Chapter Summary: Shit goes down. Twice.

Villain!Izuku, Canon-Divergent.

(Warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation and brainwashing.)

This was co-written by kattenprinsen and is cross-posted onto archive of our own.

Rama: so when I actually name a quirk in this fic I'll be making a note of it at the bottom of the chapter. Named quirks are the ones with full capital letters instead of just being referenced in their action: IE: a retention quirk vs Direct Contact quirk.

The Hero Names are made up by Rama and the full list (and a brief explanation of them) is at the bottom of the chapter.

Chapter Seven: intentional versus accidental

Hitoshi figures he's not the only one whose heart is beating crazy fast on Friday morning. Blood King has them getting kitted up in their hero costumes, and even though he says it's just an extended exercise, the whole class knows what's up. Izuku had spilled the surprise the moment he had returned from the teacher's office on Wednesday. Everyone's been buzzing about it, as it'll be the first class vs class event of the year. Not only that, but it's an irregular exercise, where they're apparently going to be getting different roles to play.

He finishes adjusting the last touches of his uniform, letting out an anxious breath as as he does so. Izuku said he didn't know who was on what team or what the specific dynamics were but… just knowing that they were up against 3-A was enough to make him nervous. Tightening his gloves, he turned away in time to see Kaibara standing with his hands on his hips in front of Izuku.

Izuku, to his credit, seems to take Kaibara's personality in stride. He's laughing at something the other student has said, brushing his hair back with one hand as he affixes a pair of tinted goggles over his eyes. Hitoshi leans over just enough to see the full outfit.

It's a body jumpsuit, a lot like the tracksuits they were for regular gym activities, except it's a deep forest green with white accents. The white rectangles are at the shoulders, hips and the sides of his chest along the ribs. He wears thick dark gloves that have a flash of metal on the backs and his boots are obviously steel toed. He looks… different, with his hair swept back and those goggles obscuring his eyes but when Izuku looks over at him, Hitoshi swears he can still see the bright green of his irises beneath the glass, clear as anything.

"Shit!" Kaibara exclaims, drawing Izuku's attention back. "You know what we totally forgot?"

"What?" Izuku asks, a quirk of a smile on his lips.

"Your hero name!"

There's a pause and then the other boys emphatically agree.

"Sheesh, I can't believe we forgot that!" said one.

"Not only us but sensei too! What the hell!"

Izuku laughed, cutting off the discussion with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it. I've got a suitable hero name already."

"Yeah," Hitoshi hears the boy next to him mutter under his breath to his friend, "Lava Girl."

Izuku carries on like he didn't hear that. "My hero name is Noumenon."

Hitoshi forms the odd word with his lips, frowning. It's foreign, definitely, and weird.

"What is that?" Kaibara asks, "Like the opposite of a phenomenon?"

Izuku shakes his head. "Nah. Not like that."

Kaibara gets an elbow to gut from Awase before he can ask more prying questions. "Don't ask the origin of the name, dude. You've got to stop your prying questions sometime and we're all going to be late if we don't hurry the fuck up out the door."

Kaibara grunts, shoves Awase and says, "Yeah, yeah Dad."

Hitoshi catches up with Izuku in the hallway leading out to the grounds where they'll be practicing that day. Izuku gives him a friendly smile that does too much to increase his heart rate than is really fair. He clears his throat and asks, quietly, "So where does Noumenon come from?"

Izuku looks away from him, and with the goggles over his eyes, it's not easy to tell exactly where he's looking. "Don't tell anyone, but it's a bit of a pun off of what I was called when I was with the villain leader. I don't want to freak anyone out by using something close to what they called me."

"It doesn't bother you?" Hitoshi asks, "I mean, they experimented on you…"

"I know." Izuku shrugged, "but it really does help. I have to accept what happened to me if I want to move past it. Pretending it didn't happen won't do anything but hold me back."

Hitoshi nodded to that. It made sense to him, though he was still troubled by it. "Does Sensei know about your name?"

"Yeah, haha, he forgot about it until just before sending us off to change and I told him what it was then. He said it was acceptable, though I think he wanted to know where it came from too." Izuku said as they exited the building. Hitoshi blinks against the sudden light. Looking up, he sees 3-A is mostly there already, chattering excitedly and turning to see them as they exit. Uraraka immediately begins to wave to Izuku, who tosses back a wave and a friendly greeting.

Hitoshi bites the inside of his cheek and consoles himself on the fact that Izuku is in his class so he gets to spend more time with him. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Hitoshi looks away, immediately realizing how needlessly jealous and possessive that thought was. Izuku could have friends if he wanted them. He could get to know pretty girls from the other class. He could-

He snapped out of his thoughts when Izuku gripped his elbow and brought him to a sharp stop. "Watch out," Izuku murmured, "You almost walked into Shishida."

"Ah. Sorry." Hitoshi flushed, stepping back. Izuku squeezed his arm and then, gently, let go of him.

The two classes form two groups automatically, leaving just a little space between them. Though there were a few friendships between the two classes, there was a definite undercurrent of contention between the two. Hitoshi had noticed it within a week of being moved into class B in the middle of his first year and it had only grown more pronounced as time passed. Part of it had been the natural competition between two similar classes, the rest of it had been because of the actions of a particular student.

It was easy to pick out Monoma from the midst of 3-A, standing with that smirk on his face in his garishly bright hero suit. He glinted in the sunlight, parts of his clothing polished and reflecting. The sport festival in the first year hadn't been good just for Hitoshi. Monoma had placed fourth overall, impressing the heroes at Yuuei enough to bump him up from class B to class A. He was looking over at Hitoshi, eyes narrowed and chin lifted. It wasn't often the two of them crossed paths but when they did Monoma seemed utterly determined to prove that he was better than all of class B, especially Hitoshi.

Hitoshi met his gaze and lifted his brows at him as if to ask, "What do you want?" Monoma wrinkled his nose back and made a show of turning his head away, giving Hitoshi the cold shoulder.

Sighing, Hitoshi decided to ignore him too. That was easy enough since Izuku was looking curiously at him. "Was that Monoma?" he asked, leaning forward to look around Hitoshi.

"Yeah," Hitoshi muttered back. "It's best if you ignore him, really."

"It really is," Tokage chimed in from the other side of Izuku. "Even when he was in class with us the only way to really get him to shut up reliably was to ignore him until he got offended and decided that he was going to ignore all of us." She rolled her shoulders as she spoke, stretching her arms up over her head. "I swear trading him for Shinsou was the best thing about the sport fest in first year."

"I gotta agree," Yanagi said suddenly. Hitoshi jumped, having not noticed how close she stood behind him and Izuku. She spoke quietly and in her soft grey outfit, she seemed even more ghost-like than usual. "I mean, Shinsou-san was scary to have around at first, but you're much better company than Monoma."

Izuku nudged Hitoshi with his elbow, grinning at him. Hitoshi glanced away, his cheeks flushed. He knew that the class only was beginning to acclimate to him because Izuku served as a buffer between them. Without Izuku, it was likely he would have never left his position at the back of the group, silent and unwanted. He didn't know exactly what it was about Izuku that made people warm up to him but if he had to guess it was probably that smile he gave. The one where it felt like stepping out into sunlight for the first time in days.

The one that Hitoshi was pretty sure had some sort of emotional persuasion quirk attached to it. Not that he'd seen or felt Izuku use it much since the first few days he'd been around but still…

He rubbed at his arm where Izuku nudged him, trying not to feel as awkward as he did. Izuku's understanding of personal space meant that there was a scant few inches between him and the people he chose to be next to. Where most people put a foot or more between themselves and Hitoshi, Izuku stood close enough that he could bump shoulders with him without having to move his feet at all. Close enough that when Izuku whispered, "Now who's the one getting adopted?" Hitoshi was the only one to hear him even though they stood in the crowd of their whole class.

"Only because of you," he muttered back.

"Does that really bother you?" Izuku asked, still leaning in close.

"What are you two whispering about?" Tokage asked, poking her head around Izuku again. She grinned mischievously, "Is it about-" Tokage's voice was cut off by the dramatic and attention gathering shout of All Might, who stood in front of both classes, hands on his hips, beaming at them.

"Now that everyone is here and ready," All Might declared, "We are going to be able to begin the match!"

Blood King stood off to the side, holding a clipboard. "Usually, we decide your teams on a random basis to simulate the way it often plays out in the field. Today, however, we're going to emulate a specific kind of situation. This is a large scale fight where you will be divided into groups of ten. Two groups will participate at one time, with one group simulating the behavior of villains and the other group practicing as the heroes."

He looked at his clipboard, referencing his notes, something he often did in class. Lifting up a page, he said, "The villains will be spread out over the whole area, where there is a mixture of open space, roads and a few buildings. There are between three and ten hostages, represented by life sized dummies. The heroes will be sent in waves, first five and then another five after twelve minutes as reinforcements. The goal of the heroes is to rescue all the hostages and capture as many villains as possible. This exercise is timed, giving you thirty minutes to accomplish your goals." He lowered the page with a nod.

"Are there any questions?" Blood King asked. It was perfunctory, really, because no one ever had-

"Yes, Midoriya?" All Might's voice broke Hitoshi's train of thought and he turned to look at his friend with his hand up in the air. Izuku had a question? It was obvious what was going on. Heroes versus villains with hostages- a very clear cut situation.

"Are the hostages civilians or other heroes?" Izuku asked, lowering his hand.

There was a blink of surprise from the teachers. Blood King looked to All Might, who cleared his throat. He sounded almost cautious as he asked, "Civilian or heroes, it doesn't matter which one they are. As heroes, it's your responsibility to save them."

"Yes, but," Izuku continued, "as villains, it matters."

There was a strange pause after he said that. Hitoshi was suddenly very aware of people staring at Izuku, and in consequence, him right next to his friend. Even the kids in front of them had turned back to look at Izuku. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as Hitoshi saw how serious Izuku's expression was. Hitoshi licked his lips, shifting uncertainly, but he didn't step away from Izuku's side.

"Why does it matter?" Blood King asked.

"Because heroes and civilians aren't the same to villains. They would react differently depending on who they had captured." Izuku explained, "It would be important to villains to know the status of the hostages."

There was obvious uncertainty on Blood King's expression as he glanced again to All Might. All Might seemed to catch whatever his fellow teacher was attempting to express because he stepped forward, "I see! It seems Midoriya is already thinking ahead to the secondary purpose of this exercise. Understanding the way a villain thinks can help you predict their actions to a certain extent. Will they stay and fight? Will they try to run away? These are the kinds of things that are important to know when fighting a villain, either one or one or against groups." He gave Izuku a thumbs up, "In this case, we'll declare all but one of the hostages to be civilians and one of the hostages to be a hero that's been rendered unconscious!"

Immediately, Izuku's hand was in the air again. There was only a tiny hesitation before All Might called on him again. "Will you have the hero hostage identified, sir? I mean, if the villains are the ones who took them hostage, they were probably in their suit, right? So the villains would know which one they were."

"Ah. Yes. We'll have the hero hostage identified. Thank you for the insight into these details, Midoriya."

Izuku shrugged, "Sensei said we have to think like villains to understand them. I think I've got the most experience dealing with villains so it's only fair I share what I know with everyone."

"Of course," Blood King said, "Are there any other questions?" A pause, filled with silence. "Good. Now I'll start with the first team. When your name is called, please come forward and stand in the designated spot."

He read out the names quickly, using just last names and a letter to identify which team. Izuku was called before Hitoshi and was put on Team D. Hitoshi, when he was called after Sero from 3-A, was also put in Team D. It was a bit of a relief to be on Izuku's team, but also kind of worrying. They had Kaibara, Yanagi and Tokage on their team as well, the latter giving them a thumbs up and the former a grin. Yanagi smiled slightly, though she seemed troubled when she glanced to Izuku.

While the rest of the students were being separated out, Tokage asked, "What was that deal about the hostages, Midoriya?"

Izuku shrugged, "It's just something the villains talked about in front of me a couple of times. They had some rules that made it so they didn't treat civilians and heroes the same way for some reason."

"What rules?" Kaibara asked, just as nosy as Tokage.

"Umm, if I remember right they were, uh," Izuku scratched the back of his head, frowning thoughtfully, "One, escaping with your freedom is priority. Two, don't kill other villains who follow the code. Three, was don't kill heroes, but you can kill civilians." He counted the rules out on his fingers. "There seemed to be a lot of sub categories to everything but they didn't go into much detail about that around me. I think there's some sort of complicated point system involved with rule three, but I'm not sure."

"Don't kill heroes?" Tokage repeated, tilting her head to the side. Her braided hair fell over the shoulder of her slick green suit and she tossed it back out of her way absentmindedly. "Are you sure that was one of them?"

Izuku shrugged, "Honestly, sometimes I'm not exactly sure how conscious I was. Sometimes I was on a lot of sedatives to keep from screaming. I wasn't always very coherent."

Hitoshi winced. He'd gotten used to Izuku saying things bluntly like that about his whole kidnapping affair, but it was clear from the flinch and pull back of the students around them that they weren't. He sighed and nudged Izuku's shoulder, "You're freaking them out, Izuku."

"Eh? Oh. Sorry. My therapist says that I should be open about my trauma so that I don't dwell too much on it and let the associated emotions build up and cause me problems. I have to admit that these things happened to me and while I wish they didn't, I can't go back and change them into other things." He smiled, "Because these things seem normal to me, I forget that they are troubling for others."

"Oh," Tokage said, blinking, "Well, um, if it helps you recover then it's okay, I guess? I mean, it's just startling. People don't usually talk about being drugged up around villains or anything." She laughed nervously, glancing to Kaibara, who shrugged and added his two cents.

"Look, I hear this a lot, I mean Midoriya sits next to me in class too. Sometimes you get all muttery, dude. You say some weird shit when that happens."

"Now that I can't really help," Izuku laughed, "I've been doing that my whole life."

Their conversation was interrupted by their teachers, yet again. This time it was to tell them that Teams A and B were going to go first while Teams C and D would observe. Hitoshi walked with the others to the observation room. It was a little cramped with half of both classes plus the two teachers in among all the monitoring equipment, but Izuku found the two of them a spot in the back on a long bench.

Izuku sat cross legged on the bench, keeping both feet off the ground and his hands in his lap. He pushed his goggled up so he had a clear view of the TVs. A lot of the other students stood or sat nearby, some on the bench some on the floor, some against the wall. Hitoshi stayed with Izuku, mostly because Monoma was in the room and was trying to get his attention so he could show Hitoshi that he was ignoring him, but also because he was a bit worried.

When Izuku had found out Bakugou was on Team C, he had given this very brief, very sharp smile. Hitoshi thought he was the only one who had seen it and if so, well, he felt responsible for keeping an eye on his friend. He had already seen the two of them clash twice before and he was sure he didn't want to see that happen again. They only escalated what they said and did to each other each time they crossed paths.

If that meant brainwashing Bakugou to leave them alone in the middle of all of this, well, then that was what Hitoshi would have to do.

Izuku watched the far screens, frowning slightly. His fingers twitched, his hands opened and shut in his lap as he watched. His eyes were bright, flashing green as they flicked from one screen to the next. The first five minutes were relatively uneventful while Team B, comprised of 3-B students and also acting as the heroes, infiltrated the large area where Team A, comprised of 3-A and acting as the villains, had spread out. The first five stayed close together, moving methodically through the area.

When the reinforcements came, things became suddenly more serious. The cohesion in Team B fell apart abruptly over unheard discussion. Hitoshi and the other watching students could see, but not hear what was being said. Only the teachers had communication devices that connected to the two teams out in the field.

"What are they doing?" Izuku suddenly said, a frown on his lips, his brows furrowing together. He spoke low, more to himself than anyone else. Hitoshi looked at the screens too, to try and see what Izuku did. He saw fighting on some, sneaking on others, and other ones that had either no one on it or students patiently waiting. "They're going to fail if they do that."

As the exercise progressed, Izuku's muttering picked up until there were no pauses between his questions or his observations. He hunched over slightly, eyes focused, muttering constantly. Occasionally, he would wince, hissing between his teeth. Sitting around them, their classmates would glance back at Izuku, looking quizzical.

Yanagi, who sat on the floor with her knees up to her chest, peered up at Izuku but then asked Hitoshi, "Is he okay? He's been doing that for ten minutes."

"He's fine," Hitoshi replied. "He does this a lot in class when he's really focused on something." Izuku's fingers were digging into his leg, his knuckles turning white, so he reached over, carefully, and touched the back of his hand. Izuku blinked for the first time in probably a minute and his gaze cut to Hitoshi. It was hard to describe his eyes as anything other than glowing, especially in that dim room. "Hey," Hitoshi said, "Don't strain yourself, Izuku."

Izuku's blank expression melted into a smile. "Sorry. I got caught up in the moment. It's the first time I've seen the actual combat practices of the others." He turned his hand suddenly and took Hitoshi's hand in his own. "Thank you." He didn't let go of Hitoshi's hand when he looked back at the screens, but now he sat back, more obviously relaxed.

Hitoshi stared at their hands until he realized he was staring and had been for at least a whole minute. Then he looked up abruptly, ignoring the flush of his cheeks and the way Yanagi, sitting on the floor, giggled behind her hand. They sat together like that for the rest of the time. Whenever Izuku's grip turned too tight, Hitoshi would squeeze back briefly and Izuku would relax again.

Hitoshi jumps when he hears the buzzer ring out after the thirty minutes are up. The fighting onscreen comes to a grinding halt, and Hitoshi grimaces at the postures of his classmates. Even as the heroes, they hadn't been able to beat 3-A's kids. That put a damper even on the mood of the 3-B kids around Hitoshi.

He made the mistake of looking at Monoma, who stood tall, chin lifted and smugness radiating off of him. Gritting his teeth, he turned his head away sharply. Izuku squeezed his hand briefly to get his attention. "They could have done it," he said, soft but intent. His eyes were focused on Hitoshi now. Hitoshi had the strangest feeling that Izuku could see into him, not like he could read his mind or anything, but like he could read even the smallest shifts in his expression and know what they meant. "They could have if they had taken the time to discuss a plan. And they had that time. It was clear the villains weren't bringing the fight to them after the first five minutes. Even against powerhouses like Yaoyorozu and Todoroki it could have been done."

"Yeah?" Kaibara asked, from where he stood against the wall, "How? 3-B always loses to 3-A. They've just got stronger quirks than we do."

He spoke loud enough that some of the other students, even the 3-A ones, looked over.

Izuku gave a grim smile, "It's not the strength that matters. It's knowing who and what you're fighting and how to use your surroundings to your advantage."

"How the hell are people like Ibara supposed to beat people like Todoroki?" Kaibara asked, folding his arms tight against his chest. "You saw how he froze her vines. She was useless against him. Hell, everyone is. He's too powerful."

"He relies on his environment being stable," Izuku said, "And on being tangible. Shiozaki and Tsuburaba could have taken him together. If Shouda had been there with them, it would have been a quick finish. Todoroki had no back up and he was protecting three hostages, one of which was the hero." Kaibara snorted in disbelief and Izuku frowned. "It's true. They could have done it and then while Shiozaki got the hostages out, Tsuburaba and Shouda could have gone to back up Bondo with Yaoyorozu. With the two of them down, the biggest threat would have been Tokoyomi, but Tetsutetsu and Honenuki could have easily taken him if they hadn't separated. It makes sense that they did since they didn't know he was there, and they had found the bait of hostages left out, but-"

"You really think that anyone of 3-B could take down 3-A's students?" Monoma interjected. He had walked over while Izuku was speaking and stood with that haughty tilt of his head. "Even in groups they couldn't manage! 3-B is just inferior in every way."

"Copycat," Izuku breathed out the word, eyes flashing, voice so soft Hitoshi wasn't even sure Izuku knew he said it.

"Oh shove off, Monoma," said Tokage from her spot further down the bench. "You were one of class B too. You have no room to talk."

"I was, sure, but unlike the rest of you losers, I was elevated to where I belong based on my skills." Monoma pressed his hand to his chest.

"You were bumped up to make room for Hitoshi," Izuku said, leaning his shoulder against Hitoshi's. "If I remember correctly he came in third because he beat you in the tournament. There was no precedent for moving a general education student to the class A, so they just shoved you up out of the way so he could get where he belongs."

Monoma's eyebrow twitched. "Excuse me? How do you even know about that mister I was locked in a cell for five years." His voice went nasally with his mocking, his expression twisting up in annoyance.

"Villains have television too," Izuku said, mild as anything, "and if you think they don't watch young heroes displaying their skills for literally anyone to see, you're an idiot. The sport festival isn't just a talent scouting arena for Pro Hero agencies." He glanced to Hitoshi, "It's how I knew who you were. I've seen the last two years of sport festivals. Everyone has. Civilians. Heroes. Villains. Everyone."

Hitoshi's heart beat hard in his chest, hard enough that he was sure everyone around him could hear it. He hadn't ever thought about- Hadn't realized that- But of course if it was broadcasted on regular television- Recorded and put online- Sold as DVD specials-

Monoma looked a little green at the prospect, but managed to say with a sneer, "So what does that mean? You saw a little TV special about our quirks and that's enough for you to know what we can do?"

"Yes," Izuku said, smiling a tiny smile. "And you only know one or two of mine, at most."

Hitoshi shivered.

"All right, young heroes!" All Might said suddenly. Hitoshi jumped, nearly falling off the bench. Tokage actually did pop up to her feet, with a little shout. Around him other students turned, wide eyed and startled, to stare at All Might who looked at them with some confusion on their shock. "Well? Didn't you hear me? Let's get up and get ready! Pick up your comms and head out to the designated area! Team D is the next set of heroes and Team C are the villains this time!"

Izuku squeezed Hitoshi's hand one last time before he stood up. Monoma wasn't the only one who quickly backed away with him, but the 3-B kids around Izuku were the ones who held their ground. "Good luck, Copycat," Izuku said with a grin. He tugged his goggles back into place. "Have fun being the villain."

"It's Phantom Thief. You'll never get anywhere if you don't take this seriously, Midoriya," Monoma said with a dismissive sniff, "If you don't you'll just be another Class B loser." He turned on his heel and stalked off. Izuku shrugged his shoulders.

"Fuck," Kaibara muttered, "That dude will never stop being an asshole, like, ever."

"I'd really like to win once, just to rub it in his face," Tokage said as well. She elbowed Hitoshi, "I never said it, but thank you for first year. You making him slap himself on camera in front of literally thousands was the highlight of my month."

He nervously smiled at her. It still turned his stomach to realize that villains had been watching the sport festival, that they always did apparently. It seemed like a breach of security, somehow, but at the same time… All the adults had to know, right? Someone knew, right?

"No problem," he smiled, "I think I would happily do it again if I could."

"Make him punch himself next time," Kaibara said, giving a thumbs up of approval. "Like, really hard. Black eye hard."

"Guys we're supposed to be heroes," Yanagi said behind her hand, stifling her giggles as they got in line for their comms.

"Yeah? And Monoma's a villain today. We can totally wish harm on our villainous enemies, right?" He held out his hands, palms up, shrugging as he added, "Shouldn't we want our heroic allies to make our enemies punch themselves in the face?"

"That's a completely true," Tokage said. "Hey, can we manage that this time, you think? It's a small enough goal. It's probably a hell of a lot more likely than actually winning." She turned to address Izuku, who stood behind Hitoshi in line, several people behind Tokage herself. "You sound like you're good at planning this kind of thing out, Midoriya. Could you make that happen?"

He cocked his head to the side and then, smiling, said, "If you want me to, I can do my best. I'll need cooperation from everyone else, though. I can't do this alone."

Rin Hiryuu and Tsunotori Pony, who stood in front of Hitoshi in line, turned, looked at each other, then looked at Izuku.

"If you can manage it, I'll listen," Rin said.

"Me too," Pony agreed quietly.

At the end of the line, Shishida grinned and Kamakiri gave a thumbs up. Izuku looked to Hitoshi. "Do you want to make this happen, Hitokun?"

Izuku's smile made Hitoshi's heart pound and his cheeks burn. He turned around abruptly, but nodded his head in agreement. Blood King gave him a bemused look when he hurriedly grabbed his comm from the box and rushed out the door, but didn't say anything. Hitoshi really, really wished that his damn crush wasn't so blatantly obvious to everyone around him. That only meant that Izuku was going to figure it out. If he hadn't already.

Which he probably had, because he was too terribly observant like that. He had noticed when Hitoshi had come in too tired to tie his tie right for school the other day. He had also noticed whenever Hitoshi fell asleep in class, though no one else did, and made back up notes for him.

The thoughts of the sport festival were far from Hitoshi's mind as he joined the rest of his team in the waiting area. It dawned on him that his growing crush was disgustingly apparent to everyone, everyone, including Izuku himself. Sooner or later, someone was going to say something about it too and that only meant one thing.

Hitoshi was going to have to confess his feelings to Izuku. Izuku, who had been locked up for five years, who probably thought they were really good friends, and definitely didn't need a confusing teenage romance on top of his kidnapping recovery and trauma therapy. Izuku who would probably feel awkward about it, who probably already did feel awkward about it or he would have said something about it. Because Izuku talked about everything else with Hitoshi. Everything besides Hitoshi's disgustingly obvious crush.

Suddenly wanting to do nothing but sit down with his head between his knees until everything went back to normal and he stopped having this massive crush on the first person that had been this friendly to him in two years. Izuku just wanted to be friends. Why couldn't Hitoshi be satisfied with that?

Why did he want so much to be closer to Izuku than he already was?

What the hell was he going do now?

The plan had been a simple one.

In retrospect, that was probably where the problem had come up. It was too simple. It was based on the wrong playbook. They were supposed to be heroes- there to save the day as noble protectors of the innocent. Villains were the ones to base whole schemes around achieving one possible but slightly inane goal.

But his classmates had wanted to make sure Monoma delivered a perfect blow to his own face and Izuku had been a bit too excited to have them under his command to think it through. He should have. He should have considered the fact that Monoma had picked him out to argue with earlier. He should have considered the fact that the other students were trained to be individuals on the field and no matter how much they said they were willing to listen to him, they would still hesitate to act.

It hadn't been too much for him to think through. He trained for years to be able to process even more information than that. His quirks were built for this.

And yet…

Drawing Monoma out of hiding had been easy enough. That had fallen into place just as Izuku expected.

Yanagi's voice was a soft song as she used her quirk to possess the hostage ragdoll that had been left in Monoma's care. "He's alone," she reported back, her speaking voice melodic, "And pacing by the door. I'm ready to spook him out when you're in place, Washer."

"Copy that, Spirit," Hitoshi whispered back over the comms. A brief snicker from several comms let Izuku know that the others appreciated his pun. "I'm almost there. Thirty seconds."

Izuku had put himself, Tsunotori, Komori, Shishida and Kamikiri in the second wave- the reinforcements. They weren't allowed to speak or act with the first set until they were on the scene but they could listen. Had he been able to be there from the beginning, perhaps it would have ended differently, but the scenario had been laid out by their teachers and Izuku could only play within the rules of the game.

They waited eagerly, listening as the other five members of their team searched out Monoma through Yanagi's possession technique.

"I have an eye on the target," Kaibara said. The grin was audible in his voice. "His stupid suit is glinting right through the window." There was a pause, a slight whirring sound and then, "Lady Zilla, there's a handhold to your left- Yeah, right there."

Tokage grunted over the comm, "It's Lizard Lady, asshole. I'm not Godzilla over here."

"Hey heroes don't call other heroes asshole," Kaibara teased, "Looks like Lady Zilla is in place."

"Washer is too," Hitoshi said. "No more responses until clear."

Izuku held his breath.

Yanagi's humming grew louder, though it was wordless. The sound was haunting. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

Izuku grinned as he listened to it. They were six minutes into the fight. Only two more minutes and the second phase could start.

They could hear wood break and glass shatter over the comms- Tokage's, if Izuku's understanding of his location was correct. There was a distant shout, the sound of concrete crunching and sharp intake of breath. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," someone whispered, too softly to be sure who it was, though Izuku thought it sounded like Kaibara.

"Almost," Hitoshi murmured. "Krosis, time for the lure. Make sure he takes the bait."

There was a grunt of acknowledgement. Izuku bounced on the balls of his feet. A minute and a half was left.

Rin didn't speak when he fought. There were concentrated breaths, sharp grunts and the occasional, "Keh," of what was probably amusement (Izuku had to spend more time in Rin's company to be sure of that). Monoma, on the other hand, was practically monologuing as they fought. It was clear, just from the sound of it, that he thought Rin was weak in his attacks.

"Use Rin to draw Monoma's confidence out," Izuku's command had been, "Rin's good enough at single combat to make Monoma's over inflated ego so huge that he won't notice he's being led by the nose to an isolated location." He wanted to see it in person, but knowing that they were under Kaibara's eye, and that he was placed by one of the cameras, assured Izuku that he'd be able to see it later.

"Phantom!" Hitoshi's voice was frantic over the comms, an artificial desperation, "Phantom Thief, help!" It was incredible, the way that Hitoshi's voice gave nothing away when he was using his quirk.

"They may be acting as villains, but they're still heroes underneath," Izuku had said when Hitoshi had looked uncertain on carrying out his part of the plan, "And heroes are built to save. All they need is a willing victim."

"Clear," Hitoshi said. Izuku and the others waiting whooped excitedly.

"Fuck yeah," Kaibara said over the comms with near-reverence. "Washer did it. He fucking did it. Copycat's been caught."

Thirty seconds.

"Washer," Tokage said with a happy sigh, "I'm not crushing on you or anything but I hope you'll accept a congratulatory kiss for this. I swear this is gonna be the highlight of my whole year."

"I- Uh-" Hitoshi stammered, "What?"

"Shut up, Zilla," Kaibara snapped, "C'mon, do the punch!"

"Krosis," Hitoshi said, his voice slightly strained, "Be ready to catch him as soon as he breaks out. The punch will definitely knock my control off of him."

"Copy," Rin murmured. Kaibara laughed.

"No one respond," Hitoshi said, "Make a fist with your right hand. Punch yourself in the face as hard as you can."

"Oh my god," Tokage whispered. "It's beautiful."

"INCOMING!" Kaibara shouted suddenly over the comms, making Izuku wince at the volume.

At that exact moment, a smoke flare rose into the air, signifying the end of eight minutes. Izuku took off from the waiting area, the other four on his team just behind him.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Kaibara continued, "Fucking Blasty and Riot are here!"

"Scatter," Izuku said over the comms. "Don't let them take you down."

"We'll lose Copycat too," Hitoshi replied.

"An acceptable loss. The most important thing are the hostages," Izuku said. "Keep to your pairs, focus on the hostages. Spirit, how many have you located?" He lengthened his stride, outpacing his companions by several feet. Kamakiri followed him while the other three peeled off.

"Six in total," she replied. "In groups of two and three and one."

"Dash, Spore and I are on our way to rendezvous with you, Spirit." Shishida said, picking up Komori with a sweep of one large arm. Izuku caught sight of them ducking between a building and a fence, the swish of Tsunotori's costume tail following the motion of her body as her long legs kept her pace easily with Shishida.

There was a loud explosion. Smoke rose as the ground shook slightly. "Oh my god," Tokage breathed out, "Blasty's using his arm bombs. He's taking this villain thing way too seriously." There was a pause and then, "Krosis, did you and Washer get out of there in time? Krosis?"

"I'm… I'm fine," Rin panted back. "I can't see Washer. There's too much smoke."

"Fuck," Kaibara whispered. "I don't have eyes on the spot anymore. And-" he yelped, cutting off his words.

"Careful," Tokage said, "Beams nearly got you there. C'mon. Let's bring him down together."

Izuku tucked Kaibara's and Tokage's conversation out of his mind as they engaged with 3-A students. His focus was Bakugou, who, by the sound of it, was setting off continual explosions. "Scyther," Izuku said, "Find Washer and pull him back."

"Riot's there too," Kamakiri replied, "Can you handle them both?"

Izuku grinned, though he knew no one could see it. "Blindfolded."

"Don't get too cocky, Noumenon," Hitoshi said suddenly. He was quiet, panting for breath. "Explosions and magma aren't exactly the same. You might be heat resistant but there's a hell of a lot of force in those arms."

"I'm a lot more than heat resistant," Izuku said. He took a corner quickly, reaching out with one hand to grab a lamp post to control his turn. His fingers dug into the metal, his weight and grip combining to crunch it. "Are you able to walk?"

"Yeah. Keep Scyther with you, I'll pull back to Krosis and we'll go after Jacks and Tentacles like in the plan." Hitoshi replied, "Blasty got bored with me pretty quick when he saw you weren't here. He's after your blood, Noumenon."

"Well, there are a lot worse things he could be after," Izuku replied. "Is Riot still there with him?"

"Can't see beyond the explosions, sorry," was the answer he got.

"It's fine. Just focus on the priority. We've gotten the punch-out so it's time to get down to business. That goes for everyone. Stick to your pairs, take down your opponent and save the hostages."

The chorus of "Got it!" was music to Izuku's ears. Literally, in Yanagi's case.

"Scyther, keep an eye out for Riot."

"Aye." Scyther said.

Walking out into the dust cloud, Izuku grinned and lifted up his hands. Standing in the center of the street, Izuku called, "Oi, Baka-gou!" His air displacement quirk flared around him. For a moment, he stood as the center of a vortex of wind and then the smoke and dust blew outwards, leaving him exposed and revealing where Bakugou stood at the other end of the street. Half of it had been turned to rubble and a nearby building listed heavily to the side because of the hole it had instead of a wall.

"The fuck did you call me you piece of shit?" Bakugou shouted back at him. "Do you want to fucking die?"

Izuku rolled his shoulders, flexing out his back and arms. He couldn't see Riot anywhere. Kirishima was the kid's name, right? Izuku hoped to meet him. He had seemed like a companionable dude on TV. "Have all your explosions finally fucked up your hearing?" He taunted, "How fucking deaf are you that I've gotta repeat myself like I'm talking to an old man, Ba-Ka-Gou."

"I'll fucking kill you!" Bakugou snarled. He jumped, his fists of flame thrusting him through the air at Izuku.

"Two problems with that," Izuku said conversationally as he shifted the density of oxygen in front of him so that Bakugou's flames sputtered and his attack became a bare fisted punch. That wasn't the best part, though. The best was when Bakugou sucked in a breath of air and gagged on it as though he were suffocating.

"One," Izuku held up a finger, "It's against the rules for us to kill each other." He dodged back as Bakugou's first fist follow was followed by another one. He had to keep his hands up to maintain the density and so he didn't turn away, just hopped back as Bakugou advanced.

Every breath Bakugou took turned his face a little more flushed, his eyes a little more wide and wild. He stopped trying to hit Izuku and began to back up. Izuku followed him. Bakugou's red eyes were filled with hatred as he fought to escape the invisible oxygen-deprived bubble that Izuku kept up around him. His struggling only made him breathe harder, made him pull in lungfuls of nitrogen rich air.

Bakugou dropped to his knees, both hands reaching for his throat. Izuku stared down at him and said, "The second problem is that I've already died. Multiple times. Feels kind of awful, doesn't it?"

Izuku crouched down to be eye level with Bakugou. He reached up with one hand, tapping his comm to turn it off. Slowly, he tugged off his gloves, setting them aside so he could take Bakugou's face in his bare hands. His former friend grabbed his wrists but couldn't pull him away.

Gently, Izuku whispered, "Isn't it such a horrible feeling? Knowing you're within arm's reach of salvation but no one is there to turn back for you and take your hand, pulling you to freedom. Oh, Kacchan, if only you hadn't walked away that afternoon. Maybe Tsubasa would still be alive. Maybe I wouldn't have been experimented on. Maybe it wouldn't be this way at all."

He lifted Bakugou's face up, watching as involuntary tears filled those red eyes and fear edged into his desperate expression. "You know," Izuku murmured, "Most people pass out pretty quickly when you drop their oxygen intake as low as I did to you. This much nitrogen dilutes the oxygen in your blood quickly. It only takes a couple of breaths to knock a regular person out. But as usual, Kacchan, you are different from normal people. You really can do incredible things, but it's time for you to go to sleep. Just close your eyes, Kacchan. It'll be over in a little bit."

Izuku brushed Bakugou's tears from his cheek with his thumb. Bakugou's eyelids fluttered, his lashes brushing Izuku's fingertips. Then they closed and he went limp.

Immediately, Izuku dropped his air manipulation quirk. He tapped his comm with one hand as he reached for the strap to wrap around Bakugou to show he was captured. "This is Noumenon, back online. Blasty is down for the count, how are we doing, folks?"

"Scope and Lady Zilla here," Kaibara said, panting, "Beams and Ridley are down."

"I really am going to punch you, Scopes," Tokage growled, "How would you like it if I called you by the wrong name?"

"Argue on your own time," Izuku ordered automatically, "Everyone else?"

"We have rescued two hostages," came Yanagi's voice, "Dash has taken them to the secure zone."

"Riot ended up joining Jacks and Tentacles and the three of them have pinned Krosis and I down," Hitoshi reported. "We need backup. I've confirmed they have a single hostage, marked with a gold star on the chest that I've assumed to be the hero."

"Hank. Status?"

There was static as a reply.

"Hank?"

There was a roar that rent the air but didn't come over the comms. Komori's voice, however, did, "Hank got knocked through a wall and lost his comm," she said quickly, "He and Tailman are fighting now. Charge is all burnt out and down as well. My shrooms keep telling me someone else is here but I can't see them so I think that Invisible Girl is at my location."

Izuku ran through the list of 3-A students that should have been out there quickly. "Scyther, go assist Washer and Krosis. All we have left to find is Copycat and he's probably lurking, nursing his wounds. I can handle him."

Later, Izuku would regret those words. Regret thinking them. Regret speaking them. Regret ever even believing them. Kamakiri nodded to him and took off.

"So we're only missing three hostages, correct? Ah, no need to answer that," Izuku added, "There were two rescue, one with those other three and Spirit found six total. Every hero is engaged except for Copycat." Izuku turned slowly, observing the area around himself. "Question: Washer and Krosis, did you engage or were you engaged?"

"It was an ambush," Rin panted. "We were headed their way and they came to us."

Izuku's lips moved silently as his memory played back the arena's layout. He'd spent half an hour staring at it earlier on so he knew where every street, every building was laid out. Recognizing where he was from the color of the brick and the size of the building on his left, Izuku turned. "Keep them busy," he said, "Spirit, you know where the last three are? Was it a room above or underground?"

"Basement. There were three windows," She replied, "High on the wall and small. I could check to see if there is a guard with them again?" She sounded out of breath. Her melodic tone was gone.

"There are only two basements available," Izuku replied. "Save your breath and rest up. You did great work. I can check them myself."

"Okay," she said, her voice full of relief.

Izuku put the fighting in the back of his mind as he headed down the street. He felt a smirk pull at his lips as he heard Komoi shout that Invisible Girl was down, but he didn't join in the cheering. His heart was jumping in his chest, his feet hitting the pavement in time to the quick beat. He hadn't been out in the field in months, having been so busy with the preparation of this school year that he hadn't been able to do more than oversee the villains out to play.

He found the first basement easily. There were two entrances, one inside and one outside. Izuku didn't bother going in first. He found the cellar door, crouched down in front of it and gripped the lock. With a mouthful of magma-spit, Izuku burnt through the metal and tossed it aside. The door banged open and Izuku dropped down the darkened stairs. Faint light peered in through one of the small windows, and Izuku blinked, activating an infrared vision quirk. He saw only the spreading warmth of sunlight that pooled in behind him and that which came in through the windows.

Looking up, he saw two windows. "Wrong basement," he murmured, and then turned away, dismissing the infrared quirk. Izuku stopped the moment he looked up, eyes widening in surprise. Monoma stood at the top of the stairs, backlit by the sun, and grinning down at Izuku.

"You think you're so special because of all your secret quirks," Monoma said, lifting his hand dramatically, "Why don't we just see how many quirks you have?"

"Don't," Izuku said immediately, dread filling his gut. His legs were frozen at the look on Monoma's face. He looked villainous, a sadistic light to his eyes, a sharp slant to his smirk. "You can't handle them. Don't do it."

"You think you, a shitty, pity-case hero-wannabe can tell me, the Phantom Thief what quirks I can and can't handle?" He pressed his other hand to his chest, grinning down at Izuku. "Don't get ahead of yourself, you fool, I can use any quirk in the whole world!" He laughed.

Again, much like Hitoshi's quirk, it was impossible to tell from the outside when it was being used. Hitoshi's voice had no telltale reverb. Monoma's had no distinctive sensation.

However, his appearance began to change dramatically. His eyes shifted green and glowing. His hair turned darker, began to curl away from his face. His pale skin darkened, growing closer to the tan of Izuku's on skin. His body began to change as well, growing taller bulging. Monoma's jaw dropped down, his teeth shifting along with the rest of him. His laughter came to a burbling stop, smoke rising from his throat. "What-" He choked out, eyes growing wide, "What ish thish-"

Izuku's limbs unfroze at the horror that burned across Monoma's face. At least half of it anyway. The left half of Monoma's face sagged while the right was pulled back in abject terror. "How-?" His cry was cut off as the left side of his body gave out supporting him.

Izuku leaped up the stairs, arms out. He caught Monoma before he hit the ground, cradling him in his arm. Blood dripped from Monoma's nose, his eyes, still burning green, stared up at Izuku. His jaw, distended, worked to form more words, but nothing coherent came out.

"Monoma," Izuku said, "Monoma, just hold on." He shifted the other boy in his arms to reach up and touch his comm. "Sensei, please, I need medical attention for Monoma right now."

"Midoriya, what happened?" Blood King's voice was shocked in his ear. "We just saw Monoma change and drop, what just happened?"

"He borrowed my quirks," Izuku replied, "He copied them."

"Fuck," someone else said, from outside the comm. Izuku looked up to see Kirishima, kitted up in his Red Riot outfit, stood a few feet away, eyes wide. "What's going on?"

Izuku looked down to where Monoma's features were some sort of hybrid between his own and Izuku's and then back up to Kirishima. His vision blurred with tears, "I told him not to," he choked out. "And now he's-"

There was a thump, a vibration through the ground, and suddenly All Might was crouched in front of him. "Midoriya, my boy," he spoke with surprising gentleness, "Let me take Monoma. We'll get him right to Recovery Girl."

Izuku immediately handed over Monoma. As he did, he saw that the boy's features were beginning to return to normal. His unseeing eyes were shifting back to their original shade, his hair turning blonde again. "I'm sorry," Izuku said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let him do it."

"Don't worry," All Might said, holding Monoma in one arm, "I will take care of young Monoma!" He leaped away, taking to the air as if he could fly. Izuku watched as his childhood hero took away the unconscious Monoma.

He knelt on the ground, feeling drained of energy. He felt someone shaking him and blinked, looking up to see Kirishima with his hand on his shoulder. His mouth was moving, but Izuku couldn't hear him speaking. The only sound that existed was the rushing of his blood in his ears.

That and his own voice, whispering, "It's against the rules. It's against the Code. You can't kill heroes. It's against the Code. I broke it- I can't- I can't- I broke the Code…"

Hitoshi stood with the other nine members of his team in the designated safe zone. They had six rescued hostages and seven capture pseudo-villains but none of them were celebrating. Izuku stood off by himself, shoulders hunched, head bowed. He had been silent since Kirishima had walked out of the battle zone with him. Kirishima, Shouji and Jirou were the only three of the villain team that had remained uncaptured by the time the battle had ended.

Tokage nudge Hitoshi with her elbow. "What are you doing?" she whispered, "Are you just going to stand there and let him freak out alone?"

"Go to him," Kamakiri said, stepping closer and lowering his voice, "He had a run-in with Bakugou too." He glanced to Izuku's back and added, "He suffocated Bakugou until he was unconscious and didn't freak out. But the thing with Monoma get's him like that?"

"He shouldn't be alone with this," Yanagi said, poking her head around Tokage, "Why aren't you going to him?"

Hitoshi flushed and nervously rubbed his hands over his arms. "Me going over there will just make it more awkward for him," he started, "I'm- I mean-"

Tokage pushed his shoulder this time, harder than before. "This is no time for your weirdness, Shinsou. Go over there and make sure Midoriya is okay. Stay with him! You're his friend." They stared at him, expectantly. Hitoshi rubbed his shoulder where she had punched him and then nodded.

He could feel people staring at him as he crossed over to where Izuku stood. Hitoshi glanced over his shoulder to see Tokage give him a hopeful thumbs up. Turning back, his eyes swept over Bakugou, who looked at him with narrowed eyes. Once he was at Izuku's side, he stopped.

"Izuku…"

The other boy tensed. He looked up from under his shaggy bangs, his goggles hanging around his neck. His eyes were red-rimmed with tears. Hitoshi hesitated, not knowing what to say. He reached out a hand, tentative. If Izuku was panicking, the last thing he needed was to be grabbed-

Izuku grabbed Hitoshi's hand in both of his, tightly. "I didn't mean to," he whispered intently, standing so close that Hitoshi could feel his body heat. "I didn't mean to kill him, I swear. I didn't."

Tears ran freely down Izuku's cheeks and he ducked his head. Hitoshi felt his face burn as Izuku rested his forehead on his shoulder. He hadn't seen Monoma before All Might toko him away and neither him nor Blood King had said anything. Not wanting to lie to Izuku, Hitoshi did the only thing he could.

He put free arm around Izuku's shoulders, drawing him close. If Izuku was comfortable leaning on him, needed to lean on him, then Hitoshi could stave off his embarrassment long enough to be there for his friend. "It's okay," he murmured, "You'll be okay."

Monoma might not be, but Hitoshi could at least believe that Izuku would be okay.

Notes:

3-B kids use nicknames for most of 3-A's kids during the fight (so they're intentionally NOT using 3-A's names but they are using their names) Also, like, none of them have listed names or even very detailed quirks so Rama just kind of made all that up. Here's a brief explanation of why these names were chosen:

Tokage: Lizard Lady: she's only listed to have lizard like regen skills so i kind of tacked on some other lizard abilities for her too (wall climbing and claws anyone?) (Kaibara calls her Godzilla/Lady Zilla/ Zilla teasingly)

Kaibara: Scope: his ability is called "swivel" and he likes cameras so im like "Guess who can do the whole "what do your elf eyes see" nonsense. this guy"

Tsunotori: Dash: She's based off of MLP stuff. no, seriously, she is. So guess who gets the least obvious MLP nickname. bc she's got horns and horse legs. she got legs for days.

Rin: Krosis: his quirk is 'scales', his trivia puts his name as dragon related, so guess who gets the Skyrim reference to his name? This guy. He's my fave dragon priest from Skyrim. aw yee

Kamakiri: Scyther: ok. his quirk is like, blades. he looks like a pokemon. so. yeah. obvious.

Komori: Spore: again, no listed ability, but a mushroom quirk so idk.

Shinsou: Washer: ok this one might be short for something else but it's basically a reference to him having a brainwash quirk, that involves memory loss

Shishida: Hank: idk how many of you know xmen, but guess what the name of the big fuzzy blue beastly mutant is! (hint, it's Hank)

Yanagi: Spirit: Possibly short for "Ghost Spirit"- she possesses shit. what the hell else am i gonna use. also i paired her with Dash in part of this because I loved spirit, stallion of the cimarron.

Midoriya: Noumenon Plot reasons. You'll find out later.

TBC