Uraraka ran.
The treadmill hummed beneath her feet, but she wasn't paying attention to the machine. Not the beeping display. Not the sticky sweat tracing down the back of her neck.
She just ran. Eyes locked ahead, jaw tight, fists clenched. Like if she just kept moving, he'd show up again. On the next lap. The next corner.
Somewhere. Anywhere.
It had been a month.
A full month since the world cracked sideways.
Since Midoriya—her classmate, her friend, her maybe-something-more—disappeared.
Not in the dramatic way you read in mystery novels. Not with smoke bombs or villain attacks.
No. He left with a note. Quiet. Simple. Final.
"Don't look for me. I'm sorry. I have to do this."
No one could find him.
Nezu had tried tracing his phone. Nothing.
Aizawa contacted every underground channel he knew. Dead ends.
U.A.'s surveillance footage caught the weirdest part—someone who looked exactly like Tenya Iida breaking into Ingenium's hospital room at night. He injected something—something glowing and weird into the IV. The next morning, Ingenium woke up completely healed.
And just like that, the hero killer was caught within the week with the help of Aizawa and Ingenium.
Uraraka hadn't told anyone, but when she first saw Tensei walk again, she cried. Not because she wasn't happy for Tenya. She was.
But it felt like something Midoriya would do. No cameras. No credit. Just… fixing what was broken. Then vanishing.
She hated him for it.
And she missed him so much.
When she stepped off the treadmill, her knees wobbled slightly. The gym's lights buzzed overhead, white and cold. Empty.
She bent forward, hands on her thighs, catching her breath.
"Still running like you're chasing ghosts?"
The voice was low, casual.
She looked up to see Tsuyu standing by the bench, towel slung around her shoulders, water bottle in hand.
Uraraka tried to smile. Failed.
Tsuyu didn't say anything else. She just handed over the bottle.
Uraraka took it. Drank. Then sat down, letting her legs stretch out in front of her.
"You think he's okay?" she asked quietly, not looking at her.
Tsuyu didn't answer right away.
"Yeah," she said finally. "I think he's more than okay. I think he's doing something that scares him."
That silence again.
"…I just wish he'd let us carry it with him."
Tsuyu nodded, like she'd been thinking the same thing for days.
Back in the dorms, life moved on.
Kirishima was retelling the same internship story for the third time that week. Something about body-checking a villain through a grocery aisle and landing in a rack of instant noodles.
He did the sound effects, too. Full chest.
"Boom. Crash. Kyaaa!"
Bakugo watched from the kitchen, arms folded, unimpressed. "You know that guy was like, a third-rate thug with a crowbar, right?"
Kirishima grinned. "A third-rate thug with a mean left hook, thank you very much."
Bakugo rolled his eyes.
Mina leaned over the couch, pink hair bouncing. "Okay but real question—if Izuku came back right now, do you think he'd look... different?"
"Like... older?" Jirou asked, tuning her guitar absentmindedly.
"Brooding," Mina clarified. "Scarred. Trench coat. Maybe he talks in riddles now."
Yaoyorozu gave her a horrified look. "That's... why would you want that?"
"Because I love drama, Momo."
Kirishima laughed. "Midoriya's still Midoriya. Even if he does come back lookin' like a haunted librarian."
Jirou strummed a low, slow chord.
"People don't disappear for a month and come back the same," she said.
No one argued.
"...Tch, damn nerd!" With rage, Bakugo left to his room, leaving the hall silent.
In the city, Inko Midoriya stared out the window of her apartment.
The lights of Musutafu flickered below like embers. A late-night news report played in the background, muffled. She didn't hear it.
They moved away from U.A now that AFO has been caught and sent to Tartarus.
All she could think about was the way her son used to hum when he brushed his teeth.
The way he'd yell "I'm okay!" every time something crashed in his room, even if it was clearly not okay.
The way he hugged her like it might be the last time. Like he knew something she didn't.
She hadn't washed his blanket. Couldn't bring herself to.
Sometimes she sat on his bed and just... waited.
All Might—no, Toshinori—sat nearby, sipping tea. He'd gained weight, but in a good way. Looked younger, but older in the eyes.
"You know he's not dead," Inko said suddenly, voice cracking. "I'd feel it. I'd know."
Toshinori nodded slowly. "I believe you."
He knew. If the 9th dies he'd be the first to feel his fire diminishing.
In fact, ever since he disappeared, his fire has grown by leaps and bounds, far surpassing his prime.
"Then why does it feel like he is?" she whispered, burying her face in her hands.
Ever since he was attacked that day, the day he appeared on tv, she could feel it. Her son changed.
The retired hero said nothing. Just stood, walked over, and knelt beside her. Let her cry. Held her shoulders like they were holding up the sky.
Outside, the moon rose like a silent witness.
Meanwhile, the streets were… calmer.
Too calm.
"The Hollow Order," people called them. A name spoken with equal parts fear and respect.
No one had seen their leader, Ghost. But villains were disappearing. Not captured—gone.
Drug rings dissolved. Human trafficking routes went dark.
One gang was found duct-taped to a wall inside a police station with a note that read:
"You don't get second chances for third strikes."
The public was torn.
Were they criminals? Heroes? Something in between?
Some claimed to have seen things—green sparks in the dark.
Others swore their nightmares had been edited.
Rumors.
Right?
That night, Uraraka sat under the old cherry tree behind the rebuilt U.A., watching petals fall in the moonlight.
She didn't know why she came here. Maybe because he once trained here. Maybe because it felt like he still might.
She pulled out her phone. Opened the last text he'd sent her.
Didn't read it. She'd memorized every word anyway.
She didn't cry. Not this time. Just sat quietly.
"Wherever you are…" she whispered, voice barely there, "…don't lose yourself, okay?"
A breeze passed, warm and soft.
And in the clouds, high above the school, something flickered for half a second.
Green. Quiet. Gone.
_______________________
Inko, back in her prime, became a local idol of most teachers at U. A but was coveted by a specific person that made it clear that she was his.
Even Sasaki Mirai, also known as Sir. Nighteye had his heart wavering by her gentle voice and kind smile, feeling a feeling he has never felt before but a quick glare from the local "Gorilla" made the man regrettably reconsider his thoughts.
regrettably, the two left U.A. under the insistence of Yagi.
Regrettably.
Following the rise of the Hollow Order, a criminal organization that brought peace in the underworld, a new wave of vigilantes began to form, with the most popular one called "Spinner".
Balance is maintained by the effort of many people but the status quo is changing and the current situation is not enough.
Endeavor is not enough, a new symbol of peace must be born.
Across the sea, in Okinawa Prefecture.
Izuku Midoriya, now disguised as Uzui, is leading a group of "villains" called the Hollow Order.
Peace had returned, but not through heroism.
Through fear.
He has been managing everything since All Might fell out of the status of the symbol of peace.
He can't return to school, not now. Millions of people in this country depend on him to maintain society from falling apart.
He wore no hero costume now. Just black fatigues and a white cloak with hand-stitched kanji on the back:
"Burden."
Quirk is a curse.
The modern world failed to integrate it into their society.
A person capable of destroying half of the country shouldn't exist.
Across a glowing screen, he studied maps, arrests, gang movements. Civilian safety nets. Hero patrol routes. Quirk profiles. Threat forecasts.
He remembered everything.
He knew how many orphans lived in each sector. He knew which villain crews needed food shipments. He knew where Spinner would strike next—and when to let him.
Because Spinner had become the face the streets needed. The echo of Stain's ideology, but... focused. Stable. Controlled.
By him.
Because Izuku Midoriya no longer fought for U.A. or pro-hero dreams.
He fought for balance.
He fought because when All Might retired, the world didn't fall.It sank. Quietly. Subtly. People noticed only when it was too late.
Now he held it up by the bones. A silent king on a crumbling throne.
"Boss," said a gravelly voice at the door. "Need you downstairs. That Maruyama gang again. Asking for passage through our routes."
Izuku didn't look up. "Tell them no. If they push again, let Spinner respond."
The man hesitated. "Won't that make us look weak?"
Uzui turned. His voice was calm.
"Letting dogs bark doesn't make the lion weak."
Mr. Compress bowed. "Understood."
He left. The door clicked shut.
Izuku sat alone again.
He looked at the last messege he sent to Uraraka. He can contact her, right here, right now.
He hadn't dared contact her.
Not because he didn't trust her.
But because if he heard her voice, he wouldn't be able to do what needed to be done.
Because the weight of peace wasn't heroic.
It was cold. Merciless. Filthy.
Sometimes, to save people, you had to become the thing heroes warned about.
Back in Tokyo, the public argued over The Hollow Order.
News anchors split the screen between headlines:
"New Crime Syndicate Eliminates Villain Gangs — Heroes Losing Ground?""Spinner Spotted Saving Children in Abandoned Hospital!""Peace at a Cost: Are Vigilantes the Future?"
Endeavor stood before the media, eyes burning with resentment.
"We do not recognize these vigilantes. Law must be enforced through the system—through trained heroes!"
Someone from the back yelled, "Then where are the heroes?!"
Sir Nighteye, now long out of the limelight, watched the news from his quiet apartment.
He didn't say a word.
But he knew.
That light—the same light he once saw in All Might—had not gone out.It had simply buried itself.
Changed shape.
Hardened.
Midoriya wasn't gone. He was becoming something the world didn't know how to name yet.
"I can't read it anymore..."
Somewhere below the waves of power and policy, Izuku Midoriya whispered to himself:
"Quirk is a curse."
He said it not with hate.But with clarity.
Because it was a truth the world refused to see.
And because only a cursed soul could carry this broken system until a better one rose.
But time doesn't wait for anyone so a man can only act.
And so, Izuku disguised himself and led the new group that he formed with the help of Tenko Shimura, formerly known as Shigaraki Tomura.
While his actions did help milliins of people in this country, he didn't quit school for this. No, he disappeared for one sole purpose.
Befriending Himiko Toga.
He pulled off his mask.
The man beneath the ghost wasn't a phantom. He wasn't a myth, or a monster, or even a god. He was just Izuku Midoriya. A son. A student. A boy who still remembered the squeak of school shoes on polished floors, the feel of cool gym mats during combat training, the warm laugh of a girl who once floated just to make him smile.
He missed her.
"Yo," Tenko called, his voice casual, but his eyes carried shadows of someone who had clawed his way back from hell.
Izuku tossed him a canned coffee.
Tenko caught it. "Imported? Fancy."
"Only the best for the reformed."
The two leaned against the cool stone walls, sipping in silence. Their camaraderie was unspoken—neither demanded confessions nor apologies. Just presence.
Tenko broke the quiet. "You ever wonder what'd happen if we failed?"
"I do and I know what will," Izuku said, setting down the coffee.
Tenko nodded, scratching his chin. "You're still gonna try with the blood girl?"
"Toga?" Izuku's eyes softened. "Yeah. She's a key."
"You're gonna use her?"
"No. I'm going to help her."
Tenko raised an eyebrow. "That's worse. You can't fix crazy."
"You're one to talk?"
"..."
A silence passed, and then a shared chuckle.
In order to destroy the phenomenon known as Quirk, a certain quirk must be obtained.
And there is a need to steal that quirk since a person like the No. 1 hero of U. S. A is not even allowed to let her Quirk be copied or shared legally.
And so, the Quirk (All for One) must be acquired in order to steal (New Order).
Now, Izuku has no ability to steal Quirks from others, he can only inherit them if they died after they passed (One for All) back to him.
[Grime soul... Would you care to explain now? It has been an entire month and I still don't understand your motives.]
The same screen, the same eerie voice from the same figure that Izuku has grown fearful of.
Grime soul. That was his given nickname.
Izuku considered it... Fitting.
"All in due time, friend."
It has been over a year since he inhabited the body of Izuku Midoriya as the 9th user of OFA.
Originally he believed that he was an ordinary person from Japan from another world but that was not the case at all.
He is one of the first few who possessed the gift of Quirk.
Phoenix. A Quirk that only activates after the death of its user, sending them Into a new body that must be quirkless to fully inhabit.
Originally, Shishido Saiko was supposed to be a frog but fate changed mysteriously and he became Izuku Midoriya.
Initially, Shishido didn't believe it but as he reviewed the history of this world and all its work of fiction, he believed it all.
One piece exists, Parasyte, Naruto, Gintama and all of it exists here.
Only MHA doesn't exist, it was all a planted memory by the eerie figure that Izuku called the system.
A version of him that became a Nomu after his death, becoming an immortal powerful deity in an empty world.
A god with no creation to admire him.
So, he sought after other dimensions after thousands of years of stealing Quirks from all sorts of plant and animal life, acquiring Dreamscape, an ability that allowed him to contact all figures he touched, regardless of distance.
And so, with a simple touch of his skin, he reached this world and contacted Izuku Midoriya.
And according to his words, countless others like him as well.
Shishido Saiko feared the system. It knew everything about him, even things he didn't know about himself.
It knew that the first quirk was not the glowing baby quirk.
It knew that he has a Quirk, called Phoenix.
It knew him.
The only saving grace is that it can't read his thoughts while he is conscious.
Only in his dreams.
But he was certain of one thing, it was not an enemy.
For whatever reason, it chose to be good.
According the the being, it was too smart to be evil.
Tenko Shimura arrived into the fancy room, carrying a mobile device with a screen.
An ancient tech that can't be tracked.
"Boss. We got a new case in Tokyo, the same drug again," Tenko delivered his words with practiced ease.
When Izuku found him, he was drinking in a dilapidated bar at the start of the morning, wasting his life and potential away in liquor and games.
After finding out that his Quirk is not his own, his life was not his own, his master was not his own, he simply felt lost and began drinking his life away.
That's when Izuku appeared, wearing a disguise that only Tenko managed to recognize.
He led the League of Villains into becoming the Hollow Order, an organization that sought balance in the dark.
Upon seeing this, both Dabi and Magni decided to depart from the group, returning to a life of crime.
"Where?" Izuku or rather "Ghost" asked calmly.
"Ginza."
"Very well."
Getting up with a slow motion, Izuku stepped forward and disappeared.
---
11 seconds later, Ginza.
A man with a tall stature appeared in a bright flash of yellow, followed by a powerful sound wave that silenced the chaos.
A towering figure loomed—thirty meters of mutated flesh, scales glistening under the sun, a monstrous lizard-man with burning amber eyes. His roar had just shaken buildings. But now… now, he stood still.
"Ghost. Don't think for a moment that I'd be intimidated by your appearance, I'll destroy this city and all of its racist people before I fall down!"
Izuku calmly assessed the situation at super speed.
No casualties. One girl—shattered femur. Building damage minimal. Wind direction favorable for civilian evacuation.
His gaze focused in the gigantic 30 meters giant.
He's not evil, Izuku could deduce that much, a villain won't cry after a crime.
He looked up—his stare like gravity pulling silence tighter around them.
Phones lifted. Hands trembled. Voices faded.
Not from fear.
But from faith.
The faith that comes when the world says: 'You're safe. He's here.'
Many people stopped fleeing, pulling out their phones and recording the interaction between the two, a strange sense of calm engulfed everyone.
The sensation that can only be brought by absolute certainty of imminent safety.
Ghost instantly disappeared.
Appearing above the giant's head, he simply punched downward.
"Hollow axe."
BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!
A shockwave detonated downward, crushing the asphalt into a crater and splitting glass across six blocks. The lizard's limbs flailed once—then fell still.
Steam hissed from Ghost's gauntlets, drifting upward like incense after a prayer.
The behemoth was shrinking, flesh receding, bones collapsing inward as the Quirk's power ebbed.
Silence.
"He did it!"
"Another one shot kill!!"
"Damn it, I didn't press record..."
"I was recording but a girl with a magnificent ass walked past so I regrettably had to reevaluate my priorities..."
"... Yo... Share that shit."
The powerful fists that brought safety and tranquility once again, emitted hot steam from the powerful friction.
"He's like All Might... "
"He's not a hero though?"
"A hero is a hero! You don't need a license to be a hero!"
"Ah... Calm down girl, I'm just saying that he's a vigilante..."
"My hero..."
As fast as he appeared, the black and grey figure of Ghost disappeared like usual.
Back to Okinawa, Ghost took off his mask and walked freely on the underground luxurious area.
He had construed this with the help of assets he seized from various criminal organizations, illegally stealing them and not handing them to the government.
Using those assets, he had built a wonderful place that he used as the headquarters of his organization, Hollow Order.
Why such a name? It was because the current definition of order was hollow, flawed and incomplete.
An organization that solely existed to help society after the symbol of peace disappeared with his successor, Izuku Midoriya.
Entering a pink large room that seemed as large as a common house, Ghost simply called out a familiar name.
"Toga, come out."
The room was pink—aggressively so.
Walls drenched in pastel rose, soft rugs sprawled like clouds, plushies lined up in rows like silent witnesses. It looked like a girl's dream, but in truth, it was a carefully constructed cage. One wide enough for Toga to run in circles, yet never escape.
"I know you're awake," Izuku said calmly as he stepped inside, his voice cutting through the still air like a scalpel.
From beneath a blanket cocoon, a groggy voice of 14 years old whined, "Five more minutes…"
"It's nine."
"You're such an insufferable bastard…" Himiko grumbled as she sat up, hair wild, eyes still hazy with sleep, a trail of drool clinging to her cheek.
Izuku tossed a cold pack onto the bed. Blood. Sealed. Type O. Fresh.
"Drink. You're behind."
Toga blinked at it with disgust. "I'm not hungry."
"Doesn't matter. You know what happens if you skip doses."
That shut her up.
She hated it—the blood. Hated how it dulled her edges, how it made her thoughts clearer. The chaos in her mind used to dance like fireflies; now it ticked like a metronome. The world had shape again. Boundaries. Logic. And she resented it.
Still, she took the pack and sipped. Slowly. Eyes closed.
It tasted like medicine. Like someone else's heartbeat.
Like an ADHD medicine, it made her act different.
"You smell like a girl," she muttered after a moment, voice softer. "Were you with someone?"
Izuku raised an eyebrow. "That's probably where the blood came from."
"Liar." She squinted at him.
Izuku sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
He made her to be like his sister but true to herself, she managed to be a weird sister.
Her tone was accusatory, but her arms wrapped around his waist in a sleepy hug all the same. Like a little sister too used to being forgiven.
"Morning, Onii-chan."
"Evening," he replied flatly, handing her a towel. "Wash your face. You look like a goblin."
Toga huffed, but obeyed. She always obeyed now.
It wasn't loyalty.
It was design.
A construct.
She wasn't the same girl anymore.
Izuku had rewritten her memories—layered years of false moments atop her past like new skin. Happy childhood picnics that never happened. Late-night rooftop chats beneath stars that never existed. An older brother who had never saved her from bullies or protected her from the rain… now the cornerstone of her soul.
It worked.
She loved him.
Not romantically—though she sometimes teetered toward that line—but with the warped, dependent obsession of someone who had been shown light after living too long in the dark.
She needed him.
Which was exactly the point.
And yet… sometimes, Izuku questioned the cost.
She was calmer now, more reasonable. Smiled more. Even laughed without blood on her teeth.
But she wasn't her anymore.
A necessary sacrifice.
Izuku turned toward the window, eyes narrowing toward the distant skyline.
Tartarus.
The fortress where the real monster slept.
"All For One…"
He muttered the name like a curse—and a key.
Izuku's ultimate plan was almost ready. Toga would drink AFO's blood, replicate his Quirk, and steal the real one, handing it over to him.
But for that, Toga needed to love AFO too.
So he planted that seed—fake memories of AFO being kind, paying her rent, shielding her from violence.
A twisted triangle.
She loved All For One.
But she loved Izuku more.
"I'm done~!" Toga called, skipping back into the room with her usual cheer, toweling her hair.
"Want to grab some onigiri?" Izuku offered casually.
She brightened immediately. "Heuh? Yes!"
"Should we bring Tenko?"
"No!" she snapped, grabbing his hand possessively. "Just us!"
He let her pull him toward the door, her fingers laced tightly through his
'It is almost time,' Bruce murmured.
'Indeed, she's almost ready to begin our plan of seizing AFO,' Izuku calmly replied.
'I'm so jealous of you, having a cute little sister like that...' Banjo grit his teeth with hatred.
'Banjo... Are you a Siscon?'
'He definitely is,' Nana quickly replied.
'I'm not! I just miss my sister...'
'Siscon.'
'... I'll impale you.'
"You two, don't fight."
"Hmm? Who are you talking to, Izuku-chi??"
"Ah... Nothing, Toga-chan, let's go to the amusement park today."
"Ohmygosh yes! Today's the best!"
Izuku chuckled.
Well, it wasn't so bad living this lie but everything must come to an end.
The moment Izuku receives [All for One], he'll directly undo what he did to Himiko Toga, making it seem like she was in a coma for a long time.
'That's cruel, Shishido.' Nana shook her head.
'I can't keep her brainwashed like this.'
'But... she seems happier, more carefree...'
"..."
For now though, he'll have to use her.
And today... Is the day that she will awaken her Quirk.
Whether she liked it or not.
"Izuku... What's wrong? You look scary again..."
"Haha, do I? I just remembered how many times I lost to Tenko in GTA X and I got a bit mad!"
"Ah, stupidity at its peak, as expected of men."
"How harsh!"
"Bleh!" She blew raspberries at him.
The duo went to the amusement park, close to each other and merrily joyful in their steps.
"Begin."
"Screw yourself, don't order me!" "Aye aye, captain!" Twice replied, releasing hundreds of cloned Nomus.
After a few minutes, Izuku or now known as Uzui, rode the ferris wheel with Himiko Toga.
A flying Nomu approached from a distance.
"Huh... What's that creature... ?" Toga muttered, squinting her eyes to see better.
"..."
Slowly, the number of Nomus increased drastically, catching the attention of everyone in the amusement park.
With a deafening screech of the flock of beasts, chaos spread like wildfire across the area, sending everyone everywhere.