A student had died. And that was all the public cared about.
No matter how recklessly that student had acted, no matter how blinded by revenge they were, no matter that their hero family had been brutally attacked by Stain—people focused solely on the outcome. U.A. High School's reputation plummeted, and waves of criticism followed.
The principal bowed his head in apology, as did Aizawa Shota, the student's homeroom teacher.
Aizawa looked furious, but Midoriya couldn't tell if that anger was directed at the reckless student or at Stain.
Heroes began to attract the gaze of ordinary citizens—not a supportive gaze, but one scrutinizing them, waiting for the right moment to bite and tear them down.
Iida Tensei's death caused a significant drop in enrollment at U.A. and other hero schools.
Some students even chose to drop out.
The harsh reality of it all finally started to sink in—this was what being a hero meant.
In U.A.'s Hero Course, the only student to quit was Mineta.
Though Midoriya felt disappointed in him, he was deeply moved by the fact that every other student in Classes 1-A and 1-B chose to stay.
That alone was enough to inspire him.
They were, after all, aspiring heroes chosen by heroes.
Each of them had their own reasons, and instead of giving up, they continued to grow, striving toward their goal of becoming heroes.
It wasn't all bad news.
Seeing Shinsou, formerly a General Studies student but now transferred into the Hero Course, Midoriya couldn't contain his joy, expressing it with an almost ridiculous expression.
He was so overjoyed that he even jokingly asked if Shinsou was an alien.
Giving him a thumbs-up, Midoriya nodded enthusiastically, calling him the best.
Shinsou had officially transferred into the Hero Course.
And so, the quirkless Midoriya entered his second year in the General Studies department.
Then came the rise of the League of Villains.
"Recently, with the Stain incident and the subsequent loss of trust in schools that train heroes, people began asking questions like, 'Why should quirks be controlled by society?' and 'Why must we live under oppression?'
As a result, even those who weren't villains before started to rise up.
They found an excuse.
They'd rather use their quirks for themselves than risk their lives serving society and dying pointlessly in some hero school.
"Among them, there are the run-of-the-mill types, but the real deal—those who waited for the chaos to escalate—are the ones who've started moving now. And that's what we call the League of Villains."
"Ha—, the League of Villains… that's terrifying."
The number of students in the General Studies second-year class had dropped significantly.
Many parents had forced their children to withdraw, fearing the negative impact of the label "U.A. graduate" on their future.
In response to a classmate's remark, a boy with narrow eyes and a second eyelid-like fold where his eyebrows should be, Midoriya let out a low laugh.
"But villains are necessary for heroes to exist."
"That sounds weird, Midoriya-kun. Villains appear, and heroes emerge to stop them—it's not the other way around."
"Before quirkless Midoriya Izuku graduates and leaves the dorms, the heroes will need to take down the League of Villains."
His classmate's words carried an underlying meaning that Midoriya picked up on.
It wasn't just about him—it was about the safety of ordinary people.
Heroes needed to eliminate the League of Villains before innocent lives were affected.
Despite their distrust of heroes, people couldn't help but depend on them.
This contradiction was visible everywhere.
Midoriya bit into the snack offered by his classmate.
"Pfft, you look like a duck, Midoriya-kun," they laughed.
With two potato chips sticking out of his mouth, he really did resemble a duck.
The cheerful voice clashed awkwardly with the tense atmosphere of society, creating a surreal feeling of dissonance—like the world lacked any sense of reality.
Recently, Midoriya had been wrestling with a growing sense of unfairness.
It was something he acknowledged as inevitable but still couldn't accept as just.
People criticized, oppressed, mocked, and jeered at heroes, only to scream for help the moment they were in danger.
They tossed heroes into the fire as scapegoats, relentlessly grinding them down.
If those who used quirks were likened to snacks, people would devour the "villain chips" first—easy to blame and despised for their wickedness.
It was convenient to treat villains like emotional dumpsters. But what happens when that bag of snacks runs out? What's left are the harder-to-eat "hero chips."
The corrupt heroes—those barely deserving of the title—remained hidden, while the genuine ones, those who radiated the light of goodwill, were the ones who ended up being consumed.
Midoriya began to question the utility, purpose, and fairness of it all.
Midoriya loved heroes.
He admired them, dreamed of becoming one, only to be deemed unfit because of his quirklessness.
So, what could someone like him, who longed to be connected to heroes, actually do?
"The more villains appear, the more work there is for heroes. Recently, there's been an increase in noticeable heroes too…"
"Yeah, it makes you wonder why they've only started standing out now. Some work tirelessly and shine brightly, while others barely try. Is that thanks to someone like Stain?"
"A villain is still a villain, I guess."
"Hey… that's a bit of a dangerous thing to say."
Crunch.
The chip in Midoriya's mouth shattered.
"A villain is still a villain." Those words made something click in Midoriya's mind.
It wasn't that he thought Stain was right.
It wasn't that he liked villains.
Villains were the enemy of heroes.
But while Midoriya couldn't become a hero, he realized he could become something else—something that still dealt with heroes, albeit from the opposite side.
A villain.
The definition of a villain was vague.
A person with a dangerous quirk takes control of a building.
A thief uses their quirk to steal money and escape.
Someone uses their quirk to commit acts of violence. They are labeled as villains.
What about the quirkless?
A dangerous quirkless person takes control of a building.
A quirkless individual steals money and runs away.
A quirkless person commits acts of violence.
For those with quirks, unless they are heroes, harming others or disrupting society is illegal.
Therefore, if a quirkless person commits the same crimes as a villain with a quirk, they are no different.
They, too, are labeled as villains.
Midoriya's eyes widened, his pupils trembling as the realization hit him.
His classmates in the General Studies department, noticing his reaction, patted his shoulder, trying to reassure him.
Everything would be fine, they said.
There were still plenty of heroes, and All Might was here too.
As long as the Symbol of Peace remained, larger crimes would be prevented. Crime…
That's what they believed. But the real problem lay elsewhere.
"Did you hear? They're saying Bakugo Katsuki killed someone."
Even when heroes work hard, society—and the general public—evaluates them by their own standards, pushing their judgments with the overwhelming force of public opinion.
"A kid aiming to be a hero killed someone."
The Stain incident had already caused a rise in public disdain toward heroes, and the emergence of the League of Villains only heightened people's fear.
Amid this growing anxiety, criticism became the public's only outlet.
"If someone like that becomes a hero... how are heroes any different from villains?"
The summer break of his second year in high school.
The blazing sunlight made it hard to keep his eyes open.
The dumbbells in his hands moved up and down rhythmically.
The workout he started with Shinsou was still part of his routine.
Although they were only in their second year, the Hero Course students had joined hero internships due to a manpower shortage, assisting in subduing rampaging villains.
Of course, this was only allowed with signed waivers from their parents.
Students without waivers were immediately excluded from dangerous missions during their internships.
Midoriya stared at the news with a look of shock.
Bakugo had received parental consent to participate in the internships, and the broadcast showed him neutralizing a villain without a quirk in various ways before finally confronting them directly—his explosive quirk providing a perfect counter.
"[With the villain's death, several hostages also suffered serious injuries...]"
Bakugo hadn't directly killed anyone. It had been a desperate situation.
Though rough, abrasive, and arrogant, Bakugo held a steadfast dream of always winning and becoming a hero like All Might.
To achieve that, he understood that protecting citizens and making sacrifices for their safety were essential.
The problem was that luck doesn't always favor the righteous.
It's unpredictable, and sometimes it doesn't lend its hand when it's most needed.
The dust explosion incident and the decision to entrust the situation to a young Bakugo were criticized as the result of irresponsible judgment by the heroes.
It was absurd.
No matter how Midoriya looked at it, the hostage who recklessly used their quirk in such a volatile situation was at fault.
At the same time, the heroes and Bakugo, who made the best possible decisions to rescue all the hostages, deserved praise.
Citizens, who were not heroes themselves, freely opened their mouths and spoke as they pleased.
Midoriya was stunned.
He found it ridiculous how people could speak so dismissively of heroes.
It made his head ache.
Why had the hostage used their quirk so recklessly, claiming they were scared?
Yes, fear was understandable, but why resort to such thoughtless actions?
He even entertained the extreme thought that a quirkless person like himself might have been better suited to that situation.
He couldn't sympathize with the hostage's actions, but then again, he wasn't in their position, just as those criticizing heroes weren't.
As a result of the incident, some heroes were stripped of their titles.
Bakugo, however, refused to give up. Yet, if he were to step forward as a hero again, the stones of criticism waiting to be thrown at him were already piling up.
He was furious.
Midoriya wanted to cry out in frustration.
The heroes had simply done their jobs, and yet all the blame was being unfairly placed on them for someone else's reckless actions.
The dumbbell in his hand fell to the floor with a loud thud as he clutched his head, trying to calm his anger.
Unable to hold it in, he cried.
It wasn't fair.
Though he hadn't been there himself, he felt an overwhelming sense of injustice.
His idol—Bakugo Katsuki—who was stronger, more capable, and everything he couldn't be, was being condemned for one hostage's mistake.
It had been a long time since Midoriya had spoken to Bakugo, but Bakugo's dream of being a hero, his powerful quirk, and his unwavering determination were things Midoriya had always admired and tried to follow.
Even after giving up on his own dream, Midoriya couldn't help but see Bakugo as a symbol of everything he once aspired to be.
Now, U.A. sank deeper into despair.
When Midoriya returned to the dorms after spending his summer break at home, the sight of an even emptier General Studies department left him speechless.
As he stood alone in the dimly lit common room, with the chirping of crickets echoing around him and the darkness of the dorm unbroken by any lights, he silently observed his surroundings.
It was truly the worst.
At that moment, the location of the League of Villains' hideout was discovered.
Near the end of their second year of high school, Shinsou, rubbing his dark circles, spoke to Midoriya.
By then, Midoriya was the only General Studies student who still talked with Shinsou.
"It's far from your home, but still, make sure to tell your parents to stay clear of the area."
"...Yeah. Be careful, Shinsou-kun."
"You too."
It was going to be a major operation.
All Might, along with several pro heroes and even some graduated students, were preparing for it.
The risk was high—All Might himself had said it was a mission where they would have to stake their lives.
Shinsou wasn't part of the operation; the League of Villains were described as "unreasonable," leaving no room for negotiation.
The public wasn't informed about the operation, and for good reason.
If they were, there would undoubtedly be a chorus of "Please save us, heroes!" accompanied by panic that could complicate the mission.
Midoriya found himself awkwardly smiling at the thought.
When had he started thinking this way?
The operation was carried out with precision and secrecy.
Nearby businesses and residents were evacuated under the guise of bomb threats.
The result?
"Who would've thought Endeavor and his son had such a terrible relationship…"
"I heard something about that hero intern… Apparently, he's a child born from quirk experimentation."
"What? A hero doing something so unethical?"
All Might managed to subdue the villain, who displayed overwhelming strength and was suspected to be the leader of the League of Villains.
Technically, it ended with both of them collapsing, the surrounding area left in ruins.
The scene was like something out of a drama or movie, and it wasn't without its moments of inspiration.
However, the seeds of discord sown during the mission became increasingly evident. One of those seeds was Todoroki Shoto.