Chapter 11: To Fight Each Other (Ep. 36-39)

The tentacles gave Izuku a burst of power, but at the end of the day, he was no idiot. He knew he couldn't go rushing into battle right away; not with a weapon he was so inexperienced with. He needed time to hone his new secret blade — to understand it.

So, he did what he does best. He started researching it. And what better way to start your research than to go to the man who seems to have all the answers.

It's not hard to track down Shiro. Spend an hour on a mountainside with your newly developed tentacles, and the man comes right to you.

"I see you've come to understand your true potential," the man called out, sounding pleased. "Good. We can now move forward with the—"

"Wait," Izuku interrupted, clearly bothering the white-clad man, but he didn't really care. "There's something I need to know first. Questions I need answered about this...this power."

Because quite frankly, he was terrified of it. He was terrified of what he might become, of what he could do. If he wasn't careful, would he hurt those around him? Would the tentacles act against him like they did Itona? Were Shinsou and his friends in danger just being around him in these early stages? Would they ever be safe around him? Was he—

"I see your habit for mumbling is still present," Shiro deadpanned, folding his arms. "Nevertheless, let's hear it. What do you wish to know?"

What did he wish to know? He had way too many questions to be answered in one night. Most of his questions probably didn't even have answers. But there was one thing he couldn't figure out, one problem that may not be directly correlated to his tentacles, but mattered all the same.

"How do you know so much?" he finally asked. "You know how to create tentacles and how they work; you talk about Korosensei like you know him personally. Explain."

Shiro scoffed. "That's quite a broad question, but I'll humor you. The answer for my knowledge on the tentacles and your teacher is the same, after all. I created the tentacles when I created your Korosensei."

Izuku jolted back like he was hit with a ton of bricks. "You…You created Korosensei?"

The white-clad man chuckled. "Well, he certainly wasn't born that way. And, as his creator, it's my job to destroy what I create. Call it playing God, but, well… Call it that."

The green-haired boy could barely believe his ears. "So you just want to kill him? Why?"

"Oh, Izuku, don't ask stupid questions. Why else are you even in that little class? Why is everyone so obsessed with the octopus? Because by March, he will destroy the Earth."

"How do you know that?" Izuku cried. "Korosensei, he's a good man, a good teacher! Everyone is saying he's a villain, but how can a villain care so much for kids like us? How do you know that?"

Shiro sighed and began to walk away. "I'm not here to explain how the universe works. If you're just going to ask questions, I'm going to lea—"

Green tentacles shot out from Izuku's shoulder blades and stabbed the ground in front of Shiro, locking him in place. Izuku felt his blood boil uncontrollably.

"Answer. The. Question."

Shiro looked back at him, and Izuku liked to think he was shocked even though his mask made it impossible to see his emotions. The white-clad man sighed.

"Your teacher is not a good man. He is a monster that will destroy everything and everyone you love. I would know — he murdered my fiancé, after all. I think you knew her for a little bit. Does the name Yukimura Aguri ring any bells?"

It did, and it shook Izuku to his core. He drew back his tentacles, letting them hover above his head. "Yukimura-sensei…He killed…?"

Shiro nodded. "In cold blood too. It was a horrid, painful death, especially considering how much she cared for him — maybe even loved him." The man spat the words, and Izuku felt his heart go cold. "Now, I don't know about you, Izuku, but don't you find it odd the creature murdered her and then immediately after declares he wants her job?"

"No…Korosensei, he wouldn't — he cares about us!"

"He seemed to care about my dear Aguri too, all the way up to the time he held her bleeding body in his tentacles. Your Korosensei does not care, he kills. And unless you do something about it, he will kill so many more, including those you care most about — your mother, your purple friend, all of your classmates, they will die because of this monster. Whether it be in cold blood like Aguri or by blowing up the moon, that waits to be seen unless you stop him."

Izuku could only hear a rush of whispers and the beating of his heart as he took a step away from Shiro. Realizing he had to get out of here, he used the tentacles to launch himself far, far away at lightning speeds.

He thinks of Yukimura-sensei, and how no one had really blinked when she disappeared. He always assumed the governments paid her off to give up her position once the world's biggest threat demanded he get it, but to think she was dead all along and no one even knew? Kind, encouraging Yukimura-sensei, with her cringy graphic tees and kind words, despite how much the students pushed back. She was the first teacher he ever had that didn't question him when he said he wanted to be a hero. And she had been murdered.

Did Korosensei really kill Yukimura-sensei? How could he? Why would he? And why would he keep it a secret? Were they all just his next victims?

Izuku brushed a hand over one of his tentacles. They terrified him. He didn't know how to control them. Part of him wondered if they could control him. But at the end of the day, he needed to learn how to use them, to wield them. He didn't have a choice in the matter. If he didn't learn to control them, then he could hurt Shinsou and his other classmates, and then he'd never be able to save them.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his E-class quirk journal and wrote out a new page in the very back. If there was one thing he was good at, it was quirk analysis and research. For the time being, he was going to learn to wield his tentacles, to understand them. He couldn't risk hurting anyone else, and he couldn't risk someone finding out before he got a chance to strike. With these tentacles, he could finally be the hero everyone needed. He could save people, just like All-Might — no, better than All-Might. Because he was going to be the one to kill Korosensei.

He was going to be the greatest hero to ever live.

-.-.-.-

He spent the weeks after the tentacles developed doing two things: training them so he knew what they were capable of, and avoiding his friends as much as possible.

The first thing was a given; Shiro said the tentacles were like a quirk, a snippet of Korosensei's strength, but Izuku had no idea how far it went. How incorporated were these tentacles? Did they affect his entire body, or was the strength only limited to them as an attachment?

He determined after a few experiments that it was likely the latter for the most part. While he did notice some bits of him as a whole change, like how his ability to see things at heightened speeds was better and his endurance increased, the true power didn't extend to the rest of him. While his tentacles could move at supersonic speeds, Izuku couldn't run or move any faster than originally. It was more like having a biotic weapon attached to his back; a weapon that spoke to him and told him what to do and was insanely powerful.

And therein lies his reasoning for avoiding everyone — because the tentacles were powerful, and most of the time, they called the shots. Izuku found that if he started using them for long term, his control would slowly begin to seep away from his. He had very little control over this quirk, and from Shiro told him, he likely never would. He never went through the proper process like Korosensei presumingly did. He didn't know if it was possible for the tentacles to suddenly lash out without his telling, and that meant everyone around him could be in danger.

Shinsou and Nagisa and Karma and all of his friends could be in danger.

And well, what better way to ensure their safety than minimizing their interactions with the threat. He told himself, until he felt he had a better grasp on the tentacles and the perfect chance to attack came, he would hold them back. They were supposed to be the ones he was protecting, after all. If they got hurt by him...Izuku's not sure if he could take it.

Izuku just hoped that if the perfect moment to attack ever did arise, that he could hold the tentacles back enough to save his friends.

-.-.-.-

Unfortunately, that perfect moment did come, right when Shinsou was standing next to him. And though Izuku fought and fought with the tentacles, their burning control wouldn't let him stop them. All they saw was Korosensei standing so oblivious with his back to them, and they knew he wouldn't get another chance like this. His tentacles screamed to be set free, and after hiding them for weeks on end, Izuku didn't have the strength to deny them any longer. They lashed out completely on their own accord, pummeling the creature at rocket speeds — Mach 15, to be exact, he discovered after some testing. Not as fast as their teacher, but the sheer shock of the attack should more than enough to compensate for it.

He used his tentacles to keep above Korosensei, shoving and attacking his teacher into the ground. It was clear the octopus was panicking, and excitement lit up within the tentacles. All of those who tried and failed to kill Korosensei seemed to lack at least one of two things: the strength to overpower him, or the knowledge to outsmart him. The Reaper came close, but even he failed to have to foresight to take into account the bond Korosensei had with his students.

But Izuku...he was a completely unsuspecting opponent. He was the quirkless one, the one that had to work hard for results, the one that liked analyzing more than assassinating. And because of that, no one knew Korosensei better than he did; he had every strength, every weakness, every quirk memorized. That combined with his newfound tentacles that allow him to almost match the octopus in terms of abilities, and he might actually be able to take Korosensei down.

We will take him down, the tentacles hissed. We will save the world.

As he pushed Korosensei to the floor and saw his teacher's shock and terror, Izuku couldn't help but frown. "I'm sorry, Korosensei," he said. "But I have to save them. I have to."

His tentacles knocked Korosensei to the side and prepared for the final attack, but he reared back when he saw Korosensei's tentacles glowing. He recalled this move from the last time Itona fought the octopus, and Izuku had just enough time to block his body with his tentacles before the light exploded.

Korosensei used the distraction to escape, landing on the field while Izuku launched himself onto the roof of the shack. He saw his classmates start to gather. Shinsou was leaning heavily on Karma and staring with horror; Izuku couldn't bring himself to look at anyone — especially his best friend — in the eye as he focused on Korosensei.

"I'm sorry it's come to this," he announced. "I didn't want these tentacles when they were forced upon me, but when my failures kept stacking up in front of me, I couldn't turn the power away. I can't save the world being quirkless, and I can't sit and let you kill everyone I love like you killed Yukimura-sensei."

He heard his classmates collectively gasp at the revelation, but Izuku's focus was on Korosensei. The teacher winced visibly, and it was all the confirmation his aching heart needed.

"I know killing isn't the most heroic thing to do, but saving the world is," Izuku continued. "And if using these tentacles is the sacrifice that must be paid to do so, then I have no choice but to pay it."

He kept his eyes stern and tentacles flickering to hide the bubbling emotion in his chest. He reminded himself, as he looked down at the sad, broken expression on Korosensei's face, that this was a monster, a murderer, not their teacher. He listened to the tentacle's whispers and told himself this was for the best.

"Izuku…" But then Shinsou voice nearly broke his concentration, and he thought of how shit he felt when his best friend kept asking him what was wrong and why he was so distant. He thought about how much he hated lying and keeping secrets from Shinsou, but the tentacles told him it was only fair. He's been keeping secrets from you, they would say. Principal Asano, the Reaper. He hasn't trusted you with anything. He doesn't deserve to know. And Izuku listened.

Knowing it wouldn't be long before his resolve broke, Izuku fixed Korosensei with one last hard stare. "Tomorrow, I will inform you where and when to meet me, and then I will kill you. I know I can."

Not waiting for a response, Izuku pushed off with the tentacles and propelled himself into the sky.

-.-.-.-

He waited again on the mountainside, and sure enough, Shiro appeared.

"I see you attacked on your own accord. So disappointing. The surprise aspect was completely ruined because of your actions," he said, and Izuku rolled his eyes.

"I am not your tool," he spat. "You forced these tentacles on me, hoping to exact my potential in killing Korosensei. So, did your plan work?"

The white-clad man did not respond, but frankly, Izuku wasn't really looking for an answer in the first place.

"I never wanted these tentacles, so you cannot argue I'm in any debt to you," he continued. "The only reason I haven't tried to destroy them is because I understand what kind of opportunity has presented itself. I know I would be foolish to pass it up, which is why I attacked on my own accord. I have no intention of becoming a weapon for you like Itona."

"You will get yourself killed," Shiro snapped back. "While you may not be experiencing pain, that doesn't mean your body has accepted the tentacles — very few ever do, especially when you openly express hate for them, and it takes a much longer incubation and intense scientific experimentation that you never received. If you remain adamant on acting on your own plan and refusing my help, I have no doubt you'll be dead in days."

Izuku glanced at his tentacles and then back at Shiro. "And if it means Korosensei is dead with me, then I'm willing to accept such a fate."

And he meant it. He was willing to do anything to save everyone from whatever evil fate Korosensei had planned. Even if it cost him his life, he would do it to save them.

-.-.-.-

He emailed Korosensei to meet him at the zebra grass field at 7:00 PM, and as expected, his teacher — and the entirety of E-class — was there right on the dot.

"Let's end this once and for all, Korosensei," Izuku said, keeping his steely eyes locked on his target.

"Midoriya, you must remove those tentacles!" his teacher called out. "They are too dangerous, please let me help before they kill you!"

Don't listen to him, the tentacles hissed. He's faking his concern. It's all to distract you.

"My life isn't what matters right now," Izuku snapped back. "It's ending yours that does."

"Alright, Jolly Green, cut the self-sacrificial bullshit right now," Shinsou barked. The brainwasher looked well-recovered from the attack, which was a relief, but the angered look on his face was enough to distract Izuku from the tentacle's urges. "We all want to kill Korosensei, but what you're doing is insanity!"

"You said yourself that you didn't even want the tentacles," Kataoka argued. "Please, let us remove them! You don't need them to stop him."

"That's right!" Sugino added. "Being quirkless has never made you weak in our eyes, Midoriya! We'll stop Korosensei like we always planned: together!"

"You say he murdered Yukimura-sensei, but I think even you agree that he's earned the right to explain himself," begged Nagisa. "Just hear him out!"

"Korosensei has more than proven himself to us," Karma stated with a sigh. "Killing him right now is hardly the action of a hero."

Izuku gritted his teeth and tried to rein in his emotions. He felt like his head was splitting in two, his thoughts fighting with the whispers of the tentacles. His body felt uncomfortably hot, worse than any fever he'd experienced.

Itona stepped forward. "You must know your lack of quirk means your body as no defense system against the tentacles. Shiro tried to give them to me, hoping that having a less offensive quirk would mean that my body would be defended but wouldn't overpower the tentacles, but he was wrong. The tentacles aren't satisfied until they've completely consumed you, and without a quirk, there's no doubt they'll burn you out."

Yes, burn. Let us burn, the tentacles screamed, and in his splitting confusion, Izuku couldn't stop his body from acting. His tentacles flicked and fire roared to life on the tips. His classmates backed up in shock, and Izuku felt the full strength of the tentacles soar through his body.

This isn't right! his mind cried out, but the tentacles crushed the thought.

"Korosensei once told me that being quirkless stood as an open slate for the greatness I could achieve," he heard himself saying, but at this point, it felt like his body was completely out of his control. "And if my quirklessness only lets me harness the tentacles undisturbed, then it's greatness you will get!"

Korosensei tried to call out to stop him, but Izuku's tentacles lashed out, lighting the grass on fire in a circle so it was only him and the octopus inside — no one can disturb them now.

"This is between you and me, Korosensei," he said. "You taught me to use my weaknesses as my strengths, after all. Let's see if your lesson holds true."

He could hear his classmates screaming for him to stop, with Shinsou's voice ringing out the loudest. "Stop it, Izuku! This isn't you! If you kill yourself killing Korosensei, think of everything you're giving up, everyone you're leaving behind! This isn't how you become a hero!"

Izuku's face turned dark. "I'm sorry, Hitoshi. But I have to do this, for everyone — for you."

The brainwasher reared back like he had been slapped in the face, and that's when Izuku attacked. He jumped up in the air and sent his tentacles after Korosensei at full speed, keeping his teacher distracted with dodging. The fire stopped any outsiders from interfering, allowing the tentacles to focus solely on taking their target out. He ripped off one of Korosensei's tentacles, and that's when Izuku felt the tentacles truly take control.

He was a puppet in his own body, and it wasn't like when Shinsou used his quirk; it was much, much worse. It was violating, painful, and so, so hot. He felt like his very existence was being melted out of his own body.

Itona did try to warn you, his mind argued, but at this point, it was too late to listen.

"We're running out of time," he could hear Itona explain to his classmates. "At the point, it doesn't matter whether the tentacles accomplish their goal; unless we act now, by the time the battle is over, he will likely die."

God, why didn't he listen to them? How long had he let the tentacles make his decisions? Thinking back, they've probably been calling the shots all along; forcing him to keep them a secret, telling him to ignore anyone's pleas or advice. He let them play him, believed their lies that they were making him a hero.

Please, Korosensei, he tried to plea, even if the tentacles wouldn't let him speak. Please, help me. Save me.

-.-.-.-

As if he heard his cry, Korosensei instantly started trying to communicate with E-class to find a solution. He created a clone of his head — the most he could do thanks to Izuku's onslaught of attacks — and informed them that they had to find a way to distract the tentacle's bloodlust so it'd be possible to remove them before they killed Izuku.

"I'll allow him to strike at my heart, and that's when one of you will come in and distract Midoriya long enough that I can pull out the tentacles with minimal damage!" Korosensei explained.

"Your heart? But won't that kill you first?" cried Kataoka.

Takebayashi pulled out a slip from his belly button. "My Statistic says there's a 50/50 chance you'll die, sir!"

"Then that's a risk I'm willing to take! I'd much rather die than not have every single one of my students graduate!"

"But sir, what can we do?" asked Isogai. "Even if you do survive, what's strong enough to distract him?"

"Nagisa, do you think your quirk is strong enough to force Midoriya to calm down?" Kanzaki asked. The blue-haired boy paused before shaking his head.

"His emotional state is out of this world! I think trying to distract the tentacles that way will only turn their bloodlust toward me!"

"Not to mention there's no way to get to Midoriya!" added Mimura. "The flames are way too hot for any of us to just walk through!"

To everyone's shock, it was Karma who stepped up next.

"Leave that part to me," the red-haired boy said, his face unusually serious as he rolled up his sleeves. "Shinsou? I believe you know what you need to do."

Izuku's attention turned back to the tentacles, which were striking out to hit Korosensei right through the heart. He could vaguely feel the squelch as they ran his teacher through; he held his breath and prayed they failed, and for once, his prayers were answered. Korosensei, though wounded, lashed out and grabbed Izuku's body and pinned them together.

"Now, students!"

Karma stepped forward and held his hands out towards the flames. Instantly, the area became very cold, and the flames, while they didn't go away, shrunk in size and brightness. The heat they once contained had vanished.

"Go, Shinsou!" the red-haired boy barked, his face scrunched in concentration. Izuku had just enough time to mentally celebrate — I knew you were lying about your quirk, Karma, I knew it, I knew it — before Shinsou surged forward and kissed him.

-.-.-.-

Izuku counted how many times his brain stopped and restarted.

One.

What was happening? What the hell was happening?!

Two.

Shinsou...was kissing...him.

Three.

Holy shit, Shinsou was kissing him!

Four.

He blinked. This couldn't be real.

Five.

His tentacles hissed, tried to scream out, but suddenly, they weren't the loudest thoughts in his head anymore.

Six.

After all, how could they be when his best friend was kissing him?!

Seven.

He felt his mind slowly regain control of his body. His fingers twitched ever so slightly.

Eight.

Shinsou's hand cupped his cheek, and a new thought set in Izuku's mind: Oh god, they could still be friends after this, right?

The hits kept coming in and in, and Izuku doesn't know if he closed his eyes or blacked out. The next thing he registered, however, was Shinsou pulling away and holding him tightly while Korosensei made quick work of pulling out the tentacles.

It felt like a dense fog was cleansed from his mind and body, and for the first time in weeks, Izuku could breathe again. It was finally silent — perhaps too much, but Izuku couldn't bring himself to care. He could see Shinsou's lips moving, trying to talk to him, and could see his classmates crowding in with cries of concern, but for once, he heard nothing.

The whispers of the tentacles were gone, and he could finally think.

-.-.-.-

Slowly, Izuku regained his senses, but part of him wished he didn't.

He decidedly couldn't look at Shinsou anymore, but it seemed the feeling was mutual if the brainwasher's harsh blush was anything to go by. His classmate's taunts also weren't helping in any way.

"Woohoo, Shinsou, taking him out like a true Honeypot pro!" taunted Okajima while Fuwa wiped away blood from her nose.

"I never considered myself a fujoshi, but…"

Ms. Jelavić shoved her way forward so she was inches away from Shinsou's face. "Thirty hits in ten seconds? Not bad, but in all honesty, it should be forty. We'll just have to work on that."

Shinsou growled and pushed the woman away. "Like hell, Bitch-sensei!" Izuku noticed Yada and Maehara standing to the side, looking thoughtful. Maehara muttered, "Man, my best is twenty-five." and suddenly Izuku wondered what kind of discipleship Ms. Jelavić was forming.

"Karma...what was that?" Nagisa asked, and instantly the silence returned as everyone turned their attention to the red-haired boy. Karma scowled and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Look, I don't think it's my turn to spill my life story. Korosensei agreed he'd tell us what happened with Yukimura-sensei after we stopped Midoriya, so I'm all ears, Octopus."

He was deflecting, but he had a point. That didn't stop Nagisa from looking so clearly bothered. Before anyone could press, however, a gunshot flew by, barely missing their still-injured teacher.

"Yes, I agree with the boy. Tell us, Korosensei," a cold voice called out.

Shiro.

The white-cloaked man stood at the edge of the field, a dark form silently accompanying him.

"Such a waste of potential," Shiro said, eyeing Izuku with disgust. "It seems not even the tentacles were able to overcome your pathetic weakness. Perhaps my quirk was telling me there was a 99% chance you'd fail."

"Yeah, that or your quirk is useless as fuck," Terasaka growled. "I mean, it failed just as badly for Itona."

Shiro scoffed. "It's true my quirk has not been as reliable lately, but I'm hardly to blame." The man reached up and took off his mask, finally revealing his face. He was as cynical looking as one could imagine, and the robotic prosthetic left eye stuck out like a sore thumb.

"This monster took everything from me," Shiro continued, and his voice was noticeably higher — must have worn voice alterer to further disguise himself. "My research, my fiance, part of my quirk. I will not stop until I make you pay."

"Yanagisawa. I should've known," Korosensei hissed. Shiro sneered and turned to the dark-cloaked figure next to him.

"It's time for us to leave, 2.0," he said. "As I'm sure my past projects have shown, patience will surely be the best solution to kill this creature once and for all."

Izuku flinched visibly at the jab as Shiro disappeared, and he felt the attention turn to him. He bit his lip in a pitiful attempt to hold back tears.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, but he may as well have shouted it. "I felt so helpless, especially after the Reaper, watching so many I care about get hurt. I wanted to become strong. Shiro secretly injected me with the tentacle seeds ages ago — it's why the poison didn't affect me as much — but he didn't activate them until more recently. I wanted to tell you, to get them removed, but I just thought..."

Tears sprung in his eyes, and he noticed that many of his classmates were crying too. "I just thought for once that maybe I wouldn't be so useless. Being quirkless has haunted me my entire life; before I met you guys, people only saw me with pity or disgust. They told me I was pathetic or a waste of space. I knew I was becoming strong with my training, but actually having a power, a quirk to call my own...I'm embarrassed to admit how selfish it made me."

Izuku barely held back a sob when Shinsou knelt down in front of him. "Izuku," he said softly and way nicer than Izuku deserved. "When I told you my quirk, all you did was tell me how amazing it was. No one — no one — has ever done that for me. When I made my deal with you to become heroes together, I meant it, even though you're quirkless because I know you can do it. You're one of the smartest people I know and one of the best fighters in the class, but above all, you inspire people. If you can't become a hero with that, then no one deserves to become a hero.

"We know Korosensei is no saint — he's the Number One Villain, after all. But at the end of the day, we know what a good person and teacher he really is. While the news of Yukimura-sensei is shocking, we owe it to him to hear him out."

Izuku couldn't hold back a sob this time. "Thank you, Hitoshi. Thank you."

-.-.-.-

They all gathered around Korosensei as they awaited his explanation. It was clear the creature was reluctant to reveal his past, but he knew he owed it to them.

"There are two things you must know first before I can explain my past," their teacher began. "The first is that until two years ago, I was the assassin known as the Reaper—" Everyone visibly tensed. "—and the second is that whether you kill me or not, come March, I will die. Whether I die alone or with the rest of the world is in your hands."

And from there, their super-creature teacher began to explain his very human past.

"I was born in the slums, with death being the only truth I ever knew. Even those with the most powerful of abilities could be taken out, and so the life of an assassin called to me. In years, I was a name of nightmares; the most deadly assassin to ever exist. Blessed with not only immense strength and intelligence, but charisma that lured in targets with ease. The name 'The Reaper' came along by my 1000th victim, but underneath all of that blood, no one truly knew the source of my strength. Victims and assassins alike wondered what made the Reaper such an unstoppable killer. Was he blessed with a quirk that allowed him to kill so easily? Was he truly born to kill? But alas, they were all wrong. There was no secret but prodigious skill and practiced bloodlust. After all, there was a reason I was so drawn to the idea of killing and proving my power. Because even more so in a life in the slums, I knew what happened to those God did not create equal."

Izuku suddenly realized where this was going, but he didn't believe it until he heard it.

"That's right, boys and girls. Before I became what I am today, I was quirkless."

The entire class could only gape in silence at the revelation, and Izuku felt his own brain tumble out of his head. The octopus met his eyes and looked sad.

"When Midoriya talked about the urge to feel powerful, I knew it all too well. It's why I urged you so much to embrace your quirklessness because I knew it was possible to become great without a quirk. It was my foolishness to think a few words of assurance could outway a lifetime of prejudice, and I apologize for that."

Izuku bit down a cry while Isogai asked, "But sir...how did you come to possess so many quirks?"

Korosensei sighed. "I was betrayed by my successor — the Reaper you all met. He resented me because I would punish him for continuously taking on more and more quirks; I wanted him to learn to become strong without them because those who are most reliant on their quirks are the easiest to exploit and kill. I was captured, but instead of being incarcerated for my crimes, I found myself in a lab. Yanagisawa's lab.

"The man wished to uncover a way to make humans capable of holding multiple quirks. He was hired by a mysterious man who would somehow provide Yanagisawa with quirks, and it was his mission to find a way to implement them into human beings without harm. It was Yanagisawa's theory that anti-matter was the key; to prove it, Yanagisawa wanted to find a way to grow anti-matter within a test subject, and then inject multiple quirks within the subject, hoping the modified body thanks to the anti-matter would help the subject survive the onslaught of power. He tried for months, but in each subject, the anti-matter would kill them before he could even start injecting the quirks. But then he saw me."

Their teacher scowled deeply. "Apparently my potential read 100%. He paid my apprentice off to betray me and captured me. He said I was the perfect test subject; immensely strong but incredibly quirkless. I became his guinea pig, and every day I had to endure endless experiments and torture. I was sure I could've overpowered my captives during many instances, but my escape would be unlikely. I had to wait, locked in a glass room and observed like a pet. It was through this that I met Yukimura Aguri."

Their confusion must've been visible, Izuku's especially. Why would their old teacher be working in Yanagisawa's lab?

"She was assigned as a handler of sorts. Yanagisawa and she were engaged, but it was strictly business. The man couldn't care less if she lived or died, which was why she was assigned to work so closely with me, the deadliest man alive. He didn't want to risk losing anyone truly important in that position," the teacher spat the words, and his hatred was felt among everyone.

"At first, I thought of her as a possible asset in my escape. She fascinated me, sure, especially with her quirk. Her quirk let her see one's greatest weakness, but instead of using it to exploit as someone like me admittedly would have done, she chose to put it toward teaching and improving students. Students, she would tell me, that were set up to fail, and to see themselves as failures. Students that feared or hated their quirks and their skills and their abilities, and could never seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Throughout our year together, my view on her...changed. Whether it was her unbelievably cringy shirts, her caring nature, or her love for her teaching job she refused to give up, I'm not sure. It was likely a combination of all three. Despite knowing what I was capable of, she treated me with kindness. I admired her passion for teaching, and would even give her tips on lessons. But more than anything, I admired her ability to love.

"The process of having anti-matter formed on a cellular level was excruciatingly painful. I could literally feel my body changing, becoming something entirely inhuman. The tentacles forming was a sign that my body was changing appropriately, and slowly I began to have quirks injected in me: superior intelligence, unmatched speed, the ability to camouflage, flight, regeneration, and more. I was no longer the man I was before; probably the only reason I didn't completely lose myself was because Aguri was there.

"She would chat about the most human things with me, and taught me — someone who never even knew their name or date of birth, much less how to be human — what the term humanity meant. She always told me, whenever the anti-matter started to create the tentacles, that she thought they revealed what I would be like if I was given the opportunity to grow up in normal circumstances. Thinking back on it, I think she was right."

Korosensei looked up at the sky — at the moon — morosely and touched the crescent moon tie that hid his heart. "On our last day together, she tried to give me a birthday gift. Said that, since I didn't know my real birthday, then we could celebrate it on the anniversary of the day we met. She was undoubtedly the most amazing person I'd ever met, and I was foolish enough to get attached. I should've known, like all things in my life, that I was dooming her to a terrible fate."

Their teacher looked back down at them. "Just three hours later, the moon exploded. One of Yanagisawa's earliest anti-matter tests — a lab rat located on the moon — exploded because of an anti-matter energy overload."

Izuku jolted back, as did much of his classmates. Korosensei...didn't blow up the moon? The act that ripped the world of hope wasn't by a villain attack, but by a failed research experiment? How would...why would…?

"Why would he take the blame?" Shinsou whispered just loud enough for Izuku to hear, completely voicing his own thoughts.

If Korosensei heard the shocked whispers, he didn't acknowledge them. "Aguri overheard Yanagisawa calculating that the same would happen to me by March 13th of the next year. They planned on putting me down to prevent it, but Aguri hoped I could be saved. I figured it was useless, and decided it was time to try out my newfound quirks. I told her to leave if she didn't want a pointless death, and was so foolish to think she'd listen. I was too caught up in my bloodlust, wanting to take revenge on the people who tortured me by killing them with the very power they gave me.

"I destroyed the lab, killed the guards, and took out one of Yanagisawa's eyes so he'd feel the full extent of the potential he saw in me. I didn't care if I died in a year, and I especially didn't care if I took the Earth with me. My bloodlust drove me to become a monster, but even then, Aguri still tried to stop me. She could see my greatest weakness and knew there was still humanity in me— still goodness — and it led to her death."

Korosensei eyes were downcast, and the wind howled to fill the short silence. "One of Yanagisawa's weapons went off and hit her instead of me, ripping a clean hole through her stomach, and I was so blinded by my bloodlust that I didn't notice until it was too late. If I had been .01 seconds faster, I could've saved her. But I wasn't. My tentacles only knew how to kill, not heal. All I could do was hold her as she died.

"Her last request to me was that I'd teach her students. She said they were like me, lost and in need of hope. She believed I could give them — you — that. I swore to myself that I'd keep her dying request and become your teacher. So, when the tentacles asked me what I wanted to be, I told them what Aguri would've wanted: to be weak, and to be able to see weakness in others and guide them, protect them. To be a teacher."

Korosensei held his tentacles in the open, just like he had held his past. "So as you can see, the one who taught me to become a teacher was your Yukimura-sensei. She taught me to not judge people based on how strong or weak they were. She taught me to see the beauty in quirks and the strength in quirklessness. It's why I've dedicated my abilities to the fullest to help you become great, using the best form of education I know: assassination. And maybe through that, the world could be saved as well."

-.-.-.-

Hearing Korosensei's past changed E-class. They knew his back story, his reasons for becoming their teacher, and suddenly everything he'd done for them over their nine months together came rushing back in full. From the terrifying instance after they'd hurt that old man, to the cheerful times when they succeeded in grades or spent time together at a festival. And maybe for the first time since it was given to them, they began to feel the weight of the burden put on them.

How could they kill the man who had done so much for them? Who chose to sacrifice his last year alive with a bunch of end-class middle-schoolers? Who asked to become weak for them? How could they ever kill their teacher?

-.-.-.-

Winter break came and past, leaving them with just three months until the fated March 13th, yet not a single student attempted to kill Korosensei over the break.

Izuku spent most of his holiday break in the hospital, still recovering from his bout with the tentacles. His mother, distraught by his seemingly random illness, wouldn't let him have visitors for days, as if she feared human interaction could somehow worsen his condition. He didn't realize how much of a blessing that was until Shinsou and a handful of other classmates walked into his hospital room one day.

"Now, please be gentle with him, he's still recovering and while the doctors say he should be clear to leave in two days, I don't want him to experience any stress incase that hurts his recovery and —"

"We promise to be extra careful, Mrs. Midoriya," Nagisa assured his mother, and she smiled shakily.

"Of course. I'm afraid I have to leave for work, but I promise to come right back to the hospital after my shift, okay sweetie?" she said and Izuku nodded vigorously.

"Bye, Mom!" he said and breathed a sigh of relief when she finally left.

Sugino laughed. "Man, I think all that hovering would make me even more stressed."

Izuku shrugged sheepishly. "She's just concerned. We couldn't tell her why I really needed to go to the hospital, obviously, so I guess she's just paranoid now."

"She seems really sweet," Shinsou commented and nope, he was not prepared to deal with this yet, this is so embarrassing, stop beating so fast heart, everyone can see you on the monitor, you're exposing everything!

"You'll be back in time for the new term, right?" Nakamura asked, and Izuku was immensely grateful for the distraction.

"Yeah, the doctors should be letting me out in a few days actually. Strangely enough, it's been kinda nice. Being locked up in here let me escape the reality of facing Korosensei for at least a little bit," he answered.

"You're not alone in that," Sugino replied. "Now that we know Korosensei's past, it seems everyone's super reluctant to try assassinating him again."

"How can we?" Okuda asked. "Knowing how he really was human and everything he's been through — I love science, but it horrifies me to think it's the cause of so much pain."

Nagisa sighed. "It feels like everything we've known has been one big lie. The moon wasn't Korosensei's fault, he's not deliberately trying to blow up the Earth — is he even a villain at this point? — and Yukimura-sensei died protecting him and asked him to be our teacher. Not to mention the whole debacle with Karma lying and faking his quirk…"

Though Izuku wasn't surprised Nagisa brought it up, he couldn't help but flinch alongside everyone at the sensitive topic. It seemed no one except himself (he, after all, suspected Karma was lying about his quirk since his supposed Innate Capability 'failed' him on the first end-of-term exams) had seen it coming, and the red-haired boy was extremely tight-lipped about it. Nagisa, however, seemed to be taking the news the hardest.

"I just don't understand why he'd lie about it," the blue-haired boy continued. "Like, what's the big deal? Was he ashamed of his original quirk? I don't see why. The way he changed the temperature of the flames, making it possible for Shinsou to walk through, seems way more useful than an intelligence quirk. It doesn't make any sense."

"We all have our reasons for keeping secrets," Shinsou pointed out. "Whether our intentions are good or not is debatable, but if we've learned anything with this whole recent situation, it's that you shouldn't question someone's reasoning without getting to know their story first."

Izuku stared at his best friend and felt like screaming because how can he say that when he still keeps so many secrets himself?!

Likely sensing his fluctuating emotions, Nagisa sent him a sympathetic look before standing up. "I'm afraid I need to get going. Sugino, Okuda, Nakamura, you coming?"

With polite goodbyes, his classmates swiftly exited the room, leaving him alone with Shinsou. A long silence passed, and Izuku shifted through his racing thoughts, trying to pick which one to voice. Should he outright demand Shinsou spill, or should he ease him into it? Should they have a heart to heart before or after? Should they talk about that kiss?

"You're a real dumbass, Jolly Green."

Izuku's thoughts came to a screeching halt. "W-What?!"

"Keeping something like tentacles a secret? Claiming nothing happened between you and Shiro? Do you want to die?"

"N-No, but I — hey, you're one to talk! You haven't told me anything, always being so secretive about Principal Asano and the Reaper. Why do I have to tell my secrets but you don't?"

"Uh, because none of my secrets are foreign weapons that grow out of my back and try to kill me?"

Izuku opened his mouth to retort, but found he had nothing to say because, well, Shinsou did have a point. And judging by the smug look on the brainwasher's face, he knew he won.

"Alright, fine, but that's beside the point," Izuku admitted. "The fact is that these secrets are tearing everything apart, and they need to go away. I want you — need you to tell me what is going on with you. I-I care about you, Hitoshi, so, so much. You're my best friend. When I saw what a toll the Reaper incident had on you, it's partially what caused me to snap. If you're hurting in any way, I need you to tell me. I can't spend all this time worrying."

Shinsou face went soft and he grabbed Izuku hand. "I know, Izuku. And you're right, it's not fair I keep so many secrets from you. In regards to the Reaper, there's not much to tell other than, well. It really fucked me up. I couldn't sleep — still can't really, nightmares are a real bitch — and it was probably a month before I could stand physical contact."

The brainwasher rolled up his sleeves, revealing a slew of bandages encasing them. Painfully slow, he unwinded the wraps and brandished his bare arms. Izuku's eyes instantly locked on the odd circular scars on his arms. Those definitely weren't there before the island, he recalled watching Shinsou slathering sunscreen all over himself.

"These are from him. There are fourteen of them total across my whole body — I counted. He peeled off chunks of my skin just because he could, to prove how much stronger he was than me. Though this hardly holds a candle to when he ripped out my tooth. I say this because I'm being honest with you, but in that moment, I wanted to die. I'd rather be dead than see that man parading around with my quirk, using it for his villainous desires, acting how people always expect me to. Though I think I was most scared he was going to use it on you."

Izuku barely contained his own emotions as he squeezed his friend's hand, wishing he had Nagisa's quirk so he could literally send Shinsou the emotional support he clearly needed. Gently, he released his hand from Shinsou's and lightly traced over the fresh scars. The brainwasher went stiff, but he didn't pull away, letting Izuku inspect every single scar. There were three on his left arm and four on his right, splotching the normally clear, pale skin with harsh redness. He shudders to think on how they got there — on how the Reaper literally sliced off pieces of his best friend's skin. How long had he been hiding them? Was he bleeding their entire rescue mission and they just really never noticed?

He almost didn't want to press anymore, but he knew he had to.

"And...Principal Asano?"

There were few things in the world more shocking than Shinsou's reaction. Because he didn't tense up, or scowl, or freak out like Izuku expected — he laughed.

"Uh…" was all he could bring himself to say as Shinsou calmed down from the apparently hilarious joke Izuku just made.

"Oh god, where do I even start with that?" he said, and then Izuku wondered if Shinsou was being hysterical and needed medical attention. "Wow, that situation is a freaking mess. A roller coaster of emotions at his finest. I'm not sure how to even put it into words."

Izuku could only blink. "Um. Would drawing pictures help?"

Shinsou smirked, but his expression suddenly turned very serious and thoughtful. "No. But I know what will."

The brainwasher stood up, and with his hand still clasped in Izuku's, he pulled the green-haired boy up with him. "Grab you fancy vital cart. We're going for a walk."

Izuku had half a mind to obey the order before he found himself being pulled down the hospital hallway. "Wha — hey! If my mom finds out I left my hospital room, I'll be lucky to even return to school for graduation!"

Shinsou laughed. "Don't worry, she won't ever find out. We're not even going to leave the hospital."

Shinsou led him down the winding hospital hallways with ease, not even looking lost despite how every white hallway looked the same to Izuku. It was like he had memorized the hospital floor plan or something. The brainwasher led him down to an area of the hospital that was much quieter, much less chaotic than the rest. Izuku couldn't shake off the eerie vibe it gave off.

"Uh, Hitoshi...where are we?" he asked. The brainwasher was silent for a long time. He barely acknowledged a sympathetic looking nurse they passed that said something to Shinsou like she knew him. It wasn't until they were in front of a door that he finally spoke.

"We're in the hospice ward. There's...there's someone here I want you to meet. I think he can explain it better than I can."

Not waiting for a response (not that Izuku had any. How do you even respond to that?), Shinsou pushed open the door and carefully pulled Izuku inside.

"Hey, Dad? I want you to meet someone," Shinsou announced, and Izuku felt his heart jump straight into his throat. Dad? Dad?

He was meeting Shinsou's dad? Wasn't Shinsou in foster care? What did that even mean? Wasn't this too soon? He couldn't meet his best friend's dad in a hospital gown! Sure, Shinsou just met his mom, but that wasn't intentional—

Izuku thoughts were cut off when he spotted the purple-haired man with eyebags worse than Shinsou despite his sleeping state (wait, no, he was way too hooked up to monitors for someone that just sleeping, oh god was he in a coma?), and Izuku's fairly certain the only reason he didn't collapse was because he was still holding Shinsou's hand.

"Izuku, meet my dad. Dad, this is Midoriya Izuku, he's my best friend," Shinsou said, like it was completely normal to talk to a comatose person, and Izuku wondered how often this happened.

"Hitoshi...why...how does…" Izuku tried to say, but his voice failed him. It seemed Shinsou got the message.

"I didn't know how else to explain it. I mean, how else do you tell someone that Principal Asano was once your dad's best friend."

Well, he did have a point with that one, that was a pretty big bomb to drop on someone without any context and —

"WHAT?!"

-.-.-.-

Shinsou had to retell the story with Principal Asano four times before Izuku even began to grasp it. Fortunately, the brainwasher was patient with him and answered all of his questions, but it was probably just because he found this whole situation hilarious.

"So...he tells you all that...and then you left?"

"No, Izuku, you're missing the best part. I got all sappy with him, assured him my dad still was his friend, and then called him Uncle Asano for shits and giggles."

"Hitoshi."

-.-.-.-

They were back in his hospital room when Izuku finally worked up the courage to ask.

"So…are we going to talk about the k-kiss or…?"

"Oh." Shinsou was blushing bright red, and Izuku was sure he was too. "Um. I'm really sorry about it. I couldn't think of anything else to do in the moment. I'm sorry if it was your first kiss. You can pretend it didn't happen or claim it doesn't count, if you want. You're not going to hurt my feelings."

"N-No, it's fine! I just wanted to make sure we cleared the air, and that we could still be best friends. No more secrets, right?"

Shinsou smiled and gently nudged his best friend's shoulder. "Right."

There was a long pause. "So, um. How did you learn the Kiss of Death anyway?"

"Please don't make me answer that."

-.-.-.-

The day he was released from the hospital, Izuku had the great misfortune of running into both of his mentors back to back.

The first was Lovro. The legendary assassin snuck into his house and cornered Izuku in his room while his mom was in the kitchen. Izuku was so startled and paranoid seeing a dark figure in his room that he instinctively went to scream, but found himself incapable as the oxygen in his lungs were completely ripped away.

"Calm yourself, Izuku, it is just me," the foreign assassin said, stepping out from the shadows, and finally the oxygen returned to Izuku's lungs. The green-haired boy gasped greedily.

"Mr. L-Lovro!" he squeaked. "What...What are you doing in my room?"

"You were avoiding me, and even after recent events, I figured you still wouldn't be so keen as to seek me out," Lovro explained nonchalantly, as if it made everything okay. "We have business to discuss, my pupil. I apologize for getting caught by the Reaper and cutting our training short, but now that I am back, I need to ask. Do you wish to continue it?"

Izuku paused, his mouth going dry, his braining rushing at top speeds. Did he want to continue training with Lovro? While it was extremely beneficial back during the first semester and gave him the edge he needed, so much has changed over this second semester, and not just the obvious stuff like Izuku going through having an evil quirk transplant. Even without Lovro's extra tutoring, his training level was still as on top as ever, and everything is coming to a head in these next few months, after all these could very well be the last few months of the Earth existing, and even if they do stop Korosensei, that means he needs to start focusing on his life beyond the assassination classroom, his life that will hopefully be happening at U.A., but there's no way to know that until after entrance exams, which would be in about a month, which seems so soon yet so far away—

His oxygen was suddenly ripped away from him and Izuku flailed.

"Dear child, your mumbling is unbelievably excessive. The answer is a simple yes or no," Lovro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he let Izuku breathe again. "Hearing your little...rant, let me give some insight to my question. Do you want to continue your training as an assassin? I know you came to me to learn fighting as a general, but in the end, the techniques I teach you are designed for those who become professional killers. While they will give you an edge in this...hero life you desire, their original intention will always remain. And know this — I will not hold it against you no matter your answer."

Izuku paused, deeply considering his answer. "I...I think it's best we discontinue them. While I owe everything I am now to the skills of assassination, you're right. It's time I move on to the skills that make a hero; a real, true hero. What you've taught me will never be forgotten, sir, and I thank you for that. But...I think it's time I move forward with my life; assuming it won't end come March, that is."

Lovro smirked and ruffled Izuku's head in an oddly affectionate fashion. "And I wish you the best with it. Always know this, Izuku; no matter what future you choose, you will always be one of my students, which means I will only ever accept the best from you."

Izuku beamed. "Of course, sir."

Korosensei came by later that night and at least had the decency to knock on his window. Izuku popped it open, feeling oddly anxious.

"Oh, hi, Korosensei," he said, and even after the heart to heart and apologies, Izuku still felt like he couldn't meet his teacher's eye, his eyes kept firmly downcast, even after he felt a soft tentacle wrap around his shoulders.

"Hello, Young Midoriya. I take it you've been doing well this fine break? I must admit, I've been awfully lonely; while last break was chock full of assassination attempts, I've hardly seen anyone these past weeks," Korosensei giggled knowingly, clearly trying to lighten the mood, but the green-haired boy wasn't quite feeling it.

Izuku couldn't bring himself to answer his teacher, tears already forming in his eyes, and Korosensei sighed, gently lifting Izuku's chin so they could look eye-to-eye. "Midoriya, please tell me what's bothering you so. It's difficult for a teacher to help their student when the student keeps their feelings constantly a secret."

Lip quivering, Izuku blurted out. "Korosensei, before you got all your powers, back when you were the Reaper and you were q-quirkless...did you ever feel strong?"

Korosensei gave him an odd look. "My boy, when I was the Reaper, I was the deadliest man on the planet, and I thought there was no one stronger than me; no one I couldn't kill."

"And...And now?"

Korosensei blinked. "Now? Well...I think I can quite precisely pinpoint the differences of my strengths from them to now. As the Reaper, my greatest weapon was the most finishing one; no one can overpower death, after all, which is what made me so strong. But now, with my plethora of quirks, I don't see much need for constant killing to finish off my opponents."

Izuku gulped harshly; he feared as much. "Do...Do you think that means I could never be a hero?" Korosensei startled, and Izuku explained. "You told me months ago that you believed in me, and that my quirklessness is just a blank slate, and knowing you were once quirkless too, it's just a testament to how right you might be. But if the reason why you were so strong when quirkless was because you were so great at killing...I wonder if that means I could never be like you as a hero. After all, there are no quirkless heroes, and I don't want to kill. While the world's greatest assassin may have been quirkless, you say it was because you were such a natural killer. There's no guarantee that being a natural hero will help you make it in this world."

Korosensei was frozen, his tentacles lax, and for once, he looked at a total loss for words. Izuku looked away, brushing violently at his tear-stained cheeks, and tried to shove away his shattering heart.

"Young Midoriya," Korosensei finally said. "Just because there is no precedent for quirkless heroes yet, doesn't mean you can't be the first—"

"But what if it does?!" Izuku snapped, before looking away shamefully. "I-I'm sorry, it's just...I've been thinking about this a lot, and while I know I'm strong as an assassin, there so many things that separate heroes and assassins, and while maybe I could make it as an underground hero, without that finishing move, without an assassin's greatest weapon...I'll be weaker than when I'm just quirkless."

Korosensei withdrew his tentacles, but he didn't look angry. Actually, he looked quite thoughtful. "As I've taught you before, the best assassins always have more the one weapon. But your points have got me thinking, and I'm embarrassed to admit I'm not sure if I have an answer right now. What I can say, however, is that I know how strong you are, and I know how pure your heart is. As someone who has faced nearly every major hero in the world, I can say for a certainty that few are as deserving of the title as you. I believe in you, Midoriya Izuku. And I hope one day that you and the rest of the world can too."

-.-.-.-

On their first day back from winter break, Nagisa called everyone together for a class meeting in the woods.

"There's something that's been bugging me," the blue-haired boy said. "I don't even know if it's possible, but I think we should try to find a way to save Korosensei's life."

Izuku blinked widely and exchanged a surprised look with Shinsou. "You mean, like stopping him from blowing up come March?" asked Mimura.

"How do we even do that?" Okano followed up.

The blue-haired boy clearly didn't have an answer, but it didn't stop multiple classmates, like Kurahashi and Kataoka, from vocally giving their support. But, as such was to be expected, not everyone was on board.

Nakamura stepped forward, arguing that their bond with Korosensei was reliant on them being his assassins, and how the only way to honor that bond was to do as the man requested of them and kill him. She was instantly backed up by Terasaka's gang, and as they bickered back and forth, Izuku couldn't help but wonder what his own thoughts on it were. While all he ever wanted to do was save people, would they be disrespecting Korosensei trying to do so for him?

Nagisa bit his lip. "I know what Korosensei has asked of us, but I feel like—"

"You know, I'm not sure you should be telling us how you feel, Nagisa," Karma piped up, and suddenly the situation felt a lot more personal, a lot more dangerous. "After all, you might expose the emotions you're forcing us all to experience, and then you won't get what you want."

The look on the red-haired boy's face was positively sinister and Izuku wanted to yeet himself out of this confrontation yesterday.

"What?" Nagisa breathed as Karma began to approach.

"Here you are, one of the most dangerous assassins of us all, trying to persuade the class to no longer assassinate. I'm sure you thought this would be real easy, huh? Just add some forced enthusiasm and a dash self-consciousness, and those of us who have to work our asses off to kill will bend to your will."

"Where is this even coming from?" Nagisa questioned. "I honestly thought it was a good idea and thought everyone would be on board—"

"And if we weren't, that wouldn't be an issue because we ourselves wouldn't even know it. Say, how many people have you manipulated now that you've discovered your true quirk? Do you think it's more or less than when you were doing it 'unknowingly?'"

"I'm not trying to manipulate anyone, I'm just giving my opinion!" Nagisa shouted. "Besides, you're one to talk! At least I didn't know what my real quirk was — you purposely lied to everyone! Do you not trust us, Karma? Is that why you want Korosensei dead so badly, because you're worried you might start trusting him?"

The surrounding temperature fluctuated, first turning ice cold and then unbearably hot. It would seem Karma's quirk not only let him control temperature, but it prevented him from being affected by it seeing as he was the only one to not have any reaction.

"You wanna see my real quirk? If you want to know what it feels like, then that's just fine with me. It shouldn't distract from the fact that you want to dull out bloodlust, our blades, and make tea time out of all his hard work. Are you really as much of a child mentally as you are physically?"

Nagisa flinched and clenched his teeth, and a wave of anger unnaturally flowed through Izuku and likely the rest of the class. Karma's expression turned positively deranged.

"Oh? What was that? Go on, try again, Nagisa. Make me feel exactly how you want me to."

The anger immediately dissipated as Nagisa backed off. "No, I—" he tried to explain, but was cut off as Karma hit his shoulder.

"C'mon, no one's stopping you here. If you're really that angry, then why don't you fight me?" He hit Nagisa again, and again. "C'mon. C'mon. C'mon! I know you want to!"

Karma grabbed onto Nagisa's tie, and that's when the blue-haired boy finally snapped. He flung his feet up in the air and locked Karma's head between his ankles in a flying triangle choke. The class gasped at the sudden violence while Karma slammed Nagisa into the floor, but the hold didn't break.

"I'm not trying to manipulate everyone!" Nagisa cried out. "You're the scaredy-cat who hides his own quirk from his friends! Who's the manipulator now?"

Karma reared back his fist, and that's when Izuku realized how out of hand this was getting. He launched at Nagisa while Shinsou released his new-and-improved capture rings to hold back Karma. Even with the bettered technology, Shinsou still struggled to keep Karma at bay while Izuku barely had to try to hold the struggling Nagisa back. He felt kinda bad.

Just before things could escalate, Korosensei finally showed up. Instead of pacifying the issue, however, he decided to let them pick teams and duel it out in true assassination classroom fashion. Red team votes to kill, blue team votes to save. Whichever side is the last standing wins their class civil war and will determine which approach the whole class would take, and there was no arguing about it.

As his classmates began to pick sides, Izuku turned and whispered to Shinsou, "I can't help but feel that this fight isn't entirely about killing Korosensei or not."

The brainwasher nodded. "While that may be what started it, for Karma and Nagisa at least, this is a battle of personal trust. I mean, it's no secret that there's always been an odd distance between the two despite their friendship and obvious feelings for each other, especially after you revealed Nagisa's true quirk."

"Karma begins to wonder if any emotion he ever felt around Nagisa is real," commented Izuku.

"And Nagisa feels betrayed that Karma lied about his quirk all along," Shinsou finished.

Izuku sighed. "Can I remain neutral on this? I really don't want to get involved in their pseudo-lovers-quarrel."

The brainwasher barked out laughing. "Nah. I mean, when it comes down to it, this battle determines a lot. We've got to pick a side." Shinsou walked up to the opposing buckets and paused.

"I want more than anything to be a hero," Shinsou said. "It's my dream, but it's only thanks to Korosensei that I think I can actually achieve it. I'd feel wrong going against his wishes after everything he's done for me."

He reached down and picked up a packet of red BBs and a knife, solidifying himself with the 'kill' side. Izuku gave him a reassuring smile before stepping forward himself.

"The reason I want to become a hero is to save people and give them hope just like All-Might," he said. "And to give people hope, you first have to have it yourself. And that's why I say we save him." He picked up his own blue set of weapons. "I cling to that hope that we can do it. I owe it to him. Well, that, and that clearly my attempts at killing him don't typically work out too well."

The class chuckled at that. From there, it was only Karma and Nagisa left to pick a side, though their choices were clear.

"I'm glad you're here," Nagisa whispered to Izuku as he walked over to the blue side. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You're one of the only strategists who can hold a finger to Karma."

"Don't sell yourself short," Izuku argued. "Karma wasn't lying when he said you're one of the most natural assassins in the class. Something tells me this fight is going to be a lot more contingent on you than me."

-.-.-.-

They were separated on opposite sides of the mountain. The goal was to either capture the opposing team's flag or wipe them out entirely. Karasuma stood as referee to make sure nothing turned dirty, but in actuality, there weren't that many rules beside don't kill each other. Quirks were fully permitted and any strategy was allowed so long as it didn't result in serious injuries.

Immediately after they broke into sides, Izuku pulled Nagisa over, making sure no one was within hearing range. "Nagisa. I know how we can win this."

The blue-haired boy blinked. "What? How?"

"By bringing back some old tricks." At the blank stare he was given, Izuku clarified. "You need to use your quirk like how you used to before it was rediagnosed."

"H-Huh?!"

"Shhh!" Izuku hissed, glancing to make sure no one heard the shout. "Think about it. For years, you used to use your quirk to Project a forgetfulness about you, which is why it was diagnosed as Misdirection. Even with big strategists like Nakamura and Shinsou on that team, it's obvious Karma will be calling the shots, and he's going to be gunning to have you taken down first; to him, you're the biggest threat. If we're going to win this, we need to make sure you stay alive until the end, and the only way we can do that is for you to disappear until most of the enemy is taken out."

"I can't just abandon everyone and hide—"

"You won't be abandoning us. In the history of war, the general always stays back, only fighting in the most desperate of moments. There's no point in sending you out early; while you have the skill to probably take down multiple opponents at once, there will be too many enemies, too many guns aimed at your back. It's best to let the foot troops and the frontline dwindle down the numbers so you can strike when it really matters. It's obvious it has to be you who takes down Karma. If we go with this plan, we can guarantee it'll happen."

Nagisa still looked unsure, gnawing on his lip. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Right now, it's the only strategy we got."

"I guess..." Nagisa's eyes scanned the surrounding area, his eyes sharp. "For my Misdirection to work when someone is actively looking for me, I'll need to be where they'd least expect. Karasuma-sensei said he'd be standing on the high cliff acting as a referee. Referees are supposed to remain unbiased to both sides, so if I hid in his shadow…"

Izuku blinked, catching onto the genius on the plan. "...you should go virtually unnoticed the whole game. No one looks at the referee unless they need clarification. That's brilliant, Nagisa!"

The blue-haired boy laughed self-consciously. "Let's just hope it'll work out in the end."

While Nagisa slipped off to hide, Izuku was stationed to guard the flag and give strategy. The second the game started, Kataoka and Takebayashi were taken out by red team's sharpshooters, Chiba and Hayami. Izuku cursed and pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"Kanzaki, go ballistic!"

The normally quiet girl had an affinity for first-person shooting games. That paired with the terrifying imagery of an army of soldiers charging at you — even if they were just holograms — was more than enough for them to get the drop on Chiba and Okajima (no doubt a wound on the red team's part given the strength of Okajima's practiced Snapshot and China's amazing sharpshooting skills and eyes), evening out the score. She even took out Sugaya before she was ultimately 'killed' by Karma.

The rest of the battle continued much like that. Hazama snuck up on Sugino and Fuwa by blending in with the tree shadows, putting red in the lead again, but was taken out fairly quickly by Isogai. Okano, using her Boneless agility when knife fighting, took out Kurahashi. From the sounds of it, she and Kimura were teamed up, which was a dangerous combination that needed to be dealt with swiftly.

"Hara!" Izuku called into his walkie-talkie. "Team up with Isogai to Merge a trap that you can trigger with your Goat Bite! That should be enough to take those two out."

It worked, fortunately, but he knew that would only piss Karma off. They had to be careful. The numbers were dwindling, but that meant the most dangerous were the ones left. There still wasn't any sign of Nakamura or Shinsou, and that was more than enough to make Izuku sweat.

Okuda found Mimura's hiding spot and took him out with Isogai's help. The boy had been using Record to capture their locations and report back to Karma, which explained why the red team had been finding them so easily. This was quickly followed up by Hayami sniping out Hara, making the count 8 red and 6 blue.

Izuku immediately turned his attention towards the sniper. While Chiba had better aim, what made Hayami so dangerous was her versatility thanks to her quirk. Since Equilibrium Control let her perfect her balance no matter her position, she could literally attack in any conditions.

"Midoriya, we're sitting ducks out here!" Maehara called out. "We need to take out Hayami, but we can't do it without confronting Itona first!"

"And we can't go around them or else we'll run into Terasaka's goons and Nakamura," added Isogai.

Izuku gritted his teeth. "Yada, do you think you can Persuade them enough to distract them?"

"No," the girl replied. "Not only are they in laser-focused because of bloodlust, but those two are also so tsundere that not even my best honeypot tricks will faze them."

"Alright, then we'll just have to—"

Before he could finish speaking, a whip-like wire lashed out and yanked the walkie-talkie right out of his hand. Izuku barely flipped away fast enough to avoid the red BB aimed at his head.

"Sorry about this," Shinsou said, appearing from the trees. "Karma's not too happy that his strategy is being foiled, so he sent me to do his dirty work."

He could hear his teammates asking for updates on the walkie-talkie, but it was silenced as Shinsou crushed it under his foot. "I'm not a fan of being the puppet, but I already know this isn't really my fight. Just letting you know that it's nothing personal when I take you down."

Izuku smirked and brandished his blue anti-sensei knife. "Not going to happen. I want to — need to save Korosensei."

Putting away his gun and pulling out his own knife, Shinsou smiled bitterly and scratched the back of his head. "You know, it's been a while since we've had one of our little morning spars. I kinda miss them, to be honest." He got down in a defensive crouch. "So, what do you say, Jolly Green? Just like old times?"

Izuku smiled and raised his blade. "Just like old times."