Blend Within || Villain Deku AU

The Truth About Eri

"Ryukyu? What do you and your interns have to add to that?"

"The other day, we stopped a fight between two people, one of which had been proven to have also used an illegal drug, also boosting his quirk, but one that didn't last long." Ryukyu quickly explained, knowing better than to throw her interns under the bus without them being prepared or even fully understanding what was going on. Nighteye nodded as the heroes glanced at each other, slightly tensing up at the news, before he spoke again, his voice even more serious and somewhat gloomy as he glanced at Midoriya and Togata, making Midoriya tense up. Whatever was coming next, it definitely wasn't just about the encounter with Eri...Wait a minute. Eri...It couldn't be that...

"Thanks to the spare bullet that Fat Gum managed to retrieve after the battle, we managed to analyze its components. And...Well, we found something that we definitely hadn't expected. It may be sickening, but it is necessary to know in order to understand what we're dealing with."

"The bullets, they...They had blood cells in them."

It all clicked in place in a matter of a second.

Eri. Whatever her quirk was, Chisaki obviously used it to make the bullets. And his quirk. He disassembled her and reassembled, using her body in order to make the bullets. Disassembled and reassembled. Disassembled and reassembled. Disassembled and reassembled...How many times had he done that by the time Eri had rushed into Midoriya's hands in terror?

It was worse than Midoriya had expected. He knew he had never undergone something as terrifying as dying and being brought to life, being taken apart and put back together, so many times...Midoriya felt sick.

Everything he had gone through, Midoriya realized, was a joke compared to Eri. He was disintegrated, beaten up, yelled at, left to bleed out, but in the end, the pain went away, and he managed to heal properly without much trouble. But she died. She died so many times, and then was brought back to life. An endless cycle of torture, just for the sake of making some illegal drug on the market.

"What does this have to do with The Eight Precepts of Death, though?" One of the heroes asked, frowning. Nighteye turned towards Midoriya and Togata, and noticing how pale and terrified they were, sighed before beginning to explain something both had already realized.

"Chisaki has a daughter, whose name is Eri. We didn't manage to find any information on her, though, as reported by Togata and Midoriya, she was covered in bandages and seemed to be in a weakened state when they found her." Most of the people in the room turned towards the two, pity and sorrow in their eyes as they realized what the two students were probably understanding.

They had let a girl go, and now, she might be dead. Again. And she might come back to life. Again. Dead. Alive. Dead. Alive.

Midoriya had the rest of the conversation tuned out, and ignored how Togata had stood up at the end of it and almost yelled something in what seemed to be a determined tone. Midoriya didn't follow, although he knew what the blond had most likely said. Instead, as soon as the meeting was over and some sort of plan was announced, he hurried out of the room in silence, ignoring the other heroes in training that were calling for him.

That is, until someone grabbed him by the hand.

Midoriya acted before he could think. He was so deep in his mind, he only knew one thing — he was restrained, and whatever was going to happen next would put him in danger. Kicking whoever was behind him below the knees in a practiced manner, Midoriya jumped back and sent whoever had been holding him seconds previously over his shoulder, slamming the person onto the ground. It took him a couple seconds to realize what he did, and when he did, he paled in realization.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to!" Midoriya exclaimed as he knelt beside Aizawa, who grunted as he rubbed the back of his head, his brows knitted in concentration and pain.

"Good...Reflexes. Sorry for scaring you." Aizawa grunted as he sat up, still rubbing the back of his head which Midoriya had caused to slam against the floor when he had thrown Aizawa over his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry! I was just — I was just — I really, really didn't mean–"

"It's fine, problem child, don't worry about it. It's my fault." The reassurance didn't help as Midoriya continued to apologize, ignoring the shock looks of those around him that had witnessed what happened. "Hey, problem child, calm down. I get that you're sorry, and I get that you don't mean it. I shouldn't have startled you like that." Midoriya shook uncontrollably as his foster parent stood up, offering him a hand. Midoriya quickly stood up without taking Aizawa's hand, before bowing as much as his trembling figure could afford him.

"I'm really sorry, this won't happen again, I really didn't–"

"Midoriya, I'm going to have to do the same to you if you don't stop apologizing." Aizawa quickly interrupted as he reached for Midoriya, this time letting Midoriya see his hand as he crouched down and reached for his face, trying to make him stop bowing. Midoriya took the hint, but didn't let Aizawa touch him as he straightened, his eyes somewhat glossy and panicked as he clenched his fists at his sides.

"Nothing to look at here. Keep moving." Aizawa announced, glaring at the shocked heroes. The heroes took the hint and slowly started to move around them, doing their best to not even side-eye them as Aizawa glared at another pro who was watching them with curiosity and shock. The pro quickly turned away, and Aizawa turned towards the greenette, who was shaking, but oddly quiet. "Hey, Midoriya." Aizawa called out, watching as the greenette slowly rose his head to look at Aizawa. Whomever you owe your punishment to, you should look them in the eyes when they're addressing you.

"Listen, punishing people isn't normal here. Not nowadays, and not physically." Aizawa said, sighing as he rubbed his temple. That didn't help ease Midoriya's worry, as his mind started racing at the possibilities of what other punishment there might be. Just because it wasn't physical to him, didn't mean it was any easier. Keisha had a good way of making punishments without getting his hands dirty, after all...

"Izuku." Midoriya looked up at the man in front of him, trying to still himself, although his body still shook uncontrollably.

"Y-y..." Midoriya paused, trying his best to stop stuttering. "Yes sir?" Midoriya managed as he nearly screamed at the effort it caused him to keep looking at the unnervingly calm person in front of him.

"Take this. You know what to do, right?" Keisha put out his hand, the familiar weapon making him shiver. A pipe wrench. He knew how to deal with those, and he was lucky he got a weapon that was more easy to use when doing his punishment. It was much worse when it was a bat. They managed to scream more and it took them a while to faint when it was something like a wooden bat. And when the bat breaks, you have to use your bare hands...

Midoriya took the wrench and nodded quietly as he and the man walked towards the chamber, the man pressing the button to open the door. Midoriya glanced at the man one more time. He didn't know what he was searching for when he looked into his dark eyes, but when the villain smiled gently, Midoriya felt unnerving reassurance. He looked away, gulping the knot in his throat, before stepping into the room.

He didn't waste any time, tuning out the screaming of the muffled female chained up to the other end of the room, and quickly raised his hand, aiming it at his skull to try and make it quick...

"Midoriya. Midoriya, snap out of it. You have to breathe, okay?"

Midoriya didn't even realize that his breathing was now rapid and deep, and just how dizzy he felt because of it. Was he hyperventilating? It had been a while since that happened...

He inhaled deeply, held his breath, before exhaling through pursed lips, repeating the same technique a few times, feeling himself start to calm down. Aizawa waited patiently as Midoriya straightened, calming down.

"Sorry..."

"Stop apologizing."

"But–"

"Stopping apologizing is enough." Midoriya went quiet, obeying at the obvious command. Although, he felt more guilty than mad at him, feeling his chest ache. Aizawa sighed as he rubbed his temple. "Okay, let's go. I'll take you to the dormitory." With that, Aizawa began to walk off, and Midoriya walked behind him, head bowed down, waiting for Aizawa to change his mind.