Chapter 53

Kaminari was watching the news. Like yesterday, there was a report about the murdered villain on TV, but nothing new. Somehow, the way the person on the security tape moved seemed familiar to Kaminari. It reminded him of Midoriya, he finally realized.

Midoriya…

Kaminari searched for his laptop, internally deploring the loss of the camera. Then he opened an incognito tab in his browser and typed 'Midoriya'. The first results were something like a business profile of someone named 'Hisashi Midoriya', but that surely wasn't what Kaminari was searching for.

After searching through three pages, Kaminari stumbled over the webpage of the 'Aldera Junior High'. Upon opening it, a group photo of a class showed up. Bakugous face immediately caught Kaminaris eye.

Bakugou? So this was his middle school… But how's that connected with searching up Midoriya?

His question was answered when he spotted a small, scrawny boy next to Bakugou. With big green eyes, freckles and a fuzzy mop of greenish-black hair. Kaminari immediately recognized him as the strangely familiar boy from Bakugous drawing. He looked for the names of the people in the picture and found them at the bottom of the page.

… Akara Ryuu… Kagone Souma… Bakugou Katsuki… Midoriya Izuku.

So Bakugou was somehow connected with this boy, since they had shared a class in middle school and he had drawn him. And Izuku Midoriya was somehow connected with blurry face Midoriya, but how? Were they cousins? Siblings? Even twins? Or was the connection even stranger?

Kaminari looked up the full name too, and found a 3 ½ years old newspaper article as the first result.

14-year-old boy vanished: Police suspects the worst

Yesterday afternoon, a fourteen-year-old boy named Izuku Midoriya was reported as missing by his mother, because he hadn't returned from school. Due to a villain running free, the police suspects he might've been killed. Yet Officer Nekonya Nezushi stressed that there were no signs of any attacks in the area. …

Izuku Midoriya had vanished. Blurry face Midoriya had appeared a few weeks prior, if Kaminari could believe what Midoriya had told Kirishima. Kaminari felt that he was close to the solution and continued reading.

…The quirkless boy would've therefore been completely defenseless against the villain…

Quirkless was the keyword. And no matter how absurd it seemed to him, Kaminari knew what this meant. He immediately texted Kirishima, his hands shaking wildly.

You: You need 2 come over NOW

I found out just who Midoriya actually is

Kiri: …

Be there in 10

-/-

"…So you're saying this is what sociopathic apparently-insomniac Midoriya looked like in middle school?" Kirishima furrowed his eyebrows. Kaminari nodded. "It's been quite a few years since then. Hair colors can change, or maybe they're dyed. Eyes can become dull. Freckles can vanish easily. And he had more than enough time to buff up. It's all possible."

Kirishima wasn't convinced yet. "But is that even likely? Why would Midoriya want to change himself that much?" Kaminari shrugged. "Don't ask me, I'm not a genius. That guy is everything but easily understandable. Thing is, both are quirkless. And you know just how rare that is."

"You got a point." Kirishima rested his head in his hands for a while, deep in his thoughts. Then he sat up straight. "So that is why Midoriya seemed so familiar. We must've seen him on the news back then. Alright, so what are we gonna do with this knowledge?"

-/-

Two boys were standing in an alleyway, bottles of cheap beer in their hands. One of them had very short, dark hair and big, dragon-like wings. The other one had longer, blonde hair and was very slender. Their sloppy behavior and slightly slurred conversation suggested they weren't completely sober anymore.

Light steps echoed through the narrow alleyway. Then a person in a black jacket walked past nearby, a hood overshadowing their face. The dragonwinged boy turned around to them. "Oi emo! Why so depressed? You comin' from a pity party or something?" The person halted. "That was uncalled for."

They fullends turned around, staying motionless for a while. Then, a quiet chuckle was audible. "Man, I haven't seen you two in an eternity." The blonde teenager raised his eyebrows. "Are we s'pposed to know you?" "Probably." The person took their hood off and gave the other two a wide grin. "Fingers and winged idiot, that's what Kacchan always called you, right?"

The two teenagers in front of him exchanged a glare. "Midoriya?!" "Aka Deku, yeah." Midoriya looked like he was about to grin, but it turned into a bitter scowl halfway. The blond scratched his head. "I thought you were dead or missing or something like that…" Midoriya snorted. "That must've cost half your braincells. Anyways, apparently so did everyone else."

The dragonwinged boy took a step forward. "You sound pretty bold for a 'shitty nerd'. Got feisty without Bakugous thrashings, huh?" Midoriya smiled. "You mustn't be so rude. I didn't even insult you yet." "You're spoiling for a fight, aren't you?!" Dragon wings positioned himself in front of Midoriya, while blonde boy tried to hold him back. "Hey man, just let it go. It's not worth it."

His friend shook him off. "I'll take Bakugous place any time! Don't think we're on the same level!" Midoriyas smile widened to a conceited smirk. "Oh, I don't. You're definitely below me." "Quirkless bastard!" Dragon wings stormed forward and punched him square in the face. The answer was a long moment of silence.

Then dragon wings lunged at Midoriya, pushed him to him ground and threw blows at his face repeatedly. The ravenet let it happen, a terrifying grin growing on his face. It irritated his opponent greatly. "Why are you grinning, asshole?! DO YOU LIKE THAT?! BEING UNDERMINED LIKE IN OLD TIMES?!"

Midoriya pulled his arms out from underneath dragon wings and pressed them around the shorthaired boys head tightly. "I'm so, so scared of what I'm gonna have to do to you." Then he pulled his knee up, rammed it into dragon wings side and turned over with him. The plump teenager took the next few punches, not being able to oppose Midoriya anyhow.

The ravenet slammed his fist down into his opponents face one more time, then he stood up, took a step back and wiped his bleeding nose. "Ew." He went over to blonde boy, who was still standing back against the wall of the alleyway, and wiped the blood on his jacket.

Then Midoriya turned into the direction he was headed earlier and threw a last glance over his shoulder. "Here's some advice… Watch your back when you can't watch mine."

Then Midoriya vanished into the darkness.