The break felt longer than usual. It could have been a blessing in disguise, offering them some much needed time to process and link everything, but it just put them on edge.
"I am quite disappointed in your reactions." Nezu spoke up, confusing the kids.
"Excuse us, sir?" Iida said.
The albino rat sighed. "I understand your relief that in the respective universe Midoriya is still alive, however, he continues to suffer, it should be no motive for joy and- high-fives."
"Sir, you understood us wrong." Momo said. "We didn't celebrate his pain but rather his strength to push on. For a quirkless person that must be tough."
The good old discrimination.
"So for a quirked person it wouldn't?" Shinsou asked.
"I mean, he has an extra reason to worry."
"That I agree with." Nezu nodded. "Altough recognizing how hard it's to persevere for a quirkless person is not the same as blatantly saying that their quirklessness impedes their life, don't you agree?"
Momo lowered her head deep in thought.
"I thought we got over this subject?"
"Don't meddle in you villains!" Mineta said.
Shigaraki raised a brow, completely unphased.
"Don't fight, otherwise you'll all get detention." Aizawa said.
The class mellowed out.
"Ha!" Monoma laughed.
"You too." Kan said
"Wait what?!" 1B exclaimed.
"Someone is getting influenced." Komori mumbled.
"Quiet down." the shadow said, gesturing to the screen. A fifteen appeared in the bottom left corner.
"Ok- It's starting." Mina said readying herself.
*The room was completely dark, the neon red of the alarm clock standing out.*
"Is he sleeping?"
"What else could he be doing at four am?"
"I can't see a thing."
*-I watched you setting up your pawns
in the darkness, all alone-
Midoriya was on his bed. He layed with his back facing the wall and swayed with the song playing in his head. His eyes were fixated on the corner of the room, where a distorted penumbra sat.*
"Oh hell no." Kaminari said.
"That's what sleep paralysis demons look like."
"The fuck is that?" Spinner cursed.
"A friend!" Toga said in the row in front of him.
Someone from the middle row shuddered at that.
*"You're making a mistake." the penumbra said, the language somehow making sense. "How could you think that it will be any different?"
Nezu's hologram stood proudly on the floor of his room.
-I was way too blind to see
So intrigued-
"Why? I have nothing left to loose. It's my last try."
His fingers twisted painfully, and the explanation of his passing kept repeating in his head.
-I let you live in my own home
What could possibly go wrong?-
"What could go wrong?" he whispered.
The hallucination shook its head.*
"Hallucination?" Todoroki mouthed.
"Yes, he has psychosis."
"What?!"
"Hold on-"
"That's like one of the first things you should mention!"
"You cant just skip over that!"
The scene changed, and the shadow turned their back to them.
*He was infront of UA, holding the straps of his backpack and gazing at the big bold letters spelling the high-school's name. Alone in the middle of the path, people murmured left and right. He arrived extra early, just to avoid Bakugo, all his efforts were put into this last attempt to salvage his life.*
"I don't like that connotation~" Setsuna said sing song.
"Why avoid Bakugo?"
"I get he can be a little much but that's not manly Midobro!"
*-Put my life into your hands,
The first day at UA, the school he had no idea how he got in despite the principal assuring him of his place. His written exam score must have saved him.*
"True how did he even get in while being quirkless?" she wondered out loud.
"Did you literally forget he's quirkless in our universe as well?" Dabi asked.
Pause among the crowd of teenagers.
"Oh.. yeah."
A snort was heard coming from Kaminari.
"You're laughing right now..." Kurogiri muttered so only his comrades heard him.
*()
Meeting All Might brought out ugly memories, of rooftops, seething pain and explosions.*
"Rooftops?"
"What does that even have to do with All Might? And when did he even meet him?!"
"Yeah, we like all saw him in person in our first class together. Remember how shocked we were?" Mina smiled reminiscent.
Bakugo's mouth dried. It was an event that coincided with their world, an event that only the three of them were aware of.
*The first assignment they were thrown in for heroing 101 wasn't the best either. He ended up in Recovery Girl's infirmary, with bad burns that honestly didn't pain him. Years of getting used to them had passed.*
"Huh?"
Some turned to look at Bakugo.
"What the fuck am I supposed to know about that?!" he exploded. "It's a shitty alternate reality!". He felt no guilt saving hos own skin.
It brought relief on his squad's faces, but there were some whose doubts weren't cleared.
*-guess you had a different plan-
"Haah... Midoriya." she looked over her clipboard sighing. "You are quirkless aren't you?"
His form shrank, eyes searching everything but her face. "Yes ma'am."
"You need to be more careful! You're much more fragile, what was in your head that got you hurt so badly?!"*
"That's no way to talk to him!" Chiyo berated her other self furious.
*"Honestly, you're not made for the hero course young man."*
It brought out gasps from the audience.
"That was a little harsh." Shoji couldn't say how, alrough mean, he found it acceptable. How that sentence was only said to protect Midoriya, because everyone ewould jump him.
It was sad that so far the universes didn't change their views, only made them afraid to speak up.
"Harsh? Poor kid." Midnight said.
*The sentence resembled the number one's hero speech when he pulled him away from the class, his expressed worry towards his porcelian existance and the blatantly clueless words.
-Should've listened to my friends
That you're just another-
He arrived home. Sore and blue, he grabbed a fist of painkillers and downed them with rusty tap water. The youthful heroine's kiss barely healed his 3rd degree burns as he had no energy to begin with.
-Parasite-
"It's hard." a voice came from the corner of the bathroom, which was draped in the darkness cast down from the shadow of a towel.
He ignored it, which was unlike him. He knew doing so would result in them being aggressive, that it would ruin their symbiosis. The dark outline moved irritated, his mood dampened further, it had his demons' names written all over.
-In my heart-
He could feel his heart beat, trapped by his ribs. It was a rough first day, he hoped it wasn't the one that set a pattern.
-And i'm dying and falling and falling apart-*
"Aren't the lyrics a bit too dramatic?" Hagakure asked.
"They reveal the darkness trapped inside him." Tokoyami spoke, for the first time in a long while. The absence of Darkshadow must have been pressing on his spirit.
"Dramatic? The people who were supposed to accept him turned out to be like everyone else." Magne scoffed.
It was somber in the room. Most didn't view it that way but were forced to follow their teachers' moods. The privileged 'brats'- as the leader of the League called them- were still clueless to the persecution quirkless people were put through. They still didnt view words as wespons.
*He let his body relax and fell on his worn out matress. The simple grey sheets crumpled under his light weight and he was left staring blankly at the ceiling. It was chipped and so were his walls devoid of any hero merchandise, as it was violently ripped off during that cursed day.*
"Now I am curious."
"His breakdowns are nothing to be curious of." Hound Dog educated them.
They felt like children getting scolded. A little ashamed of themselves they decided to shut their mouth.
It was the only way they could learn, the shadow concluded, giving UA's therapist a small smile. Hound Dog somehow didn't misunderstand it.
*-Parasite
In my heart-
His homeroom teacher, Mr Aizawa, or Eraserhead as he managed to recognize the underground hero, was just as uninterested when it came to his life as everyone else. He managed to make no friends, earning funny enough, a second person to call him useless, a brunette girl, happy go lucky and foolish.*
"Foolish?" Uraraka puffed. "Also I didn't mean it with the Deku thing... I didn't even know!"
"Someone has to learn their Kanji." Shigaraki said, embarassing her and her classmates.
The girl didn't have the courage to look him in the eyes and throw out a rebuttal, not that she had one.
"Hey, don't attack her, kero!"
It was only a spark of his red irises, but it was enough for Asui to remember about USJ. She turned around and sqeezed her friend's hand soothing her.
"Midoriya didn't even show signs that he was uncomfortable! He even made it his hero name!"
"I wonder how a person would be pressured into doing that. It's not like he was not used to speaking up because he didn't want to draw attention." Compress said elegantly.
"I so wonder how was that name even approved?" Toga said confused.
Nemuri sank I'm her seat, reprimating herself for not seeing through the grenette's act.
"It's not your fault he's a great actor." Yamada whispered in her direction.
*-And i'm dying and falling and falling apart-
His eyes were heavy, but he couldn't let them close, not with the threat of the ever present nightmares over his head. The pills kicked in and his emotions flat lined. There was a slight chill in the room emanated from the direction of the corner his shadows usually occupied. Midoriya didn't bother checking in with them.*
"Which was a wrong move I presume?" Kendo said unsure.
"I wouldn't want to make them angry." Tesutesu said.
*()
It was a sterile environment, white all around. Midoriya layed in a bed, facing the ones Todoroki and Iida occupied.*
"This setting looks familiar." Iida cringed.
"Hm?"
Almost everyone was confused, only a small percentage were aware of the actual events that transpired.
"The hand crusher..." Todoroki said nodding.
"The what?"
Aizawa sighed feeling his soul slip out.
*"Yeah. We were definitely left alive on purpose." Todoroki said.
He was pulled out of his dissociation in time to catch a fragment of his conversation with Iida.
"You're amazing to have been able to face him after all tye murderous intent directed at you." he continued. They were both talking as if he wasn't there.*
Shinsou knew the feeling, his eyebrows knit together not being able to imagine a social situation where Midoriya was not the center of. Yet here was all the proof he needed to conclude that everything was fake, and to start considering whether the version he knew was an actor or not.
"Like he doesn't exist? That sentence and Midoriya doesn't merge!" Mina said.
"True, he always shines as bright as the sun." Tokoyami said.
"You think that one-" he pointed, "-is as bright as a sun?" Magne said raising an eyebrow.
*"No that's not it." Iida said gazing down. "I-"
The door slid open and Manual entered, glancing behind him.
"Manual..."
Gran Torino was with him. He looked around the room looking irritated. "Oh, are you kids awake? I've got a lot of complaints for you."
First rule, always bow down to others.*
"Rule? kero."
"Why would you fold in front of others?"
"Cause he's a weakling!" Bakugo yelled.
"Shut up."
"WHAT?!"
*"S-sorry-" he said cradling his broken arm.
"But... before that you have a visitor."
The chief of the police department entered. He had the head of a dog, and his body was slightly bigger to accommodate his odd proportions.
"Hosu's chief of police, Kanji Tsuragamae." the elder introduced.
-You make it sound like it's my fault
I deserve the worst of all-
The two stood up in respect, he was quick to follow but thanks to his sprained ankle the dog like chief gestured him to remain seated.
"Oh, you can just say seated, woof."*
"Woof?" Uraraka repeated in the silence of the cinema.
The kids burst out laughing, which lasted for a short while.
"He actually said woof!"
*"You must be the UA students who brought down the hero killer, right?"*
"WAIT WHAT?!" Pony yelled in English.
"The Hero Killer?" Tamaki said impressed.
"Now this is where the story deviates even more!" Sero said being absolutely wrong.
Eraser was already rubbing his tired eyes.
"There's no way the fucking nerd would take down the Hero Killer!"
"Shut up... SHUT UP!" Twice's alternate yelled. Dabi smiled.
"I mean, it did take Endeavor, the second hero in the rankings at that time to defeat him! " Kirishima said being interested in heroes.
"Not really." Todoroki said blankly.
"Hm?"
"We were the ones who took him down."
Brief span of silence, then everyone erupted.
"Enough!" Nezu's high pitched cry stopped them. "Let us watch further, any questions you may have will be addressed AFTER."
*'The chief of police came all this way... Why?' Todoroki monologued.
"Regarding the hero killer we arrested... He had fairly serious injuries, with burns and broken bones, and is receiving treatment under strict guard, woof. Since you ate IA students, I'm sure you already know that when superpowers were still becoming the norm, the police attached high importance to leadership and standards and made sure quirks were not used as weapons."
Midoriya could already tell where he was going. He clenched his fist and relaxed it multiple times to distract himself.
"And then the profession of "hero" emerged to fill that gap, woof. For an individual's use of force and power that can easily kill others-" flashbacks tan im his head. Iida using his Recipro Burst, Todoroki using his fire they both had been so hero looking. "- actions that normally would be appropriate too denounce- to be accepted oficially is thanks to early heroes who followed the ethics and rules of the profession, woof. Even up against the Hero Killer, for uncertified individuals to cause injury with their quirks without specific instructions from their guardians or supervisors is a clear violation of the rules."
Todorki stiffened.
"The three of you, and the pro heroes Endeavor, Manual, and Eraserhead must receive strict punishment.*
"What a load of bullshit." Dabi scoffed.
"Heh, hero society."
"Damn right crusty."
Aizawa became interested. Manual was mentioned for Iida, Endeavor for Todoroki, so he remained for... Midoriya. Where was he then, and what did he see in the kid that made him offer an internship, something he rarely did? His coworkers too noticed, and glanced at him interested.
"But wait, punishment?!" Uraraka said.
Nezu watched knowing he was powerless in front of the Commission.
"Whoa whoa, that's not fair, they helped incapacitate a villain."
"But according to the laws you so dearly hold to your hearts, it's well... illegal." Shigaraki shrugged.
"Iida, tell me this isn't what actually happened!"
"..."
"No..."
"Vlad King sesei?"
"It's the law."
"But-!"
"No no, it's the law~" Toga said with a grin. "The one we want to destroy." she added quietly feeling sour.
*"Wait a minute!" Todoroki stepped ahead. "If Iida hadn't done anything Native would've been killed."
"Todoroki-" Iida tried to interject.
"No one realized that the Hero Killer had appeared. Are you saying we should've followed the rules and watched people get killed?!"
"Todoroki-!"
"Are you saying that as long as it turns out all right, it's okay to bend the rules?" Tsuragamae said.
He flinched, getting aggravated. "Isn't it a hero's job to save people?"*
"He's right!" Jirou claimed.
"Yeah!"
"I agree too!"
"You all do? Welcome to villainy!" Spinner said spreading his arms.
Everyone recoiled.
*"That is why you are not a full-fledged hero yet."*
"Ouch." Dabi mocked looking in their direction being far too amused. Kaminari looked in his direction angered.
*"Goodness, what are you being taught by UA and Endeavor, woof?"*
The teachers didn't want to watch any longer, not when their students looked so flabbergasted at the law that they too knew was wrong yet had to follow. The villains stating things so smug, getting to rub the fact that they were the only ones able to retaliate in their faces was slowly making them hate the universe and what it revealed.
It was a good thing the universe was subtitled, otherwise they couldn't really have heard much over the sound of their discussions, despite their attempts to silence the two classes.
*"You dog!" Todoroki said rhrough his teeth.
"Stop it. He is absolutely right."*
"How Iida?" Jirou asked.
"Technically as heroes we need to follow-"
"But-!"
"We'd be villains otherwise!" Iida burst. "They said it too!" he pointed towards the far right where they were seated.
*"Hang on a minute. Hear him out until the end." Gran Torino offered.
"That was the official opinion of the police. And the punishment and such would only happen if this were all and public, woof." he reached to scratch his nose. "If this went public you would probably be applauded by the public, but you would not be able to escape punishment. On the other hand, this is a bit underhanded, bit if it's not made public, tye burn scars would support Endeavor being tye hero who saved the day, and it would end there, woof.*
That explained everything. The villains were finally brought to light.
"But it's their merit, kero."
"And it makes so much sense, that punishment is only applied when things are public.* he said sarcastic. "It might be a good thing here, but doesn't that entail that as long as we are oblivious the heroes can get away with lies?" Shigaraki said satisfied.
They couldn't refute, too inexperienced to try and female in this subject.
*"Thankfully, there were vert few witnesses. This violation could be crushed here, woof. But this would also mean no one would know about your good judgment or achievements. Which do you prefer?"*
"The audacity." Toga seethed, gearing angry for Midoriya.
"I mean... I would take the way out..." Uraraka said sheepish.
They a nodded, class 1B joining.
*"Personally, I don't want to be the one to find fault with promising young ones-" he offered a thumbs up, "-beacuse of one big mistake, woof."*
"Sure you don't."
*"Either way, we will need to take responsibility for being negligent in our supervisory duties." Manual said dejected.
Iida stepped forward and apologized, bowing at a ninety degree angle.
"All right. You'll cause trouble for others!" he playfully hit him behind the head.
"I won't."
"I-I'm sorry." Midoriya repeated.
"Pelase take care of it." The dual user followed.
"Because of the unfairness of adults, you will not be able to receive the praise you probably would have gotten-"*
"Then why is this stupid law still in place?!"
"Because in more situations than not it's useful." Momo replied.
"Try to convince yourself of that. Yeah!" Twice said.
*"- but at least-* he bowed, "- as someone who also protects the peace, I can say thank you."
"Please start with that next time." Todoroki mumbled.*
A few giggles surfaced.
"So this is what actually happened in real life?"
"That's real too, kero."
"You know what I mean!"
"You three defeated the Hero Killer!" Ojiro exclaimed.
"It's not that fucking impressive I could have done it too!"
"Get off your high horse already..."
It was lucky that Bakugo didn't hear the comment.
"Yes, yes, but please don't bring that up!" Iida said embarrassed.
"Oh come on, that a huge feat Iida!" Uraraka bumped his shoulder.
"I can't belive I saw Todoroki get mad! Iida was he the same in our world too?"
"Yes." he said exasperated wanting to move on.
"Mister representative!" Kendo teased.
They all laughed heartily, forgetting what they were watching.
Nezu sighed looking back at his staff. "Silence!"
They all turner to look at his and cleared their throats.
*"Midoriya." a nurse followed after the important figures left. Iida and Todoroki both sat back on their respective beds.
-Isn't that cynical?
That I take the fall-
"The injuries you sustained left permanent damage on your right arm." she read uninterested off a clipboard. His eyes widened, his arm had been feeling off. "You can be choose to enter a surgery that will likely improve the quality of your crumbled bone, there is a chance that it will worsen however. We need your tutor's signature so please call them when you decide." once she stated what she was probably told to she left, with no words of compassion, not that he needed pity.
He zoned out with the background noise of the other two talking.*
"No one checked in on him?!"
"Perhaps that's the result of him not trying."
"Not trying?"
"Yes, not trying to integrate himself." Momo explained. "In this universe he didn't attempt to... act, to get in other's graces."
"You belive a person should mold themselves to other's liking?" Toga said disgusted from personal experience.
"No, no! But if you personality is introverted then by nature you should not be surrounded by people, in order to achieve that you'd have to act."
"Is anyone watching anymore?" the shadow asked.
"Yep, yep!"
*()
-While you get to keep a heart of gold
I can't take the blame no more-
He was sitting in his dorm room, watching a video on herotube. He must have been responsible for at least twelve out of the millions of views. It played and replayed while a tear ran down his cheeks. Without a viable legal representative he had opted against the surgery, and now his marred arm stood against a heat pouch. He heard Endeavor's voice laugh and boast on the only source of light in his room, the blinding white screen. The reporters were all in a contest of who can get their questions answered first by the almighty number two hero.
()
-Put my life into your hands,
I guess you had a different plan-
He was infront of UA, holding the straps of his backpack and gazing at the big bold letters spelling the high-school's name. Alone in the middle of the path, people murmured left and right. He arrived extra early, just to avoid Bakugo.
-Should've listened to my friends
That you're just another-
He was tired, and every day was the same. His hand hurt and he could swear the hero course plans were meant to counter him and his weaknesses. He was starting to loose his ability to memorate, to dwell in the same major depressive episode he had had years ago, before his hopeful plan of rehabilitation.
A new day, but never a new him.
()
-Parasite
In my heart-
He was infront of UA, holding the straps of his backpack and gazing at the big bold letters spelling the high-school's name. Alone in the middle of the path, people murmured left and right. He arrived extra early, just to avoid Bakugo.
-And i'm dying and falling and falling apart-*
"That's, depressing." Mina said.
It dampened everyone's move, changing the atmosphere back to a strained one.
*-Parasite
In my heart-
He woke up with a piece of paper in front of his eyes. Looking up, Ectoplasm looked him in the eyes, confused as to why he was confused. He must have 'left' mentally for a while.
-And i'm dying and falling and falling apart-
()
It was dark, but only for a moment. The light in the bathroom flickered on and off showcasing the grenette sitting on the cold stained tiles.*
"Oh my god!" Hagakure yelled.
Her and all the other girls were scared off, feeling sick at the sight of blood.
"What in the fucking hell."
*His mouth was moving soundless, speaking to an obscure entity floating in the corner.*
"Aw hell no. Not that again."
They watched with baited breaths.
*-Parasite - an organism that lives inside another organism, the host, -
Blood was trailing between the tiles, staining the grout dark red. His right arm held a cheap razor blade, less sharper than it was moments ago. His left hand held a cigarette, the source of the near unbreathable air in the enclosed room. He brought it to his dry lips and inhaled the poison, numbing his mind.*
Tears welled up in his classmates' eyes and the teachers were watching worried.
"Is he.. ok?"
You could hear one of the villains snort, which the heroes and heroes in training found disrespectful.
"What would give you the idea he is well?" the portal gate asked.
*-causing it harm and irreversible damage.-
Deep and angry lines were slotted in the flesh of his forearms, and the wrist zone was heavily assaulted, giving the impression of a suicide attempt, which wasn't the case.*
This time they couldn't say they exhaled content and reassured, despite him being alive, they couldn't be happy, for the state he was in was deplorable.
"What is wrong with him?!" a boy who could never attempt to understand or empatize with such a situation exclaimed.
*-The parasite is the only one that benefits from this symbiotic, yet toxic relationship without doing anything in exchange.-
"Did you do it?"
"No."
-Don't let em bite.-
"You were right." he said, buts of cigarette burning through his sweatpants. His eyes unfocused.
-Don't let them bite.-*
The screen blackened.
"So... how do we feel?" the shadow asked.
"Teribble."
"And awful."
"And dreadful and horrible and repulsed and distressed!"
"Aren't you supposed to be glad he isn't dead?" they asked innocently.
"Are you playing with us?!" Uraraka yelled our of nowhere, startling everyone. "WE GET IT, WE DOWNPLAYED EVERYTHING! Just stop this game already why are we even here?!"
"To learn."
"It's quite an unusual and disheartening method." Cementoss said.
"I strive to be unconventional." they said with what could only be a semblance of a smile or amusement.
It earned them diry glares from the traumatized kids.
At least they corrected their behaivors, before it was too late.