Setting sun was slowly painting the sky in orange, while soldiers on the ground, for once, wanted their leashed trained dogs to be slightly more active.

The security around the base, at least when it came to cameras, was still quite lacking around the territory.

Only ten days passed since the outbreak, and all different armies had troubles with logistics and chains of command in the field.

A small price to pay for their fast response to help their neighbor country.

And…it was a small price, considering what kind of horrors the dome hid inside.

However, that issue with the security led to this exact situation.

Only thanks to the quick notice of damage on the roads the problem was noticed so quickly. Once the initial investigation was done, everything was obvious – someone ran from the military lines of defense around the dome, for whatever reason.

The first thought that ran through everyone's minds – no matter how quickly it was discarded – was that something broke free from the dome. No matter how small the enemy was, a contact with the parasite that resulted in even a small scratch would lead to a certain infection, and a turn into a monstrosity - a few minutes later at best.

Luckily, that was not the case.

The second thought was more discouraging than anything. A deserter. It couldn't be anyone from foreign countries, since those people would be found quickly, and they couldn't return home anyway… in most cases.

One day was more than enough to notice that The Major, one of the best in Blacklight private security and military organization and most experienced in the area, was absent. After a long and tiring head-counting, there was no doubt about it.

As well as there was no doubt about man's destination – Tokyo. However, that's were the good things about the search ended.

A captain of Japanese military sighed, and kneeled next to his trained dog. Instead of leading the squad by the scent, the dog only whined and circled around.

How the man did it was a mystery, but he didn't leave any solid scent to track – even trained scouts with quirks for searches had trouble with tracking… anything.

As they said it – scent was changing every few dozens of meters. Tracking such a man in a city like Tokyo, especially now, will be a problem that would waste too much resources.

"Where the hell is he?.."

"Name?" The woman asked in a sharp tone that betrayed her delusively young appearance. She hit her screen a few times, since it stopped working for a few seconds once the boy entered.

"Izuku Midoriya. "Midori-" like in "Green", "-Ya" like in "Valley" and-"

"Age" The woman nodded.

Oh, come on, for once his notebooks that he read at…home had a use. He knew how his name was written!

Wait…age?

Age…

Izuku blinked.

"Um…around 14 or… 15?" He asked, hopefully. He saw the schoolbags and the content inside – he was in third class of the middle school. The precise date of birth, however, was a mystery.

The woman looked at him with a raised eyebrow and an expression that just screamed that she wanted to shout something at him, but gave up and started looking for him in her PC. She was, quite obviously, very tired.

"Found you. Izuku Midoriya, Aldera Middle School…" The woman narrowed her eyes and looked at something on the screen, and then at Izuku, as if comparing two pictures.

Nodding to herself, she started to copy and paste the data from her program onto his new ID that was yet to be printed. The process was still a bit rude, since the country was a bit of the mess at the moment.

"Where's your mother? Why aren't you registering for the ID together?" She asked absent-mindedly, not noticing the face of discomfort on the boy.

Izuku gaped for a moment, and then bit his lip while looking away. He didn't know what was worse – him not remembering his family, or him not experiencing the loss. God, he didn't even know his mother's name.

"I…" Izuku was lost at what to say for a few moments. Was there a believable lie? Was the truth a bit too confusing? Such a simple question made a small-scale mess in his head. "I…I don't know where she is. I haven't seen her."

The woman paused for a few seconds. Quickly, without the boy noticing, she got to "Inko Midoriya" profile only to find her unregistered. People will be confirmed to be missing if they do not register as Musutafu refugees in the closest 3 weeks.

Even barely…the boy had a chance. Even if that will be the case, however, she will not give him hopes that most likely will break some time later.

Izuku, however, was a bit lost. The woman didn't ask anything about his father. He most likely didn't register as well, but there had to be a catch. She would ask something like 'Where are your parents?', and wouldn't talk about her mother specifically. Was he…Did he die earlier? Like, before the Red Flu outbreak? Izuku was confused, but asking a stranger woman where his father was would feel too weird. Also, she looked quite tired, and most likely had quite a short fuse because of it…

He didn't want to cause her any troubles.

The woman continued with the procedure. Now, there was a small-scale quirk test that would confirm the identity of the person sitting in the room with her. There was little doubt that shapeshifters that did exist in the criminal world would try to use this mess to be someone they aren't.

"And quirk showcase - never mind" She started and finished the sentence without skipping a beat, realizing the idiocy of her question when she read the info she had on the boy.

She didn't just ask him a painful question about his mother just to jump to another hurtful topic…did she?

Tsk.

'The boy is quirkless, what was he supposed to show me?!'

Izuku blinked again, almost ready to show his claws. But, since the woman clearly had something else on her mind, well…

He just wanted all of these formalities to end, so he will just play along with whatever she says just to get out quicker.

No one cancelled the school, and the more time he spends getting everything ready, less time he has for studies, and thus – less chances to get into a hero school.

Well, the school was cancelled for four days, but it was such a small amount of time it wasn't even funny. He was skipping already, and he had yet to even get into one! Luckily, the process of entering a school was simplified for Musutafu refugees.

Also, those new temporary IDs also were used as bank deposit cards, to which the financial help from the government will be sent. Once Izuku gets it, he…

What exactly was he supposed to do with the money, really? He didn't really get tired, he can get food in refugee centers, and only slept because it was time to sleep.

He could travel on foot, if his little adventure showed him anything this night.

Well…he still needed a home. Refugee centers were cramped, mostly, and after those few minutes he spent in Izumi's home he couldn't help but feel the need for a place for a mental rest. Oh, and he will need a phone as well!

"Excuse me?" Izuku started, feeling the lack of knowledge finally getting on his nerves. "Um…how exactly will I get into a middle school?"

The woman finally sent a request with the data to people in the room behind her.

"You are assigned to the 15th refugee center. There are assigned supervisors for this type of things. Considering you don't have any legal guardian, the choice will be made for you by them. Hopefully, the situation will be stabilized enough for you to at least choose the high school yourself by the end of the year."

Izuku nodded. That was something. Maybe…just maybe there was a chance she could know another answer for one of his questions.

His ID flew through a small window by someone's telekinetic quirk.

"Um…excuse me…"

The woman put the ID on the table quite rudely.

"What now? Invite the next person in line."

Izuku took the ID and started leaving the room, still facing the woman.

"By any chance, did you see a boy with spiky blond hair? He should be around my age and-"

"I didn't. Invite the next person, we are about to get closed for today!"

"Roger that!" Izuku responded to an order like a soldier and fled the room.

The woman sighed, slumping in her seat. The more questions he asked, more it hurt her heart to answer them.

May God help them all get through these times.

Izuku sighed as he left the door. It seemed that he, after all, was indeed searching for a single needle in a giant field – with no proof that the needle in form of that boy even exists at this point.

As he turned around, the scale of said field hit him in the face again. Figuratively, of course.

Rows and rows of people were standing in a giant queue that continues even outside the building. An old man that kindly let him get into the room first slightly patted Izuku's shoulder, before getting into the room with his wife.

Izuku nodded to him with a sly smile, and went to exit the building.

Tokyo, being incredibly close to Musutafu, was crowded. The refugees from Musutafu didn't spread evenly in the city. No, a lot of them stayed closer to buildings such as the one Izuku has just left – refugee registration centers.

Streets closer to such centers were filled with parked cars. To get their documents earlier and start living again, people stay in lines for more than a few hours, and some people even sell their places in the queues.

It felt like there was a big event in the city that brought the tourists from all over the world. Millions of them.

Like a championship…or a festival. Festival of pitiful, desperate and broke.

It was a miracle how someone even allowed him to get this far in the line. An elder couple, and he, who was seen as an orphan by everyone around - yelling at such people could get you quite a bad look from others…

…but those weren't the times when people are interested in what everyone thinks about it each other.

Just as he thought – it was a miracle.

He was allowed to get in the middle of the line before it was midday, and only now – in the evening – he got out. The sun was painting the sky in orange, but being in such a crowded street didn't allow him to enjoy its soothing effect to the fullest.

Izuku sighed, and looked at his ID. First step was complete, and it even had the address of his refugee center.

Then…

Izuku blinked. Shook his head. Blinked again.

"Quirkless?.."

Is this some kind of a joke? If it was – it wasn't funny. He spent his whole day there for a mistake in his ID? With face full of confusion, Izuku returned to the registration center.

Some more daring people tried to stop him since he took too much time by himself, and had his ID already, but Izuku ignored them. Those people didn't try to stop him too much, since getting too far from the line could get you a place in the very end of it.

Returning to the door, he saw that elder couple that let him go first exiting the room.

The woman that made him an ID with a mistake showed in the doors.

"We are closed for today." She sighed, already imagining the traditional morning brawls about who was behind who. She looked at Izuku for a moment, but then closed the door.

Damn it.

Izuku sighed. He didn't have much choice, it seemed. He will come here tomorrow…or not. There was a possibility that if he gets in the line tomorrow, he will get out only the day after tomorrow. Maybe he could wait until the aren't so many people?

He went to the place were refugees lived – it was stationed in a university that had some place for people to live in its big gym.

Not all of the refugees needed those centers – a lot of them still had their money saved on cards, thus they could afford a temporary place to live.

However, the price for real estate skyrocketed in regions further to the west, while people in regions closer to Musutafu were trying to sell their apartments fast, and thus – cheaper. At least, if he heard people in the crowd right.

It seemed that getting a place is much more affordable if it was close to a deadly danger.

Hopefully, he will get something for himself close to a hero school.

Maybe even around UA, if he is lucky.

"…Maybe you could help me find a school or a rental apartment closer to UA?" Izuku asked with honest hope in his tone, praying that beside his morning jog from the military base to Tokyo, something will work out today.

He needed to get into a hero school if he wanted to become a hero, which was obvious. UA, being the biggest and most prestige hero school in Japan was the most obvious choice. Izuku felt that when it comes to studies, he would do just fine if he works hard. And the quirk…well, he had a set of abilities that were interesting enough for a hero school. Speaking of which… Those abilities are in need to be properly researched. UA being the best school meant not only the best equipment, but best specialists as well. They would help him, and thus he needed to plan getting into UA early.

And thus, he wanted to find a school or an apartment closer to it.

Rin Tokigawa, supervisor of 15th refugee center, only made a few confused blinks at Izuku's request.

Refugee center supervisor wasn't the most thrilling job in the world. They aren't paid a lot, just slightly bellow the average, and are only chosen among the social workers. However, what couldn't be denied about those people is their will to help – they volunteered to this job despite the payment, and thus, their desire to help the desperate people leaving Musutafu was not to be doubted… Though, there still could be a chance that being a supervisor would look great in a resume in the future.

But that's why Izuku came to the man with his request. Feeling that the man would understand his position, and help him get into a school he wanted.

But Izuku felt his hopes cracking as the man started coughing from the surprise and slight shock. Though, on the outside no one would see what Izuku was thinking about.

After getting his breathing under control, the man adjusted his round glasses and put his both hands on the table.

"Midoriya-kun…just to be sure" He started in both caring and daring tone. "You want to get into a school or find an apartment…closer to UA?"

"Um…yes. Is there a problem?"

The man cleared his throat again.

"Midoriya-kun…UA was in Musutafu."

"Oh…wait, in Musutafu?!"

"Now you see the problem. Sorry, Midoriya-kun, but I think getting apartment in there should wait a bit."

Midoriya slumped in his seat. UA, it seemed, was out, and traveling to the West where Shiketsu was… maybe if get a part-time job, he will be able to live there, but…

Shiketsu was not UA…

But it was something.

Izuku put a hand to his mouth.

"With the recent rising prices for the apartments on the western part of the country governmental help won't do much, most likely it won't even cover the rent. To pay for it and still have food on the table and other stuff, I will need more money. And that's not even talking about getting a decent phone… damn it, I should have taken it from the apartment after all… or from the car. And getting the bag and filling it with food while I was inside proved to be a stupid idea, I should have taken all the notes from school. No, I'm getting distracted. No one said how long will the government help financially, so traveling west and getting into a middle-school there is out of question. I will need a part time job, which will lead to me having less time for studies, and thus having less chances to get into Shiketsu. The best shot I have is to get into a middle school here, with low rent prices, and have a part-time job on the weekends during the year and during easier weeks in school…and during holidays, of course. With enough saved money, I will travel to the west on foot with a buffer money that will help me begin the life in a hero school without worrying about a place to live. That's it. That's the best-"

"Midoriya-kun?" The supervisor blinked a few times, not perceptive enough to understand more than first few sentences. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Izuku blinked, stopping his mumbling.

"Well…a few things, actually. Honestly, finding rental apartments isn't that hard if I'm, well…here. I asked you about it since I thought you could reach other cities. About school, I think I will settle with getting into a middle school here, after all. Or somewhere in the eastern part of the country, since the rent is cheaper here." Izuku tried hard to not talk too fast. "So…that's the first thing. The school. The second will be…does the help from the government cover getting a phone?"

"If you mean literally handing out a phone to you, then no."

Izuku nodded.

"Thanks for the information. Um…and the third thing…Have you seen or maybe heard about a boy with blond spiky hair? You know, he should be closer to my age. Which is 14, by the way."

Yes, now he knew his age and could show off this knowledge to others. Thanks, inaccurate ID. At least if got the age right. Hopefully. Izuku didn't know for sure.

"If you tell me his name, I would be able to help you. After all, families could get separated during this outbreak, and helping people find each other is part of our job."

Izuku wanted to hit his head on the table. Not remembering anything sucked!

"I…I don't remember his name."

"Well…I'm sorry then. Can't help you with that."

Izuku tiredly sighed. It was the second person that could possibly know something, and it was the second time he started doubting that this boy even exists. Or existed. Or anything.

Izuku slumped in his chair, closing his eyes and silently reaching to that memory that he rewatched so many times, despite chills he gets every time he hears the only comprehensible words in that memory about "Useful as a gift". Honestly, it felt as if whoever said those words in those memories talked neither to Izuku nor to the carrier that was thrown, but was talking to memories.

He got distracted again. It tends to happen when so many questions plague your mind.

"Sorry for taking your time, mr. Tokigawa." Izuku stood up and bowed to the man.

"Sorry for not helping you much, Midoriya-kun" The man nodded with a sad smile on his face.

Izuku used his… frustratingly inaccurate ID to get a diner at the cafeteria. Just as always, his appearance seemed to not work nicely with a TV.

He sighed.

Why the hell is this strange phenomenon following him?

With a tray in his hands, he still looked around just in case someone that looks like the boy he looked for. It gave no results, just like before.

Also, there was a new problem.

When Izuku got to the section with his bed, he one boy his age and a few mothers with small children. Even if he won't get enough sleep because of younger refugees, Izuku wasn't without his set of problems.

The reason behind it is the inaccuracy of his ID that went even deeper – the problem was not only about the mistake with his quirk. His whole profile is stored there, which also included weight and height that shouldn't change much until refugees get the normal ID.

Well…height was just as it was recorded some time before the outbreak.

Weight, on the other hand…Recorded weight was used to get refugees a bed that would withstand the weight of the one who sleeps on it.

And Izuku almost broke it the moment he got on it. It seemed that his weight was almost four times bigger that it was supposed to be.

All those strange oddities are starting to pile up… It seemed that before losing his memory somehow, he had to hide his quirk for some reason, and he clearly had a better understanding at using his own quirk. Maybe…

Izuku widened his eyes.

What if he did something terrible, and couldn't live with the consequences or with conscience of his actions, and because of that he erased his own memory through sheer understanding of his body manipulation?

Izuku shivered, thinking about it as he was already leaving the cafeteria. No matter how somewhat exciting it sounded, there still had to be a real reason for everything strange that happens to him.

Izuku shook his head – things like that should be left to specialists. All he needed to do is get to them.

Shiketsu, huh?.. Didn't sound that bad, to be honest – even if it got the new "best hero school" status because UA was destroyed in the city of Musutafu.

Izuku walked down crowded streets of Tokyo. These streets contrasted greatly with both refugee and registration centers. It was crowded because people wanted to walk around, buy things in shops that worked even this late.

Izuku looked at himself. His simple grey T-shirt and jeans looked fine, since, as he knew, they were part of him. They won't get dirty if Izuku have showers, and they won't get stains or be sweaty. In addition to that, Izuku didn't feel either hot nor cold.

But it was still the only pieces of clothes he had if you don't count a full body armor of The Major.

He sighed, looking at the dark sky. Even with such a crowd around him, the atmosphere here was so different that he couldn't help but relax just a bit. He won't have a chance for it in the refugee center anyway, he didn't like it there.

Looking at it gave him a few ideas to experiment with his quirk. Since he could copy the looks of a person…was there a chance that he could just copy a set of clothes? He felt like he could, but didn't know how exactly.

Not seeing something better to do, Izuku started walking closer to the shops. Jewelry, branded shirts, sports clothes, restaurants. It was a lot, but he tried to memorize at least some of the clothes he saw on display or on other people.

Izuku prayed that people will understand his position – he didn't have much spare money!

However, with the incredibly large military and hero presence in the city, Izuku decided against trying to change his outfit right on the street. He could get in trouble for it, since he was using someone's brand and so on without the permission.

As Izuku walked to find a quieter place to find out the way he can work with clothes, he became more aware of the military and the heroes since they could give him problems at the moment. What he was doing wasn't exactly legal.

The amount of military was understandable. They needed supplies from the city, and it was the closest large populated area to Musutafu. Heroes, however…Izuku didn't know what to think.

Surely the organized crime received a hit just as strong, as other areas of…business. Though with such a huge wave of refugees, there was little doubt that local crimes would rise just a bit. Judging by rumors, even All Might was somewhere in Tokyo…

Shaking his head, Izuku found a sidewalk that no one used since it was so dark to navigate in it – which was no problem for Izuku and his vision.

Now, making sure that no one sees him, Izuku closed his eyes and imagined a new t-shirt.

"And…change!" He looked at himself, but nothing changed. He closed his eyes again.

"Wardrobe!"

Nothing.

"Projection!"

Same grey t-shirt.

Feeling some frustration, Izuku decided to go to more desperate measures. He took off his T-shirt. Maybe if he will let the T-shirt that was a part of his body be absorbed back in his body, then he will get a better understanding of how it works.

Izuku made a calming breath and…let go of his t-shirt. For the first time a part of him was disconnected. As it was falling, Izuku noticed how it changed color into black in some places. As it was falling, Izuku made sure that it didn't land on his sneakers.

Once the t-shirt hit the ground, it lost its form and turned into a black mass that moved and quickly disappeared inside Izuku again before he even blinked.

And now, there he stood, shirtless in a middle of a sidewalk… with no new knowledge on how to use his quirk.

He wanted to bash his head on a wall, but was scared that he will break through it… and then he will have to pay for it.

'Okay…okay. Calm down. There's still a way I can change clothes for sure. And if I do this…'

Izuku transformed into KM-21, armor and all that. Then, he quickly transformed back into himself.

T-shirt was in place.

'Whew…at least, no one would think that I'm some kind of pervert that walks half-naked.'

All in all, at least he could return the clothes, so that was something. And also, he got a bit of new information about his quirk.

Now he knew that will happen should he loses a contact with a part of his body and-

Izuku's ears twitched. Not so far from him, there was a source of irregulate vibrations. It wasn't like that voice that told him to Have a good trip, but it appeared out of nowhere and didn't go anywhere.

He specifically chose that sidewalk since there wasn't anyone, so why would…

Izuku closed his eyes and concentrated on the vibrations.

Two sets of legs…one was trying to get free. Small soundwaves…a muffled scream!

Izuku opened his eyes and ran to the place that was just behind a corner.

A man was forcing himself on a woman, threatening her with spikes that could be seen on his arms.

They both noticed Izuku rather quickly. The man started threating Izuku, but the boy didn't care.

All he saw was a pleading face of the victim that seemingly couldn't protect herself from a somewhat dangerous quirk.

The man pointed his spikes at the boy. In the next instant, countless tendrils shot from Izuku's body, immobilizing the man and keeping him pressed against a wall.

Izuku walked towards the woman, but she quickly ran away once she was free. Seeing her run, Izuku blinked, and the rage disappeared just as quickly…only anger remained.

Izuku got closer to the man, narrowing his eyes…and then tilted his head to a side to evade a knife that flew past his head and stopped inside the wall next to the almost-rapist.

"I wouldn't want someone else being blamed for my crimes. Leave, boy, and nothing happens to you"

Izuku turned around to see what almost looked like a shadow descending onto the street.

It was a man, quite tall, with a lot of different knives and swords on him. He covered his face with a mask. The man drew a blade.

Izuku was not sure what to do.

"Blame for your crimes? From what I saw, it was this guy that almost raped the woman"

The man pointed his sword at Izuku, who was standing in front of gradually more scared assaulter.

"And to bring justice on him…I will kill him. So leave. I don't want you to be blamed for what I'm about to do"

Izuku shook his head.

"That's not how this works! We must bring him to police, and then-"

"Then what, boy?"

"Well, we will tell that he is a-"

The man snorted, interrupting Izuku again.

"The victim ran away. And you are not a hero. You don't have an authority to get someone to a police station and handle them a criminal. You will get in jail instead for using a quirk on someone."

Izuku blinked. The swordsman was right.

"If you want to bring him to justice, then there's one way. Give me to him and forget about everything. I'll handle the rest."

Izuku carefully assessed the situation. These two obviously weren't working together. If that was the case, Izuku would be attacked without warning.

However, the swordsman's statement was true – Izuku won't be able to just get that assaulting guy to police. He didn't have an authority, and an attempt to bring him to justice will only get him into a jail, and with a stain in his record. He won't be able to join a hero school because of that.

The same was with military…

Izuku's eyes widened. Military! Of course! It was a risk, but it was better than nothing.

"H-help!" Shouted the assaulter, still immobilized. "Better prison than death!" He tried to bait Izuku into helping him.

Izuku knew that he couldn't risk exposing himself too much to those people.

The plan was quite simple.

Tightening the tendrils around the man in his grasp, Izuku started to suffocate him…just enough to leave him unconscious, but alive.

Now, getting those tendrils with the unconscious man closer to his body, Izuku covered them with the protective quirk of The Major, and activated his claws.

"You won't get him. He will receive what is coming to him, but it is surely not death."

The swordsman took another blade in his second arm, as a large grin appeared on his face.

"In your mind, even criminals deserve to be protected?"

"Only those, who don't risk the lives of others."

"You won't get far as a hero with such attitude."

"Huh? How...Why?"

The man prepared his blades.

"Because people want heroes to beat bad guys…not protect them!" He launched himself across the sidewalk, quickly changing his direction and trying to get around Izuku by running on the wall a bit, before making a slash at Izuku's prisoner.

Izuku widened his eyes and attacked with claws, but the man quickly retreated.

Izuku stood prepared once again, almost not noticing the weight of another person on his back.

The man that soon will be known as Stain narrowed his eyes, as his grin disappeared.

'Just by the sound his claws make while tearing the air…I can feel how big the power behind the swing was.'

His gaze went from boy's weapons to his face.

'And his expressions…There's something off about him.'

Even then, the boy deserved to live. If he wanted to be partly blamed – fine, he had a chance to leave, after all. Honestly, their fight wasn't even that noticeable. Should they be found by heroes, he will actually make everything he can to make sure the boy won't be blamed.

After all, you don't meet such a fine example of a future hero…even if there was something wrong about the boy.

Izuku, on the other hand, was not sure how to fight properly with an actual human being. He wasn't afraid of injuries, but a better technique wouldn't hurt.

The man started running at Izuku. Considering that the man will most likely make another maneuver to hit the man in Izuku's grasp instead of the boy himself, Izuku decided to be the active side this time.

Running and swinging his giants claws at the man, though being careful not to damage him too much, Izuku blinked when the man redirected his attack with claws, forcing Izuku to stumble and give the swordsman a free shot at the man on his back. There were still some gaps in his makeshift cocoon.

Thinking quickly, Izuku created blades on the tendrils similar to those he had on his hands, forcing the man to retreat.

The pattern repeated itself a few times. The swordsman will redirect an attack, even if he had to damage his blades, and try to pierce the man on Izuku's back, while Izuku makes something with his tendrils to force the man to retreat.

The swordsman cursed.

'It seems that I will have to use my quirk, after all'.

How low he has fallen, he thought with a small smirk. Use his quirk on a child.

The world was as diverse as it could get. The man that will be known as Stain had little doubt, that there were more than a few people that were able to beat him even if they were younger than the boy in front of him.

At least, when it comes to raw power.

Before he managed to continue his line of thoughts, something whistled in the air. Widening his eyes, the swordsman dodged to a side as a large…rope of black muscles hit the road next to him, breaking the outer layer.

Damn, that thing could split him in half! What the hell is that? Turning to the boy, Swordsman noted that boy's one arm changed in form. He swung his arm, and once again the swordsman had to dodge.

If he blocks those strikes from above, it will just bend and break his spine. Damn it.

Gritting his teeth, Chizome Agakuro threw a pair of blades at Izuku, expecting the boy to dodge while he ran at him with a pair of blades.

He just needed a bit of blood to immobilize him, that's all. A small scratch would be… enough…

The boy absolutely ignored the knives as they impacted his body, and swung with the arm that still had a claw. The one that had a worse angle of impact bounced off Izuku's skin.

Running on high speeds doesn't allow one to stop immediately. Chizome tried to slide next to Izuku, but even then, he still had to redirect the claw…

However…

CLANG.

The sword broke after being hit for so many times with boy's claws. Stain managed to save himself with that small sacrifice, and once he was at a good distance again, he grit his teeth.

'A small amount of blood. That's all I need.'

He analyzed the boy again. The knife was still inside Izuku's body, who looked like he didn't even feel pain in his pierced shoulder.

There was no blood from the injury as well.

'So you have that type of quirks. Manipulation of your body…and you found quite a scary application of that in form of your organic weapons. Usually, people use it to get bigger muscles and strength. Both for looks and efficiency.' Chizome mused as he kept his distance.

'Then…A scratch won't be enough. What I need is…'

The whip whistled in the air again. Chizome threw his last blunt sword and quickly got a grip on his knives in pockets on his chest.

'…something more damaging!'

Kid will be just fine.

Swordsman quickly sidestepped and as Whip was about to do hit the ground, he swung his knives as fast as he could.

Hearing a satisfying sound of metal cutting through flesh, he knew that he got all he needed.

However…

The pointy tip of the whip with three blades was quickly reconnected to the boy's main body, as the whip became just a bit longer, and smaller versions of the tendrils connected with it.

Izuku returned the whip, seeing how he actually has a worse defense this way. Claws worked better for active protection.

"I apologize, boy. This is where this little fight will end."

Hm? What exactly did he mean by that?! Did he do something that-?!

Calming feeling washed over Izuku, and the stress of the first real battle started to disappear. It seemed that Izuku's body wanted him to be sure that he is focused on the current objective.

The swordsman licked his dagger.

Izuku prepared for another attack. Prepared…and waited.

Chizome, however, looked at Izuku with wide eyes.

"You…you didn't feel anything?"

"N-no?"

His quirk betrayed him for the first time. No matter who was in front of him, Chizome knew that his quirk will work. The only difference is for how long people are affected by his quirk.

And then…he felt it. World started spinning around him as his vision became blurry.

Izuku still stood ready for an attack when his enemy stumbled in place a bit.

'What's…what's going on?!' Chizome yelled in his head. His hole body ached, and he felt as his stomach was about to empty itself. Unimaginable headache was splitting his head in half.

On sheer willpower, Chizome glanced at the boy who looked at him confused.

"Wha-What was-?!" He didn't have any strength to say anything. His throat was sore and dry.

The man that at some point will be known as Stain did the only thing he could. He ran away.

Izuku finally allowed himself to take a breather, as he watched with wide eyes as the man barely disappeared behind a corner. He glanced at the dagger in his shoulder, and with a slight mental signal the injury repaired itself, forcing the dagger out of his body.

The event was a bit unexpected, but it seemed that everything worked out.

No. Not yet. Even if Izuku manage to protect the man on his back, he still had to bring him to justice. He couldn't do that with a face of a boy, but…turning into KM-21 was the only way.

A normal person would be shocked by all the events that occurred to him, but, to be honest, after the events inside the dome and with whole emotions suppressant in his body – he wasn't that shocked. It felt closer to a complete realization of an event with making some useful conclusions afterwards. But no panic, and no fear. Not for long, at least.

Knowing that military units shouldn't be that far away from his location, Izuku looked around and made sure that the man was still unconscious.

With a steeled expression, he transformed into The Major and put the now released man on his shoulder.

Breath in, breath out.

The event was unexpected, yes, but now he could rest a bit and think about the situation overall.

Izuku managed to dump the man to a pair of patrol soldiers, which gladly neither questioned his rank nor who was he. They knew about the blacklight armor, and doubted that those people would lie about a rapist of all things. Izuku made sure to cover his appearance as well, saying that the man assaulted not only a woman, but a green-haired boy as well. This way, if the man says something about Izuku who went through all the trouble to save him, then he will automatically confirm the claims that he did something with the boy. All in all, the situation was resolved, but Izuku had little doubt that he will be able to use KM-21's looks again. Soon, the news of his disappearance and the description of his face and armor will be known to every military unit in the country.

However, there was another topic that plagues Izuku's mind ever since the fight in the dome.

Izuku looked at the nicely lit road, and noticed a crosswalk with traffic light some distance away.

'Even if I can't feel anything about killing others…I still can't do it. The main and the most obvious reason is that it is looked down upon, especially among heroes. The second reason that is just as obvious – it is illegal. Despite whatever I actually feel…I just have to feel bad about it! It is so obvious! Humans are social creatures, we have to be sad when some of us die!'

Damn it, the topic confusing to Izuku.

"Control yourself, control yourself, control yourself…" Izuku repeated it like an aria. He clearly has something wrong in his head if that's the way he thinks about KILLING a person.

That emotion suppressant starts to be a bigger problem than the rest of his quirk. At least to his sanity.

Izuku sighed.

He just needs to stick to the morals and the laws, and everything will be fine.

Izuku stood on the crosswalk. He calmly looked at the people on the other side, before a hunching blond man got his attention. There was nothing special about the man, but Izuku, for some reason, couldn't help but glance at him from time to time.

"Control yourself, control yourself, control yourself…" He mentally repeated and made a calming breath.

Once the traffic light showed green, Izuku and other pedestrians started to cross the road.

Izuku made another calming sigh, but before he noticed, he was in the middle of the crossroad, passing by the blond man.

DEVOUR

Izuku's eyes widened.

DEVOUR

He made a shaking breath and covered his stomach in pain, which the blond man noticed. Izuku felt how the man was extending his arm towards him. The man was about to ask if Izuku was alright.

DEVOUR

'P-please! Don't touch me!' His mental pleas weren't heard.

DEVOUR

'WHY NOW OF ALL TIMES?!' Izuku yelled in his head.

The man put his hand on Izuku's shoulder…

And in the same moment, boy's eyes rolled up, and black tendrils shot out of his body.

DEVOUR