SOMEONE FROM THE PAST

[A little kid with a messy mop of brown hair laid curled on the dirty playground floor while his skinny bruised arms held protectively around his head. His once pristine white shirt and navy blue shorts are covered in dirt. It doesn't take a genius what happened here.

"What are you doing?" A squeaky feminine voice asked. Her orange eyes continued to study the other kid on the ground. It's not like she didn't get the memo, there are just some things that she didn't understand.

The boy on the ground twitched, and ever so slowly, he uncurled himself. Large cinnamon-brown eyes looked up at her with tears running down his face.

"They beat me up..." He said but the other kid cut in.

"I know" The girl cut in callously. "Why?"

".... I'm quirkless" He replied almost reluctantly.

"So?" The other kid asked, still not understanding "My grandma is quirkless, does that mean she'll get beat-up too?"

"You don't understand--!" The boy cried as he gingerly got up to stand.

"Yes, I don't understand." The girl agreed. "Tell me, why?"

With an anguished glare, the boy turned and run.]

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Chizuru felt herself shaken awake; and with a groan, she let herself be roused from her comfortable slumber. The hand that shook her awake retracted and she found herself looking at her cousin's exasperated stare.

"Clock out," He said as he showed his wristwatch. Not that Chizuru could see the time with the clouded haze in her vision.

"Did you overwork your quirk again?" Naomasa asked worriedly.

"Just slightly" She admitted.

"I'll drive you home" He sighed as he manhandled her out of her chair and guided her out of the office.

As soon as she was securely strapped on with the seatbelt, Naomasa started the engine.

"How is your investigation going?" He asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

"I already wrote a report on that" She groaned and promptly (and unsuccessfully) buried herself deeper in the car seat.

"Was that the report you've been drooling on before we left the office?" He asked with a snort that earned him a smack on the arm. "Well, I haven't received it yet. I hope you re-write it before submitting it to me."

"I hate you." Chizuru groaned in response.

Another minute passed in silence before the older police detective spoke again.

"How's your student?" He asked curiously as he took a quick peek at his cousin.

"So far it's good" She replied. "All Might is doing a good job despite the circumstances."

"He'd mentioned to me once that you're a real slave driver," He said in humor.

Chizuru snorted in response. "He's being a big baby"

"What if even all this, Midoriya-kun still couldn't get in the Heroics?" Naomasa asked sullenly.

"He will," Chizuru replied without hesitation.

"You're betting on the Sports Festival" He sighed in realization. His companion nodded in affirmative. "But 'what if' he couldn't? What if he loses?"

"He doesn't need to win" She replies solemnly. "All he needs to do is show them that he could do it."

"How are you so sure about this?" He asks.

"Because Nezu is not an idiot" She replies.

"Then why didn't he place Midoriya-kun in the Heroics Course the first time?"

Instead of answering immediately, Chizuru stared out at the dark night sky. But only for a moment, as she looked back at her cousin with a sad smile.

"You can't have a rainbow without a little rain."

~

For two weeks, all Izuku did for training was haul garbage from the beach. Honestly, if he hadn't gone through Chizuru-sensei's brutal training before, he would've probably dropped dead in exhaustion in just the first few days.

Not only was the task so exhaustingly laborious, but it also tested him both physically and mentally. This doesn't include the mental strain that All Might keeps on putting on him. Aside from random facts, the Pro-Hero even delved into questioning him on topics that were previously thought in class. The hardest question so far was he was asked to mentally solve a mathematical problem while lugging a fridge across the beach.

He couldn't answer. All Might would then tell him to return the fridge where he first got it from before asking another question. This repeated over every time he failed to answer a question or if his answer was wrong. Izuku would probably tell you that it was seldom and even far in between, but that is a lie.

It came to the point where he couldn't answer three consecutive questions which resulted in All Might forcing him to take a break. This wasn't a one-time thing too. This is the main reason why it took him two weeks to clear the beach even though he was stronger and more well-coordinated.

There were times when Chizuru-sensei would drop by with some snacks and drinks, but only for a moment. She'd check his progress, adjust some parts of his routine, and then quickly leave. Izuku doesn't know what Chizuru-sensei is busy with, but he's really grateful that she takes out time to drop by and check on him.

On the last day of his training, All Might took him to an onsen to relax his muscles. Izuku genuinely thought that he'd melt when he submerged in the pool of hot spring. Izuku glanced beside him and noticed that All Might (in his emaciated form) was slumped tiredly.

"Are you alright, sensei?" Izuku asked worriedly.

All Might nods weakly as he places a hot towel over his tired eyes. "It's just that your mentor worked me off harder than the school does on a daily basis."

Flushing in embarrassment, Izuku tried to apologize on behalf of his sensei but the Pro-Hero waved it off.

"Don't worry about it" All Might says. "Just make sure to do your best at the Sports Festival."

Izuku nodded in conviction. "Of course!"

This brought a smile to the Pro-Hero's thin lips. Once again, he wonders if he'd make it this far (just like Izuku) if he didn't inherit the One For All.

~

Gin was just closing the gym when he heard the familiar hiss of the door opening.

"Sorry, we're closed!" He called without looking at the new arrival. He switched all the lights off aside from the one above the reception desk. He frowned when he didn't hear the hiss of the door opening to indicate that the customer had left. Looking back, he tensed and jumped back at the figure standing behind him. Unfortunately, his back was now pressed on the wall.

"I said we're closed" He growled.

The person in front of him is wearing a grey hoodie, blue sweatpants and black running shoes. He couldn't see what they look like because of the hood (and their head is bent down to further hide their face in the shadow of the hood), but Gin is sure that this customer is female.

Slowly, the customer finally looked up at him and the sight stole his breath away. Dread pooled in his veins and if he wasn't already pressed against the wall, Gin would've taken a step back.

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[Familiar cinnamon-brown eyes, so very much like their best friend's, looked at them in murderous contempt the very moment he and Chizuru stepped inside the funeral.

Gin, himself, didn't even get two steps in when a pair of arms pushed him out.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" The voice of the deceased's twin sister shouted at their faces as she continued to forcefully push them out. "YOU'RE THE REASON WHY HE'S DEAD! YOU KILLED HIM!"]

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"What are you doing here?" Gin demanded. In all the years that he had done business here, never once did the person in front of him ever dropped by. He figured that she'd rather exercise somewhere else than his gym.

"I heard that she's back" The other person replied as she pulled back her hood, letting her long brown hair free from their confinement. Gin immediately noticed the dark bags that made home under her tired eyes. She could give Chizuru a run for her money in that department. Other than her eyes, she seemed healthy enough, just on the paler side.

"Who are you talking about?" Gin asked despite knowing just exactly who the other person is referring to.

"Chizuru, of course." She replied, smiling slightly. This small action somehow made him tense up. "Don't deny it. I even heard that she got herself a little student..."

"What of it?" Gin growled. He could feel that something is not right here.

"Nothing." The other replied, her smile widening ever so slightly until it looked kind of manic. "I just thought 'how would she feel if she went through the same thing?'"

"What are you talking about?" He frowned, alarm bells ringing madly inside his head.

"Oh, you know~" She replied coyly.

Before he could do or say anything else, he felt a jarring blow to his temple. He doesn't know where that blow came from because the crazy woman was still in front of him.

Before he slipped into unconsciousness, she approached his downed form. She took out a folded note from her pocket and slipped it inside his shirt breast pocket.

"Tell her to look for me" She whispered conspiratorially. "Or else, she'll lose her precious student the same way she killed my brother."

That was the last thing he remembered before he blacked out.