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Tomura wrapped his hand around the boy's neck, lifting only one finger so as not to kill him. “Guess who?” He rasped.
The boy never tensed up as he yelled a definite “Kacchan!” Shigaraki loosened his grip as he looked at the boy, worried. Whoever ‘Kacchan’ was, wasn’t a friend to the boy, but the nickname seemed so childish and friendly. Careful not to disintegrate Midoriya, he turned him to face Tomura.
“Are you ok, brat?” Midoriya froze as he looked into the eyes of the villain.
“Sh- Shigaraki!” It looked like he was about to escape, but Tomura increased the strength of his grip.
“I”m not gonna hurt you brat. I just wanna know if you’re ok. That ‘Kacchan’ kid doesn’t sound so friendly…” The boy looked shocked to see someone that wasn’t his mother, much less a villain, worried about him.
“He… He really isn’t.” He looked at the floor, averting his gaze from the older teen.
“Do you… wanna talk about it?” The boy nodded. Tomura sighed as he released the boy’s shoulders. “Let’s go sit down.” To his surprise, Izuku followed.
“She says he works overseas, but she hasn’t worn her wedding ring since I was four.” Tomura really felt bad for this kid. He was a very late bloomer and diagnosed as quirkless, had no friends, was constantly bullied, and now Tomura learned that Izuku no longer had a father.
“Then All Might found and wanted to train me and I finally felt like I could do it. I get he’s kind of ditzy sometimes, but he’s the closest thing to a dad I’ve had in years .” Now Tomura really felt bad.
“God… I’m a sorry brat. I’ll try to leave him alone. But only because he makes you happy.” Izuku smiled brightly, giving the older teen heart palpitations.
“Thanks, Shigaraki!”
“... what the fuck was that, Deku??” Uraraka stared at Shigaraki as he walked off and Izuku waved goodbye.
“He’s actually very nice to vent to. Jeez, I think I told him more about my trauma that I did my mom.”
“Midoriya, that’s not good.”
“Nah, it’ll be fine.
“I SWEAR TO GOD, TOMURA! USE THE GOLDEN APPLE!”
“NO, IZUKU! I’M SAVING IT!” Tomura button mashed on his controller, managing to get a hit on the Ender Dragon. They had been friends for a while now, meeting up in parks or cafes to rant to each other. Izuku had learned more about All for One and the abuse Tomura and the other villains had suffered through. Izuku couldn’t do much, but he could sneak him into his dorm to play Minecraft on his PlayStation.
The door opened, causing both of them to look back at it in frozen fear. “Hey Midobro, can you quiet it do...wn…” Denki stood in the doorway, ultimately confused like usual. “Is that…?”
“Kaminari-Kun…” Izuku started to gather an explanation.
“GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY ROOM I’M PLAYING MINECRAFT!” Tomura screamed in a panicked frenzy. Kaminari backed out, closing the door. Tomura and Izuku stared at each other, ignoring the death screens marking the TV. “Well fuck. That could've gone better.”
“We should go after him…”
“Maybe later. Our shit’s about to despawn.”
“Oh fuck, you’re right!”
A few minutes later, the door to their room opened and Kaminari slipped inside with a bag of microwave popcorn. “I don’t trust him, but I’m pretty sure you’ve got a good explanation, Mido.” He sat on Midoriya’s bed and ate his popcorn as we watched the two play.
“It just sucks, you know? I’m the only afab in the league and no one really understands. Big sister Magne tries, but it’s just hard to explain without someone having a similar experience!” Toga pouted as Izuku pulled a comb through her hair. “Thanks for doing this, Izuku! I don’t think I’ve ever properly apologized to you for trying to kill you and all of that and I’m really sorry.”
“It’s ok, Himiko. How’s that therapist I recommended working out for you?”
“It’s actually going pretty well! She’s very nice and she doesn’t judge me for my quirk!”
“He’s got a girl in there!” Mina squealed as she pulled her ear away from the door. “Do you think we should barge in and convince her to come to girls’ night?”
“Absolutely!” Hagakure yelled, jumping into the air.
“I don’t know, Ashido,” Momo started. “If he has someone in there, we shouldn’t be rude.”
“Then again, no one is allowed to be in their room alone with someone of the opposite gender, kero,” Asui spoke.
“Tsuyu’s got a point,” Uraraka spoke. “Maybe we should see if she wants to hang out!”
Mina took that as the go-ahead to fling Deku’s door open. “DEKU! WHO’S YOUR FRI...end???” Mina and the other girls started at Himiko for a second or two before getting into defensive stances.
“Guys! No! We’re being peaceful!” Izuku shouted, pulling Himiko closer to him.
“WHY DO YOU HAVE HER HERE!?!” one of the girls shouted, the others agreeing. The villain looked ashamed as she turned to Midoriya.
“I’m sorry, Izuku. If I’m causing problems, I can leave. Thanks for doing my hair.” She started to get up before He grabbed her arm.
“Nope. You’re not leaving. And neither are you guys.” He glared at the girls before turning back to Himiko. “You said you wanted to apologize to Uraraka and Tsuyu. Here’s your chance.”
The blonde girl nodded before turning to the hoard of defensive teens and bowing. “Uraraka-san, Asui-san, I’m very sorry for my behavior. I hope you’ll find it in you to forgive me.” the girls’ stances melted as Uraraka turned to Izuku.
“Midoriya… I… what???”
“He lets us vent to him and he listens very well.” Himiko started. “He and Inko-san have been working to get us away from the League.”
“Remember at the mall when you found Tomura and I talking?” Uraraka nodded. “Well, I said something… concerning… and he asked if I was ok and I kinda ended up ranting to him. We had an agreement that we’d meet up peacefully just to talk and blow off steam. It turns out a lot of people in the League aren’t being treated right and my mom and I are trying to help them.”
Momo wiped her eyes daintily “That’s very heroic, Midoriya. I’m very glad you can help them.”
“Do you wanna join us for girls’ night, Toga?” Himiko smiled.
“I’d love to!”
“I swear to god, Dabi. These are never going to heal correctly if you don’t take care of them.” Izuku carefully spread lotion across the skin grafts. “That also means you can’t use your quirk.”
“I know…” The man replied. Izuku sighed as his hands brushed up against Dabi’s hair.
“Have you ever washed this?” He ran his hands through the hair, getting them covered in ash.
“Can’t.” Izuku hummed.
“At least you’re doing one thing right for your grafts.” He stood up, brushing his dirty hands on his sweatpants. “I’ll be right back.”
Izuku had been gone for a while and Dabi was starting to get nervous. He was sitting cross-legged on Izuku’s carpet without a shirt on. He really hoped no one needed Izuku right now. He just jinxed himself, hadn’t he? There was a knock on the door before it opened, revealing Todoroki Shouto. He looked at Dabi for a hot minute before slamming the door.
At this moment, Izuku was coming back with a towel, a tub of water, and some hair products.
“Midoriya. Are you aware there’s a member of the League in your room?” Todoroki’s tone and body language were neutral, but Izuku knew he was slightly shaken.
“Yes? I’m helping him.” The bicolored boy looked at him like he was a madman. “Just… Come inside. I’ll explain it.” Todoroki opened the door and let Midoriya in as he placed the items down.
“Izuku.”
“Yes?”
“Why is Todoroki Shouto here?”
“Because he wanted me to explain why you’re in here. Now get over here. We’re cleaning your crusty ass hair.”
“Who knew your hair was actually ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛.” Izuku laughed, as he toweled off Dabi’s hair. Shouto was looking at him in utter shock before standing up.
“Excuse me. I have to go.” Izuku watched in confusion as Todoroki stood up to leave and as Dabi grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Shouto…”
“T-Touya…”
“So he keeps pulling on my hair and I’m finally fed up with it,” Izuku recalled, telling a story about his old bullies.
“If you didn’t immediately kick his ass, I want a refund.” Himiko stuffed a handful of popcorn into her mouth.
“He totally waited. He’s 100% a teachers’ pet.” Izuku feigned offense towards Dabi, earning laughter from the group.
“Either that or he cried.”
“I have very good reasons to cry, Tomura.”
“Mhm. Like when you dropped your ice cream last week.”
“I WAS VERY SAD!”
After the little sidetrack, Izuku continued his story.
“Anyway, I was already so done with him being an absolute ass and he decided to pull on my collar . So I turned around and yelled ‘fuck off!’ and the entire class was dead silent because holy shit, innocent little Deku just said ‘fuck’.”
Tomura looked at him. “You said this was 4th grade, right?” Izuku nodded. “Why are kids cussing in 4th grade??”
“Dude, I cussed in 4th grade.” Dabi shrugged.
“That’s because you have daddy issues”
Izuku and Himiko looked at each other. “Oooooooh!” The older males stood off before starting to wrestle; the other two cheering them on.
It was all fun and games until the door to Izuku’s room was thrown open. “WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU SO FUCKING LOUD, DEKU?”
The four older villains quickly stood up, assuming stances as they blocked Katsuku from Izuku. Katsuki looked at the group for a quick second before charging in.
“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU FUCKERS!” Izuku tried to push past the group, yelling at them to stop. They kept fighting, but the only one aiming to hurt was Katsuki. Izuku managed to pull in front of everyone, punching Katsuki into the wall.
“
KNOCK IT OFF!
” He screamed, tears filling his eyes. “WE’RE BEING
CIVIL
AND I WOULD VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT IF YOU
DIDN’T TRY TO KILL
ANYONE!” Glaring, Katsuki stood up, holding his ribs.
“I WANNA KNOW WHY YOU’RE HANGING OUT WITH
VILLAINS
!” Izuku looked pissed. He stalked up to the other teen pressing him to the wall by his shirt.
“Because they aren’t villains. Not anymore. But I guess you wouldn’t understand any of that. Switch your brain off monkey mode and listen, asshole.” Katsuki stared at him, a hint of terror in his eyes, and a faint ‘holy shit’ was heard in the background.
“The League was, very clearly, not a good place to be. They weren’t treated correctly. And it took them a while to realize that and I’m trying to get them out. So if you wouldn’t jump to fucking conclusions, we would have been fine.” Izuku smiled, causing Katsuki to shiver. “When you came in, were they hurting anyone?” Katsuki shook his head. “When you came in, did I seem distressed?”
“N-no.”
“Did I look like I was in danger?”
“No.”
“Did you think I was a villain myself by talking to them?” He stayed silent. “Did you?”
“Yes.”
“You know me better than everyone in UA. You know I wouldn’t.” Izuku released Katsuki and let the boy make it to the door to exit.
Izuku let out a deep breath and turned back to the older group smiling brightly like usual.
“What, and I cannot stress this enough, the
fuck
,” Dabi whispered.
Izuku nursed the teacup in his hands as Nezu sat across the desk. “I’ve heard that you’ve been trying to rehabilitate 3 major figures in the League of Villains with the help of your mother, is that correct?”
“Yes, sir.” Nezu hummed, taking a sip from his own cup of tea.
“May I ask how you came to this decision?” Izuku nodded.
“When my classmates and I went to the mall, Tomura was there to threaten me about something, but when he grabbed my neck… I, uh,” He fidgeted with the cup’s handle. “I said something that
concerned
him.”
“Does this have something to do with the extensive bullying you went through in middle school?” Izuku paled, almost dropping his cup.
“Please don’t expel anyone, sir! We came to a compromise!” The creature chuckled.
“I know exactly who participated and as we usually do not take lightly to Quirk discrimination, I’ve noticed the change in behavior. Just know if he acts out like middle school, we won’t hesitate to get rid of him. And this goes for anyone with a quirkist background”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Please continue,”
“We ended up meeting to talk, and he saw similarities in the way he was being treated at the league in my own bullying experiences. After a few meetups, he came to me and asked me to help him and a few others get out. I talked to my mother and we found small ways to help them slowly transition. We got all of them a therapist or psychiatrist, medical assistance for Dabi and Tomura, and we’re slowly integrating them back into society as citizens instead of villains.” Izuku smiled fondly as he looked down at his tea. “I guess all they needed was a little kindness.”
After about a year, a handful of intense legal battles, and a fuck ton of tears, they were free. Inko had helped Himiko find her family, leading him to find out Monoma Neito was her younger brother.
Shouto reclaimed Dabi, Todoroki Touya, into his family, where he lived with his twin sister and her fiance.
Tomura had no family left to take him in. Inko made sure to have the adoption papers turned in as soon as she could, making him Izuku’s official older brother.
The three were sentenced with community service and house arrest to pay for the crimes they had committed. But other than that, they were free. Free to restart. Free to try again.