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The next morning, Izuku woke up alone. Sitting up and stretching, he could see a small post-it note on the table.
Midoriya, I called your school, they said they'd give you the next week off to get everything sorted with your next legal guardian. Sleep in, eat some breakfast, watch tv, do whatever teenagers do these days. Just don't get into trouble.
- Tsukauchi Naomasa
Well, getting into trouble was only when he got caught, right? With that reasoning in mind, Izuku rushed to the bed again and crouched low. With a bit of reaching (plus muttered curses about short arms) he managed to snag the handle of the box he'd placed underneath the mattress. He was about to open the container and suit up when his phone went off from its place on the desk. Curious, he walked over to unplug his phone and turn on the screen to see who'd messaged him. It was Iida.
Received 7:00 am.
Good morning, Midoriya. I have been told that you are to be out on a suspension until your temporary place of residence is decided. Would it be acceptable to you if we met up all the hospital after school? I can bring any school work you'll miss and I'm sure Shinshou and Kahiro would be more than willing to help you if you do not understand it at first.
Ugh, he'd completely forgotten about homework. Yawning slightly, Izuku typed a reply.
Sent 7:02 am.
Ok, I'll be there. See you after school, Iida, I'm going to go over some science notes.
Received 7:04 am.
See you later, Midoriya.
Sighing, Izuku pocketed the phone. He couldn't keep track of time in the armor, it typically.... blurred for him in the rush of adrenaline that wearing the outfit brought. It would be safer if he waited until after school for a patrol.
So, what the heck was he supposed to do in the meantime?
Normally if he was homesick he would watch TV, but that probably wouldn't be an option, given that the media was all over what happened to his mother and Kuroda. Knowing them, they'd probably be throwing the word Quirkless into their sentences like dressing on a damn salad. His stomach growled at the thought of food, demanding like a petulant child. He made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a box of cereal sitting on top of the fridge. He grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge and set about making breakfast, if pouring cereal into a bowl even counted as 'making'. Putting both the cereal and the milk away, he sat down to eat. It was on the second bite of painfully tasteless cereal that an epiphany came to him, making him freeze mid-chew.
The media. The ravenous, desperate media, which would blow up something a vigilante said to epic proportions.
He scrambled from his chair, breakfast forgotten as he hastily tied his shoes and rushed out of the apartment, the door making a bang behind him. One thought was on his mind as he rushed past the desk attendant and onto the streets: where could he buy some walkie-talkies?
The actual process of buying the device went faster than Izuku expected, the cashier of the tech store he'd walked into didn't so much as blink when he asked about them. He took out his wallet and paid for the proper amount of money, taking the bag the employee had put his purchase in. After that, the real challenge was walking to the warehouse at a normal pace. Tearing down the street wouldn't help him so much as draw attention to himself, which was something he really didn't need at the moment. Especially with the scheme he had in mind. The familiar doors burst open as he rushed in, making a beeline to Kuroda's desk. Placing his bag down, Izuku opened the bottom left drawer, letting out a sound of triumph as he took a small box out. Removing the lid revealed two old-style flip phones, fully charged and ready to make the sort of call he was planning. Taking one, he replaced the lid and put the box back where it belonged. Izuku recalled what Kuroda had told him when he was explained the use of burner phones.
"These can't be traced to you, so long as you don't leave prints or are seen talking on it. Use these only for emergencies."
Well, this certainly was an emergency. Grabbing duct tape as a last second addition, Izuku made his way out of his and Kuroda's warehouse. It would take a good half an hour to set it up, but once those thirty minutes were up, he would be ready to let all hell break lose.
A crackling voice came in over the Walkie-talkie in his hands. He really was thankful for how long people were on hold for the radio. "Hello! This is radio station 104.8! Your place for hot news, what's your name, caller?"
He grinned, pressing the button and lowering his voice. "This is Kuroko, and you might want to broadcast this as far as you can, because I have some things to say."
Naomasa's day had been uneventful so far; taking a call here, writing a report there - the usual when a villain attack or major crime wasn't going on. Which was not very often, mind you. He let out a huff as he finished reading over yet another report from the police. Minor crimes had been slowing recently, and the last time that happened, the USJ was attacked. The police could not afford another attack of that caliber, not with their reputation barely holding together as it was. Leaning back in his chair, the detective started to go over the happenings of the day before.
It had been hectic, that was for certain, receiving a panicked police call from Midoriya Inko as fighting could be clearly heard in the background. He honestly wasn't sure if he could have driven faster to the scene, yet no matter how fast Naomasa was he wouldn't have been fast enough to save them from what happened. Mrs. Midoriya had been laying eerily still on the floor, a few feet from the head-shaped craters in the wall and that didn't even begin to cover what he felt when he saw Nagaki Kuroda. From the evidence, the forensics team had been able to decipher that the man had held off their attackers while Midoriya made the call, and an educated guess told him that Midoriya wouldn't have been hurt before Nagaki was out of commission. There wasn't a doubt in Naomasa's head that the man had taken that gash to his arm protecting her.
The aftermath of it led to a new problem: Midoriya's son, Izuku. That was a whole other problem he didn't want to face until he'd had at least three cups of coffee and an Advil. The boy was willful and outspoken, which contradicted the testimonies neighbors and friends had given the police. Midoriya Izuku had grown up a shy, timid boy, often too scared to confront problems like bullies. Then just a year ago, his entire demeanor took a complete one-eighty; his voice grew louder, he was seen outside of his house more, he even started volunteering at a soup kitchen. Naomasa may not have a psychology degree, but even he knows that people don't just change out of the blue like that without outside influence. So far, the only traceable trigger would be the very man sitting in a hospital lacking an arm. A lot of people would just shrug at that, saying that it was a good thing he came out of his shell, that he just needed a bit of help to do so.
But Naomasa was not most people.
He had some extra information the neighbors didn't. The time when Izuku's personality changed happened to be right after All Might had, rather bluntly, given him a reality check. He made it a habit to take coincidences like that with a grain of salt. So, Midoriya's dreams were shot down right as Nagaki Kuroda made an appearance in his life. The timing was almost ridiculous, like they were living in a manga. He honestly didn't know what that would make him. The antagonist?
His musings were cut short when one of his co-workers barged into his office with wide eyes. "Sir!" The man said, standing at attention as Naomasa straightened in his seat. "Kuroko is talking on the radio as we speak!"
"What?" The detective asked, somewhat in disbelief as the co-worker held his phone up, the screen displaying the station number.
"You'd be surprised how helpful some people can be," a voice that Naomasa immediately recognized as the vigilante said. "sometimes I'll find food placed up on the rooftops with a note, they're usually from people I helped in the past; but that isn't the reason why I called in, dear listeners."
"I want a transcript of this broadcast, immediately," Naomasa ordered, standing from his desk and marching out into the hall, his coworker tailing behind him. "Did you trace where the call was coming from?"
"We have a general location, he must be using a burner phone."
"I want all available units to go to that area and set a perimeter, get eyes in the sky if you have to. We're not letting him get away." Naomasa practically barked orders left and right as the office scrambled around him in its own sense of methodical madness.
All the while, Kuroko continued to speak. "Believe it or not, when I'm not kicking ass in a tight ass black suit, I walk among you. I watch how you act, how you treat one another; and one thing that's caught my attention is how the media has been portraying the attack on the Midoriya family, which happened not even a full day ago." Naomasa slammed his car door shut and turned on his alarms. The vigilante continued. "Now, what I've noticed is how they bring up the victim's son and his Quirk, or rather, his lack of one. I'm not sure about all of you, but to me, I find it just a little despicable that they'd bring that up when his mother has been put into ICU. The boy's condition is not the subject of the report, it's the villains that attacked his family; so why are they focusing on former rather than the actual issue at hand?"
"Do you have a location?" Naomasa demanded into his com as he sped past the morning traffic. Cars were smartly making room for him as he broke every speed limit he knew of.
"He's in Central Square." A voice piped up from the police radio. "All available units are en route."
He grit his teeth as his grip on the steering wheel tightened, all their units wouldn't be worth shit if the vigilante ran before they got there.
"What would that issue be?" Kuroko continued, seemingly unaware of the police force speeding towards his location. "The villains attacked when ninety percent of the local hero population was scouting out potential sidekicks at the Yuuei sports festival."
"Are you condemning the actions of the heroes, Kuroko?" A female voice cut in the broadcast.
The vigilante had the nerve to sound incredulous. "No, of course not. What I'm saying is that these villains are attacking the ideas that the public believe to be true. That schools are safe from villains, that the heroes will be there whenever anybody is in trouble. By destroying those ideas, they destroy the faith in the hero community, which could potentially cause a rift between the public and the heroes that make it their job to protect them." Kuroko's tone became hardened with and edge of something Naomasa couldn't determine. "The villains that attacked both the USJ and the Midoriya household are after one thing: the destruction of the heroics industry. What better way to do that than to tear down its foundation, the trust between the people and the heroes? Heroes are still here only because the public wants them to be. The moment they start thinking otherwise, the entire system starts to crumble. Do you know the steel structure of support for the heroes?" He paused for a dramatic effect. "All Might. If they take him out of the picture, it all comes crashing down faster than a game of Jenga."
Naomasa made a sharp turn into the park, seeing several other officers coming in from the opposite side. He sprang out of his car and scanned the square, eyes straining for any sight of the infamous black helmet. The radio could still be heard from his car.
"Oh dear, looks like the police have found where I'm calling. Imagine how they'll feel when they realize I'm not even there." He heard the vigilante laugh as the detective's face grew steadily more red. "Amazing what a few old American action movies can inspire. Do you mind cutting my line, Miss? It's a bit hard to do so when you're speaking from a walkie-talkie."
The woman seemed to be caught off guard from the request. "O-of course." There was a click, then silence.
Immediately, Naomasa whipped to his subordinates. "Look everywhere." He ordered, "I want no rock unturned until we find that damn phone." They nodded and dispersed as the detective went to his car and turned off the radio. Old American action movies, huh? He didn't know whether to laugh or punch something, preferably a certain black fox.
It didn't take long for the phone to be found, the walkie-talkie duct taped to it had been a big giveaway for the search teams. Naomasa took the phone from an officer's offering hands and ripped the tape off. He held the walkie-talkie in his hands and felt his frustration rise even further when it came alive within his hand.
"Detective? I really hope that you have this, otherwise it's going to be a really awkward game of telephone." the vigilante's voice came in through the speaker. "Hello? Testing. Testing. One-two-three."
He sighed, then brought the device up to his mouth, firmly ignoring the police officers staring both at him and the walkie-talkie in his hand. "This is Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa speaking." He said.
"Oh good, you found it." the voice chirped, actually chirped. Was he dealing with a damn child? "Just wanted to tell you nice job on acting so fast, really. Kudos to you, Detective. If I was actually there, it would have been much harder to get away."
"What do you want, Kuroko?" he deadpanned into the receiver, his irritation now reaching dangerous levels. "Why did you pull this little stunt?"
"Well, I certainly wouldn't call it 'little'," the vigilante began, "I made sure they were broadcasting as far as they could. I'm fairly certain a good three-quarters of the adult population heard me." He sounded entirely too proud of himself. "As for the why: I felt that you would want a little heads up to their plans, making a counter-move against a move that hasn't even been made yet is a good way to end the game quickly."
"This isn't a game, Kuroko." Naomasa stated coldly into the device. "Real people are in danger here."
There was silence for a moment, but when Kuroko spoke again his voice was icy, like the bite of a freezing wind. "Oh, I'm well aware of that little fact." He said, "The moment the League attacked the USJ they showed that they meant business. I've been slacking in my monitoring of them and now look what's happened. But I won't allow something like that again." Kuroko's voice grew cheerful, an eerie switch from what it had been a mere second ago. "So you can go suck on a lemon as sour as you are, Detective. Do your damn job, and I'll do mine." The line cut dead in his hands. Naomasa had a feeling it would not be spoken through again.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a parking garage, Izuku let out a huff of laughter. "Thank you, Liam Neeson, for the inspiration." He said to no one in particular as he tossed the walkie-talkie off the edge and into an open dumpster. "Well," he let out a groan as he stretched his back. "Time to visit Kuroda." And hopefully not get smacked on the head for what he just did. That man had a second sense for when Izuku got into mischief, and he never hesitated to either laugh or scold him. Sometimes he'd do both, but that was a fifty-fifty chance that Izuku really didn't want to take. Shouldering his bag, he began his trek to the hospital, smirking as he was passed by police cars rushing to comb the area for a certain vigilante. Gee, wonder where he could be.
It was decided. Kuroda was going to kill the brat. He tells the kid to keep his head low until reinforcements arrive and what does he do? He goes and calls out the League's plans, that's what. Where the hell did his survival instincts go while Kuroda was training him? Because he's going to find them and beat them back into his student's ridiculously green head with a single goddamn arm. Don't think he can do it? Try him.
"That idiot." He growled, pressing a button on his bed that turned the offending radio off. "What the hell was he thinking?"
"I'd imagine that he thought he was helping." A voice pitched in, the familiar exasperation making Kuroda turn to the door and grin. The newcomer was tall, intimidatingly so, to anyone but him. Black hair, only a shade lighter than his, was neatly trimmed into a fashionable shape, matching his suit as he leaned on the doorway.
Kuroda shot the man a smile. "Hey, big brother, long time no see. Where's my hug?" He fake pouted as his brother snorted, sitting down in the chair next to his bed.
"With your left arm," the man deadpanned.
Ouch, talk about a cold shoulder.
"And if I remember correctly, the reason I haven't seen you in the last four years is because you were on a recovery leave." He crossed his legs primly. "Imagine my surprise when I turn on the TV to see that a black fox came back to Japan."
Kuroda winced, "Oh yeah, about that, Kei, I have a perfectly good reason-"
"No," Kei cut in coldly, "you don't. Don't bother coming up with an excuse, you damn idiot, you were never good at them."
Okay! Sibling's being more abrasive than usual. He really messed up this time. "I take offense to that!" Kuroda protested, sending his brother a glare. "What I was going to say was-"
"What, you wanted to pay Mrs. Fujioko a visit?" Kei scoffed, "She may be our grandmother-in-law, Kuroda, but that does not forgive the fact that you undid a good five years worth of work hiding you from both villains and heroes alike." He gestured to his bandaged stump. "Now look at what's happened."
Kuroda huffed, "Ok, first of all, stop interrupting me. It's rude."
Kei was quick to reply. "I will interrupt if I think you're being stupid."
"Which is always."
"You're starting to catch on after about twenty years, little brother." Kei sighed, holding his forehead in his hands. "Do you know how much cover-up I had to do? Messing with medical records, forging a passport, faking insurance, you're lucky I didn't get arrested last time."
Kuroda couldn't help but scoff, "Nah, you're too good for that, Kei. The only time you'd get caught is when it's the end of the world."
"Glad to see my idiot brother has faith in me," Kei commented dryly. Try as he might though, Kuroda could spot the sight twitch of his lips.
Oh good, Kei wasn't completely pissed at him. Small mercies, he sure did love 'em.
Speaking of small mercies, he could hear familiar sneakers on the hospital floor coming closer and closer. Sure enough, the soon-to-be-dead teen popped his head in the doorway. "..... Hey Kuroda." He said cautiously, eyeing his brother with wariness. "Who's this?"
"Remember that brother I mentioned when we first met?" He nodded towards Kei, "This is him."
Kuroda watched in amusement as his student stood ramrod straight, bowing to his brother with a formal greeting. "Hello, Mr. Nagaki."
"Hello, young man." He replied, "I won't cut into your time with my brother, so I'll leave you two to it, but-" he took out a phone, obviously newly bought and expensive, and placed it on Kuroda's bedside table. "Use that if you need to call in a favor." He nodded to Izuku as he stepped out, heavy footsteps slowly fading from earshot.
"That's your brother?" Izuku asked, looking between him and the doorway where the man in question had been. "Talk about opposites."
"Nice try Izuku, I'm still going to kick you ass for that little stunt this morning." He took pleasure in the kid's wince, even more so when he started looking at his shoes rather than Kuroda's face. "You just love to stir shit up, don't you?" Izuku looked up. Apparently a year of training actually gave him some backbone. Who knew?
"I learned from the best." Izuku replied, drawing a laugh from Kuroda.
"Damn straight." He agreed, gesturing to the now empty seat beside him. "Let's hope your bedside manner is better than your impulse control, because I am really wanting some food right now."
"Don't you have a nurse for that?" Izuku asked, taking the seat and cocking an eyebrow.
He scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. "Nah, why call in the nurse when I have my own little student to follow my whims?" He grinned when he felt Izuku punch his good arm. It was light, the kid not wanting to hurt him, but at least he was acting a little more like himself. "Easy there kid, I just want some food! No need to hit me till I'm black and blue."
Izuku sighed, slumping in the chair, "Do you want me to go to the cafeteria, or get room service?"
"Jeez, talking like that you make it sound like I'm in a hotel instead of a hospital."
"Cafeteria it is."
"Don't forget noodles!" Kuroda called out after him, huffing a laugh when Izuku sent back an annoyed look before leaving. At least the day wouldn't be boring. Not with Kei and Izuku around.
The hours passed quickly now that he was with Kuroda, both of them deciding to watch b-rated movies and make sarcastic comments as they ate food. They had just finished their third movie when the hospital door opened and a boy with a familiar head of dark blue hair stepped in.
"Iida!" Izuku paused the movie, ignoring Kuroda's protest in favor of greeting his friend. "School's already over?"
The taller boy nodded, "Shinshou and Kahiro took notes for you in your classes." He informed. They stood there, not quite sure what to say until Kuroda cut in.
"Oh for goodness sake! You're I know better than to leave you both standing there without saying anything. Go be with your friend Izuku, I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Izuku asked as Iida's attention focused on the man in the bed.
Kuroda huffed, a small smile tugging at his mouth as he said, "Positive, you brat. Hang out with people your damn age for once in your life."
Well, Izuku didn't need much more prompting than that, with a wave goodbye he stepped out of the room with Iida. "So," he began, walking down the hallway with his friend. "What do you want to do?"
"It's not so much a question of me," Iida said, pausing at the entrance to the visitor's section. "But of 'us'." With that, he opened the door; and Izuku wasn't quite ready for what he saw.
His friends, all four of them, excluding Iida, were waiting for him. Uraraka was with Kahiro, holding balloons and other such things in their hands as they chattered to one another. Shinshou and Todoroki were sitting a respectful distance apart, occasionally making eye contact to roll their eyes at the antics of their female companions. All of them noticeably perked up when they saw Izuku.
Kahiro was the first to react, jumping from her seat and almost tackling them both to the floor as she pulled him into a crushing hug. "Oh my God, Izuku! We missed you at school! You totally missed when Bakugou-" she went on a tangent after that, but Izuku tuned it out in favor of greeting his other friends and answering their questions concerning his wellbeing. The other visitors watched from the corner of their eyes with either amusement or annoyance. Izuku didn't care, not with his friends smiling and joking around him. Uraraka and Kahiro practically dragged him out of the hospital by his arms as the others trailed behind, content to watch him splutter and continue growing an embarrassing shade of red.
Traitors.
Somehow, the group found themselves eating at an ice cream shop. Content to sit and eat their frozen treats, their silence was broken by Uraraka. "So, who was the guy you were visiting, Izuku?" She asked, placing her spoon down as she looked to him curiously.
"Yes, you seem to have a close relationship with him based on what I've observed." Iida, ever the helpful friend he was, contributed. "I have to admit I'm curious as well." Now everyone was focused on Izuku, intent to hear his answer.
"Well...." How could Izuku describe Kuroda? Besides the obvious 'sarcastic asshole that taught me how to be a vigilante'. "He started as my self defense instructor," Yes, good. Off to a good start. "A few things happened," the memory of being carried home after the USJ flashed in his mind. He couldn't stop the words that finished his sentence. "And now it's like he's family."
Goddammit. He was supposed to reduce the amount of questions about his friend/teacher, not increase them. He mentally prepared himself for the barrage of questions, yet found himself surprised when no one asked any. They clearly wanted to, he could see it in Uraraka's furrowed eyebrows and Iida biting his lip. Surprisingly, it was Todorki that spoke next.
"If he's family, then he's family. It's not our place to ask about that if you're not comfortable with sharing it."
Ever the opportunist, Kahiro switched the subject with as much tact as Bakugou in a china shop. "Yeah, where are you staying anyways, Midoriya? I have extra space at my house if you need it."
That brought on a whole new onslaught.
"That's true!" Uraraka agreed excitedly. "We can all make room for you if you need it, right guys?"
"Yeah." Shinshou stated in between spoonfuls of ice cream. "My place is a bit small, though.
"Yes, this would be a good plan of action for Midoriya." Iida stated wisely, "He would be around people that care for him and will protect him from any further attacks. "
"I don't know. The last time Midoriya came to my house, my father almost set the living room on fire once he left." Todoroki mused, looking around curiously when everyone, besides Izuku, stared at him. "What?"
"Midoriya pissed off Endeavor?" Kahiro asked, a laugh beginning to bubble up in her throat from the mere thought. "I have got to hear how this went down."
"Don't." Izuku groaned, hiding his face behind his hands. Being a horrible example of a friend, Todoroki told them just how he had sassed Endeavor when the man had tried to run him out of Todoroki's house. Including actual quotes.
What did he do to deserve this? Well, the vigilante thing maybe, but even that wasn't equal karma to Kahiro falling off her seat from laughing so hard. Meanwhile everyone else was either mortified or impressed. He wasn't sure which was worse.
"I don't know whether to compliment you on your bravery or insult you on your stupidity." Shinshou stated neutrally, even with a snickering Kahiro beside him. "But besides all that, it's getting late. Do you need a ride where you're staying?"
Looking at the sky proved his friend's statement to be correct; the sun had just started to set on the horizon. Izuku didn't know when Naomasa came home from his job, but he didn't want to run into the detective while suiting up for a patrol. The day had been awkward enough, he'd rather not top it off by going to jail. "I'm fine." He said, "I'll just get a cab. Really, I'm ok guys."
They all seemed reluctant to let him go, but waved goodbye as he made his way down familiar streets to a bus stop. He counted the minutes anxiously until the vehicle lurched to a stop near the detective's apartment. Quickly thanking the driver, he stepped out and jogged to the entrance.
Thankfully the receptionist paid him no mind and he made it to the apartment without being stopped. The door swung open and he rushed to his armor. His heart was leaping into his throat as he changed, half expecting the detective to come in as he was half dressed. Fate was on his side for once however, and he managed to change completely, along with writing a note saying he'd be staying the night with a friend, without anyone coming into the room. He let out a sigh as he finally got onto the roof, the familiar sight of nighttime Japan soothing his frazzled nerves. With a leap, he landed on the next roof and broke into a sprint. He could hear the wind rushing past him as he performed flips and twists, eagerly embracing the freedom that came with his vigilante self. He paused when he heard a familiar voice call out, "Kuroko!"
It was Kahiro, standing on the roof next to him. What the hell was she doing here? Cautiously, Izuku leapt to her roof and stood, taking note of his friend's toned down demeanor. She didn't even look at his face as she started to speak. "Uh, you probably don't know me, but I'm Kahiro Amaya."
"Hello, Kahiro." He greeted, bowing his head slightly. "What are you doing on the rooftops so late?" Good question, why exactly was his friend standing where Kuroko could easily spot her?
She shuffled her feet, and that's when Izuku knew something was up. "Well...." She began, "it's been pretty much confirmed that you're the student of the original Kuroko, that he might still be alive, and.... I wanted to apologize to him."
That gave Izuku pause, "Apologize for what? You were around eleven when he left, what could you be sorry for?"
Kahiro looked like she'd swallowed something vile. "Because..... I'mthereasonyourmentorgothurtfouryearsago!" She finished quickly.
".....I think you'll have to repeat that, Miss Kahiro." He said slowly, unsure of what was wrong with his friend. "Take a deep breath, relax, I won't be mad at what you say. I promise."
She fortunately seemed to relax and did as he said, taking a deep breath before repeating herself. "I-I'm the reason your mentor got hurt four years ago."
What?!
Kahiro continued, deciding not to stop once she was finally on a roll. "I was the politician's daughter, me and my mother were being held hostage by a villain and he came to save us. The villain struck at me and Kuroko -the old Kuroko- leapt in between us." She let out a shiver, "Good God, his screams are still in my head whenever I think of it. For a while, my mother and I were content to write it all off as an unfortunate kidnapping, a fate of chance. That didn't last long. A month later my mom found emails between my father and an undisclosed person. He orchestrated the whole thing in an attempt to take down Kuroko."
Izuku was thrown, but a lot of the pieces clicked with what he already knew about Kahiro. Her borderline hatred of her father being the most prevalent. It took him a moment to gather himself before replying. "That wasn't your fault, Kahiro." She looked up at him, making eye contact for the first time, not that she'd know with his visor on. "That's the fault of a man who was so greedy he put his family in danger, no one deserves a father like that." He sighed, taking a seat on the roof ledge. "Since you shared something with me, I'll share something with you. My dad was never around, he left before my mom gave birth. No note, no goodbye, just packed his things and left." He smiled to himself, "But crappy dads don't make you or me who we are. I became a vigilante, a damn good one at that; and you still have a few roads to choose from, all of the are bright, believe me. As for my mentor....." Well, she didn't have to know he was in a hospital, right? "He's doing fine, and I'll pass on your message to him."
He wasn't prepared for Kahiro to suddenly hug him, if Kahiro was shaking a little or he felt a damp spot on his shoulders, he didn't comment,ms imply patting her back awkwardly unsure what to do. He had a patrol to finish, and as much as he wanted to be there for his friend, he needed to be there for his city.
Thankfully, she didn't take long to detach herself. She wiped at her damp eyes with a sniffle, "Sorry, it's just-there's so much going on with my life right now, I really needed to hear that from someone other than my mom."
"No problem," Izuku replied coolly, "do you know the way back to your home from here?"
"How would I have gotten here in the first place if I didn't?"
She had a point there. He shrugged, "You never know."
"No, you don't." She agreed, opening the door to the staircase. "Thank you, Kuroko." With that, she was gone, the door swinging shut behind her.
Izuku slumped with an exhausted sigh, that was...... He didn't even know how to put it into words. Kahiro was the kid Kuroda saved four years ago? Her dad set the whole thing up to take Kuroda down? He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts; and nearly fell off of the roof when he noticed a figure standing on the roof with him, who had certainly not been there when he and Kahiro were talking.
"If I was an enemy, you'd be dead, kid." The Hero-killer Stain said in amusement. "All that training from Nagaki couldn't knock some sense into your head? Can't say I'm surprised."
"Hello, Stain." Izuku said, taking a moment to recompose himself. "I'm sorry to say I didn't bring any detergent with me."
"Haha, kid. Real clever, I'm wounded." Stain replied, crossing his arms. "If you're just going to sass me, then I'll leave."
That sobered Izuku up real quick. "Okay, I'm done. What is it that you want?" His eyes were locked on the blades he'd attached to various places on the other vigilante's body. Was it even possible to have that much extra weight and still move like he did? He was broken from his thoughts when the Stain replied.
"Shiragaki showed up last night," Izuku tried not to stiffen at the mention of that particular name. "Tried to get me to join his cause in taking down the hero industry."
"I'm assuming you said no."
"If I had said yes, you'd be on the floor bleeding out," Is the deadpan response. "Fortunately, I'm a person that actually has a moral compass, so I told him 'screw off' and went to find you."
"Not that I'm not grateful," Izuku started carefully, "but why?" He was pretty certain of the answer. He wasn't disappointed.
"Because I respect Nagaki, I wouldn't take a part in taking down his legacy. Besides, with the League after your ass? You're going to need at the help you can get."
Well, he couldn't exactly deny that. "I have one condition if we do form an alliance." He said carefully, eyeing Stain for his response. All he got was a 'go on' gesture. Ok then. "While we are allies, you won't kill or maim any heroes, even when I'm not there."
Surprisingly, Stain agreed. "Simple enough," an eerie grin lit up his face. "So, you ready to wreak some hell?"
Izuku looked out to the city, glowing and completely unaware of what was coming. "As ready as I'll ever be."