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stillness-in-green · 8 months

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More and More on Mina, Machia and the MLA

For my readers other than @randomvongenerico, please have this peremptory list of this very lengthy post's contents to help gauge your interest:

Some more discussion on what is or isn’t, would or wouldn’t be blameworthy about various characters’ actions (or hypothetical actions) during the war arcs.

More discussion about Mina, chiefly about how (and why) her acid powers are handled compared to all the male characters with fire powers, and the way her plot points are poorly set up by the narrative, with the result of shortchanging her development.

Yet More Complaining About How The Story Is Handling Heteromorphobia, this time featuring a compare and contrast on quirk-based bias as it might affect Mina, Bakugou and Tokoyami, as well as a dissection of Shouji’s contention that the only possible way to know about the violent bigotry in the rural areas of the country is to be from them.

Some fairly extensive spitballing in response to questions about how I would have handled the scene at Machia’s prison compound if I were writing it, as well as why I have trouble conceiving of anything Hero Society could do to Hose Face for killing Midnight that would actually feel like justice.

A little bit of basic talk about Tumblr, its functionality and some relevant slang.

Buried at the very bottom, I stand up in front of God and everyone and explain in brief why Kaminari is a worse character than Mineta, with some particular focus on Kaminari as emblematic of the conflict between what the series tells us versus what it shows us about the legality of quirk use in careers other than heroism.

Hi again, rvg. Because it's been forever since our last post exchange, let me say again that I appreciate the apology and want to thank you for being such a good sport about it. Last time I had something like your initial response, that person told me straight out that they’d been condescending and antagonistic on purpose, though they regretted having done so after my reply. I appreciated the regret, but would have preferred they take a day or two to cool off in the first place! That’s the experience I was bringing to your comments, but I’ll keep in mind what you said about lack of experience with initiating chats and Tumblr in general.

For what it’s worth, yeah, there is a character limit on both asks and replies, so that’s the trouble you were running into there! You might also consider using a cut next time before a really long post, though if you’re on mobile, I recall that being a difficult-if-not-impossible feature to find, and it’s not as important as it used to be ever since Tumblr’s started adding default Expand drop-downs on long posts. That aside, welcome (belatedly) to Tumblr! I hope you find some good people to chat fandom with; I’m always open to some back and forth about things I know well enough to talk about, though I’m, er, decidedly unprompt with replies. And, as noted, definitely more of a villain fan, so probably not the most fun person for discussions on the kids.

That said, to your replies! Other readers should note that, while I wrote all this roughly in response-order to rvg’s points, I reorganized everything after the fact to group together the broad topics. I’ve tried to provide some bare minimum context for anything that would otherwise be too much of a zero-context non-sequitur, but if anyone wants to see rvg’s comments in their intended order and context, their reblog can be found here. Otherwise, hit the jump!

Would You Have Held It Against ___?

But would you hold it against Mina if she had actually done more substancial damage to Machia? Let’s say, not the face, but Machia’s fingers instead of his claws. Machia still doens’t feel any pain. Would you chastise Mina for it? Even though she’s actively saving Mt Lady by doing that?

It’s hard to say for sure, since I imagine that if Mina’s acid had hit Machia’s fingers instead of his claws, we probably would just have seen them abraded and singed, like how Dabi’s fire damage was drawn on Hawks, not with chunks of skin melting off and exposing naked bone. Physical damage in BNHA just doesn’t work like that, at least not against named characters. If Mina were doing realistic damage, I imagine everyone else would be too, and then I’d be criticizing all of them, because, holy shit, that is not okay to do to people, any people, and especially not when you’re acting as an agent of the state.

But hypothetically, no, I think I would be more lenient even if she did do concrete and permanent damage to Machia’s hands, and it’s because she’d be doing it to save Mount Lady. Shinsou could have taken control of Machia and then just had him lie still while whoever was in charge of this facility redrugged him,[1] and that would have been fine by me—disappointing, sure, but only because Machia’s interesting and I’d like to get more on him than we do, not because I’d be critiquing Shinsou’s actions.

It’s specifically Shinsou and the rest choosing to weaponize Machia against AFO that I object to. Mina harming Machia would be taking that action herself, to protect someone that’s right in front of her, risking no one’s life but her own in doing so. Shinsou throwing Machia up against AFO—which he’d made the decision to do before hearing Machia’s angry grumbling—is risking Machia’s life, without Machia’s consent. And it’s not even for the sake of saving anyone, at least not anyone that’s right there in that moment—AFO is fleeing.

Sure, he still presents a huge threat to lots of people, but given that we’d just seen proof that AFO did not know about Shinsou’s power,[2] they could also have used Machia to, for example, rapidly transport the heroes to some place they could set up a second ambush to trick AFO into responding to Shinsou. I mean, good god, AFO’s the chattiest villain in the comic; Hawks lured him into at least two extended conversations even after he’d resolved that he needed to leave. He’s a Demon Lord and thus categorically incapable of shutting up. And that would have been that, really. Take control and let the clock run out; end of problem.

It would have been anticlimactic as hell, so obviously that was never going to happen, but there’s no reason the heroes couldn’t try for it, you know? Instead of the bone-headed decision to just hand AFO his most loyal soldier on a silver platter on the thin chances that they could either prevent the brainwashing from being broken at all or that Machia’s upset would translate to both the capability and willingness to attack his master.

I’ve observed this problem in a few different areas, that Horikoshi sometimes writes the heroes, particularly Hawks, as not taking actions or drawing conclusions that, from their perspective, should seem sensible, well-reasoned, and with solid chances of success; instead, they simply disregard possibilities they should logically be considering but which the reader knows are dead ends, or they benefit from things they could not have known at the time they acted. That hurts immersion because it gives the heroes victories, both tactical and moral, that they simply haven’t earned. Shinsou’s control of Machia is a particularly egregious example.

Speaking of Monoma. Since we were talking about the morality of Shinso’s Quirk. Would you say Monoma using his Quirk to copy a villain’s Quirk and use it on him and his allies, would also qualify as something that should be criticized? I’m curious.

Nah, I don’t think so. Taking an opponent’s weapon and using it to subdue him is a perfectly valid tactic, especially since Monoma’s method doesn’t actually deprive his opponent of their weapon, just replicates it for his own use. It really all does boil down to Shinsou’s method forcing people to fight and hurt their own allies. Mina causing Machia physical harm, Monoma using a villain’s own weapon against them, even the heroes’ surprise attack: none of those are remotely on the same “holy shit that is a literal war crime” level as what the heroes planned in advance to have Shinsou do to Machia, and what he willingly agreed to do well before he found out that Machia was not as opposed as the heroes thought.

I mean, I get what you’re getting at. I’m just wondering. If the heroes hadn’t launched a suprise attack, and had left the villains do the first move and come to them, would you then be criticizing them for being irresponsible and incompetent instead? Sorry for going on a tangent, it’s just something I’ve noticed when it comes to readers criticizing the heroes. It’s either people complaining that the heroes are too ruthless, or that they’re too nice, naive or not pragmatic enough.

(This is in response to some discussion of the heroes' actions in the first war arc's raid on the villa+hospital lab, not the second war's divide and conquer plan.)

I actually don’t really have a huge problem with the surprise attack in principle—I might criticize Cementoss ripping the building in half when there could well have been people on those upper floors, but otherwise, it’s hard to imagine what else the heroes could generally have done to deal with the numbers they were dealing with. I mean, it’s basically just a scaled-up version of the attack on the Hassaikai base, and I don’t have any moral quibbles with the way the heroes and police handled that.

Rather, my problem with the raid is that I thought the heroes were too effective given the way their forces and those of the PLF had been set up. It’s not the tactic itself that’s the problem (though individual acts of worse violence within the attack, like Hawks killing Twice or the attempts to outright murder Shigaraki in the tube, are still an issue), it’s the finality, the totality, of how effective the attack was.

To be brief about it (because I’ve talked about this at length elsewhere), I don’t think the heroes should have known where all the PLF bases were, I don’t think they should have been as effective in disordered mass combat as the PLF, I think the advisors should have put up a better fight in all cases, and I think there should have been enough members of the PLF in significant positions of influence or power that the HPSC couldn’t uncover them all, leading to complications when those members realized their organization was under attack.

As it is, the heroes handily win every fight they have with the sole exception of Gigantomachia and Shigaraki. The PLF is neatly swept off the table save for a few “remnants,” with no attention given to the practical difficulties of detaining tens of thousands of combatants with no motivation to let themselves be quietly arrested, much less how the justice system is going to handle trying and sentencing them all. That has repercussions going forward, as well: heroes clearing the board of all the (named) PLF members save Skeptic leaves the bulk of villain forces in the subsequent arcs to be prison escapees, and man, if the PLF’s moral nuance has been squandered, the depiction of the prison escapees is even worse.

The raid is, of course, only the first of two big surprise attacks the heroes manage. I have significantly more issues with the second one, but most of that boils down to the fact that the divide and conquer/Tempt and Trap plan feels crueler, meaner, and much more openly aimed at extrajudicial murder. And like, that would all be fine and in-character for Hero Society in general and Hawks, the main planner, specifically, but with Deku, Shouto and Uraraka all starting to think Save Villains thoughts, and fresh off the traitor reveal, the kids should never have been as collectively okay with the second war’s tactics as the story has presented them as being. To echo an older complaint, good god, what universe is Horikoshi living in that he thinks the people that converted a place of learning into an arena they call a “coffin in the sky” are the heroes?

I was under the impression Midnight was off to the side from where the MLA minions were passing by, and the Skull Mask guy took a detour to kill her.

I’m not sure from this if you’re explaining how you read Hose Face’s attack on Midnight at the time, or if you’re maintaining that that’s an accurate read, so just to clarify, here are the panels in question:

As you can see, the PLF guys’ path through the woods has them coming in from directly behind Midnight. Hose Face calls out that he’ll take care of her once they get close enough for the reader to make out who they are, at which point he gets out in front of Scarecrow and hits Midnight from the same direction as their initial approach: directly behind. He most certainly doesn’t take a detour of any kind, but rather chooses the action that is going to get his group through the obstacle with the least amount of time and effort possible—entirely his prerogative as the highest-ranked member of the Guerilla Warfare regiment on-scene.

But if we classify this entire conflict as a war, wouldn’t that mean that both sides are free to use whatever tacticts and methods they feel like as long as it’s not a war crime?

If we classify it as war is irrelevant if the side aligned with the current ruling authority hasn’t done so themselves. I imagine the Japanese government is in no hurry to validate the terrorists on an international stage by acknowledging that they’re numerous and dangerous enough to declare actual, formal war against! Calling it a war drags in a whole pile of wartime conventions Japan has signed numerous treaties about; it grants the opposing side some legitimacy as a cohesive, organized force that will need to be negotiated with down the line. As long as you’re calling it a police action, you don’t have to negotiate shit until you get to the plea deals! Team Hero never declared war here, so yeah, I still expect them to carry out their plans and actions accordingly.

Also, in the thematic/meta sense, I expect the heroes to either conduct themselves as heroes—admirable, upright, heroic—or face the narrative consequences when they fail to live up to that ideal. The hyper-encapsulated version of this conundrum is the recurring idea that attacking Shigaraki never actually prevents Shigaraki from coming back worse and more dangerous next time; the heroes are never going to achieve a different result by attacking him again but harder this time, and that’s why Deku is set up to finally try something different.[3] I would just like it if what’s true on the micro-level could even be attempted on the macro-level. Or, in other words, if the narrative is going to tell us that saving villains is the correct path, it can’t only demonstrate that for the villains with known-to-the-heroes sympathetic backstories.

General Mina Points

Regarding your analysis about Mina’s acid being underpowered because it’s harder/less believable to downplay the effects of acid than fire/explosions/etc. in Shounen Damage Logic, I think we’ll have to agree to disagree. I don’t see anything wrong with just showing the Nebulous Abrasion Damage that’s the ubiquitous, default mode of illustrating nonspecific injury in this comic for Mina’s acid the same way we get it for the boys.

I can see your argument, but like, just for example, when Endeavor first encounters a Noumu, he bathes it in fire under the assumption that it’s a normal villain and then says he’s surprised it’s still up because he’s never seen anyone stay conscious after that attack. Bathing someone in flames in real life is not a “knock them out” kind of attack; it’s a “severe burn ward for months” kind of attack. If Endeavor’s been throwing that around at random criminals for thirty years, we are plainly very far away from realistic damage, and I’d be perfectly satisfied with treating Mina’s acid the same way.

If I had to take a guess as to why Horikoshi’s so staunchly avoided letting Mina cut loose—other than regressive gender politics—I’d say it’s that acid simply feels nastier or more morally dubious than fire. Fire has positive as well as negative connotations; acid’s a lot more, shall we say, unilateral in the collective imagination, especially given what’s going to turn up if you run a web search for “acid attacks.”

To look at it in JRPG logic (and I don’t care if AFO’s admiration stems from a comic; that comic was clearly playing with Dragon Quest tropes), acid is pretty much the same thing as poison, and poison effects are chiefly the realm of enemy characters. It smacks of underhandedness or cowardice in anything more cognizant than roving toxic plants or venomous beasts. Certainly you see the occasional party member specialized for status effects who can inflict poison damage on enemies, but I can’t readily think of a main character that does.[4]

Perhaps, then, because readers are somewhat conditioned to think of acid as particularly dangerous and nasty compared to fire, and because there’s a limit to how morally dubious Horikoshi is willing to (consciously) write the students, especially the girls, Mina’s sharply limited in how she’s allowed to use her acid.

That said, I got a very hearty laugh from, “Just look at Dabi. He can’t even kill himself with fire,” so thank you very much for that.

It’s as if Horikoshi only ever figures out what to do with Mina retroactively instead of in the moment (e.g. there were no interactions between Kirishima and Mina until AFTER Kirishima’s backstory, we never got any hint that would connect Mina’s and Midnight’s characters until AFTER Midnight died, when Mina speaks about not giving in to vengeance she references SHOJI’S WORDS which happened in HIS FLASHBACK, and then this whole chapter is technically a flashback too when you think about it).

That’s a big oof, all right. I know about the Midnight non-connection and the issue of Mina’s anti-vengeance words having first been delivered by Shouji and relayed to the audience by Koda (it being his flashback, rather than Shouji’s), but I didn’t know there was no indication of Kiri-Mina connection until after his flashback. Wowzers.

But also, in one of my comments I had left a link to a post analizing Kirishima’s and Mina’s characters and their dynamic. I don’t know if you checked it out or not, but it was a pretty interesting read. If you did read it, let me know your thoughts on it.

Apologies for not responding to that; I hadn't clicked it because I just wasn't terribly interested in the topic. Having checked it now, I can say that I'm unlikely to read it because I've encountered this person's meta before and, even at a glance, found it to be flawed for reasons I am not comfortable gabbing about in a public space. I'm sure they make some valid points, but I will have to respectfully bow out of reading and commenting on it here.

But what about Mina telling Kirishima that “now they’re even” though?

(This is re: my contention that Mina saves Shinsou, not Kirishima, from the Sludge Villain, and that Kirishima was never in any danger from the Sludge Villain.)

I mean, she can say it, but that doesn’t mean I have to believe that she/Horikoshi are accurately portraying the stakes involved.

Just for the record, you’re not saying that Mina not giving in to revenge isn’t noble in and of itself. What she does is indeed good. You’re saying it doesn’t have any emotional weight because Mina has always been a morally good character, so you never thought she would ever give in to revenge in the first place. Correct?

Correct! As I’ve said, Mina has perfectly healthy emotional regulation: when she experiences negative emotions like anger, guilt, or grief, she doesn’t dwell on them; she vents them to friends and finds healthy ways to channel them into bettering herself and the world and people around her. She’s got a great head on her shoulders! But all of that means that her giving into anger about Midnight’s death was never a remotely convincing threat to me. Of course she wouldn’t; there’s never been a moment that foreshadowed that she was in the slightest danger of harboring that kind of obsessive, vindictive grudge.

That being the case, it feels unfair of Horikoshi to pin a big dramatic monologue on a desire for revenge which Mina was never shown to possess to any greater degree than any of her classmates. She’s one of the last hero-aligned characters I’d have guessed if you’d asked me who was going to get a beat like that in the endgame.

(To anticipate the obvious question, Aizawa would have been my first guess; he’s even been written for it properly in the way he and Mic have responded to Shigaraki—clearly holding a grudge for something that would have happened to their classmate when Shigaraki was all of six years old. Conversely, while plenty of the 1-A kids could have believably carried a “struggling with vengefulness” plot if they’d been written with it from earlier on, I don’t think there’s a single one of them who feels like a good match for it in their current incarnations. Iida’s moved on from his Stain days too smoothly to buy it from him, Bakugou’s only real obsession is Deku, and Deku already had a whole arc of being obsessively negative and driven by dark desires to find and deal with a villain. If any student was going to show up to the fight with bloody-minded revenge on the brain, it should have been Shishikura.)

But What About the Heteromorphobia, Tho’?

(Warning: Incoming off-topic harping about Shouji and the inane resolution of the hospital attack.)

I have even seen someone make a post on Reddit arguing that Shinso being discriminated for his Quirk makes no sense because it’s not villanous, and that it makes more sense for characters like Bakugo, Mina and Tokoyami to be discriminated because they have more villanous looking Quirks. I don’t really agree with everything that guy said. But he did bring up a good point. How come Mina doesn’t get side eyes from people due to her Quirk like Shinso does?

I will have to disagree with Reddit User That Guy that Shinsou’s quirk should be viewed as less villainous than Bakugou’s. It sounds like he was conflating heteromorphobia with the bias against villains/"villainous" quirks, and while there is overlap, they’re still distinct categories. Shinsou’s quirk inherently subordinates one’s physical body, allowing him to force his targets to act against their will, or potentially take the fall for things they didn’t willingly do. Of course people are nervous about it or think it’s more villainous than heroic!

Conversely, the Number 2 Hero has been attacking criminals with fire for decades now, so I think the BNHA general public is more than ready to accept a hero whose quirk lets him fire off explosions. The commonly accepted idea in the fandom is that “flashy and offensive quirks” are the ones most valued in heroes. I think that’s a bit oversimplified—Crust was the Number 6 Hero and his quirk was neither—but it’s certainly true that purely elemental quirks (fire, lightning, wind, earth-shaping), no matter how damage-dealing they are, don’t tend to get treated as villainous in nature. The real “villainous quirks” in the series tend to be the ones that are more creepy, dark, invasive, or impure. Even Dabi’s fire is that ethereal blue, like spirit fires, instead of everyday orange-red!

Bakugou’s quirk is much closer to the “pure elemental” category than anything very villainous and, indeed, when he got kidnapped from the training camp and that one journalist was suggesting that he might have turned to villainy already, he based that suggestion on Bakugou’s behavior, his conduct during the Sports Festival. Nothing was said about his quirk at all, but rather his recent public demonstrations of violence and “mental instability.” That’s perfectly consistent, I think, with the biases we see elsewhere.[5]

Tokoyami has the potential to get hit by both the villainous quirk bias and the heteromorphobia, but I think Japan seeing ravens as emblematic of wisdom rather than death and rot would mean his bird head is less ill-seen there than it would be in the West. I don’t think it would take much more than the proverbial One Bad Day to get him to a very bad place indeed, though—there’s a reason Mr. Compress judged him a good potential recruit! Tokoyami was rescued before it became an issue, but if he hadn’t been, I’m sure we would have seen the same journalist mentioned above making similar statements about Tokoyami and his dark quirk/mien.

Mina’s an interesting case study in not experiencing a lot of the same sorts of discrimination others in similar situations do. She has three distinct heteromorphic traits—her skin, her eyes, her horns—as well as having a potentially extremely deadly quirk which, as I discussed above, could easily attract judgmental side-eye because of the cultural view of acid. So why doesn’t she seem to face discrimination?

As I said in the post you’re replying to—and as you mentioned is a common headcanon—I think a lot of it boils down to her relentlessly chipper attitude. If she had, for example, Mustard’s personality, or Muscular’s drive to violence, would people be quicker to say that her Acid is a “villain quirk”? If she glared more, would people be more creeped out by her eyes? It’s possible, I think, that we would actually see her facing some of this if we spent more time with her, but the narrative doesn’t make that time, at least not anywhere Kirishima can see it.

Well, if I had to guess, I’m sure you would say that would make her a more interesting character. You might get to be interested in her character, which then would probably mean you would be even more upset and disappointed with this chapter.

Ahaha, very fair. Honestly, Class A would have benefited tremendously from more kids with bite to them. A Mina whose competitiveness had some real fervor to it, or a Mina who had some heaviness in her backstory she was faking her way through dealing with, would have been a good contribution to that.

It really sucks that Horikoshi had to justify Shoji being the only one to experience prejudice by clarifying that heteromorph discrimination is only still prevalent in small villages. I feel like it robbed characters like Tsuyu, Mina, Tokoyami and Koda of being part of an actual narrative and get more depth and development.

Before I talk about this, let me clarify something: Shouji’s line about what his classmates know about heteromorphic discrimination is an example of very crucial nuance being wildly different between translations.

The fan scanlation suggested that Tokoyami and Koda, who grew up in cities, must feel like such violent heteromorphobia resembles something out of a textbook, with the implication that the textbook in question is a history book. They’re presumed to think that blood-cleansing rituals and children with scars like Shouji are artifacts of a terrible past, not a modern-day concern.

The official Via release suggested that Tokoyami and Koda could know that stuff like this still happens in rural areas because they might have read about it in textbooks. They’re presumed to know that such rituals and scarred children do exist as modern concerns, but only out in the boonies.

Those are completely different propositions! Which one was accurate was far beyond my capability to judge, but the official translation did feel a little off to me, so, as I usually do in such situations, I brought it to my trusty Translator Sis. For possibly the first time ever,[6] she told me that Viz had this one wrong—that Shouji’s implication, to her eye, was indeed that T&K would think such violence was limited to the past, not that it was limited to rural areas.

That established, I was actually talking about that line from Shouji with a friend the other day! I was aggravated that the writing would portray city-born heteromorphs as so oblivious to the problems facing them in other parts of the country when that seems so counter to my (American) perception of the ways members of threatened groups communicate danger to one another.

My friend reminded me that silence is a much more common Japanese way of addressing (or attempting to address) minority discrimination: trying to make a problem go away by starving it of conversational oxygen, treating oppression like an infection that needs to be quarantined until it dies out on its own. In that light, it’s entirely possible that Tokoyami and Koda might not know this stuff because no one around them thinks it would be helpful to tell them if it’s not a problem they’re directly dealing with. A lot of people propose the same approach to burakumin issues in real life, for example.

Also, technically Shouji doesn’t say that Koda and Tokoyami don’t experience heteromorphobia at all, just that the idea of fear and hatred that extreme, that violent, must seem like something out of a textbook, rather than something that happens here and now in certain parts of the country. Also too, Tokoyami and Koda are teenagers; I can forgive them not having much understanding of life outside their own circle of experience.

That all said, it still feels more than a little telling that Horikoshi thinks everyone in Shouji’s whole class, including and especially all the other heteromorphs, could never have heard in their entire lives about acts of bigotry-driven violence against heteromorphs being carried out in the here and now.

While it’s true that silence is a widely accepted way to address these sorts of issues in Japan, they’re hardly universal! Activist groups are out there trying to raise awareness, trying to get their issues on the floor of the Diet in hopes of getting laws passed about them. There’s not some kind of media blackout on talking about it, and, indeed, I’ve read any number of articles from Japanese publications online covering such topics.

In BNHA, however, silence does seem to be universal.[7]

No one but Shouji is from a remote enough place that they knew about violent heteromorphobia. No one recognized it as a thing that e.g. disadvantages heteromorphic heroes in the public approval ratings. No one tripped over a magazine article about it and got curious enough to look the topic up online. No one’s heroic mentors or family members have talked to them about it (particularly egregious with Koda, given the fairly strong implication that his own mother suffered it). No one had a patch of morbid interests (Tokoyami) that led them to dabble in reading about real-life horror stories of human hatred, or an interest in how their society came to be that might have led them to reading about the CRC and realizing it still exists in the modern day.

They attend a hero school, and yet Shouji seems to be the only one with an inkling that there are heteromorphs out there who need, and have been needing, heroes.

That’s all a lot to ask of the reader, but what really pushes it past plausibility to me is what happened with the Ordinary Woman. How close to the surface must violent heteromorphobia be even in the cities if the current state of Japan brings it all right back into the open in a matter of weeks? That none of the students other than Shouji have ever even imagined that heteromorphs can still be victimized in this way represents an over-the-top ignorance that I have to read as either a bleak condemnation of the shallow focuses of heroes or reflective of Horikoshi’s own beliefs about discrimination and the understanding of it possessed by those who aren’t immediately threatened by it.

Whichever is the case, and with Spinner’s higher brain functions out of commission, it leaves Shouji carrying the whole plot on his back and he just can’t do it, both because the audience hasn’t had enough time with him to buy it and because the answers the series uses him as a vehicle to deliver are facile, victim-blaming nonsense.

...And here’s where I admit that even if the hospital attack had climaxed with a whole bunch of heteromorphs from Class A and B and the Pro Hero ranks acknowledging the mob’s feelings while pleading with them to not give into hatred and to stand down, I would still have issues if the resolution didn’t involve concrete suggestions and promises about how the heroes would address the mob’s grievances going forward. Which canon very much did not, and just adding more voices to Shouji’s wouldn’t have changed that. But my whole rant about that can be found in the relevant chapter posts, so I’ll not repeat it further here.

How Would I Have Done It Instead?

Let’s be real here for a second. Even if Mina had been the one to stop Machia. How would she even do that? I remember back when people were talking about when Mina would get her moment to shine, and that it would involve Machia again, I had serious doubts about that idea ever becoming true because I couldn’t think of a single thing she could do against him. I thought for sure Mina’s moment was going to be relegated to fighting Midnight’s killer, since that seemed more within her capabilities. In the end her shinning moment did indeed involve Machia, and no one really had a confrontation with Midnight’s killer. I actually want to hear your thoughts, if you happen have a thing in mind that you think Mina could’ve done to be the one to stop Machia. I’d love to hear it.+ Btw, since you brought it up, in what way could she have defeated the Sludge villain that would’ve been witty, or skillful? If you don’t have any ideas you don’t need to answer. It’s not that important. I’m just curious of the posibility.

Okay, so, this is the part that hung me up for the longest, because there are a few wildly different possible answers here.

The real truth is, if I had been writing this whole shebang from the start, this confrontation would never have happened this way at all. Just off the top of my head, I think there’s no compelling reason AFO couldn’t have sent Toga into the hospital to activate and retrieve Kurogiri weeks ago, and with Kurogiri back in play, getting Machia would obviously have gone differently. I would also never have disposed of the MLA as comprehensively as Horikoshi did; I would have had at least one or two instances where an MLA member who didn’t get uncovered by the HPSC in time was in a position to shift the balance in the villains’ favor—maybe one would have been with the police somewhere.

Barring a top-to-bottom rewrite of the whole arc, however? Well, I'd still say that, feeling as strongly as I do about how morally dubious this whole second war has been, even if I were telling this scene with the same components, I probably wouldn’t be writing towards a hero success because I don’t think the heroes have earned it. The baby steps the kids have taken towards Saving Villains don’t go far enough for me to want to see the villains defeated here. The biggest changes there would have been twofold:

1) Shinsou’s voice changer play shouldn’t have worked on Machia.

Machia has a sense of smell so incredibly acute that, if I were trying to logically explain how it worked, I’d make it a psychic ability that just happened to manifest as scent-based. We’re talking about a guy who could track down Shigaraki after a teleport of over 270 miles, who could smell AFO’s vestige stirring from almost fifty miles away. There’s absolutely no reason he should think for even a second that AFO is standing right outside his prison.

Now, we do know replications of AFO’s voice has an effect on Machia—we saw as much as the beginning of MVA! But I would contend that back then, he didn’t have a big loud response to the recording, just curled up around his radio and started loudly purring. In the scene with Shinsou, he actually responds as though he thinks AFO is there, but again, I don’t buy that Machia should have fallen for that, especially since he was woken by Hose Face’s device emulating AFO’s voice, which would have given his unbelievably keen senses enough time to register that it’s only the voice, not the man, that he's hearing.

But, with Machia up and not immediately prey to Shinsou’s ploy, the other big change I’d make with him becomes apparent. The series has proved willing and eager to shitcan everything Shigaraki gained in MVA, but not me. Shigaraki won Machia’s loyalty at the end of MVA, and if Machia’s cranky with AFO for leaving him behind again,[8] that doesn’t mean he couldn’t still have loyalty to AFO’s successor.

Given that his loyalty to Shigs is predicated on his loyalty to AFO, it might seem logical that AFO squandering the latter would free Machia of obligation to the former. That’s a fair take. But if it were me, I’d capitalize on Machia’s keen senses and what he was present for in MVA—Shigaraki saying that his followers should do whatever they want. Hell, if the endgame likes flashbacks so much, let’s have a flashback of Shigaraki and Machia actually talking in ways that would let Machia distinguish Shigaraki and AFO.

In other words, I think Machia’s loyalty should supersede his anger. If he gets free, his first reaction should be to go to Shigaraki, not to focus on his anger. That way, it’s not a hero win rewarding their gross sky coffin tactics, but AFO doesn’t get quite what he wanted out of it, either. This would be one part of focusing the narrative back on Shigaraki and his allies, rather than ruining Shigaraki’s hard work by letting AFO take over and piss it all away.

Incidentally, I will concede that, just because Machia shouldn’t have responded like a dupe to Shinsou mimicking AFO’s voice, that doesn’t mean Machia might not have responded at all—he could have rebuked Shinsou for trying to emulate Master, and that would have worked for Shinsou’s purposes just as well! So to avoid that, I would add one more element to a flashback showcasing Shigaraki and Machia’s relationship post-Deika: have Shigaraki showing Machia a picture of Shinsou and warning him to be on the lookout for this kid, and to not respond to anything he says.

Horikoshi loves to tie back plot beats to pre-established elements, and one such element is, as I footnoted earlier, that AFO and Shigaraki watched the U.A. Sports Festival together, so they should both know good and well who Shinsou is and what he can do. Knowing Shinsou’s SF-era capabilities doesn’t predict the voice changer, of course, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that, if the heroes are pushed to a point of desperation and they have access to a brainwasher, even a non-licensed one, they will try to use that brainwasher on whoever they think is their highest priority target. Quite frankly, all of the higher-ups and key players should have known about Shinsou.

2) The kids shouldn’t have been tipped off that they were facing Midnight’s killer, or it should have come up in a different context.

Nothing interesting comes of the way the canon deploys it, thanks to Mina’s vengeful feelings having no grounding in the story, and the blunt way it’s brought up serves only to make Hose Face easy for the reader to write off. As I said in the chapter post where he brought up “that U.A. teacher,” there’s no real reason for him to be focusing on Midnight specifically unless he has a personal reason to think she’s emblematic of the things about Hero Society he hates, or unless he was tuned in enough to U.A. personalities (knew who was teaching there, watched the Sports Festival to get a handle on its students, etc.) to realize that he was facing students he could potentially rattle by bringing up their teacher’s death.

The latter would offer a less awful read on Hose Face’s personality: He’s not bringing up the death out of pure sadism, but as a psychological tactic. The former would give him some real characterization and motives while also giving the kids something to argue against, rather than the easiest possible reaction of, “Hay did u kno Might Makes Right iz bad?”

Alternatively, if Hose Face has nothing personal against Midnight at all, and doesn’t have an encyclopedic memory of hero wannabe high schoolers, he has no reason to specifically mention Midnight. Even if the narrative must see her death “answered” in some fashion, it still doesn’t follow that the kids must get emotional closure for someone they lost to the undeclared war they were drafted into. The audience can take some solace in perceived karma, but lacking a naturalistic way for Mina and the rest to connect those dots, the kids should just have to deal with him as they would any other opponent they come up against, because, surprise surprise, when you’re fighting in a war, you’re not guaranteed to see and know who’s on the opposite side of the gun that just shot down your best friend.

As another alternative, if we go with the idea that Mina was struggling with dark desires for revenge, maybe she should have brought it up! Not as an accusation—again, she has no way of knowing she’s facing Midnight’s killer without him saying it—but just out of generalized fury with her opponents as a group, the same way Aizawa and Gran Torino hold the pain of their loved ones against Shigaraki when Shigaraki is not the one responsible for causing that pain.[9] Maybe a more openly vengeful Mina could just freely state that her aim is to take down the PLF to avenge Midnight, only for the enemy in front of her to answer, “Midnight? You mean that woman I killed in the woods on the day of Liberation? Here’s your chance, then, girl.” (Or whatever.)

Of course, Shonen Jump is not in the habit of validating heroes craving revenge, so Mina in that scenario would fail because rage would make her sloppy, same as with Deku, Iida, and so on.

So, in a scenario where Machia is up and not falling prey to Shinsou, but rather prioritizing getting to New Master Shigaraki, and the PLF is likewise loyal to Shigaraki and not AFO, I’d just let it work, because I’d be slanting this whole combat towards an overall heroic loss. Give Mina a face to obsess over until next time but also let Kirishima get a good eyeful of it so he at least knows there’s a serious problem with his best friend and one of his hero inspirations.

Mineta would have a chance to weigh in, too, as he's a good middle ground: he's got his own anger about Midnight, who he adored, but he's also worried about how that anger looks on Mina. Mineta always worries about his classmates, but he's shared a pretty fair amount of incidental screentime with Mina specifically over the course of the series, ranging from her sweetly offering to put a harem moment into the band performance just for him to stuff like the Clockwork Orange gag, as well as more serious stuff like Mineta being the first one to ask aloud if Midnight's dead, with Mina warmly, and with a confidence it turns out she doesn't truly feel, reassuring him that Midnight's fine.

(I've said before that Mineta should have had more to do in the confrontation with Midnight's killer, but that's not just about his fondness for her. It's also about him being the first to question if the heroes didn't just make the whole situation worse, and, if Mina really took Midnight's death so hard it had her thinking about revenge, it should also have been about Mina and Mineta's shared experience surrounding that death.)

That all said, I suspect that what you really meant is, how would I have handled this scene if I had to use all the same pieces and be writing towards a heroic victory? So let me at least touch on that.

As far as Hose Face goes, I actually think Kirishima might have been better suited to talking to him? Like, Mina’s been friendly with people, sure, but I don’t really buy her most pivotal, “shining moment” scene being a bunch of talk about the strength of the weak coming together. As best I recall—though do correct me if I’m wrong—it's never been shown that Mina regularly struggles with feelings of weakness or inadequacy. It would be perfectly natural for her to do so after flubbing against Gigantomachia, to be sure, but the series doesn’t make the time to show it, so her lines about forming packs with others does not feel like a natural evolution for her arc.

Likewise, while she’s obviously been depicted as friendly and sociable from the beginning, her lines in 383 suggest that her sociableness has, and always has had, an ulterior motive: covering for her perceived weakness. The lack of focus on her relationships from her own perspective makes that impossible to verify or even predict, so it just feels like it comes out of thin air, grabbed almost at random by the author in his attempt to find something, anything, Mina could say that would give Hose Face even a moment's pause.

Kirishima, on the other hand, has had a focus on his relationships, places where they’ve been pivotal to his own arc and the greater plot. (I’m sure I don’t need to harp on this to you, rvg, but I’ll go over it to lay out my perception of these things.) His relationship with Mina—the ways he’s trying to live up to her example, as well as his desire to support her when she falters—is a profound motivator for him, something we see much more explicitly and from his own perspective than we do Mina's feelings about him. Meanwhile, while his relationship with Bakugou isn’t given that level of psychological exploration, it’s a critical factor in Bakugou’s rescue at Kamino, and we also get that bit of Bakugou specifically giving Kirishima some advice that leads to the latter’s Unbreakable mode.[10]

So like, we do get an angle on Kirishima and his sense of his own relationships with others. That awareness allows him to demonstrate what is, I believe, the first unabashed moment of empathy for villains that a hero demonstrates in the entire series! Specifically, I’m talking about that low-level gang mook he comes up against during his internship with Fat Gum. That guy does a bunch of yelling about things that speak to Kirishima—fears of weakness, desire to be stronger, a need to help his “bros”—and Kirishima tries multiple times, even after being attacked, to express his understanding and sympathy for the man.

That being the case, if anyone were going to be able to make an impression on Hose Face via appealing to his sense of camaraderie and desire for strength, it seems to me that Kirishima has the better groundwork in place to sell the moment, regardless of whether he could successfully “reach” Hose Face in the way that’s being attempted with Shigaraki/Toga/Dabi.

As to the Sludge Villain, I’d probably either not have him there at all, given how much he claims he just wants to pretend to fight for a minute before getting the hell out of there. He very much seems like he didn’t want to be here to begin with, so I can only assume that, despite AFO claiming the jailbreakers didn’t need to do anything for him but rampage, he very much did summon a bunch of them back anyway[11] for his final dramatic attack on Deku and Hero Society.

Assuming we’re stuck dealing with him, I’d probably let the Class B kids do it. Have Mount Lady—who was there for the Sludge Villain’s rampage using Bakugou, and therefore knows what Sludgey looks like and that he can possess people—yell for people to stay away from him. Let there be a moment of panic and confusion, where it looks for a moment like a repeat of the mess in Chapter 1 where no one had the exact right answer to deal with him, so no one’s willing to step up.

Then, in a 1-2-3 combo move that reminds everyone why Class B is said to have advanced more quickly than Class A, and just as Sludgey lunges for someone, have Yamagi use Poltergeist to manipulate him into a steel drum barrel being held by Yui, let her shrink it down to a good tight fit before dropping it, then have Juuzo soften the ground to half-sink it, top down, then resolidify the earth, trapping Sludgey for later removal. Ta da, a neat demonstration of the next generation outperforming the old generation when it comes to on-the-fly teamwork and decisive action even when no one individual has the perfect quirk for solving a problem.

…This, of course, is assuming there’s no good way to actually get the Sludge Villain to talk in more depth about why he didn’t want to be here from the beginning and had to be threatened into doing it at all. It would be nice if someone could broach that topic! Maybe a quick not-too-serious handful of lines from Mineta, who has his own history of running in terror from fights he doesn’t think he can win. But even with some sympathy, I imagine Sludge Villain would try to run away regardless, on the (well-grounded) suspicion that heroes are going to want him to go back to prison and finish his sentence, and that’s when B-tachi could step in.

So that just leaves Machia, Mina, and Shinsou. And honestly, rather than having to power through it, I’d rather see Mina, in particular, talk her way out of it. This draws on two things. First, there’s the fact that she’s one of the kids who failed her Final Exams, with her and Kaminari being unable to figure out how to utilize their strengths to get out of Nedzu’s rat maze. I’d love to see her demonstrate that she’s grown from having no plans but to brute force her way through obstacles! Second, there’s this sequence:

This is a bit exaggerated, obviously, but the quick demonstration of how quickly and smoothly Mina is able to approach, scold, bond with, then deescalate people in tense situations is rightly portrayed as remarkable. But where is that facility in real confrontations with villains? Nowhere, really, save that airless stab at remarking on common ground with Hose Face and the PLF.

I obviously don’t expect her and Machia to wind up breakdancing together when the stakes are as high as they are, but Mina would have at least a bit of an opening—her encounter with Machia in middle school wherein she lied to him about where the Springer Agency is. I don’t for a moment think that Machia’s forgotten her smell—I doubt he forgets anyone’s, though he may or may not care about them otherwise.

For this version of the scene, I’d probably play Machia as more ambivalent—tired of being abandoned over and over again by the people he’s tried so hard to be loyal for, so not immediately inclined to run off after them, open to a bit more dialogue. He doesn’t fall for Shinsou for the same reasons I outlined above, so Shinsou and Mina have to talk Machia into acting—or at least stop him from just rumbling off to bury himself under a mountain for the next decade or two.

I don’t know how they’d go about making that argument. Honestly, I don’t really think there’s anything in the story for Mina or Shinsou to fall back on (by which I mean earlier panels Horikoshi’s assistants can look up and copy/paste into the storyboard to accent a dramatic speech). Maybe they could ask him why he’s so loyal to All For One and find some commonality, either through heteromorph discrimination or bias against villains.

Maybe Machia is torn on his loyalty, betrayed by AFO one too many times to want to help him but not sure where that leaves him on supporting Shigaraki. Hearing this, Mina brings up that AFO is threatening Shigaraki right now, but also that a friend of Mina’s is trying to stop AFO/help Shigaraki,[12] so maybe Machia could help them with that and then decide? Machia doesn’t trust her due to the Springer Agency thing, but that same experience does lead him to believe her when she says she just wants to help people, not hurt them.

That last bit has the benefit of providing an explicit reason for why Mina uses her quirk nigh-exclusively as a watery defense barrier or to take out inanimate objects: She long ago made an active choice not to use her acid against sentient people. This would give her some room for a little motivation-establishing flashback of her own—maybe canonize that theory about her chipperness being at least in part a front!—and provide a nice alternative to the current state of Mina’s narrative, which has spent nearly 400 chapters refusing to allow her the same free hand people like Bakugou and Kaminari take with their quirks for no established reason.

This doesn’t give Shinsou much to do, but that’s okay: his moment comes against AFO instead.

I realize that Mina's fans want her to have a big badass moment, and simply talking down a confrontation is not the kind of thing that tends to get viewed as "badass" in a shounen battle manga. Sorry about that. She can still jump around and dodge a lot while giving her pitch? Maybe she could get a big badass moment later on? I dunno; that's just what I would do, and obviously my priorities for what it would be cool for the kids to do are not the same as the broader readership's.

I'm also not sure where that leaves the confrontation with Midnight's killer; I suppose that depends on how things go between him and Kirishima in this scenario. Maybe they leave without him when he tries to protest Machia accepting the temporary alliance, or maybe he's soldier enough to take the help where he can get it and worry about later conflict later. Obviously, at any rate, this is happening in a scenario where he hasn't immediately blabbed that he killed Midnight; that can come up as a nasty surprise later on.

But does that mean you think Midnight’s killer should totally get away with it scott free and suffer no consequences?

Hnnnngghh that’s a tricky one because I am an unabashed MLA stan and villain supporter and therefore deeply biased about this. Like, I don’t think soldiers should be put on trial for killing enemy soldiers, no, even high-ranking officer-types. Obviously it’s different if they attack civilians or are otherwise breaking the codes surrounding conduct during warfare, but I do think Hose Face killing Midnight was basically a soldier killing someone he perceived as another soldier, with no undue cruelty or misconduct.

However, obviously the series itself—and the state authority the PLF is openly trying to tear down in-universe—would disagree with me! In that context, I can’t even really call the guy “a high-ranking officer” because that would, as mentioned earlier, convey more authenticity to his position than his government wants to grant him. As far as they’re concerned, he’s probably more like “a key figure in the recent anti-government actions carried out by the terrorist group calling themselves The Paranormal Liberation Front.” People like that tend to get executed in prison a few years after their short, perfunctory trials.

I suppose the problem for me is that the series wants me to believe that the MLA is Very Bad and they all deserve to be Locked Up Forever, whereas I want more nuance from them than that? Even setting aside the probable cult upbringing, I have significant trouble unabashedly blaming the PLF for their actions because the series has done nothing to convince me that less drastic avenues for change are available or even survivable for them.

This was a huge issue with the hospital attack sequence, but it applies to all sorts of the setting’s problems: Other than, “Insist that victims of oppression should focus on providing a good example to future generations,” what methods for addressing inequality does Hero Society have? I want to know what the villains should have done, what they could have done, about systemic inequalities and repression that would have been effective against a government that employs agents like Lady Nagant and Hawks.

The picture Nagant paints is of a society waging a war against anyone who sought to change the Hero System, a war that many people who sought change never even knew they were already in. The examples she provides of her targets are, of course, corrupt heroes and would-be terrorists, but what her HPSC President said was even farther reaching: that the purpose of her killing was to “preserve hope and faith” in heroes.

The HPSC legitimately does not seem to believe that any system other than the current one is feasible for maintaining stability, and that any attempt to shake or besmirch that system is no different than throwing the country back into the chaos of the advent of quirks. What’s a few missing activists or tragic accidents compared to that?

Horikoshi seems desperate to have us pretend he never told us that the government his protagonists are defending actively grooms assassins to enforce the status quo, but that’s not a genie he can put back in the bottle. I see the current events of the series as, in some form or another, basically inevitable because of Hero Society’s active, even violent resistance to change. Midnight’s death for that cause is thus something I have tremendous difficulty thinking of as a crime that needs to be punished.

Does that mean I think Hose Face should get off scot-free? Eeehhhhhhhhnnnngh I hate to say it this plainly, but…

Maybe it does?

The thing is, I know that Hose Face is, canonically, a quirk supremacist trying to violently overthrow the rule of law. In real life, I have no sympathy for people trying to institute fascism, regardless of whether they’re using legal mechanisms or armed force. But in the fictional world of BNHA, I have nothing but disdain for the way the MLA has been turned into a caricature of themselves in this final arc. In that sense, my dissatisfaction with Hose Face’s treatment is really based on the ideal version of him and all the rest of the MLA I have in my head—the MLA that’s allowed to have nuance behind their extremism, the one overflowing with members motivated by their lived experience with the flaws in Hero Society, with a generous helping of radicalization from the fact that they’re a cult as much as they are an army.

BNHA has scrapped all that potential and left us with nothing but naked quirk supremacy to fill the void. In an endgame that’s trying so, so hard to sell the readers on Saving Villains, that’s just poison to the story’s themes, and my villain stanning comes directly from that issue: demanding consistent treatment for the characters whose tragic backstories we haven’t been permitted to see.

Hose Face is clearly a bad person—heck, I was headcanoning him as a hard-edged, ruthless killer even when all we had to go on was him killing Midnight, long before he showed up to espouse open quirk supremacy and gloat about killing a schoolteacher, so it’s not like I ever thought he was a super nice dude or anything! But I guess I just have trouble with the idea that the current system deserves to be the one to decide his fate, when it has, to all appearances, gone to extreme lengths to stamp out any perceived threats to itself, to the point that the narrative itself is now openly delegitimizing everyone who might otherwise offer cogent critique.

It would be different if we had never seen the dark side of the status quo and the villains really were all just shallow, two-dimensional monsters. It would be different if the narrative had shown us legal, nonviolent and effective avenues for protest and change.[13] It would be different if Hose Face had killed some rando uninvolved civilian.

As it is, though, Midnight was a combatant for a terrible, terrible status quo. She might not have been using lethal means herself, but she was defending a demonstrably lethal, openly acknowledged as repressive, system. I just can’t find it in myself to demand justice for the fact that she died for it.

But with all that being said, I also don’t think Midnight is a bad person. She never knew about the government assassins, after all; she’s a member of the system she grew up in, the same way the kids are. She presumably never saw the extent of the system’s flaws because she was never victimized by them. At the end of the day, she still deserved to be properly mourned and remembered and it is a crock and a crime that we never got to see her funeral.

If anything, I think Midnight’s funeral would have been an excellent setting for a scene where the protagonists start asking questions about how things came to this, what went wrong and where, that their teacher had to die. What is it about Hero Society that’s led to tens of thousands of dissidents, and why haven’t they ever heard of this discontent before now That would have given us considerably better set-up for a nuanced PLF, an opening to talk about Shouji’s experience of heteromorphobia, foreshadowing for Lady Nagant, and, to bring this back on-topic, the opportunity to really show Mina struggling with everything that happened as set-up for her later confrontation with Midnight’s killer.

Tumblr, How Does That Work?

Honestly I was expecting some sort of notification about your answers if and when you replied to me. Is that not a thing?

Making my reply a fresh post, or just posting replies in the comments section of the post you originally commented on, would not have notified you without me specifically tagging you, which at the time Tumblr wasn’t letting me do. This problem seems to have cleared up, so you should have gotten a notification about this post going up because of your name being tagged at the very beginning!

What you see for people answering asks depends on a few things. If you send asks anonymously, you won't get a notification if/when the person answers them; you'll just have to keep an eye on their blog. If you send them with your name attached, as you did originally for me, I could choose to answer those asks privately, sending my replies back to your Inbox, or answer publically, posting my replies to my blog. Either way, you'd be notified!

For this round of responses, if I'd just replied to your reblog in comments as you did with my original post, or reblogged your reply with a reply of own instead of staring a new post, you’d have gotten notifications about either! But I don’t want to put this much wall ‘o text on my followers’ dashboards without a cut, so I haven’t been responding directly, for which I apologize.

(Disclaimer: Notifications can be configured in your Settings menu; you can toggle them on and off for loads of stuff! You might wish to check what you currently have them set for rather than just taking my word for it.)

On the topic of cuts, I mentioned at the beginning that the cut option is hard to find on mobile, but just for reference, it looks like this in the post editor on desktop:

It's the same icon on the mobile post editor, it's just on the far right of the bar of icons along the bottom of the app. My screen cuts it off, so I have to scroll the bar over to find it.

Like I said, the Expand dropdown button Tumblr instituted a little while back has reduced the need for this somewhat, and you can certainly do whatever you prefer, but as I believe having the Expand dropdown automatically clip long posts is still an optional configuration in Settings, I'd feel better about reblogging from you directly if you put the bulk of your reply under a cut.

Don’t know what “blorbo” means. Kinda sounds like a demeaning term, but I’m going to assume it’s not.

Sorry, it’s not intended to be demeaning! It’s just a slangy affectionate term for “character you really like.” In my experience, I’d say it also has a connotation of protectiveness or self-identification, though I can’t speak for the whole of the internet. I like plenty of characters, but I wouldn’t call them all my blorbos, just the ones that I really and truly love and want to explore/share/defend their honor to the death.

Thanks...? Is, is that a compliment?

(Re: my telling rvg that we seemed to have similar issues with the way Mina was being handled, but they were more willing to do the mental legwork on her than me.)

It’s mostly just an observation, but not a critical one! As someone who’s very ready to read into the canon every little drip of information the canon will give me And So Much More, I have a tremendous amount of fellow-feeling for people of like minds, even if our taste in characters is different.

Buried At The Bottom, Why Kaminari Is A Worse Character Than Mineta, Yes I Said It And I’ll Say It Again

>>I have observably positive feelings for about a third of Class 1-A and only particularly negative feelings about Deku and Kaminari. What’s up with Kaminari?

My irritation with Kaminari boils down to two main things—and forgive me, I know you didn’t ask about Mineta, but Mineta’s pretty important to my feelings on Kaminari being what they are, so he’s a part of this answer. This is all going to be pretty openly dismissive of Kaminari, as a fair warning, on top of being based on not-exactly-rigorous familiarity with the student material, so apologies to anyone who likes him and finds him an enriching, valuable character. But man alive, that is not me. And but so:

1) Kaminari is a watered-down Mineta, with watered-down versions of all of Mineta’s flaws, but because he’s watered down, the growth he experiences stands out less than Mineta’s. More on this in a second.

2) Despite Kaminari being a redundant character who brings virtually nothing to the table that other characters don’t do better—with the only things that are unique to him going underdeveloped in canon—fandom loves Kaminari. (Disclaimer: I obviously don’t spend much time in the hero-fan circles of the fandom, so this is just my perception. I’d be curious to get your perspective of Kaminari’s relative popularity, rvg!)

To hit the second point first, Kaminari has a more conventionally attractive cute anime boy face than Mineta, so Kaminari’s pushing of his female classmates’ boundaries gets mostly ignored, while Mineta gets so many fics written about him dying that there’s a dedicated Dead Mineta Minoru tag on AO3 with almost 350 hits.

Fandom built a whole tottering edifice of fanon about Traitor Kaminari despite the howling absence of compelling evidence in the manga[14] for, so far as I can tell, the sole reason that people wanted the cute anime boy to have crunchy angst. Then, when the actual traitor reveals landed (first the fake-out and then the real one), fandom deemed Hagakure an ungrateful bitch and Aoyama a whining coward.

So like, the fandom discrepancy is what pushes me over the edge from the bottom end of neutral into active dislike. But I would be awfully close to it anyway for the whole “redundant-ass character who contributes nothing to this story we couldn’t get better from someone else” thing.

Kaminari being kind of leery and unpleasant about his female classmates would be a lot more glaring if it weren’t stacked up against Mineta’s actual sexual harassment, even though Kaminari is a frequent co-conspirator!

Kaminari has a brief tussle with fear at the beginning of the war arc, but it’s neither as sustained nor as convincing as Mineta’s frequent wrestling with cowardice, present from USJ all the way up through his terrified confrontation with All For One.

Mineta is frequently, openly envious of his classmates, a whole extra flaw that Kaminari never demonstrates in more than fleeting glimpses.

Kaminari’s quirk is redundant next to the other high offense types in the class.

Kaminari’s personality is not distinct enough to add anything irreplaceable to the classroom dynamic. That’s not to say he brings nothing to the web of relationships amongst the students or the ways the class as a whole reacts to the events of the series, just that what comes to mind for me is mostly extra layering to existing dynamics, not anything truly original and unique to him. Which would be fine—I love extra layers!—if he were contributing more as a character on literally any other fronts.

I can think of only two things that Kaminari uniquely brings to the table, but both of them are mentioned once and then never come up again. Firstly, he’s the only one in the class to voice open admiration for Stain, a willingness to admire cool traits in Villains that never leads him to any interesting conflicts with people (classmates or otherwise) who hew to the more standard flat refusal to consider that a Villain might have or express positive aspects.

The other thing is less about Kaminari himself and more about how he’s one of three places where the story brings up the idea of people using their quirks for non-hero jobs and then refuses to develop that premise.[15] It’s interesting worldbuilding, but as far as I’m aware, it’s never directly shown—everyone we see using their quirks (legally) in the series is doing it as a hero. We never get much sense of what other options there are for quirk use because heroism and villainy are the only contexts we ever see it in! This would be a little annoying on its own, but I also find it undermines a lot of other established facts and characterizations.

(Bear with me and I promise I’ll loop this back around to Kaminari.)

My interests being where they are, the biggest problem for me with the fuzziness about the legality of quirk use is that it leaves Destro and the MLA with no coherent cause. They want free quirk use, but are they really so incredibly averse to just getting a license that they’re willing to become terrorists over it??

You could argue that naked quirk supremacy is what the MLA is currently after, and that’s obviously incompatible with the laws as they stand, but Destro Classic is never really framed as a quirk supremacist, so why did he so virulently despise the quirk use prohibitions if all they really did was require people to get a license to use quirks in public, no different than a driver’s license or a permit to serve alcohol? Sure, you get small clutches of people sometimes with that kind of “any government oversight is bad government oversight” black-and-white thinking, but the original MLA was a powerful enough force to stand against the government for years, which doesn’t exactly scream “a handful of malcontents” to me.

Rendering the MLA’s cause mindbogglingly asinine is my biggest problem with the “other jobs can get quirk-use licenses too” tidbit, but there are also things like how totally invisible the entertainment or sports industry is. That would make perfect sense if quirk use is illegal in those fields—people want to see cool superpowers getting used, so industries that bank on public attention dollars but can’t have their celebrities use their quirks are going to decline when they can’t compete with industries/celebrities that can.

If quirk licenses can be gotten for all sorts of jobs, though, then why have sports and entertainment become so invisible? If “frivolous” fields like those are not aren’t seen as “contributing to society” enough for quirk use permits, then which fields do? Why does HeroAca!Japan still mostly look and behave like IRL!Japan if quirks are in use in “all manner” of industries? And if it isn’t the case that heroism—a dangerous job which sometimes gets people killed and which generally requires cultivating a socially demanding public brand/identity—is the only path to being able to use the special power you were born with to earn a livelihood, why does every single middle-schooler in Deku’s class and countless other classes across the country want to become a hero?

I just feel like the way the world looks and operates, the kinds of repressiveness described by even the heroes, the structures that drive people into heroism and villainy alike—the former because they don’t see any other viable way to achieve the happiness they’re looking for, the latter because they can’t become heroes but still have desires that their quirks could help them achieve—all of that makes much more sense in a world that has super powers but has tightly restricted their use to a single job class of person.

So, tying back, obviously that’s not a fault of Kaminari’s, but he is the character where that gap is most apparent. If there aren’t many lightning heroes because lightning is in high demand in other industries, it would shed significant light on who Kaminari is as a person if the manga would tell us what those other industries are.

What other paths could Kaminari have chosen? What’s so much better about those other industries that people with quirks tailor-made for heroism,[16] in a society that worships popular and powerful heroes, are so willing to choose those other industries instead? Why did Kaminari not make that same decision? What does heroism mean to him personally that he chose it when so many others in his situation did not?

Kaminari could present a huge in on that angle of the worldbuilding, but instead he’s a complete dead-end. Mineta’s motivations are base as hell, but at least we know what they are! Further, it tells us interesting (uncomplimentary, but interesting!) things that people like Recovery Girl and Deku hear said motivations from Mineta’s own mouth, and shrug and accept them as perfectly valid.

And that’s just his professed motivations! His final exam scene actually drops an early hint about the admiration for Deku he’ll later wholeheartedly declare in the 1-A vs Deku fight! I don’t remember Kaminari ever getting anything a fraction so revealing; he just coasts through the story contributing nothing unique or meaningful. He’s hardly the only 1-A character with that particular lack of depth—Sato, Sero, Hagakure and Ojiro are all similar blank slates in terms of their motivations or histories—but then, none of them are a fraction as popular as Kaminari is in the fandom as I experience it, either.

So to sum up, I dislike Kaminari because he’s a wishy-washy nothing of a character, a generically Inoffensive Anime Cutie Boy adored out of all reasonable proportion compared to more compelling and equally underdeveloped classmates alike. Mineta is, by any measure, more problematic, and it's even worse that U.A./Aizawa are so blasé about him, but, at least from where I’m standing, he’s still more layered, more compelling, more dynamic, and speaks in more interesting ways to the world around him than Kaminari ever comes close to matching.

(…Kaminari’s thing with Jirou is fine. Perfectly reasonable character relationship building material. I just don’t count it one way or the other because it’s a self-contained relationship dynamic that has no bearing on the way either character engages with the broader world/system the series’ overarching narrative is challenging. They motivate each other in small ways, but that motivation doesn’t lead them to truly grow or change as people, only to overcome modest internal confidence hurdles blocking them from things they already wanted to do anyway.)

And that's it! Thanks for forging through, good lord, over twenty pages of this, rvg and anyone else who did! I hope you were at least moderately entertained, give or take my blatant Kaminari slander. See you next time, and enjoy the Footnotes.

---------------- FOOTNOTES ----------------

[1] We’re not shown any personnel or drugs or anything, but I assume they’ve been keeping Machia drugged since Jakku, same as Kurogiri in between interviews. It’s the only thing that worked on Machia before, so why wouldn’t they have more on-hand?

[2] Despite watching the Sports Festival with Shigaraki, natch.

[3] I would like it if he would do that with a lot less insufferable power scaling bullshit, you understand, but I’m spotting the comic its plot arc here.

[4] Outside of, say, the Persona games, where the MCs can change ability sets by swapping out what companion spirit they’re packing, but even that doesn’t make them specialized for status effects, merely capable of using them.

[5] Interestingly, while Bakugou fought off the villainous sales pitch with as much verve as he brings to all his fights, if he had fallen off the righteous path there, we might have observed that his pridefulness was explicitly fostered by the people around him giving him excessive praise for his powerful quirk and ignoring his resulting violent arrogance. That is to say, Bakugou would have fallen under the same, “Villains are created by the failures in their society,” pattern that BNHA applies to all of its sympathetic villains.

[6] There was one other instance, but iirc it was an error in the translation C.Cook had done for the BNHA databook. It would not surprise me that he was being less careful or was more pressed for time when translating the reams upon reams of text in one of those.

[7] At least until the fifteen-thousand-strong mob shows up.

[8] Which frankly should be all he’s sore about. As others have pointed out, Machia’s anger about being abandoned is kind of incoherent. Yes, AFO left him on the battlefield, but he didn’t exactly leave him to rot in prison forever. The moment AFO made his big push, he sent people to spring Machia, so in what sense exactly does Machia think AFO abandoned him? If it was just the last straw after a string of abandonments from both AFO and Shigaraki, the manga could have stood to make that much clearer.

[9] AFO and Ujiko created Kurogiri out of Shirakumo—as a babysitter for Tomura, yes, but Tomura didn’t choose that. And as to Shigaraki’s very existence trampling on Nana’s memory and causing All Might pain, well, Shigaraki didn’t ask to be brought into the world, abused by his father, neglected by his family, and then raised by a supervillain, did he?

[10] And speaking of Unbreakable, compare how explicitly we’re shown Kirishima’s growth and the foundations of it with how the inspirations for Mina’s attacks are relegated to passing mentions, not direct depictions. She just casually tells Kirishima that his Unbreakable inspired her Acidman, and likewise only internally reflects on asking Bakugou and Todoroki to teach her their training method, which let her develop her Max Power Acidman Alma move, without so much as a single scrubbed in doodle depicting said training assistance.

[11] Somehow. The story is unclear on whether he disseminated threats, contacted them directly, or just used the combination of Search+Warping to drag them all back into his presence, and that last option in particular runs into complications given the limitations of both quirks.

[12] In this AU, we would have gotten to see the class have an actual discussion about Saving Villains, prompted by the way the reveal about Aoyama solidified Deku, Shouto and Uraraka’s desires to help their respective villain foils. The class would carry that resolve forward not only for those three villains alone, but also Shouji for Spinner, Kirishima when talking to Hose Face, Mina, here, with Gigantomachia, etc.

[13] None of the things I can think of that might be considered evidence of protest meet all the criteria. The original MLA became violent, Harima Oji was a lawbreaker and also ineffective in the long term, the small group that yells at Endeavor and the rest in Chapter 311 is not portrayed as linked to any broader efforts to unseat “fake heroes,” and the group that “condemned” the newscaster Miyagi Daikaku was ineffective and didn’t even seem to rise to the level of open protest.

[14] "His grades are poor but he namedrops a Hemingway novel! He must be concealing the fact that he's actually super-smart!" "He's doing a Liberation salute! He must be the traitor, even though the Liberation salute uses the other hand, and Kaminari has been using finger-gun gestures to fire off his lightning attacks since at least the License Exam if not earlier, and the League had no connection to the MLA at the time when the traitor was most active!"

[15] A blurb about Kaminari in, iirc, one of the volume extras, Suneater’s flashback to a teacher telling his class that they can “make fine use of their quirks at any number of jobs,” and Uraraka’s early mention that she’d considered “getting permission” to use her quirk to help with her parents’ construction business.

[16] See the previous discussion about the kinds of quirks that are popularly accepted as “good hero quirks.”

#bnha #stillness answers #-ish #my writing #pink alien on parade #plf advisors #grape expectations #bnha minoru #gigantomachia #plf arrests #heteromorph discrimination plot #horikoshi stop ignoring the villains' perception quirks challenge #hero society #bnha critical #ethics of heroism #bnha endgame #double-duty brainstorming for the rewrite AUs #randomvongenerico

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kookie-doughs · 1 year

Text

Happy Meal

Hawks / Keigo Takami X Reader

-As a young mother YN didn't know what to do when the number 2 hero had taken the last happy meal that her son so desperately want.

Chapter 15: Caught

"Hawks!" You called for his attention.

He snapped from his thoughts and turned to you.

You had Sato in your arms as you walked over to him.

His smile evident and he was excited. He needed a break from all this work and you were an effective one.

He opened his arm and he slowly flew to you two.

"What are you both doing here." He asked with a smile while Sato gave his cheek a kiss.

He faught himself to kiss you at that time. So he just laughed.

"Sato was bored home."

"Hawks-san..." A bird like person had came up.

"Tokoyami!" Hawks cheered.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll go back on patrol. Mrs. Hawks." He greeted and dashed off.

You blushed and so did Hawks.

Sato asked to get down.

"Hungy"

You and Hawks laughed.

"Lead the way little guy."

He giggled and ran with his little steps. Hawks beside you all you could take notice was his hand debating whether to hold yours or not you chuckled and took his hand.

Intertwining your fingers you got closer hugging his arm.

"Mamaaaa!" Sato jumped up and down he points at McDonald's across the street.

Hawks let go of your hand and got Sato's you took his other hand.

The three of you cross and get to McDonald's.

You three ordered. And Sato was excited for his Happy Meal.

You ate your ice cream and Sato excitedly opened his toy.

You then saw something a familiar looking toy. It had a grayish blue haired toy full of wrinkles and had red eyes. You froze and Hawks immediately snatched it from Sato and ran to the counter.

Your breath shook. He found you after all.

Sato looked at you and at the box.

"Haws too mah toy... mama?"

Hawks came back wary. He picked up Sato.

"Let's go."

You look at him. Of course he knew.

You got up and he didnt bother taking the food with fear it mightve been tampered with.

"Hawks what happened..."

"The cashier was tied up in the back passed out. While I was getting back to you i see him come out of the kitchen."

You held Sato tighter. Hawks was flying so fast to somewhere you didn't know.

Before you could ask something flew past you. You froze and at the street was a Nomu.

"Hawks!"

He grimaced and tried to go faster. The nomu jumped trying to get a hold of you three, Hawks being faster got to avoid it.

Then you see a floating man with a mask. Not long later another nomu materialise in front of him.

Hawks cussed and dodged the nomu but the nomu on the street had grabbed your foot.

Sato cried at the chaos and the nomu holding you screeched. Hawks cut on the hand, not damaging it but making it let go.

He flew higher and faster.

"Please!" He hissed. His wings flapping in such a hurry.

You look back on the ground and you see multiple people in a black and white body suit all with the same muscular built chasing after you.

"We need to talk to you!" They all say.

Hawks was then halt when blue fire blocked you. At the street stood a man his hand on the sky the fire coming out of it.

You three were surrounded.

Then you feel something behind you. You quickly react tossing Sato to Hawks.

He caught Sato and turned to you in fear. He was too late.

The portal had sucked you in and a smirk from grayish blue man was all he caught before the portal vanished.

The people after him had started disappearing. And he was left on the sky holding a sobbing child.

"Y/N..."

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aspiring-writer-hidden-voice · 1 year

Text

Virtual Embodiment

Your quirk allows you to enter the virtual world no matter what device (console, tablet, phone, computer).

The idle lunch chatter filled the air as you took a vacant seat, preparing to dig into a lunch you’d been looking forward to when several shadows fell across your own. Several classmates stood on the opposite end of the table, each with their gazes locked upon your own, as you nervously looked to each in turn; a fiery blonde, red head, one freckled, and beak for a mouth. “Is there something I can help you all with?”

Katsuki Bakugo was the first to answer, his open palm meeting the table’s surface with a loud impact that made the cafeteria fall silent. “How long did you think you could hide it, huh?!”

Your brows furrowed. “Sorry?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, stupid extra, I bet you secretly laughed at us the whole time!”

Now you were thoroughly confused. “Trust me, I’d never laugh at any of you no matter the reason.” You looked to Eijiro Kirishima for translation or explanation of the blonde’s meaning but only received a curious yet excited smile showcasing his sharp teeth. A glance to Izuku Midoriya revealed a similar expression, though his was a bit more eccentric as he was busy scribbling within the notebook he always kept handy, and then there was Fumikage Tokoyami who met your gaze calmest. It was rare to see this type of a group and even more so that they were talking to you of all people. You were in a different class, after all, so it was odd that they knew you existed in the first place since you didn’t deem yourself anything special. “I’m still kind of lost, senpais. Can someone please explain to me what’s going on?”

“Apologies, (L/n), but I believe my fellow classmate was referring to events that transpired last evening.” Tokoyami bowed his head. “Forgive his rudeness and blunt disregard that he has interrupted your lunch. This is not a matter of great importance so with your permission we could always return at a later time to properly discuss this topic.”

Silverware fell to lay flat on the table as you sighed. “Thanks for the offer, but my appetite has pretty much disappeared thanks to the raging Pomeranian there. Might as well get this conversation over now so that I can go about my day like a regular person should.” Taking a deep breath, you turned your full attention upon Kirishima who was in the process of attempting to calm down Bakugo who had not appreciated your comment. “I haven’t got all day now.”

“Right, sorry.” He sheepishly smiled while forcing the blonde into a chair with ease before taking the one directly across from you, “You see, in our free time we like to play video games from PC to console to VR. It’s not very often that we get on but there’s this player that seems to be on the servers quite a bit whenever we are. Midoriya here,” one of his hands gestured to the freckled teen who slowly sank to sit within another chair, “found the IP address and tracked it to find traces of a student who goes to UA.”

A lump in your throat rose but it was swallowed down. This wouldn’t be the first time people had tracked your online profile, certainly wouldn’t be the last despite your best efforts, but you didn’t recognize other players as classmates. There had been no hints dropped from you or opposite parties of what outside life was like. Crossing your arms, you fixed a bored expression upon the blonde. “So you decided to jump to conclusions all on your own just because a few things happened to line up?” With a sigh, you made to stand when Dark Shadow appeared from behind that prevented your chair from shifting backwards. Anger began to bubble within your veins. “Okay, what is this, some sort of interrogation? You can’t seriously think you can keep me here.”

“We don’t intend to, we just need to know if you’re who we think you are.” Tokoyami said slowly.

“Then hurry up and tell me!”

“(Insert Gamer Tag of Choice),” they all chorused, “and we know about your ‘Virtual Embodiment’ quirk that allows you to fully immerse yourself into the virtual world.”

All blood within your body grew cold.

Katsuki Bakugo

A sense of fulfillment came over him as you grew pale. So his hunch had been right on the money. You were always within the computer labs or being asked technical troubleshoot questions out of everyone in the school, even the class responsible for creating supportive accessories for the Hero’s Course had gone to you for advice on things! He’d seen you around a few times lingering around the school after hours when only the teachers were left and if that wasn’t suspicious he didn’t know what was. “I knew it,” he growled lowly while leaning into your personal space, “you’re the only one in the entire school who has a quirk that allows you to enter the virtual world without complicated equipment.”

Your gaze wanted to look anywhere else but they were ensnared by the blazing infernos that were his eyes which bore into yours. The lump returned, threatening to choke you, as words attempted to form. “L-look, if I bothered you in some way, I’m sorry—”

“I want to know how you did it!” His shout nearly rendered you deaf, several other students casting weary glances at the table; all knew of his temper and did not envy your current position. He must have felt their questioning looks and instantly took hold of your wrist. “Let’s take this outside.”

Powerless, you limply allowed him to lead you from the crowded space meant for people to eat within until coming to a stop just outside the set of doors that was towards the school’s east exit where he released you with a huff. Surprisingly his hold hadn’t been as tight as you’d imagined it to be, if anything he’d been oddly gentle, and his expression of anger was beginning to give way to one of hesitation. All you could do was blink up at him while waiting patiently for him to voice the reason to his actions.

“That sniper shot you took from the back of Breakneck Bay…how’d you pull a stunt like that off?”

And that was when you were hit with reality. So he had been one of the online teammates that you’d played with recently. “It all makes sense now.” The shadow of your hair fell to obscure your eyes. “You probably think I’m a cheater or hacker but I’m not. I just want to play the game my own way like everybody else.”

“I know your quirk let’s you full body dive into the virtual world, dumbass, so cut the crap. If it’s something that only you can do then fine, I’ll accept it, but I wanna know if I can do it next time I take on Shitty Hair or dumb Deku.” Pink tinged the tips of his ears when your widened gaze met his own in shock, earning a grunt. “Oi, what’s that look for?!”

A laugh slipped from between your lips before it could be stopped, earning a pout from the blonde, and you hurried to apologize for it by taking out your phone. “I don’t know if anyone can but I’m happy to try and show you how. What’s your number and maybe I’ll shoot you a call when I can get on next?”

To say he lit up was an understatement as his own phone instantly appeared inches from your face.

“Then again, maybe I should just message you online, ‘LordExplosionMurderer’.”

His face turned beet red at your remembering his gamer tag. “Got a problem with it?!”

You smiled. “Not at all. Actually I kinda like it and find it suiting since you use a lot of rocket launchers despite your close combat style. Makes it entertaining to watch the opposing teammates fly off into the distance.”

A smirk raised his lips. “Damn right it is.”

Eijiro Kirishima

He instantly picked up on your discomfort and offered you his hand. “Here, let’s go someplace a little more quieter.” Completely ignoring the rants of a certain blonde, he gathered your forgotten food to be consumed later and helped you escape the gazes of a full cafeteria. A sheepish smile raised his lips while coming to a stop near the fridges that students could use to keep leftovers cool. “Sorry about my friend back there…and all that. I realize that we must have come off pretty bad coming at you like we did. If you’d like, I can make up for it by asking you out.”

The initial shock suddenly gave way to embarrassment that manifested itself deep within your cheeks, making them bright red. “W-w-what?!”

It took a moment for his own words be comprehended by their speaker, judging from the sudden blush that spread across the bridge of his nose. “Oh, wow, that totally sounded like I just asked you out on a date, huh? Not that I would mind since you’re cute and really cool and seem to be a pretty good person—” His hand rose to scratch the back of his neck. “—I’m getting way off topic here so I’ll just cut to the chase. I know you play online RPGs like Summoners Art Online and wondered if you’d like to form a party! You made taking down that level eighty boss look like a cake walk and your armor is super cool looking too! I’ve honestly been stuck on this one dungeon, the one with King Lich of Rowanwood, and could use some help.” A bow of his head brought it smack against the open locker that a student had left open, making you flinch at the impact which left the door bent. “Please! I’ll give you whatever loot that drops! I’ve tried everything from special potions to expensive shop items and nothing has worked!”

Sympathy filled you at his words. “Yeah, that’s a tough one alright. What level are you?”

Instantly he was upright with eyes practically glowing with hope. “Twenty-seven.”

“Well, that’s your first problem,” you chuckled, “he’s a level ninety.”

His jaw dropped. “Seriously?! Why would they have it that high when it’s so close to one of the safety zones?!”

“Because it was part of an update recently to allow players to challenge themselves solo or with a party based upon their level.” Your brows furrowed. “I didn’t recognize your avatar, Kirishima-senpai, mind if I ask what to keep an eye out for?”

“No problem! I’m the big shark-humanoid walking around with Giant Forged Armor!”

Your brows rose. “That’s impressive since Giant Forged Armor was a special event SS drop item that had less than a six-percent drop rate.”

The grin raising his lips widened. “Trust me, it took way longer than a lot of those other pro gamers predicted.”

A sense of comradeship filled you with each second that passed in similar conversation. It wasn’t a popular game that many played by any means yet here was a classmate at your school who seemed to love playing it as much as you did. And he had more than proved how much of an avid gamer he was. Now that you thought about it, you’d seen a player lumbering about during raids that fit his description. The flesh of your bottom lip became caught in your teeth. “Who would’ve thought that Kirishima-senpai was ‘BigBadDaddyShark’.” Your tease earned a whole hearted laugh from the red head. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad forming a party with someone for a change. He blinked when you accepted the food then placed it upon a shelf to be gathered after class, earning a tilt of his head when you faced him fully. “You sure you’re okay with playing with someone like me? Lots of people call me a ‘cheater’ or ‘hacker’ because I can fully immerse myself into a game platform.”

His head shook vigorously. “I’m not like other players, honest, I think it’s super cool that your quirk lets you full dive without an Oculus or VR headset.”

Your lips lifted into a small smile as he commended the skill he’d seen during a dungeon boss battle. “If you’d like, I can take you to some of my favorite weapon shops that have great weekend deals. They might help you out with getting proper gear and stuff.” Both of your hands rose, heat tingling within your cheeks. “Not that what you have already is inadequate since I’m sure you worked hard for everything in your inventory—”

“I’d like that a lot, (L/n), thanks in advance!” He grinned as the bell signaling the end of the lunch hour sounded, turning to head back to class but stopping for a moment for his gaze to meet yours. “Seven o’clock work for you?” Another grin earned you a flash of his teeth as he began walking backwards. “Great! I can’t wait to learn from you, (L/n)-senpai!”

The students who had heard his call turned their curious and angered gazes upon you.

Fumikage Tokoyami

“I’m curious to know how your quirk works, (L/n), but I can be patient until you are more comfortable. Come. Let us converse in private.”

You swallowed thickly, glancing around at the suddenly quiet cafeteria who watched with interest as Dark Shadow quite literally picked you up from the chair. “I-I can walk on my own, thanks.”

“Don’t want you running away so soon!” The apparition crowed loudly while leading the way out the nearby exit with Tokoyami close behind.

Sure enough he carried you the entire way until coming to a stop just outside your classroom. Every person who had been passed wore cautious expressions intermixed with curiosity. For you to be seen with anyone was a rarity but Fumikage Tokoyami to be your companion was odd indeed. Your hands hurried to smooth the wrinkles within your uniform once allowed to stand alone, bristling slightly when Dark Shadow “helped” by removing some stray lint from your hair.

“I assume this is more to your liking.”

It wasn’t a question but you nodded to answer nonetheless, earning a smile from the apparition who looked ready to pop. “You can’t tell, but he’s super stoked to finally meet you in person! I told him that he should’ve approached you ages ago but noooo he didn’t want you to be put off by his knowing you hold the top ‘Paranormal Hunter’ on SageSmoke.com! You’ve held that spot for almost an entire year now!”

Heat flared within your cheeks at Dark Shadow’s words when Tokoyami pointedly glared at his shadow. “Uh, yeah, I guess it has been about that long, huh?” You jumped when the apparition suddenly appeared inches from your face asking about which type was your favorite. “I wouldn’t say I have one but the Oni’s have always intrigued me, I guess.”

It was hard to tell but there was a glint of excitement within his vermillion eyes at your words. “Those are the spirits who respond when a flame is extinguished, yes?”

“Close, but that’s an Onryo. Oni’s react most when people are nearby and love to scare their intended victims before attacking. Points for getting the first two letters right.” Embarrassment made to make you shy away from his gaze but there was no judgement to be found within, only fascination. “Sorry, it’s not something a lot of people seem knowledgable in so it’s hard to know who shares in that field of interest.”

His head shook. “Do not apologize, for I too have noticed such things as well. It’s rare to come across another who shares interests such as this, (L/n), so please feel free to tell me if you’d rather not discuss—”

“Please stay and talk with me for at least a little longer!”

The sudden outburst earned you nods from both Dark Shadow and Tokoyami. “We’d be happy to.”

This time shyness did make you avert your gaze to the floor but it rose again when his hand gently lifted your chin to find his gaze calm and full of understanding. “The Oni…can you tell me a bit more about them?”

Blinking, you slowly came out from the protective shell that you’d built to help contain your enthusiasm for horror and ghost encounter games, occasionally answering voiced questions from the pair who intently listened as you spoke. How long the three of you spoke was a mystery until a teacher happened to walk past with a curious yet stern expression as they reprimanded the missing of important class attendance. It was as they were about to turn away that your hand lightly brushed against his own, earning a blink. “Um, I’m sorry to ask, but I’m planning on logging in tonight after school in case you wanted to play a little bit.” You retracted the extended limb in favor of using it to toy with the cross choker you wore. “If you’re feeling dangerous there’s the abandoned monastery that I was going to go check out tonight. I’d read somewhere that several reports have said sightings were increasing lately because of the stars’ alignment shifting towards Mars.”

“Will there be sage?”

“Of course.”

“What about crucifix?”

A breath slipped from between your lips in a soft sigh. “I’m not an amateur, thank you very much, and I even have a rosary blessed by the Father of Saint Joseph’s Church and nearly a gallon of holy oil that I brought back with me from Israel.” You felt a sense of pride well up when their gazes became filled with admiration. “I’ve spent a lot of time on the Dark Web too. I know things that would make the saints themselves turn over in their graves.”

Dark Shadow laughed suddenly, nearly making you question his sanity. “You had him the moment ‘abandoned monastery’ left your mouth, (L/n)! Then you went on and on about the stars and the more you talked the more his heart started to race! I’ve never seen him this excited!”

You wouldn’t have believed the apparition’s words if not for the excitement glittering within those vermillion eyes that bore into your own. A smile lifted the corners of your mouth. “It’s not virtual reality so there’s no save points or respawning if something happens. Are you sure you’re up for it? Living on the line between life and the world beyond is not for everyone.”

“If I had a mouth, I would kiss you this moment.” Even Dark Shadow seemed impressed by Tokoyami’s words as the pro hero in training hurried to scribble his phone number upon a space piece of paper before handing it to you. The honestly within his gaze was shocking to say the least as the paper was neatly slipped into your hand. “Be sure to message me what time for our excursion. I anxiously await our next meeting.” And with the subtlest of taps of his beak against your cheek, he disappeared down the hallway past the teacher whose jaw was nearly hanging open.

A blush filled your cheeks while walking through the door to your classroom, paying no mind to the questions from classmates of why you’d been out there for so long talking to Tokoyami of all people, and fondly traced the glass bead within the cross’s center that supposedly held the feather of a fallen angel. It was when the teacher had turned to face the board that your phone appeared from its pocket for the tip of a finger to dart across its screen. Not two seconds later the sponge of a ghost emoji came.

Izuku Midoriya

His gaze rose from the notebook as silence hung in the air after they’d chorused your gamer tag. Understanding filled his emerald gaze when finding your expression one of uncertainty and took hold of your hand. Without a word to his classmates, he drew you to stand and made for the nearby exit, ignoring the calls of his classmates if it meant you were spared from the confrontation. The forest haired teen didn’t stop until the two of you had reached the courtyard between the main building entrance and grounds gate where he helped you to sit beneath one of the trees. “Sorry about that,” he bowed deeply with sincerity in his voice, “you were minding your own business when we all kinda ganged up on you like that. Please forgive us!”

Still winded from running, you could barely manage to ask him how he’d found out who you were and what your quirk was in the first place.

“Oh, um, well, I play this game called Saber Slice and was playing online the other night when I noticed someone in the lobby that made me think of you. I don’t know you very well but I’ve seen you around enough that it was easy to recognize certain motions that you do.” His freckled nearly disappeared in a blush when you gaped up at him. “Not that I’m watching you like a stalker or anything, it’s just that I’ve seen you in a few extracurricular courses coaching some on fluid movements such as dodging or helping with the drama department with choreography!”

Now you were blatantly embarrassed. How had you not noticed that Izuku Midoriya from class 1A was paying special attention to someone the likes of yourself?! “I guess I should feel flattered but honestly I’m not quite sure what to think right now.”

“I’m sure you’re overwhelmed right now but I promise none of it was in malicious intent, only fascination and admiration!” His eyes began to shine brighter than stars as he sat beside you, showcasing several notes and rough sketches of several familiar motions. “You move so gracefully that it’s like watching water dance, its so amazing to watch and I can understand why you have one of the highest scoring profiles in the world on the Oculus.” Both of his hands rose. “And I don’t think of you as a cheat because of your quirk or anything, I bet its more challenging because of all the distractions you can see that no one else can once you’re in game. That must also mean your reaction time has to be pretty on point, huh?”

Blinking, you could only meet his gaze with surprised silence until finding your voice once realizing he’d asked a question. “Y-yeah, it actually is. Things are much bigger for me than for others when I’m playing and its harder to aim since they get so close.”

Sympathy filled his gaze when you mentioned suffering from motion sickness once deactivating your quirk. “I bet it gets pretty bad when you really get on a role and quit for the night. Have you tried medication to help?”

“Sure, but why go out of my way to get expensive stuff like that when ginger ale has the same affect?”

“That’s genius! I never would’ve guessed that would have similar—” he sheepishly smiled, “sorry, I get excited really easily.”

Your lips lifted into a smile. “Don’t be. It means your honest about your feelings and expressing them should never be taken for granted.” A thought occurred to you, making both of your brows slowly rise. “Wait, are you ‘ClumsyGroot217’?”

That blush returned as he nervously picked at a blade of grass. “Yeah, that’s me alright.”

“I have to say, it’s not easy earning that ‘Longest Journey’ badge. You must’ve worked really hard to get to level…”

“Twelve.” From between his lips came a laugh that made the sunlight coming through the tree’s canopy seem dull when you bit back a chuckle. “It’s okay, you can laugh, everyone in my class says that I have two left feet so it’s a bit harder for me to do the lower combos.”

A part of you wondered if he was being serious, since you’d seen him do impressive footwork whenever the news covered the pro hero course events, but you believed him fully when seeing his hesitation when you mentioned playing again with him tonight. “If you’d like, I can help you. I’m sure you’re busy with school work and such so why don’t you message me when getting online and I can join you? It’ll be a bit strange on your end but you’ll get used to it quickly as if I’m not even there. You could think of me as your own personal AI giving you tips.”

He lit up brighter than a holiday tree during the winter. “Wow, really? You’d do that for me? Thanks so much!”

You accepted the pen that was passed and quickly jotted down your number within his notebook’s cover as the bell sounded. “Guess class is starting back up and we don’t want to get in trouble with our class presidents. We should get going.”

Emerald blinked as you offered him your hand once standing. He accepted it with a smile, grunting under his breath once straightening fully, giving your hand a brief squeeze before releasing it. “I look forward to your lessons, senpai!”

“Don’t call me that,” you deadpanned with a laugh before taking the lead back inside the school building, “anything would be better than that.”

“Then how about ‘Clippy’?”

This time a laugh did sound from your lips. “Oh, my gosh, I’d almost forgotten about that little paper clip guy!”

#mha x reader #mha x y/n #mha x you #izuku midoriya #katsuki bakugo #eijiro kirishima #fumikage tokoyami #mha fluff #2023fluff #fluff 2023 #bnha x reader #bnha x y/n #bnha x you #bnha #mha

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legoshi-plz · 2 years

Text

Notice Me Part III

Pairing: Izuku Midoriya x Reader (eventually), Best! Friend! Shinsou Hitoshi x Reader

Summary: College AU. Reader feels like she’s constantly overlooked/ ignored and she’s made her peace with that.

Waning: See Chapter One.

A/N: I think this story is turning into a slice of life fic which I’m oddly okay with even though I’ve never written for that genre before. It’ll be a new and interesting experience for sure!

///////

Your last class ended on Friday evening and you found yourself filing out of the door with slight tension in your neck and relief at the weekend ahead. With no plans on your schedule, you were free to sleep in as late as you wanted and relax properly.

You mind drifted back to your plans from the previous weekend. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d had so much fun with someone who wasn’t Shinsou or Tokoyami. Midoriya was so sweet and always so genuine about everything, being around him really had a way of letting you see the world through his eyes in a much more optimistic light. You’d been serious when you offered to hang out more and you found yourself secretly hoping he’d reach out.

Before you could even open the door to your dorm, you heard your suitmate’s shrill giggles outside the door. It wasn’t like her to entertain company in the suite common area, as she usually just took her friends straight back to her room but you didn’t begrudge her for it. She kept out of your hair most of the time to the point where you barely remembered she was there and she was sweet enough to let Shinsou in when you didn’t hear his knocks. Speaking of which....

“Y/N! Why didn’t you tell me your friend here was such a charmer?!” She squealed in delight the second you walked through the door. She was currently sitting on the sofa with her legs thrown over Shinsou’s lap, a smile donning her face that showed off all thirty-two of her teeth. Shinsou was smirking to himself as his hands trailed dangerously high on her legs and thighs.

“Took you long enough, thought you were never gonna show up. Been here almost thirty minutes, luckily I had company,” Shinsou looked quite smug and you couldn’t tell if you should turn around and give them some privacy or not.

“Don’t let me interrupt, I was just gonna head in early anyway,” you laughed with a slight awkwardness while turning to the door that led to your room.

“Like hell you are,” Shinsou stood, brushing off your suite-mate so that he could follow you into your room, barely throwing her a quick “catch you later,” despite cozying up to her for half an hour. Shinsou’s ego when it came to women was really unbelievable sometimes, it made you wonder why so many girls would put up with it but maybe they saw something in him (or at least in their attraction to him) that you just didn’t.

“Have you forgotten what tonight is? I’m feeling pretty generous so I’ll even let you pick the movie,” Shinsou made his way over to your bed and flopped down.

“We haven’t done Movie Night in weeks, hell last week we, and by we I mean I, worked on lab assignments the whole night,” you sat your backpack down by your desk.

“Yeah but that was last week. This week, we’re doing movie night.”

“One of your dates must have canceled on you, huh?”

“Y’know I could always walk across the hall and remedy that,” Shinsou smirked in that cruel way of his. He didn’t do it often but there would be the rare occasions where Shinsou would throw his prowess in your face to see how you’d react. As if to remind you of the stark difference between the two of you. He could get any girl he wanted without even trying, yet no guy would come within ten feet of you in a romantic way. These were facts you’d long since come to terms with and you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

“Be my guest, just try to keep it down, I’ve got some homework I need to catch up on,” you chuckled, sliding into your desk chair.

“Please, as if I’d ever touch a girl like her. Have you seen that face?” Shinsou scoffed, as if his hand wasn’t just creeping up her skirt not even ten minutes prior.

“I have actually. I think she’s quite pretty,” you hummed, getting out your laptop. You were serious about catching up on that homework even if he wasn’t.

“Well you’ve always had terrible eyesight and dogshit taste so I’m not surprised. Put that away, I already told you we’re having movie night. You can do your homework literally any other time,” you could tell by his whining he wasn’t going to let it go so you might as well cave now.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go make the popcorn then we can find something to wa- actually, does it have to just be us? I wanna invite someone else,” you picked up your phone, scrolling down to find Midoriya’s number.

“I already told you I’m not gonna screw your suite-mate, why do y-”

“I’m not talking about her, I’m talking about Midoriya,” you wondered if you should just call him but that felt a little too pushy so you settled for a generic ‘you busy?’ text.

“Hoping he’ll put in a good word for you with Todoroki? Or that he’ll bring him along? Honestly, Y/N, this is getting pretty pathetic,” You knew Shinsou’s annoyance was stemming from his concern for you as a friend but he was taking the tough love approach a little too far.

“Believe it or not; I actually like hanging out with Midoriya, you ass. We had fun last week.”

“Oh great, now you’re another fan girl for All Might Jr. I think I would’ve preferred if you just stuck to your guns with Todoroki,” you ignored Shinsou as you texted Izuku back. It seemed he was up for joining you two.

“It’s not like that, it’s just nice to have a friend who doesn’t have group leader ego,” you grumbled, putting your phone down.

“I never asked to be group leader, but you and Tokoyami weren’t exactly stepping up,” Shinsou smirked. He could be so full of himself sometimes, it was hard to imagine him as the same shy middle schooler you met all those years ago. But behind all that bravado, you knew he could still be sweet and a genuinely good friend even if he got embarrassed when people saw that side of him.

“I’m gonna go make popcorn. You can go ahead and find something, I wanna already have the movie ready with Midoriya gets here,” you stood and stretched, making your way to the kitchen.

“Hope Wonderboy likes horror movies,”Shinsou grumbled, grabbing your remote.

//////

AN: I know Shinsou’s kind of an asshole in this chapter but there’s a reason for it, I promise :) and I know I haven’t stated it explicitly in the story but Shinsou, Tokoyami, and Reader were all close friends while at UA and still are even though they don’t see Tokoyami quite as much because he has other friends and was never quite as close with Shinsou and Reader as they are with each other.

#izuku midoriya x reader #izuku midoriya x you #izuku midoriya x poc reader #izuku midoriya x black reader #bnha x black!reader #bnha x plus size reader #bnha x poc!reader #izuku

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deusvervewrites · 2 years

Note

I'm pretty sure you've mentioned before that Bakugou isn't actually necessary to the plot, but how exactly would Izuku get OFA without the sludge incident? Because I'm pretty sure that the only reasons that Bakugou wasn't saved sooner was because either to much of a dumb fuck (Death Arms trying to punch the sludge instead of trying to pull out the kid, Mt. Lady just crab walking to get in there) or they were worried about something else (Backdraft putting out the fires,Kamui worried about getting burned).

The Sludge Villain Incident is the only time that Bakugou specifically contributes to the plot for... many arcs

(Quick refresher since I can't be bothered to track down the last post, and it was before I started tagging my metas, Bakugou does not directly contribute to the ongoing plot of My Hero Academa at all until the war arc. No, he wasn't even necessary for Kamino. They found the bar because someone reported Dabi and because of Yaoyorozu's tracker, and the LoV wanted Ragdoll, so he doesn't even contribute there.)

But the thing is, anyone with an out of control Quirk could replace him. Hell there are already two that we know live in that area: Todoroki and Tokoyami.

But for the alleged Deuteragonist, Bakugou barely shows any agency in the narrative.

And hell, if we're talking strictly about Midoriya getting One For All, then the only thing he has to do is inspire All Might with his heroic spirit! There are hundreds, if not thousands of ways that could end up happening

#asks #meta

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starshinc · 4 months

Text

@wolfpackmuses liked for a winter starter call - accepting!

The Class 1-A outing had gone rather well, considering what had happened the last time the entire class had attempted to go to the mall together. As expected, the group had been rowdy, energetic - but honestly, the class were just so enthusiastic about coming out all together. Eventually, smaller groups had been formed to spilt off - some wanting to go and do Christmas shopping, others wanting some food. Izuku found himself hanging around until the end, hands tucked into his pockets.

“I guess it’s just us left, Tokoyami-kun..” Murmured words, watching the air breathed out turn into mist. “Is there something in particular you wanted to do? Otherwise, I wanted to ask if you maybe wanted to come ice skating with me?”

Izuku wasn’t sure why he wanted to do this activity in particular - something about it was just calling out to him. Still - hands came up to wave awkwardly in front of him, sheepish. “But we can totally do something else if you want…! I know there’s some stalls around, maybe we can see if there’s any foreign food, or just find a warm drink somewhere…!”

#wolfpackmuses #the stars lead the way to a new encounter! - ic.#i'll be the greatest hero! - izuku.#/honestly izuku was just like: i wanna go ice skating and he would not budge so HERE WE ARE

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fandomfrenzy625 · 1 year

Text

Christmas special

this story and others can be found on my books “the tokoyamiverse” on wattpad but I was so proud of this chapter I wanted to share it :)

(yes the main star is tokoyami)

Tokoyami gazed outside where white flakes fell from the sky and down onto where green grass was now smothered with the reflective and fluffy pieces of the cold sky

although the Christmas break was meant to be a festive time he never was one to get into the mood

don't get him wrong he enjoyed spending time with his classmates and little Eri celebrating the joyful time

eating gingerbread cookies, dressing up the tree, throwing snowballs (which Darkshadow may or may not have gotten too into with the bakusquads hair still being filled with snow)

yes he has had a fun time, even with the cold getting worse and worse, he and asui making themselves home in shoji's hammock of hands when it got too cold

unfortunately, everything good had come to an end when they were told to leave to spend time with family

Tokoyami had asked if they were allowed to stay on the behalf of Dark shadows curiosity but Aizawa said since all teachers and staff were going home they wouldn't due to security

so it was back to...

Tokoyami waved everyone off as they made their way home, allowing each hug as it came his way, once being swung around in a bone-crushing hug by both Denki and Mina, they enjoyed embarrassing him, yet he couldn't help but laugh at their antics

once he bid his farewells he picked up his bags and began walking

slowly making his way into the forest where a desolate little cabin laid

it was his and his grandfathers, "away from all the ruckus" he used to say when he was brought to live with him

he had so many fond memories of his grandfather, he had taught him discipline and kindness, showing him as they took care of all the animals and taught him how to read and write

but now, his criminal parents were his only family

his grandfather was 97 when he passed, he was 10

his grandfather said not to bother with a funeral, to only be burned and his ashes to be planted in the soil of their favourite tree where they spent many hours reading stories

it was a lot for a 10-year-old, but an old friend of theirs before he died agreed to help the raven with that final wish

he also told him to never tell anyone of his passing, except for the old friend who also had promised to never tell fumikage of anyone, as he knew had only had a few last days left in the world

as cruel as it sounded the grandfather did it with good intentions, not wanting the little raven to be taken back to his parents or anyone else, having a horrible experience with orphanages and "fake families" as he called him exploring him simply for money,

he wouldn't have that for his grandson he used to declare

and so with the knowledge, he had gained and with darkshadow, they learned to live independently

gathering only essentials but heating and electricity was never to be used, fearing he would be caught without parental supervision and taken back

water being caught from the wells but the food he needed to go to the supermarket

and that's where he saw it

the advert for U.A highschool

he knew there were heroes, every kid knew, but to become one he never really knew the details of

but in his mind heroes didn't get taken away, they save people and were free!

darkshadow wouldn't stop pestering me since

and then, well, you know the rest

and yet after all of that

he found himself back in this cabin where the only thing that remained was dead memories

"Well, merry Christmas" Darkshadow grumbled jealously

"oh hush, we need to get food and hang the blankets before it gets too dark" Tokoyami grumbled as he dumped his bags

they would collect their money from the bank the only parental love he was given by his parents

he remembered one night in weakness he went to try and see them, and they wanted absolutely nothing to do with them, not out of protectiveness to keep tokoyami away from prison life, but just because they never wanted him

he never did try again

so he grabbed the money and went on his way without a second thought

2 weeks, and then they could leave once more, if they were lucky the snow wouldn't fall too heavy and the extra blankets he brought would keep him warmer-

the door was open

Tokoyami halted and the dark shadow growled

they never left the door unlocked, and they knew wildlife could never make the door gap that wide

"Intruders" Darkshadow continued to growl

"be on the guard" Tokoyami ordered, could just be a homeless person who found the cabin when they left, he had to fend off back before going to U.A, but that had been only a couple

so with a shakey breath with darkshadow covering his body he stepped in to see what had gotten in

but what he saw was something he never saw coming

there standing in the living room was his homeroom teacher and mentor

"Mr Aizawa, Hawks" Tokoyami greeted hesitantly, the shock still leaving his body

"Tokoyami" Aizawa greeted with his usual tone

the silence between the two parties was deafening

"What are you two doing here?" Tokoyami continued with unease, wondering if it was too late to run

"I'd ask the same but I fear I already know the answer" Aizawa stated as he looked around the cabin

"kid, be honest with us when I ask this" Hawks said softly as he began walking to the raven, placing his hands on the raven's shoulders as he saw him try to back away

"Are you homeless?" Hawks asked

Tokoyami couldn't help but roll his eyes, he knew what it looked like, but it was more complicated like that, his situation just being pushed into a simple and single category didn't sit well in his stomach

"no this is my home" Tokoyami answered as he swatted the hero's hands of

"ok, but where are your parents" Aizawa interjected

Now that was what caused tokoyami's heart to jolt, knowing any answer was going to lead to more questions about his "home life"

so he decided to simply tell the truth

"they're in prison, I used to live with my grandfather before he died, I was 10 and I've been living here since" Tokoyami announced, unable to keep his emotions from building, dark shadow would have been growing if Aizawa wasn't keeping an eye on him

he spouted all this information because he just wanted this investigation to be over with, he hated being reminded of his past, but what was the point in keeping it secret anymore, he was officially caught

and now it was up to the heroes he both admired and at this very moment, feared

"all right, grab your stuff, we're leaving" Aizawa announced before seeing the fearful look in his student's eyes

"you're not in trouble and you're not going to be expelled, but we want to find you a more suitable place for you to live, we don't want you freezing in this weather, no matter how long you've been living as this" Aizawa finished with a calmer and reassuring tone, hoping that they wanted what was best for the raven

Tokoyami merely nodded as Hawks lead him out with a kind hand on his shoulder and Aizawa was the one to take his bags

"Please, we don't want to go into a home, our grandfather-" Darkshadow began to cry before being patted by his host and telling him to be quiet, even if the two heroes defiantly heard it

"Can I ask, how did you find me?" the raven asked to try and distract them from his quirks outburst

"I've been suspicious of your homelife for a while now, why they never came to parents' evenings and the signature to be living at the dorms looked a bit too familiar, I alerted hawks who after talking with you was also suspicious" Aizawa answered as they were being lead to a little black car

Tokoyami nodded as he entered the car, they said he wasn't in trouble but he felt like a fugitive being taken in

"where are we going?" Tokoyami asked as he continued to pet his host's head to calm both of them down

"We're going to Aizawa's, the guy has a spare room, which is more than me sleeping on my company sofa" Hawks answered, using humour to cover his real worries, it was much too close to his home situation and for his little chick to go through anything like that just broke his heart

he wanted to ask the raven a question but he needed to get things ready first

Tokoyami merely nodded once more

"kid, you're not in trouble ok, we just want to keep you safe" Hawks tried to persuade, he knew tokoyami tended to get in his head

"you two are mad with me" Tokoyami mumbled, feeling like he was a little kid who had just smashed a window of their home and their mum ready to scold them for a lifetime

"we're not mad tokoyami, we are upset you didn't say anything sooner but we understand in cases we understand it can be difficult to trust others with personal life" Aizawa assured with understanding

"But we do trust you" Darkshadow whispered with a whimper

Hawks merely pulled the kid into a side hug, deciding they didn't want to push the raven anymore

the ride continued in silence until they finished at their destination

Tokoyami hesitantly grabbed his bags as he was led inside, hawks still at his side, continuing to provide comfort which dark shadow doted on as she left their head on hawks

when they entered they were greeted by the warmth of an indoor fireplace and the smell of gingerbread, along with a familiar and positive figure

"Hey guys, don't mind I just need to finish these off" President Mic commented happily as he continued to string something in a bowel before quickly going back into the kitchen

when tokoyami looked at his homeroom teacher, Aizawa was giving him a nod meaning that the loud cockatoo already knew what they were planning

so instead they went into the living room until he was ready which luckily wasn't for long

"all right, ready now" President Mic agreed as he sat down

"Right, so first tokoyami, we've talked and if you're ok with it we wish for you to spend the Christmas break with us until we find you a proper home that you will be comfortable with"

Tokoyami didn't know how to respond

"that's too generous of you I can't-" Tokoyami began to panic with emotion before the voice of a little girl from the corridor

"Tokoyami's staying for Christmas?" Eri whispered with excitement

the little head of a silver-haired girl was seen looking in with curiosity

"sweetie, I asked you to give us a second" Mic sighed

"I'm sorry" Eri apologised

regardless Aizawa still allowed her to walk in, allowing her to sit on his lap

"but are you?" Eri asked Tokoyami with a look of hopefulness

the raven was still unsure, hating to be a burden, especially with it being so close to Christmas, Eri's first proper Christmas

but observing the encouraging smiles from the heroes and Eri and even the voice of dark shadow he sighed

"I would be honoured to be allowed to spend Christmas with you" Tokoyami bowed as he gave his answer

"glad to hear it, now Eri can you help Mic with those cookies while we help Tokoyami get his stuff sorted," Aizawa asked Eri who nodded just as excitedly

the three figures watched the two leave with a fond smile before making their way to the spare room giving him a quick tour of the house before telling him to make himself comfortable

the best that he could at least with what he brought

all he did bring was blankets and clothes and the food he had recently bought, not that any could be heated

(no wonder he was so skinny when he first came) Aizawa couldn't help as he put the food to the side, the raven agreed he was ok with them putting it in the cupboards

hawks promised to bring the pictures around the home from the cabin, everything else that was in the cabin had already been brought to the room in the dorms, and hawks agreed to bring some important stuff like his laptop

"Hawks" Tokoyami announced as he finished hanging up his clothes

"yeah, little chick?" Hawks answered, tokoyami had given up on the winged hero in calling him that, he just wouldn't

"When you go to the cabin, would you just take picture of a tree, it's the third one behind, it's just important" tokoyami requested bashfully, to which the winged hero nodded

"course kid, oh speaking of I gotta get going, or else Rudolph's nose starts glowing bright red" Hawks laughed as it was clear he was commenting about endeavour who was banned from the Christmas festivities

"bye," Aizawa said with no emotion

"don't sound too sad, I'll be back soon," Hawks said sarcastically

"cya kid, keep talking k" Hawks finished saying bye, making sure to get a yes from the raven before exiting from the window

Tokoyami stared out of the window before a voice from downstairs alerted them

"tea time!" Mic shouted

Tokoyami and Aizawa subconsciously looked at one another before making themselves downstairs

tokoyami did his best to make himself useful by asking if they wished him to put the cutlery down and plates but was quickly ushered to the table and for them to handle the rest, keeping Eri company as she drew

"what are you drawing eri?" Tokoyami asked, not wanting to feel awkward

"a Christmas tree" Eri announced as she showed off her drawing

"pretty" Darkshadow complimented

"thank you, would you like to draw?" Eri offered

Tokoyami shook his head but Darkshadow happily agreed as they grabbed a sheet of paper and a crayon

"maybe wait until after tea, it's being dished up"

"aww, fine" Darkshadow groaned

Eri laughed as she patted the quirk's head, quickly getting rid of their bad mood as the teachers came back with food on plates

gathering the scattered paper and colours away the group sat down to eat

it was ramen with chicken broth, dumplings, green onions, an egg and chicken

Tokoyami took a moment to stare, it looked breathtakingly delicious, but he always had problems eating ramen due to his beak

Aizawa must have seen his unease as he quickly put two and two together

"would you like a spoon, we also have straws" Aizawa offered

"I would appreciate that, yes please" Tokoyami agreed gratefully

"oh shoot, sorry, forgot about the whole beak thing" Mic stated with an awkward laugh as he rushed to the cupboards, finding a spoon for his ramen and even bringing a straw for his water, it may have been a curly straw but tokoyami would much rather that then dribble in front of his hosts

"thank you, sir" Tokoyami thanked as he received the offerings

the rest of the dinner was surrounded by a comfortable aura

Mic and Eri talked about what she had been up to today and told Aizawa and tokoyami who decided to simply listen, they were not really in a talkative mood, and darkshadow sometimes commented on the conversation

leaving tokoyami to also get lost in his head, unable to believe what he was in the middle of, as a little kid he's wished for a normal family life like this, and yet he couldn't let himself enjoy it

he knew it was temporary, everything always was, after these two weeks they won't have to be as compassionate as they were taking him in and he'll find himself alone once again, at least he had darkshadow, perhaps it was the universe's small mercy for all that he experienced

"tokoyami?" a voice called his name

Tokoyami was brought back to reality once more by the sound of his teacher

"you doing all right there kiddo, you haven't touched much of your food," Mic asked with concern

"worry not sir, lost in thought, I apologise" Tokoyami whispered meekly as he stared at the ramen, it looked tasty but thinking about eating was making him stressed

"you don't have to finish it all if you're full" Eri assured, remembering what Aizawa and Mic told her when she first came to their home

Tokoyami nodded, he had gotten better at eating since he got to U.A, Shoji sato, koda and Asui made sure of that, but he still had a way to go

"we'll save it for when you're hungry tomorrow, but tonight if you do get hungry we have plenty of snacks in the cupboard" Mic assured as he and Aizawa began to put the plates to the side to wash

Tokoyami once more offered to help and this time Mic agreed, sensing that the raven wanted to "earn" his stay, not that the teacher would do such a thing, but he believed that it might make him feel better

tokoyami was just given the role to wash the plates and Aizawa dried and put them in the right area, so tokoyami could also see where everything went

afterwards, they needed to get Eri to bed and themselves but told tokoyami that he could watch some tv quietly downstairs if he wasn't tired

Tokoyami appreciated the thought but after a day like he said he'd just go to bed

he got his usual plain black pj's on and till everyone had finished with the bathroom, he didn't like brushing his teeth publicly with how his beak and teeth made it harder than needed

after all of that, the lights were turned off ready for bed

all except for the ravens

one because he didn't wish darkshadow to go rampant in his teacher's home, he'd hate himself to make any damage with how hospitable they were being to him, in the cabin he didn't mind if darkshadow became rampant, at least he'd know he wasn't alone, that's why he intentionally forgot his nightlight to calm the beast

but also because despite everything today threw at him, he wasn't tired

he was anxious and nervous and scared

he was so lost, they had no idea of what his teachers were planning and where he would end up

he hated feeling out of control

so in a hazy mind, he decided to bring that control back

looking to the window and outside he began to think

(no one would know, no one was awake and no one would see us leave)

Darkshadow gave out a whine of displeasure but he couldn't think straight, he just didn't want to end up somewhere, where they would be-

Tokoyami didn't finish the thought as he decided

going to the window he opened it fully, telling darkshadow to use a black fallen angel to give flight in the night

only for a little voice to stop them in their tracks

"Tokoyami"

looking behind them was little Eri, once more peaking in with a worried look

"oh, Eri, what are you doing awake?" Tokoyami questioned as darkshadow instantly unwrapped around his host and pay attention to the little horned girl

"I was thirsty and I thought you'd be cus, you like the dark and the night is dark"Eri mumbled as she looked down to the two glasses filled with water, one once more with a curly straw

tokoyami couldn't help but chuckle at that logic as he rested back on the bed

"you've got a very impressive deducible and kind mind" Tokoyami complimented, earning Eri to laugh as he took the glass carefully, she always said Tokoyami had a funny way of talking, like midoriya but slower and the words were even longer

"are you going to fly?" Eri asked as she remember seeing what the raven was doing as she entered

"That was the plan" Tokoyami sighed as he was about to close the window, the anxiety filling his body had begun to lower, but the feeling of fear still lingered, perhaps on the second time he wouldn't be caught so easily he thought only for Eri to climb on his bed

"Could you please take me with you?" Eri asked with an excited smile and gleaming eyes

"you wish to be one with the wind," Tokoyami asked with confusion

luckily Eri was slowly understanding what tokoyami was saying

"yes please, it looks like fun and Deku always says how cool it is to see you fly and always mumbles when he sees you fly" Eri confirmed with an explanation

Tokoyami smiled, Eri was slowly getting out of her shell and being more expressive and interested, but he was confused with the midoriya part, why would someone as great as he is in awe as someone like him

Tokoyami shook his head, he wasn't going to go down that path with little eri in the room

"very well, but get your coat and gloves and warmest shoes, don't wish you to catch a cold so close to Christmas" Tokoyami agreed to earn a giggle as she nodded and walked out to grab her outfit

leaving tokoyami to think once more

perhaps he was foolish to think like that, he had just instructed Eri to be better prepared when he was ready to fly off in simply his nightwear, and thinking further he'd have to go back to U.A to fulfil his dream, his teacher would pick him out, and even if he did decide to run away from U.A, there would be an army of heroes on his tail, he just saw how easy it was for Aizawa and hawks to track him to his home, what was going to stop them from doing it again

they did care if they went to see him in the meer assumption that his homelife wasn't to their standard

it made tokoyami want to cry, why did he have to be such a nuisance to everyone around him, why did they care for someone that not even their parents wanted, he wasn't special he was

"tokoyami can you please help zip my coat," Eri's voice asked as she re-entered the room

he was so distracted he didn't even notice, not the best choice for a hero

regardless he still smiled at the ray of sunshine and did as she asked

"Where are your warm winter things?" Eri asked with concern for the raven

warm things were expensive, even in U.A he had to be careful of what to buy, especially after spending huge amounts to even go to U.A, everything "expensive" in his room like the sword was a family heirloom, and even if he could make some money of it he wouldn't, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself

"ah yes one-moment" tokoyami excused himself as he found the only fluffy thing he had, his coat

"what about your gloves and scarf?" Eri questioned almost like a scolding mother

"my feathers keep my head warm and with gloves I need to make sure I can hold you properly when we're flying" Tokoyami answered honestly, thanking his bird genetics for again that one small mercy

Eri nodded but jogged off to another room

Tokoyami was a little worried, with all the noise being made he was sure Aizawa or Mic would pick up on it

was this even a good idea, bringing their daughter out in the middle of the night for a random midnight flight

oh god he didn't get their permission

he was going to be thrown to the nearest home as soon as possible

darkshadow watched his host with deep concern, the anxiety levels kept rising and falling and he was sure this rate he was going to go into a panic attack

the quirk was doing its best to stop exploiting fumikages vulnerability for power but the rise in emotion was making it more difficult, she tried getting the raven's attention each time and telling him it was going to be ok, but it seemed like he couldn't hear them

Eri came back in with a scarf in hand

and either to complete obliviousness or strategic thinking put the scarf in the raven's hands to bring him back to reality

which once more to dark shadows relief had worked

"dad says it's too dangerous to leave without a scarf, and I don't want you to get sick so close to Christmas" Eri explained as she used the raven's words against him

"well said" tokoyami laughed lowly as he patted the girl's head affectionately before tying the scarf around him

"ok, we'll start low and work ourselves higher, but anytime you feel like you want to go down or a little lower just tell me ok" Tokoyami instructed as he wanted to ensure Eri's safety and wellbeing

Eri nodded affirmatively as she allowed herself to be picked up by the raven and dark shadow, hands and claws holding her closely and supportively

stepping out the window tokoyami gained their position keeping a sturdy ground until it was time to take off

...

Eri gazed in wonderment as the wind licked her face and they became airborne

"woooooahhh" Eri gasped as tokoyami gained a steady speed and into the streets and very soon the town

the lights twinkling past, sparkling golds, emerald greens, ruby reds, icy whites and electric blues all dazzling in her eyes

"Are you ok Eri?" Tokoyami asked with concern

"this is amazing" Eri exclaimed with joy

"wish to go higher?" he asked

"yes please" Eri agreed

thank god for hawks flying permit to go as high as he wished when joining the agency

and so they went higher and higher, each time Eri getting more and more excited as she could make out what the lights were trying to make a pattern

tokoyami loved hearing Eri's gasps of excitement, with how many years without making a noise of such joy made it more worthwhile when she did

but she wouldn't be so joyful if she got too tired to enjoy it as he saw the clock become midnight

"all right Eri, I believe it's time to get back" Tokoyami stated as he began to swirl back to where they came from

when no answer came tokoyami became worried

"Eri?" tokoyami questioned as quickly flew back down to the surface

"is she ok?" Darkshadow asked with concern

tokoyami observed, only to see a little smile followed by tiny snores

"she's good, must have fallen asleep" Tokoyami whispered as relief filled his body

"We should be too" Darkshadow murmured as he felt feel tired and thus themselves

"agreed, luckily I remember there's a shop todoroki took us to once that was close

"yeah the 6th in the culdesac, number 25" Darkshadow reminded

thanks to their hero training and bird genetics he'd grown to have a well-developed memory

and so tokoyami with Eri's hand was brought back to the sky and back to the house, flying low so as not to disturb Eri's blissful sleep

Memory had proven right as they entered the window once more, stepping carefully and quietly since it was 1 in the morning, walking into Eri's room which was filled with whites and reds, a table of drawings and hairclips covering the surface and a plush little bed where tokoyami placed the sleeping one, quickly removing the shoes and winter wear so she didn't get uncomfortable or overheated in the night, covering the kitty styled PJ's with kitty covered bedding

"good night little goddess" Tokoyami whispered fondly as he left the child to rest and closed the door slightly so she still had some comforting light

satisfied tokoyami crept back to the spare room and kicked off his shoes and coat, covering his bedding with his favourite blanket and did his best to block out the light, a reminder to himself to ask if he could get his nightlight from school, perhaps text hawks, he didn't know when he was going so it would be best to remind him

he allowed these notes to fill his mind as he fell into a deep sleep, darkshadow wrapping around him like a cat upon his chest

...

"breakfast!" the loud Mic screamed as he woke the raven to a startle

he had to take a moment to remember where he was before remembering the events of yesterday

"you ok fumi?" Darkshadow asked as his worry continued to increase for her host

"I'm all right" Tokoyami sighed as he rubbed his feathers

only to remember he forgot something very important

"dammit!" tokoyami groaned, placing his head back into his pillow

"we forgot feather gel, didn't we" darkshadow chuckled, his form not being affected by the loss of hair glue

"must still be in my bathroom in the dorms" Tokoyami groaned again as looked to his flip phone to see his reflection

he looked like he had just been dragged through a bush and back his feathers were that dishevelled, it usually didn't get this bad but for some apparent reason it decided it didn't want to play ball today

"bbbbreakfast!" Mic began to remix louder

"so loud" Tokoyami grumbled but got out of bed, deciding on his cargo pants and a hoodie, pulling up his hood, deciding he'd ask Aizawa if he could get some from the shops

walking down he was greeted by the odd stares of the family, looking at him curiously

"so much black it puts you to shame babe" Mic laughed before being elbowed by his husband

"you feeling ok" Eri asked as he sat at the table

"yes I'm fine, sorry, my feathers are being unruly is all" Tokoyami assured

"ah hair trouble, don't worry I got ya" Mic stated as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a jar of hell jell

"Always keep a spare" Mic announced proudly as he finished his bowel, scooping eris so they could do hers

leaving Aizawa and tokoyami to eat theirs, they had given the raven some of Eri's coco puffs, a good choice as they had never met a person who didn't like the cereal

leaving them in silence before Aizawa informed the raven of some key information

"Eri enjoyed the midnight flight" Aizawa stated before taking a bite of his cereal

leading to tokoyami almost chocking on his food

he knew

of course, he bloody well knew, he was Aizawa afterall

"she did?" Tokoyami asked as he did his best to stop shaking in his seat

"yes, said she saw many snow-filled hills with snowmen and angels, she especially loved the lights and the snow," Aizawa told as he continued eating his shreddies

Tokoyami was expecting to be scolded to heaven high, to pack his bags right there and now

he didn't however expect what happened next

"she's been having trouble with getting asleep, Mic says because she's excited about Christmas, which is one reason" Aizawa began to explain as he dropped his spoon to look at tokoyami directly

"but the other reason is that she still experiences nightmares from her time with the Shie Hassaikai...when I heard her last night I knew that she had another, I expected her to come to our room, but she went to you"

Tokoyami blinked with confusion but allowed Aizawa to continue

"you worked hard to get her to trust you, especially with the...resemblance...and it clearly shows with how she went to you for protection, even if you didn't know why she truly went to you, it's clear she sees you of someone that can provide comfort and did so by taking the mind of her past, and for that, I have to thank you on that" Aizawa said as he was glad Eri was able to find more and more people to let in who were trustworthy and kind, he knew his student and was glad his judgement wasn't wrong

"but next time write a note" Aizawa finished with a tired groan

"shall do sir" Tokoyami nodded sheepishly, yeah he kinda forgot about that, his mind wasn't with it

but saying that, something didn't add up

"but what about the glasses, the water? she said she was up because she thought I was awake and thirsty" Tokoyami questioned

"Eri likes to make excuses as to why she wishes to come to someone, she doesn't like to be reminded of her past" Aizawa explained

Tokoyami nodded, understanding that reasoning

"Now, hawks will be here shortly with the rest of your stuff, he also wants to take you out" Aizawa stated as he finished his bowel

tokoyami wasn't too far behind just a few more scoops

"where to?" tokoyami questioned

"Not sure, he didn't leave a note" Aizawa finished as he walked out with a playful smirk

Tokoyami chuckled, he guess he had that coming, at least he knew Aizawa wasn't mad at him, it was slightly odd seeing his teacher not being so tired and cold as he usually is but all his class knew he had a secret soft side for them, tokoyami did have to admit he saw it a little more, mainly cus he wasn't too much of a "problem child"

regardless he finished his bowel, cleaned it and hurried off to his room to get ready for the hawk's arrival and to fix his feathers

...

a knock on his window alerted the raven of the familiar face that was his mentor

"There's a door you know" tokoyami murmured as he lifted the window and allowed the hero to enter

"eh, can't be bothered with smiles downstairs, sides, it's faster this way" hawks reasoned with a shrug

tokoyami didn't get a chance to argue as a bag was brought into the room

and tokoyami was pleased with what was given, and even more so

all the pictures, including the one of his favourite tree, we're here, his laptop and charger and pleased to see hawks had gotten his feather gel, his nightlight and even dark Shadow's favourite plushy, he had almost forgotten that

"thank you hawks" Tokoyami thanked with relief as he held the picture close, darkshadow squeaking his plushy happily

"no prob fledgling, now let's get going, you're well with flying through the window I assume" Hawks quickly said as he gave the raven a knowing look

"you heard" tokoyami groaned sheepishly

"I saw, need to work on your observation, not just down bellow kiddo" Hawks continued to tease before jumping out of the window

Tokoyami shook his head as he followed him, knowing hawks wasn't going to let him forget that soon

the two flew to where hawks were leading them

"what are we doing here," tokoyami asked as the Christmas markets came into view

"Well, I thought we'd celebrate some Christmas stuff together" Hawks answered with his signature smile

"why?" Tokoyami questioned, wondering why his mentor was suddenly being so...he wasn't sure what hawks were being

"thought it be fun, all the sidekicks are gone for the Christmas and it was only little crimes that happened around this time, think the villains agree to give it a break at Christmas" Hawks couldn't help but laugh

tokoyami didn't think it funny but decided to go along with it anyway

"fine, where to then," Tokoyami asked as they landed, just before hawks ruffled his feathers

"First we sort that attitude out, it's good being a serious hero but as a mentor, my goal is to get you to let loose, especially around the season apparently" hawks chuckled as he watched the little chick grumble and fix his feathers for the second time today

"and on that note, we're getting chocolate covered-" Hawks began to declare

"apples" darkshadow and tokoyami interjected excitedly

"...well I was gonna say marshmallows and strawberries but we can get those too" hawks agreed with a grin, happy seeing it was already working

their first stop was the chocolate-covered goodies which hawks happily paid for

tokoyami was told let to simply leave it all to "mama bird"

another nickname which tokoyami had failed to stop hawks from using

so instead they carried on with their day

going into the grottos and looking at the trinkets, something the two birds had to agree was always a spectacle to see

getting hotdogs and fried chicken as they watched a pantomime take place "Aladdin" the two taking a deep interest

tokoyami pulled hawks aside as he decided to embarrass him as he tried to get them to get a gift with the cue of toddlers

and to tap it all off was when they had finished their cotton candy

"oh I went on these once" tokoyami stated as he pointed to the teacup ride and put the sticks in the bin

"you wanna get on," Hawks asked, surprised by the raven's reaction to the teacup ride

"Maybe not, Iida wasn't too pleased after going on with me, too fast he said" tokoyami murmured, quick to deny himself of fun

not that hawks would have any of that

"Really? jet engines for legs said you were too fast? oh, now we gotta go on!" Hawks stated excitedly as he grabbed the raven's wrist, gently pulling him into the cue

but when they saw it was hawks they allowed him to go straight on with fan girls trying to get some pictures in

but hawks was too focused on his little fledgling having a fun time to bother, his wings blocking out those who tried to get in with them

after all, Christmas time was for fam-

the bells rang saying the ride was ready

"ok little bird, show me what you got" Hawks encouraged as they began to move

and hawks was once more impressed

the raven was so focused and the speed was top-tier good stuff, to others he guessed it would be nauseating, but for him it was perfect

but he didn't want his protege taking up all the fun

"Great work little chick, but how's about we both give it a shot and see if we catch flight

"What?" Tokoyami questioned with susceptibility

"hell yeah!" darkshadow yelled as they also placed her claws on the wheel

and so the three spun the wheel around

and much to tokoyami's horror and hawks and dark shadows' delight they did end up going so fast it flew off their hinges

sending them to the other side of the ride

"you....idiot!" tokoyami was the first to break the silence

at first, hawks was worried he took it too far before the sound of growing laughter turned to ones of mirth, causing the winged hero to burst out chuckles of his own

of course, hawks paid for the damage but it was all worth it to hear tokoyami's laugh, it made him even prouder to know he caused it

"Now that is what I call Christmas fun" hawks exclaimed as the two left the ride, right after hawks signed it for the ride worker so he didn't have to pay full price

"agreed" tokoyami nodded as he finally got his laughter under control

"Now I promised Aizawa we'd be back before tea, anything you wanna do before we head out?" Hawks asked

"Can I go into that shop?" tokoyami asked

"yeah sure kiddo," hawks said as he was about to step in before a claw stopped him

"Without you" tokoyami ordered

"ohhh, wanna get me a Christmas gift?" Hawks smirked leaning his weight against the raven before being shoved off

"Eri actually, I don't want you spoiling it for her" tokoyami concluded

"tokoyami, I'm the second hero, you think I would know how to keep a surprise," Hawks said with a fake hurt

"you'd think so" tokoyami smirked as he walked inside and closed the door

(little jerk) hawks laughed to himself as he did as asked

tokoyami quickly came back out with a black bag protected by a little dark shadow

"all right ready to fly," hawks asked

"yes" tokoyami assured

"race-" hawks began but a flash of darkness set of

tokoyami knew what the hawks were going to say, he did tend to do it

hawks were quick to catch flight and in the race

tokoyami knew he wasn't going to win, but he would have fun trying he had so much fun today,

he loved spending time with hawks, since their relationship strengthened after the rocky start he had come to respect and look up to the winged hero, trusting him with his entire soul, and would do all he could to help him

this was very evident when it came to their encounter with Dabi

Hawks admitted he was very worried about the raven's self-sacrificing and kept a close eye on his little intern, perhaps creating more of a stronger relationship than hawks had ever imagined having or even thought possible to having

he didn't deserve tokoyami in all honesty, he was too good, too loyal, too pure, no one deserved him, but he didn't mean that literally

the rage he felt for tokoyami's parents was unbarable, he hated how he was dealt with a bad hand

and yet he stayed such a good kid, after everything, he wasn't cruel or bitter

hawks in honesty were in awe of the little raven and wanted to see him grow to become a strong and justice-filled man

and hawks wanted to do all he could to help

tokoyami was so close, although he was confused as to why hawks hadn't caught him yet

was he taking it easy on him because of Christmas or something

if so then he wouldn't allow it

tokoyami turned around to see hawks staring into nothingness

getting distracted? not wise

hawks were quickly brought out of his thoughts as he felt an impact crash onto the back of his wings pulling him down

a pair of arms he saw had wrapped around his neck gently

"and you're caught, better luck next time hero" the voice of darkshadow crackled as it was a reminder of the first time hawks found tokoyami distracted

hawks chuckled as he learnt his lesson

tokoyami had thought he won only for his body to feel like it was tipping upside down

hawks had turned around midair and unhooked the raven's arms

before the raven could catch his fall with darkshadow something else caught him, keeping him upside down as hawks turned back upright

"need to go harder if you think that's gonna catch a villian little chick" Hawks laughed as he watched the raven squirm in his grip

"I'll keep that in mind" tokoyami laughed as he was turned right back around but still held against the winged hero's chest, just like how their first flight went, but perhaps with a bit more care than how he simply carried him like a sack of potatoes back then

they got to the house where hawks wasted no time in plopping the teenager onto the bed

"you jerk" tokoyami laughed as he got up, doing his best to calm himself

"Nah, I'm the best" Hawks chuffed earning a roll of the eyes

"anyways, I've got to get back to patrol, and no I don't need your help" Hawks began before cutting himself off, knowing what the raven was going to say, evident by the sheepish look he was granted

"I've got some paperwork to do but I'll be here on Christmas" Hawks assured although he wasn't very much looking forward to that paperwork

"When is that again?" tokoyami asked

"Christmas eves today so tomorrow" Hawks answered, slightly disappointed to see that hadn't caused some excitement in the bird, but more confusion, he looked like he didn't realise how fast it had come, but back on track, with what he'd been told, Christmas would be just another day to survive, if not a painful memory

"Hawks, I enjoyed today, but I don't want you worrying about me, you should be spending Christmas with family and friends" Tokoyami urged with concern

this earnt hawks to ruffle tokoyami's feathers, but this time more softly and slowly

"Trust me, kid, spending time with you is the closest family I'm gonna get" Hawks reassured with a low laugh

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about" Hawks began only for the voice of Eri call from downstairs

"Tokoyami! are you there?"

"be down in a sec" Tokoyami yelled back

but as he turned he was shocked to discover the winged hero was gone

"That was weird, even for him," Darkshadow said with confusion

tokoyami nodded in agreement

unknown to them hawks was flying back to his agency

(I'll tell him later) hawks repeated with certainty, he just needed to find the right words

...

tokoyami walked down to where Eri was decorating the rest of the house, the tree may be done but they didn't want Eri to run out of Christmas activities

"oh Eri had the ramen for her lunch since you were out, hope that's all right" Mic was quick to say when he saw him

"That's fine, sorry I didn't have the rest of it when it was first made" Tokoyami apologised but Mic didn't mind

"Think nothing of it, if you can't eat, don't force yourself" Mic assured as he was given his bowl of soba to quickly have for tea, a small portion which tokoyami was grateful for as he was able to finish it

"tokoyami, want to help with the decorating" Eri offered happily as she saw he was finally finished with his tea

"I'm good Eri" Tokoyami stated as he placed the bowel in the dishwasher, after all, it wasn't his house, he couldn't think he could take such a privilege

"Please," Eri asked once more, flashing those adorable red puppy dog eyes, making tokoyami sweat under the pressure

"yeah, you're staying for Christmas, meaning you're part of helping out now" Mic joked as he placed a Santa hat upon the ravens head

(my feathers can't take a break) Tokoyami laughed to himself as shoved the hat just above his eyes

he was surprised by how big the hat was, they usually couldn't hide his head due to his pointed feathers

he was also surprised to see it had the same design that Aizawa had given him back when U.A was celebrating

speaking of his teacher he was currently sleeping in his signature yellow sleeping bag, but also wearing a Christmas hat to complete the look

but his eyes drifted away when a golden snowflake sticker was placed in his hand and told to put it anywhere in the hallway, darkshadow got herself some stickers so she could place them higher

Eri laughed as tokoyami and Mic scolded the quirk for putting them on the ceiling who simply laughed

"Are you excited for Santa eri?" Darkshadow asked as they finished decorating

it looked amazing with the baubles, and twinkling fairy lights dazzling the corridor

Eri nodded excitedly

"daddy and dad said we need to put down a cookie and milk to appease the big red demon" Eri announced

Tokoyami held in a snort, if that wasn't his influence then he was unsure of what was

"Eri, we told you he isn't a demon" Aizawa sighed as he announced he was awake, but still resting his eyes

"Indeed, you are believing in Krampus" tokoyami subconsciously told,

"who's Krampus?" Eri pondered innocently

"I'll tell you when you're older," Tokoyami said as he felt the disapproving stares of his teachers

"yeah, but for now we need to get ready for him" Mic stated as he beckoned the kids into the kitchen

"We need to decorate these cookies and pick one out for Santa" Mic explained as he gave them multiple colours of icing

Tokoyami felt like a kid in primary again, decorating the cookies that he would bring back to his grandfather where they would sit by the fireplace and he would tell stories as he happily ate in wonderment

"you ok tokoyami?" Mic asked as he saw the raven's eyes begin to water

"yes, sorry, just remembering fond memories," tokoyami said as he wiped the tears away

"no need to be sorry kid, would you like to share those memories," Mic asked kindly

tokoyami was a very well-reserved person, right now, he just wanted to remember the man who helped him and loved him till his dying breath

telling them of the tradition he had with cookies, cutting down the trees, building snowmen and the stories, so many stories he was told

and mic, eri and Aizawa listened attentively, giving the raven their full attention, which may or may not have encouraged the bitter-sweet tears rolling down his face

Aizawa placed a reassuring hand on the raven as he finished his retelling

"well your grandfather sounds like a good honest man and raised one himself" Aizawa declared proudly, eri and Mic nodding in agreement

"thank you, sir" Tokoyami cried as Aizawa brought the raven into a hug, knowing that he needed it, Eri joined in as she hugged the raven's leg and was acknowledged by a caring hand resting on her head

when the teenager regained his breath they went to finish the cookies, Eri picking a star-designed one as the rest were ready to be eaten, 1 tonight and the rest for tomorrow as too much sugar meant they would be too tired for the big day

"oh and a carrot for the reindeer!" dark shadow exclaimed as he got it from the fridge, which no one objected too

"all right, everything's all ready for Santa which means you need to get into bed" Aizawa stated as he tiredly got back up from the couch

"can't I see him, dad," Eri asked sadly

"that's unfortunately not the rule kiddo," Mic said as he watch Aizawa hold the girl's hand

"wait, can tokoyami tell me a story before I go to bed," Eri asked Aizawa who proceeded to look at the raven waiting for an answer

"of course, if that is what you wish" Tokoyami smiled affirmatively

"I'll call him in when it's time" Aizawa assured as they walked out of the living room

"psst" the voice of mic whispered to bring the raven's attention to him

"hey kid" mic continued to whisper, pulling him into a side hug and crouching down to his level

"yes?" Tokoyami asked with confusion

"you need wrapping paper?" Mic asked with the strange tone

"you sound like your about to sell us drugs in a dark alley" Darkshadow commented with an annoyed glace

"doesn't answer the question, ya dig," Mic asked as he wasn't stopping this little tangent

"fine yes please" Tokoyami huffed

"coolio, but, you're not from the-" Mic was about to continue before tokoyami gave him the most dead-eyed look he'd seen and he was married to Eraserhead of all people

"Sir" Tokoyami glared dangerously, finding this charade weird and annoying

"all right all right, jeez, if looks could kill" Mic laughed as he threw a tube of gold and red paper a box of labels and sellotape at the raven which darkshadow caught with ease

"the scissors are in the top draws on the left" Mic finished as ran excitedly off, most likely to get the presents

so with a shrug tokoyami grabbed his supplies and got to work

...

after a good few minutes of cutting and sticking he had 5 ready to go presents that he placed under the tree

he didn't care that he wasn't going to get anything, they had been so nice to him that he would have felt guilty if he hadn't

"Tokoyami" Aizawa called as it was clear Eri was waiting on her story

not wanting to keep her waiting he grabbed his water and walked upstairs where Aizawa said to have a good sleep before walking downstairs, clearly to do the act of Santa

tokoyami placed his water quickly in the bedroom and into eris's room where she was hugging a kitten plushy

tokoyami sat at the edge of the bed and thought of a story

then he remembered one he was told a lot as a kid and one he could rehearse word for word

"ok eri, ready" tokoyami asked

"yes, but don't you need a book?" Eri asked with confusion

"fear not, the brain holds more stories than any book" Tokoyami concluded as eri giggled once more at his wording

"Once upon a time, there were two poor brothers who did not get along

but one day something changed their lives forever

a god with golden rings surrounding their head and a flowing white robe came into the world and met with the two

the two were astonished but bowed in greetings

when looking up they saw the god was offering two gifts

one hand held a flower

the other is a crown

the older brother chose the crown which lead to an unfathomable amount of wealth, it's only condition was to use this wealth to help the poor and needy

the younger brother chose the flower leading to a life of unconditional love and healing, the only condition was to share it unconditionally and to spread the kindness

both brothers agreed to which the god began to leave, saying one day they would come back to see if they kept to their word

50 years passed and the god returned

only to be disappointed to see the older brother used his money for selfish gain, giving his fortune to only those who could give him something in return and keeping it to himself

the god came to the older brother who looked with no fear

he paid an army to protect him if the god were ever to return

but as many darts, arrows, cannons and swords tried to piece the god figure it merely phased through

the army shook in their boots, but the god phased by them, they were under the influence of greed and the god took patience in understanding it was not their fault but the provider, the brother

"you fight, because of guilt, consequences are to be met" the god stated to the fearful brother

the brother begged and pleaded for the god to show mercy

to which the god tapped the brother's chest

the god said that unless his younger brother's gift of unconditional love would forgive him he would become charcoal, to convey the darkness of his soul

and so the older brother left his palace hurriedly to where his brother was to be

only to be met with the villagers saying the younger brother had used his gift well until his dying breath

the power of healing took a lot from the brother in effort but he did not mind

when on his death bed he asked for his blood to be drained and to be sprinkled into a field of flowers, providing healing abilities to all that ate them

the older brother was brought to tears, how he could have been so selfish as his younger brother had been so selfless

crying as his charcoal covered his chest

this was his reward for his actions

only to be interrupted by a little girl

he wished for you to have this" the child said as she handed the older brother a heart-shaped flower

eating the flower the darkness surrounding his heart disappeared

looking to the sky in gratitude declared he would use this second chance for good

using his wealth as truly intended

and when he died his only request was to die next to his brother within the cavern they once shared as children, hoping that in the next life he could make amends and be a better older brother

the last this the brother saw was the god as they placed the crown upon his head and a bunch of his younger brother's flowers in his statued hands

after years the cavern was left and protected by the villagers and the descendants in remembrance of this story

the flowers however did not last, but legends say that the only place they grew was within the younger brothers' palms"

Eri looked in sleepy awe at what she was told

Tokoyami's grandfather did always link stories to morals, to always choose love over wealth but to be kind and forgiving

traits he'd hope to pass on to his grandson

and what tokoyami could hope eri would continue

"That was sad but happy" Eri admitted

"I guess the ending was bittersweet, sorry, perhaps it was not the best one to sleep to" Tokoyami apologised as he thought perhaps for Christmas eve it wasn't the most cheery and she was still quite young

"no I liked it, that heroes can help make people better people and the god sounds very patient" Eri explained

"indeed little one, sleep tight," Tokoyami said as he was glad eri got what he had hoped to tell, and so he began to leave so she could sleep

"tokoyami" Eri called before the raven left

"yes?" Tokoyami asked

"Can you sing something, I like your singing voice?" Eri asked as she snuggled into her bedding

"you've heard me sing?" Tokoyami asked curiously as he walked back to the bed

"you were outside reading a book and singing a song, um, two birds on a wire?" Eri explained

tokoyami's feathers poofed in embarrassment, he mustn't have realised

"well ok, but you'll need to sleep soon" Tokoyami said as he began to lie down on the bed next to Eri who happily hugged him, he was tired and honestly sang better when lying down

"what do you want me to sing?" Tokoyami asked

"I don't mind" Eri admitted as she began to close his eyes

so tokoyami thought about what songs he could remember

he wasn't going to start screaming heavy death music at a 6-year-old so other than apple-bottom jeans which Mina made him rehearse to tears there was one more he remembered at this very moment

and so he began to sing silent night

his deep voice, smooth as caramel helped to keep the melody calm and light

singing themselves to sleep as darkshadow returned to his respected sleeping spot

the three being found in blissful sleep and a picture taken by two proud-looking parents

...

"Tokoyami!" the screaming excited voice of Eri awoke the raven with a start

jumping on the bed and moving the raven himself as he blinked awake in a haze, wondering what on earth was happening

"Santa's been!" Eri quickly explained as she began pulling both tokoyami's and dark shadows wrists downstairs

Tokoyami merely allowed this as they hurried down the stairs in which Santa had truly had been

carrot and cookie eaten with crumbs as proof and a half-drank glass of milk, footprints of snow covering the floor and of course

the presents

Aizawa was there holding a cup of coffee in hand as Mic readied Christmas breakfast

"morning and merry Christmas kids" Mic announced happily which Aizawa nodded as enthusiastically as he could

"good morning" Tokoyami and Eri bowed

"After we eat breakfast we can open presents" Aizawa stated as he saw the excited gleam in his daughter's eyes

"which is ready to be eaten so dig in" Mic stated as he finished putting the food on golden plates, a Christmas privilege, along with glasses that had candy cane-designed straws with them

5 of them are to be told

tokoyami was about to question before a figure came flying in

"Merry Christmas all" the voice of hawks welcomed

"hawks" eri, tokoyami and darkshadow in unison questioned with surprise

"I said I'd be here for Christmas" hawks reminded as he sat himself down

that was true, but tokoyami didn't believe he would this early, not that tokoyami was complaining, he was happy to know he wasn't just coming and leaving

so without complaint, there was a new addition to this widely happened Christmas family

finishing breakfast and like a cat, with a laser pointer Eri ran to the living room

the rest are not too far behind

the first gifts were of course from "Santa" as eri received plushies, drawing and writing books as well as some puzzle games and playsets which also held the name of her dads, which made eri give plenty of hugs

then came the more personal presents

"the ones in red and gold are from fumi" Darkshadow called as Eri found a different the coloured present with her name on it

with a nod from Aizawa, she opened the present carefully

revealing a big thick book with pictures of ancient and mystical beasts covering the front

"I believed you'd have some interest and this book will explain what the ancient beasts are along with their tales" Tokoyami explained as eri held the book close

"I love it, thank you tokoyami" Eri thanked as she rushed to hug the raven

"you can call me fumikage if you wish" tokoyami offered as he believed they had grown close enough to be on first names by now

"thank you fumikage!" Eri repeated as she was happy to be so close

the adults smiled as they moved from the couch and towards the tree where it was revealed to have a second sack of presents

only this time, it was for tokoyami

"Sirs I-" Tokoyami began to refuse before they cut him off

"These are from Eri, eraser and me, we want you to have them" Mic stated as they knew what the raven was going to say

"thank you but I couldn't possibly, you've already done so much" Tokoyami tried humbly only for hawks to squeeze his shoulder, providing comfort and allowing Aizawa to say his words

"kid, for once just relax and let yourself be treated, no strings attached, we want to do this just because we want you to have a nice Christmas" Aizawa confirmed

Tokoyami looked around as he watched the encouraging faces awaiting him to enjoy the gifts in front of him

maybe for once, he could let himself be spoilt

so tokoyami reached in for one present and began to open

all the gifts were fully appreciated and beautiful

a new fluffy coat with matching gloves and scarf, a purple sword that glowed purple, courtesy of a gift Eri picked out along with a silver necklace with a ruby designed like an apple, purple and black coloured skull candles, a black notebook and fluffy black snake plushie for darkshadow

"thank you, I'll cherish them all" Tokoyami declared tearfully before quickly running to get the last of the gifts and handing them out to the rest of the teachers

The mic was given a small crystal orb that when someone singed electricity bounced against the walls

Aizawa was given lavender-scented candles that didn't stain clothes or in aizawas yellow sleeping bag

and finally for hawks

he was given a picture frame that had a raven on the left side engraved, a hawk engraved on the right and a fire engraved on the bottom middle

combining all of hawks' favourite things together

hawks looked at this gift in awe

"I'm sorry it isn't much but I hope you like them" tokoyami bowed in the hopes

"it's perfect" hawks whispered as he held the frame like the most delicate feather in existence

"agreed, thank you tokoyami" Aizawa added as he planned to use the candles as much as he could in class

"I'm glad you like them," tokoyami said as he watched hawks place the frame carefully on the table, glad he didn't have to worry about being so worried about money for once and was able to spend it to provide joy to others

"but don't think I forgot kid, it's just my gifts back at my flat" hawks began

"you have a flat?" darkshadow questioned sceptically as they were being patted by Eri, who was very much stuck in her book

"yeah, decided to get one, thought it be better to separate work and my job life" Hawks chuckled

"that's fair, are we going today?" Tokoyami shrugged before asking

"yeah, when you're ready to take off," Hawks said, although he did seem to be getting nervous

"We don't have any plans left till dinner for Christmas lunch so you two get going" Aizawa advised, giving hawks a stare that only the two knew meant

and so the two were off once more

...

tokoyami was glad that Hawks was finally taking care of himself

how many times he'd get back from patrol and see his mentor practically asleep as he wrote on the computer

tokoyami hoped this would help him to separate home from work if all his stuff was the food was in a different place

but it would be still as lonely

tokoyami hadn't forgotten how his mentor said he was the closest thing he had to family

they were two birds of a feather in that sense, tokoyami couldn't help but chuckle bitterly

to be dealt with such familiarly bad cards

these two weeks had been the best, but he couldn't expect Aizawa or Mic to do anymore, they already had Eri who was dealt with even worse cards to provide for, it would be selfish to expect them to take him in, even awkward as eraser was his teacher, after all, so no, even if they did offer he wasn't sure he could accept or would accept

but if-

the raven's thoughts were interrupted when two sets of hands covered his eyes

which in the air made the raven panic

"relax chic, just don't wanna ruin the surprise" hawks reassured as he lead the raven to land

tokoyami trusted his mentor

had grown to care for him like a weird older brother or uncle figure, maybe a father? he wasn't sure, after all, he never had any

but even with one of his senses covered, he couldn't help but trust him

"ok kid, open your eyes" hawks whispered as he lifted his hands

it took the ravens eyes to adjust but when they did he still couldn't believe what he was seeing

they were on the top of an apartment, where twinkling golden lights covered the railings, pronouncing the arrival of a strong and very familiar tree, no leaves and covered in glistening white snow

"what is this?" Tokoyami questioned as he looked in disbelief

"you said the trees are important to you and I don't want to say but there was word of a construction crew going to try and make more houses, I didn't-" Hawks began to explain shakily

only to feel a sudden impact at his side

the raven hugging him tightly as he began to cry

"oh buddy" hawks muttered as he held the raven close

"I'm sorry buddy, I didn't mean" hawks began to apologise, he honestly didn't want this to upset the raven

"no, I just, I love it, thank you, it means a lot" Tokoyami interrupted as he expressed that they were not tears of sadness but of joy

"Anything for you kid" Hawks promised

then gathering his courage he did what he wanted to do after all these days of sticking his head in the sand, he was ready

"speaking of" Hawks began

"yes?" Tokoyami asked

"I've been kinda nervous asking you this but I was just wondering" Hawks continued shakily, trying to stay calm

"yes?" darkshadow asked this time

"Well, um, the truth is I meant what I said when I said you're the closest thing to a family, one I've never had and, well, I see you as my chick, I've always said this, but, I do mean it kid...so...um, if you want to, would like to live with me? here and be a sort of family, together" Hawks offered, shaking with sobs

a moment of silence filled the void before a big smile came upon the raven's beak

"yes! yes, I would love that!" Tokoyami exclaimed as tears of happiness

and so the two hugged each other, crashing to the floor on the knees, too weak to stand anymore

"oh thank god" Hawks cried as he held the raven closer

snow swirling the two as they cried and laughed with the promise of a better life for the two

as a newfound family

...

(1 year later)

"Eri, your cousin and uncle are here" the voice of Aizawa called as he saw two familiar faces appear in the window

"fumi!" Eri yelled as she ran to where the door opened revealing the two birds all bundled up in their winter gear, the raven refusing to wear any other coat than the one before

"hello Eri, how are you this merry eve?" tokoyami asked as he picked the little girl up as she began to tell him all the gifts she had gotten, leading him to her pile

"Hi hawks, how ya doing" Mic greeted as he watched the kids walk into the living room

"we're doing good, just got back from the todoroki's, endeavours been allowed back but as long as we came so I could annoy him, but nice to see toko talk with that shoto kid, two sides of the same coin" hawks joked as he put his coat on the bannister

just thinking about their family situation made him shudder, at least with tokoyami there wasn't too much

he went into a courtroom, asking to adopt the raven and by the end of 2 weeks last year he was officially his kid, the money from his family was cut off so tokoyami never had to have any contact with them ever again, and they were over the moon

"well I hope you didn't stock up on food while you were there" Aizawa grumbled as he began to place the plates and Christmas crackers

"he had a bucket of chicken" dark shadows voice peaked concerning the conversation

"I'm not raising a grass!" Hawks said with a sing-song tone

"Well I hope you're wearing your loose pants cus tea is finished" Mic stated as dinner was set

filled to the brim with pigs in blankets, mash, gravy, carrots, parsnips, stuffing and all the goodies, although no sprouts as everyone refused to eat them much to Aizawa's annoyance, even at Christmas he couldn't escape being a dad to problematic children, and that included the number 2 hero and his husband

regardless everyone sat down and began to dig in

"Can I have some more parsnips please?" Tokoyami asked as it was clear his appetite was much better

even hawks who were now in the mindset of a parent realised living on KFC wasn't the healthiest decision and also asked for extra carrots

in between the meal they began to pull their crackers, filled with horribly punny jokes, little toys like bouncy balls and hopping frogs and of course the Christmas hats

"Merry Christmas fumikage" Hawks with a red crown whispered as he placed a purple coloured crown on his child's head

"Merry Christmas Keigo" tokoyami whispered back as he pushed the hat up properly

"who's ready for CAKE!" Mic screamed as he pulled out a triple chocolate cheesecake

"Mic let their food rest first" Aizawa scolded as the rest laughed at the blond's antics

the laughter filled the room as the two birds matched the very picture that was placed in the bronze picture frame given the very first Christmas they had together, hands around shoulders and hugging each other close, eyes closed and mouths opened echoing the laughter of mirth for many more years to come

#tokoyami #fumikage tokoyami #hawks #hawks mha #bnha dark shadow #bnha tokoyami #mha tokoyami #my hero academia #president mic #mha eri #bnha eri #my hero acadamia christmas #christmas special #wattpad #mha fanfiction

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Text

Lasting Friendship

The following chapter is a snippet from Always.

Summary: A fistful of sand to the face is the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.

"Holy shit," Yoshiko said for the millionth time as they inspected the burning house with a few police officers. It was burnt to a crisp. Even though it had been a few hours since the fire was put out, the house was still warm enough to bring sweat to their foreheads.

Yoshiko followed Hawks and Tokoyami into the garage. The car was still there, destroyed after having exploded.

"Holy sh-" She started again.

"Enough with the shits." Dark Shadow interrupted. Yoshiko rolled her eyes and walked around the car, making sure not to touch anything since the officers had asked them not to interfere with any evidence.

"If the car's still here..." Yoshiko chewed on her bottom lip, thinking of what happened to the people who lived there.

"I think so..." Hawks muttered, reading her mind. "Almost everything's been burnt into ashes and crisps... it's possible."

Yoshiko opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She felt bad for whoever lived here.

"Well, there's nothing for us to do here now," Hawks said, marching out of the garage into the deep of the night, followed by Tokoyoami and Yoshiko. "The police will inform us if they find out what happened."

"Do you think it's a homicide?" Tokoyami asked.

"It's difficult to tell," Hawks said. "It could have been because something caught on fire. But dont worry your little heads about it. We'll get to know soon."

"Our heads aren't little." Yoshiko and Tokoyami murmured. Hawks chuckled and put his hands on their heads.

"After you write your reports on the patrol, you can go home," Hawks said.

"Why, thank you." Yoshiko slapped his hand away jokingly. Hawks put his hand on his forehead dramatically, making Tokoyami mutter something about being childish.

The interns hurriedly wrote a report of their patrol, eager to get to the dorms and get some sleep. Luckily it was the weekend tomorrow, so no hero work for Tokoyami and Yoshiko. They changed into their casual clothes and waved Hawks goodbye.

When Yoshiko got to her room, she found Bear already asleep in his little bed. Yoshiko smiled and kissed his forehead. She fell into her bed, falling into something hard.

"Ow!" She heard Shinsou. Yoshiko pulled the blankets and found Shinsou holding his nose.

"Oh, Hitoshi. What are you doing here?" Yoshiko laughed, surprised to find him asleep in her room. He sleepily rubbed an eye and propped up on one elbow to face Yoshiko.

"Your mattress is comfortable." He said. Yoshiko rolled her eyes and nudged him to make some space for her. He shifted a little, making space for her.

"How was your shift," Sinsou asked, closing his eyes, voice rumbling in his chest.

"It was fine, I guess," Yoshiko replied. "We saw a house on fire, but there was no one inside."

"Oh?"

"I just hope they got out in time..." Yoshiko mumbled. Shinsou didnt reply, his breathing becoming even and soft. The idiot fell asleep.

"Stupid," Yoshiko muttered. "Good night." She put the blankets on top of them and turned her back to him, falling asleep.

｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

When Yoshiko woke up, Shinsou was gone for his work-study with Aizawa. Bear was licking her face, begging her to wake up. Yoshiko giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him beside her. The dog barked, nuzzling into her.

After a cuddling session, Yoshiko took her phone to check her texts. On the top were a few texts from Shinsou, telling her that he kept the pancakes plate on her bookshelf, away from Bear and that he'd already fed Bear. Yoshiko smiled to herself and thanked him.

She reached for the top shelf where Shinsou had kept the pancakes. While eating breakfast, she decided to train and do her homework at the beach. She wore a navy blue bikini under her baggy white tee and denim shorts, throwing in a pair of sandals to go with her fit. She packed her physics book and a few drinks in her bag. She put on a collar on Bear and set out.

When she got to their private beach, she took out an old bedsheet from her bag and put it down on the sand, a little distance away from the sea. Bear barked happily, trotting towards the sea. He looked back at Yoshiko, chocolate-brown eyes asking for approval while his tail wagged wildly. Yoshiko chuckled and showed him a thumbs-up. He jumped in the water, splashing and swimming.

Yoshiko took off her shirt and shorts, put on sunscreen and lay on sheets, hands under her head. It was a sunny day accompanied by a nice breeze. Yoshiko let out a content sigh and lay on her stomach, taking her physics textbook out of her bag. As she studied, she stored some sunlight, her eyes and hair glowing gold.

It was a perfect day.

Until her fucking phone rang.

Yoshiko sighed, fishing her phone out of her bag. She rolled her eyes when she saw 'Incoming call from Rabid Pomeranian' on the screen. Yoshiko clicked the green button, putting the phone on speaker. "Thanks for ruining my day."

"Hah?" Bakugo said from the other side of the phone.

"You obviously didnt call for hi's and hello's so get on with it," Yoshiko said, skimming a page of her textbook. She didnt understand a thing. Stupid projectiles.

"Well ex-fucking-cuse you, but you agreed we'd spar on Saturday." Bakugo reminded her. Yoshiko pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I agreed 'cause you wouldn't fucking shut up about it."

"Well, too bad. Wait, are you outside?" Bakugo asked, hearing the waves on Yoshiko's end.

"Yeah, I'm at the beach." She replied. She glanced at her textbook one more time when an idea popped into her head. "Hey Bakugo, I'll spar with you if you help me with physics."

"I 'aint yer damn teacher."

"Very well. Goodby-"

"WAIT!" He yelled, making Yoshiko scrunch her nose in annoyance. "I'll fucking tutor you."

"Good boy."

"I'll fucking murder you. Send me your location."

"I'm at the same beach we sparred at a few times before," Yoshiko replied.

"Okay." He said gruffly and hung up.

Yoshiko sighed, sitting on her knees. She glanced at Bear, who was still splashing in the water. She put on her shirt and shorts, laying back down again. She lay on her stomach, cheek squished on the back of her hands, her textbook under her. The sunlight hit her head, making her feel warm and cosy.

I'll catch a nap while Bakugo arrives...

｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

"Yosh, wake up." A familiar male voice tried waking her up. Yoshiko mumbled a, 'Get lost'. "Yoshiko, wake up, stupid."

Yoshiko clicked her tongue and opened her eyes ever so slightly. She saw a blur of shaggy black hair with white ends.

"Godamnit, Yoshiko, stop being so lazy." He shook her by the shoulders. With eyes closed, Yoshiko tried remembering why she knew the voice when it hit her.

It was Daisuke's voice.

Yoshiko's eyes snapped open.

｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

Bakugo jumped over the fences that separated Yoshiko's 'rich mom's' private area from the rest of the Beach. He spotted Bear playing in the water, his barks being audible from quite a distance. When Bear saw Bakugo, he came running towards him. Bakugo dug his feet into the ground, preparing himself for the impact, grinning at the dog.

Bear pounced on Bakugo, his tail wagging. Bakugo fell back as Bear licked his face. "Look who's in a good mood," Bakugo said, ruffling the dog's fur. Bear barked in response. He 'hated' Yoshiko but absolutely loved her dog since he seemed to be friendlier with Bakugo.

Bear lead Bakugo to Yoshiko. Bakugo clicked his tongue when he saw her asleep on her textbook. She asked him to come here and fell asleep on him.

"Oi, wake up," Bakugo said, squatting down. She mumbled a 'get lost' and went back to sleep.

Bakugo took note of her two-tone hair glowing gold, casting a soft glow on her freckled face. Bakugo found it difficult to swallow the longer he looked at her. Her face was void of any anger or mischief, replaced with peace. She's so beautiful, I hate her. When Bear barked, Bakugo realised he'd been staring like an idiot.

"Wake up, stupid," Bakugo yelled, shaking her a little. "Godamnit, stop bein' so lazy."

She suddenly sat up straight, eyes wide open, staring into his ruby eyes. "Dais- Oh, Bakugo." Bakugo knitted his eyebrows at the name she was about to say.

"Dont ask me to come meet you when you're gonna fucking sleep on me." Bakugo huffed, sitting crossed-legged on the sheet. Yoshiko stretched her arms above her head, a satisfying pop escaping her shoulders.

"The sun felt so good~," She said.

"What are you? A cat?" Bakugo scoffed at her response. Yoshiko rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Cat, plant, solar panel, chloroplast. I'm all in one."

"Weirdo. What does your lazy ass want help with." Bakugo asked, absently patting Bear's head in his lap. Yoshiko moved some hair out of her face and showed Bakugo the topic she needed help with.

"Fucking projectiles." She muttered.

"You're so dumb," Bakugo stated.

"Hah? You wanna fight?" Yoshiko glared at him.

"Aint that what I'm here for?" Bakugo smirked.

"You'll get your fight if you manage to make me understand this shit." She pointed a painted nail to her textbook.

"Yeah, yeah, let's get on with it." Bakugo rolled his eyes.

Bakugo's tutoring mostly consisted of yelling at Yoshiko whenever she got stuck, which resulted in her snapping back at him. After he explained an example for the fifth time, he gave her a similar question to try out, which she royally messed up.

"Goddamnit, how can you be this stupid, Solar Panel!" Bakugo yelled, running a hand through his blonde locks. Yoshiko just crossed her arms across her chest and huffed.

"You're just a bad teacher!"

"You're just stupid!" He shot back. "I'm gonna explain another one, and your ass better listen with open ears."

Yoshiko leaned closer, watching him scribble down another question out of his head. "Say you throw a grenade at thirty degrees with an initial speed of twenty metres per second from the ground." Yoshiko bit her lip, stifling a giggle at his choice of object being thrown. "We gotta find its range, height and time of flight. Quick, give me the formulas."

Yoshiko dictated the formulas for him, and he wrote them down and plugged in the formulas.

"Now, first, find the initial horizontal and vertical components of the velocity using trigonometry. Then, you use these equations to find the range, height, and time of flight." He did some calculations on the side and jotted the answers down. "The range is forty metres, height is five metres, and time of flight is two seconds."

Bakugo looked at Yoshiko expectantly, hoping his explanation registered in that stupid head of hers.

"Oh. Okay, I get it." Yoshiko said. She took the notebook from him and tried a question from the exercise on her own. Bakugo watched her scratch her head and scribble down in the notebook. When she was done with the question, she handed him the notebook so he could check her answers.

"Fuckin' finally," Bakugo said.

"It's correct?"

"Yes."

"Oh, cool, I'm going to try some more."

"No. We're sparring right n-"

"Shut up."

Yoshiko completed a whole other exercise while Bakugo nagged her to hurry up. She slapped his arm and put on her headset, putting her volume on full so she couldn't hear Bakugo's yelling.

"Okay, I'm done," Yoshiko said, dumping her books and stationery back in her backpack. Bakugo grunted and stood up.

"Thanks. You're still a bad teacher, though." Yoshiko teased.

"Die."

"We're not sparring with quirks, by the way. Bear might get hurt."

"Whatever."

Yoshiko gave Bear a chew toy and asked him to stay put since she knew he might pounce on Bakugo, thinking he was actually hurting her. Yoshiko patted Bear's head and walked towards Bakugo, who was stretching his muscles.

Bakugo watched Yoshiko with a smirk as she put her hair up in a tight bun. Oh, how he wanted to beat the shit out of her. "Best of three matches wins," Bakugo said.

"Fine with me," Yoshiko said, getting into her fight stance.

Bakugo charged first, and they fell into a rhythm of punches and kicks. They had memorized each other's attack patterns, dodging and ducking with ease. Bear got too close to them a few times, and Yoshiko had to shoo him off, reassuring him that Bakugo wasn't hurting her.

Yoshiko won the first match, and Bakugo won the second. They were on to the third.

They fought for several minutes, neither willing to give up or back down, eager to prove to the other that they were the best one. And this match would be the one that decided who won. They had bruises and cuts on their faces and arms, but they did not care. The world around them became a blur as they focused on only one another, punching, kicking, dodging, breathing.

They threw their fists at each other at the same time, their fists colliding. Yoshiko felt a surge of pain in her knuckles, but she did not flinch. They grinned animalistically at each other, trying to throw each other off balance as they were stuck in a stalemate, waiting for the other to fall down.

Yoshiko felt her spine lean backwards as Bakugo tried throwing her off balance. Goddamnit, he had more power than she did. A change of plans.

Yoshiko slipped her wrist past his guard and threw a hook to his jaw. Yoshiko raised her leg and front-kicked his chest, sending him flying backwards. He fell onto the sand with a thud. Yoshiko wasted no time in digging her knee into his stomach, grabbing his bicep with one hand and his face with the other.

Bakugo's vision blurred as his head spun. It took him a few seconds to realise that he lost the match.

"I win," Yoshiko said, removing her hand from his face. Her knee was still on his stomach, her hands beside his head as she hovered over him, panting. Her hair came undone, curtaining his face from the beach around him. Bakugo's breath caught in his chest as he stared into the silver of her eyes.

Yoshiko got off him, standing up and putting her hands on her hips, taking deep breaths.

Bakugo sat up, crossing his legs as he watched her walk towards her bag with a surge of emotions in his chest. He felt a mix of anger, disappointment and maybe... respect? He hated to admit it, but he was starting to like sparring with her.

Yoshiko returned with Bear on her heels. She had a bottle of cold orange juice touch his cheek, making him jump.

"Oi!" Bakugo yelled. Yoshiko laughed and sat across from him on the sand, handing him the bottle. Her white shirt had gotten messy with sand. He took the bottle from her and uncapped it, taking big sips out of it, feeling his insides cool.

"You've got a few gashes and bruises on your face," Yoshiko said, silver eyes inspecting his jaw, where a light purple bruise sat.

"Same for you," Bakugo grunted. Yoshiko took a swig from her bottle and scooted closer to him, making Bakugo knit his eyebrows.

When her hair started floating slightly and glowing golden, he realised she was going to heal him. "I dont need your stupid healing."

"Shut the fuck up." Yoshiko deadpanned. She cupped his cheek, her hand glowing gold. Bakugo felt her touch electrify his face, and he felt that warm and fuzzy feeling he felt once before when she healed his cut. He felt the pain from his jaw fade away. She took his hands in hers, where a few cuts and bruises lay on his knuckles, healing away that too.

When she was done, she withdrew her hand. She fell onto her back, letting out a content sigh.

"Ah~ That was a great match." She said, closing her eyes.

"Whatever," Bakugo muttered, not taking his eyes off her.

"We should workout together."

"Thats if your lazy ass can keep up."

"It's decided then." Yoshiko said, opening an eye and smirking at him.

The strange sensation in his chest was back. He felt a connection with her. A connection he didnt feel with anyone else. She was so much like him. He was finding it difficult to hate her with every passing day.

Maybe he didnt really hate her.

Bear bought Yoshiko a stick, and she got up, throwing the stick. Bear ran after it. As Bakugo watched her, a question he'd been wanting to ask came floating to his mind. He got up and brushed the sand off his sweatpants.

"Oi, Solar Panel," Bakugo said, standing beside her, watching Bear run towards them with the stick.

"I have a name, you know?" Yoshiko said. "How difficult is it to say Akimitsu?" Bear gave her the stick, and she threw it again, sending Bear after it.

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "Okay. I was going to ask why you failed the entrance test? You must've been a big idiot last year."

Yoshiko froze for a second. Bear handed Bakugo the stick, and Bakugo threw it far away with full force, sending the dog yapping after it. Yoshiko bit her lip, studying Bakugo's bored face. He was her partner, and he seemed to be bringing up that question every time they spared. Plus, he didnt seem to be the type to go around telling people. When Bear came again with the stick, she took it from him and threw it.

"Only Hitoshi and a few teachers know of this," Yoshiko said, walking towards the shore, letting the water hit her ankles. Bakugo followed her, rolling his sweatpants up. She took a deep breath. "Before I tell you anything, I'm gonna ask you to keep your pity to yourself. I hate that shit."

"Hah, as if I do that shit."

Despite her heavy heart, she gave Bakugo a smile.

"Last year, a month before the entrance exam, my brother died." It felt difficult for Yoshiko to say these words. It felt like the words were looking at her in the face and screaming that it was a lie. Even after a year, Yoshiko felt like she couldn't let her brother go.

"Oh."

Another deep breath. "And It was like I lost the will to do anything. I tried to train, but it would end up with me falling to my knees and crying like a pathetic bitch. I just... couldn't bring myself to face reality."

I still can't.

"And for cherry on top, my ex broke up with me three days before the exam."

Another 'Oh.' from Bakugo. Yoshiko laughed to herself and ran a hand down her face. "During the exam, I did nothing. All I could think of was my ex and my dead brother. I did get 10 points, but you can't exactly get in with that much."

"Duh."

"Well, anyways. I'm here now. It doesn't matter." Yoshiko said, watching Bear splash in the water. Bakugo watched her side profile. She looked like she needed to let a ton of shit out of her chest. But he didnt bother pressing her for more.

"What breed is he?" Bakugo asked, changing the topic to save them the awkwardness. Yoshiko was grateful for that.

"He's a Newfoundland dog," Yoshiko said, lovingly smiling at Bear.

"They usually this big?"

"Mhm. They're really strong work dogs. They were companions in vessels to help haul nets and retrieve people from the sea." Bear came trotting to Yoshiko. She bent down and ruffled his fur. Bear barked happily and looked at Bakugo, wagging his tail. Bakugo held his hand out, and Bear nuzzled into his palm.

"He likes you." Yoshiko laughed.

"As he should."

"You're not very likeable, though," Yoshiko said. Bakugo pushed Yoshiko, causing her to fall down. Yoshiko looked up at Bakugo with a smirk, making him raise an eyebrow.

She discreetly took a fistful of sand, and when he busied himself with babying Bear, she threw it at him. Bakugo slowly turned his face to her, his aura darkening. He chased her as she shrieked, using explosions to boost her speed. Bear barked and chased after them.

Little did they know, a fistful of sand to the face is the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.

｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

#bakugo #katsuki #bakugou #katsuki bakugo #kacchan #bnha #mha #wattpad #bakugoxoc #bakugo x oc #bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugou #bakugo katuski #mha oc

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silvfyre-writings · 2 years

Text

Don't Hurt the Bird Pt. 5 (MHA Fanfic)

The next chapter arrives! I hope you enjoy the dialogue because I truly tried my best haha. Dialogue is hard.

I’m with the League. The League of Villain’s is actually right in front of me. Am I going to die? Is this just some elaborate plot of Dabi’s to silence me? Does he know I know about him and Hawks? Tokoyami’s thoughts ran wild as he stared at Toga Himiko, and the man in the mask that was standing beside her. Dabi was still in front of him, one arm protectively keeping him behind the scarred villain. No… he came when I called for help. And Hawks wouldn’t let him kill me.

“Toga, my dear, the boy has a name. He is not ‘Hawks’ child’ as you called him.” The masked man sighed, although Tokoyami found it hard to tell what the man could possibly be thinking underneath the mask.

“Well, duh, I know that. But I don’t actually know his name.” Toga whined, stomping one foot against the floor. Then her attention was back on Tokoyami. “What’s your name? Why are you here? Where’s Hawks? Is he okay? We—”

“Toga, shut it.” Dabi interrupted, shooing the girl away as she tried to sneak closer. “Who else is here, Compress?”

“Spinner’s upstairs, Twice is out getting snacks, and Kurogiri disappeared to let the boss man know you were bringing a guest.” The masked man—Compress—said. “Why? What’s going on, Dabi?”

“Turn the TV on. The news channel.” Was all Dabi said, making no move to do so himself. Tokoyami wondered if it was because the villain felt that he had to protect him? And while he would normally be able to protect himself; he hadn’t been able to summon Dark Shadow since the attack at the hospital. He hoped that his quirk hadn’t been damaged. He liked having Dark Shadow around, especially since he’d gotten much better at controlling it lately.

Compress stared at Dabi for a moment, before walking over to the battered television in what must’ve been the living room—at least, Tokoyami thought it was a living room—and turned the device on. He had a feeling that if Dabi had had made such a demand normally, the man would’ve had something to say about it. A kids cartoon appeared on the screen, but quickly vanished as Compress pushed buttons to change the channel until the sound of a news reporter came on. Tokoyami recognized the news reporter as one who appeared on the morning news. Was it really morning already?

“—news just in; there was an attack late last night at the hospital that Pro Hero Hawks is recovering in. It is said that the villain, Dabi, along with the UA student, Tokoyami Fumikage, attempted to murder Hawks, but were stopped by a brave nurse that managed to call for help despite suffering grievous injuries. Unfortunately, both villain and student escaped, and their whereabouts are unknown. If you—”

Tokoyami couldn’t believe what he was hearing; couldn’t believe how fast the news had caught wind of what happened, even though they were completely wrong. He knew that his classmates would be hearing this, his teachers, his parents, everyone that knew him would be seeing this. But there wasn’t time for him to dwell on that, for he could feel the eyes of everyone in the room swivel to stare at him. Tokoyami’s body tensed. “It’s not true.” He couldn’t help but say; but his voice was weak—scared.

Those few words were enough to snap the villains out of their staring. Compress was the first to speak. “Dabi… what exactly happened last night?”

“The kid here almost got himself murdered, that’s what happened.” Dabi huffed. “The nurse that we supposedly attacked? Nah, she attempted to murder the kid here. He managed to call me for help—although birdbrain tried to fly and nearly ripped himself open. So, I promised Hawks I’d save his precious intern and protect him until shit could get sorted.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet of you, Dabi!” Toga crooned, her smile growing even wider. “All that time, you say you don’t care, but you do! Did you manage to give Hawks a great big—mmph!” A hand slapped itself over Toga’s mouth, effectively stopping the girl midsentence.

Tokoyami had an idea of what she’d been about to say.

“Hush, Toga. There’re more important things to worry about right now.” Compress scolded. “It sounds like quite the show is starting. What’s your plan, Dabi? Why’d you bring the kid here? Don’t you think his school will come looking for him like they did with young Bakugo?”

“He’s safer here for now, than out there.” Dabi argued.

“We are villains. Tokoyami here is a hero.” Compress continued to say, the man starting to sound rather stressed. Tokoyami found it weird to hear his name come from a villain’s mouth; to be honest, he found it weird to have them even know his real name.

“I know.” Dabi ground out. The grip the villain had on Tokoyami’s arm tightened. “But you heard those stupid reporters. They think the kids a culprit. And his teacher didn’t exactly hurry to help.”

Tokoyami flinched, Dabi’s words hitting the sorest spot of all. He didn’t understand why Aizawa had hesitated in that moment, or why he’d gone on the defensive once Tokoyami tried to approach, but he really hoped that it had just been a misunderstanding; that his teacher didn’t think he’d actually try to kill someone.

His flinch hadn’t gone unnoticed either, for he suddenly found himself face to face with Toga, the girl wearing an unreadable expression. Tokoyami froze; he’d heard from Uraraka and Asui what Toga was like, how terrifying she actually was. Yet the girl that was currently staring at him seemed like an ordinary high school kid like himself. Does she even go to school?

“You wouldn’t hurt Hawks, would you?” Toga asked, overly cautious for a person he’d heard was very impulsive.

“Toga.” Dabi warned.

“It’s okay.” Tokoyami said, finally finding his voice. “I would never hurt my mentor. He’s taught me a lot, and I respect him greatly. They lied. The nurse attacked me for knowing too much.”

“Knowing too much?” Compress stepped forward this time, although he still kept his distance, for which Tokoyami appreciated. “What do you mean?”

Tokoyami glanced up at Dabi, silently pleading for the villain to explain, especially since it was his theory after all—Tokoyami had just believed in it. He also didn’t know any details of Dabi’s theory outside of the foul play that the villain truly believed was happening. Thankfully, Dabi noticed his look and rolled his eyes. “What he means, is that someone tried to silence the kid for telling the truth about what happened to Hawks when they were attacked by that wannabe villain.”

“Oh? Is this that theory you mentioned? The one about the Hero Commission?” Compress asked. “I didn’t think you’d found solid proof of it.”

Dabi jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. Right towards him. “The kids the proof.” The villain stepped away from him and gestured towards Toga and Compress with a sweeping motion. “Go on. Tell them what you told me. About what happened with Hawks.”

Tokoyami blinked, not quite understanding what Dabi was getting at. But he did as the villain said, and retold the story of the villain attack once again, making sure to leave out no details. He started out uncertain, struggling to get through the first few sentences, but a quick glance showed that the villains were listening intently, and that was enough for his confidence to return and his words grew stronger. Once he was finished, he then continued to speak, telling them everything else that had happened; how he’d run into Dabi, how his classmates told him a different story, what the nurse said to him and then did later on that night. He told them everything up until Dabi had rescued him.

Silence followed his words, and Tokoyami shifted uneasily. He couldn’t tell what the villains were thinking; if they were thinking at all. The silence eventually lasted long enough that Tokoyami suddenly wasn’t sure the villains had listened at all. Maybe they didn’t believe him either.

He wouldn’t blame them.

“Oh, you poor child.” Compress was the first to break the silence, the man coming over and drawing Tokoyami into a one-armed embrace. Tokoyami stiffened at the unexpected touch. “You’ve been through so much in such a short time. Truly despicable.”

“You kidnapped my classmate.”

“Ah, details, details.” Compress waved a hand—Tokoyami noticed that it was made of metal when he distinctly remembered it not being like that at the training camp—in a very articulate gesture. “We thought we were saving your classmate, but alas, the boy could not be convinced.”

“I’m not turning into a villain.” Tokoyami said.

“And we would not ask you to. But rest assured, that while we may be villains, Hawks means a lot to us which means that you do as well, since you are a precious person to Hawks. So we will keep you safe.”

“Enough with the theatrics, Compress. I might puke.” Dabi huffed, making his way over to the couch and climbing over the back of it. Tokoyami was not surprised in the slightest when the villain kicked off his boots and rested his socked feet on the table in front of him. Why he expected Dabi to have manners, he didn’t know.

“Honestly, young people have no respect for the fine arts these days.”

“Oh, I do. Just not from you.”

As Compress and Dabi continued to bicker, the former moving over to join Dabi on the couch, Toga giggled and sidled up closer towards Tokoyami. He fought the urge to step away. Something told him the that Toga didn’t mean him any harm, at least for now. He was a little thankful for it, only because Dabi had abandoned him to play some sort of drama on the television, without telling him what to do. And Tokoyami didn’t dare sit down where he might be murdered.

“So.” Toga began, her smile widening. Tokoyami wondered for a moment if smiling that widely actually hurt a person. “How are Izuku and Ochaco doing? Are they doing well? Studying hard?”

“They are fine.” Tokoyami said. Dabi please, I don’t know how to talk to this person.

“You seem confused, Fumikage.” Toga continued. “Is something bothering you?”

This whole situation is bothering me. “Please do not call me that.” Tokoyami shuddered. The only one who’d ever been allowed to call him by his first name was Dark Shadow, and that was because you couldn’t really argue with something that was apart of you. “I am just… conflicted, that’s all.”

“Because we’re villains?”

“I guess so.” Tokoyami frowned. “You all are villains, yet you have been nothing but… polite to me, someone who wants to be hero. I just don’t understand.”

“What’s not to understand?” Toga tilted her head. “You’re precious to Hawks, and Hawks is precious to us!”

“But why? Why is Hawks precious to you?” That was what confused Tokoyami the most. From what he was hearing, it sounded like Hawks was friends with the League of Villains, which wasn’t something anyone would want to hear about the Number Two hero. But then again, anything was possible now since he’d learnt the truth about Dabi and Hawks’ relationship. Still, he wanted to hear it from the villains themselves.

“You don’t know?” Toga’s smile dropped from her face. “Hawks—”

“Don’t.” Dabi was looking at the both of them now, his argument with Compress forgotten. The look in the villain’s face promised fire if either he or Toga continued to speak. “He doesn’t know anything. Don’t betray Hawks’ trust.”

“But he needs to know!” Toga argued.

Yes, I would like to know. Tokoyami thought. He was tired of secrets being kept from him, and tired of not knowing anything about anything.

“And we’ll tell him. When everyone else is here.” Dabi said. “Little Hawks, come here.”

Tokoyami huffed, but still obeyed and moved over towards the couch. At least it got him away from Toga and her questions about his classmates—the girl disappearing back up the stairs for some reason Tokoyami wasn’t going to question. “Yes?” He questioned as he came to a stop in front of Dabi.

The villain blinked slowly at him, an emotion that could be called hesitance crossing his face. Another thing that Tokoyami never imagined he’d witness. “How’s your arm?”

“How much did it hurt you to ask that?” Tokoyami asked.

“You know what? Go fuck yourself.”

“No thanks.”

Dabi groaned, bringing his hands up to bury his face into, muttering something about always getting stuck with the annoying children. Tokoyami didn’t know—or pretend to know—what that meant. Compress just laughed.

“It is not often we come across someone that can beat Dabi with words.” The man said. “But in all seriousness, he said you were hurt?”

Tokoyami glanced at his arm, hanging by his side. All this time, he’d dared not move it, and because of it, he could barely feel the injury. Yet he knew that the moment he moved it, the pain would come back, and that wasn’t something he wanted to experience. “My arm.” Was all he said.

“And his ribs.” Dabi added as Compress gestured for Tokoyami to hold out his arm. He was glad when Compress’ touch was just as gentle as Dabi’s had been earlier. “I wrapped them while the kid was unconscious, but I didn’t have much to work with at the time.”

“We should have some first aid supplies still. I’ll go take a look. Twice has a more extensive kit hidden somewhere, but I am loath to search for it while he isn’t here.”

“What about Spinner?” Dabi asked.

“To be blunt, Spinner wouldn’t know first aid if it hit him in the face.” Compress argued, gently lowering Tokoyami’s arm and standing. “But I’ll ask him. Twice should be back soon anyway. As for Kurogiri, I am unsure of when he will return.”

Dabi hummed, pulling out his phone and tapping out a message. Tokoyami assumed it was for Kurogiri, who Tokoyami wasn’t sure he’d actually met. He had a feeling he had, but just couldn’t recall who it actually was. “Sit.” Dabi pointed to the empty space beside him that Compress had vacated. It was just the two of them now. Again.

“Why can’t I know things?” Tokoyami asked after a moment of silence.

Dabi dropped to lean against the back of the couch, a hand coming up to idly scratch at the border between healthy and scarred skin. “A few reasons. It’s a complicated situation; Hawks and the League. If he hasn’t told you, it’s for good reason.”

“Compress brought up the Hero Commission. Why?”

“It’s complicated.”

Tokoyami sighed. “Everything’s complicated.”

“I know, kid.” It was Dabi’s turn to sigh. “You getting dragged into this mess as just made everything even more complicated.”

Tokoyami nodded. That much was obvious to him, even knowing as little as he did. He just hoped that he got some answers soon, because if he had to rescue his mentor without knowing why his mentor was in danger in the first place; he’d... well he’d do nothing. He’d probably just go with whatever plan was formed.

“I’m home! The house better be empty!” Tokoyami jumped—and immediately regretted it when it jarred his injuries—as the door slammed open, and a man in a balaclava waltzed in. Something told him this was Twice, and it wasn’t the two bags filled with snacks the villain was holding. Twice stopped dead in his tracks as his gaze met Tokoyami’s own. “Who’s this? Who brought a god damn child into this good villain household?”

“Twice, Little Hawks. Little Hawks, Twice. Don’t mind his speech, you’ll figure it out.” Dabi introduced, his own eyes zoning in on the bags his fellow villain held. “Did you steal half the shop?”

“No! Yes!” Twice said. “Toga wanted pocky so I got pocky! Little Hawks you say?”

Tokoyami understood what Dabi meant, although he wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to the way Twice spoke. And he’d only met the man a couple of minutes ago. “Um… hi?” He said to be polite.

“Oh my god, can we keep him? He’s nothing like Hawks!” Twice asked, coming over to the couch and getting in Tokoyami’s face much like Toga had. Personal space mustn’t exist among villainy.

“We are not keeping him.” Dabi retorted, reaching over and snatching something out of the bag. And then immediately threw it back at Twice. “The fuck you buying fish snacks for?”

“Spinner wanted them! People like fish you burnt corpse!”

“I see you’re getting creative.”

“Go die. Dabi, I love you.” Twice froze for a second before bursting into tears and rushing up the stairs. “Toga! I told Dabi I loved him! I hate him so much!”

Tokoyami slowly turned to look at Dabi, taking note of how unbothered the villain was with the conversation that had just unfolded. Meanwhile, Tokoyami was still trying to process what it was that he’d just witnessed. “I’ll get used to it, will I?”

“No, I don’t think you will.” Dabi sighed.

Eventually, the League migrated back down the stairs to rejoin Tokoyami and Dabi, including Spinner who Tokoyami had yet to meet. The lizard-like villain had taken one look at Tokoyami, nodded, and then moved to raid the fridge. And Tokoyami found he was content with that interaction. Twice had re-emerged with an entire backpack full of first aid supplied, and together, he and Compress had dressed Tokoyami’s wounds, for which Tokoyami was grateful. His ribs now hurt less, and his arm was resting in a makeshift sling. It wasn’t perfect, but it would work.

And Toga was being Toga, chattering away with anyone that would listen to her about various different topics all at once. Tokoyami almost thought that the rest of the League was ignoring her, but every now and then, one of them would chime in with thoughts of their own.

It was almost as if he were back with his classmates back at UA.

A portal opening in the middle of the room silenced everyone, several heads turning to stare at the portal—Tokoyami’s included. He watched as Shigaraki, a man he’d seen back at the USJ incident but never actually met, stepped through the portal. Once the lead villain was clear, the mist slowly faded away until it formed the shape of something vaguely humanoid. Tokoyami also recognized this person from the USJ. And based off what he’d heard, this must’ve been Kurogiri, and the one responsible for teleporting him and Dabi everywhere since they’d escaped the hospital.

Tokoyami froze as Shigaraki’s eyes raked over him, fearful of what the villain could be thinking. He’d only heard things about Shigaraki; mostly what Aizawa had been allowed to tell them, and from what Midoriya had said about his own encounters with the head villain. The longer Shigaraki stared at him; the more Tokoyami wanted to sink into the couch. This was not a man he’d want to upset.

“So this is Hawks’ little protégé.” Tokoyami was surprised at how rough Shigaraki’s voice was. It was a little like Dabi’s; as if someone had taken sandpaper to their vocal cords, although Dabi’s raspy voice was significantly worse than Shigaraki’s. That probably had something to do with the flame villain’s scars rather than being Dabi’s actual voice. But Shigaraki’s voice appeared to be naturally raspy.

Why is that what I’m focusing on? Tokoyami thought, quickly chasing the thoughts away so that he couldn’t be accused of not paying attention to Shigaraki whilst the villain spoke.

“I thought you were just going to protect Hawks, Dabi. Yet you’ve taken his child instead. Why?”

Dabi shrugged. “Plans changed. Somebody decided the kid needed to die and tried to do just that. Hawks told me to save the kid rather than keep him safe.”

“Foolish bird.”

“That’s our Hawks for you! I say let the idiot die!” Twice chimed in, breaking the instinctive fear that had taken hold of Tokoyami in that moment. He took a deep breath and turned away, focusing on the television instead of the man that could kill him with just one touch.

Tokoyami flinched as an arm draped over his shoulders, only to realize it was Dabi. He forced himself to relax, now that he knew that the villain was taking his job as protector seriously. It had him wonder that if it had been someone else to make the request to protect Tokoyami, if Dabi would’ve actually done it. “Thank you.” Tokoyami whispered.

Dabi hummed before shouting over his shoulder. “Oi, you crusty bitch, you’re scaring the kid. Cut that shit out.”

Why thank you, Dabi, for blurting that out. Tokoyami swivelled his head to glare at Dabi. “I take back that thanks.”

Dabi simply grinned at him. “That’s okay. You can keep it.”

“I don’t know why Hawks puts up with you.”

“We don’t know either.” Shigaraki said, coming to sit on the table in front of Dabi and Tokoyami, thankfully dragging it backwards so that the villain wasn’t up in Tokoyami’s personal space. Having Dabi invading it was enough villain for him. “Relax hero, If I wanted to kill you, I would.”

“For some reason, that doesn’t reassure me at all.”

Shigaraki blinked at him like he hadn’t actually expected Tokoyami to talk back to him. Tokoyami too, hadn’t expected to talk back to the villain; he wasn’t the type of person who just mouthed off to people. But the past few days had been full of firsts for him, so he could just add ‘mouthing off to Japan’s biggest villain’ to that list.

“Hawks has clearly rubbed off on you.” Shigaraki commented.

“Speaking of Hawks, what are we going to do?” Toga asked. “He’s all alone in that hospital now so who knows what’ll happen to him! We can’t just leave him there!”

“We can’t just go in and take him either.” Dabi said. “He has a tube in his chest. I’m not exactly keen on ripping out a tube that may the only thing keeping the stupid bird alive.”

“To be honest, Dabi, you haven’t updated us on Hawks’ condition since your last visit.” Kurogiri chimed in, speaking for the first time since his return. “I know a little since you asked for my assistance in rescuing the both you and Tokoyami from the hospital, but the rest of the League is unaware. And it seems that young Tokoyami is also unaware of many things. If we are to effectively save Hawks, it might be best if both parties are aware of the truth.”

Tokoyami felt the arm around him stiffen, and he glanced over towards Dabi. The villain’s jaw was clenched in a way that showed Dabi was uncomfortable with the direction that the conversation was taking. Clearly, the visits with Hawks had meant to be a private affair that also helped the League understand the condition of someone they cared about—visits that Tokoyami wasn’t ever supposed to know about. He did have to admire Dabi’s loyalty to his mentor.

So, he decided to put Dabi out of his discomfort.

“I know you and Hawks are together.” Tokoyami said.

The effect was instantaneous. Dabi spluttered, face turning red with a few stray flames erupting from the villain’s hairline that were quickly quashed by Toga before something could catch on fire. Tokoyami inched away from the flames, having no desire to get burnt. Someone was cackling—it sounded like Twice—and the rest of the League, Shigaraki included, looked amused.

“It seems you weren’t as subtle as you thought, Dabi, if the kid could figure it out.” Spinner grinned from his perch on top of the fridge. Tokoyami hadn’t even noticed the lizard-like man was still in the room.

“I didn’t figure it out.” Tokoyami glanced at Spinner for a moment. “I was on my way to visit Hawks when I saw that Dabi was already there. I was going to walk in when I heard them arguing. Dabi didn’t know what to tell me about his and Hawks’ relationship. I chose to leave.”

“Wait, you heard that?” The red had faded from Dabi’s face to a faint pink, the only indicator that Dabi was still embarrassed.

“You weren’t exactly quiet.” Tokoyami shrugged. “I went back to my room and that was when I got attacked. Then I called you for help.”

“You called Dabi for help?” Shigaraki tilted his head, a confused expression on his face. “Why?”

“My attacker knocked my phone away. I only had the one Dabi gave me. I didn’t want to call him for help, but I didn’t have a choice since I would’ve been killed otherwise.” Tokoyami explained, feeling drained from having to explain everything he’d been through over and over to these people. How many more times would he need to explain it? “I’ve told you my side of events several times over, now I want answers. Why does the League of Villains care about my mentor so much? Compress mentioned the Hero Commission. What do they have to do with what happened to Hawks?”

All the villains in the room hesitated, not one of them wanting to answer his questions. Quite frankly, it angered Tokoyami to the point he wished to let Dark Shadow throw them around for just a few seconds. But since his quirk wasn’t currently working, all he could do was sit there on the League’s ratty couch and stew in his anger.

“Hawks was tasked with infiltrating the League by the Hero Commission.” Compress was the one to break the silence. “A suicide mission if you ask me, but Hawks is Hawks, as I’m sure you are aware. He was quick to worm his way into our ranks and Dabi was his main contact.”

That explained why Hawks had been so interested in his class’s interactions with the League during his internship. His mentor had been gathering information for a mission. Suddenly, he felt bad for being so angry with Hawks at the time; even if it had been frustrating to be interrogated every time he and Hawks had met up.

“Stupid bird thought he could fool me with his sweet-talking.” Dabi continued. “I let him think he’d fooled me, let him meet the rest of the League. I waited for him to slip up and reveal his true intentions so that I could burn him up.”

“Why didn’t you?” Tokoyami asked.

“Dabi fell in love!” Toga squealed, kicking her legs against the floor from where she sat. “He wouldn’t stop talking about how hot Hawks was and all that. It was so adorable!”

“Shut the fuck up!” Dabi hissed, although he didn’t deny Toga’s words. Tokoyami regretted asking; and to be honest, he’d much rather hear it from Hawks if he did have to hear that part of the story. “Anyway!” Dabi huffed. “There was an incident that showed the Hero Commissions true colours, and just what they’d done to Hawks, the bastards.”

“It was bad. Hawks had a total meltdown!” Twice exclaimed. “It was my fault that it happened. How the hell was I supposed to know?”

“Twice accidentally grabbed Hawks in a way that distressed the poor man.” Compress interjected, saving Tokoyami from having to try and decipher just what Twice was trying to tell him. “After we calmed him down, we managed to convince him to tell us what happened, and that was when we learnt the truth about hero society.”

“The truth?” Tokoyami frowned. The Hero Commission was there to protect the heroes… weren’t they?

“The truth being that heroes aren’t the true villains in society.” Shigaraki spoke this time. “Yes, there are heroes who are certainly undeserving of the title, but that’s an issue for another day. Right now, there cannot be true heroes while the Hero Commission continues to exist and abuse the heroes under its thumb. Hawks told us what the Commission does to him and the other heroes he works with, and some digging allowed us to find out what happened to his predecessor’s.”

“Predecessor’s?”

“Hawks is the favoured hero amongst the Commission right now. The one they get to do their dirty work when they should be the ones doing it. But there were others before him. And they were all killed once they were deemed worthless by the higher ups. Or if they questioned orders.” Shigaraki further explained.

Tokoyami swallowed, struggling to digest the information Shigaraki was telling him. He understood now why they hadn’t wanted to tell him anything; why Hawks had never said anything. He’d never even known that his mentor had been suffering all this time. Hawks was always smiles and sunshine. And this… this was the exact opposite. It was then, he realized, that he didn’t actually understand his mentor at all. If anything; the League knew more about his mentor than he did, and that made his heart hurt. He’d thought Hawks had trusted him.

“Kid.” Tokoyami turned towards Dabi, the villain staring at him with kind eyes that truly didn’t seem to belong on the man’s face. “It’s confusing, I know, and we haven’t explained it all too well, but we want what you want; for Hawks to be safe. The guys the most heroic hero I’ve ever seen. Not a villainous bone in his body.”

Tokoyami nodded. “I understand. It’s just… hard to comprehend that the Hero Commission aren’t nice people.”

“I do suppose it would be like that for someone who strives to become a hero.” Compress commented. “After all, the Hero Commission oversees all the heroes and the work they do, even if the claim not to. They play their part of villain well, so well that they often come off as heroic. If it reassures you, our goals have changed and we wish to free the heroes from the shackles they’ve been encased in. Then maybe society can finally flourish the way it should.”

“So you want to destroy the Hero Commission?” Tokoyami asked.

“Precisely! Little Hawks finally gets it!” Toga cheered. “If the big meanies are gone and the truth is revealed, then Hawks can be free! Especially since they’re trying to kill him.”

“Wait, the Hero Commission is trying to kill Hawks?” Tokoyami was confused. Nowhere in the League’s explanation had they mentioned the Commission being the ones to try and kill Hawks. He could believe it, after what he’d heard, but he also didn’t want to believe it.

“Oh, didn’t we tell you?” Toga pouted.

Tokoyami shook his head.

“You were the one who brought it up.” Dabi said. “You insisted that Hawks had been shot by someone else, and not the villain that fought the both of you that day. A quick chat with the villain before he was carted off to Tartarus proved your words to be true.”

“No one else believed me though.” Tokoyami frowned. “So why would you?”

“Hawks trusts you, and that’s good enough for me.” Dabi shrugged. “A little more digging and we managed to find surveillance showing someone we know for certain is from the Hero Commission leaving a building. Checked out the building and found residue from gunfire, and the pieces all fit together nicely.”

It was nice to be believed, even if it had to come from villains. It would certainly take time for him to take in everything he’d been told, and he was certain that that wasn’t even all of it. If anything, it had opened a whole other can of worms for him to deal with at a later date after everything was over; and it would be much easier for him to deal with if he had Hawks there to guide him through it all. The League had explained it, but like Dabi had said, they hadn’t explained it well at all.

“So how are we saving Hawks?” Tokoyami asked in the end. He had gotten some of the answers he’d been after, so he was ready to go and rescue his mentor.

“Good question. We need to know his condition before we can rescue him, but that’ll be hard since the report they announced this morning.” Compress said.

“The kid suggested getting his teacher on board.” Dabi commented. “Bossman’s already deemed Eraserhead to be the kind of hero we approve of, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get in contact with him. You have his number don’t you, kid?”

“I do. He gave it to us in case of an emergency.”

“Great. Give it to me.” Dabi held out his phone towards Tokoyami. He took the phone and slowly typed the number in, uncertain if his teacher would murder him for giving his number to a villain. He probably would if he ever managed to get back to his classmates. “We’ll get Eraser on board and go from there.”

“But what if Eraserhead doesn’t co-operate with us?” Spinner asked. “We’re asking a Pro Hero to help us basically kidnap the Number Two Hero from his hospital bed. The guy’s going to have questions.”

“The kid oh so graciously told his teacher about his suspicions of foul play, so I think if we explain what we know, he might cave in. The guys an underground hero after all. The truth is all he cares about I imagine. And I’m sure he’ll want to know how his precious student his doing.”

“That settles it then.” Shigaraki stood, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “Dabi will contact Eraserhead and find out Hawks’ condition. We’ll work out a plan once we know what’s happening. Dabi, the UA brat is your responsibility, don’t let him do anything stupid.”

“Uh huh, whatever.” Dabi made a shooing motion towards Shigaraki with one hand. The other was tapping away at his phone. “You all scare the kid anyway, so hurry up and scram.”

Shigaraki flipped off Dabi before stalking up the stairs, the rest of the League following a moment later; although Toga promised to come and talk to Tokoyami at a later time.

He couldn’t wait for that.

Kurogiri stayed downstairs, although he silently moved towards the kitchen, wandering around and grabbing various utensils and raiding the shopping bags Twice had dumped on the counter earlier. It dawned on Tokoyami then that the shadow man must’ve been the League’s caretaker, for based on what he knew about the other members; they had no idea how to take care of themselves.

“And done.” Dabi said, closing his phone with a snap. “Now we wait.”

“You messaged my teacher?” Tokoyami asked.

“Yep. Told him you were fine and that we’d like to meet to discuss something important.”

“You didn’t tell him why we wanted to meet?”

“The Hero Commission isn’t beyond hacking into people’s phones and monitoring calls and texts. Safer to talk in person.” Dabi’s eyes slid over to watch him. “Unless you think Eraser won’t come.”

“He’ll come.” Tokoyami said with a nod.

Except, he wasn’t sure his teacher would come at all.

#mha #bnha #mha fanfic #bnha fanfic #tokoyami #dabi #hawks #league of villains #hurt/comfort #angst #banter #writing #fanfiction

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adminbryantsaki · 1 year

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Haunted House

Day 28 of Spicytober featuring Fumikage Tokoyami and Tsuyu Asui.

( I do not own Fumikage Tokoyami/ Tsukuyomi or Tsuyu Asui/ Froppy. Horikoshi Kohei does. All Characters are aged up for the purpose of my sanity. If this isn’t your cup of tea, blend of spice, or brew of coffee, move on.)

Wc: 716.

Tw: Getting spooked, Haunted House, Face paint.

Tokoyami handed his girlfriend a flier from the Haunted House his agency was hosting during the month of October. “What’s this for?” she asked as she looked up at him. “Its for the exclusive nights that the workers are to invite their partners to have some fun.” He explained. “When are those nights?” She asked. “Tonight, and tomorrow night.” He responded. “I’ll ask if I can have tonight off.” “I think Hawks already let Ryuko know about it.” Dark Shadow spoke.

“Alright. I’ll see you tonight. Have fun and be safe.” She told him and kissed his cheek before heading off to her job. Tokoyami blushed and Dark Shadow chuckled. “Stop and save it for later. We need to head to the Haunted House and get our area set up.” Tokoyami spoke. “We also have to get into costume too, Boss.” Dark Shadow reminded him. “We will do that when we get there. Its just some paint on our faces.” He spoke as he grabbed his bag and left the house.

He arrived at the Haunted House and greeted his co-workers before he went into the locker room to get ready. Dark Shadow helped Tokoyami with the paint on his face to help him look like a skeleton. He then went to his graveyard area and waited for the first round of Haunted House goers to come through. A couple hours passed and soon the house was closed off to the public, now, only letting the worker’s significant others through, telling them where their partner was in the house and sending them there. Tokoyami got a call over the radio that ‘Froppy was in the house and to get ready.’ This pulled him out of his dozing state and get ready by hiding behind a tree. “Let me know when you see her.” Tokoyami whispered to Dark Shadow who gave him a thumbs up.

And went to a place in the tree where Dark shadow would rest his head and watch for Tsuyu to enter the graveyard.

Soon, she arrived in the graveyard and looked around to try and find him. “She’s here Boss.” He alerted him. “Alright. Just like we rehearsed.” He told him and snuck within the fake brush and went behind her. “Tokoyami? Where are you?” She called out. “Right here.” He spoke from behind her. She kicked him and hopped off into the fake fog. He chased after her, knowing that she couldn’t go far as they were trapped in a room with only one door… the one that she came into the room from the hallway. He found her hiding behind a tombstone and she looked genuinely scared. He let go of the act and knelt next to her. “Hey, hey. Don’t be scared. It’s just me. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He spoke and pulled her into a hug.

“I’m fine, Tokoyami. You just spooked me. I’ll be ok. I can see why this Haunted House has gotten good reviews. Did you want to show me anything else?” She reassured him as Dark Shadow was nuzzling her to try and make her feel better. She patted Dark Shadow’s head and told him that she was going to be ok and that he was doing a good job. “I want to show you my favorite corner of the graveyard.” He spoke and led her there where he pinned her to the wall and began to make out with her. They emerged from the room a few minutes later holding each other’s hands and smiling. The rest of Hawk’s agency was waiting for them outside with some food and talking amongst themselves. They made hints as to why Tokoyami and Tsuyu were the last ones to leave the Haunted House and the pair ignored them and spent time together on Tokoyami’s break before he had to go back inside with the next group of Haunted House goers. The End.

#spicytober 2022 #bnha #mha #admin writes #bnha tokoyami #mha tokoyami #fumikage tokoyami #bnha tsu #mha tsuyu #tsuyu asui #Fumikage tokoyami x Tsuyu Asui

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thequietmanno1 · 11 months

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Thelreads, MHA 271, Replies Part 1

1) “But it seems like we`ll be focused on Tokoyami, if the tittle and this page is anything to go by. Tokoyami, who just managed to break free from Fatgum`s quirk. Damn boy, you really want to stop KFC from happening, do you?”- Since you missed the rescue page of Tokoyami jumping in at the last moment to save hawks, this was a mini-flashback showing how he got there in time. I appreciate that Fatgum didn’t actually let him charge back into a dangerous battlefield when he was charged with protecting him and the kids, but instead underestimated how strong Tokoyami actually is with Dark Shadow 2) “what you think they are gonna do? sit around and be safe? stay out of trouble? hell fucking no, they are gonna rush straight towards danger, because they want to happen.

by the time you actually reach Tokoyami you`ll look back and see that those three are right behind you.”- It’s actually a good thing they didn’t, or they’ve have been crushed by Mt lady’s flying bulldozer of a derriere. Sometimes, Lacking Izuku’s instinct to throw himself headfirst into danger is a good thing for future heroes to have. 3) “Oh, now we have the cover page…

Well, it is a pretty cool one, not gonna lie. It`s from the ED au where they are fantasy characters, right? I remember the whole Ida as a knight, uraraka as a magician, Shoto as prince stuff. It was awesome, and god I wish we could have that manga as well

hori pls we need it”- Another mangaka called Hiro Mashima has released about 3-4 different series’ worth of characters that are all in some form mainly reskins of his prior characters in the preceding title, so I could actually see Horikoshi doing something similar with this, seeing at it seems to be a fairly popular concept. 4) “And now Dabi is going to try to cause some more emotional damage to me, and destabilize Tokoyami by pointing at the corpse thrown to the side and going “hey look, want to guess which top hero killed this fucker here, i`ll give you three shots.””- It might also be a tactic to try and buy himself more time for a cooldown, but I found it noticeable how Dabi did seem genuinely off put that the heroes were including kids in their battle strategy, and decided to take the time he needed trying to break this kid’s faith in those he looked up to. I got the sense that he’d already recharged enough by the time Tokoyami was trying to cool down Hawks’ back, especially since he was willing to take a little scorching himself to unleash the necessary finishing blow, but he deemed it actually more important to try and break the idea of a hero inside an enemy rather than rushing to finish them off, almost like he wanted to drag Hawks down not just physically or mentally, but also to those who personally knew him.

(MHC ch 267) 5) “NOW KID, DON`T MIND THE BODY LYING THERE WITH A SWORD HOLE ON HIS BACK, WE CAN EXPLAIN THAT LATER.”- Dabi will be happy to monologue about it for as long as it takes him to recharge for another blast. 6) “oh fuck you dabi, you want to tell him who was the one that pushed Twice into this knowing what was gonna happen? the one that knew was hurt and yet made him go out there and fight?

Hawks pulled the trigger, but I guess you don`t want to tell who aimed the gun, right? And unfortunately, that dirty trick is going to work, because if there was one thing that tokoyami would never expect would for his idol to kill someone, even a villain.”- ‘Heroes don’t kill’ is a concept that is idealism at its finest, and Dabi is happy to exploit any situation he’s in to prove how even those heroes who want to do good and abide by the rules as much as possible are only human, and will break them when it benefits them, uncaring that they’re still worthy of admiration despite that flaw, as it’s only a last resort.

7) “Oh, we`re gonna have an evil breaking speech? Alright, that gives enough time for Fatgum and his troupe to show up, keep it coming Dabi, you`re doing amazing.”- Time enough for Dabi to charge up enough to unleash enough firepower to finish of Tokoyami and anybody else who came to the rescue too. Back in Deika city, Twice vetoed the idea of unleashing a small crowd of Dabis because of how little the original demonstrably cares for collateral damage. If it benefitted him, he’d unleash a hellfire blast that’d incinerate his ‘allies’ in the PLF, just so long as it was guaranteed to catch his targets in it – hell, that’s exactly the tactic he used with Twice and Hawks.

8) “Alright, at least you haven`t lashed out in anger, that`s good.”- And the thing that puts Dabi on the attack and makes him try to kill Tokiyami, and otherwise unrelated hero to him, isn’t just that he’s rescuing hawks, but that he refuses to give up on believing in him even after hearing of the bad things he’s done. To that end, Dabi willingly takes on a little self-burning just for a guaranteed shot at killing a teenagers who still maintains his idealism even in the face of grim reality.

9) “Well, that was expected. It was not like Dabi would pass the chance of killing a kid and claiming the moral high ground.”- He actually might have, if Tokoyami had fallen for his manipulations and had his faith in hawks shattered by it. I got the impression he really was willing to halt the attack, since he’d gotten some kind of achievement from events already, and calls it off once they’re far enough out of rnage, but pressed onwards for the personal satisfaction of killing Tokoyami when he didn’t lose faith in his hero.

10) “What is it Hawks? Extra dip of ketchup? Don`t worry, it shall be done- Ah no, wait, you want Dabi to keep monologuing? Are you hoping for backup?”- I like that Dabi’s chatterbox tendencies aren’t just a means of him trying to break his enemies psychologically, but also a means of him buying time to properly use his self-destructive abilities for an extended period. @thelreads

#bnha #my hero academia #thelreads #chapter replies #mha 271

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stillness-in-green · 1 year

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Chapter Thoughts: 372 — Naked

Dropping this right in the wake of leaks, so let's just go ahead and put this jump here, shall we? (Note: I have seen the leaks, but am opting not to update the post below and its continued kvetching about the story’s messaging via Shouji. There’ll be time for that next week.)

How Shouji and Koda Got Here:

I have a few notes on this, all about the first page.

O A faint “off” panel from a while back is explained! I wrote before about this panel in Chapter 335, and how I thought it foreshadowed Shouji’s involvement in the heteromorph plot and a confrontation with Spinner. I thought at the time that Shouji was just noting that All Might had conspicuously failed to mention the League’s resident heteromorph and was subtly calling it out.

Now, reading between the lines, we get the real explanation: Shouji had already spoken with the heteromorph giantess and found out about the group of heteromorphs planning the attack on the hospital. What he was reacting to in 335 wasn’t the omission of Spinner, but rather the omission of the hospital raid from All Might’s list of what the heroes were up against. Totally still foreshadowing for the heteromorph plotline, though!

(This does make the timing weird, given that we wouldn’t see Spinner sending out the call to action for another five chapters. One does not plan an assault mob fifteen thousand-strong in less than a week, so the groundwork for this would presumably have been going on already, but it is perhaps a touch strange to frame Spinner “pulling the trigger” with a group that very much is not the group he’ll be leading later on, and even stranger to picture that group when talking about early word of the hospital raid.)

O I assume the “troubling things” the giant gal mentioned was her comment that she’d been turned away by numerous shelters because of her heteromorph status, but it still would have been nice to see a reaction from Shouji about that line in the moment. As we can see from the 335 panel, Horikoshi is perfectly capable of putting in little beats like that to come back to later! Shouji’s only appearance in 325, though, was him being offered an umbrella by some other heteromorph—he wasn’t even looking at the giant gal in a way that suggests he was concerned about what she’d said moments before!

(Also, back on this current chapter, rather than the polite Shouji calling her “that large woman,” now would have been a fine time to GIVE HER A DAMN NAME, HORIKOSHI. Especially since All Might following up with, “Oh right, the big lady!” would have been perfectly adequate context for the previously unmentioned name.)

O This feels like a strange matching choice, in ways that I wonder if will prove to be intentional. Like, the two most notable characters in this shot are Katana Advisor from the PLF and the Sludge Villain. Both heteromorphs, to be sure, but neither of them are in the group of heteromorphs going after the hospital? Katana Advisor was in the group of people AFO teleported in to start the battle; he got shoved through a Monoma-giri portal and hasn’t been seen since. The Sludge Villain, meanwhile, is with the group attacking Gigantomachia’s location, which is what the above panel, from 341, suggested to begin with, since the group was clearly converging on the ruins of Jakku, where we’d later learn Machia was being kept restrained in the same place he fell.

If anything, the context of the hospital raid makes this plot beat even weirder in retrospect.

O As I said last week, this sudden Shouji/Koda bond is incredibly strained-feeling. Like, okay, one of the things I’ve long thought about with regard to the student relationships—an observation I originally came to via watching the patterns in what people were shipping—is that, just because some students were together for some early story event or another did not mean that togetherness would translate into a long-term, developed bond. For example, the Tokoyami/Tsuyu ship seemed popular for a while because they were paired up for their finals, but that relationship never got any particular follow-through; compare that to something like the sustained time made for e.g. Kaminari and Jirou.

Students often just got mix-and-matched, especially in the early going, sometimes as a way to establish relationships that would be important going forward, but also sometimes just because that’s the nature of the school setting. Here in the endgame, though, in almost every field of battle, we see the relationships that were built up paying off, while the characters that never really got that foundation are placed somewhere they can nominally contribute without being forced to carry unearned dramatic weight.

Izuku and Kacchan go without saying, of course. Iida and Shouto have been frequently seen together since the Stain arc. Tsuyu and Ochaco have been the two always dealing with Toga, ever since the training camp. Mina and Kirishima are middle school friends, giving them (iirc) the second-most long-term relationship of any of the students other than Deku and Bakugou. Even Jirou and Tokoyami were in the band together, while Aoyama is facing down a specter of AFO’s dark influence, and I’d bet that fight is where the yet-unseen Hagakure will prove to be, building on her and Aoyama’s extremely modest connections surrounding the traitor reveal and their paired combo attack.

Who does that leave? Momo and Kaminari are at UA, with Momo in particular feeling very egregiously sidelined for a student of her ongoing rate of panel time. Mineta is with Kirishima and Mina, and while he doesn’t have much going on with Kirishima, there has been a low-key thread of Mina pepping up Mineta when he’s down (the culture festival when he’s bummed about guitar; the raid when he’s worrying about Midnight). Mineta also faced Machia during the raid and expressed aforementioned fears for Midnight, which makes it fitting to have him defending Machia’s location and seen to face Midnight’s killer.

Sato, Ojiro and Sero, who have neither strong relationships with villains nor with students who do, are tossed off to some stadium at which we haven’t seen a single identifiable villain. They don’t feel unjustly sidelined like Momo and Kaminari because they were never such major characters to begin with. Nor do they feel unduly heavily focused on because the story isn’t trying to use their relationships (or lack thereof) to carry major plot points.

Shouji and Koda, however, feel unduly focused on. To have this opening beat of Koda saying, “If Shouji’s going, then so am I,” needs to have some kind of relationship behind it that was established farther back than a single chapter. There was none, so it just rings hollow.

Shouji feels equally unfitting as a match-up with Spinner because their connection is entirely a matter of shared oppression, not actual encounters, and even the shared oppression connection is flimsy because Spinner has engaged with that oppression, while Shouji’s experience with it was, prior to last month, entirely relegated to character profile pages, not something he ever opened up about.

I wish I could credit this as being really stirring. I mean, Shouji (apparently) became a hero specifically because he wanted to promote a cool, respectable image of heteromorphs, so of course he can’t walk away from a group of heteromorphs pushed to an extreme like this! However, it seems to me that this boils down to yet another instance of the series insisting that only heroes with government licenses and/or teenagers with main character privileges are allowed to step up, while everyone else, no matter what provocation or crisis they’re faced with, is wrong and possibly villainous if they try to do so.

Deku rushes in with no license and no training to help a friend, which would have further complicated rescue efforts if not for All Might’s presence, and might have gotten him killed? Wow, what amazing moral fibre! Truly worthy of inheriting the greatest power of all time!

A member of an oppressed minority takes up arms to help a group that promises to change the violent status quo? They’re being manipulated and used and need to just put their heads back down until someone deigns to come up with a solution for them. Who cares how badly they or their kids might get hurt in the meantime?

Koda's Quirk Awakening, Part Deux:

Setting aside the whole business of Koda’s mother telling him to grow up to be the kind of man who gets mad when people mock the things/people dear to him (dearness cit. Chapter 371), it strikes me as curious that she framed his horns coming in as a natural development, like they’re something he might just mature into like a kitten growing in the patterns on its coat. But him just happening to mature into his horn right at the moment he most needs would be an absurd contrivance, right? Surely this was just a quirk awakening. Dangerous, harsh conditions, high emotions, an urgent circumstantial need for greater power—it fits all the established criteria.

A quirk awakening would fit, too, with Koda’s mother saying his horns might come in some day. If it were a natural development lacking any inciting incident, wouldn’t she have just told him they would come in someday, like hers did, or at least that they probably would?

So if it is a quirk awakening, does that mean that Koda’s mother also had one? That she only described it like some natural possibility because she’s not studied enough on quirks to be familiar with what the MLA term quirk evolution/quirk awakening? That makes far more sense to me, but it does imply that the hardship she delicately phrased as mockery and “real cruelty” was very dire indeed.

Dire enough to make it even more vexing, watching Scarecrow’s fire and brimstone speeches about heteromorph oppression get shut down for the high crime of Calling Shouji Mean Words >:( >:( >:( .

On Protecting:

The yelling about protecting people drives me nuts because it’s so disingenuous not to allow any of the rioters to respond with an answer to the question Shouji poses. He challenges them to think about how their children will be scapegoated as a result of this attack, but neither he nor any of them are allowed to reply that children are already being targeted, today, right now in the present, so what difference will it make to just lay down their arms and go away/get arrested?

Spinner, of course, carries on being unable to respond, because no one is allowed to actually engage with equal rhetoric; the only one who could do so got bird-blitzed off a roof without ever actually losing the battle of words.

And Shouji thinks about Aoyama? For some reason? And I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be because Shouji is thinking about protecting Aoyama (see again: maybe if they’d ever had a single bonding scene ever) or because he’s admiring Aoyama’s will to protect. Which could work some, as Aoyama talked about wanting to pay his blessings forward, but I think “saving” is not quite the same thing as “protecting,”(1) and Aoyama’s desire to be a hero is far more about the former than the latter. It’s just a weird non-sequitur of an inclusion, and irks me in combination with something I’ll talk about in just a bit.

I wish we could get any kind of in on what Shouji really thinks of Spinner. I wish they could have had any encounters before now that would let him contextualize the change between Spinner as Shouji is seeing him and the Spinner the audience knows. Because when Shouji asks Spinner what he wants to protect, that’s a question that does have an answer, but as it is, we’ve got no way to know whether Shouji thinks Spinner has an answer he could give and Shouji wants to hear it, or whether Shouji is implying that Spinner doesn’t have anyone or anything he wants to protect, and that lack of motivation is why he his current actions are meaningless. If Shouji had even an inkling of the truth, that question would feel a lot more resonant.

Spinner’s Call:

O I don’t know how similar the language is in the Japanese, but it’s a bit fun that Spinner’s phrasing of, “The grudge never fades,” is so similar to Dabi’s, “The past never dies.” If one is looking for inspiring words to call for drastic anti-hero action, one could do a lot worse than Dabi (and Skeptic’s) immaculately scripted Todoroki Touya reveal. Spinner also spent a lot of time around Re-Destro and the rest of the MLA, presumably including his own advisors, though, so I like to think he could have picked up some of that convincingly fiery language from them, too, even if he doesn’t think of himself as a good spokesperson.

O Spinner is damn well right when he says(/said) that, if heroes win, nothing will change. And we know that’s true because Deku, Our Main Character Ladies and Gentlemen, just keeps goddamn telling people that he intends to put everything “back to normal.” No one this arc has said a single word about changing anything that desperately needs to be changed, and of all the groups that might be dissuaded by hearing such a stance, this would be the one to try it on! The one that isn’t composed entirely of villains and radical cultists! These are the people most likely to just stop and listen if you tell them that you have a plan to address their grievances.

But Shouji doesn’t tell them that. He tells them that they’ll set back progress, implicitly blaming them for whatever hate crimes heteromorphs suffer in the next thirty years; he doesn’t give them any suggestions for what they could be doing instead, or what heroes will do to respond to them; he just says they have to be the ones to stop. But why should they stop, when horror stories like blood-cleansing are the current status quo? How much worse could the Paranormal Liberation Front’s status quo really be?(2)

(That last question is important, by the way, because AFO was a shadowy urban legend until Kamino, so it’s asking a lot of these civilians, a great many of whom are implied to be rural, for them to have as good an understanding as the audience of what AFO’s new regime would be like.)

O Spinner being sprayed in pesticides impresses me because Horikoshi keeps coming up with ways to be creatively awful to heteromorphs that effortlessly outclass what I come up with for fanfic, and yet he expects me to buy this idea that heteromorphs being cool will eventually solve these problems and it’s fine if heroes and the government continue doing exactly zilch to help the process along.

The Turn:

Having said aaaaaallllll this for three chapters running now, I think it’s very telling that the moment Spinner regurgitates a speech from a week ago, even just reheated rhetoric is enough to rile the crowd right back up again. It would be great if we could read that as a sign that Shouji and Koda’s responses are completely failing to achieve the ends they want because they offer nothing concrete—it’s like the definition of showing up to denigrate everyone else’s plans while offering none of your own. Surprise surprise, No One Liked That.

But then—after an extremely ominous transition featuring a gun—we get into the hospital scene.

(An Aside: The Gun:

Regarding the gun, my initial understanding from the leaks and such was that it was the police resorting to sidearms, but now I don’t think so? The way Officer Gori’s line of dialogue right before the page turn gets abruptly cut off/interrupted implies that this wasn’t something he was expecting. My next guess would be, “Someone on the police side gets scared and takes the wrong action that escalates situation like this into the kinds of historical turning point slaughters that get taught in schools,” but the riot squad uniform seems to feature full gloves, so whereas the shooter’s gloves are fingerless.

Mic’s gloves are right, but why would Mic pull a gun here? When have we ever even been shown him carrying one? I can’t believe he’d even be licensed to carry, not in Japan. And his lines at the end of the chapter, for all that he shows up in the hallway like a movie killer, suggests that he’s just guessing about why no one’s following Spinner, not deliberately obfuscating.

So who? My next wild thought was, “Mustard?!” but the gloves are wrong for him, too. He might have changed gloves if he got sprung from whatever facility he was in, of course, as all our returning villains have changed clothes, but also there’s no reason whatsoever for him to be present here, at least as far as plotlines he has any reason to care about personally go.

So… I dunno. We’ll see, I guess! Not least because leaks are starting literally as I write the section RIP.)

As @codenamesazanka pointed out here, Spinner did not target the line of doctors and nurses. Which makes it all the stranger that seeing those medical professionals is what snapped the crowd out of it. Like, if the targeted area wasn’t on the other side of a Red Rover line of civilians anyway, who cares if they’re all standing there? And here’s where I circle back to the Aoyama non-sequitur.

The pig-nosed guy draws to a halt when he sees the line of doctors, but what really stops him cold is some sort of flashback to Dr. Toad looking after an elderly patient. And my overwhelming thought when I saw that panel was, “So even in the flashback that’s going to stop you from progressing, you can’t see yourself in the person being cared for; you have to see yourself in the person doing the work.”

Central Hospital is staffed with Super Mario character lookalikes, but you know who one of those lookalikes is? The one who looks like Mario—that is, the one with a “human face.” So why, in heaven’s name why, could pig-nosed guy not have visualized himself or someone like him—a heteromorph—being cared for and tended to by a non-heteromorph? If the entire point is to remind an angry person who has let nuance fall by the wayside, someone whose pain has caused him to get sucked into an us-versus-them mindset, that there are good people on the other side of that divide, people who don’t hate pig-nose and his, why would the memory that brings him up short be one where a heteromorph is doing the labor while a non-heteromorph benefits?

It just makes me Real Tired, guys.

Spinner, Oh, Spinner:

The young version of Spinner running around in his socks hurts me so much. The shot of the desolate hallway behind him hurts me even more. The underlining of his empty path, the empty place it leads to, is heartbreaking. But I can’t believe that Horikoshi would let someone trying his best to be someone else’s hero fail like this, no matter how much All For One has tried to twist that desire.

Sorry, I just have nothing coherent or insightful to say about Spinner. Not until this agonizing subplot resolves one way or the other.

(In light of leaks, I mostly have a lot of screaming and crying, and will try to finally muster up some actual Spinner Thoughts next time. Beyond which we’ll see how things go after next next chapter. *biting handkerchief in anxiety*)

Stray Notes:

O I enjoy Aizawa’s extremely alarmed face when Shouji’s like, “Hey, put me on the hospital defense team.”

O The number one bit character hero I want dead: THIS Tartarus guard-looking, infinite goddamn capture tape-producing asshole:

Fucking hell. Take this guy out and the next uprising will be a breeze because the heroes will suddenly have to face their terminal shortage of restraining devices!

O “Shouji must have gotten through to them.” = Since fucking when does this manga believe that words are enough? I thought it was actions that mattered? Oh, right, since we hit the endgame. See also Mirio’s talking-the-talk bit.

---FOOTNOTES---

1: I’d probably distinguish them by saying that saving is more active but also briefer; it’s All Might turning up in the nick of time and then flying off again once the crisis is passed. Protecting is more about putting yourself between danger and those that are in danger, and then staying there no matter what. To protect someone is to be there regardless of whether or not the danger is immediate. Deku wants to “save” Shigaraki, not “protect” him. The refugees at UA need to be “protected,” not “saved.”

2: Insert quip here about how AFO is an inveterate city slicker who doesn’t even like the countryside.

#bnha #bnha 372 #octolad #the bird whisperer #iguchi shuichi #bnha spinner #heteromorph discrimination plot #chapter thoughts #my writing #stillness has salt #vague allusions to:#bnha spoilers #now including the footnotes

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