Midori the Phoenix

H.E.A

"KUSO!!!" Bakugo grabbed Karma's body as it fell and he held her to him. "Not again, not again don't you dare do this again!"

"I didn't want this... I didn't want..." Mineta's father fell onto his knees, the gun in his hand dropping and he stared at it with horror. "What have I done... I killed her, I killed Karma."

"Katsuki put pressure on..." Shoto leaned on the opposing side but paused when his hands searched for the wound. "No blood... why isn't there-"

Suddenly Izumi inhaled deep and coughed to regain her breath.

"Holy shit that hurt a lot more than I thought it would." She wheezed and coughed out more air.

"Karma? You're not dead..." Hawks choked on a laugh. "Holy shit you and your pranks."

"Pranks my ass, What the hell were you thinking giving a guy like that a loaded gun even if they were just friggin blanks!" He dropped her and picked up the gun she had dropped. "I'm confiscating these weapons!"

"Yeah... go ahead. I was intending on handing them over to begin with... oh and they weren't blanks." She lifted up the broken shell casing on the ground.

"What the hell do you mean? Then why aren't you-"

"I'll answer all your questions..." She grunted as she got to her feet and eyed Mineta's father crumpled on the ground. "... After I finish making my point."

"No please..." he started to cower back on all fours. Izumi walked towards him and he bowed his grad dogeza style. "No more, please no more..."

"Mr. Mineta..." She spoke in a soft tone this time and knelt in front of him. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging the trembling father. "I truly am sorry for what happened to Minoru."

"Eh?" He shivered and pulled back looking in her eyes. He saw the sincerity there and was even more shocked. "You're...you're serious. Why?"

"You may not believe it, but I did consider Minoru a friend." She offered him a handkerchief and kept eye contact so he'd know she was speaking the truth. "I didn't respect him much but I enjoyed his company and humor from time to time." She held her hands palm out, seeing the blood she spilled dripping over them in her mind's eye. "I didn't cherish him or the other friends I made at U.A. because I was focused on thoughts of revenge and my own ambitions. When you become so consumed with grief, anger, and revenge you lose sight of what's truly important in life. Instead you're blinded by your desires, your insecurities, your fears... revenge consumes you making it impossible to see clearly... until it's too late to turn back. You know that feeling all too well now don't you?"

"Y-yes... I do." He hung his head in shame. She lay a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"I was dragged in by grief, blinded by the hatred I had for the people who murdered my mother, and then by the man who'd used that grief to control me. It took me a long time to find clarity again, but by then I was already dragged too far off the deep end. I looked around and saw so many others in the same position as me and I wanted to help them find clarity too." She stood up and helped him to his feet as well. "Your son wouldn't want you to follow the same dark path, Mr. Mineta. He'd want you to remember him as he was: a confident and capable hero."

"I do remember..." he sobbed and rubbed at his face. "My son... my son!!!" He bawled and Izumi looked to security nodding for them to escort the grieving father away.

"Karma?" Hawks called to get her attention. She slowly turned to him, tears in her eyes. "Would you care to elaborate on what host happened?"

"Like I said... I don't expect forgiveness. I don't expect to be trusted, or be set loose without some kind of ramifications." She looked at her hands again and attempted to use her quirk... but nothing. "So I chose my own form of punishment... one I expect every single member of my alliance to share."