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Someone, somewhere, had once said to appear weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak. Deception. The entire line was based on the powerful weapon known as deception, for it had the capability to cloud a person's astuteness.

And at any given moment, someone, somewhere, had a choice on whether or not to use such an efficient tool—especially when they needed something . . . wanted something. A single second of displaying a character crafted out of pure deviousness was enough to conjure hundreds to bowing at one's feet. It was enough to corrupt hundreds of innocent lives while leaving the others for dead. So, while the withering souls were left behind the innocent that once shrouded the other hundreds had dwindled and diminished—becoming nothing more than a distant memory of what used to be. 

This weapon was more than enough to affect the lives of everyone surrounding it, cause a broken woman to become strong in the fleeting sense of danger, cause a young boy to take not one but two lives in hopes of saving his own. It caused a great leader to fall in his time of weakness.

All because of deception.

It was rather comical, however, for Izuku would be considered a master at such an endeavor. He had been quite deceitful for most of his upbringing—placing on a good face no matter the dire need to scream he felt boiling with such raging incandescence inside. No, he simply smiled or smirked, a taunting expression would usually thickly veil the emotions blending horridly inside of him. Now, the reason for this being such a facetious predicament?

Because, Izuku Midoriya: The master at deception, had found himself completely and utterly stumped.

Izuku was restless that night; while he tossed and turned, thrashed and mumbled, his brain had kicked into full-throttle as theories on top of theories constructed within his mind. The more he thought about it the more nothing made sense. Four people knew the code, two of which were his dead parents, the other two were most likely dead by now as well. Or worse: an Excor. So, how did they get through the defenses?

It wasn't until later on in the early clutches of morning's grasp that slumbers gentle hand finally guided him to some form a solace. Maybe it was the mixture of exhaustion from overexerting his mind, or the ambrosial aroma the had been wafting from the blanket all night. Either way, he had finally been able to fall asleep—barely paying any attention when an arm would wrap around him or a leg would tangle with his. 

He was too exhausted to care at this point.

And so, as the sun stealthily crept above the blanket of clouds it was covered by—stretching high into the sky—and the local wildlife bloomed to life so did Izuku. He was groggy, as to be expected, his eyelids fluttered at a rapid pace as he patiently waited for the fogged over film to pass by his vision. The younger gawked and released a mixture between a gasp and a squeak once he assessed his current predicament.

Shoto had draped himself over Izuku's back, his arms securely locked around the boy and Katsuki as soft snores pushed through his parted lips. Katsuki, who somehow ended up having part of his shirt hanging off, loosely wrapped his arms around the younger's waist—burying him deep into his chest. It was then, and only then, that Izuku was able to locate a resolution to where the sweet smell had been coming from. For it wasn't the blanket, it had been Katsuki all along.

"Will you two get off of me!" Izuku exclaimed after a few minutes of attempting to wiggle himself from their clutches. "You're crushing me,"

Shoto twitched, eyebrows pulling together in his sleep as he burrowed his face into the younger's neck. "Mmm . . . soft . . ." he murmured, before inexorably falling back under his spell of fatigue.

The green-haired male heaved a sigh as he twisted around, his back against Katsuki's chest and his face pressed along Shoto's hair. Locks of scarlet and white flittered in wisps around his nose, the faint scent of damp leaves, and what Izuku thought to be other plants had swept over him. He was trapped. Yet as he lay there in his human imprisonment any hot flashes and gluts of anger had dispersed—ceasing to ever exist in the first place.

. . . How peculiar.

So, he lied there like that for the next few hours. 

His stomach lurched and begged him for food as the seconds turned to minutes; chatter soon erupted from the village below as those minutes turned to hours. And through it, Izuku had been stuck. The gears that worked tirelessly through the night alongside his mind had been caught and entangled in a freezeframe, never growing, never shifting. It was an odd sensation that was for sure, but while he was entrapped within that freezeframe he thought of nothing.

Not his parents.

Not the mysterious attack.

Not his blood-stained hands.

Nothing.

All he was focused on was the two discrepant puffs of air that trickled along his neck and cheek, the oddly comforting rough hands and arms wrapped around him. He was drifting, in a seemingly endless, painless, and worriless abyss of unfiltered and new feelings. It was pure heaven.

Until they woke up.

Then everything had begun moving again, those tight knots that had formed over time had unloosened—the piercing threads scathed against his mind like daggers as he was ripped away from his abyss. No longer at peace as he had been succumbed by his thoughts and emotions once again.

Come back.

He wanted to scream as Shoto stirred, retracting himself with a tired yet sheepish smile.

Just a few moments longer.

A smirk tugged the edges of Katsuki's lips as he began to make a witty remark about their position. Izuku couldn't, he knew that. Hell, he had barely just met the two nothing but a day ago—it would be . . . weird to ask such a thing from them. No, he would just have to put up with his intrusive and pain-inflicting thoughts on his own.

"Just couldn't get enough of us, huh?" Katsuki grinned, sitting up as he adjusted his shirt. "I don't blame you; if I had gotten into bed with all this—" his hands trailed across his body, "—I wouldn't keep my hands to myself either."

Izuku's features shifted as he matched the blond's smirk. "Don't flatter yourself," his index finger slid underneath Katsuki's chin before he got up. "You two fat-asses wouldn't get off of me."

The duel-haired male grinned triumphantly as he turned his torso around to get a good look at his bottom half. "I wouldn't exactly call my ass 'fat'," he drawled "a little good-looking, maybe . . ."

"We should probably go check on those girls in the infirmary," Izuku sighed as he rolled his eyes. "The sooner we can get them on the move to my bunker the better." as much as he didn't want to go back . . . he wouldn't let more innocent blood be spilled on his hands.

Not ever again.

"I agree," Shoto hummed, any trace of playfulness being cast aside as his thoughts drifted towards the three women who had mysteriously gotten sick. "I'll gather some guards and have them help with transportation. Katsuki—" the blond's head snapped up at the sound of his name. "—I'll need you to go speak with the cooks about assembling food for all of us. Preferably enough for a day's journey there and back. Also, try and see if you can get any volunteers to help with supplies,"

Katsuki nodded silently, briskly slipping into his furry shoes before quickly pecking the two-toned-haired male on the cheek. "I'll see ya in a bit," he whispered before swiftly climbing down.

Silence tested the waters of the treehouse as Izuku waited for the elder male to finish getting ready. Izuku's hands trailed along the various items scattered across the room, dipping into empty bowls carved from wood, trailing over leaves and vines that grew through the cracks in the walls. However, he stopped when he reached the entrances. Because there, displayed proudly against a backdrop of pink and blue . . . 

Was the sun.

Rays of sunlight licked against the pale sheen of his skin, painting him gold all over as his skin buzzed with warmth. The sun greeted him with open arms, swallowing him whole and vehemently; he basked in its sumptuous glow with a brightened smile. Tears pricked his eyes and swelled the soft mounds of his cheeks as the salty liquid gleamed with sunlight over his freckles. 

A laugh sprang from his throat as he subconsciously leaned into the sun's gentle caress. He was overjoyed from the feeling. Because maybe—just maybe—he did deserve something good . . . the sun and sky had become his beacon of light and hope. Hope that things would get better for him.

"Are you ready?" Shoto's voice glided in his ears smoothly. He did not ask if Izuku was okay, nor did he ask any other questions relating to the matter—he figured this was something of quite the momentous occasion the young male's life.

"Yeah,"

With that, Izuku was secured around the boy's back as he plunged down the ladder—air whipping around their faces as the brilliant light glittered profoundly across the vast clearing of the village. They had made it to the infirmary within a few minutes, pushing past the curtain of leaves and entering the large cabin to find the three girls still there. 

Izuku had instantly spotted the purple-haired male from before, now recognizing his name to be Shinsou. However, the guard who was unexplainably familiar to Izuku—Natsuo Todoroki—was nowhere to be found within the room; for a boy with yellow hair was standing in his place. It did not take Izuku long to figure out he was a guard as well, noting the similar clothing all of them seemed to wear when patrolling the areas.

"Who the hell is this?" the yellow-haired male questioned, his eyebrow raising as he did so.

"I swear," Izuku muttered under his breath, "If I hear that question one more goddamn time, I'll lose it. You guys seriously need some form of communicating shit with everybody in this village,"

They had a setup back on the bunker akin to the one Izuku had mentioned just now, however, seeing as though they were outside using a PA system would not be an option. But surely they could think of something to spread the news.

"The name's Izuku Midoriya, yes I'm a Qui Metallum, I'm helping these sick people. Now move the fuck out of my way," he snapped, pushing past the two guards as he began repeating the same process he had did the night before with the three women.

Laughing at the abrupt spout of temper that sparked within the boy, Shoto turned to a red-faced Kaminari and an amused Shinsou. He gave them a quick run-down of the plan for the following trip and any potential dangers they or may not face while making the journey to the bunker—using Izuku as their guide.

Kaminari's brows pinched together at the news as he stared at the foreign male with a flash of uncertainty in his eyes. "Look, I know that this may seem like a good plan—but with all due respect, Ductor, we don't know shit about him." he spoke the words loud enough for Izuku to hear, "And even if he is telling the truth and not just leading us into a trap, what happens if the Excors never left. Not only would we have to look out for our own people, but for him too,"

Indignation and incandescent anger pulsed rapidly through Izuku's bloodstream as his eyes fluttered upwards in an instant. The native guard stiffened at the sight, yet his composure never wavered once as he glared back—distrust painting across his defined yet rounded eyes.

"Don't underestimate my capabilities just because of my size!" Izuku scoffed, crossing his arms as he strode across the room. Stopping just inches away from the taller male. 

"Alright," Kaminari snorted, "Honestly can you blame me? Look how tiny you are!"

"Yeah, tiny enough to break your fucking kneecaps if you keep testing me!" he growled, pivoting on his heel as he looked at a wide-eyed Shoto and Shinsou. "Now, can we get this shit-show on the road while I still have the patience?"

This was going to be one hell of a journey.     

Hello Cricket Cultists!!

Did ya see what I did there? If you didn't I have failed as an author and will proceed to cry--

I'M SO FRIGGIN EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK Y'ALL!! THE PLOT TWISTS ARE *CHEFF KISSES* Well, maybe not really but better than any previous books of mine!

Until we meet again!!!