The System is Wrecked (An MHA universe story)

Kindled

            Three months ago a video came out in Japan about the recently arrested Hero Killer Stain. He was some lunatic with swords that had a justice boner against fake heroes in society. The video, despite being taken down several times the week after the arrest, found its way into American media. That's when Cody saw it on some forum site for long form video content. It was the motivation Cody needed to start acting.
            Japan was ripe with political and social drama when Cody had gotten there. People were taking up Stain's stance and actively protesting or coming together in secret groups. Other people were falling back into this heavy reliance on the state and all heroes. Some people walked to work like nothing was happening at all. It was a soft chaos, to say the least.
It'd taken Cody very little effort to get into Japan at all. A few huge strokes of luck, and a majority of their quirk used later, they were in Japan scot free from legal trouble. The only problem with being in Japan in such a short time was.. well... the unavoidable language barrier.
The sudden move was more of an impulse idea, and with Cody being freshly seventeen, that tracked. There wasn't time to learn an entirely new language, or even find a legal space to learn it in for that matter. So all Cody knew were the simple greetings and goodbyes of the language before taking off into the oblivion with a bit of luck and a calling.
Navigating Japan with that fact in mind was a difficult feat. Interaction with people was severally limited, and after almost whole day of language barrier misunderstandings with people Cody retreated into the more unsavory and quiet parts of Japans cities.
            Wherever Cody went, trouble tended to occur. It was necessarily their fault all of the time, but with their smart mouth and general demeanor, trouble was almost inevitable around the kind of people in these reclusive areas they were hiding out in. Some trouble ranged from minor scuffles and arguments to full on life or death incidents that left Cody with a scratch, burn, or bruise.
            It was during one of these incidents that Cody met Tsunagari, actually. The man was walking with some produce in a wooden crate in the open streets of some shopping district in the outer Kyoto area. Cody, on the other hand, was on the run from some low level villain they'd pissed off with their smart mouth about how he was just supporting a system. The punk had looked back for one second and ran square into Tsunagari, knocking both of them to the ground.
            "Shit shit- shit! I'm so sorry- uh- Gomen! Gomen!" The kid had scrambled to help this "old man" pick up his produce before they got caught by some petty villain and his goons. Tsunagari had taken note of the stress of the kid, and when they both back up on their feet Tsunagari gestured for them to stand beside hik on the opposite side. Cody had checked back again before following the silent command, keeping their head down for good measure.
            The idiots passed right by them without fail, completely oblivious to Cody's whereabouts next to some "old man". It was great, especially with how crowded the place was becoming.
            ".. Thank you." Cody had looked up at Tsunagari with a great relief and gratefulness on their face. Tsunagari simply smiled and began to walk and talk.
            "Do you need a place to stay?" Cody had looked to the ground when the old man asked that. The answer was yes, but at the time, the punk was too stubborn to ever ask for help from a stranger, even one who'd saved them just a few seconds prior. The old man seemingly got the point anyway however, and had simply looked forward.
            "I have a spare room." No other words were uttered about it after that, not even when they'd gotten back to the home in Tsunagari's care.
            Even still, Cody was forever the "old man" had taken them in.

————

            Cody sat in Tsunagari's living room with Crystal now, thinking about how the old man was so kind to strangers, and everyone in general really. Crystal, on the other hand, was busy scrolling in her phone. She was looking at news articles about the events of the previous day.
            ".. Hey, Eyebrows," Cody's attention was called over at the sound of Crystal's voice, "There's a little article 'bout you an' pigeon." Crystal handed her phone over to Cody. The punk looked over the article in silence, messing with their bridge piercing as they read.
            "... Everyone likes Pigeon until he can't do his job." Cody handed the phone back to Crystal, who was laughing about the punk kid's comment. After her laughter had quieted itself, there was a moment of awkward silence between the two.
            "... You ever think 'bout what would'a 'appened if yah 'adn't gotten involved with th' league back in August?" Crystal spoke up all of a sudden, drawing Cody's attention back to her. The punk met Crystal's eyes and felt the silence become a bit thick between them. It was honestly a hard thing to think about, what happened back in August with the league.
            ".. Sorry, I-"
            "I wish I'd never met those sorry fucks." Cody looked at the TV as they spoke. It was turned to the news channel, talking about some political nonsense Cody couldn't discern.
            "I'd take back every interaction if I could. I just made myself a world-wide target with all of that bullshit. America'll be on my ass once they find out who I am. I would've preferred not to be dragged back to hell."
            Crystal and Cody were both watching the TV screen now, contemplating the words that were just spoken in the space. The silence lasted a good bit of time before Crystal spoke up again.
            "Well, that Kamino disaster did one good thing fer you." Cody and Crystal's eyes met at the same time.
            "It led me righ' to yah." Crystal smiled as she spoke to Cody, affection in her eyes. Cody stared at her blankly for a few moments before smiling themself. They reached out a fist to Crystal on the opposite side of the couch, and Crystal bumped her fist to their's.
            "Lucky me, indeed."