Chapter 37

Tomura hummed. " So. Is that it then?" He asked. Kurogiri nodded, serving him a drink.

" Overhaul will be shipped to Tartarus later today. Compress is watching for the moment to strike."

" I'm surprised Izuku didn't kill the bastard."

" He told me that he didn't deserve death. That you could deliver a fate far worse than that." Tomura grinned at Kurogiri's words.

" Oh. So that's the brats ploy is it. I see. Very clever." He laughed. " So Izuku's letting me have my fun. Very good. I'll have to make a quick plan of just how to torture him the most."

" Atsuhiro is watching the heroes. They're still cleaning up after the fight." Kurogiri told him.

" What of Dabi's mission?"

" From what he reported, Rappa managed to get around 20 Shie Hassaikai members to a safe house far enough away from their main base they won't be found. Dabi's making his return shortly but Rappa has decided to stay with them until everything can be sorted out." Tomura nodded. He grit his teeth as a Haru stepped into the room, straightening out her mask. Kurogiri nodded a greeting as she pulled up a stool. Tomura narrowed his eyes, staring down at his drink. " Haru. How is Hiiro?"

" Healed up and being forced to rest. Hitoshi, Himiko and Shoto only had minor scrapes in comparison. Jin is a bit more problematic. I can't heal broken bones, but his ribs didn't seem all that bad. Still, I'll follow up with the Doctor to see what the best course of action is."

" Doctor?" Tomura asked.

" My carer." She clarified. Tomura hummed. It didn't really answer his question, but he left it alone for now. "I wish I could have seen Izuku, Toru and that girl but one of them locked Izuku's apartment door."

" If it weren't for the kid in there with them, I'd say they were up to some private business." Tomura snarked.

" Either way, everyone should be fine." Haru finished. " I'll be looking over that girl when Izuku and Toru wake up. All three of them if I can, but she worries me the most. A young girl like that with bandages over her arms told she was a cursed child."

" She's not cursed." Tomura growled. He wasn't a fan of how the girl was treated. Toru told him all about the state of the young girl. It was half the reason he decided to go along with her plan to kidnap her, the other half was just to stick for Overhaul. He hated the way she supposedly talked about herself and how others talked about her. It dredged up something inside of him. A voice telling him the same things. His dreams recently were filled with screams and blood and ash. He looked up at Haru. Something about her made him feel uncomfortable. He stood up. " I'm gonna go get ready. Let me known when Compress reports back." Tomura stepped out of the bar area, heading up to his room.

" He doesn't like me much, does he?" Haru asked. Tomura paused, listening in just outside the room.

" Don't let it trouble you. It takes time for him to get used to new people. Give him that time."

" Alright. I shall." She sighed.

" Are you still having headaches?"

" Unfortunately. I don't know what it is. Something about this place doesn't agree with me." She said. " I'll help as best I can. Those are the Doctor's orders. But it is a distracting discomfort. What of your mission?"

" Alas, I still haven't found him yet. I shall have to ask for Jin's assistance when he has recovered." Tomura narrowed his eyes before returning to his room. The hierarchy of the place had Tomura's inner circle be himself, Izuku and Kurogiri at first, aided by Sensei. Toru joined them after the USJ and Izuku told Momo enough to count her as a sort of intermediary, knowing more than the rest of the League but not quite as much as those three knew about his plans. And yet, Kurogiri seemed to know more than he did. About Sensei's own inner circle. This Doctor and some mysterious figure he ventured out some night's to try and locate. It bugged him. Just what didn't he know.

Mirio sat alone in the now commandeered Shie Hassaikai base, waiting as the reports of the aftermath of the Shie Hassaikai Hideout Raid finally ended. The fight hadn't been a simple one. Nor had it been pretty. Two city blocks were destroyed thanks to Chisaki's freak transformation. Of the Shie Hassaikai, most had been arrested, some had been killed and even fewer escaped. Of Chisaki's inner circle, Chisaki had been captured along with Kurono and five members of the Eight Precepts. Joi Iranaka was found dead. Suicide, or so it had been ruled. Sir wasn't so certain, especially not with Brainstorm at the scene. Soramitsu Tabe had been found haven bleed to death due to extreme head trauma, unlike the other two found with him, Setsuno and Hojo, who were just alive after a heavy beating, similar in nature to the beating Midnight had received earlier in the year. Finally, Hekiji Tengai had been found dumped in a back room of the main building, stabbed to death with multiple wounds all over his body. The last Precept of Death, Kendo Rappa, was completely missing but, seeing as he was seen with League members a week earlier, it was assumed he'd jumped ship to side with them.

The worst news came when medics went to tend to the wounds of the League members who'd aided with the Hassaikai's defeat. Eri had refused to leave Ghost's side. Mirio explained after the fact that Ghost had rescued her and Eri had clung to her until she was forced to leave. Nighteye had turned his attention to the giant form of Overhaul before he could claim her from them and, by the time it was over, Eri and the League had vanished, likely whisked away by Kurogiri.

Mirio wasn't a fan of the news. However a part of him was relieved that she was at least with someone he though he could trust. Izuku was a villain. He didn't need to be reminded of that fact. His schemes and actions had gotten hero course students injured and pro heroes killed. However, he was absolutely certain that he nor Ghost would let a thing happen to Eri. So he knew she was safe. He would have far preferred her to be under the watch of the heroes. He wanted to apologize in full. He couldn't do it properly in the heat of the moment. Now it seemed like he'd never get that chance. At the very least, no heroes were dead. Injured but not dead and not too majorly that they'd have to retire. They'd lucked out there.

" Young Togata." Mirio slowly looked up. Gran Torino took the seat across the table opposite him.

" Oh. Gran Torino, sir."

" It's good to see you again, Mirio. I se you've got a better handle on One For All since I last saw you."

" Sir and All Might have both been training me. I can't access a lot of it's true power, but I'm at about 25% now. I've been using it intermittently with Permeation to lessen the whole… bone breaking thing."

" Ho ho. I have memories of Nana and I trying to teach Toshinori the same things when he first got that quirk."

" Nana?" Mirio asked.

" Yes. Nana Shimura. All Might's mentor and a very close friend of mine. She was the one who taught Toshinori to never stop smiling even in the most dire of situations." Gran Torino laughed sadly. " She died thirty years ago in a fight against All for One."

" Oh. I never knew." Mirio looked down. A female user of One for All. That sounded familiar. He thought back. Ever since obtaining One for All, he had strange dreams. Like fuzzy memories of another life or faded figures trying to reach out to him. " This might sound strange but when I was up there, after Overhaul knocked me high in the sky and I thought I might die from smashing into the ground from such a height, I screamed internally. I didn't want to die like that. I wanted to keep fighting. I wanted to save Eri. To stop Overhaul. Then, I heard a voice. She was kind sounding, almost motherly. She told me to relax. Let her aid me. That's when-"

" You started to use Float."

" Excuse me?" Gran had a look of half confusion yet half realisation on his face, like he just figured out something impossible.

" Nana's quirk. It was called Float. It allowed her to levitate herself but she could only move herself up or down. Mastering it allows the user great mobility if you know when to stop it and how to control yourself in mid air."

" Falling with style?"

" Ho. That is what she called it. But she combined it with One for All and it turned her from someone with great mobility to an unmatched aerial combatant, even against one like me at my prime." Gran folded his arms. " Mirio, I believe her power now resides within you.

" You mean I can use Float?"

" I thought long and hard about how it was possible, but your words confirmed it. One for All is passed down through the generations. It's possible the old users leave behind something of themselves in the quirk for their future successors. From those vestiges, Nana was able to reach you and give her quirk to you." Gran smiled. " Even now, she's still helping save people."

" So. Float…" Mirio looked down at his hands. " No, Nana. She's helping us from within One for All."

" Mirio, my boy." Gran declared. " If you can figure out how to tap into Float once again, I will gladly help train you in it. As a last favour to Nana, it will be my honour." Mirio smiled brightly.

" Thank you, Gran Torino. I'll be happy to have your help in all of this."

The members of the Shie Hassaikai were moved in separate transports randomly to a number of prisons across the country in order to prevent the chance the mafia may try and free their comrades. The leader of the the Yakuza, Kai Chisaki, was moved under the watch of the sand hero Snatch and about a dozen cops. It was an ambush designed to take any would be rescuers down with a surprising amount of force for the small looking convoy. Atsuhiro smiled behind his mask as he drove the League's commandeered van into this ambush anyway. " Kenji, my dear. Take the wheel." He asked.

" I'm not the best driver, you know."

" Just hold her steady. We won't be long." Mina laughed from the back of the van. Compress jumped round back to join his companions. Dabi, Mina, Tomura and Kaminari waited for him.

" Man. It's been a while since I got to wear this baby." Kaminari laughed, the voice modulator in his mask hiding his voice with auto tune and reverb. " I can't believe the others fell for me pretending I had a stomach bug. I don't even think Lunch Rush making off food is even possible."

" Heroes often overlook the obvious threat when those who they know are the perpetrators." Atsuhiro told him. " It is why heroes have such outstanding crime records but their colleagues are blind to it."

" Like Midnight in UA. I getcha."

" Enough semantics." Tomura growled. "Magne. Spin us around."

" On it. That bird man owes me a hand. I aim to collect." Atsuhiro placed his hand on the van's side as Magne spun the vehicle around, watching the rear view window so she didn't veer of course as she drove backwards. Dabi kicked a door off the van.

" He owes my brother an arm too. Too bad Shoto couldn't be here." Atsuhiro pushed the other door open calmly.

" Why is that exactly?"

" Heh. Said he wasn't interested in revenge on some nobody. Using all that energy up the next time we fight the old bastard." Dabi laughed. " Besides, he was pretty tired after helping those loser heroes take Overhaul down."

" Trust heroes to need help cleaning up their messes. They should Izu and Shoto a medal." Mina smirked. " Well, Shoto gave me the go ahead to have some fun in his stead. Here's hoping."

" Blackout. Bring the vehicle down."

" With pleasure." Kaminari laughed. Atsuhiro stepped out of the way, letting the electric quirked villain step in his place. He drew back his arms, lighting crackling through the metal gauntlets of his suit before he flooded the road in front of him with a stream of electricity. The convoy in front of him veered violently before their tires exploded from the sudden force, causing them to spin out and crash. Magne stopped, letting them all out. Before long they were met by the pro defending the convoy. Snatch burst from the front car, the bottom half of his body already transformed into sand.

" I see. So you came, League of Villains." The hero shouted. " Here to save your accomplice?"

" Accomplice?" Tomura raised an eyebrow, scratching at his neck. " Are you stupid? Why would we work with a nobody like that? No, this is a personal vendetta. Call it crushing an enemy king. Like Shogi. I'd enjoy if you get out of the way."

" Whatever your reasons, I cannot let you succeed. I shall end you here and now, Tomura Shigaraki." Snatch fired a burst of sand at him, only for it to be countered by Dabi's intense flames.

" You know, I saw online that when sand and intense heat meet, it turns to glass." Mina mused. " It would be fun to smash such an obnoxious man. Big Sis' magnet would do the trick."

" Getting my flames to him is the issue." Dabi told her.

" I can't disintegrate him either. Bastard heroes thought this one through."

" This guy's Snatch, right? Heh. Looks like you were right, Tomura." Kaminari asked. " Give me room. Compress. Back me up."

" Of course." As Dabi kept Snatch's sand at bay, Kaminari sent a wave of electricity passed him. Snatch's eyes widened, immediately breaking away from the fight to get the the police trapped inside the car he targeted. When he got there, Atsuhiro tossed some marbles he'd prepared in advance. Numerous canisters appeared above him. Snatch fired a burst of sand up, destroying them. " Ah. You played your part perfectly, hero. Saving the extra then falling straight for the villains trap." The canisters broke open. Snatch was immediately covered as water drenched him. His body slowly returned to its normal state. A sudden force then pulled him forwards.

" Sorry, love. But you're in the way." Kenji smirked. Tomura stuck out a hand. The group watched as Snatch tried and failed to turn his body into sand.

" Fun thing about sand. When it's wet, it's basically completely solid. Mud like, you know?" Tomura jeered. " But you rely on turning into something more free, don't you. Let me help you with that." Atsuhiro lowered the brim of his his hat. As soon as Tomura touched him, Snatch turned to a different dust like state han he was known for. Dust that caused him to crumble and blow away in the wind. " I think Izuku is rubbing off on me."

" Are you suggesting that's a bad thing?" Atsuhiro asked. " That was quite the plan you thought up on the fly." Tomura huffed.

" Let's just get this loser." Tomura nodded to Mina. The girl grinned, melting through the door of the armoured transport vehicle and pulling the tied up Overhaul from the back, dragging him along the tarmac by his blue, fluffy collar. Tomura leered over him. " Hello Chisaki. It's been a while."

" Tomura." Overhaul said, surprised. " Are you here to kill me?"

" Ha. If we wanted that, Izuku would have done that for us."

" Then why-" Overhaul was cut off as Mina placed her hands across his arm, spreading her acid across it, taking a slow, excruciating time to burn through his skin. Meanwhile, Atsuhiro searched his pockets.

" Found it." He held up a small, red box. Tomura hummed.

" More of the real product."

" More?"

" Oh, you didn't know?" Tomura grinned darkly. " We got a hold of that doll bastard with Brainstorm's quirk. He told us all about where you were hiding all of the real stuff. Unfortunate that it was only ten more bullets, but we'll make good use of the failures too. Don't worry. We share things right? We'll make sure to look after that legacy of yours."

" No. You can't." Overhaul spoke through the pain. Mina laughed applying more and more acid, soon buring straight through his lower arm, splitting it from his hand.

" Y'know, you wanted to destroy ambitious people who relied too much on their quirks, right? Well, think of this as us doing that. You rely too much on your quirk and you thought you could beat us. What a poisonous ambition. You really are infected." Tomura placed a hand on Overhaul's undamaged arm. " Well, cleanliness is next to godliness and all that. But don't worry." Tomura drew a dagger from coat. A dagger pulled from the many Spinner collected. With a quick swing, after letting him writhe in pain for a bit, Tomura cut the infected flesh free. " I won't let you meet your maker quite yet."

" W-What… did you just… do?" Chisaki asked, fearful. Tomua grinned, taking in the fearful look in his enemies eyes, savouring the triumphant feeling of victory.

" I cured you. Just as you wanted. You're quirk free. You don't need to be stained by the plague of toxic ambition it gives you. Aren't you happy?" Tomura laughed. " And don't worry about everything you leave behind. That's all mine now. I'll make very good use of it. Sit back and watch, Chisaki."

" What are you planning?"

" Believe me. You'll learn in time." Tomura stood up and began walking away. Mina sneered at him. Magne laughed, smashing the hand Mina left behind with her magnet, and walked off. Kaminari flipped him off. Atsuhiro gave him a dramatic bow. It slowly dawned on Chisaki. Left behind with out a quirk and with no way to end his own suffering, a failure to the father figure he betrayed and all his scheming for naught and left for the heroes to lock away, the sirens echoing in the distance the proof of that. He screamed after them.

" KILL ME! PLEASE! TOMURA! KILL ME!" He begged. Atsuhiro looked up to see Tomura's evil grin. The man he chose to follow had just taken his place at the top of the food chain. Overhaul had his time in the lime light but his time was over. It was time for the true stars of the show to take centre stage.

Despite being allowed the rest of the day off for extraordinary circumstances, Katsuki was back in his uniform by the time lunch ended. He said his farewells early to Eijiro and Shindo and made his way back. There was something he just had to follow up on. Something Izuku had said that didn't sit right with him.

When he walked through the classroom door for afternoon lessons, everyone looked at him like they saw a ghost. He wasn't exactly surprised. What had happened with overhaul wasn't exactly something the heroes could keep under wraps for long. The asshole had transformed into a Kaiju and torn apart a couple city blocks. He shouting could likely be heard from a mile away. That combined with the mysterious absence of himself, his teacher and three of his classmates and it wasn't exactly hard to tell where he'd been in his internship that morning. He took his seat and put his feet up before looking back over to the rest of his class. " What?" He growled. A few of them looked down.

" Are you alright, Baku?" Kinoko asked. " We… saw the news."

" That was the operation you were discussing earlier, wasn't it." Iida asked. Katsuki just nodded. " Hmm. Is everyone alright?"

" Few scrapes, but nothing to major." He admitted. " Shitty Hair, Bird Beak and Frog Face should be in the dorms later."

" Why are you here then?" Kaminari asked. Katsuki grinned.

" Like hell am I falling behind you extras. I can fight shitty villains like that with my left arm tied behind my back and still be here to be the top of the class. It ain't nothing to be."

" Hee hee. You try so hard to be cool, Baku."

" Can it, Shrooms."

" I am here!" The class looked up as the skeletal form of All Might walked through the door, giving a slight wave. " Ah. Young Bakugo. Welcome back."

" All Might…" Bakugo frowned. He needed to talk to him. But not there and then. He waited as their hero lessons began. Katsuki's costume was unfortunately pretty beat up after the fight with Overhaul, so he was forced into the tacky UA gym uniform for the afternoon. He trained, using the lesson to blow off steam and go over what he did wrong. He was stuck in that underground maze for most of the battle. After Tintin got separated from them, Katsuki used his quirk to try and go after him but it took a while to blast through all the concrete, even with Shitty Hair's help. By the time they found him, Aizawa had caught up and Overhaul was a giant. And, even then, he couldn't help Izuku. He crushed Overhaul with everyone's help. But Izuku still got away. He got away along with all of the League. But it did leave Katsuki with something he needed to talk with All Might about.

He waited until all his classmates left the gym before approaching All Might. " Yo. All Might. I gotta ask you something?"

" Hmm. Young Bakugo? Well, if somethings the matter, I shall do my best to help though I believe Eraserhead is likely better to ask for school matters."

" It ain't school matters. It's more… personal."

" Ah. I see. Then I shall do my best."

" Then I'll just come out and say it." He folded his arms. " Are you the reason Izuku became a villain?" All Might paused.

" Was he there as well? Young Midoriya?" Katsuki nodded. " Does he really blame me?"

" Yeah." Katsuki nodded. " In his own words, he said you were the trigger." All Might sighed.

" What I said to him that day, I meant with the best of intentions. The boy claimed he was quirkless. And I… Well, being a hero is a dangerous role. If a Villain like Overhaul faced someone like that one on one, there would be no chance he could win. I tried to explain to him that there were other paths were he could help people. A police officer or a doctor. But it appears he took it the wrong way."

" He said you laughed at him."

" What?! No! I would never laugh at the dreams of a young man like that!" All Might exclaimed. " If that's what he thought I was doing, he most certainly took it the wrong way. But All For One, that bastard. He found Young Midoriya and twisted his world view some how." Katsuki growled, digging his nails into his palms.

" Sounds to me that you messed up."

" Perhaps I did. But All For One is behind the League so-"

" So what?" Katsuki raised an eyebrow. " It weren't that blind bastard who said those things. It was you. If you'd just… I dunno, lied or… or something. If you did that then maybe he'd still be here."

" Y-Young Bakugo. I-"

" No. Y-You don't don't know what he'd been through." Katsuki sighed. " Not like I was any better. I messed up. So badly, I messed up. I pushed him and I pushed him for ten god damn years. I was supposed to be his best friend but I…"

" Young Bakugo. This wasn't your fault."

" Yeah. I know. I wasn't the trigger. Second worst reason apparently, but not the trigger." Katsuki told him. " Just… We both fucked up. I don't care if you believe that or not, but it's the truth. And I'm gonna find him. And I'm gonna bring him home."

" Young Bakugo…" All Might blinked. Katsuki turned his back on the former number one.

" And you better stay outta my way." He left All Might behind. The former Number One wouldn't be any help in his mission. He needed people he could trust. Izuku needed his help. Or maybe he didn't. Katsuki had to wonder how far was too far. Izuku already admitted to killing. Could he even get him back at this point? He grit his teeth. He had to try. He gave up on his friend once. He couldn't forgive himself if he did it again.

Kenji stretched as she entered Kurogiri's bar later that evening before taking her seat. " So, you fucked up Overjerk?" Rappa asked from next to her, sliding her a glass of whiskey.

" That we did. Surprised you stuck around. Figured you'd want a piece of him yourself."

" Nah, beating a guy like that without it being a fair one on one is no fun." Rappa rolled his shoulder. " I prefer taking it to the ring."

" Hmm. I never saw the appeal of that. If I fight, I want to win. Playing dirty is the best way to go about that, right? Can't protect those you care about from everything with a sense of honour."

" No rules are the best rules." Rappa agreed. " Besides, I had to make sure the boys knew where we stood now. Responsibility or whatever."

" How'd that go?"

" A few people didn't like the idea, but I… heh… brought 'em in line." Rappa cracked his knuckles.

" Well, if it must be done I suppose." Kenji shrugged. " But I'm not a fan of senseless violence. I only like fighting with a purpose in mind." Rappa hummed.

" Ya know. You don't seem like the type to get wrapped up in all this stuff."

" Don't I?"

" The Hassaikai were a bunch of people Overjerk recruited personally. We weren't the nicest but I know some people just joined up cause they had nowhere else to go. Tabe. Hojo. Setsuno. Sakaki. They weren't bad folk."

" Sounds like you miss them."

" Nah. Not really. But they were good guys." Rappa laughed. " Hojo could take a punch better than most. And no-one drunk better than Sakaki. Setsuno could be blunt at times but he never lied. And you ain't seen anyone eat shit faster than Tabe could. I never got along with the bastards like Nemoto or Iranaka, but those four. They were good guys."

" You had good friends."

" Ha. Didn't mean to reminisce." Rappa laughed. " Still, I never knew about that kid. If I did, she wouldn't have still been there when you found her. I can't believe Overjerk would stoop so low."

" People do that when faced with something unusual." Kenji admitted. " I know from experience."

" Huh?"

" Well, I grew up in a more conservative family. My mom and dad had… ideals they wanted me to follow. But… well, me being me, I couldn't do that. As much as they wanted me to be that perfect son, I never felt right being that. When I decided who I was, they didn't accept me. Kicked me out. Been moving around from place to place ever since, just trying to find a place that would accept me for me. That's what the League became for me." Kenji smiled. " People here. They see me for who I want to be seen as. I guess everyone here has had a hard life, but it brought us together. It helps that when I see my friend, I can tell her that there is a place for people like us."

" You're a great gal, Magne." Rappa smiled.

" Thanks, Kendo." She raised her glass. " Here's hoping we can keep living like this for a while longer yet."

Izuku awoke to two bodies lying close to him. One was Toru, visible by the clothes she was wearing. The second was Eri, clutching tightly to Toru's arm. Izuku lay there, remembering the events of earlier in the day. It was 12:30 in the afternoon when Izuku returned to the League's base but it felt like it had been an eternity. He quickly returned to his room where Toru and Eri were waiting. There wasn't many words shared. They were all exhausted and passed out on Izuku's couch. He looked out of his window to see the sun setting. He must have been out for a while. He hadn't realised just how much the fight with Chisaki had taken out of him. He hadn't even seen Haru. He hadn't even checked to see if his injuries were that bad. He'd just gotten back, heard Toru was alright, rushed to see her, seen Eri asleep and passed out himself. He hoped Tomura and the others finished up alright without his input. He let out a heavy sigh, moving to get up only to get stopped by someone else stirring. He looked down beside him to see Eri rubbing her eyes.

" Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you." He said. The girl looked up at him warily. " My name is Izuku. I'm Toru's boyfriend if you know what that means. I'm a friend. No-ones going to hurt you here."

" N-No." She whimpered. " H-He's gonna find me. T-Then…"

" Chisaki won't find you. Don't worry. You're safe. We took care of him."

" H-He always finds me."

" Not this time. You're safe with us." Izuku reassured her. " We'll have our doctor look you over and give you a change of clothes. We'll look after you best as we can. I promise." Eri kept a cautious eye on Izuku. She felt for Toru's invisible hand, clenching it.

" He's right, Eri. Trust him." Toru groaned, her form returning as she woke up. " We won't let him get you."

" M-Miss Toru!" Eri gasped. " Are you… OK?"

" Thanks to you." Toru smiled. " Why? Think you were dreaming?"

" M-Maybe." She shyly admitted. " It's just… you shouldn't have done this. I… I don't deserve it. I'm cur-"

" You're not cursed." Izuku and Toru both said sharply. Eri shrunk back.

" You saved my life, Eri. Your quirk is amazing." Toru went on. " You just need to help to control it."

" You're not cursed. Broken, maybe, but not cursed. And anything broken can be fixed. I taught Toru that a long time ago." Izuku gave her a gentle smile. " Just give us a chance. We'll help you." Eri looked nervous. Izuku hated it. He recognised the signs. She didn't trust anything or anyone and second guessed herself with her every thought. Anything bad in her life she blamed herself for because that's what she had been taught. She felt alone, with no-one to rely on because everyone around her saw her as someone to be mocked, pitied or over all looked down upon. And Izuku knew it. He knew it because he'd been in the same situation once before.

Izuku hadn't been experimented on when he was young but he had been tortured. By Katsuki and his henchmen. By all the other students had her their own levels of trickery and mockery and torment. He'd been attacked, physically by as many school yard toys and classroom tools as he could name. He'd been tormented mentally by tricks and bullying, being laughed at and having his hopes crushed over and over. Izuku recognised all the signs in Eri of someone being tormented because he'd been her once. And, if she grew up in the same ways, he knew what she'd become. The same broken mess Izuku had been before he'd met Kurogiri and Sensei. He could not let that happen to Eri.

Eri glanced back to Toru. She nodded encouragingly. Eri teared up. Suddenly, she hugged Izuku. " Please. I don't want to be scared anymore. Fix me." Izuku smiled, pulling her closer.

" Trust in us, Eri. You'll never be alone again. I promise."