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Third person pov

Kurogiri realizes Tomura Shigaraki is crying with a jolt that almost makes him drop the glass he's in the process of polishing.

They were set up at the bar, the UA Sports Festival playing on the TV mounted overhead. Tomura had been invested from the very start, which Kurogiri hadn't seen as odd. It was a grand chance to examine the abilities of their opponents and chosen targets. Sensei had strongly encouraged the young man to get to know the competition, promising to call back and ask if Tomura had noticed anything of note later. The reassurances the powerful villain gave sent shivers down Kurogiri's spine. They were not genuine in the least, and they brought an ill feeling to the pit of his stomach.

But now Tomura Shigaraki is crying. Tears tore down his cheeks, gushing from his wide, red eyes. The black invading his roots had spread since their last trip to the beach, and it seems to be spreading as they speak for unknown reasons. Tomura is leaning forward intently, upper body propped on the counter and gaze trained on the fight between Izuku Midoriya and a general education student Kurogiri doesn't recognize. The warp gate user could not see why he would be so agitated. He panicked momentarily, scrambling for words. Tomura didn't cry. He simply didn't.

"Tomura Shigaraki." His voice came out more strangled than he'd care to admit. The light blue-- black?-- haired man didn't turn away, refusing to remove his utmost attention from the standoff before him. Kurogiri's yellow eyes shifted to the screen as the purple haired child was grabbed by the meddlesome freckled one they'd seen at the USJ. Tomura has been a little twitchy throughout the whole event's screening, but this reaction is too severe to ignore. "Are you... alright?"

At first he only gets a shuddering inhale in response which does not instill him with any confidence. Kurogiri watches intently, holding his breath and waiting to see what the young man will do. This has never happened before. Is it his fault? He knows taking him to the sea has done something. He's been different since then, but this is a whole new realm of odd that Kurogiri cannot categorize. Crying. He is crying, and he's crying hard.

He doesn't look angry or sad or hurt, and his breathing isn't stuttered out into sobs. The expression on his face is one of focused surprise and perhaps... longing? The same glint he got when he looked in the mirror at his darkening hair was present, bright and bold. Recognition, Kurogiri realizes. His eyes flit to the screen, to Izuku Midoriya. This did not happen at the USJ. Did the sea do something?

"I... I..." Tomura croaks out, sounding impossibly vulnerable. Kurogiri swallows heavily, not sure what to do.

"We can turn it off if it is upsetting you, Tomura Shigaraki. It will be easy to access online at a later date." Kurogiri says, though he knows such an offer is risky. There's no telling when Sensei will call back to ask about what Tomura had observed, and he'll want a truthful answer if he happens to ask why they didn't watch it all the way through. However, Kurogiri can't sit here and watch him cry like this. It makes his heart ache, and he wishes he were better at this. Maybe then he'd be able to help more.

"No! No." Tomura shakes his head rapidly at the proposition, still staring at the screen. There's something reverent and awed in his tone now, an odd expression taking root on his face. Like something in him is settling. Kurogiri isn't sure if he should be scared or relieved. He thinks he's a bit of both at the moment. "I just... I-I know... I know him. I feel like I know him, Kurogiri, but I can't... I can't remember."  

He seems agitated that he can't recall, and Kurogiri almost expects him to start scratching his neck from the tension in his tone. Yet, he does not. He simply sits, still staring, still crying.

"Izuku Midoriya?" Kurogiri questions hesitantly, feeling perplexed. Tomura shakes his head, a slow smile beginning to stretch across his face as the screen zooms in on the pair of students, Present Mic's obnoxious voice crowing commentary in the background. The smile one of those rare large ones that has not a hint of craze behind it. It's genuinely happy, and Kurogiri feels his concern grow tenfold. He's glad his charge is happy, of course! The cause is just... unclear. It raises more questions than answers.

"No." Tomura props his head up on his hands and watches as the purple haired student stares after Midoriya, who'd just dragged him out of bounds. He's still smiling, looking fond and a little lost. He's still crying. The black has spread down to his temple, overtaking more of his light blue. "Not him." 

Kurogiri doesn't say anything else, and he doesn't mention how Tomura rewinds the TV over and over again just to see the camera zoom in on Hitoshi Shinso's face. It is not something Kurogiri will mention to Sensei if Tomura doesn't. He goes back to polishing his glass and wonders what he's gotten into. 

He could take Tomura and run. The boy clearly gains energy from the ocean. They could get a boat and escape, and Kurogiri could warp to land when in need of supplies. They'd likely never be found, and Tomura could be happy. Could uncover the memories Sensei had stolen from him, let his hair turn black and keep that happy spark in his eyes. Kurogiri has been a loyal follower of All For One for as long as he can recall, but his mission first and foremost is to protect Tomura Shigaraki. Sensei had made that clear, but he'd never specified from who he was supposed to protect him. Never excluded himself from the order.

Kurogiri hums to himself thoughtfully, still absentmindedly polishing the same glass. Tomura's smile never fades.

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

Even Aizawa felt it.

Something burst forth when Izuku Midoriya was placed under Shinso's magnetic hold. He felt it through the marital bond and in the air, ancient, powerful, otherworldly. It was something he knew immediately didn't belong in the body of his resident problem-child, who is definitely not a merman despite Aizawa's original suspicions. Atlantis and Hitoshi were absolutely sure of this, regardless their consistent claims that the ocean likes Izuku. If he had an ounce of mer blood in him, they'd know. Shota could feel Atlantis' certainty on this through their bond and see it clearly on his face.

The two mer were curious about him, comparing the aura to the same one All Might had, though Izuku's was much stronger. The Number One Hero was definitely going to have some explaining to do after this. The energy that rippled forth had knocked the air from his lungs, a strangled gasp fighting past his lips despite his attempts to hold it back. Hizashi had given him an odd look, clearly not having sensed anything in particular based on how quickly he disregards the black haired man's reaction and continued on with his announcing.

Atlantis' excitement tore through him in a burning buzz, making him feel more awake and alert than he had all day. The feeling was so strong that Shota had to assume his husband was probably ricocheting off the walls at this point in his exuberance. Aizawa couldn't blame him. This was... he didn't know what it was. He'd always thought Midoriya's quirk was a little odd. Ill-suited to his body, too powerful to be contained by him alone. Maybe there was some truth to that. Maybe it wasn't something he was built to possess at all.

Atlantis truly couldn't sit still. Recovery Girl watched with raised eyebrows as he bounced around the room, rambling a mile a minute about the ocean this and the ocean that. She really had no idea what he was saying and she didn't dare ask him to try and explain. Something to do with Midoriya she thought, which was predictable. The freckled boy really didn't know how to stay out of trouble, did he? This was only more proof of such. An ancient species was interested in the boy, after all.

Atlantis went on and on about it, quieting only when students came in for healing and then picking right back up again when he left off. It was a nonstop, constant stream of thought flying from his mouth. He talked with exaggerated hand motions and a bright grin, eyes shining like a pair of large bubbles. Recovery Girl could not believe Shota Aizawa had married this man. 

The time for Izuku Midoriya to fight again came, the boy stepping up against Shoto Todoroki. And Atlantis... could hardly believe it.

The power was not as potent as before, but it was there. It wafted through the air like the smell of salt by the sea, peaceful waves turning violent in an instant. They rose and crashed down with no sense of rhythm, untamable inside of him. There was no sense of control, no discipline in the way he handled the energy. Atlantis felt himself become just as awed as he was horrified. He had never seen a human use mer magic, but he had witnessed his fair share of mishaps when those in his pod lost control of their magic or did not know how to use it properly. A human with this power and no idea how to use it... it was no wonder he continued to injure himself.

It was a natural disaster. A tsunami and a hurricane, twisted up and billowing from the green-haired boy like smoke out of an old steamship. The clash of powers was brutal, the sky overhead beginning to cloud with the threat of a total downpour. Atlantis could hardly stand to watch, yet he also couldn't pry his eyes away at the same time. He barely registered Recovery Girl's curse as the two students met in an explosive force of power, sending shockwaves across the entire stadium. 

"-lantis, Atlantis!" The mer jumped slightly, blinking rapidly as Recovery Girl whacked his leg with her odd cane. She looked concerned, frown set deep in her face. "Get ready, dearie. Those injuries aren't going to be pretty."

"R-Right!" Atlantis popped to his feet. He hadn't even thought about it, but she was right. 

"I'll get the painkillers ready. Make sure we've got a couple of clean beds open. I'm not sure if either are still conscious after such an explosion." The woman sighed, already rifling through a couple of drawers. Atlantis scrambled to do as told, pulling back blankets and fluffing pillows. Both were such odd creations, but understandable. He had been quite enjoying the cushioning on he and Shota's bed. It was so odd to think that it was his too, but nice. He liked sharing things with Shota. 

Atlantis backpedaled when the infirmary door slammed open. He didn't quite like those 'med bots' that carried students around. They were a little scary, zipping around on those rubber wheels of theirs. He had no idea how they worked. How did they know how to move and do things if they weren't alive? Atlantis's head hurt if he thought too hard about it. At least those 'cars' had people controlling them. They were like land boats! These... things just ran around without any notable assistance! 

"Todoroki, good. You're awake. Rate your pain for me." Recovery Girl demanded idly as the half-and-half boy was transferred to another bed. Atlantis observed him curiously. He had never seen a human split down the middle before! But then again, all humans seemed to have incredibly unique appearances. Gang Orca, for example, was a mutated human that held the attributes of a killer whale. Recovery Girl was like, three feet tall. It was all very perplexing, but nice, too! They were all unique in the way sea life was, co-existing with one another despite their differences.

"I'm fine." The boy-- Todoroki-- said quietly. His mismatched eyes shifted over to where a bloody and bruised Midoriya was being transferred onto the bed next to his. The boy was out cold at the moment, fingers a mangled mess. Atlantis was mortified by the sheer intensity of the damage. He couldn't help but lean closer, concern welling up. He felt a spark of worry shoot back at him through his bond from Shota. "Will... Will he be alright?"

"That wasn't a number, dear, but I'm sure he will be. Atlantis, would you mind taking a look at him? Midoriya is going to need some pain killers in case he comes to while I'm assessing him." Recovery Girl noted. Atlantis tore his gaze away from the unconscious teen, meeting Todoroki's eyes. He was gazing at him with sheltered curiosity. Atlantis gave a bright smile, hoping to clear up some of his apprehension. 

"Yes, of course!" Atlantis took a deep breath. He could ask about Izuku later when the boy's hands weren't in awful condition. He instead skipped over to the sink, aware of the eyes following him as he did so. 

Todoroki Shoto had an odd air about him. He was not like the other students he had run into. There was something swimming beneath the depths-- something... sadder. The boy held a tremendous power that he couldn't help but be awed by, but there was something anchoring him down and threatening to drag him into darker depths. Atlantis could see it as he looked in his eyes, water swirling through the air to surround and heal his injuries. They weren't too bad from what Atlantis could tell. 

Shoto watched him like Atlantis was a predator and he was the prey. He held completely still, as though he was being hunted and had to be ready to bolt the second danger presented itself. Atlantis... didn't like it very much. He was no expert on humans, but even he could tell this was not normal. The other students he interacted with did not have such steel behind their eyes. They didn't square themselves defensively as though Atlantis were going to attack. Atlantis was here to help, not hurt. He wondered why this child expected different.

Deciding this was yet another question to ask Shota later, he let his water carefully and slowly come forward as to not startle him. Todoroki let it wrap around him, extending his limbs a little so it could better access his injuries. Atlantis felt satisfied by the way the teen relaxed a little, body slouching as the pain was released. Maybe that's why he'd been so still? The pain? Perhaps Atlantis had imagined it, but-- no. No, something was certainly off here!

"Atlantis." Recovery Girl drew his attention away from the boy before he could think any harder about it. She looked grim. "I need your help with this. He's too exhausted to take the brunt of my quirk."

Outside, thunder rumbled. Atlantis rolled up his sleeves.