Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku had a gentle quirk.
When he was sad, it pulled a toy to him.
When he was cold, it covered him up.
When it was too dark, it lit up the room.

Some would say that spatial manipulation wasn’t a powerful quirk to become a superhero.
Although Izuku disagreed, he would soon find out they were right.

Izuku was in his room, watching All Might movies for the millionth time, when something happened.
His mom came to check on him when the floor… changed.

By reflex, she pulled him close, burying his tiny face into her shoulder while the rest of the room fell apart.

The light faded almost completely.
Darkness consumed everything except for the faint glow shining from the crystals that had replaced the wall.
The floor became earth.

They ended up in a sort of cradle made of crystal, glowing walls surrounding them on every side but one.

Inko looked around desperately, searching for any sign that all of this was just an illusion—
the house, the light, her life.

Her son cried, confused and terrified.

Everything is going to be okay, Izuku.

She sat down with him on the crystal bed.
She was going to wait.
The illusion could fade.
Everything could go back to normal.

But every human has a time limit for how long fear can beat boredom.
And hunger.

When she realized none of it would disappear, she decided to look around.
She wasn’t an expert, but as far as she knew about caves, there should only be rock and dirt for kilometers.
Nothing alive.
Nothing edible.

She had nothing to light the way, but fortunately, the crystals glowed as far as she could see.

Holding hands with her son, she walked for a while.
The darkness seemed gentle, complemented by the soft blue shine of the crystals.

Then, a sound.
Metal scraping glass.
Slow.
Deep.
Terrible.

The roar reverberated through the cave, traveling from Inko’s ears down her spine.

She turned her head.
Slowly.

And almost proved right there that this had to be a nightmare.

The creature… swam through the air.
A monstrous fish, its teeth forming a cage out of its jaw.
Its eyes were completely white, announcing its blindness.

“Izuku,” Inko barely whispered. “Mom needs you to be brave and run as fast as you can, okay?”

“But what about you, Mommy?” Izuku stared at her, wide-eyed and tearful.

“Mom will get to you, okay?” She smiled—small, fake.
“Run. Now!”

Izuku ran beneath the fish.
Surprised, it took too long to react.
It turned toward the boy, but was pushed aside by some kind of pressure in the air, straight toward Inko.

“I’m right here!” Inko shouted, using her magnetic quirk to pull the monster toward herself.

Izuku ran back to the crystal cradle.
Crying.
Alone.

Only to find his mother… lying down.
Sleeping.

“M-mom? How did— I thought—”

Inko moved slightly. Then she woke up in shock.

“IZUKU!”

“I’m right here, Mom,” he sniffled, smiling.

“B-but how? I sh-should be—” She started crying.
Izuku approached slowly and hid under her arms.
She held him like he might disappear any second.

“Okay, okay. What kind of mom am I, who needs to be comforted by her baby?”
She laughed weakly, wiping her eyes.

The monster discouraged her from looking for food again.
For a while.
Until her son’s stomach growled.

She grabbed a pointed crystal.
And went out.
Alone.

She followed a new path through the glowing maze until she found a sparkling bush—
like a Christmas tree, with blue orbs the size of apples hanging from its branches.

She bit into one.
Waited.
Delicious.

She filled the hem of her shirt with the fruits.
Came back—

Only to find two hungry eyes behind her.

The impact.
The scream.
The bite.
Darkness.

And then—light.

Izuku was over her, staring.
And the fruits were above her, restored along with her body.

“Eat, Izuku. They’re good.”
He took one, suspicious.
He bit.

“I hope they’re not radioactive,” he said with his mouth full.
Inko laughed.
She ate one too.

How long had passed?
Weeks?
Months?
They couldn’t tell.

Izuku and Inko fell into a routine.
She would go out looking for food, die, and return to him.
She taught Izuku: safe routes, monsters’ weaknesses, how to deal with the leeches that clung to everything except the glowing crystals.

They discovered that eating a lot of fruit made them shine.
And any injury—every one of them—would vanish after they died.

It’s a trap, Inko thought.
This place wants us to keep dying.

Izuku had a natural talent for mapping the place because of his quirk. It came easily to him.
But Inko avoided bringing him along.

She noticed the changes.

With each death, Inko came back less human.

Bright eyes.
Claws.
Teeth that grew wild.
And one time… she forgot her son’s name.

When the voices finally came, she wasn’t surprised.

Surrender yourself.
Join us.
Bring your son.
K i l l y o u r s o n.

It wouldn’t work.
She would die a million times first.

But the place didn’t only bring horror.
One day, Inko woke up floating near the ceiling—like the monsters.
Scared at first, she only relaxed when she heard Izuku laugh.

She picked him up and spun with him through the air.
His first laugh in so long.

She hoped it would be the first of many.

It wouldn’t be.

Izuku didn’t die as much as Inko. So he wasn’t as… molded.

He had no claws.
No fangs.
His eyes didn’t shine.
And he couldn’t fly.

He was still human.
Fragile.

Then, while running from a monster, he couldn’t escape the ledge.

It’s okay. If I die, I’ll come back home.

Not noticing he already called the only safe place he knew “home”, Izuku fell.

He didn’t die.

He hit the floor.
The crack of his spine echoed louder than the monster’s roar.
Inko flew down after killing it.

“MOM!” Izuku screamed. “It hurts! It hurts so much!”

“I-it’s okay. I can make the pain go away, okay? It’ll hurt for just a second.”

She raised the crystal stake.
Hesitated.
Only for a second.
And drove it down.

Easy.
Too easy.
Killing her son should never be that easy.

In the next days, Izuku still comforted her, thanking her for ending the pain.

But she noticed.

He flinched when she came close.
He looked uncomfortable when he met her eyes.
He felt fear when, for a moment, he confused her with a monster.

Inko was losing herself.
They both knew it.

And as soon as he was alone… Izuku would be the next.

His fangs were already growing.
His eyes shimmered faintly.
His quirk stretched space too much, responding to fear.

I have to take my son away from here.
She thought it when she woke.
When she slept.
When she hunted monsters and ate their flesh raw.
I need to take my son away from here.

She kept jumping from cliffs to strengthen her connection to the place, to open the portal.

If I manage to open one, I can send him somewhere safe.

She thought it when she forgot his name.
When her hands no longer looked human.
When the voices laughed.

And then, finally—
Izuku disappeared right in front of her.

Gone.
Far away.
Somewhere safe.

The portal had opened.

And he was gone.
Alone.

Chapter Text

Katsuki didn’t consider himself a scared kid.

No, he was an amazing kid with an amazing quirk.
It wasn’t fear that made him scream when his childhood friend suddenly appeared in his living room. No, it was just a surprise.
It wasn’t fear, but strangeness, that made him more alert when the boy who used to be gentle, now strange, stared at him for the first time, his eyes empty and frightening.
And it wasn’t fear, but anger, that made him yell at his mom when he discovered the boy would be living in their house from now on.

Izuku had become a fairly popular figure in online criminal cases. He and Inko were last seen entering their house, caught on the market’s camera. After that, they vanished. There was no sign of them leaving through the back, and no neighbor saw anything.

Endless theories were created, from kidnapping to debt with loan sharks. But none of them explained the boy’s sudden appearance in the neighbors’ living room. Alone.

Izuku wasn’t much help.
When questioned, he only gave a confused statement about monsters in a shared-quirk dimension.
They said he had a disorder with a complicated name; basically, he couldn’t remember what happened because of trauma.

The Bakugous managed to be declared his temporary family thanks to Izuku’s attachment to them and his fragile condition.

He brought only a few things, mostly clothes, some notebooks, and his bed, since he’d be sharing Katsuki’s room until Inko was found.

Katsuki was anything but happy.

He already had the habit of “playing” with Izuku ever since he developed his quirk at age four. Hitting him, provoking him, or “training” his quirk on him. Katsuki and Izuku hadn’t gotten along in a long time.

But Izuku didn’t usually fight back.

After losing his mother and home, however, Katsuki decided to give the nerd a break.

Izuku was downstairs, drawing All Might in his notebook, when Katsuki came down to grab a glass of water. The glass slid away from his hand.

“What the hell—?”

Katsuki tried again, this time faster, the glass fell to the floor. A small shard flew toward his ankle.

Furious, the boy went to the closet beside the laundry room to grab a broom, only for the broom to slip out of his hand as well. “FOR FUCK’S SAKE!”

He insisted and finally managed to grab the broom, only to get hit on the head by a bucket right after.

Already red with anger, he grabbed the dustpan, used it to push away the sponge flying straight at his face, and took a step toward the door—

Which slammed in his face.

A sound of breaking glass came from the kitchen, followed by an “OUCH.”

“KATSUKI!”

“Shit.”

After a few smacks on the head and an unpleasant exchange of insults with his mother, Katsuki marched into the living room, furious.

Izuku was still drawing, the All Might now more colorful.

“STOP IT! Are you trying to kill me?!” Katsuki shouted.

Izuku jumped, startled, backing away from the table. The remote jumped off the couch onto the floor.

“I’m not doing anything,” Izuku said with a bored expression, turning back to his drawing.

“Nothing? So the bucket, the broom, and the glass just decided to kill me on their own?” Something made a sound in the kitchen.

“I-I can’t help it! Things… just move… I don’t control it,” Izuku pushed his notebook aside again, giving Katsuki his full attention.

“THEN STOP!” Katsuki slapped the table, making Izuku flinch. “If I needed more proof you’re nothing but a useless deku, I’d let you know.”

Izuku’s notebook snapped shut on its own.

“Take that back,” Izuku’s eyes filled with tears.

“STOP HAUNTING MY HOUSE.”

“This house isn’t just yours,” Izuku said, standing up, almost at Katsuki’s height now. “I live here too.”

“Only until your freak ‘monster’ mom decides—”

Katsuki’s sentence was cut off by a shove that knocked him down. He got up immediately and punched Izuku in the jaw. The two grappled and fell to the floor, knocking the table over in the process.

“MASARU, HELP ME HERE!” Mitsuki shouted as she tried to separate them.

“Take it back!” Izuku cried between screams.

“That your mom fucking abandoned you? Because she did!”

Katsuki wasn’t crying, but he was close.

“Katsuki!” Mitsuki finally managed to hold her son, and Masaru grabbed Izuku as soon as he arrived.

“My mom saved me!” Izuku struggled in his hold.

“Or she died,” Katsuki yelled, thrashing in his mother’s arms.

“TO YOUR ROOM, KATSUKI!” Mitsuki was crying too. “I never want to hear you talk like that in this house again.”

Katsuki broke free and ran upstairs.

Mitsuki knew Izuku’s adjustment wouldn’t be easy. But Katsuki wasn’t a bad kid. She hoped he would understand. Though deep down she knew her son’s spoiled personality came from her own parenting.

Even so, there was a tiny hope that this would be the last fight.

You know it won’t be, Mitsuki.

But she would do her best to help those boys get along.

It didn’t take long for the second fight to happen, this one at school.

The third was again at home.
The fourth and fifth were at the playground.

Not even Katsuki understood why they were fighting so much. They didn’t fight that often when Izuku never fought back.

One night, the boys were already asleep. Katsuki was twisted up in his blankets, all crooked. Something grabbed his foot.

“Quit it, Deku.”

Izuku mumbled in his bed, still asleep. Not Deku?

The thing pulled again, harder this time. Katsuki shot up. There was a shadow there, shaped like a person.

“N-no, mom,” Izuku whimpered in his sleep, twisting in his bed.

The shadow grew agitated and walked toward Katsuki.

“Don’t leave me alone,” Izuku was crying now.

“H-hey, nerd,” Katsuki tried. “It’s okay, it’s just a nightmare.”

But Izuku didn’t hear him. The shadow flickered with every whimper. It reached Katsuki and touched him, and he screamed.

“MOM!”

Izuku jolted awake.

The shadow vanished the moment Mitsuki burst into the room.

“Are you two okay?” she asked, terrified.

“D-De— Izuku had a nightmare,” Katsuki sniffled.

“Oh, my babies,” Mitsuki pulled both of them close.

The fights calmed down after that.

They started drawing together and playing superheroes.

One night, Masaru came home to find the boys asleep on the couch. Izuku sitting upright and Katsuki lying with his legs over Izuku’s lap.

He covered them with Katsuki’s All Might blanket, smiling.

That didn’t mean the fights stopped completely.

One day, the fighting resulted in Katsuki’s favorite All Might lamp breaking.

“Mom, Mom!” Katsuki ran to the kitchen. “Look at this,” he said, dropping his lamp on the floor and breaking it.

“Katsuki!” Mitsuki stared at him, shocked. “What were you thinking?” She put her hands on her hips.

“Watch.”

Katsuki placed his hands over the broken lamp and exploded it.
But instead of the expected boom, the explosion was dark and silent, like an implosion.
The lamp returned to normal in less than a second, each piece flying back to its place with incredible force.

Mitsuki could only stare, wide-eyed. “What happened?”

“My explosion is reversed,” Katsuki grinned widely, like it was the coolest thing he had ever done.

He didn’t grin like that later, though, when Mitsuki talked to Masaru and mentioned the possibility of his quirk never going back to normal.

“What do I do, nerd? How am I supposed to fight villains if my quirk doesn’t go back to normal? Fix their faces? Gently not make noise?” Katsuki paced back and forth in his room. Izuku watched from the bed.

“Why don’t you do this…”
Izuku grabbed a stuffed animal and set it on the bed, then broke Katsuki’s alarm clock and hid it behind the plushie. He picked up one piece and handed it to Katsuki.

“Now explode it.”

Suspicious, Katsuki exploded the piece in his hand.
The alarm clock flew toward him, reassembling itself mid-air and smacking the plushie several times.

“Cool!” Katsuki burst out laughing.

“It’s not as strong as exploding something normally, but for hero work it’s really useful — especially if you don’t have to worry about destroying the whole city,” Izuku crossed his legs on the bed. “And also… we don’t know that you don’t still have your old explosion too. So far it just seems like you’re an even stronger hero.”

Katsuki smiled, then looked away and scratched the back of his neck.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“No problem, Kacchan,” Izuku beamed.

“I’ll be honest with you, Mrs. Bakugou,” the doctor adjusted his glasses as he spoke to Mitsuki. Katsuki listened carefully from his chair.
“In twenty years of work, I’ve never seen a case like this.”

“B-but… It’s normal, right? Kids his age discovering new things about their quirks?” Mitsuki stood, one hand on Katsuki’s shoulder.

“It would be, yes, but comparing the old tests to the new ones, it doesn’t even look like the same quirk. Your son’s quirk factor changed.”

“But how? Did this just… happen?”

“It seems, actually, that it was caused by an external factor.”

“External?”

“A third party’s quirk affected Katsuki’s quirk. Tell me…” the doctor turned to Katsuki. “Do you remember anything strange happening? Or someone unusual getting very close recently?”

“Just Deku. Ow.” Mitsuki smacked him lightly. “Izuku.”

“He’s the little boy we’ve been taking care of for a few months. But we already know his quirk. It’s just spatial manipulation.” Mitsuki placed a hand over her chest as she spoke of Izuku, affection filling her expression.

“All right. For now, I’m going to order tests for your whole family to see if anyone else’s quirk has changed. But, Mrs. Bakugou, I’ll be honest. Quirks that alter quirks are rare and usually attract unwanted attention from people with bad intentions. I recommend not telling anyone anything until we understand what happened.”

“But what about my quirk? Am I gonna fix things forever?” Katsuki looked sad.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Bakugou-kun. Your quirk hasn’t changed. It just… evolved. You should be able to explode normally again with some practice. I recommend finding a quirk instructor. And if anyone asks, you simply didn’t know this side of your quirk.”

That night, they had spicy curry, Katsuki’s favorite. Izuku had already gotten used to the spice and tried helping Katsuki and Mitsuki cook.

He was banned from the kitchen after that.

Izuku and Katsuki hardly fought anymore, and when they did, it was just arguing.

Mitsuki was happy her sons were getting along.

Well… her son and her future son.

She planned to tell them about the adoption on Izuku’s birthday next month.

Her plans didn’t account for what happened at the next appointment.

This time she had taken both Izuku and Katsuki, but when they arrived, the doctor wasn’t alone.

“I can’t believe it! That’s the pro hero Eraserhead!” Izuku lit up with excitement at seeing the hero Mitsuki didn’t recognize.

“Pro hero?” Mitsuki looked at the man, worried. His expression was stern, matching his dark clothes and the hair hiding half his face.

“Mrs. Bakugou,” the doctor began.
“First, I should explain what I found in the tests.”

He ran a hand over his head, the light-blue hair making the bald spot stand out even more.

“It seems that both you and your husband have begun showing changes in your quirks. Not permanent, at least for now.”

“But why is a hero here?” Mitsuki tried not to stare, but she couldn’t hide her surprise, or fear.

The boys listened silently, not daring to interrupt.

“This is related to young Midoriya. From what I’ve discovered, he is connected to the changes in all three quirks.”

“But how-” Mitsuki covered her mouth. “His quirk is spatial manipulation. It doesn’t change quirks.”

“So it’s my fault?” Izuku asked quietly, but loud enough to be heard.

“You’re not at fault for anything, Izuku,” Mitsuki placed a hand on his shoulder. “B-but if it’s like that… what am I supposed to do?”

“That’s why I’m here,” the hero spoke for the first time.
“As you know, quirks that can alter quirks are extremely rare. But a quirk that can strengthen and modify quirks… well, let’s say there isn’t a single documented case.”

“What does that mean?” Mitsuki fought back tears. The boys couldn’t see her cry.

“That Izuku may be in danger. Quirks like his attract attention from the black market. And staying with you, your husband, and your son… it would put you in danger too.”

Mitsuki wrapped her arms around Izuku from behind, catching him off guard.

“I-I don’t care! Izuku is part of our family. We’ll do whatever we have to do to protect him.”

“Yeah. Izuku’s just a deku, he’s not dangerous- ow.”

Mitsuki released Izuku just to smack Katsuki’s head again.

Izuku let out a small laugh.

“I believe you’d do your best,” Eraserhead continued, still serious but now softer.
“But… I would like to make a proposal. You’re Midoriya’s temporary guardians, correct? You probably don’t have the resources or skills to deal with a case like his. I propose he come live with me.”

“With you?” Izuku and Mitsuki said at the same time.

“As I said, it’s only a proposal. It would be the best option to keep both your family and young Midoriya safe. But it’s up to you.”

Mitsuki planned to refuse immediately. But when she looked at the two boys, she took a deep breath and let out a defeated sigh.

“Izuku. It doesn’t feel very fair for me to make this choice alone. So I’m going to let you decide.”

Izuku’s eyes widened.

“Me?”

“Like hell! Deku’s staying with us, right? Ow.”

“I think it would be really cool to live with a pro hero,” Izuku started slowly. “But my family is you.”

He looked down, fidgeting with his hands.

“But… I don’t want you to be in danger because of me.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Izuku. If it makes things easier for you… I’m still your family, okay? No matter what you choose…”

Mitsuki struggled to find the right words, then smiled sadly.

“I love you so much, Izu. If it were up to me, you’d never leave our house. But he can offer you what I can’t. He… can protect you.”

Mitsuki’s face twisted into a crying expression, even as she tried to keep smiling.

Izuku hugged her tightly.

“I-I don’t w-want you to-to be in d-danger because… because of me,” Izuku wiped his eyes.
“I-I’ll go.”

“WHAT?!” Katsuki turned red. “You’re really going to trade us in?”

Mitsuki placed a hand over Katsuki.

“He’s not trading anyone. We’re still his family, right?”

Katsuki nodded, eyes watery.

The hero and the doctor watched silently.

“I’ll still visit you, Kacchan! I will, right?” Izuku asked.

Eraserhead nodded.

“You’re my brother now, okay?”

“As if I’d care if a d— a nerd like you leaves,” Katsuki crossed his arms.

He sighed and hugged Izuku with one arm.

“Maybe I’ll miss you.”

Izuku laughed softly.

That night, they had katsudon.

Izuku was allowed to help this time.

It took much longer to finish.

It didn’t taste that good.

But it was the best katsudon the four of them had ever had.

Chapter Text

“Izukuuu,” Mitsuki hugged him tightly, tears running down her face and dripping onto Izuku’s shoulder.

“I-I’m going to m-miss you so-so much,” Izuku sobbed just as hard.

“Geez, he’s going to visit us, Mom,” Katsuki said, watching the scene with a clearly unimpressed look. Masaru stood beside them, patting Izuku on the back, awkward, but smiling.

Izuku pulled away from Mitsuki and Masaru and ran to hug Katsuki, who returned it with a single, brief pat on his back.
“So, nerd. Where’re you going now? I need to know if it’s far when I go visit you,” Katsuki said, trying to sound uninterested.

“It’s not very far! But I’m going home first.”

“Home?” Katsuki looked at him, suddenly uneasy.

“Yeah. I need to get the rest of my things.” For a moment, Izuku looked sad, but he quickly hid it when he heard a car stop in front of the Bakugou house. “They’re here!” he said, suddenly bright again.

Although the decision to adopt had come suddenly, the process itself moved more slowly. Eraserhead wanted Izuku to get used to the couple first, instead of being abruptly taken from his home. They spent several days together, which were surprisingly fun. While the hero himself was quiet and reserved, his husband – who Izuku discovered was actually Present Mic! – was far more talkative, and acted as a great mediator between them.

Despite being a couple perfectly content with their cats, Hizashi told Izuku they had been thinking about adopting a child for quite some time.

Going back to Inko’s house wasn’t easy.
The last time Izuku had been there, his mother had been with him.

Mitsuki stopped by from time to time to make sure the place stayed clean, and Masaru had gone once to pick up Izuku’s things, but Izuku himself had never been there.

Now, he had to be.

He had to find everything he wanted to take with him. His toys, posters, and notebooks. Photos, documents, memories.

The house reacted exactly as Izuku expected. Objects floated, doors opened and slammed shut, shadows trailing the three of them throughout the visit.

Shouta and Hizashi’s apartment was nice. Not very big, not like Izuku had imagined pro heroes would live in, but he preferred it that way.

Since living with the Bakugous, Izuku had realized he felt safer in smaller spaces. Maybe it had something to do with controlling his quirk.
Wide, open places, like the streets, made him feel lost, disoriented.

As Hizashi and Shouta had anticipated, the stress of the move made Izuku’s quirk flare up immediately.

As soon as he stepped into the apartment carrying his box of comic magazines, the door slammed shut with tremendous force, barely missing Hizashi thanks to the hero’s fast reflexes.

“Sorry!” Izuku looked at him, panicked. “My quirk does that sometimes… I still can’t control it…”

“It’s okay, little listener. That’s why we’re here, right?” Hizashi smiled, ruffling Izuku’s hair. Izuku smiled back and hurried off to his room with the box.

The rest of the day stayed difficult, filled with apparitions, “accidents,” and constant apologies from Izuku. The heroes reassured him over and over again.

Hizashi and Shouta weren’t like the Bakugous, loud and energetic. Around them, Izuku felt like a skittish stray, watched carefully, handled gently, given space when he needed it.

Despite his loud quirk, Hizashi was incredibly gentle at home. Shouta was patient, careful not to push into Izuku’s space until the boy was ready.

Even so, the first night was the hardest.

In the middle of the night, Izuku slept curled up tightly in his new bed. His room was still cluttered from the move, everything was meant to be properly organized the next day.

The room seemed to shrink around him, and with it, the rest of the apartment warped and twisted. Shadows crept into the heroes’ bedroom, watching them. Both woke up uneasy.

[I’ll go], Shouta signed to his husband, who quickly fell back asleep, murmuring a sleepy okay.

As he walked down the hallway, pitch-black figures followed his movements, turning their heads as if they couldn’t track him with eyes they didn’t have.

Shouta stopped at the door and knocked softly.
“Izuku?” He tried to open it gently. It didn’t move. He tried again, harder, still nothing. “Izuku? It’s me. Can you open the door?”

The door opened just a crack. The shadow holding the handle slowly retreated toward Izuku, positioning itself defensively. Izuku’s eyes were open, but he was still curled up in the same tight position.

“S-sorry,” Izuku whispered.

“It’s okay,” Shouta sighed. “It’s not your fault. Do you want me to… stay here until you fall asleep again?”

“I don’t want to sleep again,” Izuku said quietly, sitting up a little.

“It’s three in the morning. That’s too early to be awake,” Shouta said, sitting at the foot of the bed. The shadow remained there, tense, ready to attack if he got any closer.

“I don’t like it. It feels like when I used to… die,” Izuku said hesitantly.

Shouta knew what he meant. He had read Izuku’s statement.

The report had been deemed unreliable, too distorted by severe trauma. It described things that didn’t fit into any known framework: other dimensions, shared quirks, monsters. The kind of story adults assume a child might create to fill the gaps left by trauma and memory loss.

That didn’t make it any less real to Izuku.

“Then how about we do something else?” Shouta suggested.

Looking around, he spotted a box full of notebooks. Hero Analysis for the Future. He picked one up.

The pages were filled with drawings of heroes, notes about fighting styles, weaknesses, and suggestions for costume improvements. Impressive for an eight-year-old. Honestly, impressive enough to rival a professional analyst.

So you want to be a hero too, Shouta thought.

“How about this,” he said aloud. “You go to sleep. And starting tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to be a hero.”

Izuku’s eyes lit up. “You would?”

“Of course. But you need to sleep, kid. Otherwise, you won’t even have the energy to throw a punch.”

“Okay! I’ll sleep, I promise!” Izuku lay back down and pulled the blanket over himself. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Shouta murmured, hiding a faint smile.

Despite the promise, Hizashi and Shouta still took turns getting up throughout the night, calming a crying, terrified Izuku.

True to his word, Shouta began Izuku’s training the next day.

He didn’t start with fighting, to Izuku’s disappointment, but with exercises meant to prepare his body.

“We’ll start with balance and posture, okay?” Shouta said, setting up a bar supported by two metal stands, adjusting it to ankle height. “How far do you think you can walk on this?”

Not very far.

Izuku stumbled and fell several times before even reaching the halfway point. When he started to get frustrated, Shouta switched exercises.

“Learning how to fall is important too,” he said, teaching Izuku how to roll safely.

They kept training until lunchtime, when Hizashi called them to eat.

After lunch, it was Hizashi’s turn. He didn’t have the heart to knock his little listener off bars and platforms, so they focused on quirk training instead.

He placed a soda can on the floor in front of Izuku and asked him to lift it. Izuku tried again and again, lifting many objects, just not the can.

The scavenger hunt went better. Hizashi couldn’t keep up with Izuku finding the objects Shouta hid around the apartment.

Hizashi’s training was much more playful, drawing laughter from Izuku several times. When the boy finally yawned, Hizashi leaned in and whispered to Shouta, “Success.”

A few weeks later, at his new school, Izuku was terrified. Even after making up with Katsuki, he still imagined children with horns and sharp teeth screaming at him about his strange quirk.

What he didn’t expect was the boy with yellow hair and eyes who walked right up to him on the first day and said,
“I think you’re really cute. Wanna be my friend?”

Izuku turned bright red. But he agreed.

The blond boy was accompanied by another kid, much quieter.

“My name’s Denki Kaminari,” the blond said, then grabbed the other boy’s arm. “And this is Hitoshi Shinso.”

He had lavender hair and a deep, distant gaze, and he didn’t speak. Izuku was still learning sign language, which was how the boy preferred to communicate, but he wasn’t very good yet. So they started talking through notes.

The notebook quickly became unnecessary. Shinso barely spoke, or wrote, at all.

“Don’t worry,” Denki said cheerfully. “He opens up pretty fast. He’s actually really talkative when he likes someone.”

Talkative?

Izuku went home with his notebook filled with doodles of lightning and bits of conversation. He felt happy.

That night, he dreamed about his new friends.
Finally, a night without nightmares.

Chapter Text

After Izuku moved away, Katsuki only grew more irritable. Everything became a reason for his explosive temper. It wasn’t as if Izuku had disappeared completely. He visited the Bakugous often, always bringing news about his training and his weird new friends.

What irritated Katsuki was that Izuku seemed to be moving forward, while Katsuki himself only regressed.

It had all started five years earlier, when Izuku went to live with the heroes. Katsuki had been blamed for Izuku’s change in behavior, and later, his sudden departure.

After that, Katsuki became the target.

“Accidental” shoves. His desk always scratched with ableist slurs about his deafness. His clothes stolen. His chair unscrewed.

Nothing was ever direct.

When he tried to confront his bu- his classmates, they defended themselves by saying it was an accident. The teachers claimed he wasn’t a victim of anything, since there were no signs of violence against him. When they checked the cameras, the footage was always frozen or corrupted.

Katsuki knew exactly whose fault it was.

Haruto Mizoguchi.

He was the weakest boy in Katsuki’s class. His quirk involved a kind of digital manipulation. He had been one of Katsuki’s bullying victims, the kind Izuku always tried to defend.

Until Izuku left, and Mizoguchi blamed Katsuki.

On his way out of school one day, while passing under a window, Katsuki felt something wet spill over his head. When he looked up, Mizoguchi was laughing with one of his friends, holding a juice box out the window.

Katsuki took a deep breath and kept walking.

He learned early on not to retaliate against Mizoguchi. In the first three attempts, his grades were altered in the school system, his notebooks were destroyed, his chair collapsed when he sat down and he hurt his arm. There was never any proof. Katsuki couldn’t do anything.

Entering the bathroom, he took out a towel and a change of clothes from his massive backpack and put on his work uniform and gloves.

He started hoarding everything. Towels. Extra clothes. Two of every supply. First aid kits. His backpack was the heaviest one around. Not to mention the copies he kept hidden at home of every single notebook. He had practically memorized all the notes from copying them over and over again.

After a few months of bul- of provocations, Katsuki’s mother began refusing to buy so many notebooks and supplies. Katsuki needed to learn to take better care of his things.

So Katsuki got a job at a twenty-four-hour convenience store to pay for everything he kept “losing.”

When he arrived at the store’s office, Katsuki clocked in, immediately followed by his coworker arriving right behind him.

“Morning, Katsuki! Something smells good,” she smiled. “Mango?”

“Juice box,” Katsuki huffed, and her expression shifted to something sad.

“Again?” She clocked in with her card. “I really wish there was something we could do about this.”

Ochako Uraraka was a girl whose sweet appearance was misleading. Katsuki would soon learn that she was incredibly tough, working hard to help her family while studying to get into the best hero school in the country.

Katsuki wouldn’t admit that he didn't like her right away. But the girl, sweet and smiling, got what she wanted through frightening determination, including Katsuki’s friendship.

They had a routine they’d agreed on: each day, one of them stayed at the register while the other handled stock and cleaning. Ochako would be at the register today.

Katsuki immediately began checking the store, looking for anything out of place and marking what would need restocking for the peak hour coming up in about an hour.

Although he wasn’t great with customers – having snapped at them more than once – Katsuki was meticulous with his work and never made mistakes. That was the only reason he hadn’t been fired yet. That, and the regular customers no longer cared about his explosive personality.

Ochako watched him with concern. She knew he wasn’t just an angry kid. She observed as he organized products by color, checked expiration dates, and walked carefully, avoiding stepping on the floor lines.

Katsuki didn’t like dealing with customers, and at another time, he would’ve happily accepted doing only manual work and leaving the register to Ochako. That’s how they’d started. But both of them noticed how uncomfortable that made Katsuki, how he couldn’t focus when something was out of place and how the floor dividers restricted his movement. It was Ochako herself who suggested alternating.

“You doing okay, kid?” a man with a worried expression asked, watching the way Katsuki worked. He was extremely tall, though he compensated by walking hunched over.

Katsuki only stared at him and nodded, returning to the counter to restock the candy display.

The man continued filling his basket when a strange-looking woman entered the store. She wandered around without picking anything up, and Katsuki kept an eye on her. She walked through a few aisles before finally heading to the register.

She opened her coat just enough to show a weapon hidden underneath. “No funny business, you two,” she said without drawing much attention, though she wasn’t exactly whispering. “I want the money from the register. Put it in that shopping bag. Slowly.”

Katsuki froze, while Ochako, nearly crying, began opening the register. Katsuki realized he could no longer hear anything else in the store.

Sound suppression?

Before she could grab a single bill, the robber was struck from behind and immediately knocked unconscious. The sound returned almost instantly.

“Well, that’s lucky,” a booming voice echoed in front of Katsuki and Ochako, both of whom widened their eyes. “I happened to be nearby, you see? But I really must be going.” He hoisted the woman over his shoulders and headed for the exit.

Katsuki couldn’t believe it.

All Might. Right in front of him.

He had so many questions to ask. But most of all-

“Wait! I need to know-” Katsuki started.

“Sorry, kid, no questions. I need to go,” All Might said, already at the door.

“Can I be a hero, even if I’m scared?” Katsuki almost shouted.

All Might stopped where he was.

“I can’t leave anything crooked. I can’t step on lines. I can’t touch anything without gloves,” Katsuki looked his hero straight in the eyes. “And I know heroism is chaos. There’s no control. But I’ve always dreamed... I- can I be a hero, even if I’m weak?”

Ochako watched the two of them, not daring to interrupt. Katsuki, especially, worried her. She knew he felt this way, but it wasn’t like he’d ever said it out loud before.

All Might took a deep breath.

“My young man. Courage is not the absence of fear, but heroism demands that you act despite it.”

He crouched down to Katsuki’s level.

“When that woman came in armed, you noticed. You understood the danger. And still... you froze.”

Katsuki was about to respond, but what could he say? That wasn’t what he’d been expecting to hear.

“In the field,” All Might placed a hand on his shoulder, “that second of hesitation kills people.”

“Kid. When I enter a fight, I don’t think,” he paused, as if weighing his next words. “You think too much. That’s not a flaw. But heroism… is a risk.”

He straightened up.

“Maybe you can help people in other ways. There are many paths to saving lives.” And with that, All Might left.

“No,” Ochako finally spoke, having watched the scene without daring to interrupt. “Katsuki, you don’t have to listen to him... you-”

“I’m exactly what he said I am… I can’t even stand up to my- my bullies,” Katsuki felt strange calling them that, but he knew that’s what they were.

Ochako approached slowly and hugged him.

“Come on. We still have work to do,” she said, offering a weak smile.

The rest of the shift passed without incident. Katsuki restocked shelves, cleaned the bathroom, and closed the store. Ochako was already on her way home. The night was calm and quiet. The stars shone brighter than usual, standing out beside the crescent moon.

On his way home, however, Katsuki came across a nightmare scene: a car accident. The air smelled of gasoline, and smoke rose from the hood.

“Get back!” someone shouted.

Looking closer, Katsuki saw one person being helped out of the car, but someone was still inside. In the back seat.

“There’s a kid in there!” someone yelled.
“I couldn’t get her out! It’s jammed!”
“Someone get her out!”
“The car’s going to explode, there’s no time!”

Katsuki heard crackling sounds coming from the vehicle and ran.

He didn’t know what he would do. His quirk made him more resistant to explosions, but how could he protect a child?

He quikly took off his gloves and thrown it on the groung. He reached the car, ran to the back seat, and snapped the girl’s seatbelt with his hands. In less than a second, he pulled her out and held her tight.

Time seemed to slow down.

Katsuki hugged the little girl firmly as she screamed, pointing his arm toward the car. When the explosion came, he created one of his own. His explosion – dark and silent, but massive – seemed to swallow the car’s blast whole.

Everyone at the scene covered their ears and shut their eyes, bracing for a sound that never came.

When they opened their eyes, the car was intact.

And the little girl was unharmed.

A very tall figure came running over.

All Might? Katsuki thought, confused.

No. It was the same man from the convenience store earlier.

He rushed to Katsuki and the girl while the rest of the crowd stared in shock.

“Are you okay?” the man asked. Katsuki and the girl hadn’t let go of each other yet. She was crying, and he looked panicked. The man gently held her arm and pulled her away; she didn’t resist.

“Emi!” a woman ran over, hugging the little girl tightly.

Katsuki shrank in on himself, staring at the ground. Everything was such a mess. Dirty. Loud. He covered his ears, though he didn’t need to. He couldn’t hear anything.

The man guided him away from the chaos and sat with him on the curb. A few people followed, some looked angry, others proud. Katsuki couldn’t hear what they were saying.

The ambulance arrived shortly after. Katsuki, the little girl, and her mother were checked. The two of them were taken to the hospital, but Katsuki was cleared.

The walk home was darker and quieter. The man insisted on walking Katsuki home, and Katsuki didn’t have the energy to refuse.

“My boy,” the man broke the silence. “I heard what All Might told you earlier.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Katsuki muttered, walking with his head down.

“He was wrong. I- I was wrong,” and that made Katsuki look at him in confusion.

The man, previously scrawny, suddenly swelled into a familiar shape. Katsuki froze, eyes wide.

“All Might!”

“My boy… I was wrong. I said a hero doesn’t have time to think. But you thought, and acted anyway,” Katsuki remained speechless. “You analyzed the situation and saved that little girl with your own body. If that isn’t heroism, I don’t know what is.”

Katsuki’s eyes filled with tears.

“Kid. You can be a hero.”

Katsuki began to cry.

“Would you like to become my successor?”

“What?”

Chapter Text

The entrance exam would be the following day.
Izuku would be taking the recommendation exam, a month before the regular entrance exam.

He had spent nearly six years training for this moment, but…

Izuku was definitely not ready.

“I can hear you overthinking from here,” Hitoshi said beside him.

“Yeah, man. You’re cool. Those stiff, stuck-up kids won’t stand a chance,” Denki added from the other side.

The three of them were having dinner at Izuku’s house, with Hizashi cooking since Shouta was on patrol. It had been Hizashi’s idea to have a sleepover, knowing his son would be far too nervous to manage sleeping alone that night.

Since moving in, Izuku’s nightmares had become less frequent.

Not gone. Just subtler.

But nights like this tended to bring them back.

“Just don’t turn our night into some kind of paranormal episode, okay?” Denki said with a grin.

Izuku’s friends were barely startled by the shadows or floating objects anymore.
But the first few weeks had been hilarious.

While Hizashi washed the dishes, the boys gathered in the living room.
Distracted from the TV by the dead beetle they had found earlier, and that Denki was now trying to revive with his electricity, Frankenstein-style.

“I still think this is creepy,” Hitoshi said, watching with interest.

“You lost the right to call any quirk creepy the day you walked into my dream,” Denki replied, sending a small shock through the beetle, which finally began to move.

“Either way, it’s kind of cool,” Izuku said. “If I have a nightmare tonight, at least I know I won’t be alone.”

Hizashi announced bedtime shortly after, turning off the TV.
The three boys lay down on futons beneath the couch. They had been sleeping in the living room ever since Izuku’s bedroom became too small for all three.

And, as expected, Izuku was visited by a tired Hitoshi the moment he started talking in his sleep.
This time, no flying objects. Izuku was getting good at controlling that.

The written exam was easier than Izuku had expected, though it had a few trick questions here and there.

The room was quiet, around ten students taking the test in silence.
Most of the questions were tactical: analyzing maps, locating patterns, identifying weaknesses, with logic and math questions scattered throughout.

The essay question, however, caught Izuku off guard.

When should a hero give up?

Izuku thought of his mother and answered honestly, remembering the moment she had given up on herself.
He thought of the bitter feeling that surfaced every time he remembered how he himself had given up on looking for her.
And he thought of how he had given up on the life he could have had, out of fear of putting the people around him in danger.

A hero should give up when continuing to fight puts more lives at risk than retreating.

Giving up is not abandoning someone – it is recognizing when your own presence has become a liability.

There are moments when persistence becomes selfishness disguised as courage.

It was a harsh answer.
But it felt right.

Right or wrong didn’t really matter for a question like that, but Izuku thought the evaluators would appreciate his response.

The practical exam was easier.

It was simple. The candidates were taken to Ground Beta (which was impressive!), and given instructions by the heroine Midnight – Present Mic would not be evaluating, due to his close relationship with Izuku.

She held up a small, glowing blue core, slightly smaller than a tennis ball.

“These are the cores you’ll need to find. They’ll be scattered throughout the city. You must collect as many as you can.

“Stealing is allowed. But be careful, they can break. The exam will last fifteen minutes. Good luck!”

As soon as the signal sounded, the students rushed in.
Izuku entered more slowly, trying to expand his localization across the field, or as far as he could manage.

The process took about five minutes. He wouldn’t have time to map everything, but what he managed was already enough.

Izuku started late; many of the most obvious cores had already been taken.
He now knew the location of every core within a little over half a kilometer. He decided that was enough.

He quickly began collecting the cores other students had missed, and before long, he had overtaken most of them.

The divide among the students was clear: those with more strategic or mental quirks found the cores faster. Those with offensive quirks focused on grabbing visible ones first and were now turning to “stealing” from students who had more.

They hadn’t been given any way to carry the cores, so everyone improvised. Izuku made his float around him.
He saw another student doing the same, though it seemed they were actually controlling the wind around them.
He also saw a girl carrying a bag, one he’d seen her create earlier.

Izuku didn’t have any trouble with them, at least.

His strategy was simple: find the cores others had left behind as they pushed deeper into the field – he managed to get about six – and keep control of his mapping to watch for any of the more “offensive” students getting too close.

Unfortunately, knowing someone was approaching didn’t protect him from being caught at high speed.

The boy who rushed past him had a hard expression and blue hair. He darted close to Izuku and grabbed two of his cores, stuffing them into an improvised bag made from a sweater. Izuku could see four or five more inside.

The boy moved away quickly, but Izuku wasn’t going to let that slide.
With less than five minutes left, he wouldn’t have time to find more cores.

He expanded his quirk and made four of the boy’s cores float.

The boy stopped abruptly, trying to grab them back, but the sudden movement caused two of them to break.

The boy managed to reclaim the other two. Though they flew quickly toward Izuku, the boy himself was faster.

He zigzagged toward Izuku and grabbed two more cores.

Damn it.

Izuku would need all of those if he wanted to pass, but then he felt something through his mapping.

Those buildings didn’t seem very sturdy, and with all the quirk usage… well, one had collapsed.

Izuku turned and ran toward it. Someone was there. He could feel it.

The blue-haired boy glanced back at Izuku, but kept running.

Izuku arrived at a frightening scene.
The buildings were hollow, designed to be easy to produce and to minimize damage if they collapsed.
But that didn’t mean they couldn’t fall on a student.

Izuku approached and focused his mapping entirely on the fallen structure, narrowing its range to increase precision. He found the student, then began lifting the rubble.

It was extremely heavy.

But after removing three pieces, the girl trapped underneath managed to crawl free.

“Thank you!” she exclaimed.

How many minutes were left now?
If he could at least recover the cores he’d lost, he might-

Beeeep-

The signal marking the end of the exam rang out.

Damn it. Damn it.

He hoped two points would be enough.
Maybe his written score would compensate for the practical exam?

He would find out the following week.

As they left the school, Izuku walked with his head down. But he perked up when he heard a familiar voice.

“Izuku!” Denki shouted. Hitoshi stood beside him, simply waving.

The trip to the ice cream shop afterward was enough to lighten Izuku’s mood, but he was still disappointed.

If he didn’t pass, he could still take the regular entrance exam. Denki and Hitoshi would be doing that.

But that didn’t make the taste of defeat any less bitter.

The week passed quickly, though.
And before he knew it, Izuku was sitting on the couch, surrounded by his parents, letter in hand, ready to open it.

The letter contained a hologram.

And the figure that appeared was none other than the number one hero.

“All Might!” Izuku exclaimed, eyes shining. Shouta rolled his eyes, but kept watching.

“I am here! To speak about your exam results.

“Young Midoriya. You performed exceptionally well on the written exam, but did not rank among the top candidates in the practical evaluation.

“However, U.A. is not a school that evaluates strength alone.

“With less than three minutes remaining, you halted your progress to assist another candidate in critical danger. That decision reduced your chances of increasing your score.

“And yet, you did not hesitate.

“And what kind of hero school would U.A. be if we did not take a true heroic act into account?

“Our panel observed every candidate and awarded rescue points accordingly. Your results were unanimously the highest.

“For that reason, I am proud to inform you… that you have been accepted into U.A.’s Hero Course.

“My congratulations, young man. And welcome to your hero academy.”

By the time the message ended, Izuku was in tears.
Hizashi and Shouta pulled him into a hug, and even though he had prepared for this moment for so long, it didn’t feel real.

He did it.

One month later would be the regular entrance exam.

And no one was prepared for the explosions that were coming.

Katsuki was excited. Blowing up robots? That was paradise.

As they prepared to enter, Katsuki activated Full Cowl: a technique that allowed him to spread One For All throughout his entire body.

When the buzzer sounded, he charged forward without hesitation.

Chapter Text

Katsuki arrived early on his first day. As he looked over the list of first-year students, a few names caught his attention.

Recommended students:
• Momo Yaoyorozu
• Izuku Midoriya
• Juzo Honenuki
• Inasa Yoarashi

Scrolling a little further, he stopped at one name and looked at it fondly.

Ochako Uraraka.

He hoped they would end up in the same class.

A few days ago, he had celebrated two admissions to U.A.

First with Izuku, together with his family. Katsuki’s mother had been extremely happy when both her boys got into the best school in the country.

Then, alone with Ochako. They celebrated both of them getting in by sharing a pizza.

Those, he already knew about.

But looking a little further down, he found the name he had hoped not to see.

Haruto Mizoguchi.

Shit.

Taking a deep breath, Katsuki headed to his class. 1-A. He was the first to arrive. When he reached his seat, the desk was clean and the chair untouched. Katsuki sat down.

Not long after, the others began to arrive. A blond boy walked through the door and immediately looked straight at Katsuki.

“Hey! It’s you! From the entrance exam!”
Tch. Katsuki didn’t need attention from some extra on the very first day.

The boy stepped closer and grinned. “So… I’ve got lightning, you’ve got explosions. Kinda hot, don’t you think?”

Katsuki instantly turned red.

“Fuck off.”

Another student hurried over, shouting, “Hey! Get your feet off the desk- oh. They’re not on the desk…”
The boy looked embarrassed.

“Who the hell do you think you are, you stuck-up bastard?!” Katsuki yelled, and the boy apologized before backing away.

“Kacchan! Denki!” a familiar figure approached. “Do you guys know each other?”

“So this is Kacchan?” the blond boy smiled at Izuku. “Man, you didn’t tell me your mysterious brother was this cool.”

“What do you mean?” Izuku looked between them. Katsuki just kept watching the scene with a scowl.

“Remember that student I told you about? The one who destroyed ALL the robots in his arena? That was him!”

Izuku’s eyes widened as he looked at Katsuki, then he started laughing. “Of course. Figures.”

“I had to retake the exam afterward,” Kaminari sighed, defeated.

Katsuki was getting increasingly irritated by the mess forming on his desk when-

“Katsuki!”

Ochako had finally arrived to get him out of there. Or so he hoped.

Izuku instantly turned red when he saw her. Kaminari greeted her by placing his index finger and thumb under his chin and drawling, “Hey, lady. How ya doin’?”

She smiled and waved at the two of them.

“Making friends already on your first day? I’m proud of you,” she teased.

Katsuki just muttered something about three idiots ruining his peace.

His expression darkened for a moment as he noticed someone entering the room. The others didn’t seem to notice.

“Ah- hey!” a girl approached Izuku from behind, catching all four of them off guard. “I just… wanted to thank you again for saving me during the exam. My name is Momo Yaoyorozu.”

She held out her hand, and Izuku shook it hesitantly.

“I’m glad you made it in,” she smiled.

“Ah- i-it was n-nothing, I’m s-sure you w-would’ve-” Izuku was red and stumbling over his words.

“Two minutes.”

A strange man wrapped in what looked like a yellow cocoon walked into the classroom.

“That’s how long it took for one of you to notice me.”

Their teacher, Shouta Aizawa, instructed them to change into their gym clothes and follow him.

They headed to a common training area, marked lines on the ground and physical education equipment spread around.

“Bakugou. You placed first in the practical exam, correct?” the teacher stared at him. “What was your result in your middle school physical assessment?”

“Sixty-eight meters.”

“Then try again. With your Quirk.”

The teacher handed Katsuki a ball. Taking off his gloves and putting it into his pockets. Katsuki smirked. He activated Full Cowl, and just before releasing the ball, he detonated an explosion.

“DIE!”

1,578 meters.

The students stared at him with wide eyes.

“That’s the kid who blew up all the robots, right?” someone whispered.
“Scary.”
“Kinda selfish.”
“I had to redo that test.”
“Die? Does he really want to be a hero?”

“Silence,” Aizawa ordered.

“In middle school, physical assessments are done as if you’re Quirkless. That’s stupid. This is a hero school. You will use your Quirks.”

The students cheered. Someone said it sounded fun.

The teacher did not look pleased.

“Fun, huh? You have three years to become heroes. Are you planning to keep that attitude until the end?”
He paused.
“The student who places last will be deemed unfit to become a hero and expelled.”

Hah?

“You’re expelling someone?” Ochako protested. “It’s only the first day!”

“Welcome to U.A.’s Hero Course.”

The tests themselves weren’t very difficult. The students used their Quirks to achieve impressive results in at least one category.

In the sprint, one student completed the short track in what looked like three seconds.

In grip strength, no one could compete with the student with… six arms?

The long jump was paradise for Katsuki.

In flexibility, few students stood out. A frog-faced girl managed to place her entire palm flat on the ground.

Ball throwing was what the class found the most fun, students getting creative with their Quirks to send the ball as far as possible.

Katsuki wasn’t required to participate again.

Izuku threw the ball, and it slowly floated as far as his Quirk could reach.

Ochako earned an infinite score.

When the results were displayed, Katsuki got first place by far. But the student in last place was-

Haruto Mizoguchi.

Perfect. Just the thought of not having to deal with that motherfucker made Katsuki smile.

“The student in last place will be expelled,” Aizawa said. Mizoguchi visibly deflated. “That was a lie.”

“What?”

“It was pretty obvious, honestly,” Momo said, offering an awkward smile.

“Maybe for you,” Denki replied, indignant.

Katsuki looked at the boy behind him.

Mizoguchi.

In that field, no one knew who they really were. Only what they had seen, heard, or imagined.

Maybe it was like that for everyone.

Reputations are born. Others refuse to die.

Katsuki clenched his fists.

This was going to be a shitty year.

Chapter Text

The second day began with the election of class representatives. Izuku won, with Yaoyorozu chosen as his vice.

The cafeteria was more crowded than Izuku had expected. The noise of conversations blended with the sound of trays and chairs scraping against the floor.

Izuku walked in beside Denki, scanning the room for an empty table. They ended up spotting Hitoshi already seated, idly poking at his food.

“You look like a side character in a hero anime,” Denki commented as he set his tray down. “The mysterious one who shows up later to steal the spotlight.”

Hitoshi snorted. “General Studies doesn’t really get much spotlight to steal.”

Izuku pressed his lips together. He still thought it was unfair. Hitoshi had trained just as hard as they had. Maybe even more.

Before he could say anything, a shadow fell over the table.

“Midoriya.”

Izuku looked up. The blue-haired boy stood in front of them, posture far too rigid for a school cafeteria.

“Iida,” Izuku replied, straightening in his seat.

“I… came here to apologize.” The words came out quickly, rehearsed. “During the entrance exam, I underestimated you. When you withdrew from our confrontation, I assumed you were giving up.”

Denki made a low sound, something between a whistle and an ouch.

“But you proved me wrong,” Iida continued. “You didn’t run away. That’s why I voted for you as class representative.”

Izuku blinked, surprised. “You… voted for me?”

Iida nodded. “I believe U.A. needs heroes who know when to advance, and when to stop.”

For a moment, Izuku seemed unsure of what to say. Then he smiled, small and sincere.
“Thank you.”

Iida gave a brief bow and stepped away.

Denki leaned over the table. “See? Already winning fans on your second day.”

Before Izuku could reply, a piercing alarm cut through the cafeteria.

WEE-OOO WEE-OOO

Conversations died almost instantly.

“U.A. has been invaded!” someone shouted.

Chaos followed immediately. Students stood up all at once, trays clattered to the floor, voices collided in a rising wave of panic.

Izuku felt the world grow too loud.

Denki was shoved aside. Hitoshi vanished into the crowd. Too much information. Too much movement.

Through the rushing bodies, Izuku still managed to catch sight of Ochako and Tenya moving together, trying to organize an exit.

A few minutes later, when things finally calmed down, Class 1-A returned to their classroom.

One chair was empty.

“Katsuki felt sick after the confusion,” Ochako explained to the teacher. “He’s in the infirmary.”

Izuku stared at the empty seat longer than he realized.

Something about that day felt… off.

After the cafeteria incident, Izuku decided to step down from his position as class representative and hand it over to Tenya, who was a far better leader than he was.

Their heroics teacher turned out to be All Might.

Izuku was speechless.

All Might.

The All Might.

He would be their teacher for the entire year.

Combat training came far too soon. Izuku’s thoughts were still stuck on the cafeteria. The alarm, the panic, the confusion.

All Might led them to a simulation building. Katsuki didn’t take long to catch up. When he arrived, his expression was closed off, unreadable.

They donned their hero costumes. These had been made based on the students' designs and suggestions.

Izuku's costume consisted of a green hooded tank top and cropped black cargo pants paired with matching long socks, creating the illusion that the pants tapered at the bottom. He wore round goggles, impact gloves, and combat boots, all in the same shade of red. His belt had several small pouches containing various items such as tapes, trackers, and a small camera. A whip was also attached to his belt.

They would be running a bomb-capture simulation, dividing the class into two teams: heroes, who had to retrieve the bomb, and villains, who had to defend it – though they could also capture the opposing team.

Izuku ended up on the same team as Denki. They would be the villains.

All Might announced their opponents. Team D. Katsuki and Ochako.

This would be interesting.

Izuku and Denki had already prepared the building, placing the bomb at the very top.

“Alright, knowing Katsuki, he’ll probably charge in head-on,” Izuku said. “We’ll hit them with everything we’ve got. The time it takes for them to start is all I need to map the building and know exactly where they are. They won’t be able to ambush us.”

BAAAM

Izuku felt Katsuki and Ochako arrive before he saw them. He pointed to Denki, signaling which door Katsuki would come through, and waited, feeling every bolt, every beam, every object. This place was already his.

The explosion at the door was followed by another at his position in less than a second. He dodged; the fire slammed into the wall instead.

Within seconds, he unscrewed the lighter pieces of metal and hurled them at high speed behind Katsuki and Ochako.

Denki didn’t wait for a signal and sent a precise surge of high-voltage electricity into the metal.

As if she’d predicted it, Ochako grabbed Katsuki, and herself, and they both floated away milliseconds before impact.

Katsuki blasted the floor apart, and Ochako hurled the debris, swinging a massive beam like a baseball bat.

Izuku and Denki dodged. Izuku sent more metal flying toward them just as the explosive boy unleashed a dark counter-blast into the ground.

Shockwaves struck both Katsuki and Ochako faster than they could dodge, while the imploding debris slammed into Denki and Izuku from behind.

That bought them all exactly three seconds of silence.

Those two train together.

Izuku began levitating every shard, bolt, and beam he could find, pulling them into orbit around himself, just as Katsuki prepared his full cowl and raised his arm toward Izuku.

“Wait!” Ochako and Denki shouted at the same time, just before Izuku could launch his debris and Katsuki could unleash the largest explosion of the match.

Izuku leapt aside, ducking behind a wall support as Katsuki’s explosion obliterated all of his ammunition.

Katsuki was smiling. Izuku could tell they were thinking the same thing: this is way too fun.

The room darkened quickly, shadows curling along the corners. Katsuki stood and pointed his right arm forward.

“Battle over,” what? “The bomb has been destroyed. Both teams lose.”

When the smoke cleared, the two boys looked at each other.

And smiled.

There was no victory or defeat there.

Only the strange feeling of a promise hanging in the air.

Chapter Text

That night was stormy and drenched in rain, and the three boys were getting ready for yet another of their sleepovers.
Hitoshi and Izuku were at Denki’s house. His sleepovers were usually pretty fun, full of snacks and video games.

“Come here, Miss Nemuri!” Denki’s cat had been missing for a while now, and the boy was already worried she might be stuck outside in the rain.

“What if you tried a bag of treats?” Izuku suggested. “My parents’ cats usually crawl out of the walls if they hear plastic crinkling.”

“Good idea!” Denki exclaimed. “You and Hitoshi can grab it, third drawer in the kitchen cabinet. I’ll check outside.”

“Are you sure, man?” Hitoshi frowned. “There’s lightning out there.”

“Yeah! Better me get struck by lightning than you guys.”

Izuku and Hitoshi stared at each other for half a second, then agreed. Hitoshi headed straight for the cabinet while Izuku kept searching.
“Nemi! Come he-”

BAAAMMMM

Izuku screamed, and Hitoshi dropped the bag in his hands. The noise left both of them stunned.

They rushed outside, only to find Denki standing there, confused and slightly charred.

“I got struck by lightning!” Denki said indignantly, his voice pitching upward at the end. Izuku snorted, and Hitoshi followed, soon both were doubled over laughing.

“I’m serious! I think I resurrected something.”

When the laughter died down, the three went back inside. And then they heard a meow.

“Miss Nemuri!” Denki scooped the cat into his arms, nearly emotional.

“I still can’t believe you named your cat after my aunt,” Izuku smiled.

“I didn’t know you back then!” Denki turned away. “Midnight is, like… really hot. I was an impressionable kid.”

Hitoshi and Izuku laughed before grabbing the treats and heading to the bedroom.

That night had already started off unsettling. The rain helped the boys fall asleep quickly, but the thunder didn’t make for a peaceful rest.

Deep into the night, Hitoshi jolted awake.
“Psst, Izu,” he whispered. “Where’s Denki?”

Izuku took a moment to register the question. He looked over to where Denki should’ve been, then sat up. The two stared at each other for about five seconds, trying to decide what to do, when they heard a sound from the bathroom. Someone was coughing.

“Oh…” Hitoshi sighed. “You can go back to sleep, I-” He didn’t even finish before Izuku collapsed back onto his pillow and drifted off again.

Hitoshi got up and walked slowly toward the bathroom, steadying himself against the walls. The hallway felt longer in the dark – probably just his mind playing tricks on him.

The door was open. Denki was crouched in front of the toilet.

“Hey,” Hitoshi said softly. “You okay?”

Denki looked at him for half a second before turning back to vomit again.

“No,” he rasped. “I think I might’ve- cough…” He leaned over the toilet once more, but nothing came out. “I think I brought something back.”

Hitoshi understood. Denki usually limited that weird trick of his to beetles and bees. If it was something bigger… the feeling was more like pure revulsion.

“What was it?” Hitoshi stepped closer and sat beside him.

“I don’t know. I heard a noise earlier. I think it got in… whatever it was.” Denki pointed to a muddy mark near the bathroom window. The shape looked like tiny paw prints, too small to be Nemuri’s.

They stayed there for a while, until Denki felt well enough to return to the bedroom without throwing up on the way.

But before entering, they heard a muffled sound. Hitoshi pushed the door open and found Izuku sitting up, staring at them with exhausted eyes.

“There’s something here…” Hitoshi immediately tensed.

Izuku pointed to the corner of the room, where Hitoshi could see two faint points of light. Eyes?

The creature moved slowly toward them, and both boys stiffened.

It looked like a rodent, some strange mix between a squirrel and a bat. It had a short snout, large ears, and pale fur. Its movements were erratic, slow, stopping completely whenever it locked its gaze on Denki.

Denki felt his stomach twist, the same sensation he got whenever he brought something back. Only now, the thing recognized him.

The creature advanced soundlessly, as if effort meant nothing to it.

Then it spread its strange bat-like wings and flapped once. It flew straight to the window and vanished into the night.

Denki clapped a hand over his mouth and bolted back to the bathroom.

Denki fell asleep not long after that. Hitoshi didn’t.

He’d always had trouble falling and staying asleep, once he woke up, that was it.

He lay silently on the futon, staring at the ceiling, debating whether he should just get up for good, when he heard quiet sobbing.

“Denki?”
The crying stopped for a second, then resumed.
“Izuku?”

“Y-yes,” Hitoshi barely heard him. He sat up immediately. “I-I c-can’t—”

“Nightmare?” Hitoshi asked softly.

“Yes.”

“Do you want help?”

It took Izuku a couple of seconds to answer.

“Yes.”

That was all Hitoshi needed. He activated his quirk.

When he was younger, anyone who answered his question had to do what he wanted. As he grew older, he discovered he could enter people’s minds as well.

He felt the familiar opening — and stepped inside.

He’d been inside Izuku’s head before. Usually, it was filled with files: papers flying everywhere, notebooks opening and closing nonstop. Always chaotic.

But now, it was dark. Silent.

Hitoshi took a few steps forward.

“Izuku?”

Bam. Bam. Bam.

He followed the sound and found an office cabinet wrapped in chains, secured with a large padlock.

“You can’t look,” Izuku’s mental form finally appeared beside him.

“Izuku is panicking,” Hitoshi said. “I can’t help if you don’t let me.”

“He gave you permission. So I’ll open it,” Izuku said stiffly. “But you’ve been warned. Whatever you see here can’t leave.”

“Okay,” Hitoshi replied, uncertain. Was this really what he needed to help Izuku?

It had to be. Izuku wouldn’t have let him in otherwise.

As he opened one of the drawers, a folder tried to fly out. He caught it just in time and opened it.

“This is related to young Midoriya,” said a muffled voice, an older man with round glasses and blue hair. “From what I’ve discovered, he is connected to the changes in all three of their quirks.”

“But how is that possible?” A woman covered her mouth. “His quirk is spatial manipulation. It doesn’t alter quirks.”

“Is it my fault then?” a green-haired boy – Izuku? – asked quietly.

Hitoshi snapped the folder shut.

He absolutely shouldn’t be there.

Izuku appeared beside him again.

“He doesn’t control it, you know,” Izuku said, staring ahead. “But he always blamed himself – whenever Denki felt sick after bringing something back without meaning to, or when you slipped into a nightmare by accident and couldn’t sleep afterward.”

He finally looked at Hitoshi.

“But it’s… really good,” he smiled softly, “to share it with someone.”

Then he vanished.

Hitoshi was back in the bedroom. Izuku was still crying, but more quietly now. He looked at Hitoshi, uncertain.

“Izuku, what the fuck?” Hitoshi muttered under his breath.

Denki shifted slightly, and Hitoshi glanced at him, worried. But Denki only turned over and kept sleeping.

“Don’t tell him,” Izuku whispered.

“We’ll talk about this tomorrow,” Hitoshi said.
He was far too tired to stay awake, and far too awake to even think about sleeping.

He replayed what he’d seen. Izuku’s secret didn’t involve just him; and for a brief moment, Hitoshi felt angry.

Then he remembered what Izuku’s mental version had said.

Had Izuku really been carrying something this massive all on his own?

Hitoshi didn’t know what he should do.

He’d said they’d talk in the morning, but…

Would he help Izuku keep this secret?
Or would he share it with its most obvious victim?

Chapter Text

The trip to the USJ was loud.

To begin with, Izuku wouldn’t shut up about the most useless facts about the place.
Then, the extras started teasing him about his personality. Katsuki was ready to blow something up.

“Bakugou-kun won’t be very popular because of his explosive personality,” Tsuyu said.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” Katsuki shouted.

“See?” the frog-faced girl rested a finger on her chin, wearing a satisfied little smile.

“We haven’t known each other for long, so it’s impressive that we’ve all already noticed your personality is flaming crap mixed with garbage,” Kaminari said, shrugging.

“Shut your mouth or I’ll kill you, Dunce Face!”
The teasing continued for the rest of the trip.

Upon arriving at the USJ, Katsuki had to admit it. It was an impressive place.

USJ stood for Unforeseen Simulation Joint, an immense facility where various natural disasters were recreated as part of rescue training.

As soon as they got off the bus, they were greeted by Thirteen.
Ochako couldn’t stay still from excitement. Pff, nerd.

Aizawa asked the space hero where All Might was. The hero replied that All Might had been doing a lot of heroic work, pointing at the number three.

Ran out of time?

“Before we begin, there’s something I need to say,” Thirteen said. “You already know my quirk, right? Black Hole. I can absorb anything and turn it into dust.

“It’s a power I’ve used to save many lives, but it can also kill very easily.” The students suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Some of you have quirks like that too, don’t you? Never forget that responsibility.

“In Aizawa’s physical test, you discovered your hidden potential. And in All Might’s combat training, you felt the danger of using your quirks against other people.

“Today’s class will be different. You’ll learn how to use your quirks to save lives. I hope you leave here understanding that your quirks can help people.”

The students applauded.

But just as they were about to begin the lesson, the lights went out.
A kind of black vortex appeared in the plaza fountain. Soon, others began to appear as well.
People started coming out of them one after another.

“Stay together and don’t move!” Aizawa shouted. “Thirteen, protect the students! These are real villains!”
The students went from confused to terrified in an instant.

“Thirteen and Eraserhead,” the warp villain said. “According to the schedule we stole, All Might was supposed to be here.”

“Where is he?” the villain, covered in hands, asked. “I worked so hard to bring everyone here.”
The two of them seemed to be the leaders.

“Do you think he’ll show up if we kill a few kids?”

“Thirteen, start the evacuation,” Eraserhead said. “These villains have neutralized the sensors.

“One of them must have a broadcasting quirk. Kaminari, try contacting the school!”
Denki nodded and put his hand to his ear.

“Professor? Are you going to fight them alone?” Izuku looked worried.
“Eraserhead’s fighting style is to capture enemies after nullifying their quirks. If you fight so many at once-”

“No hero has only one card up their sleeve. I’m counting on you, Thirteen!”
With that, Eraserhead jumped into the crowd and began nullifying quirks and quickly neutralizing the villains.

The students were evacuating when the warp-faced villain appeared in front of them.

“Nice to meet you, we’re the League of Villains,” he introduced himself cheerfully.
“It might be presumptuous of us, but we’ve invited ourselves into U.A. to make the Symbol of Peace take his last breath.

“He should be here. Did something change in the plan?”

As Thirteen prepared to attack, Katsuki and Eijirou jumped in front of her, Eijirou with his hardened arm, Katsuki with an explosion.

“Have you thought you could be defeated by us?” Eijirou said with a grin.
The villain appeared in front of them, completely unharmed.

“That was close,” close? “Even as students, you’re excellent rookies.”

“No! Get out of the way, you two!”, Thirteen shouted, pointing their fingers at the villain.

“My job here is to separate you and torture you to death.”

With that, the villain expanded his warp, engulfing almost all of the students.
Katsuki activated his Full Cowl and blasted himself backward, barely flying out of the forming dome.
Some of his classmates had the same idea, and those farther from the villain also managed to escape.

In a few seconds, all the students inside the dome disappeared.

“Shoji!” Iida called. “Can you confirm if all the students are still in the USJ?”

“Yes, but they’re scattered!”
Those nearby sighed in relief for half a second, until they remembered the villain still in front of them.

“Class Rep!” Thirteen called. “Do this: run to the school and get help.

“We have no way to contact the school. Someone must be interfering with the signal. They probably hid as soon as they arrived.

“It would be faster for you to run there than for us to find that person.”

“I can’t!” Tenya protested. “What kind of representative would I be if I left my classmates behind?”

“The kind that saves them!” Katsuki shouted, baring his teeth.

“I’ll help you!” Ochako yelled. “Just like in the cafeteria. We’ll cover you, Iida!”

With that, Tenya activated his engines.

“Are you really that stupid,” the warp villain shouted,
“to say your plan out loud?”

“We did it because it doesn’t matter if you know,” Thirteen shouted, activating the black hole on their fingers.
The villain began to be pulled in.

But before he could take any damage, he opened a portal in front of and behind Thirteen.
The space hero ended up absorbing their own back. They deactivated it quickly, but the damage was already done.

“Get out, Four Eyes!” Katsuki shouted.
Tenya didn’t wait a second and started running.

A portal appeared in front of him, and Katsuki blew it up.

“You insolent brat!” the villain yelled. “I won’t let you escape!”

The villain rose above him, and for a moment, Tenya disappeared beneath the black vapor.
Ochako ran forward and touched the object on his neck.

“I don’t know the theory behind it,” she said as she activated her quirk, but if you’re using something like that, it means you have a physical body.”

As the villain floated away, Tenya managed to reach the gate.
He tried to open it when the villain flew toward him again.
Hanta restrained him with his tape, and Katsuki grabbed it – One For All active – spinning and throwing him away.

Tenya made it out.

While Ashido and Ochako checked on Thirteen, Katsuki stared at the central plaza.
There was something huge there… and the portal guy.

Katsuki started going down the stairs.

“Katsuki!” Ochako called. “Where are you going?”

“To finish what I started.”

When he reached the bottom, Katsuki found a horrifying scene.

His teacher was lying on the ground, near a bird-like monster with bulging eyes and an exposed brain.

Without thinking twice, Katsuki charged at the creature.
He felt pressure build in his muscles, the familiar sparks, and released an explosion.

But…

Nothing happened?

The creature felt the burn for only a brief moment, then quickly regenerated the burned skin.
Regeneration quirk?

The creature slowly raised an arm and punched faster than Katsuki’s eyes could follow.

He was thrown toward the lake, where he saw three other students: Minoru, Tsuyu, and Izuku.
The last one was surrounded by orbiting drops of water and looked terrified.

Katsuki slowly got back to his feet, activated One For All, and leaped.

In a second, he was back in front of the monster.
This time, with One For All active, he unleashed multiple explosions. Faster, faster, faster.

“DIE!”

The creature was down to raw flesh, parts of its muscles exposed.
Katsuki felt sick – had he gone too far?
But the creature, without any reaction, simply regenerated its injured shoulder.

As Katsuki prepared another punch, he detonated an explosion behind himself, launching forward, circling the creature, and blasting its back.

The warp appeared right in front of him, and with it, a hand.

“Shit!” Katsuki exclaimed.
The hand rushed toward his face... until it seemed to be pulled away.

Izuku was moving the warp!

The villain covered in hands glared at him.

“That’s not fair! You’re cheating!”
He sounded like a sulking child.

The bird monster grabbed Katsuki faster than he could react, slammed him into the ground, and punched him.
Katsuki’s consciousness wavered violently.

“KACCHAN!” Izuku cried.

“Finish this,” the hand-covered villain said, sounding bored.

“NO.”

Izuku’s voice echoed strangely.
Around Katsuki, something seemed to change.
Crystals began to appear, completely transparent, and the light seemed to fade.

By the time Katsuki understood what was happening, the monster and the crystals were gone.

Katsuki struggled to stay awake.

“No! My Nomu! What did you do?”

The warp-faced villain approached him and whispered something.
Both of them vanished.

Izuku fell to his knees, staring at Katsuki with wide, tear-filled eyes.

Katsuki tried to get up, but his body refused to move.
He felt something warm run down his face‐
And then everything went dark.