…~AMP~...

(Next Day: Bakugou Family Household: Katsuki's Room)

Katsuki looked into his phone, his camera mirroring his image back at him. His busted lip was mostly gone, outside of a little red line.

If there was anything he could give to Earlobes— and it was very little— it was that she could throw a punch.

The police had questioned him, but he kept to the story.

The League got scared of all the cops and heroes outside, tried to run, but Katsuki got out of his bindings. He escaped, the League ran, and he went to the Kamino Police Station.

To them, he was just a shaken up kid who had just gone through something traumatic, so they didn't push him very hard on the specifics. He wasn't sure the cops would've even believed him if he told them the actual story.

Shigaraki, that fucking freak…

How was it that the worst part about being kidnapped was that all anyone wanted to talk about was fucking Deku.

First the blonde psycho; constant questions about both Deku and Earlobes.

"Do they wear a lot of red? How open is their relationship? What's their opinion on quirks that might be considered a little gross or creepy? Do they like blondes?"

From personal experience, Katsuki could at least answer that last question. A resounding "No."

Then, Shigaraki. The girl's stuff was just confusing to Katsuki, but Crusty's questions? Those were dangerous, and he backed them up with action. Katsuki never expected to enter that piece of shit school ever again, and now he really wished he hadn't.

What the Hell was any of that?

What did Deku have to do with all of this? What about Earlobes? All that stuff Shigaraki showed them…

He was exaggerating, right? It was mostly bullshit.

Katsuki sighed as he leaned back in his desk chair, crossing his arms and glaring up at the ceiling. It wasn't. It wasn't bullshit, none of it. But, why did Shigaraki care? He kept covering up Katsuki's ears, making sure he couldn't hear anything important.

All that fucking talk about cousins, and his master, and promotions. Deku and Earlobes were involved, and he couldn't figure out how. Even if he thought Deku would tell him the truth— which he didn't— he had to get through his purple guard dog first.

A task which was basically impossible, because those two hadn't been apart from the moment he met her.

Where the Hell did Earlobes even come from? Those two had to have met before UA started. They were already close by the first day of school, constantly making annoying fucking goo-goo eyes at each other.

It must've been the entrance exams. During the last weeks of Aldera, people had been talking for days about how Deku was suddenly happy and smiling. Katsuki just thought he was smiling because Deku thought he did well on the exams, which infuriated the blonde to no end. But, he never thought the damn nerd would get a girlfriend.

He just had to pick the chick that loved being the biggest pain in Katsuki's ass.

That was an understatement. She hated him.

It was actually a strange experience. Katsuki didn't think he had known anyone that ever hated him. It just never seemed to happen.

…He supposed Deku had to, deep down.

Deku just wasn't one to let those kinds of feelings show, but Kyouka was very forthcoming about it. She actively wanted Katsuki to know just how much she loathed him, doing her best to act as a repellent from interacting with Deku any further.

How was it his fault Deku couldn't hold his lunch everyday? He didn't tell anyone of those extras to write any of that shit in Deku's locker, or on his desk.

'…You were the one who started it all though. Besides, subtract all the things you didn't do, and think of the dozens of things that you did.'

…Did Deku really vomit everyday during class? Out of anxiety? Fear?

And, he kept going up to the roof…

The roof.

No. No fucking way. Deku wouldn't, he'd never…

He would never. Deku is far too stubborn for that, he had first-hand experience.

Now, if only Katsuki believed that.

The blonde shook his head, standing up from his desk and pacing around. 'He wouldn't. Certainly not, because he had that fucking quirk. Little bastard was ready, just waiting for the entrance exams. He was pretending to be a quirkless runt for all those years. He had to be."

Now, if only Katsuki believed that too.

'Urgh! FUCKING ENOUGH!' Katsuki internally screamed at himself. He was getting off topic. What mattered was figuring out what happened that night. He'd figure it out.

"Katsuki!" His mother's voice came from downstairs, "Your teachers are here! Come greet them, please!"

…And he knew just who to start with.

…~AMP~...

"Hell yeah get this kid a dorm room!" Mitsuki smiled, hitting her son's shoulder.

…A action which confused Katsuki greatly. Just his shoulder?

"Stop fucking hittin' me, you old hag!"

"Don't curse in front of your teachers, you fucking brat!"

"Wh-?! But you jus-!"

"You two, please," Masaru timidly tried to quiet his family down. "We have company…"

Across from them on the other couch, Toshinori and Shouta sat in complete silence, not quite sure how to take in the scene that was playing out before them. This was an…odd family.

Okay, no, it was fucked up. Not really any other way to put it. If by some miracle they entered counseling, Toshinori begged for mercy upon the soul of that poor therapist.

Aizawa leaned over to All Might, whispering, "Please kill me."

"Then who's gonna be left to kill me?"

"Stick around long enough, I doubt you'll make it out of here alive." Aizawa cleared his throat as he slid the documents over, keeping his eyes on Katsuki to make sure things didn't escalate even further, "If you're all in agreement, then sign these lines and we'll be on our way."

Hm? Oh, right." Mitsuki took the clipboard and pen, signing her name. "We're grateful, honestly. You guys seem to be the only ones that understand our boy, and the only ones that can handle him."

"I can handle myself…" Katsuki growled.

Mitsuki yanked on her son's earlobe, as she passed the clipboard over to her husband "Not what I meant, brat. Look, I'm fully aware that he's gotten himself on thin ice a few times already. He's reckless, aggressive, got an ego bigger than Japan–"

"They fucking get it."

"But…" Mitsuki side-eyed her son. "He means well…Eh, well enough. You teachers understand the potential he has, but don't take his crap. Unlike everyone else, who probably would've praised him just for wiping his ass."

"Honey…" Masaru deadpanned.

"What I'm saying is, if you can keep my boy safe and turn him into the good hero I know he can be, then he's all yours. For now, obviously. Believe it or not, I want this troublemaker back. Hell, you should know. You were both at the police station when I caused everyone trouble. I'm sorry for that."

"Ma'am, you're apologizing?" Toshinori scoffed, a smile on his face. "Your son was kidnapped by very dangerous people. We all understood you were beside yourself."

"All I'm saying is…Thank you." Mitsuki bowed her head, shoving Katsuki's head down once she noticed he wasn't doing the same. She then turned to Toshinori specifically, "And thank you. For everything, I mean."

Toshinori waved it off with a smile, taking the clipboard from Masaru with his uncasted arm, "Just did my job. Luckily I love my job."

Aizawa stood up from the couch, clearly wanting to get out of that house as fast as possible, "Thank you both. Bakugou, I'll see you a few days before the semester starts. UA will be supplying everyone with moving vans, and we'll want everyone settled before school begins. In a few days you'll get a letter in the mail with the dorm layout, showing you what floor you'll be on."

They took their leave, saying their goodbyes to the volatile family as they made their way outside. They reached Aizawa's car, with Shouta groaning as he saw who was next on their list. "Problem Child One. Thankfully Problem Child Two and her parents are gonna be there, so that removes one of our stops."

"What's with the groan?" Toshinori chuckled. "C'mon, you love 'em."

"I don't love how much more complicated my life has become in the last two weeks."

"Katsuki! The police said not to roam around outside!"

Both teachers turned around, finding their student exit the front door. He made his way down his lawns pathway, expression lacking almost any emotion. He stopped in front of All Might, looking up at his teacher, "Can I ask you something?"

"Oh, of course, Young Bakugou. What's wrong?"

"...Who is Deku to you?"

…Shit.

Aizawa remained completely expressionless, moving around his car towards the driver's side.

Toshinori feigned confusion, peering at Katuski, "Deku? Oh, you mean Young Izuku? I don't think I understand. He's my student, same as you are."

Katsuki's expression didn't change, merely blinking a few times in silence. "...You don't wanna say, that's fine. I understand. Thanks…for everything."

He turned around and went back into the house, leaving his teachers to go back to their business. Toshinori internally breathed a sigh of relief, turning back to the car.

…Only to find Aizawa shaking his head.

"What?"

Aizawa sighed as he opened his car door, "Next time you're gonna lie about this, remember to use Midoriya's last name."

"Oh…Oh shit." Toshinori growled to himself as he got into the car, turning to Aizawa as the engine roared to life, "Do you think he noticed?"

"Bakugou is a lot of things, but dumb isn't one of them. He noticed. Just deny, deny, deny. As long as he doesn't have anything, eventually he'll have no choice but to rule it out as nothing but a slip of the tongue."

"He had front row seats to Shigaraki personally inviting Young Izuku and Kyouka to watch my fight. He's not going to let anything slide."

"Deny. Deny. Deny. End of story."

"I know. I know, just…It just had to be him, didn't it?"

Aizawa raised a brow as he began to drive, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing…"

Toshinori rested back as he continued to beat himself up over such a small slip-up. His feelings towards Young Bakugou were quite complicated. How were you supposed to feel about someone who you were supposed to be teaching and bring up to be a great hero, but they're responsible for the pain and suffering of the person you cared for like a son?

He didn't hate the boy, but he did understand and relate to Kyouka's feelings towards him.

There was good in Katsuki, he knew it. But, most things— and most people— weren't so simple as that.

…~AMP~...

(Katsuki's Room)

Seeing All Might up close like that…

None of this would've happened if he didn't get himself caught. He got caught by some C-Tier magician villain? What a sick fucking joke. All that bullshit at Aldera wouldn't have been thrown in his face. All Might wouldn't have been at Kamino. He never would've fought that villain. He wouldn't be retired right now.

…What did Deku and Earlobes have to do with any of this?

Katsuki stepped into his room, All Might's words bouncing around in his head. As much as he wanted to focus on that, his mother's hands shot through his door before it shut.

Mitsuki swung the door open, stepping in after her son, "Knock-Knock, coming in anyway. Katsuki, what did we tell you about going outside?"

"I was ten feet from the fucking house," Katsuki scoffed, sitting back in his desk chair. "And I can handle anyone that comes for me, so get off my back."

"Really? I bet that's the same thing you thought at camp, wasn't it?"

"I-..." Fuck, he had no retort to that. "Just don't fucking worry about it. Believe me when I say I'm not their first priority."

"It's my job to worry, brat. Stay. In. The. House. Look, just…" Mitsuki leaned down, running a hand through her son's hair, "Please, Katsuki. Just for now."

"Alright, enough!" Katsuki batted her hand away, getting up from his chair to move away from her. "The Hell has been up with you? You're all…soft, or something. You don't smack me in the head anymore, you're all touchy and shit."

"You want me to hit you?"

"I don't know! It's just what we do!"

"For fuck's sake, Katsuki. We can't even properly express how fucking relieved we are that you're safe, because you won't let us. Masaru is too timid and afraid to hug his own son. I want you t— No, I need you to think on that. That man weeped when you were born, you're a fucking asshole to him. You think I wanted to hit you? I started smackin' ya because it's quite literally the only form of physical contact you understand. It's no excuse, but you're an impossible kid. Maybe I realized that method isn't working, and I'm tired of doing it."

"...The fuck does any of that mean?"

"Oh my-! Katsuki, I know for a fact I raised you to be emotionally smarter than this! Even with my aggressive genes, I was never this bad. Katsuki, we almost lost you."

"How many times do I gotta tell you I was fine, Old Hag!"

"Keep fucking telling me, brat! It doesn't matter! I was scared! I-!" Mitsuki growled, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She looked back to her son, her voice lowered again. "You don't understand. I don't expect you to. You've always been self-centered, with everyone constantly blowing smoke up your ass, and it's my own fault for not steering you away from that path. But, I saw how happy it made you an-...Off track. What I'm trying to say is you can't begin to fathom the feeling of losing your child, even the idea of it. What do you think I would've done if you had died, Katsuki?"

Katsuki was silent, almost out of shock. He wasn't quite sure he could remember his mom being so soft-spoken. He shrugged, not sure how to answer properly, "I don't know…Life's gotta go on, I guess."

"No, Katsuki. Life would end. You can believe it or not, but you are my life. I've failed you in so many ways as a mother. I call you an asshole, because it's true…But, I fucking love you with all I got."

He didn't respond, not really. He just sat there, those words hitting him more than he ever thought they would. The biggest problem was that somewhere in the back of his mind, thinking about the idea of losing one's child, an image of Inko flashed in his mind, "...Thanks."

"Now, start packing or I'll kick your ass."

There she was.

…~AMP~...

(Midoriya Family Apartment)

Welp, this was awkward…again.

Izuku and Kyouka stood in the kitchen, peeking over to the living room to see Hisashi sitting frozen on the couch as Kyoutoku and Mika stared him down.

Well, Kyoutoku was staring him down.

Mika was doing something Izuku could only call "The Penance Stare".

Izuku was just happy to see Kyoutoku defending him.

Hisashi cleared his throat, twiddling his thumbs as he nervously looked back and forth between the two parents, "...I-I can see my son has left quite the impression on you."

"..." Silence, from both parents.

"...H-He speaks very highly of you both."

"..."

"...You know, I think I saw you guys in concert before."

"..."

Kyouka turned back to her boyfriend, a shake of her head, "He really is your dad. He can't stop talking either."

"Wh-? Hey!"

Inko walked past the teenagers, holding a tray of drinks and snacks for both her present guests and soon-to-be-arriving guests. She got to the living room, setting the tray down on the coffee table. Inko looked back and forth between the two parties, sighing as she looked at the Jirous, "Please don't kill my husband. I just got him back."

Mika hummed, clasping her hands behind her back as she stepped away, sitting down in the red armchair next to the couch, "...For now."

"My husband is fully aware of his prolonged absence. We're all legally going to be family someday, so let's just get along."

"Wh-?! Mom!" Izuku sputtered out from the kitchen, both teens sporting deep blushes.

"Am I wrong?"

"I-...I'm not going to say no."

"See? So, let's just calm down. Leave him to me," Inko said, sitting down next to her husband.

Hisashi had explained everything to Inko that morning; the same conversation he had with Izuku the night prior. Izuku was there when his dad explained his absence to his mom. She seemed…okay with it. And, by "okay with it", he meant she accepted it while being incredibly frustrated. She had apparently been dealing with two delusional idiots for sixteen years without even realizing it.

Kyoutoku sighed, sitting on the armrest of Mika's chair as he crossed his arms, "Can I ever be allowed to intimidate one person? I already can't intimidate Izuku, so at least let me scare his old man."

"First you've gotta be intimidating, Pops," Kyouka scoffed.

Hisashi sighed in relief, thankful that the pressure in the room finally released, "You can intimidate me all you want. I'm just happy that you like my son so much to defend him like this. I wish I had that when I first met Inko's parents."

Kyoutoku chuckled, "It helps that your son is basically unhateable."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Izuku mumbled to himself, with Kyouka nudging his side.

"We should have proper introductions though. Not a rendezvous to sign school papers. Perhaps we could have dinner together, all four of us. With our kids out of the house, we could have a night without some sort of chaos."

As Kyoutoku ignored his deadpanning daughter, the doorbell rang. Inko was about to get back up, but Izuku stopped her, telling her that he would get it. Once Izuku made it to the front door, he opened it up to find his teachers on the other side.

Toshinori smiled, ruffling Izuku's hair, "Good morning, my boy."

"Morning. Mr. Aizawa," Izuku nodded at the other teacher. "You've upgraded from three parents to four. This is your chance to run now."

Aizawa immediately turned to walk away, but All Might grabbed the back of jacket, pulling him back. "We'd be delighted to meet him."

Izuku welcomed them inside, walking them to the living room. As they stepped into the main area, something in the hallway to the right caught Toshinori's eye. It was an All Might themed nameplate on what he could only assume was Izuku's room. He couldn't help but smile, just a little.

"Holy-..." Toshinori turned to the voice, finding the two families sitting in the living room. However, there was one new face. A face that was definitely Izuku's father. Not just because they looked alike, but he had the same face of anxious awe that Izuku had when he first met him. "I-wah-? I-...A-All Might…Al-...All Might."

"Hm, so that's what it looks like," Izuku muttered to himself. "All Might, Mr. Aizawa, this is my father, Hisashi Midoriya."

Toshinori walked forward, bowing before extending his good arm out, "It's a pleasure. Let me tell you, you've got one Hell of a kid. Although, I'm sure you get that a lot."

"Y-...Y-Yes, I— Ahem! Yes, thank you!" Hisashi got up, both bowing so low that his head almost hit the coffee table, and extending his own hand out at the same time. "I-I'm a big fan! Huge fan! Thank you for everything you've done! My dream was to work a case with you! I-I hope we still can someday…Even though you're retired, and I'm technically off-duty right now and you're busy teaching and-"

"It's good to see you both again," Inko cut in, allowing her husband to finally breathe and to save All Might from further awkwardness. She elbowed Hisashi, who was still bowing far down.

"It's always a pleasure, Mrs. Midoriya," All Might smiled, shaking the trembling hand of her husband. He turned to Mika and Kyoutoku, nodding to them as well. "It's good to see you both too. Sorry to pull you out of the studio this morning. Since we've already skipped the whole song and dance of trying to convince you to trust UA, we'll get your signatures and get out of your hair."

"Speaking of which," Aizawa stepped in, placing the documents and a pen on the coffee table.

Inko started first, taking the pen. Hisashi managed to pull himself up from his bow, rubbing the back of his neck as he addressed All Might, "I-I'm sorry about that. I meet heroes everyday with my job. I should be far more composed…"

"Hmhmhm, trust me, you're not even in the top one-thousand of weirdest fan introductions I've had. You mentioned working a case together? Police force?"

"O-Oh, no. Government agent. Well, HPSC Ambassador and Director of Foreign Operations, to be specific, but I still get work in the field."

"HPSC, huh? I'm surprised we never met sooner. I may be retired from Pro work, but never say never. I have a strong feeling we'll have our hands full in the future. Especially with those two," Toshinori chuckled as he nodded over at the couple. "Aizawa gave them the nickname of 'The Problem Children' for a reason."

"A-Ah, I have been told of some of their antics."

Hisashi seemed like a nice man. Even with his frequent absences, Toshinori was fairly certain you don't get a kid like Izuku by being an asshole. It was just unfortunate that he was…well, biased.

Izuku never spoke of his father in their time together, outside of a few passing questions from Toshinori in the early days of his training for the Entrance Exams. He never spoke badly about the man, but Toshinori had experiences with absent parents, so he also knew what it was like to avoid speaking about it.

He hoped for nothing but the best from Hisashi's return.

…But, if it went bad, he might just kill this man.

He wouldn't, obviously it was hyperbole.

…He might, though.

Being Izuku's father-figure wasn't some sort of competition, he and Inko deserved far better than that. However, it certainly didn't mean he was gonna pull back from his relationship with Izuku.

…Jesus, this was fucking complicated.

Eventually, the pen was passed to Hisashi, giving Toshinori a chance to walk over to the couple. He nudged Izuku, keeping his voice low, "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah, just…adjusting."

Toshinori merely raised a brow at him, turning to Kyouka, "Keep an eye on him."

"When do I not?" Kyouka smirked.

"Hmhmhm, of course. Any trouble with your new…affliction?"

"That's what we're calling it? Eh, okay, I can take a shower without thinking my eardrums are gonna rupture, so there's that. And, I can use my jacks without thinking I'm gonna kill my boyfriend or tear my house down."

"Hey, that all sounds good to me," Toshinori chuckled. He looked back, seeing the parents put the final signatures on the documents. "Okay, I gotta go. I'll see you both for more training, alright?"

Aizawa collected the papers, sliding them back into his binder, "Thank you, everyone. Problem Children, I'll see you a few days before the semester starts. UA will be supplying everyone with moving vans, and we'll want everyone fully moved in before the classes. In a few days you'll get a letter in the mail with the dorm layout, showing you what floor you'll be on. I will say, very begrudgingly I might add, that your Hero Duo contract has been updated with the new dorms in mind. Apparently, Nezu thinks any Duo should be on the same floor for convenience's sake."

"Which floor is Mineta on?" Kyouka quickly asked. "I'll let this world burn before I live on the same floor as Mineta, much less the same hallway. I'm already pushing it by living in the same building…or city…or country…or planet…or galaxy…or universe…or dimensio-"

"Okay! Okay, I get it. We can move things around." Aizawa got up, nodding towards the door. "Alright, c'mon. We still have plenty of houses to get to."

Saying their goodbyes, the teachers took their leave, exiting the apartment and heading back down to street-level. On their way down the steps, Toshinori asked, "How long do you think it'll be before he knows?"

"Who? Midoriya's father? Hopefully sooner rather than later, it'll be far easier for us. The whole point of telling everyone was to get this secret out in the open, prepare everyone for what's to come. Leaving him in the dark is a bad idea."

"I suppose," Toshinori sighed as they reached the sidewalk, "To be fair, they didn't exactly plan on his return. He is an HPSC agent though…"

Aizawa raised a brow, pulling out his keys, "Got a problem with bureaucrats?"

"Let's just say I have my reasons to distrust the HPSC. Alright, let's knock the rest of these names out quickly. I have a date tonight."

Aizawa nodded, unlocking the car. But, he stopped in his tracks, Toshinori walking ahead of him, "...You have a what?"

…~AMP~...

(Later That Evening: UA Front Gates)

"Ooooh, this is dumb. This is so dumb, Toshinori. This was made from a bribe given out by your two Teenage Chaos Tornados, you don't even know what you're doing. You don't even have the time for this." Toshinori took a deep breath as he rested his hands on his knees. "Okay, okay, you fought All For One twice. You beat him twice. This is just a date. This should be nothing. Alright, it's settled…I'm canceling."

Toshinori pulled out his phone, stepping back towards the front gate. He'd rather take the verbal beating from Young Kyouka for backing out now rather than later. After a couple rings, the other line came to life.

"Hey, All Might. What's up?"

"Young Izuku, how do I date women?"

"Wh-?!...I-...I dunno."

"You don't know?!"

"I have absolutely no idea how I got Kyouka! I've been winging it this entire time!"

"He's not lying." Kyouka's voice suddenly came in from the phone, the echo signifying that she was somewhere in the room with Izuku.

"Ah, Young Kyouka! Perfect, perhaps I can get some female perspective. What's your advice for dating women?"

"The hell if I know."

"Oh come on!"

"Izuku and I may be a great couple, but we're ironically the worst people to ask for dating advice. C'mon, Izuku said you were a Lady's Man back in America."

"That was twenty years ago and I was usually buzzed at minimum! I don't know what I'm doing anymore! I'm canceling."

"Canceling wh-?...Oh my-! Wait a minute, are you actually going on that date with Pixie Bob?!"

…Toshinori regretted this phone call.

"Not anymore."

"You weenie!" Kyouka's voice was much closer now, telling All Might that she had taken Izuku's phone from him. "What's one date? You deserve it after Kamino! That is, unless you're still thinking about Lady Nagan-?"

"What's that? Can't hear you, bad service, bye!" Toshinori immediately hung up, hanging his head with a long groan.

"Wow. It really is you."

Toshinori froze, turning back to see…a woman even more beautiful than he remembered.

Maybe the Pussycat's aesthetic just wasn't his thing, and it had been quite some time since he had interacted with any of them. But, seeing Ryuko now, she was truly stunning.

She was single? What sick world were they living in?

She approached him in a sky blue pleated skirt stopping just at her knees, a large belt wrapped around her waist, and a black exposed-shoulder sweater.

"I just…Wow. I never would have thought tha-...The All Might." Ryuko continued to look at him in disbelief, gazing up and down.

Toshinori cleared his throat awkwardly, not sure what to do. "Um, are you alright? Your head, I mean. I heard you were hurt in the camp attack."

"Oh!" Ryuko quickly stopped herself from just staring at him, "Yes, I'm just fine. Believe me, I've been through much worse."

"Trust me, I can imagine. Your teammates?"

"Just fine. We're incredibly lucky those two lovebirds saved both Kota and Ragdoll. Not to mention they set this whole thing up. How did those two even get your number?"

Toshinori's eyes went wide, his "stomach" dropping. Shit, they didn't think about that, did they?

"Oh, u-uh, I knew Young Izuku before UA," Toshinori quickly improvised, "His quirk used to cause him injury, still technically does, and I saw a lot of myself in him. So, I trained him up. But, he didn't know I was All Might, so unfortunately this was one big coincidence."

"O-Oh…"

Toshinori tensed up, quickly realizing what he just said, "I meant fortunately! Fortunately! Truly! If I didn't want this, I would have politely turned you down! I-...Ugh, I'm sorry. I'm…To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not very experienced in the dating department. I haven't practiced my smooth-talk since I was in America."

Ryuko cracked a smile, "Yeah, I figured."

"You did?"

"Have you seen your record?" Ryuko chuckled, "You've been estimated to have stopped over 1.3 million crimes, all by yourself. That's not even counting all of the stuff you've done that's not related to crime, like natural disasters or accidents. You were unstoppable in every sense of the word. I have to assume dating wasn't your top priority."

"A-Ah, I'm sure those numbers are exaggerated," Toshinori blushed, scratching his cheek. But, he took in what she said, and mulled it over. He looked back towards his potential date, a serious look in his eyes, "But, you're right. Dating wasn't my top priority, and I…I'm sorry, but I must be honest with you. It still isn't."

Ryuko tried not to look downtrodden, and simply nodded her head, "...I understand."

"Getting those kids ready for the shit this world is about to throw at them? That's my first priority. Because, you're right, I've never stopped. Being a hero was my dream, I loved my work and nothing more. So, I know more than anybody what's coming for them, and I need to help them. And, while I've always disliked bringing up my popularity, I'm well aware that dating me could be…intimidating. Not to mention I don't look how you, or anybody, expected. If you're disappointed, well…I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to go through with this."

"It's oka-...Wait, what? You're asking me if I don't want this date? I thought you were turning me down?"

"Wh-?! No, I-Urgh! See? I'm not good at this anymore," Toshinori sighed, running his good hand through his hair. "While, yes, I was married to my work, it doesn't mean I mastered staving off loneliness. Finding peace in solitude can easily turn into not knowing how to live outside of isolation. I thought I had no other option. But, Young Izuku and Kyouka, they taught me that you can't just let love go. For them, it's not a crutch, but an incredible power that allows them to push each other to new heights; to do the impossible. So, I think I've missed enough of what life has to offer me. Those kids, my work, its importance can't be understated. But, I'm fighting for the future, and…Well, I think I can manage fighting for a future that has somebody by my side. If you're willing, of course."

Toshinori waited for Ryuko to process everything. Was dumping all that on her a good idea? Was that a second date thing? Damn, he really was bad at this.

"Dating other heroes is always gonna be complicated, but All Might?" Ryuko nodded, the corner of her lips quirked up, "I expected this. Especially after you were in the fight of your life. But, I've also missed a lot of what life has to offer. But, unlike you, it wasn't for lack of trying. I can be a little, uh…overbearing…and, admittedly, kind of desperate. I think this is the first time a guy ever warned me and not the other way around."

"Wanting to find companionship isn't anything to be ashamed of."

"I know, it's just…at this point, it almost scares me. Like a dog chasing a car-Don't laugh!"

Toshinori quickly wiped the grin off his face, "Sorry, but, c'mon. No cat analogy?"

"Fine," Ryuko giggled. Hm, he was funny. "Like a cat chasing a laser pointer, I wouldn't actually know what to do with it if I caught it. I've been rescuing people from natural disasters for years, but the attack on camp, and then Kamino, reminded me that time really can be cut short at any minute. I can't waste my time pretending to chase after young guys like it'll get me somewhere."

"...Not that old," Toshinori grumbled under his breath.

Ryuko giggled again, lightly nudging him, "Younger guys! What I'm trying to say is, if you want to just jump into the deep end of the pool, I got nothing to lose going in after you."

"So, we're still on?"

Ryuko quickly stepped forward, slipping her arm around Toshinori's uncasted one. "Absolutely! So, how do we start?"

"Pfft, I dunno. All my dates were in my twenties, started at bars, and ended at my apartment. Let's see…Uh, well, I don't want to tire out the same old compliments, like telling you how gorgeous you are."

Red dusted Ryuko's cheeks, her lips slowly curving up, "They might be old, but they don't get old."

"Fair enough. But, I want to start off by saying you have this sort of, and I mean this in the best way possible, a crazy kind of fire in your eyes. It's…alluring, to say the least."

Ryuko giggled, the warmth in her cheeks increasing, "I'm so used to hearing the cheesy rom-com lines from television. I don't think I've ever heard anything like that, especially directed towards me. It feels so much more…mature."

"Mature? Eh, I'm young at heart."

Ryuko's grin suddenly grew even wider, "Oh, I like you. Let's go."

…~AMP~...

(Two Weeks Later: Downtown Tokyo Apartments: Apartment #9)

"I'm back!" Katashi announced, closing the door behind him. He took off his shoes, placing his keys in the bowl on the shelf. He yawned, moving out of the front foyer, "Honey? Kuro?"

Katashi looked around his apartment, noticing most of the lights were off. He didn't hear any noise; no TV, no shower running, nothing. Kuro was always a loud child, so that was more than suspicious. He instinctively gripped his pistol strapped to his belt, he activated his thermal vision, looking towards the other rooms.

He took another step forward, stopping as his foot hit something. He looked down, finding two small marbles rolling around near his feet. "The Hell…?"

He didn't remember buying his son these; his wife either. He reached down, picking them up, staring at them curiously.

"Evening." Katashi dropped the marbles and flipped around towards his living room, his gun pulled out. The lights were off and the blinds were shut. All he could see was a silhouette sitting on his couch. The lamp on the side table clicked on, the yellowish light revealing Tomura Shigaraki. He put his hand back in his peacoat pocket, nodding down to the marbles bouncing on the floor, "I'd be careful with those if I were you. Don't wanna hurt your family."

"M-...My family?"

"Mhm. Those little marbles right there? Your wife and son. Now, before you freak out, it's not permanent. They can be returned to normal. No one's gotta die. In fact, I think we would all prefer it if nobody died here, right?"

Katashi's eyes were locked onto the marbles, his heart pounding in his ears, sweat running down his forehead, his gun still trained on Tomura. "Y…Yes."

"Good. Nice uniform. Tartarus, huh?" Tomura smirked behind his hand. "You mind if I borrow that uniform? And, well, a couple other things. I'll let your family go, if you give me your locker code, and your typical route throughout the day."

"I-...I can't trust you. Turn. Them. Back!"

"You can't trust me. But, I'm not asking…" Tomura snapped his fingers, a small black vortex appearing under the marbles, and another above Tomura's hand. The marbles fell through, landing in Tomura's palm. "...Do you know who I am? Or, can you at least take an educated guess?"

Katashi gulped, his finger shaking on the trigger, "...Y-Yes."

"Then you know what happens when I close my fingers around these marbles. I'm not here to kill you, or your family, but don't force my hand."

"...You-...You'll just kill us. You can't trust I'll keep quiet."

"Oh, you'll be quiet, but not for long. But, that's okay. When we're done, it won't matter. We're not exactly looking for quiet with this one. By the way, I should point out that we already got your other two friends from your route. They're alive. So, take a guess how this can end for you."

Katashi was basically trembling at this point, waiting for Tomura's fingers to even flinch. "...Please…Please don't hurt them."

"Then help me…"

"...My laptop. In my room, my schedule is on it, everything. The password is KURO2243, all caps. My locker code is 3781."

"Is that a lie…?" Tomura's hand began to slowly close.

"No! No, I swear on everything! I-I keep my passwords in my laptop too, you can check!"

"See? Easy. You and your family are gonna be just fine. You'll wake up tomorrow morning like nothing ever happened. Now, this will sting just a little."

"Wh-?"

A portal suddenly appeared next to Katashi, with Himiko coming through piercing his neck with a syringe. Her other hand quickly clutched down on the hammer of Katashi's pistol, keeping him from firing. His eyelids immediately grew heavy, his limbs becoming limp. The man collapsed, falling to the floor.

Tomura put the marbles down on the table, standing up with a stretch, "Nice job with the gun. I didn't even think of that."

"Thanks!" Toga smiled, half of her hanging through the portal. She hopped through, followed by Twice, Compress, and Kurogiri.

"Okay, Toga, Twice, get your blood and measurements respectively. And, please, the proper amount of blood this time. No extra snacks." Toga pouted, but nodded as she pulled out her syringes. Twice saluted, his tape measures at the ready. "Compress, go get that laptop and get that information. Once you're done, put this man in a marble with his family and friends. Oh, and get his car keys."

"Of course. You know, Dabi is still wondering why we aren't just killing the guards."

"Yeah? Well, let him keep wondering. Not his call." Compress merely nodded, the subject dropped. As he left through the back hallway to reach the bedroom, Kurogiri approached Tomura.

"This is the last one, Young Tomura. Are we ready?"

"Should be," Tomura sighed, turning around and walking behind the couch. He peeked through the blinds, seeing the black speck that was Tartarus on the horizon, through the cityscape. The almost never-ending bridge leading to it was near the bay. "Let's hope Nagant is ready to move out."

…~AMP~...

(Next Day: Kyouka's Room)

"...I still can't tell if we should be proud of ourselves or not."

Izuku taped up another box, turning to Kyouka's TV in front of her bed as he read the news headline.

["All Might seen on a date with Wild Wild Pussycats' Pixie Bob?"]

Izuku bit the inside of his cheek as he put the box onto the stack in the corner of the room, "We probably shouldn't be."

"I didn't think it would actually happen!" Kyouka cried out from her position on the floor, dissembling her drum set and setting the pieces in their cases. "At bare minimum I thought it might be like, I don't know, a single date. How was I supposed to know they'd hit it off? I thought he was still hung up on Lady Nagant."

"That's the problem," Izuku sighed as he shut the TV off. "I have a feeling he is."

"Yeesh. Okay, not proud it is. They do seem happy though…"

They had been at it for a couple hours now, packing away things from Kyouka's room. Izuku was already packed and ready to go at his place…Well, sort of. Everything at his apartment was packed, however they may or may not be sparsely mixing in some of his stuff with Kyouka's boxes to save them additional trips between rooms.

It was gonna be one single trip. Far less risk that way.

Inko had been beside herself for the entire moving process, and he hadn't even left yet. She definitely wasn't ready for her child to leave the house just yet, but she knew how important it was to be at UA with All Might and Aizawa.

Things with his dad were…fine. Just…fine.

It was still a little…Okay, very awkward. Hisashi was trying his best to play catch-up, but Izuku couldn't tell him about most of it. He was still keeping everything close to the chest. Was it out of secrecy or bottling things up from spite?

…Jury was still out on that one.

It would be a bit more difficult to get anywhere with him, after moving away and all.

"Oh, by the way," Kyouka got his attention, packing away the last of her drum set. "I think I know who will help be our alibi if Aizawa ever gets suspicious."

"I feel like anyone from our friend group works," Izuku shrugged. "Ochako will probably be a little awkward about it. Tenya and Momo would be a tough sell, but I think our friendship would win out in the end. Shoto could care less, so I'd bet on him."

"True, but I'm talking about someone who lives and breathes for this stuff…Ashido."

Izuku raised a brow, "...I'm inclined to ask why. You're finally gonna tell her we've been together for a long time?"

"I've tortured the poor girl long enough. We might as well go public anyway. There's not much point when the entire class thinks we're together."

"True. But, Ashido isn't on our floor."

"Yeah, but who is?"

Izuku furrowed his brow, picking up the forms from Kyouka's bed to check the names again, "...Hagakure. Oooh."

"Exactly," Kyouka chuckled, putting her Nord keyboard in its case. "When we ask Ashido not to tell anybody, she won't…except for one invisible person. You might be wondering: Why not just have Hagakure be out alibi then? Ashido may not be booksmart, but she's crafty. She can make up any story and lie she wants in the name of 'juicy gossip'. Those two are basically bulletproof shields against Aizawa, because he won't want to listen for more than five seconds. He'll believe anything they say as long as he can get out of the conversation. Remember though, this is all very 'Defcon One'. The whole idea is never getting caught in the first place, and let's be honest, Aizawa is not gonna feel like inspecting our rooms. He doesn't see it, he won't ask questions."

"It's far less about Mr. Aizawa seeing us, and more about that information not getting to him by any means, even word of mouth. The only other person on the third floor girl's side is Hagakure. A lot less chances of getting caught. Even if she did see me, she would only tell Ashido, who's one of our planned alibi's anyway. But, there's still the problem of someone seeing me leave and almost never being in my room…Are we completely certain our friendship with Tenya will hold against his role as Class President?"

"Yes…Probably…I think…I hope…" Kyouka sighed, looking back at her boyfriend, "Let's just hope he never sees you. Use your quirk to get over to my side if you have to."

"Okay, an-..." Izuku paused, the whole situation making him think back on the last year. "You know, we go through a lot of elaborate planning just to sleep together, u-using both meanings of the phrase. Like, a lot. I feel like it should be concerning that I can say we've done it more than three times. Over half of those times were breaking the rules, including right now."

"Cold feet?"

"Oh, of course not. Just had an epiphany."

"Oh, actually that reminds me," Kyouka went over to Izuku and grabbed their list, her jack picking up a pen from her desk. "Last thing on the list: Christen New Dorm."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"You know…" Kyouka blushed, her jacks twirling around one another.

Izuku continued to look at Kyouka quizzically, "...Really, I don-"

"We're gonna…you know…for the first time in there."

"...Oh. Oh! O-Oh, yeah, of course. I-I mean, we should celebrate moving-in together, right?"

Kyouka sighed, lightly hitting her cheeks to drive away the blush, "We've done it a few times now. You'd think we'd get used to this."

"W-Well, what if…" Izuku smiled a little, his hands running up Kyouka's arms. "…I don't really want to get used to it."

Kyouka's blush came back with a vengeance, her jack poking Izuku in the stomach, "Don't get me all hot and bothered with my parents downstairs. Now, help me pack the rest of these instruments, Deku."

"Hmhm, been a while since you called me th-...Wait, we're actually bringing all of your instruments?"

"Of course not. Just my stratocaster, a few of my acoustic and electric guitars, my ax guitar, my piano, my keyboard, my keytar, my drums, my sitar, my flutes, my clarinet, my banjo, my harmonica, my accordion, my bagpipes, my—"

"Okay! First of all, no bagpipes. Second, we haven't even seen how much space we're gonna get for all this stuff."

"Izuku, we have two rooms. Anything that doesn't fit in our room, we can store in your actual assigned room."

"True, but can we at least stick to just the keyboard instead of the piano?"

"...What if I bring my smaller Yamaha, not the big one? The one in the basement. We'll put it in your room."

"Deal."

"Sweet," Kyouka smiled, writing it down on her list. "Anything else?"

"I bought some cabinet and drawer organizers to separate our stuff."

"Aw, babe, you don't want me using your toothbrush?" Kyouka chuckled, writing those down on her list as well. "Closet space?"

"The closet won't matter all that much. You'll probably end up wearing more of my own clothes than I do anyway."

Kyouka looked down at herself, already wearing one of Izuku's blue t-shirts, "True. Let's see, I bought a boat-load of sound-proof padding. For the music, any accidental One For All uses, and for…you know."

"Good idea. Thankfully there are two whole rooms between us and Hagakure, so I doubt she'll be able to hear anything. There's no one below us either."

"Yeah, but Ochako is directly above us, and I don't want to even think about the idea of an awkward conversation of her asking us to quiet down."

"Good point," Izuku cringed at the thought. "We're also going to need some solid stories for why I'm in your room so early in the morning if someone sees me leave."

"Early morning training and you're my boyfriend. Both of which will actually be true."

"Hm, easy enough…Have we become too good at lying?"

Kyouka furrowed her brow in thought before simply shrugging, "Meh. Now, let's go downstairs and use those big muscles of yours to get that piano."

"You know, you could actually lift that piano now."

"What do yo-...? Oh, right." Kyouka looked down at her hands, violet sparks at her fingertips. "Didn't think about that. Still, I trust you not to accidentally break it far more than me."

Izuku chuckled as Kyouka headed for the door. Before he followed, his eyes glanced at the turned-off television. All Might had been investigating the Nagant stuff in his personal time. From what he knew, there wasn't much.

All Might had already said not to expect a lot, if anything at all. If he was right about Nagant being a government assassin, they wouldn't leave evidence of that kind of stuff just lying around. Torino and Tsukauchi were extremely busy as they were trying to track down the League, so they couldn't help him much. All he had at the moment were some mysterious disappearances of heroes during Nagant's time period of activity as a Pro.

He wanted All Might to be happy. If he found happiness with Ms. Tsuchikawa, then he was all for it. But, he also knew that All Might would never be truly happy until he had some sort of conclusion with Lady Nagant. They were friends— best friends— for twelve years. He still cared for her deeply, and probably even far deeper than he admitted. Izuku just wanted something to come from all this, and he feared time would run short…

Hopefully it was just his anxiety getting to him.

It's not like Lady Nagant was going anywhere, right?

…~AMP~...

(Next Day: Evening: Tartarus Supermax Prison)

She loved light's-out.

Kaina Tsutsumi breathed in deep, cursing the stale air that entered her lungs for the ten-millionth time. The cold gray walls that she called Hell surrounded her, the only light coming from the small window on her door.

For some reason, despite having nobody to talk to but herself all day, night time was the only time she could really think. Although, there was only one thing she could think about for the last three weeks. It hadn't left her mind since.

Even deep down here, no matter how isolated they tried to make her, it was impossible not to learn about Kamino.

Every guard talked about it for days on end. With what little outside time she was afforded, she had spent it going through the current events.

…She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't. All Might, her Toshi…

She shook her head, tossing away that phrasing from her mind to focus on the more important details. What happened to him? How did he come to look like that? He hadn't always been that way and had been hiding it the entire time, right? There was no way.

She had watched them wheel in the villain from Kamino, every guard they had on duty and more from the outside had their weapons trained on him. From what she saw from the news clips, she doubted their weapons and quirks would've actually done anything.

The creepy bastard passed her cell, looked right at her window, and smiled.

Who the fuck was he?

Did he know her? If he knew Toshi, maybe he did.

She was with everyone else in their phase of shock. But, then the tabloids began to change towards some of the public not being able to trust him or his ability. Those fucking bastards, after everything All Might had done for the world? She knew it wasn't exactly a majority of people who believed it, but still.

Kaina sighed to herself, shaking herself away from those thoughts. She was biased, of course. Not to mention her surroundings don't exactly repel her cynicism.

She wanted to talk to him, she needed to know what happened.

Not that she hadn't wanted to talk to him before. If she knew anything about Toshinori, he had visited, called, wrote, all of the above.

But, HPSC stopped it. She didn't know what lie they fed him, but they kept him away to make sure her secrets died with her.

The murder was public, she stood down without a fight, witnesses everywhere, and she was placed in solitary confinement, so if she was killed in prison there was only one group to blame.

They couldn't kill her, but they buried her anyway.

Kaina pulled her thin blanket over her, shutting her eyes, knowing it wouldn't do her any good. What dreams would it be tonight? Nightmares of murder? More nightmares of murder? No dreams at all? That would be nice. Or, the occasional relief of a sweet dream of the past, running around with Toshinori?

Or, would it be flying? She knew Toshi for over a decade, and he had certainly never flown before. The media was still trying to figure that out.

When the press asked Toshi how he was able to fly, all he said was, "That wasn't flying, that was falling with style."

God, him and his stupid movie references. How many times had she come over to find him watching Rocky II?

She missed him. She missed Torino, the old bastard. She even kind of missed Nighteye, not that she'd ever tell him that.

Not that she'd get the chance, anyway…

She was shaken out of her thoughts as the lights to her cell suddenly switched on, almost blinding her with how sudden it was. Kaina peeked out of one eye as her cell door swung open, with three guards all piling in. The one in the middle held a small black tote bag in their hand, with what she could see was a bundle of clothes.

Kaina sighed, getting up from her bed to stand across from the three guards. She rolled her shoulders back, ready for anything.

"HPSC finally decided to say screw it and just kill me?"

One guard shut the cell door behind them, turning to smile at Kaina. The two on either side of the trio suddenly pulled out vials of what looked like blood from their back pockets and…

…chugged them down.

…Okay, she was ready for anything, except that.

The clothes and skin on guard in the middle began to glisten. He smiled wide, a set of fangs flashed in the light as his eyes suddenly glimmered a golden amber. His face melted away, revealing blonde hair, long eyelashes, and a chilling grin.

"The League of Villains will see you now, Lady Nagant.~"

Kaina took a couple steps back, her stance widening, "Who the Hell are you?"

"Hi!~ I'm Toga! I'm with the League of Villains. I'm not sure if you've heard of us, being locked-up in here and all, but my boss would really like to talk with you." The rest of Toga's body melted away, leaving her in an oversized guard uniform. "Whew, good thing I took the actual clothes this time. You would've seen some stuff, hmhmhm!"

"Not interested. Now, get the fuck out."

"Okay, first of all: Rude. Second: You haven't even heard us out! We're nice people."

"You call yourselves the League of Villains…"

"...Nice-ish people."

"Here's what's gonna happen. I activate my quirk and the alarms blare, with every guard in this block rushing in here. So, I suggest you crawl back to wherever you came from."

"That's what you would say if that was gonna happen. But, we disabled the sensors for this area of the cell block. But, only for a limited time, so we're kind of on the clock."

"So, I can use my quirk freely? What's stopping me from using it on you then?"

"You could do that, buuut then we just kill you and I escape."

"Escape how?"

"Come with me, and you get to find out."

Kaina frowned, her left arm beginning to rise, "If you think all three of you can kill me by the time the guards get here, you've got another thing coming."

Himiko sighed, a roll of her eyes, "Look, if you want to come back, we can pop you right back here without anyone ever knowing you left. Or, you can come with us, still leave a free woman, and they still don't know you ever left. For a little while, that is. I was told I can't actually kill you…I could still hurt you though."

"I'm…I-I'm not…" Kaina furrowed her brow, a shaky sigh escaping her lips, "...I'm not the bad guy. You and your gang have come to the wrong woman. Just go."

"Lady, I can't ju-...Huh?" Himiko mid-sentence, listening to the earpiece she had in. "...Really? Shiggy, that's…Okay, okay, fine. Jeez. My boss says we're not looking for another villain. We're looking for you. We're not gonna ask you to join us. It's just an offer, that's all. Don't you wanna take down the HPSC?"

Kaina perked up, her interest finally piqued. She was still wary though, her arm at the ready to transform. "...Why?"

"Come with me and find out." A black portal opened behind Himiko. She smiled, turning to her clones, "That's your cue! Make sure to die in the showers!"

Her clones saluted with bright smiles, in spite of such dour phrasing. They opened the cell door and left the room, off to continue their nightly routines to keep up appearances and not raise any alarms.

Himiko rocked back and forth on her feet, motioning towards the portal, "Last chance!~ When my boss says he just wants to talk, he means it. Anything's gotta be better than this place, right? What have you really got to lose?"

…Shit.

Nothing. She had nothing to lose.

If she got to see one place, just one, that wasn't this Hellhole for even ten seconds, then she'd take the risk.

"I sense even one modicum of something wrong in the air, you breathe wrong, I'll put one between you and your friends' eyes."

"Cool!" Himiko giggled, hopping through the vortex and vanishing from sight.

"Ooooh, this is dumb. This is so dumb, Kaina." She took a deep breath, her heart pumping in her ears as she ran for the portal, and jumped through.

Kurogiri's quirk vanished into thin air, the cell now empty…

…~AMP~...

(Unknown Location)

Kaina stumbled through the other side of the vortex, finding herself in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Dim lights, leaky pipes dripping in the distance, broken and dusty boxes and crates scattered around, broken windows high up, streaming in last streams of the setting sun.

It was dark, damp, dusty, and disgusting.

But, God-damn it, she was so happy to be out of Tartarus.

She stood up straight, smoothing out her jumpsuit, "Are you trying to create an air of menace? Cause this just makes you look dirty and gross."

From the shadows, Dabi snapped his fingers, blue fire revealing the rest of the League, "I fucking told you."

Tomura dismissively waved the comment off, stepping forward towards Kaina. "Evening. Sorry, but I'm not sure how much of current events get into solitary confinement. Do you know who we are?"

"At this point, who doesn't?"

"Hm, I'm flattered."

"You're the group of scumbags who attack and kidnap children, and are the cause of hundreds of deaths in Kamino."

"Hey, contrary to what the news says, I let the kid go. I didn't plan on killing him…sort of. Not to mention nobody at the USJ or their camp died."

"Oh, so you're ineffective scumbags."

Tomura chuckled, pocketing his hands as he paced in front of the clearly unamused Nagant, "Yeah, I suppose so. Let's fix that. I know my friend told you about who we're after here. Ineffective scumbags or not, it got you interested."

"Interested in them, not you. I was also told I could reject you and leave, but I have a feeling you're not gonna like that."

"Like it? No. However, if you leave you're just gonna go do what I was gonna ask you to do anyway."

"Which is?"

"You're gonna fuck with the HPSC."

Kaina bit the inside of her cheek, trying to keep her expression as neutral as possible. "Maybe I won't, now that I know it's what you want. Why would I work with you? You're responsible for Kamino."

"That was my master. Kamino wasn't a part of my plan, that was his doing. I'm the one who put him in jail."

Kaina rolled her eyes, "All Might put him there."

"Who do you think gave All Might the location? I'm assuming you heard about the raid on our previous hideout? The place All Might found my master wasn't the bar, but a factory in the shopping district. The police, and All Might, had no idea he was there, and wouldn't have if I didn't help them. I wanted my master out of the picture."

"Congratulations, you understand the Rule of Two."

"Look, speaking of the big bastard, I understand you and All Might were friends once. Something which I'm sure you may think would ruin this deal, but All Might isn't my target. You and I share a common enemy."

"The enemy of my enemy isn't my friend. It just means you want something from me."

"The only thing I want from you is the exact thing you already want. You want the HPSC to burn, and I need them off my back."

Kaina glowered at them, her eyes roaming over the group. She had no idea how any of their quirks worked, and it was a one v. seven situation. She was good, but she wasn't sure she was that good. Not without a proper understanding of their capabilities.

Not to mention her arm wasn't loaded, which she really should've done back in her cell.

"I'm going to do what I need to do, but I want nothing to do with any of you."

Tomura put his hands up in defeat, "That's fine. You can go, fight your own fight. You can cut all ties with us. I won't interfere, you don't even have to speak to us ever again…but, how are you gonna do it?"

"None of your business."

"I mean, the HPSC has buildings and agents all across the country. You're gonna need some transportation, right?" Tomura continued to pace, pretending as if all this was just coming to him now. "At least to and from Tokyo. What about food? What happens when words gets out you're gone? Toga's clones will dissolve eventually, the guards they replaced will return to work and find you gone. The manhunt will begin, and you won't be able to buy food or clothes. You'll be homeless, and your face will be plastered across every screen in Japan in the most densely populated cities. Tokyo and Musutafu, the two cities I'm sure you'll be operating in the most. You're good, real damn good…but, how far do you think you're gonna get?"

Kaina's expression remained that of something between indifference and distaste, thoughts running wildly through her head. Unfortunately, he wasn't wrong. It would be extremely difficult. Damn near impossible.

"I'll get by."

"Would you rather get by? Or, would rather stand a real chance. We can give you food, clothes, supplies, whatever you need. I have a guy that can set you up in a nice, perfectly discreet and out of the way apartment. Kurogiri, the guy that got you here with his portals, can get you wherever you need to go without ever being seen. My friend, Twice, makes clones. Say hi, Twice."

"Hi! Bye!" Twice greeted(?) Kaina from his spot next to Toga on top of some crates.

"Now that Kurogiri knows the exact location of your cell, we can send a clone into your cell to keep anyone from knowing you ever left. Something we can't do if you leave." Tomura stopped pacing, stepping closer to stand in front of Kaina. "We don't have to be friends, but we can help each other. You can believe I'm lying, have ulterior motives, whatever. I'm a villain, so clearly I do. But, they don't involve hurting you, or anyone who doesn't deserve it…Not anymore, I mean. Camp attack and all. So, at the very least, I have that over the HPSC."

"You have absolutely nothing over them…but…" Kaina clenched her eyes shut, hating herself even more for what she was about to do. "This isn't a partnership. This is a deal. You send me on my way, and as far as I'm concerned we're not associated. You broke me out, I refused your deal, and left. End of story."

"Fine by m-"

"With a parting gift of supplies and a clone. For the pain and suffering, of course."

"Still kinda seems like an associate to me, but sure."

"...One more condition." Tomura scoffed, but kept quiet. He simply nodded, signaling Kaina to speak. "...I don't have to kill anybody."

Dabi rolled his eyes, immediately realizing this deal was now a failure. "Oh for the love o-"

"Deal." Everyone shot looks of pure confusion at Tomura as he extended his two-finger glove-covered hand out to Kaina. "Come and go as you please, or don't come back at all. As long as you do what you set out to do, you'll have no problems with me. Kurogiri?"

As a new portal appeared, Kaina glanced at the hand before her, before nodding herself. She shook Tomura's hand, and turned around to enter the new portal. "You'll be in touch about those supplies?"

"We've already got a place set up with some stuff. That portal will take you there. Twice, go with her, get her measurements, and get out."

"Yes, boss! I don't wanna!" Twice saluted, jogging towards the portal and dolphin-diving through.

Kaina turned back to Tomura, a brow raised, "Ignore that, he's harmless…-ish."

Himiko suddenly jumped up, leaping through after him, "I'm coming tooo!~"

"...Eh, her? Not so much. It'll be fine. Enjoy a few days of freedom first. You've been in there a long time. We'll contact you soon with more, then we'll be done."

"...Thanks," Kaina nodded again, disappearing into the shadows before the portal vanished.

Tomura sighed to himself, "Three…Two…"

"Not kill anyone?" Dabi asked, completely baffled and irritated. "Are you fucking serious? You hired an assassin that doesn't even assassinate?"

"Yes, I did. Is that a problem?"

"Yeah, I'd say it's a pretty big fucking problem. What exactly is her use to us then?"

"Nothing for you to be concerned about."

"Last I checked, if you fuck up it's my ass on the line."

"All of our asses," Compress chimed in. "Should we pick up any of her slack in that department? Dabi here seems more than willin-"

Tomura growled under his breath, "No. This is her assignment, nobody else's. No more questions. Odds are you won't even see her again. I'll handle it."

"And handle what, exactly?" Dabi continued, both his questioning and irritating Tomura. "What's she gonna do? Spray paint the HPSC building? Put a cherry bomb in their mailbox? Complain about them online? I'm sorry, I'm just trying to figure out what the point of hiring a pacifist assassin is?"

Kurogiri kept his quirk ready as he saw Tomura's fist clench at his side. He knew how much Tomura wanted this, and Dabi's (albeit logical and understandable) insubordination wasn't going to end well. Yet, Tomura's fist unclenched, a deep sigh escaping the young man's lips.

"Everybody out, except Dabi." Nobody said a word, or made a move. Nobody wanted to miss whatever pin that was about to drop. Tomura turned back to Kurogiri, his brow furrowed. "Now…"

Kurogiri didn't hesitate. He opened a portal and ushered everybody through, leaving the two criminals alone.

Tomura quickly turned to Dabi, taking the hand off of his face and became nearly nose-to-nose with him, his voice low. "And what if I said it was personal, huh? What are you gonna say then? Absolutely nothing, because then you'd be the biggest hypocrite in this city, saying that your entire reason for being here is to get back at Daddy-Dearest."

Dabi's pupils shrunk, his eye twitching, "...Excuse me?"

If Tomura was bothered by the sudden heat emanating throughout the room, he didn't show it. "Oh yeah, I know. But, I never said anything, because I expect you to do your job and be happily rewarded for it. When the time comes, that is. And, when you've earned it. We all want something, and sometimes that something is just to see the person you hate suffer. Physically? Emotionally? Doesn't matter, as long as I get that. You can sympathize, right? Which means, we've come to find ourselves in a mutual understanding. In that mutual understanding, I never asked questions about you and your prick of a papa. So, what are you going to do? See which one of us turns the other to dust first?"

Dabi didn't say a word, his piercing glare likely able to kill anybody else. But, Tomura was unwavering, or rather uncaring. "...How?"

"That doesn't sound like an answer to me."

"How do you know who I was?"

"Dabi, I couldn't give a hot shit who you were, as long as you…" Tomura ushered the man to continue, waiting for an answer.

Dabi breathed in deep, answering through gritted teeth, "Don't. Ask. Questions."

"Good. And, you really want an answer? Just fucking look at you, Dabi. It doesn't take anything more than a bit of research and the deductive reasoning of a teenager to figure that shit out. Now, go cool off. We can apologize to each other later, because you might not believe it, but I like having you around. You and the other freaks. I'll see to it that your mission is complete, but I have my own."

Dabi began to walk away, but not before completely scorching the wall next to the door.

Tomura sighed, hooking the fingers of his hand-mask on his belt. "...Tenko."

Dabi stopped, raised a brow at his leader. "What?"

"Tenko, my real name. I know who you used to be, so it's only fair. We may have different beginnings, but it doesn't mean I don't understand. You and I left who we were behind for a reason, and we like to keep that private. As your leader, I have to crack down on you. But, as people in very similar situations, can you accept that there's some things you just have to do?"

Dabi remained silent, merely turning back around and leaving Tomura alone. He figured Dabi's silence was the best outcome he could've hoped for. Dabi didn't care for much, or anything really. But, he understood secrets.

"Oooh this team is gonna be the death of me." Tomura trudged his way up the warehouse steps, making his way to the catwalk and leaning against the guardrail. Tomura gazed out the upper window towards the barely visible stars above, orange and violets mixing together in the late evening sky.

"Sorry, Midoriya, but I wanna see All Might suffer with this one. But, at the very least, this should end up pretty interesting for us both."

…~AMP~...

(UA: Heights Alliance)

"Okay, might've taken us all day, but that's everything," Hisashi grunted out as he closed the moving truck door, hitting the back of the truck to signal the driver that it was okay to leave. He turned back to everyone, looking up at the dorm building. There were multiple other moving trucks still surrounding the building, with his son's classmates all working with their families and UA Bots to move in. "UA never disappoints. You know, I've been to the HPSC Accounting Department, I've seen the money that goes into this school. I asked what the budget was and everyone just laughed."

Kyoutoku hopped out of his own moving truck, brushing himself off, "Yet, we had to pay for their uniforms and books. What kind of Hero Course has a God-damn Art History class?"

"Excuse you, Old Man," Kyouka chastised her father, walking over from helping her friends move some of their things. "My boyfriend is an artist."

"Your boyfriend does art as a means to an end for a hobby. He just so happens to have gotten good at it."

Hisashi looked over towards the last of Izuku's luggage, chuckling to himself, "Said boyfriend is still being choked out by his mother."

Inko hadn't stopped hugging Izuku since they got the first box of figurines into his room, essentially locking him down for the whole afternoon. Apparently Empty Nest Syndrome wasn't any less merciful on Inko.

"M-Mom, I can come home whenever I want. It's a fifteen minute train ride from here."

Inko simply hugged him tighter, the wet spot on Izuku's shoulder growing bigger, "That's an eternity in Mom Years."

Kyouka turned back to her own parents, brow raised, "Nothing overbearing from you?"

Kyoutoku scoffed, "Inko's not the one who's had you both in their house twenty-four/seven for the last seven months. Ow!"

Mika's jack jabbed her husband's side, pulling her daughter into a tight hug, "You know he's going to be beside himself more than any of us."

Rubbing his side, Kyoutoku joined the family hug, mumbling under his breath, "Maybe, but so?"

Hisashi backed away, letting the family have their moment. He walked over to his own family, rubbing his wife's shoulder, "You have to let go at some point, honey."

"You don't know the patience I have."

"You continued to be married to me for all these years, so I can safely say I do. C'mon, it's time to go." He pried Inko off of Izuku, finally freeing him from her bear hug.

Izuku sighed, finally being able to breathe properly, "Th-Thanks."

Hisashi seemed to start towards a hug, but faltered. He settled on placing both hands on his son's shoulders, smiling down at him, "You're all set?"

"Yeah. I-I think so."

"Alright. I know you're gonna be busy, with the License Exams coming up. I can pull some strings, come and watch. I-I won't cheer you on and embarrass you. Your mom, though…"

Inko elbowed him, "Let's not put him under even more pressure with performance anxiety. But, when he passes, we'll celebrate."

"And, hopefully…" Kyouka entered the conversation, walking over to Izuku with her jacks wrapping around his wrist, "Next time we have to save someone's life, we won't have to be reprimanded by the police."

"Okay, everyone!" Aizawa shouted to all of his students as he came out through the front entrance to the dorms. "I want everyone to come in, get settled, make sure all of your appliances are working. Anyone who brought food needs to label it, put it away, and start organizing the kitchen to everyone's satisfaction. If this building is still standing by tomorrow morning, then you cretins will greatly surpass my expectations."

"Ha! He's just kidding!" Mina laughed out. "...Right?"

Aizawa's expression didn't change as he remained completely silent, turning and walking towards the teacher's apartments.

Kyouka patted Izuku's shoulder, "Don't worry, he loves us…Deep, deep, deep, down…Probably. Ah!"

Kyouka was pulled into the same bear hug that her boyfriend had been in. Or, rather the same hug that he returned to, because Izuku was pulled right in with her. "Don't forget to call if you need anything, or just to check-in."

"I will, I promise," Izuku hugged her back.

Once Inko let them go, the Jirous walked over, Kyoutoku ruffling both teens' hair, "Have fun you two…living in the same building…on the same floor…unsupervised. Okay, this was a terrible idea. Kyouka, you're going back home—AH!"

Mika's jacks yanked her husband down by the neck as she pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads, "Ignore him, except for the having fun part. You know who to call if you get homesick."

As their families, along with the rest of 1A's families began to file out towards their own vehicles, Hisashi lingered behind. He clearly wanted to either say something, or didn't know what to say at all. So, instead, he raised his fist out towards his son, a little smile on his face.

"Go get 'em, kid."

Izuku didn't respond verbally. He simply nodded, his own fist bumping his father's.

With that, he took his leave along with the rest of the parents.

"Ready?" Kyouka asked, picking up the last of her luggage.

Izuku looked up at Heights Alliance, and back to the cars. His parents waved goodbye, and he waved back. "Yeah…"

…~AMP~...

(Unknown Musutafu Apartment)

"Just a few more and I'll be done," Twice said, wrapping his tape measure around Kaina's waist.

She looked around her new home, finding a standard apartment. One main room with off-white wallpaper, bed in the left corner, small kitchen in the right, a bathroom and a closet closer to the front door. On the kotatsu was a new laptop— totally not stolen— and a map of Japan.

The blinds were mostly closed, but she could just barely see the cityscape, meaning she was just on the outskirts of the main city. She could see a random assortment of food on the kitchen counter, left for her to do as she pleased with them. There were clothes in the closet, but not much.

"You'll get more." Kaina's gaze switched over to Himiko, who sat on the kitchen counter, her feet swaying back and forth. "Once Twice gets your measurement, we'll know we'll get better clothes. Big Sis Magne and Compress are in charge of that, so you're in good hands."

"What a relief," Kaina replied, monotone.

"Any preferences?"

"...Blacks and grays. Lavenders, purples. Dark colors."

"Gonna be working mostly at night?"

Kaina raised a brow, "...Yeah."

"HPSC security is always pretty strong, but two to four in the morning is the weakest."

"...And you know this, how?"

"No reason!" Himiko giggled, her typical smile twitching just a little bit. Kaina kept a mental note of that.

"All done! Not yet! A-! Ahem!" Twice cleared his throat, his tape measures snapping back to his wrists. "Done."

"Hm," Kaina hummed in response. "What about gear?"

"HPSC Evidence Lock-up Vault," Himiko shrugged, hopping down from the counter. "But, all you had was a wrist grapple launcher, right? We've got a replacement in the works."

"Mm, this 'guy' your boss has is resourceful. Now, please go. I'm exhausted."

"Got it!" Toga bounced over to Twice, interlocking arms with him, and they both skipped back to the portal they came through. "Welcome aboard!"

"I'm not—" Kaina paused mid sentence, as the duo already went along with the portal. "...part of the team. Ugh…"

Kaina looked around, taking a deep breath, finally alone…

Then, she let loose.

Kaina tore off the button-up shirt to her prison uniform, desperately ripping it to shreds, sobs escaping her throat with every snap of breaking fiber, yet no tears came to her eyes. She rushed into the kitchen, grabbing the first box her hands could grab.

She didn't read what it was, it didn't matter. She didn't give a damn, as long as it was anything but the same shit Tartarus served her every day for over six years. She tore open the box, shoving what seemed to be flavored rice crackers.

What flavor? She didn't know. But, at that moment, it was the best thing she had ever tasted.

Next went some choco-pies, some protein bars, she opened her fridge and downed the first beer she could get her hands on. It looked like a rabid animal got into her kitchen, and she was making herself sick, but she just couldn't care less.

Kaina slammed her empty bottle down onto the counter, her breaths deep and ragged. She stumbled out of the kitchen, finding her new bed and flopping into it without an ounce of grace. That little bed feIt like an embrace straight from the Heavens.

How was it that going from four gray concrete walls, to four wallpapered walls, felt so freeing?

Kaina kicked her shoes off and pants, planning to rip those apart too. But, in the morning. She hugged the pillow close to her, her eyes peeking open, finding Musutafu greeting her through the blinds.

She had to keep herself together. If she could do that after six years in solitary confinement, she could do it working with a bunch of psychos.

It was wrong, she knew. Kaina took no pride in helping the League in any form of fashion. But, if this was what it took to rid the world of the HPSC's lies and corruption, it would have to do.

She may be working with monsters, but she wouldn't be a monster. Not. Ever. Again.

She was free…

And, she had work to do…

…~AMP~...