Angel: For those who aren't watching the show or reading the manga, uh, this particular episode has a lot going on, and it was the hardest to get through. Not just because of its content in the second half, but also because I hate some characters in the particular segment. To the point where I wanted to punch my screen. So fair warning, there's...a lot that happens in just the span of like 10 minutes if you actually watch this episode, so you have been warned. Child abuse, murder, mental health—if all those already turn you off, you might wanna just click away at this point.

And Kotaro got what he deserved, not sorry. I won't say the same about Hana, but still don't like her.

Anyway, is the question of how Izuka would react towards Himiko's Quirk Awakening? Cause I'm pretty sure those events don't get brought up again until season 6, which I'd rather not answer because spoilers. Even if we're almost done with season 5, I don't wanna give away plot points for upcoming episodes right now. As for Bakugo, take it from his perspective, he's the one who has seen Izuka's suffering and fears the most. If someone you have feelings for, even if you're too stubborn to admit them to that person, is going through a lot emotionally, wouldn't you want them to be happy too? So that's his mindset right now, regardless of how Izuka feels about expectations.

A few minutes earlier

"Toga, you've changed," Twice, as in the real Jin, pointed out to the unconscious girl. "Teenagers are terrifying. Your measurements from back when we were with the Hassaikai are no good anymore." She was surrounded by Twice clones, laying on the grass. And there was no sign that she would be up anytime soon.

"Stupid puberty! Stupid growth spurts!" One of the clones shouted bitterly, glad that they didn't have to deal with teenage stuff anymore. But it was also a bit frustrating that they couldn't make a clone fast enough to help out.

Jin tugged something in his mouth. "Gotta get a copy of you before it's too late," One of the clones stated, his eyes saddening at the girl's state. They felt terrible for letting her almost die by multiple Jin puppets.

"I'll make a bunch of you, and then we can do a blood transfusion," Jin measured the girl's body, since he needed the measurements of someone in order to make a double of them. And he had never made a Himiko clone before, so he needed them. "I'll measure her."

"Not a chance. I've got this covered," One of the clones offered immediately.

"I said me!" Another one jerked a thumb to himself. "You go find her bloodsuckers!"

"You guys already made two doubles each, right? I can still make more. I'll measure her."

Jin gritted his teeth, looking up at them furiously, as he couldn't handle the arguing anymore. "It's no time to argue! My friend is about to die, dammit! Work together!" He urged, as the less time they spent on arguing, the better. And he really didn't want to fall back into his mental trauma by his clones squabbling.

A clone of Himiko laid down next to her for the blood transfusion. "Wish I'd doubled you when you were healthy," One of the clones narrowed his eyes.

"It's a little late to be concerned about that. Your cute face is all messed up," Jin noted of how many injuries she had.

"Can it be fixed?"

"I'm sure Dabi knows a good plastic surgeon," Jin gritted his teeth in determination. "I swear. I am not gonna let you die."

Spinner was running on top of a wall. Need to lighten Shigaraki's load and take out the big guns He then saw a bunch of wind heading his way. Like him! He looked up with a snarl. "What's a buff big shot like you doing on the front lines with the randos?" He demanded towards Hanabata. "Guys who don't know their role shouldn't play the game!"

"My sword, is that how the kids talk these days?" He replied back casually, smiling. "From what I can translate, you're asking the right question. But then..." He then moved up his hands. "I'm not someone a weak meta like you could hope to take on." He proceeded to create something and it fell into his hands. "Sorry. Shuichi Iguchi," He looked up with a smug expression.

Spinner let out a growl for him knowing his name.

Hanabata then held up the mask. "One of Detnerat's patented devices, the Sevens Loud!" It then attached to his face, causing a bright orange glow to surround his body. "Steel yourselves! Let us bring punishment to those who threaten us!"

The crowd let out a scream as with the mask, he was definitely much louder.

Koku Hanabata. MLA code name: Trumpet. Meta ability: Incite. Special electromagnetic waves in his voice boost the morale of anyone who follows him, amping up their physical and mental abilities.

Spinner flinched as he stopped moving. "What's this?"

The crowd of the army all yelled while running up. Several of them used their Quirks to hold back the approaching Twice clones. As they ran, they were knocking back the clones with ease. Some jumped for Spinner, who jumped and flipped over someone. He then attempted to fend off someone, only for an explosion to occur.

"Your meta ability is Gecko," Hanabata recited as he saw that Spinner had jumped away from the blast, and was now clinging onto a wall. "Looks like you can't do much more than stick to walls. You must have been one of those shut-ins, yes? Relentlessly bullied? Are you here now because you despise how the world treated you? Unfortunately...I don't see you as a person who can bring much value to society."

As soon as he said that, the tower suddenly exploded. Spinner and Hanabata gasped as they looked up in the distance to see the building collapsing.

"They're at the tower? Our warriors should have stopped them!" Hanabata exclaimed with disbelief. Spinner then crawled onto the wall, someone spinning around from the room he was outside of. She swung down her arms to make a portal, so that one of the army members could jump and tackle Spinner off the wall.

"No, you don't! Got you!" A bunch of spikes came out of his body like a porcupine, causing Spinner to cry out in pain.

"Spinner!" One of the Twice clones shouted upon seeing this, having to move out of the way from a water cyclone.

"Liberation faithful!" Hanabata announced to the army. "Go to the grand commander! This filth is attempting to assault the soul of our army!" Spinner was tossed to the ground as he grunted in pain. "Hm..." He stared down at the League member on the ground. He tried and failed to get back up. "Like I said. I don't see you bringing much value to anyone."

"I know that—better than anybody..." Spinner slowly reached out to his blade. He then managed to grab the handle. "I'm a follower. I don't have a real goal. Or something I dream of, like Toga does..." He grunted as she sat up. "I lack motivation," He then glared up at Hanabata. "Except...when I saw him. He changed me." And he was referring to Stain, as he had seen the Hero Killer on TV.

"Why suffer?" Shigaraki implored to Dr. Ujiko. "Why not destroy instead?"

"And when Shigaraki spoke, I thought. I wanna see the future this guy envisions. I still do!" His body was shaking as people were surrounding him, staring. He then managed to get back up on his feet, clutching his blade. "If I didn't jump on the League bandwagon, I'd be a nobody! That's why I'm devoted to him! Gota a problem with that?! Huh?! No, of course you don't. Cause you guys are the same. Is that right, Mr. Politician?" He looked up at Hanabata.

"You're a fool to compare us," Hanabata immediately dismissed his claims.

Shigaraki Spinner thought while gritting his teeth, knowing that Shigaraki was the one who had destroyed the tower. I'll take on as much as I can.

Back at the tower, it was in shambles now after Shigaraki used Decay on it. Giran let out a cough, looking towards the damage that remained. "I'm still alive..."

A Twice clone revealed himself from the rubble. "I knew Shigaraki would go big..." They looked up ahead at the smoke, revealing that Re-Destro's body had grown in size, and not just his arm.

"Wow. You're a big one," Shigaraki commented as he stumbled forward, though he wasn't fazed. He had seen Gigantomachia after all. "So, how are you handling all of this? What was it again? A hundred and ten thousand people?" He let out a small chuckle. "You assumed you could leave the dirty work to your army and watch from afar. Safe in your little tower while the masses took care of us. Never thought we'd make it this far, did ya? Now everything's falling apart because you underestimated us." However, he got no response from Re-Destro despite everything that just occurred less than 2 minutes ago. "Talk! I'm asking about how you feel!" He threw down his arms, using Decay from his broken sneaker to spread it. The ground started to shift as Twice got Giran out of the area.

"You really wanna know?" Re-Destro implored, causing Shigaraki to gasp and look up. He saw Re-Destro's fist incoming towards him. He growled as he punched the ground, causing a huge shockwave. A bunch of smoke covered the area as rocks flew. "I'm furious, of course. I'm the type of person who bottles up my anger." He watched Shigaraki flying around, looking up. "It's a disaster for my hairline, I'm afraid," The darkened skin also got much worse as it expanded. "Killed a lot of my warriors to get to me. Is this the hand at fault? It will commit no more acts of evil!" He then grabbed Shigaraki by the hand, holding him up to his face.

Rikiya Yotsubashi. MLA code name: Re-Destro. Meta ability: Stress. He stores up his stress and turns it into power. The more he accumulates, the bigger and stronger he gets.

Shigaraki grunted and reached out his other hand, only for that to be grabbed as well. "It's a common refrain these days not to judge a person by their Quirk. The lesson isn't bad. It's the same thing I was taught growing up. The folly is, meta abilities have a direct impact on personality." Shigaraki looked up in shock that Re-Destro was able to capture him like this, something no other villain had done before. "I'm sure you're aware, given your power to destroy anything you touch with your five fingers." He then pinched his fingers together to squish one of Shigaraki's hands. "I didn't get a chance to ask you earlier. Shigaraki. What burden will you take on?" Shigaraki gritted his teeth in pain, letting out a grunt. "What world will you create? Or perhaps...you're just a hollow man. One who indulges in destruction without creating anything to justify it?" Shigaraki looked away while in pain, seeing one of the dismembered hands he usually wore on the ground. And...he recognized which one.

"Hana's hands..." He murmured to himself.

A bunch of dismembered hands were presented to Tenko by All for One. "These are your mother's hands. Your grandmother's. Your grandfather's. Your father's. A heart is a well-crafted machine. It wants to endure. Negative feelings like anger and grief heal with time. But you will carry your family close to your flesh to ensure that those feelings never fade."

He just stared at them, not knowing what to think...

"You got in trouble again?" A female voice wondered in concern, and looking up, it was coming from a little girl wearing pigtails.

Hana. My big sister...

"Whatever," She walked up, reaching out her hand. "We just won't let Dad see us, kay? I think he's in a pretty good mood right now. I told him that I wanna be a bride one day," She chuckled while dragging away the boy. "Let's go play!"

I remember. That always happened. Whenever I cried, she'd pull my hand as I followed behind her. Hana was the only one there for me...but she was just being a kid. My brain is on fire He felt like his world was spinning remembering her, not helped with the pain he was feeling right about now thanks to Re-Destro. Memories are coming back, spinning me round and round and round. Re-Destro ended up crushing his hand, blood spurting out of it. Shigaraki let out an agonized scream.

"Aimless child," Re-Destro looked down at him with disgust. "You'll find you're no match for me."

This helpless frustration It wasn't coming just from his opponent...but because he had to remember his past, his sister. He wore the hands of his family, yes, but he had almost entirely forgotten about them at this point...until now, that was. It's bringing back the memories I'd purged. They were born of the same emotion... He reached out two of his fingers to touch Re-Destro's, causing the skin to break apart a bit. Re-Destro grunted and then tossed Shigaraki across the field. More hands came flying off of his coat. Shigaraki panted as Re-Destro looked at his fingers, as he didn't think Shigaraki could do that with his Quirk.

I thought it wouldn't activate without all five fingers. Was the information I received incorrect? Or...

Shigaraki let out a small groan from his spot, his vision blurring. He then saw a woman, reaching out to his hair to scratch at it. He did the same thing with his other hand towards his neck, blood going down his left eye and mouth. "My head is...killing me..." He cried out as he wasn't sure he could handle it all.

For a metal ability to evolve because of unexpected stress. It is possible The Metahuman Liberation leader stared at Shigaraki in silence. He had a strong feeling he knew what was happening with Shigaraki. After all, Geten was able to meddle with the temperature of ice only after I accidentally burned myself. This young man...is in the midst of an awakening!

Shigaraki then jumped forward with a manic smile on his face. So fast! Shigaraki moved down his hands, but Re-Destro moved out of the way. He watched as the League leader landed with ease. He kept his preparatory movements to a minimum. Moving with cat-like grace. If he had this much physical ability in the past, he should have been able to take down heroes at Kamino. He recalled that when their hideout was compromised, that Shigaraki wasn't the one who allowed them to escape. And they were being held by Kamui Woods' Lacquered Chain Prison, so it wasn't easy to get out of it. They wouldn't have stood much chance. He's been training since then.

Shigaraki lunged forward once again, running at a faster speed than he had before. And these movements...they could only have been mastered through harsh conditioning. Shigaraki ran around him in a circle, unable to get a hit on him. Constant life-or-death training over an extended period. While he was aware of their location when Shigaraki was training, he didn't know that he was fighting for a month and a half against a giant monster. Having gotten barely any sleep, and his limits getting tested. He then looked over his shoulder. "I know because I've focused on training my ability. I'm almost impressed," His clothes ripped as he got even stronger. Shigaraki slid to a stop briefly, running up as he was focused on the battle. It was premature to judge you as inferior. He watched as the man jumped up. Seeing as how you didn't disappear after taking that damage. You must not be a double. His suit was ripped entirely as he was the size of Gigantomachia, his whole body ripped and his whole face was overtaken by his Quirk. 80 percent liberation! No more games. He watched as Shigaraki was still heading for him. Stress Output... He moved back his arm, something growing from it. Shigaraki opened his mouth in alarm. It's time to end this party. Shigaraki was now stuck in the purple projectile. Burden! He threw the purple projectile with all this strength, and it crashed into the city.

"Here, Tenko. These rice balls will make you feel better!" An old man smiled while holding up a plate for him.

Shigaraki looked at a pair of hands wide-eyed.

"Come on now. Don't cry," An elderly woman gave a bright smile. "You're going to make me sad too."

He continued to fly backwards from the amount of force he was thrown with.

My grandmother and grandfather were kind... He remembered how happy they were to see him and interact with him... Wait. No...I remember everything. I didn't need them to be kind back then After he landed, his face was in the dirty, bloody and bruised. I needed...

A phone suddenly went off, confusing Re-Destro. It was his own as he picked up. "What's the matter, Skeptic?"

"Please, sir!" Skeptic shouted in alarm, looking up. "You have to be on your guard He's heading your way!" He watched as two people went flying into the sky. "They had a secret weapon we weren't expecting! Re-Destro. He's...he's a walking mountain!" More shadows of people flew past him before a giant roar was heard. Gigantomachia came crawling in, starting to tear down buildings and plow through people like it was nothing.

He continued his rampage throughout the city, destroying buildings in his wake as he yelled again.

"Re-Destro!" Skeptic cried out, as his boss could hear the roaring in the background. "Are you there?" Something broke within him as he dropped the phone. "Can you hear me?!"

He couldn't even respond, nor could he even think about it. I can't believe it He looked up as Shigaraki was approaching, his shoes completely destroyed. Burden extracts stress and turns it into something tangible. Then blasts it over a wide area... By the description alone, Shigaraki should've been dead... It's the apex of the meta ability I've been refining since childhood! It's not something you can simply dodge His heartbeat was going erratic, since Shigaraki should not be standing, and yet he was defying Re-Destro's Quirk. He then realized...that Shigaraki touched his finger just before he got tossed by Burden. He looked at his fingers in shock. He touched it! In that instant! He ignored his survival instincts for the sake of destruction! Some of his fingers were now scraped thanks to Shigaraki using Decay on them.

Shigaraki stood there in silence, knowing what was going on with him. My senses have been sharpened... He then looked up to the sky. The details are rising to the surface...like everything happened yesterday He then reached into his coat pocket. "What world will I build?" He wondered, Re-Destro watching him in surprise. "Honestly, you were right." He was looking down at a hand. "The only thing I want...is to destroy," He looked up ahead with a small smile.

"Then you must be ended!" Re-Destro declared, a bunch of black whisps coming from his back. "A shapeless world—has no future!"

"I don't care about the future," Shigaraki remarked with the smile still on his face.

"Playing hero again?" A man snarled while dragging away his crying son.

"Stop, Kotaro, that's enough!" His wife cried out while running after them. "You're hurting him!"

"If he doesn't like it, he should obey me!" Kotaro didn't seem to care if the boy was getting hurt, or that his wife was protesting about it. He just wanted the rules to be enforced because in his mind, they had to be in order for things in the house to work.

"He's just a child!" She argued back while reaching out to her son. He tried desperately to reach her while in fear of what was going to happen to him. Unfortunately, it...wasn't the first time he had faced punishment because of his association of heroes.

There was a rule at my house.

The little boy was then hiccupping and crying in a corner alone, entirely in darkness.

Only one. Put in place by my father.

He scratched at his cheek a little, as his father's treatment was always getting that reaction out of him...

No talking about heroes.

Tenko Shimura, age 5

"It's already time for dinner," Mrs. Shimura explained to Kotaro as he was looking out to the backyard. Tenko had been outside ever since earlier. And Kotaro refused to let him back inside. "And his allergies and the scratching are getting worse."

"He knows what the rules are," Kotaro remarked, moving the curtain away to cover the door. Hana was petting their dog while the grandparents were near the table. "He can come back inside when he apologizes."

"Don't you think you've been too strict lately?" The grandmother asked in concern, as Kotaro had been acting like this for a while now. Every time he put Tenko outside, he wouldn't let anyone bring him back in. Because Tenko had to come back on his own.

Hana stared at them sadly, knowing that her brother was going through a lot...not just the abuse, but also the scratches.

"Five years old and no Quirk yet," Kotaro retorted back, as he didn't see the problem. "He needs to learn his place in this society, or it will break him." The grandfather scratched his cheek, as they all knew why he was like this...why he was pushing Tenko and punishing him for even thinking about heroes. "Aspiring to be a hero will cause suffering for him and his family. Everyone understands that, right?" No one responded back, knowing that...it was personal. And they were also terrified of how he would react if they protested or disagreed with him.

My father was a businessman, who accrued a fortune at a young age.

He silently ate his dinner, and wouldn't talk further about Tenko or heroes tonight.

He built an impressive house and invited his in-laws to move in.

"No, dear. Stop scratching," Mrs. Shimura told Tenko gently in the living room.

"I'm itchy," He responded as she finished applying his skin medicine on him. He was to apply ointment to where his scratches were twice a day. But given his father...it wasn't helping too much. Even with the ointment, the scratches wouldn't stop, and he'd be back to doing so.

"One day we'll figure out what you're allergic to," She then patted the back of his head. "I know, it's hard."

"It's worse when I'm at home," He confessed as she helped him onto his feet.

She then turned him around, gently holding his arm. "Tenko, do...you still...wanna be a hero?" She asked him carefully, and thankfully her husband wasn't in the room for him to overhear.

"Mh-mm," He answered a bit shyly. "Mikkun and Tomo were both being left out at school. So I told them we should all play together and make up our own game. And they said yes," His eyes looked a little worn out, scratching at his eyelid. "We played heroes. You know. Saving people 'n stuff. And eventually...Mikkun said, Ten, you should be All Might. Because I was nice and played with them even though no one else wanted to." It was this kindness from his friends, and their encouragement that made him even wanted to be a hero. Because it gave him hope that despite being five with no Quirk...he would get a power. And no one else in school would even talk to him because the rest of them had Quirks already. He then fell into his mother's arms in fear. "Why does Dad get mad at me all the time...? Does he hate me? Will he like me more when I have a Quirk...?" The little boy asked sadly, as he didn't understand why he had to hate heroes. Or why when heroes were brought up by Tenko, that Kotaro had to take it out on him.

"Mm," She hugged him gently, knowing that Kotaro loved his children...he just had expectations for them that didn't involve being a hero. Because he hated heroes himself that he wanted nothing to do with them, not even in his own house.

"Your father doesn't hate you," She spoke up gently, her eyes saddening. "He...just knows...how hard it is to be a hero." His eyes softened, remembering how terrifying his father could get. And she did know why her husband hated them, but...she felt like both of her children were still too young to understand.

An adult's words are absolute to a child.

Despite all the verbal and mental abuse Kotaro would put him through...he at least had his maternal grandparents to comfort him. But despite that, it wasn't enough for him.

That's why I wanted to hear it from my family. Just once...

Multiple times, Kotaro would drag him away, and he'd get punished...despite the protests and what the others said, they didn't say anything to stop Kotaro. Or even just talk to him, though that was arguably difficult enough.

But the house my father built...masked rejection with kindness.

He felt like his own family didn't accept him, that they rejected him for his own desires...all except for one person.

"I found a secret," He turned around to his big sister Hana, looking up curiously.

Kids are surprisingly sneaky and simple.

She had a bright smile on her face, and then showed him a photo of Nana Shimura...and she was hugging a child. "This lady is our grandma!" She revealed to her little brother, as the boy in the picture was Kotaro. He looked much happier in the photo than he did now as an adult. "She's a hero!" The photo was in their father's study.

"Wow," He murmured in shock, as it now made sense on why Kotaro didn't want him to be one. "But why are you showing this to me?" He turned to her in confusion.

"Because Dad gets mad when you play pretend," She turned around to the doorway. "But I'm with you!" She turned around with an encouraging smile, pumping her fists. "I'll be cheering you on as your biggest fan, Tenko!" She knew that Tenko would overcome his allergies, scratches, and the abuse to become a hero. She believed him wholeheartedly on that. "Let's become heroes together, and Dad doesn't have to know anything about it!"

He looked at her in awe for her support, as he felt like she was the one person who stood by his side. That despite everything his father put him through, that she would help stand up against him. He gave her a bright smile for her saying the words he wanted to hear. He then nodded happily at his big sister.

He then turned to the photo, his eyes glistening. If his own family could be a hero, then he could be too...he felt like he was destined to be a hero now. 'My other grandma was a hero! I can't believe there's actually one in our family!'

A tennis ball was thrown towards the dog, who barked as he ran over to catch it. 'Know what, Mon?' Tenko smiled while reaching out his hand. 'I feel great right now, like I can stand up to anything!' He happily scratched his cheek, feeling ecstatic since...he couldn't even remember the last time he felt this way. He felt rejuvenated that someone in his family was a hero. Granted, he didn't know much about her...but he wanted to now. He just wished that he could ask Kotaro about Nana Shimura and what she was like as a hero...but knowing his father, he wouldn't get the response he wanted.

However, as he tossed the ball, he grunted as he felt a sharp pain in his arm. The ball rolled to the ground...and then part of it disintegrated into dust.

It was sweltering that day.

He looked down at his hand, wiggling his fingers. He got onto his feet, looking at the shaking dog. And before he could even process what just happened...

"TENKO!" He flinched at the furious voice of his father. "You went into my study?!" He turned around in fear.

The humidity after the rain...caused my ragged skin to sting.

Even after that feeling, though, he felt absolute dread looking up at his father, and the look on his face...was contempt. "What did you see?" He demanded to his son.

Yes. Kids are sneaky.

As he was sweating in fear, he looked past his father into the kitchen. Hana was crying while reaching out her arms to her mother. The grandparents stared up ahead, all of them dreading the confrontation. "Tenko said that—that he had a secret to show me, I didn't know!" Hana cried out, tears falling down her face.

Tenko's mouth opened wide at her placing blame on him, when she was the one who showed him the photo. And was the one who said she found it!

The itching welled up from deep inside.

Kotaro forcibly grabbed Tenko by the shirt, pulling him up.

"Kotaro, don't!" Mrs. Shimura shouted out to her husband.

Tenko couldn't breathe as he gripped the arm of his father, scratching at his hair excessively. "That's not your grandmother," Kotaro snarled out to his son furiously. "She abandoned her family...when she left." Unfortunately, because Nana never came back from her departure...he took it to heart, and since then hated both her and heroes. Because he felt like she never wanted him, and wanted to keep being a hero...instead of being there for him.

'Help me. Don't just watch' Tenko thought pleadingly as his grandparents stood there and didn't stop it. Mrs. Shimura had tears in her eyes, Hana's tears streaming down her face. 'Why won't you step in? Someone!' He wanted one of them, just one, to stop this. All they had to do was grab Kotaro, or protect Tenko instead of just telling him to stop. Although...their fear held them back, especially Hana's. Being older...she knew fully well what her father could do.

"You'll learn. In order to save strangers they don't even know, heroes hurt those who love them," Kotaro raised his hand and then SLAPPED Tenko across the face.

This was the house my father built.

Later that night...Kotaro pondered that fateful day his mother left. All she had left him was a single letter. 'I'm sorry I have to leave suddenly, but your mom has to go fight a really bad man right now' He read the letter, and it only made things worse on his opinion on heroes. 'I'll be thinking of you, though. The whole time! I'd never forgive myself if this bad man did something mean to you. That's why.' He looked specifically at the stained ink at the end of the letter...from his mother's tear writing it. Because it was the hardest thing that she ever had to do. 'We can't be together anymore, Kotaro.'

He closed his eyes in frustration, as he was never able to get past it...he was never able to forgive her for it.

'I'm sorry I wasn't a better mother to you. Honestly, I am. You might end up hating me. But know this...no matter what happens in the future...I love you, my son. I hope your life is full of laughter and that you'll be happy. Always smiling. I'll be watching over you. Promise. Even...if it's from above.'

But because he was happy growing up with his mother...he never truly felt the same again after she was gone. She was the only family he had left, after all. His father was already dead, and so...she gave him up for adoption. And he wished things didn't turn out like that. He felt like his life was better with her, but in his eyes, she ended up being selfish in his eyes. That she would rather be a hero...instead of his mother.

"It would've been better if you'd never loved me," He muttered bitterly, folding up the letter.

"No more of this," His wife spoke up bravely.

"I went too far," He hid the letter away. "How are they?"

"We're through with your rules," Mrs. Shimura told him, putting her foot down. "Don't you dare raise your hand to him. Our family deserves to be happy."

"...It wasn't supposed to be like this," He murmured, photos of him, his wife, and his children nearby. And the only one who wasn't happy in those photos...was him. But he was starting to realize that he was going about it the wrong way.

"That's it," Tenko cried out to Mon, as once again he wasn't allowed inside of the house. "I can't take this anymore, Mon..." He let out a sniffle, wiping at his eyes. "It's too much. It hurts! I hate it..." He couldn't stop scratching either. "Everyone. Everyone. My whole family." He clutched at his dog tighter, and the poor dog let out a whine. "I hate them..."

Then...the light faded in Mon's eyes. He turned gray like dust, cracks all over his body. And then...he crumbled apart into pieces. Tenko looked up in confusion from the noise, seeing his dog in a pool of blood, his...parts all over it. "What just..." He let out a terrified scream, backing away from the dead dog. He scrambled onto his feet, panting in fear as tears ran down his face.

"Tenko." He flinched from hearing his sister's voice, looking up to see her approaching. "I was looking for you. Listen. I shouldn't have blamed you for that earlier." He was panting heavily from what he just witnessed, and despite her apologizing, he was in a panic. The little boy couldn't even begin to describe what he just did, or how he could fix it. "I'm the one who found the picture and said it was a secret." He kept gasping and crying, unable to calm down. She tilted her head in confusion at his state. "What's wrong?" She ran up and then saw the dead Mon next to Tenko. Her eyes widened and then she screamed in terror. She turned around in fear and ran off.

"Don't go!" He cried out, wanting her to help him as he reached out his hand. "I can't talk! So itchy!" He cried out while running up to her. "Hana! You came to apologize, right? HEY! Then protect me next time! HELP ME!"

She didn't listen as he reached out and touched her.

When Mon crumbled, I thought a villain was after us. That it was an attack.

Because he didn't see that it was his own hand that did it...he thought that a villain attacked when he wasn't looking. But...just like with Mon, Hana's body turned grey...and her whole body crumbled apart in front of the boy.

And when Hana fell apart...

He held his head in a panic as she died in front of him, his hair starting to turn blue. He felt like he was falling apart at the seams...

It was the same. I thought it was someone else.

He cried out in agony for his sister and what was happening, tears welling up in his eyes. He pulled at his eyelids as...his sister was now dead just like Mon, parts scattered and everything in blood... He then kneeled and threw up over her corpse, as he just killed a human being...and he didn't know what to do.

Mrs. Shimura gasped, her parents looking on in horror. They had just witnessed the whole thing.

Well, maybe not.

The grandfather hugged his wife as they backed away.

Tenko let out a sharp gasp while looking up, looking up with tears in his eyes.

Thinking back...I might've already understood what was going on by that point.

He couldn't stop crying as he held out his hand, tears streaming down his face as his hair was entirely blue. As soon as hand touched the ground, it started to come apart from his Quirk.

Why did they make excuses for my father? Why did they tell me not to cry instead of helping?

'I can't take this anymore...' Tenko thought as the cracking ground was going over to the rest of his family. He felt like he was releasing all of his pent up emotions about what happened in the household...and how their family handled it.

The resentment piled up, little by little.

As he looked up, he had a face of agony, anger, bitterness. 'I hate everyone!'

His mother was terrified as cracks appeared over her body and she stumbled. Tenko continued to cry as the ground started to cave in.

'Tenko...' She thought sadly, knowing that she should've done more for him if he was acting this way... As her body continued to crack, she ran forward with her arms open. He reached out his hand, but she crumbled away before they could hug...before she could try and comfort him or get him to calm down...he stared at what remained of his mother in sadness, as he wished he could stop. But his emotions were overtaking him...

Kotaro opened the door as he could hear something from his study.

The ground had stopped moving...but no one from the Shimura family was left standing. Blood was almost everywhere Kotaro could see, and it was a nightmare he didn't want to happen...

'I hope your life is full of laughter...and that you'll be happy' His mother's words from the letter rung in his head as he stood there in shock. The only one still standing was Tenko, and he could guess what happened.

"Dad. I...I didn't know!" Tenko cried out to him, crawling at his face non-stop. "The itch. I'm so sorry, Daddy!" He touched the ground again and it reacted. Kotaro grunted while bracing himself, Tenko screaming out as he reached his hand. Just this once, he wanted his father to put aside heroes and help him...

Kotaro was screaming himself in horror for what his son had done. When he wanted a Quirk for his son, he certainly didn't want this. And he felt like he had to do something...so he picked up a weed whacker, wanting Tenko to stay away from him.

"Father! Please!" Tenko screamed as Kotaro yelled out and hit his own son with the weed whacker. He went flying from the attack, blood flying from his mouth.

"Stop it, Tenko!" Kotaro yelled angrily, reaching out his hand.

However...Tenko had enough of his father's abuse after that. Because his father still wanted to torment him.

But I know, when I touched my father...

His eye was shaking as he lunged forward, hating Kotaro most of all. He then touched his father purposefully on the face.

I intended to kill.

"DIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He screamed with no regrets as he and Kotaro fell to the ground. Once they did, a huge crash came from the ground, Tenko having absolute joy on his face. Not even the blood from his father hitting his face fazed him.

An absurd sense of pleasure shot through my entire body. Somewhere in my heart, this was what I'd always wanted.

And with that final attack...the entire Shimura house crumbled to the ground.

It was my dream...

Tenko removed the hand that was covered in blood, having a big evil smile on his face while his father was nowhere to be seen.

And just like that...I didn't itch anymore.

Present Day

Izuka was snuggled up outside on her own, leaning against a tree. She told Mr. Aizawa that she wasn't going to be doing much, so he wasn't out there with her tonight. Although her exhaustion was starting to become more apparent. The girl looked back up towards the covered mural, humming a little. She could give Endeavor one thing; he did indirectly set her up to do this project for Principal Nezu. That was certainly something she could give him credit for.

Honestly...I'm still mad at him. And I commend Fuyumi for still holding onto hope like she has for what seems like a long time. But at the same time, Endeavor did try to force me into marrying Shoto. I can't forget that no matter what he taught me. I don't know if I can ever find myself forgiving him per se. But I'm still a little interested to see what he'll try to do for earning it The girl then blinked, giving a small chuckle of disbelief.

"It's official. Izuku's ideals are rubbing off on me towards someone I don't like," She murmured to herself; it was a shocker to say the least. Although arguably, Katsuki fit into that too, he was the first...and speaking of Katsuki, she really did need to talk to him one of these days. Last night, the favorite juice was already a surprise on its own, and she did thank him. And then he was...disappointed, mad, she didn't know or understand why. Asking him was well off the table at this point...

Teenage boys...can't understand what the hell they're doing sometimes in life She silently shook her head. I don't want or need romance confusion, can't avoid that when you have a crush on Katsuki Bakugo.

"Young Mido!"

She blinked as she looked up at Toshinori and Izuku arriving from around the corner. She stood up with a small smile towards them. "All Might!" She exclaimed in surprise to see him.

"I heard all about the mural, that's great for you!" He closed his eyes with an encouraging smile.

"It's definitely a stamina test, that's for sure," She turned away with a sheepish smile. "I need a week's worth of rest when this project is done…" She then let out a small yawn.

"No work today?" Izuku glanced up at the covered wall with a tarp.

"I didn't do as much tonight. Mainly because I keep thinking of stupid drama I don't wanna think about," Her hands shook in frustration. Not only was the arranged marriage thing tenfold, unfortunately, but she also was trying to figure out what Katsuki wanted from her. She already knew she wouldn't get a straight answer regarding it, and that she shouldn't push it. But twice now, he seemed irritated by something that was clearly bothering him, she just couldn't figure out what.

"Heh heh…" Izuku had a nervous knowing smile on his face. "Is it because of Kacchan?"

"Young Bakugo?" Toshinori blinked in confusion. "Is he giving you trouble again? I thought you were already past that."

"It's not entirely him, he's just getting more annoyed by some things I say, which I will never understand why at this point," She waved it off. Izuku stared at her knowingly and she silently nodded in confirmation. He could tell she didn't want to hear about it though, and would tell Toshinori when she wasn't in earshot. "I've been thinking about…Shigaraki sometimes too."

The two gasped in alarm as she looked at the moon. "Sometimes I wonder how he was before All for One. No family, a Quirk that destroys anything by touch. Imagine how it was unlocking that as a kid, and yet becomes the successor for the Symbol of Evil…I know that I said once that I could never relate to him. But now I'm not so sure anymore…" It was weird to think that a villain had a family, but they were still people before they turned to crime. She still had her anger towards him for having the nerve of confronting Izuku at the mall...but she felt a little less angry than she should be.

"I see…" Toshinori's eyes softened a little, remembering that Shigaraki was related to his master...and that he did feel bad for the villain too when he was recovering from Kamino. So he could relate to what Izuka was feeling.

"And plus, the League haven't been active in ages. And getting my DNA stopped being a priority. The rumors have stopped spreading too. Can't help but wonder if they're going to do something worse now that it's a new year…it's honestly nerve-wracking what people can do when they go silent," She rubbed a temple as she felt like she was being ridiculous. "I don't know, am I just crazy or something? It feels weird thinking about Shigaraki as someone other than a villain..."

Izuku frowned as he could see how much this was affecting her. And he felt terrible about it, because part of the reason she was targeted was because of him. Not to mention One for All would still continue to affect her power, and there was nothing he could do about it. They all had certainly been through a lot...

"…Hey."

She looked at her brother, frowning a little. "I'm sure that we can handle this together like we have before," Izuku placed a hand on her shoulder and she blinked at him in surprise to see him smiling. "I don't think you're crazy at all if you're thinking about who he used to be. Whatever happens…I'll always have faith in you, big sister! You supported me when I had no powers, so now I can support you," He gestured to himself. "Let us worry about this while you work on the mural!"

"He's right. It's likely that the League are intimidated by how you've approached it in the past. And I know plenty of other people who will continue to support you no matter what happens," Toshinori nodded in agreement with a small smile.

She paused while taking in their words and smiled softly at the two, blushing. "Yeah…you guys are the best," The girl confessed, grateful that she had them on her side.

"Are you serious right now?"

Izuku yelped as they turned around to see Katsuki having come across them, just like that one time during joint training. Izuka blinked at him, wondering if he had just shown up. "Kacchan!" He waved his hands rapidly, looking between the two and Katsuki. "We weren't having a secret meeting, we were just trying to cheer up Izuka!"

Katsuki flinched upon hearing this, pushing past Izuku, only to find out he missed her smile. "Damn it! What the hell did you guys do?!" He grabbed her cheeks and pulled them apart to try and make it reappear.

"Hey, ow!" She called out in pain.

"We didn't upset her, it was because of what we were discussing," Toshinori reached out a hand. "Don't do that to your classmates."

"That's not what I meant," He huffed as he stopped pinching her and she grunted a little, more confused than ever. He meant to ask what they did to get her to smile. But there was no way that he would ever ask the question out loud. Then again, he wanted to be able to do that on his own, not because of someone else saying something.

"Katsu, what gives?" She whined a bit that he was now doing this and Katsuki released her cheeks. He then held them in his hands, trying to move up her lips with them. The girl flinched and then blushed from how close he was to her.

Does he not remember the last time he was this close to me? What is he even doing?

"Can you knock it off?!" She cried out to him, gently moving his hands away.

Izuku and Toshinori gave them awkward smiles as they could tell what was going on…

"I'm just…stretching out your face for an exercise!" Katsuki tried not to be so obvious about it. "Because your cheeks look cute! Dammit, I mean…" He flinched as he saw all of them looking at him in silence. "…I'm going to sleep! C…call me if you really need to!" He then stormed as he couldn't believe he was getting worked up over it. When once again, he told her that it wasn't supposed to be like this…whatever just happened. Why is it so damn hard to get her to smile? What do I need to do? Ugh, this is pissing me off…some sleep oughta do it.

"You saw that too, right?" Izuka gestured to Katsuki wildly. "It's like I'm dealing with someone who expects me to read his mind and assume that he's not being weird!"

Toshinori gave a small smile. I think he just wants to see her happy for himself. It's only a matter of time before she realizes that too.

"Why'd he pull my cheeks?" Izuka whined while softly rubbing her face.

"Well, it is Kacchan. You know how he gets about staying fit," Izuku grinned, trying not to die from what he just saw. Well, Katsuki didn't really do anything too romantic, but it was the meaning behind it that counted. "Like he said, think of it as a new exercise!"

"That's not a new exercise!" She pouted towards her brother. "You never do it. I'm telling you, he's starting to freak me out…it definitely felt draining like an exercise, but still..."

Or perhaps not that she'll figure it out…

And Katsuki himself was lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling…because he couldn't sleep at all after he accidentally admitted Izuka had cute cheeks.

Damn it. Why the hell did I say that?