Eri slowly entered her apartment through the front door silently before locking it and leaning against it with wide eyes.
"I did that...I-I really did that..." The girl thinks in disbelief.
The craziest thing she has ever done, going out, as a vigilante in the middle of the night to rescue a boy was a huge success, now all that was left for her to quietly get back to her bed without her aniki finding out.
With that she went back to walking around the room silently with her eyes centered on the hallway door, she was almost entering the hall when suddenly a light turned on next to the sofa freezing the girl. Slowly Eri turned around to see Mirio sitting on the couch with a frown, having turned on a lamp next to the couch.
The blonde-haired person glared at her before looking at a clock on the wall, which made the albino girl follow his gaze and gulp when she saw that it was four in the morning.
"Damn it..."
"Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling right now." The blonde-haired person grumbles with a tired sigh rubbing his eyes, trying to ward off sleep before looking at the girl. "You cannot even imagine my fright when I noticed that you were not in your room at one in the morning."
"Aniki, I..." The girl begins before stopping thinking for a second about telling the truth to Mirio, however she stopped thinking about Deku and the others who had the secret, she couldn't do it with them.
With that, the two were silent just staring at each other before the blonde-haired person sighed.
"Okay, this has gone on long enough, you are grounded Eri, two weeks, you can only leave for school and come back here immediately." Orders Mirio with a severe tone making the girl widen her eyes.
"TWO WEEKS!?" Exclaims the girl with wide eyes causing the boy to raise his eyebrow.
"Three weeks." Upon hearing this, Eri's jaw drops, which makes Mirio, narrow his eyes at her.
"Would you rather have four?" Asks the blonde making Eri frown before returning to her own room, irritated.
Once that has done, the girl slams the door shut behind her before her entire expression of anger changes to one of surprise, excitement and shock, with which she pulls out a flip phone from her pocket and dials a number on it.
"Katsudon is exactly as you said..." Eri begins softly laying down on her bed looking directly at the door. "He grounded me... for three weeks."
"Understood, tonight I'll be back, get ready for training." Warns Izuku calmly before the call ends.
(Scene break.)
Mina watched with a grimace as the television ran an article about the newspaper about the destruction of a Nomus factory, as well as the members of her gang who were caught. Her anger was palpable; finally, the pink woman got the opportunity to climb even higher in the criminal ranks since she managed to infiltrate the U.A all those years ago.
Then the vigilante appeared, taking down big underworld schemes and putting fear in criminals, something that ended up frustrating Mina with the situation, especially with his henchmen now scared of him all the time.
The league of villains did not look like they were going to help now either, even more so after they lost one of their main members, Dabi, 'the hero hunter", they were trying to organize themselves first and observe their opponent. Mina was alone, if she wanted this vigilante dead, she would have to do it herself.
A growl escaped the woman before she took a deep breath as she leaned back in her chair, with that she picked up her glass of whiskey and downed it all. After that, she took out her cell phone and turned it on, scrolling through the list of contacts before calling one of them.
It was time to solve her problem and Mina knew exactly how to get started.
(Meanwhile.)
Momo stared at the television with a serious look while drinking a cup of coffee; the news seemed to spread like wildfire. The woman then got up and walked calmly to a huge window that showed the whole city.
She now lived in a penthouse in the tallest building in the city, since the war ended, Momo still had her quirk because the Yaoyorozus had paid the fine for her to still have it, at least before she was kicked out of the family. Which that drove the woman to do things she regretted in order to survive, even though she did not have many options at the time.
"Okaa-san? Good morning..." Murmurs a soft and childish voice that made Momo leave her thoughts and turn towards the stairs that led to the second floor of the penthouse.
Coming down the stairs was a child, a boy, he had black hair like Momo's though it was completely messed up with freckles on his cheeks and bright emerald eyes, and he was dressed in a simple red shirt and white shorts. She smiled at the boy and walked over to him, leaving her cup on the table before picking up the boy and lifting him onto her lap.
"Good morning Takeo-kun, how is my little boy today?" Greets Momo with a smile, which made the child smile at her and hug her.
Ganbaru Takeo, Ganbaru Momo's son and her most precious treasure, as well as the reason the woman was disinherited from the Yaoyorozu family. Momo was a determined woman and her biggest goal was to ensure her son's safety, no matter what the cost, she agreed with that and was sure that if he was with her, he would agree.
It was because of Takeo that Momo decided to start her own company, so she could raise her son without fear, it was also the first time she really abused her quirk, but now she didn't care anymore, when it came to Takeo, Momo would of everything.
"Okaa-san is thinking a lot again..." Comments Takeo making Momo blink and stare into her son's piercing eyes. "You always get like that when you're thinking about work, otou-san, or adult things like you say, maybe you're thinking about something more fun like ice cream or maybe…"
With that her son began a large amount of rapid and inaudible mumbling, which made the Ganbaru blink before smiling fondly remembering someone else she knew who had this same mania. However, she forced herself out of her trance to place Takeo at the table and fix breakfast for her son.
The woman ignored the boy's unstoppable muttering as she continued with her normal routine before finally sitting back in her chair and scanning the newspaper quickly before looking at Takeo.
Immediately, the television screen turned off, which caught the attention of the child who, as soon as he realized he was at the dining table, completely stopped his murmurs to start eating. Momo smiled at that, it always warmed her heart to see how her son was so innocent, something that reminded her a lot of his father.
In addition, that was something she was sworn to protect, something that could be at risk with the situation in the city, Momo was not an idiot, she could not be since she had to build her company from scratch and make sure the Yaoyorozus paid for what they did to her son. Momo started small, buying every one of their cars, or making sure they were impounded, after which he acquired all of the smaller associated companies that generated a good portion of their profits.
With that, she only had to wait a little longer before buying the Yaoyorozus' own company, leaving them completely destitute, after they disowned her for 'corrupting the lineage of the Yaoyorozus'. Normally Momo would not have bothered with revenge, but they ended up harming her son and that was unforgivable.
His actions had been cruel and vindictive, Momo knew that and was ashamed of having done that, but he would do it all over again if that were the case. However, that also worried her, with the new vigilante and the name he adopted. Would she be a target later? Of course, she was not an Ashido Mina in life, but she still did all those things before.
And the other thing that worried her, this new Deku, who the hostages revealed was called Deku ghost was an unknown quantity, she didn't know anything about him, it could be any person who somehow got the One for all, but it could also be him, and Momo didn't know what the worst case scenario would be.
The first could be complicated by having to prepare for a very likely attack in the future and the second, even though she might be able to stop Midoriya from doing something extreme, would still have the issue of her own sanity. The press conference worried her a lot, she lived with the original Deku, and she knew him very well and knew that he would never have done that with Dabi.
"Midoriya-kun..." Murmurs Momo with a tired sigh.
However, she did not notice that Takeo who stopped eating to turn to his mother with a curious and confused look heard her sigh.
"Midoriya-kun? Who is he?" Asks Takeo making Momo widen her eyes and turn to the child with wide eyes in shock. "It is the first time Okaa-san talks about someone with that tone…"
The brunette stared at the child not knowing what to say, while cursing that he had infected her with his habit of speaking his thoughts aloud sometimes. His son continued to stare at him with his green eyes before they flashed with excitement.
"Is that my Otou-san's name? He is coming back? I will meet him?" Takeo asks excitedly making Momo swallow hard, however before she could answer, and her cell phone started ringing.
Immediately the woman removed the device from her pocket and looked at the screen, at that, every ounce of emotion and joy in her eyes disappeared turning into a cold indifference that made Takeo blink.
"Okaa-san?"
"It is nothing Takeo-kun, your okaa-san just has to solve some boring adult matters." Guarantees Ganbaru before getting up from his chair and kissing his son's head making him laugh a little, with that she walked away from him.
Once out of his son's sight his gaze flicked to his cell phone screen, or rather the name of the person calling him and this time his eyes had an emotion in them, anger.
(Scene break.)
A girl walked silently through the tunnels of an abandoned subway, dark and worn; she was dressed in a pink coat with a raised hood and jeans with boots. The walk continued for a few moments before she finally exited through a tunnel that led into a forest.
Once there the girl smiled and started walking before a sweep and someone knocked her down landed on top of her restraining her. She looked up and saw Izuku's face who was staring at her with a frown upon seeing her.
With that, he stood up with an irritated sigh as he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked up at the sky that had the sun shining.
"I said I would call you when it was necessary, besides, weren't you grounded?" Asks Izuku making the girl laugh before lowering her hood revealing herself Eri.
"Sorry Deku-san, but I couldn't wait if I can help people I should try, isn't that the duty of a hero? Sacrifice yourself for the greater good, right?" Comments Eri making the green face her with a serious look before starting to walk forward ignoring her.
This caused Eri to blink in confusion before she followed.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Exclaims Eri as soon as she arrived at his side, which made the man look at her with the corner of his eye.
"How did you find this place anyway? I'm sure I had blindfolded you and I took several turns to deceive the path." Says Izuku making the girl cheer up.
"Ah, it was a little difficult, I may not be the best at it, but my Otou-san taught me a few things in case of being kidnapped by villains and how to get back home." Answers Eri a little proud of herself, which earned her a longer look of the greenish one. "I got attached to the paths you took only once without turning back and the sounds around, from there it was just a matter of retracing the path."
Izuku was silent as he heard this and nodded to himself, this was truly something Aizawa would teach a child, let alone one like Eri who lived in fear of being kidnapped.
(Flashback.)
"Problem child..."
Hearing this nickname being called Izuku turns away from the battered training dummy to face his former teacher glaring at him with a frown.
"You're doing it wrong..." Comments the former teacher making the green blink in surprise.
"What you mean?" Asks the boy making the man approach him.
"This is no longer a routine fight against villains, it's a war, you no longer have the luxury of holding back while fighting or even giving mercy, your blows were just to incapacitate... you have to be better, focus your strikes in effective regions, lethal regions, and hit hard." Declares Aizawa looking at the training dummy with a neutral look before turning around and starting to walk away again, being followed by Izuku.
"Remember Midoriya, just because you spared a villain and he changed by becoming an ally, it doesn't mean that everyone will be like that too and that if you spare one now later you may regret it, everyone's lives are in your hands ."
(End of flashback.)
He should have listened to Aizawa earlier, Izuku knew he had failed his teacher, but he was not going to fail again. Suddenly Eri found herself falling to the ground with a painful groan, she got up shakily and looked at the green man who stared at her with cold eyes and clenched fists.
"Lesson number one, your enemies will not wait for an invitation to attack you if they have the chance they will take advantage of it, be alert all the time." Izuku says before getting into a combat position facing the girl. "Now show me what you know how to do 'Deku'."
With that, Eri stands up and screams as she runs into the green ready to fight.
(...)
A police car drove down an empty road before stopping in front of a pair of destroyed gates with the walls smoking and broken with large pieces of rubble in the distance, it was the old school of heroes, the U.A. At that moment, the car doors opened revealing that it was Katsuki and Eijiro; they quickly closed the doors and quickly walked towards the wreckage and corpses around.
When the U.A. was completely destroyed, the dead heroes were left in place by the villains, as a message to the entire planet of the final outcome.
"Katsuki-kun... Are you sure about this?" Asks Eijiro worried looking around, which made the blonde narrow his eyes.
"I do not see any other way to get our answers, I have to know if he is dead or not Eijiro, that at the police station, Deku would never do that, never!" Katsuki growls giving the redhead a look that just shrinks averting his eyes.
"I know, but… it's been years since the U.A blew up, and if we find…you know, his body or we don't find anything." Declares the redhead making the blonde growl before approaching the already destroyed doors and kicking them.
The once great U.A. was now a symbol of the greatest defeat of the heroes and the ultimate victory of the villains, as they ended up with the hero who carried the One for All. A frown appeared on Katsuki's face at the memory of that battle.
(Flashback.)
"IBARA, YOU MUST LEAVE THE BUILDING NOW!" Exclaims Katsuki in his hero uniform shooting explosions like a machine gun at several Nomus while Eijiro fought anyone who approached him.
"We are going as fast as we can Katsuki-kun, but there are too many civilians here for us to evacuate, we're going as fast as possible." Announces Shiozaki through the communicator in Katsuki's ear.
The blonde-haired person snarled before clenching his fist and unleashing a massive blast that shook the ground sending several Nomus flying.
At that moment he saw one of his friends, Sero Hanta, being knocked down by several Nomus before a scream echoed and the helmet went flying, as well as an arm, at the same time he saw how Tetsutetsu was grabbed by a giant and muscular man holding one of the his legs and his head.
The boy roared in defiance throwing several punches at the monster's stomach while the sound of something breaking was heard and suddenly Tetsutetsu was split in two, with that the Nomu threw both parts away and roared at Katsuki.
"TSU-CHAN!"
The exclamation made the blonde widen his eyes and turned to see Tokoyami holding the injured frog woman, the two had their uniforms practically destroyed and covered in blood with Dark Shadow protecting them from several beams of energy concentrated on them. Unfortunately, the energy was so much so that it dissipated the shadow and hit the couple earning painful screams from both.
"SHIT!" Katsuki growls, they were being massacred, if Deku was going to win it had to be now.
Even the blonde himself felt exhausted, that at any moment he might fall, he wanted so badly to mourn and scream for his dead friends, but he couldn't, not now, Katsuki had to keep fighting. He saw how Eijiro also looked exhausted punching the Nomus away while his uniform was mostly destroyed.
"Katsuki-kun..." Calls the woman in his ear while the blonde shoots more at his opponents. "Katsuki-kun, if we don't make it..."
"NO, FUCK! DO NOT SAY THAT, IT IS NOT OVER YET!" Exclaims the blonde kicking a Nomu and shooting an explosion inside the creature's mouth, killing it. "WE ARE NOT GOING TO LOSE HERE!"
"Katsuki-kun, I love you..." After that, the sound that came from the communicator was just static, which was followed by an immense explosion that made the entire battle stop and throw Katsuki forward falling on top of Eijiro, the two rolled across the floor before stopping and looking up in shock.
The U.A. was on fire, but that was not what Katsuki was worried about, it was who was still in the building at the time.
"IBARA!"
(End of flashback.)
"You are thinking about her again right?" Asks Eijiro making the blonde stop walking, seeing this the redhead sighs. "Katsu… I know it hurts, I was there during the battle and lost a great friend, but we cannot live in the past, it is not healthy."
"Good to see we agree on this." Comments a new voice making the two turn around to see Kyoka wearing civilian clothes leaning against the door of a room on their side.
At the same moment, appearing from the corner of the corridor was Ochaco with his police clothes and gun in his hand; however, she soon relaxes when she sees who she found.
"You came here too..." Comments Ochaco thoughtfully making the purple girl wave to her.
"There was no way not to come after that apparition, especially considering everything." Kyoka mutters which makes Ochaco wave to her.
"I already checked the roof, that's where the explosion originated and I noticed a big hole that goes through all the floors to the ground floor, I was going there now."
"Then let's go, I have to make sure it's Deku…" growls Katsuki before walking away, receiving a worried look from Eijiro.
Quickly the redhead ran after his partner leaving the two women alone who faced each other before walking towards the cafeteria.
(With Katsuki and Eijiro.)
Once the two were at a safe distance so Kyoka could not hear them, Eijiro approached the blonde.
"Are you sure you are okay?" Asks the redhead receiving a look from Katsuki.
"No, I just want to find out if that shit nerd is still alive and if anyone else survived it... Maybe there is still a chance for Ibara..." Reveals Katsuki making the redhead sigh.
He should have guessed that, despite the two being in a relationship now, the redhead always knew that his boyfriend's first love was always a troublesome issue with him. Katsuki and Shiozaki had started dating in the middle of the war and even had a wedding planned, for when it was all over, then they lost and all plans ended.
It took a long time to get the blonde to do anything or even want to leave the house, but Eijiro managed with a lot of effort to convince him to become a police officer, they even entered into a relationship. However, Eijiro always knew that despite everything, Katsuki would always have a part of him that would belong to Shiozaki Ibara, no matter what.
Despite this, Eijiro promised that he would always side with Katsuki and he would keep that promise.
(With Kyoka and Ochaco.)
"I have not seen you for a long time… turned into a cop, huh? Didn't expect that." Comments Kyoka distractedly making Ochaco narrow his eyes at her.
"And you kept your quirk."
This made the two face each other, they did not part on the best terms in the past, during the war it could already be said that they only put up with each other because they were allies, but there was no friendship between them anymore. It all started when they found out that they were liking the same guy, at that moment their friendship cooled a little with the two becoming more rivals than friends.
Nevertheless, everything changed during the war on their mission to escort some people, among which were some Quirkless. When Ochaco found out about this, she didn't seem as excited as before, something that made Kyoka curious, after all it was hard to imagine that sweet and gentle person who was her colleague changing into something more aloof, even during battles.
As the mission progressed, Ochaco seemed to be more concerned about the Quirkless and focusing her help on other people, something that bothered Kyoka and made the two have a conversation. Right there Ochaco revealed that she did not like the quirkless, something she picked up from her childhood.
Apparently, her parents' construction company was one of the only ones that accepted quirkless people as employees and that made them very badly requested and it stuck in the girl's mind. Kyoka didn't take it very well, after all her quirk was almost useless with her being considered almost quirkless, the two fought until it reached the current point, that they couldn't call themselves friends anymore.
At least they could still stay focused on the mission.
However, Kyoka stopped when she saw three bodies on the floor with a corridor behind a false wall that led underground with claw marks all around and several stones blocking the way. The woman shuddered, the scars of that last battle always hurt when she remembered.
(Flashback.)
Kyoka snarled as she was hurled into the wall by one of the Nomus drones, the creature roared at her and leapt towards her with claws ready. However, as soon as it was about to hit it, a large amount of red mass hit the creature, throwing it away.
The girl grunted as she got up to see Vlad King in front of her panting, the teacher has seen better days with his uniform in tatters and half of his face disfigured with his white hair covered in red.
"Hey, can you still move?" Asks the hero making her nod weakly before looking at her leg.
The albino followed her gaze and grimaced when he saw that the member was broken, she was not going to be able to help much anymore. At that same moment, they heard several roars and turned around to see Kamui Woods and Jurota Shishida in front of them with worried looks.
"Shit..." Shishida mutters softly before turning to the two. "IT'S A BATTALION OF NOMUS DRONES!"
"Damn..." Vlad growls before looking at Kyoka. "Listen, we'll hold them, I need you to help lead the civilians out of here."
"What!? But..." Kyoka begins before the hero presses a button on the wall making it open and reveal several stairs.
"It is an order, go and help the civilians to escape, we'll be right behind." Orders Vlad before throwing the woman into the passage.
Kyoka looked at him suspiciously before starting down the stairs as fast as she could. It was at that moment that she heard the roars and sounds of fighting coming from above, it took a few seconds before there was only roaring and then everything started to shake.
(End of flashback.)
In the end, none of them had survived and Kyoka managed to escape when the rocks blocked the way to her, the purple arrived at the civilians until the villains arrived announcing their victory. Kyoka had a few regrets that day, running away was one of them, even though she survived, but the cost seemed too high for her.
Ochaco noticed that but did not say anything, she knew Kyoka had her scars from that day, they all did, and it was like an agreement between all survivors and ex-heroes not to comment on that day.
"We are here." Katsuki declares as he opens the cafeteria doors, the quartet cautiously advances through the place before widening their eyes looking at what looks like a crater in the middle of the place.
"...Wait a moment." Kyoka says, narrowing her eyes before running towards the crater, being quickly followed by the others.
The purple one got there and knelt down before brushing away some of the sand and dirt from the floor. Once that was done she looked down and widened her eyes before grabbing something and pulling up a necklace with a ring on it.
"...I saw something shining and... I... my god..." Kyoka mutters in horror, looking at the necklace in her hands, something that made the others blink in confusion.
"Kyoka, what is this?" Asks Ochaco confused making Kyoka wipe the tears before holding the ring in front of them.
"This was the wedding ring that Izuku had bought for Nejire... it was the one he was going to give her, I remember he showed me the day before he proposed and that he always carried it in a stick with you since her death." Explains Kyoka making everyone's eyes widen while Katsuki falls to his knees extending his hand to the ring.
"So... if this is here... where is the..." Katsuki begins before Ochaco covers his mouth with his hand, his eyes wide with horror.
"He is alive... he's been alive all this time... and he... he's killing..." Ochaco concludes, making everyone remember his appearance at the police station. "Deku... what happened to you?"
They had their confirmation, the answer they wanted, but now they too must deal with the fallout of this discovery and decide what to do about their friend.
(Scene break.)
Eri fell to her knees panting as she looked at Izuku who was staring at her with an unperturbed gaze. They had changed position, now being inside the base, which the albino discovered was a bunker.
Izuku stared at her sweat covered and tired before letting out a sigh and advancing towards her, lifting her in his arms, earning a surprised cry from her. The boy ignored her as he walked to the base sofa and laid her down on it.
"Stay here, I'll get you a bottle of water." Declares Izuku before walking away towards the kitchen.
Once inside he noticed that Rumi and Tooru were sitting there at the table talking before they noticed him.
"Rumi-san, Hagakure-san." Greets Izuku before passing by them and opening the fridge.
"Izuku-san, we are good friends and we fight together, you can call me Tooru, or Tooru-chan if you want." Announces the invisible woman with a pout, something that is ignored by Izuku when he closes the fridge with two bottles of water.
Once he turned around, he noticed that the two were now staring at him before Tooru got up and walked over to him, which made Izuku raise an eyebrow.
"What is it?" Asks for the greenette before Tooru takes his arm and lifts it up to face a bruise and a new scar on it.
"...This wasn't here before..." Comments Tooru worriedly before facing him, something he ignores before gently pulling his arm away from her.
"I went out on a quick patrol this morning, the bandit surprised me, but I dealt with it." Answers Izuku calmly making Rumi frown at him.
"Dealt with him, huh? The police or the hospital?" Asks the ex-heroine making Tooru turn to her.
"Whatever works..." Answers Izuku surprising the two who stared at him and froze when seeing the distant and melancholy look in his eyes before hardening. "Rumi-san, the world has changed, it's much more cruel and unfair, I can't act like an All Might anymore, if I need to end a villain permanently I will, the league of villains must be exterminated from the face of the earth."
With that, the green man walked away from the two before stopping at the door and turning to them.
"I know you don't approve of my methods, but you are not the ones who carry the weight of all those deaths, I don't want you to support me or say I'm right, but I need you to remain firm in the mission, that's all that matters." Declares Izuku before turning around. "It's all that's left..."
That last comment Izuku said quietly, so quietly that the two women almost did not hear it, but they did and could not help but worry even more as their friend walked away towards Eri with the bottle of water in his hand.
Tooru frowned, this was not the kind and gentle friend she knew, she could see that he was sad, broken, hurt, but he was still there screaming for help and Tooru wasn't going to ignore that, he was going to save him, whatever the cost, after all she was also a hero.
(Scene break.)
Momo is standing in front of an expensive car parked in front of a pier she is alone wearing dark clothes with glasses and a scarf. It was at that moment that she heard another car approaching and turned around.
At that moment a BMW approached her before parking in front of her car, once that was done the door opened from there two members of Shiroi Zugaikotsu came out and were soon followed by Mina who gave a malicious smile to Momo, who just frowned.
"Ganbaru Momo, it is so good to see you again, I'm calling in that favor now." Announces Mina with a smile that only made Momo narrow her eyes at her.
And that's all folks, I wish you all a happy new year!