A State of Decay

Chapter 3

Izuku sits on the roof of a building, peering down into the alley below. He's been stalking the same guy for a while now, using him to track down someone else. Yes, this guy had also been selling and using illegal quirk enhancement drugs, but Izuku wants to know where this guy's been getting them.

He plans on following the chain all the way back to the source to stop it directly from the source.

This is something it had taken him and a lot of the world a longer time than it should have to realize--they needed to be cutting down villainy at its source rather than wasting their resources on the small fish.

The longer you let the sources fester and bubble, the worse it would get, no matter how many minor incidents you managed to handle.

Izuku was tired of running around like a goose with its head cut off. That's how it had felt all those years before the war and even some after when he'd intended to become a pro hero. Now, he realized you couldn't do as much as you wanted to within the Safety Commission's constraints.

After learning about things like Lady Nagant and even Hawks, it wasn't an organization that Izuku wanted to work for.

Hearing what they did to people made him angry. They had built up this society on unstable footing and hoped for it to remain that way, but that couldn't be allowed to be the case.

As Izuku stalks the criminal, he lets his mind run, unaware that someone is tuning in.

* * *

Tomura was initially surprised by Midoriya's thoughts about the commission. The little hero was a do-gooder of the highest degree, even believing that people like Tomura deserved a second chance.

Hearing the annoying twerp rattle on in his head about the injustices of the world was fascinating to Tomura. Long ago, he would have thought the two of them to be complete opposites of each other, and he hates to admit that maybe he was partially wrong somewhere along the way.

* * *

Himiko, of all people, was making Tomura go to a therapist. She'd managed to find one that would work with villains, and so here he sat in some awfully seventies-looking office, waiting on his new therapist.

He doesn't even know what you're supposed to talk to these kinds of people about. He doesn't think anyone would be able to help him. Yeah, he was fucked up in more ways than just a few, but how would talking to a stranger help out with that?

Tomura was here to humor Himiko. Plus, she'd threatened to perform an embarrassing act disguised as Tomura. He can't have that.

He stares down at the terrible, orange shag carpet, running his worn-out trainers back and forth on its surface. He reaches up and scratches at the side of his neck; it was an old nervous habit he was never really able to kick.

After what felt like forever (he checks his watch and it's been maybe a minute), the door to the office opens, and a young woman walks in. Judging by her appearance, she couldn't be too much older than Tomura. With a haphazard stack of papers and notebooks in her arms and a messy bun of blonde hair on her head, she rushes in and plops down on the chair opposite Tomura, depositing the large stack of shit in her arms on the floor with a thud.

"So sorry I'm late," she says, stretching her hand out to him. "Got stuck in a meeting. I'm Katsumi Ono. You can call me whatever you like."

Tomura eyes her outstretched hand curiously, wondering if this woman even knows who he is. She looks at him and waits, and he finally understands what she's doing.

This is a game. A test. She's waiting to see what he'll do.

Tentatively, he reaches out and takes her hand, shaking it gently as his eyes narrow at her suspiciously. She doesn't shake in his grasp, nor does her facial expression falter. Is she really not afraid of him?