Work Text:
“Do you feel happy now, Izuku? Wearing that corpse of a quirk around your shoulders,” a voice hisses in Midoriya’s ear as he and Bakugou are walking towards the store. Midoriya freezes at the words, his body twisting to look at the boy who stopped behind him. Behind him stands a kid about his age, with dark black hair, a smirk playing on his otherwise expressionless face.
“Mikumo, what are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in ages. And what do you mean about my quirk?” Kacchan freezes when he hears the name, finally stopping and turning around to stare.
“I am here to see my friend , or at least I thought you were,” Mikumo says pointedly, causing Midoriya to flinch at his words. “Although it is kind of hard to be friends with someone when they abandon you after getting some shiny quirk, you should know that better than anyone.” Kacchan whips his head around to stare at Midoriya, asking silently if the other’s words are true.
“With UA, everything got busy. Things got pushed to the side, I didn’t mean to just abandon you but you had to have seen everything that happened on the news,” Midoriya stumbles over his words, excuses (lies) falling out almost too easily.
“So, what? It wasn’t that you chose to abandon me after gaining a quirk?” Midoriya has to fight the flinch as his friend’s words, knowing that they are true even as he doesn’t want to admit that. “Either way, I had a question. When was the last time you looked at your notebooks?” Midoriya feels the way Kacchan freezes at his side, the words had struck some chord within his childhood friend.
“My notebooks? What about them? I haven’t had any time recently to look at them. Not after the war, at least. Why do you ask?” Mikumo smiles darkly.
“Not your quirk notebooks. No, the private ones. The ones that stayed between the two of us,” Mikumo says, his words soft but the undertone makes Midoriya freeze, even as Bakugou is raising an eyebrow at the two of them.
“Deku, what the fuck? What fucking notebooks is that fuck talking about?” Midoriya almost turns to Kacchan but he also has a concerning feeling that turning away from Mikumo is a bad idea.
“Those notebooks? I haven’t touched those since middle school, for obvious reasons. ”Midoriya’s eyes narrow a bit. “Why? What do you want with them?” Mikumo lets out a barklike laugh, his grin becoming bigger.
“Oh, I don’t need anything with them Izu, considering they are already in my possession. Have been since you got transferred into the dorms.” This time, Midoriya can’t stop the small intake of breath, his mind starting to race with the obvious implications of that statement. None of them are good. He thought that Mikumo had grown out of that dark phase that he had gone through, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that this was not the case.
“Why do you have those, Mikumo? Those are dangerous. You and I both know that. What have you done with them.” Midoriya’s questions steadily get more frantic as he recognizes the look in his old friend’s eyes. It was the look he wore when they both had had bad days and just wanted to be angry at the world. A look that led to the creation of the infamous notebook.
Hero Analysis to Destroy Society. The name still sent chills throughout his body, reminding him of a darker time.
“I thought I should put that notebook to use.” Those words send an icy bullet through Midoriya’s chest. His mind stutters to a halt as he starts to metaphorically blue-screen.
“Deku, I’m going to ask again and one of you fucks better actually answer me this time. What the fuck are you talking about? What fucking notebooks are you talking about that has you terrified and this demented fuck looking so giddy at the prospect of using it?”
“ I thought we agreed that-“
“It doesn’t matter. Not anymore. Things have changed. That deal became void the second you took that damned quirk from that blond buffoon.”
“What would you have me do, Mikumo? Deny All Might himself? If it was going to be somebody, why shouldn’t it be someone who wants change just as much as you do? But this - that damn notebook is not the way! Besides, we both know that plan has too many faults to count. There is no possible way it could work.”
“Do you think I haven’t thought of another way? I went over every possibility, every angle, this is the only way, Izuku, trust me. Now, I’m giving you a choice. Join me, or try to be a hero. The second choice will not end well for you, and you know that.”
“You’re serious,” Midoriya scoffs harshly. “You are actually going to try to do this. You are actually asking me to do this and in front of Kacchan! Mikumo, I knew you were impulsive but this is a new brand of absolute stupidity!”
“Kacchan? You are still using that stupid nickname? How could you not see what he did to you? To us? Open up your eyes! What happened to you? We were ready to bring the world to its knees! And you chickened out!” Mikumo was yelling now, waving his arms.
“Deku, tell me you do not have a notebook dedicated to destroying society? Beyond that, tell me that notebook isn’t in this fucker's hands?” Kacchan is whipping his head between the two of them, eyes wide.
“Kacchan, I- there is more to this than you can understand right now. Mikumo, I didn’t chicken out because that plan is absolute insanity! And yeah, I know what he did to me, to us! Kacchan has gotten better! UA has helped him just as much as it has helped me.” Midoriya has to fight the flinch at the glare in Kacchan’s eyes. “Mikumo, we made that notebook when we were both in a really bad place. I get that you are still in that place but we cannot set that plan in motion!”
“Okay, you both are obviously very heated right now so how about we take a second to calm down and then talk about the situation more rationally,” Kacchan attempts to de-escalate.
“Oh, believe me, I am thinking rationally.” Mikumo began, “in fact, this is the clearest I have ever been in a long time. I finally came out of that dark cloud and now? I’m ready to bring this world down, just like we planned all those years ago. Now, the last piece falls in place. So, who will you choose, Izuku? The people who turned their back on you for years and only cared when you had a fancy power? Or the one person that actually cared about you? The person who you called your brother more than once? Who will it be Izu?”
“Mikumo. You know- I’m sorry. I won’t help you do this.” Midoriya looks down at the ground, guilty despite knowing that this is the only decision he could make. “Please don’t do this? Just give me the notebook and I can help you. I can help you get into any school you want, any program you want. Just give me that notebook, Mikumo!” The black-haired boy smiled.
“You know I can’t do that, Izu. And besides, I already started phase one. And you of all people should know that our plans are like dominos. Once one begins, there’s no stopping it.”
“But I know you Mikumo. Do you really think I wouldn’t have a plan for if you went rogue with our plan?” Midoriya smiles almost pityingly at the other boy.
“Actually, I did. Which is why I… polished our plans a little. Made them airtight. And your choice just cemented the plan even more. Now, no one, not even Nedzu can stop me. After all, what is the world's smartest mind against two of the smartest?” The words sent a shiver down Izuku’s and Bakugou’s spine.
“Mikumo what did you do? We both know if it comes to a fight between our plans, I would win and since I helped create them, no matter how you polished them, it will not be difficult for me to intercept and stop you. So, stop this. Now. It isn’t too late.”
“Oh, but it is. Far, far too late. About 11 years, to be precise.”
“What do you mean? No matter what you did, the only way you could hope to win is by taking me out of the picture. And you don’t know me as well as you think you do if you think I am going to stand by and let you carry out this plan!” One For All starts to spark across Izuku’s skin as he sends a subtle look towards Bakugou. The two move to attack as one, rushing towards the Mikumo.
“I wouldn’t, if I were you, Izu,” Mikumo says but neither of them has a chance to react before a net is being thrown out, wrapping itself around Bakugou and causing Midoriya to have to change courses so he doesn’t get hit as well.
“You see, I thought of everything , Izu. You can’t outthink me, not this time.” Bakugou tried to struggle, but the net only got more tangled, and if he tried to use his quirk, he would get zapped with increasing voltages of electricity.
“Again, unless you have a way of making me stay out of this fight, Nedzu and I will be able to stop you. Like you said, two minds are better than one. Arrogance will only make you lose faster, Mikumo.” Midoriya rushes over to Bakugou’s side, trying to untangle him from the net without making his situation worse. Bakugou looks more concerned about the situation than Midoriya thinks is reasonable.
“Oh, I’m not arrogant, Izu, I’m confident . How is your mother doing, by the way? Have you seen her in a while?” Mikumo’s words made Midoriya freeze. The implications of his words are obvious.
“You did something to my mother, didn’t you?” Midoriya’s words were ice cold. “Do whatever you want to us but leave her out of it- she was good to you, right?”
“Oh, but did you forget your own words? The only way to win is to get you out of the picture. The people closest to you; Bakugou, your mother. They would be a good incentive for you to stay out of this, wouldn’t they? If not, I could always go for your other classmates. Maybe that gravity girl you seem fond of? Or maybe the Todoroki heir....?”
“No,” Midoriya’s voice breaks. “Leave them out of this! They don’t have anything to do with what happened to us!” Midoriya also can’t help but think that his friends at UA would be a bigger wildcard for the fight rather than Bakugou, someone Mikumo already knows almost as well as Midoriya. Logically, using Bakugou as a hostage would make more sense.
“What are you planning Izu? I doubt that you can come up with anything that I can’t counter, considering that you haven’t been practicing. That damned school didn’t even teach you to think, only to become the very thing you once swore to destroy. I, on the other hand, have been keeping up, training both my brain and my body.” The boy’s smile was becoming more poisonous by the word, looking borderline insane.
“There is no plan, Mikumo. At least not for me. Not when you are using the two people closest to me as hostages. You win this, at least on my end. Obviously, if I say anything that could help the heroes defeat you, you would have them killed. Your plan is pretty transparent.”
Mikumo snickered.
“You forget Izu, this is your plan. What do you think will happen when the heroes find out that you, the golden boy of UA, created a plan to destroy them? What will they think then?”
“My plan never included using Kacchan or my mother as hostages! I will admit that I made the groundwork for this but this is not my doing. Maybe civilians won’t see it but every single hero whose ass I’ve saved will!”
“Didn’t it though? Rather stupid writing down your own weakness, wasn’t it? I don’t just have the notebooks we worked on together, I’ve been making sure I had all the information from your more recent notebooks about your classmates.”
“B-but I put those in code! And I have them in a secret location!”
“Yes, that I helped you pick. And a code I helped you create. Or did you forget that too?”
“This- this is insanity, Mikumo! Please, stop this! I admit it! I did what Kacchan did and abandoned you after getting a quirk. I’m sorry, I really am but please just stop the plans. Release Kacchan and we can talk this through like adults rather than throwing some cosmic tantrum!”
“Deku, you idiot.” Bakugou's voice was surprisingly low. “He’s gone off the deep end. I know you like to think you can save everyone, but this is the time to call Sensei and the police. I don’t know what’s in those notebooks, but if it’s as bad as it seems. We need to act. I care about Auntie too, we need the adults.”
“It’s worse than you think, those notebooks. You’re right,” Midoriya says as he starts pulling off his phone. He sends off a quick SOS message to Sensei along with their location before he starts to call the police.
“Police, this is Provisional Licensed Hero: Deku. We have a situation going on at-” suddenly, his phone is knocked out of his hand and a punch is sent towards his face. Midoriya smoothly dodges the punch before rolling away in an effort to put some distance between him and Mikumo, even as he internally curses as he gets farther away from the hostage.
“Did you really think I was just going to let you do that? Yes, I know I let you get a message off to your teacher. Eraserhead, isn’t it? He is going to be a fun little addition to this party. Before he gets here, though, one more thing.” The screen behind Mikumo gets taken over before a new image replaces the commercial that was playing on it.
The screen shows an apartment with the retired All Might sitting, deflated on the couch. Pointed at the back of his was a gun. Midoriya has less than a second to take in a sharp breath before a bullet is fired. All Might falls to the floor, dead.
“Bakugou might have caused his retirement, but you caused his death, Izu” Mikumo’s smile grows wider than should seem possible as Midoriya drops to his knees. Midoriya has to stop himself from screaming along with the other people walking along the street at that moment.
“Mikumo, why-how-what did you just do,” Midoriya’s voice is a breathless whisper. “Why was that necessary? That was not necessary! You already had me where you needed me! What was the point of doing that?”
“C’mon, Izu, you and I both know that he had to go sometime. I just brought it earlier.” Midoriya’s breath speeds up as he struggles to push down the tears threatening to fall, knowing that now is not the time. Aizawa-sensei was on his way, he just needed to hold out a bit longer.
“It could have been natural! Hasn’t he done enough for society that he doesn’t deserve getting killed off by the very criminals he tried to protect civilians from? He deserved a peaceful death! Not one orchestrated by a monster like you, Akatani!”
The black-haired boy flinched a bit from the name change, but quickly composed himself again.
“Deku, don’t!”
“You were never my brother. You were never even my friend. I should have abandoned you years before I got a quirk, Akatani!”
Mukimo’s expression got dark, the boy taking a step back into the shadows of the alley.
“So be it.” Was the only thing he responded. Midoriya scoffs bitterly, his breath deep as he tries to compose himself. Despite that, he can’t find it in himself to regret the words he spoke, even as he realizes he only pushed Mikumo further away.
“What the fuck did you think would happen when you kill-killed All Might? Did you think you would somehow make me want to be on your side?”
“No, I was going to kill him anyway, he was… in the way. I needed him gone.”
“Why? Why could he possibly have needed to be killed! He couldn’t do anything to stop your plan! What could you possibly have needed him gone for.”
“It doesn’t matter now, he’s dead, and nothing is going to change that.” Midoriya felt empty, so tired from what had transpired within the last few minutes. Suddenly, a familiar gray scarf shot out of the dark, wrapping around Mukimo’s body, binding him.
“Aizawa-sensei!” Cried Midoriya.
“Problem child.” Acknowledged his teacher.
“Eraserhead! You got here faster than I thought you would! No matter, you can’t stop anything anyway.” Eraser turned to look at Mukimo and gasped. The quirkless boy smiled, sickly sweet.
“Oh, you remember me? I wasn’t expecting that. I thought that I would have to do a dramatic reveal to get you to remember. Makes my job easier,”
“Mukimo, what are you doing here? How do you know Midoriya?”
“What, can’t stand to see the boy you saved from the roof next to the boy you trained? It turns out you were right, Eraser. I have so much left for me to live for .” The words washed over Midoriya like a bucket of ice water.
“What-what rooftop?”
“Kid-“ Aizawa began.
“ What rooftop? ” Midoriya’s words were dark, searching for an explanation.
“What did you think would happen?” Mikumo laughed, “You were the only person I had. What did you think would happen when I lost you too?” The horror began to settle in as Midoriya realized what happened. “Really, it was the only choice, Bakgous words didn’t just affect you, you know. I bet you regret it now, don’t you Eraser?”
“No, I saved you. I could never regret that, no matter what you have become. How could I have known?” Aizawa’s voice was even, but there was a small hint of fear beneath it.
“But you blame yourself, don’t you? Eraserhead: always are too quick to blame yourself for everything.” Aizawa tensed as Midoriya’s eyes widened at the words.
“Stop that! Stop quoting my notebooks against the people that I love!” One For All sparked again, Midoriya losing control.
“Ah, ah, ah…” Mukimo said. The net Bakugou was stuck in sparked, sending shocks throughout the blond’s body. Midoriya pauses and calms himself, forcing his quirk back down. Mukimo smiles at the sight.
“You took everything from me, Izu. Now it’s my turn.”
“You really think you can beat Nedzu? You can’t outthink the world’s smartest being.” Aizawa tightened the grip on the capture weapon.
“No, not on my own. But with his help…” Mikumo turned towards Midoriya. “I can do anything.”
Midoriya's face falls at the reminder of his actions in what he knows is about to happen. Eraserhead turns to Midoriya with a questioning eyebrow.
“Kid, what is he talking about?” Midoriya flinches, his teacher’s words soft but still stern enough to know that he needs an answer.
“The plans Akatani has, we created together back in middle school. I helped to create these plans. I’m sorry Aizawa-Sensei,” Midoriya explains softly, trying to ignore the grin that is now on Mikumo’s face.
“Too bad, I had hoped you would be on my side for this, Izu, but now I get to watch the world you built up around you crumble. The public faith that a hero is so dependent on. When this comes out, you’ll be destroyed.”
“He won’t lose his friends or his teachers.” Mikumo laughs, bitterness clear in his voice but he doesn’t say a word, seemingly relishing in his easy victory. Midoriya’s eyes harden as he comes to a conclusion. A conclusion he doesn’t like. Midoriya steps in front of Aizawa, his face dark but resigned.
“What if I were to say, Akatani, that I would join you. That I would give up my future as a hero, willingly, if you released Bakugou and my mother. If I were to tell you that I would hand over my quirk; go back to being quirkless,” Midoriya says, his words soft but confident. Mikumo raises a curious eyebrow while Midoriya can feel the way Aizawa flinches behind him.
“I would say that you think I’m an idiot. A minute before you had stopped calling me by the name you used our entire childhood but then you say you would join me? I would be an idiot to believe you.” Midoriya nods slightly, almost to himself.
“Okay, then a trial. Give me a part of the plan you are struggling with. If you approve of how I say I would adjust it to fit then you free them. If not, I’ll give you an updated analysis on how to defeat Hawks.” Mikumo seems to watch him for a minute, obviously rolling his words around in his head looking for a loophole he could use against Mikumo but they both know there are no loopholes.
“I give you the situation, I approve of your response and you willingly reveal your new part in what’s going to happen or no deal.” Midoriya looks down at the ground at Bakugou, who is watching him in fear, who shakes his head frantically telling him not to do this. Midoriya turns to Aizawa, who looks desperate, who opens his mouth presumably to beg him not to sacrifice himself to the monster Mikumo became.
“Deal,” Midoriya says as he looks into his former teacher’s eyes watching Aizawa break at the single word. Turning back around, Midoriya watches Mikumo light up with glee at his words before sobering.
“Stage 3: Going after the #1 Hero to induce panic and distrust in the heroes and systematically breaking the backbone of hero society.” Midoriya laughs a little, remembering when they made that plan. It all seemed so much more elaborate as a child.
“Irrelevant. At the time All Might was the #1 hero and he almost single-handedly helped up hero society. With All for One pulling him from the picture, his role in society is gone meaning that the purpose of that is already completed. While powerful, Hawks does not have the same influence over hero society and would just be replaced once killed with almost no impact on society. Switch that step to shattering the trust in the Hero Commission instead. As of now, they have the most power especially with the stranglehold they have on Hawks’ career. Destroying that would be instrumental in shattering the little remaining trust civilians have with heroes.” Mikumo laughs, a sense of victory lacing the sound.
“Well, it seems my Izu is back in the picture. Welcome back.” Midoriya pulls a piece of hair out of his head, silently handing it to Aizawa without even looking at the Underground Hero. He slowly walks over to Mikumo’s side, eyes downcast. He stops beside Mikumo, taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly, turning around and opening his eyes.
“Midoriya,” Aizawa’s word comes out as nothing more than a breath. The person standing in front of him no longer looks like his student. Midoriya is standing there with an aura Aizawa has only ever felt around All for One, with a smirk on his face that fits only a villain, not someone who was fighting so hard to be a hero not five minutes earlier.
“Deku?” Bakugou’s voice broke as he struggled even harder to get out of the net, to save his oldest friend , but it was useless. Aizawa seemed numb, the green hair in his hand, lighter than a feather and heavier than a mountain. The look on his former student’s face was alien, almost unnatural. Bakugou was at a loss about what to do. He was powerless and he needed to save someone, but couldn’t. Is this how Izuku felt all that time? So… empty? It was so strange, and humbling. If the boy could keep his dream alive, even all through his life, then Izuku was truly the stronger of the two of them.
“Although you are right, Bakugou here would be an amazing hostage. Not just for me but he is a weakness of the whole class. What do you say, Miku, why don’t we keep him?” Mukimo’s grin spread wider at the suggestion. Bakugo’s eyes widen at his words, panic fueling his body in what he knows is a futile attempt to escape. Mikumo and Izuku. Two sides of a coin. Dangerous alone but unstoppable when the two are working together. There was a reason that they were called “the dark opposites” back in middle school. One side could not exist without the other, and both were strange and dangerous. Despite the bullying, Mukimo managed to become someone terrifying, and Izuku had his analysis, which always put others on edge. Seeing the two together once again made Bakugou’s stomach turn.
“Deku, please, don’t? You do this and you will be throwing away your chance at becoming a hero. You won’t be able to come back from this. This, no matter how it ends, will be the only legacy that follows you.” Midoriya looks down at Bakugou with a smile, all edges before his eyes fall into some form of false sympathy, caring on the outside, but rotten and empty on the inside.
“Is this how it felt when I was begging to you? I see why you like it. Having someone who society thinks should be stronger groveling at your feet. It’s amazing, Miku. I don’t know why I ever gave it up for that dumb quirk.” Mikumo throws his arms around Midoriya with a wide smile, one that actually feels like excitement. Rather than the feigned excitement that was there before, the black-haired boy looked ecstatic. Mikumo was willing to do it alone but couldn’t help but be more excited with his closest confidant by his side once again. Bakugou and Aizawa didn’t know what was real or fake anymore, the looks on both of the boys’ faces said so much but left so much to the imagination as well. Their entire worlds were being turned upside down and they couldn’t keep up.
“We were always so much better together. Everyone knew it. That’s why Bakugou hated to see us by each other’s side back then. He knew we were always strongest once we were working together. Let's show the world who we can be. Let’s bring back team Karma.”
“I think Miku, that it is time for us to take our leave. Eraserhead might very well be distracted, but he likely has already called for backup. Now is not the moment for a physical battle.” Mikumo shoots off a message on his phone before turning to Bakugou, grabbing the net, a bit tougher than necessary, tangling the blond even more. “Eraser, I would suggest against attacking. A portal may be convenient but so is a friend. Tata.” A black, swirling portal opens in front of the three young men, and they walk through, dragging Bakugou with no one even attempting to stop them.
It’s almost funny, Eraserhead thinks as he stares silently at the space the three occupied only a second ago, no one on the streets knows the extent of what just happened. Some major events only felt important to a couple of people even as the civilians affected most stayed ignorant of it. I hate irony.
“-Raser? Eraser? Update?” It takes a couple of seconds for the words to sink in before they finally have a meaning. His husband’s familiar voice was frantic in his ear. Eraser takes a deep breath, trying to put together the most relevant information to convey. Time was of the essence, even if they are already too late.
“All Might’s killer was confirmed but escaped. Bakygou Katsuki has been kidnapped. Mid-Midoriya Izuku should now be classified as an S-Rank villain in all systems.” The words
cause the other line to go completely silent.
“What.” The voice of his husband trickles through the line, quiet as the spring breeze as if scared that, if he said anything louder, the words that his husband just uttered would come true.
Fuck.
Well, this is going to be a fuckton of paperwork.
“I am heading back to UA. Have Tsukauchi and all other relevant figures there by the time I’m back for a full report. In addition, bring in Todoroki Shouto, Kirishima Eijiro, and Kaminari Denki. Tell them nothing until I get there!” Aizawa ran through the streets like the devil was chasing him.