It's finally over. The flames of the devil have been extinguished. The people of Japan saw it themselves. They can finally regain their livelihoods. The dark clouds that hung over them for so long have finally parted. Construction crews and restoration hero teams were working around the clock.

Unknown Location

"Poor fools, living in the delusion that heroes can save them. I pity them. Hmmhmmhm." All For One chuckled to himself. "You spared the boy, let the world believe he died by your hands. A decision based on sympathy will come back to bite you sooner or later, take it from me, Hawks."

"So they really got him, huh?" a black-haired man asked. "Oh well." he walked away. "That's all you have to say? I thought you'd be more upset at this development." All For One inquired, his ally stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"I sure as hell ain't thrilled, but as long as the kid's breathing, they won't truly know peace. Even dead or alive, he'll haunt All Might and Teleki." All For One shrugged. "Fair enough, though I must applaud what you did to their reinforcements. Let me guess, just to twist the knife in Endeavor some more?"

The man grinned wickedly. "That's partly it, but also because I just wanted to give the kid some presents." He was referring to the burned and beaten Yagi and Bakugo.

I-Island

The footage of the Green Devil's final stand against the heroes was on par with war footage. The destruction, the unwavering combatants, the loss. The footage would spread to the rest of the world, first reaching a man-made island of the US, where a genius inventor and his prodigious progeny were the first to see it.

'Toshinori, you kept your word. I'm so sorry about your daughter and Katsuki, but it's over now. Thank you.' David Shield thought as he wiped the tears from behind his glasses. His daughter sitting next to him and holding his hand kept her eyes fixed on the screen.

"Papa. How soon can I fly out to Japan?"

Central Hospital

The heroes who fought against the devil suffered incredible wounds. The citizens praised their deeds, championed their bravery, and Death Arm received a large helping of the sympathy. The poor man lost an arm to the pint-sized monster. He was considering retiring, but Tsukauchi and All Might said they knew someone who could hook him up with the best prosthetics. They awaited Death Arm's decision on their offer.

In the meantime, Toshinori walked like a ghost through the hospital. His body was more frail than before due to the devil targeting his stomach wound, and his time as a hero had been reduced to two hours. Retirement was quickly approaching the living legend, but that's not what weighed him down. He passed Ingenium's hospital room, where the turbo hero had his leg heavily casted and his younger brother greatly upset about his extreme injury.

'That could've been another family torn.' Toshi thought as he moved on. He saw Izumi receiving her prognosis.

A/N: Possible medical inaccuracies incoming

"Your arms suffered due to the extreme blowback of a new shockwave aspect of your quirk. Previously, your arms ruptured due to this recoil, resulting in broken bones and shredded muscles, but thanks to the support gear you had, you avoided a full break and anything more than third degree burns. But, there's something more concerning at play here."

The doctor looked at his clipboard more closely. "When muscles and bones are damaged, they repair themselves and become stronger. Your body is doing that, but at a slower rate than it should. Even with medical assistance, your body isn't healing as much as it should, or as quickly. Our scans show that your structure is showing signs of frailty well beyond your years." Izumi looked at the doctor in worry. "What does that mean?" she asked.

The doctor sighed. "It means you're becoming weaker, you're body is losing it's ability to heal, and your frame is comparable to someone in their late 40s. Listen Yagi, what you did out there was noble, but if your body continues to degrade like this," "I can't become a hero?" she asked with panic taking her.

"I don't know if you'll even live to see your 21st birthday. I've already given your father the news, you should discuss it with him."

...

Toshinori couldn't believe his luck. Izumi was slowly dying. As soon as they deal with one crisis, another shows up. 'Is this because of One For All? Is it too much for her? But my daughter can't die! I've entrusted so much to her! Izumi, I promise, we'll fight this together. I'll hold on for as long as I have to, for your sake.'

The blonde man then passed Inko's room. She was stable and asleep, the surgery took a lot out of her. "Sir, we have her results." the doctor said. "Luckily, it's not bad enough to make her retire. Thanks to Hawks, the wound wasn't deep, and just shy of a life-threatening strike. But there is... something. I hope you weren't planning on having another child."

Toshinori felt his world being shattered. Inko's injury made it so she could never have another child. He would never see their own little one enter the world. He'd wanted for years to have a son or daughter with Inko, hopefully son after the loss of Izuku. Now that dream is dead. The man stood motionless in the hallway, a single tear running down his cheek.

'Burn in hell, Green Devil...' he thought angrily before walking away.

"All Might." a voice stopped him. It was his old friend, Naomasa Tsukauchi. He was looking pretty rough, to be frank, the man had been worked to the bone ever since the emergence of the Green Devil, the police having to hunt him and deal with the spike in crime. Even after the "death" of the villainous vigilante, he didn't look much better. Something has been eating away at him these past few days. "We need to talk."

All Might didn't argue. They went somewhere private to talk. "What's up? You should be more relaxed now that the hell is over." All Might said. "Right back at you." Tsukauchi then got to what he wanted to say.

"What do you know about Izuku?"

All Might was taken aback by such a question. What does he know about his own son? What kind of question is that? "Tsukauchi, where's this coming from, and why now when he's-?" "Please, just answer me." the detective insisted. "Things like what you saw from his daily life, his mood around the house, the most recent things."

Toshinori saw that his friend wasn't joking or willing to take no for an answer. His eyes looked to be hoping for a certain answer. Tsukauchi was all ears when the blonde opened his mouth. "He was a quiet and timid boy, most days he was holed up in his room. I never got any complaints from his school, he had good grades, but not a lot of friends."

"Any reason why?" Tsukauchi asked. Toshinori bristled. "That's... a difficult book to open. He always liked observing and cataloging quirks. He'd have been a great analyst if he hadn't been so focused on being a hero. I wish he'd seen a different path." 'Like Melissa.'

"That must've been hard." Tsukauchi said, to which Toshi nodded. "I did my best, but it still turned out like this." Tsukauchi turned his head to look at All Might with ticked off eyes. "I meant hard for Izuku," Toshinori was surprised by that.

"The boy was quirkless and told he couldn't be a hero in a household where hero work is practically the family business. You, Shimura, Inko, now Izumi. Surely you can imagine how suffocating that must've been."

Toshinori didn't like what Tsukauchi was implying. "Anything else you'd like to ask me?" he asked, clearly wanting to escape this conversation. Tsukauchi sighed, but continued to prode. He asked about Izumi and Izuku's relationship. All Might said they could get at each other's throats here and their, but that's to be expected of siblings. When asked if Izumi would ever bully him because of the strength difference, he acted as if that was a ridiculous impossibility.

Tsukauchi asked how often he saw Izuku hurt in anyway. Toshinori said he seemed fine whenever he saw him. Finally, Tsukauchi asked if Izuku ever showed signs of feeling unimportant, or maybe even unwanted. "What exactly are you trying to get at here, Tsukauchi? If there's something you want to ask me, stop beating around the bush."

Tsukauchi clenched his trembling fist, but hid it from the "hero's" sight. "There's something you need to see, you and Inko. Let me know as soon as you're both in shape for it." With that, Tsukauchi left his friend confused and skeptical. The detective boarded the elevator and rode it down to a floor below the surface.

Before the elevator doors opened, a black screen appeared above the row of floor buttons. "Identifying..."the robotic voice said. "Detective Tsukauchi. Permission granted." The doors opened, and Tsukauchi walked into a narrow, white metal corridor. He entered the first of two room, which seemed like a conference room of sorts, with Hawks being the only occupant. He had his feet up on the desk and leaned back in his chair with a cup of iced coffee in his hand.

"So?" the wing hero asked, to which Tsukauchi sighed in disappointment. "He doesn't have a clue what his family has done. He barely even knows his own son, he gave me bare bone information. He doesn't know his daughter or Bakugo either, how cruel they were to him." Hawks' gaze didn't move from his cup as he took a sip.

"Neglect, abuse, isolation," Hawks sighed as he stood up from his desk. "That just about confirms the worst chapters of his journal." Hawks pulled out a charred forest green notebook. They finally went through Izuku's backpack and found handwritten evidence of what he went through since awakening his quirk. A lot of it was pretty painful, but he had good moments with good people. Those people are to thank for Izuku still having some semblance of a heart.

'Mina Ashido, his first friend and study partner. Momo Yaoyorozu, the first person to ever help him face his demons. Kyoka and Kirishima, he did for them what he wished someone would've done for him. Mrs Todoroki. Well, at least we know why he hates Endeavor so much.' Hawks flipped through the pages of Izuku's journal. He placed feather bookmarks at the less pleasant moments.

'Went home after helping Ashido pass, learned that his mother sees him as reminder that her ex husband died. Went home after Asui and Fuyumi's therapy session, learned about his dad's hero persona. In a way, he had his heart ripped out twice. Went home again after a guilt-induced nightmare, learned about One For All, his dear old man's real thoughts about him, and his family replacing him with another quirkless kid. I guess this is the day Izuku Yagi really died, along with others.'

Izuku wasn't like his family. He didn't just forget them and move on, though it would've been better if he did. He kept watching, learned the truth. Now, there's no force in the world that will heal his family wounds. Just when they thought Endeavor had it bad, especially with this Toya situation. 'I'm never having kids.' Hawks thought to himself.

Tsukauchi walked to a wall with steel shutters on it. No light or sound could pass through. "How is he doing?" he asked. Hawks pressed a button on the wall, and the shutters rolled up. No matter how many times they saw this, it never got easier.

Doctors performing surgery on Izuku's arms wasn't a pretty sight. They were some of the best Japan had to offer, so he was in good hands. When Izuku was taken, he had bone fragments sticking out of several places. More scars left behind by All Might. His slowly rising and falling with each labored breath. The breathing machine which also gave him anesthesia to make sure he wouldn't suddenly break out of his coma prematurely. Again.

"Stable. He'll wake up in a few months. He's wearing a Quirk Suppressant Cuff on his ankle, so we don't have to worry about him burning the hospital to the ground." Hawks said. Tsukauchi placed his hand on the bulletproof glass. He had a look of guilt on his face.

"I told All Might he and Inko had to see this." Hawks sighed. "I don't blame you. We can't keep letting them turn away from him, they need to see what they've done, even if we have to force them to see. Otherwise, what was the point of bringing him back alive?" Tsukauchi nodded.

Days Later

Inko and Toshinori stood in front of Tsukauchi back at Central Hospital. "Alright, let's go." They all entered the elevator and went to the lowest floor. "So what's been stressing you out so much, and why did you ask all those questions about Izuku?" Inko asked as they walked down the narrow corridor. Tsukauchi gulped. Even after days of mentally preparing himself for this, he had difficulty getting the words out.

"You believe that, at some point, the Green Devil took your son's life." he began, Inko and Toshi nodded. "He didn't." The two parents went wide-eyed at this.

"What are you talking about!?" Toshinori asked. "Izuku is alive!?" Inko asked with tears brimming. Tsukauchi couldn't turn to look at them, which didn't help. Even if the Green Devil didn't do it, anyone else could have. A quirkless middle school kid is an easy target. Finally, they arrived at the steel door with multiple layers of encryption.

"You two aren't going to be happy about this, but Hawks brought back the Green Devil alive."

Just as he predicted, the parents exploded at that news. "He- He WHAT!?" Toshi yelled while coughing up blood. "But the footage! He stabbed him!" Inko yelled but Tsukauchi shook his head. "Why the hell would he do that!? He's a psychopath with no regard for anyone else!" All Might yelled.

Tsukauchi had just finished unlocking the door. "He's in here, unconscious and weak from the battle. His arms are in especially bad shape thanks to you, All Might. Once I open this door and you get a proper look at the kid, I'll let you do whatever you think is best."

"You know, maybe this is a blessing in disguise," All Might said, making Tsukauchi sick to his stomach. "That monster has done nothing but ruin our family. He will suffer before he is locked away in Tartarus for the rest of his life!"

Door opens*

Toshinori buffed up into his All Might form, and dashed forward to the only bed in what appeared to be an operation room. The occupant of the bed had a blanket over his entire body. "Well now, isn't this an ironic turn of events?" All Might asked the unconscious body, no smile present on his face. "The boy thought to be capable of burning this world to ash now lies broken and pathetic." Like most days when he lived with the Yagi family. Tsukauchi hated that All Might was dragging this out.

"Once I've identified him, what happens next is up to you." he said with a shaky voice. All Might placed his hand on the blanket and got ready to rip. "Understood. I'm quite eager to see who is behind all the pain and misery." he said while pulling back his right fist. Like a blur, the blanket was ripped off of the body. The Green Devil's true face was on full display.

"W...What?" All Might gasped as he began deflating. "It... It can't be... that's impossible..." He lost almost all the strength in his body, one could've knocked the skinny man over with a feather. Green and black hair. Inko felt like crying, screaming and vomiting all at once. "He... H-He's..." Black freckles in a diamond formation. The thin scar from the cut Teleki gave him, which widened from gash he got from grazing against All Might's punch. It's him!

"IZUKU!?" they both screamed, not noticing the boy's face scrunch up slightly.

"How, when, what!? My boy, my poor boy!" Inko broke down on her knees and cried in front of the bed. Toshinori was tossing and turning around, his hands going in his hair. "H-How is this- no, no this can't be him! He's quirkless!"

After a few minutes, Tsukauchi decided to fill in some blanks. He explained that some tests were run. "Have you ever heard of the Quirk Doomsday Theory? Powers mixing and growing in strength and complexity. Izuku's quirk is the combination of a mind-related quirk, for instance, Telekinesis, and a fire-based quirk. He awakened his power, which he calls Psycho Flames, after some extreme emotional turmoil, and it's grown at an unprecedented rate. A quirk growth spurt, the first one we've seen."

Extreme emotional turmoil. That was the what stood out to them. The clueless idiots still had no idea what he went through in that house. Resentments that kept pilling up until they finally exploded out of him, and unto the world.

Tsukauchi pulled out some papers and handed them to Inko and All Might. "W-What are these?" Toshinori asked, too teary-eyed to read them. "DNA tests," Tsukauchi said. "His blood, Inko's and Izumi's. 99.9% match with both."

The two parents could feel their reality being turned upside down. They stared at Izuku, tears falling on his motionless body. What they didn't notice is his heart rate steadily increasing. Tsukauchi saw it, though. 'What? Does he know it's them? No, he can't. His quirk is sealed, he can't sense our thermal energy.'

"Our son is dead..." Toshinori said, his voice barely above a whisper. "This... this must be one of All For One's disgusting lies." Says the broken man who refuses to accept the truth. Tsukauchi shook his head, and placed a hand on his friends' shoulders. They clearly needed time to process this, and he suggested they go home. Before leaving, Inko placed a hand on her son's hair. That was a mistake.

The moment she made direct contact, Izuku's heart rate spiked up, he breathed heavily and his back arched. He grit his teeth like he was struggling, and the three around him suddenly jumped. "Visiting hours are over! Doctors!" Inko and Toshinori were rushed out of the room where the doctors took their place around Izuku. He was twitching with his teeth gritted, and his heart was still pounding in his chest.

"Wait!" Toshinori exclaimed. "My son!" Inko cried. "It's too dangerous for you right now!" Tsukauchi argued while pushing them back to the elevator. Tsukauchi then rushed back to Izuku, and was shocked to find...!

...he was still unconscious, his heart rate steady and no signs of waking up. 'He knew... I don't know how, but he knew it was his parents. His hate for them is so strong, it almost revived him, even with his broken body and all the anesthesia.' One of the doctor's put asked for Tsukauchi's attention.

"Sir, we have new cause for concern. The tears that landed on him... they evaporated. He used his quirk." the detective had a new dread written all over his face. Izuku's quirk capacity is so great, that the cuffs they have on him can't render him completely powerless. What now?

"Ya..." Izuku whispered before finally going still.

...

Over the next few weeks, Inko and Toshinori payed weekly visits to Izuku, despite Tsukauchi saying it's a terrible idea. Unlike the first time, whenever they entered the room, he would start shaking, his heart would pound and he would almost wake up within minutes of their arrival. It had gotten to the point that they couldn't even be on the same floor as him without these near awakenings coming up.

January 28th

"He's absurdly powerful, unstable, and we don't have a single sure fire way of stopping him should he recover and go on another rampage," Tsukauchi said. "But he's capable of remorse and guilt, and the only reason he hasn't ended it all is because he wants to atone. And there are certain people who should see the full picture," Hawks countered. The topic they were discussing: What to do with Izuku?

In the viewing/conference room above where Izuku lay was Hawks, Tsukauchi, Midnight, Mt Lady, Ryukyu and Mirko.

"I'd say we've got roughly a month before Izuku is healthy enough to move, but we're discussing this now." Tsukauchi said. "I'm in favor of rehabilitating him." Midnight said. "When I met Izuku, he looked so sad and lonely, and seeing what it did to him. Is locking him up really a good idea? His family pushed him away and look what happened."

Mt Lady raised her hand. "I knew him as Zu, during his early vigilante days. He looked pretty troubled, but not a lost cause."

Ryukyu sighed. "In all honesty, I'm surprised we haven't gotten the order to execute him." Everyone was taken aback by Ryukyu's words. "Yes, he's a hurt child at his core, but we're tackling years of pain and suffering, that doesn't just go away. And every day he's alive he only gets stronger. How long until he's unstoppable?"

"When that happens, he'll be on our side, or at least not looking to kill innocent people!" Mirko said with a grin. "So he's got issues, why not have him take them out on a punching bag? That's what I do." Everyone knew she just wanted her chance to have a real fight with the Green Devil.

"Isn't he close to Mrs Todoroki? They've spent extensive time together, maybe she could, I dunno, talk to him?" Mt Lady suggested. Hawks smiled a little. "Yeah, Rei might be the closest thing to a mom he has. But she's not completely mentally stable either. And how are we gonna break the news to Endeavor? Hey Endeavor, your wife's mothering the child murderer that almost killed you. How are the kids? Sounds like another disaster waiting to happen."

Hawks and Tsukauchi looked indecisive. "I know this shouldn't even be an option but, what about his family? We've seen Inko and All Might wanna change things, so maybe-"

Krsch!*

The doctor watching over Izuku was heard over the intercom. He sounded shaky and fearful. "S-Sorry to interrupt, but uh, a new party w-would like to join the conversation." Tsukauchi rushed to open the shutters to Izuku's room, and found the boy fully awake and out of bed. "Oh shit!"

Mirko, the first to hop into action, kicked right through the glass and landed in the room. Hawks flew Midnight and Tsukauchi down with him. Izuku was standing, albeit barely. His oxygen mask was off, they could tell his breaths were difficult. "What happened?" Tsukauchi asked the two doctors at the end of the room.

"W-We were musing about what you might decide to do with him. We briefly talked about the possibility of him going to his parents, a-and he immediately woke up and said "I'd rather die." the doctor explained.

The heroes were at a crossroads. They had no idea what to do here. Get Midnight to sedate him? Talk to him? Execute him? Whatever they do will have far-reaching consequences. Izuku opened his mouth and spoke. His voice was hoarse and tired with long gasps in between. "Take me... to Tartarus."

Everyone was dumbfounded by what he just said, but there was no reasoning with him. "I-Izuku, you do know what you're asking for, right?" Midnight asked. "Tartarus is a cesspool filled with deranged villains, you'll be surrounded by violent lunatics for the rest of your days." Midnight's explanation did nothing to faze him. "Middle school all over again... at least there'll be guards..."

Another reminder of the childhood that spat out what they see before him. Tsukauchi spoke up. "Izuku, get back in bed, we can discuss this later-" "One For All." Izuku interrupted, making Tsukauchi shut up. He and Hawks looked threatened all of a sudden, but Izuku's words just confused everyone else in the room.

"I know about All Might... transferring his quirk to Yagi... The crystallized power that can stop All For One... is in that inept child's hands... And unless you lock me up in Tartarus... what's to stop me from spreading the word...? Your forces are a fraction of what they used to be... villains are eager to get out there now that I'm "gone"... villains aren't the only ones who seek power... The world will hunt the Yagi's in my stead... And their blood will be on your hands just as much as mine!"

The atmosphere the room just became dense and heavy. Everyone felt paralyzed by Izuku's tired, yet volatile glare. His green eyes bore into them with unyielding resolve. Midnight activated her quirk to put him to sleep. Everyone covered their noses to stay awake, but Izuku didn't resist. The dominatrix caught him as he fell, and held his limp body close.

"Tsukauchi...?" she looked at the detective over her shoulder, who looked the most shaken of all of them. His quirk of being able to detect lies could be a curse at times. There wasn't a single word Izuku didn't wholeheartedly mean. He would sick the world on his family unless they give him what he wants.

"Tartarus it is, then," Hawks said dejectedly as he flew back to the meeting room. "I gotta make a call." he exited the room and stood outside the door. 'He's not only dangerous because of his power, knowledge can be a deadly weapon, too. Fine, we'll take you to Tartarus, but only until you've cooled your head.'

Hawks walked as his phone rang, but stopped in front of two chairs outside of the room. "I'm assuming you heard all that?" he asked Inko and Toshinori who were frozen in place. Hawks pulled out something from his jacket and gave it to the two. "I bookmarked the important pages. Read them carefully." He said before walking away.

Inko and Toshi looked down at the charred book in their hands in Izuku's handwriting. Their eyes were fixed on the cover.

Not A Hero Or A Villain
The Vigilante

They opened it up to the first page, the night he ran away.