while the other engaged with the crazed villain while also keeping civilians as far away from the combat area. But the task proved difficult as the villain's rampaging polarity quirk made it difficult to perform damage control and minimize civilian injuries.

Finally, after what seemed like a prolonged battle, the heroes were able to corner the villain who began suffering from the drawbacks of the drug. But rather than allowing himself to be taken away to jail, he channeled his quirk to its utmost limit in a last-ditch effort to avoid capture.

As the metal around them shook as they started crumpling on themselves, some pros attempted to reason with the villain and hoped that there was some semblance of sanity left in him. It was all for naught however as the villain ignored their please and draw every surrounding metal towards him with great force. Said force gave the heroes no choice but to avoid the strike and could only watch in horror as several metal shards, poles and beams punctured the villain who screamed in pain from his effort, which in turn made himself into a bloody pincushion.

After recovering from their initial shock, the pros were about to secure the villain, until they suddenly found themselves pale in horror as the villain began emitting a crazed laugh as he coughed up a large amount of blood. And before they could call for medical aid, the villain looked at them with a crazed expression that sent chills down their spine, he then damned them all before he used his quirk one more time and repelled every bit of metal gathered around him. Which resulted in him being torn apart as the metals were launched in different directions with great force. [Author's Note: For reference think of it as the Force Repulse move from the Force Unleashed Games. Only much, much gorier.]

Said metals scattered around the area, effectively injuring pros and civilians alike who were caught in the blast radius. Unfortunately, not all were so lucky, for amongst the destruction and chaos, there were those who died from being impaled, gravely injured or crushed by rubble from the explosion.

As things died down. Authorities, additional pros and medical staff arrived at the scene to rescue any trapped civilians and bring anyone injured for immediate medical aid. meanwhile a separate team of pros and authorities were tasked with the horrid task of gathering the dead.

Things were going to procedure until they stumbled upon a scene that made them freeze in place as they looked to the sight before them with expression varying from shock, awe and sorrow.

It was Saito's body, but unlike his parents who were found together in a collapsed alleyway, no doubt a desperate effort to save themselves. Saito was on all fours as he made himself into human shield to protect a little girl who appeared to be knocked out from the blast, which resulted in his back being pierced by several shards of metal that could be seen protruding out of his stomach and chest, dripping blood on the girl below her.

But what also stood out in the scene before them, was the content smile he had on his bleeding lips as his locket dangled over the child, he gave his life up to save. Not only that, but it was clear that he held his position till the very end, regardless of the amount of pain and exhaustion he surely experienced until his final breath.

While the others were frozen in place, one of them snapped out of their shock and wasted no time in extracting the girl from her position and carried her back to the medical team. Meanwhile the rest followed suit and carefully removed any metal shards from Saito's body. Once that was done, they carefully placed him on a stretcher and immediately went to bring him back to the where the bodies of dead pros were separated from civilian casualties with expressions of respect and sorrow.

To most he would be known as just another victim, but to others who saw his final resting place and witnessed his final act, he would always be remembered as a hero.

While a majority of her classmates and the teaching staff remain indifferent or neutral about the news, Toga felt as though the world began crashing down around her. it was like a piece of her very soul was ripped out of her body. She left the classroom that day to confirm it herself, still clinging to hope that somehow, they made a mistake in identifying the fallen.

Sadly, her hopes were obliterated when she passed by a stand that was selling newspapers, what made her freeze on the spot where the pictures on the front page, of those who were killed in the villain's suicide.

One of those victims, was her best friend and brother Saito Hiraga.

And since then, her life became a slow descent into madness.

She went straight home that day and cried the hardest she had ever done, grieving for her friend and begging to everything that this was all a nightmare. She ignored everything around as she continued to grieve, from her parents calling to the messaged she received from the school until eventually she passed out from exhaustion.

When she awoke the next day, memories of what happened flashed in her mind and wasted no time in trying to call her best friend. Only for the line to be silent, causing her to cry out in anguish once again as she came to realize that her only friend was gone.

Since then she slowly became swallowed by her own grief and despair, as she came to accept the reality that she was alone in the world again. And as such, accepting this reality took a heavy toll on her in all aspects. She didn't each much and lost the will and motivation to do most things, to the point where she ended up as the student with the lowest grades in the class. Not that she cared anymore, since at one point she considered suicide but ultimately decided against it since she knew for a fact that Saito wouldn't want her to join him that way and that he would most likely tell her to move on with her life the best she could.

But what made things worse was how the people of her school took the news. While some remained neutral on the subject, there were those who would openly express how glad they were that they had one less ''freak'' to worry about while some went as far as to blame her for the incident, stating that being around her must be bad luck.

It honestly took a lot of willpower for Toga to not rip their throats out every time.

But she endured for a time, doing whatever homework that came her while making an effort to avoid any form of eye contact or socializing. However, it just wasn't the same without him, because there was just nothing to look forward when it came school anymore nor did it feel good to basically have no one to talk to. She tried her best, she really did, but combined with her usual treatment and the stress built up from school and everything else, it just became too much for her.

Until one day she had enough.

Deciding there was no point in doing her usual routine anymore, she decided to grab her savings and leave everything behind when the opportunity was just right. After one day at school, instead of going home, Toga decided to travel elsewhere and find out where her best friend was buried. It took a long time and some rationing with her money, but eventually she discovered that Saito was buried in a public cemetery at Hosu City. With this information, she wasted no time and went her way see her friend's resting place.

Upon arriving she immediately started her search until she spotted something that made her eyes widen. It was three graves close together but that wasn't the detail she focused on, but rather it was the inscription on the middle grave with a heart symbol that caught her attention.

''Here Lies Saito Hiraga, a Young Hero.''

At first, she was shocked but after taking some time to think she came to the conclusion that her friend must have given up his life to save someone. Admittedly a part of her wanted to be angry, yell at him for being so careless. But knowing that being a hero was one of her friend's greatest wishes, she opted to just offer a sad smile before sitting down across the tombstone. From there she spent the majority of her time grieving, apologizing for not being there to help him and telling him how things have been since his death. She even praised him for doing a good job in saving a life and how his personality really fits with being a hero.

Eventually though, she noticed how late it was getting and was about to leave until an epiphany hit her. Saito always wanted to be a hero, to be recognized as one and to be treated as an equal by his peers. And from what she could tell, he got all of those and more in the process.

And yet what did she have? She left her home, her parents never truly accepted her and her classmates basically shunned her out of their lives. Plus, there was the fact that she basically threw away all her chances to find a place in society, which effectively left her with one thing left.

A promise.

That's it! Why would she go back to a life of isolation and discrimination, when she could go out there and show her place in the world herself? Why not just go out there and show that people like her can become heroes, regardless of the nature of her quirk?

And what better place to start than in Hosu City.

With a newfound sense of purpose, she looked to her friend's grave with an expression of determination and vowed to become the hero he wanted her to be. Once that was done, she made her way into the city with a promise of visiting her friend again when her promise is fulfilled.

PRESENT TIME

Since then she spent the majority of her life roaming through the street of Hosu as she pleased, apparently her parents didn't care to file her name in any ''missing child'' cases which suited her goal just fine. Admittedly her earlier days as a vigilante were difficult considering her lack of formal training, but despite this she managed to do her duty to protect those who were oppressed, namely those who were quirkless and didn't have any means of defending themselves against a street thug with a quirk.

She would utilize blades that she purchased with her savings and use it to injure villains when they were distracted, giving time for the victims to leave and call the authorities. Once the villain would be incapacitated, she would loot them of any cash to use for food and supplies. Not only that she would gather some blood for them, which would allow her to utilize her quirk to help accomplish her promise.

And over time her skills improved and became an efficient fighter as a result. But in the process, she found herself forgetting about her original purpose and inadvertently turn herself into a madwoman who would just make anyone bleed, which lead her to become a prime suspect in a number of bloodletting victims. But despite this she would continue on regardless if they were heroes, villains and civilians, with no signs of conflict within her.

Until now.

''Oi, you alright?'' came the slightly softened voice of Bakugou.

Snapping back into reality, Toga looked to Bakugou who wore a serious expression, but you could see the concern in his eyes. ''Your crying.'' He pointed out in the same tone.

Was she? Toga immediately brought a hand to her cheek, only to find out that she was indeed crying, in front of a prisoner no less. With this she then looked away and began wiping away her tears. ''Sorry about that.'' She apologized with an embarrassed tone as she straightened herself up.

''It's fine.'' Bakugou responded calmly while hiding how angry he was from the amount of bullshit she and her friend had to go through. And knowing full well that he was a former bully himself just sickened him to no end, which gave him more than enough motivation to make up for all the shit he put Izuku and a lot of people through.

After recomposing herself, Toga looked to Bakugou with a sheepish expression as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. ''Sorry again, I haven't been that emotional since-''she stopped her statement when her she froze and her eyes widened in realization.

Her promise…

''Be the hero I couldn't be.''

So that's what happened, ever since her encounter with Izuku, she'd been experiencing emotions and memories that have been long since forgotten. And with how similar he acted like her fallen friend, it made sense as to why she began feeling something reignite within her.

Including her long-forgotten promise, of which was reminding her of why and for who she was doing all this for the moment it reawakened. And combined with her forgotten feelings, it grew stronger overtime time until eventually reigniting the spark within her and bringing back clarity to her mind that's been plagued with nothing but darkness and insanity brought by her noble quest.

As she came to this conclusion, she looked to Bakugou with a grateful smile. ''I understand it all now, thank you.'' She thanked with great sincerity in her voice, as her mind began to clear.

Bakugou looked confused before he realized what she was referring to. ''No problem.'' He calmly responded with a nod, glad that he was able to help the troubled vill-no, troubled person before him. Suddenly realization hit him which got Toga's attention. ''Hey, while were at it why don't you help-

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Their conversation was interrupted when someone knocked on the door. ''Oi Toga, times up.'' The unmistakable voice of Shigaraki was heard, making both of their eyes widen in shock. Looking to the clock they were both surprised that it was almost evening now.

Guess time flies when you're opening up.

Realizing that Shigaraki was going to enter the room without her response, Bakugou quickly wore a murderous expression while Toga immediately wore her usual crazed expression as she straightened herself up as well and restrained Bakugou again on his seat. And not a moment too soon as the door fully opened, revealing to be Shigaraki who looked bored while behind him was Spinner who looked to Toga with a softer expression, which confused them but didn't pay it to mind. Beside him was none other than Compress, which made both of them tense.

''Anything to report Toga?'' Shigaraki asked in his usual tone as he and Spinner stepped into the room.

Toga shook her head without any hesitation. ''Nope, still nothing!'' she happily chirped, silently hoping that they wouldn't notice any cracks on her usual crazed facade.

Shigaraki grunted in annoyance while Spinner leaned against a nearby wall and watched the exchange with a neutral expression as he processed what he overheard between Toga and Bakugou. ''Hmph, your pretty damn stubborn you know that?'' Shigaraki asked though already knowing the answer while beside him Compress stared at him in alert.

Meanwhile Bakugou felt his blood boil from how the leader was looking down on him. But before he retort, Shigaraki spoke first. ''Lucky for you, you'll be given one last chance to reconsider.'' He offered while off to the side, Toga and Spinner felt something was off.

Bakugou tensed before narrowing his eyes at the villain. ''And if my answer is still the same?'' he couldn't help but ask.

To his surprise however Shigaraki merely shrugged at the statement, not looking the least bit fazed. ''It's fine if you don't change your mind because…,'' he trailed off as he formed a manic smile. ''I'll have a new Nomu if you refuse.'' He threatened with a dark laugh that made Bakugou pale a bit from the implications.

As Compress smirked in amusement from Bakugou's expression, he and Shigaraki were completely oblivious with how the other members reacted. Toga looked pale and sickened with the idea of being turned into someone's plaything as she compared it to a memory of a quirkless person being toyed with by a street thug before she intervened. While Spinner glared at Shigaraki, also disgusted with the idea of being turned into a mindless drone knowing full well that Stain would never approve of this.

''Take him.'' Shigaraki ordered with a wave of a hand and before Bakugou could react he, along with his seat were suddenly turned into a small marble by Compress's quirk, the latter placing him in his pocket for safe keeping. ''Heh, let's see if he'll refuse now.'' Shigaraki stated smugly as he and Compress left the room as they started making their way to the bar where Bakugou's decision will be witnessed by the entire League.

Meanwhile Spinner and Toga followed with internal conflicts raging within them. the latter more so considering that she basically shared her life story with him and helped her sort herself out. Both wanted to do something (for different reasons of course), but with how under powered they are compared to the other members of the League, they could only do nothing but watch whatever fate was in store for Bakugou.

So, at this point, both secretly hoped that the pros would make a move soon.

MEANWHILE IN LOCATION: UNKNOWN

Izuku twitched as he slowly opened his eyes, only to immediately shut it as he slowly began adjusting to the light of the area, he is currently in. Once confident that he could stand the light, he opened his eyes and immediately began taking in his surroundings.

The sight of which, took him by surprise.

It was a grassland, stretching as far as the eye could see, looking to another area he saw a patch of beautiful flowers, which complimented the calm breeze and the clear blue sky the place sported. In the distance he could see some mountain formations, but they looked too far away for him to get to on foot. He could also here the faint sounds of birds chirping with the occasional sound of the gentle breeze.

All in all, it was a serene.

Looking at himself, he was surprised to find out that he was wearing his hero costume. Complete with Mina's gift and everything.

''But how did I get here?'' He asked to himself as he stood up and rubbed his head in confusion while taking in the scenery. He then put a hand on his chin as he wore a thoughtful expression. ''I mean, the last thing I remember is that we went to camp for-'' he stopped himself as he froze and slowly widened in his eyes in horror.

Suddenly memories started flooding in as he began recalling the events that he could recall. From their plans to get stronger at the camp, how he managed to befriend and help Kota with his inner turmoil. To how all of them showed great progress, the villain attack, saving Kota, saving Ragdoll, passing the message to Mandalay that they were authorized to used their quirks, to him trying and failing to protect Bakugou as he was taken away with a resigned expression.

All the way to how he screamed in anguish and blacked out right afterwards.

''N-No.'' Izuku he exclaimed fear and disbelief as he fell to his knees and looked to the ground with an expression of horror. ''I-I failed to save him.'' he recalled with an expression of regret as he gripped the grass in frustration.

He then released his grip and looked up as another horrible realization dawned into him. ''So that means….I must have died from shock.'' He concluded with shame and regret in his voice as he placed a hand over his heart. Not only did he fail to save his friend, but he essentially failed to become The Symbol of Peace and left everyone behind. Just the thought of Mina, Inko and everyone else grieving over his grave filled him with so much regret.

''Nope, but you were pretty close their kiddo.'' Came a woman's voice.

Startled by the voice, Izuku eyes flared up as he charged 20% Full Cowl, zipped ahead and turned to the voice with a hardened expression while behind him are two medium sized Gaster Blasters, primed and ready to fire.

Only to pause as he took in the woman's appearance.

Standing before him was a tall woman with a beautiful but tough look which went well with her well built figure. Her skin is fair and sported a mole below her lip, which showed an easy smile. Her hair is dark and straight, kept shoulder-length with the exception of a clump of short bangs hanging above her forehead, and was usually styled in a half-up-half-down bun. Her eyes looked calm, but he Izuku could see experience and wisdom behind them.

Her outfit however is what caught his attention, which consisted of a dark, sleeveless bodysuit with a high collar, yellow elbow-length gloves, and white knee-high boots. Around her waist was a belt with an angular golden buckle, a small cape attached around the back which hung down to her knees, and over her shoulders was a longer cape, buttoned to the shoulders of her bodysuit.

All in all, she looked like a hero.

His observations were cut short when the woman raised her hands, in an effort to calm him. ''Whoa easy their kid, I won't hurt you.'' She assured with a sincere tone while her expression held approval as she eyed his stance and Gaster Blasters.

Despite her assurance however, Izuku didn't drop his stance as he looked to her with caution. ''Who are you?'' he asked with a serious expression due to not having seen or heard of her description anywhere.

His question appeared to have caught her off-guard as she looked to him in shock. ''You don't know me?'' she asked with slight disbelief in her voice, getting Izuku to shake his head with a serious expression. The latter then regretted the gesture as her expression grew dark while turned away with an angered expression. ''So, he didn't tell you about me huh?'' she muttered to herself as she cracked her knuckles, while Izuku started feeling scared for All Might but didn't know why.

MEANWHILE WITH THE PROS

All Might (in his bulky form) suddenly found himself shivering from a chill up his spine. ''What was that?'' he thought to himself as he suddenly felt like his life was in danger for some reason.

''All Might, you with us?'' Gran Torino called out with a serious expression while everyone else looked to the Symbol of Peace curiously.

''Sorry I was lost in thought for a moment, please continue.'' All Might he responded calmly which seemed to satisfy the majority of the pros and police force so they continued planning their rescue. Meanwhile Gran Torino looked at him weirdly for a bit before letting it go so that he could pay attention to the meeting, much to All Might's relief.

Seeing that all eyes were not on him anymore, All Might sighed internally before he directed all of his concentration to the rescue planning. There is a child to be saved and since they are already in hot water with public, there was absolutely no room for error.

He just hoped that the feeling of his sins crawling on his back would stop during the planning.

BACK WITH IZUKU

Seeing Izuku's expression, the woman coughed before looking to the side with an embarrassed expression. ''So much for a good first impression.'' She grumbled to herself before looking to Izuku, who continued looking at her weirdly. ''Allow me to introduce myself,'' she started as she pointed a thumb towards herself. ''My name is Nana Shimura, the 7th user of One For All.'' She stated proudly while standing tall.

Hearing this Izuku looked to her in shock. ''The seventh user!?'' he exclaimed in shock before looking down in thought. ''But that would mean…'' he trailed off before realization dawned to him as he snapped his gaze back to Nana with wide eyes. ''Your All Might's mentor!'' he concluded with an expression of shock and awe as he completely powered down and made his weapons disappear.

''The one and only.'' She proudly confirmed, though still a bit miffed that Yagi didn't mention her to his successor.

A considerable amount of questions formed in Izuku's head, but opted to just ask what came to mind first. ''How is this possible?'' he asked with a confused expression evidently lost after hearing that he was apparently not dead.

Seeing his confusion, Nana calmly responded. ''Kid remember what Yagi said, the better grasp you have with OFA, the more connected you'll be with it.'' She reminded sagely getting a nod of understanding from Izuku as he looked to himself in awe, evidently surprised with how much progress he made with OFA.

''But enough about that.'' She suddenly stated, pulling Izuku out of his thoughts. ''Right now, there's something else I need to do.'' She announced with a serious expression as she calmly made her way to Izuku.

Seeing he approach, Izuku looked to her with a confused expression. ''Do wha-

*Smack*

''Ow!'' Izuku yelped as he rubbed the sore spot where he was hit. ''What was that for?'' he asked in a slightly annoyed expression.

Nana wasn't event fazed and crossed her arms with a stern expression. ''That was for being reckless.'' She stated and raised a hand before he could say anything. ''Let me finish, I'm not saying what you did for Kota was wrong, in fact I could see myself doing the exact same thing. But what was wrong is that you refused to return back to your class after sending the authorization message.'' She scolded gently while Izuku could only look down in shame, realizing her point.

''And don't go blaming yourself either.'' She advised getting him to look at her and see her understanding expression. ''I understand that all heroes want to save everyone, hell I wanted the same thing. But there comes a time in everyone's life when they need to learn the harsh reality that they are only human and could only do so much.'' She stated sagely with a look of experience.

Izuku understood it all but still looked guilty. ''But…I still could have saved him.'' he stated with clear regret in his voice.

To this Nana smirked at him. ''Who says you can't save him?'' she stated with a knowing look getting a shocked expression in return. He then grinned at her, understanding what she was implying for him to do.

It would seem that being reckless can be okay from time to time.

Nana chuckled in amusement before wearing a more somber expression as she placed a hand on his shoulder. ''And here's another piece of advice kid,'' she stated seriously getting him to listen in attention. ''don't go off dying young.'' She warned before looking away with a sigh. ''Believe me, it's better to live long enough to experience what life has to offer for you, than to die early and wonder what could have been.'' She advised with a look of regret.

Izuku looked at her with sympathy, understanding that she was referring to herself and possibly the other OFA users, who must have been killed by the hands of AFO. He took her words to heart and looked to her with a serious expression. ''Alright, I'll be more careful.'' He promised getting her to look at him with a smile.

Nana nodded at the promise with an expression of approval. ''Good, that's-

Her statement was interrupted when she looked down in shock as Izuku brought her in for a warm embrace. ''Thank you.'' he thanked as he tightened the embrace a bit. ''For your efforts in making the world a better place, for your sacrifice and for making Yagi to the hero he is today.'' He thanked before he buried his face in her abdomen as tears began to form.

Nana felt his tears and formed a warm smile as her shock wore off. And as she looked down at the teen, she couldn't help but see her successor in his place. ''Your welcome.'' She responded in kind and returned the gesture as closed her eyes and let her tears fall as well.

The duo didn't anything more for a while as they just took the time to cherish their state of comfort.

Eventually though they separated and looked to each other with big smiles and tearful eyes. ''Geez, look how emotional you made me kid'' Nana scolded jokingly as she wiped away her tears with a small laugh.

Izuku laughed as well before he too wiped away his tears. ''Heh, sorry about that, I get pretty emotional when-'' he stopped his statement when he looked to her with an expression of realization. ''Wait.'' He stated getting her to look at him curiously. ''Is there something you want to pass on to Yagi?'' he asked with a serious expression, evidently ready to pass the message without fail.

Nana had a look of consideration before she eventually shook her head in negative. ''No, I don't think its wise to drop it on him and have him freak out over it.'' She advised making Izuku feel bad for his mentor but understood her reasoning. ''Just be there for him alright?'' she requested with a hit of plea in her eyes and voice.

''I will Nana.'' Izuku swore without hesitation as he wore with a determined look.

Seeing this Nana couldn't help but laugh with relief in her voice. ''Sheesh kid, you trying to make me cry again?'' she joked with a chuckle while Izuku joined in with an amused expression of his own.

There interaction was cut short when Izuku suddenly found himself covered in a faint green glow. ''W-What's happening?'' he asked in shock, noting that it wasn't his Psychokinesis doing that.

Nana however didn't look surprised and had a sad smile on her face. ''It means it's time for you to go.'' She announced with a knowing look.

Hearing this Izuku looked to her with an expression of surprise and a little bit of fear. ''Will I see you again?'' he asked as the glow steadily grew stronger.

''That would be up to you and how well you'd have a grasp of OFA!'' She announced excitedly with a grin as several figures behind her started appearing, figures that Izuku immediately identified as past users of OFA as well, getting him to look at them in awe. ''You better get going kid, because someone really cares about you.'' She reminded with a knowing look.

All doubts ceased at that statement as Izuku understood exactly who she was referring to, his eyes then glowed as he looked to her with a determined expression. ''I won't let you all down.'' He stated seriously before being completely enveloped by the light.

As he disappeared, Nana and all the past users look to where he stood with approving smiles. ''We know you won't kid.'' She stated as she and the past users started disappearing. ''Good luck, we're all rooting for the both of you.'' She wished for Izuku and Yagi before she and everyone else disappeared and returned to OFA.

HOSPITAL-IZUKU'S ROOM-LATE AFTERNOON

Mina found herself stirring from her slumber when she heard the door opening, looking to the door she saw Kirishima who looked sheepish from waking her up. ''Sorry about that.'' He apologized while behind him she could see the rest of their classmates, minus Toru and Jiro who were knocked out by the gas. As well as Momo who is recovering from her injuries.

''It's fine.'' Mina responded calmly with yawn as she stretched for bit before smiling warmly as she looked to her hand that was still interlocked with Izuku's. ''He can be a pretty hard sleeper when the time calls for it.'' She stated with giggle of amusement as Kirishima and everyone else stepped into the room.

As Ochako and Iida joined Mina to their friend's bedside, Kirishima and everyone else looked to Izuku with worried expressions. ''Is he alright?'' he asked while everyone was silently eager to hear about the teen's condition.

''He's fine.'' Mina announced getting everyone to relax. ''The doctor cleared him since his quirk allowed him to have no complications to his bones, all he needs to do now is wake up.'' She informed getting everyone to mentally sigh in relief, glad to know that there were no long-term injuries. Iida especially felt relived, glad that his close friend didn't have to go through the same thing he does with his arm.

Mina rubbed her thumb across his hand affectionately before letting go and looking to Kirishima with a frown. ''But I should be asking if you're ok.'' She pointed out with a worried expression while everyone understood what she what her point is and looked to the hardening user with worried expressions as well.

Seeing this, Kirishima was quick to calm them. ''I'm fine guys.'' He assured with smile that wasn't enough to convince them. ''Let's just focus on waiting for Izuku to wake up.'' He suggested with a tone that said he didn't want to talk about himself for now.

Mina and everyone else looked reluctant but eventually nodded. ''Alright, but were not done here mister.'' She warned getting an immediate nod from Kirishima in return knowing that Mina wouldn't let something serious go until its resolved.

''I agree.'' Came another voice.

Startled by the voice they looked to the source and saw that Izuku was awake and looked to everyone with a small grin. ''So…what did I miss?'' he asked with a small chuckle before laughing in amusement as he found himself in a relieved Mina's arms while everyone else immediately followed and crowded around his bed.

''Izu!/Midoriya!''

Authors Notes:

1. Ironically in cannon Toga did have an encounter with the name Saito, so I decided to give him a last name and change his story a tiny bit. Also, yes, I uhhhh borrowed his appearance from the anime Zero no Tsukaima.

2. And for those who are wondering why All Might show up didn't show up in the past, it was because at that moment he reached his time limit and was unfortunately unable to do anything.

3. And as usual if you notice any type of errors, I apologize for that and will try to fix them if I see it too. XD

4. Also apologies for the timeline stuff, it was admittedly difficult for me to write about that, hence why I didn't add years since my head hurts trying to think about it.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Thank you again for reading!

PLUS ULTRA!