The building was all but empty at this point. A long shadow sprawls from a single figure sitting in a dark office, legs crossed while she flicks a lighter listlessly, hoping for another smoke. Her well-known slicked hair has a rather sloppy look to it, bangs hanging loosely near the pale eyes that were still trained on the cigarette between her teeth. Her office shirt seemed to match her hair in theme, heavily wrinkled with parts having been pulled out of the dark skirt she wore around her hips. The woman smiles slightly when she feels the familiar heat of flame on paper and takes a deep inhale, smoke filling her chest and washing away all that was on her shoulders.

It had been 12 hours since the now deemed 'Beast Kaiju' had been released onto the streets of Nagoya, knocking down buildings and killing all those that stood in its way. It would take weeks, months maybe until it was all cleaned up. The city was now scarred by a permanent reminder of the danger that Japan was in. The kaiju situation in the country had reached a boiling point and the world was now watching intently at how the people would respond.

For some, there was only one choice. It was now being estimated that as much as 5% of the population would flee the country within the next year. A high percentage of this group has younger children, opting to move to the United States or maybe Korea if they had family there. These people wanted security, they wanted safety. Japan could not promise either at the moment.

Others would be led to different solutions. The best way to fight power is with power, after all. Pushing for Japan to grow stronger, breed stronger to make a country that could stand against the terrors like the kaiju and then defeat anything else that might come afterward. And what better way to become stronger than through the HPSC?

The commission could grow strength across the nation through the cultivation of the Japanese youth through the HPSC academies. Through pillars like these schools that valued the strength to protect everything above all else, a new breed of hero would be born. A better one. It was the only way forward.

Fujino Mari takes another long pull from her cigarette and leans further into her chair. A dopey smile flutters across her lips.

Was it all this easy?

A banging from down the hall stirs the woman from her thoughts and she lazily spins toward the front of the room and locks eyes with a late-night visitor.

Pale white hair falling to her lower back, split into ugly sections due to the sweat and grime that clings to her hairline. Her costume seemed to be covered in a mixture of blood and dirt, the white fabric all but non-existent at this point. She bears her teeth at Mari who slowly raises slim fingers to her lips to remove what was left of the cigarette.

"And what could I do for you at this hour, Rumi?"

"You know why I'm here."

Mari frowns at the comment. It seemed that the rabbit didn't share her jovial mood.

"Does the student have a question for the teacher?"

The heroine snarls and seems to cross the room in an instant. Glove-clad hands claw at the white dress shirt Fujino wears and she yanks the Vice President out of her chair and slams her over the desk.

This seems to be enough to finally wipe the smile off Mari's face.

Crimson eyes lock on the woman's face as her hands still hold the wrinkled shirt tightly in curled fists.

"No one would hear you scream, Mari. You think you're in control right now?" The rabbit then pulls the other women closer, their faces now an inch apart, "What a fucking joke. I could kill you right now."

Fujino bares her teeth at the heroine, her own hands wrapping around the gloved ones of the heroine, "You typically don't act this idiotic, Usagiyama. How about you tell me what's wrong rather than ruining whatever good graces you have with me at this point."

One white eyebrow twitches at the words and she slams the woman back on the desk, finally letting go of the white shirt.

"You know exactly what's wrong, just what the fuck was that? What the hell was that in Nagoya?!"

Mari looks at her for a moment while still lying on the desk before slowly rolling over to the side and dropping to the carpet before finally returning to her leather chair. Her right-hand reaches to an unmarked drawer and she pulls out a fresh box of cigarettes with another cheap lighter.

"It was necessary."

Miruko's shoulder shake at the words and her hands curl to fists again by her side, "Necessary?! Over 500 people have been declared dead already and over 900 have had to be checked into hospitals - that was fucking necessary?!"

Mari shrugs and her new cigarette is finally lit, "Did you think things would change with how these incidents were previously? Things are in motion now Miruko, things that wouldn't be possible without…" The woman trails off as she takes a deep breath on the cigarette before looking back at the heroine, eyes now ice-cold, "...a stronger push."

Rumi raises a shaky hand and runs it through her hair, teeth biting at her inner cheek, "I need to be consulted on these moving forward if they're going to be bigger. I'm done sitting on the sideline and playing cheerleader while you and Arakawa decide to wreck an entire goddamn city."

Fujino's lips slowly part into a dull smile that fails to reach her eyes, "Little girl wants to sit at the adult table now? You've asked for this before, why would our answer be any different now?"

A large white foot slams down on the flooring, a dull thud that echoes all the way the hallway, "Because this isn't like before, now if things get any bigger, we all need to be on the same page! Our stories need to be clean because there's no way people don't start looking in our direction after this."

Mari idly drums her fingers across the table.

"And why would they look in our direction?"

"Maybe because he and I are supposed to be the ones catching these things?! You're insane if you think people will continue to just pile everything onto Endeavor for as long as we need them to. He's going to get himself killed the next time one of these things attacks and what then? We pull the plug on this entirely?"

"We only will need a few more before things are permanently changed. And don't worry, we'll make sure that we don't put Keigo or yourself in a position to fail. We're not that cruel now, Miruko."

"Too much rides on us to leave me in the fucking dark, Fujino. I need to know more here if we're going to make this work."

The drumming on the table stops.

"You'll know what you need to know, Usagiyama. Don't think you're irreplaceable now."

Crimson eyes lock back on her now.

"I am irreplaceable. You need me, admit it."

"No. Everyone is replaceable to some degree; there are no cogs that we wouldn't be willing to let go of to ensure that the machine continues to march along."

Rumi grits her teeth, "You'd get rid of the leader of your precious 'Team One'? What the hell would happen next?"

Mari smiles again, "We'd find a replacement. Do you know how many kids are going through our academies? It's only a matter of time before we find alternative candidates."

"Really? Do you think anyone could do what you'll be having me do? What I'm currently doing right now?! He needs me!"

"We could find someone else to serve your role for Keigo if needed."

Scenarios flow through the heroine's mind, all involving her parting ways with the boy with shaggy blonde hair. Pain begins to rise in her skull.

"No."

Mari chuckles lightly, having finally crushed the anger out of the heroine.

"Such a sad expression, Rumi. For someone that works so hard to build that asshole persona, you should look to dial back the concerned older sister facade."

The dark-skinned woman slowly tilts her head down and stares at the floor, "I just…" she trails off again, eyes now locked the dried blood under her fingernails.

"Go home and get cleaned up. We're done here."

The heroine turns slowly and faces the door before ultimately taking one more shot at the Vice President. Her pride demanded that she leave with the last word.

"Maybe make 'tea time' with the President less obvious next time? He does have a wife, you know."

Mari's eye twitched at the comment as she worked to tuck the rest of her shirt back under her belt.

She'd need to look presentable soon. There was work to be done in the morning.

~Revelations~

She could fix this.

The hot water continued to cascade from the nozzle overhead as she scrubbed frantically at her knuckles. The blood didn't seem to want to come off.

Faces flash before her, sobbing and desperately looking for loved ones, or lifeless and empty, devoid of any emotions. She had seen too much for one day.

A shaky hand rises again to her forehead and she slowly pulls her dripping white hair out of her eyes. Most of the crimson was gone, having needed three separate shampoo sessions to get the stains out for good.

The sick bile that clung to her throat when she had initially arrived in Nagoya had finally seemed to have subsided, now replaced by a hollow feeling in her chest and a dull throb in her head.

She could fix this, right?

Things were simpler before. She could turn a blind eye to the previous acts and be like the good little hero they wanted to be while hoping that some sort of hint could be given on the monsters responsible for creating the Kaiju. Or Nomu, as Mari and Arakawa had called them before.

All she needed was a location or a name and she'd be gone from the commission for good, dragging that dumbass bird if it came to that and getting the hell out while they still had their sanity. Or what was left of it, anyway.

But she was in too deep now. Should she just accept the HPSC entirely? Hope their twisted plan did lead to a better and safer country in the long run? This would allow her to watch Keigo and at least have some control over the situation.

She looked back down to her knuckles, swollen from the scrubbing and still covered in flakes of crimson that seemed permanently marked on her skin. The irony of the sight was almost overwhelming at this point.

Would anyone believe her? That she truly was just trying to do what she thought was best? She frowns at the thought and gently sits down on the cool tile flooring. Could she go to Endeavor at this point? And even if she did, what good would it do? She had no proof and still no information of who was truly pulling the strings. She was only one step in front of him on a staircase that might not have an end.

Uagiyama Rumi was stuck.

If she had just bailed from the start with Keigo, maybe things would have been different, maybe things-

A sharp ringing stirs her from her thoughts and she hesitantly turns to the phone system she had installed in the shower hesitantly. She had set it up after he complained that she missed too many of his calls.

That was sometimes true.

There were also times when she just couldn't talk to him. Now was one of these times. Or should have been.

She sighs and slowly presses the answer button that was below a small monitor flashing his name.

"Ruuuuuumi, where are you right now? I hear water - are you in the shower still?!"

Her lips twitch upwards.

"What do you think, birdbrain?"

"Birdbrain?! My academic scores were higher than yours!"

Her nails pick again at the dried blood on her hands.

"Did you want something or were you just checking in, Kei?"

The line pauses for a moment, "I was just thinking about today…. How are you feeling?"

"I…" she pauses, a dull buzz picking up between her ears, "It was a lot, Kei. Almost too much."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I just- do you think there's anything we could've done more?"

Done more? She grits her teeth.

~ Four Days Ago ~

It seemed that the office was always cold when they were called in together. She does her best to mask the swirling feelings in her gut with indifference, not wanting to give him any more information than was needed. Her eyes briefly flicker over the figure to her left, who scans the room curiously.

Shingo sits on the far side of the room, both elbows on the desk in front of him, crossed hands underneath his chin to support his head. His eyes betray nothing. They rarely did.

"What did you want, bossman?" the idiot chirps to her left.

Shingo looks at the man and then goes back to her.

"Four days from now, in Nagoya. You're free to move 60 minutes after it lands there. Understood?"

She glances back at the boy to her left and is unable to suppress the shudder of the sight. His red wings seem to hang from his back, no longer standing proud. His posture is slumped, head slightly hanging downward. And his eyes glazed over, no longer seeing into whatever world they were in. But she knew his ears were still working, soaking up every word that fell from the lips of Arakawa Shingo as if they were the new laws of the land.

What she saw was the truth that kept her locked with the HPSC. It was the truth that forced her to work with them rather than against him. It was the truth that buzzed in her head whenever the world was too quiet.

Takami Keigo disappeared whenever Arakawa Shingo spoke. Replaced by a sad puppet, guided by strings they couldn't see. It had always been like this, ever since she was brought into the commission all those years ago. The boy that had a smile that could rival the sun became a husk, a follower of any order that could be given by the President.

She knew little about Shingo's quirk. It was kept pretty much a secret by the higher-ups, lips locked tight with knowledge that could change the country. But she knew it couldn't be something simple like 'Brainwash'. His control of Keigo was absolute, but he seemed to have little to no effect on anyone else.

She had never been forced to do anything he said through a quirk as far as she could tell, instead choosing to follow along for the sake of trying to keep Keigo out of harm's way when yanked by the strings that pulled him to match Arakawa's whims.

She would cry often thinking about the situation. The saddest part of it was that she doubted that she'd ever know enough to change things for him. It had been years and she had nothing, no ideas of how it happened or how to fix it. It all just left her stuck, having a front-row seat to the horror show that was this twisted relationship between boss and subordinate.

Anything that Shingo said to him would be done. The President could ask the hero to kill an innocent civilian and there would be no second thought before a sword made of feathers tore through the abdomen of its victim. Acting in some sort of permanent fog, he was unreachable once given a command from the President. And never remembering any of his actions once the order was complete.

She sometimes thought it must be the result of something even more fictitious than quirks. Like a spell placed on the boy, dooming him to a life that he had no control of.

"Kei" she hums and watches with a slight twitch in her eye as he seems to come back to life like a toy robot given new batteries, now that the order had been recorded.

"Hmm?" He looks at her, eyes still partially glazed.

"We're good, let's go."

They both turn to leave the room, with Shingo only giving them a nod in return.

He frowns at the words once they turn down the hall, "Did I miss something?"

Her fists shake silently at her sides. She can still feel Shingo's eyes watching them both.

"Nothing important."

~ Present Day ~

Rumi's head lies on her forearms that are slung over her crouched legs. The buzzing in her ears is getting louder.

"I don't know Kei. Maybe we did our best."

She can hear him practically frowning over the line, "Do you want to meet up tomorrow to run through the evidence again? Maybe we can find something that we've missed."

Her eye twitches and she can feel the bile again on her throat.

"M-Maybe Kei."

He pauses again. The line goes quiet.

"Do you want me to come over? Maybe we could watch a movie or something?"

She pinches the bridge of her nose. As much as she didn't want to see him, there was an even greater part of her that needed to be with him. Needed to know he was alright, that he was safe.

"Sure. Come over in an hour."

She can practically hear him fluttering on the other end of the line. "Great! Do you want me to bring anything? I still have that ice cream you brought over last time."

"I'm good Kei. Just let me know when you're close by, okay?"

"You know it! See you soon, Ruuuuuuuumi." The line goes dead.

How much longer could she keep this up? How many dead faces could she look at before she would find herself drowning in the rising guilt she felt for all those that had perished?

Long ago, Usagiyama Rumi decided to choose Takami Keigo over her own morality.

She was now sure that one day she would reap what she sowed.

~ Revelations ~

The rhythmic beeping of the monitor to his left keeps him from falling into a dreamless sleep. The walls were white, no color whatsoever could be found in the room.

His head slowly rolls to the right to look out the white window that was on the sidewall. The Nagoya skyline stared back at him from a distance. None of the scarrings from the attack was visible, but he knew it was there.

When he closed his eyes, all he could see was that scene. Dust and the smell of death hung in the air as he fought the attack kaiju head-on. Hawks had told him he had won at the scene before he had passed out. The doctors also made sure to thank him for his effort and note that if he hadn't been there, the entire city could have been destroyed.

They told him he was a hero.

He knew it was all lies.

He was a failure, a fake who tried to be someone he wasn't. Who tried to be the same guy the former number one was, a man that could lead the way with just a smile. Was everyone right about him? While his subordinates like Burnin did their best to make sure all news and radio chatter about the number one hero stayed out of the Endeavor office, it was impossible to not pick up on the signs of the public, to understand what they wanted from him.

They wanted him to go away. To die. Let Hawks and the next generation take over while he fades into the background and becomes a relic. Just a plaque at a museum.

The number one hero that never was.

The craziest part was that he did listen to the public. He knew what he was doing when he dragged the Kaiju into that rickety building that seemed to be held up by nothing more but toothpicks.

He deserved something like that. When he was not haunted by the lost souls that he couldn't save, he was instead followed by memories of his past. Memories like those of Touya, the son that should have been the one that was rivaling Hawks as the future number one. A boy whose stubbornness somehow suppressed his own. He forced that boy down a path that led to him burning himself alive.

Touya died for nothing.

Rei followed him as well. Her voice, soft like a gentle breeze, questioned every action he took, every thought that he had. Goosebumps raised on the back of his neck when he could hear her whisper to him.

What gives you the right to try to save them when you failed us?

The fight in Nagoya should have been how it all ended.

But now, here he was, sitting in the suite room of the Nagoya West Hospital. Looking over the land that he should have protected. He failed.

The monitor continues to beep to his side and he raises a hand to cover his eyes from the sight of the city.

"What are you doing?"

He flinches at the voice and turns to see Shoto at the door with Fuyumi a few steps behind him.

He opens his mouth to respond but no words come out. He hadn't expected either of them to come. He had expected to be alone.

"Sh-Shoto, take it easy alright? He's only been up for a few hours now."

Fuyumi seems to take the lead as the two men lock eyes and she gracefully glides into the room. Enji watches as she slowly wraps her fingers around a chair that stood on the far wall and pulls it to his bed before sitting down.

She then raised one hand slowly placed it on top of his own which was still covered in bandages and wiring.

"How are you, father?"

He locks eyes with her and does his best to ignore how much she looks like Rei at this point.

"I-I'm fine Fuyumi. There was no need for you two to come up here."

Her eyes widen and her lips twitch downward. Shoto stands a few feet behind her, arms crossed and face impassive.

"Y-You almost died and you don't think we need to be here?! Of course we need to be here, right Shoto?"

Shoto only shrugs in response.

He can see her eyes already beginning to water and does his best to calm her down.

"Thank you, Fuyumi. I appreciate you being here," he then turns to look at his son, "You too, Shoto."

He can feel her fingers wrap tighter around his hand. It felt so warm.

His lips twist into a frown at the thought. What did he do to deserve a moment like this when so many others are left crying over their dead loved ones. Loved ones he had failed to save.

"Stop that."

His eyes dart back up at the sound of his daughters' voice. Shoto also seems to be now standing closer to them.

He swallows, "Stop what?"

"I know what you're thinking father and it's dumb, so stop it."

"Dumb? What exactly do you think I'm thinking?"

She looks right at him, eyes holding a fire he wasn't sure he's ever seen before. "That you don't deserve this."

Deserve this?

The fire at Setoko peak floats back through his head. He sees Rei's eyes, deranged and chaotic as she's loaded into the ambulance after burning Shoto.

He looks back out the window. "I deserve everything that has happened to me. Neither of you can look back at what's been done in the past and think otherwise," he pauses for a moment and runs his hand through his hair, "I'll accept everything that will be thrown at me. That's all I have left now."

"That's all you have left?"

This time instead of Fuyumi's gentle wording, Shoto's voice cuts through the tension with fire. The father turns back to his son, seeing one eyebrow slightly twitching while both hands are curled into fists by his sides.

The boy was angry. Enji didn't understand why.

"Shoto, I chose this life and this is what I deserve. As a hero, I have to accept it all. Do you understand?"

The room drops back into silence again and the father turns back to look out the window. The sky was gray.

"But what about as a father?"

As a father?

Could he even call himself that anymore? His life as a father was just a series of bad decisions, each next choice trying to rectify the mistakes he made in the previous. He created and then broke a family within ten years. They didn't need him. They would be better without him.

"I don't deserve that title anymore. I don't know if I was ever truly your father. You both are strong people and I think you'll be fine without me in -"

Two hands roughly grab his hospital gown and yank him forward. Blue and charcoal eyes stare back at him, flickers of fire coming from his left side.

"What do you think you're saying? You're right, you haven't been there, you've been shitty, you drove mom and Touya to insanity; so why do you think you can make any calls about being or not being a father at this point? What gives you the right to make that call?!"

Enji tries to maintain eye contact but the intensity of his son makes it difficult.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Shoto. It's better this way. For every-"

"No, it's not!"

Now Fuyumi is standing strong by her brother's side, her bottom lip trembling slightly. He can now see the bags under her eyes from this distance, her slightly disheveled hair. She hadn't been sleeping much lately. Why?

"You think this is what we want? To watch you die on national television? Because it's what you think you deserve?!"

Fuyumi looks away from him, strands of hair obscuring her face.

"You think we want this? What about what we deserve, father?"

What do they deserve? Wasn't this what they wanted? To be free of him and live their own lives?

Wasn't this what everyone wanted?

Fuyumi takes a breath and then continues, "We haven't slept in days. Wondering if you're alive, if you'll be okay. Shoto and I have spoken with Natsuo and what this is, what you're doing, can't continue. The way you act it's like…" she's cut off by a harsh sob that escapes her throat, "I-It's like you want this. That you want to d-di-.." she trails off again, her shoulders still shaking.

A sick feeling begins to crawl up to Enji's throat. His eyes begin to sting.

"I-I don't understand what-" He trails off trying to hide the way his voice is cracking.

Shoto's fingers tighten around the gown he wears, "I was watching with Mom. When you tried to kill yourself under the guise of being heroic. Do you know what kind of face she was making father? Do you think this is what she wants too?"

"R-Rei, I don't know what she- I haven't seen her.." Enji can feel his bottom lip trembling and he tries to turn away from his son. Shoto doesn't let go.

He can hear the shaking in his son's voice as his fingers claw at the thin cloth he wears, "If Fuyumi can give a damn about you, if Natsuo can give a damn about you.." the boy gestures to the door with a flick of his head and Enji can see the familiar sight of spiky white hair hovering by the edge of the entrance, "...if mom can give a damn about you," Shoto's voice begins to crack and Enji can see the tears in his eyes, "...if even I can give a damn about you, then you have to start giving a damn about YOURSELF!"

Flames flicker from his left and the boy suddenly drops his father, arms going back to his sides and shoulders shaking slightly. His son grits his teeth before looking back to his fathers' eyes.

"You're not alone. So stop acting like you have nothing left. That there's nothing for you now."

Endeavor brings both weathered hands to his face cupping his eyes.

"I'm so s-sorry." The words barely come out as a whisper.

Enji grips the thin sheet that lays on top of him, trying to steady his breath. "I'm sorry for how I was back then. And I'm sorry for how I am now. I just-" his voice slowly cracks again, the father then twisting his face to spit out the words he desperately needs to say.

"I-I got lost in this world. It's all so different from how it used to be and I thought I was helping, I thought I was doing what I should… but was I just a c-coward? I just wanted to atone and I thought that-"

"A d-dead man can't atone."

All three look at the entrance to Natsuo standing in the doorway. The boy is biting his bottom lip to stop any further emotion from slowly breaking out on his face.

At those words, the man known as the flame hero leans over and slips off the hospital bed he was positioned on. All three children freeze at the action, eyes beginning to widen as they see their father bend down on his hands and knees, kowtowing before them on the cool tile flooring.

He takes a deep breath. "I s-swear that I chose to live. I swear that I'll move forward. And I swear that one day, I w-will make up for my actions to you all and your mother."

The man looks up at the sound of two thuds, seeing that both Shoto and Fuyumi have collapsed to their knees. Faces flushed with fresh tears are in their eyes.

Slowly, Enji reaches out with two arms and wraps them around the quietly sobbing children. They do not move to escape the embrace.

A moment later he hesitantly pulls them closer.

When the three came together, Endeavor couldn't help but smile at the unmistakable warmth that flooded into his chest.

He was truly a fool to think he could turn away from what he loved.

Enji was never going to let go of them again.

~Revelations~

The rain continued to fall, soaking him to the bone. Although both were too big for his frame, the black dress shirt and coat he wore stuck to him like a second skin. He had found the clothing in his mother's closet. Hidden under bags and boxes that lined his mother's closet. Strange how she had never mentioned it before.

He wondered if there were any more of his fathers' possessions lying around in that apartment.

Midoriya Izuku continued to stand alone, looking at the gravestone that was a few feet in front of him. It had been more difficult than he expected to have the burial arranged. It seemed that every single person in Nagoya knew at least one person who had been lost in the most recent kaiju attack. Cemeteries were filling up. Companies were running out of tombstones.

He chose this day in particular since he knew there would be no other services in the pouring rain. He'd be all alone.

She was gone. His mother, the person that he loved most in the world, was just gone. He knew it as soon as the breaking news cut to the collapsing market center. Something deep inside of him was being permanently severed at that very moment. Ice now creeping out from his heart, flooding down his limbs and out through his fingers and toes.

He had nothing now.

His mother and father were now both dead. One dying before he ever knew him and the other dying after giving all to raise him the best that she could.

He now knew the answer to the poetic question of if it was better to love and lose or to never have loved at all. It was the latter.

He wasn't hurt when his father died. No ice poured out of heart and soul. It was all easier then.

The bitter feeling in his stomach purred at the thought. Izuku didn't need anyone anymore. There was no reason for it. Why would anyone willingly put themselves through the pain he felt when he watched his mother die? Why connect with anyone at all? It was all pointless.

People would come and go so what was the point of getting attached?

It now seemed crazy to the boy.

The whole world also seemed pretty crazy to him at this point.

Nagoya was in ruins. People were running for America as if that country didn't have its own problems it was dealing with. All of them were sheep, being led by shepherds who only had their interests in mind. Of creating a world that they wanted to live in.

These people that sat up in their Tokyo towers could shed tears on TV and claim to know how the people of Nagoya felt. But it was all lies. They knew nothing and felt nothing. It was all a game to them.

And they were the ones that were winning.

"I-Izuku."

The cracking voice stirs him from his thoughts. He turns slightly to see a woman slightly shorter than him with spiky blonde hair standing a few feet away in an all-black dress. A boy who was roughly his height stands to her left.

His lips part slightly. He's not sure what to say to them.

The mother decides to take action by covering the ground between them in an instant and wrapping him into a tight hug. He flinches at the warmth she provides. He shut down any of the feelings that were bubbling up and his throat and slowly separated her from his form.

"I didn't expect anyone to come."

Her eyes are bloodshot, puffy near the edges. Her bottom lip is already twitching slightly.

"W-We've tried to call you for three f-fucking days, Izuku! Do you know how worried we've been? Why didn't you answer, why didn't you let us in when we knocked on the door?!"

"I wanted to be alone."

Mitsuki slowly raised her hand to grip his sleeves.

"W-Why would y-you want to be alone? We're family, ri-"

"No, we're not. My family is gone. You're just..."

Izuku drifts off, grimacing at the words. Grimacing at his thoughts. Grimacing at this world.

"Just what?"

He looks back at the teen that stood further behind his mother. The rain makes his face unreadable. Soaked blonde hair hangs over his eyes.

Izuku looks away from Katsuki.

"You're just here." He glances back to the tombstone before continuing, "And she's not. I know she'd appreciate you showing up and I guess I do too. But I'd rather just have this time alone with her. We were alone often. I'd like it to be that way when I say goodbye."

He can still feel Mitsuki fidgeting behind him. Torn between listening to his words and the motherly instinct that was screaming to her to not walk away. Izuku opts to ignore her and casts a glance back at Katsuki. The boy remains rooted to the ground a few feet behind his mom, the slight fidgeting of his shoulders revealing his discomfort in the situation. Not confident in what to say or do.

Midoriya's lip twitches downward at the sight. Although he figured he wouldn't be much better if the roles were reversed.

Katsuki was probably his best friend. His only friend. And when the time came for real action, real support in the face of a tragedy like this, he doubted either of them could rise to the challenge of truly being there for the other.

Was it always surface-level all along?

His closest bond was always with his mother and even he couldn't ignore the way that she sometimes held him at arm's length away. Like there had been something hiding under the surface. Something that she didn't want him to see.

His left hand slowly rises and pinches the bridge of his nose, an attempt to wipe both the rain and any emotion that had risen to the surface. He didn't want to show the Bakugou's anything. They didn't need to see anything.

He just wanted to go away. Go somewhere else. Be someone else.

What good had anything in his life brought to him at this point? What did he have to show? Moping around on the internet reading up everything that was wiped under the rug had done nothing. Meant nothing.

He was nothing.

His right hand flexed and twitched by his side, calling for action. Calling for something. Izuku grit his teeth and shoved the spasmodic fingers in his pocket.

"We'll go." The words seemed to cut over the rain. There's something unreadable about the way Katsuki says it. Emotions hover but never break through with the pronunciation of every letter.

There was something more there. He just chose to suppress it.

"Ok."

Izuku wasn't sure how long he stood there. He didn't turn when Mitsuki made one last attempt at pulling him away and back to their residence. He made no further attempt to talk and had his eyes trained back on what was left of his mother.

He still hadn't shed a tear for the woman he had known for all of those years. He hadn't thought about it much over the first two days but now reflecting, it was rather strange that the emotion he might've been most well known for as a child was absent from him altogether now.

He'd think about that more later.

Eventually, his feet begin to carry him away from the site. The walk back to his apartment is quiet outside of the scrunching of his soaked loafers and socks. The journey gives him more time to think.

Where could he go now? Two days had been suffocating in the old apartment, pictures and memories unescapable. He hadn't slept since her death, hearing Inko's voice in his room whenever he closed his eyes.

Why did she have to leave him? Why did she insist on going when he had a bad feeling? Why did she always feel like she was never really there? Reflecting, it sometimes seemed like she was more of an actress that had been already given her lines rather than a real living breathing human.

Was that how all real relationships were? Without his father in the picture, it wasn't like he had much else to base his experience on. He supposed things weren't like that with Katsuki but that relationship had also never felt real or present.

They both held too much back in the end. Izuku, never really buying the change in the boy that had tormented him for so long all those years ago. And Katsuki being weighed down by either pride or guilt, never fully embracing the emerald-eyed boy back.

The apartment building is empty. He had heard that over half of the families had cleared out within twelve hours of the attack. Another third were gone by the end of the second day.

Fleeing didn't make much sense to him since it seemed that there was no reason for any place in Japan to truly feel safe at this point. But maybe they were just running away from what had already happened. Choosing to turn their back on the lives lost to not drown in the grief that had flooded the streets and pulled away at what was left of people's hearts.

The apartment looks the same as he left it once he finally makes it back. Subtle paintings and the same photos hang on the walls. It was a rather bland setting but it seemed to fit well for his mother and himself. They were comfortable here. Happy here.

But now, a seemingly gaping pit would open his chest by just standing in the unit. A pit that seemed to steal away any of the joy that the pictures and memories of the past brought and instead replaced them with more of that ice that he felt under his skin.

The closest thing he could compare the feeling of being in the apartment to was falling.

Izuku hated the feeling of falling.

The teen takes a slow breath before making his way through the kitchen and into the living room before freezing at the sight in front of him.

A boy, or maybe better classified as a young adult, sat on his couch. Red shoes were kicked up on the coffee table that sat a meter away from him, his pose and general aura being one more of contentment than aggression.

Pale blue hair hung over his face, partially obscuring the dark crimson irises that were trained on him. The scarring on his eye and lip along with the bandaging that had been wrapped around his neck painted the picture that this wasn't just some confused kid that entered the wrong house at the wrong time.

This person dressed in a crimson coat and dark sweats had come for him.

Izuku could feel his muscles lock and his mouth dry out. He was glued to the spot and helpless against the intruder. His hands shake by his sides.

The stranger takes a slow breath and after surveying the room one last time looks back to his eyes.

"It seems that it's finally time that I get to meet the son of All for One…"

Slightly chapped lips twist upwards to form a small smile.

"...Midoriya Izuku."

Key Player Log:

Usagiyama Rumi. Age 23.

Fujino Mari. Age 50.

Takami Keigo. Age 20.

Todoroki Enji. Age 42.

Todoroki Fuyumi. Age 20.

Todoroki Shoto. Age 17.

Todoroki Natsuo. Age 19.

Midoriya Izuku, Age 17.

Bakugou Mitsuki. Age 39.

Bakugou Katsuki. Age 17.

Shigaraki Tomura. Age 19.

Chapter Notes:

We've finally reached the end of our initial act in Revelations! With a focus on character and world-building over action, I appreciate you all sticking through this story to this point. I promise we'll have some more serious action to come once we dive deeper into things!

All major storylines have now been introduced, with the last being the HPSC's control over Hawks. I've got a lot planned for where things can go in the future and look forward to building this thing out more!

As the story will become more linear and have fewer time skips moving forward, I'm going to remove the 'Key Player Log' from future chapters. I used it as a tool to keep track of where I was at in the story and if you're ever confused about how old someone is you can always jump back to the last time they were listed to give you better ideas.

Thanks again for reading!

Upcoming:

Act Two: Ascension

Arc One: The End of the Beginning