"Can I be a heroine? Even when everyone else has lost hope?"

As soon as Izuku heard that question it was as if everything had stopped, in front of him was no longer the girl he had saved so many years ago, but his younger self-crying as he faced him with tears begging to be saved. The greenish man's will was to deny it, crush her dreams so he would not have to suffer the same fate as him, but Izuku could not say anything.

Watching the girl begging for the answer he had desperately wanted for so many years, took all the strength out of his body, his legs were practically shaking.

"I-Can I be a he-hero? E-even without a quirk!"

"No…why did you have to do that?" Asks Izuku in his mind with his clenched fist staring at her, his mind was racing. "Come on Izuku, just tell the truth, say no..."

"Be a hero, huh?" Comments Izuku melancholy, with his voice coming out almost like a sob, which made the man get irritated with himself by the tone.

"NOT! STOP! DO NOT SAY ANYTHING!" Screams Izuku in his mind closing his eyes tightly.

He was not a hero, he was the ghost of one, Deku's broken soul, he had no right to say if she could or not to be a hero; it was not his duty to spread hope, but justice for the people who were gone, everyone who died in the war. Izuku had to be better; he had to make up for all his mistakes.

(Flashback.)

"You want to talk about it?" Ask Monoma standing next to Izuku, the two were in an improvised cemetery that had a small tomb with the name of Midoriya Inko and Toshinori Yagi.

The greenish fell silent watching the tombstones with a faraway look in his eyes before turning his head to the blonde-haired person beside him.

"…They didn't believe me." Comments Izuku making the blonde stare at him without understanding. "As you know, I was born without quirk, when I found out I was desperate, I was so injured at the time and they were the ones who gave me the two biggest hits I've ever taken..."

Monoma nodded as Izuku started to shake, the blonde-haired person lowered his head deep in thought, remembering his own problems involving his quirk. Suddenly the static can be felt making the boy look again at the greenette that started to glow slightly.

"They denied my dream at first, they thought I could not be a hero and now… I think they were right, but I cannot give up, I am the strongest hero now and I must protect all the people who count on us." Comments Izuku with the One for all disappearing after a few seconds, he turned to the blonde-haired person and gave a weak smile with tears falling from his eyes. "I know you all count on me, that whether I like it or not is my responsibility due to my selfish dream, but that still doesn't change that this weight is almost crushing now, without them..."

"You mean our responsibility isn't it?" Comments the blonde-haired person making the green face him. "We are in a difficult situation and I won't lie that they were wrong. Facing someone like All for one without any quirk is suicide, but… You don't have to do it alone Midoriya-san and for me, you are the most heroic from all of us, not for your quirk but for who you are, never give up, always rise no matter what they throw at you."

Those words made Izuku widen his eyes as he looked at the blonde man who let out a sigh before placing his hand on the greenette man's shoulder.

"You are a hero, the best of us, and nothing will change that."

(End of flashback.)

"You are asking the wrong question." Deku-ghost declares making Eri face the vigilante confused.

"Being a hopeless hero is not the most important thing, but whether you are ready and willing to suffer the consequences of it is." Elaborates the vigilante with Eri waving slowly to him. "All Might had lost part of his lung and stomach while facing All for one. Being a hero is not about saving people, nor being a symbol is about not being afraid to do what is right, not caring about the consequences , people will judge you and deny you regardless of what you do; being a hero is trying and trying until you have no more strength in your body to continue."

Eri's eyes were completely wide as she heard the hero's explanation, his melancholy and confident tone for some reason reminded her even more of the original Deku, her hero. The girl was thoughtful thinking about his words, the memory of how Deku was hurting himself to save her during the fight with Overhaul kept running through her head.

At the same time, Izuku had a bitter taste in his mouth remembering each of their fights, especially the death of Monoma Neito, they both knew the risks and he did not want anyone to enter this war without being completely prepared.

"...I accept..." Murmurs Eri before putting the mask on her face. "Deku can always do anything, he was always a light for me, one that dispelled the darkness of my nightmares, removed the Overhaul, I can do that... and I will bear each of the consequences, that's what he would and so would I."

Upon hearing this Izuku could not help but have a small smile remembering himself when younger and during the war.

"What do you think of this Monoma-san? Not to hold all the weight on my shoulder, right?" Izuku thinks before starting to walk away making the girl widen her eyes at him.

"H-Hey where are you…" The girl starts when the Deku-ghost suddenly stopped and turned to her.

"You will come? Or was it all just empty words thrown to the wind?" Asks Izuku making the girl widen her eyes before smiling and running after him.

(Scene break.)

Chizome walked along the sidewalk alone at night, one of the few that was still there. However, there was one thing that caught the man's attention, and he was being followed. At first, he did not pay attention to this, thinking that after a while they would give up; however, this pursuit had already lasted almost an hour, which made the guard narrow his eyes before entering an alley.

As soon as he entered the alley, Chizome changed pace, starting to run and jumped onto a fire escape before pulling himself up using the grate, after which he jumped onto some pipes on the other side of the wall balancing on them, with that he looked down .

At that moment a female figure entered the alley, she was wearing a gray sweatshirt with a raised hood covering her head and had her hands inside the pockets of a pair of jeans, in addition, she was wearing boots. The woman looked around before removing her hands revealing that they were covered in woolen gloves, after which she lowered her hood showing that she was invisible, which made Chizome blink in confusion, he knew someone like that.

"…Stain? I know you are still here, I just want to talk, please..." Calls a female voice that made Chizome sigh slightly irritated, he really knew this person.

With that, the man leapt from where he was before making his way silently down the stairs, landing behind the woman.

"It is a little late for a walk Hagakure-san." Comments Chizome distractedly looking at the woman looking for any kind of weapon on her.

"…I have to talk to him." The woman declares suddenly making Chizome raise her eyebrow.

"Him? Who is him?" Asks the guard in a confused tone matching the tone with his expression while inside his mind raced to understand what the woman in front of him was talking.

Hearing this Hagakure let out a sigh before taking a step forward causing Chizome to tense up at that.

"Are we really going to play this little game? I'm talking about my friend, Midoriya Izuku, who has been secretly acting as a vigilante for almost three years since the U.A." Explains Hagakure before she was pushed against the wall and felt a knife against her throat.

Chizome stared at the woman with a frown on her face, frustration on her mind trying to understand how the woman in front of her had found out about this, Mei, Izuku and he had taken numerous precautions to make everyone think they were dead. Now it seemed like it was all for nothing if she had found out, he needed more information...and maybe do something Izuku would hate.

"Like?" Questions Chizome angrily.

"Y-you are good, you fooled everyone, but I've been investigating this for almost three years. I didn't become a reporter by chance, Izuku-kun's body was never found after the explosion; since I discovered that, I started to investigate discreetly, I knew the risks, but I couldn't leave him alone with that, not after everything he lost for us..." Explains the woman while Chizome stared at her.

He suddenly growled before releasing her as he holstered the gun, at the same time the girl bent over a little coughing and rubbing her throat.

"…Okay, you have my attention." Chizome grumbles before taking a quick look around. "Also, sorry about that, do you like Katsudon? It is on me."

Upon hearing this, the woman's eyes widened, already understanding the code, calling him Katsudon, really intelligent, anyone who doesn't know him wouldn't know they were talking about him.

"Sure, can you have some broccoli?" Questions the woman making the man stare at her irritated before sighing and nodding.

With that, the two leave the alley and start to walk away.

(Scene break.)

Eri was emotional as she looked at what appeared to be an abandoned building with the Deku-ghost besides her looking at it with narrowed eyes. The two were on top of the roof of the building that was opposite the other.

It was as if she was inside one of the comics that her aniki showed her of some ancient heroes, at that moment she noticed that the Deku-ghost was staring at her making her cringe with the intensity of his gaze.

"Focus." Orders the older vigilante before turning to the building frowning. "They are there; we need to go in."

Hearing that, the girl blinked in confusion, returning her gaze to the place and blinked in confusion before turning to the Deku-ghost. "How do you know? I cannot see anything there."

"Don't look for people, look for details." Answers the vigilante before pointing to the windows. "The windows are new and you can't see anything through them, no lights on, but you can see that in the alley there's a little light there, also look at the street it's in good shape although all the buildings are about to fall down, someone is keeping the place well-structured so it doesn't fall, now let's go."

Upon hearing this, the girl blinks, still confused, before getting up, taking a very long rope from what looked like a bag she was carrying before starting to try to tie the end to what looked like a hook. The Deku-ghost looked at it in silence before sighing and grabbing the girl around the waist and jumping before a whip made of energy came out of his fist hitting the building.

The vigilante swung through the air as Eri watched with wide eyes before he let go and landed silently on the ground behind two hooded men. The girl huffed in disgust as he released her before delivering a kick to the side of one of the guards' heads causing the other to turn around.

However, he could not do anything when he received a blow to the throat before several more punches hit him in several places before receiving a final kick that sent the man into the wall hitting his head before passing out.

"F-Fuck… Dude, you are…"

Before the man could say anything, Deku-ghost landed a final kick to his jaw, knocking the bandit unconscious.

Eri watched in a daze as the vigilante took down the two criminals in practically seconds, a small feeling of relief appearing in her chest since she was with him breaking into a building to save someone. At that, the Deku-ghost calmly opened the door and entered the room, seeing this she quickly followed him running.

They walked for a few moments when they found what appeared to be an elevator, she was about to press the button when the Deku-ghost went to the doors and opened them with his hands, after which he jumped into the elevator shaft.

Cautiously the girl looked into the room before the energy whip grabbed her waist and pulled her into the pit, eliciting a small scream from her. However, she soon found herself being placed next to the vigilante who opened a ventilation duct, with that the two entered it and began to crawl through the narrow space.

He suddenly stops and looks down, curious, Eri slowly sneaks up to him and looks into what appears to be a gigantic underground lab with some metal beams all around. However, that was not what caught Eri's attention, but the various Nomus inside large capsules, as well as the boy she saw earlier who was trapped on a table with several members of Shiroi Zugaikotsu and some scientists.

The girl's eyes widened in horror at that, even more so for her past, having brief glimpses of what the Overhaul had done to her during her childhood.

"You do not have to come if you do not want to, just having come this far is impressive and you can consider yourself a hero." Deku-ghost declares while opening the duct and jumping on one of the beams before getting up in complete balance before looking at the girl.

Upon hearing that, her eyes widened before remembering again about Deku, how he faced all the Shiei Hassakai for her, to save her, and this boy needed a hero, she had to be that hero.

"No, I can do that..." Guarantees the determined girl raising her head before jumping to stand beside him.

"Well, come on, we need more information before attacking them."

(At the same time.)

Unbeknownst to them, a room next door had several cages full of people huddled together crying. However in one of them was a dog that was biting down on what looked like a padlock hard before a loud crack echoed. At this the dog walked away revealing that he broke the lock, with that the dog spat the object before leaving his cage and starting to run away.

(With Izuku and Eri.)

"So... what should I call you?" Asks Eri while the two walked through the beams making the man in front of her stop and turn his head to face her.

"What?"

"I mean your hero name, you know?" Comments the girl making the man stare at her for a few seconds before turning around and walking again, making her snort and follow him.

"Call me Deku-ghost." Answers the man.

Upon hearing the name, Eri's eyes widen, losing her balance, however a whip of energy grabbed her before she could fall. Upon noticing, this Eri let out a relieved sigh before being placed back on the rafter and looking gratefully at the ranger.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, anyway, that looks like their boss's office, let's go." With that the Deku-ghost jumped behind some boxes silently, being followed by Eri, however before she landed, he grabbed her and put her on her feet.

With that, the two entered the room before Deku-ghost immediately went to the computer, the vigilante cautiously turned on the computer before reaching into a bag and pulling out a pendrive before plugging it into the computer.

(Scene break.)

At the base of the vigilantes, Mei and Rumi were talking animatedly before a beep echoed from the computer. Suddenly Rumi blinked when she noticed that the pink one she was talking to disappeared from her front, with that the ex-heroine turned her head to the computer and saw Mei sitting in the chair before starting to open other screens by clicking quickly on the keys giving commands at high speed.

"...What the hell? You've never been so fast before..." Comments the disbelieving woman maneuvering her wheelchair to go to the younger one.

"Even if I not fighting in the field, I had to learn some tricks and train to be able to help them." Answers the pink one without taking her eyes off the screens.

Hearing this Rumi makes a face and watches the pink one working, a feeling of guilt entering his chest, after all, it was technically her fault for all of them being like this, she was one of the heroes of the war, one that lost, thanks to that the world entire was condemned while she was imprisoned. The woman clenched her fist on the sides of her chair frowning even more; back in the day she would have broken or even made a few cracks there, she was so weak.

"None of you should be doing this... it was supposed to be me... I... I apologize for everything, for having lost the fight..." The woman begins before Mei lets out a sigh, squeezing her hand. of the buttons before turning to face the woman in the wheelchair.

"Rumi, do not worry, there's nothing to apologize for, it wasn't your fault just All for one and we'll make sure he'll pay dearly for it." Guarantees Mei before letting out a sigh and crossing her arms facing the albino. "But I don't think that's why you're like this, is it?"

"No… It's just stupid, but I should be there, fighting is in my blood and now I'm sitting here in a hideout stuck in a damn wheelchair!" Exclaims Rumi irritated with a little burning in her eyes, something she promptly swallows before looking at the pink one who still stares at her with the same expression as before, which made the albino happy, she didn't want pity. "It's just pathetic."

"If you want I can create a prosthesis for your legs, so you could go back to fighting and stop feeling pathetic as you say." Comments Mei returning to work on the computer. "Anyway, I have to finish stealing all the information from that nomus factory for Izuku to destroy everything there."

"So it was really Izuku-kun who was doing this, huh? I love it when I'm right." Comments a female voice at the entrance of their hiding place, which makes both women turn around to see Chizome accompanied by a set of floating clothes.

"Hagakure-san?" Asks Rumi surprised, however Mei just gave the invisible woman a quick look before going back to her computer and giving a smile, with that she turns on her communicator in her ear. "Izuku, all done, you can knock the place down."

With that said, Mei turns to the two people who arrived and gives them both a stern look, something that surprised Rumi seeing the intensity of it.

"Chizome, explain now." Commands Mei with a tone that made both Rumi and Hagakure cringe.

"If you think this is scary wait until you see Midoriya." Grumbles the man before flinching with the look of the pinkette on him. "Ok, I understand, you are angry, but first let me explain what happened…"

(…)

As soon as he received Mei's answer, the Deku ghost removed the pendrive and pocketed it in his belt making Eri look at him.

"... What now?" Questions the girl, which made the Deku ghost stare at her.

"...What's your hero name? I can't call you by your civil name or girl while we're on the battlefield." Declares the vigilante making the girl blink in surprise at this before a determined look appears on her face as she takes her fencing sticks from her back.

"I am the new Deku." Upon hearing his answer, the Deku-ghost nods before his body begins to release smoke.

"Follow my lead Deku."

(Outside the office.)

"PLEASE RELEASE ME, I PROMISE NOT TO TALK TO ANYONE ABOUT THIS!" Implores the boy trapped in the metal bed before a scientist lets out a sigh and injects him with a tranquilizer that slowly puts the boy to sleep.

"Why do they always have to beg? It gets boring after a while... Also why don't we use the usual method of creating Nomus?" Asks the scientist turning to another.

"Because only All for one has access to the former criminal Twice's quirk, he wouldn't give anyone the formula for mass production of his strongest Nomus." Grumbles the other irritated scientist before blinking when noticing that his boss's office was full of smoke. "Why is there so much smoke in there? Did something explode?"

Suddenly the window in the room was broken as the Deku-ghost landed on the ground with smoke rising from its body; the vigilante calmly looked at each of the people there and narrowed his eyes before throwing several kunai knives at the guards, hitting them in the throat and killing them.

"FUCK ACTIVATE THE NO..." Shouted one of the scientists before something hit him in the back of the head making him fall unconscious, revealing that behind him was Deku who tightened his weapons even more while facing them.

With that, the guards and scientists attacked the two vigilantes, making Deku widen his eyes as he dodged a scientist's blow and kicked him away.

"Since when do scientists also fight!? In the comics, they always ran away!" Deku exclaims in shock before hitting one of his opponents in the face, knocking him down.

At the same time, the Deku-ghost kicked one of the scientists in the face, knocking him to the ground before landing a hook on the chin of one of the guards, after which he grabbed another opponent's fist before breaking his arm and punching him hard in the face.

"Real life is different from the comics, Deku, ignore that and just fight." Advises Deku-ghost before throwing several shurikens at a guard approaching Deku.

Noticing the man hit behind her, the girl waved before the two concentrated on fighting their opponents. It was thanks to that, however, that she did not notice one of the guards on the ground she would knocked out standing up and withdrawing his gun, pointing it at her.

However, before he could attack, a dog that bit his neck hard causing the man to scream as he was attacked by the animal attacked the guard.

Hearing this, the two guards turned to see the dog biting the man before letting go, its mouth was covered in blood, and upon seeing them the animal growled softly before calming down seeing the people lying around them.

"A dog? How did a dog get in here?" Questions Eri confused looking at the animal that slowly approached them, at that moment the Deku-ghost also approached, kneeling before removing his glove revealing a hand marked by some scars.

"Don't worry boy, we won't hurt you." Guarantees the older vigilante when the dog growled at the hand; however, the man did not show surprise or retreat.

Noticing this, the dog calmed down and sniffed the Deku ghost's hand before barking friendly and rubbing its head against his hand. After that, the guard got up and looked at the boy trapped in the metal table.

"Deku, take the boy off the table, I'll release the other prisoners." Commands the Deku-ghost making the girl blink in surprise.

"Other prisoners?" Deku asks in surprise, making the guard nod while putting the glove back on.

"Yes, this dog is a German shepherd, from Germany used as a guard dog and by the police, in Japan it is difficult to find one of these walking down the street, so it is obvious that he was already somewhere nearby, that is, more prisoners." Answers the vigilante before opening a couple of doors making the girl choke with the smell that came. "…Oracle, if you're still listening, notify the police about several people being held."

With that, the vigilante entered the room, meanwhile Eri swallowed hard before turning her attention to the boy trapped on the table and quickly started to free him from the table.

(Some hours later.)

Mina was in her new office drinking a glass of whiskey vigorously, she really needed this after Dabi's death and the new vigilante that showed up dismantling her and the other gangs' operations in Japan. Suddenly she received a call, which the pink one answered without much concern.

"This is Ashido, who is speaking?" Asks the slightly distracted girl, she could feel the alcohol having an effect on her.

"This is Mr. Compress, from the league of villains, unfortunately, we will no longer be able to give you the nomus, and the factory we gave you has been compromised and destroyed." Informs the villain making the pink one freeze with her eyes widening before a squeak sounded from the cell phone while an angry expression appeared on her.

"WHAT!?"

(...)

"W-what happened?" Asks Eri getting up from a sofa rubbing the back of her neck.

However, she soon widened her eyes seeing her surroundings unlike any place she knew before, she soon heard an amused snort and turned around only to widen her eyes upon seeing a person she never thought she would see again.

"Ha-Hatsume-nee?" Calls the girl with wide eyes when she sees the woman in front of her who smiled at her gently.

"Hi Eri-chan, how are you?" Greets the pink before Eri hugs her crying. "I missed you too."

It was at that moment that Eri lifted her head and noticed how Chizome was leaning against the wall with a very small smile on her face while Rumi was next to them sitting in the wheelchair with a serene smile on her face, in addition to the German shepherd sleeping on the floor right in front of the couch. However, what most caught the girl's attention was the Deku-ghost speaking softly with a set of floating female clothes, that is, Hagakure Tooru.

"Wait, if you are here and he is here then it means that..." The girl starts turning her gaze to the pink one who nodded, with that the two turn to the Deku-ghost who spoke with the invisible woman before to sigh.

With that, he removed his mask and turned towards them, causing Eri and Hagakure to let out a gasp of shock and wide eyes as they stared at Izuku Midoriya's face.

"Yes, I never died and honestly I didn't even want to do that, but..." Izuku begins before starting to walk towards Eri, with Hagakure following him. "We need help, and you reminded me of myself in the beginning when I wanted to be a hero… I should have taken you back home, but I think you deserve my trust after today."

"Welcome Eri-san and Hagakure-san, to the last resistance of the heroes."

And that's all folks. I wish you all a merry Christmas.