Tartarus. The ultra high security prison. It's said that no one who's ever locked in here will leave alive. If you were to ask the inmates what they think of their forced living arrangements, they'd say something along the lines of, "Get me outta this hell hole!" or "I'll tear apart the bastards keeping me locked in here!" But if you were to ask its newest inmate, he'd say:

"I can finally get some semblance of peace."

You would think he's crazy for saying this, and he would probably agree with you, but Izuku was actually finding his place quite agreeable. It was quiet, there were guards to keep inmates from brawling, and most of the inmates left him alone. The reason for that is because Izuku is the only one who can use his quirk to an extent. A very miniscule extent. Whenever someone succeeds in breaking through his cold, stoic exterior, he sends them a piercing glare. For a moment, his eyes glow with the dreadful power of his quirk. Out of all the dangerous, powerful scumbags in that madhouse, he was the only one who's power couldn't be completely contained. That's enough to get most of the other bastards off his back.

Except the one he had unexpectedly grown fond of: his cellmate.

Kaina Tsutsumi, AKA Lady Nagant. Thanks to Hawks, the two of them were stuck in a tiny cell together. With nothing else to do, they started talking. Nagant was a pawn used to uphold the seamless image of hero society. Here's the sad truth, all men are not created equal. And here's the sadder truth, the hero society everyone admires as a force of good is nothing but a fragile illusion. The former Hero Public Safety Commission hero couldn't even count how many corrupt hero groups she had to kill, just so this charade could keep going.

Surprising to her, Izuku knew well what she was talking about. His parents, his friend and sister, kindergarten through middle school. Mocked for apparent quirklessness, abused for heroic dreams. They were both beaten down by the world, unending hypocrisy and no apparent way to the future they held dear in their youth. Who would have guessed it would take getting arrested for this 15 and 22 year olds to finally find kindred spirits.

It had never crossed their minds that they would get along, but it just happened, quickly after sharing stories. They talked for hours about society, their families, if they had walked down different paths, if they had met under different circumstances. Kaina was reasonably livid with Izuku's family. Not only did they embody everything she loathed about heroes, but whatever hope her replacement had given her that things were changing died. The face of hero society and his successor, responsible for creating the "monster" that nearly brought Japan to its knees.

What's more, every night, Izuku rolled up his sleeves and stared at his bare arms. His horrendously scarred arms, hands and fingers. A permanent reminder of his past carved into his flesh by All Might. More often than not, his animosity flared up so much that flames escaped from either the corners of his eyes or the holes between his gritted teeth. Some would say that reminding oneself of their suffering and fueling their hatred was an unnecessary, unhealthy choice.

But Kaina would disagree. The past happened. No matter how ugly it is or how deep you try to bury it, it happened. It shouldn't be forgotten, and past crimes should be punished. In her eyes, it was actually a good thing Izuku carried these reminders with him. So he wouldn't forget the people who wronged him and what they did. Don't heroes always preach justice? That every crime must be payed for? Even with blood.

Not everything was doom and gloom between them. Midnight and Hawks came to visit them twice a week. At first, the jail birds wouldn't say much, but they eventually came out of their shells enough for whole conversations. Thought it was tough to get them to admit, Izuku and Kaina enjoyed the visits. On rare occasions, they talked about what was going on outside Tartarus's sturdy walls. Apparently, over a dozen heroes decided to retire after society began to pick up again. During the period of chaos the Green Devil brought, they had many days where they thought they would die, and civilians weren't always on their side. A stark contrast to how they expected their dream job to be. Still, they held out until the big bad was put "down". Some praise is necessary for that.

The retired heroes include Teleki, and shockingly, All Might. The man who had been at the top for decades, the greatest hero on Earth, one of Izuku's worst abusers. Izuku couldn't care less what happens to him, but the burning in his chest arises everytime citizens cheer for him. He knew they were still singing his praise, especially since he's still planning to teach at U.A. And to fan the fire under him, Endeavor is the new de facto leader. Technically, Midnight and Hawks shouldn't be telling dangerous inmates anything about the outside world, but since Izuku and Kaina aren't a talkative pair with anyone else and swore to secrecy, they could make an exception.

Izuku was the only one who asked for something in return for keeping his mouth shut. "Make sure Toshinori and Inko Yagi never step foot on this island so long as I'm in it."

...

Currently, the two prison pals were sleeping back to back on Kaina's bed. Hawks had overlooked one little detail when he threw Izuku in her cell: there was only one bed. The two of them didn't fight or anything though. Back to back, plain and simple. Although occasionally, their hairs did stroke each other's skin. For a material used to create bullets, Izuku noticed Kaina's hair was surprisingly soft. The same goes for Izuku, whose quirk should've made his hair rough and prickly.

Suddenly, a thud was heard against their cell door, waking the jail birds up. The voice of a guard roused. "Rise and shine, inmates! You've got company." Even for Hawks, this was early. It was doubtful that he was that excited to see the jail birds, or that Midnight would come along first thing in the morning. "Just the kid, and it's not the bird or the stripper."

Both Izuku and Kaina shot the guard a couple of dark glares. "Let's go already, brat!" he demanded. Izuku got up and walked to the door. The second after it opened, he had weighted cuffs attached to his wrists as the protocol for when inmates have visitors. The whole time, Izuku had a gun pointed directly at his neck. Since he was the only prisoner capable of using their quirk, he was seen as the most dangerous. Kinda funny that the guards are extra jumpy around a kid.

As they walked in silence, Izuku wondered who was visiting him if it wasn't Hawks or Midnight. His parents? No. He usually feels intense burning in his chest whenever they're near, plus he made it very clear bringing them would end in disaster. Tsukauchi? Likely, but Izuku hasn't seen his face since he was locked away. And the police had to be busy since back when he was free, people went missing. Either villains kidnapping for ransom or idiots thinking a collapse in society meant they could remold the world. Oh well, he'll see for himself soon.

...

"Good morning, Izuku. How are you? Well, I hope." a soft, high voice said. Izuku didn't know how to respond to that. On the other side of the bullet proof glass was a small, white fur-coated animal wearing a suit, coat and hat. He had a scar over his right eye, dog-like paws, a thin tail and the head of a mouse.

"I'm sorry, who and what are you?" Izuku asked, and the formally dressed animal in front of him smiled. "Good question!" he said chipperly.

"I could a dog, a bear, a cat or a mouse, but what you need to know is that I'm the principal of U.A. High!" That was definitely his catchphrase. More importantly... The principal of U.A.!? The head of the top hero school in Japan was sitting right in front of him! The school that produced top heroes like... Endeavor, and Teleki, and... All Might. There was a time in Izuku's life where he would have gone into an excited mumbling spree about how amazing the school is. But he's a far cry from that optimistic soul.

Izuku's expression went from surprised to a scowl. Nezu expected as much, but still held his gentle smile. "It seems you're not the biggest fan of our school given some of our past graduates and my choice in staff. But it's thanks to one of them that I'm here. Midnight told me about how you're demeanor has changed."

Izuku cocked an eyebrow. "Let me get straight to the point. I'm here with a proposition for you. How would you like to leave Tartarus?" Izuku's eyes blew wide open. "I'm not offering you complete freedom, at least not yet. You will attend U.A. as a student so that we may keep a close eye on you ourselves."

Izuku felt like he was being pranked. Him, the Green Devil, one of the most feared people to plague Japan, attending a hero school? Nezu could sense his disbelief and continued. "I understand why you might be skeptical, especially with some my chosen staff, but no one will intentionally provoke you. You will be under our protection like any other student. You will be placed in Class 1-A under Shota Aizawa's vigilant watch. You may know him as Eraserhead. You will need to complete an application exam, like the other students, and then there's-"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Izuku cut in. "You're talking as if I agreed with your proposition. Even if I wanted to go with you, how could I? Izuku Yagi is dead." "But Izuku is not." Nezu countered.

"And as for why I'm doing this, which I'm sure you're also wondering. You're going to resent me for saying this, but you and All Might are alike." Nezu was right. As soon as he said that, Izuku grit his teeth hard and glared with rising heat. Still, the principal stood his ground. "You both have committed terrible acts. Along with being a neglectful, psychologically abusive father to you, he allowed Katsuki Bakugo and Izumi Yagi to participate in hero work before we were even at that point of desperation. And it was their actions that pushed you to become the Green Devil."

"But regardless of the past, they still desire to bring a positive impact to the world. That's why I allowed All Might to teach, on the condition he straighten out Bakugo and Yagi. It's why I'm here now. Because I'd rather give you a chance to atone and live your life than let you rot and die full of pain."

After listening to Nezu's whole speech, Izuku had his head low and staring at his cuffed hands. His hair covered his eyes and he no longer had a scowl. "Principal, I am not that hero-worshipping fan boy anymore. Putting me in the hero course is a waste for someone with no desire to become a hero. You and I both know this has only three ways it can end. I'll end up on the streets again, or captured and thrown back in here for life, or executed successfully. What's more, society will lose even more faith in heroes. The Green Devil coming back from the dead, first seen at U.A."

Nezu nodded. "You make good points. There are pros and disastrous cons in what I'm offering you, and I guess in the end, I can't force you to make a choice. It's up to you what you want to do, no one telling you otherwise. But know that you can become a hero."

Izuku bared his teeth and weighed his options. What would be waiting for him at U.A.? Undoubtedly the Yagi's and Bakugo. Toshinori straightening them out? As if the one who spoiled them more than anyone else is capable of that? They likely haven't changed at all. He's at least guaranteed Midnight will be there, and Hawks surely knows about all this. But what if his classmates are no different than his Aldera classmates? Izuku is confident in his quirk control and ability to disguise it has something else, but if he has to go through middle school all over again, he's burning U.A. to the ground too.

After some consideration, Izuku made his decision. "I'll go with you... on one condition."

March 3rd

Izuku breathed in his first breath of fresh air in almost a month. He stood outside of the tall, thick walls of Tartarus and looked back for possibly the last time. He had the handcuffs and Quirk Suppressant anklet removed. He had full access to Psycho Flames again. He had forgone his clothes as a prisoner, and was dressed in casual civilian clothing. He was free. Yet he didn't use his quirk and walked up to his party. The party consisted of Hawks, Midnight and Nezu.

"How does it feel to be out of the cage, jail birds?" Hawks asked. "Free to fly into a new cage? Exhilarating." Kaina said sarcastically. Yes, that's right. Izuku's one condition is that Lady Nagant would be allowed to leave as well, albeit she would also be under U.A. surveillance.

"We have a gift for you, Izuku." Nezu said as he walked up to the teen. "Hold out your hands." Izuku rolled his eyes and did so. He had a pair of sleek silver metal arm bracers slapped onto his forearms. They felt cold and light, and there were small hatches to open on each one, which showed small screens when open. "These are inhibitor gauntlets made from a brilliant scientist from I-Island." Nezu revealed. Izuku's ears perked up at the mention of that place. It's where his replacement is from.

"inhibitor? So they're designed to weaken his quirk?" Kaina asked. "After seeing what he can do, it's not the law can just let him walk away with his full power." Midnight said.

Izuku decided to see how much of his power he could use. His hands were lit with green flames, so were his eyes and hair. 'Feels like I'm slightly stronger than where I started. Though I can still control the temperature.' He moved his flames to form a cross on his chest while keeping his hands lit. Then focused his fire power into wings not as large as he usually made them. Finally, he aimed his palm at the distance and released a wave of emerald fire for 15 meters. "How much of my strength do these gauntlets seal?"

"45%" Nezu answered. That struck Izuku as odd. He should have just over half his full power, meaning he should be so much stronger than what he just displayed. He couldn't have possibly gotten that much weaker after almost a month of being essentially quirkless.

"Each." Nezu grabbed his attention again. "Those gauntlets were programmed to hinder 45% of your power each, meaning you can only use 10% of your full power." Ah yes, that makes more sense. '10% huh? That'll level the playing field with the other students. I'd probably kill someone with just half.'

Midnight walked up to him. "This is just until we can trust you to be responsible with your quirk. No power usage in school outside of class, and you keep them on during hero training unless told otherwise." Izuku nodded.

"So what about living arrangements?" Izuku asked. "Get in the car and I'll explain." Nezu said.

...

Izuku and Kaina shared the backseat while Midnight was driving and Nezu had called shotgun. Hawks preferred to be in the air. Izuku kept his gaze on the sights they drove by. In every direction, he saw cranes and reconstruction crews either halfway through their jobs or just finishing up. He can easily remember reducing certain districts to ash during the ride. "A dorm system?" Kaina questioned. During the course of rebuilding, the heroes realized their forces were more depleted, and there weren't quite enough heroes on the streets. The dorms were so hero schools could protect their enrolled students.

"And you two will be staying with us in the teacher's dorm. Izuku, since you'll be a student, you'll eventually have to move into the student dorms. Try to get along with your classmates, and no room sharing. Without consent." Midnight didn't even whisper that end bit.

The R-Rated heroine went into detail about the plan for Izuku. Even though he missed the entrance exam in February, they could arrange a test for him. He obviously doesn't need battle testing, he can just take off one of his gauntlets and be able to cremate his whole class. So the focus would be on his academics. They gave Izuku a new notebook to write his thoughts, feelings and experiences, like he did when he was the Green Devil. According to him, it was also a way for him to remember his dad Hisashi who taught him how to read and write.

Along the way, they passed a recently rebuilt playground. Izuku's eyes were fixed on it as he remembered bringing the Asui kids to a playground, and having a therapeutic experience with their older sister and Endeavor's daughter. He looked for any of them, but no luck. But he found someone else he recognized. A purplette with long earlobes strumming a wooden guitar for a cheering crowd of little kids. 'Kyoka...'

"-zuku? Izuku?" Midnight's voice reached him. They were at a stop sign, so she decided to look at what he found so captivating. 'Is that one of the examinees? Jiro was her name I think. Oh, this year is going to be interesting for you, Izuku!' Midnight thought before driving off again, already excited to see him begin his classes.

U.A. High School

The four stepped out of the car and Izuku looked up at the pinnacle of hero education. The old him would've been a starstruck lad who felt lucky to even be on the property. But now he just felt apathy for the school. They had a few things to go over before heading to the dorms.

...

"Lovely. This year, I have 21 headaches." Shota Aizawa, AKA Eraserhead, groaned as he met Izuku, the former Green Devil. They had just tested to see if Erasure worked on him with his gauntlets on, which it did.

...

"You want me to teach this little shits?" Kaina asked, wanting to make sure she heard that right. She wasn't expecting to just move into U.A. and get to put her feet up. Surely, there was a catch for her just like there was for Izuku. While her being expected to teach wasn't the most outlandish idea, given the circumstances, it still struck her as surprising. She was convicted as a criminal and put away. Unlike Izuku, she didn't have the presumed dead cover.

"That's right, and please refrain from calling them that." Midnight said.

"And you want me to teach heroics? Seriously?" Kaina scoffed at the idea. She still had a bitter taste in her mouth for hero society, so to even suggest her going back to keeping the appearance of a hypocritical wprld again. It sickened her to say the least.

"It's not the worst idea," Izuku chimed in. "You've seen the ugly side of this world, and likely so have they thanks to me. They need someone give them a comprehensive insight into how corrupt and twisted these so-called heroes can be. Who better than you?"

Lady Nagant closed her eyes and scratched the back of her head, seemingly thinking about it. That's when Nezu came in to seal the deal. "I could always have you oversee Izuku's class." The sniper hero glanced directly at the smiling chimera before sighing in "reluctant" agreement.

"Throw Izuku in as a package deal, and that's all it takes, huh?" Midnight teased. That's when Kaina bent her right arm and pointed her sniper arm at the dominatrix. That shut her up.

"I forgot to mention, no shooting fellow staff or students." Aizawa said while placing a hand on Kaina's right shoulder. The multi-color haired woman relented and put her built in rifle away. As she did, the door to Nezu's office opened and a cowboy-looking hero walked in.

"Principal Nezu, if you've got a minute, there's somethin I wanna..." he trailed off as he realized who else was in the office. Izuku quickly recognized the man as Snipe, another long-range shooting hero. Before anyone else could let out another word, the cowboy hero let out a high-pitched squeal. In the blink of an eye, he was up in Nagant's personal space and vigorously shaking her right hand.

"Oh mah gawd, oh mah GAWD! The Lady Nagant! I can't believe I'm meeting you in person!" the apparent fanboy squealed. He had completely forgotten what he initially came to talk about (and that there were other people in the room), and was zipping all around Lady Nagant and quickly getting on her nerves. 'What happened to being jealous of her?' Aizawa wondered in his head. 'Seems both our jail birds have an interesting year ahead of them~!' Midnight thought with a smirk.

Snipe the fanboy crossed a line when he went and ran his fingers through Kaina's hair and commented on how soft it was. That was the last straw. She whipped out her sniper arm and aimed at her obnoxious admirer. Despite having a gun muzzle inches away from his face, Snipe was still fanboying. "You sure I can't shoot this one?" she asked with her eye twitching in agitation. "I second that." Izuku added, starting to get pissed himself for some reason.

"No." Midnight and Aizawa both said. But Snipe...

"Oh mah gawd! I'd be so honored to be shot by the Lady Nagant! Right here, on my right shoulder!"

"Ya hear that?" Nagant asked as she pulled a handful of hair from her head and twisted into a bullet. "He doesn't mind...!"

"No!" Midnight and Aizawa yelled this time. Midnight dragged the former HPSC hero away with Izuku following from behind and Aizawa restraining Snipe in his capture scarf. No matter how desperately and pathetically he tried to follow Nagant, he wasn't going anywhere.

'The school year hasn't even started and I've already got a headache...' Aizawa thought.

'I have a good feeling about this year!' Nezu thought chipperly.

...

Midnight took Izuku and Kaina for a tour around the campus since they needed to get familiar with it. Along the way, they met Hound Dog, the school guidance counselor. From the start of the year to the end, Izuku would have to report to him at least twice a week. Eventually, they also found Hawks, who had a stack of book carried by his feathers. He dropped them all in Izuku's hands. Izuku was completely different from the shy, timid, quirkless, weak child he was. Even so, he had to admit the paper stack he was holding was absurdly heavy. That was his study material for his entrance exam, along with a few books Hawks thought he might like to read.

On the last stop, they made it to the teacher's dormitory building. Not too far away, Izuku saw similar buildings being constructed, most likely the dorms for other students. He walked into what he would call his new home for the next month and a bit. A trip in the elevator brought them to the room set for Izuku, Nagant and their watchers. It was specially designed to house four people, each with their own rooms.

When they walked in they found that the room was not vacant. A creamy blonde woman was in the kitchen making a cup of ramen, and a white-haired, rabbit-eared woman was helping herself to a carrot. Both dressed casually. "Mirko and Mt Lady?" Izuku asked in surprise. That grabbed the attention of the other pros. "Oh hey, what took ya so long?" Mirko greeted with a big smile.

'I find it hard to believe these two are also teachers.' Izuku thought and he was right. Apparently, when Izuku's condition for Nagant to be released with him was accepted, they needed to up the security a bit. Hawks and Midnight were prepared to watch over Izuku, but for another to rehabilitate they needed a few extra set of hands on deck. The pros would take it in turns who would watch the jail birds on which day. There weren't any complaints from the stoic pair.

Midnight was eager to take Izuku to his room which had already been furnished. There was a bed in the corner, a comfy-looking sofa chair, a desk for him to do his work, a bookshelf, a drawer and a closet. On his desk was a new phone and laptop for his school and personal use. He looked in his closet and only found two sets of clothing: a U.A. gym uniform and a U.A. student uniform. They got his body measurements from Tartarus the day he was arrested. On the other side of the door in the room was his own personal bathroom. Shower, bath, sounds better than the rain and lakes or rivers.

"So, how do you like it?" Midnight asked hopefully. Izuku was still, his back facing her and his lips not moving. "Izuku?" she asked with some concern. Izuku reached up to his eye and wiped something away. "I-I..." his voice cracked, and he cleared his throat in response. "I-I'm grateful, really." he said.

Midnight frowned as she could tell he had more he wanted to say, but kept it inside. 'It's not good to force him to come out, at least not this early.' Izuku went and sat down on his bed, and Midnight took a seat next to him. "They'll be here too, won't they?" Izuku asked, Midnight knew who he was talking about and sighed.

"Yes. They did remarkably well in the mock battle, and your dear old step-dad is still in their corner. There's nothing stopping you from coming out and saying they shouldn't be here." Izuku considered Midnight's words. He had the power to ruin their heroic career and get them blacklisted from every hero school. That would only be the tip of the revenge iceberg.

"Let them come. Their egos will be the first part of them I crush." he spoke. No. He'd rather play the long game. Toshinori and Inko likely don't have a clue of what Izumi and Katsuki put him through. They'll learn in time, but first he'd rather focus on breaking the brats down himself. Like a fine wine that gets better with time. Whenever he feels it's time, he'll go all in with no hesitation.

Not very heroic thinking, but Midnight didn't speak against it. She knew that, as a teacher, she shouldn't hold prejudices, but she met Bakugo and Yagi, and saw firsthand how awful they were, especially to Izuku. As a hero, she had to make sure justice was carried out, and why not let one of her hero students carry it out?

"Midnight, how long do you think this will last?" Izuku asked.

"That depends on you. You could choose to believe what Bakugo and Yagi will say, and cut all this short. Or you can make your choice without letting them influence you anymore. This can last, do you know why? Because you can become a hero. I wholeheartedly believe that." Midnight finished by placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder.

He flinched, but didn't pull away. In fact, he slightly leaned into her. "But the best things in life don't come easy. It'll take hard work, perseverance and a lot of studying. But you're not alone anymore. You have me, Hawks, Nezu, Nagant, and likely more to come when your classmates arrive."

Izuku kept his eyes fixed on the ground, but listened to every word. As nice as this all was for him to hear, he felt there was something missing. "C-Can I ask something?" he began. His voice cracked again, much like Midnight's heart. She looked into his emerald green eyes with compassion. "Anything." she said. Izuku breathed in before answering.

"I want to visit my mom and dad."