[A/N] My most sincere apologies to everyone who has had this story in alert since the day that I started it, these past two years have been really rough on me due to university; school has had a big toll on me and sucked all inspiration as I immersed myself into school work and personal stuff that also presented itself along the way.

I had half of the draft of this chapter done for quite a while but I didn't know how to proceed with the other one that I was missing, and my lack of time to attend the matter didn't help at all, I got frustrated and left it like that for a damn long time. I tended to it from time to time and worked on it until I got out some parts that I was satisfied with, and until today, there are some small things that I'm not content with, but I honest to god don't know how to fix.

Is this series as a whole finished?
No, I still have 3 one-shots of this verse planned in my master list for it. I will end it at some point, but right now its not that time. I'm not currently interested in both fandoms to gain that passionate fire that I began with, but it will come back, and I will definitely put it my all.

This year I began to write again, but for other two fandoms. I have the bad habit of submerging into a a fandom/show/game for a small period of time and then just stopping until I regain back the interest.

I'm sorry if this doesn't make it for you, but I really couldn't let this remain unfinished, I gave it my all and did my best to at least try.

Izuku's life changes for good when he's eight years old.

All it took was a bomb, his mother's corpse and a stranger snatching him away before everything went to the depths of the hell that he already was in.

The world blurs around him, and his body stops processing every other sensation that isn't numbness while his ears forget any sound that isn't the constant ringing that prolongs itself on them.

When he comes to be again, he's in an unknown place, probably somewhere in Tōkyō.

He does not panic because there is no need to do it anymore.

Inside an old motel room, he breaks again, tears silently come down as his body goes cold all over and something in his chest becomes heavy. The insides of his nose ache and his eyes sting with every little tear that falls to his lap.

But neither the silence of the room, nor the distant sound of the traffic outside can console him as a vivid image comes to life in his head.

A lifeless body lying crushed amid two broken piles of concrete, a fountain of crimson that cascades down like a river on the rubble, a hand reaching out for something (or someone), and a mossy tuft of green that brightened in contrast with the sunbeams, that hid the face that Izuku remembers since he has memory and has loved dearly.

His heart aches and wants, to go back, back, back and do something to revive her; to take her body out from the rubble and make the fountain of blood reel back to where it belongs; to grasp her reaching hand, never let go and give everything he has to make her breathe again.

'I Love You!'

Her final words ring in his head and Izuku tries to disappear, to rewind time and save her from her demise.

He hugs his legs and tries to remember how his mother's embrace felt like.

But he can't, because he's alone and alive, and she's dead.

Izuku doesn't hear the door open, nor the footsteps that approach him. But he feels how something drops on his left side, and how someone gently makes him stand. Izuku's knees wobble and shivers run across his body. His eyes focus a little, and the color orange is all that registers on his head before two arms wrap around him and hold him tight.

Izuku feels warmness spread everywhere, and he gives back the embrace, as strongly as he can, and continues to cry his aching heart out to the memory of his mother, to his past life, and to what—from that moment onwards—he would remember to as his last day as a human, and his first one as an Ajin.

Kō comes back to the sound of sobs and hiccups in a room swarmed in black.

For only a moment, he reminisces the image of a little boy lying broken and dying on the floor of an empty house, crying what probably were his last human tears.

Loneliness and pain spread in his chest and squeeze his heart as he lets himself remember what it feels like to be sad, alone, and unable to die.

He steels himself and starts to cross the dark room, letting the sound of a crying child guide him.

He drops the bag next to where he believes the kid is and lets his hand reach to him.

He gently grabs his arm and makes him stand. He feels how he struggles, and how his body trembles as his sobs get more frantic.

Kō hugs him, as tightly as he can. The kid responds and does the same, and Kō lets himself shed tears of his own on top of the kid's green mossy hair as he makes a promise to himself.

Never again.

He does not notice the darkness disperse from the room like ashes dancing in the air as if they were smoke, the room becomes clear, and the moonlight filters through the crevice between the curtains of the only window in the room.

We are never again going to be alone

The next day they're out of the hotel before dawn breaks. Kō dresses Izuku in cheap clothes he got the day before and puts a plain dark wig and a facemask on the kid to avoid suspicion.

On their way to the station, all the newspaper stands they passed by had on display the newest scandal of the day.

「 Terrorist Bombing Annihilates Musutafu's Residential Section No. 9, A Whole Complex Confirmed Dead. 」

As the sun begins to peak in the horizon, Kō and Izuku descend through the early morning passerby-traffic in their way to the underground bullet train station. The morning news flashes with the early report of the day in every T.V that they stumble upon; the echoing voice of the reporter booming loudly as they go forward.

"It has been only 21 hours since the disappearance of Japan's third confirmed Ajin, Midoriya Izuku, after the annihilation of the ninth residential section of Musutafu's fifth district."

"The government and the investigation division of Tokyo's police department teamed up with pro-heroes Beast Jeanist and Snipe in the search of the child and his mysterious abductor who, many speculate, is also an Ajin."

As Ko purchases the tickets, Izuku hears of a conflict that the government has with an underground villain affiliation; the news reporter mentions the other targeted localizations across Japan and goes into further detail in regards of his home's fall and the damage that the neighboring buildings suffered.

The names of his neighbors, and his mother's, echo across the platform as they wait for their train. At the ending of the victims list, his name is exclusively highlighted, setting emphasis on his late discovered status as an Ajin, and when Izuku turns back to face the news screens, his face is displayed with full color, and the information pops up next to his picture.

MIDORIYA IZUKU, WANTED AJIN.

In case of spotting or finding him, please report to number XXX-XX-XX

DESCRIPTION
Hair Color: Moss Green
Eye Color: Green
Height: 120cm
Gender: Male
Status: Alive
Age: 8
Species: Ajin
Quirk: Quirkless

Izuku's breath hitches and Kō's grip on his hand tightens.

The train stops, its doors open, and they board in with the first passengers of the day as if the world wasn't falling down upon their shoulders.

Izuku's heart goes into a frenzy, and tears begin to bud in the corner of his eyes.

They both sit next to each other, and Kō wraps his arm around the younger boy and looks down at him with steel in his eyes.

"Nothing will happen to you, okay?" he says with a steady voice.

And Izuku stares back with wondrous eyes.

"I promise, nothing will happen to you as long as you're by my side."

For four years, Kō kept his promise. For four years, Kō works arduously to give Izuku a decent a normal life despite their status as fugitives in the eyes of society.

For four years, everything goes calmly in their lives; but it all goes to hell the night that Kō comes back a little late from work.

His arms ache and his back is killing him, but he ignores the painful sensations when he remembers that the envelope with the pay is resting safely in his pocket and he has finally arrived home.

He opens the door, and his 'I'm home' gets interrupted by Izuku's frantic, "Aniki! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

He takes off his shoes at light speed and fastly gets into the small living room in time to see Izuku's silhouette being shadowed by the bright light coming out from the TV.

On the screen, the image of a man on a wheelchair and another one with a cap is displayed in the small device. The press is frantic, bombarding the older man with questions. Their cameras flash, contrasting vividly with the man's pale skin; the one in the wheelchair looks very sick.

"Today…" begins the old one with the cap, "I-I've come today because there's something I want the public to know."

Kō turns on the lights and grabs the nearest stool to make Izuku sit a little far from the TV, he remains standing to his right.

"Let me start by saying two things, my name is Satō, and… I'm an Ajin. "

Kō's blood runs cold, and he hears Izuku's sharp intake of breath.

The reporters go wild.

'Ajin?!'
'What are you trying to say?!'
'Is that true?!'
'You're an Ajin?!'
'Aren't you afraid of being captured by the government?
'What are the two things you want to say?'

Silence, and the man shifts, "The first is… there's a lot of false information out there, don't let it fool you."

One of his hands releases a handle of the wheelchair and rests on the right shoulder of the person occupying it.

"Ten years ago, there was a big news story that caused quite a commotion; as you all know, it was the news of Tanaka Koji here, the media got carried away, and a TV show even offered a reward."

Neither Kō nor Izuku knew about this.

"But I am pretty sure, that you also remember the one that caused a massive uproar," his face now bears a somber expression, "I'm talking about the one of four years ago, where the image of a scared and mourning child got broadcasted across the nation."

The reporters don't say anything, Izuku's heart pounds in his ears, and he feels like crying.

"You remember now? I'm talking about young Midoriya Izuku; the rewards over him were higher than Tanaka's; if it weren't for the other Ajin that saved him, he would have suffered a horrible fate at the hands of the government."

Kō places a hand on Izuku's shoulder, and squeezes, "It's alright, Izukkun, you're safe."

"Tell me, would you experiment on a child? Would you treat them as if they were nothing just because they can't die? Aren't children the nation's most precious treasure?"

Nobody answers.

"This time, the same thing happened with Nagai Kei. This is being treated like some kind of public event, and the media is feeding this frenzy all over again; none of you have any idea of what was waiting for them."

'Yes, we do!'
'Is there a problem we should know?'
'It's true, some people do feel a little sorry for them, after all, people who've discovered that they're Ajins have to be taken into government custody, and then must live under their care.'

Satō scoffs and looks at the camera offended, "I know that's what the government has officially announced, but let me tell you, it's a lie. The government has been conducting inhumane experiments on Ajins, and that's the second thing I wanted to say."

'What are you saying?!'
'You're messing with us!'
'In 20XX a video was leaked of the American government doing experiments on Ajins, many people feel that similar things are happening right here as well!'
'Tell us Satō-san, did you actually fell for that hoax and illegally entered the lab to get Tanaka out?''
'That's obviously a crime!'

"Except I have proof."

'Alright, where is it?'

"Well, I've already uploaded it online."

'No way!'
'Hurry, get my laptop!
'Go, go, go, confirm th—!'

"Aniki, the computer!" says Izuku hurriedly; Kō instantly goes for their mini laptop and turns it on as fast as he can.

"Those videos are… top-secret data from the home computer of a certain Ajin researcher."

'This can't be real...'
'It looks pretty authentic to me...'

"This cannot be forgiven! Just because we are different from you people does not mean we can be dehumanized and be treated like lab rats! Don't you see that?!" He says as he bangs his hands into the wheelchair's handles, "I'm asking all of you here to please protest with me!"

When the device is finally running, Kō opens the browser and types Ajin

"In two days, I will begin a protest directly in front of the Ministry of Finance in Chiyoda, so please come to fight with me!"

The results are immediately arranged over the screen, videos labeled as 'classified' are the first things that appear; one of them, Kō is familiarized with.

"After all, there is the chance that anyone you know, family, friends, acquaintances, children… could turn out to be an Ajin like us."

"Aniki?" ask Izuku, frightened as his green eyes widen at the images that the computer displays.

"You must do it for… for the happiness of us all," says Sato as tears start to fall down from his eyes, "to prevent the treatment that Tanaka was given, to stop ruining normal lives like Nagai's, and to not scare Ajins anymore and force them to hide at such a young age for what they truly are, like young Midoriya."

In the background, the Laboratory explodes.

In the midst of the commotion, the reporters change their cameras to take a shot from the burning building.

When the camera focuses back, only a wheelchair is left behind.

Two days later, Kō goes to the Ministry in Chiyoda; Izuku, as stubborn as always, sends his humongous black mummy with Kō, serving as his presence.

The trip is half an hour from their apartment, and they arrive at a good time, fifteen minutes before the stated meeting time. Izuku, through his mummy, spots at least five heroes positioned in different parts of the block; there are three cameramen and also three reporters near the entrance of the Ministry building.

Everyone gathered is waiting for something.

They can't see the whole block infested with different types of black mummies.

Kō counts a total of sixteen.

"Thanks for coming," says one sitting at the top of a tree, "Now, I'll tell you the real gathering place, tomorrow at 2 p.m, we want you all to meet in—"

"This time I go alone," says Kō when he arrives at home.

"But Ani—"

"No, Izukkun, I would bet you anything that all the mummies you saw are from older people, I can't risk something happening to you if you go."

"At least let me send my mummy with you!" protests Izuku.

"No, you stay here and wait for me."

Izuku looks at the floor, worry written on his face, his shoulders tense and his hands clench.

"Hey, I'll call you if something comes up," says the older boy, resting a comforting hand on Izuku's head, "even if nothing happens, wait for my call when I'm on my way back."

Izuku wants to say something, tell Kō that it's a bad idea. But his Aniki is looking at him with reassuring eyes and a warm smile, his hand ruffling his messy hair makes some tension escape from his shoulders.

Trust me, is what Kō tries to say.

"Okay," he says quietly.

"Don't worry, it will be all right!" replies Kō with a bright smile.

When Kō arrives at the abandoned warehouse the next day, there are only six people gathered at the entrance of the building. Amongst the plain environment, and the distant sound of the cicadas, everyone looks wary. The warm heat the weather bestows upon them has nothing against the heavy atmosphere that has ominously settled over them; the looks everyone is giving each other are judging and cautious ones, waiting for someone to do something; the unsettling silence is putting Kō on edge.

"Ah, I see you have arrived", says a black mummy from a fire escape at the top of the building, "I'm Satō, please, come in everyone!"

One by one they go inside, Kō eyes the building suspiciously; his left hand rests on his pocket where his phone is.

He has a really bad feeling about this.

Izuku is a wreck of anxiety and emotions the moment his Aniki leaves; uneasiness settles in his stomach, and his head won't stop imagining worst case scenarios.

Is he going to be okay?

Was the meeting going to be fast?

Were the people at the gathering trustworthy?

Would things be alright?

What if something happened to Kō?

Was this Satō character too dangerous?

If they got caught, did that mean they were going to leave soon?

For two hours straight Izuku busies himself with menial tasks to keep the bad thoughts away. He washes the dishes, swipes the floor, turns the T.V on and stares into the screen as a program goes by. At one point he takes out one of his notebooks and begins to write down a small hypothesis of his Aniki's lack of black mummy.

When he's two pages in, the door opens.

"Aniki?" he asks loudly, "You got back early!"

He closes the notebook and stands to greet his brother at the door.

"You didn't call me, dummy! You said to wait for your call when you got back I thought you were gonna arrive la—!"

Izuku goes still when he notices it's not Kō the one at the porch.

Two men in black suits look at him shocked. Izuku eyes them frightened as he scans rapidly every part of their bodies and his eyes land at the gun holsters on their left hips.

One of them notices, and the man goes rigid.

"Hey, kid, it's oka—"

He doesn't get to finish his sentence when Izuku screams.

Dents spread on the windows, and the near emptiness of the room makes a disturbing echo; the both of them freeze on the spot.

Izuku checks the time on the clock next to the bedroom; he has a total of ten minutes to run away from there.

He grabs his notebooks and closes the laptop in one go. He runs inside the bedroom and shoves them into the backpack stuffed with his other eight notebooks, a change of clothes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, the laptop's charger, a phone charger, a lantern, and a map; he also puts inside the money pouch where his Aniki's savings are.

His flip phone rests safely on his right pocket.

He puts his gray hoodie, then he slings the backpack to his left shoulder and makes his way to the kitchen to grab a face mask from a drawer. He checks the time again and makes his way to the front door while avoiding the two men.

He ties his shoes as fast as he can, and calmly leaves the apartment.

He has only six minutes before the men start moving again.

He scans the corridor, and as smoothly as he can, he makes his way to the stairs. On the third floor, there's another man with a black suit and Izuku's heart races. He needs to make his leave a little less suspicious.

He grabs his phone and starts to talk to a dead line.

"Hey, Micchan, I'm on my way, I'm stopping at a Konbini after a few blocks, do you want me to bring you something?"

The man eyes him suspiciously as he passes next to him, Izuku keeps going down.

"Ah, I see..." he makes it to the second floor and keeps going until he's on the main floor that takes to the street, "Okay, I'll be there in ten, tell Jucchan to be a little more patient."

He's finally making his way to the corner that takes to the next block when he checks the time, he closes his phone, shoves it into his pocket, and calmly keeps walking.

He puts on the white face mask, and there's only one minute left.

Across the street he hears the door of a car open, "Where do you think you're going, Midoriya Izuku."

He hears something resembling a compressed shot go off. A spot on his right shoulder stings as it gets pierced with what probably is a dart.

When he turns back, he gets a glimpse of a white-haired man in a gray suit, pointing a tranquilizing gun at him.

His heart is beating a mile per hour, his vision blurs.

He doesn't feel anything when he makes contact with the ground.

[A/N] Again, I apologize if this ending didn't make it for you, but it was how I had it planned from the beginning to keep going with what I already have established in my master list.

Thank you all for your alerts, favorites, and reviews, even if it was a lapse of a horrid long time without updating, those meant a lot to me and helped me through in my time in university.

This is not over yet, for now, this will remain on hiatus, but when I'm back on this verse, I will give it my all and pour all the love into this story.

Thank you very much for understanding and sticking with this story, it really means a lot.