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Gamemastersden and then .com

Current society was still in a bit of a kerfuffle over the loss of their beloved hero. Ever since All Might had been announced as retired, there was an air of apprehension amongst the public. His presence was a deterrent to evil that also gave people the bravery to feel safe and assured that their way of life would be protected. A vacuum for hope had been produced in response to the recent turn of events.

One robbery that was perpetrated by a group of amateur robbers was almost allowed to escape after a hero had been struck with a metal pipe from behind. Their escape was cut off by multiple ESD vehicles from the front and back, which forced the villains to get out of the truck they commandeered in order to comply with the arrest. The head injury on the hero attempting to stop the robbery was serious enough for ESD medics to administer proper first aid and transfer him to a nearby hospital.

Though there was a rise in crimes attempted in Japan, the amount of apprehended criminals rose in percentages as well. Some people were even noticing how the ESD were keeping the peace in their chaotic time of need. It seemed that the ESD were the ones to answer the call.

Inside of the most renown prison in Japan was a meeting that was long overdue for both parties. A visitation room with All Might and All for One was where these long time rivals were putting their personal grievances to rest. The conversation was a very unpleasant ordeal for Toshinori, while being a breath of fresh air for All for One.

All Might reinforced the security of the prison that held All for One captive as a start to their conversation. The first and most obvious question was where Shigaraki was, to which All for One simply brushed off as him not knowing what his pupil would go while guaranteeing what it was Tomura would do while he was in hiding. Their dialogue was mostly All for One simply reinforcing how All Might was no longer a problem in his eyes.

When the subject of All for One's goal after centuries of living came up, he didn't sugarcoat how he was simply doing what he thought was an inevitable conclusion to the world. His narcissism had him assuming that he was equivalent to being a force of nature. All Might made the correct assumption that All for One was in the school of thought that had him predicting that Shigaraki would kill All Might and Izuku in due time. His sworn oath to remain alive without meeting such a cruel fate was given with conviction that even All for One would acknowledge to be warranted.

Finally, the question that had been on All Might's mind since the beginning of the meeting. The one where he questioned All for One as to how much he knew about Bloodsoaked. A man that All for One hated more than anybody in the known universe. There was a change in the villain's mood hearing the name of the one who was responsible for his greatest source of torment.

Nothing but hatred and bitterness could be felt in his voice as he simply laid out the little he knew about the masked murderer. How his killing led to a vacancy in the underground world of criminals. It was a spot on the throne that he sought to fill, given his position at the time. For some odd reason, he could never get close enough to the top no matter how much he committed to the cause. If anything, the position was seemingly filled and already had its hold on everything before All for One was even able to get his foot through the door.

Eventually, he was forced to accept the position was a lost cause after years of fruitless attempts to push himself into a higher seat of power. It was when he attempted to recruit Shigaraki that he started to have run-ins with that man. A few of his crews were mysteriously butchered by what he thought was just a serial killer out for some vigilante justice. All his efforts to find out who it was were met with failure.

This went on for years… Until that night when he met the man who killed thousands while bathed in their blood. Most of the detail were omitted, but the one thing he shared was how mercilessly cruel that monster was as he spent hours torturing All for One. He was repeatedly questioned over where Tomura was over and over again. For the entire night, he was shot, cut and beaten repeatedly and in a way that would leave him feeling like death rather than being close to it.

Somewhere along the way, he was finally dangling by the knife that was ultimately used to slice clean through his jaw. That same question was asked again, only to be unanswered with nothing but silence. His head tilted to the dead bodies all around them, and after a few moments he cleaved his knife clean through the bone and let All for One to drop to the floor.

He wanted to die. His arms and legs were useless and he was in so much fucking pain that being murdered was all he wanted to end it. Bloodsoaked dragged him to the first of the many bodies littering the floor. WIth his right hand, he ripped out a chunk of flesh from its stomach area before asking him again. There was nothing but silence. He buried his thumb into the split bone, and proceeded to yank the jaw open to-

"Enough!"

All Might couldn't take it anymore. Listening to this story was making the hero sick to his stomach. Nobody except a monster was capable of such barbaric acts against another living human. How was someone so cruel and inhumane capable of sounding so sincere over regretting the loss of a damaged child like Tomura? There was nothing more that All Might wanted. He left with the horrible details of the villain's torture that night almost nine years ago.

"Be careful, All Might! I can't imagine what it's like having something like that fucked up monster on my side!"

All for One had the last laugh that day as he pointed out how it was Bloodsoaked that helped the hero bring down the villain. That mocking laughter followed All Might out of the prison and hung in his head for the rest of the car ride with Tsukauchi. His detective friend could see the worry and stress on the retired hero's face clear as day.

A lot of what All Might had learned was shared with the detective, though the story of All for One and his run in with the masked serial murderer was kept to a minimum. Most of Tsukauchi's concern was more to see if All Might was able to piece together more than he was privy to know. Nothing of the sort was the case as he was too taken aback with what a monster the one who essentially saved his life that night was probably more of a demented soul than even All for One.

One saving grace of the day was the photo that All Might received from Midoriya of his new provisional hero license. It gave him some hope that the future may perhaps still have a chance of prospering.

UA 1-A Dorms

Izuku was content with the message that he sent to All Might while the rest of his class was celebrating the end of the exams with a house party. In the kitchen were Momo and Mina helping Haru prepare the celebratory feat that the students of class 1-A were very much looking forward to. Their dorm mother was wise enough to have thought ahead and bought some snacks for the kids to munch on while the food was almost done.

His presence in the dorm was something that all the kids truly appreciated. He was always around when something happened that required an adult's help. Whenever someone needed some advice or help with homework, the ever vigilant dorm mother would always respond to their need of his knowledge. Life at the dorm felt warmer and familiar, all because of this one man's effort to help these kids live through life away from the home they've known for their entire lives.

Peering into the kitchen, Izuku was blessed with the sight of seeing both Momo and Mina in aprons that Haru had adjusted for their height. Seeing them in such homely attire made Midoriya proud to be the one who will be the only man to see them in that sort of dress in the future. He knew that the women he loved were relationships he wanted to carry for the rest of his life. In his heart of hearts, he believed that to be true with those who loved him back now.

He attempted to sneak into the kitchen for a sneaky look at what was in the fridge, but was thwarted when Mina smacked him in the ass and shooed him away playfully. It was a bit of fun flirting, with the exception of Mina being told to wash her hands again after that little stunt she pulled just now.

This was everything that Izuku needed after such a taxing affair with everything that had happened. He was approaching the gathering at the couches when Katsuki said something in passing to Midoriya.

"Follow me after the party."

There was no other bit of context after that bit of instructions. Katsuki was already off to the kitchen after grabbing an apron from the hooks that had Nakamura's various aprons hanging from them. His help was not rejected as Haru finished dinner and gave the students under his care a feast to behold for all their hard work. For now, Izuku simply embraced the good times and forgot about the drama awaiting him later that night.

Later that Night

Mina was thankfully too tired for any late night frisking and fell asleep as soon as she laid herself to rest. Izuku gave himself about fifteen minutes to just admire the girl before leaving the bed and making his way to the dorm commons where Bakugou was.

Katsuki was on his phone and didn't waste any time dragging Izuku behind him to the training grounds where he almost killed the boy. That day was a very memorable moment for both of them. For Izuku, waking up to a tear stained Mina was such a painful memory. Bakugou could still remember the sting of Mina's slap that sent him to the floor for almost murdering Midoriya during what should have been a simple class activity.

The blonde spitfire began to rant about how it was he was able to see through the many bits of evidence that led to Izuku being able to become as powerful as he was now. How Midoriya was suddenly equipped with a power that was so consistent with All Might when the retired hero began to see less and less daylight near his arrival to Japan. He came to the correct conclusion that somehow the former hero was able to pass on his power to Izuku.

Izuku wanted to be able to deny his childhood friend the accusations. This sort of information was something that could endanger the lives of Bakugou and his family. Mitsuki had already lost her husband, she was not in need of a danger that could cost her the only family she had left. The loss of Masara from the Bakugou family cast a shadow over the family that still hung over the mother and son to this day.

"... So why…"

Something that Izuku never would have expected from his estranged childhood friend put him in a place he hadn't expected to be in his lifetime. A bit of insight that opened his eyes as to why it was that Katsuki treated Izuku the way he did.

"You could have walked away with a life that had Mina and whoever the fuck else you're with and never faced the shit that I have to go through! Do you think I do this because it's fun?! I need this to prove that I can still live!"

What sounded like madness from Bakugou was further explained to the best of the blonde's ability.

"You don't deal with the bullshit I have to live through everyday! You didn't have to go through losing someone you loved! You even gained Haru as a father while I… I…"

"Katsuki."

A patient voice that both boys were familiar with came and interrupted the young Bakugou's rant. They both turned to Haru, who was standing to their left while still wearing his denim apron. It was the same apron he wore when he used to work out of his food truck. Memories of better times were attached to that apron for the teenage boys.

The adult said nothing else as he approached the emotionally vulnerable Katsuki. When he was next to the boy, an arm extended and brought the troubled teenage blonde into a hug that had Bakugou's face buried into the front of the apron that Nakamura wore.

"... I know it's been hard… There's so much that I want to simply go away that hangs over your head, kiddo. You are allowed to feel what it is that you feel about your dad, but at least allow yourself the room to be sad. It hurts to see you take on so much by yourself…"

It dawned on Izuku that the possible reason for Katsuki to ignore him all these years after the death of his father was to alienate Izuku from the path that he chose to pursue. Bakugou didn't want Izuku to fall into the same dangers that he chose to endure to prove his own strength.

With a solid enough push, Katsuki broke free from his mentor's hug and reacted as he usually did when faced with this sort of emotional confrontation. He lashed out to protect himself.

"What the fuck do you know about what it is I went through?! I lost my fucking dad! You had yours! How the hell do you know about what it is to lose someone like that?! Huh?!"

After a few moments of catching his breath, Bakugou could tell that he said too much. Izuku was able to see that the man who he saw as invincible for most of his life was on the brink of some sort of break. Nakamura's fists were wrapped up tight and his face was tense as he was withholding some serious emotional turmoil.

"... Wait. I… I was-"

"So that's it then."

For years, this man had been there for both Izuku and Katsuki through thick and thin. He never failed to be there for either of them and was always supportive with all the effort he put to help them through the thick of their challenges. It was through him that a lot of their trials were more bearable than what they could have been without him.

"Am I just that? You think I don't know shit? After being with you two for over ten years, I'm just clueless?"

This was starting to scare Izuku and Bakugou. Neither of them could imagine their mentor to be so emotionally vulnerable in front of them. Watching Haru act the way he was gave them a feeling at the pit of their stomachs that was like they swallowed steel screws. Nakamura took a few steps backwards to truly express what he was feeling at that moment.

"Am I just a joke? Do I matter so little that you think I don't miss him? That I wasn't there when I tried to keep him alive?!"

Haru's eyes fell upon Izuku as he continued to share more of his internal strife.

"Do I matter so little that you can just run over my feelings and just treat me like shit?!"

Every word that Nakamura spoke was another deep stab into both teenager's chests. As much as they wanted to think that Haru was being the immature one without self control, they knew better.

This was their fault. Their mentor gave nothing but his all to support these two while sacrificing so much to make sure they were taken care of. All they offered in return was what they already did in terms of damage to Haru's already damaged spirit.

"After all these years, am I nothing but a tool?! A fucking punching bag?! What did I do to deserve this sort of treatment from you?!"

Both of them could tell that Nakamura was doing what he could to withhold his anger and frustration. Looking back, there were very few times that they could recall when they were considerate of Haru's feelings. Especially for the past year or so.

He was unable to contain the strife that had plagued him as he watched the boys endanger themselves over and over again. If he had a rope, this was the end of it for him.

"Don't you think I don't worry when I hear about you being involved with those criminals?! What it is I go through when I sit next to your hospital beds while only being able to wait for you to wake up?!"

His last accusatory question was directed at Bakugou for his remarks over Haru's lack of understanding of his personal issues.

"How it is I continue to take your bullshit when I perfectly understand what it is you're going through?! I miss him too, Bakugou!"

By the end of his rant, Nakamura was huffing for air while both teenagers were left stunned at how their mentor had finally broken right in front of them. There was no time to process things to completion as Haru then straightened himself out and suddenly began to act eerily calm as he spoke again.

"... Fine. I won't argue about this anymore. Instead, I'll speak your language for once."

The man walked over to the guard railing on the opposite side of the street from where he was and removed the apron he wore. He left the protective attire hanging on the railing before turning and settling on a spot in the middle of the street they all stood on.

"Prove to me that all of this isn't just me sending you to your deaths."

A cold glare in Haru's eyes sent chills down both spines of the boys he was now challenging on terms he believed they would understand. Being the background supportive role that simply stood aside to let these two continue to endanger themselves was something Haru was no longer going to be a part of now.

"Fight me."

It was as if the entire world suddenly turned inside out for the both of them. This wasn't a simple sparring bout that he was asking for; his eyes were sharp and demanding for some serious effort on their part. Having their mentor acting like this was starting to scare both teenage boys. Haru didn't hesitate in delivering his ultimatum if they refused his challenge.

"I'll be the judge of things now. If you can convince me that you two can hold your own, I won't ask that your mothers take you back from UA."

Those words had some serious weight to them. They knew that Haru had heavy leeway in the presence of their parents and what he recommended for the boys. He was rarely pushy and mostly just an open ear that would help sort out the single mothers thoughts on certain thoughts. There was plenty of evidence for him to be concerned alongside their mothers for all the life threatening situations their sons have been through since coming to UA.

After all those months of work and effort, he was even willing to take them away from their dreams to protect these two. To him, there was no price worth the cost of their lives. His sentiment wasn't shared as Izuku tried to say something to convince the man otherwise. Things couldn't end here for his journey, not after everything that's happened.

"Wait! That's not-"

Daggers were being stared into Midoriya as he was trying to use his words to persuade Nakamura, when the only option that he was giving the two teenagers was something they didn't want to do.

"What, fair? Too little, too late. I won't let you two get killed if you aren't even able to survive…"

He was done with the talking. Both of Haru's hands went up into a fighting stance that neither boy recognized from the man in the past. There was no other way out of it. They needed to prove to their lifelong guiding figure that they weren't just throwing away their lives.

"So shut your mouths and get ready…"

This was happening. Izuku and Bakugou had to get into stance for their inevitable fight with Haru. On the inside, both of them were shitting themselves. Asking Bakugou if he's ever won a sparring match against Haru didn't instill a lot of confidence as Katsuki told him that he's never even come close. He didn't go full out against his teacher, but it still didn't feel as though Nakamura was even trying during those practice matches.

One for All was activated while Bakugou was getting ready to use his quirk to launch himself to close the distance. None of the patience and confidence that Haru shared could be felt as he just stood across the way from the two. There was an eerie stillness to the air as well as something else. It was faint, but there was something that they couldn't identify.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Nobody said a thing. In fact, the world around the three went silent while they were ready to take each other on in a melee.

"... Here I come."

That was the start of the round. Katsuki flew straight at Haru with an intense speed that he summoned from the bottom of his very being. He knew that the first strike was the most important in establishing who would set the pace for the beginning of the fight. Izuku knew to give Bakugou for the first attack so as to not get in the way of his attack. Midoriya skirted around behind Katsuki to find an opening on Nakamura's right side. He noticed the man was fighting in a southpaw stance with his right hand being the leading side.

If he could fight in the blindspot, the boys had a chance at possibly catching a window in Haru's blind spot. Out of nowhere, Izuku was suddenly kicked into the building and was forced to eat it as he went crashing into the building. His momentum still carried the green haired boy some distance and caused Izuku to go tumbling head over heel until he eventually came to a stop.

Collecting himself, Izuku peered over to see Katsuki was lying on his back while groaning in pain with having the wind knocked out of him. Bakugou never was able to launch his attack. Nakamura actually closed the gap as the blonde was flying through the air and snached the ankle above to then swing Katsuki down onto the floor onto his back. The other one was too focused on turning the corner to notice that his partner was already down for the count. All Haru had to do was leap over the guard railing and plant the sole of his shoe into Izuku's side to send him tumbling into the wall.

Both of the teenagers were well aware that Nakamura had been through the ringer in his youth. Actually seeing him start to take them a little seriously already had the boys trying to pick themselves off the ground. Getting back up, they backed up as Haru centered himself in the center of the road.

Each of them had their fair share of danger and fighting. Their experience did lend them some insight as to how a fight could play out. Sorting through all their options felt fruitless as they knew that perhaps they did need to go for a more lethal approach. If they didn't, they may come to regret the decision later on. Celearly Haru didn't share the sentiment, so they both went for broke as they ripped out all the stop signs.

Bakugou immediately attempted to launch a concussion shot when something hit him in the right eyebrow. The twitch reaction in combination with the force of whatever hit him caused Katsuki to aim up too far and launch his explosive shot above the intended target. Without time to process what it was that hit him, Bakugou felt his right arm being yanked upwards while dragging his whole body up with it. A sudden stop came when he landed on his back once again and felt his body lock up again with pain.

Izuku saw an opportunity to attack Nakamura while he was standing back up after throwing his friend. A kick charged to ten percent was aimed right at his mentor's chest with a large sweeping kick. All Haru did was slip under the blow and grab at the opposite leg's kneecap. A simple yanking motion to the left sent Izuku towards the ground face first. He may have been able to recover, had it not been for Haru shoulder checking the boy while he was still in the air.

For such a tight space, the tackle itself hurt like hell. Izuku was once again sent rolling on the hard floor while Nakamura stood over the injured boys. Again, they took a few moments to pick themselves up and try again. So far, it was beginning to demoralize the kids that they didn't even manage to touch Haru without him dishing out his own punishment.

Only Katsuki had any sort of experience in feeling so one sided against the white haired man. There was almost no difference in how he felt trying to even get a single touch on Nakamura. Now he was older with better moves and reaction time; none of it seemed to improve his current odds.

They both looked up to All Might as a heroic role model, but it was Haru who taught them everything they knew about what being a man was. The more they thought about it, the more they realized that they never truly ever considered how far their mentor was pushed in his youth. His speed and strength was otherworldly in comparison to their desperate attempts to just get a single hit on Nakamura. How far was he pushed to obtain strength like that?

Something had to change in their tactics. If things progressed as they did, they can kiss their time here at UA goodbye. This was the only opportunity they had to show Nakamura that UA was where they could truly reach their potential. In some way, maybe this encounter was a necessary one for Izuku and Bakugou to face the reality of their situation as well.

Current strategies of closing the distance with their powers weren't servicing their needs. Both decided it best to shift gears and square up in their respective stances to wait for Haru to take the initiative instead. All around them, it became dead silent as the boys were honing in on Haru and the first possible sign of movement.

His response to the challenge to a straight fist fight was to just take one step after another at a steady and deliberate pace. Watching Haru approach at normal speeds was more unsettling than had he just used that speed they knew he was capable of. It gave Midoriya and Katsuki too much time to think and rethink about what the plan of attack was going to be. Reacting would give them a chance to counter, though they would need to consider that the difference in speed would make that a gamble at best. Striking first was a better guarantee that they could get a hit in, but would be an opportunity for Nakamura to counter and lead into something probably worse.

All of this was exactly what Haru was counting on as he could see them beginning to shuffle back little by little away from him. Their hesitation cost them the initiative as Haru was paying attention to Bakugou's blinking patterns. As his lid was right over his pupil, that was when he snapped forward and caught Katsuki off guard. A single straight into his abs and a sweep of his legs was enough to send Bakugou sprawling to the ground.

Izuku went for a simple sweeping kick while using his hands to balance himself on the floor. Had it connected, it would have been a decent enough attempt made by the green haired boy. Even activating his quirk partway through the attack for speed didn't help connect the blow since Haru just leaned out of the way enough for the kick to just graze him. There was no time to break away to create space. He went for broke and used his other leg as he spun back around. What he felt wasn't the satisfying hit of his foot striking its target, his face and chest were the ones to hit the ground instead due to Nakamura catching the second kick by the knee and pinning Izuku to the ground forcefully.

The leg was wrenched backwards while Haru's knee was still holding down the other leg. His shoe was almost touching the middle of his back with how far Izuku's leg was bending backwards. Any more bending past that would have yanked the joint in his hip loose and cripple him for the rest of the fight. One for All was activated to fifteen percent to help with his escape attempt. What he found difficult to believe was that he still couldn't get free, even with the additional strength his quirk provided.

Bakugou managed to recover in time to see Izuku being pinned and failing to escape with his enhanced strength. Stealth was key to his next move as he softly got up and took one solid leap to close the short distance with another explosive attack to strike Nakamura with. Somehow, Haru had already known that Katsuki was already conscious and took the opportunity to use Bakugou's attack against Midoriya. Haru turned while lifting Izuku by the leg he was pulling backwards and rolled the boy into the way of the incoming attack. What was supposed to be a sneak attack became friendly fire that Haru took advantage of.

One last insult to injury was how Haru then grabbed Izuku by the back of his clothes and threw Izuku into Bakugou hard enough to send them crashing into the metal guardrails behind them. Katsuki pushed an injured Izuku off of him since he was unable to breathe properly with the additional weight on his sore chest. After several failed attempts to get a single connected hit on their mentor, Izuku and Katsuki were starting to feel truly demoralized.

It was far from over for the teenage boys with what was on the line for them. They stood back up with some difficulty after the one sided beating they had to take from Haru. Dragging themselves back onto their feet, their opponent was still standing without a scratch on him. Now they were desperate.

"Ka-chan, I don't know about this anymore…"

"..."

Usually Katsuki would have told Izuku to shut his mouth or tell him off for acting like a weakling. For the current situation, he couldn't help but agree with the other boy's opinion. Haru was someone who survived as a quirkless person in a world that wanted him dead. It was likely that he saw them as nothing more than obstacles no higher than the soles of his boots.

His silence was certainly disturbing enough on its own. Nakamura was taking up a different stance once again while Izuku decided that perhaps now was his only chance to do something. One for All was used to its current limit for his final assault against Haru. Bakugou figured the same and decided to go for broke and crouched down to prepare for a straight flight path.

Neither boy was gonna back out now that the stakes were as high as they were. If they were going to fail, they were going to fail with everything they had left being used. Rising tension between the two teenagers and the still calm Haru was just about ready to break with every passing second.

The snap came and it launched Bakugou and Izuku like green and red missiles aimed directly at Nakamura. The entire street was rattling with the amount of force being generated in the air as two human projectiles flew at blinding speed at their mentor. If this wasn't going to cut it, then it wasn't for a lack of trying. One massive explosion swallowed the section of street and completely engulfed the three combatants in a giant pillar of dust.

Some time later, the cloud was able to settle and reveal who was left standing. Katsuki was sprawled out on the floor faced down and rendered unconscious. Izuku was pinned by the front of his shirt with Haru kneeling over the boy. What had happened was that Nakamura simply ran past them as they were going too fast to readjust their targeting and completely missed their mark. With the use of the explosion, Haru knocked Bakugou unconscious with a rear choke and had Izuku pinned down like it was nothing.

Looking up at the man, Izuku could see better that the expression that Haru was carrying was that of frustration and impatience. His right fist was curled up tight and raised slowly to strike. Midoriya could feel the pain already as he closed his eyes and cringed in anticipation of the finishing blow. The sound of a hard impact carried itself down the street as Nakamura's punch delivered the punch.

Though, it seemed as if he was off his mark a bit. Opening his eyes again, Izuku saw that his mentor punched the road next to his head instead of the boy's face. Being confused was his initial reaction before looking up at his mentor's face and seeing his expression change.

"... Do you two…"

Katsuki was starting to shake off the dizziness and was coherent enough again to listen to what Haru had to say next. Something that the man held onto for the longest time as their guardian.

"... Do you two have any idea… What I go through, every time you endanger yourselves?"

His fist came back up and hit the ground next to Izuku's head once more. All the repressed emotions and words were beginning to overwhelm the man who the both of them thought was their emotional rock.

"I have to watch and just wait for you next to your hospital beds each time… To just sit quietly and hope for you to come home okay…"

There were some drops of water coming down on the back of the fist that held Izuku down. The boy could see how much pain Haru was in as he unloaded his emotional baggage.

"And then, you go off and get yourselves almost killed again and again… And now, you treat me like this? Like I'm nothing more than a cheap tool?!"

Every punch to the asphalt was incredibly powerful and even began to tear the skin at the knuckles enough to start spattering the face of Izuku in Nakamura's blood.

"I was there for you from the very beginning! I wept for Masara when I failed to save his life! I watched as you kept tearing yourself limb from limb with every stupid and reckless thing you did! Is this what I'm worth to you?!"

Tears were starting to pour out of Izuku's and Bakugou's eyes. They weren't audibly crying, but the words that came from Haru were equally true as they were extremely painful. He never asked for much from them, yet they've both treated him poorly over the past year. Izuku didn't consider his mentor when he snuck off to go spy on him during a private matter. Bakugou threw Haru under the bus repeatedly when it came to the subject of his father. He didn't know a thing about his mentor's relationship with his parents and kept treating him like he was in the wrong this whole time.

It hurt them deeply to hear Haru punching away at solid ground with wild abandonment as his fist was bleeding profusely now. Izuku was given a front row seat of his father figure openly crying, on top of everything else.

"Am I just invisible?! Do I not feel what you feel too?! What am I worth to you?!"

A weak yet firm grip caught Nakamura's arm on the back swing of his next punch. All Might stood there with a somber look in his eyes as he stopped the man abusing his own fist against solid ground. Though he was weaker than Haru now, it still was enough to stop the emotionally distressed man.

"I think you should stop. You're scaring them."

Breathing hard, he saw the look of shock and sorrow in Izuku's eyes. A look he never wanted to be the one responsible for. Without saying another word, Nakamura retrieved his apron with the non bloodied hand and left. With Haru going off to cool off, All Might went ahead and assisted the boys back onto their feet.

Neither boy knew what to say or do after realizing what they had done to their mentor. They were trapped in an emotional limbo floating between all the horrid emotions threatening to overtake them. Not even All Might could say anything to them while they were processing everything that had come to pass.

Looking back on things, they both realized that they probably should have been better to the man who was a guiding figure for most of their lives. With things getting as crazy as they were, perhaps they did tread on Nakamura's coattails a bit.