Chapter 88: ——~(82)~——

"A major life decision is never a choice

but rather a realization that the choice has already been made."

-Doug Cooper

---

Deku wasn't walking particularly fast as he left; it was more of a languid stroll than anything else.

Perhaps that was why, despite having been gone for a good 5-7 minutes, he could hear the distinct thumping of a run, just a little behind him.

He turned his head, and Bakugo Katsuki was the one running. Not that he didn't expect anything less.

'It's good that I've stalled, if unintentionally. It seems that he's come to his decision.'

And come to a decision, he did. The explosive teen's face seemed to be etched in stone, in determination, perhaps; deathly, still eyes, full of intent and a quiet sort of resolve. His mouth was set in a bitter line, but it wasn't a wavering or hesitant line. Clearly, he didn't like the decision that he had come to, but he wasn't going to wimp out on it either. His hands weren't clenched, but loose by his side. Or perhaps loose wasn't the best word. There was tension in every pore, but not so much that he unconsciously curled his hand into a fist. He wasn't feeling overwhelmed by this situation, then, but he certainly wasn't calm about it either. Almost in antithesis to the tension in his hands, his back was curled and hunched over, in not the tired, sleepy way that teenagers did, but yet another sign of fear. Fear for the unknown. Or rather, fear for what he knew was going to happen the moment he agreed to it.

But Bakugo Katsuki had always been one to run headfirst into the fire instead of avoiding it on principle; Deku wasn't too worried about it having an effect on him.

He gathered all of the information in an instant before his voice rang in a calm yet slow drawl.

(He could have gone the antagonistic route just as easily, considering just who Bakugo was and how he acted, but there was no reason to be lazy if there was a possibly more effective route.

Besides, Bakugo could be more fragile than you could think. Something overly hard is brittle and easy to break, after all.)

"Have you come to a conclusion that you can be satisfied with?"

He did nothing but stare for a few, quiet moments, before sighing.

(He seemed a lot less tense now, but there was a hint of bitterness there. Whether it was really just to his words or the situation was debatable.)

"It's that fucking easy for you to read my intentions, huh?" He tsk-ed, before the previous clinging vestiges of negative emotions fled. He was standing straight and tall now. "Yes. I did. Come to a conclusion of what I want to do, that is."

He breathed, long and deep, before he spat out the words with no hesitation.

"Expose it. Expose every single fucking thing I've ever done to you."

He chuckled, just a little. He really couldn't help it, when his reaction was so funny, and so, so naive.

"...Eh? And what your problem, you bastard-!"

"It's just a little funny, that's all. Since you're worried about how you won't be able to be a hero and all that... When there will be no heroes in the first place."

He rapidly blinked as if his eyes were deceiving him and that would restore the world to how it usually worked.

Nothing changed.

"What the hell... No heroes..? What kind of bullshit are you spouting now!"

Instead of responding to that question, Deku turned his gaze to the newly arrived members: Gray, Toga, Twice, and Dabi. He wasted no time in telling them to gather through Gray the moment he first caught the footsteps of Bakugo in his ear. Gray herself wasted no time in flying in a rain of sparks and electricity to circle around him, while the other members seemed a tad bit hesitant, but overall, they were calmer than expected after a screw up of that nature. Either they really were calm due to their nature as criminals, or Gray had told them a bit about his reactions. He'd venture a guess that it was a mixture of both. Bakugo, on the other hand, was staring at the new additions with an intense look of pseudo-aggression (a.ka. typical Bakugo behavior) and wariness. The wariness, on the other hand, was most certainly something that he normally didn't showcase, but Deku supposed it was reasonable considering the last... 'interaction' when he had seen them last.

Oh, and he was unsettled when Gray flipped around him in circles like an overgrown puppy, except three dimensional.

(Really, she just wanted to show off...)

He silently told her to settle down in his mind before he got to the main topic of business.

"I'm sure that you all have met before, I take it? Well, even if you haven't, you can introduce yourself later. And if you know each other a little too well, save the aggression for later. For now, at least, we're all part of a team. A business, really. And our new project is to dismantle the hero system entirely and replace it with another one."

The members of this new 'business' couldn't say a single word.

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"Skeptical? I can imagine why you would be. A lot of people have tried to change the system, but they've been blocked and parried at each turn. But that, my dear friends-," He cracked his knuckles mid-way through his words, his face looking a picture-perfect example of disinterest. "-is because they are stupid. They went about it the wrong way from the beginning; they were admittedly powerful but badly directed. They took their strong points and made it a frontal battle with the enemy's strong points. What we're going to do is take the fight right to the weak points of the hero system."

"...The weak points of the hero system?" Dabi parroted.

"Correct. Believe it or not, it most certainly exists. And it isn't targeting the actual heroes themselves. That's a fool's errand if we don't have indisputably greater power than all of the heroes combined. If we had that power in the first place, it'd be easier to just take over the country. So, the question is, who do we target? It's simple enough, really; the industry that even the heroes fear... The media. And with it, their ability to manipulate the populace into whatever they deem fit-... You've come right on time, Miss."

The lady laughed; it was bitter to the taste.

"I think we've gotten past the point of being polite. Please, just call me-"

The would-be murderer who ended up trying to commit suicide cleared her throat.

"-Aiko."

Thirty minutes before:

"...What are you doing here? Especially after I-..."

"Tried to kill me?" Deku offered helpfully.

She paused, before shaking her head wearily.

"Yes-... That."

His lips almost tipped up in a smile, they weren't able to quite make it, but somehow, Aiko felt a great deal calmer.

"Quite a lot of people try to kill me. While it was a bit shocking hearing it from someone I didn't think had any reason to, it's not something particularly troubling."

She did nothing but stare at her own bedsheets for a moment, almost collapsing in... 'relief'? It wasn't quite the right word she was looking for, but somehow, she felt better.

Despite the fact that it was the boy who she tried to kill that was comforting her. And despite the fact that he had just admitted to being given threats on his life a lot.

God, she was a terrible person-

"Of course, if you'd like to do a favor to assuage your guilt for this incident - one that's far more productive than suicide - I wouldn't be averse to it. Although, you won't be able to enter society, legally anyway, for a while if you choose to take my offer. It will be demanding work too; you might even perish. Do you still want-?"

"Yes."

She lept at the chance. Didn't even ask what the favor was; no matter what it was, she wouldn't care. The guilt was so deep to have made her put a gun to her head within the first beat of her little revelation that what she was doing was stupid. Now that there was a way for her to be useful, even potentially pay that guilt back in full... Of course, she would take it. She had already lost almost everything in her life, anyway. Whether or not she would be able to live in the modern world at this point was debatable. There's no way she'd be able to pay back those hospital bills either.

"Good," He reached out his hand for a handshake. She paused but shook it a second later. "I look forward to working with you. Fill out all the discharge forums and leave the hospital in thirty minutes."

"Not to be rude, Deku-san, but what exactly will this woman be doing..? I recognize that the punk brat does have some firepower to him, but..." Dabi enquired.

Deku's eyes glittered dangerously in the evening's sun.

"Not every power is physical, you know," He gestured towards Aiko. "Meet the reporter. Or in other words, the key to this new operation."

AN:

Kill me. Writing this chapter was so hard for some reason... Anyway, that's why Aiko exists. Have fun with this new chicken nugget of information.

Oh, and the Bakugo scene was me describing... well, idk, but that's how Deku usually gets information out of people and decides what to say to them. Body language is quite fun. But, this isn't an end-all method that always works; it's just because Deku has such detailed knowledge on him and his situation that it's detailed to this degree.

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