Chapter 12

.::An Unforgettable Reunion::.

"Kacchan, please?" Izuku made the biggest puppy eyes possible at his childhood friend, not missing the way the blond's left eye twitched even as he steadily avoided looking at him.

"No," he grit out, scowling at the wall.

"But you're so smart!" Bakugou's eye twitched again at the blatant flattery, his scowl growing worse as his gaze finally flitted towards him.

"Why the hell do you even have math homework?" he demanded, sounding almost incredulous beneath all the anger. Izuku offered a half-hearted shrug, glancing down at the bundle of papers in his hands.

"Just because I live with villains doesn't mean they don't care about my education," he said. "Kurogiri is really serious about making sure I keep up with my grade level."

"What would you even use it for!? Do you plan to apply for a job someday? You're registered as missing, Deku! How would that even work?"

"I don't know, but right now I mainly don't want to upset Kurogiri by slacking off. He's kinda terrifying about it." Izuku grimaced as he rubbed the back of his neck, and he saw Bakugou's expression soften a bit. Just a little. Emboldened by the sign of leeway, he hesitantly added, "Also, I figure this is at least better than doing nothing...?"

That seemed to break down the last of Bakugou's resistance. The blond still scowled but the anger in his red eyes burnt out, replaced by exasperated irritation and acceptance. "Ugh, fine. Sit down so we can go over it." Izuku flashed a grateful smile as he plopped on the bed next to his old friend, rifling through the papers to find a good worksheet to start with. He didn't really need help with it, but he figured if he had to do it anyway he might as well use it as an excuse to spend more time with him.

Honestly, he'd been just as surprised as Bakugou that he still had schoolwork despite being the ward of a bunch of villains, even if it was a lot more casual than the organized curriculum at UA. He'd noticed textbooks on his bookshelf, but it hadn't really clicked he was actively using them. Then yesterday Kurogiri had randomly warped into his bedroom and dropped off a bunch of workbooks with firm orders to get to work.

"I've permitted a break given the circumstances, but that time has passed," the misty man had told him. "You may not be able to acquire a formal diploma, but there is no point allowing your mind to rot. I expect you to finish this by the end of the week." That had been all he'd said before leaving Izuku just sitting at his desk in shock. On the bright side, the whole thing had been so bizarre and abrupt he hadn't even had to pretend to be calm.

It was weird to realize that the villains valued his education, even if it might just be Kurogiri. Something told him most of them really didn't care about schoolwork. Shigaraki didn't really seem like he'd be patient enough to sit through most homeschooling, and he knew that Toga and Mustard—the two closest to his age—didn't bother with it. Plus, like Bakugou said, it wasn't like he could just go out and apply for a job. Unless they created a fake identity for him, which... they might, but not important right now.

According to Seiko, he was mostly expected to teach himself using books and other resources at this point. Kurogiri only reviewed his work once he finished it or if he specifically asked for help, which was what gave him the idea to ask Bakugou to tutor him in math. Asking him was weird, especially when Izuku didn't need it, but he needed any opening he could get to build up a trust between them.

Right now, Bakugou was one of Izuku's only potential allies in this place—in this world—but as it stood he couldn't actually work with him. The blond still regarded him with heavy disdain and tolerated his presence out of necessity more than anything. If Izuku tried to tell him about an escape plan or offer an alliance, he might just explode and draw attention.

It sucked and made him anxious, but he'd have to take his time to build up some trust. He had the same issue with Shinsou, who he also planned to ask for homework help after this. He'd visited the purple-haired boy for hours on end since learning of his presence, trying to make up for lost time. Izuku still felt horrible for not realizing he was there sooner, especially after Shinsou had to comfort him that first day when the brainwasher was the real (and literal) victim here.

Things between them were still far too tense, Shinsou obviously even more wary of his motivations than Bakugou. It didn't help that Izuku had to watch his words around the other boy because he wasn't supposed to know Shinsou's name beyond his vigilante moniker "Hijack". If he ever slipped, Shinsou would probably panic since no one knew his real name. It hurt seeing the suspicion in his eyes, but Izuku couldn't blame him. Shinsou had no reason to trust him, not when Izuku was so friendly with the people literally holding him prisoner.

Just. Everything was a mess here, and Izuku really needed some allies. At least he'd gotten confirmation from Seiko no one else was locked up right now, so for now he could focus on getting Bakugou to open up a little more.

They spent about half an hour going over the math homework, Izuku feigning confusion at some of the more complicated problems. At several points he got the sense Bakugou saw through the façade and didn't actually need help, but the blond never called him out on it. It made Izuku think he really was just that bored, which in turn made him feel even more guilty. He couldn't get Bakugou out of there soon enough.

They'd gotten halfway through the third worksheet when the slat on the door suddenly slid open, catching them both off-guard. Izuku's heart leapt up his throat as he spied red eyes peering into the room between silvery-blue bangs, and a moment later the slat slammed shut followed by the door opening. Even though Izuku recognized those eyes he still couldn't help the pang of instinctive dread when Shigaraki poked his head into the room, his cracked lips spreading into a grin.

"Izu, I've been looking for you," he declared, sounding eerily giddy. It took all of his control to not show the visceral sense of terror at hearing the League of Villains' leader sounding happy, a combination he had come to associate with imminent danger. This Shigaraki doesn't hate you, he reminded himself.

That did not apply to Bakugou though. "What do you want?" he hissed, shrinking back against the wall as he bared his teeth in a snarl. Izuku could feel the blond trembling beside him, his eyes dilated in what he recognized to be apprehension even as Bakugou tried to mask it by glaring at Shigaraki. The villain scoffed as he regarded him, clearly unimpressed by the intimidating front he put up.

"Shut up, shitty NPC," he said gruffly. "I'm here for Izuku, not you." He crossed the room to grab Izuku's wrist, his pinkie finger pointedly hovering above his skin as he pulled the green-haired boy to his feet. "Come on, I'm bored."

"W-what?" Izuku stammered, hoping his wince and stutter would be construed as surprise more than fear. "But, T-Tomura-nii—" He nearly stumbled on the name, the overly friendly manner of addressing his enemy still feeling alien and unfamiliar, "—I-I have homework. Kurogiri will get mad if I put it off..." He tossed a helpless look at the papers in question, now scattered on the bed around Bakugou in their surprise at the sudden visitor.

"Homework is boring," Shigaraki deadpanned. Which, Izuku couldn't argue with. "You can take a day off. I want to hang out with you." His voice held a note of finality usually associated with stubborn toddlers rather than the menacing leader of one of the most notorious villain organizations in existence. Izuku shot a helpless look at Bakugou, as if asking for him to do something—what, exactly, he didn't know—but the blond just scoffed and averted his eyes.

"Whatever," he grumbled. "Not like you have a deadline for this shit, right?" It was probably as close to a dismissal as Izuku would get in this situation.

"Let's go," Shigaraki said, already heading towards the door. Izuku bit his lip, and mouthed a silent 'sorry' to Bakugou before scurrying after the older male. He didn't dare look back as the door closed behind them.

"So what are we doing?" he asked Shigaraki as he followed the older male down the hall. "Playing another game?" Surprisingly he hadn't spent much "quality time" with Shigaraki yet beyond that movie marathon that first day, but the majority of their interactions involved playing video games. It was its own kind of nerve-wracking, because what if Shigaraki noticed he didn't remember how to play them and figured out he's lying, but so far Shigaraki hadn't commented on a sudden decrease in gaming skill. It made him wonder if maybe he just sucked at them in general.

"Our collection's too stale," Shigaraki scoffed. "We're going to get new ones."

"Oh, alright," Izuku said with a nod, and then stopped as the words registered. "Wait, how?" Shigaraki paused, turning to peer at him over his shoulder.

"We're going shopping, duh," he said, rolling his eyes, and turned forward once more. Izuku blinked, his legs moving mechanically to follow him as his mind went nearly blank. For the first time since waking up in this world, he'd be going outside. Despite the twist of anxiety in his gut, the prospect actually excited him a little bit. He wondered what it'd be like.

Ten minutes later, Izuku discovered the outside world was actually pretty underwhelming.

What did I expect, a post-apocalyptic wasteland? he thought sarcastically as he followed Shigaraki down the street. Kurogiri had warped them to an alley near a strip mall, the two casually sauntering past the thin trickle of shoppers lining the sidewalks. After the initial joyful surge of 'fresh air, at last!', the novelty of going outside had quickly worn off as he took in all the differences—or lack thereof, as the case happened to be.

The fact was, for all the major societal upheavals from Izuku's world regarding heroes and villains, on the superficial level they were still pretty similar. He remained quiet as he looked around, just taking in the scenery. The street wasn't one he'd visited in the past so he couldn't identify any significant differences, but it seemed like any other strip mall he'd visited. Given it was a Monday afternoon most people were at work or school, so there wasn't much traffic aside from a few stray shoppers.

Ahead of him Shigaraki maintained a casual saunter, his hood pulled over his hair and a scarf looped around his mouth. Izuku himself had simply stuffed his hair under a blue beanie and left it at that. While the mysterious "hero alliance" knew about him, he apparently wasn't so famous that he needed to fully disguise his face in public. No one paid either of them any mind, save for a little toddler girl he saw glance at him and blush before ducking behind her mother's leg.

Overall, shopping with Shigaraki was surprisingly mundane. In part because they were actually shopping for games.

"Yo, Shiro!" greeted the clerk when they entered the game store. Shigaraki huffed and grumbled as he stalked towards one of the shelves, largely ignoring the greeting, while Izuku just stopped in the doorway and stared. The clerk didn't seem fazed by the cool reaction, instead smirking to himself as if satisfied before turning his attention to Izuku. "Well, this is a rare sight. Been a while since Shiro brought you along, kid."

"Uh, yeah. Just... been busy, I guess." Internally Izuku was freaking out and trying to process this scene and all the subsequent implications. The clerk clearly knew Tomura, if not by actual name then some nickname, which meant some degree of familiarity. He also knew Izuku to some extent and associated him with Shigaraki.

The only explanations were the clerk either had some sort of phenomenal memory, maybe a memory-enhancing Quirk... or Shigaraki was a regular here.

But that means he actually buys games, doesn't he? Izuku thought in mild shock as he tried not to gape too openly at Shigaraki's back. Somehow, that revelation was one of the more shocking ones since waking up in this world. Shigaraki was a villain with the temperament of a spoiled child after all; the idea of him willingly paying for games instead of just taking them boggled his mind.

Shigaraki made a thoughtful hum as he pulled one case off the wall, glancing at the clerk. "Hey, is this one actually any good?"

"Story's good, but it's got pretty shit controls. Movement's all jittery and the hit boxes are way too small. Pretty sure the dev company bribed the reviewers to get better scores. I'd recommend Automata if you want something similar that actually plays well."

"I already got that one."

"Ah, you did? Huh. Then maybe Firefly Blade?"

As the two launched into a casual banter about recommendations Izuku found it increasingly harder not to gawk at them. Shigaraki was still sour and overall snippy with the clerk, but the overall tone of the conversation was so casual and normal it sort of broke his brain. He didn't even know the man could talk to someone normally.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore and knew he needed to get out before his cover slipped. "Um, sorry to interrupt, but I'm, uh, kinda bored," he stammered out hastily. "Do you mind if I check out some of the other stores?"

"Sure, yeah, keep your phone on you. I'll grab you when I'm done." Shigaraki waved him off dismissively, not really turning his attention away from his discussion with the clerk. The fact he agreed at all surprised Izuku, expecting him to want to keep a close eye on him, and he quickly slipped out before the man could potentially change his mind.

Once outside he breathed a small sigh and began strolling along the sidewalk, glancing at the windows of the neighboring stores. He didn't pay much attention to their contents, seeing as he had no money on himself to actually buy anything, and instead let his mind wander. Did Shigaraki let him go out alone because he'd been distracted, or was he not that worried? Had Izuku always been allowed to leave the base? Had he stayed cooped up for the past seven days for no reason at all?

As he mused over the potential implications he noted movement from the corner of his eye and glanced over only to jump as he saw Seiko walking next to him. "Wha—Seiko—when?" he sputtered, glancing around. Where had she come from!?

"Are you just realizing you're not under constant house arrest?" she guessed, emotionless as ever. Izuku just gawked at her, still a little overwhelmed by her sudden appearance and nonchalance about, well, everything. After a few moments though he ducked his head and nodded sheepishly.

"In my defense, my room doesn't have windows," he muttered embarrassedly. It sometimes felt more like a cell than the actual prison cells, closer to Shinsou's fully furnished room in that regard. Unlike Shinsou's room though, Izuku wasn't locked in at all times.

Seiko gave a noncommittal hum. "You're free to go anywhere as long as you tell Kurogiri beforehand. They prefer not to let you walk through the neighborhood around the base alone, so he warps you to a safer part of town instead."

"I guess I'll still have to tell them where I'm going and why, right?" he mumbled, but to his surprise Seiko shook her head.

"No. As long as you have your phone and call Kurogiri to return you before dark, you're free to do as you please. You've proven yourself responsible enough to be trusted to keep a low profile outside of the base." Her eyes flitted towards him, and in their flat, unsettling white depths he thought he spied a faint flicker of amusement. "They give you quite a bit of freedom, Midoriya Izuku."

"I... see." Izuku frowned, a contemplative gleam in his eyes as he turned forward with his head unconsciously ducking down. If Izuku had the freedom to leave as he pleased, that opened up all kinds of possibilities. He could finally start a proper investigation into how he ended up in this world, finally make some progress. Maybe even get in some practice with One For All. As he mulled over it he distantly noted that Seiko melted into the shadows in the corner of his eye, but he paid her departure no mind and continued to focus on what his next step should be.

Caught up in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice the two figures stepping out of a store in front of him, turning to walk the same direction he headed. As he got closer he slowed down slightly to avoid bumping into them, only vaguely registering their conversation as he let his thoughts consume him. "Come on, that skirt was adorable and you know it!" the older woman said. "You should've gotten it!"

"B-but it was so expensive!" a younger voice whined and Izuku froze, his brain grinding to a halt. His head snapped up to see a girl with a puffy-looking brown bob walking ahead of him, waving her hands animatedly at the woman next to her as she stammered, "I mean, there's so many better things to spend money on! Like, I could get three skirts at another store for that price! It felt like such a waste!"

"Being thrifty is good, but you need to spoil yourself sometimes," the dark-haired woman said, turning to look at the girl with a fond smile. "You're a teenage girl, have some fun!" She ruffled the girl's hair as she spoke and skipped ahead with a laugh as the teen squawked in dismay.

"H-hey, don't do that!" The girl turned her head over her shoulder with a small pout, and Izuku's breath caught in his throat as he spied familiar pink circles on her cheeks, small pink pads briefly visible on her fingertips as she tried to fix her hair and eliminating any lingering doubts about her identity. Uraraka.

As he stared at her in shock Uraraka's eyes flitted his way and she startled, her pout vanishing as she twisted her torso to look back at him. As their eyes met a reverberation of shock ran down his spine, and he thought of all the other familiar eyes he'd seen these past few days. The icy-hot loathing in Kacchan's crimson eyes, the cold disdain in Shinsou's indigo, the bizarre fondness in Shigaraki's red. All so familiar, yet all belonging to strangers.

But in Uraraka's brown eyes he saw something else, something absent from all the other eyes he'd seen.

He saw recognition.

"Deku?" she whispered, her voice barely above a breath.

In that moment Izuku felt like a giant weight had been simultaneously wrenched off his chest and lobbed at his gut instead, a tiny gasp slipping out. The edges of his vision blurred as tears formed, his hands trembling at his side as his breath came out in short, shuddering gasps. She remembers. She recognizes me. She knows me. Not like how everyone else here knows me—she knows me.

This wasn't some other Uraraka. This was his Uraraka.

I'm not alone here.

Time just seemed to disappear as they stared at each other, each coming to the same realization. Tears pricked the corners of Uraraka's own eyes as she turned to face him fully, her cheeks growing pinker. "D-Deku," she started, her voice wobbly, and she stopped and sucked in a big breath. "I-It's you, right? D-Deku?" Seeing her so close to crying made Izuku's own eyes water more, and he quickly wiped it away with his sleeve as he stepped forward.

"I-it is!" he quickly confirmed. "A-and you're—you're Uraraka? My Uraraka?" The question didn't feel necessary, he could tell just by looking at her that she was the Uraraka he'd spent the past several months learning to be a hero with, but even so the feeling of elation when she bobbed her head was still overwhelming, his chest exploding with warmth and relief.

"I'm—we're not alone," she whispered, sniffling as she wiped at her tears with a tiny smile. "I-I'm not the only one...!" Her voice began to crack, the prospect of crying becoming a much more immediate threat.

"Ochaco-chan?" Both teenagers jumped at the voice, Izuku stiffening and Uraraka snapping to stand straight in alarm as he glanced behind her. The woman who'd been walking with Uraraka had stopped and turned to look back at them, her blue eyes glinting with worry behind her glasses. "Ochaco, what's up? Are—wait, are you crying?"

Shooting Izuku a briefly panicked look, Uraraka quickly wiped away the last of her tears before turning to the woman with a smile. "S-sorry, Suimin-sensei! I just—I ran into someone familiar and wanted to say hello! Right?" She shot Izuku a smile, her eyes begging him to go along with her, and he quickly bobbed his head in affirmation.

"R-right!" he agreed, turning to the woman with a sheepish smile. "We, uh, used to know each other way back... For a bit..." He trailed off, trying not to wince at how weak that sounded even to his own ears. The woman—Suimin-sensei? Uraraka's teacher? Why were they shopping together? Wasn't it a school day?—frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing and making him tense.

"Here, I know, let's exchange phone numbers!" Uraraka blurted, spinning to Izuku with a smile as she whipped out her phone. "We can catch up more later!" Her smile was warm and reassuring, filling Izuku with a much-needed sense of familiarity and trust, and he couldn't help but return it.

"Of course!" he agreed as he fumbled for his own phone. "I've got so much to fill you in on—" He stopped mid-sentence, his blood running cold as the reality of his situation suddenly came crashing down on him. Shigaraki. The Villain Alliance. Bakugou and Shinsou.

The memories of the past seven days hit him like a brick, nearly staggering back as his breath hitched. Immediately Uraraka's smile faded, replaced by a wide-eyed look of concern. "Deku? Deku, what's wrong?" Her voice rose towards the end, her alarm leaking through clearly, and Izuku had to suck in a sharp breath as he tried to squash down the rising bubble of panic.

"I-I don't, I can't," he sucked in a sharp breath, blinking and trying to clear his thoughts. "I don't know i-if that's a good idea."

"What? Why not?" He could see the look in her eyes shifting more towards alarm and fear, taking a step closer as she recognized his inherent distress. "Deku, are—are you in danger?"

"No!" he blurted quickly, shaking his head and hands emphatically. "I'm not, I'm fine! B-but, but—" But no one else is, he thought dismally, but the words couldn't form in his throat, too choked by fear and anxiety. "Uraraka, I—I-I—"

"Izu, what are you doing?"

This time Izuku couldn't suppress the flinch when he heard the ever-more familiar voice call out behind them, his stomach lurching with dread as they both turned. Striding towards them was none other than Shigaraki, a plastic bag dangling at his side and his scarf looped around his face and eyes shaded by his hood. "I got the stuff. What's with the NPCs?"

"NPC?" Uraraka mumbled next to him, sounding faintly confused. When Izuku looked at her he saw a blank look in her eyes as she regarded Shigaraki, and his chest tightened in realization. She doesn't recognize him. Of course she wouldn't, she'd never spoken to him directly the way Izuku had, would have only seen him from afar at the USJ and at the mall. He didn't know whether to be relieved or horrified by her obliviousness to the imminent danger of the situation.

"Oh, uh, we were just saying hi!" he said, plastering on a nervous smile. "You know, just chatting about this and that. Nothing big." Shigaraki paused a few feet away, his head tilting to the side as he glanced at Uraraka.

"You were talking to a girl?" he muttered lowly, sounding almost contemplative, and a chilly horror crawled down Izuku's spine. No, no, don't pay attention to her!

"Izu?" Uraraka mumbled to herself, oblivious to Izuku's growing internal panic, and then freaking smiled at Shigaraki. "Oh! You must be really close friends, right?"

"He's my brother," Shigaraki scoffed, and this time Uraraka jolted, whirling to shoot Izuku an open-mouthed look of shock.

"You have a brother?" she blurted, and Izuku held back the urge to wince as he nodded.

"Y-yeah, I do," he said, and hastily continued, "A-anyways, it was nice talking to you, but I think we should go home. I still have homework to do, and I think Sh—Tomu-nii wants to play his new games with me first." He turned to Shigaraki with a strained smile, desperate to get him away from Uraraka as soon as possible. From the corner of his eye he noted Uraraka's face scrunch up slightly, obviously trying to place the name, and they needed to get away before she did.

"We need to go too," spoke up Suimin, almost catching him off-guard. The woman appeared behind Uraraka and put a hand on her shoulder, offering her student a small smile. (Was it just him, or did it look forced?) "We still have a few places I want to check out before the after-school rush hits."

"O-oh, I see... Um." She frowned, glancing at Izuku with obvious worry. "I-I guess I'll see you around, then?"

Please, please don't, he pleaded mentally. Being around him would put her in danger, and he couldn't put her through that. But externally he merely smiled weakly and nodded. "M-maybe. We'll just have to see, I guess. Bye, Uraraka-san."

With that he turned and quickly scurried over to Shigaraki, trying not to look back at her as he began speed-walking away. The villain's presence provided an ominous shadow as they walked, able to feel Shigaraki looking at him even as Izuku kept his own gaze on his feet. He tried not to pay it any attention, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

"Do you... like that NPC?" Shigaraki asked slowly, and Izuku nearly stumbled as he sucked in an almost squeaky-sounding breath.

"C-can we talk about something else please!?" he blurted desperately without thinking, inwardly cringing at how blatant his attempt to avoid the subject was. He risked a glance at the older male and found contemplative red eyes peering down at him from beneath the hood, uncomfortably reminding him of another encounter with the man in his own world.

Shigaraki gave a small hum, turning forward with an unreadable look. "I got some good games today. Did you ever play the first Siren's Call with me?"

Izuku relaxed slightly at the topic change, shaking his head. "If I did, I don't really remember," he replied honestly, relieved to be talking about something other than Uraraka. "What's it like?" He paid close attention as Shigaraki launched into a brief description of the game, just relieved to distract him from Uraraka. If all went well, Shigaraki would forget she existed and she'd never be in danger.

Of course, his life could never be that easy though.

Last time I asked people to guess the first big meeting. Literally no one on either site guessed it would be Izuku and Ochaco though.

This is one of those chapters I've had in mind from the start. Very happy with how it turned out. Yes, Shigaraki buys his games. He might be a villain, but he's also a gamer and he gets that the best way to guarantee his favorite game studios continue to make great games is for them to turn a profit.

Question for next time: who do you think will be the next member of Class 1-A to make an appearance?