It was cold. It was dark and uncomfortable.

Where was he?

The stench of slowly rotting flesh and blood blanketed the air and melded together with the underlying smell of vomit and urine.

The yells and shouts of an excited crowd drowned out the screams of agony, from those who lost and from those who won. "I'd shared a meal with that person," they thought. It was sickening, but what could you do? Because in the gladiator ring it was the survival of the fittest.

What was he doing back here ?!

Adults, children, those with Quirks and those without, were fighting for their lives.

The door of his cage was slammed open, a beefy shadow falling over him. Now it was his turn to entertain the bastards so that he could live another day.

He was only 13, probably, maybe?
Whatever age he was, he knew he was the longest surviving person from his age group. Even more surprising—thrilling—was that his Quirk wasn't one he could use to fight. This made his matches intense. One misstep, one wrong move, would mean death for him.

He stepped into the ring and saw a girl, possibly 2 years older than him. She had only been here for two weeks and had barely won 5 matches and now she was facing against him, Izuku, better known as the Soul Starer; he was sitting at 159 wins, 0 draws, 0 loses.

The buzzer sounded.
Move.
Analyze.
Hit.
Dodge.
Slam!

The crowd was going wild, alcohol and bets flowing.

Izuku never played with his opponent, always going in straight for the kill. Quick and to the point was he. But despite that, the pigs of the audience thoroughly enjoyed his matches and so he fought daily at their request. It was a good thing. After all, they were the ones who decided if he lived or died.

Close your eyes.

Squelch...

Suddenly darkness engulfed him and he was now standing outside a burning building, a hospital. He stood still and frozen like a deer in headlights.

He's being dragged away now, dumped into a creaking, haunted house of a foster home in downtown Mertsuana. He'd never been there before. Mom had never allowed it.

Mom...

"Izuku ! Don't put that crab in your mouth!"

"Oh come on Inko, don't freak out so much. It's just its shell." A deep, hearty laugh sounded through the air. Then the scenery changed again.

"—Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Izuku, happy birthday to you~"

"Blow out the candles, honey," Mom encouraged, and pecked him on the cheek. So much excitement. So much All Might, Kacchan will be so jealous that he missed this.

"You can't catch us!" A jaunty voice provoked the group behind them while they were expertly leaping over fences and dashing through the narrow streets. A yell of rage was heard, they would never catch them. She had had it coming, he reassures himself after glancing down at what they had stolen.

Then it all went away, like someone had blindfolded him. A young girl with white hair and green eyes appeared before him. She had tattered cat ears on and an oversized green sweater drowning her in its mass. Suddenly she started to scream and cry in pain, but he couldn't move to protect her. He was shackled and chained to the ground by invisible binds.

Blood seeped into his vision and surrounded her...

•~•

I bolted up with a start, drenched in a cold sweat and shaking.

Nightmares. Oh how I loathed them.

I peeked at the clock next to my bed. It was only 04:00 in the morning, which means I only had four hours of sleep. Great. At this rate I would die from the lack of sleep.

I went to the punching bag in my room and my mind switched off as I ran through the moves I knew better than my back of my hand. I was in a trance like state. It was more energizing than meditation—which was what I was supposed to do. Training is more peaceful.

My alarm went off at 07:00. I had been going for three hours straight and I felt rather refreshed; clear minded but sweaty. I changed and showered, putting concealing cream under my eyes and on the scars on my face. I wore a skin coloured under-shirt that hid my scars and tattoos.

After eating a simple breakfast of high fiber cereal, I left the building just as everyone else was waking up.

Running through today's schedule I saw we had a Heroics lesson at the end of the day, taught by none other than the man who pulled the trigger on my dreams and sanity.
Many people had been loading up the gun but All Might had been the match and I gave up all hope of ever becoming a Hero.

His words still wreck havoc in my mind.

"No kid, I don't think you can become a Hero."

It was going to take everything in me not to snap and kill the man. Bakugou too, what a pain.

The day dragged on until it was finally lunch, and I had to give in my report. Rushing out of class I went straight to the roof, flipping open my burner phone and whispered to Shigaraki that everything was going well so far. The USJ attack should run smoothly.

It was phase 1 in the plan, the plan had over 10 phases, so by the end of the year Yuuei and any other Hero school would be finished.

It was the end of the day and it was finally time for Heroics. I was surprisingly excited, I heard we were going to be sparring and it has been far too long since I've actually gotten to beat up someone.

"You're really excited for this aren't you Deku?" Uraraka giggled.

"Yeah I am... wait... Deku?" I was shocked, only Bakugo called me that.

"Oh I thought that was your name." She replied sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck.

I internally face palmed.

How stupid is this girl? Didn't she hear my name being called out or pay any attention at all?

"O-Oh, oh no, my name is Izuku Midoriya but, please call me I-Izuku. Deku is what Kacchan c-calls me as an, insult." I explain with a crooked smile on my face. This pretend stutter is kinda getting annoying.

"Aww but Deku sounds cute and it suits you." She beamed up at me as if she'd just given me the world.

Did she - Did she just insult me?! I mean, I know I'm wearing clothes that are a little big for me so that I look smaller and weaker than I actually am, but come on! 

"Deku i-it is then!" I hold my breath so it would look like I'm blushing. She gave me a pure smile and had latched herself into my arm, happily babbling away. Now I was actually blushing.

Get out of my space bubble, stupid girl! I screamed at her in my head.

"I AM HERE! Going through the door like a normal person!" All Might announced dramatically while striking a pose halfway through the doorway. Everyone except me was babbling away about All Might and how cool he was. I forced a smile on my face and screwed my eyes closed so I didn't have to look at him.

"Now suit up into your brand new Hero costumes and meet me in Ground Omega." He loudly declared while gesturing to a large trolley stacked high with metal suitcases. After everyone had stampeded over to the cart and rushed to grab their suitcase, I and a few others ambled over to grab ours and made our way to the changing rooms.

Once in the change rooms I carefully took out my Hero costume from its silver suitcase and admired the handiwork.

My awesome costume consisted of a pair of army green cargo pants, a tight long black shirt, an olive green jacket with a detachable hood, a copper dog tag and a utility belt with knives, wire, a first aid kit and snacks. The final piece was a metal mouth cover which protected my jaw and of course how could I forget the gorgeous black leather boots with metal toes for more devastating attacks and the padded soles that silenced my steps. It was no wonder my case was so heavy!

The best thing though was that the clothes were made from a genetically engineered cotton which was waterproof, fire resistant and softened attacks and the special dye made the cloth trap heat when it is cold but when it is hot it reflects heat. Genius! Once I had put it on I couldn't help but marvel at how easy it was to move around in. The dog tag wasn't just for show either, it had all the information I had collected over the years on it. It was very high-tech and something I had designed myself, still quite proud of that.

It was perfect! I wonder if I could keep it after I blow this joint?

As soon as I walked out, an awkward, questioning silence enveloped the room. Who was this person? They were probably asking themselves

"Midoriya?" Kirishima asked slowly, unsure if he was right. 

I stepped out of the shadows, "Y-yes?" I asked innocently, a bright smile stretched over my freckled face 

Their questions died before they had a chance to be heard and were stowed away in the deepest part of their minds. The mindless chatter revived, awkward moment brushed aside.

Uruaka then came up in her skin tight suit, and I was blushing heavily. Dammit woman did you paint that thing on your body.

She was complaining to me about how tight it was, and eventually asked me about my costume and why I wanted it to look like that and I lied saying I was inspired by an old, American comic book: The Green Arrow.

"You all look amazing in your costumes but now it is time for the lesson to begin. We will be doing one on one fighting, so I can see how far along your skills are in fighting and combat. To make it more interesting it will be a competition!"

There were some groans and excited yells. All Might announced the matches and I didn't listen until I finally heard my name.

"Izuku Midoriya against Katsuki Bakugo."

"FINALLY, I CAN BEAT YOUR SORRY ASS YOU DAMN NERD!" Bakugo yelled, still sore about...something or other. I had given up trying to figure out what.

Match after match, round after round until it was finally my turn.

I heard my classmates whispering as I walked over to the arena.

"I hope Izuku will be alright."

"Yeah he is going to get pummelled"

"Bakugo will win for sure."

"This is going to be a bloodbath."

My anger was simmering.

They were assuming the outcome of this match already, yeah right...

'I need to remember that I am an undercover agent, I need to keep my act up even if that means losing.' I calmed myself down and took a basic fighting stance.

I patiently wait for the starting bell.

Gong!

Immediately Bakugo fires an explosion towards me which I dodge by dropping to the floor and rolling. He fires five more straight at me in quick succession, which I all dodge narrowly. My hair is now singed at the tips. I continue dodging his attacks and keeping out of Bakugo's range, I know how strong he is, I'm not stupid. Until finally I have a decent smoke screen.

Time to move on to the attack!

I slip soundlessly through the cloud of smoke and appear by Bakugo's side in a matter of seconds and punch him in the chest before dancing away again so he couldn't grab me. This is fun! Hit-and-run is one of my preferred tactics while Bakugo is more of a destroy them all kind of guy, so in this situation I have the upper hand.

I try to axe-kick him in the back but Bakugo rolls away and blocks my leg with his gauntlets and tries to throw me to the ground but I land on my feet in a Spider-Man position and bounce right back at him. I activate Analyst and search for any weak points I can exploit. I never land the punch, however, as he grabs me by my shirt and flings me at a wall, hoping that would keep me down but I just bound right back.

Seeing as he couldn't keep me down he changed his tactics to trash talking.

"Oi shitty Deku just give up already, it's not like you could ever become a Hero!" He yelled while dodging my lunge. 

I just give him a bone-chilling smile and punch him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. And he swings his fist at me but I leap over him in some impressive acrobatics.

"Your useless ass could never beat me!" He crowed.

"Oh please K-Kacchan you haven't even put a s-scratch on me!" I shout back at him. It's not true but I'm not going to let him know that.

"OH YEAH! TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE THEN."  He pulls his left gauntlet's pin out and grabs onto my shirt before I can twist out of the way.

A huge explosion goes off and it would have burnt the skin straight off my back if it wasn't for my suit, which now had a huge hole in it. He better pay for that.

Everyone started to scream and cry out, fearful and concerned, but I gradually stood back up and tried to launch my counterattack but neither Bakugo nor I could move.

"Young Bakugo if you do that again there will be a severe punishment, that could've killed him. Okay? Continue." All Might slammed the buzzer and released the two Heroes-in-training but Midoriya wasn't moving. He stood there as rigid as a board, it was like someone had flipped off a switch. But that couldn't have been more wrong.

'The buzzer, I must fight, fight to win, I must win, fight till the death.' These broken thoughts swirled around his head. 

He stood deathly still.

A switch had been flipped but it wasn't off, oh no no, he had been changed from a Hero, to a gladiator, a fighter...

Just as Bakugo was about to sock him in the face...

He changed.

He grabbed Bakugo's hand in an iron grip and crushed it, releasing an ear-piercing scream from the blonde teen. He gazed through him with ice in his empty eyes, all the warmth had left. They were glazed over and unfeeling.

For the first time in his life Bakugo was truly scared, and ironically of all he was scared of the kid he had bullied.

Izuku was in a trance, he felt nothing and showed nothing. He was back in the ring and Bakugo was just another victim.

He threw Bakugo against the wall, which dented the metal wall. He jumped over to his victim in a blur of green and red.  His landing cracked the ground beneath him. He was moving in for the kill. Izuku grabbed Bakugo by the hair and threw him against the ground like a discarded doll, the unhealthy crack of bones echoed throughout the training room.

The entire class was in shock, here was their nervous little cinnamon roll beating one of the strongest in the class like it was nothing.

"I-Is it just me or does Izuku seem like he is in a trance. Like he is being c-controlled?" Momo asked, shaking in her boots as Izuku glanced up at the camera, his dulled emerald eyes freezing her soul. Some Villain could be at work here!

"All Might you have to stop them!" Yelled Kirishima. Everyone numbly nodded in agreement as Midoriya pounded Bakugo into the ground. He could barely stand, let alone fight back.

"Young Midoriya stop you are going to kill him!" All Might commanded urgently.

Midoriya didn't stop, he wasn't there at the moment, he was in the ring where it was kill or be killed.

All Might noticed that he wasn't stopping and ran down and stood in between them grabbing onto Izuku, when Izuku looked up. All Might shuddered at the empty look in the boy's eyes, it terrified him.

A buzzer sounded, signifying that the time was up. Izuku's glossy look disappeared and he fainted in All Might's arms. Recovery Girl came and collected both boys and took them to the clinic on two stretchers while grumbling about powerful kids and irresponsible teachers.

•~•

The elderly lady, who had once been a teen-idol in her day, proceeded to gently cut open Izuku's shirt - prepared for the worst - but, was surprised when she saw a skin tight peach undershirt stained red instead of the third degree burns and marred skin. Not thinking much of it, she hastily removed it so she could treat the young boy's wounds but what she saw shocked her.

•~•

Later that day Mr Aizawa and All Might sat in the clinic looking at Midoriya - the principal had been informed of the brutal training incident but was unable to come and see the two boys. The teachers stared at the scars and the curious tattoos that decorated the small boy's body. Some scars were small, clean little lines (self-inflicted perhaps?), others were jagged and broad but most were discolored splotches of skin, burns, that covered the majority of his back.

Their thoughts were unanimous, 'What happened?'