Chapter 36

.::Not-so-Wild Goose Chase::.

"...I'm guessing that's not him?" Akai didn't even sound like she expected any other answer, her tone only one degree away from sarcasm.

"No," Shouto confirmed anyway, and the snake-headed girl hung her head with a groan. Next to them Asui gave a soft croak, tilting her head at the person walking out of the grocery store. They had an obvious peacock Quirk, complete with bright blue feathers and a ridiculously large fan of tail feathers that swept the snowy sidewalk behind them. As they walked to their car she pulled out her phone, and Shouto's burner soon dinged as she sent a message to the group text message.

'This lead's a bust. Peacock Quirk.' A few seconds later a message from Kouda appeared, a simple dog emoji that looked particularly sad. Above them a bird gave a single caw, making them glance up to watch it circle a few times before it began flying away. "Come on," Asui said out loud, putting her phone away. "We still have a few more leads, kero."

"Yeah, I guess," Akai said with a melodramatic huff as they started walking down the sidewalk. Shouto trailed behind silently, giving the group text a final glance before slipping his phone into his pocket. This made three leads so far that had all fizzled out.

Despite the disappointment, Shouto thought things in Odawara might be looking up. Telling the runaways about his situation had been intimidating, since he knew how crazy it sounded. The way they excused themselves to talk in private had felt particularly ominous. Instead though, they'd been surprisingly receptive, and even offered to help him look for Gentle Criminal and Tokoyami with the use of Kouda's birds.

The only rule had been that he couldn't tell anyone else about his situation since they'd probably think he was crazy—which, fair enough.

Shouto didn't know who else they told about his situation yet beyond the four people there that day and Shiozaki and Kouda, but he couldn't argue. Trust was a commodity to be earned, and he had yet to fully prove himself. All of the runaways were understandably paranoid, so it wouldn't be wise to push.

For that same reason, he decided not to mention he knew Asui, Ojiro and Kouda as classmates in his own world. Something told him that admitting to knowing their names would just freak them out and make them more paranoid, even if they believed him. He didn't know why, it was just a gut feeling. For now he'd just gratefully accept their help. Having six more people helping really reassured him, and made him feel like he was making a lot of progress.

Mainly because Kouda's Quirk let him use local birds to search large areas. Now if only the birds could identify Tokoyami.

"I'm still surprised the birds can't tell what kind of bird mutations people have," Asui commented. "I know they're not as smart as humans even if Rockfish can talk to them, but I thought they would at least be able to tell if someone has a black bird head."

"I thought they could at least tell people's ages," Shouto admitted with a mild frown. He hadn't worked with Kouda in-depth during training, but he'd gotten the impression the boy could get a lot more detailed information from the birds than he'd been given here. He figured it wouldn't take too long to find a teenage boy with a bird head, but Shiozaki had texted them a photo of a woman carrying a baby with a bird head.

"Birds are not always that smart," Akai said flatly. "Especially around here."

"Rockfish says most of the local birds think she's an old man," Asui added to Shouto, making the snake-headed girl shriek with frustration and cover her face.

"Don't tell him that!" she whined, and Shouto blinked. Huh, was she embarrassed? Probably. Hard to tell with a face like that.

"Birds don't pay very close attention to humans," Asui continued. "Rockfish can tell them what to look for, but they don't notice things like types of clothing or people's ages or genders. He says Quirks make it more confusing for them too, since it causes so much variation."

"Ah." Shouto nodded in understanding. He'd never really thought about the difference between animal and human intelligences, and Quirks did make things confusing. Come to think of it, he remembered Mineta whining about Kouda's pet rabbit thinking he was a child when he brought it to the common room one day. Something about him being so small compared to the rest of their class.

"Still," Akai said dryly, looking up at the bird that had been guiding them to the next lead. "You think they'd at least be able to tell if a bird is totally black. I still can't believe they called us out to check out a flamingo Quirk." Shouto hummed and nodded in agreement. They'd checked out three people so far today, and none of them checked out. He'd hoped it would go pretty fast with Kouda's help, but apparently he had no such luck.

"Thank you again for the help," he said as they joined a small crowd waiting at a pedestrian crossing. They'd refused to let him go searching alone, so he felt mildly bad for having them both tag along on a so far pointless search.

"It's no problem," Asui assured him. "We have a lot of free time anyway, kero. It can get boring sometimes." That surprised him, but he supposed it made sense. It's not like they had school or anything like that to occupy them.

Before the conversation could continue he felt a vibration in his pocket, and he pulled out his original cell phone with a frown. Another call from the mysterious "D," making his frown grow as he let it ring out. "Not gonna answer?" Akai asked, and he shrugged while turning off the phone.

"I think it's that villain I woke up with," he explained, and paused as he noticed the two girls come to a sudden halt. He wasn't completely sure, but he thought their eyes were a bit wider than usual.

"...What the actual hell?" Akai asked, and he frowned, suddenly feeling a bit apprehensive.

"I don't know. I keep getting calls from 'D' and his name's Dabi, so I'm assuming it's him." Asui just tipped her head to the side, her index finger touching her chin.

"Why would a villain call you, kero?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"I'm not sure."

"Forget that, why would you keep that phone!?" Akai hissed, and he blinked before finally just shrugging. She made a strangled sound of frustration, while Asui continued to look at him thoughtfully.

"You never said how you know he's a villain," she commented, and the unspoken question made Shouto frown as he averted his gaze. Memories of the training camp came rushing back, his hands clenching at his sides as he remembered Dabi's cold blue eyes.

"...He attacked my class in my own world. He was part of a big group of villains, and helped kidnap one of my friends." He and Bakugou were friends, right? They'd bonded a good deal during their remedial license classes, so he figured they were. "I don't know much about him, but he's a cold-blooded murderer."

When he looked back he found both girls staring at him almost blankly, though again, that might just be his difficulty in reading their expressions. "...Okay, back up," Akai said. "You think he's a villain because he's a villain in your world?"

Shouto blinked and nodded. "Yes," he replied simply, and Akai slapped a palm to her face.

"Seriously?" she grumbled under her breath, much to his confusion, before she pulled her hand away and asked, "Did this guy even talk to you?" Shouto paused, thinking back.

"...He said 'morning, Shouto-chan,'" he recalled.

"Was it, like, in a threatening tone or something? Like, he was standing in the door with an evil smile, being really condescending and mocking?"

This time he shook his head. "No, he'd just woken up too. He smirked when he said it though. That's when I froze him and ran." Once again the girls just stared at him, and he began to shift uncomfortably under their combined stares. He had the distinct feeling they were judging him for something, but he didn't know what.

"...Unbelievable," Akai finally said, heaving a large sigh as her shoulders slumped, while next to her Asui just gave a quiet croak.

"Do you actually know he's a villain here?" she asked, and the question made him pause, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"I... What? What do you mean?"

"You said Phantom Shadow is training to be a hero in your world, but here he works with Gentle Criminal," Asui pointed out. "So isn't it possible that Dabi might not be a villain in this world, kero?"

Shouto found himself struck speechless. That... had never occurred to him. Dabi had been so menacing, so obviously cruel and evil in his own world, that the possibility he might not be a villain in this one hadn't crossed his mind. He'd just assumed, since he still looked so... you know, villainous. Shouto knew he shouldn't judge by appearances alone, but that smirk had been pretty creepy looking.

When he didn't speak Asui gave another croak. "It's just strange that you'd have a phone with his number in it, kero. And that you woke up next to him, and that he keeps calling you."

"Yeah," Akai agreed with a nod. "It sounds more like maybe you two might've been traveling together or something."

Once again Shouto was blown away. That had definitely never occurred to him as even a remote possibility. The idea of willingly coexisting with Dabi, who had been so horrible and evil in his world—

"Do you think I'm a villain in this world?" he asked with growing horror. Had he been so repulsed by his father in this world that his counterpart had turned to villainy? Was that why he'd gone to such efforts to disguise himself?

"...No, I don't think so," Asui said before his thoughts could spiral further. "I think you probably just ran away because you didn't feel safe, kero. And we still don't know if Dabi actually is a villain, so it's a stretch to assume you're a villain because you might have traveled together."

"Yeah," Akai agreed with a nod. "And no offense, but you don't seem like you'd be a criminal mastermind, especially if... uh, other you is like, uh, you."

That awkward comment made Shouto finally start to relax, willing his thoughts to slow. He still didn't know much about his counterpart's life, but hearing she didn't think he or his counterpart was capable of villainy was reassuring. Though their experiences might be different, his other self was still a version of him. Surely they wouldn't be too different.

"Thank you," he told Akai earnestly, offering her a small smile. She just stared at him for a moment before sighing and muttering something under his breath he couldn't hear, which left him confused again. Once again, he felt like he'd missed something.

"If you were a villain, I think we'd have heard about you by now anyway," Asui added, drawing his attention back to her. "Your Quirk is very powerful and distinct, so I think you'd stand out. What is Dabi's Quirk, by the way?" Shouto paused, racking his memories for it.

"He can make blue fire," he responded. Once again the girls just stared at him, making him frown. "What?" The girls exchanged looks, seeming to communicate something.

"...Forget it," Akai said. "C'mon, we've wasted enough time. Let's go check the next lead." Shouto's face smoothed as he nodded, and the trio set off to resume following Kouda's bird.

Ochako stared at the laptop screen in shock, just processing Deku's message. Last night she and Deku had secretly made extra FacePage accounts to communicate beyond the burner phone Aiko promised to get her, wanting an extra way to talk without her knowing—especially about Aizawa-sensei. Thankfully Aiko didn't seem like the type to snoop in Deku's room or his laptop here.

About two hours after he left, Aiko went to the store to grab some stuff so Ochako used the chance to check it. She'd logged in to find a long string of messages waiting for her describing the latest situation with Aizawa-sensei, and just... wow. She cringed at how Shigaraki described him as a "pet," knowing their teacher would not like that.

'Kacchan and Hijack think telling him everything right off the bat won't be a good idea,' Deku wrote at the end. 'I mentioned maybe giving him the letter, but they said he'd probably think it was fake. What do you think?' Ochako grimaced as she mulled over it before typing her response.

'I think they're right. He's always been kinda naturally suspicious, and I don't think most people would believe you about the random amnesia thing.' While Deku didn't have the letter on him he'd described the contents to her, and it sounded pretty weird and unbelievable even to her. As an afterthought she added, 'And he doesn't know what you're like outside episodes, so that might just make him even MORE suspicious.'

She couldn't think of much else to add at the moment, so she pushed the chair back to turn to survey the room. She hadn't looked around too much last night because they had other priorities and she'd slept in a different room, but she was really curious because she'd recognized a poster for one of the Nabu heroes she'd found online. That made her realize that some of the merch would be for heroes exclusive to this world.

The thought made her vibrate with anticipation, and she hopped to her feet to begin looking at the merchandise real closely. Any information would be valuable, and even if she couldn't tell if they were just more obscure, it'd at least be good to confirm familiar heroes that might still be active. For example, she saw a poster for Present Mic's show, and also one for Fatgum, and that was useful to know, right?

Also, she was just curious. She'd never seen so much hero merch outside a store!

Ochako took her time perusing the posters and figures, keeping one ear open for a message notification from the still-open laptop. It didn't take long to realize the merchandise had been loosely organized, grouping rescue heroes in one area, people who regularly made the Top 10 in others, etc. As expected, some of the heroes were absolutely unfamiliar, but there were plenty more she knew.

At one point she stopped short at a corner with a seemingly random assortment of heroes, but a grouping she recognized instantly. It was all UA teachers. Nedzu, Power Loader, Snipe and Ectoplasm—there were a few others too that never taught their classes, but who she still recognized from seeing around campus. He even had one for Recovery Girl and Lunch Rush from some big disaster relief event.

The sight surprised her, and for a second she puzzled over the absence of teachers like Aizawa or Midnight. Okay, so maybe Aizawa-sensei wouldn't have merchandise, but Present Mic and Thirteen had some in other parts of the room. It was weird they weren't there. Then she realized these must be the teachers from before UA closed, and any traces of a good mood instantly vanished.

Right, UA didn't exist anymore in this world. The abrupt reminder made Ochako's heart sink, a pang of homesickness washing over her.

She spun sharply on her heel, searching the room for something else to distract herself. Soon enough her eyes lit up on a piece of paper on the wall, much smaller than the colorful posters, and what looked like... crayon? She approached curiously, confirming it to be a drawing just as she suspected.

Six figures stood there, more detailed than stick figures but still obviously drawn by a small child. Given this was Deku's room, he must have been the artist. The two largest ones had be his parents, judging by the woman's green hair and the man's much spikier hair. The smaller figure next to his mom with spiky green hair must be Deku. So it was a family portrait, then?

If it was, it didn't make sense though. Directly next to Izuku was another figure obviously meant to be a girl since it had a dress, drawn halfway between his height and his parents. That was all she could tell though, because a black crayon had been used to scribble over her. Beneath that Ochako could see multiple colors in the hair, and the one eye might be green...?

The sight confused her, because as far as she knew Deku was an only child. He'd never said so directly, but he had mentioned in the past that he usually spent holidays alone with his mom since his dad spent most of his time overseas for work. If he had a sister, surely it would have come up in conversation at some point, right? But even then, why would he scribble over someone?

Her frown only grew as she looked at the two figures on the mystery girl's other side. They looked different from the rest, obviously drawn later based on the slightly more advanced art style, but Deku still would have been young. One was another female, with black hair and dark blue eyes, while the other had a head of light blue hair and red eyes. He was shorter than the dark-haired female and scribbled-out girl, but still taller than Deku.

No matter how Ochako looked at it, those had to be Shigaraki and Aiko. He must have added them later after he started living with the Alliance, which meant other Deku had held onto the drawing even after running away. It kinda made sense, given everything that happened, but she felt just slightly weirded out by it.

Maybe it IS a family portrait after all...?

An electronic ding interrupted her thoughts, and she darted back to the laptop to find Deku had responded. 'You're probably right. I just passed on your message to Kacchan (he says hi by the way!), and he says the only reason he and Hijack trust me is because we interacted even before my latest episode. I guess they talked a bit after I left yesterday, and Hijack told him he would have thought I might change my mind about wanting to escape or have a totally different personality outside my episodes. Eraserhead doesn't know me at all so he might think the same way.'

Despite the grim nature of the message, Ochako's mouth twitched into a smile at the length. Even over text, Deku tended to ramble a lot. She could see three dots below the it showing he was typing something else, so she quickly typed up her own response before his ramble could continue.

'That sounds right to me. He's kind of a suspicious guy in general so telling him everything will probably make him feel like it's a trap. You just need to take it slow for now, and give him a chance to know the real Deku!' The typing notification vanished for several seconds after she hit send, and then reappeared for only a few seconds before a new message appeared.

'But who IS the real Deku?'

Her smile faded, her mood sinking once more. Ochako tried not to think about it much, but they still knew next to nothing about their counterparts. She still had no idea how other Ochako would feel about this whole runaway business, about everything that happened. All she could do was hope the other girl would understand once this was all sorted out.

For Deku it must be even worse though, because he lived with villains. No way was his counterpart totally squeaky-clean; even if he didn't participate in their activities, they must have rubbed off on him in some way. But even knowing that, she couldn't see him being mean or cruel like Shigaraki, or even affably evil like Kurogiri. When she tried to picture a villain Deku, it just... didn't compute.

He was just too inherently good.

She sucked in a sharp breath, steeling her nerves before she resumed typing. 'I don't know, but I can't see you EVER being a villain or evil or anything like that. And if Bakugou and Hijack trust you now even after meeting you outside episodes, then you must be good, right?'

Several long seconds passed after she hit send, and then the dots appeared again.

'I guess so. Thanks Uraraka.'

She broke into a beaming smile, and sent him a few happy emojis. After that Deku had to go talk to Shinsou again—he wasn't allowed to have his phone or laptop around him, though he'd been able to get away with it slightly with Bakugou—so they made plans to talk later after dinner. As Deku's profile went offline Ochako switched to another tab with the now very-familiar profile for Alien Queen Pink.

This was the other reason they made extra FacePage accounts. They knew this might very well be their Ashido, but Ochako couldn't message her from her Infinity Girl account now that heroes had gotten into it. They'd brainstormed how to get in touch with her and only her, and had spent a lot of time trying to figure out good usernames. They wanted their names to be obvious to other people from Class 1-A, but also not give away their actual identities if police or heroes found them.

Deku had it pretty easy, just using "Deku_Breaks_Bones" since any of their classmates would recognize that. Anyone searching for Deku would find it pretty fast. Ochako's had been a bit harder though, since most of the ideas involved her Quirk or her Hero name, which partially incorporated her real name. Ultimately they settled on "1-A_SpaceRescueHero" to reference her costume's space motif, her plans to be a rescue hero, and of course Class 1-A itself.

Now that she'd gotten an update from Deku about Aizawa-sensei, getting in touch with Ashido seemed more urgent than ever. She hovered over the friend request button and hit send before turning around and getting up. Ashido should be in class right now, so she decided to take another look at the hero merch.

Unknown to her, it would be several days before she finally got a reply.

Miles away in Kamino at that very moment, one Ashido Mina stared slack-jawed at a news article which showed photos of two vigilantes with 1-A emblazoned across their backs. As she stared at those costumes—so very similar to two costumes she knew very well—she felt her lips curl up in an almost manic grin.

She wasn't alone, there were at least two more people here.

And she needed to let them know ASAP.

To everyone who predicted Ashido would be the first one to find the 1-A Vigilantes: give yourself a cookie. The girl's basically on lockdown with nothing else to do but look on the internet, so it was only a matter of time. Also: I really love writing Todoroki interacting with the runaways. He's so oblivious to so many things.

Last time I asked if people would be willing to join a Discord server. Well, I got a few people who said they'd be willing to, so I made one! Can't link it on FF, but if you know how the discord links usually work (note: it usually has .gg, not .com at the end), the last part of it is 6WWwTXU. I look forward to seeing people there!

Question for next time: Besides Izuku, which alternate character would cause the most chaos if they showed up in the canon world?