Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“What do you mean I can’t tell anyone?!”

Miruko winces, ears twitching. “Do you have to be so loud? My hearing is sensitive and we’re in an enclosed space.”

After the disastrous encounter with Stain, Miruko’s personal assistant picked them up in a nondescript van and ushered them back to the agency, where Asano Yumi, the support technician, began treating their wounds. Izuku managed to get out of the fight with nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises, for once. Miruko’s knife wound has been bleeding steadily, but she waved Asano off to focus on Native, who is somehow still paralyzed from Stain’s quirk.

“What happened to taking Native to a hospital?!” Izuku simply cannot tamp down on the hysterics right now. Miruko still has a knife in her! How is he supposed to remain calm?!

“Yumi has a medical degree, and we have all the equipment we’ll need right here. Probably better than whatever’s at Hosu General, honestly. Isn’t that right, Yumi?”

Asano lets out an exasperated sigh, not looking up from Native. “I’m your support tech and a medic. I want a raise.”

“Of course.” Miruko grins. Her teeth are coated in blood.

“Can we go back to the part about not telling anyone?” Izuku frets. “Why can’t we tell anyone? Stain and Toga are still out there! We need backup—”

“We don’t need backup. We almost had him today, it was just bad timing. Besides, if word gets out that we’ve encountered Stain and didn’t capture him, Endeavor’s going to bully his way into taking over our case, and then we can basically kiss any chance of taking Stain down goodbye. That asshole has the stealth skills of an elephant, and Stain isn’t the type of villain you can brute force your way into capturing.”

Izuku agrees.

“Okay, but—”

“But, nothin’, kid. Not a single person, alright? Not even whoever it is you were up late talking to the other night.”

Izuku flushes. “M-My friends were just checking up on me….”

“That’s fine, but you can’t tell them. I’m serious, Midoriya.”

Izuku’s spine straightens. Miruko must be serious, if she’s using his real name.

“This is a delicate situation. We can’t take any risks.” Miruko moves towards one wall of the tech support room and activates a touchscreen panel, pulling up their victimology files. “We need to move quickly and quietly, so—”

“Rumi,” Asano says sharply. “Do not try to use your arm right now. Come here, I’ve finished treating Native-san’s wounds, he’ll be fine. Let me treat you now.”

Miruko hops over to the makeshift operation table, not looking like she’s in pain at all. It’s unnerving. Is this how people feel when they see Izuku casually break bones? He really needs to apologize to everyone in his life.

“Give me a second, and we can go over plan B,” Miruko says to him, grinning. “Trust the process. You’re with the Miruko Agency, and we don’t lose.”

Lurkers Hero Team @LurkersOfficial • 1h

@RealEdgeshot teaching our new #UAStudentIntern Cellophane how to maneuver around our #LurkersTeam obstacle course!

[Video of Edgeshot bouncing around a tight, indoor obstacle course as Sero follows in his path, swinging from his tape. When Sero passes the camera he gives them a wave and a grin. Mt. Lady is heard cheering them on in the background.]

12.3k retweets 73 quote retweets 30.2k likes

Mt. Lady (#23🎉) @ProMountLady • 2h

heyyy twitter!! your fav pro hero baddie here with my intern for the week, Cannot Stop Twinkling 💖✨keep a look out for more bomb pics tomorrow 💋💕 #bossbabes #studentintern

[Selfie of Mt. Lady and Aoyama, both pouting and throwing up peace signs. Behind them is the set of a photoshoot. Kamui Woods is in the background, carrying Mt. Lady’s purse and Aoyama’s bag for them.]

10.2k retweets 5.6k quote retweets 90.7k likes

Laundry Hero: Wash @washinghero • 2h

Who says electricity and water don’t mix? Student Intern Chargebolt is SHOCKING everyone here at the Wash Agency! The synergy is simply ELECTRIC! We love to see future teams UNFOLD like this 🧼🧺 #NowWashMeWhip

[Picture of Kaminari, Wash, and some of Wash’s sidekicks joking around in the agency break room with an open box of pizza in front of them. Kaminari is in the middle of telling a joke and Wash is laughing so hard that soapy water sprays out of the side of his costume.]

1.3k retweets 12 quote retweets 6.7k likes

omenforcer reblogged grandswallow

megumisdogs

You Can Do It: A Motivational Deku Fanmix

[Cover image: Deku in full hero gear with his mask off, smiling and flashing a peace sign at the camera. His freckles and dimples are on full display and he’s grinning sunnily, a stark contrast to the rubble and destruction behind him. A group of apprehended villains can be seen in the corner of the photo, all safely neutralized. The playlist’s title is in small font along the bottom of the image.]

A playlist for when you need to kick ass! But also help old people cross the street and rescue kittens out of trees. Inspired by Japan’s favorite bunny-themed Hero Intern.

[Spotify] [8Tracks] [Youtube]

Tracklist:

Start a Riot —Duckwrth, Shaboozey

Brutal —Olivia Rodrigo

DNA —Kendrick Lamar

Butter —BTS

Rose Colored Boy —Paramore

...

[Read More]

34,902 notes

#YES #just what i was looking for #save #fanmix #damn deku stans all have immaculate taste

(“Is everything ready for tomorrow?”

“Everything is in place,” Kurogiri confirms.

“Excellent!” Shigaraki smiles to himself, cracking his knuckles as he looks over the map of Hosu. “Should we start our attack closer to the Miruko Agency, or in the most populated area? Which do you think will cause Midoriya Izuku the most emotional distress?”

Kurogiri considers.

“There are several UA students interning in Hosu City, are there not? Shall we find out which agencies they’re stationed at and start there?”

A slow, sickly grin spreads across Shigaraki’s face.

“Wonderful idea! Perhaps we should drop the first Nomu in Manual’s patrol route….”)

We don’t lose.

We don’t lose.

That’s basically an invitation for Izuku to fail, Miruko knows that, right? Izuku can’t stop thinking about the conviction with which Miruko said that, even with a knife in her bicep. And then— afterwards, when they were going over the next steps of the plan— the absolute faith she had that Izuku would be able to pull off his part of the operation. Izuku is floundering at best.

He lies awake in his assigned dorm at the Miruko agency, staring up at the ceiling. It’s pristine. Izuku thinks he might be the only person to ever occupy this room. He might… he might be the sole reason these dorms were built in the first place. Everything seems a little too new. Miruko doesn’t take interns. Miruko doesn’t lose. Miruko respects Izuku enough to agree to mentor him. Something isn’t adding up here.

The gap between how others see him and how Izuku sees himself has never seemed so wide.

Deku Squad (midoriya stop changing the name!!)

small might • 11:23 PM

hey guys i know its late but uh

just wanted to say that ur like

my best friends in the world and im really grateful for your friendship

i love you guys

Within seconds, Izuku’s phone is buzzing with an incoming call from Uraraka.

“Deku-kun,” Uraraka says in a low, threatening voice, “whatever dumb, reckless thing you’re about to do: stop it.”

Izuku sputters. “I—”

“I’m not kidding! Stop scaring me! I will call your mom and—”

Beep, beep.

“H-Hold on, Uraraka, I’m getting another call.”

It’s Todoroki.

“Todoroki-kun?”

“Where are you? Do you need back up?”

Izuku blinks up at the ceiling. “What? No, I don’t—”

“Whatever trouble you’re in, I can help,” Todoroki promises. “Just tell me where you are.”

“I’m at the agency right now! I was just—what, I can’t send you guys a nice text without you thinking I’m in danger?”

“... I’ve learned to plan for the worst with you.”

Izuku rolls his eyes. “I’m hanging up.”

“If Iida were still awake, he would’ve called, too.”

“Good night, Todoroki-kun.”

Izuku hands up and switches back to Uraraka’s line.

“Look, I’m—”

“Incredibly reckless and stupid? We know. Was it Todoroki or Iida on the other line? Todoroki, right?”

Izuku gapes. “... Yeah, Todoroki. How’d you know?”

“We bond over our ‘Deku is doing something stupid’ sixth sense.”

Izuku rolls over to lay on his stomach, eyes tracing the wall by his headboard. “I don’t do dumb things that often.”

“No,” Uraraka agrees, “and you’re probably the smartest one out of all of us, if you don’t count Iida’s book smarts. You’re just really reckless. And selfless. It’s a good thing, it’s just hard not to worry about you. You know this, we’ve had this conversation before.”

Izuku nods, even though she can’t see him. “Yeah. We’re probably going to have this conversation many times.”

“I know,” Uraraka says, sounding fond. “Well, if you’re not going to tell me why you’re being weirdly cryptic and sentimental at 11 at night, can you at least promise me you’ll try to be safe? And you’ll call us if you need anything? And you won’t be needlessly selfish and/or reckless?”

“Mm, no promises on that last one.”

“You’re killing me, Deku-kun.”

Izuku buries his face in his pillow. “I just… want to save everyone.”

Uraraka is quiet for a moment. “You know ‘everyone’ includes you, right?”

“Oh,” Izuku says softly. He rolls back onto his back, staring up at the ceiling once again. “Huh. I guess you’re right. Thanks, Uraraka.”

“Be safe,” she says, one last time. And then they’re wishing each other good night and hanging up.

Izuku stays up for a long time, staring up at the ceiling. That’s two nights in a row that Izuku had to have his friends check-in on him over the phone. He wonders if it’ll be like this when he’s a Pro—worrying his loved ones, hiding top secret missions from them. Is this what the rest of his life is going to be like?

Eventually, sleep takes him.

That night Izuku dreams of smoke.

It’s thick and cloying, clinging to his skin and hair and making his lungs feel heavy in his chest. He blearily peers through the haze, waving a hand in front of his face to try to clear some of it away. It’s endless. He takes a few stumbling steps forward, but the smoke is so thick he can’t even see his feet. He wanders around that way for hours until finally, there, in the distance—

A flash of a white cape. Yellow gloves.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” says a voice. It’s familiar, but Izuku can’t quite place it.

“For Toshinori’s sake and yours, I hope you know what you’re doing, little hero.”

When Izuku wakes up, his face is wet with tears.

Deku: A Case Study in the Exploitation of Young Heroes

By Ogura Miwa, Kuse Tadao, and Kagano Kumiko for Time: Hero Edition

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past two years, you’ve probably heard something about All Might’s Hero Intern, Deku. This young upcoming hero has gone through a lot in the public eye, from his first debut in the HPSC Provisional License registry to the waves of #DekuSighting pictures on social media to, most recently, a live streamed villain attack on UA grounds, followed right after by his assistance in saving Pro Hero Ingenium ( Rank: 84, Peak: 53), who was recently attacked by the notorious Hero Killer.

Deku has been in the news more than some seasoned Pros—including, surprisingly, outranking Pro Hero Endeavor (Rank: 2, Peak: 2) in Hero Daily’s brand ranking number of articles for the first quarter of this year.

But is all publicity good publicity?

We’ve spent the last month researching the statistics on how the media is reporting on Hero Intern Deku—who is a first-year in high school, a minor—and just how much of that reporting is factual, fair, and unbiased.

Spoiler alert: it’s not looking good.

Continue reading

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If tailing Native was boring until Stain showed up, then tailing Fearless Devil is infinitely worse.

Because it is boring. Matsui Yoshiro is, perhaps, the most boring hero Izuku has ever encountered, and for a hero fanboy like Izuku to think you’re boring, well. That says something. But Izuku would honestly love a boring patrol right now. He’s so on edge that every dull, mundane thing Fearless Devil does makes Izuku tense, expecting Stain to launch out of the shadows and kill his target before Izuku can blink.

Izuku is essentially an ultra-powerful ball of anxiety on the world’s most uninteresting patrol—but he can’t relax, because last time he relaxed ended up with two escaped criminals, a Pro Hero bleeding out, and a knife buried in Miruko’s arm. Izuku will not make that mistake twice.

“Deku, come in.”

The communicator in Izuku’s mask crackles with Miruko’s voice. Izuku pulls away from the edge of the building he was standing on, just in case his voice carries down to the street below. Fearless Devil is tying his shoe.

“Deku, here. Is everything okay?”

“Fine on my end, no sign of either of our suspects. I just wanted to check in one last time before we reach the edge of our communication zone.”

Right. Because they’re on separate tails, and Miruko is clear across the city. If something goes wrong, Izuku will have to wait for his distress call to route back to the agency, then from the agency to Miruko.

Izuku gulps. “I’m—Everything is fine, for now. We’re southbound, so—yeah. You know. No signal. Um.”

Miruko sighs, the sound coming out as more of a rush of static than a sigh. “Deku, we talked about this. You nervous?”

“Not nervous, no!” Izuku squeaks. Miruko sighs again.

“Look, I’m not going to lie to you and say everything’s going to be okay,” Miruko says. “When I agreed to take you on as an intern, I promised myself that I wouldn’t talk down to you, or try to sugarcoat anything. Things might go wrong tonight. Everything might not be okay. The only thing you can rely on is yourself. Focus on what you can do, what you can control. The rest will follow.”

Izuku is still for a moment as he watches Fearless Devil on the street below him.

“I’ll do my best,” Izuku says, quiet but firm.

“I know you will,” Miruko replies. “I wouldn’t have sent you out by yourself if I didn’t think so.”

Izuku closes his eyes briefly. Miruko’s faith has a certain weight to it, and it’s hard not to feel crushed under all of it.

“See you soon, Deku.”

“See you, Miruko.”

The line goes quiet. Izuku watches Fearless Devil bum around on the sidewalk for a couple more minutes before he starts to move again, strolling down the street and half-heartedly keeping an eye out for crime. Izuku follows, and thinks about the plan.

Yesterday, after their encounter, Miruko popped some pain pills and she and Izuku got right to work on formulating their new plan of attack. They ruled out the possibility of Stain leaving Hosu or attacking a hero outside of his usual victim type, just based on how strongly Stain stuck to his principles. With Native out of the picture, still recovering in Miruko’s agency infirmary, that left only the two previous potential victims from their list the day before: Fearless Devil and Silent Ace.

Two potential Hero Killer victims, patrolling an entire city’s length apart at the same time. With only a one-and-a-half Pro Hero team to protect them.

The only solution was to split up into separate protection details. Izuku knew that was the logical, safest thing to do. Both potential victims would be protected.

And neither Izuku or Miruko would have backup. It’s two against one, either way.

On the street below, Fearless Devil continues his meandering patrol. It’s hard for Izuku to not be frustrated with him. He’s just so oblivious. He has no idea the kind of danger he’s in, the amount of effort that’s being put into keeping him alive. Stain could show up any minute—if Izuku looks away for even a second, this man could die. If Izuku slips up and alerts Fearless Devil to his presence—or if another hero comes in and interferes—or if Stain and Toga have backup from someone else, like the League—

Izuku stops before he works himself up into a full-blown panic attack.

Focus on what you can do, Izuku repeats to himself. Have faith in your abilities. Miruko does.

Considering the stakes for this patrol, Miruko had him all decked out in top of the line stealth gear. Not that his suit from David Shield isn’t state of the art, it’s just that his Deku suit was made to match All Might: bright, flashy, durable and packed with body armor to withstand the force of Izuku’s quirk. It’s not great for sneaking around in.

Asano managed to pull together a version of Miruko’s Stealth Bunny suit for Izuku. It fits like a glove and lets him blend into the shadows of the rooftops as he hops along them, following Fearless Devil as he meanders through Hosu’s streets. There are no less than five different trackers on his suit and body, which Izuku thought was excessive until Miruko brought up his kidnapping track record. The tracker on his neck, on the inside of his suit collar, digs into his skin as he turns his head to watch Fearless Devil’s back. Izuku fights the urge to rip the tracker off. It’s sending his vitals back to the Miruko Agency, and if it can’t sense Izuku’s heartbeat at any point, every hero in a 15 kilometer radius will be notified.

Again. Overkill, but Izuku has no good arguments against it.

The sun goes down over Hosu City. The concrete cools, office buildings turn their lights off. Night settles in, unusually warm for May. Izuku melts into the shadows.

(“Kurogiri, which Nomu is the one with the tracking quirk?”

A heavy sigh. “For the last time, Tomura, all of them are capable of tracking Deku.”

“Excellent. Release them. I want Deku brought to me, alive or dead.”)

An explosion goes off.

Izuku whips his head around to see a building a couple blocks away light up with a second explosion. From his perch on the roof, Izuku can see a dark, large shape flying around the building, hitting it with more explosions. Every car on the block lights up with an emergency alarm. The building is far enough away that Izuku can’t see the people in it, but he can hear screams, the sounds of commotion as people in the building below him and around him scramble to look for the source of the explosion, to get to safety.

Izuku is tensing, getting ready to launch himself towards the ruined building to try to help, mind already on rescue strategies when—

Boom!

Another building, to Izuku’s left, is hit by one of those dark, flying masses. This one is a little closer, and in the flash of the second explosion, Izuku sees it.

A large, black beak. Two sets of tan, leathery limbs and one pair of wings. Exposed brain.

A Nomu.

All the blood freezes in Izuku’s brain. A Nomu? But it looks so different from the one that was at the USJ. Something in Izuku’s gut tells him his instinct is right, this is a Nomu. Something in his brain alarms sharply, screaming DANGER, and a second later, a third building to Izuku’s right is attacked by another Nomu.

Bad. This is so bad. Izuku is caught in the middle of three disaster sites, with the Pro he’s been assigned to protect standing frozen in fear on the street below. Fearless Devil startles when Izuku drops down next to him.

“What the—!?”

“No time,” Izuku says, “I’m Deku, I’m with the Miruko Agency. We need to get to those exploded buildings, and start evacuating the surrounding areas. Can you radio your agency to—?”

“We are not doing anything,” Fearless Devil interrupts. “You’re a kid and I’m—I’m not qualified for this. Did you see those—those fuckin’—those things flying around? We need to run, before they come for us.”

Izuku blanches. “Run? No! The least we can do is start evacuation procedures, if we make our way down this road, we can—”

But Fearless Devil isn’t listening. He’s grabbed Izuku’s elbow and is tugging him down an alleyway. “This way, there’s a shortcut to my agency. We have a safe room in the basement. We can stay there until All Might or Endeavor arrive. They’ll take care of it, we just need to stay out of the way—”

“What is wrong with you?” Izuku snaps. He jerks his arm out of Fearless Devil’s grasp. “You’re just going to leave all these people? It’s your job to help!”

“No, it’s my job to stop petty robberies and make people feel safe. I can’t fight those creatures!”

Izuku’s face twists up with disgust. Fearless Devil makes another grab for Izuku’s arm, presumably to keep dragging him through the alley to get to the safe house, but Izuku dodges him easily.

“I’m doing you a favor by offering a safe place for you!” he barks, looking down at Izuku. “You’re, what? Some kind of hero intern? Kid, the first thing you need to learn about the hero industry is that not all heroes are created equal. You and I can’t handle this. Just wait for Endeavor.”

Izuku balls his hands up into fists. He’s never wanted to punch someone so bad.

“Still think he’s worth saving?”

Izuku flinches. The quiet rasp of a familiar voice echoes down the alleyway, followed by the sound of steel blades scraping concrete. Stain emerges from the entrance of the alley, outlined in moonlight as he stalks towards Izuku and Fearless Devil slowly. A second later, his silhouette is joined by a shorter, smaller one, wielding knives. Toga.

“Who the fuck are—?”

Before Izuku can blink, Toga has thrown one of her knives at Fearless Devil. It hits him in the thigh and he goes down, yelping in pain.

“Don’t!” Izuku yells uselessly, putting himself in front of Fearless Devil. Keeping his eyes on Stain and Toga, Izuku throws over his shoulder, “Don’t pull it out, just—wait. I’ll call for help.”

Stain laughs at that.

“Call who, little hero? Everyone else has their hands full.” He waves a sword around in the air, indicating the distant sounds of panic as the Nomu’s terrorize Hosu City. “Toga and I do not associate with the League anymore, but this little attack of theirs is certainly convenient for us. No one is coming to help you, Deku.”

He’s right.

“T-Then I’ll take you down myself,” Izuku says, all fake bravado.

Behind his back, Izuku slips his phone out of his pocket. He blindly hits the lock button in a pattern he set to send out a distress call to the last person he texted, which should be Miruko. For good measure, Izuku rips off one of the trackers taking his pulse on his wrist. There. The agency will be alerted that Izuku’s heart “stopped” and someone will come to his location. He just needs to wait it out.

“You’re going to make your last stand for him?” Stain sneers. “He just tried to convince you to abandon an entire ward’s worth of people.”

“He doesn’t deserve to die!” Izuku insists.

“Neither do the people out there.” Stain nods to the exit of the alley. “Can you hear them screaming, hero? While we stand here, wasting time, more of them will die. Just let Toga and I take this one out like the trash he is, and you can go out there and rescue people.”

Izuku falters. “You… You’d just let me go?”

“We like you, Izuku-kun! Haven’t you been paying attention?” Toge pipes up.

“I already told you, little hero, you and All Might are the real deal. I have no intention of removing the only two true heroes from this world,” Stain confirms. “As long as you don’t get in my way.”

That’s too bad. Izuku has every intention of getting in Stain’s way.

“I won’t let you kill him,” Izuku says firmly, shifting into a fighting stance.

Stain narrows his eyes. “People are dying, Deku, while you defend a coward. You can save one person or hundreds. What’s one life compared to an entire city?”

Fuck. The stupid fucking trolley probelm, the only question Izuku failed on the licensing exam. But, no—this isn’t the same. Hosu City is crawling with heroes who are more than capable of running rescue, probably better than Izuku by himself can do. Right now, Izuku is the only thing standing between a man, flawed hero or not, and death. This is something only Izuku can do.

Focus on what you can do.

Izuku takes a deep breath in. When he exhales, he releases the tight hold he has on One for All.

“Holy shit,” Fearless Devil whispers.

The entire alley glows as Izuku powers up his quirk, green lighting dancing along his body. The energy rolls off him in waves, sharpening his senses and lighting up his veins with pure power. Then, like thunder following lightning, a quiet boom echoes around the enclosed space. Izuku breathes in air and exhales energy. He feels alive, electric—he grins and Stain and Toga both thake an involuntary step back.

“I won’t let you kill him,” Izuku repeats. “I won’t let you hurt anyone else. This ends here.”

Deku Squad (midoriya stop changing the name!!)

shoto :) • 9:32 PM

[missed group call from Todoroki Shouto]

Explosions happening in downtown Hosu. Iida and I were separated during patrol today, and I don’t know where he is. Haven’t heard from Midoriya since this morning. If any of you see this, please text me back.

Iida Tenya • 9:34 PM

I’m with Manual I cannot keep you all updated but we are currently working out of a makeshift triage center on Main Street stay safe my friends

uwuraka • 9:35 PM

Can’t text much either but i’m safe

Was on a train heading into hosu

Gunhead and i are evacuating civilians

shoto :) • 9:35 PM

Midoriya?

Iida Tenya • 9:35 PM

Endeavor just arrived carrying Miruko

She was caught in a blast but she took down two of those creatures

Midoriya was not with her

small might • 9:41 PM

[location sent]

shoto :) • 9:41 PM

Midoriya?

(“How have none of the Nomu found him?!” Shigaraki spits, furiously glaring out at the Hosu skyline from his perch on the roof of the Miruko Agency.

It’s empty. Miruko either cleared her staff out when the attack alarm was raised, or they predicted the League would come here looking for Deku. Either way, it was a bust. Shigaraki didn’t even get any satisfaction from decaying the fancy computer systems set up in Miruko’s office.

“Hosu is a large city,” Kurogiri attempts to placate.

“He glows green and jumps with enough force to crack concrete! How fucking hard is it to spot him?!”

Kurogiri sighs. If he had a bridge to his nose, he would be pinching it. )

KB TV —Hosu City @KBTVHosu • 8m

BREAKING: Hosu City under attack by the League of Villains. Pros in surrounding areas have been dispatched. More as the situation develops.

630 retweets 2 quote retweets 1.4k likes

safe house map in pinned @horienaoki01 • 10m

⚠ IF YOU ARE IN BLOCKS 8,10, AND 13 IN HOSU CITY: do NOT leave your homes. If you’re outside, make your way to the nearest hero agency for a safe house. Stay low and avoid crowds, the LOV seems to be targeting as many people as possible.

9.3k retweets 67 quote retweets 12k likes

(Miles away, Yagi Toshinori drifts off to sleep on the couch in his kid’s office. Exhausted from a long day of patrols without his protegé, Toshinori slips into unconsciousness like greeting an old friend. He sleeps on, oblivious to the chaos unfolding a few cities over.

Not that it would matter. All Might has reached his limit for the day. Deku will just have to manage on his own.)

Izuku grits his teeth, barely avoiding another one of Toga’s throwing knives.

They’ve only been fighting for a couple minutes, but to Izuku it felt like hours. He’s hyper aware of the space around him, senses working on overdrive to try to keep both him and Fearless Devil alive and in one piece, more or less. After getting hit with the knife earlier, Izuku managed to drag Fearless Devil so he was sitting against the wall of the alley, making it a little easier for Izuku to defend him.

“Getting tired?” Stain taunts when Izuku almost misses a knife aimed for Fearless Devil.

Izuku grits his teeth. Yes, he’s getting tired. The fight started off with Izuku nearly taking them both down at once—but Stain is slippery and Izuku is still only one person. Having to defend both himself and Fearless Devil—who has a knife in his thigh, but is thankfully still able to move—is pulling at Izuku’s focus.

He’s getting sloppy. Stain’s last blow caught the edge of Izuku’s mask, sending it flying off his face to smash against the alley wall. Not like his comms were working anyway—but now, Izuku has no way of knowing when Miruko is within his signal range again.

Just a little longer. Izuku estimates that, assuming the agency got the distress signal, Miruko or some other Pro will be here in a couple more minutes.

He just needs to hold on until then.

The problem is that Stain and Toga have obviously done their homework on Izuku since their last encounter. Izuku tries to keep the fight as long-ranged as possible, fighting back with air shots and pressurized blasts to minimize the possibility of being nicked with a knife. From his and Miruko’s research—and personal experience—Izuku knows that Stain’s quirk has something to do with blood and paralysis. Not knowing the exact parameters puts him at a disadvantage.

“Wow, you’re fast, Izuku-kun!” Toga praises, just as she lunges for his abdomen with a knife long enough to go completely through him. “So cool!”

Izuku grunts, batting her away with the same motion he uses to block Stain from stabbing at Fearless Devil. Izuku’s gauntlets are littered with deep gouges, the tough Kevlar on his gloves starting to fray with how many times Izuku has had to catch a blade with his hands. If Izuku makes it out of this, he is definitely going to invest in some kind of weapon. Maybe a baton? Or, fuck it, Izuku will take a cardboard sheild at this point—anything to catch the endless volley of sharp edges being flung at him.

“Toga, back!” Stain commands.

Immediately, Toga falls back to Stain’s side. Stain regards Izuku cooly, assessing. Izuku draws himself up, trying not to look like a cornered animal.

From the way Stain grins, he’s failed.

“I will give you one more chance,” Stain says slowly, smiling like this is a kindness. “You fight well and with conviction, little hero.”

Stain side steps, waving an arm as if ushering Izuku through a doorway. The open end of the alley is lit up with street lamps along the main road, a shining exit. Bright against the oppressive dark of the alleyway—with its brick walls extending up far past Izuku’s head, trash littering the ground, a pair of murderous hero killers giving Izuku another out.

Instead of answering, Izuku pours more power into One for All, crackling menacingly.

Stain sighs. Toga pouts in disappointment.

“Very well,” he says.

And then they’re off again.

Izuku is a blur of movement—catching Toga’s knives and using them to parry Stain’s blades, dodging swipes to his ribs, using blasts of air to deflect blades aimed for Fearless Devil. Just a couple more minutes. Izuku is doing so well and he can feel the hope surging in his chest, the idea that just maybe he can hang on long enough for Miruko to show up, and they can finish this out together—no casualties, no injuries.

Izuku almost doesn’t notice it, when it happens. The knife slides so cleanly against his cheek, almost a caress in how gentle it is. Izuku doesn’t feel it, doesn’t register it, until Toga is tossing the knife at Stain, who catches it smoothly.

A flicker of a long, sickly tongue against shining metal—and Izuku’s entire body freezes up. He drops like a rock.

“Shame,” Stain sighs out. He steps over Izuku’s prone body to get to Fearless Devil.

“No!”

Izuku flashes green with One for All, but it’s all in vain. It’s all he can do to shout. Fearless Devil doesn’t even have time to struggle before Stain cleanly plucks the knife out of his thigh and licks the blood there, paralyzing him, too.

Toga plops herself down on the pavement next to Izuku, looking down at him pityingly. “You tried your best, Izuku-kun. Better luck next time!”

She tries to pat his head consolingly. If Izuku could move, he would flinch.

“Fearless Devil,” Stain drawls, languidly unsheathing a katana, “do you know why I picked you?”

“Oh, pay attention, Izuku-kun,” Toga whispers, eyes wide and bright as she watches her mentor loom over the downed Pro. Her legs are folded neatly beneath her, hands curled into little fists on her knees, leaning forward with rapt attention.

Her smile is sharp with admiration. “This is the best part!”

“P-Please—”

“Answer the question,” Stain snaps. “Do you know why I picked you, of all the corrupt heroes in this filthy city to target?”

“I—the money? T-The tax fraud?”

“Are you aware that one of your sidekicks is living out of her car?”

Fearless Devil gulps audibly. “N-No? What’s that got to do with me?”

Stain suddenly stomps on Fearless Devil’s wound. He wails but is otherwise unable to even jerk away.

“Yes,” Stain spits, “what does that have to do with you? Hmm? Could it be that, in your alleged ‘reallocation’ of agency funds, you neglected to fully report your earnings to the HPSC? And could it be that, in response to your low earnings, the HPSC lowered the salary for your entire agency. Of course, you were taken care of, with the money you had squirreled away. But what of your sidekicks, hmm?”

Fearless Devil blinks up at Stain, face pale, eyes full of fear. “I—I didn’t—I’m so—”

“Sorry doesn’t change anything. While you and your lovely wife spent holidays somewhere warm and tropical, your very own sidekick was forced to brave the Hosu winters with only her car doors for insulation.”

“Asshole,” Toga hisses. “Fucking despicable.”

“Of course, your sidekick isn’t perfect either,” Stain continues. “In an attempt to raise her capture rates, she’s started planting evidence. Looks like your whole agency is rotten to the core. Don’t worry, she will get what’s coming to her.”

How does Stain know any of this? None of this came up when he and Miruko were doing their research. Izuku’s mind races. How much of what Stain is saying now is true?

Maybe all of it. Maybe none of it. Eitherway, Fearless Devil does not deserve to die.

“What do you think, Toga?” Stain calls out, half-turning to look at Toga and Izuku. “A quick death?”

“Slow, sensei!” Toga crows. “He doesn’t deserve a quick death.”

“I agree.” Stain tilts his head towards Izuku. “And you, Deku? What’s your vote?”

“N-No!” Izuku gurgles. His eyes well up, tears spilling over and pooling where his cheek is pressed to the pavement. “Don’t kill him!”

“That’s not an option. Would you rather it were you?”

Izuku doesn’t hesitate. “Yes!”

Toga and Stain exchange a look. Then they laugh.

“Silly, Izuku-kun!”

“As a kindness to you, I will make this fast,” Stain decides. “Remember this, little hero. You cannot save everyone. He brought this upon himself.”

Stain raises his katana. Izuku closes his eyes.

One day, after the USJ incident, Izuku spent some time with his friends.

They hang out frequently—or as frequently as being busy hero students allows them to—but each time is still a big deal to Izuku. When you grow up without any real friends, you start to hoard these little moments of companionship. Starved for positive platonic affection. Izuku can recall each and every time he’s hung out with his friends in perfect clarity, and this particular memory sticks out to him right now.

It was after school, during the second week they had to train for the Sports Festival. Hawks had just dismissed him for the day and Izuku was in a good mood. He made his way to a nearby cafe, where his friends were waiting for him outside.

Izuku remembers looking at them, before they saw him approaching. Iida, tall and broad, and Todoroki with his own brand of quiet strength radiating off him. Uraraka, flitting between the two of them, talking animatedly about something. They stood all tilted towards each other, three points of a triangle, balanced. Izuku remembers thinking that they looked like the picture perfect trio—the kind you see in books and movies. The group of hero students that save the world, the perfect balance of kind and powerful and smart.

And where does that leave Izuku?

Izuku didn’t have much time to consider that, because as soon as they noticed him, their little formation opened up. Uraraka grabbed his hand, tugging him into the cafe, trying to convince him to split a slice of cake with her. Iida gently reminded them that cake was certainly not part of their approved diets. Todoroki followed up with a soft, mischievous, “what Aizawa-sensei doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Warm. Izuku remembers feeling warm, crammed into a booth with his friends. He remembers knocking knees with Todoroki under the table, brushing shoulders with Iida as he gestured wildly. He remembers Uraraka starting up playful arguments with the others—remembers how all three of them turned to Izuku to settle things, as if it was natural to look to him for the final call.

When Izuku thinks back to that day, he thinks about the little things.

He thinks about Todoroki’s tiny, barely-there smile, and the quiet comments he dropped that made their whole table roar with laughter. He thinks about Uraraka’s sweet, melodic voice, and how her laugh brightened up the whole cafe. He thinks about Iida speaking so passionately he almost knocks over his drink—saved only by Izuku’s reflexes.

Izuku made a quiet promise to himself, then and there. He promised to have more days like that. He vowed that he would do anything to keep his friends safe.

(If only he knew that sentiment went both ways.)

“Stop right there!”

Amazingly, Stain does stop.

All of their attention is drawn to the mouth of the alley where, in all his stupid, reckless, gleaming glory—Iida Tenya looms, backlit by streetlights, face shrouded with rage and revenge. Cold fury rolls off of him in waves. Izuku has never seen Iida—sweet, reliable, friendly Iida—look like this. Like he could cut Stain down without a second thought. Like he would revel in the blood.

Izuku, laying on the cold concrete of the alley floor, realizes with dawning horror that the last text on his phone was not to Miruko. His distress call got sent to the group chat.

“Thank you for the text, Midoriya-kun,” Iida says, eyes glinting coldly as he assesses Stain and Toga. “I will take it from here.”

It’s enough to break Izuku’s heart—again. This is the exact opposite of what he wanted. What was the point of enlisting Miruko’s help, of tracking down Stain himself, if Iida was going to get involved anyway? Izuku lays, paralyzed on the ground, in a storm of hopeless despair. He can feel Stain and Toga shifting, perking up with interest, like sharks smelling blood in the water. Fearless Devil, who is still bleeding out, has been abandoned for fresh meat.

All of this, for nothing at all.

Still, Izuku tries.

“Iida, no! Run, go get help, don’t—!”

“For Tensei!”

The fight is over before Izuku finishes speaking. Iida charges at Stain and is immediately taken down, Stain’s katana moving in a clean arc, slicing across Iida’s chest and bringing the blade up to Stain’s waiting tongue. Iida drops like a rock, his momentum sending him skidding across the ground until he’s lying, paralyzed, two meters away from Izuku.

“You fool.”

Stain stabs his katana down into Iida’s bicep.

“Stop!”

One for All buzzes around Izuku, trapped in his own body as he struggles against Stain’s quirk to get to his friend. Izuku pours as much power into his body as he can, but it’s no use. He can’t move a muscle.

“I think it’s interesting,” Stain hisses, grinding his heel into Iida’s wound, “that you shouted ‘for Tensei’ as you attacked me, even though I had two heavily injured Pros within killing distance. But you weren’t thinking about them, were you? You were thinking about your brother.”

“I’ll kill you!” Iida grits out, face screwed up with pain. “Tensei was—”

“Tensei isn’t here. Do you know nothing about conflict resolution? Diffusing situations? I could have killed both Deku and Fearless Devil in the blink of an eye, and you’re still going on about your brother. And—isn’t Deku your friend? Your brashness and blind rage could have resulted in your friend losing his life. Does that sound like something a hero would do?”

Iida’s face blanks out. His eyes focus on Izuku’s face, both of them side-by-side on the ground.

“I….” Iida starts softly. “I didn’t think—”

“That’s the problem with you so-called heroes!” Stain spits. “You don’t think!”

Stain slides his blade out of Iida’s arm, only to stomp harshly at his elbow joint. There’s a sickening crack, and Iida screams.

“Enough, Stain!” Izuku begs. “He gets it, okay? You’ve made your point, but—he’s just a kid! He’s still training, so—”

“You two are the same age,” Stain points out. “You would not make his mistakes.”

“It’s different,” Izuku denies, trying in vain to crawl over to Iida, to throw his body in between his friend and Stain’s hovering blade. “I had All Might! I had years of training, it’s not fair to compare us. Just let him go!”

Toga sighs. “Izuku-kun, you really have to stop making excuses for people! Some people are just bad people. Some of them are beyond saving.”

Izuku looks up at Toga. She’s so young. Maybe, in another life, she would have been his upperclassman. Maybe if the world was kinder—maybe if they’d met sooner—maybe things would be different. She wouldn’t be kneeling in a dirty alleyway in a city on fire, knife poised to cut down innocent people.

“Iida isn’t a bad person, and neither are you,” Izuku says, as softly as he can. “And I don’t think you’re beyond saving.”

Toga blinks down at him, stunned. Her lower lip wobbles.

“Toga!” Stain barks.

Toga rips her gaze away from Izuku.

“To me.”

Toga moves to stand over Iida with Stain. Izuku keeps trying with One for All. Maybe he can release energy without moving his body, somehow. Maybe he can distract them long enough to buy some time. Izuku has no idea how long Stain’s quirk lasts, if he’ll be paralyzed for a few minutes, like Tensei was, or an hour. There are too many variables to consider, too many ways this could all go wrong and Izuku—Izuku can’t lose Iida. Not Iida Tenya, not his first friend. Not like this, laying helpless on a grimy alley floor as Hosu City burns around them.

“Toga,” Stain says, gesturing down to Iida’s prone body. “Remember, just like I taught you. Cut the flexor tendons first, so they can’t run.”

“Yes, sensei!” Toga nods obediently, approaching Iida’s fallen form with her knife.

“This is why you are going to die, little Ingenium,” Stain says, watching as Toga kneels, tracing the places she plans to cut with her fingers. “You are just like your brother. It’s a shame you couldn’t learn from his mistakes.”

Toga raises her blade and Izuku fights against Stain’s hold, struggling for even just a muscle twitch, a single spasm, just anything that could stop them. Izuku flickers with lightning, pouring more and more power out, alternating between concentrating it in one area and letting it wash over his whole body—his bones creak and his skin glows from within with the effort to keep that much raw energy inside a mortal form. Izuku struggles and fights and doesn’t look away from Iida, until—

For the second time that night, Izuku is saved by his friends.

A bright flash of heat flares up down the alleyway, fire lighting up the dark like a beacon of hope. Stain and Toga jump back, instinctively.

“Give us more context next time, Midoriya.”

Todoroki’s cool, steady voice comes from the end of the alleyway.

“It took us a minute to figure out what you meant. We were almost late.”

“Sorry for the delay! Don’t worry Deku-kun, we’re here now!”

Uraraka steps up next to Todoroki, with what looks like borrowed body armor strapped on over her costume. Todoroki is carrying a medical backpack. Izuku has never been so glad to see them in his entire life.

Stain shifts his attention to the two newcomers.

“Oh? More little ones playing hero. Don’t tell me—you’re here for revenge, as well?”

“Don’t let him cut you!” Izuku yells at them. “You won’t be able to move if he licks your blood!”

“Got it!”

Izuku, Iida, and Fearless Devil are huddled together in the far end of the alley, up against one side wall, a couple meters before the space between the buildings makes a sharp left and continues to connect with more alleys. Todoroki’s initial blast of fire forced Stain and Toga back and to the opposite wall, closer to the back end.

Toga narrows her eyes at Izuku’s friends. “Just how many people did you invite to this party, Izuku-kun? Do you like them more than me? Should I be jealous?”

“Yes, you should be,” Todoroki deadpans.

He stomps, sending a wave of ice from his right foot that catches Toga’s legs, freezing her to the floor by her ankles. Toga hisses. She swiftly flips her knife in the air, adjusting her grip so she can use the butt of the knife to shatter the ice around her feet.

She glares at him.

“You’re really starting to piss me off.”

“Todoroki, cover me!” Uraraka yells.

Todoroki stomps again, sending a thick ice wall down the dead center of the alley, separating Izuku from Stain and Toga. As soon as it’s up, Uraraka races towards them. She slides to a stop by Iida and Izuku’s prone bodies. Through the ice wall, Izuku can see bright flashes of fire and the glint of blades as Todoroki tries to hold off the villains.

“Gotta be quick, Todoroki can’t distract them forever. Who’s the most hurt?”

“Iida,” Izuku answers. “Try not to move his right arm. Fearless Devil—Stain’s target—has several knife wounds. I’m fine, just a scratch.”

“Don’t do this,” Iida begs. “This is my fight, don’t put yourselves in danger for—”

Both Izuku and Uraraka ignore him.

“Okay, I’m sending you back first.”

Uraraka taps Izuku’s shoulders, activating her quirk. She floats him up and then grabs him by the waist and pushes, sending him flying down the alley towards Todoroki. Todoroki catches him just as Uraraka deactivates her quirk. He sets Izuku down behind him.

Now that Izuku isn’t backed into a corner, he can see that Todoroki has arced the ice wall up and over the heads of the villains, creating an icey tunnel. To keep them trapped, he’s been icing over the open end of the tunnel, which Stain and Toga have to repeatedly slash at to break. It’s effective, but not sustainable. Already Izuku can see Todoroki shaking, his left side not enough to keep him warm enough to keep using his ice like this.

“Are you alright?” Todoroki asks him.

“I’m fine. I… thank you. For coming.”

“What else were we supposed to do when our friend sends us a location for a secluded alley during a city-wide emergency?”

Uraraka has floated Iida and is now quickly, but carefully guiding him down the alley, instead of throwing him down it like she did with Izuku. She gently sets him down with Izuku and then goes back for Fearless Devil.

“Any idea on when—ah!—you’ll be able to move again?” Todoroki asks.

“Soon, I think,” Izuku says, already feeling his fingers twitch, the thrum of One For All thundering in his veins. “Stain’s quirk is blood-based, maybe blood type from what I can guess.”

Stain breaks through Todoroki’s latest ice wall, only to be met with a hot blast of fire. He dodges and Todoroki just barely manages to trap him behind another wall as Uraraka comes back to them with Fearless Devil safely in tow.

Todoroki drops to his knees.

“Todoroki!”

“I’ll… I’ll be fine,” he huffs. “I just n-need to warm up again.”

“What’s the game plan, Deku? That ice isn’t going to hold them forever.”

Izuku tests his limbs, pleased to find that he can move them again. He shakily gets to his feet, moving to stand in front of his friends.

“Get Iida and Fearless Devil to safety. I’ll hold them back long enough for you to—”

“Bad plan, Midoriya,” Todoroki cuts in, still panting. “I’m staying with you. The two of us can fight them while Uraraka—”

“No! Todoroki is exhausted and Deku—how long have you been fighting? I can’t leave either of you. None of us can go alone, we need to stay together. Don’t forget about the things rampaging around the city!”

Crack! Stain and Toga have almost broken through the ice.

Izuku thinks. Uraraka is right. Even with her quirk, trying to get both Iida and Fearless Devil to safety while keeping a lookout for Nomus and other threats is impossible. Todoroki can’t go alone, there’s no way he can lift two people and transport them without exhausting his ice. And Izuku—forget it. Izuku is the most experienced here and the only one with a license—there’s no way he’s leaving Uraraka and Todoroki with Stain and Toga.

“Okay,” Izuku decides. “We fight, then. Together.”

“Together!”

“Todoroki, melt the ice.”

When the flames disperse, Toga and Stain stare them down from the far end of the alley. Stain eyes the protective formation Uraraka, Izuku, and Todoroki have taken up to defend their two injured party members. He gives them a sickly grin.

“How cute. You have good friends, Ingenium.”

All hell breaks loose.

Immediately, Izuku goes for Stain. He and Uraraka are close-range, but there is no way in hell that Izuku is letting Stain get within striking distance of her. Her hero suit—and Todoroki’s, for that matter—is not designed to deflect blades, even with the extra body armor. Izuku will bodily throw himself in front of Stains sword before he lets him get anywhere near them.

(He hopes he’s not jinxing himself with that thought.)

Uraraka takes on Toga and Izuku goes toe-to-toe with Stain, with Todoroki supporting the two of them from afar.

“Stop!” Iida yells, still paralyzed on the ground. “Do not sacrifice yourselves for me! It was my mistake, I should face the consequences. Please, my friends, run—”

“With all due respect,” Todoroki interrupts, sending a volley of icicles at Stain as Izuku bounces off the walls, aiming kicks to disarm him, “shut up, Iida.”

“Yeah!” Uraraka crows. “Shut up, Iida! Your fights are our fights!”

The way Todoroki, Uraraka, and Izuku fight together flows like water. If their brief team-up during the USJ attack was a trial run, their teamwork now is just downright scary.

To keep Todoroki’s line of sight clear, Izuku bounces off the alley walls above Stain’s head, dodging stabs from his katanas and landing kicks when he can. He herds his fight towards the back corner of the alley, keeping Uraraka and Toga closer to Todoroki for more support.

“Deku! Up!”

Izuku jumps, shooting up just in time for Uraraka to send an entire dumpster at Stain. She manages to catch him off guard, just with the sheer ridiculousness of using a dumpster as a projectile. Toga dodges the dumpster herself, but falls right into one of Todoroki’s ice traps. She yells in frustration, pausing long enough to break free from the ice, which allows Uraraka to get a few good hits on her.

Izuku uses a fire escape to push himself back down. He kicks at Stain, who is just emerging from behind the dumpster. Stain is quick, though, and manages to roll. Izuku’s kick hits the dumpster full force, and the metal folds like paper. Izuku dances back, hopping closer to Todoroki to regroup.

“Midoriya,” Todoroki calls. “Colorado Slope Smash?”

Izuku lights up with excitement. “Let’s do it!”

Colorado Slope Smash is a—jokingly named—combination move that Izuku and Todoroki have been workshopping for weeks. It started from the way Todoroki and Uraraka supported Izuku’s fighting during the USJ, and then just branched out from there. They’ve only recently been able to start pulling it off in training, and everytime they do it’s devastating. During last week’s two-on-twos, Izuku and Todoroki completely crushed the others.

Todoroki creates a large club of ice and hands it to Izuku. Izuku takes a few steps back, shakes out his legs, and then takes off sprinting towards Stain. Todoroki makes him an ice ramp to jump off of, and then uses his flames to distract Stain while Izuku flies over him, bringing the ice club down over Stains head with a resounding whump!

Izuku drops to the ground behind Stain and sweeps his legs out. Stain lashes out with a sword, which Izuku deflects with his steel-toed boot. Izuku is about to go in for the knock-out hit when Toga, noticing her master is in trouble, abandons her fight with Uraraka and throws herself at Izuku.

“Deku!”

Izuku and Toga roll. Toga leaps to her feet and swipes at him, cutting his costume across his chest but not drawing blood.

“Leave sensei alone!”

“Toga—Toga, stop! It’s not worth it, just stop!”

“You don’t understand!” Toga screeches, swinging wildly with her knife. “You don’t know what it’s like to—to love someone so much it hurts! To love someone so much you want to become them!”

“I do,” Izuku says, catching her knife between his gloved hands. “I just used that love to motivate me to become a better version of myself. You can’t try to be the people you admire—that’s not living.”

She pauses for a moment.

Izuku hesitates.

Then, she lashes out and rakes her nails over his cheek, drawing blood.

“No! Only Stain-sensei understands. You—you all think I’m a freak. I’m normal! Sensei says I’m normal.”

“Midoriya, left!”

Without thinking, Izuku throws himself to the left. Todoroki throws up a fire wall between him and Toga. Izuku regroups just in time to see Stain raising a blade in Uraraka’s direction. Izuku closes the space between them in an instant, kicking the blade off course enough for Uraraka to scramble back.

Crap. It’s all going so fast.

Izuku and his friends wordlessly close ranks, falling back into their defensive stance together to take a breather. Todoroki’s fire wall has gone out, allowing Toga to slink back over to Stain’s side.

“Iida?” Uraraka calls out. “Can you move yet?”

“Yes, but—” Izuku looks over his shoulder. Iida’s arm is definitely broken. There’s no way he can get both himself and Fearless Devil out of here. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

“We can process our emotions later,” Uraraka says. “For now—”

They leap back into action.

The next few minutes are a blur. Izuku laser focuses on matching Stain blow-for-blow, not giving him time to target anyone but Izuku himself. His brain goes into overdrive, trying to figure out a way to end the fight. Izuku and his friends can’t go on indefinitely. Something’s bound to give sooner or later, and Izuku can’t have it be them.

Miruko said it herself. We don’t lose.

These three people are too precious to Izuku for him to even consider losing. They’re going to walk away from this together. Izuku refuses to think about any other outcome.

“Todoroki, Deku!” Uraraka calls. “Take cover!”

Todoroki creates a mini overhang out of ice, which Izuku quickly dashes under. Uraraka stays where she is. She calmly brings her hands together.

“What is she—? Oh.”

Izuku follows Todoroki’s gaze up. Hovering above Stain and Toga’s heads is a cloud of steel, discarded throwing knives and dropped swords that Uraraka has been tagging during the fight, along with several large, sharp shards of Todoroki’s ice.

Izuku grins. Uraraka is brilliant.

“Eat shit,” Uraraka says, smiling sweetly.

She brings her fingertips together, releasing her quirk to rain hell down on the two villains. Stain contorts himself to dodge, zipping around to try to avoid the projectiles. Toga gets hit in the arm with one of her own knives, and then gets bonked over the head with a chunk of ice. As soon as she’s down, Todoroki sends out more ice to freeze her in place, pinning her hands so she can’t break free.

Toga has been restrained. Stain is running out of blades. Neither Uraraka or Todoroki are heavily injured.

Izuku takes a deep breath. They might just win this.

Which is, of course, when things go from bad to worse.

Izuku wants to know what he did wrong in a past life to warrant the universe throwing a whole Nomu at him—literally—while he’s trying to fight off a serial killer.

Izuku’s senses flash white-hot. He barely has time to tackle his friends to the floor, sensing the incoming danger, before the Nomu crashes down into the building making up one wall of the alleyway.

“Midoriya!”

“Are you guys okay?!”

“What is that?”

Izuku and his friends have managed to squish themselves into a corner with Fearless Devil. Todoroki instinctively iced them into a dome, but the ice is clear enough to see the hulking figure of the Nomu shake itself off and look around. It launches itself across the street, tearing through another building with its large, mutated hands, seemingly searching for something.

Nomus. League of Villains. Izuku’s heart sinks into his stomach. It’s probably looking for him.

“It’s… it’s like the thing from the USJ,” Uraraka whispers, horrified.

One of the buildings making up the alley is half destroyed, the lower half facing the street now reduced to rubble and a couple support pillars. It’s thankfully empty, but Izuku still itches to make sure. The Nomu managed to clip Stain in its descent. Izuku can see him shifting a pile of rubble off of himself. Toga is still safely secured by Todoroki’s ice, farther down the alley.

Across the street, the Nomu continues to tear into buildings. Someone screams. Izuku stands, automatically moving to the source of the noise. There are people in some of the buildings, civilians, Izuku needs to help—

He hesitates.

“Go,” Todoroki says, reading his mind. “We can handle Stain.”

Izuku eyes Iida warily.

“I will not make the same mistake twice,” Iida promises him. “You—Midoriya-kun, you’re needed elsewhere. You can trust us to finish this fight.”

Izuku nearly loses his mind. “No. Not you, Iida, you can’t—”

“I won’t lift a finger. But I can offer Todoroki and Uraraka support from here, as well as defend Fearless Devil if needed. Trust me, Midoriya.”

“We got this Deku-kun! We almost had him earlier!”

Izuku closes his eyes for a second, before pulling each of his friends into a quick, tight hug.

“Be safe,” Izuku begs.

“You, too,” Todoroki squeezes his shoulder. “Ready?”

Izuku nods.

Todoroki melts the wall of the ice dome enough for Izuku to break free, shattering the ice with a powerful kick. He’s off like a shot, speeding right past a dazed-looking Stain, out into the street.

The Nomu tears into another building. Bad luck. It just happened to be a safe house. One of the walls of the building is peeled away to reveal a crowd of about 30 people, probably the residents of the building who had all decided to hide together for safety. The Nomu looms over them, and the crowd erupts into panicked screams.

Izuku dashes forward and plants himself in between them and the Nomu, cracking the ground even more and sending a spray of debris into the Nomu’s eyes, forcing it to back up.

“H-Hey!” he shouts.

The Nomu blinks. It’s different from the one that was at the USJ. This one has a set of leathery wings and a metal gas-mask like lower jaw instead of a beak. It has molted, sickly yellow skin and bird-like feet. Its talons dig into the concrete, breaking it up in big chunks as it pivots to face Izuku fully, tilting its head and making a series of unsettling clicking noises, like some kind of raptor. Izuku’s instincts scream at him to run—there’s something ungodly, something horrifically unnatural about this creature.

There’s no point in communicating, but Izuku tries anyway.

“Stay back!”

A low, menacing growl erupts from the Nomu. Izuku flinches.

The Nomu lashes out with a wing, swiping the clawed tips of it at Izuku’s throat. Izuku lets his instincts take over. He dodges, dropping into a low crouch. The Nomu misses. Izuku pounces, crackling with power as he aims a charged kick at the Nomu’s chest.

The hit lands, causing the Nomu to stumble back a few feet. It grabs for Izuku with its arms this time, aiming to crush Izuku to its chest. Izuku dances out of the way quickly, hopping back. The key is to be light on his feet. They’re out in the open, which means Izuku doesn’t have much to bounce off of. The crumbling structure of the wrecked safehouse is too dangerous to try using in this fight. Izuku needs to try to steer the Nomu close to the middle of the street, where he will be able to let loose his more powerful attacks without worrying about anyone getting caught in the crossfire.

“The building isn’t stable,” he calls at the crowd, over his shoulder. “Try to get out! Move down the street, there’s an agency if you turn—”

Wham!

The Nomu lashes out with its wings again, this time catching Izuku’s ankles. Izuku rolls backwards and out of the way of the Nomu’s second strike, which cracks the concrete where he was just standing.

Izuku doesn’t dare look back to see if the crowd is following his instructions. He needs to focus on this fight. He estimates that he can take one, maybe two hits if he braces with One For All, before he’s done. The Nomu is strong, and Izuku has already taken a couple slices from Stain earlier.

“Over here!”

Izuku bounces away from the crowd, baiting the Nomu into following. He’s careful, immediately jumping away as soon as he sees the Nomu moving to strike. Izuku manages to get a few solid kicks in. He tries not to be discouraged when it seems like the hits don’t even phase the creature, no matter how much of One For All he’s pouring into his attacks.

He briefly dashes past the alley where his friends are fighting Stain. He can’t see much, but it sounds like they’re holding their own. With Toga out, Izuku hopes Stain is distracted enough for Uraraka and Todoroki to hold out at least until Izuku figures out what to do with the Nomu.

Izuku has pushed the Nomu far enough away from the crowd and the surrounding buildings to start using Air Force. Izuku lands a solid kick on the Nomu’s shoulder and uses it to push off, flipping so he lands on an overturned car. He kneels, dropping his center of gravity, and braces his arms.

Delaware Smash: Air Force. 20%.

Pressure erupts from Izuku’s hand, shredding his support glove instantly. The blast ripples out and sends compressed air that tears through the thin skin of one of the Nomu’s wings. It howls. Izuku blanches. He’s never used it at 20% before and never at close range.

He’s only able to be shocked at his own power for a second before the Nomu uses its legs to launch itself at Izuku, its injured wing curled in and tucked tight against its body.

Izuku braces with One For All, but the Nomu still knocks him off his feet, sending him flying down the street. He skids against the pavement, his costume scuffing and tearing . He rolls until he hits a parked car, setting off its alarm.

The alarm blares as Izuku shakily pushes himself up on his elbows, looking up just in time to see the Nomu swinging at him again.

This time, Izuku doesn’t have time to brace. The Nomu hits him with enough force to send him flying again, but this time he hits the side of the ruined safe house with a resounding crack! He slides down the side, sitting propped up against the wall as he tries hard not to cry. Izuku may have an insanely high pain tolerance, but he’s pretty sure he just cracked a rib.

To buy himself time, he raises his arms and aims another Air Force blast at the Nomu. It hits the Nomu square in the chest and sends it crashing back down the street, crushing several cars and parking meters in the process. 20 meters down the street it clips a fire hydrant, which erupts into a geyser of water. Izuku doesn’t even want to think about how much property damage he’s just caused.

Izuku shifts to get his feet under him, and almost immediately crumples back down. It hurts.

He hisses a breath out, clenching his jaw. It won’t hurt like this forever. The adrenaline will kick in, he’ll get used to the pain. Help will come. He just needs to power through long enough to keep the Nomu occupied—and hope he doesn’t puncture a lung while fighting.

“D-Deku-san?”

Izuku whips his head to the side. There, still huddled in the remains of the safe house, is the civilian crowd that Izuku instructed to run away.

“I—” Izuku coughs. He wipes the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and smiles at the civilian that called his name, a little girl. He hopes his teeth aren’t coated in blood. “I’m fine. Everything’s going to be alright.”

The girl—and the other civilians in the shelter—stare at him, wide-eyed. Izuku casts a nervous glance down the street, where the Nomu is still struggling to get out from under the cars piled on it from its tumble.

“I need you to be brave,” Izuku says in a rush. He gets to his feet, hiding a wince. “I’m gonna need all of you to be brave, o-okay? I need to fight that thing and I can’t do it with you all here.”

“No way are we going out there,” someone in the crowd says. “T-That thing will plow us down in a second!”

“I’ll make sure it won’t,” Izuku says. He glances over his shoulder. “Please, you need to hurry.”

“It just crushed you,” someone else says, their voice high with hysteria. “No! We’ll just hide out here!”

“I can’t protect you here!” Izuku struggles not to lose his patience. Any second now the Nomu will be back for round two, and Izuku honestly doesn’t know how many Air Forces he has left in him. It’s a miracle his hand isn’t broken.

“Guys, just listen to him! He’s a hero!”

“Intern! I’ve seen you on the news, you’re just an intern, how can you—?!”

“Just do what he says, dumbass! I don’t wanna die!”

“He’s a kid—”

“Yeah, but I have a license,” Izuku snaps. “I’m the most qualified person to deal with this situation, so please just do as I say so we don’t all end up smeared on the road by that thing out there!”

Silence. One of the younger kids in the crowd starts to cry.

Izuku flushes. He should know better than to speak to civilians this way but—he’s frustrated, and hurt, and his friends are fighting a serial killer and—

“Deku! Look out!”

Izuku dodges, stumbling to the side just before the Nomu crashes into him. Crap! He wasn’t paying enough attention. Izuku ignores the flare of pain in his ribs and picks up a concrete pillar, swinging it like a bat to push the Nomu away from the civilians. He puts too much power into the swing and manages to catch himself in it, knocking his forehead against the concrete. It flies from his grip and crashes into the side of a nearby building.

Shit. Blood pours into his eye from a cut on his forehead. He’s getting sloppy. He’s in pain and he’s been using his quirk for too long.

The Nomu stumbles to its feet. Izuku is pleased to see it’s at least bleeding, and still has its injured wing folded up. It doesn’t seem like it can regenerate or absorb shock, like the Nomu from the USJ. If it can be injured, Izuku can win. He just needs to outlast it.

Izuku plants his feet, standing squarely in front of the shelter. He can’t move much without hurting himself, so his best chance is to brace himself here and try to push the Nomu back with his Air Force blasts.

“Sneak around the side,” Izuku throws over his shoulder. “I’ll keep it distracted. Stay close to the edges of the buildings. Turn left at the end of the block and keep going until you get to Monarch’s agency. It’s got a big sign, you can’t miss it.”

There’s some low murmuring. From the corner of his eye, Izuku can see some people inching their way to the side of the building.

Izuku fires off two more Air Force blasts. He blasts the Nomu back, it shakes itself off and advances towards him again, Izuku blasts it back. Rinse and repeat twice, until the Nomu gets used to the pattern. Then, it picks up a nearby crushed car and throws it at him.

Izuku can’t dodge. The car will flatten the civilians behind him.

Izuku powers up and catches the car—but at a cost. He concentrates on using One for All to brace his ribs and arms, catching the force of the car with his legs.

Snap.

Izuku screams as something in his left leg gives, sending him crashing to the ground with a sickening crack. The car tumbles off to the side. Deliriously, all Izuku can think is, at least it’s not an arm this time.

He giggles. He is so fucked.

From the ground, Izuku picks up a baseball-sized hunk of concrete and uses One for All to throw it. By pure dumb luck, it bonks the Nomu in its stupid, exposed brain. The Nomu screeches and stumbles back, blinking as blood pours down its face.

Crap. It’s not looking good for him.

Izuku takes this time to use a nearby piece of wood as a make-shift splint. He quickly tears strips off his costume, haphazardly securing his leg to the board. Then, he gets to his feet, using a piece of pipe as a crutch. Izuku looks towards the Nomu and squares his shoulders.

If he’s going down, he’s gonna go down swinging.

The Nomu shakes its head, also shaking out its remaining functional wing. It roars, digging its talons into the ground as it prepares to launch itself at Izuku again. Half of the crowd of civilians are still in the shelter behind him, the other half still sneaking away within eye-sight. Shaking, he raises his hands up to fire one last Air Force blast at it.

The Nomu launches into motion—only to be caught mid-jump by a blur of red.

The Nomu is dead before it hits the ground. One of Stain’s katanas is buried in its head up to the hilt. Stain himself stands on its chest, wheezing. He’s lost all his weapons, and just generally looks rough. He’s holding his hand against his side and gasping. If Izuku had to guess, he’d say he’s broken some ribs. How ironic, so has Izuku. Twinsies.

“Do you see now, Deku?” Stain pants.

“...What?”

“Hero society… is corrupt.”

Izuku blinks dumbly. He points at the downed Nomu. “That’s not a hero. That thing is from the League of Villains.”

“The League is only a product of hero society,” Stain preaches. He gingerly gets down from atop the Nomu, stumbling as his feet hit the ground. He limps closer to Izuku and the civilians. Izuku lights up with One for All, more for show than anything else really.

“S-Stay back!”

“You still defend them? Look at what a beating you’ve taken on their behalf, and even still you would lay down your life for them. Even as you bleed, they just stand and watch. Some of them are filming! And, tomorrow? If you die, they’ll turn you into a martyr for their own agenda and if you live, they’ll criticize you!”

Izuku glances over his shoulder. It’s true, some of them have their phones out.

“You shouldn’t even be here in the first place,” Stain continues. “What kind of a world do we live in where a child is expected to lay down his life for strangers. The adults in your life should have stopped you before this point, Deku. Midoriya.”

“And what—” Izuku swallows hard. “What do you think I should have done? Sat back and watched people get hurt?”

Stain tilts his head. He chuckles lowly.

“No, I don’t suppose you’re capable of that are you? A true hero, through and through. It’s a shame you are so naive, so blind to your situation. These people don’t care about you, little hero. The people at the HPSC don’t care, the teachers at your precious hero school do not care about you. They care about the numbers and the money and the blood—but they don’t care about you. You can’t see it but—”

“Shut up!” Izuku snaps. “Just shut the hell up! I am so tired of people talking down to me.”

“You defend them so doggedly. None of them are here to help you, and yet you remain blindly loyal. I suppose every great hero has a fatal flaw.”

“I’m not blindly loyal! I’m not a hero because I think everything's sunshine and rainbows with the HPSC, and I’m tired of everyone pretending I don’t know what I’m doing! I knew what I signed up for when I applied for my provisional license. I made my choice and I don’t need you of all people to try to tell me what to do with my life, you psychopath!”

Izuku pants, shaking with the effort it took to yell. He doesn’t get angry often but, god, when he does—he’s a forest fire.

Stain narrows his eyes.

“This world isn’t fair. You don’t know what it’s like outside your comfortable little hero bubble, out in the real world.”

Izuku throws his head back and laughs hysterically.

“You think I don’t know that?!” He gasps, tears welling up in his eyes as he giggles. “You think I don’t know that everyone isn’t created equal?! Me?!”

Stain stares. He looks unnerved.

“Since you think you know me so well,” Izuku starts, “why don’t you tell me what I was like as a kid? What do you think middle school was like for me? You don’t know anything about me. You’re just as bad as them! You’ve seen me with All Might on the news, you’ve tried to kill me a couple times, but you don’t know me.”

Izuku tips his face up to the sky, his eyes slipping closed for a moment. The humor drops from his face as he opens them again, fixing Stain with his coldest glare.

“I was quirkless—” Izuku catches himself. “—up until I was 15. I only had my mom and my neighbor as friends. School was hell—the bullying, the suicide-bating, even the teachers treated me like trash. If I wasn’t being actively harassed, I was isolated, excluded from things with the excuse that the quirkless kid was too delicate to play with the other kids.

“And then I became a hero! My quirk manifested and I got my license and everything was supposed to go up from there—but you’re right! The HPSC and hero society and the media—it’s all poisoned. I’m so anxious all the time. Everything I do or say gets blown up and you know what? I’m one of the lucky ones!”

Stain watches him wearily. “Deku—”

“Don’t interrupt me!” Izuku bites, half-feral with rage. “You got to give your whole anti-hero manifesto and now it’s my turn.”

Stain quiets down.

“I’m lucky, because I have All Might to look after me. And Hawks, and Miruko—Aizawa-sensei, too. You’re wrong. They care about me and, more than that, they want to fix things and they’re actually doing something!

“What do you do?” Izuku asks, laying into Stain. “Huh? Hide in the shadows, kill people for not being perfect? Indoctrinate young kids into your fucked up way of thinking? How can you say that hero society is too violent, too superficial when you’re literally killing people for the stupidest of reasons?”

The more Izuku gets worked up, the more his quirk leaks out. He’s crackling with energy, green lightning dancing along his skin. Izuku leans forward and Stain flinches, stumbling backwards with his hand still pressed to his broken ribs.

“I’m so lucky,” Izuku says, “and most people aren’t. How is it that someone can leave their job as an accountant to become a vigilante—to help people who were being ignored by heroes—and when he got arrested, his only options were villain rehab or jail? And how is it that mutant quirks are statistically underrepresented in hero schools, even though they’re just as useful to hero work as anyone else? And—why does anyone have to be useful to have value?!”

“I… Are you saying I’m… right?”

“Yes!” Izuku laughs maniacally. “You’re right! The world sucks—but you know what? The answer isn’t murder! It’s not all bad and it’s not all good. And maybe they,” Izuku gestures to the recording crowd behind them, “will tear me to shreds in the media tomorrow, but I will defend their right to do it to the death.”

Stain sways on his feet. He looks at Izuku, resigned.

“So be it.”

He reaches down to his boot and slides out one last knife, advancing on Izuku. Izuku tries to shift his weight into a defensive stance.

Stain stops. He drops his knife.

“Perhaps,” he wheezes out, “I was wrong.”

And then he just—stops. Stain freezes just like that, standing up. Izuku tenses, waiting for a surprise attack.

“I think… he passed out?” Someone in the crowd murmurs.

Izuku’s shoulders drop. He turns his quirk off. It’s over. He needs to check on his friends, still in the alleyway, and then get the civilians to safety. He hopes Fearless Devil hasn’t bled to death by now. He hopes Toga is alright and he hopes that he can do all of this without somehow jostling Stain back into consciousness, because Izuku is in no shape for round 3. Izuku blinks hard to clear the spots from his vision. Just a little longer, he just needs to hang on for a little longer before help arrives—

“Stand down, Deku!” a voice booms. “I will handle it from here!”

Izuku turns, dead-eyed, to see Endeavor in all his stupid, firey, twenty-minutes-late glory, arriving on the scene.

Izuku sighs. “Of all the Pros available, did it have to be you?”

And then he passes out.

(“No, no, no!”

Shigaraki rages, pulling at his own hair. He lashes out and disintegrates a nearby pipe, and then the corner of the rooftop they’re perched on.

Kurogiri surveys the scene below them with a sort of unsurprised resignation. Of course Deku managed to defeat Stain and cost them several Nomu, just by virtue of being hard to find. Of course.

“Another one!” Shigaraki commands. “This level isn’t over yet! Kurogiri, release another—”

“There aren’t any more.”

“That can’t be—”

“The rest were taken down by Pros in other parts of the city. That was the last one.”

And even if it wasn’t, Kurogiri doesn’t think sending another Nomu after Deku would work. The kid is already unconscious with Endeavor and his whole entourage surrounding him. Additionally, he’s too heavily injured to capture without killing him— and All for One insisted Deku be taken in alive. Not to mention the UA students in the alley across the street, who have started making their way to Deku’s prone body. No, there isn’t much else the League can do at this point.

“Argh!”

Wonderful. In the midst of his tantrum, Shigaraki has managed to decay one of their henchmen.

“We’ll engineer a better Nomu,” Shigaraki decides. “One with better quirks. Deku won’t get away next time, I’ll make sure of it.”

“Of course,” Kurogiri humors him. “For now, we best get back home before we’re spotted.”

One day, perhaps, Shigaraki will learn that he can’t throw Nomus at all of his problems.)

Japan Trends

1 • Trending

Hosu City

2 • Trending

Deku

Trending with DEKUS SPEECH, Intern Deku, deku video

3 • Trending

League of Villains

4 • Trending

#ProHeroDeku

Related: Deku, #DekuDebut, #NextGenAllMight

5 • Trending

#StandWithHosu

Prime Minister Machida ✓ @JPN_PMO • 3h

Now, that’s a real hero. #ProHeroDeku

[Video of Deku’s entire speech to Stain. The video ends just as Endeavor is arriving on the scene.]

24.5k retweets 12k quote retweets 145.3k likes

Hero Intern vs. Hero Killer: Deku Takes Down Notorious Villain in Viral Clip

By Mura Madoka for Hero Times Japan

Published 5 hours ago

Thursday, May 28, 20XX—Hosu City was catapulted into chaos late Thursday night when a swarm of quirked creatures, now claimed by the League of Villains, attacked the city. But amongst the chaos, a smaller but no less important battle was being waged.

Hero Intern Deku (unranked) faced off against the notorious Hero Killer: Stain. Stain has been terrorizing the hero community for years, with his attacks slowly ramping up in frequency and severity in the last couple of months. Just two weeks ago, Deku bore witness to the Hero Killer’s attack on Ingenium (Rank: 84, Peak: 53), an attack that left Ingenium paralyzed from the waist down and shook Hosu City to its core.

Despite the tragedy, Deku emerged from his most recent encounter with Stain victorious.

Not much is known about the fight itself, as the police and the Miruko Agency have decided to keep a tight lock down on any information pertaining to Intern Deku (for safety of a minor reasons, among others)—but what is known is how the fight ended. The full footage of Intern Deku’s final stand against Stain is available online, from multiple points of view, all filmed by various brave souls in a crowd of civilians that Deku was protecting.

Following his arrest, Stain (full name: Akaguro Chizome) has been detained in an undisclosed Tartarus Prison offshoot campus to await trial. The Mighty Agency has released a statement to inform the public that Deku is being treated at Hosu General and is expected to make a full recovery by the end of the weekend.

When the Hero Killer first emerged into the public eye, the HPSC officially ranked him as an S level threat. Whether Deku’s arrest will be solely accredited to him, or split between the Miruko and Endeavor agencies is yet to be determined. What’s clear from the footage is that no matter how it goes down on paper—this was Deku’s sole victory.

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[1,462 Comments]

stream permission to dance @spookytulip • 10h

“did it have to be you” LMAOOOO DEKU YOU LEGEND

10.2k retweets 903 quote retweets 24.1k likes

Kyo | follow limit @crowncoffee • 2h

y’all i’m freaking out.. i was in the crowd that deku saved and i filmed the whole thing and uploaded it on youtube for like?? idk proof that deku was defending us bc i know how the media is

ANYWAY i just woke up and my video has 12 MILLION VIEWS???

126 retweets 3 quote retweets 394 likes

replying to @crowncoffee

maki rights! @downwithzeninclan • 2h

Holy shit. I was there too! I think we might have seen each other? I also uploaded a video of the speech (it’s my pinned tweet) and it got? 2 M views on twitter within the hour? News stations are asking for permission to use my footage and I don’t really know what to do?

2 retweets 6 likes

replying to @downwithzeninclan

Kyo | follow limit @crowncoffee • 2h

omg !! DM me we should start a support group! my brother (who was with me) said that there’s a whole collection of videos of the speech from different perspectives on reddit… it’s kinda crazy

0 retweets 1 like

Mari (she/they) @darling hurricane • 12h

Deku calling out quirkless discrimination and quirk-based prejudice just means SO MUCH. I’m quirkless. Do you know how many police officers/teachers/even some HEROES have ignored me when I tried to report things? Or treated me like I was helpless? Hearing the arguably most popular upcoming hero talk about his own quirkless experiences is just so important #ProHeroDeku

20.3k retweets 2.3k quote retweets 65.4k likes

—

r/legaladvice

↑↓ 2.4k

Posted by u/radioactivepigeon

I’m (16M) being sued for defamation?

… or slander or libel or whatever the fuck. I won’t put names because my mom said it could get me in even WORSE trouble (as if that’s possible) but I’ll try to explain.

A big hero agency (think HUGE) sent me a letter informing me that they’re gonna take legal action against me for things I posted here on reddit (in r/HeroFail and r/AskReddit) and also some stuff from twitter. At the time I thought what I was posting fell under publicly available information. It was just some old pictures of someone who is now REALLY well known, and I was also maaayyyybeeee saying some stuff about what he was like as a kid, and maybe some of it wasn’t super accurate.

Can they sue me for that? I mean, yeah I might have said some less-than-great things, but it’s not like I was harassing him? Or spreading TOTAL lies?

TL;DR: I talked shit about a celebrity and now I’m being sued by one of the biggest agencies in the country. What do I do?

Comments

↑↓ royalokapi 2.7k points

OP you should have made a throwaway account, or AT LEAST deleted your posts… I see that you posted pictures of Deku in primary and junior high, some of which look like they were taken to make fun of him.

I also checked out your twitter (same user, bro, really?) and… dude, you know it’s fucked up to tell people to unalive themselves, right? Like, even if you think @ing a celeb means they’ll never see it, it’s still pretty bad. Also, posting his old address? When he was JUST kidnapped by villains? Fucked. Up.

Not to mention that quirkless discrimination is starting to be talked about more after Deku’s speech. You better hope your trial goes through BEFORE the government passes legislation making quirkless discrimination a hate crime, otherwise you’re in for a painful time, buddy.

Yeah, I don’t know what to tell you. Don’t bother paying too much for a lawyer, because there’s no way you’re gonna win this case.

(If you don’t wanna look at OP’s other posts, the pics I’m talking about have Midoriya with trash being thrown at him, rude things written on his desk, etc. I’d like to discourage anyone from saving or spreading these, even to report them. Poor kid was obviously being brutally bullied.)

↑↓ caterpixie 273 points

LMFAOOOO you tried to slander deku didnt you

↑↓ wincubus 62 points

I heard the Mighty Agency is cracking down on that kinda stuff

↑↓ artisticpygmy 23 points

Yeah, I just saw like 5 other posts on this subreddit asking for help and it all seems like it’s from the Might Agency LOL

↑↓ 🎤 radioactivepigeon 3 points

Other people are going through this too? Do you think we could like band together or something? Is that what a class action lawsuit is?

↑↓ artisticpygmy 2 points

Oh OP no… I almost feel sorry for you.

Aldera Junior High Under Investigation

By Murakami Toshiaki for Musutafu Times

Aldera Junior High is suspending operations over the break to conduct a series of investigations, both internal and by the Musutafu Junior High School District. The catalyst for these investigations was a seemingly off-hand statement made by Hero Intern Deku in the now viral video of Deku defending a group of civilians from the Hero Killer Stain.

Deku’s comment about his junior high’s role in his experience with discrimination has inspired other Aldera alum to come forward with their own stories of neglect and abuse that were either ignored by or actively encouraged by staff. Over the past few days, it’s come to light just how many reports against Aldera have been buried over the years.

The investigations are still ongoing, but it’s clear that this local event has sparked somewhat of a movement all over the country. Reports are coming in from Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and more of quirkless citizens coming forward to report their schools for quirkless discrimination. There have also been whispers of a movement in Deku’s name to push for legislation that would require schools to protect quirkless students, similar to the laws that protect students with morphological quirks from being discriminated against.

Deku could not be reached for comment, as he is still in the hospital recovering from his injuries, but one thing’s for sure—in one night, he’s made waves that’ll be felt throughout Japan.

Like • Comment • Share

Izuku opens his eyes to a familiar sight: the ceiling of a hospital room.

He bolts upright.

“Stain!” he gasps, looking around wildly. “Iida, Todoroki, Uraraka—Someone—”

“Shh,” his mom hushes him. She moves slowly, making sure Izuku can see her hands and avoiding sudden, jerky movements. She places her hand over his, smoothing out Izuku’s death grip on the sheets.

“It’s alright, Izuku,” she says. “You’re safe now.”

(And, really, isn’t it heartbreaking just how many times Inko has had to reassure her son of that? She isn’t even entirely sure that it’s the truth anymore.)

“W-Where are my friends? They were fighting Stain and then—Stain took out the Nomu—but I didn’t see them—”

“Midoriya,” Todoroki says, “please breathe.”

Izuku whips his head to the side. There in the hospital bed next to him, is Todoroki. He looks… fine. A bandage here and there, but safe and in one piece.

“If you faint again, that will be three times in the past two weeks that you’re passed out in front of me. I’m beginning to think I’m cursed.”

Tears spring to Izuku’s eyes. “Todoroki-kun.”

Todoroki frowns. “Please don’t cry. That was a joke.”

“Not a very good one,” Uraraka quips. She’s in the hospital bed across the room from him.

“Now, now, let’s not be mean,” Iida says, “Todoroki-kun’s sense of humor is simply… complex.” Iida completes the set, occupying the fourth bed in the room. His arm is in a cast.

Uraraka snorts. “Yeah, complexly bad.”

Todoroki sniffs, mock offended. “Midoriya always laughs at my jokes.”

“Deku-kun laughs at everyone’s jokes.”

“Guys,” Izuku gasps, tears streaming down his face, his mom’s hand gripped tight in his own, “guys, please. What’s going on? Is everyone—everyone’s okay? We’re all fine?”

Uraraka hops off her hospital bed and pads across the room to Izuku’s bedside.

“Iida’s arm is broken, but we’re all fine,” she says, patting his shoulder reassuringly. Iida and Todoroki also congregate at Izuku’s bedside. Iida passes him a box of tissues.

“You were unconscious for 12 hours,” Iida informs him. “You had two cracked ribs and a fractured leg, as well as some minor scrapes and bruises. We were… worried, but the doctors said that you will make a full recovery, thankfully.”

Izuku looks down at himself. Yup, bandaged chest, leg in a cast—everything checks out.

“What happened after I left you guys?”

“We kept Stain busy,” Uraraka says, “and Toga was still restrained, thanks to Todoroki. Iida stopped Fearless Devil from bleeding out—he’s fine, by the way. He’s also in the hero ward so if you wanna go see him, you can. Um, then, uh—”

“Stain slipped past us and killed the Nomu,” Todoroki finishes. “Then you two yelled at each other and then both of you fainted. After that, Endeavor and the other Pros showed up and took us all to the hospital.”

“Oh, Endeavor. Right.”

Todoroki’s mouth twists into a scowl. “He’s trying to take credit for Stain’s arrest.”

Uraraka snorts. “Like he’ll get it, with all the video evidence.”

Izuku’s stomach sinks. “Video evidence?”

The others exchange looks. Inko sighs, smoothing some of Izuku’s curls back from his forehead.

“Izuku, how much of the fight do you remember?”

“I remember everything I said to Stain, if that’s what you’re asking.” Izuku gulps. “I remember the, uh, civilians recording me?”

Inko nods. “Right. Well, you’ve gone viral, sweetheart. Again.”

Izuku groans. He flops back in his bed, closing his eyes. “How bad is it?”

Silence. Izuku mentally kisses his hero career goodbye.

“Honestly… it’s kind of early to call it, but I think you might be a legend, Deku-kun.”

Izuku cracks one eye open. “What?”

“The class group chat has been going crazy. Everyone’s sending links to articles and stuff like that—translations even made international news. It’s pretty positive! I saved some of my favorites to show you, but I’m sure your media team will give you a full breakdown. It’s… incredible. You’re inspiring people!”

Izuku blinks. He looks to Todoroki and Iida, who nod in agreement.

“I, um,” Izuku says intelligently. “Me? Like… me?”

Todoroki nods, straight faced. “You.”

“Uh, okay?” Izuku squeaks. “That’s, uh, good? I guess? I’ll… process all of that later, I think. What about Stain? And Toga? Have you heard from Miruko? And what about… ?”

Izuku trails off, suddenly realizing why a room full of 5 people still felt so empty.

“Where’s Yagi-san?”

Inko chooses her words carefully. “Toshinori is talking to All Might, who is going to have a word with the police and the HPSC about Stain. He should be back soon.”

“Your dad is kind of scary when he wants to be,” Uraraka says. “I wish you were awake when the police were questioning us! He was like a protective mama bear! And then, Todoroki almost fought the chief of police!”

“Todoroki-kun?!”

Todoroki doesn’t deny it. “I don’t respect him or anything he stands for and I refuse to apologize.”

Inko muffles a laugh into her shoulder. Iida pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Yes, well—the important part is that the three of us will not be dismissed from UA for engaging in unauthorized quirk usage.” Iida adjusts his glasses. “We were fortunate in that none of the videos of the fight caught any of us. The Hosu City police have agreed to keep our involvement off the record.”

Izuku opens his mouth to ask more questions, but he’s interrupted by someone arriving.

“I am here!” Toshinori calls out, using his hip to push open the door. In his arms is enough food to feed a small army. “And I’ve brought lunch!”

Izuku’s friends all abandon his bedside to help Toshinori with the food.

“Wow, thanks Mr. Midoriya!” Uraraka says, claiming an entire pizza for herself. “This is so much better than hospital food!”

“Your kindness knows no bounds.” Iida uses one hand to pop open a takeout container, his glasses fogging up with steam.

“You brought cold soba,” Todoroki says, face blank but eyes shining. He looks up at Toshinori. “Can I…?”

“Of course! This is for you, Young Todoroki! Izuku mentioned it was your favorite some time ago.”

“Midoriya,” Todoroki says softly, touched.

Toshinori looks up, then, seemingly just realizing Izuku is awake.

“My boy!”

Izuku waves dorkily from his hospital bed. “Hi.”

Toshinori rushes over, only pausing to pass Inko her lunch. “I apologize for not being here when you woke up. How are you feeling? How are your ribs? Your leg? If anything hurts, we can call the nurse and request—”

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Izuku insists, trying to stop Toshinori’s fussing before it snowballs out of control and he ends up tearing down the hospital to bring Izuku all forms of mortal comfort. Toshinori’s mother hen tendencies know no bounds.

Toshinori frowns. “Just ask if you need anything. Inko, have you…?”

“The kids and I caught him up,” she says. She uses her quirk to pull another chair up to Izuku’s bedside. “Toshi, sit. Eat. You’ve been running around all night and morning, you need to rest.”

“Right.” Before he sits, he hands Izuku a takeout container. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be awake, or well enough to eat, but I brought you katsudon. Don’t tell any of the nurses, I’m not entirely sure you’re allowed to eat something like this yet.”

“I’ll eat slowly,” Izuku says, fully intending on inhaling his meal.

For a few minutes, the room is filled with the sounds of them happily enjoying their meals.

“So,” Inko says, breaking the peace. “How did the talk with All Might and the others go?"

Izuku perks up, interested. “Todoroki said that Endeavor’s trying to take the arrest credit?”

Toshinori sighs, a crease forming between his brows. “Yes. Endeavor’s argument was that at the time of Stain’s arrest, Miruko was incapacitated, meaning that the responsibility of any interns under her agency would automatically fall to the highest ranking hero in the area. Meaning, Endeavor would be responsible for supervising Izuku, as if he were his own intern.”

“That’s stupid,” Inko says. She reaches over and steals some food from Toshinori, who half-heartedly bats her chopsticks away.

“So… Stain’s arrest goes to Endeavor? Not Miruko?” Izuku shakes his head. “That’s not fair! Miruko did all the work of tracking him, and—Endeavor didn’t even show up until Stain was already unconscious! How does the credit go to him?”

“It doesn’t. It goes to you, my boy.”

Izuku pauses, chopsticks half-way to his mouth.

“Huh?”

“The HPSC, the Hosu Police Department, the Miruko Agency, and I—er, All Might—all agreed that Endeavor’s argument was stretching it at best. Miruko insisted that sole credit for the arrest go to you. I admit, I was surprised when the HPSC and Hosu Police agreed, but I suppose they have their own reasons.”

Izuku blinks, hard. He sets his chopsticks down.

“Congratulations, my boy. You’ve made your first S class villain arrest.”

“Woo!” Uraraka whoops. “Yeah! Go Deku!”

“Congratulations, Midoriya-kun.”

“Mm?” Todoroki looks up from his bowl of noodles, slurping happily.

“What does this mean?” Izuku asks Toshinori. “Like… okay? I get credited? I don’t understand.”

“It means, if you get your sidekick license within the next year, you’ll be eligible for ranking on the hero billboard charts. You’ll also get added to the call-list of heroes capable of handling S ranked emergencies.”

“R-Ranking?” Izuku sits back, stunned. “Wow. That’s crazy! Ha, I bet I won’t even make the charts, though. Still, that’s cool to think about!”

The others exchange glances.

“So, what are we betting, guys? Top 50 debut?”

“I’ll put a thousand yen on a Top 25 debut,” Todoroki says.

“Gambling is illegal,” Iida says, like he wasn’t fully prepared to exact revenge on Stain not 24 hours ago.

A familiar figure darkens the doorway.

“I see they’ve managed to concentrate all the trouble makers into one room.”

“Aizawa-sensei!”

“And Shinsou!” Izuku beams. He moves to get up to greet them.

“Do not move, Midoriya. Your leg is literally in a cast, why would you try to get up?”

“Ah, Aizawa,” Toshinori greets. “I apologize, if I knew you were stopping by, I’d have gotten you lunch as well.”

Aizawa waves a hand. “It’s fine. We do have a couple more things to discuss, though, now that Endeavor’s not breathing down our necks.”

The adults congregate in their own corner, allowing the kids time to catch up.

“What,” Shinsou groans, “the hell were you thinking?”

Ah. He sounds more and more like Aizawa every day.

Izuku grins at Shinsou. “You’re scolding me, which means you aren’t that mad at me, right?”

Shinsou crosses the room so he can gently cuff Izuku’s shoulder. With a completely straight face he says, “I’m furious. What the fuck gives you the right to text me ‘I’m just worried about sensei’—and then go off and fight a whole ass serial killer? And a mutated quirk monster?”

“Your Midoriya impression is really good,” Todoroki comments.

“Do it again!”

“I’m Deku and my favorite hobby is worrying Shinsou Hitoshi to death,” Shinsou says, pitching his voice up.

Uraraka cackles. Todoroki and Iida look away to hide their amusement. Even Aizawa cracks a small smile.

“Aw,” Izuku says, “Shinosu! You were worried?”

Shinsou stares at him.

“I’m going to strangle him,” he informs the room.

Izuku and the others catch Shinsou up to current events, which turns out to be redundant, since he’s spent the past day shadowing Aizawa through various HPSC and police meetings. Shinsou fills in the gaps of information that they don’t have, since the four of them have been sequestered to this tiny room in Hosu General’s hero ward since last night.

They all end up huddled on Izuku’s bed, chatting and doodling on Izuku and Iida’s casts with some pens Shinsou had with him. The adults are still speaking quietly amongst themselves. Izuku is starting to think that maybe they’ll get away with no lecture from Aizawa.

“Guys,” Izuku says quietly, eyeing Aizawa. “Guys, he hasn’t yelled at us and it’s been, like, an hour. Do you think maybe he isn’t mad?”

“Think again, Problem Child.”

Izuku yelps as Aizawa suddenly turns to face them. The other kids straighten up—even Shinsou, who hasn’t even done anything wrong. Aizawa gives them all the most disappointed stare.

“I expected this from the Problem Child, but the rest of you? Uraraka? Iida?”

Izuku very carefully does not bring up the fact that Iida is definitely the most unhinged one here, given the whole premeditated revenge thing.

“In our defense—”

“Save it, Problem Child.” Aizawa sighs heavily. “You’re right, I’m not mad, but I will be giving the four of you extra lessons on self-preservation and the proper procedures in emergency situations. You’re not doing anything without my supervision for the next month. That’s not a punishment, it’s just for my own peace of mind.”

Izuku sighs with relief. They got off easy.

Aizawa turns to Izuku’s parents. “I’ve learned at this point that it’s better to just teach him how to be safer. Asking him not to do it again is pointless.”

Inko, who has had to pick Izuku up from the police station no less than thirty-seven times for vigilantism, just smiles knowingly.

“Wow,” Uraraka whispers, “I hope he’s this nice next time, too.”

“Next time?”

“It’s like you said, sensei! Asking us to not do it again is pointless.”

Aizawa looks up at the ceiling, seemingly talking to the universe at large. “How is it that Bakugou and his friends are the normal friend group in this class?”

“I haven't had many friends in the past,” Todoroki says, “but is this not what friend groups do?”

“No, Todoroki,” Aizawa answers patiently, “friend groups usually do not commit crimes together.”

Todoroki blinks. “Ah. I see. This makes us special, then.”

Shinsou bursts into laughter. Izuku gives up on trying to pretend like he isn’t amused. Even Iida has to turn his head to hide the smile working its way onto his face.

“Think of it this way, sensei,” Izuku says. “We just did a team building exercise outside of class!”

“Yeah!” Uraraka adds on. “It was basically an extracurricular activity!”

“Perhaps we should receive extra credit,” Todoroki says, face blank.

Aizawa sighs heavily. He turns to Shinsou.

“Promise me you’ll be the voice of reason when you transfer,” he practically begs.

Shinsou scowls. “What makes you think I wanna be a part of this absolute disaster of a group?!”

Aizawa gives him a flat look.

“You’re already attached,” he reports gravely.

Shinsou flushes and frowns, but he doesn’t deny it. Izuku is counting that as a win.

“We’ll need to fight another S ranked villain together, once Shinsou transfers to 1-A,” Izuku says decidedly, only mostly joking. “It’s basically a rite of passage at this point.”

The others hum in agreement.

“Therapy!” Aizawa exclaims, throwing his arms up as he gets up to exit the room. “For all of you!

(Izuku can’t help but think that maybe he’s gotten off too easy.

Izuku knows that for a minute there he wanted nothing more than to hurt. He wanted to destroy Stain for daring to raise a hand to his friends. There were times during that fight where Izuku wasn’t swinging to incapacitate or to knock out, but to cause permanent damage and while he’d like to say that it was a one-time thing— a heat of the moment impulse, an instinctual reaction— he knows that deep down, if Stain was in front of him right now—if he had to do it all again, he’d still be going in for the kill and—

Oh. Maybe Izuku isn’t as morally righteous as everyone thinks he is.)

A couple hours pass.

Despite the others’ lack of injuries, the police and other Pro heroes insist on them all being held in the hospital room together, at least until the official police statement can be given and it’s confirmed that Stain won’t bust out of custody and hunt them down to exact revenge.

A morbid thought, but a valid concern.

Izuku gives his statement. Detective Tsukauchi even comes all the way out from Musutafu to be the one to take it. Izuku thinks it’s fitting that Tsukauchi is the one handling the Deku side of the case. Oh, how far he’s come—from filing Izuku’s quirkless vigilante shenanigans to processing Izuku’s very first S class villain solo arrest.

People filter in and out of the room, but Izuku remains. His friends promise to give him a full tour of Hosu General’s hero ward as soon as he’s cleared to use a wheelchair. Eventually, Izuku’s friends wander off to stretch their legs and Inko runs back to Musutafu to bring Izuku back some clothes, since it’s looking like he’s going to be in the hospital for a couple more days. It’s late afternoon, close to dusk, when Izuku finds himself alone with Toshinori.

“Izuku.”

Izuku looks up from the bland, hospital-provided hero magazine he was half-heartedly flipping through.

“Yes?”

Toshinori looks serious, regretful and guilty. Oh. So they’re having this conversation now.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there, my boy.” Toshinori hangs his head in shame. “It seems I’m never there when you need me the most.”

Izuku scrunches his nose up. He needs to nip this in the bud, otherwise they will just spend the next hour apologizing back and forth to each other. Izuku knows. They’ve done it before.

“You don’t need to keep apologizing to me. I mean… isn’t the point of you training me so that I can stand on my own one day?”

Toshinori blinks. “Well, yes.”

“Besides, I’m always using things you taught me. So I guess, in a way, it’s like you’re always with me.”

Toshinori tears up. “Izuku.”

Izuku looks away, embarrassed. It’s true. Anyone who sees Izuku fight will be able to see the connection to All Might. Not just in his quirk and the way he fights, but also in the way he conducts himself as a hero. Even just in the way he lives his life.

He’s Yagi Toshinori’s kid, through and through.

Toshinori sighs. He sits back in his chair and smiles up at the ceiling wistfully.

“You never fail to surprise me. You’re right, of course. I suppose I… well, I suppose I thought you’d need me for just a bit longer.”

Izuku looks at him, panicked. “I do! Wait, that’s not what I meant! I just mean you can start giving me more responsibilities, and maybe not worry about me so much?”

“My boy, I’m going to worry about you regardless. I will probably still worry even when you’re an adult, topping the hero charts.”

Izuku smiles bashfully. He looks down at his hands, heavily scarred, fingers crooked. The right one is bandaged and his palm feels rough from where he used his hands to catch his many falls, scraped up against the asphalt. Him, the number one hero. Is it possible? Toshinori seems to think so.

Then again, Toshinori thinks the world of him. Izuku understands that now.

“Hey, Yagi-san?” Izuku shakes the hero magazine. “Have you seen Misty Manta’s new costume design?”

“What an abomination,” Toshinori says, pulling his chair closer so they can leaf through the magazine together.

The sun sets with the two of them going back and forth, dissecting different Pros’ fighting styles and theorizing on future team-ups. For a while, Izuku is 13 again and working the register in Toshinori’s hero merch shop, geeking out over the new action figure shipments and trading hero trivia together. They’ve grown since then—both as people and as student and mentor—but some things don’t change.

Izuku hopes he’ll get to debate Pro Hero stats with Toshinori for a long time. That feels like a happy ending, to him.

processing current events @sukiyaking • 5h

Deku makes me want to be brave.

6.7k retweets 863 quote retweets 15.3k likes

here comes the boy ✨ @inumakistan • 3h

Deku has been talking for MONTHS about how shitty the HPSC is. Now there’s several videos with clear audio and it can’t be swept under the rug anymore. We want accountability @HPSC_JP @HPSafetyComm @HPSCPres

12.3k retweets 283 quote retweets 20.4k likes

Izuku gets his second apology a few hours later.

The sun has long since gone down. Toshinori and Inko are asleep in the next room, a breakroom that Hosu General has graciously opened up for them to crash in. Aizawa popped in earlier to check-in on them again, with a vague threat of future personal safety lessons at school on Monday. Since then, Izuku and his friends have just been relaxing, enjoying each other’s company. Izuku feels light and bubbly, effervescent in the presence of his friends. If you ignore the fact that they’re in a hospital following a serious villain attack, it’s almost like a sleep over.

The mood winds down eventually. Izuku is just thinking about calling it a night when Iida clears his throat. Uraraka and Todoroki look at him, then at each other.

Iida clears his throat again.

“Was that the signal?” Todoroki asks. Uraraka face palms.

“Todoroki! We’re supposed to be discreet.”

“Oh. Sorry, Iida.” Todoroki stands and, with an air of exaggerated nonchalance, makes his way towards the door. “Uraraka and I are going to check out the vending machines for approximately 20 minutes.”

Izuku raises an eyebrow. “Uh huh. Alright.”

“Feel free to have a heart-to-heart in the meantime,” he says. Uraraka tries her best to push him out of the room. “Bottling up your feelings is unhealthy. You taught me that, Midoriya.”

“I sure did.”

Todoroki and Uraraka leave. Izuku turns back to Iida, who is bright red with second-hand embarrassment.

“What was all that about?”

“Earlier I asked Uraraka and Todoroki to give me a moment alone with you. I suppose I should have known better than to think they would handle things delicately.”

“Right,” Izuku says. He’s starting to get a little anxious. If Iida confesses to another revenge plot, Izuku is going to lose it.

“I’ve apologized to the others, but for some reason apologizing to you scares me the most. I believe it’s because I hold your opinion of me in high regard. I suspect you know, already—you’re good at understanding how I feel before I myself understand it. Still, it needs to be said.

“Midoriya-kun,” Iida says, looking at Izuku with such open remorse it makes Izuku’s chest tight. “I am so, so sorry.”

“You learned from it,” Izuku says, laying back against his pillows. Hosu General is treating them well. The pillows are nice and fluffy. “None of us were permanently hurt. We’ll all be better heroes for it.”

Izuku closes his eyes. The overhead fluorescent lights paint the backs of his eyelids red.

“I’m not just sorry for going after Stain.”

Izuku hears Iida move to cross the room, he feels his bed dip with Iida’s weight. When Izuku opens his eyes, Iida is sitting at the foot of Izuku’s bed.

“I’m sorry for how I acted before then. I shouldn’t have bottled my feelings up, and I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you when you were only trying to help. I should’ve spoken with an adult about how I was feeling.”

“I can understand not fully trusting adults,” Izuku says.

Iida pauses. He looks away from Izuku and out the window, at the Hosu City skyline.

“Is it true, then?” he asks. “The things you said to Stain in front of all those civilians—is all of that true?”

Izuku swallows hard. He nods. He hasn’t watched any of the videos circulating online, but he remembers what he said.

“Midoriya, why did you not tell me?” Iida asks, quietly devastated. “We were friends while we were in middle school. Maybe not as close as we currently are, but you must know that I would have—well, I don’t know. I would have tried my best to help you.”

Izuku sits up. “You did help. You were my first friend. You were kind to me when not many people were. Don’t discount that. You were there for me and—you knew I was quirkless before my quirk manifested and you never—I mean, you were so supportive and—”

“I could’ve done more,” Iida insists.

Izuku smiles, bright and easy. “Like what? Stormed to my school and demanded they treat me better? I couldn’t ask that of you.”

“You fought a serial killer for me. Midoriya—”

“It’s in the past,” Izuku interrupts gently. “Let’s move forward. I know you’re here for me, Iida. No need to prove anything.”

Iida frowns, clearly not content. “Perhaps I can send a few strongly worded emails—”

Izuku laughs. “Enough. Really, Iida. We’re good.”

Iida smiles. Tiny, and still a little insecure, but a smile nonetheless.

“Good.”

(Todoroki and Uraraka come back exactly 20 minutes later, arms full of snacks pilfered from the vending machines down the hall. Apparently, they take credit cards. Izuku just hopes Endeavor mind the 5,000 yen vending machine charge.)

check pinned for art @eyewearwolf • 5h

Literally every time I see Deku trending it’s because he’s gone viral for saying something during a fight. Does he ever shut up? Dude can’t even sneeze without getting it trending. Main character energy if I’ve ever seen it.

839 retweets 2 quote retweets 1.5k likes

replying to @eyewearwolf

check pinned for art @eyewearwolf • 5h

Ok wait I just saw the whole speech video… YOU GO MAN!! Nothing but straight facts all while defending civilians. No wonder people have been crazy about Deku. Didn't get the hype before but now I do.

replying to @eyewearwolf

check pinned for art @eyewearwolf • 4h

Everyone needs to watch this RIGHT NOW! The line he says after stopping the dude with the alligator quirk is GOLD… I might be on a Deku deep dive right now don’t mind me

[Link: 10 mins of deku being the future #1 hero | YouTube]

53 retweets 192 likes

Izuku’s friends get discharged the next morning, after getting the all clear from the HPSC. Hosu General wants to keep Izuku one more day, for observation. Izuku says goodbye to them and then, when the silence they leave behind gets too loud, he begs Toshinori to let him visit Miruko.

It doesn’t take much for Toshinori to cave. He fetches Izuku a wheelchair and takes him to Miruko’s room.

“I’m going to get Aizawa,” Toshinori says, depositing Izuku at Miruko’s bedside. “He’ll probably want to debrief on your internship.”

Toshinori leaves.

Izuku looks at Miruko. Miruko looks back.

“... Well?” Izuku asks.

Miruko blinks. Her ear twitches. “What?”

“I… don’t know.” Izuku awkwardly rocks back in his wheelchair. “This is usually the part when adults scold me? Or tell me to be less reckless?”

“Why would I do that? You’re fine, I’m fine. Stain’s been arrested. Feels like a win to me.”

Simple as that? Wow, Izuku and Miruko really are more similar than he initially thought.

Miruko gives him a tired smile. “What do you want me to say kid? I’m not surprised. I told you you could do it, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, I guess you were right.” Izuku grins.

Miruko grins back, sharp-toothed and wide. “Of course I was! I’m always right. Now, come on, update me on what’s going on out there. I had one meeting with the HPSC and Endeavor and almost choked him out on the spot and now they won’t let me leave my room.”

Izuku updates Miruko on the general state of things, internet and hero society-wise. He tries to thank her for insisting he get the Stain credit, but she refuses to hear any of it. Literally. She folds her ears over and hums childishly, which makes Izuku laugh so hard his newly-healed ribs ache. After a while, Toshinori and Aizawa come in, but they hang back and let Miruko and Izuku talk.

“So, I guess I’m, uh, kind of popular right now? Because of the Stain video? Um, yeah.”

Miruko snorts. “Serves him right, getting his murderous supervillain speech upstaged by a teenager. I hope they put him away for a long time.”

“Ha, yeah.” Izuku’s smile fades. “Um, Miruko? I know you said they’re not really involving you in the case anymore but… do you know what’s going to happen to Toga?”

Miruko turns to Aizawa and Toshinori, who move to hover by Izuku’s wheelchair.

“I know she’s being detained. Either of you have any news besides that?”

“I don’t want to sugarcoat things, kid,” Aizawa says. “She’s probably going to jail. For a long time.”

“But—I mean, that’s not the only option for her. Right?”

Toshinori shakes his head. Aizawa shrugs.

Izuku turns to Miruko with wide-eyes. “Recommend her to the Shiketsu Villain Rehab program. Please.”

Miruko, Aizawa, and Toshinori all exchange looks.

“My boy,” Toshinori starts gently, “I’m not sure she qualifies. She’s been classed as a C class villain and an accessory to attempted murder. She’s violent. She… frankly, has too many issues to be considered.”

“Kacchan had issues,” Izuku fires back. “Kacchan was violent, but he got proper therapy and help and now he’s on his way to earning a hero license.”

Aizawa sighs. “Problem Child, you know those aren’t the same things.”

Izuku’s voice wobbles. “We can save her. I know we can.”

“She’s under supervision,” Aizawa says. “That’s the best we can do for her right now. She needs to undergo evaluation by a certified psychologist before they can even consider her for the program—not to mention the waitlist for acceptance is a mile long. All of this hinges on whether or not she’ll be declared too violent and volatile after the Stain trial, too.”

Izuku’s heart sinks.

“I’m not shooting down the idea, I just want you to be aware of all the facts.” Aizawa’s mouth presses into a thin line. “That being said—”

Izuku looks up, hopeful.

“I’ll try to put a good word in. I think you’re right. She needs help.”

“We can make the HPSC help her,” Izuku says. “I mean, I just gave a big speech about fixing hero society, right? The HPSC probably wants to fix their image. What better way than to push a program to help former villains, with Stain’s protege, too?”

Aizawa raises his eyebrows, impressed. “You wanna try to manipulate the HPSC into helping out a villain?”

Izuku flushes. “I mean—do you have to say manipulate? I was thinking more like… firm suggestions.”

Aizawa blinks. “Everyday you become more like Nedzu, and that terrifies me.”

Toshinori barks out a surprised laugh. Miruko smirks.

“Guess who just flew in!” calls a voice from the doorway.

“Hawks!” Izuku tries to get up to greet him, Aizawa uses a hand on his shoulder to push him back down into his wheelchair. “You’re back in Japan! Where’s Tokoyami?”

“I sent him back to the agency a few days into my mission! He’s really good at intimidating suspects, though, it’s a shame he couldn’t stay.”

“Oi!” Miruko barks, sitting up straighter in her hospital bed. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?!”

“Rumi! So glad you didn’t die!”

Miruko scowls.

“And you!” Hawks turns back to Izuku. He reaches out to ruffle his curls. “Mr. S-ranked arrest! Already leaving the rest of us in the dust before you’ve even debuted, huh? Don’t forget about your dear old mentor when we’re fighting for spots on the charts.”

Izuku flushes.

“Now, I hate to be rude, but I’m going to need some time alone with Rumi. Best friend bonding, you know how it is. Super secret HPSC living weapons talk only, sorry.”

Miruko visibly perks up. “New case? Did you bring me a new case?”

“Maybe,” Hawks singsongs.

“Is it a new case or not, asshole?!”

“You, technically, shouldn’t even be working. Any hypothetical new cases I’m here to hypothetically give you should be considered a gift. Hypothetically.”

“You better tell me or I’ll hypothetically throw you out the nearest window.”

“Ha! Jokes on you, I can fly!”

“And that’s our cue to leave,” Aizawa says, starting to wheel Izuku out. “We’ll keep you updated on the case, Miruko. Problem Child, let’s get you back to your room.”

“Bye Miruko, bye Hawks!”

Hawks gives him a fond look as he goes.

“Don’t forget to have some fun in between all your training, kiddo. Take some time to be with friends,” he says. “The heart is a muscle, too.”

Miruko makes a face at that and fully shoves him off of his perch at the edge of her hospital bed.

“Don’t pretend to be all wise and mentorly, bird brain.”

“I’m trying to give him advice! One of us needs to be good with people.”

“I’m good with people!”

“Rumi, you have three employees. 50% of the people you’ve spoken to this week are in this room.”

“Just because I’m injured doesn’t mean I can’t still beat your face in, you—!”

“Okay!” Izuku cuts in, before they can devolve into more bickering. “T-Thank you for the advice! Um, and thank you for the training. Both of you.”

The two of them give Izuku matching grins as he leaves. He has a feeling this won’t be the last time he works with them.

Hawks ✓ @HawksOfficial • 1h

Visiting the bestie!

[A series of three photos: The first picture is of Hawks sitting at Miruko’s hospital bedside, throwing up a peace sign. Miruko is in the middle of stuffing carrot cake in her face, her neck bandaged up and her arm in a sling. Her mouth is open and there are crumbs all over her face. The second picture is of Miruko noticing Hawks taking a selfie. The third picture is a blurry shot of Miruko smacking Hawks upside the head.]

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Izuku gets discharged from the hospital on Sunday morning.

“With all due respect, Deku,” his nurse says, “I hope we don’t see you again too soon.”

Izuku smiles wryly. “Ah, I’ll try my best to stay out of trouble!”

As soon as the nurse is out of earshot, Inko comments dryly, “I can’t believe you lied to that nice young man like that.”

“Mom!”

“I’m only teasing.” She pats his curls reassuringly even as Izuku fakes offense. “With the amount of stress you’ve put me through these past couple of weeks, I think I deserve a few jokes.”

“That’s not fair,” Izuku whines.

“Hm, I think I’m right about this one, Izuku.”

“Your mother is right, you should listen to her,” Toshinori says, sweeping into the room.

“You didn’t even hear what she said!”

“I don’t need to, whatever it was, I know she was probably right.” Toshinori starts gathering up Izuku’s stuff, including the little green Deku bear that the members of class 1-A gifted him with when they visited last night. “All the paperwork is sorted. Ready to go?”

“I was ready yesterday.” Izuku slides off the hospital bed and reaches for his crutches.

“Less than 3 days and he’s already got his sass back.” Toshinori hovers at Izuku’s elbow as he adjusts his stance.

“He gets it from you,” Inko says.

Toshinori sends her a look over Izuku’s head. “I think we all know where Izuku gets his sass from, and it is certainly not me.”

They meet up with Katayama at the elevators. The Mighty Agency had also deployed bodyguards for Izuku and his family while he recovered—something that Izuku thought was hilarious. Toshinori hardly left his side. How could any amount of bodyguards be any safer than having the current number one hero at your bedside? The bodyguards gather now to escort Izuku out of the hospital. The elevator fills up with Izuku’s entourage, and they all fan out as soon as they get to the lobby, falling into a protective formation. It all makes Izuku feel very precious and important and—he realizes with a jolt that he kind of is.

Important, that is.

(If only his younger self could see him now.)

Through the glass doors of the lobby, Izuku can see a gathered crowd of reporters. The sight is so familiar, Izuku doesn’t even bat an eye. He just sighs heavily and adjusts his grip on his crutches. This morning, Katayama gave him the run down of the current state of the media surrounding his name and, honestly, it could be worse. At least Izuku knows what to expect.

Before they step out, Katayama stops him.

“You don’t need to answer any questions if you don’t want to,” she says firmly. “The agency has already put out a statement and, well—the video speaks for itself. Say the word and I’ll have the crowd disperse.”

Izuku thinks for a moment, really taking stock and trying to decide if he has the emotional energy to deal with the media right now.

“I feel like I probably should say something, though, right?” He looks between his mom, Toshinori, and Katayama for confirmation. “It’s like Yagi-san said, I can’t control what gets said about me, but I can control what I say. I know that I’m, um, kind of being talked about a lot right now? Maybe a little… uh, popular?”

“Try an internet sensation,” Katayama mutters, looking just so tired. “Practically a permanent spot on the Twitter trending page.”

Izuku flushes. “R-Right. So, I think I want to answer a few questions. For clarification? To make sure no one is misinterpreting what I said in the video.”

“If that’s what you want to do, we’re right behind you,” Toshinori reassures. Inko nods in agreement.

“I’ll mediate,” Katayama says. “We can’t stay for long. The steps of Hosu General aren’t exactly a secure press conference room, and it would be wise to limit the amount of videos and images of your injuries as possible, for safety reasons.”

Izuku is suddenly hyper aware of the silly little bunny doodles his friends left all over his cast, as a joke. He has no idea what he’s going to do in the future if he decides to move away from the bunny theme. It’s practically ingrained in his brand now.

“Are you ready?” Katayama asks.

Izuku takes a deep breath to steel his nerves. Strangely, he’s not as nervous as he was facing down the crowd of reporters last week, the day before the sports festival. Maybe it’s because this time he’s expecting the ambush, but Izuku really can’t find it in himself to be anything other than impatient to go home. Call it character development.

The reporters just don’t seem so scary to him anymore. Izuku guesses that facing off against a serial killer and winning probably has something to do with his new found confidence.

He nods.

As soon as they step out the doors, Izuku and his family are hit by a wave of sound. He’s briefly blinded by the flashes of several cameras before Katayama snaps, “No flash photography! He’s still recovering, for god’s sake.”

Katayama and a few security guards from the Mighty Agency herd the crowd to gather at the base of the steps, with Izuku standing a few steps up, flanked by Inko and Toshinori. A nearby reporter tries to subtly inch closer, but Inko glares at him so hard that he flinches back. Izuku loves his mom so much.

“Deku only has time for a couple questions,” Katayama announces sternly, “and once he says he’s done, that’s it. You will wait for Deku or I to call on you. There will be no questions about fight specifics or Deku’s medical details.”

The reporters, of course, ignore all of this. They all clamor for attention. Izuku ends up just picking someone at random and hoping they’re not here for a gossip rag.

“U-Um, you in the green hoodie? What’s your question?”

“Deku! Teshima Keiichi, for Hero Hopefuls Daily.”

Izuku relaxes a bit. He’s familiar with that publication; he knows that it’s targeted towards young kids in hero school or trying to apply to hero schools. He used to check their site daily, pre-UA.

“Go on.”

“Your statements on quirkless discrimination and the hero system are extremely popular with the youth online. Do you have any advice for the young prospective heroes—quirkless or not—who look up to you?”

Izuku sputters.

“T-That’s—well, I’m flattered that—I mean, um. It’s great that others are taking what I said into consideration, b-but what I said is only a small part of the problem. I was only, um, quirkless until my quirk came in, because I was a late bloomer. Quirkless discrimination for most lasts a lifetime. I hope people aren’t just listening to what I have to say, but also listening to each other. I’m lucky enough to have a supportive mom and an amazing mentor, so my experience is probably different from a lot of other quirkless—er, formerly?—quirkless people.”

Izuku blinks. “Um. I guess I didn’t really answer the question, huh? My advice would be to keep going. Don’t be afraid to do what’s right, but also know your limits. Ask for help. You’d be surprised by how many people are willing to help you out.”

Izuku smiles shakily. He looks over at Katayama and receives a small nod of approval. Looks like he’s getting better at lying about being a late bloomer.

“Next question?”

Izuku answers three more questions in a similar manner. It’s not so bad, except for when Katayama has to cut off the second reporter for being too invasive. Overall, it’s actually kind of… nice, to be able to clarify his statements. It almost feels like people actually care about what he thinks, which is something that Izuku never really thought would happen.

Dealing with the media only gets easier from here, Izuku reminds himself. That’s what Toshinori said, weeks ago, and Izuku is starting to believe him.

“Okay, maybe just a couple more questions?”

Izuku looks over at Katayama, who nods. He lets her pick the question asker and she gestures to someone in a yellow hat, wearing a NNN press pass.

The reporter smiles at him. “Isa Masako, for Nippon News Network. Intern Deku, people are calling you the new Symbol of Peace. What’s it like to follow in All Might’s footsteps like that?”

Before the reporter is even done with her question, Izuku starts shaking his head.

“I’m not the next Symbol of Peace,” he denies. There’s a dull roar from the crowd—whether agreeing or disagreeing with him, Izuku isn’t sure. He waits for the sound to die down before he continues.

“There will only ever be one Symbol of Peace. All Might is exactly what we needed. Believe me, I-I’m so honored to be compared to him—but I’m not him. I’m not the next All Might or the next Symbol of Peace—”

Izuku breaks off with a wry chuckle.

“Nothing I’ve done as a hero intern has been remotely ‘peaceful.’ I wanted to be a hero because I thought it was the best way to help people, but now that I’ve seen how the system works, I think my goal is a little different. I’m going to be a hero because I want to change things.”

The crowd explodes into sound.

Toshinori rests a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, the warmth from his palm is grounding in the face of so much movement and noise. Toshinori leans down and says, quietly so only Izuku can hear:

“In my eyes, you are already a hero. I am so proud of you, my boy.”

Izuku bites his lip, struggling to not burst into tears right there. He needs to wrap this up quickly, before he forgets all his media training and just flings himself into Toshinori’s arms, sobbing.

“O-One more question,” Izuku tells the reporters, “and then I need to go. Sorry.”

Katayama nods to a reporter near the back. She pushes to the front and Izuku can see the bold NHK logo on her mic. Oh, cool, only the biggest broadcasting corporation in Japan for his last question. Fantastic.

“Hero Intern Deku,” the reporter starts, “you say that you want to change things, yet you deny your status as a symbol of peace. Wouldn’t you have the power to change the system, like you said, as the Symbol of Peace. What about the aspiring heroes across the country who now look to you for guidance? Do they not need a symbol?”

Tough question. What a way to go out.

“Of course they do,” Izuku says. “I—I mean, I needed one when I was growing up. All Might was—is—everything to me. What I’m saying is that I’m not All Might. I can’t do it by myself—and All Might shouldn’t have had to do things by himself. I d-don’t want to speak for him, but I like to think he’s glad to have me around.”

Behind him, Toshinori huffs out a tiny, amused sigh.

“If I—or anyone else for that matter—am going to be a symbol, then that can’t be it. I can’t reform a system on my own and I can’t fix every problem. There are things I don’t understand well enough to help with. The change has to happen with all of us. We have to work together.”

Izuku blinks, stunned at his own mini speech. He flushes, bringing his unbandaged hand up to rub the back of his neck.

“A-At least, that’s what I think. Sorry for going off for so long.”

The reporters quiet down for a second and Izuku blinks down at them with wide eyes.

“... He’s perfect,” someone in the crowd whispers.

Izuku squeaks. Nearly falls down the steps.

That seems to set the entire scene in motion again. The reporters all talk over each other, trying to squeeze one last statement from him. The Mighty Agency bodyguards close in as Katayama tries to wrangle the crowd back into some semblance of order. Izuku shuffles awkwardly on his crutches.

“That’s enough questions,” Katayama cuts in. “Deku needs to rest. Please allow him and his family some space.”

Under Katayama’s cutting gaze, the crowd settles slightly and parts to allow Izuku, Inko, and Toshinori to quickly slip down the hospital steps, where Toshinori’s old beat up Toyota is idling at the curb. A Mighty Agency intern gets out of the driver's seat and hands Toshinori his keys. The Midoriyas quickly get into the car. Toshinori locks the doors as soon as they’re all in, Inko looking a little frazzled in the passenger seat and Izuku with his broken leg propped up in the back.

The media crowd up around the windows of the car, attempting one last sound bite.

“They’re like piranhas,” Inko says, eyeing them wearily through the window. She sighs. “I guess I just have to get used to this, huh? You’re only going to get bigger.”

“Ha, sorry, mom,” Izuku says sheepishly.

“Izuku, don’t apologize for sparking a social revolution, honey.”

Izuku grins, ducking his head. “Sorry.”

Inko huffs, faking annoyance. “Toshi, knock some self-confidence into this boy, please.”

Toshinori lets out a deep belly laugh. “I’ve been trying for years. Looks like you and I will just have to be proud enough to make up for him.”

“Should we make more t-shirts?”

“Excellent idea, Inko!”

“Guys!” Izuku squawks, face flushed with embarrassment. “Please, don’t.”

Inko and Toshinori laugh, joking back and forth about design concepts as Izuku tries his best to melt into the backseat. Toshinori starts the car as Katayama tries to herd reporters out of the way.

Izuku sits back, watching his parents bantering in the front seat. His phone has been buzzing nonstop for the past five minutes, no doubt with messages from his friends—real, incredible, amazing friends, friends Izuku knows he’ll have for the rest of his life. Outside this car, the world shifts. Maybe they’re tearing Deku to shreds on the internet. Maybe they’re piling on the pressure and expectations. Maybe, somewhere, a journalism student is typing up thousands of words dissecting his every move.

And maybe none of that matters. Right now, Izuku has the promise of coffee with his friends tomorrow after school. He has Miruko and Hawks’ personal phone numbers, with plans for more joint training. He has a teacher that would fight the chief of police on his behalf. For now, Izuku is safe in a car with his two favorite people in the world. He takes a deep breath in and grins, letting himself light up with more joy than he thought he was capable of after the week—the year, the life—he’s had.

Just before Toshinori pulls the car away from the curb, over the cacophony of camera shutters and reporter questions and media buzzing—Izuku hears someone say “the symbol of change”. Izuku smiles because he knows. He smiles because—

They’re talking about him.