What Makes A Traitor

[1]

It was a suicide.

At least, that's what the police officer informed me after a shoddy investigation was considered finished. I don't remember much after that for the few months following her death. My entire world had been crushed as she was my only comfort. She always understood me in a way that no one else could. The funeral was cheap as we had never had much money. Her parents, my deadbeat grandparents, had disowned her when she started her relationship with my dad so my first time seeing them was at the funeral. Her only aquaintance, Mitsuki, was also there. That was it except for a pastor who led the ceremony. It was simple and to the point. She was dead because she killed herself. Nothing more and nothing less. Except...I didn't believe then and still don't. My mother wasn't depressed. Inko Midoriya wouldn't have killed herself. It didn't make any sense. And if the police wouldn't solve her murder then I would. No matter what it took. 

But then...what could I even do?

This is exactly what I was thinking as I hurried down the street of my shady neighborhood. There were simple rules you followed in a neighborhood like mine. Head down, hood up. Always walk with a purpose. Stay alert. Mind your business no matter what. 

However, I was so consumed by the thoughts about my mother that I completely forgot about the second to last rule when I pushed opened my unlocked door that I had left locked. I closed it behind me and nearly had a heart attack when I saw a curious looking stranger sitting on my couch staring at me with a smirk and an unreadable expression.

"You know, for someone with such a powerful quirk, you're not much to look at." He said amused. He wasn't wrong. I was skinny, kinda pale, with dark circles under my often dead-looking eyes. My hair was a dull dark green that matched my green eyes. My sunken in cheeks were covered with freckles. I was currently wearing a baggy black hoodie, ripped black jeans, and an old pair of green tennis shoes. Before my mom died, I tried my best to be a positive light in her life. I smiled brightly through the pain that I experienced at school and constantly told her that one day I'd be a hero so that she could finally live her life comfortably. We were good for each other. I worked a job and studied hard so that I could support her now and later in life and she understood me when no one else did. I had a host of mental shit wrong with me. I had general/social anxiety, depression, and ADHD. I was bullied relentlessly because I sucked at expressing myself like everyone else. I was terrible at being normal. I was a social reject and even the fact that I was intelligent made me a target. It made people so angry that someone like me, the social awkward, quirkless, quiet kid, could excel at something. 

When my mom died, my sense of purpose slipped away from me. Now no one liked me. No one understood me.

Over the last few months I had lost weight, slept significantly less, didn't have a reason to fake being happy so my smile was gone, and my normally odd mind had gone completely haywire recently. I seemed to be having more gaps in my timeline and overall remembering less. 

I pulled my hood down, trying not to show how scared and confused I was.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" I asked. 

"Huh. So he really was right. You have no idea." I opened my mouth to ask who "he" was but was cut off. His voice and appearance were creepy and unsettling.

"The name's Shigaraki. I'm from the League of Villains." I widened my eyes in shock but stayed silent.

"I'm here to offer you a position. I need a spy in one of the top schools in the world. UA Academy. You have the grades and I'm told you have the quirk." He said.

"I don't have a quirk." I said quietly, looking down.

"You don't have to lie, I know about All For One." I stared at him wide-eyed. I could feel my breathing begin to quicken. God no. Now was not the time for a panic attack.  "Calm down, Midoriya. I'm not going to do anything." He said with a grin. "You're too useful for that." I steadied my breathing and worked hard to focus.

"I can help you to use your quirk efficiently. It's very powerful, you know. Any quirk in the world could be yours in an instant."

"I could hurt others...and myself."

"Yes, yes. If you're not careful. But if you prepare your body into a proper vessel...you would be able to take any quirk on without any complication. Right now you're just too weak. I could train you, you could apply to UA and if you were to get in...well let's say we'd change the world together, Midoriya." I stared at him for a minute and then blinked hard in shock.

"I...No. I-I'm not a villain. I don't want to take anyone's quirk, that's terrible. Not to mention the fact that there is no way I could get into UA."

"What if I could offer you something in return?"

"There's nothing I want." I said quietly. And there honestly wasn't except-

"The identity of your mother's murderer. And a way to get your revenge on them."

"What?" So...she was murdered! This entire time I was right!!! He nodded.

"H-how do I know this isn't some kind of trick?"

"Oh I don't have time to trick teenagers. But I was suspicious when he told me about you too and then he gave me proof so I suppose I owe you some too." He threw me a cloth bag. "She was hung, right? But did you know that she had consumed sleeping pills prior to doing so? The police didn't tell you that, huh?" I pulled out a paper that turned out to be a medical examiner's report. It clearly showed that she had indeed consumed some so why was that kept from me...? "Your mom was asleep when she died, Izuku. Now if that's true then how could she have committed suicide? It's quite simply really, she didn't. But I have good news. A certain hero is tied to her case. All Might, you know him?" He giggled after he said that. 

"All Might and my mom why...?"

"A strand of his hair was found at the scene according to the second file in there." I pulled out a paper with a picture of the hair on it. "And sure maybe you could argue he was there for heroic reasons but then...why did he work so hard to have it covered up and labeled a suicide?" He said with a glint in his eye. "Makes me think my despicable nemesis All Might isn't quite the Symbol of Peace everyone thinks he is..." So many emotions arose in me at this point. The strongest and most virulent one; however, was anger.

"So not only would you be helping me by going undercover, you'd have a chance to figure out what really happened to poor, sweet Inko." I thought for a moment but realized I had already made a decision.

"I'll help you." He smiled as if he expected this. 

"I mean...why not? It's not like I have anything to lose anyways."