One for All: Hero for All -Hunt Or Be Hunted

by LazyWriter2003

Description is in the begining, Vigilante Izuku Midoryia, One for All, HPSC is corrupt and unjust, Major Cannon divergence, Izuku is number one hero and HPSC is having temper tantrum about it, All Might is good advisor, Eraserhead&Problem Children, Cannon typical violence, Planned ships, {only heterosexual realtionships}, Nezu is "secretly" insane, Izuku solos everything.

1. Shooting Stars

HUNT OR BE HUNTED VOLUME 1

AUTHOR:LAZYWRITER2003

Classical... I DO NOT OWN MY HERO ACADEMIA I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING I WROTE HERE. THIS STORY IS FOR PURE ENTERTAINMENT AND IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DO SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT YOU CAN TRY, AND I WILL NOT BE MAD.

What this story is about?

What if a boy without a power suddenly gets one, extremly dangerous one, one for all. What would he do when his dreams finally will come true but with a certain catch... that now he is hunted down by the most dangerous villain alive and that he cannot trust anybody, or else he might get them in danger too? On the other side trying to live a normal life with his mother Inko Midoriya that is suspicous of him being new number one hero.

Tags for you to understand more or less what this is about.

Important Characters:

Aizawa Shota | EraserHead, Izuku Midoriya | Deku, Katsuki Bakugo, Class 1-A, Himiko Toga, Toshinori Yagi | All Might, All for One, Tenko Shimura | Tomura Shigiraki, Sorahiko | Gran Torino, Mirai Sasaki | Sir Nighteye, Inko Midoriya

Relationships:

Izuku Midoriya/Himiko Toga Izuku Midoriya&Toshinori Yagi, Izuku Midoriya&Aizawa Shota, Katsuki Bakugo/consequences

Story Tags:

Vigilante Deku, Dead Toshinori Yagi, One for all being haunted by previous users, but its not like in canon, BAMF Izuku Midoriya, OP Izuku Midoriya, Mineta Minoru doesn't exist, Izuku Midoriya is not hero course student, Izuku Midoriya needs a hug, Izuku Midoriya hero name is not 'Deku'

Thats all for tags if you think there is more to add you can write it down to me in comments with your opinion about this fanfiction.

CHAPTER 1 SHOOTING STARS.

Izuku Midoriya was sitting on a park bench not far from his Aldera Junior High. He had a lot of thinking to do, or so he was saying to himself as an unhealthy coping mechanism. It's not like his ribs hurt or something. -Tsk!- Ahh, you Kacchan, it was only five minutes after school. He let his mind wander for a little while, and unfortunately, Kacchan took that as looking down on him. So here I am, sitting here, waiting for the throbbing pain to subside so I can return home and talk with my mom without raising any concerns. She already has too much on her plate. Her late hours working as a nurse in hospitals are not worth the pay she is getting. Sometimes she needs to stay so late that she returns almost tomorrow. But she is doing it for me. I need to get going, if not for myself, then for her. He looked around himself. There were people walking with children, dogs, or just teenagers on dates like usual. Everybody had something noticeable and special that he does not have.

A Qurik.

He does not have one, no matter how he tried. After that faithful day in Dr. Tsubasa's office, his life was like a dream, or more like a nightmare that he could not wake up from. Suddenly, people became mean, teachers less forgiving, and his mom... she treated him like he was some poor disabled puppy that needed assistance with everything. He clenched his fists. Then he remembered what he was doing and where he was. What was happening to him? That was the most important thought at this moment. This anger was unnatural to him, but he could not let go. And as it suddenly flared up, it disappeared as fast as it came.

He looked at the sky again to clear his mind. And his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

A shooting star, normally he would be jumping up and down and thought the wish, but now he didn't even wanted to think that, how many times did he actually wished for it? How much he begged for it? Or how much he prayed for it to every other deity on this sorry planet, that he cannot still count how many times he did that. but still... he sighed and thought about his wish, the only one he wanted. Then he heard gasps all around him.

What is happening? Villain attack or... Oh... is it just me or this shooting star is coming right at me.

Huh, must just be my imagination. Then I heard ear shattering scream of a woman behind me, she was pointing at something.

He craned his neck to look at what she was point but as he registered in his brain what it was it was already to late.

-Hunt or be hunted-

He woke up suddenly, but not in his bed. He was lying on the side of a broken bench, surrounded by tiles that were arranged like a house of cards. His ears were ringing, and he couldn't focus his sight no matter how hard he tried. He clenched his head in his hands and noticed that his nose was bleeding, probably due to a concussion. Looking around, he saw scattered debris and heard a distant throbbing, like the beat of a drum. No, it wasn't a drum; something was throwing punches that shook the air and created shockwaves the size of buildings across the park. Scrambling to his feet and holding his stomach, he felt nauseous but couldn't vomit. He was so numb that he didn't know how to for a moment, but then he did. After calming down his pounding headache, he realized where he actually was: in the middle of a crater that encompassed the entire park. In the center of the crater, two people were exchanging blows. It was a fight between a villain and a hero. He saw a man in exquisite attire. He was wearing a suit and a horrible black mask shaped like a skull with bellow various tubes were connected to eachother. His right arm was a dismorfed patches of skin, muscles, screws, red pulsing rocks and his knuckles had claws on ends. Even now he could not help himself and start analizing the battle that was happening before him, he on instinct materialized his notebook and started taking notes on the fight with furious mumbling.

-It certainly looks like some sort of mutation why does it looks so mushed together? It looks like the man has multiple quirks? No, thats foolish, but why does he flies with such a grace? He flew by a quirk? Then he sprouted suddenly second pair of legs? What? He is some sort of hybrid or... does his power is..-

His mumblings were cut short when he finally saw the other combatant fully emerge from the billowing clouds of smoke. It was...

-ALL MIGHT!- He exclaimed cheerfully like a child, and for a while, indeed, he was. But there was something wrong... it wasn't all right. His costume was torn in various places, and his legs were shaking, while the other man had only his arm slightly at an odd angle. He could not believe this; somebody was fighting on equal footing with All Might and even managed to tire him! All Might was gritting his teeth in frustration, not with his usual cocky smile, but with a rising fury. Meanwhile, the other didn't even look bothered by this titan standing before him; he was creating an aura of absolute confidence. They exchanged blows again, creating winds that knocked him off balance just by standing and witnessing this show of strength. The waves rocked the walls of the crater, creating an avalanche. Before he knew it, he was flying down onto a pile of rubble, straight into the fight between two titans.

-THIS IS THE END ALL FOR ONE! NO MORE I WILL STAND YOUR EVIL WAYS, THIS TIME I WILL FINISH IT!- All Might roared in unrestrained anger, while the other mask just cracked and slipped down revealing a blank space of scars vaguely resembling facial features. Izuku was staring at both of them with wide eyes, hearing everything. The suited man laughed wickedly yet elegantly with a blazing sun of confidence. -That does not sound very heroic, does it All Might? Look what you did to me last time we saw each other, I didn't even finish my coffee,- he said mockingly while dodging All Might's punch to the gut, shifting and landing back with the grace of a performer or a supervillain from the comics before the age of quirks. -Tsk! Tsk! And now a kid is watching us down there, that is not very heroic, mind you. Did you kiss your mother with that mouth of yours?- His smile looked like the baring fangs of a horrible beast.

All might for a while shortcircuited in his brain and he barely registered what he said and peeked down behind him to see. Indeed there is a child.

He gave Izuku a reassuring nod, and after that, he charged at All for One once again. But this time, it was less fierce. All Might visibly was trying to pull his punches in such a way so Izuku wouldn't turn into cat food every time he created shockwaves with his fists. Izuku quickly picked up on All Might holding back and scrambled away. Or tried to, but when a piercing pain rocked his shoulder, he couldn't do anything else but shriek like mad. He got pulled up, and he briefly saw how the second seemingly limp limb of All for One transformed into a hook and pulled him towards himself with a pure evil grin on his face. His eyes widened. He could not be doing it, not like that. He would not be a Deku any longer. He could not stand it if he became dead weight even to his idol. His eyes started to get foggy again, so he closed them to force himself to focus. Before he realized it, he was being held like a puppy by the neck of probably the most powerful villain that ever lived. Nobody goes toe to toe with All Might and lives to tell the tale, let alone mock him while doing it. It all felt like a fever dream. He was being held by someone, and All Might was in front of him, battered and bleeding but still defiantly standing. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare, but he couldn't. He had been trying to do so for 10 years straight. It was logical that he couldn't escape. His body was held limply by the villain, as if he were holding a red blanket to confuse a bull. He could see, from the corners of his vision, how the villain was grinning like a devil at the hero's inability to take action. For a while, he sees Kacchan and his red eyes glaring at him. He thinks this is the end for him, like every time he wakes up after his daily bullying session. But instead of fear, he feels fury. He does not know where he found this new feeling, but it's burning him inside out. Before he has time to think, his arm reaches for a seemingly important tube that leads to the villain's throat and rips it out. He releases a strangled gasp and drops him on the ground, completely taken off guard. This gives All Might an opening. He takes a squat, folding his posture like a spring, and releases, causing the earth to crack around him and creating a powerful gust of wind. His fist is glowing with yellow energy. Izuku watches everything in slow motion, probably due to his brain damage and the monstrous amounts of adrenaline he produced from stress. This is it. All Might's finishing move. -UNITED...- All Might begins, but as he starts, the other seemingly mangled arm suddenly regenerates and transforms into a mass of muscles mixed with familiar glowing stones, spikes, and rotating screws. His eyes widen.-STATES...- He continues painfully slowly. His signature All Might smile is here, seemingly blinding the sun itself.-OF SMASH!- He screams, and an explosion ripples through the villain's torso, shattering it into a billion pieces. The blood is creating beautiful stains in the air meanwhile abomination of quirks does the same to All Might's unguarded side.

Everything goes white for a while.

-Hunt or be hunted-

The world is gray with a cloud of debris flying around. He coughs and blinks. He looks around for a while and sees that his body is mostly intact. He lies between jagged roots of a tree and pieces of a park memorial. If he had landed an arm's length away from where he did, he would surely be less responsive. At the thought of being impaled by the sharp-looking roots, he sits up and his mind comes to understand where he is right now. -All Might!- he rasps out, falling into another fit of coughing. His throat feels like gravel and his eyes are irritated by the still-moving particles. He stumbles on himself, trying to stand up, and ends up crawling on his elbows and knees. Making one awkward and shaky move at a time, he finally crawls close enough to both of them to see what is happening. And he gags. First, his vision is met with a splattered villain on the fresh crater in the earth. His lower body is dislocated from his upper body and is only held together by a string of testicles. His potato-like face is even more haunting than before. Despite his dislocated legs, they continue to twitch and move. He tries to crawl out of there as fast as he can and reach the other side of the crater.

Wind flows for a while creating an opening for him to see.

He screams but he cannot hear his voice. He founds some untapped strenght inside himself and runs on his legs towards All Might side or what was left of him.

He blinks and wipes his eyes with his arms.

But the scene he is seeing doesn't change. All Might is laying there in a pool of his own to say something to him. But he cannot hear him. He scrambles toward him and holds his hand. Yeah this is stupid, hold someone hand will surely help someone with half of their body missing. All Might is still similing thorugh his pain and blood, he holds his stomach or rather nothing in the place of it. Other hand is soothly holding his back and making shaky circles to calm him down. He finaly can hear him saying something. -My quirk... Is passable to someone else. Please take it my boy. And take my place when I will be gone.- He tells him. The beeping is still in his ear, but the sentences he hear are more unbeliable than anything else that is happening. Passable? What? A quirk? He cannot fully comprehend what is going on, and his thousand-yard stare is drilling into All Might's side. He lifts up his bloodied hand that was holding his nonexistent stomach. -Drink it,- he says, and Izuku looks at him numbly. -Please,- he adds, almost begging him. He doesn't know why, but he listens and drinks and drinks. He wants to puke after a while and tries not to. He does not want All Might to be disappointed in him like everyone else. But when he looks back, he sees a skeleton of a man with a blank expression on his face. Unmoving. This image deeply drills into his mind. And he gets up and just starts walking. He doesn't know why he is walking, but his legs just start carrying him. He grabs protruding various debris and just climbs up. He has had very close encounters in the forest when Bakugo and his goons dropped him in one of sinkholes like that, and he needed to crawl out on his own many times. So he partially knew what he was doing. He carefully grabbed roots and lifted himself up, not revealing anything until he found another stable climbing spot. He didn't know why he was doing that. His mind was blank. Before he realized it, he was out of the collapsed park. He looked around and saw only smoke for a while from the still present crater. His gaze shifted to himself, to his torn sneakers with his toes sticking out, and jeans that had more holes in them than last time. And his bloodied T-shirt with the word "T-Shirt" imprinted on it. He again returned to the moment All Might died and he was just standing there dazed, not even approaching sirens brought him out of his trance. And when the paramedics found him, they just pushed him onto the stretcher and placed him inside the white interior of the ambulance. But even that faded the only thing left were dancing lights in his vision that were slowly extinguishing. But he stayed awake. Something didn't let him sleep. He sweared he could see small green lightning on the corners of his sight.
-Hunt or be hunted-

Izuku Midoriya was in a dark void. He was confused for a moment and, not knowing what to do, he took a look at himself. He was entirely covered from head to toe in a greenish fog-like substance. Additionally, he felt like he could only see out of one eye. He felt a deep sense of wrongness; he didn't suppose to be here. -Am I dead?- he mumbled to himself, and to his surprise, he was oddly calm about that revelation. He felt like something was coming towards him, but he could not pinpoint exactly where. For a while, he just stood there, looking around and trying to catch that feeling of being watched, but mostly unsuccessfully. Mostly, because he felt like something was tugging at the corner of his eye, and every time he looked at it, it moved just at the corner of his vision. It was extremely annoying and he was losing his patience. Annoyance? When he thought about that, he had been very patient in his entire life, waiting for some friends to show up, waiting for his quirk to manifest, waiting for help... but it never came. And just now, he was feeling all of those bundled up emotions rising inside his chest. It was rightful anger. Anger directed at this cruel world, how it treated him, how it emotionally maimed him... But before he could go on another spiral of self- loathing and hatred, someone spoke.

-For your own good, you would not like to go down that path.- somebody said behind him. But when he spun around, nobody was there. Was he hearing things? He didn't know it was this bad for him. He is in some sort of delirium or worse; he needs to get out of here before it gets out of hand. -For some reason, you greatly remind me of myself and my own brother.- someone said again behind him, but once again, when he moved around, there was no one.

Then he tried to speak, but a muffled TV static noise came out of his mouth instead of his voice. He could not hear himself, but he felt like the person on the other side understood his question.

-Where am I? Please, sir? - He said in his normal timid voice that everybody knew him for. Someone chuckled in amusement. He didn't move this time, knowing it was futile. He just stood still, waiting for this weird dream to end.

-Hunt or be hunted-

-And what do you think about him?- asked the character, drenched in bright green substance, while looking at the white flaming one that was standing. From what his eyes conveyed, he was deep in contemplation.
-He needs proper guidance, too little and he will end up like my brother, or too much and it will all end up like what Toshinori caused.- The white flaming one said after a while. Behind him materialized a golden crystallized skeleton-like man who looked guilty for some reason. Or maybe he was just so done with everything, or maybe both.

-Do you...,- the skeleton man in yellow began but could not finish his sentence because of his overwhelming guilt or maybe simple awkwardness since he cannot hide behind his mighty form anymore. He scratched his neck and looked upwards at nothing, well mainly because they were surrounded by nothing.-...You think that was my fault? I mean, what I saw... we all saw in this boy's head. All of those memories...- Toshinori's voice was shaky and strained with guilt. He was quirkless too back then, how did he not see that? Was it really that terrible? Was all his work, this pillar and society that he has built, just a rotten shell with people walking wearing blindfolds just so they do not see what they have done? What has he done? All of those people, mutants, quirkless individuals, and people with "villainous quirks" are bullied simply because of things that are beyond their control? And he believed that everything was alright when he was alive. But when he died and entered this boy's head and saw everything, he didn't even have time to process everything and be happy about being together with his mentor, because she would be so disgusted by what he had done.

But before Toshinori could went into another spiral of self loathing somebody placed a hand on his shoulder. He recognized that gloved hand.

- It is not your fault...- she said behind him, her voice soothing him a little. This woman was like a mother to him, yet he could not bring himself to be excited or happy. He just couldn't, after everything he saw. This boy was a true miracle; he hadn't turned into a villain already.-... And if it is, it is also mine. It didn't happen day by day, don't you think, Toshi?-She she asked, coming from behind him and looking him in the eyes. He averted his gaze for a while.

Then their eyes connected, and Toshinori shed tears of happiness upon seeing his mentor again after such a long time. It was a serene and beautiful moment, well, until a bald man abruptly inserted himself between them and stood upright.

-And that is why Japan is such a mess, Nana. You spoil these brats so much that they turn this shithole upside down even more. No, you shut up this time! I remember even in my times, mutants and quirkless discrimination was visible and obvious. But as soon as it was seen, there were consequences. Then you arrived, you know I also watched your life too, Shimura. And I know what I saw. It all progressively got worse with every generation, yet there was nothing that we could do about it. And when you were a pro hero, you didn't do shit! So own up to it and don't sugarcoat it. The reason this kid is so fucked up is both your fault, and no amount of hugging and happy tears will change that.-He spitted out his tirade throwing his whips around and pointing his fingers at them while making them both look as miserable as kicked puppy.

-And why didn't you did something about it? You were alive there too!- Nana protested but bald man cut her off.

-I was a vigilante! A vi-gi-lan-te! I couldn't do anything about the government and their policies, meanwhile you actually formed some laws, and don't deny it too, toothpick man!- Spit flew from his mouth as he continued his tirade, verbally mauling both heroes like a pitbull named Princess would do to a toddler.

-But later you were a Pro Hero and still didn't did a thing!- Nana pointed at him looking more like a child that found loophole in the adults reasoning. Bald man just sighed and took a sit on a chair that for some unknown reason just appeared when he took a seat.

-Ladies, ladies, calm down we all know you are pretty.- Said the dark red unmoving shadow, that just appeared behind them, he had a posture that screamed "I do not care at all" yet he probably said that just to shut them up, he and light green one seemed to be a types of person that enjoyed silence. He somehow was leaning on an invisible wall of nothingness.

White flaming one finally breaked out of his thoughts and shaked his head in resignation.-I didn't analized enough information to give judgement yet, this boy is seriously troubled, and what is worse, I see he gives signs of breaking. If nobody helps him he will help himself, probably turning himself rogue.-White flaming one said with iron certainity.

Bald headed one whipped his head towards him spining on his chair.-Yeah? And why do you so sure about that?- He asked without a hint of mockery, he was more curious what could be seen from his one raised his nonextistent eyebrow. He patted around his pants and somehow grabbed out of them pack of cigarets, he took one and lighted it with lighter that disappeared to nothingness as soon as he threw it out.

-I have seen all of your lives and experiences. Being stuck in someone else's head can really give you a good perspective on life, you know? Since this is the eighth head that I am in, not counting mine when I was alive.-He he said matter-of-factly, as if stating the obvious. When he looked around the "room," he saw troubled expressions on everybody's faces and he sighed.- "What I have in mind is going rogue. I don't think he will become a villain; he has too pure a heart for that. But, as I said, even a pure heart can be damaged beyond repair and can lose faith in heroes. Trust me, I have seen it too many times already.- he said in a somber tone, carefully choosing his words. He succeeded in doing so, judging by the more relaxed postures of his successors.

Then a serious mood was stopped by one occurence.

-Wait... are you chewing something?-White flamed one asked bald man that looked around confused with some jellies halfway towards his mouth.-WE ARE ABLE TO CONJURE FOOD AND YOU DIDN'T TOLD ME?! I WAS STARVING HERE FOR 100 YEARS!-He screeched and tackled poor bald man to the floor with strangled "yelp"-I am gonna beat your ass!-He hissed thorugh gritted teeth while holding him by his legs in chokehold. Everybody surrounded them and started betting.

-Is it always like that?- Asked Toshinori.

-Always- Nana answered with a sly grin.

-Hunt or be hunted-

-He was unresponsive for almost two hours, but as soon as we entered the assigned hospital room, he seemed to return to his senses. His injuries varied, with normal bruises and cuts, and now a terrible piercing wound located in his arm. This was accompanied by a mild concussion. For now, everything is supposed to be fine, so yes, I will allow you entry, Mrs. Midoriya.- somebody said.

His body felt heavy like a brick, and his eyes were still burning from the scenes he witnessed. He wanted to move and do something, yet his mind and body refused his orders, and he remained lying in the hospital bed. The tragedy from before rolled before his eyes in constant replay. He saw how his idol took his last breath. He tried closing his eyes, but when he did, the scenes became even more vivid. Somebody was hugging him, and he felt like a waterfall coated him. Is he in the shower? Oh, right, it's his mom and her signature Midoriya tears. Seriously, her tears are becoming so unnatural. Maybe it is the doing of a quirk? Or vestiges of one? No, he seriously should stop doing that. Now he is using analysis to cope with the situation. Well, it always was like that. His analysis, in some way, was his method of coping with his lack of quirk.

Before he could start to fall into another spiral of thoughts he was squizzed like a lemon in a bear hug by his mother.

-It's all right mom, everything will be all right.- He said trying to sooth his troubled mother. And that didn't helped him at all.

-Izuku my baby! I was so worried! Why do you need to found yourself in those situations.-

He guessed what kind of situations she was having on her mind, or rather those that he never told her: burned up arms, sprained ankle, or just naturally bruised, red and blue. Yeah, completely natural for someone who is completely defenseless, who is Deku... He clenched his fists; he hated this weakness, he hated being everyone else's chew toy, he hated being treated like he was made of glass. That is also the reason for his outburst that he instantly went to regret.

-I am all right, Mom! If you just leave me alone for a second, it doesn't mean I will melt. I am not made out of sugar!- He sat up with balled-up fists in rage, but when he saw his mother's worried and teary expression, he instantly deflated... he deflated? He felt like something was rising from him. Is this steam? He must be daydreaming. Yeah, he probably got his head hurt too many times.-I-I mean, I'm s-sorry, Mom. I will try to do better.- he said with his head lowered, and his mother embraced him once again.

-Its good Izuku, Everybody is sometimes angry.- She said calming him down.

He remained like that for a while with his mother clutching him in her embrace, and he stared into the wall before him. Just what is happening to him? Why did he do that? Where do those emotions come from? He does not know if he wants to find out.

-Hunt or be hunted-

It was a lazy and ordinary day in his classroom. He had been thrown around by his classmate with the air manipulation quirk at least seven times by now. The only thing the teacher said was for him to return to his seat, which was quite normal. After being tossed around, Kacchan thought it would be a good idea to blow up his school desk, and it ended up folding in two. Luckily, he still had some quirk glue in his hair from the glue kid in the previous class, so he could repair it just fine. If the teacher didn't see this, he wouldn't have to pay for it either. He also remembered on his 12th birthday when Kacchan blew him out of the window on the first floor. He was lucky that there were bushes underneath, but it was worse because his mom was called to the school. Hmm? Are they speaking about something? He tuned himself out to hear what they were actually talking about.

-Shut up, extras! The only one who is going to be a hero from this good-for-nothing school will be me! You might later become some shitty sidekicks to the real deal like me!- communicated a voice that he knew too much for too long.

-Ahh, Kacchan you never change...- He slipped and accidentaly said it to loud.

Kacchan froze with the entire class doing the same. Well, I guess I am dead, he shrugged inside his own head. Then he slowly moved around like some statue in horror movies that Auntie Mitsuki loves to watch sometimes. Somebody whistled, others just shuffled around, and the teacher miraculously disappeared from existence just like that..

-Yeah? And what do you, a shitty Deku like you, know about me? - He came down from his elevated position, which Izuku just noticed was his own desk. Izuku started sweating and mumbling nonsensically, trying to come up with an answer. His desperate mumbling was abruptly cut short by a hand slamming down, crackling with explosives.

-Oh and what is that?- He picked up HIS notebook with hero analisis no 12. He standed up suddenly.

-N-no! K-Kacchan give it b-back! I-it is very i-important to m-me!-Izuku stutters for naught and Katsuki just laughs while holding it.

He opened the window and sat, looking at the title of his notebook. title.-Hero analysis for the future?- he snarled -What is wrong with you, you shitty nerd? A quirkless loser like you will never become a hero! Get this through your tiny brain!- He he shouted and growled aggressively. For a while, he stood with his palm outstretched, and Izuku instinctively covered his head. Then Katsuki sneered and withdrew his hand from the window. -But I have some advice for you...- he began. Izuku just looked between his precious notebook and Katsuki's face.-...If you want a quirk so badly, you can take a swan dive off the roof and pray for it in the next life!- he finished. Izuku just stared, with many thoughts going through his mind. Did he really just say that? What the hell is wrong with him?

-Good, now can you give me back my notebook- Izuku just states emotionelessly. For a while Katsuki is suprised by his blase behaviour and shooks his head.

-No.- Katsuki just says and blows his notebook to kingdom come or somewhere far away. Izuku almost goes after it but catches himself midway. He will not give this jerk any satisfaction. For a while, he just stares with hatred in his eyes and, unknowingly releasing for the first time in his life a wave of killing intent. Katsuki freezes, then robotically Izuku just leaves with the ringing announcing the end of a lesson.

-Hunt or be hunted-

-Wow you felt that, that was odd.- One of the Katsuki goons just says while catching his breath.-Yeah what the hell that feeling was coming from?-thug with long fingers asks. The third one just spins around in his wings on the floor.-T-that was s-car-ry. -He says looking more like a baby with wings.

Bakugo after a while, wakes up from his stupor.

-Shut it, you shitty extras!- Bakugo snarls. What was that? Did some shitty extra use an intimidation quirk on him? When he finds them, he will kill them and blast them to kingdom come, and then kill them again. His fingers twitch and miniature explosions pop up in the air.-Whatever it was, it's gone for now. Maybe if we go fast enough, we'll find shitty Deku and beat his stupid ideas out of him.- His goons sneered and jeered as he launched himself with his explosions, knocking out everything in his way like bowling pins, including his goons.

-Hunt or be hunted-

He sighed. - What if I were to go on your advice, you moron? What would you do then? - He grumbled, not really paying attention to what he was talking about and just mumbling to himself. He looked at the state his notebook was in; it was all burned to a crisp on all sides and the pages inside were glued together by the water. All of his work that he had worked on for 6 months was gone. It didn't matter that he remembered everything that he had written there to the last word; it was still a loss that he didn't know how he would recover from. But he always did, no matter what they did to him. His legs just carried him around and he walked wherever, he just wanted to clear his head a little. Unknowingly, he marched to the place he seriously didn't want to be right now. It was a park, but not just any park. It was surrounded by metal construction sheets on all sides, and just before those sheets was a large garden of flowers. No, it wasn't just a garden; it was a memorial. A memorial for that fateful day when his favorite hero sacrificed his life to stop the most despicable villain in history. The entire scene was filled with flowers, burning candles, crosses, and symbols of different religions. In one corner, there was even a figurine of a cat with a moving paw. He didn't want to stay here any longer. It is enough he comes here every sunday.

He just wanted to forget. Just next to the memorial was a poster featuring the new number one hero, Endeavor. He was nothing like All Might; he was self-centered, easy to annoy, he didn't give any autographs or visit any rehabilitation centers or anything. The best he did was visit a commercial that promoted a toothbrush, although their sales plummeted to rock bottom after that. Though Endeavor is the number one hero, he is still despised by the public by a wide margin, including Izuku. He came down to the poster with Endeavor wearing his constant scowl, ripped it out, and placed it in a nearby trash bin. That's when Katsuki and his goons appeared from behind the corner.

- Hey! Nerd! I didn't finish with you.- - Katsuki screams after him, with his goons running up like wolves after the pack leader. And one of them, Tsubasa to be exact, tumbles to the ground, landing on his face. Seriously, this idiot has had this quirk his whole life and still he cannot fly. If he is a loser and a Deku, then what does it make Tsubasa, to be exact, if he has a quirk and can't use it? Izuku snickers at that.

-But I did, not here Kacchan, this is not the place for fights right now.- He says in a cold voice, surprising them and mainly himself. Katsuki opens and closes his mouth like a coy fish in astonishment. Nobody in his life has talked to him like that. He clenches his fists and releases them with pops of explosions, and suddenly launches himself at Izuku. He makes Izuku fall flat on the ground, and his face is expressionless.

Katsuki is screaming something at him, but he predicts what he is saying more or less, considering that his common vocabulary revolves around "shitty," "extra," "Deku," "looking down on me," and "Nerd." Basically, you can predict 90% of what Katsuki normally says with just these words. You don't need anything else to understand him. He is a simple, down-to-earth person: he beats the shit out of you, snarls, gives you a weird nickname, goes ape shit if he doesn't get appropriate attention, or if your response is not to his liking. And you don't need to know more about him. That's the essence of Katsuki Bakugo. Bakugo's explosion crackles, waking him up from his thoughts.

-What do you think you shitty Deku! That you can look down on me?! Answer me when I am talking to you!- He snarls.

- Kacchan, it is not the right place to discuss things. All Might died there. - Izuku states matter-of-factly. For a moment, Katsuki gazes down at Izuku from his position above him, then bursts into laughter, quite literally exploding as well.

- Ha! You think some shitty extra memorial is going to stop me? What is he going to do? He is dead! Not like Endeavor or anyone else! - He goes on a tirade. But Izuku can't hear anything past All Might at this point. Does he really think like that? When heroes die, do they become extras for him too? Even his favorite ones? I knew something changed inside him after All Might's death, but I never thought that somebody with a screw loose can fall even further. His screws are no longer just loose, they fell out a long time ago.

Before he realizes, he is beaten again, red and blue, and he just stays like that, lying in front of the memorial of his dead idol. -I am sorry, All Might..- he chokes out and sobs, while clouds release thundering sounds. After a while, his bloodied and bruised face is struck by an increasing number of water droplets.-...I can't be a hero like you.- He gets up and moves slowly from the memorial, completely unaware of a masked individual. He places some Oriental lilies in front of a sea of flowers that are in front of this memorial. Then he follows.

-Hunt or be hunted-

Iwao Oguro wasn't a person who was easily impressed. If somebody asked him what he valued most in his line of work, he would say it's a good brawl. Of course, he did all of that to stop villains! It's not like he gains some sick pleasure from beating people! No... maybe he gains some enjoyment from that, but if you don't enjoy it, where is the sense in doing something? Well, there is always his second reason: his wife and daughter. Sometimes he thinks all of this fighting for justice caused him gray hair. Well, when he looks down on puddles, he really has grey hair now. He winces. But what captured his interest today wasn't a villain, well maybe it was, but in the making. But still, there was something there, and he watched the scene unfold before him.

He leaned against the wall and silently observed how some angry Pomeranian kid beat up some cinnamon roll in the middle of the memorial, while some goons jeered all around the scene. His eyebrows lifted in amusement when he saw one of the goons go unconscious as he lifted himself with his wings and plummeted to the ground from the excitement that this brutal beating provided to him. After some yelling and spitting on the victim, the vultures walked away from the scene. The clouds gathered above them, darkened, and rain started pouring from the sky. For a while, he thought about calling an ambulance for the kid, but what he saw shocked him. The kid, after such a beating, just got up and started walking like nothing happened. He almost let out an amused laugh at that. That kid shows some potential. If his back wasn't so achy from old pain, he would offer to train him. But now, he just wants to follow this kid to make sure he gets home in one piece.

So he left his flowers on the memorial and followed up as a tail.

-Hunt or be hunted-

His eyes were bloodshot, and one of them was shut closed from the bruise under his left eye. If anything, Izuku wasn't feeling good. It had been a long day, but today Katsuki had lost all of his reasoning. What was he even going to tell his mother? That he fell under a car or something? Well, it sure looked like it. With painful steps, he moved around, unsure if his ribs were broken or not. He just shuffled along, dragging his leg behind him to avoid straining it. Now he was in the shadier part of Mustafu, and he almost gasped when he heard a scream. He stopped his movements.-No..-My my brain says no, my legs say no, my arms beg me to rethink what I am about to do. But I can't when my heart tells me to run and help. So I pick up a nearby pebble and shuffle along to the alley, scanning it with my one working eye.

Before him is a woman wearing a short skirt and an overall very revealing outfit. Somebody might say she asked for it by coming to such places, but he knew that was victim-blaming. This poor woman probably was one of those who engage in promiscuous behavior, but regardless of her profession, nobody deserves such a fate. The man standing before her has a visible shark mutation. He is wearing working overalls, and a fin sprouts from his bare back. On the sides of his head, he has two hateful eyes that glare forward. He probably can't see her with this mutation; his vision is better than that of normal humans, but he likely has a blind spot in front of his head. His hands also resemble fins, which may assist him in swimming.

-Damn it, stop analyzing!- He mutters to himself like an insane person, but he is too tired to care about that.

So he does what a normal person would do, calls for heroes or police and waits for help or... Wait, no, he is going to do something stupid.

Naturally he swings his arm and thorws a pebble earlier. The fragment of pavement sails through the air and...

It's a bullseye, literally. He hits Shark Man right in the eye. He roars in pain, and the woman beneath him kicks him in the balls and escapes. He can't make out her features, but from what he sees, she gives him a thankful look and a bit worried one. But she sprints out with impressive speed out of the alley, running through the other end. He feels a warm feeling open up in his chest. He actually saved someone. He, worthless Deku, did something that made them smile and live another day unharmed. He closes his eyes, and a guttural roar wakes him up from his daydreaming.
-YOU LITTLE SHIT WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY EYE! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU! EAT YOUR FLESH! BREAK YOUR BONES! STRANGLE YOU WITH YOUR OWN TESTICLES!- The shark guy roared and lunged at him.

Izuku tried to move, but he tripped on his sprained ankle and landed face down on a smelly trash bag, which made him groan. He scrambled onto his knees, trying to crawl back. Shark guy was getting closer.

And closer.

And then he finally jumped lifting his fin-like hands and it appears they are very, very sharp, Light gleams in the shark cruel eyes.

And as he inches closer to his face, his body suddenly stops, just like in videos where cars crash into a solid wall. It might as well be a solid wall because the shark's pointed head collides with brass knuckles, gleaming in the light. Izuku lazily looks upwards and catches a glimpse of his savior's face, then focuses his gaze on the knuckles intently.

Silence reigns.

Stranger stands before him and just smiles like that.

For a while Izuku tries to open his mouth and closes it many times looking like a coy fish.

-You are Knuckle duster?- Izuku asks dumbly, mainly because of his beaten up body making his mind slow.

Boy doesn't even know how he hitted the spot right in the center.

-Hunt or be hunted-

Iwao Oguro was now time to play coy fish instead. What is this boy thinking? He has photographic memory? Or some analisis quirk? Or maybe inteligence quirk? That little villanous brat called him a nerd right? That is why he recognized him even though he is beaten half to death. Sweats forms on his forehead, well this boy will go places indeed. With this big head of his he would make a great vigilante. He almost grins predatorly. He cannot resist the urge to teach this kid everything, his instincts are right, he has good aim at that too. But first before he can do anything he needs one important thing from this kid.

Consent.

- Hey kid! Are you alright? I saw your fight over there. I think you would make a great hero! - He laughed in amusement while extending his hand to help the kid stand up. The kid looks up at him and at his hand, and then he accepts his offer and gets lifted up with a grunt of pain from Izuku.

Izuku Blinked

Iwao Blinked

And the staring contest began in earnest.

And Izuku miserably lost it by fainting on the ground.

-Fuck- Iwao just said. That is a problem. He can't leave him in the hospital because that would raise questions. On the other side, this kid probably also doesn't want attention, so...
- I guess I need to take you to a doctor- he said while scooping him up, or rather the bloodied sack that resembled a human being. Not that he looked any better after some fights with villains. He remembered the nights when he returned to his hideouts alone, blindly searching for first aid in the bathroom and constantly tripping over himself. He also remembered trying to cauterize wounds and sew up serious slashes that decorated his body. He still remembered how, under a candle, he stitched his face back together after a battle. Yes, the same scar that now diagonally decorates his face. He carried a cinnamon bun on his back for some time. When they exited the dangerous part of Mustafu, he opened his pocket and retrieved a burner phone from it. Only on very special occasions.

-Stitch? Yeah it is me, Wait? No! I don't want to see your collection of All Might figurines. All right maybe later, you see... it is not about me but about someone

else, you see... I've got here a kid.-

-WHAT?!-

-Hunt or be hunted-

As he sat on the sofa with his mother, he couldn't move a muscle. He only sat in one position, unchanging, watching a small box-like TV. His senses still hadn't returned fully to him, because from time to time he could only hear ringing and shouts from 'Turning Point,' as the media called it. The death of the greatest man that ever lived, in Izuku's opinion, was being discussed on the television. The same television presenter with blue skin and black eyes, with green irises that partly reminded him of All Might's sunken, lifeless eyes, was still there, she seemed agitated, alive, and well. She was happy, discussing the death of his idol like some gossip girl who had just found out information about her crush. He yelled in anger for a while, not comprehending the words that left his mouth. But when he looked at his mother apologetically, she didn't even react. She simply sipped her coffee as if nothing had happened.

He didn't know why, but something was off. He didn't indulge in that feeling and just watched, or rather he couldn't take his eyes off the TV. Footage from the disaster site was being shown, revealing a gaping hole in the world, smoking like a dragon's maw waiting to devour him and his dreams. But he didn't experience any flashes like always when he watched those things happen. Something was definitely off. He looked around him, but when he rotated his head, his vision blurred and dimmed, and he found himself in this hellish site again, with a battered skeleton of a man before him.

Then as fast as lightning skeleton man standed up and stopped milimeters before his face.

-Wake up.-

-Hunt or be hunted-

He woked up screaming like he always did for year since this happened. He no longer was 12 years old, it was gone, it happened long time ago.

He muttered under his breath trying to calm himself and his shaking hands. Then he saw he was handcuffed.

-Huh?-

He looked around himself. He was lying on a sturdy steel table, with hospital-like tiles beneath him. All around him were various cupboards, plastic containers, and posters that you would see in every doctor's office. There were eyesight test and human anatomy posters mixed with posters of All Might. Izuku almost felt at home.

Almost. Mainly because of the smell widely connected to hospitals and industrial cleaning fluids. He whipped his head around; no matter where he looked, there were figurines with All Might limited editions.
Did he died? This is how heaven looks like, right?

-Ahh, I see you are man of culture as well.- Somebody said behind Izuku making him 'Eep' and jump upwards.

But when he spun around, a peculiar sight welcomed him. It was a lizard dressed in a lab coat with a stethoscope dangling from his neck. He had eyes slightly at the sides of his head but close enough to have eye contact with both eyes. They were slightly bulged, and he had leather eyebrows above and below his eyes. His head looked almost like a crocodile's, but something wasn't right. His scales were shiny, almost like a snake or salamander, and surprisingly smooth. So it is possible that this person is the result of many mutant-like quirks in his family. He has sharp teeth... is he eating raw meat? Or...

-Woah, woah kid slow down- The lizardman doctor spoke with his clawed fingers in calming gesture.

Izuku jumped as if struck by lightning. -Oh! I-I am s-so sorry! I didn't mean to!- Before he could explain himself, he went into another storm of muttering and frantic apologies, waving his hands and blushing like a tomato. The lizardman stared at him with amusement, not blinking even once.
Then Izuku just stopped and just stared at the floor, well that is a very nice floor indeed, nice tiles, oh yes.
Lizardman went into a fit of snorts and gurgles that probably was his laughing.- - -Damn, kid, you must seriously slow down. I am not mad, by the way. It's quite a mind you got back there, and you will not believe what I found, but that is not what I came here for.- Lizardman finally said, making Izuku go stiff.

That's also when iron door sneakly hidden behind the metal counters went open and from it came a mountain of a man. He was wearing miliatry grade black boots and gray pants, on his torso was loosely haning dark green duster with impressive collar, behind his duster peeked out simple black shirt.

Then Izuku looked up finally at the man's head. He was built like a brick, not in a bad way. His jaw seemed like it could tank a hit from All Might, and from his bushy beard, a blinding smile was visible. It wasn't like All Might's smile, but it held the same amount of confidence. However, when he looked upwards more, he gasped when he saw the familiar pitch-black bandana that Knuckleduster was known for.

Despite his basic survival instincts his eyes widend and for a long moment he changed into a normal fanboy.

-OMG!OMG!AREYOUKNUCKLEDUSTERSIROHPLEAEMAYIHAVEAUTOGRAPHANDIGOTACOSPLAYCOSTUMEOFYOUINMYWARDROBE...-The man looked absolutely stunned at the storm of words and childlike wonder in Izuku's honest expression. Then, he suddenly stopped and flinched, as if he were a victim of abuse, which he truly was. His shoulders slumped, and he once again looked at the ground with a dull darkness in his eyes. It was so saddening that it could almost make a grown man cry.
He grinned like a madman and looked at the boy like he was a piece of steak. -You...- He said like he was proclaiming something.-... will be the greatest hero this world will know.- Man said his eyes were shaking in mad excitement that Izuku didn't wanted to know what he was thinking. Wait... Did he just said...

Izuku's eyes widened- You, you mean... someone like me could be a hero?...- He said in almost disbeliving tone, but it sounded also desperate, like someone that all hope has been squashed and it was slowly rekindling again but he was not sure if it was real. His puppy eyes drilled holes in Knuckleduster head.

-Of course you can! What is more I think you are one already!- Knuckleduster said while puffing up his chest ending with bosterous laughter. He so much reminded him of All Might he got a flashback and his posture slackened and his empty eyes returned.

-Hey what is going on kid? We patched you up, didn't ya doc?- He asked lizardman doctor that found celling very interesting not listening to this entire conversation. Probably he was acustomed to Knuckleduster antics.

-No it is not like that, I remembered something and it is...- Izuku choked out.

-Spit it out kid! We do not have all day!- Knuckleduster shouted while flicking Izuku's head making him release another 'Eep'.

- I saw All Might die. - He stated, and they looked at him with eyes wide like dinner plates. Then he started fidgeting with his hands and darting his eyes around the room, trying to calm himself. - And... you remind me so much of him. - He choked out. - You see, I have nightmares of him. Sometimes he talks to me, trying to calm me down, but it always ends with his lifeless corpse staring at me with his empty sunken eyes, and I... I... Everybody now thinks All Might was weak, and I try to be like him, but I cannot help myself if... if... - At the end of the desperate mumbling and running in circles in trying to explain himself, he just stopped.

Knuckleduster after a while just sighed and placed his hand on his arm. That he just recognized he was in hospital gown. And events of before catched up to him, what happened to his injuries? Was this woman safe? Where are his clothes? Where is he? What...

-Calm down, kid. Nobody is going to harm you. Yeah, this woman you saved managed to run away safely. And yes, I brought you to a doctor to treat your injuries. I suppose you didn't want to attract attention to yourself and your situation, huh? Your clothes are on the table in the hall, so when you go, you can dress yourself up and leave.- Knuckleduster said, carefully composing his words.

-So I can leave just like that? Why did you helped me? You want something from me?- Izuku asked none the wiser before he could stop himself.

Knuckleduster grabbed his duster and rammaged through his pockets. He produced from them a piece of paper.

-This is my phone number, if you want to contact me, and change your life and became hero you will call it and wait for instructions, I do not need to tell you this location is to be remained secret kid.- He said looking at Izuku intently making him gulp.

Before he knew it he automatically taken piece of paper from Knuckleduster outstretched hands and left the room leaving doctor and knuckleduster confused inside.

-Hunt or be hunted-

-So what do you think he will return and join your little band?- Asked impatient lizardman that was glancing at the test he performed on Izuku frowning a little.

Knuckleduster just shrugged and leaned against a nearby wall, making the lizardman hiss like a lizard because he leaned on an All Might poster. -Honestly...- he scratched his beard in a thoughtful manner. -I do not know this kid. He is an enigma to me. He didn't even ask about you or what we are even doing. He just fanboyed all around the place like the kid he is and then departed with this blank expression. I think there is seriously something wrong with this kid.- He straightened up and unpacked a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, then started searching for a lighter. -But I cannot shake the feeling that if I let this kid go, I will lose some kind of opportunity of a lifetime, you know?- He finally found a working lighter in his duster and lit his cigarette.

-I do not care about your foresight or throwing bones but I think you would like to see this- Doctor grabbed the stack of paper and given it to knuckleduster.

-And what, seems like you runned some blood tests and what?- He said looking at the doctor with deadpan look. Then he looked at it again.- Wait... this kid has so much quirk factor it went beyond the scale... what are you playing with doctor?- He asked raising an eyebrow giving back the papers.

-It is not about playing and me, it is about that this kid has so much quirk factor even some patients that I had that overdosed trigger didn't had so much quirk factor like this boy, not even in the slightest and he just walks around all over the place like nothing, he is living medical anomaly. And it almost feels like...-

Doctor shook his head.

-No it is just silly...- He says while smiling. -It almost feels like this boy have multiple quirks.-

While doctor laughs knuckleduster grips his lighter tightly shattering it in his strong grip.

Now he knows he has to go after this kid.
Just to be sure.

-Hunt or be hunted-

END OF THE CHAPTER

Author notes: Whew... I really done it! Good for me,