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Icy blue and crimson flames spiraled in tandem, ferociously consuming the HQ of the Hero Public Safety Commission. The colors fazed, shifting into one another against the painted sky of the rising dawn in a display that was both breathtaking and terrifying.
Watching from another rooftop sat a figure silhouetted by the sky, red and blue hues rolling over their face like waves. Most other individuals bent on such destruction would smile proudly at their work, but not this one. A crease carved through her forehead, a pained reflection in her eyes, and lips pulled thin in determination and bitter acceptance.
She muttered to herself, “Good work, you two. Finally managing to work together.”
There was a threatening peacefulness in the crackling of flames and the rush of wind. This figure breathed it in before being interrupted by a voice from behind, “What a way to awaken a new era of destruction. You’ve taken it too far, Illustress.”
The figure didn’t grin at their folly or grimace at being caught, but rather kept their focus on the building, ablaze. “We’re sending a message. That building is a symbol. You understand that, don’t you… All Might?”
The tall, grimly built man stood behind her, a hero suit folding from his body like a child in a bedsheet. He grumbled disapprovingly at her tone, “We’ve been working together for so long. It feels... wrong to hear you say anything other than my name.”
“If that’s what you wish… Toshi.”
They were at a stalemate. The man not taking another step closer and the woman not making a move against the retired hero.
All Might sorrowfully watched over the destruction and asked, “How far do you intend to take this?”
The woman offered an expression just as melancholy - a weak smile and doleful glistening to her eyes. Her voice broke, “As far as it takes.”
The stoic man averted his gaze, not able to handle the emotion from the woman, “How long have you been planning for this to happen?”
“Since the beginning.”
She patted the space next to her for him to come closer. The gesture was her attempt to soften any threatening mood and introduce a more welcoming energy.
The man moved on autopilot, already one leg over the brick before realizing his over-eager trust. He hesitated before the woman continued, “I’m not going to hurt you, Toshinori. That’s the last thing I want.”
He let his weight fall to the ledge next to her with a grieved nod as he said, “You mentioned once that you weren’t from this world. I thought you were joking. Is that what you mean by ‘Since the beginning?’ If you were from another world, why not take the chance to reinvent yourself? Why deliberately place yourself in the middle of a war?”
She looked at him with the most sincerity she could muster, “To stop it from happening!”
He stifled some cross between a scoff and a chuckle, “You realize that doesn’t make sense, right?”
“I guess that’s not quite the right answer. When hate and hurt runs this deep, it's nearly impossible to stop the collapse entirely… I guess my intentions were more to minimize the collateral. Make sure the fighting was for the right reasons.”
“What do you even mean?!”
“So now you’re ready to listen?!”
The hero nodded and watched as she engaged her quirk, immersing them in a spiralling swirl of cinematic illusions.
“One night I fell asleep in my own bed and woke to find myself in a park here in Tokyo. After seeing the casual display of quirks, it didn’t take me long to figure out where I was and what was gonna happen. Think of it like, this world was a book that I had read before - intimately aware of the characters involved yet they knew nothing of me. I saw it as an opportunity to get ahead of this disaster.
I started with shady organizations to get the paperwork I needed to pass as a citizen and started learning martial arts and entering myself in underground boxing matches. I wanted to be sure I could fight and take a hit, preparing myself for what was inevitably to come. It was around this time I also began experimenting with my quirk and discovered I could plant sensory illusions in people’s minds, the perfect quirk to get what I wanted without actually hurting anyone. The nature of my quirk causes people to rationalize what I’m making them experience to be true. Even if they know how my quirk works, the effects are still as potent.”
~~~
She continued to recount her story. At that time, it was too early for the League of Villains to be operational, but she did understand their hideout to be in some dinky bar in Kamino ward. Shigaraki would have been in his late teens and already deep into his hatred spiral for hero society, so this woman knew it would’ve been too late to reverse his fate, but she could still do something. She needed him to be on her side if she was to mend the future of this world.
She started by visiting the bar just to be around him. It wasn’t an actual business, but Kurogiri kept up appearances, making her drinks to keep the suspicion down. It seemed she was the only non-LOV individual to visit, anyway.
One day she brought in a popular video game at the time and slid it in front of this young man with shaggy, gray hair, “Hey, you don’t quite seem of drinking age, but I’ve seen you here a lot looking bored as hell. I’ve already played through this so I thought you could enjoy it.”
He took the game with suspicion but a glint of excitement at the gift. This became all the motivation he needed to begin approaching her on her visits. She learned his name was Tomura Shigaraki and in her new identity, she wanted her name to reflect her goal. She offered him the single name, Miyori to mean ‘seed of change and reason’ in the kanji she chose.
They began to bond over the games they played, oftentimes logging on at the same time and playing together. It wasn’t long before she started finding excuses to give a reassuring back rub or gentle touch.
This gave way to what she was inevitably hoping for. Tomura approached her, himself, asking her to join the League. That day she did what so many readers wish they could with the characters from their books and she hugged him. She unashamedly threw her arms around him and before Kurogiri could pull her away from his leader and ward, Tomura held up a hand and wrapped his arms tightly around her in thanks.
This was the day she chose her title name, Illustress: the illusionary seamstress.
Now with the most challenging individual on her side, she needed to seek out a then pre-teen Izuku Midoriya. He was much easier to win over. It started with meeting him at hero merch shops where all she had to do was bring up pro hero facts and he devolved into a rambling, adorable mess. She encouraged the banter, wanting him to feel safe and heard around her. Eventually she offered to tutor him and help him get ready for UA, if that’s what he wanted. The boy could barely contain his excitement.
It was around this time that she had also applied for a job at UA as a Hero Philosophy teacher. A degree was easy to fake with her connections and luckily she had the charisma to pull off the charade and secure her position.
Her plan required people from both sides of the law to work together so the quicker she could get the teachers and other pro-heroes to trust her, the better. Being able to have an influence on the up and coming heroes of the future was also integral to the long term succession of her goals.
~~~
Toshinori stopped her to ask, “And what is your goal?”
She replied, “Oh Toshi. You should’ve figured that out by now. Hero society is corrupt and damaging. The glorification of pro-heroes has caused people to join the ranks because of fame and money rather than out of integrity and morality. We have instilled the idea that no matter where you are, a hero will always save you and that just isn’t true. People have become weak and complacent with their own safety and need to understand they can stand up for themselves without a glorified celebrity holding their hand.”
Toshinori shook his head, “And how does setting the Hero Public Safety Commission on fire fix that?!”
Miyori looked back at him, almost concerned, “Because it’s the root of the problem! It’s run by people who, unlike heroes, have no idea what it’s like to put their lives on the line for another person. And unlike villains, don’t know what it’s like to be so hated by a society who created them in the first place. The commission has allowed itself to get so caught up in trying to preserve the public’s image of heroes rather than acknowledge that heroes are people too and sometimes people fuck up! After speaking to Lady Nagant, I’ve learned that the commission ordered her to kill innocent civilians. Protesters and nay-sayers were apparently a national threat and instead of admitting to a hero’s faults, they’d rather cover it up… by any means necessary.”
He was dumb-founded, “I-I didn’t know that.”
She nodded, “Yeah! You know who else doesn’t know that? EVERYBODY!! Because when Lady Nagant said something about it, they threw her into Tartarus without remorse!”
With an uncomfortable shift in his seat, Toshinori sheepishly mumbled, “I’m still listening. Please continue.”
~~~
It didn’t take her long to earn prominence in the budding League of Villains. She had become a closer confidant to Tomura than even Kurogiri or his own master. That being said, Miyori wanted nothing to do with All for One. She knew if she let certain events play out, Tomura would eventually inherit his abilities. As long as she kept him happy, all would turn out fine.
She had such empathy for the boy. She knew the darkness in his story and it broke her. The day Tomura entrusted her with his own retelling of his childhood and the day AFO found him, they wept together. She spent the entire day and even the following night with him just holding him, stroking his hair, offering any sense of comfort she could. She wanted so desperately for him to know that with all of the hate that he had been raised to embrace, love and kindness still existed.
One of the hardest days for her was knowing Tomura’s plan to attack the USJ. Luckily, as long as she kept a hands-off approach until the teachers showed up, she knew no one would lose their life. She made sure to be with Cementoss when All Might’s form failed him. Any leverage she could have with him was beneficial.
~~~
Toshinori sighed, “So you knew from the beginning…”
“I did.”
“Then why did you keep it a secret? When you knew my weakness, why not take advantage of it?!”
Miyori quickly placed a hand over his and locked eyes with him, “I already told you! The last thing I want to do is hurt you! I’m not here to tear down the people who are actually doing good in this world. I’m here to rat out the ones that should have been exposed years ago! Toshi, you are a good man! ” She embraced a moment of silence to let her words take root before curling her fingers around his and nudging him with her shoulder, “You may not be the best teacher, true, but you’re a good man. You’re just doing your best.”
His hand tightened around hers for but a moment as he said, “You were one of the first people I trusted at UA. Midoriya adored you and you always seemed to know just what to say when I felt at my lowest. I trusted you , implicitly. You were always right there when I needed you.”
“And I’m still here for you, now!”
He released her hand, nearly tossing it in distaste, “But I don’t know if I can trust you, now! What I’m understanding is it was all a lie! You knew exactly what buttons to push to get what you wanted. You knew how I would react!”
She responded to his outburst with a continued sense of calm, “See but that’s just it, I didn’t. I never manipulated you into telling me anything. And Toshinori, trust me when I say, anything you told me in confidence, will stay in confidence. I have not used any of it against you nor do I have a desire to. I still care about you! You’re still my friend.”
“It’s just a lot to take in, Illu-...Miyori.”
~~~
She didn’t want to re-indoctrinate these poor kids, but rather, give them the tools to be independent thinkers. She wanted them to reason for themselves where the society they had idolized had fallen short.
She would propose questions like, “If you needed help building a house, would you rather pay someone who’s read volumes upon volumes of textbooks on architecture but has never operated a powertool in their life, or would you contract someone who has actually built a house before?” and, “If you wanted to catch a serial killer, would it make more sense to ask a police officer, or ask a seasoned murderer?”
More often than not, she would get the response that it makes more sense to choose the individual with personal experience for the job. She never brought up the commission or their own country’s flawed systems of law and order, but by the third semester, she always grinned with delight when students would debate amongst themselves about real-life, societal issues.
The seed had been planted. She had encouraged the next generation to question corruption and even theorize possible solutions.
Miyori’s time at UA wasn’t spent entirely on the students, though. She knew if she could appeal to Aizawa’s practical mind, it wouldn’t take long for their hypothetical conversations to become something more substantial. If anyone understood how discriminatory the commission could be, it was Shouta Aizawa. He was practically forced into underground hero work just because his erasure was seen as a villain’s quirk.
She found ways to appeal to a few of the teachers and pros’ senses of reason and being a philosophy teacher helped minimize the red flags at her theoretical questions.
As time went on, she slowly hand chose students who resonated with her hypotheticals and began to build her revolution. After graduation, she would explain to them what she was planning and if they wanted to get involved. If there was ever any push back, she would drop the matter entirely and claim it was all an illusion to test their resolve. She never wanted people to support this cause against their own free will.
Everyone around her mistook her uncanny knowledge for intuition. She always seemed to give the soundest advice and knew just what to say to de-escalate any situation and bring a sense of calm. This made things difficult when Stain’s time in the media eye arose. Kurogiri and Shigaraki both wanted him to join the LOV and asked Miyori her thoughts.
She shook her head, “He will have his place and his moment but that won't be for us to interfere with. He will spark an uprising but he is too unstable, too sloppy. He’s bound to get himself either caught or killed, and we will be there to pick up the people he inspires. That is his role in the bigger picture.”
If there was any doubt to her judgement, the moment Dabi and Toga walked through their door dashed it all away. Shigaraki looked across the bar at his visier and trusted companion with a wicked grin pulling at his cheeks.
“Illustress, why don’t you start the interview process with our new recruits. See if they’re worth the trouble.”
“Right away, boss. You two, follow me.”
“And Illustress…”
She turned over her shoulder as one of his eyes glowed red, peaking through the messy hair obscuring his face. “Don’t hold back. Let’s see what they’re really made of.”
The interview process for Toga was pretty straightforward. She still didn’t know much about her but understood her lust for blood and desire for a friend. She could do that. She may get a few cuts in the process, but she could give this girl a healthy example of friendship.
Dabi was a little trickier. She knew so much about him but couldn’t let on everything immediately or she may scare him off. First order was earning his respect and that was going to be through assertiveness and power. He had a severe deficiency of strong women in his life and she was about to change that.
Miyori walked him through an illusion, pushed every button she could, showing flashing scenes of a shouting Enji, a crying, wounded Shoto, a terrified Rei. This put him immediately on the defensive until she lied, telling him what he saw was a manifestation of his own trauma that she had no control over. It made the truth easier for her to get away with.
She mentioned, “I’ve seen into your motives… your mind and emotions. You’ve been through hell, that’s for certain and I think it’s forced you into sociopathic tendencies.”
He rasped back, “So what? Now villains aren’t hiring sociopaths?”
She shook her head, “I didn’t say that, but I think you’ll find that most villains here aren’t apathetic. And I think you’re more repressed than sociopathic… but we’ll see.”
He scoffed, “Whatever, lady.”
Now that they had grown in numbers and Izuku had been exposed to Stain’s ideals, it was time for her to start joining her two worlds. With Aizawa’s help, she approached Izuku with her solution. He was able to understand Stain and that’s all she needed. If people could start allowing themselves to understand corruption in hero society existed and there were people out there that wanted to fix it, then that was a step in the right direction.
~~~
Toshinori covered his mouth in thought, “So you stole the boy right out from under me and I never suspected a thing.”
“For the record, it wasn’t easy. Izuku looks up to you, idolizes you. It took some time for me to explain it wasn’t you we were fighting against but hero society as a concept. It ate away at him, keeping this a secret from you, so if the blame needs to fall on anyone, I’ll take it. But I won’t apologize. That young man was a crucial and irreplaceable piece in the chess game I had set.”
A groan escaped the hero’s chest, “So what about the little girl? You say you knew what was going to happen. Did you know she was being tortured?! So while you were playing house with the LOV and manipulating my students, you were knowingly allowing her to suffer!”
Miyori looked at the man with disappointment, “You said so yourself, you can’t save everyone. I knew where she was, I knew who had her, but I didn’t have the support I needed to save her right away. With the knowledge I had, I knew you all would have taken even longer to get to her. I needed support from both the heroes AND the villains. I had to convince Tomura that it was advantageous to team up with the Shie Hassaikai so we could get on the inside and give ourselves a better shot. What Overhaul did to Eri was awful, but if I had let the situation play out the way it was intended, your old friend Sir Nighteye would have died while trying to save her!”
Toshinori froze, shaking his head, “No… you’re lying.”
“Am I?! The first time this played out, so many people were hurt trying to save Eri! Tamaki, Izuku, Rock Lock, Fatgum, Kirishima just to name a few.”
He started getting sarcastic as he said, “And did Togata lose his quirk the first time, too? Why couldn’t you have stopped that?”
“I’m not a god, Toshinori! There’s only so much I can do! I knew Mirio could walk out of there with his life, so frankly my attention was on the man who was less likely to do so! You should honestly be thanking me! It’s your own stubbornness and toxic, self-sacrificing behavior that kept you from reconciling with him for all those years so don’t project your own regrets onto me!!”
Toshinori’s jaw fell slack for a moment in surprise before snapping shut. Never before had someone summed up his frustrations so concisely. It stole the anger straight from him.
He murmured, “Then why couldn’t his foresight see past that moment? He thought he was fated to die.”
She took a deep, centering breath before explaining, “He once told Izuku, if one’s will is strong enough, one can change the trajectory of the future. My will was pretty damn strong that day. Couple that with the fact that I don’t belong here, it explains why his quirk couldn’t account for my interference.”
“I see. Then what about sending Ms. Joke to watch him in the hospital? They had never even met before!”
“Exactly! My goal since the beginning was to save as many people as I could. Nighteye fell before getting to know Joke and I thought that was a travesty.”
“So you were playing matchmaker, then?”
“Could you blame me? They were honestly perfect for each other. Nighteye has all the gruff stoicism Shouta has but an appreciation for her bad jokes.”
All Might couldn’t help but stifle a snicker, “I see what you mean.”
Illustress stood to face him, “See, not everything I did was for political reasons.”
She continued, “With Eri safe and recovering, the next goal was helping her to control her quirk. She wasn’t always going to have an injury prone Deku around to absorb her bursts. With having saved her sooner and having a rough understanding of how her quirk worked, I was able to work with Aizawa in coming up with control exercises for her.
Also, I wasn’t even close to ok with letting her stay at the LOV hideout. Aizawa and I could keep her in the dorms with us and she’d be surrounded by more big brothers and sisters than she could ever hope for.”
All Might asked, “So it sounds like the LOV didn’t get much in return for helping her escape. Why were they so willing to help?”
Miyori sat quietly for a moment, a soft smile overtaking her expression, “Because Tomura trusted me. I think he was able to relate to her in a way, understand her. Her situation spoke to him in a way that made him sympathetic. She needed to control her quirk before she would be able to do anything for them, so he saw it as more of an investment. Plus she’s just a little girl and I didn’t want that expectation on her shoulders. But given time, she was able to help. Ever wonder what happened to Kurogiri?”
Toshi exclaimed, “That was her?! Wait! you knew who Kurogiri was from the start, didn’t you!? Aizawa had been on your side since nearly the beginning and you didn’t tell him his dead childhood friend was right there in front of him the entire time?!”
“What good would it have done?! Oboro couldn’t remember him and we wouldn’t have been able to fix his situation. It would’ve just caused Shouta undue grief. He and I already talked about it and he even agreed with me. The important part is, the two got to stay four.”
He looked puzzled, “Two? What do you-... Who else died?”
“Nemuri… Yet another death I strived to prevent. I had to watch Hizashi deal with terrible survivor’s guilt and I didn’t want to see him go through that again.”
It was at this moment that Toshinori began to understand this woman’s drive, her passion, her purpose. She was becoming less of a target fugitive, and more someone he was sympathizing with, as dangerous as that was.
~~~
The moment the chief of police told Todoroki that he would be reprimanded for going above the law to confront Stain, Miyori knew she had him. That was a particularly dicey day in the LOV HQ.
Miyori had finally gotten to a point with Dabi where he would tolerate her and even banter, albeit mostly through insults, passive aggressive jabs, and sarcastic remarks. When Izuku traipsed in, Shoto in tow, Miyori could feel the temperature rise in the room. Dabi was furious.
His voice was like sandpaper. “Illustress, what the HELL is that little shit doing here?! Just give the word and I’ll burn him to a crisp.”
The room swirled with competing temperatures as Dabi’s blue flames met Shoto’s red and the steam from his ice clouded the space between them. Had it not been for Illustress intercepting, the place would have been reduced to ash.
“Woah now, Dabi. I didn’t know Deku was bringing anybody today. Go wait in the training room.”
“But why, when I could take care of him right here.”
“The TRAINING ROOM… Dabi! I’ll meet you there in a sec.”
Izuku was a bumbling mess. “I-I’m sorry Illustress. I didn’t know bringing Todoroki would cause so much trouble. It’s just after everything with Stain, I brought up your plan to him and he said he wanted in. I’m sorr-”
She held up a hand, giving his hair a soft ruffle, “Don’t worry about it, Deku. This is a family reunion long in the making. I don’t think anybody was ready for this.”
Shoto’s eyes grew wide, “What do you mean, family reunion?”
Miyori was already familiar with Shoto as he attended her class. There were so many secrets she had to keep until the time was right to reveal them and this was one of the heaviest ones she had to bear. Gently holding the sides of his face, she worried over what to say, finally deciding on, “Sweetie, you remember your big brother Touya, right?”
His gaze grew dark as he questioned, “How did you know about him?”
She wore a conflicted, pained smile, “I know more than you think. I know what your father did to you… your mother… and Touya.” before he could properly form the question of how, she placed a finger over his lips, “It doesn’t matter how. What matters is, your brother didn’t die. He staged it and ran away. Shoto, Dabi is your brother and he is filled with so much hate and misunderstanding. Some of it is misplaced, but most of it is understandable. I want you to stay here with Midoriya while I talk to him. Think about what you want to say.”
Miyori barely had time to close the door behind her before blue flames were licking at her ankles.
“One UA twerp was a stretch and now you’re allowing TWO?! I didn’t realize we were running a fucking daycare!”
She cursed under her breath before taking a few steps closer.
Dabi hissed, “Stay the fuck over there!”
She halted with a saddened hum, “It’s not your fault, you know.”
“The fuck?! My fault?! What the hell do you even mean?!”
“Shoto… The way your father treated you. It’s not your fault, Touya.”
He jerked himself in her direction, blood leaking from his staples and fury in his eyes. She interrupted his forming thoughts, “Yes, I know you’re a Todoroki. I’ve known from the start.”
“You lying bitch!”
“You have every right to be pissed at Endeavor and Rei, but not Shoto. It’s not his fault the way he was born just like it’s not your fault the way you were. Touya, it's not your fault.” She took a step closer.
“Shut UP!”
“It’s not your fault.” Another step closer.
“Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!!” His flames became a blazing inferno, rising with his piercing shouts.
The doors flew open to reveal a terrified Deku and Tomura and a shocked Shoto and Kurogiri.
Miyori threw up an illusory wall between them and took the distraction as an opportunity to rush for Dabi, throwing her arms around his shoulders. “It’s not your fault!!”
His hands furiously gripped at her back as he continued to scream, “All I wanted was to be good enough!! That BAASSTTAARRDD!!”
The heat in his hands tore through her skin and released one last eruption before dying down to remaining flickers. Both of them fell to their knees but Touya’s hold on her never weakened. He held her tightly against him, sobbing into her shoulder - loud, unhinged, inconsolable. Miyori’s body was racked with pain but she still held him, her embrace unwavering.
Her voice trembled as she stroked his hair, clearing it of ash. “I know. I know… You are perfectly good enough. He is WRONG! And he is going to pay for what he did.”
Amidst the pain, Miyori lost the illusory wall allowing Shoto to approach, saying, “Our parents failed us both. It’s a father’s job to protect his family and it’s a mother’s job to make them feel safe. They were both found lacking.”
Tomura and Deku both rushed in horror shouting her name. Dabi immediately let go, stammering, “Oh no… what have I done? I thought you were using your quirk! You weren’t an illusion?! Illustress I-”
She raised a hand to hold his face and said with as much sarcastic moxy as she could muster, “You’re joking, right? And let an illusion hold you while you face this? As if!”
Tomura began tearing his gloves off, hands bared at Dabi before Illustress stopped him, “Tomura, don’t. Deku, can you get me to UA? I need to see Recovery Girl.”
He picked her up, effortlessly, “Of course! Mr. Aizawa is already waiting out front!”
She called over her shoulder while being carried out, “Hey! Kurogiri, please make sure they don’t kill each other while I’m gone.”
Then came the UA training in the woods. With Illustress healing and undercover, managing the villains and vigilantes and Aizawa keeping the kids alive, they were able to pull off a convincing infiltration, attack, and kidnapping of one Katsuki Bakugo. Illustress explained this was necessary to encourage public distrust in heroes, making way for something new and perhaps better. This controlled chaos was much safer than if she had just sat back and let things play out as before.
Miyori knew Bakugo would be too stubborn to see anything other than his own vision of becoming a hero, so she pushed Izuku and Shoto to continue on the rescue effort as scripted.
After the rescue and AFO’s fall, she finally had the peace of mind to confront Shigaraki about the truth of his situation. She sent their spare forces out to find and recruit Gentle Criminal and his companion, La Brava so she could have Shigaraki alone for a talk.
She sat him down on their gaming couch. They had spent so much time there together, laughing, playing, poking fun at each other, and even holding each other when the need arose.
“Tomura, I’ve been sitting on this for a while. You know I have an uncanny ability for knowing just where to be and what the right decisions are for the future of the LOV and vigilantes that follow us…”
“Of course. I wouldn’t share leadership with someone incompetant. You’ve proven your value.”
She reached out to take his hands in hers. He wore artist gloves while in HQ as a precaution, but was still weak to physical touch, especially when it came to his hands. Miyori knew this, and she would need all the help she could get with what she had to say next.
“You know I care about you, right Tomura? A lot.”
His shoulders comfortably fell and he released a small whimper at her touch before saying, “I… know. Illustress, you’re worrying me.”
“You’re not going to like this, but… With AFO gone, I think it’s finally safe to tell you. I’ll answer what questions I can and will be right here. Just remember that, okay?... It’s his fault. Everything you’re going through, everything that happened to you - it’s because of him.” He tried to come back at her, but she only held his hands tighter, “Let me finish! The reason your father hated heroes so much, the reason you hate All Might - it’s because AFO told you Nana chose him over her own family, right? Did you ever wonder why Nana sent Kotaro away in the first place? It wasn’t because she was choosing hero work and her apprentice over her family. It’s because AFO killed her husband… your grandfather. She didn’t want the same fate for her son.”
He yanked his hands from her, eyes wild as he hissed, “You-you’re lying.”
“I promise I’m not. It was never supposed to get out. I’m sorry I had to wait so long to tell you.”
“No! Not master! He saved me! He made me strong!”
She reached for his face, frantically holding his gaze, “He set it all up! He USED you, Tenko!”
In the emotion of the moment, Shigaraki slapped her hands away and gripped onto her shoulder as he decayed through his gloves, marking her and screaming, “Shut UUUUPPPP!!!!! That’s not my name!” The moment he saw her expression, he shamefully pulled his hand away from the destruction it had created, repeating, this time a little more broken, “Th-that’s not my name.”
Miyori struggled to catch her breath from the pain before weakly pulling him against her, “Ah-! Shit. Yes it is… Tenko. Despite what that monster may have told you, you are made for more than just destruction. And I will be here to remind you everyday if that’s what it takes.”
He kept his hands balled into fists to keep from touching her again as he growled through gritted teeth, “I don’t get it. Why do you care so much?”
She placed a hand over the outside of his fist and stroked her thumb over his knuckles, “Because I know what it’s like to feel like you’re alone, like you’ve been left behind. You don’t deserve that. But this?” She tightened her hold on him and gave him a squeeze, fighting off the urge to wince from her wounded shoulder, “This is something you do deserve. To feel loved and cared for by the people in your life. Even with everything you think AFO gave you… he could never give you this.”
It took some time to settle in, but that day, Tenko Shimura understood where his loyalties needed to shift. Escaping from an emotionally manipulative relationship took time, though. He had moments of weakness and identity anxiety, but Illustress was there to walk him through it.
Recovery Girl was able to heal her again, but a nasty scar stubbornly remained. Twice now she had been marked by someone’s trauma, and oddly… she wasn’t upset by it. The same couldn’t be said for Touya and Tenko, though, as she noticed they had a hard time looking her in the eye when she wore clothing that showed the marks they left on her.
Time only heals some wounds, and Miyori knew she had to be running out of it. Her situation was precarious to say the least and even though she had inspired certain events to happen before their time as well as prevented others, she needed to meddle in a few more matters. The day Hawks walked into the LOV HQ was when the game changed. He was her missing piece, the key to fixing this broken hero society from the inside out.
With Illustress being a double-agent, herself, the nature of her partnership with the LOV was kept secret from everyone who wasn’t a member. She could tell he hadn’t expected to see her upon being introduced to the group, but a knowing smile pulled at her cheeks.
The first moment they had alone, Miyori divulged what she knew about him and that she was more than willing to keep his secret so long as he was willing to partner with her in her plans to reconstruct the commission.
He tried putting on the tough guy act, saying, “Who the hell even are you?”
She grinned, running a finger down one of his feathers then hissing and pulling away as he sharpened them, “Oh honey, I’m your new best friend.”
And what a tumultuous friendship it was. They got under each other’s skin in the best and the worst ways. Some days, the LOV would see them laughing, drinking, and dancing together, and other days, they were at each other’s throats, literally! And try as they might, their little tiffs would often bleed over into their hero/teaching work leaving others to wonder how they seemed to not know each other, yet have a pension for causing the other such mischief.
At the end of the day, though, they respected each other’s positions and had morals and ideologies that very much aligned. It was for those reasons, they were vicious and unstoppable when it came to taking down the root of the heroes’ corruption tree.
~~~
Toshinori’s mouth gaped in astonishment, “You two were seriously merciless with the way you put the commission on blast. I’ve never seen the public get so up in arms over a news story before.”
Illustess scoffed and nodded, “Well good! That means they’re finally understanding the gravity of the forced blanket of ignorance they’ve been weighted under.”
A grave expression overtook All Might’s face, “So you burned down the building, but nobody has heard from the President or frankly anyone who worked directly under her for days. What have you done to them?”
Her shoulders slumped in an annoyed and dejected display, “Toshi, after all the shit I’ve done to keep people alive, I’m not going to screw this bit up. They were all captured and given new identities with the instructions to move far away where no one could possibly know who they are and start over. That this was their undeserving mercy after all of the pain they have caused and should I ever see hide or hair of them again, that mercy won’t be there twice.”
The man nodded and they both sat in a shaky but somewhat thoughtful silence for some time, watching the flames die down. Eventually, another weak, humoring smile pulled at Miyori’s lips as she began speaking her thoughts out loud, “You know, it’s funny. You asked me why I would throw myself in the middle of a war when I could just enjoy what seemed like a fairy tale to me. Most others in my position would have flocked to the first character they read about and fell in love with in the attempt to charm them and live their perfect happily ever after. Sometimes I wonder how different my life would be right now if I had just done that. I had so much more time here than I ever thought I would and I could have spent that being happy with someone I was only allowed to admire from afar.”
He returned her pensive smile and finally moved a little closer, saying, “I would say, ‘Why didn’t you?’ but I think after hearing your story, I understand why. Out of curiosity, though, who would you have chosen?”
Miyori’s face twisted with mischief as she playfully nudged him, “My oh my, Yagi-san! Is this your way of discovering my crush?”
His mouth pursed to the side and he looked away, “I-uh. No! I didn’t mean anything perverse by it, I swear!”
She laughed at his rambling and exclaimed, “I was just teasing! Haha calm down. No… That kind of question is hard for me to answer. I was more worried about the increasing number of people I wanted to hug and tell that everything was going to be ok… I’m not going to lie, there were a few, though… that I could have seen myself with. Strangely enough, you were near if not at the top.”
The sound of crackling flames, sirens, and the wind blowing past them overtook the painful silence that followed. Toshinori’s gaze was locked on hers as he studied intently for any indication of jest. He was waiting desperately for her to reveal the joke so he could catch his breath, but it never came.
She looked away, mildly hurt and said, “You can breathe now. It’s not like I expect anything from you.”
He held out his hands in defense, “No! I’m sorry. It’s just, I don’t understand. My embers have nearly faded while you’re still blossoming with purpose. While we may ultimately have similar goals, our drives are so different! I’m the symbol of peace and you’ve become the symbol of revolution. What we stand for and what we’re trying to accomplish are so divergent. So I guess I’m more wondering, why me?”
Illustress clasped her hands before her in thought. She knew this question would probably be coming, the big hurtle now was to actually put everything into words.
“I saw a man who was doing everything within his power to be the best he could be, to help as many people as he could. It’s self sacrificing and stupid sometimes, yes, but, I also saw that you didn’t have anybody around to tell you that. Nobody to hold you and tell you that it’s ok to take a breath, take a break, and let someone else take care of you for a change. While the grand, epic romance is fun to fantasize and read about, I just ultimately want somebody who I can come home to, someone who I know is always going to be there. And while I know that you can take the hero out of the man but you can’t separate the man from the hero… I know it’s always going to be a part of who you are, I just wanted to the be the person to hold your hand at the end of it all. Be the person to offer you a safe place to lay your head and rest your tired body.”
The more she spoke, the more wonder seemed to fill his eyes until he finally sighed, looking at her and saying, “Now you have me wondering, too.”
“Can I ask something of you?”
“Sure.”
“If I could guarantee I had more time here, I’d ask you out on a date-”
“Seriously?!” he couldn’t help but show his eager surprise before clearing his throat, “I’d actually be ok with that.”
She giggled, “You didn’t let me finish, Toshi. I don’t want to do that because I don’t want to develop emotional attachments or allow someone else to only for me to disappear someday and it all be for nothing. I wouldn’t want to hurt someone like that. But there is something I’d like to take with me.”
“And what’s that?”
“This…” With one hand, she grabbed him by his hero costume and pulled him close for an uncoordinated and chaste kiss.
The moment she pulled away and as the flush filled his cheeks, Toshinori’s hand found its way behind her head as he said, “Oh we can do better than that,” and he pulled her in for a much more intense experience. He took his time, letting her hands wander into his messy blonde hair.
After a couple minutes of losing all concept of time and public decency, the two pulled away, breathing heavily as Toshinori’s voice dropped to a rumble, “If you’re going to leave with a kiss, it might as well be one worth remembering.”
Miyori’s ability to form coherent sentences had completely left her. A heat began rising through her body and she swayed, slightly drunk from the endorphins coursing through her.
All Might released a throaty chuckle, “I didn’t think I’d be making my vigilante quarry blush tonight, but I guess this conversation has been full of surprises.”
Still in a slight daze, Miyori’s voice cracked, “Yeah, no kidding.”
He looked away, disheartened, “I wish your situation was less turbulent… And that we were less different. Together, we may have been able to do more.”
She leaned against him, finally feeling the warmth return to the friendship they used to share. “We may not be as mismatched as you think. You became a hero to give people hope, right? To save them and overcome evil all with a smile on your face. To put people at ease and make them feel safer knowing you’re around. I AM HERE!! Right? I want to do something similar - liberate society from the lies that they have been embracing without understanding - show them that they have more power and control than they think. They create heroes from ordinary people just like they do villains. My goal is to create a better system that stops the creation of villains before it happens. Too many people are pushed aside, disregarded, or hurt because of their quirks and other things that they can’t control. I’ve been with the league of villains since nearly its conception and what I’ve come to understand is most of them are that way because they were hurt by a hero who was supposed to help them or mishandled by society. I want to change that. Think of it this way, society is a person with an open wound, heroes are the bandage, and villains are the gun. Rather than being experts at bandaging wounds, let’s find a way to take the ammo out of the gun.”
Toshinori hummed in acknowledgement, “You’ve definitely given me a lot to think about. These are some lofty goals you’ve set for yourself.”
“You’re one to talk, Mr. Symbol of Peace.” She gave him a playful nudge.
He responded with a soft laugh then took a deep breath, the mood growing somber again as he asked, “So what now?”
“It’s time to rebuild.”
~~~
In the weeks that followed, Illustress outed herself to the rest of her hero friends and orchestrated the plans for what the new Society Public Safety Council was to look like. She explained the idea of individuals who couldn’t empathize with the blights of heroes and villains had no place to dictate their future. She suggested the new council be comprised of retired or wounded heroes such as Gran Torino and Tensei Iida and villains or vigilantes who had the right ideas but were just misguided such as Stain, Touya, Spinner, etc. The balance of both sides would help offer solutions as well as preventative measures for the betterment of society.
Also during this time, Miyori got to be a witness to Eri rewinding Touya’s scars. Due to his burns, he’d never been able to cry… He made up for lost time that day.
With some help and coercion, she also was blessed to see Tenko Shimura’s redemption and acceptance of Toshinori as a recurring individual in his life.
Toga experienced an understanding of her bloodlust in realizing she had been using it as a counterfeit for friends. Uraraka and Tsuyu accepted her almost immediately once they finally understood and they were nearly inseparable after that.
Twice was spared due to Illustress’ interference and in doing so, she also got to witness his battle and victory with self-acceptance.
One night, she hosted a celebratory get together. Touya and Shoto came together and bickered like brothers the entire night. Shouta brought Hizashi, Oboro, and Nemuri along, therefore also bringing the entertainment for the evening. Joke and Nighteye arrived arm in arm. Tenko and Toshinori sat closeby with Izuku between them. Keigo even managed to free up his evening to attend.
The understanding between the individuals in that room, she had hoped would eventually bleed out into the public. Miyori was finally at peace. There wasn’t much left for her to do. As the night drew to a close, she found herself taking Izuku’s place, firmly smushed between Toshinori and Tenko, her hands combing through the hair of a very contented Hizashi on the floor before her. Her eyes grew heavy as she leaned back, letting sleep take her.
When she awoke, she was once again in her own bed, her own sheets, her own world…
A few silent tears streaked down the sides of her face before she righted herself and dragged her feet into the bathroom.
Hah… of course it was all a dream.
She undressed and headed to the shower, but as she passed by the mirror, something caught her eye. There, clear as day, a massive scar on her shoulder… from Shigaraki.
She immediately looked down to her thighs to see the slice marks she earned from her and Toga’s sparring. Finally she turned around to see the handprint burn scars on her back from Dabi.
Wait… Maybe…
She immediately pulled out her phone and got online to see if the lore of the manga had changed. The chapters remained as she had remembered them, but after hopping through a few articles, she found one saying that one of Horikoshi’s co-writers was announcing that she was writing an alternate MHA timeline with a vigilante antihero being the main character of the story. This character’s name would be Illustress.
She nearly dropped her phone, hand raising to cover her mouth as she smiled, both terrified and relieved.
Maybe I did make a difference for them after all.