OCs Summary list (will be updated every-time a name and/or quirk is added)
Ducky: Support 1F. Has white hair and round glasses. He likes to tear apart broken things and make something out of it. His quirk is Forget, which makes him forget certain events and information about himself after saying his name.
Devonney: Support 1F. Likes blowing up stuff with bombs of her own creation. Quirk is unknown.
Kira Yasogami: Support 1F. Reluctant project leader of Hitoshi's hero gear. His specialty is in remodeling rather than creating. His Quirk, Reactor allows him to store heat energy in his hands and shoot it. He's currently figuring out why he can suddenly absorb electrical energy as well.
Yachi: Support 1F. She has chestnut colored hair that's tied up in a messy ponytail. She admits to being more a repair and maintenance gal than an inventor. Quirk is unknown.
A Stain in the Eye
"I'm sorry," Yasogami apologized. "I knew I couldn't do it. I should never have accepted it. You should -" he gritted his teeth. "You should look for someone else."
"D- Don't be too hard on yourself Kira! It was only our first hero gear after all!" Ducky said. He then started writing corrections over their old design in bright red ink. Yasogami reluctantly tried to revise with him.
Yachi sighed and turned to them with an apologetic look. She confessed that none of them has actually ever made a proper support gear for hero students. Repaired them, Yes, but to start from scratch? They hardly knew how to do it. It was honestly a miracle Yasogami's mask even worked on the first try.
After a couple of minutes rewriting their plan, Yasogami threw the print to the wall and urged them to look for a second year mechanic instead. Nagai tried to cheer him up a bit, but Yasogami shrugged it off. He was done.
As much as Hitoshi wanted to get an equipment of his own, he didn't want to force others into doing it for him either. He was grateful enough that Yasogami tried, but if it was just going to be a constant frustration to him, then he'd rather not have it made. Hitoshi bowed at the raven and said his peace, "You did what you could."
Yasogami smiled at him, regretfully, his eyebrows furrowed deep into his face. Hitoshi recognized that look. Yasogami was in the same rut Hitoshi had been a few months ago. He was looking for a chance to be better, but every time he tired, he always ended up falling too short. Over and over, burying him deeper in self-loathing and disappointment. Having been in the same darkness before, Hitoshi thought Yasogami desperately needed a win.
"Maybe I asked for too much," Fumei mumbled. Yasogami flinched, and Yachi glared at the blond. She lifted her wrench to smack him but Yasogami held her back with a shake of his head.
"He's right. I kept your hopes up for nothing," he bowed at Hitoshi again. "Sorry for wasting your time."
"It's alright. It was something very difficult to do anyway. I'd understand if you want to step away."
Yasogami nodded. "Thank you. I'll try to ask someone else to maybe look at this. I may not be able to do anything but improve it, but I'm sure someone else can really make it for you"
Hitoshi turned on his heels to leave whilst Nagai waved at Devonney and Yachi. Fumei decided to stay behind for a bit. "You guys go on ahead, I'm going to talk to him again."
"Not going to beg are you?" Nagai said.
Fumei rolled his eyes. "I don't beg, Nagai. I'm just going to convince him that he's making a terrible choice." He placed a hand on Ducky's shoulder, who jumped at the close contact. "Would you three give us some privacy too?"
"As if I'd trust a general punk in a room full of explosive ammo!" Yachi yelled, but Yasogami once again kept her in check.
"I'll be fine."
"Give us five minutes and we're done," Fumei promised.
Yachi narrowed her eyes at Fumei, then sighed in defeat. "Yeah, okay, fine, whatever. Five minutes."
Hitoshi glanced back for a moment as they left. Fumei had an unexplainable look on his face as he turned to Yasogami.
After classes the next day, Hitoshi and Nagai made their way back into the studio.
Fumei managed to convince Yasogami to remain on board of the project, and even found a better mechanic for them. He unfortunately declined joining them this time around and left school early with Kureito. Which left Hitoshi and Nagai alone to deal with their new, hopefully normal support mechanic.
Yasogami was already by the entrance, waiting for them when they arrived. The raven looked around for Fumei, but didn't say anything when he didn't find him. He merely gestured for the both of them to follow him from behind and led them into a room with large steel sliding doors. A wooden plate hung from beside the giant doors with quirky lettering like a wrench for an L and a gear for the O to spell out 'Development Studio'.
Yasogami lightly knocked on the door, and once again, Nagai stepped a little too close for comfort near Hitoshi's side. The latter looked down at the former, unimpressed, and Nagai chuckled. "In case it blows up again?"
Hitoshi rolled his eyes. Even if that were possible, a third explosion this week would be a little too much. The support department may be a living hazard, but they weren't that irrespon – BOOM! Nagai screamed, and Hitoshi cursed having jinxed it. Apparently, three explosions was the standard.
Yasogami coughed aloud as thick black clouds emerged from within the room. Then all of a sudden, a busty girl wearing a thick tank-top and a half waist mechanic onesie with pink hair leapt out of the room and wrapped her arms around the former's neck.
"YASOCHIN!" the girl yelled. "DID YOU HEAR THAT?! MY BABY BREATHED LIFE! DOESN'T SHE SOUND LOVELY!?"
"Yes, yes, it does, Hatsume," Yasogami said, refusing to call whatever it was that blew up by its given pronouns. He set her back down on the ground and asked, "Is Maijima-sensei inside?"
"I don't know, haven't checked for hours," Hatsume said with a shrug. "You're free to come in and play with my babies though! I need a test runner."
She turned on a power saw before Yasogami could answer, and immediately went back to work.
Hitoshi and Nagai followed after Yasogami inside the larger studio, and was immediately greeted with a workstation far worse than 1-Fs own. Whatever pile they had in their class studio was nothing compared to the mountain Hatsume had amassed in her corner.
"She's studious huh?" Nagai said, and Yasogami just sighed, exhausted.
"Unfortunately."
Hatsume threw her new defective "baby" into her mountain of errors and promptly pulled out another set of materials to build a new one. As she did, a shirtless man wearing a pair of cyan pants and a large yellow exactor claw on his head turned his attention from his own work desk towards the new students that just filed in.
"Dude," Nagai gaped. "That's Power Loader." Hitoshi frowned, not really familiar with the hero name, nor their persona.
The hero flipped a large vacuum on his hand which retracted along the momentum and folded unto itself, and greeted, "Oh? Yasogami, what brings you here? Devonney didn't blow a hole through the third floor again did she?"
"No, she didn't." There was an unsaid 'yet' in that statement but neither of them looked alarmed by it.
"I'm here for Hatsume. These two wanted me to make something that's not really my… area." He passed Nagai's sketch and a copy of his blueprint to the hero, who then studied both drawings intently.
Hatsume suddenly popped up behind Power Loader, her eyes blown wide enough in intrigue to catch the crosshairs in them "What's that?! Oh gimme, gimme!" She tactfully grabbed the entire plan off Power Loader's hand and quickly skimmed through the design.
She paused for a quick moment as she recognized the writing. "Yasochin designed this?" she asked, a little surprised. "I thought you didn't make gears like I do?"
"I don't," Yasogami said. "It's a one-time thing. It won't happen again."
"Why not?" Hatsume and Power Loader both asked.
"It didn't work out so… If you can make it better for him that would be nice."
Hatsume read through the plan again and proudly huffed. "I like a good challenge. You got the pieces?"
Yasogami reluctantly informed her of its unsightly state – split in half by Fumei's quirk, further desecrated by Ducky's scavenging, and obliterated beyond repair by his own frustrations.
Hatsume dismissed it with a laugh. "No worries! I can just do it again and figure out why it blew up! BOTTOM UP APPROACH. Permission to start working on it – Sir!" she raised an arm to salute Power Loader, who sighed in disbelief.
"Slow down, Hatsume," the hero said. "3-Bs support items need to be finished today. If you can finish them before time, maybe I'll let you do this."
Hatsume beamed at the promise and quickly returned to her task with new found resolve.
"As for you three," Power-Loader said, "Let's head somewhere quieter."
He led them to a backroom where a desk and a small table filled with smaller gadgets and machinery were placed. Power Loader rested his headgear on the table to reveal spiky ginger colored hair that reached just above his shoulder.
He sat on a swivel chair then stared at Hitoshi and Nagai for a moment. "I don't suppose you two are first year hero students are you? We've finished your orders and repairs a week ago."
"We're not," Hitoshi said, "No."
"Then you should know that our department is not allowed to issue any equipment to you," Power Loader said. "It's dangerous, not to mention illegal."
"Yet! Not part of the hero department, yet," Nagai cried. "Well… Shinsou is, not me. He's being trained by Eraser Head now but his quirk's… not really powerful. Well it is, but not in a normal way?"
Hitoshi rolled his eyes at Nagai's messy explanation. "We think a support gear would help him a lot and I know it's wrong to ask for your help, a hero and teacher,"the raven continued. "If I knew how to do it I would do it on my own! But I can't so -" Nagai then bowed at Power Loader, and pleaded, "Please!"
Hitoshi bowed as well, but just slightly. He still had his pride after all.
"Now, now," the hero said, flabbergasted. "No need for all that. Even if it wasn't allowed I'd still hear you out. We do have transfers from general to support every now and then you know?"
Hitoshi has only ever heard of general students being promoted to the hero course, and never general to support classes. He and Nagai shook their heads.
"You mentioned Shota's training him?" They nodded and Power Loader smiled. "Then that's all the explanation I need. It's been a while since Shota accepted a trainee, is all. Even longer since one came with a plan." He turned to Yasogami and beckoned him close. "Let's see what you've made then."
Yasogami and Power Loader engaged in a short discussion about his blueprint, and broke down the amateur shortcuts and techniques he'd unconsciously designed onto the mask.
Power Loader pointed out some wiring and mechanical errors that lacked proper failsafe's that inevitably caused the mask's to emit feedback. When they started using big technical terms, Hitoshi drowned out their talk while Nagai listened intently.
"Remember that the best innovators are not constrained by convention," Power Loader said. "Making mistakes, bah – blowing stuff up if you have too, is part of learning! Creativity is best nurtured by practice, and what you've done is just one step forward. Don't take it as a loss, see it as a learning opportunity."
Yasogami nodded, feeling slightly more accepting of his own mistake than he was before. Power Loader rolled up the print and handed it back to him. "I want you to work with Hatsume on this."
"Wh – Why? She doesn't need me to do that," he said. "Hatsume can do anything on her own. She's the top of our year!"
"Possibly, but it is your design," Power Loader refuted. "You know it best."
Yasogami made a fist, looking more determined to prove himself now more than ever. He nodded at the hero, then to Hitoshi. "I won't let you down. Not this time, I promise."
He then excused himself to join Hatsume outside, leaving Power Loader with two rather out of place students in his counselling room.
"If he's Shota's student, then you are?"
"Ao Nagai, I uh… sort of give Shinsou advice about his gear." Power Loader looked at the early sketch of Hitoshi's mask on his table then at Nagai, squeaked. "Yeah that's... I drew that."
Power Loader smiled. "You're welcome to help Hatsume and Yasogami with this anytime." Nagai's eyes widen in disbelief.
"This draft is… for the lack of a better word, sloppy. Yasogami wanted to keep your integrity as the original designer on his first prototype and ignored basic principles," the hero explained. "That's what caused the device to fail, not Yasogami's skills."
Nagai rubbed his neck bashfully, "Sorry."
Power Loader laughed with a wave of his hand. "Don't be! You're just starting. I'm sure you'll learn a lot from them."
Nagai beamed and repeatedly thanked Power Loader for the opportunity. Hitoshi managed to pull the raven haired student away before he could embarrass himself even more.
"Three villains have been captured during the incident. Their identities are still unknown," a reporter said. "Based on their monstrous appearance, and the presence of two mysterious individuals nearby,"
A video that showed a low angle shot of a grey haired man with severed hands on his face and limbs and a purple mist in bartender clothes on a water tank popped up on the right of the screen.
"Many are speculating that the League of Villains, whom are rumored to have attacked Yuuei last month are connected to this incident. Authorities are on the active search for these high interest villains. Any information regarding their whereabouts will be rewarded accordingly,"
"Additionally, the serial killer widely known as Hero Killer: Stain has also been apprehended by authorities during the commotion by top two hero, Endeavor."
Hitoshi tore his attention from the screen and continued his walk towards the station. Stain's capture was all over the news last night and it was all everyone talked about.
Like the last time, Nusumi spearheaded the rumor mill, and threw out speculations that were so out there one can mistake for insanity. Unlike the last time, she couldn't spam the messages as much as she could because Katagiri stepped in and kicked her out of the chat until she calmed down. With Nusumi banished from chat, Nagai instead took the helm and wouldn't shut up about the creatures. He asked questions they didn't have answers to such as – Who made them? Why did they have exposed brains? Why did some of them have two quirks or more?
Hitoshi didn't join the discussion and only skimmed through their opinions and reactions while he and his father followed the coverage on television.
While everyone was curious about the creatures, Hitoshi's mind was plagued with a different albeit still related question.
How did they have multiple quirks?
He expected Fumei to join the discussion due to his interest in quirks, but he didn't even read any of their messages. Hitoshi instead messaged Nagai privately, who he knew had connections to the underground. The raven had theories to spill, which he kept away from the main chat, but dumped on Hitoshi just because he knew his hobbies.
Nagai mentioned this villain before in the arcade - an ancient villain that was capable of stealing and passing quirks to others. Hitoshi initially thought he was just some underground boogeyman, but after seeing those creatures… Hitoshi couldn't be sure himself.
When he entered the classroom, everyone was still talking about the Hero Killer. The room was in so much buzz that Hitoshi literally got pushed aside by Fumei who scrambled inside the room after him.
"SORRY!" the blond apologized without a passing glance. He dropped his bag on the table, then yanked Nagai's collar. "My link just got deleted!"
"Shit," the raven cursed, "Hold on." He slapped Hadesu to work double time on the forums, and the latter, who had three extra phones on his table and scanned through them all equally.
Hitoshi tried to get a peek of what they were looking for, but once again got pushed aside. It wasn't until Tatsumaki, who complained about the coverage Stain was getting, arrived that they figured out what the commotion was about.
Tatsumaki jumped when Nagai suddenly shot up, waving his phone around. "I have it!" They gathered around Nagai to watch the video play.
It started with a video of Stain leaping to the air. The camera focused on his face while his name and moniker flashed in a sharp handwritten script. Blood splotches filled the screen then burned away to a scene of the Hero Killer being carted off.
Texts scrolled up the video while a poorly recorded voice read over it. The narrator called the Hero Killer by his real name, Chizome Akaguro and detailed his life. He started as a hero student disillusioned by what society deemed as a hero. He preached to return the glory and honor the title once held, but his words fell on deaf ears. He turned to vigilantism to enforce his personal crusade and truth; that heroes should not seek compensation, or fame and should instead embody self-sacrifice.
"He believed that heroes are frauds."
The video frizzled to a poorly recorded shot of Stain's final moments in Hosu. Hitoshi didn't recognize it as something even the media had.
"If I don't fix it... if someone isn't... stained with blood...! If heroes aren't restored...!" Stain screamed. In the corner of the screen, a green haired teen oddly stood behind him, bloodied, cut, and bruised.
Hitoshi grabbed the phone from Nagai's hand. He recognized that green tuft of hair anywhere.
"Come and try you fakes!" Stain stepped forward and his eyes widened to the point that it almost bulged out. Crimson eyes fueled with raw unrestrained conviction enticed Hitoshi to keep watching even though he wanted to look away. "There's only one man allowed to take me. He is the true hero… All Might! WHERE IS HE?!"
The video abruptly cut off and was followed by a notification that it was no longer available. Nagai cursed under his breath and sent Hadesu on another hunt.
"Holy shit –" Tatsumaki breathed as he fell to his chair in disbelief. Hitoshi stared at the screen, completely at loss for words.
"I gather that you have only just seen the video now," Akusa said. "I must say it is quite educational."
"Educational my ass," Tatsumaki hissed. "They're trying to defend a murderer's actions and hail him a hero. He attacked and killed heroes! Nothing's heroic about that!"
Akusa shrugged, feeling indifferent. "Perhaps, but you can't deny the truths in his plight. How many heroes over the past years are known for their merit rather than television appearance and product placements?"
They stared at him, confused, not because they agreed with his opinion but because they just didn't have one.
Hitoshi was aware of the publicity work heroes did. It was necessary to make people feel safe and protected. For Hitoshi, and the other young impressionable minds, the publicity made them want to be heroes. He wanted to be a hero because he saw them save people. Hitoshi wanted to do the same.
Of course there were others motivated by empty desires like fame and fortune, but that didn't make them any less of a hero.
"Do you disagree?" Akusa pressed, and Hitoshi frowned. Of course, he disagreed. Whatever truth Stain's words contained, it didn't justify his crusade of killing heroes. He made himself, judge, jury, and executioner. That was not justice. It was evil, and murder was unacceptable regardless of the cause.
"He's killing heroes!" Nagai said.
"It doesn't matter what he's fighting for," Tatsumaki agreed. "He's hurt people and that makes him a villain. Right, Fumei?"
Fumei, who had been uncharastically quiet, avoided their eyes, and Akusa sneered. "He obviously doesn't think the same as you simpletons. He knows better, of course. What was it that you said before? You have no intention of being a hero… why?"
The blond glared at the masked student, while Akusa ignored the fury in his eyes. He snapped his fingers and continued. "Oh! That's right, you think they're selfish."
Hitoshi glanced at Fumei, who didn't affirm nor deny Akusa's allegations. "Are you shitting me right now?" he hissed in disbelief, which surprised no one. Everyone knew Fumei and Akusa disagreed about everything. They practically hated each other. Of all the people Fumei would agree with, it was Akusa?
"I don't think any of them deserved to die," Fumei groaned in similar annoyance, "but they weren't exactly the most stellar bunch either. Stain killed a hero named Polaris three weeks ago who allegedly lets the villain's he's captured go for a fee. There's more of his king heroes out there, and Stain's methods however extreme did something."
Hitoshi shook his head. He knew Fumei could be apathetic, but never to this point. They had a complicated relationship with each other, yet even then Hitoshi liked to think he knew Fumei best out of anyone in class. He had strong opinions, but he never pegged him to be the type to condone murder of all things.
"That's –" Tatsumaki said. "That's fucked up! You're both fucked up! So what if heroes changed? What if there's corrupt ones out there, Stain had no right to kill them! He should have told people instead! He was already going to be a hero."
"He did," Akusa snapped, "and no one listened. Society left him with no other choice but to resort to the one thing humans cannot ignore – violence."
"It's wrong."
"Morality is but fiction used by inferiors to hold back those that know better," the masked student said. "Stain learned the truth, and he was kind enough to share that to all of us."
"You're fucking crazy. Don't you care about the people he's killed at all?!"
Akusa snickered. "Heroes have killed just as many. Forgive me if I don't sympathize with something as shallow as life."
"How do you even sleep believing that?" Nagai hissed. He may support vigilantes, but he's never once thought killing was a viable option.
"Like a newborn baby," Akusa smirked. "It's a shame your meager minds can't comprehend what Stain has done. He may have been captured now, but people who abide by his philosophy will rise to take his place. If your hero's didn't take notes, they could be next."
Hitoshi narrowed his eyes. That last part sounded more like a threat than a warning. "Akusa," Fumei snarled. "I may, unfortunately, agree with you on some things, but that doesn't mean I'd let you call my friends idiots for believing what they want."
"Don't start preaching now. You and I both know what you really think, and not that sappy sob story you tell them. Perhaps once you're done playing, then you and I can finally see eye to eye."
Fumei scoffed. "I doubt that."
Awaseru-sensei prematurely broke up their discussion when he entered for homeroom. Throughout the day, they avoided any and all talk about Stain. No one wanted to stoke that fire again in case they wanted a full on fist fight in the room.
Akusa's indifference towards Stain's crusade worried him. It wasn't a surprise, but it was a curious thought. Hitoshi has never met someone who outright hated heroes. It just wasn't a common place anymore unless of course, they were villains. Hitoshi didn't think Akusa was a villain, but he could just easily be a sympathizers, which didn't really help his reputation in class at all.
Everyone knew Akusa was dangerous, no one just understood why. However, after their argument earlier, Hitoshi has a faint idea as to why. He had a feeling Akusa's past, or his accident that gave him that scare made him sympathize with Stain's actions. Hitoshi could understand that - somehow. What he failed to understand however, was Fumei abiding to the same ideal.
It's common knowledge that Fumei could've been a hero if he wanted to, but the thing was, he didn't. A couple of them knew Fumei's father could've been a hero but an accident forced him to choose a different career. Fumei had been pretty vague about that accident, and Hitoshi supposed it was something related to corrupt or selfish heroes.
Without any proper confirmation, all Hitoshi could come up with was that Fumei also had a past with heroes he didn't share with the rest, and thus made him detached and apathetic towards Stain's victims.
All these possibility and thoughts plagued his mind up until class ended, and Hitoshi made his way home. He failed to realize that Fumei followed him all the way home, until they got out of the train, and Hitoshi noticed his blond hair at his periphery.
Fumei didn't say anything and just followed him. Hitoshi bit his lip as they walked through the residential district, completely uncomfortable with his unnatural silence. He watched his companion distract himself with his rhythm game, and Hitoshi couldn't help but raise the question.
"Why are you following me again?"
The other shrugged. "Just felt like it."
"After what you said earlier, about Stain. Do you think I'd actually agree to be your friend now?"
Fumei paused his game and stared at Hitoshi with a serious frown on his face. "No, I don't. I just thought you'd want to know why I said what I said."
He did want to, but he didn't to need to know. Fumei's experiences were his own. Hitoshi didn't need to know his reasons for condoning murder. It wouldn't affect his decision in the end. "Not really," he said half-heartedly. "You're entitled to your own opinion."
Fumei grumbled like a child throwing a silent tantrum. "Yeah, but I don't like you judging me for it."
"I'm not judging you."
"You are!" the other cried. "You were glaring at me and Akusa all day!"
Hitoshi frowned. "I wasn't glaring."
"You're doing it now," Fumei said while he pointed at Hitoshi's face, who consciously hid his face and stilled.
"What do you mean – that's just my face."
"Exactly! I can't tell if you're thinking or judging me with the way you stare at me in class."
"I don't stare you."
Fumei chuckled, thinking otherwise. "Oh yes, you do. You do it for at least five minutes every period. I'm not blind Hitoshi."
Hitoshi grumbled, now at a complete lost at what Fumei wanted from him. He's made it clear he wasn't interested in learning his side. Fumei was free to think about whatever he wanted regarding this whole Stain ordeal; Hitoshi just won't bend his opinion to suit him.
"Look," Hitoshi sighed, "what do you want me to say? That I understand what you feel? To admit that Stain was right? You know I won't say that."
"You don't have to side with Stain, I just want you to understand –"
"Understand what exactly?" Hitoshi spat. "That you think it's justified to kill heroes just to prove a point? That, what? Heroes are selfish? They're human too, Fumei, they make mistakes. You believe in us, but you don't believe in the heroes out there, risking their lives for us. You don't give them the benefit of the doubt and are convinced they deserved to be killed."
"I never said I wanted them dead!"
"You as good as did once you agreed with Stain's philosophy."
"Please," Fumei scoffed, "it's not like you don't either. I know you Hitoshi. You understand both sides perfectly because you've been both sides. You're a hero here," he he placed a hand on Hitoshi's chest where his heart would be, "but you're just as selfish as the rest of us. Heroes shouldn't be on pedestals. They don't deserve to be revered and worshipped like perfect beings, because you're right, they're just humans."
Fumei folded the hand on Hitoshi's chest into a fist and sighed. "Have you ever wondered why villains exist?"
Hitoshi avoided the other's eye. "Can't say I have."
"Because heroes failed to save them," he mumbled. "They opened their eyes and saw what heroes were really about. They're not real heroes. They're just people in costume pretending to be saviors. So, I'm sorry, I ended up sympathizing with Stain. Reality isn't as cut as simple black and white as you're led to believe. Heroes can just be as twisted as villains. The only difference is that their morals make them look like saints."
He pushed Hitoshi away and buried his head into his hands. "Why did I even think you'd understand?" Fumei chuckled "You, of all people? A hero underneath all that. This was a mistake."
Hitoshi watched as the other argued, mostly conversing with himself almost like he was conflicted about asking for help and refusing it. Hitoshi didn't know what to do, but he was at least certain about one thing, Fumei greatly downplayed his anger towards heroes back in the classroom. The person before him was someone who laid bare his emotions to someone he probably trusted and saw as someone he could confide in.
His friend.
Hitoshi felt something warm burn inside his pocket that urged him to ask against his better judgement. He wasn't going to change his opinion, but he was worried for him. "What…exactly happened to you?"
"So now you want to know what happened."
"You're hurting aren't you?"
Fumei lifted his head from his hands a bit, then stared at Hitoshi with wide, lost eyes. Hitoshi once heard a saying that claimed that the eyes are a window's to one soul. Hitoshi never understood stood it until now. Fumei's eyes, bright as they were, revealed everything he'd bottled up inside.
"Tell me."
Fumei sighed, like he didn't want to share the truth of his hatred. In the end however, he looked out into the distance and conceded, "I had a friend who used to believe in heroes. He lost his parents in an accident when we were younger, because a hero decided he valued the exposure more than the lives of people in danger."
"My hometown was small, so we didn't really need heroes. Every once in a while though, we'd get trainees and sidekicks run rounds. It was a safe town, so no one expected an unhinged group of villains fleeing from nearby town to invade and keep hostages. No one knew what to do, and the first hero to arrive was someone so selfish that he waited too long for the press to arrive."
Fumei curled his hands into a fist, and left the tragedy unsaid. Hitoshi lowered his eyes out of respect.
"After his parents died, it was just him and his brother. They had no control of their life. The next time I heard of them, it was on television. Captured by heroes for a robbery. He wasn't even killing people," he hissed. "He did what he had to survive. Sure it was bad, but he didn't have a choice. The heroes didn't give him a choice."
"Heroes only save people from others, but never themselves. There's plenty of people forced into villainy because heroes' turned a blind eye, because there was not victory in saving them. If you were any weaker…" Fumei mumbled. "You could've been just like them."
Hitoshi's eyes grew wide, but Fumei continued and finished the thought. "But you're strong. Stronger than he was. You were called a villain your whole life and yet you found a way to be the hero you wanted to be, while he got stuck doing the wrong things over and over until there was no way out."
Fumei took a slight step forward to press his head against Hitoshi's chest. "I don't know if I hate heroes," he mumbled softly, "I know for sure I can't ever bring myself to believe them ever again, but... I do believe in you, and everyone else in class. I trust you to save them."
That warm feeling surged again and Hitoshi wrapped his arms around the smaller male. It felt awkward, and Fumei stiffened under his touch at first, before he slowly succumbed to it.
"I'll never understand what you're feeling, but it's justified, I think," he said, unsure of his own thoughts at the moment. "What Stain did is wrong, and he has to face the consequences for that. I may believe in heroes, but I know a lot of them are flawed, some even more so than others. Not all of them are punished, and I get that you want them to suffer, but that's not the right way."
Fumei pulled Hitoshi closer to him, and he was sure the former was crying buckets into his uniform right now. Even then, Hitoshi tried to ignore it. "I really am sorry, about your friend. I can't do anything about him or his choices, but I promise you. Once I'm a hero, I would never let those kinds of people exist. I'll save everyone, including him."
"You really promise?"
"I promise."
A scarred man watched Stain's video on repeat with a sinister smile. The retired vigilante's convictions were far from what he believed to be true, but it worked in perfect congruence with his plan.
People's belief in heroes have now been shattered by Stain's philosophy, and only an ignorant fool would watch this and not have the heart to sympathize with the man's beliefs. One could argue his methods, but Stain spoke out against what many blindly accepted as truth.
"Stains capture is truly a disappointment," All for One smirked. "His hubris became his downfall, and now his legacy will become our own. Those that are lost, broken, and failed by heroes, would seek the League of Villains by mere association. All of them, unified under the leadership of Tomura Shigaraki!"
"He is not yet ready," an old, mustached man wearing large round spectacles and a lab coat said. "He is far too childish and temperamental. He failed to lead an army against children! He chose to borrow all of those Nomu's to get back at Stain for dishonoring him, and lost every single one!"
All for One merely chuckled at the good doctor's obvious concern.
"If he were to lead a group of villains that chose to follow him because they were led there believing Stain was a part of us, it may end in disastrous ways." A figure in the corner scoffed at the doctor's thoughts, whom the latter ignored. "I still believe it best that if you led the League, our plan proceed much more smoothly Master."
"Yeah, sure," the figure in the corner said sarcastically. "Sensei should lead the League. That is, if we want him to die."
The doctor grumbled and slowly turned his attention at the shadowed persona. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"Evil doesn't sleep."
"Do not forget your place. You are more of a child than Tomura is."
The figured hand twitched, then tiny luminescent shards lingered near the spectacled man's facial hair. The older of the two narrowed his eyes at the corner. "I'm not in a very good mood right now, so mind your mouth before I cut it off."
All for One chuckled at the figure's unusual temperament, and both parties immediately ceased antagonizing each other. "Now, now, there is no need for fighting. Today we reap a victory for our shared future. If that is truly your sentiment Doctor, then do hurry and fix my body."
"With all due respect, Sensei. Even the great Doctor can't do that. He knows he can't," they said. "Even if we put all the regenerative quirks into one it'll take at least five or more years to fully heal you."
"Regardless of the timeframe," the Doctor begrudgingly agreed, "regeneration will be for naught if all of the Master's wounds have already healed by then."
"It will be fine," the old villain assured them. "Tomura will prepare everything needed for my return. If not, then he will continue what I've started. The boy was born twisted; he would not fail me."
Envious eyes stared at Tomura through the screen watching him inside the League's underground bar. Sensei only ever looked at Shigaraki, even if they were the one that kept surpassing expectations. All Tomura had to do was sit down, play games, look pretty, and get his prey served in a silver platter to kill, and Sensei would praise him to hell and back. They, on the other hand, had to work hard for even a single word of praise.
Stain was his idea, and once again, Tomura reaped what they've sown.
The figure silently fumed by dragging their nails along the edge of the table. Their repeated victories may have earned Sensei's favor, but it was not enough to be considered the better choice. Never enough to be as twisted or despicable like Tomura, simply because they refused to kill.
They clicked their tongue and moved to leave. All for One briefly turned his head to their retreating form. "Something has been bothering you, young one?"
"No," they lied just as well as they were taught. "Just tired. Preparing all those Nomu's and then coming up with that video at the last minute," they sighed, exhausted. "I haven't done this much since middle school."
All for One chuckled. "Yes, it has been quite a week for you hasn't it?"
"I'll keep you updated on anything important," they said. "If I feel like it, maybe I'll come back with some suitable quirk samples for you Doc."
The Doctor wrinkled his mustache while the other disappeared through the door, and walked beyond earshot. Very slowly, he started to voice out his concerns again. "Not to question your authority, Master, but will it be wise to let that one loose on such a short leash?"
"I've raised him long enough to be sure of his loyalty. He is free to do as he wishes as long as his actions do not interfere with ours."
"You've seen his eyes," the Doctor said. "One day, when he's realized what he can do, Tomura may not stand a chance. Not with the way he is now at least."
All for One nodded. "Your fears are not without merit, Doctor. If he falls out of the path I've set for him, then you are free to do as you please."
The Doctor smiled maliciously. "It will be my greatest pleasure."
A/N: This chapter's title sends me back to Kagerou Project times, gosh I miss that song series. As of chapter 242, Horikoshi has dropped the traitor/spy plot thread.Unless…? I'm kidding, If Horikoshi decided to scrap that idea this fic will be completely AU now. Not like it wasn't already. I WANT BETRAYAL, HORIKOSHI. Technically Hawks is doing that, but come on – one of the hero kids has got to be a spy. I want that angst, Horikoshi. Give it to me.
Keep those follows/favorites or reviews coming. Shinsou's fund for scholarship into the hero course is well on its way. Sushiiii out!