I expect this to come out three days from me keying these letters into my document. In any case, it'll be the last chapter for a while as I return to my other stories. It's a shame that I couldn't end this unexpected saga before my one month break ended, but life is life. We're almost there. I hope you've enjoyed whatever I've managed to write. Let's begin.
There were two weeks before the final examinations. Two weeks to prepare, to improve and most of all, to start moving the puzzle pieces into their positions. He had already sent Toga on a quest for the League of Villains. Still, one spy was easy to expose, and even if she was deranged and had an uncomfortably high tendency to drool at him when they met, he would rather die before knowingly sending her to interact with a man-child that could disintegrate everything he touched. So, with great reluctance, he had sent the job offer through his information network, asking anyone with a "villainous" Quirk who lacked a proper self-preservation instinct for their help. He spent the next few days researching those who had responded with an affirmative, but was disappointed when none of those who were willing to help had the right profile. Some of them had Quirks that weren't strong enough while others would most likely crumble if the right amount of pressure was put onto them. He contemplated whether it would be a good idea to toss himself into the jaws of death using his vigilante persona, then dismissed the notion entirely. The sheer amount of luck and perfect timing he would need in order to pull it off was equivalent to firing a gun at another human while blind and expecting to hit an object placed on top of their head. He mulled over possible contingency plans whenever he was bored(which was a lot) and after a few days of fruitless hair-pulling, Dabi had given him a solution. He would accompany Toga, the duo posing as rebels of society wanting to become villains. With his ghastly looks and a powerful fire Quirk to back it up, he would be able to at least look the part. When Midoriya started to weigh the pros and cons of sending the older man in, the scarred male had leaned over to casually mess up his hair, stating that he would be fine. And against his better judgement, the green-haired teenager had agreed.
With that problem solved, he resumed the closest thing he had to a normal life, wandering the places where heroes did not bother to tread, and the police were the threat rather than the help. Sometimes as himself, looking for those forgotten by society and tugging them back into the light. Sometimes as Cheshire, as those part of the underground had started to call him after an old character from a fictional universe in which insanity was the norm, a vengeful demon who committed everything short of murder. As his persona's name began to gain weight, Midoriya began to receive job offers and more requests for help. It seemed like being able to construct a network of eyes and ears wasn't impressive enough to those living in fear(though he didn't blame them, he would be wary too), you needed to have a demon on a leash that made his debut with arson and shooting a man's legs out from underneath him. He blinked twice and tried not to start questioning his life, hand stilling for a single instance before returning to the page he was completing.
Despite the fact that he had burned his original hero analysis notebooks in order to sever the ties he still maintained with his past, it was still necessary for him to pen down his thoughts in order to stop them from consuming his every waking moment. While being constantly on alert was a good thing for him, especially considering the sheer number of things that could ruin the plan he had built carefully over the course of the year, it was mentally exhausting. Even when he was just taking a walk to clear his mind, a slowly growing portion of his thought processes would be dedicated to noting down the individuals he saw as he walked and break them down based on their body language and physical features. He had unknowingly trained his ability to analyse after years of dedicated hero study. With his brain hardwired to be a single step away from fight-or-flight mode, analysing came to him almost naturally, marking down potential threats and the weaknesses of those around him even if he knew in his head that he would never have to use the information he was amassing against civilians. Still, it meant that the only true times his mind was clear was when he was under great physical stress(and even then, situations in which physical stress came from fighting were not exempt from the whirring gears inside his brain), crashing after an adrenaline rush(it was actually called shock, but that implied he was injured) or when he was hanging around Mei. He smiled gently, hand unconsciously going through the brisk strokes he used to sketch the small cartoonish face that Midoriya associated with his partner. He managed to wrangle the pencil back under his control while it was half done, finishing up the image before it could irritate his already active brain and remain as a constant red flag as he finished up the page he was on.
There was something about the pink-haired engineer that always managed to reduce him to a human being. With the events of the past week or so along with the fact that she was preparing for her own final examinations, their almost daily meetings had been reduced to stolen moments when they happened to pass each other in the hallways at UA or turned up at Dagobah Beach at the same time. She had also stopped coming over, claiming that she was working on a new piece of his battle gear and wanted it to be a surprise. Sighing, Midoriya paused in order to rest his head against the table, wishing that he had his partner for a hug. The lack of contact between them had quickly translated to his mind registering a lack of the one stable support structure he had in his life. As starved for affection as he had unknowingly become over the years of slowly falling apart, it meant that he was suffering from a lack of Mei. Something he hadn't thought was possible, especially since they were practically joined at the hip, more so after each reckless stunt he was forced to pull in order to survive(or just to make a point). He closed the book, leaving his work unfinished for the time being in order to spin in his chair and brush a finger over the keychain she had gifted him. This had been an eventful few months. If he was being honest, his life in UA felt like one bad decision after the other, stacked neatly to create a train of disasters on a direct crash course with what remained of his once peaceful life. Midoriya would never regret the things he had done in order to get to where he was today. He was, after all, working for a cause bigger than himself. Despite that, a small portion of his mind that he had to quash from time to time protested that he was supposed to be focusing on becoming a hero, or maybe even building his relationship with Mei, not fighting against a system that had been in place even before he was born, raging like a demon waging war against the heavens. Nevertheless, he would soldier on, because that was all he had left.
He really did wish that he could have a hug around now. The house was silent, minus the humming of machinery and the soft scratching his pencil made, and never had it felt less of a home and more of a house ever in his life as compared to now. He hadn't seen his mother in days, and the hope that had flared up briefly when he had woken up with a blanket over him that hadn't been there in the first place quickly flickered and died with the layers of dust that had started to settle in her bedroom. Mood now ruined, he tossed the writing instrument across the table and prepared to go out once again. As safe as his place of residence had become, the suffocating feeling in his chest(like someone was pressing down on his sternum) continued to build up the longer he stayed in it. A disconcerting sensation, really, considering it made him feel like he was a single nudge away from a full-blown panic attack from the struggles to breathe despite nothing stopping him from doing so. He pocketed his Cheshire Smile(the name he had given his mask, a reminder of what he had become), throwing on a loose fitting hoodie that helped to conceal the various weapons he hid within it without producing noticeable bulges. He wasn't looking for a fight, so he went for his regular outfit. Hoodie, slacks, railgun, two knives and his staff. It had already become a habit for him to walk around the house with the SnapDragons and DubSteps on(though he had started to rigorously clean everything because of the heavy usage of his shoes), so those stayed on his person as he took a surgical mask from the box in the living room. Putting everything on with practiced motions born from experience, he set the house to the standby mode(reinforced, recording, but not hostile unless in the event of a break-in) before leaving. He stopped only to grab one of his bags from its place behind the door, checking briefly to ensure everything that should have been in it was in it.
A recent habit he had picked up was going on long walks to clear his mind. Not exactly successful considering how he was actively seeking out trouble by lurking in alleys and back roads. It made him smile after he had been told, by an amused old lady that he had briefly exchanged words with after saving her cat from a tree, that the vast majority of those staying in the regions which he patrolled in his free time had begun to start identifying him as a guardian. He had been skeptical at the time, but after stumbling onto a small shrine located in one of the spots he often used to take a break and enjoy the silence that definitely hadn't been there before when he had first started turning into a wandering hermit, and a quick check left his mood significantly better for the rest of the day after noticing the "offerings" were surrounding a small sketch of a hooded figure wielding a familiar knife pinned to the wall by a nail. They had gone as far as to laminate the piece of paper, ensuring that it wouldn't get wet or tear after a strong gust of wind. Smiling to himself, he had unscrewed one of the cans of spray paint he had grown used to lugging around(it turned out that defacing public property was a much more satisfying and safe hobby as compared to fighting adults) and dipped a finger in the paint in order to scrawl a quick message of thanks next to the wall. He had returned a few days later to find his message protected by a transparent film. It was admittedly nice to know that his actions were making a difference. Still, he hoped that no one had linked his true identity to that of the boy prowling in places he shouldn't even know about, daring anyone to attack him.
One day, he would probably locate all the shrines(because from the tone the old woman had used, it was clear that she was implying there were more). It would be handy to have drop-off points peppered throughout Mustafu so that he could relay information without fear of getting hacked or traced. While Cheshire gained notoriety as a monster that would do everything but kill you and Deku became somewhat of a symbol of controversy considering all that he had done, the third part of his identity that he had accidentally created while hiding from the media had yet to get a name. Most that met him were either criminals trying to rob an easy target(those got to experience how it was like to have their heads cracked against walls), some lechers hoping for some fresh meat(he always took great care to ensure their most prized organs were damaged beyond repair) and occasionally, a desperate child trying to survive(there was a small part of him that burned brighter with rage every time he had to comfort a kid after disarming them). He made sure to stay out of the way of any villains after tagging them with one of Mei's trackers(she confessed that the only reason she had built them was to make sure she knew where he was) and sending the means of location to the group chat he had with his teachers. Thankfully, the devices all used different signals, so as much as Aizawa-sensei enjoyed complaining about it, he was still unable to track down his Problem Child using the locating methods.
It had been a dark day when he had stumbled upon a broken body, the blood still drying on the ground when he had stepped in a pool of it. A quick glance at the state of the corpse, and then at the height of the building next to it indicated that this was a suicide victim. Carefully, he had turned over the body and his breath caught in his chest at the sight of two unseeing eyes, framed by dark hair and a light dusting of freckles across the bloodstained cheeks. He blinked, and the face of the dead teenager was replaced by his own. Scrubbing his eyes violently, he had thrown up into a nearby dumpster, Bakugou's words echoing in his ears as the part of himself that had whispered that death was the solution resurfaced from where it had been buried under a mountain of apathy and anger. He almost had a nervous breakdown right there and then, but managed to pull himself together long enough to hold out for the next few hours. A very emotionally and mentally exhausting next few hours. After all, he couldn't just leave a dead body to cool. Not really in the mood for subtle hacking, he had placed the cameras in the surrounding area on feedback loops as he bundled the body in his hoodie. Lifting her onto his back, Midoriya took the nearest path to the forest he had frequented until the dog incident, and despite feeling eyes on him, no one approached him for a fight. Perhaps it was because those that were watching were just sympathetic individuals who knew who he was. Or maybe it was the possibility that the criminals with maybe two brain cells working at any given time finally figured out how to use them to preserve their continued existence. It took maybe an hour and a half to finish the journey, the green-haired teenager unwilling(or rather, unable) to bring himself to further damage the body he was carrying by travelling with the usage of his Quirk or the DubSteps. He had not been disturbed by a single soul. That, he was thankful for.
He didn't think that he could have shown mercy to anyone who stood in his way.
Digging a hole deep enough for the dead girl was more troublesome than he had expected, but using the SnapDragons over and over again until a decent grave had been dug was cathartic. Gently lowering the girl into the resting place he had made for her, he began the process of filling it in. When everything was done, he drew his knife in order to saw through a couple of sturdy branches. Using the roll of bandages he constantly carried around, he made a makeshift grave marker. Because while he didn't know who this girl was, and he doubted that anyone cared, she didn't deserve to be forgotten. Her face had been seared into his memory. Saying a quick prayer, he left. As often as he spit in death's face, Midoriya was still uncomfortable around the dead or the dying.
He had searched the news for days afterwards, but no sign of the girl with blue eyes ever made an appearance. Hacking the police department for their missing people reports also yielded no results. Not surprised, but still sad at the same time, he had visited her grave with a couple of items to make it better. The makeshift marker stayed, but he also added a simple stone one that he had purchased from a shop. The grass had already begun to cover the traces of damage, and he planted a few flowers. A spider lily, despite how cliche it was. A white carnation that he had found while exploring the forest. He would add some more whenever he felt like it was right to do so, but for now, the two were more than enough. He spent a few hours there, rambling about the recent events of his life despite there being no one to hear him. Midoriya didn't exactly know why he was doing what he was doing. Still, when he left, he couldn't help but feel like he had done something right afterwards. Shaking himself from the dark path that his thoughts had started to take, he blinked in surprise when he realized that he had somehow managed to wander all the way to Hosu while walking through his memories. Numbly realizing that maybe that was the reason his legs were starting to ache, Midoriya wondered briefly if he should run all the way back before his eyes settled on a particular building. Humming as the beginnings of an idea clicked together in his mind, he made his way towards it. Endeavour was still on his hit list. Might as well add another file or two to his project.
Todoroki Rei turned the page of the book she was reading for the umpteenth time, smiling softly. She had read this book enough times to memorize it, but the story never failed to help her pass the time. Plus, her Shouto had finally turned up to visit her. It had taken some time, but they had slowly started to repair their relationship. There was a sour edge to her smile when she remembered why exactly her relationship with Shouto had been abruptly severed and left to rot for years. Still, she was far too weak as a single person in order to even try and scratch the protective barrier the Number Two Hero had surrounded himself with. For now, the ability to live in relative peace(minus a "visit" every few months or so from the fire-user himself, almost like he was trying to threaten her into staying chained to the hospital) and interact with her children was more than enough for her. Maybe one day she would get the courage necessary to stand up against the man who had broken her psyche and left her teetering on the edge of suicide at the beginning of her stay in the hospital. Until then, she would pass the time with the same devices that had allowed her to stave off boredom. There was a knock at the door. Her eyes briefly darted to the source of the sound, and thinking that it was a nurse, she called for whoever was at the door to come in. Most of the staff rarely gave her even the simple courtesy of knocking before they barged in, whether just to check if she was still alive and kicking or in order to deliver her meals that tasted like ash. Expecting to see a man or woman clad in a white uniform along with the usual hospital scrubs, Rei was entirely unprepared to meet eyes with a hooded, masked figure with the stature of a child.
She watched with a slowly growing sense of trepidation when the stranger stepped through the open door and closed it behind themself without making a sound. He wedged something that looked suspiciously like a knife into the doorframe, and the sound of the lock engaging was mixed with the hair-raising noise of metal crumpling against metal. It was soft enough that she would have missed it if she wasn't paying attention, but the presence of the second noise indicated that this mystery individual was ensuring that the door remained shut even if the key to the lock was used. Fighting down the urge to panic and scream, she asked them what they were doing here and how they had gotten in. Despite not being able to see the newcomer's eyes due to the shadows cast over their face, she got the distinct impression that they were rolling their eyes at her questions. She felt a flash of embarrassment, then indignation at her own reflex to an unknown individual's disapproval. Her hand strayed to the panic button, and she was about to press it when the newcomer pulled his hood down, revealing a mop of green hair. The individual before her was effeminate, but the curve of his jaw was sharp enough for her to determine his gender. A quick motion later, the surgical mask concealing the bottom half of his face was removed to reveal a sheepish smile and curiously enough, freckles on both cheeks, four forming the outline of a diamond on each one. She gazed blankly for a few more seconds at the child who had broken into her hospital room, then it clicked in her head. She had seen this kid before. It was hard to forget someone when they had stolen the spotlight of the UA Sports Festival continuously, even when the only one she was looking for was her Shouto. Midoriya Izuku offered her a bow, before dragging up a chair to sit in. His smile died, eyes dimming alongside the extinguishing of the action that made him look younger than he actually was, replaced by a haggard expression more suited to be found on one of the elderly patients she saw in the rare occasions Rei was able to get out of her room for some fresh air.
It was almost fascinating how much the teenager before her hid from the world despite the emotions written across his face coming from his heart. His eyes were tired and wouldn't look out of place on the face of an insomniac. Yet, they possessed a clarity that was only born through pain. They said eyes were windows to the soul, and no one she had met in her life fit the description as well as Midoriya Izuku did. It was like peering into a well late at night and attempting to find the bottom. His emerald eyes were dull, but they were bottomless pools that sent shivers down her spine. If she was feeling poetic, she would attribute their likeness to the sea, beautiful at first glance, but hiding things darker than black within them. She absentmindedly wondered what he could have possibly gone through to have more skeletons in his closet than she did in hers, despite the age difference. Her instincts told her that he was dangerous, even more so than her "husband", but this wasn't the first time she had sat down and thought about the green-haired teenager, rather it was but the first time she had actually met him in person.
Midoriya began to speak about a possible case he was building against Endeavour, and the jolt that ran through her system at the thought of someone who had seen through the lies and deceit without turning a blind eye to the torture her family had gone through, someone willing to help. And this person was a teenager who wasn't even able to legally consume alcohol. Rei suppressed the familiar stirrings of bitter anger as he laid out his case in front of her. She stopped him before he could get too far, mentioning discreetly that the walls had eyes and ears. Much to her surprise, the child laughed, a cruel and twisted thing that would have sounded dismissive if it had been directed at her. Tapping his eyes, Midoriya revealed that he had placed all the recording devices that he could find on loops, and when he couldn't do that, he had just shorted them out. After that revelation, Rei was more than a little in awe of the teenager, not having expected him to have such a concrete plan or the means to carry it out. Still, even as he systematically ran through the list of information that he had gathered on Endeavour's misdeeds(and to her growing surprise, he had managed to unearth plenty of the man's skeletons), she felt a sliver of doubt. Despite having good intentions and the evidence to back it up, it would be all too easy for the Number Two Hero to arrange for an accident to occur, snuff out his opposition before it could gain weight. If he could keep his wife in a hospital under the pretence of a "mental breakdown" for a decade and then some, he could just as easily ensure that Midoriya was silenced. Seemingly sensing her thoughts, the green-haired teenager paused in order to ask her what was wrong. She voiced the doubts growing in her head, and in response, she got a twisted smile.
If All Might's smile promised that everything would be alright, a beacon of hope in the midst of despair, then Midoriya's smile promised the destruction of those who would oppose him, the darker side of him given form even though the world was at peace. Still, she couldn't help but remember each and every splash this kid had made, the rumours flitting around about a boy from everywhere. Rei remembered the reverence in Shouto's tone as he had described his classmate, painting a picture of something rather than someone. Midoriya was almost unassuming in person. If she had passed him on the street while he was disguised, she wouldn't have even batted an eye in his direction. Yet, he still held the attention of the public by its reins, sparking arguments and debates that had even spread to the staff of the hospital, judging by the way some of them had gotten heated. Oddly enough, the expression on his face, something that should have made her shrink in fear was comforting. Almost like she had been acknowledged by the Grim Reaper and told that it was not yet her time. In the silence, the teenager spoke of how he had been fighting the world since day one. That he had experienced far too much to be brought down by an upstart who had to maintain his own image. Almost like he had been reading her mind, he began counting on his fingers the number of enemies he should have lost to, but didn't. The list was much longer than she had expected. For the briefest moment, lightning appeared to dance across his body, lighting up his eyes with the feral nature he had been concealing all the way up to now. The primal part of her brain demanded that she run away before this predator chose to hunt her down. The more rational part of it was starting to be convinced by his words.
The final card he placed on the table was an almost casual manipulation of her guilt for permanently scarring her Shouto. If she hadn't been searching for any hint of his true intentions of visiting, Rei would have missed the way he phrased his next few statements. Rolling up a sleeve, he exposed a burn in the shape of a handprint. She felt a sick sense of horror mixed with familiarity as he explained how most of the marks on his body had come from a single individual, one that had been admitted to UA because of his powerful Quirk. Her mind couldn't help but draw parallels, and once the links were there, there was little more she could think about. With a bitter smile and a hint of sadness in his eyes, Midoriya explained that he couldn't just sit by and do nothing, knowing that he could have done something to help her situation. The walls she had put up crumbled almost immediately, and she both cursed and admired the almost practiced way he had smashed down the barriers that she had clung onto in order to not lose her mind once more. She took a deep breath as he handed her a bulging file. Flipping through it, she stopped at a single page, photos of Shouto's scar attached to it, along with a testimony in his handwriting. She brushed her hand across the words, resolve solidifying. She was done hiding from the world.
"What do you need from me?"
As satisfactory as that visit had been, Midoriya still felt a tad guilty for discreetly manipulating the older woman. From the look on her face as he mentioned the things Bakugou had done to him, she knew what he was doing. Still, he had gotten what he had come for, and then some. Audio recordings of the entire conversation they were having. Phone numbers of Todoroki's other two siblings, plus the fact that Todoroki Touya, the oldest of Rei-san's children, had died. At least, that was the cover story. She had explained how before Todoroki had discovered his Quirk, the eldest of the four was Endeavour's first weapon. With a Quirk similar to the bastard's Hellfire, only stronger, his downfall(just like his siblings) was that his body couldn't keep up with his ability to produce flames. Probably due to Rei-san's weak constitution. He had idly noted how similar this "Touya" was to Dabi, and set a reminder to subtly prod him about it when he had the chance. It would be useful(and something straight out of a television drama) for Endeavour's supposedly dead son to return from beyond the grave in order to drag his father down to hell. He snickered at the thought, making sure that the file was safe in his bag despite the fact that he had copies of it online and offline. It was his first version, and held a special place in his heart because of it. Taking the train back(hoping that a Nomu wouldn't show up to ruin his day), he made a pitstop at the tunnel in which he had nearly died at the hands of the Sludge Villain. Running a hand along the wall, he wondered briefly how different the world would be if he hadn't decided to fight back. If he had just given in and drowned in the embrace of a villain. Or perhaps if he had taken the plunge. Shoving those thoughts to the back of his head, he replaced his surgical mask with a gas mask, and the SnapDragons with a pair of latex gloves. Carefully arranging the cans of spray paint in a line on the floor in front of the wall, he got to work.
After defacing that graffiti of Endeavour, he had started learning how to properly spray paint images rather than just add on to existing ones. A few days back, he had already made his mark on the rooftop on which All Might had left him(unknowingly) to die, his dreams discarded and broken. That roof had gotten something that had taken him more time than it should have for him to do(probably because he hadn't had a gas mask at that point of time and the fumes were starting to get to him), a drawing that could only be viewed from the air and at a certain angle. It was a hooded figure kneeling on the ground, throwing up peace signs. They were facing several other humans in motorcycle helmets, aiming their firearms at the kneeling individual amidst a burning background. Scrawled in white on the back of the hoodie was the words "You are free" in capital letters. In a corner of the drawing, he had quickly added the Guy Fawkes mask that had begun to be used again as a sign of protest after his appearance in the Sports Festival before leaving. He had seen his drawing on the Number Three Hero's social media soon after, and knew that the lingering feeling of being watched had been correct. For the tunnel, he was taking a different approach. He had most likely been influenced by the girl he had buried with his own two hands, but he didn't mind it. This was akin to a homage for her. He sketched the outline of a simple tombstone in white with the words "Here lies the forgotten" in black. Adding the flowers he had placed at the site of her burial in front of it, he took a deep breath and summoned up the image of the unknown girl that was constantly floating around in his subconscious. With it in his head, he began to draw his best attempt at what she would most likely have looked like alive.
It was mentally and physically exhausting(at one point he had to suspend himself in midair in order to reach the height he required of the mural), but at the end of it all, he surveyed his work with a mixture of pride and regret. He would always regret not being just a few minutes faster. It might have determined the difference between life and death. Ignoring the twinge in his heart, he dipped his fingers in paint in order to add a few fine touches that wouldn't be possible with spray paint alone. He had done his best to draw the girl, but alive. She was leaning against the edge of the tombstone, an umbrella propped over her head as she sat next to the grave. He had drawn her in the hoodie he had buried her in, a simple grey one with red lining the sleeves and the cuffs. Unlike the image in his head, this girl had eyes the colour of sapphire, blazing with life. He had drawn a faint halo over her head, and the outline of two wings tucked against her back. He had made sure to give her a smile, having experienced more than a few nightmares about the mystery girl throwing herself off the roof of a building just before he had gotten there. Smiling softly, he signed off with the Guy Fawkes mask. Hesitating as he packed his things, he used the remnants of the paint on his fingers to carefully write an apology to the person he hadn't been able to save. If Midoriya really thought about it, the apology was also directed towards all those that he would never know, would never be able to save. Saying a silent prayer, he left before the paint could begin to dry.
In the evening, he went over to visit Mei for the first time. Her father, a big man with the lean muscles a mechanic obtained from lugging around pieces of metal was the one to invite him inside, citing that his daughter was currently taking a nap. Nodding absentmindedly, he surveyed the room, wondering not for the first time why his partner would harbour such darkness in her heart. Stiffening when his drifting eyes caught the shrine in a corner of the room, he felt a pang of guilt when he realized that her mother was dead. Silently, he followed the man(who had just told him to call him Dad, much to his embarrassment), finding Mei with a blanket draped over her as she rested her face against a table, hands still clutching what were probably parts for her latest invention. Her father patted him almost harshly on the back, leaving with a not-too-subtle warning about how he would die painfully if he hurt his daughter. Midoriya managed to shut his mouth before it could betray him and mention how often he got into trouble. Carefully prying the items from her hands, he located her bedroom before gently picking her up and transporting Mei to a proper bed. Avoiding looking at anything in the room, he leaned over to press a kiss to her forehead and closed the door behind him. Searching for her father, he mentioned that he was going to leave considering she needed as much sleep as she could get. The older man gave him an unreadable look, before smiling and saying that he was a good kid. Despite how the compliment warmed his heart, Midoriya shook his head, stating that he was the furthest thing from a good person. This got him a soft punch to the shoulder, before the man told him that Mei wouldn't have hung out with him if he was a bad individual, subtly implying that he was still curious what his daughter saw in him. The teenager offered him a smile, saying that Mei made him twice the person he originally was. This garnered a laugh. Mei's father patted him on the shoulder once more, saying that he was always welcome in their household. He ducked his head, not knowing how to respond to that. Stuttering out a thank you, he left.
Still, the encounter left him with a warm feeling in his body for the rest of the day, strong enough to outweigh the cold nature of his own house. He contemplated whether Mei's father would kill him if he decided to move in with them. That was an idea for another day.
He tightened his gear and ran diagnostic checks despite the information from class 1-B that they would be fighting robots in the final examinations. The written tests had been easy enough, but he highly doubted that the teachers would use the robots from the Entrance Examination in order to test them. Apart from a few individuals in the class, most of them had combat-oriented Quirks, and evne the Zero Pointer would be easy to take down after the training they had gotten. His suspicions were confirmed when way too many teachers turned up at the meeting grounds, and he began to formulate a hypothesis. When Nedzu popped out from Aizawa-sensei's capture weapon, he guessed that they would be paired up with other classmates with similar Quirks or fighting styles before having to defeat a teacher that counteracted them. Like how Erasure would be useful to force Yaoyorozu to stop relying so heavily on Creation, or Todoroki on Half-Hot, Half-Cold. His eyes drifted almost lazily across the selection of heroes as Ashido and Kaminari started complaining about how they were going to die. It was easy enough to match up each hero to one of his classmates, but he wondered who would be his opponent.
Definitely not Aizawa-sensei, the man knew that he enjoyed fighting Quirkless. Nedzu was a possibility, but he highly doubted that this would be a test of his planning skills, for the rodent would need equipment to face them, and it would be sufficiently easy to counter with the Quirks of the other students that were likely to go against the genius in order to stretch their thinking skills. Long-ranged combat against Snipe would be enjoyable, but not exactly something that he would struggle with considering his hero costume was strong enough to block bullets(and then there was the fact that teachers couldn't exactly harm their students too much). Thirteen would only require a blitz attack. His gas mask would work against Midnight. Cementoss was most likely going to be set loose on those who relied too much on brute force. Ectoplasm's clones couldn't exactly stand up to the air blasts he could create. Power Loader would be an interesting choice that would probably lead to a fight based on the equipment they were using, but it was more likely that the support-oriented hero would fight those reliant on mobility. Present Mic was most likely going to be set against Jirou, and he took a brief moment to hand the girl a gun and a pair of earplugs. It would make for an interesting fight when the Pro-Hero realized that she could shoot him. He frowned, counting the teachers once more and wondering why there was one short. His brain made the connection as he was paired up with Bakugou, and he was glad that his mask concealed the snarl that had appeared when All Might stepped out. Just great. He was being thrown into a battle scenario with the two individuals he hated the most. Listening to the conditions of success, he concluded that it would be in his best interest to ignore the two blonds and attempt to leave on his own. The cloak would probably work for that.
The bus ride to the battle site was silent other than All Might's attempt to start a conversation. Bakugou seemed to be deep in thought, something as rare as discovering that a cryptid actually existed. Midoriya busied himself with checking that the batteries to his equipment were at full capacity. He wasn't in the mood to play around, and if the Number One Hero wanted to fight him, he would respond with the intent to kill. With the double standards of the school, he highly doubted anyone would notice. He takes a quick nap in order to make sure that he is at full capacity, and much to his surprise, Shimura-san meets him on a familiar rooftop. She explains that with the constant training that he had been doing(funny that beating up criminals was considered training), One for All was ready to unlock the first of the six Quirks that had been passed along with it. Sensing his concern that he'll take too long in the mindscape, she laughs and explains that the abrupt dragging of him into his head was because she knew he would need all the power he could muster in order to win. Which meant that he needed a trump card. Almost rolling his eyes at the thought that he would need a second Quirk to keep up with All Might, the broken part of him roared in his head. Quashing it as a second individual showed up(Baldy), Midoriya was introduced to Banjo Daigoro, the fifth user of One for All. The muscular man demonstrated his Quirk, calling it "top grade" much to the teenager's irritation, but that was quickly silenced by the sheer number of possibilities that Blackwhip brought with it. He explained that the Quirk responded to strong emotions, and because it was being supercharged by One for All, it would be even more volatile. He filed that away, hoping that Recovery Girl wouldn't kill him, before attempting to summon Blackwhip. Agony struck his nerves like lightning as something akin to a black tentacle erupted from his palm(somehow not damaging his gloves, which was pretty handy), narrowly deflected by several thinner ones that Banjo-san had produced. He tested out what different emotions would do to it, noting how anger seemed to be the most effective.
Although considering how it was controlled by his emotions, the reason anger was the best was probably due to how he was constantly restraining his anger. He attempted to reduce the power of the Quirk, forcefully downgrading the output like how he used One for All and was rewarded with a dull ache as compared to the sharp pain from earlier. Nodding to the two previous users of One for All(their faces were displaying a combination of shock and pride), he tipped an imaginary hat and excused himself. He woke up just in time for the bus to halt, hand still tingling with the residual energy from mentally activating Blackwhip. As he walked alongside Bakugou to their starting area, he hunted within himself to look for the core of his new Quirk. While One for All felt like an overcharged battery, Blackwhip felt more like an itch beneath his skin, a quivering ball of darkness in his head. More than a little unsettling. He poked at it experimentally, stopping immediately when a small tendril began to break through his skin. He ignored the ramblings of the explosive blond about how useless Deku would stay out of the way while he "beat the shit out of All Might". He nodded absentmindedly, preoccupied with figuring out how he would use both at once without destroying his arms. His radar beeped in warning, and his instincts screamed. Powering his legs, he jumped into the air just before All Might busted through a nearby wall, eyes almost glowing threateningly. He seemed to be exchanging words with Bakugou, before realizing that his protege wasn't with his partner.
The Number One Hero looked up in time for him to fire a full-powered railgun shot at his injury. He growled when the bullet was swatted out of the air, but a quick check of the hand used to do it confirmed that he had at least taken damage from it. He continued firing as Bakugou attacked, aiming to do as much damage as possible before he made his retreat. Impressively, the man managed to fight his partner for this exercise even with his power suppressed and suffering from a rain of bullets. Still, Bakugou's flashy attacks managed to provide enough cover for three shots to land. Shoulder, left knee and lower back. Still, All Might was durable enough so that the bullets didn't come out through the other side, partially wedged into his flesh. They would do little more than irritate him. Pocketing his gun and producing a detonator, he timed it so that the three rounds shattered and sent shrapnel into the man's body just as Bakugou reared back for another attack. Midoriya landed on the ground gently, flooding his entire body with thirty five percent almost effortlessly(keyword being almost, his bones were definitely going to protest afterwards) in order to deliver a series of rapid blows to All Might's injury as the explosions blinded him. He took a "smash" to the chest for his troubles, but that was a small price to pay considering the fact that the Number One Hero was wiping away blood from the corner of his lips.
The impact condensers in his suit screamed in protest, but managed to dampen the blow enough so that he only smashed through two walls rather than the five he had expected. Coughing slightly, he was thankful that One for All did reinforce his body as well, or he would probably have some form of internal damage by now. Listening to the sounds of fighting and keeping an eye on it all with one of the cameras, he got to his feet and began the process of running for the exit gate. He was maybe fifty meters from the exit when his radar beeped once more, just in time for him to avoid a fist heading for his head. Pivoting on the spot and removing a can of gasoline from his belt, he threw it at the floor before firing off an air blast to keep All Might occupied. The man stepped in the puddle and Midoriya smiled, briefly overclocking his body in order to ignite the fluid with a stray spark from his body. It didn't do much to the Number One Hero apart from singing his clothes, but it provided valuable time. DubSteps whirring to life, he leapt for the exit once more. Still, the Symbol of Peace grabbed him by his collar and pinned him to the ground. Raising a fist, he brought it down on Midoriya as he attempted to escape.
Two blows before his impact condensers were overloaded and failed. Three more before the liquid body armour he had beneath his suit broke, sending shards into his chest. He coughed, mask receding in time for him to turn to the side and spit the blood building in his mouth onto the floor. Only then did All Might hesitate, offering him a way out through surrender. He almost growled at the offer, subtly turning his hand over so that the palm was facing All Might's face. He still had a variety of back up plans, but everything that he could think of involved some form of bodily harm or things that weren't exactly "hero-like". Searching for the sensation, he flooded his body with One for All and grinned ferally when Blackwhip roared to life.
Aizawa paused when what appeared to be a tentacle erupted from Midoriya's palm and smacked the Number One Hero with enough force to send him flying, staring blankly at the screen and wondering if he was hallucinating. He exchanged an incredulous look with Recovery Girl. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu wandered over to see why their teacher had stopped, just in time to watch the tentacle split into smaller tendrils and bind All Might. With a battle cry, the green-haired teenager hurled the hero away before stumbling through the exit, blood dripping from his mouth and clutching his hand. He sighed, rubbing his dry eyes as Shuzenji announced how Bakugou and Midoriya had passed.
Why was it that his Problem Child always found some way to escalate the situation?
Yaoyorozu let out a soft laugh while Todoroki snorted, and then he realized with a small trace of embarrassment that he had spoken out loud.
Midoriya staggered away from the testing zone, feeling like he had been hit with a truck. His left hand was most likely broken judging by how it was throbbing with pain, the shards of his body armour were grinding against him with each step he took. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he removed his mask in order to get some breathing room. Preoccupied with taking a step forward, and then another, he crumpled to the ground when his foot caught on an uneven portion of the ground. The jarring shock travelled through his body, making his hand scream even louder. Coughing twice to try and expel the blood building in his throat, he rolled over to face the sky and took gulps of much needed air. Shakily removing the top portion of his hero costume, Midoriya removed the remnants of his body armour before biting down on the reinforced fabric. Removing his knife from its sheath, he took another deep breath before plunging it into the first wound and opening it enough for his fingers to extricate the shrapnel from his chest. Tossing away the bloody piece of armour, he prepared to repeat the process once more before a gust of wind brought his attention to All Might. The man had Bakugou over one shoulder, and his face abruptly paled at the sight of his student conducting an impromptu surgery on himself. Before he could attempt to defend his actions, he was hoisted into the air and arrived back at the meeting area. Shaking his head to attempt to clear it, he noted absentmindedly that his vision was blurring. All Might released him as Recovery Girl hobbled over with Aizawa-sensei in tow. Behind him were Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, and the four blanched at his state of undress and more importantly, the blood dripping from seven open wounds. The elderly nurse screamed at the Number One Hero for being reckless, earning a laugh from Midoriya just before his legs gave out beneath him. His face narrowly missed contact with the floor as his homeroom teacher lifted him back to his feet. The normally tired looking man was looking unusually lively, an expression of rage on his face. Before he could ponder why his teacher appeared so angry, Todoroki laid a cool hand on his shoulder. Almost moaning at how amazing the sensation was, he allowed his classmate to lead him to the field infirmary Recovery Girl had set up as Yaoyorozu fretted over his injuries. He waved a hand, narrowly avoiding slurring his words when he mentioned that he was alright.
He quickly withdrew that statement when four incredulous glares were turned onto him.
Still, he felt a trace of satisfaction at having outpowered All Might. It would have even been considered a success if he wasn't bleeding profusely at the end of it all. Midoriya made a mental note to tell Mei about how the liquid body armour shattered when too much force was applied to it. Practically thrown onto one of the beds, he relaxed and tried his best to sink into the pillow. Recovery Girl approached him with a syringe, and his last coherent thought before being plunged into darkness was that he hoped he wouldn't let slip any of his plans while drunk off the pain.
The rest of class 1-A fought valiantly, but some still failed to defeat their opponents. Aizawa almost snickered when Hizashi started running away from Jirou when she produced a gun(he had a sneaking suspicion the Problem Child had given it to her) and started taking potshots at the blond man. The item managed to help her keep the hero at bay long enough for the duo to escape through the exit gate. The purple-haired girl had approached Aizawa soon after, asking for Midoriya's whereabouts so that she could return the pistol to him. He had told her that he was currently in a medically-induced coma as Recovery Girl performed surgery on him, and almost immediately regretted the words when she paled abruptly before running past him into the infirmary. When she wasn't kicked out by the elderly nurse, he assumed that she was going to be joining Todoroki and Yaoyorozu in waiting for their green-haired classmate. Bakugou had recovered soon after, according to the sounds of explosions, and had immediately been booted out of the infirmary by a blast of ice. Not in the mood to handle the explosive blond, he ordered him to leave since the exercise was over. Bakugou scoffed, but did as Aizawa said. The teacher wondered briefly if the true reason for placing the two in the same group was really because Nedzu wanted them to work past their issues. After all, Midoriya seemed to be fine with the boy other than some disdain. He quashed the thought before it could start gaining momentum, but the seeds of doubt had already started growing in his head. After all, it was clear that the Principal thought of Midoriya as some sort of puzzle to be solved. He made a mental note to do some research on their past in order to get a clearer picture of the situation.
When Hizashi came in, nursing bruises and complaining, he cut his loud friend off by telling him that the Problem Child was in a bad condition. Rather than screaming his head off like Aizawa had expected, his friend quieted down almost immediately, a series of emotions flitting across his face(surprise, horror, anger) before he took a deep breath and stepped through the curtains to the field infirmary. When he didn't come back out, Aizawa sighed and returned to watching the screens. Nemuri had lost and would be joining them soon. He was almost one hundred percent certain that she would join Hizashi in watching over Midoriya. Unlike his own rocky start with the green-haired child after accusing him of not having potential(many sleepless nights had been dedicated to remembering that moment and he had finally realized that his student hadn't even been surprised that his Quirk was being erased), his friends had quickly developed soft spots for the anarchist. Hizashi constantly prattled on about how his essays were controversial, but still contained truth and facts to back up his statements. He never complained about grading Midoriya. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. Nemuri was the first one to actually attempt to create some sort of relationship between herself and him, citing how he always seemed so lonely in class. Aizawa smiled at the reminder of how his job as the single brain cell of his friend group had been delegated to the Problem Child as soon as he had become part of their group. Something that he seemed to be used to, making sure that the stupid stunts that Hizashi pulled never caused anyone harm and even ensuring that Nemuri got home after drinking way too much during their meetings.
At first, the boy had been cold and clinical, most of all to himself. Yet, the USJ had quickly shown why he acted the way he did. Aizawa had watched with blood trickling into his eyes as he faced off against a monster that had shut him down in seconds, taking blows that should have killed him without flinching in order to kill the monster with an explosion. Even with his injuries, he still duelled Shigaraki, managing to disable both his hands before his body gave out. Even then, he had stared death in the face, not backing down for an instance.
Midoriya was the type of person to ensure that he was bloody and broken before he even allowed those he cared about to get hurt. He would have compared the boy to All Might, except everything he did was always at the pinnacle of efficiency. He hazarded a guess that his student would simply cut his arm off if it was stuck in a trap. A mindset like that was unhealthy, especially considering how big of a target he had placed on himself. Aizawa sighed once more. If he had just expelled Midoriya at the beginning of the year, he wouldn't have to worry about anything like this. Yet, without the green-haired boy, he would be attending his students' funerals. Once again, he wished that he had his sleeping bag on him at that moment. His pride as a teacher was at stake here, and he would rather die than watch his student systematically destroy himself in order to win. Nemuri walked in, complaining about how her whip was stuck. She quickly shut up when he relayed the news to her, changing course to walk briskly towards the field infirmary. He almost cracked a grin at the sight of the mask she usually wore being shattered by the mere mention of their Problem Child in danger. Seeing that there were only two or three fights left, he stretched and delegated the task of watching everything to Thirteen before heading to join his friends.
As alone as his Problem Child seemed determined to be, there were still so many people that cared about him. And while he would never admit it, there were already adoption papers in his drawer for Midoriya(although he had a feeling Hizashi and Nemuri would fight him for joint custody) after hearing from Shuzenji about how the boy's mother had seemingly vanished. He cared for his students, and so did his friends.
But Midoriya?
Midoriya Izuku was family.
And that's a wrap. With this, my one month break from my stories has come to a close. Here's a little bit of fluff to end off for now. I'll be back, but I don't know when. It's been a wild ride, and I hope y'all continue to love this story as much as I do. Sorry if I take too long to come back, especially considering exam season is drawing near. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter of Shattered for a while, and I'll catch you next time. Check out my other stories. To those that have stuck around since the start, thank you for your continued support! Most of my motivation comes from you guys. Read, review and tell me if you enjoyed it. See ya.