Who?

Midoriya stared at the woman for a few seconds, his heart hammering in his chest. Then, almost on instinct, he scrambled back against the damp wall, his body stiffening as his mind screamed fight or flight.

“W-who are you?!” he demanded, voice shaking but sharp. “Get away from me!”

The woman froze where she stood. Both of her hands slowly rose into the air, palms open in a gesture of peace. She wore gloves that covered two of her fingers . Izuku now noticed her outfit: a loose black hoodie hanging just past her hips, dark pants that ended at her ankles, and a pair of worn red shoes that contrasted with the rest of her appearance.

“Don’t worry… don’t worry,” she said softly. Her voice carried no hostility, only a strange, almost weary gentleness. Izuku could see her smile, faint but real, though her cracked lips and tired eyes betrayed how dehydrated and undernourished she seemed.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I’m not here to do any harm.”

Midoriya’s eyes narrowed, red and swollen from the tears he hadn’t yet fully wiped away. His chest ached, his throat still raw. All he wanted—all he needed—was to crawl under his blanket and pretend this day had never happened.

“Why should I trust you?” he muttered, his voice cracking as he pressed tighter against the wall. “You… you look shady.”

The woman tilted her head slightly, as if she’d expected that reaction. Her smile didn’t falter, though something flickered behind her crimson eyes—an emotion Izuku couldn’t place.

“Shady, huh?” she repeated softly, almost amused. “You’re not wrong. I guess I do look like someone you shouldn’t trust. Like a weird NPC,” She lowered her hands slowly, carefully, so he could see she wasn’t reaching for anything.

“But you’re not exactly the most heroic here, are you?” she said, smirking, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Izuku flinched, his chest tightening.

“Knocking out the Number One Hero with your OP Quirk and then having sex with her… even though you’re just a man. What a scene,” she added, tilting her head as if savoring every word.

“I-I didn’t! I don’t even have a quirk!” he stammered, his voice cracking.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, amused. “Really? You don’t? Oh, please… don’t tell me you’re trying to gaslight yourself. You literally… just did something insane. You’ve got a quirk now, whether you like it or not.”

Izuku’s mind spun. “No… no, that’s impossible! I—there’s no way! I’ve never… I can’t… I’m quirkless!”

She leaned closer, eyes glinting with a sharp, teasing light. “Oh, come on…. How are you even standing there, thinking you can deny it? Do you think some random NPC did this for you and then just disappeared, without using that Power for him?"

Izuku froze, completely overwhelmed. His heart pounded, mind racing between disbelief, fear, and the strange, crushing weight of her stare. That he—he had a quirk now?—seemed impossible, yet undeniable.

“Wait—” Izuku’s voice cracked, a surge of panic overtaking him. “How do you know that? Did you… Watch me? Did you see…? Did you record—? Please, don’t tell anyone that—”

Tomoka held up her hands, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “Calm down, calm down. I didn’t do anything like that, and there’s nothing recorded.” She leaned slightly closer, her tone softening but still teasing. “But… you should be careful around memory-reading quirks.”

Izuku froze, his heart pounding, cheeks burning.

“I was just passing by when I heard some noises,” she continued casually, as if narrating an ordinary walk. “And I saw you two… You know.” Her words made him feel like his stomach had dropped into his shoes as he felt beet red.

“I knew something was off, so I kept my distance,” she added, cheeks faintly pink. “But… your quirk—it’s… big.”

Izuku’s face flamed hotter. "He saw me… he knows… my quirk… "His disbelief battled with an odd, thrilling sense of power he didn’t yet understand. "If you were affected by my Quirk... Do you also want to.. You know..." he said with an embarrassed voice, trying not to speak directly aabouthappenednd, while he tried to keep his distance.

“Relax,” Tomoka said, her tone softening. “I wasn’t really affected."

Izuku began to take a deep breath, trying to steady himself. In less than an hour, his entire world had been turned upside down. He had been attacked, nearly swallowed by a villain, witnessed the Symbol of Peace in a **** state, discovered he actually had a quirk, and now… a complete stranger was speaking to him.

The weight of it all pressed on him, a jumble of fear, disbelief, and awe, leaving him momentarily frozen in the damp sewer. "How is this even real?", he thought, heart pounding. "Nothing makes sense anymore…"

He began to take another shaky breath, forcing himself to calm down. His hands were still trembling as he looked up at the stranger, a mix of caution and curiosity in his eyes.

“So… what do you want from me?” he asked, his voice quiet but laced with nervousness.

She smiled, her cracked lips curling into a faint, almost teasing grin. “I want… you to join my party,” she said, stretching her hand toward him. Her eyes glinted with something between curiosity and challenge, making him hesitate.

Izuku froze, his mind racing. He blinked several times, unable to fully comprehend what she meant. “What… does that mean?” he stammered, his voice small and uncertain. “Who are you even? I don’t… I don’t like talking to weird strangers like you.”

Tomoka let out a quiet, almost playful laugh, tilting her head. “Relax,” she said softly, though there was a sharpness under her words. “I’m not some random creep or villain. I just… think you have potential.”

Izuku looked at her, a mix of disbelief and wariness in his eyes. He wanted to be left alone, yet a part of him was curious about what she meant.

“I… “ I don’t know,” he stammered, hesitantly, “I don’t even know who you are.” I don’t like talking to strangers.”

She smiled faintly, her cracked lips curling just enough to be unsettling and oddly charming. “I want to explain this to you,” she said, reaching for her device, “but this… isn’t the right place for that.”

Before he could process her words, a swirling shadow expanded beside her. It twisted and pulsed as if it had a mind of its own, before it calmed down.

Midoriya stumbled back, heart racing. “Wh-what… is that?” he asked, his voice trembling.

“That’s my friend,” she said lightly, almost teasing, as if the shadow were nothing more than a passing breeze. “We’ll take you somewhere safe… somewhere warm.”

Izuku froze, his heart pounding. “Why should I follow you? You could be a kidnapper, An Organ Seller, or a ****…” His voice trembled as he stepped back, eyes wide. “What if this is some trick? What if something terrible happens?”

She laughed softly, the sound lilting and playful, but there was a sharpness to it that made him flinch. “Haha, how cute,” she said, tilting her head. “If I were one of those types, you’d already be gone. And you really should ignore my friend request.”

Her smile was disarmingly lovely, but he could feel the edge of power beneath it. And yet, even as his instincts screamed at him to run, a strange part of him couldn’t look away.

She began to dim her glow, her expression hardening. “I don’t want to do this… but tell me, if I walked to the police and confessed, how long do you think it would take before someone shows up at your door?”

Slowly, she removed one of her gloves, revealing a hand with long, pale fingers. She grabbed a large stone with four visible fingers, then pressed her fifth finger against it. “If I wanted to kill you…” she said, her voice low and measured. The stone crumbled into dust in her hand. “…you’d already be dead.”

Izuku froze, his mind scrambling. His chest tightened and his knees felt weak. He could feel the weight of her words pressing down on him, like a physical ****. She… she could really do it. And there’s nothing I could do to stop her…

“But I won’t do it,” she said, her voice softening just a fraction, though still carrying an edge. “You’re… interesting. A side character, potentially a party member. I know your mom doesn’t live around here—you’re not fooling me with that little lie.

She gestured toward the sewer entrance. “You can go out there… I won’t stop you. But I’d recommend against it. No one else is going to react kindly to what just happened.”

Her gaze shifted back to him, piercing yet strangely inviting. “Or… you could join me,” she said, holding up her hand, the glove already back in place. “I don’t want anything evil from you. I promise. Just… come with me if you want,"

Izuku looked at her warily.

His mind flickered with the faces of those he knew:

Mom’s green eyes, full of quiet sadness.

Katsumi’s red eyes, blazing with anger.

Arise’s hazel eyes, heavy with pity.

All of them seemed to look down on him, as if he were useless, beneath them.

But Shigeraki’s eyes… hers were different. All he could see there was genuine excitement.

For him.

Because of him.

Because of his quirk.

A small, anxious voice in his head warned him to pull back. She could be dangerous. She could—she could kill me. Or worse…

Every logical part of him screamed to run. To bolt back to the safety of familiar streets, away from sewers, slime villains, Horny heroes, and strangers who could read his very thoughts.

And yet… There was something about the way she looked at him, something that made the fear twist into a strange, almost magnetic pull. After everything that had happened,he had felt so small, so powerless. And for the first time that day, someone looked at him like he actually mattered.

“Ok… I’ll come along,” he said finally, his voice quiet, almost trembling, yet firm enough to commit.

Shigeraki took his hand, her grip firm but surprisingly warm, and pulled him toward the swirling void.

“Thank you, Midoriya Izuku,” she said, her voice calm, almost tender. “I promise you will not regret it.”

He blinked, barely able to process her words as the world around him began to twist and blur. The damp, echoing walls of the sewer faded, replaced by the dizzying whirl of colors and motion. His stomach lurched, but he didn’t resist.

For a brief moment, Izuku felt the weight of everything—the fear, the exhaustion, the doubt—pressing down on him.

Then the portal closed.

The sewer was silent. Empty. Cold.