Clouds block the sun as chilling air fills the area. Laughter can be heard down the street. Birds fly overhead as they sing to a humming tune. The tune is accompanied by slow heavy steps. A man lies injured by a dumpster awaiting his inevitable capture by the hands of his pursuer. His mask that had covered everything but his mouth was cracked in half. His arms and legs screamed all the while bleeding from the wound to his head.
"Gogota Mochizuki… Oh right you go by Doll Maker now," a voice called out to the man. "There's no use in hiding." Doll Maker narrowly moves out of the way as the dumpster he was next to was launched at him. "I know exactly where you are."
"Didn't take you long to find me. I've never won a game of hide and seek against you. Junichiro Nagai or should I call you by your new alias, Hysteria."
"You should have taken my warning and not gotten involved."
"Why fake your death! Why defect from being a hero! Didn't you want to be a hero for Sadako!" Doll Maker uses strings to pull himself out of the way as large metal beams fall from above.
"YOU DON'T GET TO SAY HER NAME! She died because of the increase of incompetent heroes!"
"Aren't you one of those incompetent heroes, Junichiro?! I blame myself every day because I froze when it really mattered, but the things you're doing. The people you associated with. Would she want this for you?"
"How would you know what Sadako would want? I agree I was an incompetent hero. If I was better she wouldn't have died. I tracked down those villains and you know what they've told me. They told me they only did it because those so-called heroes had planned it so that it could bolster their reputation. I of course went to confirm it and sure enough, it was true. And do you know what I did next?"
Doll Maker looks at Junichiro with disgust, "You really think she would support you killing people!"
"If she was still alive she would understand. I've seen the Hero Killer and his ideals just clicked. If we weeded out all the incompetent heroes, something like what happened to us would never have happened."
"I wasn't referring to Sadako." Doll Maker scoffs, "I was talking about your sister Maeko! She looked up to you. You were her hero. What would she think of you now if she sees you like this?"
"My sister? I see you've been grooming her to your liking. How has she been? She must have been devastated. Knowing her, if it weren't for you Maeko would be by my side right about now. She was the only one who knew that I was still alive. If she doesn't want to see things my way because of the things you told her… well, let's just say it's best if we never met again."
"What about your mom and dad? Would they—"
"Enough talk! Today you die!" Hysteria conjures throwing knives, sending them at Doll Maker.
"I guess I'll be taking my exit then," Doll Maker pulls on a string. The knives dig into him but Doll Maker turns into strings
"Don't think it would be that easy to escape!" A car then comes falling onto Doll Maker who was up on the roof. As the car and Doll Maker collide, Doll Maker turns into strings again, "Another doll? How many do you plan to make before giving up?"
"Until we meet again. And hopefully on better terms!" Hysteria looks up and sees Doll Maker attached himself with his strings to birds flying away. "Hope you enjoy my parting gift!" Hysteria looks down, noticing an explosive with a string attached to it. With a pull from Doll Maker, the explosive goes off.
Hysteria walks out of the dust patting the dust off his clothes. He looks back at the dumpster. "Three dolls was your limit Gogota," raising an open hand towards the dumpster then closing it the dumpster gets crushed with a red liquid oozing out of the cracks. "And with this, it's game over."
As the sun shines brightly. A soothing breeze to the sound of cars passing by. Cheerful laughter can be heard down the street. Birds fly overhead and they sing to a humming tune. The tune coming from the shadows of an alleyway. A man sits joyfully on top a dumpster waiting for his partner to arrive. His mask covered everything but his mouth.
"Doll Maker," a voice called out to the man.
"Ah, MeMo. You arrived later than usual," the man stopped humming, jumping down the dumpster.
"I had some processing I had to do."
"Really now? And just what could that be?"
The dumpster behind the man clang as a girl lands down on it, "That's none of your business."
The man turns to face the girl who also had a mask but this mask covered everything up until the eyes. "Come on, I come back after such a long trip and this is what I come back to."
The girl goes for a kick which the man easily dodges, "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were going to leave! And more importantly, why did you sell me out to that school."
"If I told you, you would have followed me and it wouldn't be a good thing."
"What wouldn't be that good, huh?" The girl jumps onto the ground swinging her fists at the man. "I went to that stupid school you wanted! But I didn't get into the hero course! Then I nearly died during their stupid sports festival!"
The man catches her fists, "I'm sorry I made you go through all of that, but it's for your own good. I don't want my friend's kid sister becoming a vigilante who is wanted by the government."
"And you aren't afraid that I will give them your personal information!?"
"No, I'm not afraid, because… Because they already know." The girl's eyes widened, strength in her arms waning. "They've known about us for a while now."
"Shut Up!" The girl yanks her hands free, "I already know this isn't the real you. It's just one of your stupid dolls."
"I knew this wasn't going to fool you. And believe me when I say I want to be there with you right now. But as the situation calls. It's a bit difficult for me to reach you."
The girl reached out her hand for a moment before retracting it and backing away, "Save your strength. You should have never contacted me again if you weren't going to be here in person."
"I know, but I have something important to tell you about your friend."
"Friend? What friend?"
"If she gets captured by the League of Villains they'll change her."
"They'll what?" Her question goes unanswered as the doll of Doll Maker comes undone.
I wake up unrestrained still in the white room. I built enough courage to stand but was immediately pulled back onto the chair. The same click sound goes off, "Sorry about that but just making sure. You are still in control right?"
"Yes, I am." The restraints come undone and the wall slides open. Aizawa stands on the other side.
"You've been out for a good couple of days. Feel any different?"
"It's more of not feeling different. Are you sure it's safe to unrestraint me?"
"If it weren't for a certain someone who wishes to remain anonymous. You would be in this room for a whole semester."
I wait for a moment to see if he would continue but he doesn't, "Ok so what now? Am I going somewhere or did you open the door to let in the fresh air?"
"It's good to see that you still have your sense of humor. We finished our exams for the summer camp training. You have a special exemption, so consider yourself lucky for being allowed to leave."
"Are you sure it's safe?"
"You don't have to keep asking that. As long as you don't strain yourself you should know that you will be in control. But before we continue are you feeling hungry?"
"No, why?"
"You haven't eaten or drank anything for days yet you don't have an appetite nor are you thirsty. To be safe, drink this." Aizawa tosses me something and I catch it seeing that it was a food pouch. "Now hurry, school is about to start."
I untwisted the lid and began drinking and to my surprise, I tasted vanilla. I stand back up and say, "Is this chocolate flavored?"
"The door will close if you don't hurry," Aizawa says as he walks away.
"Yes sir." I quickly walked behind Aizawa out of the white room. The hallway out was short and not much to see, at the end was an elevator. I was a bit hesitant to exit the elevator but when we got out I saw we were in the UA dorm. "I was in the UA dorm this entire time?"
"I did say you were going to stay at the UA dorm. Now take this and go change."
I looked at myself and had forgotten that I had a straight jacket on. I take the bag, "I'll be quick." There was a nearby restroom that I entered. Opening the bag I see my uniform. After I finished changing, Aizawa and I continued to the main building.
When we arrived outside of the room I was a bit nervous. I wonder how they would react. Aizawa halts me, "You have a thing for the dramatics right? Come inside when I call you. For now, stay there." The bell rings and Aizawa opens the door saying, "That's the bell. Be seated."
I hid behind the door as Aizawa entered, then closing the door I put my head against it to listen for the cue to enter. The class was silent as Aizawa began to speak, "Morning. About your final exam… Sadly we had some failures. As such… You're all going to summer training camp."
"WHAT A TWIST!" I hear Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sato cry out.
"Everyone cleared the written test. But in the practical… Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido, Sato, and Sero all failed. Including a certain someone who had been absent for a whole two weeks."
"Wait, we're really allowed to go?!" I hear Kirishima.
"As the villains in this test, we teachers came up with assignments perfectly suited to all of you. Ones that would give you chances to devise a winning strategy. If we hadn't, none of you would've stood a chance."
"So when you said you were going to crush us," I heard Ojiro.
"That was to push you… We are talking about training camp after all. More than anyone else those who failed are in dire need of this. This was another rational deception."
"Rational deception?!"
"We've been fooled again!" Ida spoke up, "I'd expect no less from UA. But…! Now that we've been lied to twice, aren't you worried that our faith in you has been shaken?"
"Perhaps, but consider the facts it wasn't entirely a lie. Failure is still failure. You six will receive special supplemental lessons. And to be honest, they'll be far worse than summer school. Anyway, I'll be handing out camp manuals. Take one and pass it back."
"Excuse me Aizawa Sensei, you said six. Did she also take the test?" I hear Izuku ask.
"Due to our analysis, if we had allowed your sister to participate with any one of you it would put them at a major advantage. So we decided to let her take a separate test. She wasn't the only one in the hero course who had to take a separate test. A student from class 1B also had to do one. Oh did I forget to mention that Akumi will be rejoining us now?"
That must be the cue to enter. I opened the door and everyone's reaction was the same. "H-hello, everyone. I'm back." There was silence. It felt like I was the new kid in class.
"Welcome back Akumi," Ashido shouts.
"You made a full recovery," I hear Uraraka.
"Glad to see you back," Yaoyorozu states.
"We've missed you," Tsuyu ribbits.
"How have you been," Hagakure asked.
"You made us worried," Jiro says.
I bowed my head down, "Sorry for being gone for so long."
"You were recovering so it couldn't be helped," Kirishima said.
"You can continue your little reunion after school. Take your seat Akumi. Class will resume as usual."
After class, I can feel like the entire class wants to ask what happened to me during the time I was away. But they gave me my space. "So who wants to know where I've been?"
"Phew. I thought you would never ask," said Ashido.
"I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say, we all want to know," Ida said.
"Even for Katsuki?" I looked over to Katsuki who was still sitting on his chair, turned away.
"Like I care where you've been. I'm waiting for you all to leave." Katsuki shouts.
"Everyone knows you care about Akumi just as much as the rest of us. You don't have to hide it, man," Kirishima said.
"Shut it hair-for-brains!"
I grip my hands together, "I'm going to be a bit truthful to everyone here."
"Wait, you're not going to talk about that, are you," Izuku asked.
"No of course not those things are super confidential. You know how much trouble I would be in if I told everyone here that?"
"R-right, I forgot. So what are you going to tell us?"
"Well you already know but it's the censored version. I want to apologize to all of you in advance."
"Apologize, what reason do you have to apologize?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"It's because I become a different person when using my quirk. I don't have control over it and like you guys saw during the sports festival. I sort of… did some things I shouldn't have done."
"Hey don't beat yourself up about that. I did that final attack on you which I shouldn't have done. If it wasn't for your friend intervening then both of us would not be in a good position." Said Todoroki.
"Yeah, but my injuries healed perfectly fine. Look not a single scar on me." I showed them my arms and pointed at my face. "For a normal person, burns from Todoroki would at least leave some scars. I'm pretty sure you have some scars from my attacks."
"I do but I heard that scars make a man more… manly."
Kaminari and Sero burst into laughter. Kirishima then pumps up his fist, "That's so true, man."
"Izuku's and Ida's scars on their arms. It serves as a reminder for something right?"
"Yes, but–"
"My quirk doesn't allow me to be like that. No scars are left behind as a reminder. And the more I use it the less control I have over myself. Almost like Tokoyami when he loses control of Dark Shadow. The difference is, it doesn't have an easy fix like with Dark Shadow."
"There must be a way to improve control over yourself. You can't just give up," said Uraraka.
"I'm not giving up. I only want to apologize if and when I lose complete control. I'll be counting on all of you to take me out."
"You talk as if you can't come back." Tokoyami comments. "If it's anything like my quirk wouldn't it be better to bring you to your senses."
"That might be a little hard with me trying to kill you if I do lose control. Not only that but I do things I never knew I could do. And the way I use my quirk is a bit different from how I would use it if I was in control. I might even say some stuff I shouldn't say."
"But during our fight when you aimed for my head it felt like you were able to resist to some extent. I would have been dead if those two shots had landed."
"That wasn't me. And that's all I can elaborate on. The rest of it I don't think I can get away with saying."
"Does that mean that when you were gone you were actually regaining control over yourself," Tsuyu asks.
"To put it in simple terms, yes."
"Then there you have it. If you lose control we'll just help you regain control."
"It's not as easy as it sounds. It's like my quirk has a mind of its own. As time goes on it gets harder to get control over it. I may have control of it right now but next time I lose control something tells me it might not be so easy to come back…"
"Hey don't be such a downer. I'm sure that we can figure something out."
"Well, I'm sure it will all turn out fine in the end. I'm never entirely wrong so… let's change topics." I tried to be more cheerful, "Enough about me and my worries. What should we do for our summer training camp? I haven't been to class for a while, so what did I miss?"
"Ah, that's right. You still haven't got to choose your hero name yet."
"Yeah, and you missed out on the hero agency internships."
"Oh. If we're on the topic of summer camp, I know! We're off tomorrow and tests are over so… How about we all go shopping together, class 1A?" Hagakure suggested.
"Good Idea! This'll be a first, come to think of it!"
"Hey, you coming to Bakugo!"
"No way in hell! What a waste of time."
"You gonna come, Todoroki?"
"I visit… someone on my days off."
"What's wrong with you guys? Try reading the mood once in a while." Mineta exclaims.
The door opens and out pops Youta on the other side. The look on his face was so serious as he walked over and hugged me, "You shouldn't be using that quirk of yours if you're so worried about losing control."
I see some of the class blush red as I spoke, "Youta… you're ok."
"Of course I am. I've been at death's door before but I'm not going to die anytime soon."
I hugged him back, "Thank you for not dying on me."
"I think I had enough of this melodrama." I hear Katsuki stomp out the door as he slams it shut.
Youta lets go of me, "Ah… sorry for coming in unannounced. I just couldn't help myself."
"It's fine, take your time. We were just finishing up our conversation. Come on guys, let's make like Bakugo and blow… out of here. We have some shopping to do tomorrow." Ashido said as she exited the room and everyone followed suit.
Izuku, Youta and I stayed in the room for a bit longer. "I wonder where Akari is?"
"We thought she was with you," Izuku said.
"Well if she wasn't with me and you guys haven't seen her, where could she be?"
"She still could be dealing with her family business. That is the only other thing I could think of if she wasn't with you," said Youta.
I sigh, "On a different topic. How's mom doing, Izuku?"
"Ever since you fell unconscious she's been worried about you. Then they didn't tell us where you were for a few days which made her worry even more. She's been doing better now but I can tell it's hard for her to sleep at night."
"Maybe I can visit her if I ask nicely?"
"You have only one get out of jail free card left. Either you choose to visit your mom or hang out with the rest of your classmates tomorrow." Aizawa said as he re-enters the room.
"When did I get a get out of jail free card?"
"It's already a risk to let you be out and about with the League of Villains around at any corner. We don't have time to babysit you for twenty-four hours while also being on guard of their next attack."
"Why do you have to babysit her? Is she a target of the League of Villains or something?" Youta asks.
"You should know a thing or two about confidentiality, Youta Okazaki. If you're that desperate to know, why don't I allow them to explain it to you." Aizawa points to Izuku and me.
"Wait so Youta is allowed to know?"
"Izuku already filled Youta with too much information about the current situation. So might as well tell him now rather than him bursting into a fit and making more problems for us down the road. His analytical mind is just as fast as his father so he would have found out one way or another."
"How much did you tell him Izuku?"
"Umm… Well… I only told him the story you told me that I'm allowed to tell him and you said you weren't going to tell anyone else so I thought maybe because you couldn't tell anyone else since you were missing so I told Youta and I wasn't told not to tell anyone so I took that as an ok thing to tell him and we ended up going into detail about the possibility of who you were and—"
"Izuku! We don't talk about those things in front of Akumi…"
"Kill two birds with one stone. Tomorrow, when we go shopping Izuku, can tell mom to come. When you go home today tell her I'm doing fine and everything is ok."
"Oh yeah, I forgot that was an option. Is that allowed?"
Aizawa sighs, "That's fine. But mind you, Akumi will only be able to leave campus for that day."
"So now we're here! This place has more shops than anywhere else in the prefecture. It's got the coolest and trendiest stuff. The Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall! You, with the six arms. Or even you with those big swollen calves. You'll find everything you need here! Stores have to do more than simply cater to body types that differ by quirks. They also need designs for all ages, from teens to seniors. No wonder this place draws so many customers."
"I missed that mutter box you have," I say.
"Oh! Aren't they those UA first years! Good going at the sports festival." A group of strangers calls out to us. Though they don't approach any closer.
"Whoa. People still remember that…?" said Uraraka.
"Well for some people it's kind of hard to forget…"
"I've got to find myself a giant duffle bag."
"Let's look together, then."
"I need some rugged outdoor shoes."
"Me too, Me too!"
I see Ida adjust his glasses, "Our Manual Recommends Well-Worn Foot Wear… Or, Ah… should we focus on utility instead?!"
"Where do you think they sell lock-picking equipment and hand drills?"
"Looks like we all need different stuff. Let's split up and meet back at a designated time!" Kirishima announced.
Everyone leaves either with someone or alone leaving only Izuku, Uraraka, and I. "They all went off in a hurry," Izuku states.
"How about you two? I'm looking for a couple of heavy wrist weights…"
"I need bug spray… Bug… Bug Spray!" Uraraka runs off.
"A-am I the bug…? Well, it's only you and me now. What did you plan on getting Akumi?"
"I was just going to follow one of you since I don't need anything. Oh yeah also where's mo—" Suddenly my heart began to beat faster. A cold sweat ran down my face as the area was beginning to suffocate me and the light slowly faded. A menacing aura was quickly closing in around me. I latched onto Izuku's hand trying to calm myself.
"Akumi? What's wrong?"
"It's—"
"Ohhh, Cool… The twins from UA! Can I get your autographs?" A shaggy, decrepit man with a black hoodie walked behind us and got between both of us with his arm over our shoulder. "You're the twins who both lost to the same guy in the sports festival right."
"Whoa… Y-yeah."
"Then during that business in Hosu, you ran into the hero killer. You're something else!"
"You sure know a lot about me…" Izuku said as my grip tightened.
"Man I can't believe it though, To think we'd meet again here! Can't help but think that something special's helped you come this far. Something like fate… or destiny maybe… Well, I guess for you two. We last met in that attack on UA. Let's get some tea and chat. Izuku and Akumi Midoriya." I wanted to pull Izuku away but my body wouldn't respond as the man gripped our necks, "Easy now we're going to act like we're a couple of old pals. No making a scene okay? Calm down and breathe naturally. I just wanna talk, that's all. So don't try anything funny. It'd be all too easy the second all five of my fingers touch your neck… Your throat would start crumbling from the skin inward… You'd turn to dust in under a minute."
"I-in a crowd like this…? Try that and the heroes will show up… They'll come and catch you…!"
"No doubt. But take a look. It's not just your life you should be thinking of. And your sister here, she's half scared to death already. And I haven't even done a thing to her." I finally looked at the man up close and noticed he hadn't even touched me. Then what is this presence I feel that has their hands on my neck?
"Talk about what…?"
"Hahaha… We might as well sit for this. Let's try to relax…" I held tightly onto Izuku's hand as we sat on a round bench. "I pretty much hate everyone and everything but right now, what really grinds my gears is the Hero Killer."
"Wasn't he working with you?"
"I never really agreed to that, even if society seems to think so. And that's my problem. Everyone's got their eye on the famed Hero Killer. Our attack on UA… The nomu I unleashed in Hosu… It's all been overshadowed by him. No one's noticing me. Why? He can stand all he wants but in the end… All he's doing is destroying what he hates. So what makes us different? Midoriya?"
"What makes you different…? I think. Well, I can't accept what you do… and I don't understand it. The Hero Killer… although I can't accept him, I do understand him. For both me and the Hero Killer. It all started with All Might. So at the very least… He's destructive, but he's doing it for a reason. It's not just for fun and games. His methods may be wrong… but I think he's at least trying to live by his ideals."
"Ahh… it's all so clear now. Feels like I've connected the dots about why the Hero Killer pisses me off so much. And why you're so damned irritating. I think I get it now. It's all cuz of All Might. Right… Right. That's the conclusion here. Man, what was I so hung up on anyway. The reason these fools can smile their lives… is because All Might's always got that grin on his face. Smiling wide as if to say… there's no one he can't save!"
I notice Shigaraki choking Izuku. This action made my left side boil. My fear was replaced with urgency. I let go of Izuku's hand and grabbed hold of Shigaraki's wrist and demanded, "Let go of my brother…"
"Ah, I almost forgot about the sister. Well since you've enlightened me about my problem I should let you in on a little secret about her. She's our little experiment gone rogue."
"Deku? A friend… No… Doesn't look like it…" We all look up and see Uraraka with Mrs. Midoriya. "Could you… get off him."
"Nothing, it's nothing! I'm fine so… Stay back…" Izuku shouts.
Shigaraki slips out of my grip as he puts on an innocent smile, "I didn't realize you came with more people. Sorry about that," he stands up and begins walking away. "Well, I'm off. You know what happens if you follow me."
Izuku coughs a bit before saying, "Wait… Shigaraki…! All For One… What's his goal?"
"Dunno. What you should worry about is meeting me again. Cuz that's when we reclaim our experiment and you'll die."
Fear starts to set back in as Shigaraki disappears into the crowd. Tears started to flow out from my eyes. The light came back and I could breathe normally again. It all happened so fast like I was in a trance as Uraraka called the police. The shopping mall was temporarily shut down. But in the end, Shigaraki escaped.
Later that day Izuku and I were taken into the police station where they interviewed us. Because of the attack on UA and the Hosu incident. The police response to the League of Villains was to establish a special task force working out of a provisional headquarters. Detective Tsukaguchi just so happens to be part of that task force. We gave him a description of Shigaraki and explained what he and Izuku talked about.
"Hmm. From what you've told me… it doesn't sound like this League is completely unified. However, they're still going after All Might… Anyway thanks for your help Midoriyas."
"Well… I mean, wish I could've stopped him… and ended it right there."
"Don't be stupid Izuku! If you had done anything you'd be dead. And I'd be a murderer!" My hand was on the table, tears welling in my eyes. "And did you hear him say that I was an experiment?"
"Most people would have panicked. But it was thanks to both of you that nobody got hurt."
"That's right Akumi. If you weren't there he might have choked me to death."
"No, Uraraka would have come back in time and he would have left all the same. All I did was make the situation more difficult for you! I was scared. I froze. I could have pulled you away but I couldn't move. He wasn't even touching me but I was choking from his presence alone."
"Akumi." Izuku gently held my hand. "You're my hero. And nothing they say will sway me from thinking otherwise."
"But—"
"No buts… Just trust me as I trust you."
"*Sniff* Fine. *Sniff* Just make sure you don't come to regret it." After my little display, it was time for us to leave. I held onto Izuku's hand as I walked behind him while being escorted out of the police station. This is shameful. I was an adult but I'm relying on my adolescent brother to protect me.
Exiting the rooms we see Izuku's coach. "Midoriya! Tsukauchi!"
"Coach," replied Izuku as we walked towards him.
"Izuku there's no need to use code names. Everyone here knows that he's All Might."
All Might chokes, "I didn't think you'd be so blunt, but thank goodness both of you are safe. So sorry I wasn't there to save you…" All Might said as he pats us on the head. When his hand touched my head it felt very warm. I guess this is why head pats are so comforting.
"No… All Might. Was there ever a time you really couldn't save someone…"
"Sure… plenty of—"
"If you wanted to know you could have just asked me. The short version is yes." I interrupt.
"Is what Shigaraki said still bugging you? He's probably just a sore loser."
From behind us, Mrs. Midoriya appears in tears. "Izuku, Akumi. Enough already. Your old mom's heart can't take it."
Tears fall out of my eyes as I go up to hug Mrs. Midoriya, "Mom! I was so scared." We cry into each other as Izuku joins in the hug.
"Sorry to intrude on this family reunion but Akumi will be coming with me," I looked to see that it was Aizawa. "I'm not being paid overtime for this…"
"Can't she stay with us for tonight? She had a rough day," said Mrs. Midoriya.
"That's more of a reason to not let her stay."
Going behind Izuku I held his hand once again, "Can I get one night at home. I promise not to lose control."
"Eraserhead cut her some slack. She hasn't been with her family for a while. I'll take responsibility if anything does happen." All Might says.
Eraserhead sighs heavily, "If anything happens responsibility isn't the only thing you should worry about." He walks away and mutters to himself, "A waste of time on my end that's all this is."