I do not own these characters or the world, that belongs to our lovely author of MHA, Kohei Horikoshi. Also, cover art was a commission by me from the artist Krumbs. Follow them on or Twitter—though I guess that's called X now—if you'd like! They are extremely talented!

A/N: Kudos to you if you know the origin of this chapter's title. Thank you for all reviews/follows/favs. They're much appreciated. If you're feeling generous, leave me some more, otherwise please enjoy!

Sixty-Nine

Like Tears in Rain

It was late at night, probably well past ten o'clock and the streets were dark since only a fraction of the streetlights that dotted the damaged road still worked. The pavement was wet with the near continuous fall of rain. Things were quiet aside from the soft chatter of voices from inside a mostly destroyed laundromat. The light in the building would flicker occasionally, clearly on the verge of going out completely.

"This place is a real shit hole, Nakayama," a tall, thin man said as he looked around the damaged laundromat. There wasn't anything left to steal and besides, who the hell stole from a laundromat?

"Shut the fuck up Thor. It's a dry place that keeps us outta the rain and outta the sight of that fucking psycho Endeavor and his lackeys," the man called Nakayama snapped back in irritation.

"Your name is Thor? Haha, really? Can you like summon a hammer and charge it with lightning?" Asked a third man who stood near the front of the laundromat, eyeing the road.

"Nah, he can't do anything cool like that. Best he can do is conjure some sorta little bolt of energy that kind of looks like a cartoonish depiction of lightning. I think he chose Thor as his name because he's overcompensating for the fact that he sucks," Nakayama explained, his eyes narrowed with malice at he looked at the short fat man who referred to himself as 'Thor'.

"Hey, not like you guys have got some big fancy quirk. All you can do Nakayama is hear really well. And Winston it's not like you can do anything that special; all you can do is make thread—" Thor started in defense but was interrupted by Nakayama hissing in alarm.

"Quiet! We aren't alone!" He hissed as all three men began to look around the trashed building.

The lights continued to flicker on and off and rain continued to pelt the cracked pavement outside the laundromat. There wasn't anyone visible on the road so whoever they heard must be coming in from the back way. The backdoor to the laundromat didn't even have a door anymore and was just an open doorway that exited into a back alley. That back alley had a chain link barbed wire fence that blocked it off from easy access, so if someone had scaled it they would've probably heard that. All three men watched the open doorway.

"What the hell did you even hear man? I hear nothing," whispered the man from the front of the store.

"Well I'm the one with Xray ears fuckwit, so trust me when I say I heard someone!" The other man whispered back; his eyes glued to the doorway.

"Maybe it was noth—" Thor started but stopped as the lights flickered on and then off again as if announcing the ominous arrival of something that wasn't human.

A figure stepped through the ruined doorway and into the laundromat. It was masculine and man shaped and short but it didn't…look right. All three men stared with mounting alarm as the masked figure stepped into their space, the lights continuing to flicker, adding to the sense of surrealism at seeing whatever it was they were looking at.

It was short, shorter than all of them but it radiated an aura that put fear in their bellies. They couldn't see a face—it had some sort of torn and tattered mask on with the only discernable human feature being the glimmer of eyes in the eyeholes of the mask—if it even was a mask. Sometimes when the lights flickered off it looked like the eyes behind that mask glowed an eerie green.

The lower half of the face was covered in a battered and wrecked looking respirator or some sort of mouthpiece—it was difficult to tell with the poor lighting. The body was dressed in dirty, blood and dirt stained, possibly once green, attire. Red textured like gauntlets ran up the length of the arms but even those looked damaged and twisted. It was as if the ensemble of the creature in front of them had undergone some sort of corruption that had twisted every article of clothing. A ratty and tattered looking yellow scarf obscured the neck, adding to the strange almost inhuman look. Human or not, it wore an oversized and weary looking backpack on its back that added to the strangeness since it was perhaps the most normal looking thing on the mysterious figure.

However, it was not the disturbing appearance and attire that gave them pause, it was the black green like tendrils of energy that sprung up from the figures back like eerie looking skeletal wings. They gave off a slight illumination where they stood which only added to their intimidation factor. Green bolts of electric like energy almost constantly danced around the figure making it look like it might shock you if you got too close.

"What the fuck are you?" The man—Winston—by the front of the laundromat asked. His fingers were already twisting and forming a sturdy string in preparation to bind this strange creature with if it posed a threat.

"Cool it Winston. It's clearly a villain or one of those weird ass nomu things," Nakayama said and nodded toward the mystery figure, "we're just waiting out the rain in here, that's all. You can wait too but uh, don't try anything—or else."

The fat man that was called Thor suddenly bolted backwards, away from the figure and toward the front of the laundromat. He stumbled away and made quite a racket as he scuttled toward the front as fast as he could.

"What the fuck Thor? Calm down! And be quie—"

"No! No! That is not a villain! I don't know about whatever those nomu are but that thing is not safe. Haven't you seen the news? Wherever that thing goes people go down—criminals go down. We should be running!" Thor practically shouted as he continued to stumble away and toward Winston.

"What? What are you even on about?" Winston asked as Thor collided with him. He shoved the pudgy man away from him.

From the doorway, Izuku Midoriya silently watched the scene unfold, waiting for a ping from danger sense but nothing had come yet. He'd been on the prowl all day and night and the sound of vocal chatter from this destroyed building had drawn his attention. What he'd found was nothing more than small time, petty criminals—unlikely to have any information on All For One or Shigaraki but criminals all the same.

"Wait, wait, I know what he's talking about! Yeah, he's right, this is that vigilante or kid or whatever but more importantly, that weird looking motherfucker with half a face yapped about bringing it in," the man called Nakayama said as he eyed the masked boy.

Bingo, Deku thought to himself as he took a cautious step forward. They might be small time thugs, but they apparently knew of All For One. Could be useful, he thought to himself as he prepared to unleash a new tendril of black whip to wrap around one or all three of them. Danger sense suddenly pinged alerting him to impending malintent.

"This guy? Haha, guess we're getting a prize then," the one called Winston laughed and suddenly tossed the lasso shaped string that he'd started creating moments before toward Deku. However, before the lasso could find its target or even get very far, a huge plume of smoke billowed out from the boy and obscured everything from view. All three men started coughing and fanning their faces.

"What the hell is this shit? Tear gas? Ugly fuck never said the little shit was loaded with tear gas!" Nakayama yelled as the purple smoke continued to fill the small building.

"My eyes aren't tearing up so I don't think it's tear gas. Hey, Thor do something useful, use your fucking lightning bolts or whatever," snapped Winston as his fingers began twisting more string into the shape of some sort of weapon for defense.

"No! I'm getting out of here! Oh God, we're gonna die! It's going to kill us!" Thor wailed and stumbled around the smokey room.

"Shut the fuck up and let me list—ergh!" Nakayama's voice suddenly cut off.

The moment danger sense had pinged Deku had released smokescreen and easily avoided the incoming lasso. From there he'd used float to get above the smoke to pinpoint the precise location of each criminal. Once that was done, he'd sent one of his black whip arms out to latch onto the one called Nakayama and reeled himself in toward the man. The black whip tendril that was on Nakayama moved and morphed until it was coiled around the man like a boa constrictor, giving him a squeeze so tight he couldn't finish speaking.

Once black whip had silenced him, Deku sent two of his other black whip appendages to where he'd spotted the other two: Winston and Thor. The two other men gave shouts of alarm moments later as the black whips tendrils found them and curled around not unlike Aizawa's binding cloths.

"We're going to die! He's going to kill us!" Screamed Thor.

Smoke dominated everyone's senses and added to the rising panic of all three men. Deku inwardly cursed at himself for releasing too much of smokescreen. He was honestly a little surprised that En hadn't popped up to chide him for overusing it. No matter, I'll just go through the ceiling, Deku thought to himself and crouched down in preparation for a jump that was powered with both OFA and Fa Jin. He had stored kinetic energy in his legs and thighs from earlier in the evening; now was as good a time as any to utilize it.

Deku pushed through his feet and flew upwards through the smoke and barreled through the ceiling like a wrecking ball. He flew slightly higher than the building itself for a split second before landing on the building's roof. Once he was on solid ground, he retracted his black whip tethers pulling all three men up to join him through the hole he'd just created.

All three men came up with different shouts and wails of alarm. They looked beyond horrified which made a part of Deku feel bad for causing such distress but he immediately squashed that sentiment. He could not make room for being overly sympathetic. Not now. Instead, he focused on the small part of him that was pleased at the fear he'd instilled in these petty criminals. It was a difficult task and so against his own nature that it was often a struggle for him to focus and magnify this dark part of his heart…but it was growing easier each time he took down another villain. No more innocents will suffer—only you, All For One.

"All For One. Tell me what you know. Now," he commanded in a voice that was deep and more of a growl than words.

The man that was called Winston and had lobbed the first attack at him simply stared wide eyed at him, his face white as a sheet. The one that was called Thor was sobbing and muttering something incoherent.

"I think you might've overdone it a little with the smoke and all that. Kinda looks like it scared these guys to the point of not being very useful," the vestige of number six, En said, his shadowy blue figure popping up at Izuku's side.

"Ignore those two; focus on the one that referred to All For One directly," suggested the number three vestige, Bruce, the red shadowy figure on Deku's other side. Deku nodded and looked toward the man that he'd heard called Nakayama.

"You. You mentioned a man with half a face. Tell me what you know," he commanded his voice deep and authoritative.

Nakayama was still coiled up in black whip and struggled against the dark energies tight hold on him. Deku retracted that line of black whip closer to him, bringing the struggling man closer to him. The closer he got to Deku the more he struggled and the more panicky his face became.

"I told you! I told you! He's going to kill us!" Screamed the fat one.

"Might need to shut that one up," suggested En's shadowy figure as he looked over at the hysterical man.

"Right," Deku agreed and moved over to the other two men. He paused for half a second as he considered how best to incapacitate them. A solid hit to the head outta knock them out, he thought as he approached them. A punch it is. He swung his fist hard into the temple of the screaming man who almost instantly fell silent. Black whip released the limp man as Deku advanced on the one that had been called Winston.

As he approached Winston he saw wide and terrified eyes staring at him, skin that was alabaster white. Even villains feel fear, a small voice whispered to him as he again swung his fist toward the man. The man lay still and he released his hold on black whip before returning his full attention to the last conscious man.

"Now, talk," Izuku instructed. The man stared at him and opened his mouth to speak but seemed to be struggling with words. "Unless you want to end up like your friends, I suggest you tell me what you know. Now."

He saw the golden, extremely shadowy form of All Might's vestige in the corner of his eye take shape at his words. While All Might's vestige didn't have the ability to speak like the others, it could still impart feelings and some thoughts to Izuku and right now, it was imparting worry and concern. The vestige of All Might did not like the edge of violence and threat in Deku's words. I don't like it either…but I can't afford to be who I was before…I can still do good but I have to be…hard, concrete now. No one else will get hurt because of me, he thought to himself forlornly. Lady Nagant's smiling face before she cracked into brilliant light flashed in his mind's eye and he felt his stomach churn with despair.

All For One used you; used you like a puppet and gave you a gift of airwalk but slipped a little something else in there in case you didn't do what he wanted. Or would he have detonated that hidden quirk in you regardless? Disposed of you simply because at one point in time you were a hero and because…you still are…his thoughts spun wildly, fracturing, his heart threatening to rip in two. The all-consuming embrace of grief suffocating and stifling, causing bile to rise into the back of his throat as he desperately tried to harden his heart; to silence his inner turmoil. Get it together Deku, he thought to himself and willed the hurt in his heart away; pushing it down deep and summoning up a raw, ravenous rage; wrapping himself in it like a metaphorical blanket. All For One will pay.

The tether holding Nakayama had started to fray—weakening as Izuku had lost some control over his emotions but now the blurring stopped altogether; solid lines of power now running strongly over the man. Black whip liked rage. As long as he kept some semblance of control over his anger, black whip wasn't outright lethal; just deadly effective, bordering on impossible to defeat. Of all the quirks he'd inherited thanks to OFA, their original strength magnified by the power of OFA, black whip was perhaps the most useful and the most formidable. Mix in a little bit of Fa Jin and Deku was more than capable of executing a small countries population in one fell swoop if he so desired.

Izuku flicked his fingers and black whip reacted, tightening the hold on the man. He gasped at the squeeze. "Talk."

"Fine, but you gotta know, I don't know anything, swear," the man gasped, his eyes starting to bug out of his head, his cheeks growing red from strain, "I wasn't even in Tartarus, I'm small time, no spectacular quirks that somebody impressive would want or could even use. But when I got busted out—" he stopped to gasp for breath, "by the big fellow, the one with the muscles, he gave out some info, a place to go to…learn…about…a—" his breathing hitched again, his skin nearly purple. "…big reward that we…could…receive."

Izuku loosened the death grip on the man just a little, growing a bit concerned at the cyanotic look his face had taken on and the bulging of his eyes. He didn't want to kill him; he just wanted him to talk. He didn't want to kill anyone…except for All For One; he wanted to kill him.

The man took several greedy breaths of air before he continued. "I went to where they told us to go—it was just some place with a video and that's when I saw him, ugly fucker with some sort of zombie face, called himself the Demon Lord. A bit dramatic if you ask me but yeah, he mentioned you or what you looked like, had a picture of you except without whatever it is you got going on with your face now and er, no demon skeleton wings or whatever—he said if we had information on you or could capture you that we'd be granted a significant reward. I didn't put much stock in it, seemed like a long shot and probably a suicide mission if someone that fucked up couldn't get their hands on him, er, you. But then you showed up though…you uh, look quite a bit different than you did in that picture," the man paused briefly as his eyes searched over the masked face in front of him. "The kid in that picture was definitely human and yeah, a kid, but you, well, what are you?"

Deku ignored his question. "What were your instructions if you managed to capture or locate me? Where'd he tell you to go? Or to deliver me to?"

The man gave a shrug though it was barely visible since black whip was still tightly wrapped around him. "I left before I got to that part. The second he started talking about capturing and all that I bounced. My quirk is hearing really well, what chance do I have in capturing somebody that can give a zombie looking freak a run for their money?"

"Why'd the other one react the way he did then? Act like he wanted to capture me? Did he stay?" Deku asked, his voice hard.

"Nah, Winston wasn't even in prison. In fact, he was out on parole, so no liberating from jail needed. We've been buddies a long time so when I got out, he's who I came to. I told him about what I'd heard from the supposed Demon Lord. Winton's kinda impulsive which is probably why he reacted the way he did. If we'd caught you, I don't know, probably woulda tried to go out to find some other guys to see if they knew what to do with you. Definitely didn't think ahead, but thinking has never been Winston's strong suit," Nakayama explained.

Deku sighed internally, feeling frustration and fatigue begin to creep into the back of his mind. These men were a bust but then again, all leads he'd found seemed to be that way. He could take down villain after villain—there were always more waiting in the wings and it seemed no matter which ones he plucked off the street, they held no useful information that would allow him to move forward; forward toward All For One.

"So, you can let me go, right? Yeah?" The man asked, interrupting Deku's internal thoughts.

"No. Sorry. Lights out for you," Deku replied, his voice emotionless as his fist impacted with the man's head.

(Paragraph break because fanfiction hates the fucking asterisk)

Izuku stood on top of a nearby building that overlooked the local police station that he'd just dropped the three men off at. He'd said nothing aside from alerting the authorities to his presence and the villain's capture. The less he said, the better. Most reacted to him with fear and trepidation even if he was in the process of saving them.

What a strange turn of events, he thought to himself bitterly. How had it come to this? How had the world tilted so much in such a short time? How long had it been since he'd been away from his classmates? From his friends? From the girl he loved?

There was a pang in his belly at that thought and a lump that wanted to form in his throat but he pushed it down. He could not afford such sentimentality. Not anymore. Sentimentality, reactivity, emotional dysregulation, and volatility was what had led to him almost having OFA stolen during that awful battle. Kacchan almost died because of me. How many others will perish before I can find and take out All For One? How many more will suffer because of me?

"Focusing on the negative won't help you," the shadowy vestige of Bruce cautioned from Deku's side.

Deku looked over at the vestige and had to refrain from rolling his eyes. His mask was currently up over the top of his head and his respirator lowered so that he could stop to eat something, so if he did actually roll his eyes Bruce would most definitely see it. The vestiges were useful but at times he found it incredibly annoying since they often seemed to be privy to his inner most thoughts. Not ideal, he thought to himself as the memory of Uraraka's nude body popped into his mind and made him squeeze his eyes shut in a mixture of sorrow and embarrassment. Do they see everything I see?

"Sort of but not like a lot. We're just kind of background noise. Don't sweat it," En, vestige number six said with a smile.

"We're here only when you need us. We don't peek into your life when we aren't needed," the cloudy white appearance of the original user, Yoichi soothed and put a ghostly hand on his shoulder. Of all the vestiges aside from maybe Nana, Yoichi's presence was perhaps the most soothing.

Deku took a bite of the onigiri he'd had stored in his backpack from, well, he honestly wasn't sure how long ago it had been that he'd put it into his bag. He hardly ate or slept at all anymore. Sleeping and resting were luxuries that he just couldn't afford. Eating was a bit more essential but it was still time consuming and now that he'd essentially shaken All Might off, he didn't have someone who was continually trying to make sure he was fed. He could buy things but most of the places he spent his time were semi destroyed, so stores or food vendors were hard to come by.

Doesn't matter, I don't need that much rest or food. I will push on, he thought to himself as he finished off his rice ball. He could practically feel the vestiges shift in disagreement with him. All Might's vestige was again present and radiating waves of something like worry and perhaps disappointment. Deku was tempted to turn toward the vestige and frown and demand, 'What?! It's not like you can be out here doing this. I'm doing it the only way I can!' Like a petulant teenager rebelling against their parents. He knew that they were concerned for him, worried about his continued pushing, but it didn't matter; the only way was forward and the only way he could get there was by pushing, no matter the cost.

He crouched down on the roof, resting on his haunches, enjoying the coolness of the rain that splashed over his face. The closest thing I'll get to having a bath or shower, he thought with a sad smile. Deku looked down at his stained and dirty gloves; they were barely holding together. In fact, the majority of his hero costume was in rough shape—barely hanging on by a thread.

Gran Torino's yellow scarf waved wildly in the wind despite being completely saturated with rainwater. Deku raised his hand to still it's movement but paused when he realized that it waved in the direction that he would head if he was going to UA. That same pang of sorrow touched his stomach and he squeezed his eyes shut sadly.

How long had it been? Was it a month now that he'd been gone? Longer than a month? Was it really alrady April? He'd seen a few Sakura trees, though there seemed to be so few now since the widespread chaos and destruction of Shigaraki's decay. The ones he'd spotted looked like they were blooming or at least were blooming more than when he'd seen them that last day he'd been with Uraraka and she'd made the flowers float around him. He couldn't help the tiny, sad little smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth at the memory.

Ochako Uraraka….what are you doing right now? Are you still diligently doing classwork and hero training? Do you…do you miss me? He banished that last thought. It was too painful and it was not pertinent to the current situation. Romance, love, mischief, even friendship were luxuries that he couldn't afford. They were things of the past. At least for now.

The moon briefly peeked through the cloudy night which cast a hazy moonglow down toward the mostly darkened street, save the lights from the police station. Izuku looked up at the moon and saw that it was a crescent and thought he could make out a few little stars dotted in the small patch of visible sky. Are you looking up at this same moon Ochako and thinking about me? Are you, Kacchan? Your birthday is this month. I'm sad I'll miss it. I would've liked to have asked Ochako what she thought I should get you, maybe bought something with her to give to you…that thought made his mind wander to the missed holiday on March 14th—White Day and the mochi he'd bought for her. I never got to give it to you. I'm sorry, so very, very sorry…

He stood up and pulled his respirator back into place and his hood back over his face. Deku let out a deep breath in an effort to help banish some of his tumultuous inner thoughts and then began squatting up and down in rapid succession. He needed to build up some more kinetic energy so that Fa Jin would be ready if he needed it. It would probably be pertinent to wind up his arm a few times too. The more kinetic energy he could have stored, the better.

"You should rest," Yoichi's vestige said softly, his cloudy and ghosty hand touching Deku's shoulder.

"I agree. You've gone far too long without sleep," vestige three, Bruce, agreed; the foggy red man appearing in front of Deku.

"Not enough time," Izuku said as he continued to squat.

"You're never going to be able to take down All For One or Shigaraki if you are sleep deprived and half dead. You look really bad," vestige five, Daigoro appeared at Deku's side, his tone upbeat but also critical.

"You don't have to do this alone," number seven, Nana, said in a soothing tone as she too appeared in front of him, beside Bruce. "You need help, and you need rest. Your friends will be there for you."

"No!" Deku snapped his tone hard and serious. "If I go back—no, it'll just endanger them and I will not let that happen. You all know this, so stop making suggestions you know I'm not going to listen to." All Might's golden vestige shifted and gave off massive waves of disappointment and concern. Deku stopped squatting and looked over toward the golden vestige and frowned despite knowing that his face was covered and the expression would be lost to the vestige. "Stop trying to interfere! You are here to help not to slow me down!"

Izuku angrily turned away from the All Might vestige and made a point to step into the cloudy vestiges in front of him, dispersing them. He leapt off the building and sent a tendril of black whip to propel him along. He could still feel the concern and worry emanating from the vestiges. They were worried he was overdoing it, pushing it too much.

It doesn't matter. I have to find All For One; I have to stop the chaos…I'm the only one that can and I will not endanger anyone else, he thought to himself as he soared through the night. He couldn't help but think of All Might as he moved silently through the night sky, how he'd left him; fallen onto the ground and in the mud, food he'd prepared spilled in the dirt. His stomach twisted with guilt and regret at that memory. I abandoned you; I left you crying in the mud…I'm sorry but I couldn't stand the thought of losing you too. This is a burden I have to bear alone.

Ochako's smiling face filled his mind then and that same pang of anguish stabbed in his gut. He thought of her often, far more often than he cared to admit. It was distracting at times and distracting enough that he found it to be dangerous so he'd grown somewhat accustomed to redirecting the flow of his thoughts whenever she popped into his head. Sometimes though, like this moment, he'd allow himself to remember her, to remember her smile and the sound of her voice or the feel of her hand in his, her lips against his…

I'm so sorry I left you; left all of you. Ochako…I'm sorry, but after everything—after seeing Kacchan almost die and all this devastation…I couldn't risk the possibility of losing or even almost losing you too. It would be too much to bear. Everything already is close to being too much but I have to press on, I have to. Even if it costs me my life, even if I have to rewrite fate myself or smash a future that's written in stone, I have to put a stop to this and make this world a place that she and everyone can smile in again.

He felt a few hot tears spring to his eyes and spill out. Izuku did not resist them this time and let the few forlorn tears fall down his cheeks. His tears were invisible under his mask and even if he hadn't been wearing it, with the rain falling like it was, those tears would be lost to the rain.

I'm so sorry, so sorry, but I have to be strong. I wish I'd told you how much you mean to me…that…that I think I'm in love with you and that I'm sorry I had to leave, he thought to himself bitterly as his phone buzzed. He stopped on a nearby building and pulled the device out to look at it. There was a message from Endeavor with an address—a place that he should investigate and that they were on their way to. Izuku returned his phone to his pocket and again leapt into the sky, this time in the direction of the address Endeavor had listed.

No matter what happens to me, I have to end it—for her and for everyone; for the world…I'm the only one who can. As the last inheritor of One For All, it is my responsibility, and no one else's.

The darkness of the night swallowed him up like a suffocating embrace.

F/N: While my other chapters have had angst, they've been countered with comfort but not this one! I saved it for close to the end of my covering this period of time since yeah, the headspace Izuku is in is like gonna be super shit. So lots of chapters covering how badass he is would be heavily laced with sorrow and despair and while I'm cool writing that, I sincerely doubt anyone wants to read that.