Bill was sitting on a chair next to a yellow-haired man in a leather outfit with a loudspeaker around his neck. The two were facing a white rat-bear chimera with a stoic smile. Hundreds of people who looked like they were ready to party, had already filled every seat in the stadium. Cameras were set, lights were shining, microphones were tested and everything was ready to go. Bill ignored the loud and annoying cheers of the crowd in favor of the excited squeals of Izuku, who was fanboying over the two people on the stage with them.

The loud blonde next to them was Hizashi Yamada, aka Present Mic. His yellow shades glinted as he spun around in his office chair. Bill's first impression of the man was how annoying he was. He introduced himself to the crowd he received silence in return, much to Bill's amusement and Izuku's disappointment. And to further add to their amusement, the crowd went wild when Bill was introduced. Izuku was now pouting about how rude all these people were and how they should respect him because he is actually a pretty good hero. Present Mic had a radio show called 'Put Your Hands Up Radio', which was a police joke that Bill was somewhat fond of- they were glad this human had a sense of humor. Present Mic openly mocked other heroes who were doing things a hero shouldn't do and stupidly handed out information on them, which Bill and Izuku used quite often.

The reason they were here was that Present Mic wanted to congratulate Cipher on their success in the past month. Bill was hesitant at first, but Izuku had convinced them by pointing out how much easier it would be to get into UA- the number one hero school- if they said that they wanted to be heroes. And if they used Izuku's script about 'why they want to be a hero', they would get in without a single problem. They might even get recommended! It was a very convincing statement... if Bill hadn't realized Izuku had actually tricked them into getting close enough to the pro for him to fanboy over them. Bill wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, Izuku had managed to trick Bill- of all people- into doing something they didn't want to do, which made them proud as fuck. But on the other hand, the fact that Izuku actually tricked them at all was still annoying.

Izuku was still right about this meeting, though. Just because he had a chance to finally see the hero up close didn't mean that this trip was fruitless. This is why he would be excused- just this once- as long as he got some interesting information on the hero. Izuku agreed to the deal (his first deal, oh Bill was so happy) and was now phasing through the hero repeatedly as he inspected every little piece of the man's quirk. Why didn't they do this sooner? Oh, right. Torturing people is funny.

"So, Mr. Cipher, could you enlighten us on your inspiration for all of your amazing support gear?" Mic asked with a bit too much enthusiasm. If it wasn't for Izuku attempting to swat the man for being too loud, Bill would have struggled to keep their magic under control. Ah, what would they do without their Green Bunny? 'Suffer, that's what,' Bill thought to themselves, covering up their annoyance with a calm smile. "Well, my energetic fellow, my main inspiration was a quirkless kid I used to know. You see, he wanted nothing more than to be a hero, and because we were friends I wanted to help him with his dream. But not everyone was like that. My first few inventions were small tools made for defense and healing because of how many people bullied him for his dream. It's because of this that I noticed how unfair it was that quirkless people were discriminated against for something they can't control."

They paused to see if the hero was listening, and to their surprise, everyone there was listening intently. So they took that as a sign to continue. "But, the only thing I could do for them at the time was to make a button that calls the police or any nearby heroes," Bill said, laughing softly at their little lie. "I still think about these people and how much they remind me of him. That just because they were born quirkless, some people will label them as vindictive, useless, or even trash for absolutely no reason, over and over again. And they can't even defend themselves, because they will get hurt even worse if they do. And stars help them if they try to protect someone. They'll get punished for 'starting fights' when they were just trying to be a good person. Now, how cruel is that? They aren't even allowed to be human because of the opinions of those with their oh-so-special quirks. And people wonder why there are so many villains these days," Bill told them, mumbling the last bit to themself.

Bill went off-script about halfway through their speech. They hadn't expected to actually get upset about Izuku's past. Speaking of the child, he was crying again. Bill had to turn away to avoid the feelings bubbling in their chest. This child was making them soft. They shook their head and sighed to clear their mind of the embarrassing speech, now noticing some people in the crowd were lowering their heads. Bill wanted nothing more than to go home right now. They'd lose it if they had to stick around these disgusting humans a moment longer.

Bill looked at Present Mic to signal him to change the topic, which the man kindly obliged. He cleared his throat to bring everyone back to Earth. "That was very Informative, thank you Mr. Cipher. So off to the next question," Mic said, trying to bring back the jolly mood. "This question is for all the ladies who are interested," he joked with a wink, causing the crowd to laugh while Bill just sighed, "How old are you?" Bill smirked at this question. Oh, the bomb they were about to drop.

"Why I am eight years old my good man!" they told him, placing a hand on their chin with a playful grin. The crowd laughed, thinking they were joking. Bill didn't say anything and waited for the crowd to calm down. They couldn't wait to see the look on their face. "W-wait, you're serious?!" Mic stuttered. Bill removed the hand from their chin and nodded quietly. The crowd gasped in surprise. Technically, Bill was actually far older, but they were referring to themselves by Izuku's age, and Izuku's body was eight. So by that logic, Bill was currently a child.

"H-how? Why?" Mic sputtered, losing his ability to speak from the shock. He looked back in forth between the camera and the "child". Bill smiled once more, amused by Mic's confusion. "Would you like me to tell you a story, Mic?" they asked. The crowd shifted and glared at Mic to say 'yes'. Bill almost laughed when they saw Mic sweat. "Yes please." Bill glanced at Izuku to signal him to come back. Izuku knew what he had to do. Izuku floated next to his friend and started talking, Bill translating it. Bill spoke as if they were talking about Izuku rather than for him.

"It's about my friend. I can't tell you his name, only that I called him Bunny because of an inside joke between us. Bunny has a sister, a mother, and two fathers. His original parents got divorced a year after his birth due to financial reasons. His mother later got remarried and had his sister. He and his sister had four friends who all stuck to them like glue. The group was inseparable... until their quirks started coming in. Everyone else's quirks had come in but him and his sister's.

Then, when Bunny was four, he and his sister had gone to the quirk doctor and he was diagnosed as quirkless. That one word was what ruined his entire life. His mother had attempted to leave him at the doctor that day, in hopes of him never coming home, but he caught up with her and she ended up driving him home. Bunny watched as they celebrated over his sister developing a very powerful emitter quirk and left him in the dust. Bunny watched his friends and sister be praised and loved for their quirks while he was neglected and forgotten. Rumors broke out that his quirklessness was contagious and kids started to avoid him. His sister was the first to turn on him. She called him names and threw things at him. Then his friends got in on it. Then the class, and the teachers, and the school. And finally, when he started coming home with bruises and cuts, he attempted to ask his mother to help him, only to receive her hatred as well. She beat him, cut him, threw him, and locked him in his room. She deprived him of the things he needed to survive and if she ever caught him trying to make anything for himself she would hit him," Bill told them.

Now, this next bit was all lies that Bill had made up to finish the story, but Izuku didn't mind. It sounded better than the real thing anyway. "This abuse continued to grow worse over the next four years, until two months ago. A little while before I had started my company, he had just escaped his abusers and ran into the building you now know as 'The Cipher'. I used to use that as a secret spot to study when I didn't want to be bothered, and I just happened to be studying that day. I asked what happened and why he was hurt and he told me how he had hidden in that building because he was trying to run away from his "friends". I stayed with him until he was calm and we talked for a while. He told me his story and that's how we became friends. It took him a while to accept that the ones he had loved so dearly did not love him the same, but when he did I made sure to be there for him.

Bunny was my inspiration, my reason for starting this company. And, just last month... he killed himself. I was coming home from a grocery trip when I saw him on top of a building. I watched him fall, and I watched him die. I am doing all of this for him." Bill finished Izuku's story, looking up to see everyone's reaction. The crowd was crying, the chimera was growling softly, and Mic looked like he wanted to punch someone. "Do you hate them?" he asked, eyes closed and lips shivering in rage.

Bill glanced at the small ghost, looking at them, just as curious to hear their answer. Bill let out a deep sigh and sat back in their chair. "People that hold on to hate for so long do so because they want to avoid dealing with their pain. They falsely believe that if they choose to forgive, they are letting the enemy treat them like a doormat. What they don't understand is that hatred can't be quarantined or turned off. It shows in their health, choices, and thoughts. They make adjustments to their values and religious beliefs to justify their negative emotions. The mind is like a computer. Not unlike malware infesting a hard drive, their soul slowly becomes corrupted they make choices that don't many any sense to someone else. Hatred left unaddressed will crush a person's spirit. The only thing they can do is restart by fixing themselves and not others. Now, they might require a bit of help to help take back control of their life, but regardless of the approach, we are all connected in one way or another and each of us is responsible for taking care of ourselves."

"That's very noble of you. Even with everything you've been through, you still choose to help those in need," Mic said softly, no longer looking at Bill as a "man", but as a child. Bill hated that look in his eyes, but they knew what was necessary. This sob story would get inside everyone's heads and get Bill what they wanted. "Do you have anything to say for those people who've wronged you?" Mic asked hopefully. Bill thought for a moment before deciding that they'd go out with a bang. "Why yes, in fact, I do." they hummed, smiling wide. "To you who called us powerless, just remember that a single turd can shut down a whole swimming pool." Bill left the studio, leaving the crowd gasping for air as they clutched their sides and laughed. A very happy Izuku followed close behind.

. . .

Bill sunk into the herbal bath that was prepared for their arrival. It looks like they now had a larger variety of skin and hair products to choose from. Bill took their sweet time enjoying every bit of this. And the best part of it all was the heaters that were recently installed to keep the bath warm. Bill hummed a soft tune, a lullaby that Izuku heard a long time ago. There weren't any records in the dreamscape library that revealed where he had heard the song, but the description indicated it came from a man who loved him very much. Probably Izuku's real father. They began to wonder how Izuku would react if they ever met at any point in the future, but that was a thought for future Bill.

Bill hadn't meant for it to happen, but when they thought back on Izuku's story... they were reminded of their brother. Bill had once tried to defeat the god of time and become all-powerful, but their brother had gotten in the way. He went on about how time was necessary for the universe to continue existing, but Bill had argued back that killing Time Baby wouldn't stop time altogether, it would just cause some mayhem on the timeline. Tad still refused to let them continue and promised to stop Bill and attacked them... but Tad lost and was imprisoned inside a goat. Bill had tried to ignore the guilt back then by blaming it all on Tad for being a traitor... but thinking back on it now, they couldn't bring themselves to hate Tad anymore and felt bad for being so cruel over a silly game. Even those stupid humans. So many people had interfered and gotten in their way, and so many people made deals and broke them as soon as they got what they wanted out of Bill. So many people had betrayed and hurt Bill in some way for so very long. Bill just hated everything and wanted it to burn. They thought that seeing the pain and misery of others would entertain Bill as much as it did to all of those who hurt them. They thought having power over others would give them back the power they once had over themselves so long ago. And it did for a little while... but not anymore.

Only after meeting Izuku, and getting to understand each other did Bill finally stop and think about their life. And it was funny really... Bill had just gone on about letting go of one's hatred, but here they were holding on to it like a lifeline. It had driven them mad, just like they had said it would. Izuku had chosen to stay and help Bill, despite having their memories and knowing all of their crimes. Izuku knew how many lives they destroyed and how many people they killed just for fun. And still, he chose to stay by their side. Bill wasn't forcing him to do it, he just did. Bill didn't understand it, any of it... but maybe one day they would.

Maybe one day... one day... it would be okay.

. . .

"Hey, Bill. Are you okay in there? Can I come in?" Izuku asked through the door. Bill had been in there longer than usual and Izuku was worried they fell asleep in the tub. That was a dangerous thing to do when you're a mortal, and Bill was a human now, so it wasn't good for them. So when Bill didn't answer, Izuku took it upon himself to check on them. Normally, Izuku would be nervous to do something like this, but Izuku was basically just looking at his own body, so there wasn't anything to worry about. Bill was just a yellow and much taller Izuku, so there was nothing to feel awkward about.

"Bill?" he called once more. There was a small splash in the tub. "I'm guessing you didn't hear me the first time. Are you okay? You've been in here for a while now," Izuku asked, looking in the tub at his yellow-haired friend. Bill poked their head out of the water and looked at Izuku guiltily. "Is this about the talk show? I'm sorry for pushing you like that. Do you wanna talk about it?" Izuku fretted. "W-well yes and no. And I'm not upset with you. You held up your end of the deal, and we got what we wanted. But that's not... urgh, just... just don't worry about it. Let me get dressed so I can eat and we can go to bed, okay?" Bill told him. Izuku was worried, but he had already pushed Bill once today, and he didn't want to hurt them any further. "Okay... I'll see you in the daycare," Izuku said, disappearing into the dreamscape again.

And the room was silent once more. Bill hesitated a few more moments before stepping out of the tub and drying off. Izuku really was making them soft... and they decided that it was probably a good thing. Perhaps if Bill can find Tad's dreamscape, they can free him. Maybe they can talk things out and ease the tension. Bill doubted that Tad would forgive them any time soon, but it was better to get these things out in the open (or at least that's what Izuku had said about his own trauma). That was when Bill had an idea. What if he brought Izuku along? Not only would he get a chance to meet Bill's brother, but he'd also learn how to enter someone else's mind! And if Izuku could enter other people's minds- oh the fun they could have with those annoying Pine twins.

This is going to be fun!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(And that's it for this chapter.

I had been sticking as close as I could to the original storyline that I adopted from Sean, but what happened after this was way too confusing for me. The plot was extremely disorganized and, well, chaotic. Sure it was funny and good golly did I want to laugh at how gullible they made everyone, but there are way too many plotholes and not enough info dumps.

So, I'm going to jump to UA after this chapter and change up the story a bit.