Uraraka: And now Deku's showing the mall attack too...

Izuku smiled as the entirety of class 1A, plus or minus a few members, walked down the street toward the mall. Momo was making sure that they all stayed polite and didn't bother the other passersby, but there was only so much they could do when Sero and Kaminari had somehow managed to start a game of tag that about half the class had been roped into.

Aizawa: Really, problem children?

1A: Sorry Aizawa-sensei.

After finals were over, Eraserhead had announced, entirely in character, that the threat of not going on the training camp had been a logical ruse, so the only member of the class that wouldn't be going was Iida, who assured them that he was on track to rejoin the class next semester, as long as everything kept going well with his suspension. Izuku was kind of bummed that he wouldn't be able to come, but he was training on his own so he didn't fall behind, and he seemed to be making progress, from what Izuku had been able to tell.

Iida: Well, it is only fair, I suppose. I don't understand how I was able to go.

As for everyone else, Mina had roped them all into visiting the new mall to pick up whatever they needed for the trip. Izuku himself didn't need all that much, but it was nice to be included. It was just so different from... well, from anything he'd ever experienced. His classmates didn't beat him up or treat him like glass and Katsuki was mostly leaving him alone. Even when they did talk, he was actually almost nice. It was surreal.

(everyone winced, especially Bakugo)

Midoriya(dreamily): That sounds so nice...

Uraraka jogged up so that she was walking beside him, "So, Deku, are you excited for the camp?"

Izuku nodded, "Yeah! I think it'll be a really good chance to really improve our skills and push ourselves beyond our limits! I mean, even more than we did during internships and everything!"

"I know!" Uraraka enthusiastically punched the air in front of her. "I'm hoping to figure out more ways to use my Gunhead martial arts to really help my quirk and fighting style, you know?"

Midoriya: And you've gotten so much better, Uraraka.

Uraraka: Thanks, Deku.

"That's a great idea!" Izuku agreed. "You're a really good fighter already, though! You almost beat Katsuki at the sports festival."

"Yeah, I know..." Uraraka frowned. "There's just one more thing, though..."

Midoriya: What's that?

"Oh?" Izuku asked. "What's that?"

Uraraka's grin was all the warning that Izuku got before she punched his arm and started running, "You're it!"

Midoriya(sputtering as everyone started laughing): Hey!

They were all slightly out of breath by the time they got to their destination, but Izuku couldn't find it in him to be upset about that. He just hoped that they would manage to not get kicked out of the mall... or not all of them, at least. Izuku himself was having hard time not geeking out about how all the different stores catered to quirk mutations and different needs. He'd encountered that quite a bit in stores all this life, what with being quirkless, but here, it was more on display. He was lucky that there were a couple of brands that catered to the wider foot that came with having an extra toe joint, so he didn't need to order custom clothing and footwear like some mutation quirks did, but he didn't think he'd ever forget buying his first pair of shoes after his diagnosis and realizing for the first time that they weren't supposed to pinch his feet.

Momo: Oh, is that why you never wore the shoes I made you?

Midoriya: Yeah... sorry Yaomomo, but they don't really fit and I couldn't tell you without spilling the secret so...

Momo: You don't have to apologize, Midoriya, I'll keep your extra toe joint in mind next time.

Kaminari: Does an extra toe joint really take up that much space?

Bondo: Apparently.

"Maybe we should split up into groups?" Momo suggested. "People who need similar items can shop together and then we can all meet up for ice cream later!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Kirishima grinned, grabbing Katsuki's hand and, to Izuku's surprise, he actually let himself get dragged. "Come on! Let's go!"

It only took a few minutes for everyone to split up, but Izuku wasn't quite sure what group to go with, since there wasn't a lot of stuff that he needed and despite how much training he'd done with the underground heroes to improve his situational awareness, it still came as a surprise when he found himself alone with Uraraka. Maybe it was the suddenness that made it seem awkward because it wasn't that he never talked to Uraraka! They were friends! But, even since Iida had gotten suspended, they usually still had Shoto or Momo or Tsu around as well. He could almost imagine how much Joke would tease him about being alone with a cute girl... or, well, just a girl! Not that Uraraka wasn't cute! Izuku scowled stubbornly as he felt his face heat up. At least Shinso had already gone into one of the stores, so at least he wasn't around to add to the imaginary teasing.

Inko(frowning): Wait... Izuku...

Mina: Oh my goodness new ship!

Midoriya: W-what?!

Izuku realized they had been standing there for at least a couple of seconds too long and cleared his throat, "So, umm... what do you need to buy?"

"Not a lot. Just some bug spray..." Uraraka froze and she seemed to remember something, because her eyes suddenly went wide and her face turned so pink that it matched the blush that was almost always present on her cheeks. "Gotta keep those pests away!"

Midoriya: That's what you said to Shinso in Cheat Code... and to me in our world...

Izuku reached out helplessly to try to figure out what was wrong, because obviously something was, but Uraraka seemed to be resisting the urge to shove him away until she suddenly did just that and ran away toward the stairs, leaving him completely alone.

Mina: Ochaco stop running from your crushes!

Midoriya(panicking): You have a crush on me?! (Uraraka's red face was enough of an answer)

Hagakure: ...Well at least he knows now?

"... Am I the pest?" Izuku wondered quietly. He hadn't thought he was annoying her, but that had been weird, right? She'd never run away from him before.

Uraraka: Gah I'm sorry Deku you're not a pest!

Midoriya: She has a crush on me... someone has a crush on me... oh no mom what do I do?!

Izuku huffed in frustration and unlocked his phone.

Group Message

12857: (Deku)

What does it mean when a classmate suddenly turns red and runs away from you?

Joke: Oh he's asking us!

87657: (Mr. Brave)

Oh no, it's finally happening! Eraser! You're basically his dad at this point! Didn't you give him the talk?!

Inko(indignantly): Hey that's my job!

12579: (Eraserhead)

He has a mother, you've met her. You literally could not pay me enough to be involved in my student's love lives.

(everyone snorted)

12857: (Deku)

Love lives?!?!

(everyone laughed)

58726: (Ms. Joke)

Aw, Shou! Are you telling me that you don't ship any of your students?

Aizawa: You literally could not pay me to be interested.

2598: (Sir Nighteye)

Stop teasing Eraserhead and let's get back to the task at hand: determining whether this "classmate" is worthy of Deku or not.

Uraraka(gulping): Okay I've gotten the attention of several pro heroes... not for a good reason.

Toga: Oh don't worry, you'll be fine Ochaco, we can both love Izuku together!

12857: (Deku)

Guys, stop! It's not like that!

(everyone snorted. He was so oblivious)

87657: (Mr. Brave)

Are they cute at least?

Midoriya: Well yeah but looks aren't everything!

58726: (Ms. Joke)

Come on, Shouta, you've got to have some clue who Deku's talking about.

12579: (Eraserhead)

Not paid to care.

12857: (Deku)

All of you have lost your advice privileges. Message me when you decide to be reasonable and actually help me.

(everyone laughed)

Joke: Sorry, kiddo, couldn't resist.

Izuku groaned and shoved his phone back in his pocket. It wasn't about crushes or shipping or anything like that. Uraraka was his friend and was it so wrong to be worried about her? What if she was sick or something? Maybe he should text her?

Uraraka(quietly): No it's definitely a crush...

He sighed and shook his head. He didn't want to bother her, and they'd be meeting up with the rest of the class in a few hours anyway, so he could ask her then if she was feeling well. Until then... maybe he could see if there was any new hero merch he didn't have? With any luck, the most recent batch of hero school graduates would already be starting to show up in some of the more niche stores. Izuku was just looking at the map to see where the best store would be when he felt someone come up beside him.

"You're that quirkless UA student, Deku, right?"

Shigaraki: Oh it's me.

Izuku squashed out the flare of annoyance in his gut. Of course the fact that he was quirkless was the first thing this random stranger remembered about him, not that he did well at the sport festival or helped take down Stain or anything. No. Just the fact that he was different.

Midoriya(panicking): Realize it's Shigaraki, other me!

"Oh, right, you also defeated the hero killer too." The stranger said, casually throwing his arm around Izuku's shoulder. "I can't believe I'm running into you again. Sorry, that's probably confusing. From your point of view, we haven't really met since the USJ."

Izuku froze as the stranger wrapped a hand around his throat, keeping only his middle finger elevated, "It almost seems like it might be destiny, Izuku Midoriya."

(everyone froze)

Inko: Shigaraki if you dare hurt him-

Shigaraki: I didn't in our world, he'll probably be fine.

"Shigaraki." Izuku gasped. How... how was he supposed to get out of this? One wrong move and he would bite the dust. Literally. The only potential weakness Izuku could think of was the fact that Shigaraki was threatening him with his left hand, the one that Izuku had almost taken a finger off of at the USJ. It looked like they'd been able to reattach it.

Dabi: That one is finicky right? Sometimes Disintegration doesn't work on that hand?

Twice: Yeah... No...

"Careful now." Shigaraki grinned. "We're just two friends having a little chat. You wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, would you?"

Izuku grit his teeth, "If you kill me, a hero will come and catch you."

"Oh, almost definitely." Shigaraki admitted easily. "But how many of these mindless sheep could I take out before then? 10? 20? I don't know, I've been leveling up recently. So, Deku, what's it going to be?"

Compress: Pardon me Shigaraki but why are you calling them 'sheep'?

Shigaraki: Uh...

Izuku gulped and forced himself to relax, "Why are you here?"

"I just wanna talk." Shigaraki said. "Now, let's go find a place to sit. Remember one wrong move and..."

Izuku resisted the urge to flinch as the hand around his neck twitched slightly. This was bad. There were hundreds of people here and Shigaraki had just made it clear he was willing to hurt as many as he could reach. None of his classmates had their licenses and Izuku himself was literally about a half-inch from death at any moment. Well, like Nezu said: where was the fun without the challenge?

Recovery Girl: Nezu!

Right?

Mitsuki: Not right!

Izuku let Shigaraki lead him over to the fountain and used the slight distraction to slowly reach into his pocket. He just hoped he hadn't closed the group chat as he unlocked his phone with his fingerprint and forced himself to calm down. He needed a clear head if he expected to make it out of this alive.

Aizawa(stressed): Yes, call for help, problem child.

Shigaraki dragged him down by the neck so that they were both sitting down, "Look at everyone, smiling, not knowing how close to death they really are. They're all so sure that a hero will save them."

All Might: That's what heroes are supposed to do.

"That's what heroes are supposed to do." Izuku replied. "That's what we're training for."

"No." Shigaraki growled. "You're all liars! You don't save everyone."

Hawks: We're supposed to but...

Kamui: Sometimes we fail...

"I..." Izuku started, but he was cut off as Shigaraki's hand squeezed his neck briefly.

(everyone flinched)

Shigaraki: Oh come on other me, he's gone this far, don't kill him now!

"Shut up." Shigaraki warned. "I hate basically everything right now, especially you. Don't think that I've forgotten what you tried to do to my hand! You're lucky that Sensei was able to reattach it, otherwise I would have killed you. But you're not the only thing I hate right now. The hero killer is really pissing me off."

Izuku swallowed and tried to type an sos without taking his phone out of his pocket, "The media made it seem like he was one of yours."

Shigaraki frowned, "Yeah, but he wasn't. But just because you and those other brats took him down, he's all anyone's talking about! My nomu aren't even a blip on their radar! Is it because he almost killed Endeavor? I almost killed All Might? Why is everybody talking about Stain like he'd the greatest thing since sliced bread?"

Iida(grimly): He is just very popular for some reason.

Izuku debated his options. He could stay silent, but the safest option seemed to be to play into the conversation and keep Shigaraki talking until help could hopefully get here or someone realized that something was wrong. His first priority was just making sure he didn't get dusted, so talking was his best chance at survival.

Nezu: Yes... distract him...

"I think it's because they agree with him." Izuku said slowly. "At least deep down. Obviously, I'd never kill to take down a false hero, but... well, I get it. Our society has a lot of flaws and it's easy to think that violence is the only way to be heard."

"All he really did was destroy the things he hated, same as me." Shigaraki complained. "What makes us so different?"

Endeavor: Because he at least had a goal, a plan. The end doesn't justify the means but to the general public it does.

"I don't understand you and your goals." Izuku stared at the floor as he rambled, absently noting that one of his shoelaces was starting to come untied. "I may not agree with the hero killer, but like I said, I get it. Unlike you, he didn't destroy things just because they sounded fun. He destroyed them to lead to a better society."

Izuku kept staring at their feet as he waited tensely for Shigaraki to respond. The linoleum in the mall was already starting to get dirty despite how new the mall was, and the bright red of both his and Shigaraki's shoes stood out starkly against it. He could have gone for Shigaraki's style last time he'd bought shoes, but he'd gone with the hightops because one of his bullies in middle school had liked to try to use his quirk steal the shoes off his feet as he ran and Izuku had decided the high tops would be harder to steal. Both styles were sold by the same... brand...

(everyone stopped and stared at the screen)

"I think I get it now." Shigaraki said. "The problem is..."

"Why do you wear those shoes?"

Kendo(slowly): Good question... aren't those just for quirkless people...?

Shigaraki scowled in confusion at the non-sequitur and Izuku gulped as he realized that he'd accidentally asked that out loud, but he just hadn't been able to keep it in. That brand catered specifically to the quirkless. It had a little more room in the toe to account for the extra toe joint and they were one of Izuku's favorite brands because they were still a good quality shoe and didn't wear out quickly, unlike most brands that just made a cheaper, uglier version of their normals shoes in an attempt to market inclusivity. The issue was that they weren't sold in stores, they had to be bought online, so most quirked people didn't even know they existed and would find them extremely uncomfortable if they did. Izuku had never seen those shoes on anyone with a quirk.

So why was Shigaraki wearing them?

Shigaraki: This makes no sense... I have a quirk...

"Sensei bought them for me." Shigaraki said irritably, bringing up his other hand to scratch at his neck. "They're comfy."

Kurogiri: Wait... sensei...

"The other shoes you've tried pinch your toes." Izuku's mind raced as he tried to make sense of everything. Shigaraki found normal shoes uncomfortable, but the quirkless brand was comfortable, which meant even though he definitely had a quirk, he had an extra toe joint.

Shigaraki was genetically quirkless.

(everyone slowly turned to look at Shigaraki's bright red shoes, identical to Midoriya's.)

Midoriya(after a few seconds): ...They're not the same brand. They just look the same.

Shigaraki(relieved): Good... no way sensei would've just given me a quirk without me noticing...

Jana: Eh...

Spinner: Okay now what? You haven't spoken in forever and now you're speaking up?

Jana: Well... Shigaraki isn't quirkless and never had been but...

Shigaraki: But what? Spit it out!

Jana: All for One took his unformed quirk and replaced it with Disintegration when he was a child. (everyone stopped as they processed that)

Toga(horrified): He gave that quirk to Shiggy? But... that means...

Shigaraki(scratching at his neck): Mom... Hana... they're all dead because of him! He killed them! He killed them!

Gran Torino: All for One gave Shigaraki that quirk knowing what it would do when it first activated...

All Might(grimly): And pretended to rescue him from an accident that he himself caused.

Dabi(spitefully): And just when I thought he couldn't get any more manipulative... Shiggy could've gotten a normal life outside of all of this villain mess but...

Shigaraki: He killed them all... (his neck was bleeding from how much he was scratching at it and Kurogiri gently held his hand to stop him.)

Kurogiri: Sh... Tomura... you can stop now. (Shigaraki slowly quieted and turned back to the screen. He had a lot to think about but... he didn't want to think about it right now)

"What does this have to do with Stain?!" Shigaraki scratched his neck a little more vigorously. "You're so annoying! You're always getting in the way and smiling and beating everyone even though you're just a quirkless brat that should be sniveling in the corner. You and All Might, you both make people think that the impossible is possible, but it's not! The real truth is that people are weak and heroes never save you! Everyone is walking around, smiling and laughing, not knowing that their lives could end at any moment and the heroes wouldn't be able to do anything."

Suddenly, Shigaraki stopped scratching and tightened his left hand around Izuku's neck so that he could hardly breathe. He was starting to get light headed and tried to pry the hand off, but the angle was weird and he had to focus on never coming into contact with all five fingers.

Inko(gasping): No!

Aizawa: Problem child!

Shigaraki didn't even flinch as Izuku struggled, "Sensei wants me to keep you alive for some reason, but I don't get it! You're so annoying and you piss me off. Whatever, Sensei said it's my right to destroy what I hate, so I'll just tell him you didn't give me a