The seven members of the Quirkless Rejects stood outside the door of the boy's room, Kiru and Siru as well, all in their costumes. Anima was quietly sobbing and Jester's eyes were wet. The twins seemed as apathetic as ever.
"H- he's dead."
...
"Izuku Midoriya i-is dead."
Anima lurched forward to grab the door handle but Grimlin grabbed her arm and shook his head. The group silently made their way into the small living room and sat around the coffee table. Grimlin sighed. As the adult, or at least the oldest here, I should probably say something.
"So, from what I gathered, Deku met the guy he had asked for and almost killed him." A few nodded slightly but no one spoke. Tough crowd.
"Look, guys," Grimlin continued," I know that this looks bad, and I know, we all know, that Deku isn't stable. And he may possibly be even more unstable after this. But we all saw this coming, am I right?" They all nodded. "We all choose to continue to follow him even knowing that. The leader part of him is still there, even though Deku just tried killing Izuku, which he almost, ALMOST, succeeded. However, due to the fact that memories can't die, Izuku is still there so he isn't dead. The leader and friend we all know and love is still there, we will just have to compensate for what was lost."
Silence. And then...
"But..." started Jester, "... he won't be the same anymore..."
Grimlin shook his head. "No, he won't. But none of us are the same as we were before either. We've all changed drastically. Actually, it's probably because of Deku that we aren't breaking like him as well," Everyone lifter their heads to look at him questioningly. "Have none of you noticed? I only saw it once, but I got a glimpse of his notebook. Deku has detailed notes on every single one of us. I didn't notice it until after I saw his notes but Deku tries his darndest to bring up and remind us of everything we liked and disliked before our time in the Quirkless Rejects. He works hard to make sure we don't forget who we were before."
"Haven't we done the same for him?" asked Bubblegum.
Grimlin sadly shook his head. "Besides getting Deku Honey, not really. We all just watched." They all hung their heads again.
"But!" suddenly piped Bubble. "That fact of us still being here still remains! This is our life now, our family," they turned to look at her, "so we keep marching forward together, Deku included, and together we will succeed in our goal."
"What is our goal though?" Fox asked in unison.
"The justice of the quirkless and those who have been rejected. Our numbers will grow and we will reach our goal. But none of this would have been possible without the original Rejects so we must stick together and keep moving forward okay? Heads up!"
The group looked at each other then back at Bubble. "Right!"
________________________________________
Izuku did, in fact, change.
At the bakery, Mikumo was the same as always but he'd constantly check the front door. Deku was a little more brash and proud, like he had done something good by killing off Izuku, but he didn't change too much.
It was different at the apartment though. Sometimes Izuku was normal. He'd laugh and joke and play the guitar like any other day. But that would change rapidly. At random times, mid-sentence maybe, Izuku would just start laughing hysterically or curl up in a ball mumbling to himself, each with a faraway look in his eyes.
A member of the Quirkless Rejects would often walk in on him sitting, or standing, eyes blank, perfectly still and unreachable from the world, with this doll-like smile on his face. He would seem like a puppet waiting to be used. It was... odd, to say the least.
Honey became a necessity anytime Izuku wasn't Deku, a lifeline of some sort.
While the twins didn't really witness much of this because they lived separately, the rest of the Quirkless Rejects took this change in stride.
By now they had all witnessed or had one of their own panic attacks so they were basically pro's on calming one. When Izuku was on a laughing high one of them would put a pair of headphones on him with soft music playing. It calmed him down somehow. Whenever the greenette was found staring into space or asleep, he'd always wake up in his bed.
Izuku was different for sure, but also very much the same as before and they'd continue to support him just like he would them.
________________________________________
"Why don't we go to an amusement park?" asked Anima. They all looked up from their bowls of rice to look at her.
"Why the sudden want to go out?" Deku asked. Anima shrugged. "We need a break, something to relieve stress, you know?"
"Heck yeah!" Jester shouted, punching the air. "Watch your mouth, young man," reprimanded Grimlin. Jester stuck his tongue out at the older man.
"I think it's a great idea," said Bubblegum. "Don't you think so, babe?" Doom nodded. "I'm down." They all turned to Deku.
"Sooo....?" Anima pressed. He grinned.
"Alright," complied Deku. "Tomorrow we'll go to the amusement park!"
________________________________________
Izuku stroked Honey after putting on her vest and collar. He pulled on his beanie. "You ready girl?" She barked happily. "Ha ha, let's go then!"
All of the Quirkless Rejects, aside from the twins, had their bakery disguises on. Colored contacts, makeup, hats, etc. They were going to Universal Studios Japan today.
Mikumo:
I won't be at the bakery today.
Aizawa:
Should you really be telling a pro hero when you are going hero hunting?
Mikumo:
I'm not! That's Deku'she job!
...
Aizawa:
Right.
So what are you doing then?
Mikumo:
We are going to an amusement park to destress.
Aizawa:
Okay but tomorrow I'm stopping by the bakery after school. Be there.
Mikumo:
Okay! See you then!
He and Aizawa were on the border with each other but Mikumo made he still replied to his messages.
"You coming, Mikumo!?" he heard Himiki, Anima, call. The greenette smiled. His friends always knew when to call him Mikumo, when he was present and not Deku or Izuku. They called him as such and in turn, he called them by their bakery names. It helped separate himself from the other two.
"Coming!" Mikumo replied as he and Honey left the room. The six made their way to the subway station chatting about random topics.
Mikumo watches as Yul, Doom, casually puts his arm around Francy, Bubble, and how she leaned into him.
Maybe I should have brought Uraraka? But she hasn't been responding to my messages. I hope she is ok.
The group entered the park. "What should we do first?" he asked. Triston, Jester, turned to him with a sly grin, pointing at the teacups. "Six obviously above average in strength people spinning cups that are already spinning at a semi-high speed."
Everyone grinned and got in line.
Three to a cup, the two cups began to spin. They got faster, and faster, and faster. So fast until the ride operator was yelling at them to stop over the intercoms.
Let's just say that they weren't allowed on the teacups again.
"Ooooh!" cooed Francy. "That'll be fun!" She pointed at a large rollercoaster.
"I've never been on one before," commented Mikumo. Five heads turned to stare at the greenette. "What? Mom was always gone and we didn't have the money to go."
Yul pushed Mikumo into the front lane. "Wha-" "Don't worry," said Doom. "You'll like this."
Mikumo sighed and accepted his fate. Honey sat by the ride operator while they road.
They boarded the ride. Seems harmless enou- "AHHHH!" Mikumo screamed as he held onto his hat. What the hell is this!? It dives and takes sharp turns, looping multiple times.
Turns out Mikumo is susceptible to motion sickness.
He and Hisou, Grimlin, sat on a park bench. Well, more like hung off one.
"I'm too old for this..." groaned Hisou.
Mikumo only grumbled in reply.
Triston was laughing in the background. "Alright," spoke Himiki, "let's not do you many of those then." She sounded like she was trying not to laugh as well.
For the rest of the day, up until the evening, the group road a few more rides, played the park games, and ate junk food that probably wasn't the best for them. They laughed and chatted and smiled till their faces hurt.
This is nice, thought Mikumo.
The group boarded the subway heading back to their city still laughing over a picture of Mikumo's face on a ride.
Mikumo eventually nodded off against Himiki's shoulder.
________________________________________
Shouta sighed and rolled his eyes as a group of teenagers got on the subway. They weren't too loud per se, but the man already had a headache and he certainly didn't need the added noise. He had only just gotten his bandages off today and lowered the pain pill dosage.
Shouta was about to go over and tell them to shut up when he looked over and saw him. Mikumo, asleep, on a girl with a black bun's shoulder. His friends from the bakery were still talking but at a lower level. Honey sat faithfully by the greenette's feet. At first, Shouta had wondered why the boy needed a service dog, especially after Mikumo avoided the question, but after the recent turn of events, it was kind of obvious.
Shouta smiled softly. Mikumo had a small smiley face painted in his cheek, a pair of those fake sunglasses with the plastic lines on them sliding off his face, and one of those fake bead necklaces around his neck.
He looked so... peaceful.
Shouta looked at the boy that he had come to think of as a son. What the hell am I supposed to do?
________________________________________
Izuku woke up on his air mattress. He remembered waking up, walking back to the apartment, and crashing as soon as his face hit the pillow. His stomach grumbled loudly. Alright, I see how it is.
Izuku quietly made his way to the kitchen. Night had fallen and it was pretty late. He read somewhere that you shouldn't eat at night or that if you sleep right after you eat you'll gain weight faster. He honestly couldn't care less at the moment.
As the rice heated in the microwave, Izuku went over to the window and opened it. He smiled as the cool night air hit his face. Something, or someone, walking further down the street coming in his direction, caught Izuku's attention.
It wasn't hard to recognize the person as the son of Endeavor as the hero was very popular. Shoto Todoroki was walking down the sidewalk, illuminated by the lampposts
You know... thought Izuku. He felt Deku grin.
That's not a bad idea, Izuku.
________________________________________
*BEEP**BEEP**BEEP*
A bowl of rice sat in a microwave unopened as it beeped in a silent apartment.