In her luxury penthouse, Momo was sitting in her personal office at home going through some documents and files on her computer. A very common scene for the current owner of Ganbaru companies, however what she analyzed was completely different from what her company dealt with, in her hands were several documents, photos and reports about Deku-ghost and Deku.
Two vigilantes who had inspiration from their former colleague, they were targeting Shiroi Zugaikotsu herself which was also another thing that bothered her. She had been with Izuku when Mina betrayed them, had seen first-hand how that left him.
Momo was sure that Midoriya Izuku was still alive, she just needed concrete proof about that, when she had that, maybe she would finally get the courage she needed and finally be able to complete her dream of having a complete family. She was always a romantic person, everyone who knew her knew it, and Izuku knew it.
When Nejire died, he was inconsolable, for days on end Izuku was in a wild state in the war, if he were not fighting, he would be training. Everyone was worried about him, her included, Momo could not let someone as kind and caring as Midoriya fall into such a dark abyss, not when he would not allow her to fall too.
It occurred even at the beginning of the war, Momo could no longer continue, her own low self-esteem affected her, as well as the stress of all the brutal battles they faced, she was going to give up or even die in a fight, but Izuku did not let that happen. He was the first to go to her and encourage her to ensure that everything was fine, that they would manage to survive the battle, over time Momo found in Izuku a friend as good as Kyoka, her best friend.
They went through difficulties during the war, so many friends lost, moments of joy and love...
At that moment, she shivered remembering the night she and Izuku had deepened their relationship after Nejire's death. Momo could never forget that day, she was trying to help him with his grief, but he was obsessed, traumatized and very drunk at the time.
Her options were few and the pain in her chest of seeing her best friend, her hero, her secret crush, in so much agony was too much, the alcohol didn't help either at the time, when she realized she was kissing him and one thing led to another. Momo wasn't proud of what she did, she basically hooked up with her friend when he wasn't in his clear state of mind, she was ready to talk to him at the end of the war, try a real relationship, so the next day they lost the war and Izuku died.
She had been heartbroken when she found out about Izuku's death, which symbolized the end of her dreams, so Momo found that the night she had with Izuku had paid off, Takeo. At the time she was alone and abandoned by her family once they found out about the baby, she had few options but it was her son's life that was on the line, so she approached the only person who could give her a chance to survive, Ashido Mina.
A frown formed on his face as he remembered what happened a few nights ago.
(Flashback.)
"Ganbaru Momo, it is 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.
"...Depending on what it is."
Hearing the brunette's answer, Mina was silent before giving a malicious smile while shaking her head, at that the pink girl started walking towards Momo.
"Seriously? Is this how you respond to the person who made sure you could go on living after you were disowned?" Asks Mina maliciously making some of her henchmen laugh and Momo stares at her without expression. "After all, as far as I remember, a long time ago you were just using that poor excuse for an outfit that was the Creati uniform, you still had your quirk, but it was worse than the germs we found on the street and who was that? Who helped you out of your situation as a useless, useless and pest to the powerful, rich and influential Ganbaru Momo?"
Unfortunately, it was true, in the beginning, Momo was alone, unprotected and with a baby to raise and take care of, she had to make difficult choices and among them, ask Ashido Mina for help.
Upon hearing, this Momo clenches her fists giving a look to the pink girl who lets out an amused laugh before sitting down next to her leaning against her car and leaning towards the brunette's ear.
"Besides, it would be a shame if you ended up losing all your influence, your current power, your quirk and on top of that... your little son..." Whispers Mina in Momo's ear.
The effect was immediate, Momo widened her eyes and turned pale before turning around completely pinning Mina on the hood of the car and punching her in the face causing a crack. Immediately, Rosada's henchmen pointed their weapons at the brunette who stopped when she noticed that.
Mina on the other hand landed sitting on the floor with her hand covering her nose before letting out a huff and getting up revealing that her nose was broken and a trickle of blood was coming from it. The pink one slowly wiped away the blood and glared at him before letting out a small laugh and glaring at the brunette.
"You really are amazing Momo-chan, your punch is even better than before." Mina jokes, making Momo clench her teeth staring at her.
"What you want?" Asks Momo angrily.
"I am glad you asked." Comments Mina smiling proudly at the brunette. "As you may know I had a small incident with my current base of operations and I need a new one, however the police are searching all the bases I had and even worse those damn vigilantes are out there."
Hearing the anger in the pink girl's voice, Momo gave a small smile on one side, feeling lighter knowing the anger and problems the traitor was going through. However now was not the time to be angry, her son was at risk, her last bond with Izuku was in danger and she needed to protect him.
"What do you want Ashido? Be quick, I do not want to be any closer to you than necessary." Momo growls making one of the henchmen approach, but Mina stops him with a look before turning to Ganbaru.
"A safe place, a good base, like a certain building you have in your hands in the center of Mustafu, the green building." Asks Mina making Momo widen her eyes with her increasing anger.
Ganbaru knew which building it was, she bought when she got enough money, the place where Midoriya Izuku grew up. At first, it was because of her fragile emotional state and she needed to feel closer to him, but over time Momo saw that the apartment was small and the area was no longer ideal for raising a child.
At that she moved into her current apartment, but not before having the entire building painted green, a dark green that reminded her of Midoriya whenever she walked by the building. Momo grimaced for a few moments thinking about whether or not to do that and stared at the rosy one who was smirking.
"Why this specific building?" Questions Momo making Mina hum softly.
"I feel like I would love to stay there, it seems kind of nostalgic, you know? Reminds me of someone I really liked." Answers Mina making Momo narrow her eyes before sighing.
"Very well, the building is yours; I will notify my people… And consider my debt paid." Declares Momo before walking away, opening the car door.
"But of course Momo-chan, until next time." Waves Mina walking away back to her own car.
(End of flashback.)
Momo frowned biting her lower lip, she did not want to get into this mess, the Deku-ghost could be her Midoriya Izuku, if it was he, she would let him solve this problem the way he could. Now, Ashido Mina knew about her son Takeo, now it was personal and Momo would do anything to protect her son, if it meant going to war then she would.
Despite her determination and stubbornness, Momo was no longer a teenager, she knew she could not fight alone, she needed help. The woman took one last look at the image of the Deku-ghost, she had no proof of his identity and no more time to find out, and if she was going to act, she needed help now.
With that the woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them with a determined glare, she knew what she had to do.
(Scene break.)
"98…99…100…"
Izuku's voice echoes in the dojo, he was in the middle of the place doing push-ups, with a puddle of sweat underneath him, the result of hours of training. Suddenly he felt something cold being placed on the back of his neck making him lose his balance and fall to the ground, causing a laugh.
As soon as the sound reached his ears, the greenish man visibly relaxed before turning around to see Hagakure standing there with a bottle and two bottles of water in his hands.
"I thought I could take a break; you must be a little tired." Comments the woman making Izuku roll his eyes before getting up and accepting one of her bottles.
"Thank you Hagakure-san." Thank the greenette; however before he could walk away he ended up stopping and looked at her. "What's it?"
"... What?"
"You're pouting; your shoulders always make a certain movement when you do that." Comments Izuku causing the woman to make a surprised noise.
"...So you really paid attention to me?" Murmurs the invisible woman making Izuku blink confused with that. "No, we will talk about it later. The most important thing is that you have known me for a long time, you can call me Tooru or Tooru-chan."
Upon hearing that, Izuku stared at her for a few moments until he let out an amused snort, shaking his head, with that he walked away towards the wall where he sat leaning against it, something that was copied by Tooru who sat next to him. Once that was done, the two opened their bottles and started drinking.
"You know, it is good to see that you have not changed so much; you are still the same passionate boy who lived training and improving himself." Comments Tooru making Izuku give her a sideways look.
"I think so, but I still had to adapt to survive after all these years." Izuku nods before noticing a movement in his invisible friend's clothes, she was probably staring at him now.
"…It wasn't your fault, you know that, right?"
Izuku was silent for a while, his gaze turning melancholy, which worried Tooru, she was about to apologize when the greenish one let out a sigh.
"I prefer that everything that happened continues to happen to me than to you Tooru-san, you still have a chance to leave..." Offers Izuku before feeling a hand holding his and turns to see Tooru there, probably the facing.
"No way, I also lost a lot in that war and made many wrong choices..." Tooru begins before she leans in and Izuku widens his eyes feeling a pair of lips on his cheek inches from his mouth. "But now I have the chance to do all the right things, I won't abandon you Izuku-kun, this time; it will be with the right person, no matter what happens."
It was at that moment that Izuku noticed that on her right wrist was a small silver bracelet with some crystals on it and a heart on it, however before he could say more, Tooru got up.
With that the woman walked away from the dojo leaving a speechless Izuku standing there before touching her cheek, right where Tooru had kissed him and her eyes couldn't help but soften remembering what she wanted to say.
(Flashback.)
Izuku silently entered the heroes' base with his full hero costume; most of the heroes were sleeping tired because they had just returned from a fierce fight with the villains that resulted in their defeat and loss of their previous base, which was where the greenette came from.
With that, the hero quickly entered the place and started walking through the base until he reached a simple door. Once there, Izuku started pounding on the door, which elicited a groan from within until it opened to reveal a sleepy Mashirao rubbing his eyes.
"What is it Izuku-san? It's like 03:00 AM" Asks the blonde making Izuku extend his hand and open his wrist to reveal a silver bracelet there, which makes Mashirao stare at her confused.
"...It is beautiful and I appreciate the gift, but I like women Izuku-san." Mashirao comments confused, which makes Izuku roll his eyes.
"It's not for you; it's for Tooru-san." Explains Izuku making the blonde nod, but he was still clearly confused. "This is the last gift from her mother before this war; she had said that in the last battle she ended up losing her bracelet in the evacuation of the base..."
Hearing this, Mashirao quickly grabs the green man's collar and pulls him into the room before locking the door. Once inside the blonde stares at him with narrowed eyes.
"What the hell are you thinking? You went deep into villain territory to retrieve a bracelet. Are you crazy?" Growls the blonde-haired person with his tail staring at the green one, who did not even flinch when he stared back.
"Tooru was inconsolable and sad for losing this bracelet; I couldn't let it stay like that, so I took it to cheer her up." Izuku declares seriously making Mashirao rub his face in frustration.
"Izuku, look I understand, you have a crush on her and everything, but that was stupid and almost suicide!" Exclaims Mashirao making Izuku narrow his eyes in the direction of him.
"Don't you dare talk about it, Hagakure may not seem like it, but it was really bad and she doesn't like me, she likes you and I know you like her, besides it's impossible for me to have a relationship with anyone. And you know that I'm the main target of the villains in this war, I can't let her become a target too..." Declares Izuku making the blonde-haired person soften, with that the green one sighs before handing the bracelet to Mashirao who widens his eyes.
"Look, just… give it to her and if you can, run away, you can still have your happy ending… do not miss this opportunity." With that, Izuku leaves the room, leaving Mashirao thoughtful.
(End of flashback.)
After that day Tooru and Mashirao started a relationship, Izuku vividly remembered how the woman had been overjoyed with the bracelet and he had been happy for both of them, but he didn't count that Nejire had heard the whole conversation and after much insistence from her, the two They started a relationship until...
Izuku let out a sigh as he got up, the war didn't have happy endings, he knew that, he offered the chance for Mashirao and Tooru not to end up suffering like him with Nejire's death, but unfortunately the couple hadn't abandoned the battlefield and in the U.A explosion Ojiro Mashirao was on the list of those killed.
He had probably told Tooru the truth about who actually took the bracelet back and she should have wanted to make it up, Izuku admitted it was impressive how far the woman had gone but it was even more dangerous than before. She deserved someone nice, someone good for her, but Izuku was not that, he was just the ghost of a bygone age.
(...)
Ochaco let out a sigh as she got out of the elevator, which led into a large hallway with only one door in front of her, the brunette let out an amused snort as she made her way to the door.
It had come as an unexpected surprise when Ochaco had received a call from her old friend Ganbaru Momo about a meeting at her house, someone she had completely lost touch with after the war. Anyway, here she was, ready to be reunited with her old friend, however before she could press the bell, a second elevator beeped, indicating that she had reached the floor.
When she turned around, Ochaco saw the doors open to reveal Kyoka, who absently entered the floor looking at her cell phone, before stopping when she noticed the brunette. The two stayed in an uncomfortable silence, staring at each other before the purple girl sighed and put her cell phone in her purse.
"You, let me guess, did Momo-san call you too?" Asks Kyoka calmly making the brunette nod her head.
"Yes, I imagine she also called you then." Comments Ochaco before the two women stand side-by-side looking at Momo's door and ring the bell.
After that, they just calmly waited for the door to open, a small noise echoed inside the house and light footsteps were heard. The two stared at each other confused, the noise was not related to Momo's weight, suddenly the door is opened and both widen their eyes when they see the person in front of them.
A mini Midoriya Izuku with black hair, the boy stared at them with a curious look that both of them knew very well.
"Are you Okaa-san's friends?" Questions the curious boy, however the two were silent just staring at him in shock.
It was at that moment that Momo appeared at the door, picking up her son and holding him in her arms.
"Takeo-kun, didn't I tell you to you never open the door?" Asks Momo with a frown making Takeo discouraged.
"Sorry okaa-san, but this two ladies seem to be the two friends you said and we never have visitors, I was excited." Comments the child making Momo sigh before putting the boy on the ground and kneeling in front of him.
"Okaa-san has to talk to her friends, ok? Why don't you go play with your toys and then we will join you, ok?" Upon hearing this, Takeo cheers up and nods before running away, which makes Momo smile as she gets up.
With that, she turned to her friends and swallowed hard at the accusing glares from the two directed at her.
"So, you are a mother, right? How interesting Momo, want to share something with us?" Asks Kyoka tensely and an Ochaco with narrowed eyes waved her question.
Momo let out a nervous laugh seeing this before allowing the two to enter the house.
(Some hours later.)
Momo, Kyoka and Ochaco were all sitting comfortably in Ganbaru's office, all drinking some tea. The purple one looked thoughtful before letting out a sigh causing her two colleagues to turn to her.
"Momo, let me just get this straight… You had a son since the end of the war, you never told anyone, you hid him and now you want our help to keep him safe from Ashido?" Asks Kyoka, receiving a nod from the woman.
"In short, yes, that is exactly it."
"Great, I thought your tea had drugged me and I imagined everything you said." Comments Kyoka making the two women stare at her, but the purplette was not finished. "How exactly do you think we can help you with the biggest criminal group in the city and possibly even all of Japan, second only to the League of Villains?"
"The three of us have combat training and fought in a war, I still have my quirk, just like you Kyoka." Momo argues making Kyoka narrow her eyes.
"Momo… don't get me wrong, but what do you expect us to do? Your son is in danger, I am sorry about that, but we reasonably do not have the resources to help you. I am just a police officer, all I have is a pistol with few bullets and Kyoka is a secretary with a quirk." Comments Ochaco thoughtfully before rubbing her eyes. "I would love to help you, really, but I cannot do anything against Shiroi Zugaikotsu, we do not have our old equipment, nor reinforcements… it would be just the three of us against an army."
"Not exactly… we would have a good and powerful ally on our side." Upon hearing that, Kyoka and Ochaco stare at Momo, curious and confused. "He's quite famous now, the Deku-ghost."
"…Okay and how exactly do you plan to get him to help you?" Kyoka asks, feeling her heart tighten as she starts to sweat looking at her friend, something that was copied by the woman beside her.
"Simple, if he really is Izuku-kun, he would definitely fight to help his son." Reveals Momo making the two women in front of her freeze while they get paler staring at her.
(...)
"Why do I really have to go with you? Wasn't the plan that I would stay hidden until the time was right?" Chizome grumbles, sheathing her sword in her vigilante uniform.
"Because we're taking Eri and if we're right we'll need your help with the rear." Explains Izuku messing with his armor.
The two were in a small room that led to the stairs of the bunker with Tooru and Rumi nearby looking at the two adjusting their armor and uniforms.
"That... It's a lot more armor than the old uniforms..." Comments Rumi a little impressed looking at the uniforms before looking at Tooru who seemed to be staring fixedly at the greenette.
"His armor is worn, has many scratches... and it fits him very well..." Hearing this, Rumi raises an eyebrow.
"Is she worried or admiring him?" The former rabbit heroine is questioned.
It was at that moment that the sound of footsteps made the four of them turn around to see Eri approaching in her makeshift costume, which made Chizome, Tooru and Rumi stare at her with expressionless eyes, while Izuku just analyzed her costume for a second before turning back to his own costume.
"Okay…I can see now why I have to go…" Grunts Azrael before pressing a button on his mask, activating his voice modulator.
Suddenly Mei kicked the doors that separated the room they were in from the rest of the base, which scared everyone there, except Izuku, who turned to face her and saw her with a metal suitcase in her hand.
"I am glad I reached them, I managed to finish in time to find them." Declares the pink one looking at the Deku ghost who just stared at her.
"Then give it to her, Azrael wait for her here then bring her to the patrol." Commands the Deku ghost before leaving leaving everyone there alone.
"… I shouldn't be surprised that he made me doing babysitter…" Azrael comments, receiving a supportive pat from Rumi, she knew the feeling.
While that was happening Eri took the briefcase and opened it, once that was done the girl looked at its contents before widening her eyes and removing a helmet identical to Deku's old uniform, it was completely green with a silver respirator.
"That is..." Eri starts before looking at Mei who smiled at her.
"You cannot go on a patrol like a fancy dress party; you need proper armor and clothes, so go change." Orders Mei making Eri nod before running back to the base with the briefcase.
(Some hours later.)
"… So you like him?" Questions Rumi sitting on the couch drinking a glass of juice while Tooru was sitting in an armchair drinking too.
"Yes I do, I'm sure you remember when we... you know we had that in the middle of the war..." Comments the invisible woman, receiving a nod from the albino.
Izuku and Tooru were close during the middle of the war; they always fought together, even against powerful villains and Nomus, plus outside the battlefield both could be seen together several times. Rumi could not help but snort that back then there really was a betting table on which girl would end up with the green one, too bad nobody won in the end.
"...I remember that at a certain point you stopped really hanging out with Izuku to date that blond boy, Ojiro-san..." Rumi reflects making Tooru be quiet.
"Yes, I really liked him, but... I do not think he liked me the same way, or rather; he did not like me that much and that all seemed like a fake relationship..." Answers Tooru calmly with melancholy, which Rumi did frown.
"Like this?" Asks the woman, making Tooru stare.
"…The end of the war was also the day I found out the truth and knew how badly I had done wrong…" Tooru admits with a sigh.
(Flashback.)
"MASHI-KUN!" Flame Tooru staggering among the rubble of the U.A, suddenly she heard a cough and went quickly to where she heard the noise.
Once there, her eyes widened when she saw Mashirao lying on the ground with half his body crushed by a mountain of dendrites. Upon seeing this, the girl ran towards the blonde-haired person and started trying to move the dendrites, but they were too heavy for her.
"No... Please... don't do that..." Asks Mashirao making the woman stare at him. "Tooru-san... forgive me... I probably won't leave here and you gave me precious memories..."
"No! Do not talk like that! You're not going to die okay!? Let's find a way!" Exclaims Tooru before Mashirao grabs her wrist making the woman stare at him.
"Tooru, it wasn't me..." Mashirao declares, making the woman stare at him confused before looking at the bracelet on her wrist that was being held. "It was Izuku who risked himself in the enemy's territory..."
Tooru's eyes widened upon hearing this before Mashirao let out a cough and smiled at her sadly.
"I couldn't lie anymore, you deserve the truth..." With that said the blonde closed his eyes leaving Tooru alone with her crushed body.
(End of flashback.)
"After that I had a lot of time to think, it took days for me to process the information and gather all the facts since the war... I always wanted people to see me as I really am and the person who really did that ended up pushing me away for not paying attention to the details..." Tooru growls angrily before letting out a tired sigh.
Rumi was silent just staring at the invisible woman before taking a sip of her juice.
"And what do you intend to do now? After all, Izuku-san is not the person who would want a relationship at that moment..." Asks the older woman making Tooru remain silent before facing her.
"...I don't care, I let him escape before, he pushed me away to protect me, I won't let it happen again, this time I'll stay with him until the end, as I should have done from the beginning." Answers Tooru, making Rumi give her a smile and nod with the answer.
What neither of them noticed though was Mei watching them from her spot at the computer before picking up her coffee mug and taking a big drink from it.
(With the vigilantes.)
A thug grunted in pain as he hit a wall, he took a few steps forward before receiving a kick to the side of the head that knocked him out. Deku watched in admiration and excited what she was doing; she was in the middle of a restaurant that had been attacked by some criminals.
"Deku, stop daydreaming and fight." Command the Deku-ghost while knocking out one of the robbers with a kick.
Upon hearing this the girl blinked before nodding, at which the two turned to the last bandit standing, he looked at the two vigilantes before throwing his weapon to the side and raising his hands in surrender.
Eri smiled before looking at the people staring at her, or rather her new outfit. It was as an armor mixed with a hero costume using the colors green and black with her helmet covering her entire head; on her shoulders, she had a bright yellow cape and red boots.
Her uniform was identical to that of the first Deku, which made several people rejoice looking at her, creating small smiles when they saw her, and she loved it.
"Don't worry more citizens, I am here!" Exclaims Eri with her voice changed by a modulator, she was smiling under her mask, making people rejoice and cheer singing for her heroine name and Deku-ghost.
The elder was silently watching this, until finally smoke exploded from his body covering the entire restaurant before disappearing revealing that the two heroes disappeared and the villains were now tied up.
(On top of a building.)
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Exclaims Eri excitedly with her fists raised with Azrael by her side with arms crossed. "Did you see that Azrael-san? I made all those people smile, I helped them, oh my gosh...I don't even have the words for it."
"…That was a disaster." Deku-ghost declares making Eri freeze and turn to him, while Azrael sighed, he could already feel his partner's anger since they arrived on the roof.
"What do you mean a disaster? We stopped them from hurting people and yet made everyone happy and hopeful." Deku begins before the Deku-ghost turns to her with a glare full of fury in his eyes.
"We are in a war with the league of villains, outnumbered; there is any moment we can die." Declares the oldest making the girl falter with his tone. "Hope will be for later, now we need the criminals to be afraid of us, we win half the battle when they are afraid simply of the idea that we are close. You can comfort people and help them, that's really admirable, but everything has a time and place, first we must create our reputation, and then comes the rest."
With that said, the Deku-ghost started to walk away into the darkness of the night leaving Azrael and Deku alone. The two were silent watching their leader walk away before the girl turned to the older one.
"What exactly happened to Deku-san? He was never so..." Eri begins before shuddering and Azrael puts his hand on her shoulder giving a sympathetic squeeze.
"A lot, but don't hold it against him it's just hard for him mostly, give it some time… maybe he'll get back to who he was one day… but until then we'll support him in whatever way." Azrael explains before looking at the Deku ghost who walked away with a hint of concern.
(On the Ganbaru penthouse.)
Ochaco, Kyoka and Momo are sitting in Ganbaru's room, looking at little Takeo now sleeping on his mother's lap. The three women spent the day on the roof talking about the eldest's plan and the future.
"It's been years since we've done this, I have to get back to my old form..." Kyoka comments, getting up before giving Ganbaru a look. "And just so you know, it was a low blow what you did today Momo."
Momo shuddered at her best friend's speech, but she could not say she regretted it; she wanted to protect her son and would do just that. Ochaco nodded before pensively getting up and facing Ganbaru.
"I have to think about this." Warn the police making Momo wave.
"All right, anyway, I want you to know that it's nothing personal, but you're the only two people I know I can trust completely with this… I won't hold the slightest grudge if you decide not to join me, but I beg you for you to help us." Asks Momo making the two women look at her before waving and leaving the penthouse leaving the mother and son alone.