Im quite sorry for whatever happened to this chapter when I first posted it. And thank you to the guest who pointed it out. I probably would have left it like that until I went to post the next chapter. Sorry, I have no clue how that happened. My fault entirely though.

Inko had always regretted having a job.

It wasn't because she hated the job. Not at all. In fact, it was quite pleasant. It wasn't because she didn't get along with her co workers. They were all very kind people who understood that she had other responsibilities to take care of.

It wasn't because she had to provide for herself and Izuku. It actually made her quite proud that she, as a single mom, could afford the small house they lived in and the groceries from the market every week. She always smiled as she paid bills because it was her work that gave her the money. This job gave her a sense of accomplishment and a sense of peace from Hisashi.

The reason she regretted it was because she was never home to take care of her son. To afford everything they wanted to use, she had to work longer shift and stay away from her son for longer periods of time. That meant Izuku was left home alone to fend for himself.

And she had noticed, as they years went on, how fragile her son looked. He had never looked particularly all there. Hisashi often times took away from the boy, leaving behind a shell or something close to that.

After the cruel man had died, she thought it was going to get better. In a way, it did.

Izuku spent more time in the living room and kitchen when she was home! He was more open about using his quirk around her. And his grades stayed steady.

In some ways, it got worse.

Izuku had always been thin. That was a fact of his childhood. Weather it was from Hisashi neglecting to feed the child or his general fear of leaving his room, he hadn't eaten much. Now, it seemed like he was eating less.

She never saw dirty dishes in the sink when she came home from work. Not once. It could have been Izuku or even Osore( though it was very unlikely) that had cleaned the dishes after he ate. But there was bound to be a time where he forgot one dish, or neglected to do dishes. But no, never once.

Izuku also had poor sleeping habits. It was another fact of his childhood. She had also found it hard to sleep when there was a violent man only three rooms over. And she hadn't even been his main target! But the sleep never got better when the man died. The bags under Izuku's eyes contested to that fact.

What worried Inko the most, though, were the scars.

She had seen scars on his shoulders when she accidentally walked in while he was getting dressed. Or when he walked from his room to the bathroom in the morning to take a shower. Or even in the rare occasion where he was asleep and she caught him in the act.

There were thin, silvery scars on his shoulders! Signs of her son's pain that she couldn't do anything about. She was scared that she would lose her son, but was worried that bringing it up would make it worse. She had taken him to doctors, gotten him medicine, everything she possibly could have done without bringing it up to Izuku directly.

Yet it never seemed to work. It never got worse, but it never got better.

Inko wanted to scream and cry. Hisashi was bad enough, why was his influence still plaguing their life!

She unlocked the door as softly as she could, tiptoeing into the house. If Izuku was asleep, she didn't want to wake him.

The house was deftly still. Everything was in place, no lights were on. She toed off her shoes, setting them next to the door and slipping on slippers.

Inko wandered through the house softly, wondering if she should check on Izuku to see if he was actually asleep. Deciding on no, she continued to her room.

It only took a few moments after she settled into her bed that she heard her son's door open softly and the bathroom door swing shut.

Sighing, the woman buried her face into one of her pillows and sobbed.

XxXxXxXxX

The sun shone through the windows brightly the next morning, and roused Inko from her slumber. She rolled over and flopped onto her back to stare at the ceiling for a moment.

Neither Inko or Izuku were really morning people, but Izuku had become more so when the insomnia started. Inko was slow to wake, but quick to cheer up and become the doting mother she was praised for being.

After she deemed herself awake enough not to burn any food if she started cooking, Inko crawled from the comfort of her bed and into the slippers that sat just below it. She stretched, slipped her robe over her nightgown and made her way to the kitchen.

The house was still silent, but it felt more alive than it had the night before when she'd come home. The birds chirped cheerfully just outside the windows in the trees. Sunlight played through the glass panes onto the carpeted floors. Though, overlaying it all, as it always seemed to do, was a dark thing. A dead thing that took all that happiness and made it sterile. It turned the colorful scene into a black and white stock image of something that was old and forgotten.

She ignored the feeling as she always did. Looking in the fridge, she decided on cooking eggs that morning. They were out of bacon, so scrambled cheesy eggs with a little bit of fried lunch meat ham would have to do. She needed to go shopping.

As she worked, the sound of Izuku's alarm going off prompted her to grab the plates from the cabinet and leave them on the counter so Izuku could set the table when he got out of his room.

It didn't take long for the green haired boy to stumble into the kitchen. He set the table and filled two glasses with water should they run out of their choice beverage of coffee and orange juice.

Once the meal was prepared and they sat down to enjoy it, Inko raised a hand to her mouth a she chewed, wanting to say something but not wanting to be rude.

"You should let Osore out so It can sit with us. I know It can't eat or drink, but I still think It deserves to sit with the family during meals. It is a family member."

Her son blinked at her in confused for a second her request registered in his head. He shrugged and the shadow on the floor bubbled to announce the arrival of the monster.

"Good morning Osore!" Inko greeted civilly.

It wheezed a sickly sound, but Inko couldn't understand if it said anything and Izuku offered no translation.

Izuku tapped his fork against the table and tilted his head, "Kaasan, I have a question!"

"Ask away dear."

"Do you think it'd be possible to take a self-care day today. I'm not feeling that well and I just wanna stay home for a while."

Inko gave a sunny smile to her son, "I'm sure it would be fine. I'll call the school as soon as we're done here before I head to work."

"Thank you Kaasan." Izuku gave a weak smile in her direction.

The two Midoriya's finished their meal, Inko gently patting the monstrosity that was her sons quirk on the head with the quiet words of 'take care of him for me.' They finished their dishes, Inko called the school to let them know Izuku would not be attending that day. Inko readied herself for work. She kissed her son on the head and left.

All she could hope was that Izuku would use this day to better his mental health. She didn't know how to help him if he couldn't fix himself.

XxXxXxXxX

Izuku waited for a while after his mother left to do the same. Osore has long melted into his shadow by that time and he brought a surgical mask, so anyone who approached him would think he was sick and confirm his alabi of skipping school, and his backpack with him on his walk.

As he walked, he contemplated things.

Why his mother was so nice to him. Why she did not fear Osore like anyone else who'd ever seen it had. Why his arms lacked the regular burn of fresh cuts like they normally did when he'd cut the night before.

It didn't take long to reach where he was heading, but still he contemplated. When he stopped before his destination, he smiled.

The library.

The library was a tall stately building that sat in a very busy part of town. There were people swarming in and out of it, most likely college students that were studying for tests or classes or adults looking for their next read. Or even a few workers who did not own a computer in their house, but refused to go to an Internet Cafe.

Izuku walked into the library and was confronted immediately by the librarian that manned the checkout desk.

She had long auburn hair that reached her shoulders and flat lips forcing her face into a perpetual scowl. Freckles splayed out across her nose and cheeks like someone had splashed hot chocolate all over her face. Her dark mocha eyes met his and she pursed her lips.

"Should a young boy like you not be in school around this time?" She asked with a high pitched drone.

Izuku shook his head, "I have to day off because I'm feeling sick. But I don't want to fall behind in my studies, so I came here to use your computers and some of your books."

The librarian studied him for another moment, taking in the surgical mask he wore and the backpack on his back. She nodded once and told him to pass.

The teen hurried into the busy building, plopped down at a free computer and booting it up. As Izuku was waiting, he pulled out his phone to check the time. It was 11:56, his mother would be at work until nine, and it took an hour to drive home from her workplace. He had the entire day, and most of the night to do as he pleased. And with Katsuki at school with the rest of the bullies, no one to interrupt his work.

He very well could have stayed home and used the computer there. But if his mother checked the search history, she would become curious and worried as she tended to do. That, and if the government or someone were to track his search history to his house, he would have to explain why he was looking up these things. This was not something he wanted to explain.

As he sat down, Izuku pulled open his backpack and pulled out a notebook. It was a new one, one of the few that had not been touch and remained sitting on his desk for work. The cover was a completely black with the same white cloud to write the owners name and the subject that this notebook would be used for. Both remained blank in the case that he lost it. He wouldn't want what was written in it to be traced back to him.

He set to work researching. It was almost dark when he was satisfied with his work. The library would be open for a few more hours, but the teen boy was done, so he packed up and waved goodbye to the librarian that had greeted him. She nodded to him and went back to her computer where she likely was playing solitaire or something.

When he walked outside of the building, the fresh air of the city met him. He sighed as he watched a few people walk down the sidewalk, minding their own business. There were a few stopped on the side, talking into their phones or watching the road as if waiting for somebody.

Izuku started down the steps when a muffled yelp caught his attention. It had come from the shadows in the side of the library where you couldn't see anything unless you were within the shadows or had a quirk that allowed you to see in the night.

The boy studied the shadows for a moment, but there was no movement to indicate there was someone there. Suspicion filled him as he took a few more steps towards the shadows.

That's when he saw it.

A young girl with long dark brown hair and wide fear filled violet eyes being shoved up against the wall of the alley by another girl her age with short dark hair. Her back was turned to him, so he couldn't see much else. The two of them shared the same uniform so it was likely that they were from the same school, though why there were still out when school had ended hours ago was a question Izuku tucked away. They both looked a year or two younger than Izuku, but he wasn't going to say that they were. He shimmied closer to the girls quietly observing the situation.

"Just because you can take over people doesn't mean that you should be going around and use it. I bet you cheated on that test in class today. Otherwise you wouldn't have gotten such a perfect score!" The dark haired girl growled, stomping on the others toes as anger painted her face into a scornful mask.

Izuku felt his stomach shift with anger as he watched the situation. He knew it all to well.

This was a bully asserting their dominance over their target. A bully tearing down their targets walls so that they could dig deep wounds under the skin of the person they scorned so they could make themselves feel stronger. Izuku had know for a long time that words scared deeper than blades. But words paired with blades dug crevices across the body and mind in a way that made the target feel small and helpless, so they could never escape the clutches of their evil overlord who gave a cruel smile during the day and tore open their hearts at night to fill it with resentment, and pain, and longing, and absolute hurt.

He had lived for years with the torment of another over him. He still did.

Anger boiled in the pit of his stomach and rose up to a crescendo, making him want to keel over and vomit the emotions out onto the concrete sidewalk so the feeling would go away and he could return to his happy numbness. But the anger did not leave his body that way. Instead, it pushed fire into his veins so his fingers curled into fists. Leaving his rational thoughts in the back of his mind, Izuku fell into the hatred filled anger.

He stomped forwards and tore the dark haired girl from the other. He shoved her into the opposite wall of the alleyway and made fists in her uniform. Words snarled their way from the depths of his soul as he spat them at the girl.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

The girl stared at him with navy blue and green eyes. They were uncertain and confused, but soon, they were once again filled with anger and resentment. The same thing Izuku saw in Bakugou's eyes whenever the boy brought his crackling fire filled palms down on Izuku or spat the harmful words in his face. Words that stung Izuku's heart every time they filled the air.

"What does it matter to you? Last I checked, you had nothing to do with this situation." She snarled back just as vehemently.

Izuku could feel the anger beginning to ebb as his rational mind fought for control. The anxiety that plagued him whenever he confronted someone began to chase at the anger so it no longer fueled his words and his actions.

Instead, the boy released the girl and gathered up what was left of his momentary confidence, hoping that what he had just done didn't come back to bite him in the ass later.

"It doesn't matter if I have anything to do with the situation. I saw someone being bullied and I had to step in. So why don't you fuck off and leave her alone. I don't think she's ever done anything to you." He said back, but the fire to his voice was gone.

The dark haired girl smiled in triumph as he back down from her when she pushed on his shoulder, 'Well, I don't know where your fire came from, but it obviously wasn't very strong. I think you realized that you have nothing for this situation."

Izuku tried to stand tall and strong, but he was failing. It had been years since he had stood up to someone like this, years since he had actually cared enough to stand up for someone else when no one else stood up for him. He was so severely out of practice.

His rational mind started to give him questions on what he thought he was doing. He knew nothing about these girls. He knew nothing about the situation. And the girl he was trying to defend wouldn't care in the long run. She might say a thanks and then run off to never think of him again.

Osore snarled in the back of his head, obviously still fueled by the anger its master had felt moments ago. It tugged at Izuku's foot with its shadowy form and asked if it could come out and play. It wanted to defend its master like it hadn't been able to the day before. It had felt his anger at the sight and wanted to destroy the thing that caused its master pain.

An image of Katsuki standing over him flashed in his mind, and that was when Izuku knew that he'd stepped in because he was reminded of Katsuki. He wanted to save this girl from a fate he was living. He wanted to make sure she could live with her dreams and didn't have them torn away from her by some asshat who thought they were stronger.

But why should he care?

Izuku gritted his teeth as confusing emotions filled his body, sending conflicting messages to every single part of him. He wanted to run, he wanted to fight, he wanted to collapse to his knees and sob, he wanted to scream.

A wave of numbness rolled through him as Osore pushed its conscience over Izuku's. The roiling emotions faded to an afterthought and Izuku opened his eyes to glare at the girl. He didn't say anything other than flick his eyes to the shadows just behind her shoulder where he knew Osore was standing. It was ready to attack, ready to tear and rip. He could see its white sightless eyes boring into his own, but he held back. His eyes returned to the girls who's smirk faded into a frightened frown. Her navy blue green eyes flickered with fear and she took a small step back.

Izuku wasn't exactly sure what he looked like, but he guess it wasn't exactly pleasant. He could feel something different about him because the air seemed to shift. The shadows seemed to grow colder.

"Why don't you get out of here before something bad happens?" He suggested with a calm, emotionless voice.

The girl nodded and with hurried footsteps, disappeared into the streets.

Izuku took a deep, calming breath as he turned to the other girl. She was staring at him with widened eyes, her hands clenched to her chest in shock and her mouth slightly parted. Now that he was alone with her, he studied her completely. Her dark brown hair reached her waist. Her eyes were not actually the violet color he thought they were when he first saw her, but a pale gray that almost bled into a violet color when seen form a different angle. A splash of freckles swept across her nose and cheeks. The uniform she wore was slightly scuffed, as if it saw the atrocity of alley walls and concrete sidewalks daily which Izuku would not doubt. The girl was a couple of inches shorter than he was.

"I'm sorry if I scared you or jumped in when you didn't want help. I...I didn't actually mean to jump in like this but my emotions got the better of me." When the girl failed to respond Izuku pursed his lips and turned his eyes down to the concrete as his emotions slowly returned to him and Osore slipped back into its passive hibernation.

"Ah, sorry. I'll just, leave now."

"Wait!"

Izuku paused from the single step he had taken and looked back at the girl uncertainty.

Her voice was soft and sweet, like the song of a bird in the summer trees. She blinked as if she was surprised at herself for calling out. Turning her gaze to the ground like Izuku had done only moments before, she spoke softly again.

"Thank you. You didn't have to save me like that, but It means a lot knowing there are still people like you out there who are willing to step in and help someone against a bully. Thank you so much." The words were weak and stuttered like she expected Izuku to laugh at her for thanking him.

She flinched back when Izuku took a step closer to her. He felt guilty when she closed her eyes in preparation for something.

"I'm not going to hit you." He said, voice just as soft as hers had been.

The girl looked up at him in shock but small traces of startled broken hope flickered over her features and Izuku's heart just about melted. This girl, she was just like him.

"I promise, I'm not going to hurt you. I won't hit you. I know how much it sucks to feel like every person you come across is going to hurt you, but I'm not going to."

She swallowed, but her shoulders relaxed a little and she let her eyes meet his, "My name is Himeyo Fumii."

Izuku contemplated giving her his name, feeling cautiousness rise up in him. He studied her eyes for any signs that she was trying to deceive him. He found nothing but honesty, "Midoriya Izuku."

Fumii gave a hesitant smile at him, and she looked at the sky which had turned purple with the foretelling of night. Horror filled her eyes and she jumped away from the alley wall she had been shoved against earlier, "Oh my! I need to go. If I'm not home soon my parents are going to worry about me! Thank you again for saving me Midoriya-san. I hope we see each other again."

Without another word, the girl rushed off into the streets where people were starting to dwindle in number. Her words reminded Izuku that his mother would be returning home soon and he should probably get there before she did. He knew she had a habit of worrying, and he hated it when he caused her to worry.

Making sure he had his backpack, Izuku rushed in the direction of his home.

XxXxXxXxX

Izuku continued his research over the next month, taking days off of school and spending much time after school in the library, writing down what he thought was relevant to his mission. The boy was unsure about most of what he was doing, but the uncertainty could do nothing to stop him.

The boy wanted to reshape society, and he would do so. Over the course of the month, he had run into Fumii again by chance. It was while he was walking to the library after school three weeks after helping her the first time.

She was curled into a ball as a couple of boys kicked her and the dark haired girl stood to the side with a victorious smirk on her face. Knowing who the girl was, Izuku knew he couldn't leave her to her fate as he might have if she were a stranger.

Instead of marching over and taking action as he had last time, the boy sent Osore through the shadows until it stood in the dark haired girls. Asking the beast to startle the girl, but not hurt and not kill, Izuku watched the chaos unfold.

One of Osores lanky arms poked out from the shadow on the wall and wrapped around the victims neck to pull her against the wall harshly. The girl had time to yelp out in fear before she we pulled flat against the buildings wall. The two boys stopped what they were doing to look at her and both acted in fear at the sight. Izuku had no clue what Osore was doing, or even what Osore could do over all, but the shadows on the street were bubbling like a scene straight out of a horror novel. Booking it down the street to get as far away from the scene as possible, the boys didn't look back to help either girl.

When they were gone, Izuku slowly crept towards Fumii and the girl.

Fumii had sat up and was looking at her bully with her wide pale eyes. There was no fear to her gaze, just awe that someone so powerful and threatening to her life was so easily tied down.

"I thought I told you to leave her alone?" Izuku asked as a strange calm filled him. It was the same calm from that night in the alley. The new sensation started Izuku, but he rolled with it. It was helping him, so who was he to question it.

"I...I thought you meant only that night." The girl choked out.

Izuku could feel a snarl turning his lips, "Why would I only mean one night. If I stopped you once, does that not contest that what you are doing is wrong and your shouldn't do it again?"

Slight anger was beginning to pulse through the bond and Izuku had no clue where it had come from. But the hand around the girls neck tightened causing her to gasp for breath that was not there.

Izuku reveled in her pain for a fraction of a second too long before he felt disgust in himself.

"From now on, leave her alone. And get out of here." He growled, wanting this feeling to be gone.

Osore's hand released her and she fled.

"Thank you, Midoriya-san." The soft voice of the Himeyo girl startled Izuku from what he had been doing.

He looked back at her, the usual nervous soft smile he was known for in his youth gracing his lips as his eyes met hers, "Like I said the first time, I know what it's like to live under the hand of someone else, and anytime I see someone suffering like that I feel like I need to help."

She returned the smile with one of her own. Just like his, it was filled with anxiety and wavered as if unsure if it was actually alright to express itself.

"Himeyo-san, would you like to come to the library with me?" He asked on a whim.

The girl blinked in surprise, staring at Izuku for a few silent seconds before she remembered how to respond, "Oh...uh...sure. I would like that. I was headed their anyways so I could return a book I had borrowed."

"It must have been fate that we ran into each other again then."

Izuku helped the girl to her feet and they set off in the direction of the building. They fell into a comfortable silence. It seemed to Izuku that the girl knew he liked silence and she did too, so it wasn't awkward. They were both used to it, so there was no need to fill it when they both understood the tranquility not being forced to talk allowed.

"Uh...Midoriya-san. I have a question, if it's not too pressing to ask it. And you don't have to answer if you don't want. I'm just curious."

She waited for him to respond to her with a slight nod before continuing.

"What is your quirk?"

Izuku stumbled, not quite expecting that specific question. Though, now that he thought about it, her inquiry was appropriate. Even if he hadn't used Osore as he had in the past, he supposed his quirk was still in use when he threatened the dark haired bully. Not to mention that that specific question was one of the first things asked when meeting a new person. It had become common practice.

"Oh," Izuku trailed off. He wanted to default to his usual excuse of being quirkless, but she had seen him do something, so she knew he had a quirk. His lie would not work here. And Izuku had always been bad at lying on the spot.

"Um...it's called Living Nightmare."

The green haired boy edged around the topic as they continued on their way to the library.

"I can contort shadows and stuff because there is this thing in them that listens to me and when I call on it. It comes to my beck and call. I don't know what to call it other than a monster. Im not...really proud of my quirk." His voice trailed off into uncertainty before he could dig himself a deeper hole.

He may have promised himself and Osore that he would no longer deny the creature of its place as his quirk, but he didn't want to reveal it too soon, nor could he get over years of a mentality in only a few short weeks.

"That sounds cool! Mine is lame in comparison." The girl said, her voice having more strength to it when she noticed that Izuku was nervous about his own ability.

Izuku tilted his head, "How do you know? What even is your quirk?"

Fumii changed her gaze to focus on her moving feet, "It's called Body Swap and it allows me to take over the body of another person for around ten minutes."

Izuku paused his walking to turn wide eyed to the girl, "That is one of the coolest quirks I have ever heard of. Do you know how versatile and useful that quirk could be! There are so many situations that could easily be solved with that kind of ability. Villains could be taken down without a fight, people could be saved because they don't have to worry about their fear because its not them!"

The brown haired girl flushed at his words, gray eyes showing excitement in their depths. And because he could see that, he knew that she was happy he had complimented her.

"Yours sounds just as cool. I mean, it sounds powerful, if not a little creepy. But sometimes there needs to be a little creepy in everyone's lives. There are many uses for you quirk too! I just know it." Fumii urged, a light smile on her lips.

Izuku smiled slightly at her. He wanted to believe in her words, but something inside of him didn't allow him to. It told him to ignore Fumii's words. She was lying, just like his mother lied. His quirk was a monsters quirk that could never be accepted by society.

"Thank you." He wasn't sure if the girl had heard his words.

XxXxXxXxX

It might have been a beautiful sight once. Crystal ocean waves turned white with the movement glowing faintly in the sun as they lapped gently at the shore like a lover unable to be with its love. The sky, meeting the horizon in a diffusion of colors that painted a picture of serenity. The sands, gold mountains of soft earth that tickled at the travelers foot and saw home to many creatures.

Instead, it was a chaotic mess of junk and trash. Large misshapen piles of broken kitchen appliances, cans and bottles, and carrion of the sea creatures picked at by the seagulls and stray rats that found sanctuary among the great piles. It covered the soft sand and stained it with hits of broken glass and rusted irons that poked out of the grains making it dangerous to walk without boots lest one wished to see their foot impaled.

And it was cold. Chilly bitter winds wound past the beach in torrents as if angry at the clear obscene attitude towards nature.

Dagoba Municipal Park was one of Izuku's favorite places to reside. It lay abandoned by all except the homeless who found it easier to live in the streets further into the city than here at the sandy edge. Those who passed by it gave a wide berth as if fearing the trash piles would come alive and drag them into the crumpled depths of the mess.

It also allowed Osore to melt from the shadows and into the plane of existence. Frolicking along the dangerous piles of junk as if it were a toddler. Osore would use its many arms to throw smaller items, or to impale them. Sometimes, though it was weak in the sun, it lay down to bask, the bleached bones of its ribs cracking to splinters under the heat and stress, only to come back once Osore faded back into the shadows.

Izuku strolled along with an almost pep to his step.

The sun was still high above, shining its flame colored rays down onto the earth along with a comfortable warmth.

Quiet serenity surrounded him. It wasn't often he felt at peace, but this place, not matter how decrepit, gave him that feeling.

Izuku stopped walking once more when he reached the edge of the surf. He sat down and let the waves lap at his feet while Osore crawled about over the piles of junk behind him, crooning out broken sounds. The standing rule of 'don't be seen' keeping its play contained to one spot.

The boy leaned back and basked in the sun. Ever since the night when he'd made his decision, he'd felt lighter, like he deserved to feel happy. It felt less like society was trying to bring him down and put him into place and more like he was being accepted for what he was. And he hadn't even done anything other than plan yet.

The sound of a muffled yelp and Osore's numb surprise brought Izuku back to the present. He sat up and slowly turned around to see what had happened.

Osore was flickering, as if trying to decide if it should become shadow or stay physical. A boy with short cut, greasy brown hair and almond shapped alert brown eyes was staring at Osore. He didn't look scared, just startled, which surprised Izuku.

The greenette stood and made his was to the monster, tapping it's arm so it would fade into the darkness. Then he met the eyes of the boy. A staring contest began.

"Um," The boy started pathetically. Not that Izuku was much better. The boy was older than Izuku, that much was clear by his height. His face was thin and dirty. His clothes, ratty. This boy looked terrible and likely lived on the streets.

"Hello?" Izuku began, letting a smile he so rarely wore on his face shine, even if it was wobbly and uncertain. His nerves jittered and jumped.

The brown haired boys eyes widened, "H-hi. Um. My name is Shinnosuke Akitoshi. It's nice to m-meet you?" He stuck a filthy hand out in Izuku's direction. It made the boy jump and and stare at it uncertainly.

Shinouke sounded so uncertain and nervous about talking to Izuku who was younger and certainly did not look all that threatening. Izuku tilted his head, then slowly reached out to grasp the hand.

"Midoriya."

Akitoshi returned Izuku's nervous smile with a genuine one when their hands grasped.

"What is someone like you doing out here. S-shouldn't school be in right now. Or did you skip?" The brown haired boys voice was raspy and jagged as if he wasn't used to talking.

Izuku shrugged, "I should be, but I didn't really feel like going to school today. So I walked out during Lunch."

"And that required you to walk to the trash beach!" Akitoshi's eyebrows rose to his hairline.

"I come here from time to time." Izuku shrugged again, "It's the only place other than home that I feel comfortable enough to let Osore roam freely."

"Is Osore that...um...thing?"

Uncertainty wavered in the air as he said 'thing' as if it would be an insult to Izuku.

Izuku called Osore fourth so be beast stood in front of him. It's talon like arms shivered in the sun and it shifted from foot to foot, ghastly breath wheezing from its lungs.

"You can call it a monster if you want. It wouldn't offend me, and Osore has no feelings. It's what it is. Can you really describe it any other way?" Izuku's voice was still the light and cheerful tone he'd started the conversation with, but the look on his face had gone bitter.

Akitoshi noticed the look and frowned, "But it doesn't make you happy to describe it as a monster, so why should you settle for others to call it that?"

"It's that label society wanted me to put on it when it first manifested and it's a label that stuck. It's what it is, there's no greater truth. I call it a monster. It's not that that makes me bitter, it's the fact that because it's attached to me, it forces me to accept that I will never be a part of what society deems acceptable." As soon as he started ranting, he found he couldn't stop.

Even if he'd just met Akitoshi, he told him almost everything. About how he was ashamed of his quirk and hid it. How having a villains quirk was worse than having no quirk and having no quirk made you worthless. Explained how he'd had no friends growing up because of it. Explained how only his mother showed him anything other than disdain. The words flowed in an unregulated vomit.

Akitoshi just stared wide eyed at him, the brown irises roving over his body while he spoke. But he stayed silent and listened.

Of course Izuku left a few key events out of his story, like the atrocious actions and inevitable end of his father. And when the words stopped flowing, he brought a hand up to his mouth as if doing so would take all the words he had spoken and put them back in his mouth like he had never spoken in the first place. His eyes were wide in surprise.

Akitoshi's eyes looked over his face for another moment, and then moved down to look at his feet, shame suddenly written on his face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I can't really control my quirk because I don't know anything about it really. Other than the fact that it lets me read other peoples minds and my parents consider it useless. Sometimes when I talk to people, they just start rambling and can't find it in themselves to stop because I'm unknowingly using my quirk." He took a deep breath and sighed, "But I promise, not a word of what you said to me will ever pass my lips."

Izuku stared at the older boy in confusion for a moment, eyes wide and his anxiety skyrocketing. It took a moment for him to register what Shinnosuke was saying and when he did, his brain began to fill with fuzz.

That meant that if he had been any weaker about his resolve to not to talk about his father, he could have spilled everything.

Izuku turned his gaze to his feet as well and the two boys lapsed into silence. Both lost in their miserable thoughts. The green haired boy tried to reason with himself.

He glanced up at the other boy, uncertainty in his eyes as he studied him. Akitoshi looked miserable. His brown eyes were filled with regret and despair. His shoulders were slumped and his lips were curved into a grimace at his actions. Izuku, though still confused on his thoughts cleared his throat to speak.

"Well, I mean," He started out, voice quiet, "You said you didn't mean to do it. You seem like a trustworthy person, thought I don't know you all that well, so I believe you when you say you didn't mean to do it. And now that you do know, maybe we could spend more time together so I can learn about you as payback for accidentally using your quirk on me."

Akitoshi looked over at Izuku with an incredulous expression on his face, "You would forgive me?"

The way he said the words struck something in Izuku's heart the same way Fumii's situation did. There was something deep inside Izuku that wanted to give this boy, though older, the same hope that he gave Fumii when she was being bullied. Perhaps some innate part of himself that still wanted to a hero. A small part of him that refused to give up no matter how dismal his chances of becoming one were. A tiny part of his old dream that screamed out to him from the depth of his soul where he buried everything that dealt with pain, and made him who he was.

He wanted to help Akitoshi, if not just for the moment.

"Yeah. I think it is only fair." He spoke quietly again.

The boy stared at him, blinking rapidly as if it would stop the tears that were suddenly pooling in his eyes. Izuku took a step back, unsure of how to proceed with the action and thinking he had done something wrong.

When the brown haired boy launched himself at Izuku and wrapped his arms around the boy in a hug, Izuku froze up. Outside of Osore, he hadn't had physical contact with someone else that hadn't inflicted pain upon him. Over the years, Izuku had come to associate another humans touch with pain.

The other boy didn't seem to notice him freezing up and beginning to panic as Shinnosuke buried his face in Izuku's shoulder. His breath began to shorten.

One moment, Akitoshi had his arms wrapped around Izuku in a hug, the next he was being torn off and thrown to the other side of the clearing while Osore replaced him. Izuku sank into the comfort only the bony monster could provide.

His breath immediately began to even out as he closed his eyes. The lump that had grown in his throat in the short time of physical contact was swallowed down. Izuku allows his emotions and insecurities to melt away under the influence of his quirk, draining him of anything that made him feel.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there with his eyes closed, but when he opened them again, Akitoshi was a few feet away looking with nervous guilt at Izuku. His mocha brown eyes resembled that of a small puppy dog that had been yelled at and didn't know why.

Izuku didn't know how to react to the expression on the boys face, so he fixed his eyes to the sand to study each grain individually and hope that the older boy would fix the awkward silence that had fallen between them. Osore still clung to him. It's emotionless form wrapped tight around Izuku in a strange form of comfort and Izuku allowed it because it was Osore who was taking the emotions he hated away.

"Um, that happened kinda fast." Akitoshi's shy voice called out from a few feet away. Izuku still refused to look up in fear that he would be brought back to his panic even though he knew Osore was draining those things out of his body.

"I didn't mean to do whatever I did. I mean, I should probably have asked. Or I shouldn't have done it anyways. I've always been kind of a touchy feely person because I grew up craving affection? I mean, that's what my grandparents told me before they passed away. I'm sorry if I startled you or anything…" the brown haired teen was rambling on and on.

Izuku slowly moved his eyes from the sand to the other boy, slowly relaxing and sinking back into his body.

Raising a hand towards Akitoshi, Izuku spoke, "It's fine. I promise. I just, I'm not used to physical contact and I've come to associate it with pain because of my past."

His voice had gotten weak again, clawing its way up his throat weakly to escape into the salty air.

Uncertainty stuck to his words, making them thick in his throat as he spoke them.

Both of the boys eyes met, and an understanding was passed between the two of them. Izuku let his rare smile out again as Akitoshi returned it.

They were still awkward around each other, but both could work on getting better. Soon, they might even consider each other friends. But for now, they would keep their distance and the brown haired boy would try to repay Izuku for what he had done.

XxXxXxXxX

The day had been a relatively great day.

Bakugou had ignored him at school, barely even bumping shoulders when he passed Izuku on the way out of the classroom. Fumii had meet him at the library where they shared a small snack outside on the stone steps under the sun.

When they had finished their snack, both junior high students had parted ways and now Izuku was wandering around the trash heaps of Dagoba which was a sanctuary for the strange to hide from the normal.

Lost in thought, Izuku stared blankly out at the ocean. His thoughts were scattered but collected in a way he could barely keep them all straight.

But one burning question kept nudging the other thoughts out of the way.

This question seemed to burn a hold in his backpack where the black untitled notebook had been stuffed for the past few weeks. It nagged at the scars on his shoulders like it was trying to remind him that it was there. It even seemed to urge Osore to act out of the ordinary.

The monster was currently messing around with a discarded Microwave just behind Izuku, strange chirrups and whining sounds erupting from its twisted hairless snout.

Izuku rubbed a hand along his thigh to get rid of the sweat that had gathered in his palm and sighed.

Yes indeed. This question was a burning one that needed to be addressed soon or it would drive Izuku insane.

Now that he had a game plan, how was he supposed to put it in action?

Izuku had done a lot of research at the library the past month, written down location after location in his journal. He had written down important people in the black market and he had become familiar with the rulers of the underground. Or, as familiar as he could be having never set foot outside of the Shizuoka prefecture, which for the most part, was free of high crime groups. Sure there was an incident every now and then, but the prefecture housed not only the number two hero, Endeavors agency, but also the top hero school in the country, U.A. High.

Any villain actually worth their salt would stay far, far away from the prefecture unless that wanted to be caught.

Which meant getting in contact with anyone from the underground, weather it be a Black Market Salesperson, a Drug Dealer, or even a group of villains would cause Izuku to travel out of Shizuoka into another prefecture.

It wouldn't take to much time, in fact, he could travel to halfway across Japan in a single day if he really wanted to. And traveling wasn't a problem either. The subway was cheap and fast.

No, it was more a problem with his mother. She had an intuition of a mother which meant she would be able to tell if he took the subway to far. It's why, even when he skipped school or wandered the streets after school, he stayed in Musutafu.

Though the place Izuku was interested in was actually a lot closer than he expected to find. Tokyo was one of the largest, busiest cities in the entirety of Japan. It was also one of the more famous prefectures. Because it was the capital of Japan, it was almost swarming with hero agencies and heroes. Not to mention the large count of vigilantes who snuck around the area.

To Izuku, it seemed like both one of the stupidest and safest places to hold the heart of the underworld. And honestly, he wasn't all that surprised.

So he just had to figure out how to sneak past or get the permission of his mother to go to Tokyo, and everything would be solved.

But the thing was, Inko Midoriya was very protective of her child and Izuku knew she would never let him go to Tokyo alone. But if she went with him, he'd never have a chance to slip away and meet up with some people.

Sighing in defeat as he laid back against the sand, Izuku closed his eyes and just basked in the sun.

A voice startled him from his reverie, "Ahh, Mirodya-kun!"

It was Fumii and Akitoshi.

Seeing the two together was jarring. Over the past few weeks, he had met Akitoshi only a handful of times, and as far as he knew, Fumii didn't hang around trash beaches if she could help it. In fact, she had never once mentioned anything about visiting Dagoba.

"Good afternoon Shinnosuke-kun, it's nice to see you again today Himeyo-chan." He greeted both quietly, noting Osore slowly lumbering to its masters side.

The creature sniffled lightly in the directions of the two other humans before it sent a question to Izuku. The boy gentle patted the beasts nose and the beast sank into the shadows with a slight chirp.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked when it was gone.

Fumii smiled, "I was walking along to road talking out-loud to myself about you. I didn't mean to, when I stumbled into Shinnosuke-kun. He heard me mention your name, and decided to take me here. He said that you came here a lot."

Izuku tilted his head, "But we already talked to each other today. Was there something that you wanted to give me?"

The girl shook her head, "Oh, no. I was just...I actually don't know."

The girls cheeks flushed as she patted a hand against her thigh.

Akitoshi let out a light chuckle, "I think I accidentally dragged her along when I heard that she was a friend of yours. I wanted to talk to her."

Izuku let out a chuckle of his own, but this one just mirrored Akitoshi. The sound had no real emotion to it.

The green haired boy looked at the sky and sighed, "It looks like its getting late. I should probably head home. I have some homework to do before I can relax and go to sleep."

"Aw, but we just got here!" Fumii pouted, and then she blushed when she realized that she was being more open with her emotions. Izuku gave her a genuine smile.

"We can all hang out another day. I should really get this homework done. I need to keep my grades up."

Waving goodbye to the two humans he considered friends, Izuku made his way home.

XxXxXxXxX

Izuku brainstormed for another few days before he finally gave up and went to his mother.

"Kaasan, I have a question."

"What is it Izu?" The green haired woman had asked with a soft smile.

"I was wondering if there was a chance we could take a trip to Tokyo one of these weekends? It's not too important, but I wanted to visit one of the museums, and a friend of mine is taking a trip there. She wanted to hang out." The lie slipped passed his lips without any hesitation, and Izuku could feel gilt pooling in his stomach as he used Fumii in a lie. But he had to go to Tokyo, he had to make it there within the next week to meet up with Prime Mover

It had taken Izuku nearly a week to get the nerve to private message another person on a website made for villain sympathizers. Prime Mover was an underground supplier for anything and everything. His conversation with Izuku had been enlightening, and Izuku wanted to make a connection with him before the supplier had been employed with someone else.

If he was able to make the connection, he would have a solid supplier, meaning he would have endless access to weapons and support objects.

"This is kinda sudden Izuku." His mother contemplated, "I don't know if I could take time off work this weekend to go."

"That's why I said that it wasn't urgent. It doesn't have to be this weekend. Just, one of these weekends. My friend is going to be out there visiting family for the next month or so."

Inko pursed her lips as she stirred the noodles in the pot, "I suppose we could go up to Tokyo next weekend if you really want to. Though I don't know what I would do while you were off with your friend. Perhaps I can find something to do."

"Thank you Kaasan!"

XxXxXxXxX

The week past with little to no stress. Kacchan was unusually passive, though Izuku passed if off as he was trying to keep his record clean and being extra cautious. Not that it bothered Izuku. And the greenette had talked to both Himeyo and Shinnosuke about going to Tokyo.

His two friends actually got along a lot better than Izuku had thought they would. In fact, Shinnosuke would always wait for the both of them at the steps of the library after school so he could hang out with them.

This peace was strange. Izuku couldn't remember a time when he had been this comfortable around another human that was not his mother. But it was wholeheartedly welcomed.

The next weekend, Izuku and Inko packed a couple of duffel bags and boarded the train to Tokyo. His mother had booked them to stay in a hotel for the entire weekend, and while he was off doing his business, she would be touring around a few of the Temples.

They got off at their station after the short ride. It took less than an hour to get where they wanted to go.

The hotel room was small. Inko hadn't wanted to spend too much while in Tokyo, and it just so happened that she got a discount on the room. There was a single queen bed pushed far into the room. Separated from that by a small half wall was a couch, which was where Izuku would be sleeping.

"Alright. Well, you have fun. Be responsible, and be back before eight tonight. If you get into any trouble at all, call the authorities. I'm sure there will be a hero close by to aid you if you get into trouble. Stay out of red light districts, and stay away from strangers." Inko listed off the rules as Izuku prepared himself to leave. He nodded along with her words, knowing that he was going to break more than half of those rules.

"I love you Izuku." She said when he stood up after lacing his shoes, "Have fun with your friend, and stay safe."

"I will Kaasan. Don't worry."

"I'll always worry. Your my child Izuku."

He smiled at his mother and nodded, "OK. I'll be careful. See you later Kaasan."

Izuku rushed out the door before his mother could worry over him anymore. He was eager to meet Prime Mover and finally start his plans of reshaping the world.

This moment, this day was finally the day that he could work towards his goal. Today was the day he started to make his change to the world.