UEIS HQ

???, Japan

Izuku can be seen sitting down on a bench as Eijirou sits next to him, holding his shoulder gently. After what happened during the fight with Mirko, Izuku was horrified that he attempted to take a life again.

To make it worse, Izuku did it without any hesitation, just pure instinct. He can't help but be scared at how he reacts to Mirko's taunts.

He is even more horrified to imagine if he reacts the same way as when he finally meets Bakugou. He hates that bastard but his parents are the nicest people in the world. No matter how terrible Bakugou has turned into, Bakugou is still their son. They will be devastated if Izuku ends up killing his former friend.

Another thing that makes Izuku scared even more is his current state of mind. No matter how he thinks he feels guilty of almost ending Mirko's life. In reality, he doesn't feel anything at all. He's horrified at his mental health, wondering what's happening to him.

'Is...is this the work of the system!?' Izuku thought in horror. 'Is the system getting rid of my guilt in an attempt to 'help'!? Why, why can't I feel it?! Why am I not feeling any guilt!?!'

"Hey, Izuku..." Izuku snaps out of his thoughts before looking at Kirishima giving him a worried look. "You don't look so good..."

"...tell me about it..." Izuku mutters while rubbing his forehead. "I...I'm scared...about what happens...Mirko's taunt...I react by almost going for a kill...I'm...I'm scared of myself..."

"...I guess you're still affected by what happened in Lizard's Tail incident." Izuku flinches when Kirishima mentions the incident. "Guess I was right."

"...it's more...than that..." Izuku mutters. "I...I don't feel any guilt for attempting to murder Mirko...I-I try to convince myself about it...but, but the truth keeps slapping on my face like a splash of cold water...I think I..." Izuku covers his face in fear.

"Izuku..." Kirishima mutters in worry. Suddenly, Gang Orca walks towards them.

"Hey, kid..." Gang Orca said, getting their attention. "You...you're okay...?"

"...no..." Izuku mutters as he looks back at Gang Orca, who grows even more worried when he sees Izuku's puffy eyes. "I...I fucked up..."

"...no, I should've done more homework before I decided to introduce you to my coworkers." Gang Orca said as he kneeled. "If I know you'll react badly towards Mirko's attitude and your pent-up anger, I would not let you two meet."

"...I didn't tell much about my past, so it's my fault," Izuku mutters.

"Kid...you don't need to tell us-!" Gang Orca said as Izuku cut him off.

"I...I have to...besides, I need to get it off my chest..." Izuku said as both guys listened. "I...have a bad history with bullies, who loved to taunt and mock me for 10 years because I never get my quirk."

"T-that long!?" Eijirou gawked.

"Both of our parents are close friends, especially our mother. We live near each other." Izuku explained. "You see, the boy, Katsuki Bakugou, has an ego...one that is so big that it can cover the entire Japan. He believes that his quirk allows him to be the number one hero. It didn't help that our teachers and classmates never stop inflating his ego."

"He sounds like a piece of work." Gang Orca commented.

"You have no idea." Izuku chuckles humorlessly. "I was his prime target because he thinks that I, a quirkless freak becoming a hero is something impossible. And I don't know what sick twisted logic he has in his mind, but he keeps saying that I look down on him."

"...so, inferiority complex as well?" Gang Orca mutters.

"Bullies and logic, those two never mix well," Kirishima mutters as Izuku snorts.

"It didn't help that...I was too naive...I saw him as my symbol of victory...because he was obsessed with winning any battle and never wanting to lose. He hates losing." Izuku mutters. "Now that I think about it...I think I was a victim of Stockholm Syndrome..."

"...I never saw any Stockholm Syndrome victims in my life, so I can't say." Gang Orca admits. "But, what made you stop admiring him?"

"...the moment he told me to jump off the roof and kill myself to get a quirk in the next life," Izuku said as Eijirou gasped and Gang Orca widened his eyes in horror.

"A-and he said he wanted to be a hero!?" Eijirou never felt so furious in his life. What kind of bastard that says such a thing!?

"I think...he misunderstood the term heroes," Izuku said, getting their attention. "He has always been obsessed with being like All Might, but when I look back...he only saw All Might winning any battle...not how he inspires hopes, he thinks being a hero-."

"Is to win any battle." Gang Orca finished.

"B-but, that's not what heroes are all about!" Kirishima exclaimed.

"I know, but Bakugou didn't know better. The school isn't exactly helping reinforce his mindsets." Izuku muttered. "Because of this, Bakugou becomes an insufferable person who always tries to protect his fragile ego with aggressions and taunts. And all of his taunts...it's almost exactly what Mirko said earlier...it's just hit too close to home..." Izuku rubs his shoulder.

"...that explains so much." Gang Orca mutters. "Midoriya...I'm sorry..."

"Don't..." Izuku said. "This...this happens because I didn't bother to tell about myself... and I almost killed her..."

"No, as an employer, I should at least do more background searches to hire my employee or intern. So, it was my fault." Gang Orca said. "And given her tendency, I should have not brought you two together, given how you have faced a traumatic experience."

"...I didn't feel any guilt, Gang Orca..." Izuku mutters, causing said person to blink in surprise. "I...I didn't feel any guilt for almost killing her... and I'm scared...of myself..."

"...I'm not going to sugarcoat it, Midoriya, but you need help." Gang Orca said, causing Izuku to flinch. "And I'm not the best person to help you. But, there will be a therapy session for our employees each week. I would like you to attend and get help."

"...okay." Izuku nodded.

"That applies to you too, Kirishima. After everything happens at that incident, you need it." Eijirou nodded.

"So, Sir, how did you know Mirko? You made it sound like you know her for a while." Izuku points out as Gang Orca snorts.

"Oh, I do. In fact, both of us knows each other since she was 9." Gang Orca replied.

"Wait, what?" Izuku asked in shock.

"She wasn't always been like that. Back then, she was just a timid girl teased for being a 'bunny girl'." Izuku was in complete disbelief. Timid!? Her!? Then again, given how her quirk is just being a human rabbit, it's a high chance for her to be a victim of a bully. "When I first meet her, she accuses me of being a Yakuza."

Both boys blinked, looking at Gang Orca from up and down before biting their lips while shaking. They can't blame her, as Gang Orca did look like a member of the Yakuza. Gang Orca seems to notice this and deadpanned.

"Yeah, laugh it up, boys."

"I-I'm sorry sir..." Both boys choked as Gang Orca sighed.

"Anyways, we met when she fought back her bullies. I offered her help, but she stubbornly said she didn't need help. I dismiss her words and help her, something that she never let go, claiming she owes me a favor." Gang Orca said. "I was at my second-year internship, so I brushed it off. Turns out, she was serious, always finding a way to meet me and 'help' me."

"..." Both boys never felt so confused before. Is Gang Orca even talking about the same person?

"And it was a bad thing...you see, I had a lot of aggression back when I was around your age, she saw me as a role model, so...she may or may not pick up my..." Gang Orca coughs while blushing.

"So...you corrupted her?" Izuku was in complete disbelief. Mirko's nasty attitude was from Gang Orca of all people? Then again, Gang Orca does display aggression toward the villains in the news. But, he never expected Mirko to learn it from Gang Orca!

"It...didn't help that I encouraged her...I told her to stand up against her bully by growing stronger and fighting back. She took it by heart...literally." Gang Orca mutters in embarrassment.

"Wow...just wow." Izuku nodded at Kirishima's reply.

"I realize my mistakes and help her to control those urges. I manage to do so...but she has tendencies to go wild...especially during puberty..." Gang Orca rubs his forehead. "In some way, she was like you. I didn't give her proper help, so she ended up like this. Becoming something she despises, bullies."

Izuku didn't say a word but he did grip his fist. He didn't want to admit it, but Gang Orca was right. If what Gang Orca said was true, then Mirko was like him. A bullied kid who snaps and grows angry towards their bullies, slowly but surely becoming the exact person they hate.

"That's why I keep apologizing. My actions in the past caused her to grow into such a person." Gang Orca said.

"...I don't think I could forgive her..." Izuku mutters.

"I didn't ask you to, but I want to at least understand how she became such a person." Izuku nodded.

"Thanks...for everything, sir." Gang Orca nodded before Izuku's and Kirishima's stomachs started to growl, causing them to flush in embarrassment as Gang Orca let out a belly laugh.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I guess we spent a long time with our talk." Gang Orca said as the boys lowered their heads in embarrassment. Gang Orca pets their head. "Come on, let's go to the cafeteria."

"Yes, sir..." Both boys mutter before the three of them walk away. Unknown to them, Mirko stands near the pillar and hears everything. She didn't say a word before she walked away.

To be continued