Iida Tenya

By the time Iida Tenya was twelve, he had noticed two things about his older brother, Tensei, when Tensei talked about work.

He rarely talked about the other heroes in his agency to Tenya.

When he talked about it with his parents, Tensei went into great detail about just how scummy those 'heroes' really were. He talked about the sexual harassment they would dish out to those they rescued, the abuse of a girlfriend or boyfriend, the rape that went unpunished and unreported, because they're heroes, they wouldn't do something that vulgar. He regularly lamented on his failed attempts to amass evidence that these false heroes should have their licenses striped away and be sent to jail.

By the time Tenya was fourteen, he knew what to do with that information.

In the news, there have been reports of 'Stain', a self-proclaimed Hero Killer who killed heroes who were corrupt that seemed untouchable by law.

Tenya had decided he would like to help this Hero Killer.

He managed to find the Hero Killer's hideout after just under half a year, and went to Hosu to track the man down, under the guise of going to hang out in a local park. He went to the house of Chizome Akaguro, knocked on the door, and introduced himself. Chizome was hostile at first, but then Tenya produced a list of heroes who his brother had tried and failed to amass information on.

He asked Chizome- Stain to please take down the heroes on this list, rapists and harassers and abusers, in exchange for leaving Ingenium off his list of false heroes. Stain agreed, and offered to pay him in training of his body and weapon-wielding skills.

Tenya accepted, and left Hosu that day with a way to help his brother and to get stronger, to carry the succession of Ingenium through the ages.

When Tenya was fifteen, his parents and older brother died in a car crash. Tenya was alone, and had no access to his inheritance until he turned eighteen, as written in his family's will.

According to the world, Tenya Iida committed suicide off of a bridge, leaving a note saying that his fortune would be given to his best friend, Yanyourozu Momo.

In actuality, he staged his own death, and went to live with the infamous Hero Killer, learning how to become his successor.

Todoroki Shouto

When Shouto was five, he learned that the world wasn't fair, and that the people at fault weren't always blamed.

His mother often became unfocused and scary, especially when something happened that reminded her of his father. So, Shouto completely understood why his mother, in a fit, had snapped, pouring the boiling hot, melting water, right onto his left side. She was right, after all. His left was unsightly, with the cold blue eye and sickeningly red hair so reminiscent of the demon in his nightmares.

His mother was sent to a 'mental institution', and his father got off scot free, never mind the abuse that all of his family members have suffered at his hands.

That day, Shouto made a promise to himself. A promise that he would do everything in his power to be different from the man who owned half of his DNA. He stopped using his fire, and iced it over until it felt like he didn't have any fire at all.

When Shouto was seven, he learned there was always something to live for.

On one of his rare permitted excursions with his older sister, Fuyumi, he saw something terrible.

Three bigger boys were towering over a much weaker-looking child, who stood protectively in front of another kid. The blond boy, quite likely the ringleader of the three bullies, said something Shouto couldn't quite make out, but whatever it was, the weak green haired boy flinched violently, doing so a second time when the blond caused an explosion to come from his hands.

Shouto's body moved before his mind caught up, running next to the smaller boy and putting his arms up.

"It's not nice to bully." he said quietly.

"Fuck off, you shitty half-n-half bastard! You've got nothing to do with this!" the blond screeched, letting out another explosion.

"You're bullying an innocent child, who seems very afraid around you, in public. I definitely have everything to do with this, because heroes don't hurt innocents, or stand by and let it happen." Ice began creeping down Shouto's right leg, slowly covering his body in ice where skin didn't show. "Now, are we going to go two against three? I think we can win if those are the odds."

"Please, you and shitty Deku are barely one and a half. You're not worth my fucking time." the blond scoffed. He turned around, and his lackeys followed.

Once they had turned the corner, the boy nicknamed useless turned to the other child who was cowering. "Are you okay, Akura?" he asked.

Akura shot 'Deku' a nasty look. "Leave me alone, Quirkless freak!" He got up shakily on his own, the bottom of his face swelling a bit. "I was fine on my own."

The child scurried away, leaving just Shouto and the green haired boy.

"Are you okay?" asked Shouto to the green haired boy.

"Me, I'm fine. Thank you for helping me, Kacchan can get really rude sometimes... But I think he's gonna make a great hero, so it's not that big of a deal..."

"It is a big deal. This Kacchan is a bully, and just because he has a strong Quirk doesn't mean he can just go around beating up whoever he wants, no matter what. He'd make a terrible hero. He'd probably kill all the villain, and not care who he'd hurt."

"I... I wouldn't go that far, but I see what-what you mean... Hey, um, what's your name? Mine's Midoriya Izuku." the green haired boy stuttered out.

"Todoroki Shouto. Please, call me Shouto... What's that Kacchan boy's deal? Why does he bully you?"

"I- I don't have a, a Quirk..." Midoriya replied, fiddling with his hands.

"So, he's just an asshole?" Shouto summarized.

That comment was immediately followed by a light smack to the head. "Really, now, Shouto. We need to work on your bad mouth." said Fuyumi.

"Sorry, sis..." he replied.

"Oh, hello, I'm Fuyumi, Shouto's older sister. Who are you?" Fuyumi asked.

"This is Izuku, he's my new friend." Shouto answered.

"Ye-yeah! Nice to meet you.." Izuku said.

Fuyumi gave one of her 'placating' smiles. "It was nice to meet you, Izuku. Now, we need to get going, we're running late."

"Oh... Bye, Shouto." Izuku looked down at the dirt.

"Bye, Izuku..." Shouto drew his eyebrows together. "See you soon."

That got Izuku to pull his head up. "Okay, see you around!" he cheered.

Shouto clung desperately to that impossible promise.

When Shouto turned ten, he learned that nobody is worth protecting more than family, and that you have to make yourself immune from pain to save those you cared about.

During a training session with Endeavor, his second oldest brother stepped in, stopping the final blow from connecting with Shouto's ribs.

Exhausted and hurt, Shouto could do nothing but watch as Endeavor cremated his brother, until Fuyumi pulled him away to the baths. Even there, he could hear the screams.

He heard the ambulance arrive through the thin walls, but the next day was told that his brother, Touya, was dead.

The official cause of death was Quirk overload, but Shouto knew the truth.

His father had become more than just a rapist and abuser.

His father was a murderer, had killed family in cold blood; and seemed as if he could and would do it again.

At twelve, he learned there was such a thing as actual justice in this world.

The news had begun reporting on a string of Pro Hero murders, all corrupt. They were calling the vigilante (Shouto refused to see him as a villain) Stain: The Hero Killer.

Shouto realized that he could do something to change the corrupt world that allowed people like Endeavor to exist, that allowed the thirteen years of henoll his mother had to endure, that allowed an innocent man be killed by his own father without retribution.

When Shouto was fourteen, he met Izuku again.

He had just ran away from home, and was walking towards the demolished part of Hosu.

"Sh-Shouto?" someone asked from behind him.

He turned around, and was met with a boy about half a foot smaller than him. The boy had fluffy green hair that triggered a distant memory of saving a child from a bully, a warm smile, and "Izuku."

Izuku smiled. "You remembered me. I'm so glad."

"You were my first friend, how could I not?" Shouto replied. "I'm so sorry, after that outing my dad forbid me from leaving again, I wanted to go, so much. I- I actually, um... just ran away today..."

"Re-really? Me too..." Izuku trailed off. "Maybe... we could, could run away.. together? Find someplace to live for the both of us?"

Shouto felt his hand heat up. "Okay, that sounds like a plan."

"Great!" Shouto turned, but was stopped from continuing down the street by a hand on his wrist. "We should probably dye your hair, Shouto. If I recognized you after not seeing you for seven years, imagine others, after seeing you on the news. The scar we can cover with makeup, so that's good."

"What about you?" Shouto asked.

"I get looked over in a crowd, don't worry. My own mom wouldn't recognize me if I covered up my freckles."

"Okay. How about black for me then?" Shouto suggested.

"Sure."

Shouto pulled up his hood, and the two of them went into the nearest convenience store. Izuku went straight for the makeup section, grabbing concealer, blush, and a couple other items before making a beeline for the hair dye section, taking two bottles of black hair dye, and taking them to checkout. The woman at the counter rang them up, and Izuku had just finished paying when the news story switched to a missing persons report.

"In other news, the fifth son of Enji Todoroki, also known as the number two hero, Endeavor is missing. The boy's name is Todoroki Shouto. To my left is a recent picture." the newscaster woman reported. "The boy appears to have vanished from his home late last night or early this morning. If you have any information on the young Todoroki's whereabouts, please call this hotline: XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thank you for your cooperation."

The cashier looked from the picture to Shouto nervously, her hand inching towards her phone.

"Please, miss, please, don't. The public doesn't know this, but he's the reason I have this scar, miss. I-I just want to get away from him. He-he's done so many horrible things..." Shouto pleaded, on the verge of tears.

He felt a gently warm hand rubbing up and down his back, and almost didn't hear the clerk promise that she wouldn't call the police and return him to his father.

He was led to a bathroom by soft hands, and sat down on a toilet. There was the sound of running water, and then a cool paper towel was wiping along his face, impossibly gentle, and he opened his eyes to find Izuku carefully wiping away his tears, himself close to tears as well.

He tapped Izuku's free hand, and Izuku blinked twice. "While we're in this shitty public bathroom, let's dye my hair, okay?"

Izuku sniffled. "Okay!" He opened the dye box, quickly pulling out the dye and application brush. He snapped on some vinyl gloves that were in the box, and opened up the dye. "This might get a bit messy."

He carefully began applying the dye, and the two lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"Alright, done!" Izuku declared. He grabbed a shower cap (also part of the kit), and gathered Shouto's hair into it. "While that sits, I'll apply some makeup to your scar, okay?"

Izuku began gently applying the makeup to Shouto's scar, until it was if it hadn't existed in the first place. "Let's wash the dye out. I'll be right back."

Izuku left, and returned with a plastic tub. He placed it under the sink and filled it halfway. "Can you get up? We can wash your hair and collect the dyed water in here."

Shouto nodded, getting up so Izuku could place the tub on the toilet seat. He sat next to the toilet, the base of his neck resting on the lip of the tub. Izuku grabbed a plastic cup he had brought with him, filling it with water from the tub and gently rinsing off Shouto's hair.

After fifteen minutes of that, Izuku decided that he's washed Shouto's hair enough, and pulled a navy blue towel out of his messenger bag, handing it to Shouto for him to dry his hair while Izuku dumped the used water down the toilet.

Shouto's hair, now only a bit damp, was a deep black, and his heterochromia was nearly unnoticeable now that his scar wasn't visible. In short, he seemed like a completely different person.

Satisfied, Izuku threw away the dye kit in its entirety, and the two of them went back out to the rest of the convenience store. Izuku went up to the same clerk as before, and asked if they could leave via the employee entrance. She said that they could, and it deposited them out to a back alley, next to a dumpster, which Izuku put the tub and a couple other things into.

"Alright, give me your hoodie, you take mine. Mine's two sizes big for me, so it should fit you okay. We don't want you matching the Missing Persons report, right?" Izuku said, already taking off his zippered All Might hoodie. Shouto shrugged, and pulled off his own black one, handing it to Izuku and putting on the one he was given, leaving it unzipped so his blue shirt was visible. Izuku pulled Shouto's hoodie onto himself, and then put his messenger bag on the opposite shoulder, and pulled up his hood.

"Now, let's find someplace to stay the night. Shouto suggested, and the two of them set off the way they were headed initially, towards the abandoned Hosu district, together again.

Shouto was fifteen when he met Iida Tenya, a boy supposed to be dead.

Tenya had asked them both to join him and the hero killer, and they had both agreed.

Midoriya Izuku

When Izuku was four, he learned two cruel realities.

Everyone was not born equal.

Heroes only existed in fairytails.

He was taken to a Quirk doctor, who told him that he would not and could not develop a superpower, a Quirk, and that he was exactly what his supposed friend Kacchan told him he was.

A Quirkless, worthless, weak Deku.

That night, long after Izuku was put to bed, he woke up to the building shaking a bit. He got out of bed and crept to the door, but when he tried to open it the doorknob was too hot.

He then made out the smell of burning.

Seconds later he realized he had forgotten to put in his hearing aids again, and quickly scurried to get them in his ears and turned on.

He was met with painful screams and wood splintering.

His quick mind connected the dots and he scrambled to his window, using scissors to cut out the mesh enough so he could escape. He jumped out of the first floor escape route, and then heard a crunch, pain exploding into his left ankle, causing him to cry out loudly.

Blearily, through tear-hazy eyes, he made out an approaching form, and brandished his scissors in a half warning.

One of his hearing aids had fallen out, but through the other he heard a familiar female voice call his name, then a gasp and he was being picked up gently, and brought to an ambulance.

Two days later he woke up to a hazel eyed nurse tutting over his chart, her slightly froggy face scrunched in worry.

He asked for his mom with his first words, and she immediately pressed a button and then gave him hearing aids, different from his own.

"Sweetie, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but- she's not- I'm so sorry..." the frog like nurse stammered out, her hand not holding the clipboard coming in front of her face in a slightly placating and cute gesture.

"Dead?" he asked quietly.

Her hand drooped. "Ye-yes."

Just then, a doctor came in, wearing a gentle smile. "Alright, kiddo. We have to do a couple of x-rays on your foot, and then we'll let you pick out a colored cast, okay?"

"White." he told them, and pulled out his hearing aids.

He gripped the little pieces of metal tightly in his little hands as he was wheeled away, watching the silent world pass by as he was wheeled to an X Ray room.

He was given a white boot cast, like he'd asked, and crutches.

He stayed in the hospital for a week, until the man who shared half his DNA came back from America.

His father apologized profusely, and they moved to an apartment in Hosu.

He was six when his father began 'punishing' him with punches to the face anand kicks to the ribs, locking him in his room sometimes for hours, denying him food.

Every time he was locked in his room, he asked desperately for someone, anyone, to help him.

But he was just a Deku, why would anyone save him? Kacchan was always right.

At seven, Izuku found a reason to live.

He was at a park, trying desperately to stop Kacchan from becoming someone like his father.

He saw the right hook, braced for it to hit his cheek and knock out a hearing aid, but the blow didn't come.

He opened his eyes, and dialed up his hearing aids to hear better; a red and white haired boy had stood next to him, and was calmly defusing Kacchan.

He even got Kacchan to leave without trying to fight.

And then, when his sister had come over to scold them, Shouto had called Izuku his friend! That was the best day he'd ever had.

When Izuku was fourteen, he lost all faith in heroes.

On his way home from school, after another beating from Katsuki (he lost 'Kacchan' at eight), he was attacked by a being made of sludge, and nearly drowned to death, only to meet his all time favorite hero, who told him it was impossible to be the hero who saves those like him; because he's nothing more than a (worthless, useless, weak, deaf) Deku.

He went back home to his father, ignoring the explosions, because who was he to look at hero fights if he couldn't be one?

Later that night, after his father's daily 'therapy session', he checked the news from his stolen phone, and read the headline.

'Hero To Be Dies In Villain Attack'

He would have clicked off, but then he saw the picture.

Katsuki.

His mind once again connected the dots.

All Might dropped the bottles, and ran out of time to save Katsuki, who was unable to be saved by the heroes present because they all believed that a hero with a better suited Quirk could save him, leaving him to drown just as Izuku would've had All Might not shown up just in time to crush his (broken) dreams.

The following day, Izuku watched as the supposed friends of his bully did nothing to honor him other than two white flowers on Katsuki's desk, one from him (when there was nobody else in the classroom) and a quiet black haired kid who was always at the back of the classroom.

That Sunday, he ran away whilst his father drank himself blind at a local tavern, then get into a drunk driving accident that killed him, his car flying off a bridge with him still inside it.

Izuku would hear about that news later, after he runs into a familiar boy from his childhood memories.

"Sh-Shouto?" he asked, and the bicolored boy whirled around, his eyes darting a bit before settling on him.

"Izuku?" he asked after a minute of staring.

He could feel his smile burning his bruises under the concealer as it stretched and contorted his ugly skin. "You… remembered me! I'm so glad…"

"I'm so sorry!" Shouto cried. Izuku's eyebrows scrunched together into what he hoped was concern and surprise, but before he could ask, 'For what?', Shouto answered his unspoken question. "After that outing, my… dad, forbid me from leaving again. I… I actually just ran away today…"

"Really? Me… too…" He hesitated, before suggesting, "Maybe… we could, um, could run away together? Find… someplace to live for both of us?"

He bit his cheek, waiting.

"Sure, sounds like a plan." Shouto answered.

"Great." Shouto turned to go down the street, but was suddenly struck with the thought that Shouto might be too recognizable.

He grabbed Shouto's too-hot wrist, and his reason to live spun back to face him. Before he could stop himself, he blurted, "We should probably dye your hair, Shouto. If I recognized you, after not seeing you in seven years, imagine a stranger, after seeing you on the news. We can cover up the scar with makeup, so that's all good."

"What about you?" Shouto asked.

Izuku nearly chuckled, because he was never noticed in a crowd, not even when he had been half covered in blood and holding a literal heart.

"I get looked over in a crowd, don't worry. My own mom wouldn't recognize me if I covered up my freckles." 'And nobody would look for me anyway…'

"Okay, how about… black for me then?" Shouto suggested.

"Sure."

He tightened his grip on Shouto's wrist, and then pulled him over to a convenience store he had spotted while they were talking.

He picked out hair dye and concealer, as well as a few other supplies, and was about to pay for them when he noticed the broadcast on the TV.

He watched the cashier worriedly, his hand inching closer to the concealed knife in his front jean pocket, but did nothing as Shouto desperately pled for her not to call, and it worked… surprisingly.

He brought the now hyperventilating Shouto to the bathroom, and gently set him down on the toilet, and wiped his face with wet paper towels.

Once Shouto calmed down, he covered up his scar and did his hair, then threw out the supplies in the dumpster outside the back of the store. He switched hoodies with Shouto, enveloping himself in the scent of his first crush.

They headed towards the destroyed section of Hosu, and took over a top floor penthouse that was barely intact.

At fifteen, Izuku and Shouto made contact with Iida Tenya, and joined the Hero Killer: Stain's crusade.