Author's Note: Ok, so since the last chapter I've gotten several comments, which I'm very thankful for. Thanks to everyone who commented/reviewed, I genuinely appreciate it.

Most said to remove Mina and leave it just with Rumi and Melissa, so that's what's going to happen. Marvin will date the two of them and it'd be three instead of four.

Got several ideas from the comments regarding Marvin's energy thing, and I know what to do now. Not going to spoil it since it'll start several plot points moving forward, some of which will happen quite soon.

Thank you all again for the responses, and to all who leave favorites/kudos on both sites.

Enjoy the chapter!

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Izuku felt strange for the rest of the day, at war with himself.

On the one hand, he wanted to immediately forgive Principal Nezu, the other teachers, and especially All Might for what happened. He knew they were working with what little information they had.

On the other hand, a voice in his head that wasn't Marvin (most likely), kept telling him that real heroes wouldn't capture a teenager and try to forcefully interrogate him based on limited information they weren't even sure of.

'I agree with the second thought,' Marvin piped up as Izuku walked out of UA.

Izuku sighed. 'I know you do. I think I do too, but I can't hold a grudge at All Might!'

'Then don't,' Marvin replied. 'All Might apologized and tried to make amends immediately. No one else did; hold a grudge against them instead.'

'You're being oddly rational about this,' Izuku noticed. 'Usually, you're quite aggressive in your reasoning.'

Marvin shrugged. 'I'm used to adults being shitbags, so I don't get that worked up over it. YOU, however, need to make a choice.'

Izuku sighed again, rubbing his face. 'I just don't get why they'd do that.'

'Paranoia,' Marvin replied as if it were obvious. 'They saw you as a threat, an unknown danger. Their response is the same as most people in power when they see something they don't understand; they try to control it, contain it, and eliminate it.'

Izuku squirmed silently as he realized Marvin wasn't speaking without basis, but rather his vivid memories of people in power.

'But they're not Hunters!' Izuku argued.

'No, but they've taken the first step,' Marvin countered calmly. 'When you try to force your power, your authority over others, try to take your word as law, no matter how small or insignificant to you it might be, you've taken the first step to tyranny.'

Izuku squirmed again, not being able to muster an argument against Marvin. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to.

Marvin sighed. 'Look, I'm not saying they'll become Hunters; hell, they won't come close. But, tyranny doesn't just have one face, Izuku. Authoritarianism starts small, in the little guy that everyone overlooks.'

Izuku rubbed his neck. 'I– I'm not sure they'll do that, right?'

'That's the thing, you were sure then, are you sure now?' Marvin asked. 'If you suddenly become a bigger threat, unlock the new Quirks, become stronger, do you think they'll do it again? If you lose control, do you trust them not to pull the trigger?'

'I– Wha–' Izuku stammered, feeling mentally cornered, even though Marvin hadn't moved from his spot.

'I– But– But they're heroes!' He exclaimed, feeling his argument fall apart. 'They wouldn't– No!'

'You don't trust them,' Marvin told him, matter-of-factly. 'You don't think they'd spare you from their judgment if you ever act out again. You're not sure if they're heroes anymore.'

Izuku stayed quiet. Marvin was right, undoubtedly so.

"Izuku?" Momo asked as she reached him.

"Huh? OH! Uhh, Hi Momo," Izuku greeted nervously, trying to shake off the unexplainable feelings he had.

"Are you alright?" Momo asked, head slightly tilted. "You look… Well, you've been acting funny all day and didn't show up for our training today. Are you alright?"

Izuku tried to stammer a response and Momo frowned, touching his forehead with the back of her hand.

"You're not sick," She mumbled, pulling back her hand. "What's wrong? Marvin?"

Marvin took over and sighed. "I can't explain it in public. But it's bad, at least emotionally."

Momo immediately became slightly defensive. "What happened? Is he hurt?"

Marvin made a so-so gesture. "C'mon, follow me and I'll tell you everything. Can't say it wherever."

Momo followed them to a tree at the edge of the field where they'd taken their Quirk Apprehension Test, feeling dread pool in her stomach.

"What happened?" She half-demanded as they sat at the tree. "Neither of you are— well, YOU!"

Marvin sighed. "Do you want the good or bad first?"

"Err– good?" Momo half-said, wondering what good there was.

"All Might's going to help me get a body and out of Izuku," Marvin told her. "Going to talk to some… what's his name? Oh, yeah, David Shield. Yeah, All Might's going to talk to him and try to get me a body as an apology."

"Oh, that's great!" Momo exclaimed before her brows furrowed. "Wait, an apology? Apology for what?"

Marvin sighed again. "That's the bad."

He explained everything, from being called to Nezu's office and being bound in the chair, to him fighting the teachers and All Might, to All Might's eventual apology and Nezu's forced agreement not to do it again.

Momo was pale as Marvin explained, words long having failed her as horror overrode her mind.

"But– But they're heroes!" Momo cried after Marvin finished talking.

Izuku sighed, taking over. "That's what I said," He told her in a defeated voice.

Momo's heart broke as she saw Izuku near tears; the realization that All Might, Izuku's idol, mentor, and the one who gave Izuku his Quirk, was part of the teachers who captured him fully setting in.

"Izuku…" Momo breathed before pulling him into a hug.

She squeezed him tightly, and Izuku gasped as his heart pounded painfully.

That was all it took for Izuku to return the hug, the dam breaking as he began to cry.

Momo let him, stroking his hair gently as he cried into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" He croaked after a minute, trying to pull away.

"No. It's alright, I don't mind," Momo told him firmly, not letting him move away. "I'm here for you, Izuku. You know that."

"It's just… I don't know…" He mumbled into her shoulder. "I don't know what to feel."

Momo bit her lip. She had no experience in something like this.

"What do you mean?" She asked, hoping to get some info.

Izuku hesitated. "I… I don't feel anything. But– It still feels like there's something stuck in my throat."

"It's like– I don't know," He sighed, nuzzling into her. "I can't really describe it."

"And that's ok," Momo whispered, pulling him closer. "We don't always have the answer for everything."

The two stayed that way for some time, enjoying it more than they'd want to admit.

It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, nor was it embarrassing. It just felt… right.

"Momo?" Izuku asked after a while.

"Hmm?" Momo replied, her cheek resting against his head.

"Thanks," Izuku told her. "I really needed it."

Momo pulled back and smiled, and Izuku felt the last of his worries wash away as she did.

"You're welcome, but… I didn't mind," She smiled brighter, and Izuku felt his cheeks grow warm.

Izuku quickly ducked his head, feigning to wipe away the last of his tears.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He asked, looking up with a soft smile.

Momo's heart skipped a beat, and her mouth fell open, words on her tongue.

She stopped the words in her throat. She didn't know what she was going to say, or at least she thought she didn't. The more she thought about it, the clearer it became.

Momo loved him.

She flushed at the realization and bowed her head, which thankfully just gave the impression of her being shy at Izuku's compliment.

Izuku, tentatively but surely, hugged her again, and Momo felt his skin as if it were a burning star.

She hugged him back, her breath caught in her throat. Her heart was beating so loud Momo swore Izuku could hear it, and beating so fast that Momo would've thought she'd just finished running a marathon.

Momo wanted to say it, more than anything, but something she wasn't sure was her common sense or her fear told her not to. It didn't feel right, not yet.

Izuku pulled back, and Momo wanted, for a clawingly desperate moment, to grab him and pull him back in. She wanted the feel of his skin on hers, his breath on her neck, the feeling of secret intimacy between the two of them.

Instead, she put her hands in her lap as Izuku sat again, knees to his chest and chin on his knees.

"You know, I should thank you," He whispered softly.

Momo paused, brows furrowed. "For what?" She asked, and her voice rang like church bells to him, making him shiver a little.

"For… well," Izuku looked away, cheek on his knees. "If it wasn't for you, I don't think I'd be here."

"Izuku?" Momo asked, leaning forward, fingers brushing his shoulder. "Izuku… what do you…"

Izuku sighed and rested his forehead against his knees, eyes closed.

"I… Momo…" He whispered hoarsely, hands shaking. "Promise you won't tell?"

Momo's eyes widened slightly in anticipated horror. "Izuku?"

"Promise me?" Izuku asked, not looking up or at her. "Please?"

Izuku's voice was barely a crack in the soft wind now, and Momo tried to swallow the trepidation in her throat as she nodded.

"I… I promise," She said, hoping beyond hope it wasn't what she thought.

Izuku sighed again and looked up, staring at the trees some distance away.

"I wanted to kill myself, Momo," Izuku admitted. "It… When Kacchan attacked… I had nightmares when we stopped talking. He blamed me, Momo… blamed me for ruining his dream…"

"Izuku…" Momo whispered in horror.

"I… He came to my house one day… I wasn't there," Izuku continued, voice hoarse. "According to my mom, he was crying. Crying, Momo, because I ruined his dream. He had my number… blew up my phone trying to talk to me… blaming me."

He took a deep breath, feeling a weight in his chest.

"I couldn't take it anymore…" He whispered. "I took a knife when Marvin was asleep… He sleeps a lot whenever he can… I had researched where to cut… Nobody would be able to save me…"

Izuku turned to her, a vague, but present smile on his face.

"I… I thought of you," He told her. "When I was there, crying… I– I couldn't do it… I knew you'd be upset if I did it… I couldn't bear to go without seeing you again… It felt worse, honestly. The thought of making you cry, it– it hurt. It stopped me."

"It stopped me long enough for Marvin to wake up and wrestle the knife out of my hands," Izuku said. "But… I haven't thought about doing it since. So, I think I have to thank you."

Momo stared at him, open-mouthed, trying to form a response to that revelation. What did you say to that?

"Izuku… I–" Momo's words got stuck in her throat again. "I–"

"It's alright," Izuku smiled gently. "I just wanted to thank you. Now seemed like a good time to do it."

Momo gently, as if made of spiderwebs and spun glass, silently took his hands in hers, cupping them close to her chest.

Izuku's eyes widened as he felt the thudding of her heart through her breasts, and his face flushed violently.

He tried to pull away, for just a moment, before Momo gripped his hands a bit tighter, almost tentatively.

"Izuku…" She whispered, yet it drew him in all the same.

His eyes met hers and his world stopped. No, it shrunk. It shrunk to just the two of them, his hands in hers, the heat of her skin burning into him like a fire did a hearth.

"Promise me," She said, and Izuku would've bound himself to her in a moment had she asked.

"Promise you won't leave," Momo whispered, clutching his hands close. "That you won't leave– that you won't leave me. Please?"

For a moment, Izuku wanted to do much more than promise not to leave. He wanted to stay, to be a part of her in some way intimate, some way permanent. He needed to.

"Of course."

Momo smiled at him, and Izuku couldn't feel his heart for a moment, only the heat in his hands and her fingers wrapped around his palms.

"Thank you."

In a moment, it was over, and Izuku came out of the shock like an Arctic fish put over a fire.

Some part of him craved it again; he needed it. Needed it more than he did to breathe; even his body admitted it, his breath short and ragged.

"Will you come to training tomorrow?" Momo asked, her face lit up in a violent blush.

"As long as you're there," Izuku replied before he knew what he was saying.

In an odd twist, Momo was glad she was already blushing, because if she hadn't been then, she would be now.

'You two belong in a sappy rom-com,' Marvin drawled internally.

Izuku jumped a little, having completely forgotten Marvin was in his head.

Marvin rolled his eyes. 'I swear you'd forget your head if Momo talked to you and you didn't have it attached.'

The two eventually said their goodbyes, with Izuku feeling substantially lighter than before.

.

Author's Note: And that's the chapter! Kind of short, I know, but I wanted to write some more Izumomo stuff, and now was just the perfect chance to.

Izuku has substantially less trust in his teachers than before, which'll affect him moving forward. He won't hate them or anything like that, but, with the exception of All Might, he'll second-guess them a lot more, and his reckless tendencies will slowly begin to rise, especially with Marvin's personality becoming stronger as time goes on.

In Reaper's story, Izuku had one suicide attempt, and in canon, the only reason he didn't actually kill himself when Bakugo told him to is because he didn't want Bakugo to be complacent in a suicide since it would affect his dream. But the thing is, stuff like that doesn't just disappear after a while, you need to heal from it. So, Izuku will have some suicidal tendencies and so on moving forward, which'll actually cause issues with Marvin and whatnot.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!