Chapter Text
A fist was rapidly approaching Izuku’s face. Dropping into a crouch, he dodged the punch and swiped a leg out. Akutagawa jumped backwards. Having anticipated the reaction, Izuku sprang from the floor, leaping towards him in a manner reminiscent of a frog. Akutagawa calmly side stepped and grabbed Midoriya’s collar, suspending him in the air. “Nice try. Your build allows you to be more springy and that’s good to use against your opponents. However,” Izuku let out a groan as Akutagawa landed a punch to his gut, “you don’t have the power to attack head on like others do.” Without warning, he was dropped to the ground in a curled up heap of sweat and forming bruises. “Attacking head on is useless. You couldn’t overpower even a quirkless sparring partner, let alone a quirked villain trying to kill you.” Izuku groaned again, but gave a small nod indicating he understood. “Good, now go rest, Shinsou, you’re up.”
Izuku stood on shaky legs, clutching his stomach as he hobbled to the wall, joining Atsushi and Kyouka where they sat, observing Akutagawa train them in hand to hand. Atsushi silently handed him a bottle. Gratefully, he took a long swig from it, relishing in the cool water soothing his dry throat. “Are you alright?” Atsushi worried.
“I’m fine!” Izuku assured.
“Are you sure? He doesn’t tend to pull punches, even in training…”
”Yeah! Villains won’t pull any punches, so it’s important that he points out all the weaknesses villains would take advantage of! It wouldn’t be productive for him to pull his punches in training.” The sound of something heavy slamming into the floor, followed by Shinsou groaning, rang out through the room.
”You aren’t Midoriya,” Akutagawa growled. “You can’t rely on agility like he can. Listen to your instincts, what is your body screaming at you to do in this position?” He leaned over Shinsou’s still form. Weakly, Shinsou kicked up towards Akutagawa’s face. He grinned as he easily caught the ankle approaching him. “Good. Midoriya has strong legs and a small frame, speed is his strength, but it’s your weakness. Your limbs prevent swift movement, but they’re also his weakness. You have a longer reach, don’t let others get close and you can keep your defense. Try again.” Shinsou groaned and lifted himself from the ground.
“Akutagawa-san is a really good combat teacher!” Izuku noted, frantically jotting down all the corrections he made to Shinsou’s form in a notebook.
“Hmm, I suppose,” Ataushi murmured.
“Did he teach you two how to fight?” Izuku couldn’t help but ask. He knew they were closed off about things when it came to their past, but he couldn’t help but be curious about them. Even if it meant that he was often left with more questions than answers.
“No.”
“I learned nothing from him,” Atsushi and Kyouka answered simultaneously. “Atsushi-kun taught me far more.” Atsushi’s face flushed a bright red as he stuttered out denials.
“Who taught you, Atsushi-san?”
“Ah, uh, I suppose it was mostly Kunikida-san?” Atsushi answered. “Ah, um, you haven’t met him, he didn’t come with us,” Atsushi explained after seeing Izuku’s confused expression.
“He’s a good teacher,” Kyouka agreed.
“He is, but we only focused on fighting with our quirks, so I can’t help much with quirkless training.”
“How come you guys got training when you weren’t attending hero schools?”
“Private detectives,” they answered in sync. The answer sounded… rehearsed. As if it was a cover story for whatever the real reason was. But! They were helping him and Shinsou become heroes! It was unlikely they were villains! They probably just weren’t allowed to talk about what they did in the past. A non-disclosure agreement was far more likely than the family being a group of villains!
Akutagawa mercilessly slammed Shinsou on the floor once more. “Aren’t you cleaning the beach with Midoriya?” He demanded.
“Yes?” Shinsou wheezed out the answer, attempting to catch the breath that was knocked out of him.
“Then why is it that he has more muscle in one leg than you do in your entire body? Do you think you can do less than him because you have a quirk and he doesn’t?”
“No!” Shinsou denied.
“Shinsou is working just as hard as I am!” Izuku defended. Aktagawa glared at both of them.
“Then explain the difference in your progress.”
“Some people develop differently under the same conditions! Shinsou may just develop muscles slower than me!”
“He’s developed none ,” Akutagawa growled. “Your reasoning explains slow progress, not none.” He turned back to Shinsou, glaring down at his defiant stare. “So, can you explain your lack of progress compared to Midoriya, or are you going to continue to waste our time?”
“And what if I can’t?” Shinsou challenged. In response, Akutagawa yanked him upwards by his collar.
“If you can’t, I’ll simply put an end to this myself and let you figure out how to pass the entrance exam yourself.” Atsushi stood from his spot, ready to jump in between the glaring match.
“Midoriya and I aren’t working under the same conditions,” Shinsou eventually explained after a few, tense minutes. “Not all of us are privileged enough to eat enough protein to build muscle.” Akutagawa sighed and released Shinsou from his grip.
“Then tell Chuuya to give you a raise.” He placed his hands in his pocket and silently left the room. Shinsou let out a relieved sigh and collapsed to the ground.
“Now that was terrifying. For a second I thought he would kill me.”
“He swore he wouldn’t maim either of you when we let him be your instructor,” Atsushi assured.
“Yeah, because that information is just so comforting,” Sinshou sarcastically grumbled. Atsushi shrugged.
Izuku rummaged through his backpack, replacing the notebook he held with another, this one titled ‘Hero Training Log (for present :D)’ “If you need help getting more protein in your diet, I keep a list of all the recipes my mom cooks along with the nutrition information, individual costs of ingredients, and instructions for cooking them. I also listed some common substitutes for the ingredients and how the substitution affects the cost and nutrition.” He handed the notebook to Shinsou, already opened to the section for recipes. Shinsou flipped through the pages slowly, eyebrows raising as he scanned each page.
“Genuinely, how do you have the time for this?” He asked. “And can I take pictures?” Izuku’s face warmed with a faint blush, but eagerly nodded.
“Of course you can!” He agreed. “My mom will be really happy that someone else likes her recipes enough to make them!” Shinsou quickly took his phone out and began capturing pictures of each page. Kyouka stood on her tiptoes behind him, reading the recipes over his shoulders.
Suddenly, she silently pointed at the recipe Shinsou was taking a picture of. “We should make that,” she pointedly demanded. Atsushi sighed, but agreed.
“Do you guys want a picture as well?” He offered. Kyouka shook her head.
“I’ll remember it.” What went unsaid was that she would also remember that Atsushi agreed to make it with her and she would remind him until he fulfilled his promise.
Kyouka popped up next to Atsushi, tugging lightly on his sleeves. “We can go buy the ingredients now. We already have most of them.” Atsushi signed and resigned himself to another cooking night.
“Alright, alright,” he hastily agreed, lest Kyouka accidentally rip his sleeves with her insistent tugging. “We should probably end here anyway.” Shinsou and Midoriya nodded in agreement.
“I have to get going, it’ll be time to start making dinner soon,” Shinsou muttered, glancing at the time displayed on his phone. “But seriously, thanks for these.” He handed the notebook back to Midoriya, who beamed in response.
“No problem!”
“And tell your mom I’m grateful.”
“Of course!”
Atsushi stood at the check out register. Kyouka stood a few feet away, staring at a small stand filled with colorful merch dedicated to a bunch of cartoon characters. Midoriya had stayed behind, choosing to snack on some of Chuuya’s cookies while waiting for Hatsume to come with another round of prototypes, meanwhile Shinsou had walked together with them for a few blocks before separating to head back to his home.
Upon arriving, the two of them had made quick work of retrieving all the necessary ingredients. All that remained was paying for their items and heading back home, hopefully without any incidents occurring.
And of course, it was at that moment the doors slammed opened by a group of masked individuals, announcing they were robbing the place. Atsushi sighed and glanced at Kyouka, who was staring at him, silently asking if she should stop them. Atsushi subtly shook his head. Demon Snow would be classified as illegal quirk usage, and there were too many witnesses around to get away with such blatant disregard for the law. Taking them down without abilities would draw too much attention to them, and while he didn’t know too many details to Dazai’s plans, the unspoken rule to keep their heads down and unnoticed by the government was loud and clear. Thus, the only thing they could do was wait for a licensed hero to come and deal with the robbers.
The group immediately split up upon their declaration. Several walked through the store, looting shelves and customers alike. Two stayed behind, one tasked with sealing the entrance by shooting a white, glue-like substance out of his hand at the hinges, meanwhile the other sauntered to the checkout counter they stood at, cockily swinging a nail-filled baseball bat around. “Cooperate and we’ll be on our way in no time,” he reassured.
The cashier nodded, holding his hands up in silent surrender. When the robber pointedly glared at Atsushi and Kyouka, they mirrored the stance. “You two, go stand against the windows. Keep those hands on your heads, lest we have to cut them off.” Atsushi mustered his most pathetic whimper as he meekly nodded in compliance. In truth, his fear at one point would have been genuine, but far too much had happened between his days in the orphanage and encountering these fools for him to be truly scared.
The man chuckled and turned back to the cashier as they silently stood in front of the window. “Now, all you need to do is open the register and join those two,” he ordered. The cashier nodded and moved to do as told, but he was stopped by the man’s bat appearing beneath his chin. “Ah, ah, ah,” he tutted. “Keep one hand on that head.” The cashier nodded and slowly moved one arm to open the register. The man removed the bat and patted the top of the cashier's head. “Good boy.”
The cashier backed away and headed towards the window. The man jumped over the counter, silently packing the register’s money into a bag.
Kyouka nudged his foot with her own. He angled his head towards her, and she motioned towards the lackey sealing the door, who was transfixed by whatever was happening outside, a manic gleam shining in his eyes. Atsushi craned his neck and noticed the group of people outside staring into the store windows, whispering to each other and pointing their phone cameras at the scene. Thankfully, it seemed like some of them were calling emergency services to report the robbery.
“Hey Boss! Looks like people are starting to notice! You think they’ll get the Heroes over here?” The man, who was apparently the leader of the operation, simply scoffed.
“The Heroes were alerted the moment we entered,” he plainly stated. “But they can’t charge in without risking the hostages, which gives us leverage.” Having emptied the register, he strode to where they stood. His dark eyes glittered as his hand shot out, gripping Kyouka's jaw hard enough to bruise. “Imagine the press if it got out that the Heroes recklessly endangered a young maiden,” the man murmured. Idly, his thumb rubbed small circles along her cheek. He chuckled as he stared into her icy blue glare. “Such a fiery glare.” He pet the top of her head softly. “It’s good to have a fire…” He stopped petting and grabbed the root of her hair, pulling it up viciously. “But don’t forget that I could extinguish it.” Atsushi glared at the man, who simply laughed and released Kyouka’s hair. “How cute. What a good brother.”
The faint blare of sirens approaching brought a swift end to the stand off. “Tell the others to bring the rest and start tying them up,” the man ordered. The lackey nodded and the man stepped back, gleefully watching as the lackey bound their wrists together with his strange substance, that upon contact with air turned from a glue-like texture, to a hardened, sticky rubbery texture.
In hardly any time at all, the rest of the hostages were huddled in front of the window, similarly bound. Flashing lights and sirens signaled the presence of police outside, however, in accordance with the leader’s claims, no heroes attempted to enter. “Who’s out there?” The leader asked.
“Looks like it’s just Mount Lady and Present Mic, sir- oh! Kamui Wood is trying to be stealthy but he’s here too,” the lackey who tied them up eagerly responded. The leader chuckled and leaned back, crossing his legs languidly.
“No All Might? Even with all these hostages on display?” He asked. “How interesting.” He lowered his voice, quiet enough that Atsushi had to strain to hear. “Maybe that Nutjob’s theory had some substance after all.” Atsushi narrowed his eyes. So that was the motive, huh? He glanced around, taking note of the rest of the members of the group. Despite trying to appear nonchalant, they all tensed up upon hearing the list of heroes that arrived. A stark contrast to the eager lackey and relaxed leader.
“Say, if we kill some, do you think All Might will come?” The lackey stared at the hostages, his haunting gaze causing the others to flinch and huddle close. Except for Kyouka, who hadn’t stopped glaring silently at the leader, and him, who unflinchingly met the gaze of the wannabe predator with his own, allowing a small portion of Byakko to rise to the surface. The lackey flinched, but before he could retaliate, protests from the rest of their group distracted him.
“Hey! We didn’t agree to kill nobody!” The leader turned towards the unhappy protestor, chin resting in his palm. “We did what we agreed to, why are you just letting the heroes trap us here! We should make our escape!”
“Yes, I suppose you’re correct in that first part. We don’t want the number one to show up, so no killing the hostages.” He sighed as jumped down from the counter, dragging his bat lightly across the ground. “But since when was your escape part of the plan?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. His tone was filled with the curiosity of a child wondering why the sky was blue. As if they should have already known the answer to his question.
“What-?” The leader swung his bat, hitting the other’s haw. Atsushi winced as the man’s neck twisted and a sharp crack rang out, followed by the man’s limp body crumpling to the ground.
“Thank you for your service. Unfortunately, all of your contracts have expired.” The man flicked the blood off his bat.
“Why are you-?!” The strange white substance shot out of the lackey’s hand, attaching to the newest protestor. He cackled as he pulled back, flinging the protestor towards him. Cupping the back of his head, the lackey slammed his face into the ground, continuing until the man stopped groaning and his body didn’t even move to breathe.
“Why?” The leader asked, smashing his bat against another jaw. “I told you! Our contract is over! That means we’re no longer partners!” He plucked a bag from an open palm. “And that means you’re stealing what’s mine.”
After several minutes of fighting, only the leader and his lackey stood, surrounded by the limp, bloody bodies of their once partners. The only sounds in the store were the muffled sobs of the hostages. “Atsushi,” Kyouka insisted, however he shook his head once more.
“If they harm a hostage,” he conceded. Vigilante laws be damned, he refused to stand by while innocents were being harmed. The leader turned back and strolled up to Kyouka, a small smirk appearing as he stared her down.
“How precious. To see how overwhelmed you are, and still have a fighting spirit.” He gently caressed the bruise forming on her jaw. “Perhaps I should claim that spirit as mine,” he murmured to himself. As his thumb drifted over her lips, Kyouka bit down. “You bitch!” His other hand slapped her cheek. The momentary shock caused her to let go of the finger.
“Uh, Boss, I think the Heroes are trying to break in,” the lackey interrupted. The man looked out the window and sneered.
“How foolish of them.”
“Should we kill a hostage to stop them?” The man shook his head.
“No. It’s time we leave anyway.” The man grabbed the lackey’s shoulder and the two of them seemingly teleported away with the bags filled with stolen goods. However, Atsushi heard the faint sound of their breathing as they made their way towards the front door. Just as they stood to the side of it, a loud ‘YEAHHHHH’ came from outside and the glass shattered. The sudden crashing sounds caused Atsushi to lose track of the two, but he assumed they snuck out as the heroes and police ran into the supermarket, only to be met with the sight of the bloodied corpses of the other robbers and the hostages, unharmed and restrained, and pointedly out of the way of the earlier conflict. Atsushi could sympathize with them for the amount of paperwork they would be handling after this incident.
An hour later, Atsushi and Kyouka were sitting in the back of an ambulance, shock blankets wrapped around them. The strange substance from the lackey’s quirk was easily removed from their hands and a paramedic had covered Kyouka’s face in some sort of cream that rapidly increased the healing time for her bruises, so now they were a more green-yellow tint rather than a fresh purple.
The police officer Atsushi had been reporting to thanked the both of them and walked away, flipping their notebook shut. The two of them were officially cleared to leave, but because no one believed Atsushi when he said he was an adult, they had to wait for their guardian to come pick them up. And due to Kunikida, their go-to guardian for these situations, being in another universe, they were only left with one choice for someone to call.
“You look like shit,” Chuuya commented as he appeared, guided by one of the heroes (whom Atsushi was pretty sure was named Present Mic). Chuuya’s eyes lingered on Kyouka’s jaw before turning back to the hero. “You said they’re cleared?” He confirmed. Upon the-probably-Present-Mic’s agreement, Chuuya motioned for them to get moving. “Then let’s go.” With no arguments, the two of them stood in sync, politely bowed farewell to the heroes, and left the bustling scene.
None of them noticed as Present Mic watched their departure with a narrowed gaze. “Is something wrong?” Mount Lady asked, appearing next to him. “You got that look Eraser-sensei gets when a student is lying to him.” Present Mic hummed in response.
“Have you ever met a civilian who wasn’t relieved to see their guardian after a villain attack?” He asked, already knowing the answer.
“Actually, no, before that girl, couldn’t say that I have,” Mount Lady considered.
“I have.”
“You have?”
“Every single one of them were victims of abuse.”
The rhythmic beats of Dazai impatiently tapping a finger on the table was the only sound breaking the tense silence amongst the occupants of the café. Atsushi had just finished reporting what happened while they were hostages and the strange mutterings of the leader. “A Nutjob interested in the weakening of All Might, huh…” Dazai muttered. “Can’t say I’ve heard of such a person. But more importantly,” his gaze darkened as he stared at Kyouka’s bruising. “I’m more interested in the man who thought he could harm our dear Kyouka-chan.” Atsushi nodded and began listing all the identifying features he managed to notice, despite the mask blocking half of the man’s face.
“-oh, and he smelled heavily of smoke, but it lingered like he was around smokers but not smoking himself.”
“And there was no scent of alcohol?” Dazai asked.
“None.” Dazai hummed, but nodded.
“Good job, Atsushi-kun. You two should rest now. Go upstairs, and you,” he turned to Akutagawa’s brooding form. “Keep watch over them.” Akutagawa rolled his eyes but nodded and the three of them left for the apartment, leaving just Dazai and Chuuya remaining. Silently, Chuuya donned his hat and Dazai scraped the legs of the chair against the flooring.
“Now what does that description remind you of?” Dazai grinned.
“Reminds me of the pool halls back home,” Chuuya responded.
“Reminds me of an information broker’s lair. And I bet a certain someone has a fee to pay with his haul tonight.”
The light at the opening of the alley was out, shadowing the occupants in a darkness impenetrable by those looking in from the outside. Chuuya was leaning against the wall, arms crossed as he watched Dazai aimlessly spin around the light pole. His position guarded the exit from the side entrance, which Dazai insisted their target would use to leave after paying his debts. How he knew such a thing when they were in a new universe and he claimed he never even heard of their target before that day, Chuuya didn’t know. And frankly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
The door slammed open and a man stumbled out, furiously muttering under his breath. He placed his hands in his pockets, however Chuuya noticed the bandages wrapped around his thumb.
Pushing off the wall, the click of his steps echoed as he approached the man. The two of them bumped shoulders, Chuuya roughly shoving his own into the man. “Hey! Watch where you’re-“ he was cut off as gravity pushed down on him, sending him sprawling onto the dirty concrete. Chuuya sneered as he stared down at the man, gently wiping his shoulder of any dirt. At the opening of the alley, Dazai slowly approached, his figure draped in the shadows of the night. “Who the fuck do you think you- umph.” A booted foot stepped on the back of his head, slamming his face into the ground.
“Perhaps you should direct that question towards yourself.” Dazai’s voice was soft yet emotionless. There was no anger or indignation in his tone. There was no spark of life in his eyes, just a soulless pit. He had completely removed the mask he created for the detective agency. It was reminiscent of their days in the mafia, as if they were teenagers sent out to neutralize a traitor all over again.
He lifted his foot off the man’s head and crouched down, pulling on his hair and lifting his face off the ground. “Answer the question,” he murmured. “Who are you to leave bruises on my precious daughter’s face?”
“What are you- mmph!” Dazai slammed the man’s face back into the ground.
“Try again.” Blood trickled from the man’s nose as he was lifted once more.
“Fuck you-“ his face slammed into the ground again.
“Try again.”
“Bastard-!” Slam.
“Try again.” The man’s dazed gaze met Chuuya’s unimpressed stare. Weakly, he reached out his uninjured hand, gripping his pants cuff.
“Please-“ Dazai slammed his face into the ground and he released his weak hold on Chuuya.
“Aw, he passed out so quick,” Dazai pouted. Despite the shift in tone, no emotions were evident on his face. He continued to simply stare at the man with a dead-eyed stare. “Come on, wake up.” He lightly tapped a bloody cheek. “We aren’t done~” he sang.
After a few minutes of tapping, the man came to once again. “Oh Good!” Dazai cheered. “Now, are you going to answer my question?”
“Yes! Yes I will! Please, I swear!” The man cried out.
“Good! Now, answer it.”
“I’m no one! I swear! I’m sorry for hurting your daughter! It won’t happen again, I swear!” Dazai hummed in consideration, but ultimately accepted the answer.
“At least you’re aware. Onto my next question. Who’s trying to kill All Might?
“I don’t know what- ow ow ow!” Dazai pulled on the man’s hair. “Alright! I really don’t know! I haven’t even heard of that! The Nutjob just told me there’s rumors that All Might’s been getting weaker! I don’t know nothing else! I can’t afford information like that!”
“How pathetic,” Dazai sneered. “But! I appreciate your cooperation.” He pulled out a simple kitchen knife from his pocket. With one glance, Chuuya nodded and increased the pressure on the man’s outstretched hand.
“Please, I told you everything!” The man protested. “Please let me go.”
“Oh don’t worry! We will!” Dazai assured. “But did you really think I’d let you get away unscathed after you touched my daughter with your filthy hand?” He threw the knife in the air, and as it reached its peak height, a red glow surrounded it. Its descent was sped up by gravity as it pulled the knife down back to earth, fast enough that it chopped cleanly through the man’s hand, disconnecting the wrist from his arm.
A sharp scream left the man’s mouth, followed by a pool of blood pouring out from the severed limb. Dazai stood from his crouched position and pocketed the bloody knife. “May you remember your promise.” Turning on his heel, he hummed a jovial tune as he exited the alley. Chuuya followed a step behind, ignoring the people rushing out of the pool hall and surrounding the limp man.
The streets were silent as they walked side by side. No heroes or police had rushed to the alley, allowing them to take the main streets instead of having to find a way to sneak back to the café.
“You know it’s strange,” Dazai broke the silence. “Why would a Port Mafia executive help a traitor get revenge for another traitor?” His tone was innocent, but a glance revealed a blank gaze. Chuuya rolled his eyes. That idiot still understood nothing.
“No one other than the Port Mafia has any right to deal with our traitors,” he recited the excuse easily.
When Dazai got that look, there was no use trying to explain.
“Oh? Are you sure it’s not because you wanted to avenge our daughter? It’s alright to care, Chibi-kun! It’s what makes us human!”
“Tch. As if you’re one to say anything. Tell me, what’s the real reason you went after him?” Dazai smiled a cruel smile.
“You could call him a greeting card.”