History Fanfic / ThievesCanBeHeroes

* LetsSplitUpGang: DoubleSubverted. Nitro suggests the gang split up to cover more ground in [[spoiler:Overhaul's Palace]], but gets vetoed by Izuku, who points out that they don't have enough manpower to safely divide up the party. Unfortunately, it gets taken out of their hands when [[spoiler:Chisaki's Cognition of Mimic takes matters into its own hands and forcibly manipulates the structure of the Palace to divide them.]]

* RealityEnsues:
** Shonen series protagonist or not, a SociallyAwkwardHero like Izuku isn't going to know what to say when a girl he knows and cares about is on the verge of committing suicide. One wrong expression is all it takes to push her over the edge.
** Due to the fact that Kamoshida got caught, two [[spoiler:[[DirtyCop police officers that knowingly took bribes for their silence]] are now under suspicion by their precinct as to why they didn’t report something was happening. Now the two are fearful for their jobs.]] Because, obviously, one or two students would had to have the nerve to report Kamoshida’s abuses to the police despite the wishes of their parents.
*** The same is true after Madarame's confession. Tsukauchi reveals that some of his former pupils went to the police to report Madarame's plagiarism and abuse, only to be either ignored or arrested for 'slander'.
*** It’s mentioned that the Internal Affairs Department got involved with both cases to find any cops who were in on the take, as it is their job to uncover officers who have a conflict of interest and even subvert their duty.

** Izuku's status as a first year means that he and Morgana don't go on the trip to the TV station. And as it turns out, [[spoiler:Akechi doesn't attend either, having canceld at the last minute, thus preventing him from hearing Morgana talking about pancakes and comment on it]], the fatal mistake that outed them as the traitor in ''Persona 5''.

** Ryuji and Makoto completely avert this, as their Quirks (brief bursts of SuperSpeed and the ability to take on the properties of whatever you touch respectively) are very helpful in combat, and Makoto in particular [[spoiler:is able to keep up with the Phantom Thieves even before she gets her Persona]]. Also technically averted by Izuku, but only because he's the UnSorcerer.

** Mei Hatsume is the new Wheel of Fortune Confidant, replacing Chihaya Mifune. Likewise, Pop Step is the new Devil Confidant, replacing Ichiko Ohyo.

** Virtually all of the ''My Hero Academia'' characters aside from Izuku and Hatsume get reduced to passing mentions or one-chapter cameos at best. This is fully justified by the fact that the story takes place in Tokyo and not Musutafu or U.A.
** Mei Hatsume is the new Wheel of Fortune Confidant, replacing Chihaya Mifune.

** It's strongly implied that Inko Midoriya is aware of Sojiro's personal problems regarding [[spoiler:Futaba]].

** Izuku's status as a first year means that he and Morgana don't go on the trip to the TV station. And as it turns out, [[spoiler:Akechi doesn't attend either, having canceld at the last minute, tus preventing him from hearing Morgana talking about pancakes and comment on it]], the fatal mistake that outed them as the traitor in ''Persona 5''.

** Izuku's status as a first year means that he and Morgana don't go on the trip to the TV station. As a result, [[spoiler:Akechi doesn't overhear Morgana talking about pancakes and comment on it]], the fatal mistake that outed them as the traitor in Persona 5.

[[caption-width-right:350:"I guess thieves can be heroes, too." [[note]][[https://luffyfan1.deviantart.com/art/Thieves-Can-Be-Heroes-New-Cover-744623413 All credit for the image goes to its original owners]][[/note]]]]

[[folder:Tropes A-K]]

** As Izuku's ChildhoodFriend, Makoto is considerably more involved in the Kamoshida chapter than she is in canon, funneling Izuku as much information as she can even as he refuses to tell her what he's been up to out of fear of dragging her down with him if things go awry. [[spoiler:She also learns about the Metaverse immediately after Kamoshida confesses, rather than after the end of the following arc.]]
** [[spoiler:Futaba]] looks on longingly at Izuku and Inko through one of her monitors in Chapter 17, rewatching the clip of them hugging over and over. All the while, she mutters about how it "must be nice" to have a loving mom and to be able to hug her.

** Teenagers being unable to trust positions of authority, including their teachers, police officers, and even their parents due to a history of abuse. This goes so far as making them resort to assault and larceny in hopes of making their lives and the lives of others better. [[spoiler:Makoto calls Izuku out on this, saying that the actions of the Thieves are no better than Villains.]]

* AmbitionIsEvil: Kaneshiro is described as someone with great ambitions for his own advancement. [[spoiler:As this conflicts with his boss Overhaul's plans, Overhaul kills him.]]

** After she recovers, Shiho [[spoiler:asks Mishima if she can help with the Phan-Site. She is later promoted to the Moon Confidant, sharing the role with Mishima.]]

** Junya Kaneshiro [[spoiler:is brutally killed by Overhaul in his first appearance]].

** Readers have pointed out that Izuku's inability to go to U.A. would change a ton of things from canon, namely things like helping All Might regain his drive to risk his life and push the the limits of One for All as a hero, saving Uraraka from the zero-point robot, allowing Todoroki to terms with his own powers, rescuing Iida from [[spoiler:Hero Killer Stain]] would have never happened without Izuku's presence. The author is aware of this and says that this is assuming that the events back in Musutafu would play out exactly as they would in canon.

* WrongContextMagic: Authorities and citizens believe the Phantom Thieves use Quirks to 'change hearts'. It's reasonable, given the world they live in and obviously not many know that supernatural powers like Personas existed for much longer than Quirks. Because of this and what entails in the world of Persona, the world of Heroes had no idea how the Phantom Thieves manage to change the 'hearts' of their targets and would react with fear that these vigilantes can change 'hearts' without being nearby.

** The [[StatusQuoIsGod very setting of My Hero Academia and attitudes towards authority]] are tackled really hard. The world of ''My Hero Academia'' can be described as a place where the public is used to trusting authority and heroes. A typical Vigilante is an amusing side-attraction that authorities don't see much care of bringing in because their actions don’t cause much trouble and there’s no real message to them; for example, the ''Illegals'' have been at it for a few years now and none have been arrested other than shooed off. While Stain's message did cause some upheaval in the main series, the Phantom Thieves' actions tackled crimes that the Heroes and Police did little to try and solve. The Phantom Thieves showed that society really hasn't changed in spite of the Heroes' presence. By pointing out what's wrong with society and actively helping improve society, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts have the potential to be the most impactful Vigilantes in the history of the world.
*** However, unintentionally, their actions humiliated Heroes and Police as the public would call them incompetent and question authority, allowing them to think for themselves rather than the public just resigning to their place or to listen to authority blindly. The people who would be speaking up would be the Quirkless and those who have unstable Quirks for which society neglected and refused to give support just because they were deemed 'villainous', not just those abused. They would question the status quo of the Hero society and Quirks had brought on the world. But it would also mean fear, distrust, and lack of research for anyone who says they would change the system...
*** On that note, the Heroes have to seriously contemplate the matter of the Phantom Thieves as the public narrative would turn to anger and resentment towards the status quo, each successful heart stolen. The pressure and open questioning about the status quo and the improvement thereof could devastate the public perception of Heroes. If they can't handle it, who knows who could be stepping in to solve the problem?

** Due to the fact that Kamoshida got caught, two [[spoiler:[[DirtyCop police officers that knowingly took bribes for their silence]] are now under suspicion by their precinct as to why they didn’t report something was happening. Now the two are fearful for their jobs.]] Because, obviously, one or two students would have had the nerve to report Kamoshida’s abuses to the police despite the wishes of their parents.

* RightForTheWrongReasons: The student body accurately pins the blame for Kamoshida's confession on Izuku, but they believe he did so through a hidden brainwashing Quirk rather than through the Cognitive World, the former of which is the far more logical option given the world of ''My Hero Academia''.

* WrongContextMagic: Authorities and citizens believe the Phantom Thieves use Quirks to 'change hearts'. It's reasonable, given the world they live in and obviously not many known that supernatural powers like Personas existed for much longer than Quirks. Because of this and what entails in the world of Persona, the world of Heroes had no idea how the Phantom Thieves manage to change the 'hearts' of their targets and would react with fear that these vigilantes can change 'hearts' without being nearby.

*** However, unintentionally, their actions humiliated Heroes and Police as the public would call them incompetent and question authority, allowing them to think for themselves rather than the public just resigning to their place or to listen to authority blindly. But it would also mean fear, distrust, and lack of research for anyone who says they would change the system...

*** On that note, the Heroes have to seriously contemplate the matter of the Phantom Thieves as the public narrative would turn to anger and resentment towards the status quo, each successful heart stolen. The pressure and opening questioning about the status quo and the improvement thereof could devastate the public perception of Heroes. If they can't handle it, who knows who could be stepping in to solve the problem?

* WrongContextMagic: Authorities and citizens believe the Phantom Thieves use Quirks to 'change hearts'. It's reasonable, given the world they live in and obviously not many known that supernatural powers like Personas existed for much longer than Quirks. Because of this and what entails in the world of Persona, the world of Heroes had no idea how the Phantom Thieves manage to change the 'hearts' of their targets and would react with fear that these vigilantes can change 'hearts' without being nearby. Because the Phantom Thieves are targeting big names, the Heroes have to seriously contemplate the matter as the more the fame these vigilantes get and their ideals, the consequences on the public narrative would turn into pressure and open questioning about the status quo and how to improve.

** The [[StatusQuoIsGod very setting of My Hero Academia and attitudes towards authority]] are tackled really hard. The world of ''My Hero Academia'' can be described as a place where the public is used to trusting authority and heroes. A typical Vigilante is an amusing side-attraction that authorities don't see much care of bringing in because their actions don’t cause much trouble and there’s no real message to them. While Stain's message did cause some upheaval in the main series, the Phantom Thieves' actions tackled crimes that the Heroes and Police did little to try and solve. The Phantom Thieves showed that society really hasn't changed in spite of the Heroes' presence. By pointing out what's wrong with society and actively helping improve society, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts have the potential to be the most impactful Vigilantes in the history of the world.

** The [[StatusQuoIsGod very setting of My Hero Academia and attitudes towards authority]] are tackled really hard. The world of ''My Hero Academia'' can be described as a place where the public is used to trusting authority and heroes. A typical Vigilante being amusing side-attractions that authorities don't see much care of bringing in because their actions don’t cause much trouble and there’s no real message to them. While Stain's message did cause some upheaval in the main series, the Phantom Thieves' actions tackled crimes that the Heroes and Police did little to try and solve. The Phantom Thieves showed that society really hasn't changed in spite of the Heroes' presence.