Tomura really regretting stepping out of the house that day. Izuku had started crying uncontrollably and now people were giving him dirty looks. Granted, he was a murderer and probably a villain in the eyes of society, however for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why Izuku had started bawling.

He hadn't said anything wrong, had he?

"Midoriya, what's wrong?" he asked, speaking softly.

"N-n-o-o-t-t-h-h-i-i-n-n-g-g," Izuku stuttered, trying to wipe his tears with one free hand and failing as they continued to fall.

Makoto would get wind of this, he would be in trouble, father would beat him up—, oh wait, he had killed his family with his bare hands.

Feeling slightly clammy, he looked at the boy who seemed to have an endless supply of tears. Wryly, he put a hand on Izuku's shoulder, careful to keep his index finger off to avoid an accident.

Izuku flinched and succeeded in dropping the ice-cream. Which caused him to stop crying immediately.

"Oh, no, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Relax," said Tomura, thinking of the ruined food and the ants that would get to it, "Everyone makes mistakes."

Izuku was still tensed up.

"Let's go elsewhere," Tomura said as the dirty looks he was getting increased and intensified. He wasn't really in the mood to kill these annoying people, but his hands were itching to. Better keep them tucked away in the pocket where they belong.

Izuku nodded, fearfully.

Tomura got up and motioned him to do so too.

"He isn't that acquainted with us, Sensei, killing won't do the job. I understand that a submissive figure is needed for this because this is a temporary arrangement and the permanent caretaker will take another year to be ready."

Makoto sighed and put the phone back on the table. She had debated going to find Izuku and Tomura but figured out that it was better if she gave them some time alone. She stared at her hand which was beginning to go blue. The change wasn't noticeable unless you were actually looking for it.

She silently hoped the best for Tomura.

Even if it wasn't up to her to fight the commands that had been specifically programmed into her artificial form, she still had the last remnants of human emotion that was integral to making her look believable.

Somewhere in the deep subconscious of her mind, Makoto Tsukauchi lurked on, an older sister wanting the best for all her friends.

The two of them had ended up taking a walk to the river. Tomura had taken the hood off when the heat was becoming unbearable. Izuku had calmed down and was looking embarrassed.

"So.....I hope you won't start crying again....but what did I say to make you cry?"

Izuku mumbled something which Tomura couldn't hear.

He sighed.

"Can you repeat it?"

"I......you said.....I thought..."

Izuku ended up as a muttering mess again.

Tomura realised that he wouldn't get an answer out of the boy and gave up.

Instead, he opted for a topic change.

"What do you like the most?" he asked, immediately regretting it because he knew the answer. And the answer wasn't something he was inclined to dwell on.

Izuku's eyes brightened immediately.

"Heroes," he spoke up excitedly, "I want to become one, save everyone with a smile, just like All Might."

He went into an excited chatter, not realizing that Tomura had tensed up and stopped short, until he turned around to talk to him. Tomura was no where to be seen by his side.

The poor boy turned back to look at the silent figure in the summer afternoon, as if he had eaten a particularly nasty tasting medicine.

"Tomura...kun? What's wrong?"

Tomura didn't give an answer, but he did look up.

The look in his eyes would haunt Izuku to this day.

He took a step backwards in fear.

They had almost reached the bank of the river.

And Izuku neatly fell into it, a muffled cry of help escaping him.

Tomura's red eyes widened.

Without exactly thinking what he was doing, he ran to the river bank where Izuku was slowly drowning. Now if he died, it would be his fault and he would end up in incredible trouble.

Taking care of his fingers, he grabbed Izuku's hand and dragged him out of the water and onto the bank, where the boy sat gasping for a while, drenched in water.

Tomura flopped down beside him.

His hands were shaking.