Toshinori walked into UA's staff room. There was considerable paperwork the night before, but that wasn't what impacted his ability to sleep. No, that was Izuku's story.
After they had left, his detective friend had told him that every part of that story was true, or at least was in Izuku's eyes. There were too many details to ignore, such as it possibly being tied to missing persons cases, and the definite trauma the boy went through. If only I was a few moments sooner, it wouldn't have taken him! And his actions, he is the textbook definition of a hero! Perhaps I'll ask if he wants to become one.
As he shuffled through some of the paperwork for the day, he didn't hear his co-worked, Shota Aizawa approach from behind. When his shadow covered the light he was working on, he turned quickly, before sighing with relief, "Oh, it's just you, Aizawa."
The raven haired teacher asked, "Yagi... what has you on edge?"
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I admit, I'm a bit jumpy due to lack of sleep. I know I sound like a hypocrite after the last time we spoke..."
"..." The man only narrowed his eyes. "There isn't much that makes you sleepless at night. What is it?"
"Well, I talked with the other boy. The one that arrived after the villains, and let Iida get help."
The underground hero cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"
He nodded, ignoring the man's derision. They may be heroes, but believed in different methods. Toshinori was not one to use deception as a tactic, where Aizawa did, and worked late at night. "Yes. He was a missing person since ten months ago. His story is harrowing... and there are others out there, still in whatever hell he barely escaped from. I admit, I am very concerned for his mental health..."
This genuinely surprised him. Aizawa was in the know about most dealings in the underground, hence his title, but to not find anything about this missing kid was a first. To think there are more like him out there... He shook the thought away. "So, what do you think? Does he have potential?"
Toshinori smiled, "The most I've seen. You were out cold when he did this, but he single handedly pinned the big three villains from the USJ in time for my arrival. He also understood how each of them worked, in order to tell me what to focus on. So, yes, he does."
Meanwhile, in Class A of UA's prestigious hero course, Bakugo Katsuki was angry. It was a typical reaction from him, in all honesty, but a boy he believed insignificant just showed up and stole the spotlight. Yet again.
Fucking Deku.
All it would take would be one well aimed taunt to make him shrivel with fear, and yet he was able to hold back the top three villains of the incident, and get Iida to escape?
It made his blood boil.
He was all they talked about. Who was he? How did he get there? Why was he there?
The blond knew only one constant: that he was the best. Him! Katsuki Fucking Bakugo, Lord Explosion Murder, Killer of Villains, the Undefeated! He was the greatest thing UA had ever seen! The practical exam even showed it! SO WHY WAS DEKU ALL THEY CARED ABOUT?!
The blond would get to the bottom of it, no matter what it took.
Izuku arrived back at their small apartment as soon as he was discharged. During the interim between the day before and now, Izuku had requested only two things: A VHS player and a notebook of decent quality.
Inko had gotten both before picking him up from the hospital, and the first thing Izuku did was put his backpack back in his room. It was dirty, in disrepair, fraying at the edges. Its bright yellow color had faded to a pale brown, due to the sheer amount of dried blood that had seeped in, and most of the contents were useless anyways. He'd burn it when he had the chance. But first, something more important. He collected the Auris, keeping it floating with gentle motions from his left hand, and went to the TV in the living room. Hooking up the VHS player, Izuku turned his attention to the auris. What he was about to do was incredibly risky. His mother would stop him if she knew. But, it was the only way he could see without risking catching... her... attention.
He poured all his focus into the Auris, shaping something from nothing, creating a very, very special VHS tape. He had analyzed every aspect of the killers he had encountered, and this was a part of the power of the killer he was closest to. Sadako's cursed VHS tape.
Inko watched as her son created an object out of nothing. She didn't say anything, not wanting to interrupt the process. And then, when the soft blue glow ended, signifying the completion of the object he made, he grabbed it, and checked it all over. "Yes... a perfect match." He willed the Auris onto the coffee table and then put the tape into the player. It was only then that he remembered his mother was there.
"Ah... I forgot I wasn't alone. Mom... can you... leave the room until I call you back?"
"Why?" That request caused her mind to worry, knowing that he had vanished before. Inko didn't want that to happen again.
However, Izuku was insistent. "Just, please, trust me."
She wanted to argue, but the look in his eyes was too determined. So, she agreed. "Very well. I'll be in the kitchen." Inko looked back at her son, as he turned on the TV, then left. What could you possibly be doing, Izuku?
Izuku waited until he knew his mother couldn't see the TV. In the event that this did not work as planned, he wanted to be the only one under its effect. When discussing killer powers with Sadako, long ago, he was introduced to the concept of addons for their power. One which confused him was the "joke" addons. Every killer had one that made them objectively worse with an increase of power after that trial. They were used as a challenge or something similar most of the time... Sadako's was a copy of her VHS tape, and it did not condemn survivors after she projected herself from a TV. It made half her power useless, for little benefit.
This time, though, that was why he made that exact item. To avoid condemnation.
The TV flickered on, the black and white footage giving an ominous aura as he watched. They flashed between survivors crawling on the ground, to a man with a strange hood, to eyes darting around the room, and more. Eventually... they stopped changing and went straight to a static image of a well. It was then that a pale hand reached over and grabbed the outside. As soon as Izuku saw Sadako's familiar form striding towards the screen, he smiled slightly... but he'd have to be careful. She could kill him by accident, and so, he kept the Auris by him, with a shield at the ready. If he accidentally created the Onryo Sadako was when they met, he'd have to stop her at all costs. But if his theory was correct...
It was when she made it to the screen that the Onryo reached out, and into his living room. Bending down to crawl through, the TV made the distinct noise it did as she exited the TV in front of Izuku, and standing upright. She didn't say anything for a moment, making the greenette nervous, before she whispered, "Izuku?"
"Sadako." He smiled warmly, and she rushed over to him, hugging him tightly. She whispered to him, "You actually got out of there."
"I did. But I can't stop until I help the rest."
"I was the first you reached out to?"
"My first thought. I have no way to reach out without... putting myself at risk."
She didn't speak, but Izuku could tell, under her long black hair, that she was happy. He thought of her first, and that was enough.
It was then that Inko stepped back into the room, and cooed at the two of them. "Aw... who is this, Izuku?"
Oh. Right. Sadako was the first friend he brought home in over a decade. And a girl.
Nervously, he said to her, "M-mom, this is Sadako Yamamura. Sadako, this is my mother." She let go, and appraised Inko.
"You were the reason Izuku wasn't afraid of me." She bowed slightly. "Thank you for raising him to be such an amazing person."
Inko was surprised to hear that, "Afraid of you?"
This is going to be awkward... "Um, Mom, Sadako is technically one of the 'killers'. She was sympathetic to me... well..."
"Where I am from, I was called a curse. He was the first to see me as a person, explaining that I was like you, because I have telepathy. That's why he was unafraid, even when I killed one of his friends."
She smiled, but then it faded when she realized something, "You were forced to kill, right?"
She was not proud of that. "Yes. Before I met him, I knew nothing but hate and fear."
Inko approached, and slowly brushed her hair aside, taking in the beautiful girl underneath. "As long as you didn't delight in other people being hurt... but Izuku is usually a good judge of character."
"I know he is..."
"Would you like something to eat? Drink?"
"I would."
"What do you think of Izuku?"
The greenette's face reddened as he heard what she said, "He is an amazing boy. Determined, resilient, compassionate. He's the only one to fight a goddess and win. He's quite charming that way."
The last question Inko had for her shocked Izuku. "Do you love him?" But what made him faint was the response.
"Yes."
Nezu sat within his office. He'd heard an interesting tidbit of information while monitoring the staff room first thing. He loved hearing gossip between teachers, and using that information against them. They always had their guard down there, and it was glorious. It was either do that, or browse the dark web... and today had been especially interesting. Izuku Midoriya escapes a twisted death game? There had been no such indication of that on the Dark Web. By all accounts, he's just a normal quirkless boy... but with enough power to stop those three strong villains at the USJ, one of which was groomed to take the mantle of King of the Underworld...
Things are getting interesting, indeed.