I AM HERE AFTER BEING AWAY FOR SO LONG!
I hope you like this chapter!
(And yes I've read The reviews and I promise you that from the last chapter it will not be the last time you guys will see Katsuki Bakugo, you'll see him in later chapters, I won't give out the details on what will happen involving him, you will just have to wait and see for yourselves)
PS: I am happy that I finally learned how to do the line thing between the chapter and the author's notes! Also heads us, there will be OCs appearing in here, so if there are some characters you read that you don't know, then you'll know why.
Enjoy!
It seemed like it only happened yesterday, but for Izuku Midoriya, it's only been a week since receiving her powers, learning about the origins of them and who their predecessors were, confessing about all she was put through since being diagnosed as quirkless, her mom learning the secrets she'd been keeping from her, confessing to Mr. Yagi that he's a dad to her and knowing that he saw her as his daughter in return, and both the recuperating and move.
All in that order.
A lot has changed in a short week, more so than one could know.
She was surprised the next morning, near noon, after everything that happened at UA that her mother told her that both of them were going to be moving, not only to a new house and a nicer neighborhood as the one they currently lived in was agonistic towards her and the people around them will only just be nice just because she received a "quirk" and they didn't want that, But also so they can be closer to her new school which thanks to Nezu her mother was able to find one that would be suitable for her, plus this one was close not only to their new home but also close by to the train station which will be good for when it's time for the entrance exam.
And thanks to her ability to fly, Izuku will be able to easily fly to the beach to continue her training with Dad Might, as her mother playfully called him which made him blush.
But also, it was to get away from Katsuki, Knowing him he would just barge into her life again when he realizes she's not coming back to school again, demanding answers on why and find out the truth and... well the end result will not be pretty.
Especially when she learned from Nighteye that if things had played out like they originally would have without their intervention, then that week would be the absolute worst and it would not end well for her, how so, he said she was better off not knowing but nonetheless she understood what he was implying.
And she really did not want to think about it.
So later that afternoon they along with Dad (helping in-between with his original and muscle form), Aizawa, Cementoss (who volunteered to help after everything that occurred the previous day) and Sansa (who Izuku got to meet as Tsukauchi would be busy with her case and sent Sansa to not only help but keep an eye on things in case "Unwelcomed visitors" came barging in) got to work moving everything they had and placing it all into the moving van.
She had been embarrassed when the others saw her room, like the hero fanatic she was She had merchandise on about just about a whole bunch of heroes She knew, and a good portion of it mostly was of All Might, and only blushed more when the cement hero and the cat head police officer started chuckling in amusement.
Dad had confessed that He was actually expecting her room to be absolutely filled with All Might memorabilia, and she had answered with that saying originally it was until things started to get even worse the older she got from elementary to middle school so she had to sell a good portion of her merchandise in order to receive the money needed to get replacement medical supplies, school supplies and uniforms, the only ones she sold were the ones that weren't as rare and she kept the rare ones to herself.
Often lying to her mother that she gave some of her merchandise away to charity when questioned, which wasn't entirely false as sometimes she did give it to charity albeit as long as they were willing to pay a reasonable price.
The only not so rare ones but were actually more common She kept were only if she had a duplicate of said item which was only a small handful, the rest of the memorabilia of heroes came from her mom giving them to her as gifts, hero merchandise such as on The Wild Wild Pussycats, 13, Present Mic, Gang Orca, Mirko, Rock Lock, Sir Nighteye, Sulkie, Four Kind, Fatgum, to name a few including some handmade stuff that her mother made for her especially (mainly revolving around those who had so little or sometimes barely any merchandise or none on them for one reason or another) such as a handmade Eraserhead doll, A hand sown Bubble Girl Purse (Which she hadn't gotten to use yet due to her fear of it getting destroyed by you know who), A hand stitched Burnin' quilt, and a hand drawn poster of a brand new underground hero that just appeared not too long ago, better known as The Ariel Shadow Hero: Glider girl, again to name a few.
And even though she won't have to worry about selling any of her things to make money to get replacement supplies in secret or lie to her mother anymore, it doesn't change the fact that she was keeping the first aid kit because it would be a smart thing to keep it handy just in case something came up.
But this time with her mother actually knowing she had such and she will help her in getting replacement supplies if she starts to run out.
By the time they got everything packed up, it was close to lunch time so once they got everything squared away in the van they all decided to go to a restaurant before heading to their destination.
An American themed restaurant that Dad had suggested, and him insisting on paying the tab since money was not an issue due to all the work he had done as a hero for decades, And even though he gives donations to charities and such all the time he still had more than money then he knew what to do with, so much so that people often said that he could probably buy all of Japan with it, but he was humble and most certainly not greedy in that regard, far from it.
Once everybody ate they all got to moving to the new house, which was actually, as it turns out, Not only a small but otherwise very spacious and lovely two-story house but this house was also one that Nezu had purchased for some kind of emergency in case something came up and he was more than happy to allow the Midoriya's to move in free of charge, He even offered a job to her mother to work at UA so that when the time came for her daughter to enter the exams and attend UA, her mother could always be close by to keep an eye on her (But not in a helicopter parent way), be under the protection of the school in case of an emergency, and earning an even bigger paycheck then what she was getting from her other job.
Since her mom had skills as a secretary and managing paperwork, she would be assigned as the principal's assistant, Not only managing financial paperwork but also managing schedules, meetings and evaluations on the students (and from there everybody quickly learned where Izuku got her analysis skills from).
After talking to her boss's, to her surprise they were more than happy to allow her to transfer to a different job elsewhere, they even insisted that if it would better suit her and allow her to spend more time with her daughter then they shouldn't stop her from pursuing it. Even giving her her last paycheck, that being double then she originally gets, from there and even a nice farewell present which was a box of chocolates and a bouquet of beautiful yellow roses as a sign of Goodwill, encouraging her to give it her all going forward.
Which was a relief as this made transitioning a lot more smoother, and it was very generous of them to offer nice gifts to the woman, they made a mental note to send a thank you card later in gratitude.
The rest of the day was spent not only exploring the house but getting everything moved in and squared away so they would only have to focus on resting and recuperating the very next day before getting started on setting up therapy for Izuku the day after.
Thankfully her first therapy session went by without a hitch as not only was the person who saw her in question was a very understanding woman around her mid-40s, her name being Lenora K. Yukina (Who is half American and half Japanese), but she also had a quirk that was best suited for the situation which would allow her to be able to feel the emotions of the person in front of her and thus she would be able to emphasize with them more readily but in a way that would not seem like she was pitting them.
She was even given anti anxiety and panic pills In case something came up, although thanks to the girls she would only have to take the medicine only if she absolutely had to as the girls wanted to help her avoid any serious incidences that might happen, But occasionally if it got too much then she would take the pills as prescribed to her.
The therapist was actually very compliant and glad to hear that she had a few very constructive outlets, and gladder still when she was reassured that her father and the others were making sure to remind her to not overdo it and were there to make sure that everything was okay.
Still she made It clear that if she started to have a set back then to talk with her immediately, and even made a few suggestions of other constructive things she could do in case she may need more than her current outlets to ensure that she wouldn't have any lingering negative thoughts roaming about nor become closed up like a clam, even with her other personalities it was best to have these tips just in case.
After that they had planned on her to see her therapist at least once a week, and if she found herself getting worse then she would be going two times a week, hopefully they could avoid that as they didn't need any setbacks especially after everything that transpired recently.
The rest of the week after that was spent not only continuing her work at the beach with her dad but also spending time with her mom, and sometimes she would join in her beach clean up sessions as well If she wasn't busy either taking care of paperwork for getting her enrolled in her new school and taking care of paperwork and getting she herself set up so that she could start working with the principal of UA.
Speaking of the beach, that time was spent not only on her working on clearing a beach in her normal form (Which as they estimated, had gone by more quickly thanks to her increase strength in her base form) but also practicing using her new powers so that not only can she become accustomed to them but also even discover any other abilities that she may have in secret without anybody spying on them.
And in that time she had discovered some brand new things.
One was that not only was Bubbles a lover of animals, But thanks to her powers she actually had the ability to communicate with animals, which she discovered when she heard the cry of a poor kitten that was trapped under some rubble, and thankfully she was able to rescue little thing before anymore could fall on top of the poor creature, when taken to a vet not only did the vet tell her that thankfully her injuries were minor but also discovered that this poor thing was recently abandoned by her owner as the vets actually knew this kitten through her owner who they had helped regarding his cat giving birth to her babies weeks ago (Which incited her anger and its not just because Bubbles herself was appalled by this as animal cruelty as a whole is horrible, and made a note to file to the police ASAP), They told her that she actually had a quirk, which was rare for animals but it still happened as there were a handful of reports of such a thing. This she knew as she had read reports regarding the subject in the past.
The quirk in question allowed the kitten to fly without wings, achieving this by using her mind to allow her flight, Which not only made the little thing even cuter but also believed it would be a really handy quirk to have.
But there laid another problem, while yes there were reports on quirked animals she's also seen some of them with the poor things either being captured and taken away to be experimented on or they were killed unjustly for even existing (Which was heartbreaking and even thinking about it made her and Bubbles cry and want to scream in outrage), while others thankfully were not only taken in by good people and found forever homes, but also sometimes they were made as reliable animal partners for heroes, depending on what their quirks were, As she did know a good handful of heroes who had quirked animals as partners which accompany them all the time.
In thinking of that, and remembering one of the suggestions her therapist told her about potentially getting a therapy pet, she practically begged her mother to allow them to adopt the little kitty, to which she agreed not only being heartbroken after hearing about what happened to little thing, but also the fact that the cat seem to be a bit smarter than most cats thanks to it's quirk (And this was common with Quirk animals, them becoming smarter than most animals their species, whether they gain true sentience or not depended on circumstances and it varies between each one, the only animal they knew who was truly sentient and had great intelligence was Nezu thanks to his high specs quirk which made him a lot smarter than humans), that and both because the kitten had already grown attached to her daughter and the fact that it was really cute.
Thankfully the kitten (Which was a girl and was already at the age appropriate for adoption, sure maybe a days early but close enough) had already gotten all of her shots and had only just been abandoned hours ago (As the police were able to find the man who abandoned the kitten and had arrested him for animal cruelty and apparently bribery towards the officers, while the rest of the kitten's family (Which thankfully had all been found not too long after that) were taken to an animal shelter so that they can find forever homes, After discovering that only this kitten was the one who had a quirk while the rest of her litter mates and their mother were quirkless) so there was no time for the little one to develop any sort of illness although it did need a good bath to get the sand and dirt off of her.
The kitten in question was a tuxedo cat as most of its body was covered in black fur with only white fur around its muzzle, underbelly and paws, It's most distinctive feature however were her eyes which were a beautiful coral pink, This undoubtedly had to be due to the fact that she had a quirk which led to her having eyes that were a completely different color than what cat eyes normally had, which was what led to Izuku giving the kitten the name Sango, Which meant coral in Japanese. The little feline purred happily at that, which meant she liked it.
And the principle of UA was more than willing to allow her to be able to bring her kitten on as a partner as he readily handed her mother the paperwork so that the kitten could be registered and as well helped in making sure that the kitten not only had a collar but also had supplies needed to care, train and entertain the cat, that part mostly being assisted by Mr. Aizawa due to him being a cat person and him having three cats at home. Even willing to help her mother in talking to the principal of her new middle school about allowing her to bring the kitten due to the kitten being registered as a therapy pet/future partner and explaining why she needed her.
The second thing she discovered was that from Kaoru, she had laser eyes, which was actually a power that was not really utilized as the first time it happened was a fluke when the girls were trying to try a new plan to stop Him only for it to have a couple of bumps in the road and the end result not turning out how they hoped it would.
She got really good target practice in using it, Also taking the time to learn how to use mirrors to redirect her lasers at a moment's notice if the situation called for it when fighting an enemy or not. And thankfully unlike some cartoon characters, she did have complete control over her lasers meaning that they won't turn on unless she wills it to, and she can easily turn it off when not needed (unlike a certain fictional character she recalled that had the power of laser eyes but was really unable to have an easy life without a special pair of goggles to keep him from accidentally lasering something he didn't want to destroy As he wasn't able to turn it off).
The third thing she discovered was from Momoko, And this was a power that she herself didn't know she had but an inkling from within told her that eventually she would learn she had this, she had Ice breathe. Which she discovered as she instinctively blew which allowed her to use the power when she was trying to stop a tub of junk from falling on top of her without warning.
Which opened up a new door of opportunities as with ice breath she could use it to cool down things whenever they got too hot, whether the atmosphere or an object, she could keep food items ice cold, she could freeze her opponents, freeze water to turn into an ice rink if she wanted, put out fires with an icy wind, keep collapsing structures from falling apart for long enough until everyone in the vicinity was evacuated, to name a few, her mother especially took advantage of it one time when she wanted to make freshly made ice cream and asked her daughter to use her ice breathe to make the concoction get cold faster so that they can enjoy the tasty treat, And also partially as a way to help her control her ice breath in smaller amounts, which turned out pretty good both in terms of freezing the food in question and how well it tasted.
That's not all, apparently as Blossom she could turn her bow into a boomerang which she can use to attack her opponents from a distance and if she caught the boomerang bow and placed it back on her head it would go back to the position it was in, all without taking down the ponytail in the process or needing to actually tie it by hand, and if for some reason she loses the bow a brand new one would appear, replacing the old one.
Then on Thursday, late at night, she learned what transpired that day, or rather What began since late Wednesday night (as what she learned on the news and this being told to her after everything was said and done), her mother, Dad and Tsukauchi had spoken to Auntie Mitsuki on the phone so they could meet in private.
After having gathered all the evidence regarding her case, a good portion of which it seems like the people of her old school didn't even bother trying hard enough to hide the incrementing evidence beyond just trying to bury what's on the surface and even trying to delete some of the footage didn't stop the heroes from finding incriminating evidence of the crimes in question (Especially since a certain hybrid principle was exceptionally at hacking and restoring footage to the point that you would think that it was never tampered with, and when he saw everything that transpired he was equal parts livid and absolutely hysterical, the former being just how disgusted he was at how everybody treated her and how the school was ran While the latter was at how much he was going to enjoy ripping them all a new one), They were ready to go to town on them.
To say Auntie and Uncle were mortified, heartbroken, disgusted and angry would have been an understatement in learning what actually had been transpiring in their son's middle school, what their son had been doing to Izuku and all the other unjust things they did surrounding the two of them, More so towards the girl In the worst way possible.
Which led to them agreeing to come with them to the school to meet with the principal to put this case to bed for good, Dad wouldn't be there because he had his own preparations to take care of, what they were? She wouldn't know until later on the news.
Needless to say Aldera Junior High was no more.
The school was being completely and utterly shut down for good due to numerous crimes that were committed there such as: quirk discrimination and quirkless discrimination (especially), misconduct, unlawful and illegal manipulation of documents, gross negligence, child abuse, abuse of power, encouragement of bullying, participation in bullying, ill regard to stop said bullying, sabotaging student files and grades, falsifying documents and projecting a false image of a school, false accusations and unlawful punishments on students, emotional and psychological manipulation and abuse, false teachings, refusing to listen to parents when asked to get a handle on it and demanded the bullying to stop and pointing out the unfairness towards their children and instead proceeded to make things worse, no regard in stopping the children from illegally using their quirks on each other and Especially towards those who either had very little or no power whatsoever and were often used as target practice in gym or even in the classrooms, bodily harm on the student body, attempt of assault on parents and law enforcement, ill regard towards the privacy and welfare of students, embezzlement, blaming fake villain attacks for students becoming so severely injured to the point of needing to be taken to a hospital, Attempt in escaping law enforcements, bribery, forced manuel labor on students in detention, destruction of property of items belonging to students, lying to the school board and federal officers, numerous falsified evidence and claims, misconduct of quirk counseling, mistreatment of autistic, impaired and disabled students, complete disregard to corraling the mentally unstable students, and, most despicably, aiding and abetting in villainy and encouraging villainy, and even on occasion suicide baiting. And that was among the numerous amount of crimes she can name at the top of her head as there was just so many that she lost track.
The principal and most of the staff of the school were arrested, especially those who refused to be arrested, tried to bribe their way out and refused to regret their actions. While only a very small handful of teachers, in realizing the errors that they've made, Especially in realizing how much they really messed up and how grave their sentences were, were begging on their hands and knees to give them a chance and thus while they were still arrested they would nonetheless get a lighter sentence if they were willing to cooperate but in return they would have to spend a short time in jail, write numerous apology letters to every single family of the students that they had wronged for so long and then later be put on parole and have their teaching license revoked for good, That and would have to go to mandatory counseling with the warning that if they stepped one toe out of line even once then their lives were over.
As for the students, a Huge majority of them face serious problems with the police, A handful of them being sent to any of the level juvies depending on how serious their crimes were, a smaller handful outright actually being arrested and put in prison, while others, those who were willing to comply with the police and beg to not be sent away, were absolutely blacklisted from attending any hero school in Japan, would be on probation and got a serious grounding from their families, some students were either sent to military school or were to be homeschooled until they could apply for college online as No earnest hard working high school or college was willing to take in students who bullied and abuse others for anything (Which most of the time would result in those former students going on to online college to avoid any mishaps), While others who came from bad households were taken from their families and were now put in foster homes until they can find better families to take them in or until they turned 18, every student had to attend counseling for what they've done (Especially when some of them really realized how much they ruined their own lives for their deeds alone), while some students, they being a super small handful, were actually taken away to a mental hospital as their cases were more severe than the others mentally speaking Especially when it was found out that none of the teachers did anything to manage the more unstable students, and even some, Who still wanted to be able to become genuine heroes even after everything, were, depending on circumstances, allowed to attend a select few hero schools who had a rehabilitation program to help them to learn from their past egregious mistakes and avoid falling through the cracks and turning into villainy themselves, and also potentially someday becoming heroes if they truly wanted to earnestly earn that again. And still a few small handful of students, who were bully victims just like herself, were not only greatly relieved to be free from that torturous nightmare of a school, but were seen by doctors to make sure that any injuries they had were tended to and they would be seeing counseling to help them through the trauma that they were forced to endure, they were allowed to go to different schools that were more serious about their rules and especially hated bullying. Some of those students who wanted to be heroes in their own right went to schools that would give them a chance to be able to participate in their dream hero schools And even those who wanted to go into the support department to be a helper of heroes behind the scenes (And even help give them the proper quirk counseling and training they need so that their quirks could be ready for those sort of calibers) while others who didn't want to be heroes but wanted to be good hard-working civilians and use their quirks to help better their society were sent to schools that would help them achieve that and also took their rules very seriously.
As for anyone who graduated from that school who is now attending high school and college and was just as bad as the other bullies were all promptly expelled and taken in by the police, with a small handful of adults who have long graduated from there being investigated by the police until further notice.
While other students who had long since graduated from that school and now attending high school, college or were now adults That were not only good people but victims of all the bullying and abuse from there were given a public apology for everything that happened in that junior high, both them and their families even, and were even given financial compensation for everything that happened right out of the former teachers own wallets, Even from the things that had to be sold from them in order to pay it all back when they barely had any more change in their wallet to do so.
And when it came to listing which students would be going to which level of juvie, Which practically looked as long as a hilarious cartoon list of things you would see on an old cartoon that someone would have (In other words ridiculously long), Izuku felt her heart stop but at the same time became sad when she learned that Katsuki Bakugo along with 7 other students were sent to level 10 juvie.
She knew that was a very severe case, she heard his report before in school (He even got extra credit with how thorough he was on that subject), she knows what they would be in for.
She felt sorry for them even though she understood that it wasn't her fault and that they brought it all upon themselves. They chose to make their beds, and now they must lay in them.
She would never want to inflict ill will towards anyone, Even those who did her wrong, whatever happens to them would be their own fault, and she can only hope that any one of them in any level of juvie would have a chance to someday make things right or at least stay safe knowing how brutal it was going to be.
Kaoru wisely chose not to comment as she understood, Even if a part of her believes that Izuku shouldn't feel bad and that they deserved everything that was coming at them for their past actions, She knew this time it was best to stay quiet.
Her mother told her that despite the restraining orders, both Inko and Mitsuki would still be able to contact one another, but only once a month because of everything, Not to mention that the Bakugo's were going to be busy attending family therapy to work things out and thankfully would still be able to visit their son at a scheduled time, and as requested this was kept strictly out of their work life so they can continue doing their jobs without too many hitches (More especially so when apparently their bosses at work understood how they felt as they themselves had troubled children roughly at the same caliber as their own son so they were very understanding and agreed to keep quiet from the other co-workers and such).
But for now, the two families needed time apart, especially as Inko's heart had been broken so badly in knowing that her former nephew had tortured her only daughter while his parents, even though unintentionally, had neglected their duties as parents and allowed this to happen.
Until they can earn the Midoriya's trust back, it was better they kept their distance with only the occasional calls to check on things.
Although her mother did mention that earlier Katsuki had made his way to their old apartment to confront them, probably demanding answers or at worse give her a lethal throttling to remember, only to realize that they had already moved and started rampaging through the apartment, without explosives thankfully, in trying to find them thinking that it was just an elaborate prank only to slowly but surely realize the crushing reality that they indeed had moved away and that it was all his fault, when his parents found him he was in her old bedroom in tears, cradling a photo that she had ruined just before she and her mother left the apartment for good.
She remembered that, Izuku was standing alone in her room one last time taking in everything, knowing that she indeed was moving, her empty and soon to be no longer room being proof that after today everything would change, and that she would say goodbye to her old bully forever without doing so in person... but...
She recalled having pulled out the photo she had kept since childhood, the photo that was taken of them around the time she and her mother got that new camera, she always kept it even after the bullying started, part of her childishly believing that someday he would understand what he did wrong and would be her friend again, but after everything she's been through, after everything she's learned about through these powers and their predecessors, After having confessed to everything to the others, after absolutely everything, she knew keeping that photo would only be a hindrance to her at this point, especially as it only just brought back bad memories now.
Katsuki Bakugo was no longer her friend, her brother, her partner, He was instead her bully, her tormentor... her monster...
...It was a hard pill to swallow, but she knew she had to accept that...
While she rarely got angry, That did not mean she never got angry, especially when the girls had internally told her that it was okay to be angry just as long as she didn't let it get to her head and do something stupid, she instead chose to do something to make it official, rather than typically rip it in two she took out a black sharpie marker and made an x between the two of them on the picture, repeatedly, pressing the marker too hard, not realizing that she squeezing the thing too tightly to the point that it broke into pieces and bleed out like spilled ink on parchment paper.
(And yes, she was strong enough in her true form to do that thanks to the additional strength she'd gained from these powers, And thankfully despite breaking that sharpie her hand remained unharmed, Still she needed to practice so she wouldn't have a repeat, breaking your writing utensil without meaning to was annoying)
Momoko stopped her from picking up the mess and told her to leave it as there was a good chance that later that boy would investigate to try and demand answers, given past experience, and let the photo be her goodbye message.
As much as she didn't like leaving a mess... she'd rather never confront that boy ever again, Especially with there being a good chance that (Even though due to circumstances it would be rather small) he would run away from everything to become a vigilante and even trying to hunt her down to get answers, so this condemning form of goodbye would have to do and maybe even stop him in his tracks.
And it seemed to have been a wise choice in the end.
For he now understands that it was all over.
Yet ... despite it all... still she hopes that he'll listen for once in his life and start Trying to make things right... Whatever happens at this point is all up to him now...
And as for her dad it turned out, as later on she would learn this, that he had set up a press conference in order to address the bullying following the news to get the message across, pointing out examples on why such a thing is prohibited, inexcusable and indeed at times can cause somebody to turn the Villainy either because they had no choice or as a way to lash out against those who had done them wrong or as a way to get revenge, ect, that the people who tormented others could later be labeled as villains themselves, that sometimes the victims would later become the monsters that they are accused of If they didn't outright tried to commit suicide to escape first, All of the above oftentimes becoming so lost that they actually begin to enjoy being the bad guys and even forget the kind people that they were before.
Stating that no matter whether or not someone has a quirk or not, whether you had a "heroic" quirk or a "villainous quirk", no matter their status, bullying will lead to a world of trouble and will bring down anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in it (whether you're the perpetrator or the victim or just an innocent bystander on the sides). That sometimes bullying even created villains (as previously stated) if it was not addressed early on. Even bringing up a few cases he had actually dealt with over the years.
Bringing forth memorable words that really reached people at the heart.
And then came the question on the matter of quirklessness when it comes to the victims of bullying, The reporter in question who asked it didn't allow the hero to answer right away as he went on a casual tirade towards the quirkless as he used that word as a curse and said other awful things as if he were just speaking pleasantly about the weather, Not even pointing any good things whatsoever and only just saying "apparent" faults and using "quirklessness" like it was an abomination, which as caught by camera, really made All Might very displeased (If him gripping his own hands long enough that they turned a very deathly pale is any indication).
Needless to say that that same reporter would go down in history as one of the very few people (Who was not an active criminal but otherwise was a very bad person) who really got on All Might's last nerves on live TV and faced one of the worst lawsuits in the history of Japan (mainly by every other reporter out there and then some, excluding All Might) especially after All Might said the one thing that nobody in the whole wide world could ever believe to be possible:
"Why wouldn't I care about the quirkless? Their lives are just as valuable as the lives of every person who has a quirk, quirklessness doesn't mean worthless and there's always more to a person than meets the eye, this I know because before my quirk manifested roughly a year before attending UA I myself was effectively quirkless."
This part she, her mom and Aizawa knew from when the Erasure hero asked him whether or not he was actually quirkless when he started out too or not on that fateful day. When he answered that he was indeed like Izuku before he met his mentor they were all shocked, especially Izuku as he never told her until then.
Which led to him apologizing in both never saying it from the beginning and the fact that his response back then when he answered her question, although he was gentle and constructive about it, nonetheless felt very unfair and hypocritical considering that he'd started off at the bottom of the barrel himself too. He felt like a complete hypocrite in forgetting his origins at that moment, quite mainly due to his self-loathing at his weakened state and the fact that he had been alone since he and his former sidekick had split did not help whatsoever.
If it weren't for the fact that his response back then was although a bit crushing yet gentle and spoken in a way that would encourage her to follow a career path that was just as noble as being a hero, The fact that he had apologized not long after the incident with the sludge villain and had taken her under his wing to train her so she'd be ready for UA, and the fact that he's been helping her all throughout that day with her trying to figure out her new powers, Eraserhead would have very well strangled the number one hero to death for forgetting something that crucial. Although that did not stop Gran Torino, Recovery girl and Nighteye from lecturing him for forgetting that little detail straight in the start, And it most certainly didn't stop them from giving him a few bumps on the head that left him battered up later (he went into muscle form to avoid getting badly thrashed, He still got beat up, but at least he didn't look like a big bruised summer peach that had its contents drained out).
"I-i-i-i.. wh-WHAT?!?!?!??" The man who asked the question pretty much exclaimed the same thing that every other reporter and everyone who was watching were thinking, quite deeply shocked.
"You heard me Sir." The hero responded, The last part holding a bit of venom which made said reporter shutter as All Might then went to explaining, calmly get very firm with far more sincerity than others could recall, "That may be a hard pill to swallow but I am not joking when I say that I started off without any power of my own, and even though back then it was somewhat more evenly split between the quirked and the quirkless, it doesn't change the fact that like every other person who didn't have a power I was subjected to bullying by my fellow peers and even not treated quite fairly by adults especially those who were supposed to be teaching me and treating me like they would treat any other student. Like them I faced the harsh torrent of being seen as less than favorable and seen as nothing more than a nuisance, collateral damage waiting to happen, a waste of space, a stupid extra who will never amount to anything. And after having seen how much worse it is in the present only makes me horrified and angered about how everything went so horribly wrong as the years pass. Even after I gained my quirk far later than most people do, I can't ever forget where I started off, nor can I forget about how I was treated back then and yet despite that none of that stopped me from being the hero that I am today, In fact I even sometimes used the hurt from the past to push me to do better, to never let it get to me nor let it stop me from doing what's right, push me to work harder as well as smarter, to be an example for others to follow, motivate me to become the hero that my dearly beloved and departed mentor believed that I could be. While fighting the villains comes as no surprise for every single hero out there, for me I value rescuing people the most, saving those who are backed against a corner all because of things that aren't their fault, those who have been tossed away by society for things they had no control over, those who were automatically label something bad all because of one little thing or for one little trivia thing or foolish mistake, those who had become lost either due to the people who had wronged them or because no one lent them a hand when they need it the most. No matter if they have a quirk or not, every life is valuable, Life is precious and should never be squandered over something as trivial as whether or not a person has a quirk or not. My past even inspires me to give hope to others just as my mentor had given me hope, to let them know that even when times are bad they're always be somebody to lend a hand no matter what situation they may find themselves in, give them the hope they need to persevere through the most heartbreaking of trials and even inspire that same hope in others along the way. Believe me when I say that the quirkless are just as capable of achieving amazing feats as those with quirks can, even if there're some things that they cannot do for one reason or another (although some find a way to overcome those hurtles) it doesn't change the fact that their lives are just as important as everyone else's. Quirks aren't everything, and that shouldn't determine what your life is going to be like, it's what you yourself do that matters more. So, going forward, I suggest you be more mindful in what you say to people or say about them or how you treat them for now on, because as far as you know you're calling me a worthless quirkless nobody as well."
He said that even though he does have a quirk now, at the end of the day he was just as a part of that quirkless group as all the other 20% out there in the world.
To have the audacity to say all those horrible things to All Might and knowing of a part of a past he had kept hidden for all this time, on live camera? The fact that that reporter had basically called the number one hero in Japan a worthless waste of space, a life not even worth saving let alone mentioning, a piece of trash, and all that jazz?
Yeah there was no way that man was getting out of that press conference room unscratched or alive no less without a pair of handcuffs slapped on his wrist which was exactly what happened as the police had to escort him out of there as the reporters had ganged up on him and started beating the daylights out of him in their justified outrage, it was only after he was taken out of there did the rest of the press conference continued as everyone wanted to forget about that man, not that the hero could blame them.
The rest of the conference went by without another hitch after that, the hero also revealed that while it is extremely rare there was a very small percentage of a chance of somebody manifesting their quirk far later than up to the age of nine, sometimes even adults have their quirks supposedly manifest but mainly because they have a quirk that was seemingly invisible to the point that the doctors accidentally mislabeled them as having no quirk or were not able to find a way to identify what said quirk was by normal means, and there are reports and articles of such things occurring that backed it up. From talking a bit about his beloved mentor Nana Shimura who was a well known hero who had died sacrificing herself in order to protect him and her friend from meeting their demise when he was still in his last year at UA (not revealing her murderers name but did say that justice was served years after that as of almost 6 years ago), to talking about some of the cases involving him helping out people who were in those specific circumstances that he had talked about, and so on.
Even when asked about his opinion on those who had very weak quirks or had seemingly villainous quirks, All Might answered with heart and in a matter of fact manner:
"Just like with the quirkless, their status shouldn't dictate what they are as people. No matter how weak or powerful, seemingly heroic or villainous at a glance, The quirk doesn't determine the person, it's the person wheeling the quirk that matters more. Even you my fellow reporters should know by now that there are even heroes who, despite the appearance of their quirks, have become great heroes. Such as Mirko, despite having a rabbit quirk she proves that she's anything but timid or docile and could most certainly kick you into next week. Then there's Best Jeanist who although has an odd and seemingly feeble quirk proves that he could do more than just take apart clothes at the literal seams as he can control the fibers of clothing to constrict and ensnare multiple opponents at once. Fatgum who has proven that just because his quirk makes him rounder doesn't mean that he can't use his fat quirk to apprehend enemies and even unleash a powerful attack from the hits he takes. Then take Shishido and Gang Orca, just because they have scary appearances in battle due to their quirks it doesn't mean they are bad people, for they are both more than just strong warriors in battle but they are also gentle giants, especially when it comes to kids. Then there's Eraserhead, although he is an underground hero and his quirk isn't combat-oriented We shouldn't forget the fact that he's more than capable of fighting against his opponents no matter what kind of quirk they have, even those who have mutant and heteromorphic quirks won't stop him from doing his job, proving time and time again that even when fighting quirkless he is not somebody to trifle with. And then there's RazorSlash who despite having a quirk that can allow him to manifest any kind of blade in the world he's proven that just because his blades are dangerous doesn't mean that he himself is dangerous to people who need his help the most. And let's not forget about ShyBright, Just because her quirk can sometimes be a little too bright it doesn't mean it is automatically dangerous, Just because it can potentially cause permanent blindness it doesn't mean that she would purposely use it on civilians nor go too far even in a desperate crisis, She would only make sure it was temporary. Just to name a couple of examples, a quirk is what you make of it, no matter what kind it may be, no matter what appearance it may take on, what you yourself do with your quirk should be what matters more regardless of what anybody else says. And it also shouldn't matter where you came from, whether you had a simple background or if your family has problems of some sort, or even if one of your relatives used to be a villain, Rich or poor, whether you have a legacy or not, none of that should matter either, What you do with your life right now is up to you alone, nobody has any right to dictate your life just because of either your quirk status, lack thereof or even the status of your own lineage or something else entirely, nobody is a prisoner of their bloodline let alone lineage, No human or animal has any right to dictate your life due to your own circumstances, It's you who determines what kind of person you will become."
These and Many other of his answers and more resonated quite a bit with many of the people watching, and in far more ways than one, especially for those who for years were going through a very rough time, giving them the courage, hope and encouragement they needed to persevere through the paralleling trials that they're facing.
Even several school districts started to really take his words to heart and started really and truly reinforcing the rules on no bullying and no bias favoritism towards the students no matter what their status, quirk or no quirk, or bloodline.
Even some heroes who were given some grief by the fans due to their quirks or costumes or how they act in a fight, had received more fans and more supporters who cheered them on, telling them that they were doing a good job and to keep up the good work, and this too gave them the extra drive they needed to keep going.
Children who were going through serious bullying situations were able to have the courage to be able to tell their parents and even the police on what's been going on so that it can be dealt with and those children who are suffering can finally receive the therapy and the guidance they need to overcome the problems that their perpetrators had caused them.
Especially for those who had seemingly "villainous" quirks were inspired to stand up for themselves and prove their persecutors wrong about their accusations and to show them that they have what it takes to be able to fulfill their dreams and more.
And as well those who had seemingly weak quirks were given the hope they needed to move forward, motivate them to not give up and to prove their bullies wrong, that their quirks could be very useful and that they too can achieve their goals no matter what life threw at them.
And so on and so forth, from these and many other reports that Izuku has been getting from the new tablet that Nezu had graciously given to her as a gift.
And speaking of him, upon getting down to doing the IQ test It was revealed that hers was extremely high, so much so that she could very easily get a quirk doctrine degree even at her age which only made him very delighted and was determined to help cultivate her natural growing intellect. And not only would she be learning from him but She would also be learning how to fight quirkless from The Erasure hero as he wanted to make sure that she knew how to fight hand to hand even without her powers in case something went awry as there was a difference between having strong muscles and having the know-how in hand-to-hand combat, Plus both couple together with her powers will only make her more versatile and stronger.
She would be scheduled to have lessons with them both every Sunday at 10:00 am and Wednesday at 4:30 pm.
As for Sir Nighteye and Gran Torino, They would be helping (The former in helping her learn how to predict her opponents and learn how to do paperwork such as filing in reports and managing investigative cases and latter in teaching her how to be flexible, speedy and think on her feet in combat) when they had the chance, roughly every second Sunday and Thursday, because currently right now they were investigating the Yakuza as they've been active as of late in such a manner that the foresight hero needed the older veteran to help him in tracking down the smugglers in their operations, trying to figure out what they're up to.
The past week seemed to be a blur as it went by so quickly, a lot can change within that short period of time, but nonetheless she was grateful that she and her mother now had people who could help them, be by their side and support them, and lend on a hand when they needed the most and more. They were now in a brand new neighborhood that not only was nice and safer but also had neighbors who were not narrow-mindedly judgmental like their last neighbors. That their lives were going to be better for now on, Even if there were some trials to be dealt with they would definitely be more manageable than before, and the future was now clearer than ever.
As she laid in her bed eagerly yet quite nervously anticipating what the first day at her new school was going to be like in the morning, She can only hope that with this brand new start she can finally have real friends around her age for the first time in years that she could cherish dear, Who could accept her for who she was and vice versa, find future hero partners, maybe even hopefully go to the same high school as her.
Stopping herself for the 17th time that night in checking again in making sure she had everything as she had already checked four times before even getting into bed. She had a brand new backpack which not only looked exactly like her old one but was new and improved as it had more pockets and resembled more of the yellow sleeping bag that the erasure hero always carried around, brand new crisp and clean notebooks, pens, pencils and school supplies that were All Might edition which were courtesy of the foresight hero along with a letter telling her to give it her all at her new school and reminding her to remain calm and that everything will be all right, her brand new uniform given to her by her mother along with her new school ID, a brand new first aid kit courtesy of Recovery Girl as she wanted her to have a new sturdier kit in case something were to go awry along with the letter that gave her the reassurance that she had made sure that changes were made to her file in regards of her quirk status, A small bottle of pepper spray which the eraser hero gave to her and made sure that she knew to use as a precaution so she wouldn't get in trouble with vigilante laws, and of course her power belt, All of which she kept in a hammer space which she discovered not too long ago as unlike with girls she had the power to hide her belt and even any other non-living object inside a timeless space that only she herself has access to, And if she needed any of those items all she needed to do was simply think of the object in mind, gently reach for it within and it would come to her instantaneously, this also led her to discover that even without the belt the girls would still pop in without issue.
Briefly she can only attribute the hammer space, which is usually called that for a character having a strange kind of space where they store their items in a way that when they needed it they would just simply pop out or be pulled out from out of nowhere, was a power that she herself can use, whether in her true form or even in any of her other forms, this was her superpower and hers alone.
Which she and the others agreed that it would really come in handy especially if she needed to carry special and secret objects discreetly without arousing suspicion in any manner, and the best part was that no one can steal anything from her as she could keep everything she needed in that space.
She could even store food in there, even freshly ordered take out from a restaurant would still remain hot, fresh and delicious even after being in the hammer space for several days, and according to Recovery girl due to the space being timeless she could keep the food in there for as long as she wanted without any repercussions, The same went for any non-living object she puts in there, No matter how long and all that jazz. The only limit she had was She couldn't store anything that was far bigger than herself by height in that space, But that wasn't really too big of an issue thankfully, and obviously she can't store anything alive in there.
This new school, an academy that not only was close by to her new home but was also quite recommended by Nezu himself, Was a semi-private yet semi regular school that was not only beautiful in architect but also had a number of recreational activities and clubs for any student attending, they supported cooperation and most importantly they took the no bullying rule quite seriously, and unlike her old school all the staff were willing to listen to both sides of the story before assuming anything and made sure to get all of their evidence before declaring who is guilty and who wasn't.
Still it didn't stop her from being nervous and unsure, years of trauma had a hand in that according to her therapist, nonetheless she wasn't going to let that stop her from having a brand new start, even with only a couple of months before the entrance exam for UA, she was going to make the most of the new time she had at her new school while she could.
And if anything went awry at her school she was obligated to call the others for help so long as she made sure to excuse herself so that she could call them in a private area so not to be disturbed nor to accidentally disturb the class, And it's only if the situation was very serious, while the chances this time around were a lot lower it still didn't hurt to make sure that that was drilled into her head before she would start her first day of this school.
They all even came up with a way for her to call for help if she couldn't do it normally via text or audible phone call by simply having her location sent to all of her contacts as a way to discreetly send an SOS.
It was better to be safe than sorry.
A yawn eventually escaped her as she took this as a note to start getting to sleep so she wouldn't be tired in the morning.
With her alarm set she laid back down beside her feline companion who was already asleep and closed her eyes, soon enough the embrace of dreams took her in as she was finally fast asleep.
To say that it was a big eye opener for the youngest Todoroki would be an understatement, never did any thought that something like this would happen on one of the few rare days that his father wouldn't be home at all due to a serious investigation that would span for much longer than a few hours, Which would give him a rare day off which he always savoured as being forced to "train" with him was always torturous (For just about every reason).
He didn't even realize that tears were flowing down from his eyes when the number one hero's words made him remember a particular memory that he had long forgotten due to everything he had faced because of his father until he realized that his hands were starting to get wet from the tears dropping down on them from his face.
He was only grateful that his sister wasn't home as she was staying out late for a nightly conference with her coworkers at the school she was working at and that their brother was already in a college dorm so no one would see him in his state. The last thing he wanted was anybody asking questions about why he was in tears.
He never cried in front of anybody, especially not since after his mom was sent to a mental hospital after she had snapped and poured scolding hot water on him by accident which she deeply regretted.
And He knew that if his father ever saw him cry it would only make things worse on his end, so he would rather avoid it and all costs, only crying in private if the day in general got especially bad.
Even when it hurt his sister to see him trying to hold it all in so he wouldn't cry in front of her, he still refused to cry in front of anybody at all.
Although this was one time where the night wasn't bad but instead it was an absolute eye opener upon watching the press conference that All Might was hosting.
His words really resonated with him, especially when he remembered seeing a video about him saying similar words like that when he was still a child, back when his mom was still around, one of the few times that they could spend time with each other without his father breathing down their necks.
'Had I really forgotten all that?' He had asked himself as He looked down at his left hand, letting those words linger in his mind as he recalled what his All Might said way back then,
"Yes, that's right, children often do inherit quirks from their parents, or develop similar power sets. But the most important thing to remember is that a quirk is what you make of it, regardless of your history. You decide how you want to use it. That's what I mean when I say, "I am here." Only you can decide to be a hero, no one else. Take this to heart, kids! You've got it!"
'Had I really forgotten what ... Mom said after that?' He thought to himself as he recalled what his mother told him after that:
"Honey, you do still want to be a hero, don't you? Just remember, stay true to yourself. You are not a prisoner of your lineage, It's okay to use your power, to become who you want to be."
More tears began to fall down as he allowed himself to create a small ball of flame as it laid in the palm of his left hand.
When he really thought about it, right now at this very moment, as he was using his quirk, he felt for the first time in so long that... He was the one making these flames... Not his father, nobody else but him... these were his flames, His own flames.
The more he thought about it the more he came to realize that just because he had his father's firepower it didn't mean that his father had ice powers as he didn't have the same quirk as his son, the same went for his mom just because he inherited her ice quirk doesn't mean that she herself had fire powers too, these were a mix of both his parents quirks but, like All Might said, A quirk is what you make of it, and this was his quirk.
He... He felt lost for words when he realized he had actually forgotten why he wanted to be a hero in the first place, he did want to be one but he forgot what his goal was for being one, the more he thought about it the more he could see that all stemmed from his father trying to force him to be his tool, his masterpiece, something to help him achieve what the flame hero himself can't do.
He had been trying to reject his father, reject his fireside, for so long that he had forgotten his own goal in everything just to try and surpass All Might.
But now?
'I can't stay here.' That was his final thought as he closed his left hand into a fist, consuming the ball of fire as it vanquished within it, ignoring the simmering sound and the smoke coming from it, not just because he was impervious to his own firework.
He looked back at that TV one more time, as it continued for a little while longer on the subject of abuse and toxic environments to remove yourself from and stay away from.
The house itself wasn't toxic, just a man who inhabited it, while his sister has managed to find a way to navigate around it and thankfully has not become bitter nor cold herself, he himself on the other hand?... If he stayed here then he was going to forget again, things were only going to get worse.
He couldn't lose the clarity he finally gained after all this time.
The police were not going to help, especially when he recalled years ago when his older brother Natsuo had actually tried to call the police on his father but it didn't work, while he never found out who made the anomalous call in the first place, it didn't change the fact that his father was good at keeping the truth out of the public eye.
By simply just saying that it was nonsense and that he just took his youngest son's training very seriously.
Because he was the number two hero in the eyes of the public, no one could believe something quite serious was happening in his family life.
In his own eyes it was the truth, but in the eyes of his family and anybody else who'd ever find out was the complete opposite.
The more he thought about it the more angered he became at the thought of his father just becoming a quitter in a way, simply having children so that he could use them as tools to achieve what he himself had failed to do for years and years, not caring how much pain he had brought upon the people that was supposed to be his family.
Shoto Never wanted to be a tool to use against All Might, His father never gave him a choice, only his mother before she was taken away from him.
While he wanted to be an amazing hero just like the number one hero, he didn't want to be the tool to knock him down from his high humble perch.
It was going to be worthless to even try and protest against his father, no matter how many times he had protested against his father in how he treated him and everything, he simply didn't listen, he just had to be in control of everything from his training to what he ate in his diet, to how much break time he was allowed to have which was very little, when he would go to bed and when he would wake up in the morning.
His father would just say that there was no room for back talking and that he had to listen to him, and there were no ifs, ands, or buts about it, That he knew what was best, before he would punch him or make their training last longer than intended.
And even when his father enrolled him in school, it was a private school with a lot of people who did nothing but suck up to him just because his father was the number two hero, how his father had treated him made it impossible for him to even try and socialize with anybody as all he can see was them only wanting to rub shoulders with him just because he was his father's son. He didn't know how to make friends who liked him for who he was, and not because his father was a hero. He didn't know how to spot those who were more kinder and humbler to stick close to.
Only his teachers treated him like any other student they had, which was the only blessing there, and while the school itself provided a good educational environment, it didn't change the fact that he felt very isolated when it came to interaction with his own peers.
The more that thought lingered, the more lonely he realized that he actually was, even when he didn't say it out loud, even when a part of him didn't want to admit it, it was still a clear fact that he had nobody around his age he could talk to, to trust in, he had nobody to go to.
Sure he has his sister but, his sister was several years older than him, was already an adult who had a job, and yes his sister does care about him, tries her best to be there for him in place of their mom, She herself was powerless to do anything to stop their father from doing what he's been doing. She herself knew that she could never replace their mother, she just felt powerless, and it was very clear when she showed it when she thought nobody was looking.
She wanted all of them to be a happy family again, but sadly that was never going to happen, there was far too much damage that had been done to even try and rectify anything.
That only made him even angrier.
He didn't want his sister to suffer anymore. He didn't want to go to his private school anymore. He didn't want to be like his father. And he didn't want to end up like his older brother Touya who died when Shoto was still pretty young, Who died wanting desperately to show that he could be a hero, to prove that he wasn't a defect or something to throw away, only for everything to literally go up in flames as his fire grew so hot and so uncontrollable that it caused the forest that he had been training in to set on fire thus leading to being killed due to him not inheriting his father's fire resistance.
Just because he didn't have that one severe drawback to his quirk like his deceased older brother did, it didn't change the fact that he didn't want to end up like him, as he recalled what his other siblings told him during the one moment that they had during Touya's funeral.
His father was the reason that his elder brother died, he was the reason he never got to have fun or play with his siblings at all while growing up, he was the one who didn't allow him to have a normal childhood, he was the one who had caused them all so much pain, He was the one who had hurt their mother so badly that she had a mental breakdown and thus leading her to snap and cause that incident that later got her hospitalized.
What if the same happened to Fuyumi? Because he was here? The thought of that tormented him as he didn't want to imagine his sweet, loving and hardworking sister to suddenly end up like their mother.
And what would happen if someday somebody finally actually got real evidence of His father's actions towards his family that were so prominent and incriminating that they couldn't be ignored? What would happen then? Would his family be spared from the ridicule and shame that everybody would inflict upon the man? Or would they themselves be roped in by association of blood alone?
There were just too many questions that he really didn't want any of the answers to.
Just because he was at the epicenter of it all, doesn't mean that he was going to stick around long enough to find out.
He can't stay here. He won't stay here!
Without another word he got up from his seat and ran out of the living room, bolting straight to his bedroom before he grabbed his backpack, emptying out of its contents for school as he stuffed it with only the essentials.
For all his father's faults One of the things he was at least grateful for in this case was being taught how to pack only the essentials in case of some kind of emergency.
So with that he packed several sets of clothes, His phone and laptop and the chargers for them both respectfully, A small but cozy blanket that could easily fit into his backpack which had actually been hand quilted by his late grandmother from his mom's side of the family, His wallet, And lastly the only framed picture he had of him, his mom, Fuyumi and Natsuo that he had from that moment when it was taken which was around the time before his quirk manifested, the one moment the four of them were able to share before his father took it all away from him and around the time when Touya was not home as he was off somewhere else, he always kept that picture hidden so his father couldn't snatch it away like anything else that he deemed "unnecessary" that wasn't the basic essentials In his eyes for his heir.
Once everything was zipped up he slung the backpack on before he exited the room, intending to grab his toothbrush and some toothpaste before leaving, but as he came into the bathroom and found what he was looking for he spotted something that caught his eye, on the shelf beside the sink he spotted a discarded advertisement for a salon that was in another town outside of his own, one that specialized in giving their customers "The perfect" hairstyle in about as many ways as you can think of, He recalled his sister talking about it a while back during one of their rare dinner times where they actually got to have dinner with the other and not with their father.
Keeping that in mind he stuffed the paper into his pocket for later.
He made his way through the house, stopping by the foyer to grab his shoes and intended on leaving from the backyard so no one would spot him out front.
But as he passed by the kitchen area, He couldn't help but feel sorry that he was going to be leaving his sister here, even though he knew what he needed to do, it didn't change the fact that his sister was going to miss him and he would her, Even though he believes that she was better off without him he should at the very least leave a goodbye note for her, so he came inside and went to the notepad his sister would usually use for cooking preparations before he started to write his message to her.
His sister was going to be home before their father so he wouldn't have to worry about him seeing this before she did.
Once he was satisfied with his work, and after grabbing two water bottles and some non-perishable foods to take with him, He left the kitchen and eventually left the house itself.
Even from the backyard he couldn't help but feel his stomach turn as he's never run away from home before, This was going to be brand new territory, but he was willing to throw caution to the wind if it meant he could get out of there. No matter what uncertainties he might face from here on out he knew that staying here would be nothing but venomous.
Even though this was the only home he's ever known, for years it never felt like a home, just a place to live, a place that was nothing but cold instead of warm like any loving home should.
He willed himself to stop shaking as he gripped the straps of his backpack even tighter than he already was doing, He made his way over to the tall bamboo wall that separated him from the alleyway where he intended to create an icy staircase that would allow him to get out of there, intending to melt it after so there would be no evidence once he reached the top.
It was then that he heard the tall tale signs of his sister's motorcycle starting to come closer to the house, he knew that his sister was going to be home very soon.
In his heart he regretted that he was going to leave her... But this was the only way.
Letting out one last tear he quietly whispered, "... Goodbye Fuyumi...", before he booked it.
...And never looked back..
Heavy breathing could be heard in the quiet of the night as a young boy, just around middle school soon to be high school age, worse for wear yet thankful to be alive, was running through the back alleys.
Nothing but a small backpack with what little things he could carry with him and the clothes on his back.
Feeling equal parts relieved and fearful at What he had accomplished. The former being that he was finally free from that awful place after so long, and the latter being scared of being found and taken back to that place or taken to another that was even worse.
The only thing he had as a spark of Hope was that report he had seen earlier that evening, The one thing that gave him the motivation he needed to finally escape from that horrible prison people would dare even call a foster home.
If he ever met All Might one day, he would give him just about a thousand thank you letters for his words and for giving him the courage he needed to free himself from that toxic environment.
Too long had he been treated horribly because of his quirk, a quirk which was labeled by his late parents as being heroic but was labeled by everybody else as nothing but villainous.
He felt a new spark of hope for the first time since he lost his parents when he was 10 due to a horrible car crash that occurred not long after he reached that age.
If other heroes were able to achieve their dreams despite their quirks looking seemingly villainous at a glance, then he himself can too. But he couldn't do that by staying at that foster home which had been nothing but a prison.
This was one of the few times that he was grateful that his foster parents had gotten so drunk that they had fallen asleep and wouldn't wake up until the morning as they were very heavy sleepers in that state, although he had to be cautious in trying to not wake up any of his foster mates who were both his tormentors and bullies, he was nonetheless able to succeed.
Even though he couldn't find the key to the muzzle that he was still wearing around his mouth, he was just happy to be out of there.
He was however uncertain of what to do with himself, he didn't know what would happen if he went to the police, although they would be concerned to see him wearing a painful looking muzzle of all things, he didn't know if they would believe him if he told them that the ones responsible were his foster guardians, because said guardians had lied a billion times before in the past to keep from getting themselves arrested, he just didn't know what to do.
But maybe if he found a hero, then maybe things would change. Even though the chances of finding one patrolling in his neighborhood at this point of night was chancy at best, it was a risk he would have to find out for himself if it was worth taking.
Those people who were anything but loving Foster guardians only kept him as a cash cow, They didn't care how they treated him as long as they could get more money every month.
The only ones who treated him like a real person or even showed him any sympathy and kindness were his younger foster mates who were around preschool age, it was the one thing he regretted leaving behind, but he can only hope that those kids would eventually find good loving homes to be adopted into and get out of that toxic environment.
He only hoped also that the other older foster mates wouldn't have a strong enough influence to make those kids become as bad as them.
The only one who knew of him leaving, and was the only one who was the closest to him among everyone else, was Morie Tomori-na, Who was no older than four and a half, She was sad but she understood that he had to leave after having seen everything on the TV as well.
She wanted to come with him, As much as he would absolutely want to free her from this prison too he knew he couldn't, mostly because he knew that she was due to be adopted first thing in the morning, and it would only stir up trouble for the police in the wrong way, it hurts but he knew that he had to let her go, and although tearful she understood.
She even gave him a parting gift for him to remember her by, which was one of her favorite dolls which was a handmade teddy bear that was dressed as a doctor, she insisted that he take it with him so he would always remember the more kinder times he had from that house, Especially of the years he had spent practically raising her as his own since she first arrived there as a toddler, which he tearfully accepted and thanked her profusely, promising to never forget her, even though he couldn't say it verbally he was grateful that both of them knew sign language.
With a final tearful hug, silently telling the other to stay strong and live well, they said their goodbyes.
Once he eventually reached the streets, He just ran in a random direction, away from where he ran from.
His purple hair and eyes shining in the street lights that stood out from his pale skin as He ran and never looked back.
All was quiet and nothing stirred, the night was still and yet only one figure seemed to have every intention in not standing still whatsoever, quietly she opened the window of her room before she put her backpack on and started climbing out, carefully navigating down the climbing ivy (Which mind you was so thick that you would think that it was a different type of plant than this) that deeply cling to the walls of her house That were the closest to her bedroom.
Carefully she climbed down, doing everything she could to not wake her parents up knowing that if they found out that she was running away from home there would be trouble.
She wasn't going to sit by and let herself be subjected to this anymore, especially after having seen All Might on the TV recently.
She had seen that on her way back from school and she saw it playing on one of the many TVs that were being displayed in a nearby shop, she and many of the people watching were soon given free bread samples so that they could snack while watching, and apparently the owner had a quirk that allowed him to detect that her quirk required blood so he had given her one of the few batches he made that had blood in it, It was thanks to the generosity of that man that she was able to have the first taste of blood for the first time in so many years, the growing pain-inducing headache that she had been having that kept getting worse and worse as time went on finally dissipated and her mind felt far more clearer than it ever had been, her nerves had finally settled down and she no longer felt internally trapped within herself, her skin which had been getting paler and paler as time went on had finally regained a healthy coloring as it felt like she had finally been given a blood transfusion after having lost so much of it before, so to speak.
Upon doing further research later she learned to her great shock that had she not had any blood for much longer than she would have suffered a serious quirk psychosis, which more often than not led to poor victims having turned to villainy just to survive all because the world didn't want them because of their quirks and the nature of them, If they didn't turn to suicide first just to end their suffering.
When her parents had asked why she looked healthier for the first time in so long so suddenly she quickly made up a plausible lie, Which was actually super close to the truth, that school had made a brand new lunch menu with healthy and palpable food options for students recently that week. Giving no indication whatsoever that it was actually because of the bread that the baker had given her that very day. Thankfully her parents bought it especially after having talked to the school and learning that yes they did change their menu recently and the students were really enjoying the new and yet delicious food options that they had for them.
Later when she was alone in her room and making sure she locked the door, she put off doing her homework and instead went to her computer to look up any reports about anyone who may be in the same situation as her, as it turns out there were many other people who too were suffering because of having a blood type quirk just like her, even if that number was very small, most of those cases ended with the victim either having been killed by the people who had wronged them under false pretenses that the victims were the bad guys, committing suicide or even turning to villainy as a means to escape, but there were a handful of reports, again small but still there, thankfully of those who despite having such a quirk were able to become great heroes and even those who didn't become heroes were able to achieve great things in their respective careers especially for those who were able to use their quirks for medical purposes or Even in the police force.
After having read all of them it made her come to the realization that her parents preferences on her being "normal" was anything but healthy let alone good, In fact it was equivalent to child abuse and negligence, did they even realize that she could have potentially had a quirk psychosis because they wouldn't allow her to drink any blood due to the nature of her quirk?
Didn't they realize that they were basically starving her of an important nutrient that the quirk needed to keep her alive and keep her from going insane? They were basically preventing her from getting a, metaphorically speaking, transfusion of blood in order to live?
Looking back on everything she went through all throughout her childhood, it wasn't hard to guess that the answer was no, and that they didn't care, nor it seems they didn't even bother to look it up like she did.
All they cared about was their reputation and how they looked towards the people around them, they would not stand for imperfections and most certainly would not stand their daughter having a "villainous" quirk that would cause them nothing but grief and rebuke.
And there was a good chance that if she did snap then her parents would blame it all on her, pretending to be the innocent ones and call her nothing but a monster that they were not able to quote unquote "help". That everything was her fault when really that was never the case.
If not for that loaf of bread, she'd eventually shed her mask and blindly attack a fellow classmate, Saito, who had defended her that very same day from a group of bullies, the blood he had shed for her was what started to trigger her but she did everything she could to hold it in so to not do anything hasty or worse. He would have been the unintentional catalyst that would have led her life down a rabbit hole she wouldn't be able to crawl out of ever again.
That quiet, obedient little girl wasn't the real her, the her that her parents molded her to be wasn't her real self, the friends that she made at school were although very nice had given off the fibe that they wouldn't approve of what her quirk actually was and therefore couldn't be with them anymore if she was forced to never be the person that she wanted to be around them knowing that They would otherwise abandon her if word got out, the teachers she had weren't good teachers if they had the fear that she might snap due to the treatment her parents were dealing upon her judging by the way they had observed her especially in these past recent years.
Her entire environment from her home to her school as a whole was nothing but toxic and she had to get away as fast as possible for staying any longer would only make things worse, she wanted to live, she wanted to live her life like she wanted to, in a way that wouldn't lead her down a dark path, in a way that would allow her to be her real self and actually have real friends that she could be honest to and have people she could really look up to for guidance and help her become the person she wants to be, and give her a new future to look forward to.
Although she felt bad that she couldn't take her siblings with her as she had no idea how to take care of little kids as her parents pretty much forbade her from ever having any interaction with them, she especially felt bad that she would basically leave them to her heartless parents, she knew she had no choice in the matter.
As much as she really wanted to go to the police, she knew that was not possible because her father was actually friends with one of the officers there, He would say that she was telling lies just to get attention and later when they were at home he would viciously punish her for trying to spread scrutiny and mayhem on their lives. He and her mother would go into a lecture about how they had toiled day and night to cloth and bathe her and made sure she had a good education and make her feel guilty and all that in a way that would make her think that she was the bad guy instead, she didn't want that, she knew their way of thinking was wrong.
She understood that more than ever.
Plus she didn't know of any officers that had some kind of lie detector quirk that would prove that her story was true and that theirs were nothing but lies, if there was then she would have to fight tooth and nail just to prove that and find said officer who had such a quirk like that.
Thanks to her now having a much clearer mindset, she was able to think carefully on how she was going to run away from home.
She thought of this even as she continued going about her days as if nothing had changed, continuing on not letting her parents on that she had gotten wiser and was now secretly feeding her quirk to ensure that she wouldn't end up that dangerously close in the red again as she would discreetly buy that same kind of bread from the shop everyday before and after school and made sure she ate it all up to sate her quirk's hunger.
Due to how low on money she had on her (As her parents gave her a rather strict and quite unfair low allowance) She secretly started selling some of her items to the other children at school for a reasonable price so that she would have enough money to last her while on the run, and thankfully she was paid generously by some for more richer classmates as they had no trouble in buying some of the items as they themselves needed some extra things too.
All this she did without her parents even realizing that her school supplies, which she was normally super stocked up on thanks to them, had been decreasing little by little.
It also helped that that same bread that she had been buying was also pretty cheap itself so she could very easily buy herself a baker's dozen before leaving her hometown for good.
The only things she had in her backpack that were worth keeping were several sets of clothes that really were cute to her in her eyes even though they were from her parents To her these specific sets were far cuter than the other clothes that her mother had bought her, The few dolls that she managed to buy in her childhood that she still kept after all this time, a framed picture of her and her pet kitty that she once had before the poor kitten was catnapped and never seen again when she was still in kindergarten just before her quirk manifested, A couple of notebooks and pens that she'll keep for diary purposes and maybe even a new hobby on the side, several water bottles, a good number of undergarments as that was an absolute must, The only picture she was allowed to have of all of her little siblings on the day her newest baby sister was born, and several gifts that her classmates had given her during her time at her school which she genuinely liked such as a couple of adorable and fashionable hair ties, a bird whistle, a bell bracelet, a framed picture of her and her classmates having a fun time at one of their school festivals (Which around that specific time was a genuinely fun and happy time for her), a pretty and cute princess hand puppet, a cupcake themed pencil case, floral handkerchief, and lastly, and most certainly not least, a brand new handcrafted wallet that honestly was more flattering and cuter than the one her parents got her and the box cutter that she had bought on her way home from school that very day, just because she no longer had a reason to use it on her classmate doesn't mean that she wouldn't keep it as it would be her only means to use as a weapon if she ran into trouble on the streets.
One of the things that she had discovered about her quirk was that if she held her breath and not think of much of anything she could make herself invisible to everybody else, effectively erasing her presence which especially came in handy as from the first moment that her feet finally touched the ground after climbing down she bolted from her house and didn't look back, with her house having security cameras she knew which ones she could use her quirk on to avoid being spotted by them as yes even the cameras were affected by her quirk in that manner, And thankfully there were no cameras around the corner where her bedroom was outside nor in the area where the climbing ivy was so she wouldn't get caught right away.
Why her side of the estate didn't have a camera installed there? She would never know and she would rather not know.
Her ash blonde hair fluttering in the wind as she ran, her golden yellow eyes with the slitted pupils that resembled that of a cat as sharp as a knife, gritting her teeth revealing her sharp canines that looked pretty cat like too, her fair skin embracing the wind, not caring about the cold weather, wearing a plain seifuku with a Kansai collar, both the skirt and the shirt dark blue with a double white trim, which is paired with a red scarf that she ties loosely below. Over this, she wears an oversized beige cardigan with a long hem and cuffs, and pockets on either side, sporting knee-length black socks and dark brown outdoor school shoes. Thankful that she was wearing a big yet really pretty coat she bought earlier from Goodwill that same day on her way from school and was thankfully able to hide it from her parents until tonight, which she wore now on top of her outfit with it being so long that it reached to her thighs, which gave her extra warmth knowing how unforgiving the cold was at this point at night.
After stopping by the bakery one final time to stock up on her beloved bread, enough to last her a good long time, and essentially saying goodbye to the baker, with her goodbye having a double meaning, before leaving her neighborhood for good.
She didn't know where she was going to go, and she certainly knew that there was no way she could go by her last name ever again (Not that she had any intention of going by Toga after everything), She didn't know what the next day would bring but she honestly didn't care.
Because for the first time in so many years, and who even knew how long, she was free, free from her parents restrictions and abuse, free from the potential prejudice from her school, free from eyes that would judge her because of her quirk, free from the toxic environment she's been living in all her life, free to be herself.
Free at long last.
I believe you guys know who these parts the story's speaking about. For the girl I'm having her age changed so she's around the same age as class 1A for the sake of storytelling... That and I really do not like mineta and would much rather prefer he was never involved in class 1A to begin with, while sure there are some stories where he has gotten better personality wise and I can appreciate that, but in the main canon he is unbearable most of the time.
Also, I don't like Monoma, He's just as unbearable even in a different way, despite some of his small yet noticeable good parts of him in his personality, at the end of the day I can't stand that copycat jerk from the canon. Class 1B is better off without him.
Also yes, you probably weren't expecting some of the twists I had in here huh?
I won't reveal anything more about what I have planed for this story, whether there'll be some changes from my original ideas that I may have mentioned before or not, you'll just have to wait and see for yourself, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave your comments in the reviews and I hope you all have a good day, until next time, TTFN!!