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The city had a certain air to it after the public saw what had been lying right under their noses. Seeing the menace that lived and acted as their neighbors and family put into perspective how dangerous the world was in reality.
Trust had now fallen upon the Emergency Security Department rather than the heroes who fought valiantly against the Liberation Front. People felt that it wasn't fair that the heroes were all parading around with their heads in the clouds while the ESD sacrificed the lives of their own to support the heroes as they did. What kept the cities from forming their own civilian militias were the ESD, now out to pick up the slack left by the loss of heroes around the nation.
That didn't immediately translate to people accepting their current situation as is. Many were motivated enough to buy illegal quirk enhancement tools on the black market to try and take on the growing threat themselves.
"Monster! Get them!"
A gung ho trio of young men were assaulting a frightened woman who found herself out past the city wide curfew. Her height in combination with her animal-like features caused a knee jerk response from these self appointed combatants.
Officers were given this opportunity to sweep through the streets to investigate and patrol unimpeded until the civilian populace found its head once more. These individuals, like many, were under the assumption the curfew had been implemented to help catch villains lurking in the streets at night. This assessment couldn't have been farther from the truth.
Without thinking, all three men pelted the innocent civilian with their new weapons. Begging desperately for them to stop, the half rodent human hybrid cried out for mercy.
"I'm sorry, squeak! Please, I was just startled by you!"
"Trying to play the sympathy card?! Ain't gonna happen!"
Another charged shot from the man with a projectile weapon mounted on his arm scared the poor woman. Their attacks hurt badly enough on their own; if this charged shot hit her, she didn't know what would happen.
"No, ple-"
Before the shot could connect, something intercepted the shot and scattered the ball of liquid about to hit the innocent woman. What had saved her was a person dressed in rather intimidating looking armor. They flipped in the air and came to a complete stop to check on the frightened woman.
"Are you okay? How badly are you hurt?"
It made her head spin a little to receive such kindness after the abuse she had to endure. Off to the rear, the men who were so eager to assault the civilian were mouthing off at the vigilante who came to her rescue. They were ignored by the masked man as multiple ESD armored vehicles all pulled up to the scene. First reactions from them were cocky with how they thought the ESD would apprehend the woman and vigilante. None of them expected the officers to all surround them instead with weapons drawn and pointed towards the trio.
""ESD! Drop your weapons and put your hands on your head!"
In a panic, they did just that. These men were arrested with charges of assault along with the possession of black market weapons without the proper licenses to own such items. Shouting at the officers, the men told the ESD that they were simply trying to help. A poor attempt to convince the officers to let them go.
Back with the shaken citizen, she told the masked hero about how she missed the curfew and was trying to get home when these three suddenly jumped out of nowhere to attack her. Due to the increase of incidents all around her place of residence, the woman had packed a few basic essentials in order to make her way to the civilian shelter at the nearby hero academy.
Rising violence had the government offer sanctuary to any civilians who felt it necessary to seek out protection from the uprising violence. Bolder criminals would inevitably be arrested, though the public didn't want to be within the line of fire whenever these individuals made themselves known.
As a compromise, the government started to erect temporary housing at every major hero academy to help accommodate the civilians in need of protection. Picking the worst possible moment to move to the shelter, she had been stopped by these men before she could reach the sanctuary of the hero academy. It had been by good fortune that this person had been nearby to save her along with the patrol that heard of the incident for them to come and arrest the assaulters.
"I-I'm so sorry. I was so scared that-"
Her apology had been cut off when she felt the rain stop pouring down on her. Looking down at the vigilante, he had the umbrella she dropped earlier in some sort of black tentacle in order to hold it over her head.
"Don't feel sorry for feeling scared. Just know that you're not alone."
Those words resonated with her. Things didn't feel so terribly dark as she repeated the words over and over in her own head. Taking the umbrella, she asked the vigilante a question that has been bugging her for these past few weeks.
"Will everything go back to normal?"
"... Maybe not."
Although she felt down for a moment from the initial response; the person she asked elaborated further on what he meant.
"Things have changed so much at this point. One thing I can say for certain is this…"
Peering up at the rain, he spoke from the heart as to what he felt would become of this country after this is all over.
"We'll find a way. No matter how bad the storm may be, there's always a brighter day ahead of it."
With that, he left the woman to be attended by the ESD medics. Her injuries were rather mild in the grand scheme of things, so the officers offered to transport her to the shelter that she had originally intended to go.
While driving there, those words kept replaying themselves in her head. For the first time in a while, she felt that there was hope for her that life could become peaceful again. Maybe not today. Perhaps not even tomorrow. To bend the knee now would only serve to waste her time and effort. She felt the need to fight for her place in this world and to endure whatever harsh punishment came her way.
Her heart resolved itself to be strong for the future ahead of her.
Elsewhere
After racing through the rain for what felt like hours, the masked vigilante finally reached what looked to be an abandoned construction site. He slowed down and approached a closed shutter that looked as though it sealed off some sort of underground parking of sorts. Standing in front of the metal shutters, they opened up automatically to allow access for the vigilante. He entered the dark space while the shutters proceeded to close behind him. Right as the shutters rattled shut, the path in front of him started to section off and lower in a way that produced a staircase for him to descend.
Light illuminated the steps as each section that descended revealed the luminescent elements to keep whoever entered from tripping over themselves. Finally, an elevator door revealed itself to him as he stood in front of it for a few seconds before it opened up.
Entering the cabin, he pressed a button on the right side panel to reach the floor he wanted to arrive at. A voice announced the floor before the doors slid open for him to exit.
"Now arriving at living quarters."
Exiting the elevator, the hood had been pulled down with the mask coming off shortly after. Izuku took a breath of fresh air after having to wear the protective piece of equipment for hours on end.
The entire floor looked as though it stretched on into utter blackness. No pillars or supporting structures were seen to keep such an expansive space up with tons of earth sitting right above it. Right now, all that could be seen as a possible form of structural support was a room that had been raised up from the concrete floor. This room was Midoriya's first destination as he then made a beeline towards said room.
Entering the room revealed a comfortable sleeping quarter with decor that kept the mostly concrete space comforting. Splashes of color along with industrial designed furniture helped to make the space feel warm enough to live in. Wooden shelves and dressers brought a bit of life into the room, with its solid concrete surfaces surrounding its occupants. For textile accessories; rugs with red fabric accompanied the darker colors of the bedding, creating a minimalist color palette that helped bring the whole room together.
All of this failed to be recognized by Izuku as he approached the bed that had Mina in a deep slumber within its sheets. His arm was freed of the meshed glove for his hand to feel the soft skin of his sleeping lover's face. She must have gotten back earlier than him and fell asleep right as she finished her shower.
He elected to do the same, though not until he also brushed his hand against the face of the other girl spooning Mina in her sleep.
Blonde locks of hair were swept out of Toga's eyes before Izuku finally retired to the bathroom to shower off the day's hard work from his sore body. Although he hadn't been expecting the older girl to be here when Haru took him in, it still filled him with joy to be with such a misunderstood soul like Himiko.
Several Days Ago
Waking up in the ESD medical wing hadn't been that much of a surprise for Midoriya. The doctors all did their tests to see if the boy had any sort of neurological damage after going through what he did with Shigaraki. Turns out that he made a complete recovery without incident.
Some time after he woke up; Izuku's mother, along with Nakamura and Mina, who also had her parent's in the room, were all listening in as the young Midoriya got his test results back from the doctor.
"In all honesty, the damage to your entire body made the decision to put you into intensive care a no brainer. Turns out that you were already recovering at an abnormal rate from the damage you sustained. We've determined that you should be able to return to school after we double check some data on your charts."
Almost everybody in the room breathed a sigh of relief at the good news. Mina spotted something in Izuku's face that started to concern her a little at the fact that her lover didn't look all that relieved to hear such news.
With one last look into those eyes he so desperately loved, Izuku gave Mina's hand one last squeeze before turning back to the doctor to speak his mind.
"I'm not going back to UA."
The entire room erupted into questions and startled responses. All Might, who had been in the room as well, asked the young Midoriya as to why such a decision was being made by the boy. It actually scared the retired hero a bit to see such clear conviction in the eyes of what should be a naive teenager. Deep down, All Might felt pain at the possibility that he had a hand in making this young boy grow up too quickly.
Izuku relayed to the rest of the room that he needed to address certain things he lacked as a hero. He was involved with some serious characters that would show no mercy when faced with conflict. If he wanted any hope of surviving, he needed to progress faster than what he could accomplish by himself. His eyes fell upon one person in the room; the one person he knew could push him past the limits of being a hero into territory that would test Izuku in ways that could possibly take his life.
"Haru-san. Will you train me to be a better hero?"
Hearing Izuku ask him for training didn't surprise the man in the least. Training the teen in the most condensed version of proper combat left the boy seriously lacking in more serious encounters. It only made sense that a young man like Izuku would eventually come to realize this as the challenges he faced increased in difficulty with the passing of time.
This didn't translate to an eagerness to train the boy, either. If anything, Haru wanted this to be the last thing to happen between him and Izuku.
Hardened eyes stared back at Izuku as Nakamura spoke to the younger individual as a man.
"You do understand what it is that you're asking of me, right? If I do this, I'll have a hand in your death if you get yourself killed. Would you still ask this of me?"
Faced with this sort of accusation, many would back down either out of humility or courtesy. Neither of these things were something that Izuku could afford to do with what he was faced with.
"... Yes."
His eyes reflected the same strength of spirit that Nakamura had as he looked upon the boy he thought of as his own flesh and blood. If Izuku had this much conviction to face the dangers ahead of him, then Haru had no choice but to assist the teen in any way he could offer. A harsh breath with a scratching fit to the back of his head told everyone in the room how reluctant this man felt to offer his assistance to someone he didn't want to hurt anymore.
"... It'll be hell. Whatever you think you went through with All Might's training; it'll look like a cakewalk in comparison…"
Another test of sorts. Eyes stared back at one another while both men gauged the other person's resolve while doing so. One wanted the other to just walk away, while the other stood firm in their mission to grow past their limits. Even if that meant risking life and limb.
"... Damn it, kid. Fine."
He needed some air after Haru realized that Izuku truly needed his help. Exiting the room, Inko kissed her son goodbye on the cheek before following after the man she loved. She too wanted to feel a bit scorned, yet knew that her lover had it the worst with his position being the most compromising. As a good partner, she went after Haru to help support him in his time of need.
Izuku knew what he was asking of his mentor. He didn't deny it nor did he ask for forgiveness. Putting his lifelong mentor in such a compromising situation wasn't something that he took lightly.
While all of this was going on, another person in the room felt themselves compelled to follow this young man into whatever hell he was headed towards. It didn't take much to convince themself to speak up to share their decision on the matter as well.
"I'm coming with you."
Turning to Mina, Izuku looked at her with no shortage of surprise at her bold declaration. Her parents were already adamantly arguing against the decision in light of their daughter's decision to follow Izuku into a hellish situation. Even Izuku tried to tell her not to do it alongside her parents.
She was having none of it. Both her hands took Izuku's right one into them as she looked into Izuku's eyes. What she said next shook his heart like a leaf in the wind.
"I agreed to marry you. That means I already accepted following you into whatever mess you get into. If it was me, would you be able to walk away?"
Rarely did Mina's strong personality clash with Izuku. He couldn't find it in himself to even pretend to be angry at her. The woman he loved shared all of his affections. Just as he wouldn't abandon her, she too would commit to his well being. Bringing his left hand over her right one, Izuku asked Mina one final question to confirm her decision.
"... I'm walking into hell."
"And I'll be right beside you, no matter what."
Finding it difficult to contain their emotions; Mina's father finally gave into his frustrations and picked up the young Midoriya by the scruff of his medical gown while shaking the daylights out of the younger man. His eyes were hardened with love as a father for his daughter. It hadn't been lost on Izuku about who this man was in both his and Mina's life.
"If one hair is hurt on her! If anything were to happen to my precious baby girl! I swear on my life and God's…"
"I know."
All that anger he managed to muster up fell apart as he stared back into Izuku's eyes. This wasn't some hapless teenager that acted like an idiot. Right about now, he even considered that option a better alternative to Izuku.
Midoriya was in love. He saw pain in the boy's eyes for feeling responsible in bringing Mina into this whole mess. Unbreakable determination could be seen in the boy's spirit when he acknowledged the father to their lover. Involuntary pride welled up inside of Mina's father at the fact his daughter found such a good man in Izuku. If only he was half the man that Izuku was at his age…
The wife had to help her husband sit back on a chair after he let Izuku go. Both shame and worry overtook the man as he started to cry into his hands. Although he didn't say it out loud, Izuku could see that he cared about his future son in law as much as he did his daughter. Mina went to her father to console him as Izuku collected himself for what lay ahead of him.
Outside
Haru was smoking in silence with Inko leaning her head on his left shoulder. She could feel her man's deep seated struggle churning up all sorts of ugly emotions from within him.
Their hands were intertwined as Nakamura tried to find something to say to his woman. His mind was racing to come up with some sort of solution that would make everything okay, though nothing came to mind.
It was Inko who spoke before Haru could come up with something to say.
"Do you remember when Izuku was just a child? How he would play his games of being a hero and you would always wear a villain mask to play the role?"
Those memories meant the world to him. A time where the world felt simpler and easier to deal with.
"He never backed down from you. All your tacky and corny lines only made him more determined to come and save me. Yet…"
Inko interlaced her hand into Haru's. His skin against hers felt like what heaven should be.
"He never ran away from you. No matter what, he would find me and would always want to be picked up by you when he won."
It felt like yesterday when Izuku would run around the apartment in his All Might cape while proclaiming his desire to be a great hero. Nakamura knew what Inko was speaking of when she told the man of her son's lack of fear when it came to him during all those childish games. No matter the situation, Izuku never treated Haru lesser while he played the villain. Only the noblest of intentions were met whenever they played hero and villain with Inko as the damsel in distress.
And when the mask came off, Izuku would always run right into Haru's open arms. Hearing Nakamura's praises for the bravery the man saw in the boy filled Izuku with enough confidence to take on the whole world.
Lacking a father never bothered the child. He already had a dad in the form of Haru.
Now that Izuku was faced with a serious threat that could threaten the teen's life, Haru couldn't stifle the heartache that came with the realization that he failed. All he could do now was watch his son walk into hell while being responsible for sending him there in the first place. A good parent was someone who guided their children into a better future; not send them to their death.
Keeping a solid hold on her man, Inko kept speaking to Haru through his despair.
"He trusts you to this date. My son isn't someone who would trust a person so easily if they failed them already…"
Her words burrowed deeply into Nakamura. She didn't want Haru to wander off into the dark over his own misunderstandings.
"So know this. You are the man I love. You have proven yourself time and time again that you are Izuku's father out of your own love for him."
Gently turning his head with her left hand, Inko looked into Haru's eyes while providing all the love she could offer as she told him the truth.
"I trust you to protect him. I know you would never let him get hurt on purpose, so know that you are a part of this family. We love you so much, Haru. I can't imagine my life without you; and I think even Izuku shares my sentiments too."
Realizing this family needed him now more than ever, Haru gave Inko a solemn nod to confirm his resolve to protect their son. He would be damned if he let Izuku risk his life as long as he had something to say about it.