Green Tea Rescue

by ss3dj

When Midoriya Izuku was 4 his quirk finally manifested. The doctor named it psychokinesis, but his friend Bakugou Katsuki called it worthless. For the next 10 years, Izuku would grow up bullied and isolated. Then, when a new student named Uraraka Ochako transfers into his class the last year of jr high, everything changes. Rated M for eventual themes.

32. Confessions Part 1

Warning for dark themes: This chapter will contain discussions of past child abuse and the topics of underage sex and prostitution. While no acts are shown nor are they described in detail, the topics are discussed.

---

A pillar of green fire ripped through the night sky, bathing the street below in emerald light. The Nomu was enveloped in the blaze screeched in agony but the roar of the fire drowned out its cries. Even Ochako couldn't hear it and she still had its hands around her neck, though she could feel its grip loosening. The release of the pressure and suddenly being able to breathe was enough to jolt Ochako out of her dazed shock and into action. Grabbing the Nomu's wrists, Ochako yanked them apart and at last she was free. Keeping a hold on one of its arms, Ochako glanced down and her jaw went slack. She now had a perfect view of the fire's source and her mind raced to come to terms with it.

Deku's breathing fire…? Deku's breathing fire! What the fuck?!

The insanity of the situation still hadn't completely sunk in and Ochako didn't have time to let it. She felt an abrupt jerk as the Nomu's leg kicked out and threw Izuku away. The sudden act and tumbling through the air cut off the fire and Ochako got a good look at the charred and blackened monster. She didn't bother to look too long, though. Izuku was plummeting towards the ground and she had to catch him.

Twisting around, Ochako used the Nomu's body as a springboard and launched herself down while the burned Nomu fell towards the ground, its wings now too burned to keep it afloat. While Izuku tumbled through the air, Ochako kept her body straight so she could scythe through the night sky. Watching Izuku plummet and the way his body waved about was sickening for Ochako, but with them both being so high up she would have no problem reaching Izuku in time.

Ochako saw a black portal swirl open. A great dark void ready to catch Izuku and take him away.

Then Ochako began to panic.

Reaching out her hands, Ochako began to pray she was fast enough. He was so close now, she just had to touch him. The black portal was close, too, and getting closer by the second. Ochako prepared herself; if she didn't get to Izuku in time, she was going to be diving headfirst into wherever that portal took him.

She'd be damned if she saved herself and let Izuku get taken.

Stretching her hand out as far as she could, she reached.

Yards became feet.

Feet became inches.

Izuku's body whipped around and his arm slapped into Ochako's hand. She grabbed it and floated them both, their bodies coming to a sudden but gentle stop just above the black portal. Yanking Izuku to herself, Ochako wrapped her arms around his body and held him close. The way his body twitched against her, the sounds he made, she could tell he was in so much pain. She knew she had to get him back to the ground as fast as she could.

Then she heard a growl of frustration. Looking past Izuku she saw twin yellow slits stand out against the blackness as Kurogiri looked at the two, "Shigaraki wishes to meet this boy. I'm afraid he will be coming with me."

From the portal, dark tendrils of mist reached out to grab them, only for a new blast of bright orange fire to slam into the black portal. Ochako gasped and rolled herself and Izuku aside and away from the fire. Kurogiri yelled as he vanished, whether from pain or frustration Ochako didn't know or care. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Endeavor blasting away.

With the threat gone, Ochako floated herself and Izuku back down towards the ground. Holding Izuku close to her body and wincing at every hacking cough and shallow weeze he made, Ochako touched back down on the ground and as carefully as she could laid Izuku on his back. Pulling back, she was finally able to get a good look at him. Izuku had burns around his mouth, nose, and running down his neck. His costume around his neck and chest was burned away, showing even more angry red and blistered burns. Ochako pushed back the thought of what he looked like on the inside; his throat and lungs could be burned as well.

His erratic breathing sounded horrible and with every exhale Izuku coughed up smoke while his inhales made the inside of his mouth glow green from a light further back. Then his body started to convulse. Each spasm rocked his broken limbs creating fresh jolts of pain that only made him move more. His breathing got even harsher and the coughed up smoke was soon joined with tiny tongues of flame. Not wanting him to move his body anymore and terrified that he may burn himself even more, Ochako put her hands on his chest to try and hold him down, before yanking her hands back in shock, hissing in pain.

HOT!

Izuku's chest was burning hot. After being so close to the first blast of fire from Izuku, then the second from Endeavor, not to mention the shear panic she had been in to try and save Izuku from his fall, Ochako hadn't noticed just how hot Izuku's body had become. Moving her hands to his shoulders to try and stabilize him, Ochako quickly realized that Izuku's whole body was burning up. It suddenly dawned on Ochako that there was nothing she could do now. She could feel herself starting to panic again. Her own breaths became shallow and rapid. Eyes widening, she turned her head, looking desperately for someone to help. She saw Miruko, Tenya, and the heroes running over to her.

"HELP! HE'S BURNING!"

Miruko reached them first, skidding to a stop and grabbing Ochako by her shoulders, "Runt are you-?"

"DEKU'S BURNING!"

Ochako was beyond being able to talk back, her mind stuck on repeat. Gran Torino and Tenya reached them next, shocked at the sight of Izuku while Miruko tried to get Ochako to calm down. Endeavor, who had finally reached the group after chasing Kurogiri off, heard Ochako's wails and reached down and laid a hand on Izuku and hissed, He's overheating. Pushed his body too hard using that fire. And those burns… Like his body isn't used to his own Quirk… Like… He needs to get cooled down now!

"SHOUTO!" Endeavor turned back to look for his son, "You need to cool down this boy now!"

Shouto looked over at the group before glancing down at Himiko, conflicted over the idea of leaving her but also knowing he was the only one that could help Izuku. Looking at the sword sticking out of Himiko's chest and noting that there was very little blood loss now, Shouto's eyes traveled up and found Himiko's. While the rest of her was freezing, the fire in her eye hadn't dimmed in the slightest, and the look she gave him made her position on what he should be doing very clear.

Get over to Izuku or you're dead.

Shouto added an extra layer of ice over Himiko's wound, then rushed over towards Izuku. Like everyone else, he had questions. Many many questions. But first and foremost he had to make sure Izuku was going to be around to answer them. Putting his hand on Izuku's chest, Shouto worked to cool him down. The space between his hand and Izuku's chest hissed and puffs of steam billowed out from between Shouto's fingers. Shouto was shocked at just how much work he was having to do to bring Izuku's temperature down. As he worked, the small flickers of fire that escaped Izuku's mouth with every breath soon faded to dull embers.

"How hot was that fire if it left Midoriya like this?"

Endeavor looked down at the Izuku with a frown, "Probably close to ours… That kind of heat but no control…"

Father and son went out of their way not to look at each other after that.

Miurko held Ochako back so that Shouto could work, so she looked back and forth between him and Izuku, "He's going to be alright, right? He won't…?" Ochako couldn't bring herself to finish. Izuku's mangled body, the blood from his ears, nose and eyes and now the burns and heat; Ochako wasn't sure just how much more damage Izuku could take.

Izuku took a deep and shuddering breath, but as Shouto worked, it didn't devolve into another haggard cough. "He's cooling down," Shouto said with a sigh. He could still feel heat coming off Izuku but he wasn't having to fight to cool him off like he had been. The fire was completely gone now and the smoke faded away as Izuku's breathing sounded and looked more normal. Strained yes, but no longer as haggard and painful.

"See, runt. He's going to be okay. It's going to be okay."

Miruko wasn't one for soothing people, but given the circumstances she was trying her best. One arm wrapped around Ochako to hold her back, while the other she ran over Ochako's head, "See, nothing to worry about. Nothing at-"

SLAM!

The sound of someone suddenly landing in the street shocked everyone. Endeavor turned, his body igniting as he got ready for another fight. Gran Torino whipped around ready to launch, while Tenya crouched into a fighting stance. His engines were still stalled but he wasn't about to let someone attack his friend again.

"I am here to… to…"

All Might stood in the middle of the ruined street while everyone else nearly doubled over as their momentum came to a screeching halt. He looked around in total shock before looking at the group.

"What happened here?"

---

"You're all fakes!" Stain called out as he was loaded up into a police armored van. Bound and restrained, police officers worked to push Stain into the back. At first he hadn't fought back, but when he saw Himiko getting medical treatment with heroes standing around to offer help, he started screaming, making sure everyone knew what he thought, "That you've allowed that monster into your ranks shows just how far you fakes have fallen! She's soaked in blood but you all want to pretend it isn't there! None of you are real heroes. No true hero would allow her to train in their schools."

As he was loaded up, Stain looked towards All Might, "Why do you allow this filth to remain? You've found a boy with the heart of a hero, yet you risk it by letting that monster stay with him?"

All Might laid a hand on Izuku's shoulder as the unconscious boy was loaded up into an ambulance, "It is a hero's duty to ensure the best for everyone. Everyone deserves to be saved. That's what we are doing. What you should have done."

Around him, the rest of the students were finally loaded up and on their way to the local hospital. Only Himiko remained as more care was needed to stabilize her for transport.

Stain shook his head, "Some are beyond saving, All Might. You've saved so many, maybe you've lost sight of that. I don't blame you, of course. It's your nature to be a hero. But sometimes you must realize some things are beyond your reach. Toga is a monster and she will be the death of everything you hold dear. It's her nature. These fake's can't see it," Endeavor sneered while Miruko rolled her eyes. Gran Torino just ignored him as he held a phone up to his ear, "but you must. Or else you'll have a blood bath on your hands."

The group of heroes watched as Stain was loaded up and driven away. With Stain finally gone, All Might watched as medics quickly and carefully loaded Himiko up on a stretcher, keeping her on her side and doing everything they could to make sure not to make her injuries any worse. While they worked, All Might was very aware that a group of officers were hanging back, watching Himiko's ambulance with great interest. He noted the distinct hats on some of their heads that marked them as Tartarus guards. When her ambulance drove away, they also loaded up and drove off.

That's… going to be trouble.

"All Might, I called Recovery Girl. She's on her way to the hospital."

All Might slumped with a sigh, "Thank you, Gran Torino."

"I also got in contact with Nezu like you asked. Let him know that Tartarus was interested in that girl."

All Might looked out at the destroyed street, "I'm hoping things don't get out of hand but he'll know what to do to deal with it if it does."

Gran Torino nodded, "Speaking of getting out of hand…"

"Yeah…"

"All things considered, kid did alright. All of them did. You must be teaching them something right at U.A. for them to survive this." Gran Torino reached up and patted All Might on the back.

I just hope things calm down and they have a chance to recover. Lord knows they all deserve it. I could also use the chance to figure out what's going on, too. Yeah… worry about healing first, then figure out what the hell is going on with Young Midoriya.

---

Tomura scratched at his neck as he walked into the bar, "I don't believe this. What the hell is going on with that brat?!"

Behind him, Kurogiri reformed and took his place behind the bar, "I apologize, Shigaraki. I should have been more careful while I tried to capture that boy."

Plopping onto a stool, Shigaraki sighed, "I was the one that ordered you to get him after that Nomu got fried. Looking back, probably not one of my better ideas, what with all those heroes around."

Kurogiri poured Tomura a drink, then he walked over and turned on the monitor, "Master? We have returned."

"So you have. I take it things did not go as you had hoped?"

Shigaraki shrugged, "Stain's gone. Didn't die but he'll be locked away. And we got to cause a little chaos, too. That'll put the League on everyone's minds."

"True. Though we have lost more Nomu. Unfortunate."

"You're making a habit of losing my creations, Shigaraki. One dead and another captured."

Tomura frowned and looked over at the monitor, "Doc? It's not my fault your Nomu are faulty. Besides, Kurogiri brought one of them back."

"A blackened mess with more burns than skin now. Do you know how rare flying Quirks are?"

"Is it salvagable?" Kurogiri asked.

"...Perhaps. Not in its current form but… It survived in this state. Maybe I was too hasty to turn the boy into something so simple. Maybe I should try something… higher. Yes, yes, bringing him back was a good call. To survive Endeavor's fire means there's something to be used from this Nomu."

"It wasn't Endeavor that turned the Nomu into fried chicken. It was Midoriya."

"Midoriya? The boy you ran into at USJ?"

"And the one All Might took under his wing, to train during U.A.'s internships."

Tomura growled, "Well something happened when All Might did that. Now the brat can breath fire."

"Fire Breath? That is very odd. Perhaps he was hiding the Quirk?"

"Not only that," Tomura spat out, "The kid's suddenly way stronger. He practically threw a fucking alley at Stain and then decimated a street with a single punch. It was just like watching a little All Might. What the hell?!"

"Like watching All Might, you say? Shigaraki, tell me exactly what you saw."

---

Nice to meet you, Ninth.

Groggily, Izuku opened his eyes, squinting at the light coming in from his window. As his mind slowly came back into focus, Izuku began to get a feel of his own body and his surroundings. White walls and ceilings, and the gown he wore told him he was in a hospital and the light letting him know that it was at least the next day. He then lifted up his left hand and held it up, examining it and his arm to see if there was any sign of damage from when the Nomu snapped it. It looked exactly like it should.

Next he did the same with his right hand and arm. Memories of shredded skin and blackened flesh flashed in his head, turning his stomach, but he forced it away. His right arm and hand were lightly wrapped up in bandages. His arm felt very sore and weak but as he ran his hand over it, everything was still there. Gingerly, he tapped his thumb and each finger together and was happy that there didn't seem to be any loss in dexterity. The soreness reminded him of when he woke up after getting smacked by Nomu.

Turning away from his hand and arms, Izuku looked down at the foot of his bed and with effort, wiggled his feet. He sighed when he saw the blanket over them move around. So he still had his legs, though like his right arm, they were very very sore. Still, all things considered, he was in pretty good shape.

"Midoriya?"

And he wasn't alone.

Looking up, Izuku quickly scanned the room. Sitting off on the other side of the room on the other bed was Tenya. Like Izuku, he wore a hospital gown and had bandages wrapped around his arm. Shouto sat in a chair to his side and both looked surprised but happy to see Izuku up

"Iida. Todoroki," Izuku winced. His throat was sore and his tongue tender.

Shouto stood up, "Easy, Midoriya. Recovery Girl treated most of your wounds but she told us to make sure you rest when you woke up."

"How long have I been out?" Izuku asked quietly while he raised his hand to his throat and rubbed it. It felt like he had been screaming all day yesterday, But why does my throat hurt so much? I'm pretty sure I blew up my limbs using One for All but my throat? What did…

More memories returned to Izuku, held back by the pain he had been in when the events had happened. He had been grabbed by the Nomu and then...

"There was fire…?"

Shouto and Tenya glanced at each other before Tenya nodded, "That's right. You were breathing fire after you got taken by that Nomu and Uraraka chased after you..."

Izuku stopped hearing Tenya. Images. Horrible, terrifying images assaulted Izuku's mind. The Nomu, it's elongated fingers wrapped around Ochako's throat. Strangling her. Panic began to well up in Izuku's chest, his breathing starting to become shallow and quick, "Uraraka!"

Ochako wasn't in the room with them. He couldn't remember what happened to her. All he could see was the Nomu's hands around her throat. Alarmed at Izuku's sudden panic attack, Shouto and Tenya started to rush to Izuku's bed, "Midoriya, hold on-"

SLAM!

"I swear, I'm going to throw that jerk out a freaking window. He won't even tell me how she's... Huh?"

The door to the room slammed open and Ochako, looking exceptionally pissed off, stormed into the room ready to vent. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Izuku sitting up in his bed, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Ura… raka?"

Ochako's anger evaporated instantly, "Deku!"

Rushing to Izuku's side, Ochako was about to ask Izuku how he was feeling but her question died on her lips as Izuku surprised her, and everyone else in the room, by lunging at her and wrapping her up in a tight hug. Burying his face into the crook of her neck, Izuku started to weep, "You're okay. Thank god, you're okay."

"D-Deku?"

Ochako froze up. Izuku had never, ever, done something like this before. His grip on her was tight and every sob reverberated through him and into her.

"It… it was strangling you. It was killing you and I couldn't… I couldn't…do anything."

Izuku's voice grew hoarser with every word. Holding onto Ochako like this hurt. His sore body screamed for release but he would be damned if he was going to let her go now. Ochako knew that Izuku was still recovering and that getting worked up was not going to help him in any way, so she moved to help calm him down. Wrapping one arm around him and moving her other hand up to his head, she stroked his hair gently, "Shhhh. It's alright. I'm alright. You saved me, Deku. It's all over now."

Every fear, every horrible thought and terror Izuku had fought and drove back so that he could will himself to act finally broke free. He cried and cried and cried. All the while Ochako held him and told him it was all okay. That everything was going to be okay. She was there for him, like she knew he would be for her. When Izuku was finally able to calm down, he unwrapped his arms from around Ochako, slowly letting himself move away from her until he was back to sitting upright on his hospital bed. Ochako kept a hand on top of his as she moved to sit down on his bed next to him, her touch a constant reminder she was there and she was alright.

Izuku looked down at her wet shoulder guiltily, "Sorry about that."

Ochako rolled her eyes with a smile, "It's a hospital gown, Deku. Don't worry about it. Besides, I've known you and your mom for how long now? Want me to tell you how many times you two have nearly drowned me in tears."

Sheepishly, Izuku shook his head, "Please don't."

Ochako laughed and the mood in the room felt lighter for everyone.

"How are you feeling, Midoriya?" Tenya asked as he looked his friend over."Sore, like I got punched by a Nomu again. My throat hurts."

"That's… not that surprising," Shouto answered simply.

The unasked question hung in the air, but no one was in a hurry to ask it. Which Izuku was relieved of. Looking back, it suddenly dawned on him that after everything that happened last night he was going to need to come up with some stories fast.

It'll need to be something good, too. Otherwise Toga will rip it apart. She's way too… way too…

Izuku stopped and looked around the room. Really looked around the room.

Iida. Todoroki. Uraraka…

"Where's Toga?"

The lightened mood of the room darkened and Izuku watched as each of his friends' faces turned grim. Panic once again started to seize Izuku's heart but Ochako, seeing the change in his face, gripped his hand and shook her head, "She's alive, Deku. And recovering just fine…" Ochako's face soured, "Or so we've been told."

"So you've been told? What does that mean?"

The group of three glanced at each other, "Todoroki, you were the only one of us that got to talk to anyone. Want to fill Deku in?"

"Fill me in?"

Ochako sighed angrily, startling Izuku, "It's been… a long morning."

Shouto nodded, "While you were still unconscious, we tried to find Toga's room. We thought it was odd she had been sectioned off from the rest of us. We had assumed that she must still be in intensive care but that doesn't seem to be the case. Though we haven't been able to see her to know for sure."

"Why not?"

Shouto sighed, "Because her room is being guarded. There is a prison officer from Tartarus right outside her room and he isn't letting anyone in."

"Not us," Ochako continued, "Or any of the U.A. teachers."

"What? Why?!"

Shouto shook his head, "We don't know," Tenya looked off to the side when Shouto said that, "The guard just told us we were not getting in and if we asked again he'd have us arrested. At that point we heard that there was U.A. staff in the lobby so we went down there to try and figure out what was going on. However, that didn't get us anywhere. Our teachers and Tartarus are at each other's throats and the police are trying to keep the two groups calm. When they saw us we got sent back up here. I only got to speak to Principal Nezu briefly but he said it was a custody issue."

Izuku's head was spinning, "How bad is it?"

"Present Mic and Aizawa sensei were both holding Midnight sensei back. She was ready to take a swing, Deku." Izuku's jaw dropped, "The other teachers looked ready to fight, too… and so did Tartarus. It's bad, Deku."

"But… why?"

"I think…" Tenya began slowly, "I think Toga hasn't been completely hon… completely open about her past."

Izuku blinked while Ochako frowned, "What do you mean? You know something?"

"I… have a theory but I don't want to say more until we have a chance to hear from Toga herself. Sufficient to say, I think she got into some trouble in her past. However, I personally would feel better if she wasn't in Tartarus's… care. The officer guarding her right now, we ran into him before the Nomu attack. He and the other kept referring to Toga as an 'it'. Treating her like she wasn't even human. Whatever her past, it would be best if she was back with U.A."

"THEY…"

"...WHAT!?"

Izuku and Ochako's mood changed instantly. Before Izuku had been filled with worry and Ochako was filled with worry and more than a little anger. Now, both looked furious. Now, both looked ready to go to war.

Shouto also did not look pleased, though he was still much more in control of himself, "Why didn't you mention this before, Iida?"

"At the time we were still worried about Midoriya and after the run-in with the guard, we were all starting to get upset. I didn't want us to do something that might make things worse. If we were going to find a way to get to Toga, we had to be sure Midoriya was alright first."

"...Makes sense. At the time we might have tried to bull rush past the guard," Shouto said.

"We're seeing her," Izuku said with finality. Throwing the covers off himself, he swung his legs off the bed and stood up, only to crumple to the floor. It was only Ochako and Tenya's quick reflexes that stopped him from falling flat on his face.

"Midoriya, calm down!"

"No! I'm not leaving Toga in their hands."

"Midoriya, you're still recovering. You can't even stand."

Izuku looked down at himself, "Uraraka. Float me."

"Good idea, Deku."

Tenya's eyes bulged, "Wait! No it isn't! Shouldn't you be more concerned with his recovery?!"

Shouto shook his head, "They're too much in sync now to talk them out of this."

Tenya frowned, "I'm not trying to talk them out of it. I'm trying to get them to do this smartly."

Izuku eyed Tenya, "How else am I going to get there if I can't walk?"

"A wheelchair?" Shouto replied simply. He pointed to a folded up wheelchair in the corner of the room.

Both Ochako and Izuku paused while Tenya looked over at the item, "I forgot you brought that in."

"At Principal Nezu's suggestion," Shouto added.

That got everyone's attention. While Ochako picked Izuku up and carried him over, Tenya rubbed his chin in thought, "Wait, I thought the Principal only told you about the custody confrontation?"

"He mentioned that I should wait until we were all ready to go see Toga before bringing it up… Are we good to go see her?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely."

Were Izuku and Ochako's quick responses.

Tenya collected himself and then nodded solemnly, "Yes."

Shouto then walked over to his bed and grabbed his phone sitting on the little nightstand beside it. Quickly dialing a number, Shouto put the phone up to his ear, "Principal Nezu, sir. Yes, he's awake. Yes, he's up to speed. Yes, he is ready to go see Toga. We all are. Yes. Yes. Okay."

The group looked at Shouto, "He also said to call him when we were ready. He said we should be quick after the distraction."

Tenya frowned, "What distrac-!"

BOOM!

Something landed outside. But the sound of the landing was nothing to what came next.

"I AM HERE TO SEE MY STUDENTS! WHO WANTS TO TELL ME I CAN'T?!"

"That's All Might," Izuku said simply.

Ochako nodded, "He wasn't… in the lobby with the other teachers confronting the Tartarus guards and police."

"No, he wasn't," Tenya shook his head, "So did Principal Nezu have him wait so that we-"

A loud scream from outside the room interrupted the group. Shouto opened the door and peaked out just in time to catch the guard keeping them out of Himiko's room bolt by, cursing up a storm, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'ALL MIGHT'S HERE!' YOU EXPECT US TO DEAL WITH HIM, TOO?! FUUUUCK!"

"I think… that was our distraction," Ochako said as she gripped the handles to Izuku's wheelchair.

Izuku nodded, "Let's go!"

Quickly leaving the room, the group of four rushed down the hallway. Izuku was a little worried that someone might question why four kids, one in a wheelchair no less, were running down the halls. Everyone seemed too distracted by the fact that All Might had just arrived and sounded pissed, however. After a few seconds of running, the group came to a sudden stop, with Ochako reaching over to help hold Izuku in his seat when they did.

"Toga's room?"

Shouto nodded and grabbed for the door, "Yes. Let's get in quickly."

Shouto pulled open the door and Ochako pushed Izuku inside. Izuku prepared himself for the worst. The last memory Izuku had of Himiko was not a pleasant one. So even with the advances in medicine and people like Recovery Girl, he was sure he was about to see Himiko hooked up to all kinds of different machines that were keeping her alive.

Izuku was wrong.

What he came face to face with was worlds more horrible.

What Himiko was on might have been a hospital bed at one point but it wasn't one anymore. Himiko was strapped down to the bed and chained. Thick leather straps criss crossed over her body, over her spread legs, and her held out arms. Himiko hadn't even been given the dignity of being allowed to be under her own covers. She had been left exposed in her hospital gown over them, so the straps pressed into her bare skin, leaving the area's around the leather puffy and dark red. Multiple metal cuffs were attached to Himiko's wrists and ankles, the skin around them a dark purple from the force the metal exerted on her flesh. The chains on the cuffs were pulled taut and anchored to the beds railing.

Finally, a last indignity was a barbaric muzzle strapped around her head, with strands of her hair sticking out of the belt clip, jaw and neck. The muzzle covered Himiko's mouth and whole jaw, with only a small hole for her nose to fit through. The right side of her face was covered with a large bandage that looked like it had been pulled askew when the muzzle had been put on. Handcuffs were clipped onto the muzzle straps and attached to the bed, keeping her head pressed down into her pillow and unable to turn.

Even tied down and unable to move, Himiko's left side was towards the door so that her one eye looked over and there was enough fire and fight in it to make anyone question the safety of approaching her. But when she saw it wasn't a Tartarus guard but her friends, the fight died and was replaced with horror. At the same time, any words of greeting Izuku could have said to her were strangled in his throat.

Behind him, his friends had similar reactions. Ochako choked on a breath, while Tenya hissed through his teeth. Shouto closed the door and didn't say anything, though the air around them got very cold.

While Izuku's words had been taken from him, his actions hadn't. He gripped wheels on his chair and drove himself forward. His movement snapped Ochako out of her daze so she rushed the Izuku's chair over to Himiko and the two immediately got to work, leaving the other two behind still shocked at the sight. Even with his sore arms, Izuku angrily yanked apart the straps holding down Himiko's lower body from his wheelchair while Ochako took care of everything up high, first carefully removing the muzzle so that she didn't yank out Himiko's hair. Himiko coughed and moved her neck and jaw around after being finally freed while Ochako ripped off the remaining straps with ruthless abandon.

"Guys you might not want to…" Himiko started to speak, then stopped. The looks in Izuku and Ochako eyes made it pretty clear they weren't really listening to anything at the moment. With all the leather straps undone, the two turned their focus on the metal cuffs.

"Deku, you can break these right?"

Izuku was about to do just that but paused as he remembered last night. Buildings and roads ripped apart, devastation on a scale he'd never imagine himself capable of, and power he'd only seen All Might wield. But All Might doesn't destroy city blocks every time he throws a punch, Izuku thought to himself. Izuku reached out, starting to draw on his Quirk, but being extremely careful about it. He only just started and he could feel the power there and how it pressed against him when he only wanted to use a small amount. The feeling made him hesitate, something everyone noticed.

Shouto covered the distance quickly and placed his fingers over the keyhole of one of the cuffs. Ice flowered out of it and then with a sharp snap, the lock broke and the cuff fell off Himiko's wrist, "Midoriya. You're still recovering right? Overusing your Quirk hurts your head and you used it a lot last night. I can take care of these."

Izuku nodded and leaned back into his chair. In short order, Shouto had the rest of the cuffs off and Himiko sat up, rubbing her wrists and checking out all the marks left by the restraints.

"Toga, you're okay, right?" Izuku wasn't sure if he was asking about the injuries she got last night or the wounds from her restraints. Both he and Ochako looked over Himiko's whole body, circling the bed as they did their checks while Shouto and Tenya took up their places a few steps back to give them room to work.

Himiko watched the two, looking bemused, "Wow, you two are like a couple of mother hens. Look," Himiko made a show of moving her toes and feet, then rotating her ankles, "full movement. Recovery Girl does good work. I'm perfectly fi- eek!"

Himiko was about to shoo the two off before they both lunged forward and wrapped Himiko into a twin bear hug, "Wha- wha- what's going on?" Alarmed that she was getting hugged and that Izuku and Ochako had started to cry, she snapped her head over towards Tenya and Shouto only to find that they also looked pretty emotional. For them, it amounted to a restrained smile from Shouto and a surprisingly genuine, if cautious, smile from Tenya. Itsurprised Himiko a lot, since she had been pretty sure the next time she saw him he was going to be punting her out of a building, since he wasn't dumb and had heard a lot of talking last night. More than enough to put things together, anyway.

"Toga, we're just so glad that you're alright," Ochako finally answered, "You were stabbed through the chest. You almost died."

"Bah! I'm not dead. I'm sore as crap because the handy brothers wanted to keep me secure, but I'm fine. Look!" Himiko broke free and stood up on her bed. Grabbing the hem of her gown, she pulled it up to just under her breasts. While she had on scrubs to cover her legs, it was very obvious that she had nothing on under the gown. "No sword there anymore! So you can stop worry…ing?"

Tenya and Shouto had turned away fast enough. She had made it pretty obvious what she was about to do. It was the fact that Izuku wasn't looking away that threw her for a loop. Her bare stomach and slightly exposed breasts should have knocked him out, but it hadn't. He was looking right at her chest, which was very bold. Glancing slightly to the side, she saw that Ochako was also staring pretty hard.

Okaaaay? I know I got some greatness going on down here but this is just a little weiiiiiird!

Himiko's thoughts came to a violent stop as Izuku reached up and laid a hand on her chest and a look of anguish overcame him, "God, what did I do…?"

Himiko glanced down and it finally clicked that her attempt to throw Izuku off with some surprise sex appeal had only made things worse. He wasn't looking at her body in any sexual way, even the touch wasn't filled with any kind of lustful intent. All his attention was now squarely focused on the scar she now had. Against her pale skin the scar tissue stood out in stark contrast, about as long as her hand and roughly three fingers wide. It was jagged along the edges and started from just below her ribcage and traveled up her chest.

She knew it was there but hadn't thought much about it. She had plenty of scars from her life on the street all over her body, though she had to admit that pretty much all of them were always covered up with clothes. So she hadn't expected anyone else to react to it at all, either. Clearly, she had been wrong, but she couldn't focus on that now. She had to address something else and she had to address it now. Taking Izuku's hand away and letting her gown fall back down, Himiko looked Izuku dead in the eye, "Izuku, this is not your fault."

Izuku shook his head, "Yes it is. Everything that happened to you is my fault."

Tenya turned back in alarm, "Midoriya, wait-"

Izuku, however, kept talking over him, "If I had gotten to you faster your eye wouldn't have gotten hurt. If my Quirk hadn't-"

Smack!

It wasn't a hard slap. Himiko's hand on his cheek barely had enough force to make a sound, but the touch alone was enough to make Izuku shut up and look up at Himiko. Her remaining eye blazed as she spoke, "Let me make this crystal clear. You are not responsible for my actions and the consequences of those actions last night. Everything that happened last night is on me. This," Himiko pointed at her chest, "and this," Himiko reached up and pulled up on the bandages around her face, revealing a light sharp clean scar that crossed over her cheek eye and eyebrow and the now-pale yellow iris, "are my fault. My actions lead to this. Not yours. A lot of shit I did lead to this, in fact. So stop with the whole 'it's my fault' bullshit right now, or we're going to see if a one-eyed girl and beat up a little boy in a wheelchair."

The room was silent for a few seconds before Izuku, wiping his tears away and sniffling, gave Himiko his best smile, "I think I'd still win that."

"Oh?"

"I'd just sic Uraraka on you."

A heart beat later, Ochako snorted and that set the other two off. Himiko fell back onto her bed laughing while Izuku buried his face into the blanket weezing as he laughed, "Oh, hahaha, laughing hurts."

While they got themselves under control, Himiko looked over at Tenya, "That goes for you, too. I made my choices."

"Yes… I suppose you did."

---

With everyone back under control, the group found places to sit, and for a few glorious minutes they just existed in each other's company. No one said anything, they just let themselves bask in a silent victory. Last night, they probably should have died and yet they didn't. They survived. They won.

But the world doesn't stop for anyone's pain or pleasure and soon the question they all knew had to be asked came up.

"Toga," Izuku began, "Why are the police, Tartarus, and the school fighting over you? Why would they tie you up like this?"

"I've never told you the whole… story about my past. There are reasons for this whole… shit show."

Ochako frowned, "What could you have possibly done to deserve this?"

"...You want the long or the short version?"

"How about the truthful version?" Tenya's words came out much harsher than he meant them to. Himiko was his friend and to assume the worst was wrong. But he had a picture in his head now, after everything he had heard last night, and it was coloring his view more than he'd want to admit.

"Iida!" Izuku looked at Tenya in shock, "That's not fair!"

Shouto shook his head, "Given the circumstances, Iida might not be that off base."

Izuku frowned deeply, "We all have… We all have our own personal secrets." Izuku looked at Shouto when he said that, then at Iida, "And even if she was keeping some things from us, she still doesn't deserve to be treated like… like a-"

"Like a villain?" Himiko finished for him. Izuku nodded and Himiko scratched at the bandage over her eye, "Because I pretty much am one. So, Tenya's right to call me out. I haven't been truthful. At all."

"No!" Izuku's immediate denial rang in the quiet room, "I don't believe that. You're not a villain. You're nothing like-"

"When I was in my first month of junior high I stabbed a classmate in the chest, cut him open, and stuck a straw into the wound to drink his blood."

Izuku's mouth kept moving but no words came out. Ochako just looked stunned, "Did… did this person attack you or… maybe your friends?" Ochako was trying to take what she knew about Himiko and rationalize what she had heard. Himiko was vicious. If you were a threat to her, or anyone she liked, you were going to get hurt. The villains from the USJ attack learned this the hard way. And if she was only a junior high student, she wouldn't have had her support gear to help her use her Quirk, so a straw might have been the best option at the time.

For whatever reason.

Himiko shook her head, "His name was Saito. He wasn't some bully or thug. In fact he was a very nice person, willing to get into scraps to help protect kids from bullies. He helped people with homework if they were having issues… He was also my first crush."

"Then why…?" Ochako wasn't about to finish her question. Her throat suddenly dried and her mouth just couldn't make any more sounds.

"Because I was thirsty and I needed to drink him up. He had just finished getting into a scrap with someone and was a little busted up. He was bleeding from some cuts and when I saw that, I couldn't help myself."

Himiko could feel the looks she was getting. She could feel every connection she had built cracking and fading away. The dream was dead and she could accept that. She knew eventually this was going to happen. People would find out and this whole dream would come crashing down. She had accepted this a long time ago and yet even as she tried to power through she couldn't shake the twisted feelings in her gut.

She couldn't shake the feeling that her insides were breaking.

"You needed to…"

The mumble was soft. Even in the silent room everyone almost missed it.

"She said needed… needed… needed..."

Himiko looked over to her side and blinked. While everyone else looked pale and in different stages of shock and horror, Izuku was mumbling away, his hand pressed hard against his chin and his eyes focused downward.

"Needed… blood. Quirk… stable… suppression…"

The more Izuku mumbled the more everyone slowly turned to look at him. His mind raced and his mouth tried to keep up. This wasn't a new phenomenon, of course, though no one, not even Ochako, had seen him so concentrated before, so dead to the outside world as he focused on the puzzle in his mind. They'd also never seen small puffs of smoke escape his mouth with every mumbled word, forming a small dark cloud over his head. The strange sight was almost enough to distract the group from the horrible truth Himiko had just dropped. Before anyone could say anything, though, Izuku's head snapped up and he looked right at Himiko, "Toga, you said your parents took you to a Quirk Suppression Therapist right?"

"Eh?" Himiko blinked a few times, "Yeah…"

"It was because they wanted you to stop drinking blood, right?"

Himiko nodded, "Yeah."

"But you told me that you needed blood to keep yourself stable. That for you, it was as important as food and water."

Ochako's eyes went wide as she started to follow Izuku's logic, "Oh!"

"Toga, how long between your… treatment and the time you… attacked your classmate?"

Himiko didn't really see what point Izuku was trying to get at, "They took me to get fixed almost immediately after my Quirk manifested so… about eight years."

"Toga, you were denied a fundamental thing you needed to exist for years. This sounds like… like you had a psychotic break. You said it yourself you needed blood. If he was bleeding, if what you had to have was right there in front of you, it's like putting food in front of people that have been starved. They'll fight and kill for it; it's happened before in history: horrible people pushing others to the brink and their victims just snapping."

Ochako nodded, latching onto Izuku's rationale for all she was worth. Then Shouto had to ask, "Did you kill him?"

"…No."

"Then," Izuku tried to quickly bring back his silver lining, "Then you're still a victim of your parents' abuse. They put you into a situation that-"

"Izuku. Stop. Please, just stop," Himiko cut in, shaking her head, "I get what you're trying to do. I do. But you need to understand something: I cut open his chest. I took an exacto knife and cut Saito open. I hit his ribs with the damned thing. And after I drank my fill, I left him in the hall to bleed out." She took a breath, "I didn't learn he was still alive until my first meeting with Nezu. That was years later. I left him… bleeding and I didn't care. I didn't care about anything at that point. My parents, my classmates - my whole life up until that point didn't matter to me anymore because I was finally free. I didn't have to pretend to be someone else anymore. That blood brought me a clarity I'd been missing for years. I was going to become myself, no matter what. It didn't matter who else got hurt along the way."

Izuku sat in silence, just looking at Himiko. His face wavered between shell shock and anguish. Ochako's bowed her head and clasped her hands together. She looked like she was praying. Tenya shook his head, "That explains the police wanting you, but why Tartarus?"

"You're right. That day would make me a criminal, sure. Attempted murder is a cop's job to solve. Between then and now, that's when I became a real monster." Himiko leaned back into her bed's headboard as she got comfortable, "After I stabbed Saito, I went on the run. For the next week I dug myself deep into the darkest parts of the city I could. If I wanted to hide, I needed to go to the places that even the police would hesitate to go. That first week, I saw what the world was really like. There was so much ugliness and I threw myself into it. I learned I was pretty good at avoiding people. The police never even came close to finding me and I was able to avoid a lot of the nasty people. For a time. Of course, I was still little more than a rabid twelve year old. So eventually, I got cornered. I was feral but I didn't know how to fight. I also hadn't eaten anything for a few days and the water I was drinking… probably better not to think where it ran off from. So not in the best shape."

Himiko brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs as she recalled that day, "So I was pretty screwed. I think they were going to sell me or rape me. Probably rape me and then sell me to some underground brothel. They never got the chance, though. Because he showed up."

"He?" Ochako squeaked out.

Tenya frowned, "You told us you didn't live on the streets on your own. You were with someone. Someone that wasn't a fan of heroes… save for All Might."

"That's right. I did say that, didn't I?"

"Stain," Izuku said, looking up at Himiko. "You lived with Stain."

No one needed Himiko to confirm it right away. They each could put the pieces together. Everything they had seen and heard: the similar costume, the similar fighting style, the familiarity between the two, it all led to the same conclusion. Himiko nodded, "Yeah. The first time I saw Mr. Stain, it was when he diced up the group that had me cornered."

"He saved your life?" The disbelief in Tenya's voice was mirrored by the looks of surprise the others had.

Himiko nodded. Her gaze wasn't focused on them anymore as she spoke. She looked at the past instead, "I can still see them, the alley… him. Everything was covered in blood and gore. Watching him kill those guys, I also saw him use his Quirk. Licking the blood up and freezing this guy in place, just so he could lop his head off. A knight in gore stained armor. How couldn't I fall in love?"

Ochako's eyes went wide, "Love?!"

Himiko blushed, "Yeah, He was so sexy, so at that moment I knew I wanted him - needed him. Of course, while I was getting all hot and bothered he never said a word to me, just started to clean up his weapons. I took the chance to… drink my fill from the bodies. When he was done, he looked at me and left. I just followed after him. I asked him why he saved me."

"What did he say?" Tenya asked.

"He hadn't acted to save me. Those men just needed to die."

"That must have been… hard to hear," Izuku recalled the time All Might had saved him from the Slime Villain. If the person that had saved him told him they weren't concerned about his safety, it would have hurt him.

Himiko just shook her head, "It only made me fall in love with him more - want to be with him more - because fate had led us together. Our destinies intertwined even before we knew the other existed."

Looking around, Himiko could see her talk was unnerving the group but no one had told her to stop, or maybe more importantly, no one had left the room. They seemed to have decided they were going to stick through this until the end. So, Himiko kept going.

"Traveling with Mr. Stain wasn't easy. This was still at the start of his career. He was refining himself. Training. Best way to do that was to find more and more dangerous prey. We were always on the move, finding underground pockets of thugs, gangsters, villains and monsters, all waiting for their chance to burst out into the world and take their fill."

Izuku frowned, "Wait… How many of these groups are there? You make it sound like there are groups of villains all over the country."

"There are," was Himiko's matter-of-fact reply.

"But that's… That's not right. The League of Villains is the first organized group to exist in years. All Might defeated them all."

Himiko shook her head, "Izuku. There are groups and cults and all kinds of organizations out there. All Might probably did defeat a lot of them. Probably even some of the biggest during his what… decade and a half of being a hero. But there were plenty more that went underground. They saw what was happening when they tried fighting or grouping up. They either got defeated or…"

Ochako leaned forward, "Or?"

Himiko scratched her chin and looked at everyone very carefully. She chewed on her words and this hesitation was noticed by everyone. She was willing to talk about her past but this subject was making her hesitate, "Mr. Stain told me something once: that 'every light has a shadow.' All Might is a very bright light, so there must be a very dark shadow, too."

Ochako, Tenya and Shout all looked at each other with disbelief on their faces. Not that Himiko blamed them. The idea that some great evil existed in the world as some dark reflection of All Might was just too crazy. Izuku, however, didn't react at all. He was calm. If anyone in the room should be denying the idea it should have been him, but he wasn't.

That got Himiko's attention.

"So, Stain was going around the country, killing street level villains to make himself stronger for when he started to go after heroes?" Shouto asked, refocusing everything. "So it's guilt by association then? For why Tartarus is after you?"

"No. Not association. Accomplice," Himiko said and the grim reality started to settle over the group.

Ochako let out a shuddering breath, "You've killed…"

Himiko shrugged, "You've seen me fight. You saw what I did to the villains that attacked us. Are you going to sit there and say you're shocked that I've killed people?"

Ochako couldn't say that she was.

"At first I was content to just be there while he worked. After he was done there was always plenty for me to eat and drink." Himiko heard a soft oh come from Izuku as it hit him how she had been getting her blood back then. "However, I quickly realized, after some rock guy almost crushed my skull, that if I wanted to stay with Mr. Stain, I needed to stop being weak. So, while he trained, I started to train, too. I watched how he moved and taught myself to do the same. For almost two years I turned myself into a killing machine using Mr. Stain as my template. I even discovered I had a few talents that he didn't. He couldn't disappear in the middle of a group like I could, for example. So he would send me to sneak into places and cause all sorts of chaos before he'd attack. Then after I discovered I could transform, I could infiltrate these groups. Chaos or stealth, I got very good at both options. I'd make a game out of it. If someone could point out I wasn't who I was pretending to be, they didn't die. Towards the end, no one ever lived. If I did good, he'd even praise me."

Izuku frowned hard at that while Ochako's fists tightened.

Tenya looked at Himiko with a hard expression, "You've talked about criminals. Villains. But what about heroes? That's what Stain is known for. How many attacks on heroes were you a part of?"

"None."

"None?" Tenya repeated back.

"'To fight the false heroes in this world you need a conviction that puts you above their greed and corruption.'" Himiko quoted. "That's what he told me. So, when he went out for his hunts, I was left alone. That's how it was for most of the last year we were together: he'd run off and I'd chase after him. Towards the end, though, it got harder and harder to track him down, until finally he hid his tracks so well there just wasn't a way for me to do it. I could still guess where he'd go, but could I get there in time, that was the question. Once it got to that point, it was pretty clear I was abandoned. I had other options I was considering, however," Himiko finished, looking at Izuku.

Ochako glanced at Himiko, then at Izuku, "When you decided to follow after Deku?"

"Yup. After my run in with Izuku, he ripped my heart out of Mr. Stain's hands and took it for himself. There was the issue of not knowing where he lived, but I knew where he was going."

"U.A."

Himiko nodded, "Yup."

Tenya shook his head, "How? Why?"

"I got in contact with Principal Nezu through the police after I made it clear I knew more about Mr. Stain than they did. Gave them places he was likely to hunt and details about his Quirk, that kind of thing."

"Just like that?" Ochako asked.

"It had been… a while since anyone had shown me any real kindness. Mr. Stain was gone and I… didn't want to be alone. So yeah, I gave them everything they would need in exchange for a pardon and to get into the school. I guess I intrigued the mouse because he agreed to the deal after our first meeting, though he made sure to impose some rules on top of everything with the Commission and the police. Big one was that they had full custody of me. Then I had to start therapy, couldn't leave the campus, no killing, no draining people of their blood, and if I stepped out of line, I'm done: I'm shipped off to a cell and locked up for the rest of my life."

Tenya crossed his arms, "But that doesn't explain why."

Himiko leaned back and sighed, "They're trying to 'save me.' All the teachers work with me in some way. I work out my aggression with Ectoplasm and Midnight gets me to talk about my feelings. Give me 'empathy' or something, and talk about all the horrible things that didn't bother me before."

Silence again fell over the group. It was all out in the open now. Himiko was impressed with herself. She hadn't crumpled away as she spoke, like she felt like she was about to. So now that they knew, they could leave and everyone could get on with their lives. It wasn't like things could get worse today.

"There's something I don't understand, though, Toga," Izuku said. He hunched over in his wheelchair, like the weight of Toga's story was weighing him down. He stared down at his hands as he drummed his fingers together, "You were able to do the things you can, fight like you can, back when we were all in our last year of middle school right?"

Toga nodded, "Pretty much. I mean, the present me could kill past me but I was still pretty dangerous."

"Evidently," Tenya said, not to anyone, but his voice carried over the group.

"But," Izuku continued, "when I met you, you were running from those high schoolers," Izuku looked up, "They were chasing you because they thought you were a prostitute. They were going to… try to make you…"

Himiko, who had been remarkably calm and composed the whole time, blinked once. Twice. Then slowly, a new look crept up her face: shame. She turned away, not able to face Izuku as it hit her that their moment, the moment that had changed her life, was about to be corrupted and ruined when she opened her mouth. She knew she had to answer, there was no stopping it. It didn't mean she didn't want to rip out her own heart instead, "Izuku. They thought I was a prostitute because that's what I wanted them to think."

"You what?"

The genuine confusion in Izuku's voice made Himiko wince, "Izuku, have you ever heard of a honey trap?"

Izuku still looked confused but Ochako sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth, "You were leading them into a trap."

Izuku looked stunned and shook his head, "Wait. Wait, hold on. You said you went after other villains. Those high schoolers were… They were criminals because of what they were trying to make you do but they don't match up with the kinds of people you were describing."

"No, they weren't. As far as I was concerned they were just a couple of guys I could cut open and drink," Himiko wrung her hands, "I hadn't trained with Mr. Stain in a few months so that source of blood was pretty much gone for me. He was solely focused on heroes by that point. I used to be able to spend some time hunting back alleys but he was moving so fast that I didn't even have time for that anymore. When I got to Musutafu I was running on empty. I was so… hungry. I didn't know where any of the gangs or criminals lived yet in the city so that wasn't an option. And I knew I wasn't going to be able to wait till night to find a nice pedophile business man to slit open as he pounded me to relieve some stress. But I knew someone would want to tear into me so I threw myself out there and let whoever took the bait be my next meal. Not something I'd done before but I needed something to drink."

"Oh my god," Ochako's face was pale. Sickly pale. Seeing her like that hurt Himiko but she fought that feeling back.

"I use my body and sex appel all the time. Learned real quick it could be one of my best weapons. You think I haven't had se-"

"You've been raped?"

Himiko blinked, "I... No? What?" That was not the next thing she had expected Ochako to say, "I wasn't… What I'm saying is that Izuku didn't save me that day. Izuku, he," she turned back to point at Izuku, "You saved those three boys from me."

And there it was, the last secret out in the open. Everything Himiko had kept hidden, every dark thing she did. All that was left was for her former friends to storm out in disgust. She just wished they'd leave already because waiting for them to go was killing her.

Izuku looked down and Himiko prepared herself for what came next. For what had to come next. She waited. Seconds felt like hours as she waited for something to happen or for someone to say something. Then she heard it: not a shout or a curse, but a soft sniffle and a shuddering breath. When Izuku raised his head, he was crying, which was even worse to Himiko.

"You didn't care… or you don't care?"

Huh?

Himiko looked at Izuku, confused, "What?" Why was he still talking to her? There should have been nothing more being said between them and her, besides yelling. Everyone else looked at Izuku, too. While Shouto and Tenya looked surprised that Izuku had spoken up, Ochako's eyes were wide, like she had just heard something very important.

"You kept saying you didn't care whenever you talked about your past. About the things you did. That at the time you didn't care. You never said you don't care. That you don't care about what you did."

"I…" Himiko trailed off, not sure how to reply to that. It would be easy to say it was just a word choice. 'Didn't' vs 'don't' shouldn't have made a difference. Still, if Izuku was going to be so focused on that, then it would be an easy fix. It was easy to say 'I don't care,' but the words stuck in her throat. After opening up and telling everyone the honest truth, why all of a sudden couldn't she say such a simple thing?

"Toga. Your parents hurt you. For years they hurt you until you couldn't stop yourself and you attacked someone. I think if you had been able to have blood, or maybe some kind of medical substitute like at U.A., you would have never done that. Then while you're at your most vulnerable, Stain comes and takes advantage of you. He doesn't try to help you. He lets you get twisted up to the point where you start copying him, because if you didn't learn to defend yourself, you'd get killed. Then when he starts to see how talented you are, he manipulates you so that you make his training safer. Becoming a distraction for whoever he's targeting so he can get his kills. Praising you so you keep trying to earn more, until he reaches a point where he doesn't need you. And he leaves you. Until that moment, you were never in control of yourself."

Himiko didn't like how similar Izuku's words were to some of the first conversations she had with Midnight so many months ago. When she had first heard them, she had lashed out, claiming that Midnight was trying to diminish what she was and how strong she had become to survive. She had fought and clawed her way to a point where she wasn't on the bottom end of the food chain. The memories of pain and the scars on her body were proof of where she had come from.

It felt like Izuku was trying to take something from her too. Rationalize it away. But the world isn't rational. She sure as hell wasn't. So even if he was moved by good intentions, because this was Izuku and he was the avatar of good, she was not going to let him take anything from her, "So you think I'm not responsible?"

Izuku shook his, "I'm not saying that at all, Toga."

Himiko blinked.

"The… things you did, whether you were made or manipulated to do them… That's still something you have to take responsibility for. I'm saying that it wasn't your fault."

Himiko shook her head, "You can't be… Izuku, I'm a fucking monster. I'm evil. Don't you get it? The things I've done-"

"A monster wouldn't be taking responsibility like you are, Toga," Izuku interrupted.

"Wha-?"

"You go to your meetings, right? At U.A., I mean. You see Midnight sensei for therapy."

"Yes?"

"You see the other teachers, too?"

"Yes but I-"

"So you're doing what you're supposed to do to get better."

Himiko was shaking, this was not how this was supposed to be happening. She didn't know what was happening, "I don't even like going to them, though! I hate it! Being controlled, having my freedmon ripped from me. I want to live in an easy world. Going to U.A. and doing all the shit they make me do is the exact opposite of that! I only put up with it because I wanted to see you again! It wasn't some fucking altruistic decision!"

"But you're still going. That says a lot, Toga. You're making a choice to get better. Regardless of the reason you started or the reason you keep going, what matters is you're getting the help you need. Without Stain, you're finally healing."

Himiko slammed her hands down on the bed, "WITHOUT MR. STAIN I WAS GOING TO KILL THREE STUPID KIDS!" Himiko let out a string of swears that tumbled and tripped over themselves to get out of her mouth.

Himiko glared at Izuku, daring him to try and find a way to counter that. She should have known better. Izuku never did anything alone now, not when Ochako was with him.

"You said you had been spending so much time chasing Stain down that you hadn't had any blood, right? You said you were empty."

Himiko turned to face Ochako. She didn't answer. It was obviously a rhetorical question since Ochako knew the answer, "How long had it been since you had any blood?"

"..." Himiko mumbled something under her breath. Ochako leaned forward waiting for a proper answer and Izuku looked at her with his big green eyes. Himiko cracked, "A little over a month."

"So you were starving?"

"I…"

"And it was when you hit that point that you started looking at civilians? The first time since Saito that you were going to hurt an innocent person."

Himiko couldn't say anything. With kind words and some of the most desperate reasonings, the fight in her had been stomped out.

"You said Izuku saved those three boys. Maybe that's true, but you know what? I think he did save you. He saved you from crossing a line and going down a dark path there might not have been any coming back from."

Shouto, who had been quiet for the talk, asked, "After Midoriya pulled you away, what happened next? You still needed blood, right?"

Himiko was almost sheepish when she answered, "No… No, I didn't go after people like that again. It felt… weird thinking about it. I dunno. After running into Izuku, my priorities shifted… I was able to get some blood that day, though. From when I clean up your busted face… remember?"

Izuku nodded, easily able to recall getting tended to by Himiko.

"So that helped me for a bit and afterwards I was able to scrape by on random cuts and scratches. Doing anything else might have made my plan to get into U.A… needlessly complicated."

"Toga," Shouto began, "I've seen first hand that people have breaking points, where they're pushed to a point they no longer are themselves." Izuku glanced over at Shouto, eyes falling onto his scar. "Your parents forced you to be someone you weren't and then, when that part of you broke, you only had Stain. He never tried to help you, so you stayed broken. That is, until you met Midoriya and an act of kindness started to heal you. People who get hurt like you were deserve a chance to heal."

Himiko wanted to scream, but not in rage or hate. She felt no anger towards anyone in the room. It was anguish and joy mixed together that threatened to burst from her. Joy because in this small instance her expectations seem to have been dashed. Her friends didn't hate her and weren't disgusted by her. Horrified? Yes there was some horror but when you learn what they learned, that was only natural.

But Himiko's joy was short-lived because she knew - she knew - what was going to happen next. And if her friends had left hating her she could live with that. What she didn't think she could live with was their sadness as Tartarus took her away. Because that was what was going to happen. They finally had their claws in her and there was no way they were going to let her go. And the look on her friends' faces when that happened, it was going to break her heart.

---

Izuku felt uneasy. There was something in the air that had his flight or fight instincts acting up. It wasn't that Himiko looked distressed that the group hadn't turned on her. The way she was acting it was almost like that was what she wanted, trying to make them hate her. Which was impossible. He was not going to abandon a friend no matter what. The horrors Himiko went through had made her commit horrors of her own, Izuku was certain.

And like Ochako had said, she was getting help at U.A. and she had been able to stop herself from harming any innocent people since her first break down in junior high. An act driven by starvation. Izuku saw that as proof Himiko wasn't what she thought she was. A monster wouldn't have waited until it was starving a second time to start attacking people.

That mattered.

His unease also wasn't from Tenya. His friend hadn't said much except for one or two very pointed questions or comments. Even now, he stood motionless in his corner of the room, arms crossed and a frown on his face. He looked angry but he hadn't directed any of that anger towards Himiko, or at least, he hadn't yet. It was clear he was taking in everything that Himiko said. As for what conclusions he was drawing, that was anyone's guess. Izuku supposed that, of everyone in this room, Tenya would be the one to come down on Himiko the hardest. He was strict when it came to rules and Himiko was the opposite of so many of his values, even before these revelations. Add on top of that her connection to Stain and well, it was not a good combo.

But even with all that, it wasn't Tenya that was making Izuku nervous.

We've been talking for a while now… I wonder where-

"So Iida… You've been really quiet." Ochako's comment broke Izuku's thoughts and brought the room to a strange place. It was like someone finally chose to address the elephant in the room. One by one, eyes turned to look at the tall bispecaled student who looked back at them with a stern and grim face. "Er… I mean… if you want to..."

Ochako trailed off, regretting even saying anything.

Tenya's face soured and his jaw clenched several times. He was chewing on his words and they were clearly sour in his own mouth.

"I-"

SLAM!

Tenya was cut off as the door to the room was ripped open and the giant multi armed Tartarus guard Gyges stormed into the room, "Stupid guard. How could he leave his post like that when we have to secure this dangerous thing for transport before those damned teachers interfere any more-!" The man, so consumed in his own grumblings, came to a sudden stop when he looked right at Himiko.

The room stopped.

Then violently started up again as Gyges called into his radio while also whipping his rifle up and leveling it with Himiko. Even as he yelled his finger was pulling the trigger, "IT'S FREE! IT'S FREE! NEUTRALIZING THE VILLAIN!"

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

When Ochako and Izuku saw the guards rifle go up and that barrel point right for Himiko, time seemed to slow and they acted without thought or reason. Their bodies, after spending a year training with All Might and spending weeks at U.A. and even their scant few days in internships with other pro heroes, just moved. Ochako grabbed Himiko and slammed her flat into the bed before using her own body to cover Himiko and shield her. Izuku, in a bright flash of green, flung himself out of his wheelchair and directly between Gyges's rifle and Himiko.

The three rounds fired and then nothing. No sound. No movement for anyone. Shouto and Tenya were stuck, shocked beyond thought and action, while Gyges froze as his tunnel vision finally widened and he realized that Himiko hadn't been alone in the room. His masked face drifted down at the same time as Ochako dared to look to see what was coming next. They both saw Izuku, face down on the floor.

"De-DEKU?!"

"IZUKU!"

Ochako and Himiko began to untangle and started to scramble for Izuku when Gyges snapped back to reality and moved his gun back to Himiko while using his other hands to point at the students, "None of you move! You're aiding and abetting a dangerous villa- ACK!"

Gyges's large body suddenly vanished from the door frame as someone slammed into him and pushed him down the hall, "YOU FUCKING BASTARD! ARE YOU INSANE?! WHO FIRES A GUN IN A HOSPITAL?!"

A series of cracks and pained grunts followed the yell as someone began a beatdown of the Tartarus guard.

"Midnight! Don't kill him! And watch out how much of your Somnambulist you use or you'll knock us all out!" Turning away from the beating, Aizawa rushed into Toga's room, hand to his ear, as he talked into a small earpiece, "We have shots fired. I repeat, a Tararus guard opened fire. I'm checking on… What the-?"

Aizawa came to a skidding stop in the room's doorway as he looked in and saw his students staring back at him in shock. Students that were not supposed to be in the room, "You all shouldn't-"

Midnight, costume ripped and knuckles noticeably scuffed up, shoved Aizawa aside as she hurried into the room, "Toga! Are you… What the hell happened?!"

"Midoriya's been shot!" Tenya snapped back to reality while Aizawa looked down and hissed.

"Damn it!" Putting his hand up to his earpiece, Aizawa yelled into it, "Get Recovery Girl up here now! Midoriya's been shot!"

Somewhere in the hospital a bellow reverberated up the whole building, "WHAT?!"

Aizawa was already moving, "We need to see how badly he's been hurt. Iida, Help me-"

"Can someone please pick me up?"

Everyone stopped and looked down.

"My legs still don't work and I can't get up."

Ochako blinked away some tears, "Deku? You're okay?"

"…I think so."

Toga leaned over her bed and looked down at him, "Then why were you just lying on the ground like that?"

"I sorta… landed on my face… so everything was kinda spinning." Silence greeted his answer and Izuku started to wonder if he should have just stayed quiet.

While Aizawa and Shouto helped Izuku up off the cold linoleum floor, three distinct metallic clinks echoed loudly in the quiet room. Ochako frowned and knelt down to see what had made the sound. Her heart stopped when she saw three pristin bullets rolling on the ground where Izuku had been lying. Numbly, Ochako picked them up and showed them to the room. Himiko's eyes went wide, "Holy crap. Izuku caught bullets."

"Er… not really," Izuku began, "I made a barrier when I threw myself in the way. Didn't-" Izuku hissed softly and pulled down the front of his gown, showing three round bruises on his chest, "didn't block them totally, though."

Aizawa shook his head, "Problem child, what were you thinking?"

"I didn't want my friend to get shot," was Izuku's immediate answer.

Himiko cooed softly while Ochako felt herself teter on the edge of praising Izuku and chewing him out.

"And," Aizawa began slowly, "why didn't you just push the gun away?"

"…Oh," Izuku said, turning bright red, "yeah I could have done that, couldn't I?"

And chewing out wins! Ochako growled.

---

While Aizawa sent out a message clearing up his last statement and letting everyone know that Izuku was in reasonable condition and Recovery Girl wasn't needed, Midnight was busy looking over Himiko. Much to the younger girl's annoyance, "Will you get off me already. I'm fin-ow! Hey!"

Himiko smacked Midnight's hand away from her leg, where it had just passed over a nasty bruise. A bruise that after all the time Recovery Girl had worked on her, should not be there, "Toga, what happened?"

Himiko just rolled her eyes and sat back down on her bed. Ochako sat next to her after wheeling Izuku over. Looks like they're closing ranks, Midnight thought to herself as she followed after Toga to continue looking her over, but came to a stop when she saw all the chains and straps dangling from the bed and the snapped open cuffs and the horrific muzzle that lay on the floor.

Himiko raised an eyebrow as she watched Midnight's face twist into an angry sneer. It was honestly a little fun to see the older woman getting so riled up. Plus, she had just beat the crap out of Gyges before gassing him. So that was cool.

Picking up the muzzle, Midnight showed it to Aizawa and her face alone made it clear she was not happy, "Someone's going to have to answer for this."

"I agree, Midnight," anew voice grabbed the group's attention as a tall lanky man with purple hair and dressed in a Tartarus uniform walked into the room, flanked by Briareos, "Someone does need to answer for what's happened here today."

Midnight eyed the man, not bothering to hide her disdain, "And you are?"

"You will call me Officer Shishikura. You also should watch your tone with me. With a word, I can have all of you thrown into a cell."

"Really? You think so?"

The contempt in the man's voice was practically dripping onto the floor, "You teachers have interfered with our attempts to enforce the law, clearly so that these lawless criminals could aid in the escape attempt of a dangerous villain," Izuku, Ochako, Shouto, and Tenya all glanced at each other while Himiko rolled her eyes, "And on top of that, one of my officers has been assaulted."

Izuku snapped, "He walked into the room and shot at Toga! He had no reason to do that!"

Shishikura looked down at Izuku, "No reason? My officer entered a room filled with dangerous individuals in the middle of a crime. Any perceived threat gave him ample justification to use whatever force he deemed necessary."

Ochako growled, "Yeah, because if there's anything that's justifiable it's opening fire on a group of kids."

"Vigilantes," Shishikura corrected pointedly, earning twin heated glares from Aizawa and Midnight and a few startled looks from everyone else. "Your actions last night made you all criminals. Or do I need to remind you of the laws in this country? That makes you dangerous. That makes you a threat to our society, and the public knows that it's my job to ensure that threats like you stay locked away. You say you're not a threat, I say you are. Who do you think is going to be the one the justice system listens to?"

"Maybe the group I vouch for? I have a way of swaying public opinion."

Everyone turned towards the door as All Might walked in with Principal Nezu riding on his shoulder and flanked by two police officers. One was Detective Tsukauchi and another was one a man dressed in a dark suit and he had a beagle's head.

"I'd be very careful going around making threats like that, Officer Shishikura. I don't think you, an organization that has a history of being investigated for human rights violations, wants to get into a 'he said' match against us." Nezu's cheerful voice was strangely out of place given the circumstances. Midnight and Aizawa though could read between the lines. The warning was clear.

While Shishikura frowned, Briareos walked up to Nezu and All Might, "Don't go around making threats you can't back up, mouse."

All Might took a step forward and glared down at the guard, "Don't. The fact that Young Midoriya wasn't hurt is the only reason I'm not throwing you all out of this building. As far as I'm concerned, your brother got off easy since he's being allowed to sleep in the hallway and you'll get to drag him home after this is done."

"Gentlemen, please," the dog headed man said, "We are all supposed to be on the same side. Let us remain calm and make sure we don't do anything else today that we might come to regret. We've been lucky that a tragedy hasn't taken place today. I want to ensure that no one else is at risk. We are professionals and we must set an example for those who look to us for safety."

Shishikura turned, "Chief Tsuragamae-"

Tsuragamae held up a hand, "Officer Shishikura, you brought up the law, if I heard you right. I would remind you that arrests and judgments are outside your jurisdiction. Tartarus's actions so far have been far too aggressive. Preventing legal guardians from seeing their charge is not your decision."

"Our job is to ensure the detention of dangerous individuals and to make sure that no one is able to facilitate their escape. Furthermore," Shishikura pointed towards the discarded restraints, "once those were removed we were well within our right to take action. But if you want to stand on principle then so be it. I am officially requesting the police arrest the villain 'Toga Himiko' and hand her over to us for transport."

Midnight opened her mouth to retort but was cut off when Ochako and Izuku did close ranks, putting themselves between everyone else and Himiko, "You're not taking Toga anywhere!" Izuku growled, body glowing green, while Ochako went a step further and raised her fists up.

"After what we saw you do to her, we'll never let you touch her again."

Himiko looked between the two, eyes wide, "Guys, hold on…"

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'RE DEFENDING?!" Shishikura yelled, "If either of you knew anything about this villain, you'd be begging us to take-"

"We know."

The teachers and police all looked at Izuku. Midnight's eyes went wide, "You know… what exactly?"

"Toga told us. Everything."

Midnight looked at the two then over at Shouto and Tenya. Shouto nodded while Tenya just frowned. When she looked over at Himiko, the girl just shrugged.

Oh. Holy shit.

"Define 'everything,'" Aizawa pressed.

Ochako answered, "She told us about Saito, her time living with Stain, and how she was able to come to U.A."

The teachers all shared shocked looks while Nezu leaned forward as he looked over at Himiko, "You're full of surprises, aren't you Toga."

All Might looked over at Izuku and Ochako and, seeing the fire in their eyes - almost literally in Izuku's case with the green's of his irises shining brightly along with his aura - he couldn't help but be impressed.

And worried.

They both look ready to fight...This could get ugly fast and if Young Midoriya uses One for All again… Uh oh.

Before the situation could spiral out of control, Nezu coughed into his paw, "Before we go any further. Officer Shishikura, I do have a letter for you from the Hero Safety Commission."

Reaching into his waistcoat, Principal Nezu pulled out an envelope and held it out. Shishikura, who had been occupied staring down the two defiant students, turned to glare at the offered paper, "And how long have you had that?"

Principal Nezu just smiled back, "Oh, just recently. All Might had been kind enough to deliver it for me on his way back from the Commission's headquarters. My lawyers work fast but I wanted to make sure we were all here when the Commission sent in their ruling on this matter." Shishikura yanked the envelope out of his paw and opened it. He had only just started reading it when Nezu said, "I think you'll find this settles everything. Don't you?"

All eyes were on Shishikura as he read through it, muttering as he did, "We the Hero… With the statements of teachers Midnight and... The recommendations from All Might…" Shishikura's face went red and he ground his teeth together, "Toga Himiko is to remain in the custody of U.A."

Briareos sputtered, "But she was in Hosu City! She came in contact with Stain! How can-"

Shishikura shook his head, "Apparently, her being in Hosu was cleared by the school."

"But Stain-?"

A look from Shishikura silenced the guard. He then turned to Chief Tsuragamae, "I assume you will handle everything from here, then?"

"Correct."

"…For the record, that thing is a ticking time bomb. When it finally goes off, I just hope we can get it locked up where it belongs before too many innocent people get hurt."

"Stop calling her a thing! Use her name!" Ochako yelled in frustration.

Shishikura looked back at her, then at Izuku, "I'd be careful if I were you. Her parents, that poor boy Saito, and even Stain. People that trusted this thing seem to end up with a knife in them eventually. Directly or," looking at Tenya he finished with, "indirectly, I suppose."

"Out. Now." Midnight left no room for compromise.

---

When at last the Tartarus guards were gone, Izuku and his friends turned their attention to the police officers. Detective Tsukauchi was obviously deferring to Chief Tsuragamae, so the students now looked to him. He met their gazes, their expressions ranging from mistrust to concern. These were tired eyes, but there was no mistake there was still plenty of fight in them, "Well, this wasn't how I envisioned this meeting starting. You kids have had it ruff."

Himiko tilted her head to the side while Ochako blinked a few times. Izuku could hear them whisper to one another behind him.

"Did he just say 'ruff?'"

"Do you mind us asking what it is the police force wants with us? It sounded like the issue with Toga was settled by the Commission," Shouto asked respectfully, but guarded.

"That issue was in regards to Toga, her being in Hosu City, and her initial refusal to comply with orders to disarm and surrender to police," Chief Tsuragamae said, "As well as her alleged breaking of the plea deal by making contact with the Hero Killer Stain."

Himiko rolled her eyes while Tenya shifted on his feet uncomfortably.

"I am here for different reasons. Namely the alleged unauthorized use of Quirks in the field by you five. The reason the people in this country are willing to trust heroes is because even though they use their Quirks openly against others, they are trusted to follow the rules and laws we the police and government lay out and enforce. Heroes follow a strict code that allows them to do their jobs which makes them uniquely qualified to handle threats like villains. However, if those that aren't qualified attempt to take the same actions, the risk they pose to themselves, others, and potentially the very people they are trying to help is too great. What's worse, if something like this were to continue the people may begin to lose faith in the heroes and system as a whole. To prevent this, strict enforcement of the rules must be carried out for the public's reassurance. Even if the situation is extreme and the opponent is… say, the Hero Killer himself."

Before anyone else could react to this, Tenya moved off the wall and put himself between his friends and the police. While they were startled, Tenya bowed his head as he addressed Chief Tsuragamae, "Sir, I accept full responsibility for my actions and the actions of my classmates. If there are any punishments to be given, I ask that I alone be the one to receive them."

"Wait, what?"

"Iida?"

"Iida, what are you doing?"

While his friends gasped, the teachers watched the scene play out.

"Sir, it was my actions that set off the chain of events that led to everything happening. I came to Hosu City under false pretenses. While I signed up to intern under Manual, my true goal was to find Stain so that I could avenge my brother. If not for me, none of my classmates would have had to put themselves and others in danger. My actions caused this, so it should be me that bears the responsibility."

"Wait, Iida, that's not fair!" Izuku called out, "I knew exactly what I was doing when I went looking for you!"

Ochako nodded, "Exactly. When I got that SOS from Izuku, I was able to put it together that he was probably tangled up with Stain in some way."

"It's why I told her to go high as we got near. We were anticipating a fight," Shouto concluded.

Tenya looked back at everyone, "Wait, you all can't just-"

Himiko groaned in annoyance, "Oh my god, why is everyone in such a hurry to fall on their own swords right now. I've tried falling on a sword guys, it's not fun."

Everyone turned to look at Himiko, who just shrugged, "I got fucking stabbed with a sword and survived. You think I'm not going to milk a few jokes out of that while I can?"

Nezu covered his mouth and chuckled while Midnight covered her face with her hands, "God…"

"Also," Himiko continued, "if we're doing this shit, I knew exactly what I was doing. I could hear Tenya fighting, so I knew I was going to be fighting, too. Wasn't about to turn around and leave."

"She's right!" Izuku said loudly, "Are you going to tell us that we should have done nothing when something horrible is happening in front of us. It wasn't just Iida and Toga that were hurt in their fight. There was another hurt hero when I arrived. He would probably be dead if not for them. "

"Young Midoirya, please," All Might raised his hands to try and placate Izuku but he wasn't paying attention to him. His focus squarely on the Chief.

Chief Tsuragamae looked over at Izuku, "Are you saying the end results, as long as they are 'good' mean we should ignore the rules that form the foundation of our society? Very dangerous thinking. A popular belief among vigilantes back in the day. How many people were hurt from their actions just because the end result was 'good?'"

"Are you saying that the rules matter above people's lives? Those Tartarus guards put their rules above people and were so sure they were in the right, they treated a person as a thing and almost killed a student just because the 'law' was on their side," Ochako countered angrily.

Aizawa's eyes flashed red and his hair stood up on end, "Enough!" The students winced and looked over at their teacher, "Maybe you all should listen to everything Chief Tsuragamae has to say before you waste anymore time acting like a bunch of fools."

Chief Tsuragamae laughed softly to himself, "U.A. sure has a special lot of kids this year, don't they?"

Aizawa groaned.

"Everything I've said, well: that is my official opinion as the Chief of Police." The group blinked at that strange word, "As for what else I have to say, I would remind you that punishment would have been dealt out once an official statement and disclosure is made. As things stand, a public announcement would undoubtedly earn you all a great deal of praise from the public. After all, you are the ones that finally ended Stain's reign of terror. However, this would also mean that all involved parties would have to be punished. Not just you all," Chief Tsuragamae pointed at the students before shifting his finger over, "But All Might, Endeavor, Manual, Miruko and more than likely U.A. as well. They were in charge of you, after all, and it was under their guardianship that you committed these crimes. Not just using your Quirks to attack a person, but also the immense property damage that happened because of it."

The noise that came out of Izuku's throat was somewhere between a startled shriek and a whimper as he suddenly remembered what he had done.

"I was wondering when you would remember that part, Midoriya," Aizawa said dryly.

Chief Tsuragamae cut in as he saw the fear building up in Izuku, "Fortunately, no one was in the buildings you damaged, so there were no injuries, though that doesn't change that there could have been and the cost you all would be responsible for," Ochako choked at that, "As I said, a public statement would have to cover everything that happened and would have to have a punishment that fit the crime. This would have to happen to reassure the people that no one is above the law. However, if what happened was never made public, then a very different story could be given. The destruction of the area, the fire seen everywhere, and the injuries Stain sustained could lead to the conclusion that it was All Might and Endeavor together that took the killer down. If that's the story the public knows, then things like covering the damage can be taken care of easily enough by having All Might's agency and insurance pay for the damage. And your five, you would have just been a group of children caught in the crossfire. Victims of a mad man."

"So, we wouldn't get in trouble?" Izuku asked as he tried to catch up with everything that was happening.

"Correct. We would bury your violation like a bone in the yard. No one would know you five took the law into your own hands but no one would know of your courageous feats. Your accomplishment would never be known to the public."

The five looked at each other in shock. They were literally getting handed a get-out-of-jail-free-card.

"If you want my personal opinion, I really don't want to have the law barking at you. Whether you made a mistake or not, it shouldn't stop you now that it's obvious you all have such promise."

Himiko blinked and pointed at herself, "All?"

Chief Tsuragamae looked at her, "I don't think I stuttered."

Nezu then chimed in, "I'd also like to say that if there is no official statement, then the 'no punishment' will extend to our side as well."

A chorus of "eh's" filled the room as they looked at Nezu, who was pointing at Aizawa as he continued, "That means no unique punishments from your homeroom teacher… That, and no expulsion. Whichever one scares you more."

One look at Aizawa and the group all agreed that anything he could cook up was far, far worse than getting expelled. One after the other, they agreed to the terms. And with that, the deal was done.

"Then we have an agreement. From this moment onward, Stain was taken into custody after a hard fought battle between him, All Might and Endeavor. All the responsibilities and praise this action would have are theirs, now. But before I leave I would like to say one last thing," Chief Tsuragamae bowed his head towards the five, "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your actions. It's because of you that a monster will never roam the streets. As a fellow keeper of the peace, thank you."

---

When the police left, Tenya soon moved to follow.

"Iida? What about..." Izuku asked after him. With everything that had happened, he remembered that Tenya had never given them his thoughts on Himiko's story.

Tenya turned to look back, "I… I would like some time to think this over. A lot has happened and I…" Looking at Himiko as he finished, "I need time to decide what I want to say to you."

Not waiting for a response from anyone, Tenya left.

Shouto then followed after saying that he should probably give his family a call to make sure they knew he was alright.

"Toga."

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad you are alright, and I hope you will continue to get better. I'm… aware that your journey will be a long one. Just know you have friends that will help you."

Ochako blinked a few times, "You know, coming from Todoroki, that's pretty much a declaration of friendship right there."

Izuku laughed, "Yeah no kid-ack!"

Izuku was cut off as Himiko dove between the two, wrapping her arms around Izuku's neck, and planted a kiss right on his cheek. Then she pulled back and made sure her lips made an audible pop when she broke away. Izuku was left a red, stuttering mess, but Himiko didn't wait around.

Letting Izuku go, she turned her eyes over towards Ochako, who was still shocked at what she had just seen. She was even more shocked when Himiko lunged for her and kissed her on the cheek, putting just as much effort into that one as she did with Izuku. Giggling as she popped off and sat back into her bed and licked her lips, "You two are just amazing, you know that? Standing up to Tartarus like that, willing to fight and take a bullet for me; it's enough to drive a girl like me wild with ideas."

"I-I-I," Izuku was still in shock while Ochako had a hand on her cheek and a blush that could put Ejirou's hair to shame.

"We- we were just, um… you're our um… there's a word I need-"

"F-friend!" Izuku cut in quickly.

"Yes, that! Of course we'd, um…"

"Protect!"

"Yes, protect you."

Himiko shook her head in disbelief, "Even after everything I said?"

Izuku nodded, "You deserve to get help. You deserve a chance to be whole. We're here for you, no matter what."

Himiko blushed, "Izuku…"

Ochako stepped in, "It's like Deku said. We're here for you. Now and always."

Himiko's face went neon and she lunged for them with a squeal, "MORE KISSES FOR YOU TWO!"

Midnight yanked Himiko back, "Okay, get a hold of yourself."

"Awwww!"

Nezu coughed, "I think you two should be alright to go back to your rooms. It hasn't even been a full day after your fight so I would imagine you two still need some time to recover and rest. Especially after everything that just happened to you here. And especially you, Midoriya. You're re-injured now."

Izuku looked down at his bruised chest, "It's not that big a deal, really. I've had way worse injuries."

The groans of displeasure from Ochako and Himiko let him know that while his statement was true, they were not happy about the way he was just blowing it off, "Er… maybe I should take it easy for a bit."

"A good idea," Nezu agreed, "Uraraka, if you would be so kind as to take Midoriya with you."

Ochako nodded and grabbed Izuku's wheelchair. The two looked over at Himiko but Midnight waved them on, "You don't have to worry about her. Myself and some of the other teachers will be staying here while she recovers. We'll make sure she's safe. No one is taking her anywhere."

Himiko sighed, "And I can't leave."

Midnight smiled, "You're learning. When we get back I'll get you a nice gold star."

"Oh my god, I hate you."

---

"Um, Uraraka? Isn't our room that way?" Izuku asked, pointing down the hallway they had just come from.

Ochako kept pushing Izuku's chair, "That's your guy's room, yeah. I have my own room. That's where we're going."

"You have your own room?"

Ochako rolled her eyes with a smile, "Deku. We couldn't all be shoved into the same room. You don't put a pretty lady into a room full of boys. What'll you do when I have to get examined without my gown to make sure I'm in good health or something?"

Ochako expected a sputting response. Or an apology.

Instead she got sass.

"You're a lady? Could've fooled me- ow ow ow that's my ear!"

Izuku cried as Ochako pinched his earlobe, "What was that? I couldn't hear you. You said I'm a very pretty lady. Right?"

"Uraraka, you're incredibly beautiful so of course I wouldn't be able to take my eye off you," Izuku said while trying to shake his head enough to free his ear. When she let go he rubbed the poor lobe. While he nursed his horrific new injury, he didn't notice the change in Ochako. Her face was red, her eyes were spinning and her mouth was stuck repeating nonsensical gibberish. "So why are we going to your room? ...Uraraka?"

When Ochako didn't respond right away, Izuku looked over his shoulder and was startled to see her so flushed, "Uraraka, are you okay?"

Ochako looked down and focused on the inquisitive eyes looking up at her. Realizing that she was a mess but Izuku wasn't snapped her back to reality. If Izuku wasn't giving his own words a second thought, then she couldn't, either. It had obviously been a spur of the moment thing, something to appease her to let him go, "Huh? Oh yeah, fine. I was just… Nevermind. Um, where was I? Oh right, we're going to my room so we can talk privately."

"Privately? Oh!" It hit Izuku as to why Ochako would want to talk with him alone, "Oh yeah, I guess there are some things you need to know."

Nodding, Ochako wheeled Izuku into her room and shut the door behind her. Moving him over to the room's window, Ochako grabbed a chair for herself and sat down in front of him. Once she was comfortable and mentaly prepared, she asked, "So. You have it now don't you."

Izuku nodded, "I have One for All."

Izuku watched Ochako carefully as she absorbed that. So many emotions flashed over her.

Shock. Not that he had the Quirk. He was always going to get it. She was just shocked that the moment was finally here.

Joy. Ochako knew Izuku had worked hard for this. He had trained tirelessly over the past year and had thrown himself into his studies at U.A to show All Might he was ready.

Fear. Ochako had seen the power Izuku had now and she also saw what that power had done to him. In a matter of seconds, Izuku had hurt himself just as badly as the Nomu had.

Pride. Even with all the emotions boiling inside her, nothing would take away how proud she was of Izuku. This was his moment. Her best friend had taken a step into the world of legends. Soon, the name 'Deku' would be on everyone's lips, just like the name 'All Might.'

Reaching out, Ochako clasped Izuku's hands with her own and squeezed them, "Deku, this is incredible. You did it."

Hearing Ochako say it, hearing her say 'you did it,' filled Izuku was a strange feeling. It wasn't that it made his accomplishment real. Eating the hair did that. Feeling the power he had now did that. He never doubted he had taken this important step. But hearing Ochako say those words made him feel he had finally completed this part of his journey. She had been there when he started it, so she should be there when he ended it.

'Complete,' that was a good word to describe Izuku at that moment.

"I did it, Uraraka," Izuku said with the biggest, softest smile he had in him. A smile that Ochako mirrored as they both started to laugh. The events of the previous night and the day melted away as they shared a moment of victory and joy.

Leaning back, Ochako eyed Izuku with obvious curiosity, "So, how'd it all happen? You must have been pretty busy these past few days."

Izuku groaned, mashing his hands against his face, "That's an understatement. It was busy even before yesterday."

"Oof. So tell me about it, I want to know everything." The shine in Ochako's eyes made Izuku laugh, though as he thought about everything he went through and everything he learned, his smile dimmed. Ochako noticed right away, "Hey… If this isn't a good time…"

Izuku shook his head, "No, it's okay. I want to tell you… I think I actually need to tell you about," Izuku motioned at himself though he felt weird doing it, "what's in me now. It's just been a rough couple of days. So I guess I'll just start from the beginning, then," Izuku said while Ochako nodded and readied herself, "All Might took me to the man that helped train him when he was going to U.A."

"That old man that was in the alley right? You had said he was All Might's teacher or something. He had those cool little booster rockets in his feet."

Izuku groaned again, "'Cool' is not the word I'd use… Okay, yes, they are a cool Quirk but I had to deal with him beating me up all day with them so there's a little resentment there."

"…You fought an old man? What? Did he smack you with his cane? Bite you with his spare dentures?" Ochako teased, though she still remembered how the man moved through the air. She knew he wasn't some weak old guy. That didn't mean she wasn't going to tease Izuku over it, though.

"Urarakaaaa," Izuku whined

"Pfft, sorry, sorry," Ochako said as she waved apologetically.

"We're also getting ahead of things. That was stuff that happened on the second day. My first day I got… I got to deal with Sir Nighteye."

Ochako's eyes went wide, "That's All Might's old sidekick. That must have been so cool to have him there to help you… train…" Ochako trailed off when she noticed Izuku's face twist sourly, "or not?"

"He was not there to help me. He wasn't even supposed to be at Gran Torino's place."

Ochako blinked at that, "He wasn't? Then what was he doing there?"

"He was there to convince All Might that it would be a mistake to give me One for All. So, you know. Good times." Izuku tried to play it off with a laugh, but when he looked at Ochako it was pretty clear she did not find this bit of news to be very amusing. In fact, the look in her eyes was enough to send a shiver up Izuku's spin. Okay, she looks really angry.

Waving his hands around, Izuku tried to move on as quickly as he could, "It's okay! All Might and Gran Torino kicked him out after he tried to use his Quirk on me to see my future so he could see me fail and-"

"WHAT?!"

Oooooooh, she's mad. Actually she looks a lot like All Might did… Note to self, do not tell Uraraka she looks like All Might. That might get me killed.

"Oh all the lousy, horrible, disgusting things to do. What is wrong with him? I can see why All Might doesn't let him be his sidekick anymore… Grrr, that is so horrible!"

While Ochako ranted and raved, Izuku covered his mouth as he tried not to break out laughing, or to let himself get distracted by the fantasy playing out in his head of Ochako using Sir Nighteye as a bat to break down a wall, "So yeah, day one was quite a tone setter. Then the next day All Might, sicced Gran Torino on me. And after I dealt with…" Izuku paused before shaking his head, "After that, the next morning All Might passed One for All to me."

Ochako leaned forward, anger gone and replaced with excited curiosity, "And how'd he do that? Was there like, some kind of ceremony? Was it flashy? I bet it was flashy."

"Um," Izuku scratched the back of his head, "No, not really. I had to… eat a strand of his hair."

Silence.

Dead absolute silence.

"Eh?"

The look on Ochako's face was a sight to behold. Izuku swore he could hear the thoughts whizzing about in Ochako's head because her face was just so expressive. It just screamed, 'the fuck what now?' which almost made Izuku break because the very idea that Ochako was even capable of swearing was just too absurd.

"Yeah, to transfer it to me, I had to take in some of All Might's DNA. That's how it's passed down. Apparently before it was done with sharing blood or something. But All Might's predecessor used her hair, so that's what All Might did."

"Oh man, that's so gross." Ochako shuddered.

"Yeah."

"Hair?"

"Yeah."

"…Ew ew ew ew," Ochako shuddered at the thought.

"He even made sure to pull one of the long hairs from his head too."

Ochako's covered her ears, "Nooooo. Stop, I don't want to hear it anymore. It's all ruined. One for All is ruined for me."

"It got all tangled up in my teeth when I tried to swallow it."

"AHHHH!" Ochako started to dry heave, "Stop it right now or I'm throwing you out the window!"

Izuku broke into a laughing fit while Ochako glowered at him before she also started to laugh. When they both settled down, Ochako asked, "So you got it yesterday morning, then? That's… that's a short turn around, all things considered."

Izuku shrugged, "I mean, technically I wasn't really supposed to do anything, since he was worried about how One for All would react to me he told me not to use my Quirk. I was just supposed to watch him work yesterday and give the Quirk time to absorb into my body."

Ochako blinked a few times before her face got very stern, "You weren't supposed to use your Quirk?"

"Um…"

Ooooh, that was a mistake. That was a BIG mistake.

"I mean… Uh oh."

"Deku," Ochako growled out while Izuku worked fast to cut off the tongue lashing he was about to get.

"Can we just agree that yesterday was an extreme situation and that normal rules and common sense did not apply?"

Ochako glared at him with a sigh, "I swear you come up with excuses to get out of trouble too easily."

"I mean, are they excuses when I'm right?"

"…You're lucky I like you enough to put up with you."

Izuku smiled brightly, laying on the cuteness really thick. Ochako rolled her eyes and decided to move on, though she wasn't going to forget this and filed it away as an excuse to get back at him later, "So what's it like?"

"Hmm?"

"One for All. Do you feel any different? Like when you use your Psychokinesis, is it different now then it was before?"

"It's," Izuku began before pausing as he tried to think of the right words, "There's just so much… more now. It's like everything is bigger. I had a pool of power I pulled from and now it's an ocean… but that's not the best way to describe it either. It's weird. It's more than just having more power, it's the way the power feels. All Might said he was passing on the torch. How one person takes the power, adds to it, then passes it on to the next right. Remember?"

Ochako nodded. All Might used the torch metaphor a lot.

"Well it's not a torch for me. It's like this great big inferno. Like I'm trying to hold a forest fire or something. It's not that it's just so massive, it's that it's so alive. It's big and wild and… it's affecting everything. That ocean of power for my psychokinesis? Well it's not a calm ocean. That fire is making it boil and writhe. It's just… it's a lot."

Ochako's eyes were wide, "That sounds terrifying Deku."

Izuku shook his head, "It's not. Maybe to be a vessel for One for All you have to be a little crazy or have taken one too many hits to the head," Izuku smirked at that while Ochako rolled her eyes, "But I don't feel afraid of it. It's raw power but it's not going to hurt me."

"Except when it did."

"That's… less to do with One for All itself and me not using it right I think. I kinda wasn't really thinking about what I was doing. I just had all this new power and decided to use it all to make Stain go away. Or at least, all that I could."

Ochako leaned forward, catching onto that last bit, "All that you could?"

"I wasn't consciously holding back or anything but I feel like maybe I was subconsciously making sure I wasn't using enough power to really hurt me. It's weird but looking back, it felt like I could have done a lot more damage if I wanted. But if I had, maybe my body would have exploded."

"But shouldn't your body be able to handle One for All now? That's what all that training was for. Heck, even All Might said he didn't even have to train to be able to use it right away."

Izuku rubbed his chin, "Yeah. And if he was Quirkless before he got it-" Ochako's head snapped up at that.

"Wait what?"

"Oh! Yeah um… All Might was born Quirkless… Maybe I should have waited for him to tell you that. Whoops. But as I was saying, if he was Quirkless then when he said his body was ready for it, he must just be talking about a normal person's physical fitness and not something he got from a Quirk. Which just makes it weird that my body broke like it did when I tried to use it… Maybe I'm just defective."

"Deku!" Ochako scolded, "Don't say that about yourself."

Izuku laughed, "Sorry. It's just weird, is all… and concerning."

"What about when you used One for All with your Psychokinesis? That was way, way beyond your limits before. Heck, I'm pretty sure if you had tried that before your head would have cracked open. Though," Ochako shuddered at the memory, "you were bleeding from more than just your nose last night. Your eyes and your ears were bleeding, Deku. That's never happened before."

Izuku scratched his chin, "When I first started my fight with Stain, I was using my Quirk like normal. But when I tried to do a Delaware Smash, I think that's when my body fully absorbed One for All and it kicked it. That hurt. It knocked me out, it was so painful. Afterward, when I tried again it still hurt but it was manageable. I guess because I was ready for it."

"So you think when One for All boosted your Quirks power it also boosted the limits you're able to handle before you're out of commission, too?"

"I think? At least I was coherent after everything… Mostly."

"So your limit is bigger but so are your kickbacks? If all that bleeding is anything to go by," Ochako said, frowning at that idea. She didn't like that Izuku now had so many new ways to hurt himself.

Izuku shrugged, a move Ochako didn't exactly like, "Maybe. Like I said I wasn't exactly trying to control it. That was me just throwing my everything to beat Stain."

"Yeah, how about we make sure you don't do that again. 'Kay?"

The tone in Ochako's voice made it very clear to Izuku that there was only one answer she was going to accept from him, "Yup. Got it."

Satisfied, at least for now, Ochako pivoted to another topic, "So why were you glowing red?"

"No idea. Maybe it's something to do with the two Quirks mixing together? But I'm back to normal now." Izuku proved this by letting his green glow envelop him.

Ochako looked him over and added, "Your eyes glow now, too."

"Wait, really?"

"Yup, your irises match your aura. They were red last night, too."

"Weird."

The simple response made Ochako laugh, "Pfft! Okay, we'll put a tab in that. So lets recap, your Quirk is stronger and so is the limit you can use it but so is the kickback it seems," Izuku nodded, "You also have All Might's strength but it turns your body into meat jelly," Ochako immediately regretted using that analogy even if it was accurate and even Izuku winced, "So we'll need to talk to All Might about why that is. Because I do not want to see you so messed up like that again for a third time." Ochako wasn't angry at Izuku, of course, but she couldn't help the heat that entered her voice towards the end. She was angry at the idea that Izuku kept getting hurt, not at him.

Mostly.

Like ninety five percent not at him.

"So I guess that just leaves the last big mystery: why can you breathe fire?"

Izuku groaned into his hands, "I don't know! I don't know why I suddenly have my father's Quirk."

Ochako winced, "Sorry. I won't bring it up again."

Shaking his head, Izuku lowered his hands but kept his face down, "No, no, it's okay. I bet you aren't going to be the only person to ask me about that. And it would be weird if no one asked me about it, or anything else for that matter. I honestly don't have the slightest idea why I was able to do that last night."

"Well, just remember Deku, you used that fire to save my life, alright?"

When Izuku looked up, he saw Ochako smiling at him. A warm caring smile. The kind that would make Izuku smile back no matter how he felt, "Thank you, Uraraka."

With the mood in the room back to normal, Ochako sighed and leaned back into her chair, "Man you sure have had a fun few days, haven't you, Deku?"

"Ha! Yeah, that's one way to put it."

"You met a jerk, got beat up by an old man," Izuku groaned while Ochako kept going, her warm smile turning toothy as she started to poke fun, "got the super Quirk, fought a serial killer, exploded your body again and then almost got kidnapped by a Nomu. Am I missing anything?"

Izuku was in the middle of coming up with a very snarky and cutting comeback but stopped as his mind ground to a halt. An invisible hand gripped his heart as he realized that hadn't been everything that had happened over the past few days. There was something else, something truly horrible that he had learned: the history of One for All and the monster known as All for One.

"Deku?"

Izuku looked at Ochako and saw she looked worried, "Deku, you've gone pale. What's wrong?"

Izuku chewed on his words as he hesitated but not for too long. While the words he was about to say were horrible and terrifying, there was no way he was going to hide them from Ochako. He just hadn't been ready to talk about this so soon after learning about it.

"Uraraka that's… that's not the only thing that happened to me."

Ochako blinked, "Huh? What else happened?"

"Do you… Do you remember what Toga said earlier? About All Might, bright lights and dark shadows?"

---

"I believe Uraraka took Midoriya with her," Shouto said as he looked up from his phone towards All Might.

All Might, after the police and students had left Toga's room, had a brief conversation with the teachers where it was decided that Midnight would be staying with Toga during her time at the hospital. With that decided, All Might went in search of Izuku and his first stop had brought him to the boy's hospital room. He was a little shocked to find Shouto by himself when he knocked and opened the door.

"I see."

"I think she wanted a chance to talk with him privately. You should probably check her room."

"I will do just that. Thank you, Young Todoroki." All Might started to turn to leave, then he stopped, "Oh, before I forget, how are you feeling today?"

"I'm well. I'm the only one that didn't directly fight Stain so I was uninjured."

All Might nodded, "Good, good. So I imagine your stay here will be brief. Where is Young Iida? Did he not come back with you?"

"He… said he needed some time to think."

"Ah… Yes, I suppose he would."

All Might did feel for Tenya, and while he may not know where he was going to land regarding everything he had learned about Himiko, All Might was grateful that he was taking his time to come to a conclusion. It would be easy, and in some ways understandable, if he had acted purely on his emotions, given his unique connection to the whole situation.

Waving goodbye to Shouto, All Might headed down the hall towards Ochako's room. As he walked up to the door, he realized that he probably should have checked here first. After a night like last night, of course Ochako and Izuku would take the first chance they had to spend some time together for reassurance.

All Might's hand hovered over the door as he was about to knock.

Unless a second near death experience was enough to get one of them to finally take the next step and I'm about to interrupt a confession… Or a make out session… Uh oh.

All Might shook his head, Nah, I'm overthinking this.

Knocking on the door, All Might announced himself, "Young Uraraka, do you have a second to talk?"

"All Might?"

And I have found Young Midoriya.

Opening the door, All Might stepped in and let out a sigh when he saw the two were sitting by the window, Izuku in his wheelchair and Ochako in her seat.

Looks like the bet is still on. Doesn't look like they were doing any… thing…?

All Might's thoughts trailed off when he got a good look at the two. Izuku appeared solemn and serious, while Ochako, still looking at Izuku, was pale. The pink in her cheeks was gone and there was something in her face that was very unsettling.

Ochako looked afraid.

While All Might tried to think what could have happened to make the two of them look like this, considering how well they had looked leaving Himiko's room, Ochako turned to look at him. Then she got out of her chair and walked past All Might and into the room's bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Both Izuku and All Might could hear the faucet get turned on, followed by splashing water and some very haggard breathing.

All Might looked away and towards Izuku at a complete loss, "What's going on?"

"I told her about All for One."

"Oh. So you decided to tell her, then."

Izuku frowned, "I mean, I wasn't going to keep this a secret from her."

All Might quickly waved his hands up, "I didn't mean it like that. Young Uraraka has every right to know about it. I was just thinking this would be a topic I would bring up after internships were over."

"Oh, yeah, I guess that would be less distracting for her. She was asking about One for All and one thing led to another."

All Might nodded, "Having someone to talk to about it can be very freeing in a way. I can recall many conversations with Gran Torino and Detective Tsukauchi that helped me throughout my career."

"Just them?" Izuku said, more to himself

All Might tilted his head to the side at the strange question, "Well, there are a few others. Recovery Girl, of course, but she was working with Nana and Torino already so I'm not sure that counts. Principal Nezu, I spoke with long ago after he figured everything out himself and then there's… Sir Nighteye."

"Sir Nighteye is a fu-freaking jerk," The door to the bathroom opened and Ochako walked out. She dabbed at her face and neck with a paper towel, then dried off a few clumps of hair that had gotten wet while she splashed her face.

"You'll hear no argument from me, Young Uraraka… How are you?"

Ochako looked up and for a second, All Might could see a little anger in her eyes before she sighed and went to her seat, "Better. Just… needed a chance to catch my breath after everything Deku told me."

Izuku smiled, "You're taking it better than I did… though I didn't say… Nevermind!" Izuku quickly changed course.

All Might looked between the two, "Something I'm missing?"

"No, nothing like-"

"Deku, it's okay," Ochako cut in before looking at All Might, "I might have gotten a little angry with you and said some things in the heat of the moment."

"Such as?"

Ochako frowned, some shame coming across her face, "I… I might have called you a coward that pawned off One for All onto Deku so you wouldn't have to deal with All for One."

"Ah."

"I don't really think that, of course! I'm sure you have your reasons for throwing Deku at an immortal monster that's killed all the previous wielders of One for All… oops," Ochako covered her mouth, "I didn't mean that! No, really! I'm sorry I don't-"

All Might laughed while Izuku started fretting, "Wait, Uraraka, I told you it's not like that at all!"

"If we're being honest, it's a little like Young Uraraka says." All Might said as he pulled out a chair and sat with the two, "When I originally chose Young Midoriya, I had hoped that the threat of All for One was gone. Once I learned he was not, and after my fight with the Nomu, I had to evaluate my plans. I knew I could no longer hold One for All and in my weakened state the risk that I…" All Might paused as he realized he was getting uncomfortably close talking about Sir Nighteye's vision of his death.

"You needed to pass it on in case something happened to you," Ochako finished, frowning at the grim idea.

All Might nodded, "Yes. No matter what, Young Midoriya was going to be my successor. I just ended up handing him more responsibility than I had wanted."

Izuku gripped the armrests of his wheelchair, "All Might, I won't let you down"

"I know you won't. But there's no reason to think about All for One too much right now. I still hold the embers of One for All, so I may very well get the chance to settle the score with him before the full responsibility is yours, Young Midoriya. Right now, your responsibility is to begin mastering One for All and to continue your hero studies."

Ochako visibly relaxed at that, "Deku did say you still could use One for All, I guess that's the embers you mention. I'm glad you're still going to be around All Might. Makes me feel better."

Izuku smiled, glad that Ochako was back to normal, "Like I said, it's not like he gave me One for All and then told me everything. So you don't need to be mad or worried."

Ochako rolled her eyes, "I'm your friend, and considering your track record I'm going to be in a constant state of worry. Also him telling you all this the night before isn't really that much better… Oh…"

"'Oh?' 'Oh' what?" Izuku blinked when Ochako covered her face with her hands and groaned, "What is it, Uraraka?"

"I just realized something. You called me after hearing about all this, didn't you?"

Izuku laughed, "Yeah. I was kinda in the middle of a freak out."

Ochako groaned louder, "I should have realized something else was up. I thought it was just regular nervousness."

"I mean, it's not like you could have known that I was freaking out that I was going to have to potentially have to face off against an immortal Quirk stealing monster… Maybe that wasn't the best way to phrase that."

While Ochako got herself back under control, Izuku turned to look over at All Might, "So, did you want to talk to us about something, All Might?"

"I wanted to check up on you. Both of you. You've both been through a lot and I wanted to see how you were holding up."

Izuku frowned and rubbed his bruised chest, then simply said, "I don't think I like Tartarus very much now."

"That's an understatement. What the heck is wrong with those guys?!" Ochako vented, and All Might could almost see steam coming out of her ear.

"They're… a necessary part of our society," All Might nodded when he saw the sour faces Izuku and Ochako made, "That's not an excuse for their horrific behavior. Opening fire like that, it's something I can't even fathom."

"And how they treated Toga," Izuku added while Ochako nodded angrily.

"If anyone deserves to be locked up, it's them! What they did to her, it's inhumane."

"I agree completely. Unfortunately, the same skills and mindset they have that makes them so excellent at imprisoning villains leads to them seeing everything as a threat."

"But All Might, they weren't even treating her like a person anymore. They were calling her an 'it!'"

All Might sighed, "They are an extreme organization tasked with an extreme responsibility. I'm not excusing their actions, but they aren't a group you can just attack. They are part of heroics. When you're heroes, odds are you'll be running into them again."

Both Izuku and Ochako's faces twisted in revulsion, something that All Might could not blame them for, "There may be times when you're asked to help transport a villain to their prison. But those are things you shouldn't have to think about right now."

Izuku responded quickly and surprisingly harshly. There was a heat to his voice that sent a chill through the others, "Tying up my friend, calling her an 'it' and a 'monster,' trying to shoot her - I feel like I should be doing more than thinking about them."

Ochako wasn't sure, but she swore she saw a green light flicker inside Izuku's mouth as he spoke. There were definitely little whiffs of smoke escaping from his lips with each word.

"Young Midoriya, you are a student. You just got lucky today with Chief Tsuragamae, so let's not push that luck by going after a government organization. Understand?"

Izuku lowered his head and sighed, "Yes, sir."

All Might turned to Ochako, "And that goes double for you."

"Wait, I didn't say anything!"

"You're going to sit there and tell me you weren't thinking of ways to toss those Tartarus guards into orbit?"

Ochako scratched the back of her head, "I was thinking more 'into the sun,' actually."

Izuku snorted while Ochako reached over and shoved him. All Might raised his hand up in a show of exasperation, "I swear, you two share a brain cell."

"A brain cell you spent a year teaching. So all of this is your fault," Ochako countered with a smirk.

The three laughed, which All Might was glad for. After everything, they two could have easily come out of the fight much more traumatized. That the two seemed to be alright was a small miracle.

"Anyway, since you two seem to be up to it, I wanted to take the chance to talk about what happened last night."

"You mean with One for All?" Ochako asked.

All Might nodded, "Since it was your first time using it, I'm sure you have questions. I have a few myself if I'm honest."

"Why'd my body break like it did?" Izuku asked. He looked over himself with a frown, "After all that training I did, I thought I'd be ready for it. You were worried about what One for All would do with my Quirk, but you didn't mention being worried about my body. I know you said that when you got it, you could use One for All right away. I don't think..." Izuku recalled the feeling of his broken body, his bones shattering as he punched the ground, "I don't think I can."

All Might contemplated his answer in silence. He figured this would be one of the first things Izuku asked that he might have an answer for, "Let me make sure I know for sure what happened. The alley was destroyed from you using your Psychokinesis correct," Izuku nodded, "and the street was from a punch?"

"Yeah I… I missed Stain and hit the spot in the street where he had been," Izuku rubbed the knuckles on his right hand, "Looking back, if I had hit him… I might have…"

All Might could tell the line of thought Izuku was starting to go down and he put a stop to it as fast as he could, "That's not something you need to focus on. I chose to give you One for All and then take you into a live operation. I might have thought there was no way for anything to happen to you but it was still a foolish mistake to do it. Anything that did or may have happened would not have been your responsibility. So don't focus on what could have happened, alright?"

Izuku nodded, though he was still a little shaken at how close he had come to killing someone. Still, he listened to All Might and focused on the question, "Um, so yeah, after I threw Stain away, I leapt after him and tried to punch him. That's how I broke my legs and arm."

"I see. One punch and you did all that to the street and to yourself. Yup, I can see the problem here."

"Which is?"

"You are much much stronger than I was at your age."

Izuku froze on the spot while his head tried to wrap itself around that idea. Ochako stepped in while Izuku restarted, "Wait? Deku's stronger? And that's the problem? That doesn't explain why his body got destroyed using One for All."

"Let me explain. Young Midoriya mentioned that I was able to use One for All without issue when I first got it. Which is true, however, One for All wasn't nearly as powerful as it is now then it was back then. When I first got it, there is no way I'd be able to do the kind of damage you did, Young Midoriya."

"Oh… wow," Izuku said as his brain finally got his mouth to work, "But what about all the training I did?"

All Might winced and wrung his hands together, "Sooo I might have been assuming you'd be closer to how I was. I knew you'd be stronger but I was still going off my own experience, which clearly isn't going to work now."

"Wait," Ochako cut in, "How much stronger is Deku than you were?"

"He's closer to how I am now than how I was."

Ochako's eyes went wide while Izuku's jaw dropped.

"Deku's like you are now and he's only going to get stronger, right?"

All Might nodded with a smile, "That's right. Though, right now he needs to continue to strengthen his body, which will come naturally as he gets used to using One for All."

"So it's just like what I did with my Psyckinises then?" Izuku said to himself, "All that training was just enough to get me to the starting line to hold this power."

Ochako and All Might looked at Izuku, both worried he might be disillusioned or upset that things hadn't gone like All Might had originally planned. What they saw, however, was Izuku looking down at his body with the fire of determination in his eyes.

"So I'll need to figure out how One for All works, first. Then I can work on slowly getting my body used to the power. Maybe some kind of increments, like I did with… but it feels like it's an all or nothing power, so how can I..." Izuku was lost in his own world now, mumbling and muttering as he began to work out what he was going to have to do going forward. It was a welcomed sight to the two. The small puffs of smoke that started to whiff out of Izuku's mouth as he kept muttering, though, that was another story.

Ochako pointed at them, "Okay, so why can Deku breathe fire like his father now?"

"Errrr... Yeah, I have no idea. Still working on that one."

"Seriously?!" Ochako groaned and slid down into her chair.

---

After making sure Izuku didn't accidentally set off a fire alarm and letting him know that Recovery Girl would be in to see him tomorrow after she spent the day recovering from healing him and Himiko, All Might stood up to leave. His time was getting close to being up and it would be better if Toshinori wasn't seen walking around in All Might's oversized costume.

"All Might, before you go," Izuku called out as All Might neared the door, "I wanted to ask you something else."

All Might glanced over at a clock hanging on the wall before nodding, "Okay, I should have enough time for one last question. Anything else will probably need to wait till tomorrow, or maybe when we're back at school so we can talk privately in my office."

"You've only told two people about One for All, right? Detective Tsukauchi and Sir Nighteye," Ochako sat up straight as she heard Izuku talk while All Might nodded slowly. "Why so few? How did you know who to tell and who not to? I can't imagine they were you're only friends you could trust. Weren't they others you felt you could confide in, others you felt you didn't have to hide the truth from?"

Ochako recalled a conversation she and Izuku had a long while back about lying and what that made him feel, Guess that never went away if he's already bringing it up right after getting One for All.

All Might sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck, "That's… a loaded question."

"If you want to answer it later, that's alright…" All Might could tell that wasn't really the case. There was something in Izuku's eyes that told him needed an answer. "I know your time is probably getting pretty short."

All Might and Ochako both thought of the same person right away while Izuku sat in silence, probably the one person Izuku had been waiting for a chance to talk to since this whole adventure began.

"In my time as a hero I've met many people, including people I would gladly call allies and comrades. Friends, though, that's a rarer thing. I was never the most… open person, despite what you see on the internet and T.V. This was a choice I made because I felt it would keep me, and others, safe."

"From All for One?"

"Mostly, yes. But there are other threats out in the world. I told you that One for All can't be stolen, but you could be coerced into giving it up, maybe because a friend is taken hostage, for example. Either because of their connection to you or because they wanted to help you and got involved in something they weren't prepared for... Well, I tried to make sure that never happened."

"I… I see."

"I have a friend who has been with me almost since the start of my career. His name is David Shield, and while I was in America he was always by my side. I've known that man for years, longer than even Tsukauchi. His daughter even calls me uncle," All Might chuckled at that, "But I never told him about One for All."

Izuku blinked in confusion, "Wait… You never told him, even though you're so close, but you told Detective Tsukauchi?"

"When you decide to tell someone about One for All, you are entrusting them with a great responsibility while at the same time dragging them into a world they didn't know about. If you are going to do that, you need to be sure they'll not only be able to survive in this new world but also be able to help you. Tsukauchi is a member of the police force. His connection to that agency and his understanding of criminals and villains has helped me a great deal over the years. David… is a brilliant inventor, but even during my early years as a hero he stayed on the sidelines. Then he went and had a family as well... The risk of what could happen to him or his daughter was too great. So I chose to keep my secret from him. It was not an easy decision to make, but one I felt was for the best," All Might took a deep breath. It was clear that this decision and probably many more like it weighed heavily on him, "I feel that I am alive because of who I chose to tell and who I didn't, Young Midoriya. Telling someone about One for All just because they are close to you would be cruel. Because they may want to help you and end up getting you or themselves hurt."

All Might looked over at Ochako for a moment. She blinked, confused by his look, "Young Midoriya, when I told Young Uraraka about One for All, I weighed the benefits of you having a companion with you for your journey. The two of you were already fiercely loyal to each other and I was imagining what that bond could look like later on in your careers. In fact, you two reminded me of my master, Nana, and Gran Torino." Izuku and Ochako jumped a little at that and All Might nodded, "Those two fought together for so long. They held a friendship and bond that helped them through so much. As things were, not telling Young Uraraka would have done you more harm than good. However, if I had known that All for One was still alive… I don't believe I would have told her anything."

Ochako winced while Izuku frowned, the briefest hints of anger forming in his eyes. All Might raised his hands up, "Let me be clear: I do not regret my decision. Telling her was and still is the right thing to do. In fact, I can unequivocally say that not telling Young Uraraka would have been the worst possible decision I could have made that day at the beach."

All Might watched Izuku closely after that as he finished, "Who and when you tell someone will be one of the most important decisions you make as the newest bearer of One for All, because you will be turning them into an ally against All for One. And that is not something to do lightly. Do you understand?"

Izuku nodded, "I… I do. I suppose when I think about someone I should discuss it with you first, then. Get your permission, since-"

"No."

Izuku almost bit his tongue as he came to a stop, "Sorry, what?"

All Might just shook his head before kneeling down next to Izuku, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder, "One for All is yours now, Young Midoriya. The final decision on who you tell is yours and yours alone. It is not your allies' place to tell you who you bring into the fold. Not even former wielders like me. The power is yours and so are all the responsibilities. You don't ask us for permission. You make your decision and we," All Might glanced over at Ochako, "will support you anyway we can." Getting up, All Might added light heartedly, "Now, that doesn't mean you can't ask our opinions on things or ask for our advice, of course. I'd hope that you'd still want to rely on my decades of experience. And I'm sure Young Uraraka would become very cross if you started to ignore her."

"Pfft, I'd like to see him try," Ochako said with a smile.

"Just remember, Young Midoriya, you are your own man and whatever you decide, we'll make sure any newcomers," All Might and Ochako glanced at each other as they thought about a certain mother that might have a few words for them, "are welcomed and brought up to speed. If that's what you really want."

---

Soon after All Might left and after a couple more words of reassurance, Izuku decided to return to his room. After such an exhausting morning after everything else that had happened, he was ready for a nap. Ochako had offered to push him back but Izuku had waved her off with a smile. He would be fine.

So now Ochako sat in her room, alone with only her thoughts and a pillow she was using to muffle the screams she felt she needed to get out of her system. Fear, rage and horror ripped out of her throat as she worked to expel everything and bring herself to some sense of normalcy. She had been able to hold herself together pretty well after hearing everything for the first time from Izuku and her first freakout. Splashing herself with some ice cold water had also shocked her out of her state for a bit.

After one last good scream, she pulled the pillow off her face and sat up from her bed. That was enough feeling scared and angry at the situation. Now she needed to figure out what she was going to do. First and foremost, she needed to decide if she was going to give All Might a good punch in the face for this whole mess. The idea swirled in her head a bit but was soon jettisoned. He had explained the situation well enough and he was a victim of the circumstances, too. When it came down to it, he just didn't have the time to wait anymore. He had to give Izuku One for All now. So she wasn't going to stay mad at him for that. It wouldn't accomplish anything.

Plus, she wasn't sure she wouldn't break her hand on his jaw. She could get to him while he was shrunk but she doubted she'd feel good about dropping a tiny All Might like a sack of potatoes. So that whole line of thought was out the window. Now it was time to focus on what was important:

Izuku and All for One.

Sooner or later Izuku was going to have to face this monster, and she would be damned if he had to do it alone.

Getting off her bed, Ochako pulled off her gown and walked into the bathroom again to look at herself in the mirror. Her muscles tensed as she examined herself and thought about how she used to be. She had come a long way from the round and soft little girl a year ago. She might not be on Miruko's level just yet, but when she tensed up, there wasn't that much of a difference.

Yes, she had come a long way but her fight with Stain made it clear she hadn't come far enough. Grabbing her forearm, she looked down at it, remembering how not that long ago a huge knife was sticking out of the bracer she wore. Only a little more pressure and that knife would have been in her arm. Only a little longer in that fight and Ochako knew she would be dead. Using what Miruko had taught her had let her hold her own against Stain for a few seconds, but even with Shouto helping her, it was obvious that she would have lost. Stain was just too fast. Too skilled. Too powerful.

And power was the key.

In the blink of an eye, Izuku now eclipsed her in power. Up until now, she felt the two were on pretty equal footing. They were more or less even in all their spars afterall. So she knew that when they worked together they didn't have to worry about slowing the other down.

That wasn't the case anymore. The power Izuku had, once he was able to control it, put him in a whole other league, and that twisted her up inside. She wasn't jealous or angry. She would never feel that way towards Izuku. Ever. She also didn't feel shocked at what had happened. Izuku was always going to become like this. No, what had her all messed up now was that she now understood what Izuku was going to have to do with his new power: he would have to face All for One, a monster that was on par with All Might.

In her mind, she could see herself walking down a path until she came to a great chasm, so deep and dark she couldn't see the bottom. On the other side, where the path continued, she could see Izuku. For so long they had been walking the path together, but now he was so far away. And to her horror he was walking right into an approaching darkness.

And what in the hell am I supposed to do when that day comes?!

Ochako slammed her fist into the wall. She had only just survived against a villain that didn't have Quirks that boosted his power. The gap between her and Stain was already scary. Now she was thinking about the power gap between her and All for One, and it was horrifying. It hurt to know that there was nothing she'd be able to do the day Izuku had to fight All for One. At least, nothing she could do now.

In her mind, she was back at that chasm but she wasn't standing around watching Izuku walk into darkness. She was pulling stones from the ground and laying planks out so she could bridge the gap, building her own path to cross the chasm.

Pulling her fist off the wall, she felt her knuckles crack and pop as she tightened it. She knew what she had to do. She had to shorten that power gap between herself and Izuku. She had to get stronger. It was going to take time for Izuku to master his new Quirk. While he did that, Ochako had to get stronger.

Body.

Technique.

Mind.

Quirk.

She had to strengthen everything to make sure that when the day came, she would be there by Izuku's side. She was going to be there, "He is not going to face that monster alone. I won't allow it."

---

As Izuku wheeled himself back to his room, he couldn't help but think over everything that All Might had said to him about how he had kept One for All a secret for so long and from so many people. On one hand, it made perfect sense. There were so many villains that would want to get their hands on a power like this, so the less people know, the less of a chance the secret gets out. But Izuku found himself thinking back more and more to how All Might didn't tell even his closest friends. David Shield sounded like a very important person to All Might, if he was that close to the family that the man's daughter saw All Might as her uncle.

And yet, All Might's worry - maybe even fear - had kept him from sharing his secret. It was almost like his worry of others, his fear for them, had kept All Might isolated.

Izuku frowned at that thought but he couldn't shake it. Gran Torino, Recovery Girl, Principal Nezu, Detective Tsukauchi and Sir Nighteye; of that list only the last two were people All Might deliberately told about One for All.

That must have been so lonely, Izuku thought.

Then he remembered what All Might had said about Ochako and how he wouldn't have told her. Izuku couldn't even imagine what that would have been like, having that kind of secret between the two of them. The damage it could have done to their friendship was sickening to think about.

But All Might did say that it would have been the wrong thing to do, keeping it from Uraraka…

That last bit - that last admission - stuck in Izuku's head. And the more he thought about it, the more he came to the conclusion that All Might, his perfect hero, had been wrong about something. All Might had let his fear of what could happen lead him to a life of isolation. Izuku frowned and shook his head. Maybe 'isolation' was the wrong word but the feeling was right. It seemed like All Might cut himself off from others in his desire to protect them and himself.

Reaching his room, Izuku paused as he looked at the door. Izuku understood the need to keep the number of people who knew about One for All small. That was important, but maybe All Might had kept it too small. He had limited the help he could have received. And that was a key thing, All Might had said it was important that whoever he told would be able to help him.

Izuku reached up to open the door, and as he did, he made up his mind. The idea had worked its way up to the forefront of his mind and after his talk with All Might he felt he knew what he had to do. Like All Might said, they need to be able to help him.

All Might, Gran Torino, Principal Nezu and Recover Girl. They'll help me get stronger and help me master One for All. Uraraka, she's my friend and she'll be with me to help me, too, and make sure I don't do anything stupid, though I've only messed that up a couple of time. If there's a anything I need help with more than ever now, it's-

Izuku nodded to himself and opened the door to his room. His mind was made up. All Might was right, he couldn't just go telling others about One for All. So there would not be some mass text to his friends. No, that wouldn't be right. It would be too much too fast. But as he rolled into his room, Izuku knew he had to do one thing better than All Might did: he had to trust the people he was close to. And if it was a matter of trust, then the answer was simple.

He trusted her with his life.

Authors Notes:

NEW CHAPTER! NEW CHAPTER FOR EVERYONE! Holy crap this one took a while to get out. And this is after I went ahead and split it up. Sorry about the wait folks but these past few months work has gotten pretty busy so my free time has shrunk. Part 2 is already underway since I had parts of it written before I focused on splitting the chapter up. I don't always write chapters in order. Sometimes I'll start writing the end of a chapter or plop myself down in the middle. So hopefully part 2 which will be the last chapter of the Stain arc now, will be out soon. Tying up all the little loose ends this chapter has.

So yeah, Himiko's past is out in the open now. Or at least for most of her group of friends. How that's going to affect things is going to be interesting. Some of the fallout will of course be addressed in part 2. But some other parts, well... You'll just have to wait and see.

I do want to take a second to thank everyone that has read this fic. Your comments and reviews mean the world to me and I'm so grateful that you all have stuck around while this fic continues to be a slow burn. But don't worry, this slow burn Ochako vs Katsuki fic is going to start heating... wait...oh right this is a slow burn IzuOcha fic...um... Hang in there folks :)

As always I welcome all comments, reviews, and critiques. I crave that validation.

A huge thanks to my beta reader LK. Dropped a 58-page monster into his lap and was like, "You! Fix all my mistakes!"