That face when you go back to see how long it was between the last two updates and find out it was, like, ten months-
I'm really sorry about that, guys, and, knowing me, I'm sorry that there's so much time between updates. I thought I had last updated in, like, June, but…I'm sorry.
Also, again. I was reading your reviews after a really rough day (tmi, but I was just panicking over and over again for no reason, doing some homework assignments that required me to do a video, which I've done a thousand times before and ultimately had to go to my Mom because I just couldn't stop panicking…it was really bad) and the reviews made me feel better, so..thank you.
Ignore all of the above because we've got the MALL VISIT! And, because my brain couldn't focus on it, we've also got the ENDEAVOR TRIAL! WE'RE FINALLY ARRESTING THIS JERK! FREEDOM FOR THE TODOROKI'S! (Side note: I've never been in a court room before, and most of my knowledge here is from random internet searches as well as a vague memory of the courtroom episode of Sanders Sides and a scene from a fanfic I can't remember where Rei sued Endeavor, so if I'm wrong-wait, I definitely am-please just go along with this and pretend that this is normal because I honestly have no knowledge of what I should be doing).
Also, I debated briefly on pushing the court case back because the Sides still can't leave the Mind Palace (I forgot that briefly and started writing this, but I do have an exact idea of when I want the sides to be able to exit, and it would take WAY too long for this court case to go through if Yui wasn't there, so instead, Izuku's gonna explain the situation with his quirk and act as the witness with Yui talking through him.)
TW: (just in case) Abuse, death-basically, the entire Todoroki family situation. I changed a few details here and there, basically the same, but with Touya being a little more isolated, as well as leaving out some details about him. It's pretty close to the truth, unless I'm really misremembering something, but…anyway.
LET'S GO!
Shoto nervously gripped at Izuku's hand as they waited for the trail to be called in. Rei and Hisashi were quietly talking with the lawyer, going over everything again at the last second to make Rei feel better. Fuyumi and Natsuo were there, too, nervous-after all, the Number 2 hero against his family? Their chances were not pretty.
"It's going to be alright," Izuku whispered quietly to Shoto, leaning in a little closer and giving him a hug, then carefully nudged his sleeves to cover his upper arms after they slid down. "You'll all get your justice, and Endeavor's gonna lose custody, if not his license outright."
"I…but his crimes have been ignored before," Shoto said, panicking a little. "The doctors knew about my scar, I told them about the other burns, and Touya-"
"Yui won't allow you to go back-Dad won't allow you to go back-I won't allow you to go back," Izuku said, gently hugging Shoto a little tighter. "Not to mention that Nezu and Aizawa-sensei are on our side here. Nezu can't lose a court case, and Aizawa-sensei would sooner help take Endeavor out himself-but you didn't hear that from me."
"I'm going to guess…Brazen?" Shoto whispered.
"Yep," Izuku said. "Brazen told me that Mic-sensei said that if this doesn't work, he'll scream so loud at Endeavor that his eardrums will break, and Midnight-sensei said he'll never wake up, then Aizawa-sensei told them that they'd have to beat him to it. You'll be safe no matter what." He nudged Shoto slightly. "But, and I repeat, Nezu's on our side here, and with him in our corner, we won't lose."
"Ok…ok," Shoto said, taking a few deep breaths. "Ok-"
"Todoroki family."
Instantly, everyone turned and stood up to see the courtroom worker.
"It's time," the woman said, giving all of them a wary and judging glance.
"Time to move forward with everything-I believe this case will not last long," Nezu said, and everyone jumped and turned to see Aizawa-sensei walking over with Nezu basically hanging on his shoulder with a big grin on his face.
Izuku gave them both a smile as they all turned to the courtroom doors and walked in, where Endeavor was already at the side of the defendant, and the group walked over to the benches by the plaintiff side and sat down while Rei and the lawyer stood at the table.
The judge walked in, as did the jury, and court was called into session.
"Court is now in session," the judge said, looking at Rei and giving Nezu, who was now at the table, too, a wary look. "Rei Todoroki vs Enji Todoroki, better known as Endeavor, on the notion of…child and spousal abuse, quirk marriage, the goal of this being a shift of custody. Would the plaintiff like to start?"
"Yes, I would, thank you," Rei said.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the judge asked.
"Yes, sir," Rei said.
"Alright, begin your case," the judge said.
Rei took a deep breath, then…then she began. "Twenty-six years ago, my parents sold me into a quirk marriage-"
"Objection, your honor," Endeavor's lawyer said. "Where's the evidence behind this claim?"
Nezu looked over at Izuku, who gave a short nod and raised his hand slightly.
Everyone looked at Izuku as Rei's lawyer gestured for him to join them.
Izuku gave Shoto's hand a gentle squeeze as he got up and walked over.
"Objection, your honor, that's a child-Midoriya Izuku, a student at UA, couldn't have possibly been present as a witness," Endeavor's lawyer said.
"How can Midoriya act as a witness to this?" the judge asked.
Izuku took a deep breath as he felt Hinata dial back his anxiety as Yui came forward, ready to start talking, as well as Dasu ready to use his illusion quirk. "Due to the nature of my quirk, of which I have permission on behalf of UA, Principal Nezu who is present here, as well as my homeroom teacher, a pro hero, verified previous to this trail but hero identity legally having to be left unsaid, I was able to talk to a witness. Unfortunately, she is unable to be physically present here-"
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the judge asked.
"Yes, sir," Izuku said, and suddenly, he felt something-it felt similar to Hitoshi's brainwashing quirk, but instead of full control-
We aren't able to lie-it's like a mix of Tsukauchi and Hitoshi's quirks, forcing us to tell the truth-perfect for a judge or a police officer, that's pretty cool.
"Now, continue," the judge said.
"My quirk allows me to see ghosts as well as make a contract with them in order for me to use their quirks," Izuku said easily. "Due to this, I have a contract with a girl that I call Yui. In life, her name was Himari Monoma, and she was present for the entire situation regarding the quirk marriage, and while not involved directly, is able to attest to the fact that it happened. I am simply here to act as the witness to this part of the trial, but the child and spousal abuse will more so be within the Todoroki family, but to get back to the topic at hand. As this is the part of the trail where Himari will be witness for, would you like for me to give control to her?"
"That would be appreciated," the judge said.
Izuku nodded, then took a deep breath and tapped his leg as he let the illusion and Yui take over, looking just like her as Yui took control and looked at the judge.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the judge asked again.
"Yes, sir, although I do have to apologize up front, I am only able to fully be a witness for three minutes at a time, with breaks between," Yui said.
The judge sighed at that, but waved towards the witness stand. Yui walked over and sat down.
"Now, let's start with how you know Todoroki-san here."
Yui nodded. "Rei Todoroki, or as I knew her back then, Rei Himura, was my older sister's friend. We weren't particularly close when I was alive-"
"Alive?" the lawyer asked, eyes wide.
"Izuku-sorry, Midoriya-kun-established that I am a ghost, yes," Yui said. "I died on my sixteenth birthday-I would give you the exact date, but I don't see how that's relevant, but I am able to say that it was twenty-one years ago now. Five years before my death, when I was about eleven years old, Todoroki-san was forced into a quirk marriage with Endeavor."
"And how do you come to this conclusion?" the lawyer asked.
"Rei told my older sister about the marriage, and my older sister told my parents without realizing that I was nearby," Yui said-
"So it was secondhand information-and how do you know it wasn't your older sister just talking as if she had not wanted her friend to be married?" the lawyer asked.
"I was also at the wedding, and even from the audience, it was very clear that Todoroki-san did not want to be married," Yui said. "As a matter of fact, her father had dragged her down the aisle, and if this is the only information you would need from me, I would be able to have one of the other ghosts recreate the memory through an illusion, but as that is the particular quirk keeping my appearance and the required time limit and cooldown, it would likely prevent me from being a witness for the next half of the trail and require moving on to the spousal and child abuse charges of this trial."
"How can we be certain that this memory is correct?" the lawyer asked.
"By having it on display and Todoroki-san confirming that her wedding proceeded as such," Yui said.
"Very well-let's move along to this," the judge said.
Yui looked at him and nodded, handing control back to Izuku and letting the illusion drop as he took a deep breath for a few seconds-he would be pushing the limit of Dasu's illusion quirk-then let Dasu and Yui recreate the scene.
There were wedding bells ringing, and the scene was done on a medium scale-not too big, but big enough for everyone to clearly see what was happening. Yui was sitting on one side, next to people that were clearly her family, as well as Rei's family (or, at least, at that time), Endeavor's family off to the other side. Endeavor was at the front, looking angry and impatient.
The front doors of the scene opened, and there was Rei, looking beautiful in her wedding dress, her father's arm linked with hers, and Rei clearly looked reluctant, even taking a step back.
Her father glared at her and took a step forward, dragging Rei the next few steps as Rei, tears in her eyes, shook her head, tugging her arm away-this was clearly unwilling.
Rei's father dragged her forward more and more until they reached the altar, taking about as much time getting up there as the quirk would allow, sweat starting to form on Izuku's forehead as he squinted more, getting a headache-just as the quirk finished, Rei's father shoved her forward and Endeavor snatched her hand and dragged her the last few steps before there was a loud snap! and the illusion abruptly disappeared as Izuku gasped for air, slumping forward slightly.
"End of questioning, moving onto the next section," Rei's lawyer said as Hisashi quickly got up and rushed over, gently holding his hand out to Izuku, who took it and let himself be helped up and back to the benches, where Shoto was quick to put an arm around his shoulders-his right side, cooled Izuku off a little bit.
"Todoroki-san, you still swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the judge asked.
Looks like he can only force one person to tell the truth at a time.
And he has to say that phrase every single time-I'll add that to the list of quirks we can copy, just in case Detective Tsukauchi's quirk isn't the best in a particular situation.
"Yes, sir," Rei said.
"Was that an accurate version of your wedding day?" the judge asked.
"Yes, sir," Rei said. "As I said, I was forced into a quirk marriage. My family eagerly agreed, as they were offered a sum of money, the amount never disclosed to me. My friend-Himari's older sister, Miyu Monoma-"
"Is she still alive?" Endeavor's lawyer asked.
"I haven't kept contact with her, as Endeavor made me cut contact with her-I was only able to get back in contact with Himari due to my youngest son, Shoto, being friends with Midoriya-kun and Himari recognizing the last name," Rei said.
"Objection," Endeavor's lawyer said.
"Overruled," the judge said. "Torodoki-san is telling the truth on accounts of quirk marriage, illegal due to the XXX Act, passed in year XXXX, and as proven, the marriage was unwanted. The trial isn't over, however, as we move on to the next two charges-spousal and child abuse."
Shoto tensed up slightly next to Izuku, who gave him a side hug as Natsuo took a sharp breath-he was sitting on Shoto's other side.
"But we aren't done with this portion-" Endeavor's lawyer said.
"Endeavor, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the judge asked.
"Yeah, yeah," Endeavor said.
Was that enough, or does it have to be "yes, sir"?
"Did you or did you not force Todoroki-san over here into a quirk marriage?" the judge asked.
"I did," Endeavor said, then looked confused. "Wait, I-"
It looks like it was enough, and he has no choice-no actual pain, it appears, for responding otherwise, just forced to tell the truth.
Izuku glanced over, and, to his surprise, he saw Endeavor's lawyer with wide eyes, clearly surprised as his mouth was wide open and giving Endeavor a horrified look-well, he was clearly about to stop being able to respond. He must've thought that this trial was in the bag because he was defending the Number Two Hero-surely he couldn't do wrong? Right?
Wrong. This was a losing trial on Endeavor's side.
But do you think Endeavor lied to the lawyer? He seems surprised-did he think that this would be easy, and all charges lies?
"That right there is enough to put you into jail for twenty years, up to two million yen in fines, and strip you of your license for up to five years after release before you would have to take classes before you would be able to retake your licensing exam," Nezu added, glancing at the jury, who were all whispering among themselves-and, due to this being a public trial and cameras and reporters around the room, this was going to cause an uproar-good, people had to realize that just because someone got into the Top Ten, that didn't mean they were necessarily good people. "And we haven't even reached the worst of the charges."
"Yes, let's hear them-Todoroki-san, let's start with you before moving onto your children," the judge said. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
"Yes, sir," Rei said.
"Alright, let's start with your side of the story," the judge said. "Afterwards, we will move onto your children."
"This is outrageous-" Endeavor started.
"Sit down quietly," the judge said, voice dripping with hatred-oh, and if looks could kill-yeah, Endeavor wasn't winning this-the jury looked murderous, too.
Rei nodded, taking a deep breath. "To…to start, he had one objective in our marriage-to have a child that would be more powerful than All Might. He…he couldn't be stronger himself, but knew that it wouldn't happen himself, so he…he wanted a child that would." She gulped. "I…my first child. His name was Touya." Her voice started to break as tears escaped her eyes, and Fuyumi started to stand up to take over- "He was born with a body that could handle extreme cold, but a powerful fire quirk-his flames became blue, hotter than Endeavor's were, he…" She stopped as she began to cry, and Fuyumi quickly got up and walked over, followed closely by Natsuo. Shoto was a few seconds behind them.
Natsuo and Shoto quickly hugged their sobbing mother as Fuyumi stepped up, the two boys guiding their mother to sit-
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the judge asked.
"Yes, sir," Fuyumi said. "To continue with Touya, when we were young, Father used to train him to be a hero. They would disappear into the training room often, and Touya always came out with more burns and bruises-he…he was four when Father started training him." She took a deep breath. "We knew that his quirk was too much for him to handle, that it was hurting him, but Father didn't care…until…until his body couldn't handle his quirk. Mom had me and Natsuo, too, and as Touya's quirk was getting to the point where it was killing him, Father also had Shoto." She blinked a few times, wiping up a few tears-
"May I speak again?" Rei asked.
"Of course-do you swear to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the judge asked.
"Yes, sir," Rei said as she stood up, but Natsuo and Shoto continued to stay close to her sides. "Touya was often forced away from his siblings when he was training, and it was…it was horrible to see him go through everything." She took a deep breath. "When Shoto was born, Touya was cast aside by Endeavor, but at that point, he was so…so determined to prove himself not worthless, so he kept using his quirk, even more as Endeavor started training Shoto." She took a deep breath. "I…"
"I can take over," Shoto said.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the judge asked.
"Yes," Shoto said. "When I first got my quirk, I was four, and immediately, I was training with Father. He didn't allow me to talk much to my siblings for years, only my mother." He took a deep breath. "When I was training, I would be beat, burned, I'd puke from being hit so hard."
Endeavor looked like he was ready to say something, but his lawyer elbowed him in the side hard and glared at him-woah, this was going to be great. (Not the content of the trial, that was sh*tty, but it was hilarious to think that even Endeavor's own freaking lawyer was so disgusted by him that he wasn't even trying to defend him anymore.)
"He also…some of my earliest memories are of him hitting my mother," Shoto said. "Hard. A few times I wasn't even sure if she would…she would wake up."
Now that got an audible gasp.
"Did he cause that scar?" the judge asked gently.
Shoto paused at that, then slowly shook his head as Rei hung her head. "No, that was…"
"It was me," Rei said, and everyone gasped again.
"I never have and never will blame her for it," Shoto said quickly.
"How-" the judge asked.
"That day, it was getting really bad, just after a really bad training session-Mom had gotten beaten really bad getting between me and him," Shoto said quickly. "I went into the kitchen the morning afterwards and overheard her on the phone with my grandmother, begging to let her out, to get her out of there. She said that it was hard to even look at me because everything was reminding her of him, and she just couldn't handle it anymore. I tried to talk to her, and the next thing I remember, I was in the hospital, and Mom was in a mental hospital, where she has been for the last nearly ten years. I was not allowed to visit her until more recently, and that was mostly a secret between me, my siblings, and some of my friends."
"And you had previously been isolated from your siblings-when did that stop?" the judge asked.
"After Mom had been admitted, Fuyumi took over caring for me, as well as a few housekeepers and staff that Father hired," Shoto said. "I would get to see Natsuo when Father was busy, but when Father was home, I was in the training room with him, and if I wasn't, I wouldn't be around Natsuo, and sometimes, I wouldn't even be able to see Fuyumi, either, or talk to her." Shoto paused. "In the past year, he has been more lenient, which has allowed me to take longer heading home after school, or even to sneak out more during his patrol hours, which have been longer recently. Either way, I have been spending more and more time out of the house and have spent entire weeks at a time away from the house, but when I am at home at the same time, I am still training."
"I request a quick recess," Endeavor's lawyer suddenly blurted out, and everyone turned to look at him.
"No, I believe we are almost done with this trial," the judge said, then looked right at Endeavor. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
Endeavor simply scowled at him. "You aren't allowed to be using your quirk-"
"I am licensed to use my quirk in a courtroom setting, Endeavor," the judge said sharply. "Refusal to answer this question could very well result in the jury deciding that you are guilty, as it makes you seem guilty and not wanting to admit it. Now do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
Endeavor clicked his mouth shut, then took a deep breath. "Fine. Yes."
"Are Todoroki-san and her children telling the truth?" the judge asked.
"Yes," Endeavor said, the word almost sounding painful as he said it this time, and he simply scowled. "But-"
"There is no excuse," the judge said. "We are talking about the lives of four people-five, if we include your son that died-that you have ruined, illegal quirk marriage against the will of the other person, beating of your own children, isolation of two of them, dare I say parentification of one of them, abuse of your spouse to the point of admittance to a mental hospital-need I go on?" The judge turned to the jury. "Would you like more evidence or to discuss the verdict now?"
The jury all looked at each other, then all of them stood up.
"I think we're ready to discuss," one of them said.
"Then I call a recess with all parties separated and brought out of this court room for the time being," the judge said, and everyone stood up. Endeavor started to walk towards his family, but Izuku, Aizawa-sensei, Nezu, and Hisashi all glared at him, putting themselves between Endeavor and his family, who were hurrying out of the courtroom. Endeavor's lawyer had grabbed Endeavor's arm and was trying to drag him away-of course, though, Endeavor was huge, and the lawyer was not, so that was a fruitless task. A few police officers stepped up from the surrounding area and were shoving Endeavor away. Only once he was out of the room did Izuku, Aizawa, Nezu, and Hisashi quickly walk away to join the Todoroki family.
Instantly, Shoto latched onto Izuku, who was quick to hug him back.
"That…tell me off if I shouldn't say this, but did you see his lawyer's face?" Izuku asked. "You're going to be free."
"For sure," Nezu said. "I do not see this trial tipping in his favor, and I believe that, when we enter the room again, we will likely not see the lawyer."
"But what if-" Shoto said.
"They won't let him win just because he's the Number Two hero-if anything, I hope that makes his punishment worse," Odin said through Izuku. "He took a vow upon becoming a hero to uphold the law, and being such a high ranking hero, he's in the spotlight, too-the newspapers are going to eat up the fact that no one gets pardoned from their crimes, and it will be glorious." Izuku shook his head as he started talking again. "But you don't have to worry about that-we can laugh about the headlines later. For now, just focus on how everything's going to go after this-not too long and we've got the summer camp, not to mention you get your family back together-it's going to be alright."
Shoto just hugged him a little tighter as they all sat down, Rei sitting next to Shoto and hugging him. Shoto shifted a little to hug his Mom with one arm, still not entirely letting go of Izuku, either.
Everyone sat around in silence for a little while, but it still didn't feel like long before the doors opened again and they were ushered back in, the jury already seated, and, as Nezu had predicted, the lawyer had already left, Endeavor standing there, some police officers on standby nearby, already predicting that they were about to arrest him.
Aizawa-sensei tapped Izuku on the shoulder, and he looked up at him.
Aizawa-sensei leaned down and whispered, "If sh*t hits the fan and we have to arrest Endeavor, he'll likely resist."
"I'm giving you permission right now to use necessary force to help with the arrest if it looks like we'll need it," Nezu said. "I have full faith that Aizawa and the police officers will be fine, but if push comes to shove, it would be nice to have a backup that has enough quirks to ensure nothing bad happens."
"Got it," Izuku said as they reached the benches again, Rei, Fuyumi, Natsuo, Shoto, and the lawyer standing at the table while the others sat down.
(The charge is basically adding up the following charges: human trafficking (because quirk marriage isn't an actual charge, so I just went this route), spousal abuse, and child abuse. I also went about calculating how much money he would owe Rei by taking the twenty-six years of marriage times the amount the average Japanese family makes, then I did some rounding, hoping that would be an accurate amount for this case. The entire situation is f*cked up, she needs a lot of money for the grievances.)
"The jury has decided," the judge said. "With a unanimous vote…Endeavor is found guilty of all charges, and will be facing 26 years in high security prison, permanent removal of his hero license with no chance for appeal, as well as owing Todoroki-san 140 million yen."
Endeavor looked ready to protest, but the police officers were already moving forward to cuff him-he was going to protest, clearly, and Aizawa-sensei started to stand as well.
"Custody of the only underage child, Shoto Todoroki, will be given to Todoroki-san upon her leaving the mental hospital," the judge continued.
"I'm cleared to leave soon," Rei said quickly.
"Good," the judge said. "Until then, custody will be granted to his oldest sister, Fuyumi Todoroki. The house that they currently live in is also given to Todoroki-san upon release from the mental hospital. Any extra fees from the hospital stay will be paid by Endeavor-"
"I AM THE NUMBER TWO HERO, YOU CAN'T JUST ARREST ME!" Endeavor roared, and Aizawa-sensei rushed over, activating his quirk as soon as Endeavor's hands started to light on fire-
"No one is above the law-as someone that has vowed to uphold the law under all circumstances, for you to break the law in so many ways on your own family, this is unacceptable!" the judge exclaimed. "Number Two Hero or not, your actions have consequences!"
You fricking fricks!
When will you learn-
WHEN WILL YOU LEARN-
THAT YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CoNsEqUeNcEs!? (two points if you get the reference :)
"You CAN'T!" Endeavor started, kicking at Aizawa-sensei, who whipped out a pair of handcuffs and was quick to cuff the large man and start shoving him out of the room.
Shoto, Natsuo, and Fuyumi instantly latched onto their mom, who started crying as she hugged her kids back.
They were free. They were finally free.
SPOILERS FOR THIS NEXT SECTION, GO TO THE DOTS AFTERWARDS AT "Izuku took a deep breath as he stepped into the mall…" IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS FOR THE LATEST EPISODES.
Touya stared in shock at the television in front of him. He'd…he'd heard about the trial-of course he had. His mother and siblings taking his father to court after all this time…he'd never thought that they would win.
There had been lawsuits against Endeavor before. Not…not about his family. But from civilians, about lost loved ones, homes destroyed. Touya had heard talk of it on the streets. Endeavor had either bought off the people suing him, settled it out of court, or had managed to get the case thrown out of court before it even began. It had never been talked about.
But this one…he'd been arrested. On camera. His family was free.
Even…even if it was without him.
Touya took a deep breath, then looked down at the piece of paper in his hands. He'd paid…he'd paid all his savings for this. The…the address of the League of Villains. He'd hoped that they would help him take down Endeavor, with their status as villains that wanted to take down All Might, surely they'd hate Endeavor, too. But now that Endeavor was…gone? Maybe he shouldn't-his entire want to join the League was to take Endeavor down, and now that he was gone…he could live a peaceful life, or…at least do something else.
Touya shoved the paper in his pocket-he paid money for that information, after all, so it was still worth something.
…..
Izuku took a deep breath as he stepped into the mall, feeling a little bad for being here.
….
"Are you sure?" Izuku asked Shoto over the phone.
"Yes," Shoto said. "I…I still want to go to the training camp, but until then, I'm going to make myself scarce. I can give you money, but could you pick up everything on the list we need for me? I think I have a few things here and there-I'll send you a list of what I still need."
"Tell him that he doesn't need to pay you back-consider it a bit of a gift from me," Hisashi said-he was in the other room, the speaker wasn't that loud-how had he heard that!?
"Of course-and don't worry about paying me back," Izuku said. "Dad just said to consider it a gift from him. I'll tell the rest of the class and make sure they aren't bugging you-if anyone is, text me. I'll take care of it."
"Thank you, Izuku-would you mind telling everyone in person to call me Shoto?" Shoto asked. "Mom's changing all of our last names, not sure what to yet, and because of everything, it's going to happen fast. Maybe not before summer camp, but before the school year starts up again for sure."
"That's great!" Izuku said. "I'll let everyone know in person. You just focus on getting the house ready-you're selling it, right?"
"Yep," Shoto said. "Too many bad memories-Fuyumi and Natsuo have been talking with Mom about what our next house is going to be, but they told me not to worry about it." There was a voice in the background. "Gotta go, we're heading to go get Mom."
"Oh, that's today?" Izuku asked. "Tell her congrats for us-I'd have Yui go over, but…"
"I say hi, and I can't wait to see her again soon!" Yui said.
"I'll tell her that-see you soon," Shoto said, then hung up.
….. (I was going to make the new last name Himura, but decided against it because Rei's parents suck, so I'm open to suggestions!)...
"Hey, Izuku!"
Izuku smiled as he walked over to where a group of his classmates already were-it was Kirishima that had noticed him and was waving excitedly, a few of his other classmates noticing and waving, too.
Izuku walked over with a big smile, feeling a little self-conscious because his arms were in bandages-thinner than sleeves or a sweatshirt, so that was helping with the heat.
"Hey, guys," Izuku said.
"Is Todoroki with you?" Momo asked, looking nearby. "You were at the trial, so we assumed-"
"He won't be coming," Izuku said quickly. "His Mom got out of the hospital yesterday-I'm grabbing stuff for him while I'm here."
"Ah," Momo said. "Tell him that we can't wait to see him again-will he be at summer camp?"
"Yep-also, before I forget, he asked everyone to just call him Shoto-his family is changing their last names before the start of the new term, so it's going to be easier," Izuku said.
"To what-would it be better if we called him by his new last name?" Iida asked.
"Just Shoto's fine," Izuku said, then paused. "Also, I don't know what his new last name is yet, so we'll see."
"I see," Iida said. "Now, everyone partner up based on what we all need! Then, we will meet back here in three hours!"
Izuku looked around, noting that Kacchan and Toshi weren't here, either-apparently, Kacchan had everything and hadn't wanted to go, and Toshi's mom wanted Toshi at home to video-call some overseas family that they didn't talk to often.
I mean, I do hang out with them the most, and I rarely talk to the rest of my classmates without one of them present, at least-
Hey, no anxiety!
Besides, we're still friends with everyone, so it's gonna be fine.
Yeah-
"Hey, what do you need?"
Izuku jolted, looking at Uraraka.
"Pretty much everything on the list between me and Shoto," Izuku said.
"Oh, same," Uraraka said, sounding a bit unsure. "It's mostly camping stuff, and my family doesn't go camping in the first place…"
"Well, we'll probably take the longest, then," Izuku said. "But at least it won't be like dragging someone around everywhere if we're looking for the same things."
"Yeah," Uraraka said nervously. "I was a little worried about having to do that with the entire class, so I'm a little glad that Iida's having us all split up, honestly."
"Yeah, it makes sense," Izuku said. "Now, let's see…sunscreen, bug spray, flashlight, solar charger, optional for charging phones, noted that there won't be much service, swimsuit and towel, matches, a water jug, water filter, compass, clothes for two weeks, recommended that we wear clothes multiple times to have less clothes to keep track of, a raincoat and waterproof shoes, a warm sweatshirt, toiletries, sunglasses-geez, there's a bunch, where do you want to…" He trailed off as he noticed that Uraraka…wasn't there anymore.
"Uh…" Izuku looked around, but he couldn't even spot her.
Well…no idea where she went. Should we…call her?
Maybe?
Izuku thought for a few more seconds, then took out his phone and started to call Uraraka-
"Hey, didn't you win the sports festival?"
Izuku tensed up as someone put their arm around his shoulders.
We have boundaries-just because we're recognized doesn't mean that people can just touch us. That's rude.
That voice sounds…familiar…
"Excuse me," Izuku said, reaching up to start pushing the stranger's arm off him-
"No, no, this feels like it's destiny," the person said, hand around Izuku's neck-
I KNOW THAT VOICE-
"Why don't we spend some time catching up, Izuku Midoriya?" Shigaraki asked, a creepy grin on his face-he was wearing a black hoodie and black sweatpants, hard to identify from a distance, red eyes, a face that was harder to describe-Izuku would have to remember that for if he got away, he had to remember his exact description-Tenko, that's definitely Tenko, I'd recognize my little brother anywhere, but why is he here, why is he so young, what happened, I don't understand-
"Oh, and of course, if you try to run or fight me in any way…well, it will be fast," Shigaraki-Tenko, that's Tenko-said, Izuku feeling his finger twitching-I would be dead in an instant, what would happen to all you-DON'T FOCUS ON THAT-don't die, don't die, WE'RE GONNA DIE-
"Soon as all five of my fingers touch your neck, your throat will be the first thing that disintegrates," Shigaraki-Tenko-continued. "In a matter of seconds, you'll be nothing more than dust and powdered bone."
Izuku didn't say anything, just trying to keep his breaths shallow enough-the grip was tight, if his throat moved too much…no, don't focus on that. I need to use Dave's quirk-WE CAN'T-we'll die if we don't-
Shigaraki moved the two of them to sit down at a nearby fountain as Izuku just focused on breathing and scanning his surroundings-so many people here, if Shigaraki killed him, a hero would be called for sure-but how many people would he kill before a hero got here? How many innocent civilians?
"This is nice," Shigaraki said. "But the hero killer p*sses me off the most right now. And that's what my problem is. It's like suddenly everyone is obsessed with that stupid hero killer. What do you think the difference is between us, Midoriya?"
Should I talk? He might listen to me-
It's been forty years, either he doesn't recognize your voice or startles and flexes his hand, and it's game over. Izuku should be the one to do the talking.
Izuku took a few more shallow breaths, his lungs burning to get more oxygen, but he couldn't. He couldn't.
"I…I don't understand you," Izuku said after a few seconds. "What's your goal?"
"Oh?" Shigaraki asked. "Why does that matter to you?"
"Because it's something that the general public doesn't know-from what I know, the heroes don't entirely know, either," Izuku said. "Stain had a message, and it's one widely agreed upon, too."
"Killing fake heroes?" Shigaraki asked.
"Not that part," Izuku said. "But people agree that there are fake heroes out there, especially right now, with Endeavor being arrested and license permanently stripped due to such horrible crimes. There are heroes only in it for fame, glory, and money, ignoring the fact that they're supposed to be saving lives. That's something that most of society can agree on, and the general public hates it. Stain's message was a little extreme, that all heroes are fake besides All Might-"
"So it all boils back down to All Might-I suppose you worship the very ground he walks on," Shigaraki said.
Izuku snorted. "As if."
Shigaraki gave him a surprised look. "You…I'm sorry, what?"
"I know that that was your goal for the USJ, but that's all that we know-we don't know what your message is," Izuku said. "I mean, if it's that All Might is a horrible person…well, that's not something people agree on. If you made the reasons why public, now that would catch people's attention-"
"You don't like All Might," Shigaraki said. "Now that's something you don't hear everyday. A hero student, one that won the sports festival and took down Stain, as a matter of fact, not a fan of the Number One hero?"
"No, I don't," Izuku said…should I risk it?
ARE YOU JOKING, NO WAY IN HELL-
"You don't like him, either, but for a very different reason-isn't that right…Tenko?" Izuku asked.
Shigaraki jolted, but thankfully, his hand got looser instead of tighter-not like Izuku wasn't already copying Dave and Inko's quirks, ready to take his quirk away again…wait, didn't I break the string last time? What am I so…so scared of?
He's acting as if he can still use the quirk…perhaps Lucas found a way to restore it?
Let's not focus on that-act as if the quirk is still there, and if he's bluffing, we'll be in for a pleasant surprise.
"...how do you know that name?" Shigaraki hissed, glaring at Izuku, his grip thankfully staying loose.
"Do you hate him because your grandmother loved him more than your father?" Izuku asked, relaxing slightly. "Or is it because of Ofa?"
"How do you-" Shigaraki started.
"Izuku?"
The two looked to see Uraraka standing there, looking confused-and the Sides all let out a collective sigh of relief-she's here, even if something happens, maybe she can hold him off and save people, thank F*CK-
Shigaraki's grip tightened-we're gonna die, it's-I need air-as he fully faced Uraraka, who finally realized what was happening-
"L-Let go of him," Uraraka said.
"Stay-" Izuku started, but Shigaraki let go, pulling his hand away as Izuku gasped for air, reaching up and clutching his neck as he coughed.
"We'll meet again," Shigaraki said, standing up, hands at his sides, and he walked away.
Uraraka was instantly sitting next to Izuku as he coughed hard, tears forming in his eyes as his Sides all started to panic.
He's getting away, he's getting away, we have to-
Breathe, breathe, you can breathe, get as much air as you can-we can't black out now-
We're alive, we didn't die, that was so close-
"That was…" Uraraka trailed off as she glanced in the direction Shigaraki had walked in. She blinked, then whipped out her phone and sent a quick text before calling the police.
…
The next few minutes felt like a blur.
The text Uraraka had sent was to the class to let them know what had happened-and, both luckily and unluckily, apparently Sato and Kouji had seen Shigaraki step into a warp gate-he was gone, but they didn't have to worry about him killing people in the mall, at the very least.
The class had gathered around Izuku while the mall security and cops were there, swarming around, trying to get people to tell them what they could about Shigaraki-had people seen him, they knew he was gone, but had anyone else seen a warp gate put him somewhere else in the mall? Every corner was searched…
Izuku leaned against Uraraka-even though it had been ten minutes since, he still felt like he couldn't breathe…mostly because the Mind Palace was in a huge panic.
WE ALMOST DIED, DEATH BY DISINTEGRATION IS PAINFUL, I KNOW, IT'S HOW I DIED-
Would we feel the pain if Izuku died? He knows we know who he really is-
He should not be that young…
Voices talked to Izuku, and while he caught words here and there, they might as well have been speaking another language-he knew that his friends and the cops were the ones talking to him, but he could barely say what voice belonged to who through his panic-
Izuku stayed like that for a while. He…he didn't know how long. He wasn't asleep, but he wasn't quite awake either. Just…disassociating. Did the Sides notice? Were they trying to pull him out of it? Or were they too busy panicking themselves? Maybe. He wouldn't blame them. They nearly died-
All of a sudden, a familiar feeling washed over him-oh, someone was hugging him, he knew that voice, it was…it was nice…and the hug was so warm, just like Olaf liked- (two points if you get the reference)-and…and he knew that smell.
"You're ok, you're ok," Hisashi mumbled quietly as he held his son, rocking gently back and forth. "You're ok, you're ok, you're ok-"
"D-Dad?" Izuku mumbled, feeling tired, but also…not?
"Welcome back to Earth, Houstin," Hisashi joked quietly, his grip tightening a little bit. "It's been three hours."
"S-Sorry," Izuku mumbled, burrowing further into his dad's side.
"No, no, don't apologize-are you up for questioning?" Hisashi asked gently. "If not right now, that's ok, perfectly ok. We can go home and call over some of your friends."
"I…I gotta get stuff from the list, though…" Izuku whined, but really didn't want to go back to the mall.
"Don't worry about a thing-I'll take care of it-or, well, ask someone to, maybe Mitsuki," Hisashi said. "I'm not leaving you alone for a while."
Izuku burrowed further into Hisashi's side, and Hisashi chuckled slightly.
"Wanna head home, then?" Hisashi asked.
"...still at the mall?" Izuku asked.
"No," Hisashi said gently. "We're at the police station-can you see anything?"
Izuku whined a little, then moved his head away from his Dad and blinked a few times to get rid of the static-
They were sitting in a police office-according to the plate on the desk, Detective Tsukauchi's, actually. The detective wasn't there at the moment, must've stepped out to give the two more privacy.
"Yep-he wanted you to stop disassociating before coming back in," Hisashi said.
"...I said that out loud," Izuku said.
"Yep," Hisashi said. "But don't worry about that. Do you wanna head home and give the detective his office back?"
"Wanna…wanna talk," Izuku said. "Everything…everything just got so much worse-"
"Hey, hey, deep breaths," Hisashi said, hugging him tighter, then he looked at the door, talking louder. "Detective, are you still there?"
Detective Tsukauchi poked his head into the door, as did Aizawa-sensei. "Is he…"
"Yep, and wants to get questioning over with," Hisashi said.
"Ok," the detective said, pulling a chair over to the couch Izuku and Hisashi were sitting on. Aizawa-sensei leaned on the doorway for a few seconds before frowning and starting to walk away-
"D-Don't go," Izuku said, starting to panic.
Aizawa-sensei was immediately in the room and pulling up a chair as well. "Ok."
"Any reason why, Izuku?" Hisashi asked, a little confused.
"E-Eraser-safer around," Izuku said, hoping that made sense.
Apparently, it made just enough sense, as all three men looked a little sad at that.
"Ok," the detective said, then pulled out a recording device. "I'm going to ask a few questions and record, ok? If you need to stop at anytime, just tell me."
"Ok," Izuku said, hugging his Dad a little tighter.
"Alright, Detective Tsukauchi interviewing Izuku Midoriya about the Kiyashi Mall Incident, dated July 25th, time of 15:37," the detective rattled off. "Present are Midoriya's guardian, Hisashi Midoriya, his father, as well as his homeroom teacher, Aizawa-san, Pro Hero Eraserhead. Now, Midoriya-kun-"
"I-Izuku, please," Izuku said quietly.
"Uh…ok," the detective said. "Izuku, mind telling us all that happened? As many details as you can remember, every detail counts."
"I…I got there around noon-we were shopping for camping supplies for the summer training camp," Izuku said. "We…we divided into groups of two or three 'cause not everyone needed everything-I did, as well as Uraraka, so we paired up. Uh…I was reading off what we needed, and when I looked up, she was just…gone? I don't know where she was, I think just thought I was walking at a faster pace. I looked around for her, and someone put their arm around my shoulders, saying that they recognized me from the sports festival, and it was destiny to meet when I tried to get away. I…" Izuku took a deep breath, hand going up to touch his neck slightly, where he could feel the bruises already-it hurt. "I-It was Shigaraki-" He choked on his breath as he sobbed a little.
"Hey, hey, it's ok, it's ok-" Hisashi said gently.
"Tenko, it was Tenko, Darlina was freaking out-that was her brother, he killed her, Odin knew him, too, it was really him-he just started going on about Stain and how people focused on him, wondered why I thought that was-because people know what Stain wanted and agreed-not with people dying, but that there are fake heroes, with Endeavor being arrested and everything-I said something about All Might and just took the chance to ask him if he hated All Might because he was Tenko-I asked him if it was because Ofa and the fact that his grandmother preferred All Might-we were telling Izuku that he shouldn't taunt him, we are so lucky his grip didn't get tighter right there and then, it almost did, we almost died, we almost died, we almost died-and Uraraka showed up, and his grip tightened around our neck-we couldn't breathe for a few seconds, dying isn't fun, it's never fun, we have to keep experiencing it like this, but we don't want to die again, at least we all know what to expect when it comes down to our actual deaths, but dying again like Darlina did would hurt so much, we don't want that, we never want that, but suffocating-drowning, drowning-the last few seconds of consciousness-car crash-gun to my head-our own brother killed us and we had to watch the aftermath-then he let us go and left and we could breathe-"
"Izuku, Izuku, breathe-" he heard Hisashi said-who was talking, one of the Sides was saying something, doing something, all of them, none of them, Izuku didn't know what was happening, everything was getting blurry, what was going on, Izuku didn't know-
Everything started to drift again-what was happening? Breathing wasn't getting easier-Tenko's hand around our neck again, that's why we can't breathe, we're dying, we're dying, I wanna see my friends, I can't die, I can't die, I can't die-
Everything went…dark, and suddenly, Izuku was in…was in Dream Land. In the Mind Palace-
Which started to freak him out even more.
Where are you guys, what's going on, I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared-
…
Hisashi quickly got out of the car and carried his son up to their apartment, taking the steps as fast as he could, quickly getting to their apartment and slamming the door open and closed-he winced slightly, making a note to apologize to the people nearby, but he was worried right now-Izuku had passed out from panicking, that wasn't good-
Hisashi quickly settled his son on the couch, rushing to Izuku's room and grabbing one of his blankets, one of his pillows, then rushing back to the couch, gently tucking him in before opening the DVD player and shuffling through their movies, grabbing one of the calmest movies that they had-it was a nature documentary about whales that Izuku had gotten for Hisashi for his last birthday, documentaries helped Hisashi focus when they were playing in the background-and putting it in before rushing to their closet and grabbing a weighted blanket and gently putting that over Izuku as well, then doubling back and going back into Izuku's room and grabbing a hero stuffed animal-a Present Mic one-then going back and putting it in Izuku's arms, then he stepped to the side and called Mitsuki-
Mitsuki picked up on the first ring. "How's Izuku?"
"Passed out on the couch-he decided to go along with questioning right away, but while saying what happened, he started panicking-him and the Sides, all of them talking at once and over each other-it…it was bad," Hisashi said. "And I guess that's definitely a violent reminder that Shigaraki is the one that killed Darlina a long time ago."
"...I'm sorry, WHAT?!" Mitsuki yelled.
Hisashi flinched away from the phone before bringing it back. "Yeah…as I said, not pretty."
"I'm coming over," Mitsuki said. "I'll bring the brat, too."
Hisashi sighed. "I…I can't argue with that. Izuku isn't awake right now-I don't think he'll wake up for a while at least, either. I'm going to call Akiko and Rei and let them know what's going on."
(By the way, Akiko is Mrs. Shinsou-I looked back and couldn't find what I actually named her, or if I gave her an actual first name, so if I did, let me know and I'll go back and edit this)
"Ok, thank you-see you soon-want me to pick up takeout for all of us?" Mitsuki asked.
"I'll order when you get here," Hisashi said. "That way, I've got everyone's orders."
"Alright," Mitsuki said, then hung up.
Hisashi took a deep breath, then called Akiko.
…
Shoto and Toshi dashed up the stairs two at a time, barely even looking at each other as they arrived-at the exact same time, too, nice coincidence-the rest of their families rushing up the stairs, too, but much slower.
Shoto didn't even bother with knocking as he got to the apartment, throwing the door open and kicking off his shoes, Toshi doing the same as they walked into the apartment and over to the living room, where Kacchan was already sitting in front of the couch and just…staring at a sleeping Izuku.
Without a word, Shoto and Toshi sat down next to Kacchan and just stared at Izuku, too.
"Hello to you, too," Hisashi said, walking over to the door and greeting the Todoroki's-or, well, former Todoroki's-and Toshi's mom. "It's so nice to see you-"
"Has Izuku woken up?" Natsuo asked, cutting right to the point.
"Not yet," Hisashi said. "Thank you for coming over-and I'm really sorry about-"
"Don't be-he's practically my nephew at this point," Akiko said, slipping off her shoes and reorganizing Shoto and Toshi's shoes.
"And our family adores him, too," Rei said. "As soon as Shoto heard that he was hurt, he was practically already putting on his shoes." She paused. "And…they didn't catch Shigaraki?"
Hisashi shook his head. "No. No deaths, either, somehow. It looks like he was just there to talk to Izuku-intentionally or by coincidence is the real question, but we don't know. I'm hoping that it was all just a big coincidence…"
"...otherwise they might have a way to track the students," Rei hissed, and Natsuo swore at that.
"I heard Detective Tsukauchi say that they're starting to suspect a traitor," Hisashi said quietly. "Someone leaking the class's location. There's no solid evidence yet, but the USJ was planned out and had a clear cause. This? This was practically spontaneous on the class's part, and not part of school-there's no way that Shigaraki could have known they would be at the mall."
"Do…do you think the summer camp is going to be dangerous?" Akiko asked.
"I hope not," Hisashi said. "Aizawa-sensei assured me that UA would be changing the location to somewhere else as a result of this, no cell signal, or at least very little. There will be more heroes than there were at the USJ there, but a note will be sent to all parents that, if they feel like their child won't be safe, they can withdraw them from the camp."
"...I wonder if I should," Rei said. "I know that Shoto is strong, but I don't think I could handle something happening somewhere I wouldn't be able to reach him."
"Yeah…and with Izuku's Sides still out of commission, I doubt it will be safe for him-don't get me wrong, they're all strong kids, but they're still kids," Hisashi said, then sighed. "I'll ask Izuku's opinion on it, but…I want to call Nezu and ask what the hell kind of security increase will happen-this is how many times Izuku's been put in danger from UA activities now? I can't lose my kid."
"I highly doubt you will lose him," Mitsuki said, entering the hall and putting a hand on Hisashi's shoulder. "He's a strong kid, and while today was definitely a scare, it was unexpected, and he couldn't fight back-even if something were to happen at training camp, the students would be in a position where they could fight-today, Izuku could not. Besides, he's a stubborn kid, he'd probably end up there even if you told him no." She snorted. "And he's been in less danger during attacks on UA events than he was today. It won't happen again." She looked smug. "And even if it does, Katsuki'll blow all the villains away easily."
"Shoto, too," Rei said quickly, but still looked unsure.
"Toshi can fight," Akiko said, but she also looked nervous-they all kind of did, even Mitsuki started looking unsure.
"We'll…we'll think about it-call the school if we have to to make sure our kids are safe," Akiko said, glancing into the living room at the boys-they all did.
And that's it for this chapter! What did you think?
That's…definitely the fastest I've written a chapter for this fic since I first started it.
Also, before anyone worries, they'll all still be going to training camp. It won't be as safe as the parents wish, but they'll go. Of course, it'll be safer than it was originally-I mean, Dabi over here isn't a villain…or, at least, part of the League of Villains. And yet he knows where their base is…won't that be an interesting detail?
Either way, the next chapter definitely won't be so fast, but I'll try not to leave you hanging for ten months…I'll try.
We'll have the training camp, kidnapping, Kamino Ward…oh boy. I'm already scared. Oh well!
(I was trying to organize light vs neutral vs dark sides, so…yeah.) (I added Izuku here so I remember his hero name, just so you know.)
Izuku, the Main Control Unit, so to speak. Flere. Lifeforce, he's currently 16.
Odin, the Caring Side, Raaya, was Irene/Ofa, has wings/one for all/a vocal quirk, died at 17.
Yui, the Morals and Emotions, Maadili, was Himari Monoma, advanced copy, was 16.
Yumio, the Logic side, Yukti, Hajime, analysis, was 25
Dasu, Creativity, Creare, Saburo, can make tangible illusions, was 23, one of three triplets
Duke, Intrusive Thoughts/Insecurities, Malsicuro, can make weapons, was 23, one of three triplets
Darnell, Deceit, Janus, Hai, Snake, was 8, and speaks in lies
Brazen, Recklessness, Loud Cloud, Oboro Shirakumo, Cloud, was 17
Emory, Patience, Amynedd, Peyton, can see emotions, was 21
Kamari, Sleep, Spat, Remy, food & drinks, was 21
Darlina, Innocence/Fear, Frykt, Hana Shimura, Float, was 8
Hirah, Wrath, Wrath, Cheran, had horns/devil-demon form, was 13-ish
Dot, Sloth, Alsi, Hope, makes others sleep, makes her sleepy in turn, was 8
Yuki, Health Nut, Sihat, Midori, Endless Energy, was 13-ish
Paz, Social Life, Comhra, Collin, Quirkless, was 12
Hex, Depression, Trom, Kimi, Quirkless, was 12
Rand, Anxiety (1), Dave, Disconnect, oldest (30 something)
Hinata, Anxiety (2), Jiao Lu, Choko, Occupy, was 6
Until next time!
Peace!
