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straw-of-the-hat · 1 year ago

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The Method (BNHA)

Summary: Izuku requests to see All For One after he's arrested. He'd never said why, but All Might never, ever would've assumed it was for this.

Or: All For One is Hisashi Midoriya. Izuku has a few things to say to him.

Tags: Dad For One, Izuku Midoriya, BNHA

Word count: 3,802

Third person pov

"Are you sure you want to do this, my boy?" Toshinori Yagi wasn't the best teacher in the world, he knew. He'd made for a decent Symbol of Peace, and had done his best to uphold the people's spirits. He just… couldn't help but feel he'd failed his charge.

He'd defeated All For One, but at the price of his strength. He was now nothing more than a gangly shadow of the hero he once was, emancipated and weak. Izuku was on the fast track to filling the gargantuan shoes he'd left behind. While he didn't doubt the freckled boy could do it, it was a lot of pressure to put on a teenage boy.

Izuku gave a smile. It was small, and bordering on sad. There was something he wasn't saying. Toshinori didn't want to push. He knew this was a trying time for Izuku. It was a trying time for most of Japan, but especially for the curly-haired boy. Now that All Might was retired and out of the picture, eyes were falling upon the next generation of heroes.

With Izuku wielding One For All and taking on the challenge of becoming the Number One Hero, the entire world was watching and waiting for him to slip up. To show some sign of weakness. It was a terrible weight for a child to bear.

"I'm sure." Izuku said firmly, looking Toshinori in the eyes, and then Tsukauchi.

You see, while All For One had been defeated, he was far from dead. He was being kept in a high security facility free of any other criminals. It was a place built just for him, filled to the brim with trained guards and pro heroes, ready to strike when needed. Kept in a straight jacket at all times, locked in a windowless room with automated machine guns pointed at him that would fire off and take his life at the slightest hint of movement, it was safe to say All For One wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Why Izuku was so intent on visiting him, nobody knew. That’s not to say they hadn’t asked, of course.

When he'd first approached Toshinori about it, timid, unsure, and very clearly nervous, it had been a hard no. All For One was the height of all evil. There was no way on God's green earth Toshinori was letting his precious successor anywhere near such a monster. All For One had lived longer than any man should, and had accumulated vast amounts of knowledge and refined his ability to manipulate just about anyone who dared show the slightest bit of weakness in his presence.

That should have been the end of it, but Izuku had come back just a day later with the same request. This time he'd seemed more intent on it, more sure of himself. Toshinori had still given him the same answer. An uneasy yet firm 'no' that was full of questions that he received no answers to.

He'd dwelt and dwelt on why Izuku may want to visit a mass-murdering immortal without a moral compass or any value for human life. He'd come up dry. There was simply no plausible explanation. Why would Izuku want anything to do with that man, knowing what he was and all he’d done?

The third time Izuku asked, he reluctantly agreed to talk to Tsukauchi. He was the most trusted detective on the police force and had never failed to rally with Toshinori and UA High. He was on their side, and working closely in the All For One case. He was one of the few they could count on. The man was earnest, and someone Toshinori considered a close friend.

Going to the man for advice was a no-brainer. Toshinori felt out of his depth, torn between possibly alienating his successor by denying his request versus letting Izuku be exposed to one of the world’s most vile evils.

Tsukauchi had admitted that a meeting between All For One and Izuku would be possible. Tsukauchi and All Might had pretty much full control of what happened to the man and where he went. Japan's Hero association had no idea what to do with the old cryptid. Toshinori was the one who knew his abilities and history the best, so they hadn't hesitated to throw the issue at him.

So long as All For One didn't kill anyone else, they were willing to let All Might do just about anything with the old fart, barring releasing him and unruly things of that sort. Though they probably hadn’t assumed All Might would ever be considering taking an up and coming hero, a child, to see him.

Izuku had asked a fourth time, and Toshinori had finally point-blank asked why. Izuku's response was nothing short of evasive. He'd simply insisted that it was something he had to do without giving any reasons as to why. Toshinori had wanted to say no again, but the look in the young boy's eyes...

He was all but begging for trust, his eyes alight with hope and determination. He wasn't lying when he said this was something he needed to do. You could tell that just by looking at him. Why it was something he needed to do was what had Toshinori stumped.

So here they were, at a building in the middle of nowhere that looked more like a block of concrete than a regular structure. It was surrounded by tall walls that arched overhead, nearly forming a dome, but stopping just short of doing so. Cementoss and several other pros had worked together to make this place as secure as possible.

Now, it crawled with trustworthy men and women who wouldn't hesitate to do what was needed were All For One try to stage a breakout. The man was too weak right now to do anything, but… well, being overly cautious never hurt anyone. Who knew what he was capable of.

"We'll just be in the next room over observing on the monitors, Midoriya. Shout if you need something. We'll get you out of there pronto." Tsukauchi gave a reassuring grin that made Izuku look a little less like he was marching off to his death. The boy looked like he was dreading this, and yet he was doing it anyway.

Toshinori didn't get it. There was something he didn't understand. Izuku had pushed for this, but he knew his successor. He looked absolutely terrified.

"He's right. We'll be right in here." Toshinori also smiled. Izuku nodded firmly back, face set into an expression that was grim yet sure. Tsukauchi sipped at his coffee as he watched the curly-haired boy march out of the room and to the heavily guarded door to be let in. The ID card he was holding as well as the fact that everyone had been told in advance that they'd be coming allowed him instant access.

Toshinori steeled himself, settling down in one of the rolling chairs tensely. Tsukauchi took the one next to him, grimacing at the screen as the electronic door opened. Toshinori didn’t think All For One would try anything-- he never would’ve let Izuku come within ten miles of this place if he thought the man might. He was still just… uneasy.

All For One was a stubborn man. He'd been grinning since he got here, for one thing. The coy smile hadn't faltered even once. Toshinori had gone in to talk to him, along with Tsukauchi and a few others, but it was to no avail. He'd said a total of two things since he got here. Two things, and no more than that.

A part of Toshinori was glad, and hoping maybe that meant he wouldn't talk to Izuku. He knew that was just wishful thinking. All For One knew exactly who Izuku Midoriya was. Toshinori didn't doubt the man had some form of sight that allowed him to identify people. Even with the copious amount of quirk restraints on his person, he'd immediately coined Toshinori when he came in, as well as Tsukauchi. Those had been the two times he spoke.

He wouldn’t miss a chance to mess with Young Midoriya. Toshinori anxiously tapped his foot, throat feeling uncharacteristically tight and heart thumping hard in his chest. It would be fine. Young Midoriya was strong-- far stronger than Toshinori was at his age. All For One was just… a different sort of beast, that’s all.

Sitting next to him, Tsukauchi could tell his blonde friend was nervous. His shoulders were stiff and hunched, and the tension hanging around him was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The detective couldn't blame him. He too had tried asking Izuku why he wanted to see All For One, and Izuku had responded with a very intent, "It's just something I need to do."

Tsukauchi's quirk, Human Lie Detector, had registered that firm statement as the truth. Which was perhaps the most jarring part of this all. Whatever this was, Izuku well and truly believed he had to go through with it.

They watched Izuku hesitantly step into the room. A pane of bullet proof glass was the only thing separating him from the world's greatest villain. The door shut and locked behind him with a loud bang and click that caused him to jolt forward. Toshinori could see his student's adam's apple bobbing precariously as he shuffled to the single chair bolted to the floor, frowning deeply and fiddling his thumbs.

He reluctantly sat down, and that's when it happened.

All For One's grin absolutely dropped . For the first time since becoming imprisoned here, his expression melted into something else entirely. Tsukauchi and Toshinori had both leaned closer to the monitor, expecting his new expression to be one of malice or hate. Perhaps annoyance, or some sort of twisted amusement.

But no… no, it was the opposite . It caused both men to pause and stare dumbly as All For One's mangled face morphed into one full of disbelief and apparent horror, maybe even fear. The look was out of place on a man like him.

His already pale skin got paler, and he tensed, leaning back as far as he could. Izuku simply stared at him with wobbling lips and teary eyes, hands clasped together so tightly his knuckles were white. You could see the raw disapproval on Izuku's face.

Not fear, not anger, but disappointment instead. Toshinori and Naomasa both shared a look, the detective bringing his drink to his lips and taking a long gulp. He was going to need something a little stronger depending on how this meeting went.

"...What are you doing here?" All For One breathed out the third ever thing he'd ever said in this accursed place, so quietly the cameras almost didn’t pick it up. The skin around his scarred over eye sockets stretched, and if he had eyes still, Toshinori was sure they'd be wide as saucers.

His voice sounded so distant, so shocked and disbelieving. It caused Toshinori's teeth to clench and his eyes to narrow. Tsukauchi checked for a third time to make sure this was all being recorded, bringing up his coffee for another swig.

The smile Izuku gave was watery and nothing short of absolutely heartbreaking.

"Hey, dad." The freckled boy choked out. The reaction was instantaneous.

Blood sprayed from Toshinori's mouth like water from a broken faucet, sunken eyes wide and jaw dropped as the scarlet liquid began to drip down his jaw. Tsukauchi had been mid swallow as Izuku dropped that cataclysmic statement, resulting in his drink going down the wrong pipe. He began to choke, his eyes just as wide as his friend's as he wheezed and thumped his fist against his chest.

"Izuku..." All For One trailed off, voice broken and sounding horrifyingly human.

"When I first heard your voice at Kamino, I thought I was hallucinating." Izuku's voice was quiet but level. "It was a voice I heard every Friday for years upon years. You never failed to call, dad. And I never failed to pick up. I haven't seen you in so long, and it makes sense now, I guess."

The nerves from before were gone. Izuku spoke with certainty that showed he’d thought long and hard about exactly what he wanted to say, and exactly how he wanted to say it. There was a steel resolve in the clench of his jaw and the draw of his brows.

"Izuku, I-" All For One was cut off before he got the chance to continue. The taste of blood stayed strong in Toshinori’s mouth.

"You weren't on a business trip in America." Izuku grit his teeth, his tears falling. These were not the type he tended to burst out with, where he practically dehydrated himself with the force of his wailing. These were silent and far, far more tragic, dripping slow and salty down his face.

All For One flinched as though he'd been struck. Toshinori, with his mouth still agape, realized he'd never seen the man look so vulnerable. He wouldn't have thought it possible if he weren't here witnessing it at this very moment. Next to him, Tsukauchi sucked in a few breaths of deep air, still hacking so hard he was surprised a lung didn't come up.

"...No, no I wasn't." All For One whispered. Izuku bowed his head.

"You got hurt. By All Might." Izuku clenched his fists. His voice waned with the force of his emotion. "A-And... you knew I was his successor. And that night, at Kamino, you-"

"I would never hurt you, Izuku." All For One's voice was steadier now, but only slightly. "I would never hurt you."

It was a sour promise. Izuku seemed to think so too, if the way his breath and shoulders hitched was anything to go off of.

"But you have!" Izuku protested wildly, eyes wide and flashing with warning. "Don't you get it?! You left mom and I! I was bullied my whole life, quirkless, beat down! And then, you tried to take away the one person who came along and told me I could do it?! You tried to take away the person who's been taking more care of me over the past year than you ever have?!"

All For One's face was riddled heavy with guilt, and with bits of anger. Not at Izuku, no, he could never be mad at his son. Maybe the rage was for himself, or perhaps it was better aimed at those bullies Izuku spoke of. Maybe at Toshinori for swooping in and being Izuku's saving grace.

That damned man didn't know when to quit, and... All For One was almost glad for that, because his son was here, strong-willed, ready to fight, not afraid to confront him. And it sure wasn’t All For One who’d helped him grow to be that way.

All For One had made a great many mistakes in his long lifetime, but falling in love was not one of them. Some might argue that a man like him wasn't capable of such a thing, and he never would have begged to differ. Not until he ran into Inko Sakiaki, that is.

She was witty and clever, with the biggest green doe-eyes and the most beautiful, earthen hair. She'd looked him right in the eyes and seen right past that polite and unassuming facade he presented carefully to the world. And she’d smiled at him anyway.

Inko was... enrapturing. She was sweet, kind, and caring in ways he never would be. Everything heroes were meant to be, but weren't in his eyes. So he'd fallen in love, and he'd asked her to marry him, and... that's what happened. Simple as that.

For the first time in a long time, he was once again Hiashi Midoriya instead of All For One. A man capable of loving and caring, of making jokes and ruining the kitchen, of breaking a vacuum cleaner and rolling his eyes at mundane TV shows. For a while, he was simply human. It was possibly the best, brightest time of his life, and he’s not afraid to admit such.

Izuku was born shortly after they were wed. He was the most perfect thing Hiashi had ever seen. He'd inherited Hiashi's wild, curly hair. Fondly, even now that he was blind, he could recall Izuku's freckles, so similar to those of his uncle's. He was such a brilliant little boy, so smart and ready to help.

He had the heart of a hero, just as his uncle had held all those years ago. Izuku was something to be cherished. He was something to be loved. He was someone that All For One had wanted to give the world.

But it was all ripped away when All Might and him fought. Perhaps anger had driven him to this point. He'd been sour, wanting desperately for his son and wife, but knowing he'd only scare them with his deformed face and growing bitterness.

Hiashi once again became All For One, burying himself in his work. It was the easiest thing in the world to slip back into the role. He was going to kill All Might if it was the last thing he did, he’d decided. He created Nomu's, got a hold of Nana Shimura's grandson and begun to groom him. He put together a league that would be the Symbol of Peace's end.

He was All For One, the greatest villain in the world.

Except on Friday's, between the hours of five to eight PM.

During that time, he was Hiashi Midoriya again. His phone calls with his son and wife were a great escape. He'd pretend he was just fine, not at all injured or damaged or evil down to his bones. He'd talk about the weather in America and tell them how much he missed them and wished they were there.

He'd cheer Izuku on, because if his son wanted to become a hero, then Hiashi was sure he'd be the best one to ever walk the planet. While him inheriting Toshinori's power was a cruel twist of fate, there was no better person to wield a power once belonging to his younger brother. If anyone deserved it, it was Izuku.

How it had all gone so wrong, he wasn’t sure. He just knew it was his fault. He’d always tried to be a good father, but men like All For One weren’t made for it. He wasn’t built to care for others. Something in him was broken, and try as he might, he knew… he knew hurting those he dared to love was a horrific inevitability.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Izuku." All For One murmured. Izuku bit the inside of his cheek. Anger pierced its way up through him, intermingling with his sorrow starkly.

All For One was a horrible person, he’d thought. Someone Izuku had grown to loathe during his time as All Might's apprentice. Tales of all the vile things he'd done and all the suffering he'd caused were sparse, but always gruesome when All Might did dare to murmur them. They painted a horrifying picture of a ruthless man incapable of love.

It was easy to hate All For One when he wasn’t a person. When he was just a story, just a faceless figure that Izuku had never seen, had never met. It was easier to hate someone you didn’t know, and All For One was the worst of the worst. He had hurt thousands, would continue to hurt them, and Izuku… Izuku had thought him the most monstrous being in the world for all he’d done.

The moment Izuku heard his voice, that image fell to pieces and crumbled on the ground.

It didn't take him long to connect the dots, and he was devastated once he did. He'd been so lost and conflicted in the aftermath. All For One and Hiashi Midoriya were the same person . It just barely managed to click in his mind, and when it did, Izuku had been left clueless as to what to do.

How could someone who cheered him on as a hero, told him how much he loved him, and teased him mercilessly about things that had little to no significance in the grand scheme of things-- playfully, for the fun of it-- also be the world's greatest villain?

He could still recall his father's warm eyes alight with fondness as he told Izuku a bedtime story. The way he'd feel so, so tall when his dad put him on his shoulders. The man's reassurances over the phone that even without a quirk, he could be an amazing hero. That he’d be proud of him no matter what.

He'd been near tears when Izuku announced he was into UA, and a mixture of worried and angry when he found out the USJ had been attacked. There was no way that was all a lie, right? It couldn't be. Was his father nothing more than a fake construct meant to mess with him? Was he... Was Izuku a puppet?

"You took away my hero." Izuku grit out, wiping furiously at his eyes. His father's face hardened.

"All Might is still alive. You're... carrying on his will, I believe. As much as it pains me." All For One sighed. "But I will always love you and cheer you on, Izuku. You're my son. Nothing will ever change that."

Izuku felt sick. He felt relieved. He felt angry and upset and he felt yearning. He felt devastation and a pervading coldness that had been crawling up his spine ever since he finally learned just who his father was. He felt too many things at once to possibly name.

"Not him." Izuku whispered. "Not All Might. He’s my favorite hero, but he wasn't my hero, dad. You were."

Toshinori was frozen. Tsukauchi held his breath, trying to get over his shock.

All For One seemed to dissolve at those words, what was left of his face twisting with horror as Izuku stood up. He lurched forward in his restraints, earning a warning beep in response as his son gathered himself. Izuku gathered the scraps of his composure with shaking hands and tear-stained cheeks.

Everything All For One was as a villain melted away at those two, simple words. Ones All Might and Tsukauchi never would have guessed would affect him so drastically. But he looked horrified. Guilty. Like he couldn't believe what he'd done. There was... regret .

It didn't make up for anything.

All For One felt his chest ache, and suddenly, he realized just what this was. Because he wasn't All For One right now. He had never been, in Izuku’s eyes.

Right now, he was Hiashi Midoriya, and he'd hurt his son.

#writing #fanfic #bnha #mha #my hero academia #my hero fanfic #midoriya izuku #dad for one #yagi toshinori #all might #izuku is having a bad day #when is he not #cross posted on ao3 #cross posted on wattpad #this is impulsive i can't sleep #it's also old af #hisashi midoriya #Spotify

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asleep-in-the-keep-sideblog · 2 months ago

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Asleep In The Keep-Chapter 34

DPxMHA crossover Fic

Chapter 34: Pain and the Comfort That Comes With It

Summary: Deku takes Danny home and shows him his room. Turns out they have a lot in common.

TW: Abuse, child neglect, daddy issues, bullying, talks of suicide, toxic/abusive relationships, glorifying abuse (“I deserved it”), implied transphobia/homophobia, and other such related trauma. I think this is the most hurt/comfort chapter I’ve written.

Word Count: 8659

Danny was the last one to get in the car. Deku’s mom sat up front with the cat cop while Deku sat in the back with him. Before he was fully in the car, Danny stared up at the sky. Several hours had passed since he’d been outside, and the sky greeted him with the dark blue of the night. They were too deep in town for the stars to be out, but Danny could feel them there anyway, watching him as if he was one of their own.

“Are you coming?” Deku asked from the car.

Danny snapped out of it and got in. The cat didn’t wait for him to buckle before he took off.

“Hey, thanks for that tip about the detective,” Danny whispered to Deku.

On the ride to the station, Deku told him about Detective Tsukauchi and his quirk. Deku was just yapping and didn’t know that Danny would actually use that info. Honestly, Danny should start paying closer attention to Deku and his notebooks. They are exactly what he needed when he fought those heroes, although now he didn’t really need them. His fight with Endeavor was illuminating, to say the least. Danny knew he was strong in his own world, but wasn’t positive that would translate here. Turns out it did. Tenfold.

Danny loved it. He no longer had to worry about getting struck down by a hero. He could fly the streets at night fully seen without worry. Plus, that would be quite a show for his fans. Danny’s ego swelled at the thought. He had to give the people what they wanted. He just had to figure out something big for them…

Danny thought back to the #2 hero. There was still a chance that there was a large gap in power between the #1 and #2 hero, but that mystery was solved tonight. Danny had seen All Might with his two eyes. Whatever strength he might have had disappeared over the years (unless he had the most insane sleeper build). Danny was pretty confident about his chances now.

Something nagged at him. Tonight, he had gotten his most intense ghost sense in this world. It was still nowhere near the level of a normal ghost in Amity, but it was more intense than anything he felt here. He was sure he saw a ghost walk toward him in that alley.

He looked skeletal, like he had been a ghost for a long time and had been wandering. He also had a strange rainbow aura around him. It was bright and warm, but there was darkness that gripped the edges and swarmed like bugs. It was like the man was a zombie, bits of his form decaying but still together. His stomach was gone leaving only his spine and ribs. Danny didn't know what came over him, he just had this urge to lead the shade into the afterlife. A thing like that shouldn’t be in the world of the living. Not because they are malicious, but because at any moment, their tether could snap and they would become lost.

The shade held onto the living too tightly. That must’ve been what kept him there for so long. Danny felt their hands touch. He had been unable to feel anything solid before then, simply sensations and the illusion of touch. It was time to go, until Deku interrupted them.

Turns out it was no shade but the #1 hero himself. Danny saw how he truly was as soon as he let go. Even in flesh and bone, he wasn’t far off from being a skeleton. That man must’ve been on the boundary of death for a long time to give off that level of ghostliness.

Only the elderly, terminally ill or very young children had that same aura. Freshly pulled up, and ready to be put back. Due to quirks, that was all muted. It was like death was everywhere but people had grown too used to it.

That rainbow he saw must’ve been a separate entity, or rather entities since Danny heard small voices like static speaking to him. It was too soft for Danny to hear, so he wasn’t able to hear what they were saying. The man wasn’t possessed, or if he was it had been a long time. There were parts of him that were fused to the shades.

The man was ready to go with him though before Deku called out. Danny doesn’t know what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been interrupted. If Danny had to guess, if he did pull the ghosts out, the man’s soul would go too, leaving his body a husk. The body would live, but it would be empty. They were too intertwined to be separate again.

Was Danny truly capable of such a thing? He had no idea how that happened. It was just an urge and suddenly it was like he was possessing himself like… Well, that didn’t matter now. The man was alright and Danny didn’t have any more blood on his hands.

Even as Danny was leaving, he felt whatever was in the man call out to him.

Now the feeling wasn’t able to leave him. He had felt that before, however vague, when he sparred with Deku. Danny didn’t know what that meant. It could be their quirks were connected with ghosts somehow. Danny hadn’t felt that anywhere else, or at least to that extent.

They could’ve been related somehow. All Might did act pretty friendly to the kid and was relieved that he was alright. It was also All Might’s final wish that ‘young Midoriya’ be protected (Danny didn’t piece together that Deku was Midoriya until he heard All Might call him that). He might’ve been an uncle from how he interacted with Deku’s mom. The two were friendly, but not close. Deku’s mom didn’t even utter a word to him. Perhaps they were married some time ago or even a one night stand. He’d have to ask Deku later.

Deku and Danny didn’t talk much in the car ride home. Deku just sat there with a nervous but excited energy watching Danny then out the window. He was vibrating in his seat. He probably had so many questions he wanted to ask Danny. Danny sighed. He really had no idea how to answer the boy or what he wanted to hear.

Deku’s place wasn’t too far away so the drive ended quickly. Danny still wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not, but he just couldn’t say no to those eyes. Deku jumped out of the car and went over to Danny’s side. He swung open the door to make sure Danny was still there. He was absolutely beaming.

Danny got out of the car as Deku’s mom thanked the cat cop. Danny followed Deku to the door as the eager boy unlocked it. He kicked his shoes off while Danny did it more calmly and set his bag on the floor.

“Izuku,” his mom scolded, “pick up your shoes.”

��Sorry mom…” Deku looked sheepish and put his shoes neatly away.

His mom smiled as he did so. “How about we have katsudon tonight?”

Deku beamed again. He looked at his mom with such a heartfelt expression and wet eyes. Deku seemed so happy that it was hard to remember that his life was threatened just a few hours before. He hid it well enough but now Danny could see that what he thought was pure nervous excitement was just masking how stressed he was. Like a chihuahua that people think shake cause it’s cold but actually has an anxiety disorder.

“Is that alright with you, Tommy?” Deku now looked at Danny with a more cautious look on his face.

Danny smiled and nodded. It no longer mattered what he ate anymore since he couldn’t taste anything. He’s not even able to smell (except he was able to vaguely sense emotions instead). They could literally be having shit sandwiches and it wouldn’t make a difference to him. Well, it would, but if that was Deku’s favorite food, he would.

While on the topic of food, Danny thought back to those cute little bunny cookies that Deku’s mom had made him. It was tragic that he couldn’t taste them, but as the saying goes, it's the thought that counts.

“By the way ma’am,” Danny started, “me and my brother absolutely devoured those cookies you gave him. I had to fight him off for some.”

“Oh thank you!” She blushed at the praise, “you know, I made them for Izuku as a treat for getting out of the hospital so fast.”

Danny looked over to Deku again with his best disappointed and judgmental face like Jazz used to do. He squirmed under his gaze.

“You can call me Mrs. Midoriya if you like. Izuku has told me so much about you and your brother. It's one of the only things he talks about now. We would love to have him over as well.”

“Uhh well,” Danny scratched his neck, “he’s busy tonight. Deku knows how he is. There one minute and gone the next! We’re the same person and I can barely keep track of him. Another time maybe.”

“That would be wonderful.” She responded. “Before I make the food, do you have any allergies I should be made aware of?”

“I have a stomach of iron. You could feed me rat poison and I’d complement the punch!” Danny joked. It was true though. The only thing that would be truly poisonous to him are blood blossoms.

Mrs. Midoriya and Deku both looked at each other briefly with a confused smile they tried to hide under small laughs. Deku and his mom were a lot alike it seemed.

“Alright, you boys have fun now.” Mrs. Midoriya shooed them away.

“Do you want to see my room?” Deku turned to Danny excitedly.

“Sure.” Danny shrugged.

He already saw it when he dropped off Deku that one time, but he didn’t know that. The boy also looked really excited. That was probably his den of fan gear and collectibles. Danny had been here before with Tucker. He smiled at the memory. That was before ghost stuff took a hold of Danny like it had done in the year later. Back then they were really just kids enjoying life, or whatever approximation of it.

The room didn’t look any different from when Danny saw it last. The only change was the bed being messier and homework on the desk. The walls were covered in posters and Deku had a few figures on every shelf. He even had All Might sheets and curtains. Maybe they weren’t related after all. It would be weird to sleep on your uncle.

The room screamed All Might fan, but at the same time wasn’t as intense as some other rooms he’d seen (Tucker case and point. He had everything from Star Trek gear, Legos, One Piece figures and more. It got to the point even his floor was covered with fan memorabilia).

Danny walked over to the desk and picked up a chibi figure. The paint job was uneven and the proportions weren’t right. Danny investigated the other figures and they were of similar quality. The only one that wasn’t was in a protective case at the top of the book shelf.

“Do you like it?” Deku looked at the figure. “Mom saved for months to be able to get it for my birthday. They only made 1000 internationally and 300 in Japan!”

Deku looked proud of the figure. Danny felt slightly guilty. His parents would buy him stuff all the time as a kid if it meant he played somewhere else. Most of those were Legos because they took so long or other construction toys. His favorite one was a simple model rocket he and his mom made. At the time, they were being sponsored by the government but after they made the portal they sold their stuff online (Danny was pretty sure Vlad bought it all). It wasn’t as steady as the sponsorship, so that meant no more Lego sets. Danny was fine with it. By that time he didn’t need toys anymore. He just needed his parents.

“Are you okay?” Deku's hands hovered awkwardly as he debated touching Danny.

“I’m fine.” Danny blinked his eyes. “I just thought that was sweet.”

Deku didn’t know what to do so walked over to his desk to show off more of his figures. He held up one that honestly looked the worst out of all of them. The paint job looked like it was done by a 4 yr old.

“Me and my old best friend Kachan made this when we were young.” Deku stared at the figure nostalgically.

Danny immediately felt guilty.

“We each painted one and he bragged about how his looked better.” Deku chuckled. “Everything had to be a competition with him. When he saw that I was sad about mine, he took it and gave me his.”

Deku turned the figure over and there was small chicken scratch written by a kid, ‘Bakugo Katsuki,’ along with a small drawing of fire or something.

“I don’t think he even has his anymore.” Deku put the figure back down and sat on the bed behind him. Danny sat next to him but still gave him enough space.

“I don’t even know if he still likes me. We were best friends until he got his quirk and I didn’t-” Deku looked at Danny, “I was a late bloomer.” He clarified. “He would tease me with his other friends, and at first I thought it was the normal teasing like he does to everyone, but then it just happened to only me. I just don’t get it.”

Deku played with the scars on his knuckles lost in thought. He clearly needed to talk about this and so Danny didn’t interrupt him. His hand lingered over Deku like he did Danny. Danny put his hand on Deku’s shoulder.

“I think he’s just really lost right now,” Deku continued, “No one else but me could tell that he was always trying too hard. If someone said something about him or he didn’t have the best grades, he would lash out at everything. One time he told me he hated me, but I think he was too weak to say that to himself. That was okay. If hating me made him forget he hated himself, I could do that. I’m gonna keep trying to be his friend no matter what.”

Danny hugged Deku. He didn’t know what else to do but that. He may have joked with his friends that he hated them (like when Tucker stole all the food or Sam beat him in DOOM) but it was said jokingly. They all said it to the other and knew no one ever meant it. This though, this was deliberate and cruel. Danny knew they were both just kids, but that didn’t undo the hurt he caused.

“You know that’s not okay? Friends don’t treat you like that.” Danny looked in Deku’s eyes trying to get him to understand.

“I know, but he didn’t really hurt me.” Deku shrugged, “The only thing that really hit deep was when he told me to jump off a building.” He had an empty look in his eyes as he spoke. “He would’ve joined me if I did.”

That didn’t make it better in Danny’s eyes. He just hugged the boy tighter, maybe more to comfort himself than Deku. He was too kind. He couldn’t see how he was being treated by his ‘friend’. Danny felt mad. He actually wanted to hunt down this kid and throw him off a building like he told Deku to do. There were too many hurt people hurting others that it just created a cycle of pain.

“Do you want me to kill that guy for you?” Danny said in a joking manner trying to hide how he actually felt. Deku laughed and wiped some tears away (it was funny how he thought Danny was joking). He playfully pushed Danny away like Danny did to Jazz when he was younger.

“No.” Deku pulled away from the hug but still leaned against Danny. “I don’t blame him. I never did. I actually want to be more like him.” Deku’s voice got lighter and nostalgic again. “I admired him. Still do, actually. He was my hero.” His eyes were bright and full of stars like they did when he was talking about All Might. “You know, Kacchan was the one to come up with my hero name, ‘Deku.’”

Danny had to stop his mouth from opening. This whole time he thought Deku was his name. If it wasn’t that, what was it? Certainly not Midoriya, cause that seemed like a last name since his mom went by that too.

“Do you want me to stop calling you that?” Danny asked softly. If the name had a sad memory associated with it, he didn’t want to keep reminding him. He also hoped that he would learn Deku’s actual name.

“No,” Deku breathed. “It used to be an insult but now I take pride in it. It means I’ll never give up. Just like I’ll never give up on trying to be his friend or a hero.”

Danny nodded, but he couldn’t swallow all the sadness he felt in the boy's stead. Danny knew what he felt like to be bullied by someone who was once your friend.

Dash and him had known each other for all their lives. Danny was considered a ‘Tomboy’ and so got alone with all the future boy A-listers. Birthday parties, games, and trips, there was never the time the two were a part.

It changed in middle school. They had simply drifted apart like so many others. While they weren’t best friends, they hung out with each other once a week. When Danny got closer to Tucker and Sam moved to town, the rift widened. It all came to a head when Danny came out. Aside from Danny’s friends and family, Dash was the first person to congratulate him for finding who he was with a promise to hangout again. The next day, Dash was black and blue and didn’t look at Danny. He stopped talking to Danny completely and started to act more and more aggressive towards him. Danny knew how Dash's father was and (like Deku) didn’t blame him. That stopped with the first punch.

While Danny could take it where others couldn’t, Dash didn’t know that. Dash meant every hit and mean act he ever inflicted on Danny. Dash may have hated himself for what he was, but Danny wouldn’t forgive Dash for taking it out on him.

Danny had been silent long enough. He could feel Deku fidget with every second he took to respond.

“I think that’s very admirable.”

It really was. It took a strong person to turn an insult into a badge of honor.

“The name Phantom has a similar story. Our parents had a weird thing about ghosts. They would say ‘ ghost’ or ‘ phantom’ or ‘ specter,’ like slurs. When that’s what Tucker became, there was no choice but Phantom. It began a new identity for him, especially over the years.”

“...what are your real names?” Deku asked. He sounded unsure and quiet. He knew the importance of what he said and how it sounded, yet he still asked. He was endlessly naive but cared just as much.

“It’s…” Danny felt his throat close. It hurt to say it in front of another person. He was still feeling raw from everything that happened. He was so far removed from his human life that he didn’t feel like he had the right to say it.

“...I don’t know.” Danny admitted.

His eyes went unfocused as he just started at a spot on the floor. He felt his features furled but he didn’t feel anything other than the tightness. His feelings would short-circuiting with someone so close. Even with these feelings, Danny focused on keeping his form intact. He didn’t want to do anything to push him away (not even the real him).

Deku had just told him so much. Danny knew he wouldn’t be judged but it felt unsafe to say it. This is how the other ghosts must’ve felt. Trapped inside their own name and lack of identity because of it.

Danny just sat there, too overwhelmed to feel anything. Deku must’ve felt bold in the silence or at least very curious.

“Do you still miss your dad?”

Danny’s head lifted up at hearing that. He felt more lost than before. He barely thought about his dad since he got here, or his mom. No, that’s not true. He did, just not in the way he wanted to. He wanted to miss his dad and his dumb jokes and constant need for fudge, but that’s not what he thought of when he remembered him. Danny only remembers all the things he did wrong and now can’t fix. In a way, Danny is dead because of him. He finally understood Vlad’s feelings of resentment towards him.

“Sometimes, although I try not to think about it.” That was easier to say.

“Didn’t he hurt you though?” Did Danny just have a sign on his head that said ‘abused’? Even Ma said something similar.

“Who told you that?” Danny finally looked at the boy.

He looked nervous under his gaze then looked away. ‘He was such a dork,’ Danny thought. Deku was a lot like Elle in the way that they both said the wrong thing. Except where she was blatant and stared back at you, Deku showed remorse and shied away.

“Uh, well,” Deku looked more nervous.

“What?” Danny wanted to roll his eyes. This is where the kid gets all shy?

“Well you said that your dad is scarier than whatever Shigaraki can do...” Deku trailed off. Danny expected him to say something else but he was done.

“Oh. Right.” Danny didn’t realize how that sounded when he said it.

“Yeah..” Deku sighed.

“Yeah…” Danny sighed back.

He didn’t know if this was something he should be talking about with Deku. Danny had been able to handle it so far alone, he didn’t need to tell anyone (let alone a child) what he’s been through. A part of Danny still ached to say it though, maybe talking about it out loud would relieve the weight in his gut when he thought about home.

“You know, I don't really remember my dad.” Deku started. He stared at his hands as he talked. “I just remember big arms picking me up and his smile. Sometimes though, he would take me to this bar. I can’t really remember it but he went there all the time. He would get me a Shirley Temple.” Deku laughed but his face grew soft. “Mom said he’s in America on a business trip. It’s been over 10 years now. He stopped sending us cards 5 years ago. Mom tries to hide it, but she still cries about it. Sometimes I hear her, like on my birthday. That's why she tries so hard. He still sends money over but nothing else.

Danny breathed in, closing his eyes. There was so much to say but things better not be said.

“My dad,” Danny paused, “he wasn’t around much either. Well he was, but he was always working on his little projects and machines. When he was around, he… well he wasn't the nicest. I maybe deserved it though. I don’t know. I would always sneak out and disobey him. He was just really worried about me. I kept a lot from him. And when he did hurt me, he didn’t know any better. He was just doing what he thought was right.”

Danny had regretted a lot about his life before. If he had told his parents, would they have accepted him? While they hunted him as Phantom, there were still moments they saw him beyond ‘ghost scum.’ He had dreams where they all worked together to fight the ghosts and he could finally be a kid with a family again.

There was also the chance they would refuse to see Danny and only Phantom. Danny couldn’t go back to their little boy, no matter how much he wanted to. Still, the uncertainty was enough to make his head spin. Having your parents be a part of your rogue gallery was an interesting experience. A lot of emotions to shove into a box.

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

Danny nodded his head dismissively. The boy was using his own words against him.

“I know, but I can't help but love him.”

“Would you ever wanna see him again?” Deku's voice was soft and he wasn’t looking at him, indeed at a thread that came out from his blanket.

“…I don’t know.”

Danny really didn’t. He was so consumed with the idea of getting home that he didn’t know what would happen if he did. He hopes that his parents would welcome him as Phantom with open arms. It was equally likely that they would accuse him of stealing ‘their boy’.

“As I got older, when I looked at him I could only see all the bad things he said or did. I loved my dad most when he wasn’t around. I don’t know what I would do or say if I saw him again.”

“Is that why you ran away?”

“I didn’t run away,” Danny defended.

He would never run away from Amity. They needed him. ‘If they need you, why aren’t you there?’ stabbed into Danny’s head. He finally found the portal, he should be there now trying to get it open. What was he waiting for?

Danny tasted the words in his mouth before he spoke them, “Or at least I didn’t mean to. Maybe someday I will go back, but I don't know if I’d fit in anymore…”

Danny didn’t know if he wanted to fit in anymore.

“I understand that.” Deku said sagely.

Danny stopped himself from saying anything. Deku was so young it was hard to imagine he had also felt that way. That was the bitter older teen in him talking. Truthfully, Danny wanted to believe that the boy didn’t know what that was like. If he did, that would mean he had been through what Danny had. Deku was too young for that (they both were).

There was a moment of quiet between them waiting for the other to talk. Danny was fine with it. He wanted to sit in this for a little bit longer. He hadn’t said that much to anyone in a while, not even Sam or Tucker. It was different with Jazz since they were in the same sinking boat. Living in that house changed her into something resembling Danny while their parents stayed unaffected thanks to their suits. He didn’t appreciate her until it was too late.

He wanted to see his sister again, most out of everyone. She had left for college by Danny’s junior year, and while he resented her at first for leaving him, he understood it. She couldn’t stand being in that house longer than she needed too. Of course she still visited and talked to Danny everyday, but she was always looking over shoulder, so to speak. They both took the first lesson their parents taught to heart. How to survive. Despite that, Danny had failed twice.

Danny whipped his eyes with his elbow. He really didn’t want to cry right now, not in front of Deku. He had to keep it in for when he was alone. Until then, he should try to think about happy things, like his family on the roof looking at the stars. Those are the good days that he should hold onto, not the pain later on.

“Well what was your mom like?” Deku said. Maybe he wanted a way or of the quiet or to know more about Danny. Still, he didn’t have to go digging through his guts like this.

“Crazy.” Danny laughed. He meant it too. “She was strong too. She could pick me up like a bag of grapes. My mom had a black belt in everything! I swear! She’s who taught me how to fight.”

Deku laughed. It was nice to see. If Danny could, he would make it so the boy could laugh and smile all the time.

“She was smart too, like evil mastermind smart. A few times I was sure she was gonna take over the world with her inventions. She was lethal. Honestly, she scared me a lot more than my dad. When she looked at me, it was like she could see through me. Her instincts were never wrong. There was one time we were lost in the woods being hunted, and she did everything she could to save us. I hated it at the time, but that was one of my favorite moments with her.” Danny smiled. “She may not have been the best mom, but when she tired she was the greatest.”

Danny had to focus on the good. Both his parents cared for him, in their own way. He wanted to remember that right now, not the might’ve beens’ or probablys’. At least in front of Deku (he already unloaded so much on him without really meaning too). Danny could unravel and wallow on his own time later.

“Why were you being hunted in the woods?” Deku sat up to face Danny. He had a confused look on his face like so many times before.

“That’s too much to explain right now.” Danny shook his head sagely.

“Hmm,” the boy said as a response. It was clear that he wanted to ask more so Danny decided to distract him.

“How about you show me your journals?”

🥦~

Tommy listened to Izuku talk for over an hour simply on the topic of his notebooks. That wasn’t enough time since Izuku had filled out 12 so far and was working on number 13. If he could, he would strap Tommy down (clockwork orange style) and read each page to him. Of course he couldn’t do that, so they just sat on the floor against his bed flipping through the pages.

Tommy was paying attention, more than he had before. The other times, like in the museum or to the beach, Tommy just nodded his head and made some comments like ‘that's so cool’ or ‘oh yeah?’. This time though (and in the alley), Tommy was asking questions like how much defense that quirk had or any weaknesses. While those weren’t weird questions, Izuku had to admit that there was a motive behind it. He brushed it off though since he got to gush about quirks. It was a win win.

“Does Phantom have a section?” Tommy asked after Izuku showed him Endeavor’s page.

Of course Phantom had a section. Izuku had been working on it since the hospital in Hosu. The question is should Izuku show him? Tommy basically was Phantom. When he went home (or wherever he stays) he would tell his brother about it. That would be so embarrassing. Izuku barely knows anything about Phantom or his quirk. A lot of the information in this was probably wrong. He also had his own theories about the brothers' upbringing. The topic of fathers was too fresh for Izuku to give Tommy a list of ways he was abused.

“Uhh…yeah…” Izuku muttered.

“Can I see it?” Tommy asked. He was looking at Izuku funny.

“No…” Izuku whined, “or at least not yet. I have to work on it more.” If he gave it to him later, he would have more time to work out his theories and give him a copy that didn’t include his dad. Yeah, that would be better. “Maybe tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow sounds good. I’ve got the next few days off and so I’m free.” Tommy leaned back on the bed.

“Is Tucker free?” Izuku asked softly. He tried to seem casual but Tommy saw right through him and smiled.

“He is, as long as nothing comes up.” Tommy commented.

“So,” Izuku started nervously, “would it be okay if we all hang out?”

Tommy’s face looked blank save for a forced smile, “what?”

“Well, I haven’t seen him in a while…” Izuku trailed off. Tommy’s reaction was a bit weird.

“You don’t just wanna hang out with him?” Tommy sat up and studied Izuku. He seemed like he was mulling something over.

“I thought it would be fun if we all hung out?” Izuku wasn’t sure now.

“I’m not sure I can do that…” Tommy trailed off with that look on his face.

“You just said you were free?” Izuku tilted his head. Were they fighting or something?

“No, it’s not that…” Tommy scratched his neck and groaned. “It’s just…”

“It’s okay,” Izuku said sadly. He had no idea why Tommy was acting like this. Izuku looked at the floor, “I don’t want to make you do something you don’t want to do…”

“Fine.”

“What?” Izuku looked back up at Tommy. He started to smile, but stopped himself. “Didn’t you just say-”

“I know.” Tommy bobbed his head back and forth, “but you seem so sad so now I gotta.” Tommy whispered something under his breath but Izuku was able to catch it, “I can figure it out…”

He really had no idea what that meant, but he was excited nevertheless! He hugged Tommy.

Tommy patted his head and hugged him back. “Yeah yeah… would noon work? I got some stuff I have to handle.”

“Perfect! That gives me enough time to get my notebook done!”

“I’m glad you're happy.” Tommy smiled fondly at him and messed with his hair.

A gentle knocking came from his room's doorway. Izuku caught his mom smiling like she just walked in on kittens.

“Hey boys,” his mom said sweetly, “dinner is ready.”

“Thanks, we’ll be right there.”

Izuku started moving the notebooks away, they had become scattered while he was showing them to Tommy. Tommy, being half a foot taller than him, was able to easily walk over them while Izuku couldn’t walk over without stepping on them. Tommy held out his hand to Izuku and helped him jump over the mess. He felt like a toddler whose parents swang him between them.

When they were outside the door, Tommy looked at him playfully.

“Race you to the bottom!” and he took off.

Izuku sputtered for a second and chased after him. Izuku was able to pass in on the stairs, but then Tommy jumped over the banister and rolled onto the floor. Izuku made it down just a few moments after.

“Beat you,” Danny laughed.

“I didn’t know we were allowed to do that, otherwise I would've.” Izuku complained playfully.

“Aren’t you training to be a hero? If you're gonna fight, fight dirty. Villains won’t be following ‘the rules,’ there are no rules in fighting.”

“What about the use of exclusive force?”

“Well obviously don’t do that,” Tommy came up to Izuku and flicked his forehead, “common sense. But if one of the big time villains shows up like a wrinkle man, you better put everything in it.”

‘Like Tommy’s dad,’ but Izuku didn’t say that. One for Tommy’s sake and two because his mom didn’t know. He just told her that Tommy’s dad wasn’t a good person.

“Or call me. I’ll fucking kill them.” Tommy had an intensity when he said that that made Izuku believe he wasn’t joking.

“What a happy conversation.” His mom walked in from the kitchen. “Let's save that talk for after dinner.”

Tommy followed her into the dinning area. His mom, the thoughtful host she was. Set the food on the table with their bowls and cups. Usually, Izuku would help set out the food, but his mom probably wanted to give him some time alone with his friend. He smiled at her in thanks as they all sat down.

“So do we have to do anything before we eat the food?” Tommy whispered at Izuku. It was at times like this that Izuku remembered that he grew up under a rock.

“Just say thank you for the food.” Izuku whispered back. His mom laughed at hearing them.

“Right.” Tommy sat up, “thank you for the food, Mrs. Midoriya.”

“You’re welcome, Tommy.” Mrs. Midoriya paused, “what's your family name?”

“Uhh,” Tommy started before Izuku interrupted.

“He’s fine with just being called Tommy, mom.” Izuku covered.

He didn’t want to make Tommy any more stressed like before. Honestly, he shared way more than Izuku thought he would. For now, he was satisfied with asking questions. For now, Izuku will wait until tomorrow to ask his brother. There, he could get into the technicalities of his quirk, Izuku’s true passion. He figures it is an easier conversation than childhood trauma and daddy issues.

Izuku tried to take a bite, but it was too hot and burned his tongue. Tommy though didn’t seem to be having the same issue as he chewed his food. He looked weird, his cheeks big and his jaw moving in an extracted fashion, like a kid pretending to eat.

“Isn’t that hot?” His mom asked as she lowered her chopsticks. She had been blowing on her food before she noticed.

Danny set his next bite down. He held his chopsticks awkwardly, but it didn’t matter since he managed to eat the food fine.

“It’s just so good that I couldn’t help but dig in.” Tommy laughed and scratched his neck.

“Thank you, but be careful not to choke.” His mom went back to blowing her own food.

The table was silent as everyone ate their food. Tommy started to blow on his food even after everyone else had stopped, and he ate slower. The ridiculous chewing didn’t stop, and Izuku had to look away to keep from laughing.

“So, Tommy,” His mom set her chopsticks down and looked across the table at him, “Izuku here tells me that you’re quirkless.”

Izuku was drinking water at the moment and spit it out when she said that. What a blunt question! To Tommy’s credit, he didn’t seem that phased by it.

“That’s right, ma’am,” Tommy set his chopsticks down as well but that was because his bowl was empty rather than him trying not to be rude.

“I feel ashamed that a part of me is glad. Izuku hasn’t met anyone his age without a quirk before. It’s mostly the older generation without one these days.”

Tommy looked at him in confusion. Izuku turned away red faced. He looked like he swallowed something sour. He didn’t tell Tommy that he used to be quirkless. Izuku didn’t blame his mom for saying that. After he met Tommy, he went straight home and told him mom. He was so excited (despite the circumstances) and told her how easily Tommy said that. It was as if he wasn’t made to feel ashamed for being that way like Izuku had. His mom was also still getting used to him having a quirk, so it was natural for her to comment on it.

“Why would you care that I’m quirkless?” Izuku felt his hot gaze on him. He really couldn’t explain it without revealing to him and his mom his secret.

“Didn’t he tell you?” His mom said, apparently not seeing how Izuku was reacting.

“Tell me what?”

“That until this year, Izuku didn’t have a quirk.”

“Yep!” Izuku stood up, “I’m just a really late bloomer!” Izuku laughed like a maniac, not dissimilar to principal Nezu during the practical. He sat down after seeing the looks he got. Tommy coughed, trying to stop from laughing.

“Right… Well, he used to wish for a quirk everyday until he got one. You should’ve seen him, it was like he was praying to All Might.” his mom laughed at his misery.

“It wasn’t that bad…” Izuku muttered (it totally was, but Tommy didn’t have to know that).

“I can see that! His room is covered in All Might merch. Even before I saw that, I knew he was a fanboy.”

This was torture. Pure torture. His mom and new friend were now ganging up on him. He knows it was his idea to bring Tommy over, but now he wanted to go back. Geez, this was too much.

“Please stop…” Izuku groaned with his head on the table. He feels like a little kid whining.

“It’s okay, Deku. We were only teasing.” Tommy grinned as he spoke with his hands. “Besides, we didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

Izuku laid his head back on the table and groaned loudly.

“We’ll stop if it bothers you that much.” Tommy comforted.

Izuku slowly raised his head up, “no, it’s fine. It’s just embarrassing.”

“Aww, poor baby,” Tommy cooed as if he were talking to a pet. He poked Izuku and he squatted his hands away.

“Oh Tommy, your bowl is empty. Would you like any more?” His mom spoke over the table.

“That’s okay,” Tommy inspected his bowl, “I’m stuffed.”

“Come on, you're skin and bone.” His mom was close enough to grab his bowl and was about to fill it with more rice when he stopped her.

“No, really I'm good,” Tommy put his hand over the pot.

“How about you take it home to your brother?” she tried instead.

“I’m not sure that would work…” Tommy grimaced.

“Why not? Does he not like Katsudon?”

“Not its that.” Tommy corrected at the risk of offending her, “I just don’t wanna take food from you.”

“It's fine,” she moved his hand away and was about to fill it again. “We have more. Just take some.”

“We just don't have anywhere to put it.” Tommy tried one last time.

“What do you mean?” his mom’s voice was full of worry.

“Well, there’s no microwave for one, and two we don’t have a fringe, either.” he looked sheepish.

“Oh you poor souls,” she touched his face as if to check his health, “no wonder you’re so skinny… You should still take some for your brother then. He might not have had dinner yet.”

“Sure. fine. Deal.” Tommy relented and waved her off.

“Good.” she stood up with his bowl, “I’ll go pack this up for him then. Izuku do you want anymore?”

“I’m full, thank you.” Izuku nodded. His mom seemed satisfied with herself as she walked off.

“I’m going to go help her put the stuff away.” Izuku also got up.

“I can help too,” Tommy made to get up, but Izuku pushed him down gently.

“No, you sit. You're a guest after all.”

Tommy frowned but didn’t move. Izuku patted his hair (which felt weird, like spiderwebs and dust). Tommy looked up at him in horror and offense. Clearly, Izuku had broken a sacred friendship code of some kind (although Tommy does that to him all the time).

Izuku gathered the rest of the dishes and went into the kitchen with his mom. Her and Tommy’s bowls had already been washed, and lay drying on the rack to the side of the sink. She now investigated a pair of chopsticks. It was a part of the wooden set that Izuku was pretty sure was older than him. If they were expensive, Izuku didn’t know. What once was a burnt red color, had faded into brown with every use and the design on the end, which might’ve been bulls, had rubbed off.

Izuku set the dishes on a clear space and walked over to his mom. He leaned over her trying to see what she was looking at. She jumped when she saw him and made a funny noise.

“Izuku, you scared me,” His mom held a hand to her chest.

“Sorry mom,” Izuku peered down at her. It was hard to believe how much he’s grown in just a year (that’s puberty for you). “What are you looking at?”

“Oh this?” She held up the chopsticks so he could see.

Alongside the wood where one would put their fingers on, had been worn down to the width of a toothpick and had green wood rot. This had spread to almost half the chopstick.

“Weird…” Izuku mumbled. “It is really old. Maybe it was just it’s time?”

“I swear that they were fine when I set them down…” She snapped out of it and held the chopsticks tightly to her chest. “I must be needing glasses. That’s what I get for trying to use wooden ones all this time.”

Rather than throwing them away, she slipped them in her pocket. She forced a smile on her face and looked out at Tommy in the dining room. He had gotten up to get the bag at the door, and was now sitting at the table messing with something. He somehow knew they were looking at him, and turned around to wave. They waved back.

“How’s your friend doing? Are you sure he’s full? He looks sickly. He needs all the healthy food he can get.”

“He said he was full. Tommy also just looks like that, so does his brother…”

Izuku guesses he never noticed how bad it was before, chalking it up to genetics rather than abuse. Despite being quirkless, Tommy still had slight mutations (Izuku did too), like his sharp teeth and ears. He also had patches of blue hidden under his turtleneck. His greenish complexion didn’t stand out to Izuku until his mom mentioned it now.

“Hmm,” Izuku hummed, “you’re right…”

“Of course I’m right, my baby.” His mom pinched his cheek and said in baby talk, “a mom always knows.”

Izuku didn’t think the brothers had a mom anymore. Tommy talked about her in past tense and acted differently than he did when he was talking about his dad. How long ago did she die? They must’ve been so young (they were still young). Izuku doesn’t know what he would do without his mom…

“Oh, Izuku,” his mom wiped his tears with her finger as she held his cheek, “are you alright?”

“I’m sorry, mom.” Izuku pulled his mom into a hug, his cheek on her head. He had been so mean to his mom recently. She worried about him so much and yet he kept throwing his life on the line. They both knew there was nothing she could stay that would get him to stop, not until he lost his arm or was in the dirt, and even then he’d find a way to be a hero. He felt his mom start to cry under him, and she soaked his shirt in her tears again. He just held her tighter. For right now, he wasn’t going anywhere.

His mom didn’t let go for another minute. When she did, she looked up at him, tears still in her eyes.

“I love you, Izuku.”

“I love you too, mom.” He gave her one last hug and let go.

They started putting the food away like they had first intended. His mom was off to the side packing it into lunch boxes. “For tomorrow,” she said. She must’ve heard them earlier.

Izuku smiled and thanked her. It took only a few minutes for them to be done in the kitchen and they came back out into the dining room.

“Are you guys okay?” Tommy looked at them concerned. “I heard crying.”

“That was just a family tradition,” his mom joked. She set one of the boxes in front of Tommy, “for your brother.”

“Thanks,” Tommy put it to the side.

“What are you working on?” Izuku sat beside him in his original seat.

“I’m setting up my phone,” Tommy showed it off. It was a blue flip phone with a key chain of the Phantoms. Izuku looked at him funny, but he had to admit, if he had merch of himself he would buy it too.

“Why is it in English?”

“Cause I speak English?” Tommy looked at him as if it were obvious.

“You can?” Izuku himself was only able to speak the basics (but thanks to Present Mic was rapidly improving). “You should say something.”

“Umm Ok, hello,” Tommy laughed.

“That was still Japanese.”

“Oh…” Tommy’s features furled but he quickly wiped it off. “Right, duh. Well, I guess I can read English.”

“That’s cool,” Izuku didn’t know what else to say. He looked at Tommy’s shopping bag. That wouldn’t get him very far. “Would you like one of my old backpacks?”

Tommy looked at his own bag, debating it. “You know what, sure. That would be great. Thank you.”

Izuku smiled, “let me go grab it then.” and he was off to his room.

Izuku, being the fanboy he was, had a bunch of spare All Might backpacks in his closet. He rummaged through to find the best one to suit Tommy. He elected for one from All Might’s ‘Bronze age’ as the colors would go well with Tommy.

When Izuku came down, Tommy and his mom were talking. They stopped as soon as he came down so he couldn’t hear. Izuku hid the bag behind his bag so that way Tommy would be fully surprised. He smiled as he watched Izuku get closer, but his mouth twitched when he saw it was All Might.

“Oh, wow!” Tommy said, a part of it sounded fake. He took it from Izuku, “I love it.”

“Do you?” Izuku was starting to feel self conscious.

“I do- aw,” he looked at Izuku’s face and laughed, “come here.” he hugged him and Izuku felt better. “I guess I was just surprised that it was All Might, even though I should’ve known. You’re such a dork!” And Tommy messed with Izuku’s hair again.

“I’m glad then,” Izuku beamed.

Tommy started to put his stuff into the bag, putting the food on top. He put it on, adjusting the straps to be comfortable, then spun around.

“How do I look? I think it really completes the outfit,” Tommy laughed again.

“Izuku has amazing taste,” his mom clapped.

“He sure does,” Tommy teased. Izuku felt his face getting red.

“Well,” Tommy continued, “this feels like goodbye so I’m gonna go. Thanks for having me, Mrs. Midoriya.” He shook her hand.

“Thank you for staying. But please, call me Auntie.” His mom must’ve liked him a lot. “And remember your promise.”

“I will,” Tommy saluted and turned to Izuku.

This felt too soon. He hadn’t even shown Tommy all of his room yet.

“What’s wrong, dork?” Tommy had a soft smile on his face.

“Do you have to go?” Izuku pleaded.

“Yes, I have to go. Hey, I’ll see you tomorrow, and Tucker. It will be here before you know it.”

Izuku knew that, but he felt like he was a kid saying goodbye to his dad again. Izuku hugged him one last time while Tommy ruffled his hair.

“Can I have your number before you go?” Izuku picked at his nails as he asked.

“Of course, bud,” Tommy took out his phone from his pocket, and showed the number to Izuku. Izuku typed it in and texted Tommy so they both have each other's number.

Tommy walked to the door and everyone followed. He put on his shoes and hugged them one last time.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, I promise.” Tommy said as Izuku hugged his chest.

Izuku slowly let go and watched Tommy leave out the door. Both Izuku and his mom stood in the doorway watching him and he disappeared in the night. As soon as they shut the door, a ping came from Izuku’s phone. It was a waving emoji and one with its tongue out.

Izuku would try hard not to miss him (he just hated goodbyes). He will see him tomorrow.

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jp---v · 2 years ago

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Chapter 380

Gentle deciding he's fine helping without getting any fame, this Business kid "You're gonna get recognition, and you're gonna like it."

Poor Tsukauchi, at least La Brava's quirk has plenty of fuel. Even if Gentle's doesn't

Are you really a member of Class A if you haven't seen your teacher in a deadly situation and been unable to help? Kurogiri might be having an identity crisis, which is completely understandable considering... everything

Thanks Mandalay for those words of encouragement

'For Midoriya' he left the dome guys. He's not there

And of course All for One wanted to completely over write Shigaraki in his own body, what else would he want?

Poor Tokoyami

P-poor Tokoyami? Seriously, what were those "dying" words?

That's it. That is the single most painful string of words I have ever had the misfortune of reading. Five asterisks just to translate that into real-person speak

Ok, but how did you get here? Your school is nowhere near here and you didn't have access to a warpgate and likely didn't have the same amount of knowledge as the UA hero course about the plan because you were geographically too far

#boku no hero academia #my hero academia #manga spoilers #gentle criminal #la brava #kurogiri #shirakumo oboro #all for one #takami keigo #hawks #camie utsushimi #inasa yoarashi

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valleyrunearchives · 1 month ago

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Binary

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Fandom: Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia Pairings: Aizawa Shouta/Yamada Hizashi Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Chapter 37/?

“Binary code is a series of zeroes and ones strung together in a specific sequence. On paper, it’s useless. Annoying. Worthless. But put that same string of zeroes and ones into a computer, and suddenly it’s a language far more complex than the human mind can comprehend. I was the same way. The world decided I wasn’t good enough in the physical plane, so I went digital. That’s why I chose the name Binary. And you should be very,” He smirks at the underground hero on the screen, “Very afraid of the reach I have here. Aizawa Shouta.”

Midoriya Izuku is tired of the world treating him like nothing. So he decides to becoming a hacker to show the world that nothing can be anything.

Featuring Midoriya Izuku as the Genius Hacker Aizawa Shouta as the problem child wrangler Yamada Hizashi as the moral support to his husband Tsukauchi Naomasa as the man who needs a long vacation PLEASE Shinsou Hitoshi as the intentionally adopted one Toga Himiko as the unintentionally adopted one Dabi as the really didn’t want to be adopted one but he guesses this is his life now and Nedzu as the Rat God of UA

Previous | First

Click here to read on AO3!

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Izuku does his best to not show a reaction to Nedzu’s statement. Internally, he’s freaking out. There’s no way Nedzu doesn’t know if he’s wording it like that. He’s the smartest creature in the world. There’s no way he’s dodging the Rat God of UA for any longer. He takes a deep breath to keep his composure. This could be the last free moment he has, after all. Better to handle it with as much grace as he possibly can.

“What do we need to speak about, Nedzu-san?” He asks calmly.

Nedzu giggles with a sadistic sparkle in his eyes, “Oh I think you know. Don’t you, Midoriya-kun?”

“Perhaps we do. But you should clarify. Just to make sure we’re on the same page before we say anything.” Izuku shifts a bit to get a bit comfortable in the hospital bed. He knows this is about to be a long and grueling conversation.

He also knows that Hitoshi is looking at him like he’s crazy and Himiko is probably biting on her nails in nervousness. He should remind Dabi before he’s locked up to get her some of that anti-biting nail polish. Nedzu doesn’t answer him right away. Instead, the stoat moves over to the only other chair in the hospital room to hop up into it. He guesses that Nedzu also realizes this will be a long conversation and would rather not be standing for it.

“I’m here to discuss the fact that you are, indeed, Binary the hacker,” Nedzu says bluntly.

Dabi sucks in a harsh breath as Mirko and Hawks both shout in shock. Himiko whimpers softly at his side, chewing harsher on one of her nails. Izuku reaches over without breaking eye contact with Nedzu to gently pull her hand away from her mouth and hold it between his own to comfort her. “And how have you come to that conclusion?” He questions levelly. He will admit to nothing until he knows what kind of proof Nedzu holds.

“Oh many things really! Many, many things. The fact that you were spotted nearby the police station when the first Binary box appeared. The fact that the second Binary box appeared right after Shinsou-kun was taken into your home. The fact that the news crew that invaded UA grounds reported all of their connections dying just when your family was set to enter next. The fact that only you saw the main intruder that day. The fact that every single time an incident has occurred at UA, we staff members have been notified by an outside source that, for the longest time, we only knew as Catra.”

Himiko squeezes Izuku’s hand tighter. Izuku shows no outward difference and focuses on keeping his heart rate and breathing steady. Nedzu either doesn’t notice these things or doesn’t comment on them. Instead, he just continues, “Now, these could all just be marked as coincidences. Very strange ones but coincidences nonetheless. Until today, that is.”

Izuku raises his chin a bit as he stares at Nedzu. He’s not trying to establish dominance. He knows he wouldn’t get very far with that. He’s mainly trying to create a façade of indifference and confidence. Whether it does anything for him or not, he doesn’t care. At least they can’t paint him as resistant or cowardly this way. “What happened today?” He asks just as calmly.

Nedzu’s smirk widens sharply, “I finally tracked Binary’s IP address. I’m guessing because you are here and not at your computer setup to block me. And your little companion, Catra, has been here with you.”

Izuku closes his eyes. It truly is the nail in the coffin. And Nedzu is right, the only reason the IP address could be tracked was because no one was monitoring his firewalls right now. All Nedzu would’ve had to do was pick away at it until it gave. He lets out a sigh and nods. “So that’s that,” he says quietly. Nedzu just hums in agreement.

“No!” Hitoshi suddenly screams, jumping up, “No, no! That’s not that! You don’t get it! That can’t be it!”

“Hitoshi?” Izuku asks, confused.

Nedzu blinks, obviously not anticipating such a deep objection. Especially from Hitoshi, “Shinsou-kun, what’s the matter? Do you have some objections to our accusation? If so, I can assure you that we’ve already had Tsukauchi confirm with Iwai-san. You were very clever in attempting to get him to redirect when questioned.”

“No! I’m not-! That’s not-!” Hitoshi groans loudly, running his hands through his hair in frustration, “What happens now?! You have to tell us what happens with Izuku now!”

“Pardon? I don’t understand why that has to be discussed right now.”

“Stop stalling! You know what CATRA is, right?!” Nedzu nods at the frantic question, trying to determine what exactly Hitoshi was trying to get at, “Then you know what she’s capable of! Trust me when I say, right now, you HAVE to tell us what happens with Izuku now that you know he’s Binary! We have to know now before it goes any further!”

“Nothing will happen to him,” Nedzu says certainly, “Well, aside from becoming my personal student so his hacking profile can become more above board.”

“Nothing at all besides that? No jail time? No fines? No taking him away and locking him up somewhere? Nothing?”

“No, of course not. He’s a minor and, even though hacking is a highly illegal thing, he only did it when assisting to capture criminals or those criminally aligned. We’re writing it off as a ‘dumb teenager doing dumb teenager things,’ so to speak.”

Hitoshi sighs in relief, slumping back down in the chair before pulling out his cellphone, “See CATRA? Abandon the order. Please.”

Izuku whips his head around to him. Order? What order? Even Nedzu seems extremely confused. Hitoshi puts his phone away after a moment. A beeping sound comes from his vitals monitor. Everyone turns to his monitor screen to see a familiar (well, at least to Izuku and his family) cat displayed on it. She bows to the room, calling out, “Greetings. I am a Computer and Technical Real-time Assistant. CATRA for simplicity.”

Izuku can see Hawks’ jaw drop at her introduction. Nedzu stares for a moment before starting to cackle in what is clearly glee. “My goodness!” He exclaims, “I knew you were AI, but to be this intelligent is nothing short of incredible!”

CATRA bows again in thanks at his praise. Nedzu’s hand then moves to his chin as he questions, “I am curious at Hitoshi’s insistence of me telling him what Izuku’s punishment would be. Which, as I stated before, is nothing beyond becoming my personal student.”

CATRA glances at Izuku before her head turns away, ears folding down to her virtual skull in what seems to be shame. Hitoshi whispers to her quietly, “It’s okay. They should know. Izuku should know. Especially now that we know nothing will happen.”

The sound that comes from the monitor sounds like a long meow but Izuku knows it as a sigh. This doesn’t seem good. She turns her face back to Nedzu’s direction and says with conviction, “When it was discovered that you were actively attempting to trace Izuku down, I enacted a plan: Should it come to light that you knew of Binary’s true existence and were planning to place extreme punishments on him, all files that existed within Binary’s mainframe would be deleted. Forever.”

Himiko, Dabi, Hawks, and Mirko don’t react to that with anything more than confusion. Nedzu’s eyebrows (Does a stoat even have eyebrows? Eye ridges, maybe?) raise in response to that. Izuku, on the other hand, scrambles to fully face the monitor without dislodging his leg from its propped position, “CATRA why would you do that?! Do you know what would’ve happened if you had?! You would’ve been completely deleted as well!”

Himiko gasps with a stricken look on her face. Dabi’s hands come up to cover his face but he doesn’t say anything in response to that. CATRA refuses to look at Izuku, “I know, Izuku-kun. I knew from the beginning what would happen if project 00 ever came to pass. As I told Hitoshi, it would’ve been worth it; Even if you were angry at me afterward. Your safety and wellbeing are worth more to me than my existence ever would be.”

Izuku lays back heavily, his mind blank. He doesn’t know what to say. He knew she had developed some form of caring for them but he didn’t think it would be that deep. He thinks the others and Nedzu are talking around him but he can’t focus on their voices. His AI mom basically just said she’d rather die than risk him being in jail. It’s a hard thing to swallow. Especially knowing in the back of his mind that she cares for him more than his actual biological mother did.

Himiko must somehow be sensing his internal dilemma as she takes him into her arms and tucks her face into his curls. He appreciates the comfort. For some reason, the mental reminder of his biological mother makes something in his head focus. He sits up a bit straighter, placing a hand on Himiko’s arm as a way to say that he’s not trying to escape her hug. He starts coming to several conclusions that he hadn’t thought of before. His breath hitches a bit at the ideas now swimming in his head. If he’s right… then…

“Nedzu-san!” He exclaims, interrupting Nedzu’s conversation with CATRA, “I would like to request assistance from UA in the form of a UA guardian!”

Dabi sputters before shouting out, “What?!”

“Not a permanent one!” He reassures his older brother, “Just a temporary UA guardian for us. Preferable Eraserhead and Present Mic!”

“May I ask why?” Nedzu asks.

He levels his most serious look at the stoat, “I have reasons to believe that my family and I are in a lot of danger!”

#bnha #bnha fanfic #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfic #mha fanfiction #izuku midoryia #hacker!izuku midoriya #bnha shinso hitoshi #himiko toga #bnha dabi #bnha nedzu #hacker!Izuku #bnha mirko #bnha hawks

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nowoyas · 2 years ago

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Edible Arrangements 32

First - Prev - Next - M.list - Ao3

A/N: this isn't late it's still sunday don't look at me I was debating whether or not to put a baby in the cake I'm baking don't LOOK at me

short chapter today, but unrelated oneshot coming next weekend! I ended up wanting to polish it before posting.

Chapter Summary: Life isn't just the romance genre.

Warnings: mild angst, murder talk, serial killer talk

Word count: ~2400

“P-pardon if this is a weird question, Detective, but do you have some kind of truth-detection quirk, by chance?”

Damn. Izuku’s gone in for the kill. You sit nervously on the far armchair, still cradling Sbeve to keep him from flinging anyone’s drinks or any mischief of the sort. He’s content to stay there, which is a blessing in itself.

The detective raises his eyebrows. “I do, as a matter of fact. How did you…”

He’s telling the truth.

Fucking hell, he’s telling the truth.

You’re suddenly tense as all hell, wondering how best to approach any word that might leave your mouth. You’ve done nothing wrong, to your knowledge it’s not like you murdered the girl, and you’re tense all the same.

Does everyone feel like this around you all of the time?

“O-oh, I just know someone with a similar quirk! You both do the same thing where you just kind of visibly accept stuff people say without worrying too much about it. I know I can be hard to believe sometimes because I have a bit of a nervous stutter, so it’s actually reassuring to know that you don’t think I’m lying!”

Well, Izuku sure feels the pressure.

“Especially about the tenancy thing,” you add with a sigh. “I agreed to rent the room from him before either of us realized he was a professor at my school. You would not believe the shit my best friend gives me about it.”

Detective Normal laughs. “Well, I believe it, if it’s any consolation. I’ll admit it looked a bit strange to me, all things considered. I’m Detective Tsukauchi, [name], in case you missed it, and this is my partner Sansa. I’ve just got a few questions for the two of you, if you’re willing to answer them.”

You nod, thumbing at Sbeve’s ears to soothe your nerves. “Yes, of course! You’re, um… You’re here about Momo, right…?”

He nods. “I’m afraid so. But let’s not worry about jumping into that right away—are you an Ossenfelder student, Mx. [name]?”

You nod. You can’t help but run your brain over exact activation requirements for his quirk. His partner is keeping quiet—does it only work on questions he directly asks, perhaps?

He hums. You’re watching his face carefully—his eyes narrow just slightly.

You have to be speaking, then, you’re guessing. Verbal responses are necessary.

“What’s your major, then?”

“Quirk studies and theory,” you parrot automatically. “I wanted to go for something more practical at first, like business, but, well, you know. I just didn’t like it.”

There. The subtlest wince. How you’ll know he senses your lie.

“I have to admit, I do believe that the pair of you are just roommates, but it is interesting that you and Dr. Midoriya are living together and he teaches courses in your major.”

You blink slowly. Tilt your head.

“…he does?”

“Sometimes!” Izuku pipes up. “Mostly senior-level stuff. They kind of have me fill in wherever there’s gaps. I was going to bring it up if I actually ended up teaching another Quirk Theory course while you were still living with me, since it’d be really questionable if you ended up in my class.”

(Tsukauchi writes something down.)

“Well, that answers a few questions,” he jokes. “How did you end up living together?”

You sigh, long and tired. “I was desperate. Got fired, got evicted, wasn’t getting work, tuition payments were getting ever closer. Had a very public panic attack in a bookstore cafe, and Izuku ended up comforting me and offering to let me rent a room from him. We didn’t figure out until my boxes were already in his driveway that he taught at Ossenfelder and I went there, but I really haven’t had any better options in the meantime, and we make great roommates, so I haven’t been looking. Rent’s basically nothing, and I earn it back by keeping the place clean and making Izuku’s house not feel so completely empty.”

He nods. He doesn’t ask where you get the money to pay him with, which is fantastic, because you’re not sure “blood money” would go over well with the pretense of a joke being thrown out the window. “I see. So, less about you, and more about what brought us here today: Did you know Momo Yaoyorozu?”

You go carefully, silently still.

You knew, of course, that they would ask. That's why they came here to begin with, it would be stupid to assume that they wouldn't, but the directness, the frankness of it has you feeling hollow all over again.

And it's stupid! Because you didn't know her well enough for this! But this is what's happening all the same, and so you sigh and snuggle Sbeve a little bit before you answer. "Um, yeah. I did. But not all that well. We had a class together last spring, kind of. Or, uh, she TA'd one of my classes. We weren't particularly close, but she was really understanding about my, uh, ongoing mental health issues. I'm... guessing that if you guys are going around asking questions about her, then it wasn't, like, a car wreck that did it."

The cat man, Sansa, grimaces. "Not exactly, no. But we aren't really at liberty to discuss details."

"But—" You suck in a deep breath through your teeth. You think you know how to do this.

Izuku is watching you with mild alarm as you appear to deliberate your next words, when really, you're realizing something.

This is familiar.

It slips, just a little bit, against your brain, one of those things that must not be important, but—

"Please. I just, two years ago on campus I was attacked? By a girl posing as my roommate? And I don't, I don't think they ever caught her, just identified her as a serial killer, and then I never heard anything back?" The tears come unbidden.

Crying on command. Fucking score.

"I just... if she was killed by the same person, because that girl got away because I didn't notice I was living with a serial killer for months, I don't—I don't—"

Tsukauchi shares a look with Sansa. Tsukauchi nods.

Additional score for a near-death experience being used as fuel to pry information out of the cops.

"I actually remember your case," Tsukauchi says. "I didn't recognize you at first, I apologize. Have you been well?"

A short, wet laugh. "I live with a rich college professor who took me in entirely out of pity for me because my entire life has just continued falling apart ever since everything happened with her, and now a girl I know—fuck, knew—"

The pity between them. Izuku, nearly vibrating in his seat with his usual distress at seeing you upset.

You wipe away a tear. “Sorry, sorry. I just… please. I need to know that it’s not… not her.”

Tsukauchi’s lips are pursed tight. You know nothing you said was a lie, so you’re sure he’s thinking, thinking how much to tell you.

“We don’t know enough to say whether or not it’s a related incident yet,” he says finally, the faintest glow to his skin. They have something. “What I can tell you is that several of the circumstances are similar.”

You perform your best recoil. “Y-you think it could be—“

“There’s a possibility. Miss Yaoyorozu was found with stab wounds and strange marks on her body. But listen, that’s all we can tell you, okay? If you see her, or notice anything strange, give us a call.” He slides a card towards you—his number, most likely. Contact information, in case you run into her.

You’re aware of that.

But this has suddenly become very, unbearably, real.

You set Sbeve aside, shivering at the thought of it all. “I, um… I-I need to go, if that’s okay. I don’t think that I can—that I can continue this conversation anymore.”

He considers it, then nods. “Will you be alright, left alone?”

“I’ll be alright long enough.”

It’s not a lie, and so he doesn’t raise any protest. You steal one last look at Izuku before retreating up the stairs, away from the conversation.

When, at last, you’re behind a closed door, you don’t know whether to smile or cry.

You think you might do both.

A knock at the door. It sends vibrations against your head, gentle, where you’ve sat with your back against the door since you closed it.

“[name]?”

Izuku.

You take a shaky breath, crawl away from the door far enough that he can’t hit you when he opens it.

“Are you okay?”

You’re not. You’re exhausted. He has to know that. How, you don’t know, but he has to.

“I’m going to open the door, okay?”

You don’t move. You’re sure the image of you is unflattering when he does open the door, and he jolts and nearly leaps back when he sees you, numbly sitting there, back facing the door because you couldn’t be assed to turn around.

It takes less than half a moment for him to recover, and then he’s sitting on the floor beside you, thigh pressed up against your own. “I see you are not okay,” he says gently. “The police left, so if you need to… I don’t know, break or anything like that, feel free.”

“I was just saying true bullshit to get him to talk,” you mumble, leaning your full body weight against his side. “I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear him say that it had nothing to do with her.”

An arm winds around you as your first tears finally fall. You shrug it off, lay on the floor so instead you’re resting your head on his lap. “I’m not okay,” you say at last. “You’ve been scaring me and she’s dead and that serial killer might be back around or else it might be the one you’re hunting and I still haven’t healed from the last fucked up shit I had to go through and—“

He shushes you gently, a hand coming to comb through your hair. “I never meant to scare you.”

“You’ve done nothing but work on finding that man for two months now. If I wasn’t fairly sure you couldn’t die, I’d be terrified.”

“You know why this is important to me.”

“I do,” you whisper. “But… What are you going to do when he’s gone?”

He smiles. It's weak, doesn't reach his eyes. "I'm not sure that you want the answer to that."

"Izuku. What are you going to do?"

Silence. "You know, we as real people don't know much about actual vampires? They're a relatively new phenomenon, at least where definitive research is concerned, rather than just as a figure in popular culture. We really know almost nothing except the basis—vampires can be created, they drink blood, and they're basically undead and have to be killed specific ways. We don’t even know whether this counts as a quirk or something else entirely."

"Izuku."

"I'm—I'm going somewhere with this. Trust me.”

He really is, so you purse your lips and feel his hold on you tighten. "I've done a lot of scouring. Trying to find whatever shreds of truth I could to understand what the hell I had become. But the thing is just that—we don't know. In some interpretations, once you're a vampire, you're a vampire forever unless some intrepid hunter manages to kill you. In others..." He sighs. Suddenly, his arm around you doesn't feel comforting anymore. The more he speaks, the more the warmth in you curdles. "In other interpretations, lines of vampires can be taken out by destroying the original. If you kill a sire, all of his offspring will die with it. In a lot of them, that's true, actually. Basically most of them outside of the—the romance genre. So really, it’s impossible to tell whether—“

“What are you saying?” The words come out cold.

“I don’t think we’re living in the romance genre, [name].”

You can’t help the way you recoil. “You’re saying that by hunting him, you might…”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take to destroy that man.”

“Izuku, that’s—“ The anxiety rushes your veins, leaving your hands numb as you jerk away. to look at him. To search for any hint of a lie.

“I’m sorry,” he says, and the wild rage rears up in you in response.

Because there’s the lie.

“Y-you know you can’t—“

“I know,” he says, defeated. “I can’t lie to you.” A pause. “M-maybe we shouldn’t have this conversation—“

“No. Izuku, you need to—“

“[name]. This isn’t about—it has nothing to do with you. I have been living entirely to see him again, to destroy him for what he’s done, what he continues to do. Longer than you’ve been alive I have been living to kill him. I’m sorry it upsets you. I-I am! I never want to do anything that would put you in distress. But you have to understand that nothing you could say to me is going to stop me from this. He killed my parents. He killed my mom, right in front of me, just for having been there. I've had to slip into the background to watch everyone I had ever known either die or grow unrecognizable, while I stay here, alone, stagnant! I'm not just going to give up on stopping him, on getting m-my—"

"If you really think you're alone, then I have to ask what we're doing here."

He freezes, eyes wide, a veritable deer in headlights. "Y-you know I didn't mean—"

"No. No, you were right. I think... I'm going to go to bed. You go... grade papers, or hack police databases, or whatever it is you've been doing to destroy yourself instead of sleeping."

You stand, brush past him.

"Where are you going?" he asks weakly.

"I left my phone downstairs."

When you come back up, your recording stopped at last, he's gone. Your room is empty. The light is on in his fucking hidden office.

For the first night in ages, you sleep in your own bed. If the pillow is stained with tears when you wake up, that's between you and Sbeve.

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antiquity1111 · 2 years ago

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BNHA 253-255 Kurogiri-Aizawa Japanese to English Translation Pt.I

In light of the latest chapter of BNHA, I thought I’d review and translate the Shirakumo chapters of the manga to give us all a refresher on who Shirakumo is, and I don’t just mean in relation to Aizawa and Yamada; I mean as a human. What kind of person is he? What kind of Hero is he?

NOTE: This post is LONG, so I had to break it into two parts. Part I covers No.253-254. Part II covers No.255.

もっとスピード出せないのか

= “Can’t you speed up some more?”

うるせーな落ち着けよ

= “Shut up and calm down.”

USJで戦った... そんな素振り... 微塵も———...

= “When we fought at USJ... the way he acted... I didn’t have the slightest suspicion...”

趣味が悪いにも... 程がある

= “There is a limit... even for poor taste.”

Contextually, Aizawa is saying, "Their evil knows no bounds.”

俺あ... 塚内さん達の勘違いに賭ける

= “I... bet Tsukauchi-san and the others misunderstood / have the wrong impression.”

二人も知っている通り

= “As you both know,”

脳無は人の手によって身体を改造され複数の“個性”に耐えられるようになった人間だ

= “Noumu are corpses that have been altered / modified / reconstructed by human hands to become capable of supporting / tolerating multiple Quirks.”

The literal translation for Noumu (脳無) is “no brain / brainless.”

ただし生きた人間じゃない

= “But they are not living people.”

脳みそから心臓に至るまでめちゃくちゃにされてる

= “Everything from their hearts to their brains has been scrambled.”

脳無とは正しく人形意思持たぬ操り人形

= “Noumu are just dolls / puppets, marionettes on strings without wills of their own.”

のハズだった

= “They were supposed to be [anyway].”

グラントリノさんこっちは授業卜ばして来てるんです

= “Gran Torino-san, I am missing class to be here.”

簡潔にお願いします

= “Please be brief.”

相澤

= “Aizawa.”

必要な話だよ順を追おう気持ちの整理をつける為にも

= “It is necessary that we talk through this step by step so that you are prepared as well.”

こいつは敵連合の中核

= “This guy / thing is central to the League of Villains.”

Gran Torino uses こいつ (romaji: koitsu) for Kurogiri. It can mean “he; she; this guy, this person; this; this thing.” It is impolite and can be vulgar (= highly offensive) when used to refer to someone with whom one does not share a close relationship, as is the case here. For context, as an interjection, こいつ translates into English as something like “hey, you!” or “you bastard!” or “damn you!” Gran Torino is disrespecting Kurogiri, and he is doing so even knowing that Kurogiri was created using a deceased Hero student as his base, or maybe because of it?

This is my first time translating Gran Torino, but I suspect he always speaks “gruff” like this. “Tough guy” talk and toxic masculinity—y’all know how it is. Fictional characters are significantly more likely to use coarse language than actual Japanese people are. It is more noteworthy when a character deviates from their standard pattern of conduct than when they act in accordance with it. Given Japanese culture’s emphasis on good social etiquette, whether and when a character chooses to use respectful or disrespectful language can tell us something about their personality (and motives in certain contexts), worldview, and how they think about themselves in relation to others, particularly when there are discrepancies between how they speak to and about some people compared to other people.

Take Hawks, for example. His language toward Heroes like Endeavor and Best Jeanist and even toward his abusive, emotionally unavailable parents is polite and humble. He has high regard for Heroes and at least in his speech shows basic respect for his parents, despite their flagrant mistreatment of him during his childhood. (Being polite to someone ≠ actually respecting them; for example, you would probably choose your words carefully if you had a literal or metaphoric gun to your head, but that wouldn’t mean you respect the person staring down the other side of the barrel; how many people think their employer is dumber than a sack of shit but talk to them as if they think they have a brain between their temples because letting slip how they really feel would cost them the job and their livelihood?). His language toward criminals, however, like Dabi and Ujiko, is abrasive. His poor opinion of and low regard for them, even as fellow humans, is evident in how he speaks to and about them, as if they are subhuman and inferior to himself, undeserving of basic respect and compassion.

口を割らせることが出来れば一気に大元を叩けるんだが

= “If we could make him talk, then we could immediately strike the head.”

Gran Torino believes Kurogiri possesses crucial intelligence that could be the deciding factor for the imminent war and it is essential Aizawa and Present Mic do their part to assist in the acquisition of that intel.

いかんせん肝心な事は一切話そうとしない

= “Unfortunately, he will absolutely not talk about anything important.”

下らない話はするが連合の不利になる情報については

= “He will discuss trivial matters, but [he] will not divulge information that could be disadvantageous to the League of Villains.”

電源が落ちたかのようにストンと無反応になるんだ

= “[That’s when] he becomes unresponsive, as if his plug’s been pulled and he’s powered down.”

... つまり?

= “... Meaning?”

あまりに精巧でそれと気付くまでに時間がかかった

= “He’s so sophisticated, it took us a while to realize it...”

複数の因子が結合され一つの新たな“個性”になっていたんだあらこせい

= “[But] his Quirk is a novel one created by the fusion of multiple Quirk factors.”

Hypothetically, this should mean that a vestige for each person whose Quirk was combined with Shirakumo's to create Kurogiri's Warp Gate exists somewhere deep inside him. The Quirk reflects the person as much as the person reflects the Quirk. Every Quirk carries the energetic "signature" of its host's personality. Maybe that's why Kurogiri doesn't read as a perfect 1:1 for Shirakumo?

そしてそのベースになった因子———...

= “And the base [Quirk] factor was...”

かつて雄英高校で君たちと苦楽を共にし

= “... [one that belonged to someone who] once shared joys and sorrows with you all at UA High School...”

ショータ

= “Shouta!”

若くしてその命を落としたとされている男

= “... a man who lost his life at a young age.”

白雲朧のものと極めて近い事がわかった

= “[This guy’s base Quirk factor] is a close match for Oboro Shirakumo’s.”

No.254 誰よりもおまえはヒーローに

= No.254 More Than Anyone [Else], You Are a Hero

俺たち3人なら何でも解決できると思うんだ!

= “I believe the three of us could solve [any problem]!”

白雲朧は俺と同じインターン先で亡くなった

= Oboro Shirakumo died during our internship.

3人で事務所を建てよう

= “Let’s build an office / agency for three people!”

そう言ってくれた矢先の出来事だった

= The moment he said that is when the incident happened.

さっきも言ったけどショータ細かいとこまで見てくれるし!

= “Like I said earlier, Shouta notices / is attentive to / [has a good eye for] even the most minute details!”

金で揉めんのはナシな!

= “[Sure], but only [if we agree] not to fight over money!”

倒壊する建物に巻き込まれ——... あっけない死

= [He was] crushed by a collapsing building——... [and] died quickly / suddenly.

嘗て俺たちは

= Before that...

共にヒーローを目指してた

= ... we were aiming to be Heroes together.

つまり

= “In other words...”

After that short flashback and summary of unfortunate events, Gran Torino resumes speaking with this line. His other comments have been laying the groundwork for the conclusion he has reached and is about to share with Aizawa and Present Mic.

黒霧は脳無で

= “Kurogiri is a Noumu,”

白雲の遺体がベースになって��る———可能性が高いっつーことだ

= “[and] Shirakumo’s corpse became the base for this thing——or at least it’s highly likely.”

......「A組の3バカ」なんて呼ばれもしたよ......

= “...... We were even called the Three Idiots / Fools of Class A......”

馬鹿 (romaji: baka) means “idiot; moron; fool; stupid; etc.” Caleb Cook, Viz’s translator, seems to have tried to be witty by translating the phrase “the Three Idiots / Fools” as “the Three DUMBigos,” as in the Three Amigos, like the Three Musketeers, but the joke falls flat, at least for me. These characters are Japanese, live in Japan, and speak Japanese. They’re being written by a Japanese man living in Japan and creating for a Japanese audience (primarily; BNHA has had international success, but the target audience remains unchanged: Japanese people). It doesn’t make sense for these characters to use Spanish words like “amigos” or “adios.” It sounds out of place and weird because it is. It would be one thing if Horikoshi wrote his characters using borrowed phrases like that, but he didn’t and he doesn’t. Caleb’s attempt at a joke is more eyeroll-inducing than funny.

意味がわかんねェよ!

= “I don’t understand what you mean!”

Notice Yamada’s furrowed brow, the crease that has formed on his forehead, the stark stress lines around the borders of his eyes, his wobbly irises and shrunken pupils, and the beads of sweat on the side of his face. He’s distraught. It’s not that he doesn’t understand. It’s that it’s breaking his heart that he does. He understands, but he can’t accept it. This news has shaken him. He’s struggling to take it all in. He doesn’t want to, but he knows he has no choice because denying reality won’t make it go away.

優れた"個性"は雄英に収束する合理的な話だろ?

= “Outstanding Quirks converge / gather at UA [High School], so it’s [perfectly] logical [to use it as a hunting ground for strong Quirks], don’t you agree?”

「目立たず三ツ星レストランの残飯を漁るようなもの」だそうだ...

= “[He said], ‘It’s like inconspicuously scavenging for leftovers from a three-star restaurant...’”

恐らく遺体を火葬する過程ですりかえ...... 脳無という狂気の玩具に変え

= “I suspect [Shirakumo’s] corpse was secretly swapped for a substitute during the cremation process...... and changed into a crazy plaything called a Noumu.”

意味なんて...... 求めちゃいねぇよDJ

= “Something like meaning / sense [in this situation]...... don’t ask / look for it, DJ.”

そこには悪意があるだけだ

= “There is only malice / malevolence in [him, this / that].”

Japanese pronouns can be dropped when they are implied by context. Because Kurogiri’s face is highlighted as this line is spoken, I am assuming the omitted pronoun would be “him (referring to AFO, with Kurogiri as proof of his evil)” or “this / that.”

... わかんねえよ!

= “... I don’t understand!”

今は眠ってる“個性”を使おうとするからな

= “He’s sleeping now [because] he tried to use his Quirk.”

何で我々を?

= “Why [are] we [here]?”

「絆による奇跡」でも期待してるなら... 大衆映画の見すぎでは?

= “Were you hoping for a ‘miracle through the bonds of friendship’...? You’ve been watching too many popular movies.”

根拠がありゃあ「奇跡」は「可能性」になる

= “If there is a basis, then a ‘miracle’ becomes a ‘possibility.’”

��拠 can mean “foundation,” which I think could also work here. Gran Torino is saying that the close bond between Aizawa, Present Mic, and Shirakumo gives the Heroes as good a chance as any to connect with their former ally (and acquire that all-important information on the League of Villains that they previously mentioned they had been unable to pry out of Kurogiri; strategy, people!).

九州でエンデヴァーが倒した脳無報告では明確な人格を有し

= “[According to] the report, the Noumu that Endeavor defeated / killed in Kyuushuu had a distinct personality.”

強者への執着を見せたそうだ

= “It had a fixation with the strong.”

I hate the word “obsessed / obsession” and reeeeallllyyyy hate how often it is used by Caleb and some fan translators to describe the Villains. Horikoshi sometimes uses it or synonyms, but other people use it or similar words more frequently than he does and it’s almost always to make the Villains sound “insane” and hurt their credibility as victims of Hero society testifying to its ills. It’s so much easier to disregard their legitimate grievances with Hero society when we convince ourselves that they’re just a bunch of “uncaring, selfish lunatics” with a “grudge” who are “acting out” and “throwing tantrums” because they “didn’t get their way.” The Heroes peddle that narrative and would love nothing more than for everyone to believe it. Don’t. Those with power and authority do not hesitate to continue abusing their victims and making new ones. Very few people whose privileged position in the world’s social hierarchy affords them rights and luxuries marginalized and oppressed others are wholeheartedly denied would willingly surrender their status and influence for the sake of leveling the playing field to create equity. That being said, 執着 (romaji: shuuchaku) does mean “obsession; fixation; attachment; adhesion; tenacity; clinging (e.g., to old customs).”

焼死体のDNA鑑定の結果あれの素体は地下格闘で生計を立てていたならず者だと判った

= “The results of a DNA analysis of the burnt corpse revealed that [the base for] that thing’s body [came from, belonged to] a thug / hoodlum / miscreant whose livelihood came from underground cage fighting.”

These lines from Gran Torino are loaded with scathing judgment, a core belief that people who make a living by nontraditional means like underground cage fighting are criminal and lesser, or altogether worthless (Mirko???). He addresses the Noumu as “that thing” (あれ, romaji: are, usually used for objects, NOT people; EXTREMELY derogatory and dehumanizing when used for a person as it implies the speaker views them as more of a thing than a person), despite knowing the Noumu are alive (and so able to be killed), have human corpses as their bases, and retain aspects of their original personalities. He is simultaneously acknowledging that the High-End Noumu Endeavor killed in Kyuushuu had a personality the Heroes were able to match to a missing person and objectifying the Noumu AND that person by calling them “that thing.”

I’ll probably offend a few people by saying this, but oh well. In No.81, Dabi affectionately calls a Noumu with eight arms and several chainsaws, a high-powered drill, and a hammer built into its body “Neko-chan (Kitty-chan),” as if it’s cute and endearing, as if he were cooing at a kitten, not a “monster” or “thing.”

In No.350, Dabi expresses disgust with Ujiko and AFO for disrespecting the dead to bioengineer the Noumu.

Why has Dabi, a Villain, shown more respect and compassion for the Noumu than any of the Heroes or police ever have?

生前の人格を残してる... と

= “The personality [of the corpse] while [they were] alive remains...?”

残念だが雄英で一戦交えてます

= “It’s unfortunate, but I fought [him] at UA.”

口調も違ったし俺に対して何の反応も示さなかった

= “His voice and manner of speaking were different [from Shirakumo], and he didn’t have any reaction to me.”

そういう実験をしてたのかもな改ざん. 或いは消去した記憶が命令遂行に与える影響——... とか

= “That might be due to their experiments... altering / falsifying, or erasing, [his] memories so that [he will] obey orders......... or something like that.”

重ねて言うがこいつが口を割れば大きな進展につながる

= “Like [we, Gran Torino] said, getting this guy / thing to talk could be a great development for us / could give us a huge lead.”

Tsukauchi’s reference to Kurogiri (こいつ, romaji: koitsu, informal, implies contempt) is also condescending. Like are, koitsu can be used for objects, which makes using it and related words for a person a bit problematic. It is impolite but is sometimes used in anime and manga between familiars, especially among male friends.

Here, Tsukauchi is speaking with his colleagues about someone else (Kurogiri). He is not disrespecting his colleagues by speaking like this, but he is disrespecting Kurogiri by using こいつ for him.

Why did the Heroes and police ask Aizawa and Present Mic to meet them? The answer is simple and has now been stated by both Gran Torino and Tsukauchi: They are hoping to exploit their friendship with Shirakumo to use Kurogiri for information that will assist them in taking down the League of Villains. Again, they’re strategizing. They’re assessing the value of the pieces on their side of the board to inform their next moves. This is how war works. Both sides do this. Take AFO, for example. He has determined that Spinner, who had negligible value early in the game, has become a high value piece, while Touya and Himiko, who had great value early in the game, have become less valuable in the final stretch, hence his telling Spinner that it was “all right” to abandon Himiko because all that mattered is that Tomura’s body and Spinner successfully escape and his rather targeted remark to Touya comparing the individuals AFO forsakes and discards to a “cheap lighter that has lost its usefulness / stopped working,” knowing damn well that Touya was cast aside like so by his own family members and that one of the kanji making up his name (燈, romaji: tou) literally refers to a gentle light or flame, like that from a lantern... or lighter. War isn’t pretty, so let’s not (try to) pretty it up.

プレゼント. マイクイレイザーヘッド

= “Present Mic. Eraserhead.”

Notice that Tsukauchi addresses Yamada and Aizawa by their Hero names. He is calling on them to fulfill their duty as Heroes by confronting all that is left of their deceased friend and classmate (and their complex grief over losing him to a sudden, violent death) on the off chance that they will be able to derive worthwhile information from him.

白雲朧の執着を呼び覚ましてほしい

= “I / we want you to awaken / evoke / recall his [former] attachments.”

呼び覚まして is the te-form of the verb 呼び覚ます (romaji: yobisamasu), meaning “to wake up (someone, by calling out); to awaken; to bring back (e.g., memories); to evoke; to recall.”

Tsukauchi is instructing Aizawa and Yamada to remind Kurogiri of his past life as Oboro Shirakumo and appeal to the emotional bond the three of them had during his lifetime. His hope is that their doing so will jog Shirakumo’s memory, allowing the Heroes to communicate with him.

In the official translation Tsukauchi tells Yamada and Aizawa to “try to awaken any attachments [Shirakumo might still have to his old life],” but he is more direct in Japanese. Horikoshi’s Tsukauchi doesn’t ask Yamada and Aizawa to try to reach through to Shirakumo. He simply says “I want you to do it” and waits for them to deliver on his request.

思い出話でもしろってかァ!?

= “[You’re] even [asking us] to reminisce on childhood memories!?”

Present Mic has every right to be upset. He and Aizawa had their daily routines interrupted just to be devastated by the shocking news that their dead friend’s corpse had been stolen, tampered with, and used as the building blocks for a sadistic science experiment; were informed that their dead friend’s likeness might live on in that sadistic science experiment; were pressured by their superiors to sit across from that sadistic science experiment and have a conversation with him because the possibility that the “power of friendship” might summon their dead friend’s spirit from beyond the grave to feed the Heroes and police intel (at Yamada and Aizawa’s expense) is just too good to pass up; and as if all of that wasn’t enough to make today the Worst Day Ever for Yamada and Aizawa, now they’re being expected to revisit memories made painful by the traumatic loss of a loved one for someone else’s benefit WITH AN AUDIENCE! This isn’t for them or for Shirakumo. This is for Hero society. But for Yamada and Aizawa, it just hurts. It’s cruel.

頼むよ

= “I am / we are imploring you [to do it].”

頼む (romaji: tanomu) is a transitive verb that usually means “to request; to beg; to ask” but can also mean “to entrust.” As a colloquialism, it translates to “please; please do.”

よ (romaji: yo) is a particle that can be used in a variety of ways. At sentence-end, like it is here, it can indicate certainty, emphasis, contempt, a request, warning, etc. Ending a request or suggestion with よ carries the nuance of sounding pushy, even demanding, and could have nagging overtones. It implies a suspicion or awareness that the listener / recipient does not share your perspective and is opposed to doing something you are in favor of doing.

Tsukauchi knows that Yamada and Aizawa are uncomfortable and do not want to be doing this, but he is pressing them to do as he asks anyway. (Please don’t pressure people to do anything they are not comfortable doing. The absence of “no” ≠ “yes.” If it’s not an enthusiastic “yes,” it’s a “no,” period. “No” is a complete sentence, even when it is only implied by weak protests or silence.)

ご遺族には?

= “This isn’t his bereaved family’s burden / responsibility?”

Present Mic is desperately trying to escape this stressful situation.

Aizawa was doing more of that earlier on when he was snapping at the driver of the car and making a point to inform Tsukauchi and Gran Torino that he had sacrificed instruction time for this. At this point, though, he’s resigned himself to appeasing his superiors, but his hardened expression and defensiveness betray how anxious he really is.

君たちでだめなら——...

= “If you two can’t do it——...”

They’ll flip Shirakumo’s surviving relatives’ lives upside down again with all these horrific revelations. Yes, yes, the fate of Hero society—of “the world”—might depend on this, but can we at least acknowledge how unkind it is to these people—Shirakumo’s friends and family, the people who actually knew and cared about him—to be bothered with this? Retraumatized by it? To have their lives upended and their relationships with him exploited? A world full of individuals matters because individuals matter. People matter. All of them. Every. single. one.

こんな気持ち悪い話を親御さんに伝えてたまるか

= “[Then you will] burden his parents [with] such a disgusting story [about their child]?”

You might have noticed that Aizawa’s sentence did not end in a “?” and so appeared to be declarative rather than interrogative. Why did I frame my translation of it as a question? か is a marker of the unknown and commonly used at sentence-end in place of a question mark. Tsukauchi’s last sentence trailed off partly because he hesitated and partly because Aizawa interrupted his emotional pause by activating Erasure. Intuiting where he was going with it, Aizawa cut him off, having relented to doing as he had been directed for the sake of sparing Shirakumo’s parents any further heartache and discomfort. Aizawa uses sonkeigo (honorific or respectful) language to refer to Shirakumo’s parents (親御さん, romaji: oyago-san), as is customary when speaking of or to someone’s parents, including your own. Still, it’s nice of him to consider their feelings and want to protect them. It also shows maturity that he can (implicitly) acknowledge that although this situation is incredibly difficult for him as Shirakumo’s friend, it would probably be even harder for his parents.

ツー...

= Zzt...

ツ is katakana, isn’t a word, and doesn’t mean anything. It’s a sound. The hiragana equivalent is the smaller っ. At the end of a word it can indicate a glottal stop, an abrupt, dry, constricted noise in your throat, where your glottis is located, that kind of sounds like your voice suddenly giving out, dropping your volume down to a whisper or less. Here, it seems to be an onomatopoeia for the staticky hiss generated by the radio as Kurogiri stirs.

起きてます

= “[He is] waking up.”

始めてくれ

= “Begin.”

おや...?

= “Oh...?”

雄英襲撃以来ですかね... 珍しい客だ

= “[Didn’t we] last meet during the attack on UA...? [What] a curious / unusual visitor [I have].”

Present Mic was right. Kurogiri doesn’t talk like a 17-year-old. He speaks too formally to sound like anything but a posh butler and/or nanny for an exceptionally wealthy family. He’s like Tomura’s own Alfred Pennyworth or Jarvis.

イレイザーが視てもモヤが消えない

= Even with Eraser staring [at him], the haze isn’t dissipating.

身体そのものがもうこういうつくりってこった

= [It’s] like they said, the body itself was intricately bioengineered [to be] like this now.

Notice the on-the-verge-of-tears wrinkle in Yamada’s chin, the dark bags under his eyes, and the exasperated sweat drop running down the side of his face. Poor man’s going through it.

やっぱ間違えてんじゃねえのか!? こいつと白雲に共通点なんざ——...

= “See!? I knew you were wrong [about him]! This guy and Shirakumo are nothing alike / have nothing in common—...”

死柄木弔は元気ですか? 捕まったりしてませんか?

= “How is Tomura Shigaraki? Is he well / in good health? Has he been captured / arrested?”

知っらねーよ!

= “We don’t know!”

そう... 残念です

= “I see... How disappointing / unfortunate / vexing / regretful.”

I included all of these potential meanings for 残念 (romaji: zannen) because I imagine that all of them are applicable. For Kurogiri, not knowing if Tomura is safe is disappointing and unfortunate (because the Heroes are unable—actually unwilling—to update him), vexing (because it’s frustrating not knowing and not being free to return to his side), and something he deeply regrets (because he was programmed to protect and caretake for Tomura Shigaraki but has not been able to do so for some time).

残念 can also mean “sad; shame; pity,” so both the official (“What a shame”) and fan (“What a pity”) translations’ versions of this line accurately reflect the Japanese. If only that were always the case!

死柄木が気になるのか

= “You’re worried about Shigaraki?”

気になる (romaji: kininaru) means “to weigh on one’s mind; to bother one; to worry about; to be concerned about; to care about; to feel uneasy; to be anxious.” It can also mean “to be interested (in); to be curious (about); to wonder (about).”

The reason I mention these other definitions is to underscore how apprehensive and on edge Kurogiri is being separated from Tomura and not knowing how he is faring. It is also worth noting that Aizawa is able to recognize and empathize with him (because he frets about his students). Kurogiri’s genuine concern for Tomura’s safety and well-being humanizes both of them to a Hero who might (not does, but could) actually care enough to do something about it: Aizawa. This is a rare moment of connection between a Hero and a Villain. Their function on their respective sides is the same. They provide their wards with protection, guidance, and support along their journeys. They care for them. They lose sleep over them. In that way, Kurogiri and Aizawa are like two sides of the same coin: back to back and facing in opposite directions but more alike than they are different (at least in this!).

ええ彼の世話が私の使命

= “Yes. Helping / looking after / attending to him is my mission.”

クソみてーな使命だな

= “Looking after [that damned brat] is a shitty mission!”

あんな陰気くせーガキンチョの面倒見るのが使命だなん......

= “What a bothersome mission, [being forced] to take care of such a chronically melancholy / gloomy / miserable brat......”

Present Mic uses several words to describe Tomura in this sentence. The first of these words is 陰気 (“gloomy; dismal; miserable; melancholy”), together with くせ (“habit (usually a bad one); tendency; peculiarity; idiosyncrasy; mannerism; quirk”) and ガキンチョ (“brat; kid; urchin; little devil”). He also characterizes caretaking for Tomura as “bothersome; tiresome; a bother to do.”

The implication seems to be that Yamada believes Tomura’s frequent choleric and morose demeanor is the result of poor character or (bad) habit rather than a symptom of complex trauma and severe mental illness, or the cause makes no difference to him because [he imagines] the result (= Tomura’s sullenness) is a pain in the ass to have to deal with either way, which is an insensitive and unkind attitude to have toward people living with mental illness. Present Mic has no way of knowing Tomura’s background, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a Hero to have more sympathy and compassion for people with obvious mental health struggles—for people in general, really. It costs nothing to be kind. Shouldn’t Heroes be kind?

苦ではありませんよ放っておけない性質なんでね

= “It is not painful / bothersome / unpleasant for me [to do it] as it is not in my nature to abandon [others].”

俺が拾えないと... やりすごした子猫を迷わず拾ってくるような奴だった

= “Even when I walked past... the kitten without picking it up, you were the kind of guy who didn’t hesitate to pick it up / take it in.”

The kitten is either climbing Shirakumo’s body to perch on his shoulder or has slipped from it, as indicated by the two motion lines at its back and nervous sweat drops flying off his little head. Shirakumo is saying, “Hang in thereeee!”

話が見えませんね何をされにここへ?

= “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re saying. What are you doing you here?” or “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re saying. Why are you here?”

反応なし

= “No reaction.”

中途半端で二の足踏んでばかりだった

= “I was always hesitating and half-hearted / taking half-steps...”

Interesting. Shouto says the same thing about himself in No.352 after Touya accuses him of ungratefully half-assing his way through the life Touya would have given anything to have returned to him, which Shouto unabashedly confirms he is guilty of doing (I say unabashedly because as of No.352, Shouto has accepted who he is, defined his identity on his own terms, reconciled his troubled past with the bright future he envisions for himself, and made peace with both of his parents to the degree he is able to, concluding his arc).

相澤消太か俺白雲! よろしくなショータ!

= ‘Shouta Aizawa, right? I’m Shirakumo! Pleased to meet you, Shouta!’

ショータ! しょくどうせき食堂席埋まっちまうぞ!

= ‘Shouta! The cafeteria is going to be filled up / all the seats are going to be taken!’

そんな俺を

= “[Even though] I was like that...”

俺のゴーグル貸してやるこれなら目を守りながら近付けるだろ

= ‘I’ll lend you my goggles, so you can approach [Villains] while protecting your eyes!’

おそろいだぜ!

= ‘We match!’

いつも引っ張ってくれた

= “... [you] always pulled me along.”

This is also reminiscent of Shouto’s internal monologue in No.352 about how he always felt he was lagging but his classmates in 1-A “never left anyone behind” and always gave him a place to belong and feel unconditionally supported.

ここを教会か何かと勘違いなされてる

= “Have you mistaken this place for a church confessional or something?”

おまえはいつも明るくて前だけ見てた後先なんて考えず...!

= “You were always cheerful, only looking forward without thinking about the consequences...!”

死んじまったらぜんぶお全部終わりだってのに…!

= “Even though death is the absolute end for you / it’s all over when you’re dead...!”

Obviously, Aizawa is thinking about Shirakumo here, but given that he follows this line up by sharing that he has strict rules for his students intended to prevent another tragedy like the one that took Shirakumo’s life, I think it’s fair to assume he means that death is the absolute end for everyone, so everyone should take care not to be careless with their lives.

俺山田と先生やってるよ

= “Yamada and I are teachers now.”

生徒に厳しくあたってきた

= “I’m strict with my students.”

除籍回数がえげつないって話だな

= “I hear that the number of [students] he expels is obscene.”

書類上じゃな

= “On paper it is.”

ねぇさっきイレ先凄い形相で出てったの見た?

= “Hey, just now... [did you see] Eraser’s terrifying expression when he walked out?”

いっつも凄い形相じゃん?

= “Doesn’t he always look terrifying?”

いやいつも以上だったよ俺ら除籍した時並み

= “No, it was more disagreeable / unpleasant than usual, like that time he expelled us.”

じゃあ私らん時未満だ

= “So, it wasn’t as bad as then.”

今でもうなされるよ俺「終わったっ」... つって

= “I still have nightmares [about it]... I thought it was ‘over’!”

やけどそのおかげで私ら成長できたっちゃん

= “But thanks to that, we were able to grow.”

いや注意感覚でするもんじゃないからね!? 除籍!

“Oh, come on! There isn’t [a better way] to give someone a sense of caution!? Expulsion!”

おかげで2-A全員経歴傷入りだよ!?

= “Thanks to that, everyone in 2-A has flawed / stained personal histories / resumes / records!?”

イカレイザーヘッド!!

= “E-cRAZ-er Head!!”

I tried my best with that, y’all. Aizawa’s former student is making a pun out of the pronunciation of Eraser (イレイザー, romaji: Ireizā) and “crazy” (クレイジー, romaji: kureijī), which sound similar in Japanese. I tried to mirror the puntastic effect in English by translating the first half of the line, where the pun falls, as “E-cRAZ-er.” Try reading that aloud. E-raz-er. E-craz-er. They sound alike, right?

除籍と復籍の権限?

= “[You are requesting to be granted] the authority to expel and reenroll [your students]?”

はい———... 命の自己犠牲と命を捨てる事は同義じゃない履き違えた若者に

= “Yes———... self-sacrifice and throwing away one’s life are not synonymous. Young people confuse the two.”

望み通り一度"死"を与えます

= “I’ll give them just as they desire—a ‘death’ of sorts.”

その上で更なる向上に努めさせる

= “That will also [encourage them] to work hard to improve even more / reach even greater heights.”

自由な校風が雄英の売りなのさ...

= “Well, the selling point of UA is its flexible learning culture / customs...”

おまえに...... おまえのような誰かを引っ張っていけるヒーローに... 長く生長きてほしいから

= “[I want] for you...... for people like you to become Heroes who can pull others along... and live long lives.”

I haven’t been active in the BNHA fandom for anywhere near as long as I know some of you have. I’d never seen an episode or read a chapter of BNHA until a little over a year ago and I only ventured into the fandom some months ago on Twitter. I’ve been reading meta and translation posts on Tumblr for a bit longer than that, but I’ve never been brave enough to participate in extended discussions and the like, which I hardly think is Tumblr’s strength or purpose anyway. I’ve noticed a tendency among fans to assume that characters mean literally everyone—civilians, Heroes, and criminals/Villains—when they say “everyone” or something along those lines. If you’re familiar with my Twitter posts (hi!), you’ve probably picked up that I’m not in favor of that assumption and err on the side of “everyone” being a substitute for “people like [me]” until we have clear evidence (actions, not words) that a character truly means everyone when they say “everyone,” no exclusions or weightless arbitrary exceptions (that are quickly withdrawn, if they were ever sincere to begin with) for people they decide they like because they remind them of themselves (Hawks) or people they happen to share blood with (Endeavor).

In this case, Aizawa is saying “people like you (Shirakumo),” so to understand who it is he wants to “become Heroes who can pull others along... and live long lives,” we need to consider the lines before and after this one (for context) and ask, “What kind of person is Shirakumo?” We know that he is a person who cannot abandon others and cannot ignore anyone in need of help, human or furry friend. We know that he had a sunny disposition and optimistic outlook that was a source of comfort and inspiration for others. We also know that he was a student of Hero Academia and hoped to become a Pro Hero. So, who is it that Aizawa wants to “become Heroes... and live long lives”? Students of Hero Academia. This is not “I want everyone to be happy and die from old age warm in bed.” It’s “I want people like us to be happy and die from old age warm in bed.” There’s a difference, and it’s an important one because it speaks to Aizawa’s values, motivations, and worldview. We should be asking the same questions of every character.

白雲でもまだおまえがそこにいるのならなろうぜ... ヒーローに! 3人で!

= “Shirakumo, if you’re still in there, you can still be(come)... a Hero! Three people!” or “You can still be(come)... a Hero! The three of us [together]!”

That last sentence is a reference to two lines Shirakumo had spoken just before being killed by a collapsing building (俺たち3人なら何でも解決できると思うんだ! : “I believe the three of us could solve [any problem]!” and 3人で事務所を建てよう : “Let’s build an office / agency for three people!”). 3人 means “three people.”

This concludes Part I. Part II can be found here: https://at.tumblr.com/antiquity1111/bnha-253-255-kurogiri-aizawa-japanese-to-english/el63fj8fakj8.

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ao3feed-izuku-midoriya · 2 years ago

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The Friendly Hacker; Blue Canary!

The Friendly Hacker; Blue Canary! by ALobsterInDenial

"Where is he!" Shouta heaves painfully as he busted the door open after running the whole way there.

Tsukauchi barley looks up to acknowledge the underground hero before taking a slow slurp of his coffee. "Blue Canary's in the outlet by the light switch."

At the mention of his name, the person in question raised his head with a jolt; his poor computer in his lap wheezing from whatever mischief the boy was making it do, charging cable coiled like a snake around the 1# problem child they had been looking for for way too long, who was politely sitting crisscross applesauce on the floor.

Shouta immediately squatted down to be eye-level with the boy before practically screaming,

"Who watches over you!?"

AKA: A Hacker learns how to be a child again and a very tired pro gains a migraine, a son, and a small, but necessary, birdhouse in his soul.

Words: 417, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Nedzu, Tsukauchi Naomasa, Other Character Tags to Be Added

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Everyone, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Midoriya Izuku & Nedzu, Midoriya Izuku & Tsukauchi Naomasa

Additional Tags: Hacker Midoriya Izuku, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead | Dadzawa, Did I base this of a TMBG song? Maybeee, Don't Judge Me, I got this Idea off of "Birdhouse In Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants, Song: Birdhouse in Your Soul (They Might Be Giants), They Might Be Giants References, Don't let the tags set you off though, THIS IS NOT (AND I REPEAT NOT) ALL ABOUT TMBG AND THE SONG., YOU CAN ENJOY WITHOUT KNOWING THE SONG (but the song is pretty good though-)

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46449958

#AO3 Feed #FanFiction #AO3 Izuku #♢#Izuku Midoriya #Nedzu #Erasermic·#R:G #A:ALobster #Vigilante AU #Dadzawa

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writersmorgue · 2 years ago

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Febuwhump day 4 - knife to the throat

read on ao3

word count: 903

TWs in tags

note: short but hopefully i got in everything i needed to say. <3

╞╪╪╪╪╪╪╪╪╪╪╪╪╪╪╪╪╡

“Creati! I’m ordering you to drop the weapon at once!”

Yaoyorozu looks straight ahead, expressionless, as she holds a dagger to her own throat.

Aizawa grunts, looking quickly between Jirou’s body strung limply on a chair in the corner and her wife.

Jirou’s death had been swift, little could be done to prevent her from firing the gun when they finally arrived on the scene. This… has been drawn out. Now that their attention has been caught, they’re being taunted.

He eyes Momo carefully. Sure enough, so faint he’d have missed it otherwise, her coal black eyes glint green in the dim light.

“Tsukauchi, I don’t think she’s in control of herself.”

“But you used your quirk-”

“I am aware.” He snaps, erasure activated at the knife even though it had long since been a part of Momo’s quirk, “If they’re being controlled remotely, there’s nothing I can do.”

Tsukauchi bristles, “You're not insinuating-”

“Don’t bring my son into this, detective, I’m simply theorizing.”

“Eraserhead,” Momo’s sweet voice calls, calling their attention to the thin line of blood that has been drawn on her collar, “Would it really matter if the love of my life is dead.”

“Creati, your son is in the hospital, you couldn’t possibly-”

“FUCK!” Momo shouts, squeezing her eyes shut, “Fine. God, you’re no fun. I never claimed to be an actor, BUT!” She smiles, dragging the tip of the knife until it points at her chest, “No worries! It’ll be over soon.”

Aizawa grits his teeth, letting his quirk go, “Gods what do you want us to do? Beg?”

Yaomomo continues to smile, teasing the hilt of the knife with her nails, “No, darling. But… I wonder. How do you feel knowing that the lives of your famous class A all rested in the hands of a single dart? And it only landed on Momo here,” The villain hums, gesturing to Kyoka, “the poor bitch here was just… in the way. I might get rid of their little boy, as well, just to do in with the whole family tree. To be productive and all.”

Shouta’s palm stings when his nails finally break skin.

“So, what? You called us here for nothing?” Tsukauchi asks, sounding about as helpless as Shouta feels.

Momo takes a hand off the knife to casually wave them off, “Nah jackass over there pressed some sort of SOS button under my nose before I took over. Slippery, that one, but it won’t-”

She winces, jerking her head to the side.

“Shit I- What did you teach these assholes? Gods the whole time she’s been bitching in my ear, and now-”

Shouta grins, fuck, he knew Momo wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“No you whore, BUTT OUT! It’s none of your business!” The villain screeches, tears plummeting down Momo’s cheeks as they war with each other. “You- FUCK! ”

Momo heaves a huge, gasping breath, hunching over herself to vomit on the ground.

“Gods,” Tsukauchi breathes, one hand on his holster like he’s not sure whether to help or subdue her.

Finally, she regains her breath, stumbling forward blindly, right into Shouta’s arms.

“I- sensei I couldn’t do anything-”

“Creati do you know who it was? Are they still in your head?” Tsukauchi taps on his ear comm, relaying Momo’s status to their recovery team.

“No, he- I don’t think he’s there anymore. But why would he just give up? He said it himself, he was after me and not- Oh Gods, Kyouka!” She sobs hysterically, throwing herself off of Shouta and over to her wife.

“No, Gods please, Kyo- I’m so sorry baby. Please come back to me, please-”

Tsukauchi mutters something about a body bag, tearing out of the room when Momo’s cries only escalate

“Yaoyorozu, we need to get out of here in case he gets back in your head. It’s dangerous to leave you free for now.”

Her shoulders slump, her hands clutched at her hero suit. Her tears drip onto the concrete, barely audible but just as heartbreaking.

Shouta sighs, willing himself to keep it together, “Yaomomo, please?”

“I can’t leave her here alone, Sensei." She whimpers, one red-stained hand caressing Jirou’s face as she kneels in front of her.

Shouta sighs, stepping over to where Momo had dropped the knife.

He looks down at the floor, bare except for a sparse smattering of blood.

She had dropped the knife… hadn’t she? When she got rid of the villain, he was sure.

Momo’s cries echo through the room, and he turns around slowly, drawing his capture weapon.

Shit.

“Turn around, Yaomomo.” He orders, blood going cold when her shoulders abruptly stop shaking, “Now.”

The dripping continues, melodious and repetitive in nature.

She does, her face settles when it comes into view.

Blood drips from the handle of the knife, the only part visible from where it’s lodged in her chest at a downward angle. A messy, grotesque gash trails down from her trachea, about six inches long.

Shouta chokes, his knees threatening to buckle beneath him.

Momo smiles at him, the same smile she would give him when she won a spar or got an answer right in class. The same smile she would give Kyouka that always made the other girl blush. And it’s so her but it’s not her at all.

Her eyes glint green in the dim light as blood trickles down her chin.

“Gotcha.”

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nightshadow1607 · 2 years ago

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the hero’s gambit (october, 2021)

The funeral day was... for lack of better words, fucked.

If Shouta hadn't been in mourning for a student (a flame of hope extinguished from someone so young's eyes, just like--) he would have described it more concretely and appropriately.

But honestly, Shouta allowed himself to have a little less self-control, just today.

And, probably because of that, the rest of the day, after the ceremony, went downhill and became a shitty show.

The funeral was simple. Everyone was dressed in black and, funnily enough, Shouta could easily camouflage himself among those present, since, in Zashi's words, Shouta was always dressed as if he was going to a funeral.

Ha! Poetic cinema right there.

And, as if the world had lost its sun when the boy had succumbed, it had still been raining since that night.

The universe could be a painful motherfucker sometimes, Shouta thinks bitterly.

He had to hug all the girls in the class, who sought comfort from their teacher and he didn't judge them for that, he really didn't, but honestly, he was the worst person to do that. At least Kirishima, surprisingly Todoroki, Shoji, and Tokoyami provided comfort to the girls too, well not just them, as Sero and Kaminari burst into tears after a few minutes after things started. Kouda and Jirou supported each other, as did Iida, Asui, and Uraraka, who honestly looked the most desolate.

Bakugou hadn't even attended, and Shouta had a faint idea why. Todoroki was comforting Yaoyorozu, while said 'Bakusquad' was in a pile of hugs even without their 'leader'. Sato and Ojiro were trying to calm a hysterical Hagakure while Tokoyami and Shoji did the same with Aoyama.

The teachers were there too, minus Nedzu, Hizashi was next to Shouta, with his blond hair in a bun and no glasses, looking like he'd aged another ten years.

Shouta was probably the same helpless look, if not worse.

Gran Torino and Mirio were there too, but closer to Yagi, who was further away from the booth, and apparently (if his vision wasn’t failing him already because of his goddamn eye) Tsukauchi as well.

Eri was beside him, holding Shouta and Hizashi's hands, looking lost and oh-- so similar to the eyes before when they found her during the Overhaul raid.

There was no biological family from Midoriya anymore, just a found family, linked by traumas and bonds created in a classroom and dorms.

"Did he…did he really?"

Shouta opens his eye (even though he didn't realize he had closed it) and glances at Shinsou, beside him, with the same posture as always.

But Shouta would be a fool if he didn't notice the tension in his shoulders and the fists, most likely clenched, in his pants pockets, and the wetness in his tired eyes.

And isn't it strange how, all of a sudden, Aizawa Shouta hesitates to respond, either because of a lack of words or because of fatigue or because of the lump in his throat? Whatever it was, he takes a deep breath through his nose and nods his head slowly.

Once, Shouta was considered a person who was never at a loss for words, whether in brutally honest criticism or sarcastic comments and now look at him, once, finally, speechless.

Just the problem child to do that to him.

---

But of course, even after a funeral, he would have no rest.

Because obviously, the universe hated Shouta for some stupid reason and made a point of taking out the worst on him. From ripping Oboro out of his life and reintroducing him, years later, as a human experiment for a pet project, oblivious to everything about his past, to the attacks that have taken place since the beginning of the year, all of which have endangered his class so many sometimes, putting kids, who didn't even have licenses, to face S-rank villains. And then he lost another friend, and this time forever, and part of his own vision and a leg, and other co-workers in a war to the point of collapsing the society of heroes.

And then he lost a student.

Shouta has always been known for his high expulsion rate because he preferred to create ideal heroes for the future and not spend time with children without potential.

But there was always another reason.

There was a reason why no former Shouta students, already graduated heroes scattered across Japan, became death notices, because Shouta taught them not to die.

Shouta was always more rigid, cold, and demanding because Shouta wouldn't know if he could stand to see a student die, knowing it was his fault that he hadn't taught enough and, as a precautionary measure, he always kept emotionally detached.

Only, who knew trauma could connect people?

He let himself slip, and (his) children approached with smiles, achievements, problems, personalities, jokes, and admiration.

Perhaps that was his fatal mistake.

Because deep down, from day one, on the quirk assignment test, Shouta knew that Midoriya would die if he continued the same way he was, reckless and so kind for his own good.

But he saw determination, raw and sharp, refusing to drop even when more than half of his body broke as he felt the breath of death on the back of his neck.

Midoriya, the problem child, convinced him that he would not fall easily, not as long as he had people to fight for.

(he never fought for himself, only for others, and that was one of the great mysteries Shouta wanted to discover while he could, while Midoriya was breathing, in front of him)

Even with the police report, with the news, Shouta couldn’t understand how Midoriya was … gone

Hizashi says it was one of the stages of mourning, but Shouta is sure Tsukauchi didn't tell anyone when he broke the news.

And that's exactly what the Universe threw at him after the funeral.

He tried to ignore the feeling that something was wrong, that he just needed (again) to face the stages of grief and that all those annoyances would go away.

Until he passed the staff room and heard Yagi's voice echo out of the room.

"What do you mean there's no body?!"

Shouta's feet stopped automatically, and he stopped breathing.

"Toshinori--"

"You can't be serious. I saw him, Nao. I saw him on the ground..." Yagi's breath hitched, "I saw him dead. I saw the body, Nao."

"Toshinori, you have to understand, there is no body. The coffin is empty, and the drawer in the morgue too."

...

What the fuck?

"What do we do now that One for All is gone?" an older voice asks, and Shouta can't even get his thoughts straight because it feels like the ground has been ripped out from under his feet.

"Are you really asking this now?!" Yagi's vibrant voice was cold, sending shivers down Shouta's spine "Young Midoriya died! And is that what you're worried about?!"

The sound of a cane hitting something echoed in the empty hallway.

"Toshinori, control yourself! Yes, Midoriya died, and I am as devastated as you are, but you need to remember that Midoriya carried the power and duty that Nana gave to you!" the older voice continued "We need One for All to defeat All for One and...now that Midoriya is gone..."

"We need someone else to take over, whether we like it or not."

A pause.

"No."

"Toshi--"

"Midoriya was destined to be the ninth and last. Anyone else who takes over won't take it, it's a stockpiling quirk, and you know it. No matter how you train them, One for All will destroy their body the moment they use it."

"Izuku broke three limbs the first time," a younger voice said softly "Maybe if--"

"Whoever is next will die," Yagi said, resigned and resolute.

Before Shouta could stop himself, he was already opening the door and bumping into Yagi, Tsukauchi, Gran Torino, and Mirio. Toshinori got up startled, spitting blood.

"Young Aizawa--"

"No" Shouta may not use erasure anymore, but he still knows how to face people and make them shut up, "Don't come with 'young Aizawa' at me--”

“--From the fucking beginning I knew there was something weird between you and Midoriya, and I never pushed as much as I wanted because I cared about my student's privacy and because I know the importance of secrets. But now, I hear you and three others talking about something Midoriya owned that affects not only him but also Japan's biggest super villain and, consequently, the hero society.”

“So I give you two options, either you explain this mess willingly or I'm going to rip it off from you, and you aren’t going to like it."

"Did you just threaten me?" Yagi coughed painfully.

"This secret is not yours!" Gran Torino protested.

"This fucking secret cost a student of mine his life!" he raised his voice, "And that's probably why my students have been suffering since the start of the year. So, yeah, this secret is partly related to all my students and I."

And they were silent.

Yagi sat down on the couch, frowning, and sloppily pointed to the couch in front of him, where Tsukauchi was sitting. Shouta followed the suggestion and sat down, facing the blonde in front of him.

"My power... is called One for All," he sighs, "It's a stockpiling quirk that has been passed down from generation to generation. I'm the eighth holder, Nana, my mentor, was the seventh, and... young Midoriya was the ninth. The power was created by All for One, as a gift for his younger brother, the first holder, who at the time, was declared quirkless."

"Is being quirkless a requirement?" he asked, crossing his arms to hide his fingers digging into his own forearms.

"Not exactly, me and Izu-- I mean, young Midoriya were quirkless."

"Midoriya was quirkless?" he nods "Shit…we're going to get back to this. How was the power passed then?"

"Well, the first one wasn't really quirkless. He had a passive quirk. A quirk that allowed the transfer, and with that, he moved to the second holder and so on."

"And, with each generation, has One for All stocked the power of other holders?"

"Precisely."

"So that's exactly why Midoriya manifested four completely different quirks than One for All was the first time? Those four quirks weren't different powers but parts of the same quirk?"

"Yes," Yagi nodded, and Shouta sighed.

"Why the fuck did you keep this from me?"

"Young--" a glare made him self-interrupt, "Aizawa-san, All for One wants the One for All since his brother passed the quirk, and all past holders fought him. Imagine how many people he told this secret, to destroy the holders. Even though I thought All for One was dead, I didn't want to risk the safety of young Midoriya and his close people."

"That's exactly why Midoriya didn't get the help he needed!" he growls. "I was his homeroom teacher, I needed to know about this subject to protect him if that was the concern. You clearly didn't know what you were doing if the fact that Midoriya just learned to use One for All without breaking all of the bones of his body after the sports festival under someone else's tutelage didn't say enough. You said yourself that Midoriya was quirkless. He was in my class, with kids who had 10 years of control over their quirks. How long Midoriya had, a year?"

Yagi was silent, and the other two older occupants of the room tensed.

"Yagi, when did you give the One for All to Midoriya?" Shouta asked, in a low voice, veiled in anger.

"... on the day of the entrance exam."

Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. He then stared at Yagi deep in the eyes, and Yagi swore he saw a red light in the deep dark of Aizawa's eye. The room temperature dropped dramatically, and Shouta said--

"Tell me exactly how you met Midoriya and pray to god, Yagi Toshinori, that I don't choke you here and now."

the draft i mentioned in the end notes of ch66

basically it’s an au where izuku dies after the first battle (season 6) and aizawa finally finds out about some secrets, to only find nedzu is also hiding something

meanwhile, a new vigilante hits the streets of musutafu

(sorry for the bad writing :P)

#midoriya izuku #my AUs #aizawa shouta #yagi toshinori #writing #drabble

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