"Poor Izuku… I can't imagine what he is feeling right now…" Mitsuki says with her hand to her mouth.
It's been two weeks since the fire and the attack. Ever since he had woken up screaming, he hasn't talked to many people. He eats normally and hasn't had an episode like that ever since but it's clear that the fire has left a scar on him.
She turns to the man and his partner to her left. "Are you sure that you need to do this? Can't this wait a little more?" She turns to look back at Izuku who is eating his lunch on his medical bed through the door.
She looks back at the detective who shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but I need to know more about this fire. There is only one person who knows what exactly happened during then and he's in that room" He says while pointing to Izuku.
A few moments pass before he speaks again. "I'm heading in, Mrs. Bakugou, if you will please follow me." He opens the door which catches the attention of Izuku who has a piece of broccoli in his mouth. He swallows it quickly as he sees who enters.
"Auntie Mitsuki!" Izuku says while trying to leave his bed, but then wincing in pain and stopping.
"Izuku! I'm so sorry I couldn't see you earlier!" She says while rushing to his side as soon as he spoke. She grabs him in a tight hug and starts to feel tears soak through her shirt.
"Mom's dead… They're all dead… Auntie, they're all dead!" He cries into her shirt. "Auntie! Mom's dead!"
She can feel tears coming to her own eyes as she holds Izuku tight and rocks him back and forth, rubbing his back. "It's okay sweetie, I'm here. I'm here for you now…"
'It's okay sweetie… I'm here for you, now and forever… I'm so sorry Izuku… I miss her as much as you do… She was my best friend…'
'Look at you, you ugly bitch. Who the fuck do you think you are?' A high school student says while kicking a younger student in the bathroom.
A young green-haired woman is on the ground, surrounded by some of her classmates. Just earlier she had spilled some water on a fellow classmate's new clothes.
'You fucking cunt! Do you know how much this shirt alone cost me? Do you!?' She kicks her in the stomach even harder. Just as she was going to going to kick her in the head, a loud voice is heard.
'Hey! You! You dirty fucking slut! What the fucking do you think you're doing!?'
'Who the fuck said tha-' She didn't get to finish as a punch to a face interrupts her. She falls to the ground, her head ringing.
'Shut the fuck up you dumb cunt!' The unknown person says to the bully now on the ground. She then looks up at the rest of the gathered students. 'All of you! Unless you want an ass-kicking even worse than you could ever think of, fucking leave this bathroom!'
As the rest of the students leave, their ring leader stands up after recovering from her punch. 'I'll get you back, bitch! Just you wait!'
'I look forward to the day where I'll be beaten by a whore in fake designer clothes!' She yells back at her as she is leaving.
'Finally… Now…' She looks down at the young woman. She crouches down to take a good look at her. Bruises cover her face.
'Hi! I'm Bakugou Mitsuku! Sorry about them, they're a bunch of cunts. You're new around here aren't you?' She stops before she realizes something. 'Sorry! Here, let me help you up.'
She reaches out her hand and the girl on the ground slowly lifts up her hand and grabs it. She is then pulled up by her unknown savior.
'Those bruises look pretty bad. I have some makeup that can cover those right up if you want me to!' Her savior says. A look of realization then crosses her face. 'Oh! I never told you my name! I'm Mitsuki! What's yours?'
'Inko… my name is Inko…' Inko responds.
'Well Inko, how about I help you with those bruises and we can talk some more, is that alright?' Mitsuki says softly. She grabs Inko's shoulder and gives it a little tug.
The two became fast friends, with Mitsuki protecting Inko ever since.
She reminisces for a bit before remembering who else is here. She wipes the tears from her eyes before speaking. "Izuku, sweetie, this is Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. He's the detective in charge of your case."
The Detective takes off his hat and holds it in front of him. "Hello there young man. As she just mentioned, I am the detective in charge of this case." He pulls up a nearby chair and sits in front of Izuku's bed. "I'm here to ask you some questions about that day. If there are questions that you don't want to answer, I understand." He says professionally.
Izuku looks down at his hands, thoughts going through his mind. He thinks about it for a bit before responding. "Alright. I think I'm ready to talk about it. Please, ask."
The Detective fishes out a small notepad from his jacket and a pen. "Now Izuku, what exactly happened that day? Tell me in as much detail as you can please."
Izuku explains the whole day, from when he woke up to the villain who had attacked them. He tears up and stops talking at multiple points during this to collect himself and his emotions. The whole ordeal is still heavy on his mind and fresh.
As Izuku finishes telling the Detective, he remembers the dream he had the night before.
"Detective? You said to tell you anything about that day, right? I just remembered something, but I'm not sure how much it will help…"
Detective Tsukauchi looks up from his notebook. "Izuku, tell me anything that might help this case. No matter the significance, if it might matter then I would like to know." He explains.
Izuku hesitates for a moment before speaking. "Well… I had a dream the night before the attack…"
Mitsuki speaks up for the first time since Izuku had started explaining. "A Dream?" She asks. The Detective gives her a look and holds up his hand to tell her to stop.
"What happened in this dream?"
Izuku wracks his brain to try and remember exactly what happened in the dream.
"My quirk gives me weird dreams sometimes. Usually, if anything even happens in the first place, I have some sort of shroud or a covering over my eyes. I can't see anything but occasionally there are whispers. I can't understand them but sometimes I do. It's always been a single word; Power, the word One, solution. This time it was different, they were so loud… "
Fire… So much fire, it's everywhere…
The whispers, they were so loud. They were so angry.
"There was fire, I was in the apartment, in the same room where it all happened. I could actually see this time. The whispers… they were so loud, it was like I was in the middle of a crowd. It was too much, too much, too much! Then, they started speaking, and I could actually understand them this time. There were telling me to rage, that everything must be destroyed. They were telling me to "let them in", and that the "Shrouded Void will consume all". They said to feed them."
Izuku looks more shaken and distressed as he continues.
That dream… Please, please, please stop! Stop!
He starts hyperventilating and starts rocking back and forth with his hands to his head.
STOP! PLEASE! IT'S TOO MUCH!
"-ku? Izuku! Hey, kiddo look at me!" A voice startles him out of his thoughts. The face of Mrs. Bakugou clears his head.
"Kiddo, are you with me now? Do you want to continue or do you want to stop?" Mitsuki looks worried now.
"Please…"
"I think it's best we stop this interview, Detective Tsukauchi." Mitsuki says while not looking at said person.
He looks like he wants to disagree, but a quick look from Mrs. Bakugou changes his mind. He puts his notebook and pen back in his jacket and stands up.
"Very well. I will be on my way then. I will give you a call if there are any changes. Please give me a call should anything come up." He grabs his hat and leaves. Both people watch as he leaves.
No one speaks for a few moments before Izuku looks at Mrs. Bakugou. "Auntie?"
She stops looking at the door to look at Izuku. "What's up kiddo?"
"What happens now? I don't have anywhere to go…" Izuku looks down at his lap.
"Izuku, Look at me." He looks up at her.
"As you know, your father… hasn't been exactly a part of your life. As your grandparents are dead, I have decided to take you in." She leans in and gives him a firm hug. "You'll be living with me and Masaru from now on. Is that alright kiddo?" She says as she is pulled back.
She is suddenly pulled back into a hug as she can feel tears on her once more.
"Thank you… Thank you so much, Auntie! Thank you!" He cries out. "Really, Thank you! I was so worried! You have no idea how much this means to me!"
As fast as his happiness comes, it goes away as he remembers something very important.
Katsumi…
Well…
Shit…
It's been two days since the interview. He's just been discharged from the hospital and is currently in a car heading towards his new home.
A new home with Katsumi.
Well… Shit…
Well shit indeed, young Izuku. Well shit indeed.
Soon they arrive at said home. They park the car in the driveway and exit the car.
Izuku takes a moment to look at the house. It still looks the same as it did all those years ago. Nothing has changed at all really.
Soon he is brought out of his thoughts as Mrs. Bakugou calls his name at the front door of the house. "Coming!" He yells back.
He enters and looks around. Izuku hasn't been in this house ever since the incident all those years ago. Before that, he used to come over to Katsumi's house all the time to play.
"Izuku, do you remember where the guest room is? It's right by Katsumi's room." Auntie says, while pointing up a pair of stars near where they are.
"I remember where it is. I think she put a hole around there when we were younger." Izuku says with a little laugh.
Suddenly, he remembers what happened all those years ago. He realizes something important.
"Auntie?" Izuku says softly while looking at her.
"What's up?" She replies.
"I never apologized for what I did to Katsumi all those years ago." Some tears come to his eyes as he says this.
"Izuku… come here." She says softly.
He does that and she envelopes him in a hug.
"I never blamed you for what you did that day. Never. Not even once. Don't cry sweetie. It was years ago. You were children back then." She rubs his back.
Auntie…
Thank you…
"Thank you, Auntie." He sniffles.
They stay like that for a bit before she lets him go. "Well now! I think it's time for you to go to your new room. I'll be down here making lunch. If you need me, just call, okay kiddo?"
He nods and heads to his new room. He passes Katsumi's room and stops to look for just a moment.
We played a lot in her room. We had so much fun. Looking back at it now, I think I miss those times. She didn't hurt me at all back then. Sure, she was a bit rough and rowdy back then, but we were friends. I miss her.
I wish I never listened to her back then. Maybe my life would be different.
He moves on and reaches his room. He stops in front of it. He takes a deep breath in and out before opening it.
It's a bare room, with a bed, a desk and a bookshelf along with a drawer and a closet. He lost nearly everything in the fire so basically most of his stuff was destroyed. Luckily for him, all of his hero notebooks survived the fire for some reason. They were basically untouched.
They were already placed on the bookshelf in his room by Mitsuki before he got there. He places his suitcase near his bed and heads over to his notebooks.
He takes out a random one and sees that it was the one that Katsumi had destroyed the day of the slime villain. Honestly it looks like it was burned in a fire already.
He places it down and sits on his bed. He takes a better look at his new room. It's much bigger than his old one, maybe two or three times bigger. Since none of his posters or memorabilia survived, he's gonna have to get some new ones.
Though, some of those were limited edition so it might be hard to find those for cheap, if they are even available at all. I guess I could ask All Might for some next time I meet him. He probably has no idea why I haven't been to the beach at all. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought I gave up and moved on to someone else.
I lost my phone too in the fire. Gonna have to get a new one. Oh! And a new computer too.
He starts his usual mumbling while holding his chin and looking at the ground.
How would I afford a computer AND a phone together? I could ask Auntie, but it doesn't feel right to do so. They've already done so much for me by taking me in that I can't ask them for such a thing. I'm in debt to them and will be for my entire life. Maybe a job? No, I don't have the time to do that. I've missed so much time already that I need to work harder. I need to be stronger. Maybe then I could have sa-
He is interrupted by the door opening to his room. Thinking it's his Auntie, he looks up with a smile.
"Hey Aun-"
It's not his Auntie.
It's her daughter.
Who looks extremely unhappy to see him.
Well…
Shit…
Well shit indeed, young Izuku. Well shit Indeed.
He freezes. "Ka-Ka-Kacchan! Um… H-H-Hello!" He stutters out. She doesn't say anything and continues glaring at him while leaning on the side of the door.
She stops leaning and walks over to him. Izuku gets off the bed and stands up. She continues walking over until she is right in his face.
She doesn't say anything for a few tense moments before speaking. "Don't expect anything to change at school. You're still a useless piece of shit to me who should die… But…"
Suddenly her face softens a little. Something he hasn't seen in years.
"While you're here at home, I'll just pretend you don't exist. Don't expect me to be all nice and kind to you just cause Auntie died. Though…"
She looks away. "Mom says that there is going to be a funeral in a few days. So there's there. That's why I came here, to tell you that." She suddenly turns around and leaves. She stops though at the door, and looks back at him.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry that Auntie Inko died."
She leaves a trembling, scared and rather confused Izuku in her wake.
Suddenly, a voice is heard yelling in the hall. "Oh, and lunch is ready!"
Wha…
What the fuck was that?!
It's been a few days and Izuku is back exercising again. He met All Might at the beach the day after the funeral.
'Young Midoriya…' A skinny All Might says.
Izuku runs towards him as soon as he saw him. He grabs him in a hug tightly.
'Young Midoriya… I heard about the attack. I'm so sorry, I wish I could have been there. If only I was there, maybe I cou-'
'Stop! It wasn't your fault. It was mine. All mine! I was too weak and now they're all dead.'
Toshinori feels tears on his shirt. He starts rubbing the crying boy's back to calm him down.
'Young Midoriya, it's alright. It wasn't your fault. I know it. It's alright…'
He continues to calm the crying boy for the rest of the day.
Izuku didn't work out that day.
I haven't worked out for a while now. I've lost quite a bit of progress…
As he tries to lift a washing machine, a feat he could have done a month ago, suddenly a surge of pain in his back makes him drop it. The pain forces him to kneel.
I've lost too much progress. I need to work even harder than I did before! Ignore the pain, do twice the work!
He gets up and tries to lift the washing machine again. Ignoring the pain he manages to move it to a pile. Exhausted, he falls on his bottom and reaches for his water bottle.
As he is taking a much-needed drink and break, he suddenly hears a voice to his right. Sounds like…
Is someone yelling?
He starts moving to where he heard the voice. As he gets closer, he can hear whoever it is clearer.
"-he hell is it? I know it was around here, I saw it! Has someone been taking my scrap for my babies? I'll kill them!"
He looks past a pile of junk to see a pair of someone digging through one of the piles. He interrupts their monologue.
"Uh… excuse me?" He asks, a bit proud of himself for not stuttering.
The person stands up and turns around. Izuku only had one thing to say when he saw the person.
This girl is going to be the death of me…
A girl stands before him.
A rather… beautiful girl.
Now the stuttering he was proud of being gone was back in force due to the person in front of him. He freezes where he stands.
She's pretty…
And that's not all that's pretty about her...
With pink dreadlocks and a cute face, her body certainly adds to the overall feeling of her.
"-ey. Hey! Who're you?" A voice snaps him out of his thoughts.
"Uhh… H- H- Hi! I'm M- M- Midoriya!" He stutters out.
She looks at him funny. She looks pretty and proceeds to speak.
"I don't care about who you are! Are you the one who's been taking all my scrap? Cause if you are, I'll kill ya right here and now!" She yells at him. Izuku has a feeling that she is entirely serious and he should speak now or forever be silenced.
"Uhhh… Y-y-yeah! I'm cleaning this beach as t-t-training! I didn't k-k-know that you were using i-i-it!"
She gets right up in his face. He can feel the blood rushing to his face as she gets close to him.
"Training for what, huh? Are you a support tech too? Cause I won't stand any rival trying to take my place at U.A!"
He waves his hands in front of himself "N-n-no! I'm training to become a H-h-hero!"
Just as he mentioned the words "Hero", she pulls away from him. A giant grin spreads on her face and she grabs him. "Well, why didn't you say so!" She holds out her hand. "Hatsume Mei! Future CEO of Hatsume Industries and inspiring U.A Support tech! Nice to meet ya!"
Izuku shakes Hatsume's hand. As soon as he tries to let go though, she pulls him close to him and puts her hand on his shoulder. "Now how about this? I'm currently renting a nearby house so how about you take all this scrap here and start bringing it to me? In return, I'll make you some nice babies to try out, okay?"
Izuku's face is like the inside of a watermelon at this point and is starting to feel faint. Right before the lights shut off, he thinks of one thing only.
This girl is going to be the death of me…
He passes out right then and there.
In U.A, a skinny All Might is writing a letter to a former mentor.
Dear Sorahiko,
I've chosen a successor for One for All, but as time goes by, I realize that I don't have the same set of skills that you have in order to teach my pupil. Just you feared that I would push myself after Nana's death, my pupil has just experienced innumerable loss. I fear that he will push himself too far just as I did.
I know that we haven't talked in a long time, but right now I am in need of your help.
Please,
Yagi Toshinori